The Story of Big Z

[LVShark 37]

The Story of Big Z

 

 

 

Maris Ziedins was born in Talsi, Latvia where he grew up around the great game of hockey. Z began playing for the local youth hockey team at the age of 5. Although he was one of the younger kids on the team he was already the tallest kid. Playing with 7-8 year olds gave Z a lot of competition at an early age, which proved to be very useful for his development. By the time he was 14 Z was already gaining some major recognition by local junior leagues, as well as many VHLM teams. Maris lead his Bantam major team to back-to-back national championships as well as being the leading scorer for goals and assists not only for his team, but for the entire country.

 

By the time Maris turned 18 every junior program in Latvia as well as North America wanted Maris on their team. Maris soon had to make a choice. Would he stay at home and play juniors and pursue a career with HC Riga, or would he declare for the VHLM Entry Draft?

 

“Recently I’ve spent a lot of time mulling my options over, and after a lot of discussion with my parents I have decided to bring my game to North America and play in the VHLM and hopefully one day play in the big leagues for the VHL. I look forward to the change in lifestyles, and I can’t wait to hopefully hear my name be called in the VHLM draft.” Maris told the news reporter

 

Quickly North American hockey enthusiasts began picking apart his game. What were his strengths? Where could he grow his game more? What areas would people consider weak?

 

The general consensus about Z’s strengths were that he could skate very well despite being 6’8, he had very soft hands, and he could shoot a laser from anywhere on the ice. First, lets look at his skating a little more. Maris has always been one of the tallest players on the ice, and for many tall players it’s known they lack agility and quickness. Luckily that has never been a problem for Maris. Growing up he would wake up at 6AM every morning and meet with a skating coach to work on all types of drills weather it was for overall speed, quick starts, or ability to change directions at the drop of a hat. Another great part of his game is that he could stick handle like nobody had ever seen before. Maris could skate through an entire team and make it look like a cake walk. His third major strength was his shot. Standing at 6’8, Maris was able to lean into every shot and release a cannon every time.

 

One major weakness in his game is his discipline. He’s very well known for being a hot head, and often times would take bad retaliation penalties after getting a little tap on the leg or a face wash behind the play. Ziedins quick temper has been known to land him in the penalty two to three times a game. Is this something a team will want to deal with during the regular season? What about during playoffs in overtime? This has huge potential to affect Z’s stock.

 

Another one of his weaknesses is that although he is a threat on offense, it’s been stated that he sometimes flees the offensive zone a little too early looking for breakaways and doesn’t always hustle on the backcheck. This is something that all the scouts key in on. Maris has been known to be a lazy defensive player who will often times shy away from hits, lift his leg so he won’t have to block a shot, or simply swing his stick as an opposing player skates by with the puck. His third major weakness is without a doubt his fighting ability. Although he’s big, Maris has only been in 2 fights which he’s happened to lose both. You would think that standing at 6’8 would mean you’re a force to be reckoned with, but in this case it seems that Ziedins is more of a gentle giant.

 

Overall Maris is an amazingly talented offensive threat, and any team looking for a winger that can average well over a point per game won’t be disappointed in drafting him, but if they’re looking for a 2 way player, they may want to continue to look into other options. Will Maris be able to adapt and become more of a two-way team player? Or will he remain as he currently is?

 

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Overview- 2.25/3

764 words. I liked the story, but I did find it rather brief. For a point task of this magnitude, 1,000 words is a pretty acceptable minimum. You did a good job with the structure of the pros and cons, but the beef of the information and back-story was a bit shy on content.

Grammar- 2/2

Minor punctuation issues.

 

team he = team, he

14 Z = 14, Z

lead = led

reporter = reporter.

lets = let's

weather = whether

well known = well-known

in the penalty = in the penalty box

Presentation- 1/1

I would have liked to see more pictures possibly, but that's just a personal preference.

Pros- 1.5/2

173 words. A bit shy of the 200-word requirement.

Cons- 2/2

235 words. These were done quite well.

Overall- 8.75/10

[Da Trifecta 1,902]

Overview: 3/3 It may be short but I am not one for docking hard work as long as it looks good

Grammar: 2/2 He pointed them out already

Presentation: 1/1 Yes

Pros: 2/2 It's close to 200 and I won't dock unlike him

Cons: 2/2 Defs

 

Final: 9/10