Getting to Hope You Like Me

[Aimee 1,150]

After Friday night’s VHL draft, many in London and in the London fanbase are scratching their heads wondering who on Earth Jesse Teno is exactly. A somewhat decent goalie who put up decent stats on a not-so-decent VHLM team landed themselves the 10th pick slot. So who is Jesse and why should London fans care about them? Well, we’ll tell you.

 

Jesse Teno, who uses they/them pronouns, was born and raised in the small town of Chester, Vermont and came to hockey late in life. In college they blossomed and found a true passion for the sport. They had never considered playing professionally until the VHLM seemed to call them to it. It seemed a long shot until scouting reports noted the potential that Jesse had. They were drafted 30th overall by the Saskatoon Wild and for the first time, Jesse picked up and moved out of their home state. It was a big step for them personally and professionally. It seemed maybe they could make something out of themselves with hockey.

 

In Saskatoon, Jesse proved themselves more than capable of handling high pressure situations. Their low win count couldn’t be helped when there was so little front of net presence to help them out. But Jesse enjoyed their time in Saskatoon despite the losing season. They even impressed themselves when they were able to get the Wild into the playoffs and stole a few games from the Las Vegas Aces.

When the season ended, Jesse wondered where they would end up. The off season didn’t see them playing golf, but instead they headed home to reunite with their family for the first time since leaving for Saskatoon. Jesse spent the off season catching up with friends and family, heading out to local favorites, and trained both at the local ice rink and while playing roller hockey. It was an off season of fun and relaxation.

 

So when the draft came around, the relaxation turned to apprehension. Jesse had heard from multiple teams who had shown interest in drafting them. Though Jesse didn’t necessarily care about how early they would be drafted, part of them still hoped that it would be high. They had worked so hard in the VHLM to gain the skills they had. It was a long day awaiting the broadcast. 

 

The first spot they had been told they were considered had come and gone but Jesse tried to keep faith that things would work out. And when London United had their pick at 10th, Jesse was elated to hear their name called out. It wasn’t a team they had heard from but a team who wanted them nonetheless. Minutes after their drafting, Jesse heard from the DM @Dil and was more than happy to accept a rookie contract on the spot. A few emails and digital signatures later and Jesse was officially a prospect goalie for London. 

 

“I honestly cannot thank everyone who has gotten me here enough. Being drafted to the VHL is really a dream I never thought I would have, let alone achieve.” Jesse commented on Twitter after being drafted. It was then followed up by, “I can’t wait to see what London holds for me in the future. See you all at the VHLE draft!”

 

With their sights set on the next draft, Jesse is looking forward to once again spreading their proverbial wings by jumping into some metal ones to see what Europe has in store for them.

 

578 words for week ending 9/4/22
 

[Shindigs 1,771]

14 hours ago, aimkin said:

It wasn’t a team they had heard from but a team who wanted them nonetheless.

@Dil doesn't scout, confirmed? smh my head

[Dil 1,763]

6 hours ago, Shindigs said:

@Dil doesn't scout, confirmed? smh my head

I do!

 

Didn’t think I’d be picking in that range tbh 

[Shindigs 1,771]

2 minutes ago, Dil said:

I do!

 

Didn’t think I’d be picking in that range tbh 

Honestly that's fair enough. Since you did start a fan club for aimkin I think you can be excused.

[der meister 3,248]

Aimkin! Congrats on being selected by London in the first round. My last player was the first player drafted by the United franchise and I'm still proud of that, and have a sense of pride in that team. I've really enjoyed following Teno's journey so far and look forward to seeing what you're able to do for the team in the future. I didn't notice any grammatical issues, and the only formatting thing that stuck out was missing a space between paragraphs, which is so minor as to be a waste of the time I spent writing this part of the sentence. 10/10