Napoleon Dynamite - Rookie Experience

[thadthrasher 1,692]

There was a lot of excitement about Napoleon Dynamite entering into his rookie season of the VHL. Being drafted second overall to Davos was an incredibly huge deal to Dynamite, his previous teammates, and his family. The rising star not only performed well in the VHLM, capturing a cup there but also in the VHLE where he too captured a cup. The expectation was that Dynamite was going to do the same with Davos during his rookie season.

 

When Napoleon Dynamite stepped into the Davos locker room for the very first time the sense of excitement was felt in the entire room. All who were around him that first day could tell that the kid was excited. He wanted nothing more than to be there, and it was evident. He showed it in his conversations and on the ice when he practiced that first day. He fully expected to keep up with his teammates, and was eager to learn from veteran presences, especially Chara. All of it was looking good, and his expectations seemed like something he could meet. But, all of that changed once he hit his first game.

 

Napoleon Dynamite learned rather quickly just how different the VHL was from both the minor leagues and the European league. The hits were harder, the skating was faster, the shots were more accurate. It was a lot to take on all at once, and it seems as though Dynamite was not able to live up to the expectations of others. The pressure was great, and his performance on the ice suffered because of it. The rookie season for Dynamite was anything but the caliber of a second overall draft pick. What Dynamite and all others expected was an amazing rookie season, and Dynamite was not able to deliver on that expectation.

 

One of the areas that Dynamite focused on when he entered into the VHL was his skating. He had an accurate shot, at least compared to others in the M and E, but his skating was slow and clunky. He was no where near the speed of others, and that often kept him from breaking away or getting into pristine scoring chances. He seemed to always be skating in mud. So, the kid worked leading into his rookie season. Skating and skating and skating, just simply trying to build up his speed. We were able to see glimpses of it during the season, but there is still a very clear need to work on skating.

 

Overall, Dynamite's rookie season wasn't the best, and there is still a lot of work to do, but he remains hopeful for the future.