Tui Sova - Biography

[v.2 1,411]

       Tui Sova - Biography

 

        Born out of the waters of Fiji on a crisp summer morning in June, 2000 comes Tui Sova.  Soon to be hockey phenom, one of the only from Fiji.  Sova’s parents were both involved in the tourism industry, and taught him about diversity at a young age.  A very progressive thinking and forward family, they also were extremely passionate about sports.  The olympics were more important than any holiday within the Sova household.

        By consuming sports from a very young age, and being aware of the rest of the world and all of the diversity the planet delivers, Sova naturally was drawn to the same passions as his parents.  There was only one hockey rink in the town that Sova was raised, of which he gravitated to with the swiftness.  By the age of 4 Sova had a hockey stick in his hands, and was already learning how to be sturdy and balance on skates. Tui’s father, while being a soccer and tennis first guy, was extremely encouraging and resourceful when guiding his son toward the game of hockey.  By age 10, Tui was flying on skates and already extremely agile.  The only obstacle at this point was finding players to play with.

        His parents knew that he had to begin to learn about competition, and test his skills against other kids his age.  This led to the Sova’s bringing Tui to Japan.  Hockey in Japan had just gained a newfound popularity, and this was the perfect starting point for Tui to step in and lace up against some peers, and play alongside teammates.

        Japan proved to be the right move for Tui, as he excelled in every aspect and had a great coach who was from Canada, and eager to teach kids in a non-traditional hockey country  all he could about the game.  By age 16 Sova’s parents had already returned back home to Fiji and decided to billet Tui out to that very same coach.  This is where things got serious, as living with the coach helped him refine his diet, sleep, and training regiments to a tee.  The strict schedule of training, online schooling, and on ice practice became somewhat of an addiction for Tui, only driving him to want to strive for the big leagues.

        While the NHL seemed unobtainable for a kid from Fiji, Tui knew that he still had what it takes to get noticed by an elite league.  The Victory Hockey League, and Swiss National League were at the top of his list.  Sova excelled at being an offensive threat on the blue line of the teams he played on.  While not the biggest player on his team, he was sturdy on his skates and an expert at walking the line and keeping the puck in play.

        By the age of 19, Sova had reached out to the Victory Hockey League’s brass for a chance at enrolling in a more serious league.  His father, acting as his agent, was able to get his name out there and garner him some attention from the VHLM, the VHL’s minor league.  GM Ryan Sullivan of the Mexico City Kings showed great interest in signing Sova for the remainder of their season, and priming him for the VHL draft.  This was the route that Tui had taken, joining the likes of Anze Miklavz, a friend and former opponent from his younger player days in Japan.

        Back home in Fiji, Tui’s family was ecstatic to hear that he had made it to a pro league and couldn’t wait to watch him jump in to a starting D role on the Kings.  His first (and only) season with Mexico City resulted in 82pts over a 72 game campaign.  Not bad for a kid from Fiji!  This propelled Sova up the Season 78 VHL draft board, however there was still a lot of weariness and uncertainty from established GM’s surrounding him.  One of the biggest questions was “how can a kid from the island of Fiji excel playing hockey at this level?”.

        Sova was ready to prove the doubters wrong and was committed to maximizing his time training, and making the VHL from the jump. Ultimately, GM Chris Hylands of the Malmo Nighthawks chose Tui Sova with the 7th overall selection of the Season 78 VHL draft.  Malmo wasn’t a bottom feeding team, but Sova was able to find some playing time in his rookie year on the 2nd D pairing.  In Season 79, a young Sova won the cup with his Malmo squad!  Bringing the cup back to Fiji was a flex on all the GM’s that passed up the chance to draft him.

        After winning the cup in Malmo, and a 3 season stint, a more mature Sova decided to leave for LA in free agency.  Two decent playoff runs later and the squad couldn’t get it done, and the team crumbled.  Sova again went to free agency and landed in D.C. signing a 3 year deal.  This is where Sova will complete his career, and hopes to lead the Dragons to one more cup in his final season.

 

853 words.

Edited September 1, 2022 by v.2

[CowboyinAmerica 2,911]

Once again, we couldn't quite go a full year between biography submissions. One day...

[v.2 1,411]

59 minutes ago, CowboyinAmerica said:

Once again, we couldn't quite go a full year between biography submissions. One day...

I tried so hard to resist.  Caught COVID again and here we are.

[Gustav 6,468]

Glad to see I'm finally not the only one in "actually did Biography under the post-S70 rules" club.