THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALUM MAELLARD AS TOLD BY FRESCOELMO

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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALUM MAELLARD AS TOLD BY FRESCOELMO

New York, New York

 

 

The ceiling looks pixelated, like you just rolled back into an Atari-era video game.  Blue….  Black… White… that was about all he could make out.  Fuzzy and unobtainable, the skater wasn’t sure if he was looking at a flag.  Or was it a bag of popcorn from a vendor?  The colors changed drastically; almost triggering a vertigo-like experience.  Now primarily peach, the shapes were moving ever slow slightly as his eyes came into focus, albeit slowly.  Two small circles appeared, along with a courageous shout, much like you would expect a general presenting to his troops before a battle midst a war.

 

“You got knocked the fuck out!”

 

That as the last time he played the forward position.  His teammates piled around him, some cautious as to his physical and mental being, others using the event as a satirical prop.  The loud teammate picked up Malum from the ground, brushed off some ice shavings and proposed, “we have to find you a new spot on the ice man, you can’t stay on your feet!”

 

Malum Maellard, a tall and lanky winger for anything but his heyday, had seen enough time as a forward to re-consider his position, let alone the sport entirely.  “My body had simply not filled out enough yet to handle the beating I was continuing to take, and my positioning was pretty bad.  Speed can only get you so far,” he explained.  Early in his prep days, Maellard switched from forward to defense, citing his interest in limiting the opponents’ goal opportunities.  He continued, “if they can’t score any goals, the worst-case scenario is that you end up in a draw.  I didn’t mind that outcome at all.”

 

Quickly progressing through an aggressive prep schedule that had practice year-round and games 3-4 days a week impacted Maellard’s progress as a ‘blueliner’ rather quickly.  Still lanky, he could at least hold his own at that age beating fellow players to the puck, forcing turnovers and changing possession.  Both he and his prep team’s ascension into the upper ranks of the Dutch leagues garnered them an invite to a holiday hockey tournament in San Antonio, Texas, over on the other side of the pond.

 

It was there that Malum received quite a bit of interest from fellow leagues in the states, including none other than the VHLM.  The minor league affiliate of the famed VHL, Malum’s curiosity blossomed as he learned that it was possible for him to be picked up by one of their franchises to finish out their 82^nd season.  Houston, one of the most successful clubs in the league at that time, had offered the prep defenseman third line minutes as they prepared for a deep run into the Season 82 playoffs.  Maellard ended up with a respectable line over 16 games with 7 points and 14 hits, including 12 blocked shots.  “That was eye opening to me, trying to figure out where I stood among other young skaters like me.  It was huge in my development to get a taste of the minors here, and helped tremendously as I moved into Season 83,” Maellard reported.  Houston would end up faltering in game 7 of the finals to Saskatoon.

 

With fresh legs and some additional weight added during the off-season, Malum sprung forward in the next season with San Diego as part of a talented roster.  Again losing in the conference finals, the defenseman blossomed into a serious threat on the offensive end, becoming his teammates’ favorite passer.  Maellard handedly took the league’s Boomchenko award in Season 83 for having the most assists in the regular season.  This season also saw his shooting uptick quite a bit, going from less than half per game to well over two shots per game.  In summary, Malum would agree that he often times tried to do too much on the offensive end earlier in the season, as he hadn’t really had this kind of opportunity before.  He was quite well-represented along individual leaders, getting top ten marks in points per 20 minutes, points for defensemen and points as a rookie.

 

 

The success Maellard enjoyed during his first full minor league season was shortly lived and most certainly not repeated upon being promoted to the VHL’s Europe league.  Playing for Cologne on a defensive juggernaut, offense and scoring both often left a lot to be desired.  “If you can believe it, we won a lot of close games and just sneaked into the playoffs over Stockholm, but our goal differential was literally zero.  That was a trying season; a lot of hits and penalty minutes,” he laughed off.  The Express were quickly discarded as Vasteras took the fast lane to the finals, leaving Malum with the idea that he needed to seriously work on defense to take the next steps.  “I never thought of my game as being offensive, and I often think my brief success in the (VHL)M disoriented my progress.  I took too much interest in getting points, and not what my role was on the team,” Malum reflected.  His shot total skyrocketed to 247 with the same number of goals scored as he did in the previous year.

 

In summary, Malum’s success and struggle throughout the VHL’s minor league affiliates prepared him for the S84 Entry Level Draft that occurred shortly thereafter.  Being selected 10^th overall to New York, Malum was brought along to try and steady a ship full of prospects for a team that had not done much to remove its tag as a bottom-feeder over the previous few seasons.  He hopes to further fortify an already solid young defensive core, in hopes to get back into the graces of the playoff company he so enjoyed during the VHLM and VHLE.