Thoughts on the Season

[dogwoodmaple 380]

Never count out the Vancouver Wolves!

 

We heard the constant boos from our home fans.  We heard all of the talking heads constantly bemoan our performances.  We read all the criticism and hot takes plastered all over social media.   And I'll be honest, I think it was deserved.  We started out the season cold as ice and things were not going well.  Our defense couldn't stop anything, our offense could not find the back of the net, and our entire mojo was off.  Things were just continuing to spiral out of control, but that's when we took a long hard look in the mirror and really decided that we needed to make a change.  We took all of that negative energy from the media, from the fans, and even from inside our own locker room and decided to funnel it into a complete and total turnaround.  

 

As it stands, we're currently in one of the wildcard spots with a week to go in the regular season, thanks to an incredibly hot run that we've been on. In our first 22 games, we were 6-12-4 and occupied the gutter of the league, but not any longer.  We've gone 25-13-4 since then and have established ourselves as one of the hottest teams in the entire league.  Our offense has gelled like no other and we've really been able to predict each other's movements on the ice.  It's led to goal after goal after goal and helped up leapfrog other teams as far as goals scored are concerned.

 

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our front office in all of this. It would have been very easy to them to give up on the season and start giving away players for a rebuild off into the distant future. But they stuck with us, kept us motivated, and put us in the best position possible to make a deep playoff run.  And who knows what can happen if we do clinch our spot in the postseason.  Last year, we entered the playoffs as one of the best teams in the entire league and we all know how that panned out.  So maybe we have a little reverse jinx, opposite vibes type deal that could launch us towards the cup.  And it's also helped to reset our expectations as we enter the final stages of the regular season.  Last year, losing in the first round was a devastating blow that took forever to get over.  Now?  Just making the postseason would be a huge accomplishment considering how we started the season.  And while a chunk of this season was all sorts of bad, this year has gone down as one of my favorites that I've ever spent in Vancouver.  The teamwork, camaraderie, and closeness of the entire squad is something I'll never forget and that'll still be the case even if we falter next week.  Before this season, I hoped to be a Vancouver Wolf for life and that's only been further strengthened after going through this season with my teammates.  I understand that the team has to come first and I may end up playing for other franchises in my career, I will always consider myself a Wolf, first and foremost.  No matter what.

 

542 words

[Frank 5,245]