Farewell San Diego

[Fradin99 96]

Former Marlins Alternate Captain Fradin McGryer has officially left sunny San Diego this morning, bound for Vasteras to meet up with the team who drafted him second over all in the VHLE draft this past Monday. McGryer however will not be alone on this new team as fellow Marlin Shubham Anand was also picked up by the Swedish club. The Massachusetts native had taken the time to meet with San Diego reporters one last time before his departure. 

"...It's the same feeling I had coming into this very organization at the start of season 88. The nerves are going, you want nothing more than to start hot and impress the guys around you, especially the guys who've been there and earned their stripes for the team already. It'll be a lot easier knowing Scuba (Shubham Anand) will be joining me out there. He's a very calm collected guy and I think he's exactly what I need to remind myself to stay grounded in the European League. If his offensive prowess and my physical game hold up at this level of play then well.. a lot of teams are going to be in trouble."

McGryer is the only defenseman listed on Vasteras' public roster so far, not an unfamiliar situation for him as the same thing was true about the previous Marlins team before they added players like Marty Byrd and Imthereforyou. The lack of other names on this sheet shows signs of Vasteras possibly using these S89 draft players as a start of a rebuild. Whether or not these two prospects will manage to stay down in the VHLE without their shared VHL team Calgary calling them up is highly doubted in most analysts minds. Though this hasn't seemed to bother either player as they've both been nothing but positive when asked about the seemingly thin roster they're being added to. 

McGryer had been taking the offseason to reevaluate his skills, going to several offseason training camps and shifting his focus. Our VHL team even reworking most of his numbered attribute stats to predict where his game will end up in the intermediary European league. 

"...I just think you need to be constantly bettering yourself and learning from the mistakes of the past. I took a lot of penalties in the M, and I don't necessarily see that being reduced too much. I'm very physical and it just winds up that way depending on your refs that night. But for this coming season i've honed and practice my slapshot a bit, and really worked on my defensive pressure in our zone. I did a lot of drills with Gauter (Oliver Gauthier) before he left and unfortunately we won't get to play together. But when you practice from an elite talent like himself and get the goalie's perspective on the defensemen in front of him I think that's where you really improve on the mentality of the position. I mean, who can tell you the little things you did wrong better than the guy standing right behind you?"

McGryer is set to report to Vasteras' facility tomorrow evening, and will be ready just in time for the start of the season. It's yet to be released who his line mates will be, but you expect your second overall pick to be able to handle these sorts of changes in a season. Will McGryer shake his Goon reputation in the E? Quite unlikely, but this truly will not be answered until the season unfolds. 


582 words for 6/18/23

[JCarson 730]

Article review:  This is a great article.  The emotion of being drafted and moving leagues and cities is evident in this article.  The unknown of the VHLE and the limited players currently adds to the angst discussed.  As anther player who started with San Diego and passed through Vasteras I understand how that can be both exciting and a little scary.  Keep up the great work writing these articles from your players perspective, good luck in Vasteras.  I give this article a 9/10