TheFlash 317 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) Paul Ready: The first Swiss superstar brings his talents to the VHL Paul Ready was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1992. Twenty-two years later, the player we've all been hearing about since his first U-16 tournament, is looking to put his country on the hockey map by becoming it's first hockey superstar. Ready suited up the past three seasons with his home town club, the Geneva Griffins The dream of playing in the VHL has been in the making for many years. "It all started when I was about 7 years old", says Ready. "I got the chance to make a trip to Davos, about five hours from my home. I fell in love with the game of hockey and made it my goal to play in the VHL". Ready's parents and coaches alike soon found that he had a certain knack for the game, and seemed to be a natural. "It just came to him", Ready's minor hockey coach Micheal Brunner said. "He picked it up almost right away and was doing things at nine years old that I haven't seen thirteen or fourteen year olds do." Ready, age 10. At the age of thirteen, he played in his first of three Under-16 tournaments. Switzerland generally never made it out of the quarter-finals, losing to the high power European countries like Sweden and Russia. This year was different. In a thrilling performance, Paul Ready carried his team to an unprecedented third place finish. "I was so nervous. I was just a boy, playing with and against mostly fifteen and sixteen year olds", Ready said. He notched eight goals and dished out nine assists in the five tournament games. The rest is history. He would continue to represent his country in every major event thereafter. The biggest honour came at the age of 17, when he traveled to Vancouver, Canada, to play for the Swiss in the Winter Olympics. "To play for the country I loved, at 17, was such an honour. I still get butterflies thinking about it. We played some amazing hockey, and I was so proud of what we accomplished.". Switzerland ended up advancing to the quarterfinals, only to lose to the United States 2-0. Paul Ready celebrates a third period goal against Canada in a 5-4 shootout loss Now 22, Ready feels that it's due time to make his dream come true. "I went home, grew into a man after those Olympics". Despite many offers by GMs to come over earlier, he felt that he needed time to perfect his game. He played four seasons in the Swiss A league, amassing 87 goals and 65 assists in 110 games. Winning the championship this past Spring with the Griffins let him know that it was time. "I can't wait for the new challenge. My drive to be the best will push me beyond any level I have played at in my career." Edited November 21, 2014 by TheFlash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooningitup 1,290 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Sounds like someone belongs in Davos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlash 317 Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 Haha that would make sense eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Trifecta 1,896 Posted November 23, 2014 Share Posted November 23, 2014 Content: 2.5/3 This was rather short. It's interesting to see how the leagues first Swiss player will perform. Can he handle the pressure, or will he choke? Grammar: 2/2 Didn't notice Appearance: 1/1 Final: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank 5,057 Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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