The Biography of Up-and-Comer Andrew Skilton

[ace_five_ 126]

As the son of a farmer in Palmerston, Ontario, Canada, Andrew Skilton was destined to be an athlete. From a young age, Andrew dreamed of becoming a professional football player, with the end goal being the NFL. Each day he would wake up with the sun to complete his chores on the farm before heading to school for the day. Once home, Andrew would be running drills until the light had disappeared from the yard and be forced to go inside. This was easy in the spring and summer months, but the snow came early each year and he would have to transition his efforts to his second love, hockey. Throughout the long winter months, Andrew's schedule wouldn't change, his cleats would be replaced by skates and a puck would take the place of his football. It wasn't until Andrew was about 14 years old that he realised his progression in hockey was coming along much faster than football because of the amount of time he was able to practice. It was at this time that he decided to transition primarily to hockey and make his new goal the NHL. 
 

Andrew's late realization meant he was behind the other kids his age in his development. While he hit his growth spurt early and was physically much larger than the other players, his skills left something to be desired. He didn't let that stop his motivation though. Instead of training in the summer for football, Andrew began focusing solely on improving his skills on the ice, although the ice wasn't available. He would stand on the small patch of concrete in front of the garage and stick handle for hours. He would fire pucks from that same spot down the driveway into a net, and the surrounding yard, until he couldn't anymore. Andrew was improving rapidly too, until a serious wrist injury sidelined him for almost an entire calendar year when he was 16 years old. 
 

The road to recovery after his wrist injury was long and unforgiving. Andrew often had to take days, and sometimes weeks, off to make sure he didn't regress too much. He would push himself too hard to return to the level he was at before his injury that he would end up causing another small injury. His development slowed, meaning his chance at junior hockey was thinning quickly and his professional prospects along with it. At the age of 18, Andrew finally transitioned to a lighter training regiment that would focus on strengthening the weaker aspects of his game, both physically and skill-wise. He turned his focus to Europe and trained with the long road ahead in mind. 

 

In just a year, Andrew was trying out for teams in Switzerland and Germany. Weeks were spent in and out of arenas and hotels, trying out for as many teams as he could. He put in his best effort, but was rejected every team, each giving him a variation that said he just wasn't ready yet. Demoralised, Andrew returned home to Canada wondering if his dream of becoming a professional hockey player was over. He spent weeks going over the film of each of his tryouts, scrutinizing every detail to learn what went wrong. With this knowledge he began another new training regiment. 
 

Day in and day out, Andrew trained. A year went by without a call from scouts despite his efforts to get a hold of them. Andrew didn’t let this get him down though, and he continued his schedule as he had his whole life. After another six months, he finally got the call, the Malmö Redhawks were looking for a big stay-at-home defenceman who could neutralize the talent coming up in Sweden. Andrew boarded a plane the following week and after only two days of tryouts, was awarded a spot on the team. 
 

Andrew’s time with Malmö were the best of his hockey career. He quickly picked up the language in order to communicate better with his teammates and got along with each and every one of them. In his third season with the team he was promoted to associate captain, an honour and privilege showcasing his leadership abilities and work ethic. His dedication to his craft and his unique training regiment also proved to be a valuable asset to the team, as he only missed a total of four regular season games in his four seasons, as well as helping his comerades to prevent and recover from injuries. Throughout his four years with the Swedish team, Andrew played 204 games, scoring 13 goals and adding 55 assists while playing an average of 18:22 minutes a night. What really stood out were his defensive capabilities, displaying an impressive +121 total and a whopping 588 blocked shots for his team. 

 

Finally, learning of the VHL at the age of 25, Andrew has decided to take his talents to the upcoming VHLM draft and apply everything he’s learned in his young career!

[LucyXpher 554]

Great bio and welcome to the VHL! Looking forward to seeing how far you can go!

[Scurvy 1,108]

Great bio!  Best of luck!