Gianfranco Del Rocco and the Weight of Vasteras' Past

[Victor 11,021]

Vasteras - the Blessing and the Curse

 

 

Some cities are steeped in history and you can feel it in the ancient buildings, the cobbled streets, and evidence of lives enjoyed and endured centuries ago. Sometimes trying to make your own history can be daunting in a place whose past is so much larger than you. However, it's those who look to seize such an opportunity are the ones that tend to thrive.
 

Vasteras is a city which has that level of history in a purely Swedish context – one of the country's oldest inhabited places. But its place in VHL lore is arguably even more mythical. Founded by Lucas Tannahill in S1, the Vasteras IK were one of the oddest locations for one of the four European franchises and this only became more pronounced as other teams moved to more recognisable cities. Combined with the unoriginal logo, an identical VHLM team (Vasteras IK J20) which meant this city of some 120,000 took up 12.5% of the two leagues' locations, and a genuine and deeply-rooted hatred for the franchise started to become part of the VHL's fabric. It didn't help that Vasteras' S1 underdog Continental Cup win remained the franchise's only and despite best intentions seemed genuinely cursed, particularly after choosing to trade away Scotty Campbell in S4.
 

Cue the ill-judged move to Madrid, the move back, the curse-breaking second championships for both the Iron Eagles and J20 in S26 and S27, and then even longer cup droughts and moves to Moscow (in the VHLM) and Stockholm (in the VHL). You've probably heard at least some of the stories. By the Vikings' contraction in S57 all Vasteras-based franchises and their successors were removed, permanently it seemed.

 

Enter the VHLE. And of course, a good storyline always finds a way. Naturally, Vasteras won the inaugural Renaissance Cup, it wouldn't have made sense for anyone else too. Of course they weren't favourites for it. Obviously they've not won another championship since despite being overwhelming favourites at least once and being the best regular season on three separate occasions. You couldn't a Vasteras rebirth that is more Vasteras than what they've actually done. It's part of the magic that meant the franchise always had some support to not be killed and then to be brought back.

 

That is the historic franchise that Gianfranco Del Rocco has joined in S93. Losing in Vasteras isn't uncommon but isn't permanent, but valiantly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory certainly seems to be. The Iron Eagles are considered favourites by some to end their 12-season cup drought in S93 (in truth, barely even a cup drought by Vasteras' standards) and certainly have the players for it. Del Rocco has yet to win much with two first-round exits in both Miami and San Diego and to be honest a lacklustre time in the VHLM in general, not even hitting the point-per-game mark and being overshadowed by multiple teammates. Based on the potential, the skillset, and the alleged pedigree, he still went early in both the VHL and VHLE drafts but there is something to prove. So far, Del Rocco leads Vasteras in scoring and seems to be settling in but the city is quite welcoming at first, when expectations are low. The real challenge comes when the pressure rises, when it feels like this might be the season. The problem is Vasteras has broken the curse just enough times to keep the belief alive, but rarely enough that the sense of dread creeps in before you've even lost the game. Is Del Rocco made of the sterner stuff that can survive that pressure cooker, especially come playoff time? He has a lot to prove to his doubters and equally an enormous weight of history and potentially career-making legacy to contend with.

 

Hello Europe indeed... try to make it out alive Gianfranco.