Welcome to the Watchman - Andrew Skilton

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When I was drafted to Bratislava of the VHLE, the first thing I had to do was google where that was. I knew the experience in the E would be much different than that of the VHLM in Halifax, and my future in the VHL in Toronto.  I now know that Bratislava is an extremely historic city and the capital of Slovakia. The next thing I had to do was buy a plane ticket to Slovakia and get on a language app to learn some new phrases in Slovak. 
When arriving in Bratislava the first thing I noticed was that the photos on the internet didn’t do it justice. The winding roads, the architecture, and the landscape surrounding the city were phenomenal. I took the chance to walk the city a bit before having to get down to business and report to a meeting with GM @rory. 

I was curious what my role would be on the team, especially considering the Watchmen also drafted VHLM star defenceman and Founder’s Cup champion Bollos de Trueno @Thunder. In the meeting, I learned that the goal would be to search for a couple more defence to help bolster the roster, but that I would be earning ice time on one of the top two pairings this season, as well as special teams minutes as well. Great, the pressure was now on to make the most of the remainder of my offseason and get ready to go against the top scorers in the VHLE this season. 

Luckily, de Trueno was available to train with, along with a slew of my old teammates from Halifax in Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito, Connor Simard @Alex99, and Tommy Shelby @Will. We were able to do sprints down the streets in Old Town, get some endurance training done on the various hills around the city, and work on our agility in Bratislavský lesný park, or Bratislava Forest Park. We would make our way to different parts of the city each day to learn our way around while putting in the work for the quickly approaching season. 

After being relied on to be a leader on and off the ice for the 21st, I had to remember to take a step back now and listen to the members of the locker room who were here before me, and learn from their experiences in this league. The VHLE is a stepping stone to the big leagues and when I get there, there will be plenty of people who have been around the block far more times than I have. This experience has been humbling so far and I think it will have a great impact on how I present myself on my future teams, whether or not it is in a leadership capacity. 

When the season finally started, I was both nervous and excited. We would be playing our first game at home against the Oslo Storm, where my even-strength minutes would be played on the second pairing. 

 

I got off to a good start with a blocked shot in the first minute of the game, and laid out a textbook hit on Wladislaw Mintus @mintusaurus before minute five. I continued to pepper the shots on in the first frame and was rewarded with my first goal for the Bratislava Watchmen in the VHLE! Considering I only got 12 last season in the M regular season, this felt like a really good start for me. I ended that first game with two hits and two blocked shots to go along with that goal, though it ended in a loss. In the second game of the season, the former Halifax 21st teammates really came out hard on the Storm, scoring all five of the Watchman’s opening-period goals. I was happy to contribute two more for the team, bringing my early season total to three and creating more plays with five more hits and nine total blocked shots. This first home-and-home really made me feel like I belonged in this league and will give me the confidence to succeed this season.

 

With plenty of games left to play this season, my goal is to be consistent and stay strong on the blue line for my new team. It’s going to be a tough year, but hopefully, we can come out with a Renaissance Cup to show for all our hard work. If I can do that then I should be able to show the Toronto Legion that I am someone they need on their team as soon as possible.

 

(751 words)