Talking about Catia Goncalves - Raimo Tuominen

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

CALGARY - Raimo can attribute a lot of his early season success to the breakout of Catia Goncalves. While Catia and Leandro may not have been able to play together on the Wranglers, Raimo is a player trying to emulate the latter’s success as a center, even if he won’t reach that height. However, Raimo admits that Catia deserves tons of credit for elevating the play of the team and himself.

 

“It honestly has always been like that. I remember back on the Oslo Storm during our VHLE days, Catia would always find me and whenever I got a pass to her, she created chances like nobody else. It’s funny because I’m sure many, including myself, imagined she would be the playmaker. And she is a great playmaker but she is an amazing scorer.”

 

Might have been a “surprise” then, but it’s no surprise now. She (as of writing this) leads the league in points and goals. In the assists category, she ranks second in the league.

 

Citing his short stint with the Rome Gladiators, Raimo says that when he was traded from Oslo away from Goncalves, he was struggling to be competitive.

 

“I mean, the Gladiators were an excellent team top to bottom, that’s why they were one of the top teams in the VHLE before and after I joined that season, but for some reason I was really snakebitten. Goes to show you, sometimes you get lucky with linemates that just click with you and elevate you to new heights.”

 

Raimo couldn’t help but smile. “She’s on another level.”