Goodbye Europe

[VattghernCZ 976]

With the Kings' early elimination from the VHLM postseason, Grønvold was looking for other things to clear his head before getting into the grind again. So this season, he was more than happy to visit Czechia with his adoptive parents. But he didn't stay in the country for long, just long for his old man to introduce him to the products of about 27 of his favorite Czech breweries.

 

Santy had different plans. This was before the VHLE announced the end of their partnership with the VHL. Grønvold was in Europe for a road trip to visit every city hosting a VHLE team. And even though he said he wanted to take a break from hockey for a few weeks, he was already thinking about his future season in Europe and setting expectations himself.

 

Hello Europe.

 

He fully expected to start strong and be a dominant defensive force against tougher competition. He didn't hope to reproduce his VHLM offensive output but was prepared to be the penalty kill anchor and a shutdown force deployed against the toughest opposition, logging close to 30 minutes every night. His expectation was maybe 50-60 points, 150-200 shots blocked and about 200 hits, and maybe some love in the top defender voting? Even though he knew that would be tough, he'd probably have to compete against Harrington.

 

As for his team expectations, more than anything, he hoped his VHLE team would have more active locker room than his old man's had. Wann Kerr once told him he had almost quit hockey because of the almost dead LR; it had been tough on someone new to hockey. Santy now knew what to expect and definitely wouldn't have thoughts like this, but still, a similar experience wouldn't have been great. Kerr's team had made it into the finals but ultimately lost; Grønvold would have hoped to be able to take the next step.

 

The news about the VHLE caught Santy just as he was driving back to Czechia to meet up with Wann and Marzena before flying back to Vancouver.

 

Goodbye Europe.