Mikko Tuomala - Rookie Experience

[flyersfan345 75]

 

Mikko Tuomala, the long awaited young defenseman from Finland, finally enters the arena. Tonight is his VHL debut against Calgary. He knows this will be a season of growth for the Stars, but at the very least, he hopes to put up good rookie numbers, and show the teams that passed on him that they made a mistake. Tuomala had thought for a long time about this moment. He remembers first his friend Pelayo Bolivar, who first taught him that tonight was even a possibility and tonight also debuts in the VHL - for London. Next, his GM in Halifax, Lucy, who took a chance on signing him and putting him on the first pair early in his VHLM career. On his pair in Halifax was another one of tonight's rookies making his debut, Kazuma Satou, now a center for Moscow, who also was a critical piece of leadership in his locker room.

 

On his way to the home locker room, Tuomala fondly remembers the moments that led him to this point: his VHLM debut, and his first goal in that game, a loss to Philadelphia. He thinks of that painful loss to Ottawa that would put away their season and send him packing. He remembers draft day, being upset that he slipped to 11, but happy to be drafted with the faces he's about to see. Only two days later, that anger from slipping to 11th dissipated when he heard his named called #1 overall to Saskatoon in the VHLM draft. He reminisced about how sweet it was sweet it was to pull off an upset win in round one with the club that drafted him. Finally, he thinks of another memory: scoring the game tying goal in the World Junior Championship to send it to overtime, only to dish the puck to his friend Bolivar for the overtime winner. That 11th overall pick, after only one season, is now top five from his draft class.

 

As he reminisces, he sees the door, adorned with the black, white, and gray logo of the team that drafted him. He stops momentarily to admire it before he walks in. Immediately he sees the same faces he celebrated with on draft night and labored with in training camp. He's learned immensely from the professionals on his team at his past two training camps, and notes their pregame rituals. He sees Wally Lose getting ready, the veteran who prepared him for this moment in camp, and who truly had it much worse going in, with family expectations to meet. He notes the joyful attitude of Roger Eagles, a criminally underrated goaltender in this league. The presence of these vets put him at ease, but only momentarily.

 

Slowly, Mikko walks to his locker. Truthfully, even thinking of those moments on the walk in, he cannot believe it. The placard above reads “44 - D - Tuomala” with that iconic black jersey underneath. He sits in his stall, laces up his skates, and begins to pray silently. His eyes remain closed as he loses himself in thought - ignoring the skunk-like smell emanating from a locker of at least one fellow rookie nearby. Despite his veneer of solitude, he can't stay nervous for too long. A stick tap on the shinpad shows the face of his long awaited defense partner, Bubbles: “It's f***in’ go time, bud.”

 

Go time it is. The wait is over. They head down the tunnel as the lights on the ice begin to show. There's techno music blasting as the booming voice of the public address announcer echoes. The nerves begin to cease: “It's just another game,” Tuomala thought to himself. “Vain toinen ottelu.”

 

The next few moments are a blur. Names are announced, anthems ring out. None of it matters once the lights come on and he hops over the boards, skates behind his veteran forward teammates, looks over at Bubbles, and turns his attention towards the referee. The puck is dropped and we're off. Mikko Tuomala and Bubbles Lafleur's VHL careers have begun.

 

Off the draw, it feels like a standard shift, until 17 seconds in when he commits his first penalty, a two minute minor for tripping. Thankfully, his teammates kill it off, but shortly thereafter comes an avalanche. Calgary scores two goals in the second half of the first. Later on in the second period, Calgary scores another two. The Stars go into the 3rd period down 4-0, where the lone bright spot comes: Tuomala feeds it to Lafleur off the pass from Lose. Lafleur takes it, shoots, and scores to make it 4-1. The two rookie defensemen will share their first VHL point in what ultimately shakes out as a 5-1 loss. Tuomala heads back into the locker room fueled by rage. He begins a string of expletives in his native Finnish “VITUN PASKA! PERKE-” before he is cut off by a veteran, noting that this will happen countless times in a career, even on a good team. Mikko finished his first game bruised and shattered. His four blocked shots and an assist are nowhere near enough, especially taking four PIM in the loss. Onto the next one - a rematch in LA. This one will go no better. Two more blocked shots, thankfully with no penalty minutes, but in a 2-0 shutout loss. The frustration is mounting for the young defenseman. This team needs offense, he notes, and with his VHLM graduation, he is able to aim for more of it.

At this point, Tuomala still awaits his first win and his first goal. He understands these will be big milestones, and awaits them perhaps with too much anticipation. A difficult start to a great career, but when will the greatness come?

 

 

Edited yesterday at 12:17 AM by flyersfan345
Grammatical error

[flyersfan345 75]

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