Senior Admin Will 4,660 Posted August 24, 2015 Senior Admin Share Posted August 24, 2015 ALEKSI KOPONEN Birthplace: Helsinki, Finland Age: 21 Height: 5'11 Weight: 180 lbs. Position: Center Handedness: Left EARLY LIFE Aleksi Koponen was born and raised in Helsinki, Finland. A hockey hotspot, as evidenced by the VHL's Helsinki Titans, it took little time for Koponen to be exposed to the sport and at the young age of six, Aleksi was playing hockey nearly seven days a week. Aleksi was born to two loving parents. His mother was a nurse and his father was an engineer with the city, they lived well-off in a upscale part of Helsinki. As a young boy, Aleksi would be out on the backyard rink in the wee hours of the morning to get in some practice before school. According to his mother, she practically had to drag him off the rink and to the car each morning to get him to school. When he returned home, he would sit at the kitchen table and promptly complete his homework, after which he would once again return to the rink. Fairly early on, it became clear that Aleksi had something special with hockey. The months and the years went by, but Aleksi's love and dedication for hockey never dwindled. He played in every league that was available to him and was consistently the dominant player in the league. HIGH SCHOOL Although he played year in and year out, and everyone realized there was something special about him, his first real big break came when he joined the high school team at his Finnish school. After being selected to captain the team, Koponen went on to completely dominate the league with his playmaking and sniping abilities. This was one of the most competitive leagues in the country at the time, and I don't think even Aleksi himself thought he would make such fools of his opponents. Despite being small in stature and not very physical, Aleksi has a knack for using his agility to outwit any physical threats and that became abundantly clear during that high school season where virtually every opposing player wanted to rip his head off. His dominance continued the next two seasons (his two final years of high school) and, at the conclusion of the season, there were scouts lining up to talk to him. Koponen pictured with his high-school team. DRAPER PLAYER AGENCY Aleksi knew a long time ago that he would one day be playing hockey professionally. It was more so a question of when and where, rather than if. One particular agency that stood out to him was the Draper Player Agency. This agency was just recently founded by former Helsinki Titans defenseman and captain, Don Draper. The choice for Aleksi was easy - he signed with the agency, and began preparing for his debut in the VHL Minors. Another appealing aspect of this particular agency is that they have a controlling stake in the Helsinki Titans franchise. This means that they could use certain GM rules to have Aleksi bypass the drafting process and move straight to the Helsinki team. This would be ideal for Koponen, not only because it's his favorite team, but also because he would not have to relocate away from his parents and friends. Perhaps the hardest part for Koponen was throwing away the offers he received from the VHL's two rival leagues - the NHL and the SHL. Both were appealing, but passing up the opportunity the Draper Agency presented would have been plain stupid. Aleksi pictured with mentor and agent, Don Draper. PREPARING FOR PRO After being signed and entered into the VHLM Dispersal Draft, Koponen had some time between then and the draft. He was picked up on waivers by the Ottawa Lynx, but didn't expect nor receive much playing time. This was fine with Aleksi, as he wanted to focus on his training before the actual draft. The agency of course helped him, providing him with everything they had at their disposal. For two long months, Aleksi spent nearly every single day at the gym and at the rink. He had personal trainers, nutritionists, coaches, essentially anything he could possibly need was right there. The hard work seemingly payed off, as he continued to get better when he did play with Ottawa and his draft stock skyrocketed. VHLM As Season 43 ended and the VHL Dispersal Draft approached, scouts clearly took notice of Koponen's hard work and dedication to playing at the professional level. The clear front-runner in the forwards category, Aleksi was astounded and ecstatic to hear his name called first overall by the Yukon Rush. Not only was he thrilled to be picked first, but he was also overjoyed to play with the likes of defensive prospect Phil Hamilton, fellow forward Marquis Hyvarinen, and, later, top goaltender Greg Clegane. As the season began, it was clear from the get-go that Koponen's game was strides ahead of his performance the previous season as a waiver pickup. He finished the season at top of the Rush roster with an impressive 61 goals and 60 assists, for a total of 121 points. The Rush easily made the playoffs at second in North America, only under the strong Saskatoon Wild. In the first round, Yukon breezed by the Brampton Blades with relative ease, taking the series 4-2. In the second round, however, the Rush lost their footing big time and we're swept out of the playoffs in just four games by Saskatoon. Koponen performed fairly well, garnering 15 points in 10 playoff games, but this was disappointing for Yukon nonetheless and was largely blamed on mismanagement. OUTLOOK The outlook for Aleksi Koponen is very good. By all accounts, he looks like he will one day be one of the elite forwards in the VHL. In Season 45, he'll be joined the young roster of the Helsinki Titans where he will look improve his game and restore glory to the franchise that he's loved since he was just a young child. That being said, there are still things he needs to work on. For example, his faceoffs are not where they need to be if he expects to be a top-tier centerman in the VHL. Although, if his improvement to date is any indication, we expect Koponen will do just fine. eaglesfan036 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/23221-aleksi-koponen-bio-final-1010/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,602 Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 rigged Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/23221-aleksi-koponen-bio-final-1010/#findComment-260004 Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,602 Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 rigged Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/23221-aleksi-koponen-bio-final-1010/#findComment-260005 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahma 1,428 Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 (edited) There are no high schools in Finland. Edited August 24, 2015 by Ahma stevo 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/23221-aleksi-koponen-bio-final-1010/#findComment-260079 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Admin Will 4,660 Posted August 24, 2015 Author Senior Admin Share Posted August 24, 2015 I meant to say 'Upper Secondary School' Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/23221-aleksi-koponen-bio-final-1010/#findComment-260262 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tylar 219 Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Overview: 5/5 - Lovely biography on Koppa. I know Marcel Faux looks forward to playing with him in Helsinki Grammar: 3/3 - ew well-off in a upscale part of Helsinki. = well-off in an upscale part of Helsinki Presentation: 1/1 - Lovely Over 1000 Words? 1/1 Overall: /10 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/23221-aleksi-koponen-bio-final-1010/#findComment-261544 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahma 1,428 Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 Lovely biography on Koppa. LOL Koppa hah! Tylar 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/23221-aleksi-koponen-bio-final-1010/#findComment-261546 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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