iRockstar 307 Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/headshots/nhl/players/full/3114732.png PLAYER NAME: MATHIEU BAPTISTE HEIGHT: SIX FOOT ONE WEIGHT: ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE POUNDS BORN IN: MARIEVILLE, QUEBEC POSITION: CENTER HANDEDNESS: RIGHT FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: NHL SERIES FAVORITE VHL SUPERSTAR: RYAN SULLIVAN CURRENT VHLM TEAM: BERN ROYALS GENERAL DESCRIPTION Mathieu Baptiste is a very typical child that comes from a very good family. His life has changed in very big ways growing up in which has lead him to many different paths. Currently, Mathieu goes to college and aspires to be a top VHL superstar, with another dream to graduate with honours in his current program of Graphic Design. As mentioned before, Mathieu has had some struggles in the past with gender identity when he took the bold leap of transitioning from a female to a male at an early age. Many of his coaches, friends and family have really made this transition so much easier and have really put aside any type of doubt and worry Mathieu has had in terms of the transition. When it comes to being born in Quebec, Mathieu and his family had been very fortunate when it came to money. They never had to buy food stamps, never had to borrow money and the family had never pondered the idea of calling themselves broke. On ice, Mathieu is known as a very outspoken and charismatic individual, one that is said to have leadership qualities and the potential to help a team succeed deep in both a regular season and playoff opportunity. Mathieu hopes to continue to excel in his areas of expertise, which most would say are his ability to shoot, skate and win face-offs at a professional level. All in all, Mathieu isn’t some privileged kid that thinks too highly of himself, but he knows that anyone would be very happy to have him on their team. But enough about him personally, let’s learn a little more about the hockey aspect of Baptiste. CLAIMED AT LAST, THANK GOD! Baptiste was quite a late addition to the season forty-four player chart, however he decided to take his talent to the waiver wire in hopes to be claimed in time to get some regular season games in. His dreams came true just one day later when the Brampton Blades decided it was time for the center to get his first taste of the minor leagues. On July 29th, 2015, just one day after he was claimed off of waivers, he made his debut with the Blades against the Watchmen in which the Blades pulled off a win with Baptiste tallying his first point, an assist, through the game. Below are the full statistics for the rest of that regular season with the team and just how good Baptiste looked despite being fresh off the waiver wire. GAMES: 22 | GOALS: 2 | ASSISTS: 8 | POINTS: 10 | FACEOFF: 59.50% So what can we take from this? Well it’s obvious that Baptiste wasn’t extremely crazy on offense, but he did produce. He was not afraid to pass the puck which is something a lot of his coaches would have claimed to not be his strongest game point, however in this game, he improved it enough to be extremely good at that asset. As well, we can take away from all of this that his face-offs were extremely good, winning over half of his entire face-offs, which obviously helps his team. Baptiste would finish off his season with the Blades and head into his draft where he would find out his fate for the current season. AND WITH THE TENTH OVERALL PICK… The Bern Royals proudly selected Mathieu Baptiste and his family couldn’t have been happier. As Baptiste accepted his jersey, he knew he was selected by one of the top contenders of this season and so far, they’ve been nothing but impressive. Baptiste was one of the many picks the Royals made in the draft and was impressed to go as high as he did. However Baptiste wanted to make his time in Bern count, and while he wasn’t going to be the top dog relied on in the season, his work ethic was making him seem like he would certainly be one of the big guys. While paired with top pick Zach Parechkin, Baptiste has been on fire, and again we look at some very impressive stats from just a little bit of this season. GAMES: 18 | GOALS: 9 | ASSISTS: 20 | POINTS: 29 } FACEOFF: 67.43% So what have we learned when it comes to looking at this new season? Baptiste has improved, and it shows in his stats and in the players surrounding him. Baptiste isn’t the best player on his team, but he certainly is far from the worst. One thing that has transitioned from the previous season is his playmaking ability. In only eighteen games, less than last season, Baptiste has tallied twelve more assists than he had and seven more goals. What’s even more impressive is that he has a team-leading 67.43% face-off percentage, which is insane for such a young kid. This tells us that he’s ready to compete in a major league environment and won’t take long to get into the groove. PROS Skating - A really fast player is someone that a lot of teams desire, and Baptiste is going to have no lack of speed in his game. He's a smart skater that knows how to find holes in the oppositions defence, as well as burst at very unexpected times, causing the opposition to slip and not be able to catch up. When it comes to his overall speed potential, think of someone in the NHL like Carl Hagelin or Marian Gaborik. Both men aren't extremely tall and both men aren't extremely beefy, but when it comes to breakout potential and pure speed, they've got it both, and Baptiste does too. Face-Offs - As a center, Baptiste knows one of his main focuses should always be his ability to take a face-off, and this is one of his best statistics. Baptiste is always practicing better ways to take his draws and it's coming in handy quick. From a backhand to a forehand or maybe even a stick lift, Baptiste has a cupboard full of ways to lift the stick and get the job done. When it comes to being in center ice during the face-offs, or in either ends of the ice, you can be rest assured that the guy you've got taking the draws is going to be a good one. Passing - While shooting was going to be his primary focus when it came to his offensive abilities, it's obvious that his ability to pass is far superior than anyone including himself ever thought imaginable. Baptiste has been lights out with getting the puck over to his fellow teammates and if you ask them, I'm sure they'll tell you that's perfectly fine with them. When it comes to passing, Baptiste is very precise with his abilities and knows his limitations, he is very unlikely to make a pass if it doesn't make sense, or if the lane isn't open. He is very rarely one to turn over the puck as well, and this is a huge factor in creating opportunities over losing them and a very good asset to have. CONS Hitting - While hitting isn't a really huge factor when it comes to being named the best or the worst player, a lot of people would like to be known for their bone-crushing hits, but Baptiste at this current time is not one of them. While he'd like to gain some more weight and use his large frame to his advantage, it's just not a primary focus or something he feels he needs to rush to achieve. While he's always working on gaining muscle and as the cool kids call it getting 'gains', his offensive production and face-off wins are currently the big focus and will likely continue to stay that way. Until he makes it deep into the major league, do not expect to see Baptiste hitting any major trophies in the hit department. Shooting - Don't freak out, this isn't going to be a huge problem when it comes to the ability to win or lose a game, and Baptiste will still have a lot of goals under his belt, however this isn't going to be his primary focus. A lot of the time as stated above in his pros, he'll be passing the puck, he's just learned to control the puck a lot better when passing, thus that'll be his primary offensive focus. When it comes to being passed to and having his teammates set him up, expect some nice goals in the back of the net, but he won't be the next top scorer in the league, maybe number two or three, but certainly not number one in that department. Penalty Shot - Some people like a guy that can simply go into a penalty shot situation or a shootout situation and win the game. While Baptiste would love to play the role of hero, it just won't be the case this early on in his career. With his focuses being elsewhere, this ability will sit on the backburner just a tad bit longer until he develops his other skills and assets. When he feels it's time to continue learning this ability however, we're positive he'll be lights out and he'll be unstoppable when called on. A lot of teams will likely see Baptiste in their top five for the shootout, but maybe as the fourth or fifth shooter, he won't be number one or two in the lineup at all for those situations. Edited September 20, 2015 by iRockstar Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/24090-claimedbaptiste-rpfinal-88/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRockstar 307 Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 *on phone. The coding won't fix, it's supposed to be a nice firebrick red and the image won't work. Sorry :/ Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/24090-claimedbaptiste-rpfinal-88/#findComment-271462 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylrad 178 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Overview 2/2 Everything needed is there Pros & Cons 3/3 solid Grammar 2/2 Not much to find Presentation 1/1 good enough Overall 8/8 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/24090-claimedbaptiste-rpfinal-88/#findComment-271843 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick 4,741 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Claimed Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/24090-claimedbaptiste-rpfinal-88/#findComment-272035 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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