Head Moderator Baozi 1,635 Posted November 21, 2013 Head Moderator Share Posted November 21, 2013 XXX Looking to Secure a Playoff Berth www.VHLHockeynews.com It is an optional day today. Most of the team has gone off to take a rest, go out for the day or just stay away from the rink. None of this even enters Xin’s mind as he works out with a handful of other players in the Saskatoon athletic center. The sweat glistens off his forehead as he moves side to side with the medicine ball on a stretch of court, his grunts resounding off the walls as he focuses towards his singular purpose; he has to be better. The Saskatoon Wild are only a few points away from clinching a playoff berth, lead by the man nicknamed as the Titan on the ice. With his giant six foot eight frame and strong playing ability, teams have been hard pressed to contain him on the ice at times. Playing a style very similar to that of former NHL star Eric Lindros, teams have been finding out the hard way that when XXX gets going, he can be unstoppable. “He can beat you so many different ways, he can play a power game and protect the puck from anyone almost. He is strong on his feet and taking him down is like trying to take down a wild bull. But that’s not everything, if we play him physical, he has the skills to dangle you if you over commit. He has great hands and if you are not careful, he’ll just skip around you like a pylon. He may not be on the same level as Lindros, but they definitely play a really similar game. It is an entire team effort to keep him off the scoresheet really.” – Anonymous Coach So what is next on the Titan’s plan? He takes a short break to give us a few words in broken English as he takes a drink from a bottle to hydrate in between. We also filled in a few words here and there. “Well we have to keep the pace, its hard playing all an entire season putting everything on the line. But we have no choice here, we have to make the playoffs, anything less would be unacceptable. We’ve worked long and hard to get to this point so we just have to push a little more, everyone including myself. I have to hold off on the fun and games for a little bit. It has been ages since I got to wrestle a polar bear here. I tell you guys, those things are cute as hell but when they get mad at you, it gets really ugly.” – XXX Yes he said polar bear, though likely to see if we could understand or not as he grinned to see our reaction. We chuckled for a bit before he continued, mentioning his major junior experience. “It’s tough here, playing so many games against better players especially. But it’s fun for sure, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The team is relying on me and I have to be in the best possible condition for our upcoming games. When I was playing with McDavid, I didn’t have nearly this amount of pressure but I think this is helping me focus more on developing my game. Also we weren’t a playoff team in either of the two season I played in the CHL, and having a chance at playoffs here I think has an effect as well. Call it what you want, but I want to play to win, I don’t know if I would have the patience to sit around again on a rebuild team.” – XXX No more polar bear jokes this time around, just some more mindless dribble and polite chit chat before we watched him get back at his training. Oddly enough, I think we took more out of his talking about wanting to win than anything else in the chat. Certainly not something unexpected, most players want to win everything they can. But not too many have the stomach or patience to go through struggling times with teams. Seems like this may be a concerning feature for XXX as well. That being said, without him, the Wild may not exactly be in the playoff spot that they currently are sitting in. XXX leads the league in first star selections at 22 and is looking every bit the top prospect that scouts are alluding to. Baozi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Tortorella 2,653 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Content: 3/3 - XXX and Brick Wahl are a huge reason why Saskatoon will more than likely make the playoffs this season. If Saskatoon wins the Founder's Cup, maybe we can get a video of XXX with the cup hanging out with a polar bear. Grammar: 2/2 - Just a couple. lead by = led by pace, its = pace. It's Appearance: 1/1 - There can only be one Lindros clone. Overall: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomsday 4,034 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Content: 3/3 - If you aspire to be Eric Lindros, you're A-OK in my book. Grammar: 2/2 - Flyers gotcha covered, broseph. Appearance: 1/1 - Because Lindros. Overall: 6/6 - YOU NOT COOKIN'! FINAL: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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