Claimed:Slumping Collier Gets Extension – “I have a ton of pressure now”

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Slumping Collier Gets Extension – “I have a ton of pressure now”

 

 

Sophomore slump. Two words that describe a dreaded phenomenon young hockey players can experience – or just an urban legend depending on what side of the argument you believe. David Collier of the Cologne Express has no idea if there is statistical evidence to prove that there actually is such a thing as a sophomore slump, but he sure has experienced his personal version of it this year. On a team full of bright spots and pleasant surprises, Collier has been one of the very few disappointments this season. While the Express constantly improved through the regular season and ended up second in their Conference, Collier seemed to get gradually get worse. After a decent start to the season, he ended up with only 35 points which was one less than in his rookie year on a team that didn’t have as much success. Is it fatigue? Complacency? Did Colliers opponents figure out his game? Or was he never as good as the people in Cologne liked to believe? Collier himself certainly doesn’t seem to have an explanation.

 

“I have no idea what happened to my game over the course of this season. I played big minutes, often with our two best forwards in Kameron Taylor and Reggie Dunlop, yet haven’t been able to put up any significant numbers myself. I don’t think that I’ve put in less work than I did last season and in fact we are much more successful team than we were a year ago. But I can’t figure out why almost everyone on our team improved while I seemed to take a step back. Maybe it was just a down year, possibly a coincidence? I don’t know, let’s hope so…”

 

 

Colliers subpar play continued into the playoffs, where his numbers took even more of a hit despite his team being able to beat Davos in 5 games to win its first playoff series in franchise history. Also adding to it starting the series against the heavily favored Helsinki Titans 1-1. So far Collier only has one Assist through 7 games and is the only minus players on the team with a -1. He seems to try to make up for his lack of production by being more involved physically, showcased by his 15 Hits which is good for second on the team, but he also has the lowest numbers of Shots among all Express forwards (15) and not a single goal to show for yet.

 

Yet the Cologne Express don’t seem to have lost their trust into Collier. Even though the young German hasn’t been playing well at all recently, there has been no public criticism from the organization and the coaching stuff has actually kept him on the teams first line. For some reason even though Collier himself is slumping, Kameron Taylor and Reggie Dunlop seem to be thriving with him on their wing. The most surprising news regarding Collier came about two weeks ago though, when the Cologne Express announced that they had re-signed the pending FA to a new two-year contract that pays him $4 million for each of the next two seasons. This payday for Collier certainly came unexpected for many of the team’s fans and the German media, as it could make Collier the highest paid Express player in the second year of his contract. That’s when superstar Kameron Taylor’s salary drops from $4.5 to $3.75 million. More than a few fans expressed their discontent with the contract as they feel that Collier’s performance isn’t anywhere near being worth that kind of money yet. The journalists on the other hand voiced their concerns that the contract could even cause trouble and jealousy in the Express locker room, since many of the players who played at a higher level than Collier recently, now make less money than him. Collier himself didn’t want to comment on that, all he had to say was:

 

”I’m thrilled that the Express organization is giving me another chance despite my recent struggles. I know it is a big commitment for them and I promise that I won’t let my team down. I have experienced both highs and lows now and I think that will make me stronger in the future. This new contract certainly puts a ton of pressure on me to perform right out of the gate next season, and I know that won’t be easy, but I think that I’m stronger now than I was when I first entered the league. And feeling the support of my teammates and the trust of my GM goes a long way in helping me overcoming my current struggles, I’m blessed to be able to play with such a great group of guys here in Cologne and I really expect this team to be able to do some great things in the future – maybe even this season already.”

 

 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Content: 3/3 - While a sophmore slump may not happen to everyone, I agree with you that it's safe to say that Collier had one this season. However, Collier has improved in practice so that hard work should pay off in the games eventually. The Express had their best season ever this year and should only get better next season with improvement in their young players like Collier.

 

Grammar: 1.5/2 - I'm a little confused at a couple of these mistakes since you did them correctly in other parts of the media spot.

 

their Conference = their conference

Colliers opponents = Collier's opponents

Colliers subpar = Collier's subpar

Also adding to it starting the series against the heavily favored Helsinki Titans 1-1. = In addition, the Express have started the series against the heavily favored...

one Assist = one assist

only minus players = only minus player

his 15 Hits = his 15 hits

Shots  = shots

teams first = team's first

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Solid.

 

Overall: 5.5/6

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

Content: 3/3 - Don't worry too much about your sophomore slump, I too just went through a bad season in my second year in the VHLM. As long as you keep getting tpe each week, Collier will start producing the points. The Express is a good young team, and as the players around you get better as well, so will your player.

 

Grammar: 1.5/2 - Flyers got this.

 

Appearance: 1/1 - Looks good.

 

Overall: 6/6

 

Final: 6/6

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