Mike Szatkowski Jr.

[Mike 708]

While spending virtually his entire life in the United States Mike Szatkowski Jr. was born in Canada.  At the time his father VHL Hall of Famer Mike Szatkowski had taken a player/GM role for the Toronto Legion.  After spending two seasons in Toronto as a player and some additional time as a GM they left the city.  The family took a short stint away from the game of hockey and moved back to western, NY.  You can't exactly shut that part of your life away though.  Hockey DNA is forever imprinted within every member of this family.

 

 

The family moved from place to place taking on different projects from coaching, commercials, inspirational seminars, and various other appearances.  There wasn’t much down time to really get into a traditional living situation.  It was mostly hotels and traveling no time for traditional schooling or hockey leagues.  From school to school and place to place there wasn’t ever a real chance for structure.  Losing out on many childhood and teen opportunities were rewarded with plenty of time spent around and practicing with other VHL stars.

 

In an effort to differentiate himself and specifically knowing he couldn’t top his father’s success specifically at the center position he took a different approach.  At a young age Szatkowski Jr. decided to go completely opposite and play goalie to blocks shots rather than to take them.  While an unexpected decision he would line up vs. his father a VHL great on a daily basis.  That kind of valuable competition and experience is priceless.  After you play vs. a superstar facing your peers just doesn't seem quite as difficult any longer.

 

Before Szatkowski Jr. could start his bid into the VHL though he had to at least get an education to fall back on.  The average VHL career is less than eight seasons with virtually no one making it ever past that.  Hockey isn’t a permanent career for anyone even the greats.  Eventually you have to step away from the career of playing and that was the deal if he wanted to try to play professionally.  After graduating at the age of twenty Szatkowski Jr. was given a shot with the Ottawa Lynx a minor league team in the VHL. 

 

 

At first it was mostly based on the merit of the name but quickly the league realized he was a prospect worthy of the VHL level.  In seventy-two games this season Szatkowski came out with sixty wins.  His save percentage was close to ninety-one and the G.A.A was 2.16.  Those numbers are great for a minor league player but it was largely in part to the depth on the Lynx roster.  Look for real signs of potential next season when he is called up to the Riga Reign the team his father currently is the GM for.

 

Pros

 

• Hybrid – Szatkowski is uses the hybrid style of goaltending.  This means that he can use both the traditional stand-up or butterfly method when needed.  This general understanding gives him tremendous control no matter which style he uses.  It keeps the shooter guessing and helps prevent tells in his stance.
• Experience – Having spent a ton of time around former VHL players Szatkowski comes into the league as a seasoned rookie.  Spending his entire life around pro players has given him a great edge in that he knows the speed of the game.  When you are a young boy into a teen and play hockey with retired VHL Hall of Famers including your father it is a foundation that money can’t buy.
• Reaction Time – This is just a great natural gift given to Mike.  Sure you can improve yourself with a good diet, rest, and exercise but that can only take you to a certain point.  Szatkowski just has this talent that he was born with able to diagnose the situation quickly and react.  From sight to understanding and then actually taking the steps to react is just amazingly fast.

 

Cons

 

• Taking Things For Granted – Having been around the league for a large portion of his entire life and having a relative already pave the way there is a sense of entitlement.  Thinking that becoming a VHL pro player was already a forgone conclusion can cause him to slack off a bit.  Granted the natural talent is there but this isn’t just any league anymore.  The VHL is a premier hockey league filled with top end talent.
• Size  – While Szatkowski has a good size frame at 6’3” and 220 pounds he doesn’t necessarily fill out that frame.  Whether it is not squaring up in the net, using the right pads, or just not having the right physique he just plays smaller than you would expect.  It could be him masking another flaw that is of more serious conern.
• Skating – Mike is very sound with the fundamentals of how he plays goalie but lacks skating ability and agility.  His lateral movement leaves something to be desired and his full range of motion is less than ideal.  In the minors he could rely on inferior opponents and a very strong Lynx team to makes saves to win the game.  When he is surrounded by the fastest and best come next season in the pros he must be able to move flawlessly.

 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Overview: 3/3 - A nice intro to the newest member of the Szatkowski family that made it to the VHL. Living up to high expectations can always be a challenge, so it's not too much of a surprise that this Mike decided that he didn't want to be like the other Mike and became a goaltender instead. Riga should have a solid goaltender moving forward for years to come.

Grammar: 1.5/2 - This was a real tough one for me. There were a couple of silly errors, but the lack of commas was a real problem. I know that this is something that we've talked about before, and usually I can look past it if it only pops up a couple of times in a media spot, but this issue came up too many times in this writing. I came real close to giving this a 1.25.

 

western, NY. = western New York, unless western is a city, in which case it would be Western, New York

traveling no time = traveling with no time

opportunities were rewarded = opportunities, Mike was rewarded

to blocks shots = to block shots

decision he = decision, he

Szatkowski is uses = Szatkowski uses

react is just amazingly fast. = react, he is just amazingly fast.

father VHL Hall of Famer Mike Szatkowski had = father, VHL Hall of Famer Mike Szatkowski, had

position he = position, he

father a VHL great on = father, a VHL great, on

Ottawa Lynx a minor = Ottawa Lynx, a minor

Riga Reign the  = Riga Reign, the

 

Presentation: 1/1 - Solid as always.

Pros: 2/2 - Slightly under 200 words, but put a well put together section.

Cons: 2/2 - Just over 200 words and well put together.

Overall: 9.5/10

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

Content: Mike always does the backwards things to win cups. He made the Riga trade many considered stupid, then won a cup. Now,  little Mike made a goalie and won another cup. I like how you put in the family connection with little Mike getting the family experience from big Mike.

 

Grammar: 1.5/2 - Flyersfan most of it. I found some more places commas could have been added to make the article run smoother, but I didn't take off as the commas weren't a necessity. 

 

conern. = concern.

 

Presentation: 1/1 - Always solid.

 

Pros: Under 200 words but you wrote well.

 

Cons: Over 200 words. 

 

Overall: 9.5/10

 

Final: 10/10