Travis Gowecny Rookie Profile [Reviewed]

[eaglesfan036 4,603]

Travis Gowecny

 

 

 

Name: Travis Gowecny

Height: 6'2''

Weight: 200 lbs

Position: Center

Handness: Left

Hometown: Philadelpia

 

Travis Gowecny is the latest of the historic Gow family legacy to grace the VHL with his presence. Travis's hockey destiny was decided at birth, as he had a great support system in place in former VHL pros Austin Gow, Jim Gow, Tim TebowGow, Robert Gow III, and Robin Gow. The combination of his outstanding hockey genes along with excellent family coaching has made Gowecny succeed wherever he goes. In 8th grade, Gowecny was already the star of his high school hockey team, earning the award of Philadelphia's top high school athlete of he year. After averaging 5 points a game over his high school career, Gowecny received calls from many NHL teams looking to draft him, but he decided to follow in his family's footsteps and grace the VHL with his presence. 

 

Pros

 

Passing

 

Similar to the rest of his family, Gowecny is a team-first player and is always looking for an opportunity to pass the puck to an open teammate. Travis can do it all when it comes to passing, whether it is cycling the puck in the offensive zone, making a quick breakout pass out of the defensive zone, or threading the needle for a one timer. Additionally, Gowecny has a unique talent for springing his teammates on breakaways with lob stretch passes, meaning the opposing defense always needs to be on their toes. 

 

Puck Possession

 

Unlike most of his family members who are smaller in stature, Gowecny possesses great size, using his 6'2'' frame and 200lbs of strength to keep opponents from muscling him from the puck. Because of his plus possession ability, Gowecny is usually his team's primary puck carrier through the neutral zone, as he is able to muscle his way across the blue line to get his team set up in the offensive zone. Additionally, Travis excels in battles along the boards, making the dump and chase a viable strategy for him as well.

 

Defensive Ability

 

Travis also helps his team keep possession of the puck with excellent defensive awareness. Gowecny can use his size to his advantage in the defensive zone, whether it is checking opponents off the puck, winning board battles, or blocking shots. Additionally, Travis plays a very positionally sound game, as he is always getting in the way of passing and shooting lanes. By combining his abilities of a quick outlet pass, muscling opponents off the puck, and making interceptions, Gowecny's team should not be spending much time in the defensive zone while he is on the ice.

 

Cons

 

Finishing Ability

 

While Gowecny can often use his size to muscle his way into excellent shooting positions, he unfortunately does not possess the steady hands of a sniper. While he can use his large frame to put a lot of power behind his shots, Travis's shooting accuracy needs a lot of work if he wants to succeed at the next level. Because of his poor sniping skills, most of Gowecny's goals will come off of deflections or rebounds. His poor finishing ability is also probably part of the reason he passes the puck so much.

 

Stickhandling

 

Gowecny is not a player who is going to deke around the opposing team to score. While he is able to use his size to keep opponents at bay, Gowecny will never be confused for a creative stickhandler. Because he does not possess the skills for a lot of fancy moves, Travis becomes more predictable to defenders as they do not have to fear a deke past them for a breakaway. Speaking of breakaways, Gowecny must have learned his breakaway moves from the Philadelphia Flyers, because his shootout moves look embarassing. 

 

Faceoffs

 

Gowecny does not possess the quick hands needed to have a great faceoff percentage. While he may use his muscle to knock smaller opponents off the puck during draws, if he is playing against an expert faceoff man he is in for a long day. Some coaches have considered using Gowecny at wing because of his poor faceoff ability, but his other skills are able to compensate for this. There is hope for Travis however, as many hockey players have been able to improve their faceoffs ability simply through sheer repetition. 

[FacePuncher 1,343]

0/8

[eaglesfan036 4,603]

2 hours ago, ADwyer87 said:

0/8

sold