Claimed:Xander Finn's Rookie Profile

[Jericho 917]

Name: Xander Finn

Position: Defenseman

Handedness: Left

Height: 75 Inches

Weight:210 Pounds

Nationality: Canadian

 

Overview

 

Xander Finn spent his entire High School career playing privately in the Daniel Braxton School of Hockey. The school ran its own independent league and Finn played there exclusively.

 

Freshman year had Finn placed on the 3rd pairing of the Red Team, focusing on skating and defense and checking. His other areas were certainly lacking, but for limited minutes he was able to put up respectable hits and shot blocks.

 

Freshman Regular Season
GP     G     A     P     +/-     H     SB
15     2     9     11     +3     17    18

 

Finn’s Red Team failed to qualify for the post season, and most of the freshmen on it were dismissed from the school at the end of the year. Finn was kept in the school but was told he needed to work on his passing.

 

Sophomore year saw Finn transferred to the Blue Team, upgraded to 2nd pairing and given time on the 2nd PK unit. He took his orders to heart and while continuing to develop his checking, skating and defense he also put time in on shoring up his passing.

 

Sophomore Regular Season
GP     G     A     P     +/-     H     SB
15     2     15    17    +6      19    20

 

The Blue Team qualified for playoffs and went on to take the first round easily in five games. Unfortunately, they were dispatched just as easily in the quarter finals, which saw them lose in five games. Finn put up respectable numbers under the circumstances and was given generally positive feedback before summer vacation.

 

Sophomore Postseason
GP     G     A     P     +/-     H     SB
10     2     8     10     +1    12     13

 

Heading into Junior year, Finn remained on the Blue Team, was promoted to the 1st pair and bumped up to 1st PK. He was told he may see time on the PP but that it would be contingent on him working on his offensive play. Rather than put time into his shot, Finn worked on his puck handling and saw offensive success at even strength instead.

 

Junior Regular Season
GP     G     A     P     +/-     H     SB
15     4     17    19     +6     21    24

 

The Blue Team was dealt a bit of a shit hand that year. Their goalie broke his leg after 7 games, leaving a freshman goalie who was scored on more than an adult film star. The goalie was dismissed at the end of the season and was promised a more competent goaltender for the following season.

 

Senior year was the big one. Finn remained on the 1st pair and 1st PK, was finally added to the 2nd PP unit and was given an A for all his hard work. His final season was by far his most impressive, given that he finally focused on shooting and became a very well rounded player for his age group.

 

Senior Regular Season
GP     G     A     P     +/-     H     SB
15     9     19    28    +10     23    26

 

His final season was Finn’s chance to finally prove he could perform in the postseason. After the first three rounds the Blue Team only suffered a single loss, and looked to be very strong heading into the finals. The other finalists, the Green Team didn’t seem to get the memo that the Blue Team was destined to win a cup. The two teams battled it out in a seven game series which saw three games head to overtime and the seventh go to triple OT. When all was said and done the Blue Team stood victorious, and the series was remembered as the greatest series the school has ever played to date. Finn put up his most impressive numbers yet in the postseason, and graduated at the top of his class.

 

Senior Postseason
GP     G      A     P     +/-     H     SB
20     11     22    33    +4      27    29

 

Every player was given a report card upon graduation. Braxton would send the top players from every class to the VHLM with a tryout, his name still recognized by the league with praise. Finn was the first name he sent, both to the VHLM and to his own agent. His first day at the VHLM offices he handed them his report card, personally filled out by Daniel Braxton himself.

 

 

Quote

 

Strengths

 

Defense: A defenseman should be well rounded in order to be considered a complete player, but the most important area of his play is obviously defense. Xander is one of the most talented young players I’ve seen in this area, easily the top of his class. His senior year saw him performing at a VHLM level already, and I expect him to be a solid player by the time he’s drafted.

 

Skating: No matter how talented a player is in the other areas of the game, a man who can’t skate is not worth putting on the ice. Every player with a diploma from my school is a respected skater, and Xander is no exception.

 

Checking: It’s hard to be considered a strong defensive player if you can’t hit. When I said the kid was one of the best defensive players I’ve graduated, I meant it. He hits like a truck and I expect that to continue as he ages and puts on a bit more mass.

 

Weaknesses

 

Discipline: He takes after me in that regard. The kid hits like a brick shithouse, and sometimes referees take an issue with that. Expect to see some box time put up for whichever team he plays for.

 

Shooting: While he did se improvements in his offensive play in his senior year, that was almost necessary given how behind the curve he was in the previous three. All his work got his shooting to a High School level, but I don’t think that’s going to stand up in the VHLM. He proved he can improve in this area, but he’s going to have to do it again if he wants to put any pucks in the net.

 

Experience: This would normally be assumed for any player heading into his rookie VHLM season, but especially to Xander Finn. He missed two seasons of playoffs, went out in the second round once and had a pretty easy run for the most part in the season he did win. Over the course of four years he managed to win one tough series, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. He’ll need some time to smooth that out, but anything could happen once you hit the postseason with him.

In conclusion: Despite his weaknesses, I would still consider Finn to be the best player leaving my school this year. I gave his name to my agent, and I don’t do that lightly. There is always some risk involved but I haven’t seen this kind of drive in a young player since I was his age. Any team would be lucky to have him.

 

Daniel Braxton, Founder of the Daniel Braxton School of Hockey

 

 

[Jericho 917]

Claimed