Claimed: Fourth Overall

[Gudnason 607]

Rudi Ying pulls on the Riga Reign jersey after being drafted fourth overall last season.

 

Having been drafted fourth overall last year, Rudi Ying has some big shoes to fill as he gets ready for his rookie season. The most recent fourth overall picks prior to the Chinese phenom were a pair of defensemen in Roman Sokolov and Aleksei Federov. Both players have already made a name for themselves in the VHL, and Ying will look to join the duo as he establishes himself as part of a young Riga Reign team. Looking further back, there are such names like Sir William Covington III, Christian Stolzschweiger, Alexander Beketov, Tukka Reikkinen, Anton Brekker, and R.J. Stafford just to name a few of the players that have been previously drafted fourth overall. These are some elite forwards that have graced the VHL in years past, and most have made their way into the holy shrines of the Hall of Fame. The number of Continental Cups that these players have combined for are enough to fill anyone's trophy cabinet. The combined number of goals and points that these forwards have recorded are astronomical.

 

The young centre from China is hopeful that a few generations later, people will include Ying in the conversation, both as one of the best ever fourth overall picks and one of the best ever forwards the VHL has ever seen. Dedication, hard work, and perseverance are all qualities that Ying will have to work on if he has any hopes of his name being included amongst the all-time greats. Having been absent for almost the entire season, Ying has come back to Riga in better shape than ever, as he recently attended a boot camp run by the Communist Party of China.

 

Ying also has a nation of 1.4 billion people supporting him and scrutinizing his every move, as the Chinese are looking for a Sidney Crosby to call their own - an elite superstar that is marketable to all. With the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics coming up, this nation desperately needs the young centre to succeed. Not since the days of Xin Xie Xiao have the Chinese had an elite skater that could bring the entire nation to its feet and glued to its television screens in the middle of the night while an international tournament takes place on the other side of the world. With all due respect to Astrid Moon, even the best goaltender isn't the most marketable player in a market full of affluent customers who are driven by luxury brands. The same can be said for Ho Lee Fook, who for all his offensive skills from the blue line, can be a liability at times and extremely inconsistent defensively. Fook Yu could be a challenger to Rudi Ying for the title of China's Crosby if he was born in a different city, as the geopolitics between the mainland and the ex-British colony don't look too favourable for the defensive-minded Yu.

[Gudnason 607]

*for Rudi Ying