Claimed:Galbraith Bio

[marshall_222 12]

Ashton Galbraith

Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin

Size: 6'4, 215 lbs.

Age: 18

 

Background:

Some hockey players are clearly headed for greatness the moment they lace up skates. Ashton Galbraith was not one of these players. The Galbraith family was a rather unremarkable in terms of athletics, with neither parent doing anything of significance within sport. Their son Ashton was the same way, being a house league hockey player until bantam, where a growth spurt and a new found interest in the sport saw him move into the AAA stream. Two successful but relatively unremarkable years at the Bantam AAA level had expectations low for him to do anything past the midget level, an assumption that would soon be shattered. Galbraiths initial play at the Midget AAA level left much to be desired but about halfway through his first season he “figured it out” and began absolutely dominating games. His dominance did not go unnoticed and quickly the USA U18 program took an interest in him, culminating in his commitment to the program the following year.

 

Within the U18 program, Galbraith received elite level coaching and his play rapidly improved. Although never considered to be the most naturally skilled player on the squad, Galbraith meshed well with the top forwards on the team, allowing him to put up some excellent numbers and get noticed by NCAA schools. With his game taking off and several NCAA schools lining up to give him scholarships, Galbraith’s future in hockey seemed extremely promising. After a brief courtship, Ashton decided the Minnesota Golden Gophers offered the best mix of opportunity and team talent and committed to the program for the next year.

 

Galbraith’s arrival in Minnesota went off with a bang. As an 18 year old who had spent the last several years in an elite program where strict rules and guidelines governed his life, the newfound independence proved to be a little too much. Galbraith soon became a fixture in the campus bar scene and his newfound celebrity status made it hard for him to say no to the free drinks being handed out. Galbraiths marks suffered, his on-ice performance was not up to par, and it was becoming too hard for the hockey program to ignore his lifestyle. A series of ignored warnings and brief team suspensions failed to solve much of anything, and with their season winding down the school decided to revoke Galbraith’s scholarship the following year and place him on academic suspension. Suddenly, Galbraith was out of university without many prospects outside of attempting to play professional hockey. With NHL teams showing little interest in him due to his perceived character problems, Galbraith elected to join the VHL and soon found himself on the way to Oslo to play for the VHLM’s Oslo Storm.

 

 

Pro’s:

Size: At 6’4, 215 pounds, Ashton Galbraith is not a small man. In addition to his raw size, Galbraith also has a bit of a lanky quality to him, giving him exceptional reach with his stick and allowing him to extend the puck very far off his body while maintaining control. His large frame also make him extremely difficult to contain down low and when he wants to drive through a defender to the net it is very hard to stop him.

 

Versatility: Galbraith has the unique ability to play any role assigned to him. He can slide up and down the line-up as desired by the coach and not look out of place. This is largely due to his superior hockey sense, which gives him the ability to quickly mesh with skilled players or grinders. His size also gives him some versatility, when asked to become a grinder it is much easier for a 6’4 player to crash and bang then it is a 5’8 player.

 

Playmaking: Tying into his hockey sense, Galbraith is an absolutely superb assist man. His understanding of the game allows him to see plays developing ahead of time and be ready to get the puck to the right area at the right time. His size and reach allows him to draw defenders in before dishing off to teammates. If Galbraith is to become an effective scorer at the VHL level it will be off his ability to move the puck and not his goal scoring prowess.

 

 

Con’s:

Goal scoring: Speaking of goal scoring, Galbraith is simply not a sniper. While Galbraith has been able to score a respectable amount at the college and junior level, this is due mostly to sheer number of opportunity and not natural ability. Far from a one shot scorer, Galbraith has a relatively weak shot that has an awkward release that goalies don’t seem to have any trouble reading. Maybe with time and coaching Galbraith will more readily convert opportunities, but as it stands now his lack of scoring ability may very well prevent him from becoming a top 6 forward at the VHL level.

 

Desire: When you go to watch Galbraith you never know what you are going to get. Sometimes you get a determined 6’4 forward who can bull his way through defenders with the puck and dominate entire shifts while others you get a few forgettable periods with the odd flash of talent. While his desire game to game is sometimes in question, there are also questions surrounding his desire of becoming a player at all. Scouts have often said Galbraith can become as good as he wants, but his flunking out of Minnesota and occasional stretches of complete dormancy on the ice beg the question, does Galbraith even want to be a player?

 

Overall Potential: While some aspects of his game have never been in question, namely his feel for the game, other major flaws have some asking questions if he can really be a premier VHL player. If Galbraith doesn’t have the desire or natural abilities to correct his flaws, such as his poor shot, it’s doubtful he will be much more than a fringe player. As already stated, Galbraith can be as good as he wants to be, the problem is he may want to be something other than a VHLer.

[AwfulHomesick 148]

Overview: 3/3 - Galbraith (cool name btw) seems to have found his own in the VHL. Wouldn't be the first story of a player having something go wrong in his career and end up in the VHL. Points for being a big power forward!

 

Grammar: 2/2 - Didn't find anything, nice work!

 

Presentation: 1/1 - All good here.

 

Pros: 2/2 - Exceptional.

 

Cons: 2/2 - See above.

 

Overall: 10/10

 

Final: 10/10

[Guest]

Claimed