Bastion Mac Finscéal Bio [1/2]

[Polygeekism 27]

Bastion Mac Finscèal

Defenseman

Dublin, Ireland

18

 

Bastion has had a long winding path towards a career in professional hockey. Born in Minnesota, but raised in Ireland, by way of his parents being expats who wanted to see more of the world than just the midwest. His mom, a project manager turned author, had a love for skating and the ice that she would eventually expose Bastion to, though his father couldn’t skate to save his life. His father broke into the internet influencer scene near 40, and now vlogs about things that no middle aged man should be interested in, mainly eSports and the latest meme crazes.

During his primary school years Bastion gravitated towards stick sports, mainly hurling and hockey. Well, field hockey, because Ireland. Even on vacations he would take his stick with him, always juggling a ball or absently knocking it back and forth. His family traveled often given the luxury of living in Europe so close to such a variety of long interesting histories. Every winter they would visit different European landmarks and cities to see their holiday events. Everything came together on a winter holiday to Vienna Austria. Every winter they setup a rink outside of their imposing City Hall and have music and vendors to entertain the influx of tourists. Watching their son take to the skates while still holding that hockey stick there was really no other way to go.

Being the younger of two brothers meant Bastion was constantly at arms. Learning to stand his ground quickly, he developed a talent for not giving ground and despite his smaller frame making it difficult for his older brother Liam to move him. Liam may still have been faster, but Bastion had a knack for being gritty and tough, and the spontaneous wrestling matches between them rarely ended in a loss for Bastion. Most often they were ties, but he wouldn’t be pinned easily. Liam stuck to rugby, while pads, skates and sticks quickly became a staple of Bastion's closet.

 

The Irish still fancy themselves as tough individuals. Their sports of choice, rugby, hurling, Gaelic football, punching each other in the streets, all exemplify this quality. That being said those sports also usually end with both sides laughing over a pint of Guinness. Tough yet still friendly. Ireland is not a hockey hotbed, but he did find the Irish Youth Hockey league after getting that rush of skating on the ice and was hooked. It was not very large, but Bastion stood out for his tough defense, and would play with some traveling teams in Europe from time to time. He played one year of rugby too, but preferred the smell of the hockey rink to the smell of fresh grass.

During his teenage years the Irish national team was finding some success in the IIHF, bouncing between the 2nd and 3rd divisions before leaving international competition in 2013. He was just 13 at the time and he was devastated by the evaporation of the team he hoped to play for one day. His parents agreed to let him attend Okanagan Hockey Academy back in Austria where his first donned skates. He developed quickly with the high level of competition and talent drawing attention from leagues in Europe as well as the United States. He spent time with some European teams and once again showed how he could stand up to larger stronger opponents.

He continued to reinforce his presence as a defender, and dedicated himself to the weight room to make sure he would always have a strength advantage on his opponents. Despite lacking true height, his low center of gravity made him adept at challenging players for the puck and after he hit an opponent once, their head would be on a swivel any time they returned to the attacking zone. Bastion's presence allows his teammates space to operate and worry about executing on offense. He also is quick to help his goaltender and has a knack for knocking down pucks before they can get to and challenge his goaltender.

After the national team left international competition in 2013 Bastion was a leader in the Irish hockey scene, and constantly pushed to get back into international competition. He had almost lost hope when he got a phone call from the President of The Irish Hockey association while playing abroad in Europe. In late 2017 Ireland was to participate in the IIHF Development Cup and Bastion quickly accepted the invitation to play for the team.There were only 4 teams, Morocco Andorra Portugal and Ireland, with the Irish falling to Morocco twice but earning second place. He was proud to have played for his home country, and was recognized as the defenseman of the tournament.

He averaged over 6 hits per game, with a TA/GA of over 2. His goal scoring and assists stayed low, but the way he imposed his will on the competition was enough to garner an invitation to the draft class for the upcoming VHLM season and Bastion celebrated with a Guinness or twelve in the pubs of Dublin with his family and friends. Bastion understands that he needs to keep working hard and just making a roster is not the goal. The VHLM is just the first step towards his ultimate goal of playing in the VHL, and being on a championship winning team. He wants to leave a mark on the game that others will remember. Being remembered for check a league star through the glass would be a start, followed by winning the ensuing fight.

His parents are considering a move back to the states as his brother Liam is talking to both the NSFL and the EFL after competing on the Irish National Rugby team, apparently American football teams are willing to take another shot on high level rugby talent. Bastion is also excited to see a fellow Irishman, The Charm, trying to make his path in the VHL. They saw very little of each other outside of some very early youth games, but Bastion has kept tabs on Charm over the years.

 

Edited February 28, 2018 by Polygeekism

[Banackock 8,053]

#1

[Da Trifecta 1,899]

@Polygeekism I love your work ethic bud.

[Tyler 885]

Irish hockey to the top

[HellBillyXIII 61]

Review: 740 words, good story, well done. 

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

@Polygeekism

 

Hey, buddy. This Biography is only 742 words, and the minimum required for Biographies is 1000 words.

For the moment, this is only worth 7 TPE to me, since you only did 7/10 of the words required. Please add a little more.

[Polygeekism 27]

On 2/27/2018 at 9:01 AM, DollarAndADream said:

@Polygeekism

 

Hey, buddy. This Biography is only 742 words, and the minimum required for Biographies is 1000 words.

For the moment, this is only worth 7 TPE to me, since you only did 7/10 of the words required. Please add a little more.

Sorry about that. Should be at 1011 now.

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

7 hours ago, Polygeekism said:

Sorry about that. Should be at 1011 now.

Great work!