Claimed:Tom Slaughter

[sterling 1,990]

Tom Slaughter Biography

 

Country: United States

 

Position: Left Wing

 

Handedness: Right

 

Age: 19

 

Height: 6'3"

 

Weight: 210 lbs

 

Early Days:

 

 

Thomas Slaughter was born in Everett, Washington, United States on May 20, 1994. Washington is a beautiful state and growing up near Seattle, hockey isn't even an afterthought at times. In Everett, hockey is more popular due to the upstart Everett Silvertips, a team in the Western Hockey League. Thus when Tom was an infant he grew up watching the Seattle Seahawks and the Mariners - football and baseball, and not hockey. Tom's parents T.J. and Melinda were not hockey fans either and thus Tom spent his early days and years watching typical American sports. As a toddler, Slaughter had an affinity for basketball, spending long hours in front of the family's bungalow shooting hoops with his father. You may notice that Tom is of African American descent. His father is African American while his mother is Caucasian.

 

Formative Years:

 

Once Slaughter went to elementary school at the age of five he was introduced quickly to the world of competitive sports, playing schoolyard basketball and football every recess. He was a natural athlete and thus he asked his parents if he could join football and basketball teams at the tender age of 6. He joined peewee teams in both sports - baseball in the spring and football in the fall. He was a natural talent, fast, strong and a good hitter. He continued on this path until 2003 when something major changed in Everett. The Everett Silvertips started up in 2003 and Slaughter instantly fell in love with the sport of hockey after going to the team's opening game with his father in the summer of 2003.

 

"There was just something exciting, something different about hockey that I loved right from the start. There was an energy, a physicality that just drew me right in. I was captivated," Slaughter said.

 

After the game Tom asked his dad if he could join a hockey league. Of course the youngster didn't know how to skate, he'd never even strapped on a pair of skates before! It would take a full six months of skating lessons before Slaughter was ready to join a league at the age of 10. Of course all the other youth in the league were quite a far way ahead of Tom when he joined the Everett peewee Sharks. He started as a defenseman that first season, a season of what would be tremendous learning for the young man.

 

"I couldn't skate and I couldn't stick handle. I couldn't do anything that first year so coach just stuck me on the last defensive pairing. We weren't coordinated, we weren't good, but I learned from the school of hard knocks. As the year went on I became a lot more confident on my skates and was actually contributing to the team offensively. Coach recommended I move up to forward to start the next season," Slaughter said.

 

The beginning of Slaughter's offensive dominance was that year as an 11 year old still playing with the Sharks. That season Slaughter wound up on the second line, playing left wing where he ended up in the top ten in league scoring. He was again showing his natural athletic ability and raw talent as the Sharks ended up winning the league championship that season. He stayed with the Sharks one more season, leading the entire league in scoring as a 12 year old before moving up to bantam the following year. Slaughter played then for two seasons with the Everett Jr. Tips, leading the league in scoring during his second season with the team. By this time, Slaughter was drawing plenty of attention from WHL scouts. In the end, Slaughter went to the hometown Everett Silvertips 15th overall in the WHL Bantam Draft.

 

 

"It was so exciting! The biggest day in my life at that point! Going to play for the hometown team was a real dream come true because my folks could come and watch me light it up," Slaughter said.

 

Slaughter did anything but light it up in his rookie season as a 16 year old. The rookie played for one of the Silvertips' worst line-ups in years in what was a rebuilding season for the young club. Young Slaughter finished his campaign playing 48 games, registering 11 points, three of which were goals. The low light was Slaughter's low -23 rating that season, showcasing his defensive inefficiencies at that point. He was still a raw talent, that much was clear, but he had a lot of promise. He was going to be a star somewhere and Everett was in for a real treat after that rookie season of his.

 

As a 17 year old player in Everett, during his sophomore season, Slaughter broke out as one of the dynamic young talents in the WHL. At the same time, the Seattle Bears were beginning to scout the forward, showing a lot of dedication in promoting the VHL to the young man instead of the NHL. The VHL offered Tom a chance to travel around the world, something he is extremely keen on doing. As a 17 year old sophomore with the Silvertips, Slaughter scored 65 points, with 24 goals and an impressive +14 rating. Slaughter had clearly improved his defence during the off-season and it had paid off as the 'Tips made it to the second round of the playoffs that season before bowing out to the Portland Winterhawks.

 

Professional Career:

 

At the age of 18, Tom Slaughter made the decision to opt for the VHL. After the WHL season ended (Slaughter's third - 79 points), he jumped at the opportunity to join the VHLM. He was placed on VHLM waivers at the S35 trade deadline after signing with the prestigious Sterling Labatte Player Agency and was immediately claimed by the Ottawa Lynx who were serious contenders for the Founder's Cup. Slaughter's crowning moment during the team's cup run was a playoff game in which he notched four goals in one game. Thankfully, he didn't pull his cock out like Joe Thornton would have. The forward helped the Lynx clinch the Founder's Cup in easy fashion. During his first professional tour, he won a championship!

 

"It was an amazing experience going from playing in western Canada to professional hockey all over the world. I got to play in Europe and I was having some success early on. I was really hooked on the VHL from day one. I can't wait for the draft where I hope I end up on a good team right away. I've been training really hard to become the most talented player in my draft class," Slaughter said.

 

Slaughter was entered into the Season 36 Dispersal Draft, again with the goal of playing an entire season in the VHLM. This time he was drafted second overall by the Brataslava Watchmen, a team that is again primed to be heavy contenders for the Founder's Cup Championship. So far this season, Slaughter has committed to playing a more smooth defensive game. He is currently looking into a position change, perhaps to centre as that may suite his natural playmaking ability better than the wing position does. At the moment, he is well above the point per game mark this season, but he was hoping for a better showing still.

 

 

 

Pros:

 

-Leadership: Slaughter has proven to be an effective locker room warrior thus far in his career. Coming into a veteran Ottawa Lynx locker room late into Season 35, Slaughter was not out of place as a contributor. He later assisted the team in winning their first Founder's Cup in a number of years. Thus far in Bratislava, Slaughter has tried to assist new players on the roster with getting used to the VHLM. Slaughter has a strong desire to win, stopping at no cost to get wins on the board. Despite poor stats this season, Slaughter has played meaningful minutes as a defensive player this season.

 

-Hockey Smarts: Slaughter is a smart hockey player. He is big, strong and skilled. Slaughter throws the body, but does it in a responsible way, avoiding penalties. Slaughter looks to become an elite power play specialist and he will likely not cost his team many two minute minor penalties in his career. He doesn't look to continue developing his checking, only his strength and puck handling skills. Slaughter is also completely unselfish with the puck, obtaining an even goal to assist ration from the wing position. The forward will likely be more of a play-maker than a pure scorer. Slaughter is also sound in his own zone, seeking to continue to build his defensive prowess in the coming years.

 

-Dependability: Slaughter is as dependable as you can get in the VHL. Being represented by player agent Sterling Labatte (with four Hall of Fame players signed), Slaughter will likely receive sage professional advice and training. Slaughter looks to practice on a weekly basis and donate a portion of his time to charitable causes which will only increase what he can do on the ice.

 

Cons:

 

-Unphysical: Slaughter doesn't possess much of a desire to lay the body or fight. Through 50 career VHLM games the winger only has 11 minor penalties. Slaughter will likely shy away from defending his teammates, but this will aide his team at times as well since Slaughter will likely become one of the elite penalty-killing forwards in the VHL. Slaughter may have to play a game similar to Gretzky, relying on other goon teammates to defend him when the going gets tough.

 

-Inexperience: Being a raw rookie into professional hockey, the learning curve will likely be massive over the first few seasons. It is difficult for rookie forwards to have an immediate impact in the VHL, especially ones with Slaughter's unique skill-set. The forward will be prone to frequent rookie mistakes during his first few years. Moreover, the forward may not immediately mesh with new teammates since he is a pass-first player. If other line-mates are puck control players like Slaughter is, chemistry will be nearly impossible to develop.

 

Unique Skill-Set: Slaughter will be a puck control, pass-first forward which is incredibly unique to the VHL. With a cap of 90 on his scoring, Slaughter will focus practice hours on passing, skating, strength, puck handling and defence. This skill-set could pay dividends or turn into a total failure. Slaughter does always have the possibility of completely bombing with new line-mates. He certainly hasn't had much success in the VHLM despite his overall greater skill in the minors. This player type doesn't have a lot of history in the VHL so it will be interesting to witness the results of doing something differently.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Overview: 3/3 - Loved the Joe Thornton reference. It'll be interesting for me personally in seeing how Slaughter's career goes with his skill set since that is how I plan on building Robin as well. Overall though, this was a very good biography that told the life story of Tom Slaughter up until this point. It was nice to have you in Ottawa for the cup run as well. 

 

Grammar: 2/2 - Just one.

 

Everett peewee Sharks = Everett Peewee Sharks

 

Presentation: 1/1 - Very nice.

 

Pros: 2/2 - Over 200 words and good.

 

Cons: 2/2 - Over 200 words and good.

 

Overall: 10/10

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