Jakob Linholm Biography

[RandomHero 55]

Jakob Linholm Biography

 

Hometown: Stockholm Sweden

Age: 18

Position: Left Wing

Handedness: Right

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 210 Lbs.

 

 

A Swedish Tradition

 

 

 

Jakob Linholm was destined to be an athlete from the moment he was born into the world. Born on March 18 to Daniel and Mary Linholm, his families name was one that many people in Sweden recognized thanks to their many athletic accomplishments. His dad had played in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers and Toronto Maple Leafs while his mom was one of the premier swimmers in Sweden. Even his Uncle had spent some time in the NHL, playing for the Calgary Flames. Both he and his sister, Katie, played minor hockey and while his sister decided to quit hockey in order to follow in their mothers and focus on swimming, Jakob continued to play hockey and was coached by his dad straight through until bantam. While he was never the best player on his team, he was always the one who tried his hardest and would often go with his dad to the outdoor rink a few blocks from his house in order to continue to get better. When he turned 16 he was eligible to play in the Swedish Junior League where his rights were picked up by his hometown Stockholm Golden Bears in the third round of the bantam draft.

 

 

Swedish Junior League

 

 

Jakob's junior career started off like the rest of his hockey career. He was not the most talented guy on this ice his first year and was unable to make much of an impact on the ice. One thing that he always had was his skating ability and it allowed him to continue to put up good minutes even though he wasn't producing a large amount of goals and points his first year. After his first season, he went back to his dad for more advice on how to get better and over the off-season they worked on his scoring and passing skills. He went into his second season with a whole new wave of confidence and it immediately led to an increase in his scoring. He went form only scoring 12 goals and 53 points his first year to scoring 45 goals and 104 points in 70 games his second year. This boost in production led to him gaining the attention of some scouts form the NHL and VHL. When the time came to declare for either the NHL or VHL, Jakob's decision was actually easier than it may seem.

 

 

VHL or NHL?

 

 

Jakob's family had never been supporters of the NHL ever since his dad and the then commissioner didn't see eye-to-eye when his dad was trying to get the NHL to go out and try and get more European players to come play. The commissioner had thought that the Europeans played too boring of a game and that most were not actually good enough to keep up to the skill level of the players in the NHL. This caused his father to voice his opinion strongly and eventually led him to quit the NHL and play the last few years of his career in the Swedish Hockey League. This caused Jakob to have no interest in playing in the NHL and chose to join the VHL.

 

 

VHLM

 

 

Since Jakob decided to join the league after it had already begun, his VHLM rights were up for grabs and they were claimed by the Bern Royals. While it did take Jakob some time to get used to his role on the Royals, he has gotten used to the new style of game and found his scoring touch recently. The Royals are one of the top teams in the league and Jakob has done his part to help them reach this point and has been getting better and more comfortable day by day.

 

 

PROS

 

Quick Shot- Jakob has always focused on improving his shot in the off-season and the work he has been putting in has been showing. He has one of the quickest releases in the game and it is getting more and more accurate every day. He can often catch goaltenders off-guard with his ability to get a shot off when it seems almost impossible.

 

Skating- Jakob has a smooth stride when skating and has an ability to accelerate quickly. He has been known to simply blow by a defender if they are not ready and this leads him to get great scoring chances. He is strong on his skates and is rarely thrown off of them. He uses his skating ability to create open space which helps him create more quality scoring chances.

 

Work Ethic- He gets his work ethic form his father and uses any opportunity he has to get better to it's fullest. He often spends his off-season working on fine tuning his game and looks up to the older players and tries to learn from them as much as he can. When he is on the ice he is often one of the hardest workers and hates when he gets outworked during a shift.

 

 

CONS

 

Strength- Jakob is not the strongest player and can get out-muscled by the bigger players on the ice. He needs to get bigger in order to compete when he gets into the VHL and is against bigger and more skilled players. While battling in front of the net he can get pushed out rather easily and this causes him to need to work harder and spend more energy on trying to stay in position when he could be using it in more productive ways.

 

Defense- As is the case with most young forwards, his defensive game is in major need of work. He has focused more on improving his offensive game and can be a defensive liability at times. This should change as he continues to grow as a player and once he reaches the VHL, will need to improve this or it will cost his team a few goals.

 

Decision-Making- He is still young and has to get used to the faster style of play within the VHL and VHLM. He needs to improve on deciding which pass to make or when to take a shot. It currently takes him too long to decide what to do with the puck and this causes turnovers to occur. This should disappear as he gains confidence and gets older.

 

Edited February 5, 2014 by RandomHero

[Seth 92]

Overview- 3/3 - Mom and dad would surely be proud. I enjoyed the aspects of your player's parents being incredible athletes, and your father's rivalry with the NHL commissioner. Very fun, and original stuff here.

Grammar- 2/2 - You made some mistakes, and had some run-on sentences, but you write very well.

March 8 - Which year?

in their mothers - in her mother's 

bantamn draft - Bantam Draft

the then commissioner - the commissioner then

 

 

Presentation- 1/1 - Excellent job

Pros- 2/2 - Just over 200 and I like the addition of work ethic.
 

Cons- 2/2 - Over 200, start working on that defense!
 

Overall- 10/10