Biography: Dylan Nguyen [1/2]

[Dtayl 104]

Childhood: Dylan Nguyen was born in Baltimore, the biggest city in the State of Maryland and not a big hockey town. His Dad, Tuan, was a Vietnamese immigrant and worked in architecture. His mom, Krystal, was American and worked as a receptionist for a large law firm. Dylan's dad would often leave for his job, doing work all over North America but particularly in Canada. While in Canada, Dylan's dad brought back a love of hockey to his household. This love of hockey caught fire within Dylan and since the age of 5 he dreamed of becoming the best hockey player to step onto the ice. He played street hockey with his 3 little brothers, watched every single Capitals game, and studied his favorite player in the world Nicklas Backstrom. Dylan begged his mom to let him play little league hockey from the age of 5 onward and she finally gave in on his 10th Birthday. However, she had one condition, if Dylan was going to play hockey he also had to do figure skating so that he could move around on the ice easily enough to avoid injury. Dylan obviously accepted because of his desire to play hockey. Later in his life he would say that figure skating was essential to him becoming a good hockey player

 

Little League: Dylan started his little league career off with the club at his local ice rink. The team was not great, and the coaches didn't really know much about hockey but Dylan didn't care because he got to play the sport that he loved. After his first game on the ice it was clear to both the coaches and his parents that Dylan was the best player on either team by a wide margin. His parents were encouraged to find a travel team for him so that he could develop properly and have a good chance at becoming a pro player. At age 11 Dylan joined Team Maryland the best youth hockey team in the State. There Dylan Developed his game the best he could, modeling himself after Nicklas Backstrom, he became an excellent passer and his stick handling was top notch, he looked like a center with potential to go pro. However, after a game where his defense cost them a tournament championship, Dylan sat down and decided he would become a defense-man because he knew that a great defense-man can make a break a team and he was tired of the opposing teams getting easy goals. For an entire off-season Dylan studied defense, he watched film, learned poking techniques, practiced skating backwards better, and he even had his lacrosse team with him from mid-field to defense so that he could get a feel for what playing as a defense-man would be like. Dylan played his final season with Team Maryland as a defense-man, he helped shut down opposing teams and showed almost perfect defensive positioning.  He helped carry his team to the conference championship. His defensive play garnered attention from many prep schools who saw high potential for Dylan playing as a defense-man. 

 

 

High School: Dylan picked Belmont Hill as the prep school he would attend, because they offered him what other schools would not, playing time. Dylan also continued playing lacrosse at Belmont Hill as he was rated one the top lacrosse prospects in the nation. Many people including Nguyen himself say that playing lacrosse really helped with his stick work and conditioning. During Dylan's freshman year he was a 3rd line defensive pairing and played only 10 minutes per game but he shined in his limited play but he was not given enough playing time. There were glimpses of greatness in his play. His Sophomore season Dylan was promoted to top line D. He led all defense-man in the league in points and was second in shots blocked. His Junior year he continued his stellar play, once again leading all defense-man in the league in points, as well as assists. Right before the start of his senior season Dylan was struck with tragedy, his dad died in a car accident. Dylan was devastated and it showed in his play. He struggled through the first half of the season and many people thought he was going to quit hockey. Especially after a week where he did not show up to practice. However, after a trip home he visited with family and he came back on a mission to make it to the big leagues, not just for himself but for his dad. Dylan closed out the year strong and took that performance into the playoffs where he helps lead Belmont Hills to a championship. It is also worth noting that Dylan also carried Belmont Hills to a championship in lacrosse and was rated a top 10 lacrosse prospect in the nation. 

 

Going Pro: After finishing High School Dylan had to choose between lacrosse and hockey, he was a bigger prospect in lacrosse but he chose hockey because it helped him connect with his dad and it was his dream to be a pro hockey player. Dylan also had to decide whether to go pro, or go to college. He had offers from top schools like the University of Minnesota and University of Michigan, but the VHLM was also calling his name. Ultimately what helped Dylan decide what to do was his brothers. After his dad died Dylan's mom had to pay all the bills herself and that meant had no money to put her other kids in sports or even get them things they needed for school. Seeing that his family needed the money Dylan decided to forego college and enter into the VHLM, thus he accepted the $1 million contract to play for the Saskatoon Wild in the VHLM. By signing with the Wild Dylan became one of the first professional ice hockey players of Vietnamese descent. Dylan has trained pretty much his whole life to get to where he is at now. He has pushed through hardship, and he is ready to make his dreams come true, not just for himself but his father as well. 

 

Word Count: 1020 ; Week Claimed 7/9/18 - 7/15/18

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

Review:

Aaaayyyyy, Dylan, love you like a brother! Nice to see that nobody has reviewed your Bio cause I really need this. The reason why he chose Hockey over Lacrosse is really touching, and it's nice to see people do stuff to connect with their parents more. This is an awesome story, and Baltimore needs a team! Also, very nice to see another Asian player in the league.