Brady Stropko Jr. Biography [1/2]

[Bushito 1,945]

Name: Brady Stropko Jr.
Position: Defense
Current Team: Ottawa Lynx
Number: 49
Age: 17
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 225 Lbs.
Born: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

 

 The Early Years
Brady Stropko Jr. was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, but he was raised in Seattle after his father was drafted by the Victory Hockey League Bears. Although the younger Stropko was raised in a hockey household it was not his first love as that would be American Football. Although Stropko tried his best to make it in football it was eventually evident that he was not going to make it but hockey provided him an avenue to pursue. After losing out on his dream of football Stropko put more effort into hockey and it paid off when he wound up getting a scholarship to the University of Minnesota to play for the Golden Gophers. 

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers
Brady's NCAA college career started like many other young prospects, on the bottom pairing scratching and clawing his way up the depth chart trying to earn more ice time. While Stropko was a skilled player it was his size and nasty streak that guaranteed him ice time as an insurance policy for the teams' superstar players. Although Brady clearly disliked the fighting he did understand his role and played it well his first season in the NCAA. As the season started coming closer to closing out Stropko wound up getting more and more ice time and playing a more important role on the team.
 
During his second season, Stropko found himself a role on the power play as his coaches found him to have one of the fastest shots they had ever seen. Playing the point on the power play was clearly one of the greatest joys for the youngster, he was finally racking up points and being a part of the action away from the violence and protection role he played the previous season.

In his third season, Brady came in at six foot three and two hundred twenty-five pounds and had an attitude. It wasn't long before he was suspended for instigating fights and despite the NHL scouts taking long looks at the kid, it was a two-hand Marty McSorley that finally landed him a very long NCAA suspension 

Currently 
After being tagged as a problem by scouts Hudson was overlooked completely in the National Hockey League draft, not that it was a major problem for Stropko as he decided that playing in the VHL was the route he always wanted to go. Following in his fathers' footsteps was something always in the back of his mind. It was not long after college before the Ottawa Lynx of the VHLM came knocking and offered Stropko Jr. a chance to play for a highly competitive team hunting for a cup. It looks like the young star will not be following in his fathers' footsteps and heading to Seattle as they are the best team in the league as I write this but rather it looks like it'll be one of the bottom three teams would be his destination which are Calgary, Helsinki, and Davos. Obviously not being able to play in Seattle the logical choice for Stropko would be Calgary as it is close to his birthplace of Edmonton. Although the choice is not the players as he will be drafted but none the less it would probably not be ideal for him as a person to move across the world.

Player Review
Pros

Skating: It's been part of his focus for a while now, preparing to skate at a pro level has made Stropko one of the fastest skaters in the VHLM. If he continues at this pace he will one day be as fast as his father who was a premier skater and one of the best offensive threats in the VHL for a long time.
 
Work Ethic: All this guy does is work and he will continue to do so I'm sure. We will see how this plays out but I highly doubt this guy even sees a VHLM draft, to be honest. If it's leadership by example that a team is looking for then it might be this defender they should look to add.

 

Point Shot: This guy has a howitzer from the point and most goaltenders are scared to death to step in front of it. If you want a right hand shot to run the back end of your power play then this is your guy. Look for Stropko to be featured in future hardest shot competitions in the VHL.
 
Cons
Discipline: Stropkjo Jr. is labeled a discipline problem but that is mostly from fighting and one bad incident. Although fighting is a part of hockey he did do it excessively at points. The McSorley move in the NCAA was what mostly fires this stigma. It looks like he has calmed down this part of his game a bit since coming to the VHLM however. 
 
Knowledge: He doesn't know the league well yet and has a long way to go before he can have a Victory Hockey League career. I would say he is on the right track so far remaining very active in the league and even taking on a leadership role in the Ottawa Lynx organization.
 
Aggressiveness: Despite having all of these fights under his belt and the two hand chop hanging over his head, if you talk to this young man you can soon realize that he has been goated into violence his entire career by former coaches and player and his nature is actually more to the scoring game which he can hopefully thrive with soon in the VHL. 

 

Interview

Who is your favorite player? "Well my dad, of course, he'd kick my ass if I said anyone else. As far as defensive players it was a short career but I really like Hudson Abbott and want to model my game after his."

 

What is your favorite pregame meal? "I'm a chicken caesar salad type guy, I like to keep it light with some protein included."

 

What is your favorite music to get you pumped up for games? "Dropkick Murphys live is my go-to album on game day, nothing gets me going more."

 

What is your next favorite sport after hockey? "American football was all I played growing up and all my friends played, it was my first love growing up but hockey was forced on me by my father, lol. Looking back on it I'm happy it went the way it did however."

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by Bushito

[SirRupertBarnes 217]

This was a pretty great bio to read through. You can feel a connection to the character and they have a real personality. I love the photo choice with Brent Burns smiling, it really suits the player to a T. The interview was a nice touch to end it off and actually inspired me to make my own version on my Bio because I liked it so much. I feel it gives the player more depth and shows who they're supposed to be portrayed as just that much better. I thought it was well written and the pictures were very relevant.