The Youngster's View: Moving On Up

[Bonzaijoe 74]

Nixon sat down with us as he usually does, both extremely cheerful but a little sad this time. Nixon was stuck in a crossroads slightly, as he was hit with a tough decision right before the season ended.

 

"I'm really extremely excited about our Founders' Cup win! Everyone on that team worked together to earn it and we're all champions. Those guys have been nothing but great to me and I can't thank them enough for everything they've done for me." Nixon said, "that being said, it's with a heavy heart I have to announce to them that I'm giving up my VHLM eligibility to play in the VHL. It was a tough decision, but I know that wherever I go in the VHL, I'll find a home there that might include some of them. I can't wait to see all those guys on the ice in the big leagues, but sadly my time with them as teammates has come to an end." 

 

I asked Joe why he made the decision, and where he thought he would go. He answered, "I'm honestly not sure where I think I'll go. Wherever it is, though, I know I'll be happy. Any team that wants me and believes in me is where I wanna go. To answer the question of why, I would have to answer with the fact that I thought that was the best move for me as a player. My time in the VHLM has been great, and the experience was like no other, but with a goalie spot opening up because of an expansion team coming in, my time to shine is now. There's a possibility I could get a solid amount of time in the league next year, depending on where I go, but the main thing is the ability to consistently improve myself as a player. In order to keep my eligibility in the VHLM, I would've had to stagnate my growth as a player for almost the entire offseason, and there's just too much training and work that goes in during that time for the stagnation to be beneficial to me."

 

"I want to make this clear, this decision was my own and in no way is it because anything happened with me on the Aces. That organization is second to none and I will always remember every second I spent on that team fondly. The front office and my teammates believed in me as a player, they helped me grow, and I thrived because of it," Nixon said, "I just finished up the best season of my life. I've never played better hockey than the hockey I played with the Aces, and I have them to thank for it. I will always remember that going forward. That energy will boost me into the VHL with a storm. I'm behind the Aces every step of the way and they help me out in every way they can. I'm an Ace for life!"

 

Nixon was almost yelling at this point, his love for the organization and team is very apparent. We here at VHL.com would like to thank Nixon for doing this series with us for the whole season, and we always looked forward to sitting down and asking him some questions. Now that he's in the VHL though, we'll just have to make a new title! Thanks for reading this season, and we'll catch you again next time, in The Youngster's View!