Owen May [2/2]

[FacebookFighter 67]

Owen May was born in 1996 in Buffalo NY. His parents were both second generation immigrants. His father's family form Switzerland and his mother from Germany. He credits his love for hockey to his parents who would constantly take him to hockey games when he was young. Unfortunately, his family was too poor to afford hockey equipment and hockey leagues.At a young age he was more fond of soccer than other sports and found early success in the U.S. He started as a striker but his exceptional hand-eye lead to his club coach moving him to goalkeeper.

 

In 2005, a former player from the Swiss international team, who was currently working for the Rochester Rhinos, scouted the young goalkeeper. He was quickly signed by the Junior Club of the Rochester Rhinos and spent the year travelling and improving his game.  At the end of the season the same man who had scouted him for the Rhinos gave his name to a Swiss side, FC Basel.

 

In 2006, he was offered a contract for the FC Basil Youth club. May moved across seas to follow his dreams. At the age of 10, May struggled to adjust to his new life and after one year he was being threatened to move back to the United States. May however confided in another player from Italy. Anthony Montleone and May found a new side of life together as they quickly earned spots on the first team as a Centerback/Goalkeepeer Combo. After their first full year together, Montleone was appointed Captain and May Assistant Captain. 2 years would pass under the appointed captains, Basel would find success winning the league both years. However, at  the end of the season Montleone was sold to an Italian side. With his Captain and best friend gone, May once again struggled in net. He lost his job and was once again on the chopping block. In what would be his final game, May was run into by an opponent as he was sliding. The harsh collision left the young starlet with a broken femur. With May's injury and regression the club allowed his contract to run out and left the young man unemployed.

 

Luckily, May's parents had saved his money earned from the club and aided their son in earning his Swiss Citizenship. Content with the new life he had been given May had chose to stay in Switzerland in secret hope of earning another contract. In an interview with a local soccer insider May was very optimistic of his return to pro soccer.

 

"I believe in my abilities. I've proven that I can contend in the harsh environment. I think a bone break will be easier to comeback from than an ACL tear. I've taken this time to learn the language and [I Am] becoming more comfortable with the Swiss lifestyle. My hope is to be back on the pitch come next year."

 

During his recovery period May returned to school deep in the Alps and as well to the hockey arena.

 

His highschool, HIF Engadine, was a hockey power house. In the past 10 years the school had won 3 national titles and had made the title game 5 times. During his recovery period May frequented the schools ice rink and watched many of his classmates play. May quickly became absorbed in the squad becoming a student announcer.

 

After he fully recovered May decided to join his highschool's hockey team. Without a back up the school was strong armed into letting May join the squad. He would spend one year on the bench learning from the team's goalie coach, Henrik Dolgberg. Dolgberg found May an interesting prospect despite only appearing in 4 games. May credits his pro career to Dolgberg. In a recent interview, May was quoted praising his former coach

 

" To be honest, I was frustrated that I hadn't heard anything from soccer clubs. I was ready to move back the States, and joined the hockey team on a whim. Thanks to Coach, I gained some confidence and we spent all year improving my game. I had this new dream thanks to this man and a pair of his old pads and skates."

 

His senior year, May spent all off-season training. Where May lacked in game IQ and technique he made up with his good hand-eye and reflexes. He caught the eyes of the Swiss national team posting a .945 save percentage and helping his team to the first round of the country playoffs. During his time he met his future wife and Swiss national team swimmer, Courtney Cloutier. The high school sweethearts met at a charity event and as both have previously stated, were in love ever since. The two plan on welcoming their first born in November.

 

Despite being rated highly, May's injury history resulted in him receiving no offers to join the Swiss Hockey league the following season. May once again had to pack his bags, this time moving to the Czech Republic. May signed a 1 year contract with HC Pardubice. There he was taken under the wing of former great Dominik Hašek. He was quickly touted to be the next "Dominator". Under the former great May began to gain better technique and learned the game. His first season saw him make 34 appearances as the team's backup posting a .923 save percentage. HC Pardubice made the playoffs and found themselves in trouble. Their starting goaltender suffered a concussion as a result of collision. May would appear in just Game 7 of the first round. Pardubice would lose the game to the eventual champions 1-0 in 2OT with May making 34 saves in relief. An modest start to his pro career resulted in May resigning with Pardubice for one more year. May was given the starting job where he recorded a .940 save percentage on his way to earning the award for best goaltender in the league.

 

When asked about his protege Hašek had this to say.

" He reminds me of myself quite a bit. There will be no books written about his stellar technique but he keeps the puck out of the net. As a goalie that's all you need to do."

 

After two seasons with the Czech side, at the age of 21 the Swiss league came calling. With great appreciation, May signed a 2 year deal with SC Bern. 

 

As May returned to Switzerland, he proposed to his now wife, and was ready to tackle a new dream. With SC Bern, May recorded a .935 save percentage in 59 appearances. Bern would make it to the second round of the playoffs before getting bounced by the RSC Lions. May's playoff save percentage of .927 earned him a spot on the Switzerland World Junior's roster. May made no appearances for his side. During the summer May returned to the Czech Republic to work with Dominik Hašek. 

 

He currently is poised to be drafted in S66 Draft this Sunday. He has chosen to keep his Swiss Citizenship in hopes to make it to the world cup sooner to showcase his abilities. However, May hasn't ruled out the possibility of returning to the United States.

 

"I'm really grateful for the Swiss people and the opportunities that they have given me. I obviously, love my birth country and wish to play for them but I feel that I have a duty to repay the European people"

Edited February 16, 2019 by FacebookFighter

[Spade18 1,302]

Hey @FacebookFighter,

 

This is a great start for your Bio.

 

Unfortunately, it needs to be 1000 words for you to claim the TPE for it, and you are currently at 328.

 

Go into more detail about his time playing in highschool and the swiss league and you should be there in no time!

 

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions!

Edited February 16, 2019 by Spade18

[FacebookFighter 67]

I edited it

[FacebookFighter 67]

1 hour ago, Spade18 said:

Hey @FacebookFighter,

 

This is a great start for your Bio.

 

Unfortunately, it needs to be 1000 words for you to claim the TPE for it, and you are currently at 328.

 

Go into more detail about his time playing in highschool and the swiss league and you should be there in no time!

 

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions!

I'm on mobile so word count is the a difficult thing

[Spade18 1,302]

2 minutes ago, FacebookFighter said:

I'm on mobile so word count is the a difficult thing

 

check these out, they may be able to help.

 

https://authorstech.com/word-count-apps/

[Spade18 1,302]

17 minutes ago, FacebookFighter said:

I edited it

 

Nice!

[Beaviss 4,949]

@FacebookFighter very good read!

[rjfryman 1,120]

Ok, first and foremost I am a sucker for any bio that doesn't start with hockey since it allows for the character of the person to really shine. I enjoyed how he was actually decent at soccer and how you foreshadowed goalie to goalie and his playing style. Being a soccer goalie is all about reflexes and it's rarely pretty which is great that Owen's mentor Hašek so rightly points out. It is refreshing to also see a bio from someone who wasn't the best right away and had to pull themselves up from being backup. A true underdog story that makes me root for Owen and his future success in the VHL. 

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

REVIEW: Starting out as a soccer goalie in an interesting twist to the "traditional" path to the VHL. I'd be curious to know if May being forced to move to Switzerland at such a young age positively or negatively affected his development as a professional and as a person, as there's often a debate among US soccer fans about when and where a player should develop during their teenage years. Starting out as a goalie for a professional team in Europe is also different, although personally, I know I prefer when Flyers prospects play and succeed against men rather than in a junior league. Good luck with your VHL career, and maybe you'll end up in Davos!