Halifax 21st through the eyes of a rookie [1/2]

[rjfryman 1,120]

Waking up at 5 am the morning on the first day of training camp can be a shocking experience for anyone. Waking up 5 am after flying to Halifax from Nashville the night before is a shocking experience for myself. Why was I so eager to fly all the way to Halifax. There were 4 teams in the USA that I could have tried out for and possibly gotten a contract with. Hell, I probably could have been higher in the depth chart on a lot of different teams but man can Anthony Rogers really make you feel special when he talks to you. I wonder if that has to do more with his playing days or through years with his recruiting expertise. Either way, he said enough for me to move the 1,353 miles from my home in Nashville to go to a town with a fifth of the population to play hockey. Once I got here Aran Thranduil the AGM of Halifax greeted me at the terminal and helped me get to the hotel I would be staying for a couple weeks until I can get my own place or cut from the team. 

 

Ohh sorry drifting off there, Sorry it is 5 am and we are doing our morning skate, and I don't know many of the other people skating here outside of Dimitri Volosenkov who Anthony keep on showing as his example of what I should be striving for in a left winger. Dimitri even came over before the skate started and asked if I needed anything from him. I mean the nerve of this guy, I'm trying to take the starting left wing spot and he is as nice as can be. I don't think he even sees me as a threat for his starting spot. Which I guess is fair, Dimitri can out skate me by at least 4 stick lengths, and he has a wicked wrister that puts my shot to shame. I still don't know how I feel about Dimitri since on one hand, he is super nice and even seems to want to be my friend but on every team, before this one most people cared more about their own stats and progressing to the next league than they did about their teammates. Either way I'll make up my mind on him later, but for now, its practice time and I have to get my head in it or I'll be shipped off.

 

After the morning skate, I wanted to go back to my hotel and sleep but Dimitri insisted on taking me to breakfast. He said he would help me get to know the team and what I should be doing in order to help the team out. Once I got a western omelet and enough caffeine in me to wake me up from my stupor, Dimitri pulls out his team notebook and flipped through to the players' pictures.

 

• This is Anton Edvin, he is our 1st line center. He is a natural right wing but he has been moved to a center since he always beats most people on the face off. Watch out for his shot, he is the best shooter we have and if you don't pressure him he will go bar down on you so fast that Thranduil will sit you for a shift or two until you learn to never give him an inch.
• Basaraba Moose is our 1st pair left defensemen. If you need to learn to defend against someone he's the guy you go to. He isn't the fastest but his positioning is always on point. He will bully you into the corner and take your lunch meat if you don't keep your head up. Plus you better watch out for him on the offensive zone, it is not always accurate but his slap shot will leave a bruise that will last a week.
• Ohh this one's a good one: Blake Gaudette is our second line left wing. you might be able to catch him but he does have more offensive upside than you right now. Even if you take his spot on the second line he will probably keep his power play minutes. He can score like he has been in the league for a year or two but this will be his first full season. You need to work hard to beat him out or you will be stuck on the third line or worse be demoted to the fourth to teach you a lesson on "wanting it more".
• Bolt Vanderhuge is our Top Defenseman he won the Ryan Sullivan Trophy last season and looks like he might have another great season with us. Where Moose will stop you with positioning Bolt will just run through you and then maybe fight you if you look at him the wrong way. That being said he is not a tough guy only he got more points than just about everyone else on the team, last season. He's a fighter but if he likes you he will have you back no matter what happens. 
• Dick Rash is our second line right winger. We joke about him being unsustainable since last season he had a 25.58% shooting percentage. He is a well rounded forward who is a good skater and has a good two-way game. You will probably see him have a lot of penalty kill and power play minutes due to him being so well rounded. I just wonder what would happen if he took more shots.
• Ohh that one is me Dimitri Volosenkov, Last season I did not have the best season due to my ice time but I put in the work and this season you will see many points from me. I will teach you many things that will help your game if you listen to them but enough about me lets move on.
• Fabius Adomaitis is one of our new players like yourself, he seems like a good kid and might turn into a good defender someday but who knows. He is very well rounded for a player his age and with time will grow to be a centerpiece of any good defense.
• Jack Logan another young skater who is playing defense but he already is one of the best skaters on the team. Ohh I can keep up with him due to my training but his natural ability will allow him to continue to be a great skater for years to come.
• Jad Clapperton is one of our defensemen from last year. He is a good defenseman he excels at checking and playing good defense. He is still looking for his breakout season so watch out for him. Don't let him run you into the boards you might not get back up.
• Josh Wilson is a center who can skate well and has a knack for the offensive side of the ice. He will be fighting to keep his second line role but you will see him get lots of power play minutes as he continues to excel on that side of the ice. Don't expect too much on the defensive side. He's probably fine but the coach doesn't let him have many faceoffs back there.
• Ohh look this one is you, Julius. I think you are doing fine so far but you need to take my advice on some things. Don’t be afraid to take the shot if you have an open lane. You never know what’ll happen. Place your shots strategically, if you see someone open for a rebound shoot low for a good chance at the puck rebounding to them. Work hard in the corners and never give up on the play until the whistle. If you put in the work off the ice too you’ll see improved results. Keep doing what works for you and you’ll find success in this league.
• Max Coffey is a great defender who will help you when you screw up. he plays his position well and can cover for others when they screw up with his speed. he's working on his offensive side this season I think, which is smart since his defense is great. 
• Then there is Nacho. Strangely enough, no knows his real last name and the league just lets him put Nacho on his jersey. He is one of our better penalty shooters, but luckily for us, we don't let many games got to the penalty shot. He is a good faceoff man and is a well-rounded player but not many people know much about him outside of his play on the ice.
• Papa Gage is a good well-rounded defenseman who is well disciplined. You shouldn't see him take that many PIMs this season since he is most of the time in good position and takes his time with the play, letting it come to him rather than him force it. Though you might need to come back and help him with the breakout while he still learns our system.
• Rhye Tyr thinks of himself as the AGM of the club but in reality, he's more of the assistant to the general manager rather than someone with any real authority. He is a good player though. He is a defender who is knowledgable of the zone and how to stop someone from entering and he knows how to exit the zone. If you ever feel pressure on the ice you can pass it to him and he will take care of you. He can pass and shoot better than 90% of the defenders in this league and has the uncanny ability to keep the puck on his stick even in the direst situations. 
• Teagan Glover is our top natural center who might be playing right wing at least until he gets his faceoffs better than Edvin. You might laugh at him being moved to winger than center but when you see him on the ice you will see why he's still on our top line. Teagan is a master of everything on the offensive side of the ice. He is one of our best skaters who can protect the puck in all situations. He sees the ice like he was born on it, passing crisply to anyone who is able to receive it and even if there is no opportunity for a good pass the guy can snipe it past any goalie out there. I know you like playing defense and that great but when you want to look at how to play offense in our system look at his tapes.
• The bender is the last skater we got on defense and he seems like he is a good kid and might turn into a good leader someday. I think he was a captain on some of his old teams by the way he talks. He is a good skater and is one of the most well-rounded defensemen we have. I hope he continues to grow and be a good solid backstop for us.
• Last on the team is Chase our goalie, and I saved the best for last since without him it doesn't matter how good we are. Chase is solid at his core, he practices every day so that no one part of his game is too far from another. He likes to say since he slowly but surely is getting better he doesn't have any major holes in his game.

 

So that is the team. I know I have through a whole lot at you all on the same day as our first skate, and well your second day here in Halifax but its better to drink from the fire hose than be lost in the wilderness for a season. That being said I think Rogers and Thranduil want us to get back after breakfast to go over game plan watch some film on last seasons playoffs. One last thing if you have any questions at all Julius I am more than happy to help you with anything you need. Are you ok Julius you haven't said anything for a while?

 

At that moment Julius after only getting 4 hours of sleep and after the morning skate and one of the longest breakdowns he has even been in fell into his leftover western omelet. 

 

2050 words, using for PT weeks Feb 18-24, Feb 25-Mar 3, Mar 4-10, Mar 11-17

 

Authors notes: The first 3 and last section are more from Julius Freeman's inner monologue or just general narration, whereas the paragrams in general list form are from the point of view of Dimitri who is helping Julius navigate through his first season. Apparently, it has also come to my attention that Bolt Vanderhuge is no longer on the Halifax team, sorry for any confusion this might give to any reader.

Edited February 21, 2019 by rjfryman
formatting and error in copying over the texts from other sources, also modify author notes

[Toasty 57]

@rjfryman Best article I've seen a Halifax player write in my time on the site! Can't wait to share ice-time with you this coming season and by the way, I haven't really had a chance to introduce myself. My name is Basaraba Moose, but most of my teammates called me Madman Moose last season for reasons that I hope you won't have to see too often. Either way, if you need anything, I'm here to help out whenever!

[SirRupertBarnes 217]

 

Buddy, I just wanted to say that I absolutely loved your article. I appreciate you using my player as a bit of a mentor, I hope you can continue to grow and we can play on a line together someday. Excellent job, keep it up and you’ll stand out for sure!

[rjfryman 1,120]

2nd Week

[rjfryman 1,120]

3rd Week

[rjfryman 1,120]

4th and final Week

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Review

Now this was a great article. Very well written and didn't drag on at all. I love the little notebook part about teammates.