Werbenjagermanjensen Joins Dynamo

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

Werbenjagermanjensen Joins Dynamo

 

It was the moment he's been waiting for his entire life. Sitting nervously in whatever stadium and city the S65 VHL Entry Draft was in, Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen was anxiously waiting to hear his name called by the VHL commissioner. First up was the New York Americans. Although he secretly held out hope that he'd go first overall, in his head, he knew it was extremely unlikely. New York management had not reached out to his agent and seemed set on selecting Carles Puigdemont first overall. Additionally, the Americans already had Sullivan Jr, a rising second year defenseman who seems well on his way to becoming a 1D and a possible star in the VHL. Everyone knows that offense wins championships in this league, so selecting the high scoring center just made sense.

 

 

Next up was Davos. Dynamo management had reached out to Smitty before the drafted and notified him that it was 99.9% likely that they would be selecting him if he was available at 2. Although he knew it was going to happen, hearing "with the second overall pick in the Season 65 VHL Entry Draft, HC Davos Dynamo select Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen, defenseman, Ottawa Lynx," elated Smitty. Although it was under prior management, Smitty had heard nothing but good things from his agent about the experience some of his previous players have had in Switzerland. Most recently, winger Jeff G was drafted by the team and eventually won a Continental Cup before becoming a cap casualty.

 

It wasn't all smiles and sunshine though. On move in day, Smitty found an old scribbled note detailing the GMs frustration at losing out on the 1st overall pick again and losing out on Puigdemont. However, Smitty shrugged it off with a sarcastic smile. It wasn't the first time that a player represented by this agency was seemingly looked at as the "lesser" top level prospect. Leading up to the S36 Draft, all everyone could talk about was the supposed top two prospects in the draft, Godavari Yumalatopinto and Xin  Xie Xiao. Robin G, who was only a few practice hours behind the two prospects, was seen as a lesser prospect. In a surprise move at the time, Riga Reign GM @Mike Szatkowski selecting the young center and placed his trust in him and Brendan McQueen becoming the faces of the franchise. That situation turned out pretty good, and the situation seems similar now. Smitty reiterated to management that there were no hard feelings between the two parties.

 

Werbenjagermanjensen thought he knew who his defense partner of the future was going to be only a couple of selections later. At 7th overall, the Dynamo selected highly talented but sometimes malcontent Dallas Jones. Jones was a top prospect in terms of ability and ceiling, but he was a high risk pick. Many players from this agency have retired very early in their careers, but there have also been a couple of players who have gone on to have near hall of fame careers. Leading up to the draft, Jones had included Davos in his public list of teams that he would have liked to play for. However, something changed between when that list was made public and when Jones was selected 7th overall. As Werbenjagermanjensen was back stage with Davos management and expecting to meet the other young defenseman, he learned that the player had already asked to be traded from the team. What changed? The only thing that Smitty could think of is that he didn't want to player in Werbenjagermanjensen's shadow for the entirety of his career in Davos, so he asked out. Regardless, Dynamo management was able to acquire assets equal to Jones' value in a trade with the Calgary Wranglers, so all's well that ends well.

 

 

This year, Werbenjagermanjensen's goals are simple. While he'd like for the Dynamo to make the playoffs, he acknowledges that this would be an ambitious task and may not be the best for the team going forward, as they'd receive a lower draft pick and potentially a "lesser" prospect. Smitty would like to win, or at least be a contender, for rookie of the year. That is another difficult task, as there are two things going against him - being a defenseman, and specifically being more of a two-way defenseman than a pure offensive powerhouse. Forwards have a better history of winning this award, as points are some of the easiest way to determine how good a player's season has been, and at the end of the day, the objective of each game is to score more goals than your opponent. Smitty's offensive game is still under development. Through a couple of games, Werbenjagermanjensen is currently among the league leaders in hits and shots blocked, but only has 1 assist to his name. In order to improve his point totals, Smitty will have to improve his currently putrid shooting, and he may not be able to do so until the point deficit between him and other rookies is too big to overcome.

 

Smitty's long term goals are also simple. Win Continental Cups, and specifically, win Continental Cups in Davos. The vast majority of players from this agency are loyal to the team that drafts them. There has only been one instance when a player from this agency walked away from the team he was currently under contract with and management wanted to bring him back. Defenseman Shayne G was traded as a rental to the Seattle Bears, but he had already informed Helsinki management that he intended to go test free agency at the end of the season, and that decision was still firm regardless of if/where he was traded. Smitty would love to become one of the Dynamo's all time greats in terms of career statistics for a single team. His goal, and his agency's goal, would also be the hall of fame, but that's not something easily obtainable and, for one reason or another, this agency has not had a player approach hall of fame consideration. Although the day may come when his quest for Smitty's Continental Cups and hall of fame aspirations put him at odds with his desire to remain loyal to Davos, that time seems extremely far away.

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

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