Wolf Stansson Jr Biography [2/2]

[Cornholio 182]

THE STORY OF WOLF STANSSON, JR. 

 

 

THE BEGINNINGS

Wolf Stansson Jr. was born in the suburbs of Reykjavik, Iceland, the capital city of Iceland. His parents were none other than the legendary ex-NHL player Wolf "The Dentist" Stansson and his lovely wife Maria. WSJ came into this world as a big baby indeed -- this would set the tone from Day 1 onwards as WSJ routinely found himself heads over everybody else in his grade class and a little heavier as he was fed very well. With a son of that statute, you can imagine Wolf Stansson was already salivating at the chance to mold his son into a finer hockey player than he ever was... you know how the story goes and how fathers can be like with their sons. Born into a rich hockey pedigree, you could say that WSJ was destined for success from the get-go. But it did not always come easy.

 

Living up to the pressure and the family legacy in the sport of hockey, especially in the small nation of Iceland was something that WSJ did not always embrace at first. He was sort of a rebel and an aggressor around the household, routinely getting whatever he demanded -- play dates often did not go well as WSJ would get whatever he wanted even if it was at a friend's house. The Stansson family did everything they could to try to figure their child out - to redirect that aggression into something positive. One day - it just clicked. When you gave WSJ a book - it's like all of a sudden, everything went quiet and the world stopped spinning around for a bit. WSJ enjoyed reading. A gentle giant, one could say. 

 

It was not until he became 10 years old and started watching hockey games with his father, that WSJ started to enjoy the intricate of hockey. It wasn't just men skating around on ice chasing a round black puck... there were a lot of aspects of this game that WSJ enjoyed visualizing and then eventually imagining himself onto that rink, just like reading a book, and this did not go unnoticed by his father. 

 

STARTING OUT IN HOCKEY

Starting a little later than the "typical hockey protege," WSJ had to get acclimated to actually being on the ice as opposed to watching from the stands. But WSJ had the advantage over some of his peers -- WSJ had the hockey pedigree and thus an advantage in terms of understanding offensive/defensive schemes and how to be "one or two steps ahead of everybody else." Like the hockey great Wayne Gretzky would always say, "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been". WSJ embraced that quote and it helped him assimilate to the game at a rapid pace. Due to his immense size and statute over kids his age - WSJ was placed in an older age group and he fully embraced it, especially the physical nature of the game. On rides home from hockey practice/games, one could often see WSJ and his father chatting up everything that occurred in practice and how WSJ or his teammates could improve. That kind of extra time "outside the classroom" would continue to feed and cultivate WSJ's passion for the game of hockey. 

 

WSJ immediately rose up the Icelandic youth ranks with a strong reputation as a physical player who embraced that nature of the game as well as a knack for defending shots with either his body or his custom-designed long stick. The coaches knew that he was a natural fit on defense and assigned him to either defensemen positions full time and practically had to had him on the rink during penalty kill shifts. On the bench, WSJ would often be chatting it up with his fellow teammates, giving them tips and advice as if he was a coach. When asked to quiet down by the head coaches, WSJ simply ignored the coach and continued to act on his own accord as if he knew what he was doing. 

 

GETTING ATTENTION

 

It wasn't until the Junior Goodwill Games (JGG), which was held in Los Angeles, that WSJ started to get attention as a respected hockey player and not just an Icelandic commodity. WSJ, along with rest of the Icelandic National Team, played a punishing style of play. This was reflected in Iceland' stunning 12-1 romp over United States early on in pool play. WSJ led his team as well as all JGG participants in hits as well as shots blocked. Iceland played outstanding on both sides of the ice rink and it was primarily WSJ who led the charge on defense and dictated the opposing teams' attacks more often than not. It was really during this tournament that several VHL officials and scouts started to speak his name in whispers -- "This Icelandic giant can play defense and he plays smart hockey.... Nothing like any other Icelandic before him... He could even make it over here in the VHL... On top of that, he's only 16 years old!"

 

Iceland would continue to walk unscathed, blowing teams out early with a deadly scoring attack and a physical style of play, all the way to the championship game where they eventually met up with the United States once again. Iceland would jump out to an early lead, only to lose momentum to the United States team in the third period, sending the game to overtime and an eventual five-shot shootout. With pressure at an all-time high and anticipation as to which team or player would come up short -- WSJ did not disappoint for Iceland as he scored the second goal for his team. But it was all for naught as Team USA would come out victorious 4-3 on a miraculous stop by USA goaltender on the final attempt from Team Iceland. 

 

ENTERING THE VHL

Here we are -- into the present day and we're no longer in Iceland... but over here in America where the VHL Offices are based. WSJ has just submitted his name into the Portal as an eligible 16-years old defenseman and his physical is on file. "Start out your career in the VHLM, and we'll see you in the S68 Draft," the VHL told WSJ. WSJ decided to open up his courtship to any and all VHLM teams, uncertain of how this journey would unfold -- especially for a first-generation player from Iceland... not exactly a hockey commodity. After a day, WSJ decided to sign with the Minnesota Storm with hopes of getting valuable playing time both in the regular and the postseason. Will Wolf Stansson Jr. become the first great Icelandic hockey player in the VHL, or will he end up just becoming another one of those good players, but not quite that good? Only time will tell. 

[Greg_Di 929]

Review: Great biography! Usually I would have a few things to suggest but I couldn't find anything really. Great length, Pictures included, quotes used and plenty of information about your player.

Only thing I would do is space the 2nd picture from the paragraph, other then that great job!

[Big Mac 310]

On 6/12/2019 at 10:58 AM, Cornholio said:

Will Wolf Stansson Jr. become the first great Icelandic hockey player in the VHL, or will he end up just becoming another one of those good players, but not quite that good? Only time will tell. 

Looks like Sigard Gunnar has some competition 

[Kekzkrieg 160]

Review: Great backstory on his youth and being the child of a Hockey Legend with high expectations. Also glad to see that his lessons from his heroes can be contagious within the locker room in a positive manner and I can only imagine a great redemption story after that final game against the USA and how it could further motivate him in developing his skills to compete with the best of the best. Well written and can’t wait to read more!

[PenKnight 23]

Somehow I got my wires crossed and reviewed a third time... have to review another.

Edited July 11, 2019 by PenKnight