The Story of Thorny [2/2]

[jack 498]

 

Llandysul, Wales - 2019

 

Childhood

 

Fade in from black. Rolling green hills, dreary backdrop. A smattering of similar yet unique houses pepper the grass. Inside one of them sat an infant Thorny. His father a blacksmith, and his mother a barmaid. Two tough Welsh cookies. Thorny's childhood kept him within his hometown of Llandysul. There was never any reason to leave. In elementary school Underyew was exposed to a number of sports, and he tended to excel at those where he could use his strength. Rugby, lacrosse, a bit of soccer here and there. 

 

Thorny's father Trahaearn often took his boy on walks through the Welsh countryside. He taught him the importance of self-reliance, strength, and health.

 

 

Secondary School

 

The athletics prowess of Thorny offered him opportunities to travel within Wales. He often stayed in Cardiff, and eventually witnessed live ice hockey for the first time. The Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League have an established program and exciting atmosphere that immediately drew Thorny in. It was physical, it was fast, it was what Thorny wanted to do.

 

"I had barely even heard of hockey before that night," Thorny recalls. "I immediately knew that this is what I wanted to pursue. I wanted to play hockey."

 

Beginning hockey after the age of 15 is usually not a typical path towards elite play. But a certain amount of determination can sometimes outweigh negative factors. Underyew was forced to make a decision. Live with his family in Llandysul, and abandon his dreams? Or move to Cardiff and take a risk.

 

We know what happened next.

 

Thorny's size and strength convinced the coaching staff of Cardiff Devils affiliate program to coach Thorny over the summer. Throughout his youth Thorny had been working with his father, saving money, and building muscle.

 

By the start of the season Thorny was skating as well as pretty much any 15-year-old Welshman could. Coaches wanted to see whether he could make use of his strength while in game situations.

 

"The first game was eye-opening, to be honest," Thorny admitted. "I had doubts, I had second thoughts. But I didn't want to let down my parents. I didn't want to waste the effort I put it. I put my head down and got to work."

 

And work he did. Thorny watched as many local Devils games as he could. He studied the patterns, he learned to position himself better than before, but he had a lot of catching up to do. 

 

The next year Thorny played for the U18 Cardiff Junior Devils at the age of 18, playing for just a little over 12 months. 

 

"That was a huge adjustment. I was essentially going from rec leagues to the most competitive league I could conceivably play in.

 

"My teammates weren't really happy with my inexperience, my coaches were helpful but definitely hard on me. It was a draining year, physically and emotionally. But it transformed my playing completely."

 

Thorny quickly showed that he could keep up in the league. He could score, he could make plays, and he could hit. His teammates could rely on him, and this helped his confidence in his game. Coaches could trust him in tense situations. Thorny started to excel. Every part of his game accelerated. He felt that becoming a pro was a realisable goal.

 

Junior Team

 

 

"I was devastated."

 

While Thorny was a long shot, he didn't make the cut for the U20 team when he was 17. Great Britain is not known as a hockey powerhouse, and if Thorny wanted to prove that he was someone to look out for, the U20 team was the place to do it.

 

"But you have to keep moving forward." Thorny added.

 

The following season he led the Cardiff Junior Devils in points, goals, hits, and ice time for a forward. He lead the powerplay, and he was captain of the team. Although generally soft-spoken and reserved on the ice, he did sometimes get into penalty trouble.

 

Coach Cremon of the Junior Devils said "if I could just control his head, he'd be my ultimate player. Sometimes I don't know how to convince him to just play the game, not play the games of the opponents."

 

After a hard fought playoffs, the Junior Devils came out victorious. Thorny celebrated with his teammates, coaches, and family, but had his sights set elsewhere.

 

"That call was such a relief. I knew my hard work had paid off, this was my chance."

 

Great Britain had a chance in the IIHF World Junior Championship, and Thorny would be on the team.

 

All of the media attention was obviously focused on the big countries. Finland, Canada, US, Sweden, Russia. Some Czech and Slovakia thrown in. Nobody knew who Thorny Underyew was, and he was determined to change that.

 

Different countries have different goals at the U20 Championship. Canada always wants gold. the US always wants to beat Canada. Finland and Sweden love to beat each other. But many of the lower countries are there to prove that they can at least compete, they are worthy of attending. Team Great Britain had been practicing together for months, playing against teams in the EIHL to practise. They were focused and coordinated.

 

Their first match-up was relatively favourable: Latvia. The game ended 4-3, with Thorny showing up on the score sheet three times. One goal, one assist, and two minutes in the box for slashing. Game two was a stomp, with Great Britain falling under the giant foot that is Canada. 13-0 with only 15 shots on goal for Great Britain, four of which were Thorny's. A relatively valiant effort.

 

The rest of the tournament went as predicted, but Thorny certainly stood out amongst his compatriots. He was the only one to score over five points, and he managed to get seven in four games, including one game where he had none. It was Great Britain's best showing in modern history. Scouts took notice, and an agent immediately contacted Thorny to gauge his professional interest.

 

Within a few months, Thorny signed a brief contract with the Las Vegas Aces, and he will be entering the VHLM Draft that is rapidly approaching. Expect Thorny to make a splash as he enters the minor leagues, and watch out as he approaches the pros.

 

[Big Mac 310]

Review: This is a great start to writing it would be much nicer if it was put into sections. If there weren’t so many small paragraphs. Should use some more pictures for so much paragraphs. Some sentences where incomplete like : Latvia. Also Or move to Cardiff and take a risk. Of course that last one is a type of incomplete sentence that most people use. The first thing Wales seemed very small and when I went over it a 2nd time was the first time I saw it oddly enough. 5.3/10 I may or may not read it again. Overall good start. 

[jack 498]

17 hours ago, Big Mac said:

Review: This is a great start to writing it would be much nicer if it was put into sections. If there weren’t so many small paragraphs. Should use some more pictures for so much paragraphs. Some sentences where incomplete like : Latvia. Also Or move to Cardiff and take a risk. Of course that last one is a type of incomplete sentence that most people use. The first thing Wales seemed very small and when I went over it a 2nd time was the first time I saw it oddly enough. 5.3/10 I may or may not read it again. Overall good start. 

 

Thanks for reading. Neither of those are incomplete sentences, though.

[Big Mac 310]

5 minutes ago, jack said:

 

Thanks for reading. Neither of those are incomplete sentences, though.

Latvia: that has no subject or a verb. Or move to Cardiff and make a risk: has a verb but no subject.

[jack 498]

26 minutes ago, Big Mac said:

Latvia: that has no subject or a verb. Or move to Cardiff and make a risk: has a verb but no subject.

 

A colon can be used to introduce an item or list when it follows an independent clause. 

 

“Or move to Cardiff and make a risk.” has an implied subject, as the preceding clauses gave the context that the subject was my player.

[Big Mac 310]

13 minutes ago, jack said:

 

A colon can be used to introduce an item or list when it follows an independent clause. 

 

“Or move to Cardiff and make a risk.” has an implied subject, as the preceding clauses gave the context that the subject was my player.

Ok Latvia explains it. But I’m not sure about that last one still eh. 

[Datools 7]

Review: I like how this biography was broken into subsections, made it easier to follow along! The quotes also made the article believable and captivating. ''He taught him the importance of self-reliance, strength, and health.'' I would've love for you to maybe spend a bit more time on this with maybe a quik one sentence per theme and possibly tie that back into Thorny's current game and how it's impacted his career. High School and Junior team segments were well developed.