The Story of Guy Sasakamoose [2/2]

[Cxsquared 455]

Often described as a gentle giant...on the ice he’s anything but gentle.

 

The Early Years

Guy was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada. His father was a minor league Curler for the Wadena Wombats and his mother worked as a Civil Engineer. Guy’s mother worked on the roads and bridges of his local town while his father traveled across Canada competing in Curling tournaments.

 

 

His father had him on the ice at a young age. Guy has found memories of his dad sending him across the ice like a stone though curling never interested young Guy. His real love was hockey. That love came from his grandfather Fred. While his dad wanted Guy to pick up Curling his grandpa showed him the joys of the greatest sport on ice. Guy would spend long days skating on his local pond in Duck Lake. His grandpa would work him into the late hours running drills and building up Guys general hockey skills. This also helped build up Guys general endurance. Eventually he could skate all day and night. At first Guy hated all the work that his grandpa forced upon him but looking back it was the greatest gift his grandpa left him.

 

First Team

Even after his grandpa passed away Guy continued to skate on the pond every day. Like clockwork, he’d get home from school, grab a bite to eat, then head out to the pond till the sun came down. Repeating the drills his grandpa had taught him. Building up his stick handling and skating skills. His parents could see his love for hockey wasn’t stopping anytime soon so at age 9 he joined his local Atom team. They traveled all over Saskatchewan competing against other Atom level teams. Guy was a stand out player. Initially his coach played him as a forward due to his great skating skills. However, Guy grew faster than the other children so was placed on defense to protect the blue line.

 

Sizing Things Up

All throughout his early hockey career Guy was bigger than the other kids. At the age of 13 he hit a growth spurt that he wasn’t ready for. This led to his skating becoming awkward and sloppy. His Bantam coach wasn’t happy with his skills so he was cut from the team. He continued to play hockey on his school team but started to focus more on his studies. Guy started to worry that his size would prevent him from having a successful hockey career. He figured if he couldn’t play hockey professionally he should follow in his mother's footsteps and get a good education. 

 

School Years

Guy’s favorite subject in school was always math. The numbers just clicked with him. This led to a fascination with electronics. Guy joined his school’s av club and started tinkering with radios. Ham radios allowed Guy to connect with people all over the world. For someone who grew up in a small Canadian town this was amazing. It felt like the whole world was open to him. He used his new found radio skills to listen to hockey broadcasts from across the world. Even when concentrating on his studies he couldn’t get his mind off of hockey. He would still skate on his local pond everyday just like he did with his grandfather.

 

Prospects

Around the age of 15 Guy was skating at his local rink when a man approached him. This man was a recruiter for the Saskatoon Contacts Midget hockey team. Instantly the recruiter started asking about Guy’s size. After the growth spurt Guy hated to talk about his size. He always saw it as a negative so he’d always take an inch or two off of what it really was. Guy lied to the recruiter about his height and the man saw right through this lie. He told Guy, “You can’t teach size so how tall are you really?” Guy told the recruiter is actual size and man told him that Guy should come tryout for the Saskatoon Contacts. Guy had never been to the big city before but this was his chance at starting a hockey career. This is what his grandpa helped him work towards.

 

Big City Dreams

It was a lot of work to convince Guy’s parents to let him go try out for the Contacts. Guy had never been to Saskatoon and both his parents were busy with work. His mom was the most against it. Guy had been advancing in his studies so well she didn’t want him to stop. What if he didn’t even make the team? After a lot of pleading and a deal that Guy would go to college no matter what happened, Guy’s parents agreed to drive him to Saskatoon for tryouts. 

 

 

At first Guy was nervous seeing all the other players on the ice. They were all skating so fast and with some much grace. He was bigger than all of them and didn’t want to get in their way. But he had come this far. He jumped out onto the ice and after a few minutes of getting comfortable realized he could keep up with all of the smaller kids. Maybe the recruiter was right and his size wasn’t a problem. After running drills and playing a scrimmage game the tryouts were over. All Guy could do now is wait. But he didn’t have to wait long. The recruiter caught him as he and his parents were walking to their car. The recruiter informed them that he had been accepted on to the team but he’d have to move up to Saskatoon. Luckily the team arranged for a family to take care of Guy while he was playing for the Contacts. This was the start of Guy’s real hockey career.

 

College and Beyond

Guy was a solid member of the Contacts for two years. He won the best defenseman award his second year. This led to him joining the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Melville Millionaires. Guy had solidified himself as a great defensemen in Canada Juniors. His hard work had paid off. In his first year with the Millionaires he had one of the highest plus/minuses in the league. Guy was approached by multiple OHL teams but he had a promise to keep. Instead of going directly into minor league hockey Guy went to College instead. He got a scholarship to Notre Dame college. He spent his college years getting a degree in Electrical Engineering just like his mother wanted. Even better he went on to be a top line defender for Notre Dame. Guy went on to help Notre Dame get to multiple NCAA hockey championships. Guys is hoping that in the future he can make his big break into the VHL. Till then all he can keep doing is working and playing the game.
 

[FrostBeard 2,049]

Great job buddy! This is some quality content right here!

[Kekzkrieg 160]

Review: Really awesome and unique backstory for Guy, especially his hobbies. Glad to see that he was able to carry his grandfather's gift all the way to the pros while indulging in his favorite pastimes like the AV Club. I really enjoyed how Guy had his parents in mind when choosing to go to Notre Dame, good to see that all their efforts in helping him progress as a player was paid in full by this. Well written and I can't wait to hear more!

[KC15 340]

REVIEW:  I liked the flow of this bio.  One thing led smoothly into another and it really told the story of Guy's development.  Also loved the curling connection!  The images were interesting and really fit the text.  Only criticism is that a little more proofreading was necessary.  Just one example: "They were all skating so fast and with some much grace." - so much grace; not some.  Still, an interesting article.