Kyle Andersen - Junior Review [2/2]

[Cusemode 21]

Unlike many of the players in the league currently, my journey in hockey started much later in life. My parents weren't the richest people growing up, and I never had the opportunity to play hockey when I was young.

 

However, everything changed when I turned 14. My dad managed to work his way up at his job and received a huge bonus as a reward for his efforts. With this new found wealth, he was able to help me get all the gear I needed to begin my journey.

 

I soon signed up to try out for my high school's hockey team. Naturally, with only a few months of skating experience (through rentals), I felt my chances were pretty low. Fortune would see it my way though, and my lanky, 6'2 14 year old bod would manage to make the team as a 4th line d man.

 

I'd be lying if I said I was confident going into my first season. I was playing with guys who were playing since they were kids, then there was me who just recently started skating only a few months prior. I knew I wasn't going to be an all-star in my first year, so I did everything I could to be an asset to my team. This really just meant showing up to practice day in and day out, all while getting smoked on the ice by the older and more experienced guys on the team. At one point, I nearly gave up, I was getting my ass handed to me in every practice and felt beyond useless in every game we played. But before I decided to hang up the skates, I decided to talk to my coach, and see what he had to say.

 

When I told him that I wanted to quit, he didn't say anything right away. The room just fell silent, it was almost deafening actually. After what felt like forever, he looked at me and said "Son, I think I know exactly how you feel. I was in your shoes too at one point, believe me. You think these boys, these 17-18 year old guys, these guys who have been playing since they were kids, that they got there overnight? No. I can promise you that when they first started, they were just like you. They were raw, inexperienced and I doubt any one of them could skate more than 10 feet. These guys were all rookies who didn't quit. Now I understand you have doubts about yourself, but comparing yourself to these boys would be doing a disservice to yourself. You tried out for this team just like everyone else, and I would never have taken you on if I didn't believe you could do it. If you're still wanting to quit, I won't stop you. I could take you down to the locker room right now and have you collect your stuff, but I'd highly encourage you to stay. You have what it takes to make something of yourself in this league. It won't be easy, and it sure as hell won't happen overnight, but if there's anyone on this team that can do it, it's you."

 

I was speechless and overwhelmed with emotion, but I knew what I needed to do. Hearing what my coach just said to me, I decided to continue to play throughout high school, finishing my last season with 27 points in our 25 games, walking away with the defensive player of the year award for our hockey division and making the Danish U20 team!

 

While our national team never experienced much success, my performance on the ice managed to capture the attention of a few scouts in the VHLM. I figured now was as good a time as any, and declared myself eligible for the Season 69 VHL Minor League draft. I was confident that my time with the Danish national team would help me in the draft, and I was right! I was drafted in the 2nd round by the Philadelphia Reapers.

 

While playing for the reapers this season, I managed to help get my cousin, Derek Eriksson, a private tryout. He was one of the best up and coming wingers coming out of Sweden, and his future was bright. Together, we're going to tear up the league and make our mark on the VHLM.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Cusemode
Updated to meet word count requirement

[DMaximus 1,046]

I’m glad I got to learn how Andersen became such a strong prospect who caught the eyes of the Reaper scouts. Great job on the article!

[Patrik Tallinder 1,087]

Review: Great backstory! I like the story of raw talent coming through, even without much experience. I would've maybe added a picture, or a couple of subtitles to make it look a bit more appealing. Overall, good work, and wish you the best this year in the VHLM!

[Greg_Di 1,028]

Review: Well written, good review of the player. What this review is missing though is " Make it look professional as well. At the very minimum, make use of a title, a picture, and proper paragraphing to make for a nicer article." which is straight out of the guidelines. If you add an title and picture to the beginning then this would make it a great review. Keep up the good work.

[DollarAndADream 3,357]

@Cusemode

It's a good write-up, but in the future make sure to at least put a title over top, some sub-headings to separate sections, and picture or two. It just helps to blend it all together, rather than what on first glance looks like a wall of text.