Sasakamoose's VHL Start

[Cxsquared 455]

It feels like so long ago that I was playing hockey on the ponds of Saskatchewan. The VHL seemed so far away back then. I can’t even believe that just last season I was roughing it in the VHLM. Now I’m in the big leagues. Struggling in the big leagues. Trying to find my place. Half the season has gone by and I still don’t quite know how my game is progressing. My time in Riga has been a blast so far, but my transition to the VHL has been a rough one. I figure the halfway point is a great time for me to take a look at how things are going. At the surface level I’m playing top pair minutes and leading my team in shots blocked which I guess is my role on the team. Still, I’m left wanting more. Before I go on about how I want to progress, I should talk more about how I’ve been doing.

 

I still can’t believe I went 3rd in the draft. Even now I’m questioning whether that was the right choice for Riga. Sure, it’s still early on in my career, but for a 3rd round pick I feel I haven’t made enough of an impact. I’ve been abysmal point wise with only 8 points, all of which have been assists. That’s 36 games so far without a goal and only 11 shots in total. That puts me tied for 22nd place in the league for least points this season. So, as of right now, I’m a bust offensively. Ultimately though I’m more of a defensive defenseman so I was never destined to put up a lot of points.

 

To me, my defensive game has been solid this season. I’ve only thrown 23 hits which isn’t a lot, but I’ve blocked 57 shots so far. That puts me tied for 20th overall in the VHL. I actually feel in great company because I’m tied with Condor Adrienne @OrbitingDeath who was drafted 1st overall in S68. This puts me tied for first overall on my team with Lincoln Tate @Tate who has been a dominant player for Riga this year. While it doesn’t matter to most, my plus/minus is sitting at +11 which, to me, proves I’ve been holding down the game defensively. If it wasn’t for my defensive skill I, for sure, would be a bust this season. Well at least for the first half of the season. I plan to pick up my game for the second half.

 

My first goal for the second half of the season is to control the puck more. I can’t contribute to my team’s offensive if I can’t hold the puck. I plan to push myself with skating and puck handling drills for the rest of the season. I want to pump up the other team’s shots blocked instead of just letting them pelt me with pucks. I’m hoping if I start handling the puck better both my assists and maybe even my goals will go up. That’s just my goal for personal growth, for my team I want to help bring us to the playoffs. I can’t even imagine going into the VHL playoffs in my first year. As long as I keep my defensive skills up I feel as though Riga will make it. If we don’t end up making it a lot of the blame falls on me. I haven’t stepped up my offensive game to allow the team to succeed. As the second half of the season begins all I can do is keep pushing myself and prove all the naysayers that I wasn’t a bust of a pick.
 

[Renomitsu 930]

Everyone wants to prove themselves in year one, and it's normal to feel a little imposter syndrome as a high draft pick.

 

Just keep your head down, keep earning, and you'll be on your way. You've been great so far from my perspective!

[hedgehog337 3,480]

38 minutes ago, Renomitsu said:

Everyone wants to prove themselves in year one, and it's normal to feel a little imposter syndrome as a high draft pick.

 

Just keep your head down, keep earning, and you'll be on your way. You've been great so far from my perspective!

 

what he said. in sim leagues the draft position doesn't matter as much as activity. It's not an easy task to jump over two high TPE defs, especially as a rookie. So we'll take your solid defensive play, the rest will come later.

 

and we do need to feed the puck to Hackett so he can continue to score his pass-goals amirite Reno