Lesieur Looks Back - And to the Future!

[KC15 340]

With the VHLM going into the finals and the VHL not far behind, Guy Lesieur finds himself reflecting on his S69 season and looking forward to his S70 season. As the hockey world knows, Guy was in the VHLM in S68 and moved up to the D.C. Dragons in S69 who were in just their second season out of expansion.

 

Hopes were high, but also tempered by the the realization that Guy would now be playing on the big ice with longtime stars of the VHL – not with fellow juniors who had little separation between them in terms of time on the ice and prior training.

 

Guy was a star in the VHLM – not the brightest of the bright – but a star nonetheless. He scored 31 goals and 29 assists for 60 total points in his rookie and only season. To put that into perspective, with just one year in the league, Guy ranked 28^th overall in the league in goal scoring.

 

When Guy arrived in the VHL in S69 he noticed several things very, very quickly. The guys up here were bigger, faster and just all-around better than his compatriots in the VHLM. And it showed in his performance. Guy’s goal total dropped to 12 in his inaugural VHL season – down from 28^th best in the VHLM to 76^th best in the VHL.

 

But Guy was not intimidated. He could see that he was still a valuable part of this young team and that he could grow with his teammates to build the Dragons into the premiere franchise in the VHL. It was just going to take time. He could tell his contribution was still important as he was still 4^th on the team in goal scoring and with captain, Mikko Aaltonen, on the team, you are really only looking to see who came in 2^nd.

 

Overall, his relative contribution to his VHLM team, the Aces, and his VHL team were equal: 4^th (VHL) vs. 3^rd (VHLM) in goal scoring, 9^th in both for assists, 9^th vs. 7^th for total points. In some areas, Guy was actually relatively better on the Dragons than the Aces. For example, his 96 hits were 6^th on the Dragons whereas his 75 hits in S68 were only 9^th best on the Aces.

 

Some of this is attributed to the shallower depth on an expansion team vs. an established VHLM team, but some significant part is due to Guy’s continuing work on his game. Guy remembers that his coach once told him in the locker room after one game, “Don’t get discouraged. You realize that you are coming into the league with the 5^th lowest TPE in the league. You are really playing up!”

 

That did give Lesieur a real shot in the arm – and made him want to work all that much harder. This hard work paid off. Guy may have entered the VHL with the 5^th lowest TPE, but he ended S69 with the 55^th lowest TPE – moving up 50 spots in the pecking order.

 

So, Guy’s plan for S70? Keep working hard. Keep working on his game. And the results will come. Guy is confident of that. Guy has set the following stretch goals for S70: score 20 goals and notch 15 assists, improve his shot percentage from 8.28% to 11%, up his hits from 96 to 110, and most importantly – help the Dragons make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history!