Hunter Backenbauer Biography

[Banjo 4]

Hunter Backenbauer

Birthdate: March 15, 1995 (Age 19)

Birthplace: Turku, Finland

Lives in: Seattle, Washington

Height: 5’11

Weight: 190

Number: 88

 

Childhood

It was an interesting childhood for Hunter Backenbauer.  Born in Turku, Finland to former VHL player Hanz Backenbauer and his wife, Ellen.  Living in the countryside of Finland, Hunter was not surrounded by a lot of people he could befriend.  Instead, he soon developed an everlasting bond with his younger brother, Hudson.  Hunter and his young brother worked day and night on the family farm.  They would split the chores whether it was milking the cows or mowing the grass.  Hunter’s love for hockey would not come until one record-breaking winter when he was ten years young.  The freezing weather froze a pond close to the family farm, and Hunter’s father crafted him a pair of skates.  Hunter and his brother found a new hobby of skating and passing a rubber ball on the pond back and forth to each other.  Little did Hunter know that this hobby would soon turn into his life.

The Backenbauer farm.  This is where Hunter and his brother first started playing hockey.

 

High School

Growing up in Seattle, Hunter Backenbauer attended Garfield High School.  Being a foreigner, he did not fit in very well and had a hard time making friends.  Hunter’s father suggested he try out for the school’s hockey team, it could be a good experience for his son.  In his freshman year, Hunter decided that it would be a good idea to get involved in his freshman year with some extracurricular activities and decided to join Garfield High’s math club, baseball team, and hockey team.  Math club went well for Hunter, but he was constantly teased by other guys on athletics teams and ultimately quit to preserve his reputation.  He was a good baseball player, but soon learned that he could not hit a curveball for his life and quit after his sophomore season.  Despite the shortcomings in those activities, Hunter thrived in hockey.  As a freshman, Hunter made the varsity team where he played third line center.  The coach saw just how great of a shot Hunter had and moved him up to first line center his sophomore year.  Hunter achieved great success all four years of his hockey high school career.  In his senior year, as he began receiving scholarship offers from various schools, Hunter led Garfield High School to their first ever appearance in the state final, where the team lost in overtime 3-2.  The young Backenbauer led the conference in points, and had scholarship offers coming in by the double digits each day.  It did not take long before Hunter Backenbauer decided he wanted to be a Michigan State Spartan.

Hunter Backenbauer playing for Garfield High School.  The team made it to the state championship but lost in overtime.

 

College

Hunter Backenbauer arrived at Michigan State University, not sure what college would hold for the future.  A freshman, Hunter decided that he wanted to major in broadcasting, as he hoped that he could become a broadcaster or analyst after his hockey playing days.  It was a tough transition at first.  Hunter spent long hours thinking about his home and his father hours away in Seattle, and he thought even more about how his mother and his younger brother were doing in Canada.  He always wished that he and his brother could play hockey together again.  After registering for his freshman year classes, his mind became set on hockey and nothing else.  Hunter soon learned the harsh reality of division I hockey in his freshman year.  He struggled for playing time and was scratched for many of the games.  The young center knew work had to be done, and in the off-season before his sophomore year, he trained as hard as he possibly could.  This lead to success on the ice for Hunter.  He was a second line center in his second season as a Spartan, and averaged just under a point per game.  Hunter always looked forward to talking with his father on the phone after games.  Hanz Backenbauer would watch the games when he could and gave his son advice on what he was doing right and what he was doing wrong.  In his junior season, Hunter Backenbauer took off.  He led the Spartans in goals and points, and earned himself a first line center spot at the beginning of the season.  After enjoying such success, he decided it was time to move on.  Now, Hunter Backenbauer has declared for the VHLM draft and looks to be a force on the ice in season 38.

Hunter was able to enjoy great success in his junior year of college for Michigan State University.

 

Pros

Scoring- Perhaps the biggest strength of Hunter Backenbauer’s game is his scoring ability.  Since his high school days, Hunter always had a knack for finding the back of the net.  He led Michigan State in goals in his junior year, and he looks to transfer his scoring ability to the VHLM.  His ability to score goals alone could put him up the ranks come VHLM draft time.

 

Face Offs- Like any center, it is important to Hunter that he can win draws for his team.  He has always been solid at the dot, and many of his scoring chances were created off of his own face off wins.  Always improving, Hunter looks to strengthen his face offs even more so he can be a top line power play center as well as a penalty kill center.

 

Skating- Hunter Backenbauer and his brother, Hudson, would race on the family pond in Finland.  It was there that Hunter developed strong legs and quick skates.  Throughout his playing career, he has used his speed on the ice to get behind the defense and create great scoring chances.  If Hunter was able to get even faster and stronger in the legs, he could become one of the fastest skaters in the VHLM.

 

Cons

Defense- One could say a lot of things about Hunter Backenbauer, but no one can confidently say that he plays good defense.  Hunter spent a lot of his time in his hockey development focusing on scoring and skating, rather than defense.  He prefers to take off out of the defensive zone early in order to get a scoring chance rather than bock a shot or lift a stick.

 

Checking- In his days of youth, Hunter never wanted to take the body on anybody.  He has never been overly strong, and therefore was never able to register high hit numbers.  Hunter never saw checking as a useful skill in his style of play, and rarely tries to get a hit along the boards.  It will not be a necessity for Hunter to check upon entering the VHLM and VHL, but being able to lay down a hit every once in a while could contribute greatly to the success of a team.

 

Passing- For a center iceman, Hunter was never considered an outstanding passer.  He tended to register many of his assists on rebound shots rather than direct passes, as he would always take a shot rather than deal out a dish.  To be a center in the VHL, Hunter will need to develop his passing skills.  Having a good combination of passing and scoring could go a long way for Hunter.

 

[Will 4,660]

Overview- 3/3 

Over 1200 words. You did a good job of giving a proper overview of Hunter's life and career up to this point. You included how he first got into hockey, how he progressed through to high school, college, and finally the VHLM. I also think you had a good balance of hockey and life in your plot. You didn't just ramble on about how awesome he is at hockey, you gave us some back story and some information about Hunter as a person rather than as a player.

Grammar- 2/2

 

In his freshman year, Hunter decided that it would be a good idea to get involved in his freshman year with some extracurricular activities = repetition 

 

hockey high school career = high school hockey career

 

the harsh reality of division I hockey in his freshman year.

 

center iceman = centerman 

Presentation- 1/1 

Only thing I would change here is maybe center the pictures.

Pros- 2/2 

209 words. Perfect. The combo of having particularly strong skating abilities as well as a nasty shot could make Hunter into a force to be reckoned with around the VHLM. 

Cons- 2/2 

231 words. Looks good. Hopefully Hunter can improve on these areas, as his poor defensive play might end up getting him into trouble at some point in his career.

Overall- 10/10