Izzy Valencia declares for S72 draft

[scoop 3,276]

With the trade deadline week upon us, players are now able to declare for the Season 72 VHL Entry Draft. One of the early entrants is Isaías "Izzy" Valencia. A native of Spain, Valencia was first exposed to hockey through his family's love of the Madrid Thunder of the VHL. Madrid only held on to the team for four season before the franchise made the move back to Vasteras, long before Izzy was born, but he has still watched almost every Madrid Thunder game multiple times. It has been a tradition in his family to watch VHL seasons 16 through 19 in rotation whenever the VHL is in action. They don't care about anything else VHL related aside from the Madrid Thunder, for whatever reason. With Valencia setting his sights on playing in the VHL, however, this will possibly change in the future.

 

While he spent plenty of time watching the sport, Valencia did not have the most experience with it prior to moving to the US to attend the University of Saint Thomas in Minnesota, where he joined their Division III hockey team. Despite being a gifted athlete, he did not have an easy time with it at first, as you'd expect. While he didn't play much at all in any games until his third year, he kept at it and practiced hard. By the end of his time there, he'd become a decent player. The next step for him in the VHLM. He has already signed on with the Saskatoon Wild, where he will receive plenty of playing time, for the remainder of S70. Although the team is one of the worst, it is the ideal location for him, as he just needs any and all experience that he can get at this point.