Claimed:Olynick is Ready (BROTHER)

[AwfulHomesick 148]

 

COLOGNE, Germany

7 May 2014

 

After two dominant years with the Bern Royals in the VHLM, the highly touted goaltender prospect by the name of Blaine Olynick is ready to jump to the higher threshold of professional hockey, the Victory Hockey League. Two full seasons went by without a Founder's Cup for Blaine, and the focus has now turned to the highly coveted Continental Cup.

 

Finishing off his VHLM career in a Founder's Cup Finals run that had the Royals just two wins short of a championship, fans in Bern gave the team a standing ovation, and some chants broke out for players who were not returning to the city next season. Players such as Olynick and Ron World Peace, who are Cologne-bound for next season. The fans donning their "33 Olynick" jerseys knew this was the end for Olynick in Bern, and gave him their thanks for the great two seasons of goaltending excellence that Bern hasn't seen since Remy LeBeau.

 

In preparation of his regular season debut with the Express, Olynick has put up respectable numbers manning the net for Team World in the World Cup. With an even 3-3 win/loss record and a .927 save percentage with a 2.30 goals against average to along with that. With these numbers and going up against the best of the VHL internationally, the excitement behind Olynick's arrival has gone up exponentially.

 

 

Will the pressure pile up on Olynick and harm his rookie season performance? "I play well under pressure," said Olynick. "In the VHLM I played in so many kind of scenarios, and with all the great teams in the VHLM, playing under pressure happened quite often".

 

Taking over the recently retired Evgeni Chekhov, in the training camp and preseason they spent last season, Olynick has undoubtedly learned a lot from the Russian netminder. Olynick recognizes that the shoes he will have to fill will have to be those of the greatest goaltender Cologne has ever seen. "I want to thank Chekhov for his teachings in the time we've been on the ice together. It's sad to see him go. I wish him the best, and I promise that my career here in Cologne will be to honor Evgeni and his remarkable performances during his time," stated Olynick.

 

Where does the Express stand in comparison to the rest of the league? The Cologne Express are quite loaded with young guns, and are only to be reinforced by more young players with the handful of first round picks GM Dave Collier acquired throughout the season. Some analysts have predicted that the rebuild Cologne were going through will last only a season, and other have said that the team is still too far inexperienced to put up a proper fight against the VHL's elite, but crazier things have happened.

 

One thing is for certain, Blaine Olynick has finally arrived in Cologne, Germany, and is here to stay. Being one of the two rookie goaltenders to arrive in the VHL this upcoming season, Olynick aspires to achieve great success. "I grew up as a player with the team-first mentality, and with the kind of people I've been surrounded with, people such as Collier, World Peace, and Chekhov, I would do anything for this team. Cologne has quickly become my home and the fans are very welcoming. I only want to bring the best to this city, and that means the Continental Cup," said Olynick.

[Will 4,660]

Content: 3/3 

Good read. Olynick was definitely a force to be reckoned with this year in the VHLM, along with World Peace of course. We were shaking in our boots over in Yukon during the finals, great showing. Although Cologne is losing a legend, they are certainly lucky to picking up to great, young guys in you and World Peace.

Grammar: 2/2 

Didn't find anything, good job.

Appearance: 1/1 

Looks dandy.

Overall: 6/6

[Smarch 3,153]

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