Theme Week: Derek Eriksson

[Cusemode 21]

When I think of the words “Future great” or “Hall of famer” there’s no other person that comes to my mind than my VHLM teammate and long time friend Derek Eriksson. The man always had a gift when it came to hockey. From the time we were kids up until now, he always had presence on the ice.

 

His background:

As some of you may know already, Derek also comes from a background riddled with tragedy. Losing his parents at a young age, it thrust him into a depression that almost stopped him from playing hockey permanently. Luckily for both the Reapers and I, this period of depression wouldn’t be permanent. He decided to give hockey one last shot and in doing so, found a spark when playing that he never experienced before. I firmly believe this passion, intensity and grit that he plays the game with is the reason why he will eventually make it into the VHL hall of fame.

 

His Reapers Debut

In our first season playing together on the Reapers, he ended up signing 10 games into the season. It didn’t matter though, because even with the missed playing time, he still made a very strong impression and caught the eyes of several VHL teams. He went on to finish his rookie season with a solid 19 goals, 36 assists for a total of 55 points and a +/- of +18. What I don’t think anyone could have predicted is how strong of a precedent this would be for his performance the next season, as well as how much he would end up improving during the off season.

 

From Draft Prospect to Draft Steal?

Even with a performance like that, it’s no surprise he would go early into the VHL draft, getting drafted by the D.C. Dragons under the management of GM Enorama, and possibly making himself a candidate for steal of the draft. I’m sure all the other teams that opted to pass on him are going to realize their mistake once Derek starts adapting to the level of play in the VHL. Either way, the Dragons have scored themselves an insanely talented prospect.

 

Making his Mark

This new found success wouldn’t stop Derek from keeping his eyes on the prize though, as he would improve by leaps and bounds going into S70 in the VHLM. He would go on to finish with some pretty mind boggling stats including 48 goals, 50 assists for a total of 98 points, and a +/- of +68. I don’t think any of us could have predicted how fast Derek would improve, and how much of a mark he would leave on both the VHLM and on the Reapers organization.

 

An Uncertain Future

I’ve heard rumours that he may be looking to stay down in the VHLM for another season, but I think he’d only doing himself a disservice by doing this. Derek has the work ethic every GM wants, and the raw talent every player dreams of. The combination of these two qualities as well as his performance in the VHLM could help him go far, so far that I think he’ll be a hall of famer.

 

If Derek can stay focused and perform in the VHL, then I think he’ll be a shoe-in to be inducted on his first ballot.

 

@DirtyDerek @Enorama

[Banackock 8,188]

@Cusemode OH YEAH BUDDY!

 

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