Claimed:Kez Kincaid: Rookie Profile

[kincaid 35]

ROOKIE PROFILE

 

 

Player Name: Kez Kincaid
Position: Center
Player Type: Sniper
Number: 71
Vitals: 6'1" 215 Lbs.
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland

 

 

Player History

 

PRE VHL

 

Kez Kincaid played youth hockey in Ireland, a nation not especially known for being a hockey hotbed, although it has a well-established tradition and league. He was first introduced to the game by a Canadian friend of his father - playing on a backyard rink this gentleman built for his sons.

 

Kincaid took a shine to the game, and was recruited to join the local youth squad when he was 12 years old. He quickly established a reputation as a skilled offensive player, leading the league in goals and total points for 3 straight seasons. His efforts were rewarded as he was named to the national U-17 squad, representing Ireland in the world championships 2 years in a row.

 

When he was 17, he began playing in the adult league, and once again shone in an offensive role, putting up 30 goals in a 24 game schedule. He was once again named to the Irish national team, this time helping his country secure a silver medal in the Tier 2 International Championships.

 

Kincaid proudly representing the Emerald Isle

 

Because of his efforts, he was asked to declare for the VHLM league.

 

VHLM - Season 36

 

Kincaid suited up for the Watchmen

 

Kincaid joined the league approximately halfway through Season 36. he was picked up on the waiver wire by the powerhouse Bratislava Watchmen. Slotted into a 4th line role for depth purposes, Kincaid's stat line was largely unimpressive:

 

Player Name                    GP   G   A   P  +/-  PIM  PM5  HIT  HTT   SHT
Kez Kincaid ® (BRA)    38    2   1   3  18    14      0      48     33      17  

 

His 3 points were tied for lowest on the team, and it is fair to say he struggled in his season. Fortunately he was sheltered by the fact the Watchmen were practically unbeatable - in the 38 games he played, the team lost just once, and that in a shootout.

 

Bratislava went on to win the championship, but again Kincaid was a non-factor, as the stat line shows:

 

Player Name                    GP   G   A   P  +/-   PIM   PM5  HIT HTT  SHT
Kez Kincaid ® (BRA)    10     0   2   2  -1       0         0    14    12      5

 

So despite being part of a championship squad, Kincaid's play and development were definitely not that inspiring.

 

Two Drafts For The Price Of One

 

The S37 off-season was an interesting time for Kincaid. Because he was a waiver wire pick-up, Kez would be eligible for two drafts - the VHL Draft and the VHLM Dispersal Draft. One team would hold his rights to the VHL if he could ever develop to that caliber, and another would see him play for them in the next VHLM season.

 

The VHL Draft was held first, and Kincaid was selected as the final pick of the second round, 20th overall, by the Cologne Express. Cologne was a team in a rebuild mode, and held 6 picks in the first 2 rounds. With that 20th pick, they took a flyer on Kincaid, despite the weak scouting report, apparently in hopes some of the winning tradition of Bratislava would have rubbed off on him! While Kincaid was not projected to make an immediate impact on the team, he was a reasonable insurance policy for a patient team.

 

Then, at the VHLM Draft, Kincaid heard his name announced at 16th overall, chosen with Turku's 9th (!) pick of this draft. With so many players ahead of him, Kincaid could be considered a safe risk, as the team's fortunes would not rely heavily on one player making or breaking them. So Kincaid packed his bags and headed off to Finland to play another season.

 

VHLM: Season 37

 

Kincaid was still on the lower rungs of the depth chart with Turku, and found himself slotted into a third line center role. A renewed dedication to training and development had positive results for Kincaid as well as the Outlaws. This season Kincaid was a bigger part of his team's success, helping the Outlaws to a second-place regular season finish. Here are his stats for the year:

 

Player Name                    GP   G   A   P  +/- PIM PM5  HIT  HTT  SHT
Kez Kincaid ® (TUR     72   21  32  53  25  30    0      81   138   175 

 

This may not seem excessively high, after all this was good enough for only 8th on his own team, but
when you consider that he had a grand total of 3 minutes of powerplay time, it meant his line drove
the play quite frequently at even strength, and could be dangerous if taken lightly.

 

Kincaid was able to step his play up another level in the playoffs, breaking out to score 8 goals in
the 11 playoff games involving Turku. This was good enough for second place league-wide, and he had the best shooting percentage amongst all playoff performers, at almost 35%. Here is Kincaid's stat line:

 

Player Name                    GP   G   A   P  +/- PIM PM5  HIT  HTT  SHT
Kez Kincaid ® (TUR)     11   8    2  10   6     8     0       8     31     23  

 

Kincaid in Turku colors

 

Turku unfortunately fell short in their quest for a championship, but Kincaid's performance was more
encouraging for him personally.

 

SEASON 38 AND BEYOND: PROJECTION

 

Kincaid will most definitely return to Turku for another season, and should find himself moving up the
ladder to play a more prominent role on the first or second line. Kincaid has focused his training largely on the offensive aspects, his main strengths being his skating and shooting skills. He was strong in the faceoff circle, his 55% rating was among the league's best and he will need to continue this.

 

He still needs work on his passing and puck handling skills, and would benefit from not neglecting his
endurance and strength conditioning. He plays responsibly defensively, and does have decent size,
but he lacks the power to play an overly physical game, and he frequently takes more hits than he
dishes out.

 

If he continues to work on all aspects of his game, there is no reason not to expect him to continue to show an offensive flair, and be amongst the league scoring leaders in S38.

 

Cologne has a large number of prospects in the system, and Kincaid will have to work a little harder
if he wants to be able to rise above the rest and crack that roster. Expectations will rise, and it will be up to Kincaid to meet or exceed them. His development has lagged behind others from his draft class in many ways, but the race is not always to the swiftest, so time will tell whether the investment
in him pays dividends.

 

[Guest Svoboda_3]

Content: 5/5

What a great job here. I loved this and more specifically the stat lines you included and just the way you organized the thought process. You were very in-depth here with your Profile and with no glaring weaknesses, this was damn near perfect.

Grammar: 1/1

Nothing too severe.

 

world championships = World Championships

24 game = 24-game

he = He

faceoff = face-off

Appearance: 1/1

Well done.

Over 500 Words? 1/1

1,125 words.

Overall 8/8

[Guest]

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