Groovy Dood Prospect Report

[bigAL 2,176]

Groovy Dood is *so* hot right now.

The S72 project has had a meteoric rise to the VHL. The kid left his hippy commune to pursue his dream of being a professional hockey player at the end of S72. He joined the Halifax 21st for a short orientation to the league (6GP) before entering the VHLM Dispersal Draft.

Scouts didn’t quite know what to make of Groovy Dood. As a rookie agent, the legend of bigAL hadn’t quite coalesced at that point. Groovy Dood slid all the way to the round. bigAL, Miami AGM at that point, wasn’t able to convince his bosses to take Groovy, and the Dood was snapped up by Minnesota one pick before Miami was due to select him.
This proved to be a draft-day coup by Minnesota Storm manager Rayz. The ultra-deep S73 Storm added a powerful playmaker who could move up, down, left, and right in the lineup. Groovy Dood saw time at LW – his natural position – but made a mid-season change to centre. This position shift got Groovy more ice-time, and complemented his play style well. Line juggling meant Dood spent time bouncing back and forth between the wing and the middle, but the inconsistency didn’t bother him.

Groovy Dood, always with the friendly smile and desire to help others, passed the puck lots in S72. His final tally of 57 points doesn’t tell the whole story – 48 of those points were assists. Groovy Dood played the role of a second-line playmaker well. He used his big body and strong defensive instincts to make sure the ice was tilted toward the opposing net. He hit, he shot, and he fought: 88 HIT; 136 SHT; 43 PIM. While his team didn’t get the playoffs results they wanted, Groovy Dood showed the league that he was willing and able to be a complementary role player on a star-studded team.

Fortunately for Dood, he graduated from one top-heavy team to another. The D.C. Dragons, winners of the S73 Draft Lottery, saw the potential of Groovy. GM Enorama was blasted in the media for the pick, with certain commentators stressing that Dood would only ever amount to a depth player, not worthy of spending a first-overall pick on. Where Negative Nancys focused on the low ceiling of Groovy, D.C. instead made their decision based on his high floor. With studs like Benny Graves, Xavier LeFlament, Luciano Valentino, and Stone “Cold” Wolski, Groovy Dood is under little pressure to perform statistically immediately. His job is to control play, make space for his teammates, and draw defenders away from the hot scorers: all things that don’t show up on the boxcar stats. That’s not to say that Groovy Dood has no offensive production – his breakout five-point game against L.A. earlier this season showed that the Dood is starting to learn what to do with the puck.

Groovy Dood is going to succeed in the VHL. He may not be up for any individual awards, and he may not have the fanciest hockeydb page, but he makes his team and teammates better by being in the lineup. Keep an eye out for Groovy Dood’s name on the Continental Cup very soon.

Strengths:
-    Defensive awareness
-    Silky smooth hands
-    Big broad shoulders
Areas for Improvement:
-    Skating
-    Shooting
-    Winning in the playoffs

 

[Kekzkrieg 160]