Claimed:Thomas O'Malley Biography

[NotAVHLM-GM 1,858]

Thomas O'Malley: The story so far.

 

The story of Thomas O’Malley begins in the city of Boston where he was born as the son of two Irish immigrants who started a pub after moving to the United States. They lived in an apartment above the pub and as a kid he regularly sneaked downstairs to walk around in the pub. Most of the times that there were a lot of visitors is when the Boston Bruins played. The pub was packed with people and Thomas enjoyed watching the hockey games amongst the (mostly drunk) crowd. As the son of the owners the visitors knew they would have to protect the kid so he was never in any danger there.

 

The pub of his parents.

 

The Boston fans loved having the young Thomas around and taught him a lot about the game of hockey, so when he finally reached the age that he could start playing himself he couldn’t wait to start skating. He lived for hockey and the Boston crowd knew that O’Malley could grow into a player the city would be proud off. He still had a long way to go though, coming out of a hard-working family he also had other issues he had to take care off. School for example was something Thomas wasn’t really interested in. He rather stayed outside to work on his shooting techniques. After skipping school numerous times his parents had to make a rigorous decision. He was not allowed to play anymore if his schoolwork was not finished. It devastated Thomas as he barely got by at school, which meant he could spend less time practicing his skating.

 

Thomas O'Malley: Boston Homegrown

 

This went on for a couple of years until he realized that getting his grades up would be good for his future. At the age of twelve he started working harder at school, all with the mindset of him being able to join a good school that would have a nice hockey program, so that he could get practice hours in. After succeeding and getting in his coaches quickly saw the amount of talent he had and he was asked how he would feel to declare for the USHL at the age of 16.  He was honored at being given the chance even though he knew it would mean he would have to move out of Boston. After declaring himself eligible for the USHL draft he got selected 21^st overall by the Lincoln Stars where he experienced decent success for the next two years.

 

 

In action for the Lincoln Stars

 

Now he has reached the age of 18 he has come in contact with Ivo Willems of an agency that also represented VHL goaltender Remy LeBeau. Impressed that they would contact him he immediately told him he was up for signing a contract with them. After having signed with the agency both parties agreed it would be good for his career to start in the VHLM as soon as possible. He will be eligible for the S39 VHLM and the S40 VHL Draft, that’s where O’Malley’s story will really begin.

 

 

A quick look at the positive and negatives side of Thomas O’Malley.

 

 

Positive:
 

Vision: He always knows where the puck is going to be and he makes sure he is there before his opponents. His excellent skating ability helps him to be faster as his opponents. He plays as a scoring center who despite his shoot first mentality does not forget about his teammates. If they are in a better position as him, he will see them and deliver the puck on time.

 

Technique: O’Malley might actually be the most skilled forward in this year’s draft. He excels in one-on-one situations where he usually outsmarts his opponents with his quick stick handling skills. He has a lethal backhand shot and is an absolute asset to have on any power play. O’Malley can both score on the wrist- and slap shot and is a real offensive threat.

 

A solid leader for his teams.

 

Leadership: Thomas O’Malley is a great locker room guy and he will likely make it to captain somewhere down the road. He is very vocal towards his teammates and shows himself off as the go-to guy for any situations. He likes to unite a team together and knows when the team expects him to be there. When there are problems on the ice he will be the first to stick up for his teammates, while he is not a fighter he knows how to stick up for his teammates. A true born leader who will always put his team over himself.

 

 

Negative:
 

Unproven:  While most junior prospects go through a four year career in the juniors, O’Malley has chosen to not continue on that path. Instead of finishing his development he wanted to make the switch to the Victory Hockey League as soon as possible. While still being unproven he has a long way to go before he can make an impact in the VHL. He will need at least a full season of VHLM training to become ready for the VHL. This may seem little to most scouts, but for O’Malley himself it was not fast enough. He believes he already has what it takes, having to stay a full year in the minors might not be something he had counted on.

 

Passive defense:  While he knows how to hit, he plays more of a passive defensive style than one would expect from a leadership figure as him. In the defensive zone he needs to step up and become a more active player. On a penalty kill situation you will usually not see him out on the primary killing unit. Until he plays a more physical style of defensive, O’Malley still might be a liability for playing on the other side of the ice. He has the skill for an all out offensive style of hockey, but with offense alone you won’t win games.

 

O'Malley knows how to party

 

Distractions: Due to growing up in a pub he already has his own ways of getting his hands on alcohol and he regularly abuses this in order to throw parties for him and his friends. While it did not influence his career much until this point, his weekly parties might get underway when he will do them after being drafted in a professional hockey league. The times of partying and not being disciplined will be over, it is just unsure if O’Malley will be able to deal with that.

 

[Will 4,660]

Overview- 3/3 

Interesting bio you have here. I think you had a perfect balance of childhood/upbringing, hockey, and personal information. I like that you saved some of the hockey jabber for your Rookie Profile. Sounds like O'Malley is going to be just as much as a beast as LeBeau was, and I hope he is. Maybe we'll share a locker room someday, if you're lucky.

Grammar- 2/2 

Just a couple silly things:

 

son of the owners = son of the owners, 

 

off = of

 

Presentation- 1/1 

Looks good.

Pros- 2/2 

240 words. Nicely done. With the combination of his ability to read the play, as well as his technique, you should be right in saying that O'Malley will be lethal. Leadership can never hurt, either.

Cons- 2/2 

317 words. I think it's safe to say that the Willems agency would not have signed O'Malley if they didn't have what it takes, I think he'll have no trouble proving himself. Hopefully he can outgrow the distractions and focus on his game.

Overall- 10/10 

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