Clinton Giftopoulos Junior Review

[Thranduil 293]

Clinton Giftopoulos: Against all Odds

 

 

Clinton Giftopoulos | #24

D | 6' 5" | 234 lb | Age: 16 | Houston Bulls

 

 When he was born, Clinton Giftopoulos was, simply put, one of the least likely people to ever play professional hockey. His father, Alexandros Giftopoulos was an infamous, wanted Greek terrorist, who had exiled to Maldives along with his wife Valentina in the year that Clinton would later be born. Clinton was raised in Maldives until he was 4 years old, when his parents were both killed in an incident involving his father and the CIA. Following the incident, Clinton was sent to live at an orphanage in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, but ran away after less than two years. During this time he met an elderly lady named Mrs. Brown who let Clinton live with her. Mrs. Brown decided to send Clinton to elementary school to interact with other children, and that's when he met Arnie, a boy who was in love with the local VHLM hockey team, the Halifax 21st. Arnie took Clinton to some games and Clinton fell in love with the sport. Arnie would later move away, around the same time as Mrs. Brown grew seriously ill. To escape from all the stress, Clinton spent his summer days sneaking into the Halifax 21st arena to watch training camp. He then met John Madden, captain of the Halifax 21st, and after getting to know each other for a while, the two became good friends. John gave Clinton season's tickets to Halifax games and began to teach him the basics of playing hockey. Soon after this, Mrs. Brown passed away. Clinton was devastated to lose another parental figure, but he was glad to have John's friendship. John let Clinton move in with him, and introduced him to the other teammates. The two of them were inseparable and Clinton went to all of Halifax's games, both home and away. After a successful S64 season, the time came for John to move on to the HC Davos Dynamo of the VHL. Knowing he wouldn't be able to take Clinton with him, he sent him to live with his family in Calgary. Already having had 6 children, the Maddens gladly accepted Clinton as one of their own.

 

When Clinton arrived in Calgary, he began playing organized hockey for the first time. Being eight years old at the time, he had to work extra hard to keep up with the other kids, as many of them had a few extra years of experience. Clinton had always been tall for his age, but it took him a while before he realized he could use his size to his advantage. Once he did, he became a force to be reckoned with, often dominating the other players throughout his years in Atoms and Peewee hockey. During his time in Calgary, Clinton watched all of John's games with the Maddens, and took inspiration from him, becoming driven to follow in his footsteps. John's father, Hughie Madden spent lots of time working 1 on 1 with Clinton, the same way he had with John. With Hughie's help, Clinton put all of his natural talent towards defense, realizing that he was best suited to the blueline. John would come home to visit in the summers, and would sometimes take Clinton and the family back to Halifax to visit the team and coach. John gave Clinton lots of advice when he was around, but by this time Clinton was so self-motivated to succeed, that nothing was going to stop him from making it to pro hockey. He cruised through Bantam, now established as one of the top defensemen his age in all of Calgary.

 

When Clinton hit Midget age, he joined the Calgary Buffaloes of the Alberta Midget Hockey League, and at the age of 15, he was made an assistant captain. In his first year with the team, he scored 7 goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 38 games. Clinton began noticing his name being posted on various scouting lists online, and this made him more determined than ever. The largest criticism of his play was that he wasn't taking defense seriously enough. Clinton saw the criticism as a challenge. When John arrived home that summer from his final season in the VHL, the two of them spent all summer working on defense alone. By now Clinton was 16 years old, and well over 200 pounds and six feet, already one of the largest players on his team. In Clinton's second year with the Buffaloes, he was made captain, and John decided to give head coaching a shot. The team was immensely successful under their leadership, starting the season 13-2-1, and sitting at of a record of 20-5-3 after 28 games. Clinton managed 12 goals and 21 assists for 33 points in his first 28 games of the season, and as a result of his stellar play, was offered his first pro contract by the VHLM's Houston Bulls. He gladly accepted, seeing it as a big honour to receive a pro contract at only 16 years of age. Clinton Giftopoulos now plays for the Houston Bulls, and seems to be fitting in nicely. He can't wait to see what the rest of his career will bring to the table.

Edited November 30, 2020 by Thranduil