Erik Killinger | Veteran Presence

[Peace 1,518]

ERIK KILLINGER | D
TORONTO LEGION

 

 

A lot has changed for me since I joined the league as a rookie: I completely changed who I was for the betterment of my team, so things have certainly been interesting. My rookie season was different from a lot of other upcoming veterans, and there's probably a ton of change coming in the future too. You see, I joined the Legion in season seventy one as a winger, and I did alright. I didn't win the top rookie award like I had hoped, but I think I did alright, and I was poised to become -- in my opinion -- a dangerous forward for Toronto. I still think of how effective Magnum and I could have been, and now that you're tossing in McDagg or Merrick... what could have been, right?

 

Wasn't meant to be. 

That off season I switched to defense for the club, it was a weakness that the skipper couldn't reliably address so I stepped up and said 'alright, I'll do it' and that's basically how it went. I spent the entire off season essentially rewriting myself, as if this chapter in my career was a legitimate novel someone was writing. I had the rough edges of a defender already, the talent I should say to play the position, just not the knowledge. My identity as a player never really changed, I still like to generate offense, just from afar now I suppose. What I really had to do was buckle down and learn some defensive awareness, and maybe some discipline. 

Another thing that rookie Killinger wouldn't have anticipated compared to today would be the physicality. I was never someone to lay down a check if it meant stopping a play, but as a defensemen, that's something I find myself doing frequently. One thing I felt like I was doing better as a rookie was discipline, I understand the more physical you get the more penalties you'll receive or draw, but I've become... almost careless, or complacent, and it's bugging me.   

 

Although my identity as a hockey player hasn't shifted too much, my priorities as one certainly has. As a forward -- depending on what type of forward you are -- you're thinking mostly about offense; generating scoring opportunities, creating rebounds, keeping the puck in the attacking zone, stuff like that are constantly on a forwards mind. As a defender I find myself focusing on different areas of a hockey game, my priorities aren't just in the offensive zone anymore, my priorities are to play as best I can in all three zones of the ice. In the offensive zone I toss the puck towards the net, pass it to anyone who is open, and try to keep the puck in. Sounds normal, right, but it's when that puck is chipped into the neutral zone I've got to bet back and try to stop them from getting access to our zone. 

Checking, strong stick play, positioning myself between the carrier and a potential receiver, blocking a shot so Hextall doesn't have too. It's a whole other aspect of the game I never really thought about before.

 

I'll wrap it up there though.

Killinger out.

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by Peace