Isau DaMoose Junior Review

[Eynhallow 412]

As a young boy DaMoose did not have what one would call a “traditional” path to major hockey.
His formative years were spent in the non-existent community of Gargantua on the shores of
Gitche Gumee. The only advantage to this location was that winters were long and cold, thus
allowing the intrepid young DaMoose ample opportunity to practice his meagre skills on the
frozen beaver ponds. Using the week-end edition of the Globe and Mail as shinpads, hand me
down skates that were 2 sizes too large and his father’s old work gloves DaMoose discovered
that the puck travelled much faster off the ice than on. At this point Damoose was about 10
years old and had not played organized hockey nor had he played on a real rink. During that
year DaMoose Sr. moved his small family to Bummer’s Roost where there was hockey to be
played. And so young DaMoose began his career by playing Atom hockey for the Bummer’s
Roost Smugglers. Needless to say, this was an inauspicious beginning filled with much
chasing, hacking at the puck and crashing into the boards. However, young DaMoose persisted
as hockey was in his blood. DaMoose Sr. was struggling to keep food on the table and a roof
over his family’s heads and, so, just before his 13th birthday the DaMoose family moved again.
DaMoose Sr. had gotten a temporary job with the CNR trapping the beaver whose ponds
threatened the railway. The family settled in Fire River and young DaMoose began to play
hockey for the Fire River Dragons. It was, indeed, fortunate at this time that the Dragons had as
their coach an elderly European gentleman ( Gunnar Gunnarsson a.k.a. Coach GG). Coach
GG focussed on skill development as opposed to the typical Northern Ontario philosophy of
“crush’em agin the boards”. Young DaMoose began to develop as a hockey player playing
against teams such as the Oba Warriors, the Peterbell Tinkerbells and the Jogues Jokes. Alas,
the beaver population dried up and the DaMoose family once again relocated, this time to the
ghost town of Swords, which amazingly had a hockey team. The Swords Slashers !
Unfortunately this team lived up to its name with many players spending more time in the
penalty box than on the players bench. Isau DaMoose’s big break came at this time. While
playing shinny on the frozen surface of Maple Lake he was observed by an ice fisherman wh
happened to be a connoisseur of hockey talent. He marvelled at DaMoose’s speed, skill and
blistering backhand. Those same observations were brought to the attention of the Victory
Hockey League where DaMoose is currently awaiting a contract