Uhtred on being a Veteran Bear

[leafsman 207]

I am now in my fourth season with the bears and that means that alot more will be expected of me now that I'm no longer on my rookie deal.  It has been a great start to my career here in Seattle as we have won the cup twice in my first three seasons in the VHL.  It's was a great dominant performance by us last season in winning  the the victory cup to go along with the one everyone wants the continental cup. There have been a lot of changes as some of our great players retired or moved on due to the salary cap and because of that I have placed higher expectations on myself. 

 

Bears forward greats like Scott Greene and Ambrose stark are no longer with us so I really need to step up my play to try and make up for the loss of those legends.  I am not a very loud presence in the locker room but I can be a silent leader by showing all the younger bears how to be a professional hockey player day in and day out.  I pride myself on working hard and doing whatever it takes to help us win.  In my first season here we won a cup and I was more than happy to be more of a role player and chip in offensively when I got the chance.  I can share this experience with some of the rookies like Campbell and rocket and encourage them them that they can make great contributions to winning a cup even if it doesn't show up on the scoresheet.  It's great to score goals and put up alot of points but what's most important to me is winning and I hope I can instill that desire to win in the younger bears. 

 

My expectations for myself are to continue to put up the high scoring numbers as that's the strength of my game.  That said I have also been working very hard on the defensive part of the game so that I can be a more well rounded player out there.  I am not a physical player so I need to keep working on my positioning and work ethic on the defense side of the game.  They say defense wins championship and although I don't really agree with that statement its still an important part of the game.  I feel that to win you need to be great at both ends of the rink and just can't rely on one just being great in one of the zones.   That's another aspect I want to share with my teammates.  You may not be the biggest, stongeest or fastest player in the league but if you have a great work ethic then you'll be successful in this league.  Everyone who plays in the VHL is a very talent hockey player but what separates a good player from a great player is your work ethic or as some call it your compete level.    

 

My words of advice to young bears would be to always work hard and focus on playing great at both ends of the rink.  If you're not producing at the level you want but you have that compete level at max then guys will fight tooth and nail for you.  A perfect bear player is one who gives it 100% every single game, one who is loyal and one who is willing to accept whatever role the team needs you to play to win another continental cup. 

Edited October 11, 2020 by leafsman