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[Quik 4,113]

Mingle Putting in Off-Season Work

 

CHICAGO, IL - Heading into Season 74, two things were clear for the Phoenix’s top Draft Selection, Christian Mingle: he has a fantastic scoring touch, possibly the best in his draft class, and his skating was completely sub-par when compared to his peers. Being new to the sport, having only played one and a half seasons of men’s league before joining the VHLM in S73, the Israeli sniper had not had a chance to face off against top competition, or skaters anywhere near as good as those in the Victory Hockey League, possibly the league with the best skating ability in the world, and had yet to stumble, scoring an impressive 47 goals on a very strong Houston team in his single VHLM season. That combination of poor skating and lack of experience created an interesting experiment for the rookie Center, one in which, one season later, many would consider a massive failure.

 

After a stumble out of the gate, failing to notch a single point in just 46 minutes, over his first 3 games, Mingle reeled off a solid stretch, with 2 goals and 3 assists over 138 minutes in his next five appearances. Unfortunately for Mingle and his Chicago teammates, that was essentially the peak of his season, as he would go scoreless over his next five, and finished the season with a measly 11 goals and 24 points over the course of Chicago’s 72-game season. With peers in the league, showing similar skill sets, scoring at much better rates, especially those who were the focal points of their teams’ offence the way Mingle was meant to be, it was clear that his poor skating ability indeed was an issue for him at the top level of professional hockey.

 

“It was an extremely disappointing season, for myself, on the personal side of things. I maybe had a bit of hubris, thinking I could maintain my scoring ways when I was clearly so far behind the rest of the league in such a vital skill. Who knows how much a difference it would have made in the grand scheme of things (Chicago finished 13 points out of a playoff spot), but thankfully I have some great teammates who never got down on me as I struggled to keep pace this season.”

 

 

As a leader on the young Chicago team, both in terms of players and being a recent expansion franchise, Mingle was not ready to let his disastrous first foray into the VHL be his defining moment. Knowing the amount of work everybody else on his team, and in the organization, has put into improving their play, the only way for Mingle to truly lead the way would be to improve his on ice play, and the only way to do that would be to focus his efforts on improving his skating ability. In order to do that, he would need to rebuild his stride from the ground up, from speed, to power, to agility, it was clear that none of those were attributes Mingle possessed.

 

With one thing on his mind, entering the off-season, Christian got an early jump, hiring figure skater Tessa Virtue after the S74 Trade Deadline to start working with him on his worst attribute. The former World Champion and 3-time Gold Medalist made quik work, starting by breaking down his stride, which was choppy on its best day. By the time the season ended, Mingle was already showing massive improvement on his own base, though still skating with a below league-average ability. By the time the VHL’s Draft Lottery tournament came around, Mingle showed he was better able to keep up with his competition, and it resulted in an increased offensive showing during the 10-game tournament, with 5 goals and 9 points from the center.

 

Still, Mingle was largely unsatisfied, knowing that he has the talent to be a top scorer in the league: “It was nice to show I am capable of actually scoring in this league, but I didn’t sign up and get drafted just to be decent. Considering the competition and how well a lot of players did in that tournament, I don’t think there’s any laurels to rest on heading into the summer. I will be a much improved player next season!”

 

Heading into the off-season, Mingle and Virtue went to work, spending long hours in the rinks of Chicago, in an effort to fully transform his game. While the fruits of his labour will not be on display until the VHL’s Season 75 begins - Mingle was not selected to play for either Team World or Team Mercenaries at the bi-annual summer VHL World Cup - those who have seen the scorer on the ice have attested to the fact that he has approached, and possibly even surpassed, league average skating ability. While league average is not a place he aspires to stay, it is a testament to the long hours Mingle has put into improving his game. As it stands, league sources believe that Mingle’s skating ability is similar to that of teammate Squirrely dan, who led the team with 42 goals and 87 points last season, numbers that many prognosticators believe should be achievable in Christian Mingle’s sophomore season. Should Mingle approach, or surpass, those scoring figures, he would very much be the leading candidate for the Season 75 Dustin Funk Trophy as the league’s Most Improved Player.

 

 

Coming to camp with what should be a vastly improved toolbox, Mingle didn’t seem too enamoured with the possibility of winning the Funk: “It’d be a cool acknowledgement of the work I put in, I guess, but it’s also kind of a reminder about how poor of a season I had last year, you know? Obviously getting your name on any trophy in this league is an accomplishment, but my eyes are on grander things like helping this team make its first playoff appearance, and, ultimately, winning a Continental Cup. In terms of personal accomplishments, it’s not really something I’ve thought about, and there’s certainly other awards that I’d prefer to win, if we’re talking that side of things.”

 

As Mingle and the Phoenix prepare for the season, set to get underway in just a few days time, there is an optimism in the air that they can show some real growth, and, perhaps, find themselves in a playoff spot in the weakened North American conference. Time will tell if those hopes bear fruit, but the team, and its top forward, look on track to have a much better performance in the league’s 75th season!

 

1,093 words, claiming weeks ending: November 22nd, November 29th

[Toast 887]

4 hours ago, Quik said:

made quik work

I want to give you a 0/10 just for this, but I'll let it slide. I love seeing this kind of formatting to make articles seem more legitimate and your writing is fantastic. I learned a ton about Mingle coming into this knowing nothing and the article flowed perfectly. My only criticism is the top image doesn't line up with the others (left vs. centering) and they seem odd without text under them but overall this was a great read. 10/10

[thadthrasher 1,692]

The way you described his stumbling in both the physical skating way and in the sense of his VHL scoring made me imagine Happy Gilmore. I like how clean this media spot is. There aren't any overly-noticeable spelling or grammar errors, and it's easy to read. This is one of those media spots that make me think, "maybe Christian Mingle is a real person after all." Well done! 10/10

[fyrefly 172]

Review: This is a perfect article in all aspects. You sure know how to write one. The photos are nice, the paragraphs are short and to the point, and you use lots of small details picked up from both the VHL world and the real one. I usually don't like calling anything perfect, but this is quite perfect. 10/10

[Quik 4,113]

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