The Weight of the World – Pistil Stamen Rookie Experience

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The Weight of the World – Pistil Stamen Rookie Experience

 

Being selected first overall carries a lot of expectations with it. The fans are excited to see the player succeed and help the team. The coaches want a player who is an elite talent, but also will listen, learn, and buy into their system. Management want a marketable player who will sell tickets and merchandise. Owners want a face of the franchise. All of those expectations can create a burden on the player. It’s up to the player to handle the burdens and still perform on the ice.

 

Growing up in a remote region in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Pistil Stamen never knew of the bright lights of Los Angeles. He was unaware of the spotlight focused on elite athletes. This naiveite did not help him as he was catapulted into the limelight by not only being drafted 1^st overall, but by a major city, Los Angeles.

 

His adjustment was difficult for many reasons. First, the language barrier. While Pistil has begun to learn English, it’s a complex language that is tough to pick up quickly. That barrier makes interviews lengthy and clumsy. It’s made communicating with his teammates difficult and it makes learning from his coaches hard. Another difficulty was the culture shock. Life in Brazil was much different for Pistil. His main focus in Brazil was helping his village. He’d spend hours hunting and gathering food. He had a tight knit family and community. Life in Los Angeles is much different. Pistil has had a tough time adjusting to that. He felt lonely and isolated from everyone and everything he knew. Probably the biggest difficulty was playing hockey at the highest professional level in the world. Pistil barely had any organized hockey experience when he was discovered. Now he’s been thrusted into the best-of-the-best. The game is faster, the hits are harder, the players are smarter. All of that has been overwhelming for Stamen.

 

All of those difficult adjustments had an effect on Pistil’s on ice performance. While he showcased his talent in the VHLM, recording over a point a game. His production dropped by more than half during his rookie season in the VHL. His 30 points in 72 games was the worst on the entire team. His -35 +/- rating was the worst in the entire league. His team, the Los Angeles Stars finished with the 2^nd worst record and missed the playoffs. The numbers don’t even tell the whole story. Many times, Pistil looked lost on the ice. His teammates no longer trusted him and the coaching staff appeared to lose faith in him. To call the season a disappointment is an understatement.

Pistil understands he needs to keep working hard in order to improve and has vowed to keep putting his full effort into improving his hockey skills and becoming better adjusted to the life of a professional hockey player. He does not want to let his fans, teammates, coaches, or most importantly himself down.