What To Expect: Kristof Welch

[Juice 641]

 

'Tis the season where the GM's and AGM's of all the VHL and VHLM teams will be scrambling around (well, the ones with draft picks left if they haven't traded them all away) trying to create some sort of draft list after conducting countless interviews of all the available players in the upcoming drafts. From the outside looking in, as I haven't been apart of the VHL long and I have no idea what the management work is like here, I could just imagine the work that is needed to be done just based off my personal opinion on how I would handle the management job as well as based on the few conversations I've personally had with a select few GMs for some different organizations and I think that they've had to do that at least 10+ times by now, if not more.

 

Thus, what better way to make the management jobs easier for the teams than to answer the most basic and frequently asked questions that I'm sure most teams are looking to seek answers out for. To note, I really, really enjoy the conversations and answering the questions over private messages on the forums more than doing something like this and I would really like to insist that if a GM or AGM is looking to ask my some questions, that my inbox is always open and that I try to answer your questions to my fullest ability as soon as possible. However, I know that sometimes it's not as easy to get around to every prospect in a draft, so this would be more for teams that might be interested in Kristof Welch joining their organization, but that does not have the time to approach me personally.

 

With that being said, let's begin!

 

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• Where do you see yourself playing next season if drafted?

 

For me, being a team-player will always come first. I do not think I would be as selfish as to be making a decision on where I want to play next season without first thinking about what would work best for the teams (both VHL and VHLM) that draft me. Of course, making the VHL is the end-goal for me, however if the VHL team suggests that I play another full season with the VHLM team that drafts me, I am fully onboard with that. Personally, I would always say another year of development wouldn't hurt (despite being almost at the 250 TPE max cap for the VHLM already) and it'd be interesting to see how I do as a big piece down in the VHLM, however I would need to explore all my options and make sure I'm taking the best route possible.

 

• What type of player do you want to see Kristof Welch become?

 

The best way I would like to describe myself as a player would be someone who can be reliable in their own zone so they are not a defensive liability, however they are still an offensively minded playmaking defenseman. I would say that I'd want to base my game around someone like Lidstrom who is one of my all-time favourite players, however to try to replicate one of the best of all time is a really hard task to accomplish. However, I am really dedicated to making sure I make the best build possible to insure that I do not put up countless minus' on the +/- statistics as well as PIMs, even if it means getting a lot of points. I would really rather have something like a 60 point season with a +20 and 20 PIM compared to a 90 point season with a -10 and 50 PIM.

 

• What type of role do you want with your player?

Without a doubt I would push to become a top-2 defender that can provide a lot of minutes providing relatively good offense and solid defense on both even strength and special teams. I would also hope that the team that would draft me would hopefully value me as a franchise piece (or one of the franchise pieces) that would give his all for his team, even if that means reduced minutes if that means the team comes out with a win at the end of the day. I know that I wouldn't be able to be a top-2 defender right away and that working my way up to the first pairing takes time, however with my limited experience with my VHLM team that picked me up (the Yukon Rush) where I started out on the bottom pairing and worked my way up to the most minutes per game on the entire team for the skaters, I feel like I'm ready to develop my game at whatever pace is needed.

 

• Would you stick with the franchise that picked you for most of your career, or would you pursue other organizations if the possibility came up?

 

The biggest thing for me is respect when it comes to attributes I value the most. Thus, being chosen in the draft is a huge honour for me and I would want to repay the favour and the risk of picking me in the draft, as using draft picks should never be used lightly, by being a core franchise member of the team. This mostly comes from me seeing my idols be drafted and play their entire career with my favourite team (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Yzerman, etc.), and I would love to replicate the same thing by sticking beside the team that drafted me all the way through, through the rough times like rebuilds to the great times like pushing for the cup.

 

• Ultimately, what are your main goals you want to accomplish and shoot for in your career?

 

Mentioned a bit previously, my ultimate goal would be sticking with a team from drafted to retirement, however not only that but also to be a franchise piece on the blue-line that the team can count on me for consistently being productive and reliable, but also being a core member of the organization in and out of the locker-room. I do not want to be here to coast along in my career, I want to make sure that I am remembered in the organization during and after I've ended my career. Whether that means breaking records or just being known as a really solid defender, I want to make sure my player is known as someone who came to the team like a lightning bolt and never stopped until the end. Oh and of course, being someone that helped the team onwards to a cup win (or several) would be amazing as well.

 

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I hope these questions and answers cleared up any sort of thoughts on what to expect out of Kristof Welch on a basic level, and if any management staff for either the VHL or VHLM teams has any questions (even if you'd like me to expand on what I mentioned above) please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Answering your questions would be my pleasure and I would love to get acquainted with anyone who would value me enough to draft me in the upcoming drafts!

 

(1196 Words)

[Juice 641]

Claiming for: 01/10/2021

[BOOM 8,846]

#1 Overall.

[Bobo 514]

I love this q/a style of writing. well formatted, written, and edited. I couldn't really spot any kind of mistakes. I also love how you took your stats over Welch's career and implemented them into the Q/As for management to see, it's a nice added touch. The graphic at the top is really cool too; a nice touch, yet it brings the whole piece together. 

 

FINAL RATING: 10/10.