Christian Mingle - Veteran Presents

[Quik 4,113]

C - CHRISTIAN MINGLE

CHICAGO PHOENIX

S74 DRAFTEE (2ND OVERALL)

6'1" | 185 LBS

 

vet·er·an

/ˈvedərən,ˈvetrən/

noun

noun: veteran; plural noun: veterans

a person who has had long experience in a particular field.

"a veteran of ten seasons"

 

When people think of veterans in sport, the first thing that pops into mind are players who have been doing it for years, usually in the back half of their career. Entering your third season in the league is rarely looked at as deep into a career, unless you're playing football where the average career length is shorter than a typical presidential term. In the Victory Hockey League, though, 3 seasons is nearly half a player's career, so it makes sense that, weird as it may seem, players are considered Veterans before their Rookie level contract even ends. Such is the case with Christian Mingle, who is beginning his 3rd VHL campaign in S76.

 

In fact, some may have considered him a veteran in the league last season, given the amount of time and effort he puts into his training, as well as the fact that he was named the first Captain in Chicago franchise history. As one of the higher TPE players from the onset of his career, Mingle has been looked to as a leader for the fledgling Phoenix franchise, only entering their 2nd season by the time he arrived; so what has changed for him as he continues to grow his game?

 

"To be honest, I don't think much, if anything, changes for me in terms of who I am as a person. On the ice, I've tried to expand my game, working very hard to improve my skating and bring it to at least league average, as well as adding a physical element so that teams can't come into our arena and just push us around. Maybe the biggest change there will be expectations. I'm not a rookie anymore, and my performance hasn't been good enough, as far as I'm concerned. This is a big year for both me and the team, and I've got some lofty goals that I'm hopeful we can achieve.

 

Off the ice though, I've tried my best to be available to my teammates since the moment I was drafted. I don't think I'm a rah-rah type of guy, but I do my best to offer help if anyone needs it. I'm a big video guy, and always try to identify areas of my own game that can be cleaned up, so if someone wants some help in the video room, I'm definitely available to them."

 

When asked if there's any other responsibilities of becoming a veteran leader, that people may not be so quick to think about, Mingle quipped that "picking up the tab might fall on me a bit more, especially with all the rookies coming up this season!"

 

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