Effort like this at both ends of the rink must’ve helped convince the coaches to give me a chance on the 1st line. This clip is from game #24 and it was after this game that I got the news of my promotion to the top line.

Here’s hoping things keeping going so well. This rookie season is off to a tremendous start!

My plan had been to post these updates about every 10 games… but a couple of significant events required this extra post.

First, Game #22 saw my first National Hockey League Gordie Howe hat-trick. It’s not something I had been actively trying for. In fact, I had actively been trying to get in less fights, but certain on-ice events just push me to challenge someone and as my pro’s fighting skill is actually pretty low, most opposition players seem to jump at the chance. So, bang, thanks Kaleta for helping me getting my first NHL Gordie Howe hat-trick by punching me in the face a few times!

And then after game #24, even bigger news came as Continue reading →

2nd line center. Bigger expectations. Shorter Leash.

And… BAM!… my pro came flying out of the gate with 2 goals in both games 11 and 12. I was feeling pretty good, got the hang of this, probably won’t score 2 goals every game but starting to have no fear about mt spot. And then my first big dry spell hit as I only managed 1 assist in the next 6 games. So after 18 games, I was still leading the team in points but was really starting to get worried that not only may I get demoted back to the 3rd line but they if I didn’t turn it around, and soon!, i may be on my way back to junior.

Game 19. 1 more single point.

Game 20… Continue reading →

This is a follow-up post to highlight how awesome I think the new Preds jerseys really are, especially with my Be A Pro nameplate on the back!

So the big club decided to start me centering the 3rd line between Cal O’Reilly and Zach Stortini. As Defensemen Jonathon Blum already sports the #7 for the Nashville Predators, I have been given the number 43, which I thinks looks rather sporting on the back of my new-style Preds jersey.

#43

Getting ready to start the first game of the season, I was definitely feeling the nerves, knowing that if I didn’t perform well early in the season I would likely be sent back down to Junior and not recalled for the rest of the season. Making the NHL roster seemed like a spectacular coup after my agent told me all through pre-season that my chances of staying with the Preds was 50/50. I can’t imagine the excitement, hope and all too common disappointment actual young players must go through during training camp and pre-season, knowing their chances are slim but hope and a fierce desire driving them to expect nothing less than their first chance in the big show.

So I pressed “Start” on Game 1 of my NHL career Continue reading →

Drafted in the 4th round, 106th overall, my 2-way forward has managed to impress enough in his 4 pre-season games to get a chance with the Nashville Predators.

He’ll be on a short leash though and the 18-yr old has been told that if he gets sent down he’ll be going all the way back down to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL.

Kelowna Rockets - #7

Nashville Predators - #43