Well, there it is. Game 41 is done, the mid-point of my rookie NHL season. Forty-one games in a league I wasn’t even sure I’d be in this year! And though there were some rocky moments, for the most part living the dream has just gotten better and better. Third line to 2nd to 1st. Rookie, drafted in the 4th round, 106th overall, and yet I now lead the league in both goals and points!

The defensive side of things has been great for my lines as well, keeping me at the top of the league in plus/minus!

I can’t believe how well things have gone; it truly feels like I belong in this league! And it was through this last 11-game run that I hit another big milestone: I finished the last of my Season Expectations (the “Stretch Goal”  of 22 assists)! Game 37, not even halfway through the season, and I’d finished them all!

But there are a couple of areas where I still need to improve and the coaching staff Continue reading →

So my first 6 games as the #1 centre went awesome… for the most part. (See the 3rd video below for the example of the rotten.) Hornqvist & Kostitsyn are just so easy to play with: crisp passes to me and always moving to good areas for me to find them for good scoring chances. Six games with my new linemates were good for 10 more points for #43!

Looks like it’s time to purchase a home in The Protestant Vatican!

A few videos from these 6 games:

Game 25: Knocking off Hossa’s hat:

Continue reading →

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 →