Claimed: Cologne's Cornerstone

[Gudnason 607]

Growing up in Hafnarfjorour, Iceland, although many Icelanders played sports and maintained a healthy lifestyle, ice hockey was not popular at all, and it was hard to find hockey rinks in the tiny North European country. As a kid, Birkir Holm Gudnason played soccer and skied recreationally, but he focused more on competitive alpine skiing in his high school years.

 

The 2004 IIHF World Championship Division III was a turning point for Gudnason, as it was then when he decided to start playing hockey. With Iceland being the host country, Gudnason's father bought a pair of tickets to all four group stage games and allowed the young Gudnason to experience hockey in person for the first time. The Icelandic Falcons finished the tournament undefeated with victories over Armenia, Ireland, and Turkey while playing to a tie with Mexico. To this date, Iceland's resounding 30-0 victory over Armenia remains the country's largest victory to this date, and it was this game where Gudnason found his idols and discovered his love for the game of ice hockey.

 

He gradually turned his attention from alpine skiing to ice hockey, while increasingly paying attention to worldwide hockey leagues such as the North American National Hockey League, the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, and the global teams-Atlantic Victory Hockey League. Gudnason played competitive hockey while in high school, and quickly made a name for himself as an elite talent, despite being new to the sport and having the disadvantage of multiple years of practice and experience when compared to his fellow teammates and competitors. A year later, he had outgrown the high school league, and the only other option domestically was playing for the semi-professional Reykjavik Aurora in the European Ice Hockey League. Competing against teams from the United Kingdom to Spain, and from Italy to Turkey, Gudnason finally found a challenge talent-wise as he could no longer flat out dominate games like he did back in high school.

 

The summer after graduating high school, Gudnason and his buddies went on a multi-country trip in Northern Europe, visiting places like Helsinki, Vasteras, and Stockholm to name a few. While in Finland, they managed to squeeze in a few VHL playoff games in their itinerary. The game was none other than Game 3 of the VHL Finals in S54, when a Sir William Covington III goal in the seventh minute of overtime broke the hour-long deadlock, giving the Helsinki Titans a 2-1 series advantage over the Quebec City Meute with the 1-0 victory.

 

Covington had already announced previously that he would be retiring after the season, and the American forward was one of Gudnason's idols and greatest influences in recent years. Finishing the playoffs as the second highest goalscorer behind teammate Theo Axelsson, Covington finished his career off with a bang as the Titans hoisted the Continental Cup a few nights later in Game 6, a game in which Gudnason and his friends also attended. The Helsinki fan relations team selected members of the audience at random to take to the ice and join their heroes in the post-game celebrations, and Gudnason was one of the lucky ones.

 

Opening the envelope that he caught from the prizes that the floating blimp was dropping during the second intermission, he was shocked and ecstatic at the fact he would be the recipient of Covington's game-worn jersey. When he was invited back to the Helsinki team offices a few days later to be presented the jersey by none other than Covington himself, the American forward was surprised in their brief talks that Gudnason modelled his game after him, and was a rising talent in Icelandic hockey. Covington told Gudnason to be humble and keep working hard, as he has a long way to go before he can make it as a professional outside his country. The two kept in touch from that day onwards, and Gudnason's professional career would later come to fruition with the help of Covington.

 

Gudnason returned to play with the Aurora semi-professionally and hone his skills while he continued searching for better opportunities as his performance in the EIHL gradually got better. Despite finishing the season as the second-best scorer on his team, Gudnason could not find better opportunities abroad to continue his dream of becoming a professional hockey player. At the end of the season, he went on a trip with his high school buddies to Las Vegas. It was the first time in North America for Gudnason, and it was a culture shock for him to see people smoking cocaine in plain sight all over the streets. His buddies were all trying out cocaine for the first time, but Gudnason politely declined, as he didn't want to tarnish his image, and more importantly, his career.

 

Rewinding a few months back, the city of Las Vegas was awarded an expansion team in the National Hockey League, called the Vegas Golden Knights. Although the team had yet to play a game, marketing for the team was out in full force as Gudnason was constantly exposed to this team's advertisements and existence as he vacationed in Vegas. One of these promotional activities was the opportunity for fans to be the first people ever to skate on the ice of the brand new T-Mobile Arena. Gudnason showed up to the mostly empty arena, as despite the marketing efforts of the Golden Knights, the lure of such an activity and unique opportunity was not enough to persuade people to give up the casinos and night clubs.

 

With only a handful of people on the ice when Gudnason showed up, he turned what was supposed to be an all ages free-for-all counterclockwise lap skating setting into his own private shooting practice. He picked up a plastic stick from the benches, and got to work with wrist shots from the hash marks. Little did he know, Robbie Zimmers, the ex-general manager and now chairman/owner of the VHLM's Las Vegas Aces, was watching from high above the ice surface in his private box seat/personal office. By the time Gudnason moved to the blue line to practice his slap shots, Zimmers had made his way down to ice level and was surprised to find out that this free-shooting youngster was Birkir Holm Gudnason, the kid he met back in Helsinki last year. Impressed with how he has come on leaps and bounds in the last year, Zimmers recommended Gudnason to the current Vegas general manager, Edwi Threencarnac, and he was signed to an amateur tryout contract with his Las Vegas Aces for the remainder of the regular season and the duration of the playoffs.

 

Gudnason's paperwork wasn't filed in time for the conclusion of the regular season, but the Icelandic winger made his VHLM debut for the Aces during the playoffs. The rookie signed out of nowhere turned teammates' and fans' heads alike, as he scored two goals and four assists in ten playoff games for Las Vegas. Although they got swept in the finals by Saskatoon, Gudnason had proved that he was capable of playing at this level. Gudnason was subsequently drafted by the Aces 4th overall in the dispersal draft during the offseason, and will be returning to Vegas for his first, and possibly only, full season with the team.

 

With Zimmers himself impressed by this Icelandic talent, he decided to sign a contract with Gudnason to be his player agent and hold his sponsorship rights. With his connections, he landed Gudnason a professional pre-contract with the Cologne Express of the Victory Hockey League. With his near future already settled, Gudnason will be working hard while with Las Vegas this season, as he hopes to bring the team back to the finals, and hopefully win it this time around. He knows that everything will be bigger, faster, and stronger when he eventually makes the jump to the big leagues with Cologne, but he is determined to make a name for himself, and for Iceland.

[Gudnason 607]

1,325 words all typed on mobile 

 

@BobertZ the storyline lol

@Tagger going to TPE rush this guy to 175

[BluObieZ 1,125]

Covington telling him to be humble lol. Covington the nonhumble person lol. Good read

[Gudnason 607]

4 hours ago, BobertZ said:

Covington telling him to be humble lol. Covington the nonhumble person lol. Good read

 

Like someone said, maybe he was humble before you went off the deep end