The Vegas Golden Knights’ Mark will make the perfect top athlete

There is a certain power present in the hockey community right now – a buzz. Many thought that would not happen, but the Olympics are almost here.

But is it really a big deal? Various factors contribute to making the Olympic hockey gold medal a coveted award. First, the opportunity is very rare. The last time NHL players were allowed to compete at the Olympic Games was in 2014. To the disappointment of hockey fans around the world, the 2018 Olympics had passed. no NHL participation, something that has made us all fart. Ultimately, 2022 will provide another shot at global hockey’s supremacy for the players and their countries. Indeed, the NHL has turned its 2018 stance around, allowing its players to participate once again.

Furthermore, earning a spot on an Olympic team that features an NHL is often more difficult than making an NHL roster. This is especially true in the case of Canada, where the embarrassment of wealth surrounding hockey talent means that if you get selected, you’re essentially a “Rolling Stones” level rock star “. So yes, all in all this is a great deal.

It goes without saying then that the Canadian Olympic selection committee felt the pressure. They are full of their hands. A huge field of candidates needs to be evaluated. But having a player should attract serious consideration of a place on the team and play an important role in it. That player is Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone, who has the makeup of a perfect athlete.

The Early Sign of Stone’s Greatness

How do you predict success? Well, one indicator is to look at past achievements. We’re talking hockey here, so the numbers are a good place to start.

Stone’s international resume is making a splash. In 2016, he played for Canada in the IIHF World Championships in Moscow, Russia. If you were a Russian listening to the radio on your way to work during the tournament, you might start to believe that Stone was a doctor; maybe he was in town for the Pharmaceutical Science Conference. That’s what you would think. Why? Because the radio stations must have been constantly talking about how he built a complete clinic.

He finished that tournament outnumbered, with four goals and six assists in 10 games. More importantly, he was a key factor in helping Canada win the gold medal at that tournament. Both his performance and experience in Moscow will set the stage for his next international gig – the World Championships in Slovakia.

Stone didn’t wait for the gates to open in Slovakia – he tore them apart. The Golden Knights forward raked in eight goals and six assists for 14 points in the event. But providing context around his efforts shows the true value of his numbers. In a crucial preliminary, he won 6-5 over Slovakia, also breaking the tension with an extra-time winner against Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Oh, and he also scored in the semi-final against the Czech Republic. The guy is purely a gamer. In a tournament that featured players like Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jack Eichel and Patrick Kane, Stone won the MVP of the tournament.

Related: Expected Canada 2022 Olympic Hockey Team

Besides playing internationally, Stone has led the NHL in a key statistical category since 2014-15, his first season in the NHL. Those are the things to keep in mind. He’s had 640 of them in the last half-decade. In a high-stakes tournament like the Olympics, where every mistake is magnified, having a leader in this category on your team can make the difference between an early plane ride home. home and hear your national anthem played in front of the whole world.

Rocks are invisible

We can take a look at Stone’s international hockey career to get an idea of ​​how things are trending. His trajectory is clearly curving upwards. But what? NS Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosbys of the World has also had great success in international hockey, what’s so special about Stone? Yes, I said above that numbers are a good place to start, but there are many layers to this.

Stone has not always been among the elite of hockey. He’s not the first overall pick. In fact, he wasn’t even picked in the first round. Try the sixth round, in 178th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. He had to scratch and swipe to get where he is today. Many of the players selected in the first NHL draft never even knew the icy times of the major leagues. But the sixth round? Good luck. The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) coach Mike Keenan can also be called for a job refilling water bottles in Russia. Early in his career, Stone displayed a quality comparable to Olympic hockey success: unexpected resilience.

The tenacity that Stone showed as he transformed himself into a world-class hockey player reminds us of something else – his personality. A hockey player’s makeup is an indication of how he will react in the face of adversity. The Golden Knights captain has shown us that he turns setbacks into shiny, new achievement badges. This is a big part of why Vegas bestowed on him captaincy from the beginning. How does this relate to the Olympics? In a simple, but important way.

The hockey world has evolved. Hockey is Canada’s sport, but there are dozens of challengers eagerly awaiting a chance to usurp Johnny Canuck – to oust the Canadians from their icy throne. It should not be ironic that a knight, a Golden Knight, is in fact the central character of this work; that he should be one of Canada’s Olympic-centered leaders to defend his hockey kingdom.

The stone we know today was forged in an alchemy furnace that combined adversity and early career failure, international hockey success, steady personal growth and growth. leadership development. His unique experiences have made him one of the best hockey players on the planet.

The curtains for the games will be drawn soon. Don’t be surprised if Stone is skating around the rink to hear the loud cheers before they’re over.

Christian from Vancouver, BC He is a contributor to Vegas Golden Knights. Christian completed both his history and education degrees at the University of British Columbia. He is currently working as a high school history teacher. Christian spends his spare time watching, researching, and writing about hockey.