The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

[shinderhizzle84]

Hey all! I know that i've tried unsuccessfully to make a couple of BAP's, but now that i've got a lot more spare time on my hands, I think this one might go a little better.


PS: Sorry, Bolts_26, to be stealing your thunder. It's just that being a goalie and all, there's no other position that can satisfy me as much. Still friends???


Mikko Lehtinen took off his mask and wiped the sweat from his brow. He was tired, and what goalie wouldn't be? This game, already the longest Finnish Secondary School ice hockey history in the 7^th overtime, had let him see a whopping 74 shots, and so far, he had stopped all of them. This game, was, after all, the championship for the Finnish Secondary School ice hockey league, and being heralded as the next Kipper, Mikko wasn't about to let down.


The faceoff was to take place to his right, after one of his own defensemen had inadvertently flipped the puck over the glass and out of the play. Taking one last sip of water, Mikko donned his mask, which looked as if it was made of pure gold, replaced his gloves on his massive hands, and got back in position, taking a high five from one of his teammates before everyone got in position.


“Teemu, move over, I can't see,” Mikko said to his left winger, who was unknowingly screening him. The forward responded, and moved more towards the hashmarks, leaving Mikko a clear view of the puck being dropped.


The opposing center won the draw, and immediately dropped the puck back to his defenseman. The defenseman wound up to take a shot, and shoot he did, a 97 MPH blazer. But Mikko was too fast for him, as he showily reached out his glove and flourished it as he made the easy glove save. The crowd roared, and Mikko smiled as he could hear the girls from his school chant his name.


Bouncing the puck in his glove, he gave the puck to ref, and got set up once more, for yet another faceoff to his right.


This time, however, there was no stopping his team, as his center managed to win the faceoff to the right winger. The right winger sped up the boards, a 5'8” dangler who had serious speed and a great shot. Just as a defender managed to crush him with a body check, the speedster passed it across the ice, to the center, who carried the puck across the blueline. He wound up for a slapshot, which got the last defenseman left to bite. The defenseman hurled himself at the 6'1” center, and the center retracted his slapshot, and easily spun around the lunging defender. It was just the center, and the opposing goalie, who had only faced a meagre 34 shots over 10 periods. Mikko was envious of him before this play, but as he watched the play alone from his side of the ice, he knew that the center was going to score.


And score he did, pulling off a beautiful snap shot that hit the top shelf, glove side. Mikko tore his helmet and gloves off, sprinting down the ice as fast as he could. The pileup in the offensive zone had already begun, and Mikko was about to crush them all with his giant 6'4”, 235 lbs frame. Add to that gigantic body the amazing equipment, and every player that was leaned up against the boards groaned and cringed as Mikko's giant figure hurled against them like a slapshot.


They were all laughing. Some were crying, as this would be their last time playing, and others looked on in what was a mix of confusion and dissapointment, because these men did not know what the future held in store for them, and whether or not hockey would be a part of it. However, Mikko just smiled, laughed, and patted his friends on the back, hugging where ever it was necessary, or where ever it was wanted, because on this day, nothing could stop Mikko Lehtinen, the Karelian Keeper, the greatest goalie in the history of hockey.

[derrickthomas58]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Bolts is cool, I'm sure he won't mind. Besides, it will be another nice break from the 15,000 snipers on this site.

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Bolts is cool, I'm sure he won't mind. Besides, it will be another nice break from the 15,000 snipers on this site.

well i guess that's true, bolts is the ****. either way, though, i put that in there just to be sure.

also, wait until you see what team i end up going with, i'm playing the first game right now!!!

[derrickthomas58]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

well i guess that's true, bolts is the ****. either way, though, i put that in there just to be sure.

also, wait until you see what team i end up going with, i'm playing the first game right now!!!

I can't wait man, good luck with it!

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

14 dreary hours went by, and Mikko soon found himself walking out of the gate and making his first step onto American soil. Here he was, in one of the most famous airports in the world: JFK International, in the heart of New York. As soon as Mikko had graduated, he had decided to hire an American agent in the hopes of making to the ECHL, or if he was lucky, the AHL.


Mikko stepped out of the landing and heard a loud, “tervehdys, Mikko!”


He looked beyond the mass of people and saw a man in an all white suit that would have stood out anywhere. His agent, Tommy Groven, wore large sunglasses, although the weather in New York was overcast. From behind Tommy, a gorgeous, tall and skinny pale blonde with striking blue eyes stepped into view.


“Mikko, meet Aina Kokko, your new translator for the time being.” We briefly shook hands, but Mikko couldn't let go of her gaze—she was the most beautiful thing Mikko had ever seen, and he knew right away that this would become more than a business relationship—at least to him.


Tommy spoke very little Finnish, so on the way to the lobby, they both spoke through Aina.


“Listen, Mikko. This is New York—this is the greatest city in all the world, and even if you aren't going to be playing for the Rangers, you've got to make sure that you uphold that great Finnish smile of yours, and always be courteous and respectful to New York and her people.”


“I understand, Tom. But I'm curious, have you found any teams that are interested in me?”


“Well, kid, there's actually a whole bunch.”


“Really? Like who, the Charlotte Checkers?”


Tommy laughed, and said, “The ECHL? Do you honestly think that you'd be my client if I expected you to end up in the lousy old ECHL?”


Mikko furled his brow, and said, “The Toronto Marlies?”


This time, Tommy frowned, and said, “No, dolt. Again, if you have such low expectations of yourself, how do you expect to get into the NHL?”


Mikko stopped dead in his tracks. Then he began to laugh. He laughed, cackled, and hooted, and the entire airport was staring at him, and security was eyeing him nervously. But Mikko didn't care. The whole thing was absolutely absurd! Mikko already could envision himself, singing the American national anthem, in maybe a Red Wings uniform, looking all serious, letting in 8 goals in the first period. It was too much!


Tommy came up close to him and said, “Listen, Mikko. I've seen your stuff. I've been to your games. I know they say that hockey is the most competitive sport out there to become a professional, but I've been through this all. You've got the stuff, kid, you've got the talent. All you need is an optimistic attitude and somebody to market your face. That's where I'm coming in. I can get you into the NHL, but after that, the rest of the work is up to you. Don't expect it to be some joyride, you're going to have to work your *** off, but rest assured, your natural talent, and your lightning quick reflexes will land you a spot in the NHL. But whether you're some lowly backup, or make the highlight reel every night, is up to you.”


Mikko sobered up. He had never been complimented so thoroughly before, and the man spoke an eloquent and coherent argument.

“So,” Tommy continued, this time in Finnish, “what do you say?” He extended his arm out in a handly gesture.


Mikko eyed him once more, aware that his future was about to change, and shook his hand.


“I hope you've been practicing that smile,” Tommy said. “There's a couple of guys from the NHL Network that want to take you down to their studio to do some interview of sorts.”


Mikko gulped nervously, then jokingly took his time fixing his hair, wiping away some sleep from his eyes, and pretending to look into a mirror. Finally, he fixed Tommy the best smile he had, and Tommy exclaimed in delight, and clasped him on the back.


And with that, Mikko Lehtinen was on the first part of his journey to the NHL, and possibly beyond.

[GoldenJet]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Nice job man, I liked those updates. Can't wait for more.

[star king3]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Nice Hizz you gunna do videos and pictures for games? and man in my cap dynasty your a brilliant 95 overall goalie.

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Nice Hizz you gunna do videos and pictures for games? and man in my cap dynasty your a brilliant 95 overall goalie.

yeah, i know, i've been following the spartans.

also, i have live, so i could do videos and pictures, but i'm not sure if i'm going to want to take the time to edit a highlight reel for each game, or week, or whatever. i *could* use my webcam, but i don't think that it will turn out that well.

if i did it through easportsworld.com, would i be able to download my clips, and edit them in a program like windows movie maker, or imovie, into one long highlight reel??

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Mikko stepped onto the ice in full gear, wearing a New York Rangers practice jersey. They were in Westchester County, NY, in the Ranger's practice facility, as Mikko and a couple of other goalies showed off their stuff for the scouts in the stands. A couple of coaches, along with the occasional player, circled the ice, warming up while the goalies went through their first skating routines.


Mikko went last in line, and watched as the four other goalies skated forwards, butterfly slid to the left, butterfly slid to the right, did 3 up-downs, and shuffled to the left the rest of the way. Mikko watched, unimpressed, as the four other goalies continued to fumble and pause their way through the first drill. When it was Mikko's turn, he paused, took a deep breath, and began to work ceaselessly through the drill, putting the other goalies' sweat and hard work to shame. By the end of the first drill, the other goalies were doused in perspiration, while Mikko was barely out of breath.


A goalie, fully decked in Rbk pads, muttered something in English to Mikko. When the other goalies began to laugh, Mikko realized that he had become the target of a joke, and the other goalie was mocking him.


Mikko just smiled, hit the pads of the goalie lightly, and said, “good job, friend.”


The other goalies' laughter continued, this time harder, and more unbearable. They may have been too stupid to realize that Mikko was being sarcastic, but they weren't stupid enough to realize that he was better than them, and that he was a real threat to them getting into the NHL, let alone the AHL.


A coach called out, “Pucks in the corners!” The five goalies went into the net, and the four goalies gestured at Mikko to go first this time. Mikko smiled, and, thanking them in English, went into the net, and came out at a nice distance to challenge the incoming first shooter.


The drill was a simple warm up drill, yet to these five goalies, it would determine their future. Mikko, however, was determined to beat the competition, and smother it to a pulp.


The first shooter came at him, and faked the snap shot, choosing to deke to the backhand side instead Mikko didn't budge, choosing to fool the shooter into thinking he had a wide open net. This was better, because the saves looked more drastic, and the scouts in the stands would appreciate it much more.

At the very last second, when it was clear the shooter was going to fire it into the empty net, Mikko pushed off with his right leg with such strength and agility, that a lesser goalie would have simply tripped. However, Mikko extended his right hand, and easily blocked aside the shot, and a couple of the scouts in the stands got up and started applauding, much to the dismay of their comrades.


Four shooters later, a prospect named Niclas Hedmen came down on Mikko. Mikko had remembered playing against the Swede in the World Junior Tournament in Canada, and Mikko had remembered how much shame the dominant defenseman had given his team. Nevertheless, Hedmen blazed down the ice at him, and Mikko was sure that he was going to deke.


He didn't. Catching Mikko by surprise, he let loose a snap shot so hard, that Mikko thought he would be able to see fire behind it as it blazed past him and into the net. The only problem was, it never reached the net. Mikko cast his outstretched glove hand away from his body, and snagged the fired puck out of mid air, adding a little flourish on at the end for display purposes. This time, all of the scouts went crazy, and there was Niclas Hedmen, who stopped in front of Mikko, and patted him on the head, saying in Finnish, “nice save, Lehtinen.”


Mikko skated out of the net, his five shots now over, and smiled at the four other goalies. His smile was not returned, but instead, was received with awestruck, blank faces, and worried looks.


Mikko smiled, and said in his best English accent, “Your turn.”

By the end of the practice, at least fifteen scouts stood in a circle around Tommy, begging him to introduce his young star.


Tommy, wearing those disgusting Oakley sunglasses once again, just smiled and said, “You'll all meet him soon enough—he's the next big thing coming to hit the NHL.”

[GoldenJet]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Nice update man. I like it. Keep up the nice work.

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Three days of more practices went by, and Mikko took advantage of all of them, showing off his superior mobility, and great reflexes. However, it appeared that there was a downside to him after all.


On the last day of the scouted practices, the coaches brought in a couple more players to play a full ice scrimmage, with two goalies on each team. One goalie had been asked not to come anymore, and had since been seen in the stands, watching, often looking depressed.


Mikko, being the stud he was, started the game for the weaker team. However, once he let in a goal, it seemed that he just...gave up.


Gone was the extremely confident, brilliant young goaltender that the scouts had seen in the first three days. In his place was an incredibly unsure, floppy, and inconsistent goalie (if you could even call him that) that looked like he had no business being on the same ice as the rest of the guys.


By the end of his period and a half shift, Mikko had let in 6 goals on 22 shots. Mikko skated back to the bench, tired, exhausted, and frustrated. He ripped his helmet off, and he could see Tommy's dismayed and equally frustrated face, glaring back at him through the glass in the corner by his old net.


Finally, a day after the practices were done, Tommy and Mikko flew to Toronto, Canada, to hold a press conference in front of the world's most vicious ice hockey media.


When everything was in place, Mikko stepped into the room, and everything went silent. The occasional camera flashed as Mikko let loose his DiCaprio-esque smile.


When everyone was seated, Tommy came into view behind Mikko, and the two sat down at the head of the table.


“Is everybody set?” Tommy asked. The surrounding reporters gave their affirmative, and Tommy began his speech.


“First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for coming out today. I'd also like to thank the New York Rangers organization, for letting my client use their practice facilities to help the scouts determine what the best course of action would be for him. It's been a long, tiring, and chaotic process for Mikko and I, but now that we're here, we can officially announce that the process has come to a close. We're going to start things off right now with a brief announcement ceremony for the NHL organization Mikko has decided to sign with, and things will then open up into a question and answer phase through Mikko's translator.”


“Throughout the last couple of weeks,” Tommy continued, “Mikko and myself have worked very hard to try and find the best possible fit for him. He has great natural skill, and is a very strong positional goaltender. He also has great size, and knows how to use it. However, that being said, he has confidence issues, and sometimes makes sloppy mistakes. We both agreed on the idea that Mikko would need a little bit more time to develop his confidence and learn to stop making mistakes before he reached the NHL.

“However, not every team was willing to do this. Many organizations that we remained in contact with expected to put him in as an NHL backup. Many others wanted to start him right away. However, we would like to thank these organizations for their time, as well as the phenomenal patience they displayed while negotiating with myself and Mikko. To many of these organizations, Mikko may end up playing for them, as they showed great class, and treated Mikko and myself with the greatest integrity and generosity. Nevertheless, Mikko and I have decided on one team, and one team alone. We would like to announce that 19 year old Finnish Goaltender Mikko Lehtinen has signed a 1 year, $750,000, 2-Way contract with the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL.”


The reporters and photographers in the room sat there, looking stunned. After a moment, Thrashers General Manager Don Waddell and Thrashers longtime captain Ilya Kovalchuk came out and stepped up to the head table, and Waddell gave Mikko a good looking Thrashers cap, which Mikko donned immediately, smiling at the whirlwind of flashing cameras and awestruck reporters, some of whom were writing down notes frivolously.


Ilya Kovalchuk brought out a Thrashers third jersey, which bared the number 38 and the name “LEHTINEN” on the back. Mikko shuddered as he brought the jersey down around his neck, but once he saw his reflection in a nearby mirror, he smiled with joy, and suddenly realized that his longest dream was about to come true.


“Welcome to the team,” Ilya said, in perfect Finnish. “We're going to make you even more famous than me!”


The three Thrashers posed for a couple of pictures, and with that, the chaos died down, and everybody took their seat for a Q&A session.


“Is there a specific reason that you chose the Thrashers, other than their choice to develop you?” Asked one reporter.


“I like the Falcons,” joked Mikko in perfect English, much to the delight of the surrounding press.


The next reporter asked, “Are you afraid at all that you won't be able to adapt to the lifestyle in North America?”


“No,” Mikko said through Aina. “I am expecting to experience a time of adjustment, but I do expect that the great cities of Chicago and Atlanta will be a major improvement than the murky swamps of Karelia.”


“Communication both on and off the ice is such a vital part of the game of hockey. Are you nervous at all that with the language barrier, you will not be able to to relate to your teammates, let alone play on the same ice as them?”


Once Aina had relayed the question to him, Mikko took his time answering the question.


“Well,” he began, “I can certainly agree with you that communication on ice is vital to the sport. That is why it is important that Aina knew something about ice hockey when we hired her. She is going to teach me some of the basic words that a goalie should know, and I can only hope that I can learn them well enough by the time of our first game.”


On the other end of the table, Tommy grinned in approval of Mikko's answer. The rest of the Q&A session lasted another hour, and by the time it was over, Mikko was just about ready to call home to check if his parents knew that their son was going to be a big shot in Atlanta.







thanks, GJ, your BAP and your caps chise is looking great so far.

[GoldenJet]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

I'm liking this so far man, keep up the hard work!!

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

thanks again man.

well, i'm kinda stumped. i'd like to be able to make some videos from this BAP, but i'm not sure if it's going to work from EAsportsworld.com

i have xbox live, so i can upload, but i don't know if i'll be able to edit all of the clips into one large video highlight reel, game by game, or at least week by week. the only other alternative is to use my macbook's webcam to record the games. but then, the quaility won't come out very good, and you'll probably hear my mom complaining every 5 seconds to get off the games, and my dog whining and my sister singing, which will be embarrassing, to say the least.

either that, or i could not do videos. the only downside to that is that i feel like the videos could take the place of the fact that all chapters i write are like, 3-5 pages long, and they can sometimes take a while to write. i was going to use a video as a supplement so i could keep the writing shorter. i lost interest in all of my other bap's because the writing was so long (like this post, lol) that it became too much of a hassle to keep it up.

anyways, tell me whether or not i should do videos. thanks guys, and sorry for the uber long posts.

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

Rosemont, Illinois, home of the Chicago Wolves, AHL Affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers. Rosemont was a suburb just North of the Windy City, Chicago Illinois, home of the Cubs, the White Sox, the Bears, MJ and the Bulls, and some of the greatest pizza a man could ever taste. It was also home to the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the most legendary Original 6 teams in the NHL. Their fans were tremendous, and two young men by the named of Kane and Toews were swiftly re-energizing the city's vast hockey community.


As Mikko travelled on the shuttle from O'hare International, he wondered who the hell in their right minds had decided to place a minor league affiliate to a non-Blackhawks organization right smack dab in the center of Chicago. Leaning his head on the window, he watched as he passed by suburban house after suburban house. It was all so....boring. Yet at least it wasn't the swampy muck of Karelia.


Karelia, a small part of Finland, was his home, so he had to like it at least somewhat. However, the truth was that he in fact hated it. It was all swampy forests, with very little civilization, and a lot of old people with their devout catholicism and their olden ways. There was no room in Karelia for hockey. All there was in Karelia was making a family, drinking beer, and listening to Finnish metal bands. Although Mikko had always tried to rebel against his elder's ways, and he also tried to rebel against the regular things that his fellow youths did, Mikko had always had an extreme passion for the rocking double bass, the tremolo picking electric guitar, and guttering vocals that were combined to create Finnish metal. While most of his buddies listened to more popular bands, like Opeth, it was the unknown bands that had to fight to make a living that caught Mikko's taste. Bands like Kalmah and Kiuas, who's band members were obviously born to play their specific instrument, were true to themselves and true to their music. They never sold out, no matter what the price. Mikko was never very gifted musically, but had always had a true passion in ice hockey. His friends often laughed at him, and his parents and family members scorned him for not doing his duties as a son to his family, and looking for a “realistic job” or donating the money he made from his part-time job towards hockey, and not towards his struggling family.


It was then that Mikko remembered that he had a strikingly beautiful Finnish girl, who couldn't be much older than he, sitting next to him, and the bus was almost completely empty. What was more than that, she was the only one who he could express himself freely to, seeing as there was no language barrier.


“Where are you from?” Mikko asked Aina casually.


She gave him a bored look, and then said, “Helsinki, the capital. I was born and raised in the city, and I never expected that my life would take me....here.” She put emphasis on the last word to show her disgust with what was happening.


“Do you mean in America, or in the boring suburbs?” He asked jokingly.


She frowned at him, and said, “No, you baffoon. Are all hockey players as stupid as you are? If that's the case, maybe I should just quit my job right now.”


They were silent the next few moments, but then Aina continued, saying, “Look. I have to be honest with you. I came to America looking to get into celebrity business. When I was a little girl I dreamt about being the agent to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and the Backstreet Boys, all at the same time.” She smiled when she said this, remembering how bright her future had seemed back in the past.


“But then,” she continued, “It didn't all work out so well. I didn't know anybody, you see. Since I'm still young, they told me, I should work in a job that would get lots of contacts, you know. A job that requires a skill that you know easily, but at the same time, can get you to meet lots of celebrities, or people related to these celebrities. My family was somewhat wealthy, and my parents had gotten me and my brothers English lessons until we were all fluently able to speak it. I decided to use my bilingual talents as a Finnish-English translators, for models, actors, and actresses who come from Finland.”


Mikko laughed, and said, “Besides Opeth, who the hell is there?”


“Exactly!” She said. “I was hopeless. But then Tommy came along, in those horrible damned sunglasses, and told me in his star voice, 'I've got somebody coming from Karelia who doesn't know English. He's the next big thing to come from Finland, and he's going to be a huge hit. I need you to be his translator.'”


“I signed onto a contract almost immediately, and he never told me that I was to be a translator to some—some—minor league cry baby hockey player.”


Mikko clutched his heart and slid down my chair onto the floor, acting as if he was suffering from a heart attack. “Ouch!” he dramatically joked. “I think you've broken my ego, and some of my ribs in the process!”


After a moment, Mikko spared a glance over at the blonde Aina, and realized that she wasn't laughing—at all.


“My my,” he said. “Aren't we the serious one?”


“That may be,” she replied cooly. “But at least I'm not the moronic one.”


Mikko straightened up, and said, “Look, Aina. We're going to be here together for a very long time, whether you like it or not. I can understand that you're dissapointed with what you signed on to. Looking at this place, I can't say I'm ecstatic either. But you and I have to make the best of it, and enjoy what we're doing, no matter what happens, because there's no point in getting up in the morning if you know you aren't going to enjoy your day.”


“Besides,” he continued. “You're the only person I know. I mean, Tommy's...interesting, of course. But you're the one person in this whole other world that I can count on, and that I can safely call my friend, and not my enemy...even if you'd like to be as far away from the dim witted hockey player as you can.”


Aina thought for a second, and then said, “You're right. I'm sorry for making this such a lousy bus ride. I may not be happy, and you may not be happy, but I think there is some merit in what you say about getting up in the morning: that there's no point in doing it if you know you aren't going to enjoy your day.”


Mikko and Aina engaged in small talk about Britney Spears, Kalmah, and Mikka Kipprussoff for the rest of the bus ride. When they reached their hotel, which was conveniently located right across the street from the arena, Mikko and Aina checked in, and got ready for bed.

Before Mikko said goodbye to Aina, who was ready to leave for her next door suite, Aina turned and said, “Get some rest tonight. I've already talked to your coach, and he wants you at practice earlier than the rest of the team tomorrow. 5:30 AM Sharp. He also told me to tell you to bring your blankey, becauase you're doing suicides all morning to get in shape for the season.”


Mikko slept nervously the rest of the night.


When his alarm clock woke him up at 4:30 AM, Mikko knew that he wasn't going to enjoy this day.

[shinderhizzle84]

Re: The Keeper from Karelia: An NHL 09 Goaltender BAP Story

by the way, i think that i've figured out what i'm going to do. i'm going to play, or maybe even sim, until i get to the NHL. however, during my time in the AHL, i'm probably only going to give weekly, or monthly updates in my player's career. So around the end of october, expect a little tidbit of information on my player's stats for the month, and maybe even a small side-story, or part of the sub-plot, to go into the updates as well.

Also, if it's any month after october, instead of giving monthly stats, i will probaby just end up giving the overall stats of the year so far. i may post the occasional league standings, for both AHL and NHL, and will also post league leaders (sometimes) for both AHL and NHL.

When I get into the NHL, hopefully by then you all will have helped me determine whether or not to use videos, or how to use videos.

hope you guys are liking this so far!!!