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***EmoLeBron*** · 09-14-2023, 09:37 PM

There is a certain crispness that fills the atmosphere right before the start of a new hockey season. Some call it fall, but I am partial to autumn. Regardless of what you call it, it always made me feel like hockey. I can remember spending long days that faded into still darkness at my local rink, and even though I may have never panned out with my hockey dreams, I’ve always felt the most alive at that time. It was the end of summer and the beginning of the cold holiday months.

But that’s not a childhood SHL Rookie Mit Wobet grew up with. Mit was born in Jacksonville; about 200 miles from his new home of Tampa Bay since getting his call-up to the big leagues with the Barracuda after spending four years north of the border in Newfoundland. There is no winter as we northerners know it in the sunshine state. Hockey isn’t a popular choice of sports either for kids growing up. But Mit was drawn to it as soon as he discovered it.

Ice time was hard to come by for the Wobet brothers, Mit and Shorsey. But they got it whenever and however they could. They both put in the hard work and entered the Junior leagues with high hopes. Mit was able to lift a Four-Star Cup with the Berserkers in S70 and was also named Captain, a role that filled him with a great feeling of honor. After his rookie J career, his draft stock was hard to gauge. Some experts pegged him at 10 to Chicago, others a few picks later to Edmonton. But the dark horse in the equation stepped in at 9 and selected the young defenseman.

Mit was coming home.

Right after Newfoundland got eliminated from the playoffs this prior season, Mit came straight to Tampa Bay and began to get to work. There is no such thing as an off-season for professional athletes, it’s just a time to reload and continue the grind toward perceived greatness. Training on beaches, top-tier facilities, and access to professional ice; Mit could hardly contain his excitement to finally be an SHL player. Ice time is no longer hard to come by. And Mit wants to try to eliminate that entirely.

Mit set up the Mit Wobet Foundation as soon as he signed his professional contract. The first project? Expand access to Florida’s youth to ice hockey. He has begun putting together a rec center, that will feature a full-sized ice rink, both in his hometown of Jacksonville and his new city of Tampa Bay. The citizens are beginning to notice, and maybe ones who haven’t given hockey a shot, are starting to take interest in this hometown kid trying to create a difference in a community he calls home.

Historically, hockey is hard to grow in the south. Even when teams are competitive, or even better, winning; the fans just weren’t there. The Barracuda has been in a rebuilding phase that is starting to shape into a vision the GMs have been trying to mold, and sell, to the fans of Florida. Positive draft grades and a strong prospect pool that are beginning to be called up onto the team are starting to grow hype around the team. There are some rumblings of movement in the roster as far as trades, but that will only make room for this talented crop of prospects. This off-season Mit signed a 5 Season deal that will see him as a cornerstone of the franchise’s blue line to come. All signs point to Mit being excited to be a part of the turnaround for his hometown team, and the fact the team has its hometown kid is getting fan interest at a point the team has long seen.

And even though the future looks bright, and the prospects are highly rated, sports aren’t played on paper. It’s played in between the lines, and anything can happen in the realm. The Miricle on Ice was decided on Ice, not by the analysts. Time will tell what will come of this Tampa Bay squad, but the fans are starting to buy into this hype. They are prepared to drink the refreshing pink Kool-Aid. And Mit is ready to serve it by the pitcher. If there is one thing I have to say to end this article, I would direct it to the Cuda faithful.

CHOMP!

[737 Words]

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