MAITLAND, FLA – From travel teams to the pros and every level in between, the game of hockey is a transient sport. These days it is rare for a player to stay in one place long enough to gain a sense of stability and chemistry that were the hallmarks of the game even as late for some as the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.
Darik Angeli has thrived since being traded to Orlando in January (Photo courtesy of Gary Bassing / Orlando Solar Bears)
For players at the minor league level, the lack of a place to set up real roots is even more evident when you consider that contracts are usually not for more than a year at a time. Add in the necessities of affiliations – players being assigned down and recalled at a moments notice – that usurp roster spots and dictate finding “full time” players to augment the here today, gone tomorrow players and it is no wonder why guys who do not fit in right away become disposable.
Those players who can handle the ups and downs and still find a way to make an impact no matter where they end up are true gems – and the Orlando Solar Bears found themselves a pair of them in Darik Angeli and Milos Bubela.
Both the 26-year old Angeli and 24-year old Bubela have taken similar paths to the pros in that their resumes include junior hockey and NCAA college stints before turning professional. What they also share is the fact that their pro careers have gone from the shadows to the limelight under the Central Florida sun as members of the Solar Bears family.
Angeli’s road to Orlando has had several stops in the pros, including no less than four different cities just this season. Following his graduation from Ohio State University in 2015, Angeli turned pro and landed with the Manchester Monarchs in the ECHL, playing in 50 games and picking up 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists). His play led him to get two different callups to the AHL, one to the Portland Portland and the other to the Manitoba Moose.
“It was a great year, a really fun year [with] a lot of development,” Angeli said of his rookie season. “It was a good year to get under my belt as a first year pro.”
Angeli was invited to Manitoba’s training camp in the fall of 2016 but got caught in a numbers game and was cut. He had been protected by Manchester so he rejoined the Monarchs but again there were too many top tier forwards so Angeli ended up on the outside looking in. The Monarchs asked him where he might want to get traded to and immediately the Lakewood, Colorado native said the Colorado Eagles.
“I wanted to play at home. I thought that would be a good situation,” Angeli said.
In five game with the Eagles, Angeli did not produce any points so Colorado traded him to the Norfolk Admirals. After four games and no points, the Admirals sent him to coach Jason Christie and the Tulsa Oilers. With the Oilers, Angeli posted three goals and four assists in 15 games.
Angeli admitted that all the moving around from team to team took a bit of a toll on him but he continued on because that is what hockey players do.
“It’s definitely hard. The first two places I was in, I wasn’t there for very long. It kind of takes a shot at your confidence,” Angeli said. “It’s definitely hard going into different situations but all hockey players are the same and we have that one thing to relate to – everyone wants to win. No matter where you go, you give it your hardest and that’s how I look at it.”
On January 1st, he was on the move one more time as he was sent to Orlando. Angeli said that right from his arrival, he knew that the City Beautiful might just be the home he was looking for all season.
“One thing is that the guys are great here. The coaching staff just sat me down and told me this is what we need and this will make you play,” he said. “I kind of took a step back and kind of looked in the mirror and said this is what I need to do. I did that and its been working. As long as the team is winning, that’s all that matters.”
It also helped that one of his new teammates was a familiar face. Chris Crane had played with played with Angeli in college so the Solar Bears made the pair roommates. The friendship has helped the two push each other, leading to great things on the ice.
“We’re best buddies off the ice. We get into it a lot and that’s just how we are. We’re very competitive with each other,” Angeli said. “It carries over to the ice, just showing that we’ll do anything. It’s easy to read each other on the ice and that’s helped a lot for sure. It’s gotten us a lot of success.”
Since joining the Solar Bears, Angeli has thrived. In 36 regular season games, he racked up ten goals and ten assists to help Orlando secure a playoff spot. In his first ever post-season contest, he picked up the secondary assist on Chris Crane’s game-winning goal against Florida.
Being traded to Orlando was just what Milos Bubela needed to jump start his career (Photo courtesy of Gary Bassing / Orlando Solar Bears)
Like Angeli, Bubela career has been a journey of sorts. Born and raised in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, Bubela spent much of his younger days in his native land. After playing for several national teams and leagues, he left home in 2011 for North America and the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints. His play in Dubuque earned him a scholarship to R.P.I. and a solid college career (33 goals and 30 assists in 139 career games).
His pro career started in the spring of 2016 with the AHL’s Utica Comets where he played eight games with one assist to his credit. Last October he landed a roster spot with the Wheeling Nailers. In 16 games with the Nailers, he had one goal and three assists in limited ice time.
When Wheeling and the Solar Bears agreed to the trade, Bubela saw it as an opportunity to turn the page and jump start his career.
“It was a new start for me. I didn’t get too much ice time [in Wheeling],” he said. “I was kind of glad to get a fresh start with a new team, new coaches in a new place. I was happy about it.”
When asked what he noticed right away when he joined the Solar Bears, Bubela noted the welcoming nature of the organization along with the opportunity to play made him feel comfortable.
“”Obviously the group of guys here [are great]. The coaches [are great],” he said. “The ice time I was getting, getting put on power plays [have helped me to] improve more and more every day.”
In 31 regular season games with Orlando, Bubela had eight goals and eleven assists for 19 points along with a plus-1 rating. He admitted that his immediate success came as a surprise, even to himself.
“I wasn’t expecting the success, like the points. I was just glad that I got to play,” he said. “Finally after a long time, it was fun to play with those guys. I was glad I was playing with the passion and the things that were missing [in my game] the first half of the year.”
Of course both Angeli and Bubela have had to get acclimated to the “Florida lifestyle” with plenty of things to do away from the rink. They both agree that having the balance of on-ice and off-ice activities has helped them to stay relaxed and ready to meet the challenges of their young careers.
“It’s a pretty good living, that’s for sure. It’s the best of both worlds,” Angeli said. “You get to wake up, come to the rink and when you get out you can actually go do something outside like play golf. You can escape the rink. It’s nice to get away from the rink for a while.”
For now, the two are focused on playing roles on a team that has the chance to make a run at bringing a Kelly Cup championship to the city – something that would certainly endear them to their new found neighbors and fans.
“The potential is there for sure,” Bubela said. “We just have to work hard, focus on every game, every period, every shift, just split it [each game] into small parts so that we can achieve the bigger goal.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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