Cover Letter With Samples
Hello,
If you are still looking for a writer to cover the Flames, I would like to submit my name for the position.
I bring a deep hockey background to my writing and provide meaningful, conversation-worthy content. I have played hockey abroad in New Zealand, Germany, and most recently Sweden. All of these experiences have provided me with a rich and varied vocabulary and knowledge to draw from when presenting my stories.
Coaching a local youth boys team has opened my eyes to parts of the game that I never knew existed as a player. This newfound perspective of the game changes how I see players perform at the professional level and why coaches make some of the decisions they do. I have a well rounded acumen for the sport both on and off the ice.
I have always been a strong writer and the three pieces attached to this application are evidence of that. While I have limited experience writing opinion pieces about pro hockey, I do understand a few fundamentals to the craft and am eager to learn. I respect players, coaches, and staff and would never slander a player or otherwise for poor on-ice performance. I recognize that media has a strong influence over the game and that my words are impactful. With that in mind, I offer opinion pieces that are well supported and researched.
As I hope is evident with this letter, I am concise with my words. I am acutely aware that todays online reader is not looking for a drawn out piece that meanders and careens through various points only to end without having said anything.
I have strong, integrity-driven takes that your readers will look forward to reading every week.
Thank you sincerely for your time in reading this. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to earn this position.
Stefan Wright
Research Paper: Calgary Olympic and Paralympic Bid
------------/static/5a668a99bce1765a27495af0/t/5bed0dec4fa51a8392695cbb/------------/Inside+the+Room+11.15.18.pdf
Swedish Sport Development Report
------------/in/stefan-wright/detail/treasury/position:------------/?entityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_treasuryMedia%3A(ACoAAB8sR7IBxFM0pS7dzm6XM7Az2_ptHBQEEyE%2C------------)§ion=position%3A------------&treasuryCount=1
The Flames Playoff Run: A Story of Unfulfilled Roles
By: Stefan Wright
The job of an NHL General Manager is to design a roster of players whose skills, tendencies, and attitudes coalesce to create success. This success, however, is an ever-evolving concept. Finishing atop the Western conference and then promptly losing 4 out of 5 to the Colorado Avalanche was, by most accounts, a grossly unsuccessful result to the 2018/19 season for the Flames.
The difference between a successful playoff roster and a successful regular season roster is significant, as was best evidenced by the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Having too much of a good thing is a recipe for disaster. Not enough and you’ll get bounced in the first round. The model for building success in the Stanley Cup playoffs is finding balance through four lines, three D pairings, and one goalie. Every player, every shift, contributes towards the goal of hoisting that prolific Cup.
With that said, the Flames brief playoff run was a chaotic assortment of roles unidentified and unfulfilled. Chiefly, the role of ‘goal scorer’ was left void and barren. The slumping first line of Monahan, Gaudreau, and Lindholm continued their end of season skid right through the playoffs. The secondary scorers who are often asked to step up in the playoffs were deftly quiet as well. The back end, capable of sparking an offence in a time of need, was too busy handling the blitzing Nathan Mackinnon.
When goals start coming at a premium, everyone starts gripping their stick a little tighter and the pressure gets a little higher. The best example of this came in the fifth game back in Calgary. Gaudreau had a handful of breakaways and a penalty shot–all turned rather easily aside by Philipp Grubauer. Gaudreau has lived up to the clutch goal scorer role once at the professional level, with a heroic goal with 15 seconds left against Anaheim in the 2015 playoffs. But more than that, the question needs to be asked if Gaudreau is fit for the role of goal scorer in the playoffs at all. In 20 career playoff games he has just 4 goals with 0 in his last 9.
Make no mistake, there are several other roles in question. Note game five again as an example. After going down 3-1 the air left the building. In a time when the Flames needed to simplify their game and make simple hard plays, only a small handful of players seemed to push back. Whether the coach needs to step in and motivate or the players need to rally around themselves, someone needs to step up and find the common ground to push through adversity. Losing 5-1 in an elimination game at home needs to be completely unacceptable and someone needs to fill the role that expresses that.
Every NHL player has gotten to where they are because they identified early on their role within a team. Outside of the top 10 players, most every NHLer has gotten to a team somewhere along the line and realized that they needed to change their game and adopt a new role if they were going to have a spot on the team. It’s the guys who don’t adapt that don’t last very long. Junior hockey scoring prodigies land in Europe of retire because they can’t change their game to fit at the NHL level where other guys are better at scoring than they are. Perhaps it’s time the Flames took a hard look at who they have and what they really offer when it comes playoff time.
This is the craft of an NHL GM. Their job is to answer honestly how their actual roster measures up with their idealized one. Some players join teams and refuse to alter their game. Others join a team and have played their model of hockey for so long that they simply can’t change their game. All of this stems and flows from the front office. Finding a coach who will fit your culture is just as important as finding players that will. GMs who craft winning teams understand these roles intimately. It takes a special measure of ingredients, mixed at the right time, to clinch that elusive cup.
Hello,
If you are still looking for a writer to cover the Flames, I would like to submit my name for the position.
I bring a deep hockey background to my writing and provide meaningful, conversation-worthy content. I have played hockey abroad in New Zealand, Germany, and most recently Sweden. All of these experiences have provided me with a rich and varied vocabulary and knowledge to draw from when presenting my stories.
Coaching a local youth boys team has opened my eyes to parts of the game that I never knew existed as a player. This newfound perspective of the game changes how I see players perform at the professional level and why coaches make some of the decisions they do. I have a well rounded acumen for the sport both on and off the ice.
I have always been a strong writer and the three pieces attached to this application are evidence of that. While I have limited experience writing opinion pieces about pro hockey, I do understand a few fundamentals to the craft and am eager to learn. I respect players, coaches, and staff and would never slander a player or otherwise for poor on-ice performance. I recognize that media has a strong influence over the game and that my words are impactful. With that in mind, I offer opinion pieces that are well supported and researched.
As I hope is evident with this letter, I am concise with my words. I am acutely aware that todays online reader is not looking for a drawn out piece that meanders and careens through various points only to end without having said anything.
I have strong, integrity-driven takes that your readers will look forward to reading every week.
Thank you sincerely for your time in reading this. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to earn this position.
Stefan Wright
Research Paper: Calgary Olympic and Paralympic Bid
------------/static/5a668a99bce1765a27495af0/t/5bed0dec4fa51a8392695cbb/------------/Inside+the+Room+11.15.18.pdf
Swedish Sport Development Report
------------/in/stefan-wright/detail/treasury/position:------------/?entityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_treasuryMedia%3A(ACoAAB8sR7IBxFM0pS7dzm6XM7Az2_ptHBQEEyE%2C------------)§ion=position%3A------------&treasuryCount=1
The Flames Playoff Run: A Story of Unfulfilled Roles
By: Stefan Wright
The job of an NHL General Manager is to design a roster of players whose skills, tendencies, and attitudes coalesce to create success. This success, however, is an ever-evolving concept. Finishing atop the Western conference and then promptly losing 4 out of 5 to the Colorado Avalanche was, by most accounts, a grossly unsuccessful result to the 2018/19 season for the Flames.
The difference between a successful playoff roster and a successful regular season roster is significant, as was best evidenced by the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. Having too much of a good thing is a recipe for disaster. Not enough and you’ll get bounced in the first round. The model for building success in the Stanley Cup playoffs is finding balance through four lines, three D pairings, and one goalie. Every player, every shift, contributes towards the goal of hoisting that prolific Cup.
With that said, the Flames brief playoff run was a chaotic assortment of roles unidentified and unfulfilled. Chiefly, the role of ‘goal scorer’ was left void and barren. The slumping first line of Monahan, Gaudreau, and Lindholm continued their end of season skid right through the playoffs. The secondary scorers who are often asked to step up in the playoffs were deftly quiet as well. The back end, capable of sparking an offence in a time of need, was too busy handling the blitzing Nathan Mackinnon.
When goals start coming at a premium, everyone starts gripping their stick a little tighter and the pressure gets a little higher. The best example of this came in the fifth game back in Calgary. Gaudreau had a handful of breakaways and a penalty shot–all turned rather easily aside by Philipp Grubauer. Gaudreau has lived up to the clutch goal scorer role once at the professional level, with a heroic goal with 15 seconds left against Anaheim in the 2015 playoffs. But more than that, the question needs to be asked if Gaudreau is fit for the role of goal scorer in the playoffs at all. In 20 career playoff games he has just 4 goals with 0 in his last 9.
Make no mistake, there are several other roles in question. Note game five again as an example. After going down 3-1 the air left the building. In a time when the Flames needed to simplify their game and make simple hard plays, only a small handful of players seemed to push back. Whether the coach needs to step in and motivate or the players need to rally around themselves, someone needs to step up and find the common ground to push through adversity. Losing 5-1 in an elimination game at home needs to be completely unacceptable and someone needs to fill the role that expresses that.
Every NHL player has gotten to where they are because they identified early on their role within a team. Outside of the top 10 players, most every NHLer has gotten to a team somewhere along the line and realized that they needed to change their game and adopt a new role if they were going to have a spot on the team. It’s the guys who don’t adapt that don’t last very long. Junior hockey scoring prodigies land in Europe of retire because they can’t change their game to fit at the NHL level where other guys are better at scoring than they are. Perhaps it’s time the Flames took a hard look at who they have and what they really offer when it comes playoff time.
This is the craft of an NHL GM. Their job is to answer honestly how their actual roster measures up with their idealized one. Some players join teams and refuse to alter their game. Others join a team and have played their model of hockey for so long that they simply can’t change their game. All of this stems and flows from the front office. Finding a coach who will fit your culture is just as important as finding players that will. GMs who craft winning teams understand these roles intimately. It takes a special measure of ingredients, mixed at the right time, to clinch that elusive cup.