You have to keep in mind, Alan Chesuk (Moose, C, SPO) is big. Even for a moose.

No one could miss young Alan growing up in Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon Territory. Even in a city full of bison, caribou and even the occasional polar bear visiting from further North, Alan's antlers towered over them all even when they were just young stumps.

His size didn't come from the sky. The Chesuk family had been living in the Yukon since the First Nations. When gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896, Chesuk's ancestor was one of the first to put up a general store for the furry prospectors clogging the river. And according to legend, that ancestor stood nearly eight feet tall. Given that, it seemed fitting young Alan received his name.

Being a towering brute was no doubt useful for his ancestor, living in the wild with giant predators roaming the tundra. But for young Alan, size was not such a benefit. He had to have his hockey pads special ordered from Toronto when he took up the sport in high school. And regulation sticks were so short in his giant hands, he had to either hunch over to move the puck or use an illegal stick keeping him from official games. It didn't take long for the moose to try something else, and while there wasn't much basketball in the town, almost overnight, Alan became the city's best player.

A talent scout for the Alaska Arctics was the first to notice the towering center. Alan was about to graduate from high school and go to college on a basketball scholarship, but the scout convinced him to put his name into the 1998 draft. It was not an easy decision for Alan, but with the support of the scout, he made the trip down to Las Vegas to attend the event.

He wasn't picked. After two rounds, his name was passed all 48 times. The big moose returned home to Canada frustrated and feeling betrayed. He still had his basketball scholarship, though, and soon moved to Calgary for school.

After finishing his degree, the older Alan had become a beast. He usually used his height to play, but his coach pushed him to lift weights. To Alan's surprise, his thin moose arms soon ballooned with muscle, and his hands could block dunks, not just jump shots. The rest of his body got stronger, too, and he became deadly from the post-up, knocking over opponents with ease. Soon he was the most dominant player in his school's division, leading them to back-to-back championships.

This time, it didn't take one lonely scout to spot him. After graduation, he got calls from several teams, asking him to sign. Having already gone through it, he was no longer eligible for the draft system, but was free to sign his own contract. And teams wanted him. When he was presented with his picks, the Arctics made an impassioned plea to bring the big moose to Anchorage.

But Chesuk was still sour over being pushed into the draft too early. It was clear now that if he had waited, he could have been making big money in his first year but instead was forced into a starting contract. The Arctics promised they would offer more after the contract was up, but Alan had other plans. He decided to play as far from the Arctics as he could and took an offer in the Southern Division playing for the Huntsville Mayors.

It was pretty small of him. Even for a moose.

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A wonderful drawing of Alan Chesuk from  ironfeathers! She blew me away a year ago with her stellar drawing of B-Hop making a jump shot. It was a pleasure to commission her again, this time for one of the original FBA characters dating all the way back to the first Thrust/Mayors FBA Finals series. He's gotten quieter in the last couple years, but he still has a special place in my heart! :)