2026-06-17, 11:33 AM - Word count:
Arriving in Auckland, New Zealand was a special moment for young Alex Peña. Where he came from he never saw snow. Neither at home, nor in his Academy Season but at the end of his flight to New Zealand he saw something fabulous, something he has only heard of until then. He did not even have the right clothing to wear, because wherever he was it at all times over 0°C (32F) and he never even needed gloves to play but there he was in the middle of a snowy day, arriving with his fellow newcomers and completely unprepared for what will come.
But let us begin at the Draft Day. Because of the long pause between the end of the Academy Season and the Draft he went back to Venezuela to celebrate the Draft with his family. Even though he was not completely sure he would get drafted. There were signs that made him almost certain he would have a new home next season. Mock Drafts predicted Peña to be a early to mid-second round pick but history has shown that unexpected things can happen. After the first round he was still pretty nervous but at the same time also happy for his Victoria Falls Eagles teammate Joe Mormor who was one of the few select that were drafted in the first round. Then it was time to wait and hope. Together with his Mother, Father, his 3 brothers and 1 sister and his grandparents he was waiting for his name to be announced but the wait took longer and longer until finally he got picked up at Pick number 21 at the end of Round 2 by Reykjavik United. His Family was overwhelmed and happy for him to be able to go to an 8-time League winning team and 3-time SSL Cup winner. Getting drafted by one of the best teams the league has ever seen is an immaculate feeling, Peña says.
But as normally for rookie players Peña will also start his career in the Minor League hoping to make an impact. North Shore United, Reykjaviks affiliate team, based in Auckland, New Zealand also is not unknown in the world of trophy winning teams as they have won the Minor League 6-times and Peña is hoping to up that number up to 7 during his time for the team while also hoping to make enough improvements to at some point make it into the Reykjavik roster.
The average Drafted player will get a rookie contract of about 2 to 2.5 million Dollars per season, so Peña was happily pleased when he got told that the team is able to get him 3 Million Dollars per season, which will help him get some more training in and care better for his family in Venezuela.
Next to his contract with the team he was also able to get a sponsorship with a big Venezuelan logistics company and he gave it all the money he made from it away to help poor families, like his once was
But let us begin at the Draft Day. Because of the long pause between the end of the Academy Season and the Draft he went back to Venezuela to celebrate the Draft with his family. Even though he was not completely sure he would get drafted. There were signs that made him almost certain he would have a new home next season. Mock Drafts predicted Peña to be a early to mid-second round pick but history has shown that unexpected things can happen. After the first round he was still pretty nervous but at the same time also happy for his Victoria Falls Eagles teammate Joe Mormor who was one of the few select that were drafted in the first round. Then it was time to wait and hope. Together with his Mother, Father, his 3 brothers and 1 sister and his grandparents he was waiting for his name to be announced but the wait took longer and longer until finally he got picked up at Pick number 21 at the end of Round 2 by Reykjavik United. His Family was overwhelmed and happy for him to be able to go to an 8-time League winning team and 3-time SSL Cup winner. Getting drafted by one of the best teams the league has ever seen is an immaculate feeling, Peña says.
But as normally for rookie players Peña will also start his career in the Minor League hoping to make an impact. North Shore United, Reykjaviks affiliate team, based in Auckland, New Zealand also is not unknown in the world of trophy winning teams as they have won the Minor League 6-times and Peña is hoping to up that number up to 7 during his time for the team while also hoping to make enough improvements to at some point make it into the Reykjavik roster.
The average Drafted player will get a rookie contract of about 2 to 2.5 million Dollars per season, so Peña was happily pleased when he got told that the team is able to get him 3 Million Dollars per season, which will help him get some more training in and care better for his family in Venezuela.
Next to his contract with the team he was also able to get a sponsorship with a big Venezuelan logistics company and he gave it all the money he made from it away to help poor families, like his once was
Academy Assist Record holder (14 Assists)
![[Image: Barry-Mc-Glynn-Sig-2-0.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/C191CSW9/Barry-Mc-Glynn-Sig-2-0.png)
![[Image: C95Q3Nq.png]](https://i.imgur.com/C95Q3Nq.png)
Courtesy of Mafx
