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*Katth* · 06-12-2019, 04:56 AM

750 words

After getting back from my trip to Europe I can only say that it was amazing! Specially the old city of Vienna just blew my mind. The weather wasn’t all that great, but we made the most of it during our stay there. I can definitely recommend the famous Sachertorte. A chocolate cake with apricot marmelade filling. Mouth watering! The other cities we went too were great as well, but Vienna had something special. We felt at home and not as tourists.

Earlier in the holiday I still had to deal with contract negotiations. I thought we figured it out, but Dragons management needed some extra time to think things through. So at some point I got called by my dad who’s also my manager. “Hey Barry, they made you an offer.” So I’m like: “Yeah spill it out!”. “It’s a 3 year deal worth 14M with an AAV of 4.67M. You’ll get 6M in your first year of the contract.” It took me a few seconds to realize what this meant, but they actually offered me more than we previously talked about. That’s a great deal! “Yes!” That’s pretty much the only thing I said. So I got back from holiday and went straight to the Big Parm to meet with the GM and sign my contract. Glad that’s done and so glad I got such a great deal. It will really help me get me the best possible start of my first year in the SHL.

When we got home I hardly had time to sit down and read my messages. News about my signing didn’t go unnoticed by the media and my friends and family. I had to leave again, the World Junior Championship is waiting. Last year I won a bronze medal and silver the year before. Would this be the year? It’s my final year, so it has to be. It’s not just me who’s final year it is with Canada in the WJC. When I arrived at the hotel some of the boys were sitting in the meeting room for our first meeting. I got to meet Atlas Rush (@Rublic) for the first time. He was our 15th overall pick in the draft. We’re very happy he’s going to be a Dragon in a couple of years, can’t wait to skate with him. Such an amazing talent. During the meeting we got informed about our group in the round robin stage. Holy hell, that’s a tough group! We were put together with USA, Sweden, DACH and Team World. While the other group seemed a tad easier: Czech Republic, Russian, Finland, British Isles and Latvia.

During the round robin we finished 3rd in our group behind Sweden and USA. We were right that our group was a whole lot harder than the other group. Team World, who ended last in our group, had enough points to win to the other group. Sweden did really well and were so far the surprise of the tournament. My tournament was quite disappointing so far. In the exhibitions game I had my very first 4 point game, but during the tournament I only got 8 points total. Not what I expected from it, but luckily it’s a team effort and the team has been really great this year. Our first elimination game was against Russia. Sometimes Russia can be very unpredictable, but we had our game plan ready. Though 18 seconds in the game and we were down 1-0. In the end we managed to pull through and take the win 4-2. In the semi final we faced Czech Republic. I think we dominated that game, outshooting them 30-19, but we were forced to play overtime. Luckily Simon LeBlanc scored the winning goal and we were heading for the gold medal game for the 2nd time in 3 years. Would I be able to complete the set and win gold?

The final still feels like a blur to me. We partied so hard yesterday because we won gold! Yes, we finally won gold. I’m so proud of the team and so happy for the boys that are moving up to the SHL next year. We absolutely destroyed the USA in the gold medal game. We beat them 8-1. My final game for Canada. That still has to sink in, but it will eventually. My head is starting to hurt, guess I had a little too much to drink. I got to stop writing now, I’ll talk to you later.

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S50 Challenge Cup Finals Game 7
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Rublic · 06-12-2019, 12:26 PM

DeletedAtUserRequest · 06-12-2019, 03:40 PM

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