03-22-2024, 11:17 AM
This was a new experience for Edzus. Waking up in his cozy Los Angeles apartment, now an SHL champion? If you had told him, 10 years ago, that he’d win the playoffs in the most prestigious hockey league in the world, he wouldn’t have believed you. Hell, a mere 8 years ago, he was getting benched because of a lack of training, away in Maine. Oh, how times have changed… But… was he truly at home? What even is home? What makes a place home? More on that later. But, due to a misunderstanding with the legal papers’ translation, Ozolins had signed his extension with Los Angeles too late and, suddenly, the still young Latvian was a free agent. If he had planned on re-signing with the Panthers, why didn’t he instantly agree to a new deal? Which fool could even consider anyone else than the reigning champions? Well, in his own egoism, Ozolins discovered a new feeling: being wanted. Teams were chasing him and his agent down to HOPE to even strike a small talk to ask about his intentions in the future. Yes, Edzus felt cherished by both the teams he had been part of – Maine and Los Angeles, but those teams had him, they did not desire him. What a special feeling! And so, the waiting game started. Every team brought something special to the table, whether it was top line minutes, an incredible team atmosphere or a great leader role that’d even give him a voice with the upper management. Some organizations, obviously, were interested in the player for the skillset, some others by his proven personality and leadership, and the rest for what he represented for a new generation of rookies. Of those, 5 teams really connected with Edzus: the Texas Renegades, an older team hanging on to Cup dreams, their first one since S62; the Edmonton Blizzard, an organization that looked at Ozolins as a mentor and perhaps a manager to become with an extended role in the upper office, also the very place that took a random chance on him at the SHL level, back in the S69 draft. Then you had the reigning champs, the top of the league, the Los Angeles Panthers. The place he called home for the last few years, the group he’d won with, simply an incredible locker room. You also had a sleeper pick in the Toronto North Stars, the only East team on its list. That core was an interesting one, and Edzus would be a perfect bridge between both worlds. Going from a massive American city to perhaps the most influential Canadian place was definitely a possibility for Edzus. And finally, an emergent team, the direct rivals of the Panthers, the Lions of California, the San Francisco Pride. Those were the five teams on the talented Latvian’s shortlist, and every single team was unique. His agent, though, who looked a bit too much like Mike Liut, had told him to cut two teams by the end of the day and Edzus was now realizing how hard today would be.
“Bzzzt,” his phone rang. A young Juniors player he’d met due to his friendship with Derek Martin, teammate and member of the Carolina Kraken org, was calling. It was Betzee Nickelback. Odd name but who was the Latvian to judge?
- “What’s up, Betzee?
- “Hey, have you considered Manhatt-”
He instantly hung up before texting her a quite aggressive “NO”. Was that the right thing to do? No, that rookie had always been lovely. However, Ozolins was already losing his mind with 5 teams, he’d asked some friends for advice, not to add onto the decision. His choice of testing the market had been public for a while now, and there was more and more noise in rumors of him going back to Los Angeles, or a new scenery in Toronto. Medias were loving the delay on Edzus’ choice, they could milk out many filler articles, almost as if this were One Piece, while almost every general manager was soooo close to pulling the plug and giving up. At the end of the day, though, it was time to say no to two additional teams: Edmonton and Texas were out of the derby.
A quick flashback to the present, Ozolins has a blurry vision because of the lack of sleep from the past few weeks. He prepares his bag for Toronto. But something makes him stop. Home isn’t on the East Coast. Home is in California, he knows it. He can’t keep playing pretend, his choice was clear from the beginning. It isn’t a return to his origins, or a cheat pick, it’s a new experience bottled with familiarity. Home is where you build your own family, Edzus realized, and that’s why a new experience is so scary, Los Angeles truly was and will always be synonym of home, if they even want anything to do with what some diehard fans will start to consider a traitor, but it’s time for the confused Latvian to fly with his own wings. With an audible sigh, he stops at a gas station, steps out of his Genesis, and asks the cashier:
- “My phone just died, what’s the fastest route to San Francisco?”
Thanks for reading, this whole process wasn't easy sooo uh yeah, had to rush the announcement because it was starting to be disrespectful for the GMs that cared enough to sign me, this is NOT the full media, there will be a part 2, along with a "Thank You LAP" media. We never know what the future holds, and I really love every single one of you that I have the honor to be able to consider friends. Thank you. Seriously. And thank you @FuzzSHL for taking a chance on me when my value was at its lowest, trusting me so much, and put up with this "I wanna test FA" situation that probably annoyed you a ton. You're the best.
“Bzzzt,” his phone rang. A young Juniors player he’d met due to his friendship with Derek Martin, teammate and member of the Carolina Kraken org, was calling. It was Betzee Nickelback. Odd name but who was the Latvian to judge?
- “What’s up, Betzee?
- “Hey, have you considered Manhatt-”
He instantly hung up before texting her a quite aggressive “NO”. Was that the right thing to do? No, that rookie had always been lovely. However, Ozolins was already losing his mind with 5 teams, he’d asked some friends for advice, not to add onto the decision. His choice of testing the market had been public for a while now, and there was more and more noise in rumors of him going back to Los Angeles, or a new scenery in Toronto. Medias were loving the delay on Edzus’ choice, they could milk out many filler articles, almost as if this were One Piece, while almost every general manager was soooo close to pulling the plug and giving up. At the end of the day, though, it was time to say no to two additional teams: Edmonton and Texas were out of the derby.
A quick flashback to the present, Ozolins has a blurry vision because of the lack of sleep from the past few weeks. He prepares his bag for Toronto. But something makes him stop. Home isn’t on the East Coast. Home is in California, he knows it. He can’t keep playing pretend, his choice was clear from the beginning. It isn’t a return to his origins, or a cheat pick, it’s a new experience bottled with familiarity. Home is where you build your own family, Edzus realized, and that’s why a new experience is so scary, Los Angeles truly was and will always be synonym of home, if they even want anything to do with what some diehard fans will start to consider a traitor, but it’s time for the confused Latvian to fly with his own wings. With an audible sigh, he stops at a gas station, steps out of his Genesis, and asks the cashier:
- “My phone just died, what’s the fastest route to San Francisco?”
Thanks for reading, this whole process wasn't easy sooo uh yeah, had to rush the announcement because it was starting to be disrespectful for the GMs that cared enough to sign me, this is NOT the full media, there will be a part 2, along with a "Thank You LAP" media. We never know what the future holds, and I really love every single one of you that I have the honor to be able to consider friends. Thank you. Seriously. And thank you @FuzzSHL for taking a chance on me when my value was at its lowest, trusting me so much, and put up with this "I wanna test FA" situation that probably annoyed you a ton. You're the best.
