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DeThePyro · 02-15-2024, 02:32 PM

My name is Nathan Abel I am a baseball player in the PBE where I am a minor league player for the Amarillo Armadillos, and I am currently on a plane to the SMJHL draft. I got here through an incredibly lucky series of events so lets go back. It's a long late night in Anchorage where Nathan Abel leaves the Anchorage Wheelers stadium dejected. He has just lost in the PBE playoffs he was just eliminated. He takes a slow, slow walk back to his rental car. The final team meetings just finished, and he is free until spring training. He is tired and frustrated from yet another playoff exit. He checked his phone and opened up ticket app and saw there was a hockey team in town and that it was playing tonight. After all, he played hockey in college for Texas A&M he started as a goaltender for the Aggies but that didn't work out so he learned how to play right wing. At first he was just a depth piece there to fill up a line spot, but as he played and became a baseball star his skill at hockey began to rise until by the end of his college career he was a line one. But when he went to the baseball world he thought his hockey career would end up just a hobby a dream if you will. When he went to the Anchorage hockey game something unfortunate for one player but fortunate for another happened. A player by the name of ANCBOT3 had a serious injury and he was out for the rest of the season. During this time a player of ANC by the name of Dan Johnston saw Nathan Abel in the stands and called out to him. Dan knew Nathan by watching minor league baseball and his pastime of watching the lower echelons of college hockey for new creative ideas. He called out to Nathan as they needed an emergency 4th liner for the game as league rules would have made them forfeit if they player with only 3 full lines. Dan came to Nathan and said it simply “I know its been 2 years but you we need you I saw you in college all you have to do is what you did there.” I skated on the ice for the first time in about a year I quickly shook the rust off as the game began. I sat on the bench waiting for my turn to go on the ice then the GM/head coach Gabe spoke out and gave the signal. I hopped over the bench and joined the rush. I did what I did in college forecheck, I was an old school player I hit people and I hit them hard as I join in on the rush my team tries to send the puck around behind the boards. I see the other player a line four forward and I hit my top speed of 30 miles per hour as I hurtle towards the board he takes the puck and starts to move towards the net. I lead in with my shoulder and give a hit that sends him flying backwards and upwards his head lands on the boards with a thud. The behind me I get close lined by an opposing player who just saw me lay out his teammates who is lying on the ice knocked out. I punch back but then two more of the opposing teammate players lay into me I fight back but I get wrestled down to the ice as the refs pull away the remaining players. I get called into the bench to avoid being fought on more but the hit was unpenalized as it was a legal clean hit. Gabe gives me an approving look. My teammates pat me on the back the crowd is still going wild. In my first shift at a professional level I gave a massive hit that gave us a penalty as the people that attacked me were given roughing penalties as the whistle was not blown when I got jumped. I played the rest of the game where I was targeted by the opposing team with hard hits and trying to hit me outside of play that is just barley not interference. I didn’t end up with a point but I didn’t play terrible I was decent and passable and that is just what the Armada needed. After the game I was told by Gabe to meet him in his office tomorrow we have a lot to discuss. I asked him “Where is your office?” He responded “You just played on it.” I responded “I have a flight tomorrow, I can’t.” Gabe hit with the cool “We will cover it just be here tomorrow.” So I went back to my hotel room and went back to bed. I woke up in the morning and walked through the freezing Anchorage morning to the small arena near the city center. I walked in the door told the security guard why I was there I walked down to the ring and Gabe told me to follow him I followed him though out the facility through the trophy room the locker room the press room and finally a tiny office. There I sat down with Gabe and Dan Johnson the player who saw me in the stands and also a scout for the organization. Gabe spoke first “Lets cut to the chase, we want you to join us on the Armada. ANCBOT3 is out for the season and we want you to join the Armada.” “How am I going to join the Armada when I have not even declared from the draft.” I replied. “Its simple you are what’s known as a DFA claim a player who has not officially entered the league playing for a team who had an injury for a year. Besides its your offseason right now you don’t need to do your normal boring workouts at home instead you can play hockey at a professional level. Plus we will pay you what do you say?” I agreed to the deal and unknowingly started my journey to be a SHL player.

PART 1 FIN

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