[831 words, ready to be graded]

Well, that's a wrap for my rookie season in the SMJHL and boy was it a thrill. I came into this not knowing what to expect from it, and right off the bat it hit me like a brick wall, my first contract negotiation. Ive talked about this before and I promise this will be the last time I do; when I created my player and was awaiting approval I was approached by the Montreal Malitia. As someone who had just joined the league it was exciting to have a team asking me to come play with them, afterall they were the only team who was talking to me so I agreed to sign a deal once I was approved. Being as eager as I was, I posted to the graphics community asking someone to make me my own MTL themed signature. This post was instantly littered with comments about MTL tampering with an unapproved player, confused by all this read the rules on signing free agents and saw that I was not allowed to agree to sign with a team until I had been formally approved to play, Then it clicked as to why only MTL was sending me emails. The investigation drew to an end an it was decided that I would not be able to sign with Montreal. Then came Samee and the knights, along with the Halifax Raiders. My IRL friend <a href='index.php?showuser=2897' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-3'>AssPancakes</a> was playing for the Knights at the time, and Samee seemed to be a decent dude, so I made my decision to sign there.

In Kelowna I was instantly part of the family, a sea of rookies in the same positon as me were super stoked to have me there, and how can I forget our slightly Alcoholic captain the one and only glowey. The entire team was super helpful and welcoming to me. I was placed on the third line at center where I wanted to be and even got to spend some time on the Powerplay and the Penalty kill, this may not have lasted very long but it was a great learning experience to have, and it gave me something to strive for, to quarterback my own Powerplay unit, and help out the team. After a slow start and a few updates the points started to come, I finished the regular season with 10 points and a +9 rating. I was happy to see that my defence was able to shine this season and that I was able to prove that I could be a strong two-way forward. All these great times with this team but the highlight would have to be my first goal. The Detroit Falcons were in town and they were tops in the league, an I scored my first goal of my career and it was the game winner. We went on to finish 3rd in the SMJHL standings and were set to play (you guessed it) Montreal. It was a scrappy series, after going down 2-0 early we managed to steal a game back and make it 2-1 but dropped the next one and it was 3-1. Then it was crunch time, we stole a tight game from Montreal where they were all over us but Holtby found a way to stop it all. unfortunately we would end up losing game 6 and the series 4-2, but what a wild ride it was. This year my teammates and I grew into a family, a team filled with rookies were able to claim 3rd place. Going forward we are all super excited to see where we go in our careers and I wish them all the best.

That brings me to now; preparing for the SHL draft is crazy. Its so surreal to think that I'm so close to my dream of playing pro hockey. 20 years ago I would watch the games every night idolizing the greats, and now I have the chance to be that person for someone else. Hockey has given me everything I could ever ask for, lifelong friends, and the best years of my life, but the best has yet to come. Its truly a crazy time between getting in my off ice training, going home to my family, meeting with tons of SHL gm's who are telling you they want you on their team.. Like really? you want me? of all people in the world I get this opportunity, its amazing, its humbling, and I cant wait to see where my career takes me. I have lots of managers to talk to and a ton of hard work to get done before the draft but I'm more motivated than ever to be the best player I can be, and put my stamp on the SHL forever; and it all starts right now.

That's all I have to say, but trust me, it wont be the last time you hear my name.
and in the meantime keep it real SHL