After months of training, and years of anticipation, Victor Balls draft day had finally arrived. The sniper right winger out of Latvia had been waiting for this day for as long as he could remember, and had spent an insane amount of hours on the ice each day leading up to it. Victor Ball luckily had a great hockey background that helped prepare him for this moment all his life. His father, Kristaps Ball, is a SHL defenseman playing his last season this next season, after having a great career. They had been training with each other for a long time, and have a lot of similarities in personality. Both like hockey, both love drinking, and both love having a good time. Kristaps would help make Victor's day special.

The start of the day was the same as any other day. They would get up early in the morning to start practicing, and practice most of the day. The two would help make each other better; Victor could practice offense against Kristaps, and Kristaps could practice his defense. After many hours practicing, they would go home and have some drinks, as usual.

It's 8 pm in their Latvian home, 2 hours till the draft. Victor is full on drunk and is already hitting up the clubs, while Kristaps is passed out drunk at their home. The next hour flies by, and an hour till the draft remains. Victor is still out living his life, when Kristaps awakens. Needing to find his son before the draft starts, a slurring Kristaps calls on his good friend Alex Andani (@Carbine) to come help find Victor.

After visiting all the clubs in Riga, they finally find Victor with girls on each shoulder, and his shirt off of course. Kristaps fist bumps his son, acknowledging the fine girls his son had picked up, before returning home. They make it just in time for the start of the draft.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the S54 SMJHL draft, where these players will all start their journeys to the SHL, the best hockey league in the world."

Soon after the introduction by the commissioner, the draft begins. Normally, Victor is nervous, but with all the alcohol in his system, he is not as much nervous, but more so emotional and excited. However, as each pick goes by, and Ball keeps sliding, anxiety starts to build up, especially as the the first round comes to a close. Victor drinks away the pain of not being a first round pick as the second round begins.

The picks keep coming in, and so does more beer into Balls mouth. Finally, the last pick of the second round arrives, and the Maine Timber are on the clock. Victor is preparing for the worst: falling out of the top 2 rounds. He starts preparing to just give up on the night, as it is already past 11 pm, as the commissioner announces the pick.

"With the 20th overall pick of the S54 SMJHL draft, the Maine Timber select, forward Victor Ball, from Latvia."

Kristaps and Andani start erupting in cheers and joy, while the drunken Victor begins crying tears of joy. As the family is celebrating, the GM of the Timber calls Victor.

"Hey Victor, you ready to become a part of the Timber?"

Victor struggles to say yes amid his crying, but afterwards, his agent, Carson Bailey, has already scheduled an interview for that night with a local news station in Maine. Victor, struggling to even walk to his room without running into the walls, has a suit brought to him by his dad and is brushed up before the Zoom call. Soon after, the interview begins.

"Just earlier tonight, our own Maine Timber selected Victor Ball, son of the great Kristaps Ball, and here we have a chance to talk with him. Victor, explain to me how you felt when they announced your name."

"Well, it was a pretty amazing feeling. Going into the day, the Timber were on the top of my list of teams I wanted to go to. I talked with management during the scouting process and I really enjoyed the interview. So when they picked me, I got really emotional and cried tears of joy. It was a surreal experience."

"The Timber had a really deep draft, what are your thoughts on it?"

"Well I think we are set for the future and set up for success. I'm going to try my best to be the best player in the whole draft class, and hopefully we can bring some championships to the great state of Maine."

"Thank you for your time tonight, Victor, and best of luck with your career."

After the interview, an exhausted Victor Ball refused for the night to die. It was already past midnight, but the Ball family decided to keep on partying. The next thing they remember is waking up at noon the next day in a ditch, but the draft night was a night that Victor will never forget

(844 words, x2 for draft media bonus)