Taking the first steps into the locker room was definitely a surreal feeling. I have never played on a stage as big as this before, so seeing the size of the arena was definitely intimidating at first. I always like to get to the rink early before practice to relax a bit and get ready but there was no relaxing here yet. I was on edge as soon as I got there. The rest of the team started showing up slowly, they were nice and introduced themselves but I could tell I was one of the new guys. Didn't really fit in right away, but that changed as soon as we stepped on the ice. With the ice beneath my skates I was back to myself, all my nerves were gone and I could just play the game that I loved. I fell right into stride with the rest of the team and really felt at home from that point on. After practice the whole team went out to grab a drink. One drink turned into a whole night out, we were having so much fun we all lost track of time. I am definitely excited for my time in Kelowna and couldn't have asked for better teammates to spend my time with.