As Slava stepped into the Nevada locker room, he couldn’t help but feel shocked. From the weather to the extreme welcoming nature from his teammates and fellow draftees, it was not something he was used to. Utilizing his steadily increasing English speaking abilities, he tried to inquire from his longer tenured teammates if there was a local spot that made quality pelmini…. Needless to say there is nowhere.

He spent majority of his first day on the rink. Experiencing the size of the ice and the smaller playing area was something that was going to take time. Knowing his drive to improve and desire to prove himself he skated hours and hours. From the width of the ice, practicing forechecking and backchecking against his teammates, he began to envision just how truly bright his future in NBB was shaped up to be.

He left the ice drenched in sweat, ankles pulsating from the work he had just put in and spoke out loud to his fellow rookies.

“How Americans do this heat?!”


*175 words*