Barcus walks into the Armada dressing for the first time, a bit nervously. It's always disconcerting joining a new team. A minefield of interpersonal relationships and conflicts waits for an unsuspecting freshman to stumble through. Who knows what might trigger a bad first impression in the wrong person? But Barcus knows that there are also buried treasures waiting in that room: new friends, new connections, brothers and sisters who will fight together for years to come. A new family.

The welcome is warm. The current players laugh and joke with each other, and try to draw the rookies into the jokes, knowing that they're all clueless anyway.  For some reason Gabriel Johnson is there. Barcus chats with his fellow rookies.  He has played with and against many of the elite young Canadian hockey players in the past few seasons, but he knows none of these players, most of whom are European.

In a quiet moment between chats, Barcus looks around the room and feels a sudden surge of excitement and anticipation. This is going to be fantastic. Go boats!