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Dangles13 · 08-21-2015, 02:36 PM

This is my first time attempting this so any and all criticism is welcome. Except for TL;DR if you didn't read it then why do I need to know?

Augusts 3, 2015

It was late in the afternoon. I was enthralled with the way the sun played peekaboo behind the large expanse of the Rocky Mountains. I remember everything so vividly, the birds swooping and diving while singing a pleasant tune, the rich aroma of the dirt and stones that were crunching beneath my feet and the "occasional" smell of marijuana. I'm still not used to seeing people smoke weed out in the open like that.

I still don't smoke because of all that shit that happened with my lungs when I was a child. I still get pains when I inhale smoke of any kind so I couldn't imagine voluntarily smoking something. People do seem to enjoy it though, takes the edge off they say. Even if I was tempted I couldn't touch the stuff right now, I had to head down to the Pepsi Center so I could be assigned a team for the S25 SMJHL Prospect Showcase.

I arrived at the rink at the same time as two other defenseman, Wyatt Wollker and Eoin MacGregor. The three of us hit it off instantly. The three of us all come from very different backgrounds; Eoin, the crazy face biting Irishman, Wyatt hailed from the frozen tundra somewhere in Iceland, and myself, the farmer from Southern Canada who was in way over his head.

The three of us met up with another rookie, Scottish forward Conall MacLeod. Conall is oddly enough the person who first showed me the SMJHL. We met online on a hockey discussion board and after we had started swapping stories he suggested that I should declare for the S25 SMJHL draft. This was the first time we had met in person and it was a very exciting experience, especially because unbeknownst to me at the time Conall was a very highly rated prospect and he garnered all sorts of attention. Lots of silly pictures and awful bright lights followed him around.

After we got all of the pleasantries out of the way we made our way out of the lobby and headed down a wide aisle way with a freshly waxed floor that was a shiny as my bald head, haha I'm funny. The four of us made our way through a large set of double doors and entered an extremely large room that was most likely a gymnasium. There was a long head table at the back of the room beside a podium and a set of big ass speakers. There were quite a few men in suits behind the table and another standing at the podium. There were photographers everywhere and more pictures were taken, there were reporters doing interviews all around the room and people who I'm guessing were scouts for the upcoming draft come to watch us play in the Showcase.

The man, I really should have paid more attention and learned some names but I was so nervous and overwhelmed by the whole ordeal. Anyways, the man at the podium tapped on the microphone a few times and it made a dull thudding noise that echoed throughout the room. He adjusted the mic to be closer to his mouth and said "Ladies and gentlemen we will begin in five minutes. The four tables are labeled the Blazers, the Lions, the Stingrays and the Outlaws. We will call your name and your new team name, at that time please be seated at the correct table.

I had to take a look around because I hadn't seen any tables except for the one at the back of the room when I walked in. Sure enough in the middle of all the other young players were four long tables with plaques in the middle with team names. I guess over the loud din of excited kids and interviews I was too overwhelmed to really take in what was right in front of me, I was kind of embarrassed to be perfectly honest with myself.

We all shared excited looks and then you could hear excited whispering, "where do you think we will end up?" "I hope you and I will be on the same team." Conall was just about to say something when the man cleared his throat with a loud "harumph". He took a slow steady look at all of us and then he announced the first name. "Wyatt Walker - The Outlaws" He pronounced with a distinct American accent. "It's Wollker" a visibly agitated Wyatt growled at the man as he took his seat at the Outlaws table.

The man apologized and proceded calling out names and assigning us teams. It went on smoothly for about five minutes with no issues but I was getting anxious and I wanted to be assigned a team. He called out Eoin and Conall back to back. "Both Outlaws". "Great!" I muttered under my breath, all three players I know ended up on the same team and I figured I was all but guaranteed to end up on somewhere else. A few more minutes dwindled by but it sure felt like an eternity to me. I could smell the fear and apprehension of the other prospects and I could hear the panicked whispers starting to begin, but then it happened. I heard my name, "Cody Black". I crossed my fingers and threw a quick look skyward as I silently prayed "Outlaws, Outlaws, please let it be the Outlaws." The man paused as if toying with me, then he cleared his throat and picked up his bottled water and took a slow sip. "Cody. Black. Cody Black, defense.... the Outlaws." He announced to the crowd.

I could have yelled in excitement but I decided to play it cool and let out a sigh of relief as I walked to join my friends at the Outlaws table. Not long after I was picked, maybe another five minutes or so, the whole process had been completed and we were introduced to our general managers. Our GM, the GM of the Outlaws was to be Baelor Swift. He walked up and said "Well boys I'm pleased to meet you. My goal is to get you guys playing good hockey as fast as possible so we will be practicing tomorrow all day. Our first game is in three days against the Lions, get some rest and have a good night." Well I guess I'll be busy so I won't have a whole lot of time to write as much as I would like, not to mention I'm sure the guys will make fun of me for keeping a diary.

August 6, 2015

As I guessed I don't have much time to write now that the Prospect Showcase has begun. I spend most of my time at the rink practicing with my new team or going down to the gym and working out with Eoin. This hotel is very nice and has excellent workout equipment, I don't know why I don't see more players down there.

We played our first two games against the Lions today. We won the first game 4-0. We scored 29 seconds in! Halfway through the second Wollker fed me a sweet d to d pass which I promptly deposited in the back of the net with a clapper for my first goal of the tournament. I love playing with Wyatt, we read each other so well and he's a fantastic player. I was also named third star but really it should have been Wyatt and I think he was a bit annoyed at their decision.

The second game was a few hours later so we went back to our dressing room to get some rest and go over what went right and what went wrong during our four-zip trouncing of the Lions. We were all joking about the beat down we gave the "cowardly Lions" when Baelor walked in and shouted "SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" He then said "You played not bad out there but I saw a lot of mistakes that will NOT cut it in the professional leagues." I piped up and tried to tell him that it was a good showing considering we had never played together before. He turned and gave me a fiery glare "Excuses are for losers and truly great talents always want to be better and work harder than anyone else." I think that will stick with me for the rest of my career, I can't believe how stupid he made me feel, how stupid I had actually been.

We all seemed to take that speech to heart and when the final whistle was blown in our second game the score was 7-1 for us. I didn't find the scoresheet this time around but I had a few hits and I blocked a shot, I'm going to have a nice bruise on the side of my thigh in the morning. Wyatt played even better this time around and picked up a pair of assists, I sense that he is growing distant from me. Like he's starting to resent me. I'll have to talk to him in the morning.

August 7, 2015

Another two games today, this time against the Blazers who won both games against the Stingrays yesterday. I'll update when I get back to the hotel but I hope we dominate again. FUCK! Well it's not going to be a fucking cakewalk to the finals. We lost the first game 2-0. The second goal was an empty netter but I was on for the first goal. The second game was worse, we lost 3-1 despite outshooting them 27-14. I got to get this taste out of my mouth, we got a wake up call, and I need to play better, we all need to be better. I'm pretty pissed right now, I think I'll head down to the pool and swim some laps. Gotta clear my head.

August 8, 2015

I fucking hate losing! I thought we would beat the Lions after the beat downs we gave them on day 1. NOPE! We lost 4-1 despite outshooting the other team again. We even scored less than a minute in, we need to learn how to score again because this is bullshit. Wyatt and I got into it on the bench, we are both fiery competitors and got frustrated with losing. I apologized in the room after and he said it was his fault too. I told him it doesn't matter whose fault it was because tonight we are going to kick the shit out of the Stingrays.

Finally! Back in the W column! We beat the Stingrays 5-2 and some Antoine kid scored a hat-trick, it was awesome. We felt good after that win, I guess winning really does fix everything. We play the fucking Blazers again in the morning and I want some revenge. This is so much hockey and I can feel my body getting worn out, I can handle the physical strain but I need to find a way to clear my head.

August 9, 2015

I hate the fucking Blazers! Fuck those guys, why do they have our number? 6-2? I was minus fucking three and I played like hot garbage. I need a break so bad, gotta take a step back from the game and reset myself. Thankfully tomorrow is a rest day. Eoin mentioned something about a team bowling excursion tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to do something that will distract me from that abomination of a game I just had. I'll probably skip writing in here tomorrow so I'm not reminded of this garbage.

August 11, 2015

Bowling is great, just what we needed I think. I had no idea Conall was such a good bowler, he easily walked away as the clear cut winner yesterday. I didn't too bad and Eoin showed that his lack of finesse is not confined to hockey, he kept hurling the ball overhand at the pins and the manager threatened to kick us all out if he didn't figure out how to do it right. LOL good times Eoin.

Well the rest didn't help our on ice performance any, we lost a "close" one 9-4. The rest day did however help our psyche, I was able to calm down and remember that hockey is a game and I play it because I love it and it's fun. It was a tough game but we kept in good spirits, Eoin in particular was cracking jokes to keep everyone loose and Conall seemed to benefit from it because he himself actually had a pretty good game and ripped five shots on net. I told everyone after the game that we'd for sure beat the Stingrays again.

Man I love being right! We out shot the Stingrays 28-18 but we were down 1-0 until halfway through the third. We never panicked and then we scored twice in less than fifteen seconds and we held on for the win. There are only two more games left before the round robin is over and the playoffs start. We play like we did today and I think we have a great shot at winning it all.

August 12, 2015

We stuck to our game plan and we kicked so much Stingray ass that I think I saw the ghost of Steve Irwin in the stands cheering us on. Too soon? Not soon enough? Who cares? We won 7-2 and Eoin potted four amazing assists, apparently he CAN do more than just violently disfigure opponents.

Even more rewarding than trouncing the Stingrays was finally beating the damn Blazers in this showcase. It ended up going to overtime but Evgeni Karpotsov scored his second of the game, and his third point of the night at 4:22 in the overtime period. We finished second to the Blazers in total standings so we get to face the Stingrays in a best of three. The way we've dominated the Stingrays I feel pretty good about our chances. I'm hoping the Lions can upset and advance so we don't have to play the Blazers if we win.

August 13, 2015

They told us we'd play two games today, my body is getting bagged and no matter how many times I shower I still feel and smell sweaty. This time I'm going to stay level headed and have fun no matter what happens.

I forgot to talk to Wyatt about his increased hostility towards me but today at breakfast he completely ignored me and I tried to call him on it but he wouldn't talk to me and I didn't want to rock the boat before a playoff game.

We won the first game by doubling up on them 6-3. Conall scored a hatty and we played a great team game today, it was a blast. We got into a bit of penalty trouble today but our goalie bailed us out. No game three for us! We managed to sneak by them in the second game by winning 4-3 and I scored again! I was a minus 2 and we should have had an easier time but with their backs to the wall the Stingrays came to play. I respect the Hell out of them for what they did today, there will be some great Stingrays in the SMJHL this upcoming season.

August 14, 2015

We had another day of rest because we swept the Stingrays so we went down to the rink and watched the final game between the Lions and those stupid Blazers. We were all secretly cheering for the Lions because of the trouble that we had with the Blazers. The Lions winning the second game 8-3 gave us hope. The Lions came out flying and won the game 3-1 to advance, I cannot wait to play them tomorrow.

August 15, 2015

We are the champions, no time for losers because we are the champions of the S25 SMJHL Prospect Showcase! We showed up to play today! I want to relive this day forever. Smile

Eoin took a weak hooking call just over a minute into the first game, the Lions got a blast from Mitchell at the point and it went right past our goalie to make it 1-0. MacGregor was pissed about the weak call and he was determined to make things right. He got his chance when one of the Lions players took a swing at Conall and clipped his visor. Eoin was out on the power play and he mimicked Mitchell from the Lions first goal and blasted a rocket at the net and scored bar down! Afterwards we all bugged Eoin that he was probably trying to decapitate the goalie and missed and accidentally scored. Antoine Vietto potted two goals after that and walked out of the first period with three points. Antoine was not done there, he posted two more assists less than 25 seconds apart for a five point night.

I thought we played good as a team and I was proud of the boys and we pulled out a 5-3 victory. I had a rough game physically, I picked up a few penalty minutes for cross-checking someone who didn't like the way I took his head off when he stupidly tried to skate over my blue line. Not today bubba! Not in my house!

We were all hyped to play what turned out to be our final game in the Showcase. We were pumped because we all thought we were going to win the tournament but we were a little sad because we might not see each other much after this game. We all had so much fun together and I made some friends that I won't ever forget.

The second game started out sort of slow, only two penalties and no goals in the first. Always one for excitement I stupidly tripped a player 15 seconds into the second period. I prayed we could weather the storm but just 12 seconds later Mitchell let it go from the point and score his second of the finals on us, a carbon copy of his goal from the first game. I could feel the heat from Baelor's angry stare as I skated back to the bench. I had never been more embarrassed or angry with myself. Wyatt wouldn't even look at me as I got on the bench beside him, I could have died I was so miserable. However, less than two minutes later we tied it up on our own power play and all was forgiven. Ten minutes later Karpotsov scored on yet another power play and we knew it was over, we just had to shut them down and we were good at shutting the Lions down. Despite taking four penalties we were able to hold the Lions to just 14 shots as we gutted out our second victory of the day 2-1.

When the clock ran down to zero we all jumped on the ice and rushed over to share the victory with the tendy. Fuck we were excited, we cheered and screamed and congratulated the fuck out of each other. I took a look at the Lions across the ice and they were devastated, some were crying and some were just laying on the ice not moving, I felt a small tinge of empathy for them. I skated over to Baelor so I could apologize for taking that stupid penalty and he hugged me and told me not to worry about it. "Winning fixes everything." he exclaimed to me. After we were done cheering we formed the handshake line and I wanted to be first so I could try to ease too pain of our fallen foes. I told some that they were going to be great players in the SHL one day. I told others that they would be drafted into the SMJHL soon and that this tournament would be a distant memory soon. I like to think that they left feeling a bit better.

After we showered and Baelor gave us his closing speech we talked amongst ourselves. The draft was in a few days and we were all super excited at the prospect of being drafted into the SMJHL. We started guessing where we might be drafted and which teams would take us. Only one player was not partaking in the gossip; Wyatt Wollker. I walked over to him and said "Wyatt, what's up? When do you think you are going to go?" He fixed me with an icy glare and said in a cold monotone voice "before you." I was a little taken aback, "I thought we were friends? What happened to that?" I asked him. He smirked and stood up "we're rivals now Cody. We are competing to go to the same teams and I'm going to do whatever I can to get drafted as high as possible." All I could do was laugh, "I hope you go first overall Wyatt."

August 20, 2015

The draft is today. I haven't had much of a chance to talk to my Outlaw teammates since the showcase ended. I've been attending combines and writing letters to send to the SMJHL teams. My agent has been advising me on how to raise my profile leading up to the draft, I've been in contact with a few GMs and I've gotten mostly positive feedback, the Whalers in particular have shown interest in me and need some defence. I'm not sure where I'll be drafted and it doesn't matter to me but I want to be a part of a team with some good guys.

Well that was easily the best experience of my life. What an awesome draft. I was drafted 7th overall by the Vancouver Whalers and I've never been more proud of myself. You know who the Whalers took 5th overall? My "rival" Wyatt Wollker. LOL guess we're going to be buddies after all, I'm pretty excited about that because we play so good together.

The Whalers drafted Alexi Orlov, Valentin Makarov, Clayton Fuller, Patrick McEichel, Rick James, Alaina Sylvia and George Papaioannou who was the Outlaws goalie in the Prospect Showcase. I like all of the rookies and I have had some previous encounters with a few of them. We missed out on a few players who I grew close with in the days leading up to the draft but I'll see them around and it's nice to know players on other teams.

After the draft we all got to meet the Whalers staff and players. JHS and Originsz are the GM and Co-GM, both of them are great guys and made me feel really welcome. I met a few players, Pirozhkov and Jakaitis who are going to be the veteran defenders on the team. Durden, Allen and Bure are some great guys and all made me feel like a part of the team instantly. McZ is a big goof and he seems to be the glue of the team. I met a few others too and Hoovuh who is a Whalers alumni that seems like a fun person to be around.

All in all I am very happy to be a part of the Whalers family and I can't wait to meet the rest of my teammates and get past that offseason. The Whalers are the reigning champs and I hope to help them win back to back 4-Star Cups. The offseason promises to be slow, I don't know what to do with myself without hockey to keep me busy. So far I've just been trying to learn as much from the veterans on the team as possible, maybe at this time next year I can be one of the players who is teaching a fresh new batch of rookies. It's getting late I should get sleep.

Muerto · 08-21-2015, 05:14 PM

nice article! really cool idea

Black and Wyatt rivals and Outlaws forever!! Cheers

Dangles13 · 08-21-2015, 05:15 PM

Quote:Originally posted by KezKincaid@Aug 21 2015, 03:14 PM
nice article! really cool idea

Black and Wyatt rivals and Outlaws forever!! 

Thanks for the feedback man. Cheers

Samsung virtual assistant · 08-21-2015, 05:52 PM

Not enough mentioning of SwegKingu

Disappont.

RaiN · 08-21-2015, 06:11 PM

Good job man!!! Whalers

Dangles13 · 08-21-2015, 06:25 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Flodgrodan@Aug 21 2015, 03:52 PM
Not enough mentioning of SwegKingu

Disappont.

I didn't talk specifically about any of the members I met after the Prospect showcase. I wanted to originally but I just wanted to finish it up. Still love you though. Wink

Dangles13 · 08-21-2015, 06:25 PM

Quote:Originally posted by RaiN@Aug 21 2015, 04:11 PM
Good job man!!! 

Thanks.

SethTrollins · 08-21-2015, 08:03 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Dangles13@Aug 21 2015, 07:36 PM
Eoin potted four amazing assists, apparently he CAN do more than just violently disfigure opponents.

Lies! Lies and slander! Angry

Nice article, man. Outlaws for life!

Dangles13 · 08-21-2015, 08:11 PM

Quote:Originally posted by SethTrollins@Aug 21 2015, 06:03 PM

Lies! Lies and slander!

Nice article, man. Outlaws for life!

Thanks bud. Cheers

Hockeypony · 08-22-2015, 08:13 AM

Great article man! Cheers

(I liked all the detail and you didn't rush it so much)

Dangles13 · 08-22-2015, 12:39 PM

Quote:Originally posted by GreatOneHimself@Aug 22 2015, 06:13 AM
Great article man!

(I liked all the detail and you didn't rush it so much)

Thanks.

There were parts where I tried to rush it. I wanted to make it seem like I was frustrated and didn't want to be writing in it.

08-22-2015, 11:37 PM

Awesome write up man

Quote: I had no idea Conall was such a good bowler, he easily walked away as the clear cut winner yesterday.

Haha you couldn't be further from the truth

Dangles13 · 08-22-2015, 11:38 PM

Quote:Originally posted by GemLife@Aug 22 2015, 09:37 PM
Awesome write up man

Haha you couldn't be further from the truth

Maybe you just had a lucky game. :lol:

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