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juniped · 04-03-2021, 01:06 PM

Juni Panda sits in the locker room the day before game 6 of the series with Buffalo. He’s happy, thinking about what toppings he is going to get on his nachos the next day and the best cheers to yell while watching from the sidelines. He’s not sad, he’s content. He knows his role on the team and he’s not nearly the kind of player they need during some tight series like this in the playoffs. That’s when he hears his name called and comes out of his nacho stupor to see the whole team staring at him, except for Schoochie, he’s asleep. “Are you ready to hit the ice tomorrow” Coach says to Panda. “Wait.. what? Me?!” The coach nods “It’s time to try something new, you know what to do. Get on this ice and throw yourself around. Panda nods “Y-y-yeah coach it’s what I do.” The coach nods and gives him a thumbs up “Just go out there and try your hardest, don’t worry about the result we’ve done well to get even here”
Throughout the night Juni tosses and turns and thinks about how he got here. His mind drifts back to when he first entered the league. Due to some issues between his school and paperwork he actually missed the draft. He sat on the sidelines and watched everyone get drafted and be shipped off to their junior teams. Everyone was playing and making memories and he was spending day after day just practicing. He didn't want to enter the league as the physical focused player he had been in school so he spent every day practing his aim.

That's when the call came, his paperwork had gone through and he was registered to play in the Simulation Junior Hockey League. That's when the waiting got worse. The second after he hung up and awaited a call stretched into minutes, minutes into hours and hours into WAIT THATS THE PHONE. Juni picked it up and on the other end was Birdman the co-gm of the Colorado Raptors. He was willing to offer Junk a shot, he just had to get some logistics handled and would be able to offer him a spot in the next day. So he waited, a day went by and no other teams contacted him. So when Birdman called back he was ready. The Raptors wanted him and Junk was ready to prove himself.

Juni Panda packed his equipment and said goodbye to his friends and family. The next day he was on a plane to Colorado en route to the Raptors complex. He arrived and was given the grand tour, that's when he finally got a chance to show off the fruits of his practice on the ice. Let's just say it wasn't exactly as planned. While he had been practicing for weeks on his shots, he had a hard time dealing with a goalie that moved more than a slow moving pendulum he had rigged in front of a goal at home. The coaches gave him some pointers and he headed to bed. In the morning the coaches gave him the rundown. "Juni, you have some promise" they said. " You're working hard and we are excited to work with you but we have to let you know this season you may not get a ton of ice time. We will try and slot you in where we can but we can't promise anything amazing for you. But keep up the good work and we will do work for you"

So that's what he did. Juni practiced and practiced and did what he could to improve. Coming in late he was never going to have anything amazing, but he slowly earned his place on the team. By the end of the season he had shown that he deserved a place on the team and felt at home on the raptors. He was then able to spend the offseason playing for the sweden juniors team. He didn't make any splashes there but some of his coaches noticed something.

When Juni arrived back to his apartment in Colorado the whole place was a hive of activity. He realized he had totally missed the draft to the professional team! It turns out Juni had been drafted in the third round to the Toronto North Stars. He never expected to go that high so it was a surprise, but a welcome on to be sure. That's when his coach pulled him aside. "Look Juni, I've been watching some video and talking to your new coaches on Toronto. We see something in you we feel like you've been avoiding, we think you can play a mean physical game, maybe being a high scorer isn't for you but you have the potential be to great at the rougher part of the game." Juni felt the hair on the back of his neck start to rise. He had avoided that kind of play since he left school, but he knew his coach was right. Despite the desire to play like a sniper he knew his heart and soul were those of a true goon. He nodded and looked at his coach. "Sir you're right, gooning is in my blood, and if you feel like I can help the team there, I'll make that a priority." His coach grinned and evil grin.

Fast forward to the middle of his second season. Juni is playing on the third line, and throwing himself into his new role. He's grinding his body against the other team, getting into scraps and throwing his weight around on the ice. He is racing Boris Petrov in the race for the most hits in the league, but Boris has pulled away. However Juni doesn't care. He's loving everyone second of his time on the ice and he knows that his coaches were right. He relishes every hit every fight. He revels in this playstyle and loses himself in the sport day after day. The Raptors are strong and Juni has become an integral member and protector of the team. Unfortunately the Raptors are knocked out of the playoffs after a strong showing from the team. A few key players leave but the next year looks strong for the team.

Season 56 of the SMJHL and Juni Panda has returned from the offseason looking buff. Leadership has changed in Colorado, with new ownership anda new GM and new coaches. The new look raptors are ready to start off strong with some strong rookies and a solid veteran line. Things were looking really good to start the season, Juni was playing well but some time during the middle of the season the wheels fell off. After what was an impressive start, the raptors began to falter. The Raptors fell into a slump, and in an effort to prepare the team for the future many players were shipped off for future picks for the raptors. However Juni was in for the long haul, the raptors front office had believed in him, and in return he would believe In them. While he didn't have an amazing season he was still able to show off his skills.

In the offseason Juni tried a different kind of training. He spent the first part of the offseason training in different sports. First playing and training with a friend's minor league team down in Sarasota. Then he did some training with a friend in Philadelphia. Finally a month before the season started Panda went on a trip to a monastery in the mountains of China. He learned to focus and control his body better than he had ever before. By the end of the month he felt like a whole new person.

Upon returning to the Raptors training center, he could tell things were not quite how they had been before. Almost all of the veterans had either been shipped off to different teams or had been called up to play in the SHL. Instead of the players that Juni had spend three years getting to know, the locker room was filled with a lot of new rookies. The young blood was good for the locker room actually, and the desire to win was greater than ever. Panda steeled himself for his final season, he would have to become a leader in the locker room and on the ice and he would help the Raptors finally the way.

The season started off with a bang, literally. Juni led off the season like he had never stepped off the ice. Mowing people down left and right, the Raptors started off with an undefeated streak. Juni quickly started to create a huge lead on the hits leaderboard, while his team took the league by storm. Then the honeymoon stage wore off, as the season went on a lot of the rookies petered out from exhaustion, but juni kept on setting himself apart from the league.

As the end of the season approached Juni got closer and closer to the record. Naysayers kept talking about how it didn't compare to the record Boris Petrov had set two seasons ago. Juni knew that he didn't match the hits/game record, but he didn't care. Boris himself couldn't match that pace again. So Juni was going to take victories he could with the extra games and put his name in the books. The number between him and the record grew smaller and smaller, while the number of games left went down. That's when it happened.

It was a game like any other, and Juni had just switched onto the ice for his shift. He was focused on the game. The other team deflected a shot and recovered the puck and were driving toward his goal. That's when he saw it, as clear as day. An opportunity. They passed the puck, just like he thought and Juni drove into the receiver. A solid hit, the puck went flying, along with the opposing player. The crowd erupted in a deafening roar, but Juni didn't hear them. There was a game to play, a game to win. It wasn't till he got off the ice that he realized what had happened. His coach slapped him on the back and his teammates mobbed him on the bench. He allowed himself a sigh of relief as he relaxed on the bench. He finally did it, in his own way. The media could make their own story of it it didn't matter to him. He respected Boris but for this moment, for this night, it was his.

The season didn't end quite the same way. Despite the other members of Colorado playing out of their minds they fell short in the playoffs again. As the team sat in defeat in the locker room, Juni looked at all of the players in there. Most of them were still younger and he was sure they would all be stars one day and he would look forward to being able to play against them. But he had something else to focus on. The WJC was approaching soon and he had been selected to represent Sweden that year.

Juni was proud to represent his country. And he played his best. He didn't play quite the same physical style for Sweden. While still playing a physical game, Juni was also able to play a lot more offensive on the Ice, using his experience to help take Sweden all the way to a silver medal. He even had a magical game where he scored a hat trick, something nobody expected of the well known physical player. While he wasn't happy with a silver medal, he would take it, he had other things to think about again. His number had been drawn, he was going to Toronto.

The first season in the SHL, Juni spent most of it on the bench, or in the owners box. He formed a friendship with the backup Goalie, Scoochie as they feasted on Nachos during every game. Regular Nachos, Poutine Nachos, loaded nachos, fried nachos, bbq nachos, vegan nahos, greek nachos, pizza nachos, even thai and strawberry shortcake nachos. It was a season for the books. Oh also Juni only played in 4 games in the regular season, but he was undefeated so that makes him the best player in Toronto by his count.

Juni watched as Toronto made playoffs
Juni watched as they beat SFP
Juni watched as they beat MAN
Juni watched as they fell to 2-3 vs Buffalo

That's where everything catches up with Juni. Game 6 is a blur. Juni plays to the best of his ability but these players are some of the best in the league. They're faster, smarter, more experienced. So he locks onto a single player and makes it his goal to shut them down. It works by some miracle Toronto comes out on top. Juni sits, ecstatic that he was a part of it. He expects to sit the next game and let the better players take over when the coach comes back to him. "good job Junk" he says "get ready for tomorrow, you're playing again. Juni is shocked. Risking him on game 7? It's crazy. But the kind of crazy that the team is hoping will work.

The locker room is quiet after game 7. Buffalo scored in the final seconds of the game to take them to overtime, and then won in overtime. Junis first season in Toronto is over. It's been a blur and he's only played 6 games total. The team is saddened, but excited. The team looks good, they were not expected to make playoffs and the dreams of the coaches and the players is alive for next season. Juni prepares to make offseason plans. He is going to come back faster and stronger to prepare for the next season. He hopes to be there along the way.

The future of Toronto is bright and Juni is excited to be a Nacho Star for the long haul.