The hump.

The damned hump.

It sits there. Taunting me. Mocking me. "You'll get to the top, but just before you can cross halfway over, you'll fall back down!"

Two seasons ago, it was the Anaheim Outlaws when the Vancouver Whalers picked me up for a DFA spell. Last season, after the Newfoundland Berserkers drafted me, it was the Anchorage Armada. This season, it was the Kelowna Knights. Every time in the Conference Finals. One series away from taking it all. This season felt like our best chance and now it's gone away, slipped through our hold yet again.

And now, I've got more younger guys looking up my way than I have older guys for me to look up at. Bas, Hugo, Bud, Jonas...all moving on, for one reason or another. Still should have some great guys sticking around, though it's hard to tell without being inside the SHL clubs' war rooms. Things change all the time, even at the foundations of the league. Before, I felt like I was along for the ride, pitching in more as more was expected of me. Work my way up the ranks.

And now, here we are. Here I am, about to be in my third full year with the Zerks. They're starting to look to me to lead a charge that could land us in the Finals.

That's not to say the past three tries have all been disappointments or all for nothing. I've met some great chaps along the way, gotten close with a linemate in the same boat, gotten separated as he stayed aboard the whaling boat and I was pulled onto a warship, gotten to be part of something great, even if it was not the greatest team in the league on the ice. They were the greatest teams off it and in our daily lives in this new, exciting, fantastical, frightening ride that is the SHL. We're grateful for the opportunities, knowing we're not guaranteed to go on to the pros or to shine like the stars of old once we get there. Especially now as the tides turn, the waters rage, and we find ourselves clashing harder than ever against one another. A powerful undercurrent will rise. Some will find glory in that first push up to the big leagues. For the time being, I've been asked to hold on and see how this goes.

I'll be grateful for the teammates I got to know and meet so far on this hockey journey away from the brutal streets of London. And the older gents' moving on is only that. They are not dead and gone, not retiring, just going to a greater challenge. The pros beckon. I'll meet them again. For a few, as a teammate. For many of them, as a rival. Especially among those in the same draft class as I. We were thrilled on that Draft night as those S59s among us were picked clean quick. Aleks, Pasta, Robert Black, Evgeni, Slavakov...it was a grand time that night being the center of attention and hugging it out as our names were called. All of us went. Quite a few in round one. I figure we'll still make quite the core here for the next season or two, given SHL teams haven't already called some of the others up.

So what else have I been up to while on this island at the edge of the Atlantic? Been calling up some mates back home, checking on them. Been grinding at the old training grounds. Been keeping my fighting skills sharp - never know when someone will try to take me on in some fisticuffs. Other than all that, I've been socializing a bit around town here in St. John's. Hit the pubs on the regular, meet up with some fine chaps there, have some pints, and meet a few lovely ladies there. Not a one of them has taken to me yet. Hasn't stopped me from keeping the line out there. Never know if someone will take the old Speedwagon out for more than one spin. It's the closest I've gotten to the old life while still straddling the straight and narrow.

One bloke I still miss having around, even two seasons removed from our parting, is Alexis Saint-Michel. We were DFAs together in Vancouver during their upset semifinal bid. We got in a good few plays. It was there I got my first goal. And my first overtime game winner, in the postseason! Grabbed us a 3-1 advantage and we never looked back in that series. We had so wanted to be winger partners if we could both stay with the Whalers. It was not to be, though. Vancouver took Saint-Michel, and the Berserkers set their sights on me to open up round two. I would hope we get some reunion later on in our careers. Perhaps even a friendly rivalry would suffice, if we cross paths enough times down the line.

Since that rookie season, the "fun" part has been over - the part where I'm hanging back and learning the ropes. It's been a joy since, even though productivity has felt hard to come by. I felt I've taken well to the game I know from my old life, though - hitting, checking, picking pockets, laying down my body for the team and blocking shots so Hugo ain't gotta be troubled. Felt more like a third defenseman out there sometimes. I'll work on my offensive game some and get a bit more international time in. They didn't take me for the British Isles team last year...so I took them for all they had and came back with gold from Finland. Now, though, they respect the Speedwagon name and have me on the squad. Just gonna run it back - do what I did for Finland and push the Brits to gold this time.

Thinking about my future...Manhattan is a great place. The big city feel, plenty of places to go poke around and see how the rougher side of America compares to that of jolly old England. Except...maybe paying me millions, they would want me to stay out of that racket. Still, plenty to explore, opportunities to invest in a side hustle in case my body can't take getting beaten every night whether I want it or not.

Also, I read a message from some fellow the other day who wished to start something with me. A baseball pitcher in New York...Hol Horse...had some rather choice words for me and what he might do once I get called up and we share a city. I already don't care much for him and will be glad to put 'em up if he ever wants to name a time and place, face to face. Just because he got himself traded at the right time to win a championship...

Reflecting back on these past couple-plus seasons, it's been all sorts of emotional since I got here. I think about right now, I've got my sea legs in a churning ocean. Which is good. Time to brace for the next great challenges ahead. Both without the leaders of old...and with the new blood on the way this offseason. I hope I can lead them well, in whatever capacity that looks like.

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