865 Words x2 Draft Media



The SHL draft just happened, and I got drafted by the Toronto North Stars. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't elated to get drafted by a team in the big leagues. Traveling to Toronto in this trying time wasn't the easiest from Anchorage, but somehow I made it and I'm here. For now. Until I get relegated back to the minors for having a broken shot, which I tried my damnedest in the offseason to get fixed again. There was a lot of time and effort that I had put into place just so I could get where I am. Yes I fell pretty far back in the draft, no I am not at all surprised that I fell. I was basically non-existent on the ice half the time anyway. So I took time off between the end of the Armada's season and the SHL draft to do my best at fixing it. Yes it may not be perfect now, and it may never come close to perfect. Yet the effort was made to put some sort of positive result in getting better with what I got. I do have the abilities to make it to the hall of fame some day. It may be improbable, and many may call me foolish for wanting to put myself on a level where the hall is in my sights. That didn't stop me, and it won't stop me. Days went by, where all I did was imitate shot after shot on an empty net. Hours and minutes of frustration and infuriating lack of results showed no gain at all. It's almost like I had made it nowhere, but once more that did not stop me at all from trying multitudes of tweaks in even the slightest of movements. From how my shoulder angled, or how far up or down I held my grip on the stick. Ultimately it's all useless if I never see the results in a real time game, so all I can possibly do as a player is sit and wait for the games to start. I'm extremely proud to be a part of the North Stars, and I hope I can light up the ice this season for Anchorage so I can hopefully see play time in the majors sooner rather than later. Or even at all, I'd hate to be the one to let down the team. Maybe this time around, I won't have one of the worst plus minuses in the SMJHL, who knows.

Now as for what I did in my time off between the draft and the season, I reached out to some of the best trainers that I could possibly reach out to that would even listen to me. Some of the best names did respond, and I took some of their advice to heart. I even took some time to just stay home and watch video footage of each and every shot I had taken. Even with my dedication to staying up all night with a clear neglection of my own personal health, probably not a smart idea given we've got a pandemic that's running rampant across the Earth right now. I spent days writing down each note I possibly could to give a trainer who was in it for the long haul. Apparently one of the trainers back in Anchorage caught wind of this all, and gave the team general manager a call since it wasn't long before he had reached out to me to check in on what was going on. The conversation that was had was brief, but it got straight to the point. He gave me some advice and a suggestion for possible shot tweaks and adjustments that could potentially give me any sort of change. At this point I had gotten desperate for any sort of results or outcome that even came close to sticking out as a positive. Approximately eight days into my program, I finally got a call back from the top trainer on my list. He seemed eager and excited to potentially help out yet another player. The call lasted about an hour and forty-three minutes of constant bouncing ideas back and forth. For a while it felt like nothing was gonna work, and I almost gave up on myself. Retirement seemed pretty enticing with where I was, had a couple million stashed in the bank. I could gain interest on it and just live a generic life as best I could, but no. I chose to push through and hope that I'd keep myself going as a shot in the dark. I'd boasted my pride with that title, thinking I'd perform much better than I did. Now it's all about trying this all over again. A shot in the dark seems too improper here. It's an arrow without feathers hoping that the path lands in the bullseye, or even just the target. Thank you Toronto for taking a chance on the quiet, anxious, impatient winger that I am. Here's to a great season.