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Jayrome · 09-22-2020, 04:27 AM

(2x since it's my first media post)

It's 6AM. My father wakes me up, I'm not sure why. We get in the car, there's a big duffel bag in the backseat. I sleep in the car. We arrive at the arena. He laces my skates, I get angry, I wanted to stay home. I get on the ice. I feel like a stiff stick figure, arms spread horizontally and trying not to fall. I fall down for the first time. It takes my ages to get up, why did my father bring me here? The coach calls for all the young players on the ice to come near him. I don't listen. I don't wanna be here, it's cold, I don't want to fall down again, and it's boring. We get sticks and play with pucks, everyone seems better than me, I can barely touch a puck. I look for my father in the stands, I can't see him, I stay still on the ice, hoping time will fly by. I try looking at the big clock to find out how long we have left. A puck touches my stick. I see another kid who apparently gave me the puck, screaming at me to shoot at the empty net 6 feet from me. I swing my stick at the puck as if I was golfing, and... it gets in. I'm stunned, the puck making the net float, the satisfying metallic sound of the goal post followed by applause and sticks hitting the ice. I'm hooked.

It's 6AM. I wake my father up. He's not sure why, we're the weekend, but it is my day playing at the Bamtam level. We get in the car. I play in my head all the plays I practiced the last few months, all the scenarios I imagined where I get to block a shot to save the game, every cheer of the crowd. We arrive to the arena, I lace my own skates. I can't wait to get on the ice, I can smell it from here. I get on the ice, and I skate across my new teammates, not even saying hi. I pick up a stray puck, and about 6 feet from me, stands the goal where I'll get that feeling again. I wind up my shot, and slap the puck as hard as I can towards the goal. My eyes are closed, but I can't hear the goal post or the applause. All I hear is a dull thud, from my teammate's mitt, smirking at me. I search for my dad in the crowd, I can't see him. I take a glimpse at the jumbotron to find out how long this practice will last. I feel it's going to be a long year.

It's 6AM. I make sure my father doesn't wake up. I sneak my way to the garage and get in the car. I think about all the plays I saw last night in the SHL finals. The players seem to know what their teammate will do without even looking, like telepathy. I didn't know that kind of team chemistry existed. I get to the frozen pond with who thought would be my arch enemy a few years ago, the one and only who ruined my magic hockey moment in Bamtam. Funny how fighting him at our first practice got us closer as teammates. This is our last practice for a while, I received an invite to the SMJHL draft and he didn't. I worked hard the last few months, skated until I am drenched in sweat, analyzing past games and trying get my teammates to work on improving. A few are willing to, but many just don't put in the effort, it divides a locker room. Most of the guys are staring at their phones, looking at their watch to know when practice will end. I'm only focused on one thing : That first goal, that first time on the ice, that perfect shot and perfect sound in the pros.

It's not 6AM. It's freaking 10AM, and I'm late to the practice I was invited to. I rush to my car and drive to the arena. The practice is over. I call the coach if he can give a second chance to prove myself, he does not even answer. I go back home, defeated. I know I won't get drafted. I feel like the first time I played hockey. Frustrated, and I want to go home. But I can't. I was barely a few feet away from that goal post in that arena. I spend the next few days playing hockey in a wooden rink near the parking lot of the arena. I spend more than half my day around the ice, skating, shooting, deking. No one passes by, I don't even know why I'm doing this, I just need to be close to that arena. I didn't even watch the draft, it would have drove me crazy. And then, as I'm practicing, the second most satisfying sound I have ever heard in my life. A phone call from Kelowna. I'm in.

It's the first day of the preseason. The arena is packed with fans. This team has played through so many seasons, and yet this one feels like it's going to be unique. I meet my teammates for the first time. No smirking. I take a long look at that perfect ice, I barely look at the stands. The game will start in a few minutes, the excitement is palpable in the locker room. I'm counting the the seconds, I laced my skates and taped my stick to perfection. We rise and enter the tunnel to enter the ice. I try to get a look at the jumbotron, to check out the time, but I quickly realize I know what time it is. It's 6AM.

DeletedAtUserRequest · 09-23-2020, 12:52 AM

+1

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**leafs1997** · 09-27-2020, 01:29 PM

And thus began the legacy of the Triplets.

@Jayrome @Titan

Roamus · 09-27-2020, 08:10 PM

Nice article, the knights have a gem!

Titan · 09-27-2020, 08:11 PM

Gonna be a great season boys! Let's go!

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