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***boom*** · 05-03-2022, 06:46 PM

[2241 words, x2 draft media, ready for grading]

Note: tentative content warning for discussions of physical injury and mental health struggles. Nothing severe, but this isn't a fluffy piece to read. I also do not have any medical training so I apologize if any of this seems inaccurate, I tried to do research.

I thought I'd take everyone behind the scenes of a little dilemma I had earlier in the season. You see, before I stepped down as GM, I would have had to take my own player at the end of the draft, and between the labour of love I've put into her narrative and her stellar rookie season it was hard to find a way to tank Sophie's draft stock and have it make sense in-universe. I considered a couple options, from not testing/interviewing well with scouts to being "too opinionated" (as a queer young woman could potentially be seen), but never could figure out how to make those options sound believable. Though I never wrote the piece because I ended up resigning, it was going to be what I built a lot of other pieces around so I did have a lot of the structure planned out. I thought I'd give it the ink it deserves, just to show all of you what might have been. It's definitely a grittier and edgier piece than what ended up coming to pass, and overall I'm happy with the piece that is the "canon" universe, but this one just really intrigued me with where I could have gone with it. So to clarify, the events in this specific chapter are NOT the actual timeline, but if I didn't step down from GMing this was the storyline I was going to go with. I hope you enjoy.

~~~

The season was over after a bitter four-game sweep in the Four Star Cup finals at the hands of the Newfoundland Berserkers, but for Sophie Bordeleau the training hadn't stopped. Even with her stellar rookie season with 19 goals and 59 points, there would still be doubters. People who said she was too small and slight to play centre in the SHL, people who said that her linemates had carried her along, people who said she wouldn't be able to handle big-city media. She was certainly a unique player with her skillset that she'd been able to show off in her first season in the SHL. Even being seen as a "finesse" centre, Sophie had still been able to contribute well in the defensive zone with 51 blocked shots and 85 hits, impressive totals for her small size. She shook off the doubts as she picked up the puck at the blueline, the slash of her skates on the ice echoing across the empty arena. It wasn't a formal team practice, just a training session for Sophie and some other high school, college and semi-pro players to hone their skills. She took the puck to her backhand, keeping her eyes up on the defender in front of her. With one move, she "looked off" the defender with a quick feint making it look like she'd go to the outside and try a power move, before instead shifting her hips and turning for the inside position. Now with free space up the middle, she drew the puck back before firing on net with an impossibly quick motion. Like a blur, the puck was in the net past the goalie's shoulder before he could react. Sophie smiled to herself at the play and quickly pivoted back out to make another go.

It was near the end of the skate now, and some of the players who had other obligations to get to had headed off to change and get back to their normal lives. Sophie was one of the players who stayed out there, wanting to seize every chance to get better before the SHL draft. She was talented, sure, but if there's one thing being a rookie in the SMJHL had taught her it was that every little bit of extra effort was necessary to excel. Sophie didn't just want to be another player in the SHL, she wanted to stand out, and with everyone in the SHL being faster and stronger she had to be too. The players were practicing one-on-one drills now, which suited the shifty centre well as she could use her quick hands to make space for her quick shot. After a couple runs, Sophie saw her Jamie in the stands, which was frequently a routine between the two of them. She'd come to watch her practices sometimes, and would often bring a drink or a homemade snack to help get her energy up after training. Waving to her partner, Sophie resolved that this would be the last run, not wanting to keep Jamie waiting. As other players finished their runs and headed off the ice, Sophie picked up the puck at centre ice and skated in against her opponent. He was a bigger defenseman, not slow but not quite blessed with her agility and quickness. Sophie stickhandled over the blueline, noticing that the defenseman was playing it safe and backing up. No problem, maybe she could use him as a screen and waiting for the other player to commit was often the smart move. The defenseman made his move, lunging forward to play the puck, and in that instant Sophie made her move. She dug in and quickly pushed the puck to the right, intending to catch him flat-footed at the hash marks and get around him for an in-close shot, but the defender was in her skates and she tripped. She slid on the ice, the puck rolling away. She slid. Too fast. Too close. The boards were coming up as the suddenness of the fall left Sophie temporarily unable to get her bearings. The boards were coming too fast. Too close.

When the crunch sounded, the arena was quieter than a library.

The next few seconds were a blur for Sophie. The defenseman and the goalie leaned over her, trying to check on what had happened. She felt pain, her right shoulder. All of a sudden, her dreams flashed in front of her. Getting drafted into the SHL, scoring her first goal, the roar of the crowd. Fuck, she thought. Everything was at risk now. No. Don't think about that. It took a little longer, but Sophie managed to get herself into a position where she could try and get up. Her shoulder moved and pain wrenched through it, and she fell to her knees. She could hear the distant sound of someone, probably the Zamboni driver, phoning for help. Sophie tried instinctively to get to her feet, get to the bench. Don't scare Jamie with what she'll be seeing. Everything has to be all right. This can't happen, not now, not before the draft, not before achieving all your dreams. She struggled to stand on her skates, but there were voices telling her not to move, to stay still, that help was on the way, and she fell to her knees again. The driver arrived and opened the back gates, flanked by a man and a woman in uniform. Finally letting herself be helped, Sophie looked for her girlfriend in the stands as if she could transmit a feeling to her by telepathy, wanting to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but couldn't find her. No doubt Jamie had probably gone to find a way down to her. Sophie felt her arm being bundled into a brace, saw the reflections of flashing red and blue lights outside the maintenance bay of the arena, heard a concerned voice talking to the paramedics. As she was put into the back of the waiting ambulance, she felt her hand being taken in another and stroked softly, and finally a single tear fell from her cheek as the reality of the event started to sink in.

~~~

Sophie opened her eyes, the events of the last couple days foggy in her mind. A sharp pain shot through her right side and it all came back. "Good morning, Miss Bordeleau," a voice said through the fog. She was awake now, and noticed a white-coated stranger entering her room. "I've got some news for you. That was quite a nasty fall you took, how are you feeling?" All the teen could do was nod as the stranger went on. "I'm Dr. Hall. Your partner was quite helpful in describing what happened to you, and from the tests we ran it looks like you broke your clavicle, you probably know it as your collarbone. I should give you the good news, though. This is a fairly common injury that we see with athletes your age, and from what we've seen from your X-rays it looks like you'd be able to recover without needing surgery on it. It's hard to predict the exact recovery time, but at your age I would conservatively say you should be able to get back to normal in about 10-12 weeks. Your girlfriend tells me you're a hockey player, you must be quite a good one from what she told me." Sophie dipped her head, trying to take in all of the information that she'd just heard. "Am I going to be able to get back to where I was?" she asked the doctor with trepidation. The doctor paused for a second before smiling. "I figured you'd ask. Other athletes we've had that had a similar fracture to this degree were able to get back to some noncontact training at around six weeks, build up that muscle again. Seems like you're pretty competitive and dedicated, so with that and physical therapy I think you should be okay. Gotta make sure the next star of the Citadelles can get back to form," winked Dr. Hall with a laugh. Sophie giggled for a second, but then her expression turned to stone again. "I'll do it. I have to," she said with pure determination in her eyes.

~~~

The day of the draft had at last rolled around, and Sophie was stuck at home recovering, as she wasn't cleared to get back out on the ice yet. She sat on the couch watching, but was restless throughout the evening. "I should be there, I hate that this happened," she vented out loud, to no one in particular. Her father responded gently, taking her hand to give her a sensation of grounding. The draft went on, and with each name that was announced that wasn't Sophie she became visibly more discouraged. "Is it okay if I take a minute?" she asked her parents, who nodded as the hockey player left the room. She carefully dialed a number in her phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello?" the voice on the other end opened. "Hey J. I just needed to call you, this night has been a lot and I hate that this accident happened and dropped me off the radar," she cried. "You came to my games and my practices and you love seeing me play and even though the doctor said I'll recover I'm scared that I won't be as good and I won't be able to make you proud," Sophie admitted in a rush of emotion. Over the phone, Jamie's sharp intake of breath brought her out of the anxious state, back to what she knew. "You're the hardest-working person I know, that I've ever met. This is just a temporary setback, and you're going to do great, sweetheart," Jamie soothed. "I love you so much and that won't ever change with or without hockey. You're the light of my life," she continued on. "Thank you J. That means so much to me. I'm going to go get a snack and calm down, but I'll talk to you soon," Sophie smiled. Heading back inside with renewed optimism, her attention was drawn to her phone, where a text from Ellie sat unanswered: "Turn on your television to the draft. There's something you should see. Ellie." Curiously, Sophie looked to the television where the Edmonton Blizzard were making a pick. "With the 68th overall pick in the SHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Blizzard are proud to select, from the Quebec City Citadelles, Sophie Bordeleau." The mood in the house changed immediately, from pain to pure euphoria. Sophie raised her healthy arm with a huge smile on her face, absorbing the moment. Sure, it wasn't the high pick she had been hoping for, but she'd work hard at recovering and coming back as a stronger prospect than before.

~~~

Weeks went by and with each passing day Sophie's shoulder felt better. At last the day came where her doctor cleared her to play hockey again, though she'd only be skating on her own and not with anyone else yet. Jamie had come to watch and offered to help her with the equipment, but Sophie rebuffed her gently. "The doctor said I shouldn't have issues with it as long as I'm not putting it through any impacts, and shooting is off the table for now, but other than that I'm fine," she explained happily. Pulling on one glove and then the other, she stepped onto the bench and placed her skates onto the freshly cleaned ice, the sound of the blades against the ice the loudest noise in the empty arena. For Sophie Bordeleau, while this wasn't a heavy training session, it felt freeing and comfortable after being stuck in shoes for far too long. The ice felt like home to her, and as she pulled around the net and skated out towards centre ice she burst into an uncontrollable grin. She was back.

***boom*** · 05-03-2022, 06:46 PM

tl;dr I was gonna do an injury storyline to tank her stock to explain why this top rookie was going in the 4th round and then I resigned so I didn't have to but this is the sad piece I was going to write but the happier piece is the canon universe. enjoy

*Wally* · 05-03-2022, 07:01 PM

<3 You are awesome Boom <3

***boom*** · 05-03-2022, 09:31 PM

05-03-2022, 07:01 PMWally Wrote: <3 You are awesome Boom <3

Glad you like it! This article was one I really wanted to get right because it would have had a lot of effects for future chapters, but ultimately I didn’t need it. That said, I don’t write a ton of emotionally heavy pieces (I think the chapter Words was the only real exception) so this was good practice for me as well, plus it’s still an intriguing idea that I get to make a (kind of) reality.

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