What An Experience, The SMJHL Draft!!

It started weeks before the draft. The phone calls to be answered, the emails to be responded to, the video meetings to attend. It started as a trickle that exploded like a dam that burst after a major rain. The scouts and general managers wanting to talk to the youngster from Bath England.

Ozzy Batty was nervous. He asked that Uncle Otis be there, along with his parents and close friends on draft night. Otis and Ozzy had been in Canada and the United States for about 3-4 weeks leading up to the SMJHL draft but decided to fly home so that Ozzy could be with his family on this big night. Well, in their case, the early morning.
Ozzy had talked to most of the teams and had enjoyed the conversations. There was no one team that had moved to the top of his “wish list” and none that had dropped off of his radar. True, there were some of the teams who never reached out, but Uncle Otis explained that each team has their own draft strategy and needs….and Ozzy, as a 6’8”, 260 pound defender, just may not be what they wanted. Otis told him that the league is always changing and even though they didn’t need him now, there was no way to know what the future would hold.

Ozzy and Otis flew back to England, but there was no escaping the news and rumors. The mock drafts were coming out. Ozzy was falling anywhere from 12 to 20. But there were more and more of the mocks that did not even include Ozzy in the top 34 selections. On the morning of Draft Day, some other mock drafts came out where he had moved into the top-10….but the growing number of mocks that excluded Ozzy could not be ignored. As the final mocks were released, Ozzy was absent from the vast majority of them. This would have been tough on an adult, for this 16 year-old, it was really demoralizing.

Sunday morning arrived, the day of the draft. Yes, it wouldn’t start until 130AM Monday morning at his home in Bath, but Ozzy woke up early, yea, he hadn’t really slept much anyway. He headed for Twerton Park, the home of his beloved Bath City Romans, and walked around the grounds. Uncle Otis was good friends with the gaffer, Jerry Gill, so Ozzy could come and go as if he was a member of the squad. The quiet of the Sunday morning was what Ozzy needed. He headed along the canal and through the trees outside the Crescent before heading home.

He thought it would be quiet in the hours leading up to the draft. Ozzy had told Uncle Otis that he was looking forward to just relaxing since the front office staff would be busy finalizing their draft plans. Boy was he wrong! The phone calls were hot and heavy. Some scouts and GMs calling to check on him. Other calls were from teams that he had not even spoken to before. As before, all of the conversations were pleasant and very encouraging. But then, the phone went quiet almost as quickly as it was blowing up.
The final hours before the draft was here. Tick-tock…the clock seemed to be moving so slowly. They had the computer hooked up to the TV so the family could watch the draft on the big screen. Otis leaned over and told Ozzy to just enjoy it, no matter where he goes or when he selected, it was going to be awesome.

Finally…it was draft time. The announcers were talking about the league and the impact of the draft for the teams and the players. Ozzy sat quietly, nervous and excited at the same time. The 1st selection was made, a defender…then the 2nd pick, the 3rd, 4th, pick after pick, none of them were for the name of Ozzy Batty. Ozzy told Uncle Otis that he was going to make a cup of tea. The draft had gotten out of the top 10 and Ozzy was starting to feel like it was going to be a while before he would hear his name called. The 12th pick was in and Ozzy started to get up when he heard there was a trade for the 13th selection…he decided to pause there to see who was making the trade. The pick belonged to the Carolina Kraken, a team Ozzy had some good conversations with, and with the announcement of the trade he knew his chances of being selected had plummeted. The St Louis Scarecrows had gotten the pick for 1st and 2nd round picks. Ozzy looked at Otis and said, “Yea, I talked to them as well” and stood up.

But then the selection was announced, Left Defensive player Ozzy Batty. Ozzy sat back down….his phone started to ring, the computer started dinging, his parents started screaming….the world had went crazy!

Yes, Ozzy had been drafted by the St Louis Scarecrows! The GM and scout he had talked to were on the phone. The jet would be in Bristol on Monday to bring Ozzy to St Louis. Could Uncle Otis come along? Of course!

Ozzy was going to St Louis and he was so excited. He didn’t go back to sleep, spending the rest of the short night getting his bags packed. At 8AM the limo was outside of his modest home. Ozzy and Uncle Otis climbed in as the driver loaded their bags in the boot. Ozzy was talking to his new teammates as they both shared their excitement. The GM told them they would be on the 2nd defensive line together, Mathias and Ozzy, kicking names and taking asses!

Onward and upward to who knows where!
Word Count: 965

SO CUTE!! 

have fun in STL!! We are glad we were able to help get you there! They are so lucky to have you!

 

You have great writing skills. I really hope we get to hear more on Otis in the future and his new life in St-Louis. Welcome to St-Louis my friend!