It was another uneventful at his new home, yet his familiar past came in touch without his desire. Namely, it came through the usual call from his father, although now with another business venture of sorts that the old man was certain his good old son would assist him with. To his son’s annoyance, however, his father didn’t seem to take into consideration a couple of things.

“No, Father, I’m pretty sure Miss Bordeleau is retired.”
“That guy vanished from the face of the Earth, Dad.”
“I think that one went into professional wrestling.”
“As far as I know, that one got married to some celebrity and retired to a life of parties.”

His father’s latest scheme was to kickstart a hockey team for Schubbekutteveen, aiming to qualify for the Hockey Eredivisie, the Netherlands’ top league and hopefully make it to the Champions League down the line. His idea, however, was to start with a team full of washed-out players that would hopefully dominate the lower leagues of the sport while investing in youth when they would already be guaranteed into the top.

Alas, his father failed to understand that not everyone who stopped playing in the SHL would be willing or was even capable of playing once again, even more so for a small team at the bottom of the Dutch pyramid. It wasn’t like he was exactly planning on paying them much for it anyway.

“I’ll pay them with exposure!”
“I don’t think former professionals with enough money to live off the rest of their lives in peace are in that much need of exposure, father.”

Things weren’t too far from the way they usually were, Sunrise explaining to his father why things just weren’t the way he wished them to be and his father coming up with new, wilder ways to deviate from the way things were. Between talks, his father simply sounded flabbergasted, failing to think of anyone they could go for. It was quite something for the son to see his father, usually so undefeatable, crumbling down in front of the way life just ruined his “amazing” plot.

It was then that a thought flashed by his mind. Not too long ago, he managed a team of refugees at a youth hockey tournament. Sure they were a bit older by now but maybe that group of kids was still going, all he had to do was find the notebook with their names and means of contact.

What followed was a long afternoon of trying to reach out and find who could answer the call of their old hockey manager, finding their whereabouts and seeing what they were up to. His first instinct was to check on the team’s star, Hani Alhusain, an Afghan center who wore his colours on his sleeves, never willing to back down. So it wasn’t all that shocking to see that he was already playing professionally in Germany by now, a proud member of the Krefeld Penguine. Top tier team and all that.

He wasn’t the only one playing hockey for a living, the decent defensive player from Syria Kedar Abbas was now playing with Kiekko-Pojat in the Mestis, while his linemate from Afghanistan, Luqman Qasim was able to parlay a stint in the LNAH, although Sunrise couldn’t figure out exactly how he managed to get there since they were a bit picky about players who had never played in Quebec before. Finally, there was also Da’ud Salah, an Afghan right winger who was now playing in Switzerland with EHC Basel.

He also couldn’t count on a couple of other names. Muhammad Saqadat who played defence was now working as a journalist for a newspaper back in Germany. At the same time, center Firas Ali retired from the sport after a freak injury which pushed him into programming for a living. Their one Haitian player, Roel Esperance, was now a regular at Nantes of the French soccer league but was thankful for the call.

On a sadder note, there were also the cases of Zakiy Haddad and Murtadi Arif. Both had run-ins with the law right after the team more or less dissolved but Haddad was able to leave that world pretty quickly, finding a calling in MMA after showing promise training in jail. Murtadi wouldn’t have the same luck and while he’s still alive, he’s currently serving time following five charges of organized robbery.

The remaining members of the team would reply positively to the invitations in their ways. One player in particular, Syrian right winger Ali Musa, had already relocated to Schubbekutteveen with the Somali lady that he was engaged to, her other six siblings and her mother, he was more than happy to find a hockey opportunity that would probably pay more than his job at the bakery. Two other players were musically inclined but were happy to put their band gigs on the side for the season before choosing whether they’d stick with the team or not.

Most of their stories were rather similar as far as hockey experiences went after the junior tournament Sunrise managed them on, trials all over Central Europe but nothing to show for it. Some cited lack of size, others cited lack of speed, a squad that was generally outmatched and would probably require the guiding of an aging player that would be willing to make a statement or a good manager, one that could figure out how to use them in a useful manner.

Sunrise made some calls and had failed to find anyone that could take that job… until he got a call from an unknown caller. He presented himself as Yoshimitsu McCloud. THE Yoshimitsu McCloud. A Four Star Cup winner, a dependable forward known for blocking shots despite his position on the ice, Yoshimitsu McCloud had been playing in Switzerland where he was now living with his wife and children. On the call, however, he admitted to being a bit bored of playing in the country and that he had heard from others that he was looking for volunteers for Schubbekutteveen’s team.

Weeks later, after a rough game for the Dragons, Sunrise got a message from his father with some very positive news. Schubbekutteveen Sheeps won the bottom tier of the Dutch pyramid and was now going to the second tier. Yoshimitsu McCloud stood behind some of the young men on the team, his face entirely covered by one of his old masks, his kids sitting in front of the roster and Sunrise’s trainees all over the picture, all smiles and in full joy.

Maybe his father should give his village a motto. “Accomplishing the impossible”. Yeah, sounded like it would have a good ring, wouldn’t it? Maybe he could have convinced his father to have them play using Calgary Dragons gear, in retrospect.

Quote:Word Count: 1160
Players mentioned came from the old PT run about managing a junior team. I thought it'd be fun to reuse them.