“Anthony, I haven’t played a single game in almost two months. I didn’t even show up to practice. Even if I accepted now, surely they don’t want me anymore after not seeing or hearing anything about me in so long,” I said.
Each word hurt to say out loud, but it was the truth. Ice hockey was ruthless, not only on the ice. There was no space for breakdowns. Fuck, most players didn’t even care about being sick, they still showed up. You’d have to force them off the ice and chain them to their beds in case of an injury.
Okay, it wasn’tthatbad, but it might as well have been. Not a single player wanted to miss a game, and I happily skipped them for weeks.
“Yes,” he said and cleared his throat. “Your absence was noticed but they understand it must be difficult for you to lose your father at such a young age. Your father was a beloved member of the Rangers, Reece, they share your pain. Surely not as deeply as you, but either way, they understand.”
Yeah, it was impossible to feel as beat-down by my father’s death as I felt.
Dad was their head coach for decades. He brought many wins, tons of trophies, and so many smiles. He trained those who were fortunate enough to play under his guidance well.
He was a great coach, but he was everything to me.
Dad taught me how to skate, how to handle a puck, and how to get a feel for the ice underneath my skates. He taught me how to stop, how to sneak past opponents, how to score. Everything I knew about ice hockey, I knew thanks to him.
Losing him was the hardest thing I’d ever faced.
But perhaps this was one last lesson he wanted to teach me.
The New York Rangers. Being part of the team I’d been dreaming about playing for since I was three years old.
“I don’t know what to say,” I admitted, pulling my handaway from my fiancée’s just to run it through my hair. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“There’s no contract yet,” Anthony said. “Well, there is a contract, but if you sign it now, your NCAA career is over.”
“What about college?” Colin would kill me if I quit college for hockey. Dad didn’t allow him to quit, so why would I be allowed to?
“As I said, only if you sign the contract now, you’ll become ineligible for NCAA hockey. However, it’d be effective immediately upon signing. You’d have a secure spot with the Rangers if you sign now. You’d be officially playing for the NHL then, which means no more college because you won’t have much time for it. You could do online college,” he replied. “For full transparency, if you don’t sign the contract now, there is a chance that another team might request you before the Rangers do once you’re ready to play for the NHL. They said you’d be their first choice, as of now anyway, but the whole drafting thing is a bit more complicated than that, as you may know. The choice is up to you.”
Up to me.
This shouldn’t be up to me.
Looking at my record of recent decisions, I was in no position to decide whether to play for the NHL or finish my studies.
56
BROOKLYN
My fiancé clutched my hand tightly as we listened to Aaron list all the cons and pros for Reece to quit college and pursue his NHL career earlier than initially planned.
It had been a couple of days since Anthony called, and while Reece wasn’t under any stress and could take his time to decide, he figured that choosing sooner rather than later was only beneficial. For one, he could concentrate on his studies if he decided not to sign the contract. After all, Reece wanted to go back to his classes next Monday.
But if he decided to sign the contract, he no longer even had to think about college. However, St. Trewery did allow students to take their courses online as well, so that was another aspect to consider. Reece could still finish college despite playing for the NHL, he just wouldn’t attend a lot of classes anymore… if any.
Ming and Rina showed up for emotional support, but neither of them dared to utter a word. To be honest, Rina had no idea what was going on, she only came because her boyfriend asked her to and because I was here.
Oh yeah, apparently, Ming somehow managed to make her fall for him after all. I totally called it.
“Wouldn’t you agree?” Aaron asked Colin after finishing his rant about all the pros of playing for the NHL. Aaron had found a lot more pros than cons, which was to be expected. Colin, however, looked at the whole situation a bit more carefully than Aaron had.
“Sure, but that still doesn’t mean Reece shouldquitcollege,” Colin replied. “We all—” His eyes moved to my father beside me, and instantly, his usual mocking grin spread across Colin’s face. “Well, we all except Miles?—”
“Rude,” my father muttered under his breath, making me chuckle.
“—know how much pressure NHL players are under. Especially right now, it’d be best for Reece to take it slow.” Colin’s eyes fell on his brother for a brief moment, probably making sure Reece didn’t get offended by what he said. “He could have an awful Rookie year, and what happens then? He could realize the pro league isn’t for him, and he just quit college. What’s he gonna do then?”
Aaron looked at his list on the TV, sighing before he addedReece’s mental healthto the cons list.