Sacrifice

Chapter 11

The first day of school was going to be tough and Ryan knew that. Once he had all his classrooms figured out, he picked up where he left off in each course. He didn't know a single person in the whole school but was surprised by how many people had heard of him and his hockey career even though he was in a different province. So far, the adjustment to life in Montreal couldn't have gone any better. Everyone was extremely nice to him at school, at his new house, and at hockey.

Today was the first game for Ryan in a Montreal jersey. The bus left the rink at three o'clock for a two hour drive to Gatineau, a good team that had beat Brampton by a score of 6-2 last month. After packing up all the gear onto the bus Ryan took a spot at the front of the bus with all the rookies and coaches.

"Ryan!" A voice shouted from the back, Ryan looked back to see who it was.

"We got you a spot right here c'mon man you're not a rookie," It was Jason, the top defenceman on the team. He got the seat right in front of Xavier even though he was a new player. They talked and shared hockey stories getting to know each other on the bus ride. Once the bus was half an hour away from the rink, everyone began to start focussing and the bus became silent. Ryan had a nervous excitement feeling in his stomach, he knew his first game had to be a big one.

"We're about to be absolutely unstoppable together" Xavier said to Ryan. Ryan smiled and nodded.

"I have a good feeling about us," Ryan replied.

"Listen, I know we've been battling against each other since we were ten years old and I apologize for that hit on you earlier in the year. I had no intention of injuring you man I got a lot of respect for you."

"Thanks man, that means a lot. If we can work together and get some chemistry going we could improve both of our draft stock," Ryan was excited to have someone in the same boat as him trying to be a first round NHL draft pick.

The game started with Xavier and Ryan taking the opening face off. They immediately developed chemistry on their first shift, Ryan beat the defender and found a seam to pass to Xavier who slid the puck past the sprawling goalie.

The rest of the game was pure domination by the two stars who each put up five points. As the team was getting undressed the coach called Ryan outside the dressing room.

"Hi Ryan I'm Don Winters, head scout for the University North Dakota hockey team. We'd like to offer you a full ride scholarship to come play for us next year, what do you think?"

Ryan stood there speechless trying to fight the huge grin on his face.

"I'd love to thank you so much, yes!" That was the easiest decision of Ryan's life. A full ride scholarship to one of the top hockey schools in the USA.

It was now June, the NHL draft was in five days and TSN had came out with their latest draft rankings for the last time. Ryan was ranked at 24 and Xavier was ranked 28 in the entire world for their age. This meant they would be drafted by an already strong team in the NHL. There was pros and cons to being drafted late in the first round. You are on a good team but it will be that much harder to crack the roster because of such a strong team. Ryan wasn't worried though he knew after one year playing for North Dakota he would be NHL ready and able to succeed at the highest level. The Montreal Jr. Canadiens had lost in the semi finals and fell short of a national title but Ryan had not regretted the decision to leave for a single second of the experience. Since the season had ended Ryan was able to move back home and graduate with his friends he grew up with.

"You nervous for the draft tomorrow?" Alyssa asked Ryan as they sat in History class together.

"Of course I am, I just can't wait to get it over with" he replied.

"I hope you get drafted to Toronto or Ottawa, would be great to see you play close to home" Alyssa said hopefully.

Ryan didn't have an opinion on where he wanted to be drafted, no matter what he was just happy to be drafted into the NHL.

It was now draft day as he sat nervously in the crowd with his parents and grandparents. All the top twenty ranked players had now been taken and it was the twenty first pick in the draft. Ryan knew he would be picked soon. The pick belonged to the Los Angeles Kings. As they stood at the podium and announced "From the Montreal Jr. Canadiens, Ryan Matthews." He jumped up and hugged his parents. His dream of being drafted had finally came true. All the training, adversity, and moving away seemed like it was all worth it. Now that he was drafted he knew it was only the beginning.