Theme Week, Life After the VHL

[Spaz 297]

Blinding lights as I walk onto the ice , it's been a while, well I guess since I’ve hung up my skates.

Practice has started and this is my first day, not playing but coaching. I'm filled with nerves as I look at all the young faces, so much potential and we all want one thing.

 

 "Listen up guys, I am AGM Jared Spaz. I have been appointed by GM Victor Grachev, Congrats on making the Red Wolves official roster for the first time in franchise history. This is a huge deal, I will also be coaching and getting you guys ready each game until he is ready to hang up his cleats and like he would, I expect nothing but hard work out on the ice day in and day out, game or no game is that understood?” 

 

“Yes coach” as a few players chirp out.

“I asked if that is understood?” I spoke loudly to get more of an exciting response out of.

 

“YES COACH” the whole team yells out.

 

“Okay good, everybody needs to wake up and I believe I know what to get blood moving, let's do some full rink sprints. I want 20, if I see anyone slacking and then you will be doing until I see some pep in your step”.

 

As I watch the players skate I think back to my final season in Helsinki and back to the start of it all. I was a young naive kid that didn’t know anything, and was on the brink of not playing hockey with all my injuries costing me from being drafted in the NHL. The VHL was my saving grace and my last opportunity and if I would’ve known that I would’ve worked even harder then I did.

 

“Hey kid right this way.” the security guard leads me to the locker room.

 

“Thanks man, I got lost for a second, it's crazy how big this place is” I replied, it was my first time setting into the Finnish rink, it was almost as big as an NHL stadium, and definitely a lot bigger than playing in the Reapers stadium. I don’t remember what was particularly said when I entered but I remember the nerves I felt were the same I had felt earlier today, the eyes of every single person on you as you are in some way an important part to the team. All I could think of then was what if I let the team down, hell I was drafted with the 8th pick in the first round, passed quite a few guys that definitely should’ve been drafted before me. That's not the point though, what I'm trying to get at is to have big shoes to fill either way and maybe it was hard to handle my rookie season but now I can’t afford to let it bother me.

 

“ Good practice today guys! I know today’s practice wasn’t anything exciting, but tomorrow we will be getting the offense and defense split up, I want to see some puck handling and passing drills from the offense and with the defense I want to see some shot blocking and slapshots, as the week goes on I will be seeing who needs improvement where and get that assessed with before we get the lines poste, which will be before the first game of the season. Now we had our top three draft picks decide to move up after the draft, that gives a lot of you more opportunity to shine instead.”  

 

After practice ended, I stayed after to speak with Victor. It feels like yesterday I was called for a job offering from my agent. She said she had this goalie prospect that played on the Reapers coincidentally.

 

“Hey Spaz”

 

“Hey! How's it going Abbey”

 

“I’m doing good, so I have some good news for you. I was talking to Victor Grachev and he said that he was going to be the first Gm in Red Wolves history. So as we got to talking I asked him if he had anyone in mind to work beside him and he told me not at the moment, I brought your name up because I knew you were looking for the experience.”

 

“So what did he say?”

 

“He wants you to stop by his office to meet up with him for a possible interview”

 

“ Oh shit awesome, thank you so much, I’ll definitely be there.”

 

A week later I would go meet up with Victor and we would get into talking about my VHL career and what my plans were if I was hired as AGM  and as you can see now I obviously got hired on. I am excited to be a part of a great organization and I hope I can get my hands on a championship soon as I am still haunted with the back to back runs we came up short on.

[diacope 2 764]

Good summary of what life may be like after retiring as a hockey player. It's interesting to me how sometimes retired hockey players don't make the best coaches after. At least in the VHL you're not truly finished after your player retires, you can always make another one. Having a GM job is always fun as well. 9/10