S89 Draft - The Next Steps in My Career

[Ozzy Batty 275]

Taking The Next Steps to Who Know What Comes Next

 

So here I am, the young Irish Kid and now in Slovakia. Yep, I am sitting in the team hotel in Bratislava. I now play for the Bratislava Watchmen and when my career is over here, I will head to Los Angeles. I still cannot believe it. How in the world did this even happen? I mean, I felt I had a good season, nothing spectacular, but it was good. Saskatoon didnt have a great season. But I was select to play in some post-season tournaments and did okay in those, but then I went home to Ireland. I knew that at this point everything was out of my hands. So I decided to go on a short holiday with my family around Ireland. I would find out what had happened when I got home. 

So we packed up the car, I called my agent and told him I was taking a trip and would be leaving my mobile phone at home and I would call him when we got home. So off we went. We visited the Cliffs of Mohr, where we got soaked in a rain storm. We went to Castletownebere as well as Dublin and of course had to see some working sheep dogs (which I think are so fascinating) and, for a short time, did not think about the 2 drafts I was missing. But it was always there in the back of my mind even though I never admitted that I was thinking about them. At some point I knew we would pull in the driveway and I would have to make that telephone call. 

 

So it happened. The trip was over and we were home. I went in to call my agent and see what was next in my future. Was I going to spend another season in Saskatoon? Would I move on? If so, where? When was I selected in the draft? Had I even been selected at all? There are so many questions, and yes, even some apprehension, about what I might find out. I picked up my mobile and checked, I had over 200 messages and missed calls. There were numbers I did not recognize. There were names I did not know, but I did know that all of them were going to be the people who would help me on the next steps of my journey to become one of the best in the VHL.

 

I dialed the number of my agent and put it on speaker so my parents could hear. I was 17 years old and had no idea what was going to happen next. He answered and I heard the excitement in his voice when he realized it was me. He asked me, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" I thought about it and looked at my parents, what to say? So I told him the good news, I figured then I would be able to handle the bad news easier. He told me I had been selected with the 1st selection in the 2nd round of the VHLE draft by the Bratislava Watchmen. I looked at Mom and she smiled, so I was heading to Slovakia. He then said I had been selected 9th in the 1st round of the VHL Draft by the Los Angeles Star. Wow! What a difference, from Galway, to Saskatoon, to Bratislava and at some point, to Los Angeles! I asked what was next and he told me he would send me a ticket to Bratislava, that I had to be there in a week and that someone from the team would meet me at the airport. He suggested that I call my new General Manager right away so they know I am excited to be a member of the Watchmen and I needed to sign my contract with Los Angeles, so I needed to call them as well. 

 

I contacted Los Angeles as soon as their office (damn, the time difference will take some getting used to for sure) to talk about my contract. Holy #$%#$!! I opened my contract! I had never seen that much money in my life!! Of course I gave almost all of it to my parents. But 3 years to prove myself, $1.5M per year. Mom and Dad could buy a new house, a new car, and Dad could retire when he wanted to. 

 

It was time to prove my worth, it was time to take the next step in my career, it was time to start working hard and see where my skates can take me....

 

Word Count: 767

Week Claimed: 25 June 2023