Biography; Oliver Loo

[Misty 73]

TW; mention of death.

Oliver Loo’s story began when he was born in Star City, Saskatchewan. At the young age of five, he had been adamant about wanting to play hockey, talking excitedly to his parents about VHL legends like Andrew Su @Da_Berr, an amazing forward who exceeded expectations and became a player who would be embedded in history and Chris Hylands @hylands , a player that excelled at both offence and defence leading to his feats to be written in stone, these players being something that would inspire Oliver Loo to ask his parents if he could play hockey.

Although Oliver Loo wanted to play hockey, his parents, Dallas Schumm and Rosemary Loo had their own focuses. His father lived in Melfort, putting all his time into some questionable businesses while only coming to Star City for short visits, while his mother lived in Star City, taking the role of a single parent despite having shared custody of Oliver Loo, even so she was too busy with her gardening. Burying herself in her work as a florist took most of her time, the rest although less was spent with Oliver as she still tried to raise him as much as she could which Oliver was grateful for. The unresponsiveness of Oliver Loo’s parents would put his dreams of being a hockey player to rest, instead choosing to focus on what his parents wanted him to, mainly pushing him to devote all his attention to his education.

His dreams of being a hockey player would be renewed at the age of eleven, in his 6th grade classroom when he met Clay Flemming. A fellow student who would later become Oliver Loo’s best friend. Clay Flemming would be the one to bring up hockey again, a sparkle in his eye as he spoke about his own inspirations and how much he enjoyed playing hockey growing up. He’d be the one to drag Oliver Loo out to a frozen pond in the middle of winter, lend him some extra gear and teach him a thing or two, eventually pushing Oliver to join him on the local Pee Wee team at the ice rink in Star City. With Clay Flemming already having picked jersey #59, Oliver Loo chose #16.

The two would be inseparable, going through the divisions together as best friends and teammates. They would even play on the same line together, Oliver Loo being a right winger and Clay Flemming being a center. Being sure to uplift each other, trying to garner as much attention as they could together in hopes of being noticed but most importantly that their synergy together would be taken into consideration when scouted. They could only hope that they would end up on the same team when they made it into the leagues, they couldn’t imagine being apart.

It would be years later when they finally managed to get signed to a team, after all the hard work they had put in Oliver Loo and Clay Flemming made it into the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Both of them would be signed by the Melfort Mustangs at the age of seventeen. Oliver Loo making the point that they should get an apartment together since they would have to move from Star City to Meltfort and it would solve the living situation. After Oliver Loo would bid his farewells to his mother, he and Clay would be on their way. Oliver would find it a bit difficult to move to a whole new place. Visiting was one thing, but moving there felt like a whole nother thing. He would get past it though, with the help of Clay of course.

Oliver Loo was excited, not only had he finally made it, but he had made it with his best friend and to put the cherry on top they were on the same team. Things couldn’t have been going any better. After getting everything settled, he and Clay Flemming would go down to the Northern Lights Palace Arena, home of the Melfort Mustangs. He would get to know his new teammates, his new coaches, and the stadium itself. The following day would be his first game on the team and a chance for him and Clay Flemming to prove themselves. They would succeed in proving themselves, ending up on the first line their spirits were high.

It would be one year later when Oliver Loo would hit his next bump in the road, something he couldn’t have seen coming and something his mind would always come back to throughout the rest of his hockey career. It was a crucial game, one that would determine whether his team made the playoffs. His best friend and teammate Clay Flemming would get into a fight with one of the opposing players, hitting his head on the ice on the way down. Without the protection of a helmet, which had fallen off mid-fight, Clay Flemming would be taken to the hospital and fall into a coma. Passing away a week later due to a brain bleed.

Oliver Loo would be crushed, devastated that it had happened, and left wondering if he could’ve done anything to prevent it. It was evident that it affected him, his play on the ice becoming worse quicker than he could catch himself and eventually he was waived after two years of little improvement. The league saw no use for a player who couldn’t produce after so much time considering how generous they had been.

After one year, Oliver Loo would receive a call that he wasn’t expecting. A team was willing to sign him after all this time, into a league that he was expecting it from the least. He would accept the offer, signing with the Miami Marauders. An ambitious team in the VHLM, somewhere he could start again, a chance to obtain that dream that he had when he was so much younger. Oliver Loo would choose a new jersey number when going into the VHL scene, he would pick… #59.

1000 words