River Harrington - Biography

[kirbithan 1,460]

River Harrington | Defenseman | #29

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

 

RIVER AUGUST HARRINGTON was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada into a privileged family. His mother was a renowned fashion designer and his father was a self-made corporate mogul who started up his own tech company that eventually partnered with the Western Hockey League (WHL), in order to lead advancements in calculating and tracking statistics along with other points of interests of each individual player in the league during games— leading the Harrington family to move to Vancouver to set up shop at a new headquarters in the heart of the city.

 

Growing up, he had everything he could have wanted— toys, video games, electronics, the newest shoes— all the things a little boy could dream of, the prototypical “spoiled rich kid.” When he began skating at the age of 4, he had no issues asking his parents to purchase the best hockey gear available, giving him the edge and bragging rights among other kids his age.

 

The one thing he lacked, which money couldn't buy, was an emotional bond with his parents. In the midst of working their lives away, they ended up neglecting River. They often left him with a nanny or with his best friend Theo St-Jean’s family,—as River’s father was acquainted with Theo’s father, who played for the Vancouver Wolves at the time. River’s parents were never able to attend any school awards ceremonies or his hockey games due to their eventful work schedules and business trips. They only truly committed time to spend with River when they had to present themselves as the “perfect” family for conferences or functions. 

 

River’s mother and father openly admitted that they never had a second child due to not having time for another one— or even River himself in the first place— yet still expected him to be a well-mannered child in order to preserve their prestigious reputations as some of Canada’s finest. Despite being a level-headed child when he was younger and not understanding the weight of his parents' words, the years went on and he began to become more bitter, especially after spending more time with the St-Jeans than his own mother and father. This translated into a more physical side to his game on the ice since he had no other outlet. Though, to his own surprise, he did manage to make another friend in Brandon Petan Jr. who was playing on the same junior team as him at the time when they were 12. Brandon was a stud of a center who had dreams of making it to the VHL just as all kids their age did, and was the son of two former professional hockey players who played in the NHL, the VHL’s rival league.

 

River (L) and Theo (R)

 

River is an exceptional offensive defenseman, contributing on the scoring side of the game with his powerful slap shot and offensive vision, yet still putting his body on the line for the sake of keeping pucks out of the net. In his mind, he had nothing to lose. Of course, the rage that has brewed inside him for years is expelled whenever he steps onto the ice in the form of hard body checks and more often than not— fights that leave him and his opponents beaten and bloody. His hotheaded nature caused him to make headlines in junior league spaces and finally caught the attention of his parents.

 

Prior to his mother and father finally reaching out, they hadn’t spoken besides the times they would periodically send money so River could support himself. He had strayed far from the perfect son they had imagined, but he was quick to remind them that he was the result of their decisions, and wouldn’t simply change himself for people he felt like he barely knew, and officially cut them out of his life after they accused him of trying to purposely tarnish their family name. 

 

 

With guidance from Theo’s father and Brandon’s parents, River was now trying to turn over a new leaf and to prevent his lack of discipline from dropping any potential draft stock whenever the time came to hear his name called out on the VHL Draft stage. At first, it was extremely difficult to break old habits, but as he picked up some other hobbies like kickboxing to let off some steam, he spent less time in the penalty box and more on the ice supporting his junior team while still playing a physical game like he had always enjoyed, becoming a valuable piece to the defensive core’s puzzle.

 

Now River has his eyes set on the VHL after a successful junior campaign. Whichever team in the VHLM needs a physical defenseman who performs well on both sides of the ice? He’ll be there. He would rewrite his own story and shift the perception of the name “Harrington.” 

 

River wanted to make everyone remember it.

 

Spoiler

word count: 820

Edited June 24 by kirbithan

[sadie 657]

river harrington future hof