What Is A Rookie?

[OblivionWalker 333]

What is a rookie?

 

That might depend on who you ask. To a veteran, a rookie could be someone annoying, someone who hasn't earned their place yet. Or to the more charitable, it could be a stary eyed dreamer who hasn't seen the dark underbelly of the sport, hasn't known the hardship of working hard for a dream only to be stuck on a team that isn't going anywhere.

 

To a fan, a rookie could be a symbol of a brighter future for the team. A spark that will ignite the fires of victory someday. A possibility that hundreds and perhaps thousands will be willing into existence. But that kind of hope also comes with pressure, the kind that can make a diamond out of a lump of coal or else utterly obliterate a wavering light and leave nothing but a faint memory of a time when the future seemed as bright as the sun itself.

 

To a general manager, a rookie is a risk. A gamble. A game of chance with no way to know which way fortune's wheel will spin. Sometimes, a risky gamble leads to a great reward and then the manager is lauded for their foresight, for their ability to pluck someone from obscurity and watch them rise to the top. But if that bet happens to fail, then all of the proverbial money heads straight back to the house, leaving the manager with nothing and perhaps scratching their heads, trying to comprehend where they might have erred.

 

To their families, rookies are those sons and daughters sometimes long missed. Endless nights spent on the road in juniors, sometimes living far from home with billet families to care for them while their loved ones back home spend their nights wondering if this is the right call, allowing them to be so far away. But then comes the thought that they also don't want to be responsible for holding them back, for not at least allowing them to try their luck, see if they can crack the big leagues. They are sources of pride, not just for their immediate families but also for the communities where they came up. A rookie who does well is the talk of the town but someone who failed out of the league could be nothing more than a whisper on the wind over the water cooler at work.

 

But what about the rookies themselves? What do they think of such a label? For them, it can serve as inspiration. A desire to set themselves apart and prove why they're in their current position. For some, it could even be a chip on their shoulder, a word that brings bristling shoulders and gutsy moves on the ice, just to show the old timers that the game is going to be theirs someday and everyone had better be ready for it. For some, it's a reminder that the game is just beginning. Making it to a lower league just means that there's more hills to be climbed, more paths ahead to tread but if they continue to place one foot in front of the other, there's no reason why they can't be standing at the top of the mountain someday.

 

A rookie by any other name is just as worthy of time as anyone else.

 

(word count: 552)

(posting for uncapped this week, claiming for week of 9/8 for capped)

Edited August 26, 2024 by OblivionWalker