Son of the Godfather: A Wild Draft

[GioSivo 181]

Lorenzo Mancini sat in the draft hall, his arms crossed as he watched yet another name get called. He wasn’t nearly as tense as he had been during the VHL Entry Draft. That night had been suffocating. The weight of expectations, the flashing cameras, the realization that he was now part of the same league his father had once dominated. Even the memory of it tensed him up a bit.
 

This? This was different.
 

He already knew London had his rights in the VHL, but this was about where he’d be playing now, his last stop before the big leagues.
 

It wasn’t a matter of if he was getting picked, just where.
 

"With the 6th pick in the VHLM Dispersal Draft, the Saskatoon Wild select… Lorenzo Mancini."
 

Saskatoon.

As he pulled the blue Wild jersey over his dress shirt, the irony wasn’t lost on him. Just a few months ago, he had been battling against this team in the playoffs. Now? He was one of them. Jeez, imagine if he had gone to Halifax.

Saskatoon had turned heads last season. They weren’t supposed to go far—they finished 7th overall, middle of the pack, and they weren’t a high-powered offensive team by any stretch. Yet, they had found a way to push into the semi-finals, clawing their way past better teams through sheer effort.

Lorenzo had seen it firsthand when his Aces eliminated them. The Wild didn’t go down easy. They played with grit, with determination. They weren’t the most skilled team, but they never quit. That's how they got that far in the playoffs. That's the system he was going into.
 

He respected that.
 

But he also knew what they were missing.
 

As much as they fought, Saskatoon didn’t have that high-end offensive firepower. They could outwork teams, but they couldn’t outscore them. That’s why they had struggled against Vegas. You can play as tough as you want but if you can't consistently put pucks in the net there's only one way things would go.
 

And that’s where he came in.
 

Lorenzo was a goal-scorer, or at least that's what he aspired to be. He had been since he first stepped on the ice. If he could hone shot, his ability to find space in the offensive zone, that would make him dangerous. And now, he was stepping into a system that needed exactly that.
 

He made his way off the stage, shaking hands with the team staff, taking all the pictures for the media, before heading back to his seat.
 

No nerves. No doubts.
 

He was ready.
 

This was his journey.
 

He glanced at the Wild jersey now draped over his lap, the logo staring back at him. He was going to be here for a while, at least until London called him up. That meant one thing:
 

He wasn’t just passing through.
 

If he was going to wear this jersey, he was going to make an impact.
 

Saskatoon needed offense?
 

Lorenzo Mancini was going to give it to them.

501 Words