Chance Matthews Biography [1/2]

[DaftRaincloud 62]

Early Life

 

Chance Matthews was born in Everett, Washington on November 15th, 1999 to Carla and Adam Matthews. The youngest of three children, Chance lived off of the hand-me-downs of his older brothers Thomas and Allen. Carla was a homemaker and Adam worked for a large metal fabrication plant, so for a lot of Chance's early years money was tight. Thomas, who was ten years older than Chance always watched after him and was far more caring than Allen, who resented Chance for getting so much attention from his family. When Chance was five years old Thomas took him down into Seattle to see the Bears playing a home game and Chance immediately fell in love with the game. This gesture by Thomas would shape Chance's future. For his sixth birthday Chance got posters, cards, shirts - all featuring the Seattle Bears and the players on the team. He had become hooked on hockey.

 

With money being so tight and the family not having cable television Chance was unable to watch the Seattle Bears again, whether in person or on TV. Even though Thomas was more of a Seattle Seahawks football fan, he began to get Bears apparel and quickly passing it down to his youngest brother Chance so that he could show his love for the team and the sport.

 

Moving to Seattle

 

                                                                      

When Chance was eight years old his father Adam landed a job at Boeing. With an influx of cash and needing to move closer to his job, the Matthews family settled into a nice town house in the Capitol Hill district. Now with the family in the city Chance was able to go to multiple Bears games a month, and his obsession with hockey continued to grow. He was regularly attending sessions at the practice facility, and began to be recognized by the players as he was always waiting around for autographs before and after games. At ten years old Chance signed up for his first youth hockey league, and quickly began to stand out from his peers with his selfless play and passing ability. Although things were starting to go well for Chance, back at home there were issues. Carla was feeling dissatisfied in her marriage and her life without a career. Adam was always tired and stressed, and the final straw came when Carla had an affair with a friend from college. 

 

Life Turmoil

 

After the divorce Carla headed for her home city of Omaha, Nebraska and Chance went with her while Allen stayed with Adam. Thomas had been away at University during this time, and stayed independent. Chance quickly adjusted to life in Nebraska. He played in youth leagues until he was thirteen, and when he had the opportunity joined the varsity hockey team at his high school. Omaha Central High School went to the state semi-finals, but due to injuries and lack of depth on the team they got eliminated. Chance was devastated, but promised the team that he would get them to the promised land the following year. Life had other plans, however. Carla died in her sleep from a massive brain hemorrhage and Chance had to return home to live with Adam and Allen back in Seattle. Things were tense between the three and after many arguments and fights Chance decided to move out to live with his brother Thomas who was living in an apartment in nearby Tacoma, Washington.

 

Chance continued to go to school, but none of the high schools in the Tacoma area had a hockey team, so he was forced to quit playing. He got a job working at a local skating rink maintaining the ice and cleaning the facilities to help Thomas out with the rent. After many months of working Chance's boss caught wind of his skating abilities and promoted him to the position of skating teacher for youth and intermediary learners.

 

                                                                                                     

 

While working at the ice rink Chance met Victoria Webb, who would become his future fiancee. The two met while Chance was helping teach a beginners skater class that Victoria's younger cousin was attending and they formed a quick bond. Chance and Victoria were inseparable and spent most of their waking hours in each other's company. When meeting her family for the first time Chance learned that Victoria's father Ted Webb was the general manager of the Seattle Thunderbirds, a nearby minor league hockey team. Chance brought up his love for the game and Ted set up a tryout for Chance to prove what he was capable of. Finally, a big break was on the horizon.

 

The Thunderbirds

 

The tryout with the Seattle Thunderbirds went very well, and after the first tryout where Chance had to show off basic skating, stick handling, and shooting skills the coach wanted to see more. A second tryout was scheduled where he was tasked with skating against the Thunderbird's defensemen and their goalie in the net. After several attempts Chance was able to score a goal and the coach gave him a chance centering the third line. 

 

The Seattle Thunderbirds had a promising run in the WHL, but got eliminated in the final round of the playoffs by the Brandon Wheat Kings in 6 games. There was a lot of turmoil between the team following the loss. Chance's third line had some of the best point production of any of the lines on the team, yet the head coach Bryan Danielson refused to give them more ice time and third line right winger Edward Miller felt like the coach's decisions and the lack of ability of the first two lines lead to their eventual defeat.

 

Moving Forward

 

During the next season Chance's third line saw even less play than the year before due to the backlash after the loss. Edward Miller was traded to the Portland Winterhawks, and after that Chance was moved to the fourth line. Shortly thereafter he resigned from the team and retired from the WHL. Chance took his earnings from his playing and local ad campaigns and him and Victoria got a small apartment together in the heart of Seattle. Shortly thereafter he proposed to Victoria and after weighing all their options the couple came to the conclusion that Chance should declare for the VHLM draft.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2018 by DaftRaincloud

[Banackock 8,044]

@DaftRaincloud Seattle... hey?

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

Review:

Okay, the story is really good. The whole family problem and affair thing really surprised me. Stereotypically the male usually cheats but the female did it which made it a bit more interesting. Also, invite Ryuu to the wedding, remind him of the thing he will never have! I wouldn't be surprised if this was your story or if this was a real life story because the pieces fit together and make so much sense. Again, wonderful.

[DaftRaincloud 62]

1 hour ago, SlapshotDragon said:

Review:

Okay, the story is really good. The whole family problem and affair thing really surprised me. Stereotypically the male usually cheats but the female did it which made it a bit more interesting. Also, invite Ryuu to the wedding, remind him of the thing he will never have! I wouldn't be surprised if this was your story or if this was a real life story because the pieces fit together and make so much sense. Again, wonderful.

Thank you for the kind words! Thankfully not a real story, just made it up.