"Erik Draven: The Philanthropist"

[Jbeezy76 396]

Young fan with Helsinki's Erik Draven.

 

The Philanthropist

 After playing solid rookie and sophomore year  in Prague Erik Draven has shown a lot of promise in many ways. Not only was he a consistent scorer and delivered the big hits on the ice, but he had began to show what a philanthropist he is off the ice. 

Now that Draven has signed with Helsinki in the off season he is settling in off the ice. His dedication to the young hockey players is really making it's mark all around the globe. When Erik's not playing he's visiting terminally ill children and meeting fans regionally and nationally. 

 

The Letter

 In the picture above you can see Draven with a special fan that has been playing ice hockey locally in Helsinki PeeWee league.This 10 yr old's name is Johnny Strattmore and he recently wrote a letter to Erik stating that he had became a huge fan of him when he first seen him play a game against Helsinki back in his rookie year.. Johnny said he remembers how noticeable Draven was every time he stepped out on the ice.Here's a quote from the letter:"It seemed as though you were possessed when stepping out onto the ice, your face was zoned in on the action and you controlled every aspect of the game." 

 

Making Plans 

 After reading the letter Erik decided he would plan a surprise visit to the youngsters home after contacting Johnny's parents and getting permission. Johnny's father Tom Strattmore is a long time Helsinki hockey fan and seemed so happy when hearing from Draven. He said he would be more than happy to let him surprise his son with his presence. So there it was, the stage was set for a making another fan smile and bringing joy to someones life. 

 

Mind Blown

  Now the question was what can Draven do to really blow this kids mind? After taking some time to think about it for awhile and even calling his ex teammate and best buddy from Prague and Yukon  Seabass Perrin. Seabass eventually persuading Draven to get Johnny a professional Reebok jersey fully decked out with Draven and the number 76. Then Draven remembers what Johnny stated in the letter about how his parents have had some financial troubles and he is not able to go to any games this year. So the right winger decides to buy him and his father tickets for 7 games this year. 

 

Surprise its me

 It's a Friday and Johnny just got out of school and arrives home. He normally just comes in greets his mother and runs off to his room to relax and not think about school for an hour or two. Except this time just as he gets his shoes off and starts walking towards his room he hears a loud car pull up in his driveway. He looks through the curtains and sees this magnificent royal blue American Muscle car just revving it's engine as if the driver was ready for a race at the starting line. It's kind of cold out so the house windows are fogging up with Johnny trying to see who's in the car. Johnny decides to just crack the door open just enough to get a clearer view of this driver. Turns out the car windows are tinted and he still cant see anything but a silhouette figure.

The engine finally shuts down and the shadow figure emerges from the beautiful beast of a car and there stands a tall athletic man dressed in shorts, long sleeved sports shirt and a baseball hat turned backwards with these sunglasses shimmering as he turned  and caught a reflection of the suns rays. He reached back and grabbed clothing out of the back of the back seat and as he came forward he says "Hey Johnny, do you recognize who I am?" Johnny watched as he the man took his sunglasses off and to his surprise it was his all time favorite player Erik Draven! 

Johnny screamed "Oh My God is it really you?" Draven replied with a devilish smile "Boo, yes it's me" Draven goes onto explain while holding the jersey and tickets behind his back: "I read your letter you wrote me and felt compelled to meet you and thank you for your support and give you something."  Johnny just smiled and looked in shock and just as he was going to ask "What do..." Erik interrupts quickly by swinging the jersey and tickets right into Johnny's face and laughs and says "Don't say I never did anything for ya"  Still laughing Draven tells him to take his dad to those games and have fun and not to worry about all the stresses of life. He tells him just to keep his head up and never quit on the things he loves. The kid was really touched by his kindness so he just gave him a really big hug and asked to take a picture with him so he could post it to his Instagram. Draven went along with it and told him to tell his friends that he also rode in his fast car. Johnny's like "But I haven't!" Draven smiles and says "Let's hit the road" I'm hungry and I want a burger!"  

 

(Word count 881 words)

@Sebster03

 

Edited January 27, 2020 by Jbeezy76
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