Second Round (Vancouver Vice Hockey Book 3) by Melanie Ting

Author:Melanie Ting [Ting, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780995243354
Published: 2017-08-08T16:00:00+00:00

19

Jackie of All Trades

Leo

The season was finally over, the arena was cleared out, and we were almost finished with the exit interviews. We’d managed to win a few of our last games, but I hadn’t been able to change the chemistry of the team. There were major divisions in the room, cliques so tight that there was no real sense of team. While the captain, Dan Ramsey, was a good player, now I was glad that he’d be traded over the summer. Rams had tried to act like my best pal, but it didn’t take long to figure out that he was the source of the conflict. He was extremely competitive, but unfortunately his competition was mainly directed to teammates rather than the opposition. That was no way to win games.

We needed a strong leader for captain. There was a guy I knew from back east that I wanted to bring here, Paul Thiebault. He was older, but he’d be a good leader and mentor for younger players. We’d just have to convince him that the Vice were becoming a team he’d want to play for.

“Who’s next?” Lucky asked me after Eric Fairburn left.

Burner’s interview had been an easy one. The Millionaires were finalizing a two-way contract with him. Whether he’d be starting the season in the NHL or the AHL was debatable. He was good, but they had younger draft picks they might want to develop before him.

In my opinion, some of the prospects would be better off with the Vice, where we could devote more time to practice and good habits, but that wasn’t the Millionaires’ philosophy. They had rushed a couple of players this season because they needed scoring. The Millionaires hadn’t made the playoffs, and the coaching staff were taking some heat. They’d been close, but close meant nothing when each playoff game was a big revenue generator.

Most of the exit interviews had been pretty similar. I wasn’t going to give false hope to players we weren’t interested in.

Rico Aleppo walked in. He’d started talking to a counsellor, and it had paid off immediately. He had a big smile on his face that hadn’t been there before.

“Your play lately has looked good,” Lucky told him. Lepper had points in his last three games. But beyond points, it was his attitude. He stopped playing like he was haunted.

“I’ve been feeling good,” Lepper said. “All the extra stuff I’ve been doing has helped a ton. Turns out a lot of the issues were up here.” He pointed to his head and glanced nervously at Lucky.

“Lucky also knows you’re seeing Edgar,” I reassured Lepper. “But it stays in this room.”

“I’ve decided to stay in Vancouver for the summer,” Lepper said. “So, I’ll have the same routine here and stay in shape. And keep the other stuff too.”

I nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. We’re going to be doing some facility renovations over this summer, but maybe Lucky can arrange for you to work out at the Millionaires facility while that’s going on.

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