Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 382(@300wpm)
The whistle blows, and we change line, the puck dropping in center ice. Evan is on point tonight, and he wins again, sending it to me, and I pass it to Jason, the right winger, who dumps the puck in so we can chase it. We get into position, and the crowd is now chanting. Evan battles behind the net for the puck, and he clears it to send it to me who passes it to Jones.
Jones passes it to Jamie who then skates in a bit and shoots it on net, the goalie blocking it with his leg. I rush to get the rebound, trying to get it to Evan, who hits it back to me. The defenseman now pushing me to the board, not giving me a chance to do anything with it. I see Jason, the right winger, and pass it over to him, who passes it to Jones, who is in the middle of the zone, who hammers it to the goalie, going wide, and then bouncing right back to Evan, who has an empty net shot. He takes it, and just like that, we are up by two again. The crowd goes nuts, especially when Evan jumps on the glass, and we all huddle around him.
The countdown is the worst. The longest five minutes of my life, and when they pull the goalie with four minutes to go, everyone has one mission and that is to score an extra goal. We don’t give a shit who does it, as long as someone does. I look up again when I have a chance, and I see it clear as day. The clock counting down from twenty seconds. I look around the arena, and everything zones out and is in slow motion. The crowd on their feet jumping with their hands in the air. The countdown on their lips as the whole arena now counts down. I look up to the box where I know Zoe is. It’s strange that with everything going on, I still make eye contact with her as she stands there with a huge megawatt smile on her face and tears streaming down her face as she claps and counts down with all the girls beside them. She and Zara are doing the same thing. The clock strikes zero, and I look up and send out a silent. “Thank you.”
Gloves are flying, sticks are flying, helmets, you name it, and it’s being tossed out there. Evan is the first one to yell. Everyone rushes onto the ice and makes our way over to Mark who is in the middle of the circle probably getting crushed. Camera crews now come onto the ice all around us as the other team gets ready to shake hands in the middle of the ice. The handshake is fast, and then I see the red carpet being pushed out and the table that will hold the Stanley Cup.
A reporter pulls me aside, and my eyes do a quick sweep of the area as I look for Zoe. “Viktor, describe to us how you feel right now at this moment. You get traded while you are dealing with personal stuff, and now one year later, you are raising the Stanley Cup.”
I shake my head, trying to blink away the tears. “It’s surreal,” I say, laughing. “When you go through that, it’s tough getting out, but you can do it. Anyone can do it. You just need a support system, and that system was my family in New York. The organization never let me fall and kept helping me strive.”
“Matthew Grant, second year of being a GM, and he takes a chance on you. How big of a thank you do you have to give him right now,” he jokes, and I finally spot Matthew in the corner hugging Evan and smacking his chest in celebration.
“I owe him more than he knows,” I tell him the truth, and then I spot her, standing beside Zara and baby Zoey, who has headphones on as she sleeps in her mother’s arms.
“Thank you so much, and we can’t wait to see what you can do next year.” I nod at him and skate away to the bench where the wives are all lined up at the entranceway, waiting to come onto the ice and celebrate.
“They are bringing out the cup!” someone yells for me, and I just nod, but I walk to the back and grab her in my arms.
“You did it,” she says, trying not to cry as she buries her neck into my sweaty and stinky neck. “I’m so proud of you!”
“I love you,” I tell her, and she moves her head to kiss my lips.
“Now go raise that cup,” she tells me, and I drop her and skate out just in time to see them walk the cup in.