Article from the Philadelphia Inquire:
According to many hockey critics the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the four teams favored to win the Stanley Cup along with the Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils. With a record of 22 wins 9 loses and 3 ties the Flyers have on of the best records of any team out there now and a few of them will be taking a trip to the Olympics during their off time. Among those going are John LeClaire, AJ McLean, Mark Recchi and goalie Brian Boucher for the American team. On the Canadian front there is Simone Gagne, Kevin Richardson and goalie Brian Littrell. The biggest surprise though is goalie Brian Boucher who was a late pick up for the Americans. Also joining the Canadians will be ex Flyer Eric Lindros and Wayne Gretsky as their coach. There is sure to be some competition between the two teams when they play each other especially between the pipes with Boucher and Littrell.
On another note in next month’s upcoming Sports Illustrated our very own winger AJ McLean will grace the cover with his orange, black and white tipped hair with an inside story on him and the rest of the Flyers. So what does coach Bill Barber think of all the attention being placed on AJ? “AJ is an individual who naturally draws attention to himself be it good or bad, but above all people have to remember he is part of a team and without the team AJ wouldn’t have as many opportunities as he has had already. He has a lot of old friends on this team and new ones too. AJ is the type of person who is good on the ice when he is comfortable and the team makes him comfortable,” Barber said at a press conference last night after the game against Florida that they won 5-2. McLean scored a goal and an assist making him the leading scorer among rookies in the league and the second highest in the league over all. The only question now is how far can AJ take this team?
“The only question is how far can AJ take this team?” AJ mumbles to himself reading over the paper while sitting in a restaurant waiting for his breakfast to come.
It was too early for his liking on an off day. It was about ten in other words and ten was an ungodly hour for AJ on an off day. So he was sitting in a restaurant waiting for his two scrambled eggs, side of Virginia ham and French fries instead of home fries and waiting for Marty Murray to come join him with Boosh and Fedoruk. Phantoms alumni day out. He was wearing baggie black pants, a white wife beater, a red button down shirt that was open, a black baseball hat and sunglasses.
“Why do you Americans eat so much?” a voice says from behind him and Fedetenko walks up taking the seat across from him.
“Rusty,” AJ says, “I didn’t know you were coming. I thought you were busy today.”
“I can fit you guys in my schedule,” he smiles and rubs his right eye, “I’m extremely tired though.”
“Last night?”
“Yeah, I told him I didn’t feel good and he still kept me out there a long time.”
“Hey you got a goal,” AJ says as a waitress walks over to take Ruslan’s order.
“Eggs and bacon please with coffee,” Rusty smiles looking up at the waitress, “I swear you American’s eat a lot. You’d never see us eating that much.”
“Listen foreign boy you can leave our wonderful country and fly back across the sea to wherever you came from…”
“Russia, AJ.”
“Now you killed my train of thought.”
“And we both know how long that usually lasts.” AJ makes a face at him as Boucher and Marty walk up.
“Martyyy Muuurrayyy,” AJ says in a singsong voice as the two of them take seats at the table.
“You doing any better man?” Boosh asks staring at him from across the table.
“Look who’s talking,” AJ says staring at Boosh.
“You know you’ve had that problem ever since I met you four years ago.”
“What are you talking about?” AJ asks staring at him.
“You never focus on yourself. You never focus on your problems. It’s either someone else’s problems or you put all the stress on yourself when you’re playing.”
“Well that’s how I handle problems. I’m sorry I don’t throw temper tantrums like you.”
“And up go the defensive walls again,” Boosh mutters leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. “Listen can we just drop the fucking subject already,” AJ asks looking at Fedetenko and Marty.
“Hey guys what I miss,” Fedoruk asks walking up and sitting down between AJ and Marty.
“Nothin man,” AJ says looking at him, “Nothin at all,’ he mutters to himself.
Brian stares out off his back deck and watches as his two dogs chase each other around the yard.
“You’re going back to the way you were before are you?” a soft voice says from behind him.
“Huh?” he asks turning around and looking at his wife Leigh Ann as she walks across the deck to him.
“The way you were last year.”
“What about it?”
“That wasn’t you Brian. I hated the way you were last year. Vanessa Boucher and I always said to each other how much you and Brian Boucher were so wrapped up on being number one goalie and having this amazing season that you lost sight of why you played in the first place. Every time you lost a game you would blame yourself and go on a tirade about how you should do better and how horrible you were. Even if you played wonderful and it was the offense’s fault you still put so much pressure on yourself. Brian Boucher cried after he lost the game seven against the Devils in the play offs two years ago and Vanessa told me about it. I said no you would never be like that you never take it that seriously then all last year you cried after every game you lost. You weren’t you anymore. You…you weren’t my Brian. Don’t do it again this year, Brian. Please.”
Brian stares at her and frowns.
“Can’t they just play both of you evenly? Your both wonderful goalies and I don’t want Vanessa to go through what she went through last year with Boosh again. It was even harder on her.”
“That’s not what Barber does.”
“Fine. Fine you know what I don’t care anymore,” she says and turns on her heels and heads back into the house, “You be that perfect goalie you want to be so badly, but I won’t be there anymore if you go back to the way you were,” she says as she walks back into the house and slams the glass door behind herself.
Brian stares at the door and shakes his head.
“What do I do now?” he asks himself out loud, “What do I do now?”
Kevin looks over at his son and daughter running around in the living room after each other and smiles to himself.
Kevin hated his lifestyle sometimes and sometimes he wished that he could just go back to being a regular person. Of course Kevin had never been a regular person he had grown up on the ice and he couldn’t remember a year not playing hockey. Hockey was his drug and he needed it.
He hated being away from his family though. He had missed everything important in his children’s lives. It was all in pictures and videos of course, but he was never there for their first steps, their first words, their first teeth. He missed it all. Was it worth it all to keep going on his last legs season through season until finally one day he can’t go anymore or would it just be better if he quiet while he was ahead and tried to live a normal life.
At almost thirty years old Kevin was a hockey veteran and with all the young guys coming out of the woodwork he didn’t know if he had what they needed anymore. The young guys had speed that he didn’t have and bodies that weren’t falling apart like his. The knees can only handle so much before they finally give out.
Ethan was only five and he already knew he wanted to be a hockey player like daddy and it killed Kevin inside every time he had to let go of his children before he left for an away game. It was even worse when it was five away games in a row with a game every other night and you don’t see home for at least ten days. He lived for home games when he could bring his family in the locker room with him and have them within eyesight at games.
“Hey daddy,” Ethan says walking up to him snapping Kevin’s attention back to reality.
“Yeah buddy,” Kevin says picking him up and walking over to the couch where Isabella is sitting watching cartoons.
“I know who the best hockey player is.”
“Yeah whose that,” Kevin asks smiling at him.
“AJ,” he smiles.
“Who told you that?”
“AJ.”
“No more hanging out with AJ in the locker room anymore ok, Eth?”
“Would you cry if you saw me crying? Would you save my soul tonight? Would you tremble if I touched your lips? Would you laugh? Would you please tell me this? Would you die for the one you love? Hold me in your arms tonight. I can be your hero baby. I can kiss away the pain. I will stand by you forever. You can take my breath away…”
It paid off for you to buy all tinted windows for your Explorer especially if you were Nick. Even more so if you were Nick and you decided to sing along to “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias at the top of your lungs while your driving down the highway at 65 miles an hour. Nick had some weird habits.
He makes a face as the station switches the song to “I’m a Slave for You” and quickly hits a button that switches the station to Y100. Tonight was the night they played the Pittsburgh Penguins and he had finally gotten moved up to second string. He was ready to get on the ice as soon as possible and prove that he belonged on that string, so now he was in his Explorer making his way towards the First Union Center.
He makes his way to the Center and parks in his usual parking spot and then makes his way into the building and down into the locker room. It never ceased to amaze him that no matter how early he left he always seemed to be later then everyone else. Brian was sitting at his locker pulling on his pads and judging by his expression Boosh had gotten the starting position for tonight’s game. AJ finishes tying up his skates as Nick walks over to his locker and he looks up at Nick smiling before taking out a roll of clear tape and starting to tape over his skate and sock.
Nick stares at AJ as he throws his stuff into his locker and starts to get changed.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?” AJ asks.
“What are you taping over everything for?”
“You’ve never seen me do this before?”
“No.”
“Where the hell have you been Carter? I tape around my ankle and skate forty times on each leg before I go out to play.”
“Whyyyy?”
“Makes them stronger.”
“So how much tape is that per game?”
“A hell of a lot.”
Nick shakes his head before going back to getting changed into his own uniform as AJ continues to wrap tape around his ankle and skate.
“37, 38, 39…” AJ says in the back round.
“You guys ready?” Kevin asks.
“40,” AJ says and stands up, “Lets go kick some ass.”
It was the third period with 10 minutes left in the game. The score was 2-1 in favor of the Flyers. An early goal by AJ in the first started the game off right and another late first period goal by Jeremy Roenick showed that the Flyers were ready. Boosh had stopped everything that came at him except a goal by Mario Lemiuex in the second period. All in all it was a good night so far and both offense and defense had been doing their jobs.
Nick was on the ice with AJ and Roenick and so far AJ had already been in two fights with two different people and didn’t show any signs of slowing down. One of the most well known rules in hockey was to never get caught with your head down because it was when you were most vulnerable. Of course when Nick loses his train of thought and gets wrapped up in the game, like he was doing now while he was digging for the puck along with a Penguin in the corner, he tended to forget those basic rules.
As soon as Nick gets the puck free he starts back down the ice skating close to the boards and that was when Kasperitis sails from across the ice and slams Nick into the boards sideways. Kasperitis’s shoulder rams Nick’s head into the boards and a whistle is blown as Nick sinks down onto the ice and stays down.
Kevin skates over to Nick as the paramedics run out onto the ice to help Nick. Kevin looks over his shoulder as Roenick and Kasperitis start pushing each other back and forth. It was AJ though who came sailing across the ice ramming into Kasperitis and starts punching him while he’s down on the ice. The officials pull AJ off him as the paramedics lift Nick off the ice and carry him off. One player down because of an illegal hit and another ejected from the game within the course of two minutes. Judging by the way Kasperitis looked Kevin could tell AJ had gotten in a number of good punches before the officials pulled him off and started to drag him off the ice toward the locker room.
Barber was on the bench throwing a fit and Kevin looks up to see the crowd going nuts as AJ takes his step off of the ice and throws his stick up into the crowd.
Why did he suddenly feel like a gladiator?
Nick opens his eyes slightly in small slits before they fall closed again and the voices around him fill his ears again.
“C’mon Nick stay with us.”
“Open your eyes Nick.”
“Stay awake Nick.”
“We need you to keep him conscious.”
“C’mon Nick keep your eyes open.”
“Stay awake.”
All he wanted to know was what the hell was going on and why the hell the only thing he was thinking of right now were the words to “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias.
