What a Weekend!

I remember a week ago, Zach Badalamenti, who had also moved from the Bismarck team to the New Mexico Mustangs, asked me when I was going to get out of Bismarck. I told him, “I don’t think I’ll leave. I’m going to keep working hard and try to play here. I think my chance will come.” It’s pretty funny how quickly things change. Once this opportunity was opened for me, though, it was a no-brainer. This is the right move for me: I think I will get to play and experience game situations, I’m much closer to home—my family will be able to drive a short 6 hours to come see me play—and I think the coach here in New Mexico will be able to help me a lot in my development.

On Friday morning, I had made my decision that I wanted to leave. I went in and talked to Coach, said my goodbyes, and went home and packed all of my belongings in my car. It took me about an hour to pack, and then I was ready to hit the road. I just wanted to get out of Bismarck. I loved my time there, and I love all the guys I met, but it’s time for me to start playing, and I was a little frustrated I didn’t get a chance there in Bismarck. I think I deserved one. Maybe I hurried out of there because I wanted to take some of my anger out on the road. That probably explains the speeding ticket I got less than 2 hours into my 18 hour drive…But I will never forget the experience I had there, and I think it will provide me with some motivation as I keep following my dream.

After I packed up in Bismarck, I drove about 11 hours straight by myself. I slammed two Mona Vie energy drinks, which I got from Bunny and Gary, my billet family in Bismarck, and made my way to Denver. I think I stopped about 4 times, ate in the car, and kept the pedal to the metal all the way. I sang my little heart out all the way through South Dakota and Wyoming, thinking the whole time about this great opportunity that I have. I know I didn’t need to hurry, but I was determined to make it to Boulder to stay in my best buddy, Stephen's, dorm room. I finally got there at about 12:30 in the morning, and it was definitely worth the long haul. I got to see some of my best friends from high school and my best buds, which was a long overdue reunion. We caught up on their college experiences and just had some good, quality bro time. I needed that. It was a well-deserved mental break to hang out with my best bros and just bro out. The next morning, I went with Bergen to see the campus of Denver University, and I had an awesome time meeting some of his friends and just living the college life for a day. He said he can’t wait to see me in a DU uniform. And, hey, it could happen. I just have to keep my work ethic up, and I think anything I want to happen could happen because of the doors I’ve opened for myself off the ice.

On Saturday afternoon, I met my mom in Denver, and we headed out for Albuquerque. Mom and I had some good, quality momma-son time on the 6 or 7 hour drive from Denver to Albuquerque, which I definitely need as well. There’s nothing quite like seeing Mom for the first time in a while, and she definitely helped calm my nerves. As we got further into the drive, I started to get more and more nervous about everything going on. I sort of had a nervous breakdown and kept telling her I thought I lost my phone charger and my half shield for my helmet, but I think that was just to get my mind off of how nervous I actually was about coming to a new team. Of course my mom found those two things 5 minutes after we got to the hotel in Albuquerque. Moms are so good at finding things when they’re lost; I don’t know how they do it. But she kept telling me how excited she is for me, and how she thinks this is the best thing for me to do also. I get a fresh start to prove myself, and it’s just good to know my family is backing me all the way, like they always have.

Mom and I made it for the 3rd period of the game on Saturday night, and on Sunday, I moved into my billet’s house, then we went to the see the Sunday night game. It was great to see the team play and just visualize myself out there. I honestly think I can make a difference here, and I can’t even express how excited I am. My billets are a very nice couple, with two young boys, who, I can tell already, are going to keep me on my toes. It’s going to be fun living here. I think I’m going to love it.

Today, I dropped the rest of my stuff off at my billet’s house, and then I took my mom to the airport. It’s always hard to say bye to Mom, but it’s also nice to hear how excited she is for me. She thinks very highly of the coach here, who made us feel very welcome this weekend, and she just has a good feeling about all of this. And when Mom feels good about it, I feel even better about it. I had my first practice at 2:30. It’s difficult coming into a practice with a new coach and all new kids, but I think I did fine. I was very anxious to finally get on the ice after 3 days of driving. It’s been a while since I’ve gone 3 days without skating. I’m ready to have a good week of practice, though, and I think the coach is really excited about having me here.

After practice, I went to work out with Zach Badalamenti, and we tried to get after it just like we did in Bismarck. Zach told me he thinks the off-ice program here is a lot worse than in Bismarck, which bums me out, but I will keep working hard off the ice, just like I did in Bismarck. And I’ll be able to draw from some of the workouts we had at Healthways in Bismarck…

As you can tell from the novel I just wrote, I’m unbelievably excited about what’s going on. I have a great chance to prove myself here all over again. It’s going to be fun. It’s time to prove some people wrong and make some people regret letting a kid like me go. I know I could have helped the team in Bismarck, but it’s their loss, and, personally, I think they’re losing a pretty special kid.