Packed Weekend

I had the Bismarck open camp in Denver this past weekend. It was so good to get back out on the ice. I arrived at the rink on Friday, and I was asked to play both games that night because they were short on defensemen. In the first game, I was definitely rusty. I didn't play very well. But I don't think I was the only one who was a little rusty--I was probably in better shape than most players there. The next game, I felt like I started to get my legs back. I think I got stronger as the second game went on; I played smart and made some good passes. Afterwards, I was dead tired, though. On Saturday, again I played two games. At least they were spread out this time...I played in the morning and played OK. I didn't play great; I made some mistakes with the puck behind the net, lost some people in coverage, and my footwork wasn't fast enough, but I'll get that stuff back quickly I think. The next game I focused on playing smart and solid, and I took short shifts because I was tired from the previous 3 games I had played. After the night game, I found out I made the All-Star game at 8 the next morning. I think I played my best game of the weekend in the All-Star game. I don't remember really making a mistake, I played physical, tried to be aggressive, but I also played solid defensively. And I scored a goal!

Although I don't think the level of the camp was as good as it was last year, I think I did really well at the camp overall. Maybe I feel like I did better because I got that much better over the course of the year...

After the All-Star game, my family and I stayed in Denver to see a Broadway musical, Billy Elliot. It was a pretty inspirational show, with great music. The basic moral of the story is that you should do whatever makes you happy, no matter how many people say, "You shouldn't," or "You can't," or "Are you f****** stupid for doing that?" I think I can take a lot away from that show. I'm lucky to have parents who support me 100% because I know a lot of parents would say, "No way! You're going to college!" But they're allowing me to follow my dream of playing college hockey. I still come across a lot of people who doubt me or doubt what I'm doing or are surprised that I'm doing what I'm doing. Sometimes I let their comments get to me, but I really shouldn't. I talked to my dad on the way home from Denver last night, and he said, "Just because you're taking the road less traveled, doesn't mean it's the wrong road." I'm proud of what I'm doing.