Page 132 of Hitting the Goal Line
Watson moves my shoulder again, not saying anything. After about a minute or so, he drops my arm and gives me a smirk.
Bastard.
“You’re cleared. I’ll let Shawn and Grayson know that they can clear you from the injured list. You might not be able to play against Dallas tomorrow night, but for sure the game against Boston.”
“Fucking finally,” I say, letting out a sigh.
“I would have cleared you last week, but you wouldn’t been a hundred percent. Everything looks good today, though. Just get back into things slowly and don’t go breaking anybody else’s jaw.”
Only if my girl is in danger.
“I’ll try not to,” I answer and a few seconds later, I’m free to go.
No time is wasted going into the locker room, sliding my skates on, and grabbing my stick. The team had practice earlier to prepare for Dallas tomorrow so there’s a possibility that a few guys are still hanging around our practice arena.
As much as I would have like to get my ass kicked by some drills, just skating on the ice for a few minutes, is all I need at the moment.
When I reach the rink, I find it empty of people. Only a few pucks still left on the ice that the equipment personal have yet to pick up.
I take a few minutes to skate around the ice to get my foot right. I may have only been off the ice for three weeks, what with bye-week and this injury, but it feels like it has been forever and I have to get reacquainted with it.
It’s crazy because when the season is over, I’m okay with not skating a whole lot, but when it’s in season, the only thing I want to do half the time is have my skates attached to my legs.
After a few loops around the ice, I start shooting some pucks into the net. At first, I’m a little stiff, my injury and Watson’s words to take it easy still very much in my head, but after a few slap shots, I’m able to loosen up.
It takes me about a good twenty minutes to feel as good as new, so I just start running random drills by myself.
“You know, when a player is placed on the injured list it means that they rest so they can recover from said injury. Not go out on the ice and re-injure themselves.” A guy’s voice sounds out, stopping me mid-stride.
I look around the rink and find Grayson Lane standing at the door to the ice, wearing skates of his own and a stick in his hand. I know he’s the owner of the Knights and all, but I didn’t think the guy even knew how to hold a stick properly, let alone skate.
“Watson cleared me a little bit ago. He said he was going to pass the news to you and Anderson,” I say to him, trying to not sound so damn winded.
Three weeks of no workouts and I’m like a newbie.
Grayson gives me a nod as he steps on the ice.
“He must have sent that piece of information to my office and I haven’t seen it since I was driving over here,” he says as he reaches for a puck and positions himself to take a shot.
The puck effortlessly glides into the net.
“You play.” I conclude because novice individual wouldn’t have been able to make that shot from this distance.
“Yup, played all through high school, was even thinking about joining the draft but then I fucked up my knee pretty badly, so I quit.”
Damn. I didn’t know that.
“Is that why you bought the team? To fulfill some sort of dream or something?” I ask, taking a shot of my own. It glides smoothly and lands right next to Grayson’s.
“Partly.” He shrugs, sliding another puck over and position it to shoot it, but instead, he leans against his stick and faces me. “It had more to do with my family. But I did think it would be beneficial for the team to have an owner that actually knew the ins and outs of the sport and not solely be about money. I may not know all of the business side of things, but I’m learning and getting my footing straight.”
He shoots his puck and again, it’s smooth as hell.
“Why the Knights though?” I ask after taking my shot. It hits the edge of the net and doesn’t make it in.
“Why not the Knights?” Grayson answers, skating over to the edge of the ice to grab more pucks. “They been my team since I moved to Chicago when I was five. They were the team I wanted to get drafted to. It was the team that my uncle owned at one point. So, when the opportunity came up, I didn’t hesitate in taking it.”
And here I thought that he bought the team because we had a solid chance to win a cup. Now that I know it was because of a personal connection, it makes me see Grayson in a different light.
