Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Even though I rate an office in the executive suite, I prefer the one on the ice level nearer to the other coaches and the players. However, I’m heading upstairs to his territory since he’s my boss.
His office door is open and he’s handing some folders to his secretary. Noticing me standing there, he waves me in and motions over to a small conference table that seats six. It’s covered with folders and binders, and a laptop sits there opened to a spreadsheet.
I take a seat as he gives some last-minute instructions and she asks me on the way out, “What would you like to drink, Coach?”
“I’m good.” I smile and hold up the water bottle I carry with me everywhere.
Callum joins me at the table. He’s wearing a suit—sans jacket—his regular attire. I’m in my standard non-game-day gear of khakis and a long-sleeve polo. But the days we play, I wear a suit right along with everyone else.
“How’s our prettiest member of the Titans’ organization doing today?” Callum says with a wide grin as he sits down at the table head in a chair adjacent to mine.
If Callum were a personal friend, I’d tell him to fuck off in a good-natured way. But he’s my boss, and I’ve only been head coach roughly a month.
Instead, I smirk. “Hey, now… don’t be jealous GQ didn’t come calling on you.”
Callum barks a laugh and I chuckle along. It’s ridiculous, really. I’m big news in the sporting world. The youngest head coach in the professional league, and I’m definitely not as battle tested, having spent my coaching career in the minors and a foreign league. All the major sports magazines have written articles about me, and I’ve been interviewed on national shows.
But everyone is giving me shit for landing on the cover of GQ this month. Don’t get me wrong… it was nice being asked, and it was about far more than me cheesing on the front cover in the four-thousand-dollar Armani suit they dressed me in. The three-page interview was great publicity for the organization, and the reporter did a fantastic job focusing on my vision for this team and my confidence in putting us on a path to a championship one day.
“I’ve got a trade prospect,” Callum says, moving right from joking to serious. “Bain Hillridge for a first-round draft pick.”
My eyebrows lift. “They didn’t want a straight-up player trade?”
Callum shakes his head. “They’ve got some players aging out and are looking for a few good picks to build up. I need to know if you think we can afford to give up a first-round draft pick for him.”
I rub my jaw, considering the question. “That’s a huge give… a first-round pick. But Bain Hillridge is one of the best defensemen in the league.”
Nodding, Callum says, “And Camden’s not been performing well. We can move Camden to third line, Nolan to second, and—”
“I’m not willing to move Camden,” I cut in.
Callum isn’t the least bit offended. In fact, this is why I’m here—for him to lay out his thoughts, and for me to tell him what’s best from a coaching perspective, since I have a better handle on these guys.
He merely waits.
“I want to work with Camden. He needs a confidence boost and moving him down a line is going to set him back further, but I think he’s got amazing untapped potential.”
“What’s his issue?” Callum asks.
“No clue, but I want the opportunity to figure it out so he has a shot.”
Callum drums his fingers on the table, glancing down for a moment before raising his gaze back to me. “You know it’s my job to put the best possible team together. It’s not a bad move to send Camden to the third line. I could even make an argument to trade him or send him down to the minors.”
I nod because he’s right.
But I’m not wrong either.
“If you don’t want to move Camden from the second line, what are you going to do with Nolan?”
Nolan is our first-line defenseman, and he’s good. Not as good as Bain though, who would without a doubt strengthen our defense.
“How about offering Nolan in trade and a second-round pick rather than a first?”
Callum’s brow furrows slightly as he considers that. His eyes focus on me. “You think Camden’s potential is enough to merit losing Nolan and a draft pick?”
“But we get Bain,” I remind him. “And yes, Camden’s potential is more important.”
Camden was one of The Lucky Three who wasn’t on the Titans’ plane when it went down. While Coen Highsmith spiraled into a dark place after, the other two, Camden Poe and Hendrix Bateman, seemed able to get back on the ice without much in the way of hang-ups. I know both have undergone grief counseling paid for by the Titans’ organization, and they both seemed to have bonded well with the players who came on to form the new team.