The Road to the Cup ~ Wattys 2015

66

I could tell they weren't all on board with the "family" idea yet, but they were familiar with the "play for the logo" sentiment. I knew I would get them to understand being a family as the season progressed. None of my boys had ever believed me at first; they just had to wait until they started playing and bonding, and well, winning, to figure it out.

The good news was that they now knew I was not a puck bunny. I was glad that was over with. I watched them skate around, practicing more drills. Then I realized Johnston had walked off. Had he heard my speech? Was he insulted that I had taken such a huge step with the guys at the first practice? He probably was, considering that he was head coach and he should be the one firing them up like that.

"Erin!" Mike yelled. I looked up from my notes and saw him standing at the entrance to the locker room with none other than Mario Lemieux, one of the most talented players to ever be a part of the NHL,  former captain of and now an owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

I walked over and extended my hand, "Mr. Lemieux, it's an honor to meet you, sir. I'm Erin Fitzpatrick."

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Fitzpatrick. That was a very unorthodox speech you just gave there."

"Oh, uh, you heard that?" I stammered, my face turning a darker shade of red than Detroit's home jerseys.

"Ms. Fitzpatrick, I said it was unorthodox, I didn't say it was bad. On the contrary, it had a good sentiment. Those young guys won't realize it until they start playing, but they are a family, and once they realize it, they won't forget. Shero did a good job picking you out. How did he find you?" Mario Lemieux asked.

I was shocked. Mario Lemieux just complimented the speech I gave. He thought I was a good coach! Me! Okay, I knew I was decent, but to have one of the greats tell you that you were a good coach for an NHL team was something different all together. "I was coaching at Union, in New York, where his cousin's son played. Mr. Shero came to watch the national championship game and we won. He approached me and we started talking. He had a feeling that new coaches would be needed, so he put in a good word for me. I'm actually quite surprised that anyone listened to him. I almost didn't come when they asked me; I felt that I needed to stay with my boys at Union and get them through the next few seasons, but the team and my assistant coaches said I would never get an opportunity like this again and that they'd be alright without me, so here I am." I said.

"I'm sure these boys are glad to have you. You've started off well, Ms. Fitzpatrick. I look forward to hearing about the team's successes under you and Mr. Johnston." He shook both of our hands again, waved to the guys, who had finally noticed his presence, and then left.

"Alright," Mike said to the guys, "time to hit the gym. You all have had enough ice time for today."

They groaned in response, but skated off the ice and walked past us into the locker room.

Author's Note

Thanks for sticking with me, team ;-) I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Please vote and comment to let me know what you thought. Let's go Pens!