Dream On (Jonathan Toews)

Chapter Fourteen| Take A Shot

Jonathan

The first lost of the season was inevitable. Like my brilliant girlfriend once said, even though you know it's going to happen it doesn't make it hurt any less. I mope back to the hotel after the tough first loss, it was in overtime so we still got a point but it still sucks. A shootout loss to the Wild was the only blemish on our record so far, and even then it was a small one. All we could do is refocus and keep giving it our all. This was the start of a five away games in a row and it's easy to let these things get out of control. But road games were a time for bonding and getting to know each other so I think this is good for us.

I sit in my hotel room by myself and watch game tape from tonight's game. It all seemed to be there but I was obviously missing something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it though. Patrick comes over from the joint room and plops himself next to me. "Sure, come on in" I joke as he opens a water a gulps it down. "Damn, I look good" he says as he makes a nice play in the offensive zone. "Yeah, and I'm not sure what happened tonight" I admit rewinding and watching the same shift again. "Sometimes nothing is wrong Jonny, it's just not meant to be" Patrick says with a shrug. "I get that, but it still can be controlled" I laugh. "Look at the bright side. Our team is still head and shoulders better than any other one in the league. It's almost like the lockout was a blessing in disguise. You met Mary Kate and was given a well rested and motivated team handed to you" he says watching the tape. "You're right... I've been saying that way too much lately" I laugh. "It's not that I was never right, it's that you never realized it" he jokes and I roll my eyes.

"Can I ask you something" I say after about thirty minutes of silence and he nods. "When is the tryout for the woman's USA Olympic team" I ask and he raises a eyebrow. "Beginning of March. In Detroit around the same time we're there for a game" he says slowly and I grow a smile. "I want Mary Kate to try out" I say and Patrick nearly spits out his water. "I don't know Jonny, that's kind of a sensitive topic for her" he says wiping his mouth off. Without another word I get up and take out the game tape to put in the tape from when I asked Mary Kate to be my girlfriend. I press play and watch Patrick watch in amazement. He saw what they put up on sports center but never the whole video. She excelled in every aspect; puck control, edge work, stick handling, board battles. She might have been messing around but I was actually trying, and she was beating me. "Holy shit" he whispers putting his drink down. "I know, you see it too. She's really good. And look what else I found" I say pulling out my laptop and putting a few words in YouTube's search box. It was a highlight reel from her freshman year in college. Only 18 but was kicking major ass, she looked like that one kid who should be playing a level up and just destroying people. "She had 25 goals and 42 assists in 23 games her freshman year. That's not even the craziest thing though, she was a plus-24" I finish and it looked as if his eyes were going to pop out his head. "Damn, she does those moves better than me" he says rubbing the back of his neck. "She can be great but she's holding herself back" I say closing the laptop and let out a harsh sigh. "She has a pretty good reason to Jon. She was paralyzed for a month and the doctors told her she would never play again" he reminds me. "I know but I think we should have our staff re-evaluate her. She said her back didn't even bother her after we got done the other day. Please help me convince her to try out" I beg. He lets out a sigh and I knew I had won. "Fine, but if she gets pissed I'm throwing you straight under the bus" he says pointing a finger at me. "Okay. I'm okay with that" I say and he gets up. "Well, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning" he calls out and disappears into his room. I turn back to the tv and watch as she messes with me. Her smile was shining bright from so far away and she looked genuinely happy. She didn't look scared, she looked like she belonged there. And she did.

After loosing in over time again the next night we won the next three of the road trip before heading home. The rest of the games until the Detroit games were all home except for one and I really wanted Mary Kate working out with us. Not that she needs the training but it wouldn't hurt. I pull out my laptop and bring up the try out page before setting it in her lap. "What is this" she laughs and I encourage her to read it. "Oh Jonny, you know I can't" she says sadly. "Tell me you don't want to play hockey and I'll forget all about this" I say motioning to the computer screen. "I... I can't lie to you" she says heavily. "I know your scared. I would be too. But it's better to try and have failed than to have never tried at all" I say as she stares blankly at the screen. "You came to Chicago for opportunities. You said it yourself, you love a challenge. There's no way you can pass this up". She continues to stare at the screen emotionless and I become slightly frightened. "I'm so scared" she says looking at me and I feel my heart break. I couldn't imagine wanting something so bad but every part of you telling you no. "It's not going to be easy, I'm not going to sugar coat it. But the boys and I will help you. You can practice with us and if you ever feel pain we have people ready to help you. Just... promise me you'll try" I say looking into those crystal blue eyes. "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" she says with a giggle and from then on I knew that we could do this.