I have a vague idea of where I’m going after my visit, but it’s been a while, so I’ve lost a few of the details. I make a few wrong turns and end up totally lost. It doesn’t help that pretty much every hallway in the place looks exactly the same, all concrete walls and generic office equipment.

“Declan?” A familiar voice echoes down the hall, and I spin and find Coach Dunaway at the opposite end.

“Hey, Coach. I was just looking for you.”

“Yeah, sure. The locker room is this way, Murray,” he says, thrusting a finger in the opposite direction with a teasing smile like he knows I’m full of shit. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the guys.” He beams at me as I approach him and claps a hand on my shoulder. “You’re early.”

I cock an eyebrow at him. “I just want to make a good first impression.”

“Trust me, you already made one hell of a good impression in the showcase I saw you in. I can’t believe you didn’t get snapped up by a team right out of college,” he says as he leads me down the hall. I try to keep track of all the turns we’re taking because I know I’ll need to navigate this maze on my own later, but I lose track quickly.

“It just wasn’t the right time, I guess. But I busted my ass to make sure I’d be ready when the right time came.”

Dunaway claps me on the shoulder again, smiling like a proud dad. “I like that kind of work ethic. You’re gonna do well on my team.”

A grin splits my face, and the memory of all the disappointment I’d felt at not getting an NHL contract fresh out of college bubbles to the top of my mind. It’s funny to think about it now that I’m standing here with the coach of a Cup-winning team. I’ll never regret putting my mom and her health first when she needed me, even if it meant my hockey career had to take a back seat. Thinking of my mother now stokes a fire in my chest to succeed.

I don’t ever want her to have to worry about her health or the money to take care of it again, and now that I’ve got this contract with the Aces, she never will. I’m going to be able to take care of her just like she took care of me when my dad split on us.

Dunaway leads me into the locker room, but no one else is there yet. He takes me to a locker with my name on it. “This one is yours. Make yourself at home. I’m sure the rest of the guys will start to trickle in soon.”

“Thanks, Coach.”