The Redemption Of Jeff Carter: Part One

November 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Jeff Carter (77) moves the puck against the defense of Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival (32) during the third period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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“The Young Jeff”

A young boy arrives home late after a long day of school.  He slowly enters the house, drops his knapsack on the kitchen floor and finds his hockey equipment bag that was already packed with his gear and had his aluminum hockey stick right beside it.  A car outside, with his father in the driver’s seat was impatiently waiting for him but the boy was in no rush.  In fact, he felt he had enough time to make himself a quick bologna sandwich before he left. From another part of the house walked in his mother.  With a soft motherly voice she reminds her carefree son that his father was outside waiting for him and that he was going to be late for his championship hockey game. The boy smiled, kissed his mother on the cheek and stuffed his sandwich into his mouth before making his way back to the front door with which he entered.  The mother wished him good luck for the game and hoped he wasn’t going to get in trouble from the coach again due to his soon to be late arrival to the arena, especially for such an important game. The boy stopped at the doorway and looked back at his mom with a smirk and said, “No worries Mom, I’ve got this!”

The boy hopped back into his father’s car and was already anticipating what his father was going to say during the drive.  His father was going to remind him that he needed to be more organized and focused. He couldn’t always be late for every commitment that he had. Whether it was school and completing his homework or for hockey, the boy needed to accept he had responsibilities and needed to take them more seriously, especially for a championship game where the boy had other people, such as his coach and his teammates that were relying on him.  But this time his father didn’t say a word and this caught the boy by surprise.  He could see in his father’s face what his message was and that message was loud and clear.  Nothing needed to be said but the boy spoke anyway to help ease the tension, “Don’t worry dad.  I’ve got this!”