Descent into Ruin: Day 1

Word Count: 6,162

Summary of Events:

Chalmers arrived at the first day of training camp, where he caught up with his returning teammates regarding what they'd been up to all summer before they hit the ice and met their new coaching staff, who asked them a few questions to get to know them before they got started. During the drills Chalmers found himself not only paired with players he'd never played with before — some because they'd been his opponents the season before — but also a frequent target of criticism for the head coach. After camp was over Chalmers shared his frustrations with his sympathetic girlfriend, who suggested he tell the team's General Manager about his issues, which he decided he would do in person the following day. Later in the evening, his grandma called from BC, and he recounted the day's events to her . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“Well, what happened dear?” Grandma asked, sounding worried.

“To start with, he thought I was a weirdo for liking goalies when I’m not a goalie,” Chalmers replied. “Then he went and put us in lines based on our numbers, which isn’t necessarily bad, but, it did seem a little arbitrary, and he had us do a basic three-on-two zone entry drill. I was with a centre we got from the Raiders in the offseason and last season’s fourth-line right wing, and I thought we did pretty decent considering our combination, but he thought we were, like, the worst, and that I was the worst of us.”
“Oh,” Grandma said, sounding surprised.

“He said he couldn’t believe I was a first-round prospect, and when I went and worked with one of the other coaches on things — and this other coach thought that I was just a little rusty, which I am — and then came back and did it again, he said I’d gotten worse and said I must’ve been taught how to play hockey by someone who didn’t even know how to skate, but thought they knew what to do because they watched hockey on T V all the time.”

“That’s not very nice of him to say at all,” Grandma said.

“Exactly!” Chalmers exclaimed. “I’m glad I didn’t tell him Grandpa taught me, but, I mean, even though he didn’t know Grandpa taught me, he still insulted Grandpa.”

“Yes,” Grandma said.

“Like, I mean, this guy was hard on everybody, but he was always harder on my trio, and hardest on me,” Chalmers said. “I was almost wondering if I shouldn’t try to play like some two-year-old playing for their first time just to see if he wouldn’t have thought I was good then, but it was just frustrating. He even made me stay late and work with Coach Seaborn — who’d been working with me all day — and then came to the conclusion that Coach Seaborn was doing it all wrong and so came onto the ice to tell Coach Seaborn what he had wrong.”

“Oh dear,” Grandma said.

“I thought it was going to be just a quick little comment, but he went on and on and so I started skating around to keep myself from, you know, going cold and stiff and stuff,” Chalmers continued. “But then he tells me to stop and stand still and so I did, but he kept going on and on and on and so I started again and he told me to stop again, and I’m like ‘I’m going to get stiff and hurt myself’ and he’s like ‘I would’ve expected a player like you to be more respectful of his coaches,’ like he didn’t care if I got injured. Like, how did this guy get a job in the NHL if he doesn’t know this kind of basic stuff? I’m going to complain to the GM tomorrow because it was just stupid. I don’t know how this guy is any good.”