Chapter 3

“Ken Morrison back with you, along with John Clarke and Wade Armstrong. Ottawa has drafted three players in a row from the Belleville Falcons of the OHL.”

“That is unheard of: three players in a row drafted from the same junior team by the same NHL team, namely, Scott Warren, Jake Campbell, and now Brad Hayward, and you can include Mario Giroux taken by Chicago,” Wade recited.

“Joining us now is Ottawa Senators General Manager, Bryan Murray. You drafted Brad Hayward in the third round, seventy-second overall, even though he reportedly had career-ending liver surgery. Aren’t you taking a big gamble, virtually throwing away such a high draft pick?” Ken questioned.

“Congratulations, Brad, and welcome to the Ottawa Senators,” Mr. Murray said, looking into the camera. Brad’s eyes were fixed on him, tingles of excitement surging throughout his body. Abby looked to him, beaming proudly for her love.

“First of all, we’re not throwing away a high draft pick. Many teams have had high expectations for a first, second, or third-round pick that never materialized, including us. I’m sure we were like the other twenty-nine teams when it came to discussing Brad Hayward.”

“Our coaching and scouting staff had more conversations about selecting Brad than we did deciding who we’d draft with our first-round selections. Each team likely consulted their team doctor to determine how serious his operation was. The doctors probably said there was only one way to do a liver transplant operation, and his chances of playing at the NHL level were slim to none.”

“One of the many things that drew me to Brad was his unwavering love for his girlfriend, Abby Kendall.” They looked at each other and smiled. “He didn’t hesitate a moment to sacrifice himself in her time of dire need, and I related that devotion to standing up for your teammates when the situation called for it.”

“So what makes Ottawa so different from the other NHL teams for you to draft him?” Ken queried.

“We looked at Brad Hayward from two standpoints: his performance on and off the ice and his liver operation. First of all, his hockey performance was outstanding. He was setting records before he even played one game in the OHL. As you may recall, Brad is the only CHL player to ever coach in a game—three of them, in fact—before even playing in one. He was also named an assistant captain for the Bellville Falcons before he played his first game.”

“Brad burst onto the junior hockey scene like a tornado. Who can ever forget his first junior game? He set numerous records: most points in a game at thirteen, most goals by a rookie or any player in a game at nine, beating the old rookie record of six and the regular player record by one.”

“He set numerous team and league records, helping to lead the Falcons to their first Memorial Cup Championship in 2008 as their captain. There are sixty minutes in a hockey game, plus five minutes of overtime if needed. Did you know that over his OHL career, Brad is the only CHL player to have scored a goal in every minute of play, including overtime? I’m sure you know about other records he has set or shares,” GM Murray recited.

“Surely your group must have been pondering the impact his liver operation would have on his future hockey playing abilities?” Wade Armstrong asked directly.

“I instructed our staff to examine Brad’s situation as if he’d been injured in a game and required a portion of his liver to be removed. I had our team doctor contact the surgeon who did Brad’s operation, Doctor Burnett, at Bellville General Hospital.”

“What we discovered is that Brad’s father, Dan Hayward, who played for the Hamilton Red Wings of the OHL in the late sixties, asked Doctor Burnett if he could do Brad’s operation differently so as to not jeopardize his future hockey career. Apparently, Doctor Burnett has a nephew who plays in the American Hockey League, so he is well aware of the stress that’s put on the abdomen and upper body during a typical game.”

“Doctor Burnett was able to move the incision site closer to Brad’s right ribs. This will enable the ribs to support the abdominal wall and muscles during the healing process and, with the proper rehab, eventually make him just as strong as before,” GM Murray said, pausing for a breath.

Brad’s eyes were fixed in amazement. “Maybe I can play in the NHL after all!” He muttered.

GM Murry looked into the camera and said, “Before I go any further, I must sincerely apologize to Brad Hayward and his parents, Dan and Karen. Except for the one phone call to his dad two weeks ago, we had no contact with them. No interviews or conversations; that was very unprofessional of us, but we had to remain silent about drafting Brad. I am extending a personal invitation to Brad and his family, on behalf of the Ottawa Senators Organization, to come and visit us and have a different version of the interview that should have taken place.”

“When we called Doctor Burnett about Brad and found out that no other team had inquired about his liver operation, we chose to remain very secretive. We even called Doctor Burnett as late as yesterday afternoon to ensure there was still no interest in Brad from any of the other teams. So we were very confident we could draft him and traded to obtain him.”

“So your organization is confident that Brad Hayward will be able to play at the NHL level someday?” John Clarke asked.

“We are confident enough to lay our third-round pick on the table. Without his liver operation, Brad would have easily been a top-five pick, possibly as high as second or third. We knew Brad was the exact type of player we were looking for, but so were many other teams. We’ll have our team of doctors examine and test Brad in Ottawa, and then again when training camp begins for the rookies. He’ll have the summer to exercise intensely. Then we’ll reassess his progress and see from there,” GM Murray said.

“So you’re saying Hayward has a chance to crack the Senators line-up if he is healthy enough?” Ken asked.

“He’d have to earn his spot on the team, just like any other player would. However, his physical fitness is at a lower level from inactivity and would take time to regain his weight, strength, endurance, and timing. There would be absolutely no shame in being returned to his junior team after playing several exhibition games with us.”

“What if you had discovered another team had shown interest in Hayward?” John questioned.

“Depending on the number of teams, we would have made an earlier trade to move Brad up to a second-round selection. We were prepared and determined to make any trade necessary to ensure Brad Hayward was going to be in an Ottawa Senator’s jersey by the end of the day.”

“Oh wow!” Brad exclaimed, looking at everyone, and then back to the TV.

“Thank you, Bryan, for your time on this busy day. That was Bryan Murray, General Manager of the Ottawa Senators, explaining the rationale behind their team’s most unusual selection at this year’s draft. We’ll pause for a commercial break and return to the 2009 NHL entry draft in a minute,” Ken said.

Glenn prepared the camera, placing it on a tripod facing Brad. The house and cell phones continued to ring with congratulations for Brad and Jake. Abby continued to smother Brad with love and pride for her man.

Brad’s face was beginning to hurt from smiling so much. “I got drafted! I got fucking drafted, Abby!” He repeated to his love, hugging her again.

“I know, honey, I’m so happy for you and so proud of you. Tiffany and I will be the envy of every girl in town!” She beamed.

“Can you ask your mom if we can invite Amber and Britney over for a swim and to, you know, celebrate your news? Think you’ve got it in you to fuck Brit, Amber, and me tonight like you’ve done before?” She asked.

“Mom, can we invite Amber and Britney over for a swim and celebration, and maybe supper too?”

“Sure, you can, honey. Just make sure the kids don’t catch you three, ‘celebrating,’” she smiled, her fingers in quotations.

Frank and Glenn looked at each other, wondering what the hell kind of family this is!

Glenn had Brad and Frank stand. “When the red light comes on, look into the camera; we’ll be live on NSN TV to the Bell Centre. You’ll be able to hear the conversation through the headset and talk into the microphone,” Glenn instructed, placing the headset on Brad.

“Were back, live at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, for the NHL entry draft, 2009 edition. And in case you missed it, the Ottawa Senators just unloaded a bombshell of a deal, trading a sixth-round draft pick to Nashville for this and next year’s draft in exchange for today’s seventy-second pick overall. They used that selection to take forward Brad Hayward of the Belleville Falcons.”

“He went from being a sure first-round pick to being dropped completely off the draft list by Central Scouting and every team due to supposedly career-ending abdominal, liver surgery. Last March, Brad donated a portion of his liver to save the life of his seriously injured girlfriend, Abby Kendall,” Ken Morisson reviewed.

“This is one of those feel-good stories that emerge from the draft process. Fans will already be cheering for Brad in hopes he can someday play in the NHL,” John said.