Chapter 7

The conversations were interrupted by another ring on the house phone. Dan looked at the call display—an unknown number, long distance.

“Hello?” He addressed the unknown caller.

“Hello, Dan Hayward?”

“Yes, I’m Dan.”

“Hi Dan, I’m Bryan Murray, General Manager of the Ottawa Senators.”

“Hello, Sir.” Dan’s eyes brightened, looking at the others.

“Do you have a few moments to chat?”

“Of course I do; can the family listen in?”

“They certainly can.” He placed his phone on the speaker.

“Quiet, everyone, it’s Bryan Murray, General Manager of the Senators!” Everyone stopped talking to listen.

“Okay, go ahead, Mr. Murray.”

“Please call me Bryan. Thank you, Dan. Now that the NHL draft is over, I’m taking the time to call all the players and their families, who aren’t here in Montreal, to offer my welcome to the Ottawa Senators.”

“Thank you; we’re all very excited,” Dan offered.

“Hi Bryan, I’m Karen, Brad’s mom. We saw that you drafted Jake Campbell, Brad, and the Kendall brothers, Peter and Derek. Do you realize that your team has drafted four players that are all united as an extended family?”

“It was only realized when we watched Brad’s interview with Glenn that we got the connection of Brad’s fiance Abby, as the sister of Peter and Derek. Then one of my staff members reminded me of Brad’s life-saving intervention when Peter’s neck was cut by a skate blade. It’s convenient to be able to talk to three new members of the Senators at the same time.”

“Hi Bryan, I’m Wendy Hayward, Jake’s mom. Did you know that Jake and I live with Brad’s parents, Dan and Karen?”

“Yes, I did. When we interviewed players before the Top Prospects Game as potential draftees, Jake freely spoke of your relationship with the Haywards, to the point where you changed your last name to Hayward for your future family with Dan. You have a rather unique family relationship, which is not my place to question, but the main point from our perspective is that it is a stable and well-loved family.”

“Mr. Murray, Brad here. Can I ask why you risked drafting me despite my liver operation?”

“Tell me, Brad, how are you feeling now?”

“I was very sore for the first few weeks, but I’m feeling pretty good now. No worse than when Pete broke my ribs a few seasons ago,” he joked, looking at him.

“I am very pleased to hear that. We had our team doctor call Doctor Burnett and ask him to clarify the operation procedure he did on you. We were pleasantly surprised to hear how he considered your hockey future when doing your operation.”

“When he said your career would likely be over, that was based on the original site of the incisions and procedure for the operation. He stated it was your dad who suggested the doctor might look at doing it differently to give you a better chance with your recovery and less impact on your hockey future.”

“I understand that you and Abby are getting married on the 25th of July. Can you possibly pay a visit to us at our summer rink, the Bell Sensplex in Ottawa, during your honeymoon? You’ll be assessed by our team doctor to see what your physical status is.”

“I’ll make sure we work it into our honeymoon plans, Mr. Murry,” Abby stated.

“As far as we’re concerned, we just stole an eventual top-six forward for us from twenty-nine other teams and see nothing but a bright hockey future ahead for you!” Bryan added.

There were several screams of delight from the girls, and once more, Brad felt tingles of excitement surging through his body.

“Bryan, I’m Scott Kendall; Vicky and I are Peter and Derek’s parents. We are so proud and happy that you felt our boys were worthy of being drafted.”

“We know they were overlooked for last year’s draft and have shown improvement in their play. Peter and Derek, just because you were drafted 190 and 191, you have the same opportunity to make the team as the others. If Peter and Derek eventually play for us in Binghampton or Ottawa, I won’t add your initials to the back of your sweater to tell the difference between your last names. Some teams have two players with the same last name and add the initial to tell the difference between them. I hate the extra letter on the back of the sweater. The fans and players can tell the difference by your numbers and the position you play.”

“As I said in my interview with NSN, some highly drafted players never make it to the NHL. You both are already nineteen and could have one or two years remaining in junior high. I’m looking forward to seeing you both playing on the same team here or possibly with our farm team, the Binghampton Senators in New York State. So if you don’t have passports, better apply for them now, and that includes family members.”

“In case you didn’t know how far it is to Binghampton, New York, you’d drive to Kingston, cross the border at Gananoque into the States, and follow Highway 81 right to Bimnghampton. It’s about 420 kilometres from Trenton and about 430 kilometres from Ottawa to Binghamton.”

“We are all so excited to have all our boys drafted into the NHL, and to be on the same team is so fantastic,” Dan mentioned again.

“I’m excited too because the friendship of being teammates has already been started by your boys. If they follow a good training schedule, keep up their schooling, and work hard on their skills, I see a bright future for them, which also improves the goal of the Senators, to win the Stanley Cup.”

“My offer to meet you, Dan, Karen, and Brad, along with Jake, Peter, and Derek, still applies. I’ll give you a phone number to call to set up the day we can meet. Tell Jake, Peter, and Derek to bring their skates. I look forward to meeting you all in person.”

“I will tell you that our team has a bright future, and I’m excited to have Scott Warren, Jake, Brad, Pete, and Derek as future players on our team. Your hockey future starts now, boys. It’s up to you to make the most of it.”

“Thank you again for taking the time to call us,” Karen said, wiping tears of pride from her eyes.

“It was my pleasure, and welcome all to the Ottawa Senators. Bye for now.”

Dan ended the call, and another round of cheers and hugs were shared.

Brad had to walk off his nervous energy and grabbed Sarg and Major’s leash. Abby joined him as they strolled along the sidewalk. Despite the heat of the day, he wanted to show off his new Ottawa sweater, and Abby wore his ball cap. Pete and Derek joined them, proud to be drafted and wanting to show off.