The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

[pfeffuh]

Not trying to steal the way bhurst does it, but i kind of want to take the angle of a personal life as well.

June 22nd (draft day):
Today may be the most trying one yet in my 19 year long life. All day all I could think about was it was the first round of the NHL draft, and I have dreamed of the moment a million times. "With the first pick in the NHL draft, the Boston Bruins select Bryan Pfeffuh!" the commissioner would announce, and the crowd at the Nationwide Arena would erupt. Being realistic though, I knew I might not get drafted at all. My family could in no way at all afford to send me off to college, because I already have the largest income in the house (10 dollars an hour at our local ShopRite). If I left for college not only would my family be swamped in bills for education, but also won't have anything but a minimum wage job my mom holds at some fast food place. I didn't earn a scholarship for hockey, rightfully so due to a ton of bad decisions I have made in the past, so here we are, my future on the line. I turned on the draft, watched it without a ton of interest, and thought about a lot of things. First of all, if I didn't get drafted, what would life be like outside of hockey? How would I spend the hours that I had normally spent practicing with my trainer 5 days a week if hockey was no longer my future? If I did get drafted, could my family function socially with out me? The draft reached pick 29 of the first round, the Boston Bruins. I knew that I wasn't on there first four round draft boards, because my agent Kyle Young (a real jack ***) knew everyone who was anyone in the NHL, and was good friends with a Bruin official. He said, however, they thought I stood out in one of our work outs. How much that meant I wasn't sure. "With the 16th pick in the 2008 NFL draft the Boston Bruins select Calvin deHann," I heard the commisioners voice droan, and I for some reason turned the TV off. I had to stop getting my hopes up on a life in the NHL.

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

June 23rd (rounds 2-7):
And I thought yesterday was bad. My father came home from one of his periodical disappearances, and you could immediately tell he was drunk again. He came inside after five minutes of just trying to get the key to go in the door hinge. He reeked of alcohol when he walked, well actually more like stumbled, past, and when I heard my mom start to yell at him, his speech was very hard to understand. The conversation went something like this:

Mom: Where have you been?
Dad: What duz't matter ta you.
Mom: Well while you were out spending your son's & my hard earned money on your scotch, the landlord said we had to pay our four months that we owe in the next month or we're gone.
Dad: Maybe hiz hockey mona oughta pay fa it.
Mom: You won't touch a cent of that money, you hear me!?
Dad: I'm da man a dis family, i take what I wan.
Mom: You get your sorry act together or me and Bryan are gone. Let's see how manly you are then.

That's all I heard because I left to head over to my friend Thomas' house. I wanted to watch the draft but couldn't with all this going on. It seems by the time most guys are 19 they are hardened past caring about what happens, but these fights bothered me no matter what. Thomas, being the good friend that he was, had the draft on already when I entered his house without even knocking. His parents were out on business and whenever his car was there I could just go in. He got me a soda and himself a beer, and we watched the draft which was on round 4.

At pick 12 my phone rang and I couldn't help but be shocked, thinking I was drafted. It was Young, sending a text. It said: 'devils @ 142 + Kings @ 153 lookin @ u'. I knew he probably knew better than I did, but when the draft got to 142 I just knew inside I wasn't going. The devils decided to go with a defenseman instead. The Kings picked a center, and I play RW, but I felt pretty rejected still. It was like Young to get my hopes up. At pick 170 I got a phone call again, from a number I didn't recognize. This is it, I thought!
"Hello?"
"Hey Bryan, your on speaker with all of the Bruins draft committee." That was weird, they weren't picking, it was teh Avalanche's turn.
"If you aren't drafted, would you be interested in still pursuing a hockey career?" This wasn't what I was expecting...
"If every team has 7 higher prospects than me, I think I would have more success pursuing another profession."
"We're disappointed to hear that." Click. The Bruins just hung up on me.

At pick 173, the Bruins had a pick. I had an urge to throw something at the TV when it showed the draft committee talking in their office, and probably would've, but it was Thomas' house. "With the 173rd pick, the Boston Bruins draft Bryan Pfeffuh, off the Ottowa Junior National team." Wow.

[derrickthomas58]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

Looks good man, I'm definetely followin'

[Matt10]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

I know you're not trying to use Bhurst's idea, but my one suggestion would be to use his paragraph format.

Spread it out lot easier to read that way.

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

Bruins Fall Training, (August 27th)
Its been so long since I have written, but in the last two months its just been a lot of meeting new people, moving and trying to avoid family conflict. Its nice to finally get back to the one thing that you can always count on to be there. Hockey. When I got on the ice I was star studded by veterans like Mark Recchi. On my first play on the ice I went to take a shot at Tim Thomas (G) and Zdeno Chara gave me a hit to remember. I felt like when I went to get up from the hit, there was an a thousand pound anvil holding me down. Thank god for adrenalyne though.

I thought all in all the Bruins will be a good fit for me. I played as well as any other RW in the farm system and could definitely hold my own against the pros. I know in my head that I am going to end up on the minor league affiliate Providence Bruins, so me and a guy by the name of Wacey Rabbit. Me and him get along really well, but he is a little... well... different. He lost his mom when he was ten and after that his dad went insane, so he ran away from his father at age 12. All he ever had was hockey and I have to say he is pretty dang good at it. The anger that you see guys like Sean Avery playing with, thats how Wacey plays, he just is a lot better at controlling it. Anyway, on the topic of his childhod, I'd say he wakes up screaming 2 nights a week, saying he had "The Nightmare". I think there is more to his life that I haven't heard about. All I know is that the dude can play hockey.

Coach Rob Murray (of the Providence Bruins, not Boston) is really a disaster waiting to happen for the team of minor leaguers it seems like. He is always praising and talking to the pros and talking about how he would much rather be coaching them. I think he may end up as an assistant coach in Boston, and that's fine by me. He is having a team meeting going over player roles and expectations tomorrow. Please let him be realistic, at least about me.

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

I know you're not trying to use Bhurst's idea, but my one suggestion would be to use his paragraph format.

Spread it out lot easier to read that way.

Definitely will start doing that.

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

Looks good man, I'm definetely followin'

Thanks for following! One more update today I think.

[FlyersFan30]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

cool I'm following

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

Team Meeting (August 28th)
Coach Murray is insane. First of all, I know I could be a top notch right winger for the minor leagues, and especially for Providence. Given the opportunity I could possibly lead the team in points (at least I think, shouldn't get too cocky though) but coach has me on the third line. When he said this, I took it fine, was cool about it, and just thought about the fact that I had a really nice line as far as chemistry. I didn't think today was going to be that bad. Boy, was I wrong. He then announced what he thought our goals would be.

28 goals and 64 points. I knew I could do it, but not from the third line. That is difficult for even the best third-liners in the NHL to do, whoever they may be. But of course, Coach Murray thinks that these are realistic goals for me. This could be a very long season. However, there was one bright spot to today. The first assistant coach, Bruce Cassidy, approached me and was asking me about my opinion on my roles and goals. At first, I though Murray put him up to it but soon dismissed the theory. He told me that coach was already looking for reasons to move me up, and it should take no more than three or four games. That was a positive, I guess.

Wacey is on my team, so I am excited about that. I think that we are going to become very good friends. The problem with Wacey is he likes to drink. A lot. He says it helps him deal with stress, which I get, but this is how my father started drinking, a struggling hockey player with a disappointing childhood. I like Wacey way too much for that too happen.

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

cool I'm following

Thanks, man.

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

September 2nd (Signing day)
The Bruins signed me to a one year deal! I am only making a tiny bit more than the minimum amount at 32,000. When they put the offer on the table, Young read it, and I immediately signed it knowing exactly what I had to do next. My signing bonus was 4,000 dollars, and I sent every penny of it home to my parents to help pay for the apartment's rent. I secretly told the landlord I intended to give him every cent of my salary until they were payed off, so he got off their case about eviction. Meanwhile, I am living off the hard earned cash I made and saved for this exact experience, but I am running out. Some day I will make it big time and get my mom the house she deserves, whether she's still with my dad or not. She has visited me twice in Rhode Island but its a long drive Virginia to Providence, so I was very happy to see her. She acts excited and happy, but you can tell she is stressed and tired.

I don't want to seem like a mommy boy, but even when she isn't here I am constantly in contact with her. Apparently, my father has performed another of his mysterious disappearing acts, but has been gone for over a week. Normally, I would be happy about this, but it is tearing my mom apart to be lonely and worried. Sometimes I think that I need to just give up hockey and be there for her, but I know in the end I am doing the best I can to support her. I probably won't be writing again until the season opener, because there isn't much excitement in the smallest state of the 50. Its just practice, then home to rest or go out to the mall, movies or a party.

[muller11]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

Looks good! I might have to keep track of this!
P.S. I hope it ends with you losing to Montreal in the first round of the playoffs.

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

Looks good! I might have to keep track of this!
P.S. I hope it ends with you losing to Montreal in the first round of the playoffs.

thanks for following and lets focus on making the playoffs first. I have played a lot of games but will only two up tonight so your not overwhelmed

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

First Game! (vs. Syracuse Crunch) October 6th
Winners! Syracuse is a pretty great team, and we managed to shut them out 2-0. That's not all though. I had my first career goal. I sware, the sound of the crowd screaming for you and everyone cheering and treating you like a king, it could become my heroin. I was tripled covered, just because they had a defensive switch. Not seeing anyone open, I deked left and cut right, beating both guys, and had one man between me and the goalie. I switched the stick to my left and fired in at the neet, barely stretching the stick around the defender. The goalie didn't see it until it was too late, and sitting in the back of his net.

Wacey had an alright game too, assisting my goal, but he played meekly, nothing at all like the ferocious character he was in practice. He was quiet all night, so I guess he realized he didn't play well either. The coach gave him a real yelling after the game. After he thought I went to bed he snuck a bottle of vodka from his dresser :/

[pfeffuh]

Re: The career of Bryan Pfeffuh (NHL 09 BAP)

Games 2 & 3 (vs. Rochester, @ Bears)
We lost to 3-1 and beat the Bears 2-0. I had two assists, both against the Bears, but really stood out both games. I really hope that I am being noticed by some one as a kid with a lot of potential. The Bruins haven’t expressed a ton of interest in me, which is fine, but I know I am one of their top farm system prospects. I do spend too much time in the penalty box though, so that could be holding me back.

My father is still gone. I never thought I’d say this, but I am kinda worried about my old man. Sure, we never got along and I think he is a drunken bastard, but I know it kills my mom not having him around. No matter how many times he disappears my mom always expects the worse. She can’t deal like that much longer. It’s tearing her apart.