2025-08-10, 10:39 PM - Word count:
Having grown up in Ireland, the sweltering heat of an Istanbul summer was something I still hadn't gotten used to, especially in the crappy apartment that I could afford on my Academy salary. It was a late night and I had my phone with me, waiting to hear from scouts for the upcoming SSL draft. There'd been a few calls from interested teams, but things wouldn't start to ramp up until closer to the draft. After a decent first half of the Academy season, I'd been able to really ramp up my production and finally got on the scoresheet with my first three career goals. I'd also managed to keep being a responsible player, picking up just a single yellow card and 11 fouls over the first 14 games of the season while drawing 31 against me.
For tonight, though, I had something different to focus on: the SHL draft, where my older sister Caitlin would find out where the next step on her professional journey would take her. She'd had a solid rookie year for the Quebec City Citadelles after falling to the 26th overall pick, but next up was to prove herself to the big leagues. Caitlin had confided in me that not many teams had been in contact with her, and she wondered if it was because she'd played on the third pair for the whole season or from coming from a relatively tiny hockey nation in Ireland. The first round of the draft came and went with my sister still on the board. The Calgary Dragons, who had been one of the few teams to talk to Caitlin, had three picks in the first, using them to pick up two defenders and a centre.
The second round, like the first, went all the way through without any team picking up Caitlin. She needed to keep her phone free in case a call came in from an interested SHL club, but I did text with her throughout the evening, providing a voice of comfort from half a world away. With the third round coming up, the Calgary Dragons stepped back up to the podium with the 50th overall pick, and after hours of waiting it was finally over. Caitlin would be joining a great prospect pool, and now I could stop worrying about her and get back to focusing on my own draft stock. Getting to play on the same continent as her would be wonderful, but with the SSL being such a global league there was really no telling what would happen.
For tonight, though, I had something different to focus on: the SHL draft, where my older sister Caitlin would find out where the next step on her professional journey would take her. She'd had a solid rookie year for the Quebec City Citadelles after falling to the 26th overall pick, but next up was to prove herself to the big leagues. Caitlin had confided in me that not many teams had been in contact with her, and she wondered if it was because she'd played on the third pair for the whole season or from coming from a relatively tiny hockey nation in Ireland. The first round of the draft came and went with my sister still on the board. The Calgary Dragons, who had been one of the few teams to talk to Caitlin, had three picks in the first, using them to pick up two defenders and a centre.
The second round, like the first, went all the way through without any team picking up Caitlin. She needed to keep her phone free in case a call came in from an interested SHL club, but I did text with her throughout the evening, providing a voice of comfort from half a world away. With the third round coming up, the Calgary Dragons stepped back up to the podium with the 50th overall pick, and after hours of waiting it was finally over. Caitlin would be joining a great prospect pool, and now I could stop worrying about her and get back to focusing on my own draft stock. Getting to play on the same continent as her would be wonderful, but with the SSL being such a global league there was really no telling what would happen.
