Frank and His Obsession

As far back as Frank could remember, he wanted to become a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League. And he certainly did not want to play for just any team in the NHL. He wanted to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, his hometown team. His father was a big fan too, and had named his son after Frank Mahovilich, his number one hockey hero at the time.

Frank was one of the better players in the house league in the suburb of Toronto in which he lived. He was consistently one the of the highest goal scorers in the league. This was in part because he would practice for hours taking slapshots with tennis balls hitting the garage door of the family garage. His father had let him paint the shape of a net on that door with red paint. The neighbours could hear the sound of tennis ball on garage year round. When Frank graduated from high school and went to community college, he played for that team as well, but unfortunately for him, there were no NHL scouts that ever came to assess the players on the team.

After he graduated as a qualified electrician, he had to give up on his dream. He had married his college sweetheart that same year, and he was able to get himself a well-paying job with a local firm. Soon they couple had twins, both of them boys. For hockey reasons, Frank was glad that they were boys and not girls, although he did not say a word about that to his wife, although she still knew.

Once the twins turned four, he bought a hockey net, and the smallest hockey sticks that he could find. They learned to skate young, and the kids and dad would practice for hours on weekends, although they were not as much into playing as their dad was, even though he took them to a good number of Toronto Maple Leaf games. One of the twins, Frank junior was a particular disappointment to him when he said that he wanted to become a figure skater. His mother supported their son for a while, but dad did not speak a word about his feelings concerning that matter. Still, his son understood, and soon quit.

By the time the boys were in high school, they stopped playing league hockey altogether. Frank tried hard to change their minds, but eventually knew that he had to give up on their living his dream, his obsession. 

He had a nephew, the child of his sister, but he was interested in playing baseball, and did not have the slightest interest in hockey at all. He was a disappointment to him too. He never even once went to see him play, although the baseball diamond was a short walk away.

Frank Gains a Grandchild

Frank’s son Ralph got married at 22. He worked for his father in his electrician business, and got decently paid for doing so. He had long been fascinated by what his father did, and Frank taught him young.  It was not long before Ralph’s wife Susan became pregnant.

Once Frank heard about the pregnancy he hoped that they would have a boy whom he could get involved with hockey, and hopefully become a professional in the NHL, playing for the Leafs. But that was not to be. She was a girl, that they called Emma, named after Frank’s wife. He was disappointed yet again, but this time he did not express this disappointment to anyone, even though his wife suspected that was what he felt.

He liked being a grandfather, however, and the two of them became rather attached to one another, even though she wasn’t a boy. Then when he and his wife were baby sitting Emma Junior one Saturday night at their home, he was watching a Leafs’ game. Emma who was then three years old, was sitting on his lap as he watched and cheered his favourite team on. The game fascinated Emma, particularly how fast the players skated end to end on the ice. She asked her grandfather about the game.

He was happy to answer her questions, and felt great when little Emma asked him, “Grandfather, could you buy me some skates. I want to learn how to skate.” This gave him a warm feeling.

It was not long before the two of them would skate together at the local rink on Sundays, and she learned how to play hockey through an association that trained girls how to play even when they were only at the age of three. Frank sat in the stands when she was learning, and cheered her on. When she was old enough to play in a league he drove her to the arena, and never missed a game. She had learned quickly, and Frank could see that she could skate faster than anyone else on her team.

           It wasn’t long before she showed her many other hockey talents. She became the player with the highest number of goals on her team. This happened year after year.

Sharing the Big Game

It was the beginning of the playoffs. It was a home game for his favourite team in the league. The players in the blue sweaters signifying a Toronto team were a beautiful sight for this long term fan. In the warmup, they were skating fast, and making slapshots with both speed and accuracy. They looked to Frank like they were ready to win this game. But then he was biased. He was attending all of their home games that season.

           He looked for his favourite player, the one he would cheer more than all the others on the ice. There she was. He had been blown away when Emma had been drafted by the Toronto Sceptres, one of the six teams in the PMHL (the Professional Women’s Hockey League), like the Leafs had been in the NHL in his father’s day. Frank had to look up the meaning of the team’s name, as he had never heard or seen the word in the plural before. He eventually realized that it was a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch, signifying the power of the king. In this case it would be the power of the queens, with their hockey sticks being their royal scepters. His life long obsession had finally been realized by a member of his family. For him, it had been well worth the wait.