You are making your way towards the change rooms. You are thinking about how you can help assist the others in winning the championships. It doesn't take long for you to make it to the change rooms. You are the fourth person to arrive. You are beaten by Mitch Marner, Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Marchessault.

"Hello everyone," You greet them as you place your bag on the seat.

"Hey Avery," Jonathan is the first to greet you. The others soon follow suit. You are hit by a sudden good feeling about the game. You soon get your protective gear over your undershirt. You get lost in your thoughts on the challenge of keeping the puck out of the net. Hopefully your worry doesn't show.

"You know you don't have to worry just yet Avery," Jonathan remarks.

"I know it's just the first time I have started as the goalie in an international champion game," You respond. Thankfully it doesn't take you long to get your gear on despite the fact that there is a lot of it. The rest of the team soon arrives. There is an excited chatter because team Canada has gone through undefeated. You get the feeling that it is because of you and Marc. You also double check the straps holding your shin pads in place.

"What are you thinking about?" Duncan Keith asks. He offers you his hand so he can help you up. You use it to pull yourself up.

"How we have been undefeated this whole tournament," You explain. You carefully place your helmet over your head. You have decided that you are going to wear your team canada helmet in the next NHL season because you feel like it is a good luck charm. It doesn't take long for the rest of the team to get ready. The excited chatter dies down as the coach enters the dressing room. You get the feeling that the pre-game speech is going to be a little more passionate than the last few. He soon grabs everyone's attention.

"Ok everyone as you may know we are coming to this game as the undefeated team but we must not get complacent. Especially at the defensive side of things," The coach makes it short but sweet.

"Now Matt would you care to read the starting line?" He passes a piece of paper to Matt Duchene. He gets to work on rattling off the names. You are not surprised with the line up. You are still a little worried about blocking the shots from people like Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin.

"Hey Avery you will do fine," Marc says. It is a good thing that Marc knows exactly what is going to happen. It's a pity that the other goaltender on your NHL team isn't as friendly towards you. In fact you are going to miss playing with the others when the NHL resumes. It doesn't take long for the team to take the ice. You are getting ready to block some warm up shots from Jonathan, Mitch and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. At least you can get rid of your worries through the warm ups. Jonathan gets to work on the drill laid out before him. There is a loud crash as he sends the puck in your direction. You are easily able to grab it out of the air. Twenty minutes later the warm ups have finished and you are watching the face off. You can see the tense looks coming from Evgeni and Jonathan. You wince as Evgeni comes out successful. You brace for the shot that is about to come. It doesn't take long.

"Duncan make sure you are open," You call out as you catch the puck out of the air.

"I'm ready," He remarks. You roll the puck to him. After some back and forth between the defence, Duncan is able to pass the puck to Mitch.

"Come on pass to Jonathan," You utter. You know Mitch can score but in this case Jonathan has a better chance to get it past Andrei Vasilevskiy. Luckily Mitch realises that Jonathan has a better chance than him. You still can't get over how quick Jonathan can get the puck over the other goaltender's arm. The goal horn sounds. Well your job has just gotten a lot harder. It doesn't take long for Jonathan to come out successful this time. After fifteen minutes of slow play you are getting ready for a shot from Ovechkin. You can feel the audience's eyes fall on you.

"Come on Ovi," Your eyes are glued to the puck. Ovechkin shoots and you throw your whole body into saving the shot. The puck hits you in the ribs. Thank goodness that you have the protective gear. The only problem with that kind of shot is you have no control. Evgeni tries to score but this time you are able to catch the puck. You are glad that you have agility on your side.

"Avery I'm open," One of the defencemen calls out. You pass him the puck and he gets to work on getting it to Jonathan. It doesn't take the defence long but the end buzzer sounds. You are glad for the much needed break. You grab your water bottle and you have a massive gulp of water as you head to the bench.

"Avery you are doing a good job," Jonathan remarks as he joins the rest of the forwards on the bench.

"It's difficult though," You respond. Both Marc and Jonathan give you a thoughtful nod. You quickly polish off what is left of your water. You are now worried that the Russians are going to hammer you worse in the second period.

"You've got this Avery," Marc tries his best to comfort you. You are going to miss playing with him. It doesn't take long for the game to start up again. This time Matt has switched with Jonathan and he is getting ready for the face off. You hate how it is a little more tense. It doesn't take long for Matt to win the face off. It doesn't take long for one of the wings to score. Sadly Matt loses the next face off. You brace yourself for a shot from one of the KHL players. It doesn't take long for them to get past the defence. One of the KHL players tries to shoot but you block it with your face. At least it was a wrist shot. It doesn't take long for the game to hit a dead end. Both teams are playing well. Your thoughts are soon interrupted.

"Avery will you be able to pass back to me?" Duncan asks as he pulls the puck away from one of the Russian forwards.

"No guarantees but I will try," You respond. Duncan soon passes you the puck. You flick it back to him. Thankfully Duncan is able to clear the mess of players with your pass. It makes you feel good that you were able to help in some way. It doesn't take long for Duncan to get the puck back to Matt. After some back and forth between the forwards, Matt is able to score. Ten minutes later the period has come to an end. You are glad that team Canada is a head but you get the feeling that it might change. Your thoughts are interrupted.

"Avery would you say the Russians are favouring the left or the right wing?" Mitch asks. A good question.

"It depends on if Ovi's on or not," You reply. Again you are glad you can help. You grab your spare water bottle and you begin the process of drinking from it.

"Hey Avery, thanks for the assist," Duncan thanks you for some reason.

"Any time Duncan," You reply. You know you are happy to help anyone who asks. You quickly place your water bottle back where you found it. It doesn't take you long to get back to the goal net. You are approached by Andrei Vasilevskiy. It feels odd seeing one of your teammates in an opposing team.

"What can I do for you Andrei?" You are a little skeptical.

"I just came to compliment you before the last period," He responds. It is typical of Andrei to compliment you during games.

"You're not doing too bad yourself," You remark.

"Good luck," Andrei says as he skates back to his goal. Something tells you that might be the last time that Andrei compliments you because you were from the same team as him. It doesn't take long for the game to start up again. You get ready for a slap shot from Ovechkin. You try your best to reach it but you are a millisecond too slow. The goal horn sounds and you mutter in frustration. At least the others know you are not a perfect goaltender. Nineteen minutes later the game has come to an end. Thankfully Jonathan was able to score another goal and secure team Canada's victory. You carefully pull your helmet off.

"Congratulations everyone," Mitch announces as the captain.

"Thank you Mitch," Jonathan beats you to thanking him. It has been a week since the IIHF world championships and you are sitting at a café waiting for your agent. He said he had something important to tell you.

"I am sorry that I am late. I had some stuff to double check," He says as he takes the seat opposite to you.

"Don't worry about it Bobby," You reply.

"Can I take a guess as to what you want to tell me?" You ask. You get the feeling that you may have been traded.

"Go for it," Bobby replies. You can tell that he is going to be impressed at your guess.

"The only reason you would take me to a café this nice is because I have been traded. Would I be correct," You say.

"Yes. I would have told you sooner but you were busy winning the IIHF world championship," He responds. You can tell that he is a little bothered but you understand where he is coming from.

"Don't worry about it. I was busy and which team?" You ask as the waitress brings you some food.

"The Vegas Golden Knights," Bobby answers. You soon tuck into your sandwich. At least you will be reunited with Jonathan and Marc. A week later you are getting ready for the pre-season training. It feels weird being in the hallways of a new arena. You soon make it to the change rooms.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Marc whispers to Jonathan.

"It turns out that our new player is Avery," Jonathan remarks.

"Anyway, welcome to the Golden Knights," Marc says. It doesn't take much for you to get ready. At least you can get a fresh start on a new team. The good thing is you know the best players on the team. 

A/N I was thinking about doing a prequal that follows the team as the go though the IIHF world championship. Please comment if you think it's a good idea.