For Her
This Is The End, But It's Also The Beginning
As his fourteenth season with the Stars (and sixteen seasons in the NHL overall) begins, Tyler decides it’s time to hang up his skates. He’s won everything he wanted- four Stanley Cups, two gold medals, and the Hart Trophy. There’s nothing left for him to win. And with Kylie going into high school now, Tyler doesn’t want to miss out on more of her life.
He’s always tried to be there for everything- softball and hockey games, choir concerts, parent/teacher conferences, even her first school dance. But now that she’s heading into high school, everything is even more important. He knows she’s going to have a lot more going on in her life, and is going to need him to physically be there more often.
His last regular season game in a Stars uniform, the organization honors him for his career. It’s emotional for everyone in the arena, because Tyler was a key factor in bringing the sport of hockey into the light in a city known for football and nothing more. After three Stanley Cup championships thanks in part to Tyler, Dallas could no longer ignore the Stars.
The only game more emotional than Tyler’s last regular season game is his last game ever. As he lifts the Cup over his head for the fifth and final time, Tyler can’t help but smile. Not because they won (though that’s certainly a factor), but because he’s genuinely content with his life now. He’s okay with retiring, even though he isn’t sure what he’s going to do with his life now.
The following season, Tyler is still with the Stars. But this time, he’s working with the management, rather than for them. Tyler’s new job as a prospect scout allows him the flexibility of staying with the NHL while also having the time to be home when he needs to be. It lets him attend every single hokey game in the winter, and every single softball game in the spring when Kylie makes the starting varsity team as a freshman.
It should surprise Tyler when the head coach from the University of Alabama contacts them, asking if Kylie is interested in playing in college. But, honestly, it doesn’t surprise him one bit. His baby girl is a superstar. She’s got all the best parts of him, his determination, his drive for excellence, and of course his natural athletic ability.
By the end of her sophomore year, she has six of the top twenty collegiate teams interested in her. At sixteen, she’s one of the top most scouted players in the country. Tyler is a little nervous about some of the schools looking at her (UCLA??? That’s so far away from him!). But she still has two more years to make her decision. And he trusts that she will make the right decision for both of them. And if he has to pay for flights home every once in a while, that’s okay with him. Plus... he’s got plenty of friends in different cities across North America who will be more than willing to look out for her if he asks them to.
The one thing Tyler isn’t really prepared for is Kylie’s first real interest in a boy. Sure, she’s had a couple crushes here and there. And she’s had “boyfriends” before. But that was before she was old enough to drive on her own. That was before he really had anything to worry about.
But then Kylie meets Viktor Hedberg, the Stars’s Swedish eighteen year old phenom prospect and first round draft pick.
Kylie and Viktor hit it off instantly, and Tyler doesn’t realize it until it’s too late. His little girl has fallen under the spell of an NHL player. A kid he helped choose to bring to the organization. And he seems to have fallen under her spell as well.
It’s not that Tyler doesn’t trust them. He does... individually. But, well... Tyler played in the league for sixteen years. He was a first round draft pick. An eighteen year old superstar. He knows that lifestyle, and he knows that there’s just no room for a serious girlfriend at that point in time.
He mentions this to Kylie one night over dinner and it sparks their first real fight. Kylie doesn’t think he trusts her. She says he’s being overprotective. Tyler just doesn’t want to see his little girl get hurt.
(“But dad, I’m not a little girl anymore!”)
Eventually, Tyler agrees to take a step back. As long as Kylie promises to be careful. He wants so badly to go behind her back and threaten the kid. But one phone call with Jamie and he realizes that it’s a horrible idea and will only cause more problems between him and his daughter.
So Kylie’s first real boyfriend is an NHLer. And there’s nothing Tyler can do about it but sit back and hope Viktor is a better man at eighteen than he was.
He’s always tried to be there for everything- softball and hockey games, choir concerts, parent/teacher conferences, even her first school dance. But now that she’s heading into high school, everything is even more important. He knows she’s going to have a lot more going on in her life, and is going to need him to physically be there more often.
His last regular season game in a Stars uniform, the organization honors him for his career. It’s emotional for everyone in the arena, because Tyler was a key factor in bringing the sport of hockey into the light in a city known for football and nothing more. After three Stanley Cup championships thanks in part to Tyler, Dallas could no longer ignore the Stars.
The only game more emotional than Tyler’s last regular season game is his last game ever. As he lifts the Cup over his head for the fifth and final time, Tyler can’t help but smile. Not because they won (though that’s certainly a factor), but because he’s genuinely content with his life now. He’s okay with retiring, even though he isn’t sure what he’s going to do with his life now.
The following season, Tyler is still with the Stars. But this time, he’s working with the management, rather than for them. Tyler’s new job as a prospect scout allows him the flexibility of staying with the NHL while also having the time to be home when he needs to be. It lets him attend every single hokey game in the winter, and every single softball game in the spring when Kylie makes the starting varsity team as a freshman.
It should surprise Tyler when the head coach from the University of Alabama contacts them, asking if Kylie is interested in playing in college. But, honestly, it doesn’t surprise him one bit. His baby girl is a superstar. She’s got all the best parts of him, his determination, his drive for excellence, and of course his natural athletic ability.
By the end of her sophomore year, she has six of the top twenty collegiate teams interested in her. At sixteen, she’s one of the top most scouted players in the country. Tyler is a little nervous about some of the schools looking at her (UCLA??? That’s so far away from him!). But she still has two more years to make her decision. And he trusts that she will make the right decision for both of them. And if he has to pay for flights home every once in a while, that’s okay with him. Plus... he’s got plenty of friends in different cities across North America who will be more than willing to look out for her if he asks them to.
The one thing Tyler isn’t really prepared for is Kylie’s first real interest in a boy. Sure, she’s had a couple crushes here and there. And she’s had “boyfriends” before. But that was before she was old enough to drive on her own. That was before he really had anything to worry about.
But then Kylie meets Viktor Hedberg, the Stars’s Swedish eighteen year old phenom prospect and first round draft pick.
Kylie and Viktor hit it off instantly, and Tyler doesn’t realize it until it’s too late. His little girl has fallen under the spell of an NHL player. A kid he helped choose to bring to the organization. And he seems to have fallen under her spell as well.
It’s not that Tyler doesn’t trust them. He does... individually. But, well... Tyler played in the league for sixteen years. He was a first round draft pick. An eighteen year old superstar. He knows that lifestyle, and he knows that there’s just no room for a serious girlfriend at that point in time.
He mentions this to Kylie one night over dinner and it sparks their first real fight. Kylie doesn’t think he trusts her. She says he’s being overprotective. Tyler just doesn’t want to see his little girl get hurt.
(“But dad, I’m not a little girl anymore!”)
Eventually, Tyler agrees to take a step back. As long as Kylie promises to be careful. He wants so badly to go behind her back and threaten the kid. But one phone call with Jamie and he realizes that it’s a horrible idea and will only cause more problems between him and his daughter.
So Kylie’s first real boyfriend is an NHLer. And there’s nothing Tyler can do about it but sit back and hope Viktor is a better man at eighteen than he was.
♠ ♠ ♠
Fair warning, I'm almost done with this. I'm not completely sure how many more chapters I'm going to do, but it'll be done soon.