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TannerPitts · 04-08-2024, 09:01 PM

Bitter Sweet. It was the only way to describe the emotions that Tanner Pitts was experiencing as he stood on the ice watching his Colorado Raptors team celebrating the win, he couldn't help but worry that his time in Colorado was coming to an end. Without realizing it, Tanner had fallen into the back up goalie role. Pushed aside by a newer and younger version of himself. He had no issues with Herman Stahl, who was simply playing perfect hockey and had been doing so for most of the season. Or even with management, who had made the hard decision to bench the Junior goalie to make the playoff push. He was simply disappointed and worst of all felt extremely defeated. A team that he had tried to will too the playoff finals just a season ago, all before letting them down in the finals, seemed like they no longer needed him to find playoff success. He felt like an old toy that over time had lost its shine. To make things worse, he had had these thoughts all while staring at the shining cup being brought out onto the ice, even as he smiled and hoisted the cup above his sweatless head, the win was hard to stomach. This win had not felt like a true victory for Tanner and if his career ended today, there was no world where Tanner Pitts felt like his name would ring through the halls of the Raptors greats. As he had in fact not managed to create a legacy, his legacy. So even as he threw champagne over his teammates and celebrated his heart out, the small voice of worry kept speaking to him that he had inevitably become expendable.

In the days following the playoffs and subsequent cup run, the Raptors team parade and all the celebrations were kicked into high gear. With all the Raptors showing off their victory for their city and fans who had, without a doubt, earned this as much as they had. Tanner was quietly completing workouts on the side while the others rested as he had noticed a growing sense of unease. This was without a doubt the worst that Tanner had ever felt in his entire stint with the Colorado Raptors. The only normalcy he could muster was using the Raptors gym facilities and getting on the ice to practice his conditioning with a few coaches that were nice enough to volunteer their time. It was here that he got his first true hint that the voice he had been hearing in the back of his head may in fact have been whispering the truth. While finishing up a training session, Tanner found himself in a room that he had been in plenty of times. However, on this occasion the normally happy GM was grim and disheartening. While he had expected it, hearing that your team would not be protecting you in the upcoming expansion draft was painful to say the least. While attempting to maintain his composure, Tanner thanked the staff for warning him prior to the draft that he was going to be made available. Tanner hid his growing discomfort and found himself shying away from the team in an attempt to protect what he could only assume would be his final moments as a Raptor.

When Tanner had originally moved from Finland to start his SMJHL career, He had wanted to play his entire career with the Colorado Raptors. He had wanted to become one of the best Raptors goalies to ever grace the SMJHL. Sadly, it was not meant to be. With their pick in the mid rounds of the expansion draft, the Ottawa Highlanders selected Tanner Pitts, an experienced goalie from the Colorado Raptors.

As he packed his bags and prepared for his new home in Ottawa, his teammates were still in shock, they had not even been made aware of the situation prior to it coming out. They were shocked when Tanner and his other teammate found themselves new homes during the expansion draft. Some had even forgotten the draft was a thing as they did not concern themselves considering they were protected individuals. While Tanner was upset that he had become replaceable on the ice as the new net minding phenome Herman Stahl, it was nice to know he was not replaceable in the locker room.

The Ottawa Highlanders welcomed Tanner with open arms and were extremely excited to have him lead their team in net for the upcoming season. While he was upset to leave Colorado, Tanner was very excited for the chance to prove to the world that Colorado had made the wrong decision in leaving him unprotected. Many of the Colorado reporters and fans were extremely happy that the Colorado Raptors had managed to get rid of Tanner without having to dump his contract to another team. It was the easy choice for management, as Tanner had only one more year of eligibility remaining and was no longer the starting goaltender. Tanner had been reading up on the articles while he sat in the airport waiting for his flight to Ottawa and was extremely disappointed to see that the reporters and fans that had supported him fully the previous season had decided to somewhat turn against him. Tanner knew that this was just their way of coping with the fact that their draft pick had not panned out the way that they wanted, and had not remained a Colorado Raptor for his whole career. So he didn't take it too seriously when he read through the comments underneath his Raptors Thank You post on social media.

While he felt like he should be upset about the situation and how it ended up unfolding. He found himself feeling rather numb. He had known this moment would come. He was a final season goalie with experience who couldn't even start in net. Without realizing it he had found himself less attached to the Colorado Raptors this past season. Looking back at it, he regretted missing out on a lot of the locker room conversations and felt like he had missed his moment. Tanner was not willing to give up or give in, however, and looked forward to the opportunity of beating them in the upcoming year. There was no way that he would not try his best to prove the city wrong even though they didn't do anything wrong. While he understands that management had to make the tough decision to remove him from games in order to help out their team, he felt like he had not played so badly that he had not earned a single playoff start on the Raptors run for the cup. Without a doubt, this situation had soured his mood quite a bit. While it's easy to pretend like Tanner Pitts was cool, collected, and indifferent to the situation, it had hurt him deeply. After he had removed his things from the locker room and prepared to leave, he sat in his stall one last time as he wrote out over as he wrote his thank you letters for his fellow teammates. He didn't stop there however, and made sure to thank those that had supported him from the management team.

Before he knew it, he found himself tearing up. Was this how his career as a Raptor ended? As a backup goalie that watched his team power their way through to the finals and beyond? The past three years had been a large part of his life, some would say the most important growing period of his life. He was going to miss them, he realised, even though he was upset with how things had turned out. Even though he was upset with how he had been forced to sit and watch the action. It almost hurt more knowing that he really had nobody to be angry at. However, Tanner could let himself be enveloped by his feeling of inferiorty and wallow in self pity. He had a new team, that trusted in him to lead them out of the tunnel during their inaugural season. He would be battling to show that he belonged.

But Tanner had a new goal and could not dwell on the past. The Ottawa Highlanders were excited for the upcoming season and vowed to put up a fight. Tanner was going to make sure that he played his greatest hockey yet. Tanner’s greatest growth was achieved thanks to the dedicated team with the Colorado Raptors. Sadly his time there had come to an end. He was ready to move on and develop his skills as he prepared for his upcoming pro season after he completed his SMJHL stint. The Raptors would always hold a special place in his heart and he considered them like family. It was simply his time to move on. “I hope that I am remembered in Colorado half as fondly as I look back at my time there. If that is the case then I will know that my career had meaning. To all my fellow Raptors, !RaptorsGlory and may you never beat me on the ice”

[1526 words]

***NYR73*** · 04-08-2024, 10:10 PM

You put us on your back that S74 finals run, our first finals appearance in ~30 seasons. 6th all time in raptors wins. 1st all time in raptors playoff wins. Dude you are an absolute legend. As sad as I was to see you go I also know it’s such an amazing opportunity to be the starting goalie for Ottawa. I know you’re gonna kill it over there. Best of luck this season Smile