In an exhibition hockey game against the Northland Aces
all-star squad, Mekkar was fortunate to play alongside one of his heroes. The
matchup this day was in his heroes’ hometown. Mekkar was part of a youth team
program there also. So, Mekkar was on the local side that had a mix of
professionals and a few younger athletes which included him. The Arctic Warrior
even stated, “Wow, I am playing with a superstar!”
Mekkar’s nervousness was evident when the game began. His
teammates saw that he was overwhelmed by the situation at first. Early in the
game, Mekkar gave the puck away on foolish turnovers. It happened not once, but
twice in a row and deep in his own zone. Those turnovers resulted in two quick
goals by the opposition and the netminders was not too happy with the young
defenseman.
The superstar tried to calm Mekkar down and told him, “Don’t
worry about it. You need to relax and we will get those back. Play your game in
the manner you usually do and everything will be fine. I have seen you perform
before and know what you can do. I will be there to back you up.”
On the bench in between shifts, one of the pro’s on his
squad told Mekkar, “You are not the second coming of Booby Orr. It would be
foolish for anyone to compare themselves with him. Mainly because nobody does
everything Orr can do. A player just needs to work hard to improve their
skills, especially their weaknesses, and try to everything well. Be your own
person! Don’t try to copy someone else.” Another pro seated next to Mekkar on
the pine chimed in, “If it wasn’t for all of Orr’s knee injuries, we would have
thought that he wasn’t human. You are still a kid; just learn from your
mistakes.”
Those were the magic words, because suddenly Mekkar found
his groove. His normal method to get rid of game environment jitters was to
bodycheck opponents and throw around his body. Sometimes, it also resulted in getting
hit by someone on the other team. It took awhile for Mekkar’s side to come back
and make up for his early mistakes. Yet, they did and were victorious with a
late goal in the third period by his hero.
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