I handed my suitcases to one of the equipment managers, and climbed the spiral staircase into the Los Angeles Kings private bus that was waiting to take us to the Xcel Energy Center.

"Welcome!" The driver greeted me at the top of the stairs.

I returned his smile, and headed down the aisle to find my seat.

I found my seat and slipped into it. Above the seats, were sleeping compartments, that folded out so you could close yourself in, or leave it open. There were also bigger sleeping compartments that were overtop of the aisles, poking out the roof, and had windows that you could see out of. Only lucky players got one of those, but if you got one, you had it for ever!

I looked at the labels, and found my name! I had one of the big compartments too!

The bus was amazing. It had everything you could ever need, and in addition to having the bus, we had a series of trailers that were pulled along behind us.

I headed to the back of the bus, where there were lockers for the players to put stuff in. I grinned. This was going to be a fun season.

I looked over the schedule as the bus was filling up and being loaded with equipment. We were playing on the 3rd in Minnesota, and leaving on the bus after that game, on an 8 hour drive to Winnipeg for the game on the 4th. After that, we would stay in a hotel for the night of the 4th, and fly back to LA on the 5th, where we would get a break for a day.

I grinned, and kicked off my dress shoes, stowing them under the seat in front of me. Then, I hopped into my small sleeping compartment, and lay down on the cushy mattress that was waiting for me. I pushed the blankets to the side, and pulled the door shut. I was asleep within seconds.