Epilogue

“Good morning, I am Kara Moss and we are here in Minneapolis Minnesota where the 2037 draft is set to begin in less than an hour and the excitement is building. This year’s draft is a tale of two brothers: Kane and Julian Toews. Not since 1999 have we seen twins at the NHL draft, and maybe not since the Suters in 80’s have we seen such a storied family appear in the draft, but that is what we will see here today at the 2039 National Hockey League Draft,” said a female sportscaster in a navy pant suit. The video feed cut to two young men sitting next to each other. Both with brown hair, searing jaws and distinguished cheekbones, one with searing green eyes, the other with dark brown. One was smiling happily, talking to another boy behind him, his hair long and tucked behind his ears, while the other sat like stone, checking his mobile device. His hair was short and meticulously done.
“They are known across the globe as the children of Elia and Jonathan Toews, but known across the NHL as elite prospects born into hockey royalty.”

The program switched to an interview taped earlier. A woman in her early 50’s, as beautiful as ever despite a softening of her face, and some crow’s feet starting in the corner of her eyes. She smiled looking at the man sitting beside her, gray haired and balding, carrying a little extra baggage in his mid section. Elia and Jonathan Toews appeared at the bottom of the screen.
“I think they may have learned to skate before learning to walk,” Elia said looking affectionately at her husband. Jonathan smiled back at her before turning to the camera.
“They could hold a stick by two, shoot a puck by three,” Jon added.
“They had to to keep up with the older kids,” Elia said.

Footage streamed of the young boys skating on a rink with several other kids..
“Patrick Kane’s son had a year on him, Patrick Sharp’s three. Colton Keith, Austin Carcillo, Carter Seabrook and Theo Hjalmarsson were like mini coaches at that point.” Jonny said laughing.
“We were like a big family, even after the trades and retirement. The boys grew up with a lot of so called uncles and cousins, and they all played hockey.” Elia continued.
“Patrick Kane’s son Patrick was a first round draft pick last year,” the narrator voiced over.

The interview cut to previously filmed footage of the boys.

“You are both considered top prospects expected to go in the first round. Do you consider each other rivals at all?” Kara asked.
“There’s really no competition between us. I’m obviously the better one.” Julian said arrogantly. Kane shook his head, smiling slightly.
“Just keep telling yourself that man.” he replied.
“Joking, joking. Seriously though we are brothers first, players second. We’ve got nothing but love for each other.”

“Kane, Julian, your father is considered one of the best captains in the history of the Blackhawks, possibly in hockey. And Kane, you were in fact named after Blackhawks’ great Patrick Kane. Did you ever feel pressured to continue the hockey legacy?”

“No, not at all. It wasn’t like that growing up. I knew my parents named me Kane out of love not in honor of Pat’s hockey abilities. Our families have always been in each other’s lives, so to me he’s more than just a hockey legend. He’s basically my uncle. I think there is a bit of a misconception about what it was like for us to grow up. It wasn’t this glamorous upbringing that people imagine. We went to public school in Chicago, Mom stayed home and grounded us for bad grades and made us clean our rooms and all that. We never had an idea that we deserved something special just because of our parents. Dad worked very hard in his playing career and he taught me that to get anything in life you had to work hard. So no, nobody ever had to pressure me, I just knew I wanted to be on the ice. And I knew I had to put the effort into it if that’s what I wanted.” Kane stated.
“Mum did pressure us to play goal though,” Julian added with a slightly british accent, laughing.
“Oh yeah, she did want a goalie. She’s got one though. The favorite.” Kane laughed.
“The favorite?” Kara asked.
“We like to joke that Lucca is her favorite because he does play goal.” Kane said.
“Actually Ari played a period in goal at her last game too,” Julian added.
Voice-over: “Lucca Toews, the adopted son of Elia and Jonathan has just finished his freshman year at University of North Dakota. Dashari, their adopted daughter will be a sophomore at Whitney Young in the fall.”

Cut back to Elia and Jonathan.

“No, we never wanted to steer them one way or the other. We gave them the opportunity to play a variety of sports, hockey, baseball, tennis, soccer. Kane was even into archery for a while. Julian played piano and guitar.” Elia said.
“El pressured them to stay active and she was very strict about their educations.” Jonny added.
“Yes, some how I was the strict one, I was not expecting that at all.” Elia said, grinning at Jon. He smiled back at her, laughing. “I wanted them both to finish college, and instead here we are.”
“Well Lucca has promised to finish his degree.” Jon pointed out.
“He is such a good son.” Elia said, sighing.

“Julian, you almost walked away from hockey, can you tell us about your decision to come back to the game?” Moss asked Julian.

“That was a difficult moment,” Elia said, back in their interview. “He had just finished his freshman year at Walter Payton. He scheduled a meeting in my office, had a presentation prepared and everything, and told me he wanted to transfer to Mill Hill boarding school in London. We never pressured the boys, but I think Julian always wanted to forge his own path. He wanted to define himself on his terms.”

Voice-over. “Julian Toews did spend three years in prep school in London where he stood out on the soccer field. He was even signed to a youth contract with British Premiere League team Arsenal. He played one year with them before accepting admission to Boston College where he focused once again on hockey.”

Julian looked pensive, considering the questions. “I enjoyed playing football and my time in England. It was a great experience that I wouldn’t change, but in the end...I had to admit that ice runs through my veins.”

The camera cut back to the live feed of the draft. The woman now stood with two hockey analysts, Anson Carter and Billy Jaffe.

“You can view the full footage of my interview with the Toews family at NHL.com. Anson, Billy, between the Toews brothers, who do you go for first?”
“You know, it’s a tough choice. On paper the obvious choice is Kane. He works hard, you can always count on him to make the smart play and he’s proven that time and time again. He’s played on team Canada for World Juniors multiple times. He is a solid player all around and a leader in the dressing room.” Jaffe said.
“On the other hand, you have Julian Toews. This kid is electric. He’s fast, he makes the kind of plays that wind up on highlight reels, he’s a game ender, always coming up with big goals at the right time. But he’s brash, and some say difficult to coach. He walked away from hockey for several years--” Anson was saying.
“--Yes, he did, and then he picked up a stick again and you would never have known!”
“The kid does not back down from an altercation, and takes some bad penalties.”
“I think Julian is a risk that could have a bigger payout at the end.” Anson went on.
“Why take the risk when Kane is a sure thing? If I’m picking first, I’m choosing Kane. I know what my team is getting.” Jaffe confirmed.

“Alright thank you for that insight. As you can see this is going to be an exciting draft today. I think we can all agree that regardless of who goes first today, the future of hockey is looking bright.”

Notes

THE END!

Thank you all for reading! It's a been a long journey writing this and I'm so happy you all stuck it out to the end. I've truly appreciated all your feedback along the way.