Living Proof

PJ has always loved his adopted parents. Finding his birth-parents never interested him. But with the recent injury and championship loss, PJ develops a renewed interest to become a professional player - his only measure of success in life. He also wants to find his birth parents. He wants to tell them they made a mistake in giving him up for adoption. The problem is he has no idea who his birth parents are, and his caring and loving adopted father, William, appears hurt, angry over PJ’s sudden interest in his bloodlines. Still, PJ begins his investigation during a crucial season where his team hires Petzinger as the new coach and Malecki as the new captain of the team.

PJ soon finds himself competing with his nemeses, Malecki. PJ is relegated to second line. His insecurities mount, further increasing his desire to know why his blood parents didn’t want him. He begins to write his story secretly and shares his memoirs with his fiancée. She’s a teacher and will travel to France for several months. When she returns she wants PJ to make a commitment of marriage, an act he’s not willing to do until they are financially settled. More pressures on PJ.

While PJ and Malecki battle for the scoring championship, he finds out whom his blood mother is – a callous person who wants to be left alone. His birth father, a Canadian Hall-Of-Fame hockey player, never knew he had a son. Afraid of rejection, PJ does not confront him. Instead, he becomes more committed than ever to play hockey and become an NHL player.

The critical championship series comes and goes. PJ is the series hero, but the Penguins cut him anyway for medical reasons. Too many concussions. Too many hospital bills. Too old, perhaps. We end the story where we began – at the Opus Award Ceremony. William found a copy of PJ’s memoirs and secretly entered it into the contest. It won and as PJ talks at the podium about his story, Fred Harrnington, his birth-father walks in – an arrangement William made on the sly.

As we listen to PJ’s Voice Over from the award ceremony, we visually jump several years in the future. We watch through a video camera and we see PJ and his adopted son skating on a pond. PJ admits his unfocused goals of the past were based on superficial wants and desires, and he explains his realization of who and what he has become is a reflection of the love and hard work of his adopted parents. And he is one of the luckiest men alive to be loved by a woman like Lauren who skates into the frame and offers a kiss and a hug. As PJ talks about the new life and relationships, Fred and William pan into view. They frolic on the ice with hockey sticks and a puck … a little awkward from age, perhaps, but genuinely having fun. At last, PJ finds peace.