It felt so fucking good to be on the ice again. Sometimes he thought he was getting tired of this game, but being kept away from it for a week had made him realize how much he still loved it. Needed it.
“All right,” Coach yelled after he’d given everyone time to warm up. “Gather ’round.”
Everyone grouped around him at center ice, most taking a knee. Ilya stood at the back with Wyatt and Bood.
“What’s happening next week, Dykstra?” Coach asked.
Evan smiled. “Playoffs, Coach!”
“That’s right. Who here has been to the Stanley Cup playoffs before?”
An alarmingly small number of the guys raised their hands, including Ilya and Wyatt.
“To be honest,” Wyatt said, “I was mostlywatchingthe playoffs, in Toronto.”
Coach waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter that we don’t have the playoff experience that most teams have. Some people will say that experience is the most important thing, but I think it’sheart. I think it has more to do with working together than it does with following a few leaders. I believe in this group. These past few months we’ve shown everyone how well this team works together.”
There were stick taps and murmurs of agreement.
“Bood,” Coach said, “what was the attendance at our last home game?”
Bood grinned. “Full house, Coach.”
“Who was the player of the week last week?”
“Wyatt fucking Hayes,” said Dykstra.
“Because we’ve got the best goalie in the league,” Coach confirmed.
“Aw, thanks,” said Wyatt.
“We’re going to be playing Montreal in the first round, and that’s going to be tough, no question. They’re the defending champions, and the number one ranked team in the league at the moment.”
And,Ilya added in his head,everyone is going to be gossiping about the two captains, which is going to be a huge distraction.
“We’ve beaten them before, and we can do it again,” Coach said. “Roz, you’re back on the line with Bood and Barrett. Let’s get to work.”
The coaches worked them hard all practice, and the whole team was exhausted by the time they were allowed to return to the locker room.
As he was getting undressed, Ilya decided to clear the air. There’d be enough going on over the next few weeks without having an elephant in the room to deal with.
“I want to say something,” he announced.
The room was dead silent.
“You read the post, probably, about me and Shane.” He glanced around the room, and saw a few nods. “So. Yes. We are together.”
There was a long, weird silence, and the Bood broke it by saying, “Figures.”
Ilya raised his eyebrows at him and waited.
Bood smiled. “You stealing the fucking spotlight. Barrett comes out, announces his relationship with Harris, and then Roz says ‘hold my beer.’”
“Yeah, Ilya,” Troy said with a grin. “What the fuck?”
The room erupted with laughter, and Ilya’s heart swelled. He loved this team.
After more playful ribbing, everyone got back to the business of getting changed and showered. As Ilya was pulling on his sweatshirt, Wyatt approached him.
