She watched the rest of the skate with narrowed focus. The lines held. Caleb stayed separate.
Afterward, as players filed off the ice and the media gathered near the locker room entrance, Cassie waited until Coach ScottParker finished a brief exchange with the team’s broadcast crew. When he turned, she stepped forward.
“Coach,” she said, keeping her tone even. “I saw Zheng wasn’t taking line rushes today. Is there an update on him?”
Parker didn’t hesitate. That alone told her it wasn’t an injury.
“He missed a team meeting this morning,” Parker said. “That’s on him. We hold everyone to the same standard.”
Cassie nodded once. “Is he scratched tonight?”
“We’ll see,” Parker said. “But he’s accountable. That’s the message.”
Simple. Procedural. Parker moved on. Cassie wrote it down exactly as he said it, then headed into the locker room.
Caleb was already dressed when she spotted him, sitting at his stall, tape half-wrapped around his stick. He looked calm, if a little annoyed—more with himself than anyone else. When he saw her approach, he straightened.
“Hey,” he said.
“Got a minute?” Cassie asked.
“Yeah,” he said immediately. “I figured you’d come over.”
She appreciated that. “Coach said you missed a meeting.”
Caleb nodded. “I did.”
She waited.
“My phone didn’t go off,” he said. “I was at the rink early, thought I had more time. That’s not an excuse. It’s my responsibility to be there when I’m supposed to be there.”
Cassie tilted her head slightly. “You want to explain further, or leave it at that?”
He considered it. “You can say I was late because I messed up. That’s the truth.” He paused. “If you want context, you can add that I had a family call this morning and lost track of time. But I’m not asking for a pass.”
She studied him for a moment, gauging not just the words but the intent behind them.
“Okay,” she said. “Anything else you want people to know?”
Caleb shook his head. “Just that it won’t happen again.”
“Thanks,” Cassie said. “I appreciate you owning it.”
He gave a small, rueful smile. “Comes with the job.”
Cassie filed the story before lunch.
It was clean. Short. Factual.
Caleb Zheng was held out of line rushes at morning skate after missing a team meeting, head coach Scott Parker confirmed Tuesday. Parker said the decision was disciplinary and not injury-related, adding that the team holds all players to the same standard.
She included Caleb’s quote verbatim. No editorializing. No speculation.
By midafternoon, her mentions started to fill.
At first, it was typical noise—fans debating discipline, arguing whether Parker was too strict, too old-school, wondering if the team could stand to lose the scoring depth for the game. Cassie skimmed while working on her next assignment.
Then the tone shifted.
