“I was, until I realized that I was pissed for the wrong reasons.” He caught the puck Jaime shoved back at him. Forehand, backhand, sent it. Met his captain’s gaze across the chipped Hammerheads logo at center ice. “It’s out of my control, now. I’m not scared anymore.”
Tag, you’re it.
Jaime’s blade cut a harder line through the ice as he turned to catch the puck. “You should be,” he muttered. “This is all there is.”
Nate didn’t rise to it. He let the puck drift, then scooped it up again. “Not for me,” he declared.
Jaime’s mouth tightened, the faintest crack in his composure. He’d built himself into this rink, and the captaincy. The arenaechoed with the ghosts of top-shelf shots he could no longer take. For him?This was it.
“Bryant’s hired some PR puck bunny,” Jaime said after a beat, voice dry as old tape. “Apparently ‘vibes’ are the issue.”
Nate huffed a soft laugh. “Maybe we don’t need rebranding. Maybe we need to believe we’re not done yet.”
Jaime shot him a look. “Belief doesn’t sell game seats,” he grunted. “We’re not fucking Disneyland.”
They fell into silence again, passing the puck between them with increasing speed, neither missing a beat. Jaime landed maybe one in five shots at the empty net, but the ones that hit were sharp and precise, wrist snapping with muscle memory before he rolled it out in a bid to keep the pain at bay. Nate watched him, seeing past the cynical captain to the guy who’d once been unstoppable and still hadn’t forgiven the world for taking that away.
“I hope you get re-signed,” Jaime said finally, almost offhand.
Nate didn’t smile. “I know.”
Jaime paused, transferring his stick to his other hand. “What if you don’t?”
Nate let the puck settle against his blade and looked out over the empty rink. The seats were empty, banners hanging like old socks along the rafters above them.
“I’ll be fine.” And he meant it.
Jaime studied him for a long moment, a complicated blend of pride, resentment, something dangerously close to envy flickering behind his gaze. Then he nodded once, firing off one lastslapshot with a crack that echoed through the arena like it proved a point.
Maybe it did. Just not the point Jaime intended.
They skated off the ice side by side without another word. Nate stepped back into the tunnel, feeling the strange, layered calm of it all settle into place. He loved this. He’d fight for it if he had to. But he wasn’t just made of ice and impact anymore. There was more than this rink waiting for him now.
@ZamDriverTony on X:
Not saying anything but Brick showed up to optional skate today and the boys actually looked like they wanted to be there. Haven’t seen that in this barn since 2018.
Hammerheads Forum:
Thread Title: Eriksson Back at Practice???
u/Section214SeasonTicket:
Was up in the cheap seats during drills (because that’s where they put us now ) and Brick looked… different. Less “I will murder you,” more “I will mentor you.”
Not sure how I feel about it.
u/CaptainsCorner:
If he can teach Moore how 2 keep his head up and NOT get concussed every week, I’ll build him a statue out front. We need Ws. Or at least just sum fkn vibes.
@NewHavenPuckGirl on TikTok:
Okay but why does McAllister look hotter the more miserable he gets???
It’s giving ‘retired prince forced into war council.’
This team is trash but I would follow that man into emotional ruin.
