#Moscow on the Hudson | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miracleonice87 · 9 months

Text

something in the way she moves

with Jack Hughes

for the summer fic exchange 2k23

a/n: I’ve been in my Taylor Swift and Jack Hughes era all summer, so what better way to write my exchange fic for @wyattjohnston than to combine those two subjects into one project for her? this one was originally inspired by “Question…?” and ended up tying together several Taylor songs all at once – check out the companion playlist for all of those and more songs that inspired the fic! also, shoutout to Brady and Emma’s wedding for providing the perfect backdrop for this story after I stalled out with ideas for the perfect present-day setting. lots of special guests appear in this one! finally, some people might hate the flashback format with all the jumping around, but I’ve been watching a lot of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” so you can thank the show for that! hope everyone enjoys… but especially @wyattjohnston. this one’s for you, my friend! endless thanks to you for putting on this wonderful exchange for us all, and for inviting me to be part of it. (and thanks to the lovely @laurenairay for the assist!)

tropes: whirlwind romance, exes to lovers, fluff, angst

warnings: swearing, alcohol, mention of breakup, arguing / conflict, sexual references but nothing graphic or detailed, quinn and luke and brady and matthew being pests, miles wood being a drunken hooligan lolol

word count: ~8,500+ (hey who knew I still knew how to write long fic)

_____

July 21, 2023 – present day – Brady and Emma Tkachuk’s wedding – Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey…

“Can I ask you a question?”

Jack tucked his chin to his chest, busying himself with studying the pattern of the brick patio beneath his smart white sneakers. Whatever question Francesca had in mind, he was absolutely sure he was unprepared for it. But he nodded anyway.

Fran stared at his profile as he shuffled his feet beneath him, but as he lifted his head to look at her, she looked away, unable to meet his eyes as she forged ahead. Her gaze settled across the horizon instead, the moonlight casting a glow across the rolling green hills of Natirar.

She sighed, then bit the bullet. “Does it feel like everything’s just like… second best now?” she inquired listlessly.

Jack chuckled sadly, fiddling nervously with the neck of his amber beer bottle. Anybody who knew Jack knew he was never nervous. Except for where Fran was involved. She was the only person who had ever been able to do anything remotely resembling rattling him.

“What, after that meteor strike?” he asked sarcastically.

That’s what it felt like, at least – that night two years ago, when his team was out celebrating the end of their abysmal season before separating for the summer, the very same night her roommates had dragged her kicking and screaming from Fordham’s campus, across the Hudson, to see some indie band for one last hurrah before they went their own respective ways until fall semester, and Jack and Fran found themselves in the same crowded Hoboken bar. It felt like a meteor had crashed directly in his path that May night and blown up his entire life as he had known it.

He nodded wearily before answering his now ex-girlfriend’s, as well as his own rhetorical, question.

“Yeah, Fran. Yeah… it definitely does.”

Because second best was all that anything could have ever been, following the sensational rise and the staggering fall of Jack Hughes and Francesca DeLuca.

He’d never forget the very moment he first laid eyes on her…

___

May 1, 2021 – two years earlier…

From Jack’s perch at the bar next to Nico, nursing a Moscow mule, the girl in the pale yellow halter dress was impossible to miss.

He’d never believed in love at first sight, but as he surveyed the way that dress hugged her curves as she danced with her girlfriends, belting out the lyrics to “Peaches” to Justin Bieber, he thought for the first time that he might be completely wrong about that notion. He watched her hips sway enticingly, her olive-toned skin glowing beneath the bright multicolored lights, dark curls bouncing along with her every step.

Before he knew it, his feet were taking steps of their own, ditching Nico mid-sentence as the young captain stood dumbfounded, arms flung out to his sides in annoyance as Jack sauntered away. As he watched Jack approach a circle of dancing young women, he zeroed in on the one in the yellow dress right away, knowing immediately that she was the reason for the abrupt end to his conversation with his teammate. As he saw Jack approach her, Nico could only smile and roll his eyes as he wandered off to find the rest of the Devils crew, assuming they’d lost #86 to the girl in the yellow dress for the rest of the evening.

Meanwhile, for once, Jack didn’t have a plan, no course of action – didn’t have a pick-up line prepared, didn’t have anything clever in mind to say when he reached the girl in the yellow dress. When he finally did, she had her back to him, and it was only thanks to her perceptive friend, who pressed her lips into a straight line and tapped the woman on the shoulder, pointing to where he stood, that she even turned around and noticed Jack over her shoulder.

And when she finally did lay eyes on him… well, she was as sunk as he was.

Nothing was said between the two for a few moments, only bashful smiles exchanged. The girl took a few steps toward him, and he eventually found the wherewithal to open his mouth, praying that whatever was about to tumble from his lips wouldn’t make him look like a complete idiot.

“Hi… I like your dress.”

Okay, could’ve been better, could’ve been worse.

The girl’s lips spread into a grin, one that made Jack’s stomach flip over itself.

“Thanks,” she said, glancing down to what she was wearing as if she herself had forgotten. Then her eyes scanned his outfit. “I, uh, I like yours, too.”

A giggle escaped Jack before he could stop it, and instead of making things awkward, it seemed to endear the girl to him further.

“Thanks,” he muttered. And then no other words came to mind.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, he berated himself. Say something else, you jackass.

Thankfully, the girl saved them both from complete and total disaster and rescued Jack from himself.

“I’m Francesca,” she said, raising her voice above the thumping music which seemed to get louder with every passing moment. “But everyone calls me Fran.”

Jack extended a hand for a gentlemanly shake, making Fran smile as she grasped it in hers.

“It’s nice to meet you, Fran,” he said, ducking his head close to her ear so that he, too, could be heard above the music… and maybe because it provided the perfect opportunity to be closer to her. “I’m Jack. And everyone calls me Jack.”

That earned a full-on chuckle from Fran which warmed Jack from the inside out. He watched her, grinning from ear to ear, amused by her amusement and encouraged by the fact that him introducing himself hadn’t seemed to spark any instances of the often inescapable “don’t I know you from somewhere?” or “you look so familiar” or, worse, “you play hockey, right?” He could be jinxing it, or she could just have a really impressive poker face, but it seemed that Fran truly had no earthly idea what he did for a living… and that delighted him to no end.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Jack,” she replied, still allowing her hand to be enveloped by his. “Are you from around here?”

Jackpot.

He fidgeted with the cocktail glass in his hand, making the melting ice cubes clink against the side. “Ah, kind of a long story,” he admitted truthfully with a smirk.

She glanced at her wrist as if checking her watch, though there was no timepiece to be seen.

“Well, I’ve got time,” she retorted playfully. “Can I buy you a drink?”

Jack shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not, but I’ll buy you one and tell you all about it,” he said, nodding in the direction of the bar. “After you.”

Fran eagerly took the lead, heading straight for the bar as he followed close behind. Once they reached the counter, she rested her elbows on its edge and waited patiently for the bartender to take the orders of the other patrons who had been waiting far longer than the two of them.

But as Jack sidled up to her, resting one arm dangerously, though comfortably, close to hers against the cool aluminum bartop, his chest pressed just close enough to her back to be noteworthy but not overbearing, she noticed that the bartender’s eyes flickered toward him immediately, an immediate smile crossing the woman’s face. Francesca was even more confused, and admittedly disheartened, when the bartender ditched the entire far side of the bar in favor of beelining it toward Jack.

“What can I get you, sweet cheeks?” the bartender said in a syrupy cadence, leaning over the counter as if to make sure Jack noticed her sizable chest on display in her black sports bra.

Blegh, Fran thought. Maybe this guy isn’t such a good idea…

Unfazed, he asked, “Hey, can I please get another vodka cran and then…” Jack motioned to Fran.

“Uh, Bud Light, please?” she ordered, repeating the same go-to drink she’d already had half a dozen of.

Jack pursed his lips to attempt to avoid a full-blown grin. He couldn’t help but love a girl who loved her beer.

The bartender nodded, knocking on the counter and turning toward the taps.

Fran tried to put the awkward encounter with the bartender to the back of her mind for the moment and turned 90 degrees so that she could face Jack more easily.

“So, you are or you aren’t from around here?” she asked, returning to the question that had led the two of them here originally.

Jack smiled, weighing his options. This question was always a complicated one to answer… but something about explaining it to Fran put him oddly at ease.

“So we, uh, we moved around a bit because my dad was a hockey player before he had kids, and then a coach for years while I was growing up,” he began.

“Oh, nice! I don’t know much about hockey,” she told him, shaking her head. “Big on playing sports but never big on watching them.”

Oh, my god, he thought to himself as he nodded, trying to seem casual. It’s like this girl was built in a lab just for me.

However, he didn’t know whether this next part would seem better or worse to a girl who wasn’t a sports fan. But it was his reality, so he decided to lay it bare.

“Gotcha, um… so, I… also play hockey.”

Francesca’s eyebrows shot up.

“Wow… really?”

Jack nodded again, then cleared his throat.

“Yeah, uh, that’s actually why I’m here tonight,” he explained. “All my teammates are here. Our season just ended and everybody’s about to separate for the summer, so we came out for one last night together for a while.”

It was Fran’s turn to nod as the bartender approached, and Jack thanked her and pushed a large bill across the counter. Fran busied herself with running her finger along the rim of her glass, pretending like she didn’t notice the generous denomination. Jack leaned an elbow against the counter to face her, in hopes of continuing the conversation.

“So… wait, you play for, what, the Rangers? Islanders?” she asked, pulling the names of the teams she vaguely recalled from the cobwebbed recesses of her brain.

Jack smacked a hand to his chest dramatically as if he’d just been shot.

“God, Fran,” he hissed, “you really know how to wound me.”

“What?!” she asked, sputtering with laughter. “I dunno! Are those the wrong team names?!”

Jack shook his head, entertained. “No, no,” he assured. “You were right – those are NHL teams, but I play for the Devils. They play just over in Newark.”

“Oh… right,” Fran said softly, biting her lip and tucking her chin to her chest, praying she somehow didn’t look as stupid as she felt.

Jack lowered his head to try and meet her eyes, squeezing her elbow gently. The simple touch alone sent a bolt of electricity through her being.

“Hey, don’t be embarrassed,” he said with an easy chuckle. “Trust me, it’s way better having to explain all this to you than having you come up and recite it all to me like some creepy walking encyclopedia.”

Francesca forced a tight smile, but still stared at her shoes. In a gutsy move, he reached his thumb and forefinger to grasp her chin and gently tilt her head upward.

“C’mon, lemme see that pretty face,” he said in a gravelly tone, one that made her spine shiver.

Just as she found herself leaning into his touch, she saw a tall, dark-haired, broad-shouldered man approaching Jack from behind, unsteady on his feet. She assumed that this was one of his teammates, as the taller man went to sling a noodly arm around Jack’s shoulders.

“Uh, look out-” Fran warned… but it was too late.

The man’s hand flung Jack’s glass clean out of his grip, sending its red liquid contents splashing all over Fran’s chest and stomach before hitting the floor, thankfully hitting a sopping wet rug beneath the bar, which was the only thing that kept it from shattering into a million pieces.

They both gasped in the process, and Jack instinctively grabbed her by the forearm.

“Oh, my god! Omigod, fuck, Fran, I-I’m so sorry,” he lamented. “Woody! Fuck!” he yelled to the drunken man who apologized apathetically, then disappeared into the crowd.

Fran blinked quickly, her mouth in a tight “o” as she set aside her beer. As a wincing Jack stupidly patted her torso with the flimsy cocktail napkin that had been handed to him with his drink, he took in her expression and felt sick to his stomach.

Well, there you have it, he thought to himself. No way she’s ever gonna see me again after this…

What he hadn’t accounted for, though, was that after the initial shock of wearing the cold drink faded, Fran would throw her head back in uproarious laughter, eyes screwed up tight in hilarity.

Jack let one nervous snicker escape him, and then another, and then another… and by the time thirty seconds had passed, the two of them were breathless in fits of giggles, Jack keeping a firm hand on the crook of Fran’s arm.

“Are you okay?” he managed to utter as they finally began to settle down.

She nodded, wiping tears of hysteria away with her wrist.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she promised, splaying a hand on her chest as she glanced down at the maroon stain on her yellow dress. “I’m just dying because this is my roommate’s dress and she made me swear not to spill anything on it,” she admitted, erupting with laughter all over again. “So much for that.”

Jack’s eyes glittered as he watched her chuckle. “Well, the blame lies squarely on me, so I’ll apologize to her for that one,” he told her, beaming. He cleared his throat before venturing forward. “Hey, my place isn’t far and I think I’ve got some club soda in the fridge… whad’ya say we-”

Before he could finish his thought, Fran picked up where Jack had left off before the drink had been spilled, pressing a hand assertively to his cheek and leaning forward to plant a firm kiss to his lips. Neither of them knew how much time had passed before she eventually pulled away, biting her bottom lip coyly.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, smoothing the back of his finger across her cheekbone. He watched a Cheshire grin spread across her now-swollen lips, and she offered an enthusiastic nod.

He trailed his fingertips down her bare arm, sending chills across her skin despite the heat and humidity of the bar, before he reached for her hand.

“Then let’s go.”

After a short cab ride brimming with stolen glances and squeezes of hands, the two were practically sprinting through his front door, Jack not bothering to even turn on the lights in favor of keeping his hands securely on Fran’s lower back, holding her desperately close as his lips danced across hers with simultaneous ease and desire.

Eventually, he carefully backed her into his kitchen and hoisted her onto the counter, feeling her quiver when the cool marble hit the backs of her thighs.

He smiled against her lips and said roughly, “I gotta get you that club soda.”

She shook her head without breaking away from his kiss.

“It can wait,” she whispered insistently. “Just get me outta this dress.”

Jack smirked, his fingers immediately following orders as they searched for the zipper in the middle of her back.

“Whatever you want, baby,” he retorted, finally pulling the zipper down, allowing him to tug the dress over her head. He offered it to her, one last chance to take care of the task they came here under the guise of doing – removing the maroon stain from the gauzy garment. Instead, she tossed it aside, watching as it floated to the tile floor before grasping Jack’s shoulders purposefully, leaning in to speak against the delicate skin of his ear.

“I want you,” she admitted, nipping at his earlobe.

And after he carried her to his bedroom, she had him, had her fill of him – just the way they both wanted, their union the perfect balance between urgent and reverent, as if they both already knew that whatever this was between the two of them was something meant to be cherished.

More than an hour later, after making the mutual decision that it was time for a snack and a little something else to drink in order to replenish their strength, Jack left her alone with her thoughts in the quiet of his bedroom as he made his way back to the kitchen, donning only a pair of sweats, smiling when he picked up the now-rumpled yellow dress and placed it in his spacious farmhouse-style sink. He secured the drain stopper and retrieved the club soda from the refrigerator, still smirking to himself as he poured the stain-fighting liquid over the fabric to ensure it was completely immersed.

As he turned back to the fridge on the hunt for a satisfactory snack, Jack saw Fran emerge from his bedroom wearing nothing but one of his white dress shirts and a clean pair of his boxers.

She grimaced, and he sensed her unease even from a few yards away.

“I’m sorry, I just kinda put on the first things I found in your closet,” she said, one eye squeezed shut as if it pained her to make the admission. “I hope that’s okay. I swear I don’t make it a habit to put on a guy’s clothes like I own the place, but I, uh… didn’t exactly have a dress to put back on,” she pointed out.

Still distracted by the sight of her in his clothes, he shook his head rapidly.

“No, no, of course… I’m taking care of that as we speak,” he assured, nodding his head in the direction of the sink. “And you can wear whatever you want of mine – I should’ve laid something out for you, but… this is perfect.” He took a few slow steps toward her, his hands coming to rest on her hips. “You look amazing,” he said, his voice deep once again.

Francesca bloomed under his praise, preened beneath his touch as he reached out to stroke her cheek, his thumb coming to rest on her plush lips.

“Thank you,” she whispered, pursing her lips to kiss the pad of his thumb.

It took every ounce of gentlemanly will in Jack not to throw her over his shoulder and haul her back into the bedroom again. Instead, he forced himself to take a step back and motion toward the adjacent living room.

“Go on and make yourself comfortable,” he urged as she glanced toward the expansive space. “I’ll grab us a couple things and be right over.”

Fran nodded and obliged, entering the inviting area and finding herself immediately drawn to the vintage Victrola on a shelf on the far side of the room.

Meanwhile, after coming up empty in the liquor cabinet and noticing that the refrigerator was fresh out of beer, Jack opened a crummy bottle of wine he was certain Ty had bought once for a date but had never been touched. He poured two glasses and set them on a sturdy wooden tray, then scrounged through the cupboards to find some crackers that weren’t stale to go along with the Gouda and sopressata he’d found in the fridge. Pleased that he accomplished his mission, he arranged all of the items on the tray and carried it into the living room. As he set it on the coffee table, he found Fran admiring the shelves displaying his substantial collection of vinyls. Upon hearing him approach, a glass of wine for her in hand, Fran turned his way.

“You have quite the record collection there, Mr. Tough Guy Hockey Jock,” she teased, brows raised as she gratefully accepted the glass. “And not just the trendy new stuff, the good stuff – Sinatra, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Bowie, Pink Floyd. I’m impressed.”

Jack smirked. “Thanks – to be fair, I inherited a bunch of them from my parents and grandparents. They’d move and they’d always threaten to sell these on eBay but I wouldn’t let ‘em,” he explained. “Go ahead, put one on – anything.”

His request was easier said than done, and as he turned away to close the blinds throughout the room, chomping on cheese and crackers, she faced the impossible task of choosing one, eventually settling on James Taylor’s “Something in the Way She Moves.”

He smiled when he heard the first strains, and her eyes met his when she turned away from the record player after setting the needle.

“Great choice,” he praised, the two of them crossing the room toward one another as if at the mercy of some magnetic force.

“One of my mom’s favorites,” she explained, fingers toying with the hem of the dress shirt as the folksy melody swirled throughout the room.

There's something in the way she moves Or looks my way, or calls my name That seems to leave this troubled world behind…

When they were no more than a foot apart, Jack opened his palm and held it out toward her.

“Dance with me,” he less invited, more demanded, not that Fran minded. She instantly slipped her fingers into his and took a step nearer so that their chests were pressed impossibly close.

She in his shirt and boxers, he in a pair of sweats, neither of them in shoes, they twirled around his living room as if attending a royal ball, until an unmistakable scratch signaled the end of the record… but by then, Jack and Fran were already locked in each others’ embrace again, the only sounds in the room the panting breaths escaping their lips between fiery kisses.

They never did make it back to the bedroom that night, didn’t even ever find sleep where they stayed curled up together in the living room, talking and laughing through the wee hours. Instead, when the sun rose, their only hint that morning had already come, they were sitting on the hardwood floor, laughing with her feet in his lap like he was her closest friend and not some random boy she’d met at a bar mere hours before.

“How’d we end up on the floor anyway?” Jack said, rubbing at a kink in his neck as one hand stayed fixed on her ankles.

Fran lifted the empty bottle of wine next to where she lay, and his eyes reluctantly traveled away from her face and toward her hands.

“Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw-top rose, that’s how,” she retorted, reminding him of the bottle they’d shared after all the drinks they’d already indulged in at the bar.

“Mmm…” he hummed with lifted brows, both of them chuckling at the culprit as she set it back down on the hardwood. “So… coffee?” he inquired, desperate for this night – or, well, now morning – not to end. Desperate for Fran to stay here, with him, and never leave.

To his delight, she cocked her head against the throw pillow and offered him the warmest smile he’d ever seen.

“I’d love some,” she answered simply, realizing she’d be content to never see the outside world, anything beyond the walls of this Hoboken house, again.

They saw each other every day for the next year and a half after that, and starting with that very first one, Jack had painted all Fran’s nights a color she had searched for since.

And still, to this day, she couldn’t remember who she was before him.

___

July 21, 2023 – present day…

“This day,” that is, being Brady and Emma Tkachuk’s wedding day. Which after the breakup, Fran had never anticipated being present for.

But then came the phone call in the dead of winter, just weeks after she’d ended it with Jack. She was still reeling, trying to push through the pain while focusing on excelling in her last semester of undergrad, but anyone who knew her could see that she was struggling, including mutual friends of hers and Jack’s. Which soon made its way back to Emma via Brady.

And when Fran saw Emma’s name on her screen that day as she studied for an exam, she smiled. She hadn’t talked to Emma since before the split, and despite knowing it was more than likely going to be a covert check-up call, Fran was happy to hear from the girl she’d become so close to in the last two years.

___

February 18, 2023 – five months ago…

Fran tapped the “answer” button and lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hi, Em,” she said warmly.

“Hi! I miss you! Brady’s here, too,” Emma explained.

“Franny D!” he called over the speakerphone.

“Hey, B! I miss you guys, too,” she said sadly. “How are you guys?”

“We’re good!” Emma answered. “Neck-deep in wedding planning. I know it’s gonna be fun but it’s honestly kinda brutal.”

“Brutal, Franny,” Brady echoed dramatically. “It’s torture.”

Fran chuckled. “What, B, not enjoying picking out linen colors? Did you go with eggshell or warm white?”

“Couldn’t tell ya, Franny,” he replied. “If I had it my way, none of the tables would be covered and everybody’d just be playing beer pong on ‘em.”

Fran swore she could hear Emma’s eye roll. “You’re such a dude,” Fran complained.

“He’s not kidding about making that suggestion, either,” Emma said, feigning (or maybe not) weariness. “But, um, that’s not why we’re calling. First of all, we, uh… we just wanted to see how you were.”

Fran swallowed, staring out the window of her apartment, watching the snow swirl among the towering skyscrapers and across bustling streets. She’d been having trouble answering that question at all, let alone honestly. She reached to rub her palm up and down the length of her shin, suddenly feeling cold.

“I’m, um… I mean, I’ve been better, that’s for sure,” she told them. “I just… I really never thought this would happen, to be totally honest.” Her voice was quieter now, the familiar lump in her throat quivering.

Emma made a sound of understanding.

“Us either, Franny,” Brady gently concurred. “And I know you don’t wanna hear this right now, but I know Jacky didn’t think so either.”

Fran sighed, dropping her chin to her chest as her eyes fell to the azure crewneck with the maize Michigan logo emblazoned on the front, which Jack had left behind once after a trip to visit Luke. She had never returned it, and he eventually noticed it in the background of a FaceTime call while he was on a road trip and told her to keep it because he was certain it looked better on her anyway. And now it hurt to look at it, and it hurt to wear it, and it hurt to not wear it, so she went with wearing it, because even though she’d been the only one to don it for a year, she swore it still smelled like him. Unconsciously, she closed her eyes and breathed deep.

“I know,” she said softly.

“We didn’t wanna make you sad, Fran, but the other reason we were calling is just to say that we’d really like to invite you to the wedding in July-”

Brady interrupted his fiancee. “No, we are inviting you to the wedding, no question,” he said firmly. “But we just want you to know that it’s completely up to you whether you wanna come.”

“Yes,” Emma jumped in again. “We would absolutely love to have you there, because you mean so much to both of us, but we totally get it if it’s too much. Quinn’s in the wedding and we’re inviting their whole family, so… obviously Jack will be there.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she cleared her throat. “Y-yeah, of course, as he should be,” Fran managed. “I really appreciate the invitation, you guys. Seriously, it means so much to me. I’ll check the dates on my calendar, but I’d really love to come-”

Before she could even finish her thought, she heard a loud clap and a “FUCK YEAH!” from Brady, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re the best, Franny D,” he said. “And I’ll promise Quinny’ll keep Jacky on his best behavior.”

“Plus Ellen’ll be there, so you know he’s not getting away with shit,” Emma offered.

“You guys are too much,” Fran said affectionately. “It’s your day – I don’t need you worrying about me and J.” She felt a stab in her heart at her own use of the retired pet name, one that was once used so frequently and so fondly but was now avoided like a plague. She swallowed that lump in her throat again. “We’ll be fine.”

“We know you will,” Brady said softly. “Well, listen, we’ll let you go but, uh… thanks, Franny. I really hope you can make it.”

“Yes, we really do!” Emma reiterated. “We love you, Fran. Talk soon.”

“I love you guys, too,” she told them. “Thanks for calling.”

And Brady must not have been able to keep the news to himself, because within a few hours of agreeing to attend the Tkachuk wedding, her phone had buzzed four more times with text messages from four members of the Hughes clan:

Lukey: yooo B just told me you’re coming to the wedding!!! hell yes, sista 👊 see you soon

Quinny: Franny D, super happy to hear you’re coming to B’s wedding. we love ya, no matter what. can’t wait to see ya

Ellen: Hi, my sweet girl 💖 Chantal just told me that you’re planning to come to Brady and Emma’s wedding. I’m so happy to hear it! I’m counting down the days until I see you. Love always 💋

Jim: Hey Franny! Can’t wait to see you at the Tkachuk wedding this summer. Really glad you’re planning to go. ❤️

The only member of the family that her phone didn’t sound with a message from that night?

Jack.

The one that it hurt the most not to hear from.

She set her phone aside that night and swallowed, hard, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her forehead on her knees. Preparing to see Jack in person for the first time in months was going to be impossible enough, but seeing his entire family… that just might be enough to break her.

Because she’d never fallen out of love with them, either.

___

July 21, 2023 – present day…

And today, after a heartbreakingly long hug with Ellen before the ceremony, and affectionate but melancholy greetings from Jim and Luke, here Fran stood in the midst of Brady’s reception, in front of the middle Hughes son who never did text her leading up to this moment. When he’d seen her approach his family’s seats a few minutes before today’s ceremony, he had only just stood up from his chair at the far end of their row to try and make his way toward her when the processional music started, leaving both of them frozen in place, staring helplessly at one another. She’d mouthed sorry, and he’d nodded and mouthed we’ll talk, as his family sat still between them, awkwardly trying to avoid making eye contact with the estranged couple lest they make the moment even more painful for them than it already was.

When Fran turned to find the nearest single seat, she could feel the tingling heat creeping up her neck, and it wasn’t from the summer sun. She’d spent months agonizing over what she would say to Jack when she finally saw him again, and she still couldn’t believe that the first thing she’d spoken aloud after they’d found each other on the deck for a quiet moment alone was “can I ask you a question?” But how else was she supposed to begin the conversation, anyway?

And at least he’d agreed – conceded that nothing had yet felt as good as the two of them had. For the past six months, she’d been terrified that nothing ever would, and she had to admit, it felt good to know that he seemed to share that same belief.

It felt good and it felt awful all at the same time.

Fran sighed, lifting her gaze to the shimmering stars far above their heads.

“Why are we doing this?” she whispered, half to herself and half to him.

Jack gave her a quizzical look; she was all over the place right now… not that he didn’t feel completely undone and frazzled himself.

“What? Talking? I dunno, Fran, I can go back inside, but I wasn’t just gonna sit in there all night and ignore y-”

Fran stopped him, shaking her head. “No, that’s not what I mean,” she said, a noticeable exhaustion in her tone, one that Jack recognized in his own voice often these days. “I just mean… this hurts so bad, J. And it doesn’t have to – didn’t have to. We were so good together… why did-”

“Because you said it was too much, Fran,” Jack accused, sharply though accurately, remembering how the pressure of being in a serious relationship with one of North America’s most heralded professional athletes at such a young age had often left her curled up in a ball in the corner, something that at 20 and then 21 years old, he had found himself completely unprepared to handle.

“And I made the wrong choice!” Fran admitted, her voice rising an octave by the end of the sentence as her emotions took over. “At least I can admit it. Can you? I mean, you’re the one who left my house in the middle of the night, without even trying to put up a fight. Can you admit that you were in the wrong, too?”

Yeah, I can, he immediately thought to himself, though he couldn’t quite bring himself to say it.

Instead his mind flashed to the very moment in time where he knew he had indeed made the wrong choice.

___

April 3, 2023 – three months earlier…

Jack was trying his hardest to pay attention to his date. He truly was.

In a well-meaning but doomed-from-the-start attempt to help him get over Fran, one of the team WAGs had set him up with her college roommate who had recently moved to the city. So here he was at dinner following a Broadway show he’d never even heard of before, which he had bought tickets to specifically because he knew he wouldn’t have to speak to the girl for at least a couple of hours but would still come away looking like the hero for dropping money on expensive tickets for date number one.

What he hadn’t accounted for, when she had unsurprisingly suggested that they grab a bite to eat after the show at Sugarfish on 56th and Broadway, was that he’d spot, through the front window, Francesca walking down the sidewalk hand-in-hand with some guy, laughing with him as he told what were no doubt painfully lame attempts at jokes to try and impress her.

Jack’s blood ran cold, his jaw muscles flexing as he clenched his teeth together, his date still rambling on about her so-called career as a “business owner.” (See also: owner of an Instagram account where she posted regular thirst traps and tagged the brands she wore, unprompted. See also: a quasi-influencer. See also: a Kardashian wanna-be.) Which provided him the perfect opportunity to get lost in his own spiraling thoughts.

Granted, this restaurant wasn't that far from Fran’s apartment on 52nd, a fact which Jack was painfully aware of throughout the entirety of the show and the meal. But goddamn it… this city was filled with eight million people besides her and that dickhead guy, but they just happened to be the two who caught his gaze.

Which maybe wouldn’t have bothered Jack so much if it didn’t look like Fran was actually enjoying the guy’s company.

He slouched in his chair and spoke as few words as possible for the rest of the meal, and when it had finally, mercifully, ended, he called her an Uber, waited until she had gotten picked up, sulked to his car, and deleted her number.

___

July 21, 2023 – present day…

“Well? Can you?” Fran repeated, losing patience as she wondered where his mind had just wandered off to.

“Yeah, I can,” Jack said simply, deciding to lay all his cards on the table at the recall of the recent memory.

Fran’s head snapped toward him. Being that he was by far the most stubborn person she had ever known, she hadn’t expected him to fess up to that. Her mouth opened as she thought of what to say next, then closed it when nothing came to mind quickly enough.

“I can tell you exactly when I realized it, too,” Jack said with a smile devoid of humor, licking his lips – the very same lips she used to call home. “I saw you with some guy walking down 56th a few months ago. And it felt… fuck, it just felt like I was out of time.”

Francesca blinked repeatedly, confusion etched on her features. Though she knew who she would have been with that night, she didn’t even remember the exact instance he was referring to, so it obviously hadn’t left all that much of an impression upon her. But that’s not the information she wanted to inquire about.

“W-what do you mean, ‘out of time’?” she asked, her volume much lower now.

Jack met her with sad eyes, pursing his lips. He shrugged a shoulder.

“I dunno, I guess… I guess I was holding out hope that somehow, we’d work it out,” he replied, his voice suddenly sounding hoarse. “I just always thought it would be us in the end. But seeing you with someone new, I… I just lost that hope.”

Tears pricked at the backs of Fran’s eyelids and she looked away, swiping at her eyes with the side of her hand.

“There’s never been anyone else… I mean, not… not really,” she was suddenly saying, caught off guard that she was opening up so much. “That was the closest I got, but it was only for a few weeks, and he ended it because he said I was being distant. And he was right. I just, I wasn’t in it. Not at all.”

Jack watched her the entire time she spoke, then nodded slowly. He understood that feeling all too well.

“I get it,” he said softly. “Trust me.”

As the two of them let their respective admissions hang between them in the thick summer air, falling into a contemplative silence, unbeknownst to them, a tipsy Luke had made his way back to the open bar at the edge of the dancefloor, which was situated just inside the tall French doors leading to the venue’s back patio where his brother and Fran stood alone as the party raged on. Luke’s eyes never left the acrimonious pair as he ordered himself not one, but two more gin and tonics, then darted, drinks in hand, across the room to where his parents and Quinn sat at a table chatting.

“Luke Warren Hughes, you’d better slow down on the double fisting,” Ellen warned in her best mom voice.

Luke waved her off. “Yeah, whatever – guys, listen to me, this is important,” he urged, out of breath. “Jacky and Franny are outside by themselves talking.”

“What?!” Quinn exclaimed, jumping up from his chair so quickly and so forcefully that it would have tipped over if not for Jim’s quick reflexes, as he shook his head in disapproval. As he watched his eldest son jog to the same door Luke had just been standing near to peer through the panels for himself, Jim scoffed.

“You guys need to give them their privacy – they’ve been through enough,” he stated firmly.

“Yes, and you wouldn’t like it if your brothers were spying on you and a girl,” Ellen pointed out.

Luke swallowed a gulp of his cocktail and beamed.

“Yeah, but… it’s not just some girl. It’s Jack and Fran,” he declared, shaking his head in excited disbelief before following after his brother.

Having lost both their sons to espionage, Ellen and Jim’s eyes met, and they shared a knowing, hopeful smirk.

“It is Jack and Fran,” Jim repeated in a voice near a whisper, tipping the rim of his beer bottle toward his wife, who clinked it with her champagne glass.

“Cheers to that… no matter what happens,” she said softly.

Back outside, ignorant to the fact that they were being carefully watched, Jack was surprised when Fran breathed a laugh through her nose, finally breaking the silence. Her cheeks warmed at the memory replaying in her mind.

“Remember that first night we spent together, at your place in Hoboken? What we did after Miles made you spill that drink on me?” she asked, unaware that he had played those sacred scenes over in his mind hundreds if not thousands of times in the past two years just as she had, particularly when they were each alone in their beds in the dead of night.

“Of course I do,” he replied quietly. “It’s kinda… all I ever do. Well, that night and… a-and lots of other nights after that.” He caught her stare and somberly confessed, “I feel you no matter what.”

Fran took a few daring steps closer, her hand brushing his. She leaned in so close that her lips nearly grazed the shell of his ear.

“Do you wish you could still touch me, Jack?” she whispered, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on its end.

He slowly exhaled through pursed lips, trying and failing to steady his now-racing pulse.

“Every fuckin’ day, Fran,” he said with little hesitation, turning his head so that their noses were mere centimeters from each other.

“Is it too late to do something about it?” she asked, her eyes locked with his.

“With us?” he let out a singular chuckle. “It’s never too late with us, Fran.”

She smiled so wide it made her cheeks ache, and she ran a hand down the lapel of his jacket.

“Good, because you look really fuckin’ handsome, and I’ve been wanting to tell you that all night,” she said, her voice low and sultry.

He hummed appreciatively and nuzzled his nose against her temple.

“Funny you say that, because I’ve been wanting to tell you all night that I, uh… I like your dress,” he whispered, recycling the very first compliment he ever bestowed upon her before pressing a kiss to the skin just in front of her ear as she giggled, but the laughter died on her lips as Jack kissed a line from her ear, across her cheekbone, to the tip of her nose, to the corner of her mouth, and finally, to her eager lips, which matched the fervor and neediness of his own. It was as though the pain of the past six months melted away as they each attempted to demonstrate how deeply and passionately they had missed the other, hands in hair, chests flush, soft moans being captured by the other’s mouth…

But it wouldn’t be an important moment in Jack and Fran’s story if there weren’t loved ones meddling nearby.

Now it wasn’t only Luke and Quinn at the doors watching the marvelous scene unfold, but it was Matthew, and Ellie, and Taryn, and Robbie, and all the Fitzgerald kids, and Brady, and Emma. Someone pushed open one of the doors, flooding the patio with a cacophony of cheers and jeers from those closest to them.

“Get a room!” “Finally!” “Jack, this is a family wedding!” “Hand check!” “Oww owwww!”

God… embarrassing.

Reluctantly pulling away from the kiss, Jack growled, resting his forehead against Fran’s as she giggled nervously, before whipping his head toward their audience.

“Don’t you all have a wedding to get back to?” His head swiveled to Brady and Emma. “Especially you two?”

Brady shrugged. “Hey, we already had our kiss, man. You go ‘head,” he encouraged.

Emma giggled, one hand wrapped around her groom’s bicep as she swatted nonchalantly toward Jack and Fran with the other.

“Yeah, carry on. Don’t mind us!” she sang.

Jack rolled his eyes, but all inhibition and worry faded away as Fran grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to meet her lips once more, feeling his frown literally turn upside down into a smirk as he sunk into her, hand finding a familiar home low on her back, dangerously close to the curve of her ass.

And at that, the crowd they’d drawn erupted into a fit of laughter and applause, Quinn and Luke in the middle of it all, pumping their fists simultaneously before clapping their palms together and leaning in for a hug.

They got their sister back.

“What are you kids doin’ over here?” came a booming voice from the back of the group. Jack and Fran watched as the seas parted and Keith Tkachuk made his way to the door, following his younger son’s pointed index finger to find the reunited couple embracing on the patio. His eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead.

“Well, can’t say I didn’t see this one coming!” he bellowed, a jolly twinkle in his eye. “Now, you boneheads have had your fun,” he addressed the group. “Leave these two to have their own.” With a wink, he turned away, and their crowd of clamoring cheerleaders dispersed, whispering animatedly among themselves.

Jack exhaled swiftly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Shoutout Big Walt,” he declared, clearing his throat.

Fran nodded, snickering, and pulled him in by the waist.

“Gotta love ‘em, though, hmm?” she mused, nuzzling her nose against his.

“Mmm, yeah, whatever,” Jack dismissed, a tenacious hand on her cheek as he leaned down to press his lips to hers once again. “Now, where were we?” he teased in a whisper as she smiled against his mouth, her hands traveling beneath his suit jacket, across the familiar expanse of his sculpted back. His hands found their original target and slipped down the small of her back, finally reaching the arc of her rear.

“Mmmm… hello, old friend,” Jack murmured in her ear, earning him a playful smack to the hip.

“Shut up,” she sassed him, but she didn’t mean it, and they both knew it. He fixed his lips to hers over and over again, and though the party roared on inside, mere yards away, it was as if Jack and Fran were the only two people on the face of the earth, their bodies fusing together as if they had always been intended to be one.

It was always like that for the two of them.

Nothing could have pulled them from that moment… except the first strains of “Something in the Way She Moves” by James Taylor echoing from the speakers inside.

The pair froze. She pulled away to hold him at arm’s length, in utter disbelief.

Jack ogled at Fran, the pure longing in his eyes mirrored in hers. His siblings and friends were meddlers, sure… but had they been so thoughtful as to remember that this was their song — had been since that very first night? Or was it simply fate?

Either way, Jack could do nothing but extend his upturned palm toward her.

“Dance with me?” he asked softly.

Suddenly self-conscious, she smoothed a hand through her curls, then swiped at the damp corners of her eyes.

“God, Jack, I’m a mess,” she said with a halfhearted chuckle. “I don’t think I can go back in there right now.”

Jack shrugged. “So what?” he asked, taking hold of her hand and pulling her in, his other arm winding around her. “We’ll dance right here.”

She rested her free hand on his chest, melting at the sweet sentiment. Then, she relaxed into him, tucking her head into his neck where it fit perfectly — always had.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, then rested his cheek atop her head as the song carried on...

There's something in the way she moves Or looks my way, or calls my name That seems to leave this troubled world behind If I'm feeling down and blue Or troubled by some foolish game She always seems to make me change my mind And I feel fine anytime she's around me now She's around me now Almost all the time And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now She's been with me now quite a long, long time And I feel fine…

Jack’s heart soared, his joy permanently etched on his face, as he swayed side to side with Francesca in his arms. In his wildest dreams, he could have never hoped to have her here with him again like this.

He glanced down at the girl he’d loved since the first time he’d laid eyes on her, saw her eyes fluttered closed in blissful contentment, and brushed his lips across her brow as he whispered, “Fran, you know for me, it’s always you, right?”

He watched the corners of her mouth pull upward even further, and she tipped her face up to meet his.

“I hoped so,” she admitted roguishly. “Because for me, it’s always you, too.”

#the summer fic exchange 2k23 #my writing #jack hughes #jack hughes fic #jack hughes fanfic #jack hughes fanfiction

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goalhofer · 2 years

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2022 NHL Draft Results

1st overall, Montreal: Juraj Slafkovský (Turun Palloseura/Košice, Slovakia)

2nd overall, New Jersey: Šimon Nemec (H.K. Nitra/Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia)

3rd overall, Arizona: Logan Cooley (USNTDP/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

4th overall, Seattle: Shane Wright (Kingston Frontenacs/Burlington, Ontario)

5th overall, Philadelphia: William Gauthier (USNTDP/Phoenix, Arizona)

6th overall, Columbus: David Jiříček (H.K. Škoda Plzeň/Klatovy, Czech Republic)

7th overall, Chicago: Kevin Korchinski (Seattle Thunderbirds/Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

8th overall, Detroit: Marco Kasper (Rögle Bandyklubb/Innsbruck, Austria)

9th overall, Buffalo: Matthew Savoie (Winnipeg Ice/St. Albert, Alberta)

10th overall, Anaheim: Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw Spirit/Moscow, Russia)

11th overall, Arizona: Conor Geekie (Winnipeg Ice/Strathclair, Manitoba)

12th overall, Columbus: Denton Mateychuk (Moose Jaw Warriors/Winnipeg, Manitoba)

13th overall, Chicago: Frank Nazar (University Of Michigan Wolverines/Mt. Clemens, Michigan)

14th overall, Winnipeg: Rutger McGroarty (University Of Michigan Wolverines/Lincoln, Nebraska)

15th overall, Vancouver: Jonathan Lekkerimäki (Djurgårdens I.F. Ishockeyförening/Huddinge, Sweden)

16th overall, Buffalo: Noah Östlund (Djurgårdens I.F. Ishockeyförening/Nykvarn)

17th overall, Nashville: Joakim Kemell (J.Y.P./Jyväskylän Maalaiskunta, Finland)

18th overall, Dallas: Lian Bichsel (Leksands Idrottsförening/Olten, Switzerland)

19th overall, Minnesota: Liam Öhgren (Djurgårdens I.F. Ishockeyförening/Stockholm, Sweden)

20th overall, Washington: Ivan Miroshnichenko (Omskie Krylia/Ussuriysk, Russia)

21st overall, Pittsburgh: Owen Pickering (Swift Current Broncos/St. Adolphe, Manitoba)

22nd overall, Anaheim: Nathan Gaucher (Quebec Remparts/Longueuil, Quebec)

23rd overall, St. Louis: Jimmy Snuggerud (University Of Minnesota Golden Gophers/Chaska, Minnesota)

24th overall, Minnesota: Danil Yurov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk/Chelyabinsk, Russia)

25th overall, Chicago: Sam Rinzel (Chaska Senior High School Hawks/Chaska, Minnesota)

26th overall, Montreal: Filip Mešár (H.K. Poprad/Spišská Belá, Slovakia)

27th overall, San Jose: Filip Bystedt (Linköping Hockeyklubb/Linköping, Sweden)

28th overall, Buffalo: Jiří Kulich (H.K. Energie Karlovy Vary/Kadaň)

29th overall, Arizona: Maveric Lamoureux (Drummondville Voltigeurs/Hawkesbury, Ontario)

30th overall, Winnipeg: Brad Lambert (Lahti Pelikaani/Lahti, Finland)

31st overall, Tampa Bay: Isaac Howard (University Of Minnesota, Duluth Bulldogs/Hudson, Wisconsin)

32nd overall, Edmonton: Reid Schaefer (Seattle Thunderbirds/Spruce Grove, Alberta)

33rd overall, Montreal: Owen Beck (Mississauga Steelheads/Port Hope, Ontario)

34th overall, San Jose: Cameron Lund (Green Bay Gamblers/Bridgewater, Massachusetts)

35th overall, Seattle: Jagger Firkus (Moose Jaw Warriors/Irma, Alberta)

36th overall, Arizona: Artem Duda (Krasnaya Armiya/Moscow, Russia)

37th overall, Washington: Ryan Chesley (USNTDP/Mahtomedi, Minnesota)

38th overall, Toronto: Fraser Minten (Kamloops Blazers/Vancouver, British Columbia)

39th overall, Chicago: Paul Ludwinski (Kingston Frontenacs/Pickering, Ontario)

40th overall, Detroit: Dylan James (Sioux City Musketeers/Calgary, Alberta)

41st overall, Buffalo: Topias Leinonen (J.Y.P./Jyväskylä, Finland)

42nd overall, Anaheim: Noah Warren (Gatineau Olympiques/Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec)

43rd overall, Arizona: Julian Lutz (Eishockeyclub Red Bull München/Weingarten, Germany)

44th overall, Columbus: Luca Del Bel Belluz (Mississauga Steelheads/Vaughan, Ontario)

45th overall, San Jose: Mattias Hävelid (Linköping Hockeyklubb/Täby, Sweden)

46th overall, New Jersey: Seamus Casey (USNTDP/Miami, Florida)

47th overall, Minnesota: Hunter Haight (Barrie Colts/Strathroy, Ontario)

48th overall, Vegas: Matyáš Šapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit/Kladno, Czech Republic)

49th overall, Seattle: Jani Nyman (Ilves/Valkeakoski, Finland)

50th overall, Dallas: Christian Kyrou (Erie Otters/Middlesex Centre Township, Ontario)

51st overall, Los Angeles: Jack Hughes (Northeastern University Huskies/Westwood, Massachusetts)

52nd overall, Detroit: Dmitri Buchelnikov (K.K. S.K.A.-1946/Nizhny Tagil, Russia)

53rd overall, Anaheim: Tristan Luneau (Gatineau Olympiques/Trois-Rivières, Quebec)

54th overall, Boston: Matthew Poitras (Guelph Storm/Whitby, Ontario)

55th overall, Winnipeg: Elias Salomonsson (Skellefteå A.I.K./Skellefteå, Sweden)

56th overall, Minnesota: Rieger Lorenz (Okotoks Oilers/Calgary, Alberta)

57th overall, Chicago: Ryan Greene (Green Bay Gamblers/Paradise, Newfoundland)

58th overall, Seattle: Niklas Kokko (Oulun Kärpät A20/Oulu, Finland)

59th overall, Calgary: Topi Rönni (Tappara A20/Hausjärvi, Finland)

60th overall, Carolina: Gleb Trikozov (K.K. Avangard 2/Omsk, Russia)

61st overall, Seattle: David Goyette (Sudbury Wolves/Sainte-Jérôme, Quebec)

62nd overall, Montreal: Lane Hutson (USNTDP/Chicago, Illinois)

63rd overall, New York Rangers: Adam Sykora (H.K. Nitra/Piešťany, Slovakia)

64th overall, Ottawa: Filip Nordberg (Djurgårdens I.F. Ishockeyförening/Stockholm, Sweden)

65th overall, New York Islanders: Calle Odelius (Djurgårdens I.F. Ishockeyförening/Södertälje)

66th overall, Chicago: Gavin Hayes (Flint Firebirds/Westland, Michigan)

67th overall, Arizona: Miko Matikka (Helsingin Jokerit A20/Helsinki, Finland)

68th overall, Seattle: Ty Nelson (North Bay Battalion/Toronto, Ontario)

69th overall, Philadelphia: Devin Kaplan (USNTDP/Bridgewater Township, New Jersey)

70th overall, Washington: Alexander Suzdalev (HV71 U20/Vetlanda, Sweden)

71st overall, Carolina: Alexander Perevalov (K.K. Lokomotiv/Mezhdurechensk, Russia)

72nd overall, Ottawa: Oskar Pettersson (Rögle Bandyklubb U20/Halmstad, Sweden)

73rd overall, St. Louis: Aleksanteri Kaskimäki (Helsingfors Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna A20/Espoo, Finland)

74th overall, Buffalo: Viktor Neuchev (J.H.C. Avto/Chelyabinsk, Russia)

75th overall, Montreal: Vinzenz Rohrer (Ottawa 67's/Feldkirch, Austria)

76th overall, San Jose: Michael Fischer (St. Mark's School Winged Lions/Westborough, Massachusetts)

77th overall, Winnipeg: Dany Zhilkin (Guelph Storm/Burlington, Ontario)

78th overall, New York Islanders: Quinn Finley (Madison Capitols/Suamico, Wisconsin)

79th overall, Vegas: Jordan Gustafson (Seattle Thunderbirds/Strathcona County, Alberta)

80th overall, Vancouver: Elias Pettersson (Örebro H.K. U20/Västerås, Sweden)

81st overall, Chicago: Samuel Savoie (Gatineau Olympiques/Dieppe, New Brunswick)

82nd overall, Nashville: Adam Ingram (Youngstown Phantoms/West St. Paul, Manitoba)

83rd overall, Dallas: George Fegaras (North York Rangers/Richmond Hill, Ontario)

84th overall, Nashville: Kasper Kulonummi (Helsingin Jokerit A20/Helsinki, Finland)

85th overall, Washington: Ludwig Persson (Frölunda Hockeyklubb/Göteborg, Sweden)

86th overall, Tampa Bay: Lucas Edmonds (Kingston Frontenacs/North Bay, Ontario)

87th overall, Ottawa: Tomas Hamara (Tappara A20/Prague, Czech Republic)

88th overall, St. Louis: Michael Buchinger (Guelph Storm/Markham, Ontario)

89th overall, Minnesota: Mikey Milne (Winnipeg Ice/Abbotsford, British Columbia)

90th overall, Chicago: Aidan Thompson (Lincoln Stars/Ft. Collins, Colorado)

91st overall, Seattle: Ben MacDonald (Noble & Greenough School Bulldogs/Weston, Massachusetts)

92nd overall, Montreal: Adam Engström (Djurgårdens I.F. Ishockeyförening/Södertälje, Sweden)

93rd overall, Florida: Marek Alscher (Portland Winterhawks/Kladno, Czech Republic)

94th overall, Arizona: Jeremy Langlois (Cape Breton Eagles/Sainte-Brigitte-De-Laval, Quebec)

95th overall, Toronto: Nicholas Moldenhauer (Chicago Steel/Mississauga, Ontario)

96th overall, Columbus: Jordan Dumais (Halifax Mooseheads/L'Île-Bizard, Quebec)

97th overall, New York Rangers: Bryce McConnell-Barker (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds/London, Ontario)

98th overall, New York Islanders: Isaiah George (London Knights/Oakville, Ontario)

99th overall, Winnipeg: Garrett Brown (Sioux City Musketeers/San José, California)

100th overall, Seattle: Tyson Jugnauth (West Kelowna Warriors/Kelowna, British Columbia)

101st overall, Carolina: Simon Forsmark (Örebro H.K./Kulma, Sweden)

102nd overall, New Jersey: Tyler Brennan (Prince George Cougars/Winnipeg, Manitoba)

103rd overall, Los Angeles: Kenny Connors (Dubuque Fighting Saints/Concord Township, Pennsylvania)

104th overall, Ottawa: Stephen Halliday (Dubuque Fighting Saints/Ajax, Ontario)

105th overall, Detroit: Anton Johansson (Leksands Idrottsförening/Linköping, Sweden)

106th overall, Buffalo: Mats Lindgren; Jr. (Kamloops Blazers/Burnaby, British Columbia)

107th overall, Anaheim: Benjamin King (Red Deer Rebels/Vernon, British Columbia)

108th overall, San Jose: Mason Beaupit (Spokane Chiefs/Surrey, British Columbia)

109th overall, Columbus: Kirill Dolzhenkov (Krasnaya Armiya Moscow/Moscow, Russia)

110th overall, New Jersey: Daniil Orlov (Sakhalinskiye Akuly/Elektrostal, Russia)

111th overall, New York Rangers: Noah Laba (Lincoln Stars/Northville, Michigan)

112th overall, Vancouver: Daimon Gardner (Warroad High School Warriors/Eagle Lake, Ontario)

113th overall, Detroit: Amadeus Lombardi (Flint Firebirds/Vaughan, Ontario)

114th overall, Nashville: Cole O'Hara (Tri-City Storm/Richmond Hill, Ontario)

115th overall, Dallas: Gavin White (Hamilton Bulldogs/Brockville, Ontario)

116th overall, Los Angeles: Angus Booth (Shawinigan Cataractes/Montreal, Quebec)

117th overall, Boston: Cole Spicer (USNTDP/Grand Forks, North Dakota)

118th overall, Pittsburgh: Sergei Murashov (K.K. Lokomotiv/Yaroslavl, Russia)

119th overall, Boston: Dans Locmelis (Luleå Hockeyförening U20/Jelgava, Latvia)

120th overall, St. Louis: Arseni Koromyslov (K.K. S.K.A.-1946/Moscow, Russia)

121st overall, Minnesota: Ryan Healey (Sioux Falls Stampede/Hull, Massachusetts)

122nd overall, Toronto: Dennis Hildeby (Färjestad Bollklubb/Järfälla, Sweden)

123rd overall, Seattle: Tucker Robertson (Peterborough Petes/Toronto, Ontario)

124th overall, Carolina: Cruz Lucius (USNTDP/Grant, Minnesota)

125th overall, Florida: Ludvig Jansson (Södertälje Sportklubb/Stockholm, Sweden)

126th overall, New Jersey: Charlie Leddy (USNTDP/Fairfield, Connecticut)

127th overall, Montreal: Cedrick Guindon (Owen Sound Attack/Clarence-Rockland, Ontario)

128th overall, Vegas: Cameron Whitehead (Lincoln Stars/Orleans, Ontario)

129th overall, Detroit: Maximilian Kilpinen (Örebro H.K. U20/Norrtälje, Sweden)

130th overall, Montreal: Jared Davidson (Seattle Thunderbirds/Edmonton, Alberta)

131st overall, Arizona: Matthew Morden (St. Andrew's College Saints/Burlington, Ontario)

132nd overall, Boston: Frédéric Brunet (Rimouski Oceanic/Gatineau, Quebec)

133rd overall, Philadelphia: Alex Bump (Omaha Lancers/Prior Lake, Minnesota)

134th overall, Buffalo: Vsevolod Komarov (Quebec Remparts/Chelyabinsk, Russia)

135th overall, Toronto: Nikita Grebyonkin (Stalnye Lisy/Serov, Russia)

136th overall, Ottawa: Jorian Donovan (Hamilton Bulldogs/Ottawa, Ontario)

137th overall, Detroit: Tnias Mathurin (North Bay Battalion/Ajax, Ontario)

138th overall, Columbus: Sergei Ivanov (K.K. S.K.A./Chernushka, Russia)

139th overall, Anaheim: Connor Hvidston (Swift Current Broncos/Tisdale, Saskatchewan)

140th overall, San Jose: Jake Furlong (Halifax Mooseheads/Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia)

141st overall, New Jersey: Petr Hauser (H.K. Sparta Praha P20/Plzen, Czech Republic)

142nd overall, New York Islanders: Matt Maggio (Windsor Spitfires/Windsor, Ontario)

143rd overall, Ottawa: Cameron O'Neill (Mt. St. Charles Academy Mounties/Anne Arundel County, Maryland)

144th overall, Vancouver: Ty Young (Prince George Cougars/Coaldale, Alberta)

145th overall, Vegas: Patrick Guay (Charlottetown Islanders/Magog, Quebec)

146th overall, Nashville: Graham Sward (Spokane Chiefs/Abbotsford, British Columbia)

147th overall, Dallas: Maxim Mayorov (K.K. Lada Tolyatti/Tolyatti, Russia)

148th overall, Los Angeles: Otto Salin (Helsingfors Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna A20/Helsinki, Finland)

149th overall, Washington: Jake Karabela (Guelph Storm/Guelph, Ontario)

150th overall, Pittsburgh: Zam Plante (Chicago Steel/Hermantown, Minnesota)

151st overall, Ottawa: Kevin Reidler (A.I.K. U18/Gävle, Sweden)

152nd overall, St. Louis: Marc-Andre Gaudet (Acadie-Bathurst Titan/Saint-Ignace, New Brunswick)

153rd overall, Minnesota: David Špaček (Sherbrooke Phoenix/Třemošná, Czech Republic)

154th overall, Anaheim: Michael Callow (St. Sebastian's School Arrows/Boston, Massachusetts)

155th overall, Calgary: Parker Bell (Tri-City Americans/Campbell River, British Columbia)

156th overall, Carolina: Vladimir Grudinin (Krasniya Armiya/Angarsk, Russia)

157th overall, Florida: Sandis Vilmanis (Luleå Hockeyförening U20/Riga, Latvia)

158th overall, Edmonton: Samuel Jonsson (Brynäs I.F. U20/Gävle, Sweden)

159th overall, New York Rangers: Victor Mancini (University Of Nebraska, Omaha Mavericks/Saginaw, Michigan)

160th overall, Tampa Bay: Nick Malík (KooKoo/Vítkovice, Czech Republic)

161st overall, New York Rangers: Maxim Barbashev (Moncton Wildcats/Moscow, Russia)

162nd overall, Montreal: Emmett Croteau (Waterloo Black Hawks/Bonnyville, Alberta)

163rd overall, Arizona: Maksymilian Szuber (Eishockeyclub Red Bull München/Munich, Germany)

164th overall, Seattle: Barrett Hall (Gentry Academy Stars/Apple Valley, Minnesota)

165th overall, Philadelphia: Hunter McDonald (Chicago Steel/Perinton, New York)

166th overall, New Jersey: Josh Filmon (Swift Current Broncos/Winnipeg, Manitoba)

167th overall, Pittsburgh: Nolan Collins (Sudbury Wolves/Whitby, Ontario)

168th overall, Ottawa: Theo Wallberg (Skellefteå A.I.K. U20/Värmdö, Sweden)

169th overall, Los Angeles: Jared Wright (Omaha Lancers/Burnsville, Minnesota)

170th overall, Buffalo: Jake Richard (Muskegon Lumberjacks/Lakeland, Florida)

171st overall, Carolina: Jakub Vondras (H.K. Škoda Plzeň P20/Plzen, Czech Republic)

172nd overall, San Jose: Joey Muldowney (Nichols Schools Vikings/Hamburg, New York)

173rd overall, Chicago: Dominic James (University Of Minnesota, Duluth Bulldogs/Plymouth, Michigan)

174th overall, New York Islanders: Daylan Kuefler (Kamloops Blazers/Stettler, Alberta)

175th overall, Winnipeg: Fabian Wagner (Linköping Hockeyklubb U20/Nyköping, Sweden)

176th overall, Vancouver: Jackson Dorrington (Des Moines Buccaneers/North Reading, Massachusetts)

177th overall, Vegas: Ben Hemmerling (Everett Silvertips/Sherwood Park, Alberta)

178th overall, Anaheim: Vyacheslav Buteyets (Belye Medvedi/Chelyabinsk, Russia)

179th overall, Dallas: Matthew Seminoff (Kamloops Blazers/Burnaby, British Columbia)

180th overall, Los Angeles: Jack Sparkes (St. Michael's Buzzers/Toronto, Ontario)

181st overall, Washington: Ryan Hofer (Everett Silvertips/Winnipeg, Manitoba)

182nd overall, Pittsburgh: Luke Devlin (St. Andrew's College Saints/Toronto, Ontario)

183rd overall, Boston: Reid Dyck (Swift Current Broncos/Winkler, Manitoba)

184th overall, St. Louis: Landon Sim (London Knights/New Glasgow, Nova Scotia)

185th overall, Minnesota: Servác Petrovský (Owen Sound Attack/Velky Saris, Slovakia)

186th overall, Florida: Joshua Davies (Swift Current Broncos/Airdrie, Alberta)

187th overall, Buffalo: Gustav Karlsson (Örebro H.K. U20/Örebro, Sweden)

188th overall, Chicago: Nils Juntorp (HV71 U20/Ulricehamn, Sweden)

189th overall, Florida: Tyler Muszelik (USNTDP/Washington Township, New Jersey)

190th overall, Edmonton: Nikita Yevseyev (Bars Kazan/Almetievsk, Russia)

191st overall, New York Rangers: Zakary Karpa (Harvard University Crimson/Novi, Michigan)

192nd overall, Tampa Bay: Connor Kurth (Dubuque Fighting Saints/Elk River, Minnesota)

193rd overall, Colorado: Christopher Romaine (Milton Academy Mustangs/Braintree, Massachusetts)

194th overall, Montreal: Petteri Nurmi (Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho/Helsinki, Finland)

195th overall, San Jose: Eli Barnett (Victoria Grizzlies/Riverview, New Brunswick)

196th overall, Seattle: Kyle Jackson (North Bay Battalion/Ottawa, Ontario)

197th overall, Philadelphia: Santeri Sulku (Helsingin Jokerit A20/Helsinki, Finland)

198th overall, New Jersey: Artyom Barabosha (Krasnaya Armiya/Omsk, Russia)

199th overall, Chicago: Riku Tohila (J.Y.P. A20/Kalajoki, Finland)

200th overall, Boston: Jackson Edward (London Knights/Newmarket, Ontario)

201st overall, Detroit: Owen Mehlenbacher (Muskegon Lumberjacks/Ft. Erie, Ontario)

202nd overall, Buffalo: Joel Ratkovic-Berndtsson (Frölunda Hockeyklubb U20/Kungälv, Sweden)

203rd overall, Columbus: James Fisher (Belmont High School Marauders/Belmont, Massachusetts)

204th overall, Arizona: Adam Zlnka (Sioux Falls Stampede/Detva, Slovakia)

205th overall, Carolina: Alexander Pavelin (Cheika Nizhny Novgorod/Nizhny Novgorod, Russia)

206th overall, Ottawa: Tyson Dyck (Cranbrook Bucks/Abbotsford, British Columbia)

207th overall, Winnipeg: Dominic DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion/Caledon, Ontario)

208th overall, Vancouver: Kirill Kudryavtsev (Sault St. Marie Greyhounds/Yaroslavl, Russia)

209th overall, Vegas: Abram Wiebe (Chilliwack Chiefs/Mission, British Columbia)

210th overall, Nashville: Benjamin Strinden (Muskegon Lumberjacks/Fargo, North Dakota)

211th overall, Buffalo: Linus Sjödin (Rögle Bandyklubb/Ängelholm, Sweden)

212th overall, Detroit: Brennan Ali (Avon Old Farms School Winged Beavers/New Trier Township, Illinois)

213th overall, Washington: David Gucciardi (Michigan State University Spartans/Toronto, Ontario)

214th overall, Florida: Liam Arnsby (North Bay Battalion/Ajax, Ontario)

215th overall, Los Angeles: Kaleb Lawrence (Owen Sound Attack/Ottawa, Ontario)

216th overall, Montreal: Miguël Tourigny (Acadie-Bathurst Titan/Victoriaville, Quebec)

217th overall, San Jose: Reese Laubach (Northstar Christian Academy Knights/San José, California)

218th overall, Toronto: Brandon Lisowsky (Saskatoon Blades/Port Coquitlam, British Columbia)

219th overall, Calgary: Cade Littler (Wenatchee Wild/East Wenatchee, Washington)

220th overall, Philadelphia: Alex Gendron (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada/Côteau-Du-Lac, Quebec)

221st overall, Florida: Jack Devine (University Of Denver Pioneers/New Trier Township, Illinois)

222nd overall, Edmonton: Joel Määttä (University Of Vermont Catamounts/Helsinki, Finland)

223rd overall, Tampa Bay: Dyllan Gill (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies/Riverview, New Brunswick)

224th overall, Tampa Bay: Klavs Veinbergs (H.K. Riga/Jelgava, Latvia)

225th overall, Colorado: Ivan Zhigalov (Sherbrooke Phoenix/Minsk, Belarus)

5 notes · View notes