#nhl season 2019/2020 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

toasttt11 · 2 months

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in another life

April 28, 2019

Clementine was leaning up against a wall around her IIHF U18 Team having completed the tournament early in the day and they were all hanging out in a empty hotel room, some playing cards or poker, some all huddling with their phones, a few half asleep on the floor, and some just talking and eating.

Clementine was leaning against the wall looking out the window showing the city of Sweden, she tensed as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder before she smelt the cologne and slightly relaxed.

“Well hello gorgeous.” Braden Schneider greeted her with his flirty smirk.

“Schneider.” Clementine deadpanned, she has known him for a few years now, playing him multiple times a year in the WHL and being teammates for Team Canada and they have the same NHL draft class.

“Aww, no smile for me.” Braden sadly pouted poking at her cheek making her bit her lip to stop her smile hating how he has grown on her over the years, “I saw that.” He smugly grinned at his favorite girl.

“Shut up.” Clementine grumbled crossing her arms over her chest but not moving away from his arm.

“Never.” Braden promised with a smile looking around before discreetly pressing a quick kiss to her cheek, “I will see you later Clemsy.” Braden winked at her and is the only one to call her that.

Clementine cursed in her mind as she felt her cheeks grow hot.

Jamie Drysdale happened to see the interaction between his two teammates and walked over giving his friend a look.

“James don’t.” Clementine gave him a stern look back. Clementine and Jamie had quickly become quick friends within the first time they met and they seemed to just click.

“I wasn’t going to.” Jamie innocently smiled holding his hands up in defense.

“Mhm.” Clementine hummed not believing a word he said, knowing Jamie is very sweet but also looks very innocent meaning he easily gets away with anything.

October 6, 2020

Clementine was watching the rest of the draft after getting drafted number one to the New Jersey Devils.

She sat on the couch watching it with Connor as the rest of her family was outside celebrating still.

“The New York Rangers are proudly to select Braden Schneider.”

Clementine perked up slightly at the name and clapped with a small smile getting a teasing look from her younger brother which she ignored.

She pulled up her phone pulling up her texts with Braden, “Looks like we are rivals again.” She texted and shut off her phone letting out a chuckle at the coincidence.

The two having been rivals the last three seasons and now they are drafted to the two teams that have one of the biggest rivals in the NHL.

“It’s fate Clemsy :).” Braden texted back the second he had a free second and smiled at Clementine texting him.

Connor made kissing sounds seeing his sister smiling at her phone, Clementine elbowed him giving him a look, “Do not be a brat.”

Connor just smiled shaking his head.

December 19, 2020

Clementine put her hotel key against the door for her hotel room for the WJC and walked into the room and saw the bathroom light on and door closed and knew it was her roommate, she didn’t know who it would be but she only had a few people that rooms with her so she didn’t bother to find out exactly who it was.

She set her bags down on the floor next to the empty bed not hearing the bathroom door open and someone walk up behind her only when she felt arms wrap around her waist to spin her around.

She froze for a second before hearing an all familiar laugh and she relaxed into the backwards hug as he spun them around before setting her back down on the ground.

Clementine spun around turning to face Braden who was staring at her with a smile across his face, she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him into a hug.

Braden smiled wider and hugged her tightly back.

The two started getting closer or rather Clementine started accepting her feelings for him and over the last nine months of being in quarantine they have facetimed and texted a lot and got a lot closer than they already were.

“Hi.” Braden whispered cupping her face, looking at her with a fond smile.

“Hi.” Clementine whispered back with a smile before she bit her lip and leaned up on her toes pressing her lips to his, Braden hand moved down to the lower of her back pulling her closer to him.

“Took you long enough.” Braden teased panting slightly as they pulled back.

“Shut up.” Clementine fondly rolled eyes whispering against his lips.

“Gladly.” Braden whispered before pressing his lips back against hers.

November 23, 2021

Clementine and Braden officially got together after they saw each other again at the WJC at the end of 2020 and their families weren’t surprised when they finally got together, they both kept their relationship private only family and some friends knowing not wanting anyone in their private life.

They loved being in a relationship and the two just fit each other so well, especially as Braden just seemed to bring out a more silly side of Clementine and they both experienced their first relationship.

But it was difficult, Clementine being in the NHL and having her rookie year and living in New Jersey and Braden switching between the AHL and WHL never having any time to see each other besides in the summer and they both knew it couldn’t work out forever.

He came to visit her for a few days having gotten a few days off and luckily so did Clementine.

Clementine rested her arm againt his bare arm laying in silence covered by a silk sheet feeling the slight cool chill in the room, Braden fingers were tracing her spine.

“I’m sorry.” Clementine whispered, she wanted a relationship to work with Braden, she really did. He was her first in a lot and she never regretted anything but she regretted how they just seemed to not be able to work out and how it just wasn’t easy.

“I’m sorry too Clemsy.” Braden kissed the top of her head, not only was she someone he had fallen in love with but she had become his best friend over the years and he hated that no matter how hard they tried they knew it wouldn’t work out between them.

They both deserved an amazing relationship and be treated the way they deserved and being in a long distance relationship and having schedules that don’t aline made it very difficult for that to happen.

“You are so gorgeous and i was lucky to be able to love you and to get the chance to be loved by you. You’re gonna find someone that it’s just easy with.” Braden held her face in his hands memorizing everything up close in case he never gets the chance again.

“And you are a totally asshole but you’re kind and funny and seem to light up a room no matter what, anyone will be luckily to have you B.” Clementine whispered back giving him a small sad smile and resting her forehead against his. Braden let out a small sad laugh.

They knew in another life they would’ve of worked out.

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devilsupdates · 2 months

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Update on trade

Again this is coming from ESPN and the Devils app

We got a goalie!!!!

The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has acquired goaltender Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for New Jersey’s conditional third-round selection in the 2025 NHL Draft. Montreal will retain 50% of Allen’s salary both this year and in 2024-25, the last year of his contract. The announcement was made by President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald.

The conditions on the pick are as follows: if Allen plays in 40 regular-season games in the 2024-25 season and his club qualifies for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 2025 third-round pick becomes New Jersey’s 2025 second-round selection.

Allen, 33, joins New Jersey after spending the last four seasons with Montreal. The 6’2”, 195lbs. goaltender recorded a 41-68-15 career record with the Canadiens, while also earning three shutouts and a 3.30 goals-against average (GAA). Allen posted 6-12-3 record in 21 games this season for Montreal and owns a 6-1-0 career record playing at Prudential Center.

Before Allen was traded to Montreal on Sept. 2, 2020, he played in parts of eight seasons with the St. Louis Blues from 2011-12 to 2019-20. Allen earned 148 career wins with St. Louis, which ranks second all-time for Blues franchise history. The Fredericton, New Brunswick native logged his first career regular season start on Feb. 13, 2013, in a 4-3 win at Detroit. He recorded a career-high 33 wins in 2016-17 with St. Louis and earned a career-high six shutouts in 2015-16.

The veteran netminder also carries Stanley Cup Playoff experience, after playing in six postseasons with St. Louis, and was a member of their 2019 Stanley Cup championship team. Allen has played in 29 career postseason contests and owns an 11-12 overall record with a 2.06 GAA.

Born on Aug.7, 1990, St. Louis selected Allen in the second round, 34th overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft. He also represented Canada on the international stage at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) U18 World Junior Championship (WJC) in 2007-08 and 2009-10. Allen helped Canada win a Gold Medal in 2008 and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He also earned a Silver Medal with Canada at the 2010 WJC.

#jack hughes #new jersey devils #hockey imagine #nico hischier #luke hughes #hockey #timo meier #john marino #tyler toffoli

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dylan-duke · 12 days

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Y/N Y/L/N x Gavin Brindley

munchkin x munchkin cbj draft pick x cbj draft pick

Y/N

y/n

born march 22nd, 2004

has a younger brother named logan

drafted in the 3rd round of the 2022 nhl draft by the columbus blue jackets

Gavin Brindley

gavin

born october 5th, 2004

winger for the columbus blue jackets

Time Line

february 2010

y/n, logan and their parents were in a car accident and their father died

december 2019

munchkins mom marries scott

an abusive alcoholic who hurts y/n and her mother

munchkin does everything she can to protect logan

august 2020

munchkin starts with the NTDP and moves in with the hughes’ who billet her

she becomes ellens daughter

august 2022

munchkin starts her freshman year at umich

january 2023

munchkin and gavin start dating

november 2023

scott hits logan and munchkin goes and brings him back to her house

then a week later when shes trying to make sure that she picks up logan from school on time and she gets t-boned and is severely injured

she’s in a coma

so ellen adopts logan

february 2024

munchkin comes home with a puppy

april 2024

gavin signs with cbj!

october 2024

munchkin has her first game after her injury

shes an ‘a’ this season and is just so happy to be back on the ice

april 2026

munchkin signs with cbj!

february 2028

munchkin and gavin elope over all-star break

september 2028

munchkin finds out that shes pregnant and literally disappears from the team

tells no one

not even adam or seamus

just gavin knows

june 2029

munchkin gives birth to her and gavins first son jackson milo y/l/n-brindley

jax for short

as affectionately named by uncle shea shea

september 2029

munchkin shows up to training camp with her 2 month old and everyone is SHOOK

january 2035

haddie eleanor y/l/n-brindley is born

#munchkin #gavin brindley #munchkin x gavin brindley #munchkin x gavin #mom! munchkin #dad! gavin #dad! gavin brindley

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mew-oconnor · 1 year

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The Blighted Beast: A Midseason Update

Do not repost.

We are now around the halfway point of the 2022-23 NHL season, so it’s time to check in with our favorite cursed airplane! N803TJ has transported 8 teams to 28 road games across the first half of the season, and those teams have not had enjoyable trips. At 6-21-0, N803TJ is rocking a road win percentage of 0.222, which—if it was a team—would put it dead last in the league.

But how does that compare to a typical road record?

On average, the road team will win an NHL game around 45% of the time. This win percentage has been slowly trending up over the years—road teams won only 42.6% of regular season games across the league in the 2005-06 season, but won 46.3% of games in the 2021-22 season. Of course, there’s variation from season to season—in 2010-11, the road win percentage got all the way up to 48.1%, and the more recent 2017-18 season it dipped to 43.7%—and the averages for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons must be taken with a grain of salt, but the general trend shows that road wins are more common now than they were 17 years ago. In the regular season, home ice advantage seems to be disappearing.

Fig. 1. Road win percentages by season from 2005-06 to 2021-22. Note that 2012-13, 2019-20, and 2020-21 are shortened seasons.

Unless, of course, the road team flew in on N803TJ.

Fig. 2. Distribution of road win percentages from 2005-06 to 2021-22.

N803TJ's current 0.222 win percentage is 3.8 standard deviations below the 2005-06 to 2021-22 league-wide mean win percentage of 0.453, and 8 mean absolute deviations below the mean. It is clearly an outlier compared to how road games usually go.

This discrepancy can’t be entirely chalked up to N803TJ carrying bad teams around, either. Yes, the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets have been the most frequent passenger on N803TJ, but the third most frequent traveler on N803TJ this season has been the league-leading Boston Bruins. The Bruins boast a road record of 13-4-1, which is a stunning points percentage of 0.750. When looking only at their four road games when flying on N803TJ, however, that drops to .500. It’s a small sample size, yes, but it’s still an indication of how powerfully cursed the Blighted Beast is that it can reduce the strongest team in the league to odds like a coin flip.

As for the Penguins, the effects of N803TJ on this season are crystal clear. The Penguins' seven game west coast losing streak in late October-early November kicked off with the team's first meeting with N803TJ, on a flight from Columbus to Edmonton. Their first game after the Christmas break was also a road loss on N803TJ. They are 1-6-0 (0.143) in seven road games after flying on the Blighted Beast; their overall road record is 10-9-2 (0.524), which means that in road games that the Penguins flew to on a different plane, they are 9-3-2 (0.714). It's as if there are two separate Penguins teams that show up to road games, and which one you get depends entirely on which plane they take to get there.

Of course, this could all change in the second half of the season. Hockey is a fickle game, and curses are made to be broken. We will have to watch closely to see when and how N803TJ's power meets its match—if it happens at all.

#the blighted beast #flight tracking #hockey #statistics #aviation #pittsburgh penguins #boston bruins #again: this is mostly a joke

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mitchski · 1 year

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top mitch/auston moments that make u want to chew ur arm off?

OF ALL TIME??? I consider myself a little 1634 historian so there's truly so. many. moments. i have limited myself to 1 per year (not per season).

2016:

CNE date this was one of the first things i made for them and first times i saw them interact and i thought hmmmm there's something here

2017:

first time they properly played together in an nhl game and auston immediately scored twice lmfao. fuck babcock foreva

2018:

the actual involvement in the nutcracker was a win for me and the size difference squad but the behind the scenes vid was a piece of herstory i'll never let go of ! (real ones get the reference here)

2019:

MITCH MARNER SHOT ON IPHONE BY AUSTON MATTHEWS!

2020:

first real season of them playing together consistently and the chemistry was just so sexc. unmatched. and auston could finally stop bitchin abt it

2021:

me when i'm talking about my 115lbs trophy wife who has maxed out all my credit cards

2022:

this is like when in aag fics they change the name of the cis man.

#anon #ask #i think i fuced up the years whatever

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ladylooch · 9 months

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Letters in Your Last Name- Chapter 11

A/N: So the next several chapters center in the COVID universe. A fun dynamic of Kevin has to leave and Sam has to stay. Our lil babes are gonna go through it a lil bit now 🥺

Word Count: 4.6k

Warnings: COVID talk, swearing, angsty

NHL suspends season indefinitely as coronavirus outbreak continues.

The air in the apartment is almost giddy despite the unknown of what is to come of the 2019-2020 NHL season. With the Coronavirus beginning to grip the world more fiercely, all large events in the United States have come to a screaming halt, seemingly overnight. As disappointing as it is for obvious reasons, it is even more so for the Wild specifically as they were really beginning to turn their season around. The last game against the Ducks in Anaheim was a dynamic game for Kevin with two power play goals to lead the team to their latest, and maybe last, win of the season. For now, players, and their families, have no choice but to wait in limbo to see what the next steps will be.

Now with all that, why are we giddy? Because since October, we haven’t spent more than 7 consecutive days together. Therefore, the idea of getting extra, almost borrowed time, has us both on a comfortable high. Kevin and I are having a lazy day, a rarity during the late season that we are taking advantage of now. We already ate a delicious dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. Now we are catching up on a few Netflix releases we have missed in the last few weeks. To All The Boys Part 2 is playing on our living room TV. My hand loosely fingers the strands of Kevin’s hair. I can tell he is drifting in and out of sleep on my lap.

The shrill sound of his phone ringing jolts both Kevin and I from our relaxed positions. He reaches for it on the coffee table, flipping the screen. We both see the picture of him and his mother. He clears his throat and rubs the sleep from his eyes.

“Ahoj?” Kevin answers in Czech. I can hear the rushed sound of talking over the other end and furrow my brows inquisitively. Kevin stands and walks out of the room to our bedroom, listening intently. When he returns a few minutes later, he is off the phone and has a worried expression. “The U.S. is banning air traffic to and from Europe on Friday.”

“What? No way… that can’t be true.” I say, becoming alert. How has this already escalated to a point where we would essentially shut down commerce and travel between continents? Fear grips my throat at the look on Kevin’s face.

“My mother just told me.” He motions to his phone. He reaches for the remote for the TV and flips to one of the national news programs. There, the President is confirming what Kevin’s mom told him just now. A travel ban will begin on Friday. All non-US citizens are restricted from entering the United States if they are coming from 26 different European countries- including Switzerland and Sweden. For now it seems, Kevin would be able to return to Europe from the United States. How long that will last is unknown at this time.

Kevin and I grow dead silent as we watch the press conference play out on NBC.

“Does this mean you need to go?” I wonder what we are both thinking out loud.

“I… Don’t know…” He trails off. I faintly hear a sound and I know it’s the fictitious noise of our bubble of bliss giving way to the cold, dreadful reality of a global pandemic.

“Kev, I’m getting nervous.” I admit to him. He reaches for me and pulls me across the couch, into his chest.

“Me too.” He whispers against my head. “I’ll call around tomorrow and figure out what I should do.” He assures me. I know his words are meant to soothe me, but they don’t. Instead, the lump of fear in my chest expands until I feel like I’m suffocating.

The next day, I sit quietly at the island in the kitchen as Kevin makes his calls. The kitchen is filled with smells of soup simmering in the crock pot and my latest bath and body works candle burns in the center of the counter. It feels like any other, winter day, but it isn’t. His first call is to Andy Heydt, Director of Hockey Operations for the Wild. Andy is still unsure of the exact direction the NHL is advising for players, but he promises to follow up with Kevin once he hears more. The next call is to his agent, who echos the same thing to Kevin- they still don’t know what to advise players to do at this time. The next few calls are to his parents, a few friends in Sweden including his trainer, Andreas. Life seems to be going on normally in Sweden despite the news from across the pond.

“This seems to be a lot of hurry up and wait.” Kevin shrugs as he tosses his phone down and sits next to me. He reaches for a piece of granola from the bowl in front of me and crunches on it. “I can’t really do anything until the NHL decides what we can do.”

“Well, they have already suspended the season, so it’s highly likely they would support players returning home.”

“Yeah, it’s just tough because we don’t know how long that will be. A few weeks, a month? No one knows at this point and if they let us leave, we likely won’t be able to return until the travel ban is lifted.”

“What a mess.” I murmur, grabbing a cluster of granola. I bring it to my lips, but can’t stand the idea of eating anything else while my stomach summersaults inside of me. I drop it back into my bowl and push the rest to Kevin. “If you can go, do you think you will?”

“I’m not sure. Honestly, I might have to with my VISA. If the league isn’t running, that means I’m not authorized to be here longer than 90 days. This shutdown could be longer than that.” Kevin explains to me, letting out a frustrated sigh. “At least we can spend some time together.” I nod in agreement. Yet, I can’t help but reflect on how long we will have.

Kevin and I pass the time snuggling on the couch under a large blanket, watching HGTV. I’m a sucker for Love it or List it even though the entire show seems staged and fake. At least it is a distraction from the heaviness of what is happening in the world right now. Kevin has fallen into a brief cat nap when his phone begins to buzz again. He puts it on speaker as Andy’s voice rings out.

“Hi guys. I just got word from the NHL & NHLPA that they are making moves to allow for players to return home. An announcement will likely be coming in the next few hours. Because of VISA expirations, the NHLPA is recommending all Non-U.S. Citizens return home. Kevin, at this time you are required to return to Sweden and self-quarantine for now. Start looking for tickets for the first flight you can find. They’re going fast. If you need help, let me know and we can get our office on it as well. The NHL & NHLPA will be meeting again in the next few weeks to decide on additional next steps for resuming the season. There is optimist talk for that to begin at the end of this month, but the likelihood of that is looking slimmer by the hour.”

“Okay.” Kevin confirms. I don’t look at him while he wraps up the conversation.

“Be safe, Kevin.” Andy ends the call with a click, off to call the other international players on the Wild.

“I guess I’m going.” Kevin whispers, pulling me into his lap. He buries his face into my body and I hold him close. I don’t want him to go. I am so afraid that he can’t stay with me. The idea of no set date of a return for the league, and therefore Kevin, makes my stomach twist into an uncomfortable knot. The way this seems to be coming together- the talk of visa expirations and leaving despite a travel ban- the league is preparing for an extended break. Kevin lifts his face and looks into my eyes. A pained expression flashes across when he takes in my tears. Now that they have started, I can’t stop them.

“I know.” He tells me, pulling me forward and resting his cheek against mine. “I’m sorry.” I nod and a hiccup sob escapes my lips. “It will be okay.” He assures me. We both know he can’t guarantee that, but it eases a bit of the pressure in my body to know he believes it.

The rest of the day is awful. Kevin begins to make his arrangements to leave and soon we can’t hide from the truth. He leaves tomorrow for Sweden on a one-way ticket. Kevin releases a heavy sign when his purchase is confirmed and flips his phone to the other side of the couch. He looks at me, but I can’t bring myself to meet his gaze. I know I should at least be pretending to be supportive in this, but it’s difficult. There is so much unknown in this world. It’s scary, yet I felt like if we were together, we could make it through. Now he is leaving and the loneliness is hovering. I can feel it descending on me like a despondent shadow trying to steal my joy.

The crockpot beeps in the kitchen signaling the Chicken Wild Rice soup is done. We both glance in that direction before our eyes meet in a loaded look. I feel tears stinging my eyes and I have to look away. I don’t want to cry again. I want to be strong for now and then completely fall apart after he leaves tomorrow.

Kevin stands and slowly walks over to the windows, looking out at the Minnesota skyline. The sun has set and the city lights twinkle in the cold winter night. I know we are both thinking similar things. This morning when the sun rose, everything was okay. Different, but okay. Now, when the sun rises tomorrow, Kevin will leave for an undetermined amount of time. I swallow the lump in my throat and slowly rise to finish the soup. I stir in the heavy cream and spoon us both up a small bowl, handing Kevin his at the window. He turns to me, grabbing it from my hands and pulling me into his arms.

“Sam, I don’t want to go. I need you to know that…” He trails off, whispering into my hair. All I can do is nod my head in acknowledgement.

“This is going to be really hard.” I whisper to him. I’m afraid if I talk any louder, my voice will break.

“I know, baby.” Kevin rests his mouth on the top of my head. We stay like that for minutes- until the soup is cold and the show ends and the sadness has begun to suffocate us. I pull away first to look into his beautiful face.

“I love you.” I say simply. It won’t fix anything or change this pandemic, but at least we have that.

“I love you too.” He responds. I grab his soup bowl from the table and walk back into the kitchen. I set the bowl down on the counter and frown at all the soup in the crockpot. The last thing I’m interested in right now is eating. The only thing I feel right now is nothing at all. I’ve evidently gone numb in the last hour.

“Baby.” Kevin calls to me from the hallway. “Let’s go to bed.” He holds his hand out for me and I take it, following him slowly down to our room. But I don’t want to go to bed. I don’t want to fall asleep and wake up knowing he will be gone in a matter of hours. Kevin throws the comforter back on our bed and pulls me into him. He settles me deep into his chest and holds on tightly. No wandering hands. No sexy smooches. Just the deep intimacy of holding one another close.

“Maybe it won’t be that long.” Kevin murmurs to me. I shake my head no. My heart can’t take the speculation of the what ifs tonight. I tilt my face up to look at him, wanting to memorize every bit of this moment together. “Even when I leave tomorrow, a part of me is staying here with you.” He tells me, brushing a strand of my hair behind my ear and holding my face in his hand. I close my eyes and lean into his touch. His thumb brushes against my lips before I feel him kiss me. It’s emotional-filled with pain, sorrow, and a deep love that leaves me aching. His hands pull me in tighter and I lace my hands behind his head.

I don’t know how I will possibly let him go tomorrow.

_ _ _

“Alright. I think that’s it.” Kevin says as he grabs the final suitcase from my SUV. He sets it on the ground and closes my trunk. Between the multiple suitcases and all of his hockey equipment, he has the luggage cart overflowing. I can’t imagine how much that all costs to fly across the ocean.

“Do you need help?” I ask him, fidgeting with my keys.

“No, I got it.” He assures me, sliding each of his arms into his backpack. “Come here.” He demands, tugging me into his chest and squeezing me tightly. We stay like that for several moments. I realize that I’m crying and I don’t even care. What is the point in being strong now? This entire week, this entire virus, has been exhausting, terrifying, and at times, heartbreaking. I want to go back to yesterday morning. The blissful, ignorance of it all was reassuring and safe.

“I don’t want to let go.” Kevin whispers to me. I just shake my head in response; there are no words left to say.

His hand rubs comfortingly up and down my back through my winter jacket. I blink rapidly as I pull away, rubbing the sleeves of my sweatshirt under my eyes. Kevin’s arms stay around me as he looks down into my face.

“I don’t know what to say to make this less hard.” He admits to me. “All I know is that I miss you so much and I’m not even gone.”

“Kev, we can’t change this. Just be safe.” I mumble to him, standing on my toes and bringing our lips together. He immediately opens his lips and his tongue finds my mouth. The kiss is passionate and painful. I never want it to end. His hands pull me tighter to him. I grip his jacket firmly, trying to stay as close and held by him as possible.

“I love you.” I tell him earnestly when we pull apart.

“I love you too.” He repeats to me. The sadness on his features breaks my heart all over again. “Be safe, okay?” I nod my head as my bottom lip quivers again.

With all my remaining resolve, I step from his arms completely. Kevin stays there for a moment, just looking at me. I’ve never seen his face so sullen, his eyes so desperate and his demeanor so damn sad.

“Kev… just go.” I encourage him, knowing it’s what he needs to hear. A final, dark expression crosses his face but he nods in response.

“Bye.”

“Bye. Have a safe flight.” I watch as he puts his mask on. I swallow hard, determined to keep it somewhat together until he has disappeared into the airport.

“I’ll call you when I get there.” He tells me as he puts his hands on the cart. It takes all my will power to not step towards him and beg for him to hold me just a few moments longer. Instead I look at his shoes, because if I look at his face, I’ll be done.

“Okay.” I whisper to him. When I lift my eyes to his, I’m right. I’m done. Tears fall from my eyes in a steady stream. Kevin’s eyes are getting glassy and he’s trying hard not to let his tears fall. He reaches for me and I rush into his arms one final time. My tears soak into the shoulder of his jacket. When we release each other again, we know it has to be the last time.

With a final longing look, he turns and pushes the cart towards the door. I watch his retreating back, eating up every second that I can get of him. When he disappears through the door, a strangled sob escapes my lips. God damn it. Leaving him at this airport might just kill me. I suck in a breath of air and it immediately comes out as another sob. I press my hand to my lips and turn, jumping into my SUV and resting my head on the steering wheel. I don’t care that I’m sitting in a space someone else could use. I don’t care that security is walking along the sidewalk encouraging people to keep moving. I can’t think of anything beyond the deep, aching pain in my chest.

This is not how it’s supposed to be.

_ _ _

In July, the ringing of a FaceTime call pulls me away from my intense concentration of coloring in my adult coloring book. Entertainment is tough to come by when most of the city is shut down still due to COVID. Living in downtown was warm and homey prior to COVID. Now, it’s just cold and industrial without people around. I miss the constant stream of cars and noise. In April, I had to buy a white noise machine just to be able to get to sleep every night.

I reach for my phone, smiling when I see Kevin’s face.

“Hi!” I say excitedly, “Tell me you have good news!”

There have been rumblings in the hockey and media circles that the NHL is close to resuming. It’s been almost five months since the NHL season was paused. It’s been over 100 days since I’ve seen Kevin. To say it’s been difficult would be an understatement. What feels more difficult is that Kevin is able to live relatively normal in Sweden, while we have been under various mandates and lock downs to mitigate the spread of this virus. When Kevin first returned, he was cautious. He spent most of his time in his apartment or training at the local arena. However, as the months have dragged on, he’s gotten pretty loose. Part of me worries for him and the other part of me is insanely jealous.

“Relatively good.” He confirms. “I’ll be back soon!”

“Yay!” I yell, kicking my legs in excitement.

“And then I’ll be leaving for Canada in three weeks.”

“What? No.” The smile drops from my face. “The league is doing the bubble?” I groan, throwing myself back down onto the couch.

“Yeah.” He sighs deeply. “Sorry, babe. But at least we will have some time together.” I watch as Kevin walks out of the arena and into the bright sunlight. Sweden looks gorgeous today. Kevin waves to someone out of the camera view, then looks back down at his phone. “I’m heading back to my place to look at flights. I can let you know what a few of the options are to see what works best?”

“Whatever gets you to me the fastest and soonest.” I say to him. He grins in response, nodding. “I miss you so much, Kev. I’m so excited to see you!”

“Me too, baby. What are you up to?”

“Coloring.” I show him my coloring book. It’s a black and white page filled with different types of flowers. In the middle in loopy calligraphy are the words eat a bag of dicks. “For Alex.” I wink at Kevin who bursts out laughing.

“I want to be there when you give that to him.”

“You better get here soon then. I think I’m going to frame it and give it to him for his birthday next week.” I giggle wickedly at that. “Speaking of birthdays, what are you doing for yours tomorrow?” I wonder, tossing my art project to the side and focusing in on him.

“Andreas is taking me to a good pizza place here.” He mentions his off-season coach as he settles into the driver seat of his car. “I wish you were here though.” He gives me a small, sad tilt of his lips.

“Stupid COVID.” I pout at him. “I hope someone gets you a princess cake!”

“I actually got myself one already.” He admits somewhat sheepishly. “I’ve been dying for a piece all day but forced myself to wait until after training.”

“Cake for breakfast is definitely a birthday tradition for you.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him. We both grin as we remember his birthday last year in Sweden. Frosting everywhere, his sheets being ruined and us not caring at all.

“Just doesn’t taste as good without you though.” He beams at me.

We chat a little bit longer as Kevin drives back to his place. Eventually, we end the call as Kevin gets ready to hop into the shower. He has a meeting with a company for a potential sponsorship opportunity. It’s an athletic, energy drink that we do not have in the United States. He says he will bring some back for me to try.

Once our call ends, I busy myself with completing Alex’s picture. I search around various websites for a frame, finding one on Amazon that can be delivered tomorrow. Satisfied with my purchase, I begin the chores I’ve been putting off for the last few days, including laundry, dishes, and cleaning the bathroom. Once I’ve accomplished those, I turn my attention to dinner. I found a soup recipe on Pinterest that seems light enough for summer. Even though the summer heat in Minnesota feels oppressive at times, there is something about soup that comforts me. I could use some of that as I wait out the last few weeks before Kevin arrives. I ponder when he may be back. Hopefully it’s within the next week or so. It’s hard to know what options are available with how limited the flight choices are these days.

My phone jingles as I’m cutting up the onion for my soup. I glance down, seeing it’s the front desk of our building. I click the green button and shove my phone between my cheek and shoulder so I can continue working on dinner.

“Hi Dave.” I answer. We have a few people who work the front desk here, but I know it's Dave today. With limited interaction with the outside world, I've gotten to know the front desk people and their schedules well. Dave is my favorite though. He's in his second career after retiring from the Postal Service at an early age.

“Hi Sam, you have a food delivery here.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t order anything. Does it say from where?” I ask adjusting the phone from my shoulder to my hand.

“Not sure. It’s just a white bag.”

“Okay, I’ll be down in a second.”

I end the call as I’m stuffing my feet into my sandals. I grab my keys from the bowl, trying not to frown at the sight of Kevin’s keys. Soon. He will be home soon. I take the elevator to the lobby. Dave is waiting for me outside the elevator and hands me the white bag.

“I figured I’d save you a few steps.” He smiles kindly at me.

“Thanks, Dave. Are you heading home soon?”

“I am, but I’ll be back tomorrow- same time and place.”

“Well, I’ll stop by with some soup. I’m trying a new recipe tonight.”

“I’d like that. Goodnight, Sam.”

I wave goodbye and hit the 15th floor again before peering into the bag. I can see a gold, Wuollet’s Bakery sticker on the white box along with a red ribbon securing the sides. It’s sizable and heavy, but I’m unsure what is in it or who it could be from. When I enter the apartment, I set the bag on the counter and carefully lift the box out of the bag. Beneath the box is a white card with my name on it. I open the envelope and flip the card over to read the message.

Save some for when I’m home on Friday. I love you!- Kevin

My stomach drops to my knees and I let out an excited squeal. I carefully undo the ribbon from the box and open the top to reveal a Princess Torte. Although not completely the same, it’s very similar to what Kevin will be having tomorrow for his birthday. I glance at the time, seeing it is after midnight in Sweden, meaning it’s officially his birthday. I grab my phone and click on his name to begin the FaceTime call. Kevin picks up after one ring.

“Hi birthday boy.” I murmur to him through my large grin. He cheeses back to me in his dark apartment.

“Hi beautiful.” He tells me as he sits up, pausing the show he is watching.

“It’s your birthday, but I’m getting cake?” I ask him, flipping the camera so he can see the cake.

“Well, it is technically for both of us.” He insists, his smile somehow grows larger.

“You’re really coming back that soon?”

“Yep!”

“Baby…” I trail off, looking back at the princess cake.

“Friday.” He confirms to me.

“Two more sleeps.” I respond.

“I have to quarantine…” He reminds me.

“Shush. Don’t ruin it.” I tell him, grabbing a knife to cut into the cake.

“Okay.” He laughs. “Hey, that’s a big piece.” He scolds me jokingly, watching me cut into the green fondant. “At this rate, you’re going to eat it all without me.”

“Oh my god, Kevin. You like this cake more than me.” I tisk at him, turning the camera so it’s back on me.

“Eh.. It’s good, but not that good.”

“Uh huh.“ I roll my eyes at him while savoring the bite of sugary goodness.

“It’s really doing something for me watching you suck on that fork.” Just to tease him, I flick my tongue up the fork and giggle. “You’re gonna have to pay for teasing me like this.”

“Looking forward to it.” I tell him, running my tongue along my lips tantalizingly slow. I watch him gulp before I take another slow bite of the cake.

“Damn.” He mutters to me, blowing out a quick breath. “I can’t wait to kiss that mouth.”

I take a sip of my water from my Yeti and laugh lightly. When I return my gaze to him, he’s watching me through sleepy eyes.

“You should go to sleep. Just because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you get a day off from training.” I tease him. Kevin yawns and rubs a hand over his face.

“That’s true. If anything, I’m probably going to get my ass kicked.”

“That’s how you know Andreas cares.” I give him a sweet smile, pushing the cake away to lean against the counter. “I’ll see you soon though.”

“So soon.” He whispers back to me. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Okay. I love you. Happy birthday, babe.”

“Thank you. Love you.” He smiles before I end the call.

My heart swells as I glance at the clock.

Only 48 more hours of living in different countries.

But who’s counting?

#letters in your last name au #kevin fiala #Kevin Fiala Fic #los angeles kings #my writing #hockey fan fiction #hockey writing #NHL writing

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cellythefloshie · 1 year

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ummm, benn is a bitch to take dunns stick and punch him while he's on the bench. Captain Yanni would never. I know Lars took good care of calming down Vince in the locker room.....as did the Kraken road wifie 😈

This quickly became a very long hockey-stats-based post, so I have put my rant about why Benn is a horrible teammate and captain beneath the read more.

Having watched Yanni play hockey for many years in Tampa before he moved over to the Kraken I wouldn't say he would never BUT he would leave it out on the ice, not on the bench like Benn. Yanni likes to start shit and get under their skin, but I don't think he would be taking another player's stick from the bench.

Lars and Vince seem like such great friends - and Dunn plays with so much passion that I'm sure that Lars has had to learn a few things on how to bring Dunn back down to a calm. And a RW would have to master this so fast, and she would be very good at it.

I said it in 2019, and I have been saying it for years. Benn is an anchor on his team - and not the good kind. Jaime Benn has had 768 (90 in the playoffs) Penalty Minutes in his career. To compare these are the career penalty minutes of some of his teammates. The teammates I selected are In a similar age range. The number in brackets is their playoff penalty minutes)

Seguin - 277 (24)

Marchment - 151 (16)

Pavelski - 438 (82)

Dadonov - 38 (4)

Glendening - 259 (12)

Suter - 733 (58)

And their career playoff stats in comparison. It will be formatted as games played - goal - assists - plus/minus

Benn 75-21-37-+10

Seguin 104-20-37-+12

Marchment 19-6-2- -7

Pavelski 172-69-62-+4

Dadonov 13-4-3-+3

Glendening 32-4-2- -7

Suter 104-6-31- -24

The PK for the Dallas Stars this season was 82% in 2019, 79% in 2020-2022 and 83% this season. Which I would argue is pretty good. As the best in the NHL this season was 87% (BOS). But that means the opponent is scoring the other 17% of the time.

With Benn's 34 penalty minutes this season, assuming each is a 2-minute minor - that would mean taking a goal against 5 times during the season because he took a penalty. If we take that same calculation and apply it to his career penalty minutes of 768 that is 130 goals against total and 15 in the postseason. That is 15 goals that have cost him a game, and even a playoff series. *cough*Against Tampa Bay*cough* - I am a strong believer that he cost Dallas the cup in the bubble with the penalties he took during that series.

It absolutely baffles me that this man has the C when he fails to embody the characteristics I believe a Captain should have on the ice. He does not have to be the best scorer on the team, but he should not be the one that always finds himself in the box either. It would be like giving Tom Wilson the C in Washington.

#celly answers

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toasttt11 · 3 months

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clementine bedard

Clementine Faye Bedard

Number: 89

Season: fourth

Position: C

Height: 5”8

Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

S/C: R/L

NHL: NJD

Prev Team: Vancouver Giants

NHL

Selected 1st overall (first round) by the New Jersey Devils in the 2020 NHL Draft.

WHL

Drafted first overall in 2017, the first WHL player with exceptional status, and won the Jim Piggot Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie player in her debut season.

International

Team Canda

2023 World Championship - Gold Medal, 13 G, 13 A, 10 GP

2022 World Championship- Silver Medal , 10 G, 11 A, 10 GP

2021 World Championship-Gold Medal, 12 G, 12 A, 10 GP

2020 World Junior Championship- Gold Medal, 11 G, 9 A, 7 GP

2019 World Junior Championship- Silver Medal, 9 G, 7 A, 7 GP

2018 World Junior Championship- Gold Medal, 10 G, 6 A, 7 GP

2017 U18 World Championship- Gold Medal, 7 G, 7 A, 7 GP

NHL

Fourth Year (2023-2024)

75 G, 69 A, 80 GP

Singed a contract for 70 millions dollars for the next nine years and three million dollar bonus.

Assistant Captain

Third Year (2022-2023)

67 G, 40 A, 76 GP

Ted Lindsay award

Assistant Captain

Second Year (2021-2022)

50 G, 35 A, 75 GP

Rookie Year (2020-2021)

30 G, 26 A, 56 P, 56 GP

Received the Rookie of the Year award.

Signed a Contract for 12 Million dollars for three years and a 1 million dollar signing bonus.

WHL

2019-2020

Vancouver Giants

30 G, 25 A, 28 GP

Bob Clarke Throphy

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy

Captain

Draft Year

2018-2019

Vancouver Giants

78 G, 77 A, 72 GP

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy

Won the WHL Championship

2017-2018

Vancouver Giants

53 G, 67 A, 72 GP

Rookie of the Year

Four Broncos Memorial Trophy

Before WHL

2016-2017

West Van Academic Prep U 18

65 G, 40 A, 50 GP

2015-2016

West Van Academic Prep U 15

50 G, 36 A, 45 GP

Personal

• Born August 31, 2002

• Daughter of Melanie and Jim Bedard

• Has two siblings Connor and Madison Bedard.

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1000waystofallinlove · 1 month

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Cameron Hart Character Bio

Now that you have gotten to meet Cameron in the present day, I thought it would be fun to share a little more background on him like I did for Jordan a couple weeks ago :)

Cameron Matthew Hart was born on January 9th 1993 (Capricorn, he's v much a Capricorn) to Gordon & Wendy Hart, making him 27 at the start of In the Wreckage (yes, it begins in 2020; no, COVID does not exist in this little fictional universe).

Cameron was born and raised in the Richmond Hill Area of Toronto, but he is a dual Canadian and American citizen. His mom is American and grew up outside of Philadelphia. His parents met in New York City when they were both living and working there.

Cameron is the youngest of three children. His brother Nate is 5 years older than him and his sister Jessica is 3 years older. He is the only one of his siblings who was not born in the US, his family moved to Canada when his mom was pregnant with him. You'll learn a little more about his family dynamics as the story continues.

Phyiscal Traits (Disregard if you like to create your own headcannon, I won't be offended):

Hair Color: Dirty Blonde

Eye Color: Light Blue

Height: 6'0" according to his official NHL stats, but really he's more like 5'10.5"

Weight: 187 according to his NHL stats, but he has lost weight/muscle since his injury

Hockey Career Info:

Position: Center

Draft Info: Entered the draft in 2011; was drafted 1st overall by the NJ Devils

Juniors: Spent 2 seasons in the OHL playing for the London Knights (2009 - 2011) (this is where he met Jordan Davis)

AHL: Did not spend any time in the AHL

NHL: Spent his entire playing career for the NJ Devils; 2011 - 2019 (Career ending injury occurred in early March 2019)

Team Leadership: Was made captain at the start of the 2013 season

Awards: Calder, 4x Art Ross, 3x Hart Memorial Trophy, 2x Ted Lindsay

LMK if there are any other Cameron facts you want to know and, so long as they're not spoilers, I'm happy to share!!

#Cameron Hart #In the Wreckage #character bio #canon

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juuicysaros · 2 months

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THE UNOFFICIAL ST. LOUIS BLUES PRIMER PART THREE: GOALIES + MORE

JORDAN BINNINGTON (Binner)

Info: #50, STL 2011

Last season: 3.31 GAA + .894 SV%

History: Played his first ever NHL game in an emergency role in the 15-16 season, then developed in the minors until the fateful 18-19 season where he was the backup to Jake Allen. Through the season, he proved that he could by the #1 goalie for the team and started each of the Blues' 26 playoff games. He became the regular Blues starting goalie, though he would split starts with Ville Husso in the 21-22 season, and then start 61 of 82 games in the 22-23 season (sorry to Griess, he was not very good). The 23-24 season has been a bit of a redemption season for him after posting his worst ever numbers last year and also being notably rowdier than usual.

Profile: Look. He's a good goalie. He's a GREAT goalie when he has a reliable backup, which he definitely does this season. He's never been able to replicate the level he was on in the 18-19 season, but he's still proven time and again that he is a good goalie. On a more technical level, he has a tendency to over-commit to one shot or angle and leave the back door wide open, which isn't great on a team with an unreliable defense. My dad says he sometimes "flops around like a fish" so take that as you will.

Other: Grew up playing with current Thunderbirds goalie Malcolm Subban! Also he got married summer of 2023 and a lot of the younger guys from the 18-19 season, several of which haven't played on the Blues in a few years, were there :) it was sweet :)

JOEL HOFER (Hof) (?)

Info: #30, STL 2018

Last season: 2.50 GAA + .921 SV% (AHL)

History: ROOKIE GOALIE !!!! He played 6 games last year after Binnington's suspension, and proved himself so well that the Blues had three goalies on their roster for an extra week or so. In the AHL he's averaged about a .910 SV% and he actually scored a goal in the 2022 Calder Cup playoffs !! He has one more year on his two-year one-way contract, but if he keeps playing the way he is, he'll probably be sticking around for a while longer! He's definitely still adjusting to the NHL but he's only been improving

Other: Lives with Jake Neighbours! Their friendship is very cute, definitely watch for them in the headbutt line after wins :) My mom says he looks very polite

ROOKIES/SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS PLAYERS TO KNOW !

disclaimer: i don't watch the AHL games. im not made of money. also for the record they play in springfield, massachusetts

NIKITA ALEXANDROV

Info: #59, C, STL 2019

Smaller player weight-wise but still throws himself around. Up and down between STL and Springfield a bunch as he develops. Young and inexperienced but played well in the 22-23 season when he played 28 NHL games !

MACKENZIE MACHEACHERN

Info: #28, LW, STL 2012

Nearly 30 and has played 123 NHL games. Played for the Hurricanes organization last year but returned to the Thunderbirds for the 23-24 season. Reliable callup if someone is injured.

HUGH MCGING

Info: #56, LW, STL 2018

Literally the funniest name in the world, and he's on a team with Mackenzie Maceachern. Made his NHL debut last season and played a handful of games this season and has yet to score a point, but seems solid on the Thunderbirds!

JAKUB VRANA

Info: #15, LW, WSH 2014

Won the cup with the Capitals in 2018, came to the Blues at the 2023 trade deadline and had a fantastic 10 goals and 14 points in just 20 games. He came back for the 23-24 season, made the team, and then did not play up to potential. Was a regular healthy scratch for about half of the games in the first half of the season, and then got sent to Springfield. Has spent non-insignificant amounts of time in the AHL in the last several seasons

MATTHEW KESSEL

Info: #51, RD, STL 2020

Currently in the Blues lineup as players deal with injuries! Has played 8 NHL games between this season and last season and has yet to score a point, but has been very good on the Thunderbirds!! Solid young right-shot defenseman with offensive ability :)

ADAM GAUDETTE

Info: #88, C, VAN 2015

Technically a prospect despite having played 218 NHL games between the Canucks, Blackhawks, and Senators. Came to the Blues at the 2023 trade deadline in the O'Reilly and Acciari trade after spending the season playing for the Toronto Marlies. He already has 23 goals + 35 points in just 35 games with the Thunderbirds, was AHL player of the month in Oct 2023, and was just recently named to the AHL All Star Game! Currently leads the entire AHL in goals

kind of a stud. hope to see him play on the blues at some point <3

NAMES YOU MIGHT HEAR: Zachary Bolduc, Leo Loof, Jimmy Snuggerud, Otto Stenberg, Dalibor Dvorsky, Juraj Pekarcik. All recent high draft picks (2022-2023) and players to keep an eye on if you’re interested !

#blues primer #i dont know ANY of these guys nicknames. my bad

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kniesys · 2 years

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0426 primer

aka gavin brindley and seamus casey, baby wolverines

starting off with the background, the two boys grew up near each other and have been best friends since they were about five years old

so they’re besties! we’ve established that!

so the two have played in tournaments together pre umich.

they played together during the 2019-2020 season, but were split up during the 2020-2021 season, along with the 2021-2022 season as gavin played for the tri-city storm, and seamus played for the usntdp. both boys played on the US national u18 team in 21-22 together.

a little bit about them each individually

seamus

- drafted 46th overall to the new jersey devils

- from fort myers florida

- celeb crush is margo robbie (love her!)

- is a defenseman

gavin

- eligible for the 2023 nhl draft, he’s a top prospect

- also from fort myers florida

- plays right wing, is on an all freshman line with jackson hallum and rutger mcgroaty

gavin got an assist on seamus’s first goal, cue. the cute celebration from the two!

some photos of the two, all from either of their instagrams

this instagram post, pretty self explanatory

that is all! if i missed anything, i apologize!!

#umich rpf #hrpf #tw rpf #0426 #0426 primer #michigan wolverines #umich hockey #gavin brindley #seamus casey #rpf chats #please boost!

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firechilde · 7 months

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For everyone complaining he was getting special treatment….he’s not.

Just curious: if you entered the NHL prior to 2019 what protects you from a puck to the head? ⬇️

From Rule 9.6: It is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up.

#connor bedard #leave the kid alone #it’s a stupid rule #likability factor 💯

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nicohischier · 11 months

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thoughts on nolan patrick induced brainrot

Oh so many thoughts. All the thoughts. Too many thoughts.

Here’s the thing with Nolan, okay? His story so far has always been fairly synonymous with tragedy. You can argue with that statement if you want, but so much of his career so far just points in the direction of a tragedy, at least in my eyes.

Let me first start this off by telling you that Nolan Patrick can be and has been described by three characteristics: injury prone, second overall, and draft bust. They’re not his only characteristics, but they are the ones used most frequently to talk about him since 2017.

(by the way. this is 2000 words long. so. open with caution?)

Injury Prone – Juniors Version

In his first season after being drafted by the Wheat Kings in the 2013 WHL Draft, he was called up because the Wheat Kings had a lot of their own injuries but he wasn’t able to play during that call up because he had a shoulder injury. In his rookie year the following season, he missed a dozen games with an upper body injury. At the end of his 2015-16 season he revealed that he was suffering a sports hernia he had been playing through. In 2016-17, his draft season, Nolan only played a few games before the Wheat Kings announced that he wasn’t fully healed from the sports hernia and he was out for most of the season (he ended up playing 33 games that season) and missed playing in World Juniors.

Then, after he was drafted, he missed his first development camp with the Flyers because he was recovering from a surgery he had gotten done before the draft.

Despite all the injuries haunting him, he still was a top rated prospect and, fun fact, was actually rated higher than Nico.

Unfortunately, however, the injuries didn’t stop following him just because he switched from the WHL to the NHL.

Injury Prone – NHL Version

He was actually fairly healthy for his first two seasons in Philly. He missed some games in his rookie season after a rough hit, but those were the only games he missed. Again, in his sophomore season he missed a few games but there was nothing super drastic. And then the 2019 offseason came around.

Some time before the 2019-20 season Nolan was officially diagnosed with chronic migraines and he ended up missing the entire season. He might have made a return late in the season, but COVID ended the season early, so we’ll never know. He did play when the 2020-21 season started up but he didn’t perform very well (which isn’t entirely shocking considering he was coming back after a year and a half (?) of not playing NHL hockey and he himself admitted to taking his return a bit more tentatively because he was worried about his migraines).

Then, before the 2021-22 season started Nolan hired a new agent and got himself traded to Vegas (with a pit stop in Nashville for all of five minutes or whatever). He got injured a few games into that season, played a total of 25 games, and hasn’t played a game since the end of that season. Presumably that fact has something to do with injury or recovery but don’t quote me on that.

The point is that while Nolan didn’t deal with the constant yoyoing of injured-healthy-injured-healthy that he was dealing with while in juniors, what he was dealing with after coming into the NHL is ultimately a lot more serious and will have a much larger impact on the future of his career.

Second Overall – The 2017 Entry Draft

I know we were just talking about the NHL but we actually have to drop back to the 2017 Draft and the time just before the draft because this is obviously the keypoint for the ‘second overall’ characteristic.

So, I mentioned that prior to the draft, Nolan was technically rated higher than Nico, which is true. Granted, Nico was rated the second top prospect, so not that much higher, but still. What the important takeaway from this is that the 2017 Draft was genuinely a toss-up between Nico and Nolan. Nico going first generally came down to what the Devils were looking for from their selection (and maybe Nolan’s injury history played a part in the Devils picking Nico instead but I can’t be certain).

Some drafts are more-or-less a guarantee for which prospect is going first (see: 2015, 2016, the upcoming 2023) but 2017 was very much a ??? until the lottery when people could start making speculations about who would most benefit the Devils’ needs.

Anyway, the point is that Nolan was the highest rated prospect going into the draft.

For a solid while before the draft Nolan was considered THE top pick. But then Halifax brought this kid over from Switzerland and he tore up the QMJHL and all of a sudden there was another prospect breathing down Nolan’s neck when it came to FOA consideration.

Ultimately, as we all know now, Nico ended up going FOA and Nolan went SOA to the Flyers.

Obviously going SOA isn’t a tragedy in and of itself but you do have to consider the “what could have been?” if Nolan had gone FOA or if Nico had never come over from Switzerland.

But, to be honest, I’m a huge fan of the general tragedy that haunts SOAs so maybe I’m just focusing way too hard on the SOA part of his story. The reality is that him going second is only a minor blip in the tragedy that is the Nolan Patrick narrative. Him going SOA is just a stepping stone toward the ‘draft bust’ part of his tragedy.

Draft Bust

The facts: Nolan went SOA. He has played 222 games. He has scored 32 goals. He has 77 points. He is prone to injury. He has missed two seasons and is not a guarantee to ever come back.

The other facts: there are some incredible players who are having incredible careers who were selected after Nolan. Just some of those players are Miro Heiskanen, 3rd, Cale Makar, 4th, Elias Pettersson, 5th, Nick Suzuki, 13th, Jake Oettinger, 26th, Jason Robertson, 39th, Stuart Skinner, 78th. And that’s just some of the superstar names. I could’ve also mentioned guys who aren’t superstars for their teams but are almost definitely going to make a career out of being Good and Useful.

(and can we take a minute to appreciate how well the dallas stars drafted in 2017? holy shit.)

Disclaimer: I am not saying that Nolan is never going to come back and turn into a superstar or become Good and Useful. I can only work with what I have in front of me, which is what I’ve presented you with.

The tragedy of this, beyond the fact that he is, at least currently, a draft bust, is that the sheer amount of talent behind him will always be tied to his name. He is never going to be Nolan Patrick anymore and the guys behind him (especially Heiskanen, Makar, and Pettersson) are never going to be themselves. They’re all always going to have their draft order tied to their name. The only difference is that when they speak about Heiskanen or Makar or Pettersson people are going to say they should have gone higher. When they speak about Nolan, they’re going to say he should have gone lower.

I could say more probably (definitely) but I’m already at 1200 words and I did actually still want to talk about the poem even though I don’t expect ANYONE to have read this far LMAO. But on the off chance someone is here because they ALSO have super intense nolpat brain rot… hello. It’s just you and me baby.

The Poem – Frame by Frame (except for the ones I skip)

Frame Two: “it’s the same when love comes to an end” with Nolan facing the camera and the rest of the Flyers facing away, in the background.

Fairly self-explanatory I think, but sometimes OP places the text in specific locations that make my brain explode and I needed to emphasize the importance of specifically putting “when love comes to an end” over the Flyers.

Once upon a time, the Flyers were Nolan’s team and Nolan was supposed to be the Flyers’ future. Their highest draft pick since 2007. Things fell apart and the organization fell out of love with him (did they ever have enough time to fall in love with him?) and he fell out of love with the organization.

Frame Three: “or the marriage fails and people say they knew it was a mistake” over an aerial shot of Nolan over the Flyers logo.

I mean. All you have to do is change some words, right? The draft fails, people say they knew it was a mistake.

Draft bust.

Need I say more?

And the solo aerial shot… because who bears the emotional pain of being a failed top prospect? That former top prospect and no one else. He is alone in his knowledge that he wasn’t good enough and he alone must face the words people say about him in the aftermath.

Frame Six: “like being there by that summer ocean on the other side of the island while love was fading out of him” over a shot of Nolan and some other Flyers on the bench, waiting to give high fives to their teammates.

If I want to overanalyze this I could talk about how ‘the island’ is the Flyers as a team, ‘on the other side’ refers to how he felt distanced from the team or like he was never truly a part of them (because he felt like he was a disappointment?), and ‘while love was fading out of him’ could refer to the fact that Nolan very probably requested his trade out of Philly.

On the other hand, if I wanted to break my own heart, I could talk about how the person whose love was fading out of them is actually the Flyers organization and fans as a vague entity who, once full of love and hope for their first SOA in a decade, were now turning sour on the failed top prospect whose future will probably never stop being shaped like a giant question mark.

But I don’t want to do either, so let’s pretend I said nothing, okay?

Frame Eight: “the stars burning so extravagantly those nights that anyone could tell you they would never last” over a shot Nolan in a celly with the team.

I actually included the lines on Frame Seven to provide context because I, once again, just want to talk about OP’s placement of the words. Specifically the “they would never last” that sort of outlines Nolan’s figure.

If I think too hard about it I will get sad so just take a second to think about how bright a SOA must shine for a fanbase and a team and how much everyone always expects from a high draft pick and then just take a moment to appreciate the beauty and pain in OP outlining Nolan with the words “they would never last” and let’s just all agree to move on so I don’t get even more sad.

Frame Nine & Ten: “I believe Icarus was not falling as he fell, but just coming to the end of his triumph” over a shot of Nolan leaving the bench with TK still on it (9) & Nolan in a celly with the team.

I lumped these two frames because they’re important to go together, right? Not just to keep the full quote intact, but also because it shows that Nolan’s time in Philly wasn’t just a tragedy.

He had guys like TK, who became like a brother to him (at least from the way they portrayed their friendship to the fans) and he had his team who loved him, regardless of the expectations the organization had laid out that he was failing to meet.

I call his story a tragedy, and I genuinely think it is one, but it is probably wrong to reduce it to solely a tragedy. Maybe his time in Philly contributes to the overall tragedy of his story, but on its own? How can I reduce the love he found in Philly to only a footnote in the overarching tragedy?

#i promise i do also actually talk about the poem too. you just have to scroll a bit 😭#i just had to get all the brain rot out first #asked and answered #anonymous #sorry dude idk what happened you just brought up like. a combination of some of the things im most insane about #nolan. the tragedy that is a SOA. the 2017 draft class. ops poems.

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