#2020 nhl draft

[annieqattheperipheral]

this one's for those interested in events bts!

here's the nhl chief content officer talking about preparing for playoffs and surrounding events in sunrise & edmonton (no direct flights between the two cities!), then immediately flying to vegas to rehearse awards & draft

also some stuff on the 2020 bubble in edmonton with jason demers chiming in

vid at x1.25

Florida - Game 1: the kid laroi ; Game 2: dj khaled

Edmonton - canadian performers tba

[prettytoxicrevolver]

Protector | Matt Rempe

wc. 2.1k

You decide to go on a first date on Valentine's Day but what happens when the date goes beyond horrible? You call your best friend to help save you from it.

warnings: really really mean date, mentions a concern for being drugged but nothing actually happens

So maybe going on a first date with a guy you’ve never met before on Valentine’s Day was not your best idea. 

The fomo of Valentine's day has been weighing on you ever since you were a teenager. You were far from the most popular kid in school and had little luck in the love department as you worked through college. Now freshly out of college, living in Manhattan and kicking off your career, you figured now was the time to start getting out there and going on dates. 

To say you have hated online dating ever since trying it would be an extreme understatement. It felt like you had been on hundreds of dates with zero success and tonight was no exception. 

Your date Paul was a bit older than you, unemployed at the moment and looking for a new relationship after just leaving his ex. He met up with you at this fancy restaurant you have never been to and has so far criticized everything about you. 

“Why would you order seafood?” Paul sneers, looking down at your dish. “It’s gonna make your breath smell and I don’t want to have to deal with that later.” 

You’re shocked at how you’re able to keep your face neutral, at least long enough to cough out some excuse that you needed to use the restroom. You grab your purse and your phone, excusing yourself before speed walking over to the bathroom. Once safely inside, you open your phone but pause directly afterwards. 

Who were you supposed to call? 

You were still fairly new to the city, your best friend still lives back home, college friends were either out with their partners or out at a bar, there didn’t seem like anyone could come to your rescue. You started to think through excuses to make to Paul but fall flat. 

Then, you do something you shouldn’t. You call him. 

Matt was just settling into his short break from the NHL. Granted he hasn’t played a ton of games, he still reveled in a break from the grueling schedule of hockey life in general. He knew he was due back to the rangers in less than a week but for now he was content in catching up on some reading and relaxing. 

Just as he’s settled into his couch, fantasy novel in hand, his phone goes off. He looks down, spotting your contact flashing on his screen and he sighs quietly. He remembers you mentioning a date for today but he can’t remember much past that. 

You and Matt have been friends for about a year now and Matt has had a crush on you for even longer than that. Damn near since he got drafted to the Rangers back in 2020. You had done some on and off work for the Rangers for a while now, a side hustle job that Matt wished was your full time one so he could see you more often. 

You were there the day he was drafted, stepping in for media/photos for the day and he had beat himself up for years following for not getting your number that day. When he saw you during his NHL debut it felt like fate was on his side and he made sure to introduce himself better this time. 

You’ve been close friends ever since but that only made Matt’s crush on you grow stronger. He always tried to play it off but time and time again of saving you, protecting you, was hurting his heart more and more. He promised he’d always be there for you but at what cost? His heart? 

Still, he picks up anyway. 

“Hello?” 

Your heart floods in relief at Matt’s familiar voice, a jump of butterflies adding to the mixture as well. 

“Oh thank god,” you release in a breath. “I really need your help.” 

Matt’s heart clenches at your words and he can’t help the way he’s already standing from his seat, walking over to where he keeps his keys. 

“This guy I’m on a date with is a total creep and now that I think about it I left my drink uncovered just now and I’m scared and he keeps making weird comments and-” 

“I’m on my way,” Matt interjects, anger flaring his words and you visibly relax at his response. 

You hang up the phone, shooting Matt a text with the address you were at and he tells you he’ll only be five minutes. You make your way back to the table where Paul is clearly unamused. 

“What? You have an emergency? You suddenly need to leave right this minute?” he asks sarcastically and you shake your head. 

“No I just-” you start but he’s quick to cut you off. 

“You know, a decent person would just tell someone that the date isn’t going well instead of making excuses. This is the worst date I’ve ever been on.” 

“Excuse me?” you snap, anger rising in your chest. You had been nothing but kind and polite this entire time and all he’s done is rip into you and you were done playing the sweet and demure girl. 

“Firstly, you pick this horrible restaurant. Then, you catfish me, lying about your weight and showing up looking like you just rolled out of bed. God and your personality! You-” 

His rant sends you into a spiral that causes you to freeze, unable to react in any way. Your brain blocks out his next words, not sure what to do next when the decision is taken out of your hands. You watch as someone steps up, grabbing Paul by the shirt and hauling him up from his chair. 

The minute Matt steps into the restaurant he spots you, your posture stiff and unwelcoming, something that sets him on edge instantly. He starts to walk over, his long strides making short work of the distance but when he hears your date's words it takes all of him not to start sprinting at him. 

“You are such an obnoxious little-“ Paul continues but Matt has him by the collar of his shirt and is pulling him out of his seat before he can finish the words. 

“Don’t you ever,” Matt’s voice snaps you out of your state and you stare as he pushes Paul backwards, effectively blocking him from you. “Speak to her or fuck even look at her again, or it will be the last thing you do.” 

Matt is breathing heavily like he just completed a 3 minute shift on the ice and is still staring down his opponent. He’s trying to tamp down his anger but he never realized what people meant about seeing red until this moment. This rat faced looking dick was saying these things to you? Oh Matt was gonna kill him. 

The restaurant is deafeningly silent after Matt’s words and you watch as Paul analyzes the situation before holding his hands up in surrender. Matt stares him down for another moment or two before turning towards you. 

Matt wants nothing more than to turn and lunge at Paul and beat him senseless but he knows you and your safety are the priority. He grabs your purse and jacket before taking your hand in his other free one and pulling you out of the restaurant. 

Matt drags you down the block before you finally pull him to a stop, the intensity of the moment still thrumming in your veins. Matt turns to face you, waiting for you to do or say something and you take a deep breath, running a hand through your hair. His heart leaps looking at you, wanting to pull you into his chest and hold you close so you know you’re safe but wanting to give you space to process what just happened. 

“Fuck darling you’re shaking,” Matt says finally and when you look at him you realize the adrenaline mixed with the cold February weather has you shaking like a leaf. He steps forward, wrapping you up in your jacket and his proximity makes you finally take a breath of relief. 

“Thank you for helping me,” you murmur quietly. Matt’s heart pounds at the words, a mix of anger, jealousy, and sadness rushing around inside of him. 

Matt lets out a heavy sigh and steps back with a curt nod of his head. His warmth leaves and you’re shivering again causing you to frown. 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he says, “Let’s get you home.” 

It’s the only thing he can say at the moment, his heart and mind in turmoil. He would do anything to protect you, he knew that truth for the rest of his life. But he hates that that’s all he is to you. A protector. He needed it to stop before his heart gave out. He turns away from you and you can’t help but step back up next to him, wrapping your hands around his arm as he starts to walk. 

Matt wants to shake you off but the feeling of you next to him settles his heart in an instant and he steps closer to you as you make your way back to your apartment. The journey is short and your heart seems to have settled almost to a normal rhythm now that you’re home safe with Matt next to you. 

When you get to your door you unlock it and let Matt in without a word. He follows you slowly into the kitchen where you pour yourself a glass of water and just as you’re about to offer something to Matt as well, he starts to speak. 

“I should go,” he mutters awkwardly and you frown at his words. 

Matt knew that if he stayed here, comforted you, went as far as staying the night, the pattern would continue and his heart would stay stuck in this endless loop of hope and heartbreak. He had to get out now for the best. Even when everything else in him was screaming at him to stay. 

“Please stay?” 

“Why?” he cuts you off, stepping closer with an intensity that wasn’t there before. 

“Why?” you repeat, confused by his question. 

“I promised to keep you safe, and I kept my promise,” he snaps and your face twists to confusion. “I’m done here.”

Your heart splinters at each word, falling apart at the seams as he talks. Tears threaten to spill over, you watch as Matt takes in your expression, something unfamiliar flickering over his features before he turns away. 

Matt can feel that each movement in his body is beyond forced. He has to tell himself to turn, to take a step, take another step, not look back at you and so on. He can’t handle it. 

“Excuse me?” you snap and he pauses. “I’m not done with you.” 

You march over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him to face you. He towers over you, his six foot nine inch frame should be intimidating but right now it’s just frustrating. He stands in front of you, motionless, his eyes finding purchase on something behind you. 

“Look at me,” you demand and his eyes flicker for a moment and you repeat yourself. Finally his chocolate brown eyes land on you and you instinctively take a breath. 

“You may think you’re keeping me safe and that you’ve done your job as my protector or whatever so now you get to leave,” you start and Matt stares at you with a blank expression. “But I only ever feel safe when you’re around.” 

“What?” he asks, shell shocked by your words. 

“I need you Matt,” you tell him quietly. “I need you here. I need you to keep me safe. I need you to help me I just, I fucking need you.” 

The look in your eyes is so vulnerable, so intense Matt can’t look away. He knows the underlying meaning to your words but he’s too scared to take the leap. He doesn’t want to be wrong. He can’t ruin this. 

“Matt,” you say, breaking his train of thought. “My love, you’re all I want.” 

That’s all Matt needs to hear before he’s finally stepping up to you, wrapping you up in his arms and hauling you to him so you’re face to face. His lips meet yours in a desperate kiss that has warmth spilling throughout you. 

Matt felt like he was flying. He knew he was always going to protect you, take care of you, keep you safe, love you. He never realized you depended on that truth as much as he depended on living it out. He was nothing if you weren’t safe. 

“I love you,” you whimper out quietly when you break apart. 

“I love you,” he responds, pressing his forehead against yours. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” 

His promise is everything to the two of you and your heart settles gently in his hands, him handing over his as well. 

[zegrasdrysdale]

Thinking of: reader going to one of Ethan’s games with their son/daughter and once the kid sees his dad he’s so excited! Jumping up and down and screaming “daddy!! daddy!!”

AHHH IM HAVING BAD BABY FEVER!!!!!

[ memorable ] e. edwards

paring : Ethan Edwards x fem!reader

summary : Ethan plays first game as a Devil in October 2025 after signing his entry level contract over the summer so his fiancée brings their three year old son to the game to surprise him

warning(s) : none really (a suggestive comment it were getting picky)

author’s note : i also had baby fever so here we are lol

༺═──────────────═༻

The day Ethan came home one afternoon and told her that he made the Opening Day roster for the Devils, there was excitement in the air. She couldn’t be any prouder of her fiancé than she was at that moment, except for maybe when he was drafted by the Devils in 2020. There were a handful of days between the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season so that excitement only grew as Opening Day got closer.

Ethan can’t wait to get on NHL ice with the Devils for the first time. He’s looking forward to sharing the ice with Luke and Seamus again for the first time since the three of them played at Michigan.

No one is more excited than their three-year-old son Chase though. He has told everyone at his preschool over the last few days that his “daddy is gonna be on TV”. He can’t wait to watch Ethan play hockey on TV.

Or so he thinks.

She hasn’t told Chase yet because she knows he’ll tell Ethan but she isn't taking him to preschool because they're going to spend the day getting ready for the game. She's taking Chase to the Prudential Center tonight so he can watch Ethan play in person. Both of them have no idea of her plans.

Yes, Chase has seen Ethan play in college, but playing in the NHL is so much bigger than playing in college. Plus, she's not sure if he even remembers watching Ethan play in college. He was barely a year old when she took him to Tampa in the spring of 2023 for the Frozen Four.

Now he's three and all he can talk about is how excited he is that his dad is playing in the NHL. It makes her heart so warm and she can't wait to bring Chase to the arena for the game. Ethan's parents came in too as part of her surprise. All four of them will be at the glass for warmups to celebrate his first NHL game.

Her alarm goes off on game day at the usual time so nothing seems off to Ethan, though he's already up and in the mini gym doing his pre-practice workout by the time her alarm goes off.

At seven, she leaves her shared bedroom to go wake Chase up like it's a normal day. She throws on a hoodie on top of her tank top and boxer shorts she usually sleeps in before she goes to get Chase up.

She walks into his bedroom and he's already sitting up in bed like he's been up for a few minutes already. She turns the lights on and smiles. "Good morning, Chasey," she says.

"Hi, mommy," Chase giggles. "Daddy's music woke me up."

She leans down and presses a kiss to her son's head. "I'll let daddy know that he needs to turn down the music in the morning so he doesn't wake you up," she promises. "Should we go tell him to turn it down?"

Chase nods and sprints out the door at the suggestion. She lays out his outfit for the day and quickly walks out after him. When she gets down the hallway to the gym, Ethan has Chase in his arms and Chase is hugging his dad.

"Good morning, buddy," Ethan greets Chase. "Sleep well?"

"As well as I could with your music too loud," Chase comments. She covers her mouth with a smile as she watches her fiancé and son. "Mommy said she'll tell you to turn it down."

Ethan smiles and turns his attention to her. "Did she?" he asks. "I'll make sure keep it down in the mornings when you're sleeping, okay?"

Chase smiles and hugs his dad. She bites her lip and looks at her boys. It's the little things that make her happy, and watching her son and her fiancé together makes her incredibly happy.

"Chasey, why don't you go get ready?" she suggests. "I'll make sure you get to say goodbye to daddy before he leaves for practice. I laid out your jersey so you can wear it to school today."

Their son nods and Ethan puts him down. Chase giggles and runs back to his room, leaving her alone with Ethan for the first time that morning. She kicks the door closed, but not all the way so she can hear Chase run back down the hallway.

She takes a few steps toward Ethan as he turns down the music. She wraps her arms around her sweaty fiancé's neck. "Good morning to my favorite NHL player," she comments. Ethan's hands rest on her waist. "Excited for tonight?"

"I feel a lot of things about tonight," Ethan admits. "Excited, nervous. I have been looking forward to my first NHL game and I wish you could be there so it's going to be a bittersweet moment."

"You know I'll be cheering you on from wherever I am, even when I'm home," she tells him with a frown to sell her lie. "Both Chase and I will be rooting for you tonight, and every game after."

Ethan shoots her a sad smile. She surges up to her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips because she hates seeing him so sad.

When she lowers herself, Ethan cups her jaw and pulls her back into the kiss. It's a deeper kiss than the last one they shared and neither of them pulls away this time. Her arms slide from around his neck to around his bare torso so he can't go very far.

"I'm so proud of you," she mumbles against his lips.

He hums and deepens the kiss even more. She laughs as Ethan's fingers curl in her messy locks. "Love you," Ethan tells her between kisses. "Both of you."

There are quick footsteps in the hallway so she pulls away quickly. Ethan runs his fingers through his hair as they step away from each other so they don't traumatize their three-year-old. "Mommy, can we have chocolate pancakes for breakfast before school?" Chase asks as he pushes open the door. "Pretty please?"

"I think it's a special day so I think we can have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast," she replies. "You look handsome in your little Devils jersey. Do you think your friends will like it?"

Chase nods and does a little spin. A little "Edwards 73" being on his back could make her cry. This is truly Ethan's moment, and she can't wait to celebrate at the arena with their son and Ethan's parents.

"I'm going to go shower really quick but we can eat some breakfast together before I leave for practice and you leave for school, okay?" Ethan says to Chase. Chase nods and grabs her hand. "I'll be out in a few minutes. Maybe mommy will let you help her with breakfast if you listen to her."

She shoots Ethan a look as Chase drags her out of the room. Her three-year-old pulls her down the hallway to the kitchen. She grabs ingredients for pancakes and the chocolate chips. As much as she would love to have Chase help with breakfast, she doesn't want his jersey to get dirty so she puts him at the table with some coloring books so she can cook breakfast in peace.

Down the hallway, she can hear Ethan in the shower as she mixes the ingredients together. Chase gets her attention to show her one of the pages that he colored. She tells him it looks good as she begins to pour the batter into a pan to cook some pancakes. She makes some smaller pancakes for Chase and full size pancakes for her and Ethan.

He emerges from the hallway in a Devils hoodie with his number on his chest and compression shorts that don't hide much. She's piling the already made pancakes on a plate for the three of them. She grabs plates out of the cabinet and puts them on the table for them.

"They look amazing, baby," Ethan tells her. He presses a kiss to her cheek before he sits down at the able.

"If I didn't have to bring Chase to school in a little bit then I would have cooked something healthier for you since it's game day," she replies.

Ethan grabs two pancakes and starts to cut them up. "It's okay," he says. "I'll make it up with a healthy lunch. I'm pretty sure that Luke, Jack, Shea, and I are going to lunch so I'll suggest something on the healthier side. Maybe Chipotle since I know Luke and Jack love it. I'll probably head to Shea's to hangout before the game, maybe nap. I don't know yet."

She cuts some pancakes up for Chase. "Sounds good to me," she tells him. "I think I'm going to do some shopping today. Grab some groceries, maybe some new outfits for when I do attend games this season." Ethan smiles at the last comment. "Then I'll pick Chase up from school at the normal time and we'll both be here for the game."

She hands Chase's plate to him and takes away his coloring book and crayons so he can eat. He shoves some of the pieces into his mouth.

Her phone dings with a text. She pulls it out of her hoodie pocket and glances at the nofication.

from: tara edwards - 7:38 am lee and i are landing in about 30 mins. has e left? does chase know about the surprise?

to: tara edwards - 7:40 am eating breakfast w the boys rn. eth is leaving when i "leave" with chase at 8. i'll tell him in the car about the surprise

"Who's texting you so early this morning?" Ethan questions.

"The groupchat I'm in with the other wives and girlfriends," she lies. "They're all excited for you to play in the game tonight and they wish that Chase and I could be there."

Ethan smiles and swallows a bite of pancake. "I'm happy you're getting along with them," he tells her. "Especially since I have no idea what's going to happen this season. I'm on the roster today but I could be sent to Utica any day. I think you could use some extra support just in case."

She matches his smile and nods. "It's nice to have a group that was so welcoming too," she replies. "The girls really welcomed us with open arms, and they adore Chase."

His phone starts buzzing and he realizes what time it is. "Oh, I gotta get going," he tells them. "It's almost eight and Keefe wants to hold a meeting before practice. I don't want to be late today."

Chase finishes eating as Ethan talks. "Time to go to school?" he asks. He looks at his mother.

"Time to go to school," she confirms. "All done?" Chase nods and she takes his plate. She grabs Ethan's plate as well as her own and puts them all in the sink. Ethan goes to grab his things and she pulls Chase out of his seat.

She holds Chase on her hip as she grabs his backpack sans lunchbox since he's not actually going to school. She slides on her slippers by the door as Ethan emerges with his new equipment bag with the Devils logo on the side. She smiles as he puts on his slides with his socks that go halfway up his shins. "Wow, you look like a hockey player on his way to practice, E," she teases him.

He rolls his eyes and opens the door for the two of them. Chase has been put down but holds his mother's hand so he doesn't go running down the hallway. Ethan follows close behind them.

Their apartment is on the third floor so they just take the stairs down to the first floor. Ethan struggles a little bit with his large equipment bag. He's good once he's on solid ground on the first floor.

Ethan throws his equipment in the trunk of his car. She stands next to him with Chase as the trunk is shut. He picks up Chase and holds him on his hip. "Good luck tonight, daddy!" Chase says. "Score a goal for me and mommy!"

"I always do, Chasey," Ethan tells him as he presses kisses to his son's cheek. "You look good in your jersey. Have a good day at school and I'll see you in the morning." Chase wraps his little arms around Ethan's neck. She smiles at the two of them.

He holds his extra arm out for her and she steps into a hug with her son and fiancé. Ethan presses a soft kiss to her forehead as she wraps an arm around his waist. "I can't wait to see you in Devils red, E," she tells him when she looks up at him. "We'll be looking for a 73 on the ice."

Her fiancé presses a quick kiss to her lips before he hands Chase over to her. "I love both of you," he says as he walks around to the driver's side of the car. "I'll be thinking of both of you while I play tonight."

She blows a kiss in Ethan’s direction, and Chase mimics her. She laughs as Ethan catches both kisses then gets in his car. She and Chase wave goodbye to him since it will be the last time either of them see him before they see him on the ice tonight.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Needless to say, Chase was estatic when she told him the plan for the night. In the car on the way to pick up Ethan’s parents, she told him that they were going to go to the arena to watch him play. She has never seen him so excited for anything in his very young life. He was even more excited when grandmom and grandpa got in the car. He wouldn’t stop talking about seeing Ethan on ice.

She leaves Chase with his grandparents to actually go shopping for groceries and an outfit for that night. She wasn’t lying when she said she needed to go pick up a couple of groceries and outfits.

Plus, she needed some time alone since the day is already super chaotic.

Ethan does text her after lunch to tell her while she’s out that he is going over to Seamus’ apartment before the game to hangout and maybe nap so she doesn’t have to tell his parents to take Chase out since he’s supposed to be at school. She tells him to let her know when he’s up from his nap, if he naps.

When she gets home, Tara and Lee are playing with toys in the living room with Chase. Her son greets her at the door despite her hands being full with bags. “Hi, my handsome boy,” she says when she drops her bags and embraces Chase. “What are you playing with?”

“Animals,” he replies. “All my favorite animals. Lions and wolves too.”

She smiles when she sees the setup on the coffee table. “I’ll join in the game in a little bit, okay?” she tells him. “I have to put away the food.”

Chase nods and runs back to his toys. She hauls the bags onto the kitchen island and begins to unpack them.

It’s not until she’s nearly done when Tara walks up to her. “He’s so excited to watch Ethan play hockey at the arena tonight,” she tells her. “It’s all he’s been able to talk about since you left. I’ve never seen him so excited.”

She smiles. “You should’ve seen him in the car,” she tells Tara. “I mean, he went from looking miserable because he thought he was going to school to being the happiest kid in the world when I told him. He was so excited and asked so many questions. I think this is going to be a core memory for him.”

“It’s going to be memorable for all of us,” Tara replies. “I mean, it’s Ethan���s first NHL game after four years of college. I didn’t think he was going to sign his contract for the longest time, especially after Chase was born. It makes me so happy that he has the life he wants. A beautiful baby boy, a beautiful wife-to-be, and an NHL career.”

The women both laugh and she wipes away tears that have rolled down her cheeks. “I can’t wait to see Ethan’s reaction when he sees all of us there tonight,” she says. “He has no idea that we’re coming.”

“Thank you for flying us in for this,” Tara says. “It means so much to me and Lee that we’re here.”

“It was no problem,” she replies as she pulls Ethan’s mom into a hug. “I’m going to start getting ready. I have one of Ethan’s Michigan jerseys if you want to wear it?”

Tara pulls back from the hug. “I think his wife and son should wear his name and number,” she tells her. “Lee and I will be just fine in our Devils gear.”

She smiles and nods. Tara goes back to playing with her grandson and she takes her outfit into her bedroom to get ready for the game since it’s about three. She was out a lot longer than she thought she was going to be so she has less time to get ready since she wants to be ready and have Chase fed by five.

Knowing that Chase is occupied by his grandparents and Ethan isn’t coming home before the game, she takes an everything shower and takes her time. She shampoos and conditions her hair, washes and exfoliates her face and body, and then shaves all necessary parts of her body.

She has some soft music playing as she showers to calm her nerves about tonight. All she wants is for Ethan to have the best game and all she wants is for her son to have fun at the game. She hopes for the best tonight.

A Devils win with an Ethan goal is the ideal outcome for the night, but as long as Ethan has the best time on NHL ice then she’ll be happy. If Chase has the best time at the game watching his dad then that’s a win in her book, no matter what the score of the game is.

Once she’s out of the shower, she wraps a towel around her body and secures it under her arms. She blow dries her hair before she leaves the bathroom.

She throws on a robe to check in on Chase and Ethan’s parents. Tara is in the kitchen while Lee and Chase are at the table. “Hi,” she says, confused. “What’s going on in here?”

“I thought I would make some dinner,” Tara replies. “Just some chicken nuggets before we leave. Chase requested chicken nuggets.”

She kisses the top of Chase’s head. “Ah, okay,” she says. “Thank you. I was going to make something before we left.”

“I got it,” Tara says with a smile. “Go finish getting ready. I’ll have some chicken nuggets for you when you’re done.”

She looks at Chase. “Are you being good for grandmom and grandpa?” she asks. Chase nods and looks up at her. “We’ll leave when I’m done getting ready. Make sure you eat whatever grandmom makes for you, okay?”

He nods again and goes back to playing with his animals with Lee. She runs her fingers through his dark locks and decides in that moment to take him to get a haircut over the weekend. She goes to do her hair, put on her makeup then get dressed.

She straightens her hair and does some neutral makeup when she gets ready. She puts on a pair of loose ripped jeans that she bought today and black ankle boots with a two inch heel to give her some height. She puts on the red Devils jersey that Ethan got her and tucks in the front of the jersey into the waist of her jeans.

“Mommy!” Chase calls. “I’m done my nuggets! Can we go see daddy?”

“Yes, Chasey,” she calls back. “We can go see daddy!”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The ride to the Prudential Center is the most exciting and nerve wracking experience of her life. Ethan has no idea that the four most important people in his life life are on their way to watch his first NHL game.

Chase basically vibrates in the backseat as she drives to the arena. He is very awake and didn’t take his nap after lunch because of how excited he is.

They pull into the player parking lot and sees Ethan’s car parked next to Seamus’. Chase is on her hip and Ethan’s parents walk behind her when they walk into a back door to get into the arena. She plays with her engagement ring as they get their credentials so they’re free to watch warmups with the other wives, girlfriends, and families.

“Have a good time,” the security guard says as soon as the three adults in the group get badges that hang on their neck. She puts her on and checks the time.

Warmups start in ten minutes. She quickly walks through the hallways with Chase still on her hip. The four of them come out at the glass in the opposite corner of where the players will come out.

She looks around at the stands that are filling up and puts Chase down for a few minutes since she’ll have to hold him once warmups start.

Fans are gathered at the glass to watch warmups. A sea of red, white, and black jerseys are lined up with signs. A handful of families, wives, and girlfriends are standing in the corner, and she sees Seamus’ parents at some point.

Then warmups start. Per NHL tradition, the rookies get a lap when warmups start. Seamus and Ethan take their lap before the the lights come up. As soon as they do, the other Devils players come out onto the ice, as well as the other team. Ethan takes a shot and skates right by the four of them without a second glance.

Chase notices though. He bangs on the glass in front of him and yells, “Daddy! Daddy!”

She pulls out her phone to get a picture of this moment. Chase has the biggest smile on his face as he tries to get his father’s attention. She even manages to grab a video of Chase banging on the glass.

Once the boys start stretching and taking line rushes instead of shooting pucks at the net, she notices Ethan standing with Seamus and Luke at the blue line. The trio talks about something but she has no idea what.

It just ends with Ethan looking directly at them. His jaw drops and he glances at his friends before he skates over to them.

Curtis Lazar stands at the glass talking to his wife and kids when Ethan skates up to them. Chase is moving so much in her arms that she stands him up on the boards. Lazar says something to Ethan that she can’t hear but it makes Ethan smile.

“Daddy!” Chase yells. Ethan waves at his son and Chase happily waves back at his dad. She has one arm around Chase so he doesn’t fall. She presses her lips in a line and holds back tears as she watches the interaction they’re having.

Ethan waves at his parents then makes a hand heart at her and Chase. She blows him another kiss and he smiles at her before he skates away to warm up. She smiles and watches her fiancé as he does his warmup routine.

The moment when Chase saw Ethan was everything she wanted. Her boys interacting at a game was a beautiful experience.

Tears roll down her cheeks and Chase asks, “Mommy, why are you crying?”

“I’m okay, Chasey,” she tells him as she wipes them away. “They’re happy tears, I promise. I’m very proud of your daddy. That’s all.”

Chase smiles and hugs his mom. She wraps her arms tightly around her son. Her eyes fall on Ethan as he takes a line rush. He is already proud to wear the Devils logo and she knows he’s about to put his all into this game.

Her son turns her attention back to his dad on the ice. He is so fixated on watching Ethan. It’s like he’s mesmerized by Ethan skating around on the ice. He passes the puck back and forth with Seamus for a second before he leans down to grab it.

Ethan skates back over to them and holds the puck up for Chase to see. He smiles and giggles as Ethan gets the puck between the net and glass. She catches the puck for Chase and hands it to their son.

While Chase is preoccupied with the puck, Ethan puts his hand up to the glass. She rests hers on his and smiles at him. “Love you,” Ethan mouths.

“Love you too,” she replies before he skates off.

One by one, players begin to leave the ice. Ethan is one of the last players to leave the ice and he makes sure to stop by one more time before he does.

She puts Chase down so she can get herself together. It was a very emotional moment for her, and it was everything she expected and more. She’s incredibly proud of Ethan and can’t wait to see what he does during the game.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Because it’s so late when the game ends, she takes her son home to try and put him to bed. Chase isn’t going to sleep anytime soon because of how exciting the game was. He watched his dad score his first NHL goal from the blue line and a Devils win. It was a 2-1 win over the Wild.

There’s no way he’s sleeping any time soon. She’s almost a hundred percent sure that he’ll still be awake when Ethan gets home. It was truly an exciting and memorable game for her, her son, and Ethan.

Tara and Lee stayed behind at the arena to come back to the apartment with Ethan while she went home with her son.

She looks back in the rearview mirror at Chase and he’s holding his puck. He’s turning it over and over again as he looks at it. “Did you have fun at the game?” she asks.

“Yeah!” Chase giggles. “Daddy scored a goal for us.”

With a smile, she nods. “Daddy did score a goal for us,” she replies. “His first NHL goal. Are you proud of him?”

Chase nods. “Yeah,” he replies. Then he yawns. “Will I see daddy before I go to sleep?”

“I don’t know, Chasey,” she tells him. “You look a little sleepy.”

He smiles as she pulls into the parking lot of their apartment building. She parks the car and gets out before she gets Chase out. The spot next to her is still empty so Ethan isn't back. She assumes he's doing media since he had an incredible NHL debut. He'll probably be back late, but Chase will probably force himself to stay awake anyway.

She pulls Chase out of his carseat and takes the elevator up to their apartment with Chase on her hip. His head rests on her shoulder. He really is tired.

Once inside their apartment, she kicks off her shoes and walks right to Chase's room to at least get him into his pajamas. He puts the puck on his pillow. "I wanna sleep with the puck daddy gave me," he tells his mom.

"That's all up to you, Chasey," she laughs as she pulls out a pair of pajamas for her son. "You can sleep with the puck or put it on your table. Whatever you'd like to do, my love. Get changed and we'll wait for daddy to get home together, okay? Maybe watch his interview." If he did any interviews.

Chase gives his mom a little thumbs up and she laughs as she leaves the room to let him get into his pajamas. She changes out of her own outfit into one of Ethan's old Michigan hoodies that she stole and checkered pajama pants.

When she emerges from her room, she sees Chase on the living room couch already. She smiles and shakes her head as she joins her son. She grabs her laptop and goes to the Devils’ YouTube page to see if Ethan did any media after the game.

He did. The most recent video was uploaded ten minutes ago and is titled “Edwards, Hischier, J. Hughes, Keefe talk about Wild win over Minnesota”. She smiles and clicks the video. Ethan does his interview first, and it’s about two minutes long.

“Ethan, how did it feel to get your first NHL goal so early in the season?” one of the reporters asks.

“Really good,” he replies. “Takes a lot of pressure off of me early so I don’t focus on that and focus on bettering my play this season.”

He looks around as another reporter asks, “Was there anyone special in the building for your first NHL game? We saw you interacting with a group behind the glass during warmups.”

A smile grows on Ethan’s face as he says, “Yeah, uh, I had a few people here today. it was a surprise that my fiancée planned at some point. She flew in my parents from Canada and brought our son to watch the game. Chase had so much fun during warmups. I could see him from every angle on the ice and it was a really special moment for me to have them all here tonight.”

“Daddy said my name!” Chase exclaims. “He mentioned you too, mommy.”

“Yeah he did,” she replies. “Keep watching, buddy.”

The first reporter asks another question. “Do you consider your roster spot safe after tonight?”

Ethan shakes his head. “I will keep fighting hard every single game and practice to keep my spot,” he explains. “I scored one goal tonight and blocked a couple of shots throughout the game but I don’t believe my spot is safe. I’m aware I could be sent down at any moment and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen. As long as I keep fighting and producing then I don’t see why I couldn’t be on this roster for all 82 games.”

She smiles at Ethan’s response. He’s told her so many times over the last few days that he’s worried about his roster spot. It sounds like he knows what he has to do to stay on the NHL roster.

“How was the locker room before the game?” another reporter asks. “Was it intense or were the boys ready?”

“Oh, the locker room was buzzing before the game,” he replies. “I mean, everyone was ready to start this season on a winning note, especially after getting knocked out in the first round last year. I came in and realized what kind of team I’m on this season and I’m ready to fight with them to get further into the playoffs and get the Cup.”

The reporters thank Ethan and it cuts to Nico’s part of the interview. She pauses the video and looks at Chase. He has a proud look on his face, like he’s showing how proud he is of his dad.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, Chasey?”

“Will daddy have an interview after every game?”

“I think it depends on what he does during the game,” she explains. “If he scores then he’ll most likely do an interview. If he has a good game then he might do an interview. I don’t think it’ll be after every game.”

Chase nods in response.

The sound of the door opening sounds behind them and they both look behind them. Tara and Lee walk in first. Ethan follows them in his game day suit. Chase is off the couch immediately as he goes to greet his dad.

She’s slower to approach them so the boys can have their moment. Tara and Lee say their good nights and go down to the extra bedroom. Ethan picks up Chase and hugs his son. “Did you have fun at the game, buddy?” he asks Chase.

“Yeah!” Chase giggles. “Thank you for the puck.”

“You’re very welcome,” he replies. “Let me say hi to your mom and we’ll go put you to bed. Can you go get ready for bed? We’ll be right in.”

Chase nods as he is put down. He scurries down the hallway and Ethan turns to his fiancée.

She smiles. “That goal was very sexy of you, E,” she tells him. “I’ve never found you hotter than when you scored in the NHL.”

“I have a bone to pick with you,” Ethan laughs. “I did not know that you guys were coming to the game. Of all days to surprise me at a game.”

As she drapes her arms around his neck, she says, “I was able to surprise both you and Chase. I wanted the game to be memorable for both of you.”

“It was,” he tells her. “I’ll never forget my first NHL game. It makes it so much more special since you and Chase were there.”

She smiles and surges up to press a lingering kiss to his lips. Ethan’s hands rest on her waist and he holds her there for a second. “We’re going to end up having another baby by the end of the season if you think me scoring goals is sexy,” he mumbles against her lips.

“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world,” she tells him without breaking the kiss. “Having another little Edwards running around. Plus, I’ve always thought you scoring goals was sexy.”

Ethan laughs.

“Mommy!” Chase calls. “Daddy! Come put me to bed!”

༺═──────────────═༻

MASTERLIST

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[nicohischierz]

a mat(t) for every situation: hughes sister

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when she got drafted by the islanders in the 2020 nhl draft, no one was expecting it.

sure she was on the zoom with all the top prospects but she thought it was for show and really she’d only been present to watch her friend brendan get drafted.

but alas, her name was called before his. brendan jumped onto her immediately bringing her into a hug before her mother brought her into her arms .

adelaide’s brothers stood shocked as she placed an islanders hat on her head. quinn and luke congratulated her after jer interviews and jack just lifted his head in acknowledgment.

that was four years ago.

now she was in the big leagues, leaving the university of michigan in her sophomore year and finding a permanent spot on the islanders roster.

“barzy, should i do one braid or two for the game?” she asked, barging into her teammates room.

during her rookie season, mat had been tasked with looking after her. it didn’t take long before the two of them started acting like siblings, going as far as to call each other such in interviews.

“i don’t know addy. tito should she do one braid or two?” mat asked his former teammate over the phone.

“two!” tito replied.

“anthony!” adelaide squealed jumping into bed with mat. the man on the phone laughed as mat chastised the younger girl, he truly did miss the two.

“hi mon chou, how are you?” he asked.

“i’m great! super excited for the game. except for the fact that my brothers will be there and jack hasn't been in the stands to see me play like ever," she ranted.

tito and mat both gave the girl a sad look. but adelaide brushed them off, giving anthony a smile and asking "how's the checklist going?"

when the news of anthony's trade dropped, adelaide provided the boy with her personal nashville checklist. she had covered a pretty good chunk of it and wanted her friend to do the same.

"you seem distracted," tito pointed out.

adelaide shrugged, she looked over to mat hoping he didn't spill her secret. but then she was reminded that tito and mat knew her better than her brothers.

well, those two are her brothers.

"mon chou whatever it is, we're here for you," tito's toned softened and mat pulled the younger girl into her arms.

"um, there's this guy i met ..." adelaide was cut off by tito yelling

"barzy you let her near a guy! i thought we agreed no boys till she's 45!" he joked causing the two in the hotel room to scoff. tito smiled, happy to change the girls mood slightly.

"as i was saying, i met this guy and he was really tall tito and he was so sweet. he was canadian for sure, but he didn't know who I was which is awesome and he said he;s going to be in new york for a bit," she explained.

in the three years of knowing adelaide hughes, tito and mat had never seen her talk about a boy this way. she always presented a cold front and if someone tried flirting with her at a bar she'd shut them down.

"that's not all is it?" tito pressed.

"like i said earlier, my brothers are going to be there. tito, whenever I have something important jack is always there to steal the spotlight," you murmured the last part.

mat remembers the comments under your draft post about jack not wanting to be there at all, or how he hadn't even congratulated his sister for her achievement.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮

when it was time for the outdoor game, adelaide had focused her attention on the game and not on the two boys in the stands. the only thing that really threw her off was the announcement that a rookie was debuting at the game.

"oh you're kidding me," she whispered when she saw the guy making his debut.

mat looked over at adelaide and saw her staring at the new rangers players. the new player doing the same upon seeing adelaide.

the older boy kept the interaction in his head as a reminder to ask adelaide later.

the game was a bit up and down as adelaide and matt got distracted by each other. however, the former did a good job of not letting it affect her game.

the islanders lost in overtime and adelaide's frustrations were evident on her face. she skipped out on media and headed to her parents, calling the boy that plagues her mind.

"meet me at the same bar tomorrow night," she told him ending the call immediately.

ellen wrapped her arms around her daughter and praised her efforts during the game, calling the overtime goal sheer luck. luke teased his older sister about the devils win and jack was preoccupied with his phone.

adelaide didn't need jack's attention but she craved it. even when she was a child, all she wanted was to make her brother proud of her.

the awkwardness within the hughes family didn't last long as mat came around, wrapping his arm over adelaide. he greeted the parents and the two boys before stealing the girl away from her family.

he could see the hurt in her eyes when jack didn't acknowledge her. mat knew that inside her head, adelaide was listing all the bad things she could've possibly done to have her brother hate her.

"addy, the canadian guy from the bar. it's rempe isn't it," mat stated as soon as the two reached adelaide's apartment.

the hughes girl stilled. "barzy, i swear i didn't know. we never spoke about hockey and I was shocked when I saw him today," she rambled.

mat pulled her in for a hug as her eyes started to fill with tears, she was overwhelmed and mat knew she needed some comfort.

"you're the best brother a girl could ask for," adelaide whispered.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮

the next day, matt and adelaide made their way to the bar in the morning. the latter had been pacing around the entrance with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"didn't see you as a day drinker hughes," matt quipped.

adelaide couldn't help the smile that made its way on her face. however, one look at the boy's cut reminded her of why she was here.

"you didn't tell me you were a hockey player,"

"you didn't tell me either princess,"

in all honesty, the two weren't sure where the conversation was going but matt called adelaide for a walk.

the two spoke freely about everything and anything. adelaide forgot why she was angry at the boy and matt enjoyed his time with the pretty girl.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅──╮

that exchange happened three months ago.

"is your family coming down for playoffs?" matt asked. the two of you were currently enjoying a lazy day in bed, matt was playing with your hair as you scrolled through tiktok.

you shook your head.

"well my mum and da may come down but they've got to see quinny too and he's stressed cause he's captain. then jack's got his shoulder surgery and luke's going to worlds. but I don't mind," you answered quickly.

matt's heart sunk.

in the three months he'd known you he learnt three things

one: mat barzal was more of a brother than your actual brothers

two: jack was an asshole

three: you would always blame yourself for anyone's flaws

"when you guys play at home and if I've got nothing going on I'll come watch you," he whispered, pulling you in for a kiss.

you smiled giddily at your boyfriend and snuggled into his chest. he truly was the perfect boyfriend.

[olivette-branch]

Oh baby, is it time.

normally this is where you'd expect to see @yamball and her magnificent primers.

Alas, it is but me and my attempt to let the world know about the puck-slinging, hit-throwing, scared of haunted houses, pale as a vampire forward that has captured our hearts:

Tye Kartye

photo credits: steph chambers

*disclaimer: all of this information is googleable & found across various interviews from Tye, his parents and other information surrounding him & games he has been in! If you want a link to a specific article, please feel free to ask! Also, feel free to send this to others, but keep the primer on tumblr & don't crosspost to other platforms :) keeping fourth walls intact is very important to me.

Childhood

Tye Kartye was born to Richelle & Todd Kartye on April 20, 2001.

His mom is a clinical nurse educator & his father is a chemistry teacher in Kingston.

Tye also has a younger sister, Talya, who is two years younger. They were both also incredibly athletic kids. Tye played soccer and hockey, plus touch football while Talya played basketball and volleyball.

This boy is also so hardworking. Well-known by the nickname, "No Quit" Kartye, he is constantly lauded by numerous past coaches as incredibly hard-working, and focused. To quote his dad, he knew from his childhood that, "he wanted and was going to be in the NHL."

included also, since there are very few photos of Karts as a kiddo: here are some of his Prezi's. Note from topics like stick flex to environmental effects, he is so dedicated and focused in his details. Truly a teachers' son

Stick Flex Prezi

Environmental Effects Prezi

Tough Road Ahead

Of course, Tye's path hasn't been easy to where he is and it starts pretty young.

He took the more traditional route, played in house leagues before going up into high school hockey and then AA & AAA.

Of course, then comes time for the OHL draft. Karts isn't drafted in the first round, nor the second round, not even the third.

Tye is drafted by the Soo Greyhounds in 2017 in the eighth round. Not only is he selected dead in the middle, but he also was cut his first training camp. Instead, he went back to midget AAA and worked his ass off.

In fact, his former coach John Dean, who was named HC of the Greyhounds in 2018-2019 had heard about the skinny kid told to get bigger/stronger in his exit meeting. He came in that year, and said about Karts that "Here comes this moose of a man, who clearly took direction very literally and took it to heart."

Karts took his time in the OHL, and spent a good bit of it working to improve. As it came closer to draft time, he bumped up his work to a more physical level. This was supposed to help his game, but also his potential for the draft. Keep this in mind.

Karts was first eligible for the 2019 draft. He was not selected. Now, he'll mention that he didn't feel he was ready at all at the time.

But! He does partake in the 2019 Development Camp for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

So, Karts plays another year and, is eligible for the 2020 draft.

He isn't selected again. In fact, routinely his scouting reports talk about his skating ability, or lack thereof. Even for a larger player for his age (6'0 and 175+), his skating was seemingly enough of a deterent. He was disappointed, especially after a good season.

Then 2020-21 hits and the OHL season is cancelled. Tye keeps practicing.

photo credits: this blog post about tye

The Undrafted Kid

2021 comes, and the Kraken need bodies for their first development camp. They've got draft picks (Matty Beniers, Ryker Evans, Ryan Winterton to name a few) but they've gotta invite a few more for the incoming guys to spend time with.

Mike Dawson, a scout for the Kraken, started doing his homework. He noted how weird it was this kid hadn't been picked, mentioned it might be because he's a later bloomer.

He gets an invite to the 2021 Development Camp, and while he doesn't get a contract the Kraken now know his name.

He begins to push in his 2021-22 season with the Greyhounds. Not only did he recieve an A, he also scored over 100 career points with them, but also ended the year 4th overall in league scoring, and led the league in PPGs and GWGs as well as ended the season with 79 points (and 57 PIMs, he's been a bit of yapper his whole life).

So March 2022 hits, and the Kraken finally bite. Tye gets an ELC, and he's ready to work.

Also additionally, Ron Francis is an ICON for Tye, who is a Soo Greyhounds alum. The Rink in the Soo is literally on Ron Francis Way.

CVF + Hard Work makes the Dream Work

Tye comes into the new CVF team for the 22-23 season. He attended Kraken training camp, but let's be real. Tye needed more time to prepare.

Karts comes in, and is ready to show off what he can do. He also is trading cold, Canadian weather for the hot Valley and grabbing his golf clubs.

Note of importance: he becomes really good friends with Ryker Evans & Luke Henman.

He starts as a fourth-liner. And, he struggles. He has little ice time, as well as few opportunities.

But, he gets better. And better, and better and better. Soon, he's one of the Firebird's top 6 forwards, and he's skyrocketing towards being a potential call up.

Although it comes later, by the end of the 22-23 Firebirds season (off of a devastating Game 7 loss to the Hershey Bears), Tye is awarded the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award for AHL Rookie of the year and is also placed on the AHL Rookie All-Star Team. He led all rookies in points, and appeared in every game for the Firebirds that season.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, because Tye's breakout moments in the AHL don't just end there. They lead to the real deal.

photo credits: Firebirds Media

The Call Up & Goal Heard Round Colorado

So come April, Tye gets recalled to the Kraken who are going on a completely unprecedented and expected playoff run. Not only is it a little unexpected (he's a rookie coming up from his first year in the AHL instead of a vet, and he's having to replace the Jared McCann).

But, Tye gets it because of what has always been the case. He's a hardworker, a grinder and he will make others notice him through it.

So, he comes in for Game 5 of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs versus the Colorado Avalanche. He finds out that morning he's playing, and sends a single word text to his mom, just saying "playing" at 12:00 PM EST.

His parents begin their journey to Denver, arriving just a few minutes into the first period.

The first period stays scoreless, and the second begins. Geekie scores, before a response by Nathan MacKinnon.

Then a few moments later, Nate MacKinnon trips and is laying on the ground. The crowd is roaring for a call, and Eberle is skating the puck up and around Colorado goal. A quick shot down and a one-timer from Karts nails the puck in the back of the net past the Avs goalie.

Let me say, even for those as a fan of the Avs, the look on NateMac's face when this happens is unbelievable. He's in shock, completely. And meanwhile, Tye is having a fantastic time grinning and celebrating what only 7 other players have done, scoring their first goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Also, let it be noted that Karts gets back to the locker room after the game. Pure joy from his goal, and what is the first thing he does? Check his phone to see the Firebirds game and how they did.

Not only was that his first instinct, he also was almost more excited about the potential to be back down with the Firebirds. He loves following his dream, but god did he love the Firebirds and family he built there.

Of course, the Kraken’s road to the Stanley Cup is ended in Game 7 of the Second Round vs. the Stars. But! In this time, Kartye has stayed up and even in the place of Jared McCann in some spots.

And then he goes back down to CV for the harrowing journey that was their 22-23 Calder Cup Playoff Run.

photos credit: Steph Chambers & Icon Photography

The Summer After & Rookie Experiences

Of course, Tye became one to watch in the lead up to the 23-24 season.

During which included a delightful video with bestie Ryker Evans and Matt Tennyson, on Episode 7 of Tenny Talks.

I'm simply going to link to the video, because it is insanely funny and it also shows off Tye's personality so well.

So, the summer ends and Tye ends up with the Kraken for 23-24 season.

I could probably spend hours discussing this season, but for our key highlights we're gonna focus on just a few things.

Throwback to our note of importance: anytime Ryker gets called up, he stays in a hotel. Not only does he end up knowing the car valet by name, any time he does almost anything, it is with Tye & Joey. He literally went over to Tye’s to do laundry while Tye’s girlfriend cooked them dinner. Besties for real.

First and foremost, Tye doesn't get a ton of chances. First rookie up (really the only rookie during the season for the Kraken minus other call ups), he gets scratched first a decent amount of times, especially prior to December. But! He keeps working hard, and by the end of the season he has well cemented his place as a fourth liner (who can def move up the line up if needed to).

Second, he really starts to gain a lot of perspective & skills from Yanni Gourde. Note, not only did he dress up as the Easter Bunny in 2024 for the Kraken's kiddos (like Matty did in 2023), but he also really focuses on the aspects of his game that he can improve and make stronger. So what does he do?

He gets into a few scrums (which early on he loses badly), and becomes known as a player who will fight for his teammates. (key fights include: him absolutely lighting up Pospisil after the first period hit on Adam in the Kraken v. Calgary game on March 3).

He also starts to up his physicality. And when I say up, I mean up. Tye ended the 23-24 season with 229 hits, placing him 19th in the entire league.

And of my favorite: Tye is a Grade A yapper. Like literally, this man will yap whenever he needs to. And one of the most iconic times might I add is against Connor McDavid, who Karts almost succeeds to into scrapping with. Known non-fighter Connor McDavid. (Note: this occurred after McDavid checked Ryker Evans, these firebirds turned squids don't play about each other).

photo credits: steph chambers (i believe, but if not, please correct me!)

gifs from: @starshipoftheseus

This Season and Beyond

So where does that leave Tye now? Well, if you tune in to almost any Kraken game, you're sure to see him on the fourth line (likely with Yanni Gourde & Brandon Tanev).

He’s likely to be spotted hanging out with fellow former firebirds Joey Daccord, Shane Wright, and Ryker Evans. They all went to the Halloween party in a group costume and are frequent dinner buddies, with Joey finding gluten-free restaurants for himself and Ryker.

There's also some interest bubbling up, especially because as of posting this, the Kraken re-acquired Daniel Sprong. What does that mean? Well, due to lots of cap things & money stuff, the Kraken essentially with every player healthy can only carry a 20-man roster. This means either someone has to be traded, or you've gotta send the 13th forward down to the AHL. While Karts hasn't been rumored in any trades (and frankly his contract isn't big enough trade value-wise to really help), there is still the possibility he could go on waivers and be sent back down to CV if not performing. So this is definitely a step-up time while the Kraken wait for Vince Dunn to get off of LTIR (which we saw on the 11/12 game against CBJ, where Karts scored the first goal in the second period and his second of the year).

[whirlpool-blogs]

Jack Hughes is the 'generational' talent who could help save Hockeytown

March 3, 2019

There’s a picture in Jack Hughes’ bed room of Pavel Datsyuk, captioned, “To Jack, see you in NHL!”

Datsyuk, the former Detroit Red Wings star, knew what he was writing.

Jack Hughes has been the favorite to go first overall in the 2019 NHL entry draft for more than a year, the 17-year-old middle child in a family of hockey phenoms. He’s a "generational-type" forward who draws comparisons to Patrick Kane and a self-assured teenager who's grounded by his family even though some project him to impact the league by 2020. 

The Wings, who are headed for a third straight draft lottery, would be fortunate to win the right to select him, as he’d accelerate their rebuild and be a potential franchise cornerstone. Team personnel have scouted Hughes heavily, an easy task with him playing for the Plymouth-based USA Hockey National Team Development Program in suburban Detroit.

“I’ve watched him play four or five college teams this year, play against guys who are three or four years older than him and just physically bigger and more mature,” said Kris Draper, Red Wings assistant to the general manager. “They come after him but I’ve yet to see Jack Hughes back down. He’s a real competitive kid. He wants the puck.

“To me, one of the most impressive things is he is an undersized forward, but he is dynamic on his edges. His quickness, his stops and starts, his change of direction off the rush — he has the ability to create time and space for himself. And then he just knows how to slide the puck. He has that knack of where to put the puck to get it back.”

Hughes put up 116 points last season, starting out with the NTDP's Under-17 team before being promoted to the Under-18 team. 

“There are a lot of players who have high skill, a lot of players who have speed,” NTDP U18 coach John Wroblewski said. “With Jack, it’s his consistency and desire to be the best that separate him from other players that are really good or even great players. He’s at the top of the pyramid.

"There’s a genuine passion to play the game with this young man and a genuine drive to be the best at his trade. But he does have god-given physical attributes. His ability to train and push himself to the limits is in the upper echelon of any athlete I’ve ever seen. He is blessed with a God-given ability to process oxygen or play at a high level with depleted oxygen.”

Jack Hughes was born May 14, 2001, in Orlando, Florida. His older brother, Quinn, is a sophomore defenseman at Michigan who was drafted seventh overall last June, by the Vancouver Canucks. His younger brother, Luke, is a defenseman with the 15U Little Caesars AAA Hockey Club and is expected to continue his development next season with the NTDP.

All three were taught to skate by their mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, who played hockey, lacrosse and soccer at the University of New Hampshire. Their father, Jim, was an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins from 2001-2003. It was while Jim was head coach of the AHL's Manchester Monarchs in 2005-2006 that Jack learned to skate on outdoor rinks. The family then spent 11 years in the Toronto area while Jim was director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs, before moving to Michigan in 2017. Jim played at Providence from 1985-1989.

Their house in Toronto had an unfinished basement by design. It was a hockey laboratory for the Hughes brothers.

“Two-by-fours were doubled up against one of the walls, and they would rifle pucks,” Ellen said. “We broke a lot of glass. There was one window in particular that was constantly broken, no matter what I put up there. We had nets that were all dinged up. One wall we did Plexiglas up to your waist, but then above that it was all holes. It was crazy."

“When we moved and we had a realtor in there, we said, 'Should we get somebody to come in here and fix it?' And they said, 'No, don’t bother. Somebody is going to have to come in and gut this.' We had a lot of fun though.” 

Jack smiles as he recalls those days. 

“Our dad put us through the wringer in that basement,” he said. “There were a lot of holes in the walls. It was a great basement for us. It was awesome what they did for us.”

All three boys have what Jim refers to as “internal fuel," meaning they play "for the love of the game. That's what makes them who they are."

Jim and Ellen wanted to raise well-rounded boys, and athletics was a major part of that. 

They played baseball, lacrosse and soccer.

They golfed, fished and water-skied, too. 

“We always pushed them to be the best you could in anything they did,” Ellen said. “We made them all run cross country and track in Toronto through junior high. They hated it and we made them do it. We thought it was a real gut check. They all did great.”

But hockey was their love from infancy. Ellen recalls Luke trying on his brother’s skates and wobbling around when he was a toddler. 

“They watched what their dad did,” Ellen said. “They were in the locker rooms. They wanted to do what they knew.”

Jack put it this way: “Walking and skating was the same thing for me.”

Seated in a conference room at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth in early February, Jack Hughes was just nearing a return from an undisclosed injury. He'd recently graduated from Plymouth Canton Educational Park.

“I don’t have to wake up at six in the morning any more," he said, "so that’s nice.”

Hughes has been lauded as the prize of the 2019 entry draft for more than a year. That carries significant weight.

In 2016, Auston Matthews became the seventh U.S.-born player drafted first overall in the NHL, and while Hughes appears destined to be the eighth, he is firmly grounded amid such lofty expectation. This is where having been around pro hockey all his life helps. Hughes understands, better than most, how being a highly touted prospect works, including watching Quinn go through it last year.

“They have followed kids that were supposed to have long careers and a lot of them do and a lot of them don’t,” Ellen said. “We’ve always been under the philosophy that nothing has happened yet. You have to work every day and the day you’re not working, someone else passes you by. Be passionate about what it is you choose to do.”

Hughes likes what many teenagers like: playing video games, preferably "NHL 19," often with teammate Alex Turcotte, the fifth-ranked North American prospect in 2019 according to the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau. "All American" and "Riverdale" are favorite TV shows. Kobe Bryant’s "The Mamba Mentality" is on Hughes' reading list. Ellen describes her middle child as very organized.

“He knows where everything goes in his room," she said. "He’s always been very mature, he’s always hung out with older kids. Partly it’s his relationship with his (older) brother, and part of that is how he was born. Jack has always had his head wrapped around being the best. That’s who he is. You can’t make a kid be determined like that. He’s always been so driven. He’s always had a huge engine.” 

His 18th birthday is coming up on May 14. Six weeks later, on June 21-22, he’ll be in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the draft. He’ll know where he’s going by then, as the draft lottery, usually held the last Saturday of April, will reveal who picks first. 

(The Wings entered Saturday with the third-fewest points in the NHL, which means they have an 11.5 percent chance of acquiring the No. 1 pick.)

“It’s what you dream of, right? Being in this position,” Hughes said. “I’ve worked really hard to get here. It’s really cool and a lot of fun. I don’t really see it as expectations or pressure, I just see it as fun. It’s really cool.”

Hughes grew up watching Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, but “as I got older, it’s been Patrick Kane. He’s a guy I idolize and love to watch play.” 

The comparisons between Hughes and Kane come partly because both are undersized forwards (Kane is 5-foot-10, 177 pounds; Jack is listed at 5-10, 168). Kane, 30, has won three Stanley Cups with Chicago since the Blackhawks drafted him first overall in 2007. In 2015-16, he became the first U.S.-born player to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring leader (106 points). 

“It’s an interesting comparison because there are some tendencies that are the same,” Wroblewski said. “But Jack is moving at top speed almost the entire game, whereas Kane is so good at slowing the game down and drawing in defenders. Jack is going to carve around them and carve through them. They both have acute vision and think the game  a step ahead of everybody else, but the way they dissect the opponent is different.

“Are they going to score at the same clip? I think eventually Jack will challenge some of Kane’s scoring prowess. Jack is a unique generational-type talent, and there are going to be kids today talking about wanting to be Patrick Kane and I think there’s going to be kids in 10 to 15 years talking about wanting to be Jack Hughes.”

Hughes returned from injury Feb. 15 and recorded five points over his first three games back. His overall numbers — 16 goals, 45 assists in 30 games — give him a 1.97 points-per-game average, surpassing last season’s 1.93 average (116 points in 60 games). At 177 points and with seven weeks left in the season, Hughes should surpass Clayton Keller’s NTDP record for career points (189), set from 2014-16, ahead of such NHL notables as Phil Kessel (180 points) and Kane (172). 

“I think Jack’s puck skills have always been tremendous, but when a player is moving as fast as he is on the ice, sometimes the hands and the brain can’t catch up to the feet,” Wroblewski said. “He’s gotten incrementally more fluid with his hand-eye coordination and his ability to corral passes and take a shot. He is moving so fast and for him to continuously catch up with his hands and his brain is something we marvel at on a daily basis.

“His edge work is impeccable and if you look at some of the great players of our game — you don’t have to look much further than Pavel Datsyuk. He wasn’t a guy with tremendous stature out on the ice, but the lower body, his ability to grip the ice with his skate blades, was one of the many marks of Pavel Datsyuk. Jack has that same hockey strength and it’s something he acquires through hours of training and God-given talent.”

Playing against older boys growing up helped Jack realize his identity as a player.

“I’m not going to be able to run anyone into the boards, I’ll tell you that,” he said “I think everyone has their own things that help them become who they are really. I understand my strengths and know the player I can be and the player I am right now. I’m not going to do anything outside my capabilities.”

Some of Jack’s best performances — the ones where his oxygen reserves kick in — have come against NCAA opponents, where he has 17 points in 11 games. 

“Those experiences are huge,” Hughes said. “We’re playing against really tough competition and you get a feel for what it’s like to play older, stronger kids on a nightly basis. It’s really good exposure for us.”

Jack has a competitiveness about him that’s evident in the way he wants to do something every shift. Given his speed and skill set, he should be in the NHL next season. 

“I’m really confident in my abilities,” Jack said. “I know it’s a hard jump, but I feel like I could do it after a big summer. 

“Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve succeeded. Even growing up, I was always playing older kids, playing up a year. I always succeeded. I always found my way.”

It’s that inner drive — that internal fuel — that is at Jack’s core.

“I can’t wait to see him around the world’s best on a daily basis,” Wroblewski said. “I think he will continue to elevate his game just like has from the time he was a boy. Will he run into some rookie slumps next year in an 82-game NHL schedule? Yes. But he’ll impact the NHL right away and he’ll participate and be a key part of any team that he joins next year.”

Tampa Bay Lightning assistant general manager Pat Verbeek, himself a former undersized NHL forward, has scouted Jack numerous times.

“He’s not real big, but with his speed, that gives him room to be able to make plays,” Verbeek said. “He has the puck a lot, and he’s a tough guy to check. I think he’s got a chance to be a special player, but the hardest thing to overcome when you’re 18 years old is, a lot of the guys are stronger. If he can maintain his skating, which he does really well, then he’ll be able to stay ahead of some of the physical play that he could get caught up in. But that’s always the thing you worry about, the physical part. Is he mature and ready for that? If he is, he’ll do well.”

It’s Hughes' self-awareness that has helped propel him to the first-overall favorite.

“What I like about him is, he knows he can’t go to the net and hang around and think he is going to score a goal there by out-battling a defenseman,” Draper said. “He uses his smarts. He’s a dart-y player. He gets in, he does what he has to do, and then he gets out and makes his play. He realizes what he is and he knows how to score.

“There are nights where you walk away from having watched him play and he’s done some things that are real special and puts a smile on your face.”

[korshrimpski]

alternate title: the la kings are whimsical and here is some of the proof

photo creds: byfield: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | clarke: 1, 2, 3 | helenius: 1 | laferriere: 1, 2, 3 | lee: 1 | spence: 1, 2 | thomas: 1, 2 | turcotte: 1, 2

transcript/id: (i'm so sorry)

SLIDE 1: on a gray background is a doodle of the la kings logo centre page. Text: los angeles kings youth renaissance primer / (aka me begging you all to realise the lak are whimsical)

SLIDE 2: Quinton Byfield

Text:

drafted second overall in 2020: centre

fractured his ankle in 2021 preseason against the yotes after falling awkwardly into the boards delaying him joining the kings (a common theme within the kings youth roster)

moves between the second and third line but found a home on the third line with warren foegele and alex laferriere

starting to show colours of being a shutdown centreman (kopi would be proud)

currently on a five year contract

Photo 1: Quinton Byfield #55, in his gear on the ice twirling the strap of his helmet.

Photo 2: Comments under warren foegele's post. there is a red arrow pointing from the text to the screenshot that says;

alaf14 (alex laferriere): Lineyyy quintonbyfield: Foegdadddyyy

SLIDE 3: Quinton Byfield

Text:

named after quentin tarantino

phillip danault’s son (real)

noted goofball

you will be hard pressed to not find any post game picture with him not shirtless

has a post win hug tradition with alex laferriere

has more swagger in his pinky finger than i will ever have in my life

loves darcy kuemper and i don’t blame him

Photo 1: Quinton Byfield with his hands on his hips his body is facing the right but his head and upper chest is facing the camera. there is a silly look on his face while he wears a silly hat.

Photo 2&3: la kings player of the day helmet photos. Quinton Byfield is shirtless in both pictures and there is a red circle around him highlighting that fact

Photo 4: tweet for LA Kings: when your goalie is 9-1-2 in his last 12, he deserves a little 😘. attached is a gif of quinton byfield skating into darcy kuempers arms kissing him on the side of darcy's mask.

SLIDE 4: Brandt Clarke

Text:

drafted 8th overall in 2021: defender

the youngest player (21, 09/02/2003) on the kings

younger brother of wild prospect graeme clarke

has lots of comparisons to drew doughty, yk no pressure

won gold in 2023 at wjc

first full season with the kings after spending half the season in the ahl last year

randomly was made a winger for a few shifts on the third line against the kraken (18/01)

on an entry level contract

Photo: Side profile of Clarke in his gear.

SLIDE 5: Brandt Clarke

Text:

shit disturber

he does not shut up <3

carpools with anže kopitar to the rink

used to billet with jonathan quick in 2022-23 and would play goalie against quick’s kids

how kingsblr sees him*

*cont. Photo: Tweet by fartpog: saw this guy and said Ew ew ew ew ew ew ugly and then felt so bad i cried and bought him. with brandt clarke's headshot overlaying the gingerbread man plushie.

SLIDE 6: Samuel Helenius

Text:

drafted 59th overall in 2021: centre

the tallest kings player (6'6ft/198cm)

the son of Sami Helenius

has been up and down in the nhl and ahl this season

scored his first nhl goal yesterday!! (22/01)

on an entry level contract

in smaller text: (sorry sammy i don't know much about you)

Photo: Samuel Helenius raising his hockey stick to salute to crowd after getting first star of the night

SLIDE 7: Alex Laferriere

Text:

drafted 83rd overall in 2020: RW

laffy season

plays up and down all lines but mainly plays on the third line with Warren Foegele and Quinton Byfield (rip the alex²-foegele line)

went to harvard (and majored psychology (i think he graduated recently or he might soon idk))

at the time of writing this (24/01, acst (australian central standard time)) he currently has an upper body injury

on the last year of his entry level contract

Photo: Close profile shot of Alex Laferriere concentrating on something out of frame.

SLIDE 8: Alex Laferriere

Text:

got his diploma in case this hockey thing goes to shit

don’t let his unassuming appearance fool you he is a shit disturber

has bodied logan o’connor and connor mcdavid. ig he doesn’t like connors :/

he hated skating at first so his big sister, sophie, bribed him with skittles to get him to skate

at the start of the year was on a line with anže kopitar and adrian kempe, kingdblr called them the “triple AAA” line (#reunitethetripleaaaline (no matter how much i love other alex on the first line))

post win hug tradition with qb

Photo 1: Alex Laferriere sitting politely smiling wide at the camera.

Photo 2: Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere hugging both pairs of arms around the others abdomen.

SLIDE 9: Andre Lee

Text:

drafted 188th overall in 2019: LW

cousins with sharks fabian zetterlund

plays up and down in the nhl and ahl and is usually a healthy scratch most nights (sadly)

scored his first nhl on new years day against the devs

on a one year contract (kings please resign him, i will cry if you don’t)

got a leg injury last season in the ahl and couldn’t play for 2 months

grew up a kopitar fan (he has taste)

loves his family so much and told his mum “we made it” once and i get emotional thinking about it

in smaller text says: (sorry for the 1 slide tazer idk much about you)

Photo: Andre Lee towering over Tanner Jeannot (?) as he leans down to hug him.

SLIDE 10: Jordan Spence

Text:

drafted 95th overall in 2019: defender

grew up playing hockey in japan (his mum is from japan)

was born in manly australia (no he is not australian stop saying he is australian he is japanese-canadaian you asreholes) (that last bit is targeted at a certain section of twitter)

he was struggling at the start of the season but since being paired with Jacob Moverare he and moverare are now amazing and i love them both sm

on a 2 year contract

Photo: Jordan Spence turned to the left smiling. He is illuminated by a red light.

SLIDE 11: Jordan Spence

Text:

speaks 3 languages (english, japanese and french) although his french is a bit iffy

roomates with alex turcotte

phillip danault’s son (real)

survived andreas englund (i’m sorry andreas but spenny carried you when you guys were paired together)

likes calling people (namely qb) goofballs

had a dog growing up called doughty after drew doughty (who was his favourite players growing up)

rides an ebike with qb. like they literally share one bike to ride around la

to learn english after moving to canada he would ask his teammates bad english words to chirp opponents and in turn he would teach them bad japanese words

Photo: Jordan Spence looking stoic holding a tiny fish.

SLIDE 12: Akil Thomas

Text:

drafted 51st overall in 2018: centre

oh buddy it has been a journey to get to the nhl. The first three season after the draft were good he was developing in the OHL and won gold at the wjc in 2020 (where he scored the golden goal), and made the ontario reign in 2020-21. then in 2022-23 he got a shoulder injury. then in 2023-24 he got another one.

but now he’s here and he is the real deal. even though jim hiller keeps scratching him (jim hiller you asshole)

on a 2 year contract

Photo: Akil Thomas in practice gear smiling.

SLIDE 13: Akil Thomas

Text:

skipped a year of high school and started taking classes at Brock University at age 17

got bullied by david rittich after czechia beat canada at wjc 2025

he will comment a gif under your insta post, it is his thing

scored his first nhl goal last season but a lot of people thought he scored it this season (thanks a lot commentators)

might have been roommates with alex turcotte but idk for sure

part time model ig, idk the logistics but i think he endorses a clothing brand

Photo 1: Akil Thomas walk in picture wearing a white top with an off white coat and dark blue dress pants, with egg patterned socks and white air forces.

Photo 2: Akil Thomas posing of a photo looking down hands in the pockets of his flannel that is layered on top of a hoodie.

SLIDE 14: Alex Turcotte

Text:

drafted 5th overall in 2019: C/L/RW

son of alfie turcotte

currently stabbing the bust allegations with a knife

started the season on the bottom two lines, then got bumped up and down the line up for a while and now he has solidified himself on the first line and he deserves it after the tumultuous years of getting to the nhl

shoulder injury after wjc delaying his start to the reign → got acute appendicitis → then got a concussion → then got another concussion. and along the way he kept getting minor injuries side-lining him for a handful of games

but now he is here and it is officially turkey season

on a 3 year contract

Photo: Alex Turcotte pumped up after scoring raising his left knee towards his chest.

FINAL SLIDE: Alex Turcotte

Text:

billeted with the hughes family when he was in the usndpt (yes, he was in that weird american hockey cult)

while with his concussions he spoke/texted with bowen byram a bit because it was nice to have someone who could understand his circumstances

kingsblr will go to bat for turkey. listen hear hockey podcast he is not a bust he is unlucky. get. it. right.

loves when warren foegele is grumpy. true younger sibling behaviour

Photo: a screenshot of la kings tweet: TURCY DAY!!! attached is a photo of Alex Turcotte in Lando Norris's helmet. to his left is. Trevor Lewis and Jordan Spence. To his right is Tanner Jeannot and Anže Kopitar. In front of him on the ground from left to right is Brandt Clarke, Adrian Kempe and Warren Foegele

END.

[lukesvangelista]

KJ RUN DOWN

for my lovely friend @cupidbedsy (and anyone else who wants to know more about kj)!

- born october 18, 2002 (22)

- grew up in port moody, british columbia

- he is half finnish! his mom was born in finland, but moved to canada at a really young age. his middle name is kalevi, which translates to “ancestor of the finns.”

- grew up a canucks fan, but cites johnny gaudreau as his inspiration → "i was obviously a canucks fan, but there was one playoff series where i was just loving it because johnny was dominating, and they beat the canucks. i was like, 'man, this guy’s unreal.’.”

- “gaudreau was small in comparison to most nhl players. generously, he was listed at 5 feet 9, 165 pounds. johnson, who is 6-0, 180, grew up as the smallest player on the ice before he turned 14 and shot up “about three inches a year” over four years.”

- “before those growth spurts, johnson firmly believed he'd be gaudreau’s size. it created a chip on his shoulder and fueled his drive.”

- "johnny was obviously a great player, but kent had a real connection to john because he was really small," jay johnson said. "he was, by far, the smallest kid on his teams. he was good when he was little, so he made the bantam aaa team when he was only 90 pounds, when the average kid might’ve been 120 or 130, and some way bigger. so, he had that connection to johnny. he just loved how he played hockey, and he told me at some point, ‘if johnny gaudreau can do it, i can do it, too.’ "

- “you know how it is with small guys,” kent johnson said. “it”s like, ‘can they do it in the playoffs?’ obviously, i hated hearing that, and i loved seeing johnny prove those guys wrong. so, i would study his game a lot. there’s some little things i do now that i feel like i got first from watching him.”

- he played junior hockey for the trail smoke eaters of the bchl. in the 2018-2019 season, he scored 20 goals and had a total of 26 points in 57 games. in the 2019-2020 season, he won the brett hull trophy as the league’s leading scorer with 41 goals and 60 assists in 52 games!

- he was named bchl first-team all-star, bchl most sportsmanlike player, bchl mvp, and canadian junior hockey league forward of the year!

- played college hockey at the university of michigan for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons

- drafted 5th overall by the columbus blue jackets in 2021

- scored the golden goal for canada in the wjc gold medal game to beat finland

- signed an entry-level contract with the blue jackets on april 8, 2022

- as of december 9, 2024, he has 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in 13 games played during the 2024-2025 season

- he is on pace for 94 points this season

[ice-ice-lizzie]

Lian Bichsel primer

I've been following this guy since the Stars drafted him two years ago and I find his story really compelling- from the word go, Lian has taken his development into his own hands, and chosen what he thought was best over the conventional wisdom.

(Lian playing with the Texas Stars)

Lian comes from an athletic family. His father Andre was a handball player in the late '90s/early 2000s, and his older brother Joel is a footballer (currently for FC Saarbrucken). His younger brother Finn is a hockey player- a defenseman like Lian- who is currently playing for EHC Biel-Bienne.

(left to right: Finn, Andre, Joel, Melanie, and Lian)

(Lian with EHC Biel-Bienne)

Lian also played for EHC Biel-Bienne during the 2020/21 season. As a 16 year old, he even played 4 games up with the men's team, but he wasn't satisfied.

“I gave (EHC Biel/Bienne) the chance to do something with me, and they didn’t,” said Bichsel, matter-of-factly. Bichsel’s maturity is evident in the way he doesn’t couch his statements. He’s aggressive in his pursuits, just as he is aggressive on the ice. He says his former team’s lack of interest in playing young players is part of “the way things are in Switzerland.” “They don’t want to go too fast (with young players),” he said. “I don’t understand it. When you’re young, you have really no chance to play in the first team.”

-Josh Kloke, The Athletic

(Lian with Leksands)

He made the decision to move to Sweden to play for Leksands IF for the 2021/22 season. In Switzerland, he'd been an offensive defense-man, scoring 28 points in 45 games with EHC Biel-Bienne's junior team, but in Leksands he focused on the defensive and physical aspects of his game- shaping himself into a more well rounded player.

Lian also had to learn to live alone in a foreign country. He would often cook for himself and his friend and teammate Anton Johansson, who told a documentary crew that Lian is "a good cooker and a really good friend". Anton's father, who was also the team manager, said that he'd heard a lot about Lian's risotto.

(purchasing ingredients for his famous risotto)

His specialty dish was also noted by reporters at the draft-

“I know how to cook, I know how to clean and I like to be alone sometimes. It was just the right thing for me to learn about myself,” said Bichsel. Bichsel’s specialty in the kitchen? “Risotto,” he said, with a faint whiff of a humblebrag. Wait, risotto? The dish that famously takes time and effort to cook? Not what you might typically expect from a 17-year-old. “You need patience,” Bichsel said of cooking risotto, with a tone more reminiscent of a 50-year-old trying to teach his children how to cook for the first time. “I like to cook. It brings me away from hockey

-Josh Kloke, the Athletic

(Lian being drafted)

Lian was drafted 18th overall by the Dallas Stars, July 7th, 2022. It was clear to everyone that he would not be coming to the NHL right away- Lian's game was still very raw, and there were those who said that he'd rushed to play at higher levels- and that his size masked issues with his skating and offensive game.

The 2022/23 season was busy for Lian. He represented Switzerland at world juniors that winter, in addition to playing a full season with Leksands men's team- falling to Rogle BK in the first round of the playoffs. With his team out of contention, he went into preparations to play for Switzerland at worlds, where he unfortunately broke his ankle and was unable to participate. According to Bruce LeVine the injury was serious enough to require surgery. Very shortly after his injury, Lian signed his ELC with the Stars. That July, still unable to participate in on ice training due to his ankle, Lian attended Stars development camp. He'd had a very busy year- and a busier summer- and he'd only just turned 19. He needed a break.

(Lian playing for Team Switzerland in 2021)

He chose not to go to team Switzerland's preparation camp for world juniors that August. He'd also missed their summer training camp. The higher ups for team Switzerland were not pleased by this, saying "We will not respond to his wish to join the World Junior team without any preparation. Such special treatment of a single player is not in line with our 'Team First!' philosophy". The decision was final- not only would Lian not be allowed to play at World Juniors in 2024, but he'd also be barred from playing for team Switzerland until 2026.

Without Lian, Switzerland only had three NHL drafted players- none drafted as highly as Lian. Lian continued to take his development into his own hands during the 2023/24 season. He began the year playing with the Stars' AHL team, the Texas Stars, but he negotiated with Stars management to be allowed to return to Sweden to play for Rogle BK

(Lian with Rogle)

The Stars decision to allow Lian to return to Sweden was not taken lightly. The Stars knew that if they refused they would risk damaging an important relationship with a key prospect- and they said all the right things publicly. But behind closed doors, Stars management was displeased. There was concern at the time that this would set back Lian's development and keep him out of the NHL for an additional year.

That Spring, Rogle BK lost in the first round of the SHL playoffs in time for Lian to come back to Texas and play in the AHL playoffs. Once the Texas Stars fell in the conference semifinals, Lian went to Dallas to serve as a black ace during the NHL playoffs.

Dallas's big trade deadline pick up- physical defenseman Chris Tanev was injured during the conference finals against Edmonton. It was unclear if he would be able to play in game 5. Lian was told to be ready to play.

Lian didn't end up making his debut that night- but it was a show of faith. He wasn't ready yet- but he was getting close.

He had an excellent training camp in 2024- and even though he was sent down after preseason, it was clear- Lian wasn't going to finish the year in the AHL. By December of the 24/25 season, it was clear that Dallas's blue line was struggling. Chris Tanev hadn't resigned. Miro Heiskanen had a slow start to the season, and Matt Dumba wasn't working out as well as had been hoped.

(Lian Bichsel 12/16/24 against the Capitals)

Lian was called up on December 12th- and played his first NHL game that same day, after Dumba was put on injured reserve. He's scored two goals and thrown 13 hits in his first 4 games- one of which sent the Blues' Braden Schenn into the Stars' bench.

He's a dynamic physical player, who's extremely fun to watch, and he's going to be around for a long time.

Misc Fun Facts

He wears glasses

Lian during the 21/22 season

When he was asked what animal best fits him as a person and as a player in a draft interview he said “A gorilla. On the ice, a gorilla is strong. He likes to fight. He’s heavy, but also, a gorilla can be calm, he can be chill, he can be alone. That’s the perfect match.”

He was in Texas for the partial solar eclipse on October, 14th 2023

(Matej Blumel and Lian during the partial solar eclipse)

He was given a game misconduct and suspended three games after he left the penalty box to continue an argument with an opposing player.

He and Matej Blumel went together for Halloween 2023

(From Lian's insta)

He wore a pride jersey in Rogle

(Lian warming up for BK Rogle's pride night game)

During the summer of 2024 Lian spoke with Stars Broadcaster Josh Bogorad at length regarding the pronunciation of his name- requesting that the broadcasting team pronounce the 'ch' in his last name as a 'sh' sound, instead of as a hard 'k' sound.

He wears a neck guard even when he's not required to.

And last but not least, more baby photos-

[lam-ila]

Baseball and Love || Dawson Mercer

Summary: Four times you watched baseball at home and one time you watched in person.

Word Count: 1,906

Warnings: one scene occurring during quarantine

please let me know if you find more that i should add

NHL Masterlist

a/n: here’s my 2024 summer fic exchange for @hischier-papaya! i hope you like it! as always, huge thank you and shout out to @wyattjohnston for hosting the fic exchange! you’re amazing!!

this is gender neutral. hope you enjoy this! feedback is appreciated

LIKES ARE GREAT, REBLOGS ARE BETTER ♡

—————

1. The First Time

Every summer, since before you were born, your parents hosted a summer barbecue at your house. Eight year old you was running around with other kids your age, screaming with joy as you played tag. Early on into your second round of tag, you were plucked out of the game by your parents to meet a new friend.

“Sweetheart, this is Dawson,” one of your parents explained to you. Your eyes were wide with intrigue as your mouth twitched into a small smile at the sight of a new friend, so you weren’t sure which one of your parents was talking to you.

“Hi,” you said to him. You looked over your shoulder to the game of tag still going on behind you. Looking back at Dawson, you continued “Do you wanna join our game?”

“Yeah!” Dawson exclaimed, looking up at his parents for a nod of approval before running off after you.

After many rounds of tag and a few other games, you and your new friend were completely tired out. Luckily for you, it was perfect timing as the Reds game was just staring to begin. You plopped yourself down on the floor in front of the tv where the game was playing. Since Dawson wasn’t introduced to anyone besides you, he followed you to the tv and sat down right next to you.

“Who are you rooting for?” Dawson asked, looking at you looking at the tv.

“The Reds," you answered, still looking at the tv. “My dad and grandpa like them, so I do too.”

“Cool,” Dawson followed your eyes back to the tv, staying silent for a bit before asking “Do you want some lemonade? I’m gonna get some for myself.”

—————

2. The Time at a Sleepover

Sleepovers with Dawson were a common occurrence and at these sleepovers, baseball was watched whenever the Reds were playing. After dinner, you and Dawson spent the hour before the game begun reassembling the tv room and turning it into a fort. Blankets were laid across and above chairs borrowed from the dining room and pillows were placed on the carpet beneath the temporary shelter.

“I heard there’s a rumour going around that we’re dating.” Dawson casually mentioned while snacking on the bowl of popcorn resting in between you two.

“Ew that’s gross, Daws,” you exclaimed, scrunching your face in disgust. “We’ve known each other since we were eight. That’s like, five years.”

“Yeah…” Dawson trailed off, looking at you while your eyes were glued to the game. “That’s gross.” He slightly shook his head, mentally shoving his ever growing crush on you deeper in his mind.

—————

3. The Time Before He Got Drafted

Quarantine sucked. Everyone knew that. Your last year of high school was cut short, the NHL season was paused until further notice, and worst of all, you couldn’t see Dawson. However, despite not being able to see each other in person, you and Dawson were constantly on the on a call together. One night, a little over a week away from the 2020 NHL draft, you and Dawson were on a call together, as per usual, and both watching the Reds game on either side of the call.

Your conversation consisted mostly of comments about the game, until Dawson spoke up.

“The NHL draft is coming up. Would you wanna join my family’s bubble to be at my place with me during it?” Dawson wondered.

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“I am a little nervous though. What if I don’t get drafted?” You immediately answered without question.

“Dawson Mercer,” you started, lowering the volume of your tv so there wasn’t much background noise. “listen to me when I say this: you are going to get drafted. You’re such a crazy talented player that it’s impossible for you to go undrafted. Any team who doesn't see that is simply stupid.”

“Thanks, it really means a lot.” He breathed as he felt a rush of warmth flush to his cheeks. He giddily smiled as he thought about how sweet your affirmation was.

“Also, I’m totally buying all of the merch of whatever team you’re getting drafted to.” Your statement broke Dawson’s train of thought as he laughed. “I’m gonna be so broke, but I’ll take being broke if it means supporting you.”

—————

4. The Time You Surprised Him

About half of Dawson’s third NHL season passed by without you being able to go to one of his games due to your schedule. You felt awful for it, but Dawson reassured you over and over again that it was okay, but you could tell he was still a little upset that you had yet to make it. Unbeknownst to him, you were flying over to New Jersey to watch him play and to spend a few days with him.

You planned everything with Jesper and Nicole, having them pick you up from the airport and driving you over to the game, keeping your bag in their car, so Dawson wouldn’t suspect a thing.

You went over to the Prudential Center and waited with Nicole and the other WAGS for the team to see everyone before the game started. It felt weird, but yet nice, for you to be waiting with the WAGS since you and Dawson weren’t together, but you pushed that aside, anticipating for Dawson’s excitement over seeing you for the first time in a while.

You straightened as the team began to come out, eyes widening as you spotted Dawson talking to Jesper. You began to smile as you watched the two of them walk towards you and Nicole.

“Hey Nicole, how are you do-” Dawson began before his jaw dropped at the sight of you standing next to Nicole. “What are you- how are you- hi.” He engulfed you in a breathtakingly tight hug.

“Hi Daws,” you greeted him back, still holding each other.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” he stated after pulling away.

“That’s because we planned to surprise you.” You briefly motioned over to Jesper and Nicole. “So, uh, surprise?”

Dawson turned over to face his teammate saying “You were in on this?” before bringing him into a bro-hug. “Thank you for bringing my best friend here.”

“Of course man.” Jesper smiled at the sight of Dawson being over the moon excited that you were standing in front of him.

The game ended with the Devils winning and Dawson scoring one of the goals, pointing up to were you were sitting with the WAGS as his celly, showing you that he dedicated his goal to you.

Once you saw Dawson after the game, you grabbed him into another hug whispering “I’m so so proud of you” into his hair.

You walked over to Jesper and Nicole’s car, grabbing your bag out of the trunk and placing it into Dawson’s trunk before following him into his car and making your way to his apartment.

After settling into his apartment, you watched as Dawson crashed onto his bed, turning on the tv in the process to the Reds game still going on. They were in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers meaning about half of the game was still left to play. You turned your head to the tv, smiling at his urgency to put on your favourite baseball team’s game. Looking back at Dawson, you saw him meet your eyes and extend his arms towards you while doing grabby hands, making you laugh.

“You know, you really do act like a child sometimes,” you teased.

“Oh, just get in my arms. I want cuddles,” he demanded, making you laugh.

You laid in his arms while watching the game for about an inning and a half before you start to feel the effects of travelling, going to Dawson's hockey game, and staying up late to watch a baseball game all in one day. You’re fighting the heaviness of your eyelids as your head lulled to the side, making you look away from the game on the tv.

Dawson lowered the volume and pressed a tentative kiss to your forehead, lingering there for a moment as he whispered “Goodnight”.

You nuzzled your face further into his body, finding yourself placing a kiss to the bottom of his neck, close to his collarbone.

“Night Daws,” you mumble before accepting the sleep your body so desperately needs.

—————

+1. The Time He Surprised You

Despite being a big Reds fan, you had never been to a Reds game. That was something Dawson planned to change as he bought two tickets to a game for you two to go to during his offseason.

“Dawson, can you please tell me where you’re going?” you pestered in the passenger seat of Dawson’s car as he drove you to an unknown location.

“Nope,” Dawson smirked while responding. “you’ll see when we get there.”

“Ugh, fine," You rolled your head back against your seat’s head rest. “Wait, is that the Reds’ stadium?” You perked up, your face pressed up to the window.

“Mhm,” Dawson confirmed, “and we have two tickets to their game today.”

“Really?” you exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, thank you Dawson! I am so going to hug you when we get there.”

And you kept your promise, quickly unbuckling your seatbelt when the car was parked and rushing to the driver’s side of the car to give him the biggest and tightest hug you’ve ever given him.

Once inside the stadium, you found your seats and admired the very close up view, taking some pictures to send to your parents. You and Dawson then decided to get food before the game started, so you made your way to one of the food stands, hand in hand to avoid getting separated.

"Hey Daws?” you asked once standing in line, still hand in hand with him. “How much were the tickets?"

"That’s nothing of your concern," he asserted.

"But I want to pay you back."

"Not gonna happen."

"Okay, well I'll pay for food."

"You could pay me back by being my partner." Dawson started the sentence confidently and very quietly mumbled the last three words.

“Hm?” you hummed, hinting at him to repeat what he said.

“Oh, uh…” He let go of your hand, using his now empty hand to awkwardly scratch at his head. “Sure, you can pay for food.”

After eating, you two sat at your seats, waiting for the game to start.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” you said, your body twisted so that you were facing Dawson.

“Ah, no need to thank me,” Dawson waved your appreciation off. “It was about time I brought you to a Reds game.”

“But why’d you do it?” you asked, intrigued by what his answer would be.

“ ‘Cause you’re my best friend.”

“Yeah sure, everyone gets their best friend front row seats to their favourite baseball team,” you sarcastically remarked.

“Okay, you want the full answer?” You nodded in response, all your attention focused on him. “I like you, as in, romantically. I have since we were twelve.” Dawson stated in a matter of fact tone.

“You do?”

“Yeah, and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. Nothing has to change.”

“Nah, I’d like for things to change because I like you too.” You laughed slightly as his reaction to you saying that, his face visibly brightening with excitement.

“Good because I’m going to kiss you now.”

You and Dawson leaned into each other, meeting in the middle and pressing a kiss to each other’s lips that expressed everything that’s been unsaid since you first met.

——————————

NHL Taglist: @readyfreddy @jostystyles @jimothystu @typical-simplelove @2manytabsopen @11livpangburn @matthewkniesys @lifeofpriya @fallinallincurls @jimmystrudel

join my taglist here

[sassy-tuukka-time-tantrum-40]

So I've been looking at Don Sweeney's draft history and HO BOY it isn't great...I thought Peter Chiarelli was bad at drafting and making trades but Sweeney is so much worse...

Out of a possible 70 picks from the 2015 to 2024 drafts he's traded 29 of them, including 5 first round, and 6 second round picks. Now here I'm counting "natural" picks, so picks the Bruins didn't trade for. In those same 10 drafts he's only acquired 14 picks from other teams and half of those picks were acquired for his first two drafts, 4 in 2015 and 3 in 2016.

Of the 55 picks he did make, 8 of them are still with the team, either in Boston or Providence (Carlo, McAvoy, Frederic, Beecher, Lohrei, Lysell, Poitras, Swayman) and another 7 are with other teams in the NHL (DeBrusk, Lauzon, Vladar, R. Lindgren, Vaakanainen, Studnicka (AHL), Lauko). Then you have players like Zboril, Senyshyn, Forsbacka-Karlsson who played in the NHL for a brief period before going to play for various European Leagues. And a good deal of the players he's drafted don't have Wikipedia pages.

Since 2018 (I'm going from this year so I hopefully don't count anything that was traded for/acquired by Peter Chiarelli) Don Sweeney has traded 21 of the Bruins 49 picks and acquired just five picks through trades with other teams. And only one of those 5 picks were before the fourth round (Lauko in round 3 in 2018). And out of the 7 possible first round picks he could have made from 2018 to 2024, he's made THREE. He traded Boston's first round picks in 2018 (traded to the Rangers for Rick Nash played 23 games before suffering a concussion and retiring), 2020 (traded to Anaheim for Ondrej Kase who played 14 games with the Bruins due to concussion symptoms), 2022 (traded to Anaheim for Hampus Lindholm), and 2023 (traded to Washington for Garnet Hathaway whom the Bruins wouldn't end up resigning following the 2022-2023 season). He also technically traded Boston's 2024 first round pick to Detroit for Tyler Bertuzzi however he would end up reacquiring the pick from Ottawa in the Ullmark trade.

Basically Sweeney-boy's trading out Bruins draft picks like they're candy on Halloween and he's getting hardly anything in return, both draft pick and player wise. Which leads me to believe he is TERRIBLE at negotiating with other general managers in the league. In almost every trade I've looked at, he's given picks away but never acquired any in return. He only seems to acquire players that he doesn't end up keeping. And it's honestly only a matter of time before the Bruins end up in dire straits because Sweeney keeps trading picks without getting any in return. Like he isn't draining the Bruins' prospect pool per se, he just isn't topping off the water as it evaporates.

[annieqattheperipheral]

nhl draft 2024 font/graphic clashing so hard with the dated '90s aesthetic of the nhl network I'm so bothered

[toasttt11]

forty three

Charlotte Hughes was born on april 3, 2020.

4/3/20 The numbers that are her father’s number.

Quinn Hughes thought of it the night she born and he realized her birthday is the same number as his hockey number, a fact he knew he was going to brag about forever.

The number 43 was always in the family, Luke ended up choosing that number when joining collage and people think it’s to be more like his brothers and while that may add a factor he truly choose it because it’s Charlottes birthday and he can have a piece of his niece when he plays.

Quinn and Luke always teased Jack that they had Charlotte for their number and something that made him slightly sad and even more so when growing up Charlotte played under the same number as Quinn and Luke, but when she got drafted to the NHL, she chose something different for her number not telling anyone until her jersey was given to her and she put it on making everyone realized she wasn’t number 43 anymore but number 86, in honor of uncle jacky and to continue to break records as a Hughes forward. And Jack was crying when he realized what his niece did for him.

[leonardperreault]

Parker Douglass x Macklin Celebrini Masterlist

Parker Douglass

born February 14th, 2006 in Chicago, IL her parents love bug because of her v-day bday

youngest and only daughter of mikey and natalie douglass

mikey played for the chicago blackhawks from 2000-2017 winning 3 stanley cups; he now works in the front office

parker has 2 older brothers carson and bryson they both play hockey and played for the steel and are now at bc

plays field hockey at northwestern university

Macklin Celebrini

born June 13th, 2006 in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

middle child of rick and robyn celebrini

2 brothers and a sister - aiden, rj, and charlie

lived with the douglass' when he played for the steel

a center for the san jose sharks

timeline

august 2018

mikey offers to billet owen power through his time with the steel

august 2020

adam fantilli comes to live with them for his time with the steel

june 2022

natalie gets into a car accident driving to a huge tournament to watch parker play field hockey the mother of 3 dies on impact devestating the family

mikey decides not to bring in another billet hoping to give his family, specifically parker, space to breath

august 2022

macklins billet family falls through and rick manages to get mikeys number convincing the ex-nhl player to take his son in

in the craziness of prep and his daughters intense pre-season schedule for field hockey he forgot to tell parker who is understandably upset

mack and parker get off to a bad start

october 2022

parker starts to warm up to mack

shes forced to drive him places a lot and the close proximity forms a friendship

may 2023

just before macklin leaves for the summer he kisses parker

july 2023

parker goes to visit mack in sj and they finally get together

august 2023

mack starts his draft year at bu while parker begins her senior year of high school

june 2024

parker, carson, bryson and mikey attend the nhl draft

where parker sits with macks family and there relationship goes VIRAL

august 2024

parker begins her freshman year at northwestern for field hockey

macklin starts his career with the sharks

[luke-hughes43]

quinn request!! maybe the reader is drafted from the 2020 she was first and the first woman in the nhl bu and she went to a team(you can pick maybe the leafs?) and she did amazing on that team but she didn’t love it and she traded to the cannucks at the end of the 22 season, and quinn just started being a captain so he kidna got closet to her pretty fast especially because she ended up moving into the apartment building he lives in so they started driving together to the arena and basically became really really great friends but quinn definitely has been falling for her and doesn’t want to say anything knowing how tough it is for her to be women in the nhl, maybe during the devils at cannucks game his family notice him smiling at someone and realize he really likes her and she scored a goal and the way quinn congratulated her was more than he does for anyone else, ellen maybe suggested to invite her to dinner after the game with their family, and she gets along with jack and luke so well and jim and ellen just adore her and mayeb that’s what gets quinn the push to finally tell her what he felt

oooo the ideas I have for this!

ok so she goes in the first round to like San Jose (who's historically terrible) but decides to stay in college for the year (say she goes to like minnesota or North Dakota). she signs for the 21-22 season and comes in lighting it up. her, trevor zegras and Moritz seider are the 3 calder finalists and she ultimately loses it to Seider.

she wasn't totally loving being on the sharks. she hated the city and hated that they were getting their asses kicked on a nightly basis. she just was not having a good experience despite producing every night she played.

during the 22-23 season, she asks to get traded. the sharks follow through with it and ended up getting involved in the bo horvat deal and she goes to Vancouver while bo goes to the islanders and the islanders send something to San Jose.

she gets to Vancouver and makes instant friends with Quinn and Petey. they welcome her in with open arms and both offer for her to stay with them. she ends up living with Petey for the rest of the season and even signs an extension with Vancouver for like 7 years.

she heads back to Vancouver a little early at their request because she is going the leadership squad earning an A while Quinn gets the C. that's when Quinn really starts falling for her.

he refuses to do anything about it bc she's the first woman in the NHL and being in the Canadien market is hard enough let alone being the first woman and does not wanna throw dating her captain into the mix.

he definitely spends the most time with her off the ice and ellen takes notice to how often she gets mentioned when she checks in with Quinn.

ellen really notices the lasting glances, lingering touches, and not so hidden feelings from her oldest to his female teammate. she also understands why he won't say anything about it so she doesn't press it. but she does basically force him to invite her out to dinner with them every time they are in town so that ellen can meet her.

as soon as ellen meets her, she understands why her son is falling for her. she's an amazing persona and absolutely stunning.

she doesn't start mentioning anything about it to Quinn to pressing him on it until the all star draft and he made a point to draft her first of the canucks and hugged her for a long time after drafting her.

that's when he realized that maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to actually say something to her about his feelings.

this is kinda long so I'm gonna stop here and prob do a part 2 if y'all liked this.

[mamaestapa]

hey :) can you somthing for jamie drysdale ?!

Highschool Sweethearts|| Jamie Drysdale x reader

•pairing: Jamie Drysdale x reader

•summary: You marry your high school sweetheart Jamie<3

•warnings: Weddings, fluff, I think that's all lol. ALSO FOR FANFICTION PURPOSES: Jamie went to the same high school as reader, OK? OK ;) also, if I got anything about Jamie's life wrong, I sincerely apologize lol. I'm a fan of his, but I do not know all the details, so sorry. Okay that's all, enjoy loves<3

Today was the happiest day of your life. Today, you are getting married to your best friend, your high school sweetheart, your soulmate, defensemen for the Anaheim Ducks, Jamie Drysdale. You and Jamie started dating your Junior year. Jamie was always known as the shy, yet incredibly sweet, star hockey player of your school. You were well known and extremely liked around your school, but the two of you never really interacted with each other in the past. That is, until Junior year, when you were paired up as partners for your Chemistry lab.

The lab required you to do work in school and outside, meaning you and Jamie were going to have to meet up somewhere that wasn't on school property. During the in-school lab portion of the assignment, Jamie had shyly asked you if you'd like to come over to his house and work on the project. You said yes and the two of you were blushing messes as you exchanged numbers, and discussed details for the project you'd be doing together at Jamie's house.

While at Jamie's home, the two of you finished your project with ease, confident that you were going to receive an A. As you worked on the assignment, you and Jamie talked about anything and everything. The two of you didn't know much about the other, just the little things here and there that you would hear from your classmates. You learned that Jamie has been playing hockey at a competitive level since 2017 and that he hopes to play in the NHL someday. He seemed to be extremely passionate about the sport of hockey. The way he talked about his dreams and his love for the sport made your heart swell and your grin widen. You loved getting to know Jamie, and little did you know, Jamie loved getting to know you too.

You had been at Jamie's for almost five hours after finishing the chem project, so when it got to be around 10pm, you decided it would be best to head to your house. Before you stepped out of the Drysdale home, Jamie awkwardly asked you on a date after telling you how much fun he had with you. You of course said yes to the date, reciprocating those same feelings.

Since that night, you and Jamie have been inseparable.

The two of you have shared so many important moments during your time together. You were each others firsts for everything, and you mean everything. You shared your first kiss together, went to prom together, moved in together, quarantined during the pandemic together, and most importantly, you shared one of the most important moments of Jamie's life—him getting drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2020.

You can't imagine what your life would be like if you hadn't been paired up with Jamie for that Chemistry lab in high school...

So here you both are today, newly married and ready to move on to the next stage in your life together. Getting a house, getting a dog, but most importantly, having kids.

You always told Jamie you'd have cute babies someday.

You and Jamie were sitting at the head table with your bridesmaids and Jamies groomsmen, composing yourselves before your first dance. Our friends had just given speeches. A few of them brought you and Jamie to tears, but all of them (Trevor's especially), were the perfect mix of humor and genuine happiness for the two of you. After hugging all of your friends that gave speeches, the DJ announced that it was time for yours and Jamie's first dance. 

Jamie turned to you and gently grabbed your hand, holding it in his. You smiled at him and squeezed his hand. 

"May I have this dance, Mrs. Drysdale?" He asked sweetly, his eyes sparkling as he looked down at you. His beautiful wife. You smiled, "Yes you may, Mr. Drysdale."

Jamie grinned at you, placing his hands securely on your waist as you wrapped your arms around his neck. He pulled you close so your bodies touched and there was no empty space between the two of you. The music to You and Me by Lifehouse began playing as you and Jamie started to slowly sway back and forth to the song. The first song that you and Jamie danced to as a boyfriend and girlfriend, and now the first song that you Jamie danced to as husband and wife.

"Y/n," Jamie said softy, his tone full of love awe as he spoke, "I cant believe I get to call you my wife." He said, placing his forehead against yours.

You smiled softly, tears welling in your eyes as you lovingly squeezed his shoulder in response. You couldn't say anything because you thought if you tried to speak right now, no words would come out, only sobs. Happy sobs of course.

As the song finished, you and Jamie shared a passionate kiss, making the room full of your friends and family whistle and clap.

"Mr and Mrs. Drysdale everybody!" Trevor yelled from the head table. As soon as Jamie's best friend announced the two of you, cheering erupted throughout the room as Jamie warmly embraced you and captured your lips in another passionate kiss.  

The two of you pulled away at the same time, grinning as you looked into each other eyes. Jamie picked you up and held you bridal style. You couldn't contain your laughter as Jamie carried you off the dance floor. He gently placed you back onto the ground and wrapped his arms around your waist. 

"You," Jamie started with a smile, "Y/n, are the best thing that has ever happened to me." You felt tears well up in your eyes at his words. You smiled up at him, responding wholeheartedly, "I love you so much J."

"I love you more baby." He leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on your lips once again. It felt so good to kiss your husband.

As the night went on, You and Jamie shared many laughs, many kisses, and of course, many memories that you would cherish forever.

You were the luckiest woman in the world because after tonight, Jamie Drysdale was yours forever.

hey loves!!

i apologize for delaying blurb night. there was no way i was going to be able to do it last night lol

so starting athlete blurb night off right with a cute lil jamie drysdale blurb🤍

i love jamie so much!

i’ve got some good blurbs coming, so stay tuned!

that’s all i have for now. i hope you are all doing well. thank you again for all of your love and support🤍 (and go ducks!)