#2022 23 nhl season

[broquimp]

(via GIPHY)

[tanevcolton28]

HOLY FUCK GF IS HEALING

Thanks Kraken you’re redeeming the weekend

[scuderiacaps]

mikko throwing a man 💀

[babydollmarauders]

OUT — JACK HUGHES

jack hughes x fem!reader

summary: in which everyone has been wondering about the hair tie on Jack’s wrist, and they finally get the answers they were looking for

notes: THANK YOU MADDY ( @thatintrovertedwriter ) FOR THIS IDEA!!! I’M OBSESSED WITH IT!! not proofread and written while heavily sleep deprived

a relationship was never part of my intentions when i accepted my job offer.

in fact, any sort of love was pushed to the far corners of my mind. my focus was on showing everyone that not only men can be equipment managers in the NHL.

i had gone through so much rejection. countless teams citing that they decided to go in a different direction, and hiring a male for the job instead; and though most of the staff would try to deny that my gender was a part of it, there was always that one guy that had no problem with admitting they didn’t believe that a woman had any place in the NHL.

as if the job was hard. as if i couldn’t hand players sticks just as well as any man could.

but then the New Jersey Devils came into play. they had heard some talk about me and were the first team to reach out to me. they offered me the job, and i eagerly accepted. i felt i had something to prove. my gender doesn’t diminish the performance of my job.

so most of the 2022-23 season, i put all my focus into my job. i was amicable with the players, making sure i knew any superstitions or things i shouldn’t do with their equipment, but i never let it pass into any real level of friendship.

and then Jack Hughes happened.

when he got injured and had to sit out for a few games, i was put in charge of keeping him company. for four games my job description changed from handing players new sticks, to babysitting a twenty-one year old, and i wasn’t happy in the slightest.

it felt insulting, and apparently Jack felt the same way. somehow in those four games, we went from sitting across the suite from each other, to bonding over how stupid it was that i couldn’t do my actual job, to forming a friendship.

and in a matter of weeks, our friendship blossomed into something more.

it started with him coming back to my apartment after rough games, watching movies and letting off steam by joking around and playing drinking games. then along the way, we stumbled into bed. one hookup turned into two, which turned into another, which turned into a date, and finally by the end of the season, he was asking me to be his girlfriend.

it took me a week to finally tell him yes. an entire week of struggling with the decision. wondering if, if i start a real relationship with this player, am i proving all those men who told me i had no place in the NHL, right? but ultimately, i decided that my happiness was worth more than someone’s opinion of me, and i told him yes.

***

jackhughes

liked by nicohischier, trevorzegras, and 150,599 others

jackhughes 3/3

Load more comments

subbanator 🚀

user83 is he wearing… a pink hair tie on his wrist?

user45 where?

user83 it’s on the same wrist with his bracelets

user16 omg you’re right

user02 is his hair even long enough to put up?

user77 @/user02 apparently

user91 what if it’s a girlfriends? oh my god

brendan.brisson Same time next year

***

i’m running late.

i’m running late and i’m rushing.

i’m running late, i’m rushing, and i’m contemplating breaking all rules of the road to arrive to work on time.

nothing is going right for me today.

i was supposed to have the morning off, so i didn’t set an alarm, but then i woke up to find six missed calls from my boss and a text asking if i could come help get equipment ready for practice because one of the other equipment managers came down with the flu.

then, i had to deal with getting yelled at because i didn’t have my ringer on and therefore, woke up after practice ended and didn’t come in and help.

then, i tipped over my brand new bottle of cold brew and had to spend almost an hour mopping my kitchen floor and wiping down the counters to get rid of the stickiness.

then, at the last minute as i was stepping out the door to head to the arena, my hair tie broke. and now i’ve spent the last fifteen minutes scouring my apartment for a new one, only to come to the conclusion that i have to leave now or else risk being yelled at for a second time today.

i give up entirely on my search for a hair tie, accepting my fate of wearing my hair down and rushing out of my apartment so fast that i almost forget to lock up behind me.

when i finally make it to Prudential Center, i’m able to clock in just before i’d be considered late, and i have absolutely no extra time to search for my boyfriend amidst the chaos of the season opener.

instead, i set off straight to the equipment area, working in tandem with my colleagues to make sure every players gloves, pads, and everything in between is ready, before i put each players gear into their respective locker room stalls.

i stack pucks in a high pyramid at the bench, ready for warm-ups, and line sticks up against the glass behind the bench, all set to be handed out when needed.

amongst the frantic running around the arena and getting things ready, i lose track of how many times i’m adjusting my hair; flipping it over my shoulder and tugging it out of my face.

finally, i get a split second to breathe, pulling my hair up in a makeshift ponytail with my hands as i stand outside the locker room, on standby in case any of the players need me.

“hey.” i instinctively drop my hands at the sound of someone talking, my shirt falling back down to cover the sliver of my abdomen that had shown when they were raised.

at the sight of my boyfriend, i sigh in relief, his chuckle reaching my ears as his arms snake around my waist.

“i scare ya?” Jack teases.

his helmet hits against my back, as he holds it in one hand. he’s all geared up, ready to hit the ice for the first game of the season, and oddly enough, i can’t help finding it incredibly attractive.

“just a little.” i huff, and a wide grin spreads across his lips. i smack his chest, but all that it hurts is his padding. “don’t be mean! i’ve had a bad day.”

his smile drops into an exaggerated pout, and he leans down to press a kiss to my lips.

“i’m sorry, baby.” i hum in acknowledgment, waving it off when he asks if i’d like to rant.

“no, it’s okay. i’ll rant later.” i assure him. “after you win your game.”

“our game.” he states, and i roll my eyes.

he’s made sure to never let me forget how much work i put into the team’s equipment and gear. citing that they wouldn’t be able to win without my help.

in his eyes, it’s as much my wins and losses as it is his.

“right.” i nod, patting his shoulders. “in that case, i’m gonna be very upset if you lose our game.”

his head tips back, laughter pouring past his lips, and it sounds like a melody in my ears.

“i’m confident. we’ll win this game.” he assures me, finally letting go of my waist and backing up. “if we don’t, you and i will never hear the end of it from Larks.”

ahh yes, Dylan Larkin. the Red Wings captain and Jack’s friend, whom i met over the summer while visiting Jack at his lake house.

“go!” i shoo my boyfriend off as the rest of his teammates begin pouring out of the locker room, heading off to line up, ready to hit the ice for warm-ups.

waving to the guys, who smile back at me in return, i head out to behind the bench.

as the guys warm up, i double check the bench stock of smelling salts, tums, stick tape, skate blades, and whatever else the guys may need during the game, before standing idly by.

*

finally, the game is underway, seven minutes left in the second period, and my boyfriend has already gotten a penalty in first for ‘roughing’.

i’m watching my boyfriend skate around the ice as i tend to his teammates, anxiously holding my breath as the clock winds down.

Jack zips across the ice, and i’m gnawing at my lip as he gains control of the puck. but before i know it, he’s just scored his first goal of the season.

a small smile splays across my lips, attempting to contain my excitement as he skates past the bench, bumping fists with his elated teammates before taking another lap around the ice.

Luke turns his head to grin at me, but he’s sidetracked as i’m interrupted by a teammate.

“y/n, can i get some salts?” Timo asks, and i nod, spinning around to grab some, my hair whipping in my face as i do so.

i let out a frustrated groan, turning back around to hand the little packet of smelling salts to number 28.

“you okay?” Timo questions, his brows threading together and i nod.

“it’s my damn hair.” i huff as he moves down on the bench, making room for my boyfriend and his line mates who now join on the bench. “i usually wear it up, but my hair tie broke and it’s getting on my nerves.”

wordlessly, Jack absentmindedly sheds his gloves off, pulling something from his wrist before holding it out to me where i stand directly behind him.

my lips part in surprise as my eyes lock on the pink hair tie that’s pinched between his index finger and thumb.

my hair tie.

“oh.” i breathe out, plucking the hair tie from his grasp. i smile, immediately pulling my hair up into a high ponytail. “thank you, love.”

he turns his head just enough to spot me, beaming back at me for a moment before turning back to focus back on the game that’s about to restart.

i lean forward a little, my hand lightly resting against the padding on his back, but he must feel the slight pressure because he leans back a little to show me he’s listening to what i have to say next.

“congratulations, babe. i’m proud of you.” i speak lowly, only for him to hear, before i stand back again, as though the interaction never happened. both of us focusing back on the game that takes place in front of us.

***

***

Jack lays beside me in my bed, absentmindedly scrolling through his social media, nodding along as i rant about my day.

“…but seeing you in the box was a plus.” i finish off my long winded ramble, effectively gaining his attention back at my teasing.

he locks his phone, tossing it to the side as he looks over at me.

“what was that?” he asks mockingly, raising an eyebrow. but before i can repeat myself, his fingers are working against the bare skin of my stomach.

my abdomen tightens as i laugh, squirming and trying to get away from his touch.

“stop!” i cackle, attempting and failing to push his hands away as he tickles me.

“no, say that again!” he chuckles, maneuvering his body now to straddle my legs so that i can’t run away, even if i wanted to. i shake my head wildly. “say it again! what was that? i don’t think i heard you right! cause it sounded like you just said the highlight of your day was seeing me get penalties!”

“that’s not true!” i squeal and he momentarily ceases his attack, tilting his ear towards me as if he’s listening closer.

“i said they were just pluses.” i defend myself, quickly following up, “the highlight of my day was finding out you wear my hair tie on your wrist.”

he looks down at me with a smirk, obviously quite proud of himself.

“stole that from your apartment.” he announces with pride.

“when?” i laugh, reaching up to cup the back of his neck, pulling his face closer to mine.

his hands now rest on either side of my head, holding himself up.

“the second time we hooked up.” he murmurs, dipping down to press a kiss to my lips. “you had complained that day when you forgot you hair tie at home. i never wanted you to be uncomfortable again, so i took one when i left here that night.”

i blink back at him in surprise, my heart thumping loudly in my chest, whooshing in my ears.

“are you telling me, you’ve been wearing that hair tie on your wrist, for the past seven months, just in case i ever needed it?” i ask.

“mhm.” he hums, his nose nudging against mine as he nods, the corners of his lips quirking up in a soft smile.

“i’m so in love with you.” i whisper, pulling him down to capture his lips in a kiss.

his lips slot against mine, his tongue slipping in to tangle with mine in a deep and sultry kiss, before he pulls away.

“oh good, because apparently our interaction tonight on the bench?” he pauses and i furrow my brows, nodding for him to continue. “yeah, apparently that happened while the camera was on me.”

a gasp slips past my lips, and he cringes slightly, nodding his head.

“yeah, we’ve been outted.”

we both let that sink in for a moment, pondering what our relationship will be like now that everyone knows. fans certainly analyzing our every move now.

but despite that, we can finally go on dates in public, and post each other on our social medias without panicking that we may have accidentally posted on our public stories instead of our close friends ones.

“i think i can live with that.” i finally break the silence, and he grins.

“yeah?” he questions, pressing a kiss against my lips, and i nod against him.

“yeah.”

[scoringeffects]

do you have/know of any kind of natejo primer post? i am starting to be very very intrigued by them…

there is this very delightful primer that covers natejo during their halifax mooseheads era (juniors, age 16-18 [2011-13]) and their team north america era (made up team for the 2016 world cup of hockey) i would so so super recommend clicking on every link there, and as for the 2023-24 season:

nate reached out to jo about playing with him in colorado during the summer because he knew his contract with montreal was coming to an end and jo signed for league mininum to play with him

jo talking about nate in his 'get to know me' interview

jo knows where nate is knows what he likes can almost feel him on the ice. normal things to say about your center.

they walk their dogs together!

bench yappers. ignore that nate probably doesnt have a great deal of concepts about personal space.

both nate and jo achieved career highs in points playing on the same line. nate by 29 freaking points. jo also had a career high in time on ice per game !

nate has the most assists on jo's goals, and jo loves to pass to nate.

one of jo's very best games as an av where he scored the OT winner and partially helped nate extend his second to gretzky home point streak. not inherently natejo but the nhl put the full game up on youtube and its a fun background watch because the announcers r so very nice about jo yayayyyyy. okay hold on it definately used to be up on youtube as a 'fan favourite' voted in game and now its either unlisted, restricted, or entirely gone. fascinating. what a wonderful league. anway.

here's nate saying that jo is his favourite teammate ever. since 2010 nate has played with at least 280 people. he said this during his hart (league mvp as voted by the writers' association) and ted lindsay (league mvp as voted by the players' association) award interview. also couldnt find it for the life of me but im certain there's an interview where jo says he wants to play with nate for ten more years. EDIT: here is the article, found by the lovely @mi-kko-ran-tanen it is also a bit of a natejo primer very very good would encourage a read

24-25 season:

jo resigned for another year ! turned down money again for 'loyalty and happiness'

they actually might have seperation anxiety

jo is going to be point per game this season i believe it with my whole heart.

r-ing into the rpf:

nate's start in the league was . well. the avs were very very bad for quite sometime, bottomed out nearly historically after the 2016-17 season (season directly after team north america and the world cup of hockey) and i think this is around the time nate locked in so to speak. this spittin chiclets interview from 2019 is pretty good (dont let the spittin chiclets part put u off 🙏), he talks about worrying about being a bust, about his expectations and also just the way he talks back then and what he's achieved in the five years since oh nate u have no idea whats in store for u ☹️

jo's time in the nhl has been tumultuous to say the least.

mid way into the 2022-23 season he held the record for most points without a goal by a forward in a single season. (he ended the season 2-27-29, scoring a goal in his 46th game) teammate and close friend josh anderson was quite sweet about it all

there's a lot of talk about jo being a draft bust, there's also a lot of talk about his development being screwed from the get go (sent back down to juniors for the 2013-14 season despite having won the calder cup the uear prior because if a player is juniors eligable they cant play in the minors or smth like that), he was also injured a lot, the habs under bergevin not being great at player development, and in tampa and montreal there was an expectation on him to be an offensive powerhouse that he just wasnt unfortunately due to injuries and mental health issues. they also tried to develop him at center.

it is absolutely not the best metric to measure 'draft bustness', but sorting the 2013 draft by games played and total points, jo is top 20 for games played and top 15 for total points

an espn redraft from march of 2023 has him still in the first round but much lower

absolutely crushing thank u greg

jo was actually injured so much holy shit bro has never played a full season. the closest he got was 81 games in 18-19

apparently there was some buzz about a drouin-iginla trade in 2015 between tampa and colorado??? what couldve been damn

ALL THIS TO SAY nate believed in him and jo believed in nate and it paid off so freaking hard last season and jo has his love for hockey back and nate had his career best personal season next to him and they are it if u think about it

f-ing into the rpf:

i know you didnt ask but i would be remiss if i didnt share these, they're currently what i would say is quintessential natejo reading

I don't believe in soulmates (but nobody saw me like you) by shade_of_blue (@shade-of-drou) (M, 6k) soulmates au where jo realises dewey has soulbond sickness

those who favor fire by bruinss (@droumack) (M, 14k) absoloutely crushing magical realism fic where jo's heart freezes the more he falls in love. it is actually unfathomable how much nate loves him, and how much nate loves jo

got my finger on her trigger by creamsicle_melt (@creamsiclemelt) (E, 6k) lesbian natejo nate fucks jo within an inch of her life absolutely fantastic peice of literature.

you'd have to stop the world by bladeless_knife (@mi-kko-ran-tanen) (M, 12k) nate is stuck in a timeloop watching jo get hurt no matter what he does. genuinely incredible theyre so so very much natejo here and also very nate and very jo

Gather by plethoriall (@plethoriall) (E, 4k) once again, another fic where theyre so very natejo. like that interview linked in the very first bullet point? those guys ("yeah we're dumb and dumber") def did this. a delightful study in what if our codependant homoerotic teenage friendship turned into a regular healthy adult friendship except every time you touch me i remember how we used to jerk eachother off which (thankfully for everyone inolved) turned into Yay sex and also i love you. instead of turning toxic.

all very very very good writers i would highly highly suggest checking out their other works as well + commenting and kudoing

[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.

[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-

[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.

[tkachuktkaching]

A feature on Matthew in the Miami Herald as he reached 600 NHL Games

“It’s crazy,” Tkachuk said ahead of the game. “I don’t even feel like I’m even close to hitting my prime yet. I’m at 600 [games] right now and it’s just flying by. I’m 26 years old. For me to hit this at this age I think is a very cool accomplishment. It just makes you reflect when you hit something like how fast time has gone and how many great players I’ve been able to play with.”

Tkachuk has logged 589 points (222 goals, 367 assists) so far in his career. That’s the 12th-most among U.S.-born NHL players through 600 games played.

He already has 207 points in 169 games with Florida, scoring 70 goals and adding another 137 assists. He has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 10 games this season. But his value extends beyond the scoresheet. Ever since Florida acquired him in the blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames before the 2022-23 season, Tkachuk became an instant leader in the Panthers’ dressing room. His boisterous, outgoing personality formed a perfect yin-and-yang with Florida captain Aleksander Barkov. His ability to get under opponents’ skin added a dimension of physicality, grit and toughness the team lacked before his arrival.

The results have been evident ever since. He posted a career-high 109 points in his first season and added another 24 points, including 11 goals and four game-winners, in the playoffs as Florida made it to the Stanley. Cup Final for just the second time in franchise history. The Panthers lost the series in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights, with Tkachuk missing the final game due to a fractured sternum sustained in Game 3 when he absorbed an open-ice hit from Vegas’ Keegan Kolesar.

Tkachuk’s pure numbers dipped last season, logging just 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists), but he stepped up in the playoffs with a team-high 16 assists and team-high-tying 22 points as Florida returned to the Cup Final and ultimately won it all for the first time by beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.

[haloslips]

do you have a daniel sprong primer or just in general what about him compels you? i don’t know anything about him so i’m just curious

do i "have" a daniel sprong primer? if you count my single braincell clinging desperately to daniel sprong being a kraken for life as something i have, well, yes! that braincell bounces around my brain NOT unlike - [lound honking].

anon, we're about to embark on a journey, i hope you'll take me in stride. before we start there are a few things you should know:

i took an edible about an hour ago that's just kicking in;

i probably won't finish this in one go so it's likely the tone will change inexplicably halfway through;

i want to Fuck That Man SO bad it makes me look stupid

great, let's get started!

important note: daniel was accused of pretty brutally assaulting a former indycar racer. (warning: graphic images) for what it's worth, the story is a little fishy and there is absolutely no mention of it other than the articles from august 11th - i followed this incident very closely because my first favorite hockey player was p*trick k*ne and i learned my lesson in a hard way, and there was no local news after the initial accusation, no criminal charges pressed, no statement again from anyone on either side. he obviously doesn't cross my personal rpf boundaries, but yours may be different!

okay let's continue 😎

my love for daniel sprong (i luv to full name him) is inextricably tied to his being a 22-23 seattle kraken, which is going to be My Team for the rest of my life god willing. it was just fucking electric to be a kraken fan in seattle that year, and daniel was a big part of that. he ended the 21-22 season with the kraken and as a free agent that summer signed a pto and then a contract with the team right before the season started and then had a career year with us. he was occasionally healthy scratched, but usually on the fourth line. a local like sports and culture writer started making memes about him on twitter in a fun way, idk there was just a lot of local hype around him. and he was playing well! he was winning games for us! call it bad data but the stats say we lost a LOT more games when he was scratched than when he wasn't.

before he was a kraken, daniel sprong was drafted in 2015 to the pens in the second round. he was in draft year (2015) which is a docuseries that appears to have been wiped off the face of the earth except for this instagram account and the google drives of generous friends. the series highlighted six (i think) players leading up to the 2015 nhl draft - it's a real gold mine of content, it's a shame it's not more widely available. anyway so he's drafted to the pens where he plays a handful of games with them and then is sent back to major juniors. i'm pretty sure the guys in pittsburgh do not care for him - he's known especially at the beginning of his career as being a pretty severe defensive liability.

the pens trade him to the ducks in 2018, and the ducks play him a little and then send him to the gulls because he's a defensive liability. in 2020 the ducks trade him to the caps. he played for the bears at first, eventually gets a contract extension and a little more than minimum wage. in march 2022 he's traded to the kraken! he's still a defensive liability probably but like i said he had a banner year 22-23. after that season, which was the entire length of his contract, he was a free agent and ron francis was like, go get your bag kid, and sprong signed a 2m x 1yr contract with the red wings.

he does alright with the wings - stays on the nhl team, scores some goals. he doesn't put up enough of a showing that the wings extend his contract and he remains unsigned for most of this summer. i think he ended up on the canucks on a pto and then they basically just gave him back to us. which is to say traded for future considerations.

then last week we put him on waivers and for 24 hours i considered death and dying and then he cleared waivers and now he's on our ahl team, which is not my favorite thing but also isn't my worst case scenario i guess.

BEFORE all that, daniel sprong was born in amsterdam. his dad played hockey there, and when daniel was 7 they moved to quebec so he could pursue his hockey career more seriously.

now let's get into some fun stuff!

my first dms to beccah on the subject:

(sidebar i did actually submit a photo of daniel sprong to the leadership program & at the end the six weeks three separate people had left me shoutouts to thank me for my participation so. if you've ever wondered why i am the way i am it's because the universe only rewards me.)

my assessment of his fursona from this post about kraken fursonas i made:

some get to know the player graphics from the kraken and the red wings:

MUCH to consider!!!! sprong & burky were on the caps together for a brief amount of time, and have a known bromance (although i'm not sure burky has ever met a man he couldn't bromance). but WHAT a weirdo!! in another kraken media thing, he says wizards of waverly place was his favorite show growing up. i love him!!!!!

a really critical piece of media about him TO ME is this deep dive on his tattoos the kraken did. this is also were i sourced the first two photos at the top! some takeaways:

The first tattoo Sprong got was on the inside of his left arm. It's a rose with the birthdates of his parents, his sister, and himself inside. He got the tattoo in Montreal from an artist that a friend had recommended. "I'm not great with dates, but I don't really have any excuse to forget now," Sprong said with a smile.

okay girl. had to get a tattoo of your own birthday to remember it, i see you. this tattoo is kind of ugly so if you want to see it you will have to click the link sorry 🫡

"The outside is a bit of a forest and some water and trees with two wolves," Sprong said. "One wolf (represents) my dad, one (represents) me and the two birds are my grandparents back in Amsterdam."

i'm going to be so real with you when i say daniel sprong would be a furry in a life without hockey. further evidence:

But Sprong doesn't have to wait to finish the sleeve on his arm. He already knows what he wants for the front. It will be a play on imagery from his favorite movie growing up: Disney's The Lion King. Sprong's current vision includes two lions, something that holds multiple personal meanings to the 26-year-old, as well as Pride Rock.

OKAYYY yeah every hockey player wants a lion king tattoo. oh wait that's just me and all my friends.

here are some stills i have saved from draft year (2015) where he looks especially ridiculous and sweet:

here, he's talking about how much he misses peanut butter spread while he's adhering to a strict meal plan. i too would not handle giving up peanut butter well :( his fucked up teeth are sooooooo important to meeeeee

in this one i'm pretty sure he's winning an award playing on a team with people quite a bit older than him. look at his little neck guard!!!! his abundant curls!!! these days you hardly see him without a hat on because his hairline is awol. i truly don't understand why he doesn't just shave his head...... he would look amazing bald and yet he remains dedicated to the hair left on his head. actually ykw i accept this i think if he wants to rock his natural hair he should.

op i get you.

when luke prokop came out, daniel sprong was the first member of the caps to post in support of him:

also on the caps, daniel sprong did math!

here's a picture that drove me crazy from the moment i watched the video it comes from. daniel is ALWAYS wearing a snapback or something with the brim to the front (regrettably not as slutty as he could be, sigh) and looking down - so this angle is really striking imo.

OKAY pivoting hard but my absolute favorite thing is HOW BADLY HE WANTS TO BE A SEATTLE KRAKEN. when he was traded back to us this season from vancouver, he said he never really wanted to leave the team. HE LOVE US. i hate dan bylsma for scratching him 90% of the time he was with us before putting him on waivers. i'm not going to get into his recent post-game comments after scoring two goals and having an assist in his opening night w coachella because he's right and he should say it tbh.

another thing i love is that he talks like he has marbles in his mouth. it's that dutch french canadian thing he's got going on. it's charming!!!!!!!

also he is regularly on ice in shorts and flip flops. freak ass.

the following is NOT my favorite slow-mo video of him but unfortunately when my pc bricked itself a couple years ago i lost my favorite video, lovingly titled DANIEL SPRONG THAT ASS. but this video is mesmerizing also.

and finally!!!!! here's a snippet of burky/sprog fic i will probably never finish, if you've made it this far

in conclusion:

[extraliga-related]

Kraken fans need more Aleš Stezka lore to appreicate him I fear...that is my request

HELL YEAH

2009/10 - 2014/15 -> Liberec Juniors

Plzeň-adjecent Třemošná-native who laid foundation for his career in Liberec, earns title among junior comps twice

could have gotten to start in 2nd league with BTL affiliate Benátky nad Jizerou a season sooner, but in came Vítek Vaněček who, upon first being drafted, was left to marinate in CZ due to the language barrier

MIN selects him 111th overall in 2015 draft

2015/16 - 2016/17 -> NA part 1: USHL

jumped at the chance to head to NA a year later

very put off by "crazy" American customs around [lack of] maternity leave, accuses US citizens of not having a sense of humor (a trait he likes to claim he possesses)

1st year was meh (had to adapt), 2nd one clicked

did not get to be around for the birth of his first son due to advancing to the USHL post-season, ultimately winning the cup

deemed it necessary to return, since prolonged stay in NA Juniors would've let him fall into a wide-spread trap of desperation where a young player's development stagnates

thought developing in the US was great for maturity as he was essentially left to his own devices while having to figure shit out on his own, hockey-related + otherwise...

2017/18 -> return to CZ: Liberec & Co

aimed to profit off Ján Lašák's demise (career-ending injury) and fight Roman Will for BTL's starting spot

praised as youngest emerging tandem in top-league, went on to say: "I think there'll be a healthy rivalry between us, we won't just give each other a handout. [...] I'm not settling for the role of number two. I like to be under pressure."

he didn't have to! fresh off signing a 2-year-contract and their goalie coach claiming he'd "definitely give him a start to raise Will's competitiveness" -> Will got the spot, Janus played second fiddle

Stezka? demoted to 2nd-tier affiliate -> struggling as much as the rest of a not particularly well-constructed team which didn't make the playoffs (way to crush a guy's ambitions)

letting a guy who admits to being nervous when first put into a new environment only have 2 starts is not exactly indicative of his overall capabilities... but ok :/

bonded over the whole NA-experience with tandem partner & fellow NHL-draftee Kořenář

Rinse & Repeat for another year

on the verge of calling it quits, disillusioned by previous team's promises that never came to fruition & doubting ability

2019/20 - 2020/21: Kid's encouragement & Havířov

Havířov, back then still an Extraliga team, extend an olive branch by taking him on as starting goalie

plays 50 games on a team which would've qualified for the playoffs if it wasn't for Covid

Vítkovice: -> passion reignited, tunes the fuck in & evolves to;

2021/22: lead league in goaltender wins (24)

2022/23: become Best Goaltender in the League with 2nd ranked Vítkovice, has the time of his life, plays insane Extraliga series

get nominated for Czech National Team for the first time since earning Silver @ Hlinka Gretzky Cup as a Junior in 2016

receive multiple NHL offers, signing with Seattle

2023/24 -> AHL & Beyond

went from a need to make it to the NHL to it being a non-guaranteed option he wouldn't have to make as long as he can claim he did his best

last shot at NHL + NA, got to prioritize education of kids

February 23, 2025 -> NHL DEBUT

Miscellaneous Array

back in USHL, he said no one bothered to learn how to pronounce any part of his name, this time around people should finally put some fucking respect on it

despite being born in Plzeň, he's got no emotional connection to the city beyond his "grandma being in the area", whom he would love to play in front of (she keeps nagging him to come closer, but hey, he's got places to be)

never actually saw an NHL game while first in NA, ticket prices are horrendous ($100) and the kid had USHL try-out fees to pay ($200 per session)

arguable whether or not he's joking, but apparently he very much did intend to have a kid at 19 specifically so that he'd one day get to play with them... hard to achieve since he wants him to be a goalie (his oldest voluntarily opted to do just that, the other seems to be a decent skater)

one of those "team first, personal achievements second" people

has a way of entertaining the crowd after games, thrives on fan-interaction

2nd favorite sport to watch is F1

sole complaint about Seattle would be that he's a winter kind of guy

initially fascinated by Fleury, took inspiration for his game from Bobrovski

rumored to return to Extraliga next season (particularly Brno, his prior destination before Seattle), so keep an eye on him before it's too late

tldr: Man who almost gave up and abandoned his dream turned into a beloved figure, heralded as one of the best to ever wear a Vítkovice jersey, achieves his dream.

[dmercer91]

ebug's sister, dm91

ok, first post where blake is blake!! also, excuse the absolute dumpster fire that is my life, and is the reason that this post is one post and not like 47

last season! (2022-23) part one / part two / part three / part four / part five / part six / part seven / part eight / part nine / part ten / part eleven / part twelve

(2023-24)! part one /

blakefriarr_

liked by dawson1417, adamfantilli and 6,947 others

blakefriarr_: so many things have happened since i last popped up on all your timelines and made them immeasurably better!

this is episode one of season two of i-am-both-the sister-of-the-devils-home-emergency-backup-goaltender-and-also-happen-to-be dating-dawson-mercer-forward-for-the-devils series!

these pictures are in no particular order, because, i am moving into a new place with afore mentioned dawson mercer and have spent the last several weeks making it look like it's not the most depressing back alley murderous apartment any of you have ever laid your eyes on

and apparently, i have a ball ton of stuff!

regardless, here's what i've caught up on;

the entire nhl draft! though i have not acquired any new adoptees, it did come to my attention that the anaheim ducks as an organization did personally victimize me during the 2023 entry draft (they also took a BALLSY amount of time to re-sign bitch one and bitch two. what the literal fuck, dudes). also- if you are seeing this and you need help to flee, blink twice (not you adam) (you know who you are)

2, the entire preseason was also missed while i was one, curing myself from jetlag and the absolute dread of going back to uni and two, moving my egregious amount of shit with a spiteful level of independence. the devils won every preseason game! dawson scored that clusterfuck of a goal on slide two and we also got to see goalie bonks again! (i told you those pics weren't in order and i meant it)

three, (or four, i forgot what came first) quinneth played his first regular season game as captain of the canucks ad they kicked ass against the edmonton dudes. goncrats captain ;p

four (probably) rookie had both his first reg season nhl game AND his birth on the same day! he cried on camera for thousands of viewers and made me question kidnapping his brother and locking him in an abandoned building in ohio (who am i kidding i don't want to be in ohio). the blue jackets have since been doing blue jacket things (losing)

five (it's all blended together these days) the devs started their regular season and now i get to go to the arena and watch in peace as nico makes dumb faces, jack gets into petty scrums and goes to the box (apparently? that ones new.) and dawson does dawson things (be hot)

sixth and finally, assistant coach and captain quinn (he should probably drop a title for his mental health, me thinks) turned 24! i giggled profusely at an edit of him as tracksuit rob. good job on aging, kid 🎉

that's all, i think. (probably not, what do i know)

view 712 comments..

jj.friar31: remember when we were roomies??? siblings defying the odds?? i've been left out to dry. i'm MARINATING in my loneliness. you've basically shot me and left me out for dead, blakey.

→ blakefriarr_: this is a touch dramatic, that's MY thing

→ jj.friar31: if i agree to never steal your dramatics again will you come back

→ blakefriarr_: have u seen how pretty my boyfriend is?? no dude

→ jj.friar31: blake pls

adamfantilli: of every picture you could've used you just decided to screenshot me crying

→ blakefriarr_: hi im blake have we met??

→ adamfantilli: also, do not kidnap luca.

→ blakefriarr_: oh so you just don't want my love?? is that what this is??

→ luca.fantilli: do not kidnap me

→ blakefriarr_: BOOORRRINNNGGGGG

nicohischier: every day i wonder what it would be like if we didn't let the ebug's come into the room

→ blakefriarr_: do you want dawson to be lonely and bitchless

→ nicohischer: yeah kinda??

→ blakefriarr_: oh

jackhughes: why.

→ blakefriarr_ ehehehe your bucket doing weird things

_quinnhughes: ??????? why am i tracksuit rob????

→ blakefriarr_: who else would be tracksuit rob

→ _quinnhughes: nobody needs to be tracksuit rob, friar.

→ _blakefriarr_: WRONG! you do :)

_connorbedard: am i who i are???

→ blakefriarr_: no apparently you are timbaland

→ _connorbedard: oh. okay?

→ adamfantilli: @/_connorbedard you get used to it

→ _connorbedard: do i want to??

→ adamfantilli: eh. 50/50

dawson1417: oh how i've missed the chaos

→ blakefriarr_: fbejdbsjshdghshsb

→ dawson1417: sometimes it's almost like you say words

→ blakefriarr_: :p i love you

→ dawson1417: i love you too, my girl <3

tannercharlotte: this is my reality tv

→ blakefriarr_: i'll leave him for u say the word

→ dawson1417: HEY??

→ blakefriarr_: shhhh baby go sleep

→ tannercharlotte: don't leave him b he doesn't have to know

ryangraves27: she back

→ blakefriarr_: i back!!

nhlblackhawks: ??

→ njdevils: don't '??' her she's right

→ blakefriarr_: thank you (trade for charlie)

→ nyrangers: i can excuse hawks slander but i draw the line at trying to take our char

→ nhlblackhawks: you can excuse hawks slander?

→ jj.friar31: why do teams keep doing this you have ENOUGH leverage over me

trevorzegras: am i bitch one or bitch two

→ trevorzegras: actually yk what don't answer that i don't wanna know

→ blakefriarr_: too bad you're actually both jamie is an angel

view more comments..

[scuderiacaps]

who keeps yelling

[puckslut4thehabs]

Supergirl | Matthew Tkachuk AU

davis bella peterson was born on february 23, 2000 in pittsburgh, pennsylvania to pittsburgh penguins player mark peterson and his wife marilyn. she is the younger sister to walker, hendrix, and garrett, and the older sister to isaiah, graham, and lynsday.

growing up, she idolized her dad and uncle sidney crosby, and had one goal in her mind. she would make it to the nhl one day, and so she focused everything she had into making that dream come true.

mark had been best friends with keith tkachuk for years, so the tkachuk family was always around. davis was best friends with brady, but had a huge crush on matthew. but nothing ever happened until june 24, 2016 when matthew was drafted to the calgary flames in the 2016 nhl draft, where they ended up hooking up and started a casual relationship.

on june 22, 2018, davis was the first woman drafted into the nhl, being drafted 22nd overall by the toronto maple leafs, where she absolutely dominated her first few seasons, proving she belonged, not just because of her last name, winning the calder, hart, and ted lindsay all within 2 years.

on december 6, 2021, davis found out she was pregnant with matthew's baby, and after flying to calgary to tell him with the help of her roommate, mitch marner, they decided it was finally time to be in a real relationship.

their son, leo mitchell tkachuk was born on august 2, 2022. by march of 2023, davis was pregnant again, and their second son, ryan braeden tkachuk was born on december 24, 2023.

matthew won the stanley cup with the florida panthers on june 24, 2024, and shortly before that, he made a deal with davis. if he won, they would have another baby. so it wasn't a surprise when davis soon found out they were expecting another baby. another boy due in march of 2025.

davis and matthew are legally married, but never had a big ceremony or anything, instead having a small courthouse wedding on july 8, 2023.

[strawberryblondebutch]

I feel like I just saw a video about this Deangelo guy… is he like super controversial or something? The name sounds familiar 🤔

Oh babe you've come to the right place. Here's a little timeline on Tony DeAngelo's whole deal:

2014: while playing in the OHL, DeAngelo (herefore known as TDA) is suspended eight games for calling his own teammate a slur. This is his second suspension of the season under the OHL's Abuse/Diversity Policy, though details of the first were never revealed. He also ends the season with back-to-back suspensions/ejections for abuse of an official. The Tampa Bay Lightning ultimately draft TDA 19th overall. Then-GM Steve Yzerman defends his decision despite the character issues, insisting that "he'll change and grow up". This is what we writers call "subtle foreshadowing."

2016: In his rookie season with the Syracuse Crunch, TDA is healthy scratched eight times for a combination of defensive and behavioral issues. He's traded to the Arizona Coyotes before the 2016-17 season.

2017: With the Coyotes, TDA is suspended three games for physical assault of a referee. He's traded to the New York Rangers before the 2017-18 season.

2019: TDA looks like he's found a stable home with the Rangers. However, he's healthy scratched 20 times over the course of the 2018-19 season for various outbursts. This includes a back-to-back scratch in February due to what head coach David Quinn described as "a maturity issue".

2021: Cue Jaws theme. In the first game of the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season, TDA takes an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Quinn pulls him aside and tells him this is the last straw - one more incident and you're out of New York. Two weeks later, TDA yells at Georgiev to "make a fuckin' save" after a loss, and the two get into a fistfight. Then-GM Jeff Gorton tells reporters that TDA "has played his last game as a Ranger" and intentionally places the guy on the taxi squad instead of on waivers. He literally goes in the time-out corner for the remainder of the year. They buy out his contract at the end of the season.

2023: DeAngelo spends the 2021-22 season trying to rehab his reputation with the Carolina Hurricanes, and prior to the 2022-23 season, the (pinches bridge of nose) Philadelphia Flyers trade for him and extend him. (I don't wanna talk about it, I wasn't the one in that GM chair.) Although his outbursts are less aggressive in Philly, he can't play defense to save his life, and John Tortorella scratches him for the last five games of a season, thinking it more valuable to play with only five defenseman rather than let this guy see the ice. They can't trade him back to the Canes due to a rule in the NHL collective bargaining agreement, so instead the Flyers have to buy him out, making him the first player in NHL history to be bought out multiple times.

2024: Now a free agent - again - DeAngelo returns to the Hurricanes for the 2023-24 season. To the best of my knowledge, he keeps the outbursts under control, but he doesn't have much of an opportunity, as he's a healthy scratch most of the season. With no one in the NHL willing to give him a chance, he instead signs in Russia with SKA Saint Petersburg, where reports say he was a complete jackass who refused to play his position and would intentionally screw over his team by overextending his shifts, screaming at his teammates, and doing anything to score goals (which would net him a contract bonus).

2025: A defenseman who can't play defense, and who has problems with authority, is now playing for the most stiff-shirt, straight-backed team in the league. As I said... good luck, babe!

Now, the on-ice antics are only half the story, because this guy can't keep his mouth shut online. He attacks randoms on Twitter, claimed the pandemic was a hoax, famously lost his marbles during the 2020 election cycle, and most recently insisted that he was blackballed from the NHL for being a conservative. You know, like three-quarters of the league is? Maybe you just suck, Tony.

The most offensive thing he did to me personally was when his dad insisted that the boy can't stop himself from saying slurs, it's a South Philly thing. Now, I'm from South Philly, and I don't know. I don't call my teammates slurs. It's a really easy thing to avoid, actually. But most damningly...

You're not from Philly, dumbass.

You're from New Jersey.

Keep my neighborhood out your mouth.

[puckpocketed]

Sharks 2024 11OA draft pick Sam Dickinson got featured in NHL.com’s CHL roundup. I’m putting it here for archival purposes <3 if you have a minute, please enjoy reading about Dickie bullying the shit outta children in the OHL during his D+1 year!!

Published December 1st, 2024 (link) CHL notebook: Sharks like what they see in London defenseman Dickinson, by Adam Kimelman.

No. 11 pick in 2024 NHL Draft 'just wants to be the best that he can be'

photo credit: Wild Ave. Photography

Sam Dickinson certainly had a solid season in 2023-24, finishing fourth among OHL defensemen in scoring and helping London reach the Memorial Cup championship game.

But he also had to deal with the pressure every player feels in his NHL draft season. But those feelings were alleviated when the San Jose Sharks selected him with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

A more relaxed Dickerson has his focus solely on playing, and the result has been a dominant start to the season.

Dickinson leads OHL defensemen in goals (13), assists (27) and points (40) in 23 games. He's tied for third in the league in scoring among all players, and is tied for the OHL lead with eight power-play goals.

"It's obviously a little bit of a different season, maybe a little more relaxed not having to worry about some of those [draft-related] things," Dickinson said. "But for me, it's always just been about focusing on hockey and kind of not really trying to let the outside noise and the outside stuff kind of get into my head.

"So I think that's been a big focus for this year, leaving the outside stuff for a different time, not worrying about it, especially when I'm showing up to the rink for practices, for games, whatever it may be. Just kind of leaving the outside noise, focusing on myself and on the team, and just kind of worrying about hockey and the London Knights and how I can help the team win as many games as possible."

Dickinson has done most of that with his offensive ability. He had 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) during a 13-game point streak that ended Nov. 24. He has at least a point in 20 games, including a six-point game (one goal, five assists) in a 6-5 win at Saginaw on Nov. 23; it was the first six-point game by a defensemen since Pavel Mintyukov for Saginaw on March 11, 2022.

It also was one of Dickinson's 10 multipoint games, and he has two hat tricks.

But more than the offense, the Sharks have been impressed by other details in Dickinson's game.

"Obviously you want players to put up numbers and be successful," San Jose director of player development Todd Marchant said, "but it's some of the little things that we've been working on with Sam, with going back for pucks, on retrievals, shoulder checking and those sorts of things that you really need to have if you want to play in the National Hockey League."

Marchant and the Sharks development staff were able to but a plan in place for Dickinson earlier than other prospects because they were able to watch him last season.

"In a player development role you don't get a chance to see the players a lot usually in their draft year, but we did because we had another player in London in [forward] Kasper Halttunen," Marchant said. "So when he was available to us at No. 11, we were ecstatic. We were very, very happy."

Dickinson is just as happy to be part of what San Jose is building with a young core that includes forwards Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 draft, and Will Smith, the No. 4 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. He got a preview during training camp, when he got into two preseason games, and is hungry to do what it takes to get even more as soon as next season.

"Getting in those preseason games and all that, it was an unbelievable experience, and kind of gave you a bit of a realization of really how close I could be to potentially playing in San Jose and in the NHL real soon," Dickinson said. "I think the big thing for me when I was getting in those games was taking everything in, seeing the speed, the strength, the physicality, how fast the game is played at that level. It was huge for me to kind of play at that speed and play at that level. A big thing for me was when I came back [to London] was continuing to play at the speed and at the level that was played in those preseason games."

The Sharks have seen that and more from Dickinson and are just as excited about his future.

"The National Hockey League has the best players in the world, and that's something that every young player strives to get to," Marchant said. "Sam is no different. You look at some of the things that he's able to do, both from an offensive standpoint and a defensive standpoint ... he's one of those guys that just wants to be the best that he can be every single night. And we're seeing that firsthand."