#and that’s just training camp and preseason

[atwhughesversion]

hockey is still over a month away

[ratatatastic]

the funniest cat tradition is playing we didnt start the fire after a chippy game. so you can guess what theyre doing right now after a (looks at notes) combined 60 pim game against the preds

[puck-luck]

evening embrace | jack hughes

warnings: oral (m! & f! receiving) aka 69 BABYYYY!!!!! whiny jack, silly jack, established realtionship af, very domestic pairing: jack hughes x fem!reader request: "jack hughes coming home from practice or a game all grumpy and frustrated and just ranting endlessly about whatever is pissing him off so u just casually decide to give him head mid-rant. without a word you just start palming him over his pants while he’s mid sentence and he’d be like “baby, what are you doing?” and you’d casually make your way to your knees with a shrug and say “you’re stressed, seem like you could use some relief” and once you’ve got his dick out and you’re about to bring it to your lips you’d say “you can continue with your ranting baby, promise i won’t get distracted” with an innocent little pout i-" wc: 4423

Jack had a bad day. The Devils just had their first few preseason games and Jack, although he felt ready to get back into his normal routine, feels like his shoulder injury from last season is still a little tender. He can’t pinpoint the exact moment that he snapped, but he thinks that he blacked out around the time when he missed a pivotal pass that resulted in a breakaway and goal in the game today. He’s never been so angry after a game– and this is just preseason.

He bursts through the door to your shared apartment, already ranting. 

“This is shit,” Jack complains, dropping his bags in the doorway and kicking off his shoes. 

“What’s shit, Jacky?” You ask from the couch, wrapped up in a blanket and reading a book. Now that he’s home, though, you set the book down and give him your attention.

“I’m not playing good enough,” Jack huffs out, frustrated and annoyed. “It’s my stupid shoulder. I’ve rehabbed it, I’ve gotten it fixed through surgery, and I still feel like I’m not playing at 100%.”

“Aw, honey, come sit,” you say, patting the cushion beside you. 

Jack stalks over, collapsing onto the couch cushions and pulling you onto his lap. He kisses you hello before going back to his ranting. 

“I knew I needed to work more on my wrister before the game,” he says. “But Keefe wanted us to run drills at camp so that we could be better all-around.”

You hum when you need to, but Jack’s just complaining and pouting. He had a tough day and wants to get all of his negative thoughts out, knowing that you don’t mind listening to him when he has problems.

“And I appreciate being a good team all-around, you know,” Jack continues. “But there should be times during practice when a guy can go work on his own shit, which will make the team better overall once he’s perfected the skill.”

“Maybe you can talk to Nico about that,” you murmur, tracing the letters on Jack’s shirt. 

“I don’t want to be that guy,” Jack grumbles. “It’s a team sport. If Keefe wants us to practice as a team, then that’s what we’ll do. He’s the coach.”

You nod absentmindedly, adjusting yourself on Jack’s lap. Your hand continues to pet over his covered chest as he talks. His muscles are defined; it’s clear that he put in the work during his time off. You know he did, actually. You’ve watched his body swell and gain muscle mass over the summer and you’ve been able to see the changes up close and personal.

But not this past week: training camp started and Jack has been so tired and stressed out that he’ll come home, eat dinner with you, and collapse into bed with nary a makeout sesh anywhere. He’s been too tired to get off with you, although you know it relaxes him and helps him keep his mind clear, so you haven’t pushed.

Yet, as he talks about his day, you can’t stop thinking about how much better this would be if your lips were wrapped around his dick.

Your hand drops to his lap, palming his length over his shorts and interrupting Jack’s sentence.

He catches your wrist. “Baby, what are you doing?” Jack asks. “I’m talking to you.”

You blink up at him innocently, moving from his lap and sliding down to the ground. You situate yourself prettily on your knees, right between his thighs. Again, you touch the front of his shorts, rubbing the area like you’re giving him a handjob over his pants. “You seem stressed,” you tell him, simply. “Like you could use some relief.”

Jack’s mouth is agape, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “I– um, yeah, I mean, I guess I’m stressed,” he replies, agreeing with you with an additional nod.

“Let me help,” you offer, cupping his bulge with your hand before leaning in to brush a fleeting kiss against the growing tent. You mouth along for a moment before bringing his waistband down, revealing his tight boxer-briefs. His semi is much more noticeable in just the underwear, straining more against the fabric as he grows harder. You fit your lips over the tip of his cock and suck slightly, through his shorts, just to make Jack jump.

“Yeah,” Jack agrees, touching the back of your neck hesitantly. He moves like he’s still confused and not quite sure what’s happening.

“Keep talking, baby,” you say to him as you pull his length out of his underwear and start to stroke it. You press a kiss to the crown of his cock, then pull back. “I’m listening. I promise I won’t get distracted.” You blink up at him through your eyelashes, watching countless emotions pass over Jack’s face before you kitten-lick over his slit and hum in approval. 

“It’s just hard,” Jack says, his eyes still wide and blown because of the shock that came over him when you made your bold move. “To, uh–”

He trails off, gesturing helplessly as your tongue traces the veins on the underside of his cock. You hum, bobbing your head in a commiserating, blatantly sarcastic nod. You know what you’re doing to him. You know that Jack goes boneless whenever you suck him off, that he promptly loses his words when you gag on his cock. 

So, you pull away from him. You let your spit pool where it lay while your lips were around him– able to use it as lube as you pump him, blinking up at him like you’re unimpressed. “C’mon, J. I thought you had things to be frustrated about.”

“I do!” Jack exclaims, finding his words after your mouth parts from his body.

“Oh, you do,” you repeat, a smug little smile on your face. “So tell me about it.”

“I– well– it doesn’t matter now,” Jack whines, his hips twitching under your calm palm. 

You furrow your brow and tilt your head to the side. “It doesn’t?”

Jack covers his face with his hands and makes a frustrated noise.

“Well, if that doesn’t matter, then why am I doing this?” You ask, feigning complete confusion even as you continue to stroke him. Jack has obviously gotten side tracked– and the relief of your mouth is like a wet rag on a dry erase board: it wipes everything completely clean and fresh. “I thought I was offering you something sweet to make up for your bad day.”

“You are, just– stop stopping!” 

You move your head from side to side with each word in your response: “You can’t make me!”

At a stalemate, Jack deflates. He frowns to himself, then pointedly at you. You’re still stroking him, just teasing him, waiting for him to sweetly ask you to continue until–

Jack pulls you up onto the couch and takes your place, sinking to the ground on his knees with his pants and underwear pooling around his ankles. He doesn’t bother to take his clothes off before he touches your leggings reverently with a light ghosting of his fingertips. He brushes a sweet kiss against the inside of your thigh as he touches you, but the sweetness and teasing doesn’t last very long.

“How was your day?” Jack asks with a smirk and another kiss to your covered skin. He pulls at the waistband of your leggings, dragging them down your legs in a totally obvious way.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,” you warn.

“Not doing anything,” Jack teases. 

“Don’t lie to me, Jack Hughes.”

“Full name,” Jack notes offhandedly. He licks his lips and rubs his thumb along your slit, still covered by your godforsaken panties. If he’s going to do something, he had better do it. “Just giving my baby a taste of her own medicine,” he adds.

“My day was fine, thank you very much,” you retort.

Jack hums, fiddling with the edge of your panties, the part of the underwear that’s covering his favorite part of you. “What’d you do?” He asks.

“I showered,” you say.

“Without me,” Jack adds. You don’t have time to berate him for acting like a fuckboy– not when he starts mouthing over your hipbones until he finds the waistband of your panties. He takes the band between his teeth and drags the fabric down to meet your leggings. All the while, he stares up at you with his own wide, blown, horny eyes. 

“And I had breakfast, then I worked for a while, then I got lunch with my coworker like I told you about last night–” You continue, but Jack interrupts, pulling away from your bare cunt.

He pouts a bit. “What coworker?” Jack asks. “Who was it again?”

You muster the courage to glare at him. Jack just grins, his thumb sweeping through your folds like he hasn’t got a care in the world. 

“Sadie,” you remind him. “The new girl in accounting.”

“Oh, Sadie,” Jack drawls, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly. “How could I forget about Sadie?” He smiles at you briefly to show that he’s messing with you, then nears your mound. “What did you eat?” He asks, just before replacing his thumb with the tip of his tongue, pride written all over his face as you take a deep breath.

“We got those Mediterranean bowls you like,” you say. You don’t tell him that there’s one in the fridge waiting for him.

“Without me,” Jack repeats, sounding a little more forlorn than the first time. Who knew that showering without your boyfriend would be less titillating than a Mediterranean bowl from that place down the street?

Regardless, you still don’t tell him about your little surprise in the kitchen.

“Without you,” you agree. “I can’t always be with you, you know.”

“Mhm, and it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever had to go through,” Jack says, using his thumbs to pull your lips apart so he can really dig in and lavish your cunt. Jack drinks up the gasp that leaves your mouth when his tongue twirls against your clit, then drops lower to press against your entrance. Jack presses a kiss against your entrance before his tongue really works into you, rendering him quiet.

You know he expects you to continue speaking, just as you expected him to continue. One thing you’ve always been better at than Jack is compartmentalizing– you swear it comes with the territory of being a woman compared to being a man– but you’ve missed this so much that you don’t care about his gloating that will come later. 

“Jack, come–”

You interrupt yourself with a breathy gasp, hands flying to his hair. Jack has always loved when you tug at the brown waves adorning his head, so the heady look in his eyes when he looks up at you is no surprise. It’s also no surprise that your gasp has Jack flattening his tongue and showering your cunt with attention.

You had meant to ask him to come back up onto the couch, wanting him to be comfortable, but Jack doesn’t seem to care. You still want him to fill your mouth. There’s a trace of his salty precum on your tongue and the absence of his cock on the muscle leaves you writhing. 

He eats you out messily, getting your juices all over his lips, cheeks, and chin. When he pulls away to catch a breath, you admire how his chest heaves with the effort to fill his lungs before diving back in and the way he licks his lips. You grip his hair, tugging slightly to get his attention, and then Jack’s disheveled baby blues are back on you. He smiles dopily, moving to wrap his lips around your clit, but before he can, you speak.

“Come up here,” you implore, tugging at his hair again. 

“Wanna stay here,” Jack replies, succeeding in his efforts to reconnect with your core this time. 

Despite the shockwaves flying through your body at his powerful suction, you remain steadfast. You’re even able to string a sentence together that has Jack pausing: “Please, J, wanna suck you too,” you complain.

It isn’t long until Jack thinks of a joke to refute you. “Baby, I’m 86, not 69.”

“Jack,” you complain, tugging his hair again indignantly as he laughs against your cunt, enjoying his own joke. “Not funny.”

“Very funny,” Jack mumbles, fitting a finger inside of you and thumbing over your clit in the absence of his mouth. You’re grinding down against him now, not nearly full enough or satisfied enough. Jack’s smirk tells you that there’s more coming. “You want to have my cock in your mouth so bad that you’ll do your least favorite sex position on the couch?”

You groan. Of course he remembered the conversation he walked in on when you had your girlfriends over a couple of months ago– a lengthy, very detailed, very philosophical conversation about which sex positions are practical and impractical, as well as what places are more practical than others. 

You don’t suck Jack off as he eats you out often. It’s not something you ever really feel the need to do, even though Jack has admitted to loving the way you’ll moan against his cock and rock back into his mouth like you’re unsure which is better. The reason you don’t do it often, though, is that you can rarely finish like that. And Jack, being the doting, pussy-drunk boyfriend he is, would rather have you in a position where you’ll come all over his cock or his face rather than struggle to make it to your destination.

As for the couch, you’ve always thought that it’s more fun to ride Jack and distract him from whatever he’s watching on the TV, or for him to bend you over the edges of the furniture to pound into you from behind.

But today– today, you’re confident that you can finish. It’s been over a week since Jack felt like doing anything and you’re needy. You’re not ashamed of it, either– you love your boyfriend and the passion shared between you both is enough to steam up the windows of the apartment. It’s no secret that Jack does everything he can to make you feel good.

Which is how you’re going to convince him to get back on the couch and fill you completely, please you from both ends until you’re boneless and smothering him with your cunt– “The ideal way to die,” according to Jack, and all of his friends who insisted he was right when he dared to bring up sex at one of the parties on the lake house the previous summer. 

“Jack,” you say, simple and plain. You lean forward on the couch, reaching down to cradle his face in your palms. Your hands get sticky with your own slick, but it’s no big deal. After all, you’d already touched Jack’s dick, so it’s not like your hands are clean. You press a fleeting kiss to his nose, making Jack grin widely. “Wanna sit on this pretty face,” you tell him. “While I gag on your cock.”

“Mm, yeah?” Jack asks. The way he perks up is laughable: if he was a dog, he’d be wagging his tail. “Gonna come in my mouth while I come in yours?”

You shiver at the thought of a simultaneous orgasm– your own warmth and relaxation taking over your body while Jack fills you up. You nod slightly, biting your lip to hold back a needy whine. Your eyelashes flutter as you watch Jack stand from his spot between your legs. 

He lays on the couch, his head resting on a throw pillow for some extra leverage. He makes himself comfortable, and it’s a little silly that both of you still have your shirts on, but Jack sticks out his tongue and waves you forward. The position makes you laugh, combined with his antics, so you make a silly move of your own. 

You crawl towards him, across the couch, trying to look like Sophie in Mamma Mia while she and Sky sing ‘Lay All Your Love on Me,’ but there’s no music playing. It’s just you and Jack and your soft little giggles, which are eventually quieted by a sweet kiss and a swipe of Jack’s tongue against your own. You can taste yourself on him and he can taste himself on you, which has Jack smiling into the kiss. His teeth clink against yours for a second, then he pats your hip and you pull away.

“Come have a seat, baby,” Jack invites, unable to wipe the grin off of his face. You shake your head and avert your eyes, blushing a little bit at how giddy you’ve made him with just a few kisses, some attention to his cock, and access to your pussy.

“Forgotten all about your bad day?” You tease.

“It turned out okay, I think,” Jack replies with a wink. He keeps his hands on your body as you turn, then line yourself up with his mouth. You’ve got the perfect view of his cock in this position, standing up and red for you, just waiting for you to lean forward and welcome him into the warm wetness of your mouth.

Jack hasn’t waited to admire you. He’s already sloppily mouthing at your lips, sliding his tongue against your clit. He has his arms looped around your thighs, hands planted squarely on your ass. He grips your cheeks and spreads them so that he can pull you back further and work his tongue inside of you. For your hesitation, he gives your clit a little nip to encourage you forward. It doesn’t hurt, but it does surprise you, and you let out a hushed yelp. Jack giggles before returning to your entrance, prodding at you.

You bend forward, laying across Jack’s body and holding yourself up by laying your forearms on his abdomen. Your left hand pets over the skin on his hip while your right holds his base steady. You gather some spit in your mouth before letting it drip onto his slit. The fluid drips down his cock, but you’re determined to replace your spit with ropes of his cum.

You take him in your mouth as far as you can, moaning when his tip nudges the back of your throat. He twitches in your mouth, involuntary but welcome. You love when he’s unable to control his reactions, doubling down on his enthusiasm at your core. 

You can feel yourself dripping all over Jack’s face. His hands are strong on your hips, pulling you back to grind against his mouth. Taking an arm from around your thigh, he brings his fingers back to your core, sliding two inside of you while he focuses on your clit. 

He’s so messy and he keeps making slurping sounds because he’s so into it, which is completely not sexy, but you can’t find it in yourself to care. You treasure the moans and hums that follow the unattractive slurping– Jack’s voice has grown high-pitched and needy, completely intoxicated by your taste.

You imagine him now, cheeks flushed just as pink as yours. Hell, his lips are probably swollen and the same shade of red as his tip. 

You bring a hand up to move your hair to one side of your head, the strands brushing Jack’s thigh and tickling him slightly. It’s necessary for you to give this blowjob your full attention, and you can’t have your hair getting in the way now, not after you’ve been missing Jack’s cock for a full week.

No, you’re just as drunk as he is, moaning and gagging and humming. You pull out all the stops– leaving his cock to kiss over his balls and suck at the skin while you pump his member. Jack’s always enjoyed that extra touch, his hips jumping uncontrollably into your space for the second time tonight.

“Wanna fuck my face?” You ask, words coming out in a rush. 

Jack keens beneath you, holding you closer. He pumps his fingers inside you quickly, working a third into your hole and curling his knuckles until he finds your sweet spot, making you moan wantonly. His hips are moving again, wiggling beneath you until you bring your lips back to his tip. You press a kiss against his slit before opening your mouth as wide as you can, hollowing your cheeks against his shaft until Jack starts to move.

He’s quick like a jack-hammer. His movements are twitchy and shallow because, as you’ve said time and time again, Jack has never been the world’s greatest multitasker. He’s able to perform well on the ice, very athletically minded and capable, but when his mind gets all foggy and sex-crazed, he’s completely helpless. 

He chases his pleasure wildly. He continues to make his sweet, pretty whimpers against your pussy. His tongue flicks over your clit as fast as he can manage while also fingering you and fucking into your mouth– he’s working overtime and his chest is heaving with harsh breaths. You take it, even rolling your hips against his fingers to try and help him out. 

You’d feel bad about making him do all the work, but you’ve known since the beginning of your relationship how Jack feels about making you come: he loves it. It’s better than his own release. He always wants you to come over his tongue or make a mess all over his cock or fingers.

“Baby, baby,” Jack whines against your clit, his lips brushing the nerves as he talks. “Fuck, gonna come, please, please–”

“Uh-huh,” you hum, the best response you can give with your mouth stuffed with his cock. The vibrations send Jack over the edge and he lurches beneath you, pulling his fingers from your hole and replacing them with his tongue. He switches, putting his thumb on your clit and rubbing furious circles until you’re writhing above him.

You’re able to swallow a mouthful of his cum before you have to squeeze your eyes shut and focus on your own orgasm, milliseconds away from breaking down the dam inside of you. You pull off of Jack’s cock and pant above him, continuing to stroke him through his climax. 

Your eyes are a little teary from the ecstasy coursing through your veins, fueled completely by Jack’s rapid movements and equally frequent muffled pleas. He can’t stop begging you to release all over his face, even with his tongue inside of you. You can’t focus on what he’s saying, but his voice is wrecked and bordering on distressed. That’s how bad he needs you to come, how badly he needs to make you come.

His jaw has got to be aching by this point, having eaten you out for so long, but you’re so close.

You sit up a bit, just enough that you can place your hands on his muscular thighs and grind back against his face. Your hips are quick, messy, and inconsistent. “Jack,” you cry out, your breath leaving you like a hard fall to the ground knocking all the air from your lungs.

“Yeah, yeah,” he encourages, his tongue flicking over your walls.

You come harder than you ever have like this– maybe harder than you ever have in general. Jack holds you against him and laps at your release, despite the pleasure causing your hips to jerk and try to escape. You lose track of yourself, feeling completely gone. There’s a chance you’ll have to wash the couch cushions later, with the way you’re spreading slick over Jack’s face. It feels endless, your orgasm, and you think Jack may have actually made up for a week of nothing in just one night. 

He licks over you until there’s nothing left for him to taste. His hair has gone wild, eyes bright but groggy and hazy at the same time. You’re sure you look the same, unwilling to find yourself in the mirror across the room when you roll off of Jack and find a shaky footing on the floor. Your shirt is damp with sweat, as is Jack’s. He lifts the neckline to wipe the lower half of his face, dazed. 

“Fuck,” he sighs, placing a hand over his heart. His eyes look up at you, a slight smile lifting the edges of his lips. “That might be the closest I’ve ever gotten to dying from your pussy, baby.”

You laugh at that, running your fingers through your hair. “I think we both need a shower,” you say with an easy smile. 

Jack yawns. “Then bed?” He asks. 

“If you don’t fall asleep on me right here,” you reply, nodding at his body as it lounges on the couch. You thought you were bad with going boneless– Jack seems to have sank into the cushions. The sight is hilarious– your boyfriend, completely love drunk and smiling up at you like you’re an angel, with his shirt still on but no pants and no underwear. His dick has softened against his hip, the cum you didn’t swallow drying against his skin. “With your dick out and all. Any burglar would run the other direction.”

“You don’t think he’d be impressed?” Jack sits up just enough to look at his length. 

“Maybe not in this state.”

“I’ll just have to explain to him that my girl fucked me so good that I couldn’t move anymore,” Jack ponders with a shrug. He laughs to himself, eyes hooded but blinking slowly at you.

“Well, you did come first,” you agree. You reach out and take his hands, dragging him up to a sitting position, then up to his feet. 

Jack stumbles into you, petting over your rat’s-nest of a head of hair and pressing a series of kisses all over your face.

“Gross, gonna have to do extra skincare tonight,” you pout, pushing him away. 

Jack continues making kissy noises as you pull him towards your shared bedroom, depositing him in front of the shower so that he can start the water while you grab new clothes for the both of you and go to the bathroom. 

He feels you up in the shower until you’re both laughing and covered in suds, unable to keep your lips from the other person’s for longer than a couple of minutes. He makes his hair into a shampooed mohawk just to make you giggle again. His displeasure from earlier in the night is completely gone, and you couldn’t be more glad. 

notes: this is one of my favorite fics i've ever written, so i hope y'all enjoyed!!

[sweetbans29]

Stress Ball - CC

Pairing: Caitlin Clark x Reader

Summary: The little things you do for Caitlin when she is stressed during a game (based on THIS request)

Warnings: Stressed CC

Word Count: 1.6k

Sweetbans Masterlist

AN: What I would give to be able to do this for her.

The expectations that the world has on Caitlin are unrealistic. Still in her rookie year, people have higher expectations on her than they do veterans who have been playing 5+ years in the league. Now that is not to say Caitlin is not capable because she very much is but the last thing she needs is someone else adding on to the expectations she has on herself.

When you first met Caitlin it was always in passing, playing against each other in tournaments and things like that. It wasn't until you both got drafted to Indiana that you really started to get to know each other. The two of you immediately hit it off in training camp and it was right before the first preseason game when you asked her out. To say things moved fast was an understatement.

It's now 4 months into the season and it has felt like you have been together for years. Being with Caitlin came so easy it was almost scary. Yet every time it felt like it should have gone up in flames, it didn't. The two of you would figure it out together and grow. You complemented each other well.

That leads you to right now. The Fever are playing the Lynx for the last time this season and everything is going wrong for the rookie star. At the end of the first quarter she has no points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. That is including the 2 personal fouls and 2 turnovers.

Everyone breaks from the first quarter huddle and Caitlin doesn't stand up. She just sits there her Gatorade towel bitten between her teeth. She loves those things more than she loves you (not actually but you tease her about it all the time). You can tell she is stuck in her mind which is exactly where she shouldn't be in a time like this. Down 10 after the first, the team needs her to not be stressed but locked in.

You grab your towel and place it around her shoulder. Usually you would pull at her towel and annoy her but seeing her state you decide against it.

Caitlin doesn't look up at you and continues to chew on her towel. You place your hand on her head, moving it to the side of it to sooth other her hair when she leans her head into your hand.

Nothing is said, nothing needs to be said. You know where she is at and she knows you know what she is at.

The buzzard rings and Caitlin finally stands. You remove the towel you put around her shoulders and she puts down her towel as the two of you walk back out to the floor.

The second quarter goes a little better. Caitlin gets on the board with a quick 4 points and it seems like there is momentum building. That is until things get heated between Temi and Alana.

You know Caitlin hates when she is starting to build momentum and something stops it. With a little confrontation on the floor, Caitlin becomes visibly frustrated and she throws her hands up in the air. walking in the other direction. You first help Aliyah grab Temi as the teams are told to go to their respective benches while the refs watch the replay.

Cait is standing on the floor with her hands on her hips, completely unamused. You walk over to her and push her to the bench. While walking behind her, your hands massage her shoulders before coming down to pinch her waist.

"Don't worry, your rhythm will be there when we get back on," you say softly to her. She nods once.

You never want to overstep when it comes to comforting Caitlin on the court. And you would say you do a pretty good job of making sure that you don't but today seems like one of those days where you just can't do enough.

At the half, Caitlin has been doing better but you can tell by her mannerisms that she is not playing near to the standard she is holding herself to.

As everyone is walking back out to the court to stay warm, you grab Caitlin's arm before heading out of the tunnel.

"Hey," you say but she won't make eye contact with you. "Look at me."

When she doesn't, you know she is internally fighting with you and she doesn't want to give in.

You grab her face and force her to look at you. You want to say something, give her encouraging words but know that would only piss her off so you settle with kissing her on the nose.

The action earns you a little smile from her and you let go of her. She begins walking back out and you give her a little slap on the butt.

"Hey!" She squeals causing you to laugh and run out in front of her onto the court.

The third quarter is better. You can see she is playing more like herself. She has made the decision to out the team on her back and carry everyone to the finish line. Everything was going much better until she is fouled and the refs don't make the call.

Her arms come up in a 'how did you not see that' motion and you are quick to grab her arm. The ball goes back the opposing way and Phee draws the foul on Lyss. Everyone is just standing around while the refs discuss something and you notice Caitlin getting frustrated with her hair. You look over at her redoing it for the second time in a row as she lets out a annoyed puff.

You walk over to your girl and pull her hair out of her last attempt. She is about to protest but you are forcing her to bend over so you can collect all of her hair. She giggles, surprising you as you allow her to flip back up.

Now standing begin her as you sooth out the bumps and tie the hair tie around it.

"What is so funny?" You ask as you finish and she turns around smiling. The refs finally walk back over and give Phee her first free throw shot.

"I drooled," Caitlin says as you both look down at the court where sure enough, there was a little pile of Caitlin's spit.

"Ewww gross," you say teasing her and she pushes you playfully. She uses her shoes to clear out it out and you help her. When one of the court-side workers see the two of you trying to clear something up, they run over and wipe it with a towel.

"Careful there, she might be contagious," you tease as the guy looks at you confused. Caitlin just rolls her eyes and pushes you again.

You finish helping her with her hair but bringing her little headband back up to keep the little fly-aways out of her face.

"All better," you say and she looks at you with a little smile.

"Thank you," she says.

"Now let's win this game," you say and push her back to the back court to get the inbound pass.

The game comes down to the wire as the Fever somehow manage to pull out the win. Caitlin and Aliyah head to the pressor after while you and the rest of the team get to head back to the locker.

They are almost through the pressor when someone asks about the interactions between you and Caitlin.

"Caitlin, how do you manage stress when you are on the floor? It seems like you weren't playing like your usual self starting the game off but then came back and dominated the second half." The reported says.

Aliyah looks over at Caitlin with a knowing look.

"Ya, how do you manage your stress on the floor?" Aliyah says egging Caitlin on.

"Well, I have great teammates that know how to lift me up. The success of the team doesn't rely on one person. The win didn't come with me in the second half - ya sure, I helped and contributed but it first started off with Aliyah in the first half. She kept us in the game until I was able to heat up a little." Caitlin says, not specifically mentioning you. Regardless of if she mentions you or not, she knows there are going to be a disgusting amount of edits by tomorrow morning of the two of you, not that she ever minds.

As Aliyah and Caitlin are walking back, Aliyah bumps Caitlin.

"I am so telling your girl you just called her your teammate," Aliyah says.

"She is, she is our teammate," Caitlin says.

"Ya but you and the whole world knows she is is the sole reason you were able to get out of your head and back in this game and you just called her a teammate," Aliyah says.

"It isn't a big deal," Caitlin says.

"Fine, then I am going to go and tell her exactly what you said," Aliyah say as she picks up her pace to run and tell you that Caitlin only called you her teammate and not her girlfriend.

"No, wait!" Caitlin calls after Aliyah as she picks up her pace to stop her from tattling.

AN: Short and sweet! Let me know what you think! And as always, thank you for the love and support

[patriwoso]

a betrayal

alexia putellas x reader

If someone asked from the outside, you'd say Barca was like a family.

Claudia was your sister, a twin. You were double trouble.

Patri was the older sister.

Alexia was the mom. Soccer mom. She made sure you and Claudia kept in line.

You teased Ana and said she was the grandmother, eventually agreeing to be the Aunt though.

Mapi and Ingrid were like Soccer moms too, although sometimes you'd argue Mapi was too childish and she was the baby of the family.

The family was tight. You had your groups within the team and they were close.

When Alexia and Aitana went to the World Cup, you felt betrayed. Confused and upset why they would go against what they'd said the whole time.

You lost some of your family for a few months. You didn't want to talk to them, acknowledge them.

Going to a senior world cup had been yours and Claudia's dream. Mapi and Patri had experienced it before but you were yet to reach that stage of your career.

The first few days were spent crying in Mapi's arms. You felt overwhelmed and upset that this was happening, it wasn't fair.

Alexia had tried to reach out to you but you chose not to reply. Watching the calls on the screen until they rang out. Her messages appearing amongst other notifications.

Hey small stuff. Miss you x

Y/N I'm sorry, I love you ❤️

Please call me. I want to talk to you Y/N/N.

You spent a few weeks with Patri and Pina on holiday in Mallorca, boat trips and tanning on the beach.

The nights were spent cuddled up together watching films, sharing popcorn and toffees.

"Claudi stop wriggling." You'd tug on the blanket, pulling back what she had taken away from you.

"I'm not!"

"That pair of you... your children!" Patri sighs.

And then preseason training started again.

You were with the Barca B team like usual, some of the internationals joining back once their time in Australia and New Zealand had come to an end.

August 20th came around too fast.

You had stayed at Pina's place that night, sharing a bed like you would in the youth age groups on away camps.

"You know whatever happens today we were right for staying home. We stuck by our morals and what we believe P." You tell her, laying in bed.

She didn't reply but let out a giggle when your stomach rumbled loud.

"Let's go out for breakfast."

-

The next morning wasn't quite the same. You lay in Mapi's arms crying. Ingrid rubbing your back softly.

"It's not fair" You sobbed, rubbing your teary eyes on you sleeve.

"I know, mi amor." She kissed the top of your head.

"She messaged me again yesterday." You whispered, pulling out your phone and showing her.

"Y/N! You haven't replied to her messages since July 2nd!" Mapi slaps your arm.

"And?!" You cry, keeping tucked under her arm, watching as she scrolls through the phone.

"Mi querida, you can't just shut her out completely." Ingrid tells you, tucking some hair behind you ear.

"You have to remember that this was also best for Alexia's rehab and injury... As much as we both hate her being there." Mapi tells you, a bit reluctantly. "Message her."

You snatch you phone back, hovering over the keyboard before typing out 'I love you Alexia. I'm sorry'.

The blue button is hit and you chuck you phone on the end of the sofa, not wanting to do anything more.

"Baby steps I suppose." Mapi sighs.

-

You stayed off of social media for a while, not replying to anymore of Alexia's messages. You decided the one reply was enough for now.

Seeing Spain win was hard. You knew the preseason tour was coming up so you had something to keep your mind off of it.

You hadn't expected Alexia to come to Mexico with the team, it being just a week after the world cup final.

You’d spoken to Claudia and Patri one night after training. They didn’t know how to act, you all loved Alexia but the betrayal hurt a lot.

-

“Just smile.” Ingrid’s arm wrapped around you. keeping you close by her side.

Alexia and Mapi had turned up to the preseason tour camp a day after the rest of the team.

“I don’t want to see her, Ingrid.” You drop your head to the side to lean on her, the taller women’s arm pulling you closer into her.

“You can’t avoid her forever. She’s Alexia, and your her favourite on this team. She’ll want to see you.”

“I am not her favourite…”

Ingrid chuckles. “You so are, the favouritism is ridiculous y/n/n. She’s a football mom to you and your her favourite football daughter.”

You keep yourself in Ingrid’s arms, she’s a good hugger and radiates a lot of comfort for you.

“Alexia and María have arrived, they’ll join us in a few moments.” Jona announces to you all as your stood around on the training field.

You start picking at your fingers, a nervous habit of yours.

Your mucking around with Jana and Claudia when you see Alexia and Mapi jogging around the pitch.

The coaching staff split you up into groups of 8, yourself ending up with 6 Barca B players and Marta.

“You alright, grandma?” You smile cheekily and Marta slaps you on the arm.

“Hey Alexia!” You head one of the younger girls say.

You spin around on your heels and see Alexia approach the group.

“Jona said to join you guys.” She smiles, making eye contact with you before you look away.

You look at the floor, the ball bag, anything except Alexia, hoping she’ll leave you alone.

Truth is that you miss her, the 2 and a half months away from her has been a torture as your so used to being with her all the time.

“Hey.” You see her boots appear in front of you.

You turn around and head to the water cooler, getting a bottle out and drinking from it, anything to keep away from Alexia.

You didn’t want to do this, but you didn’t want to face her either.

You’d managed the whole training session without direct conversation, you ignored her stares across the field and worked your way to Claudia and Patri when she approached you.

-

That evening, you gathered in the hotel lobby. A group of fans asking Alexia for pictures and autographs.

You felt uncomfortable watching it, standing besides Mapi and Ingrid again.

“I miss her.” You sigh, whispering softly under your breath.

“Talk to her.” Ingrid whispers back. “She’ll want you too.”

Alexia works herself away from the fans, trying to get back into the group.

She pushes in between you and Caroline, listening to Jona talk before he dismisses you all.

Before she can say anything, or walk away, you through your arms around her shoulders and bury your head into her neck.

Neither of you say anything, you don’t have to.

She rubs your back softly, holding you tight in her arms as if she was afraid you would run off and ignore her again.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbles.

“I missed you.” A few tears spill from your eyes, soaking her training top a little.

“I missed you too, small stuff. You’ve gotten taller.” She smiles, kissing your forehead and wiping your teary eyes.

“Ale I hate you so much right now” You shake you head, moving back away from her. “But i love you and I’ve missed you and I don’t want you to do that ever again please.” You tear up some more.

She nods, pulling you back into her arms again. “I love you.”

[wosoamazing]

Christmas & New Years

Part 3 - Fire on Fire Series A/N: Don't know how I feel about this chapter but I hope you like it

You were sitting in the gym with some of the girls, they were all discussing their Christmas plans.

“What are you doing for Christmas? You won’t be alone will you?” Steph asked.

“No, I won’t be. Tante booked me a flight to Paris, so I’m going to Paris. I think we are doing Christmas day with some of Tante’s family.”

“Paris, wow, do you know French?” Kim asked, “Yeah, I do, we actually speak a mix of Swedish, French and English at home.” You all continued talking about Christmas and New Years, and everyone's plans and traditions until it was time for everyone to head out to the pitch.

____

You were about to board your flight when your phone lit up.

From Leah: Safe travels x (Tell me when you land)

To Leah: Thank you. You too x

Your flight to Paris was pretty uneventful, thankfully, there were no children in your part of the aircraft, although that was probably due to the fact your Tante insisted on buying you a first class ticket, but you couldn’t really complain about the complimentary glass of champagne.

Tante and Moster picked you up from the airport and as you were sitting in the back seat you messaged Leah.

“Who are you messaging?” Moster asked, “No one,” you replied, brushing it off, “It doesn’t seem like a no one, have you met someone?” you looked up from your phone and glared at her at the words, “Well that answers my question,” she said smugly.

“Leave her alone babe,” Tante told her off, “Yeah Moster,” you said as Tante rolled her eyes and playfully stuck her tongue out at you. “Such children, the both of you,”

______

You and Leah had a lot more conversations between each other at the training grounds and you found talking with her really easy, you wouldn’t even talk about anything important or useful just random conversations, and slowly over the days you found yourself messaging with Leah more and more, having taken to phone calls most nights. You couldn’t figure out your feelings for her, was she just a friend to you or did you want something more, and you couldn’t decipher her feelings for you.

“How did you know? Like how do you know if someone is the one for you? I haven't known her for long but it feels different, like we talk all the time, and some nights we call each other and talk before we go to sleep. Just it wasn't long between when you both met and got married, so like how do you know, how do you know it’s not just a good friendship and you’re not just reading too much into it?” you blurted out

“I mean it’s different for everyone, but I guess you could say it feels easy, and you can talk to them without it being weird or awkward but you can also sit in silence and it's fine too. It’s kind of like a good friendship but with different feelings.” Moster explained.

“How do you know her? Do you play with her?” Tante asked, “Yeah,” you said as you nodded, “and so I don’t want to just be like reading too much into it and then it get awkward, like obviously I’m going to wait longer to say anything to her about it, but some of the girls have said they think she has a crush on me, but I don’t know if that’s true.”

“Just wait, take your time, if she does like or love you she won't mind waiting, aren’t you doing a preseason camp with the team?” “Yeah, and I think she is my roommate, they’ve given us draft plans in terms of roommates and schedules and currently it says she’s my roommate.”

“Well you’ll find out a lot more then, and even if it end ups that you don’t like each other you could still have a good friendship,” you nod and smile, “Thank you,”

______

Leah sat on the bench as her Mum baked some biscuits, talking away, discussing many things that had happened in their lives recently.

“Have you met someone? You seem different and you’re always on your phone,” Amanda asked her daughter.

“Um, I guess, the new signing, she is really nice and I feel like we just clicked, like it’s so easy to talk to her and she cares about things you say and actually remembers the details, she is very attentive.” Leah said as her Mum watched her expression change as she spoke about this girl.

“That’s good Bubba, go for it, but just don’t jump the gun too fast, and as always remember that if it doesn’t work out she could still end up being a really great friend,” The blonde nodded at her Mum as she slightly bit her bottom lip.

______

You had planned to spend New Year's Eve alone, having just arrived back from Paris that night you weren’t up for the party Beth and Viv were hosting, you had been invited many times by them and Beth promised you it wouldn't be awkward even though you hadn’t spent much time with any of the team but that wasn’t what you were worried about, you were more worried about the ones you had spent quite some time talking to. Leah had invited you, or more asked you to come to the party and to be honest you were nervous, you didn’t want Leah to have any expectations and you also didn’t want to do something you would regret. However after the multitude of Beth’s messages you decided to go, even if you only stayed for a few minutes. It only took you three minutes to get there, as you were still dressed from your flight.

“Y/N you came!” A very excited Leah said as she opened the door, before she dragged you by the wrist to where the countdown was happening.

“Happy New Year, Y/N/N,” she spoke loudly as she pulled you in for a hug, to which you returned.

[wileys-russo]

water fights and nutmegs II v.pelova

just something short and soft for our lil viccy p water fights and nutmegs II v.pelova

"i bet you that i can nutmeg more players than you can by the end of training today." your girlfriend challenged with a cocky look in her thick accent that always made you smile, holding her hand out toward you. "not a chance, you only just learnt what nutmeg means!" you teased causing the dutch girl to roll her eyes as you shook her hand none the less.

"rules?" you asked with a raised eyebrow. "no telling anyone it is a challenge and no getting help." the dirty blonde decided and you nodded in agreement with the terms.

the team were all in germany at the adidas headquarters for a preseason camp, and despite the CL loss everyone was enjoying the quality time together in seemingly good spirits.

"lots!" you called out to your friend across the pitch who turned toward you, passing her the ball which conveniently happened to travel in between alessia's legs as you did. "did you just meg me!" the blonde turned and shoved you with a grin of disbelief as you shrugged.

"just in the wrong place at the wrong time russo." you teased shoving her back. "mm i'm sure." she shook her head, slinging an arm around you as jonas called for everyone to huddle up.

spotting your girlfriend meg an unsuspecting beth and viv, quietly impressed they hadn't even noticed her do it, you knew you had to step up your game. "loser." victoria mouthed to you with a grin, holding up four fingers signalling how many she had already done.

the next drill didn't provide you much opportunity to increase your lead, a rousing 3 on 3 round robin of football tennis, which at the very least your team won.

you then managed to subtly meg stina, lia and frida, playing it off as kicking the balls back to the training staff, neither girl tweaking there was anything up.

as training progressed your total tallies grew higher, some of your teammates catching on and shoving you both with a grin, just assuming it was a lighthearted joke and nothing else more.

"how many?" victoria asked as she appeared beside you, crossing her arms over her chest as the two of you surveyed the field, which was now being converted ready for an 11 on 11 as the final activity of the day.

"twelve." you smirked happily, your girfriend humming with a nod as if impressed. "fourteen." her head rolled toward you as the smile was wiped off your face, the midfielder wiggling her eyebrows and stealing a kiss.

"katies worth double. winner takes all?" you challenged, knowing neither of you had been successful in megging the irishwoman yet, in fact you weren't even going to try out of fear of the repercussions if you got caught.

"winner takes all?" your girlfriend frowned a little in confusion, a slight language barrier meaning she didn't quite understand. "like whoever nutmegs katie first, wins the bet." you explained as she ohh'd and nodded. "okay." she agreed eagerly as the whistle blew for training to resume.

"oh liefje?" (darling) you glanced at her as you went to walk off, raising an eyebrow. "fifteen." she teased, kicking a ball in between your legs which you hadn't even noticed she'd had.

"teef!" (bitch) you swore at her in shock as she took off, chasing after her and jumping onto her back as the two of you arrived to the group, messing up her hair and sliding back to the ground, the two of you poking and nudging one another as you were split into teams.

"do you ever keep your hands to yourself?" viv chuckled as she tossed bibs to you both, the three of you all grouped into the same team. "not on a good day." you grinned, the older dutch girl smacking the back of your head playfully for the comment as you joined the rest of your team in a huddle.

the game went well, your team dominated at 4-1 and were praised highly by jonas, still you took on board some feedback about making sure you were looking ahead for link ups before making passes directly forward.

and so riding out the high of one win, your girlfriend decided to very stupidly secure another. katie was busy chatting with steph, the two comparing tactics for how to be better next time as they took a well earned drink, having been on the losing side of the 11 v 11.

you watched with a shake of your head as victoria sealed her fate, far too cocky in her delivery as she tapped the ball through katies legs from behind, though her aim was off and the ball instead knocked against the irishwomans ankle.

"did you just try ta meg me?" the older girl turned around in bewilderment, the grin dropping right away from your girlfriends face as katies turned to stone. "no?" victoria laughed nervously, starting to back up as katie advanced on her.

"come here!" katie sprinted toward her, victoria stumbling over her own feet and smacking into a training dummy as katie easily caught her, wrapping an arm around the younger girl and pouring her entire drink bottle over her head, leaving her soaking wet.

"you wouldn't dare!" katie jeered with a smirk as victoria opened her own water bottle, her arm dropping to her side with a roll of her eyes and a nod, katie laughing at her expense.

so fixated on your girlfriend the irishwoman didn't notice you walk up behind her. "she might not, but i would!" you announced, dumping your own water bottle on the older girls head as it dropped to the ground and you sprinted off.

"oh you're a dead woman!" you heard katie yell after you, your girlfriends laughter echoing through the air as she yelled encouragement for you to run faster.

though it was to minimal use as it was inevitable katie would catch you, tackling you to the ground with a war cry as the two of you rolled around on the pitch for a moment, you desperate to get away and katie determined that not happen as your team mates and friends watched on in amusement.

"cmon mccabe, it was a joke! its a hot day!" you laughed at her soaking wet head as the irishwoman sat on top of you, pinning your hands under her knees. "leah! give me your bottle." both the older girls ignored your protests as leah handed over her water, sending you a smirk and blowing you a kiss before leaving.

"oh come on!" you struggled under her as katie poured the cold water on your face. "anyone else done? she's looking thirsty girls!" katie called out with a grin as several of your other team mates handed her their bottles.

"this is waterboarding! this is illegal!" you yelled out in protest, soaked to the bone as water bottle after water bottle was poured down on you, katie eventually getting up and offering you a hand. "i hate you." you sputtered, kicking her hand away as the older girl laughed.

"good. means you learned your lesson!" and with that she ran off, leaving you laying on the pitch, draping an arm over your face to block out the sun. "come on baby." you peeked up to see the amused face of your girlfriend staring down at you, offering you her hand.

you accepted it with a sigh, allowing her to pull you up to your feet.

"that was very romantic." the girl grinned teasingly, pulling you into a hug as you huffed and rested your chin on her shoulder. "you owe me." you pulled away with a pout, the dutch girl cupping your face and pecking your lips several times, mumbling how much she adored you with each tender act.

"better?" "we're getting there, i think you owe me a few more kisses though."

[nicohischierz]

you’re on your own kid: hughes sister

a wide smile fixed itself on your face as you heard the sound of cars pulling up in the driveway. the sound could only mean one thing.

your brothers were home.

immediately, you ran outside to greet them. the last you saw all your brothers were during summer last year. seeing as jack and luke were getting ready for playoffs they couldn't make it to your graduation and quinn got held up in vancouver.

never the less, you waved at your brothers and offered them a large smile. only to be brushed aside as they discussed what to do once their friends arrived.

once summer had officially begun, the lake house was filled with jack's teammates and luke's teammates with quinn inviting a handful of friends as well.

to you, it felt weird how one second your younger brother would need your constant help with everything but now that he moved away he barely acknowledged you.

jack always tends to forget his siblings when he's around his friends. it wasn't something he did on purpose but subconsciously he wanted the two separated.

quinn was the only one who made an effort to make you feel welcome. that's how you found yourself sitting beside your older brother around the fire.

"you ever think of leaving?" he asked. the question was purely innocent but it was one that you had pondered on for a long time. it took one glance around you to realise that if you left michigan you didn't know when you would see your brothers again.

you were home alone. again.

your brothers and friends had found a party to attend and left. whilst you weren't necessarily planning on joining them as you had an interview, it would have been nice for them to acknowledge you.

"y/n/n, you're going to miss your flight if you keep waiting for them," your mother pointed out. you didn't want to believe that your brother's would forget today.

today was the day you were leaving.

the day you followed your dreams and you only wished they were here for this day like you were for theirs.

but alas as you scrolled through instagram one last time, you caught sight of your brother's on their boat laughing with their friends without a care in the world.

You're on your own, kid You always have been

the words only fully sunk in when you moved into your new house. you had always been y/n hughes, sister to luke, quinn and jack hughes, hockey superstars.

but now you were y/n hughes, trainee athletic trainer for the buffalo sabres.

you had time to get settled into your job during training amp where you met some of the sabres prospects. but as training camp started, you knew you were in for a ride.

you followed your supervisor as he ran through all the current injuries in the team and the players who liked to frequent around the trainers just in case something happens.

it had now been two months with zero contact from luke and jack. quinn would drop short messages, reminders to be good to your parents and not to overwork yourself.

did he not know you graduated? or that you had moved to a different state and gotten a job?

but at least he reached out to you.

working for the sabres meant that you would be working owen power again. the tall boy had taken it upon himself to introduce you to his new friends.

one that stood out to you was jack quinn.

it wasn't the fact that his name was composed of two of your brother's names. no. it was because he had frequented your instagram likes.

"are you okay?" he asked one day. you just nodded and wiped the tears from your eyes.

the season was in full swing and the sabres had been in the top five. of the standings for the past three months. they had won all but one preseason game and they were scoring big numbers.

jack quinn had become a frequent visitor of yours as he came to you for different stretches before warm-ups. he had gone as far as including you in his pregame routine.

you thought you and jack had a good relationship.

the two of you would go out for dinner together or grab a cup of coffee whenever you were free. but your heart shattered the moment a picture went viral of him with another girl.

so there you sat in your apartment

alone. again.

[woah-were-halfway-there]

The Fight

a/n: y'all asked for this one back, here it is. enjoy!

the one where carson and auston almost break up

word count: 2.7k

Everything happened so quickly and unexpectedly.

It was just a regular Tuesday in late September, and Carson was still adapting to some new things in her life. She graduated from university that June and landed a job as a social media marketer a month and a half later for a company in downtown Toronto.

She wasn’t to start her new job until September, and with the money she had saved, Carson could spend most of the summer in Arizona with Auston.

It was the third summer in a row that she had visited him during the offseason. Sure, being there for over a month was much longer than the usual week or two Carson would usually spend visiting her boyfriend in the city he grew up in during years prior, but it was needed. And it was nice for the most part, but it, too, brought some change.

About two weeks before Carson was to fly back home to Toronto, Auston asked if she would move in with him. They had been dating for over two and a half years, and he felt they were at that point in their relationship.

It worked out, too, because Carson’s lease at her old apartment was up at the beginning of September. Lexie was leaving Toronto altogether, so Carson was left looking for a new roommate or place to live.

Carson was open to whatever; she just needed a place to stay. However, her search ended when Auston asked her to move in because, although hesitant to do so, being afraid they may not have been ready for that step, Carson didn’t see a reason to say no.

Things went great… at first.

When Carson returned to Toronto alone, she began slowly packing and moving some of her stuff into Auston’s condo. Soon after, Auston was also back; he helped her move the rest.

Carson started her new job the day after Labour Day and got to spend almost two weeks living with Auston before he had to leave for Newfoundland with the rest of the Leafs for the remainder of training camp and to kick off their preseason games. Auston was gone for his birthday but returned soon after. Soon after, the guys were to play exhibition games in Ottawa, Buffalo, Montreal and Detroit.

The day before the Leafs was to take on the Habs at SBA, Carson was on break at work, texting Lexie just catching up with her best friend, updating each other on how each of their moves went, when Carson got a notification on her phone.

It was about Auston.

It wasn’t rare that Twitter notified Carson about news regarding her boyfriend, but this tweet, in particular, had her on edge.

“Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was charged with disorderly conduct and disruptive behaviour in Arizona,” Carson read aloud as she tried to process the news article's title.

Surely, she would have been aware of Auston being criminally charged for something, Carson thought. There was no way he wouldn’t tell her something like that. However, Carson was proven wrong when she clicked on the article and saw the rest of the story.

Carson couldn’t believe what she was reading, but the evidence was right before her, and there was no denying it. Auston had been charged with disorderly conduct and didn’t bother telling her about it.

Anger, disappointment, frustration, and many other emotions hit Carson like a tidal wave. It wasn’t long before she was packing up her laptop and other belongings before telling her boss she wasn’t feeling well and needed to go home. Carson’s boss didn’t press her about it and sent her on her way.

It took Carson about thirty minutes to get home. It wasn’t a long commute back to the condo, Carson worked downtown Toronto as it was, but she found herself taking a long way back in an attempt to clear her mind.

It didn’t work, and she returned home with her heart racing.

When Carson walked into the condo, Auston was on the phone. He was pacing back and forth, pushing his hand through his hair and going off to whoever was on the other end of the call. Carson didn’t make her presence known immediately, but then Auston looked right at her.

“Ok, yeah, I, uh, I have to go. I’ll call you back later, alright? Carse just got home,” Auston said into the phone before telling the person he was talking to goodbye and hanging up. Then he stepped closer to Carson, and she could feel herself stiffening. “Hey, baby.”

“Don’t call me that right now,” Carson spat and watched as Auston’s face went pale. He knew that she knew.

“Carson, I can explain.”

“Explain what, Auston? And why now? It seems you’ve had four months to explain but decided not to.”

Carson could feel the tears building in her eyes and hated that she was on the brink of crying because she was already so frustrated.

Carson didn’t care that Auston saw her that upset. She needed to understand what was happening but wasn’t sure if she trusted Auston enough to tell her everything she needed.

“I-,” Auston started, then paused, and Carson could see that tears were fighting to break free from his eyes too. “I’m assuming you saw the article. Babe, I am so sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Carson asked, her voice cracking. She was terrified to know the answer.

“I didn’t know how,” he stated, and Carson would’ve been lying if she said it didn’t sting a bit hearing that. “I never thought it’d become this whole ordeal. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t get the chance.”

“Didn’t get the chance to tell me? Auston, this happened in May! What do you mean you didn’t get the chance? You could have told me when it happened or when you flew back here for my graduation at the beginning of June. You could’ve told me when I came to Scottsdale for an entire month or before you asked me to fucking move in with you after you were criminally charged with disorderly conduct but didn’t tell me!”

A sob left Carson’s mouth after those words left her mouth because she knew it was real then. And that sucked a whole lot.

“I know,” Auston sighed and looked towards the ground guiltily. “And I’m sorry, Carse, I really am. I knew you’d be upset and was too chicken to tell you. I didn’t want you to be disappointed. Fuck, this is just a whole misunderstanding. I shouldn’t have been charged at all.”

Now, that comment didn’t sit right with Carson.

“W-what do you mean by that?” She questioned.

“The whole thing was just stupid,” he explained. “I was drunk. I didn’t mean any harm by it. This entire thing just shouldn’t be happening right now. The charge was completely unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary?” Carson scoffed, not believing what she had just heard. “Auston, you made a woman extremely uncomfortable and scared. You can’t decide someone's trauma for them. It doesn’t matter what you meant by it; you still did it and need to own up to that.”

“And this is exactly why I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d get worked up over it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry that I’m getting worked up over the fact that my boyfriend harassed a woman, got charged because of it, didn’t tell me and is now pissed because he’s getting called out for it. God, Auston, grow up! You’re a fucking adult.”

“Grow up, huh?” He asked, looking surprised and raising his voice. “Yes, Carson. Thank you, really good tip.”

“Ok, well, now you’re just being rude.”

“I’m just, this is a lot to deal with, and you being on my ass about it isn’t helping.”

“I cannot believe you right now,” Carson told him while shaking her head. “That’s on you, Auston. Not me. And do excuse me for being on your ass about this because, a friendly reminder, I didn’t know anything! You left me in the dark. You assumed that I’d freak out over this, and honestly, I am not in the wrong for doing so. I would have listened to you if you had told me and tried to help you through it, but you assumed I wouldn’t. And that hurts. I would have tried to understand, but you didn’t even give me a chance. What happened to us being a team and telling each other everything, hmm? That’s why you wanted me to move in with you, right? Cause we’re in this together, but let me tell you, it sure doesn’t fucking feel like it at the moment.”

Carson was crying and saw a few tears in Auston’s eyes. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything would be ok. But Carson knew better. It wouldn’t be that simple.

“I don’t know what else I can say,” Auston finally said after a few seconds of silence.

“Have you talked to your parents yet?” Carson asked, sniffling and only imagining what could be running through Ema’s head with news of Auston being charged just coming out of nowhere.

However, Auston didn’t respond right away. Instead, he looked away from Carson and to the floor again.

“They already knew.”

“Pardon?”

“They already knew,” Auston repeated and looked at Carson apologetically. ”My whole family knew when it happened. I asked them not to tell you because I wanted to be the one to let you know, and then I just didn’t.”

“Oh, my god,” Carson whispered and had to look away from him, adding the feeling of betrayal to every other emotion coursing through her.

“Carson, it’s not their fault. This is on me,” Auston pleaded as he stepped towards Carson and reached out, but she quickly backed away.

“Don’t touch me, Auston. Please.”

The hurt expression that washed over Auston’s face as Carson said that was almost enough to get her to give in to him right then and there. But she didn’t. She couldn’t.

“I don’t know what I can do to fix this,” he spoke softly. “Babe, I-.”

“That’s something you need to figure out,” Carson cut him off. “Not me. You. You did this, Auston, and have already roped so many people into something I can tell you haven’t taken any responsibility for. The way this is being handled is no one's fault but your own, and I really thought you’d be one to see that.”

“I am, Carson if you’d just-.”

“You made a woman uncomfortable, then told me that her pressing charges were unnecessary because they inconvenienced you. Do you not realize how fucked up that is? Auston, I’ve considered doing something similar because of my psychotic ex, and you know this. I, god, it doesn’t even feel like I’m talking to my boyfriend. I feel like I don’t even know the man that is standing in front of me right now.”

Carson could tell how her words struck Auston, but she didn’t take them back. That was precisely how she was feeling.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he whispered, taking a shaky breath. “But I’m still me, Carse.”

“I don’t know if I believe you,” Carson responded and didn’t bother wiping any tears she knew were streaming down her face.

The two stood silently for a moment before Carson stepped further into the room just to go around her boyfriend and head down the hall toward their bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Auston asked as he entered the room shortly after Carson, only to see her packing a bag.

“Anywhere but here,” Carson sniffled as she moved to grab some clothes from the closet.

“Baby.”

“I asked you not to call me that.”

“Carson,” he corrected as he continued following her between the closet and bed. “You’re upset, I understand. But you shouldn’t drive. Let's wait it out, and we can both cool down and talk.”

“I’ll call Mitchy,” Carson deadpanned. “Or Steph, or an Uber, it doesn’t matter. I just can’t be here.”

“You don’t have to leave. This is your home too.”

“Except it doesn’t feel like home, Auston, and neither do you right now,” Carson sobbed as she zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I need to go.”

Auston was crying just as much as Carson at that point. “When will you be back?”

“I don’t know,” Carson responded, unsure of if she’d be back, which was a thought that broke her heart even more.

Carson walked by Auston and back to the front door without another word, completely aware that he was right behind her as she went.

Auston watched as Carson started calling, who he assumed was Mitch while gathering her work things and putting her shoes back on. No more words were exchanged between them as Carson opened the door and walked into the hallway.

However, Carson did hear the faint ‘I love you’ Auston said just before the door closed and separated her from him.

Carson was still sobbing as she leaned against the wall for support and waited for Mitch to answer her call. As soon as he picked up, Mitch asked if she was ok, and Carson told him that she felt like everything was falling apart. Mitch asked where Carson was and told her he was on his way to get her.

A couple of hours later, Carson was lying on Steph and Mitch’s couch, wrapped in a fluffy blanket and still crying. Her head rested on Steph’s lap as they sat there watching the second High School Musical movie, which Mitchy thought might not have been the best idea with how Carson began sobbing again when Gabriella sang Gotta Go My Own Way, but still, Carson refused to turn it off.

The last time Carson felt that much heartbreak was when she found out her ex, Chris was cheating on her after being together since she was fifteen. It was from that heartbreak Carson was able to meet and fall for Auston, but never in a million years did she expect him to make her feel similarly to how Chris did. So yes, it was two completely different situations, but it hurt just as bad.

Similarly enough, though, this was the second time Carson showed up at her cousin’s place, utterly distraught over a boy. But luckily for her, Mitch never turned her away and was always there to help where he could. He was always his twin’s rock when she needed it.

Carson didn’t know what to do, think or feel. It was all fuzzy, but she was thankful to have Mitch and Steph to help her through her breakdown.

To try to clear her mind, Carson turned off her phone and left it in the kitchen for the night.

Upon setting her phone down, Carson saw numerous missed calls and texts from Auston. He and his family tried to get ahold of her to apologize and talk, and other family members wanted to check in on her. But she couldn’t face it.

Mitch made sure to talk to Nate, Mya, and the rest of their family just to let them know that Carson was with him and would be staying with him and Steph for as long as she needed to. He informed Carson that Nate and Mya were not impressed and that Lexie called him fuming, which was to be expected. Mitchy also told Carson he messaged Auston because he knew her boyfriend would be stressing over not knowing where she had gone after their fight. In that message, Mitch made sure Auston knew how pissed he was at the situation but still knew Auston would be relieved to get an update on Carson.

Once the movie was over, Carson was too exhausted to watch the third High School Musical, so she opted to watch an episode of The Office while cuddling Zeus before eventually falling asleep.

Steph slowly got out from underneath Carson’s head while Mitch grabbed another blanket and draped it over her so she wouldn’t get cold. They didn’t bother waking Carson up so she could move to the guest room because they knew if she wanted to, she would. So, they let her be and hoped for her own sake; the following days would be much better than this one.

[korshrimpski]

Dahlin is such a fascinating person and such an intresting captain, he’s had a lot of good but with that good comes a lot of pressure or stress (e.g; being draft to the nhl, but he was first which is also cool but makes it have a lot of eyes on you, he was also the second ever Swedish player to be drafted since Mats Sundin back in 1989)

Like rasmus is so scared of failure and disappointment and looks back on his younger self (younger being his 17 year old self) and sees a sad kid. In his house tour he was asked which had more pressure: being a young talent or an established NHL player. He said being a young talent and talked about how the draft was so stressful, and how he was 17 and there was something in the paper about him everyday.

And that pressure hasn’t gone away, obviously because he is an athlete, but he is a sabres and has been in the team for six seasons (this being his seventh) and he is considered a vet even though if he didn’t play any nhl game and entered this year fresh, he could still be considered a rookie. And even though most of the players are 3/2/1 year younger than him there is such an experience gap, and he had to be so much more mature for his age compared to some guys even though they are mature, ras just had to do it quicker. Along with him not being from North America and having to learn a new language and all that.

With the whole vet thing. Zach Benson lives with Ramus. And Rasmus is hoping to provide Zach with the inside and help that he wished he had during his first few years.

“I lived with Casey and I kind of wish I lived with someone like a veteran because it took me a while to understand everything outside of hockey, like getting treatment, eating right and all that,” said Dahlin. “I’m just trying to be there for him and teach him as much as I can about life.”

[source] [archived link]

This obviously does not mean Rasmus regrets having Casey live with him. Of course not. They are best friends. And Casey was one of the main people to help Rasmus with his English and they both leaned on each other for support. And then they traded Casey (for bo byram, which yayy!! But also that was Rasmus friends, buddy, guy, bestie etc etc.) and Kevyn Adams’ called Rasmus during his pregame nap to tell him Casey was traded and, he could not fall back asleep because of pure devastation. And the cherry on top of Casey getting traded, is that ras couldn’t even get to say goodbye. [source] [archived link]

But you know it’s a new season a new coach, he wants to impress at training camp and the first thing he does at camp is get injured. Specifically he hurts his back which lead to back spasms. He missed train camp. He almost all preseason the games, only coming back for the Münich game, getting named captain while in Münich. Then the Sabres opened the regular season up with two loses to the New Jersey Devils. But back in North America the sabres get good and it looks like they are doing well you know, just swept cali, 3rd in the division. But this is sabres hockey we are talking about it cannot be happy. So the sabres proceed to go on a 13 game losing streak. And 4 games into that streak, Rasmus’s back starts acting up so he has to leave in the third period against Colorado.

He was out for 7 games, and during those 7 games the sabres were falling apart. The power play wasn’t working, the penalty kill wasn’t working, tage thompson couldn’t score, alex tuch couldn’t score, jack quinn was getting eternally scratched, owen power was getting benched, there were dylan cozens, owen power, jack quinn, bowen byram trade rumours. Like it was a mess (still is). But ras came but on Dec.20 a home game against the leafs, and it looks like there was energy injected into that roster for the first time in a while. But that game… let’s not talk about it just know it was bad. But since that was a back-to-back with the team travelling to boston, the teams doctors didn’t clear Rasmus to play against the bruins because they didn’t want to aggravate his back.

But now he is officially back and his first game being back was against the New York Islanders (isles fans turn away now). That game against the islanders was beautiful, sabres won 7-1 snapping their losing streak and ras got 4 points and played for 23 minutes (the most out of all skaters that night). Anyways what I’m trying to get at here is that Rasmus might not be the best player in the world but he is the heart of that team. He has been with that team the longest and loves that team, and would do anything for that team.

I don’t actually know how to end this rant/passion text, other than: Rasmus Dahlin is a neat guy who just so happens to have anxiety.

[grantmentis]

Women's Hockey Roundup: October

Woof, I fell off of these for a while. Blame baseball and college! Anyway, I'm going to just do what happened in women's hockey in October (and maybe the last few days of September) for all leagues. This is only confirmed news and games, so rumors are not included

If you're new, i recap the top stories from around club play women's hockey (so not collegiate) and try to give more detail on european women's hockey, since that's less reported on in north america :-) Feel free to add if i miss anything!

PWHL (USA/Canada)

The PWHL schedule has been released! We have a few TBD's in venues, most likely for playing select games in bigger venues or neutral sites. we do not currently have streaming/television info, so stay tuned for that. There will be a preseason, but not open to the public.

Training Camp Begins November 12, with preseason/mini camps The 19-22. New York's training camp roster is here. Boston's is here. Minnesota's is here. Montreal is here. Ottawa's is here. Toronto's is here.

Nov. 27: Deadline to finalize rosters of 23 players and 3 reserves

Abigail Boreen signed a three year deal with the Montréal Victoire. She played with the Minnesota Frost last year, including in the playoffs, as a reserve player.

Ronja Savolainen signed a three year deal with the Ottawa Charge. She played with Luleä most recently and is a star of the Finnish national team.

Sarah Lefort, most recently with Montréal Victoire, has announced her retirement

The PWHL has begun the process of expansion for 2025-2026, targeting two new cities

SDHL (Sweden)

Fanni Garát-Gasparics signs with Brynäs IF, though is still rehabbing the injury she sustained last year with the Ottawa Charge

Dutch national team legend Savine Wielenga signs with Leksands IF

Rookie Reece Hunt of Luleä is out for the season with a torn knee ligament

Frölunda general manager Kim Martin Hassons is extended to 2028, and head coach Erika Holst is extended to 2026. Frölunda has been massively successful thus far this year, currently in second place in the standings and coming off a big win against firs place Lulëa

While Luleä and Frölunda are at the top of the table, MoDo is making noise in third place, having won six of their last eight.

A couple key story lines: -> Finish National Team forward, Elisa Holopainen (Frölunda) is lighting the league on fire in her first year in the SDHL. She has 9 goals and ten assists in 13 games -> We have a few wonderful comeback stories this year. Hanna Olsson (Frölunda) is back to her old self after missing most of last year with injury, with 16 points in 13 games, good for fourth in the league. Erica Reider, (Luleä) who did not play for two seasons, looks like she never left, currently leading all defenders i the league in points. And Kassidy Sauvé (SDE), who missed almost two full season's with a hip injury, currently leads all goaltenders in save percentage. -> MoDo Hockey is being powered almost entirely by a youth movement: top producers Ebba Hedqvist, Adéla Šapovalivová, Mira Hallin, and Lovisa Engström are all 18 or younger and playing prominent roles on the 3rd place team

Auroraliiga (Finland)

Canadian Emma Hall joins KalPa after playing in the NDHL (Sweden's second division) last year

Kärpät will retire the number 20 in honor of long time legend Saija Tarkki. After 21 seasons with Kärpät as well as the Finnish national team, Tarkki retired in 2019. She will be honored Novembe 23rd.

A Couple key storylines: -> 18 year old Czech forward Barbora Juříčková i having a breakout year with HPK, already surpassing her point total from last season with 22. She joins Emma Ekoluoma (Ilves), who was a star on the U18 Finnish team last year, as one of the young players to keep an eye on in this league -> Kiekko-Espoo sits at the top of the table, with Ilves right behind. Last year's champions HIFK are feeling the loss of several star players and sit in fourth place. -> Sister's Jennika , Joanna and Jatta Ojala all played for the same team together for the first time at the top level for Team Kuortane

SWHL A / Postfinance Women League (Switzerland)

Not technically league play, but since they play in this league too ill put it here: EV Zug won the EWHL Euro Cup, which is played at the beginning of the season including select club teams across europe! They bear the German league's Memmingen to do so. Noemi Neubauerova, who is set to play with the Toronto Sceptres when the PWHL game begins, scored the game winning goal

Sponsor PostFinance announces that in 2025/2026, they will only financially support men's club teams that have a women's counterpart

Nadine Hofstetter of EV Zug is out three weeks with a broken finger. She is one of the team's veteran defenders who also plays for the Swiss national team. Vanessa Ryhner, Nina Harju, and Julia Näf are also out with injury for EV Zug, though Rhyner should be back any day now.

ZSC Lions Fraun is hit with injuries: Slovakian forward Tereza Lahova is out for the year with injury, and Aurela Thalmann and Alena Polenská (aka Alena Mills) are also injured. They are calling up Univ. of Saskatchewan alumni Sophie Lalor

A few storylines: -> Elizabeth Lang (HC Davos Ladies) is leading the league in points in her rookie year and scoring at a goal per game pace. She graduated from University of Calgary last year -> Lara Stalder (EVZ Women's team) continues to do Lara Stalder things and is tied with Lang in goals, but newcomers Michaela Pejzlová (HC Ambrì-Piotta Girls) and Clara Rozier (SC Bern Fraun) who were stars in last year's finnish league are close behind. The top scorer race for this league will be exciting, and that's not to mention old friends like Rahel Enzler and Estelle Duvin, among others. -> HC Davos Ladies is currently at the top of the standings, but EV Zug and SC Bern Frauen are very close behing them -> 18 year old Ivana Wey (EVZ Women's Team) has been off to a blistering hot start, a lot of hype surrounding her after a strong performance at both u18 and senior worlds. Another interesting young player is Lucie Tenenbaum, an American set to play at Minnesota State next year but is spending this year in Switzerland. The 18 year old has 5 goals and two assists with HC Davos Ladies so far

EWHL (Central/East Europe)

EV Bozen Eagles are currently dominating the league, with the help of players such as import Kristin Della Rovere, who has 16 points in 9 games. The Bozen eagles are part of a larger plan to help get italy's women's national team ready for the 2026 olympics

HK PSRZ Bratislava are undefeated thus far this season, after winning last year's title.

Canadian USport alumni are thriving in this league; Cassidy Maplethorpe, Hannah Tait, and Lauren Nicholson among top goal scorers

Slovak Ema Tothova continues to be the young player to watch, after her breakout seeason last year the 17 year old forward has 10 goals in five games. She is also competing in a boy's league in Slovakia while playing in the EWHL

OTHERS

watch this space for Czech forward Adéla Mynaříková to mak the u18 team this year. She's 15 and just steamrolling people in the Czech top league, with 15 goals and 5 assists in 8 games playing against a lot of grown adults

Norweigan forward Une Bjelland Strandborg, who was arguably one of the best NCAA DIII players of all time and graduated last year, is killing it in Germany's league with newly added Austrian team HK Budapest. She has 7 points in 6 games

[stereax]

Waivers: The Basics

Having noticed that many of my mutuals, as well as hockeyblr at large, are unsure of what exactly the NHL's waiver system means and how it works, I've endeavored to write up a little bit of a primer on waivers to make it easier to understand. Meet me under the cut to learn more!

What are waivers?

Put most simply, waivers are a process that occurs when a team says to a player, "We don't want you in the NHL anymore, we're sending you to the AHL". Because of the CBA's (Collective Bargaining Agreement) Article 13, before they can do this, they have to put the player on the waiver wire, which is essentially a 24-hour-long period where any other team that wants that player to play for them in the NHL can claim them. The purpose of the waiver wire is to ensure that teams don't unfairly stash NHL-caliber players in the AHL, thereby paying them lesser salaries (this is the most important part - AHL salaries are generally about a tenth of NHL salaries) and not allowing them to play NHL games. Players that may not be getting a fair shot on one team can move to another, where they can be used more effectively - for instance, Eeli Tolvanen was waived by Nashville, picked up by Seattle, and now plays a key role on Seattle's third line. In fact, he scored Seattle's first-ever goal in the playoffs!

What happens once a player is put on the waiver wire?

If another team claims the player, they are claimed on waivers and are transferred to the other team. Notably, the other team must have the appropriate cap and roster space necessary to claim the player. An example here is Kasperi Kapanen, who was placed on waivers by Pittsburgh and was claimed by St Louis. His cap hit of $3.2m may have been prohibitive for other teams who could have wanted to claim him.

If multiple teams try to claim the player, the player goes to the team that submitted a claim which is the worst in the standings - if it's before November 1st of a new season year, it goes to the team that finished worst in the standings the year before, but if it's after November 1st, it goes to the team that is currently worst in the standings. Take Lassi Thomson, who was placed on waivers by Ottawa and claimed by Anaheim. If, for example, Toronto also submitted a claim, they would not have been awarded Thomson, as Anaheim has the worse standing.

If no other team claims the player, they clear waivers. When they do so, they can be reassigned to the NHL team's affiliate AHL team. Notably, not everyone who clears waivers is immediately reassigned - a player who clears waivers can stay with the NHL team instead (for example, if another player just got injured). They can be sent down to the AHL at a later time - they do not have to go through the waivers process again if they have played less than 10 NHL games (cumulative) or been on the roster for less than 30 days (cumulative) from the last time they cleared waivers. This can be used to a savvy GM's advantage to avoid putting players on the waiver wire.

Why is everyone getting waived right now?

At the beginning of the preseason, every player with an NHL contract, whether it be one-way (NHL only) or two-way (NHL and AHL), is invited to that team's training camp. This places them on the NHL preseason roster for that team. As training camp goes on and players get cut, they then must pass through waivers to go to the AHL. Unless, of course, they're waiver exempt.

What is waiver exemption and why is it important?

So you might already have noticed an issue with the waiver system - it's terrible for younger players. If solely the waiver rules we've discussed above existed, every player being sent to the AHL would have to go through waivers. This would include prospects who are signed to an NHL ELC (entry-level contract) but didn't make the cut for the season. Obviously, this is bad for teams - imagine drafting players who you know will be good for you in 2 or 3 years and then losing them all to the waiver wire. This is why waiver exemption exists.

Waiver exemption, to keep it simple, is a protection that certain players have that means they do not have to go through the waivers process to be reassigned to the AHL. The specific details of waiver exemption are a little complicated - let's take a look at the table to make it make more sense.

This table is either/or and is defined by the age when their NHL ELC was signed. A skater who signed their ELC as an 18-year-old is waiver exempt for either 5 years or 160 games played (including playoff games) at the NHL level. A skater who signed at 21 is exempt for either 3 years or 80 NHL games. Goalies have different requirements than skaters because they generally take longer to develop and don't play as many games.

There is a fairly common misconception that all players on their ELCs are automatically waiver exempt. This is false. The second a player hits the amount of games played for their age, they are immediately no longer waiver exempt. Usually, this doesn't occur until after the ELC is over, as most ELC players deal with injuries and healthy scratches, as well as not generally being given the reins to play on the NHL roster for the entire season. One notable example that disproves the "ELC means waiver exempt" conception is Dawson Mercer from New Jersey. Mercer signed his ELC as a 19-year-old in December of 2020. He has played all 82 games in the past 2 seasons (2021-22 & 2022-23) plus 12 playoff games for a total of 176 NHL games played. Under the games requirements, he is now no longer exempt from waivers, despite having one whole year left on his ELC.

For the 25+ category, upon playing a single NHL game, the player is waiver exempt for that entire season and that entire season only. Andrei Kuzmenko from Vancouver is a good example of that - last season, he signed his one-year ELC with Vancouver as a 27-year-old and could have been sent to the AHL at any time without going through waivers. (He was not, needless to say.)

There is one very important exception to the table: if an 18- or 19-year-old player plays 11 or more games with an NHL team in a single season, their waiver exemption is automatically cropped. For that season, and the next two, the player is waiver exempt, but after that, they are no longer exempt. This extends to the next three if the player in question is a goalie and not a skater. (To make it easier to understand, it's as if they jumped into the 20-year-old category.) However, 18- and 19-year-old prospects generally only play 9 games maximum at the NHL level in order to allow for the entry-level slide, allowing the contract to "slide" forward a year, letting teams keep the player on the ELC for an extra year and thus save money.

Are there any other ways a player can play in the AHL without going through waivers or being waiver exempt?

Yes, actually! There are two main exceptions - they're for conditioning loans.

First, what is a conditioning loan? A conditioning loan is a short-term reassignment to the AHL. There are two types of conditioning loans: the standard conditioning loan and the LTIR conditioning loan.

A standard conditioning loan, specified under the CBA 13.8, occurs when a player agrees to head down to the AHL for a few games to "wipe off the dust" on their game, so to speak. They're often used by players who have ended up as perennial healthy scratches on their NHL teams, so that they're able to jump in if there's an injury or other issue. Standard conditioning loans can last up to 14 days. One example of a standard conditioning loan is Shane Wright, who was sent to the AHL by Seattle very early in the season for conditioning, partially to bypass the requirement that the NHL has with the major junior CHL that would have required him to go back to the CHL were he officially reassigned from Seattle. Another is Nathan Beaulieu, who was sent to the AHL by Anaheim in January for a four-game stint.

An LTIR conditioning loan, specified under the CBA 13.9, occurs when a player coming off of LTIR agrees to head down to the AHL for a few games to "wipe off the dust" on their game, so to speak. These loans can only last 6 days or 3 games, whichever comes later, and the idea is to be able to figure out whether a player is able to return to form or requires more time to heal properly. For example, Travis Dermott was sent to the AHL by Vancouver in December to evaluate whether he was back to form after a concussion sustained in the preseason. He played one game in the AHL, then drew back into Vancouver's lineup for eleven games before going back on IR for the rest of the season due to the concussion repercussions. Notably, a team can only use one LTIR conditioning loan for each time a player is on LTIR.

What is emergency recall and why does it make a player waiver exempt?

Emergency recall occurs when a player on a team's NHL lineup is injured and the team can no longer ice a full squad because of it. (As a reminder, each team must carry 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies. Usually, teams keep an extra forward and defenseman around as a healthy scratch in case of injuries, but some teams are pressed against the cap and cannot carry extra players.) In this case, they can call an AHL player (or multiple, at times) up on an "emergency" basis to fill in during the time that the NHL player is out. Once the NHL player is healthy again, the AHL player can either be transferred to a regular recall or gets sent down to their AHL team again. One example here is Akira Schmid, who was bouncing back and forth between Utica and New Jersey on emergency recalls every few weeks because Mackenzie Blackwood, one of New Jersey's two goaltenders, was constantly getting hurt.

It makes sense, then, why emergency recall would grant a player temporary waiver exemption status - it would be awful to have to recall a player from the AHL, have them in the NHL for a little bit, and then have to send them through waivers and get claimed when your roster player is healthy. However, if an emergency recall player plays in at least 10 NHL games, he loses his waiver exempt status under emergency recall (other forms of waiver exemption still apply).

What are unconditional waivers?

Unconditional waivers are different from regular waivers in what they do. Passing through unconditional waivers does not send you to the AHL. Instead, they are used by teams that want to buy out or terminate players' contracts, completely giving up their rights to the players. Players placed on unconditional waivers are almost never claimed because of this - only two players have ever been claimed off unconditional waivers.

Okay, hold on - what's the difference between a buyout and a termination?

A termination occurs when a player's contract is terminated. The player severs all ties to a team and does not continue to be paid by the team. The team does not incur any cap penalties from termination. There are two main types of termination.

The first type of termination is mutually-agreed-upon termination. In the case of Filip Zadina, who was recently terminated by Detroit, he made it clear that he would refuse to report to the AHL after being sent down on regular waivers. The team and Zadina then proceeded to terminate the contract so that Zadina would be free to negotiate a contract with another NHL team instead of playing for Detroit's AHL team, and so that Detroit would not incur any cap penalties from buying out Zadina. Another example is Lukas Sedlak, whose contract was terminated by Philadelphia when he made it clear to the team that he wanted to return to Europe to play. Philadelphia put Sedlak on unconditional waivers, terminated the contract, and Sedlak soon returned to his native Czechia to play for Pardubice.

The other, rarer type of termination is for material breach. Material breach termination is exemplified by Alex Galchenyuk, whose contract was terminated by Arizona after they became aware of the intoxicated driving incident involving Galchenyuk. Essentially, material breach is used when players are acting illegally, either against the law of the United States/Canada, or against the terms of their contract. The reason these terminations are so rare is twofold: Not only are hockey players generally going to try to avoid breaking the law, when they do, the player's association is usually going to investigate and file appeals and the like to try to secure their players the highest possible settlement despite the termination (and set a precedent so other teams are not encouraged to terminate contracts for material breach).

On the other hand, a buyout occurs when a player is released by a team, but the player continues to be paid by the team as per their contract. The team incurs cap penalties from buyouts - 1/3 of the contract value if the player is younger than 26 at the time of the buy-out, 2/3 of the value if the player is 26 or order. This penalty is spread across double the years left on the contract.

An aside - this is also where the idea of a "buyout-proof" contract comes in. A buyout-proof contract contains most of the salary being paid in the form of signing bonuses, which are paid in full even if the contract is bought out. (These contracts are also considered "lockout-proof", as, again, the signing bonus must be paid even if there is a lockout and no hockey is being played.) As an example of this, take a look at Auston Matthews's extension:

If the Leafs try to buy this contract out, they'd have to pay Matthews the entirety of the signing bonuses as well as 2/3 of the base salary, making the cap savings incredibly marginal and just not worth it to buy out. Thus, it's buyout-proof.

Is that everything I need to know about waivers?

I think so! If you have any other questions, please drop me a line in my inbox or via DMs - I'll be happy to explain more to you! :D

[toasttt11]

meeting

September 2, 2019

Oscar was running a hand over his hair yawning slightly as he stumbled into the locker room for the first day of training camp before the preseason.

Nico and Oscar’s apartment is luckily only a short drive to the arena so Oscar can sleep longer. Nico almost always is gone by the time Oscar stumbles out of bed, not that Oscar minded because he knows Nico likes being early and Oscar rather get there right on time.

Oscar heard his name being called and he turned his head seeing Taylor Hall calling for him and having an arm wrapped around a younger player and Oscar titled his head looking at the younger player’s face and realized he was the number one pick their team got, Jack Hughes.

Oscar slowly walked over and raised an eyebrow at Taylor.

“Bedsy this is Hughesy, Hughesy this is our koala he’s always looking so sleepy and sleeping everywhere.” Taylor beamed introducing the two and teasing Oscar, Oscar just fondly rolled his eyes use to the teasing about his sleep.

“Hi.” Jack beamed looking up at Oscar with bright eyes and a wide smile, Jack shifted on his feet nervously being introduced to the guy he’s been thinking about since he saw him playing in the WJC.

Oscar tightly smiled and nodded back and suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and he looked over slighty and saw the light platinum blonde hair and knew who it was, “Hi Jes.” Oscar fondly mumbled back to one of his closest friends.

“Hi Beds.” Jesper softly beamed back hugging one of his closet friends having not seen him for a few weeks.

“It was nice meeting you Jack.” Oscar politely nodded and let Jesper drag him away.

Jack smiled and nodded back watching Oscar leave before his face redden and his eyes widen and he realized Oscar knew his name and not the name Taylor introduced him as.

Taylor let out a little laugh seeing the heart eyes Jack already has for Oscar and couldn’t wait to watch more interactions between them.

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

Meet Y/n

quinn hughes x nhl player!reader

has played on men's teams since she was 13 (storage rooms are her second home)

got drafted to the Seattle Thunderbirds when she was 16, in 2016

and played with them until she was drafted 3rd overall to the Vancouver Canucks in 2018

she's mainly a center but can also play left wing

she's 5' 7"

born in 2000

from Quebec and is French Canadian

never backs down from a fight especially since she's a women in a men's league, that just makes her want to prove she's just as good and just as strong

never wants to be captain or alternative captain, i think she was offered an A this season but said no because she 1, doesn't want that responsibility and 2, she doesn't think she would be good as a leader

wants kids but not until after she's retired

when she was 22 she got her eggs frozen and her tubes tied

quinn didn't know about this obviously until they got together and it was a bit of a shock but she's still able to get pregnant just not by accident which is a plus

quinn and her got together during the 22-23 season but broke up late March/early April, because y/n felt they were becoming to serious and she wasn't ready

but got back to together during training camp/preseason-ish

[puckpocketed]

i wasn’t even joking about the thomas speer princess treatment btw. btw. i know the sharks have a Reputation for goalie breaking but to give you all some counter propaganda… he did good work with kahkonen and blackwood and i expect given the chance he’ll do the same for georgiev

Published October 17 2023, How a coach’s visit in Toronto helped Mackenzie Blackwood get comfortable with the San Jose Sharks - by Curtis Pashelka (link)

SAN JOSE – Mackenzie Blackwood was about a week away from leaving Toronto and heading to the Bay Area last month for the start of training camp when he got a visit from San Jose Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer.

The two had previously only talked on the phone, and that was after Blackwood had been acquired by the Sharks last June and subsequently signed to a two-year contract extension. So Speer’s visit gave the two a chance to get to know each other a bit better and get on the same page prior to camp.

It was also a personal gesture that Blackwood appreciated.

“That shows a lot,” Blackwood said Monday. “To come and spend some time and go out of your way to come work with me. Yeah, I was appreciative.”

Speer, now in his second season with the Sharks, is tasked with helping the team solve its goaltending woes after years of being well below average. The Sharks haven’t had a team save percentage over .901 since the 2017-2018 season and last year, that number sunk to an NHL low of .881.

So far, the Sharks are off to a better start, with Blackwood stopping 51 of 52 shots in the Sharks’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. After the game, Blackwood was quick to credit his teammates for keeping most shot attempts to the perimeter, but also Speer for the work they’ve done together over the last several weeks.

“He’s been good. Lots of help for me, working on keeping my game tight, not overplaying stuff, and keeping my feet underneath me a little bit more,” Blackwood said. “If you get stuck, re-adjust, and keep moving. Staying square. So just a lot of little stuff that we’ve kind of chipped away at, but it all adds up to something big.”

Not surprisingly, Blackwood will get the start again on Tuesday when the Sharks face Brent Burns and the Carolina Hurricanes at SAP Center. But with the way the Sharks’ schedule unfolds this month, with seven games over the next 13 days, both Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen figure to get a fair amount of work.

Speer worked with Kahkonen last season, helping to change his game and improve his confidence. Kahkonen had a .895 save percentage in his final 18 games last season compared to a .869 mark over the first 19 games.

Kahkonen played well in the preseason and aside from one goal late in the second period, Quinn felt the Finnish-born netminder had a positive outing in the Sharks’ 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last Thursday.

“The one thing about (Speer), he cares so much about the guys he coaches,” Quinn said. “Great tactician, but he has the ability to connect with the people he’s coaching and that’s what makes him a great coach.

“He doesn’t coach everybody the same. He knows every guy’s a little bit different. … But the connection he creates with his goalies is pretty special.”

Quinn said that after Saturday’s game, no one was happier for Blackwood than Kahkonen.

“Big hug, big smile,” Quinn said. “To me, you can’t win (on the ice) until you win in (the locker room). We think we got two guys that could do that, which would make it difficult for the coach. But those are great problems to have.”

Certainly, that’s where the Sharks want to get to under Speer. who is in his 11th year as a goalie coach, working with both amateurs and professionals at a variety of levels. Before he came to the Sharks, Speer spent three seasons with the Stockton Heat, the former AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.

“I’ve had coaches that I’ve gotten along with, but it’s nice to have a guy here that you get to spend every day with that knows the game, knows my game, and knows what I need to do. Very detailed,” Blackwood said. “And you get to know him, he’s a great guy. So far, everything has been great.”

[ivanttakethis]

Here is Wren’s completed profile for Alien Stage Season 40! @season40

Wren’s introduction containing some extra information can be found in this post and her preseason logs are here and here.

Personality: Outgoing, charismatic, perceptive, stubborn, and competitive

Voice/Singer claim: Halle Bailey

Notable Attributes

———

Wren has vitiligo on the left side of her face, her arms, and her legs.

Her hair is completely white due to a genetic mutation, similar to the stars in her irises.

Her braids reach to just below her shoulder blades.

She doesn’t remember how she got the large scar across her nose.

Has a resting bitch face like her twin sister, but is very friendly once you talk to her.

Minimal eye bags because of her regimented sleep schedule.

(More info below the cut!!)

Background/Lore

———

Wren was initially training to become an Alien Stage guard from the ages of 3 to 8 years old.

After her talent for singing was discovered by an officer, she was enrolled in Anakt Garden as a scholarship student.

She was a unique case at Anakt Garden because at the time of her arrival she didn’t have a guardian.

Wren was assigned a handler named Ra’eon, who took on most of the responsibilities of a guardian. For simplicity sake, Wren calls her “Guardian Ra”.

At the age of 18, Wren was recruited to ZYNE Entertainment, a talent agency specializing in pet-human singing groups. Spots in these agencies’ boot camps were highly sought after, and tryouts were almost as rigorous as auditions for Alien Stage.

Wren’s competitive nature thrived in this cutthroat environment, leading to her becoming one of the top performing recruits in both singing and dancing.

After graduating from Anakt Garden, Wren was “adopted” by the talent agency through a series of somewhat controversial loopholes. She still does not have a guardian/owner in the traditional sense.

Over the years at ZYNE, Wren would become a part of three pet-human girl groups in training. But for one reason or another, these groups never made it to debut.

Industry gossip circles each have a different reason for the groups falling apart: conflicting personalities, lack of a cohesive look, infighting, actual fighting, etc. Though ZYNE has denied all of these allegations.

Regardless of these setbacks, Wren had steadily grown a small but loyal fan base that have been hoping she’d go solo for years.

If she wins Season 40, Wren will debut as ZYNE’s first pet-human solo artist.

Wren’s brand is on her left hip (the same place as Luka’s). She was sedated for the procedure at Ra’eon’s request.