#kraken hockey is coming back in the end when no one believed in you not even yourself

[mattynmarns]

i need to compile the moments that make you scream "thats kraken hockey baby" bc if the team wont find their identity I will

[buttercupjosh]

Opinion/Rant: To start, I’m bringing up something that occurred back in 2020 but myself and some others didn’t see the actual video until 2021. This post is a bit long but please bear with me. Anyways, I’m bringing this up now because I’ve noticed throughout 2023 and throughout part of 2024, there’s been a big resurgence of Vince content on here (yeah, I already know he’s cute and a talented player, I used to hold space for him on my blog and post about him in the past) but a part of me feels like people have either forgotten about what he did or they just don’t know what occurred so this post serves as an educational post for those who may not know (or a reminder for those who may have forgotten) and is not intended by any means to cause any drama. I also do share some of my opinion on what happened in this post as well.

For those who don’t know or remember, back in 2020, Vince used to do live streams of him playing video games on Twitch during COVID lockdown and during these streams, he would play music while he played games. On one of these game streams (I don’t know which specific one it was from), Vince was singing along to some song and the n-word came out of his mouth (the video of the incident is at the very end of this post). Yeah, I know he listens to a lot of rap and R&B and I’ve seen some people say that he was drunk when it happened and that the song was choppy but that doesn’t excuse him saying it. According to others who watched the stream when it was fully available, Vince allegedly didn’t apologize for using the word and when he was called out for it in the stream chat, he allegedly got a bunch of people to harass the person who called him out.

As someone who’s Black, it hurt me a lot to hear Vince say the n-word, even if it was for a second. For those of y’all who defend him and act like what he did wasn’t wrong or trying to come up with excuses for him, you don’t fully understand how painful and harmful his actions were. Just because I’m Black (I personally choose not to use it) and other Black people say it freely, that does not mean the word is okay for just anyone, regardless of race, to use in any context. Just because Vince didn’t say it to me or anyone directly, that doesn’t mean what he did is acceptable. To me, hearing a non-black person use the N-word any capacity is extremely personal because it’s been used towards me in a negative way by non-black people throughout my life. It also bothered me that Vince allegedly didn’t have the decency to even say “whoops, sorry I said/did that” when he was called out for it on the game stream and allegedly resorted to downplaying the situation and having people harass the person who called him out. I am not trying to play the victim but I am trying to educate y’all on his actions and to also let y’all know why some people don’t like him.

Another thing I’m going to note is that you cannot always automatically assume that someone you don’t know personally has put in the work privately over something they were exposed for publicly if they haven’t shown any public sort of proof of some growth. That means you can’t come to me and say “he may have learned from using that word” when there’s no public evidence anywhere that he has. If you choose to believe he has, then that’s your opinion. To me, Vince could have publicly shown some sort of growth by doing something as small as posting a blackout Tuesday post during the height of Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020 or liking a tweet of support from that time or maybe even participating in some of the Kraken’s Black history related stuff (like how Grubauer and Blackwell talked about Black hockey history with J.T. Brown and Everett Fitzhugh) (I know February is right around the corner with Black History Month and if Vince does something then, maybe my viewpoint on him may shift a bit). Yes, I did see a video of Vince talking about his thoughts on BLM and he did make valid points about how not everyone has to be posting online to protest injustice. However, Vince didn’t clearly say anything that showed he did something about it offline besides using an example of how if a rapper goes to a protest, everyone knows who the rapper is and if he were to go, no one would know who Vince is and also saying “who’s to say I’m not going to protests or donating to certain charities”, without saying he actually did those things. (A good example of a player being called out/exposed for something but fixing what they did is when Quinn Hughes didn’t use Pride tape once but later on, he used the tape and even made inclusive comments during the NHL pride tape controversy last season).

I AM NOT SAYING OR IMPLYING VINCE SHOULD BE CANCELED OR THAT HE IS A RACIST OR A HORRIBLE PERSON BUT HE SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY HOCKEY FANS. Holding him accountable means that if you want to, you can still like him for the benefit that he has on your team or recognizing his talent or some of his community work but you can also remember what he did in the back of your mind. (Think about/keep that in mind when you post about him too).

I know that it’s not always easy to hold someone that’s on a team you like or someone you liked beforehand accountable (there are several players on teams that I like who help my team succeed and players that I’ve admired before but I don’t like or agree with certain, questionable things that they’ve done) but if accountability looks like no longer holding space for them on your blog through posts or putting them up on such a high pedestal in your life or to stop thinking they can no wrong, that’s fine too. Holding a player accountable looks different for everyone and there’s no set formula/guidelines for that.

If you still want to support him after seeing this post and watching the video below, then that’s on you. If you choose to not support him anymore or at all, that’s on you. However you choose to feel about it is valid and I respect that (even if I see it differently). I know that he’s never going to address or acknowledge this and I understand that it happened back in 2020 but his silence on the matter nor should the amount of time that has passed shouldn’t stop fans at all from holding him accountable.

(Again, this post is me sharing my opinion on something Vince did, educating those who may not have known about it and also reminding those who may have forgotten this happened. Again, I’m not saying or implying that he is a racist or should be canceled. All I’m trying to say is that he should be/start to be held accountable by hockey fans. We all hold our own bias when it comes to things and I’m not using this post to try to push anyone towards a certain side either. Again, I’m also not saying he’s a horrible person either. Interpret all of this information however you want/choose to.

Also, if you’re even thinking about sending me a hate anon for this, go touch grass or get better hobbies. Better yet, if you send me a hate anon, just know it’ll go into the trash with your garbage words.

Lastly, I am also going to say that I do not tolerate nor support/agree with anyone going after anyone who still chooses to support Vince or chooses not to support him and if you do that to someone, you’re a very scummy person. Also, I am not going to send anyone anything about this either because I got all of my thoughts out here and respect others’ opinions so if you somehow get a hate anon about it, it’s not from me because I dislike the feeling of getting one and wouldn’t want to put someone else through that).

Video Info:

Twitter/X Link to Video

Actual Video from Twitter/X for those who don’t use Twitter/X

[everwitch-magiks]

dance with somebody (ch. 26/26)

start from ch. 1 | back to ch. 25

Throughout his five years in professional hockey, Connor Whisk has been called a great many things.

During his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the adjective most frequently used by ESPN was promising. (Editor’s note: we’ve counted. Yes, we’re nerds.) However, soon after Whisk’s abrupt trade to the newly minted Seattle Kraken, sensational and unprecedented quickly started climbing the charts. It truly seemed like Whisk had found himself perfectly at home as a rising star on a young and fiercely untamed NHL expansion team, full of players with nothing to lose, yet so much to prove.

At least, that was the way things appeared.

Whisk suggests meeting at a quiet coffee place in Pioneer Square. He’s already waiting outside when I arrive (and it should be noted that I'm at least ten minutes early). Whisk's handshake is firm, his shirt is completely lacking in wrinkles without a single button undone, and there's something carefully proper in his manners as we exchange pleasantries and order coffee.

We don't have an abundance of time, which is why I get right into it almost before we're seated. What’s his opinion on the current standings? If the Kraken do make the playoffs again, like most experts have assumed, what will be their strategy for staying in the game longer, this time? And what’s changed for the Kraken, during these last couple of seasons, that have enabled them to become such a force to be reckoned with so soon after the team’s very foundation?

Whisk, who isn't necessarily known for taking pleasure in excessive attention from the media, seems surprisingly at ease with my onslaught of questions.

“We’ve worked really hard as a team to get to this point, slowly but surely. It may look like a sudden breakthrough from an outside perspective, I guess, but that’s very far from how we’ve experienced it. Although, I’ll be the first to admit that those first couple of seasons in Seattle were tough. Extremely tough. We were fighting so hard every single day, trying to get some semblance of proper teamwork, trying to get our plays to work, get anything to work, really. A lot of the guys were rookies, and many of us who weren’t had been pretty shocked by our trades. We did alright, for a new team, but we all knew that we should be doing better. That was the thing, really – we all felt that we could be so much more. Maybe, if we had believed that a little bit less, things might not have felt so hopeless at the time.”

Whisk speaks with a familiarly serious expression. Some of my fellow sports journalists have pronounced him subdued, and stiff, and on one memorable occasion, unemotional. Yet as we continue to chat about his teammates over a second cup of coffee, and Whisk goes into detail about what the Kraken’s recent achievements have meant for each of them, those descriptors couldn’t be further from the picture Whisk paints. Connor Whisk is clearly compassionate. Effortlessly earnest. Irresistibly determined.

"Last season, when we made it to the playoffs for the first time, that was such an important milestone. It proved to us that we’d had it right, all along. That as a team, we could be capable of anything. And I think, especially for the older guys who’d uprooted the lives of their families after their trades, getting that recognition from the whole league was so important. It’s definitely helped us feel like we have every reason to go into each game with that much more confidence, this season. Our plays are bigger, bolder and braver, and it’s really been paying off. This year, the goal is to make sure that energy lasts us not only all the way to the playoffs, but much further beyond.”

Whisk speaks about his teammates with both respect and compassion. It’s really quite obvious just how he's earned himself the title of Assistant Captain. And on the subject of leadership – is there any truth to the retirement rumours surrounding the Kraken’s current Captain, Donald “Ducky” Rodriguez? And would Connor Whisk agree with the consensus among both supporters and sports media, that he is practically guaranteed to inherit the title?

It's the first time since the start of our conversation that I find a certain amount of evasiveness in Whisk's answer.

"It's difficult to say. Every player has their own journey, and I can't speak for Ducky when it comes to his thoughts on possible retirement. As for my own feelings on the subject, I'd prefer it if Ducky just stayed in the game forever." Whisk laughs. "Really, I would. Ducky probably wouldn't have described his trade from the Aeros to the Kraken as the best thing that ever happened to him, back when it all went down, but it was honestly one of the best things that could've happened to me. I had looked up to Ducky for a long time, and having such an experienced player join us made an enormous difference for a lot of us who were relatively new to the game. We've had a great run together in Seattle, and I know Ducky has talked at length about how rewarding it's been for him to captain this team, especially at this point in his career. And honestly, I can't even really think about what might happen after his eventual retirement. I just can't. I guess I'm just trying to focus on the now, one game at a time, until the end of this season. That's as far as I'm allowing myself to think."

Of course, on the subject of the Houston Aeros, I must ask about the rumour that seems to circle back around every so often without ever being properly addressed. It's time we all knew, once and for all. Did Connor Whisk, during his time as a free agent, really decline an offer from the Houston Aeros? If so, when? And, perhaps most importantly, why?

"No, I did." Avid Aeros supporters will be pleased to know that Whisk has the decency to look quite apologetic. "It was during my time in the NCAA. I found it a very interesting offer, but ultimately, it just wasn't the right time for me. I'm sure it would've been a journey that was rewarding in other ways than the path I'm on, now. But sometimes, you've got to go with your heart, and my heart was very much still in Massachusetts with the Samwell team. I was very lucky to be able to make that decision and still have such great opportunities to play professionally after graduation. That was never something I took for granted, when I made that call."

Before we run out of coffee, and more importantly out of time, I remember to ask about Whisk’s tattoos. As frequent readers of Sports Illustrated will be well aware, he has two, both on his upper right arm. According to my quite extensive knowledge of Whisk’s frankly limited media appearances, he has never once commented on them.

Evidently, they're not some big secret. Whisk readily rolls up his sleeve.

“The first one, got your back, is a saying from my college hockey team. It’s about always looking out for your teammates on and off the ice. My time on the Samwell team really meant a lot to me, I was fortunate enough to play alongside incredible NCAA players like Eric Bittle, Will Poindexter and Nathan Piper. I learned so much, both about hockey and about myself. A lot of the guys actually got the exact same tattoo at some point, without any of us really talking about it. It caused a bit of unintended comedy at our last reunion.”

The second tattoo, know where we stand, is placed just a few inches below the first.

“That one is more personal. It's about having trust and faith in those I love, about making sure they always know how much they mean to me. I'm a somewhat private person, I guess, but anyone close to me could tell you that it's very important for me to make sure that my feelings are known.”

Private is certainly a word that comes to mind. Whisk doesn't agree to many interviews, and his fans have long given up hope of getting more than one or two TV appearances per season, post-game interviews not included. He's on Twitter, as is the whole Kraken rooster, but his activity is mostly limited to retweets of various sports accounts. His instagram feed? Almost exclusively pictures of his aquarium.

At the mention of aquatic creatures, Whisk’s expression brightens.

“My housemate actually took this amazing picture of our axolotl a while back, I have to show you. Look at this magnificent queen.”

Somewhere between several anecdotes about Whisk’s certifiably adorable pets, and a tangent about his commitment to supporting organisations working towards marine conservation, we do finally run out of time. As we say our goodbyes, I’m reminded once again of Whisk’s polite, proper manners, a stark contrast to his somewhat unfeeling reputation. But if one thing’s for certain, it’s that Connor Whisk is anything but unfeeling. He’s reserved, yes, and perhaps somewhat reluctant to put his innermost thoughts and feelings on display. But he’s certainly an impressively focused athlete, one who has proven time and time again to have an admirable commitment to supporting his teammates, on and off the ice.

I can only imagine the regret that must be felt over in Pittsburgh. Seattle, meanwhile, has every reason to celebrate. It’s really something, given how much Whisk has already achieved, that he still gives off the energy of someone who’s got so far to go. The question is, just how far is that going to get him, in the end?

Will he be remembered only as a key factor in the foundation of Seattle’s so-far successful expansion endeavour, or could he be a true star player in the making, one on the verge of creating a legacy that will last well beyond a time and a place?

Only time will tell.

    Whiskey lets the door fall shut behind him. He takes a deep, steadying breath.

There’s a familiar suitcase that’s been left right in the hallway. Whiskey quickly toes off his shoes and walks past it. Ah, there’s a t-shirt. And a bit further, a pair of jeans. Then socks.

Whiskey follows the enticing trail of clothes into the living room. He passes by the mantelpiece, where his Samwell Men's Hockey Captain's plaque sits right in the center, with his Art Ross Trophy from last season over on the side.

Out in the kitchen, he finds a pair of boxer briefs. The double doors out to the patio are wide open. Whiskey eagerly steps through them, his feet quickly carrying him across the patio, over to-

Yes.

Oh, yes. Finally.

Miguel breaks through the surface of the water just as Whiskey makes it to the side of the pool. Immediately, Miguel offers him a wide smile. He looks so perfectly relaxed, back in his pool, in their home. In the nude.

God, he’s so beautiful.

“Water’s warm,” Miguel greets him softly. He trails his fingertips across the surface of it, almost like he’s reacquainting himself with how it feels. “Much more pleasant than the Atlantic, let me tell you.”

“I’ll take that as an invitation.”

“Oh, please. Come here.” Miguel’s tone turns impatient as Whiskey pulls off his shirt, only to take a moment to fold it. “Fuck, just, come here. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too. So much.”

Whiskey willingly abandons his attempts to keep his clothes from getting wrinkles. He makes quick work of his pants and underwear, before he lets himself slip into the water. Immediately, he gathers Miguel up in his arms.

It’s not a languid kiss, by any means. Being separated for eight fucking weeks will do that to you. Miguel kisses Whiskey like he’s been trying to breathe underwater for months, like Whiskey is his fresh gulp of oxygen, his moment of clarity. He kisses Whiskey like Whiskey is his very reason for breathing.

Which is almost funny, given that Miguel has been doing quite a bit of breathing underwater, lately.

“Did you get bulkier?” Miguel murmurs against Whiskey's bare skin. He’s trailing his fingertips along Whiskey’s forearms. “You’re kinda firm, here. I like it.”

“Maybe a little.”

Whiskey kisses the top of his head. He lets his hands travel lower, let's his fingertips glide across Miguel's ribcage over the ink that matches Whiskey's own, four little words with so much meaning. He grins as he reaches Miguel's ass and let's his hands come to an abrupt stop. God, it's been much too long.

“S'okay. You're here, now.” Miguel shivers pleasantly from Whiskey’s touches. “Practice run over?”

“No, Angela called me in. She needed me to sign off on the final draft of that article.”

“Sports Illustrated?” Miguel recalls curiously. “How bad was it?”

“Actually, it was… Fine.” Whiskey thinks back on the feature. “Better than I expected. There’s even a couple of paragraphs where that reporter’s made me sound, I don't know. Oddly sweet.”

“You are sweet.” Miguel smiles fondly. “Is it really so bad, if people find out?”

“I suppose not,” Whiskey agrees reluctantly. He lets himself give Miguel's ass another indulgent squeeze. “And they actually included my off-hand mention of my housemate, this time. So that’s something.”

“Good job,” Miguel says with a flushed grin. “Angela must be so pleased.”

Angela Johanson, PR and communications officer for the Seattle Kraken, had indeed been extremely pleased.

Her strategy had really worked for them, so far, which was why Whiskey wasn’t too inclined to argue with it. “If you want to hide anything from those vultures in the media,” Angela had told him during one of his earliest PR briefings, “You’ve got to do it in plain sight.”

Of course, there had been other parts of Angela’s PR strategies that Whiskey had found himself arguing with. Especially during their very first conversation with one another, before he’d had the chance to inform anyone in Seattle of his situation.

It had been right after the trade – hours after, literally. Whiskey was still in Pittsburgh, both physically and mentally. And, fine, Whiskey had maybe already started to realise that Pittsburgh wasn’t completely right for him. It was a very good team, but they were so swamped with talent, and maybe fighting his way to the top of that rooster should’ve been an exciting, motivating challenge, but it wasn’t. It just wasn’t. Whiskey had spent his whole rookie year feeling like he was working against his own team. He had known there was a fair chance that he would get traded. He wasn’t even entirely opposed to the idea.

But Seattle? The Kraken? A team that, for all intents and purposes, didn’t even so much as exist, yet?

“We’re rolling out a whole media package,” Angela had informed him over the phone – as soon as Whiskey’s very first chit-chat with management was over, they’d switched him right over to PR. “There is an enormous amount of buzz right now, given that you guys are the very first players we’re signing. I’ve got some talking points to go over, and then you’re going live on channel four tonight at-”

“Hold on,” Whiskey had cut in. “It’s, I’m not… I don’t usually do many interviews.”

“Oh, you will now.” Angela actually had the audacity to sound cheerful. “We’re right in the middle of establishing our whole brand, and profiling our players in the media is an incredibly important part of that. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

“I’m not too interested in being a… A media profile.” Whiskey had tried his best not to panic completely. Really, he had. “I don’t… I’m fairly protective of my private life.”

“Well. You’ll certainly need to share the overall gist of it.” Angela had sounded almost confused. “We need you to be approachable, Connor. Likeable. You’re young, and very handsome, and incredibly talented. We’ve been hoping to have a broad interest in this franchise, all different age groups and so on, and right now, you’re looking a lot like our best bet to attract some real interest from young girls and women. We’re not going to miss that chance.”

“Look," Whiskey had told her flatly. "I’m going to tell you something in confidence, alright? In confidence. This needs to stay between you and me.”

“Okay? Connor, I’m not sure if-”

“I have a boyfriend.”

Angela had been quiet for well over five seconds.

“Oh,” she’d said. To her credit, there had been something like embarrassment in her tone. “I see. Of course, that’s not an issue. Not at all. We’ve done a lot of groundwork about the values of this organisation, Connor, and I want you to know that you’re going to be completely safe with us.”

“Right. Thank you.”

“And,” Angela had added, just a bit hopefully. “If you would choose to be open about that, I can assure you that you would have our full support to-”

“No,” Whiskey had interrupted. “No. I’m not going to.”

“Right.” Angela had paused. “Okay. We’d really be prepared to back you up, you know. It might cause a bit of a media frenzy, and earn us some frankly disgusting press, but we’d be ready to take that on.”

“Yes, a media frenzy sure seems like the last thing on your wishlist.” Whiskey hadn’t bothered to keep his anger out of his voice. “In any case, I’m not going to cause it for you. I’m extremely protective of my private life, and for very good reason. And I’m not going to go live on channel four, today or any other day.”

“Right, okay," Angela had said quickly. "Okay.”

There was a longer moment of silence.

“I hear you.” Angela’s tone had shifted significantly. Somewhere in the background, Whiskey thought he could hear the sound of papers being shuffled around. “I think… Well, won’t need this anymore. Or that. Hm. Let’s see.”

Whiskey managed something of a breath. He was feeling slightly calmer, although honestly not particularly regretful. Really, he’d be more than prepared to fight the Kraken’s entire PR department, if that’s what it took.

“Look.” Angela had apparently found something to say again. “I’ve seen your tapes, Connor.”

Whiskey frowned slightly.

“Okay?”

“You’re very good.” Angela’s tone was quite careful. “Very, very good. I used to play, you know, back in high school. You’re fast, and you play very smart. I’ve heard the way our head coach talks about your technique, and about your adaptability on the ice. Quite frankly, he won’t shut up about you.”

“Is any of this supposed to make me like you better?”

“That’d be nice,” Angela had said calmly, and okay, she was certainly brave. Whiskey had to give her that. “Most importantly, though, you should take me seriously when I say that we’re fully expecting you to be one of the faces of this franchise.”

“On the ice, sure, but that doesn’t-”

“And,” Angela cut in, “That means the media is going to be all over you. Even if you won’t let us schedule you for appearances, they’re going to find something to write about anyway. Really, I’m sure they’d be thrilled to publish all sorts of assumptions and speculation, especially if there’s nothing else out there to contradict them.”

Whiskey wasn’t sure what to say to that.

Angela actually had a point, was the thing.

“I understand the need to keep your professional and private lives separate,” Angela had continued. “And, Connor, I’d really like to help you with that. Because you’re going to need help. If we could work together and figure out a level of public visibility that you could actually be comfortable with, that would definitely keep a lot of so-called journalists from spinning a narrative that we have no control over.”

“Right.” Whiskey hadn’t needed to hesitate much longer. “I understand that. Honestly, I’ve seen the way certain publications go after some of our big names here in Pittsburgh. I’d hate to face something like that without a solid plan for how to handle it.”

“We don’t want you to feel like you’re facing anything on your own, or without a plan.” Angela had sounded quite hopeful once more. “Connor, I… I’m sorry if I came on too strong, just now, and demanded too much from you. We’re genuinely thrilled that you will be joining us in Seattle. I hope that you and I can figure out a media strategy that actually works for you."

“That sounds good.” Surprisingly, Whiskey actually meant it. “I, uh. This is all extremely important to me. I appreciate that you’re making an effort to see my perspective.”

“Of course.” Angela’s tone had been warm. “My job is ultimately about supporting you, you know.”

“Well.” Whiskey had actually smiled. “I suppose I’m glad to have you on the team, then.”

“That’s my line, isn’t it?” Angela had chirped pleasantly. “So. I’m cancelling with channel four. Let’s talk about alternatives for how to make your first impression.”

Whiskey hadn’t quite understood, back then, just how invaluable Angela was going to prove herself during his time in Seattle.

He also would never have guessed that, over a series of meetings where the two of them had drafted contingency plans for various hypothetical scenarios of Whiskey being outed, as well as quite a few bottles of increasingly expensive red wine, he and Angela would actually end up with something not entirely unlike a friendship.

"Angela says hi, by the way," Whiskey tells Miguel presently. They've made it out of the water – except, Miguel's already dived back in. Whiskey has sat himself down on the edge of the pool, content to stick his feet in and just watch Miguel. "She practically demanded that we have her over for dinner, this weekend, when I mentioned you were coming back home."

"Oh, I'd love to see Angela." Miguel dips beneath the surface, just briefly. "You could make those dark chocolate brownies for dessert."

Whiskey smiles.

"You've missed my desserts."

"Come on, try again." Miguel grins. "You're so close."

"Ah. You've missed my chocolate desserts."

Miguel rolls his eyes. He disappears back underwater with a playful splash.

Whiskey smiles softly as he watches Miguel swim down, down towards the bottom of the pool. He still remembers the first time Miguel took him swimming, remembers how his breath hitched at the sight of Miguel moving in the water, his lithe, flexible body completely in control. It was, and honestly still is, the most beautiful thing Whiskey has ever seen.

There's a picture of the two of them that hangs framed in their bedroom. It was taken the summer before last, during a trip they took to see Miguel's family. Miguel is looking at the camera, and his smile is the one that Whiskey loves the most – it's soft and warm and just so lovely. His brown eyes are wonderfully bright in the sunlight. He looks beautiful, and full of life and love. He looks perfect.

In the picture, Whiskey isn't looking at the camera. Instead, he is looking at Miguel. He's smiling, too, and although his smile isn't anywhere near as radiant as Miguel's, it's definitely gentle and content. He looks happy.

They both look happy.

The picture sometimes makes Whiskey wonder what others see, when they look at the two of them. Miguel, so full of energy and life, always bright with excitement and emotion, easily allowing his feelings to flow freely in any direction like a rippling, playful wave, his world a whole sea of excitement. And next to him, Whiskey. So purposeful, and focused, and bold. Always serious and earnest, making every decision with exact precision like he's carving his whole world out of ice.

And yet they come together so perfectly, almost as if they were always meant to find one another.

Miguel breaks through the surface again, with a bigger splash this time.

"I almost forgot," he says, a little breathlessly. "Whiskey. I do actually use Twitter, you know."

Whiskey frowns slightly.

"I don't."

"And as much as I love you, you're not the only account on there." Miguel rolls his eyes. "You Can Play made a pretty interesting announcement, today. Did you see it?"

Ah. Quickly, Whiskey looks away.

"They've received another one of those big donations," Miguel continues. He sounds delighted. "And still no sender, can you believe it? Funny, how this always happens right after you win another big game."

Whiskey ducks his head, grinning. It's only happened a handful of times, that Whiskey has managed to quietly donate a few thousand dollars to You Can Play without Miguel connecting the dots. Ever since that first time, when You Can Play had announced their deepest gratitude to an anonymous donor the very same week that Whiskey had received his signing bonus, and Miguel had immediately texted Whiskey a string of cash emojis and a question mark, it's become something of a game between them.

"Fine. You win this time."

"I win every time." Miguel grins, too. "I guess I should just be grateful that you haven't splurged too much on another ridiculous welcome-home present. I'm still getting over the shock from last time."

"You love the pool," Whiskey reminds him softly. He clears his throat. "I, uh. I might actually have gotten you something."

Miguel stills.

"Please tell me it's something that fits inside the house, this time."

"Well..." Whiskey knows that it's better if he just sticks to his plan of showing Miguel, when he gets the chance. They've been making loose plans for a trip to Boston, anyhow, and Miguel definitely won't mind going back to the New England Aquarium. Especially when he finds out that they'll be attending the opening ceremony for the aquarium's new, privately funded manatee conservation program. "It's not really something you can take home. But I know you're going to love it."

"Okay, mister." Miguel looks a little bit weary. "God, you've got that look in your eyes. I'm getting nervous."

"You'll love it," Whiskey repeats firmly. He smiles. "And, uh, speaking of love. We got a letter from Dex and Nursey, yesterday."

Miguel's eyebrows shoot up.

"A letter? Don't you guys text, like, a lot?"

"They've finally set a date."

"Oh," Miguel exclaims. His smile widens. "Oh, that is so exciting! We're going to a wedding!"

"We are, yeah." Whiskey smiles, too. "I haven't RSVP'd, yet, but…"

"No, no, of course we're going." Miguel is still beaming. "Wow. Wow. Do you know what colors they're doing? Ooh, and what's their venue?"

"I don't… We can read their invitation together." Whiskey watches Miguel for a moment. "You like weddings."

Miguel pauses briefly.

"I like seeing our friends happy." He smiles. "Whiskey, you know that I don't expect… I've never really thought that I would be married."

"Me neither." Whiskey isn't quite sure how to phrase his next question. "But, just because you didn't think it was in the cards… I mean. That's not necessarily the same thing as, you know. As not wanting to?"

"I guess not," Miguel agrees easily. Still, he shakes his head. "Honestly, it's really not something I've ever dreamed of, the way some people do. My choice of career was always going to be a big commitment for me, one that would certainly make things complicated in the romance department. But then you came along, and we've managed to build this life together, and it's just… It's so perfect. I don't need anything more."

"I know." Whiskey returns his smile. "I love the life we've built together, too. But, I'm just… Well. Actually. I've been thinking."

Slowly, Miguel's expression shifts.

"You have?"

"It's not…" Whiskey begins, only to pause. He needs to get this right. "It's something I'm still thinking about. I don't have all the right answers, yet."

"Okay." Miguel tilts his head. "Whiskey, did… Did something happen? To make you question yourself?"

Whiskey's smile softens. It's really something, how Miguel knows him so well.

"Kind of," he admits. "You know I went home, recently?"

"Yeah. For a funeral, right?"

"Exactly. My one of my uncles passed."

"Right." Miguel is nodding, even though his expression is somewhat confused. "I don't… You said you two weren't very close?"

"No, we weren't," Whiskey agrees. "But still, I… It got me thinking."

"About marriage?"

"About death." Whiskey almost smiles when Miguel's eyebrows shoot up. "I promise this isn't constantly on my mind, okay? It's just something I've kept coming back to, recently. Something I haven't ever thought about before."

"Okay." Miguel watches him in apparent confusion. "Whiskey, I'm sorry. You've lost me."

Whiskey takes a deep breath.

"When we die, I want them to bury me next to you."

Miguel is quiet for a moment.

"Oh," he says. His tone is careful. "I… Oh."

"And I don't think that would be possible," Whiskey continues. He actually smiles. "Unless… You know."

"Wait. Really?" Miguel actually manages to sound equal parts serious, and reproachful. It's really quite something. "Connor. I may never have dreamed of the perfect proposal, but if this is your idea of one, death might greet you a whole lot sooner than you think."

"No, it's not," Whiskey says quickly. "It's… I haven't finished thinking about this, not yet. I mostly feel like I don't really know what I should want."

"Maybe what you should want isn't the right question." Miguel sounds slightly more calm. He pauses to actually think for a moment. "You know, I'm… I hadn't really thought about that, either. But you… I think you have a point. You really do."

For a moment, they just look at one another.

"Well," Whiskey says lightly. It feels like something significant has shifted between them. It feels big. "I guess we'll see?"

"Yeah." Miguel seems to have found his smile again. "It wouldn't have to be an extravagant affair. You'd hate that."

"I would," Whiskey agrees. "But, at the same time… We wouldn't necessarily need to keep it just between you and me."

"I like that." Miguel tilts his head again. "You know, if… If we did? The world would find out, eventually. When we're gone, if nothing else."

"Yeah. I know."

"I don't know how I feel about that. I'll need some more time." Miguel's tone is unusually thoughtful. "But you would be okay with it?"

"I… I guess." Whiskey pauses for a moment. Suddenly, he remembers everything Angela's told him about the importance of taking control over the narrative. And honestly? Just like always, she has a point. "Except, if that is the path we take, maybe we should actually make sure that we have a say in how this story gets told? Not anytime soon, but, I don't know. At some point down the line."

"Right." Miguel is nodding, even though he still looks quite contemplative. "That's probably not a decision we should rush into."

"There's no need. We can figure it out at whatever pace feels right." Whiskey offers him another smile. "Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"For listening to me. For going through all of this with me."

"That's not something you need to thank me for." Miguel's smile softens into the one Whiskey loves best. "It's, you know. Sickness and health, good times and bad times. No matter what we tell the world, we both know that's what this is."

"Yeah," Whiskey agrees softly.

Sometimes, he still can't believe that they got here in the end. He smiles, helplessly.

"That's right. You're exactly right."

[amtushinfosolutionspage]

DGB Grab Bag: Happy Birthday Gretzky, Mid-Season Awards, and a Crotch Goal

Three Stars of Comedy

The third star: The Crotch Goal – It’s a lot like the Butt Goal, only with less butt and more crotch.

The second star: Jimmy Eat World – Yes, the band. No, I didn’t expect them to ever show up in this section either. But that was before they started dunking on team Twitter accounts.

Seriously, is it too late to get these guys to perform at the All-Star Game instead of Kid Rock? They don’t even have to sing, they can just go through all the league’s social media accounts and rip them individually. Let’s make this happen.

The first star: Auston Matthews is one of us – Nobody knows what goaltender interference is anymore. That includes Matthews, who lost a goal on Monday to a phantom interference penalty after a lengthy review. But it was worth it, because it gave us this all-purpose reaction GIF we can now use for pretty much every decision the NHL makes.

He followed that up with a goal and another classic reaction. Strong GIF work out there, Auston. Remember kids, there is no “I” in meme.

Outrage of the Week

The issue: For the first time in decades, the PHWA has released a round of midseason awards, covering all the major trophies and a few made-up ones as well.

The outrage: The results are wrong and the writers are stupid and you feel strongly about this.

Is it justified: I don’t even know what the results are as I’m writing this, or whether they’ll have been released by the time you read this (they’re supposed to come out at some point this morning). I just know that somebody out there is angry about them. And that’s good. That’s part of the fun. If we didn’t debate the picks, the whole process would be awfully boring.

If we’re being honest, the midseason picks will probably be even easier to criticize than the final season-ending votes. We’re working with a smaller sample size, but since these aren’t official awards there will probably be less time spent on the research side of things. (Believe it or not, PHWA members are known for obsessing over the details on their year-end ballots.) Some of these won’t hold up well a week or two from now, let alone at the end of the year.

But again, that’s part of the fun. So in the interest of transparency, here’s the ballot I submitted. I look forward to helpful feedback about how I can do better in the future. [brick flies by head] Oh cool, there’s some already.

Hart Trophy

1. Nathan MacKinnon

2. Nikita Kucherov

3. John Tavares

4. Blake Wheeler

5. Alexander Ovechkin

MacKinnon’s recent hot streak nudges him ahead of Kucherov. I wanted to get Wheeler on to the ballot, as his career year has helped the Jets stay on track even without Mark Scheifele. But that means I don’t have room for Steven Stamkos or Patrice Bergeron, let alone any defensemen or goalies. Here’s hoping a few of these guys separate from the pack in the second half, because right now this is a real tough choice.

Norris Trophy

1. Drew Doughty

2. Victor Hedman

3. P.K. Subban

4. John Klingberg

5. Alex Pietrangelo

I give Doughty a slight edge here, but Hedman is the interesting choice. He’s hurt now, and will miss a few more weeks, so he’s almost definitely not going to win the real award. There are a few guys in that situation around the league. Do you take them off your midseason ballot? I didn’t, just like I wouldn’t eliminate an end-of-season candidate who was hurt on the final weekend.

Vezina Trophy

1. Andrei Vasilevskiy

2. Mike Smith

3. Connor Hellebuyck

4. Pekka Rinne

5. Corey Crawford

This feels like a relatively easy call at #1, followed by about a half-dozen guys who could range from second spot to off the ballot. You could make a case for John Gibson, Frederik Andersen, or Jonathan Quick too.

Calder Trophy

1. Mathew Barzal

2. Brock Boeser

3. Charlie McAvoy

4. Clayton Keller

5. Mikhail Sergachev

The top two guys are running a fantastic race so far. From there, I kept McAvoy on my ballot despite his health issues for the same reason as Hedman. I had Sergachev a bit higher earlier in the week, but the Lightning making him a healthy scratch spooked me a bit.

Lady Byng

1. Marc-Edouard Vlasic

2. Mark Stone

3. Ryan O’Reilly

4. Auston Matthews

5. William Karlsson

Good players dominate this award these days, and rightfully so—they’re the ones targeted for the most abuse, so they get extra credit for not getting sucked in. But players who are asked to shutdown stars have it even tougher, which is why my top three picks here are guys who excel in their own end. You could make a case for all three, but defensemen never win the Lady Byng and that annoys me, so Vlasic is the pick.

Selke

1. Patrice Bergeron

2. Sean Couturier

3. Anze Kopitar

4. Mikael Backlund

5. Aleksander Barkov

A midseason Selke is an especially weird concept, since the real trophy is basically a lifetime achievement award. That tips a close race to Bergeron, even as Couturier emerges as a new contender.

Jack Adams

1. Gerard Gallant

2. Bruce Cassidy

3. Jared Bednar

4. Jon Cooper

5. John Hynes

Gallant will win this easily, and probably the end-of-year award too. I worked in Cooper as a protest vote, since this award shouldn’t always go to somebody from a “surprise” team.

General Manager

1. George McPhee

2. Doug Armstrong

3. David Poile

4. Ray Shero

5. Joe Sakic

This award doesn’t make sense for a full season, so you can imagine how a half-season version feels. It’s another easy Vegas win, while Armstrong made the offseason’s best trade, and Poile is Poile. If you’d told me would be on my ballot I’d have laughed at you, but here we are.

Best defensive defenseman (i.e. The Langway)

1. Hampus Lindholm

2. Mattias Ekholm

3. Marc-Edouard Vlasic

4. Zach Werenski

5. Jason Demers

This Langway doesn’t exist in real life, of course, so the PHWA is having some fun here. It’s a tough one to pick—clearly we’re not looking for guys who rack up points, but how many is too many? Do you set a cutoff? If so, do you eliminate guys with too many points altogether, or penalize them a few spots on the ballot? The real Rod Langway won the Norris in the mid-80s with 30 points, which on an era-adjusted basis would be like -10 today, so he’s no help. I looked at a combination of ice-time, penalty killing, zone starts, and relative possession, but I suspect the results here will be all over the map.

Comeback player

1. Mike Smith

2. Claude Giroux

3. Phil Kessel

4. Marc-Andre Fluery

5. Kris Letang

We weren’t given specific guidance here, but we were told that it wasn’t meant to be a copy of the Masterton. So I went with Smith, a guy who seemed to have fallen off the map in Arizona but has been reborn in Calgary. And Giroux and Kessel are back in the Art Ross race after some down years.

And that’s that. Please keep in mind I submitted this ballot before last night’s games, so if any of my picks are wrong that’s the reason.

Obscure Former Player of the Week

You’ll probably see a lot of birthday wishes being shared today in honor of a certain hockey legend who we’ll get to in the YouTube section. But he’s not the only former player born on this date. There’s also a Hall-of-Famer (Frank Nighbor), a former first overall pick (Dale McCourt), a future head coach (Ivan Hlinka), and a guy who sounds like a deranged serial killer character from a 1980s family sitcom (Alf Skinner).

But for this week’s obscure player, let’s keep it simple and go with another birthday boy: Harold Druken. Druken was a second-round pick by the Canucks in 1997, the same round as, uh, nobody really. Man that was a terrible second round. Druken went back to juniors for two more productive seasons and spent time in the minors before making his NHL debut during the 1990-00 season. He had 16 points in 33 games, then followed that up with 15 goals and 30 points in 55 games in 2000-01; he also scored the overtime goal that clinched the Canucks’ first playoff appearance since 1996.

Unfortunately, that 2000-01 season wound end up representing the peak of his NHL career, as injuries and lack of opportunity prevented him from playing another full season. He was traded to the Hurricanes, then bounced between Carolina and Toronto via waivers and trade. By the time the 2004 lockout arrived, Druken’s NHL career was over.

Today, a YouTube search brings up that playoff-clinching goal, a few fan tributes, a memorial for a different Harold Druken that briefly made me think this one had died, and lots of videos of severely intoxicated dudes fighting and dancing that were posted by people who misspelled “Drunken.” Not a bad legacy if you ask me.

Also, I always read his name in the Street Fighter II voice, and now you will too.

Be It Resolved

We apparently got a sneak peek at the names being considered for the NHL’s upcoming Seattle expansion team this week, as several domain registrations appeared to reveal the list of candidates.

Some are good (Sockeyes, Firebirds, Sea Lions), some are not good (Evergreens, Renegades), and some are just ripping off old teams (Seals, Whales). Some are uninspired choices that you used to use in your made-up hockey leagues when you were a kid (Cougars, Eagles). And some sound good, but would get annoying almost immediately (yes, yes, “Release the Kraken,” that is indeed a fun line from a movie that came out in 1981).

But while we’re at it, am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that “Metropolitans” isn’t on the list? The Seattle Metropolitans were the first American team to ever win the Stanley Cup. It happened in 1917, months before the NHL was formed. That seems like a pretty cool bit of history that you might want to acknowledge.

As an added bonus, having a team named the Metropolitans would force the NHL to change the name of the Metropolitan Division, which we can all agree would be a good thing. And as the Senators have shown us, if you use the same name as an old and forgotten franchise from a century ago, you get to lay claim to the championships for some reason.

So be it resolved, the new Seattle team should be called the Seattle Metropolitans. The Metros for short. Who’s with me? MET-ROS! MET-ROS!

Nobody? Dammit, you kids today have no sense of history. Fine, Sea Lions it is.

Classic YouTube Clip Breakdown

Today is Wayne Gretzky’s birthday, as the greatest player in NHL history turns [checks notes] … 57? Dear god, that can’t be right, can it? We are all so old. I need to lie down. Wait, that was a bad idea, now I can’t get back up.

I know what will make me feel better. Let’s travel back – way, way back – to a time when Gretzky was just a fresh-faced teenager, as he does one of his first major appearances in front of the national media.

It’s 1977, and a 16-year-old Gretzky is sitting down with the CBC’s Peter Gzowski. He’s already a heavily hyped prospect at this point, and he’s just joined the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. I realize the quality isn’t super great here, but remember this is from a time before high-def cameras, crystal clear audio, and also, apparently, lights.

Gzowski’s first question is about Gretzky’s poise, which leads into his origin story. “When I was two years old I started skating, and I’d be out on in my backyard on the rink every day until one in the morning.” Wait, what? I don’t like to tell people who to raise their kids, but two-year-olds probably shouldn’t be outside after midnight. That seems extreme to me.

“I left home when I was thirteen.” Yeah, to escape the mandatory middle-of-the-night skating drills, I’m guessing.

Next comes a funny sequence about how Gretzky is still growing but has trouble gaining weight. He claims to be 160 pounds, and Gzowski just openly calls B.S. on him right then and there. Like he doesn’t even let him finish the sentence, he just goes right into basically saying “Nice try spaghetti arms, you’re not fooling anyone.” I thoroughly enjoyed Peter Gzowski.

And yes, this is of course the same Gzowski who we saw earlier this season sparring with Dick Beddoes in 1982 over how hairy Gretzky’s legs were. His skinny, hairless legs.

We get a few shots of Gretzky at practice. You can tell the clip is from early in the season, because he’s wearing #14. He’d asked for #9, a number he’d worn for years, but teammate Brian Gualazzi already had it and refused to give it up to a rookie. Legend has it that Greyhounds coach Muzz MacPherson convinced Gretzky to switch to #99 instead, and the rest was history.

Can we just take a minute to appreciate young Wayne’s collar game? As best I can tell based on this being filmed in candlelight, he appears to be wearing two separate butterfly collars with a mock turtleneck in between. It’s like the animal kingdom is waging war for this throat.

Next up we see Gretzky’s parents, Walter and Phyllis. Gzowski asks if they’re worried that their scrawny son will get hurt, and Walter explains that Wayne has an uncanny ability to avoid contact. Meanwhile, Phyllis stands silently and makes angry mom face at the idea of anyone touching her boy. Forget Dave Semenko, hockey moms are the ones you have to watch for.

We’re back to Wayne, who’s asked how much thinking he does on the ice. He explains that he tries to think ahead as much as possible, but it doesn’t always work. “The other night in Ottawa I was going to do something, I was thinking of it anyway, and then all of a sudden everything just went blank.” I’m pretty sure that’s the 2017-18 Senators’ team slogan, actually.

We get a blink-and-you-miss-it clip of an insane goalie going full Hasek on a poke check attempt, then it’s back to Walter. He’s asked if his son will be the next Bobby Orr, but stickhandles around the question to explain that it’s really Wayne’s schooling that matters. By the way, solid collar work by Walter here too. The well-decorated Adam’s apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The education theme continues as Gretzky describes his plan to play two years of junior, finish high school, and then “Yes I’ll be going to university for sure.” Gzowski basically calls B.S. again, and this time Gretzky immediately abandons the idea. That’s strike two, Wayne, you lie to Peter Gzowski one more time and he’ll McCreary you.

We close with a sweet view of Gretzky walking down the streets of Sault Ste. Marie. The CBC somehow managed to edit out the “Staying Alive” soundtrack that must have followed Wayne around at all times back in those days. They do leave in the guy in the car in the background who seems to be flipping the bird out the window, though.

Gretzky describes the pressure of playing in a small town, then closes on an optimistic note by hoping he can have a good season. Epilogue: He did, putting up 182 points in 63 games. That one season was it for his junior career, as he was off to the WHA by 1978 and in the NHL a year after that. He’d go on to smash every offensive record in the book, despite the relentless march of time having a devastating effect on the quality of his wardrobe.

Have a question, suggestion, old YouTube clip, or anything else you’d like to see included in this column? Email Sean at nhlgrabbag@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter @DownGoesBrown .

DGB Grab Bag: Happy Birthday Gretzky, Mid-Season Awards, and a Crotch Goal syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com