#like mcdavid can wait a few more years.

[itsnotgray]

“if the oilers come back down 0-3 it will be the greatest cup win in nhl history”

…girl PLEASE

[haddonfieldwhore]

silver & gold - aleksander barkov

aleksander barkov x mcdavid!reader

summary: what better time for the world to find out about your private relationship than the stanley cup final?

warnings: private but not secret relationship?, sprinkle of angst, reader is mcdavid’s younger sister, i switch from calling him aleksander and sasha which i hope isn’t too confusing, i think i hate this but im posting it anyway sorry

word count: 1.9k

“romance is not dead, if you keep it just yours”

you had a habit of getting yourself into complicated situations, but as you sat with your family in the crowd, you decided you would never be able to outdo yourself with this one.

only moments were left in game 7 of the stanley cup final between the edmonton oilers and the florida panthers, the latter ahead by just one goal as the window of opportunity to change that grew smaller and smaller for the oilers.

your older brother, connor was the captain of the edmonton team, and you hated to think of how much it would hurt him to lose this game, and have to go home without the stanley cup; the thing he had dreamed of for as long as you could remember. edmonton was a good team, no doubt about it, but they were running out of time. you felt your moms grip on your hand tighten even more than it already was, her fingers wrapped around yours like a vice, and your breath caught in your throat as the seconds ticked away on the score clock.

you loved your brother, and would be overjoyed if he led his team to win the cup, but there was a small part of you that was rooting for florida as well. a part of your heart that belonged to someone here in sunrise.

the crowd was on their feet, the building roaring with cheers and applause as you watched the players scramble for the puck against the boards, unable to take your eyes off your brother until the sound of the buzzer snapped you out of it.

it was over.

the panthers were the stanley cup champions.

you didn’t know how to feel; the heartbreak and devastation radiated off of your family and connor’s fiancé lauren. combined with the volume of the fans in the arena, you found it hard to breathe. your eyes met connor’s as he slowly made his way off the ice, and your heart sank for him; this had meant the world to him and you knew it. as he and the rest of the oilers players slowly made their way down the tunnel in defeat, your eyes landed on a different team captain. your fingers fiddled absentmindedly with the charm on your bracelet, in particular the heart with the number 16 engraved on it; a gift from your boyfriend.

the panthers players celebrated their victory, and you watched as aleksander barkov became the first finnish captain to hoist the stanley cup. as the panthers each took turns hoisting the silver trophy until they’d all had a turn, you realized you were crying; but although you were sad for your brother, they were tears of joy.

“you can go sweetie, it’s okay,” your moms voice snapped you out of it, a slight tremble in her tone as you gave her the tightest hug you could muster, before sneaking out of the private box you all had been seated in and making your way to ice level. after a few shortcuts and showing a lot of arena staff your id so they would let you in, you had made it to where the rest of the families were waiting to join the team on the ice to celebrate.

you got a few confused looks sent your way from some of the other wives and girlfriends, and your stomach did a flip. it was a weird feeling, like you were an outsider invading a space that wasn’t meant for you; reminding you that not everyone knew who you were. correction, they knew you were connor mcdavids sister, not that you were aleksander barkovs girlfriend.

you had met sasha a few years ago at one of the many nhl events you’d attended with your brother, and you had found yourself immediately charmed by the panthers captain. you had never met a man so talented yet so humble, and it made a lasting impression. more encounters over the years led to you to of you keeping in touch and growing to be close friends, eventually getting together, though opting to keep your relationship private for a multitude of reasons, your brother being one of them.

it’s not that your relationship was a shameful secret, you just both were content with keeping it out of the public eye, and didn’t want the attention the media would bring to both of you for it.

it had even been nearly 8 months of the two of you dating (partly due to sasha’s busy schedule) before you told anyone in your family that you were together.

connor probably would have taken the news that you were dating a florida panther a lot worse if barkov wasn’t so respected within the league, and overall just a great guy on and off the ice.

“you’ve been dating someone for how long and didn’t tell me?” he had replied when you told him, and while you could tell he was upset, he thankfully didn’t sound as angry as you had anticipated.

“connor-“

“and a panther, you traitor,” he teased, but he cracked a smile and you felt a wave of relief.

“i wanted to tell you, i really did.” you hated keeping secrets from your family, and you hoped they’d have similar reactions when you told them; not unhappy with your choice but just suprised you’d kept it hidden for so long.

“i know you did, and it will take some getting used to, for sure.” you nodded in response. “but i’m happy for you, he’s a great guy.” connor smiled, and you hugged him.

“thank you for not freaking out about this.”

“did you think i would?” connor asked.

“i wasn’t sure - i could understand if you did,” you admitted.

“i can tell he makes you happy - you sort of light up when you talk about him. that’s what matters,” he smiled. “and it’s kind of impressive that the media hasn’t caught you guys out together or anything. you do have a pretty famous brother- hey!” he laughed as you punched his arm playfully.

there had definitely been times that the media (mostly gossip blogs) had speculated that sasha was seeing someone, and there had even been a few pictures caught and posted over the course of your relationship, but nothing that you could be identified in. the headline ‘panthers captain spotted with mystery woman’ had crossed your feed once or twice, but nothing concrete had ever been published. you and aleksander had discussed from the start that you would both prefer to keep things quiet as not to stir up drama, and you were mostly successful.

“yeah, we’ve been pretty lucky,” you sighed. there was something special about having something so personal and special just between you and sasha - and you were grateful you’d been able to keep it just your own for so long.

“we’re just private people, that’s all. even some of the other panthers didn’t know for the longest time,” you laughed as you remembered some of their reactions when they’d finally found out about you and sasha; tkachuk especially, the star winger being both suprised and happy for his captain when he found out.

“you know i love you no matter what right?” connor asked, and you smiled, giving him another hug.

“i know. i love you too, con.”

that had been a year ago, and telling the rest of your family had gone similarly well, any hurt your mother felt from not being told sooner overpowered by her happiness for you and sasha, and your father also approved.

despite the few uncertain glances, you were greeted with a smile by some of the wags you had become close with. you mostly kept to yourself, not taking part in a lot of the wag activities, which you sometimes regretted but mostly didn’t mind. you heard a few hushed whispers, overhearing your last name mentioned in confusion as ellie, tkachuks girlfriend coming over to give you a hug.

“hey,” she smiled as your arms wrapped around her in response. she was your closest friend amongst them, as sasha and matthew were such good friends.

“hey, oh my god,” you exclaimed, laughing in excitement as she squeezed you tightly. “they did it!” you finally said, and while you knew your family wanted a different outcome, right now your heart was here; in florida.

“they did it!” she repeated as a few of the other girls joined in the hug. “are you coming out there with us?” she asked, and you took a deep breath.

“yeah, i am.”

you and sasha had discussed this already, and he assured you that he wanted you out there with him if they won the cup.

“i want to share this moment with you,” he had said when the subject came up one day. “you are the most important to me, and if people find out then that is when they find out.”

“there’s no going back after that, once people know-“ you worried he might regret giving up the privacy you’d worked so hard to keep for the near 2 years of your relationship.

“i don’t care if they know. what we have is still special and you should be there for such a special moment.”

you and the other family members got the signal that you could come out into the ice, and your heart hammered against your ribcage as the anxiety crept up on you. the roar of the crowd was defeaning, cheering and applause echoing off every surface of the arena, and for a moment you thought you were going to pass out.

but it all melted away the moment you saw aleksander, a grin stretched wide across his face as his eyes landed on you.

the captain skated over to you, his tall frame exaggerated by his skates as he towered over you and offered his hands to steady you on the ice, which was still slippery in heels despite the carpet that had been rolled out on top.

his eyes sparkled with the brightness of all the stars as he embraced you, and you couldn’t hold back the tears as your arms wrapped around him.

“you did it,” was all you could say, though you didn’t know if he could hear you over the sound of everyone around you celebrating. “i’m so proud of you!” you said next to his ear, and his arms tightened around you.

“sasha, come get a photo,” someone called, and he led you hand in hand to stand in front of a backdrop for photos with the cup.

“come on,” sasha tilted his head, gesturing for you to help him hold up the cup, and you did, though he held most of the weight of the trophy.

your eyes found your parents in the crowd, and you couldn’t help but realize they were watching the wrong child hoist the cup, and you dreaded how much that would hurt your brother.

you heard some of the panthers cheering and your gaze found them looking onward at their captain, and smiling as they saw you by his side.

“kiss her!” chucky yelled, earning a laugh from some of the guys and even a shy chuckle from aleksander.

the two of you handed the cup back, and his hands turned your chin towards him, and you looked up at his beautiful smiling face.

“well, kiss her,” you teased, and he blushed a shade of light pink, but leaned down and connected his lips to yours.

on any other day, this would be big news. but somehow you felt like this wouldn’t be the biggest panthers headline in the papers tomorrow.

disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned

[senditcolton]

We Could Be the Only Ones Here

Whispering jokes/loving words/dirty talk in a lecture/school/church/meeting/event. Trying not to react in fear of disturbing everyone else who’s trying to pay attention.

part of my Valentines Day prompts requested by @thewintersoldierdisaster | word count: 0.5k | warnings: none!

After a long and grueling season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, you were ready to relax celebrate everything that your boyfriend William did achieve this year. One of which was being nominated for an NHL Award.

William was in the running to receive the Lady Byng trophy and while maybe not the most prestigious award, you were proud of him for being recognized so much this year. First with the All-Star game and now this. It also didn’t hurt that if William won, you would be dating the most gentlemanly player in the league.

The summer sun beats down on you as the two of you walk the red carpet, cameras flashing and fans calling out his name. You happily watch him sign his name onto dozens of jerseys and posters and Leafs memorabilia. Slowly, you two make your way into the main auditorium, finding your seats before the lights go down. You applaud each winner that is announced and politely laugh at the jokes told.

Although, for you, it’s take a tremendous amount of effort to pretend to be amused by the scripted quips because – like most of the NHL’s media – the jokes just weren’t landing. They were dry, stiff, and a little too forced.

“They really need to stop media training you all so well,” you whisper into William’s ear. “Everyone sounds like they’d rather be experiencing a root canal instead of doing this.”

You smile when you feel William’s body shake with laughter; laughter he tries to hold in as to not disrupt the broadcast or the people sitting next to you. His reaction just eggs you on though as you continue.

“Maybe we should get you up there instead of McDavid, who in my opinion has the personality of a wooden plank.”

The dig makes more giggles erupt from William, a few of them escaping from behind the hand clasped over his mouth. The sound of his laughter makes your heart warm, the happiness in it always bringing a smile to your face. It was one of the things you loved about him; his penchant for joy and his love of all the small moments that brought happiness.

“We should get you up there, out of the suit and with a cocktail in your hand. Then maybe you can grab the microphone and admit to everyone in the audience that you’ve sent nudes. Wait. You’ve already done that,” you tease, referencing the talk show he did in Sweden earlier this year.

That joke seems to be the breaking point for William, his laughter falling from his mouth freely as he throws his head back. You laugh with him, leaning into his side. You can’t help but notice the glances thrown in your direction, your combined laughter deemed distracting.

You didn’t care though. Hearing William laugh, seeing him so happy after the demanding and disappointing season… you wanted to make sure he always felt like this. You wanted to keep him in this perfect little bubble of joy, even if only for a little while longer. It showed that he loved you – and you loved him back.

Even if there were a hundred people in the room with you, it felt like the two of you were completely alone. Because being by each other’s side… that was all you ever needed.

[tradetobest]

dee's january 2024 fic recs

ok so. i thought i'd do a fic rec list every month this year of just my favourite fics that got bookmarked in the month (not necessarily written in the past month) that had just passed... i was a bit busy for the past few days but FINALLY i got the chance to sit down so!!

(if you want to play fic roulette here's some blind links otherwise!! enjoy under the cut

1 2 3 4 5 6)

3:30 by sevenfists

pairing: sidney crosby/evgeni malkin rating: E words: 11k summary: Napping with Sid would be inconvenient, embarrassing, and more than a little gay, and maybe Zhenya was a little gay, but he didn’t need to advertise it.

i LOVE "oh this thing we do together has become a routine now we Have to do it before games" fics and you should too!! this one is So cute i love it....

waiting for confessions of love by catchingpapermoons

pairing: jamie drysdale/trevor zegras/mason mctavish rating: M words: 41k summary: “I’ll be so real with you, man,” Trevor says, pulling back. “I had no fucking idea you liked dudes.”

one thing about me is that i am an absolute sucker for miscommunication and will love it at all costs and this fic DELIVERS!!!! and so well!!

high into the blue by idday

pairing: jack eichel/connor mcdavid rating: T words: 10k summary: Lieutenant John Eichel of the United States Navy – Boston to his squadron and Jack to the people who matter – is reckless and cocky and too smug for his own damn good. But even Connor has to admit that the boy can goddamn fly. (Captain Connor McDavid, Royal Canadian Air Force, is by the book in the worst way, conservative and careful and liable to get himself killed out there. Jack shouldn’t be impressed by him. He really shouldn’t.)

when i tell you i SCREAMED when i got the notif for this fic and then immediately went and watched top gun.,.... if you know me you know anything idday puts out i literally eat up like mceichel is the only thing that will ever sustain me ever again and this was NO exception,,,, always a pleasure to be able to experience an idday fic is what i say

play your heart out by ribena

pairing: leon draisaitl/connor mcdavid rating: M words: 4k summary: Connor loses his heart. Leon finds it for the both of them.

oughh./.. ouhhh.... what even to say.... clutches my heart (lol)...... beautiful..... i literally screamed cried went through it..... please read like literally begs you

nobody wins afraid of losing by adelphenium

pairing: tyler bertuzzi/dylan larkin rating: E words: 12k summary: It’s been almost a year since the first trade. It’s been just a few weeks since they last saw each other, facing off on the ice here in Toronto. In all the months since the Boston run, Tyler’s done nothing but read Dylan’s texts from the notifications bar like a sad and filthy sack of shit, too weak not to feel a thrill whenever a Saw that goal, what a beauty berts or a Hope you’re sleeping ok came through. Or: Tyler and Dylan during the 2024 bye week.

"hey you bookmarked this one on december 31st" IM PUTTING IT IN JANUARY!!!!! PLEASE READ THIS FIC!!!!! not only did jamie adelphenium write it but its just. it has shaped the way i view tyler bertuzzi and sparked a love for mr hockey butt himself..... what a good fic yall please read

reserve your ardors by wrightsworth

pairing: jamie benn/tyler seguin rating: E words: 9k summary: Jamie was in over his head. He had been out of his depth for months if he was being honest, ever since he picked Seggy up from the airport that first time in the humid Dallas air and his Omega genes decided to make themselves known, and loudly.

it wouldnt be me without some good old bennguin and RAHH pining and omegaverse and unrequited-requited and miscommunication like what else could you want in a fic its so good

[bropunzeling]

Trick or Treat! Any mattdrai plot bunny/WIP you're batting around (new work or sequel), whatever you'd like to share!

(On the off-chance outsider POV Quinn is involved in one of these ideas, I will put in a plug for this. There's a reason he's so long-suffering, he's had to bear witness to so much.)

alright anon i went through the old g drive to look at one of my plot bunny dump docs and here is a bit from an arranged marriage space opera type fic that would involve a LOT of worldbuilding but i think could be really fun if i can commit!

After an hour of dueling practice, Leon’s so tired and sore he can barely think. He ends the last bout flat on his back, Connor’s dull practice sword tapping his collarbone. They’re a good doubles team, but Connor is unmatched alone.

“We’re done,” Connor says, face red as he pants. “You’ll look like shit for the ceremony if we keep going.”

“I never look like shit,” Leon retorts, taking the hand Connor offers him to get up on his feet. “According to the ‘net, I’m always handsome.”

“And humble,” Connor says, rolling his eyes. “Don’t forget that.”

Leon wipes the sweat off his face with a sleeve as they walk to the lift. The McDavid’s house in the capital is smaller than their family seat on [planet], but still takes up several stories and most of a city block, filled with all the amenities that the family, their guests, and their servants and soldiers could want or need. “Consequence is everything,” as Connor’s father would say. 

On the seventh floor, both Leon and Connor disembark. Before he goes down the hall to his rooms, Connor claps a hand on his shoulder. “See you soon,” he says.

Leon nods, tasting bile in his mouth. 

It is Leon’s understanding that there was more than a little negotiation over what was appropriate for him to wear. The McDavid colors of navy and gold were not an option. Neither were the reds of the House he’ll marry into. In the end, the decision was for neutral colors. Whites and grays; silver for the embroidery. A fresh start, symbolically speaking.

Once he’s dressed, he surveys himself in the mirror. Pants tucked into tall boots, a clean white undershirt. A long formal coat in gray silk, silver clasps fastened up to his throat.

He looks like a ghost.

For a moment, he wishes, with the kind of longing he hasn’t felt since he first left [Planet]’s atmosphere, that he could see his parents, or his sister. Kim had sent a message when news of the betrothal contract broke on the ‘net, when Leon had been taking out his frustration on as many targets as he could manage in the training rooms. We can’t come on such short notice, she’d said, bouncing the niece he’d never met on her knee in the holo. But I wish we could. Come home when you can.

Leon hasn’t been home in fifteen years. He's not sure when, if ever, he'll be back.

There’s no point in longing for something he cannot have. He will do what is asked of him, because he has to. He may not like it, but he will not falter.

In the mirror, his reflection swallows. He sets his jaw.

Now he looks angry. Well, that can’t be helped. Leon’s never been good at holding back whatever he’s thinking. Not in interviews, not in matches, not in the rare times he’s out in the field. Might as well be honest with the fucker he’ll be shackled to.

Leon adjusts his coat, fixes his hair. Turns on his heel and out into the hall, where Connor is waiting to escort him downstairs. Follows Connor into the lift and stares straight ahead until the doors open in the garage, where their escort is waiting.

Then, he gets in the craft that will take him from House McDavid to the Hall of Seven Stars, where all such elite marriages are done. Where, in a few hours, he will cease to be Leon Draisaitl, pledge to House McDavid, and become Leon Tkachuk.

[sergeifyodorov]

i could read a million of these character asks <33 would love one for jt of leafs pjs fame and alexander ovechkin

I already knew about ovi from cultural osmosis, so I’m pretty sure I just thought of him as That Big Russian Guy Who Scores All The Goals. you know how it is.

unfortunately, i can remember my first encounter with john tavares in much more clarity. Picture this. 2021. NHL playoffs. I’m tuning in casually to watch a hockey game, plenty of which I’ve seen before but none of which i have consciously paid attention to, as I am now about to.

john tavares plays three minutes before --

i turn the television off, not to pick up hockey again until christmas.

IMPRESSION NOW

Ovechkin: DILF OF MY DREAMSSSSSS. kind of walks the line between the erotic and terrifying… he’s big and sexy sure but he’s also 240 pounds of pure freight train muscle and he DOES not get injured. Remember svech Trying It? remember svech trying It and getting knocked out in a couple punches? Ovi doesn’t even look like he’s TRYING, and svech, while being young, is no wimp, but he’s absolutely nothing compared to the absolute brick wall that is ovi. Also his power play technique freaks me out. He literally just stands there and waits for u to send him one timers. and it works

this is the shot density map for washington’s power play this year. Can you tell where ovi stands

yeah. 

anyway i also think besides his big scarysexydilfy power he also has this sort of genre-aware whimsy that makes him just absolutely fascinating. it kind of reminds me of chucky in a way and it absolutely makes sense charisma-wise that ovi was The Cool One and sid (mcdavid in our tkachuk analogy) was obviously better albeit less popular for the casual fan, who likes the shiny sparky one and perhaps does not have a finer eye for the true step-above skill that davo and sid have.

Tavares: from one dilf to another… anon u have chosen well. jt like ovi is a virgo, a captain, a werewolf, a first overall pick, and a dilf, but the similarities end there i think… jt is a lot quieter and his sense of authority over his team feels a lot more “democratically chosen figurehead” than ovi’s natural alpha pheromones or whatever. As a player i think he’s really quite underrated -- his footspeed has obviously slipped away from him as he ages, but he’s never been fast or agile and has kind of always been a lot more reliant on his intellect and upper-body dexterity than his skating. I think he’s got this steady internal peace that really comes off to a lot of us as Boring Man (and that’s not entirely false per se) but more importantly that he has this willful internal compass that few hockeys have. that he chose to leave the islanders like that is not something that can be overstated i think; he was offered more by the isles and the sharks and i believe at least one other place, too, but he picked. He CHOSE. Most hockeys who have that kind of first-overall captaincy expectation/franchise saviour mantle on their head like he did for the Island are trapped; he was not. AND HE’S SEXY

FAV MOMENT

Ovechkin: the out-knocking of andrei svechnikov is not my fav moment but it’s certainly iconique… ovi is old and has several Moments so im gonna list a few:

the goal from his back, without which we may not have auston matthews in his current capacity

Any of the million anecdotes where he shows up in denim shorts so tiny everyone tells him to go home and change

sidovi duelling hattricks night

Really any time he cellies by just jumping on TOP of his teammates, presumably all of which are smaller and significantly more fragile than him

hahaha ice tweet

partying in the vegas fountains with the cup

Tavares: instead of providing you with several small moments i will instead provide you with The Big One: CURSEBREAKING GOAL. nuff said. to many more.

IDEA FOR STORY

Ovechkin: his age as a vet and his nebulous genre awareness make him really an ideal man for something weird. real “talking about the nature of the metaphysics that hold hockey together” type fic. also because he is such a mother hen of all the caps he deserves to take a few of them on a road trip to solve some problems… maybe we can get some baby cap who is having a Moment when confronted with A Dilf. dylan strome seems like he would take any opportunity to ~service~ his amazingly talented generational captain and of course his winger.

Tavares: say it with me: JT/ROR werewolf/vampire au (jt is the werewolf)

UNPOPULAR OPINION

Ovechkin: if the nhl weren’t cowards they wouldve marketed him as a sex symbol in the late aughts

Tavares: if the nhl weren’t cowards they would’ve marketed him as a sex symbol in the early 2010s

FAV RELATIONSHIP

Ovechkin: i actually was never an nhl fan during nicke backstrom’s time so as much as i appreciate a good Duo marriage type deal im not like. Familiar enough with Nicke for any of it. so i suppose i have to come out of the little glass closet im in as a SIDOVI WARRIOR

Tavares: now he is not nearly as slutty as ovi so we mostly have to appreciate him looking like That without shipping. although he did confess to quote liking “bossing [Willy] around a little bit” so. there’s that. also through my campaign to make the bolts more popular (so i can enjoy more narrative while getting colour confused on our yearly playoff matchup) i should remind you all that he and stamkos are CHILDHOOD FRIENDS and both wear 91 because of the other. think on that

FAV HEADCANON

Ovechkin: we’re getting into magical realism fic au type deals but he is one of the nhlers who inherently Has Powers. look some nhlers just Have Powers and he is one of em. no sidney crosby does not he is just autistic and a hockey freak. no auston matthews does not he is just a virgo and gay. quinnifer and mcdavid definitely do and machuk definitely does not. back to ovi he’s got some weird seeing beyond the veil shit goin on

Tavares: now we know he likes celine dion so i think really he’s got tastes in music that are a lot more reminiscent of your standard suburban fifty-something white milf than what he is, which is a thirty-something toronto dad. we ARE listening to shania twain together and you have to deal with that

[swissboyhisch]

How Karate Shaped Me Into Who I Am Today (Connor McDavid x Reader Blog Post)

Karate; A martial art that works around the concept of taking down your opponent with one strike. It was the sport I took up when I was only six after my father had taken me to his friend's dojo to have a look. It was thanks to my father I started the journey to where I am today, a four-time world champion in both of my events with my eyes set on Tokoyo 2020.

When I was 6, I was a quiet girl who kept to myself and my two friends, Connor and (Y/b/f/n). I had few friends and struggled to make more at school. That was until about six months after I had enrolled in karate. Karate boosted my confidence in myself and helped me make many friends. Essentially, they became more like another family to me. Similar to how Connor considers the Oilers as his family. 

It wasn't until I started competing that I truly began to understand why I was so in love with the sport. The sense of family within the team really escalates once you begin to compete. But what I fell in love with was the fast pace of the day or weekend. From the early starts to make sure you're there for the bow in, to the grueling kumite fights. Depending on which events I am in, affects how my day will be.  I could start my day with some judging or coaching; other days, my event may be first on the mat. I could spend the whole day judging (minus my events).

With each competition, I became more confident in myself and my abilities. I started to open up more to other people. Because of this, I had made friends with other karatekas from other provinces and countries. With each new friend, I was becoming more outspoken and extroverted. 

It wasn't until I was 12 and represented Canada for the first time that most people realised how much I had grown. I went around between my events and talked to everyone on my team. Once I had spoken to everyone, I moved on to other national teams. Starting with the USA, of course, I often moved onto the Australian and New Zealand teams next. Some of these people I still keep in contact with to this very day.

These are my friends from the French national team that I made a few years ago when I was 15. This photo was taken last year at the world championships. I love seeing all my friends from different countries. It's like a competition between the competitors to take photos with as many teams as you can. 

Honestly, without karate, I don't know what I'd be doing. I train every day, dedicating my life to becoming the best athlete I can (like many other professionals). I'm so excited for the next coming years, especially with the Olympics which includes karate for the first time. I have been waiting for years for this, and I'm excited about the outcome.

TAG LIST:

@penny4yourthoughts @mp0625 @hischierhaze

@dinonuggetsthings @francesfarhadi

[pvtchurch]

auston matthews and ginger from chicken run (connor mcdavid) for the ask meme ?

auston matthews

first impression: so, this one's kinda specific, but my first impression of him came from a fanart I saw on here. so really I didn't know much (this was before my hockey era) except, oh, the people here are really into shipping him with some other hockey guy. okay. not like I formed a lasting impression off that, but I did think his outfit was really cool, so you know, there's that. he's the first hockey guy to breach containment for me, I was not really interested at the time (this was not even a year ago 😭) but it's kinda special in that way

impression now: in general, seems like a chill guy. you know I try to perceive the leafs as little as possible but I respect him. also, cool outfits. he slays. good for him. however I DID read a fanfic which I'm pretty sure changed my brain chemistry and which starred him as the protagonist! doesn't change the way I see him, he just exists, doing his thing, except now I'm more aware of the leafs narratives. (thanks cody!)

I can't really answer any of the rest of the questions because like. I really don't know this guy. sorry reuben. you (leafs fans) can keep him. I don't wanna get dragged into another rabbit hole.

connor mcdavid

(aka, ginger from chicken run.) the fun begins.

first impression: generally thought he was kind of bland? I was like. that's just a dude. like he's good at hockey, which is fun, but he seems to have the amount of personality (and structural integrity!) of a piece of wet cardboard. so I elected to ignore him. I didn't know what was to come.

impression now: hoooooooly shit. this man occupies every single one of my thoughts and I don't even remember how it happened. genuinely. something clicked in my brain and suddenly I was obsessed with him. ofc there's something to be said about like, this anxious teen with the weight of the world on his shoulders who grew quite awkwardly into his adult frame, but like, people have already said these things. there's the insane hockey plays, of course he's amazing and all that, but idk, maybe it's the anxiety that touched me? he's so anxious and he's still going and you can tell he worked on it, it's not perfect but it's better than before? like the growth? I don't know. I kinda love him. he's quiet. a little pathetic-looking. I got no explanation for this one

favourite moment: I listened to a podcast and he was saying that he always has to remind leon of just how good he is, and he's taken it upon himself to make leon see it, and you can tell he really does care about it (beyond just the game). and it's a small moment but I'm a big fan of bros supporting bros. keep it up king 👑💪

idea for a story: so I was sorta maybe not quite writing something... which may or may not involve hanahaki disease and mcdrai. and it mostly deals in guilt (that's the good stuff) but it's actually kind of leon draisaitl centric, because he's the one with the disease and he's the one struggling to see that he is loved and he is cared for and he feels guilty for dumping this on connor and it's mostly platonic but also kind of not and well. I have like my own version of hanahaki which I did tell one (1) beloved mutual about but the document has been untouched for exactly a week now and my brain has moved onto other things, so. (if you feel like reading some hanahaki may I recommend this one, it's mceichel, I enjoyed it a lot)

favourite relationship: my most beloved mental illness. mcdrai. (which I found really flavourless like a few weeks back. character growth!) there's something to be said about the our stories are linked and our names are tied together aspect of it, and how they've found each other, and leon would find me even if I was invisible and all that. something about connor always hyping up leon to the media, because he sees so much in him, and he's waiting for other people to see it too, but in the end they never will because connor is right there and connor is the best player in the league and it's always about connor. he'll always overshadow leon by being there. connor can try, he can try to be selfless (and how can you not be when you are this good, haven't you internalised by now that it's no fun if you take the whole stage for yourself?) and maybe he would like a break from the constant attention but he won't get it. something else; they are the centre of the whole oilers team. like, and I'm not an oilers fan but I think I can say this, the team would absolutely collapse without them. no question about it. maybe they would be fine with just one or just the other but they would definitely be missing their other half. (and I could talk about how they are BOTH anxious and they are maybe each other's support, but that's for another day because I don't think people have noticed how anxious leon actually is yet.) …you could say I've had a normal amount of thoughts about these two.

favourite headcanon: I'm electing not to answer this one because as you can see from my mcdrai paragraph there are a lot of things I have extrapolated from bits of interviews, body language and the like, also maybe a bit of projecting in there. let's be honest that I'm pretending to know a man that I don't. I'm not even an oilers fan. this is all headcanon.

if anyone actually read this far. hope you had fun. sorry.

[phoebe-ofthe-cosmos]

sports thoughts

very complicated feelings about what the bruins need to do. easiest course of action is to fire monty, which I don't think he entirely deserves. I think there are definite issues with the coaching of this team—lack of shot opportunities and shortcomings on the power play (looking at you, mcavoy) have been issues since at least last season and it's frustrating that they haven't been able to fix that! even just keeping together a clearly dysfunctional pp1 unit for as long as they have is bad coaching. sloppy penalties and passing can also be on the coaching, depending on your perspective.

at the same time, the roster is just lacking. too many inexperienced young guys and bottom 9ers being asked to play above their ability level. complete lack of speed, which they need if they want to truly compete with the best teams in the league (florida especially). that's on sweeney and some big changes need to happen!

the problems the team is dealing with now have been there for a while though, none of this is new if you've been paying attention. it's just that up until this point, they've been able to overperform. monty inherited a great team in his first year, last year a few guys managed to play what will likely be their best ever seasons... the way I see it, they've finally hit their ceiling. this is who this team has been, it's who we thought they would be last year. all the shortcomings are finally catching up to them.

I believe it can be fixed in the short term. how short? maybe not this year, given the roster we have. but a full rebuild would be an overreaction.

what's the fix? that's where I get stuck. like I said, I think monty gets canned sooner or later, but who replaces him? would a new coach really be able to turn it around? the oilers did it last year, but the bruins don't have mcdavid and draistl. I just don't know if this roster is capable of more under another coach! plus the players seem to really like monty. if he goes, what does it do to morale? which leads me to wanting sweeney (and even neely) to go, get someone else to build the roster. but charlie jacobs loves them, and neely has his reputation as a bruins legend to give him extra armor. I'd really be shocked if the change that's made is in the front office.

I think what's most frustrating to me is that the problems seem obvious? front office was talking all off season (especially after playoff elimination) about needing to add speed and offense and then just... didn't do that. did the opposite of that, really. why??? what was the plan? but this is the roster they have to work with now, so we work with it. and now here we are. and it seems like fans, journos, players, and coaches can all pinpoint what isn't working. so why can't they fix it?? is it roster skill, is it coaching? I think it must be a bit of both, which is why it's taking so long to figure it out. again, I think they can fix this. I want to believe they can fix this! but how? I'm at a loss. my thoughts just keep going in this circle and I keep waiting for some shoe to drop and some change to come, because then it gives us a direction to go in. for better or worse.

I type all this up during the third period after an atrocious first 40 minutes and of course the bruins get a come back win. they are so, SO good at making you believe! 'maybe THIS is the turning point'! a small voice in my brain is screaming, but I know enough that I can nearly guarantee that they'll lose the next one!

[st-louis]

if you’re interested, i’ve jotted down a few notes (a lot, because it was a good interview) from dale weise’s interview with jake evans. i also had to include the actual episode title because i would like to remind everyone that jake evans is twenty-five.

it was great to come home; it had been a long year, and it was hard because he hadn’t been able to see his family or friends during the covid season.

it’s such a quick turnaround this year though, because there’s only two months until the season, he came home and basically started training again.

the condensed schedule was tough and they were flying pretty far and changing time zones often, which was also hard. he feels the team handled it well and didn’t complain. they “battled through it.”

you wanted to be safe, there were so many rules, they were just staying in their place and couldn’t hang out with the team, that was one of the toughest mental grinds. every day was rink and home, couldn’t really go to the grocery store. he lived with his girlfriend and basically the only thing they could do was go on walks. that was “the most fun thing” they were allowed to do.

he did like being on the road and being able to talk to the guys at the hotels and stuff.

he only played 13 nhl games last season, and this year was a weird year, he’s looking forward to the normal experience.

he was so excited to go to vegas and then realized he wasn’t even allowed to walk to the rink, they had to take the team bus and he was staring longingly out the window. the hotel was nice though.

he grew up in toronto minor hockey, and it’s insane--he played against mcdavid and other really, really good players. he used to go to visit his cousins who played at cornell and he loved that atmosphere. he always wanted to go to college, but it was hard, because a lot of his friends were getting drafted in major junior and you get more fame that way, but for him, he always wanted to go to college.

he did four years at notre dame and was the captain of the team. it was unbelievable playing there and the best choice of his life, enjoying the school part of it, and the football games. the hockey program is amazing, the rink is equivalent to an nhl rink and the players are treated very well. great atmosphere and very fun place to play. most fun four years of his life.

his dad had took him on a college tour recruiting trip after he’d gone on this big minor tournament. jake absolutely didn’t want to go, because he was tired and didn’t want to get dragged around the midwest, but then he got to the notre dame rink and immediately decided that he needed to go there.

it was a weird experience for him at draft day, he thought he would go a little higher, and he was refreshing the nhl.com draft page and waiting to see if he’d get picked... finally he decided not to look anymore at the seventh round, and went outside for a walk. he was so stressed out and upset and hated that day. later on he got a call from his mom that montreal had picked him.

it was unbelievable getting picked by montreal and he was so excited, but he thought: screw it, let me prove people wrong, and i want the ones who passed on me to regret it.

he was very scrawny when he was drafted and he knew he’d be at notre dame for a while, so for him, it was just working to improve every year slowly and make the jump.

he had interviewed with six teams and thought maybe they could pick him; he thought every interview went okay, but he was surprised he dropped so far. montreal was one of the teams he’d talked to.

it’s nice to get picked but like, as long as you put in the work and prove yourself you can go anywhere. it was hard to tell himself that during the draft though. he kept telling himself as he wasn’t getting picked, “maybe it’s better if you don’t get picked, you’ll have more options...” and then when it happened he was so fired up.

he was a leafs fan growing up and so was his whole family, a few of his family friends growing up were huge habs fans and he was always on the toronto side of the chirps, and then when he got selected all of them were chirping him and it was “an easy transition to be honest with you”

he had a lot of messages from family after the first round, one uncle who kept sending him stuff like “maybe next time buddy” every time the leafs would win. “i had to send him a nice picture when we beat the leafs in seven.”

he went to development camps, and he went to six of them. he was the most experienced guy by the end of it. he felt like a camp counselor because he knew everything that was going on.

in development camp towards the end he thought he was one of the best ones, and then he got to laval and he was like OH my god... this is harder than i thought.

the hardest part isn’t just the hockey, but all the life transitions that come with it. he was living on his own in college and had to figure out food, but the scheduling with laval was tough; in college it was 45 games max, playing twice a weekend, you know your schedule. in the ahl you’re in utica for six days, then bust to springfield the next night and you’re playing. he had to figure that out quick. have to find a way to play and make an impact even when you don’t have your legs.

the guy who took him under his wing: in laval it was alex grenier and alex belzile, the older guys who reached out and helped you out. once he got called up, he was just trying to watch everyone and just starstruck: “this is so cool and so amazing.” 

but phil danault was a guy he wants to play like, and gally who’s been with the organization so long and such a good guy to hang around and follow.

he didn’t play wing for like five years until he got put there in laval. he doesn’t mind playing it but you can’t get as much speed in your game because you have to fight on the wall. he doesn’t care what position he’s playing though, he just wants to play and help the team.

his whole hockey career, every year you figure things out a little more and get more comfortable, and just a little better. you start to learn whatever league you’re in; it was the same at laval. his first two games he only played like four minutes, and he didn’t feel good. he’d tell his parents he thought he might be in the echl soon because he was worried.

but he got some opportunities and things started to click. the beginning of the second year was tough because he couldn’t get bounces, didn’t score for 20 games, got scratched and unscratched...

he still remembers plays that he made in the first few games of the second season that weren’t good, when he did start playing well he still wasn’t getting bounces.

joel tried to encourage him because he’d been playing well and not to worry about points, but he just hit a wall and his confidence had gone down.

he got benched on a friday and joel bouchard told him he wasn’t even mad he just knew that jake’s confidence was down and he needed a reset. jake was like “honestly maybe i need that. i sucked.” and then he goes bag skate in the morning, his parents were in town, he told him not to watch because he wasn’t playing, it’s 50 minutes into the skate and he can’t breathe, and he has to play this afternoon in an HOUR.

he was on the fourth line and he wasn’t playing much because he was so tired. but in the last period the boys wanted him out on the ice, and he just put a backhander on the net and it went in.

he was just able to enjoy hockey again because he knew no one was expecting him to play well because he’d done six mountains an hour before. and he went on a tear after that.

the day he got called up he was sleeping and joel bouchard tried to call him repeatedly and he wasn’t picking up, so bouchard had to call his roommate josh brooks and be like “GET HIM UP”

it was a flu bug that he got called up and then got to play with kovalchuk and domi as linemates.

everyone was great: guys would come up to him to chat to him and make him feel welcome. he was sitting beside gally, who was explaining stuff to him.

this year gally has been unbelievable, he is a great leader, and great to be around.

the bubble was actually great for him, he was starting to get into a groove before the season got shut down, but once he got back into the lineup, his confidence was really growing, and wanted to keep it going from there. in training camp he wanted to lock down a spot.

his whole hockey career is he starts on the fourth line and can hopefully gain coaches trust and his own confidence and move up from there, and earn more ice time and opportunities. that was his mindset this year too.

he thought from the start of the year that the habs were such a good team: depth, goaltending, great d, four lines that could run. he just had the feeling that they were good. with the scheduling, it was a tough season and mental grind. but once they got into the playoffs they just knew they could make a run. the leafs series was a tough one, but they never lost the faith and belief that they were going to keep going.

this team was so close. there’s not one guy you wouldn’t want to go hang out with.

the fact that they were the underdogs helped them: they just kept playing their game and having fun with the guys and playing well.

they weren’t talking about shea weber’s four minute penalty in the tampa game in the dressing room... jake was thinking to himself this is not how we are going out. it was such a fluke penalty, and to see it happen to weber, a guy who gives everything to the team, such an unbelievable guy. they didn’t talk about it, but they were all thinking that they had to kill it off. shea weber didn’t even show it. he was just locked in and knew they would kill it off for him. they were all going to do anything to kill it off.

shea weber is the best guy: easy to talk to and personable and easy to be friends with, laid back but once the game starts he’s dialed in and serious, so competitive and such a hard worker. the best captain jake’s ever had. during the playoffs he was so banged up but just kept playing, such a warrior. just an unbelievable guy. he makes everyone a better person and a better player.

you don’t need to be the best player on the ice if you’re the captain, you just need to have an impact on everyone else. and shea weber does that every day (thought this was notable given that jake was the captain at notre dame and has experience in that realm too)

he just wants to work on getting better next year, even without phil. but he loves the defensive opportunities against top lines, it’s “such a fun challenge” to go against the matthews line or the point and kucherov line. but for him it’s a day by day working at getting better and earning it.

he’s skating with pros right now, not trying to make fancy plays but just work at practicing things he’d actually do in the nhl.

he has a business degree from notre dame and he gets asked a lot what he’d like to do with it, and he doesn’t know what he’d do, honestly. it’s nice to have it in the back pocket, but he went to school to play hockey and doesn’t really know what he plans to do with it. he doesn’t think it’s helpful to think about life after hockey or backup plans.

“the oldest center on the team... 25” ... it’s very weird for him. he might be the oldest but kk and suzy have played three years and those guys are pros.

suzy is already like an experienced veteran, the way he plays and acts around the rink. he just gets it. “i don’t look at age very much, i look at the way they act around the rink” and suzuki is “the guy, the top dog for me, he just does well with everything, handles all this adversity, and if we’re not doing well he just handles all of the criticism well too.”

this year they weren’t able to really hang out with guys, but he and his gf live in the same building as tyler toffoli and his wife, so they got close. the four of them would go on walks together, or jake’s gf and toff’s wife would walk together and hang out. 

toff is a great guy and a great guy to look up to, he’s won cups and been around a long time, and still a great player. it was good to have a guy with that much experience right there, so if he wanted to go chat with him, he could just see him and go for a walk.

the prankster or class clown on the team is gally or lehky, those guys are hilarious together. they are inseparable and hilarious and like to screw around quite a bit. jake will jump in a little bit but you don’t want to start a war with gally because he will prank you back 10x harder.

he got trash in his car like ten times a week from those guys.

[natbarzal]

Connor McDavid - Until we’re gray and old

this was requested on my Wattpad and I think this fic turned out quite well so I thought I'd post it here too😊it's a little inspired by the songs 'Say you won't let go' by James Arthur and 'Love someone' by Lukas Graham

just wanna say, I don't know how exactly weddings go, so sorry if something doesn't make sense, and also, I of course know that Edmonton is in Alberta, but since Connor is from Ontario, I thought it they'd get married there :)

warnings: none

word count: 2.2k (my longest one here on Tumblr yay😂)

enjoy! 💜

_________________________________________

Y/n's pov:

I stood in front of the full length mirror, taking deep breaths while staring at the beautiful wedding dress I was wearing. Today was the day I was going to marry the love of my life, and no matter how excited I was to finally become Mrs. McDavid, I was also very nervous. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear the door of the room I was in open and close.

"You look very beautiful sweetie. Like a real princess." I turned around to see my mum admiring the dress with a light smile on her lips.

"Mom, I'm so nervous." I told her, my voice slightly shaky. She looked into my eyes before stepping closer to me and taking my hands into hers.

"That's completely normal, my dear. You should see how nervous I was before I married your father - I wasn't very far from running away." she said, laughing at the memory. I laughed too, feeling just a little more relaxed.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked, looking at her curiously.

"I remembered how much I love your father and that there's absolutely no one in the world that I'd rather spend the rest of my life with. Are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with Connor?" she asked, looking at me with soft eyes and squeezing my hands.

"Yes." I answered without hesitating for a second. "Yes, I am sure. But that's not what I'm nervous about.. what if- what if I fall while walking down the aisle? Or- or I mess up my vow or I drop the ring while slipping it on Connor's hand? Mom what if-" I rambled anxiously, becoming more and more nervous again but my mum cut me off.

"Alright, no more 'what if's, okay? Everything is going to go well." she said and I nodded, closing my eyes and taking another deep breath. That was when we heard light knocks on the door.

"Yes?" my mom called as we both turned to look at the door.

"It's me. Can I come in?" said my dad from the other side of the door.

"Yeah dad, go ahead."

He opened the door and his jaw dropped the moment he saw me. He closed the door behind himself and just looked at me for a moment, being at a loss of words. I let go of my mum's hands and twirled around before stopping and looking at dad.

"So how do I look?" I asked, a nervous smile present on my lips. He looked up from my dress and into my eyes and I saw that his were already filling with tears.

"Beautiful, my darling." he whispered, coming closer. "I can't believe my little princess is getting married. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday and now? Where did the time go?" he asked and quickly wiped the tears that slipped out of his eyes.

"Please don't cry dad, or I will cry too." I said.

"Give me one last hug as a Y/l/n?" he asked and opened his arms for me. I smiled before stepping closer to him and wrapping my arms around his neck, his wrapping around my waist. We hugged tightly for a few moments before I pulled away and looked at mom whose eyes were a little watery now as well. I motioned for her to join us and she did. We all hugged for a little while longer before there was another knock on the door.

"Yes?" I called after pulling away from my parents and straightening out the dress. The door opened and my best friend and maid of honour, Celeste, poked her head into the room.

"Are you ready?" she asked me. I looked over at my parents once again before looking back at her and nodding my head yes.

"I'm ready." I said confidently. My mum came over to me and kissed my cheek, smiling at me before exiting the room. Celeste looked at me and gave me excited thumbs up before turning around and walking out as well. I reached up and pulled my veil over my face. My dad came closer to me and offered me his arm to take, which I did and we walked out of the room together just as 'All of Me' started to play.

Leon and Celeste were the first to walk down the aisle, then my mom, then my little cousins as flower girls and then finally my dad and I.

As we were walking, I smiled at some of the people we passed. It was a small wedding really, just our closest family and friends, around 50 people in total. We didn't need nor want a big wedding, being able to celebrate it with the ones that are closest to us is the most important.

Before I even noticed, we were at the end of the aisle and my eyes were met with Connor's blue ones for the first time today. Connor came closer and stretched out his hand. My dad went to place my hand into Connor's, but not before saying "Take care of her for me, son."

"I will. I promise." Connor said and my dad finally handed my hand to Connor, going to sit down in his chair. Connor helped me up to the altar and then we took our spots opposite from each other. Connor reached to throw my veil over my head, revealing my face. 'You look beautiful' I saw him mouth and blushed before he took my hands and we turned our attention to the priest.

"Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Y/n Y/l/n and Connor McDavid in marriage. In the years they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife." he said, looking up at the guests.

"Y/n and Connor, remember to treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Take responsibility for making the other feel safe, and give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulty and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at some time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not just the part that seems wrong. In this way, you can survive the times when clouds drift across the face of the sun in your lives, remembering that, just because you may lose sight of it for a moment, does not mean the sun has gone away. And, if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight." he recited. Connor and I were looking at each other the whole time and God bless whoever made waterproof mascara, because I felt my eyes slowly but surely filling with tears. God why do I have to be so emotional. Connor's eyes were a little glassy as well.

"Now it's time for your vows. Connor, you shall start." he said and everyone's looked to Connor. He took a deep breath, indicating he was just as nervous as I was before starting to talk.

"Y/n, I love you so much. When I saw you for the first time in that little café in Edmonton 3 years ago, my exact thoughts were 'Wow, that's the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.' You can ask Leon, I told him about you almost immediately." everyone laughed at that a little and looked at Leon who nodded and chuckled at the memory.

"When I came to your table and asked you if I could sit with you and you smiled at me for the first time, I knew I had to get to know you. Then, when you agreed to go out with me, I was over the moon." he said, smiling big at me. I smiled back and carefully wiped the tear that threatened to slip from the corner of my eye.

"Then we went on our first date, and then on many more dates, and every single one was amazing. By the time you agreed to be my girlfriend, I was already madly in love with you. And with every passing second that we spend together, you make me fall for you more and more.

When you agreed to marry me, I felt like the luckiest guy in the whole world. There are days when I wake up and I pinch myself to assure myself that I'm not dreaming when I see you sleeping beside me.

You're perfect for me. You're everything I could ever want in a girl and more and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, trying to make you as happy as you make me. " he finished, looking at me with so much love. I smiled back at him, a wiping away the few tears that slipped down my cheeks before clearing my throat and starting my own vow.

"I love you too Connor. I remember when I came home after you asked me on that date, I was jumping around in excitement for at least 5 minutes, that's how happy I was." I said and everyone laughed a little again.

"When we started going on dates and everything went so well and then when you asked me to be your girlfriend.. I almost couldn't believe it. I never thought I'd have someone this interested in me.

I honestly thought I would never find 'the one' till I found you. You changed my life so much and I'm so grateful for that. You make me the happiest person in the world. Even on the worst days, the ones where everything goes wrong and I just want to give up, you manage to make me smile and thanks to you, I keep going. With you, every single one of my problems goes away. " I said but it was slowly getting harder to keep talking through the tears that were now flowing from my eyes. I saw a few tears slip down Connor's cheeks as well.

"I'm in love with you, more that I thought it would ever be possible for me to be in love with someone. You're my soulmate, my better half, and I want to stay with you until we're gray and old." I finished and and at this point, I think almost everyone here was crying. I reached my hand up to wipe my cheeks before the priest started speaking again.

"Do you, Connor McDavid, choose Y/n Y/l/n to be your partner in life, to support and respect her in her successes and as well her failures, to care for her in sickness and in health, to nurture her, and to grow with her throughout the seasons of your life together?"

"I do." Connor said, looking at me with absolutely no hesitation present in his voice.

"Do you, Y/n Y/l/n, choose Connor McDavid to be your partner in life, to support and respect him in his successes and as well his failures, to care for him in sickness and in health, to nurture him, and to grow with him throughout the seasons of your life together?"

"I do." I answered, looking straight into those beautiful eyes that I fell in love with 3 years ago.

"Now it's time to exchange your rings." the priest said. One of my little cousins, being the ring bearer, ran up to us with the rings on a tray and held them up for us. Connor took mine first and reached for my left hand.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Let it be a reminder that I am always by your side and that I will always be a faithful partner to you." he said as he slipped the golden ring on my finger. I smiled and took the other ring off the tray, taking his left hand into mine.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness. As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you. I ask you to wear this ring as a reminder of the vows we have spoken today, our wedding day." I said, slipping the ring onto his finger.

"By the power vested in me by the State of Ontario, Canada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." before the he could even finish the sentence, Connor had his arms wrapped around my waist and his lips were on mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him with all I had. Everyone started clapping and cheering, but in that moment, everything Connor and I were able to focus on was each other.

Everything was perfect.

I wanna live with you

Even when we're ghosts

'Cause you were always there for me

When I needed you the most

I'm gonna love you 'till

My lungs give out

I promise 'til death we part

Like in our vows

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

complication, miscommunication - a. beauvillier

Popping in with another Beau fic! I wasn’t sure who to write this one about for the longest time, so it was on the back burner for a while, but I think it works really well with him. Let me know what you think - hop into my inbox, please reblog it if you liked reading! (I also love reading the tags.) I love getting feedback!

word count: 3k+

The offseason was never a good time for anyone who was unsigned, and Anthony Beauvillier was no exception. After a second-round loss to the Hurricanes in the playoffs, he was taking some time off before leaving New York to spend the summer in Montréal. “Maja,” he called, looking over at the couch to where his girlfriend of a year and a half sat curled up on the other side, seemingly engrossed in a book. Anthony chuckled. “Maja,” he said a little louder. She made a noncommittal noise. “Maja Mitsuko Okabe.”

Maja snapped her book shut, looking up at him with panic in her eyes. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?” 

He snorted. “Does something have to be wrong for me to talk to the woman I love?”

“You full-named me,” Maja shrugged, tucking her feet beneath her on the couch cushion. “Doesn’t usually happen.”

Anthony searched his mind, frantically trying to come up with some excuse for interrupting her, but not coming up with anything that would sound very convincing. “I was just wondering...if you had booked your flights yet for the summer.” 

Maja narrowed her eyes; she clearly wasn’t buying it. “Yeah, booked them yesterday. Air Canada nonstop from LaGuardia to Montréal.” She had requested the time off two weeks ago, and would have heard back sooner had it not been for a staffing change in the HR department of the green energy firm where she worked as an electrical engineer. “I’ll try to get a Friday off sometime in August, come up for a long weekend.”

“I’d like that,” he said. Of course I’d like it,” he thought. Why wouldn’t I like it? Why did I even say that? 

“Something’s on your mind, Beau,” Maja said softly. And, like almost every other time she said so, she was right.

“Yeah,” he sighed. There wasn’t really any use trying to keep it from her. “I’m not sure if the team’s going to give me a qualifying offer.”

Maja shifted towards him on the couch, propping her head up on one arm. “And who told you that?” 

“Nobody, really,” Beau said, shrugging. “It’s just a bad feeling I have. My season wasn’t bad, but I still underperformed, and I know Trotz and Lou were looking for me to step up in terms of goals. Playmaking isn’t everything.” Anthony’s voice dropped. “I know I obviously wouldn’t be able to do anything until I know if they’ll extend an offer, but…” He paused. “My agent’s heard some interest from other teams. Guess they just want to throw their hats in the ring if it comes to that.” 

Maja played with the clasp on her bracelet, the same one Anthony had gotten her for their one-year anniversary. “Where?” 

“Winnipeg, Minnesota, I think he might have mentioned something about Edmonton.”

“Oilers, huh?” Maja said carefully. “Playing with McDavid, that could be cool.” 

Beau made a face. “I mean, yeah, it would be, but…” He trailed off. “But that’s in Edmonton. It’s thousands of miles away. I’d hate having to leave the team, I wouldn’t get to play with Mat anymore. And I don’t know where that would leave us.” 

“What do you mean, you don’t know where that would leave us? I’d go with you, I thought you knew that.” Maja stopped playing with her bracelet. She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, like there was never a possibility she would have considered anything else. 

Anthony turned to her. “But you love it here. You love your job, you’re doing important stuff.” 

And that much was true; Maja loved feeling like she was using her knowledge for good, and her coworkers were some of the best she’d ever had. But she loved Tito more. “I am, but I can find a job pretty much anywhere, Beau. It’s important to me that we stay together.” 

“But what if I do go back to Canada?” Anthony said, one hand running through his hair. “Your whole family’s in Boston, I wouldn’t want to take you away from that. And you don’t know anyone there, and I wouldn’t want you to have to move to an entirely new country just for me.” 

“It’s really not all that different, Beau,” Maja said, stiffening. “I’m an engineer. I can get a job anywhere, I might have to get a new license but it’s not that hard. Weather wouldn’t be a shock, I’ve dealt with snow my whole life. And unless you went to Montréal, it’s not even like I’d have a language barrier.” 

“I know,” he said, “but I don’t want you to feel like it’s an obligation for you to pick up your whole life and move just because of me.” 

Maja stood up abruptly, nervously running her hands over her jeans. “It’s starting to sound like you wouldn’t want me to come, Anthony,” she snapped. 

He screwed his eyes shut. She didn’t call him by his whole name unless she was really, really fed up with him. “It’s not that, I just—” 

“You just what?” Maja cut him off. “Because whether or not it’s what you meant by it, Beau, the way you worded it makes me think you’re not serious about this. About us. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am, so I’m going to need you to do some real soul-searching and get back to me about how you really feel, because it sounds like we’re working on a deadline here.” She turned on her heel, grabbed her jacket, and walked out the door. 

---

Anthony didn’t like that they weren’t talking. Granted, it had only been a day and a half, but it was rare that he and Maja went that long without FaceTiming or calling each other, even when he was on a road trip. It just wasn’t something they did. And it also wasn’t like he had to think about his answer, about how serious he was about his relationship with Maja. It was one of the most important things in his life. But, just like the fight that had led him to this moment, pacing around in his kitchen with a rapidly burning piece of toast in the toaster, he was worried. Worried to talk to her, worried he’d seem like he was being pushy if he did, worried he’d seem like he didn’t care if he didn’t. He was tempted to call Mat, or even Jordan, but didn’t want the inevitable tongue-lashing that either was sure to give him. He knew he had to fix it, but he didn’t know how. 

Anthony lay on his bed later that evening, his phone on speaker next to him, playing nervously with his hands. Sometimes, even though he was almost 24, there were things he just couldn’t go to his friends for. Mat was his best friend and he loved him, but he needed someone else for this. He needed his mom. “I know my flight’s supposed to leave in a few days, but Maman...I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to leave things like this.” 

“Then you don’t,” his mom shot back over the phone, her French terse. “I raised you better than this, Anthony. You don’t leave the women you love unsure of where your relationship stands, where the two of you stand. You love her.” She said it more like a statement. 

“More than anything,” he replied morosely. 

“Then you stay, you go over and talk to her. And if that means you’re in New York for a few more days, then so be it. Your dad and I can wait. Québec will still be here when you’re done. What’s more important right now is Maja, and that you fix this.” 

Anthony groaned, his head hitting the pillow. “You’re right.” 

“What was that?” she replied, even though he knew she had heard him just fine. 

“You’re right, Maman. It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t what I meant. I need to fix this.” 

He could see her nodding on the other end of the line. “You do. Go to her.” She had barely hing up the phone before Anthony was frantically tugging on his shoes and stumbling out the door. 

Anthony was outside of her door less than half an hour later; it would have been earlier, but New York traffic didn’t seem to care that it was past 10 PM. He knocked on her door frantically; he could have used his key, but it just didn’t feel right. He heard her pad down the hallway towards the living room. “I’m coming.” She opened the door, her mouth slightly agape when she saw who it was. “I thought you were maintenance. The bathroom faucet’s been leaky.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up. “At,” he checked his watch, “10:12 PM?”

Maja shrugged. “Night shift?” She stepped aside to let him in. “I’m guessing you want to talk.” Maja was intuitive; even more than that, though, she knew Anthony better than anyone. He didn’t like to let conflict sit, knowing it would only get worse with time. She walked over to her couch, gesturing for him to sit, her arms crossed. “So talk.”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said the other day, for making you feel insecure in our relationship and for letting you doubt how committed I am. You didn’t deserve that.”

“Do you get it, though?” Maja questioned. “Do you get why it hurt me so much?”

Anthony did. He knew he did, so why was it so hard to admit it? He settled for a stiff nod.

She sighed. “Because it made me feel like you weren’t as serious about us, our relationship, as I am. I read your cautioning me against moving with you if you ever got traded as you not wanting me to, which made me feel like you just had no interest in building a life with me, in taking the next step. And that’s what hurt so badly, because I knew the second you mentioned it that that’s something I’d do in a heartbeat for you.” Maya looked over his head, her fixing her eyes on a picture of Anthony from his first home game, trying to collect her words. “It seemed like you didn’t see us lasting, nothing long-term that would require those kinds of sacrifices and choices to be made. Almost like I had wasted my time, this past year and a half, on someone who couldn’t care less if I stayed or went.”

Anthony leaned forward, hesitantly reaching for her hands, wrapping his fingers around hers when she didn’t pull back. “I know how my words came out was wrong, and I take full responsibility for that. I shouldn’t have said it like that, but I think I did because I was worried, and didn’t want to assume you’d be willing to do something so drastic as move thousands of miles and potentially to a whole new country just because I asked you.”

“Relationships mean compromise and sacrifice,” Maja said. “And I didn’t think it was fair for me to feel like I was the only one doing either.”

“You weren’t,” Anthony shook his head. “You aren’t.” 

“I never got what you meant about worrying about the distance,” Maja said. She scrunched her nose. “Okay, I take that back like halfway. I got what you were saying about it being hard. It would be, of course it would be. But it’s not like we haven’t done it before. You’re gone a couple times a month during the season, and then most of the summer in Québec apart from when I could get off work for a week or two. And sure, it was rough, but we got through it. So I heard you not wanting me to come with you, and me not seeing a need to stay here, and didn’t see where you saw us going. If you saw us going somewhere. That’s what hurt the most, I think.”

“Moving without ever having lived together just seemed like a big step. I didn’t want to push you into something you weren’t ready for, but I would have hated it just as much if suddenly you were off in a new state or country all alone in an apartment some place where you didn’t know anybody. It wouldn’t have been fair.” 

Anthony had a point, Maja thought, as she moved her thumb back and forth over the back of his hand. “Have you thought about that, though? Things going forward, moving in together, all of that?”

He met her eyes, and now it was his time to stare at her like she had just asked the world’s most obvious question, like there was no possible parallel universe where she didn’t already know the answer. “Absolutely, Maja. I’ve thought about everything.”

“Everything?” she asked, her thumb stopping momentarily. “What’s everything?”

Anthony smiled softly at her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her gently into his side. “Everything means everything. Moving in together. Getting a nice house in Garden City, or wherever we’ve settled by then. The day I finally get to put a ring on your finger,” he said, absentmindedly rubbing the fourth finger on her left hand. “Getting to wake up to your beautiful face every day, and never having to leave. Taking our kids to visit your grandparents in Japan, trying to figure out how to raise them trilingualy.” 

“Really?” Maja laughed, a watery laugh filled with disbelief and hope and unfettered joy somehow bound into a single noise. “You’ve thought about that?”

“Of course I have,” he said simply.

“You said kids, so it’s going to be multiple?” Anthony hummed his agreement. “How many were you thinking?” 

He tilted his head. “I like three. Seems like it’d work well. But that would obviously be up to you,” he chuckled. “Not like I’d be the pregnant one.”

Maja couldn’t remember the last time her heart felt this full. The way he spoke about their future — the house and the wedding and the kids — so easily and freely made Mja nearly positive that it had been something he had been thinking about for a while. “Three sounds good.”

---

5 years, $20 mil, the text read. Anthony didn’t really care that he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, not until they made the news official. But he had to tell Maja, tell her they were staying out, had to let her breathe a little easier and stop worrying about having to type up a two week’s notice and figure out how to apply for a Canadian visa. He knew he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but Maja was more important than that, and she deserved to know, and if that got him a slap on the wrist from the team, then so be it. He looked down at his watch; it was half past 5, so Maja was on the subway back to her apartment if she hadn’t already arrived. He hung a U-turn, changing directions from his place to hers. This wasn’t something he wanted to wait for. It didn’t take him long to pull into the visitor’s parking at her apartment building, muscle memory guiding him into the elevator and up to the third floor. 

“Coming!” Maja said as he knocked on the door. She flung her arms around him as the door swung open, her toes barely touching the floor. “I’m so proud of you, love,” she whispered into his shoulder, her voice muffled by his sweater. Stepping aside, she let him into her living room, where he was greeted by a counter filled with take-out containers. “I might have assumed you’d come by,” Maja admitted, “so I went out to that Indian place you like and picked up some stuff. Figured you’d be hungry.” 

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind as she spooned out the rice and butter chicken. “Thank you,” he said, pressing a kiss against her cheek. “You’re always one step ahead.” Dinner was a quiet affair, Anthony cleaning up their plates and putting the leftovers in the fridge before joining Maja on the couch, her back pressed up against his chest as the Good Place played on the TV. 

“I really am proud of you, you know,” she said softly, twisting her head to look up at him. “I know it’s something you worked really hard for and were worried about, and I’m so glad it worked out for you.” 

He squeezed her thigh in appreciation. “Thanks, babe. And again, I’m sorry about how I told you, how I interpreted everything and spoke too soon. It wasn’t fair to me and it wasn’t fair to you.”

“Don’t keep beating yourself up about it,” Maja said. “You’re right that it wasn’t a good move, but you apologized and took responsibility for it, and that’s what really matters. As long as you weren’t just trying to butter me up when you talked about the future.” 

Anthony knew it was tongue-in-cheek and that she was teasing him, if the half-smirk on her face was anything to go by, but he shook his head all the same. “Of course it wasn’t. I meant every word.” They sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. “Don’t resign your lease.” He knew that she had almost a month until she had to give the papers to her landlord, but she’d also been toying around with the idea of moving to a place a little closer to her work. 

Maja looked up at him in surprise, her eyes wide. “Don’t resign my lease?”

He nodded. “Move in with me, I can fly down for a few days to help whenever you decide you want to. Move in with me, let’s start that future now.” If he was being honest, it had been something Anthony had been thinking about for months. He just finally got the courage to ask. 

“When can I start?”

[littlebabyboybarzal]

Howdy, OG Sugar Daddy Sid instigator here, so lets imagine this:

So Sid gets passed your number/public social and sits on them for three whole months. His excuse is the team needs his attention, but they get knocked out the cup in a shoot out against the Bruins of all teams, and he literally wants to set himself on fire. Normally he makes his rounds sending texts or trying to through a group get together before all the boys run off, and wait until camp in the coming months, but he decides maybe for once he should put himself first.

So he re-downloads Instagram, spends a hour trying to figure out his password and looks up the girl that was mentioned to him and fuck she was pretty. He scrolls through her page at least seven times, and because he is Sidney he makes sure to analyze every frame. Zooms in on books and movies, discarded in the background of what he assumes is her office/library. Zooms to see what her coffee order is on her cup, and the music playlist shown in the selfie of her finishing her Peloton session. He does this, cause he needs some type of ice breaker, especially since it seems the girl doesn't watch any sports.

All in all he's terrible at conversation and its amplified if he has to talk to pretty woman. And he's sure he can't just be like, 'he i'm the guy who's teammate said for a nominal fee you'll...spend time with me? make me feel good?' He doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. He's never know what he's doing, but at least the woman who crowd around him and try to get seen know who he is.

Or at least he knows what they want from him. They know everything about him and projected want they want or assumed him to be on him already so all he really had to do was show up. If they've convinced themselves he was charming, then he was just charming. He could just stand there awkwardly, and they'd take the lead. And he never minded because again, he had know idea how to be himself around people. Hell if he's being honest he doesn't know how to be himself, when he's by himself.

Every waking moment is hockey and trying to get the cup again so people will shut up about him old. And he knows he's older. Knows that Nate and McDavid are the next ones up, but fuck he still has some fight in him. Everything has been hockey his entire life, and the fact that he knows he only has a few more years left he feels like he's wasted his damn life and it scares him. Yeah the team took the cup home more than once, and his stats and performance shows why he'll go down as one of the great ones, but when its all said and done what will he have to show? At least most of his teammates and peers can show outside of hockey, some amazing accomplishments to be proud. They have wives or girlfriends, and children. He doesn't has shit except self pity, and wallowing fear once his jersey is retired he'll disappear back to NS and live in his house be his lonesome.

And while he's not crazy enough to think this call girl or aspiring 'sugar baby' will be the answer to his problems, he's certain she can at least be a distraction. And he needs one desperately. So he goes to his note app and types up a professional paragraph, pastes and send it to her DM and waits.

SD! SID ANON LIVES!!! HELLO BELOVED AND THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY DAY!!

Okay that’s absolutely perfect! So this girl gets a dm from Sid and she’s like “this is a fake account stop bothering me.” And Sid is like no it’s real! Please don’t share it and I’m totally bad at this but I just think you’re kinda gorgeous and maybe we could go get coffee or something sometime? And she’s like mhm…okay sure why tf not.

So day of the date Sid is scared shitless. He cannot believe what he’s about to do but she’s so nice and pretty and he has this desire to pamper her even though she doesn’t seem like that kind of girl. He finally says fuck it and goes to meet her, even though he wanted to pick her up she insisted they meet at the shop so he agrees. When he gets there, he’s early cuz he’s annoying. He’s not much of a coffee guy but he gets something simple and grabs a booth. When she walks in, he’s shook ™ and he kinda stumbles around to her and she thinks it’s adorable and she’s happy he’s not a catfish.

They hit it off and decide to keep hanging out. I’m thinking she’s a grad student or working an entry job that isn’t paying well as she’s like so she’s constantly strapped for cash but she manages. Sid doesn’t mind picking up the tab, he has more money than he knows what to do with it. She always says no but he drives a hard bargain (and who can resist that face). He starts getting more extravagant—that fancy bag she’s been coveting, paying her rent, getting her a car and she’s like umm??? What’s going on? You’re acting like you’re my sugar daddy and Sid just gives a lazy grin and shrugs.

So they work out an agreement and they’re not dating but Sid definitely want her to be his girlfriend. Did I mention she knows little to nothing about hockey and Sid loves this because he can ramble on about it and she’s sort of interested but he’s so cute when he babbles so she just lets him go off. Sometimes she goes to his games and sits with the wags and they’re like “oooh!! Sid has a new gf?!” And she’s like oh no we’re just friends. But are they??

This is what I do in my budgeting class instead of paying attention 😌

[leondraisaitlsglove]

I can only second that what the anon said, and I'm with you too - Connor McDavid is hot and fluffy and I love his eyes so much, the shape of them, his eye-lashes. When he smiles, it really gets me. So yeah, oddly enough among all those handsome tall and charming guys around the league, Connor is it for me.

yeah yeah i think you pinpointed it. He does pull off a beard really well too like compare to a few years ago when it was very patchy. he like grew into himself more and its like a lot to handle. I am still waiting for him to grow his hair out again

[cactusandfir]

Ummmm yes!!! I now need a McDavid/Marner body switch fic!!!!!!

okay so based on this picture, here’s a little bit of what i was thinking!!

the way they’re mirroring each other made me immediately think of a body swap. i know i know it’s just like, basic faceoff positioning, but something about the mirroring makes me absolutely feral. i think it’s from like, yesterday? but i’m thinking about last season, or early this season i guess, before they both seemed to buy-in to their respective teams and drank whatever goal scoring juice is being doled out in the north division

they wake up swapped on the morning of a game against each other and mitch is the one who calls connor first because he wants to DO something about it, while connor definitely went back to sleep hoping it would go away when he next woke up which obviously it didn’t because there’s his name on the caller id on mitch’s phone waking him up...

i think this would be a universe where they would not be REQUIRED to keep the body swap a secret, like maybe it’s a well-known thing that happens (for whatever handwavey reasons) and resolves itself once the appropriate lesson is learned as in the common narrative of the trope, but connor and mitch DECIDE to keep it a secret because they think that they can power through hiding it until they figure out what they need to do to switch back

 obviously this results in a comedy of errors beginning and ending with their drastic difference in personality. connor has no clue how to pretend to be excited about everything and visibly happy to be there, while mitch cannot, for the life of him, shut up. but i am most interested in how this plays out on the ice. i think this is a criminally underrated aspect of body swaps in sports fandom, although my own hockey iq is moderate?? so i will do my best but i think the way they move is quite similar? watching them circling in front of the net is imo, A++ soothing hockey ANYWAY they don’t find it too hard to mimic each other’s play style, except maybe for connor passing first isn’t his usual mo and mitch is thrilled at the speed he’s picked up

then mitch(in connor’s body) gets kicked out of a faceoff for leon and goes to square off and who does he find himself up against? connor. and in the couple seconds they’re pressed against each other waiting for the puck to drop he notices their stances are a mirror image and like, they’ve been playing each other for almost ten years so is it really a surprise that picked up some similar habits from watching each other? then mitch realizes he has a good 20 lbs on connor now and he uses that weight to move him the fuck aside and steal the puck

 throughout the game they realize they’re having FUN with their new bodies. connor, while he doesn’t enjoy getting knocked on his ass as much as mitch appears to, can loosen up a little and have fun with his line mates who are maybe a little more creative than what he’s used to, and hey, he can feed people the puck if that’s what they want, he likes being useful and he’s good at following through. and mitch, mitch loves going fast and scoring goals. sure he’s good at reading the play but it’s a hell of a rush to be skating circles around everyone on the ice, and if he crashes himself into the boards a few times just to feel the impact who’s going to tell on him?

so i think the thing they had to learn to undo the swapping was an appreciation for their own strengths/teams. it’s not that they were unhappy before, but like, being amongst the oilers and in their sort of toned-down room compared to the leafs was the refresh mitch needed to fall back in love with his guys, and connor got to put the weight of captaincy down for bit and fall back in love with just playing the game. i think they stay swapped for a few days at least, long enough to absorb that info, but i am terrible at endings so they swap back but i don’t know how all i do know is that they’re relived to be back in their own bodies and they maybe rekindle a bit of their friendship they let go over the years now that they understand each other a little better.

wow okay that went to a wayyyyyy softer and less horny place than i originally thought it would, although I think there’s a shippy version where connor/leon and mitch/auston are together and connor and mitch still agree to hide that they’ve swapped and they realize that neither of them were in very healthy relationships and there’s a lot of messy shenanigans before they learn how to communicate BUT that is for another time as ive rambled for long enough!

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback on last week’s double update!  I’d love to hear how you’re enjoying it and any canon questions you may have even though it’s very early into the story still!

September 13th, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was absolutely fucking bricking it.  

These were the things she knew as an absolute certainty: William Nylander – she had learned his full name – was a Toronto Maple Leaf.  She had hooked up with him in June one week after her graduation from university.  He’d gone back to Sweden for the summer to be with his family.  Now he was back in Toronto because he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  And now, she worked as the executive assistant to the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

She had no clue how she got herself into this situation, no clue what she was going to do in this situation, and no clue how she was going to get out of this situation.

She was going to have to see him practically every fucking day.

Aberdeen knew she couldn’t let this get the best of her, her mind, or her emotions.  She was brought on board to do a job, and she was going to do that job to the best of her abilities.  No bullshit, no problem.  William wasn’t going to stand in her way of doing well and doing her job for Mr. Shanahan.  Regardless of how blue his eyes were.  Regardless of how blonde his hair was.  Regardless of how cute he looked.  Regardless of how hot he looked in a suit.  Regardless of how every time she looked at him, she began to remember how his hands felt on her hips and how his lips felts on her bare skin…

No.  Stop it.

By the end of the week, she’d met the entire team – Mr. Shanahan had ushered her into the locker room to introduce her to everyone and she waved shyly at all of them before they gave her polite nods and waves of their own.  She wondered if any of them recognized her from when she accidentally walked in on all of them topless and in their underwear.  They probably did.  Nobody recovered from something like that.  Throughout the week, many of them saw her in the hallways and came up to introduce themselves personally.  She thought that was nice.  Sometimes, she’d see William hanging out in the background, waiting for his teammate, but staring directly at her.  

Now came her first trip, one that she found out about on Wednesday – she was going to St. John’s, Newfoundland.  She was lucky Kasha was one of her best friends and agreed to watch and feed Minerva because she’d be gone for six days.  Leaving on Friday, coming back late Wednesday night, after the exhibition game in Ottawa.  It would be interesting, that’s for sure.  She’d never been to Newfoundland.

Lou drove her and Mr. Shanahan to Pearson Airport (Kyle Dubas had to stay back to negotiate a contract and sign someone, but he’d be there eventually too), where she was led to a private hangar.  Most of the team was already there, and a bunch of people Aberdeen didn’t recognize.  She noticed William in the crowd already staring at her as she walked in, a beanie lazily placed on top of his head.  He was sitting beside Kasperi, who was trying to show William something on his phone.  She tried to look away, but couldn’t.

“That’s media,” Brendan told her, finally breaking her concentration.  “They travel with us on road trips.”

“But this is only the start of training camp…” Aberdeen said, not quite understanding why they were already here if the season hadn’t even started yet.

Brendan chuckled from beside her.  “You’ve got a lot to learn about the sports media in Toronto…especially for the Leafs,” he commented.  

“Sorry,” she apologized for no good reason.

“That’s okay.  You’ve got a lot of time to learn.”

When everybody began to board, she began to gather all of the things she’d taken out of her bag while they waited.  She almost jumped out of her skin when somebody behind her asked, “Do you need help carrying your bag?”

She spun around and saw William behind her, watching her as she stuffed everything into her bag.  “No,” she said, turning back around because she couldn’t look at him.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“There’s an entire team of big burley hockey players ready to help.”

“No thank you,” she said again, zipping it up and walking away.  

On the private jet, she learned about the seating hierarchy.  The team got the back of the plane; media and other team personnel at the front.  She learned that the seats were giant, only two to a row, and she got her own row – a window seat right behind Mr. Shanahan.  She learned about the impeccable catering on board and the menu provided for them.  She learned that everybody was more relaxed on the charter flight – even the team, as they let loose and began to play cards, loosening their ties and taking off their suit jackets.  

She learned that every time she stood up or looked behind her, William was almost always already looking at her.  

***

September 14th, 2019

Practices were not usually watched by the general public, but because NHL hockey came to Newfoundland so rarely, tickets were sold to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs practice.  The arena was full, and before the boys stepped out onto the ice, Aberdeen had to coordinate Mr. Shanahan completing some media interviews for local news stations before they were able to retire from that and actually watch the practice.  They sat together, looking out onto the rink as Aberdeen had her iPad in her lap to co-ordinate a few more media interviews after the practice was done.  

“Sir, can I ask you a question?” she asked.  

“Brendan,” her corrected her.  She still felt uncomfortable about calling him that, so she wasn’t going to.  “Shoot.”

“The drill they’re doing right now.  What’s it called?”

Brendan looked at her briefly, smiling slightly.  “It’s to practice backchecking.”

She nodded her head.  “What’s a backcheck?” she asked, feeling stupid.  All of these terms were like a foreign language to her.  She didn’t know how people spoke using these words in coherent sentences.

“Backchecking is when the other team has the puck, and we need to rush back to the defensive zone to stop their attack,” Brendan explained.

“So…it’s trying to stop the other team from scoring.”

Brendan smiled again, wider this time.  “You’re learning.”

“I figured I should learn about the sport I’m going to be surrounded by,” she shrugged her shoulders.  “So that must mean the forecheck is attacking…trying to score.”

“Exactly.”

“Who are our best goal scorers?”

Brendan considered her question.  He knew he could answer it in many different ways.  “Well, if we’re talking about pure numbers, John Tavares – last season he scored forty-seven goals.  Anything above fifty is, like, at the super-elite level.  But then there’s Auston Matthews – he’s probably the most elite pure goal-scorer in the league, save for Connor McDavid.  Thirty-seven goals last season.  Mitchy scored twenty-six.  And then there’s the other guys – Kasperi, Andreas, and Zach all scored twenty last season.  Morgan Rielly, our best defenseman – he even scored twenty last season.  He was a monster.  Didn’t get nominated for the Norris, stupidly, but a monster nonetheless.  And William Nylander – elite goal scorer too.  His numbers last year don’t reflect that because he only played a half a season, but he’s as elite as the rest of them.”

At the mention of William’s name, Aberdeen shifted uncomfortably.  She tried not to pay attention to anything he said about William because it would just lead her to the memories, and then she’d be done for.  “So we’re a good team,” she inferred from what Brendan was telling her.  

Brendan chuckled this time.  “You could say that.”

When the practice was over, she organized for Mr. Shanahan to do more media.  Everybody was eating him up.  He gave great soundbites, talked about the hockey scene in Newfoundland, and about the Leafs practice.  He, of course, picked up on things during practice Aberdeen didn’t even notice.  The reporters ate it up like they couldn’t get enough.  And when Mr. Shanahan was finished, they waited somewhat impatiently for the players.  

Hockey clearly meant a lot to everyone around her.  It was what drove them, what sustained them, and what they were passionate about beyond everything else.  She had to make sure she kept up with their intensity, or else she felt like everything that the success of her in her job depended on may crumble.

***

When the day was done, the team, management, and media retreated back to the hotel.  It was around 6pm, and there were a lot of people in the lobby, figuring out their next steps.  As Aberdeen walked through the doors with Mr. Shanahan, she saw everybody congregating in their groups.  Some of the players had already changed out of their workout gear and into casual clothes, obviously ready to go out for a bite to eat.  She hoped that the hotel had room service, because she knew exactly what she’d be doing for the rest of the night.

“Aberdeen, do you have plans tonight?” Brendan asked suddenly, taking his phone out of his pocket.

“No sir.  Just room service for dinner and—”

“Oh, Aberdeen!” he cut her off, his tone almost scolding.  “You’re twenty-one years old and you’re in St. John’s.  You can’t stay in and order room service.”

Easy for him to say.  “Well—”

“Do you want to come to dinner with me and some of the hockey ops guys?” he asked politely.  She knew he was just doing this to be exactly that – polite.  There was no way he would want to hang out with his executive assistant outside of work hours.  

“I’m fine.  It’s okay—”

“Hey Brendan,” they suddenly heard a voice.  They turned their heads to see Jason Spezza approaching them.  He was dressed much better than most of the other guys, and Aberdeen attributed that to the fact that he was older.  “We were wondering if we could take Aberdeen out to dinner to show her around St. John’s.”

She looked behind Jason to see Kasperi, John, Morgan, and William.  Her eyes bulged out of her head.  “Oh, thank you for the offer, but it’s okay—”

“What a great idea!” Brendan exclaimed at the same time, turning at her and smiling.  “You got out of dinner with us old bozos!”

“No no no—”

“Have fun!” Brendan said as he began walking away, joining another group of men and slapping one of them on the back.

Aberdeen looked up at Jason.  Her cheeks flushed red with anxiety at the prospect of spending hours with them.  “You need to calm down,” Jason told her.  “We’re just guys.”

“You’re the Toronto Maple Leafs,” she stressed, trying not to meet William’s eye.

“So?” he shrugged his shoulders.  “We’re just trying to be nice, Aberdeen.  I don’t want to see you all alone when everyone else on the team is going to be out having fun.”

“Why not?”

Jason shrugged his shoulders.  “Because you’re part of the team now.”

Aberdeen considered the words coming out of Jason’s mouth.  It hadn’t even been a week since her first day, since she walked in on everyone in their underwear, and already she was “part of the team” and invited to go out to dinners with them.  She didn’t understand.  Why were they being so nice?  She was a nobody – to them, to the organization, to the world.  She was only a personal assistant.  “But—”

“Aberdeen, the more the argue this, the more you’re going to have to hear my voice telling you to come,” Jason said.  “Are you really going to make me beg?”

His damn puppy dog eyes were the only, and she means the only reason she gave in.

***

Auston Matthews and Frederik Andersen joined the group before they left to walk along Water Street, eventually choosing a fresh seafood restaurant to have dinner in (because why go to St. John’s and not get fresh caught seafood?).  Aberdeen walked alongside Jason making small talk with him, with Auston, Fred, Morgan, and John ahead of them and William and Kasperi behind them.  Once they were seated at the restaurant, she found herself sandwiched between Jason and Morgan.  William was right across from her.  

“So where are you from, Aberdeen?” John asked as everyone finished giving their order to the waiter.  

“I was born and raised in Toronto.  Etobicoke, actually,” she said.  “Royal York and Bloor.  But south of Bloor – not the Kingsway.  Nobody can afford to live in the Kingsway.  Well – you guys can,” she rambled, finally stopping to take a sip of her water.

“Any siblings?” Morgan asked.

“My older sister Siena is 23.  She’s at the University of Ottawa for law school.  Then there’s the baby Camden.  He just turned eleven this summer.”

“That’s quite the spread,” Kasperi commented.  She could see William side-eye him, not appreciating the comment.  It was a fair comment, but Aberdeen hated when people made it.  Yes, there was a huge gap between them.  So what?  Lots of families had huge gaps between siblings.  Hers was not unique.  

“He was definitely an oops baby, if that’s what you mean,” she deadpanned, looking right at him.

“Oh no no no – I didn’t mean it like that at all—” he tried to cover himself.

“Dude, there’s ten years between Daniella and I,” William quipped.

“Yeah but there’s three other kids in between you guys—”

“Will you two just be quiet?  God you’re like Tweedledee and Tweedledum,” Morgan said.  “Ignore them, Aberdeen.  What do your parents do?”

“My mom is an elementary school teacher and my dad is a mailman with Canada Post.”

“And who’s your favourite Toronto Maple Leaf?” William asked, taking his own sip from his drink.  The way he was looking at her would make any girl’s head spin, and it made Aberdeen’s spin for a split second before she remembered that she was at a table full of men who happened to be his teammates and who would most definitely notice any suspicious behaviour on her part.  

“Not any of you,” she said in a playful tone, causing the whole table to ooh and aww and clutch their hearts.  

“Really?  Even when we’re buying you dinner?” William continued.

“You’re going to need to do more than that,” she smiled.

“You mean buy you a drink?  You like vodka-based stuff?”

Aberdeen’s face dropped.  Vodka was the main alcohol in all the cucumber mules she drank when she met him at King Taps.  Drinking all those cucumber mules was the reason she let all her inhibitions go and brought him back to her place to sleep with him.  Well that, and his personality.  And his eyes.  And his hair.  And his body.  And his – snap out of it!  “I’m more of a gin girl myself,” she said, bringing her class of water to her lips again.

“Could have fooled me,” he quipped.

Morgan brought the conversation back to hockey – why they were all there.  The boys let her in on a few traditions and the etiquette around the arena, especially on game days.  When she asked about all the media on the trip and why they were they everybody let out a collective groan and explained to her how hounding the media was in Toronto.  When the food came the talk died down a bit but John began explaining to her the rivalries, the divisions, the conferences, who the Leafs liked and didn’t like, teams to watch out for as well as teams with friends on them.  Their good friend Tyler Ennis, who just played on the Leafs last year was now in Ottawa, and they’d be seeing him at the season opener.  Aberdeen wished she had a notebook where she could write this all down.  Jason explained how excited he was for the season opener – how he got some tickets for his extended family and friends to see him play.  Auston explained how his parents would be flying in from Arizona.  It was all very nice to hear.

Jason ended up paying for her meal even though she fought him on it.  When they decided to leave, the owner of the restaurant came out to shake hands with all of them and asked for a picture.  They obliged, and the owner was over the moon.  He said he was going to blow up the picture, frame it, and put it right at the entrance.  That’s when Aberdeen understood how hockey crazed some people could be.  

Instead of going directly back to the hotel, Morgan persuaded everyone to take a walk down by the harbour.  He used the map on his phone to guide them, and Aberdeen would unintentionally hold the group up by taking pictures of all the old and colourful buildings.  She couldn’t help it – if traveling was going to be a perk of the job, then she was going to enjoy it as much as possible.  

The harbour was beautiful, even though it was dark, and she made a mental note to come back if she had any free time when it was light out.  She also wanted to climb Signal Hill.  She took out her phone and clutched it in her hands shyly, looking at the guys talking amongst one another.  “Um…can someone take a picture of me?”

Jason, of course, was the only one who heard her.  “Give me your phone,” he extended his hand, and she gave it to him as she went to pose along the guardrail.  He took a few photos, and even turned on the flash.  All the guys watched on, and Aberdeen felt a bit awkward.  Apparently, Jason sensed it.  “Can we make it look like she has friends?” he announced to the guys, causing them all to laugh.  “Jesus fuck, guys.  Go pose with her.”

They all surrounded her, throwing their arms over each other.  Auston draped his arm over her shoulder.  Fred’s extended all the way to her shoulders too, despite being a two people away from her.

William’s was the only arm around her waist.  

***

September 17th, 2019

“You could have said I was your favourite the other night,” a voice Aberdeen could only place as William’s said as she was looking down at her iPad.  Everybody was in Mile One Stadium for the game, and the arena was already full with eager fans.  

She didn’t even know how he found her.  Wasn’t he supposed to be getting ready?  How did he have the time to bother her and be a menace?  “But you’re not my favourite.”

“Ouch, Aberdeen,” he put his hand over his heart like the rest of the guys had done that night at dinner.  

“Well you’re not,” she reiterated.

“Then let me rephrase the question,” he started, “You could have said I was fucking awesome.”

Aberdeen’s face dropped again.  Yet again, those were the words she had used after they’d finished having sex.  She blurted them out, but he agreed.  God, to think that it stroked his ego for months and he still remembered months after the fact.  “What are you trying to do here?” she asked him.

“When we met in June you kept talking and talking and I let you because I love the sound of your voice,” he said.  Her heart stopped beating momentarily.  She was hyperaware of the present tense use of ‘love’ and not ‘loved’ in his sentence.  “I’m just trying to talk to you.”

She shook any thought about that night or about “I love hearing you talk” out of her head as she got up.  This was all a game to William – that much she figured.  Why else would he find her?  Why else would he repeat her words back at her and taunt her with them?  Why else would he offer to buy her a drink in front of six of his teammates?  She didn’t know if he was telling the truth, if he was just taunting her, or…God, what if he wanted to hook up again?  Was he really that kind of guy that he was doing all this again to somehow seduce her?  A fun little romp with the office girl so he could show off to all his buddies?  Regardless of what it was, Aberdeen knew this was dangerous, extremely dangerous.  It was a game she wasn’t willing to play when so much was on the line for her personally and professionally.  

“Well, don’t,” she huffed, staring at him.  “This isn’t a game and I’m not a pawn.  I’m here to work and do a good job.  I’m most definitely not here to keep you entertained,” she said, walking away from him.  

***

September 18th, 2019

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost both exhibition games to Ottawa, but it didn’t really matter because they were just that – exhibition games.  Mr. Shanahan was still peeved that they lost, but he took it in stride.  When their charter plane finally landed in Toronto at around 11:45 at night on Wednesday, Aberdeen was ready for bed.  All she wanted to do was cuddle Minerva and sleep for twelve hours.  She was especially excited to have the day off tomorrow.  She could at least do laundry.  

When they were free to get her luggage, the tag-team of Tyson Barrie and Jason Spezza made sure they got her bag for her.  Mr. Shanahan had already left – he was the first one off the flight – because his son was picking him up, and he didn’t want him waiting and getting a ticket.  

“Aberdeen, do you have a ride?  Is somebody picking you up?” John asked, extending the handle on his luggage.  From behind him, she noticed William lurking and waiting for her answer.

“Nah, I’m good.  I’m just hopping on the UP,” she waved him off.  She would have to ask an airport employee where to get the UP Express.

“What?  No way,” John shook his head.

“No no no,” said William from behind him, shaking his head.

“No no no,” said Travis who was standing by her, shaking his head.

“No no no,” said Tyson who was also standing by her, shaking his head.

“No,” John repeated.  You would think she said she was going to walk the entire way home instead of take public transit.  “You live downtown, right?  That’s what you said at dinner?” he asked, but didn’t even wait for her to respond.  “Who’s going downtown and can drop off Aberdeen?” John asked loudly so everyone could hear.

“It’s fine, it’s really fine—” she tried to intervene.

“Bee’s coming to pick me up – we can drop Aberdeen off no problem,” Morgan offered.  

“I’ve got Saylor picking me up,” Kasperi offered.

“Morgan will do it,” John said quickly.  

Aberdeen looked over at Morgan.  “You really don’t have to—”

“Nonsense,” he extended the handle on his luggage.  “Follow me.”

He led her out of the private hangar towards a black Honda Civic.  Aberdeen watched as a girl got out of the car.  She was unconventionally pretty, with beautiful long hair.  She wore comfy looking oversized cardigan and plain black tights.  She only assumed this was Morgan’s girlfriend.  When they got close, Morgan kissed her.  “I volunteered to drive Aberdeen home,” he said, nodding back towards her.

Bee looked at her.  “Great!  Hop in.  Just put your luggage in the backseat – I don’t mind,” she said, turning and getting into the passenger’s seat.  Morgan opened the trunk to put his bigger suitcase in before returning to the driver’s seat.  Aberdeen had a grip on her luggage.  

“So what position do you have with the Leafs, Aberdeen?” Bee asked from the passenger’s seat, even shifting so she was actually able to look at her.

“I’m Brendan Shanahan’s personal assistant.”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Bee smiled.  “Brendan’s awesome.  But I’m sure you’re realizing that.  God, I bet a million people would kill for your job.”

Aberdeen shrugged her shoulders.  “I guess.  I didn’t really uh, you know, watch hockey before this.”

“I didn’t either, until I met Morgan,” Bee said.  “Don’t worry.  It has its way of sucking you in.  There’s a certain magic to the game that you can’t get away from.  You just have to make sure you keep your head above water.”

“Right.”

“Where do you live, Aberdeen?” Morgan asked, looking at her through the rear-view mirror.  

“Oh!  I’m on Nelson Street.  It’s near University and Adelaide.”

Bee punched the address Aberdeen gave into her phone.  “You let us know whenever you need a ride back into the city from the airport, okay?  You’re not that far from us.”

“Um, thank you,” she said as she felt Morgan put the car into drive.

“No problem at all, Aberdeen.  Love your name by the way.”

They made small talk throughout the ride, and thankfully, because it was so late, the roads were clear.  In just less than twenty minutes, Aberdeen was home.  She thanked Morgan and Bee profusely before leaving.  Bee watched her go in as Morgan texted on his phone.

“Who are you texting at this hour of the night?” she asked.

“Willy,” he said absent-mindedly.  “Wants to make sure we got home okay.”

Bee furrowed her brows.  “He’s never texted us about that before.”

Morgan shrugged.  “Whatever.”