Page 56 of Goaltender Interference

“Welcome, gentlemen,” someone called out and Jesse glanced up to see Hoyt Kent standing at the front of the room. “If you don’t know who I am and why we’re here, I’m going to assume you’re in the wrong place. This is Chem. 101.”

Everyone in the room gave the head coach a polite laugh.

Hoyt grinned. “Kidding, guys. We’re here for training camp and we all know it. I’m not gonna lie, we have a challenge ahead of us this season. Our roster is depleted right now, but that’s good news for some of you. It means you’ll have the opportunity to prove yourself. Prove to me that youdeserveto be here and I’ll reward you with a spot.”

Jesse wasn’t in a prove-it position the way Tanner was. He wasn’t battling it out with other netminders for the slot of starting goaltender. The organization had made it clear that waswhat they were expecting him to be. But he still wanted to be his best. He still wanted to prove that he deserved the spot.

Hoyt Kent was stocky, in his mid-sixties, with graying dark hair and a beard gone nearly white. Whenever he laughed, his eyes creased at the corners and dimples appeared on his cheeks. He looked relaxed and at ease now in khakis and a black team polo with the Harrier hawk logo in red, orange, and yellow but Jesse could easily imagine him barking orders from the bench and commanding respect from the guys.

Jesse only half-listened while Hoyt introduced the staff. He’d already met most of them, except the associate coach, Aksel Rasmussen.

Rasmussen was a former player from Norway, one of those “holy shit, that guy’s in the Hall of Fame” types. He looked unassuming now in his slacks and team fleece, but Jesse had seen his highlight reels and wondered how any goalie had ever stopped him.

If Jesse remembered right, Rasmussen’s son was a player for New York and looking to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Danny Foley was introduced next. He was the team’s goalie coach and the guy Jesse would be working with closely all season. Foley was balding, so he’d shaved his head and the overhead lights gleamed off it. The dude had great energy and Jesse was itching to get to work more with him.

Hoyt introduced the training staff and other relevant people, then finished with, “our new yoga and Pilates instructor, Dakota Crane, will be joining us tomorrow.”

Hoyt went on to talk about what would happen over the next few days and Jesse kinda let that wash over him too. Connor woulddefinitely go over it again anyway and training camps were more or less all the same.

They’d be divided into groups and spend the next three days practicing and scrimmaging, showing off their skills and allowing the coaches to see who the skaters had chemistry with.

There were five goalies, including Jesse, and he was looking forward to getting to know the other four better. One guy was a restricted free agent, while the remaining three had NHL contracts. Depending on how it all shook out, one of those guys would end up as Jesse’s backup, while the others would go down to the team’s AHL affiliate in Concord.

The meeting ended shortly after that though and Jesse stood, Tanner falling into step beside him as they left the room.

“Hey, so I wonder if the new yoga and Pilates instructor will be hot,” Tanner said under his breath. “Dakota Cranesoundshot but I have no idea what she looks like.”

Jesse laughed. “I guess we’ll see.”

There was lunch available for them after the meeting, and Connor tried not to glare as he watched Jesse and Tanner sit together, heads bent together while they talked.

Connor was being stupid, he knew that, but something about their interactions got under his skin for some reason.

“So, what do you think?” Graham Pennington asked.

Connor looked over at his center. “About what?”

“About the prospects.”

“Cautiously optimistic?” he said with a shrug. “We won’t know much until we see guys on the ice though.”

“Yeah, I know. Seems like everyone was in shape and ready to go for the season. Although I noticed that you were looking gassed by the end of testing there. You getting too old for this shit?”

“Ahh, shut up,” Connor said. “Just tired. One of my girls had a rough night last night.”

Graham’s expression softened. “Sorry to hear that. For both of you.”

“She was okay this morning,” Connor assured him. “And I’ll take a nap when I get home.”

Well, after he and Jesse hooked up.

Connor willed himself to not glance over at Jesse.Fuck. He normally loved hanging out with the team, but right now, all he wanted to do was get home and get naked with Jesse.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“I saw you during the meeting, you know,” Jesse said in a conversational tone as Connor pulled away from HCI. It was a bright fall day, the temperatures back up into summer-like ranges.

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