Page 37 of The Trade Deadline
Thompkins eyebrows rose as he watched them, and he almost smiled. “Well, that actually works out well,” he said. “We’re trying some new lines today. Given how badly we did last night, I looked over our performance so far this season to see if we can get better line chemistry going. New first line for today: RJ centering Soups and Jordy. Second line: Nilsy centering Laurie and Novs. Third line…” When he was done, he looked over the team. “Any problems?” They shook their heads. Apparently not getting the answer he wanted, Thompkins turned to Lars. “You good with those lines?”
Lars shrugged. He’d very rarely been demoted a line during his professional career, and it had always been warranted. It’d also never lasted long: he knew he was better than he’d played last night, Thompkins knew it, the whole team knew it. Once heshowedit, he’d be back up. Or not. Ryan was good, too. He was happy Ryan would get the chance to show it, both to the team and (perhaps more importantly) to himself.
“Whatever you say, Coach,” he said nonchalantly. He wasn’t thrilled with the change (Tomas? really? after Ryan’s warning, he wasn’t sure he’d like that matchup), but he was a big boy. He’d deal.
“Good,” Thompkins snapped, though he looked relieved that they wouldn’t have to hash things out. “Line ‘em up. We’ve got work to do.”
Instagram: The Crabs at Practice
[A series of pictures posted on the @bmorebluecrabsnhl Instagram showing the team practicing.]
Caption:?? + ?? = ??????
Comments:
clackclackclack:looking good!
iheartrj14:i can’t get used to rj in # 75 ??????
crabpeople:they did him dirty making him swap numbers — wonder what the significance of 75 is
redwhiteandcrab:i’m going to see them when they come to calgary next week!!
thickshell:uhhm is that RJ skating with Campbell?? is that a promotion for RJ or a demotion for Campbell?
CrabbyMatty:promotion maybe? RJ gets the nod bc he rocked it in that shitshow vs NY
thickshell:okay but in what world is Ryan Russell on the first line and Lars fucking Nilsson is second line?
CrabbyMatty:i’m not saying i saw it coming, but i think it’s thompkins way of showing some appreciation
lowtide5hole:agree. RJ’s been solid for us since we got him (for a steal btw)
thickshell:okay but LARS NILSSON!?
crabpeople:totally shit the bed the other night, maybe just needs a wake up call before ohio
oldbaybe:OMG OHIO i cannot wait to see him wreck anders
thickshell:or possibly get wrecked. always one or the other with those two…
Chapter12
Ryan
Professional teams were a weird beast.You trained together, sweated and bled together, celebrated together. You were a unit, brothers in arms who supported each other through a grueling schedule where you thrived or struggled based on how well the team worked cohesively. And for most of his team, that was it. That was how it worked.
For Ryan and the other outsiders looking in, there was more. For the newer players with their two-way contracts, for the players whose contracts were ending or those without a no-trade clause, there were fractures in that “we live or die together” mentality. They had to compete with their teammates for ice time, for a spot on the roster, for everything. The team’s success didn’t necessarily equate to personal success and stability, and team losses weren’t “oh, maybe next year” but the possibility of getting shipped out to another team like spare parts.
Ryan couldn’t lie: he was thrilled to get moved to the first line. It had rarely happened, and though he didn’t think he had the stamina to compete with Lars long term and maintain the spot, he’d do his best to make the most of it. “Look at me, I can do this if you need me! Keep me so that if your real first-liner is sick or injured, I can fill in and do fine!” But it also made him nervous. Yeah, there was pressure on him to perform, but he was nervous because of Lars. When he’d been promoted over other players in the past, it had meant tension and hard feelings. Ryan had liked being friendly with Lars (so much so that he’d managed to put Juniors behind him), and he selfishly didn’t want to lose that.
Equally selfishly, he didn’t want to just throw away this chance. His career versus a maybe friend? Ryan couldn’t afford to be sentimental in his priorities.
So he fully expected Lars’s enthusiasm to dim and his demeanor to cool. It didn’t, and Ryan wasn’t sure what to do with that.
He still texted Ryan. Still chatted with him at practices. He asked if Ryan had any updates on how the Mites did in their first scrimmage. Brought an extra protein shake to the gym, a double chocolate with banana just like Ryan liked (not the strawberry monstrosity Lars favored, thankfully). During the last two games of their home stand, he continued to praise Ryan’s play on the bench and in the locker room, and seemed genuinely happy when Ryan scored.
No one had ever done that for him before. No one had let Ryan take center stage without any sign that he was jealous or annoyed or secretly thought Ryan didn’t deserve it.
