Page 84 of The Trade Deadline
“Abigail,” he said slowly, drawing the name from an interview early in the season. If he remembered correctly, she was a sports reporter in Baltimore. He’d probably read more of her words than he’d spoken with her directly, and he internally switched from hockey mode to media mode. Not always easy when he was in full gear.
She beamed at him. “Yep! Good memory.” She held out her hand, which he awkwardly shook with his glove on.
“What can I do for you?” He was wary of reporters. He’d never had any issues—he knew he was personable and foreign enough that he’d be forgiven any blunders—but he remembered the barrage of attention he’d gotten from a young age, particularly after his parents’ deaths. It hadn’t helped that his English hadn’t been great when he’d joined the league. He’dthoughtit was good, or at least passable, until suddenly all of his coaches and trainers were speaking English nonstop, words he’d never heard before but ones he was dependent upon to figure out every aspect of his life. The interviews had been stressful, simple questions rendered impossible because he simply lacked the words to answer.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the All Star roster is going to be revealed soon.”
It was January, so that seemed right. He didn’t much care—he’d likely get the spot for the Crabs like he had for the Prowlers.
“If this is about Anders,” he said more brusquely than he could fully control, “and us playing for the same All Star team, I doubt it will matter. He never goes, even if they choose him.”
All about “not risking injury” and “wanting the time off with his family” these days. Before the kids were born, he was allllll about participating. Couldn’t be bothered coming to Sweden, but a completely meaningless weekend of hockey with people he barely knew? Sure! Guess he and Mormor weren’t “family” enough.
Abigail raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t…” She looked like she desperately wanted to pounce on his answer. He appreciated that she didn’t. “It was actually about RJ.”
Lars tried not to react, even though this was possibly a worse line of questioning. “Oh?” he said with what he hoped sounded like the right blend of indifferent interest.
“So each team gets to send a player, and then nominate a second for the fan vote. The team is planning to nominate RJ because of his spectacular performance so far this season, and he is something of a fan favorite in Baltimore.”
Lars nodded as his heart filled with pride.As they should, he kept to himself.
“To help generate some interest and get Crabs fans to vote for him, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about playing with him. Really easy, basic stuff to get fans excited about seeing you two play in the All Star weekend together. Would you?—?”
“Yes,” he interrupted. He didn’t care if it was rude or overeager or anything else. Sure, he might be jaded to the whole thing by now, but he knew how much his first All Star game had meant to him as a rookie. Ryan had never gone, and he deserved to feel that. He deserved the recognition. “Whatever you want, I’ll do it.”
Abigail didn’t seem surprised. “Awesome,” she said with a smile. “Mind if I set up a time through the team to arrange that?”
“You don’t want to do it now?” Wouldn’t the process start soon? Fuck, how close was the game? If they waited, would that hurt Ryan’s chances?
This time she did look surprised. “I thought practice was still going on.”
“It is.” Lars looked down the hallway to where it opened to the rink. It looked like they were in the middle of a scrimmage. As much as he loved scrimmages, this was more important. “They won’t know I’m gone,” he said as he turned back to her.
“I’m sure they will,” she scolded. “I’m not looking to get my access revoked, so let’s wait until after practice, okay?”
Lars took a deep breath, sounding very put upon. “Fine,” he said. “After practice. I’ll be looking for you, so be ready.”
She laughed. “Oh trust me, I will be. Now get out there. I want to report on a win tomorrow.”
“You will,” Lars promised. “I’ll make sure RJ gets the game winner.”
Instagram: Vote for RJ!
[An Instagram Post Featured on @bmorebluecrabsnhl.]
The first picture shows Lars Nilsson and his current games played as a Blue Crab, as well as his goal, assist, and point totals for the season. The second is a video showing Lars’s best plays of the season, including his first goal as a Blue Crab, a shootout goal, two Game Winning Goals, three Power Play goals, and a long stretch pass to Jake Campbell in overtime for a goal.
The third picture shows Ryan Russell and his goal, assist, and point totals for the season, as well as his face-off win percentage and Penalty Kill minutes. The fourth is a video of Ryan’s highlights from the season, including five blocked shots, three assists from tricky passes, and his Michigan goal.
The fifth post is a picture of the two of them side by side, fist-bumping each other after a win.
Caption:What’s better than one All Star? Two!
Lars Nilsson was selected by the NHL to represent the Blue Crabs at the All Star Weekend in early February, and the Crabs have nominated RJ Russell for the Fan Vote! If you’d like to see RJ competing with Nilsson in Vancouver next month, click on the link in our profile to vote him in!
#AllStarRJ #NHLAllStarFanVote #VoteForRJ #crabcrew
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