Page 97 of Zero Pucks Given
When they put the statement in front of me, defeat had made me too numb to understand or care about the hurt I was throwing at Josie. But as I sat on the bench, listening to the game unfold before me, there was a growing certainty in the back of my head. Memories of Josie reigniting the fire I felt when I was around her, a fire that was beginning to rage just behind my ribs.
I had given up, lost my confidence like never before. I’d become someone I didn’t even recognize.
But not anymore. I needed to fight—not just for Josie, not just for this game, but for myteam.
My eyes flashed open and I launched myself off the bench, striding to the other end where our coach was watching. “Put me in,” I demanded.
Without taking his eyes off the ice, he replied, “I like the matchup, with Jarvinen against Markson.”
I stepped in front of him and put my face inches from his. “Coach. I’mnotasking. Put. Me. In.”
He wasn’t the kind of coach who caved to player demands on a whim. When he made a decision, he stuck with it. But the look in my eyes must have convinced him, because he turned to his assistant andsaid, “Steele is in for Jarviven.”
The assistant whipped his head around in surprise, saw me, then thought better of arguing. “LINE JARVINEN!”
Miko Jarviven skated over to the bench and held up a fist for me to bump as I hit the ice.
It was time to take over the game.
The crowd was abuzz at my entrance, and soon began chanting. “GRAY-SON. GRAY-SON. GRAY-SON!” The chant rolled back and forth across the packed arena, growing in strength.
But rather than intimidate me, I allowed it tofuelme.
I took my position at center ice as the timeout ended. The chants were still thundering down from the fans, but I was completely focused on the puck. My teammates were passing it around, pretending like they were killing time before the period ended. That’s what we wanted the Oilers to think, at least.
Mason gave me a wink from the other side of the ice, the only warning I had.
I juked an opponent and took off at a sprint.
Mason got the puck and immediately fired a laser pass to me. As I approached the opponent’s goal, time seemed to slow down. The Oilers goaltender turned to face me, blocking as much of the goal as possible with his body. But there were gaps, and I’d been training my entire life on how to hit them.
I barely registered the puck leaving my stick. As soon as it was airborne, I was whirling my skates in a U-turn and pumping my fist. I knew it was a goal without needing to wait for the horn.
I savored the silence that came after. It wasn’t often a man had a chance to make twenty thousand people all shut up at the same time.
They had to review the goal, but I never had a doubt. My teammates piled onto me, shouting and pummeling me with smacks.
All the post-game events were a daze. Showering and changing inthe locker room. Doing interviews with the media. Boarding the team bus and getting on the plane back to San Antonio.
But I still felt tense as I took my seat. I may have won the game, but there was still some unfinished business.
There was only one thing to do, which made the decision easier.
“Hey,” I asked Mason in the seat next to me. “Can you install TikTok for me?”
He stared at my phone. “You don’t know how to install an App? On your phone?”
I sighed and turned to look over my seat. “Callahan, I have a favor to ask.”
“No! I’ve got it!” Mason insisted. He grabbed my phone, tapped on the screen, then handed it back to me. “The icon is on your second page. You still need to make an account, though.”
I quickly created an account, held my phone out at arm’s-length, and hit record. I didn’t need to rehearse.
I knewexactlywhat I wanted to say.
“My name is Grayson Steele,” I began. “We just held on to win game five, and are sitting on the team plane ready to head home. But I don’t want to talk about hockey tonight. I’m here to talk about Josie Harper.”
A few teammates were looking sideways at me. Mason was staring at me like I was a velociraptor who had suddenly appeared on the plane. But I was focused, so I ignored them.
