Jason’s eyes widened, and Ryan barely had time to grab his bag off the asphalt before being dragged away at top speed.
Jett shook his head, inwardly groaning at Harrison’s attitude.
Today was definitely not his day.
Harrison
Despite how Harrison felt about the Sunbursts on a personal level, he would be the first to admit they had one of the best-built teams in the NHL this year. The first line alone would make any long-time fan weep tears of joy with solid forwards like Bracken and Ivan Hellström. Jett was a given because of his ranking and stats—he was easily one of the top players in the league right now, but the defence received the biggest upgrade.
Detlef Wolf was not new; he had been with the Sunbursts nearly his entire career, but Willem Patrickson had been traded from the Boston team during the summer and took an 8-year contract with a substantial salary. The D-man was exactly what they needed to take the team to the next level, and not only that, they also had Niko Cote as a rookie who was already showing more promise than Harrison expected.
Harrison’s eyes shifted to Adams, who was talking with Bracken on the other side of the bench. He hadn’t known what to think about the young coach or his tactics, but after seeing how he strung a new team together using the momentum from almost winning the cup the previous season was impressive.
Scary even.
A sharp tug on his bad leg made him hiss, and he looked down to see the team physiotherapist, Danny, give him a nervous smile.
“This brace will help support your leg and keep the cold from making it stiff. It will give you a bit of time to skate.” Danny stood and gave him a stern look that only health professionals could give to stubborn athletes. “But the second it starts to hurt, you need to return and let me make adjustments. You’ve been cleared to skate in short increments, but only as long as I watch you. No hard stops, and no turns that will twist the leg. We do this my way or not at all.”
Harrison normally would have told the guy to fuck himself, but since he had officially signed paperwork that morning to become an official team consultant, he had to follow rules.
Adams didn’t skate with the team often andreallydidn’t get along with his assistant coaches, so Harrison needed to be on the ice to sort out the mess management was becoming. The Sunburst GM was always at odds with the owner, who didn’t feel Adams had what it took to coach a team.
Harrison thought that was stupid. The Sunbursts had never made it to the playoffs in his lifetime, and it wasn’t until Adams became coach and secured Jett on their team that things changed.
“I’ll stop as soon as there’s pain,” Harrison agreed. “I can normally handle an hour before that happens, so I’ll keep you updated.”
Danny gave him a curt nod and gestured for Harrison to get up and head to the gate, still frowning as he pulled out a tablet and jotted down his notes.
Harrison stood, his balance steady and his leg feeling strong as he brushed past Danny and made his way to the rink. He ignored Bracken’s wide-eyed stare as he stepped through the gate, the blade of his skate meeting the ice. That first glide was always the same—clean, effortless, like freedom beneath his feet.
He propelled himself toward the center, giving himself enough time to stop. He had gone through his stretches in the treatment room, so his muscles felt warmed up and ready to go. It was surprising what the smallest amount of physio could do, but this was as good as it would get. There wasn’t a chance he would play again, but he could at least be out here helping coach this circus to victory.
The guys were starting to filter onto the ice, having had their fill of food and time to digest it before gearing up for practice. Harrison eyed Wolf as he approached. The big German defenceman would have been an intimidating sight to any rookie, but Harrison wasn’t bothered by the broad-shouldered ball of aggression, even with him smiling like the loose cannon he was.
“Killinger, look at you,” said Wolf in his heavy accent. “You are a beast of a guy on the ice for sure. No wonder our little ferret is so smitten with you.”
Wolf, who was 6’3, was a few inches shorter than Harrison. He could see the way it irritated the hell out of Wolf when he had to look up.
“Ferret?” Harrison wasn’t sure he liked that nickname. “You mean Jett, right?”
Wolf grinned, tapping his stick to the ice like an excited dog thumping its tail on the floor. “Yes, Jett. He’s small and fast, and vicious as fuck. Not many smaller players able to take hits like Fraser can. Did you see that game we had against Vancouver last week? Their D-man is three times the size as our ferret, but he still went down when Jett slammed him into the boards. Blood all over the place from a tiny cut, and Jett walked away with no injuries. Fucking fantastic.”
Harrison had seen the game. He had nearly turned blue from holding his breath when he saw August Snow, their star defenceman, get away with a dirty check against Wolf, and then Jett losing his shit to chase after him. Snow was almost 7 feet tall on skates, more suited to playing football or basketball than hockey, but Jett hadn’t hesitated when he flew across the ice to shove Snow into the boards, breaking the glass in the process.
It earned Jett a penalty for roughing, but Harrison, despite being breathless, had been impressed as hell. Jett was the kindest, sweetest, most caring person he had ever met, but when it came to hockey, he was entirely different.
“I saw the game,” said Harrison, unable to hold back a smirk. “Jett is a great player. Not that I’m biased or anything.”
“You lie, but I’m in agreement,” said Wolf. “Hell, he almost made me switch teams. I could have kissed him for that one. I like it when he’s aggressive. Gets my blood hot.”
Jett had warned him before about Wolf’s inability to understand social cues. Harrison didn’t believe Wolf was trying to piss him off by talking about Jett like he wanted him, but it didn’t stop it from being irritating.
“Wolf!” Bracken called from the bench. “Get away from Killinger before he punches you. And don’t act like you’re not running your mouth, because I know you fucking are!”
Wolf’s smile turned pinched as his captain’s words echoed over the sound of talking and pucks smacking against walls.
“That guy fucks me off,” Wolf said with all seriousness, and then he picked up his stick and skated away at top speed.
