Chapter One
NICK THE TRICK REACHING FOR CUP NUMBERTHREE
After a disappointing washout in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season, Nevada Dragons captain, 23-year-old Nick “The Trick” Tiernan, is looking to live up to his name and claim his third cup title.
Many of us remember the historic, back-to-back successes of the rookie captain in his first two seasons as an NHL player—the first two seasons of the Dragons as a franchise, the expansion team having joined the league alongside the Quebec Orignaux in 2017.
But can he do it again? Now approaching his sixth season as captain, people are beginning to wonder if Tiernan is an example of a star burning too hot and too bright to maintain trajectory. The first overall pick of the 2017 draft, Tiernan was set to be a generational star from the get-go, but it wouldn’t be the first time the pressure of the NHL has become too much.
Known as the Golden Boy of Vegas, Tiernan is well-loved for his quick wit and quicker puck-handling. A prominentfigure in the nightlife scene, Tiernan’s party-boy reputation is long-standing, though some have suggested that exact reputation is what caused the team to falter so early last season. General Managers Tony Murphy and Jasmine Davison continue to affirm that Tiernan is the best man to lead this team to another cup, but this may be a classic case of the Vegas lights being a little too bright to handle.
Tiernan’s contract is set to finish at the end of this season—will his time in Nevada finish with it?
Of course, that’s not the only fire under Tiernan’s skates this season; his former QMJHL teammate, Connor LaPorte, is finally joining him at NHL level, having signed with the Quebec Orignaux this past summer.
The history between these two is well documented (Clickherefor our previous articles). Note in particular: LaPorte’s unexpected disappearance from the QMJHL; missing the 2017 draft (in which he was predicted to go first overall, ahead of Tiernan); and a long period of absence until he resurfaced in European hockey. Many of us thought he would never return to the North American leagues.
Will this clash of the titans prove too much for Tiernan? Has he lost his edge, or will the Nevada Dragons reign supreme once more? Only time will tell.
The Dragons play their home opener against the Arizona Bobcats on October 6th. Tickets availablehere, broadcasting on ESPN.
—SportsBuzz, October 2nd, 2022
Once. Just once. Nick would love for his name to appear in print without Connor LaPorte’s alongside it.
It’s ridiculous, really. It’s beenfive whole yearssince they played together. Five years since their on-ice connection rocked the world of Major Junior Hockey, getting every NHL scout onthe continent sitting up and paying attention, sparking endless articles about how the two of them were destined for the two brand-new expansion teams. A perfect experiment, people thought: take two young stars, hand them each a budding franchise, and see what they do from there. See which one fails without the other propping them up, becausesurelythey could not both be so talented individually.
Except it didn’t happen that way, did it?
Connorleft, and Nick was stuck—stuck with double the attention, double the scrutiny. Stuck with two people’s worth of expectations weighing on his slim shoulders.
Stuck with a hole in his heart that wouldn’t stop bleeding, as the love of his life disappeared without warning and he couldn’t tell a soul.
His entire career, the specter of Connor LaPorte has never gone away. They justhaveto shoehorn him in somewhere. If Nick does well, they question whether Connor would have done better. If Nick does badly, they joke about whether Connor would let him join Fribourg HC as a back-up plan. If Nick stubbed his goddamntoe, they’d somehow find a way to tie it back to Connor.
If there’s one thing hockey fans love more than a compelling narrative, it’s a rivalry, and they’ve been clinging desperately to this one in the hopes of a moment just like this.
Nick’s tried to see the humor in it over the years. Cracked wise-ass remarks about how when they were kids everyone couldn’t wait to separate him and Connor, and how quickly things changed. Said whatever he’s had to say to the vultures of the press to try and pretend like it’s fine, like it doesn’t bother him, like he and Connor laugh about it together.
Like Connor has spoken to him at any point in the last five years.
Except, now, that’s not true. Connorhasspoken to him. Nick still can’t believe it—occasionally finds himself re-reading the email late at night, checking the text threads on his phone to see Connor’s name, reassuring himself he didn’t dream the whole thing.
Half a decade of radio silence, of blocked messages and unanswered calls and sleepless nights wonderingwhat he did wrong—and then there it was, an email sitting in his inbox, asking if they could meet up to “talk things out.”
But Nick knows he didn’t dream it, because if he had, it would’ve gone very differently. Connor didn’t take one look at Nick and realize what a fool he’d been for leaving. There was no kiss in the rain—no kissing atall—no love confession, none of that cheesy shit. But. They talked.
Nick’s stomach starts to churn as the memories come flooding back, and he grits his teeth. Now isnotthe time for that particular anxiety spiral. He knows, bitterly, that there’s a bigger reason Connor got back in touch.
Hockey season is upon them once more. And for the first time ever, Connor’s name is on an NHL roster.
“Yo, Trix!”
Nick’s head snaps up, a smile immediately sliding across his face as he tries to pretend he has a reason for lurking in the empty equipment room. “What can I do for you, Kat?”
Kat just rolls her eyes, adjusting her headset over her neat dark-red curls. She looks about as stressed as Nick would expect from their PR manager on opening night. “You can get your ass to the dressing room. You’re late. And just a heads-up, you’re gonna be grabbed for media at first intermission. Give yourself something worth talking about, yeah?” Her painted lips curl at the corners, and Nick barks out a laugh.
“Yes ma’am.”
