#14

The players’ faces lit up. Some took commemorative photos with their tickets, while others called their families to brag.

He could hear Yong-su muttering in a voice overcome with emotion that he hadn’t even flown business class for his honeymoon. Even when Du-min shoved a camera right in their faces to capture their reactions, everyone was beaming.

“…….”

Shin Ho-jae held his ticket in his hand and blinked slowly.

While it was a good thing that the benefits available to the players had increased, he couldn’t help the lingering feeling of unease in a corner of his mind.

* * *

The first day in Canada ended with confirming the locations of the accommodations, restaurants, the rink, and the dryland training center, followed by a light warm-up at the training center.

The players, thrilled by the facilities and accommodations which were far better than expected, forgot their flight fatigue and fully enjoyed the feeling of being abroad, drinking beer and eating at a local restaurant in front of the training center.

And that was the last time they would be able to enjoy such leisure.

The biggest reason for coming all the way to Canada for training was likely to gain experience playing against high-level players.

As if to prove this, four matchups with local hockey teams were scheduled during the eight-day training camp. The first of these was a game against a Canadian third-division league team on the second day.

And the Blue Wolves suffered a crushing 6-0 defeat in that game.

After the third period, the locker room was filled with nothing but heavy breathing and silence. Even Yuk Du-min kept his mouth shut, only drinking water. That was how painful the result was.

Shin Ho-jae rested his arms on his thighs and looked at the bench where Du-min was sitting. At 179cm, Du-min was the average build for a Blue Wolves player.

However, the bench he was sitting on was noticeably larger than the benches in the Blue Wolves’ own locker room. This showed the extent of the physical difference compared to the Canadian players. Shin Ho-jae and Ji Min-chul, the largest in the Blue Wolves, looked average among the Canadian players.

Faced with the size and power of the defense—who felt like literal walls—and the speed of the forwards, the players were completely flustered and couldn’t even perform half of their usual skill.

As their stamina depleted quickly, the players began to lose control of the puck. Naturally, the puck was frequently stolen by the opposing players. To make matters worse, as the players grew anxious and played aggressively, fouls increased.

As they spent more time in the penalty box, they gave the opposing team countless PP* opportunities.

*Short for Power Play. A situation where a team has a numerical advantage due to a temporary ejection of an opposing player.

The feeling of helplessness—the thought that ‘I guess we just can’t do it’—is a player’s greatest enemy. In such a situation, even Shin Ho-jae couldn’t create any opportunities.

The only reason they managed to stop the scoring at six goals was purely thanks to the saves of Alexei, the newly joined foreign goalie.

“Whew….”

Shin Ho-jae wiped his face with the towel around his neck and looked at Lee Sang-gon, who was sitting diagonally from him. In today’s game, he had served as the center forward for the second line, the same as Ho-jae.

As in other sports, the center is responsible for reading the flow of the game and passing the puck. However, that very center had not passed the puck to Shin Ho-jae once today.

Ice hockey is a sport played by a total of six people: one goalie, three forwards, and two defensemen.

However, up to twenty players actually participate in a game. This is because the intensity of the exercise is so high that the time a player can stay on the ice is only about 40 seconds to a minute.

Therefore, forwards and defensemen are grouped into lines from 1 to 4, with five players per line, and are rotated quickly during the game.

During the time Coach Park managed the team, Shin Ho-jae played as a winger on the first line. Choi Yong-su, Yuk Du-min, and Ji Min-chul were his line mates, and their teamwork was not bad. This was because they employed a strategy of funneling the puck entirely to Shin Ho-jae.

However, Coach Peter completely ignored the lines used last season for this match and mixed the player combinations haphazardly.

If only Yuk Du-min had been on the same line.

“Ho-jae hyung! The foreign player over here is calling you!”

While lost in thought, Park Hyeong-hun, one of the rookie players, called out Ho-jae’s name loudly. Looking up, he saw two familiar players waving at him from the front of the locker room.

They were players he had played with at the Montreal Highlights two years ago. He remembered them being decent, but they were playing in the third division, one step down.

In other words, it meant this was a world where competition was so fierce that a few mistakes could lead to a demotion in rank. It was something unimaginable in Korea, where the player pool was small. This is where the difference in strength originates.

『Long time no see, Ho-jae. I see you’ve been playing in Korea.』

『You too.』

He greeted the two with handshakes and light shoulder bumps. They were friends he had naturally lost touch with after returning to Korea, so it was good to see their faces. It was after they had stood and chatted for quite a while and he returned to the locker room.

“I thought you were talking to an ex-lover or something.”

“If you miss them that much, why don’t you just go to that team right now?”

Moon Seung-yeol and Lee Sang-gon sneered at Shin Ho-jae as if they had been waiting for this moment. Shin Ho-jae tried to walk past them without even glancing their way. That is, until Lee Sang-gon said that.

“This bastard Shin Ho-jae, did he intentionally let them win earlier because he wants to go to Canada?”

Shin Ho-jae immediately turned around and shoved Lee Sang-gon’s shoulder, as if performing a body check. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Sang-gon let out a grunt as his back hit the locker.

Without giving him a chance to steady himself, Shin Ho-jae pressed his elbow into Sang-gon’s chest and pinned him against the locker. Cursing, Sang-gon shook off Ho-jae’s arm and shouted furiously.

“If you have something to say, say it with words, you piece of shit.”

“Is that so? Shall we try words? Isn’t the reason our team lost because someone didn’t send the puck my way at all?”

“You fucking prick, you really talk shit, don’t you? You think you’re the only shooter? Is it natural that we lose just because you can’t score?”

“…….”

“Do all the forwards here look like your sidekicks in your eyes, you fucking bastard!”

“Isn’t that how you’re thinking?”

“What?”

“That’s why you tried so hard not to pass the puck. Because you didn’t want to be my sidekick.”

“I’ve had enough of this….”

With a face flushed red, Lee Sang-gon grabbed Shin Ho-jae by the collar and swung his fist. Ho-jae dodged the first one, but the second one landed squarely on his jaw. His head snapped back, and Shin Ho-jae slowly turned his head while clutching his jaw.

He was already pissed about losing the game, and getting hit by the guy who had intentionally withheld the puck made his blood boil instantly. Without hesitation, Shin Ho-jae grabbed Lee Sang-gon by the collar.

『What the hell are you doing?!』

Peter, who had just entered the locker room, screamed upon seeing the scene before him. Perhaps because of his size, his voice thundered through the locker room.

『Ho-jae! Let go of him this instant! I don’t care about anything else, but I will absolutely not tolerate teammates fighting!』

Shin Ho-jae violently shoved Lee Sang-gon’s collar away. Sang-gon muttered a small curse and brushed off his wrinkled uniform.

Standing in the middle of the locker room with his hands on his hips, Peter’s gaze as he scanned the players was fierce. The atmosphere was far worse than it had been right before the match.

『I’m sure you all know that today’s game was terrible.』

The translator spoke, following Peter’s accent as he emphasized the word ‘terrible.’

『Physique, stamina, persistence, speed, control, teamwork. Not a single thing was comparable to the opposing team.』

“…….”

『I have canceled all the matchups scheduled for tomorrow and the day after. I judged that playing matches in this state would not lead to any improvement. Instead, I will add special training, so you are dismissed for today.』

As Peter Choi turned around immediately after finishing his speech, Coach Yoo, with a stiff expression, followed him.

The shoulders of the players packing their bags behind them were slumped.

* * *

“Ah, we seriously got wrecked. I told the Dumings there was a matchup on the first day, this is so embarrassing.”

Yuk Du-min let out a yell as he threw his bag onto the sofa.

Du-min was Shin Ho-jae’s roommate for this training camp. He had been exhausted from the psychological warfare with Lee Sang-gon, so he was glad he could at least share a room with his close friend, Yuk Du-min.

“Did I even get 5 minutes of ice time* today? You saw Peter take me out of every unit, right? Does he have a grudge against me?”

*The amount of time a player spends playing in a game.

In this match, Yuk Du-min served as a forward for the 4th line along with the rookie players and was not included in any units.

In ice hockey, besides the four lines, there are various units for different situations. For example, a unit of players with high offensive power to pressure the opponent during a PP situation, or conversely, a unit of players with strong defensive power to prevent goals during a PK* situation.

*A situation where a team is at a numerical disadvantage because a player is in the penalty box.

Naturally, the players who were in more units had longer ice time. Since more time on the ice meant more opportunities for goals or assists, it was an inevitably sensitive issue for the players.

Yuk Du-min had good speed, but his control ability fluctuated depending on his mental state. To Peter, who prioritized stable puck possession, this might have seemed like a critical weakness.

“Whew…. Still, I have to do the live stream. It’s a promise to the Dumings.”

Yuk Du-min, who had been lying face down on the bed saying he was embarrassed, jumped up and fixed his hair. His professional consciousness was truly something.

Shaking his head, Shin Ho-jae entered the bathroom first. When he came out after a slow shower, the bed was empty.

He thought Du-min would be in the middle of a live broadcast. Did he go somewhere else to do it?

Touching the phone connected to the charger, he saw that the revised training schedule had arrived. Shin Ho-jae checked the assembly time and let out a soft sigh.

The schedule started at 6:00 AM. Considering this morning’s training was at 8:00, it had been moved up by two hours.

He heard a faint voice from somewhere. Looking around, he saw Yuk Du-min outside the balcony attached to the room, holding a phone to his ear. He seemed to be on a call after finishing the live stream.

Even without straining to listen, the room was so quiet that the voice of the call drifted in through the balcony window.

He heard things like, ‘I said I’m sorry,’ and ‘But how could I not do the live stream?’ Shin Ho-jae chuckled while fiddling with his phone. Yuk Du-min is really struggling. It must be that ‘girlfriend’ again.

15 – Puck Drop