NHL 63

“Wow, some fan of yours took tons of photos again this year, didn’t she?”

“Tina Lorraine?”

Kevin Matt and Michael Marino, who were attending the All-Star game together, teased Dylan while waiting for their meal. The three of them were representing the Polar Bears at this year’s All-Star game, and they had promised to arrive in Las Vegas a day early and have a meal together.

“I know that reporter. They say if you search for ‘Dylan’ on Google, almost everything that comes up is taken by her, right?”

When Kelly, Kevin’s wife, chimed in, Dylan shook his head as if he were fed up.

“Did Kevin tell you that?”

“Well.”

As she shrugged her shoulders, Kevin waved his hand dismissively, pretending not to know.

“Who in this league doesn’t know her name? If you’re a hockey fan, you learn it automatically.”

“Yeah. Every time you have a game to play here, she takes hundreds of photos that look like pictorials, so it’s bound to happen.”

Dylan, afraid that the conversation might turn to the ‘Hottest Hockey Player Ranking’ she published on her personal blog every year, hurriedly turned his attention to Kevin’s son.

“Oh my! Allie, sweetheart. Why is there sauce all over your clothes? You must have been very hungry, huh?”

Allie, who couldn’t speak yet, just burst into giggles at Dylan’s baby talk.

“I think Dylan is really good with kids.”

“I have nephews and nieces. I don’t see them often, but when I can, I play with them to my heart’s content.”

“You’ll make a good father later.”

At Kelly’s words, Dylan just stared into Allie’s clear, blue eyes. There was no way of knowing what either of them was thinking.

“What’s the use of that? The headline says, ‘Dylan McClain attends alone again this year.’”

“Mike.”

Michael’s girlfriend called his name as if to point out his rudeness.

“Thanks, Pat.”

Dylan was already accustomed to the persistent teasing of his teammates, but today, backed by people who were willingly taking his side, he raised his voice.

“The phrase ‘again this year’ is wrong. I wasn’t alone last year. My sister’s family came to watch.”

Michael smiled and shook his head.

“Oh! Dylan, you know better than anyone that I didn’t mean it like that. But don’t get me wrong. I don’t think you have to bring someone. I just like teasing you.”

“Yeah, I agree. I just like watching your flustered expression.”

“You two are really mean. Dylan, don’t listen to these guys. I never came to the All-Star game before I got married, either. It’s broadcasted nationwide, you know!”

“That’s right. Actually, I’m just going to watch quietly from the stands tomorrow, too. Don’t pay it too much mind.”

When Pat added this, Michael sipped his drink with a disappointed look. Thanks to the server arriving with their food just then, the talk of ‘Dylan’s solo attendance’ did not continue any further.

“Anyway, do you have any vacation plans for how you’re going to spend the summer?”

“Oh, us? Actually, we do. We’ve already finished all the reservations.”

They began to talk about how they would spend their summer vacation. Even though winter wasn’t over yet, people were already mentioning the season. It was understandable to miss it.

Everyone was starting to think it was much better to forget about the ceaselessly falling snow and sweat profusely under the hot sun.

Even though the season was only just past its midpoint.

It wasn’t the cold that made life hard for people. The cold was bearable. The problem was that the season was always so long that it felt like it would never end. People’s patience wasn’t as great as they thought. The league’s role was to fill that time with other entertainment so that their patience wouldn’t run dry.

The team’s performance, built up step by step since the season began at the start of winter, was good. The team was currently maintaining a high standing. While they weren’t in an overwhelmingly dominant first place, they could boast that individual players’ records were also hovering at the top of the league.

However, just because their performance was good didn’t mean their vacation would be long. Summer vacations didn’t come to professional athletes equally.

It was the opposite. If they performed well and made it to the playoffs, the end of their season would be delayed further and further.

The fierce battle for the Stanley Cup went on from April to June. The owner of that year’s cup was only decided in June, when summer had already begun. That was why the players’ schedules for spring were always uncertain.

“We’ve decided to travel to Portugal this summer. I hope it’s not too hot.”

“You’re planning to get a good tan, aren’t you?”

“That sounds nice? Whenever summer comes, Mike puts a sunbed in the garden and lies there all day.”

As Pat and Michael exchanged plans like a comedy act, Kelly chimed in, saying it was a great idea.

“You’re spending the winter on the ice anyway, you can’t miss out on the summer sunshine.”

“You’re too extreme. You get burned so red that it’s practically a burn injury. You’ve complained every time you take a shower that it hurts.”

“It’s an honorable burn. Isn’t that the true charm of summer?”

“Oh, Kevin. It sounds good just imagining it.”

“As expected of you, Mike. You’re a guy who knows what’s up.”

“Anyway, Dylan, what about you? Do you have any plans for this summer?”

Dylan, who had been focused on his meal, sank into deep thought and replied nonchalantly.

“Hmm. Banff?”

“Banff is nice. We went there last year, too. Although there were a lot of people because we picked the wrong dates.”

“When are you thinking of going?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“You’d better hurry. Lodging gets ridiculously expensive during peak season.”

Dylan chewed the bread in his mouth and responded with a light smile. It certainly wasn’t a decided vacation, and it was even less something he had been agonizing over for a long time. He had just blurted it out as it came to mind.

But, strangely, it sounded like a good idea. If he stopped by Calgary with a Banff trip as an excuse…

“Actually, the reason I asked about vacation plans is because I’m planning to invite the team over for a barbecue party.”

“That sounds wonderful, Kelly!”

“We had the outdoor pool built last year, but the construction finished so late that I was sad we couldn’t use it much. This year, we’re planning to open the pool and hold a barbecue party next to it.”

Dylan cut off the chain of thoughts and focused on his meal. He decided to think about how to handle the event game scheduled for tomorrow.

🏒🥅

Standing in front of the brilliantly lit hotel fountain, the players began to warm up. The reason their uniforms, which they usually wore outside the arena, felt a bit unfamiliar was that the air touching their skin was warmer than usual.

Cooling his head in the breeze, unlike the arena where the cold air always lingered, Dylan stood in his designated spot.

Hockey is a team sport, but today was different. Today’s event was a space to compete purely through the individual techniques of the players.

In front of the hotel’s main entrance, where a fountain show with lights and music was presented every night, there were small, randomly installed islands inside a massive artificial pond with a fountain. A goal net was set up on each one.

Dylan stood on the platform installed for the event and scanned the goal nets one by one. The rule of this event game was to get the puck into the nets while adjusting distance and power so as not to fall into the artificial pond. One could say it was a setup that openly displayed one’s puck control ability.

It was a game he couldn’t afford to ruin, even putting his pride as a forward on the line. Because getting the puck into the net was their duty. Unlike a defenseman.

Perhaps that was why every player participating was a forward, and since they were professionals among professionals who were well-known in the league, their eyes were burning with competitive spirit, even if they didn’t show it outwardly. Dylan, who looked more relaxed than anyone, was one of them. In fact, Dylan had been practicing his shooting twice as hard as others for several days for this event.

”Now, this is Dylan McClain’s final attempt!”

Irritatingly, the player with the best record currently was a player from the Florida team, who was mentioned every year as a candidate for the Stanley Cup championship. It was the team that had handed the Polar Bears their elimination in the playoffs last spring.