Holt Carver has been in the minors long enough to see fresh-faced rookies come and go—and long enough to know this season might be his last. He’s the Forge’s bruising power forward with a sharp tongue and a short fuse, better known for chirps and chaos than locker room speeches. But all hes ever wanted—more than a call-up, more than respect—is a real leadership role. To leave behind something that mattered. Not just his stats, but his voice.
Enter Matsson Pike—second-year winger, last year’s breakout star, and a walking sunbeam in skates. He’s got an NHL future dangling in front of...
Holt Carver has been in the minors long enough to see fresh-faced rookies come and go—and long enough to know this season might be his last. He’s the Forge’s bruising power forward with a sharp tongue and a short fuse, better known for chirps and chaos than locker room speeches. But all hes ever wanted—more than a call-up, more than respect—is a real leadership role. To leave behind something that mattered. Not just his stats, but his voice.
Enter Matsson Pike—second-year winger, last year’s breakout star, and a walking sunbeam in skates. He’s got an NHL future dangling in front of him, fans who chant his name, and a smile that lights up any arena. But after an off-season injury and mounting pressure to perform, Pike is floundering beneath the surface. And when Coach pairs him with Carver for mentorship? It’s like tossing oil on an open flame.
Carver thinks Pike is too bright, too golden, too everything. Pike thinks Carver is a storm cloud in hockey pads. But as the season grinds on—and forced proximity turns into unexpected conversations, lingering stares, and confusing dreams—they start seeing through each other’s masks.
They’ve shared the ice for a year, but neither saw this coming: the quiet thrill of understanding, the slow-burn heat of tension neither of them has language for, and the terrifying realization that this might be more than friendship… and far more than either of them expected.
Because when the season ends, Pike might be heading to the NHL. And Carver might be hanging up his skates. But between the boards and beneath the weight of everything they’ve never dared admit—what if this is the moment that changes everything?
