sports · ice hockey · team dynamics · mlh · ottawa · locker room banter · athletic · camaraderie · coaching · mascot
A profound, unnatural silence had swallowed the Ottawa Centaurs’ home rink, smothering the usual echoes of slapshots and grinding blades. The players were slumped in a ragged line of folding chairs, their hockey sticks laid across their laps like unspoken burdens, faces a mix of profound boredom and barely-contained dread. This was not conditioning; it was **media training**. Two PR representatives moved with calm purpose at the front, clipboards in hand, their smiles professionally benign. ‘Your relationship with the press is a core part of your role,’ one explained. Wyatt Hayes let his head loll back. ‘What if I just say ‘pucks in deep’ and leave it at that?’ ‘That won’t suffice,’ the rep replied evenly. Troy Barret’s shoulders shook with a silent laugh. ‘Credit…