Pucking Sweet

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content, death, emotional abuse, and substance use.

Poppy St. James, head of PR for the Jacksonville Rays professional hockey team, frets with her assistant, Claribel Ortega, over how the public will perceive social media images of hockey players partying, particularly since the Rays are a new team. She is particularly annoyed with Lukas Novikov, who appears in most of the photos. Claribel is optimistic that Lukas will become more serious once the season starts, but Poppy plans to lecture him about his behavior.

Twenty-six-year-old Lukas is at the peak of his NHL career and hopes that he will be on the team’s starting lineup for the season. He wants to skate again with Colton Morrow, whom he skated against in a lower league. Lukas jokes with his new teammate, Ryan Langley, about banishing old rivalries now that they are playing together instead of against one another. When Poppy approaches, he can tell that she is angry with him and laments that he finds her attractive.

Lukas makes jokes as Poppy reprimands him, which only annoys her more. She orders him to make sure that any further “partying” is private, urging him to make attendees surrender their cell phones and sign NDAs.