All in on You

Chapter Twenty-Eight

I think Dorothy is right. There really is no place like home.

The Saints are in the middle of a five-game homestand and while five games may not seem like a lot, it's long enough to constitute the longest homestand of the season. Five consecutive games span two weeks. That's two weeks of sleeping at home, practicing at the Etobicoke training facility, and playing at the Maille Arena. Considering that the NHL schedule can have you flying to Pittsburgh for a game one evening, back to Toronto for the next game, and then over to Dallas the following day, this is a rare time in the season where the team can get comfortable in one place.

It's gotten them into a groove. The first three games of this homestead are behind us, and the Saints won them all. To boot, they've gotten better with each game. The first game was a tight contest, and the guys had to claw their way for every shot on net. They managed to tie the game late in the third period on a lucky bounce and then Keith scored in overtime. It was the definition of a hard-fought game. The next two, however, went much smoother. The Saints took early leads and held on to them, which can be a difficult thing to do in this league, where comebacks are common, and especially difficult for the Saints who, let's just say, have a dedicated room at the Emergency Centre for how often they choke. But their compete level and results seem to be changing. The mood around the locker room is focused but enthusiastic, the fans are jovial, and even the media are reluctantly admitting that the kids are alright.

Alas, all is well in Saints Land. Well, if you ignore one not-so-small detail.

Angelo is still sidelined with his shoulder injury. It's been about 10 days since he fell hard into the boards and I nearly croaked, and he's missed the four games the Saints have played since then. As impressive as the team has been, his presence has been sorely missed in the lineup. He's a superstar and when he's out, the supporting cast is called upon to steal the show.

Not to sound like a selfish girlfriend, but the Saints' loss really is my gain. A non-hockey playing Angelo Bradford is a version of him I've never seen before, but I like this guy just as much.

The day after Angelo got injured, the team took a chartered flight to Montreal for a game the next day. Obviously, Angelo was ruled out to play, but he was also ruled out to travel. It's not super common, but sometimes injured players still travel with the team, especially if they don't need medical attention from Toronto and are mostly healed. If the player is at the point where he can do things like skate and practice but not play in a game, he may tag along on road trips to keep up his conditioning. But with Angelo having appointments at a downtown Toronto clinic and the team only being on the road for one game, it made too much sense for him to just stay put.

Like I said, it was my gain. Last Monday, I did something I never did before; something I may never again get the chance to do. I watched a Saints hockey game with Angelo next to me.

He had come over to my apartment late in the afternoon after we did our best to see each other as much as possible during the day. I had a few school meetings I couldn't get out of—meetings with your thesis committee are planned months in advance—but I accompanied Angelo to an appointment. As much as I want to say that we had a grand time sneaking around in plain sight, we weren't sneaking. I got the go ahead from Adam, because if someone happened to take a photo of us—and by us I mean of Angelo, and with me beside him—and spread it on social media, Adam and Robert would know why I was with him. I found out from Adam that someone on the Saints training staff would typically accompany an injured player to these appointments if they weren't out on the road. So, I did the team a favour, when you think about it.

Consider the fact that I watched a shirtless Angelo do a few shoulder movements before the doctor put his sling back on my thank you. The news from the doctor was good: It was only a sprain and it should heal nicely within a few weeks. We already knew that, but the team trainer had wanted Angelo to get a second opinion because of his injury history.