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grace brind'amour has spent her entire life around hockey.

growing up in ottawa as the daughter of rod brind'amour meant early mornings at rinks, playoff runs, media attention, and learning very quickly that people would always recognize her last name before they knew her.

so grace made sure to build a life that belonged entirely to her.

at the university of north carolina, she's become one of the faces of women's athletics on campus-a star forward and leading scorer for the UNC women's club ice hockey team while also playing division I softball as a catcher and shortstop for the tar heels. somehow balancing athletics with nursing school, grace is chasing a future far away from NHL spotlights, hoping to someday work as a labor and delivery or NICU nurse.

but hockey still has a way of pulling her back in.

when the carolina hurricanes clinch a trip to the stanley cup final after defeating montreal in five games, grace travels to Raleigh with her best friend to surprise her family during practice at wake competition center.

what she doesn't expect is alexander nikishin.

the quiet russian defenseman has known grace since the moment he was drafted by carolina in 2020. back then, he was still playing in the KHL, thousands of miles away in russia while grace was just beginning college. over the years, texts turned into conversations. conversations turned into friendship and friendship became something far more dangerous-at least for him.

now officially in carolina after signing his NHL contract, alexander is finally tired of pretending his feelings aren't real.

but falling for the coach's daughter could complicate everything, especially during the biggest playoff run of his career. but sometimes the hardest thing isn't falling in love, it's finally admitting you already did.