go jets go

1.

Denver is shovey. He has to establish his presence with something other than his size, so he’s always pushing past people or walking by too close and clipping them with an elbow or a shoulder. People think he’s a klutz, but he’s actually very coordinated, thank you; he’s doing it on purpose. He just tends to get overlooked if he doesn’t physically remind people that he’s there.

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Porter can get touchy, but he’s a bit of an awkward guy. He’s tall and lanky, which makes it hard to know where to put his hands, especially in pictures. But it only takes about half a beer for his gangly arms to find their way around someone’s shoulders. When he was captain in Brampton, he had a handshake with every guy in the room. They used to chirp him for being a close talker. He’s working on it.

2.

Denver’s a details guy. He notices things other people don’t. Like the water stains on every glass that comes out of the dishwasher (there’s gotta be a setting to prevent that, or maybe they need new dishwasher pods). Like the fact that Bumper consistently sets the table backwards (Denver can’t complain ‘cause no one else even attempts to set the table, but forks go on the left). Like the single sock that gets abandoned in the dryer every time Trevor does laundry (Denver dutifully chucks the loners back in Trevor’s hamper and crosses his fingers they’ll be reunited with their brothers in the next load).

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If it can’t help him win games, Porter’s not really interested. He’s a bit of a space cadet unless it’s related to hockey, then he’s totally dialled in. Nerd. By the time he retires, his brain will have pruned every synaptic connection that’s not related to his number-one obsession. That should probably worry him. He’s not worried about it.

3.

Denver likes to be in control. He’s not trying to tell anyone what to do; he can follow instructions even better than the next guy, and he’s happy to do so (as long as they’re clear). But the second he realizes he’s the most competent person in the room, everybody better sit down and listen up. He’s not gonna let the loudest guy (Sam, Trevor) take over and fuck this up for everyone.

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Porter likes to be in charge. Growing up, he was always the best guy on every team he played for, which usually meant he was captain, and by this point it’s just second nature. He trusts his instincts, maybe too much sometimes. He expects everyone else to follow him blindly; it’s called leading by example. It’s gotten him in trouble a few times throughout his career, but he doesn’t repeat his mistakes and he thinks his track record speaks for itself.

4.

Denver’s not worried about what other people think about him. He knows who he is and who he’s supposed to be and he’s good at being both. It takes a lot to ruffle his feathers, and even on those rare occasions that he does get embarrassed, he’s able to laugh it off and move on pretty quickly. He learned early on that people like to see a little vulnerability every now and then.

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Porter’s worst nightmare is making a fool of himself, and he takes great strides to prevent it whenever he can. He’s never been a part of some flashy group costume at Halloween. He hates making stupid videos for the team’s socials. He used to beg off school during spirit week until his mom caught on and forced him to go. The problem is, if he leaves himself to his own devices, the results are often mortifying. He threw his stick on the ice during the OHL Cup final, got himself ejected, then cried about it in the locker room immediately after. He forgot to shake hands with Czechia after his first win as captain of Canada’s Junior team, and he’d already been assessed an unsportsmanlike penalty for slapping Adam Novotny’s ass earlier in the game. He had to apologize for it on live television. What he didn’t tell them is that he knows Novas (he’d just started playing for Porter’s hometown team), and he was just saying hi, but of course he did it wrong. All he’s saying is, he’s not adding some dumb TikTok trend to his long list of embarrassing moments if he can help it.

5.

Denver is everyone’s emotional support dog. He’s a good listener. It’s his shoulder that gets cried on when someone gets broken up with and it’s his message in the group chat that reminds everyone it’s so-and-so’s birthday today and it’s his car that gets thrown up in on the way home from the party and it’s his billet house that everyone hangs out at (in London as much as in Philly). He still gets texts from guys he hasn’t played with since the GTHL asking what to get their girlfriend for Valentines and he’s had some pretty intense heart-to-hearts with some of the older guys on the Flyers. He likes to be the guy everyone trusts.

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No one has ever asked Porter what to get their girlfriend for Valentines (see: not about hockey). He has great advice for guys looking to improve their game, and he’s happy to stay after practice to get a few more drills in with whoever needs the extra help, but he is so out of his depth when it comes to his teammates’ personal lives. He’s a good energy guy on the bench (it doesn’t take much to rile him up), but that’s about as far as his contribution goes, emotionally speaking.

6.

Denver can dance. He likes to, and he’s good at it. He can sing, too, but he mostly keeps that to himself, humming along quietly during warm-ups, a little louder when he’s alone in his car. He goes clubbing just to tear it up on the dance floor (and if he goes home with someone, he goes home with someone—he’s got moves, so it happens, but mostly he’s just there to dance). He spent the pandemic memorizing TikTok dances in his bedroom with Zoom class on in the background. There’s no proof and no one ever saw him doing it, except his mom, once, when she forgot to knock, but he swore her to secrecy and he’s pretty sure she’s forgotten about it (she hasn’t; it’ll come up at his wedding).

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Porter cannot dance. He can bob his head out of time with the beat, or he can jump if everyone else is doing it. He can’t sing either, but he’ll holler along with the best of them if he thinks no one can hear him.

7.

Denver is not a picky eater. It’s important that people know this about him. He was a bit picky when he was little, but his older brother made sure to bully it out of him. Denver’s a little nicer about it than his brother was, but he acts like it’s his job (and one he takes very seriously) to broaden his teammates’ culinary horizons and expose them to the incredible diversity of flavours the Philly food scene has to offer. It’s mostly spots Jamie has put him onto. He’s had mixed success so far.

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Porter is picky as fuck and he does not care (see: Denver’s mixed success). He likes what he likes, and food is mostly fuel to him, anyway. He’s not a fan of spice, salt is optional, and his consumption of vegetables is strictly limited to the bare minimum required by his nutrition plan.

8.

Denver can read the room. He wasn’t named captain of the Knights for no reason. He’s got the elusive EQ guys are always talking about but don’t ever really define. He can shake a guy out of a funk now matter how bad the team played and take a chirp to curry favour with the old guard on a new team and mind his business when he has to and crack a joke that has the boys howling up and down the bus even after a brutal loss.

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Everyone in the room can’t help but love Porter. He’s such a goof and kind of acts like a dweeb sometimes. He’s easily flustered, by chirps as much as by compliments. He blushes so hard at nothing. Sometimes it makes him look like he’s about to cry. Everyone agrees it’s uncanny the way he can flip a switch and turn into a total pest on the ice when he’s such a softy off of it.

9.

In Denver’s head, there’s a win column and a loss column, and everything can be (and is) categorized into one or the other. It’s pretty straightforward. Parallel parked on the first try? Win. Eggs stuck to the pan? Loss. See? It’s easy.

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Porter keeps lists. He’s a bit of a dweller. He could rattle off every clip in his highlight reel (according to him) in his sleep. And he could do it just as easily for his most embarrassing moments (see: stick toss, handshake, ass slap, etc.), his biggest mistakes, his happiest days and his worst ones—you get the picture.

10.

Denver has mild sensory issues, but he’s pretty good at playing it off. His mom says he’s ‘just persnickety.’ He never goes barefoot indoors if he can help it (it’s socks or slides 24/7, baby) because he can’t stand the feeling of grit under his feet and between his toes. He’s not much of a beach guy (same reason) but he’ll still tag along cause he’s easygoing like that. Wet fabric is an absolute no (why did he choose hockey, everything is always damp). He prefers leggings over compression shorts for maximum water wickage (it’s a word, he made it up) and then also his leg hair doesn’t get ruffled (his legs are ticklish, okay?). Jeans are the worst. He knows about thread counts and shops brick and mortar for anything that’s going to touch his bed so he can feel the fabric before he buys it. He loves the wind in his face because it pulls his hair back in a way no hair product has ever achieved (he’s just a dog in a car at the end of the day).

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Porter doesn’t know what ‘sensory issues’ means. He is immune to discomfort in the name of hockey. Once again, if it doesn’t affect his game, he’s not paying attention. What is Denver even complaining about? Jeans are fine. What is thread count? Wickage is not a word.