Sarah

I’m an Oilers fan first and foremost. I will tacitly care about and like other teams and players but I would sacrifice any other team or player in the league for an Oilers championship. I’m specifically a huge Connor McDavid fan and he’s my favorite player. I watch a shit ton of Oilers hockey but will also put on games that are interesting to me from other teams and I love the analytics side of hockey!

Oooh, okay, great question, might be biased by recency/current mood but just to start with the big major series.

1. Robbie/Georgie (holy shit, just an insane concept. The way every sweet college moment just feels filled with dread as you go on and know what’s coming. The toxicity of the time in Washington vs the more settled maturity of their 30s. I love a story that goes “what if you were the loves of each other’s lives and still hurt each other horribly?” So excited for the resolution.)

2. Mike/Liam (This was the first one I read and it hurt me so badly. I think the movement between fun and sexy vs deeply tragic was just incredibly well done. I was sobbing so hard at the end of it but I love a story about hockey that truly reckons with the implications of a game that permanently damages players’ brains. I think Mike’s contained pov is so effective and the love he and Liam have for each other is just so well written.)

3. David/Jake (I feel like the concept of this one is just so classic and feels the closest to hockey rpf in its premise but is very very skillfully executed. I love David’s pov and how specific it is and the character growth he experiences is just so wonderful. Also, Jake just being so deeply loving just hits the spot. I feel weird ranking them 3rd because they were so beloved but I think the other two just felt more unique to me!)

4. Holden/James (Obviously ongoing so could go lower or higher (maybe higher)but I already love their dynamic. Just, the characterization of each already feels so strong and I particularly love the idea of the guy who really doesn’t want “the guy everyone hates when they play but wants on their team” on his team and wants him to cut the shit out. Holden being just so full of energy and humor and all of these things and being “too much” is very very important to me. Also, love the secondary characters!)

5. Money/Scratch (Felt like a romcom in the best way, so obsessed with friends to lovers done well. The humor was great in this one but I think it’s a little lower because of the lack of realism. I think an all time fav moment of the whole ycmal universe for me though was Joey finding out that his nickname is Money because he’s “money in the bank” not just cause his last name’s Munroe.)

6. Gabe/Stephen (This one to me just feels like the reason hockey romance uses hockey as a setting. It’s obviously much shorter than the others and I’m excited to see it in its expanded form. But I love the exploration of two friends who grow up so intertwined and one having this career ending injury and how they deal. Friends to lovers in a much more contained serious setting.)

7. Vinny/Anton (sweet romcom in a lovely way, also did cry when Anton called Vinny needy. I love Vinny as a character and the specific development of his relationship with his sexuality and with others!)

8. Andy/Derek (I feel like the major friends to lovers are all in the same area but I was very very charmed by Andy’s pov and found their romance very sweet.)

9. Jared/Bryce (I liked them and thought they were fun but it was at times slightly too saccharine for me. I could really tell they were an authorial favorite and I think them ranking this low makes it seem like I hated them and I didn’t. I just found other dynamics more compelling! I do love the use of no trade clauses and team rivalry in the narrative. Really shows how well Fitzpatrick knows puck.)

10. Dan/Marc (obviously the beginning of the whole universe and I love the bottom 6 guy/star player dynamic but I just think it suffers by comparison to her later works in writing quality. She improves so much that this one feels less exceptional in comparison.)

11. Harry/Evan/Roman (I liked them a ton in theory and thought they were still great but the transition into throupledom was just a little heavy handed for me. I also wish Evan got the chance to be a little more flawed. More Harry/Roman scenes I think would have helped. Still a very fun trio though.)

And then among the smaller stories, I genuinely love Luke so much and found his arc with Nikita so heartbreaking. I’m so glad he didn’t say yes to Nikita and he respected himself enough not to. I also love what I’ve seen of him and Andreas so far! Seb and Si are genuinely romcom excellence and I’m obsessed with everything I’ve seen!! Sven, Yvette, and Gerard are so comfortable together in a way I love!