iris

will is a little bit of an outsider to hockey, in that he doesn’t have the same nepotism that gabe enjoys. gabe’s dad was a player, and you can see how that both eased his way in and took some urgency out of his excellence. gabe himself is bright, easy to laugh, and maybe a little less pressed to prove himself. will, on the other hand, compensates by being everyone’s favourite guy. he’s the one who notices the big names and the less important guys alike, who makes everyone feel seen in a way that keeps people talking about him constantly.

gabe actually reminds me of mack in some ways. that whole coach/dad dynamic. but unlike mack, gabe has this ease, this willingness to be someone’s laugh, someone’s half. mack i think does not rlly take to this naturally w MOST people. (will his exception as scholars have said) he’s an excellent player, but when the BC line is spoken about he’s consistently the third. a lot of that has to do with his half-ness with will. together they were a unit, spoken of as one, and will always stood out more. leno never really fit into that same pairing, so he was evaluated on his own terms. it’s that silver medal hurts more than bronze kind of thing.

but it’s also plain they adore each other. gabe never had to fight to be part of will’s unit. (talking out my ass ->)i think when will left, gabe struggled, maybe compensating with leno in the remaining corner of their little triad. without will he felt a little reduced, a little anchorless. we’ll see how he does with a proper full season standing on his own. any sour feelings between gabe and will, if they existed, seemed to resolve more quickly than whatever lingers between will and leno. both gabe and will strike me as tenderhearted, a little

Subtle glances guys. Very subtle