Page 135 of Rookie Rules

Vale waited until both drills had restarted at opposite ends.

"Your line is thinking about you instead of the defense," he said.

"We were off."

"You were inconsistent. Bennett became careful. Mercer started translating you."

Rowan shifted his weight from his right side. "I will correct it."

"Start now. Skate the route without a puck."

Vale signaled to Nolan and Mateo. Luca remained with the second group while Rowan repeated the entry against the two defensemen. At the blue line, Nolan opened his hips to guard the middle. The space behind him appeared exactly where Luca had called it.

Rowan drove underneath.

He reached the support point on time.

Vale blew the play dead. "Again."

They repeated it from the other side. Mateo stepped early. The winger's cut was available. Rowan's route covered the turnover risk.

"Again."

The third repetition sent a hard pull through Rowan's right hip. He shortened his stride for two steps and restored it before reaching the net.

Vale noticed the skating. He noticed everything. "Medical?"

"Stiff. Not sharp."

"That was not permission to hide a change."

"There is no change."

Vale held his attention a moment longer, then pointed his whistle toward the other end. "Bring Bennett back. Run the original trigger."

Luca returned without comment. Finn reclaimed the left side. On the first attempt, Luca called the cut and Rowan sent the puck early enough to meet his blade in motion. Luca released from the slot and scored under the crossbar.

The sound of the puck striking the net seemed louder than the celebration they did not have.

"That one," Vale said. "Again."

They scored twice more in five repetitions. The line's timing returned, but Luca never spoke to Rowan beyond the call required to start the route.

At the water break, Finn stopped beside Rowan.

"The trigger was good the first time."

"Yes."

"You want to explain why we needed fifteen minutes and a public experiment to reach that conclusion?"

"No."

"Excellent captaincy model."

Finn skated away before Rowan could decide whether the remark required correction.

His right hip had tightened before practice and worsened after the contact work. Owen had asked that morning whether the baseline had changed. Rowan said no because his range remained acceptable and nothing was sharp.