Page 6 of Offside

I turned the screen toward him. "Your September assessment gets sent to medical, hockey operations, and contract evaluation when the season file is finalized. You'll have access through the portal. I can walk you through today's findings now if you want."

His attention stayed on the routing line. "That's where they see it."

I met his look across the treatment table. "Yes."

"Did that change what you write?"

"No," I said.

"Good," he replied.

I showed him the measurements, the comparison to July, and the recommendation to Reyes. I explained the loading plan without promising what the next assessment would find. He listened through the whole answer.

"Four days?" he asked.

"Three to start," I said. "We adjust from response, not from the calendar. You'll do the mobility work on your own every day."

"And contact?"

"Reyes's call after she has the images."

His jaw moved. He picked up the light resistance band from the table. "Show me."

I stood beside him and demonstrated the first movement with my own arm. Then, without touching him, I watched him do it. His shoulder tried to climb near the end of the range.

"Stop there," I said. "That's your current range."

He lowered the band and looked directly at me. "Only today."

"Today is where we start," I said.

Reyes examined him after morning skate.

She read my notes before she examined him. She also pulled up the prior imaging and the clinical history from the seasons when the joint had first started requiring regular maintenance. Then she tested his strength, sensation, and movements again with me and Vicki in the room.

Bishop answered all her questions with the fewest words available.

"I'm not seeing a sign of an acute tear that requires me to remove you completely," Reyes said when she finished. "That doesn't mean your shoulder is fine."

"Can I play?" Bishop asked.

"You can return to controlled contact in practice if today's response stays stable. In the opener, no repeated overhead loading, no reaching across the body into resistance, and no extra contact work outside the game plan. You report weakness when it happens, not the next morning."

Bishop's jaw tightened. "It happened once."

"Then reporting it should be easy."

Reyes scheduled a reassessment after the opener and another after the next heavy game block. She kept the active rehab plan in place and told Reeves the restrictions she'd given Bishop.

Nothing in the exam promised that the joint would survive the season. It gave him a controlled way to test what it could tolerate next. After they left, I returned to the corner-station laptop. The July intake note was still waiting in the second tab.

I looked at one of my earlier notes. Avoidant.

I wasn't sure if it was still accurate, but I closed the file without changing it.

3

Bishop