Page 106 of Rookie Rules

Chapter 17: Old Names

Kaito Sato appeared on the locker-room television at 8:12 in the morning and changed Finn's face before anyone said his name.

The broadcast was previewing Northstar's next matchup. Kaito moved through a sequence of clips in the rival team's colors, number 10 cutting through neutral ice with the cold economy of someone who considered extra movement a personal failure.

"Sato has twelve points in ten games," the analyst said. "He remains one of the league's most precise transition centers."

Jace looked up from taping his stick. "Precise is television for unpleasant."

"He's good," Eli said.

"Both can be true."

Finn sat at his stall tying a skate. The lace stopped between his hands.

Only for a second.

Luca noticed because Finn's hands were usually the least guarded part of him. They moved while he talked, stole food, translated Rowan, and conducted arguments no one else had agreed to join.

On screen, Kaito took a pass through the middle and scored beneath the bar.

Mateo whistled. "Hale, your evil twin has better hair."

Rowan did not look at the television. "My hair has never entered a scouting report."

"Missed market opportunity," Luca said.

Finn pulled the lace tight enough to whiten his knuckles.

"Kaito always cheats high when the weak-side winger carries," he said.

The room quieted by a degree.

Not because the information was strange. Players studied opponents. Veterans remembered tendencies. The mismatch came from the first name.

Kaito.

The analyst had called him Sato. Everyone in the room called opponents by surnames, numbers, or insults.

Finn looked up and found Luca watching.

His familiar smile returned at once. "What? I read scouting reports. Some of us are professionals."

"Heartbreaking development," Jace said.

The room moved on.

Luca did not.

Vale entered with the remote, muted the broadcast, and put the rival's neutral-zone structure on screen. Rowan shifted forward in his chair. Finn opened his notebook. Whatever had passed through his face disappeared beneath preparation.

"Sato drives their second wave," Vale said. "He wants the first defenseman to back off, then attacks the gap behind the center. Do not chase him outside our shape."

Finn wrote nothing.

"Mercer," Vale said. "You've seen him more than most."

"He'll delay if the first lane closes. His winger crosses behind and forces the handoff."