Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content, substance use, and mental illness.

Jamie Streicher practices with his new team, the Vancouver Storm. After playing for a New York team and being recognized as the best goalie in the NHL, he traded to Vancouver to be near his mother. She recently had a car accident caused by a panic attack, and Jamie worries about the depression and anxiety she has experienced since his father died in a drunk driving accident when Jamie was a baby. Jamie hopes to impress the Storm’s head coach, Tate Ward, so he can stay with the team and look after his mom.

When Ward asks if Jamie needs a personal assistant, Jamie says he doesn’t. He plans to focus his life on hockey and his mom, with no distractions, including not dating. He thinks, “I’ve always been the guy who takes care of himself. That’s not about to change” (4). As he walks home, however, Jamie finds a stray dog in an alleyway. He tells himself he can’t take responsibility for a dog; since he broke up with his girlfriend Erin when he was 19, he’s avoided commitments. Jamie finds himself unable to leave the dog at the shelter.