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end for shooting practice. Red shirts stay here. Let’s move it, boys.”
    The players wearing black skated off. Binns drifted to the blue line, counting as he went.
    “Excellent. We have ten players. I’m going to pair you up. One player stands at the top of the circle. The second player is behind him. I’m going to dump the puck into one corner. The first player to touch the puck is the forward and he tries to score. The second player defends. Play ends when my whistle blows. If the puck turns over, your roles switch.”
    He picked two players who were standing together. “Why don’t you two show ’em how it’s done.” The two players skated over. “What are your names?”
    “I’m Simon.”
    “Gabriel.”
    “Sounds good. We’ll have Simon in front.”
    Charlie had noticed these two. Gabriel could absolutely fly, and he was a wizard with the puck. Simon was a powerful skater and had a wicked shot.
    Binns fired the puck into the corner. Simon got there first and cut hard to his right, carrying it behind the net, holding Gabriel off with his right arm. As he passed the far post, he spun, reversed directions, and tried to force his way to the front. Gabriel stuck his hips back, forcing Simon to go wide. Simon kept the puck to the hash marks, pulled it towards his skates with the tip of his stick and snapped off a quick shot. It was a cool move, although Gabriel got in the way and the puck deflected off his shin pad and bounced harmlessly to the far corner. Before they could give chase the whistle blew.
    “Nice positioning, Gabriel,” Binns said. “Notice how he didn’t overcommit. Stay in front of your man, using your stick to force him outside. Simon, that was nice puck control, and a nifty try to get the shot off. Good work, both of you.”
    Binns tapped his stick and nodded at Charlie and Zane. “How about you two give it a go.”
    Charlie relished the challenge. He’d show Zane a thing or two. The guy was huge, but Charlie was willing to bet he wasn’t that fast. He’d use his speed to blow by him. The puck went to the left corner, and Charlie raced after it. As he expected, Zane was slower, which gave him a few feet to work with. Charlie faked with his forehand, lowering his left shoulder and scooping up the puck on his backhand. What he didn’t expect was Zane beingin the perfect spot, stick extended in his right hand, his left hand held high.
    But Zane wouldn’t be expecting Charlie’s favourite move — puck between the legs and the 360 spin.
    The puck part went fine. The 360 spin ran into one problem: Zane’s shoulder. Charlie bounced off him and nearly lost his footing. Zane grabbed the loose puck, went in alone and fired a shot into the goalie’s stomach.
    “Useless shot,” Zane cried, and slapped his stick on the ice. “Way to put it right on him.”
    Binns held his hand up and gave Zane a high-five. “Nice play. No panic. As for the shot, well, why don’t you stay a defenceman.”
    Zane laughed and rejoined the group. Binns looked over at Charlie. “You did well to retrieve the puck, nice speed. You need to be more careful, though. That was a very high-risk play. The point of this drill is to heighten the danger of losing the puck. If the defenceman has you, hold on to the puck and look for an opportunity.”
    While Binns organized the next two, Charlie fretted over his poor play. Binns was right. He vowed never to underestimate anyone at this camp again, even a muscle-head like Zane. Binns couldn’t have been too impressed by that effort. Zane had made him look ordinary.
    Coach Clark had been right. Everyone at this camp was solid, and he couldn’t expect all his usual tricks to work.
    After a few other pairs went, Binns said, “Why don’t we try Charlie and Zane again? This time Zane is in front.”
    Charlie had to strain to see around Zane’s broad back. He knew he needed to show Binns something this time. The puck was lofted to the right corner, and Charlie cut inside