Starting fresh with a new team—whether it’s stepping into the net as a goalie or joining a company as a Site Reliability Engineer—comes with a rush of excitement, uncertainty, and the need to quickly adapt. In both worlds, you’re expected to understand the system, earn trust fast, and make the right decisions under pressure. This piece explores the parallels between guarding the crease in ice hockey and taking on infrastructure responsibilities in a new engineering org: the importance of communication, learning team dynamics, managing risk, and building confidence through early wins.