Believe it or not, the mental game is important. Some people think it's really important, around 70-80% of the game, others ignore it completely. I think it's around 50% of the game. No matter how stupid you may be on the ice, if you have much more talent then everyone else you should be one of the best. An example of this would be Eric Lindros. Not saying he didn't anticipate the play, but most people in the NHL did it better than him. However, his skills were unmatched, and he was one of the strongest as well. Another example, again inaccurate, is Ilya Kovalchuk. Once again, he does read the play, but he's not good at it. He is one of the fastest in the game, has great hands and a great shot, and he's 6'3. That's why he's a 40 goal scorer. On defense, he seems semi-retarded, and he isn't good at passing or finding the open man, but when he has the puck, he can do incredible things with it. What stops Ilya Kovalchuk and Eric Lindros from being on the same level as players like Mario Lemieux and Alex Ovechkin? The mental game, whether it's emotional control, positive thinking, resilience, anticipating the play, or whatever it is. Mario Lemieux and Ovechkin are big, strong guys like Lindros and Kovalchuk, and the skill levels are similar, but where Kovalchuk is a 40 goal scorer, Ovehckin is a 60 goal scorer, and where Lindros is a point per game player, Lemieux is Lemieux (A 2 point per game player). One of the best at the mental game was Wayne Gretzky. It's been said so many times, but it's completely true. He had so much patience with the puck, that he forced you to make the first move. He was so disciplined he didn't chase the puck, but let the puck chase him. I can guarentee if he ever made a bad play, he probably forgot about it. One thing about great players is their ability to forget. Weak play for a couple of shifts or a couple of games in the past, or an unfortunate incident doesn't affect their efficiency. An injury or cheap shot doesn't change their mentality. Look at Sheldon Souray: He's been injured multiple times from fighting and getting cheap shotted. I think a few weeks ago in the AHL he got into another fight and broke his hand. He is incredibly tough, both mentally and physically. After he broke his hand, he continued fighting with his other hand. And later in the year when he returns, he'll continue fighting. Look at Marian Gaborik: He gets injured all of the time. He still hasn't decided to sacrifice those 10 goals to play safer. The mental game is often ignored and is also the hardest part to teach. To be good at it, a player has to want to be good at it. There are many aspects to the mental game, from resilience to toughness to positive thinking to anticipating the play. Anticipating the play more directly affects your game more than anything else, and therefore accounts to about 25% of your mental game (In my opinion.) The other aspects of mental play are more about consistency and how willing you are to winning.
The first half of the mental game is everything that is not anticipating the play. This is more about managing your thoughts and emotions in order to play a consistent game. It is incredibly hard to do, and it basically involves brainwashing yourself into being endlessly positive and fearless. I'll start with positive thinking, then go on to resilience and make probably make another Ilya Kovalchuk reference (Just angry the Devils are losing a lot) then emotional control, then team play, then toughness, then imagery. So first off is positive thinking, a.k.a. brainwashing. You have to be so positive that you never think you're playing badly. The truth is, you are rarely playing poorly, even if you think you are. I remember a week or so ago, I finished a game which we won 2-0, and I felt like I played horribly. After the game, my coach told me he thought that was my best game of the year so far. Don't focus on the past, unless it is positive. Think about it like this: you probably could've made a better play two or three times per shift. About one time every two or three shifts, you make a bad decision and it shows. That means you screw up once or twice every two or three shifts. That screw up lasts for about half a second. The average shift is probably 50 seconds. That means every 1:40, you make .5 seconds of bad plays. Don't focus on that half of a second. Also, as far as the plays that you could've made better choices, that is about 2 seconds every 50 seconds. The truth is, you should look pretty good for the majority of your shift. Another thing about thinking positive is to tell yourself you are good. For about a minute or two before I go on the ice or go to bed, I tell myself a few positive things about my game; "I'm a great skater," "No one can skate faster than me," "I'm a good hitter," "I read the play really well," or stuff like that. Don't worry about what other people like your teammates, coaches, or fans may think. Just worry about what you think, and play your way. Don't let what you think they think control you. Eventually what you think they think is better. If someone is bothering you, I've heard praying for them works. Eventually, your opinion will change, even if they don't. If you feel awkward doing a religious thing, then I guess you can write an imaginary letter to them or something like that. Another part of thinking positive is confidence and pride. You have to be proud of your accomplishments. No matter what, if you play hockey, you are probably better then 80% of the world's population, maybe more. If you score a goal in a game, don't downplay your achievement during the celebration. Don't overdue it like a certain pro named Alex Ovechkin do, but celebrate a little. As for confidence, it is important. You have to trust yourself more than anyone else. A coach once told me "If you don't think you can convert, don't even try, because it won't work." That means if you don't think you can do it, you can't. If you think you can do it, you should convert more often. And have confidence in more than one part of your game. If you are your team's best sniper, that's great, but if you haven't been scoring, don't get frustrated but start passing a little more and playing defensively. A well-rounded player is usually consistent, because their performance doesn't revolve around one thing. Enough with positive thinking, you should understand by now. Resilience is important, and if you plan on playing junior, college, or any other high level hockey, resilience is one of the things coaches and scouts look for. Basically, resilience is not giving up. If you get a pass and it bounces off of your stick, one of two thoughts go through your head: "Get the puck now" or "Screw it, someone else will get it." Now for the Kovalchuk reference. A lot of Devils games I watch, I see Kovalchuk miss a pass and lose interest in the puck. Not that he should lose his position and chase the puck, but he should give a second effort. Not good what he does. Resilience can also be backchecking hard, fighting for the puck in the corner, or even going after rebounds. One of the most important times to be resilient is when you are playing the body while defending the rush. It may last for a second or two, but if you're going against someone bigger and stronger than you, and you give up for a split second, they will go through you. If you ever watch that really small kid on your team play closely, you will probably see he has one of the best work ethics on the team. One kid on my team who is about 5'2, 90 lbs is the hardest working player on my team. Whenever he gets beat, he outworks the other person to get the puck back. Sometimes he goes a little overboard and gets a penalty, but he does outwork everyone. You have to stay with them; if you fall down, you still have to try to get the puck. Basically, resilience is commitment. Even though it is scary, it has its rewards. One kid on my team, a forward, is one of the most hard-working, resilient players I have ever seen. Although his skill level is questionable, he gets ice time because he is one of the best penalty killer in the league. He's definitely the best penalty killer I've ever seen. Emotional control is next. Once again, very important. It's okay to have emotion during a hockey game, but you have to control it. First of all, don't take stupid retaliation penalties. It's stupid. It can cost you the game. If you want revenge, get that players number, then wreck him the first chance you get. My coach likes to say two minutes at the most, but make it worth it. That means if you have to finish your check late or charge them or something, do it, but then forget about it. Or even better, you can hit them cleanly. Protect yourself, but if you retaliate badly enough, the other team will retaliate. Then you may get hurt; so you're not protecting yourself. Also, be one of those people who draws penalties. You don't necessarily have to be Sean Avery, but in front of the net and in corners learn how to play physical without drawing a penalty. Tie up a player in front of the net, push team, lift their stick, and if you're lucky they'll do something back. In the corners finish your checks hard, and don't hold back. As far as emotional control goes, it is important to focus, even when you're not on the ice. On the bench, get into a routine in which you do something on the bench. I like to pretend I'm one of the players on the ice and see what I would do. But you can also do something like thing of words that rhyme with other words, or count backwards as low as you can starting from a random number. Anything which keeps you from thinking about your last shift really, because you want to prevent bad thoughts. If you come off of the ice angry, take ten deep breaths, drink some water, daydream about fairies and unicorns, do whatever it takes to chill out. On the ice, since you can't do that, just remember not to get more than two minutes. You should be having fun during hockey, and you can't do that if you're angry. If you want to take out your anger, go play football. I think I mentioned this before, but if you're not doing something well, such as scoring or hitting, then focus on the other parts of your game like passing or playing well in the corners. Although your skill level never varies from day to day, sometimes you don't play as well as you normally do. It's better to stop doing something before you get frustrated then to keep doing it and get even more negative and angry. An important part of emotional control is being able to stay calm under pressure. If you hold on to the puck a second longer and make the better play, it will make you a much better player. A few days ago, I tried playing a game after pulling my groin. I skated about 1/10th of my normal speed though. This made me slower at pretty much everything, and pretty much made me hold the puck a second longer than normal because I got the puck a second later than normal. Although I sucked, I did see a couple of really good passes I normally miss, and made some good plays I normally don't. Moral of the story is to not panic under pressure. The best scorers and passers want the puck and have the patience to hold onto the puck a second longer than everyone else. Next time you watch a superstar play, watch how they hold on to the puck a little longer than everyone else. They usually touch the puck the same amount of times as everyone else, but they seem to have the puck longer. That is their patience. Also, remember to try as hard as you can but don't try too hard. The last game I played I was benched after hesitating before stepping up on someone, which led to me being benched for a shift or two. I came back skating about 100 miles per hour. I ended up getting the puck, skating around the net, skating the puck up, and almost getting leveled; even though I wasn't leveled, the pressure forced a turnover. That is a good example of getting frustrated, and because I tried too hard, I made more problems then I should've. Remember that hockey is a team game, and you can't do it yourself. When you try to do it yourself, you play worse. Speaking of team play, it is important to be a team player. It is possible to play and be seen as a star, while still hurting your team. Remember, the ultimate goal is to win (Or have fun, depending on how you see it.) Although everyone wants to be Ovechkin and take 10 shots per game trying to snipe them all top shelf, it doesn't work (Unless you are Ovechkin.) If you have to snipe top shelf and hope the goalie misses the puck, then I suggest passing to a teammate in a better scoring position instead, or at least creating a better chance by holding onto the puck a little longer. If there are no teammates in a better scoring position, and you can't create a better scoring position, shoot low and crash the net for a rebound. Once you get the rebound, that's when you snipe top shelf. Try to stay in your position. You may look good skating around and always being near the puck, but your teammates can do that just as well as you. You're better off letting your teammates play the puck on their side and providing support then being a puck hog without the puck. Another part of being a team player is adapting to your teams needs. I swear to God (Or Allah, or Budda, or whoever) that if another forward hangs while on a penalty kill on my team, I will kill them. If it's defense time, make an effort to play defense. If you're losing 5-0, now's the time to hand and play offense-first. If your teammates are being outhit, then start hitting back. Usually, the best player at doing that on a team wears a C. Either the best player at that, or the player who draws the most fans like Kovalchuk did and Atlanta and Ovechkin does in Washington. But most captains are not one-dimensional players such as: Ryan Getzlaf, Zdeno Chara, Jarome Iginla, Eric Staal, Johnathan Toews, Nicklas Lidstrom, Dustin Brown, Bryan McCabe, Jamie Langenbrunner, Shea Weber, Mike Richards, Mikko Koivu, Chris Drury, and Shane Doan, just to name a few. They may lean more towards offense than defense, or visa-versa, but they play both ways. Also, team players make their teammates look better. Look at what Crosby did to Kunitz. He made him a pretty good player despite injuries. Know your teammates tendencies and skills, and don't be afraid to pass. Next is toughness. It is important to be able to battle through adversity. If you are hurt, if your team is losing, if you are playing weakly, you have to have the ability to get back on track and play as though nothing happened. Toughness isn't just for external pain and injuries; mental "injuries" can be just as devastating. One thing a lot of coaches say is "The score is always 0-0." This means that even if you're winning 10-1, the games not over, and if you stop playing hard, you can lose that lead, no matter how unlikely it seems. As for injuries, my only advice is don't be stupid. If you have an injury, let it fully heal. However, when it is fully healed, forget about it. If you come back from an injury and on your first game back say "Well, I separated my shoulder a month ago, so I can't play that well." If you can't play that well, then don't play. If you just have a boo-boo, suck it up though. It won't screw over the rest of your life if you make it worse, unlike a real injury. Another example of toughness is overcoming fear. If the other team is bigger and stronger than you, and maybe a little dirty, you can't just let the get the puck. Watch out for yourself, but play to win. In my opinion, the best players to win with are the though players who have skill, but aren't afraid to throw a hit or take one. Those tough players can be anyone from Dennis Potvin to Bobby Orr to Gordie Howe to Cam Neely to Brendan Shanahan. Even a player like Ovechkin. However, it usually isn't a player like a Crosby. Obviously this doesn't apply to Crosby because he is Crosby, but a good example would be the difference between Paul Stastny and Mike Richards. Both players are about equally talented, similar height, but Mike Richards plays a Philly-hockey style while Paul Stastny doesn't. They put up similar numbers, but most people think of Richards as the better player, because he's a little tougher, both physically and mentally. The last thing besides anticipating the play is imagery. Just know you can simulate real-life game situations in your head to determine what you do. My favorite way to use imagery is to play Hockey Ultimate League on NHL11. It's not as good as a scrimmage, but it puts you in situations similar to game situations which you must react similar to how you would in a game. If I ever want to drill a habit into your head, I usually play a few games on NHL11 using it as much a possible. For example, because of NHL11 I reverse a little more readily, sink into the defensive zone more often, and play a little more aggresively near the far blue line. Maybe it just works for me, but if you have it I'd suggest trying it. If you don't have it, then mental imagery works well too, but it kind of gives me a headache. Lastly is anticipating the play. I won't go in depth into situations and what to do. So I will summarize anticipating the play as: skate with your head up, know what you do before you do it, don't just throw the puck into an open space and hope it's a good pass, adapt to the situation, and don't block out your surroundings. Be aware of the play outside of what you are trying to do. Obviously that's not everything, but just make the play you think is best. There is no right way to read a play, and that's why people can excel playing with different styles.
Breakdown
- Just read it; I'm too tired to summarize this
