He was already planning to get cut.
I was at Boston Bruins training camp, and my mentality was solid.
I was going to make the team.
That was it.
There was no Plan B running through my head. No wondering where I’d play if I got sent down. No thinking about what came next if things didn’t work out.
I was making the Boston Bruins.
Now, I wish I could tell you I always had that mentality.
I didn’t.
My rookie year, when I went to NHL training camp with the Ottawa Senators, I remember wondering if I truly belonged there.
But by the time I got to Boston, I wasn’t that player anymore.
I had grown into a real pro.
I knew who I was as a hockey player. I knew what I could bring to a team. And instead of looking backward at the player I used to be, I was looking forward at the NHL career waiting for me.
Then one day after practice, I heard something I couldn’t believe.
I was talking with a veteran player. He was a very good AHL player. A top scorer. A legitimate pro.
And he started talking about when he gets sent down to Providence.
Not if.
When.
He was already looking for an apartment in Providence.
I remember thinking:
What are you doing?!
We were still at Boston Bruins training camp!
Nobody had sent him anywhere yet.
But looking at him, I could see it.
The defeat was already in his face.
It was already in his eyes.
He was planning for his failure before it happened.
And eventually, he got exactly what he was preparing for.
He got cut.
He went to Providence.
I stayed.
And I made the Boston Bruins.
Now, am I saying mentality was the only reason I made the NHL team and he didn’t?
Of course not.
There are a thousand pieces to that puzzle.
Talent.
Performance.
Opportunity.
Timing.
Team needs.
But I guarantee you this:
Mentality played a factor.
And here’s the beautiful thing about mentality:
It might be the easiest piece of the entire puzzle to control.
Because you control it.
So if you’re starting your season right now…
If you’re at training camp…
If you’re heading into tryouts…
If you’re skating in captain’s practices…
If you’re battling for a roster spot…
It doesn’t matter where you currently sit on the depth chart.
Stop planning for where you’ll go if you fail.
Point your mentality toward where you want to go.
Then get to work.
Because belief without work is just wishful thinking.
Part of having the right mentality is doing the extra work when nobody is watching.
Get your touches.
Get your reps.
Handle the puck off the ice until you can feel it on your stick the same way you do on the ice.
That work translates.
So start stacking those reps now with the Puckaround.
See where you’re going. Believe you belong there. Then put in the work to get there.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, ex hockey pro and writer for Wraparound