There's only one way to stay cool.
I'm up here in northern Wisconsin on the shores of mighty Lake Michigan. This time of year it's usually cool and breezy as the sailboats catch the wind and see where it leads them.
Not this week.
It's an absolute heatwave.
Everyone is hiding indoors. The air conditioners are humming. Even the lake breeze seems to have disappeared.
As I was sitting here sweating, it reminded me of one of the craziest stories from my pro hockey career.
I'd just finished two years in Europe, and it was becoming pretty clear that European hockey wasn't my game.
I had played one season in the UK Elite League and then signed in the Austrian League, thinking my career was heading in the right direction.
Instead, it felt like I was going backward.
I didn't do much that season except get suspended three different times for delivering three huge, clean body checks.
Apparently I was checking too hard.
At that point I started asking myself some hard questions.
What am I doing?
Where is my career going?
Is this really how my hockey story ends?
That's when I made one of the biggest decisions of my life.
I was coming back to North America, and I was going to become the player I knew I could be. I was going to fight my way to the NHL.
That summer I trained harder than I had ever trained.
I got rid of a bunch of bad habits.
I got my mind right.
I learned how to fight from a professional boxer.
I lifted. I skated. I ran. I prepared like my life depended on it.
Then I earned a tryout with the Houston Aeros, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Minnesota Wild.
I felt ready.
Our first exhibition game was against the San Antonio Rampage.
They had three tough guys on their roster.
Before the game even started, I made up my mind.
I was going to fight every one of them.
Not because I hated them.
Because I wanted everyone watching to know I belonged.
I was terrified.
But I had finally reached the point where my dream was bigger than my fear.
During warmups I stared them down.
Little smirks.
Dirty looks.
The message was clear.
Tonight we're doing this.
We came back into the locker room after warmups ready to go.
Then the coach walked in.
"Fellas, we're going to wait about 15 minutes. There's some water on the ice by the Zamboni door."
No problem.
We waited.
Fifteen minutes later the equipment manager walked in.
"Another 15."
The locker room kept getting hotter.
Everyone was sweating.
I just wanted to get on the ice.
I'd spent the entire summer preparing for this moment.
Then the coach came back in.
"The game's canceled."
The refrigeration system had failed.
The ice had literally melted.
We loaded back onto the bus and drove from San Antonio back to Houston without playing a single shift.
I remember staring out the window wondering if maybe someone was protecting me.
Maybe I wasn't as ready as I thought I was.
The next morning I showed up at the rink.
The coach called me into his office.
Minnesota had sent players down.
There wasn't room for me anymore.
I was cut.
Just like that, my chance was gone.
I packed my gear into my car and drove to Bakersfield to play in the ECHL.
I never got my chance to play in that exhibition game.
As I sit here sweating through this heatwave years later, that's the memory that comes back to me.
Not the disappointment.
The preparation.
The ice melted.
The opportunity disappeared.
But I was ready.
That's all you can control.
You can't control injuries.
You can't control coaches.
You can't control roster moves.
You can't control melted ice.
You can control whether you're ready when your opportunity comes.
So if you're sitting in front of the air conditioner today trying to escape the heat, remember this.
It's going to take some sweat to achieve your dream.
Every workout.
Every stickhandling session in the driveway.
Every sprint.
Every rep.
Every day you choose discipline over comfort.
Keep putting in the work.
Because when your opportunity finally arrives, you don't want to wish you had trained harder.
You want to know you're ready.
Now go bring the heat.
Knuckles Up,
Bobby Robins, savage motivator, NHL Alum, writer for Wraparound
P.S. Before you head out for the Fourth of July weekend, grab a pair of the USA 250th Anniversary Blade Shades. They're built for long summer days at the rink, on the lake, and everywhere in between.
Stay cool, protect your eyes, and celebrate America in style.