What do you have to lose?
Last night I watched the Buffalo vs Montreal Game 7 overtime game and man…it doesn’t get much more real than that.
Can you imagine what those players were feeling in that moment?
Every shift matters. Every touch of the puck matters. One mistake and your season is over. But on the other side of that pressure is the opportunity to become the hero. One play. One shot. One moment that changes everything.
And how did the game end?
A shot through traffic.
Nothing fancy. Just getting the puck to the net.
We hear it our whole lives as hockey players.
“Shoot the puck!”
I can still hear coaches yelling it from the bench.
Truthfully, I always had a tendency to look for the fancy pass on a two on one. I wanted to make a slick play. I wanted to slide one across and set my teammate up for the perfect goal. There’s something about passing the puck that can feel safer too. It takes the pressure off you. You don’t have to be the one taking the shot.
But hockey teaches you something important.
If you never shoot, nothing happens.
Walter Gretzky said it best: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
As you head into your summer skates and offseason training, I want to encourage you to develop the mindset of attacking the net. Don’t shy away from the moment. Get your eyes up. Learn how to shoot through traffic. Learn how to get pucks through defenders and onto the net.
Because sometimes the puck finds its way through.
Sometimes, as they say, the puck has eyes.
That game-winning goal wasn’t some highlight reel move through four defenders. It was a player willing to put the puck on net and trust what might happen.
That’s hockey.
But you know me by now. These emails are never just about hockey.
“Shoot the puck” is a life lesson too.
There are moments in life where you feel something calling you toward a dream, a goal, a direction, or a purpose. And even when fear creeps in, even when you doubt yourself, you still hear that voice somewhere deep down telling you to go for it.
Maybe I’m giving myself this pep talk too.
There are things in my own life right now that scare me. Big dreams. Big risks. Big unknowns. But I can still hear that voice like a coach yelling from the bench:
“Bobby, take the shot.”
So that’s my encouragement for you today.
If you feel something brewing inside of you…go for it.
If you feel the hockey dream calling you…take your shot.
Attack the net.
Trust your training.
And never live your life wondering what would have happened if you would’ve just gone for it.
Knuckles up,
Bobby Robins, savage motivator, NHL Alum, writer for Wraparound