Every great hockey player has one. Have you discovered yours yet?
Every hockey player has a particular set of strengths and weaknesses. Have you ever sat down and really thought about what yours are?
Some players can skate like the wind. Others have a laser shot or a lightning-fast release. Some can see the ice like Wayne Gretzky and pass the puck to where a player will be, not where they are. When you look around your team, you realize each player has different strengths. Those strengths are your superpowers.
My superpower showed up early. I was in high school when I realized I could check people better than anyone on my team. For some reason, I could read the perfect angle, explode through my opponent, and separate them from the puck. I loved it. My coaches loved it. My teammates respected it. That was my superpower, body checking.
Sure, I had other skills. I could shoot hard, grind in the corners, and battle for possession. But the physical side of hockey was what I resonated with. That led to my forechecking game and my ability to force turnovers and make good passes. Coaches love players who finish their checks and create plays off the puck, and that earned me spots on teams.
I always admired the players who could skate effortlessly or dangle through traffic and score highlight-reel goals. But I knew my superpower, and I embraced it. I studied it. I watched hours of video, frame by frame, analyzing my hits and angles. When I moved up into the USHL, then Division 1 college, and eventually pro hockey, body checking became what I was known for. It was my ticket in.
But I did not ignore my weaknesses. I worked on them even harder.
I will never forget the 2004 NHL lockout when a few pro players joined our college practices. I sized myself up against them. They did not look that much different physically, but I later realized their hockey IQ and small details were on another level. One of my teammates asked an NHL player if he thought I could make it to the show. The player said my skating might hold me back.
That lit a fire inside me.
Instead of sulking, I went to work. I hired skating coaches, spent my summers sharpening my edges and improving my agility, and cleaned up my nutrition to drop body fat. I went from a thick 225 pounds to a lean, powerful 215, transforming into a fast, explosive hitter who could still deliver bone-rattling checks. I was becoming the player I needed to be.
But I knew I would have to back it up. If I wanted to make it to the NHL as a physical player, I needed to fight. So I trained for that too. I hit the gym, skated every day, and spent hours in the boxing ring learning technique, balance, and toughness.
When all the pieces finally came together, my body checking, my skating, my fitness, and my fighting, I became NHL ready. The road was brutal, but it was worth it. That was my path, my superpower, my calling as a player.
Maybe yours is different. Maybe you are a goal scorer, a playmaker, or a face-off master. Maybe you kill penalties like a pro or shut down the opposition’s top line. Whatever it is, you need to find it, own it, and build it into something elite.
Take an honest look at your game today. What are you great at? What needs work? Start improving both. When you combine your superpower with your weaknesses turned into strengths, that is when you become unstoppable. That is when you reach your full potential.
Whatever level you play at, high school, juniors, college, or the pros, strive to be the absolute best version of yourself. Control what you can control. Work relentlessly. And give it everything you have every time you touch the ice.
You never know where that road might lead.
See you out there,
Bobby Robins
Savage Motivator for Wraparound Hockey
P.S. Every superhero needs the right tools. If you want to sharpen your superpower, start with the Puckaround and Green Biscuit Training Pack. It is the perfect combo for stickhandling, puck control, and skill development. Master the puck off the ice so when the game is on the line, your superpower shines.
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