A question that can change everything
Who wants it?
That’s a dangerous question.
Let’s be honest. I wasn’t the guy you called on for the shootout. I made my living in the corners. Finishing checks. Blocking shots. Fighting. Doing whatever it took to help the team win.
But I could play too.
Senior year at UMass Lowell, I was the leading scorer and the captain. I could make plays. I could score goals. I loved scoring goals.
And I’ll tell you this. No matter your role, scoring a goal is the best feeling in the world. Every shift I ever played, I wanted one.
The higher you climb in hockey, the harder it gets. Everyone is good. Everyone is strong. Everyone can play. That’s why you have to find your role and dominate it.
But every once in a while, you get a shot.
I’ll never forget this one.
I was playing for the Chicago Express in the ECHL. Coached by the legendary Steve Martinson. I had just gotten into a fight and took a clean one that dropped me. TKO.
And something happened after that.
Anytime I got rocked like that, something flipped. The doubt disappeared. The fear disappeared. I went into a different place. Pure instinct. Pure flow.
I was flying.
The game goes to a shootout.
And somehow, some way, my name gets called.
I skate out to center ice with a clear head. No thinking. Just reacting. I bust out my go-to move, around-the-world, and slip it five hole.
Goal!!
Best feeling in the world.
That ended up being the only shootout attempt I ever got in pro hockey.
But the moment that stuck with me the most came later.
Providence Bruins. Playing for Bruce Cassidy. Tight game against Hershey. We head to a shootout.
At this point in my career, my role is clear. Checking forward. Tough minutes. A handful of goals a year. Shootout is not my lane.
But I still wanted it.
After a couple of rounds, no one scores. Cassidy looks down the bench and says it.
“Who wants it?”
Silence.
And I’ll never forget that feeling.
Because I wanted it. I believed I would score.
But I didn’t say a word.
One of the skill guys spoke up. Jumped over the boards. Buried it. Game over.
And I sat there thinking about it.
Because I know this. If I had looked him in the eye and said, I want it, he would have given me the nod.
And yeah…I would have scored.
That moment never left me.
Because the lesson is simple.
If you want it, you can’t just think it.
You can’t just hope for it.
You have to step forward and take it.
So this weekend, if you want it…
Go get it.
— Bobby Robins, savage motivator, NHL Alum, writer for Wraparound
PS: If your season is over, that doesn’t mean you shut it down.
Get out on the pavement. Put the work in. Visualize the moment. See yourself stepping up and calling your shot.
That confidence is built where nobody is watching.
And if you want a puck that actually feels like the real thing on concrete, you already know…
>>>The Puckaround off-ice training puck is as close as it gets.
Who wants it?