I played in the NHL and still felt like a failure for years
Why most hockey players don’t succeed.
To answer that question, you first have to decide what success in hockey actually looks like.
Is it making it to the NHL?
If that’s the case, I guess I’m a success. I played three games in the NHL.
But for many years I didn’t feel like one.
And if I’m being honest, that feeling still tries to creep in sometimes. I just don’t let it take over anymore.
For a long time I saw my career as a failure. Three games in the NHL felt like falling short of the dream.
Recently I was talking with an old teammate of mine who played five NHL games. He said something that shocked me.
He told me he didn’t even know if he wanted his kids to chase the hockey dream.
He knew how hard the road was, and after what he called his “failed career,” he didn’t want them to go through it.
I reminded him who he actually was.
A Division 1 captain.
Five NHL games.
A long career in Europe.
And most likely a pretty good bank account from it too.
I couldn’t believe he saw that as failure.
Then I remembered those same feelings I used to have.
So what is the measure of success in hockey?
Is it juniors?
College hockey?
Pro hockey?
One hundred games in the show?
I don’t know if there’s a perfect answer.
But the older I get, the more I see success as something different.
Success is the pursuit of the dream.
Maybe you make it and maybe you don’t.
But along the way there are moments when you are fully absorbed in the chase. Fully invested in the game. In the practice. In the lifestyle.
And something powerful happens.
You start to believe it could actually happen.
For some players that belief is always there.
For others it flickers on and off.
For me it came late in my career when the belief finally became something I truly felt deep down.
It’s hard to explain.
It’s a feeling. A knowing.
I wish I could bottle that feeling and hold onto it forever.
Maybe that’s what separates the true superstars. They just know and never doubt.
But for grinders like me, there was doubt. There was fear. There were plenty of failures.
But there was also one thing I always had.
No matter what happened the night before, good or bad, I showed up the next day with a positive attitude and pure joy in my heart that I was playing hockey.
And I gave it everything I had.
That’s how I measure success now.
Did you give it everything you had?
Did you enjoy the chase?
Because when hockey is over, it’s the lessons that stay with us forever.
If hockey doesn’t teach you something about yourself and how to live your life, then you’re just chasing a puck.
But when you chase the dream for the sake of chasing it, when you can’t imagine chasing anything else, hockey becomes a training ground for life.
I say go for it.
Bobby Robins, NHL Alum, Boston Bruins, 3 games, a success
PS If you want to chase the hockey dream, twice a week on the ice probably isn’t enough.
The real work happens on the concrete floor in the garage or in the driveway or at the gym.
That’s where you hone your craft.
At Wraparound we want you to become the best hockey player you can be. But more than that, we want you to become the best person you can be.
You do that by showing up today no matter what happened yesterday.
Not worrying about tomorrow.
Just being fully present in this moment.
In this moment you are either getting better at hockey or you’re not.
You are either leveling up your life or you’re not.
It all comes down to the choices you make today.