First, I think it’s important to define what “succeeding” in hockey means as it looks different for a lot of players. You don’t have to be the most elite player putting up 120 points a season to succeed (although that helps). I think a more appropriate conversation around succeeding should first begin with an honest self-assessment of the kind of player you are and the potential of what you can become. What do you do well and consistently and how will this help a team win? What are the holes in your game that need to be addressed? Team sports at the end of the day requires various attributes to reach maximum potential, so do you individually. That also doesn’t mean it will be perfect or linear either. So the more important question should be, how can you fit your skill set into a team's identity and system to make it work, both for you and the team. Team success will contribute to individual success, everyone wants winners.
Part 1: How Do You Show Up For Practices and Games?
Top tier players will dominate practice, and not just in small area game settings, they own every drill. There should always be a goal or focus in mind, for forwards it can sound like “I want to change my angle of attack on entry” or as defenseman, “I want to kill rushes early before they enter our zone”. Are you showing up for practice just to get through it because the coach asked you to, or do you own your development and make decisions to attack each drill with a purpose? Something to think about the next skill session you show up to in the summer or during practice. “How can I get better at __________?”. Pick something and work at it. Consistency builds habits and habits will become instincts when you play.
If you want to separate yourself then you will understand the importance of all the “boring” details that don’t typically show up on the scoresheet. If you’re a defenseman, can you scrape pucks off the wall on retrievals and execute a firm pass, every time? Forwards, can you handle rimmed pucks on breakouts or in the o-zone understanding it may be the most important play you make the entire night. These things aren’t always sexy but they show up everywhere and are non-negotiable to succeed at the next level.
I spoke about top end players approaching each practice and rep with purpose, not just to complete it, but to extract maximum value from it. Think over the course of a season, how long are you actually active during a typical 45-60 minute practice? You may only spend 7-8 hours of actual participation in a structured practice per season, that’s a typical day at school. If you are playing 15 minutes a night in a 68 game season, that’s roughly 17 hours of active participation per season (Wester Hockey League schedule). Add up all the time and you’ll notice it isn’t very much. What you do with those hours over the course of a season are more important than simply just putting in the time. It’s also a reminder that inches in development matter and what your habits are week to week add up, but that time is limited. Players who want to grow don’t waste reps.
Part 2: Own Your Development - The Difference-Maker
I believe that those players who find the most success demonstrate the following:
1. They are their own coach.
2. Are dialled in when they train, every single time.
3. Hydrate and fuel their bodies like pros - You wouldn't put regular fuel in a Ferrari
4. Eliminate excuses and complaining
5. Have the courage to take risks in both practices and games
6. Proactively communicate with their coaches and teammates
7. They learn how to learn (Your retention rate is higher when you figure it out compared to someone showing or telling you.)
8. Don’t Wait to be Great
In my opinion players who are 100% accountable to their own development will typically rise to a higher level faster. You can choose to control your growth and development. To me that is broken down into the following: Self-awareness, Adaptability, Mental Toughness, and Work Ethic.
Self-Awareness: Hardware vs Software.
Your Hardware is your DNA, It’s what makes you, you. Understanding who you are and having the humility to embrace that makes a difference. It’s not to say you can never improve on your skill set, far from it, but players who are self aware know their strengths and weaknesses, working to amplify what they’re good at while fixing the gaps. When you and your coach know what you are and what you provide, there is great value in identifying your role and going all in on it. You can be such a valuable player who is trusted to kill penalties or be defensively responsible up 1 goal in the last minute.
Your Software is your learning, your ability, adaptability, and environment. The most successful players can adapt to stressors or changing environments. If you’re great in open ice but struggle along the wall, players who end up reaching or continuing to push their potential will round out areas of weakness. Players who stick to old habits, like overhandling the puck show an inability to adapt and typically get exposed when the competition becomes faster and stronger. Accountability means honest self-assessments whether in practice, games or workouts.
Adaptability: Embrace Change and Hard Things
The game of hockey is hard, it can mean new cities, billet families, long road trips, and a faster, tougher game every level you move up. Accountable players embrace change, don’t wait to build bonds with teammates, study systems, and manage homesickness and/or school, these are real life obstacles players have to face. On the ice, they have to adjust to a faster pace, tighter checking and quicker decision making. Those who resist change can struggle, those who embrace it tend to see higher rates of success. Embrace doing hard things.
Hockey is a series of high-pressure situations, tight games, tougher crowds, and scrutiny. Players who thrive adapt to these stressors, turning adversity into growth. Adaptability involves emotional regulation, quick decision-making, and resilience under fatigue or failure. Successful players reframe setbacks, like a missed scoring chance or a bad game, as learning opportunities. They adjust to new systems, linemates, or coaching styles, showing mental flexibility that keeps them competitive.
Players who struggle often buckle under stress. Fear of failure or inability to cope with criticism can lead to hesitation or inconsistent play. Adaptable players handle physical stressors such as long seasons and injueries injuries by prioritizing recovery and maintaining focus. For example, a player returning from injury who quickly regains form demonstrates adaptability. In contrast, those who resist change or dwell on setbacks often stagnate, missing opportunities to stand out. In hockey adapting to stress isn’t just about surviving, it’s thriving under pressure that can also help define a player’s trajectory
Mental Toughness: Handle Pressure, You Want Those Moments
The game is all about handling high-pressure situtations. There is a pressure to perform, execute and adjust at all times of the season. Players who hold themselves accountable treat setbacks as chances to learn and earn back trust. They embrace coach feedback and have humility to adapt to changing environments. That can mean adapting to a change in your role either lower or higher in the line up. You can still choose how to handle those situations. Players who dwell from scrutiny from coaches, fans, or scouts will fall behind. Fail fast and move forward. Accountability builds resilience and helps the best of players choose their response to criticism or a change in circumstances. We have heard the saying that pressure is a privilege, if you want to be elite and succeed in this game, you want those moments.
Work Ethic: Outwork Everyone
And if all else fails or things aren’t going your way that day or that week, the only things you can control above everything else is your attitude and work ethic. Work ethic distinguishes players who rise to elite levels from those who plateau. Again, development isn’t a linear path. There will be setbacks, what you do about it is the true separator. Players who succeed consistently outwork their peers, both on and off the ice, it’s a skill in itself and you can train it, otherwise everyone would do it at will. Putting the work in doesn’t guarantee success, but failure to do so will guarantee you will never reach it.
Work ethic isn’t just physical; it’s mental. Successful players will often stop at nothing to gain a competitive edge, that means your dedication extends to nutrition, sleep, and recovery, treating your body as a high-performance machine. You may think you can out perform a bad diet or bad sleep habits, but that becomes death by a 1000 cuts, and it will catch up to you.
Summary:
There are so many things outside of your control not only in hockey but life. It’s important to recognize that the decisions and actions you make on a daily basis will impact where you go in the game of hockey and again in life. At the end of the day if you want to succeed, everything you do matters, it's how you treat people at the rink, away from the rink. It’s how you show up not only for yourself but for your teammates and that's a daily decision you can choose to make.
