Photo by Samantha Boice
Thoughts run rampant `round the skull, day in and day out, during a hockey season. The weeks fly by. We practice and we play. We rest for a day, and then we are right back at it. We are here now, right in the thick of things. It's approaching mid-January, and we are well into the season. But we are far from close to that end goal, that prize waiting at the end, that elusive trophy, that shining silver brilliance.
There doesn't seem to be much of anything going on during these mid-season months except for hockey. We are running on momentum now. We are building up speed, and we are rolling through games, and rolling through weeks. I like it like this. This is when I am at my best. This is when I am consumed with what I am doing in the moment. I'm only focusing on today. I'm only focusing on being excellent at practice today. And when games come in two days, I'll be consumed in that moment, trusting that I will be excellent again.
This is what I have known for years. I know how to get swept away into a hockey season. I know that after Christmas, the season flies by. I know that at the end of every season, I ask myself the exact same question, “Good god, where did the time go?”
Even though I become that robotic version of me, blending days into days, and keeping focused on that goal and that dream, my mind is always moving. Today I am thinking about hockey as I sit at my writing desk, listening to Mr. Tom Tom purr at the window sill.
The NHL Lockout is over! We all wondered if it would happen eventually. And just like a hockey season, the weeks passed, and then months, and I wondered if we would lose an entire season. Then, alas, the clouds parted. So what does this mean for me? What does this mean for the League? For Providence?
Obviously, there are going to be a lot of changes in the coming weeks with our team and the American Hockey League. Everyone is thinking the same thing. Everyone wants to be the guy. Everyone wants to get that call up to the Show. It should be that way. You should be hungry. Salivating. Starving.
This is what I have known for years. I know how to get swept away into a hockey season. I know that after Christmas, the season flies by. I know that at the end of every season, I ask myself the exact same question, “Good god, where did the time go?”
Even though I become that robotic version of me, blending days into days, and keeping focused on that goal and that dream, my mind is always moving. Today I am thinking about hockey as I sit at my writing desk, listening to Mr. Tom Tom purr at the window sill.
The NHL Lockout is over! We all wondered if it would happen eventually. And just like a hockey season, the weeks passed, and then months, and I wondered if we would lose an entire season. Then, alas, the clouds parted. So what does this mean for me? What does this mean for the League? For Providence?
Obviously, there are going to be a lot of changes in the coming weeks with our team and the American Hockey League. Everyone is thinking the same thing. Everyone wants to be the guy. Everyone wants to get that call up to the Show. It should be that way. You should be hungry. Salivating. Starving.
Photo by Samantha Boice
With all the excitement, buzzing, whispers, and rumors, I take a step back and assess my life and my situation in life. I'm playing in the American Hockey League. I'm one step away from the NHL. I know what it took to get to here, and now after seven years, and trials and tribulations, and tests and quests, I know what it takes to stay. I know the level of dedication it takes. I know the time, sweat, and tears it takes to be here. I've been here since December 28, 2011, a little over one year, when I got called up to the Providence Bruins, and I've been doing what it takes ever since. I look back at who that version of me was one year ago when I got called up. It had been 6 years since I last played in the American League, and I didn't know if I was good enough. I didn't know if I could hang with these young bucks. I did the only thing I could, and set aside all fear and doubt. There was only one way to find out. I laid it on the line every single day. Every practice. Every game. I gave every ounce of me.
That's what I'm still doing today. Nothing has changed in that respect. But I have changed. I have become a better hockey player, a better fighter, better person, a better man, a better version of me. And that's the secret, but really no secret at all: if you keep being excellent every day, eventually you become that person. You become excellent. That's how I'm living my life now. And that's how I plan on living my life until the day I die. So with the NHL opening up, obviously I have taken notice, and I have sharpened my scope. I see my destiny clearly. I can visualize that dream that I am chasing. But for now, for today, I must will control what I can control. I control how hard I work today. I control what I put into my body. I control what I put into my mind. I control how positive I will be today. And when I make all the right choices, think all the right thoughts, and follow through on all the right actions, I have faith that my path and destiny will open up before me, and lead me where I need to be lead. And with these thoughts on my brain, I can rest easy at night, dreaming sweet dreams, and waking refreshed and inspired, every single day.
So tomorrow I will wake up and say “thank you”, and mean it. Then I will say “I'm going to be excellent today”, and know it.
That's what I'm still doing today. Nothing has changed in that respect. But I have changed. I have become a better hockey player, a better fighter, better person, a better man, a better version of me. And that's the secret, but really no secret at all: if you keep being excellent every day, eventually you become that person. You become excellent. That's how I'm living my life now. And that's how I plan on living my life until the day I die. So with the NHL opening up, obviously I have taken notice, and I have sharpened my scope. I see my destiny clearly. I can visualize that dream that I am chasing. But for now, for today, I must will control what I can control. I control how hard I work today. I control what I put into my body. I control what I put into my mind. I control how positive I will be today. And when I make all the right choices, think all the right thoughts, and follow through on all the right actions, I have faith that my path and destiny will open up before me, and lead me where I need to be lead. And with these thoughts on my brain, I can rest easy at night, dreaming sweet dreams, and waking refreshed and inspired, every single day.
So tomorrow I will wake up and say “thank you”, and mean it. Then I will say “I'm going to be excellent today”, and know it.
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