If you want to play Junior hockey and beyond, you must understand what higher level teams NEED!

I want to put the North American Junior landscape into perspective for all of our European, Russian, and otherwise international friends.

#8: Have a vision...ten do it. If you have a vision, the only next step is to execute. This is the last part of this 8 part series!

#7: Leadership Inertia - Lead...start...then watch others run with what you began. Celebrate others' successes and accomplishments.

#6: Psych yourself in... Experiment and find your optimal energy level for competition. Not too high, not too low. Juuuuust right.

#5: Diversify your Interests. When one aspect of your life feels low or slow, spend time somewhere else to refresh and reset. Diversify!

#4: Breathe. Reset. Repeat. Use every whistle as a reminder to slow things down and focus on your breath.

#3: Fail. Try Again. You're not perfect, I'm not perfect, but when we fail, we have a process: we get back up, reset, and try again.

#2: Be Uniquely You - there is nobody else in the world like you. You're it. So do your best with everything you have!

Principle #1: Extend Outside Your Comfort Zone. This is installment 1 of 8 upcoming posts, relating the piano to goaltending!

This one is all about making things easier on ourselves. It's about putting the stakes in perspective while we learn how to cut our steak.

Does diversifying yourself as an athlete give you an edge? How does your identity factor into your success and athletic happiness?

Do you see yourself as a gold or clay statue? You have greatness in you waiting to be unleashed.

Oftentimes, we make too big a deal out of some things that don't really matter, and not enough of a deal about others that do!

Master your breath. Master your mind.

Learn to leave the outside world, outside.

Thank you Veterans! Your sacrifices undoubtedly carried opportunity costs but you decided to fight and defend.

A thought on your impact and meaning. Do you want to brighten a room when you enter it? Or when you leave? All that, and some math...

Happy Halloween, friends. Masks are integral to the holiday and to our jobs as goalies. They transform us into different people...warriors..

After the shock, we adapt. But how might a shower remind us of our resilience and ability to overcome? This too shall pass.