I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn’t make it [achieve something], they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.
When I played in a 21-team league, there were six or seven goalies who were just average, and the equipment and pads were smaller. I came in the right era. I played for the right team. It was all speed, and creativity and imagination.
My best friend had a hockey scholarship at Ohio State, so I would get a couple of pairs at the beginning of the season and send them down to him. They practised two hours a day. He’d skate in them for three weeks then ship them back.
I have absolutely no complaints about my life. But people think I got handed everything, all this kind of fell in my lap, that I was just God-gifted with all this talent. I wanted people to realize it’s a lot tougher than just waking up one day and you’re in the NHL.
That’s the hardest part of this whole process. The best part is picking the players and the worst part is telling basically five players they are not going to play tonight.
The game is played out of instinct, but everyone on the ice has habits – good and bad. So the key to the game is to exploit the bad habits of your opponent.
One of the key qualities that you need to be a great hockey player is fantastic anticipation and feel for the game – if you know where the puck is going before it is hit, that is half the battle.
![Wayne Gretzky Quote - I think a lot of parents live their lives through the kids. Because they didn’t make it [achieve something], they want their kids to make it. It puts a lot of undue pressure on the kids.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/i-think-a-lot-of-parents-live-their-lives-through--683x1024.jpg)
