Think Like You're the Best and You Will Be

Tomorrow night is the first game in a two game home set against the Corpus Christi Ice Rays. I haven't played at home yet, so I'm very excited, and my parents are making the trip down on Friday. We're excited as a team to try and get off the losing side of games; if we win both games this weekend, we will be in front of Corpus Christi in the standings. That's the motivation for this weekend. Personally, I'm just excited to prove myself. I kind of had a letdown last weekend when I got kicked out of the only game I played in, but I'm ready to come out and show that I can play and make an impact this weekend. I've had a pretty good week of practice, and I'm just excited to get back out on the ice. Every shift matters at this level, and I'm ready to focus on every little play I make this weekend. I know when I get in the zone and play with confidence, I can make great plays, but I have to play smart every time I step on the ice.

Last weekend, I read a quote by Jim Harbaugh when I was reading a Sports Illustrated article on the two brothers, John and Jim Harbaugh, who are both very successful football coaches. Jim always asks his players what they think it takes to succeed at the next level. His players usually answer with things like "hard work" and "talent." But he thinks a lot of people are talented, and a lot of people work hard. He says, "The one thing you have to do to make an NFL team is take another man's job away from him. And those men really like those jobs." It's a pretty inspirational article, and I could definitely relate to it because I think my relationship with my brother is similar to Jim and John Harbaugh's. I need to start playing like I'm better than people. Because I know I can be. But I feel like I'm just too nice sometimes. Especially coming onto a new team, it's hard to break onto the team and gain the coach's confidence right away. And I feel like I've subconsciously accepted that I'm the new guy, and it might take a while for me to be that top defenseman that I think I can be. Well, that's not the right attitude to have. I have to think like I'm the best to play like I'm the best. And I'm going to work on that starting ASAP.