Hittin' the Road

We're going to play the Bakersfield Jr. Condors this weekend in Bakersfield, California. Then, after this weekend, we're staying 5 days in Las Vegas, and then going to play in Long Beach the next weekend. We're gone for about 10 or 11 days in total, so it's going to be a long road trip. I'm excited though. How could I complain about 5 days in Vegas? I'm feeling ready to play, ready to get back on track. I just need to execute better, think on every shift, and never take a shift off. I know I can be a force at this level if I play smart hockey. I can make a huge impact if I use my brain out on the ice, like all the best defensemen in the game do. I'm excited for the road trip with the guys, though, and to challenge myself to do better in these next 6 games. The season is almost over, and this is when we have to be at our highest level to get ready for playoffs.

Just Do Your Thing

I'm ready to have a good week of practice. I think all last week, I was a little bit flustered and that might've affected my play more than I think. This week, I just need to focus. I think I'm one of those people who is just naturally a worrier, who thinks about every decision too much. Did I do the right thing? Will it affect my future? How will it affect my future? And sometimes with trains of thought like that, I just bring myself down, making my dream seem a lot farther away than it really is. I need to only worry about the things I need to worry about. And that's what I can do to make myself better. I need to focus on making myself a better hockey player, and that's really all I need to worry about. Everything else is out of my control. And really, if I take care of everything I need to take care of, I think everything else will fall into place for me. I need to work hard this week and just do my thing, try to eliminate all the negative thinking that is weighing me down and holding me back.

One of Those Weekends

We had 3 games against the Arizona Redhawks this weekend, the last place team in our division. We came out of the weekend with 3 wins, but to be honest we were very fortunate to make it out with 3 wins. Arizona put up a pretty good fight against us. Sometimes it's just hard to play games at your highest level, especially when you're playing teams you know you should beat. Subconsciously, you might not prepare yourself as well as you should, and I think teams definitely play at their best against us because they know they have to and everyone wants to beat the #1 team. Those games are always dangerous. But good teams get through them. We won all 3 games even though they might've been a little closer than we would've liked.

To be honest, I had a little bit of an off weekend. I felt like I was fighting the puck constantly. I think I had slow feet, and I wasn't thinking as well as I need to out on the ice. I made some poor decisions with the puck, when my job as a defenseman is to manage the game, get the puck to the forwards, and take care of the puck. I don't know what happened, but I didn't have my best 3 games this weekend. I had little glimmers of good plays, but the bottom line is that I did not play very well, and I need to play better, and I know I can play better. The coach here in Idaho has told me he's a coach who will point out mistakes more than anything. That's a good thing. That's how I get better. There are times when I will make a good play and know I made a good play, then I will come back to the bench, and I will hear that I made a good play, BUT I could've made a better play by doing something else. And there are also times when I know I made a bad play, and I come to the bench for answers about how I can fix my mistakes. I like it. I know I'm learning, and I'm trying to take in as much as I can, but sometimes I just don't make the right play. And it's frustrating when I make the wrong play. I think, though, the fact that the coaches here are teaching me so much means they care about me and believe in me.

Maybe I'm being a little too hard on myself, or I'm just becoming more of a perfectionist to make myself better, but I definitely know I can play better than I did this weekend. I made some good plays, I wasn't ever scored on, but I might've been scored on if we were playing a better team. I need to be more mentally tough. Hockey is such a mental game, and I need to get better at that part of it. I think sometimes I still make one mistake, then worry about making another mistake, so I make another one. It's just a bad cycle, and I can't let myself fall into that mental trap anymore. I have to be strong and confident and believe in myself because I am a good hockey player. Even though there are a lot of things I need to work on, here are some things I really want to focus on getting better at in these next few weeks: footwork, quickness, decision making with the puck, active stick, mental toughness. Part of being mentally tough is playing every shift with urgency. I can't give up, even when I'm tired. I need to stay focused here in these next few weeks, and really concentrate on the things I need to improve on to get better.

Lookin' Out for #1

I had a good few days to start out this week. I got called back up to New Mexico, but I don't think I'm ready to come yet. And I subconsciously knew that when I talked to the coach there. I just didn't say that to him directly. It's not that I don't want to be there, or that I don't want to play at the highest level that I can. I would love to go back there, but to be honest to myself, I think I need more time here in Idaho. I'm learning and getting better every day, but I still have a lot to work on; I know that, and I think the coaches in both New Mexico and Idaho know that.

Even though I think I've taken some steps forward here in the past 2 weeks, I know I'm still a very raw player. I have a lot to improve upon with my footwork, quickness, and my knowledge of the game in general. I have a lot of good things going for me as well, but even in games at the Tier III level here in Idaho, I'm making mistakes and getting beat, which tells me the most important thing for me right now is to play a lot, so I can learn from my mistakes and get better from them. And there wasn't really a guarantee that I would play a lot if I went back to New Mexico right now. It might take another week or another two weeks. I don't really know. But I want to be ready if and when the next call comes because I think if I get better on a few things, I can really make a difference anywhere I play. I don't want to go back to New Mexico and be a 6th or 7th defenseman. If I work on a few things, keep being a sponge, and take in everything I can, I really think I can go back there and be a difference maker, not a player who is in and out of the lineup every night.

Like I said in an earlier post, I'm tired of just being potential. And I'm finally in a place where I'm playing a lot and starting to reach some of my potential. It's exciting. That's why it was kind of a bittersweet feeling for me to get called up to New Mexico right now. Of course I want to move up to the NAHL again to play at the highest level I can, but I also want to make sure that I'm ready when I do, so I can keep moving forward. I was feeling very stressed yesterday after I talked to New Mexico because I didn't want to burn any bridges, and I felt like I might've. I really do want to be back there at some point, but I need to go at a time that's right for me, and I think the coaches here in Idaho and in New Mexico will help let me know when that time is. It could be sooner than later. I don't know. It depends on how much of a sponge I can be, and how fast I can learn things. At the end of the day, though, I need to do what is best for me, and I think, right now, the best thing is staying in Idaho for a little longer. But don't get me wrong. I want to be back in New Mexico at some point. I like the coach there and believe he can make me a better player, but I also like the coach here in Idaho and think he can make me a better player. I know I'm in good hands here, with two good coaches taking care of me.

Awesome Weekend

I played all three games this weekend against the Flyers, and I got an assist in each game. All three assists came from my shots from the point. I'm happy with the way I played. For the most part, I felt comfortable. I made some mistakes here and there, but I really think I played well this weekend. I played within myself, made passes, shot the puck, and did my job aside from a few small mental errors I had that never really hurt our team. I wasn't on the ice for any of their goals all weekend, but I could've been. In the last minute of the last game when we were up 4-3, I tried to keep the puck inside our offensive blue line, and I let a guy get behind me, and the puck squirted out behind me. I gave up a 2-on-1, and, luckily, they didn't score on it. Our goalie bailed me out, but it still was not a very good play. The thing is, though, that I haven't played in that kind of situation all year. This is only the 7th game I've played with the Steelheads, and it's the 14th game I've played all year, and in half of those games I played in limited situations. I'm still learning, still getting better, and I'm still going to make mistakes. But that's part of learning.

Besides that one serious mistake at the end of our 3rd game, I think I played really solidly this weekend. And it was fun having my mom around to watch too!

One more assist tonight. And I played pretty well. I was a little shaky at the start, I think because I'm just playing a little hesitant with all these new systems I'm learning. I settled in as the game went on but I know I can still play better. I played a smart game, though. We won 8 to 3 and I think I was +4 and wasn't on the ice for any of their goals. I think as a team we can play better. We need to eliminate our stupid mistakes, and defensively, especially when it's a blowout like tonight was, we need to focus on managing the game with smart plays and keeping the puck out of our net.

I'm Only Gonna Get Better

I'm pretty excited right now. I got an assist in our game tonight, which we won 3-1, and I played well. I played a smart game for the most part. I still made a few little mental errors, but nothing too serious. They are mistakes that I can correct pretty easily if I think about what I'm doing on the ice every shift, every play. I've learned so much in two weeks here, and it's pretty cool to see myself using the new things I've learned. Just little things like body position when I catch a D-to-D pass behind the net, finding the seams on the power play, and shooting the puck off the ice. I'm starting to use the things I learn, and that's just a cool feeling.

I got some power play and penalty kill time tonight, which was fun. I made some mistakes on both, but I'm learning, and I know I will only get better the more I play. Our second goal was a power play goal and I was at the top of the umbrella. I shot the puck about a foot off the ice and our team just crashed the net and pounded in the rebound. It's what we've been told our power play is all about: shoot the puck on net, and crash for the rebounds. On the penalty kill, I made a mistake because I gave up a 2-on-1, but I'm learning the new system, and it might take a little time for me to fully learn it and feel comfortable with it, but overall, I did fine on the PK also.

Two more games this weekend, and we can't let up. I have to refocus to have another good game tomorrow night. I'm starting to move in the right direction I think--I know I will only get better with more game experience--but I still need to approach every game as a big game. I can't take a shift off.