Collected advice from hockey professionals, compiled by Stephen Smith.
“Don’t get disgusted with your performance.” —Johnny Bucyk
“Refrain from smoking.”—Toe Blake
“Of course a fellow’s got to know how to skate a bit, and not mind being roughed a bit, you know. The rest comes with practice.” —Ralph Henry Barbour, Guarding His Goal (1917)
“Let’s face it, you’ll never be a good hockey player unless you are a good skater.” —Ken Hodge
“You can’t take any fudge from anybody and be a hockey player in Canada.” —Derek Sanderson
“In Canada, it is customary to eat a good thick steak about 3½ hours before the game.” —Doc Brodrick
“Do not listen to remarks from the spectators. It is a habit, particularly at the general admission end of the rinks, to call all kinds of things at the goalkeeper and he cannot listen to them and keep his mind on the game.”—Percy LeSueur
“I have a theory that a goal-tender ought to have red hair.” —Ralph Henry Barbour, Guarding His Goal (1917)
“The most valuable of the backhand shots is the flip.” —Bobby Hull
“You’ve got to cheat on face-offs because it’s too difficult to win them fair and square.” —Derek Sanderson
“Boys—hockey is a ‘He-Man’s’ game, and my long association with this fastest game in the world has shown me that a really great hockey player is a real man from head to heels.” —Tommy Gorman
“The man with eyes for nothing but the puck will never be a high-class hockey player.” —Mervyn (Red) Dutton
“I never plan how I’m going to shoot when I go in on a goaler. I just get in there as fast as I can and look for a spot.” —Maurice Richard
“A priest once told me something I’ve never forgotten. He said that you can have two of the following three things —hockey, social life and education. You must have an education—so that leaves a choice between a social life or hockey.” —Gordie Howe
“I place emphasis on shoulder pads. Some players seem to think they can get along without them but that’s foolish. The better the shoulder pads the more confidence you’ll have.” —Bill Quackenbush
“Before a game we all pay a visit to the dressing room commode to make ourselves as light as possible.” —Keith Magnuson
“I recommend ping-pong and tennis. These sports develop swiftness and good reflexes. They improve your coordination and they use the same muscles which a goalie needs in hockey.” —Vladislav Tretiak
“No between-meal snacks if you want to keep your stomach happy. As for smoking, I do not indulge at all except for an occasional cigar.” —Maurice Richard
“I go easy on pickles and pastries. A steak dinner is the thing not less than three hours before playing a game.” —Black Jack Stewart
“Frankly, I haven’t any great dread of the slap shot. A very large percentage of slap shots hit you or miss the net. Usually a slap shot ‘telegraphs’ itself; you know when a player is winding up for one. I have found the best strategy is to go out to meet the shot and take a chance since, at best, it is an inaccurate type of shot.” —Bill Durnan
“To avoid unnecessary pain when the puck hits the end of your boot, keep your big toenails short. Do the same for your fingernails.” —Jacques Plante
“Don’t fight the puck.” —Bill Durnan
“When I was a defenceman I always tried to make an opponent stickhandling at me look me in the eye. If he was skating up the ice toward my goal and I could make him look me in the eye, I felt I had him.” —Mervyn (Red) Dutton
“The best recipe I’ve discovered to date is to withhold the shot until within eight to ten feet of the net, then shoot for the corner.” —Howie Morenz
“If I get slashed by someone, I slash him back, right away. Then I forget about it.” —Pavel Bure
“On the ice I normally don’t say very much to anyone, except when I am backchecking, and even then I keep my words to a minimum and try to use proper English and good grammar.” —Bobby Orr
“The fans may boo you when too many goals go in. Be prepared for it. You won’t like it, but a goalie has to learn to live with it. It goes with the job.” —Jacques Plante
“If I were to send my son out to play goal for the very first time, my advice would be to have fun. Have fun.” —Grant Fuhr
“Pick the guy up, get the elbow across the head and slam him into the ice.” —Mick Vukota
“In many ways, fighting is almost like shooting the puck, since I want to get as much power as possible behind my punch. To set up, I turn the blades of my skates to the outside, pointing them to about a ten minutes past ten position. By doing that, I will have better balance and probably won’t slide too much. As I throw my punches, I lean forward—practically on my toes—and throw my body behind the punch.” —Bobby Orr
“Keep your hockey stick and a puck in the basement and on rainy days practise shooting at a small target on the basement wall.” —Tommy Gorman
“What makes a good goaltender? Many things, really … You must have intestinal fortitude or, to put it bluntly, the guts of a burglar.” —Emile (Cat) Francis
“You’ve probably had lectures about smoking. I’ll make mine short. Very early my coach told me that it wouldn’t do me any good to smoke cigarettes so I never tried them. It was as simple as that. So I can’t say how smoking might have affected me. All I know that when I see a boy smoking, I know that he’s either a little shot trying to be a big shot or he’s gone over to the social side and really doesn’t want to be a hockey player, and that’s all we shall say about that.” —Gordie Howe
“Many youngsters (and even men) think there is some secret way to avoid bodychecks or the less punishing stickchecks.” —Frank Mahovlich
“Basically, if you can skate and can walk, you can play.” —Phil Esposito
“Worrying about getting hurt is the surest way to cramp your style and get yourself injured in the process.” —Rod Gilbert
“It’s important to a hockey player’s performance that he plays on an empty stomach.” —Johnny Bucyk
“Smoking? I haven’t found smoking particularly harmful. I stick to cigarettes only.” —Sid Abel
“There’s nothing like a good crime story or a play on TV to help you get over a bad game. You get so absorbed you forget the tensions you took home.” —Gump Worsley
“I’ve watched players embrace and hug each other every time a goal is scored. All it takes is one slip and the whole group will go down with skates flying in all directions. A skate blade can cut an arm or leg just like a knife. Sometimes even more serious injuries can result. When I was a kid in Winnipeg I once saw a boy lose an eye in one of those hugging demonstrations. Give the scorer a pat on the back or a yell of encouragement. You can show spirit with foolish mauling which can lead to disaster.” —Andy Bathgate
“I wish I knew the secret to scoring goals. I don’t.” —Ken Hodge
“Don’t stand around. Don’t watch. Get involved.” —Mike Babcock
“The drop pass is an enticing little devil; it looks very pretty when executed right, but is in reality a very dangerous pass that can create a lot of damage when it backfires. If you must drop a pass for a teammate, simply leave the puck where it is and let him skate up behind you to pick it up while you move ahead.” —Red Kelly
