12/03/2021


Now that we have approached the end of what is my rookie season, I’m looking back at my progress so far, both as a player and as an individual in understanding how the SHL works. Some of my entries have been more team oriented, but this one is more personal.

I’m looking back at my earliest notions after the preseason that my team was so grossly outshot due to not attacking enough and being too passive. Although I considered myself a two way forward whose play was going to build from a foundation of sound defense, I actually started in my earliest days by working on some offensive skills. I also reasoned that balance would be important for puck possession. Being a center in name, I worked on my faceoffs, only to find myself playing left wing to open the season.

After my initial training heading into the regular season, I concentrated more on pure hockey skills and mental skills rather than on pure physical skills. I aim to save skating skills and physical skills for the offseason with some occasional exceptions for some realistic role playing. I held back on working on my faceoffs until I’m actually used as a center. My primary interests are to become a good puck possession player with playmaking as a secondary skill.  With that in mind, I have tried to gain skill in puck handling and stick checking periodically as paired skills. I haven’t been too focused in any one area of my training because a rookie needs development in all areas.

I’ve been watching my progress through the season with special focus on my takeaway to giveaway ratio. After 14 games, I somehow discovered the stat check in my locker room and my ratio was a pretty terrible 0.25 as might be expected.  It was somewhere about this time that our coaching staff got tired of seeing us outshot 60 to 10 in an average game and changed some tactics. There was an immediate perceptible change in the performance of the team. This was the first evidence that I had seen about how important coaching and tactics are to team performance. We were behind the Detroit Falcons at the time and began the process of catching them and passing them immediately. However, after 22 games, I had continued to regress, with only 3 points, 2 takeaways and 16 giveaways to my credit. I was failing in the first goal that I had established with the ratio declining to 0.13.

Despite my struggles, I was getting practice by having my penalty killing time increase throughout the season. At the 35 game mark my TA/GA was 0.41. In 40 games, it was 0.48. Through 52 games the ratio had increased to 0.61. Through 60 games, the ratio continued the steady march higher to 0.66.

At some point near the midpoint of the season, I discovered an article that discussed a play style or a player type referred to in SHL circles as the “meta”.  The article attempted to identify attributes that correlated more closely with a team’s success and which attributes appeared to have less impact on a team’s success.  I’m a moderate person in most respects, so I let the article influence me some, while not trying to follow it entirely. I’m still trying to build a player that fits into a short list of well defined roles.

I’m continuing to develop one step at a time without a totally focused plan. Yet as I move closer to about 60 TPE from the first SMJHL cap, I will be more careful about where to focus for my more expensive “14s”.

Although I set out to be more of a playmaker than a scorer, I’m sitting with 7 goals and 3 assists with six games left in the season.  I can’t really explain this and believe that it is just a fluke. I consider myself to be one of the worst shooters among forwards on the team. However, I am currently leading the entire league in one category after 60 games. My average short handed time on the ice is the top mark at 3:18 ice time per game. This says three things. First, we are one frustrated hockey team and some people are spending significant time in the box. Second, the coaching staff trusts my dedication and growing defensive skills. Third, we may have few better options.

I’ve learned another important thing from this first year with the Scarecrows. Don’t judge a person from what you see from the outside. I’ve had the chance to get to know someone in my locker room who turned out to be much more friendly and even helpful than I ever expected. In my past incarnations in the SHL, we didn’t get along well and were more like adversaries.  This person turned out to be pretty cool as a teammate. This experience demonstrates an idea that I’ve had for a long time. It really shouldn’t matter too much what a locker room is like. Wherever I end up throughout my career for as long as it lasts, I should find a way to get along with most people once I get to know them.