The speech is always very important. Sometimes, it has less to do with the physical skills one brings to a hockey team and more about the intangibles. A leader being able to strike some inspiration into his or her teammates is exactly what defines leadership in a locker room. From experience, berating teammates for poor performance is not the best way to motivate. Still, frustrated leaders who are in over their heads will resort to this tactic. I differentiate between speeches and berating. Speeches will inspire the team to do better. It will call for character that is deep down inside of every player. A well structured speech is sometimes enough to initiate a much needed comeback. Coaches will need to be able to do this, but also the captains of the team. This is why the captain of the team is not always the most skilled player of the team. Rather, it is the player with the best ability to lead during adversity and bring out the best of his or her team and/or the local school audience.