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Tournaments, Pressure, and Playing Your Game

Many of you may be playing in tournaments this past weekend or are prepping for upcoming ones. Always games on the weekends though. Big games, high profile and heavily scouted tournaments always bring on both excitement and anxiety. You want to play your best. Strive for excellence but not perfection. There is no perfect game in hockey. It truly is a game of mistakes. The teams and players that can keep their mistakes to a minimum, refocus, rebound and retry quicker and more efficiently will end up the winner.

My best advice is to keep it simple. Play how you practice and don't try to do too much. The moment you start trying to make the highlight reel play, you lose the thread of your actual game. Scouts at these tournaments are watching how you handle pressure and adversity, not just whether you score.

The Worst Five Minutes of My Career

I will never forget a particular game when I was playing for the Penguins. It was here in my hometown of Boston, I think everyone I knew was at the Garden that evening. The first five minutes of the game, I was scored on twice. Obviously a defenseman's worst nightmare. I pinched on a two on one, was gripping my stick way too tightly and was trying to do too much. I so badly wanted to have a great game that night.

That is exactly the trap. You care so much about the moment that you abandon everything that got you there. The more you force it, the worse it gets. I learned that lesson the hard way in front of a building full of people I knew.

What My Coach Said on the Flight Home

My coach sat me for the remainder of the game up until about a minute left. I was the tin man when I got back on the ice, cold and stiff. On the flight back to Pittsburgh after the game, Coach called me to come sit with him. I will never forget that conversation. It was one of the best hockey talks of my career.

Pretty much the first thing he said was "NEXT!" He told me to move on. I had been having a great season and I had a few bad shifts that led to me sitting on the bench. He told me to have a great practice tomorrow and the next day and work as hard as I possibly could until the NEXT game. "Just like you have been practicing all season. Tomorrow is a new day."

We talked about a lot of little things that I do that he viewed as important. Many of the things he mentioned may go unnoticed to an untrained hockey eye and honestly I did not realize their value like I do now that I study the game in trying to break it down for teaching purposes myself. He was not looking for me to do anything other than play my game, fulfill my role and job on the team. Getting the puck out of our end. Defense. That was my job. Stick to your job, and trust that doing it well matters, even when no one in the stands notices.

Why That Conversation Still Matters

The ability to reset is a skill. It does not happen automatically. You have to practice moving on just like you practice your skating or your shot. What my coach gave me that night was a framework: bad shift, bad game, bad stretch, it does not matter. Identify it, correct it in practice, and then let it go. Carrying mistakes into the next game is dead weight.

The Week After Boston

I am happy to report I had a stellar week of practice and the next game I played in Calgary was stellar. Just as the game previous to my disaster in Boston. That is the proof. The process worked because I trusted it and put the work in. I did not sulk, I did not overthink it, I just practiced hard and got ready to play.

If you want to play consistently at a high level, you have to develop a short memory for failure and an equally short memory for success. Both can mess with your head if you hold onto them too long.

NEXT Goes Both Ways

NEXT also applies after a big win and great game. Also in the rear view mirror. Get ready for the NEXT. Players who ride the high of a big win into the next game are just as vulnerable as the ones who are dragging around a bad performance. Stay even. Stay ready. The next game does not care what happened in the last one.

This mindset is what separates players who perform once in a while from players who perform consistently over a long season. Build the habit now, whatever level you are playing at.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I stop overthinking during a big game or tournament?

Go back to what you know. Focus on one or two simple things you do well, and let your practice take over. The more mental chatter you have during a game, the slower your decisions get. Pre-game routines help a lot here. Keep them consistent so your brain knows it is time to compete, not time to think.

How long should it take a player to get over a bad game?

The answer should be: by the next practice. You process it, identify what went wrong, and then you work on it. After that, it is done. Players who carry a bad game around for days are hurting their next performance before it even starts.

What do scouts actually look for at high-profile tournaments?

They want to see how you play under pressure and whether your compete level stays consistent regardless of the score. Effort, decision-making, and how you respond after a mistake tell scouts a lot more than one pretty goal does.

Should parents say anything to their kid after a tough game?

Give them space first. Most players already know when they did not play well. The best thing you can do is remind them you are proud of their effort and that the next game is a fresh start. Leave the detailed breakdown to the coach.