Inspiration comes in many forms and what is happening with Boston Bruin David Pastrnak is enough to keep everyone heated up, especially young hockey players looking to improve their skills and score more goals.

It’s always exciting when a team goes on a run and rattles off win after win, and when a player goes on an individual scoring streak everyone seems to rally around that player for inspiration and motivation.

I can remember playing alongside many awesome hockey players who went on goal scoring streaks, or with goalies who were seeing the puck like a beachball and nothing was getting by them. And when I say nothing, I mean absolutely nothing they were a brick wall!

Those moments were very special and the one common trait amongst all of these great players was how hard they worked to put themselves in a position to succeed and once they were there, how focused and determined they were to achieve even more. None of it was left to chance or luck, and the same can be said about Pastrnak.

Pastrnak’s amazing goal scoring pace has people talking about a potential 70 goal season, yet when asked what his incredible start means to him, his reply is “Nothing.”

Clearly a ‘team first’ response by “Pasta” and while he may not admit it now, 25 goals in 27 games is a special moment and something youth hockey players should be paying attention to, not just because of the quantity of goals, but also the quality.

The NHL game is wide open and scoring is up across the league, including on the power play which has been huge for “Pasta” as he has racked up an incredible 12 power play goals. He is the 11th different player in NHL history to score 25+ goals by Dec. 1 and first since Mario Lemieux 27 years ago.

Right now the puck has eyes when it comes off the stick of David Pastrnak and for fans and youth hockey players it’s a great moment to watch and learn. If you keep working hard, you too will have a moment in time when everything just seems to be going right and in that moment, cease the opportunity to not just enjoy each goal and assist, but to push yourself to new limits, like a 70 goal “Pasta” season!

Thanks for reading and as we approach the holidays, we are excited to have all of our 2020 summer hockey school dates and locations available for that perfect holiday gift!

This summer is an excellent opportunity to develop your hockey skills and continue down the long and winding path of player development. And when it comes to mastering the skills necessary to make it to the top of the stat charts, there is no easy road or short cuts.

The best way to start your journey is to establish goals, and then just as important as those goals is a plan to achieve them! There are many reasons to have a solid plan for your goals and one of the best is so that you don’t start down another path every time a new opportunity presents itself.

As the game of hockey has progressed and the skills of hockey players have reached new heights, there are more options than ever to work on your fundamental hockey skills. One of those reasons to consider a development path however, should not be FOMO.

One example of FOMO is a player who sets a plan for the summer to work on a very specific set of skills. Maybe it’s stickhandling, shooting or skating, or maybe it’s all of the above! Regardless, a plan is in place to become more skilled in defined areas.

Then the phone rings. On the other end of the line is someone who is offering an opportunity to play on a team that sounds like it has some good players, fun friends and plenty of games and tournaments. Decision time. Do you stick to your plan to spend the majority of your summer hockey time working on skills, or do you accept the opportunity to play on this team…which sounds like a good opportunity and you don’t want to miss out! FOMO has arrived!

While there is nothing wrong with playing a few hockey games or maybe some summer hockey tournaments, it’s no secret to anyone that skill development does not happen during games. USA Hockey puck possession studies done at National Tournaments with top players show that an average player touches the puck less than a minute during every game. Definitely not the place to develop skills!

But you don’t want to miss out on some fun weekends, opportunity to maybe play with some new players and a variety of other things. FOMO.

All you have to do is listen to the top players in the world talk about how they arrived at the top of the game. They worked on skills every chance they possibly could. And they will also say that player development is a marathon, not a sprint. So don’t worry, you won’t be missing out on anything by not taking advantage of every opportunity that comes your way today, tomorrow, next week and next year!

Thanks for reading and we hope this summer you will continue in your player development at one of our camps in 11 states across the U.S.! For more information, dates and locations, click here!