How's Your "Rep"?

Do you have dreams of playing in the NHL one day?  College? Junior?

Talent alone isn't enough. 

Your reputation is as important as your talent level--even in the NHL where winning is the number one priority. 

Sure, you have to develop the talent to compete at those levels, but it doesn't stop there.

You can be the most talented player on earth, but if red flags appear regarding your integrity, attitude, or work ethic, teams and coaches will likely walk away.  They may choose someone with less talent but a stronger, more positive character.

You've heard of the player that overcame the odds, the underdog who wasn't the most talented, but who achieved great things--like Luc Robitaille, who was a very weak skater- kind of an important skill in hockey-but who managed to become the highest scoring NHL left winger of all time. It was Robitaille's reputation for hard work that got him his shot.

It also goes the other way. 

Ever hear of Bryan Fogarty?  No? 

He was an unreal talent who's career flatlined because of his reputation. A can't-miss-talent, Fogarty broke Bobby Orr's Junior scoring record but couldn't escape the bad choices he made off the ice.

IT'S (NOT) A MINOR ISSUE

But it's not just the NHL, College, or Junior levels that look closely at a player's character, coaches in minor hockey also take character into consideration. 

I'm often asked by other coaches about players, and it's not about their skill. A coach can see that for his or herself from watching them on the ice. Character is harder to gauge.

Here are the top three questions I get asked:

1. What's their all-around work ethic like (do they make excuses, work hard in dryland, are they on time)

2. What's the family like? (meddling, manipulative, positive, encouraging)

3. What kind of teammate are they? (encouraging or negative toward teammates, team player, selfish)

How do you stack up?

Negative feedback on one or more of these questions can make a coach think twice. Does it mean that they won't take that player?  Not necessarily. 

But maybe. And maybe is bad enough...if you're that player (and family). 

For NHL draft-eligible players it can mean their dreams stop cold, just when they were within reach of their ultimate goal.  For you, the minor hockey player, it can derail your dreams of moving to higher levels of play, like Tier 1, Junior, or College.

Try-outs are over, but in life (and hockey) you're always on display, and your character is at the heart of how others will view you--and talk about you.

So........how's your reputation?

The Unlikely Superstar

The Montreal Forum was empty. The custodial staff were beginning to sweep up.

Most everyone had left the 1984 NHL entry draft when one player heard his named called--9th round, 171st overall, the Los Angeles Kings choose Luc Robitaille. He walked down to the Kings table, after convincing security he really was a player that had just been drafted, where a Kings representative gave him a pin to wear---they were out of sweaters and caps.

Robitaille was considered to be a big long shot at ever making an NHL roster.


Scouts said he was slow, an average to poor skater.

And the The Hall of Fame? Laughable.

But there was one scout who believed in him. Literally one. Alex Smart saw Luc Robitaille's determination, his dedication to his craft, his work ethic, and went to bat with the Kings brass to give him a shot.

Robitaille was sent back to junior early in his first two training camps.

But he persevered.

Robitaille thanked Smart, who passed on a few years ago, in his recent Hockey Hall of Fame induction speech. It was the belief by one person that allowed Robitaille's singular belief in himself to take over and flourish.


Luc Robitaille played 19 seasons in the NHL, amassing 668 goals and 1,394 points, making him the highest scoring left winger in NHL history, and 20th overall scorer of all-time.


To be sure, there are similar stories about players who no one really believed in and who achieved great things, but very few who are Hall of Fame inductees. Luc Robitaille is a shining example of how will and determination can make the level of achievement one seeks limitless.

One man, who no one really believed in, stands in the Hall that only a small handful of players are privileged enough to be a part of, all because he thought he could, and someone else saw that in him.