NHL players present an ethos drenched in confidence and courage. From the outside looking in, these humanoid superheroes appear unshakable, unafraid and indestructible.
But appearances can be quite deceptive.
As bulletproof as they may seem, NHL players fight internal battles every day. Just like any ordinary person living an ordinary life. And those battles aren’t always won.
Confidence is critical for any athlete, regardless of shape, size and age. NHL players certainly aren’t an exception. And when a player isn’t performing to their usual standard, it takes a toll. Not just on their team, but on their own sanity. The frustration builds. The self-doubt sets in. And before long, what started off as a minor rough patch has morphed into a full-blown slump.
In the case of the Philadelphia Flyers, this dilemma has impacted several players in recent months.
Take Owen Tippett, for example. Tippett has been held without a goal in 12 straight games. And while he still shows occasional flashes of electricity, the nearly month-long scoring drought has had an obvious impact on his game.
Extended rough patches aren’t unique just to Tippett, though. In fact, he doesn’t need to look far to find a player who’s struggled with the same issue.
Travis Konecny recently endured a prolonged goal-scoring drought of his own, and his was even longer (and arguably more severe) than Tippett’s. After returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, Konecny went 13 straight games without lighting the lamp. Finally, on March 22, he ended the slump against the Dallas Stars with a laser that beat Jake Oettinger blocker side.
“Just stick with it,” Konecny said of the scoring slump. “It’s not the effort. It’s just one of those things when you’re kind of in that lull. Just seems that you’re kind of chasing it. And when you’re not in that, it feels like everything’s gonna go in.”
Hockey is very much a sport dictated by chance. Streaks — both good and bad — are part of the game. But are prolonged slumps avoidable? And if they’re not, what can players do to keep them from lasting weeks or even months?
To find out, Broad Street Hockey spoke with Dr. Joel Fish, Director of the Center for Sports Psychology in Philadelphia, who has been working with youth, amateur and professional athletes, including former Flyers players, for over 25 years.
“In my work with athletes, there’s usually three parts of a slump that one may evaluate. It can come from three different reasons. One is physical — I can be injured and I’m just not able to perform to my maximum level. One is technical, and with hockey, there’s always the skill portion level. And then one is psychological — stress, anxiety,” said Dr. Fish.
“I’ve asked hundreds of professional athletes what percentage of performance is mental — confidence, composure, concentration, communication, teamwork. Every hockey player I’ve asked and almost every pro athlete in other sports are gonna say it’s 30, 50, 80 percent mental.”
Athletes need consistency to remain confident over the course of a full season. Unfortunately, consistency in hockey is not always realistic or even possible. The sheer randomness of hockey can lead to the most euphoric highs, followed immediately by the most wretched of lows. And when players experience dips in production, it can seriously damage their mental health.
The severity, of course, can vary from player to player.
“We’re not all wired the same way. Not all hockey players are wired the same way. Not all professional athletes are the same way,” said Dr. Fish. “The impact of a slump on some athletes emotionally and mentally is different than on others. I’ve worked with some athletes that just say, ‘I’m in a slump. The odds are in my favor. Next time, I’m gonna get ’em.’ I had other athletes who had difficulty sleeping, they had difficulty eating, like all of us would be taken home from the office and it’s impacting relationships with their wife or children. I can’t paint every athlete with the same brush in terms of the impact, but it can be quite dramatic.”
There is no magic bullet for beating the sometimes fluky nature of hockey. Even Connor McDavid, the greatest hockey player on the planet, goes through scoring droughts on occasion — albeit rarely.
Given the complexities of psychology, identifying the most effective techniques for strengthening an athlete’s psyche is very much an operation of trial and error. For example, an approach that may improve Travis Konecny’s mental perseverance may not work as well for Owen Tippett. In some instances, it may even have the opposite effect.
But while no singular formula is guaranteed to improve the psychological aptness of all athletes, there are several actionable strategies that have a proven, consistent track record of success.
One of them is positive self-talk.
“Self-talk, to me, is really an important strategy to be able to draw on during good times, okay times or not okay times. Positive what-ifs is part of self-talk,” said Dr. Fish. “Most times, hockey players in a slump, what-ifs pregame are more negative. ‘What if this slump continues? What if I miss an open net? What if the coach limits my playing time?’ I’m trying to get guys to think of a positive. If you’re gonna go what-ifs, let’s think about positive. ‘What if I do something extraordinary tonight?’ You want to plant the seed that this can turn around.”
Due to the regular stoppages of play in hockey, players can also practice breathing techniques on the bench between shifts. One such exercise may include the 4-7-8 breathing technique in which one breathes in for four seconds, holds their breath for seven seconds and exhales for eight seconds. This, paired with positive self-talk, can help drown out the negative thoughts while keeping the player focused on the present.
But what happens when the positive self-talk isn’t working? What happens when frustration sets in?
This is when it’s most important for athletes to trust the process and “just stick with it,” as Konecny muttered during his slump.
“This will sound cliche, but part of the coping mechanism is really controlling what you can and letting go of what you can’t. That sounds so obvious, but when you’re on the ice and the puck bounces one inch one way versus the other, you really have to have developed a belief in that at a very deep level. The hockey gods sometimes are gonna shine on you, and sometimes they’re not,” said Dr. Fish.
“If you can break a slump down into some specifics — moments, patterns — what does ‘control what you can, letting go of what you can’t’ really mean? What are the anchors as you figure this out that you’re committed to in terms of your eating, sleeping, practice habits? Because those things can start to be affected by this.”
This coping mechanism is one Philadelphia sports fans have grown quite familiar with in recent years. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has become notorious for his use of the “control what you can control” rallying cry. And so far, it’s served him well. He did just win the Super Bowl after all.
But not all athletes are as mentally stout as Jalen Hurts. Hurts is the exception to the rule. For the average athlete, leaning on those around them — family, friends and especially teammates and coaches — can be the most effective treatment when the pressure mounts.
“For more players than not, it’s really important for them to stay connected to their teammates, just like it’s really important for injured players to stay connected to their teammates,” said Dr. Fish.
“These guys spend so much time with each other, not that they’re all best friends, but I might be the last one to realize I’m walking into the locker room with my head down. I need you, teammate, to come up to me. ‘Hey, what’s going on? Can I help you? Anything I can do?’ The culture of the locker room has really changed over time in a good way. It’s become more mainstream to talk about stress, anxiety or even depression. Because some guys can go down that road when it comes to this. ‘Here’s how I’ve tried to balance work and life during this. What do you do? This is what I do.'”
Professional athletes, despite their superhuman appearance, are not impervious to mental struggles. A prolonged slump can have devastating effects on even the most dominant athletes.
But it’s not unbeatable. And it’s not permanent.
Slumps are part of hockey, and it’s up to the individual players to decide how they are affected by them.
“You’re not a machine. You’re not a robot. You’re gonna feel things. Emotion isn’t the enemy here,” said Dr. Fish.
“This too shall end. It’s not that mysterious. There are some things that we can’t figure out, but we can do some things to give us a better chance to perform well. When you break it down that way, I think it lifts some of the mystery from it, and I think that in itself is helpful.”
