Chris Pryor
Words to live by
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 28 February 2013 16:08
By Chris Pryor
This might be the shortest article that I’ve done in the last two years.
Hockey, as in life, is pretty simple. If you’re on the ice or behind a desk, the fundamental building blocks should not change. Direct and to the point with no confusion. Do the right thing, treat others as you want to be treated, work your hardest and keep a low profile. It might sound a little extreme, but it’s pretty basic.
Find your chair
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 21 February 2013 17:04
By Chris Pryor
Everyone has a role or a “ seat” in life and this holds true for hockey, too. What’s your role? Even more so, find your role.
When you’re young and your dreams are the highest, we all have dreams of being the next Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby. But as we get older those dreams fade and reality sets in. One day you look in the mirror and realize that you’re probably not going to be the next Bobby Orr.
“Dump it in!”
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 07 February 2013 18:01
By Chris Pryor
A few days ago I was sitting at our practice rink which was at the time being used by a youth association playing a PeeWee game. As I was watching the game I could hear the coach of one of the teams yelling for his 11-year-old forward to “dump it in.”
Normally this is not such an unusual request, but in this instance there was not an opposing player within 2O feet of the kid and he had easy acess to gain the offensive zone. What’s wrong with this scenario? When does winning override development? At what age is it OK to dump the puck in?
Is faster better?
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 14 February 2013 17:08
By Chris Pryor
Skate, skate, skate. Speed, speed, speed. It seems like that’s where the game is going – bigger and faster. Every sport is bigger and faster. If you go back 20 years and fast forward to today, the athletes are all bigger and faster. The playing surfaces are the same size (other than the Olympic sheets) and the athletes are growing and growing.
With the size comes speed. The rules today have made it conducive for the big guy (or little guy for that matter) who can skate. The game has made enormous strides to open up the game. No longer are we able to impede progress, hence slow down the traffic.
The great outdoors
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- Last Updated on Thursday, 31 January 2013 17:01
By Chris Pryor
Minnesotans have had had a unique advantage since the invention of the game of hockey, that being our outdoor ice. We all can see that the game today is all about skill and skating. If you can do those two things, you as a player will have a leg up on your peer group.
In saying this, as in anything else you want to do or try to do, it takes many, many, many hours of practice. This is where the harsh Minnesota winter becomes a factor in your favor. Forget the cold for a second and look at the layer right beneath that, free ice. Not the hundreds of dollars that we are now paying for the indoor stuff that everyone across the U.S. is spending, but the free kind that is in our own backyard for three months of every year. All we need to do is dress a little warmer and enjoy.
