Squirrel's 2013-2014 Season Review

The 2013-2014 season for me was a disaster. Every year, I set a handful of goals for the year and I usually achieve about half of them. Last year, I hit each of them except one. This year, I didn’t hit any. These goals are not outrageous, but they do push me. Most are statistic based and I keep them to myself during the season. For example, this year a few of my goals were:

• Don't get hurt - Play in a minimum of 17 regular season games for both the Piranhas and Coyotes. It isn't a full 20 because of the overlapping schedules.
• Reduce Penalty minutes - I wanted to have less than 22 penalty minutes this year. While I did have less than 22, it is because I missed a lot of games.
• 8 points on the Piranhas, 20 points on the Coyotes. I really felt that I needed to step up on the Coyotes this year in the point producing department. I also realize that the Piranhas would be in a tough spot this year because of their new division.
• 3rd place overall for the Coyotes - It would be very difficult to take 2nd place in the division, but possible. I left it at 3rd because I knew that we'd have games where we were short handed, and we hadn't played in the summer. I expected to finish hot. The Coyotes finished second to last.

I had a total of one goal all year, and I did have quite a few assists. I didn't score my one goal until the last game of the Piranha season, but it was a beauty:

So why didn't the season go so well? As with anything, there is never just one reason. I do believe a lot of the reasons I struggled were because of off ice reasons. For example, I had family issues which created a big distraction for me. Normally, the game is my number one focus, but I can honestly say that I didn't have one game where I was fully focused. This year, I also took a leadership role with the Coyotes. That didn't go the way I wanted. I tried to believe that the reason the Coyotes were in the situation they were in was because they didn't have the leadership or opportunity to do the things they needed to. When I gave them the opportunity, or tried to inspire change, it didn't work. This created another distraction for me.

But there were distractions at the rink for me as well. One thing I tried to get the Coyotes to do was to be a little bit more self-organizing. I needed them to not have their hand held every step of the way, even if it meant growing pains. When problems would arise, I would often shortchange myself so that an individual would be happier. Probably not the smartest thing for me to do. I also feel the team didn't get to be self organizing the way I wanted them to be after 20 games.

The biggest barrier to my success though was my hip. I had a nagging hip injury that started early in October. I tried to play through it, but after a rough game in December, I needed time off. I saw a couple of doctors who gave me advice on what to do, and even though I followed their instructions, the hip is still not fully recovered. It impacted my mobility, my confidence, and my strength.

I tried to let it recover. Give it a month of no stress, I tried to skate less frequently later in the season. But this just lead to me never being in my peak condition.

I took on bigger roles on both teams this year. I'm happy about that, but the success wasn't there. The stress snowballed and it cause me to start doubting myself. I missed many easy chances on the Piranhas, including missing an empty net for a goal from five feet which I continue to get heat for.

This was by far the most difficult, and least successful season of hockey for me since I started playing. At the same time, my expectations were high as well. When I first started playing, my goal may have been to just get one shot on goal in a game in a level that is similar to what the Piranhas are in. Now I'm expecting to average a point per game from the blue line in a much lower level. 

2012-2013 Season in Review

The season, the playoffs, the Toronto trip are over. It is all done for the 2013 season. No more late night games, no more circling dates on my calendar, or refusing plans because I have a game.

Who am I kidding? Hockey season is never over. I'm going to keep playing, staying up late and looking forward to my next ice time. I've made numerous friends while playing, and had even more fun times on the ice this year.

I started out the season with a handful of goals on both the Piranhas, and the Coyotes. Each of them were based on what I viewed my role is on the team, what I felt would challenge me, but is still obtainable. I reminded myself after every couple of games to make sure I was on track to complete these goals.

The Coyotes are a lower level team, and I play defense for them - a position that I wasn't fully comfortable with at the start of the year. I felt I was one of the more experienced and skilled players on the team, and as a result, I expected a lot from myself on the blue line. I wanted to be a good example of playing both ways because so many guys just want to score goals. I got paired up early on with another guy who has just as much experience as me, and is a very smart player. I really felt comfortable playing with him, and it was great having confidence in him, and him having confidence in me. He got hurt, and then I went into a span of a few games where I was average. I didn't do a good job of contributing in the zone, or keeping control of the puck. I got paired with a friend who I've played with for a while, and we really worked on verbal communication while playing. I also felt he wanted me to start being more aggressive in the offensive zone, and using my speed. It created a problem for a period or two, but we both felt comfortable enough with each other to help each other out. Toward the end of the season, I didn't like how I played this year, and I knew I was capable of much more. I turned up the aggression, and had finished the season on a string of really strong games.

From the second game forward, I had the chance to play with arguably the two most talented individuals on the roster. The logic was I had the speed to keep up with these two and my game would compliment their free wielding style. It worked out really well. Any time us three were on the ice together, there was a good chance we'd get a scoring opportunity. Once we were set up in our zone, a scoring chance was a sure thing. Typically, I was staying in front of the net, creating traffic and room for those two to do their thing. I lost count how many times I was covered by a defense men (or two if they collapsed really low) causing a screen, which would help out in a goal. It doesn't mean I got a point on the play but I know I helped out. We also had a really good cycle going of keeping the puck away from the opponent because we all battled harder than our opponents. I played one game on defense, and two in the center position and felt I did fair in all of those games. In fact, I had very few poor games this year with the Piranhas.

I wanted to win a championship with both teams, but was only able to do with the Piranhas. I know that my expectation was to win it with the Coyotes based on the teams in our division, but two other skilled teams were added to our division, and we were not able to overcome them in the playoffs. I wanted to make sure I had a positive +/- with the Coyotes, and with the exception of a game or two, I never had a minus rating in a game. On the Piranhas, I did become a point per game player, and really felt like I solidified my position on the team. I'm really pleased with how both seasons went, despite the Coyotes not winning the championship.

I believe the great success I've had can be tied to many different things. I didn't stay up late watching pro hockey games because of the lockout. I worked in the off season with the Phantoms on small ice. I did many stick and pucks early on weekends. I did a few sessions at Puck Pros to grasp the mechanics of skating better, and I eliminated a lot of unnecessary stress  from my life at various points of the season. Most of these remind me that preparation is key. I also cannot discount the fact that I felt much more comfortable around my teams as the season went on. Having them gain confidence in me was a big boost.