Conventional wisdom suggests that the players who “wear a letter” on their hockey sweaters are leaders of the team. After all, they are generally one of the best performing players on the team, and selected either by his/her fellow players and/or by the coaches because of certain characteristics.
While that is often true, there is another overlooked point about leadership: everyone has an opportunity to demonstrate this essential character trait no matter which team they are playing on, or their role on the team.
In this week’s article, we break down our top-five characteristics of an effective leader, and how by embracing these ideas you can actually help elevate the level of play for your team.
- Consistency. The best leaders are the most consistent performers, both on and off the ice. They are the hardest workers on the ice, have the best attitudes, put in the work in the weight room, follow a disciplined nutrition and sleep schedule, and shoot and handle pucks at home. When others recognize the consistent, hard work and positive behavior early in the season, it usually becomes contagious and results in others wanting to think and act the same way.
- Choose Words Wisely. Sometimes you can say more by saying less. Instead of being the loudmouth teammate that eventually everyone will drown out, consider asking questions and being a good listener. Approach situations with curiosity, an eagerness to learn or improve, offer praise to others when deserved, and always have the best interests of the team in mind. Speaking less and choosing your words wisely will result in your voice being heard in an impactful way, especially when needed.
- Build Up. Whether you are the most-skilled player on your team or more of a grinder, everyone experiences a bad game from time to time. The easiest way to react to a player’s poor performance is to verbally beat them down. Exceptional leaders don’t beat down teammates. Leaders recognize this as an opportunity to support and build their teammate up. Provide positive reinforcement to remind them that you got them, brush it off, and let’s get them next time. Everyone can be working harder to help the team, not just the teammate who blundered. Encouragement and positive feedback are critical when teammates are figuring out their own style and how to be good at hockey.
- Play Fearless. There are parts of the game that some players don’t particularly care for. Two on-ice situations that immediately come to mind are: a) taking a hit to make a play, and b) blocking shots. The leaders on a team are the ones willing to do whatever is required to win that shift and help the team win the game. They understand it comes with risk of injury, and the self-sacrifice for the good of the team is itself the motivation. Go harder for pucks, fight along the walls, and show your teammates you’re not about to just let someone else do the dirty work.
- Be Team Centric. Keeping track of individual stats is certainly a part of the game, and if you achieve some good personal stats you should certainly feel proud. But when a player’s own individual statline becomes their barometer for success that night, regardless of how the team performed, then team culture can suffer. In contrast, when you have a group of players who don’t care about who gets the credit, only that the team wins, then magical moments start to happen on a regular basis.
The good news is that everyone has the ability to apply these leadership skills to fine-tune their attitude and become a team-focused player. These lessons in leadership and character development are just some of the amazing benefits we gain from playing youth sports, as embracing a team-first and lead-by-example mentality will continue to assist a person to be successful in all other aspects of life as well.
Edited in November 2024 from original article written by Lance Pitlick in 2017. Based in the Minneapolis area, Lance is a former NHL player with Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers, played collegiate hockey with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, is a foremost training professional with stickhandling and shooting both in-person and through onlinehockeytraining.com, and is the founder and former owner of Snipers Edge Hockey.
