Stop Trying To Be Connor Mcdavid (Use This Strategy To Reach Your Potential Instead)

My whole hockey career I dream of standing out.

I dreamed of being the one who makes the big play and scores the winning goal.

I wasn't that player in my minor hockey career, but in junior, I believed that I needed to become that player.

So I decided to try and become like Nikita Kucherov.

I decided I was going to be a powerplay shooter with elite vision and passing.

The problem was that I wasn't ready to become that player.

I had flashes of that style, but that wasn't the style that best suited me.

I was ready to become more like a Patrice Bergeron-style centerman.

I was ready to be that elite reliable 2-way centerman who could pair perfectly with a Kucherov, or David Pastrňák style player.

That was what I was best at and built for.

But I got caught trying to chase the spotlight.

High Ambition

This ambition to get the spotlight and attention often leads players to make similar mistakes to what I did.

It leads them to focus on one-timers and rebound drills for hours (yes I know you're doing that at the end of practice).

Or, it leads players to try to work on every skill so they can become a "Complete Player".

But are any of these approaches the most effective for you?

Elite players like Crosby, Kucherov, or McDavid may seem to excel in every aspect of the game and appear to be complete players in many aspects, but is this a realistic goal for you?

Being Good, Not Great

A coach once told me "You are good at everything, but I can't figure out what you are great at."

This hit me really hard at the time.

When he said it, I realized that I had built myself into a Swiss army knife...

I could do anything pretty well, but I wasn't the best at anything.

Because of this, coaches didn't know how to fit me into their lineup.

There was usually a player who had a single skill better than me.

I had a good one-timer, but not the best on any team.

I had good skating, but not the best at any team.

I was good at faceoffs but not consistently the best on any team.

The exceptional skills of top-tier players (ex. McDavid or Crosby) create an illusion of completeness - an unrealistic standard that many aspire to but few can achieve.

Of course, you can steal techniques and learn from them.

But trying to be like them will only lead to more frustration.

I want to give you a system that works for reaching YOUR potential.

You need a more focused, effective approach to skill development.

Because we can't all be Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid.

The Illusion of the Complete Hockey Player

In reality, trying to be good at everything or trying to be the best at something you don't often do in games (ex. one-timers as a shutdown defenseman) can result in being average across the board.

This is a common trap that many high-level players fall into.

Not because it's wrong to work on fun skills, or to strive to be a complete player, but because we have a short development window in hockey.

If we do not separate ourselves from the pack by the time we are 20 years old, it will be hard to do it later in our careers.

So we must avoid the trap of thinking we can become world-class at every single skill and embrace that some skills will have to be just good enough to support the other skills.

Just as a carpenter doesn't have to be an expert electrician, plumber, AND architect to still be very valuable and make lots of money.

You don't have to be the worlds best shooter, skater, passer, defender, and hitter to be a world-class hockey player

This is because when you work on skills that you are average at, oftentimes they just become slightly above average.

So if you're one-timer is ok, you may be able to get it to an elite level after several years of focused effort, but likely you will spend 100s of hours to end up with a shot that still isn't the best on your team.

But a player who is already good at one-timers will put in those 100s of hours and become one of the best players in the league at it.

Both players put in the same effort, but one person gets a much higher result.

It's not fair, but it's the way it goes.

The Real Game

Ok, so how do you compete with the best players in the world?

By realizing that you are not competing with them at all.

I know you are ready to stop reading here but hear me out.

If you spend your time chasing other people, you will always be sad and disappointed.

That's because you will never be the best at being anyone else but yourself.

You will only ever be the best at developing your Unique Skill Stack (Identity).

That is how you become impossible to compete with - by being your best unique self.

The goal is to compete against your personal bests (PRs), not others.

It's about finding the next level for you.

You can use others to motivate you to work harder but do not rely on trying to be a better version of them.

It won't work.

You will be the second best at being someone else.

Bedard On Being Compared to Mcdavid

But before the hockey world runs wild with the "Connor vs. Connor" hype, Bedard indicated that it's not matching McDavid's legacy he's concerned about. It's creating one of his own.

"You never want to be like, 'Oh, I can't do this.' I don't really think that mindset is that great," Bedard said. "But I'm not him. I'm my own person and my own player.

"I think that's such a great thing in sport. You're always competing against guys. For me to get to spend some time with him on the ice and just try to compete with him ... he's obviously unbelievable. You can barely talk about his stats because they're so ridiculous. But for me, it's just trying to be my own player. Be the best I can be."

(This was pulled directly from the article by ESPN found here)

The Skill Continuum

So the key is to focus on your own development and your own game.

This graphic shows how I think of skill development.

Every skill exists on an endless continuum.

Some skills are higher value and some are lower.

A Pillar Skill is something in the top right quadrant.

I Bottleneck Skill is something typically in the top left quadrant (but can be on the bottom left quadrant.

Skills are constantly strengthening or weakening, they do not stay stagnant.

That is why when you go on vacation skills often get a bit rusty as they have moved to the left on the continuum.

Your weakest skills are your bottlenecks (talked about these in the middle of my last article)

Your strongest skills are your Pillar Skills.

We will focus on Pillar Skills because these are the keys to separating yourself from the rest of your league.

Your Pillar Skills are your ticket to more ice time, more points, and more scouting opporunities.

They are that important.

Identifying and Focusing on Your Pillar Skills

The key is to focus on your Pillar Skills.

These are the 1-3 (usually 1 or 2) skills that you naturally excel at.

The ones that define your style of play.

These are the things that you find come easier than everything else.

Identifying these skills requires self-awareness and an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses on the ice.

Working with a performance coach to break down your game film will be very valuable here and worth the investment (I do this, so yes I am biased).

Once your top 1-2 skills are identified, your goal should be to refine and master these core skills to set yourself apart from your peers.

Achieving Mastery: From Top 20% to Elite 5%

Mastering a Pillar Skill is a journey from being among the top 20% in that skill to reaching the elite 5%.

This is a key process.

You want to have at least 3 skills that are in the top 20% in your league and at least of of them needs to be in the top 5% to be a Separator Skill.

Your 'Separator Skill' - the skill that distinctly sets you apart - becomes a part of your hockey identity.

This process requires a dedicated plan, consistent practice, and a willingness to push your limits.

Skill Stacking

Now we are building off of the Separator Skill by stacking pillar skills.

Skill stacking is about strategically adding skills to your repertoire that complement and enhance your core abilities.

For instance, if you're a solid puck-moving defenseman, focus on improving your ability to carry the puck through traffic.

Now you become a dual threat with the puck.

If you develop this skill into the top 20% of your league (top 5 on your team), it will be massively valuable.

Stacking Pillar Skills has a multiplicative effect (meaning they multiply each other).

This focused improvement can significantly increase your value on the team.

The 80/20 Rule in Skill Development

Adopt the 80/20 rule in your training: spend 80% of your time mastering your pillar skills and levelling up your Bottleneck Skills with various drills and challenges to keep the training dynamic and engaging.

Your Bottleneck Skills Will always be changing, but your pillar skills will likely remain pretty similar.

The remaining 20% can be dedicated to acquiring new skills and playing around with

Let team practice take care of the rest of your middle skills.

Remember, mastery doesn't mean doing the same thing repeatedly; it means constantly challenging and expanding your skills.

So don't just do the same drills after every practice - create variety, my friend.

Balancing Skill Improvement and Maintenance

So the key to remember here is that not all skills need to be improved constantly.

Some can be put into 'Maintenance Mode', where you spend just enough time to keep them sharp.

That is what I think many flow drill practices and pregame skates are for - maintenance of skills.

Focus most of your effort on enhancing your Pillar skills and addressing any weak areas that might be holding back your game (Bottlenack Skills).

Once these weaknesses are at an acceptable level, switch them to maintenance mode as well.

This is how you keep improving for years on end.

Conclusion

In conclusion:

1. High-level hockey players should aim to master a few core skills.

2. Then strategically stack complementary skills.

3. This approach leads to a unique playing identity.

4. This unique playing style sets you apart from other players on the ice.

5. It’s about being the best version of yourself, not a jack-of-all-trades.

Looking For More?

If you enjoyed this article, there are two things you can do:

1. You can subscribe to the Identity Letter so that you get a new mental software upgrade in your email every week just like this article.

2. You can start our Free Identity Shift Masterclass where you will learn how to apply what we talked about today clearly in a step-by-step method

Either way, I hope you have a great week!

Best, Corson