I enjoyed reading this. My son who is 19 and plays in the NOJHL were talking about this just a few days ago. He is a solid defenceman. He has the height, size and speed and can move cherry pickers infront his net he is a shot blocker, he canngive and take a hit and if he has to "send a message" to dirty players on the opposing team, he can. He says having played in the OJHL and in the MJHL he has noticed a difference in what coaches want from defensemen in each league. Some what the D-men to rush the puck all the time and try and score. Other coaches want them to pinch and take off. Some want you to be a stay at home defenceman. As he grew up he struggled to navigate what he needed to do but at the end of the day he has learned the most important thing for him to do is design a style of play that works for him. Logan primarily defends. He lifts sticks, plays the body, blocks, pins, hits and takes shots on the net from the blue primarily. When he can he rushes the puck and he's fast and if he doesn't score, blink twice and he's back in position. And while he has some points for goals and assists his plus minus are his best stats. So why does he feel pressure to score that he literally has to mentally diminish every game? Coaches. Some coaches want pucks in the net. Coaches want to win and players, even defencemen feel that pressure to score. Before every game my husband and I speak or text our son who at least is mature enough now to shake off the cussing and yelling of coaches desperate to win. The climb for him has been uphill and one day when he is done playing I will write an article here about his unique story in hockey. My message to him is simple before each game- you do you as you do it best. Play your game, make decisions that you feel will work. Rush if you can, take shots when you can but most of all enjoy being on the ice because when you have fun, everything clicks. Don't succumb to the pressure, don't over think. Do what is required in the moment.
On the PK his stats show that few to no goals have been scored when he is on the ice. They are just putting him on the PP now. Logan does not challenge coaches decisions but I know they used to bother him. The last trade from the Maritimes hurt as he REALLY wanted to be there in the east but, he has more ice time where he is now and he is having fun in spite of a coach who is stressed as he is also the manager and owner and administrator and equipment manager. (Its a bit of a shit show but the players have skill and talent thankfully). Hopefully our son will get a D3 scholarship to somewhere as he just wants to keep playing as long as possible at a highly competitive level. But if not, we will send him to the university of his choice in the Maritimes. But as he moves into his last year of JR. Hockey we are happy he is enjoying every second of ice time, every experience and the camaderie of his teammates and will have great stories to tell in the future.
Thanks for writing this article. I have forwarded it to our son.