Learning and Unlearning in Hockey
"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn"
Today I came across a tweet from Greg Revak who runs The Hockey IQ Newsletter, (which is also fantastic resource for hockey players, coaches and fans to learn more about the game of hockey!) and it really got me thinking about change.
In his tweet, he added onto Jack Han’s tweet about a three-step plan to build an above average NHL team.
I replied to him mentioning how back in 2020 (Playoff Qualifier vs CBJ) I noticed the Leafs doing a surprisingly large amount of changing on the fly while maintaining possession of the puck. Up to that point, it’s probably the most I’ve ever seen an NHL team do it.
That now brings us to Learning and Unlearning. I won’t even define it, as it’s as self-descriptive as it gets, but it’s as simple as the quote “out with the old, in with the new”.
Us being humans, learning and unlearning is a lot easier said than done as we are naturally very resistant to change. New concepts and ideas are a shock to us & make us feel uncomfortable, which can sometimes be scary.
Getting back to hockey, we all know the game has taken massive strides over the past handful years and continues to evolve, which means so do we.
We (most of us) no longer believe:
Size matters.
Gaudreau, Marchand, Hughes, Fox, Debrincat, Caulfied, etc.
Optimal time to pull goalie in a game is ~1 minute left.
Prime example from Patrick Roy (yes, I understand he was down by multiple goals, but you get the point)
Dumping & chasing is the best way to gain possession.
A group of 12 NHL forwards consists of a “top 6” set of forwards (highly skilled) and a “bottom 6” set of forwards (more-so grinders and role players), where the bottom 3 of this group would likely be enforcers & fighters.
Most teams have adapted to a “top 9” group & have pretty much removed the enforcers from the game.
Dumping & changing is a great play.
Just like how Coach Revak mentioned in his tweet above, changing while maintaining possession is the future.
These four ideas are barely scraping the surface of things that have changed over time, and most likely will further continue to do so!
Next time you hear a crazy idea or something that opposes traditional beliefs, take a step back and think. Aways keep an open mind & be a continuous learner, as you never know what discovery will be made next.
Besides the game of hockey, this mindset should be considered in every walk of life to make the most out of it. Who would’ve ever thought 10-20 years ago that:
A large chunk of the workforce would be working from home?
Cryptocurrencies may be the future for us
NFT’s would be a huge hit
If you’ve put up your hand to any of these, I’d be pretty skeptical…
If you’d like to learn the game of hockey from a different perspective in under a handful minutes per post, consider subscribing to get instant access!