Bruins still battle butterflies
Pregame jitters. Butterflies. Nerves. Pressure.
Whatever you call it, anxiety is a part of sports culture.
Whether it’s pressure in a big moment or excitement leading up to a game, everyone experiences nerves. They aren’t always bad; plenty of athletes thrive in the most important points in a game or a season.
Those feelings can be overwhelming if not kept in check, even for those playing at the highest level.
But, it’s part of the game. Instead of concerning themselves with that anxiety, many players on the Bruins try to channel it into caring about their, and the team’s, performance on the ice.
“I think it’s part of what makes you human.” said Charlie McAvoy. “Every night it’s a new game and a new challenge. Some you’re less comfortable in than others. I think it’s a matter of going out there and always doing the best you can.”
The course of a season can get mundane, with multiple games every week and practices every day. Especially for players with already-established roles in the league, a lot of being a player in the NHL is routine.
The routine of it all can ease any potential nerves that sneak in.
“During the national anthem I pray, and that helps, I think,” said Chris Wagner. “It’s essentially breathing too, right before puck drop. But nothing hours before.”
Those regular season games carry some nerves, too, whether it’s an important game or just a big moment in a close contest late in the game.
Some games mean more to some players than others, too; what might be a weeknight game in a road city one player has seen a dozen times is a new arena for someone else, or in the midst of the first week in the league for another guy, or more is at stake for someone trying to climb the ladder in their career.
“I never felt like I really got (butterflies),” said Wagner. “Just a couple times with new teams, or playoffs. Third round last year felt a little nervous.”
As careers evolve, those feelings do as well with new experiences.
“Maybe it was performance anxiety at first, now I know I can do it and play in this league,” said McAvoy, in his third season. “Now when I get butterflies it’s about a big game or wanting to perform really well, what’s at stakes. Really more in playoffs. The regular season is pretty easy to get up for. I don’t want to confuse that with the game being easy, every single night you play against the best guys in the world, so you’re bound to make mistakes, it’s a fast game. But with nerves, overall worries are not as bad as they used to be.”
Then of course, there’s first-game anxiety, which is different from anything else players typically will have to feel again.
“I think it’s kind of healthy,” said Karson Kuhlman, who is starting the season in the NHL for the first time. “Not nervousness, but excitement. It’s still fun playing hockey at the highest level here, so it’s a good thing. My first game was nerves, that was the main thing. You try to use those to get the first shift out of the way and then it’s just playing hockey again.”
Big moments can be similar. The Stanley Cup Final a year ago was a different experience for a lot of firsttimers. McAvoy said that everyone had the same type of feelings was a good reminder they were in it together, but it was such a different feeling than a regular season game.
“I think you still get the same jitters, I don’t think a ton changes,” said Sean Kuraly, in his third season.
“In the Stanley Cup Final, it takes you to the highest level, then you start the season and those feelings aren’t as intense.”
Jitters is a term used to describe sloppy play or mistakes on the ice, but sometimes whatever feelings are flying around might not matter if they’re universal.
“I think you try to tell yourself, the truth is, whether you feel anxious or confident, you can still play well in any situation,” Kuraly said. “It’s kind of just there. I’ve had days I’m super anxious and super nervous and not ready and then I make one of the best plays I’ve ever made, then there are days I feel real confident and do something dumb. You take each feeling with a grain of salt and realize it’s just a feeling.”
There’s a balance between intensity and adrenaline and then just putting on too much pressure to succeed, too. In those moments in a game, different players have different ways to cope.
“You focus on breathing,” said Charlie Coyle. “Deep breaths, I think people who really get anxiety, that’s a big thing to do. Control your breathing and control your heart rate. I’m not that nervous where I have to calm down, but that helps.”
“I don’t cope,” Kuraly said. “I think that kind of exacerbates the belief that the feelings can change you or do something to you. They’re just there. You’re not perfect, I go through moments where they fool me and I fall into the belief that feelings can affect me, but I think coping takes you out of it.
“Part of what makes us good is we care.”
For the most part, players don’t mind that extra pregame anxiety, or moments of heightened stress in a game. They’re at the highest level because they can play through that, or in some cases, thrive on it. Anxious feelings don’t go away; players still get nerves, even at the highest levels and with the strictest routines.
It just means it matters still.
“I think they’re good to get,” said Coyle. “Everyone’s different, but it means you’re excited. It means something to you if you’re nervous about it. It’s good butterflies. It’s different than my first ever game. It’s not like your nerves are not knowing what to expect. You play a number of games, so you know. But it means something to you. You’re nervous, but it’s an exciting nervous.”
Seidenberg retires
Former Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg announced his retirement earlier in the week. The 38year-old last played in the NHL in April 2018.
Seidenberg was acquired from Florida at the 2010 trade deadline and was an instrumental piece of the 2011 Bruins Stanley Cup run, while paired with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. He posted a goal and 10 assists in that run total, and played six and a half seasons in the black and gold.
Top line talent
The Bruins aren’t the only team relying on their top line for the bulk of the scoring. While the Bruins would love more secondary scoring, the approach of teams putting their best offensive talents together has become a trend.
Colorado is the prime example, with Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen, but the other team finding success with their top players on a pedestal is a bit of a surprise.
Vancouver has been an early season success story out of nowhere, and a lot of it has to do with the trio of JT Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser, and how much they’ve done together.
The Bruins might be trend-setters for the rest of the league, and it’s paying off everywhere.