by Brett Jamieson

Created on: February 09, 2009   Last Updated: February 21, 2009

Children from all over the world watched Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux skating around defensemen and scoring the game winning goal for their team in the NHL playoffs. I was one of them. And like most of these kids, I had the dream of being in the NHL just like them, and scoring the game winning goal! Alas, it was not to be, and I am stuck playing beer league hockey with a group of people that fall over their skates sometimes. But one of my teammates from childhood days, when I was in a much more prominent league (at least for hockey scouts) did make it. He was drafted out of major junior hockey to the Vancouver Canucks, and is now an important member of the defensive corps on the highly dynamic Chicago Blackhawk club.

I sometimes wonder if I had taken his path, would I be in the same boat? Would I be playing hockey professionally for even 10% of what he makes in salary? I know how he did it, so why didn't I? It was my dream, wasn't it? Well I didn't because I didn't apply myself to the same regime as he did. Maybe I could have, but obviously I didn't want to make it so badly. If you actually DO want to make it, or your child has a dream to become an NHL star, this is how you do it:

There are three key ingredients to making the NHL: sacrifice, hard work and discipline. If this is your dream, and these three ingredients are part of your life, the rewards go far beyond the monetary remuneration you are offered by an NHL team; it becomes not only a dream, but a dream come true.

The first ingredient is sacrifice. This is probably the most important one, because it involves not only you, but your whole family. Sometimes it also involves others, such as your coach, or a family friend who has access to a hockey rink in off-hours. Many families have moved cities or towns to ensure their future NHL'er has the right place to play hockey. This sacrifice could also include financial sacrifices. Many families sacrifice extra vacations, newer cars, or other things so that their sons can go to a certain hockey school, or be sent to private schools such as Notre Dame College in Saskachewan, Canada, or Shattuck-St. Mary's in Minnesota, USA. These are very great places to hone your hockey skills and knowledge while ensuring a good education. Last, but not least, parents of hockey players are known to sacrifice a LOT of sleep in order to get their kid to the rink on time. I remember ice-times starting at 6 am on a Saturday morning outside of town, requiring us to get up at 4:30

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