The Great One
One of the greatest hockey players of all time was attributed as having said "A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be." Gretzky had an incredible sense for the game, in that he could anticipate the various nuances that would indicate where the puck would be. One could argue that that's what made him such a legendary player and somewhat mediocre coach, in that he could anticipate on an intuitive level, but found it difficult to verbalize what came so naturally to him.
Of course I'm left in a quandary, since if a good player plays where the puck is, and great one goes to where it will be, what do you call a player like me, who intends to get to where the puck is, but usually misses it? Oh, don't bother, I don't want to know. Sometimes ignorance is bliss!
Me (#15) streaking in to make a play
The more I play, the more I'm getting to realise where the play is going. I know when John rifles the puck around the rim of the boards on the near side, I'm supposed to streak in and pick it up on the far side. See I know that ... it's just that execution is a tad shaky! Plus I know when we're breaking out of our end I'm supposed to be watching over my shoulder to see if the defenseman is passing it up to me. I've finally learned how to skate and look over my shoulder at the same, sort of like walking and chewing gum at the same time! Course I'm usually looking over the wrong shoulder .....
Oh well, as the say "the best laid plans ...." Now where is that puck? I could have sworn it was here a minute ago.
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