“We Thought You Were Going To Cut Him”

“We Thought You Were Going To Cut Him”

Preface

Some hockey stories need to be told, others are too personal to share. I’ve been thinking about sharing this particular story for a long time, but let’s get something straight right now, this isn’t about me, this story is about the player and their family their experience and the obstacles they faced throughout their path in the game. I reached out to the player to make sure it was ok for me to share their story a few months ago.

Why now? Why share this player’s experience and the resiliency? Well, the game of hockey like history itself has a strange way of repeating itself. Time and time again young players are told their too small to make an impact or too small to play at the next level.

“We Thought You Were Going to Cut Him” is a story that hopefully will help other players and families with their experiences in the game and somehow provide hope that they to can accomplish their goals and dreams in the game of hockey.

“We Thought You Were Going to Cut Him”

“We thought you were going to cut him.” That’s a line that I will never forget as a coach. That’s exactly what hockey parents told me at the halfway point of the season in a hotel hallway during an away tournament.

I was quick to dismiss the statement and tried to change the subject, I think I remember saying something along the lines of, “of course, he definitely earned it.” Their son was the smallest player at Pee Wee AA tryouts that year. Their son wasn’t the fastest of skaters out there, but he had a knack for the net and thought the game incredibly well. That year I was reluctant to have a Red vs White Game for the final tryout ice time. That small kid lite that game up. I’m not sure how many goals he had, but he was on fire.

How could anyone cut a player like that?

Well, in those days you could hit at the Pee Wee level. So that was variable to take into consideration, but he handled it well during the tryout process so there was no indication that he couldn’t handle it when the puck dropped for real a few weeks later. I had to make some tough decisions that year, and cutting kids is the hardest thing a minor hockey coach has to do but taking that kid on my team that year was a pretty easy decision. You see that small kid had zero fear and if he did, he didn’t show it. He was shifty, never backed down and the puck always would seem to find him.

It didn’t matter who he was lined up against or who he played with that little guy would always get chances to score and a matter of fact he could bury with the best of them. He had a deceptive shot. At that time, it wasn’t a howitzer or anything like that because there was nothing to him, but he could still lift it and it was accurate, even if it wasn’t he would still find a way. He was the smallest kid at tryouts, and he was arguably the smallest kid in the entire league that year, but all of that didn’t matter.

 Sure, the kid had some ups and downs, but every kid at that level does. He got rocked on occasions, but that little guy got right back up even when I thought, “oh shit, that was a big hit.”  I would be lying if I said that sometimes, I didn’t expect him to get up and comeback after some of the punishment he took, but he had a way to dish some out as well.

 You see it didn’t matter what type of skater he was or anything like that he just went out there and played to his identity within the framework of the team systems we had in place. Of course, at times we had discussions about cheating offensively because at that level 95% of players cheat or take risks at times because that’s how they scored so many goals in Atom, but by the end of the season he was such an effective player.

Looking back on that team and that particular player at the time, there’s no doubt in my mind that teams underestimated him based on his size and stature. By the midway point I can’t remember anyone coming to me or the coaching staff ever thinking that he didn’t belong at that level or that we had made a mistake taking him.

Obviously, everyone knows in this day and age that there’s still a double standard that exists within the game of hockey.

That double standard happens at every level to a certain extent. Clearly the diminutive skilled player that can flat out play aren’t being valued. Again, this little guy wasn’t a speed demon, his skating was an issue, but once he got out there, he was in the fight in all three zones. You see everyone is quick to point out deficiencies in young players. He wasn’t the greatest skater and obviously was really small, but he made up for all of that with his compete level and drive.

Organizations and hockey people alike can say they value diminutive players all day long, but when push comes to shove, some in the hockey world want nothing to do with “small players.”

They won’t touch them, they won’t draft them, they won’t even consider them until someone has the guts enough to prove it to them or convince them or the player just simply shows them all what they are truly capable of. That’s why this little guy had to do throughout his entire climb in the game of hockey.

The “it doesn’t matter what size you are” argument doesn’t hold water in some organizations. To be brutally honest it’s probably that way all the way up through the ranks.

If you were to scour the rinks across North America, you will find some “smallish” player dominating I guarantee it and that “diminutive” skilled player was never really given a chance, never really given a fair shake, and probably had to work three times as hard to get to the point where they are today. It’s total bull shit if you think about it, but it’s the truth and will probably always be that way. We had such a great group that year, we were able to win Provincials that year. I tried to keep track of that group of players and tried to continue to monitor their progression throughout the game.

Fast forward five years. I’m scouting for the QMJHL’s CSR or their Central Scouting Dept and lone and behold that small little player that always had a knack for the net was trying out for the local Midget AAA team. After tearing up the high school ranks the year before, he decided to give the AAA ranks one final shot. I had lost track of his route to that point, sure his skating was still a bit of an issue, not the fastest or swiftest on his blades, but rest assured he could still find the back of the net. Throughout that tryout process it was clear he was gaining traction. His will to compete that was on full display at 11 years old, had turned into a gritty nasty energy player with exceptional scoring touch and pretty lethal shot. It didn’t matter who he was lined up against or who he played with he generated offence and momentum.

Look how far he had come in just five years. Five years isn’t a long time in hockey terms, it’s just a normal ascension or progression, but this was different, because of where he had to play or was forced to play mainly based on the one “supposed” flaw or the obvious critique that he could never control his size. That little kid that never backed down from anybody or anything at 11 years old, would eventually lead that Midget AAA team in goals and went onto play four years of Junior A hockey.  

If you have been around the game, you no doubt have heard these statements uttered hundreds or perhaps thousands of times.

“They will never make it.”

“They haven’t got a chance in hell to make it, they’re just too damn small.”

Time and time again young players are told their too small to make an impact or too small to play at the next level. Some hockey stories need to be told, because there’s a kid out there right now being told they’re too small and will never make it. All those kids need is hope and an opportunity to prove they belong. For all the analytics types out there that have all of their programs calculating all of the numbers, height, weight and projections. I’ve never seen a computer, or programs measure the size of a kid’s heart, character and determination.

One can only imagine the obstacles and challenges families and players face just because their kid is perceived to be too “small” to have an impact. The heart retching discussions on the car ride home after getting cut from tryouts and being deserving of making but being passed over year and after year leaves an indelible mark on the entire family. Diminutive players and their families have seen it all, they have heard all of the excuses, but they keep coming back, keep trying to prove people wrong. The adversity galvanizes them and only strengthens their resolve and resiliency.

“Small has always been a factor for some reason,” he said when asked about the years leading up to his foray at the Midget AAA level.

“What really matters is skill and the love you have for the game, but my God was it ever good to stick it in their face,” he added.

I really hope this story reaches all those players out there that are being told “they’re too small.” I hope this story resonates with minor hockey coaches to change the mindset when selecting their teams.

Some hockey stories need to be told, some hockey stories are too personal to share, I just hope the right people read it.