DALLAS — Hockey players have superstitions on superstitions. They’re so protective of them they often don’t want to talk about them.
The line between tradition and compulsion gets fuzzy, and goalies in particular are known for it. Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer has his routines — “not as crazy as some other guys on the team.”
“You create a habit that gives you comfort,” he said.
Four-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Roy talked to his goal posts and avoided letting his skates touch the red and blue lines. Hall-of-Famer Glenn “Mr. Goalie” Hall admitted to spilling his guts before every game — Grubauer said he’s seen that before, too, “plenty of times.”
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“There’s a couple guys (out there) who are so nervous that they have to puke before every game. If they don’t puke, they don’t have a great game,” he said.
“That’s too much.”
Kraken winger Daniel Sprong always has to be the last off the ice after pregame warmups. It’s been a part of his process for years, since his junior hockey days.
“Everyone has their routine,” Sprong said. “All of the guys have superstitions — that’s just part of mine.”
Sometimes Sprong will have to take an extra lap because his Seattle teammates are feeling too generous. The other stragglers are Vince Dunn, Matty Beniers and Ryan Donato.
“Donny and Matty always grab a puck and throw one to a kid,” Sprong said. “I think Matty throws like six pucks to kids during warmups.”
None are fighting Sprong for the honor of being last — they’re doing their own thing. Deference becomes custom. The web of superstitions fit together like a puzzle eventually.
You watch out for winger Brandon Tanev, who is the fastest on the ice even in warmups, doing herky-jerky figure eights with no helmet, long hair flapping. And that’s once his skates are on. There are exercises in the hallway beforehand. If you’re not paying attention, you could get mowed over.
“It’s definitely a lot,” Sprong said. “You’ve got to keep your head up in warmups when he’s out there.”
You accept that defenseman Dunn is going to use his fair share of the team’s tape budget. Some guys write things on their stick tape in Sharpie — reminders, bible verses, coaches they want to honor. Dunn’s twig is the most noticeable, though. He fashions a mushroom-shaped knob of tape at the top of the shaft that takes five to 10 minutes to do even with years’ worth of muscle memory. It’s so time consuming he’ll replenish his stash on practice days instead of before games.
He copied a teammate from his youth. That guy was a really good player, so 12- or 13-year-old Dunn trusted he knew what he was doing.
“It’s a little bit of a hassle, but it’s kind of something I’m stuck with now,” Dunn said. “It is pretty extreme. A lot of the other guys make comments.
“A lot of guys in here had hockey dads. Whatever their dad put on the end of their stick is something that they’ve rolled with their whole career.”
Dunn puts his gear on in the same order each time — skate and pads on the left side first, then the right. He has the same breakfast and the same lunch every single game day.
Some guys have to hit Starbucks like clockwork, Dunn said. No coffee for Grubauer, who estimated he sweats out 8 to 12 pounds per game.
“Just lot of green tea,” Grubauer said. “Hydration is key. A lot of electrolytes, a lot of salts.”
His routine has evolved over the years.
“When you’re younger — when you’re Matty (Beniers’) age — I don’t think you do that much,” Grubauer said. “Once you get old and have a couple injuries, you kind of learn. You start to listen to your body a little bit.”
Indeed the group’s second-youngest player, Tye Kartye, carried his easy traditions to the NHL after he was called up — shooting the same shots at morning skate, taking a dip in the cold tub.
“I don’t live and die by it, but I like to do it every game day,” Kartye, 22, said.
At 31, Grubauer tries to prepare as much as he can off the ice — stretching, light yoga, weightlifting. On the ice, the movements are focused on his groin and hips.
“It’s obviously a big issue for the goalies because we put so much pressure (on them),” Grubauer said. “We’re always on our knees and folding into the post.”
As the starting goalie he leads the team out onto the ice — that’s tradition, not superstition — fends off some shots, stretches, touches his feet one at a time, does a full split and touches both feet, repeats lateral movements, maybe chats at the bench, then departs.
He readies his crease before settling into it for the first period — scuffing up some snow with his skates. There’s water still on the ice from the Zamboni cleaning. Can’t be too slick, can’t be too sticky — it has to be just right.
“If you don’t scratch it up, you don’t stop sliding. You slide into the boards, basically,” Grubauer said.
After an anthem or two, the opening puck drops. Time to see if it all worked.
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