At 14, Kirby Dach scored 100 points in 33 games. At age 18, the Chicago Blackhawks selected him third overall in the draft. A year later, Hockey Canada named him captain of the junior national team.
Juraj Slafkovsky was a minor when he topped the scoring list at the Beijing Olympic tournament. The following summer, the Canadian claimed him first in the draft. At 20, he signed a 60 million contract.
Top two in class, hockey version.
Often, those at the top of their class during adolescence remain the best students in CEGEP and university. It’s the same thing in sport. Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nick Suzuki have had a string of successes since their early childhood. Their maturity, confidence and talent allow them to avoid long lethargy.
Except that at school, we have also all known students at the top of their class who hit a wall. Remember this brilliant student who received his first grade of 50% in philosophy. Of his anguish. From his panic. Of his agitation. His failure seemed much worse than that of another student who had already failed exams. I suspect this is the mindset that is troubling Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky after their first quarter of the season fell well short of expectations.
Dach, who is recovering from a serious injury, has scored just one goal in the last 18 months. It’s tough on morale, and it shows. Game after game, he seems to be discouraged. Slafkovsky also has just one goal this season. His reaction, however, is different from that of Dach. Instead, he displays frustration.
This was particularly evident 10 days ago, after a difficult period in which he skipped a few appearances. As his teammates returned to the locker room, he remained on the bench to ruminate on his mistakes. Nick Suzuki had to come get him. “I didn’t like seeing him get discouraged like that,” explained the club captain afterwards.
PHOTO JEFFREY T. BARNES, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Juraj Slafkovsky
In call-ins and on social media, supporters are demanding change. They want Dach and Slafkovsky out of the lineup, to give them pause. As if their heads weren’t already too full of negative thoughts.
So, how do you deal with those at the top of their class who are struggling? Like the rest of the group? It’s possible. Is this the best idea? Not always.
I sought the advice of sports psychologist Bruno Ouellette, who has worked with hundreds of Olympic athletes. He also advises business leaders. He has been meeting first-class people for 30 years.
“It’s a subject that has been studied a lot,” he says. When, younger, you have very good results and have not been confronted with obstacles, you often develop fewer character traits that allow you to manage anxiety-provoking situations. »
Traits that an overlooked athlete like Martin St-Louis developed. The Canadiens head coach has never been drafted. He arrived in the NHL late, at age 22. The Calgary Flames then let him leave without compensation. St-Louis knew how to convert this adversity into a source of motivation.
“I wasn’t the fastest,” he said in a podcast in 2019. “I didn’t have the best shot. I didn’t have the best head, but I still saw the game well. Other players were better than me in certain areas. The only thing I thought I was an elite player at was in my desire to improve. »
Martin St-Louis, adds Bruno Ouellette, was focused on the three levers of performance: effort, execution and attitude. This is not the case for all players. The psychologist returns to the case of Juraj Slafkovsky.
“Think of a Y lying horizontally. You have two branches. One up, one down. » Upwards is the desire to learn and improve. What English speakers call mastery. Exactly what Martin St-Louis did. This is learned by focusing on each action of the game, and not on everything surrounding the match.
And down? “You are focused more on ego and performance. What you want are results. You want to score goals. You want to be the best. You compare yourself to others. When you’re young and you have the talent, it works. But when you get to the NHL, it may not work as well. Especially after signing a big contract,” like Slafkovsky. “There, you want to be good. You want to demonstrate what you can do, and you are less focused on the other approach, the one at the top. »
These are not obvious situations for a coach. Martin St-Louis must assess how much pressure and adversity each of his players can withstand without sagging.
So far, he has been conciliatory with Dach. Too much ? Should he instead tighten the screw and remove him from training?
Attention. The punitive approach is a double-edged sword.
I remember a conversation I had with former prospect Angelo Esposito five years ago. He told me about his regression in his third season in junior, under the direction of Patrick Roy. “Patrick was tough on me. I needed to play better, to make a difference. It was difficult to go to the arena. The pressure was very strong. Every time I wanted to do better, it got worse,” he told me.
The Quebec Remparts finally traded him to the Montreal Junior, where he found himself surrounded by three young coaches: Pascal Vincent, Dominique Ducharme and Joël Bouchard. “The three best coaches I have had. Before each match, Joël gave me a list of actions to accomplish. The objectives were clear. That’s the only thing I had to think about on the ice. » This is what revived him, until a torn cruciate ligament slowed down his career.
Kirby Dach is very talented. At even strength, he is the Canadian player with the most anticipated goals. His shots just don’t go into the net.
PHOTO CHARLES LECLAIRE, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Kirby Dach
In the circumstances, I doubt that a stay in the press box will cheer him up and convince him that he can be a 30-goal scorer. Same thing for Slafkovsky. “The job of the coach and the organization is to develop them,” argues Bruno Ouellette. You are there to give him confidence. If you constantly change their line and position, you are definitely not sending them a message of trust. »
Sometimes, he admits, athletes need shock treatment. “In a team sport, the team must always come before the individual. It’s an important rule, but at the same time, you have to develop them, your best hopes. »
And there is one thing that Martin St-Louis can teach Dach and Slafkovsky better than anyone. A character trait that he has mastered, and which could put his two young attackers back on the right track.
Resilience.
