Hockey Tips from the NYI Alumni
Pat Lafontaine Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003
- Four Time All-Star with the New York Islanders from 1988-1991
- Listed 6th all-time in points for the New York Islanders with 566
- Led the Islanders in scoring from 1988 to 1990
- Played on the 1984 USA Olympic Hockey Team
- Drafted in the first round (3rd pick Overall) by the New York Islanders in 1983
- For a career he totaled 1013 points with 468 Goals/545 Assists over 14 Seasons in the NHL with the Islanders, Sabres, & Rangers
Work on Your Weaknesses
"One of the most important lessons I learned came back in my youth hockey days. My dad was a great coach and he emphasized that we should always work on your weaknesses.
If you have a good wrist shot then work on your backhand. If you are strong on your right crossovers then work on your left.
My dad used to explain that in hockey; as in life we all have some weaknesses. Deep down we all know what they are, if you try and hide them eventually they will be exposed and your opponent will take advantage of them.
When I first joined the Islanders as a 19-year-old Coach Al Arbour always used to pull me off the ice for defensive zone face-offs. This used to be very frustrating to me so I asked a lot of questions and tried to improve my face-off win ratio and my defensive zone responsibilities.
I worked with Bryan Trottier after practice and spent a lot of time in the weight room to get stronger.
By the end of my second year I remember an important game at Nassau Coliseum; it was late in the game and I was on the ice when the puck was frozen deep in our zone. I looked to the bench to see if the coach was going to put me on the bench, but he showed a lot of confidence in me and left me in.
Inspired by that gesture and confident that my hard work might finally pay off; I won the face-off and we cleared the puck out of our zone. I skated back to the bench with a big satisfied smile on my face. My coach and I were probably the only two guys in the building who knew what I was so happy about."
Until the next Tip,
Pat Lafontaine
If you are looking for a tip on a skill that you are looking to improve on please feel free to send an e-mail at the below address, and maybe your e-mail will be answered by one of our NYI Alumni greats and be posted on our sight.
sbeisel@newyorkislanders.com
All Tips from our Alumni
- Mike Bossy Are you ready
- Pat Lafontaine Work on your weaknesses
- Mike Bossy Making the most of practice
- Steve Webb The Art of having FUN while playing the game of Hockey
