3 Mental Game Killers Hockey Players Face (And How to Fix Them)
You’re doing everything right as a coach. Practice plans have been working for your team all season long with your players dialed in, your systems are solid, and your players have been developing the skills necessary to keep their personal growth going. But something is still off. The team you see showing up and practicing hard is inconsistent when it’s game time. It takes longer than it should for everyone to settle in after the first puck drop, and at times it seems like everyone is working towards different things.
Here’s the thing: your team is ready, physically. But the mental game- what’s happening between the ears- isn’t where it needs to be to have your hockey players where you want them to be. And it’s not what’s happening at practice that’s affecting them. It’s everything leading up to games.
And some of the biggest mental performance killers? You don’t even realize they’re happening.
Let’s fix that.
1. The Pre-Game Scramble (AKA The Focus Killer)
We’ve all seen this with our athletes before. It’s 20 minutes before game time and they’re digging through their bag looking for their left glove. Then it’s the tape they meant to use 30 minutes ago when they arrived at the rink for their new stick. Finally, right before you want them all on the ice for warm-ups, they forgot their water bottle and have to meet their Mom in the lobby.
What’s really happening: Every time an athlete scrambles to find their equipment or rushes through their prep, their nervous system spikes. They’re starting the game alrady in a reactive, stressed state instead of a focused, ready one.
And it’s not just them. When one player is scrambling, it ripples through the whole team. Focus gets fractured. Energy gets scattered. It takes everyone a few extra shifts to settle into the game.
The fix: Build a pre-game prep routine into your team culture. This isn’t just about having their gear ready (though that matters). It’s about creating a mental checklist that signals to their brain: It’s go time."
Gear check the night before every game/practice.
Same arrival time, every game.
Same pre-warm-up routine, every game.
Use visualization to fully focused.
Consistency = calm.
Calm = focus.
2. Predicting the Outcome Before the Puck Drops
It starts with overestimating, or underestimating your opponent based on what you see on paper or your last experience with them.
”They beat us last time, I’m sure they will again.”
”This team is stacked.”
”They don’t have their starting goal, they’re not that good.”
What’s really happening: When athletes start predicting the outcome before the game even starts, they’re not present once it does. They’re either playing scared (already thinking they will lose) or playing lazy (if they think it’s in the bag).
Either way, they’re not playing their game.
Prediction steals presence. And presence is where performance lives.
The fix: Shift focus from outcome to process and standards.
Before every game, ask your team:
“What are we controlling today?”
“What does our best effort look like, no matter who’s across from us?”
Teach them to respect every opponent without fearing or underestimating them. The game is won in how they show up, not in what they think will happen.
3. Goals vs. Standards (It’s Easy to Get This Wrong)
It seems like a no-brainer; every team needs goals for the season that they are working towards.
”Score 30 goals this season.”
”Make playoffs.”
”Win the championship.”
But here’s the problem that often gets overlooked when the only thing we set are goals: They aren’t fully in our control.
Your hockey team can do everything right and still not hit them. And when athletes tie their confidence to outcomes they can’t control, they lose their self-belief, the team starts to crumble under pressure, and soon enough the whole season is a wash.
What’s really happening: Goal-focused hockey players are riding an emotional rollercoaster without frequent check-points. They feel great when they’re winning, terrible when they’re not. Their confidence is fragile because it’s tied to results, not their effort or process and if they don’t set enough goals- they are only working for one at the end of the season. Which means if your goal on Day 1 is to win the championship, and by day 15 you’re already in last place…it’s easy to give up altogether.
The fix: Set standards instead of goals.
Standards are about how your athletes show up, not what what your athletes achieve.
Examples:
Goal: Score 2 goals this game.
Standard: Take high-quality shots and crash the net every shift.
Goal: Win this tournament.
Standard: Compete on every puck, communicate on every shift, and reset after every mistake.
Standards build unshakeable confidence because they’re 100% in your control- dictated by effort and attitude.
Hit your standard and the positive results your hockey players are looking for will come naturally. Maybe not in that single game or tournament, but over time, with the right work ethic driving the bus- they will.
The Bottom Line
Mental performance isn’t some abstract concept. It’s built into everything your team does and impacts the outcomes- from how they prep before the game to how they handle mistakes or set expectations.
The best part? These are all coachable.
You don’t need to be a sports psychologist. You just need to be intentional about building these systems into your team culture for your hockey players to grow.
Start with one. Build the routine. Make it non-negotiable.
Your hockey players will be more focused, more resilience, and more consistent. And that’s when the real performance on ice happens.
Kristin Tullo is a certified mental performance coach with 10+ years working with athletes and coaches. She specializes in turning complex concepts into game-ready tools that coaches and athletes can use in real time.
