Throughout the 82-game NHL season members of the Nashville Predators all have their own unique ways to get ready.
Ryan O’Reilly does the same thing twisting himself loose at the end of the bench before putting his helmet on while Micheal McCarron leads a drill passing a puck to his teammates lined up in a horseshoe formation that ends up with a shot going on one of the goalies.
Some skaters have been doing this for over a decade or are just coming up on a full season of getting ready for NHL games.
As fans file into their spots in Bridgestone Arena to see the team get ready they position themselves to showcase homemade signs to root for their favorite players. The uniformity of this can be seen around the home end of the ice as fans get as close to the glass as possible for warmups.
However, the routine all starts before anyone comes down the tunnel in the Lexus Lounge to take the ice.
Kiefer Sherwood and his teammates all have their stretches in the bowels of the arena before getting dressed. There’s just one thing he does that if you miss it now you may want to take a look over at Nashville’s bench.
About 15 minutes before coming on the ice without his helmet on for warmups Sherwood sits on the bench in a hoodie listening to the same music before every game this season.
It’s the most vital part of his routine.
“That’s part of my routine where I try to be ready mentally and physically,” Sherwood said. “To visualize and key in on my self-talk and run through stuff as a team myself and get in the zone to get ready.”
He’s not too worried about the time he sits on the bench. It’s about getting that time to himself to let moments sink in.
“It doesn’t take me that long to get dressed but it is important to zone in on the bench. It’s really important to me because I’m big on my energy and mindset every single day. I focus on what I want to accomplish and work towards.”
Defenseman Luke Schenn was upfront about his routine but mentioned how since this is his 16th season he’s seen it all after being with eight teams to this point.
“They get longer and longer because you get more and more injuries to rehab,” a chuckling Schenn said. “I wouldn’t say I’m superstitious but it doesn’t get any shorter with age.”
Another thing most members of the Predators do is play “sewer” which Luke Evangelista said was soccer. No matter where the team is they participate in sewer before every game.
Evangelista said he does the exact same routine pretty much every time. Nothing too out of the ordinary pretty much with it being standard stuff.
On the flip side, Sherwood made a case for what’s expected in the locker room before jumping out on the ice as well based on previous experiences he’s had.
“I played with some superstitious players,” Sherwood stated. “I know [Andrew] Cogliano I know Corey Perry and those guys are superstitious. Everyone on the team has their superstitions but I don’t think of myself as superstitious. I think it’s more routine and everyone is OCD in their own way.”
While Sherwood gets ready for what he calls “war” the goaltenders have their ways to get ready too.
Juuse Saros has been a coveted goalie in the NHL since he became Nashville’s starter and he opened up about what’s important to him before leading his team out down the tunnel.
“It’s more about getting your mind ready, those sort of things in my routine,” Saros said. “That way your mind and body know it’s game time and some superstitions as well.”
Kevin Lankinen said he found Saros’ bunny hops during stretches unique to him but there are things to the backup goalie most don’t get to see.
Lankinen has a small laminated square with his #32 on it and an acronym “MTMOTD” on top in his stall. It means “Make The Most of The Day” and this idea originated from goalie coach Ben Vanderklok one season ago.
Photo courtesy of Chris Mason.
“It was me and Benny’s motto going into last year and I kinda stuck with that and kept that growth mindset,” Lankinen said. “Focus on the process instead of the result, or just have a picture in mind coming in every day with an attitude every day that you’re going to make the most of the day and whatever it is.”
As Lankinen finished his thoughts on routine he mentioned how some players find his stretches to be funny. It’s a lot of stretching and hip mobility before he gets out on the ice for action.
“It’s a little weird so I won’t go too into detail,” he said.
Defenseman Dante Fabbro is in his 6th season with the Predators and said with it being as long of a year as it is habits just stick throughout 82 games.
“I’m pretty basic, I mean we all have our superstitions whether it be things we do before we go out for the games handshakes, and whatnot,” Fabbro said. “It’s nothing crazy. If it somehow happens I don’t do anything It’s not going to mess me up.”
Then once the team is on the ice for warmups everybody has their own lane for stick handling or spot on the ice to get loose for a game. Sherwood has made some tinkers over the years.
“I try to adjust over the years to make sure that I’m ready,” Sherwood said. “Everything I do is for a reason or orginiated for a reason at some point. I’ve been doing it for a long time.”
Kiefer says his routine came to be after watching other players and then adding what he likes to do on his own.
He has his own stick-handling routine to get ready for games and cited how Sidney Crosby does something similar.
“Just want to feel confident and prepared but also dialed in mentally,” Sherwood said. “I think I do all of those things I do for trying to get myself in that prime spot before games.”
Kiefer said he watched a lot of Alexander Ovechkin growing up as a young skater.
“My shot was actually my weakness growing up so it was really something I tried to practice and study on,” Sherwood said. “I would watch a lot of highlights, I was a YouTube kid growing up and don’t watch it anymore. I would watch the highlights and see what worked and practice it in my basement after that.”
So, next time you go to a game at Bridgestone Arena there are some things to watch for as the Predators take the ice before going toe-to-toe against an opponent.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of Nashville Predators
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