Al MacInnis, current VP of Hockey Operations for the St. Louis Blues, was recently interviewed by Responsible Sports. The interview is about 30 minutes in length and is well-worth listening to.  Al provides great insight into what it took for him to become an elite NHL defenseman and what advice he has for your hockey players on their quest.

Listen to the Al MacInnis Podcast HERE.

Perhaps the most valuable piece of information that comes from the interview can be summed up by MacInnis himself: “There is no magic stick or magic formula. It’s practice, practice, and more practice.” MacInnis said that players and parents often ask him how he got to the NHL and became so accomplished (Memorial Cup winner, Stanley Cup Winner, Olympic Gold Medal, Norris Trophy…not too shabbby) expecting an unknown secret formula. But there is none. MacInnis credits his tremendous shot to shooting pucks repeatedly during the summer months. Not because he thought “if I shot ‘x’ amount of pucks this summer, then I will get to the NHL” but because he enjoyed doing it and it was a way to pass the time during the summer away from the rink.

As a kid, we are always doing the opposite of what our parents tell us to do simply to be rebellious; because we think we already know it all. I can say one thing for sure now that I am in my mid-twenties: my dad was right about 99% of the things he ever told me. I should have shot more pucks in the driveway rather than watching another 30 minutes of television; I should have gone in the basement and stick-handled a golf ball for 30 minutes rather than play another round of Halo. Whatever deficiencies your game has (and trust me, all of us have them at every level of hockey) is what you should be working on in your free time. If you think you’re not as fast as you’d like to be, find some sprint workouts to do in the off season. If you want a shot like Al MacInnis, go shoot a hundred pucks a day every summer. No athlete ever credits the amount of hours they played video games as a child as the reason they were able to get to where they are today. So get after it!

Video:  All-Time Slapshots Al MacInnis