Hockey players are known for being superstitious when it comes to their game day routines, so I checked in with some of the Nashville Predators to see how they are preparing for tonight's home opener at Bridgestone Arena.
Tonight the Nashville Predators play their first home game of the season at Bridgestone Arena in front of the home crowd. The Predators took the ice this morning to put finishing touches on their game day preparation ahead of puck drop. The players' preparation doesn't end once they leave the ice after morning skate, however.
Like many professional athletes, the Predators players have learned what they need to do to get ready for game day, but not every game day routine is the same. Some players like Luke Evangelista have very specific routines, right down to intermission snack choices.
"I actually have a pretty strict routine I follow," Evangelista said. "For home games, I eat my meal before my nap. I always drink the same amount of water. My first drink when I get here is the hydration tablet. My drink between warm ups and the first period is a hydration tablet. I'm going to eat the same snack in between periods. It's a pretty strict routine I'm following right now."
What are Evangelista's snacks of choice for each intermission?
"After the first period, I do a peanut butter strawberry nutrition bar, and then between the second and third I do a little energy waffle."
One thing Kiefer Sherwood does before every game is visualization.
"When I go on the bench, I visualize and talk to myself and get my mind right," Sherwood shared.
Music also plays an important part in Sherwood's game day preparation. He likes to listen to music ahead of puck drop to help get him in the right frame of mind.
"It's a little mixture of EDM or dance music and sometimes hip hop," Sherwood said when I asked him about his game day genre of choice. "Just trying to turn the switch on and get ready for game mode."
Routines help get players in the right physical and mental state, but what happens when a good game day routine is interrupted? Tommy Novak just had to navigate one of those curve balls.
"On the road, they just got rid of the ice cream at the pregame meal, and I would usually have a couple ice creams after the pregame meal," Novak said.
"I was a little rattled about that."
Novak is having to make some game day adjustments sans ice cream — vanilla with some things added to it as he is not a fan of rich based flavors in case you are wondering. Novak managed to keep it together and play well in Tampa Bay without his game day treat, logging almost 16:00 minutes of ice time and scoring an impressive power play goal.
What is going to replace the road game ice cream remains to be seen.
"That's gone now so we'll see what happens with that," Novak said.
One game day routine all the players agreed on was the importance of a nap. Resting up after morning skate and before arriving back at the rink is a big part of the routine, although each player views their nap time a bit differently. For instance, Juuse Saros isn't as concerned about actually falling asleep when he lays down in the afternoon.
"I'm not too picky about it," Saros said about the importance of the nap. "If I don't fall asleep, it's fine and if I get better sleep it's okay. It's more just resting your eyes."
As a part of his set routine, Evangelista has a specific time when he lays down. For a seven o'clock game, he is napping from 1:30-3:30.
"I'm a really good napper. I'm a talented sleeper," Evangelista revealed. "I could fall asleep anywhere. I'm pretty good at that."
Sherwood takes a more scientific approach to his nap,
"I try to get a full hour and a half sleep cycle in," he said.
Phil Tomasino agrees with the hour and a half time frame and has his own pre-nap ritual.
"I gotta go through TikTok a little bit before," he said.
Not every player I talked to clings tightly to game day routines. Cody Glass admitted that he had a strict game day routine in juniors but now those type of rituals don't serve him anymore.
"I found out that's not good for your mental side," Glass said. "I try and stay away from the little things like someone touching my stick or the way I take my stick, that kind of thing."
Glass still has certain things he does before every game because he knows what prepares him best to play.
"I try and do the same stretches just because that's how my body feels good when I'm doing it," Glass shared.
Glass is not a fan of caffeine so naps are a must for him as well. He rests anywhere from an hour to two hours depending on how hectic the schedule has been and how he is feeling.
Another person in the Predators organization who doesn't adhere to a strict game day routine? New head coach Andrew Brunette.
When asked if he has a specific game day routine he sticks to as a coach, Brunette shook his head and said, "No. I always thought it was unlucky to be superstitious."
After their pre-game meals and naps, the Nashville Predators will take the ice tonight at 7:00 pm CT at Bridgestone Arena to take on the Seattle Kraken.
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