At Forward with Bob Corkum

At forward with Bob Corkum
By Bob Cunningham
Nov 6, 2001, 19:52

©BBS

Like many of his teammates on The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, center Bob Corkum puts a high priority on the mental aspect of the game. And, Corkum points out, the principle applies to all levels of hockey.

“The biggest thing, I believe, is to be mentally prepared for each and every game, and to work as hard as you can,” says Corkum, who paced The Mighty Ducks in scoring for most of the 1993-94 campaign before injuring a leg with less than a month remaining in the regular season. “You don’t want to get too high when things are going well or too low when they’re not. You want to maintain an even keel.”

Corkum believes the best way to prepare for a game is by establishing a routine that provides the right mixture of relaxation, nutrition and mental focusing.

For Corkum, the routine includes breakfast at Denny’s before the morning skate, then some time to himself to gather his thoughts and “really begin thinking about who we’re playing and what I need to accomplish.”

When things are going particularly well, superstition can also play a part. For instance, Corkum admitted to ordering a breakfast of oatmeal with wheat toast on game day during one particular winning streak.

“You go with whatever’s working,” he says.

It’s A Ritual

A pregame meal in the early afternoon is followed by a brief nap. When he awakes, he begins his ritual of mentally visualizing that evening’s developments. Well before the opening faceoff, Corkum visualizes how he wants the game to go.

“I’ve learned that it’s a healthy approach to the game,” he notes.

Corkum’s game-day routine is a gradual build-up of intensity, peaking just prior to his first shift. But Corkum’s preparation wasn’t always this focused.

“When I was with Buffalo, I knew that I was only going to get a half-dozen to maybe a dozen shifts per game,” he recalls. “I was prepared for limited ice time so I went in with the mentality that I had to show them what I could do when I was out there. I wanted to show that I deserved more ice time than I was getting.”

In Anaheim, however, Corkum became an integral part of the team and changed his pre-game approach accordingly.

“I start thinking pretty early in the day about who I am going up against that night, who our line with be matched up against,” he says. “I know that I’m going to be on the ice a lot, sometimes on power plays or killing penalties. So I know I have to be ready for whatever develops.”

Corkum notes that not all players are willing, able or even need to prepare as thoroughly as he does. He just sticks with what works for him.

“It’s usually the most talented guys that don’t see the need for focusing so far in advance. They can’t turn it on and off like a light switch, although there are some guys that can almost do exactly that,” he said. “They say, ‘why waste a whole day thinking about a three-hour hockey game?’ But I can’t think that way. It may work for them, but not for me.”

Trying Too Hard?

Corkum did point out, however, that there is such a thing as being too prepared for a game.

“When we went back to Buffalo, I was really eager to show them what I could do now that I was getting the chance to play regularly,” he explained. “We had arrived in Buffalo from Pittsburgh and we had two days before the game.

“I was so eager to play that when the game came, I played I think my worst game of the year for the first two periods. I was too keyed up.”

That goes back to Corkum’s advice about maintaining a steady emotional state, and not getting too caught up in individual successes or failures.

“I sure got into it that time,” he said.

Corkum notes that there are two primary ingredients to success playing at center, and oddly enough neither has anything to do with scoring goals.

“The first thing is faceoffs, especially in your own zone. You have to be able to control the puck and get it to your defensemen so that they can clear the zone,” he said.

“The other most important thing about playing center, I think, has to do with down-low play and in the corners, working with your own defensemen. If you don’t do that successfully, it usually results in a goal (for the opposition) or, at the least, a quality scoring chance.

“A center’s job is to do whatever is needed to help win games. If that means defense, he’d better be ready to play defense. When the scoring chances come, he needs to take advantage of them.”

In other words, he needs to be ready. Period.

Bob Cunningham is a Southern California-based freelance writer who contributes to several sports publications throughout the U.S. and Canada.

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
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