Mental Game: Anchor Yourself in-Game

Just before the referee prepares to drop the puck, Dylan Ferguson begins his routine.

The Vegas Golden Knights prospect taps his stick on the cross bar and both posts, then makes a quick, powerful push to the top of his crease, where he taps his gloves together in front of him, then arcs his arms straight back and out wide, adjusts his mask and gets into his stance.

Watching Ferguson play for the Henderson Silver Knights in the American Hockey League this week, the pattern never changed. It was the same before every whistle, all game.

It’s what Ferguson and his mental skills coach Pete Fry call an anchor.