5 Tips for Staying Sharp When You’re Not Playing a Lot
- Treat every practice like a game by moving, tracking, and finishing saves with full intensity — not just going through the motions.
- Focus on small technical details during practice (eye tracking, sealing the ice, challenging) that quietly erode when goalies aren't playing regularly.
- Calvin Pickard won his first six 2024 playoff starts for the Oilers despite inconsistent playing time, proving preparation can replace rhythm.
- Veteran backup goalies deliberately reduce their reliance on game rhythm by building consistent daily habits regardless of their schedule.
- Keeping the same mental and physical routine on non-start days is a core strategy for backup goalies to stay competition-ready.
Calvin Pickard is back for the Edmonton Oilers, at least on the bench.
Pickard returned to practice on Monday for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in Game 2 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights and was back on the bench for Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday as the backup to Stuart Skinner.
Whether or not the Oilers need Pickard anytime soon remains to be seen, but after winning his first six playoff starts, Edmonton knows that can count on Pickard to be ready, even after being out of action for close to three weeks.
Pickard has figured out how to stay sharp when starts are scarce.
Over 13 seasons of pro hockey, Pickard learned to be less reliant on the rhythm so many goalies rely on to play their best. The 33-year-old has done it all over that time, starting as a No. 1 in the NHL, dominating for stretches in the AHL, and backing up some of the best in both leagues. Through it all, he’s figured out how to play well without playing a lot.
“You’ve got to treat every day like you’re playing,” Pickard said during last year’s playoffs on Episode 255 of the InGoal Radio Podcast. “Whether you’re starting that night or not, the mentality has to stay the same.”
Here’s how Pickard does it — and how you can, too.
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