The Ride to The Rink: NHL Veteran Scott Hartnell on the Mindset That Built a 17-Year Career

Hello, hockey skaters and goalies around the world. Welcome back to another edition of the Ride to the Rink, kids. We got a treat for you today. Scott Hartnell's here playing the NHL for 17 season. He's a little short on time, so we're going to jump right in. But where I wanted to start, Scott is a brother. He's got brothers. He's the youngest, right, Scott? You grew up in an environment. We know there's a lot of sibling families listening here. Scott, can you just talk a little bit about being the youngest and how that might have helped craft your journey in hockey?

Yeah, an oldest sister. She played ring at hockey. I got two older brothers. They ended up playing minor hockey, a lot of knee hockey, a lot of street hockey. They played D1 college hockey. And, man, it was fun keeping up to them. You know, I got my bumps and bruises and punches and choke holds from them. But it made me a stronger, you know, better kid to fight through that adversity. And just have a lot of fun growing up as a kid.

shaping their, watching them play, kind of shaped the way I played and just had a lot of fun watching them grow up. I want to say real quick, cause I'm the youngest in my family and there's nothing quite like the moment when you beat the older brother for the first time. Okay. But I want to always say that, that the older siblings, you lead the way for us and you didn't ask to be in that role, but you were. So to all the older siblings out there.

Thank you, and watch out. That's kind of how we episode. We're coming for you. Scott, also, you have such an amazing career now as a broadcaster playing in the NHL. What a ride, since this is Ride to the Ring episode. Let's talk about your journey and some important lessons that you want to pass along to the kids that will help them on their journey.

Kids, boys and girls, I got one, probably one piece of advice for you, and that is to be the hardest working player on the ice. It was something that I prided myself on as a kid.

You know, as a junior hockey player, when I made the NHL, I wanted to, you know, my first training camp, I wanted to show the coaches, the GMs, you know, everyone that I could, you know, maybe not the fastest skate in the world, but I'm going to work harder than you. I'm going to come out of the corner with that puck instead of you. Have a strong stick, all that kind of stuff.

To be the hardest working player on the ice, that's something that, you know, your coaches will know, scouts will know, all that kind of stuff. So don't underestimate the power of being the hardest working player on the ice. Scott, we can't thank you enough for...

the few minutes you've given us here today. And kids don't underestimate that advice. I'm sure you hear, maybe you don't hear it enough to be the hardest worker on the ice, but Scott, correct in saying that's not just games, right? It's practices, games. It's practices. Yeah. It's more important, more important than practice because that's going to lead to your tendencies in a game. Right. And, and when you're doing the, the one-on-one battles and the two on twos, and you know, you're, you, after you warm up the goalie, you don't want to go bar down on the first shot. Cause that'll take a goalie off. But you know, when you have a chance to score, you know, rip that thing.

You know, you have a buddy open on a two-on-one, make that pass. And if you don't make it, you know, you're going to be mad at yourself. I got to make that pass the next time because when it comes into a game and you got to think quick and you got to make a play or a shot or, you know, defensively as well, I'm talking offense, but, you know, to work hard on a back check, you know, all that stuff is so important that you do it in a practice. It's just going to come natural in a game. So practices are way more important.

I love it. You know, kids, one thing I will tell you is go to YouTube, something we didn't have when we were growing up. Search up Scott Hartnell highlights. You'll see a mix, a menagerie, if you will, of tough hockey plays, personality plays, and a big smile on his face all the time. Scott, thanks so much for joining us on the ride. Thank you, Scott. Thank you, guys. Had a blast. All right, kids, remember, wherever you're at in your hockey journey, we believe in you. You should, too. We'll see you on the next Ride the Ring. Take care, everybody.