The Ride to The Rink: The Secret to Playing 400+ Games in a Row 🏒 (Karl Alzner Explains)

Hello, hockey skaters and goalies around the world. Welcome to another edition of

the Ride to the

Rink. It's Lee and Mike here today, and we just happened to have someone on who

played 428 NHL

games in a row in what was almost a 600 NHL game career with the Washington

Capitals and the

Montreal Canadiens. Kids, those are all things you should know about. Karl Alzner

on with us

today. And Karl, listen, we want to ask you about the kids, that playing that many

games in a row,

first of all, playing that many games is an accomplishment at the pro level. Doing it

in a row. I'm

not sure anybody understands what it takes to stay healthy. Probably a little bit of

luck on your

side, but you got to make some pretty good decisions personally for your diet of

mental stuff,

your diet of food. Can you talk to us for a few minutes, talk to the kids specifically

about what

does it take to have that level of consistency? Well, I mean, I think one thing is you

got to love

the game. You got to really enjoy playing and enjoy the challenge. One of my

favorite things is

just to compete. I want to go up against other players in battle and to know that I

had that

opportunity to go every time and do it. That's the best right there. I didn't want to

miss an

opportunity to go and battle against somebody, maybe get a couple of hits, a

couple of shots. That

was something that I wasn't going to miss out on. And in order to do that, I knew I

had to do a lot

of different things. I knew I had to be mentally tough. i needed to be able to get

over some things

that um were difficult whether it be injuries or illness or just mental fatigue i had to

find a way

to to get through that um i wanted to make sure that my teammates knew that i

was always going to

be there that they could we could come to the rink and see you know my name is

going to be on that

that left side on one of the pairs that that was an automatic um and um and then

and then going to

what you said is taking care of myself right like different as a kid you want to you

want to eat

what you want to eat and drink what you want to drink a lot of fruit loops a lot of

fruit yeahexactly whatever whatever your pre-game snack is right you just these are the

things that over

time really kind of help help your body grow and and get stronger and more more

more set up so you

know in enjoying that ride getting that battle in me wanting to be on the ice that's

that's the

number one thing

So we want to make sure we preface the message by, you know, you were getting

paid quite a bit of

money to do what you do, right? And do what you did. And I think, can we just talk

a little bit

about the difference? Because, you know, ultimately it's your life and it's your

body and it's your

physical health. Like, what's the difference and what can we talk to our younger

athletes about?

Like being hurt and being injured. Like there are two different things, right? I think

at the NHL

level, you're expected to play hurt. Right. And you and really, in a lot of ways,

you're expected to play injured depending on the severity. Right. But can you just

talk about the

youth level? Like just what you should look for as a player and how like there's

some times when if

you want to play 400 plus straight games in the NHL, you have to get there first.

Yes. Right. And can you just talk a little bit about, you know, that the opportunity

for a player

to be really conscious of their body and understand the difference between a little

bit of

bruising. and and a lot of injuries yeah exactly i so i think we should we can know

the difference

between what's uncomfortable discomfort versus what's like not playable you

know what i mean so

like i'll give you a stomach ache for example that's uncomfortable that's i don't i

don't feel good

my stomach is bugging me but i know i can still play with a stomach ache you

know what i mean where

where you have a where maybe you have a messed up knee, a broken bone.

That's a different story, right? So try to find that difference. When you've taken a

puck off of

the foot and it stings for a little bit, my big thing is going down and laying on the

ice,

waiting for it to go away versus skating it off, right? These are the things we know

our bodies can

handle and trying to find that. what you're able to play through and play with.

And then obviously relying on the parents, the coaches to kind of help you walkthrough that stuff.

But I think you can build that up. You kind of harden your skin as you go, knowing

what it is that

you're comfortable with playing through and then continuing to test yourself.

I think it's a very good challenge. How long can you do that wall squat for? I can do

it for 30

seconds and I start feeling uncomfortable. but I know I can probably do another 30

seconds and

still be okay. So trying to figure out gauge where your, where your level is. Yeah.

Yeah, no, I love that. And I think it's also like for you, right at that, at that highest

level and

depending on who's listening to this and when they're, you know, where they are

in their own

career, like there is levels of like, I can play through this because of my adrenaline

and my

ability to want to win and want to support my teammates is there like that passion

for playing.

If, like you're talking about, if it's a stomach egg or a little ache, it's a lot different

than an

injury where you should go sit out in the stands and have somebody pull you off

the ice.

But I think there is a distinction, but there is no substitute for just understanding

that you do.

I mean, this is not, it's hockey. You've got to be tough. You've got to be able to

play at a very

hard level. Right. But you'll just have to be aware of your body. Absolutely. Bumps

and bruises are

going to happen. It comes with the territory. So enjoy them. Wear them as a badge

of honor. I love

that. A lot of parents are going to love that you said that, too, Karl. And it's true.

And, you

know, kids, I always say this, too. Every four years in the Olympics, records are

broken. Every

four years, world records are broken. We don't really know what we're capable of

as humans.

And when I tie that to you as a kid, you're capable of a lot more than you probably

think you are.

I love that wall sit thing. It's hard right now. It hurts. How much further can you

push that

mental resilience kids that you develop is so important, not just in hockey, but in

life,

knowing you can push through a little bit of pain or discomfort to get to a higher

level. That is

something that separates people as they get older. not just players. So, Karl,thanks so much for

joining us on the Ride to the Ring today. I know the kid's got some value out of

this. Yeah, my

pleasure. Go have a good one. All right. Kids, remember, wherever you're at in your

hockey journey,

remember, we believe in you. You should, too. We'll see you on the next Ride to the

Ring.