Top 540 Quotes & Sayings by Famous Hockey Players - Page 6

I loved the city of St. Louis.

Eight days ago, we were the toast of the town. Eight days later we're Thanksgiving turkeys.

Now, as a 29-year-old, you're a little bit different than a 26-year-old. But I actually felt really comfortable in Boston. I felt that I was one of the best players in the league at the time. I thought Boston was going to be the home for me for the rest of my career.

I wanted to be consistent in my career and not have an off year. I wanted to play well and be on top of things.

I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of neat experiences, Olympics and everything, getting to the Stanley Cup Finals was really cool, but to actually make the NHL was just something I don't think I or my family will ever forget.

Growing up, I wanted to play with the bigger kids, so having two brothers, you had to stick your nose in there and try your best; you get the worst of everything, though.

You go out and play hard, no matter what.

The multi-captaincy system helps me to concentrate and focus on my responsibility. In my case, I can concentrate on my goalkeeping, and others on their responsibilities allotted to them like scoring goals, defending and things like that.

When you're a kid you always played to win a Stanley Cup in the streets or on the outdoor rinks, and when you do it for real, it's a pretty cool moment, it's something that I'm always going to remember.

When I started my career I used to concede a lot of goals but still every one had faith in me, they kept motivating me.

People in general want to build somebody up and then try to knock them down. They always root for the underdog.

People talk about skating, puck handling and shooting, but the whole sport is angles and caroms, forgetting the straight direction the puck is going, calculating where it will be directed, factoring in all the interruptions. Basically, my whole game is angles.

I hate slow drivers and slow golfers.

Nothing is won on your first shift and nothing is lost on your first shift, so it's about keeping things in perspective.

As you've progress further in the Playoffs, the ice usually gets a little softer. It's tough to keep it that cold. We could make it hard, but it would be about 4 degrees in the building. I'm sure the fans wouldn't appreciate that very much, wearing parkas in June.

Just the city of Stockholm was really, really nice. Walking around the city was pretty cool.

When you are with your team, you get the right motivation to work hard every day and get back to the field quickly.

Pakistan are definitely our main rivals. We do respect the players but on the field, we push ourselves even harder to get that win. I am sure they do the same against us. Victory against them has a special meaning.

When a player gets injured, all negative thoughts come in. Then you bump into people who have had that problem and they start telling you about how difficult it is and that doesn't help.

If we're going to change the game it has to start at eight, nine and 10 years old. When we were that age we'd go to the pond or backyard rink and throw a puck on the ice and play five on five, or seven on seven. You get this creativity and this imagination that comes from within, just having fun on the pond. Now kids are so focused on team play, and the coaches are so focused on positioning. You can't change it at the NHL level.

It was tough leaving Boston with a great city, a great organization and a great bunch of guys.

I was still very invested in the team, very invested in how we were doing. I realized I needed to take a step back and start focusing on myself, my head and my eye, try to get my health back.

I'm just really passionate about the game of hockey. It's all I know and I love it.

My aim has always been to improve with every performance and be an added strength to the side.

When I came to the national camp, I wore my pads to get the feel. I started to kick the ball, then stood in the pole and it felt positive. Since then, I am just focusing on making myself better than before.

When I got hit I went from having 37-year-old eyes to having 65-year-old eyes. That's why I've got the glasses on - so my eye isn't constantly trying to focus and giving me headaches. But they also help me see better: my right eye is blurry.

Canadian players have started to put more of an importance on the World Championships in the sense that as soon as they lose, they are called, they want to go play and they don't go only on the basis of if they are injured.

Every line expects to do big things when they're on the ice.

As a player, you have one responsibility, to focus yourself and be ready for the game. As a coach, your responsibility is to get 20 guys ready and have them all on the same page. If you can't get every guy ready every night, you're going to struggle.

My dad took a lot of pride in what he did for a living.

It takes a special individual to be a coach to pay attention to all that bad stuff and keep people accountable.

I love everything about hockey.

Sure, I'd like to play until I'm 40 and even maybe a bit older.

My dad used to be a goalie. He actually won a bronze medal with Team Canada in 1956.

You rarely see any team stay the same.

I think to get first in your division you've got to have a lot of depth, a lot of character, a lot of skill, a lot of competitiveness.

Fans are fickle, it's the nature of the beast.

Before I played in the NHL I had two surgeries. Definitely I was like, 'Wow, this is not good. I haven't played a game yet and I have two surgeries.' I didn't get another one ever again. I was fortunate.

Any racism towards anybody, it's not acceptable.

It's just part of me, playing the puck.

On the personal level, it's hard for a goalie. You don't get awards for save percentage or anything like that. Your work is really put into how many wins you can get, how many times you can get your team in the playoffs and all that. So I took a lot of pride in winning.

I never remember being self-conscious about my body. That just comes from being in a locker room for so long.

Mistakes happen. Not every one of my suspensions was purposeful or intentional. A lot of that stuff happens spur of the moment in the middle of a game. I think I can bring that to the table. Sometimes emotions get the best of you. Things happen.

The best things in life aren't easy. My career kind of sums that up. From the start of it to the end of it, there were a lot of twists and turns, a lot of different adversities. Having overcome those, it makes you stronger.

By no means could I play at the level of these kids who play in the NHL now but as 50-year-olds go, I feel really good and I feel blessed that I'm still healthy.

Whether the guys are nervous or just had mental breakdowns, it happens. The game is a game of mistakes. And how you deal with them and correct them and all the things like that is what makes this game great and makes hockey the sport it is.

For whatever reason I love big-city skylines. I've always been fascinated by them.

Obviously, being a hockey fan, I always bought all of the hockey games, so that makes this 'NHL 2K7' cover even more special to me.

The motto to work hard and get back that India jersey never died in me.

You cannot play at your best and beat a top team one day and drop your level the next day.

It really doesn't matter or concern me what people are saying or who thinks who is the favorite. The bottom line is you have to play.

If I'm not going to play a lot I'd like to have a chance to win every time I jump between the pipes.

Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull and Jean Béliveau probably looked at us in the '80s and said, "These guys are soft. We used to take the train."

I have recall. I don't know why or how. I had a guy once who said he played against me in novice [league, for kids under nine], for the Detroit Lasers. And I said, "Oh yeah, we beat you in the tournament, 8-1 and I think I scored seven goals, and the goalie was left-handed." And he was, "Oh my God. I was the goalie!" .

You can't win tournaments just with youngsters. In important matches we need experience.

I grew up in a city just outside of Edmonton, St. Albert. So I watched NHL games with my grandpa. I watched a lot of games, back then it was called the Smythe Division, and it was just Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

I never really expected the captaincy, honestly. It's a great honour to lead India at the Olympics.

I want to bring back that glory in our country because we are the Olympic champions. So I want to see that glory days back in India, hence I'm giving my hundred per cent to contribute my best.

I've been obsessed with hockey ever since I can remember.

I love to play.