On skating without laces

and the creative genius of a demi-Canadian hero

Underneath everything dear reader, I’m living with a very simple truth.

I sleep easy at night and know that life will be ok because of one thing:

The Montreal Canadiens are back.

Not only are they back, but, because of their collective age - the youngest team in the NHL and their salary structure, they will be a dominant team for years.

Exciting eh?

Perhaps you don’t consider yourself a hockey fan.

That’s ok. I have room in my life for people of all religious backgrounds. Even if you worship at the church of eternal hope and disappointment as a Leafs fan, I’ll pray for you.

On player on the Habs is a Demi-Canadian.

His name is Lane Hutson. His father Rob is Canadian, so Lane is entitled to Canadian citizenship.

The same can be said about scoring ace Cole Caulfield. His dad is also Canadian.

Both of these young men are small for hockey players at 5’8” tall. Neither were expected to amount to much. Lane for example, despite his talents, was not drafted until the second round.

He was easy to overlook due to his size.

But Lane loves hockey and his dad gave him a lot of support helping create one of the most dynamic skaters in the game.

Lane’s known for his edge work on skates. He can turn and change directions faster than a politician flipping in the winds of public opinion.

Part of his ability is due to his father’s support.

But another part?

That’s due to his father REMOVING SUPPORT.

Rob used to force his boys to practice skating without laces.

Laced skates are what allow you to skate and move easily. With the laces removed, Lane developed super human lateral stability and super strong ankles.

I mean on a 5’8” dude, he likely has ankles like Popeye’s wrists. It makes me wonder about his relationship with spinach.

But the Hutson’s present a lovely little lesson for us fools.

Support in the beginning is important to get started. Removing it later will make you stronger.

It turns out that sometimes the best support is yanking out your laces and letting you wobble for a bit.

It’s just a little thing.

But little things like Lane Hutson are often overlooked and underestimated.

The devil is in the details dear reader.

Keep your stick on the ice.