Monday, May 2, 2011

Ward doesn't buy into playoff pressure




It was neat to see Kelowna resident Dixon Ward recieving some TV time during the Canucks opening round playoff series against Chicago.
Ward, who was originally drafted by the Canucks in 1988, was providing post game analyse on Rogers Sportsnet following the Canucks game seven win.
Ward spends the majority of his time in Kelowna as the Vice President of the Okanagan Hockey Schools and Academy.
I spoke to Ward last week about playoff pressure, and if in fact it does exist.
"To be honest with you, the players don't feel the same pressure as the people watching feel. It's hard for people to understand that. They (players) have played so many hockey games and so many important hockey games in their life before they even get to this level, so they are just focused on playing. They don't feel tremendous pressure. There is a lot of anxiety and you are anxious and excited but its a very enjoyable time of the year. It's always a favourite time of the year for many reasons. The number one reason is it is hockey all day every day and that's fun for a player. The rest of life gets pushed to the side for a couple of months and you are focused on one thing and one thing only. The people watching it have more anxiety because they have no control over it."

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