Wayne Gretzky once said “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” This great comment stated by one of the most famous and well known hockey players of all time is true. A great player understands where the puck will be before it arrives there. They know how to make plays because they see them before they happen and put themselves in the perfect positions. Every year players rise and fall. Some often shine all through the season, but some, save the best for the playoffs.

In this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs many have risen to the occasion and have shown great skill. But what exactly separates the great players from the good ones?  It is not the random bursts of skill or talent, but consistent leadership and play-making abilities that one brings day in and day out throughout an entire season that sets them apart from the rest. These are the true players, and the one who deserve to be called great. Hockey is an amazing sport, with many talented athletes from around the world.

In this year’s playoff series many names like Jonathan Quick, Shane Doan, Danny Briere, and Brad Richards have been outstanding throughout the first rounds of the playoffs. They have showed consistent amount of skill throughout the 2012 season and have been named great. These are some of the best NHL players and that is because they work hard. They push themselves every day, trying harder every day to keep improving their skills and constantly doing what Wayne  said, playing where the puck is going to be.

You could argue that this is why these men have had great careers, because they can see how a play is going to develop before it even begins. At times you sense that they had it all planned out, but if you are a true hockey fan you know that everything that happens on the ice happens in a split second. No one plans the plays ahead of time; they all play off instinct and chemistry created by the team its self. These men who can see it all happen, and put themselves and their team in the best position to win are the true greats!

This year’s first rounds of playoffs have been great. There have been records broken, top teams have been eliminated by the underdogs, and there has been nothing but excitement and true skill shown by everyone. The great game of hockey is mostly physical, but also mental and the best of the best are the ones who know how to play with both mind and body. Wayne Gretzky was right, a great player is distinguished by how he plays the puck, but he forgot to mention that most of all, great players are distinguished by how they get those around them to play the puck. After all hockey is a team sport, to be great and win championships it takes a team.