A part of the Washington Capitals team for 10 NHL seasons, Braden Holtby played an important role in the team’s Stanley Cup win in 2018. In a 2018 interview, Holtby disclosed a surprising pre-game ritual. The ice hockey player also told how his unique interest was a part of the ritual. 

Braden Holtby made these revelations in ‘The Tonight Show’ to Jimmy Fallon. Alexander Ovechkin was also invited to this show. Talking about the probable impact of the pregame ritual, Holtby spoke about how the players reacted to the pregame ritual. With this, the ice hockey player also explained how he developed an interest in music, which was also a part of the special pregame ritual. 

The interesting anecdote behind the unique pregame ritual 

Talking about how there were meetings and skating in the mornings, Holtby recounted how an idea of getting a guitar gained approval. “So we got a guitar shipped to the rink somehow and I played it one day”, Holtby admitted. The other team members found this interesting. 

Further, Holtby narrated, “Rob Tillotson who literally holds our team together let me play and we went on a 20-game unbeaten streak.” According to Holtby, the team then encouraged him to continue this ritual. Since Holtby’s mother played music, the hockey player could play the guitar effortlessly. 

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Later, when Fallon asked about the album for this music ritual, Holtby implied that the music will only be a part of the locker room. Afterwards, he told the reality, “People run away when I start playing.”  However, Holtby was not the only one who was a part of a pregame ritual. Hockey champion Wayne Gretzky also followed a pre-game ritual. However, this ritual was completely different from the Washington Capitals’ pre-game ritual. 

Ice hockey champion Wayne Gretzky’s lesser-known pre-game ritual 

‘The Great One’s pre-game ritual was related to his dressing routine. He elaborated on this dressing routine in a 2016 interview with Graham Bensinger. 

Gretzky expressed, “I always got dressed on the right side of my right sock my right shin pad my right elbow pad my right skate just you know you can say it’s superstition but it’s partly routine also.” As per reports, this routine was ingrained in Gretzky by his father from a young age. 

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Holtby and Gretzky’s statements indicate the importance given to pre-game rituals. Do you think pre-game rituals help in motivating the team and winning games? Share your views in the comments section.