#82 – Mark Messier: Leadership, personal growth, and performing under pressure

KEYPOINTS

• 01

  Twenty-six professional seasons and six Stanley Cups

  Messier turned pro at 17 in the World Hockey Association, with Indianapolis and then 52 games for Cincinnati after Indianapolis folded. He then played 25 NHL seasons and retired in his mid-40s. He won five Cups with Edmonton and one with the New York Rangers, and is the only player to captain two different teams to the Cup. Attia, who grew up in Toronto idolising him, says the episode is less about stats than about how a leader matures.

• 02

  Late development and natural talent both matter

  Messier cites NHL players who didn't start until 14 or 15 as proof that you don't have to play 365 days a year from age two. You need 'god-given talent', then the desire to hone it at the right time, and many kids who do everything right still never make it. He grew from about 5'9" and 150 pounds at 15, when he made junior, to 6'1" and around 200 pounds by the end of junior.

• 03

  His father and older brothers taught him what a teammate is

  His father was a tough defenceman, with the Portland Buckaroos among other teams, who protected his teammates and later became a teacher. Young Mark tagged along to his practices from age three or four. From 12 to 14 he was stick boy for his brother's junior team, which gave him a close view of team culture. He traces his later leadership to that apprenticeship.

• 04

  Losing in 1983 taught the price of winning

  The young Oilers, average age about 20 to 23, were swept by the Islanders, who had won three straight Cups. Walking past the Islanders' dressing room, they expected champagne. Instead the champions sat quietly at their stalls covered in ice packs. 'That told us that we weren't paying the price that we needed to.' Messier says they had been playing checkers while the Islanders played chess. Edmonton beat them in the 1984 final and won again in 1985.

• 05

  Gretzky was a different kind of player

  Gretzky was chasing record books, scoring over 200 points in a season several times (215, 212, 205), and 50 goals in 39 games. Messier says the Oilers' approach was to 'grab an oar', fill a need and follow Wayne. They were all superb skaters, and coach Glen Sather let them abandon the 'tabletop hockey' of the era for the weaving, free-flowing style that resembles today's game.

• 06

  The 1988 trade and the 1990 Cup without Wayne

  Gretzky's trade in July 1988, after four Cups in five years, stunned the team. They regrouped, and in 1990 Messier led Edmonton to another Cup. Messier says winning without Wayne 'never even crossed our minds'. They were disappointed he wasn't there to share it. He calls those Oilers perhaps 'the best team that probably ever laced up skates'.

• 07

  New York at 30: a pressure cooker he wanted

  Coming off five Cups in seven seasons and at the peak of his career, Messier wanted a new challenge. The Rangers hadn't won since 1940. He deliberately immersed himself in the city and its culture, while keeping his focus on 7 to 10 p.m. on game nights. Missing the playoffs in 1992–93 was a painful low before 1994.

• 08

  Leadership grows with age and introspection

  At 18, he says, hockey needs all your attention, but it wasn't who he was as a person. At 30 in New York he had time to think about what success required: how to be a good citizen and contribute to the community. That 'doesn't happen when you're 18 or 20', he says, but over time as you evolve.

• 09

  He left the game fulfilled

  Messier contrasts athletes who can't get over no longer being 28 with those who move on. Retiring in his 40s after 26 pro seasons, he felt he had done everything. He says a forced retirement at 25 through injury would have been far harder.