There’s much we can’t learn from Cale Makar, the Colorado Avalanche defenseman who, at just 26, already counts among the best the NHL has ever seen. The speed, power, and endurance; the vision; the sense of positioning; the dead-eye wrist shot that launches as if from a compound bow – these are products of innate gifts honed through decades of dedication to a passion born on the rinks of Calgary.
Such attributes have played no small role in his collection of a Hobey Baker Award (college hockey’s Heisman), a Conn Smythe trophy (Stanley Cup playoffs MVP), and a James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s – and, let’s be clear, the world’s – best defenseman. But qualities and habits just as central to Makar’s success are within the grasp of those of us whose principal experiences with ice involve chilling beverages with it. They have to do with how he contends with a grueling NHL schedule and the highs and lows that come with great moments and gaffes and wins and losses, all magnified by relentless scrutiny and analysis by hockey beat reporters and armchair opinionators alike.
UCHealth Today caught up with Makar and his wife Tracy the day after the 49th of the Avalanche’s 82-game regular season, to which the playoffs could add another 28. That is, just past the midpoint of the October-to-April (and beyond) NHL grind. What lessons can those pushing through lesser, if longer, grinds learn from the Makars?
Know your body and act on that knowledge
The Avalanche play the same number of games as the Denver Nuggets, but with a lot more smashing into the boards. The Denver Broncos ply a trade only marginally less violent, but with one-fifth as many games. Combine all that with Makar averaging more than 25 minutes on the ice per game – among the most in the NHL – and performance-sapping fatigue and soreness can become constant companions. To counter them, he works as diligently on recovery as he does on his game.
“There’s so many different things you can do to stay on top of recovery – physical therapy, massage therapy, cold tubs, saunas have become huge – and then nutrition, being able to eat right,” Makar says. “Once you start lacking in one of those areas, it really starts to show in different pieces of not only your game, but your well-being. So you kind of have to have all of them going at the same time, and it can be tough.”
Most whose livelihoods don’t hinge on athletic accomplishment lack the need or the resources for such intense recovery strategies. But the importance of recovery holds. If your output is dipping, if you’ve got nagging aches and pains, or if you’re just feeling fatigued, consider a rest day – and maybe treat yourself to a massage, cold tub, or sauna, all of which research shows to have real impact on recovery. The key is to observe the state of your body and act on it, something called interoception.
“Cale is really good at being proactive,” Tracy says. “So, if something’s a little off, he’s not just like, ‘I’m taking a rest day,’ but instead he’ll have someone come and do treatment on him. So he’s always thinking one step ahead.”
Foster independence – and deliberate time together – to adapt to work travel
Two days after game number 49 on Jan. 22, Makar and teammates flew out for a three-game road trip to Boston and New York. It was the 14th “business trip” they had taken since the preseason stated in September. The Makars may be young, but they met when they were in middle school, and they’re old hands at managing their relationship at a distance.
While Cale was playing college hockey at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Tracy was studying to be a teacher and on the golf team at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta. It was 2,000 miles of separation as the crow flies, but neither crows nor airlines fly it. Her jaunts involved a three-hour drive to Calgary, a layover in Toronto, and an arrival in Connecticut where Makar picked her up. They saw each other infrequently.
With Tracy teaching school in Calgary, that continued after the Avalanche drafted Makar. The coronavirus pandemic made routine visits an even bigger challenge given lengthy quarantines upon arrival in either country.
Now they’re married and together in Denver – when Cale’s not away with the Avs.
“I think to have that consistency now is really nice,” Makar says. “I’m fortunate with Tracy to have such a good support system and her to keep me happy most of the time.”
There are moments, Tracy says, when she wishes he weren’t away.
“But I also think it’s beneficial at times, because it teaches you how to communicate properly and openly,” Tracy says. “And it’s important that we both have our own life.”
They do make the most of the summer offseason.
“We don’t take that time for granted, because it’s rare that we’re together for two months straight,” Tracy says. “It’s really nice that we have that time. We’re intentional with it, which is awesome.”
Get your sleep
The Avalanche often fly to the next destination right after playing a night game. That can mean getting to a distant hotel well after midnight. A good night’s sleep can be hard to come by, and consistent sleep is critical to athletic and cognitive performance.
“It’s tough sometimes – you finish a game, you fly, you get to a hotel, and you’re getting into bed at like 2:30-3 O’clock in the morning, and then you either play the next day or you have a little off day,” Makar says. “Everybody has different tactics that they use, whether its apps to help them fall asleep, or white noise, or drinks that can help.”
Makar aims for eight hours a night and describes himself as a solid sleeper, but he makes a point of taking his mind off hockey by watching videos or reading to “bring your brain down,” as he puts it.
Sleep can also be a challenge after home games at Ball Arena. Players often do strength training and then have dinner afterward, a compromise that balances skating without a full belly with the need for calories after extreme exertion. Research has shown that eating too close to bedtime can impact sleep quality and duration, though that impact varies based on time after eating.
Recently, a greater impediment to Cale’s homestand sleep quality arrived in the form of Presley, the Makars’ Welsh Springer Spaniel puppy. She gets up early.
“I didn’t used to, but I’m starting to incorporate naps,” Makar says.
Have a short memory
Makar and teammates face unrelenting pressure to perform, and even the best make mistakes. Learning from them is good; dwelling on them is not. Forgetting – be it active or motivated – is recognized as an important aspect of mental health.
“I’ve been gifted with a very short memory,” he says. “Even if it’s something midgame where you make a bad play, it doesn’t really resonate with me until afterward. So for me, mentally, it comes down to that you just really can’t worry about the negative aspects when you’re in the moment, but then those are the things you want to learn from.”
In a profession where great days and lousy ones can turn over like cards from a deck, keeping emotional highs and lows in check can be an effective coping mechanism. While Makar celebrates goals like everybody else, his natural tendency is to flatten the sharp peaks and valleys into a more undulating psychological equilibrium.
The wives and girlfriends of some of Makar’s teammates have told Tracy that losses can make for tough nights on the home front afterward. Not so with her husband.
“He is the most even-keeled guy ever. He could win five-nothing and score a hat trick, and he would come home in the exact same mood as if they won by a goal, or even lost,” Tracy says. “I always get the same Cale, which is awesome.”
A relentless pursuit of self-improvement and optimization by an athlete who is, as he puts it, “the kind of guy that’s never really satisfied” can bleed into unproductive self-criticism. Tracy helps him steer clear of that, he says.
“You’ve got to know you are a human being, so you’ve got to be kind to yourself. That’s something I’ve learned a lot from Tracy,” Makar says. “I’m a serious guy by nature, but I think just having that ability to kind of just step back and realize that you need to be proud of yourself at times is important as well.”
And while Makar considers the past and plans for the future, he focuses most on what he can influence in the near-term.
“There are so many things that you can worry about nowadays, whether it’s social media or not doing what you want to do night-in and night-out. For me, you just kind of roll with it,” he says. “I don’t think too far ahead, and I try not to worry about the past too much. It’s more learning about what can make me better.”
Words we can learn from.