Ondřej Kaše

I don't remember exactly what team it was. Náchod? Dvůr Králové? For sure, eastern Bohemia. From an early age, I played with older guys, but in fourth grade I played a tournament and competed in my age category.

In that game, I had four breakaways and four goals. Four times, I did the same thing.

Faked the shot, pulled to the backhand and scored. The goalkeeper just stood there, always completely frozen. We right-handers generally have an advantage, because with the backhand we shoot at most goalkeepers at a blocker that doesn't cover as much space. Martin Procházka. Radim Vrbata and a lot of other players with a hockey stick on the right have made a significant impact in the hockey world thanks to a perfectly managed deke to the backhand.

It was Martin and Radim that my father always used as an example for me. I watched videos of their penalty shots and learned every detail. How come they were so successful when everyone knew what they were going to do?

In November 2016, when the coach tapped my shoulder before the eighth round of penalty shootout between Anaheim and the Islanders, thousands of my lifetime attempts flashed before my eyes, including that four-goal game. I had no doubt what I would do. This was my move. My trick. My certainty.

Next to me sat boys with hundreds of NHL games and I was making my fourth start for the Ducks. But at that moment it was the same as in the fourth grade. Just me and the goalkeeper.

"Don’t let the puck slip away!" My mind was racing as I stepped onto the ice. Then I just looked towards the goal and said to myself what I always did before. "Come on."

With the move that I mentioned, it is essential to sell the shot. You must really convince the goalkeeper that you will take the shot. If you fake it wrong, he will know. You must be convinced yourself until the last moment that you are really going to shoot. Then quickly pull the puck to the other side at the right time.

When I was a kid, the goalkeepers always fell for it. When I was a teenager, I heard that they wouldn't get tricked anymore, but it was still working. And suddenly I was here. In an NHL game.

Come on.

I was confident. I trusted myself a lot. If you are sure that you will score a goal, if you know what you want to do and feel that it will work out, then it will. Some have great, fast hands, but they lack self-confidence. Then they are not that successful. I had no doubt. I would just score.

Me, the puck and the goal. The goalkeeper is just a problem for which I know the solution.

There is a fraction of a second when you pull the puck from the forehand to the backhand and you see that the goalkeeper is going in the opposite direction. Only an exposed net in front of you. It is a wonderful feeling when you succeed and euphoria takes over for a moment. I raised my hands in celebration and shouted with joy. I went to fist pump the rest of the bench, knowing I had done it. The Islanders immediately tied it and eventually won the shootout, but I used the chance I got. I did not disappoint at the very first opportunity to show what I was capable of.