San Jose Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic will look to impress in his first season with his new team.
The 29-year-old will share the crease with Yaroslav Askarov this season. While he understands that he might not be the long-term plan for the Sharks, he still wants to produce.
One of the ways Nedlejkovic has helped himself is by keeping a good mental focus. For a lot of his hockey career, the Sharks netminder has written himself small messages on his glove or blocker to look at during games.
“It’s just a little something to remind me. It’s all about having fun. That’s when I’m at my best, when I’m just having fun,” Nedeljkovic told SHD. “Enjoying the game, playing with a clear mind. Just a subtle reminder when it’s been a tough day or you’re getting a little too tense or frustrated: just look down.”
The San Jose Sharks netminder has only played one preseason game so far, where he had a 24-save shutout.
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Nedeljkovic has worked with the same sports psychologist for nearly 15 years and attributes a lot of his mental strength to working with him.
“I’ve worked with a sports psychologist for a long time now, almost 15 years, Saul Miller, out of Vancouver,” Nedeljkovic said. “He’s done an incredible job. Helped me just sharpen my mind, [and] the mental part of the game.”
Have fun isn’t the only message that the Sharks’ goalie has written on his gear. Nedeljkovic tells SHD that a goalie coach he worked with back in juniors, Stan Matwijiw.
“I used to write another message, it was H-A-P, ‘have a purpose’,” Nedeljkovic said. I had a goalie coach in youth and juniors, Stan Matwijiw, he was really big on [that]. Every day we were on the ice with a purpose. What we can do, how we are going to get better, and what we are going to get better at.”
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Mental strength and focus are arguably the most important things for a goalie to be successful at any level. Nedeljkovic has shown resilience in his hockey career, as he was drafted in 2014 and did not fully break into the NHL until the 2021 shortened COVID-19 season.
He made his NHL debut during the 16-17 season, but only appeared in one game. He appeared in five NHL games from 2016 to 2020.
Nedeljkovic told SHD that he personally writes these messages on his pads rather than having them designed. The San Jose Sharks goalie says it means more that he wrote it, rather than it just appearing. Nedeljkovic says the glove and blocker are the most common places due to the easy ability to take a quick look in between plays.
As for why something like this isn’t on the helmet, Nedeljkovic says, you can’t see the helmet when you’re wearing it.
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