5 things on Nikita Kucherov: 1. I LOVE Kucherov & have since he entered the NHL. He's the greatest player in his franchise's history. It would be cool if he won the All Star Game MVP today on ABC at 3pm. I'm rooting for that. 2. NK dedicates himself to the game with off season training at a level most peers don't. He got booed last night but one day he'll live forever rent free in the Hockey Hall Of Fame 3. Kooch a complicated genius who gets embarrassed and frustrated when he doesn't reach his own lofty expectations. In my younger, average, amateur athletic life I was an emotional perfectionist who did not take failure/losing well. I was embarrassingly hyper competitive at times. Don’t covet what you lack. Make the best of what you have and never take anything for granted. Don’t moan. That's not easy for some. 4. The Skills Competition will be forgotten by Thursday. It's a fun, good night in person and on television to celebrate the game. It's not a big deal. But how we face up to defeat can define us. I wish I learned that younger. 5. I have a son and daughter Kucherov's age. I often see these players through that lens and I enjoy witnessing their maturation process as I did, and still do, with my own adult children. It's sometimes frustrating but mostly beautiful and rewarding. We are all a work in progress and I root for these young NHL men, who are mostly outstanding, sometimes coddled, and given so much so soon, to find emotional growth & peace in a quest with way more failure than victories and careers that end in their 20's and 30's. And parts of their job are nationally televised. No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future. We all must get on with it as best we can. Think of others, do for others. Life goes on. C’est La Vie. Never give up. Get the good bourbon and strive to swim in life's rich pageant with style & grace and peace & love, and a occasionally a little Basil & Hayden.🙏🏻♥️💪🏽 🥃