Tavares puts best foot forward to improve skating

When skating instructor Dawn Braid first took to the ice with then-OHL standout John Tavares, she couldn't pick him out from the rest of her pupils.

That quickly changed, however, when the 16-year-old approached her afterward and asked for additional one-on-one help.

Despite the acclaim Tavares already had garnered as a star sniper in junior hockey, the precocious teen knew there was one consistent knock on his game - his skating - and he chose to respond proactively.

So he enlisted the help of Braid, the director of skating development at the Athlete Training Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, in his effort to improve.

"For the last few years, I've been working on my skating efficiency, technique and mechanics," Tavares said. "Lately, it's just been the little things over a long season - how to stay sharp, increase speed, generate space for myself in corners, whether it's crossovers, strides or pivoting. All those little things help me.

"I'm only going to be 20 years old this season, so I still have a lot to learn. But obviously, I want to keep improving. I want more responsibility this year and to contribute on a nightly basis."

Braid, a former skating instructor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, works with hockey players of all levels, and she said that what stood out most about Tavares was his tremendous work ethic.

"He's an extremely hard worker and he's hard on himself. That's one of those things I value while working with a player," Braid said. "John has taken that weakness that everyone comments on and he has worked really hard to get better."

When Braid first begins working with a player, she videotapes his forward stride, analyzes how to make it more efficient, then shows the player.

From what she recorded of Tavares three summers ago, there has been "a huge change," Braid said. "People would be extremely surprised at the strides he has made."

In addition to becoming quicker and more powerful, Tavares is working to improve his game down low.

"That's where we can make him better," Braid said. "If we can make him more agile on his skates down low, he's going to be able to cover more ice, create more space for himself and explode out of a tight turn with crossovers, not short, little, choppy steps."

How exactly do they achieve that?

"We might change how he carries his upper body or suggest he carry a lower knee bend while skating,'' Braid said. "He can become more agile through edgework, pivoting, even stopping and starting. It's all the little things you do in tight that allows you to make more room when you win that battle."

For Braid as an instructor, half the battle already was won, thanks to Tavares' work ethic.

"Not every player is willing to do what he is with me," she said. "It's becoming more popular as players improve and the game has gotten so much stronger with skating, but the fact that he took it upon himself to come to me showed that he knew this was something he needed to work on.

"John is a person who has succeeded at each level. As the years go on and he matures, his potential is unlimited. I think you'll even see big changes this year."