From time to time, we plan to highlight stories written by students in our Sports Journalism program.
Here’s one of them … a profile written by Kristen Shilton.
Handling the Heat: Tyson Teichmann
By Kristen Shilton
Sports Journalism Program
BELLEVILLE – Ken Dryden, the incomparable former Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender, once said that for players between the pipes, the biggest enemy they face each game is themselves. Tyson Teichmann, the 17-year-old goalie for the Ontario Hockey League’s Belleville Bulls, agrees that on-the-job pressure is sometimes enough to make him mental.
“Oh yeah, it can be frustrating in net,” he says. “When you work to be the best, you can get hard on yourself. I’m almost too hard on myself I’ve been told. I’m losing hair already.”
Entering his second season with the Bulls, Teichmann has earned the starter’s job, in part because of a strong performance for Team Canada’s Under-18 squad at a tournament in Europe this past summer. Teichmann started six games, finishing 4 - 2. His shutout in the gold medal game lifted Canada past the U.S.A. 1 - 0. In recently released rankings of draft eligible players, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau has the netminder ranked seventh among OHL goalies.
Despite these successes, Teichmann hasn’t been resting easy since his return to Belleville, thanks to the Bulls’ up-and-coming rookie goaltender Malcolm Subban. The two have shared some playing time this season, which is nothing unusual in the OHL. But that doesn’t mean Teichmann likes it.
“I want to be in the net playing,” he says. “I’ve always been competitive, that’s just how I am.”
At 6’0” and a generous150 pounds, Teichmann has often faced scrutiny for being undersized, which only adds to his intensity. He estimates he loses anywhere from three to ten pounds per game in sweat, so the team’s nutritionist has him eating six to seven meals a day to compensate.
“I eat whenever I can. As soon as I’m off the ice, in the car, on the way home,” says Teichmann. “It’s eat my face off, basically.”
He’ll need the nourishment to help keep his edge on Subban. When Bulls’ head coach George Burnett tells him it’s the rookie’s night in the crease, “I get pretty hard on myself for sure,” says Teichmann.
That’s exactly how Burnett likes it. He came into this season with high expectations for his starting goalie and wants them achieved.
“We expect more from Tyson than Malcolm because of [Teichmann’s] experience last year and last summer overseas with Team Canada,” Burnett says. “We expect him to be our number one guy.”
“He wants to be our go-to guy, wants to be in the net every night,” Burnett adds. “It’s not easy to tell him that it’s Malcolm’s turn, but he understands the competitive side and it motivates him to practice hard and play well. I think it’s a really healthy competition.”
But it hasn’t been an easy season thus far for Teichmann. He’s started 13 games and recorded only three wins (the Bulls sit at 5 - 13). His goals against average is 3.94. When asked if the pressure and expectations from his coaches have affected his game this season, Teichmann makes it clear no one messes with his head more than he does.
“I just really want to impress everybody,” he says, “and more importantly do well for the team. But sometimes when it gets rough I’m hard on myself. But I’m working on just learning to relax more. Just listen to music, play ministicks with the guys before a game.”
It’s difficult not to wonder why Teichmann would have chosen to play this position when he readily admits how mentally exhausting it is. Turns out, goaltending runs in the family.
“My dad (Brad Teichmann) played here for the Bulls,” the Belleville native says. “He was a goalie and after I saw him for the first time I took it up. Ever since then, I’ve loved it.”
The elder Teichmann spent a year with the Bulls, from 1990 - 1991. Undersized himself as a player at 5’11” and 145 pounds, the now 38-year-old was in his last year of playing hockey, with the JOHL Wellington Dukes, when Tyson was born. So what advice has dad given to the second generation of Teichmann netminder in Belleville?
“You have to have the memory of a goldfish,” he says with a laugh. “Just forget about [mistakes] as quick as you can and just try and bounce back for the next game and practice. Short memory, body language and you have to be confident.”
But sometimes, he still gets the best of himself.
“It’s happened a couple of times this year actually, when I’ve struggled hard mentally,” he admits. “I wasn’t playing very well at home. But I got a big home win under my belt last week (against Sudbury) and it all really pays off when you have confidence in the hard work you put in.”
Confidence is something Teichmann’s teammates and coaches certainly have in him.
“As a first rounder (in the 2009 draft), there’s always a lot of pressure because you’re the ‘golden boy’ and there’s a little bit more pressure on him being a homeboy (from Belleville),” says U.S.-born defenseman Bjorn Krupp, son of famed ex-NHL player Uwe Krupp. “But he’s done so well. He just wants to keep grinding and keep getting better.”
Burnett praises his goalie for being, “much more responsible and accountable, and more ready to have a voice. His leadership comes most from his preparation and from showing the other guys how hard you’re going to battle during a game.”
“He’s not cocky,” Krupp adds. “He’s always trying to get better and we know he has a goal that he’s always trying to achieve.”
Teichmann says his nightly quest to be the best goalie on the ice means right before game time is when he’s most focused and most in his own head. Yet he tries not to let that preparation overshadow his role as a mentor to Subban.
“The more years you’re in the league, the easier it gets to take on a leadership role,” he says. “Before a game, I like to do my own thing and get mentally prepared. I don’t talk a lot. For a younger guy like Malcolm it’s good for him to see how I prepare and what I go through. [Subban’s] a bit more relaxed than I am anyway though but we both just know we have to do whatever it takes.”
The 16-year-old Subban, younger brother of former Bull and current Montreal Canadien P.K. Subban, is appreciative of Teichmann’s example and has enjoyed a solid start to the season. His goals against average is at 2.84 and his record is a respectable 3-3-1. The Rexdale-native continues to look to the man ahead of for tips on how to get better.
“Tyson is now a role model for me because I’m in the same position he was in last year [as a first year back-up],” he says. “So now to watch him and gain experience has been good.”
“It’s the little things that help most,” Subban adds. “If [I] need help, I know who to ask. If I’m nervous, I know where to go. I look up to him because he shows me how you have to know your role and you have to be ready if you want to be your best, which I obviously do.”
But Teichmann isn’t about to let the student become the teacher. At a recent practice session, the two goalies engaged in some playful competitiveness when Subban stole a puck Teichmann was practicing with. Retaliation ensued and Teichmann regained his puck, laughing heartily.
Even in pre-practice, Teichmann’s mentality is clear: be the best. A burden, it seems, every goalie must bear. Even on such spindly legs.
