When I asked Lawson Crouse on Saturday what he wanted to do differently this year, I beat around the bush, trying not to offend him.
“Last year, you expressed some disappointment — maybe that’s not the right word, but you wanted to play a different way ...," I rambled.
“Better,” he said abruptly, cutting me off in a relieving way.
The 28-year-old, who’s already entering his 10th NHL season, saw his goals and points totals reduce by roughly half last season, compared to the previous year, despite playing the same number of games.
He even faced a healthy scratch in February.
“It’s a fresh start,” he said of how this year can be different. “(It’s) the things that make me intangible as a player, like the way that I was playing toward the end of the year. I’ve just got to do that from the get-go.”
Last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off break served as a wake-up call for the 6-foot-4 winger. Among the seven tournament-eligible players selected ahead of him in the 2015 NHL Draft, six were selected to play for their respective national teams. Crouse probably never expected to play anyway, but that doesn’t reduce the FOMO (fear of missing out) you experience when you hear your peers’ named called.
He spent that break doing homework: watching film of his more successful years, looking for the key to get back to what he once was. The conclusion? He needed to shoot more.
It only took him three games to score his first goal after the NHL schedule resumed. Three games later, he got another one. That’s still far from a superstar level, but it worked wonders for his confidence.
The rest of the year, he was more inclined to take the puck to the net, rather than dumping and chasing. He played on a line with fellow big bodies Jack McBain and Josh Doan, and the three of them embodied a crash-and-bang identity.
“As our identity progresses forward, I think we’re taking steps in the right direction,” Crouse said at the time. “It’s a lot of fun when we play this way, when we have everyone that’s on board, everyone that’s contributing. (It) creates team success and it pushes everyone to be the best they can possibly be.”
This year, his plan is to keep a clear headspace.
“When you get in your own head, it’s not great,” he said. “As athletes, you need to do whatever you can to stay out of your head. When you let that affect your game, it affects the team’s game. I got away from what makes me successful as a player, so it’s just about getting back to that.”
“The Sheriff”
In junior, Crouse developed the nickname “The Sheriff.” Hockey’s unwritten code dictates that a cheap shot warrants a fight, and he was always willing to fill that role, policing the ice.
He has occasionally fought in the NHL, but not necessarily enough for the fans to identify him by that nickname. On Sunday, he showed that he wants to change that identity.
When Colorado Avalanche hopeful Zakhar Bardakov injured Logan Cooley with a hit from behind, Crouse punished him in a very one-sided fight. Not long after, Crouse dropped the gloves again — this time pummeling Matthew Stienburg.
“Ultimately, (I’m) just trying to be the best version of myself, and hopefully that’s contagious,” he said in an interview on Monday. “Do the right things and lead by example.”
His leadership was one of the things that set him apart as a teenager in the Ontario Hockey League all those years ago. His play, both offensively and physically, metaphorically game him the authority of a sheriff.
If he can bounce back and show up in those big moments, he’ll not only earn his badge back — he’ll earn the respect of a fanbase that has yet to be properly introduced to Lawson Crouse.