Hockey superstitions and karma - real or not?

 The most famous one of them all is: Are they going to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy/Clarence Campbell Bowl or will they not?

Now, if I'm an NHL captain, I'm not touching it. This has been a superstition that has officially been debunked by Connor McDavid who didn't touch the trophy last year when Florida also didn't, but touched the trophy this year and both years lots and won. But it'd be worth mentioning that he did win something when he didn't, but didn't win the Conn Smythe when he touched the Clarence Campbell Bowl. But funny enough, the year before Florida touched the Prince of Wales when Vegas didn't... and the history goes back to Marc-Andre Fleury telling them how Sidney Crosby didn't touch the Prince of Wales, then in 2009 he touches the Prince of Wales and wins the cup. They did it in 2016 and 2017, thus meaning he did hex it. But I think McDavid just proved it's very much irrelevant. But, I think an interesting spin might be just to see what the first team does, and don't touch the trophy if the first team does touch the trophy. Chicago never touched the Campbell Clarence bowl and still won. 

But aside from that there are many other ones. One that has a deeper meaning than some think, and the two players who most notably done this was two players who met in the playoffs this season. But their history indeed goes further back. And that's Tyler Seguin and Mark Scheifele, who always leave the ice last. They played many games of Rock Paper Scissors. Except one time when Tyler Seguin got off where Scheifele got off later, and returned onto the ice later in the 2018-19 season where the Jets spanked Dallas 5-1. Now, this is where it gets interesting. Mark Scheifele went through something personal that all us fans know, and Scheifele decided to play in game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs in round two. Seguin got off the ice before Scheifele did out of respect. And... Dallas won the game. 

Jonathan Toews always high fived the players as they leave the ice, and other players do this too such as Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

Some of the ones I hear are ice baths before games, such as Patrick Marleau who'd go have an ice bath during the second intermission. Marleau claimed it made him feel fresh and helped him play better. 

One superstition I had when I played hockey was I'd use a certain stick during certain games. The team I was on happened to be bad, but when I used the sticks the team would win even if I didn't score. It's something I stuck to. The other one being I'd never play EA NHL on game day. But if I had made the NHL, I think my superstition would be to workout intensely, meditate in quiet room, then when I'm done put my equipment while listening to muisc and warm-up the exact same way. And once warm-up is over go into full game mode.

Are they real? I think for me, my superstition is routine, and it's good to have a routine because it gives your brain a rest because it can be meditative to get into that mindset. But it goes hand-and-hand with if you know what you're doing and trust in your abilities you'll achieve anything!

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