'No one's ever alone here' - A candid Chris Wagner sheds light on importance of mental health during a COVID-impacted season

Chris Wagner has found himself in a bit of an unfamiliar spot with the Bruins in 2021— regularly stuck on the outside looking in at the starting lineup after appearing in just two of his hometown club's last six games.

For Wagner, who quickly ingratiated himself as a fan favorite since arriving back in the summer of 2018, spending multiple days out of the lineup is always a tough pill to swallow — plaguing days with self-doubt, over-analysis and oftentimes a desire to mute any outside noise beyond what goes on within the locker room.

"I deleted Twitter a couple weeks ago," a candid Wagner said on Friday. "I think it's bad for the brain right now. And Instagram, for that matter."

For the past few weeks when he was in the doghouse, Wagner looked to make the most of it — focusing on doing what he can to support his fellow teammates on the ice, even if he wasn't going to be out there to help them in a game setting.

"You kind of have a negative mindset," Wagner said of the extended benching. "But I think when we got on the road trip, I said enough's enough. I just wanted to be positive. I was taking warmups in Pittsburgh and Buffalo for that matter. So just trying to be a really positive guy in the room. Bring some good energy where I can — maybe get a couple laughs from some guys, and just be an overall good guy."

 

Still, even with that positive mindset, it's no secret that the past year has amplified the challenges faced by many — athlete or not — struggling with their mental health when it comes to work, life and countless other factors.

While the news of getting benched is a tough hit regardless of the situation, some of those doubts and ill tidings could at least be assuaged by spending time with friends or teammates following practice, grabbing a bite to eat or enjoying the countless other things we all certainly take for granted now that we've spent the last 12 months couped up in our houses and sharing most interactions through a Zoom conference window.

That confined, isolated lifestyle that we've become all too familiar with in 2020 and beyond has weighed on athletes as well, especially those looking to find the answers for their own play in what has been a trying year.

"Yeah, it's tough. I'm pretty hard on myself to begin with and then when we're doing this COVID stuff," Wagner said. "I mean, everybody in the world is struggling with mental health. ... Sometimes I go home and you don't really see anybody and you just think about what you could have done better or if you're playing tomorrow and all that and and it was getting to me, for sure. And I'm sure a lot of other guys are going through it in the whole league, really. So I think you got to have a little sympathy for yourself for what you're going through.

"Not to say, we're still pros, we got to show up to the rink and play our game. But at the same time, you got to be aware of how you're feeling day to day and kind of mentally check yourself so you can be the best you can be when you get to the rink."

The Bruins, both in the room and as an organization, are fully cognizant of the role that mental health can play over the course of a season — especially one as upended as this current campaign. Not only does Boston utilize sports psychologists like Dr. Stephen Durant, but the veteran core on this B's roster also encourages the need for players to speak their mind and be open when they're carrying some weight on their shoulders.

The Bruins are far from the only sports club currently dealing these challenges — which are shared by those young and old across the globe for the past year now. But in a time in which so many individuals can feel shut off based on the current climate we're still mired in, veterans like Charlie Coyle stressed the collective mindset that the Bruins embrace when the going gets tough.

"That's something that this team does very well, I think," Coyle said. "And it starts with the older guys and talking as a whole, but you see older guys do it. You want to kind of mimic that, whether you see a guy kind of struggling.  Sometimes it's visible, sometimes you can see — head down or just the signs of it. So there's a lot of guys who will step up and maybe take a guy aside or talk to him, just be a friend, be an open ear. It goes a long way.

"And sometimes, I think most of us are kind of natured that way where we just kind of keep things in and we don't like to talk about our feelings and all that stuff. But it does help. ... It really does. So there's a number of guys who do it and we see it firsthand as older guys and just I noticed that when I first came here. So no one's ever alone here. It is a mental battle, hockey is. In and out of the lineup or whatever the case is, you fight a lot of it mentally. We have guys here who are just willing to do that, and it does go a long way with guys and it makes you feel better and kind of releases some tension there and it's good to get that out."

Rask to sit out weekend due to injury flare-up

Tuukka Rask's return to the lineup after a six-game absence unfortunately lasted all of ... 20 minutes, as the B's starting netminder exited Thursday's eventual OT loss to the Islanders after the first period due to what the team tabbed as an upper-body injury. While Boston hasn't shed more light on the exact issue with Rask, it seems as though he tweaked something in his back during his last full start back on March 7.

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While Rask himself felt fine leading up to Thursday's matchup — and he was cleared by the medical staff — Bruce Cassidy noted on Friday that the B's goalie will now miss at least the next two games, likely paving the way for Dan Vladar to start one of this weekend's matchups against the Sabres and Devils.

"Tuukka was in this morning. He will be getting treatment," Cassidy said. "He will not play this weekend. And then we'll go from there. Again, until he's back on the ice. I don't believe there's anything major there. But obviously something's going on where he had to leave the game again with a similar injury to last time. So we'll have to make sure we get it looked at. ...  We assumed he was ready to play. That's why he was in. He said he was, the medical staff. But obviously, you have to keep a closer eye on it if it's something that's gonna flare up."

Zach Senyshyn is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday, where he will slot in for Karson Kuhlman — who is getting an MRI after taking a puck off his hand on Thursday. Both Brandon Carlo and Jeremy Lauzon are not cleared to return by Saturday, although Lauzon is "very close", per Cassidy. At this point, Lauzon needs more practice reps than anything else — which will be hard to come by over the next few days with Boston set for a 1 p.m. puck drop on Saturday and a 5 p.m. start on Sunday.

Carlo skated with a smaller group on Friday morning that also included Kevan Miller and Ondrej Kase. 

Cassidy looking for more of a shot mentality

Thursday saw more depth options in the lineup finally break through on the stat sheet off of goals from Kuhlman, Steven Kampfer and Anders Bjork — but Boston still has a lot of work to do when it comes to getting consistent production at even-strength play, with the B's still ranked 29th out of 31 NHL teams when it comes to 5v5 high-danger scoring chances generated per 60 minutes of play.

A number of factors have contributed to that lack of quality scoring chances — be it deferring too much in the offensive zone or staying away from the crease and other spots where rebounds and tips are available. And those miscues carried over into Friday's practice at TD Garden, prompting Cassidy to offer some harsh words on the ice due to a lack of shots resulting from some promising O-zone looks.

"You have to translate practice into game situations. I think in practice, you always have less resistance, even though there's bodies out there. And I think we're a pretty competitive team. So we do want to defend well, even though it's practice," Cassidy said. "But in general, teams are working hard to close off passing lanes, block shots, etc. And we have to have a little more of a mindset that what we do in practice can help translate to success in games.

"And I think we've done a good job of that around here. We're a team that generally practices well. So it wasn't a lack of effort today. It was more of a lack of mindset of shooting, scoring goals with people at the net, second, third chances — whatever's necessary. Or off the original shot. Sometimes we're in good areas, where we can beat a goaltender and we look to make a play. Some of that is drill design... I think young guys have a tendency to overpass in practice, especially new to the team, they want to defer. They want the the guy they're passing to to give them a pat on the back. So that's a little bit natural. We're just trying to sort of get that out of the system."