For Andre Burakovsky, no more tossing and turning at night

A bad game, Andre Burakovsky admits, was a portal to insomnia.

“Before, I was always a thinker. I was always thinking about the last game. I would be worried about how other people thought I played. I would lay down and think about it in bed all night. I had a hard time sleeping,” Burakovsky told Colorado Hockey Now.

Describing himself as a lifelong “worrier”, Burakovsky finally wanted to do something about it. Last year, with the Washington Capitals, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound winger started to see a mental coach. One of the things the coach wanted him to try was writing in a personal journal every day, with an accent on staying in the present, not looking back too much or looking too far ahead on anything. To physically relax more, Burakovsky tried to focus more on his breath, with deep-breathing exercises.