Rule #73: No excuses, Play like a champion

We've all been there. Sid the kid is there right now (and everyone except for the guy called up from the minors to replace him feels bad about it). It's when putting ice on your shoulder or stepping into a bucket of ice water actually feels good... It's the crash course you get into differences between vicodin, lortab, purcacet, codein, and advil... not necessarily in that order... It's the realization of how important even the most seemingly insignificant part of your body is now that it's hurt.
But the real question... are you hurt or are you injured? Are you only hurt meaning you can still play, OR are you injured meaning you can't? Are you playing hurt and therefore tough, OR are you not playing injured and therefore a wuss? Are you gonna play and be a team player, OR are you not gonna play and be selfish? And can you even know how bad you're hurt when you can't even see the injury in your groin, shoulder, ankle, or concussion.
It's such a fine line you walk between coming back too early (reinjury, overcompensation, ineffectiveness) and coming back too late (lost conditioning, lost hockey sense, lost chance to be scouted, and possibly lost spot on the team). And ya everyone plays hurt sometimes, but do it too much and (see Bobby Orr or Steve Yzerman) it's the end of your career. The list of players that had to hang up their skates because of an injury that never healed is long and very undistinguished (mostly).
Just the same though, 90% of the guys in the NHL are playing through some sort of sprain/muscle contusion/muscle pull/bone chip pain right now. And the other 10% are on the IR. But guess what? Excuses don't mean you can put an asterix beside a loss so it counts less. And second you can't show your hurt because the other team gets an edge. You have to win through anything. You have to get used to feeling pain and be comfortable with it. It comes along with being in the ECHL, AHL, or NHL and playing 80 games plus preseason and playoffs... Sometimes, in the lower leagues, you're playing 4 games in 5 days, or 6 in 7, or 9 in 12... It's such a grind, and the bad parts can be real bad. You really won't survive that long if you don't love what you're doing. Do I even have the right to speak for everyone or put myself in the same category as most of these players...? Probably not everyone.