First and foremost, prayer is so helpful. But I think that you need to face your fears head on. Don't avoid them or say that you're not scared. Acknowledge it and be honest about it. It's normal to get nervous about a big game or to get nervous about an important event in your life.

My dad was so influential in my career. It was a fulfillment of every athlete's dream. I dreamed about it as a kid. We played hockey in the backyard. We had silver buckets we carried around like the Stanley Cup. It was everything that you would hope.

First and foremost, prayer is so helpful. But I think that you need to face your fears head on. Don't avoid them or say that you're not scared. Acknowledge it and be honest about it. It's normal to get nervous about a big game or to get nervous about an important event in your life.

The first thing that jumps out in my mind is David versus Goliath. That's one of the first stories we ever learn as kids. That's one of the most inspirational stories about courage. David stood in the face of terrible odds and defeated the giant. I love reading that story to my boys. Being courageous is doing something isn't easy or fun but you do it because it's the right thing to do.

Of course, Jesus was the most courageous man who ever lived. He prayed and asked God to take the cup from Him before He went to the cross, but He still went because He knew that's what He was supposed to do.

The 2006 playoffs were such a rollercoaster for me. I was able to lean on God and know that no matter what things were going to work out the way they were meant to work out. I had that trust that allowed me to go into the games without fear. When I prayed before games, I was able to just let it go. When I played in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, I prayed more that day than I have my whole life. That was a day that I leaned on the Lord a lot. It helped me to face some of my fears.

Courageous people are not afraid to fail. So often in life and in sports, we're afraid to fail. Instead, we should attack things with excitement and enthusiasm and think about the positives as opposed to the negatives.