He was in utter disbelief. He – a highly touted rookie prospect, fresh off a huge year in junior, could not fathom that he had been given a damn homework assignment. He was a professional hockey player now, a high draft pick with high school long in his rearview mirror. Plus, the bus was just about to leave, where the other rookies will play cards, and watch dumb comedies, and rib each other about literally any available topic. And he had to read a book about sleep habits and how it could improve his athletic performance?



Yes, yes he did. He did, because the Toronto Marlies have a performance coach who takes his job of maximizing the abilities of the team’s prospects very seriously, and effing around playing video games until one in the morning doesn’t help anyone. Not getting in a nap on game day can hurt your performance. Not catching up on the hours of sleep missed due to the team’s schedule can be debilitating for a player’s performance. So...