Peter Budaj, is a 25 year old native of Slovakia. He played four seasons in the OHL, two of them with another Jon Elkin’s Goalie Schools student, Andy Chiodo. He is in his third season playing for the Colorado Avalanche.
Here is his entry:
When I am playing a home game, I wake up at 7;30. I have a bowl of cereal and a coffee before I leave to the rink. Our morning skate is 10:30 and I like to be in the dressing room at least 2 hours before. I stretch, warm-up and kick a soccer ball around for a little before my morning skate.
After the skate I lunch. I have salmon with rice or pasta. I try to have a good meal because our game doesn’t start until 7;00. Most of the time I order take-out and eat at home. I nap between 1.5 and 2 hours before games.
Peter Budaj - Colorado Avalanche Goalie
I like to be in the dressing room 2.5 - 3 hours before the game. In the dressing room I tape my stick. I am not superstitious but I tape my stick from toe to heel. I’ve always done this since I was very little.
After I tape my sticks I play with a tennis ball for a little bit (bounce it on the wall... get my hand eye going a little bit). This will take only 5 mins. After I kick a soccer ball around until we have a team meeting. After our meeting I get a quick massage to warm-up the muscles. Then I bounce the tennis ball on the wall again for a little longer and after I will start dressing for the game.
I don’t have any superstitions because I don’t believe in those. If I do something all the time, I am just doing that because I am used to it.
Peter Budaj
