Flames goalie Devin Cooley, most interesting man in hockey - ESPN

CALGARY — It has become almost routine.

Calgary Flames goalie Devin Cooley turns in a stellar performance, earns a live postgame interview and turns what's normally a cliché-ridden exercise into a soliloquy on modern sports psychology as seemingly the entire sports world tunes in.

Cooley's gems of late? First there was this on Oct. 18:

«The problem with me is that I have a lot of fun playing, but when I start having too much fun, it [takes] me from an unconscious goalie to a conscious goalie, and my conscious brain is really bad at playing goalie. I have to let my unconscious brain do the work, because it reacts a lot quicker.»

And then a week later:

«I feel completely in control of my mind… whatever my mind throws my way, I feel I'm in a good state to handle. ...Even when I go home. I go home, and I'm not really thinking about much. I'm just reading with my rabbit and not thinking about much.»

Cooley was named the NHL's second star of the week ending Oct. 25, and his quotes offer a rare glimpse into the mind of an elite athlete — and perhaps the most interesting man in hockey.

COOLEY HAS A PET RABBIT, Tito, and learns linear algebra in his spare time. Before this season, he had already gone viral when, as a relatively unknown (and undrafted) backup goalie for the San Jose Sharks two years ago, he famously told media, «Nothing's really gonna matter. We're all gonna die.»

Dr. Michael Gervais is one of the world's preeminent high-performance psychologists. He hosts the «Finding Mastery» podcast, interviewing the likes of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and author Malcolm Gladwell. He has worked with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and a host of other organizations.

Dr.