Over the past couple of weeks I was able to speak to some prominent people in women's hockey and though I talked to them days apart in very different circumstances, I couldn't stop thinking about how, in a round about way, they all talked about the same thing without me asking them to.

It's both really obvious and something I think we forget about in all the chaos.

The concept came out in reference to different situations, but Wisconsin forward Laila Edwards, US national team coach John Wroblewski and Wisconsin women's hockey coach Mark Johnson all reminded me that in the pandemonium and speed of a hockey game, often the best thing to do trust your instincts, don't overthink things and keep it simple.

In Wisconsin's first game of a weekend set with Minnesota on March 8, two Badgers' defenders left the game injured. UW has the incredible fortune that one of their forwards - the top goal-scorer in the country, reigning USA Hockey Bob Allen Player of the Year and IIHF Women's World Championship MVP - Laila Edwards transitioned to defense for Team USA over the past few months.

It's a new change for Edwards, who made the switch at Rivalry Series games in November and played on the blue line during the Six Nations in December, but hadn't spent time there since. On Saturday, she made the switch mid-game in a crucial series for her top-ranked team.

I asked her after the game if she had to do a mental reset or really think through going from crashing the net to holding the blue line.

"I used to think so. But (Wisconsin) coach (Mark) Johnson always says, 'Wherever they put you, it's still hockey, and you're great at hockey,'" Edwards said.

"It's like 'go out there, play the position, but don't act like you don't know how to play it, because it's still hockey.' So there are little things like transitioning backwards that you have to be mentally prepared for. But at the end of the day, he's right, it's just hockey. Just go out and play."

I remember thinking how crazy it is that Edwards, with all the accolades and what she's achieved in such a short time, needed that reassurance. Then I wondered what it must be like to have a confidence wobble only to have actual hockey legend Mark Johnson tell you not to think about it like that because "you're great at hockey."

Humor and awe aside, my biggest takeaway was what a massively reassuring and important lesson that is to hold on to and learn for a 21-year old college junior who's life has been at super speed the past few years.

Prior to that, I had spoken with USA senior national team coach John Wroblewski in advance of the final Rivalry Series games for an article for USA Hockey about how camps and games help the coaching staff prepare for the World Championship.

In particular, Wroblewski has favored a roster heavy on younger players still in college and those players were unavailable for February's Rivalry Series, so I asked him about what can be learned when working with a team that is unlikely to be the team they ultimately select for a tournament.

The article contains much of what he said and I'd recommend reading it, even if I wasn't the one that wrote it. Through a few tournaments and other interviews, one thing I've learned about Wroblewski is he keeps his cards close to his chest. He isn't afraid to decline to answer a question he feels will reveal too much about the team. He's cautious and even cagey, so getting him to talk about his approach and process at all is a win.

Something I didn't dig into too much in the original article, but that came back to me after speaking to Edwards was Wroblewski saying that having players from the wider pool that haven't regularly been rostered for Team USA meant that he and his staff had to remember to keep their coaching simple.

If it were the same 18-25 players in every camp, coaching might drill down to really small details and there might be a continuity from camp to camp and the coaches can get caught up in some pretty small minutiae. With the roster from the wider player pool, there isn't continuity and getting bogged down in small details is both ineffective and a waste of time. So the focus has to be on larger philosophy and systems. That's helpful for the players, but also incredibly useful for a coaching staff who spends a lot of the year not actively coaching their team.

At the last two World Championships, players on Wroblewski's team talked about feeling at ease and comfortable to play their game under him. They talk about being predictable to each other - that larger philosophy - but also about not being afraid to make mistakes.

The players, I think, feel that the coaching staff trusts them. That should be a baseline, but based on what I've heard, isn't something that was true under previous coaching staffs.

It feels like the unsaid thing about an approach that is not overly complicated is an understanding and appreciation for the fact that the senior US women's national team is a collection of elite athletes at the top of their game.

The top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers played their final regular season series at home on March 8 and 9. They faced rival Minnesota, held their senior day on Saturday, played their best game of the season and ultimately secured the conference regular season title. Players were emotional and hyped up. They also had the second game of the series less than 20 hour after the first one ended.

So I asked Johnson about the tight turnaround and managing all that was wrapped up in the weekend when they knew Minnesota would push back even harder after the Badgers won 8-2.

"When you get in those scenarios, you keep the game simple. Get in, get out. Don't complicate it."

Despite the fact that they're collegians, Johnson said his team is prepared as though they are professionals. They know how to handle back-to-back games just as an NHLer would and though there were extra emotions and a shorter time frame than they might be used to, they also knew how to take care of their bodies and reset for the next game.

Maybe there are things for the team to work on. Maybe the coaching staff will make changes during practice the following week. But a short turnaround isn't the time for that. Johnson said a game can be lost in the opening few minutes and he wants his players to be confident and comfortable in those minutes. So in those 20 or so hours between the final buzzer and puck drop, the goal is rest, recover and refuel. Cool down and warm up. Replace nutrients. Follow the postgame and gameday routines and trust the players to do what they know how to do.

Often when we talk hockey, we can get bogged down in the details. There are a million other small things to think about at any given time. Keeping it simple is an obvious and sometimes cliche concept. But it's also easily forgotten and a lot more difficult than it seems.

(Photo: Pexels/Tony Schnagl)