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The Hockey Think Tank Podcast brings incredible stories, interviews, and great perspective from some of the top hockey minds in the game. Hosted by Topher Scott & Jeff LoVecchio, our podcast will educate and inspire all those that love the game! For all the players, coaches, and hockey parents out there...make this your Go-To show on your way to the rink!
Episodes
Monday Dec 21, 2020
Monday Dec 21, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on current University of Michigan Assistant Coach...and Assistant Coach for Team USA at this year's World Junior Championship...Kris Mayotte! With World Juniors starting this week, Kris brings us inside Team USA's walls to show us what it's like being a part of the experience at the tournament. In this episode, we tackle:
-Coaching the best players in the world at 18-19 years old, including Team USA and also 3 potential Top 10 NHL picks in next year's draft at Michigan.
-Winning the World Junior Gold Medal a few years ago against Canada on Canadian soil.
-The importance of team Building at a tournament where you're only there for a few weeks.
-MUCH MORE!
This was an awesome episode, we're looking forward to sharing it with all of you. Thank you to our title sponsor GELSTX, our drill sponsor icehockeysystems.com, our training sponsor TrainHeroic...and thank you to all of our listeners!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we answer your questions! Thanks to everyone who submitted questions on social media...and here's what we covered:
-When should my kid make the jump to AAA?
-How can I keep my kid engaged during Covid so they don't feel like they're getting left behind?
-How can we build team culture with the player point of view at the forefront?
-What is our favorite part of doing the podcast?
-How early should we think about using a sport psychologist for our kid?
This was a lot of fun being able to hear from YOU and talk about the topics you are looking for answers for. Hopefully we gave you some insight from our own experiences!
This podcast's title sponsor is GELSTX, our drill sponsor is icehockeysystems.com, our training sponsor is TrainHeroic. Thank you to our sponsors and thank you to our listeners for all of your support!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Dec 07, 2020
Monday Dec 07, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on hockey development pioneer who works with some of the top names in the game, Darryl Belfry. Darryl's client list includes the likes of Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, John Tavares...among other of the NHL's elite. Darryl also just came out with a book, "Belfry Hockey: Strategies to Teach the World's Best Athletes."
On this podcast we cover so great topics, including:
-Darryl's journey to working with the top players in the world.
-Can you teach offense?
-Manipulating failure and success rates in your coaching.
-Linking transition hockey with hockey sense.
Lot of great hockey we cover on this one, we're really excited to bring it to all of our listeners. Thank you to our title sponsor GELSTX, Jeff's training app sponsor TrainHeroic, our newest sponsor icehockeysystems.com and our drill of the week, "Picket Fence Drill", and thank you to all of our listeners who continue to support our mission each week to bring a little more positivity to the hockey world!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Nov 30, 2020
Monday Nov 30, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on 10 year pro and one of Jeff's college teammates Brent Walton. Brent comes from a small town in Ontario and he takes us through his journey into becoming one of the top scorers in the NCAA and then a long professional career. We talk:
-When to make the move to AAA
-The ups and downs of transitioning to professional hockey
-The decision to stay in North America to try and "make it" or go over to Europe
-Off ice training education importance
-MUCH MORE
This was a fun one! Thank you to our title sponsor, GELSTX. Go to GELSTX.COM to get an awesome weighted training stick used by many pros...and use the coupon code "THINKTANK to get a little discount. Thank you to our drill sponsor icehockeysystems.com...this week's drill we cover is 3v3 handball! Thank you to all of our listeners, we appreciate your support for us trying to make the hockey world a better place!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Monday Nov 23, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on one of my favorite players that I've had the opportunity to coach in Cole Bardreau. Cole's story is one of major ups and downs throughout his career, and it culminated last year getting his first NHL call up with the New York Islanders and scoring his first career goal on a penalty shot.
Cole played for the USA NTDP, then came to Cornell where I coached him. While there, he was asked to play for the US World Junior team where he won a gold medal. The next weekend...his world almost fell apart. He got hit from behind into the boards and broke his neck, very close to paralyzing him. He missed the rest of the season, but worked his tail off to get back. After his senior year on sheer grit and determination he signed an NHL contract, but not until four years later did he receive his first call up to the NHL. The resiliency is such an incredible story.
Now, even as an NHL player, he has started a company "Bardreau Mentoring Group" where he aims to mentor young hockey players as a professional player himself. This is such an awesome initiative...visit bardreaumentoringgroup.com to find out more.
On top of our title sponsor in GELSTX (gelstx.com) we have a new sponsor in icehockeysystems.com as well! At the beginning of every episode, we will talk about a drill on their website and on this episode we chose the 3v3 Gates of Buffalo!
Thank you to all of our listeners who continue to support our podcast, you are going to love this one with Cole Bardreau!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Nov 16, 2020
Monday Nov 16, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on Katie Strang, a fantastic hockey and investigative reporter for The Athletic. Katie is a prominent figure in hockey journalism, and we spend most of this podcast talking about a story she has written extensively on regarding a youth hockey coach's history with sexual abuse of youth hockey players.
Katie wrote her first article on this subject in February which brought to the public the scandal of this coach's misconducts, along with how people in hockey leadership failed to handle the situation. This is a podcast that contains language about sexual abuse, so disclaimer for any families that typically listen to our podcast with their kids.
While a tough subject to speak on, we believe that this episode will provide some positive change.
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Nov 09, 2020
Monday Nov 09, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, Jeff and Topher go through their greatest hockey memories. From skating on the backyard rink at their Grandma and Grandpa's house, to their first college and professional games, to overtime winners, to favorite off-ice memories with their teammates...this episode has a lot of heart and is full of fun.
And speaking of backyard rinks...
We bring onto the podcast for the second half Jim and Tyler Stoller of NiceRink, a top backyard rink company in North America. Jim and Tyler answer all of your listener questions submitted to social media about the best ways to build a backyard rink, and then we give a secret hashtag to be entered to win a FREE 24x44 backyard rink from NiceRink!!
Details of the contest are in the podcast episode and a random winner will be named on 11/20 from those who use the secret hashtag on our social media channels. Listen to a great episode and get entered into this amazing contest today!!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Nov 02, 2020
Monday Nov 02, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on one of the top hockey strength and conditioning coaches in the world, Matt Nichol. Matt is based out of Ontario and trains some of the top players in hockey, along with Olympic athletes in many other sports.
This was an awesome conversation where we hit on the importance of strength and conditioning, but Matt also brings us into the mind of elite level athletes...and the top athletes in the world. If you want to know what it takes to be at that level, and how to find a way to get as close to your potential as you can, this episode will be a great one for you.
Big thanks to Matt for coming on the podcast, and big thanks to our sponsors GELSTX and TrainHeroic as well. And as always, thank you to our supporters and fans who continue to inspire us to bring the best guests on we can! Matt is at the top of that list, hope you enjoy this episode!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Oct 26, 2020
Monday Oct 26, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on NHL veteran of over 700 games and a former 4th overall draft Bryan Allen! Bryan has some amazing hockey experience and is bringing that as a passionate youth hockey coach now, and we get into some really thought-provoking conversations around the state of youth hockey today. This is a great episode for all involved in the youth hockey experience!
Thanks to Bryan, and thank you to our title sponsor GELSTX, Jeff's training App TrainHeroic, and all of our great listeners in the hockey world!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Oct 19, 2020
Monday Oct 19, 2020
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on one of the most inspiring guests we've ever had on in so many different ways, Craig Cunningham. Craig defied the odds to make it to the NHL as an undersized player, but an incident while he was playing in the AHL for the Tucson Roadrunners changed his life forever.
During a game, he suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the ice. Miraculously, he was revived due to the incredible work by doctors. Craig has persevered through that challenge, including losing part of one of his legs in a surgery, to be an inspiration to so many, including those he works with in player development.
We touch on his recovery, but this was an AWESOME talk on hockey and hockey development. Craig is as passionate as they come about the game, and you are going to love this episode!
Thank you to GELSTX our title sponsor...visit gelstx.com and use the coupon code "THINKTANK" for a discount off a training stick.
Thank you to TrainHeroic, Jeff's slick training app that houses all his workouts.
And thank you to our listeners for all of your support for our podcast. This is a special episode, let us know what you think by shooting us a review wherever you get your podcasts today!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)