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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 Nov 18, 2019
Monday Nov 18, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on certified nutritionist and owner of nutritional company, Kelly’s Choice…Kelly Springer. This was an unreal conversation on the power of nutrition, not just for your health but for performance too. We cover…
14:35 – The overall power of nutrition
19:30 – Knowing where are food comes from and knowing how to read labels
30:35 – Food testing
34:00 – Advice for families on the go that may not have time to cook big, healthy meals
38:00 – How to make smoothies
41:00 – A great discussion on sugar
43:15 – When you eat for athlete performance
46:50 – Are probiotics beneficial?
50:55 – How to buy and do research on supplements
53:10 – How important is hydration?
56:35 – Is Gatorade good or bad for us?
1:04:25 – What should athletes be eating before and after performance?
1:09:50 – What’s the deal with plant based diets?
Thank you again to all our listeners, and if you can, please leave us some feedback in a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts! We also want to thank the sponsor for our podcast, GelStx…go to gelstx.com and get the top training stick on the market right now with a discount if you use the promo code “thinktank”.
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Nov 11, 2019
Monday Nov 11, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on women's professional hockey player Alyssa Gagliardi. Alyssa has literally won a championship at every level she's played...including a National Championship at Shattuck St. Mary's, 4 Nations Cup with USA Hockey, 3 ECAC Championships with Cornell, a CWHL Championship with the Boston Blades, an NWHL Championship with the Boston Pride...and now she is giving back as well to the hockey community in her hometown of Raleigh NC with her AG2 Hockey Camps. She currently is on the "Dream Gap" tour with other high level women's players promoting the game. We had some great topics on this podcast episode, including:
25:10 - Playing Girls vs. Boys hockey growing up.
30:20 - Playing at National Powerhouse Shattuck St. Mary’s (she had a class with Nathan MacKinnon.
37:35 - The recruiting process to college hockey for girls hockey players.
42:05 - The incredible culture turnaround at Cornell.
45:05 The importance of experience in hockey (we discussed what's going on in San Jose & Toronto).
53:00 - Playing professional womens hockey.
55:25 - The inspiration of Denna Laing.
58:20 - The state of Pro Hockey for women today.
1:03:15 - Sexism in hockey, at multiple levels.
We want to thank all of the listeners of this podcast, and we want to thank GelStx, the official sponsor of the Hockey Think Tank podcast. Go to gelstx.com and enter the promo code "thinktank" to get a reduced price on their training sticks.
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Nov 04, 2019
Monday Nov 04, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast we bring on one of the top young players in the NHL, Alex Tuch. Al has had a great young career that spanned the USA NTDP, 2 years at Boston College, a first round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, and now playing a pivotal role for the Vegas Golden Knights. This was an incredible conversation into the mind of an elite hockey player, and here were a few of the highlights:
25:10 - Growing up playing against older competition in NY.
33:10 - The ups and downs of playing for the National Team Development Program
37:45 - Playing on a line with Jack Eichel
47:40 - His time playing at Boston College and choosing BC over Cornell!
58:00 - A few great Auston Matthews stories and his experience at Darryl Belfry's 88 summit over the summer.
1:07:10 - The magical run for Vegas to the Stanley Cup finals as an expansion team.
This podcast is sponsored by GELSTX...which is not the official training aid of The Hockey Think Tank podcast! Go to gelstx.com and enter the coupon code "thinktank" to receive a discount on training sticks used by top programs including the Tuchy's
NTDP! We really enjoyed this conversation and are confident that you will too. Thank you for tuning into the podcast, we appreciate it!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Oct 28, 2019
Monday Oct 28, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on VP of Development for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Joe Birch. This was an awesome, really informative conversation on a wide range of topics, including:
12:36 - Importance of SLOWING DOWN the youth hockey process
14:30 - Parents, coaches, or entrepreneurs...who's driving youth hockey crazy?
20:50 - How do parents get educated about the process?
26:45 - The foundation of teaching in hockey
30:40 - Birchy's roles and responsibilities with the OHL
35:55 - OHL education packages
49:55 - Advice for parents and players in their minor midget draft years for the OHL and USHL
57:00 - Advice for parents and players for what to do after their draft years
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Oct 21, 2019
Monday Oct 21, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on Assistant Coach of American International College, Steve Wiedler. Steve comes on to talk about their storybook season last year, going from NCAA basement to winning not only their league regular season and playoff titles, but also upending #1 team in the country St. Cloud in the NCAA Tournament. Here are some the highlights:
30:35 - The process to becoming an NCAA Coach
37:40 - Growing up training with Russian coaches and how they got the best out of us
44:15 - Playing in Knoxville in the SPHL
51:30 - How AIC changed the culture (they coached to the culture) and became a champion
1:02:00 - Recruiting mentally tough players
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Oct 14, 2019
Monday Oct 14, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on multiple time Stanley Cup Champion, Colin Fraser. Colin won Cups with both Chicago and LA as a defensive forward who was awesome on the PK and one of the best guy in the business in the room. Here are a few of the highlights from the conversation:
25:45 - What it was like playing for both Brent and Darryl Sutter
38:00 - Winning a World Junior Gold Medal for Team Canada
44:35 - Winning Stanley Cups with two teams (Chicago and LA) with differing styles of play
50:15 - The camaraderie of the Blackhawks team that won in 2010 (and how crazy the celebration was afterwards)
58:15 - Colin explains his "Make em Pay" growl...
1:04:55 - A great conversation about habits on the penalty kill
1:11:20 - Colin discusses a new venture he's working with, scoolu.com.
Colin is known as an unbelievable teammate and that shines through in the episode. You don't win 3 Stanley Cup without it!! Thank you to everyone that has tuned in, if you like the conversations please shoot us a rating and review on your podcast app and share with those in the hockey world you think would take something out of it. Have a great week!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Oct 07, 2019
Monday Oct 07, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on Head Coach at St. Lawrence University, Brent Brekke. It was a great conversation about hockey, and with Topher having played for and coached with Brekks we all got to get real in depth on certain aspects about the game, coaching, and leadership in general. Here were some of the highlights:
5:10 - The give and take between coaches and refs during games.
27:35 - In depth dialogue on self and player accountability within a team.
39:45 - How Brekks has evolved in his 20 years of coaching and how much information to give players today.
56:00 - Remote control parents and how a parent can affect their kid's recruiting prospects for NCAA Hockey.
1:05:49 - Brekks' three main priorities for setting the culture while taking over the Head Coaching job at St. Lawrence.
1:08:02 - A great discussion on the integrity of the NCAA recruiting landscape today.
Thank you to everyone that has tuned in! If you like the podcast and think it will provide value for other people in your hockey network, please share us with your peeps through social media, email, or however you want! We so enjoy providing this show to the hockey world and want to reach and help as many people as we can. We appreciate your support...and if you can please leave us a rating or review so we can make the podcast even better. Have a great week!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Sep 30, 2019
Monday Sep 30, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on a leader in the video editing software industry, Brant Berglund. Brant started his career as a video coach with Boston University, before landing a job in the same role with the Boston Bruins for a long time. He now works for a company XoS, which is a video editing software that most high level teams in professional, college, and even junior hockey use. We had a great conversation about technology in hockey and how to use it as a benefit to not only the highest levels, but the youth levels as well. Brant is also a great youth coach in the Boston area and has spoken at USA Hockey coaching clinics...and we had a great discussion about the relevance of "positionless" hockey. It was a really informative conversation with a really knowledgeable person in the hockey industry, and thank you for everyone that tunes in!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Sep 23, 2019
Monday Sep 23, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on former D3 Head Coach and now motivational speaker, Mark Wick. This episode is dedicated to speaking about mental health today...and it is a POWERFUL one. Mark has an incredible story with a lot of ups and downs, and he is incredibly vulnerable and inspiring in sharing some of the tougher events he's had in his life. September is also National Suicide Prevention month. With the rise in youth suicides and mental health issues, we talk about a lot of different topics that will shed light into a topic that is very rarely talked about. Thank you to everyone that tunes in!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)
Monday Sep 16, 2019
Monday Sep 16, 2019
On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on one of the best American Born players to ever play the game in Brian Gionta. Brian has won an NCAA National Championship, a Stanley Cup, had a 16 year NHL career playing of 1,000 games and scoring close to 600 points. And he did it while standing as one of the smallest players in the game. He was also a seven year captain for both the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. This was an awesome conversation about development, the importance of preparation, leadership...and we dive into some youth hockey as Brian is not coaching his two sons in retirement. Awesome guy, and thank you to everyone who is tuning in!
*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)