The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs and their unfortunate recent playoff runs. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about how to defend the front of the net. Last week we talked about scoring garbage goals, so now let’s discuss how to defend against them. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Shout out to this Short Shifts supporter: SkateTech Skate Sharpening & Equipment Repair Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

This week Topher and Jeff fly solo to talk about the 7 environmental factors crucial for players to develop. We encourage parents to join an organization/team that provides this atmosphere to help your child succeed and encourage coaches to help provide that environment. Listen as we break down how to set up an environment where players can develop to the best of their abilities: — Establish a relationship — Vulnerability as a coach — Be prepared, but be flexible — Competition — Be authentic — Resilience — Set the standard high with players AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our title sponsor IceHockeySystems.com, as well as Train-Heroic, Helios Hockey, and Crossbar! And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! If you’d like to join our Hockey Think Tank Community, head over to Community.TheHockeyThinkTank.com and check it out! PARENTS & RECRUITING 101 COURSES BLUEPRINT ORGANIZATION REFERRAL Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about postgame speeches and what you’ve gotta include. Be authentic and always go back to your process and your identity. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about a topic one of our listeners suggested: garbage goals. We define what they are, how to score more of them, and how to have that scoring mentality. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Shout out to this Short Shifts supporter: SkateTech Skate Sharpening & Equipment Repair Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Pat Ferschweiler, Western Michigan Broncos men’s ice hockey head coach and 2025 Frozen Four Men’s Ice Hockey Championship winner. Fersch joins us on the pod to talk about what it takes to win it all. In this episode we talk about: — How the men’s ice hockey team won the title without any NIL money — That no matter how good you were, you have to be better than your previous year — How coaches shouldn’t have to coach effort — How to keep players emotionally engaged — Knowing how hard to push your players AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our title sponsor IceHockeySystems.com, as well as Train-Heroic, Helios Hockey, and Crossbar! And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! If you’d like to join our Hockey Think Tank Community, head over to Community.TheHockeyThinkTank.com and check it out! PARENTS & RECRUITING 101 COURSES BLUEPRINT ORGANIZATION REFERRAL Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about head shots from hits. We’ve seen a few in the past couple of weeks in the NHL playoffs, so let’s talk about them. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about a question submitted by one of our listeners; “How do you help skilled players with low confidence in their own skills?” We discuss what to do when they look good in practice, but can’t seem to replicate their skills in a game. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Shout out to this Short Shifts supporter: SkateTech Skate Sharpening & Equipment Repair Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Mike McGinnis, player development coach with NorCan Hockey. Using his experience with Hockey Alberta and his current business, McGinnis provided us with some great insight regarding the modern aspects of the game. In this episode we talk about: — The importance of being able to stick handle by feel, and not needing to look at the puck — Modern vs “old-school” shooting techniques — How 60% of NHL passes are contested, so you should include contested passes in practices — Having a balance of unstructured play and structured practice to not create bad habits — Comparing Scandinavian to North American development models AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our title sponsor IceHockeySystems.com, as well as Train-Heroic, Helios Hockey, and Crossbar! And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! If you’d like to join our Hockey Think Tank Community, head over to Community.TheHockeyThinkTank.com and check it out! PARENTS & RECRUITING 101 COURSES BLUEPRINT ORGANIZATION REFERRAL Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about the decline of recreational and house league hockey. There is an immense pressure to jump to the next level as quickly as possible, so we’re seeing a large gap between Learn to Play and what's next. Let’s talk about how this is affecting our sport. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank