The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we talk ENTRIES and RUSH!! What a fun episode this was...we bring on our Robbie Murden and Mike Monti to talk anything and everything regarding having successful entries. We go through...-How good defense leads to rush chances-Teaching predictability vs. creativity-The importance of entering through the middle of the ice-The give and take of Blueline turnovers-Net DriveMuch More!!We know you'll take a ton out of this episode that you can use with your teams....and hopefully get some more goals!We want to thank the people that support us, including our title sponsor GelStx (gelstx.com), TrainHeroic (app on your phone), and IceHockeySystems.com. And most importantly, thank you to all of our thousands of listeners who tune in with us every week. We so appreciate you! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on firefighter, paramedic and aspiring professional hockey player Kevin Porter! What an inspiring episode with someone who is stopping at nothing to achieve his dreams, even in his 40's. So much positivity and so many uplifting stories of battling adversity on this one...we talk:-How to drown out the haters-How a near-death experience sparked his attempt to achieve his dreams-How a firehouse relates to a hockey locker room and culture-So.Much.More!!What a conversation this one was...we know you are going to enjoy the heck out of it. Thank you to our sponsors GelStx, IceHockeySystems.com, and TrainHeroic. Thank you to our podcast platform BlueWire Pods. And thank you to all of our amazing listeners who hang out with us every week! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we have our Windy City Storm roundtable detailing our ORGANIZATIONAL WEEKEND we executed the week prior. This ORGANIZATIONAL WEEKEND was an idea we tried getting all of our youth teams in our rink for a weekend to build our culture and get everyone excited about being part of the Windy City Storm family. Here's what we did:-Split practices and games with an older team and younger team on the ice at the same time.-Info sessions for our players and parents with our hockey directors-Info session with our strength coach on off-ice philosophy-Intrasquad games with older players coaching younger teams and vice versa.IT WAS AWESOME!! Our hope by doing this podcast is that other youth organizations take the idea and run with it. I think over the weekend we were able to build a camaraderie with all of our teams and families and taught the players that what the crest in front of the jersey means more than the names on the back.Check it out!!Thank you to our sponsors GELSTX, TrainHeroic, and IceHockeySystems.com. Thank you to our podcast platform BlueWire. And thank you to our amazing listeners. We know you'll get a ton out of this one!!! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on one of Jeff's former teammates who had an unbelievable journey to the NHL...going from an undersized and undrafted player to ultimately reaching his dreams of playing in the show. We talk:-Routine and preparation-Playing the role of an agitator as a smaller player-The grind of making it to the NHL.-MUCH MORE!!This was such an inspiring episode with a lot of nuggets for all kids that have dreams of playing at the highest levels of hockey.Thank you to all of our sponsors - GELSTX, TrainHeroic, IceHockeySystems.com, and our podcast platform family BlueWire.And thank you to all of our amazing listeners!!!! We love you and can't thank you enough for all the support you've given us on our crazy podcast journey!! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we tackle one of the most underrated development habit in hockey:Wall PlayIf you look at a heat map of where the puck is at during a game...much of the game you would see it is close to the boards. That's why it's so important to focus on building skills in our players along the boards. On this podcast Topher, Ryan Ward, and Rob Rassey discuss all things Wall Play...including:-The art of picking up a rim-Using the boards on retrievals for defensemen-Using the boards on the cycle in the offensive zone-Much More!!This was a fun roundtable episode that we hope you can take some things to use with your players and teams! Thank you to our sponsors GELSTX, TrainHeroic, ICEHOCKEYSYSTEMS.COM, and thank you to all of our loyal listeners!! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on the founder of Changing the Game Project, John O'Sullivan. This is a must listen for every coach and parent in sports as John has dedicated his life and business to providing coach and parent education. On this episode, we talk:-Transformational Leadership-How to be hard on players in a way that's demanding, not demeaning-The are of building relationships as a coach-The coach/parent relationship in youth sports-SO MUCH MOREThis episode is a game-changer (pun intended) and our listeners are going to get SO MUCH great information from John's experience and perspective.Thank you to John and Changing the Game Project (changingthegameproject.com) for all that they do. Thank you to our sponsors GELSTX, ICEHOCKEYSYSTEMS.COM, TRAINHEROIC. And thank you so much to all of our listeners and supporters who continue to ride with us on this podcast journey! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, Topher sits down with former Harvard University coach and Detroit Red Wings scout Rob Rassey to talk about the POWER PLAY. This was an exciting conversation full of talk on strategy, habits, tactics, and much much more on what makes a successful power play. They talk:-Mentality vs. Tactics-Skill sets for different roles on the PP-Data/Analytics of every PP goal scored in an NHL Year-So. Much. MoreThank you to our sponsors for continuing to support our podcast in GELSTX, TrainHeroic, and icehockeysystems.com. And thank you to all of our amazing listeners!!! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on Zach Jordan. Zach growing up NEVER played AAA hockey but is going to his first NHL Main Camp just 7 short years after being cut from AAA Midget hockey. What an inspiring story!Zach works with Jeff off the ice on his strength and conditioning and has worked extremely hard to play Division One hockey at University of Nebraska-Omaha and just signed a deal in Columbus' organization with their AHL team in Cleveland. After never playing AAA growing up, it shows his perseverance and resiliency to make it to the big leagues.Thank you to Zach for coming on to our podcast to share your amazing journey! Thank you also to GELSTX (gelstx.com), TrainHeroic, and IceHockeySystems.com for supporting our podcast. And a big thank you to all of our amazing listeners! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we are starting a new series that will air every couple weeks called the Windy City Storm Hockey Roundtable! In this series, Topher brings on a few people that he works with to really dive into a specific hockey topic. For the inaugural episode, Topher has on Rob Rassey and Ryan Ward!Rob played his college hockey at Northeastern. He then pursued coaching and had stops at Youngstown (USHL) and Harvard (NCAA). The last two years he has been a scout with the Detroit Red Wings and now Rob is the director of TPH-Chicago hockey academy. Ryan has coached at multiple levels and his stops include the Soo Greyhounds (OHL), New York Islanders (NHL), Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Selects Academy (Prep) and he is now the Director of Player Development for the Tri City Storm (USHL) and Hockey Director for the Windy City Storm.On this episode, Topher, Ryan, and Rob talk about TRACKING. The go through:-Why it's important-How it can help create team identity-Getting offensive players to buy into it-The X's and O's of why it works-Much More!We want to provide our listeners so new, fun, and innovative hockey knowledge...so here we go!We want to thank our sponsors GELSTX, TrainHeroic, and IceHockeySystems.com! And as always, we want to thank our amazing listeners who continue to support our podcast! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, Jeff and Topher come to you LIVE from Jeff's apartment! It was amazing to get in the same room to riff on what they believe are the most important attributes and actions of leaders in the hockey world. They talk:-The importance of making it HARD-Consistency is the key-What kind of coach would you want to play for?-MUCH, MUCH MORE!Thank you to all of our supporters who continue to tune in every week...you guys are going to LOVE this live episode. Thanks you to our sponsors GelStx, IceHockeySystems.com, and TrainHeroic. We love you all! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.