The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

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)

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)

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)

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)

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on the captain of the Team USA Sled Hockey team and 3x Gold Medal Olympic champion...Josh Pauls.  Josh is one of the most inspirational speakers we have met.  His journey as a double amputee to Gold Medal champion is amazing, and the lessons and stories he brought to this podcast were unreal.  We talked about team culture, battling adversity, perspective, and all of the values that he thinks leads to success on and off the ice.  Josh is now a motivational speaker and a published author...and an awesome podcast guest.  Thank you for tuning in...if you want to provide us some feedback please shoot us a rating or review where you get your podcasts today! *Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on long time professional player of over 500 games...Derek Whitmore.  We go through Derek's journey that had a lot of stops and talked some great hockey throughout the way.  Derek was a pure goal scorer, and we had an amazing conversation into the mindset of what it takes to score.  We also dove deep into the importance of communication, as Derek is now a coach with Division 3 Bowdoin College for their women's team.  We get a great cameo from Derek's four year old daughter, and tell some fun personal stories about our families.  Thank you again for tuning in to our podcast!! *Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on a younger point of view with incoming University of Nebraska-Omaha freshman, Josh Boyer.  We have been fortunate to talk to people that are NHL Hall of Famers, but this is the first time on our show that we've brought a kid on to talk hockey from their point of view.  And what a perspective Josh Gave us! We talked about the youth hockey journey, the stresses that go with trying to make it in junior hockey and get to college, the ups and downs that many kids face during their seasons...and so much more.  Josh is an absolute stud of a kid and we learned a ton being able to speak with him.  We think you're going to love this conversation and what Josh has to say...and thank you for tuning in to another one of our podcasts episodes!! *Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on Stanley Cup champion from the St. Louis Blues Chris Butler.  What an amazing conversation covering some important learning curves during his journey to some hilarious stories that spanned his long career.  We talked mentorship, resiliency, and his battle to become an NHLer from a non-traditional market to playing over 400 games in the show.  We talked about the line brawl between Vancouver and Calgary (that he was in) where John Tortorella tried to charge through to the Flames' locker room.  We talk about the improbable run to the Stanley Cup by the Blues this year and why he thought the team turned around (HINT: Binnington and Berube).  There are so many great topics for all people involved in the game, and we're thrilled to bring this to you.  Thank you again for tuning in! *Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we take it all the way down to the grassroots level and bring on Jeff and Topher's cousin and mite/squirt youth hockey coach, Cody Barra.  Cody is a passionate young coach looking to make a difference in the youth hockey world and brought on a lot of great insight and opinions on the youth hockey culture today.  We talked about parent/coach communication, the importance of feedback, the difference in how the game is played from the younger and older levels, and much, much more.  We also talked a lot about the development of passion and life skills...the most important job for any youth coach or teacher today.  This was a fun one, thanks for tuning in!! *Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we talk to Hall of Famer and all-around great guy Martin St. Louis.  It was a thrill to talk to him about his journey and then we got into some unreal hockey talk.  We spoke about battling setbacks and adversity, his Cup team in Tampa Bay, and his massive tree-trunk legs. We also got into talking shop...how to create time and space, the difference between playing fast and rushing it, teaching hockey IQ, and much more.  Such an amazing conversation, thanks again for tuning in!! *Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)