Glass and Out

Nick Oliver, Head Coach of USHL's Fargo Force, stops in for episode 200 of the Glass and Out Podcast. At the time of this recording, Oliver had the Force sitting atop the USHL standings, but what is most impressive about his story is the rapid rise he’s made up the coaching ladder since completing his collegiate career at St. Cloud State University. Despite no prior experience, the Wannaska, Minnesota native got his coaching career started when he was invited to join the Sioux Falls Stampede's staff as an Assistant Coach and Director of Scouting. Three seasons later, he returned to St Cloud, where he was captain his senior season, to join the staff of current Head Coach Brett Larson. During his three seasons at St. Cloud, Oliver assisted the program in reaching three straight NCAA tournament berths and one NCHC regular season Conference Championship. He then returned to another of his former teams, the Fargo Force, where he has been the Head Coach since May of 2022. It’s worth noting that throughout his career, Oliver has been surrounded by accomplished coaches. It goes without saying that young coaches can do themselves a great service by focusing on aligning themselves with coaches who have a broad range of experiences. Hear Oliver discuss how is father (a former coach) helped guide his career, the various mentors who have influenced him, and how he's used the Christmas break to prepare his team for the upcoming playoffs.

We're joined by member of the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation, Tobias Johansson, for episode 199 of the Glass and Out Podcast. He has quietly become of one the most influential coaches in our sport and as you’ll soon hear, he isn’t afraid to think outside the box. Johansson, who hails from Sweden, has served as the country's Director of Player Development since 2021 and will be leading the Men's National Team as Head Coach at the upcoming World Championships being hosted this May in Finland and Latvia. Prior to crossing the border to Norway, he spent nine seasons with the legendary Swedish program, Frölunda HC, beginning as the programs U16 coach before being promoted to Director of Player Development. Frölunda is of course considered one of the top development programs in the world, and boasts an alumni list that includes Lucas Raymond, Rasmus Dahlin, Robin Lehner, John Klingberg, Henrik Lundqvist, and Daniel Alfredsson. Listen as he explains why your players should try beat the defender 1v1 at the offensive blueline, how changing a countries hockey fortunes begins at the initiation levels, and what he’s leaned consulting with National Teams coaches form other sports.

In episode 198 of the Glass and Out Podcast, we welcome Dan Muse, Head Coach of the US National Development Programs U18 Team. If you attended TCS Live this past June, then you would have seen Muse on stage presenting on The Importance of the Second Player in Puck Support and Puck Pressure. Stay tuned for that presentation coming later this season on The Coaches Site. Muse got his start in coaching as an Assistant Coach at Milton Academy, following a four year playing career at Stonehill College, where he majored in Criminal Justice. He worked his way into the Div I ranks, beginning at Sacred Heart University, before joining Keith Allain’s staff at Yale. In 2013, Yale captured the programs first ever National Championship. While at Yale, Muse also participated in the World Junior Championships on two occasions as the Video Coaches for Team USA. In 2015, he was named the Head Coach of the USHL’s Chicago Steel. Despite the program having gone seven seasons without the reaching the post-season, Muse led them on a remarkable turn around, capturing a Clark Cup Championship in only his second season. From there, Muse was hired by Peter Laviolette and the Nashville Predators, where he spent the next three seasons and was a part of the 2017-2018 Predators team that captured the NHL’s Presidents Trophy. Muse then joined the US National Development Team Program, where he is now in charge of the U18 team. Listen as he discusses the benefits of teaching a high school history class, why you should focus on habits and concepts with your team, and why great coaches invest in the other coaches on their staff.

Carla MacLeod, Head Coach of both the University of Calgary Women’s program as well as the Czechia National Women’s team, joins us for episode 197 of the Glass and Out Podcast. MacLeod is currently in her second season with the Dinos program, and will be leading Czechia at the upcoming World Championships after guiding the team to its first ever medal at the 2022 event in August. Her unique ability to inspire what some may consider underdog programs have helped her gain notoriety in the hockey community. From 2011 through 2014, MacLeod was an Assistant Coach with the Japanese National team and helped it qualify for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. It was the first time they had done so since hosting the first female Olympic tournament at the ’98 games in Nagano. MacLeod got her coaching career started with the Edge School’s U18 Female program. In 2020, the program captured the first ever Canadian Sport School Hockey League Female U18 Prep division Championship. During her tenure, the team upheld an average GPA of 89%, 98% of her players went on to pursue post secondary studies and 88% continued their hockey career. As a player, she patrolled the blueline for Canada’s National Women’s team for five seasons, capturing two Olympic Gold Medals, the second of which was at the 2010 games in Vancouver. She is also a member of the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as the Alberta SportsHall of Fame. In this episode we discuss why it's important to keep joy in the game, when you should focus on one thing with your team, and how she approaches inspiring and instilling confidence in her players.

In episode 196 of the Glass and Out Podcast, we're joined by Brad Yetman, Head Coach of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey. At just 31-years-old, Yetman is one of hockey’s up and coming coaching talents. He is currently in the midst of his fourth season with the Huskies. In 2019, he was hired as an Assistant Coach on Mario Pouliot’s staff. Late in his third season, he took over the reigns as Interim Head Coach after Pouliot stepped away from the team due to health issues. He was ultimately handed the role full time, despite barely two years of experience coaching at the Major Junior level. It’s also worth noting that Yetman is the first New Foundlander to be a Head Coach at the Major Junior level.   Prior to joining the Huskies, Brad was the Head Coach of the East Coast Blizzards program, in the Newfoundland U18 Major Hockey League. During this time he also scouted for the Shawinigan Cataracts, the team that originally drafted him in the Q.   As a player, he spent four seasons in junior hockey, but had to retire early due to concussions. He then shifted his focus away from playing hockey to his education, as he earned a Masters in Education and Counseling Psychology   Listen as he shares his experiences as one of the youngest coaches in Major Junior Hockey, the value of grading player performance in practice, and why players will only be vulnerable if they recognize their coach is willing to be vulnerable as well.

For episode 195, we're going back into The Coaches Site vault to hear LA Kings Head Coach Todd McLellan's 2021 Virtual Hockey Summit presentation titled "Coaching: Today, Tomorrow & Beyond." The talk is a foundational piece of content for coaches of all levels and provides a practical framework, particularly at the youth level, on how to handle adversity and shape their approach to the season. Over the past 28 years, McLellan has been a coach in the SJHL, WHL, IHL, AHL & NHL, and in all but three of those seasons, he’s been at the helm. He’s in his eighth season as NHL Head Coach and third with the Los Angeles Kings. McLellan has a Stanley Cup under his belt from his time with the Detroit Red Wings in 2007-08, and on January 2, 2022, he won his 500th NHL game, becoming the 27th coach in league history to accomplish the feat. Listen as McLellan shares his thoughts about why there certainly is an I in team, a player’s mindset versus a coach’s mindset, and how to develop a player support system that promotes individualism.

The Coaches Site is proud to announce the launch of the Hockey Factories Podcast! In this series, you will hear from the coaches, managers and players who helped bring the first five Hockey Factories articles to life. Listen as you get exclusive insight into the rooms where Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Rasmus Dahlin and hundreds of others got their starts and developed into some of the brightest stars in the NHL. Check out episode 1, where Matt Dumouchelle examines youth development and where Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, the Okanagan Hockey Academy, Adler Mannheim, Jokerit and Frolunda leave their marks on a player’s career. Subscribe now to the Hockey Factories Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you listen to your podcasts.

In episode 194 of the Glass and Out hockey podcast, we welcome The Coaches Site Contributor Matt Dumouchelle, who's definitely had a week to remember. You may know Dumouchelle best from his series Hockey Factories, which provides a deep dive into he top hockey development programs in the world. Well, the series was such a success that we've turned the first five organization profiles into a PDF E-Book! You can download your copy now for free. On top of that, we've collaborated with Dumouchelle to create the Hockey Factories Podcast. You can now hear from the coaches, managers and players who helped bring the first five Hockey Factories articles to life.  The first two episodes are now available, with episode one focusing on youth development and episode two on coaching. In addition to his writing, he is also currently the Assistant GM for the Leamington Flyers of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. Listen as we explore the story behind the origins of Hockey Factories, his key takeaways from talking to some of the top talent developers in the game, and what he's got planned for season two.

Tara Slone, former host of Rogers Hometown Hockey, joins us this week on the Glass and Out Podcast. If you're Canadian, you're familiar with Slone’s work and her gift for sharing the stories of countless Canadians whose personal journeys have been shaped by their connection to hockey. These people make up the hockey fabric that continues to insulate Canada’s culture. You may also know Slone as the lead singer of Joydrop, a Juno nominated band who released two albums and the hit singles “Beautiful” and “Sometimes Wanna Die.” For eight seasons, she hosted Hometown Hockey alongside co-host and Canadian icon, Ron MacLean. The show was a weekly profile of a Canadian city, highlighting the local players, people and stories who make up the communities’ hockey culture. In 2020, she was named host of a weekly Sportsnet docuseries called Top of Her Game, which focused on women's rights through interviews with female athletes, builders and executives. Overall, Slone is a positive change agent and continues to use her platform to advocate for human rights and a more inclusive society both in and outside of sport. Listen as she shares her love for story-telling, solutions for reshaping hockey’s culture and riding shotgun on the road with Ron MacLean.

For this week's episode of the Glass and Out hockey podcast, it's our pleasure to be joined by three-time National Champion Scott Sandelin, Head Coach of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. The Hibbing, Minnesota native is currently in his 23rd season with the Bulldogs. In that time, he's helped them become one of the top programs in college hockey, both in terms of wins, championships and moving players onto the National Hockey League. In 2011, the Bulldogs captured their first ever National Championship by defeating the Michigan Wolverines 3-2 in overtime. Then in 2018 and 2019, UMD became just the third school in NCAA history to win back-to-back National Champions. In total, Sandelin has led the Bulldogs to six NCAA Frozen Four Tournaments, three conference playoff Championships and finished a top of their conference nine times during the regular season. In 2004, Sandelin received the Spenser Penrose Award, presented to the top coach in college hockey and has twice has been named the head coach of Team USA at the World Junior Championships. As a player, Sandelin was a member of Team USA at the 1984 World Junior Championships, named Captain of the UND Fighting Sioux in both his Junior and Senior seasons, and was selected 40th overall by the Montreal Canadians at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He played 25 games in the NHL over a six-year professional career, before injuries forced him into retirement. In today’s conversation, we’ll discuss how to create healthy competition in practice, the definition of an ‘Every-Day-Er,’and why he's content with continuing to build on the success of the UMD program.