Glass and Out

We have a great show for you this week! Barry Trotz, a Stanley Cup champion and two-time Jack Adams award winner who is third on the NHL’s all time wins list with 914, joins us for episode 189. You're going to need a notepad for this one. While most should be familiar with his long list of accomplishments, what truly stands out about Trotz is that he is regarded as one of the true gentlemen in our sport. Trotz grew up in Dauphin, Manitoba, and began his coaching journey as the head coach of the local junior team, the Dauphin Kings, when he was just 23-years-old. By 25, he was the head coach of his alma mater, the University of Manitoba. From there, Trotz began scouting for the Washington Capitals and was eventually named an assistant coach with the Baltimore Skipjacks, Washington’s then AHL affiliate, a position he held for half a season before being promoted as the team’s head coach. Trotz continued to lead Washington’s farm team for five more seasons, which included a relocation to Portland, Maine. Then in 1997, David Poile, then General Manager of the Capitals, was named GM of the expansion Nashville Predators and offered Trotz the chance to be an NHL head coach. Fifteen years later, he was the longest active tenured coach in the NHL. Following his time Nashville, Trotz returned to Washington to lead the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup Championship in 2018. The next season, he joined the NY Islanders and guided them on back-to-back Cinderella runs to the Eastern Conference Championship, losing the Tampa Bay Lightning on both occasions. In this episode, we discuss his expansion season with the Predators, leaning into getting uncomfortable, and why you should always take the party to the streets following a Stanley Cup Championship.

This week's guest isn't a household name in the hockey world quite yet, but if you follow or are a member of The Coaches Site, then you'll recognize the name. Dan Arel has quickly become one of the most popular TCS contributors. In addition to his writing, Arel is the Director of Coach & Player Development for the San Diego Oilers Hockey Club. In our world, that’s a potent combination, because while there are lots of experts out there when it comes to developing elite players or leading professional teams, there are few experts, at least few of them who are willing to share their experiences, at the grassroots levels. And that’s Arel's wheelhouse. Coaching and developing programs focused on players who have yet to turn professional and likely never will. In addition to his Director role with the San Diego Oilers, he is also the Head Coach of the programs U12 A team, where he coaches his son. He holds his Level 4 certification through USA Hockey and in 2020 was named the San Diego Gulls Foundation Coach of the Year. In today’s episode, we’ll discuss making the most out of half ice practices, the challenges of being a parent-coach and how he believes we can keep kids playing the game, regardless of skill level.

For this week's Glass and Out podcast, we're excited to welcome Garrett Raboin, Head Coach of Augustana University. With the Viking Men’s Hockey Program joining NCAA Division I hockey next season, Raboin is currently in the process of building the program from the ground up. Everything is new and will have his fingerprints on it when the Vikings debut next season. New rink, new uniforms, new conference, new players - new everything! Raboin comes to Augustana from the University of Minnesota, where he was an assistant coach on Bob Motzko’s staff for four seasons. Prior to his time with the Gophers, he was an assistant coach at his Alma Mater, St. Cloud State University, also working under Motzko. As a player, Raboin was the captain of St. Cloud State during the final two seasons of his collegiate career, which speaks to his character and perseverance when you consider he was a walk onto the program. In this episode, we'll touch on his strategy for running a two player practice, the decision making process of selecting the seating arrangement in the locker room, to the colour of carpet in the players lounge, and why he’s choosing to not to put any limits on his team once they drop the puck on their inaugural season.

This past weekend, our team at The Coaches Site had the opportunity to visit the Twin Cities and participate in the Minnesota Hockey Hockey Directors Conference. The event was an opportunity for Hockey Directors from across Minnesota to meet in advance of the season, learn about new ideas on both the player development and administration side of running a minor hockey association, along with picking each others brains. We had the pleasure of being joined by Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason to record a live edition of the podcast in front of those in attendance. Evason is entering his fifth season with the Wild and fourth as the organization's head coach. Last year, the Wild finished a mere six points back of the eventual Stanley Cup Champions Colorado Avalanche and there is a belief in the local hockey community that this team is poised to contend for a Stanley Cup. Evason, who is making his second appearance on Glass and Out, dives deep into his coaching staff's preparations for training camp and how they operate together throughout the season. Listen as we discuss the importance of being overly prepared, mixing up the way you communicate your message, and how the Wild approach shutting down Nathan MacKinnon.

Welcome back everyone! The hockey season is finally here and we're happy to return for season 5 of the Glass and Out podcast. To kick things off, we welcome Dr. Jody Carrington. Dr. Carrington is a Clinical Psychologist who has spent most of her career working with children and families who have experienced trauma. Having grown up in Viking, Alberta, home of the Sutter brothers, she worked on the Mental Health Inpatient Units of the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary for 10 years. Through her experience she’s developed an affinity for helping teams and organizations solve their most complex, human centered problems. Today, a lot of her work is focused on the Big People, as she describes them, who are in a position to look after the little people, or kids. As she puts it, through the relationships that young children have with their caregivers, they begin to develop the “story” of themselves and others around them. They decide two things: if they are worthy of love and support and if they are capable and competent beings. When they have these things in place, they have a much greater chance of developing into strong and healthy adults. If you have ever questioned the importance of your role in the lives of the players you coach, you won’t after today. In addition to her work as a psychologist, she’s also the best selling author of three books, Kids These Days, Teachers These Days and the soon to be released Feeling Seen. Listen as she shares how we connect with our players, the importance of staying regulated and self-care, and why "lighting up" is every coaches superpower.

We're thrilled to announce that the Glass and Out podcast returns next week for season 6! We've got an exciting lineup of guests and lots of new features that we can't wait to share with you. In the meantime, we just released likely the most important video in The Coaches Site's history. NHL on ESPN play by play broadcaster Leah Hextall shares her raw, emotional and shocking, but sadly not surprising, experience after he first season calling in the NHL. Aaron Wilbur explains how the presentation came to be an why it's a must-watch for everyone in the hockey and sporting community.

We've arrived at our final Glass and Out episode of the hockey season. For the finale, we welcome newly hired New York Islanders assistant coach Brian Wiseman, who joined us for another in-person interview at last month's TCS Live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Wiseman just completed his third season as an assistant with Edmonton, in which the Oilers made it to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2006. He's an alumni of the University of Michigan as both a player and coach, where he spent eight seasons as an assistant coach. He now joins the Islanders, along with new head coach Lane Lambert and fellow assistant Doug Houda. Hear Wiseman detail what went into the Oilers' lengthy playoff run, how his relationship and appreciation for legendary coach Red Berenson has helped shape his career, and how his transition from a press box role to on the bench helped him see the game from a different perspective. We want to thank everyone for tuning in this season and making us a regular part of your weekly routine. If you missed any episodes, make sure to go back and check out our full catalogue here. We've got some exciting things planned for season 6, so stay tuned. We'll see you in September!

We've got a couple of special episodes to close out season 5 of the Glass and Out podcast. We had the pleasure of being joined by longtime NHL coach Steve Spott for our first ever live episode of the podcast, which took place during TCS Live at the University of Michigan. Attended by close to 100 of our conference attendees at Conor O'Neill's Pub, recording this podcast was one of the many highlights from a truly incredible week in Ann Arbor. Spott has coached for close to 30 years and can be used as a great example of working your way up the coaching ladder, having made stops at just about every level of hockey. And while he was recently let go from his most recent gig in Vegas, there is no doubt he will find himself back in the NHL in no time. Listen as we dive into his journey from Seneca College to eight consecutive seasons in the NHL, how he's developed the technical aspects of his coaching and become known as a face-0ff specialist, and shares valuable advice that all aspiring coaches can take something from.

In episode #182 of The Glass and Out podcast, we're joined by Luke Strand, Head Coach of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, to discuss the process involved in bringing a fourth Championship to Sioux City, and his 20 season coaching journey, which has seen him spend time in the NCAA, USHL, AHL, as well as working in the NHL as a scout. He got his start as an Assistant Coach with St. Nobert College, a Division 3 school based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 2003, he moved across town to join the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. After a two-year stop with the AHL's Houston Aeros, Strand jumped back to the USHL, for his first stint with Sioux City. In 2011, he made his way to the West Coast, to join Troy Ward, who had just been named the Head Coach of the Abbotsford Heat, then the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. The next few seasons would see him return to the USHL in Sioux City and Madison, join the University of Wisconsin Badgers coaching staff and take on a scouting role with the Calgary Flames. In 2017, Luke returned to Sioux City for a third time, this time, leveraging his past experience to build a contender and eventual championship team.  In this week's podcast, hear how Strand has established himself as one of the top developers of talent in the game, how his introduction to analytics has influenced his coaching, and the details of this season's Clark Cup championship.

For episode #181 of the Glass and Out podcast, we're joined by Kori Cheverie, a trailblazer for women's hockey and someone who had quite an eventful 2021-2022 season.   First, she was an Assistant Coach with Team Canada’s National Women’s Team that captured Gold at the Olympics in Beijing. That was then followed with a trip to Germany for the U18 Men’s World Championships, where she became the first female to work on the coaching staff of a Canadian men’s National Team. Cheverie began coaching in youth programs at Ryerson University, while playing for the Toronto Fury of the CWHL. She decided to jump into the coaching ring full t-me and when she didn’t see any opportunities with the Ryerson women’s program, she turned to the men’s program. She was named Assistant Coach of Ryerson's men's program in advance of the 2016-2017 season and in the process became the first female to be full-time Assistant Coach of a men’s team in Canadian University Hockey. In 2019, she first got involved with Hockey Canada’s program of excellence, beginning as an Assistant Coach of Canada’s entry into the 2019 U18 Women’s World Championships. Next up, in 2021, Cheverie took part the Women’s World Championships as an Assistant Coach with Team Canada. That led to her appointment with the Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, which opened the door to her coaching the men at the U18 World Championships last month. In addition to all her accomplishments, Cheverie has also been linked to being a candidate to be the first woman hired as a full-time coach in the NHL. Given her track record, we have no doubt that she just may have the ability and drive to make it happen. Find out her thoughts on how to prepare a team for international tournaments, how to build trust through autonomy, and how she's preparing for the next stage in her career.