The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about a controversial topic in the hockey world: should kids/players have to pay the price for their bad parents? We posted on our socials an example of a Division One Head Coach not recruiting a player because his dad was yelling from the stands. This one got you guys fired up, so let’s talk about it! 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about crossovers and the importance of them in the game. Vechs explains how to master this element of your skating, on and off the ice. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Josh Levine, founder of Fortis Academy in Minnesota. With over a decade of experience training and coaching athletes at all age levels, Levine helped revive a dormant community organization. We talk about building an organization that is efficient and prioritizes development over profits. In this episode we talk about: — How players inhibit themselves by not being good people off the ice — Utilizing volunteers to coach the age groups below them — Letting the kids swim at hockey tournaments — The effect of screens on depth perception and how kids play 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! JOIN HTTU TODAY! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph brings on Jon Francisco of 4Check Hockey to talk about finding our why - why do we play the game, why do we put our kids in youth hockey, etc. It’s a simple, but great question to help keep everything in perspective; so we encourage you to reflect on your why. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph brings on USA Hockey’s Jason Guerriero to talk about the trending 2-3 power play set up. Also known as the spread or box-and-1, this power play system is becoming more and more popular at the highest levels. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Topher and Jeff celebrate the 7 year anniversary of the start of the Hockey Think Tank podcast. We have learned such invaluable lessons over the years from all of the guests we have had on, the organizations we’ve worked with, and all of our listeners that have reached out. Listen for each of our top 3 lessons of all time. In this episode we talk about: — How resiliency is everything — Surrounding yourself with good people — Finding a way to stay connected to the game throughout life — How this game is worth fighting for and we need to leave it better than we found it 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! JOIN HTTU TODAY! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph and Vechs bring on one of the founders of Rink Rat Rentals, Kevin McLaughlin, to discuss making hockey more affordable. His company is a hockey equipment rental company and their mission is to eliminate financial barriers to hockey participation. Go check out this amazing company! Rink Rat Rentals 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about body checking, what the proper way is to teach it, and how to get kids exposed to it safely. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Caroline Harvey, one of the most skilled players coming up in the game. She’s a 2x NCAA champion with the University of Wisconsin, an Olympic silver medalist with Team USA, a 2x Women’s World’s gold medalist… and she’s just getting started. In this episode we talk about: — Playing girls only vs co-ed hockey growing up — The USA vs Canada rivalry — Some of the adversities Harvey has faced in her career — How important life away from the game is in making you better on the ice 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! JOIN HTTU TODAY! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss a listener’s question; “how do you pick your captains?” We explore this topic for all age levels and suggest various responsibilities you can give 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about the 2-1-2 forecheck. We talk about this aggressive system and whether or not we like it. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Topher and Jeff sit down for a mailbag episode to answer some of the questions our listeners have submitted recently. If you have a question you’d like for us to answer, DM us on our socials and we’ll include it in our next mailbag episode! In this episode we talk about: — “Should checking be allowed in women’s?” — “Will the US Development League cause sanity to break out?” — “As parents, how do we best support our 14U player being named captain of his team?” —  “True or false, 5 years from now, our sport will be better than it is today” 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! JOIN HTTU TODAY! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about whether players should or should not be allowed to wear half shields starting in college, both on the men’s and women’s sides. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about the intangible things that scouts look for in players - because the scoresheet isn’t the only thing that catches recruiters’ attention. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Topher talks with Judd Stauss and Tyler Palmiscno, of East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Stauss runs the youth hockey program in their area and Palmiscno is the head coach of last year’s boys high school hockey state champion team. Seven years ago, they started a unique squirt-level pilot program that other areas are starting to model. The program does half-ice for ages 10 & below and no travel hockey for the first half of the year. In this episode we talk about: — Striving to increase retention rates throughout age groups — How to structure practices to optimize development — Finding compromise in the half-ice / full-ice debate by doing both in season 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! JOIN HTTU TODAY! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about how some tournaments are charging parents to watch their kids play. We’ve heard they’re not only charging an entry fee, but also sometimes a parking fee. We think this is WILD. Let’s talk about it. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about penalty kill forechecks and how to make sure it’s difficult for the opposing team to enter the zone. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Topher and Jeff bring back one of our most polarizing guests, Uncle Timmy, for a huge debate. We asked on our socials if anyone wanted to come on the show and debate whether mite hockey should be played on full or half ice, and who other than our own Uncle Timmy volunteered. Grab your popcorn Think Tankers, this one gets heated! 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! JOIN HTTU TODAY! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @HockeyThinkTank Facebook: TheHockeyThinkTank Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to talk about the benefits of including keep away in every practice. We guarantee it will make your players better. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph is on the road and wants to tell the story of the time he got cut from Team USA. This is great insight for parents and players navigating adversity. 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.