The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher wants to talk about centers winning draws. Possessing the puck is so important, and winning faceoffs is critical. We run a little long, but it’s because the guys have so much to say! (“If you’re not cheating a little, you’re not trying hard enough.” ~Toph on the art of winning faceoffs) TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Luke Croucher to the podcast. Luke plays Division III hockey at Neumann University and is doing some terrific things on social media for young players. We talk a lot about “what’s your why?” on this podcast, and Luke’s “why” is the first line of his social media bio: “Helping the hockey player I once was…” Always giving back - putting out terrific information for free In this episode we talk about: — Life lessons being caught not taught — How adversity has fueled his journey — Surrounding yourself with like-minded people to reach your goals — Building habits and confidence AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our title sponsor IceHockeySystems.com, as well as Train-Heroic, CuredNutrition, Helios Hockey, and, our newest sponsor, NHL Sense Arena!  And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about the penalty kill forecheck! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher wants to talk about the cycle. While it’s not a part of the game like it used to be, we talk about how to use (and defend) it effectively in today’s game. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Duante’ Abercrombie to the podcast. Recently nominated for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award by the Washington Capitals, we talk to Duante’ about his incredible journey in our sport and his work with The Rising Stars Academy in the Washington D.C. area. The Rising Stars Academy was designed to provide minority hockey players with elite on-ice skill development and off-ice training geared toward problem-solving and handling some racist elements in a sport that remains predominantly white. In this episode we talk about: — Grassroots hockey and its importance to the health of our game — The importance of teaching kids the idea of community — Having the courage the be different AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our sponsors GelStx, Train-Heroic, CuredNutrition, Helios Hockey, and IceHockeySystems.com - PLUS, our newest sponsor, NHL Sense Arena!  And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about O-zone faceoff plays. Great stuff in this one!  TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher asks Vechs what it means to be tough to play against, both individually and as a team.  TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Wendi Irlbeck to the podcast. Wendi is a registered dietitian, certified sports nutritionist, and lifestyle coach with an M.S. in nutrition. Wendi specializes in enhancing health, athletic performance, and injury prevention by focusing on nutrition. A former collegiate athlete, Wendi works closely with teen, collegiate, and adult athletes of all calibers. In this episode we talk about: —The importance of having a positive relationship with food — How nutrition impacts sports performance, what to eat on game days, and what to eat before and after training sessions — Protein, creatine, supplements AND SO MUCH MORE! Link to Wendi's Health & Performance Playbook that folks can purchase Quick Links Thank you to our sponsors GelStx, Train-Heroic, CuredNutrition, Helios Hockey, and IceHockeySystems.com - PLUS, our newest sponsor, NHL Sense Arena!  And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about walking the line for D men, and ten minutes isn’t enough time for they guys to hit on everything! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! (This episode runs a little long - it’s our week of “Medium Shift” episodes!) We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher wants to talk about wall play for wingers on the breakout!  TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! (AND WE RUN A LITTLE LONG BECAUSE THE GUYS WERE ROLLIN’!) We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode, Topher and Jeff recorded LIVE in St. Louis from Jeff’s “Taj Mahal” of home gyms, with Vechs’ NFL client and NY Jets Safety, Tony Adams. This is one of the best conversations we have ever had - TA went from being an undrafted free agent to an NFL starter in two years, and opens up about adversity and low points throughout his life. A powerful episode that is not sport specific - there is something in here for everyone! In this episode we talk about: — Finding mentorship — Being vulnerable — Resiliency & gratitude — Building athleticism AND SO MUCH MORE! For information on TA’s charity, the Tony Adams Foundation - a community driven organization dedicated to underserved communities through scholarship and mentorship - follow on Instagram @tonyadamsfoundation and @ta06_ Thank you to our sponsors GelStx, Train-Heroic, CuredNutrition, Helios Hockey, and IceHockeySystems.com - PLUS, our newest sponsor, NHL Sense Arena!  And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, the guys finally get to put all that movie-watching and movie-quoting to good use: Vechs wants to talk about the best bus trip movies of all time! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher wants to talk about what Vechs (and he) thinks is important to look for in a captain.  TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, it’s a MAILBAG episode with Topher and Jeff! Recorded LIVE in our Hockey Think Tank Community, with questions submitted via social media and from our Community members! Visit Community.TheHockeyThinkTank.com for information on joining! In this episode we talk about: — Tips for players to handle negative teammates — A good age to start mental performance coaching — The importance of teaching kids how to have hard conversations — Half ice vs. Full ice practices — Injury prevention strategies AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our sponsors GelStx, Train-Heroic, CuredNutrition, Helios Hockey, and IceHockeySystems.com - PLUS, our newest sponsor, NHL Sense Arena!  And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about tips, tricks, and hacks for parents to help players grow with their gear. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about handling nerves. Every player experiences nerves - learning how to channel them to be your best on the ice is a skill. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode, Topher and Jeff welcome back to the show, one of their best buds, Sean Muncy. Munce was part of the “infamous rags to riches St. Louis ‘85 group” with Vechs, went on to play juniors, Division I college hockey at Brown, and then played pro with Toph. He is now a financial wealth advisor and loves helping young players learn how to make smart decisions to reach their financial goals. In this episode we talk about: — Some awesome stories from their early days of hockey together — Learning the life skill of personal finance — Increased access to information has led to stress and pressure (and the silly season) that didn’t exist back when they played —The importance of resilience and adversity for growth in hockey and in life AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our sponsors GelStx, Train-Heroic, CuredNutrition, Helios Hockey, and IceHockeySystems.com - PLUS, our newest sponsor, NHL Sense Arena!  And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about mandatory bus rides, players rooming together, and phone restrictions at the youth levels; what’s a good age (if any) to mandate these things and what are the considerations from a cost and logistics perspective? TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about swagger. How can teams, how can individual players earn some swagger? Winning teams have it - how can players build it? TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode, Topher is flying solo and recording in person with the leaders of the boys program at Bishop Kearney Selects, from their podcast studio on campus in Rochester, NY! (Vechs says without him on the pod, it was a “slightly less hot” episode.) Topher is joined by Chris Collins (Sr. Director of Boys Hockey Program Development), Ben McManama (Director of Player Personnel), and David Arduin (Director of Boys Hockey| Head Coach, 18U) for a terrific conversation about the various youth hockey paths. In this episode we talk about: — How they’ve built such a successful program in just a few short years (2 national championships in just 4 years) — The importance of putting players in challenging and competitive situations to develop them on and off the ice — Common characteristics that players at the highest levels possess — Helping players and their families navigate the hockey journey AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our sponsors GelStx, Train-Heroic, CuredNutrition, Helios Hockey, and IceHockeySystems.com - PLUS, our newest sponsor, NHL Sense Arena!  And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices