6°of Roger Neilson

Episode 21 features Kendall Coyne. Kendall is a Team USA Olympic Gold Medal Champion, Pro Hockey Player, NHL Hockey Coach, and TV broadcaster! The fact that she is experiencing all these different hats in the game, at the same time, is absolutely incredible & inspiring!! How does she do it??? Listen in on this episode as she shares so many great experiences and wisdom about how to live a life in hockey that ANYONE can achieve and dream of:))

Episode 20 features John Farinacci. John is coming fresh off a HUGE CHAMPIONSHIP with Team USA at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships!! What makes this episode a little more special is the Player-Coach relationship between myself and John. I have been fortunate enough to serve a role on his personal performance team for several years now. I loved how we were able to dive deep into his thoughts on how he grew up in the game, the role his parents and family have played, his thoughts on the different styles of coaching he has experienced, and of course...what he learned and experienced from the World Junior Championships!! I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did:)

Episode 19 features Coach Christian Burrus. He serves as the Developmental Strength and Conditioning Coach with the Chicago Blackhawks. In this episode, we dive into the personal journey of Coach Christian and his road to coaching in the NHL. He shares an open and honest perspective I believe many listeners will appreciate. We discuss his thoughts on professional development, what to look for in balancing your team's energy, how to tap into your players personal strength and conditioning needs, and how he uses technology to keep up with players across the world today!  

Episode 18 features Coach Darryl Belfry. Coach Belfry is the author of an incredible book called, “Belfry Hockey: Strategies to teach the WORLD’S BEST ATHLETES”. We HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who simply wants to become a better teacher!  In this episode, we dive into the mind of someone who has had a very unique experience and perspective in the game of hockey. Coach Belfry has had the opportunity to work with the best of the best in the NHL today. Players like Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews and John Tavares, are just a few of the household names he influences with his teaching wisdom. In this episode, we took the opportunity to dive deeper into the history of some core concepts that make up Coach Belfry’s philosophy. Topics include: What is the fundamental difference between Coaching and Teaching? How do you develop your line of questioning as a coach, and why questions are at the core of your teaching process. Why is focusing on a players strengths, such a valuable long term approach to influencing and teaching players? And...How does your environment play into your own development process as a coach? These are just a handful of the core concepts we dive into in this episode. Get your pen and paper ready!! Coach Darryl Belfry is truly a modern-day Spider-Man of teaching wisdom and knowledge! After listening to this episode, you’ll understand why;)  

Episode 17 features Coach Pete Lenes. Co-Owner of Elev802. It was great to talk about the influences that inspired Swaggy Pete to not only become a professional player but to now become an online influencer for the game of hockey. We get into his philosophies with coaching and why he loves focusing on stickhandling for young players today. It was great to take this time and reconnect with Pete. We had actually worked together a decade ago when Pete was playing for the Trenton Titans in the ECHL. I was assisting the team as a Player Development Coach at the time, so it was nice to reconnect and catch up with an old friend in the game.

Episode 16 features John St. Pierre. John is the former CEO of Legacy Global Sports: Aka ‘Selects Hockey’, for those of you more familiar with the spring/summer Hockey world of our culture. What makes this episode a little more unique is the number of roles and hats John has worn in the industry. He’s a coach, Hockey entrepreneur, hockey parent, rink owner, and owner of a youth sports organization. Today we dive into his perspective on how he views people in the hockey industry, his thoughts on emotional intelligence in leadership, what he learned from the influence of so many incredible parents he met along his journey...many of these parents have children playing in the NHL today...and what were some of the common threads of the most successful players and families along the way. If you’re into understanding leadership principles in life and in the game, then sit back and enjoy the ride my friends:)  

As we continue to upload a few of our Pre-Covid episodes, EPISODE 15 features Coach Dave Barr. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience into our discussion today. Coach Dave played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars. He was also an assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Minnesota Wild, and the Colorado Avalanche.We discussed some key influences and mentors in his youth as a player, his unique perspective on coaching players today vs players from back in the day, how much he believes you can mentally push players to maximize their skills, why video is such a valuable tool for coaches, how he connects with his players today, and so much more! If you want to hear what a ‘players coach’ sounds like, then enjoy the show my friends:)Sidenote: Coach Dave just celebrated his 60th birthday this past Monday!Happy Birthday, Coach! Thank you for taking the time to share your incredible story with us:) 

We’ve had a number of coaches ask me about Mindset Performance and Mental Conditioning. So, I thought it would be helpful and fun to discuss some concepts I have found are fundamentally important to influencing a players mindset & mental condition. Episode 14 is about a mental concept many of us have heard on several occasions:”Trust the Process”.As important and real as this statement is, as a coach, I realized one flaw we had in how we missed a fundamental truth of how we teach this concept. How can one “Trust the Process” if one does not “Know the Process”? This is something I’ve noticed working with players from the youth levels to the NHL. There is a distinct difference between the best performers in the world, and the rest of the performers in the world. And that is simply...the best performers trust the process because they know the process. It’s as simple as that.This episode helps coaches dive into seeing how much their players know their process, and we discuss one very important condition coaches must create in order for players to trust their process. We share one easy exercise to help you test your players' knowledge of their own process.Earlier in the episode, I discuss a simple analogy we use with some of our players. Here’s a few extra notes to go with this analogy. One of the best analogies we’ve found for players to buy into “Trust the Process” is to teach them to build a relationship & ‘become best friends with their own skills‘, concepts and habits.Ask your student: Do you have a deep and meaningful relationship with your skills? Just like trusting a best friend is built by knowing your best friend, trusting the process is built the same way. Get to know my process in a deep and meaningful way, so I can trust my process.One example of mentally guiding a player through this experience is to discuss meaningful questions with them about their skills.Let’s use shot selection as an example: How do I become best friends with the process of my shot selection? Where do I typically choose to shoot pucks? Do I find I miss opportunities to shoot, when I could have shot a puck? Do I notice I create more shots when I play with certain players? Why is that? What is different about my experience with those teammates vs other teammates? Is one type of shot easier to create for me than another? Could I position my body in a certain way to get my shot off quicker? As you can see, the possibilities of getting to know my process are endless. All it takes is having a Coach Who can help them learn to trust their process;)Would love to hear your thoughts on this concept!  

As we mentioned last episode, We took a little bit of a break over the last few months, so were excited to bring you some of the episodes we haven’t loaded yet. This episode today might be my favorite one yet. During the pandemic, we started this initiative in our ‘Roger Neilson’s Coaches Connection’ Facebook group called ‘Coffee with Coaches’. We had guest panels join us live with other coaches listening in and asking questions. On this episode, we had 100 coaches from all over the globe join in on this very special panel discussion. Episode 13 features some incredible voices and leadership from Hockey Canada Women's National Team program. We have Gina Kingsbury, who is the Director of the Women's National Team. Troy Ryan, who is the Head Coach of the National team. And the legendary Mel Davidson, who is currently the head scout for the National Team, and also served as the head coach of the 2006 and 2010 gold medal Olympic teams.Some key topics we touched on included: Why coaches should use this pandemic experience to professionally develop themselves. What resources have they been using during the pandemic to improve their own leadership skills. What were their thoughts on the state of female hockey currently. What’s the key differences to pay attention to when coaching girls vs boys. What has evolved in the game with developing players then vs now. What they believe is most important to building a championship culture, and so much more!! Get your notepad ready...this discussion was AWESOME!!!

As most of our listeners are already aware, the Roger Neilsons Coaching Clinic was officially canceled this past year, because of the covid 19 pandemic. So, we adapted quickly and created the Roger Neilsons Coaches Connection. It’s a private Facebook community designed to continue to provide our coaches out there a place to connect, learn, and inspire each other during this very challenging time for people across the globe. If you would like to join us in our private group, just search “Roger Neilsons Coaches Connection”, and simply ask to join the group. We’ve had some incredible presentations and guest speakers that we know any coach would not want to miss out on.We took a little bit of a break over the last few months, so we're excited to get back at it. To start things back up, we’re going to upload a handful of episodes that we didn’t have a chance to upload just yet. Episode 12 features Luke Curadi, USHL Director of Player Personnel. We discussed some important parts of his personal journey which includes the coaches who have made the biggest impact on him, what he learned from winning a Clark Cup in the USHL, what he searches for when he speaks to coaches about players, and so much more about what coaches can pass onto their players about what it takes to play in the USHL.

Welcome to episode 11 with Coach Kevin Hamlin. Coach Hamlin is the head coach of the Windsor Lancers men’s hockey program. Widely considered to be among the top collegiate coaches in the country, Coach Hamlin has an outstanding record as a winning hockey coach and impressive credentials as a former player. His career at the University of Windsor includes 2 OUA(Ontario University Athletics) coach of the year honors, two trips to the U SPORTS National championship tournament and one OUA provincial Queen’s Cup championship. He shares with us today how he grew up in the game, and the coaching philosophy he currently leads his players with. The culture and environment he creates for his players is so inspiring, for any coach who believes in transformational leadership. This was a fascinating discussion with a coach who believes in helping his players become human beings first, and athletes second. Wait until you hear the community initiatives he has his players involved! I hope you enjoy this rich conversation as much as I did. 

Welcome to our 10th episode of Six Degrees of Roger Neilson. Today, we interview Dr. Benjamin Hardy. Dr. Benjamin Hardy is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author of Willpower Doesn’t Work. His blogs have been read by over 100 million people and are featured on Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, Cheddar, Big Think, and many others. He is a regular contributor to Inc. and Psychology Today and from 2015-2018, he was the #1 writer, in the world, on Medium.com. He and his wife Lauren adopted three children through the foster system in February 2018 and, one month later, Lauren became pregnant with twins, who were born in December of 2018. They live in Orlando. Dr. Hardy’s latest book, Personality Isn’t Permanent, debunks the pervasive myths of personality that have captured pop culture. For example, personality tests like Myers-Briggs and Enneagram are not only psychologically destructive but are no more scientific than horoscopes. Personality Isn’t Permanent provides science-based strategies for reframing past memories, becoming the scribe of your identity narrative, upgrading your subconscious, and redesigning your environment. When you know the truth of personality, desired personal change can be dramatic and directed. When you don’t, personality is something you seek to discover rather than create. This was such an important conversation for coaches, because we all know how easy it can be to label a player, and lose sight of the dynamic nature we are all experiencing during the season. This was an eye opening discussion that we know will help quite a few coaches become better for our culture! If you would like to purchase a copy of Dr. Hardy’s latest book, Personality isn’t Permanent, here is the link to do so: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/607021/personality-isnt-permanent-by-benjamin-hardy-phd/

In our 9th episode, Coach Daniel Bochner joins us to discuss his coaching journey and the various roles he is currently pursuing. What makes Coach Bochner’s journey so unique is that he is currently serving as the Player development coach for the CKA St Petersburg team in the KHL, Russian National Teams, and National Development Program for all of Russia. Now on top of that, imagine going through such a unique and significant coaching experience at the age of 35!! Very excited to have Coach Daniel Bochner join us to discuss his personal influences, stories, and philosophies of the game today.

As many of our listeners are aware, the Roger Neilson’s Coaches Clinic has been officially cancelled for this year, because of the COVID19 pandemic. So, we adapted quickly and created the “Roger Neilson's Coaches Connection”. This is a private online Facebook community designed to continue to provide our coaches out there a place to connect, learn, and inspire each other during this very challenging time for people across the globe.  If you would like to join us in our private Facebook group, just search “Roger Neilson's Coaches Connection”, and simply ask to join the group. We’ve had some incredible presentations and guest speakers that we know any coach would not want to miss out on.  One of our latest initiatives is a Friday afternoon program called, ‘Coffee with Coaches’. We bring in special guest coaches and players to share their wisdom with our coaching community, and we give our coaches a chance to ask our special guests questions they may have about the game.  This was our first instalment of ‘Coffee with Coaches’ and we were lucky enough to have the Foligno family join us! This was a special father/sons edition of our show. Mike(who played over 1000 games in the NHL, while also coaching in the NHL/AHL/juniors for many years), Nick(who’s currently the captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets) and Marcus(who is playing for the Minnesota Wild) shared some awesome insight with us about their own relationship as a family, their thoughts on the current state of the game, and some special lessons on personal leadership they have learned over the years. Have a listen to this episode and let us know what you think. I know for me personally, this was an interview to remember! If you have any thoughts on our ‘Coffee with Coaches’ episode, let us know your thoughts in the comments. And as always, please remember to hit the subscribe button, if you’d love to stay up to date with our new episodes!  

Kerry Fraser is a man who needs no introduction in the hockey world. He’s an absolute legendary former referee in the game. We all know he has the best hair in the league...and he knows it too???? Kerry draws off of 30 years of NHL refereeing experience. He’s reffed in 12 Stanley Cup finals and over 261 Stanley Cup playoff games. We had an incredible discussion about how coaches & referees can do a better job respecting and connecting with each other. We discussed leadership and personal accountability. We got some great stories and lessons from Wayne Gretzky and Theo Fleury. Personally, I absolutely love this human being. He is seriously one of the biggest veteran beauties in the game today. I hope you enjoy our experience as much as I did... 

In episode six,  catch up with Coach Greg Ireland. Coach Ireland has a really interesting coaching background He’s head coached at the major junior level, American hockey league level, ECHL, and spent several years coaching in the Swiss league, which is considered to be one of the top leagues in Europe. He’s currently coaching in the Italian league in Bolzano, Italy..I’ve been there before...what a beauty place to be a coach. Great opportunity to explore and grow from. Today we get into so many interesting parts of Coach Irelands coaching experiences. We discuss what he has learned from legends like Wayne Gretzky and Pavel Datsyuk. We discuss the lessons he has learned from going out and educating himself in European coaching cultures...some great coaching wisdom he shares with us about his time in Sweden and Finland. We talk about how he has used parenting to help him as a coach, and how he has been able to use his experience as a coach to help his parenting. And we discuss all kinds of experiences he’s had with leadership exposure, including what he’s learned from the navy seals, and how he was able to implement coaching development he had received from a Cornell leadership course he had taken to help him improve his coaching game. Looking forward to taking you on this very interesting conversation with Coach Greg Ireland.

Mark Eaton played 13 seasons in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, and Pittsburg Penguins where he won a Stanley cup. He is the only player to ever come from Delaware and he is currently the Director of Player Development for the Chicago Blackhawks.We had a great discussion about coaching at the youth level and where he feels the focus should be at this level. Mark spoke about how he made a career for himself in the NHL. We also talked at length regarding leadership in the game, how you incorporate it and why failure and adaptability are so important to a players success in today's game.Mark shared his thoughts on Sidney Crosby’s leadership style and what made him so unique to be around. You'll also hear Mark share the most important skill he feels players must possess today to succeed.

We have Dan Lacroix joining us today. Dan is currently the head coach of the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He played in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders. Besides Moncton, Dan has also coached for 11 years in the NHL for the NY Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. We had a great conversation on this episode where we dove into what he discovered about becoming a professional player in the game. We got into how he evolved as a coach, how he connects with his players, how he coached and parented his own kid, his thoughts on how to handle parents for our youth coaches, what the schedule feels like to be a coach today, and the non-negotiable skills you must possess if you want to coach in the NHL one day. We discussed some great nuggets he learned from Roger himself, and what is one common trait he’s noticed about some of the best coaches in the game.

Mike Foligno has played over 1000 games in his NHL career and then had a successful coaching career in the NHL, AHL & OHL...In this episode, we explore the importance of teaching life skills in the game, why it's important to learn how to work with people around you, what type of mindset should be instilled in younger players, what was the secret of Mike's mental state in helping him achieve 1000 games in the NHL, and why innovation and vision are so important to the success of any coach! Mike is currently the Assistant Coach for Team Canada (National Para Team). It was an honor to spend an hour learning from this man! 

This episode features the NHL's Detroit Red Wings Director of Player Evaluation, Jiri Fischer. Hear Jiri share his unique story, including his near-death experience as a player and how it helped shaped him into one of the leading voices behind player development. I talk a lot of hockey and this is hands down one of the best conversations I've ever had!