Behind A Savage Shift: The NHL Lessons Bobby Robins Is Sending to Hockey Parents

Lee MJ Elias [0:00 - 2:47]: hello, hockey friends and families around the world, and welcome back to another edition of our Kids Play Hockey. It's Lee here, and I'm coming on for a bit of a micro episode today to share something new we've been working on to bring our hockey community, our favorite community, even closer together. Joining me today is Bobby Robbins, former NHLer, coach, author, and now our teammate on a new newsletter series that we've just launched, and we want you to be a part of it. So over the years, through podcasting and working in the hockey world, we've built really an incredible community of hockey families, players, coaches, fans, you know, what we're talking about. And while we're always enjoying the connection through social media, the podcasts, we've never really found the right email voice to speak to you. And as you can imagine, we have a pretty massive email list. So let me tell you what we're doing. We've teamed up, and each week we're going to deliver three unique and valuable pieces of content to your inbox. This is going to be something you want to wake up to, something. When you open your email in the morning, you know you got the spam, spam, spam. Oh, there's that email that Lee was talking about. Right. Mondays are going to feature an email called A Savage Shift, which is a short, powerful story with takeaways, plus a few tools to help your kids grow in the game directly. And that's. It's coming right from Bobby. Right, Wednesdays, we're going to bring you something called I love this name, Driveway warriors, because I grew up that way, which is all about training tips and stories from the street to help your hockey player get better with what they've got. That's a key point. There's so much stuff out there nowadays. You know, you don't need all of that to train. Right. Obviously there's stuff we prefer, but the idea is you should be able to do this just with a little bit of drive. We're going to offer that, and then on Fridays, we're going to offer a mindset menagerie. Yes, I wrote that down. A collection of thoughts and lifestyle lessons for anyone navigating life in and around the game. All right, all of the messages, this is the key. This is what we're innovating here. All of the messages are going to be story driven and genuinely worth your time. All right? And when I, when I was charged with this with Bobby, I said, I want to wake up. I said this earlier. I want to want to read this email. That's exactly what we're doing. Okay. And of course, look, when the time is right, we'll include the product updates from. From hockey friends that we only, that we trust. Okay. That we think are useful, but it'll be kind of towards the end, and it's very much like, hey, read the email. And this is here for you as well. Look, at the end of the day, we want to continue to innovate how community is done in hockey. We've done that so far through podcasting and social media. Now this is your invitation to do it with your email. Okay, okay, enough for me. Let's welcome our friend and guest in today, Bobby Robbins. Bobby. As I do every episode, Bobby, welcome to our kids play hockey. 

bobby robins [2:47 - 2:54]: What's up, guys? Thanks for having me, Lee. I appreciate it. Good to be here. Bright and early, let's. Let's have a conversation, man. 

Lee MJ Elias [2:54 - 2:59]: Yeah, bright and early is when you have to do podcasts, man, because if you do them at coffee o', clock, at 2 o', clock, things get a lot slower at that time. 

bobby robins [2:59 - 3:00]: That's right. 

Lee MJ Elias [3:00 - 3:11]: I appreciate you joining me. You know, Bobby, the first question I want to dive into is just when we first started talking about this project, which was a pretty extensive conversation, what made you feel like it was something we could build together? 

bobby robins [3:12 - 6:22]: Well, I mean, just hearing that you have an email list. I mean, I don't. Don't know if you want to share your numbers, but it's. It's a. A massive email, a large email list, you know, and I. I deal with my own email list. I would love to have an email list your size. And I had just been. I'd been working in. In copywriting and email marketing and just learning how important that voice is in email and how it can be. For me personally, I'm a storyteller. You know, I have a crazy story about my hockey career that goes into my faith journey, that goes into my book. And so I wanted to utilize my email list to not spam people, but to give. Give them genuine value in their inbox. And so when we started talking and I heard about your email list, I'm like, man, you. You need to be putting out, like, not spamming your. Your customers with, hey, buy this, Buy this. But what an opportunity you have to actually speak a value wisdom life into your email list, into your. I. I don't want to call them your customers, your subscribers. Let's call it your people, you know, your tribe, your community. Yeah, that's the word. So into your community. What can you give Them instead of hey, bye, bye, bye. You know, kind of like your, your commercially made for the 4th of July, which was awesome, by the way, Sunday. But so much of, so much, so much of what we get in our email is that. And so the things that I work, I would click on were like, you know, story driven emails, right? That, that provided value. So I just saw that there was an opportunity there for you, Lee, and for your business. I know you're a passionate guy in the hockey world and you have so many projects. You're an innov. Innovator, a visionary, you know, you're an author, you're an entrepreneur. You, you make things, you promote things. You have so much going on. And I, I just felt like I could come in and, and be that bridge to your community through my writing. So. And for me, I just, I was looking for people to partner with that were, that were good people. You know, hockey guys are genuinely good guys and it's, it's cool to meet new people in the hockey world. And I met you and we talked and I think we both felt it. We're like, oh, this is, this is the right thing to do here, and let's just see what this looks like here. And as it evolved, you know, that's where a savage shift was born. You know, for me, as a hockey player, I. Every shift I played was a savage shift. You know, I was giving it everything I had. You know, whether that was for checking back, checking, fighting, you know, put getting the pucks in that I was just giving it everything I had on the ice and off the ice. And so that's what a sh. A savage shift is. But really it's, it's a savage shift in the mind. It's a mental shift. So I just wanted to take all the value that I had and bring it to your community. For me personally, I'm not really in my personal life in my own businesses. I'm more in the faith sector right now. So I'm not really in the hockey world, but I just realized that I had so much value to offer the hockey community. And so you gave me an opportunity to have that platform when I wasn't really going for that in my own, you know. Bobby Robbins.com Bobby Robbins Pro My things are kind of a different direction right now, but I was like, well, what an opportunity to still, you know, give back to the hockey community through you and your business. Yeah, I'm very appreciative. 

Lee MJ Elias [6:23 - 7:59]: Well, we're appreciative to have you. What I loved about our Initial conversations, I want the audience to know this, too, is that we really explored this idea, right? It wasn't just, this is what I want do that. It was like, no, let's really have a good conversation here. My favorite thing that we did was you had asked me, hey, what are the emails that you really enjoy? Right. And I sent you things. I, I, you know, the Daily Coach is one that I read. I'm a big fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger's email every day because they provide tremendous value, at least in my life. And I said, I want to create this aura for our audience because you said it right? We've always been a little shy with our email audience. Like, we send, we send good holiday deals. Like, I'm not, I'm not bashful of the deals that we send. It's just, I wanted it to be more than just deals right at, you know, the holiday time period. And you've totally accomplished that. By the way, if you're listening to this, we've already started this. Bobby is well into his, his Savage Shift run. You can subscribe right now@hockey wraparound.com. that's, that's where it lives. All right. You can also get on the blog there an archive of everything that he's already done. So you're not missing out on anything. So if you just want a taste of it, head over there to learn more about it. But, Bobby, I want to continue here because again, we're talking about my perspective. Your perspective. I really do appreciate the compliments. One of the big blessings in my life in the game is the great team of people that I get to work with. And obviously you're part of that now. But from your perspective, let's talk to the people listening, right? How can we help families feel seen and supported through this series? Why, why should they want to read? Why should they subscribe? Aside from like the reading Rainbow. But you don't have to take my word for it, you know, why is this so powerful for families, what we're doing? 

bobby robins [8:00 - 8:18]: Well, I think in the hockey world, there's, there's so many voices all around a family, especially with a kid who wants to make it. There's a coach saying one thing, there's the parent saying one thing. There's stuff on the Internet, there's social media, there's, as you get older, then there's family advisors. It seems like everybody knows the secret sauce. 

Lee MJ Elias [8:18 - 8:18]: Right? 

bobby robins [8:18 - 8:44]: You know, and, you know, for me in my life, I had the same thing. And I always took advice from everybody. I think it's good to seek wise counsel and, and take advice from people. But for me, what I learned, at the end of the day, if I want to say I want to be an entrepreneur, a businessman, I don't want to hear theory. I'm going to come and talk to Lee and say, lee, you're doing it. You're making things. You're. You're bringing things from your mind to a product, to a shelf. Like, how. How are you doing this? 

Lee MJ Elias [8:45 - 8:45]: Right? 

bobby robins [8:45 - 11:31]: So in the hockey sense, I made it, you know, I made it to the NHL and, you know, all glory to God for that. It was, it was a crazy journey. You know, I worked as hard, I worked my tail off, but I had a lot of good bounces and a lot of big blessings. So. But, but at the end of the day, I made it. So I played junior hockey. I started at tier three and then got to the USHL and then made that jump to Division 1 hockey, and then was, you know, a healthy scratch, worst player on the team, and then found out how to grind and claw and, and listen to my coaches and, and listen to my trainers and implement that wisdom and got better and better. And then by my senior year, I was the captain of the team and mvp, leading scorer. Left school early, signed an NHL deal with the Ottawa Senators, and now I'm in pro hockey. I'm in the minors, finding out, like, how do I do this? I'm listening to agents, I'm listening to my parents, I'm listening to teammates and coaches. So I'm taking all this in, but at the end of the day, I distilled it and found out, okay, this is what I got to do. I, I found out what, what, what noise to reject, what noise to inject into my, my dream chasing, and found out how to make it, made the NHL. And my career ended early. You guys, I don't know if you know my story for your listeners, but I, as soon as I made it to the NHL, I got a. Ran into some concussion problems and ended up ending my career after three games. So I didn't have the NHL career that I wanted to, but I played, you know, almost a decade of pro hockey, so I played at every level and I learned how to do it. So if you're going to look for advice like, how do you make it? I would ask somebody who's made it to the NHL. I'm not saying I'm the, you know, I'm the, the expert on everything, but I found out how to make it and I did it. So I think that that does say something for somebody who's actually done it. And so just with the ability to impart that wisdom, that's something that I have naturally and something that I enjoy doing and helping people. And so this, this just gave me a platform to do that and an opportunity to. To just inject that wisdom into your. Into your community. So, I mean, if you're going to ask for advice on anything, it's best to ask somebody who's actually done the thing that you want to do, whether it's start a business, whether it's make it to the NHL. And so just for your community, for families, I offer a voice, just simply a voice that's. That's genuine, that. That can articulate thoughts in the written word because. Because I'm a writer. And so I just offer that value to your. To families who are searching for that. Because everybody's like, how do I do it? You know? You know, my kid wants. Everybody wants their kid. I have kids. I want my kids to be successful, but I want them to. To know the right information. And so I'm just trying to provide that in the way that I've seen over my career. 

Lee MJ Elias [11:31 - 13:46]: Well, Bobby, first, a lot of things there. I love that you used earlier in this answer the word. You've distilled it. That. First off, that proves you're a writer. But I love that you said that, because something we talk about on this show all the time is that there is no one path, right? But there are truths, right? To success. And we're not just limiting this to hockey. Right. We know to make it to the NHL, I think everyone knows you have to have a level of talent. Right? You even said too things have to kind of bounce your way. But the most underestimated aspect, and we talk to the parents about this all the time, is that grit that drive the mental side of pushing yourself as far as you have to go. And that fortunately or unfortunately, is just not something as a parent, you can necessarily give to your kid. You can cultivate it, but you can't necessarily create it. Right. And I think that in the stuff you've written so far, which is brilliant, you know, I'll pay you this compliment. And I think from. From a. A coach standpoint, a business owner standpoint, a podcaster standpoint, this might be the best compliment I can pay. Is that everything you've written, I say to myself, boy, I wish I had this when I was a kid. Boy, I wish I was reading this when I was 12, 15, 18 years old. That's tremendous value. I say that sometimes about other training aids and stuff like that too. But, but your words and the way you're writing it too. It's, it's not a book that we're sending in these emails. It's. It's really easy to consume directly to your heart in mind. I wish I had this as a kid. And the best part is, as you just said, the qualifications that you have, which, which are the qualifications. I knew I could trust what you're writing and it's so real and in some, some cases raw. Right. What you're writing, like you're not sugarcoating it for what you need to do. You know, it kind of brings me to this too, because I just alluded to it. You know, we've kind of shaped that tone together. Right. And you talked about your stories and sharing your stories. What other types of stories do you want to share in these emails to connect with that audience? 

bobby robins [13:46 - 14:04]: Well, I want to share your stories, Lee. I want to hear, I want to hear about the founder. You know, you have a story. You have, you know that you have a hockey story. First of all, you know, being a hockey player, going to play professional hockey, getting to coach the women's national team of Puerto Rico. Correct. 

Lee MJ Elias [14:04 - 14:06]: Yeah. Yeah. It's greatest, one of the greatest honors in my life. 

bobby robins [14:06 - 14:26]: So it's something like I got to coach the men's professional team in Spain. So just going to, to coach in a different country. What a. I mean, we, it's a different experience. But I kind of know, like we've, we've had a similar experience there. Going to a Spanish speaking country. Who is hungry? This little, there's a little sliver that's hungry for hockey. 

Lee MJ Elias [14:26 - 14:27]: Yeah. 

bobby robins [14:27 - 14:30]: And to get to. Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's a vibe, for sure. 

Lee MJ Elias [14:30 - 14:31]: Vibe. Yeah. 

bobby robins [14:31 - 15:03]: So, yeah, I mean, you have stories too. So I want to, I want to try and distill your wisdom and your stories to your, to your community because I think that matters as the founder of the company. Who, who is this guy? Why wraparound? Why. Why am I going to buy this product? What? You know, why always talk about voting with our dollar and supporting with our dollar. Why am I going to support wraparound over, you know, XYZ company? Well, number one, the, the product speaks for itself. And, but, but more than that, I think people want that genuine connection. So who, who is this Lee? 

Lee MJ Elias [15:03 - 15:03]: Who. 

bobby robins [15:03 - 15:59]: Why did he do that? What's his, what's his motives? Like what makes him tick? And I think you have a lot of Value just. Just hearing your stories. So I'd love to. To get into that as well. And maybe you have your own, you know, sort of savage shift here, and I. I would love to hear, you know, your stories that are lessons you've learned in your life and then distilling the wisdom from those, too. I think everybody, whether you played in the NHL or not, everybody has that ability to distill their wisdom because we've all lived different life experiences and. And have that wisdom. So that's what I'd like to see. And I. I just love to see just motivational bits of content. You know, we. The. The feed is filled with just, you know, it's lust and it's greed and it's. It's, you know, it's a lot of. A lot of weird stuff in there. But when. When something motivational comes through, like, you know, the stuff that. That comes into your inbox that you like, I love that, too. I love motivation. 

Lee MJ Elias [15:59 - 16:02]: Yeah. And improves my day. It's. I start my day with it. Yeah. 

bobby robins [16:02 - 16:50]: It's all mindset, so important, and the thoughts that we let in are so important. And for kids, you know, you, as a parent, you want to say, hey, you need to go in the driveway, shoot a thousand pucks, you know, but you can't. You can't make your kid do that, but you can, you know, I think you can offer little bits of motivation. They can see glimpses of a. Of an ex pro hockey player in my mindset, where I did have that hunger, naturally. But then I learned as. As my career progressed that this is something I need to really lean into. You know, I have the hunger now. I need to be even more hungry. I need to be the hungriest, you know, and. And that can be learned, and that can be taught, and I think it can be. It can be, like you said, distilled into little bits of motivational content, and that's what I want to produce, and I'd love to see more of that from you guys as well. 

Lee MJ Elias [16:51 - 19:18]: Yeah. Well, look, you're inspiring us. I'll tell the audience this, too. That I do appreciate the compliments. And, you know, I. I did have that cup of coffee in the Miners. What was funny about our initial conversations is I think around our second or third conversation, you started drawing hockey stories out of me that I really don't tell that often. Right. Really not outside my own small circle. And to me, that was actually kind of a sign as well, of like, wow, he's really getting me to talk about this. I don't talk about this. Right. And they're as, you know, some of the stories are pretty cool, right? I mean, not just from a, from a product standpoint, but my time in the game and the drive and things I've done in my life. So I actually want to thank you for inspiring me to do that because I was bashful about that. I really was. I don't mind being vulnerable with the audience. I don't, I don't tell a lot of those stories. They hear a lot of my, my early upbringing stories about hockey and the episodes sometimes. But you've, you've convinced me that there's value there. And I think that kind of walking side by side as line mates, we'll say, has allowed me the confidence to, to share those, you know, through, through us. Right? So I appreciate that, man. And you know, to the parents too, speak about what you're saying. You know, one of the things I've noticed and you know, from conversations with my own, my own parents and things like that is it would surprise you parents when your kids are listening and what they retain, sometimes you give a one liner and it really stays with them. And I remember I talked to my dad about that. He doesn't even remember saying some of these things to me, but it had massive impact on me. Like one of them, simple one, right, Was just remember, man, someone out there is working harder than you, as hard as you're working. And man, that motivated me. Like I'm, I'm going to be the hardest worker. Even when I felt like I was, I'm like someone out there is working harder than me. Like things like that, right? Bobby, I want to say this too. One of the really cool things about what we're doing is the interaction. All right. Actually may be my favorite part of this. We're hoping to create a lot of interaction with you, the audience, through these emails, through Q A. All right, so one of the things Bobby's going to do is you can, you can email back to these emails, right? Just reply to the email, it goes right to him and he's going to answer the questions that you have. What's cool is we already have some coming in, right? So if, if you have questions, you want to ask a former NHL player, questions about the path or what's going on, or your own kids, man, this is your opportunity, but to help prompt the audience, Bob, because I think sometimes when people say that, it's like I don't even know what to ask. What kind of questions are you looking for? From people. 

bobby robins [19:18 - 19:38]: I mean, honestly, any question you have, I, I mean, somebody. A question came in, it was, you know, hey, is boxing a good training, training method for junior hockey? And I'm like, I think, yeah, that you can't go wrong with boxing, especially if in junior hockey, fighting is allowed. Like, maybe you're going to have to defend yourself. 

Lee MJ Elias [19:38 - 19:39]: Right. 

bobby robins [19:39 - 19:50]: You know, and, but at the end of the day, it's going to be great cardio. And just a simple question like that, I think is, Is great because that's, that's what's on. Whoever wrote that, that was on that person's mind. 

Lee MJ Elias [19:50 - 19:50]: Right. 

bobby robins [19:50 - 20:10]: But if, you know, it can go from there and it can go deeper, it can go into mindset, it can go into what if. What have you struggled with? What are your lessons? I mean, I'm. I'm really an open book, no pun intended here. I, I am an open book to, to give you any. Your audience any. Anything they're looking for. 

Lee MJ Elias [20:10 - 20:10]: Right. 

bobby robins [20:10 - 20:12]: I mean, if it's hockey advice, if it's life advice. 

Lee MJ Elias [20:13 - 20:13]: Right, Right. 

bobby robins [20:13 - 21:01]: I've been through so much in my life, and what I have learned is life is more than hockey. But for us in the hockey world, hockey is that driving force that kind of navigates us through life. So it's best to. To chase that dream with everything you have. But then at the end of the day, it's going to be the, you know, the mechanism that brings you all the lessons in your life that, that you need to learn because that, you know, for everyone, hockey ends eventually. So then what's next? And, you know, I want one of my goals or dreams is that every person in the hockey world who hears my words or hears a savage shift or this email series when their hockey career is over, that they wouldn't struggle. I struggled when my hockey crew was over. I have a lot of peers who struggled because they were. Their identity was the hockey player. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:01 - 21:02]: Right. 

bobby robins [21:02 - 21:06]: And then when that. It gets stripped away from everybody at some point. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:06 - 21:06]: Yeah. 

bobby robins [21:06 - 21:56]: Whether it's, you know, whether you're a high schooler and you don't make the junior team, it's. There's a feeling of that loss and they're getting stripped away. Or if you're a pro hockey player, eventually it ends either by just old age, getting forced out. But for most people, it's through injury. The body just can't do it anymore. And so I've. I've seen a lot of people struggle through that. And my, My dream would be that no one who goes through the hockey journey comes to the end of it and struggles, but instead goes through the journey and then takes all those lessons that they learned through that journey and, and then implements them into the next chapter in their life and then thrives in that next chapter. Because hockey has, that. Has that ability to do that to, to train you, not just in hockey, but in your own development as a person that, that hopefully you don't have to struggle at the end of. At the end of the journey. 

Lee MJ Elias [21:56 - 23:37]: Yeah. And I'll say this too, that you're so right. And when it stops, it's jarring. And I think that we, I always say it's the loss of three things. Identity, purpose. Right. And, and then Identity, purpose and then what you're doing with your life. Right, right. And, and you have to find a way to fill those gaps. And I think one of the beautiful things is that community that we talk about. Like there is that community out there and you have to find it. Right. And we're hoping to be that community. And again, no matter where you're at on your hockey journey, my friends, right, you could be an atom just starting out. You could be someone retiring. We're here for you. That's the idea behind what we're doing here. So let me run through it real quick, gang, one more time. Just so you understand, if you want to sign up for this, and we hope that you will, there's two places. Hockey Wraparound.com is one place you can go. Obviously in the show notes accompanying this episode, there's going to be a link. If you click that link, it'll also take you to the sign up. We're going to be providing tremendous value. Right. Remember, you can reply to any of these emails directly. Bobby will read every one. And we're going to be able to reply to you in those emails or one on one if we absolutely have to. Each week we're going to pick questions to answer for the audience in the next issue. Also, three emails a week. Let me say that again. Three emails a week. They're going to be tight, they're going to be valuable. They're built for hockey families like yours. The goal is that this is worth your time every time. And everything you've done, Bobby, has qualified for that. And I'm so happy we're on this journey together like this. It was kind of cool how this came about and I really do believe that we're providing value for everybody. So let me, let me end and you can have any final thoughts you want just by thanking you for doing this and It's. It's exciting. 

bobby robins [23:38 - 25:04]: Yeah, I'm excited, too. I'm. I'm. I'm actually. I'll give a little. Maybe I'll give a little preview. I'm thinking about the next. Next Monday's Savage Shift. And one. You actually just drew it when you were speaking. This memory popped on my mind. You're talking about drawing stories out of people. When I was playing, I was playing in the ushl, so I was playing for the Tri City Storm, and we are playing against the Omaha Lancers. This is big time junior hockey. This is back in the early 2000s, you know, 2001. 2002. And my. My housing dad, my billet dad, was sitting in the stands and he noticed a scout with the clipboard and the suit on. And he was kind of creeping over next to the scout, seeing what the deal was, and he ended up striking up a conversation with them and said, hey, like, you know, my. That number 21 out there, that's my guy, Bobby Robbins. And, you know, I think he was trying to pump my tires a little bit. But then. Then the conversation turned and he asked the scout, he said, you know, how many guys out here are going to make it to the NHL? And, I mean, shockingly, you know what the. The scout said? The scout said, you know, one, maybe two. One, maybe two. And, you know, granted, we didn't, I guess, you know, we didn't have a lot of huge prospects on our teams or big, you know, high draft picks, but one, maybe two. And my dad, my billet dad told me that later that night at dinner. He said, yeah, I was talking to the scout. I asked him how many are going to play? He said, one, maybe two. That could have deterred a lot of people. 

Lee MJ Elias [25:04 - 25:05]: Right, right. 

bobby robins [25:06 - 25:33]: And, you know, but you know what I said? In my mind and in my heart, I said, I'm going to be one of those guys. I'm going to be the one guy. That's what I said. And I don't know where that belief came from, but I had that. And. But I do believe that that can be taught, that that belief, that mindset can be taught. And it's a habit. So at that point in my life, I did have that belief in that habit already. But I've learned throughout my life in hockey, through coaching, through mentoring, you can teach that. 

Lee MJ Elias [25:33 - 25:34]: Right? 

bobby robins [25:34 - 26:10]: So that's kind of what I'd like to. Maybe in my next email, I'm gonna. I'm gonna dig into. I'm gonna explore this. But he said, one, maybe two, are Gonna make it. I said, I'm gonna be that guy. And I did end up making it. Years later, I would go, and I remembered that story. And I went on Hockey db. I'm a hockey DB guy. I went on Hockey db. And no, no, I love to elite prospects too, but hey, I'm old school. So I went on Hockey db and I looked it up. I was like, okay, we were playing Omaha. I looked at that year. Guess what? One guy on Tri City made it to the NHL. Me and one guy on Omaha made it to the NHL. Wow. 

Lee MJ Elias [26:11 - 28:24]: You know what's freaking me about? What you're telling me is. And again, this is what I'm talking about. People like Bobby draws this out. I had a similar type of deal, right? Different. Different scenario, different environment. I was outside in the 90s playing roller hockey, right? This is early days. I was probably 11, 12 years old. Just follow me here because you'll see where I'm going. And the dream started appearing in my head of this NHL, like, pro hockey thing. I remember I said to the kid I was playing with, who's a good friend of mine, I said, hey, do you think we could ever make it to the NHL? That was. That was the thought. And without hesitation he goes, no, there's no way we can make it to the NHL. And I don't know why, just to your point, I don't know why this happened, but in my head I thought, but someone's got to make it. Someone's going to make it. And that put me on a trajectory of I'm going to try and make it right now. And I obviously didn't get to the NHL as a player. That's okay. But the belief you just talked about, something snapped in my mind of, that's not going to deter me. Someone has to try. Someone has to try and make it. And like you said, I don't. I'm not quite sure where that came from. Divine intervention. I mean, there's a lot of different ways to look at it. I mean, I'm sure it's an environment with my parents and everything, but, man, that was a powerful moment. I never forgot it. Right? And I love that, that you have that mindset too, man. And again, for the audience, I'll never tell a kid ever, ever, that you can't accomplish your dream. You should strive for your dream. I always say, though, there's no guarantees to your dream, but you have the right to try, right? And I think that teaching that is essential for life, not just hockey, right? It's like, man, like what? Why would we tell our kids? What's the point? You know, you're basically just saying, no one, none of you are going to make it. Then what am I doing here? What are we spending all this money on? Right? The point is you have the right to strive to achieve something. And in doing so, you will get farther than you ever thought possible. I really believe that. So anyway, you made me think of that. Bobby, any, Any more final words? We can probably keep going here for a while if we wanted to, but I want to make sure we get the. I want you guys to subscribe and, and stop listening to us. No, I'm just kidding. 

bobby robins [28:25 - 28:27]: Subscribe. Come on, guys. It's gonna be awesome. 

Lee MJ Elias [28:27 - 28:28]: There we go. 

bobby robins [28:28 - 28:58]: But yeah, that mindset you had, Lee, you know that, that mindset took you. You didn't play in the NHL, but you worked for the NHL. Now you, now you work with NHLers. You are, you've partnered with a former NHL or you're selling products to NHLers. Like you're, you know, as far as making it to the top. If the, if making it to the NHL is a metaphor for something, you had that big dream and then you created your own company. You've. You've written books. So you're a leader and a visionary and. 

Lee MJ Elias [28:58 - 28:59]: Thanks, man. 

bobby robins [28:59 - 29:28]: So that. Having that mindset, man, is, it's so important because what a, what a horrible thing for your, you know, your poor friend there who said, no way, no way. You know, because that hesitation, there's no hesitation. Yeah, I think that might, that might trickle into other areas of his life too. You know, I don't know the guy, but I wanna, I wanna encourage kids, I wanna encourage families, adults too. We still have dreams. So I'm in my 40s here and we still have dreams. Life ain't over, man. 

Lee MJ Elias [29:28 - 29:28]: Yeah. 

bobby robins [29:28 - 30:35]: And so for us, for parents, for kids, for your whole community, let's inject, you know, let's inject that big dream chasing mentality in there and, you know, inject that, that inspiration, but at the same time give some methodology. I think your products are all about methodology, how to train. You don't have ice, you know, and so that's the, the physical aspect of it, but then you got to implement the, the mental aspect and the heart aspect. I think you can bring all those together. And I think that's what this is. That's my vision of, of, of savage shift and writing these emails. You know, as a creative writer, as a, an author, I love to express myself, I love to motivate. But now I get to do it to, for, for the hockey community. And so it's not just go practice for 10,000 hours. It's yeah, do that. But then what, what's going on in here and what's going on in here in your heart, your mind and in your heart. So I think those can all be brought together in the message that you're putting out. So I just applaud you for kind of being, being cutting edge for a business owner to put out emails that are, well, these are value drops. These aren't just, you know, spam. Yeah, right. 

Lee MJ Elias [30:36 - 30:36]: Yeah. 

bobby robins [30:36 - 30:37]: So good on you, man. 

Lee MJ Elias [30:37 - 31:46]: No, thanks, Bobby. And again, look, I'm convinced for those of you listening out there, we hope you are too. But Bobby, look, I just want to thank you for coming on. We're really excited about this audience. Again, hockeyrap around.com if you want to subscribe. Also accompanying this episode in the show description, there'll be a link. Make sure you follow Bobby on social media too. It's at Bobby Robbins Pro with Robbins with one B you. Bobby's got some really valuable stuff on his channel as well. Trying to make a great ecosystem his of hockey community. But for Bobby, I'm Lee. That's going to do it for this edition of our Kids Play Hockey. Wherever you're at on your journey, my friends, we hope you're enjoying it. Have fun skating on and we'll see you in the next episode. Take care, everybody. We hope you enjoyed this edition of our Kids Play Hockey. Make sure to like and subscribe right now if you found value wherever you're listening, whether it's a podcast network, a social media network or our website, our kids playhockey.com also make sure to check out our children's book When Hockey Stops at when When Hockey Stops dot com. It's a book that helps children deal with adversity in the game and in life. We're very proud of it. But thanks so much for listening to this edition of our Kids Play Hockey and we'll see you on the next episode.