A hockey player can tell you everything about their stick. They know the flex. They know the curve. They know the brand. They may even have very strong opinions about exactly how the tape needs to look. Ask that same player how t…
There’s a message young hockey players hear almost everywhere: Work harder. Get another skate in. Take more shots. Train while everyone else is resting. And beneath all of those messages is an assumption that can become dangerous if we never qu…
There’s More to Your Hockey Team Than the Players and Coaches When you think about your hockey team, who comes to mind first? Your teammates probably do. Your coaches definitely do. But there’s another person who plays a huge ro…
Every youth hockey team has people whose roles are easy to see. The players play. The coaches coach. Parents cheer from the stands. Then there’s the person making sure everyone actually arrives at the right rink, at the right time, wearing the rig…
Better Hockey Practices Start With Intention, Not More Drills Every hockey coach has drills. There are skating drills, passing drills, shooting drills, breakout drills, small-area games, battle drills, edge-work exercises, and thousands more avail…
Every young hockey player has goals. Some want to score more goals. Others want to make a higher-level team, earn more ice time, become a starting goalie, or simply feel more confident when they arrive at the rink. Goals can provide direction, but…
“Coach, control your kids!” It is a phrase youth hockey coaches hear more often than they should. A player runs through the rink, acts out in a restaurant, loses control during a game, or makes a poor decision in the locker room—and suddenly everyo…
Few topics create more emotion in youth hockey than ice time. A player feels overlooked. A parent watches the bench and starts counting shifts. A coach makes a decision based on something that may not be visible from the stands. Before long, frustr…
Some hockey players always seem to know where the puck is going next. They find open teammates before the passing lane becomes obvious. They sense pressure before an opponent arrives. They protect the puck when necessary, move it quickly when space…
A player comes off the ice after a difficult shift. A parent asks, “What happened?” The player responds, “I don’t know.” That answer can frustrate parents and coaches. The player was on the ice, so how could they not know what went wrong? The tr…
There is a difference between being recognized and being celebrated. Recognition means your name appears on a list. Your accomplishment is mentioned during a broadcast. You receive a nomination, a headline, or a brief moment of applause. Celebrati…
Tryouts can make even the most confident hockey player feel nervous. You may start thinking about who is watching, how many spots are available, what happens if you make a mistake, or whether one difficult drill could cost you a place on the team. …
Few moments in youth hockey create more emotion than tryouts. Players want to prove they belong. Parents watch every drill and wonder what the evaluators are seeing. Coaches are responsible for forming competitive, balanced teams. Board members mus…
A great shot is easy to notice. So is a smooth set of hands, explosive skating, or a creative move around a defender. Hockey IQ is different. It often appears in the moments that happen before the goal, away from the puck, or outside the highlight…
When young hockey players imagine what an NHL scout might be looking for, they may picture dazzling goals, impressive statistics, creative moves, or a dominant performance. Former NHL player and current NHL scout Patrick Rissmiller has a much simpl…
Youth hockey families are constantly being told to do more. More practices. More private lessons. More spring tournaments. More showcases. More travel. More exposure. The pressure can make parents feel as though every missed skate is a missed oppo…
Hockey camps have become a familiar part of the youth hockey calendar. There are summer day camps, skating clinics, shooting camps, goalie camps, position-specific programs, development camps, identification camps, and elite training experiences. S…
You Are More Than a Hockey Player For young hockey players, it is easy to fall in love with the game so deeply that hockey starts to feel like your whole identity. You practice. You train. You dream about making the next team, scoring the next goa…
When Hockey Is Taken Away, What Is Left? For many young athletes, hockey can feel like everything. The practices. The travel. The teammates. The tournaments. The rankings. The pressure. The dream. But in this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, form…
Every young hockey player wants to know the same thing: How do I get better? Not just a little better. Not just better at stickhandling in the driveway or skating harder during practice. But better in the way that coaches notice. Better in the way…
In youth hockey, it is easy to get caught up in the obvious questions. What team should my child play for?What league is the best?Should we drive farther for a better opportunity?How do we get noticed?What does it take to play junior hockey? Those…
Winning a championship is supposed to feel like the end of a journey. For Hayley Scamurra, it became the beginning of something entirely new. After helping Montreal capture the Walter Cup and completing one of the strongest seasons of her professi…
A young hockey player can spend hours practicing skating, shooting, passing, positioning, and saves. But when a big game or tryout arrives, another skill often determines how freely that player performs: the ability to manage their own mind. Confid…
Playing goalie is not simply a technical challenge. It is emotional. It is mental. It is highly visible. And unlike nearly every other position in sports, a goaltender can do almost everything correctly and still watch the puck end up in the net. …