Our Kids Play Hockey Episodes

🏒 Looking for hockey gifts that players will actually use—and that can help protect expensive gear, create more training opportunities, and make life a little easier for hockey families? This episode is for you. On this special edition of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias kicks off the Hockey Family Holiday Deals series with the story behind Hockey Wraparound—and a limited-time offer designed to help hockey families save while picking up practical products built specifically for the game. Hockey ...

Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli explain better youth hockey bench management, communication, practice planning, emotional control, and player development.

🥅 What does an NHL goalie coach see that youth goalies, parents, and coaches often miss? According to longtime NHL goalie coach Steve Briere, the answer isn’t just better technique, more private lessons, or perfect positioning. It starts with focus. Athleticism. Joy. Compete. Ownership. And a genuine desire to stop the puck. In this episode of Our Kids Play Goalie, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli sit down with Briere, whose coaching career includes seven seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, three...

🧠🏒 Scanning the ice is important—but seeing what’s around you is only the beginning. The real hockey IQ comes from understanding what those cues are telling you. On this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey IQ Talk with Albe, Lee Elias is joined by former NHL defenseman and NHL Sense Arena team member Andrew “Albe” Alberts to break down one of the biggest separators in player development: identifying cues. A defender hesitates. A teammate changes direction. A passing lane opens. Pressure arrives ...

🏒 See an amazing move in an NHL or PWHL game and immediately want to try it in your next game? Go for it—but not before you’ve put in the reps. On this episode of The Ride to The Rink, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli talk directly to young hockey players about creativity, confidence, repetition, and knowing when it’s the right time to take a risk. Trying new things is an important part of becoming a better player. But there’s a big difference between taking a calculated hockey risk and attempting a ...

🏒 Raffle tickets. Chocolate bars. Coupon books. Car washes. Poinsettias. If you’ve spent enough time around youth hockey, chances are you’ve been asked to sell at least one of them. But does fundraising still have to work that way? On this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano Burns sit down with Ryan and Justin from Hero Picks to explore how technology could reshape fundraising for hockey teams, charities, and communities. Hero Picks was created around...

🏒 What does your player know before they ever touch the puck? That question is at the heart of hockey IQ — and in this special edition of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli are joined by former NHL defenseman Andrew “Albe” Alberts, who played more than 450 NHL games and now works with the NHL Sense Arena team, to break down one of the simplest and most important habits in the game: shoulder checking. It may sound basic, but knowing what’s behind you before you get to the puck ca...

🔥 What if conflict isn’t the problem in youth hockey… but avoiding it is? Whether it’s a disagreement over playing time, tension between teammates, a frustrated parent, or an uncomfortable conversation with a coach, conflict is inevitable in sports. But according to Bill Taylor, founder of Sports Conflict Lab and author of Managing Sports Conflict: Five Tools to Master Conflict, learning how to handle those moments can actually make teams, relationships, and young athletes stronger. In this e...

🏒 What started as a simple “Day in the Life” became a front-row seat to hockey history. At the beginning of the season, Hayley Scamurra was facing uncertainty. She was balancing Team USA evaluation camps with a new chapter for the Montreal Victoire, competing for an Olympic roster spot while navigating the demands of a full professional season. By the end of it, she had accomplished something no woman had ever done before: win an Olympic gold medal and the PWHL Walter Cup in the same year. In...

🏒 What’s for dinner when practice starts at 5:30, homework still needs to get done, and everyone is heading in a different direction? For hockey families, feeding everyone during the season can feel like another full-time job. Between practices, games, tournaments, school, work, and travel, the fast-food drive-thru can start looking like the easiest option. But it doesn’t have to be. In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns tackle one of th...

🏒 What if your young hockey player could get individualized feedback, video analysis, coach collaboration, and a season-long development plan—all without adding another practice to the calendar? In this special edition of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias sits down with longtime coach and player-development expert Mike Bonelli to introduce Mike’s new Player Advising Program, designed to give youth hockey players and families something that can be hard to find during a busy season: consistent, ind...

🏒 What if the college hockey program recruiting your child isn’t actually the best college for them? For many hockey families, playing at the college level can feel like the ultimate finish line after years of practices, travel, tournaments, showcases, sacrifices, and expenses. But when that opportunity finally arrives, another question becomes even more important: Is this really the right place for my student-athlete? In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Christie Casciano-Burn...

🏒 What happens when a player’s belief is strong enough to take him all the way to the NHL—but his identity becomes so tied to hockey that he has to rediscover who he is when the game ends? Former NHL player Kurtis Gabriel joins Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli for a powerful conversation about chasing impossible dreams, being overlooked, finding your role, handling pressure, and learning that hockey can be an incredible part of your life without becoming your entire sense of worth. Kurtis wasn’t a hi...

🏒 Your player knows their stick flex, curve, and favorite tape job—but do they know what’s happening underneath their skates? Skate sharpening may be one of the most overlooked parts of youth hockey, yet the condition of a player’s edges can directly affect their confidence, turning, stopping, acceleration, and overall feel on the ice. In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns welcome Russ Layton, Founder & CEO of Sparx Hockey, for a deep dive...

🏒 Ever wonder who makes sure your tournaments are booked, your hotel is ready, your ice time is scheduled, and your team actually knows where it needs to be? There’s a good chance your team manager had something to do with it. On this episode of The Ride to the Rink, Lee, Mike, Christie, and special guest **Christine—an experienced youth hockey team manager who has managed multiple high-level teams—**take young players behind the scenes of one of the most important jobs on a hockey team. And k...

🏒 What happens when you’re “voluntold” to become the team manager—and suddenly an entire hockey season feels like it’s resting on your shoulders? Every successful youth hockey team has players, coaches, and supportive parents. But behind the scenes, there’s often one person keeping the schedules organized, hotels booked, families informed, problems solved, and team culture moving in the right direction: the team manager. In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Christie Casciano-Burn...

🏒 When a young hockey player misbehaves, who is responsible—the coach, the parent, or the entire team community? Coaches are often told to “control their kids,” but the truth is more complicated: coaches can guide, mentor, manage, and establish standards, but they are not replacements for parents. In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Mike Bonelli and Lee Elias explore where coaching responsibilities begin, where they end, and why successful youth hockey environments require parents, coaches...

🏒 Your child may know what happened during a shift—but do they understand why it happened? Goals, assists, wins, and losses are easy to see. But the small decisions that build hockey IQ, earn a coach’s trust, and help a player advance rarely appear on the score sheet. In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns welcome Kevin Clark of Cascade Hockey, a former professional player whose 16-year career included time in the Vancouver Canucks and Wi...

🏒 What makes a youth hockey tryout feel fair—and what causes the entire process to break down? Tryouts can be one of the most emotional parts of the hockey season. Players are nervous, parents are analyzing every drill, coaches are trying to build balanced teams, and organizations are under pressure to make decisions that families can trust. In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Christie Casciano Burns are joined by Gabe Malinski of Team Genius, a platform that helps youth sp...

🏒 What does an NHL scout really notice—and are youth hockey families focusing on the wrong things? Former NHL player, development coach, and current Anaheim Ducks scout Patrick Rissmiller joins Lee, Christie, and Mike for an honest conversation about how hockey players actually develop. Patrick’s path was anything but automatic. He went undrafted, entered professional hockey on a tryout, earned an American Hockey League contract, and eventually built a 13-year professional career that inclu...

🏒 What happens when the game you’ve built your identity around is suddenly taken away? This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli sit down with Doug Smith, former NHL forward, 1981 second-overall draft pick, Ottawa 67s standout, Bobby Smith Award winner, and one of the most powerful voices in hockey when it comes to resilience, recovery, and perspective. Doug’s story is extraordinary. After being drafted second overall and playing for NHL teams including the Los Angeles Kin...

🏒 What really makes a hockey player better — more ice, a higher-level team, a longer commute, or the right culture? This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns sit down with Andrew Trimble, GM and co-owner of the New England Wolves Hockey Club, founder of Scoring Concepts, and author of Beyond the Scoreboard. Andrew has coached from learn-to-skate all the way to the collegiate level, giving him a rare perspective on what true development looks like at...

🏒 What if hockey’s greatest lessons have nothing to do with goals, assists, or scholarships? In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli sit down with Zechariah Thomas, founder of Swift Hockey, former high-level Ontario player, major junior athlete, and international player for Team Jamaica. Zechariah’s story is a powerful reminder that there is no single path through this game — and sometimes the biggest wins come from what hockey builds inside you. Zech started hocke...

🏒 What really separates young hockey players as they get older — talent, pressure, coaching, character, or the ability to keep loving the game through it all? This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli welcome back longtime NHL forward Mike Knuble, who played over 1,000 NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals. Mike returns for a wide-ranging and honest conversation about the modern youth hockey landsc...