Our Girls Play Hockey: Score More Goals - "Hat Trick" Hayley Scamurra’s Net-Front Masterclass

SPEAKER_04 1:36

Hello, hockey friends and families around the world, and welcome back to our girls play hockey. I'm Leah Lyas with Haley Skimora and Mike Vinelli. And on April 21st, 2026, our very own Hailey scored a hat trick. It was scored in two minutes and 45. Sorry, 44. I don't want to add any extra time onto that. 44 seconds, the fastest in PWHL history. But here's what makes it powerful for our audience. And this is going to be for the entire audience, no matter what show you listen to. All three goals came right in front of the net, off deflections, off tips, the traffic and timing, all of these, the symphony coming together. And obviously Haley uh scoring all three goals in a short amount of time, really showing us expertly how to do it. All right. And in the league that she's in, scoring is very hard and space disappears instantaneously. So that kind of production is not luck. All right. I think you can look at it and go, oh wow, three goals. And no, it's not luck, it's a skill set. And we're gonna celebrate the hat trick today, but we're also gonna dive into that skill set and break it down because net front scoring is very teachable, and youth players need to understand that. And we should probably call this episode how to score more goals in front of the net. All right. And I want to get to work on that. So Haley, let's just start with like we have to, I mean, look amazing, amazing job in front of the net. I mean, one of the coolest highlights I think I've ever seen. So I I don't, I don't, I don't know if it's a congratulations situation, but like, wow, wow. I mean, way to go.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Yeah, I mean, it was crazy when it was happening. Like, we're down four-nothing. We pull our goalie with like eight minutes left in the game. Uh, and I'm just I'm that from. And the first one, I'm like, oh, okay, cool. Then the second one, pretty much the same thing. Third one, pretty much the same thing. I like couldn't even believe it. I wish we had like pulled it off, like the win, you know. It's a little sad that it we still lost. Um, but it was definitely really incredible. That has never happened to me before in that kind of a way. So that was uh a new experience for sure. But it was it was a lot of fun. My teammates were all really happy for me, so it was it was nice.

SPEAKER_04 3:36

You'll you'll have to settle for the loss, but you also have to settle for being first place in the league after.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 3:41

It was a tall order. But like look, like you said, uh it's not even just amazing. I mean, it's it's just that doesn't happen, right? Um, but the way it happened, and we joked about this before the episode, too, that when you watch the highlights, and we'll link the highlights to this just in the in the in the show description. So if you guys didn't see it, you can kind of watch it. But some of these goals were so similar that if you watch the two clips, you actually have to kind of wait a second to realize they're different clips because the plays originate the same way. So we're gonna break them down today, but but more importantly, uh, we want to talk about this this mindset about playing in traffic because in a world, and we talk about this all the time on the show, that you know, the Michigans and the flashy plays, and they're really fun to practice. And we always say, kids, you know, have practice your heart out. All right, we we love that you love that. But there are skill sets in the game that are really, really important, right? You scored three goals all in front of the net, all deflections. So let's just talk to all the young players, right? What's kind of the mindset? Because I think we'll start there and build, required to consistently play in those dirty areas because it's not a glamorous area, it's uncomfortable, it's physical, you're gonna get hit, you're gonna get cross-checked. What's the difference of someone who wants to live there, Haley?

SPEAKER_00 4:54

That's a great question. Because, like, it's funny, growing up, like that's always where I was put, like in college, like juniors, and people, if like other people would get upset when they were put there because they felt like they were out of the play. And for me, I'm like, I think it's so much fun. I just get to like wait for an opportunity for the puck to come, or I'm screening the goalie for the puck to go in, or I get the rebound myself, and I get to just wait and watch my teammates all do amazing things out there. So I never really understood why people didn't like the net fret. I mean, you are getting hit a lot. There are defenders probably cross-checking you and making you a little uncomfortable, but especially in an odd man situation, sometimes you are left alone, which is what ended up happening on our six on five, and sometimes on our five on four as well, where they can't cover everyone and someone's gonna be left alone. And then you have to be ready with your stick to deflect something because the goalies are really good. Um, and you know, they're ready for straight shots. But as soon as you redirect it, and when you're that close to the goalie as well, it's pretty hard for them to react quick enough to adjust.

SPEAKER_04 5:58

I I love that you brought it up real quick. I gotta say, it's maybe think of this right away about yeah, there are players, you're right. Oh, I don't want to play. I wonder if it's in the way we say it. We we should say things like, yeah, well, actually, 85% of goals statistically are scored from right there. So if you go there, statistically speaking, good things may happen, right? But that that's the mindset, right? And with kids, I always say, Would you rather have and kids, you got to answer this question for yourself. Would you rather have a flashy goal, one out of every 10 chances, or would you really like to be in a scoring position 85% of the time? Right? One of those two answers gives you longevity in the game, uh, potentially making an Olympic team in a pro roster. Kind of have some proof of that here. All right, and the other one, yeah, might get you a highlight, and that's it. All right. But as a coach, you give me that player that wants to be in front of the net. All right. So great answer on that, Haley. Mike, go ahead, we'll get you in the episode. That's my I'm talking too much now.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

No, no, it's okay. I mean, listen, I mean I think that I think that mindset, you know, talking about like the fact that it's not clamor, it's just it's it's you know, it's uncomfortable, it's it's basically, you know, really physical. Um, you know, when you think about youth hockey coaches and how they determine, sometimes it's like it's like like net front and and and it's almost like the right fielder in baseball, right? Like, oh, put the put the kid in the right field, you know, that that really is not a skilled player and you know doesn't have the ability to do all these other things. But the fact of the matter is, it is the player that knows, like that bumper position, when you're the athlete, you get to determine, you have so much more control about how deep you want to be, how shallow you want to be, how you want to help support high to low play. Like it really takes a cerebral, dedicated, disciplined person to play in that role rather than just like planting themselves at the top of the blue paint with their butt in the goalie's face saying, Okay, go ahead, try to get it around me. I mean, so I think we're we're talking about two different things. And I think in Haley's position, it was the latter, it was the skill-based, yeah, cerebral IQ ability to know uh where I need to be depth-wise to draw somebody to me, or then to allow me to be in a position where somebody didn't want to come to me. And I think that shows, and all and again, I I would definitely like I hope that everybody listening goes to the clips and watches the space, and and you know, Haley didn't just go to the front of that and plant her heels on the goal line, you know, and so it's it's there's a lot of discipline that goes into play there, and it it takes a lot of understanding about where pucks go and how fast they get there, you know, to play that position.

SPEAKER_04 8:36

So, Mike, to that point, we're gonna kind of reverse engineer these goals a bit. Um, and and the reason I want to do that is because I think we're gonna find the skill sets, they apply no matter what, whether you're scoring three in two minutes and 44 seconds or won a game, it doesn't really matter. You know, I also want to say this too, Haley, that it's it's a it's a little interesting kind of that we're talking to you and that that you're on the show because we have been saying, especially in our Day in the Life series, kind of for the entire season about your poise and your timing and how you arrive at the right time. So I'm not saying like, hey, we predicted this, that's not where I'm going. I'm saying that, like, hey, the recipe was there. Like, we've been saying this for a long time. This is your game, right? So, the first thing I want to do, and again, for the audience, we're gonna reverse engineer literally from the goal out, because I think that's a little more exciting from a listener standpoint. But remember, the whole recipe has to be there for this to work, right? It's not just about the goal. Okay, so Haley, let's talk about the the tip and turn kind of mentality here. Now, this is something I always teach my players, okay. I think there's a misconception on what tipping the puck actually is. Okay, I think most players, Mike, to your point, they think a tip is this big whack, right? You you have your stick up and you whack the puck in. That's not a tip, okay. I think what would surprise most people is what a tip is. When you're thinking about what a tip actually is, right? It's actually a lot less motion than people think. It's more about tracking the puck and positioning your stick or your blade in a way that's going to, you know, tip the puck into the net. And then the the most underestimated part of a tip, and and Haley, I love you for the way you did this three times because I'm gonna be showing these clips forever. Is the tip is not the end. Tip and turn. You tip and turn towards the net. I always tell my players, if it goes in, you'll know. All right, but there's a there's always a chance you tip it and the goalie uh it hits the goalie. And if it hits the goalie on a tip, there's a very high opportunity there's gonna be a rebound. And if you tip turn and put that in, you've got a goal. So, Haley, again, talk about your own experience from youth up about, you know, we all have to learn about that. Don't whack at it. Track it and kind of like what's what's the high level Haley Skimura Pro tutorial here on the tip and turn?

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Yeah, a big, a big thing is kind of what you had just mentioned in terms of not like whacking, because like when you're going fast like that, like odds are you're gonna miss the puck. Like you're not, you're you're not reacting in like the right way. Whereas like what you were saying, like you guide the puck in, like you almost like you're almost bringing the puck in with you as it comes in. And then that also adds to like the turn, and that's why you end up kind of turning to the net after you tip the puck. Um, so as long as you kind of do that motion, it really helps with guiding the puck in, having it be like a good redirect down and not like um I don't know how else to describe it, but you can also redirect it up, which is a little bit harder, obviously. And it's also harder on like the goalies, too. So if it's kind of coming at like, you know, knee height or something like that, you can also kind of go up with it as well. But that's something I've been kind of working on and seeing. But all of mine obviously went down or kind of to the side. But um, yeah, I think the big thing is guiding the puck in with your stick. Like as you see it coming, it's like, okay, like be patient, guide it in, turn with it, face the net. And like sometimes, even like even today in practice, I tried to like turn and guide it in. I ended up trapping the puck basically, and it was at my feet, and then I was able to like hit a rebound. So, like that's another option as well. It might not even get to the goal. You might end up trapping it yourself. You're like, oh, here we go. Right. Well, you go ahead, Mike.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

No, I'm just saying, I mean, those that like so let me ask you about the technique and about you know, kind of your thought process going through it. Are you, and and again, we just see a little bit of soft the video, but but it's really it's it's the the the the the three goals you scored in this way were a result of what you just talked about, hundreds of hours of actually doing that skill. And I'm just wondering, are you are you more comfortable when you're learning this process? Are you giving the target? I wish I could have a bigger screen. Are you giving the target of the blade or are you reacting to where the puck is going and then positioning yourself uh for the tip?

SPEAKER_00 12:43

That's a good question. I would say when you're like you're first working on it, you can kind of show it to one side. Like let's say like you're working with a D at the blue line and be like, hey, I'm gonna like start on this side. I'm showing like my backhand side. Let's just do shots on this side, shots on this side, and then work on it where the stick's in front of you, and then you react. Uh, because I think it's important, honestly, like in a game, I'm having the stick in front of me so that I can react once it gets to a certain side because you don't know which side it's gonna come to and you don't want to be like late to it, and you don't want someone to be able to tie you up. If you have your stick in front of you, you're less likely to get tied up as well. But I think in terms of like practicing it, I don't think it's a bad idea to like start on one side just to like work on the motion and work on turning with the puck and guiding it in, um, and then eventually build to where you're starting center and then reacting.

SPEAKER_04 13:33

Yeah, I'm writing some notes here too. You know, it it's I find it fascinating, right? Like, so in and just to prove the point here, Haley, like I'd say, because I I was a similar player in terms of net front. Um, I'd say 90% of the time I was putting that puck where I wanted to. Like, I like there's a little luck involved in the sense of like sometimes it might tip a different direction than you're thinking, or yeah, sometimes it just hits you and like you're not expecting it. But 90% of the time, I was putting that puck in a place that I wanted it to go. And to your point, I would always communicate with my D when we were at practice about like if you see me like this, this is what we should do. So, a great example for youth hockey players, and this is why this might not get worked on so much, is if you don't talk to your D and you get an overzealous D that likes to take clappers, you know, about neck height, I don't want to jump in front of that, right? So, look, the D at your level, and I I think you can accomplish this at a lot of youth levels too puck placements, everything when you go north or south. All right, and then again, we'll we'll we'll get to your D because they played a massive role in this. Yes, but I love that you said, and kids listen to this the stick's not out to the side on a tip. In fact, if you just put it out to one side, I'm sorry, before the shot's taken, yeah, it's not out to the side because not only can people read that, but now you've limited what's gonna happen. And as Haley said, what happens if it goes to your other side? Yeah, right. So the stick is actually she said it in front of you, probably in the air. So now you have that full kind of range of motion. That's how a tip begins. All right, and when we practice this, and you you mentioned this, Haley, and I want the kids to understand this. Man, I remember taking a hundred shots from the point, like like I'm standing in front of the net. When I say taking a shot, I mean the point shooting at me, yeah, and just top right tip, top right tip, top right tip, bottom right tip, bottom right tip, just moving that puck where I wanted it to go. And you're right, there is something special about a low tip going high. Yes, that's um by the way. Um, if you want to see another great tip, go watch the uh gold medal game. Uh about three minutes left. Um, did that exact play that we're talking about right now. But your body positioning, I just want to establish this for the kids, right? It's you know, fit feet forward, facing the puck, stick in front of you. And then the other part of this that I think uh in youth hockey gets really undersold or misunderstood is there's an intensity that you have to have in this position. You cannot be just kind of standing up in front of the net. Like it's extreme focus in front of the net to make this play. Can you talk about that for a minute? The level of focus you have of tracking this puck before it's even off the defenseman stick.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Yeah, I mean, you have to be tracking it the whole time it's being moved along the umbrella or the top half of the of the blue line, if you will. Yeah. Uh the zone. And I think um that's what was happening in most of the in most of the clips, honestly, because we kind of went side to side. And it's super important to screen the goalie the whole time. So they're always having to work at trying to find the puck. Right. Then if you're just standing still and you're not screening them, they can easily see the puck going side to side. But if you're screening them the entire time, they have to work a lot harder to find it. Um, and it makes it harder on them, or they're getting out of position in order to see the puck, and then that also messes with them as well. So I think it's super important to always look at where the goalie's looking and make sure you kind of stay in their field of vision.

SPEAKER_04 16:49

Yeah, and one last thing kind of before we expand the play here, right? You know, God, Netfront presence. I say this to my team all the time. There's a difference between wanting the puck and needing the puck. There's a difference between hoping to score and having to score, right? It's all mentality. And the thing again, I said it at the early part of the episode. This is where goals are scored. Okay, so you better be hungry to get that puck in that area. All right. You cannot be nonchalant in front of the net. And Haley said, there's a lot going on. You've got to screen the goalie. You probably have someone sticking you in the back. All right. Like you probably have someone vying for position there. If you if you don't have a scores mindset in front of that net, you're you're not gonna get goals. It's intense, it's extreme focus, and you better be ready to tip and turn and put that puck in the net. All right. If you're just willing to tip, it's just not enough. I'm sorry. Like it's not a good position for you. All right. So uh great breakdown there, Haley, of that. Because again, this by the way, these aren't the only three goals you've scored this way this year. We should also mention that. Like, all right. Now, the other part of this is timing, all right. Um, so a lot of people think it's just parking in front of the net, right? They weren't stationary. You talked about it. Let's talk about the arrival and the adjustment because you arrived to the net, the perfect time on all three goals. It's not like you were just standing there waiting. Can you now we're rewinding back? Like the goal was the last three seconds. Yeah. Now we're gonna rewind back three seconds, four seconds, even more, where you started potentially on the boards or you were coming to the front of the net. Give me that process.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Yeah, I think um what was great about the goals was like our retrievals for pucks. So it was like a board battle on the side. And I remember I was in it with like Abby Rock. Yeah. So Abby Rock and I are in the pile, uh, working on getting the puck. We know we have our D release, but then we also had that dot release in the middle. Uh, it's super important to have that because usually two defenders kind of go to the walls to block those releases off. Um, and so we were able to get it to her, and she did a great job kind of possessing it, waiting for you know pressure to come to then release the puck back to the point. And then at that point, I knew I'm like, all right, that's my that's my cue, go to the net. Right. And so then that's when I'm at the net, ready for any shots that might come right away, or waiting for all the motion to happen with like all the passing and stuff like that. And then honestly, like with Aaron's Ambrose's shot, I could see her the whole way. I was like, she has a perfect lane to the net. Like, this is definitely gonna be a shot on net. So, like, I really had like time to be ready for that tip.

SPEAKER_04 19:23

I love that you said the word cue. All right, because this is another aspect of these plays, right? That I don't think gets worked on enough. Is there was a cue of okay, now this play is dictating. I go to the net. Does that come through conversations, through practice, through experience over the years? Is it said, is it unsaid?

SPEAKER_00 19:44

I think just experience, no, it's not really said. I think it's like as soon as you see that we have full possession and that like their team has kind of backed off of that like pressure. Um, I think that's when you kind of know it's time to go to the net front.

SPEAKER_04 19:57

Right. And we we talk about this all the time, Mike, about transition being the big separator between skill levels, right? I think when we talk about transition, a lot of people think, okay, it's offense to defense, defense to offense. It's actually much more vast than that. Like there is a transition of being in the ozone with the puck, being in the ozone without the puck. That is a form of transition, right? So this cue is actually based on a transition of sorts. Where I think a lot of youth hockey players fail is they don't see or read the queue. Now you're developing young players, okay? But as a coach, frustration might not be the right word. But one of the things I notice is that okay, the puck goes to the point, and you might still be standing in the circle. And it's like the transition has happened. You need to go to the net now. Learn that. Mike, Mike, you were about to say something before I started talking.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

No, I'm just listening. I I think I'm just trying to break this down for like a youth hockey player, and and I'm I am embarrassed that I don't know how he's teammates and his and our line mates, but you know, the fact is, like that doesn't happen. That doesn't happen with like what you're talking about, about the queues, right? Is that easier for you because you know your job is to be in front of the net? Because I don't think that's a natural, like if if if two players are uh, as you're saying, in the pile and they're fighting and there's a release to the net, it's not instinctive that that somebody like that there's there's such a finite time between making that decision and my getting net front. But you already know, like you're you're already designated as that person to kind of be there. Like I'm you're not skating across the road to get there, right? But but it's not a natural flow in your game. Like it, I think it, I think it for us, like when you look at youth hockey coaches, sometimes we just expect, like, well, of course, somebody needs to get there. But for the player, that decision has to happen so quickly. That would you recommend like that somebody's designated to be it there, almost like the bumper or you know, the the the quarterback of the power play. Like, so that's that's a worked on release, right? Where you know at the at the end of the breakdown and and my cue is every somebody else has a cue to do something else.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yeah, so I guess it was talked about in that sense. So four, six on five, yes, my position was net front, as it is for five on four as well. So I think that just stayed the same. So that does make that transition a little quicker, obviously. Uh, however, even if it's just five on five play, let's say, right? Like as soon as it goes low to high, it's like I'm going right to the net, whether that's gonna be directly net front or if it's gonna be for a high tip, or if I'm gonna be maybe like the third forward high for a release for the D, um, there's just a lot of different options because you don't want people occupying like the same space. Um, so in that sense, that probably takes a little more processing, a little bit more of reading the play when it's five on five versus like an odd man situation where you typically know where you're supposed to be.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Right. So I think I think it's important for coaches then too, just listen to this and say, listen, if you want to see this naturally occur in a five-on-five situation and organically happen, then you need to let your players know. Like, and and Lee, we've talked about this a million times about you know, players knowing roles. Like you clearly know your role. And I think a lot of players going back to the initial question, like, why don't people get in front of the net? Well, some of it's because they just don't know they should be there. Like, you know, and they're like, Well, I don't know, I would have gone there, but I I didn't re even realize that in the flow of the game, I should have been the person to you know take that space. But it does help when you define. A player taking that space that it definitely helps the player be more comfortable and understand what being in that space means.

SPEAKER_04 23:35

Mike, yeah, I love that you brought up the flow of the game because that's where actually where I was going to go with this. And again, that that's something that's built over time. You feel the game, you feel certain things. So the most common lack of feel that I see in youth hockey, and again, it's because you're developing, is when a player uh comes in the offensive zone, cuts left to right, and they just don't take the shot at the right moment. Whereas, you know, when you play for a long time, you start to come across the top of the key or the top of the danger area, you kind of know when you should release, and you know kind of where to put it. And if you hold on one second too long, you your scoring percentage goes down. I think with net front presence, it's the same thing. You have to arrive at a certain time, you have to be in a position at a certain time. And Haley, in a minute, we'll even go in, we'll go three seconds backwards because while one of the roles is to be in front of the net, you have to help create the play to get you in front of the net. We'll we'll talk about that in a minute. But I actually want to break this down kind of like now that we've gotten through this part a little bit. It's a weird question. What percentage do you think is timing versus positioning? Right? Is it 50-50? Is it more timing? You know what I'm asking? Yeah, you could just say get in front of the net and then the kid might just go there, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:51

It's not it's not all that. That's so true. I think um I think timing is a lot of it because you can also do like a flash screen. Uh so for those that might not know, it's where you like you just skate through the eyes of the goalie, so like across the crease as the shot's coming, but that's really indicative on timing because it has to be as the shot's being released, that you literally pass the puck and it almost hits you, kind of thing. And then it'll hit the goalie. So, like that one's really based on timing. Whereas, like, if you're just doing like a regular screen where you're standing in front of the goalie, I think that's more positioning because you have to be in their eyes the whole time and make sure you're in the right spot. Because that that timing maybe doesn't it help like if you get there sooner, then like people might not be on you as much, like as a defender. Uh if you arrive like closer to the shot happening, but sometimes it works out where you're just standing in front of the goalie throughout the whole sequence. So it's more positioning.

SPEAKER_04 25:47

Well, and we didn't even talk about being a decoy in front of the net, too, right? Like if if uh at least when I played, you know, look, the tip's always on the table, obviously. If a D wants to throw it there, but if I'm in front of the net longer than I want to be, you know, we'd have conversations okay. Now I'm a decoy, right? Now now the goalie knows I'm there, the defenseman knows I'm there, you know. You put it where you need to put it. Um again, that's probably a little more advanced. Like I think kids right now, it's just about finding the time to get there. Um flash screen, very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Yeah, I definitely want to have a full cage on for that one, um, no matter what you're doing. But I love that. Okay, um, we're gonna we're gonna pause on the the deconstruction here because I do want to talk about the hat trick again that the in two minutes 44 seconds. Um, I just I'm just curious like when that's happening, right? Does the net feel bigger? I mean, like is the confidence grow, or were you just like, okay, I'm gonna do this again? The other thing too is like, you know, it's gonna be really easy for for fans to be like, how do they not know she's gonna do that? She just did, you know, she's it. I don't I don't think it was luck there, all right. I I think it's culmination. So, like, what was going through your mind with it when these are happening?

SPEAKER_00 26:59

I mean, the first one just felt so easy. Like, I literally, like I said, I saw Aaron at the top, she had so much time. I saw the clear lane. I'm like, she's definitely gonna shoot this to my backhand side. Like, and I knew she was gonna shoot it perfectly where I could deflect it to go back to the net.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Like that one just felt so easy. Whereas, like the second one was actually a shot by our forward Lena Jungbloom, uh, and it was a one timer. That one was just straight reacting because that came off so fast, and it was actually a dot release play, kind of. And she was just ready for the one timer, and I just reacted because it was coming at me really hard, and then it hit my stick and went in. Um and then the third one I think was just another shot from Aaron. And that one, I just that was it was just so funny. Cause like when uh I tipped Lena's shot, I remember like she was on the ground, like, was it me? And I go, I hit it. And then um, and then we're going through the line. The girls are just like scams again. And then when I tapped, uh when I tipped Aaron's shot again, like all the girls go to Aaron, like, was it you? And she goes, I think it was scammed.

SPEAKER_04 28:06

Haley, again, amazing stuff with that. Uh, how would you rank your celebration game? I I I saw your celebration. You're a really humble person. How would you rank that?

SPEAKER_00 28:17

It's like a zero. I I could never like go down on the knee or like jump into the I mean, maybe we'll see in playoffs, right? Maybe things will change, but like especially with like our fans in Montreal, like maybe I'll jump into the boards, but I still I don't even know. I just arms up, you know. I just like uh yeah, like it's exciting, but it's like I'm so excited to celebrate with my teammates and stuff. I'm ready for the hugs, and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Look like you've been there before, right?

SPEAKER_04 28:48

I'm just if she's gonna keep scoring, you know, it's gonna work on the game a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

It's actually I think I was laughing at one point on that. I just like couldn't even believe it. And like the fact they kept asking me, and I'm like, I I I did hit it.

SPEAKER_04 29:00

Yeah, on the third one, there was a little as you'd expect, like, wow, okay, this is happening, right? Yeah, um, I I will say this about you because I I know you pretty well at this point is that so you're celebrate. This is a lot about you. Your celebration is this big smile, yeah, right. And I I say to people, like, Well, yeah, of course you'd smile at the goal. You got to see your face before the puck goes in the neck. It's a pretty dramatic change from like, I'm going to murder this puck to I scored a goal, you know. Like, like so, so I I have appreciation for that. And I and and joking aside, I do appreciate how humble you are, you know, with with with that. But yeah, if you get a big game winner or something, uh you just remember this conversation. Yeah, um, that's something the kids can teach you, right? They have all sorts of celebrations.

SPEAKER_00 29:45

It is funny, it actually reminded me of a goal when you were talking about timing. I scored against Minnesota in Minnesota, um, where there was a rebound at the net, and I got there just in time, and then like I was able to get it around the goalie and I like tapped it in. But it just reminded me because you were telling me about my face, and there's a picture of me before I tap in the puck. Empty net, by the way, laser focused.

SPEAKER_02 30:06

Yeah, that's you.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

I agree, and then just tease it afterwards that it goes in, right? But um, that is funny. I do go through a range of emotions.

SPEAKER_04 30:15

It's the all-trae ego, like, like, like I'm gonna say again there's two Haleys, and I think what happens is when you score that you now like podcast Haley comes out for about five seconds, but you put her back away. Like, yeah, you have a you have a very intense stare, Haley, when you play. It's pretty intimidating. I'm not gonna lie to you. That's funny.

SPEAKER_01 30:33

Yeah, so we'll look for you ride in a stick through center ice next time.

SPEAKER_04 30:37

Yeah, maybe if it's the Walter Cup overtime game-winning goal. Yeah, I I mean, although, yeah, you you you guys kind of had one of those already this year in uh in Italy. All right, let's let's keep going back to the the goal now in deconstruction. So now we've kind of gone through the six seconds leading up to the goal. All right, now we're gonna talk about everything before that. So a forecheck has to be established, and your role on that for check is essentially to get that puck free for your teammates, right? And I'm bringing that up um because I think it's really important to understand like Haley's job is not just go to the net, right? Like you've got to create the play that's gonna make you go to the net. So can you, and again, it's a little more than just get the puck and get it out, but can you talk about some of those for checking responsibilities to create that time and space to get the puck north to south?

SPEAKER_00 31:23

Yeah, I mean, for six on five, it's kind of like all hands on deck. Like if you're there, you gotta just go. Like your mindset has to be go, go, go, because you're trying to get goals quickly. You don't want them to get any possession. And um, so I think on that one, it's more so just like everyone's going. Uh, I mean, same with like our regular power play too, right? Like five on four. But for me, like on our faceoffs, my job is hunt. Like, that's always what it says on our like job, right? So it's like, I just know I'm ready to like my first job, like off a face-off, for example, right? Like my first thought is okay, go right to the dot and then react once I see which way it goes to help support and make sure we get possession of the puck. Um, you know, if it's dumped in, right? My mindset is just go all out, make sure they cannot get a clean clear. Um, because that's just for a power play to have to break out again is just the worst. Like you just want possession of the puck. You want to be in zone. And so for me, that's just my motivation. I'm just like, yep, I'm on it. Like, that's my job. I've got this. Uh, I love for checking, it's one of my favorite parts.

SPEAKER_04 32:26

Well, I love that you describe it as hunting. And I think it's exactly a term I actually use with my youth players because of you last year of like go hunt the puck, right? Sometimes go get the bacon, right? Um, you know, another thing too, you're talking about power play uh specific, but this is also true just on five-on-five plays. And you'll see this at pro levels of hockey is when you get the puck, you'll see the players start to kind of rotate around the boards, right? And find that open player. And what they're doing, kids, is creating that time, right? They're creating the possession. I think sometimes we get the puck, we hold it too long, or we try and make a one-on-one move when if there's an open player and you can create some time for your team, you want to move that puck, right? And in terms of this episode, you know, what Haley does so well is like again, she'll get that puck to the next available forward or D, and then that activates. We talked about the Q, it activates the okay, I'm going to start moving towards the front of the net. Now it's not like I got the puck to the wing, let me go to the net. It's she watches the plays. I can let you explain this too. When the puck gets to the point, that's the activation point of going to the net, right? If it's just on the boards, you're probably in the F2 support role at that term, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Yeah, exactly. I think you know, as long as I see that I made like a clear pass to the D, it's also trusting the D that they're gonna have possession and like have you know, create a little time for me to get to that net front. Um, and then if it's like a battle, obviously that you're there for close support to make sure you help again. If you then need to like kick it to the D or get it low or switch sides even, you might want to rim it and switch it to the other side.

SPEAKER_03 33:53

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:53

Um, so it's all kind of like reading the play and reading where the pressure is, um, and just knowing if you made that clear pass or not to whoever your outlet is.

SPEAKER_04 34:04

I love that we're bringing up read the play because again, I'm gonna bring this to hockey IQ with youth players. You you can't panic in these moments, like the the amount of times and kids, I'm gonna say it's like a coach, but I want you to learn from it, right? That we throw pucks into crowded areas when Haley just said it, reversing it to the other side of the ice creates more time and space. These are things we look for as coaches, right? When I see a younger player read that, okay, there's three opposition players in front of me, and on the other side of the ice, there's there's a two-on-one on our side, and you reverse it or you throw it to the other side to create that time. Man, that's a pretty brilliant play, right? Because now we can set up, right? And I say to the kids all the time, don't throw the puck into traffic, right? I'd rather you hold on to it at that point. So, so a big part of what Haley's saying, and this is all about again, net front presence is reading the play so you can create the situation for the net front presence. It's not enough just to go there and hope. That's not that's not gonna bring you to the promised land. Yeah, right. Mike, you have anything to add to that? Because I want to move on to another thing.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

Yeah, I think I just think the strategy of that is why it's so important when we talk to players about you know being multi-sport athletes and and thinking about space and awareness. And if you're a lacrosse player or a basketball player, you know, you understand these terms. Like you understand, you know, the fact that you know on what the one area of the field or the playing surface is is a strong side and and and there's a weak side, and there's a a way for you as a player to put the puck somewhere else to create the time for you to get into those open areas. Like if you want to just keep jamming the puck and go into places that are clogged up and you have and there's no way you can build any support for yourself, like with Haley's role by putting the puck somewhere else away from her to a place where that that player now has to make a decision, it gives the the tipper or the screener or whoever's supposed to be in that role the opportunity to get into those areas to make a play, um, as opposed to you know, everybody's jammed up, the puck goes the other way, the play's a broken play. So I think strategically, you know, when you watch Haley and you watch really good for checkers, they're going into an area to then put the puck somewhere else where then they can create open space. I think too many athletes think, oh, when I get the puck, I'm the goal scorer.

SPEAKER_02 36:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

Like, and that's not eventually you might be, but the the the the the there is a process in place there to open up ice so that you can then eventually get to be the goal scorer.

SPEAKER_04 36:27

You know, the mindset that I share with all ages, and I'm talking all the way up to national team level, is that the puck carrier is in service of the players without the puck, and the players without the puck need to get open for the puck carrier. Like that's how I want my teams to play, right? Mike, to your suggestion of oh, I have the puck, I have to score. If you can score, great. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't score, but I'm saying that the mindset is who's open? How can I create that time and space? That to me is a really smart hockey player. Now, look, look, adversely, and I'm talking more the pro level now, you can actually overdo that too. Like, this is why NHL fans are shoot, shoot the puck, right? PWHL fans too. Um, but creating that time and space and that possession, it's everything. I mean, it's everything, right, Hilly? I mean, I mean, again, it's not just about getting the puck to net. You can take a thousand bad shots and miss the net a thousand times, or you can get the right possession, right placement, right timing, it's super important.

SPEAKER_00 37:25

Yeah, I think um that's where it comes, like reading off of your players and also knowing like their tendencies too. Yeah. Uh, you know, so if a player is like uh going in the corner and they might go around the net, like you know, one player might always kick it tied to their D. You know, another player might always try to wrap it around uh and like go for an attack, where I think like you can read off of that, right? And like make sure you time how you get into that slot area for maybe a pass from them, or to then arrive when they kick it out high to the D, that you're their net front to then screen.

SPEAKER_04 37:56

Yeah, it it's also chemistry. You build that chemistry throughout a season. And I'll I'll tell all the players out there when you get chemistry with with your line mates or your D partner or the all five players on the ice, oh, it's magical. It's nice, it's a magical feeling when you know what they're doing. Yeah, the other thing I'm gonna say about this too, with with tips uh for the kids listening is look, if you if you take a wrister or a snap top corner, it feels great. It's a great way to score. I promise you, kids, if you get a good tip off, it feels just as good. All right. Uh, especially if you do it three times in two minutes, 43 seconds. Um, all right, Haley, next thing I want to ask you is this um, you know, you're on you're on the taller side when you look at the PWHL in terms of of roster sizes and and of you know height. Um do you think you have to be tall to be in this position? Can smaller players be in this position? I mean, obviously being tall helps in terms of just getting in front of the goalie, but I, you know, I don't think it's limited to that, correct?

SPEAKER_00 38:54

Definitely not. We've had um plenty of people who are on the shorter side being that front as well. I think as long as you have like good hand-eye coordination, good hockey IQ, um, I still think you just being a presence in front of the net is a distraction enough for the goalie. And if you bring a defender with you to cover you, they're also probably gonna be screening the goalie as well. So I don't think it's um it's not limited to just the tall people, but it definitely helps.

SPEAKER_04 39:18

The tall people. No, I agree with you. I think too that there's there's advantages to both, right? It's uh kind of just understanding that obviously having height allows you to take up more area um and screen more. But you know, if you're on the shorter side, you know, from a coaching standpoint, from a player standpoint, you get a lower center of gravity, you'll get to that puck a lot faster. Um, you know, there's a lot of things you can do there. So I brought this up just so players know, like you don't have to be a giant to do this, right? Anybody can play in front of the net uh if that's the type of game you want to play. All right. And I always say you should try and find that. Go ahead, Mike.

SPEAKER_01 39:52

Yeah, I think I think the profile isn't more size, it's all the other intangibles, right, that you bring to the table there. Like what, you know, what is your agility like? What kind of hand and eye coordination do you have? You know, what kind of uh, you know, what kind of you know, you not not only hand eye coordination, but like how do you determine angles and how do you determine like space? And like sometimes I don't care if you're the biggest player or the smallest player, right? You're you're that person that's in that role uh needs to have a lot of other intangibles that uh and you know, along with like we said earlier, the toughness and and the the the ability to you know kind of battle, but also to know when not to be there, right? No, know when to, okay, you know, I'm not helping here, I'm not supporting my teammates here, but I have the skill to be able to go in, I'm a high skilled player, I can do what I need to do here, but then my then going back to my role, I need to know what I what I need to do. But you know, what is it that allows, like what do you think it allows you? Like, is it anticipation? Is it toughness? Is it just your balance? Like allows you to know, okay, boom, I got pressure in this area. Like, how do I then release myself that that now I can actually, you know, make an indirect or or a tip?

SPEAKER_00 41:03

Yeah, if um if I do start feeling pressure on me or if a deep kind of comes to me, I use them to put myself into a better position. So I'll kind of like push off of their hips and then pop into a space, whether it's to pop into a space higher to tip the puck or pop into a space for a quick shot from someone, like if they're able to like slip it to me, like uh on the inside, like that. Um, so there's different ways you can kind of use the defender to put yourself in a better position and catch them off balance as well.

SPEAKER_01 41:32

Yeah, some some some coaches like would love, right? That some like some players like you probably love that, oh yeah, I if I take that defender and I can now handle that defender and and and kind of influence where I want them to go, first of all, I'm taking somebody out of the play. So now it's a four on four, not a five on five, right? And I'm and I'm we're actually using that player as an addition to my skill set. Like I'm using that player to maybe help me set, like so, depending on where you decide to stand, because we all see it, right? What at the youth level, what's every defender doing? They're just there, you know, hitting you from behind, cross-checking in front, and they're just like a lot of times the defender loses sight of the rest of the hockey play because they're focused on you. And you're like, okay, well, yeah, focus on me, but I can also then use you to put myself in a better situation. So can you just talk about a little bit about more like how do you how did you learn that? And then what are like some tips and tricks you would give to a player that's in that position that does always have somebody draped all over you and is pressuring you all the time?

SPEAKER_00 42:34

I mean, I think if you are drawing that much attention, you're also helping create more space for your teammates to then do what they need to do to get pucks to the net. Uh, so I would also encourage that player to know that like you're doing your job because sometimes that also attracts the second person. Like I've watched clips back where two people come to me because I'm net front, because like that's the danger zone, right? They're so worried about that zone that it draws more attention. Yeah, yeah. Right. Like, so I think um even just being there and causing that much chaos in front of the net is also good. Um, I think that also distracts the goalie as well. I think any kind of movement in front of the net like that is drawing attention away from where they need to focus, which is on the puck. Um and then, I mean, like I said, just using them to get yourself into a better position, you can hit them too. Don't feel like you uh, like obviously within the rules, but like you can push off of them and like create your own space as well. Um, and so don't feel like you have to just be the punching bag the whole time.

SPEAKER_04 43:33

Well, hey, listen, I'll tell you what, when I played, um, and again, it was a different era when I played Haley, but like you could come kind of cross-check someone in the back a lot, right? And get away with it.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

I think we if you watched the day NHL playoffs, yeah. No, no, I'm I don't think that rule, I don't think that rule even exists.

SPEAKER_04 43:49

In the playoffs, they let it go, but uh I'm saying that that that was pretty commonplace when I played. And I remember when I was in front of the net. Um, I I mean, look, there's some gamesmanship. If that D's really focused on me, they're they're not focusing on the play at that point, and I can do a lot of things with that, right? So just continuing on this too. Uh you know, I want to make sure that we're helping the kids listening understand how to build this. Now, kids, we've talked about a lot. There is a massive recipe for getting good at this, all right? And it's not just go to the net, all right. And I wrote some things down here about too, Haley. Like I was thinking about this too about um there are situations in front where the depth of where you are to the net, and you and you might be in a position if you're pulling a D with you and you can move up into the slot a little bit, that completely changes this thing for the goalie. It changes it for the shot. Like there's so much that goes into this, right? So when we look at this recipe and the way kids want to practice this, obviously, we've talked about a few things timing and getting to the net, not whacking at the puck, depth perception, reading the play, reading the shot, body positioning, tip and turn. Kids, there's a lot. There's a lot that makes you good at this. You gotta practice. All right. And I also think I want to say this a big way to get good at this is playing other sports. And what I just said, playing baseball or softball, playing basketball, all right? I mean, I there's more, right? They all play into this. If you if you've been up to to bat in baseball or softball, you're gonna be better at tipping. Just because you're reading that pot coming at you. Haley, what other sports did you play? Soccer? I didn't think about that too. Like that you think kind of Absolutely fly into this.

SPEAKER_00 45:29

I mean, for me, it was soccer and tennis. And I still play tennis in the summers, and that's obviously huge with hand-eye coordination. And so is soccer, obviously, too. But uh for me, I definitely attribute that to tennis. And then, like, honestly, when I was younger, we played backyard baseball like all the time. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, it plays into it.

SPEAKER_04 45:48

It's so important. And then the other thing too is with with tipping the puck, you know, you have to almost view it. Again, this isn't gonna be the right, complete right terminology, but it's a 360 field in front of you. Obviously, you can't do it above your shoulders, right? It's I sticking, but you have to be able to learn how to tip that puck anywhere. I remember the first time someone taught me how to tip the puck across my body with my backhand. And like having never done that before, and then how kind of easy it was, too. And yeah, and that's a really impressive tip, by the way. Feel that one feels extra good. Yeah. All right. Or how to how to, and this one's uh, I mean a little bit advanced, but it's not crazy. How to kind of tip and as a pull, or you can tip it kind of behind your back with on your forehand, that really throws glose off too. But you've got to practice this. So, kids, the way I practice it, and Haley, I'm sure you do too, is I would stay late after practice if I could, or if I had free time at practice, I would have a coach shoot pucks at me. I'd have a teammate shoot pucks at me. I'd I'd try and find ways to find different ways to tip. I'm gonna say this again, kids, that it's not about whacking, it was just about moving my my stick the the shortest amount to just get it on the puck. It tipping is not as hard as you think it is. All right, tipping is not as hard as you think it is. Tipping is more about positioning, moving that stick to the right spot, and and it I almost want to call it tapping, right? Because it's not even about just tipping. Um, but Haley, again, you you've given us so much value with that today. But in terms of teaching kids, right? And I talked about how often I used to practice this, right? Free time or just having teammates or coaches shoot at me. What's your process to work on that?

SPEAKER_00 47:30

Well, it's funny. So actually, the day before the game in Vancouver, for some reason, like I was like, let's do tips. Like I asked some of the D to like shoot on me. I must have tipped, I must have been sitting there for like 50 shots, like I swear, just staying there. And then some teammates came in and did it too. And then that happened the next game. And I was like, I have to do this every single day now. But uh But I mean, that's my favorite way to do it is to just ask like a friend, you know, to go up to the point. And like, who doesn't like to shoot more pucks? Right. And I think um I like doing that, especially with the D that I work with on the power play, uh, to do it with them especially more, because that's my position there as well. And um, you can just stand there and just work on, you know, tell them, hey, shoot to this side more often. Then you just have your stick in front and you work on that side, then you can work on the other side and you go from there. And um, don't be too hard on yourself if you're not tapping pucks. I think sometimes like you don't touch any, you can get really frustrated really easily. I think it's just important to kind of like stick with the process, don't judge it and just uh learn with it. And honestly, I just like my cue is just kind of like guide the puck. You're almost guiding the puck into the net. Uh, I'm like, okay, my stick is a magnet to the puck, like it's it's gonna touch the puck. And um, that helps me kind of uh refocus. And I usually end up tipping the next shot.

SPEAKER_04 48:50

Magnet was the right word for that game.

SPEAKER_00 48:52

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:53

Yeah, and another thing too for the kids, like ways to practice just like we'll say, like more from a beginner standpoint. Um, it first off, when you're practicing tips, you feel pretty cool because someone's literally shooting a puck at you and you're standing there, and if people are watching, it's like man, you're standing there in front of someone shooting pucks at you. Yeah, it's it's pretty cool, but it can also be a little scary the first time, right? Because someone's shooting pucks at you. All right. Um, so I'll tell the kids a few things. One is that it's like like baseball and softball, if it's coming right at you, you will move out of the way. Okay, if a puck's coming at your head, you're not gonna just stand there and let it hit you. Yeah, okay. So just kind of know that. The other thing, too, is if if the blue line feels a little too close, have someone shooting the red line. All right, you can you can build into this by taking the time, right? Now, as you get good at it, you want them to get closer and closer within reason. Uh, and you want the shot speed to go up more and more within reason, but you don't have to start with you know howitzer from the blue line. You can you can even start with the puck coming on the ice and just moving your stick timing-wise and tipping it in. That that's where I would start, okay. And if if you want to do this off the ice, again, just get your stick. Someone can shoot a tennis ball at you. All you gotta do is touch it. Doesn't even have to go in the net at that point. Just just track it, tap it, track it, tap it, and turn. All right. That that is also one of my non-negotiables when I'm teaching is do not forget to turn after you tip it. Do not forget to turn if you miss it, because there's no guarantee the goal you made to save, right? Cleanly. So it's always tip and turn. All right. Another thing I want to talk about real quick, we're almost done here, Haley, is that uh tips are often, I don't agree with this, but they're kind of referred to as ugly goals, right? Like they're in ugly areas. I don't agree. I think tips are one of the most beautiful types of goals. I'm bringing this up because everyone loves the the the toe drag release snap to the corner. All right, that's not your style. Not saying you can't do it. Yeah, does it feel bad for you when you get a tip and goal? You see where I'm going with this?

SPEAKER_00 50:44

Doesn't it feel pretty good for the kids listening? It feels amazing. Um, I think tip and goals are really cool. I think I love how it takes so much from like the person shooting it, making sure it's in like a good position, and then the person with the IQ, or not the IQ, the the hand-eye coordination who's able to like redirect it in like like like how is it even like in such a different direction, right? Like, I just think it's really cool. So, like my first one was on the backhand side. I'm like, that felt nice. It literally went to the opposite side of the net. Um, another fun one is when it's high and the goalie goes high, and then you tip it and it goes down, and then it goes just on the ice in another great feeling. So uh yeah, all goals are great goals.

SPEAKER_04 51:23

I was gonna joke too. If you need another excuse, uh most goalies will dismiss it after it's as a tip, it's like wasn't my fault, I got tip. So that's always a fun one, too. But uh, just an incredibly valuable and important skill. Kids, if you work on this at a young age and develop this skill, it will set you apart heavily by the time you're 12. All right, because coaches look for these players, all right. And and I'm gonna be honest with you, and Mike, you should comment on this. There are not many players in youth hockey doing this, all right. We feel the same way about like really being great at passing and playmaking. Like, like these are the ways to separate yourself. Everybody wants to score, and I am not telling you kids not to work on your shot. In fact, I'm telling you, I'm telling you to work on your shot, but that cannot be the only thing you work on. Mike, your thoughts on that too, as a coach, because you see this all the time as well.

SPEAKER_01 52:17

Yeah, I mean, there's more. I mean, I every every in the summer when we work with uh some of the college guys and the pro guys and stuff, like at the end of each session, we'll always add in like some kind of an odd little thing. Every session, like that. It's not all, you know, it's all these little nuances. Okay, I'm gonna throw a bunch of pucks, you know, over to your gloves. Like, and it's gotta, and you gotta, you gotta bat it down and hit it. You gotta bat it down and tip it. You gotta move your body, find ways, and just and then you start to get a rhythm. Like I said, you can't just be a tipper, you can't be a redirector and say, hey, you want to go out and redirect pucks. You've got to find out like where does your body go? Where does your hands go? Where's your stick movement go? And that all takes reps. And to get those reps in, it could be as simple as you know, mom and dad, you know, you know, tossing you a little tennis ball and you're just tapping it down, tapping it down, tapping it down. You once you start doing those kind of things, like Haley is talking about, you know, just getting those 50 little reps in practice, it didn't take her, you know, two hours of training. It was just, you know, an opportunity to have a teammate that wants to put the puck somewhere where they can both work on it. I think that was a very uh you know underrated piece of this, is that it it this is also so beneficial for the shooter. Yeah, like you know, deliberate training, like deliberately putting pucks where you want them to go is such a huge skill. And the game is tips and redirects, and that's all the game is. So that that that that you know, and you talked about it before, Harley. There was a play where the puck just, you know, your timing happened, you come in, boom, the puck's there, and you're able to move it. You know, it wasn't a big windup, it wasn't a toe drag release, it was like on my stick, off my stick. And I think all those little directs, I think when I see a player sometimes, one of the most common mistakes in a kid, in a player learning how to tip and redirect is that they stop the puck. Like they don't allow, like so that puck coming at you at a good amount of speed is the responsibility of the shooter. And that you know, that that that player knowing, like I don't need to stop the puck. I literally just have to twist my blade uh uh you know a half an inch and it's going somewhere else. And those little nuances can happen without practice. But again, I think there's so many great tips and tricks here, and and and the ability to understand that the play is never over until it's over, and that's when you turn around and you look and you either put your hands up because it's the goal or smile and you start hunting for pucks. Yeah, that's when the play's over.

SPEAKER_04 54:35

Smile or hunt. Either way, you're in the game. Either way. Um, I'll tell you what, Kaylee, Kaylee, Haley. I'll tell you why I said Kaylee. Haley, we're gonna court you because I wrote that down to maybe uh bring on one of your defensive teammates for a future episode to talk about puck placement because it will tease this a little bit. Great D shooting or or great D moving the puck is all about placement. I think another youth misconception is well, the the the defenseman has to shoot that thing as hard as they possibly can at the net, and that is not the case. Uh, I'd say 90% of the time, placement and speed and reading what's in front of you. That's another episode. We'll we'll try and get another uh one of your teammates on for that to discuss. The other thing, too, Hilly, I wanted to make a note of this, is you know, this is something I guarantee is going to happen now because not just of the hat trick, but the way you play this season, opposing coaches are going to say, watch out for skimora in front of the net. That is something that is going to be said in opposing teams' locker rooms. Okay. Now, kids, if Alex Ovechkin has the puck, everyone knows to watch out for his shot. Okay, that's standing out. Coaches will say you got to watch out for skimora in front of the net. Now that gives you a massive advantage because is she gonna tip? Is she gonna screen? Is she gonna move forward or back? Do I commit too much? Now you're creating chaos just by being there because you've established yourself as that type of player. Kids, that's what you want to develop. That's what you want.

SPEAKER_01 56:09

Do you have to set this uh do you have to uh post this after the playoffs then now?

SPEAKER_04 56:13

No, it doesn't matter if I say it, they're gonna do it anyway. No, no matter what. It's it's really still your problem, not our problem.

SPEAKER_01 56:19

Um, she has to figure out a way to get out of it.

SPEAKER_04 56:24

I'm gonna if if if if the the teams you're playing aren't saying that, then they I don't know why they're coaching in that level. A podcast host. All right. Um, Ellie, just a tremendous, tremendous episode. I mean that. I think the kids learned a lot today. Coaches probably learned a lot today about the importance of this. Um, do you have any just final thoughts on the topic, right? Netfront presence for the for the group.

SPEAKER_00 56:44

Um, I just wanted to reiterate how important the net front role is. I think sometimes players think they're just being thrown there because their coaches don't want them like controlling the puck or anything like that. And like that is not the case. Like the net front role is so important. You are creating chaos in front of the net. You're gonna lead to more scoring chances for your team, and you're more likely to score because you're in the scoring zone, like you're in the danger zone. So um just be excited about it, like have fun with it, enjoy the opportunity. Um, I, you know, I'm a big fan of it. I love being net front. And so um, I just think it's such a great position to be in for yourself and for your team.

SPEAKER_04 57:22

Well, I love it. Y'all learned something here today with our elite guest, Hat Trick Haley Samora. Put that on a t-shirt. Uh Elliot, thanks so much again for always sharing your expertise and helping us. And uh, this has been a great discussion. So, look, that's gonna do it for this edition of Our Girls Play Hockey. Um, uh, if you have questions about this, if you like these type episodes, let us know. Email us, team at our kidsplayhockey.com, or as always, there's a link in the description. Uh, you can text us, we can text you back, you can let leave a voicemail if you want on there. Um, we love hearing about what you want to talk about, and you've got access to a gold medalist pro player who's very humble about that, but I can say it. All right, you can ask her anything she wants, she's an open book with the hockey stuff, and we'll do that. But for Helios Kamora, I'm sorry, for Hat Trip, Haley Skimora, for Mike Fanelli, I'm Leo Wyas. We'll see you on the next Our Girls Play Hockey. 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 kidsplayhockey.com. Also, make sure to check out our children's book, When Hockey Stops, at When Hockey Stops.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.