Rinkside Rundown

What does it mean to build a sports agency dedicated exclusively to female athletes in a rapidly expanding industry? This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by Lander Cook, CEO and player agent at Cook Stark Management. Lander opens up about why Cook Stark was built from the ground up to represent women’s sports, what sets their holistic approach apart, and how the landscape of player representa...

What does it look like to navigate the modern landscape of women's hockey on your own terms? This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by Minnesota State graduate and HV71 forward Kennedy Bobyck. Kennedy opens up about growing up around technical hockey development in Saskatchewan, playing for Carla MacLeod at Edge School, and her five seasons with the Mavericks. We discuss how studying psychology...

What does it take to turn early competition and high expectations into a dominant collegiate career and a path to the professional ranks? This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by Colgate University forward and PWHL Draft prospect Elyssa Biederman. Elyssa opens up about growing up playing boys' hockey in Michigan, learning what it takes to win with the Little Caesars program, and balancing top-...

What does it actually take to stand alone in the crease when the pressure is at its highest? This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by St. Lawrence University goaltender and PWHL Hamilton draft pick Emma-Sofie Nordström. She opens up about growing up in a deeply rooted hockey family in Denmark, her development playing in Sweden’s SDHL, and the mindset that carried her across the Atlantic to NCA...

This week on Rinkside Rundown, we welcome back friend of the show, Lyndsey Janes. When we first spoke back on Episode 47, Lyndsey was in the middle of her playing career at Mount Royal University. Now, she is stepping into a brand new chapter as an assistant coach with the University of Manitoba Bisons. In this conversation, Lyndsey opens up about navigating the shift from player to coach, what sh...

Grace Sadura joins the show to talk about her hockey journey, leadership, and commitment to the community. From growing up in Minnesota and playing three seasons at Minnesota Duluth to starting a new chapter with Northeastern University, Grace shares what has shaped her path on and off the ice. We dive into her role as a leader, her academic focus in psychology and Mandarin Chinese, and her impact...

This week on Rinkside Rundown, we welcome back friend of the show, Tristan Thompson. When we first spoke back on Episode 10 , she was just getting ready to step onto campus for her freshman year at Northeastern University. Now, she is preparing for a brand new chapter with St. Cloud State University. In this conversation, Tristan opens up about the realities of dealing with early career injuries,...

This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by Boston University standout Sydney Healey. Her story starts on backyard rinks and how those moments playing sports with her family turned into a obsession with the game, how she learned to lead through the ups and downs of junior hockey, and why she chose Boston University to build her foundation. Sydney also opens up about the mental and physical shift...

What does it actually take to stand alone in the crease when the pressure is at its highest? This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by Penn State goaltender and Vancouver Goldeneyes draft pick Katie DeSa, where she opens up about the journey that brought her from falling in love with the game during the 2010 Olympics to anchoring the Nittany Lions' historic run. During our conversation, Katie t...

Building a foundation beyond the ice. This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by Brown University captain India McDadi. Instead of just tracing her collegiate steps in the ECAC, we explore how her athletic roots outside the rink ultimately shaped her competitive edge and leadership style. India opens up about growing up as a multi-sport athlete in Mississauga. We discuss how her early success in...

When a career comes full circle. This week on Rinkside Rundown, I’m joined by Colgate University graduate and PWHL Detroit draft pick Casey Borgiel. We trace her path from youth hockey with Little Caesars through her collegiate stops at Holy Cross and Colgate, and what she discovered about herself both on and off the ice along the way. Casey opens up about the impact of team culture and leadership...

What does a journey look like from small town Indiana to the pros? This week on Rinkside Rundown, I catch up with friend of the show Megan McKay, defender and graduate of Clarkson University, who grew up in Zionsville, Indiana and is now preparing for a professional career in the PWHL. Since Megan last appeared back on Episode 96 of the show ( https://youtu.be/q6yg3V-ip9w ), she wrapped up her col...

Community, leadership, and resilience. Three words to describe the journey of forward Maddy Christian, who joins me this week on Rinkside Rundown to share her inspiring hockey story. Maddy talks about the importance of community back home in Elk River, Minnesota and how they helped shape her into the player she is on the ice and the person she is away from it. She also reflects on the growth she w...

Antigonish, Nova Scotia native Sara Stewart joins me this week on Rinkside Rundown to talk about her early love of hockey, the impact of community and family on her career, her growth and development at Colgate University, and what it means to be representing the East Coast for her and the next generation of female hockey players. This conversation took place prior to the 2026 PWHL Draft, where Sa...

This week on Rinkside Rundown, I sit down with Belleville, Ontario native Zoe Uens. Zoe walks me through how her love of hockey started from watching her dad and brother play, why playing multiple sports mattered for her development, and what it was like growing up in Belleville. We talk about her junior career with the Kingston Ice Wolves, her decision to commit to Quinnipiac, and the growth she...

Alex Therien went from playing her junior career in her hometown to representing Canada on the international stage to beginning an NCAA career with the University of New Hampshire, and this week, she joins me on Rinkside Rundown. We talk about the value of being a multi-sport athlete, Alex’s leadership experiences, and what it means to have a professional women's hockey team, the Ottawa Charge, pl...

Chloe Glass, founder of the Girls and Women's Hockey Academy, joins me this week on Rinkside Rundown to discuss her transition from a college athlete and professional player in Germany to a leading advocate for athlete development, both on and off the ice. Chloe shares her journey from a young hockey player inspired by her father to a college athlete and eventually a coach, and the lessons learned...

Margot Page has seen the women’s game from every angle, first as an elite athlete on the world stage and now as the head coach of the Brock University Badgers. In this week’s episode of Rinkside Rundown, we dive into her transition from the ice to the bench and her perspective on the growth of women’s hockey, both in Canada and in the PWHL. In this episode, we explore: Her journey from collegiate...

This week on Rinkside Rundown, I sit down with Dr. Katie Peterson, a licensed sports psychologist at Achieve Performance Psychology and two-time NCAA champion, as we discuss the mental side of sports and its impact on performance, growth and development. Dr. Katie Peterson shares her own journey through hockey, including championship success, as well as what inspired her to swap the locker room fo...

Michelle Pasiechnyk grew up in Ottawa playing mini sticks and falling in love with hockey before going on to a collegiate career that saw her take home NCAA Goaltender of the Year. On this episode of Rinkside Rundown, I sit down with the Ottawa native to discuss a career defined by success on the ice, what it meant to step away from the game and the perspective she learned from doing so. With the...

This week, I'm joined by University of Minnesota forward Jamie Nelson, as we discuss her early days growing up in Andover, Minnesota where she was put in skates at three years old, to how important it was to remain close to home and the growth and development that led to a career year in 2025-26. With the PWHL Draft around the corner, we also discuss the anticipation Jamie feels ahead of this next...

This week on the show, I'm joined by Viivi Vainikka, Finnish national team member and forward with Brynäs IF of the SDHL, as she shares her journey from Espoo, Finland, where she started playing the game as a way to spend time with friends to becoming a star in the Swedish league. Viivi talks about how her competitive nature helped her to discover a passion for hockey, how that passion drove her t...

On this week's episode of Rinkside Rundown, I'm joined by College of Holy Cross standout forward Charlotte Sonntag as we skate our way through her journey from Sun Valley, Idaho, through the Shattuck St Mary's organization to her record-setting collegiate career with Holy Cross. We talk about the important lessons Charlotte learned during her junior career and how they helped set her up for a coll...

This week on Rinkside Rundown, I'm joined by forward Carina DiAntonio, captain at Yale University, to discover more about her journey from the outdoor rinks in Mississauga, ON, where she was an active kid who wanted to be just like her sister and play hockey, to becoming captain at Yale, and preparing for the upcoming PWHL Draft. We talk about the leadership experience she gained during her junior...

Thea Johansson, a forward at the University of Minnesota Duluth, joins Rinkside Rundown to talk about her path from Sweden to NCAA hockey and now toward the 2026 PWHL Draft. Read and subscribe at www.rinksiderundown.ca . Growing up in a competitive athletic family in Sweden, Thea was surrounded by sport and learned early how to train, compete, and handle pressure while still enjoying the game. She...