Our Kids Play Hockey

🚗 Heading to a hockey tryout or evaluation? Take a deep breath — this Ride to the Rink is exactly what you need to hear. Evaluations can bring out a lot of emotions: excitement, nerves, pressure, and sometimes even fear. But the truth is, a great tryout isn’t about doing something flashy or trying to be someone you’re not. It’s about preparation, mindset, and showing coaches the best version of Y...

🏒 Hockey tryout season is here… and for many families, that means nerves, pressure, and a lot of unanswered questions. What are coaches actually looking for? How are teams really selected? And what should parents and players focus on when the stakes feel high? In this annual Our Kids Play Hockey Tryout Episode , hosts Lee Elias, Christie Casciano-Burns, and Mike Bonelli break down the reality of...

🏒 You asked… and the mailbag is back! In this special Our Girls Play Hockey Mailbag Episode , hosts Lee and Mike sit down with professional hockey player Hayley Scamurra to answer rapid-fire questions straight from young players, parents, and coaches around the hockey world. From game-day meals and pregame routines to scoring goals, getting faster, and handling the fear of missing out during the...

🚨 Think tryouts start on evaluation day? Think again. If you’re heading to a pre-skate or ID skate, this episode is your mindset reset before you walk through those rink doors. Lee and Mike break down what these “tryout before the tryout” skates really are — and more importantly, how YOU should approach them. Because here’s the truth: it’s not just about what you do on the ice… it’s who you are f...

🔥 ID skates. Pre-skates. Early evaluations. Winter “select” teams. If you’re a hockey parent right now, your inbox is probably full — and your anxiety might be too. So what are ID skates really? Are they opportunities… or just early tryouts in disguise? In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey , Lee and Mike break down the real story behind pre-skates and ID skates — what they mean, when they make...

🥇 She wrote it on the whiteboard for a year: “I am a gold medalist.” Now it’s real. In this unforgettable crossover episode of Our Kids Play Hockey and Our Girls Play Hockey , Olympic Gold Medalist Hayley Scamurra joins us fresh off Team USA’s historic championship run — and yes… she’s still wearing the medal. Seven games. Seven wins. Two goals in the opener. A perfect penalty kill. A 2–1 overtim...

🎉 GIVEAWAY ALERT, Hockey Families! 🎉 Something BIG just dropped in the Our Kids Play Hockey world… and we’re celebrating the best way we know how — by giving back to YOU. Christie Casciano-Burns — award-winning journalist, USA Hockey Magazine columnist, and the original inspiration behind this podcast — has officially released Puck Hog 3: Trophy Thief Mystery … and we’re giving away FIVE copies!...

🚨 Parents — this one’s for you. 🚨 Tryout season is here. Emotions are high. FOMO is real. And decisions made right now can shape your child’s hockey journey for years to come. In this special Parent Edition of The Ride to the Rink , Lee and Mike Bonelli flip the script and ask the kids to turn to YOU and say: “Are you listening?” Because when it comes to hockey evals, team jumping, chasing elite...

🏒 Is your child developing as a hockey player… or just playing more hockey? In this powerful episode of Our Kids Play Hockey , Lee and Mike sit down with Jimmy Law , Director of Sports Performance at TPH Academy and founder of Habits of Hockey, to unpack what real development looks like. Spoiler alert: It’s not more ice time. Jimmy shares his journey from first-generation roller hockey player to...

🏒 What would an Olympian tell her 10-year-old self? On this episode of The Ride to the Rink , we get something special — two Olympians talking directly to young hockey players. Haley Winn joins Hayley Scamurra, Lee Elias, and Mike Bonelli for a powerful conversation about confidence, development, rest, and what really matters if you dream of playing at the highest level. If you're a young pl...

🏒 What if the most important hockey development tool isn’t a skills coach… but a backyard rink? This week on The Ride to the Rink , Lee and Mike are joined by Stanley Cup Finalist, Team USA alum, and all-around great human Ryan Carter — and he’s taking us back to where it all started. Not in a fancy arena.  Not at an elite showcase.  But on a Minnesota cul-de-sac with a tennis ball. Ryan shares h...

🏒 What if chasing the “best” team is actually holding your player back? This week on Our Kids Play Hockey , we sit down with former NHL forward and Stanley Cup champion Ryan Carter to unpack the truth about youth hockey development — and why the “slow cooker” might beat the “instant pot” every time. From growing up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota to carving out a 10-year NHL career (after going und...

🏒 What does it actually feel like to get the call that you’ve made Team USA? In this unforgettable episode of Our Girls Play Hockey , hosts Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Hayley Scamurra sit down with Boston Fleet rookie and newly named Team USA Olympian Haley Winn to talk about the moment her childhood dream became reality. From backyard battles with her three older brothers to the USA Hockey Deve...

📊 Stats. Love them. Hate them. Ignore them. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, one thing is certain — statistics are part of hockey, and how you use them can shape your growth as a player. On this episode of The Ride to the Rink , Mike and Lee dive into one of the most emotional and misunderstood parts of the game: hockey stats . Goals, assists, plus-minus, turnovers, save percentage — the...

📬 It’s time to open the mailbag — and these questions go way deeper than you might expect. In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey , Lee, Mike, and Christie tackle two listener questions that hit at the heart of youth hockey development — accountability, stats, and how parents can support learning without getting in the way. First up, a coach asks a question we hear all the time : 👉 Is there a s...

🏒 What does a “normal day” look like when you’re a PWHL player, a Team USA Olympian, and right in the middle of a historic season for women’s hockey? In this mid-season edition of A Day in the Life , we go behind the scenes with Hayley Scamurra as she balances professional hockey, Olympic preparation, travel, recovery, leadership, and the daily grind that fans rarely get to see. From getting the...

🚗💬 What if getting better at hockey isn’t about going faster — but about slowing down? On this Ride to the Rink, we pull one of the most important messages from our Our Kids Play Hockey conversation with Pavel Barber and turn it into a lesson every hockey family needs to hear. Pavel shares why today’s kids are more skilled than ever, why their ceilings are higher than they realize, and why compa...

🔥 What if the secret to elite hockey skills isn’t more ice time… but more patience? In Part 2 of our powerful conversation with Pavel Barber , we go far beyond highlight-reel moves and viral clips to unpack what real skill development actually looks like. From mastering the basics to embracing boredom, failing forward, and letting go of ego, Pavel delivers one of the most important messages young...

🇺🇸 Some hockey moments live forever — and some deserve to be remembered forever. This is one of those special Our Kids Play Hockey announcement episodes that hits right in the heart. We’re proud to share that Our Kids Play Hockey is officially teaming up with the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team to help support something truly meaningful: the creation of a Monument to a Miracle at Lake Placid — a per...

🔥 “We want a team!” That’s what 17,228 fans shouted inside Capital One Arena — and it perfectly captured what made the PWHL Takeover Tour stop in Washington, D.C. such a historic, emotional, and game-changing moment for women’s hockey. In this episode of Our Girls Play Hockey , Lee sits down with Hayley Scamurra to recap an unforgettable weekend that was about so much more than a final score. Fro...

🚗💨 Kids, buckle up — this one’s special. On this episode of The Ride to the Rink , we’re joined by one of the most creative and recognizable puck handlers in the world — Pavel Barber . If you’ve ever dreamed of dangling like the pros, pulling off trick shots, or making defenders look silly… Pavel is here to tell you what actually matters most when it comes to getting better at hockey. And spoile...

🏒 Is creativity in hockey being misunderstood… or mis-taught? If your player loves skill moves, toe drags, and trick shots — but struggles to know when to use them — this episode is a must-listen. This week on Our Kids Play Hockey , Lee Elias, Christie Casciano-Burns, and Mike Bonelli are joined by global skills coach and viral hockey creator Pavel Barber for a powerful, thoughtful conversation a...

💥 This is one of the most requested topics we’ve ever received — and for good reason. Body image. Confidence. Strength. These are conversations that affect almost every girl hockey player and family at some point… yet they’re rarely talked about openly. In this powerful and honest episode of Our Girls Play Hockey , Lee Elias and former Olympian Hayley Scamurra dive deep into the evolving definiti...

🏒 The season is winding down… but the work isn’t over yet. As playoffs approach — or the final games come into view — this episode of The Ride to the Rink is all about how you finish . Because whether you’re chasing a championship or counting down the last few skates, the habits you build right now matter more than you think. In this solo ride, Lee shares the exact messages he’s delivering to tea...

We’re closing the book on 2025 with our annual Year in Review—and the numbers are WILD. From 156 episodes (yep— 3 per week ) to 4,454 minutes of content ( 74+ hours ) and listeners in 100 countries , this show continues to grow because of one thing: the hockey community sharing it. We also count down the Top 5 episodes of 2025 (plus an honorable mention), talk through the topics parents are clearl...