prohockeypod

Episode 91: Todd Hlushko. Todd Hlushko is a scout for the Adler Mannheim in the DEL and has been a very big asset for the team. He grew up in southern Ontario and played his junior hockey in the OHL. He was drafted as a 20 year old to the Washington Capitals (one of many funny stories) and began his pro career. Todd played games in the NHL and AHL but also played for Team Canada for 2 seasons, as...

Episode 89: Adam Dennis. Fellow goalie and current president of the North Bay Battalion Adam Dennis stopped by the pro  hockeypod this week to share his story and his rise in Major Junior Hockey. I was fortunate enough to train many summers with Adam at a local goalie school and followed his career with great interest. Adam was a 14th round draft pick to the Guelph Storm of the OHL but he didn’t l...

Episode 88: Tom Upton. Tom first grew up on Long Island and shared some memories of going to Islander’s games as a kid. He would move to Austin, Texas at 10 years old which was a different hockey experience for him. He would go on to play parts of 4 seasons in the NAHL before deciding to attend D3 Wisconsin Stevens-Point University. He talked about his amazing 4 years there and how he is still clo...

Episode 87: Anthony Noreen. After a little break, the prohockeypod returned this week with Miami of Ohio Head Coach Anthony Noreen. Anthony has been a journey man who coached 16 years in various leagues before getting this NCAA Division 1 job. He grew up in the Chicago area and was immediately integrated into hockey from his father. Anthony would go through Junior hockey before heading off to D3 W...

Episode 86: Marc Langbein. It was good to finally have on an agent who I see around the rinks a lot here in Germany, Marc Langbein. Marc grew up in the Bietigheim area in Germany and so began his passion for hockey. Marc cofounded Win-Win Sports Agency back in 2018. On this episode, we talked a lot about the agency business, some things Marc has learned along the way, and as well as the types of c...

Episode 85: Damon Whitten. Lake Superior State University HC Damon Whitten joined the prohockeypod this week. He started his hockey career as a goalie and played until he was in his Junior year of highschool before switching to forward. It seemed to be an easy transition as Damon would go on to play tier 2 junior hockey in multiple leagues before heading off to Michigan State University. He would...

Episode 84: Ben Syer. Ben grew up in a small town and was drawn to hockey immediately. Coming from a family of teacher’s, Ben knew the act of hard work and earning everything you got. He would go on to play Junior B hockey before attending Western University. After University, Ben would get an opportunity at Quinnipiac University that would change his career path forever. Since this opportunity, B...

Episode 83: Stephen Wiedler. Stephen grew up in the New York area and was naturally a New York Rangers fan. We talked about his funny memories of the Stanley Cup run in 1994 and what it was like to witness it. Stephen would eventually find himself at D3 Elmira College before transferring to University of Southern Maine where he would play 3 seasons and even be captain. After college, Stephen would...

Episode 82: Rico Blasi. Rico grew up in the Toronto area in an Italian family that knew nothing of ice hockey. He got his introduction on the outdoor rinks in the GTA and this is where he first got the passion for hockey. He was lucky to be coached at a young age by the famous Stan Butler who taught Rico a lot about the game of hockey and different paths available. Rico would go on to attend D1 Mi...

Episode 81: Frank Serratore. We had Army’s HC on in the past so this week it was time for Air Force Academy’s Frank Serratore to join the prohockeypod. The 25/26 season will be Frank’s 29th season at Air Force and we talked about how he has continuously built solid teams over his time there. Frank is from Minnesota, and like me, was a goalie growing up. Our goalie chemistry was instantly there thr...

Episode 80: Stefan Decosse. Stefan grew up in the Vancouver area, right around the time the Canucks made their 1994 Stanley Cup final run. This was his first introduction to hockey. He would eventually make the jump to the BCHL before heading to D3 SUNY Geneseo. Funny enough, our teams actually played against each other regularly so we went down memory lane with our school battles and fan sections...

Episode 79: Chris MacKenzie. UConn Women’s hockey coach Chris MacKenzie joined the prohockeypod this week. Chris grew up in Niagara Falls where he played minor hockey before jumping to Junior C and then Junior B. We talked about how him going level by level was good for his development. Ending his junior career with an Ontario championship, Chris took at chance and committed to a brand new D3 scho...

Episode 78: Garrett Raboin. Garrett grew up with hockey in his veins in the state of Minnesota. His dad, Bruce Raboin, was drafted to the NHL and played pro hockey. So naturally Bruce passed his passion down to his son. Garrett would go on to play NCAA D1 at St. Cloud State University, where he also wore a letter for 3 seasons. After school, Garrett jumped on a plane to begin his pro career in Fin...

Episode 77: David Urquhart. David had a similar upbringing like myself. He grew up in a small town that had a strong tight knit community which rallied around it’s sports teams. For David, this was the Junior B team, the Thorold Blackhawks. David would go on to play for his home town team, as well as the Welland Cougars before heading off to McGill University. He talked about playing for coach Mar...

Episode 76: Luke Esposito. Luke comes from quite the bloodline of hockey players. His grandfather Doug Messier played in the WHL-Sr, uncle Paul Messier had a long pro career that included 6 seasons here in Mannheim and of course, his other uncle Mark Messier, whose career and Hall of Fame NHL resume speaks for itself. I first saw Luke play last season when he was in Augsburg and I really liked his...

Episode 75: Felix Brückmann. Adler Mannheim goalie Felix Brückmann joined the prohockeypod this week. We talked about Felix growing up with 2 brothers in Freiburg, Germany, who also played hockey, and how he decided to become a goalie. Felix would head to the Jungadler Mannheim program at 16 years old where he would play 2 seasons of U18 and win 1 Championship. After that, his pro career began wit...

Episode 74: Ian Herbers. University of Alberta Head Coach Ian Herbers found some time in his busy schedule to jump on the prohockeypod. Ian grew up playing hockey in Alberta before embarking on a 4 year WHL journey. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers but due to an injury, decided to go the USports route. During his years as a player at U of Alberta, Ian was fortunate to win a championship. He t...

Episode 73: Rob Bentivegna. Brock University Assistant Coach Rob Bentivegna joined the prohockeypod this week. Rob and I crossed paths often in Burlington, both in hockey arenas and on the softball pitch. Rob played in the Burlington Eagle’s minor hockey system before making the jump to Junior B. Once Rob was done playing, he immediately started running ice sessions as a skill coach. Word travelle...

Episode 72: Andrew Dovey. Another fellow Burlington raised hockey player joined the prohockeypod this week. Andrew Dovey didn’t have the usual Canadian hockey path. He didn’t play AAA hockey until his OHL draft year and ended up playing Tier 2 junior until he was 21. We talked about some memories of junior, including going all the way to the Sunderland Cup Finals in his last season. Andrew would g...

Episode 71: TJ Manastersky. Fellow Oswego Alumni and current Head Coach of Brock University, TJ Manastersky, stopped by the prohockeypod this week. TJ grew up in the GTA area and would end up playing 5 years in the OJHL before heading off to D3 SUNY-Oswego. We swapped stories about Oswego, the great community support the team gets, Bridge Street Runs, and some funny memories of the historic Oswego...

Episode 70: Brian Riley. Legendary Army Coach Brian Riley doesn’t need any introduction. His resume and the impact he has made at West Point speaks for itself. All the Riley family members are born into the sport of hockey and have no choice but to be involved. Brian was no different. Brian grew up at West Point while his dad was coaching the team and he talked about some memories of him living at...

Episode 69: Jean-François Houle. Quick and sweet interview this week with the Head Coach of Clarkson University Jean-Francois Houle. He only had about 25 minutes to spare so we buzzed through both his playing career and coaching. JF had a unique upbringing since his dad was an NHL player, so immediately he was around the dressing room and hockey was injected into his veins. JF would go on to get d...

Episode 68: Wayne Wilson. I was lucky to get Wayne Wilson, the legendary coach from RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) to hop on the prohockeypod this week for 35 minutes. Wayne went to Bowling Green State University where he won a National Championship in 1984 before embarking on his coaching career. He was able to work under the legendary coach Jerry York for a few years and learn the ropes...

Canisius College Head Coach, Trevor Large dropped by the prohockeypod this week. Like most Canadian’s, he was attracted to hockey at a young age. One interesting thing about his story is that he quit hockey during his OHL draft year out of nowhere. A year later, Trevor missed the game and decided to make a comeback, earning a spot with a Tier 2 Junior A team in Brampton. This decision led him to F...