The Hockey Journey Podcast

How do you view adversity?  For many of us, it's something to be avoided at all costs, while another group of individuals views and uses adversity as a source of strength. My relationship with adversity has been an up-and-down battle over the years, but now at the medium-paced age of 55, it doesn't bother me anymore.  I've accepted that adversity is always coming, and there's nothing I c...

Episode Description For today's episode, I'll be discussing digital distraction and how we're playing a game when online, where our attention is being harvested intentionally to further someone else's agenda. I hope that after listening to this episode, a door will open for you, as it did for me, to take a closer look at where our time is going when using the internet, more specifically, our smart...

When you win a Stanley Cup, like my next guest Ben Clymer, you get a little extra at times, because of earning that rare achievement.  Like what we got going on here today.  Most of my guests get one episode to tell their journey, but not for this guy.  He for sure gets 2 episodes, and who knows how today goes, we may need a 3rd one in order to git-r-all-In!  We'll pick up wher...

Ben Clymer is my next guest, and he definitely had a hockey journey that included State Championships, World Junior Tournaments, a D1 Scholarship, a year in the WHL, winning the Stanley Cup, and finishing his player journey over in Europe. He accomplished all of the above and more while picking up the sport at the age of 8 years old. Just a great human being, you're going to love his story! Thanks...

My next guest, Chris Hansen, is probably someone you've never heard of, but he's been my best friend since I met him back in 1979, and he's got a journey and story to tell.  It includes hockey, fishing, dogs, 2 critical periods in his life where he almost died twice. The second and most recent event landed him in the ICU, in a coma, and hooked up to every monitoring and life-saving device ava...

During my playing days, I liked Stephen King and James Patterson, sprinkling in some self-help books.  But after retiring from the National Hockey League and not even getting close to winning a Stanley Cup, my curiosity to witness people triumphing at the highest levels, somehow performing perfecting during a playoff run, or pulling off the impossible at an event or tournament continues to gr...

My next guest, John Vanbiesbrouck, was pretty good at goaltending craft. This Detroit, Michigan native took a different hockey path, deciding to swim against the current, forgoing the traditional college route, and going up to Canada to play major junior. In 1981, he was drafted in the 4th round, 72nd overall to the New York Rangers, where he played most of his career. He also played for New Jerse...

My next guest Josh Tucker, established the lane he would travel for the rest of his life close to 2 decades ago.  The road he's experienced, through thousands of consultations, has propelled him to the level of being an expert in the field, and that's the vision training sector, precisely his company True Focus Vision.  He's regarded as the industry leader in helping kids and adults with...

I know that this podcast is directed toward the hockey community, but this episode is for everyone because if we don't have our health if we get sick, we can't do anything. For the longest time after retiring from the NHL, nutrition didn't make much of a blip on the radar screen. I hate to admit it, but there was a period of time, where I'd eat an entire extra large pizza by myself, never thinking...

My next guest is Zac Headrick, founder of 24/7 Hockey and is someone I've been following for close to 10 years now, as he's been consistently putting out free content via YouTube videos and emails to help players and coaches improve their skills, knowledge, and performance.  I've always admired his persistence of effort over the years, as I know how much work it is to continually pump out som...

In today's episode, we're going to be discussing procrastination.  If there's one thing I deal with daily, almost on an hourly basis, and that's procrastination.  I go to bed knowing what I want to accomplish the next day, with 100% certainty that I'll have no problem knocking each item off the list one by one with ease, but for years and years, I could never get all the things I thought...

My next guest is former WHA player and NHLer Bill Butters.  I've been excited about this interview since I booked it, as Mr. Butters was one of my coaches when I played at the University of Minnesota. He made a huge positive impact on my life, during the four years I played for the Gophers.   Mr. Butters is a Minnesota Native and carved his path to professional hockey, eventually the NHL...

So I'm a big believer in writing down my short and long-term goals and looking at them daily.  I've heard several examples of highly successful people who carry their goals written down on a small piece of paper and keep them in their wallets or purses.  Anytime they feel distracted, discouraged, or unmotivated, they pull out that piece of paper, read their goals, and then, they get back...

My next guest, Lee Erickson has worn many hockey hats.  His journey began as a player, progressing to on-ice skills instructor, hockey coach, owner and operator of the Lumberyard Hockey Sports Center, owner and operator of the Rivertown Hockey AAA program, married, a father of three very accomplished college student-athletes, and if that wasn't enough, he's an inventor and has developed a vis...

Descriptive words used to describe tryouts would be stressful, nerve-racking, tense, and anxious.  I have to admit; that when I was a player, I was also nervous for every tryout I ever had to go through.  So, if you’re feeling this way, it’s normal, but is there a way to reduce or eliminate all of those negative, non-productive thoughts? The answer is absolutely, and shortly, I'm going t...

Episode Description It's been said that "knowledge is power," If that's the case, wouldn't you want to find the fastest and most effective ways to gain this knowledge?  I know I did, and I would like to pass on some quotes from books I've read in the past that helped me improve my learning strategies and techniques. I hope you'll discover some unknown story or scientific study related to best...

Did you know that researchers did a study where they interviewed people who were on their deathbed, asking what their biggest regrets in life were?  Wishing they were happier more was consistent across the board.  Interesting, so shouldn't we learn from these people and strive not to have the same regret when that time comes for us? There is so much negativity in the media today. I've do...

How many times have you heard a coach say in a post game interview, after a tough loss, that the reason for the poor performance was because the team wasn't mentally prepared?  I heard that speech as a player, and I used it as a coach over the years.  But when I really thought about what it actually means,not being mentally prepared, I still don't know.  So we're going to start inve...

My next guest, Pierre McGuire, has worn many hockey hats over the years.  From hockey player to college, then NHL coaching stints, scouting positions, and management assignments, but is probably best known for his TV Broadcasting career with TSN, NBC Sports, and NBC Sports Network, where he's covered the NHL, World Juniors, and the Olympics.  He's also been developing players via camps a...

What is Meditation?  Before I decided to learn more about this self-improvement practice, I have to be honest with you, my perception of meditation was someone sitting on a mountain side, on a flat surface, with their legs crossed, hands on top of the knees with one of the fingers, pressing against the thumb on each hand, making a circle, with a straight back, head tilted back slightly, eyes...

My next guest on the show is Scott Bond from True Foundation Hockey.  This Minnesota native, who played his high school hockey at Frank B. Kellogg and then moved on to juniors, where he was on his way to a promising career, but his life changed in a moment.  Mr. Bond suffered a severe spinal injury that almost ended his dream to play college hockey, but through faith, determination and a...

If you have a daughter that plays hockey and you haven't heard of Kim McCullough or Total Female Hockey, then you're going to want to stick around for this episode, because she's one of the most respected hockey coaches, trainers, instructor and educator in the game today.   This Toronto native didn't start playing hockey till she was 13, but somehow figured out a way to earn a college s...

In today's episode, we'll be discussing a little Peak Performance Wisdom.  How can some people, regardless of their field of specialization, be so good all the time?  I've got 4 books we're going to dive into and extract some of the best quotes from each of the titles.  If one resonates with you by the end of the show, I highly encourage you to get a copy of your own and read it in...

Most of us coaches, players, and parents, take for granted the enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes from a small group of individuals.  Who orders the jerseys, takes registrations, and organizes the ice schedules.  Who tracks payments and waivers, runs the tryouts, and puts together the committees and communicates to the parents? So much of what we think about regarding...

My Mom and Dad looked at each other with blank faces, a short pause and then looked at me and said, the thought never crossed their mind. My Dad did interject this, he said, I don't know Lance, I guess I just remember telling you to be an engine and not a caboose. I chuckled and told him that I remember him saying that to me, and I'm grateful for that small, short, simple sentence, because it's st...