The Hockey Journey Podcast

Super excited to have my next guest Larry Olimb on the show, as we were former teammates at the University of Minnesota, where I was privileged to see this guy operate on a daily basis and witness greatness in the making.  This guy made hockey look effortless.  A Warroad Minnesota native, Mr. Olimb made a name for himself as he climbed the youth hockey ladder, as someone that could contr...

My next guest is Joe Dziedzic and I'm super excited to hear his hockey journey.  Joe grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he spent his childhood playing football, hockey and baseball.  By the time he finished his high school career he had college scholarship offers for all 3 sports. In 1990, his senior year at Edison High School, he won Mr. Hockey, which is awarded to Minnesota's bes...

If I look back on my life so far, there has always been a constant year after year, there is something I've always wanted to change or improve in my life.  For over a decade it was wanting to get more fit and eat healthier because after I retired from playing, that part of my life was neglected for a long time.  As I started to research how to implement change in one's life, a recurring...

Summer is officially here and is a time when a kid can make some huge gains in a lot of different areas because you don't have the school commitments and for the next few months, you have more time on your hands.  The question is are you going to use that time productively, or is that time going to use you, by wasting it watching others on your smartphone for hours a day, growing as an indivi...

My next guest, Chris Lukey is a native of St. Catharines Ontario, where he started his hockey career.  As he progressed up the hockey ladder, he was drafted in the Ontario Hockey League where he spent 4 seasons playing for the Kingston Canadiens and Windsor Spitfires. After a 2 year professional career, he climbed the ranks in the fire department and after 28 years retired as a Platoon Chief....

So how do kids learn how to start thinking about creating a purposeful life?  How can we as parents help in this process and how early should or can we start?  I have a few books that might help shed some light on the topic and I'd like to share some of the best quotes from each, that may get you thinking about the current journey you're on, from a different...

Maria Mountain is my next guest and she has dedicated the majority of her professional career helping goalies win more games with fewer injuries since 2001.  Is an exercise Physiologist by trade, this Canadian has worn many hats along her journey, from floor trainer at a fitness club, owning her own strength and conditioning company, which has since been sold, and now is focusing the majority...

My next guest, Ben Hankinson, has been someone I've wanted to get on the show since I got into the podcast game, because we spent a lot of time together years ago, as college teammates and training partners once we turned pro in the off-season.  Mr. Hankinson is a Minnesota native, where he grew up  going to school and playing sports for the powerhouse Edina Hornets.  He went on to...

Chris Phillips Hockey Journey EP3Chris Phillips is my next guest and I'm really looking forward to the conversation, as we were teammates for a couple of seasons in Ottawa.  Mr. Phillips is a Canadian-born hockey player who played junior hockey for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, Prince Albert Raiders, and Lethbridge Hurricanes.  In 1996, he was selected first overall by the Ottawa Senator...

My next guest, Kerry Goulet was born and raised in Winnipeg, and it was there that he starred in junior hockey and later in ball hockey.  His Winnipeg Grasshoppers, represented Manitoba in 8 national ball hockey championships, collecting the title in 1985. In 2006, Kerry was inducted into the Canadian Ball Hockey Association’s Hall of Fame. He credits his experience with Hockey Manitoba and b...

Doctor Ryan Fader is my next guest and I'm looking forward to hearing his journey, as he's gotten some hockey sprinkled in there, but his true call to adventure is helping others, me being one of those people, as he fixed up my knee recently, and coach is operational again. Unfortunately, every player is going to get dinged up from time to time, but we're lucky to have people like Dr. Fader to hel...

My next guest is former NHLer, Tom Pederson.  This Minnesota native played his youth and high school hockey for the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.  Then went on to play Division 1 college hockey for the hometown Minnesota Gophers.  His strong play early in his freshman season resulted in a roster spot on Team USA in the 1988-89 prestigious World Jr. championship.  In 1989 he wa...

In episode 110 of the "Hockey Journey" podcast, Coach Lance Plick chats with Taylor Williamson, a former Minnesota Golden Gopher and current trainer with the Oates Sports Group, about the nuances of hockey, focusing particularly on face-offs and communication with coaches. Here's a breakdown of the insightful discussion they had: Importance of Face-Offs: Williamson emphasizes that fa...

Dan Brooks, son of legendary hockey coach Herb Brooks, sits down for a conversation with Coach Lance, discussing his hockey journey, where he earned a Division 1 scholarship to Denver University, as well as his life after hockey.  You'll also hear stories about his father at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games, where Team USA shocked the world, and also some interesting factoids regarding the...

Since the school year will soon be wrapping up, I thought it made sense to have an episode about how to set and achieve your hockey goals.  Summer is right around the corner and is a time when players can make significant gains in their hockey development, because you don’t have school and now have a bunch of extra hours to do whatever you want. In the last 5-6 years, reading books consistent...

If you haven't heard of Elliott Kerr, then you probably want to have a listen to this interview, because this guy is a rockstar in a couple of different industries, hockey being one of them.  Mr. Kerr is the founder and president of Landmark Sports Group Inc, a Mississauga, Ontario-based company that represents athletes and television personalities as well as event marketing.  He is also...

My next guest, goaltender Glenn Healy, is a Canadian-born hockey player who played his college hockey at Western Michigan and then went on to play 437 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs over a 15-year career.  During the 1993-94 season, he won the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers, erasing a 54-year drought for the Blue S...

Tony Scott, is the founder and creator of the Youth Hockey Hub, a website covering Minnesota youth and high school hockey on both the boys and girls sides. The site generates over 15 million annual page views, so they're a major player in the sector. Mr. Scott and his team spend on average 300 plus days in a hockey rink, doing interviews, making videos or creating a podcast episode. This guy lives...

The other day my oldest son Rem asked me if I'd ever heard of the hero's journey. I said that I hadn't, so he suggested I look up a guy named  Joseph Campbell, who in 1949 wrote a book called The Hero with 1000  Faces. Little did I know, but so many movies that are so familiar to so many of us, are based on the framework and writings of Mr. Campbell's book, like Star Wars, Shrek, Batman,...

My next guest has had a fantastic hockey career. Dani Cameranesi is a Minnesota native who played youth hockey for the Wayzata Trojans and high school hockey for Blake high school. She registered 200 goals, 157 assists for 357 career points and won two state championships in 2009 and 2013. In her senior year, she won Ms. Hockey, awarded to the best female high school hockey player in Minnesota, an...

My next guest, former Minnesota Wild strength and conditioning coach Kirk Olson, and I have connected together more than 20 years ago, as he was my strength and conditioning coach for the off-season when I was a player before he got his big break in the NHL.  It's been a while since we've spoken, so I'm looking forward to the conversation. here today.  Because the winter season just wrap...

For this episode, I want to discuss why some hockey players are so much better  than everyone else at a very early age. What are they doing that you’re not, can  you tap into their process and add something new to your weekly hockey development  routine that can propel you up a couple of rungs on the ladder?   Have a listen and  find out :)

I'm looking forward to my next guest, Rob Pallante, and hearing his hockey journey. This Canadian-born player earned a Division 1 scholarship to Michigan Tech University and played minor league pro hockey. Rob found himself in the role of a fighter or enforcer when back in the 1990s, that was a role, and that group of individuals was as tough as they came!! Mr. Pallante's story has some self-infli...

My next guest, Peter Sibner, is the CEO of ESMG North America, Inc and President of Elite Prospects. If you've never heard of Elite Prospects, they have a substantial online presence, getting over 1 million unique users visiting the site per week. That's a lot of eyeballs. I have to be honest here, I don't know a lot about elite prospects, so I'm looking forward to speaking to their team captain s...

I've been looking forward to interviewing my next guest, Wade Redden, as we were former teammates with the Ottawa Senators many years ago. I watched him play his first game in the NHL, and then he quietly went on to play in over 1000  games in the show. This 2nd overall pick in the 1995 draft had a decorated career, and here are some of the highlights - Won the Western Hockey League Champions...