The Hockey Journey Podcast

My guest today is changing the developmental landscape for the better through his innovative mind and products & services he provides hockey passionate players.  Andy Blaylock continues to push the envelope forward in trying to crack the code on how to be more skilled in hockey through traditional physical reps and mental imagery.  This blend of learning methods can accelerate t...

Who would've thought that Grace Zumwinkle started hockey because of her crush on a boy in kindergarten?  This Minnesota native was uncommon in how she went about accomplishing things.  This silver medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics continues to push the envelope forward and inspires the next generation of young, female hockey hopefuls, want to accomplish big things in hockey.  Le...

When most of us think about a hockey Journey, we think of one through the eyes of a player, but not everyone has that opportunity, for a variety of reasons.  But there's another group of individuals who've had a hockey journey, reached the top of their game, but just in a different sector.  Fransois Gagnon has one of those stories and is currently a professional writer for RDS covering t...

Natalie Heising at a very young age knew that she wanted to do great things in hockey.  Once she had that ignition, wanting to play college hockey, her real hockey journey began.    She refined her process on how to get better over the years and accomplished some amazing things throughout her career.  Like a couple of gold medals, a scholarship to PennState,...

David Shuler is the owner and CEO of Sniper's Edge Hockey, Inc.. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Sniper's Edge is the market leader in hockey training equipment and accessories including slick tiles, shooting tarps, synthetic ice, passing and stickhandling aids, and more. Visit their website at  snipersedgehockey.com   Get a behind the scenes listen into this innovative behin...

Don Olivett isn't the head coach of a team, but he is a HEAD COACH.  I was really struggling with my thoughts during my first year pro and it was affecting my performance on the ice in a negative way.  Ollie taught me a number of strategies to manage my mind more positively and those lessons I learned over 30 years ago, I still use to this day when I get off the rails from time to time.&...

My next guest Tim Jackman would have scared the crap out of me if I had to play against him, as he was as tough as they came.  This Minnesota native was a second-round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2001 NHL draft.  Played 2 seasons of college hockey at Minnesota State University, and became the first student-athlete from that university to play in the NHL.  In his 14 year...

Barry Karn is regarded as one of the top skating instructors in the world.  Barry and Jodi Karn have been teaching skating since 1984.  Barry worked as an NHL skating coach for 22 years with Arizona, Calgary, St. Louis, Minnesota, San Jose and Tampa.  There are over 200 current NHL players trained by Karn Skating Dynamics.  Their teaching methods have reached far beyond Minneso...

Ross Bernstein is a best-selling author of nearly 50 sports books, a world-renowned and award-winning peak performance business speaker who's keynoted conferences on all 7 continents, which not many speakers at his level can say.  He's been featured on thousands of television and radio programs over the years and has spent the better part of the past 25 years studying the DNA of cha...

Scott Bjugstad had the hockey player trifecta, by being able to play for his hometown college (Minnesota Gophers) and professional team (Minnesota North Stars), and the once in a lifetime experience of becoming an Olympian, and all of this was accomplished after the tragic loss of his Mother during his high school years.  His story is one of self-belief, grit and determination, with his Mom a...

I've been looking forward to this interview for a while now. My next guest, Dave Snuggerud is a former NHLer who spent time with the Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers, a 1988 USA Olympian, played division 1 hockey for the University of Minnesota and now, the co-founder and director of education at Breakaway Academy in Minnesota. www.breakawayacademy.net Enjoy this episode!!

In this episode, you'll hear the hockey journey of Bob Fallen.  His journey isn't one of a player, but on the business side, where he wore a lot of different hats over the course of his career and continues to do so today.  You'll hear how he got connected with tennis legend Billy Jean King, worked for the iconic hockey company CCM, and then became the commissioner of the Unite...

In this episode, you'll hear the hockey journey of former NHLer Tim Tookey.  Though he only played in 106 NHL games due to untimely injuries the first half of his career, he ended up carving out an incredible professional career, where in the end, he landed in the American Hockey League Hall of Fame, currently 4th on the All-Time AHL Scoring leader list.  A former teammate of mine i...

In this episode, you'll hear the hockey journey of Presley Norby.  A native to Minnesota, where she grew up playing youth hockey, won a State High School Championship, was captain her senior year, and won Ms. Hockey as well that year.  An award given to the best female high school player in the state.  If that wasn't enough, she also won some hardware playing for Team USA...

In part 4 and final episode on my journey as a hockey player, we'll cover the final 2 years I played for the Ottawa Senators, where I finally sign a one-way contract, I become a father.  I had to deal with a roommate that was a sleepwalker, I make it to free agency, and had to say goodbye to all of our Canadian friends, as we make a move down to South Florida and...

Today we'll rewind the tape and begin by seeing if I get to stay in Hershey my 4th year, or will I be sent to the East Coast League.  Then, the next chapter begins, Canada and the Ottawa Senators here I come.  In this episode, I'll become an AHL All-Star, play in my first NHL game at the age of 27, become an everyday player in the NHL and was part of history, when the Senators make the p...

Here we'll dipped our toes into the first 3 years of my professional hockey career, where I was exposed to extreme travel conditions that I never experienced before, and had an Olympic run that turned out to be the most challenging winter season I ever had.  I scored my first professional goal, got my first tooth knocked out, got married, and now find myself going into training camp with the...

In this episode, you'll learn about former NHLer Lance Pitlick, his childhood upbringing, introduction to the sport of hockey, some adversity he had to go through and hear stories of people that influenced him in a positive way.  This portion of his hockey journey as a player is from the very beginning, throughout his youth, high school and college career, ending this episode when he signs hi...

Welcome to The Hockey Journey Podcast. Hosted by coach Lance Pitlick; former professional NHL player, USA Hockey Level 5 Master Coach, hockey business owner, and hockey dad.  The Hockey Journey Podcast is for fellow hockey lovers. Each week I'll be interviewing a fellow hockey expert to share stories of determination, resiliency, and grit as well as the amazing achievements they've had along...