The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs is taking over the Wednesday edition this week and wants to talk about postgame routines - what are the non-negotiables, and what are some hacks to maximize recovery? TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Shout out to this Short Shifts supporter: SkateTech Skate Sharpening...

This week Jeff is back from paternity leave and joins Toph for a full-throttled conversation on some of the biggest issues in youth hockey. We have mentioned some of them before, but today we hit them head-on and offer some insight on how the experience can be better. In this episode we talk about: — Recruiting vs. Development — Disconnect with clubs and parents — Lack of cohesion within clubs — C...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs is happy to be back in the podcast saddle as a NEW DAD, and he’s building on Wednesday’s Short Shifts episode (about tipping pucks) by talking about deception when shooting.   TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! IG: @HockeyThinkTank   X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, VECHS IS BACK and Toph wants to talk about something Jeff did a lot throughout his career - tipping pucks!  TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adver...

This week Topher is flying solo again as Jeff is on paternity leave this week (WELCOME TO THE WORLD SOPHIE TAYLOR LOVECCHIO), so Toph decided to follow up last week’s episode on individual habits for success and focus this week on what it takes for a team to be great. In order for a team to win championships, they need to be able to answer “yes” to the following questions: — Are you the closest te...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, with Vechs out on paternity leave, Toph is joined once again by his good buddy Nick Petraglia! They coached at Miami together and Trags is now with the AAA Blue Jackets in Columbus. Trags’ brings the topic - and the expertise - and wants to talk about how to help coaches who didn’t play the position themselves, be their best for their goaltender’s development. TEN...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, with Vechs out on paternity leave, Toph is joined by his good buddy Nick Petraglia! They coached at Miami together and Trags is now the Executive VP with the AAA Blue Jackets. As a goalie himself, Toph wants to tap into Trags’ expertise and talk about how coaches can help develop goalie hockey sense. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every liste...

This week Topher is flying solo as Jeff is on babywatch (and doing all the nesting things getting ready for her eventual arrival), so Toph decided to share some insight on a topic we get asked about A LOT: What does it take to be great? Whether it’s on the ice, or in life away from the rink, here are some non-negotiables to be your best: — Grit and resilience — The importance of surrounding yourse...

This week Topher and Jeff pay tribute to Grandpa Scott, Bob Sr. who was the energy of the family. He lived life to the fullest, he worked hard, loved hard, and was the guy we wanted to be like. In this episode we share some of our favorite Grandpa stories and we talk about: — The life lessons he taught us about hard work, sacrifice, and the importance of family — The impact his energy had on the l...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about team rules for cell phone use. We have talked about this topic before, but Vechs has changed his stance from when he coached, and wants to talk about some strategies coaches can employ to tackle team rules and expectations for cellphone use! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and s...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about drill progressions and how important they are in the transfer of what you’re doing in practice translating to your team’s games. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome one of Toph’s favorite former teammates to the podcast - Matt Moulson! Not only was he an incredible leader, he is proof that everyone has their own path.  In this episode we talk about: — Getting cut from midget AAA only to play 650 NHL games — The art of goal scoring — Earning confidence through hard work AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our title sponsor IceHocke...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk all things blocking shots. Ways to do it, ways to practice it, and what that kind of sacrifice says about team culture. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection an...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to know some of Vechs’ battle drills. We always talk about how important it is to compete hard in practice, and battle drills are a great way to work on that skill! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Neil Lodin - the founder (and creator) of MyHockeyRankings.com - to the podcast to talk about why he REALLY started the site! We asked a lot of questions and Neil shed some incredible light on so much for us. In this episode we talk about: — How the algorithm works — How teams/coaches/parents are misusing the site — How the site can (and should) be used for develo...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about how coaches can help their goalies with hockey sense. *DISCLAIMER: this episode brought to you by two dudes who are neither goalies, nor goalie coaches, but have some pretty solid insight!* TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to continue on his topic from last week focusing on the defensive side of the puck - and this week he asks Vechs about defending 3 on 2s! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our coll...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Larry Hagner from The Dad Edge podcast - and what an impactful episode this was! Truly an amazing conversation that will inspire you to be a better parent, partner, and human being. In this episode we talk about: — The curse of “being busy” — Navigating the harder moments of parenthood — Importance of taking care of yourself AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our titl...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about the things that kids can do at home to work on creativity, skills, mindset, and having fun. It’s a walk down memory lane for the guys to Toph’s basement and Vechs’ garage! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. S...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about defensive transition and what’s most important when going from offense to defense. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for adver...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Minnesota Hockey legend, Brian Bonin to the podcast! He grew up in the State of Hockey and lived every Minnesota youth player’s dream; this is an absolutely unreal episode. In this episode we talk about: — The MN Hockey mode — Youth hockey development — Winning Minnesota Mr Hockey, Hobey, and playing for the Wild AND SO MUCH MORE! Thank you to our title sponsor Ic...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about what an ideal game day schedule looks like for a player to be at their best.   TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertis...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk 2-on-1s, but with a twist -  from the D-side. Some awesome tips and tricks when defending a 2-on-1, Vechs gets to drop one of his favorite sayings, “play chess, not checkers," and we tee up the age-old debate on this for defensemen: to slide or not to slide! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, ra...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome NTDP Head Strength Coach, Joe Meloni to the podcast! Awesome, awesome guy and this was a great conversation with some incredible insight into what it’s like working with, motivating, and developing the elite young talent in our game. In this episode we talk about: — The development environment they create at NTDP — How competition breeds excellence — Attributes of...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about how coaches, players and parents navigate the reality of multi-sport athletes, in-season. It’s one thing to say we want our athletes to have a diverse skill set, and to say we encourage players to play multiple sports - but it’s an entirely different thing to manage that as a coach, parent and player.  TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW...