The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

This week Topher and Jeff welcome pod producer Steph to join them on the other side of the mics to get a hockey mom’s perspective on the youth hockey journey. Steph has two kids in hockey (a daughter playing in college and a son playing 18U), a husband that coaches, she worked for her local youth association for 11 seasons, and has experience on the facilities side of our sport as well. In this ep...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about how coaches can instill an offensive attack mentality in younger players. 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 advertising.

Let's try this again! On the latest SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about how coaches can plan practices better for their goalies. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Apologies if this episode downloaded twice for you - Apple Podcasts wasn't playing nice the first go-around! Hosted by Simplecast, an...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about how coaches can plan practices to help their goalies. 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 advertising.

This week Topher and Jeff devote the entire episode to some awesome questions and topics that we have received from the Hockey Think Tank Community. If you’d like to join, head over to Community. TheHockeyThinkTank.com and check it out! In this episode we talk about: — Mentorship — Transparency — Cultivating your child’s passion while embracing that it’s their journey — Development, synthetic ice,...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about 2-on-1s, offensively, and ways to work on them in practice. 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 advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about tracks & gaps! A team that tracks hard is problematic for opponents because it allows the defense to gap up and create more offensive opportunities. 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 i...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Ashlea Jones, from Athletes In Training, to the podcast. Toph calls this one “a fantastic hockey nerd episode” - and he means that in the absolute BEST way possible! Ashlea is a phenomenal skating coach in Ontario who works with high level players (junior, college, and pro) as well as youth players with big dreams. You can’t play hockey at the highest levels witho...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk to all of the players that did not get drafted (or tendered) in the recent USHL Phase I and Phase II drafts (which, by the way, is MOST players); or really ANY player that is dealing with the disappointment of not making the team they wanted to, or at a level they want to play. (ALERT: There is also a message for players that DID get drafted, an...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about some of the common characteristics of elite players (HINT: successful people in any endeavor tend to share many of the characteristics we talk about here). 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.co...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome NHL Hall of Famer, Stanley Cup Champion, 2-time Olympic Champion with over 18 years in the NHL - Chris Pronger! Absolutely unreal episode with someone that has found success at every level, and drops knowledge that EVERY player and EVERY player needs to hear! In this episode we talk about: — Defining success on your own terms — The importance of finding balance an...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about how to handle setbacks and injuries. Every player - every person - has to learn how to navigate situations and circumstances that don’t go their way. Setbacks WILL happen, injuries WILL happen. How you deal with them will ultimately define your success on and off the ice. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen,...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about BENCH ENERGY! The guys say it all the time - teams with the best bench energy, generally find greater success! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank and @HockeyThinkTankPodcast X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @Hockey...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Nolan Graham to the podcast to share his incredibly inspiring story. Nolan grew up on Vancouver Island, played college hockey at RPI, and coached juniors before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach. In 2018, while at RPI, Nolan suffered an unimaginable tragedy involving a car that changed his life. Nolan has not spoken in such a public way about his j...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to discuss the possibility of OHL (and other major junior) players eventually being granted NCAA eligibility - especially with all of the NIL changes and opportunities for student-athletes. Could it happen? Should it happen? Who would it be good for? So many questions to tackle in this one! TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every lis...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to pay tribute to legendary hockey broadcaster, Bob Cole, who recently passed. The guys talk about their favorite/most memorable broadcast calls over the years (and yes, Vechs brings up the call of one of his own goals! EPIC!), as well as some of their favorite broadcasting personalities. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Dan O’Donoghue back to the podcast! We recorded this one LIVE from Long Island - and had some minor technical difficulties, but it’s a great episode nonetheless! Dan’s journey through hockey is unique and one that every player (and parent) should hear! In this episode we talk about: — The 50th Annual NYPD vs. FDNY hockey game that Dan is a part of and how Barstool...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about breakaway/shootout moves that work well at the younger ages.  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 advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher wants to talk about centers winning draws. Possessing the puck is so important, and winning faceoffs is critical. We run a little long, but it’s because the guys have so much to say! (“If you’re not cheating a little, you’re not trying hard enough.” ~Toph on the art of winning faceoffs) TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW!  We appreciate every listen, down...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Luke Croucher to the podcast. Luke plays Division III hockey at Neumann University and is doing some terrific things on social media for young players. We talk a lot about “what’s your why?” on this podcast, and Luke’s “why” is the first line of his social media bio: “Helping the hockey player I once was…” Always giving back - putting out terrific information for...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about the penalty kill forecheck! 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 advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher wants to talk about the cycle. While it’s not a part of the game like it used to be, we talk about how to use (and defend) it effectively in today’s game. 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 a...

This week Topher and Jeff welcome Duante’ Abercrombie to the podcast. Recently nominated for the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award by the Washington Capitals, we talk to Duante’ about his incredible journey in our sport and his work with The Rising Stars Academy in the Washington D.C. area. The Rising Stars Academy was designed to provide minority hockey players with elite on-ice skill devel...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about O-zone faceoff plays. Great stuff in this one!  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 advertising.

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Topher asks Vechs what it means to be tough to play against, both individually and as a team.  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 advertising.