The Hockey Think Tank Podcast

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss the dwindling enrollment numbers on the boys side in North American youth hockey and how they are starting to affect competition at the higher levels. Are the outrageous costs and toxic culture to blame? TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about how to beat a really skilled hockey team when you are the underdog. What do you do as a coach as far as your tactics, motivation, etc.? 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 & Equip...

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Josh Dunne, current NHL player with the Buffalo Sabres. With the knowledge and experience from his impressive hockey career, Dunne joins us to talk about one of our favorite topics: development. This is a great conversation for any kid with a dream of playing at the highest levels. In this episode we talk about: — Dunne’s competitive childhood growing up with mu...

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss a listener's question about dealing with teammates that habitually take bad penalties. What should you do as a coach? What about as a player? TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X (Twitter): @HockeyThinkTank TikTok: @Hock...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about Team Canada's and Team USA's rosters for the 2026 Olympics. We discuss building a roster for a shorter tournament and give our thoughts on who was left off. 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 S...

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Andries de Villiers, founder and CEO of Titan BattleGear. His company is making waves in the hockey community with their innovative cut-resistant base layers and neck guards. In this episode we talk about: — How currently only a few neck guards on the market today are actually cut-resistant — The story behind Titan BattleGear and its design that makes players ac...

With the boys on holiday break, we pieced together our 5 best Short Shifts episodes from 2025. From all of us at the Hockey Think Tank, we wish you a Happy New Year! In this episode we talk about: — Intangible Things That Scouts Look For — Team Toughness — How Do You Help Skilled Players with Low Confidence — How to Motivate Your Best Player — How to Shut Down Opponents’ Top Player Thank you to ou...

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph and Vechs bring on JP Buckley, the VP of Sales & Business Development for Helios Hockey. Buckley joins us to talk about all of the awesome new features Helios will be rolling out in the new year. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank X...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about the reasons behind USA winning World Juniors for the last two years and how they are going for a three-peat this year. Listen for the 3 key reasons that have led to their current reign. 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...

This week Topher and Jeff fly solo to talk about the state of youth hockey. We get so many messages from parents, coaches, and players; so we thought what better way to close out 2025 than to address the 5 biggest things we hear about the most in youth hockey. In this episode we talk about: — The need for more ice rinks — Too much focus on elites — Lack of parent education — Early professionalizat...

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss a listener's question about supporting your player through an injury. Maybe this is the first time they are experiencing an injury, or maybe your player has battled several injuries. Either way, we’re here to help guide you through how to handle this difficult time. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download,...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about a topic one of the coaches in our HTT Coaching Mentorship group brought up: demystifying the Constraints Led Approach. What is it and how does it help your players? 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...

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Jacob “JJ” Howland, USMC Vet and wrestling coach. With over half a million followers on Instagram, Howland inspires athletes of all sports to be the best version of themselves. In this episode we talk about: — Not having to be the most skilled, just consistent — Coaching each athlete differently according to what they need — Reframing situations to help fuel you...

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss a listener's question about making a career out of coaching full time. Maybe you don’t have the confidence, maybe you don’t have high-level playing experience, or maybe you don’t even know how to get started. That doesn’t mean you can’t be a great coach. Let’s talk about what you can do if coaching is the dream and how to get yourself out th...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about a topic one of our listeners submitted: adding versatility to your game by improving your “B Game.” We talk about how to make yourself more marketable to coaches you’re playing for. 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 sup...

This week Topher and Jeff fly solo to talk about a huge thing hockey players, and athletes alike, struggle with: confidence. Listen for the 5 things you should do every day to build your confidence and become the best athlete you can be. Thank you to our title sponsor IceHockeySystems.com, as well as Train-Heroic, Helios Hockey, and Crossbar! And thank you to our AMAZING LISTENERS; We appreciate e...

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss a listener's question about splitting games for goalies when there is a skill discrepancy, but both pay the same amount of money to play. Should it be 50/50 and how should it be communicated to the goalies and their families? TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your socia...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about what you should do when you are down a couple goals and are heading into the third period. How do you handle trailing and should you change anything? 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 Sharpeni...

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we bring on hockey development pioneer who works with some of the top names in the game, Darryl Belfry. Darryl's client list includes the likes of Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, John Tavares… among others of the NHL's elite. Darryl also just came out with a book, "Belfry Hockey: Strategies to Teach the World's Best Athletes.&quo...

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss a marketing flyer we shared to our socials. The flyer is from a Toronto club advertising a 2021 birth year identification skate that is open to “advanced 2022 birth years.” Yep, that means advanced 3 year olds. As you can imagine, we just HAD to talk about it. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comme...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Vechs wants to talk about the car ride home for coaches. We talk a lot about what parents should say to their kids on the way home from the rink; but coaches, what should you tell yourselves on the way home from a game? TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Shout out to this Sho...

This week Topher and Jeff talk with Bobby Scott, Toph’s dad. As a former D1 hockey player and someone who has been around youth hockey for years, Scott joins us to share his wealth of knowledge regarding the game. In this episode we talk about: — Not only chasing wins in youth hockey — What scale are you using to measure how hard your kids are working — Raising go-getters — How you have a choice i...

On today’s FRIDAY FACEOFF episode, Toph wants to discuss a listener's question about coaching when things aren’t going well. Sometimes things aren’t connecting with your players, and instead of writing them off, let’s figure out how to help. TEN MINUTES ON THE CLOCK STARTING NOW! We appreciate every listen, download, comment, rating, and share on your social sites! Follow us: IG: @HockeyThinkTank...

On today’s SHORT SHIFTS episode, Toph wants to talk about what it means to be a smart hockey player. What do we see in players that have a high hockey IQ? 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 & Equipment Repair Follow us: IG: @HockeyThink...

This week Topher talks with Jason Guerriero, USA Hockey Player Development Manager. We brought Guerriero back on for round two to talk about creating a challenging environment that also facilitates a love for the game. In this episode we talk about: — Setting clear boundaries as a parent coach — How being challenged is what makes the game fun for kids — That failure is inevitable, but it’s about h...