Rod Brind’Amour: Youth Hockey Shouldn’t Be This Difficult

Two-time Stanley Cup champion Rod Brind’Amour joins In Between the Shifts for a candid conversation about youth hockey, player development, parenting, coaching, and finding the right path for young athletes.

Rod shares the story of his own unconventional hockey journey—from quitting the sport as a young kid, to Notre Dame, Michigan State, the NHL, and eventually winning the Stanley Cup as both a player and coach. He also explains how his perspective has changed now that he’s navigating youth hockey as a parent himself.

The conversation tackles one of the biggest problems facing hockey families today: the pressure to move kids too far, too fast. Rod discusses prep schools, academies, AAA hockey, recruiting, rankings, development camps, and why families can lose sight of what youth hockey is actually supposed to accomplish.

Rod and Marc also discuss why skating remains foundational, why hockey IQ matters as much as individual skill, the importance of off-ice training, and the trait Rod looks for in players that can’t be measured at a skills session: compete.

Most importantly, Rod reminds parents that every player’s path is different—and if a player is genuinely good enough and continues developing, people will eventually find them.

In this episode:

• What winning the Stanley Cup really feels like
• Why Rod quit hockey as a young child
• How Notre Dame changed the trajectory of his career
• Choosing the right college based on opportunity and fit
• Why coaching at ages 14–16 can shape a player’s entire career
• Rod’s experience coaching and parenting youth hockey players
• Why families are sending players away too early
• The growing financial and logistical burden of AAA hockey
• Why kids don’t need to be on the ice every day
• Building an everyday training mindset
• Why skating is still the foundation of development
• The youth hockey skill Rod believes is being overlooked
• What NHL teams actually look for in players
• Why development-camp skills don’t always translate to games
• The importance of compete, character, and work ethic
• Why education must remain a priority
• Keeping hockey fun while pursuing higher levels

Learn more about Stop & Starts Hockey, coaching, private lessons, player evaluations, and membership https://stopnstartshockey.com/

00:00 Welcome to In Between the Shifts
00:55 Introducing Rod Brind’Amour
01:20 What Winning the Stanley Cup Feels Like
05:46 Where Rod’s Youth Hockey Journey Began
06:20 Why Rod Quit Hockey as a Kid
07:30 Growing Up in a Small Hockey Town
08:03 Has Youth Hockey Become a Rat Race?
08:24 Why Rod’s Dad Made Him Play Defense
10:04 The Opportunity That Led to Notre Dame
11:24 Why Notre Dame Changed Rod’s Career
12:27 Playing Up Against Older Players
14:12 Building Notre Dame’s Junior Team
15:26 Why the Right Coach Matters So Much
16:02 Choosing Michigan State and Finding the Right Fit
17:54 The Coaches Who Shaped Rod Brind’Amour
19:34 Rod’s Perspective as a Hockey Dad
20:53 Why Keeping a Great Team Together Matters
22:00 Should You Send Your Kid Away to Play Hockey?
23:24 Why Winning at 13 or 14 Doesn’t Matter
24:34 The Financial Burden of Youth Hockey
26:17 What a Good Development Program Needs
26:56 Why Weekend-Only Hockey Doesn’t Work
28:03 What Youth Hockey Development Is Missing
28:26 Kids Don’t Need to Skate Every Day
29:03 Creating a Daily Training Mindset
30:48 Why Skating Is Still the Foundation
31:59 Surround Yourself With Hard Workers
33:32 Show Partners
35:06 Is Hockey IQ Being Neglected?
36:16 Every Practice Should Translate to Games
38:05 What Makes a Player Stand Out at Tryouts
39:23 How Youth Hockey Has Changed Between Rod’s Sons
40:17 Are Prep Schools Right for Everyone?
43:18 “It Shouldn’t Be This Difficult”
44:24 The Life Lessons Hockey Teaches
45:32 The Puberty Olympics and Late Bloomers
46:53 What Rod Sees at NHL Development Camps
51:49 Skills vs. Compete
52:41 Why Hockey Families Need Better Guidance
54:33 Making Hockey More Affordable
56:25 Every Shift Is an Opportunity
57:58 Rod’s Advice to Hockey Parents
58:40 Know Whether Your Kid Actually Loves Hockey
59:17 Why Education Has to Remain a Priority
1:00:09 Rod’s Closing Thoughts
1:00:47 Stop & Starts Hockey Membership

#RodBrindAmour #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyParents #HockeyTraining #HockeyIQ #NHL #CarolinaHurricanes #StanleyCup #AAAYouthHockey #HockeyPodcast #StopAndStartsHockey

Creators and Guests

Host

Marc Genest

Born and raised in Canada, where hockey isn’t just played—it’s lived. Marc brings over 450 professional games of experience and more than a decade of player development to athletes serious about reaching the next level.

Guest

Rod Brind’Amour

Head Coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, Two-Time Stanley Cup Champion and parent navigating youth hockey.

What is Between the Shifts — Presented by StopNStarts Hockey?

Between the Shifts is a monthly show for players, parents, coaches, and youth hockey leaders navigating the fast, confusing and often expensive world of youth hockey. Hosted by a former professional player, coach, and parent, and owner of STOPnSTARTS Hockey, Marc Genest. We carve into player development, real-life family stories, coaching culture, costs, training pathways, and everything young athletes and their communities are facing today. Whether you’re in a traditional hockey market or growing the game in the South, this podcast helps you make smarter decisions, understand your options, and avoid common pitfalls. Join us for honest conversations that empower families and fuel hockey dreams.

00:00:00:02 - 00:00:03:05
Unknown
Welcome to stop and starts our show. In between the shifts,

00:00:03:05 - 00:00:07:14
Unknown
we're a consulting service that really helps players and families

00:00:07:14 - 00:00:09:01
Unknown
find the right path for their kid.

00:00:09:02 - 00:00:32:12
Unknown
Like, we all know that every path is a little bit different for all the kids. And. And maybe a premier prep school is not ideal for a certain player. So we help to try to find the right path for each player. And then we also help a lot. On the backstory. I talk about little Johnny all the time, but he's at a prep school and he's not playing well or he's not playing a lot.

00:00:32:13 - 00:00:49:08
Unknown
We try to find a way for him to either communicate and develop a relationship with the coach, and I kind of work behind the scenes with him, so that's what stopping Starts is all about. And our podcast here, we try to bring some guests that can shed some light on who we are and what we're all about, and what they know about us.

00:00:49:08 - 00:00:54:23
Unknown
Hockey that can further help different people make different decisions on their different paths.

00:00:54:23 - 00:01:02:01
Unknown
Today we have a special guest. We have a two time Stanley Cup champion, one as a player, one as a coach

00:01:02:01 - 00:01:08:19
Unknown
a former first round draft pick. So obviously he's got a a whole history of youth hockey to share and how he got to the pass.

00:01:08:21 - 00:01:20:15
Unknown
Welcome rod Brind'Amour. Thank you. I'm happy to be here. It's crazy how paths cross. And I'm sitting here now with you talking about stuff that I've gone through my whole life, as have you. So I'm happy to share.

00:01:20:15 - 00:01:27:11
Unknown
first question, totally off topic for me. Never won the Stanley Cup as a player. I just got to ask, you know that feeling.

00:01:27:12 - 00:01:47:05
Unknown
We've seen all the pictures of you hosting it up for the first time. Just share with me and all of our viewers. You know, that feeling, that culmination of everything? Well, it's hard to put into words in a way, because you kind of have to be there, but it's something I wish everyone could experience. You know, you put in a lot of work your whole life, right?

00:01:47:06 - 00:02:07:10
Unknown
I mean, especially, you know, when you grow up, like I know you did. And I did like that when the Stanley Cup was all you kind of thought about. That's right. Like, it's just. It's in your blood. Yeah. And then, you know, you also know the sacrifices that your parents, your siblings, whatever everybody that's around you gave for you to play the game.

00:02:07:12 - 00:02:23:14
Unknown
Right? And now you're it all kind of comes flushing out like, well, man. And everybody wins, right? Like, you get you. You're the one that gets it. And the pictures and everything. But everybody that's been a part of that is winning too. And that's what's so special about. And so that's kind of what you see coming out of everybody.

00:02:23:15 - 00:02:41:11
Unknown
Yeah. Like everybody it's everyone on the ice. Like I love watching that back. Like not for my stuff. I love watching Jarvi. And you know, the emotion that he has with his buddies and then his parents. And I don't know if you saw it, but, like, you know, Jordan Staal hugging his parents after he went, I still got goosebumps thinking about it.

00:02:41:11 - 00:02:57:17
Unknown
And then his brothers, who I really well like and see how happy they are for him because everybody's invested in it. They know how much work has been put into that. So it's a long answer to your question, but that's kind of what you see in everybody. And when they when they hoist that or when they get around it and it's just very, very special.

00:02:57:18 - 00:03:15:09
Unknown
Yeah. And you know the game sevens at street hockey. The game sevens on the pond. I mean, it's just all culminates to that moment. And as you know, an avid hockey guy and a guy that channeled the minor leagues, I was always like, man, that's the one question I've had. Somebody who's Aaron Ward played with you as well.

00:03:15:10 - 00:03:34:00
Unknown
He's had the opportunity to win, but it's never a question I really actually had a chance to ask him, you know? But I just feel like, man, I know what I put into it. I didn't come close to it. And, you know, a guy like Marcel Dionne never won it, right? I mean, and there's a lot of guys that play that don't don't get a thing that's, you know, that's what it is.

00:03:34:03 - 00:03:56:05
Unknown
It's so hard to win like people don't. Some people fortunate and they want a bunch and I'm fortunate I've got 2 in 2 different capacities. But you know, that's what when you see for certain certainly for me, this run, this cup run was I wanted it for those guys. And yeah, Jordan had one, but he won when he was 19 and didn't really know what was going on and then know what he's gone through.

00:03:56:05 - 00:04:18:09
Unknown
I see it every day. Yeah. You know, I've seen the sacrifices and how much work that has gone into it. And then to see him want it for his buddies because he he knew what it was going to be like. Yeah, that's what's so special about it. And, you know, it'll always be that way. And for me, you know, getting to watch these guys on social media to see Halsey with the Cup and, and the amount of people and you know, for me.

00:04:18:10 - 00:04:36:20
Unknown
Obviously the amount of times I see a poutine in the Stanley Cup is pretty awesome. But, you know, I just see these guys just enjoying it with the community and and it's just, well, you there because the community, you know, and we further it like what it meant for this community. I did not I didn't realize like anticipate in 2006.

00:04:36:20 - 00:04:57:09
Unknown
It was awesome. But this time around was tenfold. And it impacted everybody. Like, I mean, that parade was insane to have 200,000 people. Like, I didn't even know that there was that many people around here like, but they were all just so happy and it's amazing. I was in Wilmington, North Carolina about a month after because we we loved going down to Rice Field.

00:04:57:09 - 00:05:15:13
Unknown
But and I'm just walking the street and I had three cars stop in the middle of the street and jump out and just give me a thank you. Like. And I was like kind of shy. But they were just I said, you know, they they meant a lot to these people. And that's what's really cool too, is how how much it reached to, you know, everyone.

00:05:15:14 - 00:05:17:15
Unknown
Yeah. The community. Yeah. For sure. Cool.

00:05:17:15 - 00:05:24:19
Unknown
watch the Stanley Cup, you watched your Stanley Cup run as a player. I remember going to the games and I think that was just special and for people.

00:05:24:20 - 00:05:46:20
Unknown
Yeah. Will they get to experience it? Maybe not. But to hear it from you and to hear it from somebody, that's actually one of both times as a player and a coach is pretty special. I want to take us back to to the real reason you're here, because I'm sure you've been talking about the Stanley Cup all summer, but I want to take you I want to take your career back to where it all started.

00:05:46:20 - 00:06:03:18
Unknown
Your youth hockey. Where did you start playing youth hockey? Well, I'll start. I mean, this is interesting. My my son got four kids, but my little guy, now, he's starting to ask a lot of questions about because he never got to see me playing the NHL. So he's always, you know, now he's getting to that age. Just what we're talking about.

00:06:03:18 - 00:06:20:09
Unknown
So why this is great to be on here. You know with the next steps. And he's trying this and that. And and he always asks me kind of you know, what about my start? What were you like when you were my age? You know, and when I started and everyone started in Canada, everybody plays hockey. Everybody was like, okay, so five years old, like everyone or whatever.

00:06:20:10 - 00:06:36:10
Unknown
I get the skates on, I'm doing my thing, and I quit hockey. So I quit for two years and no one said, why'd you quit? Well, my dad's buddy was coaching me, and because he was my dad's buddy, he thought he, you know, a little harder on me. You know what I mean? And I didn't like getting yelled at.

00:06:36:11 - 00:06:51:23
Unknown
I didn't like, like he was on me. And I'm like, this is no fun. I'm out. So I stopped playing. And then. But then I realized real quick, two years of it. And where are all your buddies doing playing hockey? Playing hockey? Nobody's on the weekends. They're all going around. I was like, well, I got to get back into this, so I'll put the skates back on.

00:06:51:23 - 00:07:13:08
Unknown
Thankfully, you know, and then that it clicked and went on and but it started in a little town called Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which is I mean, it's close to Alaska. Its way up there. It's like it's it's small little town. And then we moved to Vancouver Island, which was real beautiful place, a real small fishing little town, supposedly the salmon fishing capital of the world.

00:07:13:08 - 00:07:30:13
Unknown
That's that's what they're known for. But anyway, and I grew up there just playing in the little town of 30,000 people, one rink, you know, the rink. The ice went out at the last game and probably April, and they didn't put it back in till they had a little hockey school at the end of August, you know, like that's that's how I grew up.

00:07:30:14 - 00:07:49:07
Unknown
And that's where it kind of all started. Now, Campbell River, you said. And to Notre Dame, what was that transition like? Because now you're talking about Brooks, right. Playing Junior Kings here in town and having a lot of success and grown as a hockey player. And all of a sudden, you know, it's not really fair for those kids though, because we we didn't have social media.

00:07:49:07 - 00:08:03:15
Unknown
We didn't have to worry about our buddies going somewhere else if we didn't hear about it, like close to us, we didn't know where somebody else was going. It's become a rat race, as you know why you're doing this? Yeah, at the end of the day, is it because there's just too much and there's too much out there?

00:08:03:16 - 00:08:24:09
Unknown
Yeah. And yeah. So I played getting camera over through my then it was called Bantams, which I think is like U15 now or something, I don't know, but it's it was great. I got through grade nine at in Campbell River and it was, you know, not that the hockey wasn't great, but it was just okay. I was a good player.

00:08:24:10 - 00:08:41:16
Unknown
Yeah, I, I was your age was the best player. I was one of them. I wasn't like I wasn't killing it and I was playing defense. My dad made me play defense. I did that to all my kids. Yeah. And I was like, I remember I was 13. He started a coach, so I was at bandmates 1314. And he says, you're going to go play defense.

00:08:41:19 - 00:08:57:11
Unknown
And I said, I went right up to my mom. My mom dad's making me play defense. How am I going to be like Wayne Gretzky if I got to play defense? Yeah. My mom's, you know, she's neutral. She's yeah, he knows what he's doing. And my dad finally grabbed me one day and he said, look, you know, dumb ass, you know, like, sorry, I know you good.

00:08:57:12 - 00:09:12:01
Unknown
He's like, I'm going to play for defensemen because we're not big enough to town. We don't have enough good players like we you know, it wasn't about money. It was like, if you could make the team good, if you couldn't, you weren't playing. That's right. That's how they did it. So I think we had like 15 players max, you know.

00:09:12:04 - 00:09:26:12
Unknown
But we're going to go for defenseman. You're going to play half the game, he said. I don't care if you play defense, you're going to just line up playing defense and then go play. Yeah. And I was like, oh, you know. So and it was the best thing happened for those two years. Number one, I learned the game from a different perspective.

00:09:26:16 - 00:09:44:11
Unknown
I learned as a defense when going back, where do the Fords need to be to help you, which probably had a huge impact on you being a two way player. Had to. It had to. And you know, I probably didn't at the time. And then and it actually just played half the game. I played every powerplay. I played like I was just I couldn't get enough and, you know, everything just went sky.

00:09:44:11 - 00:10:04:03
Unknown
So then you say, well, okay, now what? Well, the next step, you know, I could stay, but that was kind of outgrew where I was. And there was an opportunity to go play at Notre Dame. And it was an expensive one because my parents had to that was Notre Dame. Were they were they recruiting you at the time or.

00:10:04:06 - 00:10:22:21
Unknown
I don't really know how it happened because there's no trust me, there's no internet. No, there's no no emails. You went to a tournament and it was used to be it was a big one. Kamloops International Bantam tournament, which all the teams around the country came. Yeah, like Notre Dame went there. The Little Caesars went there. And this little town, this is how good we were.

00:10:22:21 - 00:10:39:04
Unknown
Like, you don't even realize how good we were. We made it to the finals, this team in Campbell River, and it was copyrighted. We played in the finals. They beat us nine one. And I actually had a couple of buddies still, now that that I've come across that played on that team, but I got I was thinking I was like one of the all stars of the tournament.

00:10:39:04 - 00:10:56:09
Unknown
So the Notre Dame was at the tournament, and somehow my dad started talking to them like, hey! And I got lucky that I know I'm going along here. But the guy a little bit older than me was my dad's son went to Notre Dame, so we kind of knew of it. So it was just kind of like, okay, we know of this place.

00:10:56:09 - 00:11:10:04
Unknown
And it was just on I kind of I never visited it. I didn't, you know, the okay, we're going to take a chance. And I mean, they're kind of taking a chance. I mean, a little bit, they only see it when they saw me play in one game. Yeah. You know the guy that was there? Yeah, you'd probably be good for it.

00:11:10:06 - 00:11:24:18
Unknown
And then off you go, you know. So then it went to Dame and then everything. I mean it was a great institution. I got lucky, I got around good people. I got an amazing coach. Barry McKenzie was one of the best coaches I've ever been around my whole life. And he just kind of grabbed me and it was just okay.

00:11:24:18 - 00:11:43:02
Unknown
And then, you know, there was a lot of things to fight through at this school. But they had they had a weight room and they had a and it was up to you, you know, and then it all worked out. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and Notre Dame, my son went there for two years. I thought it was a great, great experience with Jeremy Melamed when he was there.

00:11:43:02 - 00:12:05:03
Unknown
Now Wade clipping Stein is there now. He's in charge of the program. And you know, like every other program, it kind of goes through a ebb and flow of success, unfortunately. And then some downtime and and Wade's at a point now where he's trying to bring it back up to where it was. But, I mean, you walk into that rink and you see all those pictures and frames and, you know, it's just mind blowing the amount of talent and quality people that went through there.

00:12:05:07 - 00:12:27:23
Unknown
John Cooper, Barry Trotz, I we can sit here and talk about them all through all day doing. Yeah. Just to show on that. So Notre Dame obviously you did midget there and junior right. How old were you when you went to Notre Dame. I remember so I'm Grade ten. So that'd be I think I was 15, just turned 15 and then played the ban on me and I got lucky again.

00:12:27:23 - 00:12:50:06
Unknown
I was good player on the Banham team, which is I guess now you what am I saying. You 1616 okay. So and then they actually pulled me up. They had an injury or something on on the I guess U18 team. Well they didn't call it then. It was midget hockey. But yeah. And so I'll send I'm playing two years up and that team won the national championship, the Air Canada Cup.

00:12:50:06 - 00:13:08:17
Unknown
They used to call. How big were you in that were you were lucky because there's another thing I loved it. We could talk all day on this because I was physically big enough because I wasn't. I was probably 510, but I, I was strong, strong enough to handle playing with the older guys. And that was the key, right?

00:13:08:18 - 00:13:33:07
Unknown
And it was just lucky. I'm lucky that I was strong, but I was also in the gym since I was 12. Yeah. So there was a little bit of, you know, I could handle myself and I didn't, I didn't excel, I wasn't the best player, but I was good enough to play with the older guys. And then the next year now I'm going, I'm a grade 11 a.m., I'm playing midget, which is grade 12 and grade 11, and our team won the national championship again, like we were, we had the best players.

00:13:33:08 - 00:13:55:08
Unknown
Do you remember where you were when you won the national championship that year? Yeah. So the one year was in outside Ottawa, Gloucester. And that's where I saw you play. Okay. And you were actually billeted at my youth hockey players manager's house, the Griffiths. That's right. Margin bill one time. And I've run into them over the years. Somewhere along the line I forget where it was but they Boston.

00:13:55:10 - 00:14:12:06
Unknown
Yeah you're right. Yeah. So that was the one year. And then can you remember the next year we won was somewhere in Ontario. Well, the next year I think you won the major midget which was the Air Canada Cup. Yeah. And after that you you came back as a junior player. We got it. So this was this was an interesting thing at Notre Dame.

00:14:12:06 - 00:14:32:19
Unknown
They didn't have a junior team. So we're all going into grade 12. But we've already like we don't really want to play this again. Yeah. So they're going to lose all this these players to go play junior hockey. My gosh. And so there was a crown of a crossroads. And the school decided okay we're going to invest in a junior team to keep kids to get through high school.

00:14:32:20 - 00:14:50:02
Unknown
That's right. It's great. It's the smartest thing ever. Yeah. And and that's what they did. So they bought a junior team in the Scotch and Junior Hockey League. So all these kids that myself, Scott Pellerin, Dwayne Norris, like, you know, we had we ended up teen players. They all got to be D-1 scholarships. That's how good we were.

00:14:50:07 - 00:15:07:13
Unknown
We would have beat major junior teams like it was that good a team. And so we go in the Scotch and Junior Hockey League and we went everything and we went whatever that was called. Yes. So we win that, you know. So pretty special group again just being around right. Right. Coaches good people. And and I know we might talk about this.

00:15:07:14 - 00:15:26:02
Unknown
It was the right fit. It's just you know like I was good enough that then I, I had I played it gave me the ice time. They gave me this. And you had an opportunity to grow within the system to right whether it be an injury or not. It doesn't matter. You still have to be in a situation where you can grow into that spot and take advantage of the opportunity.

00:15:26:02 - 00:15:45:21
Unknown
It certainly did, but it was a great institution. I probably the number one reason I probably had the career I did was landing there, and the coach and the coach that is probably the most important thing, is to have somebody that teaches you not just how to play hockey in skills. It wasn't in both skills. It was like how to play.

00:15:45:22 - 00:16:02:02
Unknown
Yeah, being in the right places. Where's the puck going? Where are you going? That's the you always get better if you work on your skills, but if you don't have the background of where you should be, you're not going to make you won't advance. That just won't happen. So from Notre Dame to Michigan State yeah like for Ron Mason.

00:16:02:02 - 00:16:22:13
Unknown
And there you go again I land and he's a great coach. But it was the guys around him like we had the system coaches were amazing. Neil Brown was one of them. He's still coaching the NHL right now as assistant coach like so anyway, it was just again great players. And I think I heard you talk about one time about you and your podcast was about the right fit.

00:16:22:13 - 00:16:41:08
Unknown
And like I, you know, I'm deciding which school to go to. Well, they got four centers already coming back. Yeah. So I was like, I don't think Michigan State's the place. Where am I going to fit on this? And so right before I had to make a decision, one of the guys went to the NHL. Now they only have to got three.

00:16:41:08 - 00:17:02:03
Unknown
And now I got a spot and all they need a spot because now I got to just compete against these guys and come in and do my thing and go. But it was a little dicey because I'm not going to go in as the fifth center. And you know, maybe I fight for that. That's fine. But I probably could go to some other school, which I could have that has two spots open, which would have made more sense.

00:17:02:04 - 00:17:32:15
Unknown
And that's the reason I didn't go to Michigan State when I was being recruited by Tom. And Ron Mason was on the back end of his career, and I opted to go to University of Illinois because I could play right away. But Lyle Fair was recruiting me and he really smart guy, played for LA. And and, you know, was really not kind of casually me into what decision to make, but certainly bringing it up to my attention that, hey, listen, you can go to Michigan State, but I'm pretty sure they're going to want a redshirt, you know, because they already have Steve Gwala, Anson Carter, I mean, they already have.

00:17:32:19 - 00:17:53:23
Unknown
All the guys was like, yeah, man, there's just how am I going to fit in there? That's one thing for me to compete. But you know you got to play and yeah, you got to trust yourself. That's right. But why? Why have that roadblock? You know why. Why have that when you don't have to? Yeah. When you look back at your at your youth, what do you remember most?

00:17:54:00 - 00:18:12:16
Unknown
I mean, we talked about Notre Dame obviously being very impactful in your in your development and your youth career. But anybody else I mean, well my dad coached me. I thought that was probably the biggest influence at a young age because I, I get a lot of credit as a coach at the NHL level. And I always laugh like I think, yeah, I mean, I think I'm pretty good.

00:18:12:16 - 00:18:30:06
Unknown
I know what I'm doing, but I already have the best players. They've already come. Someone's coached them. Someone has given them all the talents and know how how to play. Now I just gotta, you know, balance it out a little bit. The guys that deserve the credit are who coached you when you were 14, 15, 16 because that's where you learn to play.

00:18:30:07 - 00:18:46:17
Unknown
Absolutely. And those habits stay with you forever. And those are hard to break. So I get a kid that comes out of junior that that doesn't know how to play. You know, I mean, it's hard to break those habits. It's like, but if you already kind of knows and the way you need to play this guy is the limit, I find.

00:18:46:18 - 00:19:01:03
Unknown
So those guys are the guys who need the credit. So my dad and then we talked about Barry McKenzie and we talked about I even had Fran Huck one year. Noah, if you look him up, he played in the NHL for a long time with the Montreal Canadians. He was the bantam coach at Notre Dame when I first got there.

00:19:01:03 - 00:19:16:20
Unknown
So he coached me and then it went to Barry. And then we mentioned Ron Mason and you know Newell Brown. George, these are the guys that try to hold got a hold of me at the right age to be like it's thought you got to do things. He was at Miami Ohio when I was when I was at UIC.

00:19:16:20 - 00:19:34:07
Unknown
But cool. So now being a hockey dad right. We go past rod Brendan Moore's career and obviously top of the Stanley Cup. And you've got two players like two. I know you have four kids and I forget to talk about my middle daughter Lulu, I love you. Yeah, I know you didn't play hockey, but it's okay. Hockey show.

00:19:34:07 - 00:19:59:17
Unknown
Exactly. So obviously two boys that played at what I consider two different eras. Right. So Skyler one is the oldest. He's now he's 27 now. It's hard to believe he's come. He came through the Junior Hurricanes program and the 99. We're a strong team. Like yeah we go back to your yeah really good Notre Dame team. And that 99 team was probably the best team we've ever had in our program.

00:19:59:17 - 00:20:16:09
Unknown
It was well, it was special because they just got the Triple-A program right around the time when I finished playing and I was I was able to help coach a little more, and I think it was around 12 years old. Skyler was around 12 or 13, and we got this Triple-A program, and now we're going to go against the big people.

00:20:16:09 - 00:20:36:23
Unknown
And first year we got pounded and I was like, it's okay. Like this. We're getting our feet wet here. Let's just see. Let's get how this is the top. This is the bar. And we're you know, now, you know, let's see where we go. And 2 or 3 years later, we're we're taking them down. And it was real, you know, not I didn't even realize it at the time because I just thought it was normal.

00:20:37:00 - 00:20:53:23
Unknown
Now I see how hard it is. I'm like, well, boy, we were really good. And four of those kids ended up getting Division one scholarships. Like, that's really amazing. Now the moments, the more amazing thing on it is we kept them together until 1617. That to me is like, I look, I didn't I took that for granted because I'm like, no one even talked about leaving.

00:20:53:23 - 00:21:14:14
Unknown
We had one kid leave a year early. He left at 16, you know, like instead of staying for that last year with that group and everyone else stuck it out. And, you know, they went on to keep playing and some of them a little further. Skyler's still playing. Yeah. But now it's it's a lot tougher and again. Right.

00:21:14:16 - 00:21:31:06
Unknown
I say me helping you know the guidance comes with if maybe that 99 teams not as good. Maybe that's a different conversation. Maybe that's a different path. Do you agree with that? Yeah, it could have been for sure, because let's say one of those kids was who, you know, obviously I said we mentioned four of them. They were better.

00:21:31:07 - 00:21:45:21
Unknown
There were other players that were good, but those four guys stood out, and if there was only one of them, then maybe it is okay. I think I need to probably, you know, take my talents to another spot, but I still don't think it if you're good enough, they're going to find you. And as long as you're getting better.

00:21:46:00 - 00:22:00:09
Unknown
It's okay to struggle a little bit on a team that you know needs you to do a little more. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? You're the guy that has to help the other guys versus going to a team where that guy's helping you all the time. How maybe that is okay, right? Like, you can always get better.

00:22:00:09 - 00:22:21:20
Unknown
And the thing I always talk to parents about is, do you really want to send your kid away? Yeah. Because you. We're talking about life. How many of these kids are making the NHL? Oh, yeah. Like, let's be real about this. Like. And if they are, they're going to probably make it anyway. That's right. If as long as they have the work ethic, it doesn't matter where they're playing, they will get there.

00:22:22:01 - 00:22:34:20
Unknown
You know, I might take a little longer. The path might look a little different. But you're not getting that time back with your kid. That's right. You won't. And the minute they leave, because I did it, I lived it. When I was 15, I was still I have a vision of my mom crying in the front door because she knew what was happening.

00:22:34:20 - 00:22:50:08
Unknown
I didn't I was so happy to believe and I thought this was great, but I know what she means now because I had to send my kid away at seven. I didn't send Schuyler, I was 17. Yeah, he just turned 17. Then he went to prep school, and then he played there and got drafted out of there. So okay, worked for him.

00:22:50:08 - 00:23:08:00
Unknown
So he played two years of prep school now he played one. Then he went to the BC League. He played in Chilliwack played 12 okay. But you know that's different path. But we kept them all the way. Justin Williams just coached his kid till he was 17. Yeah they went to National another strong strong team. I mean they were ranked top 20 in the country.

00:23:08:01 - 00:23:24:18
Unknown
But that's but you know so why why can't we keep doing that. And all of a sudden it's falling apart. Everyone's kind of leaving way too early. But we had that conversation not too long ago. You know, you already have a kid at U13, U14 wanting to leave. I mean, you know, as a parent, do I want my 14 year old to leave?

00:23:24:19 - 00:23:40:08
Unknown
No, but I certainly want to make sure that they still get the amount of touches they have. There's still amount of the program has to be dialed in. You know, you want to make sure you're getting better, and if your kids getting better, then it's okay to struggle. It's okay to have a team that doesn't win every time.

00:23:40:09 - 00:24:00:06
Unknown
Nobody cares about winning at 1314 like nobody's watching your kid even anyway. And if they are, you probably got to wonder really what how good they are. If I'm going evaluator of a college, I'm not watching your kid at 15. I might I might sniff around and see. But I mean, let's go. Puberty hasn't kicked in for half these kids.

00:24:00:07 - 00:24:17:23
Unknown
Yeah, we don't know. Let's wait till that levels out. And I always found coaching too, because, you know, obviously coaching the Triple-A teams here, I always found that people that came to watch us play were excited to watch us play because we're in Carolina. They don't get a chance to see us. That's a good point. You know, you got to get to the tournaments, which we do.

00:24:18:00 - 00:24:33:19
Unknown
The kids playing these tournaments. And you know, like I said, if if your kids are good enough, they're going to they're going to hear about it and someone's going to come and sniff it out. That's 100% what's going to happen. But it just kind of it's all over. It's not just here, it's everywhere. I talk to parents all over.

00:24:34:00 - 00:24:54:23
Unknown
You go in there like, where are you from? And they're from here, but they live here. And I'm like, man, the strain on the families is immense. It's already is. Anyway, the financial burden playing hockey is this beyond is not good. It's too expensive. Ice time is outrageous. Incredible equipment. I mean, what is going on with equipment, right.

00:24:55:00 - 00:25:16:13
Unknown
Like but that. So my idea was some of my families is, is I the other piece that we have a disadvantage for is you know you play 888 here. Your three closest teams are DC, Nashville and Florida. So that's for sure. If you're playing a Friday, you got to leave on a Thursday. Missing school, missing school and the school board here.

00:25:16:13 - 00:25:36:19
Unknown
Like we have way crossroads, which is really good. But that's got a limited amount of seats in that program. And and they're not very I mean, I remember going to my son's school and say, listen, you know, he's asking for additional homework. Wouldn't you want a student athlete that has to manage his hockey schedule and his school do well in your classroom?

00:25:36:19 - 00:25:59:03
Unknown
Like, I'm not asking you to give him something, but he's asking you for additional work that he can do, and you say no. And then Monday morning, there's a quiz on the stuff that he missed on Thursdays and Fridays. I mean, that we had to go to school a couple of times to have those conversations, and it's unfortunate, but that's where I think where a kid can go somewhere and the schooling is all packaged up, the hockey's packaged up, the fitness is packaged up.

00:25:59:04 - 00:26:17:13
Unknown
The amount of time we as parents spend on taking our kids to the rink, to the gym, to the school and picking them up is really time consuming as well. Well, that's where you kind of get the other argument then. Then I can find all that over here. Yeah, then and I get it. I put a lot of pressure on the program here.

00:26:17:15 - 00:26:36:05
Unknown
Try to make it better so that, you know, you're you're making all these checklists. You just said and if it's I got nine out of ten over here, then I'm going to go over here. That's right. Even though this one is a big one sending your kid away, which I think weighs out all of it. Yeah. You're making a great point.

00:26:36:05 - 00:26:55:22
Unknown
And that's what we're dealing with now. It's unfortunate. Yeah. You know, I don't think we really should be having to deal with it. I think there's a better way. But that's the I think the reality of where we're at. Yeah. And not just us from a geographical location, but I think you look at Mid Fairfield, you look at all these other programs across the country, and they're in the same boat to they're down in Florida.

00:26:56:03 - 00:27:12:00
Unknown
Florida Alliance recruiting kids from all over. Now it becomes a weekend model which I really struggle with. Right. So the the kids are going to come down and just play on on the weekends. He's not with his teammates all week, doesn't get the practice at all and has a few practice weekends. That doesn't work. Even work. It doesn't work.

00:27:12:00 - 00:27:30:13
Unknown
We actually tried it. Yeah, we did two, maybe a year or two ago and there's too much downtime. So I heard you talk about touches. Touches are real important. And what that means is getting on the ice, even if you have to share the ice. So we're Brooks's team now is U15, which that's prime time. And we only have one practice.

00:27:30:15 - 00:27:45:17
Unknown
We only have one full ice practice, but we have two shared. Yeah. So it's like, hey, that's what we got to do. We do. We're getting on the ice. And if you coach knows what he's doing. Yeah, they can get a good practice on half ice and they're getting the touches, you know. And then you got the gym and you got to get that access to that.

00:27:45:17 - 00:28:03:14
Unknown
And you got to keep getting stronger. And you got to use the video. Right. And you got to teach. You know that's where that comes in. So it can be done. It's just a little tougher down here because we don't have, you know, actually it's a good problem. We have a lot of kids playing hockey. Yeah. What's the so talking about development and just loving this conversation too.

00:28:03:15 - 00:28:26:00
Unknown
It's been really fun. But what is one of the most important thing of all this on ice off ice development that you feel is often missed in youth hockey? Well, I think the thing that's nice, I don't know, you know, what's missed anymore because it is there are tights, the office stuff. Right. Like you have to if you can't get on the ice, then that's okay.

00:28:26:02 - 00:28:47:19
Unknown
Like, you know, you can by a pair of rollerblades. You can roll up. We were not on the ice all summer. That's my point. For four months, I didn't touch the ice. And actually, I didn't even. I just worked out and played baseball. Yeah. And then, you know, but I worked out every day, and I got stronger. And, you know, then when I came back, maybe I was a little rusty for a couple of weeks because I didn't have my legs, but I got stronger.

00:28:47:21 - 00:29:03:03
Unknown
And then that's where you get the gains, like, my guy wants to skate every day, but even. But even our office fitness here not to cut you off like one day a week. No no no no no no no, that's not enough. No. You need to be doing something every day, and I don't I don't mean you don't have to lift weights every day.

00:29:03:04 - 00:29:19:08
Unknown
No, but like, I'm, I'm doing, you know, whatever a track workout, sprint some playas and then I'm doing the, the lift, you know, or getting the weights going that certain age you have to be you're not not 12. You don't need to. But you can start messing around with stuff. You can do push ups and pull ups, you know.

00:29:19:10 - 00:29:35:22
Unknown
Great. Call them all dunes. Been with the program forever. And he coached Skyler and he was a member. He gave it. He told everyone to buy one of those pull up bars for like 20 bucks. And you stick it in your thing. And I put it in Skyler's room. I said, do these every night. Every other night I have one.

00:29:36:02 - 00:29:54:20
Unknown
And he he was he could do pull ups like. And it helps them. It helped him mentally this knowing I got to do something today. You know we do it with Brook and it's just the push up. You can do push ups every day. But getting the routine. Yeah. It's the mindset is what you're doing. You're training yourself that I got to do something every day to get better.

00:29:54:21 - 00:30:10:11
Unknown
Stick on. You can stick out on the garage. Yeah. Like everybody can do that, right? Not everyone has a net in the driveway or a place to shoot pucks. Well, you know what you do. You can. I mean, I didn't have a net in my driveway when I was a kid, but, you know, I had. That was a fire when you got logs.

00:30:10:12 - 00:30:34:19
Unknown
We had we had an old fireplace where you made logs. Yeah. So there was a big fire woodpile, and I just painted, put a little spray paint, and I fired pucks into a wood pop. Yeah, like you can figure it out. It doesn't have to be high end. And there is, if you're lucky enough that your parents are shelling out money to go to the gym and have a trainer and all that, it's all over the place, then go ahead.

00:30:34:19 - 00:30:48:10
Unknown
That's awesome. But you got to put the work in and you don't need to get on the ice every day. And it's funny when we talk about it's probably why I'm here, because I got to know you over the years, over doing your little your, your week once a week thing. And, you know, try to get my kid out there.

00:30:48:10 - 00:31:03:22
Unknown
So he's getting touched on the ice, which is the most important thing is learning how to skate. If you can't skate. Yeah. You know, even if you're little, if you learn how to skate, then the strength comes. It'll be if you're skating is no good and then you get strong. You're skating. Still going to be no good. Yeah.

00:31:04:00 - 00:31:19:11
Unknown
Yeah, you know what I mean. So you have to have the right technique. Kind of you can work on a little bit, but it just kind of has to be there. And then maybe you get another touch somewhere else. Twice a week in the summer is that's that's all you need of ice. Yeah. But you got to be doing something every day.

00:31:19:13 - 00:31:38:03
Unknown
I agree. And I just feel like even for us, like we didn't we weren't on the ice twice a week. But you know, we were in the gym every day. I was part of a program with Mark Slater called Ice Fit. We had Jeff Chicken and Luke Richardson and all those guys in our group. That man, you saw those guys in the gym.

00:31:38:03 - 00:31:59:16
Unknown
So I you know, sometimes it's difficult as an individual. So you're out there shooting pucks at logs. But you know having a workout buddy too that keeps you honest is pretty cool too. I think that would be again, we're talking about almost life lessons, right? Yeah. You know, you got to sell on good people. Exactly that. Probably you ask your earlier question about me.

00:31:59:16 - 00:32:17:00
Unknown
I was real fortunate not just to have good coaches. Yeah. Everywhere I landed, I just. The guy was good. Yeah, I got lucky. That's fortunate. But I made the right choice to always be around the best players. That not the best players, necessarily the hardest workers. Yeah, the guys that did it right. That was always what I walked into a new team.

00:32:17:00 - 00:32:36:02
Unknown
I was like, okay, you know, you could tell it takes 2 or 3 days. You know who the guys that bring it every day? Yeah, that's the guy. I'm going to either be friend because he's he gets it, you know, and then just what's he doing. And we share. Yeah. We share the same thing right. Right now. And then you know, try to always be that much better.

00:32:36:02 - 00:32:52:10
Unknown
You doing today I got you then do an extra rep. Yeah. You know I know he's not looking even sneaking next morning like I got to be a little better than that guy. Yeah, you know for sure. But I also, you know, my dad coached me for a long time to. And, you know, that was my power. Skating comes from a guy named Buck Buchanan up in Ottawa.

00:32:52:10 - 00:33:10:06
Unknown
And just an old cage. That's the one thing my parents spent money on was a power skating coach. And it was once a week on Thursday night. I dreaded it. It was a small little rink in Navan and man, I hated it. But man, it allowed me to play hockey. I was the middle sized guy. I was a little bit of a late bloomer growing in college.

00:33:10:06 - 00:33:23:14
Unknown
I grew an inch, so I was always trying to play catch up a little bit. But man, I could skate and I was a strong skater. So you through? Yeah. And then you could kill penalties. You can be offensive. You can. You can do a lot of things if you can skate. Yeah. That's I mean I think everyone gets that.

00:33:23:15 - 00:33:32:12
Unknown
Yeah. Right. Like I think they get it more now. Yeah. Now. Right. I think everyone understands the game because again the game's gotten so much better. Yeah because of skating.

00:33:32:14 - 00:33:58:18
Unknown
I want to talk about our partners here. Obviously true hockey. Huge partner for us. They're a manufacturer of skate sticks and gloves. I'm a big fan. Both my kids play with their products. I also want to bring up Stanstead College, which is a prep school, a Canadian prep school just outside of Sherbrooke and Stanstead. Super excited about their development at Universal Academy, which I've had my son play for Marco.

00:33:58:20 - 00:34:26:06
Unknown
They're at that program. They have a unique concept, love the development and love the concept that they have. Jeremy Mellon over at core d'Alene made the jump to lean and is now taking that program to some pretty, pretty significant heights. EB Athletics Aaron Bratcher. She is here locally in Raleigh. She's a former Division one basketball player, extremely knowledgeable and qualified in office fitness.

00:34:26:08 - 00:34:48:14
Unknown
Hunter Bishop Hockey is located in Charleston. My son's been skating with him for the last 2 or 3 years. Hunter's professional hockey player is a skilled development coach for the South Carolina Stingrays in the East Coast Hockey League. A fantastic skill coach. Lastly, we've got Schafer Hockey Group, which is an agency, an advisory group. Patrick Schafer, you need placement.

00:34:48:14 - 00:35:06:08
Unknown
You need somebody to represent your player. Whether you're leaving college, head to the pros. Patrick has a pretty hefty list of clients. He does a good job representing them and opening doors again. Patrick was a former hockey player. People return his phone call.

00:35:06:10 - 00:35:17:13
Unknown
But wouldn't you agree though, one thing we don't spend enough time is coaching hockey IQ. Like it's gone the other way. Right? Like, I hear a lot of smart people that play in the NHL that are really good and went through.

00:35:17:17 - 00:35:36:13
Unknown
They talk about one scout, the skills you got to teach like and yes, of course you got to be. I always visualized it like kind of talk about is the summer time was time for skills. Like I work on my game. Yeah, I'm working on whatever. If I can stick in the box shooting all the stuff I can do.

00:35:36:14 - 00:36:00:05
Unknown
And then when I got to be on the I got to get smarter about how to play. That's the systems, teach it, teach the kids how to play, you know. And I'm not, not. We're not not working on skills. But it's not the whole practice can't be doing, you know, skill drills. And we haven't worked on the power play or the penalty kill or neutral zone for check or the fourth or the bees on coverage or face off.

00:36:00:07 - 00:36:16:13
Unknown
What are the plan? And all the if you don't have that, you're just relying on your skill, skill and talent. And that's I mean, it might work if you got all the best players right, but then you're not teaching them. They're going to everyone's going to get that's going to catch up. It's going to catch up with you.

00:36:16:14 - 00:36:37:17
Unknown
So I always lean toward let's, let's use that our ice time that we have, we should not waste a minute on something that doesn't translate in the game. And I believe your skill development, your skill improvement will happen when you're working on yourself in the summer, just like you said. But also, every drill that you have should incorporate a bit of skill in order for you to do, doesn't it?

00:36:37:18 - 00:36:55:16
Unknown
It has to. You are. Anyway, if we're doing a breakout, we're working on passing, working on skating. We're working on tight turns, punch turns, whatever. I mean, you don't have to do it. Yeah, right. And I actually like the model. When we came in, I talked about calling back again. When Skylar was 12. They had a development model.

00:36:55:16 - 00:37:12:08
Unknown
They had one practice a week to work on skating and sticking. So now I was in my head was okay. I have this one practice actually one and a half because I'm sharing the ice and I'm not having to work on the skills. It's already built into this. That's right. This yearly plan, they're going to teach the power skating.

00:37:12:08 - 00:37:31:14
Unknown
They're going to teach the. And we'll get now my hour and a half. You know of ice with my team is about how to play. I'm going to teach you how to play hockey. And even if you have half a zone, you can work that. You know, if you're saying you got two, two, two shared practices, one of those practices, defensive zone coverage, I mean, there's all kinds.

00:37:31:14 - 00:37:47:16
Unknown
And then the other practices are offensive. Yeah. Don't coverage. Absolutely. You can do a lot of things. Yeah I agree. But that's the one thing I see. And I see a lot of kids, you know obviously with following my kid around where he's going. And then I look at other teams and look at a lot of other players.

00:37:47:17 - 00:38:05:16
Unknown
And I just see like a lot of them are, are really skilled players. But man, they're just really struggling to play as a unit, especially when you go to these training camps and you go see it's just an absolute free for all, you know, I mean, well, that gets to be tough to tryouts because I've seen enough of those in my, my day.

00:38:05:18 - 00:38:24:13
Unknown
You know, the it's hard because sometimes it's the kid that is the flash just does make it, you know what I mean? Because I got to stand out. You got to do something. You gotta do something. And you know, you got to do something better than anybody else. At the end of the day, when it's easier because I'm I'm at the top of the level watching the top kids.

00:38:24:13 - 00:38:42:22
Unknown
But I always say, even when we're looking at picking a player for the hurricanes, I'm like, what does it? If you're telling me, hey, player A, I go, what? The first question I'll ask you is, what does he do? You got to be able to say something. Yeah, there's got to be something that he does. Oh, he's an unbelievable skater.

00:38:42:23 - 00:39:00:07
Unknown
Yeah. You know what I mean? Okay. All right. That's good. He's. Or this guy can score. Yeah. Okay. And now we'll watch the rest to see if he. But there's got to be something. He's an unbelievable faceoff guy. Yeah. Because guess what? There's a fit for all this. Like, if you can do these things. He's tough. Some guys are still there.

00:39:00:07 - 00:39:23:23
Unknown
Still. If you can be tough to play hard okay. Right. So I mean we need one of those. Yeah. We need a few of those. Yeah. So between Schuyler's path and Brooks's past path. Do you see anything you're may do differently with Brooks now that it's evolved a little bit? Or do you think a similar path is you always said it, and I agree, everybody's past different.

00:39:24:00 - 00:39:42:16
Unknown
Yeah, right. And Skylar was different because for me, because he was a bigger kid, he was he was. When you watched the play, it was obviously one of the better guys. He stood out, not he didn't score five goals a game, but you could just tell you know how to play. And he was going to. And so it was easier because I think there was more opportunities.

00:39:42:17 - 00:39:59:03
Unknown
It was more the doors were well and our team was good. So we were always there was always just felt like more opportunity. But it was later it wasn't. And we weren't even talking about this at 14 or 15. And now I feel like everything is everyone's where are you going? Where, you know, everyone's trying to place their kid.

00:39:59:04 - 00:40:17:21
Unknown
And I'm gonna say, didn't even think about that before. It was way no, we're playing this till at least grade 11. Like there's no question. I mean, I didn't even part maybe, you know, I mean, not even. And now it's it just feels like it's this gun. You know, the academies are everywhere. Prep schools are everywhere. They're popping up all over, and there's good ones.

00:40:17:22 - 00:40:46:11
Unknown
They are good ones. I 100% they are. But are they for everyone? And that's what, you know, you got to navigate. You know going to school and and not playing is not going to you're not going to have a good experience. And that's the that's what you got to you got to try to way. And they have you know nowadays on on prep schools to I always struggled with a New England prep schools because now you're sending your kid to and for my daughter is a little bit different.

00:40:46:11 - 00:41:03:20
Unknown
Girls hockey was a little tougher. There's not as many places for you to be able to continue to grow. We u14 a lot of girls start to drop off. You know, it's not cool. The boys don't like me playing hockey and that kind of stuff. So some of them that were serious wanted to go somewhere else and the rest kind of slowly dropped off.

00:41:03:20 - 00:41:23:23
Unknown
So that was even more important. But Grayson, that I've gone to The Gunnery and had a great experience to this day, this is one of her Notre Dame's, if you will, for you and had a great experience. It was great. And they did a good job with the development. Like the touches, the office, everything was really organized and she was fortunate enough to go play Division three of Manhattanville.

00:41:24:00 - 00:41:44:22
Unknown
But for boys, it's it's a little bit different because the numbers are greater. Number one and number two in prep school New England they only play 25 games. So two games maybe. Yeah if you get to the playoffs. So now you got to join a split season team. That's the kid Foley. Now we're not there. As parents. You got to rely on somebody else's family to tote your kid around your Venmo.

00:41:44:22 - 00:42:02:08
Unknown
And them. It's an absolute cluster. That was funny. You mentioned that. So back when Skylar went through, that was the deciding factor that we didn't go to some places we went to. He ended up playing up in a place called South Kent. Okay. But they had a full season. Full season. That was anyone that had a split season that you were talking about.

00:42:02:08 - 00:42:18:17
Unknown
I was like, we're not going there. Yeah, number one, I'm not figuring that out. No, I'm not putting that on someone else to figure out how to get my kid. And what are you really learning if you're just playing on the weekends with some team that they're throwing together, you're not learn anything. There's no practice. So that's not that's a bad model.

00:42:18:19 - 00:42:41:07
Unknown
Exactly. Now they've changed it a bit. I kind of now I'm back in it with learning at this level. Now with Brooks's age group, you know, a lot of them are changing and figuring out how to bridge that gap. Yeah, but yeah, it's another to be that's difficult. Yeah. They're trying to do the split season like I know Cushing a couple other schools have in-house programs.

00:42:41:07 - 00:43:01:11
Unknown
Berkshire, they have in-house split seasons. So doesn't actually have to put so much onus on a different family. But still it's difficult. Like it's it's it shouldn't be this hard. Unfortunately, it seems like the one sport that we chose is and I feel like in Canada it's a little bit easier. And I think this is where it comes from, a geographical and demographic area.

00:43:01:12 - 00:43:18:14
Unknown
Campbell River. Yeah, you were on the island, but you play games during the week. We can't do that. Like we physically can't do that. And we could drive to all the teams on the island. That's right. So we you know, even though it was I had a three hour drive to Victoria, like now I wish that was the case better than a 4.5 hour drive to DC.

00:43:18:15 - 00:43:37:05
Unknown
That's the worst. And that's your closest one. And now we can't even play them like it's it's it's it's a burden on the parents I hate it. It shouldn't be this difficult. It should be fun. This is what really we're losing sight of what this is about. It's about developing your son or daughter. Yeah. To be better and get an education.

00:43:37:05 - 00:43:51:21
Unknown
We're losing sight of that. There's some of this. Some of these places where I don't know what they're doing with their schooling. You know what I mean? Like, this is, again, you talked about, you know, the percentile of people making the NHL. I mean, yeah, there's, you know, it's it's for me, it was always the journey in the path.

00:43:51:21 - 00:44:24:10
Unknown
My, my I was always on trying to play for the national team. That was my NHL just from a size standpoint at that time. You know, the NHL guys weren't allowed to play with that changed and changed the path that. So, you know, you just the amount of people and I own my own business now. And I just feel like all the discipline and the sacrifices I made from, you know, learning the game of hockey and godly, just the food and making sure that you're fit and making sure that you're ready to play hockey teaches you all of this so much, and you don't even realize it.

00:44:24:10 - 00:44:45:20
Unknown
No, you don't realize being working with others and having to take a back seat and having to drive, that, being the driver's seat and having to do all of this stuff and then the work. Yeah. And where does hard work never fail you? Never in any, any profession that you live in. So. And that's what I mean, is there any harder sport to play than, you know, it covers that.

00:44:45:20 - 00:45:00:19
Unknown
So you kind of already you're learning these things and you don't really even notice it. Yeah. And that's going to help you in life I think. And I and you know, a lot of people come to me and say, oh, you know, do you think it's worth it for me to spend all this money if he's not going to play the National Hockey League?

00:45:00:21 - 00:45:17:11
Unknown
Man, do you ever see his face when he comes off the ice, I get it. It costs a lot of money. But if you're not doing this, you're doing something else. I mean, soccer is expensive now, baseball is expensive. So I think for me, it's not about I mean, if, you know, player A has aspirations playing the National, that's great.

00:45:17:11 - 00:45:32:17
Unknown
But man, at the end of the day you're not doing that. Just so you get there. You do it for the journey in the past and everything's all out the journey. Yeah. So it is hard I hate it, I'm navigating it right now. Yeah. I'm not I'm fighting my all the time. I'm like, no, no, you're going to stay here.

00:45:32:17 - 00:45:49:20
Unknown
Like we got to like come on. And you're getting better. You don't even realize it. Oh, yeah. Promise you look, it's coming, it's coming. And you, you know, the the puberty Olympics, I call it some kids get it early, some don't like you. Just you don't know how it's going to come. But. But I think everyone's timing is different.

00:45:49:20 - 00:46:08:15
Unknown
And if you're good enough, we can play in Timbuctoo. Yeah. Eventually we'll get you. Where? Yeah. Everyone is. And you want to. You want to hit that when it's the right time, you know, because the window gets closed early sometimes. Oh, yeah, and the right time for you. I mean, Dave Pullen and make the national hockey team was a late 20 tens of stories.

00:46:08:17 - 00:46:31:00
Unknown
Kids like that. And yeah, I think you mentioned them. The top guys generally are the top early always. And they go right through like it just as I was a top player. Yeah, every time I played it wasn't necessarily the best, but I was clearly, you know, and it just advanced. And all the guys that I played with in in the NHL, most of them were all first round picks and they were good when they were little.

00:46:31:00 - 00:46:53:05
Unknown
But there's a ton of them that weren't. Yeah, there's a ton of them that came in late, you know. So you got to just. It is also good players you know obviously. So now as an NHL coach we're past that. You've gone through a bunch of development camps. What do you see from the kids that are coming up like the the rookies, the guys that you guys are going to draft?

00:46:53:09 - 00:47:08:00
Unknown
Obviously that's not your responsibility to go watch every kid that you're going to drive. You have a scouting staff for that and all that. You have a great scouting step. I used to pay more attention to the draft because I had more time than when I got to be the head coach. It was it started a, you know, pulled me away.

00:47:08:00 - 00:47:27:04
Unknown
But what was good was my son Skyler was kind of growing up in that. And so I'm watching all his games. I'm watching all these top guys. Yeah, yeah. Like we ended up with trying to pick you guys on the national champion, right? So I'm watching every kid that comes through there. Everyone plays against them. And we ended up with Charles Legault who he was at Quinnipiac with Skyler.

00:47:27:04 - 00:47:42:21
Unknown
And I remember calling Skyler after the game and I'm watching I said, who drafted the go? Because I, you know, I watched him and he's like, no, but he's not. He missed the draft. I said, what? Like I'm like, are you kidding me? I go, I guys legit. What are we. What do I missing. There he goes nothing.

00:47:42:21 - 00:47:59:02
Unknown
Daddy goes this guy is a beast in the gym. He's like I said, okay, that's all I need to hear. And then the next year I'm like, we got we got to get this guy on the radar. I trust me, I've watched every game and we ended up getting him in the fifth round and you know, and he's still just coming.

00:47:59:02 - 00:48:18:12
Unknown
But I mean I'm like, it's a no brainer, you know? So I did stay more involved in the draft than now. He's kind of older. So those kids are no longer. So I'm finding it harder to get back you know. But I love watching that stuff. And when you learn about people, that's the thing about if a kid, even if Charles never makes it, he's already played for us.

00:48:18:12 - 00:48:35:08
Unknown
I think his future is bright. You're never going to be disappointed with that kid, because I know, and Skyler was dead, right? Like, he's the hardest worker. He's, you know, he wants to learn. He's just he's got everything. So we bet on good people, right? And so that's another thing he's kind of missed a little bit. We're talking about how good your kid is and talented.

00:48:35:08 - 00:48:59:10
Unknown
But man like there's something to be said about being like being real being a good person. But do you think a guy like Charles Lego's path was altered because he didn't get noticed or early enough? Or. I mean, I mean, we talked about it, right? Like, if you're that good, you're going to get noticed. I tend to believe that you still have to put yourself out there in really good spots and not be buried in Campbell River.

00:48:59:11 - 00:49:20:13
Unknown
You got to be. You do have to. Yeah, I think I think it was case. So he I always say you're good enough. You'll get noticed. He did get noticed. Yeah. It just took longer. Yeah. You know what I mean. It was still there. It just took a little time. And his path is actually really interesting too, because he went he was a Quebec kid and he ended up playing out in the British Columbia League.

00:49:20:19 - 00:49:44:04
Unknown
He went all the way out there, right? Like not. He wasn't working out here. I never really talked to him. Why he would go all the way out there when you have all this hockey and crazy man. But he felt like that's what he needed to do, and we'll see. I mean, I think his career is still just kind of rolling, getting going, but, but even I played for Clinton in the latter part of my career, and he was a guy that was like, yeah, yeah, no business being here.

00:49:44:04 - 00:50:01:00
Unknown
You should be at a higher level. And, you know, at the time I was 26, 27. I was kind of on the on the back side of, of, of really still chasing it. And of course, a couple of good opportunities came up. I was a little banged up to where I could go there and be successful. And he was like, man, if you go there, you're not coming back.

00:50:01:00 - 00:50:18:20
Unknown
I'm telling you that right now. So, you know, having the right guy, the Barry McKenzie's the guy that believes in you. I think for me, when I coach kids, I don't care where they played a double A, if I'm coaching a triple A team, I look at a player and and try to see if I coach him and teach him how to play.

00:50:18:20 - 00:50:39:22
Unknown
Where could he be, right? But a lot of times people are only looking at what they're doing today. In a case of a Charles Legault, maybe he was just overlooked because he didn't do that one thing that everybody noticed, you know, I don't even know because I didn't see him play. Yeah, it was funny when I watched him for the first time as a freshman, he's like, he's like, yeah, I literally thought he had to have been drafted.

00:50:39:22 - 00:50:57:10
Unknown
So I was like, hey, by the way, where is he? That's cool. I was like, okay. But as all the players that you that that come to to development camp and they're all either undrafted guys or junior guys, what do you what do you see that stands out from from year to year. Like, you know, as do you see they're getting better.

00:50:57:12 - 00:51:13:14
Unknown
They're more skilled. Right? I mean the skills are off the charts and it's the skating. Yeah. For me, it's the game. The game. Look how fast it is. You go watch. You know, like Brooks, we watched the 2006 game was on the Stanley Cup. Every once in a while they play an old game and he's like, oh my God.

00:51:13:15 - 00:51:30:11
Unknown
Like I'm like. And that's how I thought when I watched in 2006, when I watched a game from the 80s or something, you know, I'm like, Holy mackerel! The game just keeps getting faster and faster. The kids are there. Way better shape, right? This is now everyone's going 12 months of the year and there they are. They're dialed in.

00:51:30:12 - 00:51:49:11
Unknown
Right? And that don't just mean skating 12 miles. They're they're taking care of themselves. They're trying to get better. So I think the athletes are just getting better. And that's across the board every sport. Yeah. So that's why the games and you see it with these kids coming into development camp like holy mackerel. They're all fast. But the same thing still apply when you drop you got to play.

00:51:49:12 - 00:52:10:19
Unknown
Yeah. So development camps all skills. And so I'm always okay now I just okay that's great. Now let's play. And then a lot of things change. A lot of guys that you think that the skills translate a little. But the other thing nobody knows you can't measure is what's in here. Games about compete. Yeah. So that just that's the equalizer man.

00:52:10:19 - 00:52:27:17
Unknown
If you're a little off you're skating is a little off. But you're you got it. Here, I'll take that kid, I promise you. So that's something I don't know how you teach that little dog in the bone. I always say that's something that I don't know that you teach it. I think you're born with it. You kind of have it.

00:52:27:17 - 00:52:41:19
Unknown
You can't put it in a kid at 20. No, and now doesn't happen. But if your kid, if you want to give one thing to your kid, is have a little, have a little, that competitiveness has to be there.

00:52:41:21 - 00:52:59:21
Unknown
Anything you'd like to see a little bit more of either on our program? How do you think we fix this? How do you how do you think? What can we do to add anything? I mean, I think like like I said, I think when I listen to you, your, I guess was your initial podcast about what you were trying to create.

00:53:00:03 - 00:53:16:21
Unknown
Yes. Yeah. I think it's dead on. Like, I mean, here I am, a guy that's been in his whole life. Yeah, been through everything like as a, as an experienced it and then had a kid go through it and I was doing it again and I could be honest, I tell you, I'm, I don't want to say I'm lost with it, but I'm like I'm like, oh, it's overwhelming.

00:53:16:21 - 00:53:34:05
Unknown
It's like, too much shouldn't be this hard. And and you can simplify it down. And we try to, but there's a lot of forces out there and everyone's just got to stop with if you can. And it's hard, you know, all the rankings and and I'm just like, what? Like I don't even know who's making these rankings number one.

00:53:34:05 - 00:53:54:05
Unknown
And what are they basing it on. And then but that's how teams are playing each other. I won't play you. You're not you're not going to hurt my ranking. I'm going to say what are we doing. You know, like this is, you know, so I don't know. And it's I think it's just information, you know, I don't know how you get the platform out, you know, because I do.

00:53:54:06 - 00:54:14:02
Unknown
I think what you've the guess you've had hopefully I'm a guess that gives some information. I don't know what I'm helping anyone with, but, you know, help parents navigate what's going on, what's available. Like even, you know, we talk before. Yeah. Getting out here. And I'm like, you know what? That guy, this guy like is you got to kind of know what is available.

00:54:14:03 - 00:54:32:23
Unknown
Yeah. What are your options? And then you got to make the best decision. Yeah. And for me, I see, you know, Jocelyn's got an ace school here. I was like, you know, here we are worried about sending our kids because we're missing school. But, I mean, that school is pretty expensive, too. Then you tack on the hockey, you're at the same price.

00:54:33:00 - 00:54:51:09
Unknown
Yeah, you know, Player A's home, but now you're still dropping X amount of dollars here. So it becomes a sport I would love because I know in Canada growing up my dad was never wealthy. This was never about money. This was a blue collar sport all day long I get it. We could go outside and play on some old skates and play on the pond.

00:54:51:09 - 00:55:24:21
Unknown
And you had a lot of guys that, you know, played a lot of hockey in our day, and it wasn't costing us. We had to do bottle drives to raise some money. You know, I feel like for our program we need some larger sponsorships. We need somebody to kind of defer the cost of all of this being on the parents and somehow being able to bring ways, like we've talked about it with, with our little guys, like, you know, the parents don't have to travel like, you know, send everyone volunteer, like, I'll take, you know, three kids, one trip and, you know, like, you don't need to every time.

00:55:24:21 - 00:55:45:10
Unknown
That's just insane. Like, but on the other hand, if you're a parent, you know, you want to see him play like, but you don't have to. I'm just looking at to cut the cost. Yeah, because it is it's the one negative of playing hockey down here is you're going to have to travel in. The weekends are going to be it's going to be a weekend tournament model for the most part.

00:55:45:11 - 00:56:06:15
Unknown
Right. You go to those eight tournaments where everyone goes and this this, that is what it is. But you can still you get better, you can get better. And it's it's it's tough though. Yeah. It's about touches and it's about development and doing stuff on your own and and getting those opportunities. I always used to tell Bower all right we're going to Notre Dame.

00:56:06:15 - 00:56:25:08
Unknown
We're playing in a big tournament this weekend. You know let's go up there and have a good time. Let's put the phones away. Let's just stay focused on what we need to do. And and let's make sure we're ready to play like this is this is an opportunity, right? We every time you play as an opportunity. Absolutely. Kids don't really get it doesn't have to be out of tournament.

00:56:25:09 - 00:56:42:00
Unknown
Yeah. And I don't know. And every shift matters because you the guy that you think is coming to watch or might be there or you don't even know, might have just walked in to go to another game and he. Oh, I got to watch this kid and he watches one shift. And at least what if that's the worst shift that you played?

00:56:42:01 - 00:56:58:04
Unknown
Exactly. But if that's the shift that you took a damn penalty or what? What impression is that guy you're going to have of you? Yeah. And any of the players that I coach that are listening how are probably smiling, because I used to say that all the time. They got a lot of kids to watch, and they may only watch you for the first five minutes or the last five minutes.

00:56:58:04 - 00:57:15:18
Unknown
You don't know or they're not even there to watch you. Or now on social media, they can watch you on Live Barn, they can watch you on all kinds of stuff. That's the other thing about playing with like, you know, being the maybe the big fish on a small pond, like they'll come to watch you, but you kind of want that kid there because they'll they'll come to watch you.

00:57:15:20 - 00:57:33:13
Unknown
Everyone used to love when I was at Notre Dame because they, you know, I was ranked in the first round, you know, they all loved it because they were coming to watch me play. And Curtis Joseph. Right. And so but guess what. Why do you think 17 other guys got scholarships. That's right. Because they're like, damn, these guys are good.

00:57:33:14 - 00:57:58:08
Unknown
Yeah. That guy is really good too. Yeah. He's already taking some worry about the rest of the guys. You know, there is something to be said about that too. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, look, as we wind down here, there's no magic recipe, right? Like, no matter what we do, your recipe, my recipe and anybody else watching recipes all different, but all the more reason to do what's best for Brenda Moore and for Mark, Janay and for any other player out there.

00:57:58:09 - 00:58:17:23
Unknown
Skyler's, the Brooks, the Bowers, all those kids, every pass a little bit different. It might be delayed, it might be shorter, it might be straight up to the top. We don't know. But if there's anything that you had to share with that, like, I don't want to be redundant. We've talked about fitness, but, well, is there anything you'd like to share with with anybody that are listening?

00:58:18:03 - 00:58:40:09
Unknown
We covered it and we're saying the same things. It's it's tough, but we're doing a great thing, right? The kids playing hockey, they love it. Make sure they love it. If if you're having to drag them to the rink, then, you know, don't be sending him somewhere like don't waste your money. Yeah. Like like if he's, you know, and that's if you can.

00:58:40:12 - 00:58:57:08
Unknown
I'm fortunate. I'll be honest. I can, you know, afford to do those things. But if in a minute Brooks starts saying, I don't want to go, you know, gay guess not getting his stuff ready. He's not packing his bags. And you got to be the school and he's got to take a priority. Yeah. You lose sight of that.

00:58:57:09 - 00:59:17:06
Unknown
Like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Here. What's happening? Like, you got to, like, they both are intertwined. I really think we've talked to us about hockey, but these kids are not out of school. Yeah. And like I said, how many are making it, like to the NHL you can use. How are you to get into a good school? Yes. They get in a good college may not be the D1, but guess what?

00:59:17:08 - 00:59:35:02
Unknown
You're a good hockey player. That might help you get to NC state and play. Or you know Liberty. Well. How about all the jobs that are involved with being an NHL team that could, you know, or college or junior still be involved in the game, but you need a college degree to coach college. Yeah, exactly. So don't say that.

00:59:35:04 - 00:59:52:22
Unknown
They both need to have I think equal weight and actually schooling should have more. That should be a priority. And then if you get doing well on that then let's let's keep focusing on that. But you can't lose sight of that because at the end of the day, I don't care how long you play, very few guys do it for a living.

00:59:53:00 - 01:00:09:03
Unknown
You're going to need to do something else. Yeah, and you better have a good education or or some other path to use. And you can't play hockey forever, no matter what. And not everybody gets a chance. To me, I'm like a lucky one of the luckiest guys on the planet that's still doing hockey's whole life. Like, that's very rare.

01:00:09:04 - 01:00:26:17
Unknown
Yeah, but this is great. I appreciate you having me on. And I love what you do. That's why I. Come on. Yeah, because, I mean, I've seen you do this for a long time. Not this, but what you do with the kids. Yeah, I mean, you for those you don't know, I look right in there because he can handle 40 kids on the ice and keep moving.

01:00:26:18 - 01:00:40:01
Unknown
I gotta go. That's better than anyone I've ever seen, you know? So that's a skill set in his own right. And they actually are getting better every time, so that's impressive. Yeah. I used to think I got to come out and help you. I don't need to help you because I watch how it runs and you do a great job.

01:00:40:02 - 01:00:47:13
Unknown
Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, well, thanks for having me. Thanks for coming on board. Thanks for sharing it, rod. Always a pleasure to chat with you. Good to see you. Rod.

01:00:47:15 - 01:01:10:21
Unknown
Thanks for listening to the shifts. If you found value today, hit subscribe and leave a review. It helps more hockey families find this show. Want deeper support? Join the stop and starts hockey membership at stop and starts hockey. Com for coaching, private lessons and ongoing evaluations. Follow us on social media on at at stop and starts Instagram at stop and starts hockey in Facebook.

01:01:10:21 - 01:01:17:06
Unknown
Stop and start hockey. See you next time. Keep developing, keep growing and keep skating strong.