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A relatable and honest podcast about the highs and lows of being a youth hockey parent. Join us as we share real stories, struggles, and wins from the rink, offering insights and support for parents navigating the world of youth hockey.
This is for the sled dogs in the trenches. Real hockey parents, real stories. The Good and the Gong Show. No filters, no sugarcoating, no politics, just straight hockey talk, and the best guests around the barn. Welcome to the Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast.
Intro:Alright, boys. Grind them corners, chirp responsibly, and bring that savage fire.
Scott:Alright, everyone. Welcome back to episode 57 of the Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast, the unfiltered podcast for hockey parents. No politics, no sugarcoating, just real talk for hockey parents in the trenches.
Jamie:In the trenches.
Scott:Yo. What's up, my guy? Same old same, buddy. What's going on? Take two.
Scott:Take two. Yeah. Fuck that Take one
Jamie:two. It's alright.
Scott:Take two. It's alright. Listen. Just recording the video and no audio just leaves so much up to the imagination.
Jamie:It does, doesn't it? Yeah. That would have been interesting to see if we would have actually published that.
Scott:No. No. Well, no. Because when I went to put it together, that's when I realized
Jamie:I understand this.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:Listen, it happens.
Scott:It does.
Jamie:We're not perfect.
Scott:Technical difficulties.
Jamie:Listen, there's gonna be many more. It's alright.
Scott:There might be mental difficulties, either one. Sometimes there are difficulties.
Jamie:Sometimes there are mental difficulties. And I feel like these days in the game of ice hockey, there's a lot of mental mental mental difficulties.
Scott:There are? Where are you driving at?
Jamie:Tryout mental
Scott:Oh, There's definitely brain damage happening. Like as we speak probably.
Jamie:There's no question it's well, because Otto is at tryouts right now.
Scott:Otto is at tryouts? They're finished for tonight.
Jamie:Guarantee you there's mental difficulties going on.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Like in every rank across The United States.
Scott:No doubt. No doubt. No doubt.
Jamie:Right? Yeah. Now this is just tier one for the 12U?
Scott:Yeah, 12, 10U also, and 8U. It's PB
Jamie:major for you guys?
Scott:We're Pee wee major. Yeah. Pee major. Okay. Got it.
Scott:So 12 you and below tier one Right. Tryouts tonight. Yep.
Jamie:At least in our area.
Scott:In our area. Right.
Jamie:Yeah. Listen. Yeah. Definitely definitely some mental situations going on.
Scott:Yeah, it's fucking so annoying.
Jamie:Listen, how'd he do?
Scott:I don't know. Orly said that no one stood out on the ice.
Jamie:Got it. I think
Scott:that was her take for And what it's Otto said he didn't really wasn't really happy with himself.
Jamie:Okay. So Alright. Listen. It's okay.
Scott:I don't know. We're gonna find out.
Jamie:Alright. Listen. Good luck to him.
Scott:But yeah. No. That's so that is here. Tryouts. And then it'll be over this week.
Scott:And then it's like it's full on spring. Yeah. Full on springtime. I know you still have some decisions to get through.
Jamie:I do.
Scott:But Yes.
Jamie:Or I I'm delayed because we have to wait after nationals, which I think are the first weekend in April.
Scott:April. Think. Right? Sounds about right. Yeah.
Scott:So you got some time.
Jamie:I have time, which is nice. Yeah. I got that going for me,
Scott:which is nice. But this past weekend, I'm just trying to so Otto Otto went out to a skate just to get on the ice and then went to another one. And I and we know we talked about this before we real well, in the last the initial recording to the opening of this episode.
Jamie:The one where the audio did not work?
Scott:Yeah. That one. Well, no. The audio worked. I think that I didn't It just didn't record.
Scott:It didn't record. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:So what did we talk about the first time?
Scott:No. But the, you know, now that it's springtime and like laying off the gas with like, you know, doing too much hockey.
Jamie:Yes. Yes.
Scott:Yes. And then I was just like saying how auto wasn't gonna do any tune ups. But for no for no like really good reason other than like, he doesn't have to, the season's over.
Jamie:Yes.
Scott:And then it was like, I just get on the ice before try out. So he went to like
Jamie:Oh, so he did do a tune up.
Scott:Well, So he went to like a clinic.
Jamie:Mhmm.
Scott:This was yesterday? No. Over the weekend on so what was it? I don't know. Saturday or Sunday.
Scott:It doesn't matter. But he did like a clinic and then he did like a three on three.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:And then the following day, his buddy who had slept over was going to a tune up. And so Oh, yes. Otto's like, he didn't have any other plans. He's like, I'll go. And it's just like funny how
Jamie:Go it's like ahead, bud.
Scott:You know, like we talk about this and it's like, you know, your you know, your kid doesn't need to skate. He doesn't need to then it's like as a parent, well, when he has nothing to do, you're going
Jamie:to Just go.
Scott:Just get on the ice. Just go. Get on the ice.
Jamie:So I understand that dilemma when your kid is sitting, like just looking around the house for something to do. Yeah. You're like, just go. Let's just get find
Scott:Get on the
Jamie:ice. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Which is fine. Well, now that the weather's warmer, it's better. I don't
Jamie:know how long it's gonna stay this way, but yes.
Scott:Well, at some point, it'll stay.
Jamie:It will stay. This was lovely. Not last couple of days. And tomorrow is gonna be nice. Gorgeous.
Jamie:Yeah. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. It's awesome. Hopefully, stays.
Jamie:But, again, I don't think it's going to. And then we're going up to Lake Placid to, like, twelve degree weather.
Scott:Okay. That's fine. I'm still still used to it.
Jamie:Yeah. I'm looking and apparently, it's gonna snow, like, all this weekend up there.
Scott:Oh, perfect.
Jamie:When we get up there, there's going be a shitload of snow, I think.
Scott:I'm looking forward to driving in the snow some more.
Jamie:That should be interesting. I'm not going to lie. I hope it's not snowing while we're driving up there. That would be a problem.
Scott:Yeah. Well, it'll be something.
Jamie:It will be something.
Scott:Yeah. Good point. So anyhow Good. I don't know. Oh, let's let's talk partners, sponsors.
Jamie:Oh, yes. Well, let's just say a a big shout out to Big John Dangles
Scott:Oh, yes.
Jamie:BJD, Big John Dangles for doing our intro for our show these days. Thank you so much. He's got great stuff. Go check him out. He's in our show notes
Scott:Show notes?
Jamie:On his Instagram. But go check him out at Big John Dangles Instagram. You like his stuff.
Scott:While you hear the audio on the audio only podcast, if you go to YouTube, you can see You can see him. The whole intro.
Jamie:Yes. And he there it's also on our Instagram, but I think the one we put up on our Instagram is different than the one that we actually have on our show.
Scott B:That true?
Jamie:It is.
Scott:Oh, well, had a variety of them.
Jamie:We did. We had a couple to choose from. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:He's great. He's he's he's he's a good dude.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. So, anyway, shout out to BJD. Let's go.
Jamie:BJD himself.
Scott:And then we got Howie's Hockey, Crazy 10. Use a discount code. Get 10% off on all of your favorite Howie's hockey gear, tape, yellow handled scissors. Scissors. And Well said.
Scott:My favorite. Your favorite. The candle. Which
Jamie:Which we don't have here in front of us.
Scott:Why? Can get it. It's around the corner. We moved all this shit down here and
Jamie:I don't know why we don't have that like on our on this the table that we're
Scott:on. I I will get more and I will have a plethora.
Jamie:A plethora? Efe, what does it mean to have a plethora? I am sorry, O wappo. I am not as smart as you. We rape the horses and rode off on the women and the prune at the hedges of many smaller villages.
Scott:I'm talking about landscaping. Fucking unreal. Oh
Jamie:my goodness. Anyway, so yes. We are
Scott:the three amigos. Yeah.
Jamie:Yes. Yes. Go go get all the cool stuff from Howie's Hockey. They have great stuff. Big fan of their gear.
Jamie:Big fan of all their stuff. Big fan of their clothes. Yeah. Love Howie's Hockey. So Crazy 10.
Jamie:10. For 10% off your hockey.
Scott:That's it. And let's make sure to tell all of our listeners to check out hockeytraining.com. And if you don't know hockeytraining.com
Scott B:You you should.
Scott:Should. Coach Kevin, who runs the site and the platform, has all these at home off ice training videos. Excuse me. Library for faster feet, quicker hands, stronger strides. All of it that you know transfers onto on ice performance, stick handling, drills, live virtual stick handling classes.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:So there's a wide variety of things you can do to improve in the off season. Check out hockeytraining.com for any of you beer leaguers out there.
Jamie:Yep. Scott loves the beer leaguer. What's it called again? Men's League domination. Domination.
Jamie:That's right.
Scott:I wanna
Jamie:say beer league domination, but it's not.
Scott:Men's League domination.
Jamie:On now. He update it every year?
Scott:There are new additions. I don't know if it's every year, but there are new
Jamie:as necessary.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:That's why we love Coach Kevin.
Scott:Yeah. So recommend that.
Jamie:Hockey Training HQ. Go check him out on Instagram.
Scott:Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Coach Kevin Yeah. That's what's up.
Jamie:So and then we have Titan Battle Gear. So for the best base layer on the market, in my opinion, we have our kids in it. We think you should too. It is the safest piece of equipment that you can buy for your child these days, in my opinion. With all the cuts that are going on, make sure you protect your kid's wrist, their carotid artery, their neck, God forbid.
Jamie:So we trust Titan Battle Gear. So go to titanbattlegear.com/crazyhockeydads and use the code CrazyDads10 for 10% off your Titan Battle Gear. Not only will it protect your kids, but it also looks stylish too.
Scott:You mean sty? Sty. It's sty.
Jamie:I'm so not hip.
Scott:Dude, everything Otto's like
Jamie:But you know what I think about when I say sty? I think about like your eye.
Scott:Eye eye, like like woogie? Think about like woogie, like something about Mary?
Jamie:Yeah. Yes. Says the same thing. I'm like, hey, bud. I'm like, why don't you worry about your effort, not your style.
Scott:I know. If you put in the amount of concern he
Jamie:has for
Scott:like the logos on his helmet and the tape job, his knob job that he hasn't fucking that he does differently every day.
Jamie:Right. Yeah. Listen. Listen. Yes.
Jamie:No argument here, buddy.
Scott:Yeah. I
Jamie:mean No argument whatsoever. Did you say knob job, by the way?
Scott:Yeah. You did, didn't Yeah. He he he does a number on his stick.
Jamie:I haven't heard that in quite some time.
Scott:Yeah. Well, it's a knob job.
Jamie:Been a while. Yeah. Definitely been a while.
Scott:Yeah. Maybe in a different context, you're thinking.
Jamie:Yes. My mind goes to the gutter 110%. Questions about Just about every time.
Scott:We're talking about ice hockey.
Jamie:We are. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm talking about tape job on the stick.
Scott:I was talking about knob job.
Jamie:Anywho, we are a family friendly show. Yes. Not so much.
Scott:No, not exactly. Parents.
Jamie:More parents.
Scott:Yeah, but parents get it.
Jamie:They do. I guarantee you they're giggling in their car right now.
Scott:Yeah. Maybe. I guarantee you they are. Anyhow.
Jamie:So yeah. Anyhow, yes.
Scott:Where were we going with this?
Jamie:We just did tightened We battle are now on to API.
Scott:Oh, Athletic Performance Insight. Oh, yeah. Eric. Eric. Eric.
Scott:My god. A platform he has put together in Athletic Performance Insight. For anyone that's well, for all of you that are thinking about next season, managers, coaches that are listening to the pod, please take a look at athleticathleticperformanceinsight.com. Fill out the contact form. Ask Eric for a demo.
Scott:Yeah. He'll happily do it. Introduce you to the platform, and then he'll even tag a game for free. And basically, we send in your videos. Him and his team will break it down.
Scott:Yeah. And Athletic Performance Insight, the platform has all the under the hood analytics that are available pretty much I don't know. There's nothing on there that I thought it was missing. No.
Jamie:I'm pretty sure he
Scott:Covers everything.
Jamie:And he's also updated it many a times Many times, yeah. From initial The initial software that he came out with. I mean, he's updated it for, I'm going to say, like eight years now, no?
Scott:It's Maybe longer. Yeah, but either way, it's got everything you need from individual stats to team stats, all the things. It can handle three different camera angles. We would Yeah. Set
Jamie:You used it.
Scott:Yeah. We would have the center ice cam. And then you can have a camera The behind goal camera. Each which is And really then when you have the clips, you know, if you're looking at like whether it's breakouts or defensive zone coverage, you can watch it, you know, from three different angles. Although, I guess you wouldn't wanna watch it from the other goalie cam.
Scott:But nonetheless Right. It can do it.
Jamie:Yes. No. It's pretty robust.
Scott:Yeah. So check out athleticperformanceinsight.com.
Jamie:Yeah. For $100 value.
Scott:Imagine Crazy Hockey Dads.
Jamie:It's lot of money.
Scott:10% off.
Jamie:That's like a third of a stick these days. Speaking of, didn't your kid just snap his fly light?
Scott:Yeah, that's pretty much because he has concrete hands.
Jamie:So he told me he broke
Scott:it catching a pass. Yeah, that's true.
Jamie:Was thrown by King Kong?
Scott:No. Got it. No, no. Gotcha. I was joking about the concrete hands.
Scott:But I mean, I don't It broke. Like, snapped right at the
Jamie:I'm surprised. Yeah. Dom's never broken a stick like that.
Scott:I mean, I've heard of that before.
Jamie:I have, He's broken a stick a bunch of ways. Not that way, though.
Scott:I've only broken a stick, I think once. That was on a one timer.
Jamie:That's surprising only once. Recently or back in the day?
Scott:No, like recently. Oh, nice.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah, I'm surprised. Although it is under the warranty though, right?
Scott:It is by a couple of days.
Jamie:You're in the thirty day window.
Scott:No, it got approved. So he's getting a new stick. If God forbid that happened a week later.
Jamie:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Scott:Fuck that.
Jamie:Nice. And so what's using tonight? Is he using a Blade Tech?
Scott:Either Blade Tech or Hyperlite.
Jamie:Oh my god. So can I just tell you, Blade Tech just came out with the Shorzy Stick?
Scott:Oh, really? Yes. They're doing
Jamie:a collaboration? And it says Blueberry Bulldogs on it.
Scott:Dude, are you, buying seven of them? Last time there was, like, custom edition Bladex, you went out and, like
Jamie:I Yeah. Mean a lot. I bought a bunch.
Scott:Well, because they're reasonable. Yeah. But why do you need a bunch?
Jamie:Well, because alright. So
Scott:How many has he actually used? How many are unused? None. No.
Jamie:None. Swear. Why?
Scott:Why does
Jamie:he Well, use because he uses one outside.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Right? And then he has two, like a step, a game stick and a backup in case one breaks. Yeah. Right? I think I had four at the time.
Scott:Oh, that's it? I thought you had more.
Jamie:No, think it was
Scott:four. Oh.
Jamie:Yeah. I bought two of the Canadians. I brought in two of the black and white ones. Got you. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah, So the Canadian wrap and then the black and white, which and they were listen. So he he broke one, and he uses one outside to shoot in the driveway, and then he's got two for, like, game gameplay. Okay. Makes sense. Yeah.
Jamie:But he shelved one of them when he got the Pulse. Okay. The Power Pulse. So we have one I mean, he still has one that's relatively unused. But they're all used.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. So so save yourself so when you save $100 with Eric's API, you can go buy yourself a third of a stick.
Scott:There you go. Right? That's that's genius.
Jamie:Exactly.
Scott:Fucking genius.
Jamie:That's what I was thinking. Anyhow. So do we have a show for you guys today?
Scott:Do we ever We have a show for guys
Jamie:have not had somebody on like this before. This is a first for Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast. We have an NHL agent.
Scott:Yeah. We do. Scott Bartlett.
Jamie:It was it was it was a very cool interview.
Scott:Yeah. And Very cool. For those of you you you know, it was really cool, but also interesting just to hear, like Yeah. What what goes into that. Know?
Scott:Because I haven't listened to too many podcasts that have gone into detail on that. Agreed.
Jamie:That's what I mean. That's why it was so cool.
Scott:You hear other podcasts. And look, clearly, it's not like we're there's plenty of people that cover this topic. I've just never tuned into it.
Jamie:Me neither.
Scott:And having talking to him was really interesting to hear.
Jamie:And
Scott:I think one of the things that I find remarkable Super insightful. Just the amount of money and how it's trickling down into the agencies and down to the youth level. And it just seems really fucking bad.
Jamie:Yeah, I think our listeners are going to kind of I'm curious what they're going to think about that part. Yeah. The money, the NIL money that's trickling down from the top that's and again, we talked about the other day, where does it stop? Right? I don't know the answer to that.
Jamie:I mean, you start giving 10 year olds money
Scott:that are like phenoms? Mean Some people will.
Jamie:Would you be surprised? I wouldn't be. No. Some people will is right.
Scott:Yeah, it just seems like anyway.
Jamie:It's going to be interesting, that's for sure. So I'm curious how that's going to in his take on it was pretty interesting. He didn't like the fact that money was filtering down to the younger kids.
Scott:But then also part of it sounded like for some perhaps bigger agencies that have ties to other commercial, like, deals or other companies Yeah. It's like, come to this agency. We'll get you a deal with, you know
Jamie:With that
Scott:one. With this company or that company. Right. And it just makes it, I don't know. It just may it it puts in a a real I could imagine it puts a lot of pressure
Jamie:Yes.
Scott:On the kid. And they might also think that they, you know, have made it. And that they're like True. They don't need what do I need? I'm I'm the man.
Scott:I got NIL money. You know?
Jamie:He talks pretty intelligently about that on our podcast. Yeah. That's a pretty interesting little segment there when we were talking to him. Yeah. I think we actually put an Instagram clip about that too, right?
Scott:I'm pretty sure.
Jamie:I think we did. That was kind of like a hot button point in the interview. But he was great, though. Was a lot of fun to interview. His family story is really cool.
Scott:Yeah. Thought that was Especially how the whole thing started.
Jamie:Yeah, with his father. That was cool.
Scott:Wild.
Jamie:Yeah, that was neat. That was very cool. But he's got some it was very interesting to hear the ins and outs of kind of like what he does.
Scott:Yeah. Agreed.
Jamie:No day is the same. Seems like he puts fires out a lot and kind of some strange requests sometimes. But it was cool to hear. It was neat, something different.
Scott:And also
Jamie:Like we've never done before.
Scott:Yeah, and how it's different with the different age groups and how some are more challenging than others. Yeah. Some require a lot more hand holding. Yes. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. So I think you guys are going to like that interview today with Scott Bartlett from Bartlett Hockey. Before we forget, because we're going to forget. Oh, yeah. So Scott's wife has a new series that's starting on our Instagram.
Jamie:Yes. Which is going be CHD grinders. Yep.
Scott:Right? Weekly. Weekly. So send in pictures, videos of your kids grinding, or just putting the hard work Sticking in, week over week.
Jamie:Skating, running hills, whatever you guys are doing.
Scott:Yeah, we'd love to see the kids getting after it in the off season, seeing what they're doing to get better. Even if that's their other sport, whatever Sure. It might But
Jamie:not be ice hockey?
Scott:No, let's just see what all the kids are doing out there this spring, getting ready for either time away from hockey, their next sport, or what they're doing to help improve their
Scott B:honest No,
Jamie:it's true. It's definitely true. So it'll be good.
Scott:Yep, be on the lookout for CHD grinders on
Jamie:Instagram. Yeah, which is growing nicely.
Scott:Hell yeah.
Jamie:Knock on wood.
Scott:Let's go. I know. That's good stuff. Yeah, keep following and
Jamie:Yeah, sharing.
Scott:Sharing.
Jamie:And downloading. And welcome to the new people that are finding us from somewhere around the globe, which is awesome.
Scott:Appreciate all the support, everyone.
Jamie:Yes, it's been wonderful. We've had some really cool people dropping us some pretty cool little notes through Instagram. It's really great to hear that this is helping you, that you're learning something, that it's entertaining. Some pretty cool little notes on Instagram that we keep getting from all hundreds of places, which is kind of neat. Hopefully this is helping and entertaining you guys at the same time.
Scott:Well, listen, good on you for remembering that.
Jamie:I didn't want to forget. Your wife yelled at us last time, so I'm kind of glad that the audio was fucked up.
Scott:I don't know that she yelled at us.
Jamie:Well, you know what I mean. I didn't really mean yelled.
Scott:No. But
Jamie:she chastised. She did not scolded. No. How many different how many of you think I got here? Chastised, scolded, yelled, screamed?
Scott:Think there's some
Jamie:Be raided?
Scott:I think there's some hyperbole in your There is. Talk right now.
Jamie:I'm like Donald Trump. We had the biggest crowd ever. It was the most spectacular crowd. You've never seen a crowd like this before. I need to work on my Donald Trump.
Scott:Yeah. It's not great.
Jamie:It's not my Kermit the Frog.
Scott:No. Your Kermit Be
Jamie:honest with you, I've never really tried a Trump.
Scott:Dude, I'll tell you
Jamie:this was kind of on the spot.
Scott:The What
Jamie:can I tell you?
Scott:Shane Gillis is fucking funny.
Jamie:He is. Dude, the one he did about the Taliban, bro, I almost fucking fell over. Oh my god.
Scott:The monkey bars. You've seen the bar the the ones
Scott B:in the
Scott:monkey bars.
Jamie:That was one of my favorite I think you sent that to me. I was dying. Dying. I was absolutely dying. What what is what was his line?
Jamie:He's like he's like, no. What what did he say about them? He's like, no. The Taliban, they're not scared. What does he say?
Jamie:Like, it's something like, what what does he say? I can't remember what it is, but
Scott:He's like he's like he's like, you know, because he he was saying how, like, you could watch any, like, you know, hours and hours of war on YouTube. Right. And he's like, when I watch it, he goes, like, I wasn't cheering for the Taliban, but I relate to them because they're coming out in, like, their pajamas with rocks.
Jamie:He was he's very funny. Yeah. He's a very funny to me. Dude, I gotta tell you, between him and Matt Rife these days
Scott:Yeah. Hilarious.
Jamie:Oh my god. Do you watch any Matt Rife?
Scott:Not not too much. I've seen some of his stuff and I find it funny. I just haven't carved out time to to dig in.
Jamie:Do you know what I give him so much credit for? What? He is so good just playing the crowd.
Scott:Oh, yeah.
Jamie:He's so good, Scott. His crowd work is it's spectacular.
Scott:Yeah. No. He's a funny dude.
Jamie:Most of these guys have it's all scripted.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:Right? They have a script that they follow, that they memorize. But he's doing no joke crowd work. That shit's hard. It's all ad libbed.
Jamie:Yeah. And he's funny as fuck.
Scott:He's good.
Jamie:Oh my god.
Scott:He's good.
Jamie:In my opinion, he's like the new Dane Cook. That's what he reminds me of.
Scott:Oh, that's interesting.
Jamie:Because Dane Cook was huge when he came onto the scene. Yeah. And I think Matt Reif is right there now.
Scott:Yeah, know. There's some funny bastards out there.
Jamie:There are some funny bastards out there.
Scott:Anyhow. Well said. I don't know. You wanna kick it over to Yeah.
Jamie:Let's rock and roll.
Scott:Let's go. Scott Bartlett, everyone. Enjoy. You the man.
Jamie:Alright. We are back with another interview. We have Scott Bartlett, NHLPA certified agent. Scott, man, thanks so much. I know you have a busy schedule.
Jamie:I know you got young kids, but thank you for for jumping on with us tonight, man. Appreciate it.
Scott B:Yeah. You guys are welcome. Burning the midnight oil here a little bit, but we'll make it work.
Jamie:Listen, we definitely appreciate you making the time for us. So before we wanna get into like your history, I know you played at a pretty high level when you were a kid, but I think the one burning question that every crazy hockey parent has is, so how many Mite and Squirt and Pee Wee games do you attend, and how many of those kids have you signed?
Scott B:Yeah. Like to find kids before they can even check, because that's a really great representation, you know, of of who's gonna make it in the NFL. It's great. Puberty and no hitings. The recipe, it's awesome.
Scott B:Yeah.
Jamie:It's crazy. Right? I mean, it's like it's crazy out there, you know, which is one of the reasons we started
Scott B:this podcast. Guys have a job naming this thing. It's it's a funny name, but I think I have a PhD in Crazy Hockey Parrot, so
Jamie:it's great. You must.
Scott:You could only imagine.
Jamie:So let's segue into it. So tell us about your youth career, your whole playing career up until kind of where you are now.
Scott:Yeah. And sorry, Scott, just before you do that, if you wouldn't mind just sorry, James, cut you off. But just for our listeners before they get to know you, just kind of you could set the table just a bit about, like, you know, your your current role, like, your family business. Just kinda set the table with with that, and then we can dive into that stuff.
Scott B:Yeah. For sure. Currently work, you know, Bartlett Hockey owner alongside my brother and my dad. We're the only kind of prominent family only NHL agency. You know, we kinda position ourselves as sort of a small company feel with big company clout.
Scott B:So currently have, you know, 35 NHL clients. Some of the biggest names out there just had, you know, four guys on that US team that won gold. Kale Makar, obviously, is a massive client of ours, but, you know, even guys like Logan Cooley, the up and comers, and and a number of others along the way. So an unbelievable stable, incredibly fortunate to work alongside my dad and brother. My dad started this thing over forty years ago.
Scott B:He played at UVM, and he was he owned a motorcycle shop after playing college hockey. And then local Rochester Americans came in and started buying bikes from him, and he just got some buddies with those guys. And, you know, so Randy Cunningworth and Teddy Nolan, some of these old names that maybe the the the generation like us would remember, you know, they were kinda like, hey. Like, Steve, you know, we don't like our agent. We don't have an agent.
Scott B:Like, you're a tax guy. Like, you're a few years older than us. Like, would you be willing to maybe make the call for me? And and so so Randy Cunningworth, who is my dad's kind of first client, called my dad and said that. And my dad said sure.
Scott B:Yeah. You need me to call the GM and he's like, yeah, who is it? He's in Scotty Bowman. So Scotty Bowman was the GM of the Sabres at the time before his days with with Detroit. And so my dad called him, got him a decent deal, and then had to actually like a couple months later say, like, hey.
Scott B:You know, it's not working out. He's buried in the minors. Could we get him traded? And so my dad loves this story. Like, Scott, he picked up the phone.
Scott B:Scottie Bowman picked up the phone, and my dad is like, you're wasting your time, kid. He'll never play in the NHL. And he and he hung up, and then my dad, sure enough, was able to get him traded to Pittsburgh later that year, and he got put on a line with Mario Lemieux and Randy Cunnieworth had 38 goals as a rookie. And and then by basically, by, like, the end of the season, he had, like, half the Penguins because, like, Randy was just singing his praises to everybody, and his phone would ring, and it would be some other player of the Penguins. Hey, Steve.
Scott B:I hear you're great. Would you represent me? And and so that was kind of the origin of this business. Like, he built it up to 30 plus any so clients without ever recruiting a kid, without ever recruiting anyone. His phone would just ring, and and sure enough, he he ended up, you know, doing it the right way and building relationships and caring about the guys.
Scott B:And pretty pretty shortly thereafter, realized that, hey. This is paying better than motorcycle sales and and sold off that business. And and here we are. So, yeah, that's kind of the origin. My brother, like I said, works with us as well.
Scott B:He lives out in Boston. He went to BU Law, joined the joined the firm right after. And then I had a playing career right through, you know, minor hockey, played with one of our future clients, Ryan Callahan was my buddy same age. We played together all growing up for a bunch of years. I'm super close with him still Dustin Brown was on our youth teams who went on for the Kings.
Scott B:So we had we had sick teams. I went to Deerfield Academy, you know, and and played there with we had five guys drafted off that team. We won New England's that year, which was sweet. And then I went to Middlebury and was fortunate enough to be part of kind of like the Bill Beanie era there when he was an absolute legend, know, won nine national titles, and I was there for two of them. I think we lost my junior year.
Scott B:We lost in double o t in the national final as well. So I almost almost had three in a row. And then senior year, I was the captain, and we didn't make the tournament. So I kinda broke the streak there. But and probably probably more because of my agent than my playing ability.
Scott B:I I was able to stick around and and played two years in the East Coast League. Oh, nice. And then I went over to play in Germany and finished my last year in Germany, won another championship over in Germany and
Scott:kinda Amazing.
Scott B:Used that as my walk off and and then said, hey. I can't let my brother get too far ahead of me in the business and enjoy Don. And and here we are. So that was about I finished playing in 2011. So we're fifteen years into this thing.
Scott:So it's
Scott B:kinda crazy.
Scott:Yeah. That's unbelievable. So I gotta ask this, but, like, as a kid growing up and playing youth hockey and having a dad that's, like, you know, con like, representing NHL players, like, what was that dynamic like? Did he have, like, a lot of, like, great insight? Was he really hard on like, how did what was that like?
Scott B:Yeah. No. It's a good question. I get that a few, you know, from other people as well. And it's so funny.
Scott B:I actually used to just get, like, mad at him because, like, he wouldn't, like, really get in the weeds with me. You know? Like, I think he just had this perspective of, like, he knew I loved it, but, like, he didn't wanna make it too serious. You know? He would assistant coach a couple of years.
Scott B:Actually, mister Callahan, Ryan's dad, was the head coach a bunch of the years. And and so my dad was assistant coach, but, like, I literally could not even get him to say anything to me really after besides, like, hey, buddy. Good game. Like, did you have fun? Like, that's all he would say after the game.
Scott B:Never. And, like, he would never I can never remember one time where he would, like, break down anything for me or, like, get into plays with me. Any specific plays, never. Like, never would do that. He was very much like, hey.
Scott B:Are you having fun? Like, do you like it? You know, you enjoy it? And, like, you know, as I got a little bit older, I would start to be like, come on, man. Like, you're like, you know like, give me I some wanna know.
Scott B:Right?
Jamie:And then he would then
Scott B:he would give me a little bit more, like but he certainly was never that guy to, like, kinda, like, make the hockey front and center of our relationship. It was more, you know, being there and making sure I was having fun with that as an experience as opposed to, like Yeah. You know, feel like he was pushing the envelope in any way, shape, or form about, you know, me getting trying to pursue something, if that makes sense. So Yeah. Right.
Scott:Wow. That's really interesting. Did now you have you mentioned your brother. Did he also play hockey?
Scott B:He did. Yeah. He was a good high school player. He the captain of our local high school team. He went on to play club collegiately at University of Maryland where he went to undergrad.
Scott B:Oh, nice. So, you know, good good multisport athlete. He also, like, played randomly. He the setter on the high school volleyball varsity team and stuff like that. So good athlete, but never, like, hyper specific in hockey.
Scott B:Whereas for me, you know, there was definitely that inflection point when I was 13, 14, and really got the bug and started working out with actually, like, Jason Botterill, who's now, like, the GM of the Seattle team and a guy named Doug Janek. There was just a good workout crew in Rochester that were there in the summers, and I kinda got linked in with them. And Callie was in there. Brian Giotta was in there. Stevie Giotta was in there.
Scott:Yeah.
Scott B:Another guy named Nathan Pace who still coaches the Amherst, actually. Like, anyhow, small world, but that's I got, like, the really got the bug when I was sort of 14, 15, 16, started working out with that crew consistently. And and so I kinda hyper specialized in hockey, whereas Brian never really kinda went down that path. So
Jamie:Interesting. Do you I'm curious. You know, we actually talk a lot about that. You know, a lot of people like Doug, a lot of people that we talk to, like the guys from years at hockey, you know, they they talk about colleges wanting like all around athletes, right? Guys that play, you know, hockey, you know, soccer, whatever it is, right?
Jamie:They want them to be multi sport guys as opposed to like early specialization, you know. I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on that. You know? You know, a lot of the clients that you guys signed, were they multi sport guys, or were they specialized in hockey from, like, a early age? I'm curious.
Scott B:I think, you know, I think it's probably trending more towards somewhat more early specialization. I definitely think, you know, again, in my era, like, to Deerfield and that, like, I played soccer all the way through senior year. And, you know, obviously, you know, I think there's a lot to be gained from playing other sports. And I think even from an injury prevention perspective, parents don't recognize how important it is to get off the skates and, like, really stop hammering. Like, if you've got, you know, whatever $100,000 100,000 mile tread life on your tires, like, do you wanna burn through that by the time you're 20 or by the time you're 30?
Scott B:Right? And, like Yep. That's kinda how it works. Like, the amount of torn hip labrums and, you know, hip resurfacing surgeries that my guys have gotten by the time they're in college and stuff like that, it's like, jeez. Like, these problems did not used to happen so early, but this sort of extra miles in the early specializations leading to that.
Scott B:So, again, I think it's a balance. Right? You gotta toe that line. You can't be so far behind where you're like, oh, yeah. I play hockey five months a year, and I'm out, you know, doing whatever the rest of the year because then that that, you know, sort of achievement gap, that technical skill gap is so wide that you can never make it up.
Scott B:But at the end of the day, there's so much to be learned from, you know, the perception abilities of, let's say, lacrosse or soccer or whatever those other sports are where, like, you're really having to work on scanning. Right? You have to understand what's around you. You have to be able to learn to move to get open or whatever, deal with contact. All those different things in different sports are super valuable.
Scott B:And, like, I would say as, like, a young kid up until 12, 13, 14, for sure, you should be playing multiple sports. Absolutely. And then at some point, you know, beyond that, you do have to start to you know, you can still keep a couple sports going for sure, but you have to sort of pick which is the a and which is the b in my opinion. So Right.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, just getting into a little bit more about, like, your day to day and, like, in terms of, like, the the age range, like, when you start interacting with players and, you know, when does that start to come about? And then, like, is there is it both, like, people reaching out to you and then you checking, you following up on on people reaching out? Or is it more like you're you're just engaging with people that you're reaching out to?
Scott:Like, how how does that process work, I guess, for you or maybe even more broadly speaking across, you know, agents generally?
Scott B:I think highly variable. Again, there's lots of different footprints on size of agency, approach, philosophy, all those things. You know, I tell people pretty consistently, like, if they're just friends and they've got kids that are going through it and stuff like that. Like, if you're seeking out an adviser, especially, like, at a young age, meaning, like, before 16, 17, 18, you know, before, like, junior age, if you're seeking out an adviser before that, like, you're probably wasting your money. You know?
Scott B:Because, honestly, the demand, the sort of farming operation that goes on with these big agencies and, you know, for the high end elite talent. Like, if your kid's really on that track where someone wants to volunteer their time for a decade in hopes that your kid's gonna make them money someday, like, they're gonna contact you. It's very rare that we get incoming stuff where we, you know, say, holy moly. Like, you know, this is a guy that I've never heard of that all of a sudden, he's amazing. You know?
Scott B:It's usually, you know, USA Hockey and Hockey Canada do a pretty good job of streamlining things through big tournaments and this and that. So, again, I I I caution folks to go out and try to find their own advisers at young ages and spend a bunch of money. Again, I I I think that if you're gonna spend any money or time during those younger ages, you'd be better served looking for development options, not exposure, development. Find somebody that cares about your kid to help them with video coaching, with on ice, whatever it may be, and then let the advisory piece happen more organically. That's what I would say.
Scott B:And, you know, you asked when? It's different for everybody. You know? You guys had Anthony Lassor on here. Will played two years up.
Scott B:He was really well known. He he's been doing some special things for a while, and he has some real decisions and some real questions and a lot of things coming at the family that they had never encountered. And so they needed somebody in their corner to kinda help them parse through a lot of that stuff, frankly. And there's other people that you know? Bobby McMahon's an example.
Scott B:He's one of our clients. He plays on the Leafs.
Scott:Like Yeah.
Scott B:You know, he got a little bit of attention in his NHL draft year at 17, was never drafted, had no adviser until we sort of picked him up, you know, going into Colgate, you know, and played four years of college, went to the East Coast League, climbed up to the American League, and now he's an NHL star on trial. And so, you know, again, when when should someone approach her? When do you need an advisory? When you actually have things you you need help with and when you have decisions to make that you don't know how to do it. And and if it's I always tell people it's sort of like a self fulfilling prophecy.
Scott B:If you're not able to go to the games and just watch your kid and you feel like this whole process is overwhelming because you're, like, being approached by so many different agents and so many different agencies and your your head spinning from it. Yeah. Sure. Make a choice. Find somebody that you trust.
Scott B:Surround yourself with good people and then move forward together as hopefully, you know, sort of a help as opposed to a distraction. Right? That's kind of the way that I see
Jamie:it. Sure. You know, it's funny. I I kinda have, like, a little bit of a question that kinda has something to do with this. So we we talk to USA Hockey a lot.
Jamie:Right? We've had Bob Mancini and Ken Martell and Heather Mannix on.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:And we put a bunch of their clips up. And a an ongoing theme, Scott, that we get in the comment section is, you know, you know, if my kid doesn't play AAA, he'll never be found. You know, a a small kid is never found no matter how good he is. If he's playing in the middle of nowhere, if he's not playing for a big club or a triple a team, he'll never be found. I'm just curious to hear your thoughts on that.
Scott B:Well, I always like the saying, like, cream rises to the top. I don't think that's true that you'll never be found. I mean, I like to think that, you know, a lot of guys in our industry, certainly not just myself, and I don't hopefully, this doesn't come across as arrogant, but, like, we're looking for, like, translatable assets, things that are gonna work at higher levels. And, like, let's use, like, Riker Lee as an example. Like, when I recruited Riker Lee, he was literally five foot three, a hundred and twenty pounds, like, tiny.
Scott B:And but he was a wizard. Like, he and he still is the wizard. And he ended up being a first round draft because he got to six foot, but he wasn't even considered for NTDP, you know, because he was way too small and, you know, had to spend a little bit more time at Shattuck playing up the different age groups. And so, again, I don't agree with that. I do think that there's something with the geography you talked about where if you are so separate from the mainstream path or you don't have enough folks on your team to work with or against consistently to help continue your development, I think at some point, and it's not that early.
Scott B:It it's a little bit later. I think at some point, you do maybe need to move to the right geography to put yourself in a program where you can be challenged and get the right coaching and have enough people around you to be in sort of that environment. But I don't believe that size makes that much difference, and I don't believe that there's this, like, urgency that, like, at a super, super young age, okay, I need to move up. Again, like, if your kid's good enough at double a, you're gonna have triple a teams calling you to say, hey. Come play.
Scott B:And, like, I'll tell you a story from my own use that I think is super relevant. I had played triple a all the way up until what would have been? Like, honestly, through my through the Peewee Quebec years, went to Peewee Quebec with Callahan and all those guys and was one of the best players on that team. And then everybody else grew, and I didn't. I was little.
Scott B:And so for my fifteens year, there was another team in Rochester, New York where I grew up. It was called the Perinton Blades. And I did not make for the first time in my entire hockey career, I did not make the Rochester Americans triple a, and I had to go play for the blades. And I was always a very good player on Rochester, probably a second liner ish, maybe whatever, like energy, speed, this and that. And then that year in my fifteenths, I had to go play in blades, and I just absolutely lit it up.
Scott B:Like, you know, just so much confidence, puck on my stick all the time, and I felt like that really helped accelerate my hockey career. And then I came back that next year, and I sure enough, I made the triple a team, and I was ahead of a lot of guys that were on that team the whole way through. And then that led me on to Deerfield where I had a lot of success in that. But I think my offensive ceiling was really raised by that year despite the disappointment of not being on the team with all my buddies that I'd played with all the way through Quebec and all that stuff. My offensive ceiling was raised quite a bit by making that double a team and and having to be the guy that scored every game and, you know, expected that of myself as opposed to just sort of deferring to the Callahans of the world.
Scott B:So Right. Again, everyone has a different path. I don't think that at any point, like, if you're like, okay. You know, there's some hard deadline that this guy needs to be you my son or daughter needs to be in the top level. Like, it will happens pretty organically if if you're in the right in the right geography and you have the opportunities to to be around the right people.
Scott B:So.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:Yeah. That that's really interesting to hear you say that that, like, you know, just going down only catapulted you. You know, it's like one step back, 10 steps forward.
Jamie:Sounds familiar.
Scott:Like, do you just just reflecting on that time, obviously, you were you were upset about it, but, like, what was, like, kind of your mindset going into it? Were you, like, I'm gonna show these, you know, MRF like, I'm gonna tear this up.
Jamie:Adversity. Well, adversity is never a bad thing.
Scott:Like, how did you approach that? Or, like, from yeah.
Scott B:Yeah. I get it. I think it's probably guided from my my mom and dad. Like and my dad works in this in this business, and and he wasn't stressed about it in any way, shape, or form. He wasn't throwing a fit.
Scott B:He was saying like, hey, man. Like, it's gonna be great. Like, you're gonna give it to go play more and, you know, you get to go be the guy and just enjoy that and take advantage of it. And, you know, he was kinda framing it that way. And so, you know, very quickly, I think once I got down there and and, you know, started having success, like, it became contagious, and I loved it.
Scott B:Like, you know, I I don't remember having, like, any like, yeah, I was disappointed. I remember certainly being a kid and, like, crying about it, but, like, you know, it it did not, like, get to the point where I was like, okay. I need to walk away. Like, again, it was adversity, and it helped me find even more resolve that I hey. I love this game, and I'm gonna keep playing despite the setback.
Scott B:And then very shortly thereafter, I was enjoying having a bigger role and and having sort of that self expectation. So, yeah, that's that's the best I can say about about that experience. You know? So
Jamie:You know, it's funny
Scott B:because it's it's sorry to interrupt, but it's actually, like, at the highest levels, like, I still see this. You know? Like, I'll have guys that are surviving. I won't name the name, but really highly touted prospect, step right in the NHL, was surviving, doing okay. You know, team comes in after 20 games and says, hey.
Scott B:You know what, man? Like, we just want you to go down and play and play really well in the American League level and just be the guy. And, like, you know, he's got that disappointment. Right? Like, hey.
Scott B:I just got dropped down from the NHL, but then he goes down, and he's over a point a game for a month, you know, in the American League level. And then when he gets pulled back up, it's like he's a different player up there. You know? He's suddenly the puck, you know, is settling down on the stick. He's got more time.
Scott B:He's got more space. He's got more confidence, and it's like it's it still happens at that level. It's really interesting. So
Jamie:We had Jimmy Dowd on, and he said something very similar to that. He said, you know, he went down. He thought he was ready to come up and he went down and he said like the GM at the time was telling him like, other guys that, you know, you may be better than they're gonna get pulled up before you. He's like, it's just business. Don't take it personally.
Jamie:He's like, just go play hockey, you know, keep keep the blinders on and just go play hockey. Listen. Scott and I, we both took our kids down from triple a to double a. You know, I did it two years ago. Scott did it this last year.
Jamie:It's been a big confidence boost. You know, the like you said, the extra time, the extra space, the puck on your stick, the confidence build up. I I think that it's and, you know, people in youth hockey frown upon that because they say things like, oh, you know, your kid goes down, he'll never come back up. And I mean Yeah. You know, I I don't wanna speak for Scott, you know, but I think it's been really good for both our kids.
Jamie:You know?
Scott:Yeah. Totally. It's been it's interesting to see even like you you were talking about how I, you know, just did I forget the way you put it, but, you know, for my son, you know, he he had a rough go, like, the last season and, like, he was pretty down. Again, we're talking about a kid also, like, he's only 11. Of course.
Scott:He was pretty down and he was kinda questioning, do I wanna keep on playing hockey? You know? And now, you know, he found himself in a situation where he was more the man and, you know, just was enjoying, you know, the team's not great and, you know, everything's got a, you know, a plus and a minus. But, no, it was really good for him, I think, from a self esteem and just like, okay, I really love this game. And, know, I'm gonna get after it.
Scott:He he wants to play triple a again. You know, I know that. And what if it happens, great. If it doesn't happen, fine too. But, yeah, it's just it's interesting to see how, I guess, as a parent, you get fearful.
Scott:Right? And then that, you know, your kids can, like, pick up on that stuff. So it's interesting how, like, your dad was, like, framing things out in such a positive way, which was great because I know a lot of parents, like, you know, they aren't like that. And, you know, I'm I'm curious when we talk about, like, this this parenting stuff, like, at in your interactions, you know, families that are going through some of the work they're doing with you, are there any, like, like and this is probably more appropriate for, the 18 age group, I guess. But, like, are there some, like, common threads where, like, you know, families that are engaging with, like yourself are like, there are common problems or common issues that they're really trying to navigate at this point?
Scott B:Well, I think you will certainly transition to junior hockey is really, really hard on a lot of people. I I'd like to to say it's the hardest jump that you make in hockey. It's it it really is the biggest change as far as style of play, time and space, physicality, ability to create offense, ability to have success. It's a really hard job for a lot of kids, and making sure you're ready for that is is really important. Because if you're not, that's the biggest misstep I see people make.
Scott B:If you go too early, can really kill your confidence, can really get, you know, you're on the wrong side of things, and then that that junior team that thought you were ready sees you struggle. You know what I mean? And then then you get into the bad wash cycle. So that's a big one. I would just say, like, generally, I wanna say that, like, I like, just continue to watch, like, for parents, like, watch higher levels, you know, and, like, understand.
Scott B:Like, a lot of parents, it's like they think they know what higher level hockey is like. And I'm like, well, how many USHL games have you watched? And they're like, yeah. None. I'm like, oh, okay.
Scott B:Good. So, you know, like
Scott:You know nothing. You don't.
Scott B:How do you know if your kid's ready? Like, you have no idea. You know? And it's it's so funny. It's like, it it hockey gets really hard.
Scott B:You know? And what you just talked about of feeling like the man and enjoying the experience and this and that, that gets a lot easier at the youth levels. You know? Like, I I think the reason if I had to go back and think about it, why my dad was never obsessed with me playing pro hockey is because we deal with pro hockey players every day, and it's not glamorous. It's really hard.
Scott B:And a lot of them are really frustrated. They're really upset because it's a team sport. You've got 12 players and, you know, yeah, like, you know, sometimes you're playing six, seven, eight minutes in the NHL even though you're there, like but that's still really hard to stomach when you've been the guy your entire life and had so much success. And and now you're in that in that spot where you feel like you've got some type of ceiling on you. Like, everybody's always very motivated for more in a team sport like this where there's limited ice time.
Scott B:You know? And so it's it's a hardest sport in a lot of ways because of that. And so, again, I I think I just wanna caution people that it's not just like rainbows and butterflies in the NHL. Yeah. There's a lot of really amazing things and really cool experiences, but it also comes with a boatload of stress and a boatload of expectation.
Scott B:And there's a lot of days where you're feeling like you're being held back by your coach or you're not getting what you deserve or, you know, your body's tired and you gotta fight through all those things. So, again, I guess I would just say, like, that's all to say, like, enjoy the experience of youth hockey because, like, it doesn't really get, like, that much better than that, to be honest with you. It's awesome. Like, it's so fun when I think back on my days and those teams, like, with the Rochester American, the going up to the PV tournament and staying with the billet up there and all that stuff. Like, that stuff was amazing.
Scott B:You know? It was the greatest time. And I think even back to my time in the East Coast League and and that and, like, it's a lot more stressful. It really is. So, anyways, that's a long roundabout answer, but bottom line is educate yourself on what high level hockey looks like because it's not gonna if you expect your kid to go out and have a point or two points or three points every game and have twenty plus minutes of ice time, like, you're probably not looking at reality.
Scott B:So just start to understand that your kid is gonna go through that process of realization himself and dealing with those struggles, and that doesn't mean anything's wrong. It's just the nature of the game, and you gotta be there to support them through the that transition to help them through those tough moments because breakthroughs are not, like, linear in junior hockey. Like, you can sit a whole year and feel like you're completely, like, not getting anywhere, and you're banging your head against the wall. And then you come back next year, and one guy's off the roster, and you can move up that spot, you're playing
Jamie:you're lighted
Scott B:up. Are awesome. Yeah. It's just it's the way it is. So, again, I think just having people, like, understand that that it gets really hard at higher levels and take a long view on it, it's really important.
Scott B:So
Scott:Yeah. I'm sorry, Jay. Just one one quick thing. I don't know where you're gonna go with it, but I'm just curious about the the the introduction of, you know, like, the open borders and, like, you know, now you can have, you know, Americans go up to the CHL and Canadians coming down playing college. Like, how has that changed the landscape, you know, within your business?
Scott B:It's changed it a lot, to be honest with you. Colleges are really I feel like trying to to be way more cautious as far as early commitments. You know, they're going big fish hunting for guys that just got trapped in the first round and, you know, throwing NIL money around that that those two issues kind of dovetail. So it's changed a ton. It's obviously goes without being said way harder than ever to play division one college hockey.
Scott B:The level of college hockey is going up year over year. And and so, yeah, I think it's it's a whole new world for folks to try to figure out where do I go, how do I accomplish that goal. There's just at the end of the day, there's just a bigger player pool than there's ever been, and there's a more talented player pool than there's ever been. So, you know, yeah, I guess it's it's made my job quite a bit harder as far as, you know, it used to be even before transfer rules. Just think about that.
Scott B:It's like, hey. You pick your college, and you work through the situation there. And now it's like every year, everyone's like, yeah. Maybe is there a better situation for me somewhere else? It's like everyone's a free agent
Jamie:every year. Yeah. The portal is
Scott B:like that. It's all those things. It just makes for a lot more year over year decision making and a lot more possibilities, which, again, that's also a very good thing for players. Right? Where Sure.
Scott B:You know, they can get out of bad situations or they can go multiple paths to to, you know, find that college that works for them or whatever it may be. But it's definitely changed my job and that there's just so much more fluidity, and there's so many more paths to possibly the same end.
Jamie:You know, I'm curious. Do you see NIL money filtering down to, like, the youth ages? Like, where does this stop, Scott? Right? So now you're That's a
Scott B:really interesting question. And I'm Where does Yes. So I'm starting to see a creep into the agency world, to be fair with you. And it's and it's scary. I don't I don't like what that does to a young kid.
Scott B:I don't like how I don't like the layers of pressure. I don't like the monetization of a young player at a young age. I think that creates some really unhealthy life situations for kids before they're ready to handle it, honestly. So I'm very much against that from an agency perspective, but it is maybe not even so much in hockey. There's some of it in hockey now that I'm aware of.
Scott B:But in other sports, it's certainly happening, you know, whereas, hey. Sign with our agency, and I can guarantee you I'm gonna get you a 150 or 250 k of NIL deals this year with all these brands that we also represent in our agency, and we'll make sure we pair you up. And it's it's sort of like, hey. Here's the number that we're gonna get you to. We can guarantee that.
Scott B:You know? And it's, like I said, it it's I have a hard time with it because I think it's monetization of young people, especially sometimes in hockey where, you know, they're too young. They're like some they're sometimes they're preteen even. Like, it's crazy. And
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott B:And I don't I just don't want those kids to feel like they've already made it because I think that sets them up for a huge potential
Jamie:For fair.
Scott B:Yeah. Fall, like, just socially, emotionally, all that stuff later if they don't make it, which I'm the first one to tell you it's not a crystal ball. You know? And then it's just gonna be a really challenging time for for those kids. So
Jamie:so you are seeing that. I mean, it's unfortunately, there's so much money out there in colleges and there's so much money out there, especially with private equity coming into the game. Right? There's the money's everywhere. So that's why I asked that question.
Jamie:I mean, I Yeah. Figure it's just an obvious continuation of of the trickle down effect, right, from NIL money.
Scott B:Yeah. And I think it's starting to infiltrate a little bit into some of the junior teams. Yeah. And I think that USA Hockey and maybe the the USHL as a whole are working to put guardrails up on that.
Jamie:Are they just
Scott B:trying to mitigate it? To mitigate it. Yeah. To make sure that there's a level playing field within their league, but also same just that, you know, they don't they don't build these players up to the point where, you know, it it ends up being unhealthy for the league. That's what I would say.
Scott B:Yeah. Right. Right.
Scott:So kinda switching gears a little bit. You know, I'm curious. And, again, I I totally understand that every every player's got different maybe objectives. There's different conversations. But if you could kinda give us, a day in the life of, you know, or maybe, like, kinda walk through the life cycle of, like, you know, working with, you know, an athlete that's, you know, at different stages in their career just so people might start to, like, understand kind of, like, how things kinda come together or or don't, you know, when you're working with an agent.
Scott B:That's a pretty that's a very broad question, I guess. I'm wondering if you could kinda Can hone in that. The day of the life, I mean, there's there's so many there's so many different hate groups and so many different paths and Oh. Yeah. May maybe a little zero in a little bit
Scott:from Yeah. May maybe just like the life cycle of, like, you know, I guess oh, I don't know. I mean, you you go ahead and pick the, you know, an age or a level of play that you think is appropriate, but kind of, like, you know, from engagement to kind of, like, you you know, you start working with someone, then kind of, like, how does the relationship grow? What are some kind of things that, like, you're doing with them in season, out of season? Is it just contract negotiations, you know, and then, like, you know, you reconnect, you know, when that comes up?
Scott:Kind of like, what what's the relationship like?
Scott B:Yeah. No. It's it's way more in-depth than that. Again, not every file or not every relationship looks the same. Right?
Scott B:Sure. So, you know, you some guys are, you know, kind of the the Drew Dailies of the world. He's one of our players. He's playing up on Shattuck prep and, you know, has been pretty highly touted for a couple years. And so, you know, again, from some sort of that, you know, he was getting tons of calls.
Scott B:Their family was getting tons of calls from people and, you know, so then kinda have that initial meeting with them to sort of highlight what we're all about and what our philosophies are and then how we would help, you know, that drew the sun, and then it's every being involved. Like, the kinda I guess the best way to maybe answer that without really getting too much in the weeds is, like Yeah. The way that I think we see ourselves is, like, we're kind of the Sherpa that help guide the climber up the mountain. Right? Like, we've been fortunate enough to, like Right.
Scott B:Go up and down Mount Everest, like, dozens of times
Jamie:with Yeah.
Scott B:Yeah. From from base to summit.
Jamie:And Yeah. Yeah.
Scott B:So, like, I can kinda be like, hey. Like, I know this path is fast, but risky. Like, this path might be slower, but safer. Or have you ever thought about working with this trainer? Have you ever thought about doing that and this type of equipment?
Scott B:What literally from, you know, everything you could think about from team selection to nutrition advice to workouts to, you know, specific on ice trainers to video coaches to whatever it may be, whatever
Jamie:sort of
Scott B:resources needed at the right time. Right? We can sort of address that issue and help get over that sort of potential adversity and and move forward together. And then, again, there's, you know, for a guy like the high end player, let's call it the guys that are the 20 tens this year, they've got maybe NTDP to to think about. They've got which college do I want to go to.
Scott B:They've got Right. And do I wanna go to the OHL or the WHL or the queue, you know, based on where they live? And there's just a lot of things to navigate. Do I wanna go to prep school? Am I ready for junior hockey, period?
Scott B:You know? So just really, like, that's the way I would describe it is there's not, like, one day in the life. It's more like there's so many of these things that do come up at different times, and, like, we just view ourselves as sort of this, like, great resource to to be able to help them on this this journey as much as I could say that. So, I mean, with pros, it's a lot easier to answer. Like, the day to day is taking them out to nice dinners.
Scott B:You know, buying a buying a mistake, doing their contracts, you know, really trying to talk to them about which brands they're interested in, working with, you know, team sponsors to create campaigns for them, doing their endorsements, doing all that stuff. And then, you know, again, like, sometimes it's like, hey. Can you help me plan my bachelor party? And, like, we wanna go to in Nova Scotia and play golf and stuff like that. You know?
Scott B:So
Scott:it's like
Jamie:So you're
Scott:you'll get that.
Scott B:Yeah. Yeah. Like, I had a guy I had a guy, Mackie Samuskevich, who plays
Jamie:Oh, Sure.
Scott B:Yeah. Yeah. Michigan guy, and he's I
Jamie:was at the Penn State game where he won in overtime in Harrisburg, PA. I was at it.
Scott B:That's awesome.
Jamie:It was right in front of us too. I know Mackey. Yeah.
Scott B:Sure. No. He's he's he's unreal. He's so skilled. He's such a smart hockey player.
Scott B:Yes, he is. Absolutely. But, like, I was just bringing him up because last week, he's like, alright. I think I gotta buy my first NHL car. He's like, I'm getting I'm getting made fun of by the boys for what I've gotten out here at the Panthers.
Scott B:And he's like, you know, a car guy? And I'm like, yeah. Hey. Let me help you with that. So you have a car guy, and you wanted to you wanted to get himself a nice Beamer SUV.
Scott B:And sure enough, we found one and helped him get shipped to him and helped negotiate the price. So, again, it's not like one day to day. It's like a million hats we wear. Yeah. But it's it's really fun.
Scott B:It keeps you on your toes, that's for sure.
Jamie:I was just gonna say, no day no two days are alike. Right?
Scott B:That's for sure. Yeah. That's for sure. It's weird. Like, you've you've you know, like, we'll just use this Olympic cycle.
Scott B:Right? Like, we don't have, like, that many female clients, but, like, one of them was Megan Keller, the girl that scored the the Golden Globe. Yeah. So then it's, like, literally, like, right when that happens, we're getting calls from fanatics and a bunch of other companies and good morning, America. And it's like, oh, oh, we're going.
Scott B:Like, here we go, you know? So it's like it's kinda like being on call sometimes, it's It's really cool. Like
Jamie:a doctor.
Scott B:Yeah, it's like a doctor. It's like, alright, we got somebody that's bleeding out. Here we go, we gotta go. Like,
Jamie:Right. Right. Exactly. All Yeah. Hands on
Scott B:It's funny, so it's good.
Jamie:So so I'm curious. Do do you have kids that do you have kids yet, Scott?
Scott B:I do. Have seven year old, a five year old, and then actually we have a four month old, new new little
Scott:guy. Oh, congrats. Oh, boys.
Jamie:Oh, very nice. Oh, oh, so does a seven year old play hockey yet?
Scott B:He doesn't. He wants nothing to do with hockey. It's so funny.
Jamie:Alright. Nothing wrong with that. Right? Nothing wrong with that.
Scott B:The five year old, maybe. He's he's starting to flirt around with that. They've both done, like, little learn to play and learn to skate things, but
Jamie:Right.
Scott B:Haven't really gravitated towards it. My seven year old is so in, like, flag football. He's obsessed with that. Like, it's a it's like a social thing. All the kids in the school are wearing their little jerseys to school on Fridays and for game days and stuff.
Scott B:And so he's Yeah. He's really into that. So, yeah, we'll see. But I don't know. I don't I don't know if they will or will not get into it.
Scott B:It's Alright. Laugh. Like, they'll go to they'll go to the Blackhawks games with me because I live in Chicago, and I'll they'll be down and meet the players after. And, like, there'll be other kids their age that their eyes are like, oh my god. They're so and so or whatever.
Scott B:They could care less. They're just like whatever. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
Jamie:At that age.
Scott:It's true.
Scott B:It's so funny. Alright.
Jamie:So let's say let's say let's say one of your let's say one of your kids starts playing. Okay? I know there's all these different roads, all these different paths. Is there like a path that you think is more advantageous these days, whether it's a public school to, I don't know, to prep school, whether it's prep school, like private school to juniors. Is there, like do you see anything that's more advantageous than others as far as paths these days?
Scott B:No. No. It's just so many varied paths. I mean, you look at, again, any swath of an elite team, and there's so many paths that led to that same team. Like, it's the only advice I would just say to people is, like, surround yourself with good hockey people that you think, you know, actually care about your kid for the right reasons.
Scott B:And Right. That's the biggest thing. I mean, like, you see, like, out of Saint Louis when, like, those five first round picks all came out of there because they were being coached by, like, Jeff Brown and, you know, Cheeka Chuck. Like,
Jamie:it's Yeah.
Scott B:Just surround yourself by good with, you know, good hockey people. There's not one path. Okay. Just and then just keep prioritizing what you just talked about. Like, Scott, just having your kid enjoy it, having fun, having good opportunity to, like, actually play with the puck and actually, like, be in a good situation where he can get ice time.
Scott B:Like, those things are way more important than, like, any preset path. You know? You can follow this prescription of a path and be go nowhere, you know, because you're a depth guy or you don't enjoy it or you don't get you know what I mean? So,
Jamie:like Yep.
Scott B:You just have to be flexible throughout all of it, I think, to be around the right people, the right coaches, and then try to put your kids in the situation where they're gonna be able to sort of flourish and and actually expect themselves to to have impact on the game. That's not necessarily points all the time, but just impact. Right? Yep. Where they they can feel like they take ownership of a role.
Scott B:Right? That's the biggest thing, I think. So
Scott:You know, you you had mentioned earlier, you you you made a distinction between development and exposure. And it just had gotten me thinking in terms of exposure itself, and and, you know, I'm sure there's specific tournaments that, you know, people think their kids need to play, I know at the younger ages, not the, you know, like, Brick and Pee Wee Quebec, like, those are two, like, like, massive to dos whether you know? But I guess just from an exposure standpoint, like, are there any, I don't know, any better times, places, events for exposure? You know, like and if someone wanted to you know, you know, like, had mentioned, like, maybe they're living in somewhere where there's not a lot of, like you know, they're in, like, a nontraditional market, and they're looking to get a little more exposure. Like, how how can people kinda seek that out without, you know, necessarily just, like, going to all these money grabs?
Scott B:I know. I know. And it is hard to discern between those money grabs and and the legitimate ones. Yeah. You know, the first thing I would tell people is, you know, go through The USA hockey process to try to reach sort of the district festivals or the national festivals for the 15, 16, seventeens.
Scott B:Like, those are amazing exposure. For people that have never been there, you walk in, there's, I mean, there's literally 60 colleges there. Like, there's every major junior team. Like, there's tons of people in the stands there, and it's amazing to me how many families that I would talk to that they're like, do do you think I really needed to do this? I'm like, yeah.
Scott B:Like, you may not make it, but, yeah, you need to try out.
Jamie:Anyway. Yeah.
Scott B:Go go through New York State. Go through AHI. Go through MIM. Whatever it is, like, you gotta take a crack at it. And and if you get out there and you're in that group of a 120 kids or whatever that are being watched extensively for a week, like, you're getting a ton of exposure.
Scott B:Yeah. So that's I mean, again, that's an easy one. And and, again, same goes for, you know, hopefully, the Hockey Canada stuff where you can you can try to get exposure up there. Beyond that, you know, like, there's really not a ton of other sort of, like, silver bullet. You gotta do these ones in any way, shape, or form.
Scott B:You know, I think the World Select Invitational is is kind of quite a fun tournament to be in, and there is quite a bit of exposure there. It's just neat to see sort of those top Swedes and Finns and Russians come over, and I'll remember seeing like, you know, some some of those guys, like, back in the day that that came over, you know, and it's, Barkov and stuff like that. You're like, woah. Like, she's in this tournament.
Scott:Or, you
Scott B:know, like, now Frohndel who just got drafted third overall. Like, I remember seeing him in that. I'm like, this unbelievable. You know? So just kinda neat for those kids to be a part of that.
Scott B:So that's a pretty fun one. But yeah.
Jamie:Really? That at Scott? What age is that at?
Scott B:So they do a couple ages. This year, it'll be more of the 20. Okay.
Jamie:Got
Scott B:it. You know? So yeah. But they now they've added a couple older ages. Obviously, everything starts to turn into a little bit of a money grab.
Scott B:But Yes. Yes. To be honest with you, there's not, like, one or two things that, like, hey. You have to do this. To me, it's more just about, like, continuing to play with your team, you know, do a selective tournament again, maybe with a development focus where, hey.
Scott B:I'm not just gonna put my kid back with the same group of kids that he plays with all year. I'm gonna put him with a whole different group of kids and see how he can adjust socially and see maybe if he has a different role with a different coach there. Right? And that could be an awesome confidence booster for your kid. So, again, if you're gonna do it, I would just say take a little bit more of that into mind as opposed to just this pure exposure.
Scott B:Now that as we talked about earlier with the CHL rule change, with colleges making later commitments, this and that, like like, you don't really need that much exposure until a little bit later anyways. So, you know, wait until you're kind of 15, 16, and and then, you know, if you wanna do a couple things, you can. But really at that time
Jamie:Right.
Scott B:You know, you're probably getting into USHL camps or OHL camps or whatever to be able to showcase yourself just fine. So
Jamie:Do you like the the college route for for US born players, or I guess any players for that matter. Right? Do you do you like the college route?
Scott B:Yeah. I think it's a really important step, and I think that it's gonna become more and more ubiquitous. I hope so. Yeah. Because I just think that the that level of play it's it's the intermediary step.
Scott B:I think there's some guys that you've seen throughout the years traditionally that, you know, can play against 16 to 20 year olds, and they can dominate, and then they can make that jump in the NHL against guys up to 35. But Right. That's a pretty you're kinda skipping a rung. You know? And I I think our guys like Faber, Alex Tuck, or Clayton Keller, or Logan Cooley, these are our clients that, Kay McCarr, obviously, went and played some of these years against that that tier of player that are really twin 18 to 24.
Scott B:They've grown into a little bit of men. Yeah. Maybe they're not the elite of the elite in some ways. Right? Like, but you're still being challenged to defend hard.
Scott B:The pace of play is still really fast. Like, it's so hyper competitive. You're learning all those things you need, then it makes for a a more seamless transition, I think, into pro hockey. So, yeah, I mean, I think you're gonna start to see it with even, you know, a lot more high end draft picks that get picked like the Porter Martones who are at Michigan State right now or those type of guys. I think that's gonna become more and more the rule where they feel like, hey, I can take this intermediary step.
Scott B:It's not such a logical leap for me to think, I think I can step in and make the team out of camp. You know, you can go prove it a little bit more against men, and then you can make that transition.
Jamie:It'd great it'd be great for college hockey too. Right?
Scott B:It'd be great for sports. It's and you know, again, also the money will will dictate that. Right? Yes. You want to go back and play for another year, you know, in in CHL or don't want to make a 100 K to go play college hockey for a year or two?
Scott B:Like, you know, so
Jamie:it's not the worst thing in the world. Right?
Scott B:Yeah. I mean, right. Exactly.
Jamie:Especially when you go play places like Arizona State or, you know, mean, like, and go hang by a pool after you come off the ice, know, you 80 degree weather. Totally. It's not the worst lifestyle, right?
Scott B:Exactly. Exactly. Not to banter.
Scott:Let me ask you about that. You had mentioned the, just international players coming Stateside. In terms of, like, pathways, is going overseas at at younger ages ever something that makes sense for anyone that you've come across? Or is because most of the people that we've talked to, you know, like, they'll they'll have played pro, they they usually, like, you know, they'll go overseas after they see, you like, you know, their North American ticket is up. Right?
Scott:But is there ever you ever see people that are either interested in or go to, like, a European path, like, for juniors or at a younger age?
Scott B:Very rarely, honestly, unless there's some type of heritage. Mhmm. You know? Like, their parents are from there or whatever. Yeah.
Scott B:Very rarely. It's not to say that it's not a good path. Just it's just a big it's a big departure from family and
Scott:Yeah.
Scott B:Schooling systems. Their schooling systems are quite different over there. Sure. Right. So those challenges that come in and usually, you know, kinda hold hold back, you know, again.
Scott B:And and there's some good leagues over there for sure, but it's you know, they would I think a lot of their model too is development through all the youth. They have a more connected model. Right? So their youth programs all the way up to the u 20. So I think they're a little bit hesitant sometimes to take, oh, we're gonna parachute this guy in at 19, and he's gonna play ahead of our kids that we've been working with for ten years.
Scott B:You know what I mean? It's just a it's that doesn't that doesn't seem to happen that often. So, yeah, it's not to say that it wouldn't work, but it's not a traditional path. I think there's enough junior hockey in North America that Yeah. People would go play the NAL or the BCHL or some other league like that as a sort of an intermediary step if if need be.
Scott:So then, like, on the flip side, are are you getting are you working with many international players that are coming stateside for, like, college, junior, etcetera?
Scott B:Yes. Some for sure. We don't that's not as much of a primary focus for our agency. Okay. You know, we have some we definitely have some European connections, some high end euros, you know, But it's not primarily our focus.
Scott B:We have a player that will go quite high this year in the draft. His name is Juhope at Biren, and he's a Finnish player. He actually played up in the world junior tournament this year as an o eight birth year. So pretty impressive that he was able to do that. He'll probably go in the first round of of the draft, and that was a connection through a long time friend of my dad's.
Scott B:And, again, it's it's been awesome. And but it's not like we're out. We don't have a European outfit that's out hunting, you know, these young talent. So
Jamie:Right. You don't have an officer over there like a scout in a local town. Gotcha.
Scott B:Yeah. Exactly.
Jamie:Right. So I'm curious. So so it sounds like most of your clients are are obviously US born players. I'm just curious what your thoughts are of the development, you know, and the I mean, The USA hockey registrations are through the roof. Right?
Jamie:More people are playing the game in The United States than ever before. I'm curious what you're seeing as far as you've been in this business a long time. I'm curious what the players maybe twenty years ago compared to the players that are coming out now. Do you see a big difference in the skill and the speed and the size with The US born players? Yeah.
Scott B:I I do. I mean, I think you're just you're just you're seeing a level of proficiency in detail at a younger age than you've ever have. Like, it's it's really, really impressive to see the level of detail of a of a Willasaur or a Drew Daly or some of these kids that you see, and you're like, holy moly. That guy looks like a little pro. Like, he has all the details.
Scott B:You know? He he's using deception. He's scanning appropriately to understand what's around him. You know? He's he's playing chess instead of checkers, as I like to say.
Scott B:You know? And, like, it's really impressive to see to see how that has come up, not only in USA hockey, because, again, we do have a lot of Canadians as well. But I I think in u u in youth hockey period, some of that is the early specialization. Some of it's the development of coaching, right, and understanding how to how to get guys to think through and feel through situations at a much younger age than we ever thought probably could give them credit for. You know what I mean?
Scott B:Like, you used to be like, oh, let's pass the puck and skate around the cones and this and that. And now, like, we're setting up situations where these guys have to, like, deal with one layer of pressure and find an open guy, you know, behind it or small area games and all these Yes. Other things. So Yeah. Like, all these sort of, like, nuances of the game are being taught way more than they ever were.
Scott B:And I think it's allowing it's allowing for an earlier you know, you're getting your ten thousand hours of reps in those areas earlier, right, than you ever were. Whereas maybe, you know, you you learn it later. Like, I'll never forget, you know, when, you know, we would host our Bartlett development camps and stuff, and some of the old guard would be out there, like like I mentioned, Gianna or whoever. And, like, then Keller would come as a 16 year old camper, and they were like, oh, crap.
Scott:Like Right.
Scott B:This kid's unbelievable. Like and then, you know,
Jamie:like Yeah.
Scott B:Then Keller would be out there, and, like, Logan Cooley would come, and you'd be
Jamie:like, this
Scott B:kid's unbelievable. You know? It's like it's amazing how how it's changed. It's pretty fun to see that, like, every generation feels like the next generation. The kids are sick.
Scott B:You know? It's it's pretty cool.
Jamie:So It's it's neat to watch. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. And and, you know, just just on on that note when, you know, like, in terms of, like, it it just seems like it's younger and faster, you know, like, that downward pressure, like, also compounded by the fact that there's money opportunities like we were discussing earlier. Just I'm curious from, like, you know, the the parents that maybe that you've had to deal with and and and talk about? Are there any, like, common themes that that, like, you know, parents they, oh, I don't know, are concerned about, you know, when you're engaging with them? Is there anything that, you know, now that things are happening so much younger in a lot of ways, is there, like, you know, new new new territory that you're kinda navigating with these families?
Scott B:Yeah. And I think, like, again, there's just a general concern about what's too much too soon. And Yeah. You know, kids having to deal with the pressures and kids having to deal with the social media. That's the biggest one.
Scott B:I mean, again, like, I came up and I was playing on a team with two future Stanley Cup whatever, you know, and, like, elite elite players. Yeah. You know, Olympic level players. And, yeah, there was no social media pressure. There was no, like, you know, there was none of that.
Scott B:They weren't getting ranked where so they could see it, and they weren't any looked at any different inside the locker room. Like, we knew they were good, but it wasn't anything that these kids have to deal with today where, you know, they can walk out of the rink and get hit by a a landmine of somebody ranking them below somebody else or their buddies teasing them about it. You know what I mean? So I think that's a huge concern is is really trying to, you know, maintain the focus on the love of the game, maintain the kids being kids, and not making the business too early. And I will just tell you, like, I really, really, really try to dig in to what the family's like before I, you know, try to align myself with with with kids and players.
Scott B:Because at the end of the day, the families and the kids that are making it are the ones that are able to not have this be their whole life. And the ones that are able to sort of say, hey. Like, you know, we're gonna keep you grounded. We're gonna keep you humble. You know?
Scott B:Like, I always like the saying, like, keep one foot on the ground, but read for the stars. Right? And, like, that that to me is, like, the families that actually have success are the ones that have a level of humility. They don't think their kids are already there. They don't blame others if things don't go well.
Scott B:It's it's really try to be as normal as you possibly can throughout this crazy journey. And at the end of the day, those are the ones that create this sort of, like, stable base for their player to grow from. And if you don't have a stable base, that kid's never gonna be able to get where he needs to go because one day he's worried about what his mom thinks, and one day he's worried about what his coach thinks, and he's all over the place. You just need stability and consistency, and the kid needs to know that you love them not because of their hockey and and let them pursue their goals. And I really think that those are the type of families that have success.
Scott B:So
Jamie:Sounds like your dad had the right idea when you came off the ice.
Scott B:I know. Right? Yeah.
Jamie:Right? I mean, right? I mean, these he said all he said the right thing to you in my opinion. Right? Did you have fun?
Jamie:You know? So you're Doug Christensen. Right? Says it all the time. The cost goes up in this game and if you don't love it, you know, if you're if you're not in love with it and you don't have passion for it at a at a young age and along the way, the price of admission goes up and you're not gonna want to do those things when it gets hard.
Jamie:Right? In my opinion, your dad your dad was saying the right thing to you by not getting in the weeds and just making sure you had you know? And said, hey, did you have fun? Did you love the game? Right?
Scott:Well, totally. Well, listen to this, Scott. We're about, like, the hour mark now, and, you know, I don't wanna take a
Jamie:Keep it from your family.
Scott:Yeah. I know. I know it's it's on the later side of things, but listen, this was just super insightful. Un unbelievable to get an opportunity to talk to someone like yourself and and kinda learn, like, more about what goes on in your world. And, you know, I'm sure a lot of families are gonna take away a lot just to understand, like, you know, what the landscape's like, and just hearing the advice that you had is super appreciative.
Scott B:Yeah. Thanks for having me out, guys. Think it's a really cool thing to try to de stigmatize some of these these conversations, and, yeah, I love what you guys are doing. So thanks Appreciate for having
Scott:it, Scott.
Jamie:Appreciate that, Scott. Thanks so much, buddy.
Scott B:Yeah. Cheers. Have a good night, everybody.
Scott:Have a
Scott B:good night. Appreciate it.
Scott:You too. Bye.
Jamie:See you. Bye. Alright, everybody. Welcome back from our interview with Scott Bartlett from Bartlett Hockey. That was pretty cool.
Scott:Dude, amazing.
Jamie:Yeah. Hopefully, you guys enjoyed that. He yeah. We that was a first for us here at Crazy Hockey Dads.
Scott:It's just know, it's interesting. I mean, he he played the game Yeah. Like, a high level. Like, he he knows what it takes. And having been in that industry for so long, one of the things that I'm thinking about is how there's now no issues with Canadians playing NCAA or Americans playing NCAA and then going back.
Scott:And basically just making it that much harder
Scott B:to play.
Jamie:It's changing.
Scott:It's changing.
Jamie:The landscape's definitely changing.
Scott:So that part's interesting. And then I also thought I don't think I'm confusing. But when he was talking about the amount of money that the NHL oh, wait. Am I confusing it?
Jamie:Say that again? Go ahead. Keep going.
Scott:The amount of with the CHL. I might be confusing this with another episode that we recorded, but the money
Jamie:That's possible. Was that the commissioner that we just interviewed?
Scott:Oh, yes. It was.
Jamie:Sorry. Know. All blend together.
Scott:My bad.
Jamie:They do blend together. Yeah. Yeah. We've had some pretty sick interviews, so I understand why you're blending together.
Scott:The commission.
Jamie:The commission. Coming soon, by the way.
Scott:Yeah. USHL.
Jamie:When are we releasing that?
Scott:Maybe after this one. I don't know. We have to look at the calendar.
Jamie:We have to look at the calendar. We a couple in the hopper that we need to get out.
Scott:No doubt. But in any event.
Jamie:Yeah. But yes, you were saying about the amount of money. The amount of money in the game is ridiculous these days. And like we said before, it's filtering down to kids.
Scott:Yeah, then he was talking about getting the schools down the SEC.
Jamie:Oh, dude.
Scott:If that happens, then he's anticipating a domino effect and the growth of the game is So good. Least in this country on the college landscape.
Jamie:Like our buddy Sadie Lundquist over at College Hockey Inc. Yeah. Trying to get I mean, listen, a team in a school in St. Louis just got a D1 hockey program. I mean, listen, I can't imagine why you wouldn't have the LSUs of the world, the Auburns of the world, the Alabamas of the world, right?
Jamie:All those SEC schools having D1 hockey programs.
Scott:Right. It's just where are they playing?
Jamie:They need a building.
Scott:Right. That's
Jamie:They need $150,000,000 ish.
Scott:And I'm sure there's plenty of wealthy people that are willing to
Jamie:Up here, it's probably 300,000,000
Scott:That's crazy.
Jamie:To do for New Jersey. And it should be done. By the way, if that small school I think it was St. Mary's. Look that up for me, if you don't mind.
Jamie:Thanks, Scott. No, seriously, I want to say it's St. Mary's in St. Louis. I just got a D1 hockey program.
Jamie:So if they can do it, why the fuck can't Rutgers have a D1 hockey program? Like, why? Why? Was that right?
Scott:Maryville University of St.
Jamie:Louis. Sorry.
Scott:Launching an NCAA division one men's hockey program.
Jamie:Maryville.
Scott:Yes. With a transitional season in twenty twenty six, twenty seven and a full d one competition beginning in 2728 season. Right. This brings top top tier college hockey to the arena following in the footsteps of Lindenwood University.
Jamie:Yep. Lindenwood was yep. Exactly right. So I'm assuming they're gonna be independent for a couple years until they find a conference. It's kinda what those other those other schools do like Lindenwood.
Jamie:So if
Scott:they can
Jamie:do it.
Scott:If they can do it.
Jamie:Why the fuck can't Rutgers do it? Well. It's Big Ten hockey. How does that not hear?
Scott:Yeah, that's a good question. Don't know.
Jamie:Major, major hockey.
Scott:Yeah, don't know.
Jamie:So that we're actually gonna get into that conversation shortly. On our first time that we recorded this that didn't work, we were mentioning bringing somebody on to talk about NIL money and how dollars and money flowing into college sports, youth sports, and how it's kind of I don't want say corrupting the game, because that's not the right thing. But it's definitely changing the landscape.
Scott:Yeah, for sure. For sure it is.
Jamie:Yeah. So I spoke to this gentleman who is a college AD, and he kind of educates about the recruiting process and stuff like that because he sat in those living rooms with parents before, and he sat in those budgetary meetings with schools before. And he was saying that there was a study out of the University of Louisville.
Scott:Mhmm.
Jamie:And they were saying how that the current system of NIL money in sports is broken.
Scott:Oh, yeah. Right.
Jamie:Right? He cited he actually cited Rutgers football
Scott:Right. You were saying this.
Jamie:As an issue
Scott:Right.
Jamie:Because they are in their fucking red big time.
Scott:Right. And then we've gotten to that whole conversation of like, where does the money come from? Right. And is the athletic departments like, is each sport like looked at looked at like on a P and L by itself? Is like
Scott B:Or is
Scott:it as a whole? Athletic department as a whole?
Jamie:I'm gonna say as a whole. I mean, I'm sure they break down each individual one, but let's let's not like, you know, let's call it spade to spade. The fucking football program pays for all the other sports.
Scott:In a lot of instances, I'm sure that's true. Right? I mean, they're selling out, they're selling the most tickets, biggest venues, all that stuff.
Jamie:I have heard that ice hockey is the third highest grossing sport in collegiate sports next to football and basketball. That's what I've heard. When we have this gentleman on, we're going to ask him. Now, his background is in basketball and being an athletic director, so basketball recruiting and athletic director. But when I was corresponding with him, I'm curious if he can put some insight into the game of ice hockey and the money behind ice hockey.
Jamie:I think he can, from what I spoke to.
Scott:Right. Or if nothing else, at least get a better understanding of how it works.
Jamie:Correct. So I think it'd be a pretty good conversation for us to have
Scott:with him. For sure.
Jamie:Yes. That's coming. Yeah. We have that on the docket. Think it's going to happen probably before you and I leave for Lake Placid next week.
Jamie:We'll do the interview with him.
Scott:All right. That's great.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm looking forward to that. But yeah, it kind of ties into the conversation we had with Scott Bartlett and the conversation that we had with the USHL commissioner that's coming shortly.
Jamie:Is that episode coming?
Scott:Yes. Yeah, that's coming up shortly too. But then just reflecting on Scott's conversation, also when he was talking about social media and how it's one of the biggest issues. And he talked about the jump from going, you know, that everyone everyone, you know, quote unquote. But like, it's Right.
Scott:They say the toughest jump is from youth hockey to juniors. Not from juniors to college, not from college to pro. You know, it's the jump from youth to junior. And like, I get it. Like, the kids are at the young they have the least amount of life experience.
Scott:You know, they're away from home for, like, the first time
Jamie:mostly You're playing with men, basically.
Scott:You're playing with.
Jamie:There's some twenty year olds on those teams.
Scott:Yeah, no doubt.
Jamie:Right?
Scott:No doubt.
Jamie:Didn't the commission touch on that too as well, if I'm not mistaken? I think both of
Scott:I think he said that how there's this mostly he was talking about how most of the, I think the average age is like 18.4 years old in the USHL. Yeah. Where you have some 17 year olds and then there's a limited number of 20 year olds allowed for team. He's like most teams don't let those go unfilled. But that said, like when you're away from home and you're billeting and just the transition, if not like from a hockey perspective because yet again, you're going into, you might have been the big fish in a small pond and now you're probably a smaller fish in your pond, I guess.
Scott B:Or the
Jamie:pond that you're in.
Scott:The pond that you're in. Yeah. Well,
Jamie:was saying that a lot of those kids were studs on there growing up for their entire life. All of sudden, you kind go to juniors. And you kind of get kicked in the face pretty quick.
Scott:You're like the least good stud there, potentially.
Jamie:And you kind of have to start on the third or fourth line to kind
Scott:of do your thing. Work your way. It's a hard adjustment for the kids. And just the mental piece has got to be really hard.
Jamie:Yeah. No, we've had some great conversations. You guys are really going to like Scott Bartlett. The USHL commissioner also ties into that stuff. So maybe we'll release those back to back or something like that.
Scott:Yeah, that's cool.
Jamie:Or something like we have a couple other in the hopper that we can do also. But maybe we'll figure
Scott:something out.
Jamie:But dude, what are we doing next week? So you and I are leaving for Lake Placid next week.
Scott:We sure are.
Jamie:We are leaving for the ECAC Conference Championship, Men's Conference
Scott:Championship Let's go.
Jamie:For Lake Placid. Our buddy Doug Christensen, commissioner of ECAC Hockey episode 36. Am I right? I
Scott:I don't know.
Jamie:Hold on. So he has invited us up to the ECAC Men's Championship, to, like and we're gonna do a we're gonna do a live show. I don't know we're gonna do a live show, but we're we're definitely recording up there. It is thirty six. Am I good or am I good?
Scott:Fucking amazing.
Jamie:Right? So, yeah. So we're gonna record from up there, like Placids.
Scott:Yeah. Are.
Jamie:You guys are gonna see a bunch of, like, videos, Instagram posts. Scott and I are gonna do a show from up there. Maybe we'll even do I'll
Scott:go grab some interviews with some the players' coaches.
Jamie:Yes. Yeah. Yeah. We have press passes, so that's pretty sick. No doubt.
Jamie:Yeah, that's gonna be fun. So I am looking for so thank you to the ECAC for making us a part of this.
Scott:Yes. Thank you, Doug. Yes. Doug and team.
Jamie:And team. Doug and team. That's a pretty impressive team that they have. The email chains that we're on are impressive.
Scott:Second to none email chains.
Jamie:Impressive. They are the best. They have
Scott:The best email chains
Jamie:By I've ever far. The biggest, hugest email chain you've ever seen. It's like nothing else you've ever seen before. I don't think there's ever been one in the history of the world. I got to work on that.
Jamie:We work on that a lot. But yeah, so thank you to ECAC Hockey. They have been very
Scott:nice to us
Jamie:and gracious to invite us up there. Yeah. I'm looking forward
Scott:to that. Yeah. It's going be awesome.
Jamie:Yeah. So you guys will see a bunch of stuff coming from us from Lake Placid.
Scott:Yeah. We should find out from our listeners who they who they hope to see win in the ECAC.
Jamie:Yeah. So those games
Scott:Should poll. We should do a poll.
Jamie:We should do a poll. So we'll we'll know Saturday. I wanna say Friday this Friday and Saturday are the ECAC games. The winners go to Lake Placid.
Scott:Yeah. We should watch those, you and I.
Jamie:We should. Princeton's Princeton's in it.
Scott:Let's go.
Jamie:Union, Doug Christensen alma mater is in it.
Scott:That's what's up.
Jamie:Yeah. So it it should be good. We should watch this weekend. Yeah. You and I should go, actually.
Jamie:There's a game Friday and Saturday.
Scott:Oh, down in Princeton?
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Oh, you mentioned that.
Jamie:I did. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe. It may not be the worst thing to go to.
Jamie:No. That'd be pretty sick, especially Princeton gets in.
Scott:Yeah, it would.
Jamie:That'd be cool. Yeah. So but yeah. No. So that'll be fun.
Jamie:I'm looking forward to that. What else? Did we miss anything?
Scott:I don't think so. We talked about the CHD grinders. Be on the lookout for that. Send in your pictures, videos of which your kids are getting with
Jamie:us. Right?
Scott:Oh, cut it out.
Jamie:I don't really mean that yet. Mean, you know.
Scott:No. I'm learning I should not believe the words that come out of your mouth.
Jamie:What are you talking about? That is so not true.
Scott:Your wife was angry at us.
Jamie:I was not being serious. I was just kind of meant this like tongue in cheek type stuff.
Scott:Oh, got you.
Jamie:Yeah. Got being serious?
Scott:Oh, I wasn't sure.
Jamie:Can't take me seriously.
Scott:Oh, maybe that's it. I can't take you seriously.
Jamie:Shirley, what is he what's the what's the line?
Scott:Don't call me Shirley.
Jamie:What's the line? Of course, I'm serious. Don't call me Shirley.
Scott:Right. Airplane?
Jamie:Looked like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue. Remember when the the plane's about to land and the dude pulls the cord to the, the runway lights? He's like, just kidding.
Scott:Isn't there like a blow up doll in the cockpit
Jamie:also? Amazing. Oh my god. So good. Like Karim Abdul Jabbar was in that.
Scott:It's so funny.
Jamie:Like, I haven't seen that in years, by the way.
Scott:No. I haven't seen it in years either.
Jamie:Been, I may have to go watch that, by the way.
Scott:Like when it's Reggie Jackson in Naked Gun. It wasn't Reggie Jackson?
Jamie:No. No.
Scott:What? It wasn't Reggie Jackson? Who was it? Enrico Palazzo?
Jamie:Oh my god. That was a he was Enrico Palazzo was a was a great character, by the way. No. It was not Reggie Jackson.
Scott:Who was it?
Jamie:You're talking about Nordberg?
Scott:No. Not Nordberg, you dickhead. That was OJ Simpson. Correct. You idiot.
Jamie:Okay. I wasn't My bad.
Scott:Fucking you retard. Bad. My Look. Like, if the glove don't fit, you must acquit.
Jamie:Yes. Yes. Yes. Was Reggie in that?
Scott:Wasn't he the baseball player? Was that in two? I thought he was a baseball player when, like, Leslie Nielsen's going, like you said
Jamie:Ed That was that was that was one of the greatest that was one of the I think he wasn't, by the way. I think you're right.
Scott:Oh, No. You're right.
Jamie:I know. Reggie Jackson's naked gun cameo. Was he at the plate when he was doing that shit?
Scott:No. I don't think he was on the plate, he was definitely on base.
Jamie:Oh my god. He was. You're a 100% right.
Scott:Doesn't he, like, doesn't he
Scott B:get the he gets the
Scott:gun underneath the the base?
Jamie:Oh my god. Yes. He was like hypnotized. Yes. Yeah.
Jamie:Holy shit. Good on you, buddy.
Scott:Yeah. There you go.
Jamie:Your movie your movie your movie what's the word I'm looking for?
Scott:Did I just totally redeem myself?
Jamie:You did and totally redeem yourself. Slippy Swamy Samsnipe, I was That way was good on you, buddy.
Scott:Look at the buns on that.
Jamie:I bet he works out.
Scott:He's doing most of it go.
Jamie:You're right. It was Reggie Jackson. Nice job, buddy. I thought you were talking about OJ.
Scott:No. I said that when you started dying of laptops, was like, why? I couldn't have gotten it that wrong.
Jamie:No. Listen. Oh, and speaking of movies, I told you, you and Otto need to watch the movie Rad.
Scott:Oh, yeah. You did.
Jamie:Because Otto's gonna do
Scott:I watched it when I was like we watched it
Jamie:when we were kids.
Scott:Of course, were kids.
Jamie:And I guarantee you, you'll start to remember the lines too because I did.
Scott:It's been yeah. That one, haven't seen in a very long
Scott B:time.
Jamie:Bro, it's I wanna say since I was, like, 14, 13, 14, 15 is the last time I saw that.
Scott:I don't even think I was that old.
Jamie:Maybe not, but it's been a while.
Scott:No doubt.
Jamie:It's a minute.
Scott:It came out in, like, the eighties, early eighties. I think it was Mid eighties?
Jamie:'83.
Scott:Yeah. Early eighties.
Jamie:Yeah. I mean, you're not wrong about that. It was it's been it's been a minute. Because you mentioned that Otto was doing a mountain biking team.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:Exciting.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:I'm telling you, you guys will like the movie. He'll like the movie.
Scott:I'll put it on for him.
Jamie:He'll get a kick out of it.
Scott:I'm sure.
Jamie:Yeah. It's so good.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. It makes me think about gleaming the cube and and real genius also.
Jamie:Real genius. Why do I not remember real genius?
Scott:Come on. That was that real genius had Val Kilmer in it. Remember? Oh, yes. Like they fucking froze over the
Jamie:hallway with like liquid nitrogen. Yes. Yes. You're 100% right. Oh, yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. Okay. Oh, yeah. I haven't seen that
Scott:in a
Jamie:hot minute either. Holy shit.
Scott:Yeah. I know. Right?
Jamie:I mean, real hot minute. Yeah. Well, I gotta tell you. In my opinion, I think eighties movies are so much better than the shit that comes out
Scott:of
Jamie:the What about Am I wrong about that? It's just just kinda like
Scott:I think you're biased.
Jamie:Does everybody say that about their generation?
Scott:Maybe. Right? Not necessarily.
Jamie:Right? I mean, like, the movies today, I think, suck.
Scott:A lot of them aren't good.
Jamie:A lot of are just action
Scott:Well, I shouldn't even say that. I don't
Scott B:see a
Scott:lot of them. What am I saying?
Jamie:You movies I really like, by the way? What? I'm a big Guy Ritchie fan. Okay. I really like it.
Jamie:Do you watch any Guy Ritchie movies?
Scott:Tell me what they're talking about.
Jamie:Is that Lockstalk? Yeah. Lockstalk and Two Smooth Brows? That's a great movie. Have you seen that and Snatch?
Jamie:Yes. Those his
Scott:older movies, by the way.
Jamie:Mean, Lockstock and Snatch are some of his first ones. Have you seen any of his new stuff?
Scott:I'm not sure.
Jamie:Have you seen The Gentleman?
Scott:No. Good, Scott. Maybe.
Jamie:So good. It was so good they a Netflix Netflix
Scott:shot at Netflix Prime. Who starred in it?
Jamie:The movie?
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Matthew McConaughey.
Scott:Oh, yeah?
Jamie:And the dude from Jax from Sons of Anarchy.
Scott:Oh, Jax Teller?
Jamie:Yes. Yeah. So Jax is in it along with Matthew McConaughey.
Scott:Oh, no way. Yes. It's a handsome duo.
Jamie:They are. Yeah. Yeah. You will like if you have not seen The Gentleman, it's probably one of Guy Ritchie's best movies.
Scott:No shit. One I'll check it
Jamie:100%. I'm trying to think. The League of Un what is it? The League of
Scott:That's a tough one. The
Jamie:No. No. No. No. Oh, the.
Jamie:What is it? What the fuck's the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, something like that?
Scott:That was one.
Jamie:Rock and Rolla, The Man From UNCLE, dude, Operation Fortune. You need to see all these,
Scott:by the way,
Jamie:if you haven't seen them.
Scott:I haven't.
Jamie:Big Guy Ritchie fan.
Scott:Okay. Yeah. Noted.
Jamie:You'll like.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Yeah. But watch the gentleman. The gentleman's good. Watch the gentleman and then watch rad.
Scott:In that order?
Jamie:Either way.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Yeah. I'm sure we'll get that.
Scott:All right. I need to step up my movie game. I got it. But I appreciate the
Scott B:There you go.
Scott:I would probably watch the Guy Ritchie movie before Rad if I had to guess.
Jamie:You can watch it by yourself.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. It's not really kid friendly.
Scott:No. Probably not.
Jamie:Your kids are young, so
Scott:you don't want
Jamie:to do that.
Scott:Probably not, but God knows what they're watching on YouTube anyway. You know my son was like I'm just kind of like talking on tangents, but the other day he was in the car with his buddy and he was asking me something like, first they were talking about like North Korea for a second. And then they were talking about, well not having an intelligent conversation, but just like mentioning Kim Jong Un and like North Korea.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:And then they were talking about like ICE, like people getting tased by like ICE or like police officers. And then he was talking about What he say to me. He goes, how do like drug cartels like build submarines? And as he's like talking to me, I'm like, I swear to God, this is like my YouTube short algorithm. I'm like Yours?
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Oh, no shit. So you see this stuff on your feed?
Scott:I was like, he must he must he must be on my YouTube Shorts. This is like what he's Scrolling videos. But like he literally was talking as if I was scrolling through my fucking thing. I was like, I know where you got all of these ideas from. You've been watching YouTube Shorts.
Jamie:Those narco subs in the jungle impressive.
Scott:Yo, it's crazy.
Jamie:I mean, they send them up rivers and then into the open ocean.
Scott:Yeah, they That shit's pretty wild.
Jamie:Yeah. That shit's I'm pretty sure that The United States just blew one of those out of the
Scott:I'm sure. They've been dropping bombs on
Jamie:On the narco subs, the narco boats.
Scott:Yeah, they have.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah, that's a whole another story.
Scott:That's a whole another can of worms.
Jamie:But yeah. So yeah, so maybe we'll do one of these days. We'll do a Crazy Hockey Dads movie review episode.
Scott:Oh. All right. That sounds like it's up your alley.
Jamie:Well, I think it's up your alley too. You're a movie guy when you watch them.
Scott:That's true, aren't we
Jamie:all? No.
Scott:No. No. Okay.
Jamie:I'm assuming some people that don't watch them at
Scott:Yeah, Okay. That's fair.
Jamie:I wish I had more time to do it.
Scott:Yeah. When was the last I don't even know the last movie I watched.
Jamie:That's all It's not important.
Scott:Anyway, all right, you want to wrap this one up? I do.
Jamie:This was awesome. Thank you so much to everybody for listening, downloading, sharing. Please go on and leave us a review and leave a comment. We'd love for a review on Spotify, on Apple, whatever you listen to us on. Five stars would be appreciated.
Jamie:Thank you so much. Because it helps us it helps us bring this show to number one, which we wanna go to. So thank you so much. But, no, thank you so much for listening. We really appreciate it.
Jamie:All of our people all over the globe, thank you. We couldn't do this without you. So we're gonna keep bringing awesome content. Hope you guys enjoy it. Hope you learned something.
Jamie:Hope you laugh. And yeah.
Scott:That sounds like a wrap, my guy.
Jamie:Sounds good, buddy.
Scott:All right. Awesome stuff. Yeah, good episode.
Jamie:See you.
Scott:All right. Bye.