Strength | Recovery | Performance - Spring League & Tournaments

May 9, 2026May 9, 2026

Should Hockey Players Cheer When the Other Team Takes a Penalty?

Just the other weekend I caught myself reacting to something on our bench that I’ve probably seen a hundred times before.

The other team took a penalty.

Immediately our bench erupted. Players started kicking the boards and tapping their sticks on the ice like something great had just happened.

Sure, I understand the excitement. A penalty means we’re about to get a power play opportunity.

But in that moment I found myself yelling down the bench:

“Don’t celebrate that.”

May 1, 2026May 1, 2026

From Walking In Alone to Belonging: How TCS Live Changed My Coaching Journey

In January 2023, I was looking for opportunities to grow as a coach.

After searching online, I came across a couple of conferences. I didn’t know much about The Coaches Site or really any personal development opportunities in this niche at that point, but something told me to go all in.

So I bought a ticket to TCS Live… and a plane ticket to Detroit.

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026

The Holiday Development Dip

Every year I see it.

Families need a break from the weather and take a trip to Mexico, or somewhere in the Caribbean. A week on the beach, some sunshine, a break from winter. Honestly, I get it. Living in the middle of a Canadian winter, those trips make a lot of sense.

August 24, 2025August 24, 2025

The Modern Rover: How Today’s NHL Defensemen Channel a Lost Position

Rover, Rover, I call Makar over!

Did you know, in the early 1900s, hockey had seven skaters on the ice, including a unique position called the rover?. This player had no fixed role; he floated between offense and defense, supporting wherever the puck went.

The position disappeared from pro hockey by the 1920s, phased out as the game formalized. But the idea of the rover lives on today—in a new breed of player reshaping the modern NHL.

July 1, 2025July 1, 2025

Mark Messier’s Four C’s for Success

Want to inspire your team and reach new heights? Mark Messier’s iconic career showcases the benefits of the Four C’s: Communication sharpens collaboration, Commitment boosts morale, Courage ensures resilience, and Chemistry strengthens unity. Teams adopting these principles can position themselves for long-term success and impactful results.

March 28, 2025March 28, 2025

Creating Offense With Rehearsed Releases

As an old coach of mine often said, the puck travels faster than any player on the ice. Ensuring your team supports the puck carrier in strategic locations can facilitate puck movement within the offensive zone, disrupting the opponent’s defensive coverage. Team Canada demonstrated this effectively in their overtime win against the USA during the 4 Nations tournament. The US weakside winger failed to recover quick enough to cover McDavid, and their defenseman was unable to reach Marner in time to prevent the pass.

October 23, 2024October 23, 2024

The Impact of Shrinking the Zone In Youth Hockey

As I re-watched our home opener over this past weekend on our Facebook live stream, I realized just how much our defense had learned during our practice plans that focused on gap control—quite literally shrinking the offensive zone as low as inside the faceoff circles. It was astonishing to see how effective this approach was in action with our U13 AA female team. After sharing a screenshot with a friend, even he couldn’t believe how low our defensemen were positioning themselves. The results of this tactic have been nothing short of phenomenal in our first month together, significantly hindering the opposing team’s breakout attempts. However, this aggressive approach comes with risks, such as the occasional odd-man rush. Still, the benefits have outweighed the drawbacks.

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation: Which Is Better for Your Child’s Success?

Just the other day, I took my kids to the rock climbing wall. My 9-year-old, fearing heights, would only go a quarter of the way up. Without hesitation, I told him if he could reach a point that indicated the halfway marker, I would give him 20 dollars. And if he goes to the top, I would give him 50 dollars. Thinking at the time, I was helping him overcome his fear of heights, but later found out I was using extrinsic motivators, which was clearly the wrong thing to do. This scenario is no different than parents in hockey telling their kids they will pay them 10 dollars per goal. An extrinsic motivator is giving an award for accomplishments, even when a task is expected of our kids like household chores. Now, an intrinsic motivator is where the real learning takes place. This is when we challenge our players so that they need to problem solve, which creates a learning environment along with giving them that feeling of pure enjoyment when coming up with the answer on their own or in my case overcoming my son’s fear of heights.

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024

How To Trigger The 4 Feel-Good Chemicals For Unlocking High Performance

As a business owner and youth hockey coach, I find myself consistently striving to unlock high performance within my team. I set goals, pushed boundaries, and demanded a lot out of my team. But even on days I questioned if I went too far, I could never figure out why my actions left players craving more. After years of running a business, I always seemed to find that balance of being demanding but never demeaning and earning people’s respect as a boss and a coach. I came across the four feel-good chemicals our body naturally produces endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. By understanding how these chemicals work and how to trigger their release, you can create an environment that fosters productivity, engagement, and a sense of fulfillment.

March 9, 2024March 9, 2024

Team Practice vs. Skills Sessions

In today’s hockey world, coaches are constantly juggling between team practice and skills sessions. The lines between the two seem to be blurry as coaches bring out pylons and danglers during team practices, while players have access to individual skill coaches outside of team activities.

This raises an important question: are coaches misunderstanding the importance of team play in this new generation of highly skilled players? It seems that there may be a focus on individual skills rather than incorporating them into team strategies during practices.

As players progress into their teenage years and face tighter competition, passing and creating offensive opportunities become crucial, yet seem to suffer the most. So, what are the differences between a team practice and skills session, and how can coaches strike a balance between developing individual skills and fostering team dynamics?