Send us a text

It was great to catch up with my friend and teammate, Steve Kelly.

Steve and I grew up in the same neck of the woods, are the same birth year, and both played in the WHL.

We ended up playing in Mannheim together in the DEL toward the ends of our careers.

We also have something else in common. We never had the NHL career we would have liked.

Steve did collect 149 NHL games by the time he was done, playing for the Oilers, Lightning, Devils, Kings and Wild. And Steve did win the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2000.

But after being chosen with the 6th overall selection by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1995 NHL draft, he had his sights set on a long NHL career.

We discuss Steve’s journey throughout his career, and cover a lot of great topics like:

- How Steve went from undrafted in the WHL Bantam draft to 6th Overall in the world

- What Steve thinks is the most important aspect of youth hockey (that many coaches often forget)

- Learn the VERY WORST way to celebrate your first NHL goal

- What Steve said to Lou Lamoriello that got him traded the very next day

- Intangibles other than talent and skill that can determine your hockey destiny

- The key thing we both wish we would have had early in our careers but was missing

- An amazing story about Bruce Boudreau that shows why his players love him.

This is an honest conversation, with an authentic man, a great teammate, and a good friend.

Remember, hockey is about people first, not the stick and the puck.

I hosted this LIVE in my Facebook “Up My Hockey – Parent Group” If you are a supportive hockey parent, would love front row access to my guests, think mindset is an important part of high performance, and would enjoy an engaged community of like-minded people from across North America, the group will be perfect for you! See you there!