Our Kids Play Hockey | Hockey Stories & Teamwork Tips

🏒 What do you do when you don’t get along with a teammate? How do you make friends on a new team? And what separates a good captain from a truly great leader?

Olympic gold medalist and PWHL forward Hayley Scamurra is back for Part 2 of our Our Girls Play Hockey Q&A, answering real questions from young players about some of the hardest—and most relatable—parts of being an athlete.

From navigating difficult teammates and coaches to joining a new locker room, managing pre-game nerves, and learning what elite leadership actually looks like, Hayley shares lessons built from youth hockey, Team USA, the Olympics, and the professional game.

She also takes us inside what makes leaders like Hilary Knight and Marie-Philip Poulin so impactful—not just because of what they do in big moments, but because of how they show up for teammates when nobody is watching.

🎧 In this episode:

🤝 How to handle teammates you don’t naturally connect with  
⚡ Why protecting your energy matters in a team environment  
👋 How shy players can make friends on a new hockey team  
🏒 Why small locker-room conversations can build big connections  
⭐ What Hayley looks for in a great captain and leader  
🇺🇸 What Hilary Knight’s intensity brought to Team USA’s gold-medal run  
🍁 How Marie-Philip Poulin leads through consistency, sacrifice, and genuine care  
🧠 How elite athletes separate nervous thoughts from real confidence  
🥇 Why Hayley believed she would make Team USA—and win Olympic gold  
🌎 Her favorite memories from competing at the Olympics  
🥦 And, in perhaps the most important question of all… does Hayley eat her vegetables?

One of the biggest messages in this episode is simple: you do not have to be best friends with everyone on your team to be a great teammate.

Find your people. Make an effort. Be respectful. Support the players beside you. And remember that the way you respond to difficult situations is one of the few things you can always control.

For every girl navigating a new team, dealing with locker-room dynamics, learning to lead, or wondering whether nerves mean she isn’t ready—this episode is for you.

Keep showing up, keep connecting, and keep believing that you belong in the room.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Finding Your People, Leading with Confidence, and Handling Pressure in Hockey

#OurGirlsPlayHockey #HayleyScamurra #GirlsHockey #WomensHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyLeadership #TeamUSA #HilaryKnight #MariePhilipPoulin #PWHL #HockeyConfidence #HockeyTeamwork #OlympicHockey

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🥅 What separates great hockey players and goalies from everyone else? According to former NHL goalie coach and current NCAA Division I goalie coach Steve Briere, it starts long before the puck drops—with preparation, confidence, repetition, and the ability to move on from mistakes.

In this episode of The Ride to The Rink, Steve joins Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli to share lessons young hockey players can use right now, whether they play between the pipes or anywhere else on the ice.

Steve explains why having a plan for every practice can accelerate development, how small competitions can make training more fun, and why elite athletes develop a deep belief in their own abilities.

🔥 In this episode, young players will learn:

• Why “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”
• How to create a simple plan before practices and games
• Easy ways to improve reflexes, footwork, flexibility, and hand-eye coordination
• Why making practice competitive can improve both your game and your teammates
• How repetition creates real, lasting confidence
• Why confidence and arrogance are not the same thing
• How one mistake can become several if emotions take control
• Why learning to reset after a missed shot or bad goal is such an important hockey skill
• How gratitude can help players appreciate every opportunity to step on the ice

Steve also shares the advice he wishes he could give his 12-year-old self: learn how to separate your emotions from your performance. A missed opportunity, bad goal, or tough shift does not have to determine what happens next.

And through it all, Steve reminds young players that the love of the game matters. Prepare with purpose. Compete hard. Believe in yourself. And don’t forget to enjoy the ride.

🎧 Listen now and take one lesson from Steve into your next practice or game.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime?Check out our companion blog: Prepare, Believe, Reset: Steve Briere’s Lessons for Young Hockey Players

For more information about Steve Briere’s goalie training programs, mentorship opportunities, and Path to the Crease nonprofit, check the resources linked in the episode show notes.

Wherever you are on your hockey journey, keep putting in the work—and keep believing you belong on the ice.

#YouthHockey #HockeyGoalie #GoalieTraining #HockeyConfidence #HockeyMindset #MentalPerformance #YouthSports #HockeyDevelopment #GoalieDevelopment #TheRideToTheRink #OurKidsPlayHockey #SteveBriere

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🥅 What does an NHL goalie coach see that youth goalies, parents, and coaches often miss?

According to longtime NHL goalie coach Steve Briere, the answer isn’t just better technique, more private lessons, or perfect positioning.

It starts with focus. Athleticism. Joy. Compete. Ownership. And a genuine desire to stop the puck.

In this episode of Our Kids Play Goalie, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli sit down with Briere, whose coaching career includes seven seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, three with the Seattle Kraken, and his current role with the Wisconsin Badgers. After working with goaltenders at the highest levels of the game, Steve shares what truly separates developing goalies — and why some of the most important lessons have little to do with butterfly technique.

🔥 Inside this episode:

🥅 Why “just stop the puck” is more meaningful than it sounds — and how technical perfection can sometimes get in the way of the actual job.

🧠 Why focus, athleticism, passion, and having fun are some of the first qualities Steve notices in a young goalie.

💪 How the meaning of “fun” evolves as players get older — from simply enjoying the crease to loving competition, improvement, and the work itself.

🚗 Why some of the most valuable hockey lessons happen during conversations between parents and kids — and why those conversations should often be about life, not X’s and O’s.

🌱 Why parents can cultivate a young athlete’s drive, but they cannot create it for them.

💡 How innovation, technology, video, vision training, and tools like NHL Sense Arena can help goalies find new ways to improve — without replacing the need for athletes to think for themselves.

🏒 Why goalie development must become increasingly player-driven: instead of constantly being told what to work on, young goalies eventually need to ask, “How can I get better?”

🤝 Why coaches who begin with “I don’t know anything about goalies” may unintentionally isolate one of the most important players on their team.

⚡ How coaches can design practices that respect goalie workload, recovery, development, and the enormous number of reps goaltenders receive compared with skaters.

❤️ And why love, belonging, friendships, leadership, and community matter all the way from youth hockey to the NHL.

One of Steve’s biggest reminders applies far beyond the crease: young athletes are going to be people much longer than they are going to be hockey players.

Develop the goalie. Develop the competitor. But most importantly, help develop the person underneath the mask.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: What NHL Goalie Coaches See That Youth Hockey Often Misses

🎧 Whether you're raising a goalie, coaching one, playing the position yourself, or simply want to better understand the most unique position in hockey, this conversation belongs in your hockey education.

Listen, share it with your goalie community, and keep helping young athletes fall in love with the process of getting better.

#OurKidsPlayGoalie #GoalieDevelopment #YouthHockey #HockeyGoalie #GoalieTraining #GoalieParents #GoalieCoach #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaching #YouthGoalie #Goaltending #WisconsinHockey #NHLGoalieCoach #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyLife

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🧠🏒 Scanning the ice is important—but seeing what’s around you is only the beginning. The real hockey IQ comes from understanding what those cues are telling you.

On this edition of Our Kids Play Hockey IQ Talk with Albe, Lee Elias is joined by former NHL defenseman and NHL Sense Arena team member Andrew “Albe” Alberts to break down one of the biggest separators in player development: identifying cues.

A defender hesitates.

A teammate changes direction.

A passing lane opens.

Pressure arrives from one side.

A stick blade turns.

Those little details can completely change what the right play is—and great players learn how to recognize and process them in fractions of a second.

Albe explains what players should be looking for before they receive the puck, once they have it, and even when they’re playing without it.

🏒 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What “identifying cues” actually means in hockey
• Why time, space, pressure, and support are foundational reads
• How shoulder checks and pre-scanning help players prepare before the puck arrives
• Why stick position, body position, speed, and direction all provide useful information
• How younger players can begin developing hockey awareness
• Why mistakes are essential to building hockey IQ
• Why coaches should create drills that force players to make decisions
• Why constantly yelling “pass,” “shoot,” or “move it” can actually limit development
• How players without the puck still have important reads and responsibilities
• How NHL Sense Arena’s multi-object tracking drill can help train anticipation and recognition

One of Albe’s most important reminders for coaches:

Every time you give a player the answer, you take away a decision they could have learned to make themselves.

That means development requires patience.

Players need opportunities to look, read, choose, fail, adjust, and try again.

🎧 Listen now for an inside look at how NHL players process the game—and how young athletes can begin building those same habits one decision at a time.

#OurKidsPlayHockey #HockeyIQ #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyCoaching #AndrewAlberts #HockeyAwareness #HockeySkills #DecisionMaking #YouthAthletes #NHLSenseArena #HockeyTraining

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🏒 See an amazing move in an NHL or PWHL game and immediately want to try it in your next game? Go for it—but not before you’ve put in the reps.

On this episode of The Ride to The Rink, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli talk directly to young hockey players about creativity, confidence, repetition, and knowing when it’s the right time to take a risk.

Trying new things is an important part of becoming a better player. But there’s a big difference between taking a calculated hockey risk and attempting a move in a game that you’ve never practiced before.

The goal isn’t to take creativity away.

It’s to prepare your creativity so well that the move becomes automatic when the opportunity appears.

🏒 In this episode, players will learn:

• Why games aren’t always the best place to try a brand-new move
• How repetition builds muscle memory and confidence
• Why practice is where mistakes, experimentation, and creativity belong
• The difference between a calculated hockey risk and an unnecessary gamble
• How skills can be practiced at home, in the driveway, off the ice, or in VR
• Why great players still work relentlessly on skills they’ve already mastered
• How one skill becomes the foundation for the next
• Why coaches should give players room to experiment during practice
• How just 15 extra minutes of focused practice can add up over time
• Why the highlight-reel move you see today may have taken thousands of attempts to master

Lee and Mike also remind players that the stars making incredible plays at the highest levels didn’t simply decide to try those moves in a game.

They practiced.

They failed.

They repeated.

And eventually, the skill became part of their toolbox.

💪 Your challenge: Pick one hockey skill you want to improve and spend 15 focused minutes working on it consistently. Don’t worry about making it perfect immediately. Get the reps in.

Because when the right moment comes in a game, the best skills don’t feel forced.

They just happen.

🎧 Listen now, get your reps in, and keep adding tools to your game.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Prepare, Believe, Reset: Want to Try That Hockey Move in a Game? Put in the Reps First

#TheRideToTheRink #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeySkills #HockeyTraining #HockeyPractice #YouthAthletes #HockeyPlayers #SkillDevelopment #HockeyConfidence #HockeyCoaching #HockeyMindset

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🏒 Raffle tickets. Chocolate bars. Coupon books. Car washes. Poinsettias. If you’ve spent enough time around youth hockey, chances are you’ve been asked to sell at least one of them. But does fundraising still have to work that way?

On this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano Burns sit down with Ryan and Justin from Hero Picks to explore how technology could reshape fundraising for hockey teams, charities, and communities.

Hero Picks was created around a simple question: What if fundraising felt less like asking people for money—and more like inviting them to be part of something?

Ryan and Justin explain how their platform combines fundraising with prediction games, friendly competition, leaderboards, prizes, unique experiences, and social engagement. Instead of simply sending another donation link to the same friends and relatives, teams can potentially create an experience that gives supporters a reason to follow along, participate, and stay connected.

🏒 In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why traditional youth sports fundraising can create donor fatigue
• 💡 How Hero Picks is trying to make fundraising more interactive
• Why community and connection may be just as important as the money raised
• How individual players and families can participate through personalized fundraising links
• How leaderboards, prizes, and unique experiences can motivate participation
• The difference between sports betting and Hero Picks’ prediction-based fundraising model
• How supporters can potentially engage with a team even when they live across the country
• Why transparency matters when teams are collecting and distributing money
• How technology and AI can reduce administrative work while keeping a human element
• Ways teams can raise money not only for themselves, but for charities and access-to-hockey initiatives
• Why Ryan and Justin believe fundraising could become far more experiential in the years ahead

The conversation also goes beyond hockey. Ryan and Justin share how the same model is being explored with veterans, first responders, nonprofits, combat sports, and other charitable efforts—and why they believe experiences people can’t simply buy may become an increasingly powerful fundraising tool.

And yes, the group also asks the most important question of all:

Can we finally retire the poinsettia fundraiser? 🌺

🎧 Listen now for a conversation about innovation, community, youth sports costs, and what fundraising could look like when the experience becomes part of the reason people participate.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Prepare, Believe, Reset: Is There a Better Way to Fund Youth Hockey?

If your hockey organization is looking for new fundraising ideas, this episode may give you a very different way to think about the possibilities.

#OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyFundraising #YouthSportsFundraising #HeroPicks #HockeyParents #YouthSports #HockeyCommunity #SportsTechnology #HockeyTeams #NonprofitFundraising #FundraisingIdeas

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🏒 What separates a good hockey player from a great one—and what can young players start doing right now to improve?

In this special Q&A edition of Our Girls Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli put Hayley Scamurra in the hot seat with questions submitted by young players, parents, and coaches.

From starting hockey at just three years old on a backyard rink (with a little help from M&Ms!) to competing at the highest levels of the game, Hayley shares the lessons that shaped her development—and many of them have less to do with flashy skills than you might think.

🔥 In this episode, we explore:

• 🏒 Why work ethic and hockey IQ can separate players as much as individual skill
• 💪 What young athletes can do every day to keep improving
• 🧠 What it really means to be a coachable player
• 📈 Why players should develop weaknesses and continue building their greatest strengths
• 👀 How Hayley identifies areas of her own game that still need improvement
• 🎯 How visualization and routines can help athletes prepare mentally for competition
• 🥅 Why goalies may need a different approach to staying focused during games
• ❤️ How injured players can stay connected to their team and continue developing
• 👨‍👩‍👧 What parents can do when their child is sidelined by an injury

One of the biggest lessons from this conversation? Development never really stops. Even at the professional and international levels, players are still identifying areas to improve, learning what makes their game unique, and finding ways to become better teammates and competitors.

Whether you're a young player trying to make the next team, a coach looking to develop the person behind the player, or a parent supporting your daughter through the ups and downs of hockey, this episode is packed with practical perspective you can take straight to the rink.

And this is only Part One of the Q&A with Hayley Scamurra—more listener questions are still to come!

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Prepare, Believe, Reset: What Really Makes a Great Hockey Player? Lessons on Development, Coachability and Mental Toughness with Hayley Scamurra

🎧 Listen, share the episode with a hockey family who could use it, and keep the questions coming for Our Girls Play Hockey.

#OurGirlsPlayHockey #GirlsHockey #WomensHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyIQ #HockeyTraining #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaching #FemaleAthletes #MentalPerformance #HockeySkills #HayleyScamurra

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🥅 Your goalie isn’t playing alone—and keeping the puck out of the net is everyone’s responsibility.

In this episode of The Ride to the Rink, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli speak directly to young hockey players about something every great teammate needs to understand: your goaltender is one of six players on the ice, not a separate part of the team.

After hearing hundreds of comments from hockey parents about what they wish others understood about goalies, Lee and Mike bring those lessons straight to the players.

For goalies, there’s an important reminder: you’re seen, supported, and appreciated. The pressure of playing in net can sometimes make you feel like you’re on an island, but there are teammates, parents, coaches, and hockey families who understand just how demanding the position can be.

And for the skaters? There’s a responsibility that comes with being a great teammate.

🏒 In this episode, players will learn:

• Why goals against are a shared team responsibility
• How skaters can help limit shots, clear rebounds, and avoid screening their own goalie
• Why communication with your goaltender matters
• How to safely take shots around a goalie during warm-ups
• Why you should never shoot when your goalie’s back is turned
• Why pregame warm-ups aren’t the time for breakaway moves and highlight-reel dekes
• How shooting accurately to the glove, blocker, and pads actually helps your goalie prepare
• Why supporting your goalie can make the entire team stronger

🔥 The big message? Warm your goalie up—don’t try to beat them.

A three-minute youth hockey warm-up isn’t a skills competition. It’s a chance for everyone to get comfortable, feel the puck, get their body moving, and prepare together.

Whether you wear goalie pads or skate in front of the crease, remember: it takes all six players working together to defend the net.

Work hard. Have fun. Be a great teammate. And wherever you are in your hockey journey—believe in yourself.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: How to Be a Better Teammate to Your Hockey Goalie

🎧 Want to hear the full conversation with hockey parents that inspired this episode? Check out the corresponding Our Kids Play Hockey episode for even more insight into what goalie families experience.

#TheRideToTheRink #YouthHockey #HockeyGoalie #GoalieLife #HockeyKids #HockeyTeamwork #YouthHockeyPlayers #GoalieWarmup #HockeyDevelopment #BeAGoodTeammate #OurKidsPlayHockey

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Hockey IQ: Scanning the ice, recognizing pressure, anticipating what happens next, making the right decision faster. Research shows these perceptual and decision-making skills can actually be trained. With NHL Sense Arena, kids can get extra game-like reps at home, working on hockey IQ, reactions, real stick-handling for skaters, while goalies can train reads and tracking. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OKPH at http://hockey.sensearena.com/okph

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🥅 What do goalie parents wish every skater parent understood? Apparently… a lot.

When we asked that question on social media, we expected a handful of responses. Instead, more than 210 goalie parents jumped into the conversation—and their answers opened the door to a discussion every hockey family should hear.

In this episode of Our Kids Play Goalie, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli dig into those responses and unpack the things skaters, parents, and coaches may never fully appreciate unless they’ve experienced life between the pipes.

From the right way to warm up a goalie to the emotional pressure that comes with having every mistake potentially show up on the scoreboard, this conversation is about creating more awareness, better teammates, and healthier hockey environments.

🏒 In this episode, Lee and Mike discuss:

• 🥅 Why a goal against is rarely the responsibility of one player
• 🔥 Why warmups should prepare your goalie—not become a breakaway competition
• 🚨 The safety rule every young player needs to learn: if the goalie isn’t looking, don’t shoot
• 👀 Why skaters need to listen when a goalie says, “I can’t see!”
• ❤️ Why some goalie parents are quiet during games—and why it probably isn’t personal
• 🧠 The enormous mental challenge of giving up a goal and immediately preparing for the next shot
• 🤝 Why rebound control is a shared responsibility between goalies and their teammates
• 📊 Why save percentage and goals-against average rarely tell the whole story
• 🗣️ How communication between goalies, defensemen, forwards, and coaches builds stronger teams
• 🏒 Why coaches must deliberately include goalies when designing practices
• 💪 How confidence from teammates can help a young goalie develop confidence in themselves

One of the biggest reminders from this conversation? A skater can make a mistake and the game keeps moving. When a goalie makes one, the horn may sound and the scoreboard changes.

That doesn’t mean goalies should be protected from accountability. It means hockey families need to understand the position, recognize the shared responsibility of a team, and help young goalies learn from mistakes instead of making them feel defined by them.

And for the skaters listening: your goalie wants to be part of the team. Talk to them. Protect them. Listen to them. Clear rebounds. Give them a proper warmup. And remember that when the puck goes in, they probably don’t need anyone reminding them.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: What Goalie Parents Wish Every Hockey Family Understood

🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a skater parent, coach, or teammate who wants to better understand the person behind the mask.

This episode is powered by NHL Sense Arena. You can also find current offers from NHL Sense Arena, Hockey Wraparound, books from the Our Kids Play Hockey team, and more at ourkidsplayhockey.com/deals.

Keep supporting the goalies who support your team—and keep building better hockey environments together.

#OurKidsPlayGoalie #YouthHockey #HockeyGoalie #GoalieParents #YouthHockeyParents #GoalieLife #HockeyParents #GoalieTraining #HockeyCoaching #YouthSports #HockeyDevelopment

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Hockey IQ: Scanning the ice, recognizing pressure, anticipating what happens next, making the right decision faster. Research shows these perceptual and decision-making skills can actually be trained. With NHL Sense Arena, kids can get extra game-like reps at home, working on hockey IQ, reactions, real stick-handling for skaters, while goalies can train reads and tracking. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OKPH at http://hockey.sensearena.com/okph

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🏒 What does your player know before they ever touch the puck?

That question is at the heart of hockey IQ — and in this special edition of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli are joined by former NHL defenseman Andrew “Albe” Alberts, who played more than 450 NHL games and now works with the NHL Sense Arena team, to break down one of the simplest and most important habits in the game: shoulder checking.

It may sound basic, but knowing what’s behind you before you get to the puck can completely change what happens next. A good shoulder check helps players recognize pressure, identify open ice, protect themselves, create more time and space, and make a better first play.

And as Albe explains, this isn’t just a skill for defensemen — or even just for older players. It’s a fundamental habit that can help players at every position and every age become faster thinkers and more confident decision-makers.

🔥 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• 👀 Why shoulder checking is one of the foundations of hockey IQ
• 🧠 How scanning the ice helps players create more time and space
• 🏒 The three key steps young players can use when retrieving a puck
• ⚡ Why knowing your next option before touching the puck speeds up your game
• 🛡️ How shoulder checks can help players protect themselves from pressure
• 🎯 Why repeatedly throwing the puck away often starts with a lack of information
• 📈 How coaches can progressively teach puck retrieval and awareness
• 🔁 Why repetition is essential for building good habits — and breaking bad ones
• 🥅 How NHL Sense Arena creates game-like reps for scanning, reading pressure, and making decisions

One of Albe’s biggest messages for young players is also one of the easiest to remember:

Shoulder check more than you think you need to.

The habit of looking before you arrive at the puck gives you information — and information gives you options.

This episode launches a monthly hockey IQ series powered by NHL Sense Arena, designed to give hockey families one practical concept at a time that players can understand, practice, and take directly into their game.

🎧 Listen together with your player, talk about what they see on the ice, and challenge them to start building the habit of looking before the puck arrives.

Learn more about NHL Sense Arena at hockey.sensearena.com/OKPH.

📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: The Hockey IQ Habit Every Young Player Should Learn: Why Shoulder Checking Changes the Game

If this episode helped your hockey family, make sure to like, subscribe, and share Our Kids Play Hockey with another parent, player, or coach.

#YouthHockey #HockeyIQ #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyParents #HockeyTraining #ShoulderCheck #HockeySkills #SenseArena #NHLSenseArena #HockeyCoaching #PlayerDevelopment #OurKidsPlayHockey

Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!

Hockey IQ: Scanning the ice, recognizing pressure, anticipating what happens next, making the right decision faster. Research shows these perceptual and decision-making skills can actually be trained. With NHL Sense Arena, kids can get extra game-like reps at home, working on hockey IQ, reactions, real stick-handling for skaters, while goalies can train reads and tracking. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OKPH at http://hockey.sensearena.com/okph

Have A Topic You Want Us To Cover? Let us know!

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