Our Kids Play Hockey

🏒 What does it look like when women athletes are not simply recognized—but truly celebrated?
This episode is powered by NHL Sense Arena.
Olympic gold medalist and Walter Cup champion Hayley Scamurra joins Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli for a behind-the-scenes recap of She Weekend in Las Vegas, an unforgettable celebration organized by Flavor Flav with support from Paris Hilton, MGM, major sponsors, entertainers, and fans of women’s sports.
With no script and no formal rundown, Hayley takes listeners through the experience day by day—from an all-female flight crew and a parade through Las Vegas to athlete gifting suites, concerts at the Sphere, red carpets, celebrity meet-and-greets, and a powerful sense of community among Olympians and Paralympians.
But beneath all the excitement is a much bigger conversation.
Hayley explains why these moments of recognition mean so much to women who have spent years competing, building their sports, and inspiring the next generation—often with fewer resources and far less visibility than their male counterparts.
🎙️ In this episode:
🎉 Hayley’s full She Weekend experience in Las Vegas
🥇 Why celebrations like this are long overdue for women athletes
🤝 How Flavor Flav turned public support into meaningful action
✈️ The thoughtful details that made the weekend special
🎶 Meeting the Backstreet Boys and attending their Sphere concert
🎁 Inside the athlete gifting lounge
🏒 Hayley’s surreal first look at the arena where she will play in Las Vegas
💬 Why women athletes should be allowed to celebrate without judgment
⚖️ The double standard surrounding female athletes as “role models”
🏆 A passionate discussion about hockey’s recognition at the ESPYs
🌟 What increased visibility could mean for the next generation
Hayley also reflects on staying grounded through success, learning to enjoy major victories, and understanding that athletes can be disciplined professionals while still embracing the moments they have earned.
This conversation is fun, honest, thoughtful, and an important reminder that progress is not only about giving women opportunities to compete. It is also about celebrating their achievements with the same enthusiasm, investment, and attention given to other elite athletes.
Listen, share the episode with a hockey family, and join us in continuing to elevate the women’s game.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: More Than a Celebration: What She Weekend Meant for Hayley Scamurra and Women’s Sports
Subscribe to Our Girls Play Hockey wherever you listen, and visit OurKidsPlayHockey.com for more conversations designed to support players, parents, coaches, and hockey families.
#OurGirlsPlayHockey #HayleyScamurra #WomensHockey #GirlsHockey #SheWeekend #FlavorFlav #PWHL #OlympicHockey #WomenInSports #HockeyFamily #FemaleAthletes #GrowTheGame
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🏒 Feeling nervous before your next hockey tryout? Take a breath—you have already done the work.
In this episode of The Ride to the Rink, Lee and Christie are joined by Gabe Malinski of TeamGenius, a hockey evaluation expert who helps organizations improve tryouts through better technology and evaluation methods.
Gabe reminds young players that tryouts are not the time to become someone different. They are an opportunity to trust their preparation, play the game they love, and show coaches who they are as players and teammates.
The conversation also explores what to do when a drill goes wrong. Instead of allowing one mistake to affect the rest of the skate, Gabe recommends creating a simple reset routine—whether that means brushing snow from your stick, clearing your skates, rolling your shoulders, or taking one deep breath before the next repetition.
🎧 In this episode, young hockey players will learn:
🧠 How to manage nerves before stepping onto the ice
💧 Why sleep, hydration, and proper fuel matter before evaluations
🔄 How to reset mentally after a mistake
🗣️ What questions to ask coaches before and after tryouts
🤝 Why evaluators notice encouragement, effort, and teamwork
💪 How to respond when equipment problems or adversity strike
❤️ Why enjoying the game can help your best hockey shine through
Gabe also shares an important reminder: evaluators understand that players will make mistakes. One bad drill, one fall, or even one difficult tryout does not define who you are—or who you may become later in your hockey journey.
Listen before your next evaluation and remember: skate hard, support the players around you, and trust the work you have already put in.
No matter where you are on your hockey journey, we believe in you. Make sure you believe in yourself, too.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: How Young Hockey Players Can Handle Tryouts With Confidence
This episode is powered by NHL Sense Arena.
#YouthHockey #HockeyTryouts #HockeyEvaluations #HockeyConfidence #MentalPerformance #HockeyParents #TeamGenius #RideToTheRink #HockeyDevelopment #YouthSports
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OKPH at hockey.SenseArena.com/okph
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🏒 What makes a youth hockey tryout feel fair—and what causes the entire process to break down?
Tryouts can be one of the most emotional parts of the hockey season. Players are nervous, parents are analyzing every drill, coaches are trying to build balanced teams, and organizations are under pressure to make decisions that families can trust.
In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Christie Casciano Burns are joined by Gabe Malinski of TeamGenius, a platform that helps youth sports organizations improve tryouts, player evaluations, communication, and long-term development.
Gabe explains why many associations make evaluations more complicated than they need to be—and why collecting more scores does not always lead to better decisions. The group discusses how organizations can create clearer evaluation criteria, prepare evaluators more effectively, reduce bias, and provide feedback that helps players improve.
They also explore an important truth: a tryout should not be viewed as one isolated hour. A player’s habits, development, coachability, effort, attitude, and performance throughout the season all contribute to a much more complete picture.
🎯 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why the purpose of a tryout should remain simple: build appropriate teams
How evaluation criteria should change by age group and association size
Why skating is often the most important skill for younger players
How unclear scoring systems can create major evaluation mistakes
Why evaluators need detailed rubrics—not just a one-to-five scale
How organizations can reduce bias through outside evaluators and objective data
Why hockey IQ, compete level, leadership, and coachability still require human judgment
How honest feedback can turn disappointment into a development plan
What players should do physically and mentally before tryouts
How parents can support their child without increasing the pressure
Why not making the desired team may create a better long-term opportunity
How technology should support coaches rather than make decisions for them
Gabe also shares the remarkable journey of his brother Sam Malinski, who played B-level hockey as a young player, faced setbacks throughout his development, went undrafted, and continued working his way toward the NHL. His story is a powerful reminder that one roster decision does not determine a player’s future.
The biggest takeaway? Tryouts should be part of a larger development process—not the only evaluation a player receives all year.
When organizations communicate clearly, coaches provide meaningful feedback, players prepare consistently, and parents remain supportive, tryouts can become far more productive for everyone involved.
🎧 Listen now, share this episode with another hockey family, and remember: the team your child makes this season does not define the player—or person—they can become.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Youth Hockey Tryouts Should Build Teams—and Help Players Grow
This episode is powered by NHL Sense Arena.
Learn more about TeamGenius
#YouthHockey #HockeyTryouts #PlayerDevelopment #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaching #TeamGenius #YouthSports #HockeyEvaluations #GrowthMindset #OurKidsPlayHockey
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
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🧠 What separates a talented hockey player from one a coach trusts in every situation?
Skills may create highlight-reel moments, but hockey IQ influences nearly every second of the game—with or without the puck.
In this episode of Our Girls Play Hockey, Team USA gold medalist and PWHL Walter Cup champion Hayley Scamurra joins Lee Elias for an important conversation about hockey IQ, skill development, anticipation, timing, and learning to see the game before the play unfolds.
Hayley explains why she would choose a player with elite hockey IQ and average skills over one with elite skills and average hockey IQ. She also shares how her understanding of the game helped her adapt to different positions, play with different linemates, thrive on the penalty kill, and become the kind of versatile player coaches can use in almost any situation.
🏒 In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why hockey IQ is more than simply “knowing the game”
The difference between reacting to a play and anticipating it
Why watching complete plays is more valuable than only watching highlights
How timing can be more important than speed around the net
Why disrupting a play can be just as valuable as scoring
How playing other sports can improve spacing, awareness, and decision-making
Why young players should learn to embrace different roles
How coaches can build hockey IQ by asking better questions
What “go hunting” and “go smart” can teach developing players
Why communication is one of the most valuable—and overlooked—hockey skills
Hayley also reflects on her development from a young penalty killer and forechecker to a top-line player, center, Olympian, and dependable utility player. Her story is a reminder that a player’s value is not defined only by goals, assists, or flashy puck skills.
For players: Stay curious, ask questions, watch the entire play, and learn what happens away from the puck.
For coaches and parents: Instead of immediately telling a player what went wrong, ask, “What did you see?” or “What other options were available?”
Those conversations may be where hockey IQ truly begins.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Why Hockey IQ May Be a Young Player’s Most Important Skill
🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a player, parent, or coach who wants to understand the game at a deeper level.
This episode is powered by NHL Sense Arena.
Have a question for Hayley or the Our Girls Play Hockey team? 
Email team@ourkidsplayhockey.com.
#OurGirlsPlayHockey #HockeyIQ #GirlsHockey #WomensHockey #YouthHockey #HayleyScamurra #TeamUSA #PWHL #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaching #GameSense
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Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OKPH at hockey.SenseArena.com/okph
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🏒 What does an NHL scout really want young hockey players to focus on?
According to former NHL player and current NHL scout Patrick Rissmiller, the answer is not complicated: have fun, be coachable, become a great teammate, and enjoy being a kid.
In this episode of The Ride to the Rink, Patrick speaks directly to young athletes about what truly matters during their youth hockey journey. Instead of worrying about statistics, highlight-reel goals, rankings, or constantly doing more, he encourages players to build their love for the game through unstructured play, other sports, family time, and self-driven practice.
Patrick also shares an important reminder for players and parents: lasting motivation cannot be forced. A parent can tell a child to shoot more pucks, attend another clinic, or practice every day—but the desire to improve eventually has to come from the player.
🎧 In this episode, young players will learn:
🏒 Why having fun is an essential part of hockey development
⭐ What NHL scouts value beyond goals and statistics
🤝 Why being coachable and becoming a great teammate matter
🚲 How other sports and childhood activities can help athletes develop
🔥 Why the motivation to improve must come from within
🛑 How taking a day off can protect a player’s love for the game
💭 Why young athletes should feel empowered to use their own voice
Young players, loving hockey does not mean you have to play it every minute of every day. Take the day off. Ride your bike. Play another sport. Spend time with your family. When you return to the rink excited and ready to work, you may discover that the break helped you more than another forced practice ever could.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: What an NHL Scout Really Wants Young Hockey Players to Know
Remember: your parents and coaches can support your journey, but the belief and dedication ultimately have to come from you.
We believe in you—but you should believe in yourself, too.
#TheRideToTheRink #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyMotivation #HockeyKids #NHLScout #PatrickRissmiller #MultiSportAthlete #HockeyParents #BeAGreatTeammate
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Keep your player sharp this summer with NHL Sense Arena. Save $25 on an annual plan with code OKPH at hockey.SenseArena.com/okph
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