Our Kids Play Hockey

🏒 Not getting enough ice time? Before blaming the coach, it may be time to ask a better question: What can I do to earn more trust?
In this episode of Our Girls Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Olympic gold medalist and Walter Cup champion Hayley Scamurra tackle one of the most emotional—and often misunderstood—topics in youth hockey: ICE TIME.
Players naturally want to be on the ice. Parents want to see their children get opportunities. Coaches want to put their teams in the best position to succeed. But when frustration takes over, players can begin focusing on what they cannot control instead of recognizing the actions that may help them earn their next shift.
Hayley explains why effort, attitude, awareness, and being a supportive teammate can influence a coach’s trust far more than sulking on the bench or obsessing over points. She also shares how shifting her own focus away from scoring helped her enjoy the game again, contribute more consistently, and ultimately reach new heights in her professional and international career.
🔥 In this episode, Lee and Hayley discuss:
Why players sometimes receive more ice time than they realize
The difference between asking for ice time and asking how to improve
How body language and attitude affect a coach’s decisions
Why players must stay engaged even while sitting on the bench
How simple, dependable plays build trust
Why risky moves at the blue line can quickly reduce opportunities
The danger of measuring a player’s value only through goals and points
How coaches can communicate roles honestly and constructively
Why younger players should receive meaningful development opportunities
How parents can help players advocate for themselves
The importance of controlling effort, attitude, preparation, and response
One of the biggest lessons from the conversation is that earning ice time is not always about making the flashiest play. It may mean blocking a shot, clearing the defensive zone, supporting a teammate, protecting the front of the net, making the safe play at the blue line, or bringing energy to the bench.
For parents, this episode is also an important reminder to pause before immediately blaming the coach. Encourage your player to approach the situation with curiosity, accountability, and a willingness to hear constructive feedback.
For coaches, the message is equally clear: communicate honestly, recognize more than offensive production, and follow through when players make the improvements you asked them to make.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Not Getting Enough Ice Time? Focus on What You Can Control
🎧 Listen now for a thoughtful, honest conversation that can help players, parents, and coaches navigate ice-time frustrations while keeping development—and the team—at the center of the game.
#OurGirlsPlayHockey #GirlsHockey #WomensHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaching #IceTime #PlayerDevelopment #HockeyMindset #HockeyLeadership #TeamFirst #HayleyScamurra
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🏒 What separates players who simply react from players who always seem to be one step ahead?
In this episode of The Ride to the Rink, former professional hockey player and development coach Kevin Clark joins Lee Elias, Christie Casciano-Burns, and Mike Bonelli to share practical advice that young hockey players can use immediately.
Kevin explains why players need a short-term memory, how additional development during the season can create long-term growth, and why scanning the ice before receiving the puck is one of the most valuable habits a young player can build.
The goal is not to turn your head just because a coach told you to look around. The goal is to collect useful information.
🔍 In this episode, young players will learn:
🧠 Why mistakes and great plays both need to be left behind quickly
🏒 How to stay focused on the next decision and the next shift
📈 Why development should continue during the hockey season
👀 How scanning helps players understand where teammates and opponents are
⚡ Why better information leads to faster, more confident decisions
🥅 What skaters can learn from the way goalies watch the entire game
Kevin encourages players to stop skating with blinders on and begin noticing the full picture around them. The earlier a player develops that awareness, the more naturally it can become part of their game.
The next time you step onto the ice, challenge yourself to look, learn, and collect more information before the puck arrives.
Listen now, share this episode with a teammate, and put one of Kevin’s lessons into action during your next practice.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: See More, Think Faster: Building Better Hockey Awareness
This episode is powered by NHL Sense Arena.
No matter where you are in your hockey journey, we believe in you—and you should believe in yourself, too. Have fun, skate hard, and go learn something!
#TheRideToTheRink #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyIQ #HockeyAwareness #HockeyTraining #HockeySkills #KevinClark #YouthAthletes #HockeyPodcast
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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🏒 Your child may know what happened during a shift—but do they understand why it happened?
Goals, assists, wins, and losses are easy to see. But the small decisions that build hockey IQ, earn a coach’s trust, and help a player advance rarely appear on the score sheet.
In this episode of Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns welcome Kevin Clark of Cascade Hockey, a former professional player whose 16-year career included time in the Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets organizations, along with multiple opportunities to represent Team Canada.
Kevin explains how players can learn to view the game through a professional lens—and why parents and coaches must stop judging every decision solely by its result.
Sometimes a player makes the correct decision and gets a bad outcome. Other times, a poor decision accidentally leads to a goal. The key to long-term development is learning to recognize the difference.
🎧 In this conversation, you’ll hear:
🧠 Why decision quality matters more than the immediate result
🏒 How players become trusted beyond goals and assists
🔄 Why practices should recreate the chaos and pressure of real games
🎯 How coaches can train high-frequency situations instead of relying on predetermined patterns
👀 What parents should watch for during their child’s shifts
📈 Why progress should be measured over months—not game by game
💬 How intentional feedback gives players confidence, identity, and purpose
🎥 Why video can help players recognize growth and understand their habits
😬 Why feeling uncomfortable can be a sign that real learning is taking place
❤️ How parents can cultivate a child’s drive without trying to manufacture it
Kevin also shares why young athletes need different coaching voices, how coaches can create safer learning environments, and why the best development programs begin every session with a clear purpose.
This episode is an important reminder that a player’s value cannot always be measured by production. Reliability, awareness, defensive responsibility, communication, timing, and the ability to create time and space can be just as valuable as scoring.
Most importantly, every player deserves to understand how they contribute—and to feel like they matter.
Listen now, share the episode with a hockey parent or coach, and begin looking beyond the box score.
🔗 Learn more about Cascade Hockey
📩 Have a question or episode idea? Email team@ourkidsplayhockey.com or use the link accompanying this episode.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Beyond the Score Sheet: How Young Hockey Players Become Smarter, More Trusted Teammates
#OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #HockeyCoaching #HockeyDevelopment #HockeyIQ #PlayerDevelopment #KevinClark #CascadeHockey #YouthSports
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🏒 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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