Our Kids Play Hockey

🚗🏒 What kind of hockey player are you becoming — and what kind of person are you becoming along the way?
On this episode of The Ride to the Rink, powered by NHL Sense Arena, Lee and Mike are joined by former NHL player Doug Smith — a second overall NHL Draft pick and a member of the legendary Miracle on Manchester, one of the greatest playoff comebacks in NHL history.
But today’s message goes far beyond goals, skating, and hockey highlights.
Doug speaks directly to young players about identity, mindset, peer pressure, and the power of choosing who you surround yourself with. His message is simple but powerful: you become what you’re around.
For kids who love hockey, dream big, and spend countless hours training, this episode is a reminder that your identity is bigger than the game. You are not just a hockey player. You are a teammate, a friend, a student, a family member, and a person still learning who you want to become.
In this episode, kids and parents will hear about:
🏒 Why your identity should never be limited to being “just a hockey player”
🧠 How the people around you can shape your mindset, habits, and future
💬 Why communication is a skill you need to practice just like skating or shooting
🚀 How seeking out better players and positive people can help you grow
👨‍👩‍👧 Why parents are part of the village that helps young athletes find their path
🔥 Doug Smith’s advice to young players: “Get faster. The faster you are, the safer you are.”
This is a great episode for young athletes and parents to listen to together on the way to the rink, especially if your player is navigating confidence, peer pressure, team dynamics, or figuring out who they are beyond hockey.
Wherever you are on your hockey journey, we believe in you. You should too.
🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a hockey family who needs the reminder that growth happens both on and off the ice.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Doug Smith on Building Your Hockey Identity Beyond the Ice
#TheRideToTheRink #OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #DougSmith #NHL #HockeyMindset #YouthSports #HockeyLife #PlayerDevelopment #HockeyConfidence #SportsParenting #NHLsenseArena
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🏒 What happens when the game you’ve built your identity around is suddenly taken away?
This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli sit down with Doug Smith, former NHL forward, 1981 second-overall draft pick, Ottawa 67s standout, Bobby Smith Award winner, and one of the most powerful voices in hockey when it comes to resilience, recovery, and perspective.
Doug’s story is extraordinary. After being drafted second overall and playing for NHL teams including the Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Pittsburgh Penguins, his life changed forever in 1992 when a devastating spinal injury overseas left him facing a future as a quadriplegic.
But Doug fought back.
In this deeply moving and thought-provoking conversation, Doug shares how he relearned movement, rebuilt his life, and shifted from trying to be “the best in the world” to becoming “the best for the world.”
In this episode, we discuss story is extraordinary. After being drafted:
🏒 The pressure of being highly ranked, highly drafted, and labeled early
🧠 Why hockey players need an identity beyond the game
💪 How support, love, and environment shape recovery and performance
🌎 Doug’s “world-brain” approach to human performance and transformation
🥅 Why parents should focus less on points, rankings, and recruiting — and more on process
❤️ What hockey families can learn about vulnerability, emotional control, and resilience
🚀 Why youth sports should prepare kids for life, not just the next roster spot
Doug also shares the system he now teaches through his performance and recovery work: awareness, purpose, motivation, focus, belief in self, trust, asking for help, and emotional control.
Whether you’re a hockey parent, coach, player, or someone navigating adversity, this episode is a powerful reminder that the game can teach us far more than how to win.
Because our kids are not just becoming better hockey players.
They’re becoming people.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: From Second Overall to Starting Over: Doug Smith’s Powerful Message for Hockey Families
🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a hockey family who needs the reminder that resilience, community, and purpose matter far beyond the rink.
#OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #DougSmith #NHL #HockeyDevelopment #MentalHealthInSports #AthleteIdentity #Resilience #HockeyLife #YouthSports #PlayerDevelopment #HockeyFamily #SportsParenting #PeakPerformance
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🏒 Want to become a better hockey player? It’s not just about what you do during practice — it’s about the habits you build everywhere else, too.
On this episode of The Ride to The Rink, Lee, Mike, and Christie are joined by Coach Andrew, a high-level junior hockey coach and former NCAA player, to talk directly to young skaters and goalies about what really helps players improve.
Andrew breaks down the balance between skill development and team systems, why younger players should spend most of their ice time building skills, and how players can start developing their hockey brains off the ice through video, chalk talks, and learning team concepts.
But the biggest message? Great players don’t only grow during one hour of practice. They grow through their preparation, attitude, rest, schoolwork, backyard shooting, stickhandling, conditioning, and willingness to do a little more than everyone else.
In this episode, we cover:
🥅 Why 8U, 10U, and 12U players should focus heavily on skill development
 🏒 How team concepts can be learned off the ice without wasting valuable practice time
 💪 Why strength, conditioning, and mobility become major separators as players get older
 🧠 How young players can become better teammates through better habits
 🔥 Why drive and desire have to come from the player — not parents, coaches, or teammates
This is a great listen for young hockey players who want to improve, parents who want to support the right habits, and coaches who want to help kids develop the full picture of what it means to grow in the game.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: How Young Hockey Players Can Get Better On and Off the Ice
🎧 Listen now, have fun, skate hard, and go learn something.
 #TheRideToTheRink #OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyDevelopment #HockeySkills #HockeyParents #HockeyCoach #OffIceTraining #HockeyMindset #SkateHard
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🏒 What really makes a hockey player better — more ice, a higher-level team, a longer commute, or the right culture?
This week on Our Kids Play Hockey, Lee Elias, Mike Bonelli, and Christie Casciano-Burns sit down with Andrew Trimble, GM and co-owner of the New England Wolves Hockey Club, founder of Scoring Concepts, and author of Beyond the Scoreboard. Andrew has coached from learn-to-skate all the way to the collegiate level, giving him a rare perspective on what true development looks like at every stage of the game. 
In this conversation, Andrew breaks down why hockey IQ is really about finding space, how small area games and street hockey can teach decision-making better than repetitive drills, and why parents should think carefully before assuming the “best” hockey opportunity is always the one with the longest drive or flashiest logo. 
The crew also dives into junior hockey, billet families, player character, development-focused programs, parent communication, and the reminder that the goal is not just to build better hockey players — it is to help shape better people. 
In this episode, we discuss:
🏒 Why hockey IQ starts with finding space, not just skill execution
🧠 How watching full games — not just highlight clips — helps players understand how plays develop
🥅 Why small area games and street hockey are powerful development tools
🚗 How parents can balance opportunity, pressure, fun, and family life
🤝 What junior hockey coaches look for beyond talent
🏠 Why billet families and community culture matter in player development
📈 Why development should include academics, character, confidence, and life decisions
Andrew’s message is simple but powerful: every player’s path is different, and the best hockey environments are the ones that help kids grow as athletes, teammates, and people.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Beyond the Scoreboard: Andrew Trimble on Building Better Hockey Players — and Better People
🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a hockey parent, coach, or player who needs a reminder that development is bigger than the scoreboard.
 #OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #HockeyIQ #JuniorHockey #HockeyDevelopment #NewEnglandWolves #AndrewTrimble #SmallAreaGames #HockeyCulture #BeyondTheScoreboard #ADM #StreetHockey #PlayerDevelopment
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🏒 What happens when you win a championship, celebrate the biggest season of your career—and then learn that your entire professional future may be changing?
In the first Day in the Life episode of the new season, Olympic gold medalist and Walter Cup champion Hayley Scamurra joins Lee Elias and Mike Bonelli to discuss her next major chapter: signing a three-year agreement with the PWHL’s new Las Vegas expansion team.
Hayley takes listeners inside a fast-moving expansion process filled with complicated rules, major career decisions, emotional goodbyes, and exciting new possibilities. She explains why Las Vegas felt like the right opportunity, how her relationship with general manager Domi DiMaggio and head coach Kim Weiss came full circle, and why she is ready to take on a more visible leadership role.
The conversation also explores the realities of professional women’s hockey—from public salary information and cross-country moves to offseason training, adapting to a new market, and helping younger players learn what it truly means to become a professional.
Most importantly, Hayley shares an encouraging reminder for every young athlete navigating change: the next part of your journey may be opening a door you cannot see yet. 
In this episode:
🏆 Hayley reflects on winning the Walter Cup and celebrating with family
 🎰 Why she signed a three-year deal with the Las Vegas expansion team
 📋 How the PWHL expansion and player-selection process worked
 💔 The mixed emotions of leaving a Montreal organization she loved
 📈 How Hayley’s championship season increased her confidence and value
 🤝 Why relationships and first impressions matter throughout a hockey career
 🏒 Her vision for mentoring rookies and building a strong team culture
 💰 Hayley’s perspective on salary transparency in professional women’s hockey
 ☀️ The excitement—and logistics—of moving to Las Vegas
 💪 How she knew her body and mind were ready to begin training again
 ❤️ The role Nick Stoop and Hayley’s family play in supporting her career
 🎯 Why she is staying present before setting her next major goal
Whether you are a young player facing a new team, a parent helping an athlete navigate uncertainty, or a fan following the continued growth of professional women’s hockey, this episode offers an honest look at change, leadership, resilience, and opportunity.
Subscribe to Our Girls Play Hockey and follow Hayley’s journey as she helps build a new PWHL organization from the ground up.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Hayley Scamurra’s Next Chapter: Leadership, Change, and Building Something New in Las Vegas
Have a question for the show? Email team@ourkidsplayhockey.com.
#OurGirlsPlayHockey #HayleyScamurra #PWHL #WomensHockey #GirlsHockey #LasVegasHockey #HockeyLeadership #WalterCup #ProfessionalHockey #HockeyDevelopment #FemaleAthletes #DayInTheLife
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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