Our Kids Play Hockey

🏒 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
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Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. Special Offseason pricing: $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase - http://nhl.sensearena.com/OKPH
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🧠 What if you could begin preparing for your best game before you even stepped onto the ice?
In this episode of The Ride to the Rink, Lee is joined by goaltending and mindset expert Pete to introduce young athletes to mind mapping—a simple but powerful exercise that can help players visualize success, strengthen their confidence, and prepare mentally for tryouts, big games, and pressure-filled moments.
Pete shares how he used this exercise with a goaltender preparing for a championship game. By writing down what he wanted to see, hear, and feel, the goalie created a clear mental picture of the performance he wanted to deliver. Lee and Pete then walk listeners through how they can build a mind map of their own. 
🏒 In this episode, young athletes will learn:
 How to create a mind map before a game, tryout, or important event 
 Why players should include what they want to see, hear, and feel 
 How visualization can help make a big moment feel more familiar 
 What to do when a negative thought interrupts their confidence 
 Why recognizing a negative thought is already an important victory 
 How to replace “I can” with the stronger statement “I am” 
 Why mental skills deserve practice just like skating, shooting, and saves 
Pete also offers a memorable way to understand negative thinking: your mind is like a garden. When you intentionally plant confident and constructive thoughts, you give those thoughts room to grow. When a negative thought appears, acknowledge it, swat it away, and return your attention to the picture you want to create.
This exercise is not only for hockey. Young athletes can use mind mapping before a school presentation, recital, test, performance, or any situation in which they want to feel prepared and confident.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: How Mind Mapping Can Help Young Hockey Players Build Confidence
🎧 Listen together on the ride to the rink, then grab a piece of paper and create your own powerful-game mind map.
No matter where you are in your hockey journey, we believe in you—and you should too.
#TheRideToTheRink #YouthHockey #HockeyMindset #MentalPerformance #SportsConfidence #HockeyTryouts #Visualization #GoalieMindset #YoungAthletes #OurKidsPlayHockey
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. Special Offseason pricing: $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase - http://nhl.sensearena.com/OKPH
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🥅 What separates a talented goalie from one who consistently performs under pressure? According to renowned mental performance coach Pete Fry, the answer often begins with the picture that goaltender holds in their mind.
Pete Fry—known throughout hockey as “The Goalie Mindset Guy”—joins Lee Elias and Christie Casciano Burns for a powerful conversation about confidence, visualization, resilience, preparation, and the mental demands of playing one of the most challenging positions in sports.
A former WHL All-Star, NHL draft pick, and professional goaltender, Pete has worked with athletes across the NHL, AHL, CHL, NCAA, international hockey, and other professional sports. He shares lessons from his own playing career, including how limiting beliefs affected his opportunity after being drafted by the New Jersey Devils—and how that experience led him to dedicate his life to mastering the mental side of performance. 
In this episode, Pete explains why goalies do not simply react to what is happening around them. They often react to the images, sounds, expectations, and stories playing inside their own heads.
🏒 Inside the episode:
 How visualization and “mind mapping” can prepare goalies for pressure 
 Why positive thinking must always be followed by meaningful action 
 How to shrink negative mental images before a big game 
 A practical reset routine after allowing a goal 
 Why water, breathing, posture, and smiling can help reset the brain 
 How coaches accidentally plant negative thoughts in young goalies 
 Why parents should avoid becoming postgame statisticians 
 The difference between an athlete mindset and a fan mindset 
 Why goalies should learn to welcome breakaways, penalties, and difficult moments 
 How a goalie’s body language can influence the entire bench 
 Why parents should support their child’s right to dream big 
Pete also shares examples involving NHL and elite goaltenders, including Stuart Skinner, Jakub Dobeš, Mads Søgaard, Carter Hart, Carson Bjarnason, and Josh Ravensbergen. He explains how mental rehearsal, confident language, and purposeful body language can help a goaltender prepare for the next shot instead of replaying the last one.
The message for young goalies is simple but powerful:
Good goal, bad goal—who cares? The only thing that matters is the next shot and the next save.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: How Young Goalies Can Build Confidence, Handle Pressure, and Reset After a Goal
🎧 Listen now and discover how goalies, parents, and coaches can build a stronger, calmer, and more resilient mindset—on the ice and in life.
Learn more about Pete Fry, his books, speaking, mindset coaching, and goalie-parent course at PeteFry.net.
Have a question for the show? Email team@ourkidsplayhockey.com or use the text link accompanying this episode.
Keep dreaming big, keep doing the work, and keep building the mindset that allows young athletes to thrive.
#OurKidsPlayGoalie #GoalieMindset #YouthHockey #HockeyGoalie #GoalieParents #MentalPerformance #SportsPsychology #HockeyConfidence #GoalieTraining #YouthSports #HockeyCoaching #PeteFry
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. Special Offseason pricing: $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase - http://nhl.sensearena.com/OKPH
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🏒 How do young athletes develop the desire to win — without losing their love for the game?
In this episode of Our Girls Play Hockey, Lee Elias and Olympic gold medalist and PWHL Walter Cup champion Hayley Scamurra dive into one of the most important conversations in youth sports: how girls hockey players can build competitiveness, resilience, and a healthy will to win.
Winning matters. Competing matters. But for young athletes, especially in youth hockey, the scoreboard can’t be the only thing that defines success. Lee and Hayley explore how parents and coaches can help players cultivate effort, passion, and confidence while still keeping the game fun, meaningful, and development-focused.
✨ In this episode, we discuss:
 🏆 Why the desire to win is a skill that develops differently for every athlete 
 💪 How Hayley’s competitive mindset grew through hockey, soccer, tennis, and sibling rivalry 
 🗣️ The difference between criticism and constructive criticism 
 🚗 Why the car ride home should not become a coaching session 
 ⏳ Hayley’s “24-hour rule” for parents and athletes after emotional games 
 🥈 What losing an Olympic gold medal game taught Hayley about resilience 
 🎯 Why process goals matter more than obsessing over one final outcome 
 🤝 How parents, coaches, and teammates can help young players take the next step after disappointment 
Hayley shares powerful perspective from the highest levels of the game, including the emotional weight of winning and losing on the Olympic stage and in the PWHL. Her message for young players is clear: losing hurts, but it can also prepare you for the moments you’re working toward.
This episode is a must-listen for hockey parents, coaches, and girls who want to compete hard, grow through adversity, and understand what it really means to build a champion mindset.
🎧 Listen now and share this episode with a hockey family, coach, or player who needs the reminder that winning big starts with learning, losing, growing, and showing up again.
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Building the Will to Win: What Girls Hockey Players, Parents, and Coaches Need to Know
Have a question or episode idea? Email us at team@ourkidsplayhockey.com or use the link in the episode description to send us a message.
#OurGirlsPlayHockey #GirlsHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyParents #WomenInHockey #HayleyScamurra #HockeyMindset #YouthSports #HockeyDevelopment #PWHL #TeamUSA #HockeyLife #FemaleAthletes #Resilience #ChampionMindset
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. Special Offseason pricing: $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase - http://nhl.sensearena.com/OKPH
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🏒 Does the newest, flashiest hockey stick really make you a better player? Or is the real difference-maker already in your hands?
On this episode of The Ride To The Rink, Lee is joined by Zechariah Thomas, founder of Swift Hockey, for a straight-up conversation every young player and hockey family needs to hear: your gear matters, but it does not replace your effort, skill, strength, and commitment to getting better.
Zech brings a unique perspective as both a former high-level player and the owner of a hockey stick company. Together, he and Lee talk directly to young skaters and goalies about choosing gear wisely, understanding marketing hype, and remembering that the player makes the stick work — not the other way around.
✨ In this episode, we talk about:
 🏒 Why the newest stick will not magically transform your game 
 💰 How to think about spending your parents’ money on hockey gear 
 👀 Why some NHL players use older equipment under newer graphics 
 🔥 The importance of consistency, confidence, and finding what works for you 
 🧠 How endorsements and marketing can influence what players think they need 
 🚨 Why investing in your development matters more than chasing flashy gear 
 ❤️ How hockey can stay part of your life beyond playing 
Zech also reminds young players that there are many ways to “make it” in hockey. Whether you play, coach, build equipment, run a podcast, work in the game, or simply keep showing up with passion, hockey can stay with you for life.
The message is simple: dream big, work hard, choose your gear wisely, and remember that you are the engine behind your success. 
📖 Want a written version you can reference anytime? Check out our companion blog: Why Your Hockey Stick Doesn’t Make You Better — You Do
🎧 Listen now and take this lesson with you on your next ride to the rink.
#TheRideToTheRink #OurKidsPlayHockey #YouthHockey #HockeyGear #HockeyStick #SwiftHockey #HockeyParents #HockeyDevelopment #YoungAthletes #HockeyLife
Click To Text The Our Kids Play Hockey Team!
Our Kids Play Hockey is powered by NHL Sense Arena! 🏒🥽
Trusted at the NHL level through youth hockey, Sense Arena uses VR and mixed reality to build hockey IQ, confidence, and decision-making for skaters and goalies at their own pace. Special Offseason pricing: $299 for the year—less than a dollar a day, and up to four profiles. Use code OKPH to save an extra $25 off your purchase - http://nhl.sensearena.com/OKPH
Have A Topic You Want Us To Cover? Let us know!

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