COACHES: Here's a beautiful ozone clip that ends in a D to D pass under the hashmarks for the goal!! Great movement and ozone principles from MTL. They spread the Jets out and have F's coming up and D coming down creating confusion and switches that ultimately lead to the goal. Great job by the Canadiens!!

This clip goes out to all the smaller players that have dreams of playing at the highest levels of our game. Tony Granato had an unbelievable NHL career while not being the biggest. This is one of the best stories I’ve heard in the 8 years of our podcast. It’s cliche - but it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

COACHES: "Beat your opponent to the net" It's something we should be saying ALL THE TIME to our players. Whether it's from a battle in the offensive zone, or getting up ice on the rush, winning the race to the net is a huge part of creating offense. Here's a great example from the NYI. There's a battle in the corner, and when the puck goes low to high Eklund from NYI beats his defender to the net and gets rewarded with the goal. Great clip to show your players!!

One of the coolest parts of our interview with Tony Granato was hearing him talk about when he got to coach Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh - he had such a thirst to know what Wayne Gretzky was like because he wanted to be the best like him. Why was Gretzky the best? HE LOVED THE GAME. What an awesome conversation and great insight into being the best with Tony Granato.

Had so much fun in Columbus this week. They are building something special. Truly doing things the right way, they care about their people and are focused on development and getting better every day. With a new rink on the way, DL coming, and the game growing at a rapid pace - Columbus is a great hockey town!

COACHES: Scanning and shoulder checking are two of the most important habits we can teach our players. Studies have shown that playing with eyes up and scanning is a trait consistently exhibited by elite players across multiple sports. This is a phenomenal clip to show your players to drive it home. Check out Bobby Brink as he goes to retrieve this puck - incredible shoulder checks to see where the support is behind him leading to an assist for the Wild. Great job!!

This is a roller hockey on the neighborhood street goal.

KIDS: When Justin Dowling started his pro career, he spent parts of two seasons in the ECHL. He played 5 years professionally before getting his first NHL call up. He's now in his 16th pro season, much of which has been up and down between the AHL and NHL. Justin Dowling, like most others, didn't make the NHL on sheer talent. He made it on love of the game, grit, and a consistent will to get better. It's plays like these that don't show up on the scoresheet that earn players like Justin an opportunity to play at the level. Watch him shot out of a cannon on this track to disrupt and help create the turnover that leads to this goal. It's plays like this that don't show up on the scoresheet but absolutely end up in the coach's next day meeting. These are the efforts that championship teams value. Coaches, this is a great clip to show your team on how to earn the puck back. And kids, Justin's story is inspiration how grit gets you places.

KIDS: You want to be great at hockey? 
Best thing you can do is surround yourself with the best PEOPLE. Here’s a great clip from our podcast with Tony Granato on the importance of your environment and the people in your circle on being the best you can be to reach your dreams.

A+ interview X a million.

"There's no such thing as 'The Hockey Mom'" What a post here for all the women in hockey from Steph. Check it out. thehockeythinktank.com/there…

Tony Granato has been a head coach at multiple of the highest levels of hockey. Here’s a great clip on the importance of focusing on the player and development as the north star, rather than a full on focus on just winning.

COACHES: This is a clip that should be played in every locker room tonight. I always thought as a coach I could judge my team's readiness to play on faceoff intensity. If we were on our toes and ready to battle at the line of scrimmage, our team was ready to play. If we weren't ready to compete for pucks off faceoffs, we weren't ready to play. Watch Holmberg from TBL off this draw. It's like he's shot out of a cannon to win possession and it leads to a goal. The game is all about puck possession. And there are 50-60 faceoffs on average in an NHL game. That's 50-60 battles for possession for the puck. If your team is ready to go off the puck drop, chances are they're ready to go for the game. Awesome job and an awesome clip to show your teams.

This week’s episode with Mike MacMillan was all about USA Hockey’s new Development League, and how Minnesota could evolve with the new landscape. As they’ve always done, the state has put together a model in cooperation with the new league that will keep kids home, provide a great experience for development and exposure, and stay true to their community roots that has developed more players playing at the highest level of our game than anywhere else. Check it out!

The beautiful game. Nothing makes me happier than seeing these amazing passing plays.

What do you do as a coach when you start slow as a team? GO BACK TO IDENTITY. Great stuff here from Vechs and amazing advice for any coach whose team didn’t start well.