A Look at Verbero Hockey

It’s not often that a new company pops up and starts making high end hockey equipment. Most companies that start in the market begin with affordable equipment, and hope to get some sales and then work their way up. It seems that Verbero likes to do things a little differently. When it comes to hockey […]

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Breaking down the moving slapshot

Our friend Matt from WinnPro Hockey has been contributing videos to our Hockey Movement channel for a while now and we are happy to feature his latest video on how to take a slapshot while moving. Matt also focuses on how the stick impacts the puck, his break down is very clear and detailed. In […]

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Hockey Tape and Old Trophies Bring Out Sentiments

by Eric Miller

The line between frugality and nostalgia is not much wider than a skate blade.

Consider hockey tape, the adhesive that binds equipment, body parts, and adult recreation teams.  Players hoarding rolls of UHaul® tape to strap on shin guards are frugal.  They’re too cheap to buy real sports tape.  Thriftiness is admirable unless it interferes with selecting post-game beers.

For less than $2.80 per roll, hockey players can buy 55 yards of UHaul® tape, long enough to reach between goal lines.  The cost is about a nickel a yard, as compared to a quarter a yard for high tensile strength athletic-trainer-grade strips used for taping ankles, wrists, hands, sticks, pads, or fixing radiator hoses.  But hockey players, among the most intelligent breed of athletes, are an industrious and environmentally inclined group.  Cheaper than packing tape are recycled skate laces that are given a second life to fasten shin guards.

In our bantam years my brother, Kirk, and I got a four dollar seasonal allowance to buy hockey tape.  Back then we were too young to rent moving vans and were thus unfamiliar with the utility of UHaul tape.  When supplies ran out we developed craft weaving skills by fashioning slip knots with recycled skate laces.  We suffered a minimalist existence and also harvested tape from broken sticks or from unwary teammate’s sticks.  Kirk, a forward, never figured out that the guy unpeeling tape from his stick was me, a defenseman.  It served him right.  Kirk never got caught pirating from his fellow forwards, a narcissistic pair that stared at locker room mirrors.

Much has been written about hockey player psychology except for this little known fact: Hockey players, as a statistical collection, are a sentimental group.  Without words we speak a language non-hockey players cannot understand.  Spectators only see cursing, yelling and body-shots.  For hockey players those are expressions of affection.

“Dude, love your # 99 jersey.  Gretzky was awesome.  But you’re a #@$% puck hog!”

Verbal exchanges become more meaningful in penalty boxes.  In one game I shared two minutes in the same penalty box with Doc, a hack who cross-checked me from behind.  By day, Doc is a proctologist.  But on game night his tender mannerisms vanish.  Doc is a dirty cheap-shot.  I retaliated, threw a punch, and mouthed off.  The referee escorted us to the same bench because the other penalty box was filled with cartons of UHaul tape.  I asked Doc about his jerk-like behavior.

“Guess I’m depressed,” he said.  “It’s not personal.”

“What?” I fumed.  “You use sports tape and your Porsche doesn’t leak antifreeze.”

Doc sighed.  “My parents sent a care package.  Inside was my State hockey peewee championship trophy.  I was just a kid…sniff, sniff…”

I reflected on Doc’s story. My folks sent me a care package that contained an old hockey trophy from years ago. Doc and I watched our teammates battle four on four.  We had a minute of remaining penalty time and reminisced on our youth.  Doc’s boyhood dream was to be a forest ranger, a desire born from playing pond hockey and hunting for lost pucks in the woods.  Now he’s hunting for polyps. I sensed Doc’s embarrassment when I noticed his teary eyes wistfully longing for those happy personal associations.

Our two minutes were up.  We hopped over the boards back into play.  Doc cursed, “Watch your back you #@$$% weasel!”

On a recent family visit I watched my nephews, Nate and Kenny, win a tournament.  My high school buddy, Jimbo, and Kirk coach their peewee team.  Jimbo, a former all-league player, is still intense.  He carried an iPad with diagrams, videos, and wore a head set connected to nothing.  Both coaches wore ties as did their team, a dozen fidgety peewees amped on Red Bull® and Cheetos®.

I never heard the pre-game speech.  Nate and Kenny later told me it was something about not getting penalties and to eat their vegetables.  Their team, tougher than Tasmanian Devils, came from behind to beat the top seed.  The championship trophy stood waist high.

Trophy wins are farther and fewer between as you age.  If Nate and Kenny continue playing, maybe they’ll someday win an adult league championship.  They’ll compete for a t-shirt and bragging rights.

I’ll send them rolls of sports tape next season…in a box wrapped with UHaul tape.

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Eric Miller is freelance writer and aging hockey player that skates with the Hamilton City Hockey Club at the North Valley Hockey and Sports Complex near Chico, California.  Read more hockey stories at his Etc. Guy blog or LIKE his Facebook page.

What is your shot missing?

Every shot in hockey is not just one motion, but a combination of many subtle movements. Every part of your body is working together to generate power, accuracy, lift and control of the puck. If one part of your shot is lacking, or incomplete this will result in less power and accuracy.

In this video, I break down the 5 key components of almost every shot in hockey. When you understand these components, you can use them in different ways depending on what situation you find yourself in on the ice.

There are hundred’s of ways to shoot the puck, this video explains why.

If you’d like to learn how to shoot from an NHL shooting coach who has worked with Stamkos, P.K Subban and many NHL teams please visit Turks Snipers.

Keys to Dealing with “The End” in Hockey

This is a really well written and thought out article on how to deal with the end of your playing career by Jamie McKinven, from the site GlassAndOut.com

Typically, I like to post information for ice practice, but this is something that we all can help our players deal with each season. I’ve seen it up close myself, and it is sometimes very difficult for young players to deal with moving on from something they have spent years trying to reach their playing goals. Give it a read, and also check out Jamie’s site, it really is packed with great content from a former player.

There is nothing more terrifying than the concept of “The End.”  While the end can mean many things, negative or positive, it is the former that is often first manifested in our minds.  We are conditioned to fear and prepare for the worst.  The end of a path.  The end of a dream.  The end of a life.

In hockey, like in all sports, the end is an inevitable certainty.  There is no way around it.  Whether you finish up in midget, junior, college or pro, your career is going to end and you’re going to have to find a way to pick up the pieces and move on.  The reality is, when that final game comes and goes, most aren’t prepared to say goodbye and take that next step.  Most aren’t able to transition and see the value in what they have accomplished and how the skills they’ve acquired and lessons they have learned can continue to pave the way to future success.

One thing I learned after 25 years in the game of hockey is that the end means something different for everyone, no matter what level you reach or how long you play.  I’ve seen kids with two years of junior experience bawl their eyes out and fall into deep depression when the lights go out on their career.  I’ve also seen 14-year pros, with NHL experience, shrug their shoulders, walk away and never look back.  It’s important to refrain from assumptions.  Just because someone retires with millions in the bank and Stanley Cup rings on their fingers doesn’t mean they will take it any easier than someone who finishes up after 12 junior hockey games, or vice versa.  What I’ve learned is that everyone is different and the end of a dream affects everyone in different ways.

I’ve seen players grind through a career, suffering horrific, life-changing injuries; lose families, fortunes and their sense of self-worth.  With growing awareness of the lingering and debilitating effects of concussions, we’ve seen an uprising of courage from former players to speak about their post-career struggles, tearing down the walls of stigma.  Players like the late Steve Montador, who took up the fight to create awareness for mental health, and his friend Dan Carcillo who dropped the guarded, tough-guy image to open up in an emotional revelation, have shed much needed light on the struggles faced by players when their career ends.  These guys are heroes.  True warriors.

While the weight of the end hits everyone at every level differently, there are common themes and lessons that can help lessen the blow of reality.  Things that benefit everyone while dealing with major change and transition in life.

Here are five important things to remember as you prepare for “The End”:

1. You’re Not Alone

The most important step to climbing out of a dark place is to reach out for support.  Too often, especially in hockey, a sport governed by an unwritten code and represented by a certain image, players will conceal their wounds, both physically and emotionally, and try to “tough it out.”  You don’t want to show weakness, so it’s better to suffer in silence or use other coping methods.  You don’t want to go down this road.  If you’re suffering, reach out and get the support you need before it snowballs into something you can’t get out of.  Be courageous and drop your guard.  You’re not the first athlete to admit they need help and, hopefully, you will pave the way for others to feel safe to do so.

2. Recognize the Transferrable Skills

I touched on the value of hockey players and their transferable skills in another article (“Hockey to the Workplace:  10 Transferable Competencies”).  Whatever level you reach in hockey, you have learned some invaluable life lessons and acquired a transferable skill-set.   From the value of perseverance to proactivity in the workplace, hockey provides a strong base of skills and values to build off of as you transition from one stage in life to the next.

3. Understand the Value in Your Accomplishments

One of the issues I had during my playing career was that I never recognized the value in what I was doing.  This is mostly because players are coached and bred to never be satisfied and always reach for something more.  It wasn’t until I retired, took a step back and decided to write a book, that I began to see the intrinsic value in everything I had accomplished.  The biggest value I was able to take away from my career was the relationships I built and the experiences I had, both good and bad.  Most of my best friends in life have come from the hockey world.  Hockey paid for my university degree.  Hockey allowed me to travel the world and experience different cultures.  All of these amazing positives dwarfed the fact that I never made it to the NHL and that I was often a healthy scratch in college.  Always look to the positive value in anything you do to help you understand the purpose.

4. You’re Somebody’s Hero

I recently spoke to a mother of a child with down syndrome who spends her Saturdays during the winter in cold rinks watching single-A bantam hockey games.  They don’t have a relative playing in the game.  One of the players is a classmate of the child with down syndrome; someone with a kind heart and a love for the game of hockey.  For this child this player is a hero.  The player will likely never play beyond the age of 16 or 17, likely never reaching a level higher than rep hockey.  When they do hang up the blades, they will see a smiling face in a small crowd in a cold rink on a Saturday.

After hearing this story, it made me realize that no matter how far you go in hockey or in life, there are always people out there counting on you, rooting for you and caring about you.  You don’t have to play in the NHL to be somebody’s hero and when you stop playing the game, it doesn’t mean you stop being the hero.

5. Take Your Time

Most players I talk to, and this was always my biggest problem, are always worried about an imaginary clock ticking away on their window of opportunity, their career and their life.  In hockey, there is an obsession with this clock.  People put deadlines on everything.  Parents often say, “If Johnny doesn’t make AAA by minor bantam, he’ll never reach his dreams.”  There is an obsession over the OHL, WHL and QMJHL drafts.  Parents will say, “If Johnny doesn’t get drafted, he’ll never reach his dreams.”  And, when you’re done playing, there is a pressure to hurry up and be instantaneously successful in something else.  For me it was, “OK, you have your degree so go out and get a high-paying job right away.”  When it didn’t happen like that, I was devastated.  I felt like a complete failure all over again.  First, my hockey career failed and now I can’t even get a decent job.  The clock was ticking and I was a slave to it.

The reality is that the clock is a farce.  If you don’t make AAA by minor bantam, you can still reach your dreams.  If you don’t get drafted in the OHL, you can still reach your dreams.  If you don’t get a great job within a year after your playing career ends, you are normal.  Don’t rush.  Most mistakes in life are made in haste.  You probably didn’t decide to make your lifelong dream to be a hockey player in the first moments of your life and you shouldn’t expect your next step to be any different.

1 on 1 Battles – Backchecking & Beat your Man

1. O should focus on speed with the puck so as not to get caught from behind
2. D needs to backcheck hard and get to the stick side of the O so he can ‘pop’ the stick and gain control of the play
   

1 on 1 Battles – Backchecking & Beat your Man

1. O should focus on speed with the puck so as not to get caught from behind
2. D needs to backcheck hard and get to the stick side of the O so he can ‘pop’ the stick and gain control of the play
   

Last Minute Puck Races

Drill:

1. Lineup pucks down the middle of the rink between the blue lines
2. Make 2 lines of players in each corner
3. On whistle, players race for the puck
4. First player tries to score on a breakaway
5. Second player backchecks

1. Speed to a loose puck
2. Speed carrying the puck on a breakaway
3. Speed on the back-check to breakup the play

The Admiral II (Russian Suicides)

The Anything For Hockey Team

Out of over 10 000 applicants, Molson Canadian selected 11 people who have done anything for hockey. These are their stories

The story of 11 people who do Anything For Hockey

 Learn more about the Anything for Hockey Team

Rich Lewis

Don Dietrich

Carolyn Hazell

Bradley Friesen

Jeremy Rupke

 The Journey to the rink

Part 4 coming soon!

What evaluators look for during try-outs

I’ve been asked a lot over the years what I look for in a player during evaluations.  After watching my son during various AA & AAA Ice try-outs, I’ve been thinking more about this topic and wanted to share a bit of what I look for and some other information that I’ve found or has been shared with me.

My friend Graham Acres (gacres99) also shared his thoughts with me.

1. Whatever it is you believe you do best, do that every shift.
2. Listen to what the coaches ask you to do and do that
3. Bring energy and never stop working every shift. Regardless of talent, coaches are attracted to kids who consistently work hard. 

All good advice and greatly appreciated.  So what is it that I look for when I run my evaluations?  I can teach you to shoot, pass and skate.  It’s those intangibles that will earn you a spot on my team.

1. Aggressive play – Be willing to battle for pucks. If you are on the forecheck, get on the puck.  Don’t sit back and wait for them to come to you.
2. Backchecking –  If you won’t backcheck, it’s the fastest way to get off my list.  I need you to skate harder than you’ve ever skated when you are backchecking.  It makes a HUGE difference.
3. Don’t give up – I don’t care if you just messed up, mistakes happen.  It’s what you do after that mistake that I look at. Did you slam your stick? Throw you head back?  Yell?  Get back in the play and make up for the mistake you made.  No one will remember the mistake if you made if you hustle back and make a difference in the play.
4. Come out to Earn your spot – Don’t think because you’ve been playing for xx number of years, you deserve a spot on the team.  No on deserves a spot, you earn it. Everyone there is fighting for your spot, go out and get it. 
5. Communicate – Talk to the coaches. Talk to the other players.  Talk when you are on the rink and involved in the play.  Call for pucks, direct the play.  Be vocal.
6. Don’t be selfish – Yes it’s a tryout to earn a spot on a team, but that doesn’t mean showing off your ability to skate through every player every time with your head down.  Be a play maker.   Make passes. Make good decisions.

A few tips for trying out:

1.  Relax and have fun.  I know it’s easier said than done but remember, you can play the game so just go out and do your thing.  
2. If a coach gives you some advice, make sure you go out and do that.  They are hinting to you of what they want to see you do.  At least try to do it. It shows you are coachable.
3. If a coach asks you to play a position like Defense, please, under no circumstances respond ‘I’m a forward’ or ‘My Dad says I’m a forward’.  Just go out and do it.  Coaches want a team player.

A few other resources that give some inside can be found at:
Inside Edge
Ontario Minor Hockey Association.

Try to remember these tips as you go through your try-outs.  Good luck.