Breakaway, The Minor Hockey Podcast

You are what you eat. Eat good, feel good. We know now more than ever about how to maximize our nutrition to fuel our performance. Let's dive deeper into what to focus on before and after your games. Guest Bio: Seanna Thomas is a Nutrition Consultant, Mom to 3 active kids, and founder of Hockey Snacks Inc., where she provides nutrition information for young athletes, sports teams, families, and organizations.

Players can begin to build their hockey skills on a modified, age-approrpiate ice size - the benefits of U9 and Below programming. Guest Bio: Michael Dundas is the Manager of Hockey Development at the OMHA

As players and coaches are in the heart of the Evaluations process, we walk through the timeline of what to expect from the first ice session through to naming the roster. Guest Bio: Michael Dundas is the Manager of Hockey Development at the OMHA

Host Aaron Wilbur of The Coaches Site and Ian Taylor, the Executive Director of the OMHA, catch up after the off-season and chat about the Player Pathways as skaters return to the ice for another year of minor hockey.

While all parents get involved with coaching their kid’s team for all the right reasons, there are times when their hearts may get in the way of doing what’s best for the team as a whole, or even doing what’s best for their child. How do you figure out that balance? Guest Bio: Jay McClement is a retired NHL veteran of 10+ seasons and a Kingston native who returned home to coach his son’s U9 AAA Kingston Jr. Gaels team

Skating has evolved over the years from just a  focus on strides to now involving edges, angling, crossovers and so much more. What's the best way for coaches to work with their players to teach this important skill? Guest Bio: Viktor Kraatz is a former ice dancer who competed in three Olympics

Coaches know the value of practice time. Coming in prepared and with a plan of what you will be teaching can save precious minutes. Practices are where players can learn how to best be effective on the ice. Guest Bio: Tom Ward is the Head Coach of the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Boys Prep Team in Minnesota. 

As players get older, situational awareness becomes more important as part of their Hockey IQ. How can players build this over the years and what can they look for in skill development? Guest Bio: Brendan Taylor is an Assistant Coach with the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads.

It’s a tradition every holiday season for TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. Every year he puts his annual callout for submissions to his Twitter account of backyard hockey rinks from across the country. They come in all shapes and sizes, each with their own personal touch. As the weather gets consistently cold enough for outdoor rink season, Dreger shares how he turned backyard rinks into a passion. Guest Bio: Darren Dreger, TSN Hockey Insider Note: This is a re-broadcast of an episode published in March 2021.

Former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy says we need to continue to learn important lessons and do better after former Chicago Blackhawk Kyle Beach recently shared his story about how he had been sexually assaulted by a former video coach with the team more than a decade ago. Guest Bio: Sheldon Kennedy, Respect Group

Over the last decade, how has the modern NHL player changed? That’s the first question moderator Scott Wheeler, a national reporter with The Athletic covering the NHL Draft and prospects, posed to his elite panel during the Virtual Hockey Summit. Three unique answers were given from three unique panelists, namely Chris Abbott, GM of Rogle BK in the SHL, Trevor Georgie, president & GM of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs, and Pat Malloy, director at the Peak Centre for Human Performance. Guest Bio: Scott Wheeler, The Athletic national reporter

Coaches are always looking for the best ways to get the most out of their players during practice. Over the course of the season players will use this time to improve on their skills and understand different concepts. One of the ways this is done is through small area games. Adding competition to skill development and practices keeps these drills fresh and players engaged. Guest Bio: Derek Miller, Ottawa 67’s Director of Player Development and Performance

Team fundraising is a crucial part of minor hockey to help offset some of the costs that come up during the season. From tournament fees to registration, the tried and tested methods of car washes and bottle drives have lasted for years. Over the last two seasons we’ve had to come up with new ways to raise money safely and lots of teams have turned to online platforms like FlipGive that make the process even easier. Guest Bio: Mark Bachman, Founder and CEO of FlipGive

Tryouts and evaluations can be stressful for everyone involved. For players, there is pressure to perform well in a short amount of time in your first time back on the ice after the summer. Coaches need to evaluate a large number of players at the same while parents are hoping for a positive experience for their children. Is there any way to make this easier for everyone? Guest Bio: Chris Knutson, CEO of TeamGenius

We’ve finally hit the day on the calendar we’ve had circled for months - hockey is back! We’re excited as ever to come back to the rink and get back to the game we love. While we are still taking precautions off the ice such as masking as physical distancing in the dressing room, on the ice we are returning to traditional five on five gameplay. Guest Bio: Ian Taylor is the OMHA Executive Director

Hosts Aaron Wilbur and OMHA Executive Director Ian Taylor take a look back at some of their favourite guests and topics from the 2020-2021 season of Breakaway, The Minor Hockey Podcast.

The U7, U9 and U11 Player Pathways create consistency in all programming across the country and a seamless transition for players based on the Long Term Player Development model. The Pathways provide local minor hockey associations a framework of age appropriate development guidelines which includes an optimal seasonal structure. Guest Bio: Corey McNabb, Manager of Player Development at Hockey Canada

Skill development takes time and creating good habits. Focusing on specific areas of improvement and seeking feedback are two of the top ways to have purposeful improvement. How can players use this time away from the rink to make sure they are practicing the right way? Guest Bio: Scott Jones, Player Development with Vegas Golden Knights

It’s a tradition every holiday season for TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. Every year he puts his annual callout for submissions to his Twitter account of backyard hockey rinks from across the country. They come in all shapes and sizes, each with their own personal touch. As we try to squeeze in the last few days of winter and outdoor rink season Dreger shares how he turned backyard rinks into a passion. Guest Bio: Darren Dreger, TSN Hockey Insider

We’ve been spending the last few weeks in our basements, garages, driveways and backyards working on our stickhandling and shooting as we await a safe return to the rink. As we improve our skills at home the question remains - how can we turn all of this hard work on our backyard rinks back into success in practices and games? Guest Bio: Tim Turk has been an NHL Shooting and Scoring coach for over 25 years