The Hockey Strength Podcast

Building a Winning Culture with Brijesh Patel

Coach B is currently the Associate Athletic Director/Director of Athletic Performance at Quinnipiac University where he works primarily with Men's and Women's Basketball and Hockey, winning a national championship with Men's Hockey. Coach B has been in this field for over 20 years and offers a wealth of knowledge in practically every domain.

In this episode, our main focus is on how B went from being the first full time Strength and Conditioning Coach at Quinnipiac, to winning a national championship. Coach B speaks to his philosophy, how he gets his student-athletes to buy in, and how he maintains his culture on a day to day basis. 

You can learn more about Coach B at his website, coachbpatel.com, and follow him on Instagram and X @bpatel515

As always, you can find the show notes at the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com

ANNOUNCEMENT: Passing the Baton to Pat Dugan

This is a special episode of the Hockey Strength Podcast. David speaks with the NEXT host and head honcho of the podcast and SCAPH website, Pat Dugan.

Pat is the Head Performance Coach of the Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins.

He brings a wealth of enthusiasm, in-the-trenches knowledge, and a chocolate lab to the show.

We're super excited for the next chapter for SCAPH, the Hockey Strength Podcast, and the hockey performance community.

Fill out the Google Form to have your voice heard! https://forms.gle/iqqmycV1sJ1vbiug7

You can find links to everything discussed at the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com

Follow Pat on Instagram @patxdugan

 

How to Make Your Own Luck with Joe Meloni

About Joe:

Joe Meloni is currently the Head Strength Coach for the US National Team Development Program. After starting his career in the private sector at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning, he spent time working in AAA and the USHL before starting his position with NTDP. In the summers, he works as a performance coach at GVN Performance where he works with elite professional, collegiate, and junior players.

In this episode, we discuss...

How Joe got his start at Mike Boyle Strength & Conditioning. What makes it the absolute FACTORY for elite strength coaches MBSC is.

Lessons from mentors.

How a warm-up led to an unexpected job opportunity (and what you can learn from it.)

Joe's experience at the Men's World Championships in Finland. 

For show notes and more, head to the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com

Chad Drummond on Eccentric Training, NHL Networking, and The Difference Between ’Important’ and ’Interesting’

Chad Drummond, the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Edmonton Oilers, joins the show.

Links:

Thinking Outside the kBox: Holistic Eccentric Training for Hockey Players

The High-Performance Hockey Podcast with Chad Drummond

For more, head to the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com

Training College Hockey Players with Paul Valukas

In this episode of the hockey strength podcast, David is Joined by Paul Valukas from the University of Wisconsin.

Paul opens up the show by discussing how a unique experience in Patagonia taught him about leadership and solidified his love for strength and conditioning.

He then dives deep into his time at the University of Denver, where he truly learned that gym layout, appropriate cueing and attention to detail go a long way toward getting the most out of your athletes.

 

Like many high-level coaches, Paul has had the chance to work in both the professional and collegiate levels. He touches on some of the major differences between the two settings and provides a wealth of knowledge surrounding the big rocks that collegiate strength coaches should focus on with their athletes. 

 

Later, David shifts the conversation to an article that Paul wrote for the SCAPH website titled "Why You Need a Multi-Directional Warm-Up".

 

The two get into the importance of using varying structures, planes, and movement patterns to make the most out of your daily warm-up routine while keeping your athletes interested and engaged.

 

For all of the links mentioned and more great hockey-specific strength and conditioning articles and webinars, head to the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com

Scientific Literacy and Serial Specialization with Anthony Donskov

In this episode of the Hockey Strength Podcast, David interviews Anthony Donskov.

Anthony is the owner of Donskov Strength and Conditioning (DSC) in Columbus, Ohio, the author of several books, a published researcher with a Ph.D, and now, the host of the The High Performance Hockey Podcast.

In this episode, David and Anthony use the question ‘what is science’ as the foundation for discussing the scientific method and why having a healthy dose of skepticism is important for any performance coach.

Later, they discuss Anthony’s new course, The High-Performance Hockey Masterclass. Anthony touches on his approach to finding and analyzing research papers, a key ability for any Strength and Conditioning coach that wants to stay up to date with the field.

Finally, they talk about what it means to be a “serial specialist.”

For all of the links discussed, you can check out the Show Notes for this episode at the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com.

Pushing Your Limits and Living a Meaningful Life With Peter Twist

On this episode of the hockey strength podcast, David is joined by the strength coach, author, and pioneer in the S&C space (and one of the first ever NHL strength coaches), Peter Twist.

Coach Twist shares his climb from graduate student to the NHL, discussing some of his unconventional mentors, and ow they helped him develop his own perspectives on leadership, athletic development and life.

He shares how periodization should allow athletes to chase long-term goals, while also keeping the sights set on game-day performance, and the diamond periodization Coach Twist uses.

Coach Twist shows explains how the current conception of "functional training" does not exactly mesh with the intended purpose behind the functional training philosophy. 

To round out the show, Peter provides a very brief overview of the many different projects he is currently working on in an attempt to share his wealth of knowledge and help others live a healthful, fulfilling life. 

For the Links to everything discussed, head to the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com

 

On Ice Return to Play (and speaking multiple languages) with Stephane Gervais

In this episode, David is joined by Stephane Gervais from the Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens, AHL). 

Stephane and David discuss Stephane's experiences in Europe, and how speaking French has helped him as a coach, especially in the unique market of professional hockey in Quebec.

 

He then discusses the various challenges he faced during his first year as a head strength coach in the AHL and the innovative solutions he utilized to move past them. 

 

The bulk of the conversation centers on the rehabilitation process, touching on Stephane's recent presentation at the SCAPH + IHPS conference.

 

Stephane lays out the big rocks of his return to play protocol and provides on-ice strategies that can be easily implemented when bringing a player back from injury.  

 

For the Links to everything discussed, including the link to the full presentation, head to the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com

Data, Dogs, and Ankle Training with Tim Lebbossiere

In this episode, David chats with Tim Lebbossiere, the Assistant Performance Coach for the Boston Bruins. 

 

Tim and David open the podcast by touching on Tim's recent promotion to the big club, and expands on the differences between the AHL and NHL.

 

David then shifts the conversation to Tim's recent Instagram posts outlining his thoughts on ankle and lower leg training for hockey players.

 

Tim lets us see behind the curtain as he walks through his decision-making and implementation process for new training ideas.

 

Speaking of data... Tim goes on to share some nuggets from his recent presentation at the IHPS, "Data Driven Approach, From Collection to Decision Making." 

 

Before closing up, the two talk books, money, and dogs. David puts Tim on the spot asking how being a dog dad impacts his coaching career.

 

For the Links to everything discussed, head to the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com  

 

Goalie Training, Performance Philosophy, and Continuing Education with Devan McConnell

In this episode, David Rosales and Mike Potenza are joined by Devan McConnell, the High Performance Director of the Arizona Coyotes.

Devan opens the discussion by expanding on his article where he outlined his warm-up protocol for goalies, touching on how he thinks about goalie training more broadly.

Then, they discuss how Devan's overall coaching philosophy and how it evolved, from his early time as a strength coach up to the NHL, which he'll be discussing further at the International Hockey Performance Summit this June.

Finally, Devan shares how he continues to learn and improve, in particular, why he reads and learns from sources outside strength and conditioning.  

For links to everything discussed, head to the official website of SCAPH, prohockeystrength.com.