The Hockey Strength Podcast

Devan McConnell: Treasurer of the PHPO High Performance Director of Utah Mammoth

What does it take to build and lead a modern NHL high performance department?

In this episode of the Hockey Strength Podcast, I sit down with Devan McConnell, Treasurer of PHPO and High Performance Director of the Utah Mammoth.

We discuss Devan’s journey from collegiate strength & conditioning to leading an NHL performance department, how sports science fits into coaching, building aligned multidisciplinary teams, developing staff, and the leadership principles that drive successful organizations.

Whether you’re working in hockey, performance, rehabilitation, or sports science, this conversation is packed with practical insights on leading people and building systems that support athlete success.

Dr. Kevin Neeld Kicks Off the PHPO Era

Dr. Kevin Neeld, Director of Performance for the Boston Bruins and VP of PHPO, joins the podcast to discuss the evolution of hockey performance, the transition to PHPO, and his approach to training at the NHL level. From in-season programming and off-season development to staff growth, player buy-in, and breaking into pro hockey, this episode covers a little bit of everything for coaches and performance professionals.

 

Become a member of the PHPO and check out the new website at professionalhockeyperformance.com!

 

Maria Mountain

Maria Mountain of Goalie Training Pro joins Pat to talk about her most recent article for SCAPH as well sharing some great training ideas. Check Maria out on her website, goalietrainingpro.com and on Instagram @goalietraining. Maria's article can be found on inspire130.scaph.com for our members HERE

Dr. Jordan Shallow

Dr. Jordan Shallow is a clinician and founder of Pre Script - a collection of high level education courses trusted by many in the world of professional sports. Jordan is also a highly sought after speaker and recently gave a talk and day long seminar at SCAPH’s yearly conference which was held in Florida this past summer.

Visit us at our new home, scaph.inspire360.com

Follow Jordan on Instagram @the_muscle_doc

Learn more about Pre Script at pre-script.com

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.