Once November hits, hockey families are well into their busy sports, school and work schedules. Following a hectic tryout and evaluation process, the effects of the zero to 60 change in schedule can sometimes leave moms, dads and kids feeling tired and overstretched.  When this happens, our creative thinking and problem solving abilities take a [...]

Bruce McGill’s work is never truly done, but he doesn’t seem to mind one little bit. For the 60-year-old father-of-two, there is the occasional knock at the door as he sits down to dinner with his wife, Heather. He’s also been flagged down while doing his yard work by a frantic hockey parent or two, [...]

With today’s busy schedules, a balanced dinner can be dropped just about as quick as a puck at centre ice.  Yet when it comes to the physical demands of an anaerobic sport, such as hockey, an athlete’s performance can easily lose its lustre by skipping a complete meal. In fact, a skipped meal puts an [...]

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In [...]

Even though we are in an age of overconsumption, many athletes are falling short of the recommended daily nutrient intake. This not only puts you at high risk of getting a cold or the flu, it also leads to poor workout recovery. And if your body can’t recover properly after a workout, your performance will [...]

Everything good this season will result from the energy of your players! When it comes to playing your best game, understanding how to re-energize is every bit as important as mental toughness, or knowing the team system, or game preparation. NHL coaches pay intense attention to the energy of both their individual players and their [...]

Thanks for sharing your great pumpkin photos.  [...]

After 25 years as a teacher and hockey coach at the prestigious Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, three-time Olympian Terry O’Malley knows his fair share about the development of aspiring elite-level hockey players.  In fact, with the help of his leadership, the Catholic residential and coeducational school for students in grades 9 through 12 [...]

If you have a child that plays contact sports, you may have already heard about “baseline concussion testing” — a cognitive evaluation tool designed to assess an athlete’s normal state of brain function prior to the start of the sports season. Though not intended as a sole diagnostic tool, baseline testing provides a comparison starting [...]

When the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks’ owner, Bill Gallacher, wanted to revamp the Hawks’ hockey operations in 2008, he turned to Mike Johnston — a sought-after coach who knows there’s a lot more to hockey than what goes on after the puck drops. With nearly 10 years of NHL experience, Johnston has an impressive track record [...]