Glass and Out

In episode #154 of the Glass and Out Podcast, we welcome Toni Söderholm, head coach of German National Team. The Kauniainen, Finland, native has had a unique, yet quick rise to his current role. After retiring from his playing career in 2016, he joined his former team EHC München in the DEL as a player development coach. Within two seasons, Söderholm became an assistant with the German U20 team and head coach of their entry into the World Championships. Now just six seasons into his coaching career, he's preparing Germany for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Under Söderholm's leadership, Germany qualified for these Olympics by finishing in fourth at the 2020 World Championships. With the recent string of international success and a roster that will no doubt feature the most talent they've ever had, Söderholm and the Germans have high hopes for the upcoming tournament. Find out how he overcame a lack of coaching experience, how his well-travelled playing career helped shape him as a leader, and what goes into preparing a team for the biggest international tournament in hockey.

In episode #153 of the Glass and Out Podcast, we welcome Cam Abbott, head coach of Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League. Along with his twin brother Chris, who is currently the GM of Rögle, the pair has been able to revive a franchise on the brink of relegation, to one of the top team's in the SHL - in just four seasons. Cam and his brother have spent majority of their lives navigating careers in hockey together. That includes playing careers at Cornell University, a season spent time in the Central and East Coast Hockey Leagues, and seven seasons in Norway and Sweden. Then, without any prior coaching experience, Cam was hired as head coach of the Vaxjo Lakers U20 squad and in one season, completely turned around the program. The success would result in him and his brother being recruited to Rögle. Listen as Cam shares the incredible story of how he and his brother embarked on their pro hockey career together (which includes getting an offer to work at a canary), how they've been able to turnaround things around in Rögle, and thoughts on becoming a YouTube star.

In episode #152 of the Glass and Out Podcast, we welcome Cara Morey, head coach of the Princeton University's Women's Hockey team. After a playing career that included a stop at Brown University and time with Canada's National Team program, the Hensall, Ontario, native joined Princeton, spending six seasons as the program's assistant coach before taking over as coach prior to the 2017-2018 season. Under her leadership, the program has established itself as one of the top programs in the NCAA, which includes a ECAC championship in the 2019-20 season. Find out why she feels humility is critical to team success, her unique experience as a coach at the Philadelphia Flyers Development Camp, and how the hockey community can continue to help support the growth of the women's game.

In episode #151 of the Glass and Out Podcast, we welcome Ontario Reign assistant coach Chris Hajt. Hajt is entering his sixth season with the LA Kings AHL affiliate, which includes a Calder Cup championship in 2015 while the team was located in Manchester, New Hampshire. During that time, Hajt has played a key role in the development of many of the Kings' top prospects and has faced the challenge that many AHL coaches deal with: how do you balance the development of young players with team success. Find out how he approaches the challenge, what he learned during his two years as an assistant with the Buffalo Sabres, and why it's critical to be in-tune with your players in terms of listening to them and providing them a voice in their own development.

For this week's episode of the Glass and Out podcast, we've decided to flip the script. Sitting in the guest chair will be none other than Glass and Out host, and The Coaches Site founder, Aaron Wilbur. Taking over hosting duties will be Matt Dumouchelle, a new writer for The Coaches Site and Assistant GM for the GOJHL's Leamington Flyers. Now into its 10th year as a company, the 'why' of The Coaches Site has always been a simple one: to provide the game's top coaches a platform to share their ideas, and ultimately help coaches provide a better development experience for their players. In this week's podcast, find out about the origins of The Coaches Site, Wilbur's own personal coaching journey, and what he sees for the future of the hockey coaching industry.

Welcome back for season 5 of the Glass and Out Podcast! We have an amazing guest to kick things off, as we welcome Tom Ward, Head Coach of the Shattuck-St. Mary's Boys Prep Team. Shattuck is the prep school hockey powerhouse based out of Faribault, Minnesota, that has produced the likes of Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Toews, Zach Parise, Jack Johnson, Drew Stafford, and many more. But while the list of elite talent and number of championships is impressive, what really stands out about the program is a culture grounded in hard work, sweat and a philosophy that every player, regardless of their pedigree or resume, has to earn their spot. In this week's podcast, we find out about Ward's coaching journey, that includes a stop in the NHL, the importance of developing the person before the player, and his role in creating one of the top prep programs in all of hockey.

We're back with a very special bonus episode of the Glass and Out Podcast! Now that the NHL playoffs are officially over and the Cup has been handed out, we get to the fun stretch of the off-season. That which includes the Entry Draft, Free Agency, and of course the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft, where the NHL's 32nd franchise will officially announce their inaugural roster. To celebrate, we thought we'd jump into Ron Francis' GM chair and conduct our own mock expansion draft. And to help us out, we invited the COO of InStat North America, Mark Yates, to discuss what goes into creating a successful team. Yates' position with InStat connects him with coaches and managers of all levels in hockey, so he has a bit of a birds eye view in terms of what makes the top organizations tick. In addition, Yates spent six seasons as a junior hockey scout with the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads, the OHL's Mississauga Steelheads and the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks. We hope you enjoy this bonus episode of the Glass and Out Podcast, as we explore what a possible Seattle Kraken roster could look like and take a deep dive into what makes a successful team.

And just like that, we've arrived at our last Glass and Out episode for the season. We want to thank everyone for tuning in and we hope you were able to take at least a few things away from our lineup of amazing guests. To close things out, we welcome recent recipient of the NHL's Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award, Kevin Hodgson, a friend of The Coaches Site and one of the truly good people in hockey. Hodgson is the Executive Director of HEROS hockey (Hockey Education Reaching Out Society), which empowers at-risk youth and introduces them to the game of hockey, and its offshoot organization SuperHEROS, which provides boys and girls living with physical and cognitive challenges an inclusive and safe hockey environment, Under the guidance of Hodgson, Founder and President Norm Fylnn, and 300 volunteers, the organization has grown to 28 programs in 12 cities across Canada. One in three participants are girls, and almost half the participants are new Canadians; about 10,000 kids have participated in the program since 2000. Based out of Calgary, Hodgson has a background in social work and in addition to operating HEROS, he is also a consulting trainer at the Centre for Suicide Prevention. In the season finale, find out what winning this year's Willie O'Ree Award meant to him, how hockey has the power to change lives, and what can be done to create a more inclusive game.

In this week's Glass and Out episode, we welcome one of the top, young coaches in hockey. At just 35-years old, Matt McIlvane has quickly worked his way up the coaching ladder. Some of the accomplishments in his young career include becoming the head coach of EC Red Bull Salzburg, an Olympic Silver medal, and three DEL league titles. While you may not be too familiar with the name now, it likely won't be long before you we see him behind an NHL bench. Following a playing career in the minors, McIlvane began his coaching career at just 26-years old with the Danville Dashers of the now defunct Federal Hockey League. The following season, he would join Drake Berehowsky's staff in Orlando of the ECHL for one season. His first opportunity with EC Red Bull would come when his former coach, Don Jackson, invited him to Salzburg. After one season, both coaches would move to Red Bull's sister franchise in Munich of the DEL, where they built a dynasty that would capture 3 consecutive league titles.. Then in 2019, at the age of 33, McIlvane would move back to Salzburg to become the head coach of EC Red Bull. This past season, the club tasted playoff success, advancing to the semi-finals. In addition to his club duties, he was a member of Germany's coaching staff during their cinderella run at the 2018 Winter Olympics, where they captured a Silver medal. He was also recently a part of Germany's entry at the 2021 World Hockey Championships, where Germany advanced to the final four. Find out about his motivation behind an early entry into coaching, the importance of having good mentors, and what he's learned about creating a championship culture in this week's podcast!

On this week's edition of the Glass and Out Podcast, we're joined by Boston Bruins skating and skills coach Kim Brandvold. At just 39-years old and only two seasons of experience in the NHL, Brandvold has already become one of the most well-respected skills coaches in hockey, with a bright future still ahead of him. Following a playing career that saw him represent Norway's U20 men's national team and play four seasons for the Umass-Lowell River Hawks, the Oslo native decided to get into coaching. Under the mentorship of coaching legend Paul Vincent, Brandvold gained experience at his Massachusetts Hockey Development Camps. He would then join Central Catholic High School as an associate head coach, and would later take over the program in 2016. He also got involved with Boston's minor hockey scene, running development clinics, and helping out local teams. It's during this time that Brandvold began to refine his craft and acquire the details needed to work with younger players, that would eventually lead to him working his way to the NHL. Find out how starting at the grassroots level helped prepare him for a career in the pros, his insights into how he develops world class skaters, and how he's learned to gain the trust of some of the game's elite talent.