Episode 98 - Tommi Niemelä

On this episode of the Hockey Think Tank podcast, we go across the pond and speak to a Finland National Team Coach, Tommi Niemelä.  This was such an amazing conversation speaking about Finland's philosophy on hockey development, and think it will be one of the most influential episodes that we've done. It's amazing what Finland has done in the number of NHL players it has developed...and also what they have done in International Play in winning some of the top world tournaments...with so much fewer numbers of players than their competition. In this episode, we talk:

-Sport Specialization

-An incredible view of coach education

-Servant leadership vs. Authoritative leadership

-Development of intrinsic motivation

-Winning vs. Developing players

-Playing with "rhythms" during a game

-So.So.Much.More

We are so excited to bring this episode to you and feel like you will learn A TON. Thank you to all our listeners for supporting our mission to educate and inspire the hockey world! And thank you to our title sponsor, GelStx, for supporting our mission as well!

*Opening music: Forget the Whale - Take to the Skies (Instrumental)