The Dented Puck - A Blind Hockey Podcast

"One of the greatest hockey games I've ever been a part of..."

is how one of our hosts described the weekend in Chicago in November, and not for the reason you would expect. Take a trip back to Fifth Third Arena, in Chicago with us as we recap all three divisions of blind hockey action during the 2023 USA Hockey Blind Hockey Classic.

Compilation video of "the game" will be posted on Youtube shortly.

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The boys sit down to discuss next week's Blind Hockey Classic, presented by USA Hockey. The Classic will be hosted by Fifth Third Arena, in Chicago Illinois, the home of the Windy City Showdown.

#blind #blindhockey #blindsports #disabled #disabledhockey

"You're killing me, Kory!" - Drew

Today, we have a unique episode - possibly the most mentally taxing episode for the boys. We'd like to introduce our producer, Kory Shinohara! He has been the man behind the camera for the Dented Pucks for almost 3 years, now he's the one in front of it. We discuss how he got into hockey as a sport, how he got into broadcasting at the University of Kansas, why he's a Knights fan (opposed to his hometown Hawks), how he discovered blind hockey, and where he wants to take us to in the future!

After a brief hiatus, we are back with another banger! It was a pleasure to welcome on Minnesota Wild Blind Hockey's very own Nick and Brady! We discuss their amazing work with the Wild, especially Brady's action-packed summer - which features his very own gargantuan efforts for the name and sport of blind hockey!

This week on the show we were happy to have Trent Tribble out of Columbus Blind Hockey on.  Trent is a relatively new face in the blind hockey community but he and his teammates have already made a big splash!  They were the first to get on the ice in between periods and have opened doors for other organizations to follow suit.  He also participated in the Blind Showcase game with Dawg Nation, showing off his skills alongside his daughter!  Make sure to catch this episode as we learn more about this multi sport athlete!

Some of the biggest opportunities come out of shared visions.  

Anthony is a hockey player, a future lawyer, an advocate, and an author.  As Anthony explains, he used his experiences, both positive and negative, to educate younger hockey players about the difficulties growing up different in the hockey world of Minnesota.  Anthony's book "Hockey is for Everybody" led him to host a "Hockey is For Everybody" Camp this summer at St. Cloud State University, that The Dented Puck is proud bring the Windy City Showdown to for a weekend full of hockey, workouts, hockey sense training, and team building.

Help us welcome Anthony into the blind hockey community and you'll understand why he is the perfect partner to help grow our sport!

Please check out his books on Amazon - "Hockey is for Everybody"

The guys were lucky enough to sit down with Kelsey McGuire, who in the past year has really grown her network within the Philadelphia Flyers organization and the Philly community.  Kelsey talks about her love for hockey growing up and how she fell in love with teaching the visually impaired in college.

(Update for Spotify users:  We apologize, the first two episodes did not populate on Spotify due to a video conversion error.)

What an amazing way to kick off both a new season and a new year!  Antti has such an amazing background in blind sports, and is a many time Paralympian.  But, if you know hockey, you know Finland is always a world power.  Antti explains his interest in hockey and his experiences visiting Canada and growing the sport in his country.  We all learned an awesome new way to say one of our favorite phrases!

As Luca explains, one of the best parts of the Fort Wayne weekend was the USA vs. Canada dinner.  Luca grabbed Josh and told him how much he liked the podcast, and of course Josh pulled the trigger.   What he doesn't know is how excited WE were to be able to interview someone who has been so influential in growing the sport.

As expected, we had an amazing conversation about the past, present, and future of blind hockey both in North America and internationally.  Luca has a great voice and perspective, and it shows the true professionalism of our friends up north. 

Please follow Canadian Blind Hockey at:  https://canadianblindhockey.com/`

We finally had the chance to recreate one of the best interviews of the famed dropped live podcast from Pittsburgh, Max Shear.  Max is also a newcomer to Team USA and one of the youngest players on the team.  Max explains his life through hockey, sight loss, and playing hockey through sight loss.   Max is known throughout USA Blind hockey for his individuality and his smooth skating on the ice.  Join us as a preview for USA vs Canada with Max!

Just in time for Gateway Dawg Bowl, the guys catch up with Jared and Jonny O of the St. Louis chapter of Dawg Nation Hockey Foundation.  Jared previews their inaugural Gateway Dawg Bowl October 8-9, and talks about his experience putting on the "blind goggles."  Jonny perfectly explains his feeling of family when the hockey community came\ together to support him.  Take a listen as a preview before our Dented Pucks hockey team heads to beat Jared and his Dawgs in the blind showcase game.

You literally asked for it.  Thank TJ.  But, we actually gave Josh more than six minutes to speak.  We learned exactly how blind Dirk is, and how organic some moments are.   Josh takes us back to his beginnings in hockey as well as Drew and Josh discuss future happenings at The Dented Puck Foundation, as well as the Dented Pucks Hockey Team.  

The Dented Puck would not be around without Cody Beekman.  As you'll find out when we touch base with Cody on the podcast just around two years since his actions led to the birth of this podcast.  Cody talks about getting into hockey, his perspective on overcoming adversity and life in general, and his love of the Colorado Avalanche.   Cody is the host of On the Bench with Beeks, a hockey podcast highlighting interesting stories from around the world of hockey.  Cody is also a recipient of Dawg Nation, and a major reason Dawg Nation has become so involved with blind hockey.   It was Cody who planted the seed, making him THE GERMINATOR. 

Like Drew says in the episode, "It's always interesting to have people on that we know really well..."  and it's also always a bunch of laughs.  Adam talks about his lifelong love for hockey and how he has grown through blind hockey.  He also talks about his  love for animals and his job at the animal hosptial.  This episode was also very special because the day after recording, Adam, Drew and Josh all make the US National Team along with Dirk and many of our guests.  

The idea of inclusion comes in many forms and for many reasons.   Jeremy lives by the mantra that "Hockey is for Everyone" and it is shown in his actions on and off the ice.  We were honored (and surprised) to have Jeremy Settle join us on the ice at US National Development Camp.  Jeremy talks about his experience playing against the highest level blind hockey players in the country , as well as his experiences and how blind hockey supports his mantra that Hockey is for Everyone.

What a great way to end our fourth season.  We got to catch up with USA Blind Hockey National Team Captain Tim Kane, who we haven't seen since the Showdown.  Tim talks about his career in sports medicine and athletic training, and some of the stories meant for air from his time in the pros.  Tim also takes a deep dive into his leadership philosophy.  Listen in as Tim ends our fourth season on a high note.  

Keep an eye out for special episodes and possibly live episodes coming up prior to the Showdown.

We had an absolute blast doing our live show from the Toyota USA Hockey Disabled Festival, and a thank you to all who joined the show and in the crowd.  We had some technical difficulties during the broadcast, and were able to salvage as much as possible.   Big Plans for the Showdown!

It seems to be a broken record, but we keep coming up with amazing guests.  The real joke was that we KNEW this would would be good, because it was just that much better the first time.  Katie Mitchell stopped by the podcast for the first (second) time to discuss being a significant other to her husband during sight loss, her work with the monthly US Blind Hockey newsletter, the Blind Hockey Brief, and her extensive work with the Washington Blind Hockey Club.  She leaves Drew so enamored, he forgot to truly sign off.  Hope you enjoy!

We have heard multiple storied about Big Jim on the podcast, so it was only appropriate to hear the stories from the man himself.   He talks about his time in the armed forces as well as the events that led him to his sight loss and towards blind hockey.   As we all have hockey experience prior to legal blindness, Jim was in competitive shooting in the service, and explains his work to get Visually Impaired Shooting into the Paralympics, like blind hockey.

US National Blind Hockey Team starting goalie Doug Goist stopped by the show recently.  Doug shares his story of sight loss, and how he came to embrace a sport he never played growing up.  Doug also excels at a profession which many people who not expect a blind man to attempt, let alone excel at.    Like many of the good ones, this one takes a while, but Doug will keep you interested at every turn.

Throwing it back old school...to 2021, when we had National team member and Colorado Visionary Geoff Martin on the podvast.  Geoff talked his interested story with sight loss (and gain too!)  Geoff explains how getting more sight during his teenage years gave him the ability to drive and play roller hockey.  He also talks his transition to ice hockey when he found blind hockey.

US Blind Hockey Team member and Michigander Dave Klenk stopped by the podcast to talk his background growing up as a "bug guy" in sports.  His extensive work as a counselor, and his plans to topple Canada.  

When Dirk came on the program, there was no doubt the Morgan guest appearances would stop there.  Sietske Morgan stopped by the show late last year to talk about the myriad of talents and certifications that she holds, as well as some of the biggest hits she's dished out.    Help us kick off White Cane Week in Canada and an AWESOME 2022 for The Dented Puck with Sietske Morgan.  

Sietske was also witness to the first episode of "The Dented Puck After Dark - Deep in the Vault." 

The boys from the podcast took a team of blind hockey players (plus a few familiar faces) to the Dawg Nation Winter Classic, in Silverthorne, Colorado over the weekend.  The boys were able to snag a game from Dawg Nation's Mike Freeman and former pro Yan Stastny, while showing every player on the pond that hockey is for everyone.

Come join us as we kick off 2022 and Season 4 with our great friends at Dawg Nation.

Tony and Drew's Captain Salmaan stops by to talk his man talents, ways to improve the game for players of his vision level, and his long history in blind hockey.  

Blind Hockey's newest darling Gianna Griffith stops by with her father Adam to talk about how they are able to make adaptations to assist Gianna play sighted hockey at a high level, as well as their whirlwind experience leading up to St. Louis.   Don't let the smile fool you, she's tenacious.

We are lucky enough to have Sean back to talk about the Blind Hockey Classic, happening next weekeind in St Louis.  The rosters are releaseed towards the end of the episode.  Kyle Borah joins the boys to give an in depth look at being a gold glove beep baseball player, as well as talk trash to Sean.

Please follow us on social media for updates as to when our live stream will be.

The boys truly get started on Season Two with one of blind hockey's best athletes, Brock Kitterman of the Pittsburgh Rhinos.  Brock explained his life growing up in sighted and other disabled sports.  Brock gives us how he started individual and team sports and how a tough decision led him towards the triathlon.  Come and listen to one of the more well-spoken bright young starts of blind sports.

Season 3 Starts With A Bang

Join the boys as they Kick-off Season 3 by recapping our greatest venture YET, the Windy City Showdown.  

Luke Miller, Captain of (undefeated) Team Black stops by to recap his experience at the WCBHS, as well as our Video Production Manager, Kory, who recaps and gives us a hint of what he has in store for us next year.

Stick around to the end for a few surprises, and let's kick off hockey season RIGHT!

On this episode we have Dan Schramm from the US National team on the show and get to sit down and get to know him a little better.  We talk about the NHL salary cap, Nazem Kadri's playoff performance, and losing a D man in Chicago.  We also discuss the Colorado Eclipse, playing for the national team, and his first event.  Tony and Dan also discuss missed sponsorship opportunities.  

The Dented Puck is published weekly on Anchor, Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts.

This week we got to sit down with one of the up and coming Blind Hockey players, Derek and his mom Maxine.  We learned about the adversity Derek faced from day 1 and how he's been a fighter the whole time.  We talk about playing foorball, sighted hockey, and blind hockey and the differences between them.  Josh also lays the seeds for blind football and we talk about their favorite memories in blind hockey. 

The Dented Puck is published weekly on Anchor, Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts.

On this episode of the Dented Puck we have Kristian, a goalie and teammate to Tony in college as well as mens league currently.  We talk about the second round of the playoffs and our predictions moving forward (Surprise! We were wrong, a lot.) and the different play styles of some NHL stars.  Then we dive into Kristian's experience being shot on with the blind puck.  He recently went to a skate with Tony, Drew, and Luke from the Blackhawks Blind team and even wore a blindfold!  We discuss playing with Tony, and ways that we can integrate more sighted goalie techniques into the Blind Hockey game.  

The Dented Puck is published weekly on Anchor, Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts. 

On this episode we talk to St. Louis Blues blind hockey founder and current goalie, Sean Borah.  We break down the playoffs with our picks to come out of the first two rounds (Shockingly some of them turned out wrong...), and who we think just might be a playoff team next year.  We discuss Sean's vision, and path to hockey as well as his decision to transition from defense to goalie.  Sean also lets us know what to try out in St. Louis, and the places we should make sure to check out.  

The Dented Puck is published weekly on Anchor, Spotify, Google, and Apple Podcasts.

We're back!  In the opening episode of Season 2 we sit down with Charlie Mitchell, from DC Blind hockey and the US National team.  We talk about Patrick Marleau and other things we missed while away.  Charlie lets us know what it's like playing with his vision and as the D partner for a B1.  Josh gets in to the nitty gritty of playing Defense, and Tony clues us all in on Charlie's exceptional skating ability.  Not one to miss, and while we might be a little rough we're glad to be back!

The Dented Puck is published every week on Anchor, Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts.