Glass and Out

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/sXhNxazZXN4
In episode 338 of the Glass and Out Podcast, Coachella Valley Firebirds assistant coach Stu Bickel stops by to chat.
Bickel is a great example of a coach who has taken all the information he was fed as a player, evolved it, and made it his own as he has embarked on his coaching journey.
Bickel grew up just outside of Minneapolis and would go on to star for Eden Prairie High School. After two seasons in the USHL, he joined his hometown University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, but after one season, as an undrafted free agent, he decided to bet on himself and make the jump into professional hockey. The move paid off, as in his fourth season, he appeared in 69 games with the New York Rangers.
While not formally a coach at this stage, we sense that the first player he ever coached was himself. He needed to define his strengths and weaknesses and evolve his game into one that would enable him to contribute on a nightly basis in the National Hockey League.
That is now a job he's doing full-time today, developing defencemen for the NHL's Seattle Kraken, the parent club of the Firebirds.
Listen as he shares his process for improving defencemen, the importance of being good on the breakout, and the power of video as a teaching tool.
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Learn more about our presenting sponsors:
Hudl: hudl.com/tcs
Biosteel: BioSteelTeams.com/Glassandout

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/owDjYtPe73s
In episode 337 of the Glass and Out Podcast, we welcome Rod Braceful, Director of Player Personnel for the US National Team Development Program.
Braceful is responsible not only for identifying the top teenage talent from across the US, but also for helping assemble the U17 and U18 National Teams. If it all plays out as intended, these players will eventually go on to represent the US at the Olympics and other best-on-best competitions.
He was recently named General Manager of Team USA for the upcoming IIHF U18 World Championships in Slovakia. He previously held the same role for the US National Team that took home gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer.
Prior to his current role, Braceful spent two seasons on the scouting staff with the Chicago Blackhawks and got his start in the USHL, first as a scout for the Sioux Falls Stampede and later as Director of Scouting for the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
Listen as he shares his approach to player evaluation, the identity portion of hockey IQ, and the importance of processing under pressure.
Secure your TCS Live ticket: https://thecoachessitelive.com/
Download the TCS app: https://www.thecoachessite.com/app
Learn more about our presenting sponsors:
Hudl: hudl.com/tcs
Biosteel: BioSteelTeams.com/Glassandout

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4v4vGWhQMUw
In episode 336 we're joined by Ryan Ward, Head Coach of the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms. 
Currently in his fourth season behind the Phantoms bench, Ward led his club to a Clark Championship in his first season, the first USHL playoff championship in franchise history. As this episode is published (April 8th, 2026), the Phantoms have just been crowned Anderson Cup Champions, awarded to the USHL club with the best regular season record. 
Equally impressive, Youngstown has produced 10 NHL draft picks during his tenure and it's expected the program will hear more of their players' names called at the upcoming NHL draft. 
Ward has enjoyed a unique journey to his current post, which included time as an NHL video coach with the New York Islanders, an assistant coach with the club hockey team at the University of Rhode Island, time in the OHL and AHL, leading an elite prep school, and overseeing player development for the USHL's Tri City Storm.
Listen as he shares the incredible story of taking on an NHL video coach role, finding your foundational identity, and the importance of learning how to teach the fundamentals.
Secure your TCS Live ticket: https://thecoachessitelive.com/
Download the TCS app: https://www.thecoachessite.com/app
Learn more about our presenting sponsors:
Hudl: hudl.com/tcs
Biosteel: BioSteelTeams.com/Glassandout

In episode 335 of the Glass and Out Podcast we welcome Wacey Rabbit, Assistant Coach of the WHL's Vancouver Giants.
Rabbit was recently inducted into the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame. A proud member of the Kainai First Nation, also known as the Blood Tribe, located in Southern Alberta, he has been intentional in providing kids from Indigenous communities inspiration by using the game of hockey to teach life skills that will empower them away from the rink.
After a playing career that saw him capture the 2006 Memorial Cup with the Giants and a pro career that spanned 14 seasons and multiple continents, Rabbit started his coaching journey as an assistant coach with the BCHL's Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
That would be followed by a move back to his former junior team, the Saskatoon Blades, for three years, and finally this season a return to the Vancouver Giants.
Listen as he shares how he's using his Indigenous roots and sobriety to inspire the next generation, leadership lessons from growing up in a rodeo family, and what it takes to develop grit in a player's game.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ehoh-1_Iz2k
Secure your TCS Live ticket: https://thecoachessitelive.com/
Download the TCS app: https://www.thecoachessite.com/app
Learn more about our presenting sponsors:
Hudl: hudl.com/tcs
Biosteel: BioSteelTeams.com/Glassandout

In case you have not heard, The Coaches Site launched the Coaching Crossover podcast earlier this year, where we have two coaches join us to discuss coaching life, philosophy and the similarities and differences in their sport and their leadership.
In this episode, we were joined by former MLB manager Clint Hurdle and international hockey coach, the legendary, Dave King.
Subscribe to Coaching Crossover now!