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058 - Talking Women's Hockey with PWHL's Marlene Boissonnault
0 Playsin 1 hour
Show notes are available at https://thediygoalie.com/pod058
This week we sit down to talk hockey with Marlene Boissonnault of the PWHL's Minnesota Frost and how the women's game is rapidly evolving. We also talk about advice she has for younger goalies and what has helped her to be successful throughout her career.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to the DIY Goalie Podcast, where hosts and goalie coaches Nathan Park and Connor Munday share their insights on how to become a better goalie.
00:00:19
Speaker
Goalies! How's it going? My name is Connor Monday and welcome back to the DIY Goalie podcast presented by True North Goaltending. Once again, back in the driver's seat again, Nathan Park on assignment once again.
00:00:34
Speaker
I'm very, very excited to be joined today by PWHL Frost's Marlene Boissonneau. Marlene, how are doing?
00:00:46
Speaker
I'm good. How are you?
Marlene's Goaltending Journey
00:00:48
Speaker
ah Not too bad, not too bad. Just ah running on a little bit of a less than optimal sleep this morning. So, ah you know, not not exactly the yeah ah the start that I want to have this morning, but it's going to be a busy day for me nonetheless. But we appreciate you coming on here um where this is definitely one of the more exciting interviews that ah we're going to be doing today.
00:01:10
Speaker
Awesome. No, thanks for having me. This is this is exciting. Excited to chat. Well, goalies talking goalies. We can always always appreciate that. I guess first off, we'll just do a little bit of an introduction and a bit of a background on you here. Obviously, you are the um reserve goaltender right now for PWHL Frost, but you're also playing for PWHL Montreal Victoire, as well as in the PWHPA KRS, Van Ghee Reyes, and Cornell Big Reds. So just kind of just give us a little bit of a background on just kind of how you got into goaltending, your playing career up to this point, and we'll go at it from there.
00:01:46
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'm somebody who's from a small town that had big dreams, basically, I guess how you could set it up. But ultimately, born and raised in northern New Brunswick, speaking only French, um played all the minor hockey um out of my hometown in a small little Dalhousie Minor Hockey Association, um was one of two girls playing for the most part.
00:02:10
Speaker
And then once I got to about grade nine, grade 10 is when things really picked up for me. I had been playing for Team New Brunswick for quite a couple of years by that time, but that's when I got called up by Team Canada, where I started to play with them at the U18 level, which got me more eyes onto
Cornell University Experience
00:02:28
Speaker
to me. And so there was a prep school in Southern New Brunswick that called me up um to go to their prep school. I think it was supposed to be for my grade nine year.
00:02:36
Speaker
But like I said, I only grew up speaking French, so I was never able to um basically have full conversations in English, let alone go to an English school. So in grade 10, I decided to make that final jump. My parents let me kind of leave the nest and go and dive right into an English program where I had to not only learn English, but also try to have good grades and everything for university because back then obviously it was an opportunity for me to learn English to then be able to go play NCAA.
00:03:06
Speaker
So I played prep school for my last three years of high school. throughout that played for the national team and then got recruited by a handful of universities.
Transition to Professional Hockey
00:03:15
Speaker
And luckily enough, I was able to pick um out of that to go to Cornell because to me, Cornell just was the, was there much of the cherry on top of everything and had everything I could ever dream of.
00:03:26
Speaker
And then from there, the year I graduated and actually the month I graduated from university, the CWHL folded, which was the only kind of standing professional Miss Hockey League.
00:03:37
Speaker
If you want to call it that, that was, um you know, ah happening back then. Once that folded, obviously at that point, you're kind of scrambling around to find a place to play. That's when the PWHPA got created the following year.
00:03:50
Speaker
And so I was able to join that since I was lined up to obviously play in the CWHL. And then I played on that team or on that in that program for three, maybe four years, and then eventually made it on to PWHL Montreal when the inaugural season finally launched.
00:04:05
Speaker
And then from there this year, I got picked up by Minnesota and it's been ah wild ride. Ever since. is Lot lots to unpack there. So I guess we'll start with this. So how did you so how did you get into playing goal? what like what like Obviously, like we hear like you know like the standards. Usually, you like for everybody, it's the pads.
00:04:26
Speaker
I don't know if you can tell right there, but that's my last ever set of pads that I had. The old the old Reebok P4s right there. um So just what what what got you into playing goal?
00:04:38
Speaker
To be honest, my story is a little bit not as exciting. It was more so kind of a jealousy game. I had one older brother. I come from ah a massive family. i We're a family of six kids. Six kids born six years, no twins, and I'm the fourth.
00:04:51
Speaker
And one of my older brother was a goalie, and my dad was a goalie. And to be honest with you, they just seemed to get this different treatment where goalies just... the When you were a kid, they almost got to run the show in a certain way because you're a kid and...
00:05:04
Speaker
It's sometimes easier for a goalie as a kid to play the game just because you're big, the kids can't really lift the puck. So you were really a game changer back then. And you can still be now, obviously. But back then it was very much so like, hey, you know what? I kind of want those perks. Like kind of want to have the the credit and the excitement that those goalies tend to get. So my dad figured, why not? Let's give you a try at net. And maybe you'll see that you don't like it and you'll be able to just, you know, keep quiet after that. But ultimately it just made me fall in love with it.
00:05:33
Speaker
Right from the get go. So I've been a goalie out of jealousy because I wanted to copy my brother and my dad. I like that. I that's that's all my yeah my dad was a goalie playing in Ontario for oh what was it it was St. Andrews.
00:05:52
Speaker
that school out there. And then I played because i played goal because I want I just I like i just like the pads to be honest with you. And then my brother, my young, my ah my younger brother played, i think just because I was playing and dad had played. So I think probably the same kind of idea. Just added jealousy on that point.
00:06:10
Speaker
I like that. OK, so then going from small town Dundee in New Brunswick to playing high school in How do you pronounce this? It's Rothesay?
00:06:24
Speaker
Rothesay, Nettowood School. Yeah. Okay. And then playing NCAA at Cornell. just Out of all this, i mean like you kind of touched on already. you know why Why Cornell?
00:06:37
Speaker
it's You know what? I was pretty fortunate where I had a lot of options um throughout the entire NCAA and throughout the conferences. And it was one of those things where it really came down to you want to go to a school where If you were to get hurt um first year out of the out of the gates or if you get hurt third year or whatever, you want to go somewhere where you can see yourself being at that school for all four years regardless. So you want a good program to be enrolled in. You want the school to be something that you see being a good fit. So for me, it just made a lot of sense. Cornell is a big cultural school. I come from a place where there's a lot of land and you're kind of used to that kind almost farming lifestyle.
00:07:15
Speaker
So that lined up a lot for me, but most importantly, I went for a pre-med degree. One day I want to go to med school. So to me, I really wanted something that um was going challenge me in all the best ways possible. So whenever I did hit the medical school stage, I was going to be prepared very well. And Cornell does challenge you with that.
00:07:32
Speaker
And I guess the other big part was the hockey part, which ultimately they were a massive school. They did really, really well. And Cornell is always in those top 10 rankings. So to me, to be able to go to school that you know, had a fair shot, but would have to be very competitive to get a national title. That's something that I really wanted.
00:07:52
Speaker
So all those factors kind of put it together, just made it for me to be the perfect school. And on top of it all, the coaching staff was amazing. They gave me, you know, no reasons not to choose them. So it was, to me, it was one of the easiest choices I ended up making. It took me a long time to make it just because it's, it's a tough decision.
00:08:09
Speaker
Right. But I definitely did the right decision. So then what do you attribute to your success playing at Cornell? i mean, you finished second in high school history with wins and then third in shutouts.
00:08:23
Speaker
So what just what does what do what do you think made you so successful in that regard? To be honest with you, it was one of those things where we had such a good team in the sense of we just had fun.
00:08:37
Speaker
And there's one of those things where kids always ask me all the time, hey, how do I get better? How how do I... You know, how do I become the best of my game? And I always really refer to have fun. And I don't just mean it in the cliche way, like, oh, make sure you have fun out there and whatnot.
00:08:52
Speaker
But truly, when you're having fun is when you can really be yourself. You're really loose and you're able to perform without having fun. You can't really. be at the best of your game. And it's really that simple. And for me at Cornell, luckily enough, we had such amazing teammates. And every time you were at the rink, you wanted to go to the rink. You wanted to be the last one to leave there.
00:09:10
Speaker
You wanted to go on the ice early and stay late just because ultimately it all made it so that you had so much fun. So, and through that, I was able to just perform at my best because I was the most comfortable and I was able to develop quickly and be able to kind of be ready for any challenge and know that I had that support with me.
Mental Coaching and Performance
00:09:27
Speaker
i think I think we lose that a little bit. you know i mean you know Like you said, you know you you you want to have fun, but you don't want to mean it in the cliche way right it's way. We had a guest on i've couple like last week as of recording this um where he had talked about wanting to find the best fit you know for for for you as an athlete and for for the family in general.
00:09:56
Speaker
we so you see and hear a lot of hockey horror stories nowadays especially at the minor league level of parents going out of kids going at it whatever and yeah i think we kind of lose that a little bit because everybody wants to be part of the part of the top program part of the best program excuse me in the world but you forget about sometimes as well it's like the grass isn't always greener on the other side, right? It's just, you want to make sure that you're, that that that that you're doing not only what's best for your development, but also in a way, what's, what's going to be best for your mental health. And but just making sure that you don't fall out of love for the game at any point.
00:10:34
Speaker
Absolutely. And you can't be you can't be chasing somebody else's dream because I feel like sometimes you hear from other people like, oh, Wisconsin or oh, like these schools. And you almost I find some athletes that I work with because I do a lot of mentorship with younger athletes that they almost fall in love with the idea of somebody else's dream.
00:10:51
Speaker
Right. Where they just hear that this top 10 school is phenomenal. Or that this prep school is phenomenal, but ultimately it's, hey, but is it the right fit for you? Is it somewhere where you're going to go and you're going able to have fun like that and that you're going to be able to perform?
00:11:07
Speaker
And ultimately, especially for female athletes, that you're going to be able to have good grades so that you can move on and work in the industry just because obviously we can't play pro with million dollar contracts yet. So ultimately you have to go somewhere that's going to set you up for success.
00:11:21
Speaker
And you can't just go somewhere because it looks good on paper or so and so is saying that it's the best school. Right. Exactly. Exactly. um Moving on from that.
00:11:32
Speaker
ah Cornell made it to the Frozen Four in the NCAA. yeah So, i mean, it's for for for those who maybe don't know, it I would say, is it is it fair to say that the Frozen Four is basically the the equivalent, in a sense, to March Madness?
00:11:51
Speaker
Yes, 100%. Okay, hundred fair enough. Yes. So then, okay, so then making it to the Frozen Four, what sort of tactics did you use to kind of deal with the pressure and stress of just kind of playing in that tournament?
00:12:06
Speaker
You know what? I remember almost not having stress and it's going to sound so silly because everybody does have stress, but I feel like I was put in a position where throughout the entire year, we had a really good team that year.
00:12:18
Speaker
And there were so many instances where we got to prove ourselves that no matter if we had our back to the corner, we were going to be able to come out of it strong. And we had a lot of girls on the team um where we had a lot of depth, a lot of talented girls. So we we knew that our first line or third line or fourth line were all going able to perform and put up numbers, or at least be able to have a really strong decor.
00:12:41
Speaker
And our penalty kill that year particularly was very strong. So I remember it was pretty funny because I remember there were some times where We were in the dying kind of five on five situation and we had ah penalty called on us.
00:12:53
Speaker
And to me, it was almost a sigh of relief that we had a PK just because our team had focused so heavily on the penalty kill. And I knew we had such a good penalty kill um percentage that year. And I knew, okay well, they're not going to score on the PK.
00:13:06
Speaker
So for two minutes, we get a little bit of rest, which is so counterintuitive to what a PK would be. But to me, it was like, hey, we get like two minutes to just, you know, breathe, catch ourselves. And then five on five, it's where it's at for us, just because that's where you want to be more offensive and there's more turnovers, opportunities and whatnot.
00:13:21
Speaker
But it was a terrific year. I'm telling you, like the team was just, quite special and those are the teams that get you to the ship if there is no other other ways about it we just ended up facing one of those big dogs in semifinals we faced minnesota and to us obviously coming from cornell a little ivy league school that doesn't get to play till late october you have one of those programs where you have a little bit less development or maybe a little little bit less of those scholarships too so you can't bring in those top athletes that could go somewhere else for a full ride So we faced a team that, you know, really gave us a run for our money. And it was, i remember it was one, nothing heading into the third.
00:13:59
Speaker
And then we had to pull, um, we had to pull me, pull the goalie at the ah very end of the third and we got scored on, on another one. So it's a two on one, but I'll always refer to that game as a one.
00:14:10
Speaker
a one nothing game. um But ultimately it's, yeah, it was a wild ride. It was one of those things, but just, it is just a testament to the team that we had back then that we were able to go a semi-final, like it's a team like that and get it to a one nothing game.
00:14:23
Speaker
Cause that's just one mistake one way or another. and Yeah, absolutely. All right. But being nervous and being able to calm those nerves wasn't really an issue because truly i find I'm someone someone who says when you have nerves, it's a good thing.
00:14:38
Speaker
And you have to realize that those nerves, if you've done the preparation, are those positive nerves of just your body kind of firing up and keeping you alert and ready to kind of pounce.
00:14:49
Speaker
And it's not nerves of... oh crap, I didn't do the work I had to do. And it's completely two separate nerves. And to be able to really kind of embrace that the nerves that you're feeling is just your body going into full preparation mode and not your body freaking out, then that's when I think you can really decipher that, okay, you're ready for this. So I think it's more so the nerves that I had were the ones that were like, you know, making you really alert where the blood is flowing through your body and you're just really ready to just explode up there.
00:15:16
Speaker
So then how how do you how do you, I guess, for lack of better term, kind of prepare or train for that? you know like like like Like you said, like your nerves are positive nerves, not not not negative nerves. So how do you and what kind of would be your advice to younger athletes um to kind of our train for that, I guess, or just kind of kind of manage that?
00:15:43
Speaker
Yeah, it's definitely interesting. And to be honest with you, I've been playing this game for over 20 years now. And every year there's different challenges and every year brings different kind of tools that you need.
00:15:54
Speaker
um And I'm the first one to say that mental performance coaches are something that every goaltender at an elite level should be seeking and having. To this day, I work with mental health performances or a mental performance coach or There's a million names for them or sports psychs.
00:16:11
Speaker
But to this day, I work with a sports psych and it's something that is invaluable because at the end of the day you don't go into those sessions necessarily learning something completely new out of the blue.
00:16:22
Speaker
Because like I said, i've been doing this for a long time, but sometimes just the perspective of being able to say, hey, how come I'm feeling this way when I have this situation on the ice and I don't know how to shake it off. Like I've tried this, this, this. And it's just like, oh, but have you tried that?
00:16:37
Speaker
It's like, oh crap, I forgot about this other tool. So it's one of those things where when you have ah mental performance coach, you're really able to find a deeper level to your mental strength.
00:16:49
Speaker
And it's again, another cliche saying, but The brain is a muscle, right? You go to the gym, you train your body and you train your muscles in that way, like the actual the muscles you can see. But nobody or yeah, I would say almost nobody focuses enough on the brain outside of those elite athletes.
00:17:07
Speaker
Right. And the brain is a ah vicious thing. and Oftentimes, to be honest with you, hockey can be compared to you're in the wild and there's a bear chasing you, right? Sometimes that's quite literally the feeling you can get on the ice and you have to have the mental strength to be able to dial it back and realize like,
00:17:26
Speaker
Hey, you know what? It's not a bear chasing me on the ice. It's just a black puck that I'm trying to stop. Right. And being able to understand how your body is going to respond and be able to kind of manage those feelings, whether they're physical feelings or mental feelings, then that's when you're really, really kind of looking for that top performance. And so with a mental coach, that's really how I'm able to find those tools and be able to kind of manage those stress at the biggest stages.
00:17:52
Speaker
i like the I like the bear chasing one. I like that a lot. um you were We're starting to see this more and more nowadays, particularly with cognitive training and on top of mental training as well. Because, again, like you said, like brain is a muscle. I mean, like and for the longest time, I think a lot of people have just kind of neglected it because we know so little ah about our brain already. So to be able to...
00:18:17
Speaker
get on top of those programs and to see them kind of in their infancy is watching and watching them grow at the same time is ah is a massive thing. So heard it here first here, goalies, PWHL goaltender Marlene Boissoneau says, get a mental coach.
00:18:31
Speaker
which Yes,
National and International Play
00:18:32
Speaker
100%. kind of recycl um Okay. So kind of running it back just a little bit, um you were talking about Hockey Canada and their program.
00:18:42
Speaker
um What was... what was Your experience like with Hockey Canada and just kind of talking about and just kind of talk a little about about winning silver at the U18 Women's World Championship.
00:18:55
Speaker
Yeah, it was playing with the national team doesn't get you know much better than that, because especially back then playing for the national team was like playing the NHL. Right, because I think right now the NHL is very comparable to worlds of the Olympics on the men's side.
00:19:10
Speaker
But to us back then, especially every four years was very much so kind of that living the NHL lifestyle at the Olympics. So to be able to be on those U22 and senior team programs was very much so an opportunity to kind of live that and not only that but you get to play with the best in in the in the country right at all those age groups so to me that was a very cool opportunity to get that a experience at a young age i was called up at a very young age and been able to kind of work alongside and become really really good friends and to this day some of my best friends or girls that i met across the national programs and most of them still play it to to this day and they play in the pwhl
00:19:53
Speaker
So just to be able to be a part of that recruitment class year after year and to be able to get the tools from the national team on how to, you know, be challenged, but also how to kind of find your way through some of the most difficult seasons to be able to still come up on top and put up a really good performance and be called up at the end of the seasons and be, you know, brought into the system to be able to obviously try to fight for a shot at making the team that year was, was pretty special.
00:20:21
Speaker
It definitely in itself was something that was, um, you know, very humbling in a lot of ways because they don't make it easy. They really put very high standards on you and you know, they, they make it so that you really are challenged every year.
00:20:34
Speaker
Regardless whether you're a vet or somebody new coming in, you're really challenged. And the national program just has a phenomenal way of just making sure that every athlete is taken care of um and, you know, put in a place where they can become the best that they can be.
00:20:48
Speaker
And luckily enough, I was able to be one of those. And to this day, I'm very, very thankful to say that I think every single year I keep getting better. And right now I'm by far the best I've ever been.
00:21:01
Speaker
i have to I do have to admit that watching women's hockey, particularly at the national level, is a lot more exciting some days than when you watch the NHL. So and I guess but yeah like especially especially during those Olympics, for sure, you know, when when NHL players were going to the Olympics at one point when we had the women's um Olympics happening or at the same time.
00:21:26
Speaker
Yeah, just a lot more exciting. I found some days. Absolutely. Yes. um Okay, so coming out of college, what was it? It's kind of a little, maybe a little bit of a complicated question. just Because at that point in time, there were leagues like the Canadian Women's Hockey League, the National Women's Hockey League. Those were kind of the two competing ones.
00:21:48
Speaker
yeahp Eventually, the CWHL folds, and then you bring in the PWHPA. which is a mouthful in itself. um So what what was that kind of like trying to get pro pro looks on the women's side before even the PWHL existed?
00:22:05
Speaker
Yeah, it was very challenging. And honestly, the question kind of comes at a good timing, because just like I had said how the national team kind of really takes care of their athletes. In a lot of ways, there were a lot of national team players still in the system, because at the end of the day you have 20 some girls that make the team.
00:22:23
Speaker
But initially you had over 40 that were quote unquote, trying out for the program, but with that were brought in and taken care of. So you have over 40 athletes right there that the national team is taking care of.
00:22:35
Speaker
And within that, it was a pretty complicated and heated place to be because you had the NWHL, which had, you know, invaluable athletes. amazing athletes and programs and abilities to play and play games for entire year.
00:22:50
Speaker
But then you also had the PWHPA, which was essentially an association, putting their foot down saying, hey, if we're going to play professionally like this and be expected to perform and be expected to train five days a week and et cetera, et cetera, we have to be able to do that as a full-time job or else we're not getting the best talent out there.
00:23:08
Speaker
So you were really kind of in a place where you were almost fighting, okay, well, what's the right thing, right? But the national team program very much so pushed towards the PWHPA to be the place to be.
00:23:20
Speaker
And they were very much so able to help um the national team athletes to still be able to get funded for training. and get ice coverage. So throughout the two, three years, we were able to get constant development on ice and off ice.
00:23:33
Speaker
There were less games, obviously, because we made it more so kind of a showcase space where we were able to go places and showcase our talent. um and that only happened about maybe six times a year so ultimately for a goalie it was a doozy because you had about 12 games a year that you were splitting amongst three goalies because you were all good so you were all getting your game so in it for about two three years um maybe even four you were getting a about four games a year right so it's very limited game time so mentally that was a challenge in itself um but yeah but between those two programs they both had pros and cons
00:24:09
Speaker
For me, I chose the PLOHPA because I knew that there was something greater at the end and I wanted to be a part of that process. um And just knowing that you know we were a part of the the top talent pool, meaning all the national team players, because all the national team players, American and Canadian as well as European, were a part of the PLOHPA.
00:24:29
Speaker
And that was kind of why I think it really started really well and where it was able to be launched so well. At least you knew you were training and being with some of the best. So that is another part that kind of obviously hooked me in but yeah there were those two programs that year and or those couple years it made it really difficult to go back and forth because not gonna lie sometimes i would just scratch my head and be like man is this really worth just getting four games a year because as a goalie you gotta play right yeah and for me it kind of bit me in the butt a little bit like said in montreal last year i was a third there the reason i was a third was because i didn't have as much game experience as my other two coolie partners right because you're seeing in ah in a
00:25:05
Speaker
League, we only have six teams and there are only 12 goalies that really see the light of day. And even less because some ah some of the teams only played third starter and maybe the second once or twice.
00:25:17
Speaker
So being three top goalies on one team was not a good place to be. And for me, I just had the short end of the stick because I was coming from a league where only played four games.
00:25:28
Speaker
Right. And one of my goalie partners played in that NWHL and the other one was the Olympic starter. So ultimately, I'm kind of fighting a rough battle. And that kind of transpired into, okay, this year. Now, I had that discussion with Montreal at the start of the year. They said, you know what? Try to go find a place in Europe to get games because you're too good to be sitting on the bench and you're too good to not be playing.
00:25:51
Speaker
So try to fight the European... rosters is a whole story itself but ultimately it's very very difficult for american goaltenders goaltenders actually to get into european leagues on the female side because there's important rules yeah there's important rules you can only have so many important goalies or import players let alone goalies um and there's yeah there's so many so many rules And you have veterans out there that sell send multi-year
PWHL's Future and Impact
00:26:15
Speaker
contracts. So ultimately it kind of put me in a tough spot this year where I was really lucky that Minnesota came and knocked on the door and they said, you know what, we really want you boss. And ultimately we want you to come in and kind of shake things up and be ready, um you know,
00:26:29
Speaker
if we need you and hopefully sign you for a contract for next year. So right now it's all about, you know, a living day to day. And luckily there's two more expansion teams next year. So we're going to see far more depth into our goalies because I'd be the first one to say that we have a lot of goalies in this league.
00:26:45
Speaker
that don't get to see the light of day that are outstanding goalie. If you look at Boston, their third just started playing about a month ago, maybe when their starter um was in an absolute wild collision in world championships.
00:27:00
Speaker
And so their third actually had to step up. And she played games and absolutely stole the show. I think she had two or three shutouts in a row, like absolutely insane. Right. So you have those talent of goalies that are just sitting on the sidelines just because there's just not enough teams.
00:27:17
Speaker
So for there to be two additional teams next year added to the PWHL is going to be wild. It's going be really, really cool because you're gonna get to see so much more talent from the goaltenders, but also the players. Right. Because you add, call it probably 60 players right to the pool. So it'll be pretty awesome.
00:27:32
Speaker
Yeah. PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle are two expansion teams for next year. um Okay, so...
00:27:45
Speaker
I guess then kind of my follow up question to all this is just like when it came to training and just kind of staying sharp, like, obviously, you know, you're not getting as much playing time maybe as your other two counterparts. So trying to stay on top of that to the best of your ability is obviously a must.
00:28:05
Speaker
Oh, yeah, you have to, because at the end of the day, if ever you get the nod of, hey, boss, you got to strap up, then you have to be able to perform and be at that very, you know, top part of your game. And it's kind of unfair to say, but you almost have to be in a place where you got to play as if you've been playing, right?
00:28:20
Speaker
Because if it comes down to it, you have to be able to perform and kind of carry, you know, carry your team forward or at least, you know, hold the fort down. um So ultimately, it's one of those things that is probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to do because as a goalie, you kind of get your best development in games in a lot of ways.
00:28:38
Speaker
So ultimately, being in a practice where there's drills and then there's whistles and then um there's multiple pucks within a drill, it's sometimes difficult to very much so practice that game aspect because in a game the whistles are very far in between and there's not multiple pucks if you make a save the puck is still live right and it continues being live until it exits your zone and even there there's a turnover and you might get it right back so there's a continuity in real games that you don't necessarily get in practices but that's really where that mental performance I think comes in of how can you make your practices be as game-like as possible with what you have and in Montreal we had phenomenal staff our goalie coaching was top-notch and
00:29:19
Speaker
um you know, all of our staff really was top notch. So i was able to get a lot of training um and be able to get very long practices too. Because sometimes in game, it could be a two hour long game. And if you go in double OT, whatever you have that game fitness that you need to be able to tap in and practice as well. So I was able to do that through a lot of practices and the staff was phenomenal. So I was lucky in a place where I was very confident that had I gotten that nod, I would have absolutely killed it.
00:29:43
Speaker
But ultimately just came down to it wasn't really a need and there was just not enough games to to really kind of wear out two goalies like that. um And it just kind of put me in a spot where just had to kind of keep my eyes in the, yeah you know, onto the next prize.
00:30:00
Speaker
And whenever that would come, I don't know, but it definitely ah puts me in a place where I need to stay fit for it and ready for it. Yeah. So then moving from PWHPA to the PWHL, what yeah were kind of the main differences that the PWHL had to offer and how do you think it has changed the approach approach for women to play pro?
00:30:28
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's definitely one of those things where the PWHL finally had a full season, right? The PWHP obviously, like said, had showcases. So it's almost like little tournaments we had throughout the year with practices in between.
00:30:39
Speaker
But the PWHL finally had that professional treatment, right? It's little things as simple as we had a dressing room where we could keep our gear overnight or throughout the year, right? Unless we're on the road.
00:30:50
Speaker
In the PWHPA, it was you're logging, like you're bringing your bag from your house, basement, or your living room, if you have a little shoebox of an apartment, to the rake back and forth nonstop, right?
00:31:01
Speaker
And ultimately, that was kind of the lifestyle for a couple of years. And the PWHL definitely didn't start little. It definitely started with very much so that, you know, similar NHL treatment where you get there, you're treated like a pro, you're expected to perform like a pro, but you're given all the tools that to be a pro, right? There's no more issues about, hey, my blocker, I'm starting to feel pucks through my blocker, but I just got suck it up or I just got to add a couple of baseball, those those little baseball gloves or little baseball mittens under. Now it's OK, your blocker is an issue. Here's another one.
00:31:35
Speaker
Right. So you have that gear. You have no more excuses as to Any reasons not to perform now you finally have a stage where you're able to be the best that you can be and you have all the tools for that It's incredible. We get incredible sponsorships. Obviously we get a incredible Viewings through we're able to touch finally every age group and you know, when we're able to bring dreams like no other that's ever been had before right now you have girls that are know what the PWHL is versus in the past, even though we had the CWHL, the NWHL, there were so many and it was so confusing for the young girls to know who to cheer for that it was just a default, okay, we're cheering for Team Canada, right, every four years because the rest was so confusing and to be honest with you, very watered down just because we didn't have one concrete league. So if you have multiple, you kind of water it down the product a little bit. So finally, the PWHL, in my opinion, is just they've done it right. We're finally where we need to be and we're able to finally
00:32:34
Speaker
approach the game for what it is and that is a very professional competitive sport and we're able to kind of put up the numbers to show that i think the way that they market it too is a lot better than what we've seen because i personally was following the nwhl for the longest time um and ah you didn't really hear or know much about it with the pwhl it's been a lot better for sure the way that they marketed the broadcast and then even just kind of the athletes such as yourself and that's kind of how you and I connected over social media and all that and just just kind of the the the athlete um interaction there um definitely great hockey there to watch as well so now with the PWHL now in existence how does that change the approach for prospects wanting to play pro
00:33:27
Speaker
It's definitely challenging because like I said, there's not many teams, so there's not many wiggle room or there's not much wiggle room. So ultimately you're sitting in a place where you're wanting to wait and kind of maybe time your exit from university pretty well.
00:33:43
Speaker
I know there's a couple of athletes right now that are actually considering kind of taking that extra fifth COVID year in university or taking an extra post-grad year in university just because next year is the Olympic year.
00:33:54
Speaker
And the following year, there's going to be a lot of retirements. Right. So even though next year there's two new teams and so 60 new players, a lot of those will be pulled from Europe or will be pulled from university, but only the top ones. So if ever you're kind of a bubble pro athlete waiting out another year might be a good idea because you're waiting for you know those doors to open.
00:34:14
Speaker
So ultimately, as you know somebody who wants to play pro, it is very difficult, but in the best way possible, because ultimately it forces you to be at the very top of your game. And I think that's why from the grassroots level all the way to the very top of the XAAs and European pro, you're going be in a place where you're finally going to see that level completely elevate.
00:34:34
Speaker
Right. And the way I compare it is think about the NHL 30 years ago versus now. If a team from 30 years ago was to play a team now, they'd get absolutely destroyed. right just because the game just continues to evolve non-stop and right now we're sitting in that place where we're the very first year of this happening right or the second year now but we're in a place where 10 years from now it's going to be unrecognizable right and so it's a very cool place to be and the girls kind of growing up and getting to see this happening now is it's a pretty nice place to be because they get to develop
00:35:06
Speaker
immensely throughout throughout their you know childhood to high school to university years and hit the pro stage with you know immense skills so there's room for them it's just the door is very very very narrow but it's just like the nhl you're in a place where you got to be the best of the best to play right yeah i like It definitely makes it more competitive for sure. And I wonder if at some point then we start to see um similar to out here in the Western side of things where we have the Western Hockey League and you know the Ontario Hockey League and the and the Quebec Major Juniors.
00:35:45
Speaker
So I wonder, i mean, like obviously college right now is kind of serving in that kind of role, if you will. But I wonder if... and let's say five years later down the line, we maybe start to see that.
00:35:59
Speaker
Just kind of those women's junior leagues happening. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, ultimately, I do think we're going to need those farm teams just because that's where you're really going to be able to develop those athletes to mature a little bit. Because wonder if not, you have some athletes graduating our university and they're, you know, 20, 21, right? So you're sitting in a place where now you hit a league where there's 34-year-olds, right, or 30-year-olds.
00:36:23
Speaker
And you're not only obviously skilled, but you're young. So ultimately getting a little bit more of that maturity you Okay, now it's not, you know, partying every Friday night, Saturday night. Now it's very much so like we're playing every Friday night, Saturday night, and you got to be able to show up and do it the same thing on a Tuesday and then do it on Friday and then do it on a Monday. And you got to be able to kind of keep that schedule going. So I think having a farm lead to very much so, you know, funnel a certain kind of,
00:36:50
Speaker
you know, understanding of how the professional world works is going to be non-negotiable. I think it's going to happen one day, but it's just a question of having the proper structure, having the proper funding and having the proper investors too,
Women's Hockey Growth and Challenges
00:37:02
Speaker
right? Because those leagues, they can't be a repeat of the NWHL, CWHL or PWHPA. They have to be very much so just like the PWHL, right?
00:37:11
Speaker
Right. So I guess going, not talking so much about the league anymore, moving back over to you personally, just where do you see the future of the women's game going?
00:37:26
Speaker
Cause like, obviously, right like right now we have PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle next year. I'm hoping here in Edmonton that we get a team together. yeah rather in the near future rather than later down the road um where just i guess where would you or what is kind of the chatter that you hear where would you like to see the game go in the next five ten years Yeah, I mean, I think we're sitting in a place where we're going to see more expansions continue to grow.
00:37:55
Speaker
Do I think they're going to expand right away next year? no I think they're going to keep the two probably and and keep it to the eight for a little bit. Do I think Edmonton is probably in the next running? I would think so.
00:38:06
Speaker
Honestly, if I were to i to guess, I think Edmonton would be the next kind of expansion just because there's an incredible fan base there. And I think it was proven just with the neutral site game that we had there.
00:38:17
Speaker
um And I'm from Calgary myself, so also very biased, so I'd love an Alberta team to be in the runnings and ideally, obviously, see Alberta and Calgary kind of mix there. I think that'd make an incredible Alberta battle in itself. But I do think that ultimately they're to have to keep expanding out west or at least Midwest because obviously right now the initial six or five of the six were very, very east outside of Minnesota. And so Minnesota had obviously the very unfortunate kind of travel situation where they had to fly everywhere versus every other team were able to drive everywhere except Minnesota essentially. um So I think right now having Seattle and Vancouver the mix is very interesting because I wonder, you know, is it going to be very much so charter flights now to get places because for a quick turnaround, you know, situation of games.
00:39:05
Speaker
you're going to have to obviously not take commercial flights because you can't really gamble on the delays or whatnot. So it'll be all interesting how to do that. But I do think in terms of the future of the PWHL, we're going to be seeing something absolutely incredible in terms of expansions still happening. And who knows how many teams that should kind of max out to, because ultimately you don't want to water down the product either.
00:39:26
Speaker
um But do I see there being 10 teams within five years? Yeah. I think five years from now we'll be sitting with 10 teams and, Hopefully they're Midwest for sure. Yeah, definitely. um Yeah, i think I think a women's battle of Alberta would be very exciting. I actually, I had the chance to go to the showcase game with Ottawa and Toronto.
00:39:49
Speaker
at Rogers place back in February. I was there with my brother-in-law and that was, that was, it that was, it was a lot of fun, really exciting. um And just this, the, the, the vibe and just kind of the atmosphere in that, in Rogers arena, typically where the Edmonton owners play was effectively the same.
00:40:08
Speaker
yeah Right. And so that was, that was, that was really cool to, to, to, to watch it. Yeah, it's definitely interesting because a lot of people that haven't watched women's hockey at the PBLVHL level always will go to the games and say, holy crap, this was actually nuts. Like, I'm going to be watching from now on because unless you've really seen professional women's hockey, I don't think you realize how competitive and how fun it is because you look at the NHL and obviously...
00:40:35
Speaker
Like I'm one stuck to my TV every night looking at the playoff series, right? Like it's very exciting and you're very much so into it. But, and obviously I'm very biased because I'm a part of the PWHL, but it's very much of the same thing on the women's side. And I hear that mostly from fans, right? Where they sit there and it's like their team's neck is on the line. And to them, it's very exciting. And the atmosphere that they have within the rinks is absolutely incredible. They're able to give the fans an experience like no other. And they have the funds. They have the money to really make sure that they have,
00:41:04
Speaker
you know Whether it's that, I don't know how you refer to that person, but that one person that does the entertainment between whistles and between ah periods um that has the mic in the ranks, whoever that person's title, whatever that person's title is, they have those, right? So they have high entertainment. They have DJs at games. They're able to make it just so fun.
00:41:27
Speaker
The in-game host is the word that you're looking for. There you go. there you go is Okay, so...
00:41:38
Speaker
I have other questions here, but I do have some more just kind of my own here. I'm just kind getting backtracking again here because we've, we've, we've talked a lot about the league. We've talked a lot about your playing career, but I want to talk a little bit just about your development for a second here.
00:41:52
Speaker
Yeah. So I guess for you, um, just have like, like obviously you're working with a goalie coach now in PWHL Frost, um,
00:42:05
Speaker
yeah um just How much coaching did you have playing? Growing up versus university versus pro, all very, very different.
00:42:17
Speaker
So growing up, never had a goalie coach. My dad was my goalie coach. My dad played and my dad is a very smart man. He's an engineer. So he he's he was all over books and reading all about the techniques that were out back then because obviously the internet wasn't what it is now where you can go on YouTube and see all the techniques. So he was very good and he was coaching me throughout my childhood. But until I hit,
00:42:41
Speaker
um university there wasn't much i remember at prep school there was one goalie coach that would come out maybe once a week once every other week something like that that was very helpful because to be that was new but until university there wasn't really that consistent coaching and I remember hitting Hockey Canada one of the first years and finally getting goalie coaching and to me was almost kind of you know foreign where finally I was getting kind of you know keys to the castle on how to do things and getting kind of actual feedback that was, you know, able to get me to the next level. My dad did a phenomenal job in teaching me the fundamentals, obviously to bring me to the provincial and um national stage.
00:43:17
Speaker
um And then once I hit Cornell, there was a goalie coach there who was phenomenal, who was also our assistant coach. So she was able able to obviously really, really elevate my game and being able to kind of show me video analysis and all this stuff so that I was able to kind of find a new level to my game.
00:43:32
Speaker
And obviously the PWHPA was very much so a set of years where ah had to find kind of my own goalie coaching on the side. And I was very fortunate where there's a local goalie coach in Calgary who happens to be the national team goalie coach. And he actually goalie coaches the Scepters for Toronto. So I was very much so with a really good goalie coach and able to kind of elevate my game that way too within those years. so And obviously the PWHL did you.
00:43:56
Speaker
an incredible job in but in montreal we had two goalie coaches actually alternating so that every practice we had a goalie coach right so should not one not be able to make it the other one was able to and if both were able to make it they were both there and then here in minnesota we have another phenomenal goal coach who's able to be at our practices and travel on the road with us so it definitely keeps elevating over the years um and so the development has been non-stop elevating right when you're a kid i find that You don't necessarily need that goal of coaching as frequent because you also got to be able to figure it on your own, right? You got to be able to fly on your own and figure out how to do a butterfly slider, figure out how to do C cuts and things like that. Because you can be told so many times, but until you really figure out until you really develop that strength,
00:44:39
Speaker
a goalie coach can only do so much right so it's definitely in those higher level higher elite levels um whether it's triple a's whether it's you know higher prep schools or universities or pro levels that you obviously need to fine-tune your game and find ways to obviously keep developing but yeah that's pretty much my path with development over the years
00:45:01
Speaker
So I have a follow-up question to that, but I can ask that a little bit later here.
Training with NHL Players
00:45:04
Speaker
There's a photo, I think i think it's with you, Marc-Andre Fleury, and a couple of other guys out there.
00:45:14
Speaker
um yeah Obviously, being in Minnesota, you're very much next to the a Minnesota Wild and in in an extent here. So what was it like to be on the ice with...
00:45:27
Speaker
possibly one of the greatest goaltenders in modern history to be out there with him, to train with him, I guess, to an extent, just kind of what was, what what was, what was that like?
00:45:40
Speaker
It was very cool. I mean, to be honest with you, ah he obviously his season just finished a week ago and this is very recent. So that photo is actually pretty recent from last week. We were on the ice training. So obviously we're here trading full time um and then out of nowhere for one of the practice him and Spurgeon stepped onto the ice and just kind of came on and We were just doing kind of little goalie session or skill sessions out of one end. So the other end was open. So probably our staff kind of offer them obviously the other half because he has to prep and Spurgeon as well has to prep um for Worlds.
00:46:14
Speaker
So they flew out a couple nights ago, but ultimately they had to train for that and we have to cheat keep training for playoffs. So it was very much one of those things of, hey, we both have the ice, so I as well share it.
00:46:24
Speaker
um And then it was pretty funny because ultimately we have the same. So we have a practice rink and we have our game rink and it's the same for the wild. So the same practice rink is ours and the same game rink as ours. So we share the same facilities.
00:46:38
Speaker
But ultimately. Very, very neat. And he came onto the ice. And obviously that first kind of like the guy's been playing in the NHL for what, 20 years? And I'm 27. So I've been seeing him.
00:46:49
Speaker
Yeah, I've been watching him since I literally strapped on the pads, right? So it's, he's been an idol of mine forever. So when he stepped on the ice, it's very much still one of those things where, I've never been one to really kind of be be starstruck.
00:47:02
Speaker
But for some reason, when I was seeing him, it's very much so like all you keep playing in your mind is like all the videos you've seen online and all of the times you've seen him play. And it's like him being right there and asking these questions and chit-chatting like you're both pros. It's very much so like a a whirlwind of a feeling, but super awesome guy. I mean, the guy's awesome. He's nonstop laughing on the ice. He's having a blast. He's not your typical, you know, cookie cutter goalie. He makes saves.
00:47:29
Speaker
in ways that you wouldn't believe. And he's phenomenal at all of it. I definitely think he's one of the of the very best goalies that we've seen to this day. And no, it's incredible. Him and Spurgeon, they're both very, very talented, obviously, players, but I think very, very amazing people as well.
00:47:47
Speaker
And got on the ice a couple of times with them. and no they were awesome and at the end of uh at the end of our training together when they left to go to worlds we gave them a couple shirts and hoodies and toques and things like that for their girls because them and the staff members that came on they all have young girls right that all are very big fans of the frost so we kind of exchanged a couple merch here and there and ah couple autographs here and there to kind of distribute around and have and it's it's very cool it's very a lot of respect a lot of mutual respect obviously we both are at the very top of our games
00:48:19
Speaker
Um, and it's, it's one of those things where it's very cool. Definitely a unique experience. If you had told, you know, 10 year old me that one day I'd be practicing with flurry, probably would have laughed in your face.
00:48:33
Speaker
You were living out a lot of young kids dreams that day. Um, again, another followup here and I'm sorry that I'm going off topic. Um, what's the, so how often I guess,
00:48:49
Speaker
And I don't know if you can speak for any of the other teams, but when you're in ah market like Minnesota, Toronto, Montreal, just to name the top three here that I can think of.
00:49:01
Speaker
How often, i guess, or do you ever really get a chance to communicate with kind of your counterparts on the men's side? You know what I mean? Like, obviously, yeah there's there's a photo there with Marc-Andre Fleury.
00:49:14
Speaker
But with Montreal, did you get a chance to talk to guys like Sam Montembeau? Or I don't know. Obviously, Carey Price would have been gone and around that point. Or even Toronto, you got guys like Stollars and Wolves. So is there any kind of inter inter-athlete, inter-market communication there?
00:49:33
Speaker
And just kind of what it what it what what it is do you guys talk about? Yeah, I mean, there definitely is But the thing is that once this season starts, especially ours, ours didn didn't start till December this year and the year before was January. So their season is already full on, right?
00:49:50
Speaker
And their schedule is much crazier than ours. They have almost triple the games we have, if not quadruple the games we have. So they're constantly on the road. And when they're home, they're with their family. So there's not much cross paths that way. um Because even here with our practices,
00:50:06
Speaker
throughout the year that we've had, um they're on the ice a couple hours before us or an hour before us or an hour after. So there's cross paths that way, but we all have a very strict schedule where we have our training, we have our media, we have our whatever, right? So then the schedules are designed where we're not really in each other's ways, if that makes sense, or that things can flow really well. but Ultimately, there's a lot of media opportunities and a lot of days where you can promote the game. Like I know in Montreal, we there are some days where they have almost like a skill session or like a skills showcase where some of the Montreal girls were able to go with some of the Canadian guys and be able to kind of go showcase the game. And you have a little bit of kind of media and promotion opportunities that way.
00:50:51
Speaker
in minnesota is the same thing right they have some of our girls taylor heisey for example going to the minnesota wild games and you know doing that let's go wild chant at the beginning of the game and there's a lot of crossovers that way um and outside of that in terms of just personally between the players i think there's a lot of mutual respect um there's a lot of age differences between a lot of the athletes as well like i said flurry is 40 and we have some girls that are coming out and they're 21.
00:51:19
Speaker
right so there's a there's a huge gap that way so you don't have as many connections but no there's a massive mutual respect when you cross one another in the hallways very much so like hey how's it going things like that and that kind of common chit chat small talk but ultimately i think the most invaluable thing is the major respect right we respect their game for what it is which is a very high-end top pro program and they very much so you know do that with us too.
00:51:47
Speaker
And they respect that it's very much so a top program and it's very
Advice for Young Athletes
00:51:51
Speaker
much so professional. So they leave us in our lane. We leave them and in their lane just so that we can both perform at, you know, the very best and hopefully bring a cup to Minnesota.
00:52:02
Speaker
We talked a lot already throughout this episode and just kind of talking about the struggles that you faced as a female playing hockey. yeah What would be your advice for younger female athletes kind of dealing with similar situations?
00:52:20
Speaker
Yeah, it's a tough one because at the end of the day, um there's a couple of things that you can't teach someone. um So I try to be very careful whenever I say this, but ultimately you have to be someone that has incredible resiliency and you have to be your own biggest fan no matter what.
00:52:39
Speaker
So whether you're the worst kid on the ice, because I've been there, I've been the goalie who got lit up, ate nothing and my goalie partner would go in and we'd win eight nothing. um You still have to be your biggest fan.
00:52:50
Speaker
Right. And you have to be that one person that shows up for yourself day in, day out, whether someone's looking or not. um And you're not going to get the credit and you're not going to get the, you know, the fame, if you will, until very much so the very end of that hard work.
00:53:08
Speaker
And maybe even so. Maybe even saying the N is not the right word because I do think once you hit the professional stage, the work almost just starts. um But ultimately, you really have to be your biggest fan. You have to be the one who believes in you more than anybody else because your parents won't believe in you as much as you do Your friends won't. Your goalie coaches won't. Your team coaches won't. As much as you'd want to believe so, they don't because at the end of the date you're the person looking out for yourself more than anybody else, right? Because you're the person that knows yourself the better.
00:53:39
Speaker
And you want to be able to want to be the one that achieves your dreams because to your dreams are only yours.
Post-Hockey Plans and Coaching
00:53:44
Speaker
So it's one of those things where my biggest advice is have fun for lack of better terms, so but also be your biggest fan.
00:53:50
Speaker
Right. And have self-belief like you wouldn't you wouldn't imagine. I like the be your own be your biggest fan one. i think just I really like that one a lot.
00:54:02
Speaker
um Marlon, what are your plans for life after hockey? mean You went to Cornell. You have a you you have a you have a med degree. um Anything planned with that? Any plans with that? um Goalie coaching? Is that a thing and you're in in in your in your patch? is kind of What's what's the plan for you So I actually do a lot of goalie coaching already during the PWHPA. We weren't getting crazy salaries and we never did with professional leagues until the PWHL, but I was doing a lot of goalie coaching. So I actually do a lot of goalie coaching in Calgary and i actually got asked to do a lot of goalie coaching internationally as well. So I get flown out to took a couple of places to do goalie coaching already. So that's definitely going to be something I keep doing because honestly, I love it.
00:54:48
Speaker
Goalie coaching is something absolutely incredible to me because you get to give back, but you get to be a, you know, a little tiny, small part in somebody's journey. And that to me is absolutely exhilarating. So definitely goalie coaching.
00:54:59
Speaker
um After that, it's tough to say, I'd love to go to med school. I think med school would be one of those things or it's a non-negotiable for me. um When is that going to happen? I don't know. Because it's one of those things where you can always go back to school, but you can never go back to playing pro hockey.
00:55:14
Speaker
Right. So to me, I'm just going to stick it out for as long as I can to play pro hockey, see how far the body really kind of takes me, um hopefully dodging every injury that comes my way. And then once I really kind of choose to hang up the skates, then at that point, we'll see.
00:55:29
Speaker
It's definitely going to be a tough transition because obviously hockey is your identity. But I very much so have put myself in a place where I've never left anything in the tank. So I'm in a place where, you know, wherever hockey takes me, that i'm I'm very happy with the career I've had.
00:55:44
Speaker
um But that being said, I better have another five years in me.
00:55:50
Speaker
we have We're going to have to get you up in Edmonton. yeah if you're go if you're If you're doing goalie coaching in Calgary, we have, True North Goaltending, for shameless plug, we have two camps coming up.
00:56:01
Speaker
One in late July, which I won't be able to attend because I'll be expecting the birth of my first child. Nice. And then another one in about mid-August, I think August, like the week of August 11th.
00:56:19
Speaker
So we're going to have to stay in touch here. We're going to we're we're go we're go have to find a way to bring you up for a true North goaltending thing. So Nathan, I know you're watching this on playback because Nathan does all the editing and stuff before this goes out.
00:56:36
Speaker
um we We're going to have to make it happen. So yeah well ah we'll definitely we'll definitely we'll definitely stay in touch there for sure. Yeah, I'm down. So down. It's super close. And like I said, I do endless goalie camp. So no, I'm i'm in.
00:56:49
Speaker
Excellent. Um, Marlene, just, we kind of already touched on this already, but just kind of as, one generalization, what's one piece of advice that you would have for goalies?
00:57:01
Speaker
One piece of advice I would have for goalies. Um,
00:57:07
Speaker
To be honest, don't my biggest advice would be don't be that cookie cutter goalie. Be yourself because if anything, if I take my own experience, if I take, you know, Makalei Fleury, who I was on the ice with recently, if I take a lot of goalies in the pro level, you're not meant to be a cookie cutter. I know that there's a lot of things out there that say your glove is supposed to be held this way, your blocker is supposed to be held this way, but at the end of the day, if you stop the puck, nobody cares how you stop it.
00:57:37
Speaker
right? They don't ask how they ask how many, right? That's a classic kind of saying for players, but for goalies as well. If you make the save, who cares how you stop it? Do it in a way that's efficient. Obviously do it in a way where you can get rebounds, but don't worry so much about being a perfect goalie because being a perfect goalie does not exist.
00:57:57
Speaker
It's something that every goalie coaches seem to strive for, but it's not really the purpose. And a lot of goalie coaches just try to give you that kind of you know, guidebook, but they don't very much so mean for you to be exactly perfect in everything you do.
00:58:11
Speaker
It's just more so tools in a toolbox and for you to use them appropriately when they they need to be used. But ultimately, be yourself. Just be be athletic, be crazy, and have fun.
Podcast Conclusion
00:58:23
Speaker
we're yeah Where can people find you here just to wrap things up?
00:58:27
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i'm I'm all over social media. i like Instagram. um I haven't posted much this year as as much as I used to, but um I go on Instagram as Malin Boss. Boss is my nickname in the hockey world. so It's very much so my first name and then boss that is on there. And then most, I think I have that on handle on most social media. So that's definitely where you can find me. I love to put out some goalie content, some female athlete content and just all sorts of crazy content. If you go on there, I'm, I very much will take it easy and I post anything and everything on there. So I have fun with it.
00:59:04
Speaker
We'll link up your social media down in the show notes as well as the website to PDA Minnesota Frost um there. Marlene, I have been excited for this interview for a long time, especially when you and I connected back in March.
00:59:20
Speaker
um Thank you very much for coming on today, for taking the time out of your day for us. We really appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Well, goalies, that'll do it for another episode of the DIY Goalie Podcast presented by True North Goaltending. You can follow us on your favorite social media platforms at True North Goaltending, except on Instagram because we like to be different. You can follow us there at Y-E-G Goalie Coach. You can follow myself over on Instagram.
00:59:45
Speaker
Excuse me, on Monday GC. You can also head over to our website, which is www.truenorthgoaltending.com. ah We are still in the middle of process of transferring everything over from the DIY goalie website over to True North Goaltending's website. All our drills, our blogs are...
01:00:03
Speaker
whatever else that we have on there. um So we are still in the process of that. So make sure you guys keep checking back to true north goaltending.com for all of that fun stuff. If you are watching over on the YouTube side of things, make sure you hit that like and subscribe button.
01:00:17
Speaker
If you are listening on your favorite social media or not social media, your favorite podcast path platforms, Apple, I heart Spotify, et cetera, make sure you guys hit that follow button. And you share the platform, the more goalies that we can bring together, the better. On behalf of Nathan and myself and Marlene, thank you very much for listening. Make some saves. Take care.