In this episode, the host sits down with Jack Ramsey, a former pro hockey player who grew up in the hockey-rich state of Minnesota. Jack talks about his journey through high school hockey, junior leagues, and college, as well as his transition to a tech job and roles as a hockey color commentator and high school assistant coach. The discussion covers the evolution of Minnesota's hockey landscape, the increasing specialization and commercialization of youth sports, and the challenges of burnout. Jack shares insights on the importance of balanced development, both on and off the ice, and reflects on how his father's legendary hockey career influenced his own path. The episode also touches on potential digital solutions to make high-level hockey knowledge more accessible to young players and their families.
In this episode, the host sits down with Jack Ramsey, a former pro hockey player who grew up in the hockey-rich state of Minnesota. Jack talks about his journey through high school hockey, junior leagues, and college, as well as his transition to a tech job and roles as a hockey color commentator and high school assistant coach. The discussion covers the evolution of Minnesota's hockey landscape, the increasing specialization and commercialization of youth sports, and the challenges of burnout. Jack shares insights on the importance of balanced development, both on and off the ice, and reflects on how his father's legendary hockey career influenced his own path. The episode also touches on potential digital solutions to make high-level hockey knowledge more accessible to young players and their families.
00:00 Introduction to Jack Ramsey
00:04 Jack's Hockey Journey
00:55 Minnesota Hockey Landscape
02:56 Jack's Early Life and Family Influence
06:33 High School and College Hockey
11:55 Youth Sports Specialization
15:18 Balancing Passion and Development
24:03 Minnesota vs. New England Hockey Models
32:41 Nature vs. Nurture in Hockey Development
40:27 Digital Platforms for Hockey Development
44:54 The Role of Assessment in Player Development
46:14 The Business of Youth Hockey Coaching
48:46 Challenges of the Hockey Path
49:36 The Importance of Relationship Skills
52:26 The Junior Hockey Landscape
55:54 Balancing Hockey and Life
57:56 Teaching Hockey IQ
01:00:31 The Value of Shift Reviews
01:02:05 Innovative Ideas for Player Development
01:04:15 The Role of Advisors in Player Development
01:09:35 The Importance of Skating
01:12:29 Making Development Resources Accessible
01:21:26 Jack's Current Endeavors and Future Plans
Jason Jacobs: today. On the next, next, our guest is Jack Ramsey. Now Jack is an interesting one. He grew up in Minnesota, played his high school hockey at Minnetonka. He then played in the juniors, went to University of Minnesota where he was assistant captain his senior year. Played a few years of pro hockey and now he's got a day job working in tech.
He color commentates for University of Minnesota Hockey. He assistant coaches for Minnetonka, where he played his. High school hockey. Um, and by the way, uh, Jack's dad is Mike Ramsey, and Mike, of course, had a long career in the NHL, played over a thousand regular season games. He did some coaching in the NHL.
He also was the youngest member of the 1980 US Gold Medal Hockey team that upset the Soviet Union. Now. I was really excited for this one because Jack's got such an interesting perspective. We talk about the Minnesota hockey landscape, what it was like growing [00:01:00] up, playing hockey in Minnesota and how that's been evolving.
We talk about how that compares to other parts of the world, like New England where I am. We talk about some of the changes in the sport, uh, the increase in skill level. Uh, the increased specialization, the privatization of the sport, getting more expensive. We talk about burnout. Uh, we also just talk about some of the lessons learned that Jack's had looking backwards on his hockey career and how he thinks about the state of the sport.
What's going well, some areas for improvement and where some opportunities might be. And of course, we spend a bunch of time digging in on some of the ideas I'm thinking about, and Jack has some really excellent feedback as well, and ideas for how a digital platform like the one I'm cooking up, might be able to help kids and families and help grow the sport.
At any rate, Jack Ramsey, welcome to the show.
Okay, Jack Ramsey, welcome to the show.
Jack Ramsey: I'm excited to, uh, to be here.
Jason Jacobs: I'm excited to have you, and we didn't do a prep call or anything. We got introduced [00:02:00] through, uh, our mutual friend Steven Goldberg. And, um, I understand you guys used to work together and man, you have such an interesting background for the stuff I'm trying to learn about and what I'm thinking of doing. I mean, you, uh, you know, your dad was a legend in the game.
You play the game at a very high level. You grew up in Minnesota where I'm sitting here in Boston and everyone talks about, you know, the New England Development Model in Minnesota development model and, and, uh, there's just, there's just so much to cover. Um, uh, and yeah, your, your, your story will would be awesome.
Your input will be awesome, and the discussion will go where it goes, but I'm just so grateful for you making the time to do it.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. No, I appreciate you having me on. Anytime I get the chance to, to talk hockey, talk, uh, talk development, any way we can impact the, the future of the game or, or anything, um, it's exciting and it's, it's well used time. So thanks for having me out again.
Jason Jacobs: Well, for starters, it'd be great just to get some color from you about, um, [00:03:00] uh, how, how you first came into the game and, and what it was like growing up in the house of a legend and, and also in a hockey mecca like, like Minnesota and, um, Chen Hassan specifically. Right? Did I say that right?
Jack Ramsey: Yep. Yeah, you did. Yeah. It's, uh, I mean, playing hockey, uh, you think it, it seemed unavoidable for me, right? Uh, growing up in the, the household with, with who my dad was, um, for, for a little background, you know, he had a, uh, a long 15 plus NHL, um, 15 year NHL career. Um, played for the, the 1980, uh, Olympic team before that career.
And then, then he coached for
Jason Jacobs: youngest guy on the team, right?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, yeah. Youngest, youngest guy on the team is, um, it's pretty funny back when, you know, we could, we can go so down so many avenues here, but back when he was playing college hockey, they used to have kind of JV teams, and I know he played the, the first, almost half of the year on the JV team at the University of [00:04:00] Minnesota as a freshman.
And then the second half of the year he played on the, you know, the actual college team and then boom to the, the Olympic team. So, you know, his, his stock grew, uh, rapidly, so it was pretty cool. But, um, and then he had about 15 years of, of coaching the Minnesota Wild when, when they were brought back to, to Minnesota in 2000.
So, um, I was around hockey nonstop growing up. My, my sister as well, she played at the University of Minnesota, um, and was an All American
Jason Jacobs: sister.
Jack Ramsey: Yep. Oldest sister Rachel. So, um, and then my, my other sister, Hannah, can't, can't forget about her, but she was the dance star, uh, in the, uh, in the family. Um.
Jason Jacobs: which, which actually proves that it's not. Inevitable. Right? I mean, you said it was inevitable,
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. Yeah.
Jason Jacobs: you know, you got one sister who, uh, who, who didn't drink the Kool-Aid.
Jack Ramsey: Right. And, and that's, it's funny, and I don't, she maybe played hockey for, for one year and said, Hey, this isn't for me. I'm gonna do dance. And that was a great thing about my, my parents and my [00:05:00] dad too. It, it was, you know, a super, super supportive household. And if you wanted to be at the rink, if you wanted to go to the rink with him, to the Xcel Energy Center where the wild play, um, on a Saturday or Sunday and go skate with him, uh, you could, you had that option, but he wasn't forcing you to do that by any means.
You know, I, I played, I played baseball, my sisters played other sports, you know, growing up all the way to, to high school. So there's absolutely no pressure to, to be strictly focused on hockey. But I think. I drank that Kool-Aid and I loved it, and I wanted to be around it so much. And when you have an opportunity to, to go to the rink and be around pro players and get all this extra ice time, um, it's, it's really hard to, to turn down.
So all the time, whenever we'd have a, uh, a school field trip to maybe go skiing or, or something like that, I'd go, no, I'm, I'm not gonna go on the field trip. I'm just gonna go to the rink with dad. So I, I get to skate for, for three hours by myself on, you know, an NHL uh, arena. Uh, so it was really, really cool, um, growing up being a, a coach's kid.
Um, [00:06:00] and I know we're here to talk about all things hockey and development too, and that was such a huge impact on mine, um, is I could talk hockey 24 7 with a guy that was in a NHL locker room every single day. Um, and when he was, you know. Taking me home from my game. He was never the guy to, to get in my ear and, and yell at me about my game.
But he always wanted to talk about it. What'd you see? What'd you think I could've, I think you could've done this. And, and that. So I think from a, a really young age, I kind of looked at the game through a, through a coach's mentality. Um, and we can get into this more too, but I was a forward and a defenseman growing up, but I was more so a forward, I played forward in, in college and I grew up, uh, with a, a defenseman, uh, coach, as a, as a dad.
So that kind of, it's funny when I talk to him now about it, he's like, yeah, that, that kind of hurt you, uh, in the long run. 'cause I was always the high F three. I'm always, I was always back the first guy back, you know, on the right side of the puck.
Jason Jacobs: I, I, so here, [00:07:00] here's a question. Um, would having a forward, as a dad, as a defenseman be a better thing than having a defenseman for a dad as a forward
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. You know, I think I, I I've never
Jason Jacobs: little Bobby Orr? Right.
Jack Ramsey: yeah, I do. I think that would actually, would've been pretty dang helpful. You know, because, 'cause these, these habits, hey, you want the defensive defenseman, like, or you want the guy to, that's his first role is to play defense. But if he's ready to jump up and, and go, that's fantastic.
But if you have a Ford who his first step is back, he is not gonna score a lot of goals. Which that was, that was kind of me. But I was always from, you know, scores in, in high school and college, I was always one of the top penalty killers. But then that's, that's how, you know, I got to where I was in my career is, is I had a role I was really good at from when I was in high school and juniors and I just stuck with that and I was absolutely happy with that.
Jason Jacobs: Huh. It's, it's funny you say that because that sounds a lot, I mean, my kid's a little guy. He is only 13, but sounds a lot like my kid. He's, uh, [00:08:00] he's not showing up that much on the score sheet, but he's extremely responsible, kills all the penalties, right? Um, so it'll be interesting to see his, uh, development path, but it's nice to know that, uh, you know, people like him, uh.
Can end up playing a game at such a high level.
Jack Ramsey: A hundred percent. And that's, you know, I, I've coached, um, the, a high school team in, in Minnesota, uh, at Minnetonka. And that's, that's where I went to high school. Uh, as well, the, the past three years I've, I've helped out with them and I tell kids, uh, a lot is that, Hey, penalty killers get scholarships too.
Okay. Those guys get drafted too. And if you're, you're good at, you're good enough at it. Like you, you can carve out a, a career for it. Absolutely. 'cause you look at these third and fourth line guys, they, you, you need
Jason Jacobs: it, it's, it's like the lacrosse face off guy, you
Jack Ramsey: Yeah.
Jason Jacobs: like that, that's all you do. Like, it's just, and it's usually like a little midget too.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. And, and that's, you gotta think about that junior teams and, and, and college teams. You know, okay, do we want to take this, this guy [00:09:00] who's might put up some points on our third or fourth line and we gotta teach him how to penalty kill and teach him how to do this role, but he's not gonna be happy in it.
Or, hey, we can te we can take this guy, he's gonna put up this amount of points, but he's gonna be super happy. He's gonna block shots. Like, I probably want that guy, you know, we wanna take that guy. It's not gonna be a problem. So there's, there's definitely a role that you can, you can carve out. Um, and I, and I did it myself.
Jason Jacobs: Uh, now growing up in the game and having all that access, I mean, it sounds like you were wagging your tail and it was super cool. Um, did you aspire from a, from a young age as well? Like, did you, you know, did you, did you tell yourself as a little guy that you wanted to play in the NHL? Were you self-directed or, um, I guess how did that access and love of the game translate to hunger for development?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, it's, it, it's kinda interesting that you don't, uh, you don't realize what you had until it's gone kind of thing almost, you know, getting, [00:10:00] I think the biggest thing in, in my development was all that extra ice time, right? Where nowadays it's can be really expensive to, to find extra hours and, and stuff like that.
Or mom and dad gotta drive you here and drive you there and it gotta be a pain in the butt to, to get that extra ice time. And it was, it was never that, it was just my dad, Hey, you want to go to the rink with me, uh, in, in the morning? You can probably get on the ice for, for two hours and yeah, great. So I'd go do that and then I'd, I'd watch practice.
So that's, you know, another big thing was. After, after skating, you know, I get to watch these guys practice, or I get to watch the, the Away team practice for a bit and, you know, whether I realize it or not, but you're taking things in that you're watching on this NHL Ice and you're hearing these things that these coaches are saying, you're learning these terms and stuff as a young kid that other kids are not exposed to.
Um, but I, I, it never, I don't think it ever set on me that, Hey, I, I'm gonna play, I'm gonna play pro one day, or, or I'm going to even play college one day. I, I guess I never, I never thought about [00:11:00] that, you know, as a Gopher fan growing up and watched it, but it was, I don't recall it ever being like, Hey, I'm gonna play for them one day.
It was, I don't think it was in. Until, you know, it got around to high school and all of a sudden, you know, some college teams start, start knocking on your door and, and sending you letters and stuff, and you're like, oh, hey, okay, this, I get, this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna, I'm gonna play college hockey, so now I'm gonna, I'm gonna focus on this and I gotta figure out what school I want to go to.
And then as you get closer to your, your senior year, you have NHL teams maybe talking to you and junior teams talking to you and going, oh, I could get, I could get drafted. I don't know if that means I'm gonna play in the NHL, but I'm gonna have the chance. Right. So it was never, um, I guess I never put all my eggs in, in one basket that that's what I was going to do.
Um, but it was just that, that I was set on that path from early on with the amount of ice time and, and exposure that it had. And it, it just went its course.
Jason Jacobs: Well, I'm so curious to ask you. It, it, I mean, growing up and I mean I'm, I'm older than you, but, but [00:12:00] even, even for you relative to how it is today, um, it seems like there was a lot more like free range kids that were just out in the neighborhood and. Playing and um, uh, and sports was a lot more just about kind of being in the moment and having fun and making memories.
And now, uh, you know, youth sports has gotten so commercialized that, um, the development paths keep, um, and I mean, it's not too different from like, like fashion. It seems like, um, you know, girls are wearing makeup younger and younger and like everything's just happening earlier. Right. Um, and, uh, specialization.
Right. And, um, uh, you know, training like a little D one athlete when you're nine years old. Right. And, um, I guess what are your thoughts seeing the state of the ecosystem now relative to uh, when, when you were coming up?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, it's, it's flipped on its head completely, it seems. Um, when I was growing up, [00:13:00] everybody did multiple sports, you know, I, I did baseball, I did, I did tons of fishing. I'll count that as a sport. You know, I put my time into so many other things and I think it, it, a, it helps you become such a well-rounded athlete, um, just for, for coordination and learning all these other things, but helps you as a person too.
I, I think that's, um, very underrated now, uh, is that parents are putting their kids in, in one sport or kids are maybe doing their classes online so they're not exposed to high school and different friends and, and, and groups and stuff like that. And you might have kids that you're about to, to ship off to juniors or college and you go.
Man, I don't know if this kid's ready to, to go there yet, because I don't, this kid's been taking their classes online, stuff like that. They don't have this big friend circle. Now you're gonna send 'em out to the world and good luck. Hopefully you land on your, your feet when you go to juniors or when you go to college.
So I do think that the specialization has, has definitely hurt. Um, and parents [00:14:00] just burn out their kids a a bit today. You know, even, even when I was growing up, I can, I can think of a, a lot of guys that this was the, the best kid when we were in, um, peewees or Bantams or Squirts. And they were just so, uh, hockey focused and, you know, maybe one of those kids made it to college or, or the NHL.
And they, all the other parents were like, well, hey look, that that mom and dad did that with that kid. Like that's gonna be our kid. Where in reality, 90% of those kids were burned out and they never even made their high school team or never played after high school. 'cause they just ended up. Losing their love of the game, and they're so burnt out from playing that one sport.
So I think it is really important to get your kid into other sports, um, you know, build a big friend group and build these a, a big, uh, level of, of interest. And then maybe when they get to high school, if they want to pick that one sport and kind of special, uh, specialize in it, absolutely do it. That's what I did when I was a freshman in high school.
Um, I opted out of baseball and then I just focused on, on hockey for the next [00:15:00] four years. But by that time, you know, my best friend throughout high school, he never played hockey. He played baseball and he, he grew up right down the street. You know, he wasn't a hockey guy, so I was able to build this big friend group and, and I think that's really important for, you know, mental, um, development for all these kids growing up.
Jason Jacobs: So as you started to dial in and get serious, um, I. W what, what changed, um, in terms of just how you carried yourself in the game and how the game fit into your life.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, that's, that's a good question. It definitely, it definitely kind of takes over your life, which I can, I can totally understand why kids get burnt out. Um, not saying that, that I did, but you know, I hit freshman year and all of a sudden it's okay, I gotta start doing some white training and, and more off ice training.
You know, where it used to be, I'm going three, four days a week in the summer and just doing my, my summer skates, you know, and maybe playing on my AAA team. That was kind of it. But now it's a bunch of [00:16:00] off ice training and I, I always hated the weight room, which was really unfortunate. You know, I had buddies who just loved being in, in the weight room and, and grinding doing that.
I did not like that. So like that became a burden on me all of a sudden and kind of, kind of grinded my gears doing that, but it was. Definitely adding extra things to it. And it's more of a, definitely more of a burden to the parents too. You gotta get, get your kids point A to point B and they're always doing something after, after school.
But way more off ice training, weightlifting, trying to shoot pox, doing stick handling. Um, and as you kind of hit that 14, 15, it's, it's, hey, the next three, four years, it's all about development. And that's, that's kind of the focus, uh, of your life. Then I guess.
Jason Jacobs: And when, when you were starting to switch gears and get serious, um, how much of the direction in terms of what you should do and how much you needed to do it and, and are you making progress and things like that. Like, was it coming from you? Was it coming from your dad? Was it coming from your coach? Was it [00:17:00] coming from your friends?
Um, and and same question as you looked around at your buddies to the left and the right that were heading down a similar path, like what did you see from, from them as well and how, how was that the same or different than, than, uh, than your journey?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, that's, that's a, a good question. I think the, by the time I was, I was 14 or 15 and I, I lucked out being at, um, Minnetonka High School. My, you know, when I was a sophomore and junior there, I think we had, you know, nine division one players on my sophomore year team. And then my junior year team, we had seven division one players.
So I was, and, and are at the late conference is what it's called in, in Minnesota is the Edina Eden Prairie. They produce tons of, uh, division one players and, and, and HL talent. So I was.
Jason Jacobs: good playoff hockey hair too, right?
Jack Ramsey: Exactly. Yes. You got to play off hockey here. Yeah, a hundred percent. So I was, I was super fortunate to be surrounded by all this future talent.
[00:18:00] Um, and I, I grew up, uh, training at Impact Hockey. And so the, I think the, the big thing was going there and skating there four times a year is I was four times a week, I was on the ice with 15 to 20 other division one players and guys that would go on to play pro. Um, where some of my buddies that were, were my age, that were still playing some other sports or weren't, or weren't super hockey focused, were maybe going a couple of days a week.
And they were playing in the, the lower level at that training, you know, and they're just playing with other high school kids who, they're gonna be good high school players, but they're not, they weren't in that level of division one players. So it was iron sharpens iron kind of thing every single day of the week with all these guys.
Um, so growing up in an area. With a, a hockey hotbed of talent helps immensely, you know, on ice and off ice that you're surrounded by these guys that have this focus. Um, you know, kind of when guys hit high school, you have some friends that, you know, maybe some guys start, start [00:19:00] drinking or doing other stuff and they kind of get off track and that can, that can, that can pull some guys in.
And I was just lucky to have this group of guys that just wanted to focus on hockey, be good buddies, um, and not partake in any of that stuff. And we were just focused on what we wanted to do.
Jason Jacobs: Uhhuh. And, um, and a and as you were tying that in and getting serious, uh, was your d was your dad still. Pretty hands off and kind of there, there if, if you needed him or, or, or was he working to keep the train on the tracks as those distractions started seeping in and you know, some of your buddies were maybe not making the smartest decisions or getting derailed.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, no, it, it's a good question. I mean, my dad was, was always there. It's funny growing up, he was, you know, he was on the road for quite, quite a bit of time and he is coaching, so he wasn't at a ton of my, my youth hockey games as well. So it was a lot of times it was in the summer where [00:20:00] he was going to those games for me, um, and watching that and we're, we're talking through hockey and, and watching hockey and, and getting that development.
But he was never, never on me. You know, this is what you gotta do. But I mean, I, I think my parents were the, the perfect level of strict growing up. I, I just, I lucked out on that so much that they weren't, you know, you gotta be here, you gotta do this, you gotta do that. They weren't like that, but they also weren't not checking it on me, you know, so it's, it's tough.
Everything impacts a
Jason Jacobs: I call that the Goldilocks level, right?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. Yeah. So I.
Jason Jacobs: too much, not too little, just right.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. And, and I got, I got super, super lucky with that. And they, they raised me into the, the person that I am. And I, I think it, that has such an impact on, on kids' development that, uh, there, I can think of guys that had a lot of talent in high school and stuff, but they got more interested in, you know, maybe drinking or drugs and, and, and girls.
And they just kind of threw [00:21:00] it away. They never even ended up playing high school hockey kind of thing. Um, and then there's kids, parents that are, that are so strict, you know, that they want to rebel. So I know it's, it's kind of off topic from actual hockey development, but it's your personal life development and it definitely impacts you as a, a person and a player on the ice too.
So,
Jason Jacobs: Uh, and if, if I remember, I mean, we haven't spoken before, but we were texting a little bit. You, um, you do not have kids. Right.
Jack Ramsey: no, no, do not, do not right now.
Jason Jacobs: Got it. Well, so, so maybe your answer will change, you know, if and if and when you do, but I'm gonna ask it anyways. Um, 'cause something I wrestle with as a dad, right, um, is, um, you, how do you balance, um, like leaving the kids to go find their passions with like, providing that direction and then, you know, working as hard as they want to versus like.
Guiding them and giving them the structure to make sure that they put their best foot forward to learn good habits and reach their full potential. [00:22:00] Like, I don't know, I mean, you can certainly speak to it as a kid, as a, as a, you know, as a son who was raised by, you know, by parents and, and, and ended up, um, going through the development path and playing the game at a pretty high level, like reflecting backwards.
Um, what do you think about for, if and when you end up having kids of your own?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, I think, uh, a few things that I, I took from, from my parents and things that I see today is, um, I. As a parent and as a kid, your, your kid has to understand the, the time and money that you're putting into them. Um, you know, I think at times I thought, Hey, I, I get to go to these four hockey sessions, you know, they're free.
You know, I'm just going to, I'm just going to train at these, like, my parents don't have to pay for this kind of thing. No, you, you, and when I was probably getting into high school, 14 or 15, um, I didn't, there was, I remember there was one week I didn't want to go to the skate. I'd already signed up. I didn't want to go to the next day.
And my dad's like, well, I [00:23:00] already, I already paid for it. And I was like, well, I don't want to go. He's like, okay, well if you pay, pay me for the section. You don't have to go. And I was like, all right, well, I got my lawn mowing money, you know, okay, here's the, here's the 40 bucks for the, for my, my hour of ice time.
Like, I'm, I'm not gonna go. And then that made me realize, okay, there's actual, there's some value to. You know, what my parents are putting forth there. And then that, that motivated me not to skip and, and made me realize that they're putting this time and money and, and effort into it. So I think kids do need to realize that, and especially in today when, when the cost of ice is going up and the cost of training and, and stuff is going up, that your kids should realize the, and you should talk through like, Hey, this is costing me money.
So when you are out there, it's a hundred percent effort. You know, we're not driving 40 minutes and for you to skate or play a game for you to just play half-ass, this is a hundred percent effort. Mom and dad are doing this, and, and this is for you. If you don't want to do it, that's fine. We won't, we won't do it next year.
But I think they, they gotta realize that if you're [00:24:00] gonna be there, it's a hundred percent effort.
Jason Jacobs: Now, if I recall, if I look in New England, for example, I mean when I was coming up in the game in New England, I. There were barely any clubs, but now it's like almost all clubs. Right. And the town still exists, but it's just been, I think it's in competition with the clubs. Right. And the clubs make it really hard for town to thrive because if you don't put the club over town, you don't stay on the club and it's cutthroat and there's a bunch of other kids that are waiting for your slot.
Right. Um, and um, and in Minnesota, my understanding is that it's quite different than that. So, um, what did the landscape look like for you coming up and to the extent you're still active in the game today? I'm, I'm not sure, but, um, but you know, what, what is the current state of, uh, of, of Minnesota hockey, um, and how is it different?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. I, I think it gets highlighted a lot for a few reasons. One, uh, affordability, I think at the, the youth hockey level is it's, it's so much more affordable to play in the Minnesota [00:25:00] hockey model because it's, it's community based. Um. And kids are growing up from, um, mites, you know, in that's kindergarten, first grade, et cetera, all the way up to high school in the same program.
You know, I played for the, the Minnetonka Skippers, um, and very, very proud of that. Uh, and, and all the guys around us are, are very proud to have played for their high school. That's the, the dream growing up. And I was very fortunate, you know, that we had, um, so many division one players that we could watch when we were kids and, and guys that, um, I. Uh, Jake Gardner, Justin Hall, like just a quick couple guys that played in the NHL that guys that you can look at when you're younger, when you're in middle school and go, gosh, I want to be, I wanna be that guy. Like he is a hero to all these kids. Um, and anyways, you, you grow up through that youth model, um, and you play with your same buddies from when you're in first grade, uh, until [00:26:00] you're in, you're in high school and it's, it's really, it's really magical.
And then in the summer you might go and play in your, your AAA teams and guy or guys might go and play baseball, but when fall rolls back around, it's the same group of guys coming back together going, okay, what, what can we do this year? Um. And it's, it's really awesome. It, it, it builds really strong communities, I think, and again, it's, it's so much more affordable.
Um, and it's not as cutthroat, right? There's so many teams that you can play on. If you don't make the high school team, you have the JV team. If you don't make the JV team, uh, than you have Junior Gold, a junior gold B and that's still Minnetonka, that's still, you're still playing for your community. So even if you don't make the highest level, you're not getting cut and having to go, uh, a town over and, and find a a different AAA team.
There's a team for everybody. And I think that's, that's really, really important, uh, for guys to be able to do.
Jason Jacobs: Uh, how close are you to the current landscape in, in youth hockey in Minnesota?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. So I, I've been coaching, uh, at Minnetonka the past [00:27:00] three years, helping, uh, helping them out. Yep. Yeah, so I'm still still involved and a lot of the guys in the, a lot of coaches in the Metro, um, are alumni for that school. Uh, right now we have. I think every single guy in our coaching staff at Minnetonka played at Minnetonka, um, growing up.
And you look at a lot of the other ones
Jason Jacobs: Minnesota just one of those places people don't leave.
Jack Ramsey: It is. It, it is. And I, I know people talk about states like that, but it's, it's so funny, like being at, uh, the University of Minnesota and we have guys coming from, uh, you know, usually it's mainly Minnesota guys, but you do have your, your one-offs from, um, Eric Shehorn. He was a, he's a goalie from Alaska.
Uh, we have a guy from Michigan, you know, they stay here. Um, and especially if they want to get into hockey and the, the alumni network is, is really big in Minnesota too. So it's like, well, why would I leave? I have all these business opportunities if I want to get into this or I wanna get into this. Like, there is an alumni that works in it that you, that can [00:28:00] help you.
So, um. A lot of people who, who come here, stay here, uh, a lot of people that that, you know, go back to their high school and and coach it. And we're fortunate, you know, myself, um, Stevie Johnson, he played, um, professional. He played at University of Minnesota. He coaches the, the high school team with me. Um, Steve Aronson, he was the first ever, um, free agent signing the Minnesota Wild.
And he was a, a division three player at the time. Um, he coaches the team and he coached me when I was in high school. So he's been doing it for, you know, 15, 20 years, which is awesome. And Sean Goldsworthy, he's got, um, division III coaching experience and he's the head coach at Minnetonka. So they're the coaches in, in high school hockey.
At these bigger schools. They're not just, you know. These random high school teachers or mom and dads, they are very, very good coaches with very, um, you know, long hockey experience. So I think that's motivation for kids to stay too, because they are gonna learn and develop underneath them. [00:29:00] They're not just playing, you know, 30 games a year.
They're actually gonna learn quite a bit before they go off to juniors or, or college.
Jason Jacobs: And I mean, you talk about the community model versus the privatized model here in New England, but actually the club cost is small relative to the privatization of all the extra stuff. Right.
Jack Ramsey: Yes. Yeah.
Jason Jacobs: the lessons and the shooting and the strength and, and the, you know, shift reviews and sports psychologists and now agents are seeping into the picture at younger and younger ages, right?
Like, are you seeing similar in, in Minnesota and what is that doing to the affordability and accessibility? If so,
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. It, it, it is and it isn't, I would say, because. Um, during the, during the season, we're lucky at our high school. And then I know this, and this might be, you know, for only the top 20 to 25 high schools, there could be a a hundred high schools that don't have access to the, the resources that that we do.
But personally speaking, you know, [00:30:00] we have a video app. Guys, guys can go on their, you know, computer when they get home and, and review their shifts for the high school team and it's not costing them extra money. And we have, we have, uh, pregame video and stuff, you know, on, on Wednesdays and on Fridays. So, um, that's, that's unique to some high schools doing that.
So we try to provide as much as we can to the players that are here without them having to pay more, um, out of pocket. And then they, they're able to skate in the summer skates for their high school. So that's nice. They don't have to necessarily go outside and get different, um, to get, get different ice and, and pay for that.
But obviously you guys are paying for their a AAA teams and, and whatnot like that. But. At the end of the day, yes, you have your, your skating, um, coaches and your, your strength coaches. Um, and this is, I'll say for the, the higher end, but it is, um, know, guys that are maybe just gonna end up playing D three or play club, like they're being forced to, to pay these, pay [00:31:00] these guys too.
And, um, it is a, it is a bit crazy. I don't think it's necessary as well to, you know, pay $4,000 in the summer for, for a skating coach. Um, is it gonna take your kid to the next level and, and put 'em in the NHL? Probably not. Is it gonna help 'em? Absolutely. But it's, it's just not necessary. So I, I think it's tough when guys get highlighted that they did X, Y, and Z and look at where they are now.
You can look at. So many other guys that did not do those things. That also got there. Now it takes a lot of, a lot of luck and a lot of hard work, but I don't think parents need to shell out 20,000, you know, 15,000 a year on all these different things to get their kid to the next level.
Jason Jacobs: Uh, and so for me, I, I mean, the game was a big part of my life growing up, but I, um, I mean I barely made, I quit division three, you know, [00:32:00] two games into sophomore year. I really didn't have my head screwed on straight. Um, I was one of those guys that the distraction seeped in and I. Embrace those distractions.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. Yeah.
Jason Jacobs: And, and in a way, I mean, you know, that was fun, right? But, um, but I have a lot of regrets in terms of, not that I think I would've gone far in the game, but I just, you know, I didn't reach my own potential wherever that may have been. But also, I mean, now, uh, I feel like in some ways I'm learning the game for the first time because the games evolved so much and because it's just so much more sophisticated in terms of the coaching and systems and access and development path and, um, and, and things like that.
But I, I am curious just, um, you know, how much in terms of development path is, um, nature, right? Like, how much of it is just like, well, you know, you're Mike Ramsey's kid and therefore you have good genetics son, right? Um. Uh, or, you know, versus nurture, like [00:33:00] you're Mike Ramsey's kid, and like you, you know, you got Carter around to the rink and saw all the, you know, you had all this access and it was like, through osmosis.
It was just like, you know, it was just around you all the time. Right? Um, uh, and then same thing as it relates to physical attributes versus mental attributes, right? Because there's talk about like, well, you know, hey, that's a little guy, but like he, you know, his grit and compete levels, like nothing I've ever seen, and that kid's gonna go far, right?
Um, you know, he's gonna, he's gonna, um, you know, he's gonna prove all the critics wrong because he just wants it more than anybody else. Right? Like, like how much of each of those things, the physical and the mental is, is nature versus nurture. Um, in, in your experience.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. And it, it, it's, it can be, you know, hypocritical for me, I think to say, Hey, these kids don't need to go out, do these extra skating lessons, yada, yada, yada. They, they'll get there. But I was getting, you know, 20 extra hours a, a week of ice time for free just by myself. Now there's, there's, that's [00:34:00] one thing to say too, is when I had all those extra hours of ice time, um, I.
At the X we call it, uh, I was skating by myself, you know, with 50 pucks. I didn't have, I was not given any drills. I was not, my dad wasn't going, Hey, do this, do that. Didn't have anybody out there. I might have another coach or another player's kid come out, or my sister come out and, and skate with me. But we're just skating around for two hours and shooting pucks and just being on the, just being on the ice.
Um, so I think that's, that's one thing is you don't necessarily need all that direction. Extra ice time helps just being on your skates. You're gonna become a better skater. Now, if you have a coach, will that, will that speed that process up? Yes, probably. Um, uh, but I think of, I think of other guys, um, the, the Schultz family that, that.
I grew up with, um, they produced three division one players, um, out out of four boys. Um, and they would, they would go to the rink with me too in the, in the, [00:35:00] in the mornings. Uh, and Jimmy Schultz, he's still playing. He was in the, the Sharks system this year. He played, uh, seven or eight NHL games for them.
So they didn't have access to ice in the way that I did, but they had an ice rink in their backyard and those guys put as much time on the ice that I did, you know, without instruction or development. They're just on the ice. Um, so I think you can, you can nurture, um, you can nurture your kid by giving them access to ice time.
I think it probably was nature, you know, genetics definitely plays a, a big part, right? You know, if your, if your kid's, you know, 5, 5, 3 at 18 years old, it's probably, it's probably gonna be tough for them to, to, you know, crack into the, the, the bigger leagues. Granted, we are seeing the game get smaller, you know, now and, and faster.
So that's a good thing, but. I just think that if you provide ice time to these kids, they're, they're gonna develop, whether it's at an outdoor rink. And I'm curious out, out east is there, are there a lot of outdoor public rinks in, [00:36:00] um, kinda like that. Like I had one five minutes from my house growing up.
My dad would drive me down there, you know, I'd, I'd skate for three hours and then I'd, I would just walk home after, you know? What's that
Jason Jacobs: weather's too inconsistent. It's too inconsistent. Like I, I mean, we put a backyard rink in, not with cellos or anything, but just, uh, the last several years and, um, the two years before this one, so not this current one, but the two years before it, there wasn't enough sustained cold to justify it.
This year there was enough sustained coal to justify it, but my kids are so overscheduled that we weren't around to enjoy it anyways. Right. Um, so it's, uh, because I just assumed it was gonna be another inconsistent year. Right. So, yeah, it's hard, like without chillers in the, in the northeast, it's hard.
And I, I feel like it's getting harder with climate change too.
Jack Ramsey: yeah, yeah. That, that is tough. And that's. I think that that's the, the Minnesota model too, and just our weather and that we get lucky being in this area too. It's, it's very similar to, to Canada and kids in Canada, is that you're gonna have a public [00:37:00] rink within 10 minutes walking distance of your house.
You know, that's, that's kind of everywhere here, so you can always find access to, to ice. Um, now I'm not telling parents to, you know, get in their, get in their car and move to, to Minnesota or Canada, but that is, uh, I think, you know, we develop a lot of kids and I think they just have access to so much free ice.
Um, so if you want it, it's there for the taking. And if those, those kids really want it, they're gonna be gonna be on the ice, uh, doing that. So I think that's definitely a, a thing where, where kids get, get nurtured and they have all this, this free ice time, it helps 'em a lot.
Jason Jacobs: Uhhuh, I, I don't have the stats on it, but it sure seems like if you look at the division one rosters, there's a lot of last names that you recognize from their dads. Right. Um, and, uh, um, why do you think that is?
Jack Ramsey: I think a a, it's, it's definitely, it's, it's genetics for sure. Um, you, you can't [00:38:00] ignore that, but it is just the coaching from a, a young age. Um, and these, these habits are getting instilled into kids at a very young age where, um, you know, if you're, if you're eight years old and you understand the, the game better than than Bobby John over there, well your coaches are gonna trust you and you're gonna get more ice time.
You know, so you're gonna play more, you're gonna get more opportunities. Um, and I think that that just carries on as you get older. If you have, if you're ahead on the, the learning curve of these other kids because of these, these, these parents that have played the game and can instill all these habits and reinforce those habits, um, it's gonna go a long way because, you know, coaches don't see everything at the youth level, um, when you're out on the ice.
But when you get off, off the ice and you're my kid and I saw that, well, we're, you're maybe, um, lacking effort or doing this wrong. We'll talk about it on the, the car ride home. Parents will [00:39:00] talk about that. But if you have parents that maybe never played the game and are watching their kid, they're just watching 'em play hockey, they're not picking up these things and they can't, they can't necessarily help 'em.
Um, so I think that is, that is why, uh, they just, they just get so far ahead of kids at a young age from that coaching, from their parents.
Jason Jacobs: Yeah, I, I really, I really wrestle with this one because on the one hand you hear the stories about people whose paths were, you know, free range, and they were, you know, little Timmy was just out self-directed because he was obsessed with the game and wanted to be the NHL since he was in diapers. Right.
Um, and it came from nowhere because his parents were like, you know, uh, an electrician and a teacher or whatever, right? But like, Timmy just knew, right. Um, and the parents never played a sport in their life. Right. Um, or, or they were, you know, the dad was a football star or something, right? Um, uh, but he just knew hockey was his thing.
Right? Um, but then you hear other stories of like, um, of kids who, um, you know, maybe, uh, you know, [00:40:00] love who, who, the structure and the access and the, the guidance and the nurturing and the goldilocks of like, you know. Strict enough, but not too strict. Right. Ended up like keeping the train on the tracks until the kid ultimately matured enough to take over and spread his or her wings on their own.
Right. Um, uh, and so it's like what's right? And it sure seems like the answer is it depends and it's, it's kid specific. Right. Um, but it's confusing and, and one of my hypotheses that I am trying to explore in terms of like what we'll actually build here is that cure point about the access and the teaching from the earliest ages.
If you don't have parents that played the game at the highest levels, or you don't live in an area that has the density of the best coaching and skills and all that stuff, or you do, but you can't afford it or you do, but you know, don't have parents that can be human, Uber drivers and, and have jobs that can accommodate, you [00:41:00] know, carting your butt around to, to, to, to, to all this stuff, right?
Um, or, or you have access in your area, but you have parents that don't know how to seek it out and, and, and don't know what to look for or what you need, right? Um, then could there be a platform, right, that can essentially, um, fill in some of those gaps and kind of grease the skids for you to help you on your path?
And that could come from direction, that could come from guidance, that could come from, um, you know, helping you understand your progress over time. That could come from making it fun, you know, enabling you to challenge your buddies when you're sitting at home. It could come from. Um, you know, learning from your heroes, right?
Um, you know, there's a lot of different ways it could come, but just like, could there be a digital platform to kind of grease the skids in some way? You know, I know that's super, uh, generic and undefined, but what's your reaction to that?
Jack Ramsey: No, I mean, that's, that's great. And that, I mean, that's, that's why you're, you're doing this right, is to, to brainstorm [00:42:00] ideas and as, as you're talking there, I'm kind of thinking, like, thinking of ideas and the one I think about, um. Immediately is that you, you're talking about these kids who, whose parents?
I think maybe like the, the Connor Bedard, like parents might not played hockey, but from a young age, boom, this kid's going, this kid is, is, is is him. And those parents worked their butts off to get that kid from point A to point B driving everywhere. Right. And, and to figure that stuff out,
Jason Jacobs: But, but that's not what you hear. Like when you hear about the badar documentaries or whatever, you just hear the parents say, oh, like, you
Jack Ramsey: he knew from a
Jason Jacobs: couldn't find him and he was just in the back, you know? Yeah. And like the neighbor's like, yep. Like, you know, we just got used to the constant banging 24 7 because it was always just like boar in the backyard, shooting P Right.
So it's like, you kind of wonder like how much of it is like, um, the stuff of legends versus the actual reality of how the story went.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. I, I, I think that's, that's what produces those, those kids too is they're nuts from a young age. Right. Is they are [00:43:00] like, that's, that's why those players are so rare because those kids are so rare of like, they're
Jason Jacobs: But is it the kid? Like what was the parents' role though? Like I, you
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. You don't, you don't know what they're actually, I, I know, uh, Mitch Martyr, you've seen the, like videos of his dad.
His dad was, was wild on filming him yelling at him all over. So that, there's those kind of things. But it was, you're talking about, you know, maybe parents that have no clue what path to put their kid on, but their kid wants it. You know, that can be something that you provide that, you know, these are recommendations for maybe this area or these are the, the steps for this age, um, to provide these kids these things.
Hey, how much does your kid want it? You know, like, want to want to play hockey? Want to train? Are they a 10? Are they, are they a nut job? They wanna do this stuff. Okay, well here's some recommendations for, for things that they can do. You know, do you have no idea what you're doing, but your kid likes hockey?
They're a seven. Okay, well here's, here's some things that they can do. Here's some resources that they can go, these are where you can sign up. So I think that's, there's [00:44:00] a lot of different avenues that you can go down. Right, for sure. And that's, I think that's something is to. Help these parents that maybe don't understand the game or haven't been around the game.
Um, 'cause that's probably a majority of kids playing hockey is that their parents didn't go far in the sport. Right? So they don't have necessarily know. Um, but you can, you can help 'em down that path. That could be, uh, something you look into.
Jason Jacobs: Yeah. And I, um, yeah, I don't know enough to know if this is true or not, but I was talking to, uh, a, um, an NHL player development person and, um, I won't mention any names just in, you know, 'cause I don't have the permission to do so. But, um, but what they were saying was that their impression is that the proliferation of all these skills coaches all over the place, right?
Like that's a relatively new phenomenon and that there's a lot of, um, ice and activity, right? But not a lot of like assessment teaching [00:45:00] recommendations for improvement. And actually, um, there's, uh, the role for those things in terms of actually driving outcomes. Is underrated, and whether it's teaching the kid directly or even coaching the coach, right.
Um, it, it's just, you know, kind of, and less around, I mean, sure. I guess you could also look at this around like coaching and systems and, but like, I'm, I'm just talking about like the players' development path, right? Um, like, like looking at reviews of, or, or watching their film and seeing what they're good or not, and then actually having personalized development to help them specifically with the things that they need to work on.
I mean, part of it's also a bandwidth thing, right? Is that like the skills coaches are just trying to stay on the treadmill of like utilization rates of the expense of ice, right? Um, and the coaches are trying to do this across a whole roster of kids, right? Let alone, uh, you know, and they just, you know, they [00:46:00] don't even have the bandwidth for their own kid, let alone everyone else's kid.
Right? Um, so, so it's almost like a, like a platform that's centered around the kid. And their development path. I mean that, that's another kind of angle I am thinking about.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, and I mean, that kind of, that topic opens up a whole can of worms, of skills, coaches, development coaches, um, agents, advisors. I think the whole thing is watered down for sure. I think, uh, you know, a lot of them, a, a scary amount of them are just in it to make money. You know, they're gonna go there and they're, they're gonna, they're gonna coach your kid.
They're gonna try to develop your kid, but as to if they actually can compared to these other guys, I don't know. So I, I think a lot of people have seen the opportunity to make money off of this big push to, to get your kid better and [00:47:00] are, are just trying to make money off of it. I have, uh, I have a buddy, um, one of my best friends in the, in the Twin Cities, um, is an advisor and he's, he's gotten into it the past year and a half and I've gone back and forth on whether I, I like it or not, because I talked to him and I'm like, okay, you have, you have, um, this kid playing in this location.
He's not that good of a hockey player. He's not. Best case he's gonna play division three. Okay. Um. That's best case. Likely he's not gonna play college hockey anywhere, but I'm like, you took him on as an advisor, you know, why is that just to make money? Or what are you providing this kid? And, and he said, well, you know, when I talked to him and I talked to his, his parents, um, I see where he wants to get and I'm open and honest with him that this is best case and I will open these doors to try to, to get him to that.
And I go, okay, that's, I understand that that's, that's fine that they, if [00:48:00] you're, if you're gonna do that and be open and honest. But I, I talked to him and I go, there's so many advisors now, like, tell me about the landscape. And so many of them are, are guys that never even played H Hockey Pass High School.
And they're advising these, these kids on where to go for juniors and where to go here. And they don't actually have these relationships with coaches to, to open doors or get tryouts. And I think parents need to be super careful when you're signing up for. Skills development, um, skating coaches, advisor, do your background and, you know, make sure they're not just selling snake oil, right.
You really have to do your, your research on it. Is this person gonna actually help my my kid and is it gonna be worth the, the money that I'm gonna spend? 'cause all this stuff costs a lot of money.
Jason Jacobs: Yeah. No. And, and that, I mean, that brings up kind of a, uh, a, a related thing I've been wrestling with, which is what do you think about the hockey path in terms of [00:49:00] reclassing, in terms of juniors, in terms of 21-year-old freshmen, um, in terms of, uh, zoom school, uh, in terms of missing, you know. 30 Fridays, uh, um, you know, probably, probably 20 Thursdays as well.
Right. Um, I mean, do you, do you worry that the hockey path is increasingly at odds with the life path in, in some ways, unless you are the baar, the cellini, the, you know, kind of the, the, uh, the one in a million kind of kid.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, it, it, it's a great question. It does worry me. Yeah. It kind of touched on it, uh, at the start, that we have all these kids in online classes and they're not making real relationships or friends friend groups. Um, and you have the guys that, that do that and they go and play division one hockey and, and, and so be it.
But I do think when they step into the real world, they're not gonna have the relationship skills, um, to walk into an office for a [00:50:00] job interview compared to the guy that was in class, making friends doing all this stuff. Uh, I think that stuff is very important because hockey is only such a short part of your life.
So you have to develop these relationship skills and these life skills too. Um, to, to do that. But I, I do it, it does scare me. I mean, I played, I played juniors my senior year and, and year after, um, in Penticton, British Columbia. So that was a big thing for me of leaving home and going and, and growing up and, and developing these relationship skills because I went to school in Canada in person.
I had to make friends in a Canadian school. My, my senior year when it was, when it was
Jason Jacobs: bill it or did you, did you
Jack Ramsey: I, yep, yep. I, I was, I was with the bill. Yep. Um, and I,
Jason Jacobs: be like a whole, just like podcast with like billet stories.
Jack Ramsey: oh my God. Yeah, you could, you'd, you'd have to, you'd probably have to like black out people's faces for certain stories though, and, and blur, blur voice there and whatnot. So for, [00:51:00] for some of those stories.
Jason Jacobs: I bet a bunch of non hockey people listening are probably Googling right now. Uh, what is a billet? Yeah.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. They're gonna, what's a billet, what's it like to have a 17 year, 18-year-old strange kid in my home? Well, yeah, exactly. There's exactly, there's, there's some stories from, from buddies and stuff. Holy smokes. Yeah. You could do a whole nother podcast on it, but I, I do think it is, um, it is kind of, um, lowering the, the maturity level of, of hockey players.
Um, for sure. I, it's, it's just odd in a sense. You look at younger guys with, with maybe even media now you, you kind of see these, these young guys in the NHL or juniors and, and college doing media, and they just seem a little awkward, a little tense. Like they don't have those social skills. I'm like, all this stuff is
Jason Jacobs: not as bad as like the, um, the, uh, the synchronized TikTok dances in uniform.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you have guys doing that [00:52:00] now too, right? So, um, it,
Jason Jacobs: And, you know, they don't wanna, they're just doing it for the NIL dollars.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, exactly. It is
Jason Jacobs: let me build up my following so that I'll be more marketable so that I can get brands interested. I'm assuming. I don't know. I mean, I'm not, I mean, I, my world is still around the, the, the tween ages. Uh, I, I don't deal much with the, with the college kids now, but I could imagine that that NIL has changed things a lot.
I've certainly heard that.
Jack Ramsey: yeah, yeah. And I mean the, but overall, the, the junior landscape is, it's, we're gonna go through the biggest change. I, I don't even know since when with, with Major Junior now, and the, the backlash this, that this is gonna have because, um, there's gonna be a lot of division one capable players that, that would've been capable of playing division one in previous years.
Um, US kids, I'm, I'm saying that are probably, they're gonna have to go play D three and then that it's just gonna bump kids down. There's gonna be kids that were playing D three that are gonna now have to go and now play club, [00:53:00] and there's gonna be club kids that are never gonna play hockey again. Um. All because of this.
And I'm not, I'm not, um, complaining about that. Uh, I, that's just the reality of it. I, I think I like the, I like the switch. I would love college hockey to grow. There needs to be another, you know, 10, 12 division one teams, because there is the talent to fill those teams, especially with, with how this is gonna go.
But it's gonna be interesting to see kids now maybe skipping out on their, their senior year of high school to go play a major junior for a year, or they're gonna go to the USHL and then they're gonna go to major Junior and then they're gonna go to college. Um, which I think could be good in the sense of, we're, we're talking about kids development off ice and, and personality wise, maturity.
I think it's great for kids to go different places and see that
Jason Jacobs: except that all the rest of the kids that go to those colleges that aren't athletes or aren't hockey kids are, are gonna be 18.
Jack Ramsey: Yep. That, and that's, and that, that's not gonna change, right. I mean, that's, that's how, that's how [00:54:00] it has been. I was a, uh. I was a 19, uh, turning 20-year-old freshman. I mean, I was, I was 20 in November of my, my freshman year. My roommate turned 21. So that was kind of interesting that yes, we were living in dorms with, with 18 year olds, and my roommate can legally go to the bar.
Um, you know, I, I remember our, our RA came to, to knock on our door our, our first semester, and she said, you know, you guys have to do your monthly meeting with me. We have to talk about, um, roommate relationships and yada yada yada. And we were just like, Hey, you know, we're, we're older than you. Um, can you just sign off on this?
Like, we've, I, I think we're okay. Like, we have a, a year or two on you. Like, let's, let's, she, she said, okay. Yeah, that's fine. I, I get
Jason Jacobs: That that could be one of those comedy hockey skits on TikTok acting out that scene.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. It was, it was, it was pretty
Jason Jacobs: seen that, I forget the guy's name, but there's a guy that does those clips where it's like, um, you know, hockey players going to co going to class in college, you know, and it's like, uh, hey, [00:55:00] teach, you
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, exactly.
Jason Jacobs: So.
Jack Ramsey: It, it, it, it was interesting in there, um, for, for me, I was, I benefited for, I was more mature than other freshmen. You know, we had guys that are, that were true freshmen, um, that didn't go to juniors or something that, that might not have had to kind of go live on their own for a little bit.
And you saw that, that they were, I'm not gonna say they were, they were immature because they're an 18-year-old freshman. They're exactly what a, uh, a college freshman is. Right. You know, trying to figure out, uh, life, life as you go. But some colleges, they want their kids focusing on, on hockey school and weight training.
They don't want their kids necessarily trying to figure out. How to, how to live life, you know? So I think that is a, a benefit of going and, and playing juniors, but it is, you know, it's the one sport that you can have 20 and 21-year-old freshmen. So it is, uh, it's definitely unique.
Jason Jacobs: Uh, another thing I wanted to ask you about, you know, as, as, as parents [00:56:00] and as kids, right? You've got all these clips from. Kobe Bryant, and similar in your ear about like, uh, you know, if you outwork those extra hours every day, turn into hours every week, turn into hours every month, turn into hours every year, and they compound, and over time you'll get further and further and further, right?
But then what you were just talking about, right, is, is, is one, like, you know, the game's gonna end and then you have a long life ahead of you, but also burnout, right? And so, um, you know, how, what's your advice in terms of whether you're a, a parent trying to give guidance to your kid or whether you're a kid who's trying to take hockey as far as they can in terms of, um, managing that balance.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, it's, it's a good question. You kind of gotta get, go off of each individual kid, you know? I think a parent, and I don't have kids, you, you tell me, but can you, can you tell when your kid looks burnt out at the end of the week from, from all the activities that you, you put 'em
Jason Jacobs: not shy. [00:57:00] He's not shy. Neither one of them I got, he has a little sister too. She's not a hockey kid, but, um, she plays sports. Just different sports. But yeah, neither one of them is shy, but yeah, no, I can, I can definitely tell.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. So I think parents need to have a, a, an open, uh, conversation and, and relationship with, with that as that. Am I pushing my kid too hard? I. They need to be able to tell me, they can't be afraid to tell me this. You know, that's, that's the last thing you want, right? Is your, is your kid being afraid to, to tell their parents that they're burnt out.
And there's definitely parents that, that do intimidate their kids to that point, I would say. Um, but it's, you know, maybe it's different activities too. Instead of, instead of pushing 'em to, to go do this thing or maybe go watch video, um, have your kid, have your kid sit on the couch and, and watch an NHL game with you, you know, and turn that, and turn that into a, a bonding moment.
And that's something we didn't, uh, kind of turn it, it's something we didn't really touch on too. And, um, I've, I've talked with [00:58:00] friends that I think the, the IQ level of, of hockey is going down, but the skill level is going up.
Jason Jacobs: Oh yeah, no, that's another, uh, soundbite that you hear a lot of.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. And it's, it's, I think the, the older coaches, and I'm not necessarily an, an, an older coach I guess, but, um, people are just, I. Watching TikTok Hockey, and you're just watching highlights and you're just watching clips and you go, well make McDavid did this. I saw this 15 second clip of him, I'm gonna do this.
Or I, I saw, I saw McKinnon do, do this, um, or Ari do this. And these kids aren't getting the whole game. The only source of hockey they're getting are these clips. Kids don't watch hockey games, um, these days. And that's, that's a big, a big issue in that watch a full hockey game with your kid. Tell them, Hey, don't watch the puck.
Look, look at all the other things on the ice and, and tell me what you see. And I think that goes such a long way in development for kids. Um, and they don't have to do anything. They're sitting on the couch watching it, but [00:59:00] don't, and, and watching a full hockey game and, and watching different pieces of the game instead of just watching, you know, TikTok clips and Instagram clips of hockey goes a long way.
Jason Jacobs: Can hockey IQ be taught in a classroom setting, or is it just like game situations only either watching or playing?
Jack Ramsey: I think, I do think it can be taught. I, I, I really do. Um, you get to, you have kids coming into the, the high school level and you want to talk about a, a 1 3, 1 4 check or, um, a, a push down penalty kill or something like that. Um, these are all things that I knew when I was 10, right? But other kids didn't figure this out until they were 16, going to, to high school.
And those are things that I just watched and my dad taught me about. And I don't think you necessarily need an NHL coach to be able to teach those. You can, you can look at a, a screen and, and read about it or be shown examples, and I think that can go a long way. Now, implementing it on the ice is one thing.
Knowing it in your head and knowing where you have to be and what [01:00:00] it looks like on ice level is different. Um, so it definitely takes a combination of the two. But I, I do think you can, I. Save ice time. You know, you only have an hour of ice for practice. That's precious time. You don't wanna spend 15 minutes of it slowly walking through, hey, what this looks like, and now you only have 45 minutes left to actually practice it.
I think though there are a lot of things, um, system-wise that you can talk through off ice on a whiteboard and teach kids that you can boom, go implement on ice.
Jason Jacobs: Uh huh. Um, do, how do you think about shift reviews? Are they valuable for players?
Jack Ramsey: I think they are, I I, I, I really do. It. It, uh, it really wasn't until I got to pro, I mean, we had individual video and, you know, line video and stuff like that in college, but it wasn't until pro that I had a, an iPad and I could go home and I could watch all my shifts. And when I went to pro, I [01:01:00] switched from a Ford to a defenseman, which is another whole thing.
Um, so my first, my first
Jason Jacobs: like you should have done that years before.
Jack Ramsey: I think that's my, my, my dad says if I would've, if I would've done that years before, I'd still be playing hockey right now. You know, I wouldn't, that's, that's one thing. So, um, but it, it, it is, it is helpful, um, to see from bird's eye view. 'cause you, you, you go, you went into this shift and you thought this was your option.
You saw this and coach came back to the bench and told you this, and you're like, no, this is the option I had. Then you go look at it and film and go, oh, okay, I see what he's talking about. I had that guy behind me. I didn't shoulder check. I didn't know, okay, I'm gonna really work on shoulder checking tomorrow, work on this.
I think video review gives you really good things to, um, to work on. Gives you habits to work on, you know, you need to, to work on your wall play because of that and this and that, so,
Jason Jacobs: Uhhuh. Um, so a few ideas I've been thinking about that I'm just curious to spitball [01:02:00] and I, you know, we're, we just passed an hour, so I won't, I won't give you too much longer. Um. But one, one is, do you know Peloton? Like the, you know, the, the exercise bike and, and how they took like the, you know, the boring exercise bike that, you know, all the hockey kids were supposed to sit on for 30 or 60 minutes or whatever and like wrap an experience around it and make it more like a SoulCycle class.
Right. Um, uh, so imagine doing similar but with shift review where it's either your shifts or it could just be watching another game and with a group of kids sitting at home with a teacher walking through and marking up the screen and teaching hockey iq. So that, that's one idea. I'll stop there. What do you think about that?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, I, I think, I think it's important. Um, I, I'd be interested to see how it would go in a multiple person setting. Um, you know, who shifts are you reviewing? Are you reviewing. An HL video. Are you reviewing one team and you have these [01:03:00] five guys there? You know, how is that gonna work? I do like the idea of, um, watching shifts for maybe an NHL game.
You just play a clip and you go, okay guys, what'd you, what'd you see there? Or what were the, what were the things? Um, I think it's important for, um, it's, it's, and, and this is another thing that parents don't know hockey, that you could, you could help them. 'cause I think teaching h uh, parents is, is beneficial to, to them teaching their kids of, you know, here's 10 bullet points.
I want you to look for these things in this game. You know, uh, I want you to, to say it out loud. Or, or notice when, when they're doing this four check or this somebody has a good stick, or doing this push down. Like it's beneficial to look for those individual things. And really see what it looks like instead of just kind of also just watching it, you know?
So I think watching those clips and, and highlighting stick position, push down, positioning all this stuff is, is really important. Kids can benefit from it.
Jason Jacobs: Another [01:04:00] one I'm thinking about is a digital platform that not only does shift review for you, but then designs a personalized development plan of stuff to work on in between.
Jack Ramsey: That I, I think that would, that would be a, a, a winner right there. Now how you do it, would it be, um, would it be ai? Would you have a, a full workforce of, of people reviewing shifts, um, and doing this, uh, that's a, that's a thing that some advisors are doing. Some advisors are doing video review with guys.
Um, and I give my, my buddy crap. Yeah. And I.
Jason Jacobs: they're starting to hire like, uh, you know, quote unquote advisors that actually are just player development people. Right.
Jack Ramsey: Exactly, and I, I, I give my buddy crap 'cause I'm like, why aren't all of you guys doing vid? You're an advisor. You guys should be doing video review for all of your kids. Like if I were to ever, ever become an advisor, that's gotta, that's probably priority number two behind trying to open doors for you guys is we gotta do video review for these kids.
'cause that's the, the biggest impact that those [01:05:00] advisors can actually have on those kids. And then that goes back into the thing of advisors that never played hockey at a high level. You know, are they gonna be able to actually help you with that?
Jason Jacobs: Uh huh. Another one is almost like long tail skills. So imagine a class. And taught by a real instructor, but maybe the instructor's bedard teaching the Bedard shot. Right? Or, or maybe it's only a faceoff class. Right? Um, but it's taught by like some of the best faceoff people in the game. Right? Um, uh, so, and, and think about like what are the long tail skills that it's really important to work on, that you would never just like spend the valuable time at a practice working on, but then it's like, when are you working on it, by the way?
Like, how are you working on it? I'm like, what? Are you gonna go on YouTube and like find a clip? Like what if there was someone that could actually see you do it and give you counsel even if it's remote?
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. I, I, I like, I like those individual skills, um, being taught like that, especially face offs. They're such an underrated part of the game in, in professional hockey, you know, [01:06:00] huge thing who has possession in college hockey. But growing up it's kind of tough for a coach who was maybe never a, a centerman to teach face offs.
Even now, after, after practices, um, I'll wanna work with, with the forwards on, on face offs. 'cause we, we were piss poor the previous game on, on face offs. I was never a center, so I'm like. I don't necessarily know the, the tips or tricks or something like that to, to help you guys. So those things would go a long way, especially for kids, and especially for, um, I think coaches too.
How to help your kids get, get better on face offs, how to, you know, you can, you can have, uh, this can definitely be player oriented, but I think you can also have a coach, a coach oriented, um, portion as well.
Jason Jacobs: Whoa. Yeah, I mean that's, that's another, it's like, uh, the long tail of like coach, the coaches, right? You could do a session for coaches or a session for scouts or a session for agents
Jack Ramsey: Yeah.
Jason Jacobs: you know, session for player, development people, whatever. Um. You know, that feels like a distraction today for where we're thinking because it's [01:07:00] hard enough to just get it right for the player.
Right. But directionally, that's certainly an expansion path. Another nugget that I, um, that I observed that I don't know what to do with yet, but I wanna mention to you in case you have ideas, is I was speaking to a long time, NH lr, who, uh, who recently left the game, um, he has, uh, young kids. He didn't want to do the grind anymore, right.
Um, and he, uh, is an agent now. Um, but, uh, he, um, uh, he loves the game and he likes being active in the development, but he can't be a road warrior. So he's doing some in-person skills, but he wants to be able to do it from anywhere, right? He has a house an hour up north, right? Um, and he said, you know. I'm seeking purpose.
A lot of guys that leave the game, they're seeking purpose. They wanna stay close to the game, but they want to have the flexibility to work when they want to work from wherever they wanna work. Uh, right. Um, and they don't wanna, you know, they don't want it to mess with their, [01:08:00] you know, their family or their semi-retired lives.
So you have all those people. Then you have all the crazy youth hockey people that are like, you know, trying to accelerate and make their development pass as, as effective and efficient as possible. What do you do with that?
Jack Ramsey: I mean, gosh, if, if, if I were him, I'm creating, I'm creating a, a, a website and I'm doing a, I'm doing a video review, uh, company. You know, it depends on, it depends on who he wants to, who he wants to work with. Is his, is his goal to have an income? Is his goal to, I want to impact NHL players or I want to impact youth players, or just the game in general.
Do you wanna do both? You know, you could charge X amount of dollars for a video session and people just sign up, they bring their clips. You know, a lot of these teams and organizations have their video that these kids can pull themselves. Right. Um, and they can send it to 'em. You can do, Hey, we're gonna do an hour meeting or ship me your video ahead of time.
I'm gonna review it and I'm [01:09:00] gonna, I'm gonna have, uh, all the, uh, uh, Xs and os broken down and we're gonna do a video review session. So I think for a guy that wants to do something like that, that's a, a good opportunity is to do a video review session. I know a lot of these, um, a lot of these skating coaches in, in Minnesota, there's not a ton of them, but you know, they do, they do skating classes with youth players and NHL players, and then during the season they also do video review with the NHL players on their skating and stuff like that.
So, a, they're making more money, they're keeping themselves busy during the hockey season and they're retaining their clients throughout the year for next year.
Jason Jacobs: Gosh, I wasn't gonna bring that one up, but that's another one is skating because, um, it seems like there's a bunch of good skating coaches around me, but, um, but actually aligning with the right coach and the right logistics and geography and ice time, that's at a, you know, that, that, that's at a time that fits with your overscheduled schedule, right?
Seems to be impossible. Um, and, and also the one, one-on-one or small group [01:10:00] seems to be the most, effectively skating yet the most in demand people. They've got 30 people on the ice. Right. And so I guess my question is, um, does skating need to be in person on the ice or is there anything that can be done remotely?
And also like skating is such a generic term. Like I have no, even though I played the game for a long time, again, not, not like you or not like your dad, but like, you know, I mean, you know, played the game for decades. Right. And, and, um. I don't know how to assess. Like, like, like who, what is a good skating coach?
What things should the kids be working on? What background should that person have? How important is it that they do hockey specific versus figure skating? Like, I just don't know, but it seems like skating's so fundamental to the game that that blind spot bothers me.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. I, if, if you're, I think as, as a parent, um, it's the, I. And that, and that can be frustrating for you too. I, I think because skating is the, it's the, the, the biggest base of, of a hockey [01:11:00] player, right? If you are a good skater, um, but you lack all these other skills, it's still gonna open doors for you. If you're still the best skater in your group, it is still gonna, it's gonna open so many doors for you.
But skating is the hardest thing to be able to te uh, teach online, um, or tell this kid, this is what you need to do. Um, it's so hard to implement online because you really need to be able to see that kid and make these tweaks, um, I think on the spot, um, that's, that's the toughest thing to, to show a video, um, online and then a kid's gonna be self-teaching themself.
I mean, skating in a sense, it's like watching a, a YouTube golf coach. These are the swings you need to do. These are the tips you need to make. Got it. Oh yeah. Perfect. I may go to the range and do that. Well, I just whacked 50 balls and. Try to do these tips, nothing changed. I think that'd kind of be the same thing with, with skating is I watch these things, I gotta do this T push and this kind of stuff.
I'm gonna go implement it at practice today and kind of forget everything that you know, [01:12:00] that you just watched when you're there. You kind of need somebody in person to implement those. I think that'd be kind of tough to, to teach. To teach online. Um, for sure.
Jason Jacobs: Mm-hmm. Um, so, so two last ones. Uh, one is, um, think about all the handlers that an NHL player has, and I don't know that they do because I've never been in the NHL. Right? Um, and I don't know a lot of NH lrs, although I'm getting to know more as I'm heading on this journey. But I would imagine, and tell me if I'm wrong, that they have access to.
A nutrition person and a sports psychologist and a strength person and a mobility person and a prehab person and, and uh, you know, and of hockey IQ video, you know, shift reviews and like whatever it is that they might need for their development, they probably have access to it. A lot of the younger kids don't.
Now there's stuff for sure that's age appropriate. And there's also like, well, you know, you don't need access to that tippy top when even if you just learn the basics from like, you know, your neighbor who eats well right then, like, that's, that, that's enough. [01:13:00] But do you, what do you think about looking at what they have access to at the tippy top of the game and then figuring out a lightweight version and packaging that to introduce it to kids much younger, but at a price point that's much more affordable and accessible because it's, you know, digital automated or some other way to kind of, um, strip out costs and, and make it, uh, um, you know, at a price point that's more palatable.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, that's, that's interesting thing. I, I mean, in, in college I was blessed that, um, we're, we're at such a, a, a well-funded and big school at the University of Minnesota that we had each, each individual person, you know, strength coach, nutritionist, um. Uh, therapy, uh, physio, all these things was a different person.
And then I go to the, um, next level up in the, the East Coast League, and all of a sudden one person is your nutritionist, strength coach, um, physio. And then if you get to the a HL, well now you have a nutritionist. And, you know, it's, it's kind of funny, every level you go up, um, has more people [01:14:00] specializing, um, in that.
But I, I think that would be, um, it would be helpful, um, to show some, some guidance for that. You know, who, who you obviously have to, to get some specialists right. To, to figure out what that looks like and to, to help guide that. Um, because I, I think when I was growing up, it was just eat as much food as possible.
You know, you're growing, you're always hungry. Just eat as much
Jason Jacobs: remember the football guys. Yeah. It was like, okay, we're gonna sit down, you know, little Jimmy and like, here's a loaf of bread and I want you to eat the whole thing if here's some peanut butter and some jelly if you want it. But like one way or another, that loaf needs to go.
Jack Ramsey: Uh, you need to, you need to eat it. Yeah. My, my brother-in-law was a, a tight end at the University of Minnesota and he, I think his playing weight was, was 2 85 and he hated it. Like he had to, he'd come over for, for dinner at our house and he had to eat and then he'd have to take home all these leftovers.
And then when he got home, he had to eat again. He's not hungry, but he had to eat them, you know, and then three months outta college he lost 60 pounds, you know, 'cause he [01:15:00] wasn't force feeding like that. But, um, I do think that would, that would be helpful to have a, uh, a, a tab, um, of, of some sort of your envisioning a tab that's nutrition, you know, what age are you, what are you doing?
Here's your kind of guidelines, recommendations. What are your goals? Are you, are you underweight right now? When I was in high school, I was six three and I was 140 pounds. So is weight was an issue. Yeah, I was, I had to, I had to get it packed on. Um, so over the next few years going into college, um, I got up to one 90.
So, you know, those next. Four or five years, I, I packed it on, but even when I was playing, I, I had a big frame, but I could never get to, to 200, 2 15, which, you know, that would've been nice to get to. Um, but no matter what I ate, I couldn't do it. So I think that would be helpful for, for high schoolers, probably, maybe not necessarily kids that are, um, you know, peewees or, or, or squirts that are these young kids on the nutritional aspect.
But once these kids really get into the gym and start eating and stuff, or [01:16:00] start lifting and stuff and training hard, um, nutrition becomes a big factor because if you go to the gym and workout for two hours, um, with the strength coach, but you go home and you, you don't eat and you don't eat the proper stuff, you're kind of throwing all that training you did just out the window.
Jason Jacobs: Hmm. Um, and the, the last one is, it's just something I'm wrestling with, I think. Um. You know, from a, uh, there's so many resources that are now proliferating and that is great in terms of helping grow the players and grow the game. But it also is a bit of an arms race, um, and competing with the Joneses.
And there's burnout, but there's also just the accessibility thing that, like this stuff is expensive and requires a lot of time. And I mean, we already talked about this earlier in the discussion and, um, if I, if I were coming in purely with a capitalist mindset, I think that the best way to go, maybe to just like look into, look to tap into the smallest number of deepest wallets, right.
And, um, and [01:17:00] be another hand grabbing at it and, um, uh, and, and and further polarize the arms race of the haves and the have-nots. Right? And that doesn't feel good to me. Like if that's what this is gonna be like, I don't wanna do it. Right. Like I wanna, I want to take like. In a way, you know, Uber has its downsides, right?
But one of the nice things is that like there's a lot of people that like would never have had a private black car, right? That can like drive in a, you know, if they're going to the prom, they can take a private black car and they didn't, you know, it's like at a fraction of the price of what a private black car would've been, right?
And so it's like grows the accessibility of private black cars. And maybe that's a bad example because who gives a shit for the world about if you grow the accessibility of private black cars, right? But, um, but if you grow for the, for the kids and families that are serious, right? That aspire, but for whatever reason don't have access, if you're growing the access right, it's good for them and good for the game and there's a noble mission to it, right?
But if you're just like, um, another hand [01:18:00] grabbing at like the, you know, at the halves, right? And that further disadvantages the have nots, right? Then that doesn't feel good. Like, you know, am I right to worry about that? And what advice do you have for me in terms of heading out on this trinity to make sure that it, you know, that it, that it ends up in a place that I can be proud of and feel good about.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. I, I, I love that you brought it up because it, yeah. What is your goal, right? Do you wanna make money or do you want to impact, uh, development OO of the game? Um, you know, you can do both. I think you can really do one or you can really do one, and then otherwise you can kind of do both probably down here.
Um, which I, I think that kind of sounds like more so what you, you want to do. Um, but I, uh, I, I really think the, the best way that you can, you can, you have to move with, with the new world. You, you can't fight against it. Right. And I don't think you want to compete against it. So I think in the age of all these kids are, are starting to get advisors at 14 and, and, and [01:19:00] 15 and stuff.
I think you have to. Lean into that, but not as a, a money grab model. You know, maybe this thing, this thing starts becoming, it's more of a, a member benefit kind of idea, and that you're, you're partnering with, with agencies, you know, if you partner with, with this agency that has, you know, these 40 advisors and they have these 5,000 kids, well, right away your platform is in front of 5,000 kids on day one.
And maybe it is kids upload their, you know, we were talking about the, the video. Maybe the kids upload their video into the system and, uh, model one, you know, whether AI breaks it down and then it's, it's sent to their specific advisor. Their, their advisor sets their meeting time and they video review it.
Okay. If there's kids that. Don't have advisors. They can upload their video into it. They can watch it by themselves, um, with X's and O's and, and [01:20:00] stuff like that for a reduced fee. Um, if they want to pay an upgraded fee while now you pull in an advisor or a live person, um, to review that, that footage with them.
And now it's motivation, um, for the, the advising company too, that, Hey, this, I got this random kid. If I excel at this video session, I'm gonna help this kid. This kid's gonna wanna work with us. It helps you guys. Um, hey, by the way, did you guys check out the nutritional tab? Um, you know, what are you doing for that?
So I think that's something that you could really do is, is partner with, um, advisors of some sort or an agency of some sort. Take the biggest one and, and ask them, what are you guys doing? Because they already have the market. They already have the kids, and it's such a, a benefit that they want to use this.
And I think it's just flows both ways. It's a, it's positive for, for both companies. So.
Jason Jacobs: Yeah. It's one of the nice things about doing this in public is that, uh, is that there's accountability to it, right? No, not that, I'm not saying there's zillions of people paying attention, maybe nobody is right. But [01:21:00] just the fact that it's all like out in the public record. It's like you, you're not gonna, you might disagree with my intentions, but you're gonna know my intentions won't be up for debate.
Like, 'cause they'll be right there for the world to see. Right. Um, and, and that doesn't even always mean I'll get it. Right. But if I'm doing it in public, then hopefully, you know, the mob will hold me accountable for that and I'll Of course correct. Right. Um, you know, unless I wanna get lynched. Um, but. Yeah.
Um, and, and Jack, I mean, we didn't talk about, uh, what are you up to now and where does the game fit into your life? You mentioned the coaching, um, and then what does the future have in store for you, I guess, you know, generally, and hockey specific to the, to the extent that hockey does factor into your future.
Jack Ramsey: yeah. Yeah. No good questions and thanks for asking. Um, I. I'm, uh, about four and a half years in, um, with, with Players Health is the, the company i I work for. We're, we're an insurance organization and a risk management organization. So we, we work only with youth [01:22:00] sports. Um, so I'm, I'm an insurance broker on that side.
So I, I work with, um, you know, organization X for brokering their insurance, but we also have a, uh, a risk management arm that is helping with, uh, coach compliance, background checks, trainings, all this stuff. So it's kind of a, a one-stop shop for, for youth sports organizations, um, and just, um, keep an organization safe, athletes safe.
So it's been really fun, um, post hockey to career to work in a sports oriented, um, um, company. So I've been doing that for, for about four and a half years. Like I said, I've been coaching high school hockey the, the past three years, so I'm, I'm involved in that. You know, I, I play in my, my normal weekly.
Men's league skates like that. Um, I, um, we formed a, a Minnesota team and we went and played, um, the Veil Yeti. They're a, uh, a semipro men's league, um, played in that this winter. So still involved in the game like that. Um, I'm doing color commentary, uh, for the University of Minnesota. Uh, that last year was my
Jason Jacobs: didn't know that either.
Jack Ramsey: yeah, yeah, last year [01:23:00] was my first year, um, um, doing that.
Um, Frank aka was the, the longtime color commentator. He retired last year, so they, they pulled in a, a couple former, um, players to do that. So I did about eight games last year, and I'm doing that again this year. So that's something that I was a little uneasy about, very nervous about. Um. And turned out I love this.
Um, I, I, I, I find so much enjoyment in it. Um, you know, calling the game on the radio from up top and, and being involved in the game, going to go, uh, go down to the locker room and see former coaches, former trainers, and just be around the guys. Um, that's something I found immense joy. And so I'm doing that again this year.
Um, so yeah, that's doing that, uh, coaching, playing. I love hunting and, and, and fishing. You got my, my background right here. I got some, um, some, some skulls from, from previous hunts, so that keeps me very busy as well. Um, so it's always a, a full slate,
Jason Jacobs: Nice. Well, gosh, we covered [01:24:00] so much ground. Is there anything I didn't ask that you wish I did? Or any parting words for listeners?
Jack Ramsey: man. No, I, we, we. Bounced all over the place, which is, which is so fun to kind of brainstorm and just talk about this stuff, right? As you just, you just ping pong back and forth, and if you're hitting on an, an idea, you, you kind of dive into it. So it's really fun. Um, I mean, for, for listeners, what a cool opportunity that you're kind of building this, this forward facing to the public that they get to see that, that usually don't get to see in, in detail of what you're doing.
So, um, you know, I, if I was somebody sitting on the side, I'd, I'd keep watching you. 'cause you get to learn about, um, business, how to potentially grow a company, um, and, and maybe get in at, at the ground level somehow. You know, it's, it's, it's pretty cool that, um, you know, just reading the, the blogs and stuff like that, that I've, I've never seen something done like this.
So it's pretty cool to, to follow and I'm, I'm excited to, to keep following it and I really appreciate, uh, you having me on.
Jason Jacobs: It's pretty weird. Yeah, and I, uh, I already did this in another space. [01:25:00] For the last seven years, and now I'm kind of bringing it to the hockey world. And I was really nervous about it because youth hockey's become a really big part of my life. But, uh, but totally separate from this, like alter ego of this like public facing, weird, whatever I am.
Right. And now I'm bringing that to hockey and that, I don't know, like that, that is a nervous thing for me, but it's also exciting because the game has become such a big part of my life and in many ways coming full circle because it was, it was a big part of my life when I was little and that, and then business took over and then hockey was dormant, but then it got reawakened with my kid.
And then every year it's been getting more and more and it seems like it's going to even surpass what it was when I was a kid. Right. So it's just a really, you know, I'm getting older and I, I mean, I'm still, I don't plan to ever retire, but like I am probably in the last third of my career. Right. And, um, and it just seems like such a, such a fitting way to bring it home is to make my last chapter, um.
About [01:26:00] hockey.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah. That's awesome.
Jason Jacobs: for that opportunity.
Jack Ramsey: That's really, really awesome. Yeah, that's, that's, that's so fun to do something that's so close to your heart and that you, you're passionate about. So.
Jason Jacobs: Well, Jack, I can't thank you enough for coming on the show, um, and, uh, looking forward to watching your progress, uh, you know, professionally and with the game. And we'll keep you posted as well. No doubt you'll be a valuable sounding board along the way, so thanks again.
Jack Ramsey: Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate it.