The Next Next

Navigating Hockey Development with Advisor Brock Kautz

Episode Summary

In this episode of The Next Next, the host interviews Brock Kautz, a former University of Minnesota goalie turned player advisor. Brock shares his journey from playing junior hockey and winning an NAHL Championship to receiving a scholarship at the University of Minnesota and transitioning into coaching at Bemidji State. Now an advisor, Brock discusses his role in guiding young players through the evolving landscape of hockey development. Key topics include the influence of parental involvement in youth hockey, the importance of multi-sport participation, and adapting to the changing nature of hockey recruitment and player representation. Brock emphasizes the significance of work ethic, team dynamics, skills development, and the strategic role of advisors in helping players achieve their goals.

Episode Notes

Navigating Hockey Development with Advisor Brock Kautz 

In this episode of The Next Next, former University of Minnesota goalie and current hockey player advisor, Brock Kautz, shares his extensive journey from a junior hockey player to a college athlete and finally transitioning into coaching and player representation. Discussing his early beginnings in Minnesota hockey, Kautz highlights the importance of multi-sport participation, the evolving role of parents in youth hockey, and the significance of adapting to different roles within a team. He provides insights on player development, the impact of technology, and the essentials of being a good teammate. This episode offers valuable perspectives for young athletes, parents, and anyone involved in hockey. 

00:00 Introduction to Brock Kautz 

00:49 Brock's Early Hockey Journey 

03:50 College and Coaching Career 

11:10 Transition to Player Advisor 

17:17 Parental Involvement in Youth Hockey 

25:04 Hockey IQ and Skill Development 

30:58 The Role of Coaches and Video Analysis 

33:57 Embracing Roles and Identity in Hockey 

36:08 The Rise of Agents and Advisors 

41:48 Balancing Development and Exposure 

43:56 Key Attributes Scouts Look For 

47:16 Training, Burnout, and Multi-Sport Benefits 

51:46 The Impact of Technology in Player Development 

56:25 Changes in Junior and College Hockey 

58:29 Life as a Hockey Advisor

01:03:09 Final Thoughts and Advice

Episode Transcription

Jason Jacobs: Today on The Next Next, our guest is Brock Kautz. Brock is a former University of Minnesota goalie. Turned hockey player advisor. I got to Brock through Jack Ramsey, who was his teammate at University of Minnesota for four years, and, , and Brock was also the best man in Jack's wedding.

I was excited for this one because Brock has had a, a great journey. He, , had an extensive career in juniors where he capped his time with an NAHL Championship for the Minnesota wilderness. , He was a scholarship player at University of Minnesota. As a goalie. , He did a stint at Bemidji State, , division one program as assistant coach, and now he's working as a player advisor advising emerging players on their path within the game.

We cover a lot in this episode in including Brock's journey, what it was like growing up in crazy. Minnesota Hockey. We talk about the role of parents in youth hockey [00:01:00] and how that role has been shifting over time. We talk about the importance of multi-sport participation and the evolving landscape of hockey development, and we also talk about Brock's career transition into player representation and what he's learned by working with.

Players and families, what the role of an advisor is and, and how players should be thinking about navigating their own path within the game. This is a great one and I hope you enjoy it. Brock, welcome to the show.

Brock Kautz: Jason, thank you very much for having me.

Jason Jacobs: Thanks for coming. Yeah, and not always, but typically we do a prep call first and get to know each other and stuff. I mean, we just talked for a couple minutes before recording, but that was the extent of it. Although I did a long episode, I think it was like 90 minutes or something with Jack Ramsey, and apparently you were Jack's teammate at University of Minnesota and the best man in his wedding

Brock Kautz: Yeah, no, for sure. Yeah, he he is my best friend and we, we got to know each other freshman year at, at the University of Minnesota. I didn't know him [00:02:00] previously. We grew up maybe an hour half away from each other. We're a couple years apart in age. 

Jason Jacobs: Who's older.

Brock Kautz: I, I am, yeah, so you, you probably could argue that both ways.

'cause I, it took me longer to get to college and he got, he got there a year before. You know, I did age-wise, but even though we were both freshmen, so, he, he leaned on me 'cause I was a 21-year-old freshman. Thought.

Jason Jacobs: but whoa. I mean, as one does these days. But but I yeah, I was talking to Jack after we finished recording. He said, you know, who would be great for you to talk to? You should talk to Brock. And he told me that, you know, you recently became an agent and at any rate, that was enough for me.

But the, I'm scared to talk to you and the reason I'm scared to talk to you actually has nothing to do with the fact that we haven't spoken before. I'm scared to talk to you because one thing that Jack did not mention is that you're a goalie. Yeah. And like, I, I played the game for a long time.

Granted, not nearly as at as high level as you guys, but I played the game for a long time. And I do not understand the goalie mindset, man. Like, you know, goalies are great guys, but like you guys are, [00:03:00] you're a different breed.

Brock Kautz: For sure, for sure. No, it I like, you know, maybe a little biased, but I feel like I'm, I'm one of the normal ones if you can say that. And you know, I was never too crazy into superstitions or, you know, had to stay in my lane. Don't talk to me before the game. But, but yeah, it was it was crazy how I got into it.

I have a twin brother that played hockey, an older brother that played hockey. And you know, somebody needed to be in the net. 'cause obviously it's a lot more fun to shoot on a goalie than, than an empty net. And so. Yeah, super mites. Probably a year or two after I started, I, I put on the pads 'cause everyone was supposed to do it for a week.

And you know, I was fortunate. I guess I was pretty good at it and fell in love with it. And so I, I never took the pads off until after I was done playing. I.

Jason Jacobs: Well, obviously we'll get into, you know, what you're doing as an agent and about, you know, some of the stuff I'm thinking about around player development. But for starters, maybe just share a bit about your journey, you know. Where'd you grow up? What did your development path look like? You know, did you, did you come from a long line of high level hockey players or, [00:04:00] or or did that come outta left field?

Like just any, any color that you wanna share would be fun to learn about.

Brock Kautz: For sure. No, I so I'm originally from Rochester, Minnesota. My parents my dad never played any sports. Mom never played any sports. My dad played broom ball and softball kind of after he, he moved out of his house in early twenties. And I remember when I was a young kid, he had played, he was a goalie in Broom Broomball, funny enough.

But so I, whenever he told me something, I wouldn't listen. 'cause it doesn't apply to, to hockey at all, bro. Ball hockey doesn't, doesn't matter. But but yeah, so I started playing hockey at four years old. I think, you know, a lot of it. My, my older brother, I think was six at the time. And you know, he, I looked up to him, wanted to be like 'em.

And, and so I kind of started it and like I said earlier, super mites put on the pads and that's when the, the goalie journey started. And you know, we play hockey in the street, in the basement, on the pond you know, loved every second of it. So, played youth hockey. I played. Football and baseball, golf you know, I think it's important [00:05:00] to, to do all that as long as you can.

I, I, I really do believe that playing those other sports helped me in, in a lot of what I did. I was a catcher in baseball, which, you know, I tried to pride myself in not letting any wild pitches go by me. And so part of that's, you know, the, the goalie mindset, but even, you know, hand eye and just being a

Jason Jacobs: like goalie. Prac, like all spring and maybe summer too. That's just goalie practice.

Brock Kautz: So yeah, just practiced by baseball's getting thrown at me and have to stop 'em. So, so yeah, so, you know, I did that and you, honestly, I love football a lot. I, I played all the way until my ninth grade. I played my freshman year of high school. And then, and then at that time it was kind of, Hey, you know, the fall is, is extremely important for hockey.

What, what do I want to do? And you know, like I said, I love football. Had a ton of fun playing for seven, eight years. But I was better at hockey and so, I was passionate about hockey and, and, and moving on. And so, decided to play hockey. So I played a year of high school hockey in Minnesota, which as I'm sure you're [00:06:00] aware, most people are aware, is a, is a big deal in Minnesota to play for your high school and try to play at the Xcel Energy Center in the state tournament and in front of

Jason Jacobs: I'll make the same joke I made with Jack and, and it's, I mean, for me it's the hair, like the, the, you know, the hair in the tournament when you, you know, when the players skate out to the blue line or whatever like that, that I see those clips, man. I mean, that, that is aspirational.

Brock Kautz: For sure, for sure. I, you know, I wouldn't have made, I would've been on the no hair team if if I would've made it to the state tournament. But so played my sophomore year and then I actually chose to leave my, after my sophomore year to play junior hockey. And

Jason Jacobs: did that actually mean like leave playing for your school or leave home?

Brock Kautz: Yeah. Yeah. So both. So I, I left home tried out for a North American Hockey League team, which you know, I, I had a coach you know, I, I played with a kid whose, whose dad was a, a college coach, made a call to the team and said, Hey, you gotta let this kid try out. Like you, you're not gonna regret it.

You gotta give 'em an opportunity. And you know, playing high school, the juniors, it's, it's a huge step. You know, especially for goalies, the pace of the [00:07:00] game, how quick the shots are. And so I, I went there and first game warmups. I, I honestly, Jason, I, I don't know if I stopped at Pucking warmups, like, I was like, this is gonna be brutal.

And, and all of a sudden when the puck dropped and the game started something clicked, something changed. And, you know, fortunate that I, I played pretty well and so ended up making the team and that started my journey in junior hockey. So I, I played five years of juniors, which is an extremely long time, and not a lot of kids do it, but.

But I, I loved it. It was a ton of fun. And then my last year at juniors, I won the Robertson Cup, which is the National Championship in the North American Hockey League, and I got my scholarship to play at the University of Minnesota. Then, and so, kind of led me right into, I think we won in middle of May, and I started summer school at the u three weeks later and saw that you know, it was, it was an easy, quick transition.

And yeah, I, you know, I grew up from Minnesota. My, my dream, my goal was to play for the University of Minnesota Every Friday, Saturday night, I'd watch him on [00:08:00] tv, I'd shoot puck and have my brother shoot on me. The Gopher game would be on, you know, I'd pretend that I'm, you know, one of the players. And so I, I lived, breathed.

I, I loved it. And, you know, I was very fortunate that I got a scholarship to, to put on that jersey and be a part of that program. And so I, I played there and after that I got into coaching 'cause I knew I was, I didn't play a whole lot at the u and so I knew you know, pro hockey wasn't gonna be for me.

And I didn't wanna go down that route. And I had a torn labrum in my hip. That didn't, doesn't bother me day-to-day life, but going in the RVH and the vh goalie terms would, would put some pressure on my hips. And, and so,

Jason Jacobs: my blank stare when you said those terms.

Brock Kautz: Somebody will, will, it'll hit home with a few people, but some people again, will look at me like I'm crazy.

But but, but yeah, so, it doesn't bother me day-to-day life and, and I knew coaching was something I wanted to get into. And I had, you know, a, a couple coaches that impacted my life and in such a positive way that, you know, they gave their time [00:09:00] and energy to, to. May to allow me to learn and develop and grow.

And I was like, you know, I, I want to coach. And so, after college, right after college, I, I got into coaching, you know, from the development side and, and coach goalies. You know, I wouldn't say I, I, I didn't like teach player skating, but I would work with players and give 'em, you know, the perspective of, Hey, you know, when you're coming down on this side, this is what the goalie is thinking and, you know, you should shoot here because this is a tough save.

Or you should shoot here because the rebound iss gonna go right out to the slot and now you're creating an opportunity for, for your teammate. And so, being able to, to work that perspective I, I think is, is valuable. And so, so I did that and did you know, goalie from goalie development from mites all the way up to, to junior and college kids?

And then you know, I. It wasn't, it wasn't enough maybe, and I wanted to get more involved in coaching. And so, was able to, to coach in the North American Hockey League as an assistant coach, where I, I ran the [00:10:00] d and helped with, with everything from power play, penalty kill systems things like that.

And so, you know, that was a ton of fun just to expand the, the skillset and, and continue to learn and, and grow. And so I, I did that in junior hockey as a coach. And then unbelievable timing where the NCAA opened up four coaching spots. Which would've been two years ago. And so I got offered a, a, a spot to coach at Bemidji State division one in the CCHA.

And so like three and a half hours, three hours north of you know, where I was living at the time. And so I, I did it. I moved up there, my wife lived in the cities and, and I, I moved up there and you know, I was, was all in loved loved being coach in the division one life and recruiting and you know, trying to, to, to win games, trying to build a program.

And you know, it was, it was a ton of fun. Met a ton of people, recruited all over the country from western Canada, Eastern Canada to West Coast, east Coast down to Texas, [00:11:00] any, everywhere in the Midwest. And just met so many great people, so many coaches, so many players. And, and so that kind of led me into my career now where.

My wife and I, we, we have a now nine month old boy. She has a job in the hospital in, in the Twin Cities in, in Minnesota. And my brothers both live in the cities. Her, her parents live in the cities and so a lot of family around here. And she's got a great job. And so, you know, for me it was how can I stay in hockey, but maybe you know, not coach or not have to be gone all the time.

And, and so the agent side I, I've been in involved with agents 'cause I, that's my job as it was my job as a college coach to talk to agents. Hey, you know, how's, how's Jack Ramsey? How's Brock house? How are those players? Talk to 'em and and, and just, you know, realize that they help out players.

It's just, you know, in, in a different way in, in a lot of perspective. So, so I got into it. I absolutely love it [00:12:00] to use my experiences as a player, as a coach to help families that know nothing about hockey, or even if they do help 'em, kind of guide 'em in a direction. 'cause everyone's path is different.

Everyone looks at, oh, well, you know, Johnny's playing in the USHL. Well I need to play in the USHL. Well, no you don't. You need to go to a league, a team that you're gonna get the opportunity to, to grow, to develop. Then you might end up in the same spot playing college hockey or pro hockey, but how you get there is completely different.

And so helping families navigate that has been, it's been so rewarding. You know, I'm addicted to, to watching box scores and, and seeing if my kids score, you know, how they do. And so I get to watch 'em live and, you know, maybe, you know, you take more of the results out of it as a coach, you know, you wanna win, obviously.

But you know, now if you're just working with one player on a team, you're, you know, you're hoping that when they're on the ice, they're make an impact. They, they do some good things and then when they don't, you know, you can talk to 'em about it and give 'em the feedback [00:13:00] of, Hey, you know, what were you thinking when you turned over this puck?

Or what were you thinking when, when you were doing this? And so, so yeah, it's, you know, I, I, I've loved it. It's been, it's been an awesome career change. You know, I miss a lot about coaching as I, I knew I would, but I. To stay involved and continue to, to help impact kids has, has been my goal, even when I got into coaching.

And so being able to do that now is, is really a, a blessing.

Jason Jacobs: So I'll ask you some of the same questions I asked Jack. One is just talk a bit about the development model growing up in Minnesota versus some other parts of the country and world. And it'd also be interesting just to understand how things have changed in the game today versus when you were coming up.

Brock Kautz: Yeah, for sure. So, yeah, I mean, Minnesota again kind of stands on its own where high school hockey is such a, a, a big thing. And you know, you, you grow up, you, you watch your high school play, you're at the game, you're in the student section. You're, you're, you're idolizing some of those kids. And for me, I, I did it.

There was a [00:14:00] goalie that played at my high school who actually played for the University of Minnesota and five, seven years before me. And I watched 'em in high school. I'm like, I want to be like him. And, and so, but, but yeah, you know, it's Minnesota like, you know, it's, it's 24 7. There's so much hockey going around from, from AA teams to, to skill coaches, to skating coaches to, you know, your, your normal youth season.

And, and it's just, you know, for me, when I grew up, we worked on skating. Every single practice we would do four lines inside edge, outside edge. And I remember going up to the, the coach, I'm like, Hey, like, I'm a goalie, like. What am I doing? He's like, no, you're gonna do this with everybody else. Like you need to be the best skater on the ice.

And so, you know, I'm sitting there doing crossovers outside edge, backwards, forwards with all my goalie stuff on. And, and I think it made the world a difference for, for me. 'cause as a goalie, if, if you can't skate. It's, it's, it's tough. And [00:15:00] for, if you wanna make saves, you gotta be, put yourself in good spots.

And same thing as a player. Like, if you can't get up and down the ice, you're, you're left behind. And so, just putting a huge emphasis on skating at a, at a young age to, to be able to, to play the game with pace like you're supposed to. And, and just understand your, your edges. And so that was a, a huge thing that, that we, we focused on.

And you know, we did it without pucks and then we did it with pucks because obviously the games played with a puck. And so, so we spent a ton of time on that. And I think it, it helped out, you know, our, our youth teams, you know, we were all always top five in state. I, I think every single year. We lost in the state championship one year.

I think we got third one year. And so we competed with, you know, the bigger cities and and then Rochester splits into four high schools, and they're all. Extremely average, unfortunately. But in youth hockey, we were, we were good. And so, so yeah. So

Jason Jacobs: is it, was that Brock, was that one of the drivers of leading you to think about juniors? [00:16:00] Was that the, your that the high school you were slated to go to wasn't very strong?

Brock Kautz: yeah, so as a goalie, you know, the, the, the strength of the schedule matters. You know, southeast Minnesota you know, I, you know, I'm sure people have their opinions, but generally it's, it's. Fairly weak. You know, there's a lot of talented hockey players down there, all over the world and in different areas.

But, but for me it was, you know, I, I felt that I needed just to, to leave to, to get tested as a goalie and, you know, the physical side of the game. I didn't have to worry about when I played juniors at 16 'cause I didn't get hit, you know? Whereas a 16-year-old playing in the North American Hockey League against 20 year olds where you can fight, it's a lot different, you know?

And so for me, I think it was easier for my mom to ship me out knowing that I could just stand in the blue paint. Nobody would touch me, and if somebody did, my teammate would beat the crap out of 'em. But but yeah, so that was definitely a, a driving force into leaving. But. But you know, I didn't play a ton of games my first year, but just practicing with [00:17:00] older kids and just, you know, the, the season was so much longer and as opposed to high school and practicing every single day at a high level, I think I, I learned a lot.

I grew a lot, I developed a lot. And, you know, I was definitely thankful that, that I did choose to, to leave.

Jason Jacobs: What did you see growing up? If you looked around you to your, your left and your right how how involved were the parents and how self-directed were the kids, and how does that compare and contrast to what, what you're seeing today?

Brock Kautz: Yeah. You know, I I think it's, it's changed a lot for sure. You know, I, my parents, you know, again, they didn't play hockey and so, you know, I was fortunate that they, they would take me to the rink and you know, I always wanted to go and, and do more. And and, you know, my dad would, you know, sometimes in a game I would see where he is standing and he'd be like, get, get your hands out.

You gotta keep your hand up, and things like that. But you know, it wasn't like, you know, super involved where it was like, Hey, like you have to do this otherwise, you know, [00:18:00] you're not getting this or, or, you know, things, things of, of that stature. But but yeah.

Jason Jacobs: like a, like, like pressing the camera with the suction cup to the, you know, to the to the glass at the back of your head like a bunch of the goalie dads

Brock Kautz: Right. Yeah, I see that all the time. The GoPro on the net and, you know, I was just at A-A-U-S-H-L camp, like all these parents are, are recording and you know, sending, maybe sending those videos to somebody or saying, oh, you know, Johnny had this nice goal and, you know, so much stuff is, is on your phone and social media.

But but yeah, you know, I think it that, that's probably been the biggest change. You know, again, my, my parents were involved but not overly involved or, you know, Hey, go try out for this team. If you make it great. If you don't, you know, let's. We'll do something else. And so, so yeah, I mean, I, I even throughout youth hockey, I played AAA hockey in the spring, in the summer, and I had to drive an hour and a half to practice, you know, two, three times a, a, a week.

And I don't know how my, my parents did it. My dad drove [00:19:00] me, you know, he'd work 10, 11 hours a day and, and get home from work and we'd hop in the car, go up to an hour practice and, you know, get home at. 10 o'clock at night and you know, he'd wake up at five and go to work the next day. And and so he, you know, and I would fly to Toronto, Chicago, Winnipeg all these places to, to play AAA tournaments and never even, you know, thought twice about it because it was, you know, it was a fun, it was a fun experience.

And yeah, today I think it's parents are a little more involved. And now that I deal with more parents you know, it's at a greater scale. When kids are in junior hockey is when, you know, they don't reach out to coaches. But you know, in high school and youth, they, they reach out to coaches and say, Hey, you know, why is my son not.

Not playing, you know, why do you get taken off the first line? Why does your kid get, you know, more ice time and mine doesn't, my kid's better? And and so, you know, you hear it all the time, oh, hockey's political and this and that. And and so, you know, at the end of the day, just gotta put your, your, your nose [00:20:00] down and just, you know, work, work for your opportunities.

And that's how I was raised. Nothing was gonna be handed to me. And you, you want to get an opportunity, you better work your butt off and make sure that you deserve it.

Jason Jacobs: Well, I hear different stories. I mean, I hear stories from people that say, oh, it was great. Like, my parents didn't have an athletic bone in their body. And, you know, they were supportive and they would take me to wherever I wanted to go, but it was all on me and it all came from me. Right? And that's how people should be.

And then I also hear people say, oh, like I was really fortunate. My dad played in the NHL, my grandfather played in the NHL and growing up you know, the most valuable thing wasn't, you know what wasn't them like getting me on the ice or anything. It was all the talks we had in the car on the way, like, you know, and pointing out all these subtleties and nuances that I wouldn't have otherwise seen.

Or even when we were just watching pro hockey at home, like they would just point things out. And those were some of the most valuable discussions I had in my own development. What are some healthy ways that you've seen parents get involved in? What are some unhealthy ways that you've seen parents get involved?

And if you're a parent that cares about your [00:21:00] kid, how can you kind of, self monitor to make sure that you, you know, are giving your kid the support you need, but you're not operating to their detriment?

Brock Kautz: Right. Right. No, I, like you said, I think watching hockey, like, to me, you gotta be a student of the game. And you know, I, I think sometimes it's great and sometimes it stinks. 'cause you see Connor McDavid go out there and do Connor McDavid things. Well, now every 12-year-old thinks that they can be Connor McDavid, you know, and, and Connor McDavid is one of one, right.

And so, but yeah, I think watching hockey and saying, Hey, you know, did you see that? You know, or why, why do you think he did that? And, and talk about it and get that mind spin in a, in a, in a way to, to grow and, and develop. And, and honestly, you might think I'm crazy, but like I played, you know, I did play Xbox and video games and I.

A ton of NHL and I just felt like I was good at NHL, but I, I had the awareness to like, understand what was going on. And I, you know, I think that that helps too. You know, just like you see the game and, you know, you [00:22:00] gotta be a smart hockey player if you wanna, if you want to continue to, to climb that pyramid.

And you know, to go back to the, to the parents, you know, I think parents that, you know, obviously played it and lived it. I think, you know, it's, kids are fortunate. You know, talk about Jack Ramsey, his dad, you know, had a decorated playing career and a coaching career and you know, I know I'm sure he taught Jack a lot of things, you know, behind the scenes and maybe not, Hey, you need to go stick, handle or escape, but let's get you thinking the right way.

And I'll tell you what Jack, his IQ of the game is, is. Next level. You know, he, he thinks the game the right way, knows what, knew what to do with the puck before it got to him and, you know, could get himself out of trouble because he, he knew where his teammates were. And then you add the skill to the game, you know, then, and that makes for a, a great mix.

And, you know, that's why he played division one hockey played pro hockey. And so, you know, and, and vice versa, you know, like you see parents who are like, Hey, you need to go score goals. You need to go do this. You [00:23:00] need to go do this. And it's like, you know, they don't maybe understand their perspective of, hey, like, you know, in, in order for you individuals to have success, you need to have team success.

And, and a lot of kids think like, oh, I need to score 40 points, otherwise I'm not gonna get noticed. And, you know, sometimes I, you know, I believe that, think that that's the wrong way to, to look at it. 'cause you know, you look at Sidney Crosby, like it wasn't just him on the ice. You know, he's a product of great teammates to, to produce and accomplish things.

And that's why it's such a great sport. 'cause, you know, not one team or one player can, can make or break your team. Obviously you have your top guy that scores the most goals and, and things like that, but you know, he's not going coast to coast and, and doing it without, you know, puck support and, and teammate support.

So, so yeah, I think, you know, parents, you know, probably maybe step overboard because they, they do think, you know, maybe their kid needs to do, you know, [00:24:00] some, some crazy things to, to get noticed. And you know, like I said, you know, my kid's nine months old, so I haven't had to live the, the parent side of it.

But

Jason Jacobs: You're behind

Brock Kautz: yeah, seriously, I gotta get 'em on, on skates and,

Jason Jacobs: I, I hope he at least has his own Instagram.

Brock Kautz: seriously, get 'em on, put some fake elite prospect numbers on there and maybe getting 'em an, an agent here soon. But but yeah, you know, I think it's just, it is it's crazy for sure. And you know, hopefully that parents kind of understand you, you gotta have passion and you gotta have fun playing the game.

And if you're just dropping your kid off and they don't wanna be there, you know, there's, it's tough to grow and develop and and so, you know, I hope, you know, parents understand that and, you know, I think they're like, oh, well if you don't skate 12 months, you fall behind. You know, well, oh, this kid's, he's playing on this trip late team.

Oh, we gotta play on this team, or this kid's doing this tournament, we gotta do that tournament. And so, you know, I think that it's, it's a product of the peers and what people think that they need to [00:25:00] do. And, you know, I, I don't think that's always the case.

Jason Jacobs: When it comes to hockey iq is it something that can be learned or is it that you either have it or not? And if it can be learned, what's the best way to teach it?

Brock Kautz: Yeah. You know, I think, I think you can learn it for sure. You know, like, I think it's just a product of, of what you're doing, what you're working on, what you're, you know, your upbringing is what you're surrounding yourself doing. You know, I think, again, being a student of the game is, is so important. But, you know, I, I think you need to learn by having somebody walk through it with you.

I, I don't think, you know, a 13-year-old can just flip on NHL game and just be like. You know, that was a good play. 'cause sometimes plays happen that work out that weren't smart hockey plays. And so I think video work is, is important. I think that's a big part of the game. But also just, you know, talking through different things and, you know, ice time is so valuable.

It [00:26:00] costs so much money that like, you know, coaches always want to get, you know, the most out of it. You know, we're, we're gonna maximize the 60 minute ice session by doing skills, things like that. But like being able to, to slow it down and, and talk about systems and, and learn the game at a deeper level.

Like, you know, I think, you know, I'm a huge believer in, in having skill, but I think people don't understand what skill truly is. And, and I think people, you know, you, you see people stick handle, you know, pucks through, you know, 20 obstacles on the ice. Like I. Is that skill, like, yeah, that takes some skill, but you know, skill to me is having a puck rimmed around on the boards.

You pick it up and you make it play to your center or you know, you got a D crashing down on you. It takes skill to, to get that puck out of the zone. You know, like things like that. Like it takes skill to, to learn where to put your stick on a back check to deflect a puck for saving a goal [00:27:00] and, you know, blocking shots.

Yeah, if you want to do it, you can do it, but that it, that's a skill. And so there's, there's different perceptions of, of skill in my opinion. And, and I just think that, you know, that the game of hockey has changed a lot. And I think a lot of it is because, you know, a lot of kids think it's great to see on TikTok of somebody stick handling and jumping and, and, you know, holding onto the puck.

You know, if that puck's on your stick for multiple seconds, you're probably gonna get crushed. Like, again, mcda, it's 1 0 1. Everyone saw his goal the other night of him. Pol finds a, you know, dry saddle back door. And I think he was asked about it after. It was like, where did you learn that? Or, and I think dry saddle, like chimed in is like, you know, that's, that's not learned.

You know, like he just has the instincts to, to do stuff like that. But like, again, that's, that's one of one, if you think that you can get the puck and just skate up and down the ice without passing it, stick, handling it through 20 people, like [00:28:00] that's, that's not the way the game's supposed to be played.

And you know, you can probably get away with it younger levels until there's checking. But then you know, once you, you continue to climb that pyramid, you know, you gotta play a different way.

Jason Jacobs: So on the one hand it sounds like hockey IQ is something that just gets learned by going out there and playing and being creative and trying stuff and getting to know all the little subtle nuances that just come from playing the game. Yet the narrative is that kids are playing too many games and they're not doing enough skills, but then.

What they, what skills inevitably end up being is stick handling around the cones, like you just said, except cones aren't humans. Right. And so, how do you reconcile, 'cause those, I mean those are seemingly contradictory statements, right? So how do you reconcile that and, and what's your view in terms of what the right answer is within that?

Brock Kautz: Yeah, I mean it's, don't get me wrong, there's you, you, you have to have skill to play the game. You have to be able to handle pucks. You, you have to be able to do it with [00:29:00] pace. You know, you gotta be able to skate, skate, well forward, backwards, transition, pivot, all those type of things. Type turn, you gotta find a way to create space.

And you do that by, by having a elite edge control and skating. And yeah, you, you do do that with a puck on your stick and, you know, how do you use your body against a defender? So, you know, they can't take the puck away. You know, yeah. Sometimes it calls for, you know, going under a triangle with that stick and then, you know, you beat one guy, then you make a pass.

And so, so yeah, I mean, I. You definitely have to work the, the skill part of the game. But you, you definitely gotta work that, that system side too, of really understanding, you know, like, this is, this is where I need to be on a breakout. You know, I need to be able to, to catch a puck on my backhand, make a play to the center of the ice.

You know, I need to, you know, work on my skill on tipping pucks and being net front and, and things like that. So, you know, I, there's, there's just so much to, to learn and, and grow and yeah, kids play it, you know, [00:30:00] they play a lot of games and let's face it, like that's the most fun part, you know, like I don't think a kid says, oh, I'd rather go practice at 6:00 AM and, and work on

Jason Jacobs: No pucks. No pucks.

Brock Kautz: Or, or play a game like, you know, I love playing games as a goalie too, and you know, I'm sure players are are the same, but but yeah, I think just, you know, continuing to, to, to grow, you know, year after year of stacking some development on top of, you know, what you wanna accomplish. And then, you know, when you get into, you know, your early teens and there's more systems of, of the game understanding, you know, the 2 1, 2, 4 check or the 1, 2, 2, and you know, coaches gotta teach it the right way.

And, and why, you know, I think that's a big thing is why, why would you want to do this? Why does your stick need to be here? You know, if I'm, you know, F three, why do I not just go attack the person? Why do I you know, go at an angle and use my stick in a, in a good position? And you know, understanding [00:31:00] that stuff I think is valuable.

Jason Jacobs: So it sounds like a lot of that needs to come from the coach. If, if you're a player who's in a position where you feel like, for whatever reason you're not getting that from your coach, are there outlets for you to turn to? Are there ways for you to learn these things outside of the structure of your team?

Brock Kautz: Yeah. You know, just like their skills coaches, there's, there's video coaches out there too, and you know, there's, there's guys that will to, will look at your video and, and break it down. And you know, like being an agent, like, I'll do video with my players and it's, it's not so much, hey, like, you know, like, you need to do this.

Like, if you're playing for a coach, the coach tells you what to do. You gotta do it. If you wanna play, you know, whether you agree or disagree. But, you know, for, for when I do film with, you know, my junior guys or, or high school guys, I, I try to, you know, understand, you know, if they had a turnover, what, what did you see?

You know, like you came around as a d, you came around the net. And you try to go cross ice and it [00:32:00] got intercepted. Hey, what did you see? Well, did you see your strong side wall wide open? You know that that should be the first option. Or, you know, hey, like, what, what caused you to, to do this? And so I try to talk 'em through it, and I let them talk and, and say, Hey, like you give, you're the one playing the game.

Like, I'm not playing the game. Like, what were you thinking? And you're like, and a lot of times they're like, yeah, I shouldn't have made that play. I should have just done this. I'm like, exactly. So like, let's build that into the brains and, and make sure that next time we, we do that or you know, just again, different things to, to help break value benefit, whether it's offensive side of the puck, defensive side of the puck, you know, stick positioning.

You know, I don't, I'm not critiquing your, your D'S zone structure because that's your, your coach's job, but like, I. I wanna make sure that they're thinking the right way and understand that, hey, you wanna play college hockey, your goal is to play college hockey. Well then you get this puck on the boards, [00:33:00] you better make sure that that puck gets over the blue line and or it's on your teammate's stick.

But if you turn it over, if you, you know, can't be trusted on the wall, why would a coach put you out there? And, you know, coach puts you out there in junior hockey because he trusts that you're going to do your job and your job might be to not get scored on. Well then dang it, don't get scored on. You know, and like, there's guys that are paid millions of dollars in the NHL to not get scored on.

And, you know, there's guys that are paid millions of dollars to score goals. So you better score goals. And so it, and I think that, that kids need to understand that because there's not. 12 McDavid on the ice. There's, there's one, and you know, the, the pieces that fall around them. That's why you make championship teams because you have the, the right roles and people embrace the roles of penalty, kill, blocking shots, getting chances.

And if you chip in a goal, great. But if you get scored on, not good.

Jason Jacobs: I mean, that's one, I mean, I'm still pretty early, but that's one of the things [00:34:00] that's been coming up in my discussions so far that that it isn't just, you know, the biggest players or the ones with the most skill or the ones that can finish the most or whatever that end up making it to the furthest.

That sometimes it's the role players who embrace their role and do that role better than anybody else. What are the implications of that? As you know, either from a dad or from a kid standpoint, as you're navigating the development path, at what point do you switch from just trying to get better at everything, to actually starting to think about what my role might be and then achieving mastery in that area.

Brock Kautz: Yeah, I mean, I think obviously at a younger age you wanna be as good as you can at everything. And you know, you, you wanna play with skill, you wanna play the right way, you wanna win your battles. You know, you, you might play power play, you might play penalty kill things like that. But, you know, I would say, you know, gosh, I wouldn't know the age, but maybe like, you know, for sure high school and you [00:35:00] know.

Juniors, you better have a great identity of what you're, you're good at. And you know, like, yeah, obviously your fourth line guys will, will show skill and things 'cause you, you always need to be able to do that. But you know, if, if you're fourth line and you're on the four check, you better finish your hit and separate the D from the puck.

And so, I think, you know, sometimes those roles just kind of fall into you. Maybe you don't even choose 'em. You're like, oh man, I love playing physical. I love blocking shots. I love playing on the penalty kill. And you just embrace that. And you know, as you climb, you know, the ladder of the, the line chart, you know, sometimes things change.

But but yeah, I would say, you know, youth hockey obviously not needed, but kind of when you get into that high school prep stuff you know, you do have to be good at everything. But I. But you know, in junior and, and college hockey for sure, college hockey, you, you definitely need to understand, you know, colleges recruit different roles and you know, they [00:36:00] want great hockey players, but you, you might have to play different styles, but that just goes back to having the skills to do it all.

Jason Jacobs: And talk a bit about the, the rise of agents, the rise of advisors, what the difference is when the right time is to be thinking about either or both of those things. And then just as a. As a player, how to sort through the landscape and figure out what the right fit might be.

Brock Kautz: Yeah, yeah, for sure. No, it's it's a good question. It's crazy how many advisors and, and agents kind of, are now involved in, in hockey and you know, I, for me, you know, again, like I. I wanna bring more value than just being labeled as an advisor, an agent, and by doing film, by understanding what it takes to, to play college hockey, to what the coaches want out of a player.

And so for me it's, it's more, you know, advisor agent, but mentorship too of, Hey, [00:37:00] like this, this guy gets it. Like I was in your shoes. Like my goal was to play junior hockey, play college hockey, and I had to make sacrifices to do that. And this is what I learned along the way. You know, like there's, let's see what, 20 elevens, 20 twelves that have agents now, I would say.

And

Jason Jacobs: kid's a 2012.

Brock Kautz: yeah. And

Jason Jacobs: I, we don't know anyone that has an

Brock Kautz: yeah, I

Jason Jacobs: but I, I can believe it

Brock Kautz: yeah, they're, I mean, a lot of them, I shouldn't say a

Jason Jacobs: And he's also, I mean, there's, you know, I mean, it's all relative. He's playing the game at a pretty competitive level, but it's all relative, right?

Brock Kautz: Yeah, for sure. So, I mean, yeah, there's yeah, 2010s for sure have advisors and agents 20 elevens and twelves are, are definitely starting to, to have 'em. And you know, I think you, you look at it from a couple lenses of what value does this guy bring to, you know, my son from a, a, a hockey standpoint, but also like, I want great humans.

Like I want to grow, not just grow the game of hockey, but like, I want. [00:38:00] Great humans to, to learn to develop and live life the, the right way. 'cause I don't think there's enough of it out there. And so for me, just teaching the, the lessons of, hey, like you go to a camp, like you better be appreciative of your, of your coach for giving you an opportunity to play.

Like find him, shake his hand, say thank you, introduce yourself. Because I think that goes a long ways in life and not even just in hockey. And so, so yeah, I would say, you know, in high school for sure, kids are, are looking at it. And, and getting involved just because, you know, some of 'em wanna start that, that communication process of a, like, I want to play juniors.

Well then let's make sure these junior teams are are aware of, of who you are. And if you're not in, you know, the, the marquee spot of, you know, let's just say Minnetonka Minnesota or Edina Minnesota, maybe everyone knows like. You know, how do you come out of the, the weeds in southeast Minnesota and Rochester?

You know, you, maybe it's like for me, I had that coach make a phone call and [00:39:00] I got an opportunity and you know, I tell kids all the time, like, I would love to place you on a hockey team. That's not how it works. You know, I, I'll get as many opportunities and options for you, but at the end of the day, you gotta step on the ice and you gotta do your part.

And I, you know, I can't play the game for you. I can't score goals for you. I can't stop pucks for you, so you gotta do your part. But, you know, I'm gonna open up every door possible for, for you to, to have success. And then, you know, at some point that kids gotta take ownership of, of their, you know, own craft.

Jason Jacobs: And and what about the flip side as an agent? What, I mean, what kind of kids are the right fit for the, I don't know if you call it a practice that you're building, but but, you know, I, the, the clients that you take on, like what are other criteria? Is it an age thing? Is it an ability thing?

Are there you know, are, are there other things that you screen for? How, how do you know if it's the right fit?

Brock Kautz: So, you know, I feel, yeah, a few things kind of go into that. You know, I had, I guess, oh, fours just went to college. [00:40:00] So now I have, oh, fives too. My youngest one I think is a oh nine. So, you know, kind of, they're all in different stages of their career. Some are playing junior hockey, trying to look at the college process.

Some are playing high school, some are going to juniors this year. What junior teams, what opportunities, what tryouts, camps, things like that. But. But yeah, you know, I think it's conversations of, hey, you know, where, where are you at mentally, where do you think you are in relationship to, you know, your, what I believe your level is.

You know, if I am working with a kid that, you know, maybe had two points as senior year high school and says, I wanna play in the USHL, you know, like, you know, that's, that's to me, I'm, I'm only gonna let 'em down. And so understanding you know, maybe more of the reality of kind of where they think they're at.

And you know, you can, you can tell when you talk to kids and parents, you know, if they have good head on their shoulders and if, you know they're doing it for the right reasons. And you know, [00:41:00] skill, obviously, you know, everyone loves, you know. Amazing hockey players, but to me, like, you know, the tier two kids need a lot of help and a lot of advice and, you know, tier three kids need a, you know, there's a lot of tier three kids that could be playing tier two.

There's a lot of division three kids that could be playing division one, whether it's timing, opportunities, never really given the, the right opportunity. Maybe lack of advisor, lack of coach, lack of where they're playing. And so, so yeah, you know, I think, you know, to me it doesn't necessarily you know, matter kind of where they're at.

It's more of, you know, what type of kid they are, what type of family they are and, and help 'em develop, you know, from a, a young age all the way through that, that process to, to get to college.

Jason Jacobs: Huh And then there's different schools of thought, because on the one hand you know, you, there's all these you know, quadruple a quint up, you know, people keep adding as to their, you know, tournaments. Right. You know, super series, you know, [00:42:00] like a a and then it's like the scouts come to this one, the coaches go to that one.

The coaches are on the bench. Oh, you gotta go to that one. Like, oh, there's writeups. Like you need to have a good tournament. Because if you do, then you get noticed. And that it's like, you know, if you wanna play on this set of teams, you need to be in these kinds of places. Right. So on the one hand, it's like.

Optics and visibility. On the other hand, it's like development and just getting the goods right. Like how much should you focus on the left side? How much should you focus on the right side? And how does that shift as you get older? I.

Brock Kautz: Yeah, for sure. Again, like the younger age you know, it's, you know, colleges, junior teams aren't looking at kids that are. Spans are playing, you know, u thirteens, you know, they're looking at kids that are, are gonna be playing for 'em in, in a year or two. In colleges, you know, there's a certain period, you know, they can't talk to freshmen anymore.

They can't commit these kids, you know, until their, you know, their sophomore year going into their, their junior year. And so, so yeah, I mean, there's so much, [00:43:00] expectation on, you know, developing at a young age that that should be the number one focus. So, you know, when you do go to those camps, you can show what you're capable of and, and when you do get exposed to junior teams, college teams that, you know, you've put in the work that you can put, you know, a, a, a good foot forward in, in those types of things.

And obviously you develop, you know, all the way through and you, everybody tries to continue to, to get better at all facets of, of the game. But yeah, you know, kind of when you're in that, that high school you know, ninth, 10th grade, you know, there's probably way more exposure that that happens. And, and making sure that, you know, when, when you go to those events that you do make a, a, a good showing 'cause you know, it's people, people see it and you know, you definitely don't get written off, but it's, if you get a little check by your name as somebody to follow, it's always a good thing.

Jason Jacobs: Uhhuh. And and you, you mentioned the two points senior year. Like [00:44:00] what are the things that that coaches and scouts care about? Is it points on score sheet? Is it physical attributes? Is it certain, you know, like, like in football it's, it's, it's, you know, probably has to do with your 40 yard dash and your vertical jump and things like that.

Like what are the things in hockey that that, that the coaches care about? And I, I'm sure it depends coach to coach, but a, anything you can speak to about the commonalities or the. The typical things as well as maybe some of the you know, may, maybe some of the views that are out there as well that, that maybe think different than the pack.

Brock Kautz: For sure. Yeah. I mean, like first and foremost work ethic. Does, you know, how does, how does this kid work? Does he, does he bend his legs? Does he back check? Is he straight legged? Is he in the play? Is he not in the play? I. You know, how is his body language? Does he miss his net and slam his stick on the boards and, and not BackCheck?

Does he not skate off hard on a line change? You know, a lot of coaches look at at that and, you know, as you climb the ladder, everyone works hard, [00:45:00] you know, so that's, that's a tough thing to, to differentiate yourself with, with somebody else. But you know, what, what, what is a kid like? Is he a good teammate?

Is he a bad teammate? You know, that, that definitely plays a factor. You know, when, when teams are building their culture, their team, you know, they don't want, you know, that, that quote unquote cancer in their locker room that, you know, brings everyone down. And that's, to me a big controllable of, of being a great teammate and, and doing things the right way.

You know, skating is a huge part of it. You know, if you, you can't get up and down the ice, you know, you definitely fall behind. And, you know, hockey IQ has become a, a great part of it. 'cause you can skate as fast as you want, but. If you have no idea when to turn left or turn right or pass or not pass and you know, you get over the blue line and you just shoot 'cause your shot's hard, you know, that's, it's tough to maybe coach that.

So having the iq the understanding of, of how to play the game, I think is, is you know, helps a lot. [00:46:00] And then, you know, just obviously you have to have skill to, to move up. And again, going back to skill, like, you know, it's, it means a lot of different things and just being able to, to receive a pass on your backhand, make a pass going full speed and, and play with pace and you know, do things the right way all over the ice.

Not just offensively, but, but defensively as well. So I would say those are definitely main things that, you know, junior teams look at colleges look at. And you know, I think on top of it, having good grades and being a good student always helps, you know, if you have similar kids that, you know, kid A is, is a good student.

And they're equal in a skill, but this kid has better grades and this kid has worse grades. This kid's a better teammate. You know, it's, you know which one they're gonna choose. And so you wanna make sure that if you're competing with a kid, 'cause so many kids are about the same, well, you know, this kid's an awesome teammate.

This kid works his butt off, this kid does all the little things, you know, this kid's selfish. [00:47:00] Well, I think any anybody would know what coach or what that kid, that coach is gonna choose.

Jason Jacobs: Uhhuh and it, I mean, if the kids are hungry and the, and the parents are able, I mean, there's countless skill, you know, skill coaches, you can cut your kid to under the sun. In terms of doing stuff on your own at home, what advice do you have for for players out there in terms of what they should be doing and how often they should be doing it?

Brock Kautz: Yeah, I think, you know, again, I mean, there's some kids out there that wanna shoot a thousand puck a day and want a stick handle for, for 20 minutes. And you know, like growing up we were, we were always shooting pucks or, or playing hockey because we just loved it that much. Or in Minnesota in the winter, you know, so many kids have a rink in their backyard or a rink two minutes away that, Hey, I'm gonna go out there and skate for, for a little bit and handle pucks.

And so, you, you, you wanna, you want to choose to do it. If you're a kid, you know, you don't wanna feel like, oh, well dad said I have to go shoot [00:48:00] 500 pucks, or, I, I don't get dinner tonight. You know, that's not gonna make 'em wanna do it. And so, I think doing things like that I, I think help, you know, just, you know, I remember our youth coaches were like, Hey, like, you guys watch TV at night.

Well, why not stick handle for 10 minutes while you're watching tv? You can still watch, you know, stick handle or, hey, you know. You do pushups when you're, you know, we, I couldn't tell you how many pushups I did in my life when we were younger 'cause they're like, you better do a hundred pushups a night and, you know, kids can wanna do it again.

But you know, like if you're just sitting there doing nothing, you know, there's, I think you can do a few things while you're still, you know, doing nothing. And so, I think having a great shot obviously always helps, you know, stick handling, I think just being comfortable with the puck on your stick I think helps.

You know, kids have stride boards and things like that that, you know, again, might help. But you, you don't wanna overwork yourself. You don't wanna burn out [00:49:00] because you, you wanna, you gotta have fun every time you, you're doing something for hockey, you wanna, you, you embrace the grind, but you, you wanna have fun doing it.

And as soon as, as soon as you lose sight of that, it, you know, can be, can be tough.

Jason Jacobs: Well, it seems like, I mean, as the proliferation of skills coaches and, and the skill level comes up and the game gets more and more competitive, it puts more and more pressure on kids to keep up more and more pressure to specialize earlier, then you're seeing an increase in burnout. You're seeing an increase in overuse injuries that that pop up.

I mean, is the, you know, are we watching a training crash in, in slow motion here? Is there a breaking point or I guess what's your view on the state of the state and if we're heading on a good path.

Brock Kautz: Yeah, I, you know, again, I, going back to earlier, I think playing multiple sports, I think it is, it helps out a ton. You know, there's, there's kids that just 24 7 are, are always doing hockey travel because they, you know, they're, the parents just see their, the peers doing it and they're gonna fall behind.

[00:50:00] But you know, I, I don't think you have to choose if you're, if you're all in on hockey until you know you're. In high school. And, and if you realize maybe like, hey, you know, this is, I think I'm, I am capable of, of playing hockey after high school. Maybe now's the time that, that I choose, but even then you, you still see kids playing, you know, two sports.

You know, there's a kid in Minnesota that he's narrowed his school down for hockey, I think, to two of the top programs. And he's one of the best quarterbacks in the state of Minnesota. And, you know, he, he is just a athletic freak. And so, and he's managed to, to do both and do both at extremely high level.

And so, you know, obviously that doesn't happen all the time. But but yeah, I think, you know, I hope that we're not heading in a, in a wrong direction. 'cause I think the game is in pretty good hands with, with the, the people that are doing it at the highest levels. And you know, it's obviously changed with technology and training and, and everything [00:51:00] like that, but.

You know, I, I hope that, you know, you just hope that it doesn't cause injuries. So a lot of times you just gotta listen to your body, which, you know, I'm sure you can't tell your, your son, Hey, how's your body feeling? You know, you need a day off. Well, no, I won't go skate, you know, but I think trying to listen to your body and give your time, you know, adequate rest throughout the, the year and, you know, I remember after juniors, like I wouldn't touch the ice for a month and I would work out and do that, but I wouldn't touch the ice 'cause my body needed a, a, a break and a reset.

And so, it's no different NHL guys do it the same, the same thing. They take some time off and listen to their body, but still work out and stay in shape from, from that sense.

Jason Jacobs: When it comes to the player development side of your. Job. What role does technology play, if any? How do you use it?

Brock Kautz: Yeah. So again, like everything is on video, especially junior hockey games are recorded. So, [00:52:00] you know, I tell my guys that, Hey, if you want to do video with me, let's, let's do it. Let's, let's hop on. Let's watch it. Let's talk through it. You know, I think there's platforms out there that break it down.

And, you know, colleges have those platforms to use as

Jason Jacobs: put, put like cutting shifts?

Brock Kautz: Yeah, so there, you know, there's a couple out there that do it already. And, and you can type in a kid's name and you can type in Jack Ramsey. You know, you see all of his shifts, you see his puck touches, you see his shots, you see his goals, you see his hits and you can just click on it and watch 'em.

So, that makes it easier for recruiting for sure. You know, when I was coaching, Hey, what can you tell me about so and so? Well, you type his name in. You look at, you know, his, his shifts. You don't have to watch a whole game start to finish. You only watch when he is out in the ice. Or you know, I want to watch all this kid's scoring chances.

How is he getting 'em? Is it off the pass? Is he creating by himself? How, you know, where is he at when he is getting these scoring chances? If I'm watching a [00:53:00] goalie let's, you know, let's watch all of his saves from, you know, inside the house, the slot. Then we can expand on that. And so, that, those platforms are extremely beneficial.

Not from just a recruiting side, but the development side and, and, and learning and doing it in a proficient way. So you don't have to waste time watching the whole game. But just watching a shift and, you know, I know a lot of kids, I, I did when I played, I would get, get the link and I'd rewatch it and be like, you know, play it back in my brain if, hey, if if I was there again, would I make that same play or would I do something different?

And so a lot of kids watch, you know, watch her, you know, as they get older, watch her, their games back. I.

Jason Jacobs: And and if, if you look at the kids coming up what are the biggest predictors that a kid coming up is gonna be, you know, is gonna rise above the noise when he or she gets to the age that matters? And and is there such a thing [00:54:00] given how much changes you know, through puberty and checking and distractions and, and, and and, and when the kid just has more choices for how to spend their time.

Brock Kautz: Right. Yeah. You know, and it happens even in, in recruiting, you might, you know, again, going back to the college, like you might think this kid is gonna be really good in three years, so I'm gonna give him a full ride. But then, you know, three years down the line, he never developed. And, you know, this kid passed him.

And so, you know, that's, that's always something that, you know, like this kid made, you know, you have tryouts, you know, this spring, well this, my teammate made it. I didn't. Well, I'm gonna use that as motivation, and then next year I'm better than this kid and I make it. And so, so you, you never, you never know you know, kids kind of pass each other all the time whether they use, you know, being cut as a motivation, or sometimes kids make a team and, you know, they're like, oh, I made it.

No, you know, the, the work's done. And I think complacency [00:55:00] is, is a, a horrible disease in hockey. It's a horrible disease in, in the world. As soon as you know, you get complacent happy where you're at, you know, somebody's coming after you, you know, I think it's the easiest thing is to get to the top. The hardest thing is to stay there.

And, and so, understanding that, I think the motivation to, to always become better those kids are the ones that are gonna have success. I.

Jason Jacobs: Are there warning signs when like can you pick off a kid that's gonna burn out before it happens?

Brock Kautz: Oh, I, you know, I guess I wouldn't, no, probably not. I mean, I, I, I haven't you know, maybe there's factors that go into it. Maybe parents that are way too involved or yeah, maybe just how, if you are with a kid that long and you're like, oh, this kid, you know, for the past two weeks has been just not trying on the ice anymore, not paying attention.

Like maybe he's lost interest. If you're, if you're around you know, kids long enough I think. But for me, I guess in, in my [00:56:00] job, I haven't seen that yet. Just because the kids where they're at you know, they're old enough where they understand what they, they wanna do. And and so, you know, if, if I find those factors out, Jason, we'll, we'll, we'll talk about 'em.

Jason Jacobs: And it, I mean, it seems like, and again, I mean my oldest is only 13, so I mean, I don't know what I don't know, but it sure seems like, from a big picture standpoint, the game is changing quite a bit. As it relates to some of the changes with the, I'm not even gonna get the words right, it's the major juniors or the, you know, the, the the kids from, from from juniors in Canada now being able to play NCAA where they couldn't before.

Maybe talk a little bit about some of the biggest changes that have been happening and then. What your predictions are, just in terms of what the implications will be looking forwards for for players coming

Brock Kautz: For sure. Yeah. So, yeah, the CHL is they are allowing kids to, to play college hockey, which it's never been before. So, we're on year one of that, you know, probably eight [00:57:00] months in. And so I. You know, I don't know the exact numbers, but I think there's over 200 now of those kids that are committed to, to college hockey, whether they're, you know, I think there's maybe a hundred some going in next year, maybe.

But kids committed to the future and so, you know, that takes spots away from Americans and takes spots from the North American Hockey League and, and other leagues because schools are up there recruiting. 'cause there's talented hockey players up there for sure. And so, so now, you know, I think it, things will change because I, I think you'll see more Americans go up there.

You know, where, you know, my dream was to, to play college hockey and, you know, I, I talked to a major junior team when I was younger, but, you know, for me, you know, I wasn't gonna allow me to play my goal of, of playing college hockey, but now it's different. So now you could go up there and get treated great.

Play a lot of games and go to college hockey. And so, you know, I think now I, you know, I think that that league is still above the rest. You know. Put a ton of talented hockey players in, in the [00:58:00] National Hockey League. And you know, they have a ton of resources up there to provide development and growth and exposure and things like that.

But you know, I think again, there'd be more Americans that will, will go up there and kind of, you know, makes recruiting a little harder just because there's way more teams out there that you gotta pick from more players that you gotta pick from. But it also made it you know, a lot harder for kids to play Division one hockey now, unfortunately.

Just 'cause you open it up to, to so many more kids. Yeah 

Jason Jacobs: and pro, I guess shifting to your stuff, what, what is the what is the, the life of an agent? Look like and also how does that evolve from when you're starting out to, as you get more established as an agent over time?

Brock Kautz: for sure. So, you know, I, it's. I started from zero, you know, and we will call it my team, my, my group of clients. You know, I've grown it, 

Jason Jacobs: it, it sounds like being a wealth manager, kind of like what? Like when you, when you come in, you gotta build a book, but if you build a book and you treat 'em right, then over time it becomes like an annuity,

Brock Kautz: Right, [00:59:00] for sure. And I'm a firm believer that as you kind of get into it I, I'm not gonna say it gets easier, but I think the opportunity to talk to more people maybe work with more people, I think will, will be evident. You know, I, I try to pride myself in and working with kids the right way, treating them what, how they deserve to be treated.

And you know, giving 'em every opportunity to, to play at the highest level that, you know, they're capable of playing at. And so, so yeah, so it's, you know, every part of the, the year brings a different challenge and you know, now it's, Hey, let's try to get these kids in, in junior hockey the, the null draft happens in about 15 minutes.

And so, you know, see if kids get drafted, you know, if they don't, you know what? Excuse me, what camps, what camps should they go to? And kind of work through the, the camp tryout process. And then in September can be crazy 'cause you know, you're gonna have kids that play well and do good things and then you're gonna get a call that says, Hey, you know, this team just cut me.

Now what? [01:00:00] And, and then it's, you know, talking to different coaches saying, Hey, you know, would you have interest in, in this player? You know, he's, he's a great kid. He provides this value. You know, do you have a spot on your team for him? And and so different parts of the year require different challenges.

You work through and then, you know, you work through the course of the season of, hey, you know, you're not, you're on the, the fourth line in September. That doesn't mean you're gonna be on the fourth line in, in January. And so. Trust in the process. Make sure that hey, you're going to process every day.

You're, you're the hardest worker. You have the best attitude. You know, you're doing all the little things. So when you get your opportunity to play more, you take advantage of it. And, and again, complacency, you get kids that move up the, the ladder and the line chart, well then sometimes they start playing a different way when reality they got there because they were working hard, they were doing these things and and so, so yeah.

So, you know, I'm in year one of, of doing it. And, and just [01:01:00] helping kids out, you know, my belief you know, could I go out and get a hundred kids easily, but. I think I'm at 22 right now, and I get to talk to 'em all the time. I get to know what they're doing, how they're doing, what's going on and, and, and be what I feel is a, a factor in their development, in their career.

And there's some advisors that think differently and you know, nothing against 'em, but you know, a lot of em have, you know, 75, a hundred clients. And that's, you know, our company's belief that, you know, we want build strong relationships, have great communication and, you know, and another thing that I think is one of the best qualities to have is, you know, like your best is availability.

And, you know, I pride myself in being unavailable. If a kid calls, I wanna be able to answer and and talk to 'em. And it's no different than hockey players. You wanna play well, you better make sure your grades are good, you're healthy, you're doing all the things. So when your name's called, you're able [01:02:00] to play.

And if you're not able to play well guess what? This kid is. He's gonna play, you know, it's, you see it all the time, the next man up mindset or opportunity. And, you know, unfortunately injuries are part of the game, but you know, when somebody gets injured it sucks, but guess what? It gives an opportunity to somebody else.

And so, so yeah, so that's kind of where things are at for me. And working through you know, there's some glamorous parts of, you know, phone calls being made of, Hey, you know, I want this kid on your, on my, on my team. I'm like, awesome. And then, you know, there's other parts where, Hey, do you have interest in this kid?

No. You know, that's unfortunate. But again, I tell my kids like, you know, I wanna open every door possible, but you know, your job is to, to give me the data to sell. You know, I can't sell if you, you know, if you're playing terrible, you're turning the puck over, you can't skate, you can't do this. I can't sell you to a coach and say, Hey, you should take this kid.

But you're scoring goals, you're playing hard. Your coaches say You're a great [01:03:00] teammate. Now I can call a coach and be like, Hey, you know, I, I got something for you.

Jason Jacobs: Great. Well, gosh, this was such a far ranging discussion. Is there anything I didn't ask that you wish I did, or any parting words for listeners?

Brock Kautz: No, I, I think, yeah, I mean, I, I love talking to, to people like yourself you know, hungry, hungry people, you know, just people in the hockey world that, again, talking earlier with you, like you can always learn something from, from somebody. And you know, I talk to so many people you know, a lot of people that I don't even work with or clients with and just to, to give advice to and pick their brains about, you know, this showcase or this showcase or this team, or that team.

And, you know, I, again, you know, my whole goal dream passion is, is helping. People helping families, helping players. So, you know, I guess if there's one thing that, that I hope it's, you know, I, I can continue to do that as, as long as I can. And you know, I [01:04:00] think, you know, I'm grateful that I got to hop on here with, with you and I appreciate your time and you know, I think it's hopefully has benefited you as much as it benefited me,

Jason Jacobs: Yeah, no, it was great. And I'm, I'm with you. I think if you, if you find something, you love it I mean, you'll still work hard, but it it makes it easier because you know you want it, which, which also has a lot of parallels to what we were talking about with you know, with kids on there development path too, right?

It's like you gotta love it. Just, I mean, it's common sense, but it's easy to forget when you're when you're chasing.

Brock Kautz: Right? A hundred percent. And sometimes you question it at 6:00 AM when you're, you're on the rink, but usually you do it 'cause you love it.

Jason Jacobs: Well, thanks again, Brock. Best of luck all.

Brock Kautz: Jason. Appreciate it.