Episode 88: Tom Upton. Tom first grew up on Long Island and shared some memories of going to Islander’s games as a kid. He would move to Austin, Texas at 10 years old which was a different hockey experience for him. He would go on to play parts of 4 seasons in the NAHL before deciding to attend D3 Wisconsin Stevens-Point University. He talked about his amazing 4 years there and how he is still close with a group of teammates to this day. One of them is last week’s guest, Anthony Noreen, who both played with and coached Tom at UWSP. After graduating, Tom would also stay on as an Assistant Coach and begin his coaching journey. This journey has taken Tom through various leagues such as the USHL, NAHL and NCAA Division 1. Tom is now in his 4th season at the University of Massachusetts, working under a veteran coach in Greg Carvel. We talked about his crazy route to where he is and what he has learned along the way. I was also curious to Coach Carvel’s impact on Tom. Tom brought up the word “hard” and that is a common theme at UMass. Everyone needs to be hard and Tom gave many examples of what it means. It is easy to see why UMass has been on a great path for the past 10+ seasons and why Tom is a good fit there. Like anyone, he still has dreams and one of those is the NHL. A potential awesome achievement for a kid from Texas. Hope you enjoy!

Episode 87: Anthony Noreen. After a little break, the prohockeypod returned this week with Miami of Ohio Head Coach Anthony Noreen. Anthony has been a journey man who coached 16 years in various leagues before getting this NCAA Division 1 job. He grew up in the Chicago area and was immediately integrated into hockey from his father. Anthony would go through Junior hockey before heading off to D3 Wisconsin Stevens-Point. He talked about how he went on a visit with a teammate and fell in love with the set up right away. He knew this is where he wanted to be. After 4 years of playing, Anthony would stay at this University as a Graduate Assistant Coach. He took on a lot of roles and was “thrown into the fire” right away, while not earning any salary. After Wisconsin, Anthony would get a job in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms. Over 5 seasons, he would help get the club on the right path and also win Coach of the Year in 14/15. A pro coaching opportunity would come available with the Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL (who were affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs). Anthony talked about his 2 years there and how he learned a lot observing from affiliated coaches. He would then return to the USHL, this time with the Tri-City Storm, where he would spend 7 seasons as HC and GM. During this time, he would win Coach of the Year 2 more times, as well as win a Gold Medal with Team USA U19 in 2018/2019. Finally after so many years of grinding and building his resume, Anthony received the Head Coaching job at Miami of Ohio University. He talked about how it was a dream come true and how he had been there previously years before which solidified his desire to coach there one day. We talked about his journey, the campus, set up and how he likes to build his teams. He is very excited about the future/potential at Miami of Ohio and it was clear how true his passion is. Hope you enjoy!

Episode 86: Marc Langbein. It was good to finally have on an agent who I see around the rinks a lot here in Germany, Marc Langbein. Marc grew up in the Bietigheim area in Germany and so began his passion for hockey. Marc cofounded Win-Win Sports Agency back in 2018. On this episode, we talked a lot about the agency business, some things Marc has learned along the way, and as well as the types of clients they look to attract at Win-Win. For me, it was nice to have a look into Marc’s life and the philosophy they have within the agency. Marc talked about the grind of starting out and how the company has grown over the years. He also touched on a personal achievement from the company when one of their athletes was drafted in the 4th round to the NHL in 2024. Small victories like this are part of the reasons agents like Marc have a passion for their job. Hope you enjoy!