Tell us a little bit about how Velocity Hockey got started and some of the history of the facilities.

Our first facility launched back in 2006. I was running player clinics all over the metro – but mostly Eden Prairie and Edina – and business was busy and growing rapidly. I had been renting available ice everywhere I could find it, but had started to think that our program really needed a dedicated facility where we could build programs for all ages and run more camps and clinics. So I started shopping around for a suitable rink. As it happened, former NHL player Dave Gagner owned a facility. He was returning to his native Canada to take a coaching position and asked me if I was interested. It was amazing and perfect timing.

We relaunched the facility as Velocity Hockey, the perfect name to represent the approach of our clinics and camps: building stronger, faster, better players quickly and effectively. Dave had also brought 3-on-3 hockey to Minnesota from Canada and we immediately knew we wanted to build on this. Today, our 3-on-3 league has more than 100 youth teams registered compared to just 30 when we first opened.

The Velocity Training Center opened in Edina in 2012 and enabled us to focus on off-ice, year-round conditioning and skills training for players of all ages. Eventually that grew into training for other sports such as football, soccer, lacrosse, skiing, etc. Players can’t just rely on ice time to help with their overall skills and development. As they get older, strength and agility training become more and more important if they want to achieve their goals in any sport!

We just opened our third location in Osseo, Minn., in the northern metro, to bring our unique training approach and offer many camps and clinics as well as our very popular 3-on-3 programs. This is great location for us because it sits in an area where it is surrounded by many of up and coming youth hockey associations from the northern metro where many of them are growing rapidly with their youth numbers each year. We are excited to bring all of our Velocity programs to those kids each year.

What sort of training does Velocity focus on?

Our mantra is simple. We make players faster, stronger, better. And we do that regardless of age, ability or gender. Players are players, and we focus on helping them reach full potential.

We focus on individual skills development during the off-ice summer months, helping players zero in on and isolate the skills they want to improve: skating, stickhandling, shooting, etc. Our camps are all focused on the individual with the maximum amount of 1-on-1 coaching time possible. We make sure we provide a variety of clinics so kids and their parents can look at their own game and determine which is best to attend. During winter, kids are overloaded and focused on winning games. The summer is the time to really develop a rounded skill set, to stay sharp and get stronger and faster, to focus on your deficiencies and get your game ready for the winter season.

What can a player expect to learn at Velocity?

They can expect more puck-time for sure compared to traditional 5-on-5 play. Our 3-on-3 league games are faster paced, players get more play time, more puck time and repetitions are 10 times greater. It’s the perfect environment to improve quickly and dramatically. They can also expect that a year-round approach to helping them become stronger, faster and better. This is the game of hockey: you have to make quick decisions, keep your feet moving and execute the next play correctly. You need to be at your best, strong on the puck and strong mentally throughout the entire game.  

What makes Velocity stand out among other hockey training facilities?

If we had to name one thing, it would be our instructors and commitment to each player. They’re highly knowledgeable about the game, how to motivate players and how to help players identify their strengths and areas to work on. They’re all former NHL and top collegiate players who know what it takes to progress up through every level from entry-level youth player all the way to national competition. 

We offer all-girl and mixed camps also, which are designed for just 15 players on the ice compared to the 30 or more you see at competitor camps. We believe in giving our players as much access to personalized coaching as possible. We want them to build long-term player coach relationships and get as much detailed, personal feedback as possible.

Speaking of amazing instructors, we just hired Stephane Veilleux, a former Minnesota Wild player who played 500+ games in the NHL. Stephane will oversee all on-ice programs at Velocity, developing practice plans, drills, identifying the best instructors for our specialist camps whether it’s Skating, Shooting, Stickhandling, Defense Camps or anything else. This frees up my time to oversee everything Velocity is doing and of course focus on building our programs for the future.

What advice would you give to young hockey players about off-ice training?

Do it. It’s essential. It’s hard, of course, and kids don’t like it as much as playing, but if you want to play hockey at the next level, you have to train in the offseason. Skating becomes easy for kids after enough practice, but finding things that are difficult and working them in a disciplined way is what makes you stronger. Training makes you physically and mentally stronger, builds confidence and stamina, it helps you build muscle and weight as you grow. The hard part for many players is that training often comes after play, and bodies get sore, but the best players are spending just as much time in the weight room as they are on the ice!

What are some exercises every hockey player can do to get faster and stronger?

It’s really all about discipline on and off the ice. There is no one silver bullet, no single, perfect drill that will get you where you need or want to be. Players need to focus on what they’re not good at, get help identifying their weaknesses and attack them with the right coaching, the right training and right attitude. Rounded players come from ice time but also hill running, squats, weights and a great partnership with your coach.