Puck Systems Demo

Five years ago, Patrick Cavanagh established a plan to elevate the caliber of youth hockey via creating a Junior hockey program within the Whalers organization. The objective was to train, develop and promote players to athletic/scholastic goals within the sport of hockey. The immediate success on and off the ice of the Junior Whalers program has not only established itself as a premier hockey training destination in the United States but created a positive mentorship for hockey players in Hampton Roads.  We are now in the process of preparing our own local players the opportunity to transition to the Junior Hockey program as elite athletes who will continue the superior legacy and success enjoyed by Junior Whaler alumni.  

It is important to recognize and share the plan as it unfolds itself over the course of years because there are so many new players and families involved and excited about the Whalers program and its direction. The Pee Wee AA team has already played 34 games featuring a 26-14-4 record and played AA, AAA and even Bantam aged competition. The team is currently undefeated in CBHL league play after five games with a goals for/against of 23-7. The majority of the team consists of 97 birth year players in a 1996 bracket which indicates the team is demonstrating elite results regardless of age. This success is a result of continuous summer training which focused on high level system foundation including positioning, breakouts, neutral zone regrouping, neutral zone speed and support, defensive coverage and responsibility to name a few.  The on ice training has been complimented by off- ice events, family get-togethers, host family accommodation and overall unity toward the common goal to develop and achieve both individually and certainly as a unit.

Most recently, the PWAA team took advantage of the Monday and Tuesday off school and set up two mid-day practice sessions of 2.5 hours each working on repetition of skill sets and system accountability. Each of the sessions were relaxed in demeanor but sharp on attention to detail which is one of our Junior hockey traits that instill teammate to teammate trust and respect. 

The team also took advantage of a unique opportunity on Tuesday to attend the Tampa Bay Lightning’s main affiliate Norfolk Admirals closed practice session. The team was graciously invited by Mike Butters, GM and Darren Rumble, Head Coach of the Norfolk Admirals hockey club. The players experienced a tour of the facilities, locker-room, training room, equipment room and typical routine of professional players.  This experience provided the players quality time together to observe practice habits of professional players as well as drill selection. For most of the players, the importance of our training plan came full circle when they recognized both identical and similar practice drills exercised by the Admirals that we utilize routinely.

The team finished Tuesday by going back to the ice for its weekly flow and conditioning skate with the Whalers Junior C team. Although not mandatory, the players eagerly jumped on the ice with their older peers and competed with some (green and blue) sweat and a smile. It certainly is not a stretch to look a few years ahead and be able to applaud these players for hard work and focus toward a common goal and a personal best put forward.

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