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Dennis Kubat: Brayden, thanks for joining us today. I'm really looking forward to this conversation with you. For those who don't know who Brayden Klamasco is, how would you describe yourself as a coach and what kind of first sparked your passion for coaching? Welcome back to episode 6 of the Mindset Pathways podcast. I am your host, Dennis Kubat.
Brayden Klimosko: guess first and foremost, type of coach I am. I think I'm a, I'm a passionate coach and intense coach. I think I'm a player's coach. I think a guy that, you know, I care about my players. I want to get the most out of my players. yeah, I want it to a fun environment for guys to learn. want guys, I want to be a coach that kids can feel like they can come talk to me at any time, but I also want, what's best for them and it's to move on to the next level. So. I guess that would be kind of what I would feel like I am, as a coach, ⁓ how kind of got into it, it was kind of by accident, to be honest. think I ⁓ was really fortunate. I was able to jump up the steps relatively quick, probably because of footsteps my dad, you know, did here with the Humble Broncos He was Dean Brockman's assistant for, you know, six years. They had, you know, lot of success of winning, for Actually seven years I think it was. They had four championships there and dad was the assistant with them and Dean was looking for assistant at the time. I was selling furniture just in town here and it's a pretty easy transition. You go from selling furniture which is a great job but it wasn't quite like coaching. So I thought get my feet wet there as an assistant with Dean and haven't looked back ever since. it's I mean this will be my 14th season here coming up.
Dennis Kubat: Today's guest is Braden Klamasco, head coach and general manager of the Humboldt Broncos. was born and raised in Humboldt, grew up ⁓ the Elger Peterson arena, ⁓ the ability to play for his hometown SJHL team, the Humboldt Broncos, and had the ability while playing to capture two SJHL championships and ⁓ Royal Bank Cup championship. Crazy, time just flies.
Brayden Klimosko: Easy, doesn't it? No kidding.
Dennis Kubat: So let's go back to Braden as the player. So 2008 Humboldt Broncos, Championship team that you were a part of. What made that group so special? And looking back, how did the team's mindset may be different from others that maybe you didn't get to that full championship achievement?
Brayden Klimosko: think ⁓ a couple know, we were close in 07, ⁓ a very similar of guys that, we went to game seven in quadruple overtime to Selkirk and then brought, probably close to like 12 back from that team to the next season. So we're able to, turn over a lot of guys, into now guys that were either rookies or 19 year olds were now, bigger parts of it. for the next year. I think that, we learned lots from that year, a lot of experience from that season where, we had a, a game seven we needed to win out of the first round in 07. And we were up 3-0 to nip one in the second round. And then they were coming back, ⁓ won the first two and almost beat us the third game to almost potentially go to another game seven in a reverse ⁓ sweep situation. ⁓
Dennis Kubat: Just a little backstory on Braden's coaching career. He began coaching in 2013 as assistant coach for the Humboldt Broncos. From there in 2018, he was able to grab his first SJHL head coaching job with the Battleford North Stars. when he was in Battleford, ⁓ track record kind of speaks for itself, earning three SJHL Coach of the Year awards, ⁓ Canadian Junior Coach of the Year award.
Brayden Klimosko: I just thought a lot of the experiences we learned from 07 helped us in 08. And obviously we had a bitter taste to how we lost in 07. anyone that was watching probably thought we probably had the short end of the stick and probably the, the, the reffing situation, especially in Manitoba. So we kind of use that as fuel for the, for that 08 year. And we're able to get through, the Anvid Cup, with a sweep and then
Dennis Kubat: and was able to capture two SJHL championships. If you look at Braden's resume, it's pretty impressive such a young coach at his age. But the biggest thing, in my opinion, that really separates Braden ⁓ the energy and the passion he brings to the rink, to his family, ⁓ to the town of Humboldt. He's a first-class individual in every sense. Having the ability to... ⁓
Brayden Klimosko: once we got to Nationals, we were able to win there. So, yeah, I think that was obviously a big part of it. I think we had a lot of experience beforehand. A lot of us actually played together growing up in some regards. a lot of us were AA hockey players. It obviously is different now than what it was before, but, you know, a lot of us never played AAA. We were kind of, late bloomers, you could say, or guys that were probably...
Dennis Kubat: come to him for guidance on coaching and the energy he brings in every conversation we have and the ability to want to help something that is unmatched and for myself I'll always be grateful for every conversation that we are able to have together.
Brayden Klimosko: picked over at times in the past, so we probably had a little bit more of a chip on our shoulder. And a lot of those guys from that AA team, there would have been one, two, three, four. I think there were six of us on that AA team that went undefeated a few years prior. now ⁓ for the Broncos and we're able to obviously a national championship.
Dennis Kubat: In this episode we dive into his routines, what it takes to build that championship culture, his mindset as a coach, as a player, just chatting about the ever-involving athlete how they've changed over time, and much So you've had a lot of success even as a hockey player and even as a football player. So looking back, what was your mindset like and what are some things as a player that you did really well and were there some things that you wish you would do different now?
Brayden Klimosko: Yeah,
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it's a really good question. It's so funny because now I'm coaching kids, trying to not make the same mistakes I ⁓ made in some regards, And I think the one thing I thought I did a really good job of is I always worried about my game first, is I wasn't worried about what, my teammates were doing or how they were playing. All I focused in on was my own game. And really, anyone that knows me,
Dennis Kubat: Before we get into the episode, if you're ever interested in working with me one on one, or as a team, or you as a coach, please reach out. You can follow me at DennisKubat on Instagram, or send me an email, deniscubatmindsetatgmail.com. Let's please welcome Head Coach, General Manager of the Humble Broncos, Brandon Climac.
Brayden Klimosko: I drift away from task at hand really fast if I'm not ⁓ on one thing. And the one thing I always wanted to do is win one-on-one battle, whatever it was. And the best part about hockey and football is there's a lot of one-on-one battles every time you're on a shift or every time you're making a play. You beat your one-on-one battle, you're probably gonna have some success. So I knew I was strong at. I knew I was a stronger type of player. I just, was strong, I wasn't overly fast. Anyone that knows me knows that, but I would use my strengths to the best of my abilities. And I knew if I worried about other players, I wasn't gonna get the best out of myself. And that was number one is that, I was always focusing on that first. And I always found a role for myself that I succeed in. I knew once I made it to the Broncos, I wasn't going to be a top scorer that I potentially was at the midget AA level. I knew I was going to have to be more of a shut down guy or if I was on the first or second line, I was going to go dig. I knew I wasn't there to score the goals. Dennis, you know that. We played against each other growing up. But I thought my role, if I could benefit the team, was me digging out of the corners to get the puck out to the guys that can score. So obviously that was my strength. The one thing that I thought I wasn't good at and, it's funny now that I really stress it is the work behind the scenes, you know, I wasn't a guy that trained very hard in the off season. I wasn't a guy that went to the gym a ton during the year. I think the one difference was that I thought I had a lot of success in 08 in the playoffs with the Broncos in the playoffs. I think it was the Anvid Cup MVP and before playoffs I... I put on a few extra pounds during the season and I told Dean like, I need about two good weeks here of training. So ⁓ I decided to get healthy scratch the last couple of games of the year and just train for, you know, two weeks hard and lost about, close to 10 pounds before playoffs and then lost another five during. And what a difference it made. And I was like, Dean always gave me crap He's like, cause you know, I was into fitness once I was a co once I was a coach and he's like, Why weren't you like that
when you played for Moscow? Like you'd have been twice the player if you did it. And it's so funny now, like it's the guys, Dennis, that put in the work extra all the time, you know, behind the scenes, it's either, maintaining themselves or, making sure they're, doing good recovery or getting to the gym those extra times in the mornings or in the afternoons. They're the ones that always have success. And it's like, I'm stressing that all the time now. And I wasn't that guy, which is You don't want to preaching the same mistakes that you made to your guys. And I just feel like it's something that's pretty easy for them to do. ⁓ one thing I definitely look back on my career being like, dang, I should have really focused on that aspect of it little bit.
Dennis Kubat: I love your saying of like your process when you talked about just winning your one-on-one battles was part of your process. I find lots of times now even when I'm working with clients, they're all outcome outcome based. Do they get a can I score or with social media just comparing to others? So as a little strategy I do I try and tell my clients here what are three to five process based goals that you can manage each and every game. So I think that's really valuable of kind of like just what you did growing up and how it
Brayden Klimosko: For sure.
Dennis Kubat: helped you have us winning those.
Brayden Klimosko: For sure. Nice. Yeah, absolutely.
Dennis Kubat: So going on to Closco, the coach. So what would be your Mount Rushmore of coaches? ⁓ do you have like a coach where you go to for advice?
Brayden Klimosko: not, not necessarily anymore. ⁓ ⁓ probably, you know, it depends on the situation, I've had so many good ones Dennis and ⁓ to make Mount Rushmore would be, would be hard in some regards. I think you look at someone even like a Tom Sargent who's, know, with the Saskatoon Hilltops guy's elite, like I, guy wins all the time. And, I, I obviously learned lots from him when I, I was a player and And like, I think he would have to be a part of that, and then, every, every other coach that I've had, I've taken a little piece from each of them, you know, from, from a Dean Brockman, to, know, right after I would have had a Ryan Smith who is, you know, with the Regina Pats, right into Darcy, you know, and right into Hasselberg, you know, and then as head coach, I had great assistance, like, I've been so fortunate, man, and take a little bit from all and I still think coaching always adapting. It's always changing all the time. And I think that's the cool part about it is every one of my coaches I learned from ⁓ and think every one of them is a bit different, but ⁓ all elite in their regards. And I think, even my assistants are all going to have great careers down the line in their coaching. can I, ⁓ I don't want make Mount Rushmore because they're a big part of my career and a big part of, where I got to. even maybe the ones that didn't work out, you learn from them too. So it's really,
it's such a cool profession. And there's been no one, I don't think luckier than me for the coaches I've had, from me being assistant all the way, from me being a head coach. So I've been pretty fortunate.
Dennis Kubat: stress. I'm just big coach on like energy is your edge and I think that's something just from being able to talk to you over the years I've admired like how much energy and passion you bring to every conversation just when I used to be coaching and I'd have that conversation with you you were someone who always brought that energy and always cared for and Felt invested in every conversation. Is that something like you intentionally work on? And like how do you show up to the rink every day to be the best version of yourself so that can then help your players?
Brayden Klimosko: Yeah, that's a great question. And I never even thought of it that way, Dennis, to be honest, I think that's just who I am as a person. You know, really, at the end of the day, is I don't think it's, I don't try and fake it. Like, I'm not that type of person. I, that's who am as, in everyday, you know, in my everyday life. And I think, the thing I learned after first year, we just had Jake, ⁓ and, he had a tough time sleeping so, overly, you know, some days didn't have as much jam and ⁓ the thing, doing a lot of podcasts and ⁓ listening to other you know, the one thing that they always said was your players are going to feel your energy no matter what. So ⁓ if you feel, if you, ⁓ you know tired and you feel tired, they're going to know you're tired, and even before, even before you, ⁓ you even feel it, they're to feel, they're going to know how tired you are. So ⁓ They really, they really stressed like, sleep, making sure you had time for yourself for exercise, you know, make sure you're eating right. All those little things that you keep yourself healthy, your players are going to feel that, and, and that's the one thing that, you know, sometimes I'm really good at it. Sometimes I, you know, I stray away from it and you can tell the energy levels of how much that changes. So it's a really good question that I probably don't, I focus in on, I don't focus in on all the time. And it's, ⁓ probably the most important thing for me, is having energy because if you ⁓ your players going to know when you have energy and when they, you don't. And I think if you don't bring it for them, they aren't going to feel like they're going to bring it for you. And I think that's the one thing is I love my I always have and always will. And I want to get the most out of them. And I want, you know, I want guys that want to move on and, and, and have great, you careers, not only as hockey players, but in life. And, and that's, I'm just, I want to be one of those coaches that I still remember all my great coaches, Dennis, I'm sure you do too. No matter what sport it was, you have all those ones that you think of your Mount Rushmore. was that, you know, there was that badminton coach or your baseball coach or whoever that just gave you the time of day to, to be able to perform the best you can. And the cool part about it for me was it was mostly my dad. So, he was the one that would put in the work knowing that, he, had a full-time job as a carpenter, but he, ⁓ you know, put in the day to day, as my hockey coach and did whatever he could to get the most out of me as well as, the rest of the team. And I just feel like this is my job. This is my, this is my calling. I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure my players are getting the most out of their experience as a humble Bronco or as a battle for Northstar or wherever I may be.
Dennis Kubat: when you took over the program in North Balford and you stepped into your first head coaching role with the North Stars, what was your mindset going into that first season? did you feel confident in that transition or were there moments of like self doubt? I know you had some experience as an assistant coach, but that head coaching role is very different.
Brayden Klimosko: Totally. I had doubt every day. Like it was, was wild. Like, yeah, you still have doubt, you know, to be honest, Dennis, and I think, yeah, yeah, you weren't, I know. I felt, yes, I was confident, but I felt like, holy smokes, like this is, this is a lot. I had a, I had a really veteran team ⁓ and very team that won before. And it was almost a perfect storm. I, won two years before I got there. And then the year, ⁓ The before, they probably should have won, but the culture was kind of going south. They had probably the wrong group there to, you know, they felt like let ⁓ slip away. So ⁓ nothing better than getting a hungry veteran team that's ready to win. And really it was for me to, you know, it was kind of easy for me to sit back and learn from those guys. The ⁓ one I had is they didn't... They didn't understand how good they were, and it was like the confidence level of themselves of where they were in our league. ⁓ took it took them forever for them to actually feel like I needed swagger from Dennis. They needed more swagger. And in the one thing is I, I told when felt like they finally figured it out and it was March ⁓ 2nd. It was our, was our last, it was our last league game ⁓ and If we would have lost that when we got fifth place, if we won it, we were second. And we went from in February, we were seventh place on February 1st. We had a major road swing. think we played out of that. In February, we only had two home games. So we had like, I think we went 10 and 0 in that stretch, kind of found our legs underneath us. But finally in that March game. It was like we had a bit of swag and we had a little bit more confidence in our own ability. We won that game, we got second place over Kindersley and then we just went from there and got better. And it was just like, it's amazing how you need your own self-confidence. You need to feel like you got a little bit of swag for you to have a chance to win. Not
overconfident, but you got to feel that a little bit. And just took us so long. And that was maybe the most frustrating part is I'd tell them how good they were every day and they just didn't believe it till they finally won that one at the end of the year. then, know, playoffs was, you know, relative, I wouldn't say easy, but it felt like we were at another level that we didn't have, you know, during the season.
Dennis Kubat: When you go from North Battleford to your hometown team of the Humble Broncos, how do you go about establishing like your standard within that new program and it being your hometown team? Does that put extra pressure on you?
Brayden Klimosko: Yeah, I think two things. I know how big of a difference it would be. you think the same league, same team, it shouldn't make a difference, ⁓ but everyone a different ⁓ coaching philosophy, styles. ⁓ I always feel like they're not, when players aren't recruited by you, I don't know sometimes if they play for you, if that makes sense. And it's been a struggle, to be honest, for two years. ⁓ I think we, you we made some major deals at the deadline that we felt like we had to establish a culture first. And, you know, I read a lot of books over Christmas and it was hard. Like we were, we were kind of, sputtering out there just before Christmas and we weren't, playing our best. then, and then like during the Christmas break, you're reading about, you got to win the room first and you got to, establish some kind of culture. And the one thing that every, you know, coach said in any, any book that I read is, You got to peel that onion apart first. You know, you got to start from square one. And that was the one thing, you know, hard Dennis was like, do we go through a year knowing? Yes, we would make the playoffs. I guarantee would have made the playoffs and I wasn't scared to do that. The problem was establishing a culture. Now we were waiting from, a January 10th culture change to now a September 1st culture change. And ⁓ my with, you know, with hockey the way hockey is where Guys can go anywhere at this point. They can go down to the States to play. can go to BC. There's options galore if they want to go play. They might ask for a trade tomorrow. And it's just the culture is for these players is if I don't like it there, I'm going somewhere else. And the one thing I didn't want is we keep the culture that which we're at from January 10th. Was I going to lose those young guys knowing that humble Broncos might not be the place that we want to play. I ⁓ the difficult choice on ⁓ 7th or 8th to the move for our 20s. yeah, we ended up doing that. ⁓ We obviously got a younger. ⁓ I thought our work got better every day. I thought we came to the rink, happy to come to the rink, ⁓ guys that basically at their everything, ⁓ finally. ⁓ I that was important. There's a big disconnect between twenties and eighteens and naturally that just happens. And, we're trying to establish your culture where you're going to earn all your ice. You're going to earn your opportunity and it's by hard work really is at the end of the day. It's what we're looking for. So it was a struggle January, you know, seventh. And I thought we continually just got better as the year went on, you know, and it was fun to come to the rink every day. You guys came with energy and emotion and it was, it felt like we got the life back in our room, got, we had great crowds at the end of the year. And ⁓ I that, you know, just to start of what what's to come here, you know, building off, obviously a grind of a half of the year, but it's, yes, there's pressure. Yes, you know, there's nothing worse than going to the grocery store, knowing that you keep losing people are going to ask questions, you know, and ⁓ I, ⁓ there's pressure though, think the biggest, you know, the most pressure I put on myself. The most pressure that anyone's ever going to put on me is myself. And I know that if I do a bad job, I'm not going to have a job. it's, yeah, I didn't move home to lose. I'll tell you that because that's not the reason why I came home. And I've had a great career in Battleford and I wanted to move there unless it was here. yeah, it lot difficult than I thought. But ⁓ I sure ⁓ we get for it in the end.
Dennis Kubat: So as you've gained more experience in coaching, like how have you improved the way you incorporate the mental side of sports into your program? Is there some strategies that you found effective with your group?
Brayden Klimosko: You know what, I think that's the biggest part of the game that's probably changed my six years as a head coach. We never really discussed it, we never talked about it early in ⁓ my I think biggest that ⁓ we have now we don't shy away from it, we don't hide from it. I think it's important to have some mental... ⁓ you know, some mental training, some mental talk, for our guys or ⁓ in mental, you know, some mental for our guys to be at their And I think that was one thing that we worried about before, but it's as important as having a goalie coach or is important is working on a power play is ⁓ the mental side of And I think ⁓ it's the new norm we just, got to, I'm not the best at Dennis, to be honest. ⁓ I think we'll continue to get better at it, just, ⁓ know that it's important. I know it's mandatory for our guys to have ⁓ in that regard and some preparation because it's just changed so much. And I think that's something that I want to continue to grow in my coaching ability, I'd say.
Dennis Kubat: So as a father and husband, I know you carry a lot beyond the game. How do you separate like Braden the coach from Braden the dad and husband? Is it challenging like after a tough loss or when things maybe aren't going as well for the program?
Brayden Klimosko: ask my wife. would know. She it all in and I'm that's the one thing that I have a rough time doing and that's my that would be the hardest part of my the way I I'm wired in the way I'm built. She
knows when things are going rough, things are going well. And I wear ⁓ my heart my sleeve a lot of the times and I have a time hiding from my emotions. So ⁓ when it's a losing season the way it was, wasn't, especially early on. Like she's like, had some harsh conversations where she's like, you can't keep coming home like this. And I it was frustrating, you know? And the one that she couldn't believe that we were gonna do what we were doing at the deadline. And I'm like, I seriously think you're gonna have a happier husband at home. And she's like, if you think so, then you do it. If that's what your guts telling you. And I have such a good support system at home with my wife. ⁓ You know, my kids obviously, it's so nice to have your son that you look at things as a parent, with your, with your players. So, whatever players in here, ⁓ you want to know that you've done whatever you can, the players, would be impressed or happy with the way you're treating them. So ⁓ it might be, ⁓ a harsh talk, or it might be, you know, arm around the shoulder type of thing. you you look at things as a dad sometimes and it just changes your aspect and changes your mentality, maybe how to coach. So I just think sometimes you watch play his hockey and I was, I was fortunate, but wasn't fortunate. Normally I don't get to watch many tournaments, but we were, ⁓ we were done already. They had a tournament in Weyburn and it was a carded weekend and they have a really young carded team and I think for all the five or six games that they played, I think they got outscored like 110 to maybe 10 the whole tournament. And like every time they came off the ice, they had smiles on their faces. They were happy. They were on the water slides and they were playing mini sticks in the hallways and tagging the hallways. you're like, that's what hockey is all about, is making those friendships and having fun. I just, you appreciate that aspect of it is. you can lose and still have fun and you can learn something from that. I think that was sometimes you need some of those a little bit of a kickback to reality that it is only a game. You know, even at our level, it truly is just a game. And I sometimes you need something like that with your with your child playing a game to to really get you back down to earth.
Dennis Kubat: Do you think even being a father, know for me personally, when I started having kids, almost changed my perspective and believe I became like even a better teacher, more caring, more compassionate. Do you think you having a kid has helped your coaching?
Brayden Klimosko: without a doubt, it changed everything, you know, it, for sure, ⁓ it's changed and you learn to patient, you learn to care, you learn to, ⁓ you just want best for the child as if, know, knowing that, you know, if my child was in Vancouver somewhere playing hockey, that he was gonna get the right support for him to succeed. And that's all you really want at the end is that, ⁓ is that aspect it. And yeah, it definitely has changed. You know, the way I coach for sure, Dennis.
Dennis Kubat: ⁓ a big routines and habits guy. do you have any certain routines or habits you have to do at practice or any game day routines and habits that you could share?
Brayden Klimosko: I'm full of a man. I'm wife hates ⁓ playoff time and ⁓ such a structure routine and especially when you're winning and everything like that. So ⁓ lots, you know, I like ⁓ on streaks, know, on winning streaks. keep everything the same from coming to the door at the same time to, eating the same pregame meal to to not getting haircuts or shaving or anything like I'm I'm such a routine guy and ⁓ I it's ⁓ I'm too much in my routine that if once in a while I'm out of it, like you sleep in or you can't make it to the rink on the perfect time, it just throws me off a little bit. So I wish I wasn't quite like that, but yeah, I'm really bad for them actually.
Dennis Kubat: As if we shift over to the players, like being an athlete in today's world, there's consistent access to influences on social media, both positive and negative. How do you help your players like that positive mindset and what are some of the biggest challenges that they have with dealing with that?
Brayden Klimosko: Yeah, yeah. And you know what, that was the one thing we had. We had a big, you know, discussion after, January ⁓ 7th. And, the one thing we said was like, let's, let's get away from the outside noise. ⁓ And the thing is, you read things obviously, you see where we are in the standings, you, you watch, ⁓ the SJHL at noon or whatever, right? you're, ⁓ you don't hear the necessarily positive things. it just puts in a in a bad state. we really tried to focus in on ourselves first. we've never done it before, but ⁓ we put the phones away, know, once the guys came to the rink and we really wanted the influence of when they were at the rink, we were here to get better. And we were worrying about the people in the room first. And that was the, that was the most important. And I think that was always our message is let's, let's, we're here together. We're here to, you know, fight together as one. not worry about what's happening around us. ⁓ that was, I felt like that was a difference maker for us. I felt like we just, we worried about ⁓ and worried about our game getting better. And I thought it, I thought we took a real ⁓ good turn the better once we really focused in on that aspect of it. Cause you're right, the phone can be poison. It usually is, you know, for the most part. And ⁓ it, we really tried avoid a lot of that, especially in the second half.
Dennis Kubat: having the ability to coach a ton of players throughout your coaching career, what do you think are the big differences between those good players and those elite players when it comes to the mental side?
Brayden Klimosko: It's the resiliency, like ⁓ you're to get knocked down. You are. And I think that's probably ⁓ the one or ⁓ who's dog that's going
to be, you know, you're going to fall down, but he's going to bounce right back up and work twice as hard. And I think that's, that's number one, especially in this day and age, you know, Dennis is on the mental side of it, especially is it's not always going to go your way, but if you, if you bounce back and you bounce back stronger, I think, I think it, ⁓ it only makes you a better hockey player and elite level player. I also the hard, hard work kind of gotten away. ⁓ You know, everyone at your social media. You see your nice goals by Connor McDavid and, ⁓ they almost want be that, ⁓ that, that skilled Well, we all know there's very few skilled guy type of hockey players. ⁓ I think, I the guys that really just put in the work and that want to work hard and want to outwork your, your opponent. are going to be the guys that are going to be the most successful because really there's not very many elite level hockey players that can do what Connor can do. There's probably three lines of hardworking type players. I think that's the players that want to work hard and want to get better are the ones that seem to have the most success and the most fun to coach that are seem to be moving on to the next level. I look at Josh Cotai, for instance, who was my goaltender in Battleford. He told me the first day that I met him that he was going to be playing in the NHL someday. it's ⁓ He believed it. You know, he just didn't say it. He truly believed it. And ⁓ I Wiley, my assistant and I were, you know, at training camp and we didn't know much about, you know, Josh, who's played in the States the year before. you know, a 19 year old rookie and he comes comes there with, you know, Battle for North Star Pads. And you're like, man, that's usually a curse when someone comes with. team pads already with the logo on them. And you're like, man, good chance he's getting cut in the first week, usually how it works, right? So we, comes through camp and you know, it was pretty solid. And then all of a sudden our, our starter goes down in the first game and basically says, Josh, it's yours. And he took it ever since. And he never stopped believing that he wasn't going to be in NHL and he just continued to work and get better all the time. And, uh, I think it's, I think the resiliency part of it is so important and the hard work. You know, just continue to grind, continue to get better is the only two things that I think, you know, make you elite in this day and age.
Dennis Kubat: So how do you deal with maybe if it's a player comes into the office, they're complaining about maybe not getting enough ice time or they're not on special teams. How do you approach those conversations?
Brayden Klimosko: Yeah, it happens lots. know, kids want feedback and ⁓ the most important ⁓ a lot of times the kids don't understand is how ⁓ thought put a lot of special teams and time and everything. And ⁓ I don't think understand how important a practice is. ⁓ know, like ⁓ time we a practice,
know, Carter Hanson, my associate coach and I, we talk about, well, so-and-so was really good today or this guy kind of stunk. ⁓ You watch all that, right? And you take that into consideration for your special teams or for your lineup for the weekend. And I think they just, I don't think the players have quite understand. So you try and, you know, you try and have a good talk with them to understand why, you know, this is, this is happening the way it is. And, you know, you probably watch a bit of film of, you know, a little bit of one-on-one film of why you're not on the power play or, or why, you know, you're taken off or something like that. But. I think people don't put enough stock into practice and I think you can get better, earn your spot by your practice habits and ⁓ think people forget how much is ⁓ into in a week practice going into a weekend.
Dennis Kubat: Would you say players' mindsets are different today than 10 years ago when you coached?
Brayden Klimosko: totally. I think they're always looking for, know, are going to do for me? You know, I think in some regard, and it's like, ⁓ it's, I don't mind. I think the big thing is, I, what I'm for guys that are ⁓ wanting to earn it get better. And ⁓ I think the one that we struggle with is ⁓ that fine line ⁓ ⁓ What do I owe you? It's more like, what have you earned, you know, is the big thing, And I think it's so because like guys want instant time on the power play or instant time in top six role or ⁓ something like that it's gonna take some time, you know, just because you have a good week of practices in a game doesn't mean I'm gonna bump you necessarily up to a first line role. You're just gonna have to earn it through. you know, opportunities and continue to grow and progress. I think guys are looking, I think it's, it's a lot to with your phone. You know, you get, you get instant, you know, you get instant gratification on your phone. They're looking for instant gratification, every day on a hockey team. And it's a process. And we always say, trust the process, trust the process, keep getting better, trust the process, you know, and I think overall, that's what we try and really stress with our our guys is, and really what we try and do are guys that are having good weeks is to really make sure we're in the back of their minds telling them with good positive feedback, hey, keep going buddy, you're having a great week, you're gonna have a great weekend, you'll continue to do this, you're gonna get more. And you try and dangle that carrot so that they continue to get better. they're hoping for that, just because they have one good practice, they're thinking, I'm on the power play. Well, no, it just, it takes that much time. And that's the difference now is like, Dennis, you and I both grew up where were scared. We were scared to look at the lineup sheet every night to see where you were going to potentially be if you had a bad night. You know, and I don't think players quite see that
the same anymore. So that's the hard part. That's probably the biggest, the most difficult thing to now change for the players.
Dennis Kubat: One of my favorite lines is you have to model the behavior you expect from your players. So how would you finish this statement? If I want my players to be blank, then I need to be blank.
Brayden Klimosko: So think for me, I talk about playing loud. So if I want my players to be calling for ⁓ cheering for teammates, ⁓ giving a tap someone scores a goal, ⁓ having a lot energy and enthusiasm, if I want my players to do that, I better make sure I'm doing the same. And that's where I think I've always had my success or finding guys with that kind of energy and emotion and bringing it every day. ⁓ I feel like when I have it and the players have it, just feel like it's great culture, it's a great practice, it's a great game, all that type of thing. I think that would be way I would kind of finish that stage.
Dennis Kubat: know you talked about reading a bunch of books at Christmas. So are there any books that you would recommend or that you're currently reading or even a podcast that you're listening to that has had a positive influence on you as a coach?
Brayden Klimosko: Totally, there's a couple actually. I've got an Urban Meyer Above the Line book, one of my favorites. I feel like college football is very similar to what we're dealing with at the junior A level. he's one of my favorites. Obviously, ⁓ maybe he's into some trouble in the last little bit, but ⁓ I think one of the best books ⁓ I've had. one that I really follow, and I got it from Kevin Hasselberg actually. When you're the Drumheller Dragons, they're actually owned by the Canalta hotels. So Canalta Group started right in Drumheller and the owner the GM of Canalta, he always gives the book legacy out to all your all the GMs, all the coaches that are part of Canalta. And ⁓ that probably favorite of all time. And I take a lot of my... ⁓ my coaching from the Legacy book and Legacy the all-black team. Have you read it, Dennis?
Dennis Kubat: Yes, I've read both of those books, both great books.
Brayden Klimosko: Yeah, yeah. So it's my favorite. think there's, I like the bluehead redhead type of analogy in the legacy book. that doesn't know anything about it is it's really hard to coach redheads. So basically that get highly elevated, that when there's on the line and they start yelling and and all that type of stuff, it... It's really hard for them to focus in on what their task is at hand. they talk about having a blue head type of mentality where you stay at an even keel. You try and stay cool. Cooler heads prevail usually is what they say. And yeah, the team aspect of legacy, is really something that, once reading it over Christmas, it was like, we got to get back to this, you know, is really what it comes down to. And there's no one, bigger ⁓ than the team And I, Yeah, think that's the two of the top ones for me and yeah, both ones that I'd recommend for sure.
Dennis Kubat: How can my audience best support you and the Humble Broncos organization?
Brayden Klimosko: ⁓ coming to a game, ⁓ know, liking us ⁓ on online, know, on or ⁓ Instagram. I that'd be, a to support, know, I after this, Dennis, I think it'd be great conversation to maybe have you involved with our hockey club a little bit. I think there's lots for our kids to learn. from a guy like yourself that's, that's getting more involved in the mental side of it. Like I said, it's, it's not, I wouldn't say it's my strong suit and I wouldn't say that ⁓ it's something that's got to be, you know, part of, part of hockey now these days and, ⁓ and, and, in general, I think it's just, it's a missing link that wasn't there before that I feel like everything, everything is getting so tighter. You know, there's, there's more. ⁓ knowledge out there and system work everything like that. ⁓ piece of it is the mental side of it now that I think is, yeah, if you can get a little bit of an upper edge, know, that's definitely part of the game for sure.
Dennis Kubat: Brayden, it's been a pleasure,
Brayden Klimosko: Yeah, it's been great. I'm glad you're doing this. ⁓ I've been to some of them online and you've done a great job and you know, it's amazing how far we've came at, from those days of ⁓ playing, ⁓ hockey throughout, you know, as young Peewee Bantam to Midget and all the way to junior. So we had some good battles and we've always, you know, appreciated good chats along the way. So keep doing your thing Matt.
Dennis Kubat: Yeah, I appreciate it man and just more than you just as a coach just your character your values and the way you approach every day is something that I really admire and I appreciate you for coming on today.
Brayden Klimosko: Appreciate it, Dennis. Thank you.