The question comes up in nearly every coaching seminar, locker-room discussion, and board meeting — Is it possible to win games and develop players at the same time?

For many coaches, these two goals are presented as competing priorities. Win now, or develop for later. Choose one.

From a European perspective — and particularly within Viima Hockey’s coaching philosophy — the idea that winning and player development are mutually exclusive is not only misleading… it’s simply untrue. In high-performance environments across Finland, Sweden, and other European hockey nations, teams increasingly recognize that meaningful player development drives sustainable success. They are not two parallel tracks. They are the same track.

When Players Grow, Teams Win

A team that plays well collectively does so because the individuals within it have grown. Skill, confidence, intelligence, and resilience are not add-ons; they are the foundation for winning hockey.

When players get better, the team becomes better.
When the team becomes better, it wins more often.
And when a team wins more often, the value of both the group and the individual players increases.

This is the exact logic used by top European organizations. Consider how clubs in Liiga or SHL often enter a season with a roster valued one way – and exit the season with that same group worth significantly more because players developed, earned bigger roles, and signed stronger contracts. Teams like Jukurit Mikkeli in the Finnish Liiga have shown this recently: a roster valued at roughly €1.85M early in the season can exceed €3M by spring as player performance – and value – climbs with the team’s success.

The NHL is the ultimate example. Under a hard salary cap, organizations aren’t “trying to win the league of prospects” – they’re trying to win the Stanley Cup. And to do that, they need players who perform above their cap hit. Development is baked into the business model.

You hope your team in April is more valuable than it was in October. That’s development serving winning.

Development Is Not Soft. It’s Not Optional. It’s About Teaching How to Win.

”Skill development” can sometimes be misunderstood as toe-drag clinics and fancy puck-handling – nice-to-have extras rather than performance necessities. But real development is not about highlight-reel moves. It’s about teaching the habits that directly drive winning hockey:

• Winning loose puck battles
• Protecting the middle of the ice
• Playing with pace across the blue line
• Understanding risk vs. reward
• Executing puck placement under pressure
• Managing momentum and game situations

Toughness, resilience, and competitiveness are also skills. They can be trained. And they matter as much as technical execution.

A player isn’t “plus or minus” by personality – he becomes that through coaching, repetition, and clarity of expectations.

The False Dichotomy: Winning This Week vs. Winning Long Term

Where winning and development do appear to conflict is in the short term, especially for coaches whose job security depends on weekend results.

Do we:

• roll three, even only two, lines to maximize immediate outcomes,
  or
• give young players real responsibility so they learn, even if mistakes cost us a game?

Do we:

• simplify everything to avoid risks,
  or
• teach our players to make middle-ice plays knowing turnovers may happen early in the process?

These questions matter. But the best organizations – NHL, European pro, and top junior programs – view performance through a long-term lens. You may lose a game in November because a young center tries a middle-lane pass you’ve encouraged him to attempt. But that same play, mastered through experience, may win you a playoff series in May.

Development requires courage from both players and coaches.

“Are we coaching not to lose, or coaching to grow?”

Training With Intention: More Than Physiology

Modern training is informed by excellent sport science and data. We know how to load players correctly, how to structure recovery, how to build speed and power. Yet one essential piece is often overlooked: the mental and competitive component of training.

Skill and conditioning are only part of the equation. Character, resilience, and the ability to stay composed under fatigue and pressure must also be trained. Not everything can be comfortable, measured, or scientifically neat.

Athletes grow when they are pushed to their edges, not just physically, but mentally.

At Viima Hockey, we often say: “Players don’t just need to skate harder. They need to think harder.”

Decision-making under stress is a skill. Competing on the boards is a skill. Choosing the right puck placement with 1:30 left while trailing is a skill. Skill is everything a player repeatedly does under game pressure.

The Human Side: Players Will Win for Coaches Who Develop Them

Development is not just tactical or physical. It’s relational.

Players compete harder, handle adversity better, and embrace uncomfortable growth when they feel valued and supported by their coaches.

Coach Olli Jokinen, a former captain of the Florida Panthers, during his coaching tenure, used to tell players in Finland:

“You guys are the ones who are winning the games. We are here to help you, so that in two years you can play on an even bigger stage.”

That message is development and winning working hand in hand.
It sets the tone.
Players respond.
Internal motivation skyrockets.

When players believe their environment is designed to help them grow, they perform better today. That performance helps the team win today. And that winning reinforces the value of development tomorrow.

Final Thought: Stop Choosing. Start Integrating.

Winning and player development are not competing philosophies. They are the same philosophy – viewed through different time horizons.

In Europe, we’ve learned that:

• Skills that win games are the same skills that develop players.
• Habits that create future professionals are the same habits that drive team success.
• Environments that prioritize growth are the environments that produce competitive, resilient, winning teams.

You don’t have to choose between winning and development.
If you want to win consistently – you must do both.

And if we’re honest, the best coaches in the world already know this.

Coach: Try This This Week

If you want one simple starting point, do this:

In your next practice, pick one area where the “safe play” and the “development play” differ; attacking through the middle, activating your D, or letting a young center run PP1. Choose development. Coach it, nourish it. Stay with it for at least two weeks.

You’ll be surprised how quickly winning follows.

____________________________

About Viima Hockey

Viima Hockey is Europe’s leading provider of individualized ice hockey coaching and player development services. From youth players to NHL professionals, we help athletes become the best version of themselves – and perform where it matters most, in the game.

Trusted by top talent and organizations, including NHL players like Miro Heiskanen and clubs such as Jokerit Helsinki, Jukurit Mikkeli, and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, Viima offers world-class skills training, skating development, shooting and scoring coaching, goaltending training, strength and conditioning programs, and coach education.

For more information, contact Jarno Kukila at jarno.kukila@viimahockey.com