Gagliardi’s presentation hones in on defence, specifically in your own zone, when the opposing team has the puck.

“Hockey is a complex game with a lot of moving parts. We can’t control everything at every moment within the game, but we can always look to influence parts of these moments.”

Alyssa Gagliardi, a former D1, US Women’s National Team and women's pro hockey player (NWHL/PWHPA), was one of the presenters at our Global Skills Showcase this past March and her talk was one of the highlights of the five-day virtual event.

Gagliardi’s presentation hones in on defence, specifically in your own zone, when the opposing team has the puck. Although ultimately it’s about preventing a goal, in the moment the goal is to quickly regain possession of the puck.

“We need to teach players to control the tempo of the game, even when we don’t have the puck,” she explains. “We don’t just have to be reactive without the puck, we need players to be proactive and develop the mindset and skills to understand how to dictate the tempo and the space within the d-zone.”

In her 22-minute video, Gagliardi, a former Youth Development Coach with the Carolina Hurricanes who was recently hired as assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers Warriors, explains how a player’s ability to dictate the d-zone comes down to their skills and mindset. She breaks down what to look for from a player’s perspective, the skills to focus on, and how to build these skill sets in a progressive way to instil confidence in your players.

More on Gagliardi, according to her Philadelphia Flyers Warriors bio: Alyssa played at Shattuck St. Mary’s before competing at Cornell University from 2010-2014. Alyssa was a two-year captain for the Cornell Big Red and was recognized as a 2014 CCM 2nd Team All-American and ECAC Co-Defensive Defenseman of the Year.

Upon graduation, she competed with the U.S. Women’s National Team, competing in two Four Nations Cups (2014, 2015). She played professionally for one year in the CWHL, winning a Clarkson Cup in 2015, and played four years in the NWHL for the Boston Pride (2015-2019), winning the Isobel Cup in 2016.