Player Development
Development Built Around the Individual
Every player experiences the game differently. Our player development model connects technical skill, skating, perception, decision-making, and video analysis with practical game application to create development opportunities specific to the individual.
The objective isn't simply to develop more skills. It's to help players understand when, where, and why to use them.
Individual Development | Small Group Development | Skating Development | Video Analysis
Our Approach
Develop the Player. Not Just the Skill.
Player development is more than accumulating repetitions or mastering isolated techniques.
Our approach begins with understanding the demands of the game and the individual player. From there, training environments are intentionally designed to connect technical development with perception, movement, pressure, space, and decision-making.
Players are challenged to recognize situations, explore different solutions, and adapt their skills as the environment changes.
The goal is not to create one solution for every player.
It's to give each player more solutions for the game.
How We Develop
Technical Development
Build and refine the skating and puck skills players need to execute efficiently and confidently within the game.
Perception & Decision Making
Develop the ability to gather information, recognize pressure and space, and make decisions while executing at game-relevant speed.
Practical Application
Place players in environments where technical skills must adapt to changing opponents, pressure, timing, and space.
Technique creates possibilities. Perception identifies the opportunity. Application connects it to the game.
Small Group Development
Small group development creates competitive, game-relevant environments where players can work through technical skills while interacting with teammates, opponents, pressure and space.
Sessions are intentionally designed to expose players to different situations and solutions, challenging them to read pressure, make decisions, and apply skills with variability. The objective isn't simply repetition, but creating an environment where players develop their individual game while learning to adapt those skills to the constantly changing situations hockey presents.
Individual Development
Individual development is built around the specific needs of the player and the areas of their game that present the greatest opportunity for growth.
Sessions connect technical skill, skating, perception, and decision-making with practical application, helping players understand not only how to execute a skill, but when and why to use it. Each session creates a focused environment to refine details, explore new solutions, and develop skills that transfer directly back to the player's game.
Skating Development
Skating development focuses on using movement to create advantages within the game.
Rather than treating skating as an isolated skill, sessions connect technical skating mechanics to situations players repeatedly encounter - accelerating out of turns, controlling turn radius, changing speed, creating separation, attacking space, and managing pressure.
The objective is to give players more movement solutions and develop purposeful skating that creates additional time, space, and opportunity.
Video Analysis
Video analysis provides an individualized look at how a player's skills, habits, decisions, and movement patterns translate into performance. .
Through shift and game review, we identify high-frequency situations within the player's game, evaluate areas of strength and opportunity, and establish actionable development priorities.
Video creates a direct connection between what happens in games and what should be targeted in development, helping players better understand their own game and take greater ownership of their development.
Development Journal
Inside the Development Process
The Development Journal provides a closer look at the concepts, environments, and questions that shape our player development model.
Each entry explores the what and why behind development - from skating and puck skills to perception, technical variability, creating time and space, and practical game application.
The objective is to make the development process more transparent for players, parents, and coaches while continuing to explore how the game is evolving.
Player Development at every Level
Youth Hockey → Prep → Junior → College → Pro
PCH Hockey Development works with players across multiple stages of the development pathway - from youth hockey through prep, junior, college, and professional hockey.
Current and former players have competed across NCAA hockey, the USHL, CHL, NAHL, BCHL, NCDC, and other high-level programs throughout North America.
NCAA | USHL | CHL | NAHL | BCHL | NCDC
Meet the Coach
Justin Blaszak | Founder + Coach
Justin Blaszak is a former professional player, USA Hockey Level 5 coach, and player development specialist whose experience spans player development, coaching, scouting, sports technology, and video analysis.
His approach connects technical development, skating, perception, decision-making, and video with practical game application - creating individualized development environments based on the demands of each player's game.
