RinkWise podcast: Lovell Hockey’s Tim Lovell, Kevin Poulin on growing skills and smarts

Boston Advantage's Tim Lovell (middle) and Kevin Poulin (right) join Kirk Luedeke on the latest episode of NEHJ's "RinkWise" podcast.

Tim Lovell, owner of Lovell Hockey, and Kevin Poulin, director of Boston Advantage and Lovell Hockey Academy, join Kirk Luedeke on the latest episode of New England Hockey Journal’s “RinkWise” podcast.

They discuss Lovell Hockey’s growth from skills development to a comprehensive player development organization with teams at all levels, producing college and professional hockey talent for more than a decade.

With a new hockey academy opening later this year, Lovell and Poulin dive into how it all started, core values of the program and some of the successful players that have come up as products of the Boston Advantage organization.

On the foundation of Lovell Hockey/Boston Advantage:
Poulin: “Our foundation is really the skill-based development that we offer in our program through Lovell Hockey. And that kind of matriculates down through our programs. … The growth of our program would not have occurred without (that) foundation. In my opinion, we do it extremely well … and it’s all based on the commitment from our coaches and the skill development and the education that we provide on ice.”

On the vision for the creation of Lovell Hockey Academy:
Poulin: “The academy model is an offering for the hockey player that’s dedicated specifically to hockey … to train daily with a skill a day, an off-ice training session a day and a team practice a day. That’s our goal when we’re looking at the academy piece.

“Obviously, we all want to have competitive teams and play at a high level — that’s everyone’s goal — but the reality of it is, where are the kids developing Monday through Friday? And we feel we do it the best. If we can incorporate a strong academic structure, as well as what we offer on the ice, the kids are going to win out.”

On philosophies for youth hockey within the Lovell programs:
Poulin: “Like I always tell our parents, hockey is a vehicle for these young athletes, both into the academic realm of colleges and universities (but also) to teach them values of life; like what teamwork is, what work ethic is, what commitment is. That’s our goal at Lovell Hockey and that’s also going to be addressed and carried into Lovell Academy. … It’s all about improving yourself both academically and athletically and really being fully engaged in what your goals are as a hockey player.”

On Midget hockey becoming more prevalent in New England:
Lovell: “That model that came into New England wasn’t here (when we started). It was more of the Catholic/private/prep school model that dominated New England for years. And honestly, it still does. But there are some programs that do it right and battle those guys and outplay them … but there are kids everywhere now where there weren’t 15 years ago.

“Full-season hockey coming to New England has been a big shift in terms of where you put your kid and what you believe is right and wrong for your son or daughter.”

On the formation of the academy and new Lovell Hockey facility: 
Poulin: “The rink itself is going to be one of the nicer facilities, especially in the northeast. I think a lot of people will want to play there given the amenities and first-class facilities that it’s going to offer, along with the school, which is a separate building that will have 10 classrooms, as well as housing for 132 students and chaperones.

“It’s very important that people understand, with the buildout of our academic education, we are doing in-person learning. We know a lot of these academies have different theories and models; we personally felt that it was very important to compete with the prep schools and the ISL schools in the area where we were going to have to offer a strong academic structure. That is our main goal and that’s what we’re aiming for.”

For more Tim Lovell and Kevin Poulin on the Lovell Hockey/Boston Advantage programs, the addition of the academy model and more, listen to the full episode of NEHJ’s “RinkWise” today.

The podcast can be streamed at hockeyjournal.com/podcast and on major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

“RinkWise” is brought to you by Paul Vincent Hockey, Laura Stamm Power Skating and University of Nebraska High School.