Welcome back to another solo, and I will be the first to admit I am just as nervous as I was the first time! If you caught my last solo episode, you know I got a lot of questions about relocation, and I tucked them away because I knew this topic deserved its very own episode.

The timing felt right because we literally just made a move ourselves, so everything I am about to share is as fresh as it gets. From tracking down a new groomer for a dog that looks absolutely homeless right now, to closing bank accounts across multiple countries, to the very real grief of saying goodbye to places and people you have grown to love. There is so much that happens behind the scenes of this lifestyle that nobody ever talks about and there's stories of salami, pigeons and even a lost phone and the stress that came with that in this one.

This is the episode I could not wait to make, and I promise you, I have only scratched the surface.

And if these stories have you wanting more, I have been working on something really special; my book is almost at the finish line and I cannot wait for you to read it. There is an entire chapter or two dedicated to our time in Romania alone, and trust me, you are not going to want to miss it. Stay tuned, and as always, I'd love for you to reach out to me on Instagram, @wereinonepod with any questions or feedback you may have!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• What I affectionately refer to this lifestyle we live as, and why that is genuinely the most accurate way to describe everything that comes with starting over in a brand new city

• The checklist nobody prepares you for, including closing bank accounts across three different countries at the same time

• How I finally had to surrender to the idea that stability is something I will always chase in a life that will never actually give it to me

• The grief that hits about ten days after every move and why I have learned to say my goodbyes a certain way just to protect my own heart

• What it really costs to move every year and three apartment hunting stories from Hungary that I still cannot believe actually happened

• The road trip to Romania that I am convinced I nearly did not survive, and how I felt when I genuinely did not know where in the world I was

• How Romania went from the place I cried the entire way to, to one of the most meaningful chapters of my life and a whole section of the book I am writing

• What it was like to wake up to 250 heads of cattle parading past our front gate on our very first morning in Romania and the day I was left without a phone and in Scotland with not a single phone number memorized

• Why I am saying yes to everything this season, what that decision means to me, and the episode that inspired it
  
  

LINKS:

11: Unsupervised : No Game Plan

12: Vibes, Vision & Living Fully: How Catie McDonald Built a Life Through Hockey

17: How Tina Tuzzolino Navigated the Identity Shift from Player's Wife to Coach's Spouse

If you've been with me since the very beginning, then you already know how special this episode is because my very first guest is back, and I truly cannot think of a more perfect full circle moment than this one! Krystie Letang joined me when I hit record for the first time, and here we are again with a story so wild, so perfectly woven together, that I got goosebumps more times than I can count.

Since that first episode with Krystie, the hockey world has done what it does best and pulled people back together in the most unexpected ways. Her husband Alan Letang has just been named head coach of EC Red Bull Salzburg in the ICEHL, and if that isn't enough of a full circle moment for you, Jay has been brought on as his assistant coach! 25 years after Alan and Jay were teammates on the Saint John Flames of the AHL, they are now sharing a bench again. You truly cannot make this stuff up.

As you'll hear, Krystie and I still have never met in person, but that is all about to change soon, and if this conversation is any indication, Salzburg doesn't stand a chance.

Did something in this conversation I had with Krystie resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• How my very first podcast guest has come back with a story so full of full circle moments that I lost count of my goosebumps

• Why I slid into Krystie's DMs the second I saw the Salzburg announcement, and before I even told Jay I was going to do it

• How Alan and Jay went from AHL teammates on the Saint John Flames 25 years ago to sharing a bench again in one of Europe's top leagues

• The way signs kept showing up everywhere before the contract was even signed

• What the side of this life that nobody sees actually looks like, from the job loss to the panic to the "what if this never comes together" conversations happening behind closed doors

• How we went from a 37-degree apartment full of moving boxes to building a fence, flying to a wedding, and signing visas all in the same week

• What stepping into the coach's wife role at the highest level yet means to Krystie, and why she refuses to sit in a separate section from anyone

• A look at the guilt of being genuinely excited for a brand new chapter and how it sits with you when your kids aren't coming along for this one

• What both Krystie and I are each hoping to gain from this season and why "be epic" might just be our unofficial four-person family motto going forward
  
  

LINKS:

Alan's Hockey Profile

Krystie's Instagram

My First Episode with Krystie

19: How Bryce Reddick Forged His Own Path Beyond His NHL Father's Legacy

14: The Midlife Unraveling: Petra Boumedienne on Health, Hormones, and Finding Yourself Beyond the Rink

If there is one guest who could rival the hockey world's frequent flyer record, it might just be today's! Dominique Wishart has spent over a decade navigating life as the partner of Ty Wishart, a professional hockey player who spent 17 years suiting up across North America and Europe before the family packed their bags one final time for the ultimate destination: Melbourne, Australia. From a chance meeting at a co-ed softball tournament in the Okanagan to raising three kids across Germany, the Czech Republic, and now the Land of Oz, Dom's story is one of the most layered, honest, and beautifully chaotic journeys I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Through every cross-continental move, missed championship, and bare-naked dash across a Czech gynecologist's office, Dom proves that home isn't a place. Rather, it's the life you build with the people you love, wherever in the world you happen to land.

Did something in this conversation I had with Dominique resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• The co-ed softball tournament that brought Dom and Ty together and why she was absolutely, definitely not interested in him at the time

• How the long distance between them ended up being the unexpected secret to building a stronger foundation early on

• The story behind naming their daughter Scotland and why a Czech hospital full of nurses quietly decided otherwise

• What it's actually like to have your first baby overseas when almost nobody in the building speaks your language

• The COVID baby plot twist that turned a dropped Expedia call into a sign from the Universe

• Why they drove to Italy anyway with a newborn, no passport AND the world's biggest stroller

• The wives and girlfriends hierarchy in European hockey and what Dom's dream first year in Germany set her up completely unprepared for

• Ty's retirement and the unexpected way Australia gave him the perfect bridge to it

• The role reversal moment when her husband walked into the same career she'd spent a decade building

• Why the hardest stretch of their marriage had nothing to do with distance

• The honest conversation about raising kids without family close by and what their youngest's personality might be telling them

• Rapid fire questions for Dom, including the very first thing she Googles in a new city
  
  

LINKS:

Ty's Hockey Profile

We often hear from women who have spent a decade or two navigating the hockey world, and I've introduced you to many already on this podcast but today I am thrilled to bring you a completely fresh perspective from someone brand new to the game! Kaylee Steele has been by her fiance (soon-to-be husband) goalie Rico DiMatteo's side through a winding NCAA journey across three universities before he made the jump to the pros last season with Pensacola and Rapid City. From navigating a long distance relationship to managing a remote social media career, Kaylee is getting a crash course in what it truly means to build a life on the move.

In this episode, we get incredibly real about the unedited, unglamorous side of this industry, especially when you are a self-proclaimed control freak dealing with the unpredictable minor leagues. We dive into Rico's medical miracle of a comeback after two major hip surgeries, the mystery of why goalies take 45 minutes to leave the locker room when they didn't even play, and a terrifying freak accident with their puppy that showed them the beautiful rallying power of the hockey community.

Through every chaotic, mid-season trade and canceled flight, Kaylee is proving that when it is just the two of you against the world, the bond you build can survive ANY curveball!

Did something in this conversation I had with Kaylee resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• The hockey world coincidence that proved to us right away just how incredibly small and interconnected this community really is

• How Kaylee's original plan to be a wingwoman at a college party completely backfired, in the best way possible, for both her and Rico

• The long-distance hustle she navigated balancing a full-time job and online school while living with her future in-laws

• Rico's grueling injury journey through two separate hip labrum surgeries, and how it altered the trajectory of his career before it even started

• The untraditional training method and mindset shift that truly gave Rico his hockey career back and inspired his new mentoring business

• Welcome to pro hockey: the emotional rollercoaster of getting engaged, getting a call-up, and having a flight canceled while the car was packed for the airport

• The way Kaylee is balancing a grueling 40-hour work week with pregame meals, dog walks, and arriving at the rink by 5:15 PM

• Busting the "glamorous lifestyle" myth and shedding a light on the unedited reality of being a hockey partner

• Kaylee's thoughts on adjusting to the heavy ECHL game load, weekday matchups, and the loneliness of surviving 11-day road trips as a rookie partner

• The terrifying night their adopted puppy broke his leg at the rink, and the miracle of a season ticket holder opening her vet clinic at midnight to save the day

• The great dressing room mystery: why it takes goalies 45 minutes to exit the locker room on nights they sat on the bench

• We dive into the financial and logistical gap of team-sponsored moves before you are officially married

• How the threat of sudden mid-season trades builds an unbreakable, "us-against-the-world" bond early in a relationship
  
  

LINKS:

Kaylee's Instagram & TikTok

Rico's Hockey Profile

Today's guest didn't plan on reaching out to a stranger on the internet. But after her husband's team missed the playoffs by just one point, she found herself up late, looking for something, and anyone, who actually got it. That search led her to my podcast, and I couldn't be happier to bring our conversation to you.

Carrie Martin has been alongside Joel Martin for 22 years, through the CHL, ECHL, AHL, a season in Denmark with two bikes and no car, and eventually back to Kalamazoo, where Joel finished his playing career and walked organically into coaching with the same organization he'd called home. She's seen every version of this life: the uncertainty of one-year contracts, the chaos of moving, the particular loneliness of being a goalie's wife when the crowd decides it's someone's fault. The best part? Carrie is still standing, still laughing about most of it.

I absolutely love hearing how after turning 40, walking away from grad school, and borrowing a patch of land from a grumpy vegetable farmer named Rick, Carrie built a flower farming business that's become completely her own. She's now breeding her own dahlia line, growing out of a field behind her son's gym, operating on pure instinct and the belief that the right people will find you if you just keep going.

I want to thank Carrie again for reaching out to me and coming on to the show, and I'm excited for you to meet this incredible woman so you can hear about her experiences in this crazy hockey life!

Did something in this conversation I had with Carrie resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• Why the loneliness felt as a player or coach's wife is harder to name than people think

• What it was like for Carrie and Joel to pack into an Impala with a goalie's gear and just go, city after city, figuring it out as they went

• The Denmark Chapter: showing up with suitcases, no car, no language, and a bike that kept getting flat tires in the snow

• The unspoken weight of being a goalie's wife, including the playoff hives, the chirping fans, and the pregnant exit from a green ice game she'd rather forget

• How moving from player's wife to coach's wife quietly complicated friendships, seating arrangements, and the question Carrie asks of where exactly she belongs now

• Why both Joel (and my husband Jason) build rosters around character first, and how Carrie carries that same instinct into how she shows up for the people around her

• The night she decided grad school wasn't for her, and how a friend's flower field changed everything for Carrie

• What breeding dahlias has taught her about patience, uncertainty, and the strange joy of not knowing what you're going to get

• The one thing hockey has given her that Carrie never could have planned for, and why she's learned to feel it fully before the final whistle blows
  
  

LINKS:

Carrie's Website & Instagram

Joel's Hockey Profile

What does it mean to grow up as the son of an NHL Stanley Cup champion and then carve out your own 13-year professional hockey career across two continents? For today's special guest, Bryce Reddick (son of former NHL goalie Eldon "Pokey" Reddick), it meant navigating the constant pressure of living up to a legendary name while building his own identity one contract at a time!

Bryce takes us behind the scenes of a journeyman's reality: the constant uncertainty of one-year contracts, learning to enter new locker rooms without fear, and the mental challenge of never quite knowing where "home" is. He shares candid insights about the pressure of being "Pokey's son" everywhere he went, the decision to forge his own path without relying on his father's NHL connections, and why the relationships matter more than the stats.

Now transitioning into coaching with the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers, Bryce reveals why he walked away from playing at 35, the shocking difference between coaching and playing hours, and what he's learned about the mental side of the game. From early morning summer skates with his dad to finding "home" after years of constant movement, this is a story about adaptability, self-awareness, and knowing when to shift gears.

Did something in this conversation I had with Bryce resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

(Before you hit play on this one, if you missed last week's episode with Bryce's mom, Melissa, be sure to go back and hear her side of the Reddick family's hockey journey)!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• The challenge Bryce faced being the son of NHL Stanley Cup winner Eldon "Pokey" Reddick and forging his own identity in professional hockey

• How growing up in a hockey family across multiple cities taught him the social skills and adaptability that shaped his adult life and coaching career

• What made Bryce walk away from playing at 35 to pursue coaching and why he felt the pressure to start immediately despite still being able to play

• The brutal honesty about how long-distance relationships destroyed two meaningful partnerships and the mental toll it took on his playing career

• A fascinating look at the father-son dynamic between Bryce and his dad, including early morning summer skates and the decision to let Bryce forge his own path without NHL connections

• How winning three championships in Cardiff created lifelong bonds and why those relationships remain some of the most important ones in Bryce's life

• The shocking reality of coaching hours compared to playing and why he now understands what players never see behind the scenes

• What Bryce learned about the mental side of hockey being 90 percent of the game and why he says that confidence comes from what you do when no one is watching

• The struggle to call anywhere "home" after 13 years of constant movement and how he's learning to be present for the first time in his coaching career
  
  

LINKS:

Bryce's Hockey Profile

Pokey's Hockey Profile

18: How Melissa Rach Built a Legacy of a Connected Family After the NHL

How do you react when the life you've spent years building is suddenly uprooted by a news bulletin on your car radio? For Melissa Rach, the ex-wife of former NHL goalie Pokey Reddick, it was finding out about a trade to Edmonton while driving home to her newborn baby was the moment she truly entered the hockey life. Today, Melissa gives a look back at an era long before the "WAG" label was popular, recalling a time of wives' rooms, superstitious rituals, and the silent strength required to move a family across the country at a moment's notice.

We dive into the highs and lows of a professional career that stretched from the Winnipeg Jets to a historic Stanley Cup victory with the Edmonton Oilers. Melissa opens up about the isolation of being a 23-year-old mother in a new city, the exhausting "up and down" of the minor leagues, and the pivotal choice she made to leave the traveling lifestyle behind to give her children the stability they deserved.

Beyond the highlights on the ice, this is a story about the intentional work of building a healthy family after the cheering stops. Melissa shares how she moved past the divorce to build a genuine friendship with her ex-husband's new wife, ensuring their children grew up in a supportive, unified environment. From watching her son, Bryce, chase his own professional dreams to the emotional 2024 reunion in Winnipeg, her perspective shows that while the career is temporary, the legacy of a connected family is permanent!

Did something in this conversation I had with Melissa resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• The jarring moment Melissa learned of a life-altering trade via a sports broadcast while navigating life with a four-month-old baby

• A rare look at the superstitions shared by the 1989-90 Oilers wives and the story of her son Bryce and the prestigious Stanley Cup

• How Melissa chose to make Las Vegas a permanent home base to protect her children's friendships and education from the constant cycle of relocation

• What the move from having the identity of a hockey wife to a dedicated hockey mom looked like for her and her children

• How and why Melissa intentionally fostered a relationship with her ex-husband's second wife

• A very emotional experience that occurred when she visited Glasgow, Scotland, and saw a fan wearing her son's jersey

• A humorous memory she has watching Bryce as an 8-year-old playing hockey

• How the unique challenges of the hockey world equipped her children with the kindness and resilience needed to thrive in any culture or country
  
  

LINKS:

Melissa's Instagram

Pokey's Hockey Profile

Bryce's Hockey Profile

15: Beyond the Spotlight: Brittany Lucic on Navigating NHL Life, Tragedy, and the Power of Reclaimed Grace [Part One]

16: Beyond the Spotlight: Brittany Lucic on Navigating NHL Life, Tragedy, and the Power of Reclaimed Grace [Part Two]

The move from the playing years to the coaching staff changes more than just a schedule, it changes the entire dynamic of a hockey household! My special guest Tina Tuzzolino has spent twenty years navigating this life alongside her husband, Nick, through two dozen cities and every level of the game, and I can't wait for you to hear her story.

In this conversation, Tina talks about the logistical reality of the "Traveling Gong Show" and she breaks down the transition from the relatively carefree life of a player's wife to the high-pressure responsibility of being a coach's spouse. We discuss the unseen mental load of recruitment, the reality of solo-parenting three young athletes without a local support system, and a whole lot more.

From their favorite chapters in Salt Lake and Savannah to the way the rink served as a sanctuary, this is a look at the grit and resilience required to build a life on the move!

Did something in this conversation I had with Tina resonate with you? I'd love to hear about it, so let us know over on Instagram, @wereinonepod, and we'll see you back soon for another hard-hitting episode!

Just some of the highlights you'll hear:

• Tina's identify shift of moving from the carefree player's wife to the responsibility of the coaching life

• The "duct-tape" bond and why being isolated in new cities creates a family resilience you can't find by staying in one place

• A look at the unseen mental load of coaching and why the game never truly stays at the rink, even on Christmas Day

• Her insights on navigating the moment children are old enough to understand the stakes of a loss and question job security

• How Nick's journey through 20 cities turned him into a mentor who prioritizes a player's mental health

• Managing the logistical challenge of three kids in travel sports without a local village to lean on

• Tina shares about the unique craving for the "wind to change" and why staying in one city for more than two years feels like a creative dead end

• Her direct response to a common stigma about this lifestyle and why a pro-hockey career is a 50/50 venture that requires a full household commitment

• She reflects on the specific chapters of life where the weather, the community, and the stage of motherhood aligned perfectly

• How the structure of the game provided a healing space for the family during times of grief
  
  

LINKS:

Tina's Instagram

Nick's Hockey Profile