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]