Written by: Camille Frick

When Florida Everblades defenseman Kade Landry steps off the ice, his role within the sport of hockey doesn't stop; it simply shifts. Off the ice, Landry channels his passion for the game through Upfront Sports, a mentorship program he founded to help develop younger players during the critical early stages in their hockey careers. 

“We wanted to create something that would help families navigate all the ups and downs of minor hockey and just help kids reach their full potential,” Landry said. 

With 27 mentors, including Everblades' own Oliver Cooper, and over 100 players, Upfront Sports offers one-on-one mentorship through video analysis to pay attention to detail, patterns, and habits of a player's game to evolve hockey IQ and help them apply it to in-game situations. 

For Landry, the point of Upfront is simple: 

“I created it with three teammates at the University of New Brunswick with the goal of giving minor hockey players everything that we wish we had had when we were their age.”

The Roots of His Mentorship: His Dad

Landry’s approach to mentorship starts with the foundation modeled by his father, Mich. 

“He’s very knowledgeable with the game and has an unreal hockey mind, but just his attitude to not just sport, but in life,” Landry said.

Though his dad never coached him directly, the lessons he learned are not only what shaped him as the player we see today, but also as a mentor.

“He instilled values in me that I still have to this day, like respect, having a hard work ethic, controlling what you can control, and being grateful. All those values have really helped me throughout my hockey career, and it's the culture that I instill in my business now.”

Fueled by this mindset, Landry focuses on evolving players as people first and foremost. Those same values his sister, Mia, carries forward in her role as a mentor with Upfront as well.

“It's all about the relationship with each kid. That's our number one thing with Upfront.”

Breaking Down the Game: Video Analysis

A trust is then built to where mentors are able to take apart a player’s game and piece it back together for the betterment of their performance. 

A major component of it is helping players understand each facet of the game through what they call an efficiency report. This consists of weekly game breakdowns, all their positive and negative plays, where trends are forming, and which areas have become priorities.

Examples of positive plays for a defenseman include: 

• Good gap
• Block shot
• Hit
• Good backcheck
• Shot on goal
• Good first pass

Examples of negative plays for a defenseman include: 

• Turnovers
• Poor gap
• Throwing the puck away
• Indecision or hesitation

Their progress is tracked over time with three key focus areas assigned each week to guide their development. Mentors meet with players for an hour each week, and most stay in the program for years.

With a template he and his team built, Landry helps players slow the game down, giving them the tools to make smart, split-second decisions, allowing them to process and react quickly in a game where speed is the expectation. 

On-ice performance depends not just on what they do during the game, but on the work they put in off the ice. Upfront helps them take that feedback and translate it into real, measurable improvement in their play. 

For example, one of Upfront’s mentors breaks down a defender’s game, highlighting zone denials. When you first look at it, it seems simple: block the path to force a dump-in or a turnover. But it's actually much more complex. 

Through efficiency reports and their video analysis, players are able to see exactly where they're leaving gaps and giving the other team too much operational space that ultimately leads to scoring chances. 

He then guides his player on how to shrink that space and regain control. One detail he points out that can be overlooked in-game is stick positioning to limit the opponent's options and avoid letting them on the inside. 

What makes Upfront so special is that each mentor has already gone through these in-game situations themselves. 

It all ties into defending the rush, something that Landry calls “seventy percent of the game” in a recent Upfront player spotlight featuring defenseman Aiden Frame. It’s a principle he has stood firm on not only being 70% of the game as a blueliner, but one he described over the summer as the heartbeat of the Everblades’ defensive core. 

At Upfront, Landry breaks defending the rush down into three simple steps: first, protecting the middle of the ice; second, setting a tight, controlled gap; and third, forcing the puck carrier outside the dots before ending the play with strong stick detail. 

Each rush looks different, meaning you have to read it differently, but what remains consistent is the patience, awareness, and the ability to force a forwards’ hand to dictate where the play goes.

He uses his own in-game highlights of one of his plays against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits earlier this year, where the play never develops because the rush is neutralized before it has a chance to become dangerous. Getting off the wall quickly and setting a tight gap at the nearest dot, Landry was able to limit the forward's space and force a turnover for Connor Doherty. 

Using his own game as an example to his players shows that what he’s teaching works at a professional level. This is evident because later in that same game, he recorded his fourth secondary assist in three consecutive games, reinforcing one of the positive plays he bases his player development on, having a good first pass. 

That play starts with him taking his time to assess the ice before making a move. Left with time and space, he capitalizes on the opposing forward who isn't applying pressure and utilizes a clear passing lane into the neutral zone for Anthony Romano, who carries it up the boards just long enough for Kyle Betts to get set up on the inside and score.

Landry understood the timing and controlled it to make the play unfold in a clean three-pass sequence. At Upfront, you can guarantee that each mentor is giving advice they’re actively applying in their own game, which is the start of the trust they hope to build with their players. 

Though mentors emphasize different areas of the game, their principles overlap in key aspects like stick positioning and gap control, working together to develop functional, dynamic players.

The Mental Side of it

The way Landry sees it, the mental aspect of the game is just as important. 

“So much of it is confidence,” he says. “Instilling a power of belief into our players, helping them feel good about their game, feel good about themselves, and having the right mindset when they go out and play.”

Having played the sport his whole life, he understands the level of pressure that younger players experience when developing. 

Part of his mantra is to ground players in what will remain consistent throughout their career, because while things like your team, teammates, league, and number might change, their attitude, effort, and their love for the game should stand firm.

“It's just so important for them to just focus on what they can control, which is their work ethic and their attitude every day.”

More Than Just a Business

What it all comes back to is the pride embedded in Upfront Sports. 

It’s evident that the same principles that Landry teaches to his players are the same that he applies to his own game; similarly, for each and every mentor who gives advice, they also put that advice into action. 

For them, taking ownership in development is more than just what they put out, but what they’re also working at every day on the ice. 

“It's made me open my eyes through different moments. It's like, wow, I need to take my own advice here, and not be too hard on myself or focus on what I can’t control,” he said. “It's really helped me reel things in and has given me a good mindset every day coming to the room.”

When asked what he looks for in a mentor at Upfront, he emphasized how crucial it is for them to have a love for the game of hockey and, overall, the importance of being passionate about making a significant difference in young players' lives; speaking to the involvement of his sister and Cooper at Upfront. 

For Landry, it’s not just about skill development. 

“A lot of players, they get cut, or they go through ups and downs like everyone does in life, and being able to be there for them and help them navigate through those hard times is definitely the most rewarding.”