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Hello, everybody, welcome to Episode 314 of Spin Checketts, presented by Pink Whitney from our friends at New Amsterdam Vodka here in the barstool sports podcast Family. Happy New Year to everyone. Hope you all enjoyed the holiday. I think it's safe to say we're all glad to have twenty in the rear view mirror.

Tons of stuff going on. Camps of open world junior going to the metal round trades have been request that a franchise icon and future Hall of Famer changed addresses.

Where do we start as usual by saying hello to the boys, my egg. Happy New Year to our producer. How we doing, buddy?

Happy New Year, boys. I got myself a little espresso machine over the over the New Year, so nice mug. Yeah, cut the little plate, too. So I'm going to be sucking down espresso during these episodes, get a little more energy and Haughey's back. So I'm excited.

He just talks the whole episode. We don't even get a word in and it's like we have to mute them. I send someone over to smash his espresso machine already on Deathwish.

Ah, that's cool. That's a great question. Yeah, our tags will be at times too.

That's the voice of Paul business.

The Bissonette. How is you. Happy New Year business. It was great.

I hung out with Finegan at home. Didn't do much on what we did.

Go with the pirates. Oh me. Starting again.

How about Pietje? In that video he looked like a full blown rock star and he just rolled out of bed.

Yeah, he I surprised him if I would have asked him to do it, he would have never joined me. But yes, he's the he's the most handsome man in North Scottsdale. I even think at one point he got asked to be the bachelor. Wow.

And then actually, we spent the ball drop with Ray Whitney at the Whitney household was a lizard wizard.

Yes.

And we saw the ball drop. Their donor was there, Tyson Nash, who, of course, does between the benches for the Coyotes. So a little a little cut run conference finals reunion for the for the New Year's. Nice.

What an interesting New Year's Eve, because you ripped it up.

I wasn't even awake for the ball drop, so I'm going to do it. That's right. Yeah. Last but not least of little wet dog Ryan Whitney. What you do, buddy?

I didn't do anything. I was asleep before before midnight. So I'm kind of I've always been over New Year's Eve. I think it's amateur hour. It's the most overrated night. We've set it long, but it's the year ended. Two twenty. See you later. Smellier later on to bigger and better things in twenty twenty one, I think, because you've got to give me what you're eating on a night like that.

Are you eating anything. What kind of restaurant you go to.

We went to a place called Maple and Ash started in, in Chicago and then they opened one here. Just great bunch of appetizers like the tuna tartare and having a fillet.

And I think they had this this what was it called? Short rib bolognese.

Oh, that sounds nice. Brought a little by little for fitting in.

OK, so I kind of that was random. But I was curious because do you still do the thing when you're out to dinner, Ginelli. You know what I'm talking about, where you just say, hey, get this and I'll split it with you and then you're fully the whole table because you want bits of everything. You I never get what I want.

I always have to be on New Year's Eve or I.

Yeah, I probably did that a little bit. I like I like getting one of every appetizer, forcing everyone to get it and then take dummying half of the op and then everybody else at the table gets to split the other half half of the top. Yes. Yes I did that you asshole. And thanks for bringing it up.

All right. I was just curious. I love going out to you guys because you do you all kinds of crazy shit. Some stuff I've never tried before and I definitely have expanded my culinary horizons.

No doubt what you do, especially on the sushi stuff, it's like, well, I had to go wake up with it's a great group to wake up at the table with. You know, you're just going to have something perfect across.

I started doing it more, especially when we when we all eat together because there's been no one to steal dishes or I'm going to live that fucking down.

Were you were you were you with him recently, Grenelle. No, that was just a throwback pic, I look forward, so I had to post on Instagram for you, just that was just a throwback picture. You guys are like hooking up maybe a year and a half ago, I looked handsome as hell. Where is that kid now? He's Brett Merriman's in Austin, Texas, just living it up.

Brett, if you're wearing Brett, cut off the goddamn coast.

Oh, let's go up and see the ocean in California, guys. We can get to San Jose in four hours, but let's take 11 because it's going to be dark out in 25 minutes. So we'll get twenty four minutes of amazing coastline views on this. Forget Brett.

We saw the sunset, so we might as well keep hugging the ocean.

And three hours, Tucker, almost die in big surf on off a 200 foot fuck every every podcast after that one is we're playing with the house's money at the fact that we're still here. So but the good news, guys, we have tons of hockey to talk about. Boy, a lot of drama off the ice, more so than on right now other than world juniors. We have Ray Ferraro coming by later. It's kind of cool. So we recorded it before the semifinal games.

He kind of gave his predictions and what he's been seeing. So now we're going to jump back on after the games are played tonight because we're recording this on Monday. And and we're going to see how the prediction worked out and talk a little bit about the games itself. So we got a lot planned for you guys as far as hockey is concerned, and not just chicken parm.

We also have Columbus Stud defenseman Seth Jones joined us for a nice, lengthy chat.

I somewhat of a quiet guy, but I thought he really opened up a bit. And I think people who listen to it are really going to enjoy it. But we'll get to that in a little bit, like you said, because lots of big news camps have officially opened for all teams and one prominent player will have a new workplace. Big Z has gone to DC Zdeno Chara after fourteen years in Boston, capping off fourteen years. He left for DC a one year, seven hundred ninety five thousand dollar deal.

Boston GM Don Sweeney wanted him in a quote, integrated role. Just say fucking reduced, reduce. I mean I have to say integrated. He went to Harvard.

He went to Harvard. I know you've got to get the word. I say it.

You know, he won when I was a meal. He won. I'm going to reduce roll Z.

Feels like he has plenty left in the tank. And there was really no animosity between between the parties. Like they basically said, this is what we want to do. He said, I don't want it. And everyone kind of was adult, like a barrackers Bruins fans, a revolting a little bit up here. He's still one of the best conditioned athletes in the league. Father, time is undefeated money. Not a factor here. I hate people saying the Bruins are cheap.

It's like the Browns have been spent to the cap of 15 fucking years. Find a new angle. Let's go to you first.

Oh, I actually heard it was the owner. He was trying to make some cutbacks. I don't want to start any rumors here.

What do you got? What do you make of this whole thing?

I think that it's a huge mistake. Here's my thing, so Bruins fans to me are kidding themselves if they think they're Windows any longer than two more years. I think their window is one to two years. I don't know how good they're going to be after that. But you want to be older, Rask, who knows the scenario? It's just winter right now.

And along with that maybe being bad news, the good news is last year before covid, you were smash bash in the entire league. You were running through the league looking like it was going to be a legitimate, very high percentage chance that you're going back to the Cup final conference final.

Tampa looked awesome also, but man. The break happens, they never really got anything going in the playoffs and that entire times at Anusara played a huge role on the team last year. I'm never going to sit here and say that he's the same player he was, which he was the best defense in the league. I remember I don't know what year it was in when I was in the NHL, maybe 09. I got to look at his numbers.

He was he was the biggest freak. Twenty five minutes he beat the shit out of anyone. He'd score, get points, perfect defense like the best in the league. So I'm not going to pretend he's that, but he's still solid.

And so if you have one to two more years to win it and you've got a guy that you can have play, I don't know, 20 minutes, 18 to 20 minutes, 17 to 19 minutes, you're so good on the pick the presence. He's going to turn it over. He's going to look a little awkward at times. He's better than what you have now. So going into this year, what are they going with? They're going to have three guys try to fill the role of one.

I understand you need to develop prospects. Understand that you need to. I know I'm going on too long here, but to win now is like you're telling me that this guy doesn't give you a better chance to win now. I don't know. Maybe they don't look at it like they have a one to two year window. And you said he's going to be playing 18 to 20 a game where I think at that much ice.

That's too much. You think? I think that what they're seeing is that at some point it becomes a little bit of a liability. Now, that's such a negative word to use when talking about Charra. And I guess I'll start from the beginning and saying I thought given the shortened season and with what it was, I thought this would have been a wise year to keep them in a full length season. I get why they'd be like, hey, we got to move on, because we do have to see what else we have here.

You said that they have a two year window. Well, to me.

Do you think it is all right. Sorry, because I completely agree two to three years. I think having pasternack as a youngun kind of rejuvenates the older guys a little bit. You got MacAvoy on the back end who I think is going to be able to beat out so that he's an ace. You know, you got your ace, you lost Krugel. Who's going to be able to fill those roles? I think they need to see these guys and they need to use this year to see what do we got and where are we going to fill it.

If I use this year, why use the year when you're like, I don't know, it's crazy because time is because time is of the essence. Because if you're telling me that Charra isn't going to be there beyond this year and listen, it might not even solve the problem because after the shortened season, Char might be like, I still want to play.

And they're like, fuck, I don't think he's ever going to quit. That's what I'm saying. So at some point, they got to be like they got to look like the bad guys. And in this case, they are. And I think from an organizational standpoint, if you're thinking we have two or three years left, I actually do think it's the time to move on and look like the bad guy and and see what else there is to offer so you can fill those holes for like if you're actually going to make a serious run.

Listen, they got they got bigger fish to fry. They got to look at what they can compete against Tampa. And I don't think that having chaar lugging eighteen to twenty is putting you over the edge. And if that's offended any of you Boston Bruins fans and you said no, he should have been there for the shortened season, I'll say, OK, I agree with you on the emotional aspect level. But as from an organizational standpoint, with no heart in the game, I think it's it sucks, but it's the right move because I don't think that he's going to retire even after this year.

He's going to want to keep playing. All right.

Before I go to you and a lifelong Bruins fan, has it come out what they told him his role would be? Because if they told him his role was going to be 14 to 16 minutes in that range.

And he said no to that then I'm like, OK. I mean, if you're if if you know what I'm saying right now, like if they told me he's going to play half the games and when he did play, it was going to be ten minutes. It's like, OK, but if they told them it was a little bit more than that and he wasn't going to be scratched on certain nights, I don't know if that'll ever come out, what they told him the role would entail, but that really does.

Kind of switch it for me on whose side I would really be on when looking down at the other points you brought up is now. All right. What are your thoughts on this thing and what are the overall Bruins fan sentiments in terms of time for him to go?

We wish we wish we still had him.

I mean, based on Twitter, which is only a sample, because not every Bruins fan is on Twitter, they seem pretty pissed off about it. Again, if they're complaining about money, they're totally missing the point, not keeping track on salary cap issues. As far as the particulars of whether they discussed minutes, 14 minutes, a game, 60 Minutes, a game, I think from what my read was that, you know, they were going to probably scratch them a couple of games and put the young guys in the lineup.

That's again, that's my interpretation of it. And if that's the case now, you're talking about healthy scratching you, Captain. And that kind of, I think, creates another ripple effect of, OK, like this guy, a captain, but he's not dressing. And how is that going to have ripple effects in the room? Sweeney said they're going to do it by committee. I mean, I don't know how that's going to work out. This guy was second in ice time on the team last year.

I had three plus penalty Killorn Minutes per game. And now, you know the left side. You got Grizz, you got John Moore, the only two NHL regulars on that side right now. I mean, Jeremy was on the right shot. I don't know if they could switch him over. You got Valentine in there. What's his name? Zabol. They drafted a few years ago. I assume he probably maybe go out and get a deal, maybe bring in Sam Vatanen, who's still an unrestricted free agent.

But, yeah, I can't think I don't think you can argue that this team is better than they were better without Shora than they were with them. Because, you know, like I said, sometimes he does look bad out there when he gets turned around by a twenty year old kid. But I always see how many plays does he snuff out just by have him out there because he's such a monster. I get three penalty milin penalty killing minutes per game.

That's a lot. It sucks to see him go, but I think the longer it went on the writing was on the wall. But no. Hey no hard feelings man. I mean thousand twenty three games played here. Four hundred and eighty one points. Stanley Cup in twenty eleven Messier Leadership Award. Norris Trophy which you probably should have won a couple more but the not so obsessed with points that you know, I mean he's the shutdown defense beat of his generation and it seemed like the guy and also to I want to make a note about his numerous charitable things he's done here.

And those are a tweet from Matt Brown, a buddy of mine. He was injured in a hockey accident years ago. And he said just a few days after my accident, Zdeno stopped by and surprised the team at a pasta dinner. He talked with the boys, stayed for an hour, took pictures with everyone he knew life was more than just a game of hockey. And he exhibited that time and time again in Boston. I thought that was just a great statement from Matt, kind of to sum up, you know, yeah, hockey is his life, but there's also more to it.

So, yeah, we'll miss him here. And no doubt about that, there's a huge hole in the roster.

But, you know, that's the game. I mean, I don't get surprised. Obviously I'm old, but when guys end up a different teams, I mean, fucking Gretzky played for four different teams. So I don't know why people get shocked when guys move on.

I don't think I don't think there's I think that's wearing off a bit. But I, I do see this day and age in the game so many free agent deals, they don't work out. You know, it's guys getting bought out, it's guys getting traded. It's things that just happen over time. He's got to be one of the most bang on hit a home run signings in league history. The year that they signed him, they also signed Mark Savard right.

That same offseason, same day. OK, so they made a big splash. Start spending more money in Boston. It changed the Bruins course to their next fifteen years, whatever it was, and got that he earned every single dollar. It was like there was not a minute of people thinking, oh, you know what? There was a minute of people saying Shaara sucks. Those people know nothing about hockey. So congrats on a great Bruins career.

We'll see what he does in Washington and wonder what his role will be there.

Yeah, I mean, interesting, he said he wasn't guaranteed anything there, but obviously he thinks he's going to get more ice time there than he is in Boston.

So. So he left, man. And like. Yeah, good. Good point. You brought up with I still remember I was coincidentally in Toronto July 1st. Twenty six and I got a text. My buddy Bruins signs jarra five years seven point five. Yeah. And survived four years. Twenty two. I thought it was Pancamo because the Bruins never spent that kind of money unless they were trying to fucking piss off another owner like they do a body.

The point signing. And it was like, yeah, it was a whole new, a whole new day. The Bruins are like, we're doing business here. This is how we're going to go moving forward. And he really reestablished credibility for the Bruins franchise.

I try to look at look at the whole situation just from a neutral standpoint. And listen, you guys know me. I'm a fucking sucker for like especially if a guy had, like, gotten done for me as the captain, I would have one hundred percent signed him. I just think that, like, it takes balls in order to, like, keep keep up with pace of play, so to speak, in the NHL and given with the cap situation and like what decisions have to be made in this short window that you just talked about that they have sometimes it has to get a little bit cut throat.

I think that's just where they found themselves. And and they found that the time to pull the trigger on the shortened season. And boy, is like like I said, we weren't in the room. It could have been a situation where you were saying, no, I want to keep playing. Forever, and they're like, oh, shit, maybe now's the time to do it. So I want to run in fucking Boston.

Yeah, I mean, his his number is going to be up there. I mean, we've had a great run of defense from Eddie Shaw, Bobby Ray. But interestingly, those three guys all finished their career elsewhere in Boston, too. So I guess Jarrah's is keeping with that theme. So thanks for everything you did here. We we love you. Appreciate it.

But gobies, as far as the window, I think it's more than two years. What do you think the window is?

I mean, honestly, man, as long as they got, you know, Rask Bergrin Machon there, I think the window will be there as long as those guys there, especially Raschke, I mean, these bonafied no wonder that tough to come by. So I'd give it more than two years, but they got to try to rebuild on the are on thirty seven and two years.

Bergrin he's thirty five right now is he's got two more years left so he'll be forty seven, two years.

So if a current thirty seven year old in this league of a thirty seven year old senator can get it done, it could be Patrice Bergeron but don't count on it. Yeah. Yeah.

It's like I just said father. Father time is undefeated no matter what good shape you're in. So we stick with the center theme song to Columbus.

Oh there's some upsetting news for bluejackets fans, really. All right. Well, what's going on over there with one of their top picks from the recent draft?

Yeah, restricted free agent looked up why he signed with Columbus two years. Ten dollars million deal. But he apparently wants out of Ohio. LeBron had said he was looking for a change of scenery. And as a free as a restricted free agent, he was free to negotiate with teams. And apparently that's when it became known that he had a wandering eye Sunday. He said, quote, I'm going to be the best player I can be, the best teammate I can be in, the best person I can be.

I don't want it to be a distraction. So I think that's the only way. I think if I go out there and I work out and practices what the good attitude and I go out there and work hard in games and play well, I think it's not a distraction. He didn't want to get no more than that. He said our goal is to get a contract before camp. The team, my agent myself, have held talks, private talks, and they'll remain private.

But what's going to be interesting is Tortorella Tortorella quote, he said, We're transparent about everything, not just Panarin and but broski, when they had similar situations with those guys, quote, There's a number of things that go on during a hockey season that I think it's important that it belongs in the room with everybody involved with it and understanding of what's going on. So this situation, I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to Dubai or anything like that, but not only this situation, but others.

As the year goes on, we'll talk about it as men and we'll talk about it in a group setting. So, I mean, that sounds like it's like, hey, just throw it out there and you want to be here.

You don't want to be here. I mean, have you guys been in rooms where a guy's requested a trade and what kind of effect it has on the room?

He's I can't remember one like in that type of situation, especially as as like it was just it was a bizarre situation. Even when he when he got there, he spoke and he's like, you know, you know, I'm not going to be a distraction and kind of really didn't back off the fact that he really wants to get out of there. Now, I'm hearing that this has everything to do with sports. And you mentioned the wandering eye.

I mean, I don't know if Burger Van brought him over to Shea Perry, give him a little, you know, brought him a couple of lap dances in the back magazine with a mask on with the hand hand sanitizer. What about six feet? Yeah, yeah.

And it was like the world juniors when the bot pops up, when you call it the one of the what is it something.

Graham Hologram. Yeah. Hologram pops up the Ripper anyway. I don't think that their relationship is very good, I don't think Du Bois likes the way that he tries to motivate his players, even though that tortoise is kind of I would say he's dialed it in since his past. He's gotten far better. But I mean, you saw the situation against the Leafs when when when he laid into him on the bench. And I would go even further to say apparently that like Dubai, apparently his old man is not a big fan of sports.

And he just like he thinks man to man, that's not how you treat people, especially in an environment where you're trying to pull on the same rope and win something. Now, I'm not going against any one style of coaching here because I like the coaches that were hard on me. But I mean. You know, when you got certain cultures like that, sometimes the shelf life is short. Now, from dubost standpoint, too, like you got to be looking this I don't know how long talks is going to be there for after this year.

I think it deals up after this year. I don't know how much longer he's going to be coaching and he's on the back nine. So I just think that above anything else, it's his relationship with the head coach that's pushing him away from Columbus. And I don't think money was going to solve the problem if that was anyone's anyone's guess.

I'm pretty sure that that's been a long run, long standing story.

However, I can't speak. You know what I'm talking about. That's starts right. There's some people that can handle it. There's some that can't. He says, success everywhere he's been. But at times it does. It ends.

You know, guys guys can't deal with the the constant kind of not just expectations, but where he goes about his business, very matter of fact.

And when you ask about, like, being in the room with a guy who's asked for a trade, I'll tell you, I'm not going to speak for everyone and say, like people, people aren't that offended. I'm sure there are some guys that are offended by it. You don't want to be on this team. We don't really want you here.

But I'll tell you this, even if you think that way about him, like off the ice, any single person on Columbus that plays with them this year and that is on the ice with them in practice and games, if he's playing hard and they can tell that he's trying his best and playing as well as he can, they don't give a flying fuck.

That's just a fact.

Yeah, because if he's your cinnamon and you're a winger, that's like, man, I can't believe this guy doesn't want to be here. And practices start and the games get going and he's feeding you left and right. Yeah. You don't want him to go at all, but you love how he's playing and you love that he's making you a better player and he and you love when he's helping you win games. So this is a business. It is surprising to see a guy this young do that.

I saw some things online. Our boy, Butchie Glass, completely disagreed with how he's going about things we should have him on. So we got to catch up with him. We'll talk about that. I think that it's a different game now.

When you were younger and coming out a junior top pick first couple of years, a coach may treat you like shit, but if you're playing as much as he does and producing, you just kind of kind of deal with it. And now it's these guys have a lot more power, especially younger players. And if he doesn't really want to be there, he can make it open. Hey, I'm signing here. But the minute I can get out of here, I'm gone.

They want something for me or not.

Interesting thing is, Jarmo kind of dealt with a similar situation with Johansson. Like, yes, but I think I think it was maybe Johansson wanted a little bit more money rather than wanted out, and already I think you mentioned it via text, is like you're not going to be able to flip them for Seth Jones is all the time. And they don't have they don't have necessarily a first line center. Now, right now they have Max Domi penciled in First Line Center as he's been taking reps in training camp.

I would imagine that that would flop considering Carelink Dubois back. And, you know, but if Tommies, you're your best other option as your top center. I don't. And he and he hasn't proved himself sustainably at the NHL level is the center now you find yourself in a heap of fucking problems. So if you're Jarmo, you've got to figure out what's what's going to happen here. Am I going to extend this coach longer because he wants to be the head coach in the NHL and or am I going to be sacrificing my my first line center?

And those don't grow on trees. And the amount of guys that want to stay in Columbus is also an even smaller margin, let alone the head coach. Like, no offense, no offense, no offense.

I said no offense, no offense, no offense taken.

A couple other things too is like winning cures everything. So if he gets off to a start and he's playing amazing and they're doing great, I don't know. You go back to him, you still want to get out of here. Things have changed towards who knows. That's kind of remains to be seen. And then the other thing is when talks talks about we're open, the teams honest with each other, I mean, he ain't kidding. Like it's going to be, hey, if he is a poor, poor knight, then watching video, hey, we know you don't want to be here.

You don't want to be on this team. Is that how you're going to play? I would not be shocked at all things like that are said. If he's talking about being out in the open, that's hey, you don't want to be here. You've told everyone that via the media or via, you know, what's gone on with the GM and your agent. So you better fucking play hard or all these guys are going to hate your guts.

I don't know. Is that being open and transparent?

That is one hundred percent fair, because on the flip side of that, you hear this like you hear about the situation.

You're like, oh, there must be like turmoil in the locker room. No, Max Domi, speaking of Max, told me he was asked and he goes, this is the best atmosphere as far as a locker room setting I've ever been involved in. And that was his early comments. I mean, he's been there for training camp. I mean, I imagine if talks gives him a few fucking kicks in the ask me all season test.

Yeah, but so they have a great locker room dynamic and it's kind of like they get it done by committee. So if somebody just generally doesn't want to be there, they're kind of going to do without. But on both sides of the coin here, be careful what you wish for because the grass isn't necessarily greener. And if he does leave, it'll kind of follow the same pattern, as you mentioned before, Ryan Johansen and also Josh Anderson, a couple of guys with the negotiations got ugly and they end up getting traded in Yamal, Cuchulain in the GM Colombus.

He he's known to draw a line in the sand, unrestricted, restricted, free agency, I believe, he says uses the hammer because players are going to do it to him coming the other way. But he's not going to get a Seth Jones in return every time. I mean, I wouldn't say Swindal natural, but I'd say Colomba certainly one that trade and there's certainly nothing imminent in Yamas not obligated to trade them, but it definitely feels like the Skids agrees to it a little bit.

But here's here's what from from talking to people, money is is not the issue. It has nothing to do. I think they would have given given him what he wanted as far as finances are concerned. But at least that's what I'm hearing. So it's strictly a coach issue.

And I didn't mean to imply it was he wasn't happy with the money, which is whatever gets said during the negotiations, it got. So, yeah, no, that was absolutely something.

We rang the doorbell knowing he was sick. He was sick of my opinion on this topic. So he was like, shut the fuck up.

He said, turn around, Jesus Christ, you were talking to Katie about it in case our listeners missed it.

Yeah. You did announce the EA Sports NHL team the last week via video. Great job, by the way. You should go to Hollywood, man. You've got the you've got the stuff. Those was obviously much discussion on this show about who should go where and why. And we had some fun doing our little draft. For those of you who watched, you saw some of the sweet awards. These guys got custom skates, a goalie mask, gloves, business.

Take us through making that video. That looks fun.

Well, we wanted to do an award show and they thought about doing it over Zoom. And I said, why don't we do one that's kind of false safety protocol. We'll put the the podium up there. We'll do it. We'll go around town. We'll get celebrity appearances. I ended up getting Eddie Lack to join who's an absolute character. We're going to get him on the podcast. We surprise Taylor. Luckily, we got Shane Doan. We had Yance call in over phone, but we couldn't get the audio.

So we had a dub. The voiceover and legendary play by play host for the for the Arizona Coyotes, Bobbito, my my partner in crime. So I had him introduce all the left wingers and it was a blast and shout out to our limo driver who ended up having to do the last one because we had somebody not show up and I will not remain. Ah, I won't say who it was. So thanks to E.A., we had a blast doing the drive by award show and thank you for the tire pump are absolutely.

In case you didn't know, the team, the sports NHL team of the year was legendry. Sitel attempt panarin David Pasternack Kail Mikka. They had been in Andre Wesolowski and again, if you haven't seen Biz's work yet, you can watch the awards show video on YouTube and Instagram page and also check out the award winners over at sports NHL social channels as well.

And thank you to Corey and Porter for helping film that and edit it. And they made me look somewhat decent, although the one the guy helping outwit he had he was carrying around the podium and he absolutely smokefree right in the nose.

I was bleep I saw that I was bad. That looked bad. Actually, I was wondering if that actually hurt. It got me pretty good. But the show must go on. We had Eddie ELAC ready to go and they wanted a Zoom award show.

And that's what you gave them. That's like buy in. Like, I can't even think of an analogy.

What a move by you just trying to just trying to grow the brand, bro. We're trying to get the YouTube channel going. Right. We're going to get things poppin with the kids.

G Absolutely. We're actually switching all of our gaming over to the YouTube as well. We're leaving Twitch and we're going to be doing all of our gaming going forward on the song on YouTube. So we're going all in on YouTube, baby. Let's go.

OK, subscribe to our YouTube channel. Check us out there and we'll be dropping all the pods on there now, too.

All right. Going back to Rosta reports, some more bad news for our friends in Chicago. Jonathan Teves will not be with the Blackhawks to start camp, I'm sure I should say. He wasn't with the Blackhawks to start camp. He's been dealing with the medical issue. He released a statement. He said this offseason, I've been experiencing symptoms that have left me feeling drained and lethargic. I'm working with doctors so I can better understand my condition until I can get my health back to a place where I feel I can perform at an elite level and help my team.

I will not be joining the Hawks for camp. He did ask for privacy as he focuses on his health and recovery. We're not going to speculate on anything here. We just want to get well, get better. But as a fan of the Blackhawks now you get to start the year without teams, without doc just found out Seabrook's not camp as well. So a tough blow for the Blackhawks. What? No doubt.

Yeah, definitely a kind of a scary thing to read because you just don't know what what what they're talking about. And we're not going to at all try to figure out what's going on. We just want to say good luck to Jonathan Caves and getting healthy. I've met him one time. Awesome guy. Everyone knows what he kind of means to the league in the city of Chicago. So forgetting that with Dakota kills the Blackhawks, who didn't look great going into the year to begin with more.

Just getting this guy healthy, getting him feeling right again, because the Vagg report of kind of what what is out there, just the statement that was made, it does make you think, like all that matters is our health. We've been over that a bunch of times. And you got to think that that it's it's definitely a scary time for him.

Yeah, well said. Absolutely.

So I'll get well, we need you back out there. And health is the priority moving right along the devils forward. Nico. He he missed the start of camp as well as the leg injury. He's week to week and he should be ready for the season opener because he was the number one overall pick in the seven 17 draft.

He just turned twenty two actually today, Monday, and he starts a seven year, fifty point seventy five dollars million deal this season. So a little bit of pressure on that kid, I'd say.

Yeah, that's we got to get the iso cam iso cam on this guy this year. Everybody's open up as to where game.

Yeah. And also Tommy Fitzgerald came into that contract contract already being given to him. Right. All right. Yeah. So it's one of those things you come in, you've got a young guy and you got to think he's going to be watching him very closely knowing that they got him next seven years for over seven a year.

Yeah, that's that's a second. That's a pretty big not for the kids. So obviously I wish them well. See what happens. Moving right along.

Another trade request, Winnipeg also dealing with some issues. They had at least one trade request restricted free agent forward. Jack Russell was a real slovic.

We're slow. I'm not Ross Levitt. Ross Levitt. Never with those. I see. You never know how it. He's supposedly asked for a new place to ply his trade as well. He doesn't have a contract yet. He's going to be subject to mandatory quarantine. He can join the team on a day eight if he gets four negative tests. February 11th would be the last day for Winnipeg to sign up for him to play in the NHL the season.

He just completed his entry level deal. But the bigger fish involved with Winnipeg, Patrick Landy, he's been rumored to be in. Yeah, trade talks as well. He's going to be Arafeh after this season. He's making seven and a half million. He's still only twenty two years old. Lanni averaging thirty four and a half goals in his first Four Seasons seasons. He's the seventh most prolific goal scorer since his rookie year. If he doesn't want to be there, he doesn't want to be there.

But man, if you're a GM, it's tough to spot what a sniper like that is.

I don't know if he's been talking about this guy since he joined the podcast, whatever that was. And just in where are you going to find the goals and what are you. But what are you going to do when you're not scoring?

Well, we talk about it with Ray, actually. You know, we talked about that big game and nights where he's not scoring and he's a little bit nonexistent, where there's like nothing else going on and in some cases a bit of a dog. Listen to the book last year was that he started playing a little bit more defense. He had a pretty solid season. I don't know. He just he doesn't want to be there. I don't know.

I don't know what the ask is going to be and what he's going to want to get paid moving forward. But I still think that there's something to prove they're. Yeah, it the thing is for teams looking, it's so hard to figure out what you'd be willing to package to get this guy, because are you going to get the dude that looks unstoppable, that'll get you 40 every season, or are you going to get the guy that just shut it down when he's playing video games in 48 hours straight drinking Mountain Dew?

I don't know if you don't understand what the social secretary's let's sign him.

The fucking song that I didn't get, the seven million. I didn't make that up, did I? He's a gamer.

Big time, big time gamer. Yeah, big time gamer.

So if you get lucky and you deal for him and then he decides, all right, I'm going to play. I like this. I like my living situation better. I like my line mates better.

It's all one big. They're all rolled together in one big package. Am I happier? I don't know if that's what it is for this dude. We're all kind of guessing, but when he's on man, it it'll change it. Teams for you to imagine the Bruins got that guy.

As far as sniping, as far as the other guy you mentioned for Winnipeg guy, I couldn't even tell you which way he shot. So he's he's a pretty good player. Yeah, he is.

He was he was a first round pick five years ago or six years ago and has all the tools, I don't know necessarily think he's been given the opportunity in Winnipeg. Who knows. Right. With his relationship with the coach there.

And why am I forget who the coaches. They're unreal.

Here is Paul Morris. So I don't know what's going on with their relationship or what he thinks of him as a player. Maybe he sees third, four or five guys opposed to top two line winger. But I'm talking to Matthews. They played at the national program together. And he was so complimentary of how skilled this guy is. And this dude probably wants a chance, Jack. I wants a chance to to get more minutes. And I don't really think it's a it's a situation where he he cares where it is.

Just get me somewhere that I'm going to get a chance to play top two lines.

Do you guys think there's any way that Winnipeg and Columbus could swap line and look to make sure fucking do it?

I'll call starts right now. Mr. Magin talks with lineI.

All I can do it trade up is playing the PSP on the bed like this.

Could be some fireworks there. I think Aves is telling us a story. At one point in New York when guys got into the locker room, they had to put their cell phones in a bag and they would. You couldn't touch your cell phone while you're in the locker. And then at one point, Aves had one of those iPads, because that's how I used to read the newspaper. And he walked in and apparently grabbed it off of me, like, snapped.

And he's like, tortes I'm reading the fucking newspaper. Like, this is how you do it nowadays. You don't get ink all over your fingers. So, yeah, the adjustment, they're fucking I'll I'll pay a salary just to see the goddamn fireworks. I don't think Colombus needs a center. He's playing fucking Xbox on the Jumbotron between between periods missing team meetings.

He's got the code, he's selling tickets to the fans to watch him on the Jumbotron played against song daddies.

Yeah. Yeah. I don't think towards will be down with Patrick.

Yeah. That would be a wild trade place taken to allegedly disgruntled guys and swap them for each other. That would be some pretty wacky stuff. Speaker Colombus, I think we should send it over to Seth Jones shortly. But first, I want to talk to you about simply say for a minute, I'm going to be talking about Lake Tahoe. Sure. If Michael Corleone had simply said that his Tahoe place, then things might have turned out different.

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And without further ado here, Seth Jones. Well, it's a pleasure to welcome our next guest, this defenceman was taken by Nashville fourth overall in the 2013 draft and made the team just a few months later. In the ensuing years, he's become one of the top defenseman in the league and has been an all star game representative for the Columbus Blue Jackets and three of the last Four Seasons. Thanks for joining us on the podcast. Seth Jones, how are you doing?

I'm good. I'm good. Thanks for having me, guys. My pleasure, man. So what you spend spending your offseason? I'm in Dallas right now, but in Dallas for a while, ever since I came back from the bubble. So I've got my mom here and my brother's here. So it's going to fun and training and when for the season to start, everyone else.

I've had the chance to speak to you once before, but it was the NHL Network interview, a player next to the penalty box postgame. Most boring interview in the world. So I'm really looking forward to having you on here.

A little more laid back. Yeah. Is that the one where I look up at the camera getting ready for that? Players like where do I look? They're like, oh, I know the big screen.

And you just say, oh, boy, I never got access to a camera. You know, I don't know what you're talking about. We've never got asked to do one of those.

So you did what you did one in the minors with an old, like, VHS camera.

The guys like looking through the lens lovin.

So Ari brings up our ass where you stay. And for people who don't know your father, I think everyone knows by now. But your father popped by eleven twelve year NBA veteran. Is he still involved in the game? Is he coaching what's going on in his life? He is.

He's been in Indiana the past eight years, seven or eight years coaching there. And then he actually just got assistant coach shot with the Sixers. So he'll be trusting the process.

I guess you'll have to be a fair process. Yeah, exactly. And so he loves Doc Rivers.

They've chatted because he just got hired there to the show. So this is a laid back coach and should be fun.

Do you tell your old man, hey, see if I can beat or give me a follow on the ground?

Like, do you like do you try to get that in there and all you're going to get, oh, organically out to try to get to a game after courtside?

Yeah. I'll just find out where he eats lunch. Show up there be really all.

Yeah.

So the beginning of your career, we always go back to the, the early stages and like development and hockey and yours is one of the coolest stories going with your dad playing in the NBA and you guys living in Denver.

There was a certain Hall of Famer who kind of helped your dad out when he asked him where kids should be playing locally and stuff like that. Right.

There is. Yeah. Guy by the name of Joe Zach decent. No, not yeah. Not bad player. Yes. I lived in Colorado.

My dad, when he was with the Nuggets, always came down low in the Pepsi Center walking around underneath. And I just you know, I was probably three or four at the time. Older brother was, you know, seven or eight younger brothers just a couple years younger than me. I just asked them why they need to do, you know, what am I kids need to do to get into hockey? I love watching you play. They love coming to the games.

He said skating, skating is going to be the most important thing. So take skating lessons from the year before I actually start playing hockey. What age is this? Sorry, this is five.

OK, so it's five skating lessons from a figure skater. Wasn't figure skating lessons just working on the artwork?

I did that to Seth.

I'm pretty sure I'll let people bully you about the figure skaters, man. They know. They know. They're just my friends. They know their stuff. Oh, they know their edges.

You make some chirps for that. But it makes you a better skater. That's no doubt.

I'm sure I will. I have over the years, just as the stories came out.

So so I was going to ask around that time, was there just more development in the like in the hockey world there too? There really wasn't any in the basketball programs to where that's what made you gravitate towards playing hockey over basketball?

Well, I think, you know, when I was when I was growing up in Colorado, I was watching the acts and they were loaded. I think their cap was well over 100. There was no cap at that time. So, you know, it was like were like one hundred and ten million. They had like five, six Hall of Famers there, just one of the most exciting teams to watch. And so I think that's a gravitated toward it.

I don't think the nuggets are good. So I'm not I don't really recall back in the day, but we just love hockey and kind of friends growing up that played hockey. It was just it was just part of it. And then the bugs are on that team probably, you know, not just me, but probably thousands of other kids want to try to like it, too.

At that age, I read in an article that did your older brother get involved first or basically at the same time? So, you know, you're looking to your bro and watching him do it. It must have made you want to play even more.

Exactly. Exactly. He was he's he's a ninety, so he's four years older than me and watching him start playing, you know, just loving the game in general before that, but then watched him start playing. And I wanted to get involved in my younger brother got involved too. So we all just getting lessons from the same figure skating lady for years and years, and that's kind of how it happened.

So is that why you ended up a defenseman? Because at. That age, you were like the only guy who could, like, skate backwards is as good as you carry forwards. I think it's a natural thing.

Just listening to some of the stories from my mom and my and my parents, they try to put me up for it. I try to play center and wing, and I would always gravitate back to defending the net. For some reason. That was just my mentality. I didn't want to let. You're very nurturing.

Yeah, very nurturing and wanting to close the home, take care of the home.

Oh, so see. I'm wondering, say it. Nine or ten. Are you already like the dominant that guy, Seth Jones. The best. He's the best player on that team. Are you the Ryan Whitney, 10 year old with a yellow helmet who can't even skate? I think that's pretty good.

OK, so that means you're now being modest. Yeah.

I mean, it wasn't like a massive goalscorer, obviously, but, you know, the skating was just a big part of my gift.

So I did a lot of summer tournaments, you know, as a year thing when you're that age. So I didn't stop playing hockey and I never played organized basketball. One time my mom, my parents tried to kind of look toward me or push me toward it and just said, no, absolutely not.

A younger brother and older brother play it for about a year or two in middle school, and that was really it.

Would you say you were hyper focused to where like you wanted it and like your parents were obviously willing to do it full year round because you loved it that much? Yeah, you know, my mom or my grandma helped a lot when I was younger, I travel around on these road trips. I could see a lot of traveling.

You know, I went, I don't know how many times I went to Toronto as a 10, 12 year old, you know, playing in the summer tournaments where you sit in first class, where you have first class.

You know, my mom was like, yeah, oh, hey, your mom would go first class and then you get the pitch and toss it back by the bathrooms in the back.

So I'm I'm guessing that at this point, two thousand forty thousand six, I don't know how good Dallas I mean, Colorado youth hockey was wherever you were living and playing at the time.

But were you getting crushed on national tournaments by teams from Minnesota, et cetera?

Were you guys good? We were actually pretty good, Sokar, when I grew up there, didn't have triple-A, so we were double AAA. That was the last two years I played there and we ended up winning national championship because we were double AAA and we were we probably should have been AAA, but we weren't.

I think we won the finals, the Nationals like five nothing. So it was kind of kind of a joke a little bit. But then my last year in Colorado with the Thunderbirds came about Thunderbird Youth Hockey Program, which was AAA. And so that was kind of new for for Colorado, moved to Dallas at Bantam only golf for three years. You talk, but we weren't bad with triple-A, but, you know, we weren't the best because Dallas wasn't just not a big hockey market compared to Chicago, you know, the mission, all the Detroit teams, things like that.

I said, what was your first exposure to the game that made you want to skate, was watching the game on TV a game you went to live on an ad that first kick in?

I don't really recall the last hour, like what really pushed me to it, but I went I was at game seven and and why when the first one against Jersey, I was there with my family and a couple of buddies saw, you know, Joe Sacket, pass it to Ray Bourque, you know. Twenty two years in the NHL with that one in the Stanley Cup. Patrick Wall, you know, all these Hall of Fame players that just pushed me to you know, I was seven years old at the time, six years old, actually about to turn seven.

And you know, something about that moment, just just the love of the game was was incredible.

And were you so tapped into where you're watching that reality show the year you said one of the years they had like one hundred million salary cap? Yeah, it was like when, like, they were making for a career for being cheap and he was driving his Lexus in, like, what were you, like, all tapped into that, like behind the scenes stuff?

I don't even remember I don't ever remember that. So you're too young for that, then? Probably too young, yeah. All right.

I just love watching hockey subquestion, because while people may not remember, though, because they Korea and Salani, at the height of their careers, I think took a million bucks each, maybe it wasn't Salani height of career he had.

He he got caught fire again in Anaheim, but they were they just wanted to be there. Right.

I mean, that was like people they took on the million dollar salary, both on it one year. I think Salani and Korea were making a million bucks each.

Jesus, I could become good guys. I'm making this. Fuck it. We don't know.

Our stats are looking up right now. We actually don't know much about hockey.

There is a lot I have.

Yeah, I actually I want to ask I know there's been pro football players who have had sons in the league and pro baseball players. But, you know, if you're the first son of an NBA alumni to to make the NHL.

I think so, I think so, I think Darnell, what is his uncle was McNabb. I think that's right. I don't know any other basketball, that's to be honest. Huh.

What kind of a player was your old man as far as basketball was like a kind of rose hinder drivers are throwing elbows in Chicago. Yes.

Know, I remember as a kid, he always did tell me he would just give me a little jobs all the time. Kidneys.

This is back when basketball is a little more physical. That is now rib shots all the time in the paint, things like that. He actually had a funny story. I'll never forget this. He was playing Shaq and Shaq Prime, which unstoppable. Right? It's ridiculous.

God, I think there a free throw there standing next to each other. You know, they pass each other out of free throws. You grab Shaq's wrist and they try to play dirty like that, like away from the ref. And Shaq comes back down like a couple of seconds later said, hey, man, don't grab my wrist no more.

My dad my dad didn't grab his wrist like, oh, you're the king of that call. You honestly, man, like, yeah, like.

And he's never to.

He's so fucking scary, man. Oh my God. He's in the tank. And Shaq so funny. I'll grab my wrist. Yeah. Him Barkley. Oh my God. Those guys grab a towel.

You're like wiping up the sweat off the court. I could do anything I can do. You need one who's got a bark collar on. He's like walking you back to the sidelines. Oh, check your jerseys untucked, grab a camera, take a couple of shots to exotically.

He was hilarious on TNT.

I love watching it in there. Oh, man.

I saw Shaq was chirping Chuck during that match the other day with Mickelson. I'm like, these two guys are hilarious and they just get each other going and everything on that.

So I heard a story about how Charles Barkley wasn't going to do the show anymore and he kind of wanted to go do different stuff. And one of the guys from TNT that one of the guys who could sign the checks went in an in-person visit. And then they wrote like a number on a check and said, we're going to pay you ten million a year for the next ten years.

And and he so much he's getting from that. I think he signed a hundred million dollar deal.

I might be dead wrong, just like it's old thing, like we're not.

I was I was half right. Korea made to Salani made six. OK, OK. Here I'll take that. That's good. As, as a yeah.

Let's just pretend I'm sorry but like he like he, he couldn't believe it to where he's like yeah yeah.

I'm coming back for you're going to pay me ten million dollars a year to fucking go out there and chirp back and forth with Shaq.

They have the best jobs on the planet and they say whatever they want for ten million a year, they can't say anything wrong. I love I mean, to say the other thing and all that stuff.

And I don't even know basketball and some of some of Barkley's takes are so ridiculous. And Shaq, I'll just call him out and they'll be arguing up there for like five minutes about it and like. But but Shaq. Right. He's he's right.

He puts them in a body bag every time actually stuff. And so funny, Spig, in the NBA, I know you're a big NBA fan.

You got a team sport. You root for individual players.

I don't really have a team. I just love watching the game. I'll turn on a game. There is, to be honest, but I obviously love the big time matchups. Right. So I really watch the individual players. So any time you know, Kobe's playing or LeBron is playing or, you know, Curry's plan, things like that, I just love watching them. They're exciting to watch and it's just fun, you know. Giannis and these guys they always always make it entertaining on TV.

Are you similar to the NHL? Are you going to games on the road or are you going to games when, you know the night before, a lot of times the NBA team plays or you just.

I've actually been to only one game as I saw a Bulls game. I want a funny story about that.

Actually, I was playing a national my second year was in Chicago a couple of days before the game. They were playing the Rockets. And so we stayed at the Ritz. And I think it's the water tower in downtown Houston. Just stand there. We had a couple of nights, so we go out for some drinks night before their game, like two nights, four hours before the game. I see a couple of other players in their tequila bottles in their hands like sugar.

I mean, it was just incredible. I saw Jeremy Lin was sitting at the bar drinking water.

This is when he was on Houston.

Linsanity and what? Yeah, I'm like, these guys can't have a good game next game. So I go to the game the next night. Harden has like eight points. I think Lin goes off for like twenty eight. I'm like this guy. Obviously it was a great night. I'm sure that I got to see Harden play. He, he was a little young I think.

Buckel Yeah. Mm.

What about the Ohio State Games. You go to a lot of the action, whether it was football or basketball for the team.

I haven't been to Ohio State football game at all. I've been there for four years now.

I haven't been I mean, outside of the stadium is it's kind of my bread and butter.

You know, this I don't need like one hundred 100k people, but just the bars and the atmosphere around the games, like the whole city shuts down for these games. So it's a lot of fun just kind of being out and about downtown. Going back to, you know, you as a younger player, you got a little bit older, you go to Ann Arbor where the National Team Development Program was, I got a chance to be their Pioneer High School shout out I'm a graduate.

Hmm.

After that ended, where most of those guys, I shouldn't say most, but a high you know, a high percentage are going to college.

You decide to go to the WHL. What's that decision like?

I mean, I had to I would think you had an idea, you know, already then that you had a chance to be a pretty high pick that following year. Yeah, so I'm graduating high school in three years because I was a late birthday, so I that extra year before my draft, so I want to leave that college option open or that option open for four for that year.

So I actually went and took an official in North Dakota. Loved it.

There are great facilities, you know, top notch the building and everything. And I was very really shouldn't be you actually, believe it or not, and never took a visit there. But I love the school and love everything about it.

And I ended up going to Portland on the college. Just it just seemed better for me for that one year.

You know, my goal is to play one year, then go right to the NHL. And I thought, you know, one year college wouldn't really make a whole lot of sense for me.

I mean, I used to get great crowds there. And did you feel that that would better prepare you for the next step, just given the amount of games you're playing and like maybe the wear and tear to get used to that?

Exactly. 72 games when I was I think they're 68 now, but 72 games, you know, the bus rides and the back to backs and things like that would definitely get me more prepared than you know. And I was saying my mind is always the right choice. Debate sometimes colleges. But, you know, I think they play thirty something games only on the weekends, you know, a lot more working out, things like that in between. And I just really wanted to focus on hockey at that point and and playing as much as I possibly could that last year.

I've said before, you know, I think college hockey is the way to go. But if you're a guy that's going to play in the NHL and it's one year, I totally understand. And it kind of can be with Junior getting you ready for that pro that pro like lifestyle in a way.

But, you know. When you end up when you end up getting picked, I'm sorry, not getting picked, I want to get to the draft yet, but the Portland team, did they draft you in the dubh or did somebody else and then they traded for your rights?

I draft to me. No, thank you. You gave him the dicamba? No, I actually had to take it.

No, no, no, no. Doug Soter was the GM there. And then he left when I was, you know, thinking about going to the Derby, went somewhere else. He went up to the NHL, if I'm correct. But my agent kind of put together that segment of Portland. You know, Mike Johnson was the coach. Travis Green now in Vancouver, was the assistant coach.

You know, just the you know, how they ran things, the professionalism of that organization and the players around on the team at the time, I think would best help me get to that next level. And so I had a blast when I was there. I love my family to death. I was there with me that year.

Was Travis Green, the head coach there, or was the assistant? He was the esthetically the assistant.

But that year, my job, my Johnson got suspended for the year because whatever the case happened. Oh, it's that man.

I don't even know what they know. Yeah. All right. All right. What's the case? Apparently, there are some things going on.

Is that a Russian under the bus, he was in Russia. Was it a Russian under the bus story? It was a Russian story. Was that was the very cold. No one wants it. No, that's I mean, that's just fucking funny, man. You know, the Russian penguins, he could've done something that bad. He was in the NHL a couple of years later, wasn't he? Yeah, he was.

He was he was paying Seth Jones to play Junior. That's what was happening. No, no, no. Not me. Yeah, I was seventy two games, my ass.

You're probably making more than some fucking asshole guys out here.

You get where you get a cut of a game like Sid and Jr and Patty.

Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. I was going to ask you just to vote for someone who like you know, obviously you're a young stud coming up and you probably knew you were going to go to the national program because that was like the best development at the age you were. For someone who's going from, like where you were into that program, were you, like, nervous at all? Because you're like, you know, you're moving your life away.

You're not going to be around your parents as much.

There's a lot more demand as far as like the athletic standpoint to where it's kind of like all of a sudden it's a job.

Yeah, I agree. I'm moving away fifteen turning sixteen for my family, living with, you know, a family. I don't even know. Luckily, I was with my best friends growing up from Colorado.

We built it together. So that made it a little easier when I was away from the rink. But yeah, new school, new completely new teammates, new coaches wasn't easy.

But at that point, you know, you really start transitioning into, you know, developing for the NHL. And that's that was my goal and that is my thought process through that whole two years I was there. Happens quick because I think it oh, it's a night like you're such a young age now and you're thinking NHL to two years away, things like that, I was nervous going there.

I went for the last year. So the team had been together for the whole season prior. So it's tough because you don't feel as much as much a part of the group. But it was still in there.

Just in case you were wondering how I felt the ball was going to say, I was to say I've never asked the guy who fucking hosts the podcast this question, but I don't know. I just maybe you're more interesting outside of the.

Well, you did go fourth overall and went fifth one. Yeah.

Things are going a little different since the draft as well. I that day, like, take me back.

I mean, obviously everyone knew McKinnon was going one. Right. Was that that was those is set in stone as could be.

Where did you kind of slide anywhere you see in Nashville at for the whole time.

No, actually, I was supposed to go one or two, you know, Nate, I think Nate was going to go one just because, you know, I played him in the cup that summer before we put him in regulation, had a hat trick, played him in the cup final, had a hat trick, like, holy shit, like settle down here.

How many of those were while I was going to say how many minuses eat all, they didn't match me up against them. So OK. But yeah. So he went one to Colorado, you know, obviously a transcendent four like that.

I mean, it's hard not to maybe that's why I think suspended because he didn't fucking match you up against McDavid and he chewed you guys up for two Hatice. Maybe use the guy who might go first two against them, I don't know, whatever.

And then I think Parca went to to Florida. I thought I had a chance. There was a hell of a player. Can't argue that. And then three, I really thought I was going to go to Tampa, to be honest.

You know, when you're little beginning there. Oh, yeah. I mean, you had a tough fifty minutes enters our state taxes.

I know those. 30 minutes were like the longest of my life because it was 10 minutes a pick in the first round, I was like sitting there like college, you know, what am I going to go the Tampa happened. I remember during the combine talking to Steve, who I think was the GM at the time. Right. He's like, I don't think you're going to slip the three, but if you do, I said, I'm taking you.

So we hit the Tampa.

I'm like going to Tampa, not stood up.

And I'm like, wait for much like like buttoning my thing. You're on the stage tie. Hi, Isaac. Like, what are you doing? What's up, Gary?

And then he ended up taking Drew and I'm like, oh my God, I'm I'm kind of fuming at this point. I'm like, you're Aaron Rodgers.

And the Nashville took me honestly the best thing I probably going to happen, you know, living with Shea Weber for a couple of months throughout camp and started the season, I don't think there's a better leader out there over the years. And learning from him. You know, Mike Fisher, it was an older team. So guys like Barry Jackman, Mike Fisher, Paul Gustad, just a great team to be on.

And, you know, I was a 19 year old coming in. It could I couldn't imagine it. Much better to learn from guys like that.

So I'm curious to hear about, like, how you felt as that draft went on, because only because when you were eight years old, when I was drafted, Jay Baumeister, he was supposed to go one.

He was going to go he ended up dropping a three.

But I just I just remember the cameras just kept going at him like they picked Rick Nash and then letting it in and they're going to bowl monster.

And it's like, I can only imagine you must have felt like the whole world was kind of watching you.

Exactly. You're there for a bit, huh? Yeah.

So me and my mom, my two brothers there. And so when the camera's on me that they take my camera still. Me too. They come back, they take off camera still. And so I'm trying to just like keep myself together and calm. So I don't, you know, like like a jackass on camera and then three pass and I'm like doing everything in my power to keep like like Clark.

And I'm like, you know, so at six bucks a table at six and you have to take just like this to the camera. He's got his ball bag.

Oh my. That's right through the right through the zipper.

Sneaky that I can to kick.

So so you're I think your father played high school basketball in Tennessee. Was am I wrong here.

He played college. Dresden. Yeah. Dresden, Tennessee.

OK, so sorry about college. My state like did you feel like did you feel like that maybe it was kind of fate and did you kind of like be like, hey, this is, you know, this is going to be a great opportunity, like right away. You're kind of I don't want to say disappointment led to like, you know, there's some connections there and I feel comfortable comfortable there already.

Yeah. So and I went there. I had a lot of people come up to me, oh, I remember your dad, I remember your dad this and that, you know, playing against my state and these things. So that connection definitely was there with the fans. I think especially kind of that older group of fans kind of watched my dad grow up and play. So that was very comforting to hear that that I was definitely welcome in that city and in an organization, really.

It was a great city of two and a half years. I was there. I loved every single minute of it.

Like I mentioned in the intro, you made the idea first camp just a few months after being drafted. That's a rare thing. Did you surprised herself when you pulled that off?

I knew it'd be a challenge, you know, just because of the fencing that were there. We had Webber Yoshie to sign that big deal back home else, you know, and then it was I think it was Anton Marchenko was a defenseman. But, yeah, you know, a few other guys that were there at camp. And, you know, it definitely wasn't a walk in the park. I think Rich Clun was there. I think he gave me the business a couple of times and camp on the for check.

So, you know, cut. You know, it's tough playing against those big, strong players for the first time. Yeah.

Webber was just so impressive on and off the ice. I'm curious on the ice, like, what did you see? We were like, oh my God, I need to add that to my game. Well, I think the the way that he was calm throughout the game and you kind of knew what you were getting from every shift, you know, whether it was a big defensive stop, big shot from the point, he always you know, he was really a game changer.

And whether his offense or offensively and defensively, which is something that I've always wanted to implement in my game, you know, it's for me, it's not always about, you know, I can I can put an impact on the game in a lot different ways than than just scoring goals or making offensive plays. And so that's really what I took from him as well. What's the best on ice and off ice advice you got from Webber? Oh, gosh, don't bet on me, don't bet on you, don't bet on the Houston Rockets when they play in Chicago.

Got to be going out the night before. Every game, I'm sure, I think is hard. And Dwight Howard, all those guys on the team at the time.

But I don't know.

I think, you know, I think that the 82 game scandal is taken care of yourself for the most part. You know, he would always take care of himself off the ice, whether it was you know, you'd always every time he would go on living room, I would always he would always be like, let's go to my room, you know, things like that that would just get you in that mindset. And now that I'm, you know, twenty six and been in the league for a few years now and, you know, I see young guys coming in to Columbus and I try to do the same thing with them.

You know, if I see a guy not getting a job like, hey, let's get in the gym right now, things like that. So, you know, it's just kind of a rollover effect for me. And I kind of want to be try to be, you know, a leader like say whatever to you know, we have a lot of 19, 20, 21 year olds on our team that don't know what it's like to play a full season.

And so I just try to kind of be that guy for him as well.

Going back to Nashville, you had Phil housey as a defensive coach as well, right?

I mean, that's on top of all those other guys around you by the end of your time in Nashville. Did you were you kind of happy about it in a sense of where there were so many other weapons on deals that you were never really going to be able to take that jump if you potentially stayed there? Because you might not even been given the opportunity, given that they've had Yoshie and Webber, even though they ended up treating Webber?

I think so. And that actually started kind of happening that third year, you know, that second after my second year and I got traded in the middle of my third year with them, my contract. And, you know, we kind of start seeing, you know, whenever I was ready, I was ready at Ellis as a right. It was a great player as well. Needed to be time in peak time. So you kind of started seeing this, you know, the coaches maybe struggling to find this time for certain guys.

Not that I got in the way of us winning and playing as a team. But, you know, young guys, you want to play as much as you can and and get your ice time. And so I think they realized that I didn't think they would trade two of the three righties, but they ended up doing it. And I was the first one to go and we kind of knew someone was going to get traded. You know, it's kind of, you know, the defense are like, who's going?

Because it's got to happen. You can just feel that within a team when something like that, you know, brewing.

So so it became a joke in the locker room between you guys a little bit. Yeah. Especially the defense.

And we're like, hey, who's gonna coach wants to see you go off to America. You want to know.

Well yeah. You got the bag up is after practice for five year.

Yeah. Well pack his bag. Well that type of sticks. Yeah. I get the trainer to take the stress.

That is ruthless. I've heard stories of guys like Tom, Tom, guys, they're getting the call up and then like it wasn't true. I think that happened with with and they did end up telling on the coach had to like play it down. But that's a story for another day. So what did you want to ask him when that trait ended up going down, though?

It's twenty sixteen. What are you what are your initial thoughts? I know you knew somebody was going, but still it's got to be shocking nonetheless to to when you get the phone call like where were you and who told you.

Oh man, I was eating dinner with my ex girlfriend at the time or my girlfriend at the time and it was about five o'clock, just sat down getting a glass of wine or whatever, about to get some appetizers and get a call from David Poile phone. So I'm like, and anytime you get a call from Jim, you know, I can tell this isn't right.

Something's not right. Yeah. Yeah.

I answered, step outside. I go and say stuff to David, just I'll let you know. I'll trade you the Columbus Blue Jackets, your handsome. And I'm like, oh, just like that wonderful one, you know?

And I'm just like, all right, thank you for the opportunity to play here and draft me and learned a lot, blah, blah, blah. Hang up. Drive home immediately. Just break down. Because it wasn't the fact that I got traded, but it was just something inside you is just like sadness but fire to at the same time. And I just want to make me better. And so I was on a fight two and a half hours later to Columbus, played a back to back, you know, right when I got there.

So it was just bing bang. And, you know, I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, but it's probably a lot better that it happened midseason for that reason than, you know, in the summer when you have a chance to marinate on it.

So like jumping in and because of the games happening so fast, you're going to get you're going to get like, pretty friendly with guys rather quick. Exactly. That's it.

For that is so true when you're sitting on all summer and you got to worry about meeting everyone, that that would be way worse.

Exactly. That camp and stuff. So I jumped in. I had one practice and we flew to Carolina, played my first game. They're like the next day.

And so what was your I used to go just before I got any points in that game, like right away. Man, did you feel like you were just given the reins?

Just you know, I met talks the next morning and obviously you hear about it. You're like, oh boy, I got to, you know, I really got to figure this one out quick or else I'm done. And I think the first game I play with Cody go about not there anymore, but one of the first shifts in the game. He tries to go dedi. They go down and score comes down. We're going five.

I'm like, oh my God. I'm like, I'm like, I can't make a mistake. I'm going off the glass every time.

This guy just benched my partner after the first.

But yeah, I mean, it's like The Hunger Games back there. Exactly. The next guy we're going down to four.

He probably he probably got a three if we're going five forwards next year. He probably has gone to three at some point in his coaching career. Going along the line early on, he might have had three D go in one game, brought a forward back to make it four.

Yeah. Grenelle, he had the opportunity to talk to your what's your name, sorry, Rachel. Rachel, yes. Who then got in touch with your mom and we got to grill her a little bit about you. And she said, ask him about the the coaches that kind of enforce the most discipline and have a lot of structure and keep people extremely accountable are the type of coaches you've always loved the most growing up. And of course, I would imagine Tortes fits that mold perfectly.

He does. He does 100 percent. And that's that's a big thing. I love sports. You can probably rub guys the wrong way. And not saying he's never rubbed me the wrong way part. I disagree with him on things, but he only does to make the team better and as a whole. And so, you know, when I first and I got traded, there is a last game of the season against Chicago, and this is when Panarin and Kayin are just unstoppable.

I think it was in 2016, end of that year, and potentially like three points.

I think they had a big bonus and stock which was going to feed and feed and feed them all game first shift to the game. They were in the face ifop and it can go down to one goal. I'm like, OK, this is great. Last game of the season, something else happened. I don't know.

Panarin scored again, first period. He's got like three points after the first period and coming for the first intermission. I'm like my bad boys, like you got to be better whatever towards comes in, Jose.

You're like a toilet seat. One time you once you prepare, once you're down here, it's like you're going to be set on the bench. Second period and watch. So I sit the whole second period and, you know, and everyone like you get back and everyone's like tapping your ship. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like a big loser. Oh, no, no. It's like, get away from me, guys. Hey, at least I got those.

You were getting the tap from the coach to say, hey, pregame skating over for you.

But yeah. Oh yeah. And they end up playing the third period at play. Fine. But you know, little things like that just make you you know, it's a learning experience, you know, and and that's really what towards does. It puts a lot of pressure on you to be to be better.

I'll tell you what does he makes up for that ice time when you guys score to five otes in playoffs and you're the one game this year, which I believe surpassed what your record was. You played 60 Minutes.

I didn't have the 60. I think I didn't have the record up there, but this guy smashed at all.

I mean, what did you feel like.

You must I will say this before I finished the question. I've often told people I didn't feel like that bad after I felt pretty good, actually. Did you notice that? Like, it's not like it wasn't that horrible.

Steal one 100 percent. I think after the third period, you know, you that is what we've all been overtime or to second and third overtime. I was like, oh my God, I feel terrible. One of those you get a ten second burst and you're just done for the shift. That was like the whole second, third period, then the overtime sorry, then the fourth overtime start feeling better and the fifth overtime. I was like, I feel great.

So I just started the game.

Then we end up losing but like my legs were the best of all game in the fifth overtime, which is crazy.

So what about the next day? Are you Borking? Is it like you just ran a marathon?

Oh yeah. Next day we canceled practice. The next day we're there just like team meeting, video session. But I was I mean, I'm dead. You know, you're sleeping and doing you're not doing anything really.

But my legs were pretty toasty or it comes in after the game is like boys practice is actually in eight hours. So let's just hang here. We're going to go practice up to eight or. Yeah, I have a video meeting at seven thirty to get you some eggs and we can just finish practice.

Then we're going to run some stairs. We're the five mile test and then I'll have my fat scalper's ready for you guys. Anybody above 10 percent going back on the ice?

Well, it is it is true, though, that when Bruce brought up the chance to just play so much more in Columbus and your career is just taken off, becoming like, you know, a true number one, one of the best defensemen in the league, if not the best. But after that great run and personally, it's gotten better and better each year.

And then you guys have that that season, you know, last year and then everyone's gone.

Right. And Aaron's gone to Shane's gone. I mean, how hard is that for you as a leader? The team seeing so much momentum that you had gotten going that year just kind of all end pretty quickly?

Yeah, I think we did have some great players. That's probably the best team I've been on skill wise and just team wise. But Aaron's obviously a game changer along with Duchaine, and they helped our goal and are just creating chances throughout throughout the whole game a lot, especially in the team like Tampa last year. And, you know, when you lose a skill like that, you got to bring in more, you know, a little bit more of a team concept.

And so that's really what we focused on in camp. And, you know, when Panarin was there, it's like any great player, you kind of let them do their own thing and they create chances just out of thin air, you know, out of nothing. So we wanted to play a little bit more of a team game in that sense. And, you know, I thought we did a pretty good job that year. We had a lot of injuries.

But the leadership on the team, I think was Solino. I can send GENER it was very seamless transition. We kind of knew we were, you know, that's kind of the bluejacket way grinding away, you know, when a one zero game or two one game and all the lead and things like that.

So we didn't want to change our identity that we had, but we knew we kind of had to tighten it up a little bit just to the team, get a little bit of a chip on his shoulder as well, given the changed expectations outside and all the roster turnover.

Yeah, definitely a chip on the shoulder, we talked about that all throughout training camp, all throughout the year, but at the end of the day, we know we have in the room. We don't have to say it out loud media or anything. We we just keep a straight arrow. And that's towards this whole thing. One day at a time, you know, we come to the rank of the business and then you leave, you know, you do whatever you want after.

So I think that really resonates within our team.

What's the biggest misconception about sports now that you've played for him for a while?

I think, you know, I didn't know I didn't know torts back in the day. But you just see a lot of stories in media and things like that. Brooks proceeded along.

Yeah, that top 10 stories on YouTube. I've watched that three times and I just thought of it exactly.

But I think, you know, he just wants to win. And, you know, he he probably does things that not everyone agrees with. He's definitely going to piss off players throughout the season. And you're not going to agree with things he does. But going to an all and playing for me, all he wants to do is win. And he cares about winning, you know, just as much as the players do. So that's one thing I really respect about him.

We had one of your teammates on a few months ago, Elvis Myers Leakiness goaltender, seems like a real character. Is he is he in the locker room as well?

He is. He is. And where it goes, you kind of let them do their thing. But he came in. He had a lot of confidence in the net, which is something that we wanted and we needed. And he had kind of a rough start.

But then when Corpuscle got hurt, he came in and a hell of a job in that for us made huge saves us big games.

And he's really part of the reason we even made the playoffs, along with a lot of other guys that came from Cleveland with our injuries this year.

Where did you have any more questions about Columbus? Now, I was going to say, you're just dumb in your boy Wenski in terms of interview on Chicot, just imagine.

He's a shy kid, awesome guy.

He's just a great guy. Yeah. If I didn't say a lot, I'm guessing they're all dummying you in fantasy football.

All right. Yeah, here we go. They're saying you're pathetic in that.

First of all, my team this year is not the greatest, but everyone's underperformed. Oh, yes, of course you're you're the fan that our special Carson Wentz, our quarterback with the league, you know, it's just who would you take with your first pick?

Oh, man, I think it's took Michael Thomas, like, my wide receivers are great, I have no running back. So I was the problem last year. I got sick and he probably forgot to tell you that. That's my little that's my little basketball claim to fame.

Second, I got my money back like me hanging up my silver medal in my house.

Exactly.

Which I which I did do on my team is terrible this year.

Your younger brother Caleb plays for the Edmonton organization. How often do you guys communicate during the season?

Quite a bit. Quite a bit. I don't I actually watch him a lot more this year because I was sidelined with the ankle surgery. So I was sitting on the couch for six weeks and got to watch all his games. Always texted him after things like that. But we text quite a bit through the season. Don't bother him too much. We don't bother each other too much because we we both understand what the schedule is like and what we're doing.

But he's taken a lot of good steps in the right direction, I think, for Everton. Guys feed each other intel on on a common opponents or any of that type of stuff or now. No, I think he actually scored, so we play against them when I when I was hurt, I was watching on TV. He scored the game winner a terrible goal like four things and went in. But of course, he's texting right after the game.

I would have done that if you were out there, too.

I'm like Celadon when I was going to ask you about your pretty vocal about the CBD, and I think you've partnered up with a company in order to promote it. I don't know if you've got a piece of it and how it's working, but but kind of dive into that. I'm a big, you know, CBD advocate, and I think it works big time.

Yeah, for sure. So my training here in Dallas was using some CBD and, you know, he ended up just trying it on me, rubbing it on my legs and things like that, elbows and risk it pretty sorta in the season and training too.

So I use it on me. I loved it. It worked wonderfully. I use it every day now. I use on my knees a lot as well. But, you know, it's Uncle AMP and it's great. And I got to know he actually knew the owners who created it. Got to know them. Great people. Great guys. So I kind of want I contacted them wanting to partner up with them and and. Yeah. So I use it every day.

How are you using it.

Like when you wake up before bed so it settles in.

I, I use it before, before workouts and then I use it after Skate's so I rub it on my thighs after skate's the better of I've jobs but I love the most and so I love the rubbed out on the quads, hamstrings and knees.

Godzilla's charities are actually massages his aunt's feet with it because she has arthritis going over every night.

What did she say. All right.

Bursitis, not eyes. Oh well, we want to thank you so much for coming on.

All right. I'm sorry. Did you have another question? I just going to say, other than training and working out how you've been killing time to unwind after the season, although it's going to be starting up again soon, hopefully.

Just kind of hanging out, I play a little bit of call duty some days and play a pretty brutal like Call of Duty, that's what I'm talking about.

She said earlier and she told me, I felt the other day I literally. Carry the team to victory. I think so. I don't know what he's talking about behind the scenes, is he is he like hilarious like this?

He just ripped guys and shit or he's got good one liners and one liners. We've got to start getting this guy back on and drilling. Yeah.

Yeah. Do you play golf? If so, you want to do a sandbagger. I actually do play golf. I'm not crazy, I don't know what you guys I know. Well, I don't know if this is a good. Are you good? No, I'm terrible.

You're life is briskin. Make some some golf shots.

I'll tell you why I'm shooting Midnighters. Yeah. Same thing. Yes. OK, well, but we'll go we'll go straight up. I knew you golf because I saw you in Chaloner when I was filming business. Niecy and this guy, he was a big name. I texted him and he agreed to do the business book thing and he hopped in and he gives me a quick pigeon toss and he goes on his way on the golf course.

And I'll say, I'll say this. You were like, I told you what we're going to do. And you're like, yup, got it. And you you nailed it.

Oh, I think I was a little relaxed. I got a few beers. I mean, at that point you saw me on the back nine smoker, the Koran too, or.

No. Yeah, yeah.

You're like I got the CVT and the weed bitch beer and a bowl is business new trademark.

Now we'll get you as a as a model for my new brand of beer and a bowl hiking apparel.

Well there. Hey Seth, next time you come on. Actually you went in Norskov for a cup. You come back on that. That's our deal. I'm not even going to give you a chance to say no. But we really appreciate it's been a lot of fun.

Yeah, I have to vote on it. He gets to vote on all those those awards for the league.

Oh, hey, throw on my way, please. Oh, absolutely.

They do you but you've been calling it the last few years. You've been a joy to watch. And it's been a pleasure to have you on the show as well, BALSHAW. Thanks for joining us. Thanks a lot, guys.

Appreciate it. Have a good one. Huge thanks to Seth Jones for joining us. And like I said earlier, just an absolute young stud in the game, and he's he's a real nice kid. I actually met him years ago right before you get drafted as a 17 year old kid and just a just a real nice kid, easy to root for. So hopefully you enjoyed that as well. And I mentioned Michael Corleone in a few minutes ago. I'm fired up for this story because the league's going to play a pair of games at Lake Tahoe in February like Boston, Philly and then also Colorado versus Vegas is going to be no fans.

There obviously is no went the classic or all star game. So this is going to be the signature non playoff event. And it's pretty fucking cold. There's no. The they're going to play on the lake.

Yeah, two games on Lake Tahoe, man, the Freddy Corleone classic, it gets that cold to where it's going to be that thick, where they can, like, put the boards up and they drill them in and like the ice.

How bad how bad was the ice when we were at the pond hockey classics? I obviously love the ice guy, their figure and everything, I think. Is it still Dan Craig? I might be really outdate myself with that. He's the guy who used to be the head guy for NHL ice and doing the extra work in Edmonton. Right. I, I don't know if he was thereafter.

I'm really I'm uninformed on this. But he was the guy at one point. So whoever it is now, if it's not him, will be there. But I was shocked to see it. And no fans.

You said no fans. Nope. Nope.

That is sick. That is going to be such a cool experience for those guys. I don't know if they'll still set up things, though. Obviously, things are on the boards for ads and stuff when it's on TV, but we're probably not going to play on the ice.

So don't you think they'll just like, build a rink on the ice rink? I doubt they're going to use the ponds, the lake kind of.

That's kind of what I'm like. How are you going to do that? That ice rimpoche. Yeah, yeah.

This thing that's ever said in the podcast, assuming that they were going to use the lake ice, can we all agree?

Can we order what if they are, then you going to be the dumbest human of all time yourself that I'll let you kick me right in the nuts when you get back when you get the Scottsdale, keep looking at it.

Now, that was the dumbest one of the dumb one of the dumber things I've ever said. Man Welcome to the club, buddy.

I say I do it every podcast. I just thought the purity of it, it would be also looked at Lake Louise too.

But I don't think the logistics worked on that. They're going to they're going to play the game. They're they're going to play an outdoor game here at the Fairmont Princess on the fucking ice where the people skate around.

No, but I saw the funniest thing of all time was Dan Cleary, former Red Wing legend, first man to ever win the Stanley Cup from Newfoundland, gave is sip from the Cup, put on skates when we were at dinner there and go out on the ice pretending that he couldn't skate, which he really couldn't anymore.

At that point in where it was, I had it on video. I don't know if I still do.

One of the all time classics people were like, Oh, look out, he's going to fall.

He's going to like asking people for tips on how to get out of public safety in our skies.

She's like, push the left foot out, then push the right foot out. Stop like a pizza.

This is kind of late breaking down. Drager on Monday morning said that Matthew Bazile is on the island camp. Rosta in contract talks continue. He's checked in. He had his physical, but he can't scrimmage. Well, a contract. It certainly sounds he's very close to signing off. He's all checked in and got his physical. Of course, Basils, a restricted free agent who just finished his entry level deal. He's got fifty nine goals in one hundred and forty eight assists in two hundred and thirty four games played.

He's got twenty four points in 30 playoff games. What seems like almost, I guess, a done deal that he's going to be the best shot if he doesn't.

Yeah, probably I would hope so. I offer sheet was definitely potential for him if things were a little bit more normal maybe. But can't you just picture he's like the roster. She's like with Basil, they're like loads of free agents, like put them on the roster like he's a free agent. He's like, I don't give a fuck. So he's signing. But now you've got to figure at some point here in the next couple of days it'll get done.

But he had made it clear for a while that he wasn't going to really take a huge discount.

I always was under that impression. At least I'm very interested to see what this deal is.

Yeah, I see I see a line, a type of deal where you get where he's getting like seven or seven and a half million for two years, because I think he would be wise to wait and kind of do the delay where he can get the big, big ticket unless they're going to.

I mean, right now isn't the time to sign that.

No, I speak in a speak at a Meems or Gift's or JFS, whatever the fuck you call them. When they when they announced that they were like a potential holdout with Basel, it's, you know, the pretends to be shocked. On that got gift going, so, I mean, if I'm him, I would hold out as long as possible because I think he's worth every goddamn penny and I don't think the way he plays is necessarily fun playing it in that system.

You want to hold out so bad, but. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. When I read that I was fucking loving Islander's.

Yeah, I like a little drama off off the ice myself to hold now for the islanders and just thinking of their fans being miserable, you know.

Hubo Parelli Franchi. Yeah. It looks like he got in a car accident, swallowed the airbag enormous.

He came down Arizona for a little bit. They were eating good on the company card.

Holy shit. Is that what he was doing? I think he came down here to get some golf stuff with the foreplay guys and they must have been going out the Ocean Club. All the fancy restaurants. It must have been a glutton is glutting the word I'm thinking of. Yeah, probably.

If, you know, if it was just a bad picture, that's one thing. But I think it could have been right. Yeah. Yeah. It's a guy who might have more than one in the picture. I can relate.

So he gets gout. Then we're going to definitely know it was them swiping the credit card at the nice restaurants, the fucking worst you ever get that because I've gotten it a couple of times.

Yoghurts, brutal, brutal when you can't put a bedsheet on your toe because it hurts too much.

That's actually why I retired was gout.

He didn't even realize he had so many Swedish meatballs and orange scalds Veck. It was Gaute.

Go to the end couple of that one. On the note, the islanders, Lou, did confirm that the island has resigned, Matt Martin and Andy Green, and they also signed goalie Corey Schnieder to a one year, seven hundred thousand dollar deal. Obviously, he was with the Devils last year. Lou knows him from from way back then.

So he's trying to, I guess, resurrect his career a little. He'll be backing up to start.

So good luck to clarify what his new squad defenseman John Marino signed a six year extension with Pittsburgh worth twenty six point four million. It's a four point four dollars million cap hit.

The extension kicks in after this season. Pittsburgh must really like what they saw from this kid after just one year with six goals and twenty assists. Because I know you want to chime in here.

Well, Khalil Polyakova was online tweeting out and he's like, this is the new league man. Fifty six games played. This guy showed a very small sample size. You talk to anybody from Pittsburgh they love this guy doesn't doesn't outshine with his numbers, I think. Would you see it? Six goals, twenty assists, but just as far as two way game. And you know, his his ability to not make mistakes out there, how good he is as a shut down defenseman.

They seem to think this is a steal and this is going to be a glorious deal in two or three years. I just I'm more like, you got fifty six games as a sample size one fucking year. So, you know, I think it's a bit of an aggressive move. But, you know, you see a lot of teams making it with the way the league's heading now. They're trying to with the cap situation where it is. They're trying to they're trying to get these guys out playing their contract.

So it should be interesting. I've heard nothing, nothing but positive things about this guy, though, with. Yeah, he's he had a great rookie year. And how many games played did he have? Twenty six point fifty six. Yeah. So I mean, you're just under a forty point pace, forty one point pace in the NHL is a rookie and you go back to his last year he played three years at Harvard. Now he's picked by Edmonton.

I have no clue. He's a Massachusetts guy. I have no clue what happened in terms of if they didn't sign him, if there was a trade, I don't know.

Sam Shults, they thought he wasn't good. Then he went over there and won a cup or two.

Well, no, but I'm wondering how they lost him to even, like, sign him to an entry level real, whereas they kind of got Schultes. But if I if I like, have looked at numbers and and heard what I've heard about his game and how solid he looked, it makes sense, you know, because you are trying to guess. Right. And an overpaid guy to in three or four years be severely underpaying them. It's the exact opposite of getting the 31 year old UFA.

So it makes sense. They're. I I didn't really understand that his last year at Harvard, Adam Fox, was on that team, he dominated the entire college hockey scene that year and over a point per game, a lot over a point per game. That same team, Marino, had eleven points on a Harvard team that was pretty solid. Like so like you said, it's not necessarily his numbers that's going to get it done because that shows he was good enough to play in the NHL the next year defensively and away from the puck that year at Harvard.

So it didn't take him a ton of time or even need to go to the minors at all. So I think it's a great signing. I know it's early and that was a good point by Carlo online. But that's just the current league. It is. All right, we got a few other silence here to make note of, but one more thing, one thing he played for the South Shore Kings. I don't know if I was a member of that team.

It's not the one that went to the PGA Championship.

We want it in 97. But he was a member before he went to the NHL. Yeah. So sure things.

No shit. None of this shit. Russ, is that from is that from Christmas vacation. I did watch that. What is it now when he's looking at her like thong she's wearing. Oh my God. Girl at the desk. My God.

That's that's then the one at the pool when he sees the dreams of the pool.

That girl. Oh my goodness. Orckit Yeah. That that's like I think that might have been the first time I got a boner when I saw that movie and saw her in that scene. She kind of reminds you of like a Kelly Karpovsky from Saved by the Bell and they age with a European flair. So there was a picture that came out of that girl who was on Christmas vacation when she was like, I think she's like 50 or 60 now.

She's still a smoke. So she's aged. Well, that's got to give. That's why I gave the Kelly Karpovsky comparison. There's got caught crankin. It's a Christmas vacation.

He was against it.

Yeah, that's against the spirit of the season for the fourth time, moving right along with the signing's Edmonton signed restricted free agent defenseman Ethan Biddu, a two year deal worth four million dollars to million dollar cap hit. Arizona did indeed signed Derek Brassard one year deal worth one point two mil. You guys want to chime in? Just jump right in. The Blackhawks sign for Dillon Stromness, a two year deal worth six million dollars. The Bloustein restricted free agent defenseman Vince Dunn to a one year deal worth one point eighty five million.

Defenseman Travis Hammond is going to be on a pito with Vancouver. It sounds like it's similar to the Hoffman situation where they're just doing it for logistical reasons and money reasons. But I'd be shocked if he doesn't end up there.

That's a pretty good replacement. And the fact that they lost Dinev. Yeah, like they didn't really have anyone to step in that role there. I know they picked up Schmidt, but Burki came on and he described how that's going to be a big hole for them. That's that's a nice little plug right there. And this is a Vancouver team where they say they're looking to build off of last season and with the roster that they had and I know Schmidt's a bit of a juggernaut offensively from the back end.

And what he can do mixed in with Quin Hughes. That's a fucking that's a nice one two punch. But to to get hammered, that's that's a game changer and a righty and a righty. And he can see a Russian unless you're Russia where you got fucking twenty twenty. Larfleeze on the squad.

Also one time guest on the show, Scott down goaltending. He's going to be on a pixilate Florida of course. Serguei Ba ba ba ba ba ba.

Prosky is this Thatta right now? Chris Draeger is the backup. So bringing him in on a PTO, I don't know if it's to get a little competition going or what. Good luck to downlow. We'd love to see him resurrect his NHL career in Minnesota. Some big news out of there. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon was named captain of Minnesota. He's the longest tenured play on the roster. This will be his eleventh season. He's just the second full time captain in team history.

Parisienne Sartwell I'm sorry, Sutta will have the ace spurge was a sixth round pick by the islanders, didn't end up siding with them, ended up signing with Minnesota as a free agent, and now he's a cornerstone of franchise. I know what you've been singing his praises for a long time on the show.

Yeah, that was kind of no surprise here. They went with their and he's been severely underrated long enough where I think people now know it's changed a little bit. And and a guy that I think has shown not only on the ice but off the ice in the room, he may not be a very loud guy, but he's quietly going about doing the right thing every day on and off the ice. So congrats to him.

It's pretty cool to be a captain in the National Hockey League and the first big contract that Billy gave out. And, you know, I kind of was thinking afterward about it, I'm sure. I don't know if it was probably a surprise to Puri's that he didn't get it, but like probably sucks that when he planned on going back home, he probably planned on one day being the captain in Minnesota and and for obvious reasons in the fact that his name is came up as far as trades trades concerned moving forward here.

And I can't imagine he's there longer than another two years.

But I don't know, though, because he signed Michael Koivu there and only a year older than him and he was the captain.

I don't I don't think he would like and obviously you would have hoped for that.

But, you know, getting older and him battling injuries, I mean, I'm speaking for him, but I didn't I don't think he'd be he'd be really shocked by that.

OK, maybe I'm completely wrong there. It's never happened until I thought.

No, I just thought that the way it all went down, I'm sure that, you know, I would say that Spurgeon was probably the obvious pick, but it's probably a letdown given that he know at one point probably thought, you know, if Koivu was gone, he was going to end up being the leader of that team when he signed that contract originally. That's kind of where I was going. So, yes, you're not to take anything away from spurge.

And I think he's the right man for the job. And Billy Joel going over his house to tell him face to face. And I think I think he would never use like four daughters or four kids. And one of the girls was like like she thought he showed up to fire the fire or his dad.

So, yeah, you know, I'm here. He said, you fire my dad. Everybody started laughing. I guess it was a funny little icebreaker.

So, yeah, that's good. That's good stuff, man. I was like, really Garran.

I mean, he's a guy, you know, he's good now, but he's he was as much of a warrior as anybody on the ice. So he knows a play mentality. And that's that's a good move. That going to the house like that and giving him a heads up before before they presented them to the team. So keep it with the leadership. The Ottawa will not be going with the captain this season. But instead of name three alternate captains, defenseman Thomas Shabat and Eric Good Branston will be assistance along with twenty four twenty one year old forward Brady Kucuk.

You've got to think about what Kucuk will be the captain probably next season. I guess they're going to see how it goes this year. But congrats those guys, man. I'm telling you, Ottowa, I might sound crazy, but I'm throwing something for the cop man. First, Gambacorta will be back on when the season starts next week. And I'm going to find the best odds I can on this squad. I don't know, I. I like what they're doing.

Again, it's all hinges on Matt Murray getting back to his game. But this is a team they get in the playoffs. Man, I think anything can happen. I got two hundred to one odds. You can't can't raise their young legs.

You like the young legs, don't you? In Jake Sanderson can step in and all of a sudden you got another NHL out of nowhere. Who's a young guy, do you think do you think there's a possibility that he can step right in with? Sanderson Yeah, yeah, I think so. I don't know if they've come out and said that is the plan or not or is going to get a good chance, students will no doubt it's going to be there.

That Sandison kid, it's always a little tougher for a defenseman, but it means skates easily well enough to play in the NHL.

He's big kid. I have no idea the plan, but I could see him for sure.

Playing games this season. Yeah. So Sandersons, he played three games this year for North Dakota. So I guess he's probably going back there.

No, we'll keep an eye on it. We do have some congratulations. We want to send to a couple of recently retired guys, Ryan Callahan, because he didn't play last year. He had a back injury, but he officially retired, played 13 years with the Rangers and Tampa Bay. Of course, you want to see in Manhattan, went to the Stanley Cup final back in twenty twelve. And Malatesta retired after 11 NHL seasons split between Pittsburgh, Columbus, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

He was an undrafted free agent. I got two hundred and ten points and five hundred and sixty seven games played. So congrats to these two guys, obviously both beloved teammates and enjoy retirement then that's that's what we love to tell the guys on here.

A couple of the Orleans a warrior. Yeah, I play with him in the Olympics and just every single shift dude was like this kid was just hitting anything that move blocking shots.

He did it. He did it the hard way for a long time. So congrats to him. And I see guys like him. Oh, he had to get licked by Marshon, his cousin too.

I saw his cousin. His cousin has a business that the bar stool fund helped, so I was good to see. Yeah.

Yeah. What do we. Seventeen, eighteen million have we raised so far.

Donate. Donate if you can. Yeah. Speaking of attest to another guy who came out of the Pittsburgh system, he played in the XLF for a couple of games that the real enablers played a little bit. The American Hockey League with Wilkesboro and found a nice little groove in the NHL with Columbus in Edmonton and carved out a really good career, very similar to we talk about ego last episode. It just seems like we've got that system is just create a lot of NHL.

I screwed up the Rangers, run the cup in twenty fourteen, not twenty twelve.

Little quick correction five as you know I'm that a up like that.

Yeah.

A couple more notes before we send it over to our pal Ray Ferraro or we got here. Up, up, up, up. The press will not have fans in the building to start the season. I know some teams are going to have limited fans. Some have said they're not going to have any to stop the season. And how about this? Because we talk about your fabled 03 draft class quite a bit. Seven of the top fifteen selected in twenty three draft are in training camp right now.

Marc-Andre Flurry, Eric Stal, Ryan Suda, Braden Colburn, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown and Brent Seabrook actually is in camp. But I saw him come up last second. But that's a pretty impressive list from seventeen years later.

No plenty more to I believe Ryan Gets Lost was a first rounder and he's the closest one to a thousand games right now. So best of luck. I think he's at like nine sixty or 970. I'm telling you, man, not only the high level of skill in that draft and how deep it was, but the longevity of these guys careers. And you don't even even if you look at some of the guys that have been retired, the amount of miles that they put on when they did when they did play, I mean, Richards was another guy who retired fairly early.

Did you mention Jeff Carter, right? Yep. Yeah, he's one of those guys, too. So eighty five was was a crazy year, man.

I couldn't even sniff world juniors out your fucking age here was sick. 83 sucked. That's why he went fifth. Exactly one of the last note here, the HL is expecting to start this season on February 5th. Want to pass that along.

And before we get the Ray Ferraro, we obviously talk about what's on the show quite a bit.

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Keep those checklists clean, go get some brush. And now we're going to send it over to Ray Ferraro for his world junior championship expertise.

Our next guest is making his third appearance on the show, I'm not sure if he's the first time member of the three time club here and spit in check that he played 18 NHL seasons and he's currently in the world junior championship bubble in Edmonton, providing his excellent analysis for TXN. It's a pleasure to welcome back to the Checketts podcast, Ray Ferraro. Thanks for joining us.

You bet. Happy New Year to everybody. I hope everybody is doing good. Happy New Year to you as well.

How's the bubble going? You're getting a little antsy in there or what?

Yeah, like, I don't know. I don't think I understood really what the bubble was like when the NHL guys were talking about it. But like, there's literally nowhere to go. Like, I'm in my room. I go to eat. I got to have my pass on because they track wherever you go, you walk downstairs, you walk out the front door and it's literally like a seven second walk to the car that takes you to the rink.

And it's 10 seconds into the rink. That's it. Like there's nowhere else to go. If you want it to go for a walk, the only place you can go is around the concourse in the rink. Lets you know where.

Wow, I see that bike behind you. You must have a pretty good vote to Max, though. Just putting on the miles in your room right now.

The only concern is not to be a fat bugger by the time I go back home. So I'm like yesterday with football on, like I can you can. I sat on that bike and watch football. Kind of most of the day, like, what else are you going to do? There's literally nothing to do. I can't even I can't even think of I watched a movie yesterday. First one. I watched a why I'm way behind in movies, but I watched the gentleman.

Have you seen that?

How is that? I never saw it. OK, are you did you like the Guy Ritchie movie Snatch and Lock Stock and two smoking. Oh yeah.

That's a good one. This is exactly the same. It's awesome. I loved it. And so that's that was like my big entertainment for the week so far.

Get a little vino from room service at least. I got to tell you, Craig Button is the king. I don't know what he he lives in Calgary, so he drove up here. I don't know what else he brought in his truck, but we have not been out of a bottle of red yet. It was his birthday yesterday.

We have a little dinner. He brings the wine like, you know, it's like, that's awesome.

He's selling it to the kids in the tournament, making a few bucks on the side. These guys can't win. They lose. They can't wait to get going, man. Oh. Oh, my God. They're all like they're all eighteen.

Nineteen years old. They've been in, like, quarantine for some of them for two and a half, three weeks. Then they get into the bubble. They want to, they want to live. Right. Like so they're out of here on the on the next day they're on. They don't even have a choice man. Like they're they lose out boom. They're gone. They're out of the bubble.

Given the circumstances, did you notice a slower start to the tournament overall because of what every team had to go through?

Yeah, it was it's been weird. All of it, really. You know, like the kids, most of them hadn't played much. Right. And so, like, Canada had five guys that had played a game this year when they started the U.S. soil a few more. There were a lot of the European kids. They came here and, you know, because their leagues were going, but they played nine games, seven games, you know, and then they came here and they had to quarantine.

And so anything that they've done conditioning wise had pretty well been shot, and then the poor German team and those guys had to go into quarantine again, and it was it's it's been weird with no fans. I don't think I ever really. This is sad to say, but I don't think I appreciated how much the fans mean to the game, like, you know, I always say, oh yeah, we play hard anyway and we go do our thing.

But, man, it's just not the same without the energy, without the fans, without the ups and downs.

And I know you guys probably too, but it's not the same watching it like football, baseball, everything, hockey, everything. It's just not the same.

I said to somebody, I cannot wait for this pandemic to end. Like one of the biggest things being fans back at sports. I don't care if I'm there in person. It's watching them exactly like you say. And I think it definitely helps Russia tonight. I mean, well, now this is this is Tuesday morning. But to not have to play against Canada with the fans, I mean, that's a game changer because I experienced it and how it affects the running right out of the building, the debt to that.

So you guys are playing. You're young, you're teenagers. Right. And the emotion ups and downs of teenagers, man, like everything's the best or everything's the worst. And if Russia gives up an early goal today, I don't think they get rattled like they might otherwise. And, you know, this place would be madness tonight. Like it it really would in inside there. Like, we know what it's like when you call the goals, when, you know, when you there's just no ups and downs to the game.

And I think it is an advantage to the Russia. I'm I'm really super fascinated with how they're trying to play like Igor Liriano. If I don't know if you guys ever had a chance to meet him. He is like one of the coolest guys like he is. He has done everything and he wants I just read something he says I want I want our players to play the game, not work. The game is like I want him to handle the puck.

I want to. And I'm like, oh my God, what? I love to play for him. Oh, so we'll see how I'd hate it.

You wouldn't be on the team bus. I'll be on waivers.

Right. It's just a whole different world. I like it.

The Russians have just one righty skater on the team. Have you ever seen that on any legal format before. Just one righty skate on a roster.

Not like that, but they always seem to have very few right handed shots and I don't get it. And they asked James Duffy asked Igor about it the other day they were on. I don't know if you guys have seen that they do that.

Yeah, they beat them up. Yeah, it's really cool.

And Igor said, yeah, I don't know I don't know why we don't have more than one. It's the weirdest thing to look at than the one guy. Of course, he stands out like a sore thumb, like it's the only guy with a right handed stick on the team. It's it's weird.

Now, I want to get into a couple different players throughout the tournament. And when we're on Russia, the goalie Asqar obvious. It's interesting to me because you hear about all the potential and how good he is.

And then there's times I don't know, I I've seen him look really good. I've seen him look kind of sloppy.

What do you see in terms of his game and really translating to that next level for for getting just this tournament?

Well, OK. Last year when we got yeah. When we got to the tournament that went like last year, they were like, oh my God, this kid's the best goalie since Carey Price. Best seventeen year old goalie since Carey Price. And in the tournament, he looked like he was jittery and he was like his hands were always moving. And I'm like, man, this kid's not ready to play. And so this year he looks more solid.

But, man, he spits rebounds out all over the place. He's lost it. Stick a half a dozen times. He looks like an unmade bed sometimes. And I'm like, I don't get it. Like, he's he's really good, but I don't get why he just kind of loses its whole grain in the net. He can't play in the NHL like this. They'll they'll shred them at the NHL level. Yet tonight, like you said, it's Tuesday morning, like the semifinals are tonight.

Tonight, he could be the best guy on the ice, like I can see why. Nashville, Tulkarm, the potential's clearly there, but holy smokes, man. He's he's all over the place.

It's really I don't I don't quite get it, I don't I don't quite because they said they told us, like next to Wesolowski, he's the best Russian goalie prospect that they've had. When Wesolowski was in this tournament at 17 and 18, that kid was a stud. He was just I mean, it didn't always go perfect, but he was a rock. And this guy, I'd be a little nervous, you know, standing behind him.

Speaking of prospects that are and already I'm going to read your quote, this might take a while on Tim Stewart. Sorry if you got this right. I got a long quote again. Oh, no, no. It's his reading. It it's my reading. It's my reading. Right. I might struggle with this. I don't think there's a player in the tournament, more NHL already, and I mean not even close than Tim Stewart. So, like, what separates him from all these other guys?

And I would imagine that he goes to Ottawa and he starts this season in the NHL because I can't I can't think of anything that Ottawa will throw at him that this kid can't handle. He's a stud like he he plays with pace. He's fast. He's tough, determined. He's he scores. He makes plays. I just I don't see how he can mess. Like, there's there's certain players you look at at this level and you go, man, he's really good here, but oh, maybe he's not quick enough or maybe he's not tough enough.

This kid is got everything I auteuil so lucky to have this kid. I there's no way he's playing anywhere else than Ottawa. He's just he's too good. And here's here's the other thing I think's a big advantage. And so what did it in reverse when you went to Russia and can't speak to anybody. And it's just like you're living in a cave right by yourself. He speaks really good English. He understands everything. I think it's going to make him way more comfortable coming in.

I look at and I look over at Team Canada, and there's just so much talent and like a lot of people have talked about, Dylan Cousins, what a player. But the two guys that I wonder about and I look at and I see Colpeper Fetty, right. And people talked about how he dropped a tenth and what a pick for Winnipeg. Right. And then I look at this corner, MacMichael and he was twenty fifth in the same draft.

These two guys it's like I can't imagine a more well-rounded hockey player than Connor MacMichael and to see him like drop in the draft. I know maybe he's a little undersized but these guys, they're so good, so young. What do you see in terms of their potential at that next level, those two in particular?

Well, perfetto is is a really interesting case because his game is going to be is going to be offense. And right now, like as an 18 year old in the tournament, 19 year old, you know, like they're young, they're not strong yet. And so I think he's right now that to look to project him on to an NHL roster, I'd say he's not quite quick enough or strong enough, but that's going to come. But the guy can pass and he can score like he's they're playing them on the wing here because Canada's got so many centers.

He's the Winnipeg projects him as a sentiment in the middle of the ice. And I think that's a good spot. Just read this thing about MacMichael this morning. The guy he pats himself after is Nick Backstrom. Man, if you can be anywhere near Nick Backstrom, you're a hell of a player. Could start the kid does the kid does a lot of things for them. Backstrom does everything for Washington. But the two most NHL ready players for Canada by a mile or cousins who's a Buffalo pick and Boeing.

Biram was just another Colorado draft pick that they got like ten young defenseman and Biram the next one.

And Byrum, I don't know if it's like the gear aware of just what he's dunking. Keith Junior. It's like there's so many things that remind me a dunk. Gheith watching this kid and I can't wait to see him at the next level. Colorado, it's a sick joke. What they have coming.

Who's the other man on Canada that's there in Colorado?

You know, he's going to kill MCCA. While Caylloma Car went last year, Canada's got Justin Barron, who was the first rounder this year. They've got Drew Helgeson, who was a second rounder, plays for the US like they just three years ago. They had no players and now they're like, I don't know what they're going to do with them all. It's pretty, pretty awesome problem for for Colorado now. Right.

Which NHL team do you think has been happiest about its draftees play? Oh, boy. Well, I think Detroit's probably pretty thrilled they've got half the Swedish team and I know they just lost, but oh my God, man, like every guy, you're doing research. And I'm like, it's another Detroit guy. It's another Detroit guy. And then they had two guys that got pulled out for covid positive tests or they would have been on the team like they've Detroit's got to be really happy.

Anaheim, I'm sure they're they got to love Trevor Xigris, who is leading the tournament in scoring.

But Canada's got another defenseman, Jamie Drysdale, who they took sixth.

And it's one thing to have a lot of prospects in the tournament. Detroit's got nine. Always got nine. Anaheim got two really high end guys in in Drysdale and Xigris. And, you know, it's that's that's pretty cool for a team that's transitioning the page a bit.

One guy that kind of flew under the radar was that, well, early on in the tournament, Jake Sanderson. And people are saying that he's been a standout as well. Another guy, fifth overall, same big left. They're just like went to Ottawa. Have you been impressed with him so far? I have.

With did you play Gates's is that I did get the chance to play against Jeff Westwater fast. And Jake looks exactly the same. They wear the same number. And I'm like, holy smokes. I wish they looked like they were trying when they skated so fast. And they're like, oh, stop the ISIS Jak's. Of course, he's eighteen years old. He's the best man on the United States. And of course he's going to get stronger and better and bigger.

And man, he's he's another guy that's just, you know, Ottawa has got these all these picks, but they got high end guys. And I guess that's when you suck, you get it to the top of the draft and then you've got to make the right pick. But, you know, they got Stutes and and Sanderson two picks apart. Holy man. That's that's building block stuff there. On Saturday, we saw for a relatively tight quarterfinal games a teams like Germany, the Czechs, the Slovaks and these sort of collectively closing the gap on Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, the little ombud.

Right. You know, I mean, I think it's a race they can't win because of the sheer numbers of players. But what those teams are really good at is for one game, they can they can rev up their A game and they keep the games tight. The tough thing in this tournament, and I don't think people quite understand it, is, you know, like every you know, some people are ragging on Switzerland and Austria this year. Of course, Austria is just you know, they qualified for the tournament and it's the first time and they got smashed.

But the Swiss are generally really good. They're always a pain in the ass. Well, this year they got a bunch of 17 year olds because all their players aged out. It's like you can't play forever. It's 20 years old. You're out of the tournament. And so you don't have a like an endless flow of players like Canada and Russia and the US and Sweden, Finland. So you get burned. You got a you know, a thin group.

Germany's got 11 guys coming back next year. I think they're going to be really good. Well, one of the guys not coming back is Stutzer, so they're not going to be as good. But it's those quarterfinals, honestly. Like, I was nervous because I was like, man, what if these games are all, like, just tomato cans? I don't like who wants that? We don't want to broadcast them. You don't want to watch them.

Right. And yet those kids played there, played their asses off, and they were all really close games.

Could you could you see a potential restructure the tournament? I know people every year comes up when the first games come out and teams are getting blown out. You mentioned Austria. I think they scored one goal, the whole tournament on four. And a lot of the guys who did help help them qualify for the tournament, they no longer there, right? I think they lost about nine 19 year old. Do you think there's a different potential structure? So it does make it more competitive and it does make it seem like the gap is closing.

When the tournaments actually do take place.

It would be by far the best way to go, but logistically, it just can't happen. And this is why the like Austria is a great example. They qualified. They had the best goalie in the tournament at the top scorer who's an NHL draft pick, plus these six or seven other 19 year olds. And they're all gone. In theory, they should qualify that qualifying tournament to get here to the world. Junior should be in the summer. But to do that, then, when does the teams that qualify for the second level tournament, when do they have it and the teams that qualify for the next tournament, when do they happen?

The IIHF puts on, I think, thirty two tournaments. You know, we just see this one. But when does the under 18 happen? Well, you can't have the under 18 at the same time as the qualifying tournament for the World Junior. And so eventually there's just no time to do it for this tournament. One hundred percent. It would be the best way the team to qualify as the team that plays. But logistically, it just it just can't happen.

Another guy I'm kind of curious to get your opinion on is called Coffield. And now you came into the league in a way different time when it was really difficult to make it as an undersized guy. You played forever. It's easier now. But still, the question remains, when you're when you're really undersized, is it Johnny Goodrow or is it someone who can't handle it? What's what's your kind of perception on his game and what he needs to do to maybe get to that that next level?

And can he be an elite scorer there, too?

Well, he better be, because, you know, like that, you know, you get boxed in pretty quickly into can you be a multi faceted guy? Can you do lots of things or do you do one thing? And if you do one thing, you better do it at a very elite level. So what I'm watching Coffield, I like man, I love the way he shoots. I like the way Skate's. He's a little bowling ball like he's a thick, you know, not tall but he's thick.

He better find a be game. Because the game isn't there all the time, we and we all know, like you play your big game way more than you're a game.

I bet 80, 75, 80 percent of those days where the puck just follows you around and you're zipping every pass and every chance you get is a shot on goal or a good play. That happens like once in a while. That's why Nate McKinnon and Crosby and you know, and you know it all. All those guys at the top of the league, Austin Matthews, that's why they are who they are. The rest of us play the big game 80 percent of the time.

And you're like you're kind of muddling around. So the field has got to figure out what his big game looks like because otherwise the coach is going to look at him sitting on the bench and he doesn't have it tonight. He's not getting any chances. I can't use him. And that's a real challenge that a little guy has, that a big guy doesn't because a big guy can go out there and crash around a little bit.

Yeah, I mean, I think that around the net, there's no question it's more about like coming over the blue line creativity and making plays happen as opposed to just standing there and burying it from a great sentiment. So I'm really rooting for the kid. But I was curious what you thought. That does make sense.

He's an awesome kid to it. Oh, yeah, it's hard enough.

Two years ago, two years ago, my brother in law, Tony Granata, who coaches University of Wisconsin, they they came up to Vancouver and played a couple of preseason exhibition games against the University of B.C. And so we had them at our house for a barbecue. And first of all, I can't tell you how much meat we bought for this barbecue. It was like twenty five twenty year old kids coming. And I'm like I said to Cammy, we're going to be eating steaks here for like a month.

Those guys, they were like they left like the Fred Flintstone bones left with nothing left of the toilet to just these guys, man.

They had they had the yellow tape across the bathroom. So you're not going in there. Yeah.

You rented a couple of porta potty in the back because these kids were unbelievable. I couldn't believe how mature they were, how like Coffield and Intercon in particular stood way out. They I got little guys, right. My kids, I think at the time were nine and 12. And they were like they spent time with them. They played we had the soccer thing going and they brought these our little guys into the game. Like they're really easy guys to cheer for.

Red Canada, obviously the big favorite in the tournament, if perchance they don't end up winning the gold, what would the likely reason be?

The power play hasn't been very good, that's really about the biggest weakness I see to them, or maybe a scar off plays one of those games and goal tonight that, you know, is on on that way. Great side. He is the wild card in the game against Canada. It's he just they won the 18 when he was the goalie and apparently, like, he was just unbelievable. And so if he does that, that's probably the reason Canada's Canada is so deep.

Oh, it's just Canada, Russia, Canada, Russia has that. It's like ninety ninety nine percent of the time. Doesn't matter. Overmatch, it's going to be a great game. Those two countries just battle it out.

And I think last year in the gold medal game, was Russia up to nothing or three won in the third three, one in the third. So I tonight's going to be crazy. We're going to hop on after. So this is kind of people will be laughing and listening, but still, it's it's exciting to see finally win this tournament gets down to the semis. It just reaches that next level. And you watch guys who are going to be stars in the NHL perform at a high level internationally.

Nothing beats it. Well, here's here's one other thing.

We've talked a little bit about the US, Canada and Russia, and we haven't talked about Finland yet. And the Finns are a pain in the ass. Every year, every tournament you look at the roster, they never look good enough. And they're always there, like the the grit in the heart that those guys play with. They never change. They just change the players and they bring in eighteen new guys and they're all the same. I just man, I love watching that team.

They just. They just never go away. They're like a rock in your shoe, you just can't move it to the comfortable spot. They just they don't ever go away. Those Scandinavians.

Ray, we got to ask you about the fact and Brandon, where you played Junior, they're going to name a street after you. There's a few guys in the past that hadn't streets named after him. Now, do you know exactly where the street's going to be in the town?

I have no idea. I've not I haven't talked to anybody about it. I wake up on Twitter the other day and I'm like, jeez. And then I get a bunch of texts.

And of course, everybody's really supportive. Right. You know, it's going to be a one way street.

It's going to be a short street and it's going to be a razor razor. It's going to be that little road.

The Zamboni drives out of the arena to dump the snow, dump the snow right across there, that there will be nowhere near our defensive zone. I can tell you that.

But I mean, if it's even if it's a short little street. My kids play soccer in a suburb of Vancouver, Burnaby and Burnaby. Joe Sakic is the he's the king of Burnaby. Right. There's a street behind the soccer fields from the Burnaby community rinks. This street is probably I don't know if it's 400 yards long. It's Joe Sakic with Bernard Shaw.

It's just beyond Burnaby. It ranks it's the shortest street ever. And I'm like this Joe Sacket man. He should have like the main street him.

The highway should have the highway. And if I get a little one, that's OK.

I'll take that. That's great. I'm really it's kind of cool, actually, off big time.

So it's a big honor. I went to Bakersfield when I was playing in the NHL and the back street where the rink is is Corne Avenue. I didn't realize the band Korn was from there and they even have the R backwards like they do on the cover of the album. So that's sweet. And you go, that's our street. Yeah, but with my wit may be right.

It might be right where the Zamboni goes to help the snow, that big snow pile, the the salt rips through the asphalt quick.

They got to replace it.

I hate the street say one of my buddies said so sorry. One of my buddies said I'm sure it's got real strong Italian curbing on the side. We're big on concrete. Right. My dad owned the concrete plant. So that's I think that's that's.

Oh, they didn't tell you. You actually have to make the road. That's the old. I did not. I just learned that that's that's impressive stuff this year.

I'm curious with covid and the players on the road kind of in bubbles when they're traveling on the road, what will it be like for you traveling to do games for tsin?

I don't know. Oh, yeah.

OK, so our our boss who runs this tournament from the TV side, he's like he's over his head right now, like he's doing the tournament, he's doing our scheduling. They're trying to still get clarification from the leagues, but also from the provincial governments. How many people are allowed in the rink? So just because I'm the way I am every time I see him, I say, hey, if you got my NHL schedule yet, like, there's not a chance he's got it.

So I asked him three times yesterday and the third time you walk by and he just put his hand up like, don't even start. So we don't know yet. We have no idea. One more thing I was going to ask you about.

Is Gord Miller one of the best in the business? So good a play by play. What's it like working with him? Every game?

He's a machine, honestly. Like he comes, he gets when he's focused, he gets this walk going right to the booth or when we're going from hotel to cab or whatever. And he's got kind of like a not a 45 degree lean, but it's more kind of upright. But I can't keep up to him because he's just got to get there. He's got to go. He knows he learns old like all the names in the tournament.

This is a pretty good start. Oh, man. It's so hard. We struggle to get them right because, of course, nobody ever takes you and says, hey, you're getting all the names right. They just text. You go, hey, stupid. You got those four Russian names, the most six Czech names wrong. Well, Gore has tracked down like this is exactly what he's like. He's tracked down every PR guy for the ten teams.

He's got the teams to go to their players and audio voice their own name into a word file. Then he produces this word file. I got it over here. And so it's got everybody's name with the way the kid says his name. So when people get pissed at us for the way we say a name, we just took it from the way the kid sets it. Yeah. Yeah, right. So Gore does all this research. He knows he's got people he calls.

What about this? What about this? If there's a bad rule or a ruling that happens within three minutes, he's already talked to somebody to get the understanding I'm meant. Look, Chris Cuthbert just left to go to SportsNet. And Chris, awesome. One of the best I've been so lucky to work with Chris and Gaud like those guys. I never, ever, ever think. And I hope Gord's got his game today. I never think that, like, he's got his eight game, he's not bringing the big game 80 percent of the time.

Be game. Oh, that this Whangarei. Yeah, but he's got to worry about is this winner get lost on the way to the race because I'm directionally challenged. I'm a little unorganized. I like to think I'm one of those people. I like to think I'm super organized, but I'm not really at Gord's. Like Gordon will be in a rink like in Europe and he'll constantly be tapping me on the shoulder.

And I'll turn right here because I'm going the wrong way again. We've been there ten days.

It doesn't matter. I can't get it. Gorgie Gore drags me around and we somehow get it on the air.

He's where it is. I want my winger stuck in buttons, red, red wine bottles still and fucking he's out to lunch right now.

I actually was laughing this this tournament. I remember what game it was. He said a guy was from Czech Republic. That was Slovakia. And I think I was like, oh man. He might make himself sleep with a gag ball in his mouth tonight. He doesn't make those mistakes there.

It's every once in a while, like, you know, there'll be a name that he he's so mad at himself, he doesn't get it. And I'm like, man, you've done three games today and you got one name wrong affectionately. Yeah, man. It's because a lot of times if you hear me say, you know, and they go around the the Czech defensemen, it's because I can't figure out what number he is and I sure as hell can't say his name.

So when I used to call games with the coyotes left wing center men never, never usually don't drop the names. That's the vet. Look, look at the big look at the big tall guy in the middle. He's really good.

Yeah, exactly. Well, you guys make it so enjoyable to watch these games. I didn't have any more questions. I don't know if you guys did.

I think he's got to put there for a couple of semifinals tonight.

Yeah, it's very I got to go bang out two games and I got to get on that bike, man. I got to get on the bike today. Got to get over. Got to roll around a little bit and to work off that red.

Yeah absolutely. Have to do it there. There's eight.

My buddy Dan Murphy, who works at SportsNet, who is a really, really awesome guy, he says every night you're going to make your choice. When you're on the road, you either eat or drink your calories. You can't do the bulk. It's some of the greatest advice I've ever got.

Nice. Great. Thanks so much for joining us again. Three time guest on Spin and Checklists. It's an honor and I have some fun tonight watching the games.

I will for sure. Hey, guys, be well and we'll we'll talk to you soon. Thank you. Big thanks once again to Rafe Rao for joining us for the third time. Always a pleasure to have on. The guy knows the junior's inside out. Not many better guys to have on than him. So I'm moving right along.

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Well, boys, here it is after midnight Tuesday morning. We're coming to you after the games are played tonight. We got two absolutely, totally different games.

The Canadians won in a snooze, a five. Nothing on the US ended up winning a nail biter at the Y, a four to three avoided overtime. They blew a three one lead late US Canada going to play later tonight. Nine thirty Eastern time Tuesday.

Going for the gold. What. Let's go to you first.

Take on the games tonight. Or law to sit here and digest, I mean, as a former US hockey world junior player, I couldn't be more proud.

I never sniffed getting to the gold medal game. And I tell these guys one thing.

If I could ever get in there and buzz in there and maybe say something tonight, I'd say the last three times we've played this country north of us in the gold medal game with three and all. OK, that is a fact, and let me see, it was. Detroit, Terry, heroics in Montreal. It was the John Carlston heroics in Saskatoon, I believe. And then it was Marc-Andre Fleury having the GAF and Patricof saw an and you know, or so.

Yeah, and the last 17 years we've met three times for the big four. The big the goal was what it what you go over there for her to Edmonton.

And I should because I, I think they should be as confident as all hell. Let me say this. The Canadians wagan they haven't given up a five on five goal yet in the tournament. Are you shitting me. That's just crazy, crazy, crazy town.

But they haven't played a team as good as the United States either, so I cannot wait to watch this tonight. I'm beyond fired up Canada. Just what a what a shit bag Russian team that was. I mean, they didn't have anything. I wanted you.

Did you see Bob McKenzie talking about it? They came out about a minute and a half late for the game. So they were scrambling. Yeah. They were just like weren't ready to play. I don't know if there was like a mishap with the clock inside their locker room. Like, sometimes those things happen, but like, they're kind of sleep it all of a sudden Kala's got their five guys on the ice ready to go. Russia is kind of lining up.

They're scrambling. Bob McKenzie talked about it. And he's like, listen, it seemed to just go from puck drop because Canada did end up scoring, what, in the first three minutes? Put one out every game. Yeah.

First minute tonight. Yeah. Oh, was it the first minute. Yeah. So the first goal, the kid went in and out of the net.

Everyone thought I hit the post because it made the typical ping sound and it went out so quick they didn't pull the whistle double thirty seconds later and I mean we had Ray Ferraro on and he basically called every shot there was as far as the tournament was concerned.

He was big, big thing because we had him on at, what, 1:00 p.m. Eastern time before he was heading over to the rink for a doubleheader. And listening to those guys, it's it's crazy, man. They're tireless. They had to do Back-To-Back games with, what, an hour in between? Yeah.

Quick enough to go grab some popcorn in the, you know, grab a wide grab a cup of wine cooler wine cooler from.

But Greg Craig buttons dropping wine down from the top from the rafters.

Alex Core was talking about it online about this lovely kid. He said he was shooting on him when he was fourteen years old. He would go on with his team and then stay on afterward and take, you know, one hundred breakaways from NHL has always had a positive mindset, just kept working, working, working and getting high praise from NHL already. And he's had a hell of a tournament. He's you know, he's putting up some insane numbers.

I mean, I think RJ might have been able to play playing that tonight, although, you know, given with what the what the what the Canadians gave up. But you said it. We're just five on five. They just they just lock you up. Good gaps by defensemen, good sticks, good, you know, good back pressure by the forwards. Everybody's buying in. And on top of that, they just have enough skill to just trample anyone.

So this is going to be a very interesting final, although it is and great for our people won't even believe us. I mean, you talked about I keep. Is it Assaraf?

Yes. Yeah, that's the one Grindley whammed this time.

Ashcroft Oh. Hey, how about how about who. The guy who do we have on for a draft analysis? Ian Muran. He was ripping on Stutzer and then said Assaraf was the steal the draft, although they stole a lot of hockey, didn't play these guys careers, but he could have been more off to this point.

So where was I going with that? Yeah, so Ashgrove is just. Oh, my God, have you ever seen somebody drop their stick that often? He never had a stick to fuck. It's like somebody put butter on a stick as a prank before practice. Crazy. I've never seen I've never seen a goalie that often need to, like, try to find his stick. And Marty Baron, it was interesting on Twitter because at one point one of the defensemen gave him the stick and he wrote Never, ever, ever do that.

He's like a goalie can handle not having a stick for a couple of minutes, a couple of seconds, hopefully minute as opposed to if you get the puck, you get it out. Right. You all the players need to have a stick, which I actually had never heard from a goal. I always thought you handed them over. You're stick another that anyone wanted mine. But it was just in my case, it might have been wise because I didn't really know.

The goal is just like the goal always going like this, you know, like Tyson shovel. I said he's the only other righty on the team who say now there's only one.

Right. He's skinny. He's the only other righty. So I said the texture. Maybe he had a lefty stick by actually dropping the fucking thing.

But it was the I think I tweeted out grippe weaker than witts ankles fucking he was just dropping everywhere. So Ray was on the head with that one U.S. so good that that Turcotte was that is that the kid was old man was picking up and all of Zamacona taskin his brain.

Yeah, exactly.

He he picked it up, he got his first goal last game against Alakija and then got another one here tonight. Sick pass.

And now also quick. Guido. Canada, I asked I asked about MacMichael and Perfetto. They made it to nothing and three nothing. Both those guys I mean that the whole is just stacked. But what else happened in that Canada game that.

Well, we're going to go back to the offside. Let's talk about the offsiders for nothing for Canada at that point, right before it might actually been three nothing. It was right before the end of the second. And it would have been a bit of a momentum changer. Was it for 1G? It would have made it for one. Yeah, for one. And even with the new rule, like the hovering leg, it still would have been offside because his toe was heading and his toe was touching down in side the offensive zone before the Puckett fully cleared.

So like it was it was a great heads up play by the by the video coach for Team Canada, who I believe is the Saskatoon Blades video coach, and Mikhailov, who's the assistant right now for Team Canada. He probably brought them over, but just an awesome called. It sucked because I kind of want to see a little bit of a hockey game. And then the minute they took the minute they took that away, it was like, OK, this one's over.

Yeah, I was bummed out early, but that Russian team, they didn't have anything like skill level and speed. You didn't it wasn't it wasn't one of those Russian teams that can compete and win a gold medal. But I think Canada hasn't trailed this this tournament either.

It's like this this is a huge they're a huge favorite, but it's going to be a tough game for them to win.

I think it's going to be a classic tonight.

Let's talk about the winner and the slot area for the USA. This kid played for the Hamilton Bulldogs NHL team. He had fifty one talks and he ended up sliding down in his draft year and he was a late first rounder.

Now he went to the second round base, secure our first pick in the second first pick in the second round.

And you see that release from the slot, Aaron. He's at a dead standstill and Ray Ferreiro described it perfectly. He just opens up his hits. A HEPS gets around the puck and gets enough leverage on it to get it upstairs. Goalie barely moved in. Just a very entertaining game. The Finns never give up. And who was twenty nine for Finland. Very interesting.

Casper seventy TiVo. He got to the Baltic also to the goals rather tonight. Two of the three.

Yeah. And that that Callea. Very interesting story. He's Fumie, he was born in Uzbekistan, which is one of the old Soviet socialist republics, immigrated to the States, lived in Staten Island when he was two years old and ended up moving to Michigan. So I mean, he's American now, but actually born in Pakistan. So he's had an interesting road to where he is now because I call you, those names almost don't match up. It's like a Russian last name, but like, you know, like a six year old white guy in America.

That's usually people who are named Officetel. It's kind of funny, but hey, great, great game, man. That was an unreal snipe. I thought we look at it a little odd, but fortunately, we won't be up too late tonight.

Well, and a big advantage for Team Canada. They got about, what, for four hours extra of rest here, playing in a back to back tomorrow at nine thirty nine thirty Eastern Time is the gold medal game.

And I was thinking, well, why didn't they do it earlier, especially they people in Newfoundland. It's even later for tomorrow night's game. But it would have been unfair to the to the the winner of the second game had they put, you know what I mean, like the at least have to start it.

When they started giving the full twenty four hours, they'll be up drinking with a bunch of Americans.

Oh the Newfies. Yeah, exactly.

And speaking of that, New York, who had the goal first the first goal of creating plays at Boston College. Who he's something else. That guy is nasty. Another shocker, Colorado Avalanche prospects.

So she's building a dynasty over there. But Arthur Calev, I don't know why he slid in the draft. He's not the greatest skater. I don't know if that had something to do with it. I know nothing else about him.

But he can shoot a and he got going on that line with Xigris and Turcotte. And they've just been every time they get the puck, it's like that's easily their best line. And they got depth. They got boldy. That Minnesota Prospekt also plays it B.C. on another line, but they have tons of tons of options on us. They can score. And Xigris being the number one guy whole. I talked about them earlier. This kid, he's fucking unreal out there trying to lacross goal tonight.

He's he's he's trying everything out there. And he's only always has the puck like a magnet. And I think he just to get his twenty fifth point tonight in his, what is it, tenth game in the world, juniors in his career. So he's looking at breaking the all time record for points in world juniors. I think it was twenty seven. I don't know.

Did he actually I think, I think Peter Forsberg had no for us, I mean for us to win out of the guys.

Did he Pastrone tonight. He didn't have the assist on the winner but he had that sweet assist on the bald eagle. Just unreal. Like short a shot pass. Put it right in a stick.

Yeah. So he's he's their best player on. Outside on the offensive side and Spencer Knight versus Levy, is it Levy like Levi?

He was also a Florida Panthers pick, late pick, seventh rounder, seventh rounder. So two Panthers prospects in that going at it should be special.

Yeah, Leevi, he's been absolutely lights out. I mean, I think he's getting overshadowed by some of the other players on Canada, but he's been absolutely lights out to repeat myself. But again, nine thirty Tuesday night would drop in this episode Tuesday, boys and the other notes before we move along to the last couple of subjects that I mentioned in lacrosse called Johnnie Walker for as you had won tonight.

I wrote you guys as a super senior yet.

Yeah, he's like Van Wilder, like in college.

We had him on the podcast in twenty eighteen. That's three years ago. And he was a senior I think. Yeah.

Seven years of college. But guys, your predictions, your predictions for game. He's school ten one Canada.

He's he's like the guy. Fuck. Come on, help me out here. Texas. Texas Longhorns. Matthew McConaughey early confused.

Excuse Wooderson. I stay the same. No, I get old. They stay the same.

What's the line of looking for here? I really struggle. It's fucking late here people. Come on.

This is I love I love high school girls. I get older but they stay the same age. I'm not sure that line is aged well. And plus I'm one of those things have changed a bit now.

Yeah, well, my prediction is I think Canada is going to win five to two.

Oh. I think you see three to. I'll go, I won't say what, but I want to klop you, I'll go us for two in an empty netta. There we go.

I got us one. Nothing straight up. Shut out. Just shut those Canadian pigeons down because it took you guys.

It took you Canadians longer to get pink. Whitney, you're going to get to celebrate gold. You're going to that's where you're going to get all that good. Karma is going up north, folks. Let's bring it home.

Fucking cake eaters better be for thirty dollars a bottle of shit. CBO all are all right. A long one.

Yeah, moving right along. We did say earlier the NHL was looking to start on February 5th. They're still on target for that. However, a few teams have opted out of the upcoming season between the covid stuff, the financial situation, Milwaukee, Springfield and Charlotte on the American Hockey League. They're not going to be playing the season. Milwaukee is Nashville affiliate, Springfield, the St. Louis and Florida I'm sorry, Charlotte is in Florida affiliate. Four teams are going to be playing in what are called provisional relocations for the season.

Binghamton, Binghamton Devils are going to play in Newark, the Ontario Arena going to play in El Segundo. The Providence Bruins are going to play a Marlboro mass in the San Diego is going to play in Irvine, California. Frank Surveille tweeted the Reds, Blues and Panthers plant to sprinkle their prospects around the jail, whereas the space is available, most have agreements in place to help. This does suck for the guys who are kind of on the bubble.

A lot of these other teams cause people to lose their jobs. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Sucks. I, I, I understand, right, when you get to certain small towns or certain buildings, and it just all depends on the state and the county, but this is some bad news for guys. I mean, you think of it affecting East Coast guys trying at the age old while we step ahead. Now, there's age old guys who aren't going to have a job.

So hopefully, you know, it gets figured out quick for the following year. I don't know what's going to happen, but definitely shitty news. And also for teams, I mean, granted, it's different this year. You get kind of your taxi squad, you get all these extra guys, but still you want you want your players and your prospects. You want to be getting better. You want to be playing games. And there's a bunch that are just kind of left out to dry.

You know, what's kind of wild to they're going to have twenty eight teams in five divisions. The Pacific Pacific Division is going to have eight teams, the north seven, the central six, the Canadian four in the Atlantic three. I've never seen anything like that. I don't know how they're going to work the schedule. They haven't really mentioned that yet, but that's pretty wild. They have five five divisions and such varying numbers that they're all getting shitfaced, they're all getting shitfaced, throwing darts off a wall, doing the schedule.

Right now, they're rolling marbles.

You know, how the hell are you going to go about doing that shit?

I know what you want to talk about. Jumbo Joe Thornton in Toronto at camp. They got him on left wing with Pablo and Mitch Mana. I mean, he says he feels young already. I know we haven't seen them out there yet, but, you know, these fans are going to get a little overexcited. He's not stressed out. He's not.

I saw you guys saw Joe Thornes not stressed.

I think he's made one hundred and ten million on on on ice alone.

And and he's a legend of the game.

And he's probably one of the top five passes of the puck to ever play to play the sport. Everyone loves him that's played with them. And, you know, he doesn't want a Stanley Cup. Who knows what's going to happen this year. But no shit. You aren't stressed, Joe.

You got the world by the balls. Somebody wrote me to like. Yeah, he's never won a cup, though. He's going to go down as the best. One of the best in everyone. A cup of luck. Oh, my God.

I'm pretty sure he'll get over it. Maybe he won't live the rest of his days in agony. But I'm going to guess in ten years when he wakes up on a beach or the mountains, he's having enormous his own beach smile. Yeah. Joe Thornton Beach. It also has a mountain.

It's got both skiing and surf. Oh, it's it's like Lake Tahoe. He built this the ice he paid for.

Yeah, no. Oh, so speaking of Joe Thornton, there was an article that came out in the athletic and there was a story about him chirping McDavid. You guys see that? Oh, yeah. You could probably tell it a lot better because you probably have it teed up.

Yeah, I got it. I got it right here. I'll basically I'll just read it verbatim. In twenty nineteen there was a collision at Sensorites between McDavid and Tom Hertel. Neither one of them had the puck Zarkasih and pushed Tommy heard on the other glass. Tom Hertel gets the penalty couple shifts later. We're back at full strength and it just so happens to be a face off in the neutral zone right in front of our bench. Gassin is lined up with his back to our bench and Jumbo is right in front of him.

Jumbo is literally leaning over Cash-in shoulder and he's on Hagana Corner wasn't acknowledged. So we'll keep yelling, Hey, can't find the pucks to get dropped. Kind of kind of looked over at him. Jumbo says, when I was the best player in the world, I used to take care of that shit my own. I didn't need this middleweight to come in and take care of it. All of a sudden, everybody just starts fucking laughing at it.

Like he refers to himself as the best player in the world, getting at a Boston McDavid balls, whatever. So there's a ton of stories. By the way, Joshua Cloke wrote it in the athletic and you should be subscribe to it because it's great journalistic bang for your buck. But it's a fantastic article. They one of those sort of oral history, they talks like thirty different people. Tons of awesome stories in there about Joe. Yeah.

Check it out. We don't wanna ruin it, but I thought that was the good one, that that would get people to go read it. So Jumbo Joe, a legend very interested to see how he's going to handle the media in Toronto. Sprint to the finish. I got them. I got them winning the Canadian division to. Thank you. I'm drinking, I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. Yeah, Matthews Matthews might win MVP.

Oh, what's going on? On some fuckin limbs here?

You're all going on a fucking limb saying Austin math is going to win MVP.

Not that Toronto is going the division. Oh, what are the odds? Have you seen odds for the division yet? I saw them a week or so back. I haven't I haven't looked at in a couple of days because I got I haven't put any action in yet.

So I haven't they're like the Cowboys where they might be the favorites because it's the Leafs, but they get the best team in Canada.

We should do a draft of who we think is going to make playoffs and who could pick the most playoff teams in the state drought. We could do something as far as who's going to win that, these divisions, because we've got to do we got to do our our divisional breakdowns, but we probably won't extend them to the length that we've done in the past. We'll try to condense it, maybe just pick the winners, because there's going to be a lot of hockey to cover and it's going to come here quick.

I mean, games start in a week and a half.

Absolutely. No doubt. We did get some sad news actually in the last hour or so here. And Hockey tweeted that John Makela, he won five Stanley Cups as an assistant and a head coach with Edmonton. He was also a GM and coach in central Buffalo. The Rangers and senators, he passed away while some Monday night at the age of 86. So we want to send our condolences and sympathies to his family and friends. He's been around the game a long time.

I'm sure a lot of people know him or no woman. Again, we want to extend our sympathy. So any other stuff while you guys wanted to add before we wrap up here where he was?

Yeah, he was the man they got in that cup once Gretzky was gone was at 90. Yeah, that was the backup was recipes to him of him and his family legend. A legend of the game. What else did we have to donate to the barstool fund are still fund still kicking. I think I saw something that the only donations have started. Slow down a little bit. You got to keep that ribbon granit end of the year.

You know, it was going to be a huge push hockey back in a week, thank God. Yep.

Oh, well, you mentioned it quickly. Grandparents friend of the program appeared on Vikings the show. It starts now on Amazon Prime. He didn't have to go to wardrobe and makeup. He probably just showed up at his usual duds there. Like I said, he wears the game.

I'll set that in his backpack. It kind of looked like your jacket is the one I worked upon hockey. The real wall.

I mean, way different color, but just the the overall size of it.

The one I bought one witnessed a statement, a broken stick.

Oh, I sent the just to the guys the other day that, you know, the Liberty Hotel where we stayed. I used to be the former jail here in Boston. Well they had a drink this weekend at Alabi. It's called the Whitney Balga.

I don't know if you guys saw that it was pink, Whitney Lemon, simple syrup, basil and sparkling rosy and white.

He had a lot in common, a little bit of rat juice in there if they named it after fucking Bulgar. But yeah, the Whitney Bulgar. It's a tough, tough look. Tough luck with having your name side of him.

I don't give a fuck. I'm making money every time they say, All right, boys. Well, this is a pretty fat episode.

I think we can put a bow on it. And everybody have a fantastic week. We're going to be coming to you next week from Scottsdale, Arizona. Cannot wait. We're going to be a business HQ.

You guys get some sandbags on tap. Next episode, bunch of interviews. I can't wait to get out there. It's been a long time since I've been the American Southwest.

You guys might be able to get inside of an NHL arena and watch a game. I don't know what the rule is exactly as far as spectators are concerned with the coyotes, but you in fact, they are letting some fans in in Arizona.

I read that was one of the buildings. So maybe you guys will be able to get inside of a coyote scheme. Who do they start off the season against? The San Jose? Yeah, back to back. I believe they played maybe even four games back to back against them because they're already here. Right there. They're actually staying.

Yeah. Oh well, I don't want to go. Yeah, OK. Show me the shark's location.

It Carlson's in room nine or one. Well, because I can't wait to get out and see, see your humble abode and all of us to get together. That's so exciting. And you've never met Finnegan.

Mr. Feeny will be thirteen again.

Is going to sail through with this. He just said everywhere.

He shuts a lot. But good luck tonight. Oh, go, go USA. Let's go Team Canada.

We could do this so we can do this. Even though you snubbed me, even though you snubbed me ten years ago and then you and then Withcott picked the other three apples against Belarus, all second us all fucking third assists for the press box cowboys and everybody.

As always, we'd like to thank our fantastic sponsors here and spit and chocolates big thanks to our longtime friends at New Amsterdam, Vodka and Pink Whitney. Big thanks to our friends at E.A. Sports. NHL had a lot of fun doing that team of the Yalea huge thanks to everybody over it. Simply safe keeping us safe during these crazy time. Also, big thanks to our new friends at Barouch. By all means, check them out. You want to keep your check?

That's clean and a huge thanks to our long time friends over Rollman for taking care of the fellas.

Have a great week, everybody. I want to bring it to.