Kane trade, NHL free agency, Hall of Fame class and NHL Draft with Frank Seravalli

Energy Line with Nate Thompson and Julie Stewart-Binks open up the show reacting to the breaking news of the Evander Kane trade. They also discuss the Trevor Zegras trade to the Flyers, free agency beginning next week, the Hall of Fame class and Nate shares stories on a few of the inductees he played with and against. Daily Faceoff hockey insider Frank Seravalli joins Nate and JSB as the first two-time guest. They discuss the biggest free agents in the NHL, Mitch Marner’s future, Sam Bennett, Corey Perry and some of the other key names. Seravalli also looks ahead to the NHL Draft, reacts to the Hall of Fame class this year and his own upcoming media free agency this week.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Energy Line is a production of the NHL and I
Heart podcasts. Welcome on into the Energy Line with Nate
and JSB. He is former NHL or Nate Thompson. I'm
Julie Stewart binks. This is a production of the NHL

(00:26):
and I Heart podcasts. And the Stanley Cup has been awarded.
The partying probably continues to go, but the rest of
the hockey world is continuing to turn. And that is
with the Hockey Hall of Fame induction announcement, as well
as the fact that it is NHL Draft week and
we also have free agency on the horizon. It is go, go, go,

(00:48):
go go, and we're going to have daily face off
host and insider Frank Servelli to help us break down
so much of what is going on minute by minute
in the hockey world. But Nate, holy doodle, do we
have a whole lot to talk about today, including the
fact that minutes before, a couple hours before this podcast,
vander Kain was just traded to Vancouver in exchange for

(01:11):
Ottawa's fourth round pick in twenty twenty five, which they had.
So we see the Caine era in Edmonton is over
and he's back home.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
But the Cannucks. What do you make of this deal?

Speaker 3 (01:22):
I think it's a good deal and I think we
expected and knew was coming. By the way, Helloa, good
to see you. Yes, I think it's a good deal.
I think it's a great deal for Vancouver. Obviously, like
you said, he gets to go home. We expected this
to happen, and knowing his injury trouble, how much he
has left on his deal, one year left, obviously his
contract everything. I think this was a deal that the

(01:45):
Edmonton Oiliers had to make to free up some cap space.
You know, they know that, you know, it kind of
ran its course. I think, you know, with Vander Kain
and him going to Vancouver, I think that helps Vancouver.
I think if Evander Kain can stay healthy, I think
that's a big thing. He hasn't been healthy last couple
of years. But if he can stay healthy, play his game.
And when Evander Kaine is healthy and he's playing his game,

(02:08):
he is so effective and he's.

Speaker 4 (02:09):
A really good hockey player.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
So if the Vancouver Canucks get that version of Kane,
that's a huge boost for them.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
I co completely agree the fact that he was a
difference maker on this Oilers team too in the playoff run,
you know before remember he but he didn't he had
a bit of an issue in the didn't have the
handshake line, right like he wasn't a part of the
handshake line.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, no, I know, well too, So you know.

Speaker 4 (02:36):
Yeah, I mean that's that's the side of King. We know.
That's yeah, that's the side of game.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
We know that's very controversial, you could say, right, he definitely,
he definitely moves the needle for the media and other
players and stuff. So you know, I think it's gonna
it'll definitely add some uh some spotlight and Vancouver habit
Evander Kane there.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Yeah, and that's exactly what they did it, especially after
everything that went down between JT. Miller and Elias Peterson
last year. So that's uh, you know, they they they are.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
An enigma of a team.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
That's and then with Rick Talcket leaving and so I'm
curious to see how the Vancouver Canuckts situation sort of
works itself out. But staying on the West coast, going
to the East coast is two of your former teams,
the Anaheim Ducks and Philadelphia Flyers, engage in a trade
between sending Trevor Zegers from the Ducks to the Flyers

(03:27):
in exchange for a second round pick in twenty twenty
five and a fourth round pick in twenty twenty six.
And Ryan Poling, So what do you think about Zigris
who was like boom twenty nineteen, gonna be this big
star and then kind of has sort of maybe lost
a little bit of luster over the last couple of
years going to the Flyers.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Yeah, Trevor Zegers, I think we all know needed a
change of scenery. They've been talking about this trade for
a long time. He's been rumored to be traded for
a long time, and I think that this is kind
of the last chance for Trevor Zegres. You know, he's
had a bit of a runway. He had a good start,
but I think for him, like if it doesn't work
out in Philly, I don't know if it's going to
work out, you know, I think this is a chance

(04:07):
for him. He goes to a new team, he gets
to be paired up with his buddy Jamie Drysdale, and
he's got a coach, Rick Hackett, Like there's no excuses.
I think if you have a coach like Rick Hockett, like,
you can't use the coaches as an excuse like you have.

Speaker 4 (04:20):
Rick Tackett talks to the guy he played.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
He's been there, he's one cups as a player, he's
one cups as a coach.

Speaker 4 (04:26):
Listen to him. Find your way, find your.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
Game and get back to the Trevor's egres that we
all like to see. And I think that's going to
happen there in Philly. I do believe it. I think
that Danny Brier made a good move here and I
think it's going to be a good fit.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Right. It just felt like the musical chairs and the
music stop. Trevor Szegres might not have had one of
those when you look at the Anaheim Ducks and it
was Bob Murray Murph who drafted him, and then paper
Beat comes in, and then of course we've seen a
ton of different changes that have gone on.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
And even when you just.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
Look at the fact that they've acquired Chris Kreider and
they already had they have you know, Vitronto, and they
have you know, Mason McTavish and Leo Carlson and all
these different guys, Ziegres kind of like kind of falls
down the.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Pecking order in a way.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
But like when you say this is kind of the
last chance, what do you think was like the biggest
issue that he faced other than injuries and kind of
like you know, some of that other stuff, but maybe
him as a player or him as a person, what
was his biggest issue?

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Well, I think, first off, and his and in Trevor's defense,
and I don't know Trevor's egress, but I am a
fan of him. I do like how he players. I
was a fan of him his.

Speaker 4 (05:36):
Rookie year, a great rookie year, and he was super impressive.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
But in his defense, I think, you know, there wasn't
a lot of consistency for him for a young player,
and you know, having different coaches, different gms, like that's
tough for young guys coming in. I understand that. But
I think we're for Trevor's egress, he's got to be
a little more engaged. I mean, obviously the defensive side
of puck, the details, you know, that's always been the
you know, the knock on him in the in the
compete right and I think you know, going to Philly

(06:02):
playing for the Flyers, as I did, you better compete
in front of those fans, uh, because if you don't,
they're going to let you know and you're gonna be
public enemy number one. So uh, that's why I think
that this is going to be a whole new look
and scene for him. You know, because playing for the
Anaheim Ducks is one thing.

Speaker 4 (06:20):
Playing for the.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
Delphi the Flyers is a whole other level. It's a
whole other level. You know, you're going to be in
the spotlight a little bit more. You're going to be
under Rick Tockett. They're going to be expecting things of you.
Now's the time, you know. I think now's the time
for him to to kind of step up and be
the guy and and be the guy that we all
want to see. I think I think the league is
better with Trevor Ziegers playing well and doing the things
he's doing. I mean, he he brings a lot of fun,

(06:43):
he brings a lot of notoriety to the game. And
I think it's huge for him going to Philly and
I and I believe it. I believe it, Julie. I
think that he is going to be a good fit there.
I think he's going to be comfortable and talk is
uh talk as an unbelievable coach. You can see how
he's evolved. And he has these relationships with players. You know,
he had it in Vancouver with Quinn Hughes and I

(07:03):
think it'll be the same thing in Philly.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
Right, he is an enigmatic player and that would be
something that fires fans in him.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
I think they can both.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Find like a really cool relationship together where he will rise.

Speaker 2 (07:15):
To the occasion of what they want.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
And you mentioned Anaheim and like, fans aren't gonna come.
If they don't, they don't care as much like if
you are maybe not living up to the high expectations
of what you they thought. Like, of course there's a
there's a very strong fan base that would be upset
about that. But it's not let's just say, let's be honest,
Collin spade a spade. It's not the same as a

(07:37):
Philadelphia Flyers market. That's just really what it is. And
when I wanted to to ask you, you look at
the fly excuse me, look at Anaheim ducks. By the way,
this is a podcast, but I'm wearing my Beckett Seneke shirt.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
What the duck? He's saying what the fuck? On air.

Speaker 1 (07:56):
If you guys remember in the draft. Last year, the
Anahem Ducks drafted him and it was like very surprising
for everyone, including this kid. Okay, so, but the Ducks
now clear off three point so anyway, the Ducks now
clear off three point eight in cap space. With moving
Trevor Zegris, they have thirty six million dollars available in

(08:18):
cap space.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
Don't do Mitch Marner.

Speaker 3 (08:21):
I think for sure he's on the radar and there's
that's a big part of the reason why they're clearing
up cap space. I think you're I think Mitch Martyr's
going to head out West. I just believe it, and
I think it can either be. I think the Ducks
are a big team that's in play, and I think
the Kings are another team that's in play as well.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
I just think that out West or Vegas.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
I mean, I've heard rumors and we're going to get
into that more with Frank obviously, but if you have
Mitch Martyrs the Ducks, I mean, it could be a
great fit. I mean I think that with all their
young guys, they have a ton of talent. Obviously, you
mentioned it with Leo Carlson and Mason McTavish and Troy
Terry I mean, they got a lot of guys that
are coming up and they're going to be good, and
then you add a guy like Mitch Martyrs to the fold.

(09:01):
I think that could had a whole other level of
offense to that.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
Team, kind of like the Island of Misfit Toys, right
like him, Chris Crider, Ryan Strom, Frank Fatrum. I realized,
I'm just naming like a whole bunch of Rangers really
at this point. But I might ask for a trade
back to Anaheim if Mitch Marner goes there, because it
would be nice to cover. Like when I covered you there,

(09:26):
a winning team in Anaheim was a lot of fun.
There was like not a lot of consequences, right, it
was great. There was barely any media. It was just
like really me and like Eric Stevens from when he
was with the Orange County Register now he's at that
fight and like a couple La beat Riders would come

(09:46):
down like it was very it was very low key.
So if Mitch Marner is looking for the opposite of Toronto,
that would be Anaheim.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
So Also in the news this week is the fact
that the Hockey Hall of Fame announced their class of
twenty twenty five, and we have I've got a couple
of first year eligible players. Duncan Keith Zdanochara, Joe Thornton,
Alexander mcgilney makes it in after seventeen years, and those

(10:14):
guys will be joined by gold medalists Jennifer Botrel and
Brianna Decker.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
And in the.

Speaker 1 (10:20):
Building category, Danielle Silvajo, who's the first woman to be
inducted into the Hall as a builder, makes it in,
as well as former Boston University coach Jack Park. When
you look at the Hall of Fame class, Nate like,
what stands out to you most.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
Well, I gotta sorry, correct you and I never do this,
but Jack paka nice ruins or sorry from the bu
bu terriers.

Speaker 4 (10:43):
Jack paka you got it.

Speaker 3 (10:44):
You gotta do a paka Jack Paka Jack posa paka.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Okay, sorry, So I thought I actually had.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
I was like, oh my god, yes, yeah, yeah, okay,
I'll stop there you go.

Speaker 4 (10:57):
Go. Uh no, no, no, you're good. I love it.
I love it. I just had to say poka.

Speaker 3 (11:01):
I like saying, yeah, no, I this this class, it's uh,
it speaks for itself. You know a few guys I
played against you know, Chara Keith, you know Jumbo, Joe Thornton,
you know, so so deserving and then especially especially you
said Alexander mcgilney.

Speaker 4 (11:18):
He's been eligible now for what you said, seventeen years.

Speaker 3 (11:20):
Yeah, and I think for me it was a yeah,
it was a no brainer to have Alexander mcgilly on there.
So for him to have to wait so long and
finally he's in much deserved. But you know, funny like
char you talk like we we had the same agent.
We shared that and it's funny. My first NHL game,
I remember, you know, I'm standing in kind of the

(11:41):
hallway and it's in Boston.

Speaker 4 (11:44):
We're playing against Buffalo.

Speaker 3 (11:45):
Zdano's standing there and he kind of looks at me
and he says, this is it. I'm like what he's like,
you know, goingy hired in this, this is the highest level.

Speaker 4 (11:53):
This is it.

Speaker 3 (11:54):
And it was kind of like, oh wow, but it
was like you know, it was it was he was
like it was more of a compliment, right, like you are,
you're here, Like you made it to the NHL.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
You can't go any.

Speaker 3 (12:04):
Higher than this, and you know, it was kind of
a like a welcome moment, right and it was a
welcome moment from Sudano Chara. So he was a guy
that you know when I was with Ye, when I
was a guy with the Bruins, you know, he kind
of he was the start of the change of that
culture there when you know, they started to win and
unfortunately I was on the other side of that with

(12:24):
Tampa when they ended up winning their Cup in twenty eleven. So,
you know, just so well deserved and just a great person,
great leader and ultimate pro and also we know, an
absolute animal off the ice when it comes to working
out and training. And you know, he was the guy
that everyone looked at almost like a Tom Brady, right.
He played till he was forty five years old, and

(12:46):
just a special, special being.

Speaker 4 (12:47):
Right.

Speaker 3 (12:48):
So it's so so well deserved for Sado char to
be inductor of the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
I love that, and so I didn't mean to trivialize
your story, but I think that that's great, like what
he had said, because it is a is a nice
welcome to the league in terms of also he acknowledged
to you, giving you like a glove tap on, like hey,
you've made it here, like you're at the top level.
And I love that one guys kind of like everyone

(13:13):
knows that it each takes themselves a long time to
get there, but it is a collective, like you know,
every other guy has had to really work so hard
to get to that level.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
So I love that story about Charas.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
So what about any of the other guys like Keith
or Thornton.

Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yeah, you know what, Duncan Keith, I don't have any
good stories. It just I played against him in junior.
He was he was in Klona, I was in Seattle.
And then obviously you know Julie, we were very familiar
with him on the Blackhawks, right, so we had but
we had our battles with him and he you know,
just Surefire and me. We knew he was a Hall
of Famer then with his Norris trophies and his Stanley
Cups and Team Cannon and everything. He was just a

(13:52):
guy that you know, he could skate so well. He
was so good defensively. You know, his feet were always
moving so fast, right, he had like the quickest feet.
Duncan Keith as a defenseman almost like a little bit
like a macar So you know that's all I have
on gun Keith, and then Jumbo Joe Fordon.

Speaker 4 (14:07):
I mean, we all know the character he is.

Speaker 3 (14:10):
And the one story I have is was always playing
in Winnipeg during the COVID season and we had a
TV timeout and you know, he was playing on the
fourth line for the Leaves of the time, and I
was playing on the fourth line obviously for the Jets,
and we're kind of playing against.

Speaker 4 (14:22):
Each other a lot, and Trevor.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
Lewis is on my line, Matthew Parol is on my line,
and we were coming back to the bench and TV
timeout and Jumbo Joe just starts joking around and laughing
because Trevor Lewis, you know, he's a guy that shot
the puck a lot. You know, he shoot the puck
and always get it on net, and Jumbo Joe not
so much. And he's a guy that likes to hold
onto the puck. And he just starts going.

Speaker 5 (14:41):
Tom Tomar, tell Louie to hold onto the puck a
little bit longer.

Speaker 4 (14:45):
You need that thing.

Speaker 5 (14:46):
You need that thing so you could, you know, play
with it, make some plays. You know, you can't just
shoot it every time you get over the red line.
You just can't do that, you know. And their bench
is laughing. I'm laughing, Louie's laughing.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
I look over and Austin Matthews is dying laughing, and
it was just like a comedy. And this is a
guy that you know as a Hall of Famer, you know,
almost giving us advice, and he's playing against us, So
you know, it's a guy that you know, you see
it when he played, how much Funny had every single
day going to the rink. And even now you know
he's not even playing, and you know he's going and

(15:19):
working for the San Jose and I've heard stuff that
he's in the rink every day, hanging out with the guys,
joking around and just love being there. So just an awesome,
awesome guy, and we were very lucky to call him
a Hall of Famer and to be able to, you know,
watch him for so long.

Speaker 2 (15:33):
Yeah, what a great story.

Speaker 1 (15:35):
I love that he's given you guys tips when it
feels like a Beer League and it's actually an NHL game.

Speaker 2 (15:39):
I love that at that point. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (15:43):
So what do you make of the fact, Like, okay,
I'll just go on this quickly.

Speaker 2 (15:47):
But when I opened the.

Speaker 1 (15:48):
Show, he said, holy doodle, because you know he Lanny
McDonald apparently called him fifteen times before he picked up,
So he's either got like many of us aka me,
do not disturb on real hard, so you know, you
miss literally everything in the entire world, or he just
thought it was like spam or something like that. But

(16:09):
I mean, if you knew that day was coming and
you saw maybe like a phone call from with like
a four to one six area code or a six
four seven Toronto area codes, but maybe because he's played there,
it could have been anyone, right, Like, I don't know
what do you make of his reaction to being called.

Speaker 4 (16:27):
It was unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (16:29):
I think it just encompasses Joe Thornton, like that's Joe Thornton, right,
Like it's we We got to listen to that. And yeah,
I mean especially when you said, like, if there's a
four to one six number, Collin, you usually know it's
something from Toronto and someone important probably, So you know,
I listened to it and he said he said he
was traveling that day, I guess, and that's why he
missed the calls.

Speaker 4 (16:49):
But who knows.

Speaker 3 (16:50):
He might have had to do not disturb on and
maybe he was at the rink.

Speaker 4 (16:53):
We don't know, right, And you know.

Speaker 3 (16:56):
It was just awesome to see that back and forth
in exchange between Lanty mcdonaland Lane McDonald, Joe Thornton, Ron Francis.

Speaker 4 (17:02):
And the best about it was Julia.

Speaker 3 (17:04):
Was when he was like, I'm not gonna I'm not
going to pass up any time to hang out with
you guys.

Speaker 4 (17:09):
What he's saying, you know, I'll be there. I'll be there,
no problem.

Speaker 3 (17:13):
So yeah, that was I mean, I I posted on
Instagram because I thought it was hilarious just that you know,
that exchange between the three of them, it's so great.

Speaker 2 (17:20):
It's like it's so authentic, it feels so real.

Speaker 1 (17:22):
And even though some of these guys you think are
just slammed on Hall of Famers first time ballot, but
still to them, probably that moment of getting that call,
it's it's like winning the Cup, It's like being drafted
into the NHL. These are all things that you either
prepare yourself for you think is going to happen, but
then when it actually happens, it is still like you know,

(17:45):
a shock, right, Like it still has that oh my god.

Speaker 3 (17:48):
Oh yeah, No, I mean I think it's you know,
because you think about it, you be kind of become immortal.

Speaker 4 (17:54):
Right, your name becomes it.

Speaker 3 (17:55):
You know, you're you have immortality now, right, and you're
you're in the Hall of Fame. If you're on the
cup like you are, your name's etched in history forever.

Speaker 4 (18:03):
So I think that's so special.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
And you know, to be able to be called the
Hall of Famer, I have no know nothing about.

Speaker 1 (18:11):
That, but yeah, were you checking your phone yesterday being
like Lenny flour one six numbers?

Speaker 4 (18:18):
Actually the only thing I am a Hall of Fame
of is in Alaska.

Speaker 3 (18:21):
I reached the Hall of Fame there, but not at
the Yeah, not at the NHL level.

Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, I'll take it.

Speaker 1 (18:28):
I think any hall of fame that you can get into,
you say yes, and you should be very proud of that.

Speaker 2 (18:34):
The Alaska Hall of Fame. You and March Larreth are
in that, right.

Speaker 4 (18:39):
I don't know if March Larith is in it or not.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Yeah, maybe maybe we shuld get that one a bit quiet.
We don't know if we don't know if Stinks made
it to Alaska.

Speaker 1 (18:48):
Okay, So I want to give some flowers, of course,
to Jennifer Bottrell for finally finally being inducted into the
Hall of Fame. I went on a rant on like
when amazon On had a sports talk show, which was
probably two years ago, when she wasn't inducted into it,

(19:09):
I thought she was going to be then, just based
on the fact, like what more could this woman do?
She has done literally everything for this sport. She's the
leading points scorer for Harvard barn On out of anybody
in the modern day era. She has three goal Olympic
gold medals, a silver, five gold World Championships. She has

(19:32):
also you know, she's obviously working covering the NHL at
the highest level, but she has been like a catalyst
for sparking so much of like women being playing at
the highest level, now being able to see themselves in
the PWHL, see themselves on the national team, and she's
been such an inspiration for so many others in front

(19:54):
of the camera and on the ice and so like
it's been eleven years is she waiting for And she
even said I didn't think this day would come. I
think she had made her peace, like I just don't
think I'm gonna make it into the Hall of Fame.
And that's like really fucking sad to hear. But I'm
also just now very happy that this group of people

(20:14):
were like, Okay, we gotta give her this. So part
of me is like obviously very happy for her, overjoyed
this is like about damn time, as it tweeted.

Speaker 2 (20:23):
But then, you know, I still have feelings.

Speaker 1 (20:25):
Of like, well, what did she not do all those
other years that like, sure, there's lots of other very
good people getting in, but like, anyway, I'm obviously a
big gen Bottrel stand over here, and I'm gonna I
was outside of the Hockey Hall of Fame with my
Gen Bottrel sign, you know, just campaigning for her to
be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Let's just say

(20:46):
I wasn't. But I'm just making a joke that clearly
didn't land. But then Danielle Silviajo, who is, as I said,
the first woman to be inducted into the Hall as
a builder, I think is massive. She is the general
manager of the Montreal Victois in the PWHL. She's also
coach Canadian women's teams to gold medals and has been

(21:07):
around the sport forever. So I think it's really great
to see we see the big stars being inducted. Also
obviously snaps to Alexander mcgilney as we mentioned making it
in after seventeen years and a lot of people. Sorry,
let me just like wrap up this little soliloquy I've
been going on right now to Nate is that I
don't think people realize like he's done the he's part

(21:27):
of the gold Club. I guess it's called it's like
won the Stanley Cup in two thousand with the Devils,
he won the Olympics in nineteen ninety eight with the
Soviet Union, and then in excuse me, Olympics in nineteen
eighty nineteen eighty ninety won the Double IHF with the
Soviet Union, and he's the first player to defect from
the Soviet Union to North America.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
Like hockey player. So it's like a lot of.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
Other things other than the fact that he was also
part of the Leaf's quote unquote golden era of what
a lot of people remember him from that he has done.
So I think that I'm pumped to see him get it.

Speaker 4 (22:02):
Yeah, And I'll touch on Jen Bottle. I totally agree
with you.

Speaker 3 (22:06):
I think she has been unbelievable for hockey and women's
hockey especially, and then to have her on the panel
and she's so good, I think it's you know her
and Alexander mc gilly kind of have that in common
where I think they were both just left off for
too long and now that much deserve. They're both in
the Hall of Fame. But you know, Alexander mcgilly, I
love you touch on that too. I think you know,
Scott Gomez from my hometown, played with them in Jersey

(22:28):
and they planted a line together. I remember Gomer telling
me he's the smartest hockey player he's ever played with,
and that's coming from Scott Gomez, who's got a pretty
high hockey IQ. So that just goes to show you
how good Alexander mcgilly was, how smart he was, you know,
his his offensive ability, everything. So it's it's great to

(22:49):
see that he's he's filing the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 1 (22:51):
Speaking of Scott Gomez, is he in the Alaska Hall
of Fame? Oh yeah, well, speaking of Hall of Fame,
we've got a Hall of Fame insider slash. I was
what a segue was that coming up after this from
the Daily Fase, and that is Frank Sara Valley's going
to help us break down all of the free agency
targets and beyond as we have the draft coming up

(23:12):
this week, and we know what that means. There's a
lot of is at of snip snap snip snap action
going on around the league and of course free agency,
and next week we'll have a whole lot more after this.
Welcome back to the Energy Line with Nate and JSB
and we are thrilled to welcome back. I guess for

(23:33):
the second time. This is our first guest that we've
had on two times, and that is.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
Because he is so smart.

Speaker 1 (23:40):
In the hockey world and obviously very in touch and
in tune with everything going on with the NHL draft
and free agency coming up.

Speaker 2 (23:48):
And that is none other than.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
I guess he's kind of like our insider as well,
Frank SAA Valley. He is the head Insider President of
Hockey Content from the daily face of Frank. We know
you're super busy, so we truly appreciate you giving us
this time.

Speaker 6 (24:03):
Man, what an intro. I'll just let me know where
I need to send the check seth or first repeat.
Guest means a lot and uh yeah, I would say
so smart.

Speaker 7 (24:13):
In the hockey world.

Speaker 6 (24:14):
That's not what I mentioned say so yeah, always good
to be with you guys.

Speaker 3 (24:19):
Yeah, it's so good to have you here, Frank, And
you know, I guess let's just get into it.

Speaker 4 (24:24):
Right away because that's what we're here for.

Speaker 3 (24:28):
And I'm looking at all these free agents and obviously
the big names Mitch mart Or, Sam Bennett, Brad Marshawn,
Aaron Ek, Blad Taveras, all these guys.

Speaker 4 (24:37):
Before we get into them, I want to.

Speaker 3 (24:40):
Get into you know, the the gray Beards, you know,
the Patriretti's, the Corey Perry's, those guys. Where in Brad
Marshawn You can put Brad Marshawn in that in that
category as well. Where are some of these guys or
where do you think that they're going to end up
or are they going to stay in the same location.

Speaker 6 (24:57):
Well, I think there's a real chance that a lot
of those guys, nate stay in the same market where
they've been. Brad Marshan, I think things have been trending
in the right direction. With the Florida Panthers, it all
comes down to priority for them. How are they going
to prioritize doling out those dollars.

Speaker 7 (25:15):
We would think that Sam Bennett is at the top
of the list based on age.

Speaker 6 (25:19):
And impact, having won the cons my trophy, But then
what happens with Aaron Eckblad, And I think the sense
in the last few days has been that Aaron eck
Blad is more likely to move on than not that
just the market will be so strong for him in
both term and dollars that it would be pretty difficult
for the Panthers to keep a lifelong Panther, which is

(25:42):
probably going to be really difficult for eck Blad in general,
because he's talked just about how much he wants to
be a Panther and remain there, and he's lived the
highs end the lows in South Florida. But when it
comes to some of the other guys you mentioned, Corey Perry,
I think has a real strong interest in remaining with
the Oilers. They've got some things to figure out. They
traded Evander Kaine on Wednesday morning. They are still likely

(26:06):
to move Victor Arvidson. They're looking for some cap flexibility.
They are in a spot where they likely need to
trade for a goalie or want to trade for a goalie.
They'd like to be pretty active on the forward front
in some depth rolls. But Perry fit like a glove
and was so productive in the postseason. I wonder if

(26:26):
in the back of the Oilers' minds, though, they're looking
at a guy who has lost in five Stanley Cup
finals that he's played in recently, and they're thinking maybe
we'd go in a different direction for a guy that
already is forty. Some of it will come down to dollars,
but I know that Perry is definitely interested. And I'll
throw in one more for you that you didn't ask about,

(26:48):
and that would be Jamie Ben.

Speaker 7 (26:50):
In Dallas, we.

Speaker 6 (26:51):
Know the cap situation that the Dallas Stars are mired in.
They made some aggressive moves, let's call it that, going
out to get Miko Ranton in, and that has changed
a little bit of their cap picture trading away Mason Marchman.
The Stars absolutely want to bring back their captain. They're

(27:11):
offering a shorter term, bonus incentivized deal.

Speaker 7 (27:16):
He really wants to stay as well.

Speaker 6 (27:18):
But the push and pull for Jamie Ben is going
to be, Hey, you might be able to get ten
or fifteen million dollars on the open market. Are you
going to leave maybe five or ten extra million, depending
on how it works out, just to stay with the
Dallas Stars where you know you have a chance to win.
I think that's probably what he's wrestling with at this
exact moment in time.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
Right, There's so many different factors to think about for
each of these different guys, and alse we throw into
the whole equation the lack of state income tax in
some of these different places. But you mentioned the Evander
Kain situation.

Speaker 2 (27:52):
We came on.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
We talked about it when we opened the show, how
he was traded to Vancouver earlier today on Wednesday. This
podcast is coming out on Wednesday. So when he was on,
I was your trade targets. He was on your trade targets.
It says, you know, moved on June twenty fifth. What
do you make of now what Vancouver is becoming? And

(28:13):
then you just talked a lot about Edmonton, but maybe
just sort of the metamorphosis of what Vancouver wants now
acquiring Kane.

Speaker 6 (28:21):
It's a really incomplete picture at this moment in time,
because the Canucks want to be really aggressive. They want
to go out and land a second line center to
replace effectively JT. Miller, who they traded to the Rangers,
and they're trying to work through that, but they're finding one.
The center market is really thin. Two it's very expensive

(28:43):
to get your hands on one of those pieces. And three,
even if they wanted to, a lot of teams look
at the Canucks roster and they say, I'm not sure
that there's a fit there. Because that's one of the
true issues holding up transactions at this juncture in the
summer is there's thirty one teams in the league that
want to get better, and no one's trying to trade

(29:06):
for futures. No one's trying to really tear things down
outside of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are open to moving
some of their veteran pieces to try and begin that
process of going in the other direction and stockpiling futures.
So the Penguins are kind of on an island. And
then you've got teams like the Canucks, and they're not
alone in that category.

Speaker 7 (29:27):
They're munchreur.

Speaker 6 (29:28):
Canadians go through the list, they're ready to make stuff happen,
but they don't necessarily find a fit because the pieces
that Vancouver could send out some of the futures teams
are going, no, we want help right now. So the Canucks,
I think they're up against it this summer trying to
put all those pieces back together again to get to

(29:50):
the spot that they were at twelve fourteen months ago
heading into that playoffs when they got to the game
seven of the second round against the Oilers.

Speaker 7 (29:59):
They've got a lot of work to do.

Speaker 6 (30:00):
I think they're management group, Jim, Rutherford and Patrick have
been very straightforward and letting their marketplace know that this
may not all come together as seamlessly as we wanted to,
but they're going to chip away at it. And Cain
is just one additional piece that you add to your
top six that gets you trending in that right direction.

Speaker 3 (30:20):
Speaking of a lot of work in number one free
agent and his agent is going to have a lot
of work. Is Mitch Marner? Where are you hearing he's
going to end up? In the likelihood of it being
out west?

Speaker 6 (30:35):
Well, I think the one kind of certainty that we
have is that it's going to be.

Speaker 7 (30:40):
South of the border. That's one.

Speaker 6 (30:42):
And is it out west? I think it seems to
be trending in that direction. A lot of people have,
you know, thought for a while that the strongest markets
for Mitch Marner are going to be in the Western Conference,
and that's probably music to the Toronto maple leafs ears.
If he is going and you got to delete a
player like that from your lineup, then hopefully it's as

(31:03):
far away as possible. That said, I think everyone Nate
has been focused on the Vegas Golden Knights and what
happens next there. We're curious to see the health status
of Alex Petrangelo. There have been other Vegas Golden Knights
players that have been rumored to be available. I think
some of those things have been a little bit far fetched.

(31:23):
And they've got, you know, such an aggressive posture that's
to their It's such an accolade for them, how aggressive
they've been year after year chasing the ultimate prize. They
I love their team mantra and motto, which is the
Night always advances, never retreats, and they they want to

(31:44):
try and make something like a Marner happen to add
another quality superstar player to their lineup. I think easier
said than done with the machinations involved.

Speaker 7 (31:54):
But when you are a.

Speaker 6 (31:56):
Player of Marner's stature and you reach this moment in
time and free agency where you have the ability to pick,
you want to pick a place that is a great
place to live. Is by the way you mentioned no
state tax has a chance to win the Stanley Cup
and an organization that treats you well when you're there,

(32:18):
and that's something that really stands out about Vegas and
the possibility of Marner.

Speaker 7 (32:22):
But they're certainly not going to be alone.

Speaker 6 (32:24):
I'd imagine both the teams in Southern California actually all
three teams in California would probably want to get involved
in that conversation. Utah Hockey Club would now Utah Mammoth
would want to be there, so look, no shortage of interest.
I bet the Dallas Stars would try and move Heaven
and Earth to get Ranton and Marner in the same lineup,

(32:46):
although that'd be difficult. So there's lots of options on
the table. It's going to come down to fit and
finish in terms of how that deal is structured too.

Speaker 1 (32:55):
Yeah, we were just discussing before at the beginning of
the show, how with the Trevor Ziegras trade with Anaheim
moving some caps and kind of clearing things up. Is
there a universe in which you could see Mitch Marner
becoming a duck?

Speaker 6 (33:09):
There is, for sure, But I think the reporting that
was out there earlier this summer that hey, the Anaheim
Ducks are going to offer Mitch Marner seven times fourteen million,
and they're going to just go crazy to get him.

Speaker 7 (33:23):
I think that is far fetched.

Speaker 6 (33:25):
I do believe the Ducks are among the teams that
would be interested in Marner, but it's not a blank
check and that it has to fit within reason with
what they're trying to build. But he is He fits
the profile of the type of player that they'd like
to add.

Speaker 3 (33:40):
Absolutely, Frank, And now I want to get into Trevor Zegers.
You've been a Philly guy and how this transpired and
what you think and how this fit's going to be
for Zegers and the Flyers and talk it really.

Speaker 6 (33:54):
Well for the Flyers that the decision is really kind
of simple. You have the ability to add a player
who has clear top six talent and that's what the
Flyers are missing. And yes, he struggled a bit with
injury and production the last couple of years, but this
is a clearly talented player who was on the cover
of a.

Speaker 7 (34:13):
Video game for a reason.

Speaker 6 (34:15):
He was, you know, someone trending in that direction toward
being a superstar.

Speaker 7 (34:21):
And Anaheim had some.

Speaker 6 (34:24):
Different viewpoints on how they wanted this to all play out.
The biggest thing that padver Bee kept harping on was
he wanted Trevor Zegres to be more than a one
dimensional player. That those are his words, his viewpoint, and
they were looking for him to add these layers to
his game. And I think it got to a place

(34:44):
with Greg Cronin and with the injuries that I think
he was in a tough spot. Like I think there
was probably some joy to the game that was lost
that I think the Flyers and any team that would
be going after Zigres would be trying to rejuvenate. And
I think there's also a difference in opinion that they
probably butted head is he a center or is he

(35:05):
a winger? And so when Anaheim's putting their team together,
they feel like he was a piece of the puzzle
that didn't necessarily fit in. And from a Flyer's perspective,
you're able to trade essentially a player that you got
in Ryan Paling, who was a non qualified player that
you signed, and you had four second round picks this

(35:27):
year to move one of them to get a player
of top six caliber and potential. It's not realized all
the time with Trevor Zegrest, But we know it's there
that they are confident that they can be the team
that not only brings it out of him, but brings
it out of him in the center position, which they desperately,
desperately need in their lineup.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
Now, Frank, there's been you know, the hits that we've
all been talking about. We just mentioned, you know, the
whole Mitch Marner, all these different things. And but what's
you know, as we're getting closer to draft day and
to free agency, what's maybe like a storyline that you
feel is sort of percolating that maybe and not to
like give away your you know, your threads that are

(36:07):
out there, but like, what's the storyline this' percolating that
maybe us in the general population haven't really been that
tuned into that you are starting to see come to fruition.

Speaker 7 (36:18):
Well, there's a whole slew of things.

Speaker 6 (36:20):
There's the volatility of this draft board. I think there's
a lot of movement potential because this draft, more than
most others, there seems to be an element of beauty
is in the eye of the beholder. So depending on
how this board shakes out on Friday night, we could

(36:41):
see top ten picks moved, which is a pretty big
rarity in this sport.

Speaker 7 (36:46):
So that's one.

Speaker 6 (36:48):
Two would just be are there any forwards? And I
say forwards specifically because I just think there's probably a
couple names out there that are being talked about that
we haven't heard. Like Jordan Cayrou was added to my
trade targets board today and he wasn't a name that
had been talked about a whole ton, but his full
no trade clause kicks in on July first, and so

(37:11):
I think the Blues are exploring some different possibilities. And
to see a guy who's averaged thirty five goals and
seventy one points over the last three years pop up
and become available, I think there's probably a couple more
guys in that same category. And then just from a
housekeeping and business standpoint, it certainly seems like the NHL
and NHLPA are getting close to collective bargaining agreement talks

(37:35):
wrapping up, and that would be a big story in
and of itself as well.

Speaker 3 (37:38):
I want to go back to the Edmonton Oilers and
you're talking about the draft and possibly a lot.

Speaker 4 (37:44):
Of movement coming up.

Speaker 3 (37:47):
Is there a world where the Edmonton Oilers make a
deal for a goalie that is already under contract and
with another team and a starter. Is there a world
where the Edmonton Oilers can make that happen.

Speaker 6 (37:59):
I guess it would depend on your definition of starter.
Like in my unders standing, the goalies that are available
on the trade front include Thatcher Demco and John Gibson
who passed the torch this season to Lucas Dostaal and
we know about Demco's injuries, and then Joel Hoefer. My

(38:22):
understanding is the asking price is very high, but the
Blues would move him if they got the right price.
I don't know that any one of those three Nate
kind of classifies cleanly as a starter, like just because
Demco was so injured, even though he was a finalist
for the Vezna two seasons ago, and Kevin Lankinin is signed.

Speaker 7 (38:42):
That's I think.

Speaker 6 (38:43):
Their goal is to go out and trade for someone
because the free agent market it's usually pretty robust for goalies,
like there's so many changing hands year over year. It's
just that a lot of teams have gotten to a
place where they feel like a tandem is their best
option and they go with the one A, one B route.
And they've got both those guys kind of locked up

(39:03):
to multi year deals that are you know, working in
unison with each other. So this year isn't a great
free agent crop of goalies. Jake Allen is at the
very top of the list, and then it kind of
falls off in a hurry after that. And so I
think the Edmonton Oilers priority would be to get.

Speaker 7 (39:22):
Someone on the trade front.

Speaker 6 (39:23):
It's just a matter of acquisition costs because that's the
other part of the three guys that I mentioned. Hope
for Demco and Gibson is that the prices are still
believed to be pretty high.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
Yeah, that's a not ideal for when you're trying to
say shake Connor McDavid, who obviously would want that as
a big part of his future with the Edmonton Oilers.

Speaker 2 (39:41):
Okay, So I am.

Speaker 1 (39:43):
Personally more interested in, like your world and how you
deal with the draft. So at the draft and free
agency and all that kind of stuff. So like when
you go to the draft and you're watching all these
different clubs and teams and you see general managers get
up and walk over to places and you're watching, like
how do you how do you watch it? Like do

(40:05):
you have people stationed, Like you're like, okay, Kyle Dubis
is getting up walking over here, like you know, Bill
Armstrong's getting up.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Boo boo boom.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
Who's talking to who? Who's a decoy? Like it's kind
of like a video game in a way. Do you
have like from the draft tables and who's talking to who?
And then you also see like other insiders on their phone,
like how does that all play out?

Speaker 2 (40:26):
Is it mind games?

Speaker 4 (40:26):
Is it?

Speaker 1 (40:27):
Like do you actually take it into account? Like how
do you how do you map it all out?

Speaker 6 (40:31):
So some of it is mind games, Like sometimes they
actually purposely are messing with you because they want to
see the reaction.

Speaker 7 (40:41):
On social media.

Speaker 6 (40:43):
Like I'll see someone talking to someone and I'll message
that GM and say, hey, do you have.

Speaker 7 (40:48):
Something going on?

Speaker 6 (40:49):
He's like no, we were talking about my summer vacation
in three weeks.

Speaker 7 (40:52):
I'm going to the Bahamas And you're like.

Speaker 6 (40:54):
Oh okay, like or it's like, hey, I was I
was asking about how his son's doing in junior hockey.
Like not everything is what it appears, and so I
don't really spend any time at all. You know, are
the other insiders on there, like who that doesn't know.
You just drive yourself crazy. And this year in particular,

(41:16):
it's going to be different and difficult to like piece
some of those things together because everyone with a decentralized
draft is going to be in their home market. And
I'm here in La right now for a couple of
days as there's a Board of governors meeting on Wednesday,
but I'm actually getting on a plane and going back
home to work for my home office because I don't

(41:39):
see any true advantage in being here, and I can
have better access to Wi Fi, phone, whatever else it
is that I need, and the comforts of home without
having to be here in La. So I think the
NHL is going back to a regular style draft next
season because there were certainly some logistical hurdles involved with

(42:00):
this one, and I think a lot of teams are
realizing that it is is kind of nice to have
everyone in the same city because everyone can meet. Yeah,
that will also be to everyone's advantage on social media,
trying to piece together a lot of the things that
are happening in real time, because things aren't always what
they seem, but sometimes they are what they seem.

Speaker 3 (42:20):
Yeah, I thought about that as as a player for
the kids, right, like not you know, some of these
guys are not going to go. They'll just be at
home and changes the whole dynamic. I want to also,
I guess you know we're the Hall of Fame. The
Hall of Fame inductees were announced yesterday and I'd be
remiss we didn't mention that, and especially you know a
couple Jen Bottrell and Alexander mcgilney who were left off

(42:44):
for a long time and now.

Speaker 4 (42:45):
They're on it.

Speaker 3 (42:45):
And I just want to hear your your input in
that class. That was it that was announced.

Speaker 6 (42:50):
Yeah, I'd say maybe the best way to describe it
would be like almost perfect. And that's like as good
as you can say for a Hall of Fame where
there's always these debates back and forth, everyone kind of
used things a little bit different. But I feel like
that was one of those announcements with the class of
twenty twenty five that everyone's like, yes, like that's it.
That's a great, great class. And that's not to say

(43:13):
that they get it wrong, because I think the selection
committee is tasked with a really difficult one, particularly when
you're dealing with some limitations, right, Like I have zero
doubt that Carrie Price is a sure fire Hall of Famer.
But if you're going to bring in Alexander mcgilney and
Right or Wrong that had existed for so long, and
you have a maximum of four players that you can

(43:34):
put in, you have to make a difficult choice. And
Carrie Price ends up being the odd man out for
the Class of twenty twenty five because Duncan Keith's a
Dano Chara and that group, Joe Thornton, We're so deserving.

Speaker 7 (43:47):
So it does become a push and pull.

Speaker 6 (43:50):
I'm really a sucker for the builder category because I
just think there's so many people that are part of
this game that have helped put it all together that
don't really get the true recognition that they deserve.

Speaker 7 (44:01):
And so Danielle Savageo.

Speaker 6 (44:03):
Is the you know, one of the godmothers I guess
you could say of women's hockey who has helped put
so many facets of this game on the map.

Speaker 7 (44:12):
She gets recognized.

Speaker 6 (44:14):
As the first ever women's hockey builder to go into
the Hall of Fame. And then Jack Parker at Boston
University forty years, three national titles, twenty four NCAA tournament appearances,
Like there's so many people around this game that whether
it's college hockey, junior hockey, the ownership level GMS. I

(44:35):
still think that we're overdue to have our first ever
player agent be inducted into the Hall of Fame, which
has never happened. I think you could go on and
on in the builder category, and again limited to only
two per year, you have to make tough calls, and
there's so many deserving candidates that I think, so many
different stories to be told. And that's the fun part

(44:57):
about the Hall of Fame discussion is that it never
really ends right.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
I think you put it perfectly there too with the
Carrie p situation as well, and there are difficult situations
and discussions, but one that we're curious about the future
of is a tweet that you had pinned on your
Twitter account where it says this was on May fifth,
you put out their personal news. My time at Daily

(45:21):
Face Left is winding down. My decision. It's been an
incredible journey building a premier hockey media brand. I'm grateful
for every second. Like many in hockey, I'm a free
agent on July first and can't wait to dig in
on my next adventure. Stay tuned. So, what's the latest
on Frank Cera Vali.

Speaker 6 (45:40):
I hate to offer the koy kg answer, but I
guess you'll have to wait and see. My last day
with Daily face Off is on Friday, and as mentioned,
I'm incredibly grateful for the last four years. It's been
an awesome adventure and I'm looking forward to what's next.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
So wait, it's your last day's Friday, agency talk. Yeah,
your last day's Friday. So that means you just do
the first round of the draft.

Speaker 6 (46:08):
Oh, I'll keep working, it just won't be a daily
face off. I don't have an off button, so it
won't end.

Speaker 2 (46:16):
Do you maybe?

Speaker 1 (46:17):
Are you is that up saying you have something lined
up for once the twelve o'clock midnight hits for the
second round?

Speaker 7 (46:28):
Not nothing that I will announce. Let's say that.

Speaker 6 (46:31):
So I'll just keep you'll keep seeing news and you'll
keep seeing uh all sorts of stuff, and after that
we'll piece it all together.

Speaker 1 (46:40):
Okay, So does the company have three out the insider information?

Speaker 2 (46:45):
The company have three letters or four?

Speaker 7 (46:48):
You'll have to wait for it.

Speaker 2 (46:50):
I'm trying. I'm trying to be an insider on Frank
right now, and he's he's good.

Speaker 1 (46:56):
Congratulations are very much in order. You've created an incredible brand.
So then wait, what happens if you create something and
it's yours, you own it, you just sit it, let
it sail off and go on its own, like a
child leaving home for college.

Speaker 6 (47:11):
That actually is what has made this week in the
last few weeks, like incredibly emotional.

Speaker 7 (47:17):
Like it's bittersweet.

Speaker 6 (47:18):
You build something, you're part of a team that then
sells it and it's in someone else's hands and you, yeah,
at some point.

Speaker 7 (47:28):
You either stay or go.

Speaker 6 (47:30):
And so it's a bit like you know, sending your
baby off and that part. Yeah, it's been weird, but
that's also life. So you keep growing, you keep building,
You build the next thing, and that's.

Speaker 7 (47:43):
Where you go.

Speaker 3 (47:44):
I have one last question for you, Frank, and it
goes back to Johnny Laz talked about it. Why don't
I count rank? Yeah, I can't, even though I thought
I counted.

Speaker 6 (47:57):
Yeah, I can't even begin to get to anything connected
to Johnny Laz.

Speaker 7 (48:04):
Yeah, like we just don't.

Speaker 6 (48:07):
We just don't have enough time in this show to
really break down the intricacies of that.

Speaker 7 (48:13):
And I'll just leave it at that.

Speaker 1 (48:17):
This is just this is the second conversation I've had
about Johnny laz in the last like twelve hours with
various different people, and which I think is good for
his I don't know media personality going for it. Let's
just let's just call it that. But we're I know
Nate had that one on his mind and evidently was

(48:38):
not going to let that one go. As we have
Frank on for the second time, Nate brought it up
once again because that's clearly eating away at his head.
But Frank, we're gonna let you go because we know
that you have a ton of work to do. You
probably have you know, drafts ready to fire off on
certain things, as you told us last time, which I love.
Keep up the incredible work. We think you're an amazing insider.

(49:00):
Obviously you are a star in the hockey world, and
we can't wait to see where you go next, and
we can't wait to follow you and watch you this
week and everything that you continue to work on and
all the trades and different things that you break. So
thanks for helping grow the hockey world and thanks for
joining us on the show.

Speaker 6 (49:18):
Yeah, really appreciate it. Guys, enjoy the festivities this week.
It's gonna be an awesome week.

Speaker 1 (49:27):
Well that was Frank severally from the Daily Face Off
for now when you listen to this podcast, he could
potentially be somewhere else. There were many things I wanted
to as a former budding hockey insider myself, that was
what I wanted to be before I met this fancy
dancy agent who brought me to LA and was like, Oh,

(49:47):
you just want to work in hockey, Like no, honey,
like showbiz, There's so many more opportunities, and then I'm
back to my roots.

Speaker 2 (49:55):
I'm working in hockey. So I wanted to.

Speaker 1 (49:58):
Find out when he said like it's being acquired, like
he's created a baby, Like, I'm like, oh, is it?
Is it going to go somewhere else? And is he
going to go somewhere else other than his his the
baby that he's created, Like it's being sold to a company.
Will it still be the Daily Face Off or will
it be something else? And then so my brain was

(50:21):
just like I just really wanted to find out the
answer essentially to Frank. But I think if I was
any of the big major eight major networks, excuse me,
I would I would hire him because he is arguably
not one of the best but he's the best also
American insider. Like we've got a lot of guys in
this in Canada that are born bred insiders, but like

(50:44):
Frank Is, i'd say the best US prospect out there
in the insider world for acquiring and I think that
I think that he should if he can get it,
if he can get that money. It's like we're talking
about our hockey player right now, Like, if he can,
if he can get that money out a big at
a big team, at a big network, you should go
do it because he's he's worth it.

Speaker 4 (51:05):
Yeah, he is.

Speaker 3 (51:05):
And I mean he's a he's a Philly guy, and
he's so well respected in the league. You heard him
talk about how he's you know, he's first name basis
with a lot of these gms, right he knows him
very well. He you know, they talk about personal stuff.
So whoever gets him, whatever network in the US, I
hope it is. We're going to be very lucky to
have him, to be able to watch him and fall up.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
I bet you I'm going to cut you off.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
It's going to be TNT because they don't have like
you know, Elliott Is on Elliott Friedman's on sports and
a Hockey Night in Canada. It is kind of like
the insider guy of the panel. And there may be
there's a lot of really good guys on the TNT panel,
but like, if Frank was there, I would add a
whole different dynamic in the conversation versus former players, right
if I'm obviously now the head of TNT, if I'm

(51:50):
Craig Barry right now, which let's just assume I I'm okay,
because someday I probably will be. And so I would
put Frank on that panel because he's respected, and he's
obviously can he can roll with it. He's on, he's
got good personality as well, and he's quick because he
knew when you were kind of rousing him there at
the end. You guys already had a symbiotic relationship. But

(52:13):
let's get back to our roots and not you know,
ruin my reputation any further by trying to insinuate I'm
stealing people's jobs. Is that the draft is coming up,
and with that, don't you love this segue? And it's
so awkward, is that so much of this is not
just about the players. It's about the families, and it's
about the parents and it's like really a nice celebration

(52:36):
of seeing like everyone getting to experience that moment for
the player together and you know, you see the moms
and the dads. And I did a whole documentary when
I was living in Regina, which is one of the
things that I hold close to my heart. Is one
of the most proud creations I've ever done, was a
documentary on the NHL Draft, which was focused on Ryan

(52:58):
Murray when he went through it, because when he went
second overall, but just getting to like feel all the amos,
like talking with Morgan Riley's dad after he was drafted,
and like it's just it's like a tip of the
iceberg is the player and everyone else is sort of
like underneath that iceberg of like helping make that moment happen.
And I know that you feel that way because you've
lived it and you've seen it.

Speaker 4 (53:18):
I do.

Speaker 3 (53:18):
And I love that you mentioned that because it does
it takes a village, and you see that when players
get drafted, you know, it's it's not just a win
for the player, it's a win for their parents. It's
a win for their coaches, their friends, their family, everyone
that's been a part of their journey. And it's funny,
you know, I was. I got I looked at some
old stuff from my mom's house. I got some stuff
from her house, and you know, I went back to

(53:40):
there's a letter to Okanagan Hockey School and these are
these little things. I think that you know, parents listening
or you know parents that are have players getting drafted.

Speaker 4 (53:52):
You know, it can start anywhere. It's a journey.

Speaker 3 (53:55):
And I would say, like, save some stuff, right, save
some things that you have or your kids that you know,
whatever it may be. Wins and letters. And I pull
up this letter and it's a letter from my coach
UH February tenth, nineteen ninety five. My coach, Benton Debrill
typed this out to the Okanagan Hockey School to.

Speaker 4 (54:15):
Try and get me in.

Speaker 3 (54:16):
And it's UH to whom you may concern, and apologies,
this is a lot.

Speaker 1 (54:21):
You can't read the whole thing. We yeah, just give
us the colts notes on this.

Speaker 4 (54:26):
I'm not going to read the whole thing. But it
was just.

Speaker 3 (54:30):
It was just basically him, you know, writing and saying,
you know, recommending that you know, I play in the
older divisions and he and the best part about it
is is.

Speaker 4 (54:41):
He says, Nathan is Hes.

Speaker 3 (54:43):
Nathan Nathan is the hardest working, most skilled player on
our team and will be one of the top players
ever come out of Alaska. In for parentheses, it says
provided of course that he keeps his head on straight
end of parentheses, And I love that part of it.
So it was just a cool little letter that was
written and you just you just never know, right and
you know, this is a big week for these kids,
and super excited for them and their families because it's

(55:05):
something that they'll never forget.

Speaker 1 (55:07):
That's I love that you found that. Did you end
up going to the school to Okanagan?

Speaker 4 (55:11):
I did?

Speaker 3 (55:12):
I got into the Okanagan Hockey School. I got to
play a level up because that's why he was writing
the letters, to allow me to play in a higher,
higher age group.

Speaker 1 (55:21):
So it isn't equal to like see that and see
that like a coach that you know went out on
there on your behalf and like maybe whatever you know,
they believed in you enough to like go above and beyond.

Speaker 2 (55:33):
To ask for you to be a part of this.

Speaker 1 (55:34):
Like those little I keep going back to the idea
of sliding doors, but like that sliding doors moment of like,
because someone did this, this happened for you, and then
it's got maybe like the butterfly effect, right then then
this something happened, and then maybe if he had not
written that letter, you might not have gone to that
Okanagan Hockey school, and then something else might not have happened.
And so you think about like these people that maybe

(55:56):
when for some of these kids like might seem I'm
saying quote unquote inconsequential in the bigger picture, although they
are obviously very important to them, that they can play
a massive role for them at so many points in
their life down the road. And so it's it's just
really interesting to see how the upbringing of these players,

(56:17):
the people that go out of their way to make
it happen, and even for players that might not have
had ice time, had money for you know, equipment, all
these different things and people that go above and beyond
to help them out, and then maybe that player ends
up and goes on and does something. It's really I
love seeing those stories. Those are the stories that make
me like very much like feel feel empathy and feel

(56:42):
for these guys that get get drafted because I know
that it's and who don't get drafted because as we know,
like a lot of guys don't get drafted, and also
a lot of guys get drafted that then never even
end up playing an NHL game. And it's kind of
like in the documentary I did, it was like Ryan Murray,

(57:02):
you know whatever, he's been drafted, but like his story
starts now, was like how I ended it, because like
it just matters what you do now, Like the draft
is one thing, but your whole life's ahead of you.

Speaker 2 (57:17):
Who get shivers?

Speaker 3 (57:20):
Yeah you you you just you laid it out right there,
and you're right. It is a draft is just a step,
that's all it is. It's just a step, the next
the next level, the next thing. And I love how
you talked about that because you know, every coach, every teacher,
whoever along the way how to part and some of
these kids getting drafted and the same for me, you know,

(57:41):
it was the same thing, and all these all these
people are super important on that process. And yeah, it's
it's a special week. I mean, I'm excited for some
of these.

Speaker 4 (57:49):
Kids because I remember, I remember that feeling. I remember
the feeling leading up to it, and.

Speaker 2 (57:55):
Yeah, tell us about it.

Speaker 1 (57:58):
I know we don't have that whole much time, but
like we really have this beginning of the show, but like,
detail what you remember that day.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
I mean, well, I remember because I I you know,
I didn't have the best draft year. I ended up
going on the second day I was drafting the sixth round.
I remember like it was just a feeling of relief
and excitement because you know, at that point, you know,
I cared so much during my draft year of where
I was going to get drafted, and then finally getting drafted,
it didn't even I didn't even care anymore because it

(58:27):
was like I got drafted in the NHL, Like that's
all it matters, and this is just a step to
get to get going and the rest is history. So
these kids, you know, it's going to be a fun,
fun weekend for.

Speaker 2 (58:38):
Them, right.

Speaker 1 (58:39):
I love that you're just like, oh gosh, please say
my name. But you know, and then and then it
doesn't matter they said your name, you get to Jersey,
You're going.

Speaker 2 (58:47):
It's great.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
And I'm sure for guys that think they're going in
the first round they don't. It's got to be just
like one of those you know, like stomach kind of
crunching moments, but you know you're going to play like
you know, look at Tom Brady, Hendrick Lundquist list goes
on the people and places that haven't been drafted in
the first round or never drafted or any of that
kind of stuff.

Speaker 2 (59:07):
All right, we are going to wrap things up here.

Speaker 1 (59:10):
This has been episode twenty eight of The Energy Line
with Nate and JASB. Thank you guys so much for listening.
Energy Line is a production of the NHL and iHeart Podcasts.
Thanks to Frank Saravali for joining us for his second
term on the show. Thanks to Jake Brown for producing
the show. You can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, wherever get
your podcasts, or listen.

Speaker 2 (59:30):
To the iHeartRadio app. Please give us a five star
rating and write in a nice review. I'm Julia Stuart Binks.
He's Nate Thompson.

Speaker 1 (59:37):
We will be back next week and forever and ever
and always as we react to the first signings in
a free agency, and we'll have.

Speaker 2 (59:44):
Another great hockey insider on the show who may be
based in Canada or not.

Speaker 1 (59:49):
Thank you for tuning in to the Energy Line and
we all catch you next week. Energy Line is the
production of the NHL and iHeart Podcasts. For more podcasts
from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever
you get your podcasts.