Paul Bissonnette Stories

Paul Bissonnette talks NHL Hockey, the game's ascension, and some of his favorite NHL stories along the way

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Games of Names.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
I'm Julian Edelman, and we got a brand new compilation,
Highlight Reel Starting now Now.

Speaker 3 (00:09):
Biz explains what starts in NHL.

Speaker 4 (00:11):
Fight at that time, Like there was no social media,
so you were getting there was really no way to
escape it. You'd get beat up, you'd get on the bus,
you'd travel four hours that night to the next city,
and you kind of just be sitting there in your
seat like half concussed, you know, wondering like, oh my god,
I got to do this again tomorrow night.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Take us through your journey, your hockey journey. You played
twelve years. You battled back and forth from you know,
the Triple a's to the big I'm sorry if I
fucked up the terminology HL. Yeah, and so take us
through your journey.

Speaker 5 (00:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
So I was a pretty decent junior player. I was
a defenceman. I actually was able to represent my country
playing under seventeen for Team Ontario and then under eighteen
was Team Canada. I played both of them World Championship,
was able to win gold both times. Was drafted by
the Pittsburgh Penguins and got in a little bit of
trouble early on in my career, like you go from

(01:08):
living with a billet family and junior to all of
a sudden you sign a contract, you have money, you
living on your own, and you know, probably was drinking
and partying a little bit too much. So I started
off my career and professional in the ECHL, basically the
lowest league, and slowly worked my way up, and after
getting in a little bit more trouble, basicly was in
the coast and thought my career was over. And then

(01:31):
from at that point I was a defenceman and they
called me up to the AHL and they said, we're
going to make you a fourth line fighter. And I
had a decision to make at that point in time
whether I wanted to do that or stay stubborn and
stay as a defenceman. And I said, you know, fuck it,
If this is my only path to maybe get into
the NHL, I'll do it. So I started scrapping. I
got beat up a lot. I had back to back

(01:53):
seasons where I fought thirty times, and guys at that
time in the A were taking steroids. I was getting
the shit kicked out of myself, and eventually, just from
playing that position and sticking at it, I ended up
finally making the bigs with Pittsburgh, and I got to
play make it unreal. I got to play with Sidney
Crossby have Genny malk and Marc Andre Fleury.

Speaker 5 (02:13):
You know, just those memories alone were unbelievable.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
Even though I was only there for about twenty twenty
six games, played fifteen and then the following season, I
was old enough where I got sent down, but I
could get picked up by Waivers, so I got to
go over to Phoenix, who put in acclaim for me
and played.

Speaker 5 (02:30):
Five years there, lived out my dream.

Speaker 4 (02:34):
Ended up starting Twitter when I was there, and that's
where the whole social media career started and then ended
up finishing off my career in the American Hockey League.
So I was one of those guys where I was
a borderline NHLer and I was just grateful to be
there and was able to play with so many amazing
teammates and made so many friends in Arizona, one of
which is another Boston guy, keith Yandle who's now on

(02:56):
our Spit and Chicklets podcast. But yeah, it was a
world win. Grateful to be there and just grateful to
transition it into media and stick around the game and
also have a purpose after my playing career.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Yeah, I mean you clearly did that. I mean you
still played twelve years at a professional sport. Yeah, and
then you did something amazing where you didn't just become
a Canadian kid that went back to the house and
did nothing with no with his life. You did something
else and now you're known for something else other than
being an athlete.

Speaker 5 (03:28):
Yeah, I'm really cool. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (03:30):
I'm always interested in more and what life has to offer.
So as much as I love my hometown of well In, Ontario,
I always knew there was more out there and more
I wanted to do the same. Reason why at sixteen
years old, when I was drafted to junior, like, I
moved away from home and I lived at the Billet family.
I never even called home for the first three weeks
while we had training camp and stuff, like, I dove

(03:52):
right in. I didn't get home stick because I knew that,
you know, if you wanted to achieve anything in life,
you were going to have to you know, go outside
your comfort zone and do it. And I was also
like things happened for a reason too. I was in Pittsburgh,
which is a you know, a very respected organization and
not to say Arizona wasn't, but Arizona was a team

(04:13):
where they didn't mind getting any type of publicity. So
I was able to start out a Twitter account and
be an absolute donkey online, like with the shit that
I was doing and saying and tweeting. I was going
on Lake local radio stations and like, they hooked me
up with this girl, Bibby Jones, So I guess I'm
actually Eskimo Brothers with Gronk. I hate to throw them

(04:34):
under the bus, but she actually posted a she actually
posted a photo of them, and then she asked me
for a photo to post and I was like, I
don't think I want that smoke right, And then she
went on the local radio the next morning and put
me on blast.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Oh yeah, just all what year is this?

Speaker 4 (04:50):
Oh this is like probably like two thousand and eleven.
So the s E Twitter, So the shit that I
was able to get away with and grow my own
personal SOLI channels based on playing in Arizona and the
fact that they wanted publicity, it just worked out perfectly.
And that's kind of what got me my start into
the media, where I started getting more opportunities and offers

(05:11):
to do these one off videos and then by the
time I retired, I got my buddy here, Pasha. I
dove right into it. I did this film project called
Biz DOESBC. So, yeah, is it awkward? And it was,
you know, it was very silly at the time, but
it taught me a lot about what I needed to
know in the backside after retiring. So just a world

(05:32):
win of a career in a transition, But wouldn't change.

Speaker 5 (05:35):
It for the world.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
Fucking it's been fun.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
I didn't have the playing career that you had. I
was in the press box more. I had more healthy
scratches in my career than games played.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Yeah, but still you still made do with what you had.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
That's it, and that's what you could continue to preach
when you talk.

Speaker 4 (05:53):
And it's also a lesson for like a lot of
kids out there, Like everybody drafted when they're playing junior
were probably the ours of their team, right, Yeah, but
you know at a certain point you're not going to
be the star and you have to make a sacrifice.
Are you okay being the fourth line peasant who's getting
healthy scratched if you're not willing to put your ego aside.
There's other guys who will and there's positions for those guys.

(06:14):
So I'm glad at the time I was able to
make that decision. It just kind of happened naturally, like
I you know, who knows. Maybe going back, if it
would have happened again it was the wrong day, maybe
I would have been stubborn about it, but just grateful
that that's the path I chose, and I was accepting
of that and it led to all this.

Speaker 2 (06:31):
That's what people don't realize is the different ego slots
in the locker room for a professional athlete. Being a
role player, you have to swallow your pride, do everything,
have mental toughness, do what's best for the team, win
it may not be best for you, and be that
role guy and love doing that. The fullback going out

(06:52):
and blowing out his head every day in practice, like
knowing that he'll never touch the ball, but that's like
that's a big thing. How like talk us through that
transition mentally when you go from defenceman to fourth line fighter, Like,
and how does that transition go? Do did you go
to boxing camp or like?

Speaker 1 (07:11):
How the fuck?

Speaker 5 (07:12):
So?

Speaker 4 (07:13):
Even when I was playing junior, I liked handling my
own business, but that would be about five six times
a year and normally ag against other guys who were
playing more so they weren't like just specifically heavyweight scrappers.
So it was hard just because I was getting used
to fighting these guys who, like some guys were on
steroids and they were just a lot more experience, have

(07:34):
been doing it since.

Speaker 5 (07:35):
They were kids.

Speaker 4 (07:36):
So yeah, I took boxing lessons in the summertime and
prepared as much as possible, but uh, it was hard,
and at that time, like there was no social media,
so you were getting there was really no way to
escape it. You'd get beat up, you'd get on the bus,
you'd travel four hours that night to the next city,
and you kind of just be sitting there in your seat,
like half concussed, you know, wondering like, oh my god.

Speaker 5 (07:57):
I got to do this again tomorrow night.

Speaker 4 (07:58):
And so it was a definitely a transition and a
hard process to start to understand. But it just taught
me a lot about like adversity and how to deal
with that type of stuff and really prepared me for
what was to come for after my career. So great
life lessons to learn, like getting the shit kicked out
of yourself.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
Yeah, can you got to walk us beat for beat
on how a fight goes down in hockey as casual
as casual?

Speaker 1 (08:27):
Like, is it a fucking look?

Speaker 5 (08:29):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (08:30):
Are you guys talking to each other on the ice?
Is it like just is it just drop them in
fucking go?

Speaker 1 (08:35):
So what is this? Walk us through this.

Speaker 4 (08:37):
So the reason I love to do it the most
was to protect my teammates, especially when they were being
taken advantage of. And that was the one thing that
made it a lot easier when I was going through
all that. And you know, fighting three thirty times a
year for the first time is how appreciative your teammates are.
And so you know, let's say one of our skill
players gets ran by one of these types of players.

Speaker 1 (08:58):
It's what like, let's.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
Say he goes back for a puck and that guy
takes a run and I'm like lays out a big
hit on him, Like there's nothing more than I want
to get on the ice and go challenge that guy
to get retribution for that hit he just throw it
through or if he's like slashing him and trying to
take advantage of him. So that to me is where
I would go on the ice tap him on the
shin pads and say, hey, let's go, motherfucker, or maybe

(09:23):
you know, we were down three to one at home,
and you know, the energy and the building is flat
and our guys aren't really going. I'm trying to provide
a spark to our team, like let's get this fucking
crowd into it and let's get going. That would be
another time where I would line up at a face
off and ask a guy to go. So most of
the time it was just tapping a guy in the
shim pads and saying, hey, let's let's throw down.

Speaker 1 (09:42):
And what do they ever say now?

Speaker 4 (09:44):
Yeah, Like, typically if your team's ahead, you don't want
to lose momentum, so.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
You don't want to get the power play. You don't
want to get yeah.

Speaker 4 (09:52):
Because especially if I'm chasing around the ice and I'm
tapping them on the shin pads, then I would have
gotten an instigator penalty. So you have to be a
little bit more subtle about it, where like you're like off,
a face off is when you just verbally say hey,
you want one, And half the time a guy who
whose team has a lead will be like no, coach
said no, coach said no, and my coach would say
the same thing to me, You go a biz, we

(10:13):
got all the momentum, leave it alone. And it sucked
because sometimes the guy would be tapping on the shin
pad and kind of calling you out in front of
your crowd. And some people they don't give a fuck
about the moment and they paid for their ticket and
they want to see people get their face punched in,
So that sucked. But oftentimes, and that guy, if he
really wanted one, then he would take a run at

(10:34):
one of my teammates and then it was like, okay,
now it's no more questions asked.

Speaker 5 (10:38):
We're fucking going.

Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
Now, what's the difference between a fighter and an agitator?
Because we just had Sean Avery on yes, and I
just want to clarify.

Speaker 4 (10:48):
Talk about another guy who had a great transition out
of playing.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
He's fucking doing another Nolan movie.

Speaker 5 (10:53):
He is. He is an unreal ad.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
He's killing it.

Speaker 2 (10:55):
He's very disciplined to He's part of my neighborhood watch
for my daughter's house. He lives in the same neighborhood.
And so remember that TMZ TMZ video that came out
of him yelling at the kid yes and that was
right by my house.

Speaker 5 (11:11):
No ship.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
Yeah, he's gotten a few Donnie Brooks off the Yeah yeah,
yeah he he.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
I love having him up there. But it makes my
kid feel safe. And he's doing all the jiu jitsu stuff.

Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yeah, he's like, God, he's you pretty to be an
agitator though he was. He was probably one of the
best ever to agitate. I mean, I know you had
him on recently, talked about the bro Dure stuff. Sean
would say some insane ship to people on price, like
places that I would not go if like if if Yeah,

(11:43):
it's just some of the ship he said. Your jaw
would drop and you'd be like, oh my god. I
wouldn't want to be in a relationship if I was
playing against Sean Avery Like, I might even divorce my
wife before I played against him, just to avoid the
type of insults that he would throw. But he was
very good at like picking his spots and then knowing
when to rile the other team up and then not fighting.

Speaker 5 (12:05):
So he was a master of his craft.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
I don't think he left the league with a ton
of friends, but I don't also think he gives a shit.
He runs a tight ship. He's got a tight group
and that's all he cares about.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
Yeah, so the fighter and the agitator is different.

Speaker 4 (12:20):
Yeah, Like, he was also a very good player, and
when he focused on playing, I think he could. He
was a very reliable third line player and even in
some cases he could go up and down the lineup,
Like if you needed Sean to play on the first
line for a night, he could fit in. Maybe not
sustainably for a twenty game stretch, but for me, I
was just more of a knuckle dragger. Where I mean,

(12:43):
the most minutes I ever played in the game, I'll
never forget it. It was eleven minutes in Edmonton. I
had to assist that game, and I felt like I
needed to be in a body cast the next day
because even playing eleven minutes and keeping up to these
world class athletes like that was just not my jam.
So I was comfortable with my five to six minutes
knuckle dragon, fourth line, Dump it in, dump it out,

(13:05):
a boys, change it up, let's go.

Speaker 2 (13:07):
Are you watching film of fighting guys like guys that
you potentially fight, Like I know this guy, he's gonna
pull my jersey, probably give me a right hook or something.

Speaker 4 (13:15):
So fortunately enough for me at the time where I
started doing it, like YouTube was a thing, and then
there slowly social media started coming in, so I could
study that way where the olden days they had to
find like the VHS tapes and cutups. And also I
started fighting in a time where like the American League
actually probably had more of the tough guys in the

(13:36):
NHL because they were slowly weeding out that style in
the NHL where now it's a lot more organic and
there's not as many heavyweights, like guys like Tom Wilson
are still very efficient because they can play and their heavyweights.
So fortunately for me when I was in the NHL,
I wasn't having to scrap the old fighters of the

(13:57):
past where they would grab on and they would just
go punch in the face match where there was no
defense none.

Speaker 5 (14:04):
It was nice.

Speaker 2 (14:05):
I watch it every time, like these guys take fucking
two or three off the face and just keep going, And.

Speaker 4 (14:10):
I was more of a defensive fighter where you look
back and I'm just so grateful. If I was playing
in the seventies, like my nose would be on the
on other side of my head and I probably would
be like eating through a two at this point. So
just a different era, and I guess to answer your
going back to your question, the difference between an agitator
is somebody who doesn't necessarily have to fight all the time,

(14:31):
but can get under people's skin, play the game, and
also handle his business.

Speaker 3 (14:37):
Next, Busy explains has transitioned from the ice to the booth.

Speaker 4 (14:41):
And the next thing you know, I got hired to
do NHL on TNT, and I've been so grateful to
just be a part of that whole franchise. And the
fact that the NBA guys like Shaq, Chuck, Ernie, all
of them have kind of set the table and transformed
the way that broadcasts should be. We're so much looser

(15:01):
and able to snap it around at that pace because
those guys had done what they done, done what they
did prior. And TNT is, in turner, is just a
dream to work for now.

Speaker 2 (15:13):
You started in social media, yeah, ooh, that's how everyone
kind of found you. Yeah, and you jumped over into
the mainstream and you work with TNT. How the fuck
has that been? Because I'm in this world now too,
and it's a fun world.

Speaker 1 (15:25):
How's it for you guys?

Speaker 4 (15:27):
So I don't think I would be on TN T
if it wasn't for the Spit and Chickles podcast. So
Rear Admiral Ra as we call him, him and Wit
started the pod and Mike Gronnell, our producer, hopped on
and then it kind of evolved to what it was
before I hopped on that I actually started as a
color guy with the Coyotes after I retired, so doing

(15:49):
the full game and talking for the three hours really
prepared me for the podcast. Then the podcast got me
the job with T and T because of the popularity
that had grown from it, and also the fact that
when I was playing with the Coyotes, Wayne Gretzky was
actually the coach. Before I got there, the market had
gone down, so he kept his home there and his
two kids, Ty and Trevor, along with my good buddy

(16:12):
Joey Superstein. They were living in this mansion going to ASU.
So I was going there and partying with them, and
we were throwing these after hours like Tom Green would
show up, like it was just this crazy time in
my life. And when the TNT gig came up, Wayne
Gretzky was already hired, and when they were talking about
people to add Ty and Trevor, his kids were like, Dad,

(16:32):
why don't you get Biz on board? Like he's a
fucking clown online, like he would be awesome for the broadcast.
So Wayne's like, all right, and then he mentioned it
to them. I went in for a trial and hit
it off with Liam McHugh, who's an incredible bus driver,
and then yeah, he's an unreal bus driver, Like this
guy's motor's insane, and then and then answered Carter, who'd
already been doing it. And the tryout went great, and

(16:55):
the next thing you know, I got hired to do
NHL on TNT, and I've been so great to just
be a part of that whole franchise and the fact
that the NBA guys like Shaq, Chuck, Ernie, all of
them have kind of set the table and transformed the
way that broadcast should be. Ye, Like, we're so much
looser and able to snap it around at that pace

(17:17):
because those guys had had done what they done, done
what they did prior. And TNT is in turner is
just a dream to work for. It's it's been word
first class and couldn't be more grateful, And.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
It's so funcause I work at Fox and it's fun
watching you guys, And from my experience getting to go
to work and see how we long Terry Bradshaw, it
gives you my football fix. Like everyone asked, don't you
want to coach? I'm like, fuck no, those guys have
no lives. I still get my football fix by going

(17:51):
to work and talking old war stories with Terry Bradshaw.
HOWI long Michael Strahan all those guys and have that
locker room vibe.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
How's the locker room vibe with fucking your guy?

Speaker 5 (18:01):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (18:01):
Gretzki like, how crazy is how is it to get
to work with the fucking great one every day?

Speaker 4 (18:06):
It's surreal And my first year, especially because he was
doing a little bit more, and I've even shocked the
fact that he's doing it. He's done so much as
an ambassador for the game. He does so much for
the alumni, So the fact that we even get to
be in his presence is incredible. And our first year
before Rick Talcket, his good buddy, had got a head
coaching job with the Vancouver Canucks. After broadcast, we'd go

(18:29):
back to their whether you know, whether it was Wayne
or Rick's room, and they would just tell these stories
for hours and hours, and so I'd be I'd be
up till four thirty and I'd have a six am
car going, But I didn't care. I just wanted to
be here in these iconic stories that have transformed the game,
and stories that you hear about on television when they're
breaking all down. But even like more of the incurtesies.

Speaker 1 (18:53):
Is that you said, I'm not a bord guy.

Speaker 5 (18:55):
Mey neither. So I tried a big one that's like
four syllables.

Speaker 4 (18:58):
I should probably stick to my na off the glass
and out the little details.

Speaker 5 (19:02):
That's what it's the details.

Speaker 4 (19:04):
Even more so so just to be around him and
be in his presence, it's it's like I pitched myself
all the time. He's the greatest to ever do it.
And also the reason they call him the great one
is not because of what he accomplished on the ice,
but also what he's done off the ice, Like there's
no bigger guy. Like all he wants to do is
help the former players, whether it's get them insurance and

(19:26):
grow the game and just help everybody out in the
hockey world.

Speaker 5 (19:29):
And uh, just an unreal ambassador for the game of hockey.

Speaker 1 (19:33):
He seems like just a man.

Speaker 5 (19:35):
He is the man, dude, he's the man.

Speaker 2 (19:37):
He looks like I've never met him, he's the best.

Speaker 1 (19:40):
He seems so cool.

Speaker 4 (19:42):
I'll tell him next time he's here. I bet you
he would come on your podcast.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
I would love to have fucking Wayne Gretzki on the
goddamn podcast.

Speaker 4 (19:48):
Cause his kids, his kids help run his hockey school,
his merchandise, so they're keeping it as a family business
and they run his socials. So he went on the
THEO Von podcast. Yeah, so they'll be like, Dad, go
on this and he'd be like, okay, So he just
loves it, and he'd.

Speaker 1 (20:02):
Be like a great family guy.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
But that's like a you know, we were very fortunate
in our sport to have a great face guy too,
like Tom. You know the guys that are faces of
leagues and that are generational greats. They're not just that
because they're great on the fielder on the ice. It's
because they're overall just great dudes, great humans, and that's

(20:24):
why there's so much greater than everyone.

Speaker 4 (20:27):
Yeah, and and exactly, and like going back, look at
how much Tom's done for the game, Like he would think, man,
go go chill on a beach and and go relax,
go enjoy it, and it's almost like he feels like
he's indebted to the game based on what it's provided
his life to continue to grow it and obviously to
continue to be a.

Speaker 5 (20:45):
Part of it.

Speaker 1 (20:45):
And he just loves it.

Speaker 4 (20:46):
And yeah, and you could tell with all of them
it's just a fabric of their being and uh yeah,
it's just because.

Speaker 2 (20:52):
They respect the game and they understand. You know, you
get a lot of these, a lot of people that's
you know, I'm I'm not letting the sport find me.

Speaker 1 (21:02):
Well, you know, the great ones do.

Speaker 2 (21:04):
Yeah, they understand that they're in debt to the sport
because what the sport has given us. Yeah, and you
love that sport, you know what I mean. And that's
what you see from those two specifically, what's it like
watching a game with them, is he is he breaking
that shit down? Oh?

Speaker 4 (21:19):
Yeah, that and also how it will correlate to like
just this insane monumental moment throughout hockey history. So that's
the best thing with him. It's like goosebumps, goosebumps, choose
your own ending. He could bring it anywhere. So getting
to watch he also sees it like what's the term,
he's almost like a savant.

Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (21:37):
So sometimes he'll like describe a plan. I'll be like, oh, yeah,
Like I don't know what the fuck he's saying, kidd,
you should have dumped it in.

Speaker 5 (21:45):
But uh.

Speaker 4 (21:46):
Even to go back to Wayne and and why he
is the way he is, his father Walter like he
was an icon in himself, and probably a lot of
the pressure that he took off Wayne when he was
even going through it, and the fact that he was
an ambassador in himself, whether he was signing autographs or
doing media hits, like he really pushed it upon Wayne

(22:07):
to continue that that ambassadorship and move the game forward.
And even to when Wayne was a child, his father
was so innovative where he built a pond in his
backyard and he would be doing.

Speaker 5 (22:20):
Drills with tennis balls and.

Speaker 4 (22:23):
Wayne would be like, why am I doing drills with
a tennis ball rather than a puck? And he'd say,
because if you can control a tennis ball, your hands
will be so soft that way, when the puck comes,
you'll be able to cradle it so much smoother and
softer than everybody else. And that was like, those were
like little details that he taught Wayne at a young
age that propelled him to be this phenom and end

(22:44):
up living up to everything that like kind of like Mcjesus,
like all the hype, he lived up to every single
ounce of it.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
Now, Diz explains why the NHL is thriving.

Speaker 4 (22:54):
I feel like we're entering like a new the Golden
era hockey renaissance. So I actually I knew that I
could never play in the NHL again when I played
in an exhibition game when I was with the LA
Kings organization, so I was in training camp. They did
this like Craft Hockeyville game and it was in like Vernon, BC,

(23:14):
So we traveled there. I got to play in the game,
and I was obviously playing fourth line, and you'd heard
about this kid, and I think this was his first
year in the league and his first training camp. So
I ended up getting caught out on the ice twice
against him, and he grabbed the puck in his own end,
went through our whole five guys and put it in.
The second time he did it, he set somebody up

(23:35):
and they scored. So two times I got caught out
against him, and the speed in which he was skating
and controlling the puck. After the game, I'm like I'm done,
there's no way, and then sure enough I got sent
home the next day, like back down to the minors.

Speaker 5 (23:47):
So that was the end of it.

Speaker 4 (23:48):
And I knew that this game was being handed off
to another level in which I didn't think was.

Speaker 5 (23:53):
Ever going to be possible.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
Jesus, it's exciting though.

Speaker 5 (23:57):
It's so exciting.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
That's exciting for hockey because the leagues need one guy,
like who's Basketball's guy right now, which is in a
different form of fashion because they have a bunch of guys,
but they're not like American guys, so they can't build around.
Hockey's in a different world where the hockey I consider
Canada and American guys like for the North in America,

(24:21):
you know what I mean, Yeah, where you can rally
behind at least in this country, like they don't have
that in a lot of other sports.

Speaker 1 (24:29):
Right now, hockey you have a future.

Speaker 4 (24:31):
So not only mcjesus as we call him, but like
Nathan McKinnon.

Speaker 1 (24:35):
McKinnon, Austin Matthews too.

Speaker 5 (24:36):
Austin Matthews, he had sixty nine goals last year.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
Giggb you then you got his predecessor or he's got
you got his uh you just got a couple of
little battles for It's like.

Speaker 4 (24:46):
I feel like hockey is going into It's almost like
it's glory days because of just the growth of the
game in the United States and given the population. Uh,
they form the development program here, so the American teacher states,
so they.

Speaker 1 (25:01):
Have they would they hire.

Speaker 2 (25:03):
I don't know who runs the Canadian guys.

Speaker 5 (25:06):
Uh, there are a.

Speaker 4 (25:08):
Lot of Canadian hockey players that have settled in the
States and probably a big reason as to why the
minor programs in these different cities, whether it's a Dallas, Florida,
that these kids are obviously being raised in the States
as Americans and the game is growing here. Yeah, Canadians
do have a little part to do with it, but
there's tons of amazing.

Speaker 1 (25:27):
American John barseltanny.

Speaker 4 (25:31):
I was, yeah, PMT is like you never know where
they're going. So I just kind of got off the
rails at them. So had to take credit, especially during
this time of the Four Nations and all the controversy
between US and Canada. But but no, it's this The
game is in a great place and all these players
are pushing the envelope, and especially the US with how
many great players they have. They have Jack Echel, you

(25:53):
just mentioned Austin Matthews. Uh, they have some great defenseman
even Canada like Cal McCarry. You see his pitch on
the space he is. Yeah, he's a UMass guy. He
Wayne Gretzy just said the other day. He goes biz.
He's the best thing. Like he's the biggest comparable to
Bobby or I've ever seen, and that is very high praise.
He revolutionized the game as a defenseman where he would

(26:15):
just take the puck from his own end, he'd skate
through the team and and do whatever he did out there.
And Cale mccarr defensively and offensively, is just an absolute
phenom and living up to every expectation to Quinn Hughes,
he's an American, He's a water bug out there. So
he won last year's Norris ahead of Cale mccarr. So
you almost like you have these battles going on between

(26:37):
each of these positions, which is a good thing because
it's just forcing them all to up their game. And
on top of that, you have a storyline of of
the Hughes brothers.

Speaker 1 (26:46):
So this I love that hockey guy. There's so many
goddamn brothers. In the hunt.

Speaker 2 (26:50):
Three of them that are all under they're all like
all stars.

Speaker 4 (26:54):
You got the Kachuck Brothers who are now the modern
day Bash Brothers, and the Mighty Ducks.

Speaker 1 (27:00):
Yeah, yeah, a hockey renaissance.

Speaker 2 (27:02):
Olympics next year too, huh, Olympics next year.

Speaker 6 (27:04):
This one, I mean, this is really gonna be that
one two punch.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
Honestly.

Speaker 2 (27:08):
Yeah, they timed it at perfect with the four nation
thing because now you got Olympics, which always gives his
fucking cheers, and playoff hockey's coming up, so you're gonna
get this and this back off.

Speaker 4 (27:18):
Betman gets so much flack, and I don't know if
it's just a thing where like all the all all
the guys who run the leagues, the commissioners get it.
But as much as flack as he takes, he's done
an exceptional job along with the league, the players association,
the alumni to put it in a position where it
is now. It'd been nine years since hockey had best
on best for the COVID reason, and then at one

(27:41):
point they just couldn't reach an agreement on an insurance situation.
But you see, yeah, you see him to know quite
a bit of what's going on.

Speaker 6 (27:48):
Since the Crosby Golden goal.

Speaker 5 (27:50):
The was there was there a World Cup.

Speaker 4 (27:52):
They did form a World Cup where they had like
an under twenty five team, so it wasn't necessarily that traditional,
but the fact that they did it the first one
in nine years, McDavid and Crosby were able to put
on Team Canada Jersey together. People want to act like
it's a maybe, like call an all Star game or
this makeshift event, but those are the four leading hockey

(28:13):
nations outside of Russia.

Speaker 5 (28:17):
What's that they're on time out? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (28:19):
I don't for that's that's for other political reasons that
I don't really feel to dive into the legs on.
But they end up having this thing the year before
the Olympics in order to kind of just really propel
it and get people anticipated for what will be an incredible,
incredible event in Italy. So hockey is on a heater
right now and it couldn't be in a better place.
Crosby I believe he will go down as a Mount

(28:43):
Rushmore player. It's hard because the debate is is you
have Gordie Howe, you have Bobby or Wayne Gretzky and
Mario Lemieux.

Speaker 5 (28:52):
I don't know who you.

Speaker 4 (28:53):
Take off that list, and and most people listening might
say you're not taking any of them off the list,
while then we're chiseling out a fifth because Sidney Crosby
and what he's able to do as a winner, And
fuck chisel on a six once he breaks the gold record,
like I don't know, like maybe maybe you do a
modern day version of it and eventually Cale mccarr will

(29:14):
be on it because that's just how good he is.
So and then fucking Nathan McKinnon, like you could argue
as good as Connor McDavid is that Nathan McKinnon in
the last two year stretch is better. He won the
MVP last year, He's got his Stanley Cup. I believe
he did. He win the con Smith or was a
Cal mccarr who got it. I think it might have
been Cale got it. But Nathan McKinnon might might win

(29:38):
another MVP this year. And to watch him play much
like McDavid. He is ferocious, He gallops on the ice,
he will hit guys and he can do it all.
I actually Bang for Buck would probably put McKinnon's slight
edge favorite over who to watch more so than McDavid.

(29:59):
No disrespect to Connor, Like I love Connor. I just
like the fact that McKinnon he is, he's tapped like MJ.
Like he's the guy in the locker room, Like it
doesn't matter if it's his best friend. If he doesn't
think you're bringing it that day, he'll be like.

Speaker 5 (30:14):
What the fuck are you doing? Move the fucking buck,
and like that's just how he is. He's the dog.

Speaker 4 (30:20):
Yeah, he's the dog and everybody has to match his intensity.

Speaker 3 (30:24):
Next, Bizz talks about how Sidney Crosby saved hockey.

Speaker 4 (30:28):
Sid would come to the rink every day and the
way that he would prepare, the way that he would
be so focused when the drill was being drawn up.
He would be the first guy in line and he
would set the tone to every single drill and if
the level wasn't at the level, he would be barking.

Speaker 6 (30:44):
You were a part of the organization right at the
start of the Crosby Gino La Tang flower, Yeah, can
you just can you in the organization in the building,
could you see that was coming?

Speaker 4 (30:53):
Oh yeah, yeah, it was kind of like I'm sure
that you doubt what with Tom That was my first
six experience with playing with a guy who was obsessed
with the game, and Sid would come to the rink
every day, and the way that he would prepare, the
way that he would be so focused when the drill
was being drawn up. He would be the first guy

(31:14):
in line and he would set the tone to every
single drill and if the level wasn't at the level,
he would be barking. And even if I was the
second guy in line, Gino of Genny Malklin, he'd come
in and he'd be like, Bizz back in the line,
We're fucking set in the tone. So to watch of
Genny Malkin, Crosby, Mark, Andre Florey who's still playing, all

(31:34):
of them were playing. It's crazy let tang and the
enthusiasm they also brought to the rink. You just knew
that it was just a matter of time before they
hoisted the cup and really saved the team from probably moving.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
So but they were going to move the Penguins, don't
they love the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Speaker 5 (31:53):
It was just a dark time, right, Like it was.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
One of the isn't that like one of the most historic?

Speaker 4 (31:59):
Yeah, because of Mario and Yoger and what they'd done.
But you know, unfortunately they were reaching their dog days.
Mario was retiring and that lottery ball where they won
and they got Sidney Crosby changed at all, and then
the following year they got Malcolm and actually the year
before that it was my draft when they ended up

(32:19):
picking Marc Andre Fleury at number one overall. So they
were fortunate enough to get those spots in the draft,
but they didn't. Yeah, Jordan Stall was huge. He was
a great third line center for them at a young
age when they ended up winning it. So it was
just a perfect time. And actually what was cool about it.
The year that I was drafted was three and I
got to go to training camp where it was one

(32:41):
of marios, if not his last year, so I got
to do training camp with Mario Lemieux and share the ICELM.
I was so fucking nervous. I was in his group
in training camp, and I'll never forget. We were doing
this easy drill where the defenseman rounds the net and
at this time I was still a d and all
you had to do was was hit the wing or
along the wall. It was a fifteen foot fucking pass

(33:02):
and I rounded the net and it was Mario and
I missed him by about twenty feet and they had
to blow down the drill and we had to restart,
and I was so embarrassed.

Speaker 1 (33:10):
Did he say anything like what's up kid?

Speaker 4 (33:12):
No, No, he was so cool about it, and you
know it was Eddie Ulcik was a coach at the time,
and so thankfully the next time I did it, I
hit his tape. But I'll never forget he must have
had a golf match after the practice and we didn't
have the scrimmage that day. So normally you bag skate
when you don't you know what to bag skate was,
and to practice like line nopucks, just conditioning and yeah,

(33:36):
ed Zoe was our coach at the time. Again he
was like, all right, boys, great practice, great pace today.
We're just gonna do a little skate and then Mario's
like eight and he's like gives that the now we're good,
and then ed Joe's like, great practice today, boys, enjoy yourselves,
play rebound if you want, and have a great day.
And that was like I was like, what, Like I'd
never seen anything like that, And just Mario's aura and

(33:59):
and seeing him around was was just like something I'll
never forget. So my time in Pittsburgh, as much as
it was in the minors and in even the ECHL,
I was just grateful to spend that little a time
around those legends. You got to be around some fucking
legend legends. I'll never forget.

Speaker 1 (34:16):
You're still around legend, You're a legend.

Speaker 4 (34:19):
So no, the of Guiney Malkin, that was the year.
I want to say he might have won the concert
that first year they won. He won the Heart too,
I think, yeah, he was just on fire. And when
you do an entry level contract in the NHL, you're
able to get bonuses. So that following training camp, I
was still on the team and we're riding the bike

(34:40):
and then this Frank Bernomo, who was like the PR guy,
he comes off and drops an envelope and you could
see once he opened it, of guinea Malkin's face lit up,
and I was like, what's going on over there?

Speaker 5 (34:51):
And he handed it over.

Speaker 4 (34:52):
And it was like a million dollar check that he'd
gotten for all his bonuses. And I was playing in
the A at the time, making peanuts, and I just like,
I'll never forget. And I think a few days later
his nine to eleven, poor showed up, like, this guy
is just zipping around town. No way a cop would
pull him over because they probably knew it was Gino.
So just just living legends and a silly time in

(35:13):
my life. Oh my god, are you ever around when
his parents?

Speaker 5 (35:15):
Would you have?

Speaker 4 (35:17):
I was not there, but that was when the iconic
series that he had against the Carolina Hurricle, when he
had the hat trick that game and he scored that
wrap around goal he went around the net and then
he just like did like a spinner aram of backhand
top cheese, and his mom's crying in the stands and
everybody's like chanting, Geneo, Geneo, and yeah, I actually unfortunately

(35:41):
I was in the A at the time then and
we were in playoffs and I got hit ash over
tea kettle. So I had a guy hit me low
and high, and it just so happens. The guy who
hit me high, he stepped on my wrist, and so
I was in getting surgery because it cut my like
tendons in my.

Speaker 2 (35:58):
You could die that way if you want to kill yourself,
slit your wrists.

Speaker 4 (36:01):
But I got up and I saw the person in
the front row. So we were in a playoff series
against the Hershey Bears, and their NHL team was the
Washington Capitals, and Pittsburgh was playing Washington in the second round.
That was always the biggest rivalry. It was OVI and
Sid where they would have to match games and it
would go to game seven. It was like, so good

(36:22):
for the game. These guys carry the league forever. And
so you know, I was in the a I got
my wrist stepped on and I got up and I
could see the people in the front row grabbing their
mouth being like oh my god. And I had blood
on my jersey. So I'm like patting my head, looking
at my hand, like what's bleeding? And then I looked
at my other hand and it just squirting out blood.
And we had a medic on the team who'd went

(36:43):
to like the I forget what war. It was like
like one of those yes, one of those where he
that was like the least of what he'd seen. So
fortunately I went down the tunnel with a thread and needle.
He closed it off. I was able to get to
the hospital and they shipped me off the Pittsburgh So
I was there for that series for a couple of

(37:04):
games when they were playing against Washington.

Speaker 5 (37:07):
That was that iconic series.

Speaker 4 (37:08):
So Hatrick Game, the Dueling hat Trick, I want to say,
was in Washington, but I was watching it on a
TV when I was in Pittsburgh. And then they ended
up coming back to Pittsburgh for I think it was
like game six or something like that. So just a
crazy time. And to be in the Pittsburgh organization, which.

Speaker 1 (37:25):
The energy, like.

Speaker 4 (37:28):
The ego was unbelievable, and the acoustics were perfect as
shitty as the dressing rooms were and whatever the facility,
who gave a fuck. It was iconic and I didn't
care just because of the vibe in that arena. It
was awesome. Sucks they had to tear it down. But
you know, I don't like the way they build these
new rinks. There's not enough character in my opinion. I

(37:50):
like they when they do them a little different.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
Geez.

Speaker 5 (37:54):
But yeah, I know we kind of got off the
rails there.

Speaker 6 (37:57):
Thank you for you humoring me. You're the first penguin
on our show rooms episodes.

Speaker 5 (38:01):
Yeah, no, it was.

Speaker 2 (38:03):
I said he was from Massachusetts and the guy is
a Penguins fan.

Speaker 6 (38:06):
I like the animal and my penguin. My parents like
Pittsburgh for a little bit. Yeah, that's Mario and it
was Yager my number growing up.

Speaker 1 (38:15):
He grew up.

Speaker 5 (38:16):
I was in the middle.

Speaker 4 (38:17):
Yeah, Mario was another guy just like Gretzky where they
would have been very close in points if he stayed
healthy and he didn't deal with the cancer and and
the back issues, and like Mario was just badass.

Speaker 5 (38:29):
Man.

Speaker 4 (38:29):
He would show up like I don't I don't know
how much training he was doing in the off season.
He'd be ripping heaters and fucking goal out there, like
two goals to assis, like it was easy.

Speaker 5 (38:38):
How big of a legend are you?

Speaker 4 (38:40):
You know?

Speaker 1 (38:40):
I see it a lot with these hockey guys. Man,
I went out.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
I just I just remember going out with you guys,
and you guys would have a game the next day.
I would be in like off season training, like stressing, like, man,
I'm not gonna be able to run tomorrow for team run.
These guys go out and fucking play hockey the next day.
He dialed Savage.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
Just now, Biz talks about the hockey game that broke
the internet.

Speaker 1 (39:04):
In one sentence, why did you pick this game?

Speaker 4 (39:07):
Well, I kind of want to pick both, not only
the championship game, but the round robin game that had
three fights in the first nine seconds. Were talking about it.
We can kind of go all over the board. But
what an amazing time for hockey right now. It's just
on an absolute heater, not only the Four Nations, but
now all of a sudden, you go back to regular
season and Ovechin gets a hat trick in his second

(39:27):
game back after the break, where he's thirteen goals away
from breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal record.

Speaker 5 (39:32):
Who would have ever fucking thought.

Speaker 2 (39:34):
So, I'm not a hockey guy and I'd never even
thought that would happen.

Speaker 5 (39:37):
Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 4 (39:38):
It's that's why I just feel like there's so many
casual sports fans right now that have become addicted to
hockey just based on, you know, the energy that guys
are putting into it, you know how they're so relatable,
and of course just the action. It's eighty two games,
but guys show up much like football guys. It's like
they put on the gear and they're ready to go.
And regardless of it being a quote unquote all star

(40:01):
format at the Four Nations, these guys were scrapping for
each other's countries.

Speaker 1 (40:05):
Was this the greatest game of all time.

Speaker 4 (40:08):
So I would say that this championship game will go
down at least as one of my favorites as far
as a rating standpoint. It was the most viewed non
Olympic game in hockey's history, So for what it did
for the game and the way that it just kind
of reached out for our sport, I would probably put
it as my number one at this point. That might

(40:29):
be recency bias. A lot of people might be shaking
their head, but I can't, off the top of my
head think of a more anticipated game in my lifetime.

Speaker 1 (40:37):
As a casual puckhead.

Speaker 2 (40:42):
I couldn't agree with you more cultural impact of this
specific game. I mean, we're not even going to get
to see how big it's going to create because we're
so fucking fresh off of it. But like that put
the All Star weekend basketball like slap that down. Like
it was like the step son, the redheaded step son.

(41:05):
And it also it made me as a football player,
be disappointed in our All Star Game and our Pro Bowl, shit,
whatever our activities. And it has to do with how
the players came out and fucking showed up.

Speaker 1 (41:19):
Man.

Speaker 2 (41:19):
It's one thing I've always admired about the hockey boys. Yeah,
like they're just they're fucking a bunch a group of
dudes that like to work hard, drink beer, fuck with
each other, bus balls, hate each other in between the ice,
but then be able to enjoy a pine after. Man,
it's fucking this was fucking awesome.

Speaker 4 (41:39):
Hockey culture is a very special place and like even
the reason I'm in town is because I played with
the La Kings organization. They had a ten year anniversary
for our Calder Cup winning the Miners. But it just
so happens that they threw this this charity event in
the last four weeks. They put it together and it
was for all the victims of the fires. Yeah, people
who have been displaced from their home. Obviously the first

(42:01):
responders in La FD, so they were able to do this.
So just the hockey community coming together along with celebrities.
It's just an awesome culture and it's continuing to thrive.
And it just so happens it was on NBA All
Star weekend, So I just feel like all the world's
collided where everybody wanted to shit on the NBA and
maybe some of their stars attitude towards showing up for

(42:21):
the full eighty two game season, and then the way
that hockey really treated this four Nations face off, So
it was an incredible, credible event. And as I were,
you dialed in the whole time, Like, did you watch
the full sixty minutes of the final?

Speaker 1 (42:34):
I watched.

Speaker 2 (42:37):
I watched the first two goals, and I was sidetracked.
And then I got back into overtime and I saw
fucking mcjesus. I mean, he wouldn't even do anything all game.
And I don't know it that well.

Speaker 5 (42:50):
I'm what were you sidetracked with? I was? I don't know.

Speaker 1 (42:54):
I think it was like eating a brito or.

Speaker 7 (42:57):
I feel like you have a terrible Yeah, I think
you were sending memes during the third period that was
maybe setting memes about the game, talking ship all my
fucking Canadian friends.

Speaker 5 (43:10):
We got this.

Speaker 1 (43:11):
Yeah it didn't work out.

Speaker 5 (43:13):
No, no it didn't.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
I mean those that three fight game that put in
everyone's radar, what the fuck is this for Nations thing?

Speaker 4 (43:21):
And and the fact that like you know, football is
over right, Football is a juggernaut. There's no taking viewership
away from that. But after the Super Bowl and and
not really much going on with the NBA, I mean,
other than like the shitty All Star game they got going.
Everybody's just craving some type of sport, so the timing
of it all was just perfect for the NHL. And
by the start of the game to the end of

(43:43):
the game, it was the conversation on Twitter. It's all
anybody was talking about, even if they knew nothing about hockey.
They were just so invested in the hatred between USA
and Canada, which at this point you could obviously put
the Russians, the Swedes, and the Fins at the top
of the list. But the two leading hockey nations and
the world right now are in North America and it's
exciting times as it is.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
Let's break down the game. This team a team, be
quick with it.

Speaker 6 (44:07):
We getting led by Mike Selvin. The twenty three man
roster had a saw mix of events and young bucks.
This team featured two sets of brothers and six sets
of NHL teammates. Notable dudes Austin Matthews, the Tucks, Jack Eichel,
Jake Gunsel, Connor Hallibuck, and Charlie McAvoy.

Speaker 5 (44:23):
It's an All Star team, so there's.

Speaker 1 (44:24):
More names, but it's an All Star team.

Speaker 2 (44:26):
But we didn't have our best all stars out there
because Macavoy had a fucking shoulder thing.

Speaker 5 (44:29):
Know what's this?

Speaker 1 (44:30):
What's this an infection?

Speaker 5 (44:32):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (44:32):
So from according to the Boston Bruins, they released a statement.
I don't know if they were necessarily crazy about how
it was handled. So it escalated to now where he's
going to miss more time. They said it was an
affection in his shoulder. That's the only details that I got.

Speaker 2 (44:46):
Gee, this is the this is the ship that could
get the all staring games fucked up.

Speaker 1 (44:52):
Your star player goes down.

Speaker 5 (44:54):
Yeah, yeah, you don't want this is it?

Speaker 1 (44:56):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (44:57):
This is the only This is why, This is what
all the other people are going to say, like, this
is why the other leagues don't play their best players
all the time.

Speaker 4 (45:04):
I think it would be shortsighted to not understand what
this did for the game. That is part of the
discrepancy and why the owners push back on doing the Olympics.
The Olympics don't pay the NHL anything to use their resources.
So these owners are worried about these guys going and
all of a sudden, you got a guy like Jack Hughes,
Well what if he goes down where you're trying to

(45:25):
make a playoff push with the New Jersey Devils.

Speaker 5 (45:28):
So I thought, in a perfect world.

Speaker 4 (45:30):
There maybe could be some financial kickback considering what hockey
is doing for the Olympics or these one off events,
but I guess the viewership and the exposure to the
game should be enough.

Speaker 1 (45:42):
Now, how do you describe this US team?

Speaker 5 (45:45):
Unreal?

Speaker 4 (45:46):
They got a little bit of everything. The biggest thing
about the US is the guys that they still have
coming up right, And there's a lot of young guys
on this roster, like Brock Faber, very young defenseman for
the Minnesota whild where if you were to watch from
play it would have been like this guy's a thirty
year old season vet. Another guy Jacob Slavin, like these
guys are we're not household names before this tournament, who

(46:08):
are just at exceptional exceptional players. Zach Wrensky's still young.
Quinn Hughes I want to think I think he's like,
what twenty five years old? He's not that old, maybe
twenty six. So that's what really stands out to me
is just where USA Hockey is heading and the guys
that they have on this.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
Roster, what's prime age for hockey.

Speaker 4 (46:29):
It might be like this with football, but there's it's
slowly going down or course, sorry, quickly moving like down.
In age, I would say prime would probably be about
twenty eight years old now.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
And I'd say that that's when I was at my
athletic prime. Yeah, twenty eight, twenty nine, twenty eight. It's
when your man strength hits your your knowledge.

Speaker 4 (46:48):
Yeah, yeah, that's pretty much the peak. And I think
that US are really hitting that stride. The only thing
about Canada now is is Sidney Crosby's on the back nine,
so that really sucks. Brad mar Shaw's on the back nine.
So really this and the Olympics will be oh yeah, exactly.
We'll be a passing of the torch, more so for

(47:09):
the Canadians than the Americans. And we did touch on
the Russians political climate aside. I think it would be
a travesty if Russia was not able to compete in
the next Olympics in hockey, just because of when Crosby
and Ovechkin came into the league, there was so much
expectation and these guys have carried the league for twenty years,

(47:33):
and you would be able to have Malcoln Ovechkin, Blebroski
and some of these older Russian players who have carried
the torch for them handing it off to the capricesovs
in the next wave of Russian player and much like Canada,
so to not have them involved as a top five

(47:55):
hockey nation would would suck specifically for the hockey top
Like sometimes when I say that on a podcast like ours,
you'll see people commenting like there's a reason they're not involved.
It's like, bro, I don't know what the fuck is
going on with all this warfare and political bullshit head politics.

Speaker 5 (48:12):
Yeah, I got my grade ten.

Speaker 4 (48:14):
I'm like fucking Ricky from trailer park boards for crying
out round. Like, I got three percent on my grade
eleven math exam.

Speaker 5 (48:21):
I fail. I failed.

Speaker 4 (48:23):
I failed my States and Capital's test for crying out loud.
So like, don't look at me for that. I just
want to.

Speaker 5 (48:28):
See good hockey Canada or of US US US.

Speaker 1 (48:32):
It's not understandable. You're not from here.

Speaker 5 (48:34):
Yeah right, I thank you, thank you for back.

Speaker 1 (48:36):
That's understandable.

Speaker 5 (48:37):
You're a great guy.

Speaker 2 (48:37):
I mean there'd be like I would tell you there's
probably fifty percent of the NFL that doesn't know all
the states and free.

Speaker 4 (48:43):
And to be fair, I probably I probably failed my
territory in province a test too if if we had
it in Canada.

Speaker 5 (48:50):
So, uh yeah, not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Speaker 4 (48:53):
And also going back to my concussions, a lot of
CT here.

Speaker 2 (48:57):
It's always it's a great thing to blame. It's it's
a good card as an ex athlete.

Speaker 5 (49:03):
You'll usually on that one.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
We're gonna name Yeah, I d for a living for
twelve years for a syllable word ct ct e y
yeah ct no I met earlier tea. How do you
describe this Canada team?

Speaker 6 (49:21):
And Team Canada led by John Cooper as usual, this
is a heck of a roster led by vets Sidney Crosby,
Brad marsh On along with three Lightning players uh fords
were stack Conor McDavid, Nathan McKinnon, Mitch Marner, goaltender Bennington just.

Speaker 2 (49:34):
The Bennington kid. I thought he was. I was watching
that game. He had like four or five saves that
I was like, this game should be over. Yeah, he
had some like unreal saves in overtime and late in
like the third I think did he not?

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Or oh oh yeah, open he just fucking swiped that thing.

Speaker 5 (49:54):
You're bang on.

Speaker 4 (49:55):
And and I don't know how many people listening know
his story. Uh, kind of like my trajectory where he's
gotten a little bit of trouble and and you know,
was down in the echl and Ahl and then eventually
he got recalled halfway through the year, the year that
Saint Louis won the Stanley Cup, and he just went
on this incredible tear and and uh, he's actually named

(50:15):
after Michael Jordan. His father named him after Michael Jordan.
He just kind of has that that pedigree where the
bigger the moment, the bigger he plays. And uh, he
won Game seven in the Boston Garden. Uh, and then
you know, since then has had a great career, but
he really thrives under pressure and those moments where his
regular season numbers might not be the best, but if

(50:38):
you got one game and you need a goalie in that,
that's that's who I'm.

Speaker 5 (50:42):
Picking for Team Canada.

Speaker 1 (50:43):
Nut cutting time.

Speaker 5 (50:44):
That's the guy that's been nasty. They call him the Snowman.

Speaker 4 (50:49):
I don't need to go into that, but he's got
a lot of fun nicknames and he's absolute character off
the ice, going up top to John Cooper obviously won
a couple of Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I
would compare him to like a hockey's version of Phil Jackson,
not you know, ten championships, but so well spoken, so methodical,

(51:09):
unreal on the mic, an incredible motivator and just really
knows how to manage the egos.

Speaker 1 (51:15):
You know, who's the team asshole.

Speaker 4 (51:21):
I would say that Marshawn plays a perfect villain and
is a guy who from a veteran standpoint and the
fact that he doesn't have to carry the weight as
so much of a player.

Speaker 5 (51:33):
In that locker room that we're looking at right now.

Speaker 4 (51:35):
He's the guy who probably handles all the media and
settles the guy down the best and is also chirping
the most on the bench. You don't want you don't
want Connor or McKinnon having to worry about Josh and
with the other team. You want to have guys who
are the factors and guys taking the focus away from that.
I thought Hegel did an incredible job against fighting Matthew Kuchuck,

(51:58):
even though he's a little bit undersized, and handle himself
well in the media as well.

Speaker 5 (52:03):
So Canada had its dogs in the lineup.

Speaker 2 (52:06):
How do you sum up this rivalry Canada US. Now
it's got to be at the highest it's ever been.

Speaker 4 (52:12):
I think that that hockey is going to do insane
numbers at the Olympics in Italy. I also think that
this experience of controlling the best on best tells me
that the NHL doesn't need the Olympics to grow it
because you're also in a different time zone. So now

(52:32):
it's inconveniencing North America, where hockey's at its biggest, and
also with the best on best being either in North
America and or Sweden and Finland, you are in the
mecca of where hockey can grow the most and the
most people are watching.

Speaker 5 (52:49):
Thanks for listening.

Speaker 6 (52:50):
Remember to tune in every Tuesday for a brand new
episode and every Sunday for another games with names high
that area.

Speaker 4 (53:00):
U