February 19, 2025 • 50 mins
Voice of the Roadrunners Jonathon Schaffer and Co-Host Kim Cota-Robles were joined by forward and assistant captain Andrew Agozzino as he gets closer to his return to the ice. They talk about his first season in Tucson and his career in the AHL and him and Johnny's first time reuniting after their time in San Jose.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's five o'clock.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Got yours hues Day, don The's two Sun Roadrunners Happy
Out from Fox Sports fourteen fifty AM Jonathan Shit right,
road Well, we know.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
The story, but you gotta tell the viewers that starts.
Speaker 4 (00:14):
It's so funny.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's our usual Tuesday night get together.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
So I don't know, maybe we should start implementing some
breakdance pregames during the season and see how that goes.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Right here on Tucson Sports Day yet, Fox Sports fourteen
fifty AF.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Fox Sports fourteen fifty AM.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Our usual Tuesday night get together, Roadrunners Happy Hour Jonathan
Schaeffer alongside me as always, Kim Coder roblaz and right
off the top of the hour, a very special guest
for this week's show, number twenty nine, Ford Andrew Agazino. Andrew,
Welcome to the show. We've been trying to get you
on for quite some time. You've been busy with the
rehab process, but you're you're really close to getting back,
(00:53):
and just what's the whole process been like to, you know,
getting back to the playing again.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah, it's it's been some long day working with the
training staff to try and get back as quick as
I can. To playing. So I flick, We're almost there.
It's been some great work by everyone involved, so hopefully
be back shortly.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Yeah, and again, welcome, Welcome to tu SA. I mean
you've been here for a while already.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
We're in the late stages of the season, but it's
your first year as a roadrunner and you've played a
lot in this specific division against us as well. So
what has this first year been like for you in
Tucson and just what have been your takeaways from it
as well?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
It's been great. I think it was always a place
to come on the road that you enjoyed for the
weekend and stuff like that. But you really don't know
how great of a community really is. You know, my family,
we've really found a home here. We really enjoy it.
My wife's very happy living in Tucson. Obviously, the weather's perfect,
(01:55):
but it's more so the community, the people we've met
that have really made it feel like home. And it's
been you know, it's been a fun team to be
a part of so far.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Was it ever a spot you ever thought you would
be playing at? And because obviously every off season you
never know where you're gonna end up, but you know,
throughout the years you played here, was it ever just
you know, maybe I'll be here one day. And what
did the whole off season process look like in signing
the two way contract with the Utah Hockey Club.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, I think there's a possibility you can play anywhere. Really. Yeah,
with how you know the off season unfolds. But you know,
it was something that Utah had reached out early in
the off season and then you know, it just kind
of came together there on July first, and there wasn't
really too much to it. Was, like I said, said,
they reached out early, and so something that was always
(02:44):
kind of on the burner, and then it was just
able to get done pretty quickly once free agency started.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
So, Andrew, it's crazy that this is our first time
talking to you and you've been here for so long.
I don't know any of the Andrew Agazino lore, Like
what's your story? I know you come from Kleinberg, Ontario,
which is I'm googling it now in Canada.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
North of Toronto?
Speaker 5 (03:11):
What if I have missner of the Toronto Okay, got it?
But tell us a little bit about you have kids, right,
you're married? Tell us a little bit about your family
and how you came up. You were in the Ohl
Billet system, like, yeah, tell us tell us about you.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, I lace, I grew up in Kleinberg, obviously played
five years in the Ohl. Was lucky to play all
five years in Niagara, which was and still is a
special place for myself and my parents and my wife.
We still go back in the summer and visit people,
my billets and other friends over there. And then after that,
I uh, you know, started with Colorado's organization, spent about
(03:51):
six years there and then kind of moved to a
few different organizations since then. But yeah, I got a
wife and two kids. My daughter's almost six and my
son's just turned three, so we got a busy household,
which is great. But you know, like I said, they've
found a great school in Tucson and we're very happy
(04:13):
and and and they're really enjoying it too.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
And like Johnny said, you have lived in so many
different places it's kind of bonkers. And I feel bad
for your wife, love love, love it, but feel feel
lowky bad. But but is there some place that you
haven't lived in this world where you're like, ooh, one day,
maybe like when I get to that point in my life, like,
maybe I'll move to Japan.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I don't know. Tough to say, tough to say. We've
always kind of been intrigued with Switzerland. Oh yeah, one
day we can go there. But yeah, we have moved
around a lot, but we've also been in some great places,
which makes it which makes it super easy. Especially a
lot of the place we've been we've had no winters,
which we've become pretty customed to and pretty spoilt, so
(04:59):
we're enjoying that.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Yeah, Switzerland would be the opposite of no winters, for sure.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
I have.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
I used to work for a company that was headquartered
out of Bern, Switzerland, and I always wanted to go
because it looks so so gorgeous and great. Yeah, and
the Alps and all the Highland cows and things that
looks amazing. All Right, I am gonna ask you a
super weird question, and I'm going to ask you a
(05:24):
bunch of super weird questions as we go through. I'm
gonna prepper them with normal questions. So just just bear
with me. You just had a birthday in January. You,
Sam Lipkin, and Dylan Wells all have the same birthday.
Did you guys know that at any point before that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Day, not at all. I think we all all were
trying to keep it a secret that it is each
of our birthdays too. And then I think it might
have been in the training room someone figured out that
it was my birthday, and then it's the only kind
of trickled in and someone said, well, it's also Wellsy's birthday,
and it's also Lipton's birthday, and then I don't think
I've ever seen been a part of a group where
(06:03):
there's many groups that have three on the same day,
But that was that was pretty funny.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
It's Parker. Parker loves to know when your guys's birthdays
are and call you guys out on it. That sounds yeah,
and make it a thing like yeah. He's pulled me
aside before and been like, hey, don't forget today, soone
sound's birthday?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Do you?
Speaker 5 (06:23):
I'm assuming that you are not an astrology kind of person.
Did you know that you are a Capricorn?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
You? I didn't know that, That's all I know.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
That's all you know. Okay. Also, Cameron Hebig and Ryan
McGregor are Capricorns on the team. There's five of you,
which is crazy. So capricorns are known to be relentless
and persistent, and you tell it like it is, but
you are also honest, loyal, and your own biggest critic.
Do you think that that is accurate?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
That sounds very accurate actually, to be honest with you, Yeah,
I don't really know much about astrology. But if you
didn't tell me that was a description of a CAPRICORNY
told me the description of myself, I say, that's pretty accurate.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Okay, all right, cool? And usually I regret that I've
talked to about their astrological sign, the description that I
give them, They're like, oh yeah, it usually ends up
sounding pretty accurate. Yeah. Yeah, So should we talk about
Four Nations at all? Do you guys want to talk
about the final that's coming up?
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
What's the locker room been like throughout this this whole
Four Nations something that we're particularly you know, not used
to with it being all new this year? And I
saw aku on the bus the reaction to Team Canada
beating Finland and now we have the big game coming
up on Thursday. What's been the whole locker room atmosphere
alike with that?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, well, it's it's been cool to watch. I think
we had games on both nights that Canada had played,
so I was able to watch them since I haven't
been playing obviously and more so than the other guys.
But I think that game, the Canada US game on
what was it Saturday, that was I don't think something
anyone expected, but it was unbelievable to see in the
(08:09):
aftermath and everything that came with it. It's probably the
biggest coming up on Thursday will be the biggest game
that the finals that I play watched since you know,
the gold medal game Canada USA. But it's been fun
to watch. I think it's different. People weren't too sure
what to expect, but the hockey has been great and
it's been real exciting.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I think, have you ever played in any international games
representing team Canada, And you know, from every athlete that's
been involved in any international play, they say it's sometimes
one of the biggest games of their careers, and could
you agree with that as well?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, I know I've never represented Canada, but I would
imagine if you represent your country in international stage like this,
I think whether you played in big games in the
NHL playoffs or whatever it is, I think that's a
pretty special and prestigious moment. I think guys would be
pretty grateful for that.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Has there been any Do you anticipate any wagering happening
as we get closer and closer to Thursday?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Heard of any yet, But it wouldn't surprise me if
that there was a few between some guys. It definitely
wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
Okay, nothing for you though, nothing for me. Okay, all right,
just curious let us know if you want, if you
want to.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Andrews, what's it?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
What has it also been like just representing, you know,
the group of the captains of the team as well.
You've been a captain all throughout your career and uh,
you know, we've we've been on top stretches this season,
but we're we're starting to you know, gang ground again.
And with you being out for some time, how have
you tried to still be a leader of the locker
room despite not being out on the ice in this
(09:49):
recent stretch.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah, it's difficult sometimes to to you know, when especially
when the team's going through a difficult stretch and you're
not playing to you're not in the heat of the
battle with them, so you have a different perspective. So
it's harder to you know, voice anything that that you
see or you feel. But I think when you're when
I'm not playing, I'm just trying to be there for
guys as more of a soundboard and you know, if
(10:12):
they're talking to me about something that happened in the game,
I can maybe offer a different perspective of a different
view that I had from it. And obviously just trying
to be there for guys. I guess it's been a
tough stretch that we're kind of worked our way out of.
So if I can, like I said, just be there
for an here for guys when they want to say something,
and then you know, give them my honest feedback, I
(10:32):
think that's that's the best way you can go about
it when you're not playing.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah, and I've talked to Steve Poppin about it too,
And you know, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
You know you're not gonna.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
All of a sudden get it all together and go
on a crazy wind streak after a losing streak like
we had. But you know what, if you liked from
the guys who stepped up in the role of your absence,
like a guy like Ryan McGregor, who's you know, lighting
up the lamp now getting more minutes. And you know
the rookies as well, with you know, Sam Lipkin lots
(11:02):
is looking good rock to too in his second season.
What have you liked from those guys stepping up into
the roles, you know, to just help us win games,
and they're gonna be crucial for us as well, when
you know, with about twenty five games up to go
of the season, when we're fighting for the last playoff spot.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, well that's the way it works. It's opportunities that
guys get when certain guys aren't in the lineup, and
you have to make good on them. And we've had guys,
you know, look at Cameron he Big who's had a
great stretch, who's you know, kind of helped us win games.
I think if he doesn't go in that stretch, we
don't win some of those games. And you look at
you know McGregor, he stayed patient and he's waited for
(11:38):
his opportunity. And it's great to see a guy like
him playing well because he's such a likable person too,
so you want him to do well. And the young
guys have been coming along too, so it's going to
have to continue if we want to make the playoffs,
and we can't have any drop off from anybody.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
Really completely unrelated to hockey. If you were a mythical creature,
what mythical creature would you want to be?
Speaker 1 (12:03):
I don't even know if I know any mythical.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Like I asked, asked the hockey questions, Kim goes off
the rails.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I'm not even sure of any like a.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Dragon or oh, you're digging a dragon at the build
a bear? That was? That was a good one.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
Wait, no, don't wait, don't just automatically pick dragon off
the top.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
Okay?
Speaker 5 (12:24):
A minotaur, a chimera, a phoenix, a unicorn, a leprechaun,
a pegasus.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Oh my god, I don't I.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Don't say dragon. Maybe because you always have that fire
breathing that if you need to have that in the
back pocket, you always got it.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
A mermaid, you could be a mermaid mermaid.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I'll stick with the dragon.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Did your Are your kids still using the the build
of Bears?
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Are playing with the build of bears that we got?
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Oh yeah, there's somewhere they they get thrown all over
the house. There's somewhere around there. But they're still kicking around.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad they had a
good time with that.
Speaker 5 (12:59):
I need to know. So the team Social Admin released
yesterday video of you guys playing super Bowl, and it
was the funniest minute of TikTok that I've seen. In
a minute, Bear is unhinged and just angry. It seems
like just there's so many emotions involved in super Bowl.
(13:20):
But Kyler Yamamoto was hysterical, and I don't I am
assuming that you haven't seen it, but if you get
a chance to go check it out. He's so like
low key funny and he doesn't care that nobody maybe
is paying attention to him. Tell me a little bit
about Kyler Yamamoto behind the scenes, because I was surprised
to see that video.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I think you're he is a very funny person, and
you just got this like dry sense of humor to him.
That kind of just just comes natural to him. And
he has the perfect timing of certain quotes to say
in certain one liners. And but I don't it's not
him trying to be funny. I think it's just him
the funny person. So I think you hit the nail
(14:04):
on the head there. He's He's a fun person to
be around, for sure.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
Do you not related to Kyler? Do you like your name? Andrew?
And the only reason I asked that is because when
I first saw you. So you know how sometimes you
see somebody and you imagine you kind of guess what
their name is possibly going to be. I do not
see you as an Andrew, No, and I don't see
you as an Andy either, Like what were you called
(14:30):
when you were growing up? But when I saw you
for the first time, you look like a Tommy? Okay,
all right, that works?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Yeah, No, I think it suits me. I don't mind
it because it's popular but not overused. And growing up
I was Andy. My brothers, my siblings, they did call
me Andy.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
So you do you still go by Andy or does
everybody just now call you?
Speaker 1 (14:59):
I go what did they call it in hockey? It's
egg o, eggie eggs. It's a mixed bag. But yeah,
my family life, it's it's still Andy pretty much.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
And it's funny that it's Andy and not Drew, which
it could have gone that way.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
And if someone decided on call me Andy, and that's it. Yeah,
not my.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Choice, Andrew.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
So we we actually first met in San Jose when
I was just an intern and you're with the San
Jose Barracuda. And then we finally met for the first
time in a while in Henderson during pre season, and
you recognized me right away, which I didn't expect, not
because I don't think you're a bad person. I was
just like, I was just an intern. I was barely there.
I was only there on game nights. And I have
(15:45):
to ask, did you know I was with Tucson or
did you just see me and say, oh, I know
that guy used to be with San Jose.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
You know I did. Once I start, once I signed
in the summer, I started following on social and I
saw you do some some hits on there for social media.
So I didn't know you were with Tucson. And then
I didn't expect to run into you in the hotel
in Henderson, but yeah, sure enough, you popped it up
in the elevator open you were there, and but I
did know beforehand. Okay, that year with the with the Roadrunners.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, I was just curious. I gotta say when when
we signed you and I saw that too, I was like, oh,
there you go, like it's gonna be reunited again, and
it's the same thing with once hand on Yo Boucie too.
And speaking of being reunited, you and Sokolov played together
with Belleville and you two were really cooking together before
the injury as well.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Just what it's been.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
What's it been like to be with Sokolov again, and
you know, with his development has been this season, because
you know he's still relatively young, around twenty four to
twenty five, and he's still you know, progressing as as
everyone is in this league.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Yes, we had a great chemistry in Belleville together. We
played pretty much, i'd say, more or less the entire
season together and then we kind of picked up right
where we left off to start this year. But he's
a fun person to play with just because any any
shot he takes, at any moment he can, he can score.
He's just a goal scorer. And then when you play
(17:05):
with guys like that and stuff starts going in the net,
it's almost infectious. You both feel good about your games
and you just kind of feed off that with one another.
So that's the nice part about playing with a guy
like Soca is if you get him one or two
chances a game, there's there's a good chance he's he's
gonna put one of them in.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
Are you an up for it person or a down
for it person?
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Depends who's asking or what the question is really, but
I try to be try to be up for it,
but there's probably a lot of times where I'm down
for it as well.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
Okay, okay, that's solid answer, all right? Do you have
a favorite pasta shape? I feel like everybody's like just
leans towards something.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
I do, like the big Rigatoni ones. Those ones are good.
Is it like just a rat round tube?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Okay, okay, that's a and like with a certain because
like I feel like you can't like you could put
a thick Alfredo with Rigo Toni.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
I don't know. Maybe like uh, I don't know, a
vodka sauce maybe.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Oh okay, sounds all right. Yeah. I was wondering if
maybe you could do a Maddie Villalta impression for us.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
No, I don't know if I could do an impression.
He's in one of a kind with his sayings, though,
But I wouldn't even know which one a pick. He's
got about a thousand of them.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
He just got his one hundredth win. What was uh,
what was that like for the for the locker room, Well, it.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Was a long time coming. I think a few of
us knew he's been at ninety nine for quite some time.
And the unlucky part about it, or the bad part
about it, was, we feel like he's had chance to
get that hundred win for weeks and we've kind of
let him down in front of him. So just see
him get that, although we made it a little harder
on ourselves towards the end and made him have to
(18:51):
work a little bit for it.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
But yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Nice to see him get that because we've known he's
been right there for for quite some time.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
And how is it when you know, like you played
against Matthew Violalta when he was with Ontario and you
were with San Diego and San Jose and such too,
and now you guys are playing on the same team
and you can say the same for all kinds of
players throughout the league. So what's just that experience like
of just having that kind of community of players where, yeah,
on the ice, sometimes your enemies and you're against each other,
but then all of a sudden you can easily be
(19:21):
on the same team and you guys become good pals.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
It's funny how it works is there's certain guys where
you kind of battle with and get into it with,
and then once you meet each other at training camp,
it's you know, completely in the past and you realize
he's probably not as bad of a guy as you thought,
or he's not he's actually a pretty nice person. So
usually when you meet a guy and the ones you
battle with the most on the ice kind of turn
(19:46):
out to be similar and the most like you, and
you end up being becoming pretty good friends. So it's
funny how it works though, for sure.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Andrew, I just have a few more questions. How do
you define success for yourself? What does that look like.
You've accomplished so much in your life, and you've done
so many different things, such a prolific career, but you personally,
what does success look like to you?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
It's a good question. I think it changes from different
points in your life, obviously. I think now success for
me is just trying to be that leader that people
can lean on and still be productive. I still want
not just leave the team off the ice, but I
still want to lead the team on the ice. I
think that's part of the reason is why I'm here
is to help people along. And it's not in a
(20:38):
way of you help coach them or you you teach
them or anythink. It's the way you just you go
about your own business. So it's my approach is kind
of just like I continue to want to be a
good pro and do what I need to do to
be successful, and hopefully you pull people along with you.
And it's not telling people what to do or how
to do. It's kind of just doing what makes you successful.
(21:01):
Hopefully that is making you successful and then people kind
of follow along.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Have you have you studied leadership and anyway? Do you
read and or I know some of the guys consume
books about I've gone a.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Few different like courses that have had that kind of
aspect in it and stuff like that. I have definitely
looked into and and and study a little bit stuff
like that.
Speaker 5 (21:23):
Yeah, okay, okay, that's awesome. What do you think is
the best kind of food for a food fight?
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Best food for a food fight probably something like a
mashed potato or something something heavy kind of would stick
to that it would stick as you as you hit them. Yes,
I was thinking a snowball kind of stays and probably
travel further.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
Oh so you're going from like a purely like physics.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Going on the offense here because it's like messy, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah, and it's to staff.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Okay, Andrew, last last thing. I'm gonna I have a
joke for you. But I have three jokes. So pick
a number one to three and I'll tell you which
which joke lines up with that? Okay? Which days are
the strongest days?
Speaker 1 (22:15):
The strongest days Fridays? O? Come, just pick a day, Friday,
Fridays are a nice day. I don't know.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
Okay, the strongest days are Saturday and Sunday because the
other days are weekdays.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
That's a good dad joke. I might steal that one
from you.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
I might use that one.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Do you want to hear? And I'll tell you number
two because I think it's really funny. What is an
astronaut's favorite part of the computer? Yes, such a dad,
you know, such a dad.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
That's good.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
That was good, well, Andrew, thanks so much for joining us, man.
I always appreciate it. H looking really looking forward to
seeing you on the ice soon. And uh I have
a good rest of your day.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Man, all right, thanks guys just.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Having Assistant Captain number twenty nine Andrew Agazino on the show. Kim,
I'm surprised they are shocked, even we haven't gone him
yet quite you know. Usually we try to get the
newer guys first, and sometimes it just doesn't happen like that. So, yeah,
Agazino finally making his radio debut. But Kim, we're saying beforehand,
like this guy's probably done thousands and thousands of radio
(23:24):
interviews and this is a this is nothing new for him.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
No, absolutely not. And I don't know how we didn't
get him before, Like, I don't know what we did wrong,
But talking to him was amazing. I think the hard
part when you come across somebody like Andrew who has
had such a prolific career, is trying to like figure
out what questions they haven't been asked yet, Yeah, and
(23:49):
it's always yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't want to be
like everybody else.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
So maybe that's why we have you, Kim.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
No one else has because I still ask the boring
hockey questions, but you keep going.
Speaker 5 (24:03):
I think catching him, you know, kind of where we
are in the season is interesting because he's had time
to get to know the guys and to play with
them instead of playing against them, and also kind of
to settle into into Tucson with his family and be
able to talk to it. You know, like if we
had asked him if you've been here two days, you know, like, hey,
you know, what's your favorite spot in Tucson, He's not
(24:23):
gonna have an answer, you know.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, that's why that's why we might wait a little
bit to get Sammy Walker next, because he has not
even been in Tucson yet. I mean, he's played in
Tucson as with the Wild, but he has not even
gotten to like settle in yet because he joined us
right when the Gem Show trip started, right after All
Star breaks, So uh yeah, he's the guy who got
(24:45):
on the show eventually. Great dude, but uh yeah, awesome
having Andrew Gauzino on. I loved him that he went
on social media to start like following up on Roadrunner stuff,
and then he saw me working with him, and that's
how we knew because like again, he came right up
to me when I first and I'm like, oh, it's
great to see you again.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Man.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
He's like, great to see you too, and I'm like,
how the hell did you? How do you know who
I am? Like, how do you recognize me? And He's
just like, of course I recognize you. It's like, all right,
you obviously knew I was you already because I don't know.
I just didn't think. I don't think guys follow up
on that kind of stuff.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Andrew Agazino, for anybody who hasn't met him in person,
to me, he just exhudes a very different kind of
energy than the other players. And I think it's because
of his age, because he is not living. I don't
want to I'm not saying this is a negative against
any of the players who are younger, but I think
with with Kevin and Andrew, you know, they're very aware
(25:38):
of everybody else that's around them. They kind of take
it all in and it's not just about hockey for them.
You know, they're kind of at a point in their
lives where it's I don't want to say they're more
well rounded individuals, but they're they're more well rounded, Like, yeah,
they have a lot of life experience that they're bringing
(25:59):
to things.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
And they're they're they're aware, Yeah, they've experienced so much.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Right, Like the agazine knows the Kevin Cannaughtens, Stephen Camper
when he was with us.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
Yeah, well you Adam Cracknell also, Yeah, and.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
He's been gosh, he's he's been in the league longer
than agazine know.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
He's gosh.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
We'll look up his age, we get we get these
guys in and they're just they come with so much knowledge,
so much emotional intelligence, so much social awareness. They're just
and and also you know, like leadership. They're they're leaders,
so they do things like notice people. I remember Adam
and I weren't particularly close when he was here, but
(26:38):
when he came back when he was playing for Henderson,
you know, gave him a big hug and you know,
asked him about the family, was able to connect with him.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
You know.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
So those guys, Yeah, I love it when we get
it's such a I think it's such a nice balance
of the two types of players.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
This guy I just started looking up and Adam Kracknell
is a like all the games that he's played and everything.
Speaker 5 (27:02):
How many pages is it?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
It's long. His hockey DV is long. So he's thirty
nine years old. He was a ninth round draft pick
of the Calgary Flames. Of course, as you diehard Tucson fans. Now,
he played with the Roadrunners in the twenty two to
twenty three season, had a really good year.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
With us KIM.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
He's in the Slovak League now and he has four
points and forty eight games played, he has thirty one
goals and twenty three assists. And he's doing this at
thirty nine years old. That he's he's still going KIM.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
And he's a powerhouse. And not only that, if he's
playing in Selovakian League, then he's playing with Miloshan.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Yeah cut, no, yeah, he could be playing against those
So yeah, some Roadrunners going going international, and yeah, for
a guy like Agazino, you know, it's he's he's in
the back half of his career, but he still has
so much hockey left to play, and uh, you know,
he still has goals for himself to you know, become
in nhl A just like everybody else. That's why they
(27:56):
signed these two year two way contracts because it's a
chance for them to you know, develop players with us
and obviously the Roadrunners you know, still have a chance
to do great things this season. It's not only that,
but it's also you know, having a chance to to
to make the league. I mean, look at Michael Carconi,
He's he's cracked the NHL now and he was patient
(28:18):
waiting for it. Cameron he Big this season, he's having
an his breakout year, and you just don't know, Kim.
It's sometimes it takes longer than most. Some people get
it in right away, and it takes longer for some people.
And that's okay as long as you know, you get
to where you want to be, whatever your goals are.
You know, some guys never get to sniff the NHL,
but they're okay with the HL because it's still the
(28:39):
second best league in the world. And that's just sometimes
how it goes. But we're we're grateful for guys like
Agazino and cannot in the vets on the team, Guys
like Cameron Hebig still with us as well, who's getting
near that veteran presence now, you know, with the fifth
year as a roadrunner. Even Ryan McGregor two five years
with us, Travis Barron a good amount of years with
us as well. You know, it's it's just, uh, you know,
(29:01):
we get to know these guys and we want them
to have success too. But yep, you're still playing in
the second best league in the world, but we'll still
all always have our next levels of where we want
to be at.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Much like this season, everybody is on a journey and
we don't know where it's gonna We don't know where
it's gonna end, but it's just enjoy the journey, right, So,
and I love I love watching the young guys come
up and the things that they're like Cameron Hebig and
Mike Kurconi, the things that they're able to make happen. Yeah,
I don't know if you do this, but every once
(29:33):
in a while, I'll you know, yeah, obviously follow guys,
follow teams in the NHL, and every once in a
while I see again, I'm like, we have guys on
our team on the Roadrunners that are better than that
person that's playing in the NHL, you know. So sometimes
it's all about chances and opportunities and being in the
right place at the right time, you know, and what's
(29:54):
meant to happen, It's gonna happen. It's I I'm very
uh woo woo about that stuff. So I I've been
trying to take all these games that we're playing too,
like as as an individual game like this is the path.
Whatever's you know, meant to happen is gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
Kind of You can say that for any you know,
position at sports. You know, some people working for for
media or hockey ops or coaches or anybody, and you know,
sometimes it takes you longer to get to this league.
You know, I'm only in my what for fourth year
in the HL. I was lucky to get two years
(30:29):
as an intern with San Jose, you know, coming here
my first year in Tucson, and you know, everything just
kind of fell in place, and all of a sudden,
you're to play by play announcement for the team, and
you know, Sam can go for for Chase where who
We're gonna bring us an intern first, and then we
brought him full time because I was promoted. You know,
we have so many staff members who are relatively new
(30:50):
to this league, but it's just such a great opportunity.
And then there's others who it takes them longer, and
that's okay. You know, there's all other kinds of leagues
out there that give you this opportunity. So yeah, it's
it's similar for everybody in this league. I think that's
what makes the AHL. So you know more close quarters. Right,
it's smaller staffs that you get to know the players
more because we all have the same goals. We all
(31:11):
want to be in the National Hockey League one day.
So when you all have the same goals, you try
to help each other out as much as possible. And yeah,
that's just just gets you more connected with the players
and the coaches and the staff.
Speaker 5 (31:22):
One of the things, one of the one of the
things that I've thought since I started with this team
and get to see what's happening behind the scenes, is
that I don't think that there's any other league in
the world that needs a reality show as much as
the AHILD does. The things that happen behind the scenes,
the drama, the experiences, it's all so interesting, it's so intense.
(31:47):
The schedule is an absolute grind. And if we talk about,
like even if a camera crew came and just followed
the team on the GEM show trip, too much on
a bus with thirty other human beings is literally what
they make reality shows about. And then to throw in
the physicality and the mental dexterity that the players have
(32:08):
to have to go from one place to another to
play a hockey game. A very physical hockey game. Like,
I don't know how Netflix has not figured this out,
along with all the other human aspects of you know
them having you know, wives and girlfriends and personal lives
and friends and family that are meeting them on the
road and everything that that looks like that that show
(32:28):
would be more entertaining than anything that I can think of. Like,
you wouldn't even need to write They wouldn't even need
to like write into the the script like oh, this
person's going to be the you know, the evil person,
or this person's going to be you know, they're our
hero at the end. That already exists. It's already here.
You just need the camera. That's it.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
I think what's crazy about it too. Yeah, we're on
our longest trip with the season. We've been on the
road for thirteen days now. We come home tomorrow after
well technically Thursday morning, so because we bust out tomorrow
after the game, because I'm recording right now from from
Actors Arena at my booth, and you know, it's it's
(33:10):
it's crazy to think like you can say two weeks, okay,
fourteen days, it's half a month. We're gone for half
of this month of February when we get back. March
is right around the corner. I don't think I've ever
been on the trip this long ever in my life,
and I feel like I've done so much already. Like
I got to see friends in San Jose, spend the
Super Bowl in Bakersfield, I got sick. I got sick
(33:32):
for a few days and had to stay in my room.
And then we went to Ontario. I saw my parents,
and then then from there we went to Vegas. Kim,
you came on that trip, so did Chase and Bennett.
We all got to hang out in Vegas. And then
we bust here and now we're here for a few days,
and and then we the trip ends tomorrow, and then
we don't even get a break. We get like, you know,
(33:53):
the Thursday, which when you come back at six am,
you sleep the whole day, and then Friday practice and
then bam, we have game Saturday and Sunday versus Abbotsford.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
So it does not stop for us. It stops for
you know. And again it's just it's just how it goes.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
But you know, the fans back at home or everyone
back in Tucson doesn't see everything that we're still doing.
In these last few weeks and like, oh yeah, it's
so great to be back. It's like we've been doing
We've been creaking for the last two weeks on the road,
Like this is nothing new for us. The only difference
is we're back home now. So yeah, it's it's tough.
These guys go through so much and then they have
(34:27):
to play hockey too, So you know, that's why we
we always just have that big level of respect and
especially how this trip is going, Kim, you know, it's
it's we're in a good spot. We have a huge
chance to end off this trip with the winning record,
you know, and it's been a road trip that we've
said it's it's probably the most important gem Show trip
of the season, and it's showing that right. The win
(34:48):
on Sunday with the Baggers Field loss has given us
now the seventh seed of the AHL Specific Division. Obviously,
tons of more games left. I believe we have about
twenty five more games to go, but you know, if
you're if you end off this trip in a playoff spot,
especially going into the trip with that eight game slide,
that's that's good. It's it's it's again the marathon, not
(35:10):
the sprint. It's the slow turnaround that we are starting
to see.
Speaker 5 (35:14):
Right I this team wins don't seem to become easy for
this team.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Again.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
I always say, oh, the boys are being dramatic, you know,
and I think of it like kind of like a
Broadway show. But after Saturday's shootout loss, I just wanted
to scream into the void, like I was like, you know,
like I said, I am very much what what will
happen is meant to happen kind of person. But I
(35:42):
just was done. I was done Saturday now and then
and then on Saturday. I also was able to kind
of be on ice level for most of that game.
And that goal Hornstown in Henderson, it is so it's
so loud and they project get straight down onto the
(36:03):
ice with their speakers, so it almost like physically like
physically can either push you down or raise you up,
depending on who you are on the ice. But I
was just like, Manda, have to deal with that, like
every time something goes wrong at your job, if there's
somebody there with the horn blasting it right above your
head to tell you that you did something wrong, Like
(36:24):
how demoral that happens.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
I'd even put it like that.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Like, imagine you're working a nine to five and you
make an error on like an email or report or something,
and then you get a horn in or face by
your boss. Like your boss runs in and squeezes the
horn or like what the ear horns It just like
does that to your face and then screams at you
and then runs.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
That's what it's like for our guys.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
You know when when something doesn't go wrong, you know
it doesn't go right, or yeah sorry, if something doesn't
go right and it goes wrong, Yeah, everyone's screaming at you.
Especially for the goaltender. I think they get it the worst, right,
they get the chance at them. They have fans right
behind them heckling them the entire game. And yeah, that
arena so loud. In Henderson, Kim our broadcast booth is
(37:09):
in the catwalk. We're in the catwalk pretty much, so
it's like the saddle Dome, except it's a walk closer
because obviously Lee's family form is much smaller than the
saddle Dom. But we are up there, so the horns
are like right next to us. So when they were
going off, I had to keep like turning down my
my crowd. Mic I was using because I'm like, this
is gonna destroy my headset, like it's gonna because it
happened to Calgary, because that horns loud too, because when
(37:31):
you're in the rafts, when you're in the cow walk,
the horns are all next to you, so like your
mic picks it up so much it can blow it
out and break it.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
And also I just don't want the fans at home
to you know, have.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Their TVs get destroyed like what happened in Bakersfield. So
you know, it's managing that too. And yeah, we'll we'll
take the three out of four points. You know, despite
what happened on the Saturday, the Sunday game went much better. Obviously,
it got a little scary at the end, you know,
with with Henderson almost coming back, and you know, I
(38:03):
hate to say, Mom, I'm glad that we just don't
have to play them anymore. I mean, they are just
that team that just would never go away. Like the
first few games we played them, it went fine, Like
we had a three and one record against him before
the losing streak started. And it started with the Silver
Knights because or it kept going with the Silver Nights
starting Calgary, but it kept going with the Silver Knights
because they were they just kept coming back and scoring
(38:25):
these goals on us, and they're they're still on a
really good stretch. So they're the hottest team in the
AHL since January, since the new year. And for us
to get three out of four points, it's good. It's
a good way to keep the road trip going. And yeah,
we're on game number seven coming tomorrow, so if the
road runs can get one more, that'd be fantastic.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
And I think so Hogo got first school on Saturday
night and it was his birthday, right his twenty ninth thurday. Yeah,
birthday was the night before that that we got to
talk about. Okay, upcoming birthdays, Johnny put it on your
radar Sunday when we play Abbotsford that's Kevin Connoton's birthday.
I don't know how old he's going to be, but
I know that that's his birthday. And then coming week
(39:08):
because we're in Pisce season right now, Leighton Moore's birthday
is on Thursday, the twenty seventh. We don't have a
game that night, and then and then the next birthday
after that is poor mister Julian Lutz, whose birthday is
on two twenty nine, and we are not in a
leap year, so he doesn't get a birthday this year?
Speaker 4 (39:27):
Really?
Speaker 5 (39:28):
Oh, I think he said he's only five right now
because he will be turning twenty one this year. And yeah,
there's no twenty night. There's no two twenty nights.
Speaker 4 (39:40):
That always confusing me. So how does that leap your work? Again?
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Every four years we get a two twenty nine, but
you don't have one this year, so.
Speaker 4 (39:48):
So wait, how does that work? He just doesn't celebrate
his birthday.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
I'm sure he celebrates his birthday. I don't know when
because the Friday, Friday the twenty eighth, and then Saturday
the first, so we have a short this month, so
it could. I'm sure. I'm sure he'll be doing something
this weekend.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
Said every four years they do that, uh.
Speaker 5 (40:06):
Huh yep, over four years.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Like I heard the term leapier, but like I didn't
know what exactly meant. I guess, like, what's a leap year?
Speaker 5 (40:16):
Yep, that's exactly what it means. Oh, and I need
to talk about really quick. I don't know how much
time I have left, but I ran o good. I
ran into some Roadrunners fans on gas for information.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
Yes, you get their phone numbers so we can call
them right now.
Speaker 5 (40:33):
Oh I didn't. I did not do that. I don't
want to be that guy. Jesse uncle did a Valentine's
Day trip, So okay, stay with me. Chrissy lives here
in Tucson. Jesse is on active duty in the Air
Force in Alabama. And yeah, so they met in Las
(40:55):
Vegas for a Valentine's Day weekend and came to the
games to see each other and spend the weekend with
the road Runners. Yeah, and they were absolutely fantastic to
talk to you. And they got the seats. I don't
know how Chrisy did this. She got the seats right
next to the player tunnel, and the player tunnel for
us comes straight out onto the bench, so they were
(41:17):
sitting right behind the bench. And then also could like
reach out and give high fives to the players as
they were coming out of the tunnel like that, that
was there. She was super. Christy was so strategic about
where they were sitting. It wasn't just anywhere. They wanted
road the players to know that they were there.
Speaker 4 (41:32):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
And again, like going on the road and seeing your
team win it feels good. Like obviously, winning at home
is amazing in front of your home fans, but sometimes
I think it depends on the team.
Speaker 4 (41:45):
Winning on the road feels slightly better.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
It's just like, yeah, like these crowds, yep, you guys,
like we're out of here. And that's why tomorrow's game
is so big to Kim because it's only our fourth
and final game against Coachella Valley and we know these
guys we don't like him, which is I still don't
know why we only get four games against them on
the docket when they're the closest team to us, you know,
on the on the map, and we we just have
(42:09):
had such good games against them, and we are four
and one or our last five games here at Actor
sure as well, so keep that in mind. We've been
winning games here at this arena. This can easily be
a first round playoff matchup if Coachella Valley gets within
the top few seeds, you know, bearing if the Roadrunners
just hang onto that seven seeds spot, it would be
hard to catch up the six with Abbots for you know,
(42:30):
playing on fire as well. But uh, this can be
a potential first round preview. We don't know, but uh again,
going back to just the single game series tomorrow and
the final game against them, this would be a big
one to win here too. The crowds here go crazy.
I'm in the I'm pretty much right next to all
the fans. Fuego comes and bothers me, I have fans,
(42:51):
bother It's just like, it's just awesome to win in here.
And you know, calling the goal calls when there's fans
in front of me, and I'm I'm a little extra loud,
you know. So it's uh, it's always an electric atmosphere here.
It's awesome, and uh, this is again, this is just
such a big game for us to you know, potentially
end off this road trip with a four to two
on one record with getting that extra point as well.
Speaker 5 (43:12):
So the Pacific Division right now number one sitting the
standings are number one Calgary, two, Ontario, three, Colorado, Coachella, Abbotsford,
San Jose, and then US and Bakersfield tied at forty
eight points and then running things out Henderson and San Diego.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Look look at Ontario, I mean they're the Calgary Rangers
have not won a game, They've a five game losing
streak there they're once against Kim for the second straight
year in a row, are collapsing and Ontario and Colorado
are are going for it.
Speaker 4 (43:41):
They're going for first seed. So we can't even set it.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
Out Calgary, like that's it's it's crazy every year they
start off so hot and then they just can't finish.
Speaker 4 (43:50):
And now they're we're.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Seeing it again, and it's they've had the first place
spot for like this whole.
Speaker 5 (43:54):
Season and the one two three, the point separation is
is only three between the three of them. There's three
points separating the three of them. And yeah, all you
need in in it, I guess in any sport, all
you need is one hot streak or one losing streak.
One streak, yeah, like and you're you're in it or
you're done. Like it's yeah for for.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
For us again, you know, it's it's gonna slowly and
gradually get better. You know, when you're on an eight
game losing streak, it doesn't just bam changed like that,
like Okay, now we're gonna see ten wins in a row.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
It takes time.
Speaker 3 (44:25):
And yeah, even for the road Runners, Uh, you know,
the seventh seed of what we have right now, tied
with Bakersfield, but only six points behind San Jose and
seven behind Abbotsford. So all it will take for Roadrunners
to go on a nice little hot streak and you know,
not only separating us from Bakersfield, but maybe making a
run for the sixth seed and maybe the fifth, just
(44:46):
to be a bit more comfortable. And obviously we were
very much in a different spot last year. We were
the ones competing for the first spot with Coachella Valley,
and uh yeah, though the season has not gone what
we expected, it's just make pla like, if you make playoffs,
anything can happen. We've seen it in hockey time and
time again of the final seeds going all the way
(45:06):
to the Cup, in the in the NHL playoffs and
even in the AHL too, So it's it's just that's
what it's all about for right now, and we'll just
try to finish as strong as we can.
Speaker 5 (45:16):
I watched a video yesterday about the difference between learning
and knowing and the huge gap of variables that exist
between those two places, and that's kind of how I
think of this team is we're in this gap between
learning and knowing, and you know, there's highs and there's
lows and but we're getting closer to the knowing part.
(45:40):
And it is every day that you learn something new,
and I know that the team talks about this and
Steve talks about this frequently. Every day that you learn
one thing is a successful day. And I think that
that mindset and having the emotional intelligence to put the
(46:00):
games that didn't go our way behind us and focus
on what's working well and how we can continue to
just learn one more thing every day and be a
little bit better every day. That's what is going to
lead to the success of this team. So all my
fingers are crossed, I'm knocking on all the wood I'm doing.
(46:20):
I know, I know, all the fans are doing all
of the superstition things that we can to you know,
get to where we need to be to make to
make a postseason happen. You know, it's I don't even
want to say the jinxy words like.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you know it's it's a bummer
too because the last year's team, where we were at
going into the playoffs was like you know, Cup, we
were Cup admirations and uh, you know you fast forward
an now we're just barely clawing for the final seed.
Speaker 4 (46:52):
But again, you just have to make it.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
And we've been through so much adversity this year already,
where if we make the playoff, it's like, guys, we
look at what we just all went through.
Speaker 4 (47:03):
Let's just we can do this.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
Like if we made it the playoffs with all this
that happened, who's the stop us from going all the way?
And I think there's a lot of teams out there
who did haven't even gone through any adversity. Look or
maybe Calgary is now, you know, they haven't gone through
anything up to this point.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
And that's sometimes all that it takes.
Speaker 3 (47:19):
Is a reason why the President's Trophy winners of the NHL,
the best team in the league, has not won a
Stanley Cup, I think in over thirty years, because they
don't face any adversity. They go thro the whole season,
winnie constant hockey games, and in the moment they face
adversity in the playoffs because they're going against a team
that barely made it and it went through everything, then
they lose.
Speaker 4 (47:40):
So I think that's usually, uh, just how it goes.
Speaker 5 (47:45):
I think in any job that and I know that
people out there have experienced in any job that you
have where you faced a challenge where there was some difficulty,
some adversity. Like you said, you become stronger with your teammates, right,
you become stronger with the people that are sitting next
(48:05):
to you. I have friends who people who I am
like such close friends with now because the job that
I had five years ago was difficult and we ended
up forging just these amazing relationships and now I know
them better than you know, like I know my brothers,
because we were put in those situations together and that
(48:25):
just made us kind of unstoppable. And that's I think
the Roadrunners go through, you know, go through challenges with that,
go through times of you know, where they need to
be strong and pulled together, and they're in that right now.
So only good, only good things.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
So fully, I'm like you ready to run through a wall?
Speaker 5 (48:49):
Now?
Speaker 3 (48:50):
We had a game like in thirty minutes and I
let's go. We're almost out of time because we had
such great conversations this episode. We really got into it
and uh yeah, Runners have a huge game coming up
tomorrow against Coachella Valley and a chance to end off
this seven game road trip with a winning record and
continue to hang on to the final playoff spot.
Speaker 5 (49:11):
I'm excited to see the lineups and kind of what
that looks like, what Steve's thinking in terms of, you know,
who are in those forward positions. I think we're seeing
a little bit of movement there. And one of the
things that I appreciate about Steve is that when something's working,
he kind of leaves it alone, but when things aren't working,
he's not afraid to really mix it up. So hopefully
(49:35):
there are you know, hopefully the lineups look powerful. But
again then we're also seeing people like Ryan McGregor step
up and just be absolutely phenomenal and do amazing things
and get a million points in one game that none
of us were expecting to have happened. So only good things.
Speaker 4 (49:56):
Only good things, Kim.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
We are really starting to get near the crunch time
in the season. The Roadrunners have played forty seven games
up to this point and on the season, twenty five
games left to go, So before we know it, we're
gonna be in the tens and then the five more
games up to go and then we'll see where the
Roadrunners are at. But a big game coming up tomorrow
(50:20):
here at Coachella Valley against the Firebirds. We had Andrew
Agazino on the show earlier. If you miss that, go
to Tucson roadrunners dot com. Slash Happy already here the
podcast version of this show. My name is Jonathan Schaeffer,
alongside me as always Kim Coderoblaz. We will see you
tomorrow night here at the Agrisher Arena for game number
seven of the seven Game Gem Show Trip.
Speaker 4 (50:42):
Have a great register of your day, folks,
It's five o'clock.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Got yours hues Day, don The's two Sun Roadrunners Happy
Out from Fox Sports fourteen fifty AM Jonathan Shit right,
road Well, we know.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
The story, but you gotta tell the viewers that starts.
Speaker 4 (00:14):
It's so funny.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's our usual Tuesday night get together.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
So I don't know, maybe we should start implementing some
breakdance pregames during the season and see how that goes.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Right here on Tucson Sports Day yet, Fox Sports fourteen
fifty AF.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Fox Sports fourteen fifty AM.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Our usual Tuesday night get together, Roadrunners Happy Hour Jonathan
Schaeffer alongside me as always, Kim Coder roblaz and right
off the top of the hour, a very special guest
for this week's show, number twenty nine, Ford Andrew Agazino. Andrew,
Welcome to the show. We've been trying to get you
on for quite some time. You've been busy with the
rehab process, but you're you're really close to getting back,
(00:53):
and just what's the whole process been like to, you know,
getting back to the playing again.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah, it's it's been some long day working with the
training staff to try and get back as quick as
I can. To playing. So I flick, We're almost there.
It's been some great work by everyone involved, so hopefully
be back shortly.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Yeah, and again, welcome, Welcome to tu SA. I mean
you've been here for a while already.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
We're in the late stages of the season, but it's
your first year as a roadrunner and you've played a
lot in this specific division against us as well. So
what has this first year been like for you in
Tucson and just what have been your takeaways from it
as well?
Speaker 1 (01:34):
It's been great. I think it was always a place
to come on the road that you enjoyed for the
weekend and stuff like that. But you really don't know
how great of a community really is. You know, my family,
we've really found a home here. We really enjoy it.
My wife's very happy living in Tucson. Obviously, the weather's perfect,
(01:55):
but it's more so the community, the people we've met
that have really made it feel like home. And it's
been you know, it's been a fun team to be
a part of so far.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
Was it ever a spot you ever thought you would
be playing at? And because obviously every off season you
never know where you're gonna end up, but you know,
throughout the years you played here, was it ever just
you know, maybe I'll be here one day. And what
did the whole off season process look like in signing
the two way contract with the Utah Hockey Club.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Yeah, I think there's a possibility you can play anywhere. Really. Yeah,
with how you know the off season unfolds. But you know,
it was something that Utah had reached out early in
the off season and then you know, it just kind
of came together there on July first, and there wasn't
really too much to it. Was, like I said, said,
they reached out early, and so something that was always
(02:44):
kind of on the burner, and then it was just
able to get done pretty quickly once free agency started.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
So, Andrew, it's crazy that this is our first time
talking to you and you've been here for so long.
I don't know any of the Andrew Agazino lore, Like
what's your story? I know you come from Kleinberg, Ontario,
which is I'm googling it now in Canada.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
North of Toronto?
Speaker 5 (03:11):
What if I have missner of the Toronto Okay, got it?
But tell us a little bit about you have kids, right,
you're married? Tell us a little bit about your family
and how you came up. You were in the Ohl
Billet system, like, yeah, tell us tell us about you.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
Yeah, I lace, I grew up in Kleinberg, obviously played
five years in the Ohl. Was lucky to play all
five years in Niagara, which was and still is a
special place for myself and my parents and my wife.
We still go back in the summer and visit people,
my billets and other friends over there. And then after that,
I uh, you know, started with Colorado's organization, spent about
(03:51):
six years there and then kind of moved to a
few different organizations since then. But yeah, I got a
wife and two kids. My daughter's almost six and my
son's just turned three, so we got a busy household,
which is great. But you know, like I said, they've
found a great school in Tucson and we're very happy
(04:13):
and and and they're really enjoying it too.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
And like Johnny said, you have lived in so many
different places it's kind of bonkers. And I feel bad
for your wife, love love, love it, but feel feel
lowky bad. But but is there some place that you
haven't lived in this world where you're like, ooh, one day,
maybe like when I get to that point in my life, like,
maybe I'll move to Japan.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
I don't know. Tough to say, tough to say. We've
always kind of been intrigued with Switzerland. Oh yeah, one
day we can go there. But yeah, we have moved
around a lot, but we've also been in some great places,
which makes it which makes it super easy. Especially a
lot of the place we've been we've had no winters,
which we've become pretty customed to and pretty spoilt, so
(04:59):
we're enjoying that.
Speaker 5 (05:00):
Yeah, Switzerland would be the opposite of no winters, for sure.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
I have.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
I used to work for a company that was headquartered
out of Bern, Switzerland, and I always wanted to go
because it looks so so gorgeous and great. Yeah, and
the Alps and all the Highland cows and things that
looks amazing. All Right, I am gonna ask you a
super weird question, and I'm going to ask you a
(05:24):
bunch of super weird questions as we go through. I'm
gonna prepper them with normal questions. So just just bear
with me. You just had a birthday in January. You,
Sam Lipkin, and Dylan Wells all have the same birthday.
Did you guys know that at any point before that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Day, not at all. I think we all all were
trying to keep it a secret that it is each
of our birthdays too. And then I think it might
have been in the training room someone figured out that
it was my birthday, and then it's the only kind
of trickled in and someone said, well, it's also Wellsy's birthday,
and it's also Lipton's birthday, and then I don't think
I've ever seen been a part of a group where
(06:03):
there's many groups that have three on the same day,
But that was that was pretty funny.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
It's Parker. Parker loves to know when your guys's birthdays
are and call you guys out on it. That sounds yeah,
and make it a thing like yeah. He's pulled me
aside before and been like, hey, don't forget today, soone
sound's birthday?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Do you?
Speaker 5 (06:23):
I'm assuming that you are not an astrology kind of person.
Did you know that you are a Capricorn?
Speaker 1 (06:31):
You? I didn't know that, That's all I know.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
That's all you know. Okay. Also, Cameron Hebig and Ryan
McGregor are Capricorns on the team. There's five of you,
which is crazy. So capricorns are known to be relentless
and persistent, and you tell it like it is, but
you are also honest, loyal, and your own biggest critic.
Do you think that that is accurate?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
That sounds very accurate actually, to be honest with you, Yeah,
I don't really know much about astrology. But if you
didn't tell me that was a description of a CAPRICORNY
told me the description of myself, I say, that's pretty accurate.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Okay, all right, cool? And usually I regret that I've
talked to about their astrological sign, the description that I
give them, They're like, oh yeah, it usually ends up
sounding pretty accurate. Yeah. Yeah, So should we talk about
Four Nations at all? Do you guys want to talk
about the final that's coming up?
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
What's the locker room been like throughout this this whole
Four Nations something that we're particularly you know, not used
to with it being all new this year? And I
saw aku on the bus the reaction to Team Canada
beating Finland and now we have the big game coming
up on Thursday. What's been the whole locker room atmosphere
alike with that?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, well, it's it's been cool to watch. I think
we had games on both nights that Canada had played,
so I was able to watch them since I haven't
been playing obviously and more so than the other guys.
But I think that game, the Canada US game on
what was it Saturday, that was I don't think something
anyone expected, but it was unbelievable to see in the
(08:09):
aftermath and everything that came with it. It's probably the
biggest coming up on Thursday will be the biggest game
that the finals that I play watched since you know,
the gold medal game Canada USA. But it's been fun
to watch. I think it's different. People weren't too sure
what to expect, but the hockey has been great and
it's been real exciting.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
I think, have you ever played in any international games
representing team Canada, And you know, from every athlete that's
been involved in any international play, they say it's sometimes
one of the biggest games of their careers, and could
you agree with that as well?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, I know I've never represented Canada, but I would
imagine if you represent your country in international stage like this,
I think whether you played in big games in the
NHL playoffs or whatever it is, I think that's a
pretty special and prestigious moment. I think guys would be
pretty grateful for that.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Has there been any Do you anticipate any wagering happening
as we get closer and closer to Thursday?
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Heard of any yet, But it wouldn't surprise me if
that there was a few between some guys. It definitely
wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 5 (09:18):
Okay, nothing for you though, nothing for me. Okay, all right,
just curious let us know if you want, if you
want to.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Andrews, what's it?
Speaker 3 (09:28):
What has it also been like just representing, you know,
the group of the captains of the team as well.
You've been a captain all throughout your career and uh,
you know, we've we've been on top stretches this season,
but we're we're starting to you know, gang ground again.
And with you being out for some time, how have
you tried to still be a leader of the locker
room despite not being out on the ice in this
(09:49):
recent stretch.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah, it's difficult sometimes to to you know, when especially
when the team's going through a difficult stretch and you're
not playing to you're not in the heat of the
battle with them, so you have a different perspective. So
it's harder to you know, voice anything that that you
see or you feel. But I think when you're when
I'm not playing, I'm just trying to be there for
guys as more of a soundboard and you know, if
(10:12):
they're talking to me about something that happened in the game,
I can maybe offer a different perspective of a different
view that I had from it. And obviously just trying
to be there for guys. I guess it's been a
tough stretch that we're kind of worked our way out of.
So if I can, like I said, just be there
for an here for guys when they want to say something,
and then you know, give them my honest feedback, I
(10:32):
think that's that's the best way you can go about
it when you're not playing.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah, and I've talked to Steve Poppin about it too,
And you know, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
You know you're not gonna.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
All of a sudden get it all together and go
on a crazy wind streak after a losing streak like
we had. But you know what, if you liked from
the guys who stepped up in the role of your absence,
like a guy like Ryan McGregor, who's you know, lighting
up the lamp now getting more minutes. And you know
the rookies as well, with you know, Sam Lipkin lots
(11:02):
is looking good rock to too in his second season.
What have you liked from those guys stepping up into
the roles, you know, to just help us win games,
and they're gonna be crucial for us as well, when
you know, with about twenty five games up to go
of the season, when we're fighting for the last playoff spot.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Yeah, well that's the way it works. It's opportunities that
guys get when certain guys aren't in the lineup, and
you have to make good on them. And we've had guys,
you know, look at Cameron he Big who's had a
great stretch, who's you know, kind of helped us win games.
I think if he doesn't go in that stretch, we
don't win some of those games. And you look at
you know McGregor, he stayed patient and he's waited for
(11:38):
his opportunity. And it's great to see a guy like
him playing well because he's such a likable person too,
so you want him to do well. And the young
guys have been coming along too, so it's going to
have to continue if we want to make the playoffs,
and we can't have any drop off from anybody.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
Really completely unrelated to hockey. If you were a mythical creature,
what mythical creature would you want to be?
Speaker 1 (12:03):
I don't even know if I know any mythical.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Like I asked, asked the hockey questions, Kim goes off
the rails.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I'm not even sure of any like a.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Dragon or oh, you're digging a dragon at the build
a bear? That was? That was a good one.
Speaker 5 (12:21):
Wait, no, don't wait, don't just automatically pick dragon off
the top.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
Okay?
Speaker 5 (12:24):
A minotaur, a chimera, a phoenix, a unicorn, a leprechaun,
a pegasus.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Oh my god, I don't I.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Don't say dragon. Maybe because you always have that fire
breathing that if you need to have that in the
back pocket, you always got it.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
A mermaid, you could be a mermaid mermaid.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
I'll stick with the dragon.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Did your Are your kids still using the the build
of Bears?
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Are playing with the build of bears that we got?
Speaker 1 (12:49):
Oh yeah, there's somewhere they they get thrown all over
the house. There's somewhere around there. But they're still kicking around.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
I'm glad to hear that. I'm glad they had a
good time with that.
Speaker 5 (12:59):
I need to know. So the team Social Admin released
yesterday video of you guys playing super Bowl, and it
was the funniest minute of TikTok that I've seen. In
a minute, Bear is unhinged and just angry. It seems
like just there's so many emotions involved in super Bowl.
(13:20):
But Kyler Yamamoto was hysterical, and I don't I am
assuming that you haven't seen it, but if you get
a chance to go check it out. He's so like
low key funny and he doesn't care that nobody maybe
is paying attention to him. Tell me a little bit
about Kyler Yamamoto behind the scenes, because I was surprised
to see that video.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I think you're he is a very funny person, and
you just got this like dry sense of humor to him.
That kind of just just comes natural to him. And
he has the perfect timing of certain quotes to say
in certain one liners. And but I don't it's not
him trying to be funny. I think it's just him
the funny person. So I think you hit the nail
(14:04):
on the head there. He's He's a fun person to
be around, for sure.
Speaker 5 (14:08):
Do you not related to Kyler? Do you like your name? Andrew?
And the only reason I asked that is because when
I first saw you. So you know how sometimes you
see somebody and you imagine you kind of guess what
their name is possibly going to be. I do not
see you as an Andrew, No, and I don't see
you as an Andy either, Like what were you called
(14:30):
when you were growing up? But when I saw you
for the first time, you look like a Tommy? Okay,
all right, that works?
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Yeah, No, I think it suits me. I don't mind
it because it's popular but not overused. And growing up
I was Andy. My brothers, my siblings, they did call
me Andy.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
So you do you still go by Andy or does
everybody just now call you?
Speaker 1 (14:59):
I go what did they call it in hockey? It's
egg o, eggie eggs. It's a mixed bag. But yeah,
my family life, it's it's still Andy pretty much.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
And it's funny that it's Andy and not Drew, which
it could have gone that way.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
And if someone decided on call me Andy, and that's it. Yeah,
not my.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Choice, Andrew.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
So we we actually first met in San Jose when
I was just an intern and you're with the San
Jose Barracuda. And then we finally met for the first
time in a while in Henderson during pre season, and
you recognized me right away, which I didn't expect, not
because I don't think you're a bad person. I was
just like, I was just an intern. I was barely there.
I was only there on game nights. And I have
(15:45):
to ask, did you know I was with Tucson or
did you just see me and say, oh, I know
that guy used to be with San Jose.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
You know I did. Once I start, once I signed
in the summer, I started following on social and I
saw you do some some hits on there for social media.
So I didn't know you were with Tucson. And then
I didn't expect to run into you in the hotel
in Henderson, but yeah, sure enough, you popped it up
in the elevator open you were there, and but I
did know beforehand. Okay, that year with the with the Roadrunners.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, I was just curious. I gotta say when when
we signed you and I saw that too, I was like, oh,
there you go, like it's gonna be reunited again, and
it's the same thing with once hand on Yo Boucie too.
And speaking of being reunited, you and Sokolov played together
with Belleville and you two were really cooking together before
the injury as well.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
Just what it's been.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
What's it been like to be with Sokolov again, and
you know, with his development has been this season, because
you know he's still relatively young, around twenty four to
twenty five, and he's still you know, progressing as as
everyone is in this league.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Yes, we had a great chemistry in Belleville together. We
played pretty much, i'd say, more or less the entire
season together and then we kind of picked up right
where we left off to start this year. But he's
a fun person to play with just because any any
shot he takes, at any moment he can, he can score.
He's just a goal scorer. And then when you play
(17:05):
with guys like that and stuff starts going in the net,
it's almost infectious. You both feel good about your games
and you just kind of feed off that with one another.
So that's the nice part about playing with a guy
like Soca is if you get him one or two
chances a game, there's there's a good chance he's he's
gonna put one of them in.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
Are you an up for it person or a down
for it person?
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Depends who's asking or what the question is really, but
I try to be try to be up for it,
but there's probably a lot of times where I'm down
for it as well.
Speaker 5 (17:39):
Okay, okay, that's solid answer, all right? Do you have
a favorite pasta shape? I feel like everybody's like just
leans towards something.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
I do, like the big Rigatoni ones. Those ones are good.
Is it like just a rat round tube?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (17:57):
Okay, okay, that's a and like with a certain because
like I feel like you can't like you could put
a thick Alfredo with Rigo Toni.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
I don't know. Maybe like uh, I don't know, a
vodka sauce maybe.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Oh okay, sounds all right. Yeah. I was wondering if
maybe you could do a Maddie Villalta impression for us.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
No, I don't know if I could do an impression.
He's in one of a kind with his sayings, though,
But I wouldn't even know which one a pick. He's
got about a thousand of them.
Speaker 3 (18:26):
He just got his one hundredth win. What was uh,
what was that like for the for the locker room, Well, it.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Was a long time coming. I think a few of
us knew he's been at ninety nine for quite some time.
And the unlucky part about it, or the bad part
about it, was, we feel like he's had chance to
get that hundred win for weeks and we've kind of
let him down in front of him. So just see
him get that, although we made it a little harder
on ourselves towards the end and made him have to
(18:51):
work a little bit for it.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
But yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Nice to see him get that because we've known he's
been right there for for quite some time.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
And how is it when you know, like you played
against Matthew Violalta when he was with Ontario and you
were with San Diego and San Jose and such too,
and now you guys are playing on the same team
and you can say the same for all kinds of
players throughout the league. So what's just that experience like
of just having that kind of community of players where, yeah,
on the ice, sometimes your enemies and you're against each other,
but then all of a sudden you can easily be
(19:21):
on the same team and you guys become good pals.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
It's funny how it works is there's certain guys where
you kind of battle with and get into it with,
and then once you meet each other at training camp,
it's you know, completely in the past and you realize
he's probably not as bad of a guy as you thought,
or he's not he's actually a pretty nice person. So
usually when you meet a guy and the ones you
battle with the most on the ice kind of turn
(19:46):
out to be similar and the most like you, and
you end up being becoming pretty good friends. So it's
funny how it works though, for sure.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
Andrew, I just have a few more questions. How do
you define success for yourself? What does that look like.
You've accomplished so much in your life, and you've done
so many different things, such a prolific career, but you personally,
what does success look like to you?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
It's a good question. I think it changes from different
points in your life, obviously. I think now success for
me is just trying to be that leader that people
can lean on and still be productive. I still want
not just leave the team off the ice, but I
still want to lead the team on the ice. I
think that's part of the reason is why I'm here
is to help people along. And it's not in a
(20:38):
way of you help coach them or you you teach
them or anythink. It's the way you just you go
about your own business. So it's my approach is kind
of just like I continue to want to be a
good pro and do what I need to do to
be successful, and hopefully you pull people along with you.
And it's not telling people what to do or how
to do. It's kind of just doing what makes you successful.
(21:01):
Hopefully that is making you successful and then people kind
of follow along.
Speaker 5 (21:06):
Have you have you studied leadership and anyway? Do you
read and or I know some of the guys consume
books about I've gone a.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Few different like courses that have had that kind of
aspect in it and stuff like that. I have definitely
looked into and and and study a little bit stuff
like that.
Speaker 5 (21:23):
Yeah, okay, okay, that's awesome. What do you think is
the best kind of food for a food fight?
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Best food for a food fight probably something like a
mashed potato or something something heavy kind of would stick
to that it would stick as you as you hit them. Yes,
I was thinking a snowball kind of stays and probably
travel further.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
Oh so you're going from like a purely like physics.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Going on the offense here because it's like messy, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Yeah, and it's to staff.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Okay, Andrew, last last thing. I'm gonna I have a
joke for you. But I have three jokes. So pick
a number one to three and I'll tell you which
which joke lines up with that? Okay? Which days are
the strongest days?
Speaker 1 (22:15):
The strongest days Fridays? O? Come, just pick a day, Friday,
Fridays are a nice day. I don't know.
Speaker 5 (22:24):
Okay, the strongest days are Saturday and Sunday because the
other days are weekdays.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
That's a good dad joke. I might steal that one
from you.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
I might use that one.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Do you want to hear? And I'll tell you number
two because I think it's really funny. What is an
astronaut's favorite part of the computer? Yes, such a dad,
you know, such a dad.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
That's good.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
That was good, well, Andrew, thanks so much for joining us, man.
I always appreciate it. H looking really looking forward to
seeing you on the ice soon. And uh I have
a good rest of your day.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Man, all right, thanks guys just.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Having Assistant Captain number twenty nine Andrew Agazino on the show. Kim,
I'm surprised they are shocked, even we haven't gone him
yet quite you know. Usually we try to get the
newer guys first, and sometimes it just doesn't happen like that. So, yeah,
Agazino finally making his radio debut. But Kim, we're saying beforehand,
like this guy's probably done thousands and thousands of radio
(23:24):
interviews and this is a this is nothing new for him.
Speaker 5 (23:27):
No, absolutely not. And I don't know how we didn't
get him before, Like, I don't know what we did wrong,
But talking to him was amazing. I think the hard
part when you come across somebody like Andrew who has
had such a prolific career, is trying to like figure
out what questions they haven't been asked yet, Yeah, and
(23:49):
it's always yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't want to be
like everybody else.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
So maybe that's why we have you, Kim.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
No one else has because I still ask the boring
hockey questions, but you keep going.
Speaker 5 (24:03):
I think catching him, you know, kind of where we
are in the season is interesting because he's had time
to get to know the guys and to play with
them instead of playing against them, and also kind of
to settle into into Tucson with his family and be
able to talk to it. You know, like if we
had asked him if you've been here two days, you know, like, hey,
you know, what's your favorite spot in Tucson, He's not
(24:23):
gonna have an answer, you know.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Yeah, that's why that's why we might wait a little
bit to get Sammy Walker next, because he has not
even been in Tucson yet. I mean, he's played in
Tucson as with the Wild, but he has not even
gotten to like settle in yet because he joined us
right when the Gem Show trip started, right after All
Star breaks, So uh yeah, he's the guy who got
(24:45):
on the show eventually. Great dude, but uh yeah, awesome
having Andrew Gauzino on. I loved him that he went
on social media to start like following up on Roadrunner stuff,
and then he saw me working with him, and that's
how we knew because like again, he came right up
to me when I first and I'm like, oh, it's
great to see you again.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Man.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
He's like, great to see you too, and I'm like,
how the hell did you? How do you know who
I am? Like, how do you recognize me? And He's
just like, of course I recognize you. It's like, all right,
you obviously knew I was you already because I don't know.
I just didn't think. I don't think guys follow up
on that kind of stuff.
Speaker 5 (25:16):
Andrew Agazino, for anybody who hasn't met him in person,
to me, he just exhudes a very different kind of
energy than the other players. And I think it's because
of his age, because he is not living. I don't
want to I'm not saying this is a negative against
any of the players who are younger, but I think
with with Kevin and Andrew, you know, they're very aware
(25:38):
of everybody else that's around them. They kind of take
it all in and it's not just about hockey for them.
You know, they're kind of at a point in their
lives where it's I don't want to say they're more
well rounded individuals, but they're they're more well rounded, Like, yeah,
they have a lot of life experience that they're bringing
(25:59):
to things.
Speaker 4 (25:59):
And they're they're they're aware, Yeah, they've experienced so much.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Right, Like the agazine knows the Kevin Cannaughtens, Stephen Camper
when he was with us.
Speaker 5 (26:08):
Yeah, well you Adam Cracknell also, Yeah, and.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
He's been gosh, he's he's been in the league longer
than agazine know.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
He's gosh.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
We'll look up his age, we get we get these
guys in and they're just they come with so much knowledge,
so much emotional intelligence, so much social awareness. They're just
and and also you know, like leadership. They're they're leaders,
so they do things like notice people. I remember Adam
and I weren't particularly close when he was here, but
(26:38):
when he came back when he was playing for Henderson,
you know, gave him a big hug and you know,
asked him about the family, was able to connect with him.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
You know.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
So those guys, Yeah, I love it when we get
it's such a I think it's such a nice balance
of the two types of players.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
This guy I just started looking up and Adam Kracknell
is a like all the games that he's played and everything.
Speaker 5 (27:02):
How many pages is it?
Speaker 3 (27:03):
It's long. His hockey DV is long. So he's thirty
nine years old. He was a ninth round draft pick
of the Calgary Flames. Of course, as you diehard Tucson fans. Now,
he played with the Roadrunners in the twenty two to
twenty three season, had a really good year.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
With us KIM.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
He's in the Slovak League now and he has four
points and forty eight games played, he has thirty one
goals and twenty three assists. And he's doing this at
thirty nine years old. That he's he's still going KIM.
Speaker 5 (27:29):
And he's a powerhouse. And not only that, if he's
playing in Selovakian League, then he's playing with Miloshan.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Yeah cut, no, yeah, he could be playing against those
So yeah, some Roadrunners going going international, and yeah, for
a guy like Agazino, you know, it's he's he's in
the back half of his career, but he still has
so much hockey left to play, and uh, you know,
he still has goals for himself to you know, become
in nhl A just like everybody else. That's why they
(27:56):
signed these two year two way contracts because it's a
chance for them to you know, develop players with us
and obviously the Roadrunners you know, still have a chance
to do great things this season. It's not only that,
but it's also you know, having a chance to to
to make the league. I mean, look at Michael Carconi,
He's he's cracked the NHL now and he was patient
(28:18):
waiting for it. Cameron he Big this season, he's having
an his breakout year, and you just don't know, Kim.
It's sometimes it takes longer than most. Some people get
it in right away, and it takes longer for some people.
And that's okay as long as you know, you get
to where you want to be, whatever your goals are.
You know, some guys never get to sniff the NHL,
but they're okay with the HL because it's still the
(28:39):
second best league in the world. And that's just sometimes
how it goes. But we're we're grateful for guys like
Agazino and cannot in the vets on the team, Guys
like Cameron Hebig still with us as well, who's getting
near that veteran presence now, you know, with the fifth
year as a roadrunner. Even Ryan McGregor two five years
with us, Travis Barron a good amount of years with
us as well. You know, it's it's just, uh, you know,
(29:01):
we get to know these guys and we want them
to have success too. But yep, you're still playing in
the second best league in the world, but we'll still
all always have our next levels of where we want
to be at.
Speaker 5 (29:12):
Much like this season, everybody is on a journey and
we don't know where it's gonna We don't know where
it's gonna end, but it's just enjoy the journey, right, So,
and I love I love watching the young guys come
up and the things that they're like Cameron Hebig and
Mike Kurconi, the things that they're able to make happen. Yeah,
I don't know if you do this, but every once
(29:33):
in a while, I'll you know, yeah, obviously follow guys,
follow teams in the NHL, and every once in a
while I see again, I'm like, we have guys on
our team on the Roadrunners that are better than that
person that's playing in the NHL, you know. So sometimes
it's all about chances and opportunities and being in the
right place at the right time, you know, and what's
(29:54):
meant to happen, It's gonna happen. It's I I'm very
uh woo woo about that stuff. So I I've been
trying to take all these games that we're playing too,
like as as an individual game like this is the path.
Whatever's you know, meant to happen is gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
Kind of You can say that for any you know,
position at sports. You know, some people working for for
media or hockey ops or coaches or anybody, and you know,
sometimes it takes you longer to get to this league.
You know, I'm only in my what for fourth year
in the HL. I was lucky to get two years
(30:29):
as an intern with San Jose, you know, coming here
my first year in Tucson, and you know, everything just
kind of fell in place, and all of a sudden,
you're to play by play announcement for the team, and
you know, Sam can go for for Chase where who
We're gonna bring us an intern first, and then we
brought him full time because I was promoted. You know,
we have so many staff members who are relatively new
(30:50):
to this league, but it's just such a great opportunity.
And then there's others who it takes them longer, and
that's okay. You know, there's all other kinds of leagues
out there that give you this opportunity. So yeah, it's
it's similar for everybody in this league. I think that's
what makes the AHL. So you know more close quarters. Right,
it's smaller staffs that you get to know the players
more because we all have the same goals. We all
(31:11):
want to be in the National Hockey League one day.
So when you all have the same goals, you try
to help each other out as much as possible. And yeah,
that's just just gets you more connected with the players
and the coaches and the staff.
Speaker 5 (31:22):
One of the things, one of the one of the
things that I've thought since I started with this team
and get to see what's happening behind the scenes, is
that I don't think that there's any other league in
the world that needs a reality show as much as
the AHILD does. The things that happen behind the scenes,
the drama, the experiences, it's all so interesting, it's so intense.
(31:47):
The schedule is an absolute grind. And if we talk about,
like even if a camera crew came and just followed
the team on the GEM show trip, too much on
a bus with thirty other human beings is literally what
they make reality shows about. And then to throw in
the physicality and the mental dexterity that the players have
(32:08):
to have to go from one place to another to
play a hockey game. A very physical hockey game. Like,
I don't know how Netflix has not figured this out,
along with all the other human aspects of you know
them having you know, wives and girlfriends and personal lives
and friends and family that are meeting them on the
road and everything that that looks like that that show
(32:28):
would be more entertaining than anything that I can think of. Like,
you wouldn't even need to write They wouldn't even need
to like write into the the script like oh, this
person's going to be the you know, the evil person,
or this person's going to be you know, they're our
hero at the end. That already exists. It's already here.
You just need the camera. That's it.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
I think what's crazy about it too. Yeah, we're on
our longest trip with the season. We've been on the
road for thirteen days now. We come home tomorrow after
well technically Thursday morning, so because we bust out tomorrow
after the game, because I'm recording right now from from
Actors Arena at my booth, and you know, it's it's
(33:10):
it's crazy to think like you can say two weeks, okay,
fourteen days, it's half a month. We're gone for half
of this month of February when we get back. March
is right around the corner. I don't think I've ever
been on the trip this long ever in my life,
and I feel like I've done so much already. Like
I got to see friends in San Jose, spend the
Super Bowl in Bakersfield, I got sick. I got sick
(33:32):
for a few days and had to stay in my room.
And then we went to Ontario. I saw my parents,
and then then from there we went to Vegas. Kim,
you came on that trip, so did Chase and Bennett.
We all got to hang out in Vegas. And then
we bust here and now we're here for a few days,
and and then we the trip ends tomorrow, and then
we don't even get a break. We get like, you know,
(33:53):
the Thursday, which when you come back at six am,
you sleep the whole day, and then Friday practice and
then bam, we have game Saturday and Sunday versus Abbotsford.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
So it does not stop for us. It stops for
you know. And again it's just it's just how it goes.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
But you know, the fans back at home or everyone
back in Tucson doesn't see everything that we're still doing.
In these last few weeks and like, oh yeah, it's
so great to be back. It's like we've been doing
We've been creaking for the last two weeks on the road,
Like this is nothing new for us. The only difference
is we're back home now. So yeah, it's it's tough.
These guys go through so much and then they have
(34:27):
to play hockey too, So you know, that's why we
we always just have that big level of respect and
especially how this trip is going, Kim, you know, it's
it's we're in a good spot. We have a huge
chance to end off this trip with the winning record,
you know, and it's been a road trip that we've
said it's it's probably the most important gem Show trip
of the season, and it's showing that right. The win
(34:48):
on Sunday with the Baggers Field loss has given us
now the seventh seed of the AHL Specific Division. Obviously,
tons of more games left. I believe we have about
twenty five more games to go, but you know, if
you're if you end off this trip in a playoff spot,
especially going into the trip with that eight game slide,
that's that's good. It's it's it's again the marathon, not
(35:10):
the sprint. It's the slow turnaround that we are starting
to see.
Speaker 5 (35:14):
Right I this team wins don't seem to become easy for
this team.
Speaker 4 (35:19):
Again.
Speaker 5 (35:20):
I always say, oh, the boys are being dramatic, you know,
and I think of it like kind of like a
Broadway show. But after Saturday's shootout loss, I just wanted
to scream into the void, like I was like, you know,
like I said, I am very much what what will
happen is meant to happen kind of person. But I
(35:42):
just was done. I was done Saturday now and then
and then on Saturday. I also was able to kind
of be on ice level for most of that game.
And that goal Hornstown in Henderson, it is so it's
so loud and they project get straight down onto the
(36:03):
ice with their speakers, so it almost like physically like
physically can either push you down or raise you up,
depending on who you are on the ice. But I
was just like, Manda, have to deal with that, like
every time something goes wrong at your job, if there's
somebody there with the horn blasting it right above your
head to tell you that you did something wrong, Like
(36:24):
how demoral that happens.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
I'd even put it like that.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Like, imagine you're working a nine to five and you
make an error on like an email or report or something,
and then you get a horn in or face by
your boss. Like your boss runs in and squeezes the
horn or like what the ear horns It just like
does that to your face and then screams at you
and then runs.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
That's what it's like for our guys.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
You know when when something doesn't go wrong, you know
it doesn't go right, or yeah sorry, if something doesn't
go right and it goes wrong, Yeah, everyone's screaming at you.
Especially for the goaltender. I think they get it the worst, right,
they get the chance at them. They have fans right
behind them heckling them the entire game. And yeah, that
arena so loud. In Henderson, Kim our broadcast booth is
(37:09):
in the catwalk. We're in the catwalk pretty much, so
it's like the saddle Dome, except it's a walk closer
because obviously Lee's family form is much smaller than the
saddle Dom. But we are up there, so the horns
are like right next to us. So when they were
going off, I had to keep like turning down my
my crowd. Mic I was using because I'm like, this
is gonna destroy my headset, like it's gonna because it
happened to Calgary, because that horns loud too, because when
(37:31):
you're in the rafts, when you're in the cow walk,
the horns are all next to you, so like your
mic picks it up so much it can blow it
out and break it.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
And also I just don't want the fans at home
to you know, have.
Speaker 3 (37:43):
Their TVs get destroyed like what happened in Bakersfield. So
you know, it's managing that too. And yeah, we'll we'll
take the three out of four points. You know, despite
what happened on the Saturday, the Sunday game went much better. Obviously,
it got a little scary at the end, you know,
with with Henderson almost coming back, and you know, I
(38:03):
hate to say, Mom, I'm glad that we just don't
have to play them anymore. I mean, they are just
that team that just would never go away. Like the
first few games we played them, it went fine, Like
we had a three and one record against him before
the losing streak started. And it started with the Silver
Knights because or it kept going with the Silver Nights
starting Calgary, but it kept going with the Silver Knights
because they were they just kept coming back and scoring
(38:25):
these goals on us, and they're they're still on a
really good stretch. So they're the hottest team in the
AHL since January, since the new year. And for us
to get three out of four points, it's good. It's
a good way to keep the road trip going. And yeah,
we're on game number seven coming tomorrow, so if the
road runs can get one more, that'd be fantastic.
Speaker 5 (38:46):
And I think so Hogo got first school on Saturday
night and it was his birthday, right his twenty ninth thurday. Yeah,
birthday was the night before that that we got to
talk about. Okay, upcoming birthdays, Johnny put it on your
radar Sunday when we play Abbotsford that's Kevin Connoton's birthday.
I don't know how old he's going to be, but
I know that that's his birthday. And then coming week
(39:08):
because we're in Pisce season right now, Leighton Moore's birthday
is on Thursday, the twenty seventh. We don't have a
game that night, and then and then the next birthday
after that is poor mister Julian Lutz, whose birthday is
on two twenty nine, and we are not in a
leap year, so he doesn't get a birthday this year?
Speaker 4 (39:27):
Really?
Speaker 5 (39:28):
Oh, I think he said he's only five right now
because he will be turning twenty one this year. And yeah,
there's no twenty night. There's no two twenty nights.
Speaker 4 (39:40):
That always confusing me. So how does that leap your work? Again?
Speaker 5 (39:43):
Every four years we get a two twenty nine, but
you don't have one this year, so.
Speaker 4 (39:48):
So wait, how does that work? He just doesn't celebrate
his birthday.
Speaker 5 (39:51):
I'm sure he celebrates his birthday. I don't know when
because the Friday, Friday the twenty eighth, and then Saturday
the first, so we have a short this month, so
it could. I'm sure. I'm sure he'll be doing something
this weekend.
Speaker 4 (40:04):
Said every four years they do that, uh.
Speaker 5 (40:06):
Huh yep, over four years.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
Like I heard the term leapier, but like I didn't
know what exactly meant. I guess, like, what's a leap year?
Speaker 5 (40:16):
Yep, that's exactly what it means. Oh, and I need
to talk about really quick. I don't know how much
time I have left, but I ran o good. I
ran into some Roadrunners fans on gas for information.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
Yes, you get their phone numbers so we can call
them right now.
Speaker 5 (40:33):
Oh I didn't. I did not do that. I don't
want to be that guy. Jesse uncle did a Valentine's
Day trip, So okay, stay with me. Chrissy lives here
in Tucson. Jesse is on active duty in the Air
Force in Alabama. And yeah, so they met in Las
(40:55):
Vegas for a Valentine's Day weekend and came to the
games to see each other and spend the weekend with
the road Runners. Yeah, and they were absolutely fantastic to
talk to you. And they got the seats. I don't
know how Chrisy did this. She got the seats right
next to the player tunnel, and the player tunnel for
us comes straight out onto the bench, so they were
(41:17):
sitting right behind the bench. And then also could like
reach out and give high fives to the players as
they were coming out of the tunnel like that, that
was there. She was super. Christy was so strategic about
where they were sitting. It wasn't just anywhere. They wanted
road the players to know that they were there.
Speaker 4 (41:32):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
And again, like going on the road and seeing your
team win it feels good. Like obviously, winning at home
is amazing in front of your home fans, but sometimes
I think it depends on the team.
Speaker 4 (41:45):
Winning on the road feels slightly better.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
It's just like, yeah, like these crowds, yep, you guys,
like we're out of here. And that's why tomorrow's game
is so big to Kim because it's only our fourth
and final game against Coachella Valley and we know these
guys we don't like him, which is I still don't
know why we only get four games against them on
the docket when they're the closest team to us, you know,
on the on the map, and we we just have
(42:09):
had such good games against them, and we are four
and one or our last five games here at Actor
sure as well, so keep that in mind. We've been
winning games here at this arena. This can easily be
a first round playoff matchup if Coachella Valley gets within
the top few seeds, you know, bearing if the Roadrunners
just hang onto that seven seeds spot, it would be
hard to catch up the six with Abbots for you know,
(42:30):
playing on fire as well. But uh, this can be
a potential first round preview. We don't know, but uh again,
going back to just the single game series tomorrow and
the final game against them, this would be a big
one to win here too. The crowds here go crazy.
I'm in the I'm pretty much right next to all
the fans. Fuego comes and bothers me, I have fans,
(42:51):
bother It's just like, it's just awesome to win in here.
And you know, calling the goal calls when there's fans
in front of me, and I'm I'm a little extra loud,
you know. So it's uh, it's always an electric atmosphere here.
It's awesome, and uh, this is again, this is just
such a big game for us to you know, potentially
end off this road trip with a four to two
on one record with getting that extra point as well.
Speaker 5 (43:12):
So the Pacific Division right now number one sitting the
standings are number one Calgary, two, Ontario, three, Colorado, Coachella, Abbotsford,
San Jose, and then US and Bakersfield tied at forty
eight points and then running things out Henderson and San Diego.
Speaker 3 (43:28):
Look look at Ontario, I mean they're the Calgary Rangers
have not won a game, They've a five game losing
streak there they're once against Kim for the second straight
year in a row, are collapsing and Ontario and Colorado
are are going for it.
Speaker 4 (43:41):
They're going for first seed. So we can't even set it.
Speaker 3 (43:44):
Out Calgary, like that's it's it's crazy every year they
start off so hot and then they just can't finish.
Speaker 4 (43:50):
And now they're we're.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
Seeing it again, and it's they've had the first place
spot for like this whole.
Speaker 5 (43:54):
Season and the one two three, the point separation is
is only three between the three of them. There's three
points separating the three of them. And yeah, all you
need in in it, I guess in any sport, all
you need is one hot streak or one losing streak.
One streak, yeah, like and you're you're in it or
you're done. Like it's yeah for for.
Speaker 3 (44:14):
For us again, you know, it's it's gonna slowly and
gradually get better. You know, when you're on an eight
game losing streak, it doesn't just bam changed like that,
like Okay, now we're gonna see ten wins in a row.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
It takes time.
Speaker 3 (44:25):
And yeah, even for the road Runners, Uh, you know,
the seventh seed of what we have right now, tied
with Bakersfield, but only six points behind San Jose and
seven behind Abbotsford. So all it will take for Roadrunners
to go on a nice little hot streak and you know,
not only separating us from Bakersfield, but maybe making a
run for the sixth seed and maybe the fifth, just
(44:46):
to be a bit more comfortable. And obviously we were
very much in a different spot last year. We were
the ones competing for the first spot with Coachella Valley,
and uh yeah, though the season has not gone what
we expected, it's just make pla like, if you make playoffs,
anything can happen. We've seen it in hockey time and
time again of the final seeds going all the way
(45:06):
to the Cup, in the in the NHL playoffs and
even in the AHL too, So it's it's just that's
what it's all about for right now, and we'll just
try to finish as strong as we can.
Speaker 5 (45:16):
I watched a video yesterday about the difference between learning
and knowing and the huge gap of variables that exist
between those two places, and that's kind of how I
think of this team is we're in this gap between
learning and knowing, and you know, there's highs and there's
lows and but we're getting closer to the knowing part.
(45:40):
And it is every day that you learn something new,
and I know that the team talks about this and
Steve talks about this frequently. Every day that you learn
one thing is a successful day. And I think that
that mindset and having the emotional intelligence to put the
(46:00):
games that didn't go our way behind us and focus
on what's working well and how we can continue to
just learn one more thing every day and be a
little bit better every day. That's what is going to
lead to the success of this team. So all my
fingers are crossed, I'm knocking on all the wood I'm doing.
(46:20):
I know, I know, all the fans are doing all
of the superstition things that we can to you know,
get to where we need to be to make to
make a postseason happen. You know, it's I don't even
want to say the jinxy words like.
Speaker 3 (46:36):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you know it's it's a bummer
too because the last year's team, where we were at
going into the playoffs was like you know, Cup, we
were Cup admirations and uh, you know you fast forward
an now we're just barely clawing for the final seed.
Speaker 4 (46:52):
But again, you just have to make it.
Speaker 3 (46:54):
And we've been through so much adversity this year already,
where if we make the playoff, it's like, guys, we
look at what we just all went through.
Speaker 4 (47:03):
Let's just we can do this.
Speaker 3 (47:05):
Like if we made it the playoffs with all this
that happened, who's the stop us from going all the way?
And I think there's a lot of teams out there
who did haven't even gone through any adversity. Look or
maybe Calgary is now, you know, they haven't gone through
anything up to this point.
Speaker 4 (47:18):
And that's sometimes all that it takes.
Speaker 3 (47:19):
Is a reason why the President's Trophy winners of the NHL,
the best team in the league, has not won a
Stanley Cup, I think in over thirty years, because they
don't face any adversity. They go thro the whole season,
winnie constant hockey games, and in the moment they face
adversity in the playoffs because they're going against a team
that barely made it and it went through everything, then
they lose.
Speaker 4 (47:40):
So I think that's usually, uh, just how it goes.
Speaker 5 (47:45):
I think in any job that and I know that
people out there have experienced in any job that you
have where you faced a challenge where there was some difficulty,
some adversity. Like you said, you become stronger with your teammates, right,
you become stronger with the people that are sitting next
(48:05):
to you. I have friends who people who I am
like such close friends with now because the job that
I had five years ago was difficult and we ended
up forging just these amazing relationships and now I know
them better than you know, like I know my brothers,
because we were put in those situations together and that
(48:25):
just made us kind of unstoppable. And that's I think
the Roadrunners go through, you know, go through challenges with that,
go through times of you know, where they need to
be strong and pulled together, and they're in that right now.
So only good, only good things.
Speaker 4 (48:46):
So fully, I'm like you ready to run through a wall?
Speaker 5 (48:49):
Now?
Speaker 3 (48:50):
We had a game like in thirty minutes and I
let's go. We're almost out of time because we had
such great conversations this episode. We really got into it
and uh yeah, Runners have a huge game coming up
tomorrow against Coachella Valley and a chance to end off
this seven game road trip with a winning record and
continue to hang on to the final playoff spot.
Speaker 5 (49:11):
I'm excited to see the lineups and kind of what
that looks like, what Steve's thinking in terms of, you know,
who are in those forward positions. I think we're seeing
a little bit of movement there. And one of the
things that I appreciate about Steve is that when something's working,
he kind of leaves it alone, but when things aren't working,
he's not afraid to really mix it up. So hopefully
(49:35):
there are you know, hopefully the lineups look powerful. But
again then we're also seeing people like Ryan McGregor step
up and just be absolutely phenomenal and do amazing things
and get a million points in one game that none
of us were expecting to have happened. So only good things.
Speaker 4 (49:56):
Only good things, Kim.
Speaker 3 (49:58):
We are really starting to get near the crunch time
in the season. The Roadrunners have played forty seven games
up to this point and on the season, twenty five
games left to go, So before we know it, we're
gonna be in the tens and then the five more
games up to go and then we'll see where the
Roadrunners are at. But a big game coming up tomorrow
(50:20):
here at Coachella Valley against the Firebirds. We had Andrew
Agazino on the show earlier. If you miss that, go
to Tucson roadrunners dot com. Slash Happy already here the
podcast version of this show. My name is Jonathan Schaeffer,
alongside me as always Kim Coderoblaz. We will see you
tomorrow night here at the Agrisher Arena for game number
seven of the seven Game Gem Show Trip.
Speaker 4 (50:42):
Have a great register of your day, folks,
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