#92Noon! 11am Hour 3/4 Anthony LaPanta!

#92Noon! LaPanta - Wild - NFL Free Agency

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
In one final time five seconds ago, crowd rising Eric
ran Cassino, arena coop drop bottom of the right circle, Wait,
shoots one in front.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
And the horse sounds in.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Minnesota Wild get back in the win column, A five
one victory over Tampa Bay, the lightning of drop three
in a row in regulation, Gustafson, the win caprice off,
the franchise record for career goals in the process, and
how much needed win for the while. To wrap up
this quick little two game.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Homestand welcome back final hour nine to noon nord to
win for PA. He'll be back tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Normally, when we would have the TV voice of the
Wild in as in Anthony Lapanta ad Anthony Lapanta v
X and you can watch him on TV, we'd play
audio of the TV voice of the Minnesota Wild. We
didn't have any from last night, mister Lapanta. What happened Well,
I was given an involuntary night off. The national TV

(01:10):
guys took the game, and so that meant I was
just sitting I.

Speaker 4 (01:15):
Don't know, maybe thirty feet from the guys calling it
on the radio, watching the game from the booth. And
I hate having nights off, but every once in a while.
I mean, there's worse ways to spend a night off
than just sitting at the arena watching the game, and
it's exciting.

Speaker 5 (01:29):
It's funny.

Speaker 4 (01:30):
You very rarely watch a game with just the sounds
of an arena. Yeah, because I'm either calling the game
where I've got my own voice in my head, or
I'm watching a game on television where I've got somebody
else's voice. It's very rare that I'm just sitting in
an arena and all I hear is the crowd and
the skates and the whistles and things like that. So
every once in a while, it does you like, this

(01:52):
is how people watch games, This is what it sounds
like in an arena at a game.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
How differently do you see the game? I mean, you
think because you're trying to process so much, you're telling
this story at a high level like you do on television.
But then when you do have to gear completely down,
do you ever find yourself just calling the game? I
catch yourself talking.

Speaker 4 (02:14):
Somebody asked me that question on social media last night
and said, are you able to just enjoy the game
or do you call the game in your head?

Speaker 5 (02:20):
And I responded to them with, well, both.

Speaker 4 (02:22):
I enjoy the game, but there are a lot of
moments where I just catch myself as the puck goes
in the corner, the names and the jerseys are running
through my mind, just subconsciously, and it's just the way
I watch games. And it's different because it's a in
this case Tampa, a team we haven't seen yet this year,
so I hadn't done any prep for Tampa because I

(02:43):
knew I wasn't doing the game. So there were a
couple of guys I was like, WHOA, I'm not even
sure who twenty two for them is. And the guys
who have been there for a while, they're just they're
right off the tip of your tongue. So there's a
little bit of difference. But I do find myself just
the same way because it's the way you watch games
so often, and the little tidbits that pop into your

(03:06):
mind that oh, yeah, the boldie just did that. Seems
to me he's done this, and I find myself looking
like I would during a broadcast. Is that five games
in a row with an assist? Is that whatever the
little note might be, Yeah, yeah, I don't think you
ever get out of that when you're a play by
play guy, that's just the way you watch the game.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
No, I suppose I suppose that's acting.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
I mean again, the rhythm and routine you got to
have calling these games, just even for one night, it's like.

Speaker 5 (03:31):
Yeah, I mean it was.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
I was talking with some buddies of mine over the
break and they were asking me about the days when
I used to coach high school football. So I watched
football games that way still to this day. I was
a defensive backs coach, so I did a lot of
our film study on opposing offenses.

Speaker 5 (03:47):
And that's how I want.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
Every time a team breaks a huddle, I'm calling out
the formation in my mind to the terminology we used
to use at Tatino Grace, like this is what we
called Trey x F strong and.

Speaker 5 (04:00):
Okay the Trey XF strong, Okay, the ex motion what like?

Speaker 4 (04:04):
You just your brain just goes that way, And it's
the same for play by play, where you you just
I don't know that it'll be that I'll ever just
watch a game and not be thinking in my mind like, oh,
it was a line change, Oh that guy's on the
wing this time. He had a different guy in the
wing last time, and or just oh, they killed the penalty.
It seems like they've killed five in a rowers and

(04:26):
you just immediately start to think the way you would
if you're calling the game.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Good one to sit for last night? Though?

Speaker 3 (04:32):
How about that the five to one throttling, And you
know how weird matchups can be. The Wild, I mean,
Lightning got Koocherof and Vassilevski, they're hoisting cups the whole thing.
Wild kind of got the Lightning's number over the last
handfull of years, and.

Speaker 5 (04:45):
They do it.

Speaker 4 (04:46):
It's been really for I don't know, a decade maybe,
and we've talked about it a lot when we make
the swing through Florida because now recently Florida's had success,
but for most of about an eight to ten year period,
Tampa was the better team.

Speaker 5 (04:58):
And yet the Wild would always seemed to play.

Speaker 4 (05:01):
Better in Tampa than they did in South Florida, And
it didn't matter which team they played.

Speaker 5 (05:05):
First.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
They'd go down to South Florida and they'd wind up
in an eight to six game against the Panthers, and
then they'd go up two nights later against the Cup
contender in Tampa and they'd tighten things up and beat
the lightning, and I thought last night's game was I
really thought they kind of got back to their game
in the Saint Louis game, even though they lost the
game and they didn't really do much offensively. The first

(05:28):
two games out of the break, they were not played
and the way the Wild want to play. They won
in Denver, but they gave up forty seven shots. They
got run over in Utah and gave up thirty seven.
That's not the way the Wild are going to win
if they're going to win in the postseason. These last
two have looked a lot more like Wild hockey. And
I don't know, I think last night it was twenty
five shots. Maybe I think Saint Louis only had twenty

(05:50):
four and.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
There was twenty five twenty two in shots last night.

Speaker 4 (05:53):
Yeah, that's kind of more than and I think the
Saint Louis game might have been twenty four to twenty three.
So it was it was more the style of game
the child want to play, and we're playing. When they
were at their best, when they had that run through
December where they were playing as well as anybody in
the NHL, they weren't winning games six to five on
the occasion where they scored their way out of trouble.
But most nights it was they were winning three to one,

(06:15):
three to two. And I know the game against Saint
Louis the other night, in fact, it was the first
time the Wild had lost in regulation when allowing three
goals or less all year. They were the only team
in the NHL that hadn't lost a game in regulation
that way. That's their recipe. They know if they hold
teams to three, they're going to be in the game.
And they've especially since the Hughes addition, they've found some

(06:38):
ways to win games in other fashions, like the last
game went into the break in Nashville where they won
six to five. But that's not You're not going to
beat Dallas in Colorado in a best of seven trying
to win games six to five.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Seeing bro Dean back healthy and just what that looked
like last night, I mean, we know what Faber and
Hughes can do, but when you start deepening out the
rest of the blue line, I mean, that is going
to lend to the credence to the idea of we
can absolutely keep teams. We can keep the Kucherovs of
the world.

Speaker 3 (07:08):
I know he got a goal last night, but all
the same, very minimal opportunities. We can keep teams, We
can keep our boot on them a little bit with
the depth and the health thankfully on the blue line.

Speaker 4 (07:18):
Well, when Minnesota's healthy. To me, i'd take their top six,
even say top seven defenseman over any in the league.
A set of Hughes and favor that they can defend,
they can also create offense. And then you've got Spurgeon
and Brodein when they're just allowed to play together. There
aren't very many that shut people down like those two
guys do. Last year when they played together, they were

(07:40):
the stingiest defensive tandem in the NHL, and they weren't
allowed to play together at length just because of the
way the rest of the decourse shook out. But now
with the addition of Quinn Hughes, you can put those
two guys together and they'll shut anybody down. And then
when you've got a third set that's got Jake Middleton
and Zach Magoshin, you've got something. And Middleton has played

(08:02):
in the top four most of his time with Minnesota,
you throw him down as your number five guy. There
aren't many teams that have got a number five that
can compete with that. Bagosian brings a sturdiness and a
more skating than what people give him credit for at
this point in his career. And then Damon Hunt as
a number seven who has proven to be a valuable

(08:24):
asset to this club. I don't think there's another team
in the league that's got a seven one through seven
that compares with those, And they bring a little bit
different dynamic. Now because the Hughes in favor tandem, he's
in Faber tandem, they're not just making plays offensively, and
I know they can and they are favor scored again

(08:45):
last night. He's in the top I think he's in
the top seven in the NHL in terms of goals
by defenseman, Hughes in the top four or points by defenseman.
But as we saw in the Olympics, brock Faber is
still the man when you need to shut somebody down.
He was the guy and the five on three power
play for Canada. He was the one defenseman on the
ice when it was time to go up against the best.

(09:06):
It was he and Jacob Slaven that were out there
to try to shut people down. He still has that
in him. And then as I mentioned Spurgeon and Brodein
with their skating and their ability to close on people.
There's not a better defensive shutdown pair than those two guys.
So I really love the way their blue line is
set up right now.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
Maybe Heinze's PK success and the Olympics can rub off
on our favorite hockey team.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
Huh.

Speaker 4 (09:29):
Well, maybe we talked about that as this a little
bit yesterday on a podcast with one of your favorite
beat writers in town, and the question was asked that
you've got the guy coaching the penalty kill in the
Olympics was the same guy who's coaching here. It's not
an ex's and o's thing. It's not a system, it's
not a structure. US penalty kill went eighteen for eighteen

(09:53):
against the best players in the world, including that key
five on three kill against Canada, and you've got some
of this people. Matt Boldie's a big part of the
penalty kill here. Brock favors a big part of the
penalty kill. I think Minnesota early in the year struggled
to with some of the details in it, and because
of that, statistically, they're probably never gonna get back to

(10:15):
where they'd like to be. Over the course of the season.
But right now that kill has been really good over
the last nine games. I think it's eighty seven percent
right now, and if they're going to go anywhere in
the playoffs, the kill has to be has to be
at that level. It's got to be elite because it's
been their undoing in the playoffs the last couple of years.
Last year against Vegas it was fine, but the years

(10:36):
before that, against both Dallas and Saint Louis, it was
the penalty kill that was their undoing in those series.
They can't win in the postseason without a kill that's
somewhere in the eighty two to eighty four percent range,
and lately it has been I think, you know, they've
got the personnel part figured out now, and I think
it's a kill that should be evaluated maybe on the

(11:00):
second half of the season rather than the overall numbers.
Just because they were so bad for a stretch early
and weren't getting saves early. That has just put him
in a spot where it's it's never They're not going
to end up in the top ten in terms of
penalty kill, but it might be a top ten penalty
kill when the playoffs start.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
And you know Bill Garon getting not heat. But I
think he was criticized when he was building that roster
for the Olympics and bringing it back to our favorite team,
whether it's Robbie Fabric being added to the mix and
now Michael McCarran. You know, just kind of seeing as
that news was released yesterday, some people are kind of
scratching their heads, like, I can't what huh?

Speaker 2 (11:38):
That wasn't the Predator. I wanted what up with stamcos
et cetera.

Speaker 3 (11:41):
But you know, when it comes to whether you know
mcern and his face off ability, he saw just a
little smidgeon from Fabric last night. A few shifts, but
what nine to ten minutes on the ice maybe, but
just kind of seeing a little spunk from him. You
can kind of see similarly the roles that these guys
might play in as in the postseason potentially.

Speaker 4 (12:01):
Yeah, and Fabri was a no risk deal. It cost
him nothing. Let's take a shot at a guy who
has proven himself to be able to score in the
NHL a little more than the guys like Tyler Pittlick
Ben Jones who had been filling that role for Minnesota.
He's got over one hundred goals in the NHL. I
had five seasons where he was double figures, And I mean,

(12:22):
he's not going to be an impact top six guy
at this point in his career, but he's a guy
who's at least proven he can score in the NHL.
Mccaren is a little bit more of a personality guy,
and I don't know a ton about him personally.

Speaker 5 (12:36):
I don't even remember that I've talked to him.

Speaker 4 (12:38):
But I watched Andrew Burnett's press conference in Nashville after
their game last night talking about the McCarran trade, and
you can just tell how disappointed he was to lose
McCarran as a guy, as a person and as a
part of that team, and certainly a team that's in
their spot where they've been pushing to try to get
back into the playoff picture and now all of a sudden,

(12:59):
they're management decides it's time to move some parts. There's
going to be some sadness and disappointment. Bruno, he was pissed,
and you can tell, but you could also tell with
McCarran that it was a This is a guy who
brings a lot more than what the numbers say.

Speaker 5 (13:13):
He brings and we're sad to see him go.

Speaker 4 (13:18):
It could be the sign of maybe some other deals
where that there might be another deal in place where
it's a player that now McCarran takes that spot, Marcus
Felino's out of the lineup, So it could even just
be a short term. Hey, we absolutely need another guy
who can bring some physical some physicalness to the game.

(13:40):
His face offs are have been very good over the
last four seasons. I think he's about fifty four percent.
He's a right shot face off guy, which has been
something Minnesota has been lacking. So there's a lot of
reasons why he might be able to help fill a role.
No matter what happens with another move, I still really
would be surprised if there's not another somewhat more significant

(14:00):
deal in the Wild's future here before the deadline on Friday.

Speaker 3 (14:03):
Yeah, the thing that struck me and I have too
much NFL on the mind sometimes, especially with free agency
around the corner, but you hear that he's dealt. I
think it was like a second round pick was going
to be a free agent this summer, and that just
felt like I'm instantly thinking, Wow, that's a lot to
give up for a guy that's almost kind of a
rental at this stage. But you know, whether it was

(14:25):
the things that I've read on him and the reporting
done by your favorite beat reporter for the Minnesota Wild
and he's America's favorite blogger, as Kevin Falness would say,
I would never say that about mister Russo, but there
is that that glue in the other elements, the physical
nature of the game. Thank goodness for the face offs,
Like you kind of got to read through it a

(14:46):
little bit to learn more about the guy, but you
kind of understand maybe again that role that he could
play on this team.

Speaker 4 (14:52):
Well, I think that's true, but I also think it's
a the second round pick is especially if you're going
to be picking toward the end of the second round.

Speaker 3 (15:01):
Now.

Speaker 4 (15:01):
I know this was a second round pick a couple
of years out because the Wild have already traded the
next few, but you're talking about something that might be
four years down the road, five years down the road
before that player makes an impact in the NHL, and
right now, this is a team that I believe has
it's not just a this year window. So mcaren he's

(15:25):
a this year guy because he is a free agent,
but I think you're looking at a team and a
roster that's built for about a three or four year
stretch here where they expect to be one of the
teams to beat in the Western Conference. And you look
at the core that's locked up and Capriceovin Faber are
here for the long term. But Eric Sinek, Gustafson, Boldie,

(15:45):
you're talking about three four years with all of those
guys in place. Hopefully there's an extension for Quinn sometime
this summer and he becomes a part of that. Because
now with that core, this isn't just a let's we
got to push all in to try to win right
now spring. This is a let's make sure that with
the assets we have to trade that were smart about them,

(16:05):
that were prudent with them, because the assets are limited.

Speaker 5 (16:08):
They gave up a lot to get Quinn Hughes.

Speaker 4 (16:10):
So everybody has been well documented what they have left
that they can use as a trade chip. That trade
chip to me or those trade chips really will likely
and should be used on somebody that could be here
for all three or three or four of these years
where this windows open. The NHL is a fickle thing
in the playoffs, because as I've said this a lot

(16:31):
of times over the last few years, that I think
when you start to look at what Bill Garon's plan was,
going back to the buyouts of Parisian Suitor was it
was designed to this season be ready to compete. And
when you say ready to compete, it isn't defined by
whether or not you win in the first round of
the playoffs. They're going to face one of the best

(16:53):
five teams in the NHL in the first round of
the playoffs, whether it be Colorado or Dallas. It's almost
assured that that's what's going to happen. You could lose
that playoff series and it doesn't mean the plan failed.
What the plan was intended was to give you three
or four years where when teams look at the West
and they say, who are the three or four teams

(17:13):
that are the teams to beat in the West, and
are the wild one of them? Because then you've got
to get great goaltending, you've got to stay healthy, you
got to catch a couple of breaks, maybe the key
call here or there throughout that run has to go
your way.

Speaker 5 (17:27):
You could be the best team in the league.

Speaker 4 (17:29):
And if one of those things doesn't happen, you still
get knocked out, but over the course of three or
four years, there's got to be a couple of years
where those things fall your way and you see a
team that makes a run in the West.

Speaker 5 (17:40):
And I think that's what we're looking at with this
wild roster right now.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
Well, and with this roster, and with the trade deadline
two days from today you mentioned it, you wonder if
maybe this isn't there might be a more significant move
between now in the deadline. Vinny Trocheck, of course, has
been heavily reported on and talked about, and it just
people are almost surprised he's not here yet. How surprising

(18:05):
would it be given what you mentioned that window.

Speaker 2 (18:08):
Is there any chance it doesn't happen.

Speaker 5 (18:11):
Well, yeah, there's a chance. For sure, there's a chance
it doesn't happen.

Speaker 4 (18:14):
And I think when you start to look at this
goes back to what I was just talking about with
the three or four year window. Maybe the fit the
best deal for this spring isn't that top six, first
line center, big splash deal just because.

Speaker 5 (18:30):
Of what the price tag might be.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
Maybe that's this summer, and that's when you really use
these assets you have left and everybody knows the assets
you're talking about it. We've got Yespervalstad, You've got Danili
year Off, you've got a first round pick in twenty
twenty seven. And I hate to even throw those guys'
names out because I have no idea who's been mentioned
in what trade. But these are from an outside perspective,
it seems obvious these are the significant chips. And I

(18:55):
should throw Charlie Stramil in there as well, who's had
an outstanding here at Michigan State.

Speaker 5 (18:59):
If these are your.

Speaker 4 (19:00):
Four main assets, if you maybe use one of those
to add a piece for this year that helps you
this year, and they're close. I mean they're in the
top five in the NHL right now. We're not talking
about a team that has no chance. They're in the
hunt right now. Yeah, But if the price tag on
a guy that isn't somebody who you see helping you

(19:22):
for all three or four years, is multiple parts of these,
multiple pieces of these assets, it's probably not worth it.
Maybe the bigger piece is available this summer and you say,
all right, let's make the Let's make the deal for
a middle six center right now that might be enough
to make us a Legit contender in the West and

(19:43):
therefore to win the Cup this year. So it wouldn't
shock me if there wasn't a major deal like one
of the guys you threw out there earlier from Nashville.
But I thought Billy Garon gave a press conference the
other day. I don't know if you guys carried it
or listened to it, but it was I thought. His
last answer was the most interesting. There are so many
teams right now that are on the bubble. In both conferences,

(20:06):
he was asked that as the standings change by day,
and all of a sudden, the team wins two in
a row and they're a point out of the playoffs,
and then they lose two in a row and they're outside.
Have you gotten to the point where you've targeted a player,
maybe even had the framework of a deal in place,
and then all of a sudden that team standing has changed.

Speaker 5 (20:25):
And he said, yes, that's happened.

Speaker 4 (20:27):
So imagine how many potential deals might be out there
with teams where it's okay, if you guys are to
lose three in a row, this guy's on the table.

Speaker 5 (20:38):
What would it look like.

Speaker 4 (20:39):
Imagine how many contingent deals, to say, deals makes it
sound like they might be further down the road than that,
but contingent potential deals. If things don't go well for you,
what would it take to get this guy? And then
sometimes when you have to have a second trade in place,
because let's say it's a deal that's a major deal

(21:00):
trading one of your goaltenders, do you have a second
deal in place to bring a goaltender back? And all
of those potential deals the balls that you have to
keep in the air until that last minute, when all
of a sudden the team says, all right, we know
we're out, We're ready to deal, and now bang, bang bang,
you got to have these other things in place. It's
such a complex trade deadline that I think, because of

(21:23):
so many teams still being in it, we're going to
see a flurry of activity Thursday and Friday.

Speaker 5 (21:29):
Where Like last year a lot of the deals.

Speaker 4 (21:31):
Were made a week and a half in the advance
of the deadline, teams were a little more secure in
their spot. This year, there's so many that are still
wondering are we good enough, are we close enough? And
even if we did get in, is it worth it.
I think that you're going to see a significant number
of deals late, and it wouldn't shock me at all
if Minnesota was highly involved, and it wouldn't surprise me

(21:53):
too much if it was a I don't want to
say lesser deal because that makes it sound like the
player they bring in is a is a lesser commodity
or a lesser player, but just not the big splash
kind of trade that that I think some people just
assumed was going to happen.

Speaker 3 (22:07):
Yeah, a great example of that too, and you nailed
it perfectly. Just think about mccaren Nashville comes out of
the break, they win that first one, they lose the
next three. Right, they're only five points out of a
playoff spot. Now that five points is a lot, I get,
I get that in hockey terms and with the three
point game and such, but they just basically rage quit.

Speaker 2 (22:26):
They just said we're out, We're done.

Speaker 5 (22:29):
Right, and they were.

Speaker 4 (22:30):
And that's that's I think what goes back to what
we were talking about with Andre Bernet's reaction. They had been
pushing hard just into the break, they were playing better
hockey and all this. They were within two points of
a playoff spot, and there were all these guys that
if they were out, is this guy available? Is this
guy available? Is this guy available? And now in a
span of two days, they lose a couple in a

(22:50):
row and bang yours over. You're five out and there's
three or four teams between you and that final spot.
So it's it is amazing how fast things can change.
And I think it's a it's a it's a fascinating
time to be would be a fascinating time to be
a fly on a wall in a GM's office and
be able to listen to all those potential conversations that

(23:13):
this team just got beat now all of a sudden,
who's a Columbus the other night blew a four goal lead?
What if they lose that game? They ended up winning
an overtime. If they lose, they're probably in a spot where,
even though right now they're holding a playoff spot, would
they if they if they get beaten that game and
all of a sudden are five points out instead of
two points out.

Speaker 5 (23:33):
It's amazing how fast things can change.

Speaker 3 (23:35):
Man. You see the Capitals lose a third or a
fourth in a row, and you just you're you're a
you're a might you say, disenfranchised general manager sitting in
a suite the final horn sounded. Players have just gotten
back to the dressing room. See that phone start.

Speaker 2 (23:50):
Rigging right well?

Speaker 4 (23:51):
And Bill Yeah, And all of a sudden it's through
the bones. And then you start to think about it,
like if you're in Nashville. Let's say you get in
and it's a first round eight with Colorado.

Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, there's a part.

Speaker 4 (24:02):
Of you and you hate to be a defeatist because
anything can happen in hockey, but it'd be.

Speaker 5 (24:06):
Is it really worth it? Is it or would be be.

Speaker 2 (24:09):
Better for the owner land games?

Speaker 5 (24:12):
They do?

Speaker 3 (24:12):
For sure?

Speaker 5 (24:13):
And that's not a small thing.

Speaker 4 (24:14):
I mean you're talking millions of dollars if you open
the gates a couple times for home games.

Speaker 5 (24:19):
But at the same.

Speaker 4 (24:20):
Time, if you don't take advantage of some expiring contracts
with a chance to rebuild your system, are you selling
yourself short for the next six, eight, ten years so
that you have to take advantage of those opportunities when
they're there to replenish your farm system.

Speaker 5 (24:38):
Let's do this.

Speaker 2 (24:38):
Let's pause.

Speaker 3 (24:39):
I get a few more Wild and NHL related questions
for you. It's Anthony Lapanta, your TV voice in the
Minnesota Wild had an off day, but he's back at it.
A little vocal maintenance for the box is he heads
to Vegas this weekend, a big one with Colorado, some
fun games around the corner. But we're also watching State
High School Hockey Tournament. It's himing in Dodge con getting

(25:00):
after it and it's scoreless with seven and change left
in the first period at Grand Casino Arena. Hockey heavy
nine to noon. Right here on the fan, the light
is over.

Speaker 6 (25:15):
The twenty twenty six ms HSL State Boys Hockey Tournament
has arrived.

Speaker 2 (25:19):
Or bring you every heart pounding moment.

Speaker 6 (25:21):
Coverage starts this Thursday on the Fan and Cafe and Plus,
as presented by James Hardy, the number one brand of
sighting in North America.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Personal foul quipping.

Speaker 4 (25:45):
Hell.

Speaker 3 (25:48):
That is no I.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Oh good. Class A Quarterfinal. It's the eight v.

Speaker 3 (26:06):
The one Dodge County on the power play right now,
first period, Foreign change remaining top seeded Hiving Chisholm scoreless
with Dodge County at Grand Casino Arena. How much do
you dial into the high school tournament on yearly basis?
He used to call it, of course, he used to
broadcast for it, but now just kind of.

Speaker 2 (26:28):
Chill and enjoy the weekend.

Speaker 5 (26:29):
Yeah, a little bit. It's weird.

Speaker 4 (26:31):
In fact, I had the thought as I was walking
out of the arena last night because because I wasn't
doing the game last night, I went and sat in
the broadcast booth and it was set up for the
forty five broadcast crew today, and it just it made
me think about all the years that I spent down there.
I think it was fifteen years in a row I
called the tournament either on radio or TV or both,

(26:51):
and it was. But now it's been I believe it's
been twenty one years. I think two thousand and four
was the last term. I might have called it a
couple of games here or there for kf AN over
the years when they would do the final or something.
So maybe a couple of games in the last few years.
But we did high School Hockey Night on Fire. I
love we did, man, That is a that's a painful

(27:15):
thought to think about.

Speaker 3 (27:16):
Actually we love how you're going to get four You're
going to get four games of them tomorrow right here.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
Whether it's the fan or it's the plus, they should
say as well.

Speaker 4 (27:28):
But I love high school hockey and I do still
follow it. I call the games whenever I can. On
Hockey Day. It was even just a couple of years ago,
we tried to bring back high School Hockey Night on
on fan Duel Sports Network, and I did maybe eight
or ten of those games, and I told him when
they were thinking about the project, and I said, look,
any game where the wild or home and I'm off,

(27:48):
I'm in, and I just love it. I haven't followed
the Class eight teams quite as much this year Double
A I followed a little bit, and part of it
was because I was doing the the outdoor game on
for Hockey Day Minnesota, so I was at least a
little tuned in. I'm excited to see the Double A
Tournament this year because I think the I think the
top four teams could all legitimately win the tournament. And

(28:13):
that's not to say any of the four are a
lock to win in the first round. I think the
gap has shrunk a little bit this year, where for
a few years there it felt like it was pretty
clear the top couple teams were the top couple.

Speaker 5 (28:25):
But now I think.

Speaker 4 (28:26):
When you look at Minnetake, Dina and moorehead moreheads the
two seed, but those three are the top three seeds
and I don't know as much about rose Mount as
the four, but I know they beat a pretty good
Saint Thomas Academy team in their final. But those top three,
the games they played against each other this year were terrific.
Their sectional tournaments were terrific. You had a really high

(28:49):
scoring team and morehead, you got an Dina team that
had to win a couple of really close ones in
their sectional tournament, got a hat trick in the section
final to beat Wise that love the The minute Taka
might be the deepest team in the tournament. So I
think the Double A teams the Double A feel will
be great, and I usually try to stream it when
we're on the road. It'll be a little tougher this

(29:11):
weekend because we're in Vegas, so it's the games are
are because we're a couple of time zones away. Might
be a little more challenging, but normally when we're in
the press box somewhere, I'll have it streaming and watch it.
It's we have to be on the road by definition,
because they're using the Wild's Arena for the games, so
I haven't even had a chance to go down and
watch them in person. Very often lately, so I'm left

(29:33):
to stream them during wild broadcast quite often.

Speaker 5 (29:35):
But I do follow it.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
Yeah, I follow. I follow the tournament specifically.

Speaker 3 (29:39):
It's tough with everything we do on the fan to
pretend that I'm just the elite high school hockey mind.

Speaker 2 (29:45):
But here's what I do now, is that Morehead's got
a call in on the team. Joey call it.

Speaker 3 (29:49):
I've got two they have exact Yes, they do still
have two, don't they. Yeah, but Joey, I think he
was hurt earlier in the year, just an absolute high
end of high end, and I just I'm thinking Matt Collin.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
It's in the blood. So it's got to be a
Spuds conversation.

Speaker 5 (30:03):
Well, and I know.

Speaker 4 (30:04):
They've got I looked maybe a week or so ago
when they were going into their section tournament. I think
they might have had four twenty goal scorers, maybe it
was twenty five. I think it was twenty goal scorers
that they had, might be the highest scoring team in
the tournament. And you look through their season and it's
a lot of seven to two, eight to three. I mean,
they can score with the best of them, and now

(30:25):
they'll be challenged by the teams like he died in Taka,
but I know they they've played those teams during the season,
had good games with them, and I think it's it's
usually kind of a contrasting style with the way those
teams play. Usually the teams from the western suburbs are

(30:46):
a little deeper defensively, have had great goaltending, and sometimes
Morehead'll come down and have the high end offensive talent
going all the way back to the days when Matt
was playing for Morehead and I called the tournament when
Matt was there, and I remember, I'll never forget his
dad was coaching and they played d Luth East in
the tournament, and that was the year that Dave Spiehar

(31:09):
had hat tricks throughout the tourney. And I remember talking
to Terry Colin after the game and he Matt Colin
Warren number seven for Morehead, and I walked down. He
just said he looked at me. He just said seven
was the best player on the ice, and I was like,
I know, you're a dad, but man, it was hard
to argue. He was just such a I loved watching
him play. He was just such a He played from

(31:31):
goal line to goal line and you could just tell
he was going to be a terrific player, went on
to the unbelievable career that he had in college in
the NHL. But it was his dad was such a
proud dad, but also one of my favorite coaches. He
just was a I'd only see him at the tournament
every year. A couple of times they'd come down for
holiday tournaments, but every year when he'd come down, he'd

(31:53):
chat with me like we were lifelong friends. And I
just loved seeing him back in those days when he
was coaching.

Speaker 3 (31:58):
Oh that's awesome, and this year's crop gets the chance
to make their own memories. Time for a couple more.
Here with the most thing with Felino, do we know
how long he's going to be out? How worried?

Speaker 4 (32:08):
Are we well worried anytime that you lose a guy
that brings what he brings. I know he hasn't had
the offensive success this year that he's had the last few,
and his games looked a little offul he was fighting
through some injuries early in the season. This is unrelated
to that from what I've heard, So, I mean, you're
always concerned, and you know he's a guy that's a

(32:33):
tough guy to replace with what he brings on and
off the ice, a physical player, ability to kill penalties,
ability to change games with momentum type shifts. So I
haven't really pushed too hard. We weren't doing the game
last night, as we've talked about, so I wasn't. We
didn't have our broadcaster meeting with John Hines, so I
haven't really heard much. I'll probably find out more this

(32:56):
weekend when we go to Vegas from him. But it's
anytime you get a at this point in the season
that comes out of the lineup for an injury, you're concerned.
I don't think from what it sounded like, they thought
it was something that was going to hold them out
that would impact postseason. Yeah, so and the Wilder. They've
got a little bit of luxury in that you can

(33:18):
say whatever you want. They're going to be in the playoffs.
Everybody knows they're going to be in the playoffs. There's
almost no way that mathematically enough teams could pass them
to knock them out. These games down the stretch are
critical if they have aspirations of getting whole ice in
the first round or even catching Colorado and winning the division,
which they're still an outside shot. This weekend probably tells

(33:40):
you whether or not that's possible.

Speaker 5 (33:42):
They need two.

Speaker 4 (33:42):
Wins this weekend they do to have that even be
within the relevel possibility.

Speaker 3 (33:47):
Last thing for you, and it was actually related to
your answer there, John Hines. You know when we talked
about the Olympics and experience and thing.

Speaker 2 (33:55):
You know, hey, Matt.

Speaker 3 (33:56):
Boldie's confidence sky high off of that their World League
goal in the gold medal game, and you know, taking
bits and pieces and growing and maturing and learning from
the tournament. What does a guy like John Hines potentially
learn from that experience as he eventually comes back to
the bench. We can joke about the PK, but just
in general, just what a guy like that might take

(34:18):
as he moves forward leading the charge here.

Speaker 4 (34:20):
It's an interesting question, and I think it's a There's
a couple prongs to the answer, and one is I'll
start with the players, because West Wallas is the one
who brought it up to me the other day, and
I had thought about it, but not in the way
he put it it. When you look at this wild
team that we've been talking about for a decade, that

(34:42):
what's it going to take to get over the hump?
Win in the first round and advance in the playoffs.
This core hasn't done it right. I mean, there are
a few guys who are a part of those series
wins against Colorado and Saint Louis, but not very many.
Most of this corps has been knocked up out in
the first round every time they've been there, and now

(35:03):
all of this, and they've tried to bring in veteran
guys who have won different ways to winning culture inside
that room. Now you've got guys in Hugh's Boldy Faber
who won wasn't a Stanley Cup, but it was a
gold medal, and I'm not sure there's anything closer to
winning a Stanley Cup than a gold medal. So he

(35:25):
said that's going to bring a little swagger and confidence
in there.

Speaker 5 (35:28):
And now I go back to your question.

Speaker 4 (35:30):
I think when you have the coach that's gone through it,
it brings the same.

Speaker 5 (35:34):
Kind of swagger, but also the same kind of.

Speaker 4 (35:38):
Confidence in knowing what it takes watching another coach how
he handles an intermission talk with teams. In a gold
medal game, they had to play three elimination games and
two of them went to overtime. That's essentially three game
sevens in a row and you had to go to
overtime in two of them. How did guys handle it?
How did the other coaches handle the interaction with the players,

(36:02):
how did they handle game time adjustments?

Speaker 5 (36:04):
Those kind of things.

Speaker 4 (36:05):
And now I'll make it specific to John Hines because
I think that's one of his main strengths. When he
was out of a job last he went and spent
time with other coaches just to see how they did things,
see if there was anything he could learn to make
himself better. And there aren't a lot of coaches who
do that kind of thing. He took trips out to

(36:26):
spend a week with different teams and just guys that
he knew from his time in the US development program.
So he's had different experiences as a coach than most
head coaches in the NHL.

Speaker 5 (36:39):
He's had.

Speaker 4 (36:40):
He's not the most experienced head coach in the league,
but in terms of overall coaching experience, he's got to
be right up there. And I just think he's a
cerebral guy with that where it's a no stone unturned
kind of look. So now he's been and Bill Garran,
same thing. He's around all the other general managers in
all these meetings building your roster. They both take things

(37:04):
from these other guys, and John Hines is a sponge
when it comes to that stuff, and so I really
think it's a It might not be something you can quantify,
but it's very real. I think it's going to help
this club in so many ways to have been a
part of that, from GM to coach to players. There
aren't many other teams that had guys at every level

(37:26):
that were a part of that gold medal that right
now are looking at heading down into the Stanley Cup
playoffs as contenders with guys that just experienced what they did.

Speaker 2 (37:35):
That's awesome.

Speaker 3 (37:36):
Thank you for hanging out with me today anytime, and
excited to see you back on TV in Las Vegas.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
It'll be a fun weekend and we do need both.

Speaker 6 (37:43):
Let's go.

Speaker 2 (37:44):
Let's get four points.

Speaker 5 (37:44):
Why not? I see no reason not to.

Speaker 3 (37:47):
That's Anthony Lapanta TV, VOX Minnesota Wild catch him again
FanDuel Sports Network North and next up for the Wild.
An extra data to rest, take a breath, but they're
at Vegas Friday and then Colorado the next two.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
We are going to be fun. Final segment nine to
noon is next.

Speaker 3 (38:07):
Big thanks not just Parker Fox, Alex stay Lock, of course,
Johnny Krazinski, Wild Coach John Hines, but during this most
recent stretch Wild TV Vox Anthony Lapanta in studio, Thanks
as always for providing some some content and some fun conversations.
Nine to noon, pa is going to be back tomorrow

(38:28):
and heavy Talkers there, Ben Lieber expecting him in the studio,
Olivia King, we're gonna break down the high school hockey tournament.

Speaker 2 (38:35):
I got a text from from Jim and Golden Valley.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
It'd be nice if you would give a warning before
you give the hockey score. Some of us record it
and we'll watch it when we get home from work.
Maybe just a five second spoiler alert. And then he
said he was changing the station. So I'm sorry to
Jim and Golden Valley. I can tell you we're watching.
It's in the first intermission, hibbing Chisholm in Dodge County.

(39:01):
I guess I'll just tell you that it's uh, it's competitive.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
It's competitive at three? Is that fair? Is that a spoiler?

Speaker 6 (39:10):
I think there's probably more people driving around that want
to live.

Speaker 5 (39:13):
Update than than anything.

Speaker 2 (39:14):
Not a dvring. But that's just my two five seconds.

Speaker 3 (39:17):
Spoiler alert, Jim and all involved five four three two
one scoreless at the break and it has been evenly
matched age and now you're free to listen again. But
but with Lieberan in the mix tomorrow, we will continue
to break down by the way, I was out of

(39:39):
my mind earlier, the Kyler Murray thing. He still owed
money from the Cardinals, So why wouldn't you just sign?
It's all Offset signed for the veteran minimum with the
team of his choice Cards on the hook, and uh,
maybe he's in maybe he's in purple in a week,
and we're gonna have to continue to uh to work
our way through that a week in advance. As they said,

(40:00):
it feels like it's either Kyler or it's Gino Smith.

Speaker 2 (40:03):
What a world, Vikings fans.

Speaker 3 (40:05):
That's what we have to look forward to as we
continue through this thing. But again, thank you so much,
not just to Brett Producing, but all our guests today.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Thank you for listening to the fan. PA back in
the saddle tomorrow and maybe some more Minnesota Wild conversation
along with Vikings talkers as they are heating up ahead
of free agency legal tampering period. As we say, the
oxymoron that that is and Olivia King High School Hockey
Tournament and play for Brett. I'm Nordo in for PA.

(40:33):
Have an awesome afternoon. The grum is next. This is the.

Speaker 3 (40:37):
Fan podcast Today's Paul Allen Show and listening back to
previous show and interviews like

Speaker 6 (40:47):
Going to the iHeartRadio app orkfan dot com