12/26/24 - Admirals Center Ice

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello and welcome. It's Milwaukee AdmiralsCenter ICE with Mike wil Jahowski. I'm
Aaron Simms. It's Boxing Day,it is. We're talking absolutely after Christmas.
Hope everybody had a good holiday.I hope everybody's out enjoying the day.
You had the World Juniors on earliertoday. Over in Sweden. Lots
of things going on, and theAdmirals have a couple of games this week
twenty seventh and the thirtieth at home, the thirty first on the road.

(00:21):
You've got the Quick Trip Holiday showcasegoing on over at Fiser Forum on the
twenty eighth and twenty ninth. We'lltalk more about that coming up in our
next segment. But it's the holidays. It's a time of year to think
about all the good things in life. And our first guest is an admiral's
legend, and I always think aboutthem specifically around Christmas time. Yeah,

(00:46):
little young woach forty some odd yearsago. On our first guest is Deale
the Admiral's legend, Dale Yakachuk.But my first year with the Admirals,
I'm sitting in my office and Daleand his roommates and all came back to
my office and presented me with aChristmas present. And I'm like, holy
cow, with these big tough,rugged hockey players are softies when it comes

(01:06):
to the Christmas season. And anduh so you had Derek box Car Davis
and Dale yacka Chack and I thinkBlaine Peerless all came into the office and
gave Christmas gift. So when Ithink Christmas every year, I think of
of Dale YACKI check. That's anice way to start off. Hot Dale,
good to good to talk to you. Well, thank you very much,
and uh a surprise for your wold. We had a good Christmas down
here. But I have uh boxingday today. I have Blaine Peerless sitting

(01:32):
beside me. Oh oh boy,it's been a long time. Oh it's
been a long time, pal,Holy smokes, this is great. You
know. You know what during COVID, we had a chance to catch up
with with you guys both during COVID, and uh it was it was it
was some fun time having a chanceto talk to both of you then.
But not to not to get doubletrouble right here. Holy cow, Yeah,

(01:53):
I was a surprise. He stoppedby. He was in Edmonton for
Christmas. And I was with myuh, my sister and uh girlfriend and
her three boys and brother in law, and uh we're all still here in
Calgary, and we had just awonderful, wonderful time. That's beautiful.
That's beautiful. That's fantastic. Sohow have you? I remember a few

(02:15):
years ago when we got in touchwith you, Dale, and we were
talking, and Blaine too, forthat matter, and we were wondering about
do you keep in contact with allthe old fellows and all of that stuff?
You guys, how long have youbeen in contact or is this something
fairly recent? Me and Blaine youmean, or anybody for that matter,
but you and Blaine specific. Yah. Yeah, I keep in contact well

(02:38):
with most of the guys. Youknow. It's kind of tough, you
know, for some of them.But I talked to Richie Cyrrie probably three
weeks ago. There's a guy livingin town, guy named Steve Parson that
had a cup of coffee in Milwaukee. Here was a tough guy, he
sure was. And then Freddie.I talked to Freddie every once in a
while, and Yan you have oncein a while, not that often.

(03:01):
Who else? I talked to Bobthe Hammer Fleming in Peoria is a real
good friend of mine. So Isee Bob. Is he the fellow I'm
sorry to interrupt, but is hethe fellow that has the place around Vegas
or something that has the bar inVegas that has the reunions every so often?
That's him. It's at Henderson andanybody that follows hockey at all,
make sure you stop down there.And Henderson is called the Hammers Pub.

(03:24):
He will guaranteed make you feel welcome. He's got IHL stuff all over his
bar. He has people whenever theycome to watch their football team, whether
it be the Packers or the Lionsfrom Well, how about the admirals going
out and how about the admirals goingout January twelfth through the sixteenth to play
in Henderson this year? Well,that's where you go stay, That's where

(03:46):
we'll go. There we go.That works out great, absolutely for sure.
That's right. That's absolutely right.And he's not very far from the
rink. He's a skip away,not very far at all. He's awesome.
He's one of my best friends ofall time, for sure. Wow,
I'll tell you what. So youknow, let's talk about a little
bit. You know, some ofthose years that we had back in the

(04:09):
early ladies, that the teams werejust incredible and what what do you what
do you remember the most from thoseyears. Well, I remember how how
close we all were, and Ican kind of see now, you know,
listening and watching a little bit ofthe admirals and the roster and stuff,
and you kind of see how ithappens. Back then, there weren't
a lot of Europeans, and youknow, good for them coming over here

(04:30):
and playing hockey and stuff like that, but uh, it was all more
guys than you played hockey against eachother or you know, or with each
other, mostly in North America,right, so we all kind of knew
each other or knew of the guyor whatever else. So you know,
it's a lot easier keeping contact whenyou're at the same local base, whether
it be in Canada or the USis compared to I know, you guys

(04:53):
got some Russians over there. You'vegot you know, different nationalities and whatever
else. So the tough you know, but we were a very very tight,
tight team, you know. Youknow you mentioned that the Europeans and
you turned pro with the Winnipeg Jetsinto w h A. I remember you
telling us the story about them orMontreal when you signed and you signed with

(05:15):
Winnipeg, But that was the teamthat really brought over all of specifically the
Swedes. That was that Winnipeg Jetsand the old w h A. Absolutely
that's the team that brought over Hedbergand Nielsen, right and once they uh
joined the NHL, they picked upI think by the Rangers and somebody else,

(05:36):
and that that gave me an opportunityto get a contract to Winnipeg.
They're trying to replace some of theguys there, right, Yeah, it's
incredible, you know what. They'redefinitely one of the first teams. You
know, the guy that you theguy that you're you're sitting next to over
there created a lot of room onthe ice for you to operate, as
did as did a gentleman by thename of Derek, the late great Derek

(05:57):
Davis. And you know, II I was walking on the concourse here
at the last game we had andand I ran right into Rick Dorman.
I mean Rick, you know Ricklives in the area in Madison. It
was incredible. I was thinking aboutthe toughness we had, that that was
an incredibly skilled team, but boydid we have some toughness. Well,
we certainly did, you know whatI mean. I don't know if Kevin

(06:20):
was on that team at the timetoo, but he was a tough guy.
And Bruce McKay and yeah, wedefinitely had we had everything. We
had, goaltending, scoring and toughies. You know, Dale Yakachuk joining us
at Milwaukee Admiral Center. He's BlainePeerless joining us as well. Visiting with
Dale. You know, the otherday last week or two weeks ago,

(06:42):
we had Fred Barry on and Fredof course has Hockey Haven and sales equipment
and so on. And we weretalking with Fred and I asked him,
with all the technology that's out therenow, how many goals would that team
in eighty two eighty three score?And he said, we could have scored
four hundred with shovels. Well,you know, the the most incredible thing
is the technology in today's hockey game, like the sticks that the guys use,

(07:06):
the whip that they could get onthat puck, and how quickly they
can shoot it. Like you know, Dale and I were talking, you
know, a we could go aboutyou know what a guy like Danny Lukurs
or Fred Berry, how they couldhave easily scored, you know, many
more goals than they did. Andbut but you know, good on the
game and everything progresses, and again, technology has made the game a lot

(07:28):
quicker. I know for a fact, the equipment, everything that the guys
use nowadays versus what we had backin the eighties and whatever. It's it's
a big change, and you know, it's nice. It's nice to see
the change, you know, watchingplayers like Connor Bdard, you know Connor
McDavid. I mean, it goesdown the list of all the great skilled
players nowadays. And I mean theskates, everything about the game has changed

(07:54):
and the fact that you know,guys are quicker, faster, and yeah,
it's a pleasure to watch, nodoubt. Is it better for you
guys to watch having gone through it. I was watching on YouTube this a
while ago, but I was watchinga playoff game from the mid eighties with
the North Stars and the Blackhawks,and what was not being called in that
game would have gotten suspensions if theywould have done that stuff today. And

(08:18):
I'm curious what you guys think,having lived through it and played through it
and probably dished out your share ofit. What I mean, is it
good or is it bad or areyou indifferent? How do you feel about
all that? Well? For mepersonally, and I'll let Delle comment on
this in a second, but youknow, the game has changed and the
physicality has changed, and when Igo to games and watch hockey, it's

(08:39):
frustrating for me to see guys skateby guys that they could have taken out
with a body check and clean check. And you know what, do you
remember the days when I would playlike I would have four or five six
open ice hits every game And nowadays, if you get an open ice hit
on somebody, you got to dropthe miss guys basing your round. I
mean I would have been beat upthree of court times every game. But

(09:01):
again, you know, the gamehas changed. You know, physicality is
a different story nowadays. And youknow, from my perspective, it's you
know, we played a different kindof game back then, and I like
to see good hits, good bodychecks going Again, it's just frustrating when
guide lays out a good hit,he either get the penalty or somebody jumps
on them and starts beating them.And you know that's that's the frustrating part

(09:24):
for me, because hockey, youknow is a physical sport, and I
think that, you know, they'vejust kind of let the good clean hits
kind of get away from the gameand deal. What are your thoughts on
that? Well, it's a nicepoint. It's it's funny because I'm kind
of the old school I grew up. You had to fight for every into

(09:45):
the ice and whatever else, andyou know, you were held accountable for
your actions. Now, it justdoesn't seem like they are as much,
you know. I mean, I'mseeing now that and the changes are making
a good are better for the playersand the fans like speed, and they
got you overtimes now, and theshootouts and the play by play is awesome.

(10:07):
The cupboards are getting is awesome,the training they're getting it it's a
year round sport to these guys.You know, I became real good friends
with Connor Badar Grandpa. I don'tknow if I told you guys this the
last time we were on, buthe was a very good friend of mine,
and it's too bad that he passedaway a couple of years ago.
He's got kick in his vehicle inSiicamous, or I would have been coming

(10:31):
down there a little more off becauseJarth and I Connor's granddad were very very
close, and I would have beencoming to Chicago a lot to watch him
play. But a guy like that, I remember Jarth telling me back then,
he says, you played hockey,yeat? I said, yeah,
he's just I've got my grandson,he's twelve years old. Would Vegas take
a bet that he'll be the numberone pick when his years comes around?

(10:54):
And said, I don't know.I said, Vegas will probably bet on
anything. But a lot of thingschange cards, you know, playing where
it's not really contact now or nothinglike that. But uh, you know,
but now look at that kid.That kid has been on the ice
every day practicing. He shoots fouror five hundred pucks a day right in
his house or in the garage orwhatever. And he's he's a specimen.

(11:18):
He's only getting better, no doubtabout that. Well, I'll tell you
what. Listen to Peerly talk aboutthose uh, those open ice hits and
those I mean, I'll tell youwhat the the uh just to hear the
crowd when uh, when Peerly wouldtake somebody out if we we had a
lot of guys. But but youknow, those were still some of the
great some of the greatest hits ever. You know, it's just I sit

(11:39):
back and yeah, and when wehave some guys that can that's still that
still do that and but it's justyou. But but you know, purely
was right and a game in gameout it was it was a half a
dozen serious hits every night and theyI mean bringing the fans out of their
seats. It was incredible. Yeah, and also now too, I mean,
you know, a good price justhockey to protect these guys. But
you know they're all wearing helmets now, it's smart face masks and everything else.

(12:03):
And you know, I mean therethere's four referees on the ice or
two and two, and you know, I think they're a lot safer out
there now, and there's a fewthings to still get by on them,
like the next protection. Now.I see they're going to address that.
But uh, it's still I thinkthe greatest sport there is, you know,
so I still I still watch it. Uh. Our company has uh

(12:24):
a private box sheets for the forthe saddle loan for the flames, so
we don't watched that once in awhile. There's a lot of f players
out here too. It's great.So it's great to hear the way you
guys are talking though about how howinto what's going on you got? I
mean you're on top of everything.You know what you had just said.
I that that's fantastic. Was itwas it when you finished playing? Was

(12:48):
it hard to get back into thegame when you knew you weren't playing anymore?
And and it gradually got to whereyou are? Or were you right
it? Were you into it rightaway? No? I was into it
right away because I came back hereand started playing men's hockey and everybody plays
hockey here, sure, and youknow, and then I was in the
sales game, so we were weirdentertaining our customers at at the playing games

(13:09):
and you know, and that stuff. So we follow it very close,
so we can tell you, youknow, where most of you guys are.
How many Russians you got? Isee you got an exclaim on your
team? Sorry about my thing.I just had some dental work done too.
But you got Jenkowski on your team. You have a whole bunch of
guys like that that. Uh,you know, we followed. We definitely

(13:31):
follow it. So are you guysstill playing either? You guys still uh,
you know, playing a little hockeyor you if you call it quits
finally, Well, for me,you know, Dale, Dale has been
on the skates, I know fora little bit. For me, I've
I've had elevid major surgeries. I'vehad right game replacement, right ankle replacement,

(13:52):
two shoulder operations. I mean,I the beating I gave my body
Mike over those years. I meanwe talked about hits and block shots and
everything. But I'm paying for itnow. And you know, I really
don't get out, you know,skating anymore. I'll go out, you
know, to the pond and justplay a little bit of picked up but
certainly nothing competitive. And you knowI did like Dale. You know,

(14:15):
I was in the sales game playinghockey downtown Calgary. And the funny thing
is, you know, you're it'ssupposed to be Beer League, no contact
hockey, and there's playing hit hitguys and you know, just getting in
trouble and then guys are trying toyou know, look you up and all
your pro and all this kind ofstuff. But nonetheless, you know,
it's always been a great sport,always been a lot of camaraderie with everybody,

(14:39):
and you know, you get everyoneon the ice, and all of
a sudden, he's not your vicepresident or he's not your you know,
your customer. You're all out thereplay hockey. And I'll tell you a
quick story. I uh, Iwas playing rack pocket, just had to
be twenty twenty five years ago,and I ended up one of the guys
was coming down on me and hemade a move and I kind of stood

(15:01):
there, made myself big, andhe bangs into me, falls on the
ice and he separates his shoulder.So I'm I'm going, oh, are
you okay or are you okay?To you? So up says oh,
I'm not paying you guys. Iyou know, it got political, so
h You know. I was inthe President's office the next day having to
explain myself. But I mean,things happen, and you know, like

(15:22):
I say, it's always been greatexercise, but nowadays, getting a little
older, I know, I kindof bypass and I just support the guys
that are playing now. With withwhat you said about injuries, and this
is for both of you. Wouldyou have changed anything from the way you
played back then? Maybe you could, you know what, it wouldn't afford
that opportunity. Maybe yeah, I'mnot the thing like you had to play

(15:45):
the game that we played. Imean, we didn't have uh you know,
the I don't want to say wehad poor coaching, but but nowadays,
the coaching, the video, everythingthat goes into it was a lot
more in depth and what it was, you know, back in our day.
Back in our day, we justwent out, we played. We
had our system and I had toplay physical or I wouldn't have been around.
I had the block shots, soyou know, I wouldn't have changed

(16:07):
the thing, you know, Iwould have gotten. I wish we had
better equipment, you know, thatwas the thing, like the shoulder plaids,
the elbow pads. You know,they weren't up to par the way
they are now. And but nonetheless, I love my career. I lived
in antel lifestyle on a minor leaguesalary, and I'll never take that back.
And I still run into guys todaythat remember me, and they go,

(16:30):
Jesus, peerless. You were thehardest hitter I've ever seen, and
you know that's that's kind of mything. So I wouldn't have changed a
thing you know about you go ahead, yeah, go ahead, no,
I please feel free, I dI'm sorry, go ahead, Well,
it's I remember a last time tellingyou guys the story about Blaine. I

(16:51):
don't even know if Blaine never heardthat one there, but I mentioned them
when you body checked that guy andyou never never got back up again,
Blaine. And I've always said,and you know, and you know it
was you're accountable for your actions andthat was your ice. I mean,
that's how Blaine had to play toget to where he he got to,

(17:14):
you know what I mean. Now, guys, Now, guys, they
didn't get to where they're at byyou know, by the skills, by
you know, stuff that they cando on their own, like conditioning.
Uh. You know, hockey isa full time sport right now. It's
it's a sport for for girls,for boys, for old timers, for
young for everybody. So it's Iwouldn't change the thing about it. Neither

(17:36):
I had. I might have gotin better shape every year in the summertime,
but nobody else did, and therereally wasn't as much ice and ice
time available. And uh, butthe but the friends and the memories,
well they last forever. And I'mnot playing any hockey anymore. I uh
got a bad case of rheumatorios.RTIs. So I'm just finally getting that

(17:56):
under control. Now, okay,well that's yeah. We never had any
real major injuries, but uh wellalmost at the stage rub back on the
ice. So well, I gottatell you. But guys said, it's
been an incredible pleasure in yack.Thanks for having purely around. Yeah,
that's fantastic. It's great talking toboth you guys, and uh, and

(18:18):
want you guys to have a wonderfultwenty twenty four. Yes, a healthy
one, and we will definitely catchup with you guys a little a little
more often, no question about it. Yes, take care guys, Happy
holidays. One last question, yes, sir, what did we get you
for Christmas? What'd we bring into you? You got a tie?
You get me a tie? Infact, I think I still have it.
I think I still have it.And then uh, yeah, you

(18:45):
know what I I I just rememberFran He's saying, oh my goodness,
I can't believe you guys thought ofus one of those routines, and it
was it was incredible. So butyep, it was, uh, it
was outstanding. In fact, I'llpass on to Friday that we talked to
you guys. Absolutely and thankful forthe job you guys do. I lift
it once in a while when Ican or replay or however I can,

(19:07):
and it's it's awesome you guys.Coverage and what you guys do makes a
lot of people want to tune init. It's just kind of stuff that
talping hockey along the knowledge that youguys have. Back in the day,
your announcers and the other guys,they didn't know what hockey was. Now
you guys are up just being asmuch as anybody. So that's that's impressive.

(19:30):
Awfully nice of you to say.We appreciate that, guy, Dale
Blaine, Happy holidays, Thank youso much, all the best. Happy
holidays, guys. Remember to stopby Hammer's bar. We will, yes,
in fact, you know, I'lljust run your tab and then so
next time you see him you canjust pick that up for me. You
know, one of those I willdo that. That's the problem. When
are you guys there, Yeah,well January twelfth to the sixteenth, Yep,

(19:53):
we'll follow me before you head offtheir awards or whatever. I will.
I will definitely well, but weare definitely going to make our way
there. Excellent. He'll definitely getsome drinks on me out there. You
guys all right? Bell, ThanksYah, take care guys, Blaine,
take care, Thanks, thank you. It's dale yaka Chuck and a surprise
Blaine Peerless. How fantastic is that? I mean, how great? And

(20:15):
am I was thinking? I mean, you know when you were sitting here,
you know, you were out bythe rink, and it's like you're
looking out and the same rink.This is exactly where they were. Here's
what they call all their great exploits. We're right here. We're going to
take a break. When we comeback, we're going to talk about the
Quick Trip Hockey. Uh A showdownover at Fiser Forum. A Quick Trip
Holiday face Off excuse me over atFiser Forum with Rick Giles. That's coming

(20:37):
up next. You're listening to MilwaukeeAdmiral Center Ice. Welcome back to Milwaukee
Admiral Center Ice with Michael Jahowski.I'm Aaron Simms. The annual Quick Trip
Holiday face Off is coming up thetwenty eighth and the twenty ninth, just
a couple of days away at FiserForum. Fantastic college hockey. It is
the best week for the hockey.The right the person with Milwaukee is the
place to be. You got yourselfan admiral game on the twenty seventh tomorrow,

(20:59):
and I have and then you've goton the twenty yep, and then
you've got two days of the ofgreat college hockey, and then and then
we again on the Thursdie. Whatyou got is you got the club sandwich
of hockey. That's right, that'sright. You know, a little ham
and turkey and some bacon in themiddle, and and then you know,
just outstanding. Here's double slabs ofbread. And we're golden here to talk
about the quick trip holiday face offfrom the Gazelle group is Rick Giles.

(21:23):
Rick, thanks so much for thetime this this tournament has been fantastic,
and this year you've got a hostschool in Wisconsin who is playing just marvelous
hockey. This is a great timeof year. Yeah, well, thanks
for having me guys again, appreciateit, and we're really looking forward to
to this year. You know,we have two years under our belt after

(21:45):
the sort of false start in theCOVID year, and Mike Hastings has done
an incredible job with Wisconsin. Uh, they really, Uh, this resurgence
that they've experienced has been terrific.Of their fan base is I think energized,
and we're really excited to have thefour teams coming in this week and

(22:07):
playing in this tournament. If youremember, Wisconsin won it the first year
and a really exciting overtime game,and then last year lost in the championship
game to Clarkson. So we thinkthat they feel like, you know,
they're coming back to sort of reclaimwhat they believe is theirs. You know,
it's a tournament that features i meanten of the top one hundred college

(22:32):
players in the country right now,and it's great, great college hockey with
with some tons of time prospects.Big time prospects, is a ton of
guys that are ticketed to the NHLand have already been drafted. This is
one of the best events of anykind of it's found in the country.
Yeah, we're really excited about allfour teams. Obviously, you know,

(22:53):
Wisconsin being the local team, butI think there are about thirty the players
that have already been drafted on thesefour teams. And of course, you
know there's this sort of long timerival with Minnesota Duluth coming uh to Milwaukee,
so Wisconsin has a long history ofplaying them Frank Seratoor is a very

(23:19):
interesting guy. And UH at theAir Force, the academies are always UH,
really really strong, so they're havinga little bit of an uptick of
a season as well. And UHand Jerry Keith at Northeastern, you know,
he's he's only been there a fewyears, but he's done a terrific
job. And and you know,they've started a little bit slowly, but
they're coming on lately. So wethink we're gonna have two great nights of

(23:42):
hockey. The excitement around the tournamentthis year, UH is already in terms
of ticket sales, has surpassed whatwe sold in each of the first two
years. So so we believe thatover the course of the next couple of

(24:02):
nights, and with a walk up, we'll have a really exciting environment inside
of five Surf And and you know, tickets are still available obviously by walking
up to the box office, butalso on ticketmaster dot com. And we
just are really pleased with the waythe community in Milwaukee, you know,

(24:25):
Admirals fans and of course longtime hockeyfans. Milwaukee has such a great tradition
hosting final fours. You know,Wisconsin having a frozen Force rather Wisconsin,
having won the Frozen Four in Milwaukeeat the old Bradley Center, so there's
a great tradition of hockey there,and you know, Wisconsin fans are so

(24:47):
loyal and so terrific, So we'rereally pleased with the support that they're showing
for the team this year. Andtwo days of games four and seven thirty
are the scheduled face offs for bothdays at Minnesotadlutha Northeastern in the first game
of the quick trip holiday faceoff onthe twenty eighth, and real quick a
couple of Nashville prospects playing for Northeastern, Gunner Wolf Fontaine Alexander Campbell has sixteen

(25:11):
points and fourteen games and assistant coachesour good friend, former Admiral Jason Guerrero,
yep, which is fantastic. Soyeah, it's gonna be neat to
see. It's kind of cool because, like you said, we were talking
about the prospects rick they're very well. Is a good chance that people when
they go, they'll see guys whowill be playing here in Milwaukee someday in

(25:32):
the near future at the PROLA.Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just
you know, I think the sportof college hockey has elevated over the past
few years, and you're really seeingthis now as a stepping stone into the
NHL, right, maybe even stayinga little bit longer than they did in

(25:56):
the past, but rather than goingright from junior hockey to to the pros,
Uh, they're coming into college hockeyand that has really infused the sport.
You know. You see a lotof teams have really elevated their level
of play over the past few years. There are more teams coming into Division
one now, so the college sportitself is growing, which is always great

(26:19):
to see. So, Uh,it's going to be a high level of
hockey and side serve on Thursday andFriday night, and and I think we're
gonna have exciting games. You know, Air Force is gonna play. I
think every team comes in playing lookingto knock off Wisconsin and UH and that

(26:41):
sort of adds to the excitement.And you know, obviously Duluth and North
Northeastern on the other side of thebracket are are you know, looking to
advance for the championships. So Ithink we'll have a great doubleheader on on
on both nights. Rick, arewe missing anything here in our in the
in the time we have remaining.Are is there anything that we missed that
you'd like to dress or where toget tickets again, anything like that.

(27:03):
So yeah, again, it's youknow, obviously, tickets are going to
be available at the box office onThursday and Friday, and you know,
the first game, as you said, each night is four o'clock. Wi
Conson will play in the seven thirtygame each night, so that's important for
fans to know. So tickets areavailable right now on ticketmaster dot com as

(27:26):
well, and we actually have twoday packages, so you can go on
to ticketmaster dot com and purchase atwo day package a ticket to both nights
at a slight discount. So Ithink that's important for fans to know.
And we just want to make surethat we entertain the hockey community in Milwaukee
and we want the hockey community inMilwaukee to support the event as well,

(27:49):
absolutely no doubt about that. Rick, Thank you so much for the time,
Happy holidays, and we look forwardto the quick trip holiday faceoff beginning
on the twenty eighth. Thanks guys, we'll see you there all the best.
It's Rick Giles from the Gazelle Groupand they are putting on the Uh,
such a such a great event,the quick trip holiday face off.

(28:10):
Yeah, it's been great. Itell you what. I did the championship
game a couple of years ago whenWisconsin they did not have the best year
as we know him, yes,but they won the championship and against Jackson
Stauber who plays for Rockford now hewas the goaltender for Providence. I broadcast
that game for the Providence radio thatnight, and uh, yeah, it
it's really cool to see. Andyou know that Blackhawks wild game a couple

(28:33):
of seasons ago in the preseason andstuff, and it's it's great to It's
just to just to sell the sportof hockey. I don't care where it
is. Let's just do it.Every every time there would be a team
coming or touring from Canada or froma Russian team and they have a dollar
figure they want to come into playthe petits always we want to we want

(28:56):
to bring him in. I wantto bring him in. I mean we
and you know and you know what, and I know that you know,
anytime you can expose more people tohockey, it's important, no doubt,
no doubt about that. We're gonnatake a break we'll come back and well,
actually we're not gonna wrap it up. We got another segment. The
World Juniors began today. Nine currentAdmirals have played in the World Juniors in

(29:19):
the past. We'll hear from someof them coming up in our next segment.
You're listening to Milwaukee Admiral Center Ice. Welcome back to Milwaukee Admiral Center
Ice with Michael Jahowski. I'm AaronSims. Exciting time for hockey. Not
only is their pro hockey going on, but right now the twenty twenty four
IIHF World Junior Championship. It willbe played in Gotham three two one.

(29:41):
Welcome back to Milwaukee Admiral Center Icewith Mike Wild Jahowski. I'm Aaron Sims.
Exciting time for hockey, especially theamateurs. Right now. The twenty
twenty four IIHF World Junior Championship isbeing played in Sweden. It began earlier
today. It goes through January fifth. The US played Norway earlier today.
Inland and Canada, Slovakia and Chechiaand Sweden and Latvia. Games can be

(30:03):
watched on the NHL Network in theUnited States. The Admirals have several players
who have taken part in the WorldJunior Tournament over the years, and I
thought in this segment we'd hear froma few of them about their experiences.
Admirals Captain Kevin Gravelle played for TeamUSA at the World Juniors in twenty twelve.
I got this right. Where arewe at was Vonton and Calgary.
How was it for you? Itwas awesome? I mean obviously, like

(30:26):
growing up, you watch it kindof like a Christmas thing. You know,
it comes on every time at Christmas, and so yeah, you know
you watch it and it's always ObviouslyI don't know if you think it's really
a reality that you're playing it.But to app that opportunity was a really
cool experience, and I think itwas in the longer and really good for
my career as well. You getthere, do you get to meet you

(30:48):
see the Olympic village all the time, right, and the athletes fraternizing with
one another? Is it something likethat? Not necessarily, at least with
my experience. I think, youknow, you keep it pretty tight in
terms of a team. Yeah,and I know when I first got there,
uh, we had a training campin a different location. I think
it was a little bit outside ofEdmonton. I don't remember the uh what

(31:11):
talent was in, but we havea training camp there. I think they
made a couple more final cuts,so you're still kind of in limbo.
You don't know what's gonna happen.And then you ship up to Edmonton if
you end up making the team anduh, you know, the terma it
starts pretty quickly after that. Soafter that, you know, you just
go through your usual you know,game day, uh, pregame meetings and
everything like that. So there's nota whole lot of downtime, at least
from what I remember. It's along time and going nowt but yeah,

(31:33):
say, you know, they keepit pretty professional and normal, normal game
day kind of thing. Was iteverything you thought it would be? Yeah,
it was awesome. I mean unfortunatelywe didn't have a great showing as
a team, but yeah, itwas incredible. I mean World Juniors in
Canada doesn't really get much bigger thanthat. You know, we uh we
were in Canada's group. Uh wewere actually already out of it by the
time we played Canada. So butstill, you know, solo crowd,
you know, you just look upand down the rosters. It's guys who

(31:55):
were gone on to great NHL careerson both sides. You know, all
every team there has has guys,you know. So I remember our first
game we played, I believe itwas Denmark in Edmonton and it was still
sold out, you know. Soit's like, it's just a really cool
experience and coming from you know,not really experiencing crowds like that when you're
in college and juniors and things likethat, it was, you know,

(32:15):
a really cool experience to be apart of, and you know something that
you probably I probably won't ever forget, you know, be able to say
that I played in that tournament.Was the game against Canada the high point
then, well, we lost wouldhave been really the bad guys too.
Yeah, we would have lost,to be honest. It was kind of
a meaningless game just because we werealready out of it in Canada. But
like it's USA Canada, right,so I think that means something anytime they

(32:38):
play. So yeah, that wasthat was one of the high points for
sure. You know, the crowdsobviously anti USA pro Canada pretty much any
game there. So they were allreally cool games. Like I said,
they were great crowds. Every gamewe played on. Then we played Feeling
Sweden, Sweden and the Czechs Ibelieve, as well as Denmark and Canada,
and then whatever the next round is. After that, we weren't in

(33:00):
the metal round, so it waskind of pride moment after that. But
yeah, like I said, unfortunatethat we didn't have a great jami as
a team, but like, likeyou know, playing in that tournament is
something very special and something that Idon't think I'll ever forget appreciate the time
April's captain Kevin Gravelle, April's forwardYo Kim Kemmel played two times in the
World Juniors, Right, Yeah,that's true. What was it like for

(33:21):
you? Uh, it's a likegood experience, like it was the first
trip. First trip. Actually,my first trip was two years ago in
December, and they got canceled duringthe during the little schooners and they moved
the turnam into the summer and summerwe pled. Well, it was so

(33:45):
funny the whole trip. We lostfinals against Canada and overtime and last last
December was uh they were in Canada, Halifax and Monkston. So yeah,
it was also fun. You can'tmeet your friends and yeah, we didn't
play that well. It was kindof yeah, I guess I can say

(34:09):
like we didn't play that well whatwe played in last year like before that
year. But yeah, sometimes sometimesit's just example for me to see your
friends and go play with them,and like it's it's a huge experience for
young players. So it's a greattournament. We touched on this a little

(34:30):
bit. How big is it inFinland? Is it the big deal or
is it not as much a bigdeal. I think it's a big deal
in philand but I think it's Ithink it's a little bit bigger here like
Canadian Canada and special in Canada.I think that it's so huge thing here,

(34:52):
but it's also in phild big thingfor a real person families real quick.
You mentioned the summertime that you hadto play. That's when you guys
win the cell or what was itlike to play in the summer as opposed
to the traditional like this time ofyear. Yeah, I mean, like,
of course, it was a littlebit weird because usually you practice in

(35:13):
the summers and we played the WorldJuniors. But it was kind of fun
because you went to the outside.There was warm in my heart and at
the same time you can play WorldTuniers. So it was kind of so
weird but so nice experience. Youdidn't get trapped in the bubble though,
like the twenty twenty one was inthe bubble and you couldn't leave the campus.

(35:35):
You didn't have that in Edmonton.No, I didn't like. Uh
yeah, the summer summer World Tuniersit was like free to move, you
can't go anywhere where you want,and like it was nice. But before
the summer when we got canceled theWorld Juniors in December, then we had
a bubble. Not as fun.No, no, it's not that fun.

(35:58):
Do appreciate you doing this? Thanksfor that of course, you know.
Kim Kemmel. Admirals forward Dennis gurryonof won a bronze medal in twenty
seventeen at the World Juniors. Itwas in Canada, right, Yeah,
that was in Montreal. We playgroup games in Toronto and then semi finals
in the final we played in inMontreal. When your kid growing up in

(36:19):
Russia, is the World Juniors numberone on your list is the NHL?
The KHL? What are you thinkingwhen when you're nine years old? What
is the goal? I mean,when you're growing up. You know,
like I think first of all,going like Wild Junior for sure, you
know, and after that like KHLand NHL, you know, like everybody
has like different ways. So yeah, of course, I mean Wild Junior

(36:43):
is like a big thing for youngguys, you know. So yeah,
it's a dream. It's a bigdeal in Canada, we know how big
is it in Russia? It's hugehuge as well. Yeah. Yeah,
you scored the overtime winner in thebronze medal game against against Sweden. How
big was that? Like it was? That was that and that had to
have been the best moment of yourlife at the time, right, yeah

(37:06):
at that time of course. Uhyeah, that was that was huge,
I know. And uh like Ithink we're lost against yous a day before,
so uh and we with the boyslike fine, uh new energy and
know, some energy to play forbronze and listen, we got a window
one, you know for our country. You're that close. How crushing is

(37:29):
that lost that like? And thento have the guts to come back and
and get a medal? Yeah,I mean, uh, it's hockey,
you know, like sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and uh yeah,
I think we lost that one.And uh in the shootouts, so
yeah, even harder, even harder. Yeah. So uh, I mean,
like I said, it's hockey,and it's fine, good thing.

(37:52):
We want a bronze medal when youguys pull that out back home? What's
it like? I mean, whatwere you? I mean, everybody expects
gold when you go in, whenyou come back home with a bronze,
what's it like? Yeah? Imean I played in the HL that time,
I played in Texas, so Iwent back to Texas. So my
teammates was happy for me. Youknow, my family is proud of me

(38:16):
and happy and the country as wellfor us, you know, because yeah,
like I said, well, juniorit's a huge thing for you young
players, and if you win,like any middle there, it's huge.
Last one, the crowd in Canada, Toronto, Montreal, what was that
like? That was great? Imean, uh, that was loud every

(38:37):
game, you know, and soyeah, that was that was really fun.
I like it. Appreciate it.Dennis Gianov, thank you. Reid
Schaeffer and Liam Foodie are the onlyadmirals on the current roster that have won
gold medals with at the World Juniors, and Reed joins us now he won
it last year with Team Canada,that experience for you had to be as
as good as it could possibly be. Oh yeah, I on lifetime opportunity

(39:00):
for sure. Obviously you watch theWorld Juniors growing up as a little kid
at Christmas time and you know,going in a boxing day, that first
game of the tournament, it's somethingyou look forward to. And obviously for
me to be a part of thatteam and win gold is dream come true
for sure. When they put thatteam together, I mean you have the
early camps or whatever, and thenyou don't have again until maybe the week

(39:22):
before, right, So how doyou get over the fact that just last
week you were battling against whoever inthe Western like maybe Connor Bdard or whatever.
Now you guys got to work togetherand for the good of the country.
Yeah, it's it's definitely weird forsure. Obviously you have a lot
of guys that get invited to thecamps and you know, go on to
get selected to the team and youplay against some you know growing up and

(39:43):
spring hockey all that stuff, andto finally be on a team representing your
country together, it's pretty cool.It's all star team. There's a lot
of guys that have to put egosaside and take on different roles, and
I think that makes everybody a betterplayer, more well rounded player. Would
you agree? Absolutely? You know, some guys are put on the team
to play a certain role, andyou know, all great players, but

(40:04):
you got to make sacrifices if youwant to, you know, win,
and I think that's what some guysdid, including myself. You know,
it's just you gotta do what theteam needs. I ask you this about
the draft. How many people calledyou when you get drafted? But how
many people are on your phone whenyou win a gold medal at the World
Juniors. Oh, there's a lot. My phone was blowing up, for
sure. Obviously a lot of congratulations. So pretty cool moment. But yeah,

(40:25):
it was awesome. Finally the medal. Where do you keep the gold
medal? All right? Now?It's on a mantle in my living room
back home. Parents like to keepit on the shelf, for sure.
Nice talking point. H Yeah,absolutely, it's awesome. Everyone kind of
gets to see it when they walkin the house, so it's awesome.
Thanks for doing this. Read,Yeah, thank you, that's read Schaeffer.
The four players you just heard fromare four of the nine current Admirals

(40:49):
who have played in the World JuniorTournament mentioned Reid Schaefer winning a gold,
Liam Footy won a gold in twentytwenty in the Czech Republic playing for Team
Canada. You Harstola have a scarOff won a silver medal for Team Russia
in that twenty twenty tournament in CzechRepublic and took fourth in Edmonton in twenty
twenty one. Also, Spencer Stasneyplayed in the Czech Republic in twenty twenty
for Team USA. He did notget a medal. Roland McEwan represented Canada

(41:13):
in Helsinki, Finland in twenty sixteen, he did not get a medal,
and Igor Afanasia for Team Russia inEdmonton in twenty twenty one. That team
again took fourth place. Those arethe nine players who have played that are
currently with the Admirals who have playedin the World Junior Tournament, which started
earlier today and goes through January thefifth in Sweden. We'll take a break,

(41:34):
come back and wrap things up.You're listening to Milwaukee Admiral Center Ice
one final time Milwaukee Admiral Center Icewith Michael Jahowski, I Amer and Sims
during the break, we were talkingabout Dale Akachick and Blaine Peerless and you
guys were talking about open ice hits, and I think about I didn't bring
it up at the time, butwhat I thought about was Bill McCreary,
Billy McCreary hitting Wayne Gretzky, right, and it's online, you can find
it, and just leveled Wayne Young, Wayne Gretzky and Billy tole about yeah,

(42:00):
and nobody and nobody did anything andand it was a clean it was
a clean hit. There was nothingwrong with it. But just leveled Wreen
Gretzky and uh, you know,like if Billy McCreery did that, now
he'd have to answer to nineteen otherguys. Well, they didn't say they
didn't do anything like fight, butthey did. Was he did was what
was it, honey or one oneof the one of the the one of

(42:22):
his valet's dujuur whispered like, don'tever do that, Samenco or yeah,
there was there was quite a few. There was, There was quite a
few, all right. So theAdmirals are at home tomorrow, back from
the holiday break. They'll play hostto the Chicago Wolves at seven pm at
Panther arena and then T shirts andPrincess princesses, Prince people down to see

(42:47):
that. See Princesses tomorrow. Nebulous. Thanks absolutely thanks for listening to Milwaukee
Admiral Center ICE