October 2, 2025 • 33 mins
(00:00:00) Between the Benches: Voice of the Henderson Silver Knights Brian Mccormack
(00:13:40) Brian joins the call
David Mooradian and Patrick Moore are join by the Voice of the Henderson Silver Knights Brian Mccormack as they discuss the Roadrunner's upcoming preseason matchup againist the Silver Knights.
13:40 Brian Mccormack joins the show
(00:13:40) Brian joins the call
David Mooradian and Patrick Moore are join by the Voice of the Henderson Silver Knights Brian Mccormack as they discuss the Roadrunner's upcoming preseason matchup againist the Silver Knights.
13:40 Brian Mccormack joins the show
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
From road Runners Weekly. This is Between the Benches. You're
all access brief.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You have the week ahead.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We'll look at the Roadrunners upcoming opponents, get the inside
story and here directly from the voices and players that
know them best, with your hosts David Moradia, then Patrick Moore,
and this week's special guest, the voice of the Henderson
Silver Knights, Brian McCormick, and we're very.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Pleased to welcome you to this edition of the Tucson
road Runners Between the Benches podcast. David Meridian joined by
Patrick Moore, and we have an exciting preseason show for
you this evening. We're going to talk to Brian McCormick,
the voice of the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate
of the Vegas Golden Knights. That'll be later on in
(00:47):
the show hopefully, and but for the time being, we
want to get you guys to know myself and Patrick.
We're going to be two of the broadcasting members of
the road Runners Academy this season. So some of you
have some familiarity with myself with the previous episode of
Happy Hour with James, but we definitely want to get
you introduced to Patrick. So Patrick, you can take the
(01:09):
floor here and help some of our fans get to
know you.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Well.
Speaker 5 (01:13):
What's everyone, My name's Patrick Moore. I was born in Anaheim, California.
I played hockey for pretty much all my life fifteen years,
and honestly, one of my favorite hockey memories is when
the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup of two thousand
and seven. I was very young, but I do remember
the whole day. My uncle went to the games, pretty
(01:34):
much the whole playoff series and just kind of got
me more into playing hockey and pretty much now has
led me to this roll right now with the Tucson Roadrunners.
So very excited to be on the show with David
in here and giving you guys the low down here
of the Roadrunners.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Yeah, exactly, and Patrick correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
But the past few seasons being an Anaheim Ducks fan,
that hasn't been a whole lot of fun.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Is that right?
Speaker 5 (01:57):
It has really not been a lot of fun, David.
But hopefully the Ducks can make it to the bous
with all that youth and just get hockey excitement back
in California, mainly in Anaheim.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So yeah, a young roster in Hannaheim and also a
young roster in Henderson. That's Tucson's preseason opponent this weekend,
with two games scheduled, one this Saturday, October fourth, at
six pm and then the next day on Sunday, October fifth,
at two pm. The Tucson Roadrunners preseason games against the
Henderson Silver Knights. Their head coach Henderson, Ryan Craig. He
(02:31):
said that this is a youthful roster. Others have said
the same, where they're trying to get some younger talent
that can hopefully, you know, play for the Vegas Golden
Knights and provide some longevity and eventually some replacements for
some of their veteran talent, because Vegas is a terrific team,
but certainly there are some veterans there, and the Silver
(02:51):
Knights have been looking to get a youth roster going
so much like Anaheim as a youth roster there in
the NHL level. Henderson, the preseason opponent this weekend, has
a youth roster, so that'd be interesting for myself. I
mentioned this earlier in the week I am from New
York State, kind of in the Hudson Valley, but I
did grow up a big Rangers fan and kind of
staying with what you said, Patrick, my favorite memory would
(03:14):
have to be going back about a decade now. It
was the second round, I believe of the NHL Playoffs,
the Eastern Conference semi final, I believe, the Rangers against
the Washington Capitals. So, Patrick, you may think the Rangers
have tons of offensive talent that year. I think Rick
Nash had sixty goals or something ridiculous like that. Chris
(03:34):
Crider was a young up and comer. There was a
talent across the board, so you would think factoring that
in alongside or against Alexandro Rovechkin and others.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Tj Oshi was.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Just a year remove from his remarkable Olympic performance. There
in the shootout, you would think this would have been
really a highly offensive series, But what actually happened was
it was completely a clash of goaltenders, Henrik Lunquiz for
the Rangers and Brayden Holby for the Capital. They played
remarkably well and pretty amazingly for the Rangers. The reason
(04:04):
it's my favorite memory is they were able to make
a three to one comeback in the series, but not
only that. Game five in the Garden, the Rangers are
trailing late in the third period, so much so that
they had to pull Lunquist out of the game. So
they go six on five facing excuse me, facing elimination.
This is just Game five, so they've still got to
(04:24):
pull this game out and then win two more. They're
able to get a late goal in the third period,
win it in overtime. They go down to Washington, they
hold on and win a game four to three, and
then they're able to win in overtime in Game seven
against the Capitols back at the Gardeners. Truly one of
the most wild series I've ever seen in the NHL,
and my team happen to come out on the positive
(04:45):
side of that. So certainly my memory is a fan.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Patrick.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
I believe Donick Moore got the game winning goal or
it was at the Game seven off in the overtime
off the faceoff was that that year fifteen, I.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Don't believe it was, but you I may you wrong.
I I know Derek Stepan had one of them. I
don't know if that was. It's hard because there's the
tough part was they had, you know, the remarkable winning
Game five which went to overtime, but also Game seven
wasn't overtime.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
So there's there's really three significant goals.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
There's the the goal to senate to overtime in Game five,
the Game five winner, and then the Game seven winner.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
But you know, the goals were so hard. The reason
that they're so memorable is is they were.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
So hard to come by because the goaltending was so
remarkable for both sides.
Speaker 6 (05:29):
It was also called by Doc American Games.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
Yeah, that's just I guess every time, as I'm not
even a Raiders fan, you know, so I think I
think anyone will by that.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
And the garden was as loud as it's been or
as loud as it can be. And and like you said,
Doc Emeric on the call, and sometimes we definitely miss
when the NBC Sports at the Hockey Rights and.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
He was, he was the voice. He was fantastic.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
So anyway, let's pivot now to the Tucson Roadrunners and
their upcoming preseason series this weekend. Henderson and Patrick, as
is often the case some offseason moves this summer, just
wondering if there's one or two things that have caught
your attention or some acquisitions that you're keeping your eye on.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Well, I think one of the the biggest losses for
the Tucson road Runners is Hunter Drew and Travis Barron,
and even including Ego Solkoff, all three of these guys
have played significant years for the Tucson road Runners. First, obviously,
Hunter Drew one of the guys who was an all
round player.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
He could fight.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
He was second you know, on team on on the
team for multi goal games with three, tie with the
Almamedo in soul cop was also tied with any montane
Anobucci for second on the team in fights. Obviously, Curtis
Douglas was number one in that category. So he's going
over to Bridgeport, the Islanders affiliate. And then obviously Igor
(06:49):
Solkoff is going to the Kahl. Just an unbelievable season
for him, twenty two goals, forty four points, twenty two
goals was his career high in his professional career.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
So those two, I think you know, those few steps
you know.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Obviously, Travis Barron again is another one you know roadrunner,
you know, legend and just kind of a staple. He
had some big playoff moments last year in a disappointing
loss to Abbotsford who eventually won their call their Cup.
So I think you know a few of those guys,
you know, having that that veteran presidence. Obviously, losing is
very tough for a team, but always the off season
(07:27):
is new faces and obviously some sad departures. But I
think some of the good news is obviously Ben McCartney,
Mantineo and Debucci, Kyroramoto and also Cameron Heabig the main
notable returners from the last two seasons. Cameron Hebig again
having another year All Star allstro nominee this year this
past season, So just you know some you know, obviously
(07:50):
some losses, but then obviously some games again with those
veteran leaders that can help Tucson maybe get over the
hump in the playoffs. Obviously the last few years have
bout out early in the first round of the collegaul playoffs,
right right.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
And you mentioned Hunter Drew no longer with the team,
and you know they'll miss him in some regards, but
Tucson's been one of the most penalized teams, not just
last year but in recent memory, and Hunter Drew was
one of the key contributors to that category. So maybe
his departure could result in a few less penalty minutes
for the team and they won't be at the top
of that category, but it's definitely something to keep an
(08:24):
eye on. Another thing I've been focusing on is Kyler Yamamoto.
I think he has potential to be if he's spending
a lot of time with Tucson, there's a chance that
he could be a contributor for Utah this season. He
currently has a two way deal, but if he's spending
a lot of time in Tucson, I think he could
be one of the guys to watch this season. Just
a couple of weeks. Last week against Vegas coincidentally the
(08:47):
NHL team for Henderson, he played just under eighteen minutes,
one of the leaders in that category on ice. Yeah,
I think I think his offensive talent, speed on the
is gonna be something to keep an eye on.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
And for selfish reasons.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
We hope that he'll be spending a lot of time
with Tucson, but there's a chance that he could be
a guy for the Mammoth as well.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Yeah, I just think, you know, he's been here for
the last couple of years. You know, he's had his
time in the NHL and down here in the AHL.
So I think guys like Yamamoto, who are just so
close of getting to that level.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
They just need to, you know, kick it in one
more gear.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
But we obviously hope that Yamamoto will spend some more
time here in Tucson to help them out as the
season goes on, because obviously it is a grind in
the American Hockey League. It is not you know, it's
sometimes your best friend, sometime is your enemy. So hopefully
that the Roadrunners and Yamamoto can be able to start
off strong and that will obviously help out with these
two early preseason games against Henderson.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yeah, exactly. And I mentioned this with James last week.
There's something to be said for wanting to come out
with energy, with passionate enthusiasm, especially at the beginning of
the season. You have a lot of pent up demand,
pent up energy to get out there, but you want
to channel it in the right way. You don't want
to spend too much time in the penalty box. You
want the aggression to be used properly. And I hope
(10:08):
they're able to do that against Henderson this weekend. But
there's there's definitely gonna be a lot of passion and energy,
uh you know this this weekend, And I just hope
they're able to stay out of the penalty box.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
Well, I think it's obviously an exciting time for I
think every player in the American Hockey League just you know,
it's it's October again, the leads are changing and ice
is back, and you know, the season's beginning again. So
I think for the preseason, you know, it doesn't count. Obviously,
it's not going to count everyone's record, but it's going
(10:41):
to be good for the coaching staff of the tuc
Sound road Runners and just guys who are you know,
probably going to be a part of those big games,
you know, leaning down the next couple of months to
to get themselves in playoppositions, and you know these are
the games to do it, to work on the mistakes,
work on kind of the kinks and the rust and
and that's what they've been doing the last couple of
weeks in training camp.
Speaker 6 (10:59):
And you and also down here in too Soon.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, no question, And there's something to be said for
you're practicing against the same players day in day out
in training camp. You start to get a familiarity, and
the roster is only so deep. Now you get to
go out there against different players who offer different skill sets,
possibly different offensive and defensive concepts, So you'll be evaluated
and tested I think in a lot more intricate way.
(11:22):
And I think it'll be really beneficial to the team
to have these two games under their belt before regular
season action begins, not this weekend.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
But next weekend.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
You know, it gets to a point Patrick where all right,
I know this play, I know the direction here. You
can kind of get lazy and cheated a little bit,
and you won't be able to do that against a
foreign team. And I think that they're going to see
a lot of benefit from that.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
I mean, you know, Henderson is a team that they're
going to see a lot, you know, but they've had
a lot of good success against them in the past
couple of seasons, and you know, again, this is just
a test for this team to at least see where
they see themselves.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
You know.
Speaker 6 (11:57):
Obviously again doesn't count. Everything's gonna be fine.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
But and again with the Lions, you know, they've been
working in training camp and building that chemistry to help them,
you know, so when times get tough and during the season,
they'll be able to figure out the motions and get
ready for the season.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
So Yeah, no.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Question about that. Obviously, line configuring is something that's heavily
scrutinized and watched at the beginning of the year, how
they want to organize their talent and so forth. You
mentioned Tucson's success against Henderson last season. Four wins, two losses,
and then two contests decided in extra time, both of
them going against Tucson. But generally that is a positive
(12:38):
for the road Runners that you'd have to say out
the better of Henderson last season. In Henderson has struggled
a little bit in recent memory, missing the playoffs the
last couple of years. And I say in recent memory, Patrick,
really the only memory you can have of the Henderson
Silver Knights is recent because of how new they are
as a franchise.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah, has been a little disappointing for them.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's the AHL's are very you know,
even the Pacific Division, it's a very difficult league. Obviously,
if you saw twoson last year, they barely snuck in
on the final day of the season. And Henderson is
one of those teams that is kind of on a
different side of that type of plateau between the comparison
to the Pacific Division, So it's gonna be really interesting
to see how things play out this season against both teams.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Yeah, no question about that.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
On the other side of this podcast episode, we will
hear from the voice of the Henderson Silver Knights Brian McCormick,
and his insights and evaluations on Henderson before Tucson's trip
up to Navada this weekend.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Is the breakdown from road Runners Weekly.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Thanks for being with us as we come back here
on the Tucson road Runners Between the Benches podcast, we
are now joined by the voice of the Henderson Silver Knights,
Brian McCormick, and we're gonna get his insights on the
team this year. And and Brian, let's let's jump right in.
So I assume that there has been and we've seen
a couple of Henderson players that were, you know, steady
(14:00):
on the team last year getting some run with Vegas
in the preseason, and I'm just wondering if you've learned
anything from the Golden Knights preseason and if there's been
any guys kind of jumping off the page that you
expect to be on Henderson this year.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Yeah, David, for sure.
Speaker 7 (14:14):
You know, I think you know, we're all at that
point in training camp where we're still waiting for the
NHL clubs to make their their final decisions. So I
think we all have a pretty good idea of what
our rosters are going to look like, plus or minus
maybe two or three guys that they're still making decisions on.
But this is gonna be a Silver Knights roster. It's
gonna have, you know, plenty of returning faces, but it's
a young group. You know, some of the guys that
(14:35):
feel like they've got the greatest tenure here, guys who
are in their their third season in the American Hockey League.
It is going to be younger, and from an HS
case perspective, some of the veterans who've been here for
a long time, Gauge Quinny, Jake Bischoff, Dison Mayo who
wrote Run our fans know, well, they moved on elsewhere.
So you know, that's going to open up more opportunity
(14:56):
for some of those guys who are getting two three
years in the league to take on a little bit
more of a leadership role. And you know, looking at
VGK preseason and guys who had a lot of run,
you know, kay Uchaz and Braden Bowman were two players
last year their rookie season or terrific rookie seasons, but
they came in as undrafted free agents kind of you know,
(15:17):
really good fines for the Golden Knights around development camp
time and over the course of last season. Nowly did
they take offensive leadership roles. They earned NHL contracts in March,
so you can tell that they're being spoken about differently
during this Golden Knights training camp than a year ago.
You know, last year they're just happy to be here
and took opportunity and made something great out of it.
(15:40):
This year, it was a longer looking camp and you
can tell that it's more of a you know, they're
being given the responsibility now to compete for jobs, to
compete for the opportunity to be a call up at
some point. So those are two guys. I'm excited to
see what next step they can take. Jacob Brabinetz is
going into his third season in the American Hockey League
and he put on a lot of muscle this summer,
definitely put a lot of effort for it to get stronger.
(16:02):
I'm curiously how he can jump on because he had
a lot of offensive ability and I think he'd like
to see more production in his game this year than
the last two, so he's want to keep it eye on.
And then probably the one that you underline the most
from people who watched the Silver Knights last season was
Carl Linbaum and net a phenomenal season and a really
good training camp as well. I think everyone's excited to
see what kind of sophomore step he could take.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
Yeah, I mean, Brian, you just mentioned all the guys
that were, you know, veterans like you know obviously Dustin Mayo,
who you know, road Under fans know quite well. Some
of the off season signings that you guys made were
those kind of more cleanups due to the weaknesses to
obviously a very disappointing season finish. And you know, in
the bottom of the Cevy Division. What cleanups did the
(16:49):
Knights Silver Knights make to make it more of a
stronger you're going forward?
Speaker 7 (16:54):
Yeah, you know, I guess that's a little bit remains
to be seen, right. Everyone thinks they make the right
decisions in the offseason, and around December we know if
that's right or wrong, I guess, But you know, I
think the Silver Knights don't really look back on last
season as being an outright disappointment that needs to be
cleaned up. And now, certainly they finished at the bomb
(17:14):
of the Pacific and they didn't have a winning season,
that's undeniable. But the tail of the tape between the
first half of the season and the second half of
the season was just so drastically different. And I crunched
the numbers. In the second half of the season games
thirty seven through seventy two, the Silver Knights had forty
three points. That was the fourth most in the Pacific,
(17:35):
and I think it was the twelfth most league wide.
So they were a playoff hockey team caliber in the
second half of the season. So I think there's a
focus on, Okay, how do we pick up where we
left off there? It was a really really rough start
to last season, no question, it took a long time
to get back on the rails. But once they did,
I think they were happy with a lot of what
they did. So, you know, some of the players that
drove that were some of the younger guys that I mentioned.
(17:56):
Mattias Tapovolv is a second round pick there, he played
responsible hockey time to add more to his game, and
again some of the veterans who have moved on for
the Silver Knights, good players, they've been here for a
couple of years. They were ready for something new, and
I think there's an opportunity for the Silver Knights now
to Again it's part of the business, Okay, players come,
players go. You bring in new players and what kind
of impact can they have? And again, we will wait
(18:19):
to see who's here on opening Day when all the
NHL decisions are made. But if you look at the
possibilities of adjacent Megna or sorry, Jacob Magna, I've been
doing that all training camp. Jacob Magna or Dylan Coglan,
guys who can come and bring a lot of offense
to the blue line, but some leadership as well. You
know that can make a difference. But this is a
team the things that figured some things out down the
(18:40):
final couple of months of last year. They think the
young guys were a big part of that. And can
they get to that quicker this time around.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Yeah, and Brian, you mentioned one of the bright spots
for Henderson last season, Carlmbum, the goaltender who I think
got the most run of all on the team, and
he's only twenty two years old. And sometimes we forget that,
especially when somebody's with the team for a couple of years.
You know, especially in the AHL levels, these guys can
be can be quite young. I'm just wondering if if
you're expecting a season of growth for him and what
(19:08):
the expectations are for the team, from the team for
Linbaum the season.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of excitement about Carl.
They were excited when he was coming in. It wasn't
I don't think it was a surprise last year that
he played well, But you know, the you make an
argument he was the second best, if not the best,
rookie goltender in the AHL last year. He and Nikkoco
for Coachella were at the top and in pretty much
(19:32):
everything among rookie goaltenders. But he's he's such a smart goaltender.
He's very cerebral. He and Fred Brathwaite, the goaltending coach,
and Henderson they're talking for a half hour before and
after practice all the time, and almost the I want
to say nerdy stuff because it sounds pijorative, it's it's
he loves the intricacies. He loves he's talking footwork, he's
(19:54):
talking angles. He really enjoys the mental side of it,
and again, the number were terrific for him last year,
and you know, I think he expects of himself to
take the next step. But you look at last year again,
we talked about the rough start that the Silver Knights had.
Carl Limbaum was hurt basically until December, and a large
(20:19):
part of that first half swoon was that they didn't
have him. And for a Kira Schmid who right now
is competing to be the backup for the Golden Knights.
He had way better NHL numbers last year than he
had AHL numbers. He just had a rough goal of
it the first half of the season, and there wasn't
even a chance to give him a bit of a
spell with having him and Carl go back and forth
(20:39):
a little. So Carl was a complete game changer for
the Silver Knights when they got him consistently for that
second half of the season. And I think the expectation
now is for a young goaltender and a goldtender. That's
the one that you always hear about krl Limbaum.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
He's not big.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
He's not six foot four, he's six to two. He
doesn't he's not one of those goaltenders that when he's
on his knees, you don't see anything. But he's athletic,
he's agile, and again he thinks the game so well
that he anticipates so well and competes so well in
the blue paint. So you know, I think they were
they were, they were excited about him last year. Now
(21:17):
they're really excited of what kind of a surge he
can have. But he expects to have himself as well,
and that's that can be a game changer for what
this team looks like overall, is having him consistently.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
You know, Brian obviously coach head coach Ryan Craig has
been there for a couple of years. He obviously was
one of the assistant coaches on both Cup teams run
teams for the Golden Knights, he's obviously brought that leadership
role as head coach. What have you seen from him
during the training camp both for the Golden Knights and
also with mainly you know, the Henderson Silver Knights.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
Yeah, well, Ryan Craig, I mean, he knows Golden Knights hockey,
he knows Golden Knights culture, and as you mentioned, he
was with prior to his tenure with the Silver Knights
and this will be his third with the HSK.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
He was on the Golden.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
Knights bench all the way back to the inaugural season,
so he worked under Bruce Cassidy, but he also worked
under Pete de Bor and under Gerard Gallant. So he's
been on multiple NHL staffs in Vegas and gotten to
learn from multiple coaches. But what he's gained from those
coaches and what he's gained from working for kelleyam mc
(22:24):
criminal and George McFee, he knows that the style of
play that the Golden Knights want. And then of course,
you know there's two responsibilities in the American Hockey League.
You want to win and you want to develop the
goals to do both. If you're not doing one, you've
never be doing the other. And for the Silver Knights, again,
there there have been the winning seasons. They want the
last couple, but they have been providing players that have
(22:45):
been useful.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
To the VGK.
Speaker 7 (22:47):
So you know, this this training camp and it starts
in Vegas. You know, they which for those who don't know,
we're in Henderson, We're fifteen minutes down the road. We're
in Vegas. So all the players who are here in
Silver Knights training camp, were in Golden Knight's training camp,
as were the coaches. So this this is week three
of training camp really as we get ready for preseason
(23:07):
games this weekend. So there's absolutely continuity of message. As mentioned,
there's again a handful of new faces that are going
to be in the mix this year, but some of
those new faces are rookies who have been through rookie
camps and development camps with Ryan Craig and his staff
before the whole coaching staff is back for the Silver Knights,
and that's good again for continuity. So while there is
(23:30):
new and while there is young, you know guys. Usually
there's a training camp where I've got to get out
my little Facebook chart and find, you know, ten or
twelve guys to connect names and faces and introduce myself
to who I'm talking to. That hasn't been the case
this time around. There's only one or two guys here
that I don't think I've ever seen before, so that
makes it feel like a group that's really on the
(23:52):
same page. And again Ryan Craig, he's growing as a
coach too. I guess all coaches are. You never stop
learning or you're not changing with the game. But I
think another part of the Silver Knights second half last
year being so strong was Ryan Craig being able to
harness a group that was going through really frustrating and
disappointing a couple of months, get them back on task
(24:15):
and start getting the message through, especially to some of
the younger guys that were going to drive things forward.
So you know this, this feels like a group that
has not been together for a week or even two weeks.
It feels like a group that's that's building off of
what was learned last spring.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
And you mentioned the interconnectivity between Henderson and Vegas, and
obviously Coach Craig's familiarity with Vegas and what they're looking for.
I'm just wondering, specifically, what are the Vegas Golden Knights
looking for from an HL player, from a prospect as
they come up and and so so that Coach Craig
can deliver the model player for the Golden Knights when
the time is right.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, that's a that's a good question.
Speaker 7 (24:55):
There probably isn't one answer, right because if if they
drafted you to be a goal scorer, maybe they don't
need you to be one. The second you get up there,
but you better turn into one eventually.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Right.
Speaker 7 (25:03):
If you're an offensive player, you're not providing offense, well
you better have learned to do something else exceptionally. Well,
it's not there's one way to get to the NHL.
But if, okay, you're not a grinding for check or
you're a forty goal scorer but you're not scoring goals, well,
there's not really a fit here. So the answer is
not uniform, I suppose. But you know the moniker that
we hear around Henderson all of last year, we heard
(25:25):
it a lot. I haven't seen just yet in these
first few days of camp. If it is still the
boiler play moniker, but firm, fast and finish, and it's
quick decisions, quick movement. It's playing hard on the pockets,
being stiff in your own end, and then finished, you know,
find them very you know, capitalize on opportunities. And that
(25:47):
was probably the leg that was most challenging for the
Silver Nights last season, was even when they had talented players,
a lot of talented players with frustrating seasons and just
weren't seeing the numbers that they're accustomed to seeing. So
the finish wasn't always there, but that's not a terrible
way of summing up probably the the development mantra of
(26:07):
whatever style of player you are, if you're hard on pucks,
if you're playing gritty, if you're putting your shoulder down,
if you're empty in the tank, and if you're capitalizing
on your opportunities, that's what you want.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
And right now.
Speaker 7 (26:19):
The interesting thing about the Gold Knights camp, and you know,
knock on wood that everyone stays healthy. But Bruce Cassidy's
kind of spoken about this. You know, sometimes you go
into camp and you've got two or three spots that
are up for grabs, up for battle, and Bruce kind
of said, you know, ideally, if everyone's healthy, everything goes
going to plan. I kind of know who I want
my twenty to be when the season starts. So for
all the guys getting long looks in camp, sure you're
(26:40):
trying to change someone's mind or someone gets hurt. You know,
you're making your case, no question, but some of them
are competing and be like, Okay, when there's a call
up opportunity, I want to be the first guy that
they're thinking about. And again, if you're trying to make
an impression, especially if you're trying to make an impression
in a preseason that is seven games long at the
NHL level and even shorter next year. But you know
you're probably get in three or four games and you're
(27:01):
trying to make an impression coming off of a long summer,
so everyone else is knocking off the rust. You're trying
to make an impression that's going to last until January
when when the decision needs to be made. The best
thing you can do is go out there. If you
can put a few in the net, phenomenal, but if
you can lay some hits, if you can be hard
to play against, if you can be systematically responsible that.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Hey, you know what.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
Whatever that player's strengths are, whether he's a physical player,
whether he's a playmaker, whatever it is, I know that
when I look at the tape, he's where he's supposed
to be. He's covering his assignment. I can depend on him.
I can put him out and not hold my breath
when I do it. That's the most important thing. And
over the years, when the VGK have been Cup contenders,
and you know, they haven't needed someone to come up
(27:41):
in the middle of the season and become a thirty
goal surprise. They needed guys that they can plug in
and be dependable cogs in the system, and they've always
been able to reliably get that out of Henderson, whether
it's again young prospects they hope will develop into more
than that, or free agent finds who helps get them
through ten fifteen game spells like they've needed to in
the past.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
Now, Brian, I just you know, obviously this is a
very young group, pretty much similar to the last couple
of years. What is just the main goal, you know,
is playoffs going to be on the horizon for this team.
I think everyone would love to make the playoffs, but
does a team like Henderson, what's kind of the message,
you know, let's try to get better this year, let's
you know, let's just see how it goes, or just
(28:21):
you know, kind of on that basis.
Speaker 7 (28:23):
Yeah, I think everyone goes into the play end of
the season expecting the playoffs of themselves, because I mean,
there's ten teams in the Pacific Division. Seven of them
get in, right, so you don't really have to stun
yourself to find yourself good enough to be a middle
of the pack group, right, So I don't think anybody
goes in and say, ah, not our year. Now, there
(28:45):
there are certain times. Okay, it's a young group. It's
hard to be a young player in the American Hockey League.
So yes, you need things to go right. But you know,
that's another part of developments. It's expecting things of your
young players. It's asking your young players to grow up fast.
So you know, some of the rookies that look like
they're going to be in this HSK group to almost
(29:06):
your ownan Matthew Catifford, Jackson Hallum. You know, those are
players that, yes they're young, but they are players with
good pedigrees.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
That you expect something of.
Speaker 7 (29:16):
And while it is a young group, I'm talking to
guys who are here for their third seasons. You're Jacob Brabnitz's,
you're Christopher Setoffs, Lucas Cormier is going into his fourth season.
He missed almost all of last year injured. But you know,
I keep talking to them like their vets and they're
they're like pump the brakes, Brin. I'm not that old yet.
But that's what's an interesting caveat of this group is like, yes,
they're young in average age, but half of the young
(29:39):
guys are going into their third or fourth season, they've
been around the block, and that is to say a
you expect them to take another step and get better
so that the portions of your eye, you're not expecting
the same thing from kay Yu Chaz you got last year.
You're expecting a little bit more and that should add
up to improvement. But also I think it's important in development,
it's important to expect things. You'll want to make excuses
(30:01):
for young players. You don't want to shrug and say, well,
he's young, he'll figure it out. No, you want to
go in and say, hey, our job is to win
hockey games, and we're only going to get there if
you're getting better every week every month. So you know,
in terms of expectations, you see what you get. This
is a Silver Nights team that hasn't made the playoffs
in a few seasons and three seasons, so.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
They're ready to do away with that.
Speaker 7 (30:25):
How that comes about will depend on how some of
these young guys come along. But you know, mix that
in with some of the vets that came in. There
are proven producers in this league. The expectation absolutely.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Is to win.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Yeah, last one for US Brian last year Tucson and
Henderson played eight contests. Tucson won four and Henderson won
two in regulation and two after regulation. So suffice to
say they were competitive matchups and the two teams were
competitive with each other. Expecting a competitive series between the
two and this preseason weekend, I think.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
So I'm going to do a little bit more homework.
I had a chance.
Speaker 7 (30:59):
The Golden Knights played the Utah Mammoth last Thursday, and
I got to do the broadcast for that.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (31:08):
They mix us in a couple of times, just to
give everyone else a break. So I saw a lot
of familiar Tucson faces from last season. You know, the
road group was a was a feisty group. Uh, and
you know it's Bill Armstrong's He's adding more and more
prospects of the play and now we're seeing some some
moves in the summer that this is a Mammoth team
(31:28):
looking to to kind of speed up the timetable and
compete now. But you know this is he's been building
it the right way and there's there's talent, there's prospects
and to some but we'll wait to see who gets
down to Tucson full time. But it's always a tough
out so you know this. The other thing too, is
obviously these preseason games, there are preseason games just like
(31:49):
they are in the NHL, which is to say, there
are players in the game who will not be on
either Tucson's roster or Henderson's on opening night, and there
are going to be a couple of you know, maybe
let's see what this guy looks like on the power play,
who's probably never gonna be on the power play because
the guys who are on the power play have already
played three NHL preseason games and they don't need this weekend.
(32:10):
So there's never too much to read into in these
preseason games except for, let's see guys who who need
a couple of reps get in there, get some touches
and knock off some cobwebs, and just know that because
of the speed of AHL preseason, you know, none of
these teams are going to look like themselves until probably
game seven, game eight, you know, the preseason getting to
(32:33):
know you chemistry time leaks into the regular season. But
I mean this week is it'll be good to get
back in the booth. It'll be good to see guys
on the ice where they belong again, And yes, I
think a couple of from both sides, a couple of
young guys that you're curious, Well, how are they going
to fit in? What's their role going to be on
this team? You'll get a look at in game action,
and we can all get first impressions that we wildly
(32:54):
over analyze and have to correct ourselves on a few
weeks from now.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Yeah, well, we look forward to knocking the cob webs
off this weekend. Tucson and Henderson meet on Saturday, October
fourth at six pm, and then the next day, Sunday,
October fifth, at two pm. We want to thank Brian
McCormick for joining us. He's the voice of the Henderson
Soverer Nights. We want to thank you for listening to
this edition of Between the Benches, the Tucson Roadrunners podcast.
We will see you next week.
From road Runners Weekly. This is Between the Benches. You're
all access brief.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You have the week ahead.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We'll look at the Roadrunners upcoming opponents, get the inside
story and here directly from the voices and players that
know them best, with your hosts David Moradia, then Patrick Moore,
and this week's special guest, the voice of the Henderson
Silver Knights, Brian McCormick, and we're very.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Pleased to welcome you to this edition of the Tucson
road Runners Between the Benches podcast. David Meridian joined by
Patrick Moore, and we have an exciting preseason show for
you this evening. We're going to talk to Brian McCormick,
the voice of the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate
of the Vegas Golden Knights. That'll be later on in
(00:47):
the show hopefully, and but for the time being, we
want to get you guys to know myself and Patrick.
We're going to be two of the broadcasting members of
the road Runners Academy this season. So some of you
have some familiarity with myself with the previous episode of
Happy Hour with James, but we definitely want to get
you introduced to Patrick. So Patrick, you can take the
(01:09):
floor here and help some of our fans get to
know you.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Well.
Speaker 5 (01:13):
What's everyone, My name's Patrick Moore. I was born in Anaheim, California.
I played hockey for pretty much all my life fifteen years,
and honestly, one of my favorite hockey memories is when
the Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup of two thousand
and seven. I was very young, but I do remember
the whole day. My uncle went to the games, pretty
(01:34):
much the whole playoff series and just kind of got
me more into playing hockey and pretty much now has
led me to this roll right now with the Tucson Roadrunners.
So very excited to be on the show with David
in here and giving you guys the low down here
of the Roadrunners.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Yeah, exactly, and Patrick correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
But the past few seasons being an Anaheim Ducks fan,
that hasn't been a whole lot of fun.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
Is that right?
Speaker 5 (01:57):
It has really not been a lot of fun, David.
But hopefully the Ducks can make it to the bous
with all that youth and just get hockey excitement back
in California, mainly in Anaheim.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So yeah, a young roster in Hannaheim and also a
young roster in Henderson. That's Tucson's preseason opponent this weekend,
with two games scheduled, one this Saturday, October fourth, at
six pm and then the next day on Sunday, October fifth,
at two pm. The Tucson Roadrunners preseason games against the
Henderson Silver Knights. Their head coach Henderson, Ryan Craig. He
(02:31):
said that this is a youthful roster. Others have said
the same, where they're trying to get some younger talent
that can hopefully, you know, play for the Vegas Golden
Knights and provide some longevity and eventually some replacements for
some of their veteran talent, because Vegas is a terrific team,
but certainly there are some veterans there, and the Silver
(02:51):
Knights have been looking to get a youth roster going
so much like Anaheim as a youth roster there in
the NHL level. Henderson, the preseason opponent this weekend, has
a youth roster, so that'd be interesting for myself. I
mentioned this earlier in the week I am from New
York State, kind of in the Hudson Valley, but I
did grow up a big Rangers fan and kind of
staying with what you said, Patrick, my favorite memory would
(03:14):
have to be going back about a decade now. It
was the second round, I believe of the NHL Playoffs,
the Eastern Conference semi final, I believe, the Rangers against
the Washington Capitals. So, Patrick, you may think the Rangers
have tons of offensive talent that year. I think Rick
Nash had sixty goals or something ridiculous like that. Chris
(03:34):
Crider was a young up and comer. There was a
talent across the board, so you would think factoring that
in alongside or against Alexandro Rovechkin and others.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Tj Oshi was.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Just a year remove from his remarkable Olympic performance. There
in the shootout, you would think this would have been
really a highly offensive series, But what actually happened was
it was completely a clash of goaltenders, Henrik Lunquiz for
the Rangers and Brayden Holby for the Capital. They played
remarkably well and pretty amazingly for the Rangers. The reason
(04:04):
it's my favorite memory is they were able to make
a three to one comeback in the series, but not
only that. Game five in the Garden, the Rangers are
trailing late in the third period, so much so that
they had to pull Lunquist out of the game. So
they go six on five facing excuse me, facing elimination.
This is just Game five, so they've still got to
(04:24):
pull this game out and then win two more. They're
able to get a late goal in the third period,
win it in overtime. They go down to Washington, they
hold on and win a game four to three, and
then they're able to win in overtime in Game seven
against the Capitols back at the Gardeners. Truly one of
the most wild series I've ever seen in the NHL,
and my team happen to come out on the positive
(04:45):
side of that. So certainly my memory is a fan.
Speaker 4 (04:48):
Patrick.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
I believe Donick Moore got the game winning goal or
it was at the Game seven off in the overtime
off the faceoff was that that year fifteen, I.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Don't believe it was, but you I may you wrong.
I I know Derek Stepan had one of them. I
don't know if that was. It's hard because there's the
tough part was they had, you know, the remarkable winning
Game five which went to overtime, but also Game seven
wasn't overtime.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
So there's there's really three significant goals.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
There's the the goal to senate to overtime in Game five,
the Game five winner, and then the Game seven winner.
Speaker 4 (05:22):
But you know, the goals were so hard. The reason
that they're so memorable is is they were.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
So hard to come by because the goaltending was so
remarkable for both sides.
Speaker 6 (05:29):
It was also called by Doc American Games.
Speaker 5 (05:33):
Yeah, that's just I guess every time, as I'm not
even a Raiders fan, you know, so I think I
think anyone will by that.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
And the garden was as loud as it's been or
as loud as it can be. And and like you said,
Doc Emeric on the call, and sometimes we definitely miss
when the NBC Sports at the Hockey Rights and.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
He was, he was the voice. He was fantastic.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
So anyway, let's pivot now to the Tucson Roadrunners and
their upcoming preseason series this weekend. Henderson and Patrick, as
is often the case some offseason moves this summer, just
wondering if there's one or two things that have caught
your attention or some acquisitions that you're keeping your eye on.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Well, I think one of the the biggest losses for
the Tucson road Runners is Hunter Drew and Travis Barron,
and even including Ego Solkoff, all three of these guys
have played significant years for the Tucson road Runners. First, obviously,
Hunter Drew one of the guys who was an all
round player.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
He could fight.
Speaker 5 (06:27):
He was second you know, on team on on the
team for multi goal games with three, tie with the
Almamedo in soul cop was also tied with any montane
Anobucci for second on the team in fights. Obviously, Curtis
Douglas was number one in that category. So he's going
over to Bridgeport, the Islanders affiliate. And then obviously Igor
(06:49):
Solkoff is going to the Kahl. Just an unbelievable season
for him, twenty two goals, forty four points, twenty two
goals was his career high in his professional career.
Speaker 6 (07:02):
So those two, I think you know, those few steps
you know.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Obviously, Travis Barron again is another one you know roadrunner,
you know, legend and just kind of a staple. He
had some big playoff moments last year in a disappointing
loss to Abbotsford who eventually won their call their Cup.
So I think you know a few of those guys,
you know, having that that veteran presidence. Obviously, losing is
very tough for a team, but always the off season
(07:27):
is new faces and obviously some sad departures. But I
think some of the good news is obviously Ben McCartney,
Mantineo and Debucci, Kyroramoto and also Cameron Heabig the main
notable returners from the last two seasons. Cameron Hebig again
having another year All Star allstro nominee this year this
past season, So just you know some you know, obviously
(07:50):
some losses, but then obviously some games again with those
veteran leaders that can help Tucson maybe get over the
hump in the playoffs. Obviously the last few years have
bout out early in the first round of the collegaul playoffs,
right right.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
And you mentioned Hunter Drew no longer with the team,
and you know they'll miss him in some regards, but
Tucson's been one of the most penalized teams, not just
last year but in recent memory, and Hunter Drew was
one of the key contributors to that category. So maybe
his departure could result in a few less penalty minutes
for the team and they won't be at the top
of that category, but it's definitely something to keep an
(08:24):
eye on. Another thing I've been focusing on is Kyler Yamamoto.
I think he has potential to be if he's spending
a lot of time with Tucson, there's a chance that
he could be a contributor for Utah this season. He
currently has a two way deal, but if he's spending
a lot of time in Tucson, I think he could
be one of the guys to watch this season. Just
a couple of weeks. Last week against Vegas coincidentally the
(08:47):
NHL team for Henderson, he played just under eighteen minutes,
one of the leaders in that category on ice. Yeah,
I think I think his offensive talent, speed on the
is gonna be something to keep an eye on.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
And for selfish reasons.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
We hope that he'll be spending a lot of time
with Tucson, but there's a chance that he could be
a guy for the Mammoth as well.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Yeah, I just think, you know, he's been here for
the last couple of years. You know, he's had his
time in the NHL and down here in the AHL.
So I think guys like Yamamoto, who are just so
close of getting to that level.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
They just need to, you know, kick it in one
more gear.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
But we obviously hope that Yamamoto will spend some more
time here in Tucson to help them out as the
season goes on, because obviously it is a grind in
the American Hockey League. It is not you know, it's
sometimes your best friend, sometime is your enemy. So hopefully
that the Roadrunners and Yamamoto can be able to start
off strong and that will obviously help out with these
two early preseason games against Henderson.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
Yeah, exactly. And I mentioned this with James last week.
There's something to be said for wanting to come out
with energy, with passionate enthusiasm, especially at the beginning of
the season. You have a lot of pent up demand,
pent up energy to get out there, but you want
to channel it in the right way. You don't want
to spend too much time in the penalty box. You
want the aggression to be used properly. And I hope
(10:08):
they're able to do that against Henderson this weekend. But
there's there's definitely gonna be a lot of passion and energy,
uh you know this this weekend, And I just hope
they're able to stay out of the penalty box.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
Well, I think it's obviously an exciting time for I
think every player in the American Hockey League just you know,
it's it's October again, the leads are changing and ice
is back, and you know, the season's beginning again. So
I think for the preseason, you know, it doesn't count. Obviously,
it's not going to count everyone's record, but it's going
(10:41):
to be good for the coaching staff of the tuc
Sound road Runners and just guys who are you know,
probably going to be a part of those big games,
you know, leaning down the next couple of months to
to get themselves in playoppositions, and you know these are
the games to do it, to work on the mistakes,
work on kind of the kinks and the rust and
and that's what they've been doing the last couple of
weeks in training camp.
Speaker 6 (10:59):
And you and also down here in too Soon.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, no question, And there's something to be said for
you're practicing against the same players day in day out
in training camp. You start to get a familiarity, and
the roster is only so deep. Now you get to
go out there against different players who offer different skill sets,
possibly different offensive and defensive concepts, So you'll be evaluated
and tested I think in a lot more intricate way.
(11:22):
And I think it'll be really beneficial to the team
to have these two games under their belt before regular
season action begins, not this weekend.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
But next weekend.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
You know, it gets to a point Patrick where all right,
I know this play, I know the direction here. You
can kind of get lazy and cheated a little bit,
and you won't be able to do that against a
foreign team. And I think that they're going to see
a lot of benefit from that.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 5 (11:44):
I mean, you know, Henderson is a team that they're
going to see a lot, you know, but they've had
a lot of good success against them in the past
couple of seasons, and you know, again, this is just
a test for this team to at least see where
they see themselves.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
You know.
Speaker 6 (11:57):
Obviously again doesn't count. Everything's gonna be fine.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
But and again with the Lions, you know, they've been
working in training camp and building that chemistry to help them,
you know, so when times get tough and during the season,
they'll be able to figure out the motions and get
ready for the season.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
So Yeah, no.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
Question about that. Obviously, line configuring is something that's heavily
scrutinized and watched at the beginning of the year, how
they want to organize their talent and so forth. You
mentioned Tucson's success against Henderson last season. Four wins, two losses,
and then two contests decided in extra time, both of
them going against Tucson. But generally that is a positive
(12:38):
for the road Runners that you'd have to say out
the better of Henderson last season. In Henderson has struggled
a little bit in recent memory, missing the playoffs the
last couple of years. And I say in recent memory, Patrick,
really the only memory you can have of the Henderson
Silver Knights is recent because of how new they are
as a franchise.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah, has been a little disappointing for them.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's the AHL's are very you know,
even the Pacific Division, it's a very difficult league. Obviously,
if you saw twoson last year, they barely snuck in
on the final day of the season. And Henderson is
one of those teams that is kind of on a
different side of that type of plateau between the comparison
to the Pacific Division, So it's gonna be really interesting
to see how things play out this season against both teams.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Yeah, no question about that.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
On the other side of this podcast episode, we will
hear from the voice of the Henderson Silver Knights Brian McCormick,
and his insights and evaluations on Henderson before Tucson's trip
up to Navada this weekend.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Is the breakdown from road Runners Weekly.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Thanks for being with us as we come back here
on the Tucson road Runners Between the Benches podcast, we
are now joined by the voice of the Henderson Silver Knights,
Brian McCormick, and we're gonna get his insights on the
team this year. And and Brian, let's let's jump right in.
So I assume that there has been and we've seen
a couple of Henderson players that were, you know, steady
(14:00):
on the team last year getting some run with Vegas
in the preseason, and I'm just wondering if you've learned
anything from the Golden Knights preseason and if there's been
any guys kind of jumping off the page that you
expect to be on Henderson this year.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Yeah, David, for sure.
Speaker 7 (14:14):
You know, I think you know, we're all at that
point in training camp where we're still waiting for the
NHL clubs to make their their final decisions. So I
think we all have a pretty good idea of what
our rosters are going to look like, plus or minus
maybe two or three guys that they're still making decisions on.
But this is gonna be a Silver Knights roster. It's
gonna have, you know, plenty of returning faces, but it's
a young group. You know, some of the guys that
(14:35):
feel like they've got the greatest tenure here, guys who
are in their their third season in the American Hockey League.
It is going to be younger, and from an HS
case perspective, some of the veterans who've been here for
a long time, Gauge Quinny, Jake Bischoff, Dison Mayo who
wrote Run our fans know, well, they moved on elsewhere.
So you know, that's going to open up more opportunity
(14:56):
for some of those guys who are getting two three
years in the league to take on a little bit
more of a leadership role. And you know, looking at
VGK preseason and guys who had a lot of run,
you know, kay Uchaz and Braden Bowman were two players
last year their rookie season or terrific rookie seasons, but
they came in as undrafted free agents kind of you know,
(15:17):
really good fines for the Golden Knights around development camp
time and over the course of last season. Nowly did
they take offensive leadership roles. They earned NHL contracts in March,
so you can tell that they're being spoken about differently
during this Golden Knights training camp than a year ago.
You know, last year they're just happy to be here
and took opportunity and made something great out of it.
(15:40):
This year, it was a longer looking camp and you
can tell that it's more of a you know, they're
being given the responsibility now to compete for jobs, to
compete for the opportunity to be a call up at
some point. So those are two guys. I'm excited to
see what next step they can take. Jacob Brabinetz is
going into his third season in the American Hockey League
and he put on a lot of muscle this summer,
definitely put a lot of effort for it to get stronger.
(16:02):
I'm curiously how he can jump on because he had
a lot of offensive ability and I think he'd like
to see more production in his game this year than
the last two, so he's want to keep it eye on.
And then probably the one that you underline the most
from people who watched the Silver Knights last season was
Carl Linbaum and net a phenomenal season and a really
good training camp as well. I think everyone's excited to
see what kind of sophomore step he could take.
Speaker 5 (16:26):
Yeah, I mean, Brian, you just mentioned all the guys
that were, you know, veterans like you know obviously Dustin Mayo,
who you know, road Under fans know quite well. Some
of the off season signings that you guys made were
those kind of more cleanups due to the weaknesses to
obviously a very disappointing season finish. And you know, in
the bottom of the Cevy Division. What cleanups did the
(16:49):
Knights Silver Knights make to make it more of a
stronger you're going forward?
Speaker 7 (16:54):
Yeah, you know, I guess that's a little bit remains
to be seen, right. Everyone thinks they make the right
decisions in the offseason, and around December we know if
that's right or wrong, I guess, But you know, I
think the Silver Knights don't really look back on last
season as being an outright disappointment that needs to be
cleaned up. And now, certainly they finished at the bomb
(17:14):
of the Pacific and they didn't have a winning season,
that's undeniable. But the tail of the tape between the
first half of the season and the second half of
the season was just so drastically different. And I crunched
the numbers. In the second half of the season games
thirty seven through seventy two, the Silver Knights had forty
three points. That was the fourth most in the Pacific,
(17:35):
and I think it was the twelfth most league wide.
So they were a playoff hockey team caliber in the
second half of the season. So I think there's a
focus on, Okay, how do we pick up where we
left off there? It was a really really rough start
to last season, no question, it took a long time
to get back on the rails. But once they did,
I think they were happy with a lot of what
they did. So, you know, some of the players that
drove that were some of the younger guys that I mentioned.
(17:56):
Mattias Tapovolv is a second round pick there, he played
responsible hockey time to add more to his game, and
again some of the veterans who have moved on for
the Silver Knights, good players, they've been here for a
couple of years. They were ready for something new, and
I think there's an opportunity for the Silver Knights now
to Again it's part of the business, Okay, players come,
players go. You bring in new players and what kind
of impact can they have? And again, we will wait
(18:19):
to see who's here on opening Day when all the
NHL decisions are made. But if you look at the
possibilities of adjacent Megna or sorry, Jacob Magna, I've been
doing that all training camp. Jacob Magna or Dylan Coglan,
guys who can come and bring a lot of offense
to the blue line, but some leadership as well. You
know that can make a difference. But this is a
team the things that figured some things out down the
(18:40):
final couple of months of last year. They think the
young guys were a big part of that. And can
they get to that quicker this time around.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Yeah, and Brian, you mentioned one of the bright spots
for Henderson last season, Carlmbum, the goaltender who I think
got the most run of all on the team, and
he's only twenty two years old. And sometimes we forget that,
especially when somebody's with the team for a couple of years.
You know, especially in the AHL levels, these guys can
be can be quite young. I'm just wondering if if
you're expecting a season of growth for him and what
(19:08):
the expectations are for the team, from the team for
Linbaum the season.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of excitement about Carl.
They were excited when he was coming in. It wasn't
I don't think it was a surprise last year that
he played well, But you know, the you make an
argument he was the second best, if not the best,
rookie goltender in the AHL last year. He and Nikkoco
for Coachella were at the top and in pretty much
(19:32):
everything among rookie goaltenders. But he's he's such a smart goaltender.
He's very cerebral. He and Fred Brathwaite, the goaltending coach,
and Henderson they're talking for a half hour before and
after practice all the time, and almost the I want
to say nerdy stuff because it sounds pijorative, it's it's
he loves the intricacies. He loves he's talking footwork, he's
(19:54):
talking angles. He really enjoys the mental side of it,
and again, the number were terrific for him last year,
and you know, I think he expects of himself to
take the next step. But you look at last year again,
we talked about the rough start that the Silver Knights had.
Carl Limbaum was hurt basically until December, and a large
(20:19):
part of that first half swoon was that they didn't
have him. And for a Kira Schmid who right now
is competing to be the backup for the Golden Knights.
He had way better NHL numbers last year than he
had AHL numbers. He just had a rough goal of
it the first half of the season, and there wasn't
even a chance to give him a bit of a
spell with having him and Carl go back and forth
(20:39):
a little. So Carl was a complete game changer for
the Silver Knights when they got him consistently for that
second half of the season. And I think the expectation
now is for a young goaltender and a goldtender. That's
the one that you always hear about krl Limbaum.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
He's not big.
Speaker 7 (20:56):
He's not six foot four, he's six to two. He
doesn't he's not one of those goaltenders that when he's
on his knees, you don't see anything. But he's athletic,
he's agile, and again he thinks the game so well
that he anticipates so well and competes so well in
the blue paint. So you know, I think they were
they were, they were excited about him last year. Now
(21:17):
they're really excited of what kind of a surge he
can have. But he expects to have himself as well,
and that's that can be a game changer for what
this team looks like overall, is having him consistently.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
You know, Brian obviously coach head coach Ryan Craig has
been there for a couple of years. He obviously was
one of the assistant coaches on both Cup teams run
teams for the Golden Knights, he's obviously brought that leadership
role as head coach. What have you seen from him
during the training camp both for the Golden Knights and
also with mainly you know, the Henderson Silver Knights.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
Yeah, well, Ryan Craig, I mean, he knows Golden Knights hockey,
he knows Golden Knights culture, and as you mentioned, he
was with prior to his tenure with the Silver Knights
and this will be his third with the HSK.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
He was on the Golden.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
Knights bench all the way back to the inaugural season,
so he worked under Bruce Cassidy, but he also worked
under Pete de Bor and under Gerard Gallant. So he's
been on multiple NHL staffs in Vegas and gotten to
learn from multiple coaches. But what he's gained from those
coaches and what he's gained from working for kelleyam mc
(22:24):
criminal and George McFee, he knows that the style of
play that the Golden Knights want. And then of course,
you know there's two responsibilities in the American Hockey League.
You want to win and you want to develop the
goals to do both. If you're not doing one, you've
never be doing the other. And for the Silver Knights, again,
there there have been the winning seasons. They want the
last couple, but they have been providing players that have
(22:45):
been useful.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
To the VGK.
Speaker 7 (22:47):
So you know, this this training camp and it starts
in Vegas. You know, they which for those who don't know,
we're in Henderson, We're fifteen minutes down the road. We're
in Vegas. So all the players who are here in
Silver Knights training camp, were in Golden Knight's training camp,
as were the coaches. So this this is week three
of training camp really as we get ready for preseason
(23:07):
games this weekend. So there's absolutely continuity of message. As mentioned,
there's again a handful of new faces that are going
to be in the mix this year, but some of
those new faces are rookies who have been through rookie
camps and development camps with Ryan Craig and his staff
before the whole coaching staff is back for the Silver Knights,
and that's good again for continuity. So while there is
(23:30):
new and while there is young, you know guys. Usually
there's a training camp where I've got to get out
my little Facebook chart and find, you know, ten or
twelve guys to connect names and faces and introduce myself
to who I'm talking to. That hasn't been the case
this time around. There's only one or two guys here
that I don't think I've ever seen before, so that
makes it feel like a group that's really on the
(23:52):
same page. And again Ryan Craig, he's growing as a
coach too. I guess all coaches are. You never stop
learning or you're not changing with the game. But I
think another part of the Silver Knights second half last
year being so strong was Ryan Craig being able to
harness a group that was going through really frustrating and
disappointing a couple of months, get them back on task
(24:15):
and start getting the message through, especially to some of
the younger guys that were going to drive things forward.
So you know this, this feels like a group that
has not been together for a week or even two weeks.
It feels like a group that's that's building off of
what was learned last spring.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
And you mentioned the interconnectivity between Henderson and Vegas, and
obviously Coach Craig's familiarity with Vegas and what they're looking for.
I'm just wondering, specifically, what are the Vegas Golden Knights
looking for from an HL player, from a prospect as
they come up and and so so that Coach Craig
can deliver the model player for the Golden Knights when
the time is right.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, that's a that's a good question.
Speaker 7 (24:55):
There probably isn't one answer, right because if if they
drafted you to be a goal scorer, maybe they don't
need you to be one. The second you get up there,
but you better turn into one eventually.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
Right.
Speaker 7 (25:03):
If you're an offensive player, you're not providing offense, well
you better have learned to do something else exceptionally. Well,
it's not there's one way to get to the NHL.
But if, okay, you're not a grinding for check or
you're a forty goal scorer but you're not scoring goals, well,
there's not really a fit here. So the answer is
not uniform, I suppose. But you know the moniker that
we hear around Henderson all of last year, we heard
(25:25):
it a lot. I haven't seen just yet in these
first few days of camp. If it is still the
boiler play moniker, but firm, fast and finish, and it's
quick decisions, quick movement. It's playing hard on the pockets,
being stiff in your own end, and then finished, you know,
find them very you know, capitalize on opportunities. And that
(25:47):
was probably the leg that was most challenging for the
Silver Nights last season, was even when they had talented players,
a lot of talented players with frustrating seasons and just
weren't seeing the numbers that they're accustomed to seeing. So
the finish wasn't always there, but that's not a terrible
way of summing up probably the the development mantra of
(26:07):
whatever style of player you are, if you're hard on pucks,
if you're playing gritty, if you're putting your shoulder down,
if you're empty in the tank, and if you're capitalizing
on your opportunities, that's what you want.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
And right now.
Speaker 7 (26:19):
The interesting thing about the Gold Knights camp, and you know,
knock on wood that everyone stays healthy. But Bruce Cassidy's
kind of spoken about this. You know, sometimes you go
into camp and you've got two or three spots that
are up for grabs, up for battle, and Bruce kind
of said, you know, ideally, if everyone's healthy, everything goes
going to plan. I kind of know who I want
my twenty to be when the season starts. So for
all the guys getting long looks in camp, sure you're
(26:40):
trying to change someone's mind or someone gets hurt. You know,
you're making your case, no question, but some of them
are competing and be like, Okay, when there's a call
up opportunity, I want to be the first guy that
they're thinking about. And again, if you're trying to make
an impression, especially if you're trying to make an impression
in a preseason that is seven games long at the
NHL level and even shorter next year. But you know
you're probably get in three or four games and you're
(27:01):
trying to make an impression coming off of a long summer,
so everyone else is knocking off the rust. You're trying
to make an impression that's going to last until January
when when the decision needs to be made. The best
thing you can do is go out there. If you
can put a few in the net, phenomenal, but if
you can lay some hits, if you can be hard
to play against, if you can be systematically responsible that.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Hey, you know what.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
Whatever that player's strengths are, whether he's a physical player,
whether he's a playmaker, whatever it is, I know that
when I look at the tape, he's where he's supposed
to be. He's covering his assignment. I can depend on him.
I can put him out and not hold my breath
when I do it. That's the most important thing. And
over the years, when the VGK have been Cup contenders,
and you know, they haven't needed someone to come up
(27:41):
in the middle of the season and become a thirty
goal surprise. They needed guys that they can plug in
and be dependable cogs in the system, and they've always
been able to reliably get that out of Henderson, whether
it's again young prospects they hope will develop into more
than that, or free agent finds who helps get them
through ten fifteen game spells like they've needed to in
the past.
Speaker 5 (28:00):
Now, Brian, I just you know, obviously this is a
very young group, pretty much similar to the last couple
of years. What is just the main goal, you know,
is playoffs going to be on the horizon for this team.
I think everyone would love to make the playoffs, but
does a team like Henderson, what's kind of the message,
you know, let's try to get better this year, let's
you know, let's just see how it goes, or just
(28:21):
you know, kind of on that basis.
Speaker 7 (28:23):
Yeah, I think everyone goes into the play end of
the season expecting the playoffs of themselves, because I mean,
there's ten teams in the Pacific Division. Seven of them
get in, right, so you don't really have to stun
yourself to find yourself good enough to be a middle
of the pack group, right, So I don't think anybody
goes in and say, ah, not our year. Now, there
(28:45):
there are certain times. Okay, it's a young group. It's
hard to be a young player in the American Hockey League.
So yes, you need things to go right. But you know,
that's another part of developments. It's expecting things of your
young players. It's asking your young players to grow up fast.
So you know, some of the rookies that look like
they're going to be in this HSK group to almost
(29:06):
your ownan Matthew Catifford, Jackson Hallum. You know, those are
players that, yes they're young, but they are players with
good pedigrees.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
That you expect something of.
Speaker 7 (29:16):
And while it is a young group, I'm talking to
guys who are here for their third seasons. You're Jacob Brabnitz's,
you're Christopher Setoffs, Lucas Cormier is going into his fourth season.
He missed almost all of last year injured. But you know,
I keep talking to them like their vets and they're
they're like pump the brakes, Brin. I'm not that old yet.
But that's what's an interesting caveat of this group is like, yes,
they're young in average age, but half of the young
(29:39):
guys are going into their third or fourth season, they've
been around the block, and that is to say a
you expect them to take another step and get better
so that the portions of your eye, you're not expecting
the same thing from kay Yu Chaz you got last year.
You're expecting a little bit more and that should add
up to improvement. But also I think it's important in development,
it's important to expect things. You'll want to make excuses
(30:01):
for young players. You don't want to shrug and say, well,
he's young, he'll figure it out. No, you want to
go in and say, hey, our job is to win
hockey games, and we're only going to get there if
you're getting better every week every month. So you know,
in terms of expectations, you see what you get. This
is a Silver Nights team that hasn't made the playoffs
in a few seasons and three seasons, so.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
They're ready to do away with that.
Speaker 7 (30:25):
How that comes about will depend on how some of
these young guys come along. But you know, mix that
in with some of the vets that came in. There
are proven producers in this league. The expectation absolutely.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
Is to win.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Yeah, last one for US Brian last year Tucson and
Henderson played eight contests. Tucson won four and Henderson won
two in regulation and two after regulation. So suffice to
say they were competitive matchups and the two teams were
competitive with each other. Expecting a competitive series between the
two and this preseason weekend, I think.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
So I'm going to do a little bit more homework.
I had a chance.
Speaker 7 (30:59):
The Golden Knights played the Utah Mammoth last Thursday, and
I got to do the broadcast for that.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (31:08):
They mix us in a couple of times, just to
give everyone else a break. So I saw a lot
of familiar Tucson faces from last season. You know, the
road group was a was a feisty group. Uh, and
you know it's Bill Armstrong's He's adding more and more
prospects of the play and now we're seeing some some
moves in the summer that this is a Mammoth team
(31:28):
looking to to kind of speed up the timetable and
compete now. But you know this is he's been building
it the right way and there's there's talent, there's prospects
and to some but we'll wait to see who gets
down to Tucson full time. But it's always a tough
out so you know this. The other thing too, is
obviously these preseason games, there are preseason games just like
(31:49):
they are in the NHL, which is to say, there
are players in the game who will not be on
either Tucson's roster or Henderson's on opening night, and there
are going to be a couple of you know, maybe
let's see what this guy looks like on the power play,
who's probably never gonna be on the power play because
the guys who are on the power play have already
played three NHL preseason games and they don't need this weekend.
(32:10):
So there's never too much to read into in these
preseason games except for, let's see guys who who need
a couple of reps get in there, get some touches
and knock off some cobwebs, and just know that because
of the speed of AHL preseason, you know, none of
these teams are going to look like themselves until probably
game seven, game eight, you know, the preseason getting to
(32:33):
know you chemistry time leaks into the regular season. But
I mean this week is it'll be good to get
back in the booth. It'll be good to see guys
on the ice where they belong again, And yes, I
think a couple of from both sides, a couple of
young guys that you're curious, Well, how are they going
to fit in? What's their role going to be on
this team? You'll get a look at in game action,
and we can all get first impressions that we wildly
(32:54):
over analyze and have to correct ourselves on a few
weeks from now.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Yeah, well, we look forward to knocking the cob webs
off this weekend. Tucson and Henderson meet on Saturday, October
fourth at six pm, and then the next day, Sunday,
October fifth, at two pm. We want to thank Brian
McCormick for joining us. He's the voice of the Henderson
Soverer Nights. We want to thank you for listening to
this edition of Between the Benches, the Tucson Roadrunners podcast.
We will see you next week.
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