Around The A Podcast - Season 2 Episode 16 with Utica Comets President, Robert Esche - Around The A Podcast - Covering the AHL, the American Hockey League

Episode Transcript
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(00:06):
This is Around the A, aweekly look at the top stories, news
and interviews from the NHL's top developmentalleague, with your hosts David Boot and
Patrick Williams on the Sports Podcasting NetworkBig Show this week on Around the A
Season two, episode sixteen. Gladto have you along. We have a

(00:28):
whole lot to talk about this week, including the Hershey Bears quinching the regular
season title. Specific division playoffs areunderway. There's already been some coaching change
news around the league, a coupleof big stars from the NHL played in
the AHL this past week, andwe've got a whole lot more coming up,
also, including an in depth discussionwith the president of the Utica Comics

(00:51):
Robert s Show. We will roundout our discussion on the relocation of the
New Jersey Devil's affiliate to Utica andwhat that means for what is really a
keystone franchise in the AHL. Bigweek this week, that exit interviews all
over the place, and boy,the end of the season really snuck up
on us, I think a littlebit, but it has led to some

(01:15):
pretty good content for this week.Yeah, it certainly has. I mean,
you know, just with the natureof the compressed season. I mean
it's only three three months and whatten days or so a goal that the
season started, and I you're alreadyinto a interviews stage and everything that comes
with that, and I know that'salways uh, I mean, starting from
a media standpoint, it's one ofthe biggest weeks of the year because really

(01:38):
does give you a chance to takestock of things. Uh, you know,
where players have been, where teamshave been, and where they're going
and startings ahead for this league.And I mean some years it's a little
a little bit pretty standard. ButI mean I think as we know what
this season, so much of itis about snacks, right, and you

(02:00):
know, you're trying to you're tryingto pry as much information as he can
out of you know, coaches andgeneral managers and team presidents whoever you're able
to get on the line, andyou know, on whatever topic you're you're
you're thinking about. But uh,yeah, it's it's a hectic week.
And then we have the playoffs mixedin and uh you know, we actually

(02:21):
stall some right season games going on, So everything right now kind of like
a weird crossroads almost, But Iguess that's like, what do you expect.
I mean, this is the craziestseason we've ever had, so yeah,
par for the course, Yeah yeah, par for the course with how
things have gone throughout the course ofthis COVID shortened season. Along with that,

(02:43):
to extend an interview with Robert Ashew, we will also go on the
fly with the head coach and theLaval Rocket, Joel Bouchard Spencer Carboret with
his thoughts on the regular season championshipfor the Hershey Bears, and a whole
lot more as well Mark Bernard,the vice president of Hockey Ops in Rockford,
and Stott White, the GM inTexas. So we will touch as

(03:04):
many corners of the league this weekas we try to do every week here
on around the eight. Now,where should we start? Perhaps with those
Hershey Bears who snuck up on theLaVale Rocket right in the final week of
the regular season and just based onwinning percentage, pick up the league title
for the regular season because they playedthree less games and had fifty points just

(03:25):
like Laval did. But I meanyou've covered Hershey closely, you know,
for many seasons now and especially thisyear as well. What was it about
this Hershey Bears club that made themso successful in your eyes because they did
not lose a lot of games.Yeah, I'll boil it down to one
quote from head coach Spencer Carberry.It was very simple, but I think

(03:46):
it says everything about the Hershey Bearsand the Washington Capitals. The quote was,
we want to win, we expectto win. You know. The
way he delivers that, it's notjust empty words. It's everything that the
Hershey Bears do is on an NHLlevel, just slightly scaled back, you
know, from the arena, youknow, ten thousand, five hundred seats,

(04:10):
it's NHL caliber all the way.It's you know, the facilities in
terms of what the players have asyou know, amenities, the resources they
put into it. You know,there's they always have, for example,
good travel fans. And you know, despite the fact, you know,
if you think about it, theWashington Capitals for a better part of the
past ten fifteen years have been atop club themselves. And you know that

(04:38):
generally means you're not getting all thehigh in draft picks. And yet year
and in year out, it seemsthat the Hershey Bears are given a good
base of young prospects, and thenit's Hershey's job to take those prospects and
turn it into NHL players, andthen with all those factors that I listed,
they're able to do that year andin year old. You think of
all the goalies that have come throughHershey over the years of film Goubau,

(05:00):
her brain In Holbe, Michael nouverEli, Stampstone of VTech, Van at
Check obviously this year. I meanhe's one of their biggest success stories.
But he's only just one of them. Uh, John Carlson, I mean
Jacob Rana, who has been sentto the Detroit Red Wings. Uh.
It's just a certain culture. It'sa way they do it. Uh.

(05:21):
There's some legitimate pressure there in hersLike those fans they expect them to win.
And you know a quote that youknow, um we heard today from
rash was players develop under pressure.And you get a lot of pressure in
Hershey. Uh. And if you'renot winning there, you're gonna hear about

(05:42):
it, you know, on anightly basis. And you know that can
be a negative, you know insome places. But I think in Hershey,
with the with the environment that theyfostered there, and that pressure becomes
a positive and you can't question theresults. The three quarter Cup championships since
the the affiliated with Washington two thousandand five, two more trips to the

(06:02):
final. This is their twentieth overalldivision title, sixth just in the last
what's the sixteen seasons? So umspeech to the the culture that they they
foster there and the expectation and youknow, you know, two years of

(06:23):
all the coaches they've had there,for example, Bruce Bruce Boudreau coming through
Tory Man who's now in Belvo,now Spencer Garberry, you know, a
great young coaching prospect. It's oneof the premier places, maybe the premier
place to work in the entire Americanhockey legion. Um. It reflects both
on and off the ice. Yeah, the proof is in the pudding.

(06:43):
You mentioned the accolades that the HersheyBears have earned specifically since their affiliation with
the Washington Capitals, and obviously we'veseen the success of the Bears translate up
to the NHL with the Caps StanleyCup title just a few years back as
well, and big piece in youknow, the success this year was obviously
the goaltending Phoenix Copley and Zach Fucauleybeing named the winning duo of the Harry

(07:08):
Holmes Memorial Award. This is acool award that the AHL gives out every
year not for the best goaltender,but for the best goaltending tandem. And
it really recognizes the fact that inthis league especially, it's very rare to
have one guy who carries the loadthe entire season, because, as we
always say on this show, it'sabout development, and this award recognizes the

(07:32):
tandem with the best goals against throughoutthe season, and these two guys obviously
a big part in in why Hersheyhad the success that it did this season.
Yeah, that's an excellent point.In this league, it's a league
of three and three's and crazy schedulesand tough travel and you know, like
you said, player development, Soyeah, rarely do you see a team

(07:56):
just get by with one goalie inthis league. It really is a team
effort a lot of ways, Imean, goaltending by committee. And that
was even more true this year withI mean teams were going through seventy eight
nine goalies in some cases, youknow, from one team to the next,
and Hershey was no different from that. But you look at let's start

(08:18):
with after call, right, Like, he's a guy who came in originally
backed with Montreal Canadian second round pick, lots of world junior success, a
big prospect, right, and itjust didn't work out from there, and
he ended up bouncing around to theVegas and Tampa systems and kind of was
hovering on that HL EHL fringe.So you're a long ways off from the
NHL that came to Washington. It'soriginally supposed to be their goalie at the

(08:43):
ECHL level in South Carolina. Hecame in instead because of the opportunity that
a Roseman Henry Lundquist had to missthe season. That pushed goalie up to
the to the Capitol. So thatopened up a spot from from call in
Hurting. He just ran with itand he took an opportunity and really never

(09:05):
looked back. And great attitude,a great young guy, and I think
he's a player now who has areal new lease on life with his career.
I think now he does feel likehe's back on that NHL path.
He's twenty five now. But we'veseen goalies they're weird in that regard that
they can sometimes blossom later in theircareer. He may be one of those

(09:26):
examples, and he was at exceptionalthis year. He gave that team so
much confidence on the basis so fullmarch to him and a good veteran like
a Feenish company who was a reallygood partner as well, and they worked
in a night hand in there andjust one lass thing for spend Carver you

(09:46):
had to worry about, you know, a season where you just constantly had
challenges thrown at you as a coach. Yeah, they pretty much split the
action throughout the course of the season. Coppley played fifteen games for Callie,
made eleven appearances, so certainly welldeserving. And just to give those who
aren't familiar with the award a littlebit of background on some of the guys
who have won this in the past, obviously Connor Ingram and Troy gross Nick.

(10:07):
Last year with that Milwaukee team thatwas a heavy favorite to perhaps have
won a Calder Cup, they wereoutstanding, Garrett Sparks and Calvin Pickard.
In the twenty eighteen casey to Smithand a guy named Tristan Jerry, who's
is he doing? A Oh yeah, he's starting in the playoffs for the
Pittsburgh Penguins right now. And itgoes on and on. Manny legacy,

(10:28):
j S. Jager, Martin Barrat, Corey Schneider, Matt Murray. You
know, these are names that arenow synonymous with the you know, prime
time goaltenders in the National Hockey League. And while these two guys Copley and
Focalie continue to battle to get thatkind of recognition, this is a nice
notch on their resume and who knowswhat that can mean for them moving forward.

(10:50):
So again, those two guys bigreason why the Hershey Bears were so
successful this season in winning the regularseason championship and the North Division championship.
We will have a little bit moreHershey Bears chatter later on in this segment
and also coming up later on inthe show when we hear from head coach
Spencer Carberry. Lots of news withcoaches this week as well. Pat.

(11:11):
Obviously the season is over, We'vehad some coaches already resigned, including Garrett
King and Rockford and Neil Graham inTexas, and one coach already out for
next season, Scott Gordon won't returnto the Lehigh Valley Fantoms. What have
you made of these coaching announcements sofar and have you been surprised by any
of these decisions. Yeah, well, starting in Rockford, I'm not surprised

(11:37):
at all. That's been a verygood pipeline for the Chicago Blackhawks. They
start to rebuild or retool, dependingon how you want to call it.
You know, obviously that called dynastyteam they had as those guys have to
be replaced. Rockford's a huge badDerek King's done a really good job.
Chicago has invested a lot of moneyand recesses into that operation. I'm not

(12:00):
surprise there three It's a three yearattension for him and for his assistant coach
and goalie coach. So the statusquoll in Rockford, same thing in Texas.
Not surprised whatsoever. Neil Graham camein season last year for Derek lastall
when Blackstall went up to the DallasStars. Travis Morrin a long time tech

(12:22):
star, you know, legend omost really for lack of a better term,
and at the assistance. So I'mnot surprised that they're back. They're
doing a really nice job. They'rein Texas as well. Lei Valley's an
interesting situation. Stock Gordon had beenthere for six years. Team played quite
well this year. There had beenplayers sent up to the Philadelphia Flyers.
But you know, there's a reportin the Philadelphia Inquired yesterday that they just

(12:46):
couldn't quite come to an agreement betweenGordon and Flyers general Andrew Chuck Fletcher on
an extension beyond next season. Hewas under contract early for next season,
but um, they couldn't really figureout a long term plan beyond that.

(13:07):
So um, by mutual agreement,according to the press lease, they decided
that they would buildeparate race. Assistantcoach Human also steps down. U.
He's apparently gonna find another hockey opportunity. So UM, it's a little bit
of an interesting situation to see that. But um, six years is a

(13:31):
long term, a long time fora coach in one place, So I
guess it's not entirely surprising U.And sometimes, especially now with Gordon being
a part of the previous management regimethat's gone, Fletcher probably wants to put
some of the old people and so, UM, not that surprised in that
sense. And yeah, it's,uh, you know, always a tough

(13:54):
time a year for for coaches,and uh, you know those players whose
contracts run out with the uncertainty ahead. But I suppose a bright spot for
those who aren't getting good news isthat you know immediately and you can start
to move on and look for otheropportunities. Absolutely. I mean, the
worst thing that can happen if you'recoaches kind of are starting along and you

(14:16):
know mid July they pull the plugon you and you're left strambling and you
have to try to find a jobby September. So the sooner you can,
you know, rip off banding,so to speak, and everybody can
move on, the better. Imean, Mark Gordon's got a long resume,
won his four under th h ongame earlier this season. I think
if he doesn't want another age opportunity, it will certainly be there for him.

(14:41):
You know, it's some different places. If a job does open up,
then you know you have to thinkthere's posibly you might pursue an n
NHL assistant coach job somewhere. Sohe's got a good resume. He was
the Philadelphia Flyers to turn coach acouple of years back for half a season,
did a pretty good job in thatstint. So he's got US coaching
head coaching experiant with the New YorkIslanders as well, So it's kind of

(15:03):
checks off all different boxes for somebodywho might be in the market for an
angel head coaching job slash NHL assistantcoach jobs. So we'll see, but
it's kinda definitely be different there.He's the closest thing you really can get
to ensure in this league, andyou know with the past super seasons in

(15:26):
the eye, he's had a lotof success there. They went to the
twenty eighteen Eastern Conference Final and likeI said, they said, a ton
of prospects up to Philly, whichis your number one job. He did
that. I don't think he's outfor a lack of results and suggesting his
job, you know, sometimes justit's the way it is in this business.
That's new management Riche comes in andthey want their own people, and

(15:48):
if you're not it, then you'reout. So a little bit of a
tough rate for him in that regard, But I think you will bounce back
on obviously fresh news. Really butas they're in, you know, many
rumblings about who might be next inline there in Lee High Valley, Well,
not a ton but a friend ofthe show to Tony Andrew Titus from

(16:11):
inside HL Hockey dot Com, who'sbeen a guest on this show before,
he's reported that Ian Leperier, alongtime NHL player Slash Flyers assistant coach,
is a top candidate for that LeeHigh Valley job. I've heard the same
thing in different points before this,even that he would potentially be a a

(16:33):
guy to go to Lee High Valleyif God did leave. Now that gens
out, Um, I have noreason to doubt that report. So Um,
Tony's certainly plugged in there on theground level with Lee High Valley and
with Philadelphia. So um, ifthat's the case, I mean, the
phantoms will be getting somebody's long termplaying experience in the NHL and a guy

(16:53):
who's been behind it in NHL benchas well. So um, certainly it's
a Johnson. If it's not aPerrier, I expect to be a lot
of resumes. I mean, there'sonly thirty one coaching jobs at this level
for the best jobs outside of theNHL, and Le High Valley's a really

(17:14):
good destination if your head coach.There's a lot of resources there, facilities
are excellent, and there's a lotof luck. So you set yourself up
well if you did get that jobcoaching. I believe and of course we'll
keep you updated on any developments throughoutthe course of the off season. We've
still got a few episodes left herein season two of Around THEE, but

(17:36):
we will be checking in throughout thecourse of the summer with any big news
and notes, including some of thosecoaching changes and hires that are made around
the league. Again a reminder ofcoming up in just a few minutes,
we will dive deeper into the Uticaside of the relocation carousel, if you
will, Bringhamton to Utica the Vancouveraffiliate out to Abbotsford we touched on last

(18:00):
week. If you want to tuneinto last week's show at Sports Podcasting Network
dot com or wherever you get yourpods, and don't forget to subscribe to
the podcast as well, and togive us a rating and a review because
that helps us out moving forward.Let's talk about the big news really this
week. And you know, therehave been some instances in the past of

(18:21):
high caliber NHL players having to cometo the American Hockey League for you know,
whether it's an injury stint or they'veyou know, rounded out their career
and they're down in the A becauseit's just not working out at the NHL
level anymore. But very rarely dowe see a couple of guys of the
caliber that we have this week makeappearances in the AHL. And if you

(18:45):
follow the league, you know whowe're talking about. Carry Price and Brendan
Gallagher from the Montreal Canadians suited upin a game for the Labale Rocket this
week. Shocking really at first tohear that these guys were going to suit
up. And what's maybe more surprisingis the response that we got from those
players following their appearance in the AHL. But um, what did you make

(19:07):
this news upon hearing at first thatessentially one of the elite goaltenders in the
in the NHL would be playing inan American Hockey League game this year?
Yeah, an elite goaltender for thebetter part of the last fifteen years and
obviously a high end forward like BrendanGeller, a long time NHL better and

(19:30):
I mean so like h like aswe were talking about off the area,
will feather in the in the capfor the NHL or for the HL.
I should say that the fact thata team like the Montreal Canadians three days
or away from the start of theplayoffs will sound a goalie like Kerry Brace
and a key forward like Brendan gallerdherto American Hockey League for game act and

(19:52):
they're both coming off injuries. Alittle bit of baseball style move in regard
that you say that, you know, with years for example in baseball,
low down to the minors for acouple starts and get their arm back,
and you know, uh, Iremember their gener going down to the Yankees
Triple A club for example. UhSo, uh it makes sense, right,

(20:15):
like if if you have your filling, especially in a situation like once
you're all about you're you're so closeI mean this year in the same building.
But even you know, in atypical year there are twenties apart to
mean, um, every reason ifyou have that opportunity and the players are
willing to do so, uh toMajor Park, I mean players Brendan GALLERGHO
was able to play twenty twenty fiveminutes the other night, Carry Price got

(20:37):
two periods and uh so you're notthrowing them in colden to the first game
of the stand playoffs. Uh meetsall the sense of the world. But
I think it really speaks well.That would Brendon gallerher ad a stay after
the game. You know about hisexperience and what he when he found when
he hit the ice for a loile. Well, you know what, I
really wanted to play a game beforeor the playoffs started, and you know,

(21:02):
obviously it wasn't possible with our schedule, but with this week off,
you know, bursh Burgh approached meand asked, if you know, he
said, it was totally your call, if you want to do it,
I feel free, and I wasall for the idea. Um, you
know, really happy it did.Uh. You know, it felt decent
out there, but you definitely youcan't simulate game action just to get your
lungs and your legs back into it, you can't. Uh, you know,

(21:22):
those little plays you have to makewhen you're tired, you can't stimulate
that. And you know, inin practices or or your skates with the
trainers. So I'm really happy theseguys let me come out. And Price
was the same way. And BrendanGallagher is obviously one of the the nice
guys of the NHL. I wouldsay as far as he's off the ice
persona and personality, he's always friendlywith the media, always happy to chat

(21:45):
to even if he is the typeto maybe get under your skin a little
bit on the ice, But Imean seeing as guys of that caliber,
guys who are not on two waycontracts, have to approve the move down
to the AHL. Um, Ikind of saw this as as a big
vote of confidence for the American HockeyLeague A that those guys were willing to

(22:07):
come down and play and be Again, just the reaction from a guy like
Gallagher who obviously, um, youknow, saw the benefit to being in
the A for even if it's justa game, and the quality of play
that this league has to offer.Yeah, I mean, if you're Brendan
Gallagher carry price, the least thingyou want to come down is if the

(22:29):
caliber play is nowhere in Europe tothe bar and or if you were in
a situation where you know, maybeguys are running around hunting to make a
name for themselves, but the HLis anything but that. It's it's a
league, like we've said conless times, one step pull the HL high pace
of play. U taught prospects onthe ice on a nightly basis, So

(22:55):
there's a lot of value for acarry price to face shooters at this level
Brendan Galler to play twenty twenty fiveminutes, play different situations. Um,
they're getting something out of it.They're not just you know playing. You
know, if you just want togo out there on the ice, you
know and have a skate, youcan do that at practice. The caliber
or play those what allows it tobe a productive exercise for both of those

(23:18):
players. And UM, the NHLis is just UM puts off in a
great position in that sense that youknow, there they made themselves a necessity
for the NHL. That's you know, where we need to cent our players
both to develop and also just things, you know, keep guys to go.
And then even in this case,UH have them come back after a

(23:41):
month long injury, and it's it'slike you said, a great vote of
confidence because you know, these guysare a few days removed from going into
the first game of the Stanley Cupplayoffs. You don't want them to have
to jump into that without being ableto see some high level game compion.
And that's exactly what those two guys. Didn't give the Rocket the boost I

(24:06):
supposed that you might expect, leaveOut lost the game and kind of led
to them losing the league. Titlefor the regular season as well, but
again much needed playing time for BrendanGallagher and Kerry Price, and once more
again a big vote of confidence Ithink for the American Hockey League and the
pace of play here, and ifnothing else, it's a great story to

(24:29):
see those type of elite guys gettingsome action here in the American Hockey League.
We'll hit one more topic here beforewe move on to our feature guest,
who is Robert esh, the presidentof the Utica Comments. We're going
to talk in depth about what hasmade Utica such a cornerstone franchise in the
league, and especially why the NewJersey Devils thought that a ten year agreement

(24:49):
was a good idea to sign rightoff the bat. You're gonna want to
stick around for that chat with RobertEsh. We were going to talk a
little bit of playoffs, pat,but in looking at the schedule, the
semifinal round is going to be finishedeven by the time our next episode airs,
and the Pacific Division playing games arebeing played pretty much as you're listening

(25:10):
to this episode, so we cantell you that the matchups are Bakersfield and
San Diego on one side. Hendersonwill play either San Jose or Colorado,
depending on who wins the game that'sbeing played tonight as of the recording of
this show, So next week wewill recap everything that has happened in the
Pacific Division playoffs and get you setfor the Pacific Division Finals. So before

(25:33):
we get to mister Esh, let'sjust recap the CCMAHL Player of the Week
and we go back to Hershey whereConnor McMichael had a big week for the
now AHL regular season champion Hershey Bears. Yeah, he went out on style.
This is his last go around inHershey at a four point night in
their season finale this past Sunday againstWeldsbury Strand, a feistie game. He

(25:57):
was mitched up in it. Youspeak his Carbury and some other people.
The consensus is that he's ready fora job in Washington now that the challengers
are trying to bring into the WashingtonCapital's lineup. Done easy to do,
but I think that's the case wherethey're going to make make room for you.
Certainly he helps in the sense thatwith Washington salary gap situation, they

(26:18):
still have to sign Vetchkin. Hedoes offer some benefit in that regard.
So nineteen years old came in theAmerican Hockey League, looked immediately comfortable and
has worked really hard on that playoff the puck with Carberry. So you
know, that was one of thereally the only real gaps in his game

(26:41):
coming in and I think they wereable to find tune that to the extent
that now he's ready for Washington.And yeah, not too many would argue
with the success that car McMichael hashad again. He had two goals for
assists in just two games, oncemore helping Hershey to secure that top record

(27:03):
in the league. So big kudosto him. And yeah, I wouldn't
expect to see him in Hershey comethe start of next season, he will
likely find himself a place up inWashington in the NHL. Let's move on
to our feature guests this week.Robert Esh, the president of the Utica
Comets and a name that many hockeyfans would be familiar with, started his

(27:23):
pro career in Springfield in nineteen ninetyeight and went on to play one hundred
and eighty six NHL regular season gamesfor the then Phoenix Coyotes and where I
remember him more from the Philadelphia Flyers, taking the Flyers to the O four
Eastern Conference Final. He played internationallyfor Team USA, including at the two
thousand and six Olympics, many WorldChampionships, and also played overseas as well.

(27:48):
He's turned into a businessman since then, pat and really the perfect coupling
I think of business experience and hockeyexperience has led to what he's been able
to do in Unica. Yeah,it's a really interesting situation. You don't
see too many extra players going tothis part of the hockey business. You'll
see you'll see them going to coachingobviously, you'll see the scouting, some

(28:12):
going to you know, the managementlevel at the hockey operation side of things.
But he's the team presidents, sohe has his hands and everything,
not the least to which is allthe business components. Um. Certainly there's
easier ways to spend your post NHLretirements than trying to make your goal of
it in the tough world of minorleague hockey and the business it's not a

(28:36):
not a real forgiving business. Buthe's he's come in and built just a
model franchise there in Unica and reallygiving them a new lease on life.
In a lot of ways, itwas the market that struggled for so many
years at different levels to find findthe right fit, find the right franchise.

(28:57):
They came in twenty thirteen with theVancouver Canucks affiliation, and um,
they've never looked back since and it'sbecome one of the real success stories of
the league. Uh. You know, it's a great building. I love
the way that you refer to thefan base there. Um it's it's throwback

(29:17):
hockey, but with all the nicemodern amenities that people expect today. And
it's Uh, it's a situation wherewhen Vancouver decided to leave, they were
in a bit of a tough spotthere and you know, not necessarily known
if they'd be able to replace theCanucks, and they managed to do that
now with the new Jersey Devils,and as he said earlier, a ten

(29:37):
year deal and that's just a hugefold of confidence and a huge i think
cigh of relief for fans in Uticaand frankly for Robert Ash. Yeah,
it's a fun place to call agame. It's a fun place to play
a game. Robert Ash will getinto why that is, and you know,
his beliefs in in running the franchiseand what makes it successful and including

(30:00):
the connection to the community because thereis a deep one between the Comets and
the folks in Utica. Robert Ash, the president of the Commets, joins
us next on season two, episodesixteen of Around the Other. Interact with
us on social media, give usyour thoughts using the hashtag around the A
and follow us at around the APOT. I must was there. It might

(30:30):
be difficult to finding a new partner, and there aren't necessarily a ton of
options, don't you Well. Ithink for me it was interesting because you
know, we did have calls fromother teams, so I felt like something
may happen. But you know,you always have that reservation in the back
of your head that you know,maybe things don't go the way that you

(30:51):
wanted them to, and uh,you know, which would be really tough
for us city like Utica, who'sbeen you know, wildly successful in the
course of the eight years, youknow, with all Star games here and
you know, selling out all ofour games since year two. Um,
So I mean that you always havethat little I guess nugget in the back

(31:12):
of your head, like you know, this could go a different way.
But I was confident that something wasgoing to come together, just because there's
there was a lot of interest,and I know there's you know, there's
other people within the league that we'realso I didn't want to see anything happen
to Utica as well. Um,what what is that? What is that

(31:32):
process? Like? I mean,did they approach you? You approached in
as kind of almost like matchmaking ina way. Yeah. I mean from
from my standpoint, you know,like you gotta from me personally, I
just kind of was I called theleague to find out if there was anything
available and at that point there wasn't. Um and then basically the teams reached

(31:56):
out to me. I mean,we all have great relationship within the Board
of Governors and that's kind of whathappened. They just reached out to me,
and we're able to do that Andwhat's your sales pitch to a NHL
club and saying this is why youshould come to Unica. Well, I
think it's it's relatively easy. Imean we put twenty million dollars into the

(32:17):
building. Um, I think it'syou know, it's clearly a destination in
the American Hockey League from standpoint ofyou know, we've sold out every game.
We hold the longest running sellouts streakum with you know, almost two
hundred consecutive games, um, youknow, and I think you know,

(32:37):
and then that's not including playoffs obviously, but as we go through, um,
you know, the city really hasembraced all of this. The city
you know, looks at this askind of the catalyst to everything that's positive
and good in the community. Andthe players are treated with, you know,
a perspective that our company has whereit's a player's first mentel. We

(33:00):
don't operate as a business first mentality, and it's probably due to the fact
that I was a player for aslong as I was um, you know.
So I really think that we we'vecreated an atmosphere in an environment here
that really you know, allows fordevelopment to happen quickly. And when you

(33:21):
call it a player first mentality,how do you define that? You know.
One of the things that go intothat, well, I think,
you know, after playing in theNHL, there's just there's the right way
to do things, and then there'skind of, you know, a business
way of doing things. You know, for me, I'm always the first
person that you know wants to havethe guys if it's a long buss trip,

(33:45):
you know, let's figure out away to go at night early,
you know the building. You know, from a standpoint of being able to
schedule the building around to their needsand cater to their needs of skill development
coaches come in. We can dothat aamlessly with our relationships with the Utica
College and the junior team here uhand the youth hockey team, So we

(34:07):
really do you know, we havebig Christmas parties, we have you know,
great events where you know, we'renot monopolizing the players free time,
but we're also allowing them to getout in the community and do things that
build a sport without annoying them andwithout you know, doing stuff that may

(34:28):
not be is impactful. Most ofthe events that we hold are all almost
always impactful events that the players growaccustomed to, and I think that's really
important. You know, we doawards at the end of the year that
I think highlight from a more ofa parochial view stah standpoint, but you
know, really where they're able toyou know, allow the fans to select

(34:49):
these people and they feel part ofit. And it's just it's like I
said, it's as players first,always here. How much of that you
know, because of your experience,but you also not were you were not
just a player, but you playedfor the Philadelphia Flyers. You played for
Ed Snyder and always known as ateam that that took that approach. How
much did that influence the way youdo things today? Uh, it's actually

(35:14):
pretty much everything was influenced by misterSnyder. I mean, I thought he
was literally one of the best ownersthat I've seen in my lifetime. He
was a terrific man. He youknow, he lived and breathed with us,
winning, came down to the lockerroom after every game, you know,

(35:34):
and it's tough to look somebody who'sthat passion in the sport and of
of the Flyers in the eyes ifyou don't play well, and he just
carried with him. You know,he was. He was terrific. He
was a terrific guy to play for, um work for. You know,
the Flyers were a community in andof itself, and I think we try

(35:54):
to do that obviously identical to whathe built. We tried to do that
here in Utica, and you know, it's worked out well for eight years.
There are probably easier ways to spendlife after, you know, playing
than trying to make a goal ofit in the minor league hockey business,
and yet you've been very successful.What drove you into that the world of

(36:20):
you know, running your own professionalhockey team in the second busin leape in
the world. Well, I think, you know, I was a kid
when the Utica Devils were here.They were here from eighty seven to ninety
three, and I didn't start playinghockey until nineteen ninety roughly, so I
was older. I was twelve yearsold when I started playing hockey. I
played football, baseball and basketball priorto and I think when they left it

(36:45):
was like, you know, itwas kind of like the last nail in
the coffin here in Utica. Welost ge, we lost Lockheed Martin,
we lost the Griffins Air Force Base, and then the Utica Devils, and
like we were just on this downtruck odd path here that took a long
long time to get out of.But when I was playing in the NHL,

(37:06):
I used to talk about it allthe time. I remember, even
during the lockout, I worked withthe aud Authority here because I wanted to
do it back then in two thousandand four to get a group of people
to kind of rebuild the odd andmake it the anchor for Utica, and
it didn't happen until twenty thirteen.But saying all that, I think it's

(37:28):
it's always been something that meant alot to me. The Utica Devil has
meant a lot to me because yousaw how, you know, people enjoyed
the sport. It was a greatnight out in the winter months and upstate
New York they can get long,and it was a great thing to do
and and I just felt like italways fit and our mission statement, oddly
enough, is changing the community throughthe sport that we love. And I

(37:50):
just feel like that's what we've beenthat's what we've managed to do the last
eight years. Chatting with Robert ash, the president of the Utica Comments,
you mentioned the importance of that nameUnica Devils. Why not go back that
way? Why keep it as asthe comments and continue to extend what that
brand has done over the years.Well, I think the Unica Devils were

(38:14):
you know, it was the firsttime American Hockey League team has come to
our area, right underneath the NHL. I mean, it was really it
was really promising, you know,even though we were going down the wrong
path as a city, as awhole. But a lot of people don't
know what the Clinton comments mean tothis area. And they, you know,
they were decades before the Utica Devilswere here, and a lot of

(38:37):
those guys remained here, lived here, and they were transplants from Canada and
they came down here and they literallystarted up the youth hockey organizations. They
literally started up high school hockey andcoached a lot of these teams they coached.
All of them were mic coach atsome point, and they literally put

(38:58):
all that energy and effort into growin the sport um you know, from
a youth level. They were greatambassadors on the ice when they played for
the Clayton Comets and the you know, the fifties and sixties and seventies,
and you know, they were justit was synonymous with class, integrity,
loyalty, legacy, all those terrificwords that you used to describe a great

(39:23):
organization. And the Comets organization wasreally the makeup of the players, not
a not a person, not ayou know, a club or an organization
out there. It was made upof those those gentlemen and they all still
live here today. They called allof them eight years ago. I always
knew that I wanted to call ateam the Utica Comets, but I wanted

(39:45):
their blessing. Um. And eightyears ago I called them all up.
There's uh six of them at thetime and now they're down to five.
But they all were ecstatic. Acouple of cride. They thought it was
a perfect name, game and asuiting name. The league liked it,
Vancouver was okay with it, andyou know, they come to every single

(40:06):
one of the games. Uh,they're in, they're they have a sweet
seat up there with in the sweetlevel and they take it all in and
um, they're terrific ambassadors. AndI think the community realizes that this is
a comics country and it's by nomeans disrespectful to you know, the Utica

(40:27):
Devils at all. I think it'sgoing to be relatively easy to co brand
with them through the coming years.Yeah, it's amazing that that connection.
And I find it kind of interestingwhen teams uh in the AHL do that,
you know, you kind of keepyour own identity regardless of who your
affiliate is. Do you think thatwill also help as far as helping,

(40:51):
you know, transition fans to anew parent club After being with Vancouver for
for many years. I do.I think that that's you know, it'll
definitely make it a more seamless transition. But I also feel like some of
the stuff that we haven't been ableto do the last eight years, which
we're I know, our whole businessoperations are looking forward to it is growing

(41:14):
our parent club's brand. You know, it's very difficult when you're on the
other side of the continent to dothat with you know, the Vancouver Canucks.
And it's again no disrespect to them, they're They're an amazing organization to
be a part of. But obviously, you know, those games are on
later at night. It's tough tofollow and track players that are up you
know, in the NHL when thosegames are on at ten at night.

(41:36):
You know, hopefully catch a glimpseof them when they come to the East
Coast. But you know, withNew Jersey, they already have a fan
base here the Devils, do youknow. It's really kind of you know,
Devils and Rangers country up here,you know. So I feel like
it's going to be a much betterchance for us to build off of what
exists already as a fan base forthe Devils. What and tying in the

(42:00):
Comics fan base and tracking and followingthe players as they elevate up into the
NHL. Are you hoping to maybeincrease the number of games against some of
New Jersey's traditional you know, rivalsand their AHL affiliates, like like Bridgeport
and Hartford that sort of thing.Not necessarily, I mean, the scheduling

(42:23):
matrix is an arduous task, andyou know, with the league, Melissa
Crusoe does an unbelievable job continuously yearover year over year. I think the
big thing is is, you know, we've always tried to eliminate three and
three's and stuff like that. Imean, is it better to play Hartford?
Yeah, we have a lot ofRangers fans here, but I think

(42:46):
just the ability to put them ina competitive atmosphere with a lot of fans.
You know, it doesn't necessarily matterwho you play. In my in
my head, why why do youthink the team has been able to work
so well this time that it didn'twork the first time around with the with

(43:07):
the Unica Devils. That is adifferent time. I mean, you know,
back then in eighty seven to ninetythree, I mean, you know,
I came to all the games.I mean, I don't know how
many community appearances as those guys did. The sport as a whole has changed.
Uh. It was operated you know, out of New Jersey, so
there wasn't much local buy in fromthe business operations standpoint. There are a

(43:31):
couple of people that worked for NewJersey here is kind of like liaisons,
you know. But I think whyit's going to work differently now is you
know, sports is marketing, youknow, it just truthfully is I mean
the athletes are are the people thatgo out there and perform night after night,

(43:52):
and at the end of the day, when it comes to discretionary income,
you know, out of families,whether it's a minor league ticket or
whether it's a major league to it, you know, you're competing with so
many other things, whether it's primetimetelevision, whether it's other sporting events going
on in your town. You know, there's just a lot that goes into
it. And I think, youknow, creating social atmospheres, which we've

(44:14):
been very good at doing, creatinga game ops experience that is second to
none, and then directly connecting thefans with the players and the players with
the fans has been a really goodrecipe for us for eight years and we
try to build on it every year. We try to grow it and change
it. And you know, whenyou're on the top, that's the precise

(44:35):
moment when you do have to change, you know, And I think that's
something that we pivot and adjust topretty well. Here you mentioned the opportunity
to expand a New Jersey brand upand around the new the unique area.
What are other opportunities you might haveand what are potential challenges with moving to
a new affiliate and kind of havingto learn a new way of doing things

(44:59):
with a new part. Well,I think the you know, the opportunities
will speak, you know to thechance of being able to for fans to
engage on players when they go upthey play at seven o'clock most of the
time, they're on the East coast, they can travel to go see them
in Buffalo or New York or downto New Jersey. I mean, those

(45:21):
are the easy things that I thinkeverybody realizes. I also feel there's a
huge opportunity for us to be ableto, you know, to bus trips
down to Newark and to you know, go to some of the team functions
or season ticket events or games,whatever it may be there's there's corporate tie
in. Um. You know,there's obviously a lot of business opportunity when

(45:45):
you're only three and a half hoursaway from each other, you know,
And I think, uh, youknow, right now, from a threat
standpoint, I don't really think Isee anything as a threat standpoint. UM.
I kind of view it much likewhat I was just speaking to.
UM. We are only three anda half hours away, you know,

(46:07):
And I think the more we canshow them that we know what we're doing
and we can operate freely like wehave with Vancouver, and the comfort level
that we can give them, Ithink it's it's going to build two powerhouses
that hopefully can bridge a contoit somewherealong that way between newer and Utica of
just a massive Devil's country. Now, you know that affiliates for you know,

(46:32):
for New Jersey and Banimton has struggleda little bit on the ice in
recent years. How much of aconcern is that, you know, and
what can you say to kind of, you know, alleviate some of those
concerns that fans might have that youknow, the team won't necessarily be as
successful as as it was with Vancouver. Well, I guess I speak to

(46:52):
a couple of different levels, andthat one of them being that, you
know, I do feel that they'rethey're going to be a successful team.
They have a lot of you know, higher end picks. I think they
had nine last year, down toeight because they let go one. They'll
have another nine, I believe thisyear. You know, so you're gonna
we didn't really have a whole hellof a lot of prospects throughout the years

(47:15):
here. There's a lot of freeagent signs and things that nature, or
they would keep those top draft playersup in Vancouver were here. I do
feel, you know, the offseason, I'm sure it's going to be busy
for New Jersey, and I feellike, you know, when that happens,
generally some of those good young kidsget pushed down here. And so

(47:37):
I'm not too worried about that standpoint. The other thing that I don't think
a lot of folks realize, andI definitely realize it from when I played
in Philadelphia, when I played overin Russia, when I played in Switzerland.
You know, in Switzerland, youhad a town of nine thousand people
in seven thousand showed up the gameevery single night, and they didn't sit

(47:58):
down Philadelphia. It was a veryrucous crowd. It was unbelievable. Playing
there is one of my favorite experiencesof my lifetime. Having twenty thousand people
you know, love you, booyou, adore you, hate you,
and that brings a certain element ofenergy. Here at the Attic Bank Center,
we have the same thing. Wehave four thousand fans that live and

(48:22):
breathe comments, and what that actuallydoes is it instills a lot of energy
into the players. You know,you go to some buildings and there's you
know, a thousand people or twothousand people in a big building. It's
very easy to just go through themotions. And I've really found over the
last eight years that we don't havemuch of that, you know, like

(48:44):
when we go into other teams buildingsand stuff. You know, it's it's
sometimes tough to get up for agame where there's not that much energy and
excitement. So I think the fansactually carry a heavy load for players that
you know, you can't just goon the ice, throw your gear on,
throw the sticks on the ice,and just have a game. I

(49:04):
think the fans add so much energyto our players that it makes them do
things that maybe they didn't even realizethey are capable of We're chatting with the
Utica Comets president Robert esh and Iwould agree wholeheartedly with that evaluation of the
fans in the games I've had thepleasure of calling in Utica. I often
refer to that crowd as kind ofa wrestling style crowd, Like you say,

(49:27):
they're so into it and they're allover the opposition, and it makes
a huge difference. What was itlike going through this season without that kind
of atmosphere in the building. Oh, I guess now I have one word
for that nightmare. The old seasonwas just you know, we knew early

(49:47):
on that we would do everything andanything to make sure that we could get
the players here. We didn't.We felt strongly about them playing in Utica.
We said that to Vancouver. Vancouveris a sited that we were willing
to go into the season knowingly thatwe were going to lose a you know,
a lot of money, but wejust felt strongly that our fans,

(50:12):
if they were going to be playinganywhere, our fans would like them to
be playing in our building. AndI just really I sympathize with that,
and I and I feel it wasthe right decision in saying that, you
know, it was discouraging to havethe players on the ice. I mean
it was actually depressing. I'm youknow, like you'd come to the game
and there'd be a game going on, you could hear everything from the ice,

(50:36):
you know, up in the crowd, and it just it just isn't
the same. Sports are meant tobe with fans. Fans are meant meant
to you know, be with theathletes, and there's an ecosystem or a
dance that needs to happen there andwithout it, I think it's it's just
challenging for all sports. And Ithink you know we've seen that, you
know, even on television as wewatched you know, these buildings that had

(50:58):
nobody in them, whether you're watchingPremier League soccer, whether you're watching the
NHL or you know, NBA.I mean, it's just it's not the
same and it never will be.It wasn't intended to be like that.
Live events were supposed to be liveevents for a reason, something to do,
socialize and cheer on a route foryour favorite athletes or organizations. And

(51:20):
I think, you know, we'reno different than anybody else it's just a
very tough fear to watch that,you know. And I understand the development
angle for the players. I getthat, But at the end of the
day, you know, I thinkplayers develop under pressure. You know,
it's the diamond and you know it'sthe pressure and diamond scenario. You know,
when you have fans breathing down yourneck, when there's good competition on

(51:44):
the other side. You know,you need all those different elements in order
to elevate yourself into the NHL level. And I think this year, you
know, yes they were on theice, Yes we were able to get
games in. You know, there'sa whole other layer there when you factor
in fans and you know, sittingin a net as a goalie in Philly

(52:04):
and you got twenty thousand people booingyou because you live in a couple back
goals like like I have numerous times. I'll tell you what it takes us.
You know, you got to bementally tough to get it over that.
You know, like when you're justwatching it on TV, you don't
hear the booth, you know,like if people are you know, so,
I think there's just a real lotthat is to be said for playing
in front of fans and they meaneverything to the athlete. They always have.

(52:30):
UM. So would that being said, you know you're going going into
next season, um is the mission, you know, full speed back to
normal and uh you know, I'myou know none of this uh you know,
empty building type stuff. Well,I mean, obviously I don't.

(52:50):
None of us have a crisp ofthe ball. Um. I would like
to think that that's the trajectory thatwe're all going right now, as sure
as hell seems that way, whichis good, I know from a standpoint
of our fans. You know,if we can have one hundred percent,
you know, we're not going tohave an issue with with having that building
filled. Um. You know.But again, I think we all just
found out the last year plus herethat you know, there's a lot of

(53:15):
guidelines and mandates that are handed downthat we have no control over. So
I believe in my heart of heartsthat it is going to be like that,
and I'm seeing it at some restaurantsthat we own. I mean,
it's just people are starting to comeback in the droves finally because they're just
they want to do something. Theyneed entertainment in their life. They whether

(53:36):
it's entertainment in the style of diningout or whether it's going to live events.
You know, we need that,and I think we need it as
a as a whole globe to kindof heal and get us over, get
us over, which just happen.Maybe not so much in Utica because the
fan base is so strong, butyou know, for teams across the league
having to re engage with fans afterbeing a way for what will be a

(53:59):
year and a half, how mighta team go about doing that and you
know, building that connection back.I think it's gonna happen quicker than what
people might think. I think there'sa lot of great businesses out there,
um, you know, business operators, I should say, in the sports,
uh, in the realm of sports. And I think that you know,

(54:21):
they're gonna have those outreach campaigns,They're gonna have a lot of events.
Um, you know, it's toughto do events right now when you're
in the middle of a pandemic,and I think to start the season off
and you know, just to rollout season ticket holder events, all these
different things, I think is goingto be relatively easy for these great operators.

(54:42):
I really do. And you mentionedstarting the season off. October seventeenth
has some real significance in Unica history. What does that mean for you to
go and for the fans? Well, So we were able, you know,
to work with Melissa Crusoe on onthat date on in nineteen eighty seven.
October seventeenth was the first time thatthe Utica Devils ever took the ices

(55:07):
thirty four years ago this October,and we just thought the significance of it
made a lot of sense, andI think moving forward, we'd like to,
you know, really kind of naildown our home opening day. Have
always been that having an annual event, whether it lands on a Sunday like
it does this coming year, Mondaynext year, I just feel like it's
it pays homage to the you know, the heritage and the legacy that was

(55:32):
instilled into this community of the AmericanHockey League through the Utica Devils. So
we feel we feel it's going tobe a real fun countdown to get to
that date. And the last questionhere for Robert ash, president of the
Utica comments, I'm a big Jerseynerd. You've had the privilege of wearing
some pretty nice ones over your career, and we noticed that the comments.

(55:57):
Kind of officially announced the recoloring ofthe logo the other day on your social
media. Are you able to giveus any hints at what the uniforms might
look like? I don't, youknow, like a lot of people have
asked me about that, I don'tthink there's any you know, there's no
change necessarily, am I have.I mean, I think from a Jersey
perspective, I think it's gonna relativelybe traditional to what they're used to do.

(56:20):
And I think the real excitement willbe in year two when we create
an alternate brand. I think that'sgonna be a lot of fun working with
the New Jersey Devil's business side ofthings and really developing a cool, you
know, unique logo that has amodern flare to it by paying honor to
the traditional logo. And I justfeel like the shield was, you know,

(56:45):
the shield was the shield, andit was something that maybe it changes
and evolves over the years, butfor right now, I think, you
know, the colors and being ableto be the Utica Comets and being the
farm club for the New Jersey Devils, I really think, you know,
it's it's about really outreaching and engagingour fans again. Interacting with them again,

(57:09):
getting the team situated here and comfortable. You know, we feel that
we have a strong brand right now, and you know, one way of
keeping it strong is doing everything efficientlyand planning accordingly. So I think out
of the gate, I think itmight be a little bit what you see
is what you get. But Ialso feel like it's time, you know,

(57:30):
it really needs to be time forus to do the outreach with the
fans and to really engage with them. And I think there'll be a time
to do you know, the alternatejersey where you can have a jersey reveal,
you can have a press conference,you can have the players where you
know, I think that all goeshand in hand. And under these circumstances

(57:50):
of COVID is more like just flyingto the radar and we're gonna we're gonna
move forward. I know it's notthe traditional way that we do things.
Um, but with that being said, I think there's just a lot and
we're very you know, we're obviouslyvery sympathetic to everything that's happened here.
We know, uh, there's somefolks that might not be happy with new

(58:12):
Jersey, um, you know,uh coming here, and we feel that
we are, you know, we'rewe're massively excited here in this community and
in Vancouver moving out west. There'sjust a lot of different feelings out there
on so many different levels, andwe just want to make sure we were
study and calm and cool and collectiveas we go through it. Well,

(58:35):
there's a you know, a lotof reasons why UTKA is one of the
Marquis franchises in this league. Obviouslyyour leadership and what's been done underneath you
with a big part of that.We really appreciate the time and all the
best with the recoloring, I supposeof the rink and can't wait to see
a lot of paper. Interact withus on social media, give us your

(59:00):
thoughts using the hashtag around the Aand follow us that around the APOD.
Thanks to Robert esh for his timeon Around the A nice in depth discussion
with him and touched on a wholelot there. Pat again about why the

(59:22):
Utica comments have been so successful anduh, you know, we call them
a model franchise and I would liketo see a lot of the teams that
are in similar size markets maybe thesummer meetings talk about what works there so
well, because you know, whenyou make an affiliation switch, it's obviously
common to sign a deal for afew years. But as we talked about

(59:43):
last week or the week before,the ten year agreement is a statement to
me about what the New Jersey Devilssee in Utica and you know, what
their their prospects can expect from playingthere. So, uh, it was
great to catch up with the withRobert Esha and we pre to the insight
that he shared with us. Yeah, you know, I know that around

(01:00:04):
the league there's you know, differentprograms to share a kind of best practices,
and he is you know, onthe business front, marketing in front.
Uh And obviously I'm not privy tothat information, but I would have
no doubt that what k Had doesis is a big part of that that
sharing because when they came in,I mean, it was an old building
in a market that hadn't had theAmerican Hockey League in twenty years, and

(01:00:29):
it came in with you know,I think it's fair to say not the
ideal affiliation from a geographic standpoint,and yet since the day they came in
in twenty thirteen, they've just becomea tremendous success story. They posted the
two All Star Classics. They wentto the twenty fourteen called her Drum Final,
you know, just you know,rocking, and as you said in

(01:00:52):
the interview, you call it it'slike a wrestling crowd, and that's the
best sense of the phrase. Imean, they're into it. You can
go there on like a Wednesday nightin January against a non divisional opponent and
those fans are are wired and theybring it every night. And the team
has had i'd say up and downlevels of success and yet the fan supports

(01:01:15):
never waned and they have the selloutstreet there and just uh, everything you'd
want from from a small market HLfranchise they can provide, uh you know,
having you know, having covered theWinnipeg Jets kind of an NHL version
of that small markets uh you knowthe city that you know, Um frankly,

(01:01:37):
you know, and and this isno not but you know it's in
the wintertime. It's it's there's nota ton of to do. Uh,
and yet the fans come out,you know, no matter what the weather
is and uh um they backed theirteam, you know, win or lose.
And it's just I mean, ifyou could have every market being like
that, I mean Wow, youknow, the league would just be an

(01:01:57):
even better place. But you know, he's really shown what it takes to
run the franchise. And I thoughtit was interesting how he mentioned how he
took his player experience and factored thatinto how he runs things from an operational
standpoint and how he takes care ofthe player player first mentality, and you
know, and that really was aninteresting point because you know, he learned

(01:02:24):
from the best, the Philadephia Flyersat Snyder. Everything they do there is
first class. He brought that toUtica with the comments. And it's interesting
because we see, you know,a fair amount of players go into to
management, but like as general managersand roster shaping type positions. But for
him, that's not his job atall. It's up to the New Jersey

(01:02:46):
Devils now and the Vancouver Canucks beforeto shape his roster and decide who plays
for the club. His role isjust about making that a good place for
his players to play. And obviouslyhe knows what players want and what players
need, and that shows, Ithink in the on ice product as well.

(01:03:06):
Yeah, his job is to selltickets. His job is to keep
the lights on. His job isto keep the team stable and to be
able to create that financial environment tobe able to provide those amenities to players.
And that's what NHL teams are lookingfor. If if they hand their
players over to you, it's almostlike, you know, it's a position
of trust and you know they needthose players to be taken care of well.

(01:03:28):
Hershey does that, and obviously Uticadoes that a lot of other markets
as well. You know, youwant your procepts to be the best possible
environments. You don't want them tohave to cut corners financially. You want
the fan support there. Obviously,you want all the amenities and resources you
know, in terms of workout facilitiesand things like that's everything you need to

(01:03:51):
develop prospects. You want it there. That's what Eshe's job is there need
to make sure that he can createan environment in which those things are possible.
And as we've now said multiple timeson the show, he's does an
excellent job at that. So wethank him again for his time with us.
Let's move on to our on thefly segment, a quick trip around
the league. We've got four stopsthis week, back to LaVale, back

(01:04:14):
to Hershey, out to Rockford andTexas as well. But let's start in
Hershey with Spencer Carbery, the headcoach of the Hershey Bears. We talked
a bit earlier on Pat about youknow, what we thought made them so
successful this year, but you wereable to find out from him what he
thought as well. Yeah, thatthat standard, you know that centered I

(01:04:34):
talked about earlier. He describes itreally well in this clip. Why you
know, it's not just a matterif they say, well, we wanted
to do well, we want towin, and we want to do all
the prospects. They have a wayof making that actually happen covered fruition,
and they do it yearning, yearout. You know, it's not easy
to do in this league. It'sit's it's a later, constant turnover and
yet yearning year out. They havecompetitive and often elite teams in Ershey and

(01:05:01):
it's due in no small part tothe environment and the culture and every other
word that you want to use thatthey are able to create there with the
Bears and with the Capitals. Partof it is the players that come in
here, but it's it's it's theculture in our organization and it spreads and

(01:05:23):
it's from leadership it's from our equipmentmanagers, it's from our athletic trainers.
This isn't something from me, thisisn't something from Matt Molson. It's from
everybody. And there's an expectation ofhow we do things here and how we
treat one another and how um youknow, we pull for each other and
if if someone is out, I'mgonna have to do a little bit more,

(01:05:45):
or I'm gonna I'm gonna make theplays, or I'm going to do
the things that are going to bebetter for the two guys next to me
and not just myself. And that'sa tricky thing in the American Hockey League
because there's a lot of players thatare trying to individually get to the highest
level in the world. And sothat's the balance that our culture is about,

(01:06:06):
is We're going to invest hours andhours into your individual development. I
got no problem with that. I'llspend all day investing in your individual In
return, there's a certain standard thatwe expect that you're going to help our
group and our team win games.And that means looking out for one another.

(01:06:27):
That means stepping up like you're talkingabout when our first line center goes
down how can I do more?And I think it just speaks to why
our guys appreciate one of other goodpeople. They care, they're respectful,
they want to win, they wantto make the right plays to win,
and not necessarily the plays that aregoing to help them all the time.
So that's what I would point toof why guys and tonight was a great

(01:06:50):
example and in a similar theme thatwe've heard this season. No playoffs,
but the importance of being successful thisyear not lost on Spencer Carverry and not
lost on his players as well.As much as you know, the skills
part of development was important this year, the winning part, and it was

(01:07:11):
made clear to us by coaches andplayers from around the league, was equally
as important this year as ever.Absolutely, um and um, it's that
again. It's that mentality. It'sit's it's not just the coach like like
he's he said an earlier quote.You know, it's not just him.
It's not just Captain Matt Bilson.It's not just a couple of star prospects.

(01:07:31):
It's everybody. It's the equipment managers, it's the trainers, it's the
front off as the team services people, everything, the bus driver, right
on, you know, right ondown the list. Everyone does their job
that they're asked to do, andthey can do it at a high level,
and they do it consistently. Again, those are the factors that go
into being able to win or comeclose to every single year, and he's

(01:07:56):
a big part of it. Butthere's so many more pieces to that puzzle.
All let's head to Rockford now.You know, one of the big
parts of development this year that wasunique was the amount of young players that
got a chance to play pro hockeywhen typically they wouldn't. Were talking about
guys who play in the Canadian HockeyLeague specifically, and you know, the

(01:08:17):
usual rules prohibit them from being ableto make the jump to pro until a
certain point. Well, because alot of junior teams either didn't play until
late in the season or didn't playat all, some of those young prospects
got a look and it reignited thedebate about whether or not these junior age
players should be able to come tothe American Hockey League earlier than they are

(01:08:40):
now. And we heard mixed reactionabout it from around the league this year.
Pat. You know, some actuallyI shouldn't say mixed from around the
league maybe mixed from around the hockeyworld. From what we heard in the
AHL, this is something that coacheswould like to see a lot more of
moving forward. Yeah, the hl'sin a weird spot because they're kind of

(01:09:02):
in the middle of this, andyet in many ways they're affected as much
as anybody. So you know,you look at Rockford, for example,
you have Isaac Philips, nineteen yearold fifth round picks, so not a
guy that was coming in with aton of hype, and he came in
and he really looked good, andI think he benefited tremendously from the experience.

(01:09:24):
And certainly, obviously you're more ofyour high profile prospects can benefit as
well. We saw across the leaguehow many guys quittin byfield. You saw
Seth Jarvis, I mean, firstround picks everywhere across the league at different
points, and they were able toplay at that high level and really I

(01:09:44):
think, you know, probably consolidatetheir development track a little bit, you
know, not they're not they're notplaying in junior another year to maybe developing
some bad habits and certainly not maybegrowing their game. Now they're being impressed
against pro competition guys who have playedin the NHL. UH, So I
think it's great for them. Iknow it's a very sticky situation politically,

(01:10:05):
uh for for uh general managers,management types in general. So, um
yeah, I've been trying to broachthe topic, you know, and all
the different next interviews this week.I haven't necessarily been able to, um
get as much of a stance oneway or the other as you know,

(01:10:26):
probably you'd like. But I thoughtMark Mark Bernard was probably the most um
in depth on the topic and thathad most to say. You know,
I think the one thing we haveto look at is how those players handled
themselves this year. Um. Youknow, I know there is I think

(01:10:47):
once you've drafted them, you know, in my it's just my opinion.
Um, you know, I thinkonce you draft them, um, you
know, if you feel that they'reready to make that stand and you want
to you think their development's going tobe stronger by returning to junior, you
return them to junior if you thinkit's going to do them more, you

(01:11:08):
know, do better for them byhaving them playing the American Hocke League.
I would love to have that option, but you know that's gonna be for
people at the National Hockey League,the HL, and and obviously our general
managers at the NHL level to discuss. But I think there was a lot
of young players that played, youknow, in the in the American Hocke
League this year around the league thatreally showed they could handle it. And

(01:11:33):
it'll be interesting because I know thoseconversations will come up, but you know,
for me, it was a joyto have these kids. They were
so excited and um, you know, I know some of them they were
hoping they for their players on theirteam and their organizations. They were hoping
the league started in junior, butthey also wanted to stay here, so
they were really torn because they wereenjoying their time here and their development.

(01:11:57):
But h you know, we gotit. We got our ends on these
kids early, and we showed themhow to be good pros and how to
live on their own and kind ofdo their own laundry and make their own
meals, and it's another step intheir naturation process. Mark Bernard, the
vice president of hockey Operations for theRockford Ice Hogs. And yeah, I

(01:12:18):
mean, based on those comments,it does seem like the discussion is going
to pick up on this topic movingforward. But realistically, do we think
we'll see a change like likely notfor this season, maybe somewhere down the
line. Yeah. You know,well it's interesting because you know, this
has been a top pick that's beenkicked around for a few years and it

(01:12:40):
never really went beyond that because hedidn't really have a way to test it
on a wide spread basis. Butyou know, you had a few guys
like Philippino, you know, acouple of years ago in Hartford, Philip
Zadena and Grand Rapids more cider,so the guys that were coming in,
but it was still limited basis.Now you had a real real life lab

(01:13:01):
experiment almost and you were able totest it, you know, cross the
league, different types of players,first round picks as well as your fifth
round picks and everybody in between.And so I think you've got a lot
of valuable data and a lot ofvaluable feedback. So now on NHL clubs
can work with that. I mean, I think if they had their druthers,
they would certainly like take it happen. It's just that delicate dance that

(01:13:26):
they have to do politically. Butthe Canadian Hocke League, keep that plague
lane going, keep that constituency happythat I think might slow down, but
I think it's inevitable at some pointthat you will see some sort of change
with this real because I think alot of eyes are open this year.
That's it proved that these guys canhandle the adjustment and a lot of pieces

(01:13:46):
that really that argument now has beenshot down. Yeah, that was the
thing there was always questioned about,Well, you know, these kids won't
be able to help their development becausethey'll be so out of their lead league
and in you know, swimming insuch deep water so to speak. But
the majority of the kids who gota chance this year, we're able to
tread water pretty well and in somecases even excel and swim faster than others.

(01:14:11):
So we will continue to follow thatas we move along here. Um
Exit interview week as you mentioned,and a nice chance to catch up with
some of our favorite UH quotable coachesfrom around the league, and Joel Bouchard
from Laval has certainly been one ofthose guys that has made numerous appearances on
Around the A and in on theFly this week and no exception when you

(01:14:34):
had a chance to talk to himabout exit interviews. But as we're going
to hear from him in a moment. These weren't your typical exit interviews.
Yeah, actually interviews. I mean, gosh, you talk to players.
Some of them like it. Ithink some of them dreaded. It's almost
like a job evaluation, I guessfor like depends how your year, right,

(01:14:55):
Yeah, you know, and youknow, some guys are happy to
stay around. Other guys can wayto go. They want to find a
new opportunity. So he really doesn'tdepend on a lot. But Joel Bouchard
had his media availability and the seasonthis week very patiently answered all sorts of
questions very in depth. I meanyou never get kind of a halfway answer

(01:15:15):
or you know, kind of ayou know, casual approach everything. He
gives a lot of thought into whathe what he says in response to a
question. Um, he's just he'sjust a great guy to talk to you
if you want to pick his brainabout hockey, I mean, you can't
do better than him. And itwas interesting to try to be a fly
on the wall there, you know, and get a sense of what he

(01:15:38):
might have as a conversation in thoseactually interviews. You know, this year
has probably had a lot more ofa smooth experienced players because of how well
the team did. I mean,you know, a couple of years back,
it probably been much different story.But I think Bouchard is probably,
you know, one of the mostinteresting guys you could have, and actually

(01:16:00):
is because you're going to get honestyfrom him. He is not somebody that
beats around the bush. He saysexactly what he means. He's a very
direct, very blunt type of coach, but not not in a negative sense,
just in a very honest sense.That's he's not there a couple players
down, but he's certainly not goingto tell you things are great if they're

(01:16:20):
not. And he told us,you know how these exit interviews were different
this year from a coaching perspective,certainty and everything we had to dealt with.
Uh no playoff, no really endresult. We stayed with the player
a little bit last night after thegame, talk to them one on a

(01:16:41):
little bit. We had our exittoday, but it was really about how
great they all did. To behonest and what you know, we could
give them to guide them for thefuture. Wals to can touch with them.
But I wanted, you know,usually it could be more of what
do you have to do, butlike asking questions to see I felt this
guy, these guys here, eventhe young guy you had all the answers,

(01:17:01):
like they would be like, Iknow, want actually work on this,
and I've learned so much of thatand hey, coach, what do
you think I would get me?I had some really good question Like it
was more of a guys asking meand like I said, using some of
the stuff we talk about appreciating thewinning atmosphere and mindset, I think that

(01:17:23):
was came back a lot. Soit was a bit different this year.
But um, you're right, it'sit's it's a good question. It just
goes with what the vibes and ourCOVID vibe was what it was, and
our performance with what it was.So I think the meeting was more on
a take care of yourself, keepgoing, you've learned a lot. Put
that in. We'll check back withyou. Some of them had questioned that

(01:17:44):
we're really personal and important, andsome of them had just thank you for
us, which is always nice tohave that from coach from player. But
I've seen another year where it wasa little more you know, cross road,
where player, what are you gonnado? Like I didn't feel there
was that this year, and tome, Pat, you know, since

(01:18:06):
this season was so much about development, those exit interviews seemed even more important,
you know, And it's kind ofan opportunity for guys to maybe key
in on themselves a little bit morebecause again that focus was on getting better
this year. Yeah, you know, I think that's a great point.
And you know, I think,first of all, the guy like Bouchard,

(01:18:29):
I mean, I don't think thisis the first time players we'll be
hearing something from him. I mean, I know back you know when I
started, for example, I mean, you might hear from the coach at
the start of the year, andyou might get your feedback at the end
of the year, and nothing inbetween. And Joe players crazy for you
know, obviously, you know,for a good reason. I think Bouchard's

(01:18:50):
communication is already exceptionally good, andhe's I don't think anything you wouldn't necessarily
say into players would be a surprise, but it's it's good in the sense
that you know, this is thelast thing they take away before they go
home. You know they're going toThey're going to wherever in North America.
You know, they have a lotthey have lost to work on most cases,

(01:19:11):
and especially this summer, not aton of runaway. It's already May
nineteenth for you know, it's gonnabe September training camp. Um. Obviously
some players are gonna be still underdifferent restrictions in terms of their training.
So this is a huge year.Um. You don't want to let all
the work that you did in thepast three months beef or not, all

(01:19:35):
the testing, all the stuff youwent through by following up with a with
an unproductive summer. So I thinkthat was the message that take everything you
managed to squeeze into the season,which frankly was a miracle that it happened,
and parlay it now into a reallygood summer so that when you come
back to macere'all in September, you'rehitting the ground running. You're good,

(01:19:57):
you're good to go, and youcan challenge for a on the NHL roster.
And speaking of next season, obviously, when the regular season winds down,
you immediately start looking ahead, youknow, past the summer towards training.
Cambin I think this year it's happeninga little bit more because everybody is
trying to predict what next season mightlook like, and much like on thehl

(01:20:24):
AHL player rule. We've been kindof picking people's brains around the league to
see what they think next season mightlook like. And I think we are
getting some consensus and a little bitof optimism, and this week that comes
from Scott White the GM in Texas. Yeah. I mean, we're all
trying to kind of read the crystalball or you know, see what is
on the horizon. Four teams,so much stills up in the air.

(01:20:48):
I do think we've all turned thecorner, though, you can start to
see the I think there's a lotmore enthusiasm, you know, just in
society in general than maybe there wasa couple of months ago. But it's
all still a little tenuous, andeverybody's still, i think, a little
rattled after everything that's happened for thelast fourteen months. So there's this there's
always this seems the you know,speaking with whoever, you know across the

(01:21:10):
league, there's this enthusiasm and there'sthere's this excitement, but there's it's still
pretty guarded. It's still pretty tenuous, and you can see people kind of
holding back a little bit, youknow. They they're so desperate and hopeful
that come next September hockey season isand the hawky world in general or back
at full speed. But I thinkwe've all kind of been through enough now

(01:21:34):
that it's like Folly once pulled metwice and again in that sense from different
management and coaches that they're hopeful,but they're not taking anything for granted right
now. Yeah, and hopeful wasthe tone I would say that we got
from Scott White in this cred I'mpreparing like it's going to be normal.

(01:21:56):
Um, you know, that's obviouslythe Canadian side of things is obviously a
big question mark. That's not rocketscience. You just that's how it is.
But hopefully that'll get resolved sooner thanlater. But I'm anticipating a complete
schedule, seventy six game schedule wheneverI get it from the league, and
um, you know, I suspectwe'll be traveling all over getting the games.

(01:22:17):
And that's that's that's what I believe, and I know that's everyone's hoping
our business and as it's been thecase, lots more optimism, it seems
south of the border. Uh,we're getting more optimistic here in Canada as
vaccines start to roll out, andagain hopefully we see a big swing in

(01:22:39):
the positive direction over the next coupleof months and heading into the fall,
because you know, by everything we'rehearing, things should be or folks are
around the league at least are expectingthings to be as close to normal as
they can be come October. Yeah, Scott White said, he's, uh,
he's planning as if next season isgoing to be normal, not twenty

(01:23:01):
twenty one normal, but more liketwenty nineteen normal. And uh, you
know that's how he's approaching it.They're even hopeful that they can do a
Prospectus Tournament in Traverse City, thebig tournament that traditionally he's done every September
their planet on that So, um, you know that's in the works as
well. And um so yeah,there's I think there's optimism and you look

(01:23:25):
at certainly this the situation for theUS is much better. And now I
think you're seeing the corner being turnedCanada. I know, Manitoba's vaccination rate
numbers are are much better than theywere a month ago. So it's my
think I think you're starting to see, now, okay, maybe Canada will

(01:23:46):
come out of that, um,you know, out of this situation as
well. And right now I meanthat's the wild part in all this.
If the border is still closed,if that's a factor come next September,
that's where I think problems are whena rise. But if that situation you
can get cleaned up and things canopen up again, then I think,

(01:24:09):
yeah, it'll be full speed head. We likely won't have any updates on
the border situation over the next weekor so, but when we do join
you next week on Around the A, we will have an update on the
Pacific Division playoff situation and likely somemore exit interview clips as we start to
trend towards the end of the podcastseason here on Around the A as well.

(01:24:30):
Anything else specific you're looking for thisweek, Pat, Well, it's
certainly the playoff, well many playoffgoing on the Pacific Division. That's something
to keep an eye on. Imean, it's more hockey, that's that's
one thing for sure right now,and just sort of keeping an eye on.
You know, we're coming out ofthe wake of the border governors meeting

(01:24:54):
at the start of the month andjust sort of seeing how things settle out
now and then I think, ashas been the case really, you know
since March twenty twenty to really keepingan eye you know, a year,
you know, and everything going onand the much larger world around us,
because that's what's determined so much inthe hockey world. So um, we

(01:25:15):
are coming down now though to thefinish line for the American Hockey League season.
We'll be done no later than Maytwenty ninth. Uh and then,
as we said on this show,that's when a lot of the work really
uh, we'll hit full speed.I know how teams are are already had
that that that underway. We're seeingmore teams make announcements about their open night
plans. But yeah, once uh, certainly, once you can close the

(01:25:40):
book up this season, then it'sthere's nothing holding get back at that point.
And we'll continue to turn those lastfew pages of the book in the
coming weeks, including next week onAround the eight. For now, we'll
say goodbye. We will thank RobertAsh again for his time and those who
joined us in our on the flysegment. One more reminder to review the
podcast, the subscribe to it,tell your friends, and to make sure

(01:26:02):
to follow us on social media aswell at Around the Apart. Thanks for
listening to Around the A. Besure to tune in again next week.
Find Around the A on the Sportspodcasting network I to Spotify, or wherever

(01:26:26):
you get your podcasts. Interact withus on social media, give us your
thoughts using the hashtag around the A, and follow us at around the apart

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Around The A Podcast - Season 2 Episode 16 with Utica Comets President, Robert Esche

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Around The A Podcast - Season 2 Episode 16 with Utica Comets President, Robert Esche