It's Already November? Cream Rising to the Top of OHL - The OHL in 60 Podcast - The Armchair GM's Sports Network

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Welcome to another edition of the Ohl in sixty podcast
with Colin Ward. I'm Maurice Domani. We've got BC behind
the scenes running pretty well everything, making sure we look good,
sound good. We have perfect visuals to cover our faces
so you don't have to see it for all sixty minutes.
It's working out pretty well. So thanks so much for

(01:20):
tuning in to another edition of the show. Wherever you
get your podcasts, of course, and on the Armchair GM
Sports Network official YouTube page. Make sure you hit that
like and subscribe button so you don't miss anything. Throughout
the twenty twenty five twenty twenty six season. We've got
a number of topics to get to. It's it's going
to be a pretty good show. A lot has happened,

(01:40):
I would say, in the last forty eight hours forty
eight to seventy two hours, quite a bit has happened.
So we'll run through all of the stuff for you
here up top. If you're watching us, you can see
all the show topics. I'll read them off for anyone
listening in audio form. But Ohl headlines that might be

(02:01):
quite a bit of the show that might take up
quite a quite a big chunk, because there's there's quite
a few to go over. Another effect, the Ohl and
sixty effect. Luchenko and Martin have returned. We'll we'll we'll
touch on that. There it is hashtag effect on show.
Oh yeah, absolutely, yeah, yeah, they'll kind of mix into things.

(02:22):
But I also have some thoughts on the Sue jerseys
and the letters, and yeah, we'll get into that. I'm
not one thousand thrilled on those, but uh, well, we'll
get to players of the week as well. Some world
junior news dropped on on Monday. We'll we'll touch on that,
the Ohl markets that will be involved in that, James

(02:42):
Boyd getting promoted from the Ottawa sixty sevens to the
Ontario Hockey League. Well we'll chat about that, and then
the power rankings of course to wrap up the show.
But before we do get started on all of the topics,
hockey or not, because I've got a question to ask
people right off the top. Got some tough news, uh
this past week. Jake Patterson, former London Night's goaltender, had

(03:07):
passed away. And that's uh, that's pretty tough. I I
read an article. I'm not going to confirm the cause
of cause of death for him, but I saw an
article that had confirmed it for me. If you want
to find out what happened, go do your research. But
but we're gonna focus on Jake Patterson, the uh, the
guy in the goalie because col Ward, you you can

(03:29):
speak to this, probably a lot better than myself or
even even BC could. But that's just that's that's tough
news because it seems like it's happening quite often nowadays,
and it's really unfortunate to see these announcements keep popping up. Yeah, no,
it's horrible. It's very unfortunate.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Jake Patterson one of my first autographs, well not one
of my first, but I really got his autograph before
go into a gaming gwelf Rose, but he signed pack nice.
As a kid, you gotta pocket warm ups, get it
signed or the program Big program guy hockey cards every
year every year at the beginning of the year, because

(04:07):
you still always want to go to the Knights camps
as a kid, right, So I remember going to I
remember going to like at the beginning of the year,
the first game I would always get as soon as
they come out, I get the hockey cards and you
go to Knight's camp March break, you get them signed.
And I remember Jake Patterson was one of the big
Ones goalie. I was a goalie, so growing up, Adam,

(04:28):
this was my favorite goaltender for the London Knights. Him
and Gerald Coleman in the big year there, then going
to Steve Mason. No list goes on, but Jake Patterson,
Michael Huser, Anthony Stolars in that mix. Those are always,
uh those are cool memories. And for Jake Patterson, he
had one of the best runs in Knight's history with
the one playoff from that they had there and I

(04:50):
think it was when Stolar's got suspended. I remember they're
playing Wins windsor either got suspended or the one when
he got hurt. Anyways, both both times Jake Patterson stepped
up late and delivered. I remember the one where the
suspension happened to Stolars and Patterson stepped in and uh
saved the day for the Nights. But Jake Patterson, I

(05:11):
mean a couple of times I met him getting autogar
graphs and stuff as a little kid, probably annoying little kid. Uh,
those were always uh co memories. All I just remember
getting the time of day from Jake, and it's definitely
a sad day for the hockey world see Saint Marie
Native Definitely, uh, a sad day for the OHL or
this happens too much and you know, it's too bad.

(05:34):
It's like obviously it sucks, but like it's too bad
because the it really makes you really got to make sure,
you know, you can spend the quality time with your
loved ones, with your family every single day because you
never know. And that's that sucks, like it it's the worst.
So it's too bad. It's very sad for the It's
sad for everyone in the Patterson family. Condolences to the family.

(05:54):
That's that's horrible, you know what't imagine that and yeah,
it's it sucks.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah yeah, I mean yeah, you can't really explain it
any other way than it sucks. Yeah, it's a great
point wardy, So yeah, condolences to to the Patterson family.
Friend's family of course. Jake Patterson rest in peace. That's uh,
that was not awesome news to see come through the
come through the Twitter chain this past week.

Speaker 3 (06:20):
But yeah, I mean.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
On onto more current events now and and Colin, I'm
gonna ask a question off the top because it was
bothering me. And it kind of takes us back to
an old segment of ours that we used to have
at the TSN studios called the road trip stories or
whatever it was. Traffic report, traffic reports, that's.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
What it was.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, so so from Saint Catharinees obviously driving into Branford
for Bulldogs games, for for Junior B games for the
Branford Titans as well, you know, driving through Hamilton and
up the Red Hill in the link, which I still
think eighty kilometers an hour is a horrible idea for
a freeway, just my personal opinion. But this past weekend

(07:00):
you see city workers out on the highway grabbing like
the trash and picking up trash at the side of
the road. Why don't we have prisoners do that? Like
we see that in the States. And Troy is the
car one of the color commentators for the Branford Bulldogs.
Former cop you might have the answer for this, So
I'm probably gonna get a d M. But why don't

(07:20):
we make prisoners pick up trash?

Speaker 3 (07:21):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
That was part of my road trip report from this
past weekend, because like I feel like the city could
save a ton of money. Instead of sending out city workers,
we send out prisoners to actually do that in their
orange jumpsuits. You have them chained up still, but enjoy uh,
enjoy picking up the trash guys because uh, I mean
it fits the crime. Just my personal opinion. But and

(07:44):
I mean, yeah, you would get the ones that would
try to run away, of course, but don't cops have guns.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
I don't know, yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
Just my road trip thoughts on this past week.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
I don't know, I know, yeah, I know it's an
interesting question you uh you were, I don't know, Yeah,
I know, it's interesting for sure. And on the stage
it's yeah, that's kind of what. I don't know.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Just I had to get that off my chest because
I know we had a road trip thoughts segment when
we were at TSL, So that was just an observation. Also,
and this has been a common theme calling, at least
in Brantford, teams not having their own buses. Yeah, that's
generals did, like generals did.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
Ottawao did not.

Speaker 2 (08:27):
Yeah, I mean I think I remember one time last
year Larry Malott tweeted out that the twelf storm had
the Niagara Ice Dogs bus.

Speaker 3 (08:38):
I think I remember that too. That makes zero sense. Yeah,
other observation, but they should get first priority. They should
get first priority on the on the buses for sure,
like if you don't. Obviously, I don't think they owned
the bus lines. A bus line company would, but I
and honestly, it's like a respecting It's like why do
you tuck in your dress shirt? You know?

Speaker 1 (08:59):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, Like it's just cool. It's just one of those things.
I feel like it's a pretty strong unwritten rule, might
well be a written rule.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
But no, I agree with you on that one one
hundred percent.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
I thought. I think like it's worth it just to
pay the little extra for some may for some teams,
you know, expenses are what they are, four oh seven bills,
postgame meals, they add up. So I think that it's
one of those things that for some teams it's unfortunate,
but hopefully, hopefully, hopefully teams can step up and do it.

(09:35):
But well, I know it's hard to pay for the rap,
so I don't know. Yeah, boss, I agree priority, Like, yeah, no,
I agree, I agree one hundred percent. I do. I
think that, but you never know, right, expenses are what
they are. Joking aside like it's a reality sometimes, but

(09:57):
most teams that can't afford it, I hope push that
to the bus lines. Maybe that's why we do see that.
Maybe that's why the teams that you bring the buses in,
that's what Maybe maybe it is a thing. I don't know.
I all joking inside. I think expenses are it is
what they are, right, but hopefully hopefully teams do that.
This just looks better. It looks it looks great when
you go in, when you pull in the arena and

(10:18):
you see the bus there, uh under the arena, you know,
pulling in the arena, it's actually a team's bus. Little honestly,
the little stuff about seeing the bus on the highway,
I remembers a little kid. Batter Bus the official spot
bus supplier, lot of night, all the time I was
a little kid. Every single time I saw a batter bus,
I would say that because a lot of nights at
the time, and know Sarnia's batter bus as well. But

(10:39):
batter Bus and Chuck's reaster the two things. You ask
me whose bus they are? Where Chuck's there's a third one.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
There's a third one. Every time you drive past Holly Gully.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
Yeah, Holly Gully, London Night's hockey. Uh yeah, well it
used to be uh Rockies presenting nights on the power Play,
but then Rockies closed down. I think they close down.
I know the one on the Highways closed and I
think that's the only one that there was. But I'm
not one hund percent share with that one. But if
you need to know where the Chucks is just just
down the road on Wellingcoon. Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
So to to get to some of the headlines here,
the Oshawa Generals and the and the Sue Greyhounds hooking
up for a trade this past week, and not necessarily
a small trade. I don't know how big it is either,
but the Sue Greyhounds sending Charlie Hilton and their sixth
rounder in twenty twenty eight to the Oshawa Generals for

(11:36):
Oshawa's third and twenty twenty nine and a conditional tenth
in twenty and twenty nine. And I did see the
voice of the Generals Jack Moore tweet out that he's
been around the club, made the trip to Brantford, has
not played yet, however, it looks like his debut is
planned for this week slash weekend.

Speaker 3 (11:55):
I guess you could say, well, quite the story. From
the outside looking in. From the outside looking in, it
looked like he was almost done with hockey. I gotta
be careful of how I phrase that. But from the
outside looking in and the questions that Jack was getting,
it looked as if like there's a lot of questions
that you're not coming to Austin. I'm the area, so
that I wouldn't. I'd be surprised if not, but hopefully

(12:16):
you know if that's the case. And it looks like
when you look at the numbers, it looked like you
need to change that part. I can see from the
outside looking in that part, I can see that it
looks like you need to change. You look like a
change of scenery. Going to Oshawa. There's gonna be a
lot of opportunity. He's a big forward. They have a lot
of big forwards, guys like Grigowski. Look at the guys
they have there the imports draft. They got big forwards.

(12:38):
Kind of fits that core of what they have. You
get in an opportunity, and I think that's the main
part about this trade. Fresh start and an opportunity, you know,
to get some energy in your career. And it's tough
sometimes when you get older. In the OHL, we see
this every year and I'm pulling for him, like honestly,
like I hope, I hope he goes to Oshawa light

(13:00):
it up, gets the opportunity because if you get that opportunity,
and we see this all the time, and it's the
best part about the OHL too, one of a million
reasons why the OHL is the best league in the
world because you see this all the time, and guys
go to places they need to get out of a spot.
They're in a spot, and that, Yeah, you know, it's
a struggle every single day. It's it sucks going to
the rank. Maybe I don't agree with the coach. Maybe

(13:21):
all the I'm not saying for this situation, it's that's
all the case. But sometimes you need to change. You
get that change, you go somewhere. All of a sudden,
you're getting a pro contract at the end of the year,
and yeah, like I was almost done playing hockey and
now all of a sudden, I'm playing pro. That's the
part about the OHL that's so cool. We see this
every year and I hope the heck there's an opportunity there.

(13:42):
I really do listen to this, Like I hope, Like
you know, I hope that Oshawa gives the opportunity. And
from what I saw this weekend and the last weekend
in person, other than Owen Griffin, no one's beating me offensively,
So there should be a great opportunity here. And I'm
very excited to see what can happen here. I really am.
I hope that I hope that everyone in Oshawa supports

(14:04):
them and put the phones down and support the team.
But I'm excited to see what can happen here. I
really am. I think that this is a good opportunity
for the player, and that's the end all be all
right now, the players are the quality on the ice.
That's what makes everything hell, that's that's a ticker for
every single fan. That's why we go to the games.
Players they're the ohl And I'm excited to see what
can happen here, I really am. I'm gonna be following

(14:24):
it closely. Yeah, yeah, I was actually gonna go right
where you did.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yeah, other than Griffin, And I mean to know, not
to Danford's fault, but he plays forty minutes a night,
thirty five to forty minutes a night, and you know
it's tough to be effective for all of those forty minutes.
But this kind of transitions into one of our main
headlines as we start to see players come back and
we'll trade, well, the domino start to fall with with trades.

(14:52):
But when you look at Ben Danford, he's the guy
in the back end. We knew that he was going
to be back out of the He could say the
three headed monster of Richie, Seneca, and Danford. There was
a chance that rich there's a how do I word this,
there was a chance that two out of three came
back because Richie was not coming back. Seneca was Okay,

(15:13):
we'll see you, than Richie too, yep, exactly. So you know,
Danford I think was the lock to come back. So
you know, you start to have the conversation once the
Luchenko's of the world are back and and the Martins.
And that's not to say Brady Martin's gonna get traded
if he does, Okay, I I don't think that will happen.

(15:38):
But but for for Ben Danford seems like a guy
that will be somewhere else at least once the trade
deadline's done. Could be sooner, of course, but Colin, for
for Ben Danford. We had this conversation earlier on on
the on our Bulldogs show on the podcast on the
Bulldogs Audio Network about you know the rumors out there
that Bulldogs are after dan Ford there calling them every day,

(16:00):
which is false.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
That is true.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
That is a flat out lie. They've checked in. Don't
get me wrong, they're They're not stupid. They've got to
do their homework on Ben Danford because he is one
of those pieces that I'm going to assume will be
made available if he's not available already. Just that is
good management by the Oshawa generals because they have zilch

(16:24):
in the in the draft pick cupboard call. And I
know you had that up earlier looking at that. So
if you're a team looking at Ben Danford, a what
do you think a Ben Danford trade looks like? And
by that, I mean what goes to Oshawa for Ben Danford?
And you know what, for him it might be a
welcome site to go elsewhere. So he's not playing thirty

(16:46):
five to forty minutes and burn himself out by December.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
Oh absolutely. And I mean for any general manage, you're
buying no knock, no knock. I've already we've already criticized,
said Bury walls a lot. But if any offer comes,
and that's what the Oustawa generals want of what Ottawa
got for Henry Mus, you hang up the phone right now.
If you're buying GM, that is no not no. Yeah,

(17:11):
that's a different world and you pivot elsewhere. No. But
the way I look at it is, I'm gonna have
an offer like a Connor Smith type deal last year. Right,
it was probably the best player available at the deadline
last year. On the back end, BC. You can attest
to this too if you need, if you can come on.
I know you're muted, but it's like I think, like
Connor Smith had to be the best defenseman available, definitely

(17:33):
the biggest, the most aggressive guy available last year the deadline,
the guy that was moved. But you look at their
picks Connor Smith, Right, this is the deal last year
with Brampton Owen sound of Brampton A second, two seconds,
a third, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh and a tenth. Yeah. Probably,

(17:54):
Like I think that's a mutual deal. If Oshwell wants
a player, I look at their team. They're a young team,
they're gonna pivot. I think, then you're in maybe a
player one last pick, but Andrew Gibson, right, Andrew Gibson
last year, So Saint Marie Oshawa, Brady Smith goes to
goes to sue broadcasters everywhere really enjoyed that. And then

(18:17):
Oshawa one second, one third, two fourths or three fourths, sorry,
three fourths two six is in a seventh? Okay, I'm
down with that. Those are the two best guys available
probably last year Gibson and uh Connor Smith. Those two
guys were definitely the most sought after. Do you want

(18:38):
to bring up a third? Cam Allen gwel Storm, one
of Knight's Noah Jenkins, goes to Gwelph. He's had a
decent start to the season for the Storm. Two seconds,
two thirds, two fourths and a fifth in a player,
So we kind of you kind of know what you're
looking for. I don't think I don't think you're gonna
be able to give up all those seconds, all those thirds.

(18:59):
Like guy, I think it'll be two seconds two thirds. Yeah,
I can see that, but it's not gonna be three seconds.
It's not gonna be that outrageous. And if it is,
you hang up the phone asap because that's what I
gave Sudbury hack for. So yeah, if it gets if
it gets too then you hang up the phone and yeah,
pivot elsewhere, because that's when you get leverage in the
bargaining and in that negotiations, in the trade talk. That's

(19:21):
when you get leveraging that deal.

Speaker 2 (19:25):
Yeah, and I mean, Colin, I'll ask you this question
because for the people watching us on YouTube, we've got
Oshaua's draft pick list up on our screen. For those listening,
I'll kind of read things out for you. They have
no second or third round pick for the next four drafts.
They have no fourth round pick this year or next year, well,

(19:46):
twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven, no fifth rounder in
twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven, and they've got or
no fifth in twenty twenty eight too. But then they've
got a sixth inn in twenty six, no twenty seven,
And then it looks a little better than the than
the front half of the draft looks. But but for
the Oshawa generals, you don't have the luxury of getting

(20:10):
a Richie back so you can move him for all
the picks. You don't have the luxury at least yet.
I don't think it's gonna happen. There's still a chance
because he's not at nine games yet. I don't think
he isn't Beckett Seneca with the with the Anaheim Ducks.
Maybe I'm gonna lean towards no. Again, Anaheim is in
no position to win a Stanley Cup. There's no reason

(20:32):
to send him back to Oshawa. Plus, you drafted him
third overall. That looks really bad on you if he's
not on the team within two years of him being drafted.
So I've gone into that before. But does this make
you hang on to Danford longer to get see if
you can get a bigger return?

Speaker 3 (20:49):
Sure? Is this?

Speaker 2 (20:51):
I have the picks on the table right now that
I'd love to have back, So I'm doing it. You know,
you have to weigh that option if you're Roger Hunt.
But but for for you call and what what would
you lean towards? Would you wanna hold out and keep
them for as long as possible see if you can
get another pick, or do you see what you like
early and they're like, nope, I want them. I want
to guarantee I have those picks. We're doing it now.

Speaker 3 (21:13):
I'm holding World Junior bumps the thing. If he gets
the invite to the World Juniors, I'm sure he's gonna
get the invite. If he makes the World Junior team,
I'm sure he's gonna make the World Juniors. Well, there's
a World Junior bump Canada goes and wins a gold
there's an extra pick. Believe it or not, that's a thing.
We know that first hand from try and Donovan and
Bulde out. Yeah, that's the thing. So I'm holding on
to him because right now, if you trade Ben Danford

(21:36):
right now, and plus there's only one team in the
Eastern Conference that's kind of okay, They're gonna be in
contention come another month from now because they have a
five point cushion in first place. So I mean cut,
I mean feathers in a cushion can go out real
quick if you have one bad weekend. So I'm not
I'm not gonna jump the assumptions. But I don't think

(21:57):
you do it now. I don't think you do it now.
It's October. There's all you're gonna be November. But there's
only one team in the East that knows who they are.
You look at the West seven games ago, a London
never never had a win. Now they win seven in
a row and all of a sudden, Hey, watch out right,
Like I I believe that you're gonna you're gonna hold
onto them. And in house too. Watching the Oshawa Generals

(22:20):
last four games, if they didn't have Ben Danford, what's
the scores like? Good luck? Yeah time, If they didn't
have Ben Danford on their team, I don't see them
winning another ten games. Yeah, that's like and it's too early,
it's too early to do that. Yet you need the
leadership there. He's a guy, he's a popular guy in

(22:43):
the dressing room, he's your captain. You gotta you gotta
write the ship here. We saw it last year and
no one sound Connor Smith, I believe you gotta hold
onto him until you can't. I don't think. I don't
think the month difference is gonna make a difference after
seeing what Mason McTavish got when he was in Olympics
only basically three weeks in the regular season when he
was trade to Hamilton from Peterborough at the time. And

(23:05):
the Bulldogs will make that yeld seven days out of
seven again. But I just think you look at the
standings right now in the in the Ohl, you look
at the West, you look at the East. The West
is definitely getting more established in the East. But last week,
if you would have told me Owen Sound was gonna go,
that they were gonna go win less right and fall out,
I would have been like, well, maybe we could see it.

(23:26):
But the goaltending is good there, like they have the
best trio in the league.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
Can only take you so far though, yees.

Speaker 3 (23:33):
Yeah, that's the thing. It can only take you so far.
Injuries happened, Scratches had to happen, to situations in the lineup,
It happens, and schedule gets harder. I mean, look at Sarnia.
Sarnia played two with winsor one with Branford, one with
London what Owen Sound, Yeah, look that schedule. Like, I

(23:55):
just think it's early to make the I think it's
early to make those trades. It's early to make those
commitments yet, because teams gotta know what they got and
you got to establish a culture for this year and yeah,
and you never know, right like Osawa, Yeah, they're four
and six in the last ten. What happens if they
go out and they they win the next two? This weekend, right,
all of a sudden, they're probably fitting. They're probably sitting

(24:16):
pretty in sixth seventh place in the Eastern Conference. And
it's like, well, let's keep writing it out right, Like
I just think that it's early yet, it's a long year.
You don't want to be out of it in November.
Don't want to be out of it November. You don't
want to be like the Chicago White Sox of baseball
or the Toronto ay Leaves of the NHL and be
out of it in November. Congratulations to the Buffalo Sabers,
by the way for the split. I wish they would

(24:36):
have won the second one, but yeah, clips Fluke's happened.

Speaker 2 (24:41):
Well, I mean, speaking of the Leafs, like with Danford
playing in the GTA for junior and being a Leaf's pick,
the business side of things that gets you an extra
hundred tickets sold at least, you know, the Leafs aspect
of it. You know, does it not paying to go
see a Leafs game because as they go bankrupt, let

(25:01):
we're going to Oshawa to see to see a first
rounder for the least a couple of years ago. So
there's that part of it as well. And and I
didn't think we'd be having this conversation the way Sudbury started.
But the Generals are the first team in the Eastern
Conference lose ten games. They are currently in ninth place,
as you can see in the standings, like it's we
didn't expect that at all being a five and ten team.

(25:23):
The Wolves are.

Speaker 3 (25:23):
Four to eight.

Speaker 2 (25:27):
Lost, where the heck, yeah four one, Yeah, stupid websited
crunched the numbers. But but but yeah, it's who would
have thought we would have said that. So yeah, yeah,
definitely definitely early for sure. But I'm sure those calls
are there, just not every day. So and I mean,

(25:48):
speaking of calls, I feel for the Guelf Storm and
their phone bill, who for whoever has to pay that.
Because Jet Luchenko. On Monday, it was announced that he
had been returned to the to the Ontario Hockey League
from the Philadelphia Flyers, and a lot of people are
saying that it's Branford the front runner. He's going to Branford,

(26:08):
Luchenko to Branford. Get it done. There's some stuff to
be done. I mean there were the rumors last year
as well, like you said, Colin, but but Jet Luchenko
and We had this conversation last week when when we
were talking about make a decision, but no for for
Luchenko and for the Storm. Again, I don't know necessarily

(26:29):
think that you have to do it right away. I
think he gets dealt before before the deadline, like well
in advance. Yeah, Like I think we could see something
in the next three weeks unless the Storm are like, no,
we're gonna keep them and we're gonna get fans in seats.
Not that gwelf Storm have had an issue with that.
They've actually been been really good on on filling that

(26:51):
building over the last two three seasons. But but there's
also that fact that people are gonna come see the
twelf Storm just for Jet Luchenko. So so you have
to to weigh that option as well. So what do
you think on Jet Luchenko, Colin?

Speaker 3 (27:03):
Is it is it immediate?

Speaker 2 (27:04):
Is it in for within four weeks? Is it the deadline?
What do you think it's.

Speaker 3 (27:09):
Either the week before like guys go to World Juniors,
like end in November, or it's deadline day July tenth
or January tenth. Oh my gosh, January tenth. I think
that you have to let them play here. I think
the best We're advice or jet Lachenko is And you've
seen this all the time when guys get sent back,
it can be a struggle sometimes. And I think the

(27:30):
best advice for jet Lachenko would be from the gwell
Storm would be go play your game. Go play your game,
and what will be will be. It'll work out the
way it'll all work out. You're gonna have control of
the situation. You have your trade clause. We're gonna respect
where you want to go. You're gonna get the chance
to pick where you're gonna want to go. We're gonna
give you options. But right now for us the next month,
you gotta play. You gotta play for us, you gotta

(27:52):
get you gotta be the example. You gotta set the
standard for us. This is you know our situation, come back,
play your game, play your game, go to the World Juniors,
and then the rest will work its way out. What
happens happens. And I think that's kind of the way
you gotta approach the situation because if you're thinking about
getting traded every single day, and I'm and this is
one thing though, that Gwelph behind closed doors, gwelf knows

(28:15):
this situation better than anybody obviously, And for sure, Jet
Lachenko knows where he's playing hockey for the for the
right now, he knows. I expect them to be in
Gwelph or I think they play an erie on Thursday night.
Go there, play your lead. Yeah, and you imagine that
crowd in Pennsylvania. I wonder how many Flyer fans are
an eerie. But it feels like it's a penguin area.

(28:38):
But anyway, yeah, a little bit closer, Yeah, closer, I
should say, yeah, But I think with Jet, you just
gotta go there, play your game, focus on playing for
the gwel Storm, Bleeder, set the standard for the younger players,
take them under your wing, and then what will happen
will happen. But I think the writing's on the wall
glf Storm. You look where they are in the standings, right,

(28:59):
they're in a play. They're not going to be better
than London this season. They're not gonna be better than
own sound in them. Maybe if you mean the Jet
takes off right like, they might be pready get like
that might be a little bit of a good matchup
to watch, But they're not better than Kitchener better than
the Eerie but like that's kind of a situation right there.
So maybe they get the sixth place in the West,

(29:22):
but writing's on the wall for that and it'll happen
when it happens.

Speaker 2 (29:26):
Hun, And you also get the factor of the Memorial
Cup announcement coming in I think it's mid to late
November about who will win that bid between Kitchener and Gwelph.
Does that play a factor of when Luchenko goes. I'm
not so sure because I don't think you plan to
host a Memorial Cup with jet Luchenko in your lineup
next year, so so it probably doesn't. But but it's

(29:47):
just interesting to think about that that timeline's coming up soon,
and that that deadline for the announcement's coming up soon.

Speaker 3 (29:53):
Well, if they want to be good, if they even
if they don't get the even if they don't get
the Men Cup and they finished second place in the bidding,
even if that happens, if they're showing interest in the
mem Cup, obviously it takes a pressure off of like
going for it next year if you want to. But
right the way it lines up in their four year cycle,
it kind of makes sense for GWLF to go for

(30:14):
it next year. You know, like either way I would
make that move. Either way, I would make that move.
Give me the opportunity to go for it next year.
They've already made it. They already traded a couple of
picks for Patrick Babb and yeah, Patrick Babb, it's not
really a proven player in the Antario Hockey League, but
for next year, it could be a really good pick
for them. That could be a really good pick up
for gwelf looking back at it, for just two picks.

(30:34):
So those are the picks that those are the deals
that you have to make to take the chance for
next year either way, get the Memcup, don't get the
mem Cup. If you're gonna go for it, you gotta
go all in and set yourself up now to get
that chance over the summer to make those ads with
the picks that you receive, or get young talent and
get them in the system next year a few months
earlier then they wouldn't for next season. It sucks talk

(30:56):
about next year already, but that's the way of the business. Now,
that's the way of the business, right, that's hockey. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (31:02):
Uh, speaking of guys getting sent back from the NHL,
that we're just sitting on their butts doing nothing. Brady
Martin back from Nashville to to the Sue Greyhounds. I
think that happened like hours after we released the show,
or even just the next day. But but Brady Martin
to Sue Saint Marie. Yeah, yeah, right, yeah, good good timing, Nashville. Thanks,

(31:23):
but effect so so and again, it was inevitable. It
was gonna happen eventually. It was just a matter of
how much they wanted him to sit in a press
box not playing hockey, so Brady, and then then they've
got a plan. I'm not knocking the Nashville Predators. They
obviously have a plan for him. I don't know what
sitting in a press box teaches a man except how
to play in the NHL. Potentially from above, I don't know.

(31:48):
But Brady Martin, captain of the Sue Greyhounds as well.
Let's start with the jerseys calling because this is really
bothering me. Oh yeah, I'm not a fan of the
way this looks with the letters. And then, to be
honest with you, even with Oshawa on the weekend, looking

(32:08):
at their jerseys and where their letters were because of
the where the Jersey ad was.

Speaker 3 (32:12):
I get it.

Speaker 2 (32:12):
You gotta make money. I'm not stupid. I know how
the business world works. I to be fair, it looks
like tape. When I first saw the photo, I'm like,
is that tape? Is that a taped seas that a
taped eight like it? It looks like flint the flint
firebirds pressed on.

Speaker 3 (32:29):
Numbers. That's what the picture for those watching on YouTube.
Yeah no, I yeah, no, I agree with you. I don't.
I mean, I always I'm a believer that if you're
the captain of a team, the sea has to be
front and center. It's got to be there to be bold,
you're the captain. Everyone knows who are. It's got to

(32:50):
be out there. That's probably the tradition. That's the way
your team should be. That's how it should be showcased.
But it's out there. But yeah, no, it's kind of weird.
And it's almost the sea's almost on the shoulder with
the with the shoulder pads on, like the equipment on.
It'll be like on the shoulder. That'll be interesting where
it is.

Speaker 2 (33:07):
Well, And I like we said it about the Bulldogs
ones too, Like I'm not even a fan. Where the
sea is on jaco'brien's jersey, like, I don't know, it's
kind of tucked under his armpit a little bit. Again,
jersey ad, you're right, you gotta make money. I'm not
I get it.

Speaker 3 (33:20):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (33:21):
But no, maybe I'm old school, maybe I like it
a certain way. But yeah, I mean, for let's let's
talk about the player. Let's get away from the jerseys.
But uh, for for Brady Martin again, I don't think
we're gonna talk about him being moved from the Sue Greyhounds.
That's not what this conversation is going to be about.
I'm just more intrigued of what he does to this

(33:41):
lineup immediately, and and I expect to need an impact.
I don't think there'll be a matter of him, Oh,
give him a week to get back in a regular form. Nah,
he'll be in regular form. He'll be fine. And the
way he plays, he's engaging. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like so
for the Sue Greyhounds, I don't necessarily put them as
can tenders in the Western Conference now, But but are

(34:03):
they Are they a team where you get a couple
of pieces, maybe you win around do you stay put?
Like I'm curious your thoughts on the Sue Greyhounds and
what they do now that Martin's back and they can
fully kind of understand what their team is, what they
have to add, maybe what they have to subtract like that.
So that sort of situation, no I expect, you know,

(34:24):
I I like rare Sue is right now. Either for
they are in the standings, You're in a good spot
to start the year. I think it's a medium build.
I don't know, like they have a chance. Obviously it's November.

Speaker 3 (34:36):
I don't like talking about where they are, like where
they are, they're in fifth place in the standings right now.
I think you are you at? Are you at that timing?
Similar to what like possibly what Niagara could do in
the Eastern Conference where you build to go second, second round,
win around being a good round in the first round

(34:58):
and then see what happens. The rest is house money
after you went around, Like that's kind of what it
feels like for Sue. But you get Brady Martin back,
that's a big one. Goaltending is a thing there right
Like you can see the you'll see the good game
from Miller, then you'll see the tough bounce like that
not to bring those up. But the like it's gonna happen.
But I just think that where Sue is right now,

(35:18):
they're in the five spot time for fourth. I think, like,
you never know, nothing's off the table there. Let's wait
and see. We just got our captain back. Yeah, it's
only been a week. Here we go. We might go
on a run here and then all of a sudden,
you're big buyers, right, they have, they have the picks
to do so. So if they want to buy, they
have the picks to do so. But next year would

(35:39):
be a celler So yeah, we'll see.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
Yeah, I mean, he'll immediately help the power play that's
operating just under twelve percent at eleven point nine.

Speaker 3 (35:48):
Uh, big time.

Speaker 2 (35:48):
That is second worst in the Western Conference. The only
team with the worst power play to erie Otters at
nine point one, which is a big explanation and reasoning
why they're in tenth place right now. So so you
get a you get a nice boost there. If they
play them on the PK that that should help as well. Again,
well we'll see how they decide to do it. I'm
sure Martin would fully do that if it helps his team,

(36:09):
give his team a better chance to win, he'll be
on the wee. Yeah, so he'll be so you should
see improvements there. But yeah, it's it's not let's see,
I'm kind of with you on that. If they could
win around and play with house money, then that's probably
probably what we're going to see.

Speaker 3 (36:26):
So for Windsor's hand, Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely so.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
And we also got breaking news b C in that. Yeah,
look at you go, Emil Hemming back to the Barry
Colts And that's right on because we just we have
a question about that.

Speaker 3 (36:46):
We do we do.

Speaker 2 (36:47):
Clad he might as well might as well go for it,
read it off.

Speaker 3 (36:50):
Yeah, we got the Danfred hair the way, but we
have the we have one here about one of the
biggest surprises for someone as being Berry in their performance.
They look solid, but obviously you look where they are
in the state on paper. I mean talked about it before,
Brad Gardner in a way you talk about Cole Bode,
when you talk about Kaysehan Aherson. Now, Emil Heming, you
look at those opportunities, right, you look at the opportunities there.

(37:14):
What do you think, like Heming's there.

Speaker 2 (37:16):
Does this make out a second year in a row?

Speaker 3 (37:20):
Maybe not all in.

Speaker 2 (37:21):
Because a lot of their young talents in North Bay
from last year.

Speaker 3 (37:24):
But but on paper they're better than Niagara in their division.

Speaker 2 (37:30):
Does that give Niagara competition now for the division? Because
again for me, part of my reasoning for picking Niagara
was I think the Central Division is gonna suck. And
and that's me being very very honest. I thought the
Central Division was gonna suck coming into this year. I
thought Niagara had that on lock if they could be
smart and have a clean season on and off the ice.

(37:52):
But Emil Heming changes things in the Central Division. And
you know what, it's the end of October early November,
so this is gonna be interesting. I think it's now
a two horse race in the in the Central Division,
not one I.

Speaker 3 (38:06):
Don't want to count of.

Speaker 2 (38:07):
Are gonna make it, are gonna make it tough? Yeah,
I respect.

Speaker 3 (38:12):
Ryan Ulahan and your staff. Mckiver. Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 2 (38:17):
I mean I think this shakes up the Central Division
in the Eastern Conference quite a bit.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
Oh absolutely. I mean Aarry, you look at their you
look at their core five that they got there, right,
Age just and Gardner, bodoin now Hemming like decent goaltending there.
I mean, like you never know, like acid Orian has
ten points in fourteen games. Yeah, Erry, like maybe almost

(38:42):
the best talk he's played, Like, well.

Speaker 2 (38:45):
Calvin Kross, Barry Cult, we saw what he brings to
the table. He's not going to score fifty goals, but
eight fift twenty Like, yeah, kill penalties.

Speaker 3 (38:54):
He's a grinder, that's a old liner. So man, they
have a power play now, right you go Heming Gardener
Boduin Ahison at a young guy with it.

Speaker 2 (39:06):
Yeah, Mike, And this is like this is after a
conversation Calin we had about Ahison getting traded. This has
to change the way Barry looks at their season in
terms of selling. Now, could they still get rid of
guys to recoup some pic Sure, but I don't necessarily
means that's a huge drop off anymore. For the Barry Cults.

(39:26):
Maybe they're a little bit more conservative with Aitchison because
I would say there's really good shot he's back next year.
So maybe that's a move you now make next year,
not this year.

Speaker 3 (39:39):
Like Agison has a term that's definitely appealing for team
if they sell. But getting giving Heming back has to
get you excited in the front office. You got to
give this Bill a chance. You have to give this
a chance, especially where the division's at with the Eastern Conferences.
You gotta give it an opportunity. Right, you can make
it to a conference final. Would you take it? If

(40:01):
you're Barry right now, I would say so, And honestly,
looking at it, there's an opportunity there even a second.
You have home ice to the conference till the conference final.
Like yeah, good point. And obviously there's a lot to
go yet, Like there's a lot, there's a lot left yet.
I mean, you want to talk about excitement tomorrow night,
Branford Barry, Yeah, right, Like if Hemming's in the lineup,

(40:23):
you want to talk about excitement. If it's a return, Wow,
Like that's that's a fun one. All eyes will be
glued on that one. So that's Those are the games
that for Barry. It's gonna be interesting to see what
they are. But I liked I like their goaltending, I
like their forwards up front. Now, I mean you have
a if you could have a top line, if you

(40:43):
could have Gardner, Bodwin and Hemming, Like obviously you have
two centers there, but you can balance it out. Even
Like I'm excited to see what happened here. I think
your power play could take off. That's one thing that
kind of has to get going for them. Twenty three
point one percent their penalty kill unlike unlike Barry obviously
new bench boss there, but sixty six point seven percent

(41:06):
isn't Barry esque that we're used to, right, those guys
like bo Jelsman last year and their skating ability to
score short handed as well is a big loss. But Barry,
they have their top heavy I guess I could say
they have a really good top line. Then they need
those secondary guys to step up here. If they step up,

(41:27):
Barry's in a good spot to win that division without
a doubt. I mean, they have the draft picks, like
it's not it's not horrible. They have no thirds this year,
but they have a second. They have three seconds over
the next four drafts, so you can acquire somebody, but
then you're done for a long time. But you have
a tough decision to make. I think that's that's the
beauty of it. Right, we saw the first fourteen games

(41:48):
for Barry, your four in your four, seven and three.
What are the next fifteen games to game thirty? Like? Right,
next sixteen games I guess what are those like, they'll
get the game thirty. Where are they and if they're
if they're in a better spot than we have an
idea of where they're at. But I you gotta be
excited for your Barry Colts and the potential here. You
can't miss. You're on the middle. You want to talk

(42:09):
about the definition of middle and having a tough decision
on paper, the Barry Cults have the toughest decision in
the Eastern Conference right now at the deadline, and I
know the way, but that's a tough decision to make
because getting coming back might change everything. Plus market, it's
flip season and you're gonna have free agents coming back,
like you're gonna have guys that aren't gonna be able
to make school and they're gonna be coming back what

(42:32):
comes available there, right, So that's one thing too, what
happens in that situation. There's a lot that's gonna happen
in the in the hockey universe, and the Barry Colts
that they could sign a free agent out of the
n C double A. There you go, like the us HL, Yeah,
that's big, that's big.

Speaker 2 (42:50):
Yeah, Yeah, I would for sure definitely say it delays
their decision, like I don't we might not see Verry
active until the deadline now instead of before, you know,
I think, I think for them, it puts them in
a situation to and and sort of similar to what
the Eastern Some teams didn't think so, but sort of
similar situation to what a lot of the Eastern Conference

(43:11):
were in. Eastern Conference teams were in last year. It's
you wait and find out to see if you're buying
for a division title or a Bobby Your trophy, not
an HL championship. Because last year Eastern Conference teams bought
for a Bobby or nobody was beating London. That was
pretty evident you were making trades to win a Bobby

(43:34):
Your trophy.

Speaker 3 (43:35):
Yep.

Speaker 2 (43:36):
You know the Barry Colts were not beating London last year.
If they made to the finals, we saw Oshawa, they
didn't beat London. If they're making it, Subbury wasn't beating London,
Brampton wasn't beating London, Kingston wasn't beating London. All these teams,
Bramford wasn't beating London.

Speaker 3 (43:48):
They bought.

Speaker 2 (43:50):
Some of these teams bought to to lose to London
in the finals. But you get to raise a Bobby
your trophy banner to the rafters. That's about it. So
I think for Barry, you you delay that the process
to what you're gonna do. You still have calls, still
do your due diligence, of course, but you decide are
we let's say it's the Bulldogs, are we are we

(44:12):
buying to make it to the Eastern Conference championship again
to sell more tickets? Are we buying to win a
Central Division or are we buying to win a Bobby
or and we're gonna get destroyed in the OL Championship
by the Western Conference. You know, you gotta make that decision.
And I think for the Barry, like I said, for
the Barry Colts just delays that a little bit. They're
gonna be if he's in the lineup Wednesday, I mean,

(44:35):
watch out, could lost number one and regulation be coming
for the Bulldogs. Things just got a lot tougher if
Heman's in the lineup on Wednesday, TD Civic Center.

Speaker 3 (44:44):
Yeah, no, absolutely agreed. I mean, this is gonna be fun,
This is gonna be fun to see. Having come onto
the scene, it kind of changes everything. Get a big
time player, Yeah, absolutely so.

Speaker 2 (44:55):
James Boyd got the promotion from the Ottawa sixty sevens
to the vice president of hockey Operations for the Ontario
Hockey League, and his residence was in Toronto. This makes
quite a bit of sense geographically. You know, I saw
him in quite a few buildings that was not Ottawa.
Now I've never been to Ottawa, both the city and

(45:18):
the arena, but but it sounds like he was a
lot at a lot of other arenas as well as
as Ottawa. So congratulations to James on this.

Speaker 3 (45:27):
We we had a.

Speaker 2 (45:28):
Fun conversation albeit brief, but a fun few conversations with
James Boyd as well as Brian Smiley, the beat writer
for the Branford Bulldogs, during the trade deadline. We saw
him on the phone the entire time. We're like, okay,
well we know what that calls probably the season, not who,
but what last season? You know, I met him for
the first time in Niagara. I believe it was early

(45:52):
last season or two seasons ago. You know, a brief
chat probably has no clue who I am, which is fine.
I'm not important. He is so so great guy to
chat with, albeit for a few minutes. But this is
this is cool to get James Boyd to be the
VP of Hockey Operations. Definitely deserves this title.

Speaker 3 (46:12):
Yeah, great person. Always got the time of day from
James Boyd. Great person, always nice to talk. Traded I
last year with him too, that was cool, great experience.
But no, definitely well deserved and I mean in the
HL getting bigger, So yeah, it's cool. Love it.

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Speaker 4 (48:12):
You're listening to the armchair GM Sports network.

Speaker 2 (48:32):
Let's call the World Juniors next forty. Kitchener and London
are going to host pre tournament games before the World
Juniors that are happening in Minnesota. Of course, the US
hosting the World Juniors this year. And it's not a
Latin via situation.

Speaker 3 (48:50):
It's not Kazakhstan.

Speaker 2 (48:53):
It's Sweden, Canada and Sweden Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, Canada life Place.

Speaker 3 (49:01):
That's unreal.

Speaker 2 (49:02):
Again, it's pre tournament. Read into it however you want.
It's gonna be sold out. I can guarantee that right
now for pre tickets sold out. That'd be nice, for sure.

Speaker 3 (49:11):
That's nice. All right, last week, you guys, you ready
to come on here and give a shot to the night.
Fifty five dollars walk up tickets is a little lit aggressive,
but hey, they saw them. They saw them. Wow.

Speaker 2 (49:23):
I mean, good for them. So I'll ask you this, Colin,
because you brought this up, so I got to give
you credit for it. Minneapolis is not close to London
or Kitchener. Is this to see if this can be
a future World Junior spot? Because we talked about what

(49:46):
this tournament is like in junior markets and not in
I'm paying fifty thousand dollars for lower Bowl seats but
not watching the game Toronto or less expensive Montreal but
still an NHL market. Is Is this an audition to
bring the World Juniors to two junior markets in southwestern Ontario?

Speaker 3 (50:07):
I think we gotta take this to the polls. I
think we gotta take this to the polls. Maybe, uh,
maybe obviously recording right now so I'll get it out
after the show. Maybe we'll say this, Uh, London Kitchener
hosting pre tournament games is in an audition? Were possibly
hosting this event someday? I first seat.

Speaker 2 (50:26):
You'd want it close to Minnesota, like much like the
Camp Buffalo. You're playing games at Meridians Center.

Speaker 3 (50:32):
Yeah. And to be fair, when they played in when
they had their camp in Red Deer before Calgary, the
tournament was in the wasn't the tournament? Oh no, I
guess I was in Oakville. The tournament was in a
year up last, So when it was in Red Deer
their camp they played in Edmonton Calgary, So yeah, I
guess no, Yeah, I think that Campson camp being in

(50:57):
Niagara and not in not in winn a Peg area,
I guess, but you know, like I guess that makes
that Yeah. But Kitchener in London, it could be a
favor of Obviously Mark and Dale harder this stay this year,
it's there, They're in the brass did they do the
Kitchen and Rangers a favor as well? But I think

(51:18):
automatic this is this is could be if if it
goes and shows out. If this goes and sells out
and it's a great show, it's a great spectacle for
a preseason game one. This is a great audi. Is
great for the I HF to say, hey, the two
best markets in the OHL and it's not it's it's
not even close. These are the two meccas of the OHL.

(51:40):
No buts about it. Kitchen in London, you watch the
game at the Otter the or Canada Life Place, you're
going to the game, you're watching that game. And I
think that's why I think that this is a great
opportunity goes and sells out in London. If it goes
and sells out in Kitchener, they got a really good
game for a pre tournament with Sweden. You know Sweden
gonna be up there. I one percent I agree We'll

(52:04):
take this to the polls. We will take this to
the polls as well. But I one hundred percent think that,
without a doubt, this has to rub off. This has
to be a great situation for these two cities to
have a chance. And hey, Kitchen here with the renovations
they did to the eye exactly mem Cup, they're putting
for it. Why not why not put a bit in

(52:27):
for the with the London Knights, the Kitschen range in
the London Nights come together the two cities, the two
cities who always get along so well, are gonna have
a chance to host the World training together? Why not?
Why not? Like it can't like ever since the one
in Halifax and Moncton. Yeah, can never go back to
an NHL barn even Ottawa. Last year. The ticket pricing

(52:50):
in Ottawa was insane. Yeah was it.

Speaker 2 (52:55):
I've never again, I've never been to Ottawa Scotia Bank
still Center. Sorry I was called a Scotia Bank place.

Speaker 3 (53:02):
Holy crap. I was talking about Scotia Bank arena. I
heard you bring Scotia Bank and I said it to
yacht club. It is, But like I mean on TV,
Cannane entire center looks nice. I mean, you have a
bunch of car dealerships around it. It's kind of boring
TD place. I've heard that it has a lot of flaws,
that it's not up to par. But however it's being

(53:23):
renovated down the road, both the football stadium and the
and the hockey arena. But I yeah, I don't know,
it's just whatever.

Speaker 2 (53:33):
For whatever reason, Like I still remember the Jordan Eberley goal,
but it felt ten times better back then than it
did last year. And I don't know why. Maybe because
I was a kid and I really didn't know too
much about I mean, the game of hockey in general.
I never played hockey growing up until I got into
late elementary school. But just maybe from a different perspective,

(53:59):
you know, having a position in the in the Ontario
Hockey League in previous years, covering the Bulldogs, covering the
OHL for the last number of the years, maybe that's it.
But but you're right, Halifax and mon Monkton kind of
I hope it made the double I HF look like
take a step back and be like we've got something here,
and we've had this conversation before, Like there's something to

(54:21):
be said about having it in arenas that only hold
seven thousand or or hold nine thousand, like in like
in London, right, Like I think if you're looking at
two buildings to have it, one for sure will be
in London, but Kitchener and Windsor are probably your secondary
options to have the tournament in and and Kitchener at
the odd, I mean no better setting than that. Windsor

(54:42):
is a nice third choice just because it is newer
than the odd. Obviously a lot of places are newer
than the odd, but it's it just yeah, that would
that would be awesome. It would it would be awesome.
I mean even even in Edmonton, like at Rogers Arena,
nice building, let's keep the NHL there, like let's just

(55:02):
let's keep it separate. There are junior rinks out west
that would die for a tournament like this, Like you
imagine Reagina in Saskatoon having a World Junior Championship awesome,
which I'm pretty sure it's already happened before, but you
go back there, that'd be awesome. Like that is so cool.
And I mean I went Age Arena and Halifax when
we when I went out east in June, they were

(55:24):
getting ready for a jan Arden concert. So that's a
little more mellow than a World Junior championship. But like
that building, like it's old, they're trying to renovate it,
make it look a little bit nicer up to par.
But I I can only imagine what it was like
in that building when Connor Bdard was there in Team
Canada was lighting it up. There's really no better setting

(55:48):
and the odd in Canada life place. If we could
have a World Junior tournament there, Yeah, all right, let's go.
Let's do it, and it and you can see it
up on YouTube for the for the viewers watching us
on the arm Chore GM Sports Network. Uh, the Gail
Center in Niagara Falls will host Canada's camp again. Saint
Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota will will have the World Juniors,

(56:11):
but at the Gae Center Niagara Falls is where you
can watch the camp. And I know they've had it
in Niagara before, it was at the Meridian Center. Like
I said, when when the tournament was in Buffalo. So
that's cool, that's that's awesome to be in our own backyard.
I hope I can make it there to see a
couple of practices, so see a couple of skates. There's
a ton of Ohl talent will be a part of that.

Speaker 3 (56:32):
So can't wait.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
Can't wait to get it started because that's the most
wonderful time of the year, not just because of Christmas,
but two week World Junior Hockey Tournament and then the
Ohl trade deadline, which makes it awesome, uh, directly after.
But a couple of things to get to before we
wrap up the show, and that starts with the players
of the week from the Ontario Hockey League, which we're

(56:54):
announced on Monday, and that starts with the OHL Player
of the Week, Kieran Walton.

Speaker 3 (57:00):
Two games for him.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
He had three goals and five assists for a total
of eight points, and was also a plus two for
the Sudbury Wolves. Definitely him. Glad they're back, Glad he's back.

Speaker 3 (57:12):
Getting hot on my power ranking, Yeah, absolutely, sou boll know.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
Ohl Goaltender of the Week, Ryerson Leanders a couple of
games for him. It was a three and three for
the Bulldogs. David Egero played the second one, but Leanders
got both road starts, one in Sarnia and one in Oshawa.
He won both of them, gave up one goal in
each game, nine to sixty six save percentage and he
made a total of fifty six saves and a couple

(57:41):
of dominating performances, both against the Sarnia Sting and dominating
against the Yoshawa Generals on on Sunday. Rookie of the
Week again, Yako Waisik.

Speaker 3 (57:57):
He's a player to see it? Yeah? Whoa you? You
want to know someone who could benefit about playing with
jet Lachenko and why they shouldn't trade jet Lachenko till
at least December. You imagine old your rookie season, you
get to play with a guy that's gonna be in
the NHL. Not bad.

Speaker 2 (58:14):
Ah Yeah yeah, I don't know why I said again
because this is the first time winning it.

Speaker 3 (58:20):
I'm stupid.

Speaker 2 (58:22):
But Wisik had himself one heck of a week, two games,
one goal and three assists for a total of four points.
And then the have we decided on.

Speaker 3 (58:32):
Go or goal yet? Probably go a go? Yeah? I
always say go. Yeah, I've said g O for the
last couple of months since the summer. Yeah, yeah, fair point.

Speaker 2 (58:45):
It's uh it's againsting gel Dart from the from the
Chatham Roons defending southerlynd Cup champions. I should add two
games he had four points, three goals and an assist
for the Chatham Maroons. And now it's our favorite part
of the show, Collin and not this week.

Speaker 3 (59:03):
We had a few good good points of this week,
but the power rankings around the Ontario Hockey League.

Speaker 2 (59:09):
For those watching, it's gonna be up on your screen
for those listening, here are the top sixteen. Sudbury Wolves
as you mentioned, Colin move up one spot to number sixteen,
Sagana Spirit up to spots to number fifteen. Generals after
dropping a couple of the Bulldogs drop three to number fourteen,
Colts drop one to number thirteen. Battalion drop two to

(59:29):
number twelve, Guelf Storm up four spots to number eleven,
Firebirds up three spots to number ten. Sixty Seven's down
two spots to number nine, Kingston Front Nacts down two
spots to number eighth, sud Greyhounds down three to number seven,
Owen Sound down three to number six, and all of
those teams dropped because of the next three. London Nights

(59:53):
up three to number five, Niagara Ice Dogs up five
to number four after they swept there three and three
a couple again. It's Brampton and one against Kingston Kitchen
Arrangers up two spots to number three. The only two
teams that did not move spots out of all sixteen,
that is the Branford Bulldogs and windsor spit Fires. Branford's
still number one winsor number two. Colin Ward, you can

(01:00:17):
kick things off. Who is team number five this week?

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
For you? Five for me? Oh? Eitel. I'm sorry, but
rank seven in a row. The London Nights number five. Well,
to be fair, I had them four last week. Should
I be sorry to no? I? I I I just

(01:00:42):
went back to it for the first time. They made
my power rankings London, so fair enough, fair enough. I
wanted to apologize in advance because they usually once they're there,
they're there. They're there. I mean, hey, you control your
own destiny. That's the beauty with the power rankings. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:00:56):
Absolutely, Uh number five for me? Uh the Niagara Ice Dogs.
They they move into the top five for me. A
couple against Brampton. That's a that's two big divisional games.
When when you're into the into the latter half of
the season, you're fighting for the division. Those uh, those
early season wins against your division rivals play play pretty

(01:01:17):
big and and they're gonna play Brampton again on Friday.
I think that one's a ni Yeah, yeah, Halloween.

Speaker 3 (01:01:24):
Game in Niagara.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
There their parade during one of the intermissions of costume parades.
So that's something I don't miss about Niagara. It was
it was cool. But yeah, oh well, get the kids out.

Speaker 3 (01:01:36):
Should be fine. They do.

Speaker 2 (01:01:38):
Uh, so they bring kids out onto the ice. I
don't know if they still do carpets brampt PC, you
could chime in on this, but they used to put
carpets all up the ice. They would go from where
those visitors enter the ice. No intermission, oh, so they
would go from where the visitors enter the ice. So
first intermission they go along the boards.

Speaker 3 (01:01:58):
Thanks PC.

Speaker 2 (01:02:00):
But they used to put the carpet out towards center
and then they would stretch it all across the red
line to the penalty box and then they would exit
the rink there. So they do a costume parade for
the for the kids. So they but I mean they
played Brampton three times in a week.

Speaker 3 (01:02:17):
Yeah, that's so that's something. Yeah, but uh Niagara Niagara
number five for me? All right, Well, I hope when
they I hope when they go around there they collect,
they say trick or treat and they get to get
some force. Because fourth on my ranking is the nag
Ice Dogs. They swept in three and three, which was

(01:02:38):
once the impossible for the Ice Dogs is now possibly
their reality. For for me, the nag Ice Dogs. I
mean that with the utmost respect to the Ice Dogs.
I know we've had our run ins, We've had our
past Niagara. You know my thoughts on trading your captain,
that's not gonna change. I'm always gonna.

Speaker 2 (01:02:55):
Be coming up on that time too.

Speaker 3 (01:02:56):
Yeah, I'm always gonna go to bat He's my guy. Gee,
he always gonna Everyone knows that. It listens to the show.
But number four to me, Niagara Ice Dogs. They swept
with three and three. They swept with three and three,
and when you do that, you deserve it. So four
for me, the Niagara Ice Dogs keep the train moving.

Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
Number four is gonna remain the London Nights. Yeah, they're
They're still on a roll. But I've got three teams
that I think are better. So London Night's definitely probably
in my power rankings the rest of the year. And
it started a week early earlier than you anyways. Yeah,
so they're number four. Who's number three for you?

Speaker 3 (01:03:35):
Three? For me? The Kitchen Rangers six two and two
of their last ten. They're that third spot. They're in
the they are the third team that you can say
the second team, but they're the first team that's below
the tier of Windsor Branford. Okay, you're the first team
that you have. Okay, Windsor Branford. Who's next, Kitchener me
Kitcher three?

Speaker 2 (01:03:57):
Yep, yeah, my same for me, exactly the reasoning, right,
you've got that top tier of Branford and Windsor and
then and then below it, it's a Kitchen Rangers. So
solid team. They've they've been rolling of late twenty three
point two percent on the power play. You'd like to
see that penalty kill get a little bit higher seventy
five percent right now, but but they're still Yeah, there's
still number three, number two calling two.

Speaker 3 (01:04:19):
For me, the Windsor spit Fires. Tough loss on tough
loss to saganaw but Sagana, I think is a hungry team.
I think Sagan is a team to watch out for.
You know, they're kind of in that mid spot, right,
but I think that they're a team that you gotta
watch out for and they can be any given night
in saganaw So I'm gonna go with the Windsor spit Fires. Tough,
tough loss to them, but Windsor can Windsor has shown

(01:04:41):
when they are on they're there are force to be
reckoned with. So that's why I mean the spot is
the windor spit Fires. Yeah for me as well.

Speaker 2 (01:04:51):
Similar to the Ohl power rankings that were posted on Monday,
the Windsor spit Fires hard to argue with thirty two
point eight percent on the power playing eighty six point
two percent on the penalty kill. It's just one team
hasn't lost in regulation and that's the only reason the
Windsor spit Fires are number two. So I think that's
pretty obvious for number one calling, you have all the
honors to go through that one.

Speaker 3 (01:05:10):
Branford Bulldogs, this is the best start to a power
play that they've had in the last three four seasons.
But Branford number one there. Yeah, they haven't lost in regulation,
and honestly, you look at their two losses. One was
in a shootout and one was blowing a three or
four goal lead with nobody in the first night of

(01:05:31):
the season. So you look at the two losses and
it's like, well, you can see it going either way.
So that's one thing to look at too for the Bulldogs,
but they've been really get so Branford's one, Yeah, yeah,
I don't I don't need to go through anything else.
You pretty well highlighted it.

Speaker 2 (01:05:47):
Which, by the way, I wanted to get to something
because we forgot about it from from an account on
Twitter that that reached out to us that we posted
the winsor Spitfires account all Spitti's just wanted to shout
that one out because it was it came in a
couple hours before we were recording the show, so I
just want to get to it before we before we

(01:06:07):
wrap it up. But they go on to say, I
think the biggest surprise from here is Barry and their performance,
which we kind of went through yeap looking looking pretty
darn solid of a team before the season just falling apart,
and then he goes as for my boys, the Spits, uh,
there's no easy I mean assume game for them against anyone,
think that a mental reset is needed, but they're still good. Yeah,

(01:06:31):
I think the Spitfires will be okay, They'll they'll be fine.
They played a lot of games, like, holy crap, sixteen games.
A lot of other teams are hovering around the thirteen,
some at fourteen, some at fifteen. But Spitfires have played
the most games so far, so expect some lighter weekends
ahead than most teams. But that'll be beneficial. Yeah, yeah,

(01:06:51):
but you're you're right. I think it's not a bad idea.
They could use a light weekend, I think yep. But
those divisional matchups, like we talk about that those two
Sarnia games pretty often, calling the fact that the Sting
took three out of four points from the Spitfires, like
you know, it's again, it's it's a West Division matchup.
You you expect that from Sarnia to take it to

(01:07:12):
Windsor and and be hard to play against, Like that's
He's absolutely right. The Western Conference is different than the East.
There are no games in the Western Conference. It's very
hard physical. You're absolutely right.

Speaker 3 (01:07:24):
And you know what for Windsor standpoint, the Branford Bulldogs
went in there Friday night and looked horrible. So yeah, yeah, Sarnia,
you I tip your cap to your opponents sometimes too,
and I I mean that is the case here in
this situation. But Sarnia is playing the best hockey they've
played in the Allen the Tank system in some time.
Uh yeah, they're scary. I don't like playing them. I
don't think they'd be a fun team to play against.

(01:07:46):
They have a lot of guys that are the same.
They have their guys up front that are skilled guys,
for sure, but they have a lot of guys that
are that are similar, and they battle, they battle, and
they play to an identity and it's a hard identity
to play against. So that's one thing about playing Sarnia.
And plus they're getting good goaltending right now, which is huge.
And I just think for a windsor standpoint, Yeah, you
get some time off that's gonna help for sure. And

(01:08:08):
it's really I know they played sixteen games. It's early
on in the season, right guy. That's the one thing
about getting guys back. And that's why I say, Hey,
if I'm a team that's gonna trade now, it makes
no sense to you know, you don't even know what
your team is yet. So you get together as a team,
then you go add somebody and it mix everything up again.
So that's why I think if I'm the Windsors pit Fires.

(01:08:29):
Everyone's back now, guys are coming back from NHL camp.
They're back. You're set into the system. They know the
system for me from prior years. It takes some time.
You look on paper, they are what they are. They're
a really good team. They're on paper, they're the best
team in the Western Conference. And that's why I think
at the end of the day, if you're a Windsor,
I mean it's early on in the year, it's one

(01:08:51):
weekend you go, you go to and oh this weekend,
this past weekend means nothing. So and you can see
that happening easily for Windsors. So it's exciting. It's it's
gonna be an exciting year Winsor. So I'd stay patient,
stay calm, and uh, it'll all work out for the
Winters Pitfires. They're gonna be a they're gonna be a
fun team. That's the thing. That's the thing about fans.
Right when you're consuming you have teams that you have

(01:09:13):
solid years, you you get excited, right and then all
of a sudden, expectations you know, one weekend doesn't go
to your expectations, and then years over but it it
should be a uh, they'll be all right in winter
and it should be a fun year the WFCU Center
for sure.

Speaker 2 (01:09:30):
Yeah, and I mean to the fact that you got
to shut out from Michael Newlove against Ottawa, a team
that had a really hot start to the season. You
defeat the sixty sevens to nothing on on home ice
at the WFCU Center, and you get a shout out
from your backup goaltender. That's really promising as well the
fact that you don't have to ride Costanzo for fifty
five games, fifty games, whatever the case might be. So

(01:09:53):
so I thought that was big for the Spitfires. But
but shout out to uh, to all Spitties for that
one fall fall the account.

Speaker 3 (01:10:00):
I love it.

Speaker 2 (01:10:01):
I you know, most of my life lived in Windsor
missed the barn. You know, I always love going to
the w FCU Center so you can see the Taylor
Hall and and Will Cooley bobbleheads over my uh over
my left shoulder. So so the Spitfires are are awesome.
I also have a signed Windsor puck that I have
no idea who signed it. I got to look up

(01:10:23):
number seventeens in the past for the spit Fires I
have yet to do that, so that's my own fault.
But seventeens in the past I've I've got that on
a on a windsor spit firepuck.

Speaker 3 (01:10:33):
So nice.

Speaker 2 (01:10:34):
Yeah, thanks for the thanks for the comment. As always
love sports team's power rankings. Yes, yes, yes, so I
always have my last team and the second last team
and the.

Speaker 3 (01:10:46):
First, but yeah I would put them all last. Yeah yeah,
those are my last Those are my least favorite. For
those on uh, for those on YouTube, those are my
least favorite teams without a doubt. Good job BC, wait
to be on your toes for those not listening on YouTube.
For those not listening, my least favorite teams are all

(01:11:09):
tied for dead last and where they all? The Kansas
City Chiefs every dead last, The New York Flakies, they're
doing a really good job tonight in the Wilcame Series
against the LA Dodgers, Go Jays, the Toronto make me laughs,
heck of a year, heck of a start guy stay hot.
And the Wolverines. I mean, they've never won a national

(01:11:31):
championship in my life that hasn't come with the chiefing
scandal and what kind of coach, what kind of coach
takes a suspension and leaves, just leaves, he quit. I've
never saw a coach champions like Jim Harbaugh did. I
never saw a coach quit on a team like Jim
Harbad did with the University of the Wolverine whatever they're called.

(01:11:52):
But yeah, they're gonna get theirs. But I've never saw
a coach quit on his team like Jim Harbor did.
So they should be proud. They should build a statue
of a quitter and.

Speaker 2 (01:11:59):
In our well, at least their playoff run wasn't a
cake walk like last year.

Speaker 3 (01:12:04):
But anyway, yeah, because we won, we won. We beat
every team. We had six Ohio State had six Top
had six Top ten wins. That's a heck of a year.
Michigan the season. What's that?

Speaker 2 (01:12:18):
Did they lose to in the final week of the
regular season.

Speaker 3 (01:12:21):
And it was game? How did the Potato game go?
The Potato Bowl? We won it? So who cares? We
broke Alabama against nobody. Congrats Alabama. That's the standard at
Michigan though, the Idaho Potato Bowl, that's the new standard.
Against Alabama. Yeah, against nobody, who played? Who play? Didn't
get We didn't a game like Texas who played and

(01:12:42):
we won, no problem, like no one played in the game. Yeah,
all right, good week, good week. Jay got guys on
third and first. Right now, it's Tuesday. It's Monday night.
We're recording Barger's out. They got guys on third and first.
One out, get please get hot, but go go Tigers.

(01:13:03):
That'll do it.

Speaker 2 (01:13:04):
For this week's episode of the Ohl and sixty podcast,
are on a golf course in Cancun with David ortiz
Uh doing tequila shots and smoking cigars and wearing sombreros
that are love man.

Speaker 3 (01:13:18):
Yes, there you go. BC. Yankees lose.

Speaker 2 (01:13:25):
Oh we we appreciated it as always everybody. For for
those tuning in on YouTube on the Armchair GM Sports Network,
and for you listeners listening on audio platforms, thank you
very much. Uh for Colin Ward for BC, I'm Maurice Domani.
We will chat again in seven days.

Speaker 1 (01:13:44):
You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.

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It's Already November? Cream Rising to the Top of OHL - The OHL in 60 Podcast

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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;}It's Already November? Cream Rising to the Top of OHL - The OHL in 60 Podcast