"Small Victories" as IceDogs finish up first OHL Rivalry Week - Dog Pound 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 (00:30):
This is Rod Mahood, your in game voice of the
Niagara Ice Dogs, and you're listening to the dog Pound Podcast.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
On the Armchair GM Sports.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Network, your podcast hourse for all game analysis, team interviews,
and up to date news regarding the Niagara Ice Dogs.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Over time Ice Dogs, Winford Brush a.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Pill also Kim It's a power playgel Many Ice Dogs.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Heady Scar host sang First School as an Ice Dog
Trump Stop Shipley.

Speaker 5 (01:07):
Gritchie Scar gets it to a kill.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Thomas Thomas has the ankle coming into Welcome into another
episode of the dog Pound Podcast, the official podcast of
your nag or Ice Dogs, right here on the Armchair
GM Sports Network. Thank you. Those that are tuned in
on our YouTube channel and video for make sure to

(01:30):
hit Like Hit subscribe to Smash that Belts. They update
with all of our video coverage here on the network,
as well as those that choose listen to us on
your favorite on demand audio platform. Thank you very much
for so as well. You can also give us a
follow on x at dog Pound Podcast. They update with
all of our Ice Dogs coverage and giveaways. Got more
of those coming up. We're gonna hear possibly a couple
of code words in today's show if you want to win.

Speaker 6 (01:52):
Twell of them already, Yeah, do that.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
That's the teaser. That's the teazer.

Speaker 6 (01:59):
Oh man, no giveaways coming. I love it. We're gonna
make this a regular thing hopefully, which is awesome. Yeah,
moving back to the community and you guys, which is awesome.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
So again we're gonna touch on a couple of different
subjects on today's show. But again, if you want to
get in on more of our ticket giveaways as well,
we posted videos on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and all that
fun stuff by searching the Armchair, GM Sports Network and
far of our short reels and content. So Christian Simmons
and Brandon kbudor with you to break down the Ice

(02:28):
Dog's rivalry week back to back against the Eerie Otters,
but also some other news to discuss for the Ice
Dogs patiently waited for us to record an extra day here,
but thank you to Restream for making this delay to day.
But you definitely don't get our dog Biscuit of the week,
but we will be giving out a dog biscuit each
at least for an Ice Dog's player that we thought

(02:50):
was definitely stood out this week in a positive way.
And again for those wondering about programming, We're not going
to have a postgame show after either of the Friday
or Saturday home games, but we will have our big
end of month recap episode with a giveaway on there
as well. We're gonna hear from Ice Doug's Captain Kevin
he on Captain Kev's flight Deck, as well as the

(03:12):
general manager for our monthly maintenance segment with Frankie Vola.
So stay tuned for that early to mid next week
for a big end of October episode. So Christian getting
into the show today. Topics on deck today, the split
in the Home and Home with Arie, We're gonna talk
about Ryerson Edgar named to Canada the World You seventeen

(03:33):
Challenge head Go. We're gonna hear head coach Chris Barches
thoughts on the weekend as well. The overager situation has
been finalized in the last Over the last week since
we last recorded, Brady Washton has returned to the lineup
and updated Central Scouting grades with six. Yes it is six.
I forgot about Matthew Humphries. I'll make sure my sources
are double checked next time when I'm going through that

(03:53):
Central scouting list. So let's talk about your boy, Ryerson Edgar. First, obviously,
it's a big, big, sixteen year old season for him.
The Ice Dogs got him signed in the summer, which
was obviously big, and he's come in with high expectations.
But he's also been able to I think meet those
expectations so far. That was the graphic they put up.

(04:14):
He did have a goal in the in one of
the games against Eerie as well, so his point total,
his goal total, he's even higher than that. But what
are your thoughts on him being named to Hockey Canada
for the World You seventeen challenge is going to be
leaving us for a couple of weeks at the end
of October beginning of November. But again, any time you
get to represent your country and put on that Hockey
Canada sweater, it's special.

Speaker 7 (04:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (04:35):
No, the puppy is turning into the big dog in
a hurry, and that's that's something that when I thought
about it, I was like, I gotta say, this is like,
you know what, it's just for me. It's so impressive
and he's really you know, inspiring a lot of people
in the locker room. You know, you saw what Kevin
he said about him. You know, I want to play
with this guy. I love his compete and I think

(04:58):
that's the big one for me. His compete has been
fantastic so far this year. He's really sliding into that
Chris BArch DNA of You know, we're gonna compete every night.
You know, he's a skilled guy, but he also plays
with you know, a ton of edge and for such
a young guy, you know, he's he's really showcasing his
skill sets. You know, what a great thing for him

(05:21):
and his family. So I guess first and foremost congratulations
to Ryerson Edgar and the entire Edgar family up in
Holland Landing, Ontario. I'm sure there's gonna be a parade
in the streets for this guy. A huge to represent
your country at any level, and of course at the
World Challenge, it's gonna be great for him. So for me,
you know, I take a look at what he's done

(05:43):
so far. He's got eleven points in eleven games. He's
fifth in rookie scoring this so far this season and
the highest scoring two thousand and nine born player on
that list. There's a couple of guys in front of him,
all two thousand and eight born. So he's been exceptional.
He's dazzling, and he's doing it on a team that

(06:06):
is very, very good. We have a deep top six,
which is giving him the opportunity. But he's doesn't look
out of place. He's sliding into a top six, sixth
role with a ton of extremely talented players, and he's
making plays out there, you know. And I love his speed.
I love the way he moves his feet. He doesn't
look out of place, doesn't look out of place at all.

(06:28):
And I think Niager's got to be really happy with
where they got him in the draft. I think, you know,
being the tenth overall selection, and some of those guys
that may have been drafted before him have not had
as successful starts to their rookie seasons as he have.
And I think for the Ice Dogs organization and for

(06:51):
Frank is just it's a huge win to have your
sixteen year old playing the way that he is at
the beginning of the season. It's going to be tough
to see him go, for sure, but huge news for
Ryerson Edgar and nothing but congratulations in order.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
I'm not even gonna acknowledge your outfit today, Christian, Hey, so.

Speaker 6 (07:08):
You know what, I was a little bit disappointed when
you decided to go right into the Ryers and Edgar news,
because bigger news in Canada, ladies and gentlemen. If you're
watching on the video platform, you can see that I
am currently wearing my Toronto Blue Jays jersey, my Toronto
blue Jays hat. I'm not taking it off for a week,

(07:29):
all right. World Series starts on Friday. Today's Tuesday. I
will be wearing these clothes for the next seventy two hours.
What a game the Blue Jays take it in Game seven.
I've I've never I was telling Brandon before we started
recording this, I've never watched a baseball game and actually

(07:49):
gotten up off the couch to like yell in a
in a celebratory fashion. But yeah, no, Like, there's got
to be some Blue jay fans tuning into the show,
and you know that this is incredibly special. And for Brandon,
I know he's frustrated his Yankees didn't get there this year.
But here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna win it

(08:11):
for you. Blue Jay's are gonna win, and then you
and all the other you know, frustrated and depressed Yankees
fans can say we lost to the champions. Yeah, we're
gonna bring it home. I'm gonna bring it home for you.
We're gonna bring it home for us.

Speaker 3 (08:30):
So good luck with that. You're playing the Juggernaut in
the La Dodgers.

Speaker 7 (08:34):
You know what.

Speaker 6 (08:35):
Yeah, I gotta say, but what a shot from George Springer, Like,
I mean, we're gonna move on from this, my brother.
This isn't gonna turn into Blue Jays podcast. But that
was one of the best games I've ever watched and
just chills chills, man, chills down my spine, still got goosebumps,
hair is sticking up on the on on my arms. Man.
It was incredible. So go Blue Jays, go Ny Rice

(08:58):
Dogs as well, and congratulates to the country of Canada
for progressing to the World Series and also securing yourself
one fantastic sixteen year old for the U seventeen World Challenge.
So lots of news in Canada, lots of news in
Canada this week.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
So that's what I thought. I thought it was good
to wrap that all up with Hockey Canada.

Speaker 6 (09:17):
Yeah, He's like, let's just get it out of his system. Yeah,
he wants to talk about it.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
There was a baseball game last night. I'm not I'm
happy for you in all of Canada.

Speaker 6 (09:29):
I guess I did send you a text at like
it was right after the Springer home run.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
My home was on do not disturbed because Jays fans.

Speaker 6 (09:40):
I was saying three run shot. No response.

Speaker 3 (09:43):
So let's move on from Ryerson Edgar and the Canada talk,
which I mean, we we'd love to talk about Ryerson
Edgar on the show more, but if it leads into
baseball talk, we're going to move on from it. So
let's go into another big piece of news Christian that
got finalized this week was the over and first off,

(10:03):
I want to give you know, best wishes to Andrew Wisick,
longtime ice dog you know was drafted by the team
in twenty twenty one. The longest tenured player. Went through
a lot of adversity on and off the ice, a
lot of long term injuries to be able to a
lot of recovery, working his way back in the line
up multiple times, and unfortunately didn't get to play in
that playoff series last year with another injury that he

(10:25):
suffered last year, and again this is what happens when
you get into your fifth year in the Ontario Hockey League.
These tough decisions sometimes have to be made. And when
you have four overagers, you know at some point the
writings on the wall that wan of them hass to go.
Charlie Robertson has played so well coming off the double
hip surgery. Grayson Tiller has been such a veteran presence
on that back end for them coming back for his

(10:47):
final season. And Cole Cooksy who came over from the BHL,
they really like with that what he brings down the
middle as well as a versatile forward. So Andrew Wisick
was the one that was obvious they had to make
a decision. I believe he's gonna be playing for the
Trenton Goldenhawks and the OJHL. But best wishes to Andrew Wisik,

(11:08):
a great young man on and off the ice, and
you know, a very smart young man too, like I
think he's gonna go on to possibly do some things
academically as well, you know wherever that might be in
his next chapter of his career. And to his parents
as well, was always great catching up with them and
at the at the rink, So all those sorts of
things go into something like this. These players are human

(11:29):
beings at the end of the day, and they have
families and that support them and bring them to all
these games and to the rehab and everything that Andrew
Wisik's been through over the last four years. I just
wish him all the best and again would love to
see him finish out his season here with Niagara, but
obviously that wasn't in the plans. But you know, just
all the best to number seventy five.

Speaker 6 (11:47):
Yeah, for sure. It's always bittersweet to see somebody like
that progress. He's turning into a man, he's graduating from
junior hockey. He's gonna go on to do some very
awesome things. But there's still a party that's you know what,
that's our guy. You know, that's our guy. He's been
here for how many years, and he's been doing it
at such a high level, and you know, there was
a case for him to maybe be on the power

(12:08):
play this year, and you know, so it's and uh,
it's really sad to see him go, but you know,
you have to just thank him for his service. What
a what a warrior he's been for this team for
the last you know, five years, and you know it's
it's uh, it's better sweets. But for him, a new
chapter ahead of him, Trenton, be thankful. You guys have

(12:28):
one heck of a player there. If that is where
he ends up playing, fantastic. But yeah, for the over
age of situation, it's interesting, for sure, very interesting, not
not the way we drew it up in training camp.
And I think, you know, we're gonna see a lot
of those throughout the season. We're gonna see a lot
of you know, flips and turns and and uh, you know,

(12:52):
detours from kind of the standard deviation. But I do
think they have a great group in Grayson Tiller, Cole
COOKSI and Charly Robertson one guy in each area of
the ice. They got a goaltender, a defenseman, and a forward.
And uh for Cole Cooks, a guy that you know,
really impressed since coming over from the BHL, has potentially

(13:12):
some more ice time coming around the corner. He's played
very very well. And yeah, so just just it's it's
a it's a great group of over agers. It's it's
interesting to see kind of the the balance. I think
every single one of them, has made a case to
be on this team. You know, Grayson Tiller's had, you know,

(13:33):
a fantastic Ohl career. He comes from a team in
the Barry Colts that has a ton of experience. He's
played in the playoffs. You know, he's he's a guy
that's experienced, in seasoned, and he kind of knows how
to get there. And for an Ice Dogs team that
this year has gone all in. You know, draft picks
have been you know, less than hot commodities for the
Ice Dogs this year. There they seem to be comfortable

(13:55):
giving them away. This is a team that wants to win.
You're looking for a guy like Grayson Tiller. You're looking
for an older guy like Cole Cooksy, somebody who can
bring some maturity to the offensive side of the game.
He plays with an edge, he's physical. He's also a
fantastic young man. And Chris bart will talk about this
later in his interview. But I've had a chance to

(14:15):
speak with mister Cooksiy many times. A very very polite
and respectful man, somebody that you know, this team is
gonna want to have in that lockerom. He brings the
kind of character that you know, any Ohl team would
just be lucky to have. And then Charlie Robertson's been
on a tear this season. Not exactly the best game
in the first of the back to back and erie,
but we can let that go, we can move on

(14:37):
from it. Okay, you know, he's a human. He's not
gonna be Superman every night. You know, sometimes he's gonna
dress up as Clark Kent's It's okay. But he's also
had a great season. So I think there's three overagers.
I don't have any issues with any of them. I
think they're all going to bring value to this team.
It's just it sucks that Andrew Wise it has to
be the one, you know, to not be here anymore.

(15:00):
And it's it's sad, but it's a part of the game.
This is a business. You know, This isn't Tim Bitt hockey.
You know, some of these decisions are hard, but they
have to be made. And I think for Niagara, these
are the three guys that are are really going to
benefit this team the best. I think it was a
great decision for Frank and I'm excited to see what

(15:20):
they can contribute. Grayson's been fantastic. A couple of you know,
great goals and he seems to be ripping the puck
ard from the point and like I said, Robertson has
been great in between the pipes. So I I I'm
happy with the overrager situation. I don't know about you, Brandon,
but I have a good feeling about this group. I
think they're gonna gonna be good.

Speaker 3 (15:40):
Yeah, I mean it's a good mix when you pick
a forward, a d and a goaltender. Cole Cooksy signed
officially signed his full time OHL contracts. There was the
picture they posted, so again he played up upwards of
five games and then they had to make the decision
from there whether he could you know, play full time
or they had to make a roster move with him
as well. So that's sort of why the decisions were made.

(16:02):
When they were made, he had played upwards of his
five games and then they had to figure it out
from there. So congratulations at the Cole Cooksy going to
be on the team this season as one of the
three over agers. So Christian will move on to our
next topic in today's show. Let's talk about Brady Wasslin
returning to the lineup. Obviously number sixty six being back
hadn't played since the end of the or in the

(16:25):
middle of the preseason. The end of August was the
last time that he played a game, so it was
really happy to see him back in the lineup over
the last weekend here seeing him back in there is
now played I believe three games so scored his first
goal in Eerie in the first game of the back
to back, So obviously having him back in the lineup
just adds another dynamically offensively gifted player, adds another cog

(16:47):
to the power play as well, which still is work
in progress there with so much skill. But obviously this
is a big news having at the Boston you commits
back in the lineup, of.

Speaker 6 (16:57):
Course, I mean, how can you not, you know, when
the top six just gets that much more deadly. It's
already been lethal, and Dad a guy like that, it's
just gonna get even more more dangerous. But for me,
he's been great since his return, so I don't want
to get a little bit two sidetracked, but I have
noticed that since his return, the top six is kind

(17:19):
of jumbled. Now for me, it's a personnel issue. Now
that he's back, there's so many cooks in the kitchen
we saw the five man power play. You know, we've
seen what happens when you have so much skill on
a team. It kind of reminds me. It's giving me
flashbacks of the Toronto maple Leafs and like, I'm gonna
have an allergic reaction just talking about it. But you know,

(17:42):
you've seen teams that have a lot of skill and
what happens when there's almost too much skill and too
many guys that want the puck. And I've noticed that,
you know, since he's returned, they're still trying to kind
of iron out the wrinkles, you know, find the chemistry.
Who's he gonna play with? You know who's that you

(18:02):
know who's dropping to the bottom six and you know
what are the line combinations gonna be. So obviously it's
great to have him back, but I it's for me
now it's okay. What now you know who's gonna go?

Speaker 7 (18:14):
Where?

Speaker 6 (18:14):
Where does he slide in? What are the top two
lines look like? You know he's Ada and Ryerson Edgar
have had, you know, some great chemistry. So is there
a Patterson, Wasslyn and Roebrick line coming or you know,
do they decide to go a different direction? So uh,
you know, obviously great to have him back. You know,
I've had a great weekend, you know, scored a goal

(18:35):
and Eerie had the assist on the overtime winner for
Riley Patterson as well, So he's getting on the score sheet.
He seems to be right back after it. The injury
seems to be behind him, which is exciting. And for
himself such a big year, you know, individually, so I think, uh,
it's exciting to have him back, for sure. And I
think once they get that top six ironed out, watch out,

(18:58):
it's gonna be it's gonna be scary, that's.

Speaker 3 (19:00):
For sure for sure. So I'm trying to for time's
sake here, let's uh, where do we want to go? Actually,
you know what, let's go over the central scouting grades
before we hit the brea because we got time for that.
So the central scouting grade. So that was the one
good thing that happened out of not being able to
record yesterday was that we were able to add this
into the show. Yes, well we were. By the time

(19:22):
we would have recorded, this would have came out after
so you know it. It was a I guess I
don't even know what you want to call it.

Speaker 6 (19:30):
Use expected flower in a field full of weeds.

Speaker 3 (19:34):
Sure we'll go with that.

Speaker 6 (19:36):
Yesday we were we were greens keepers, firing up our lawnmowers,
and all of a sudden we came across a beautiful flower.

Speaker 3 (19:44):
I was fired up, but in a different way because
it was driving me nuts. But anyways, so the Central
scouting ranking, so again, six players, not five, six were
named from the Niagara Ice Dogs. Here go through them quickly.
Matthew Humphreyes and Ivan Galianov were a W grad. Ben
Reisenecker and Vladislev you're Malenko were a C grade both

(20:05):
the import players for the Niagara Ice Dogs, and Brady
Wasslin right now is a B. But I think once
he starts to play some games and gets back in
the groove, he could possibly be up in that A
spot again. And then obviously, the guy that has all
the eyes on him right now is a possibly top
five top ten pick is Ryan Robrick. He's to nobody surprise,

(20:25):
in a grade for the Ice Dog. So, Christian, your
thoughts on those six gentlemen? There again, all these different
grades sort of coincide with a certain round or you know.
So the W is about six to a seventh. The
C is about a mid round pick, B is a
second to third round pick, and obviously A is a

(20:46):
certified first round pick. So what were your thoughts on
the names that were released there? And if you think
some movement might happen by the next one that comes.

Speaker 6 (20:54):
Out, Yeah, no, for sure. And first and foremost, we
have to start with the congratulations these guys as have
earned it. They've played, you know, their entire lives building
up to this point, all the work, all the dietary
restrictions that I would never be able to handle, you know,
in the gym, on the ice, they're they're putting in
the work, and as Chris Barts likes to say, this

(21:14):
is where the return on the investment comes. You know,
they deserve this. And for Ryan Robrick to be up
there considered with you know, those other first round selections,
I'm so happy to see his name up there. For
Brady Wastlin in the B spot. A little bit surprised
when I saw it there. I think he's the guy
that's gonna make the jump. I could see him spilling

(21:36):
into the first round and really climbing leader boards. I
love what I saw from him. In training camp, I
was tapping Brandon on the shoulder the whole time, like
he looks good, he looks great, like, so I'm expecting
Wastlin to climb, And for Riisnecker and JR. Malenko, I
could see them climbing as well. You know, Riisnecker is
a guy that has had a relatively short stint in

(21:57):
the OHL, you know, coming from Chechia. Not a lot
of guys have really seen him yet. You know, he's
still he's still young, but you see the tools, you know,
a physical, big, offensively capable defenseman who isn't gonna want
a piece right like, so I see Raisenecker climbing. Your
Malnco has been fantastic too, so you know he puts

(22:19):
together another twenty starts, you know, stopping forty forty four,
you know, every night, which seems to be the norm.
He could also be climbing these draft boards. And then
Galiana of Matthew Humphreys also very very deserving candidates to
be on this list. So I think for the Ice
Dog's fantastic news to have some of their own represented
on the Central Scouting List. But I do think for

(22:40):
Ryan Robrick that this hopefully is another little kick kick
in the butt, like let's go time, time to get
the engines turning. And I think for me, Ryan Robrick
has been so quietly dynamic this year. He's he's ill producing,

(23:01):
but kind of like he's like walk, he's like tippy
toeing into the kitchen instead of like rip and open
the fridge door, like ready to you know, go to town.
You know, he's he's just kind of quietly, you know,
getting his snacks here and there, like he's getting his points.
He's getting his points, but he doesn't seem to be
overly hungry yet. And and that, for me is what's

(23:22):
so exciting. He's already at the top of this you know,
Central Scouting leader board. He's an A, but I could
see him turning himself into an eight plus if he
really gets hungry and starts playing Ryan Robrick hockey, like
we know he can. You know, when he gets mad,
you know, we know that, you know Roebrick when he
plays with an edge, when he plays pissed off, it's

(23:44):
scary and I'd love to see him really start to
lean in to the skill set and the potential that
he has. But for the other guys on this list.
I think there's a lot of progression to be had
throughout the rest of the season. Hopefully Brady can jump
to an A, Ryznecker and your Malanco maybe to a
B or even an A. I think Riis Necker has
a ton of upside, and then for Gallianov and Matthew Humphries,

(24:06):
hopefully just you know, keep keep chugging away, you know,
game after game, you know, keep making your case. And
and I think for Gallianov in particular, the team and
the DNA, the culture that he's a part of is
only gonna help him. I mean, Chris Parks is a
coach that you know, really rewards players who work hard,
you know, for check well, back, check well, win battles,
do all the little things. So I think for Gallianov

(24:28):
it's gonna be a great year for him to you know,
sore up some draft boards. So I think it's it's
great news, congratulations in order and uh yeah, no, it's
gotta be a good feeling. I mean, you see six
of your own on the Central scouting board, not much,
not much else to say, it's a it's a great feeling.

Speaker 3 (24:47):
And with Riisnecker and your Malanco is just a nice story,
right because unknown products coming in coming over from North
coming over to North America for their first taste of
what it's like over here, and some players take long,
younger to adjust and adapt than others. And for them
to already be on this list is unknown products. Really
when they were drafted in the import draft, I think

(25:08):
that says a lot about how they've gotten off to
a nice start. You know, your Malanko didn't get here
till the first week of the regular season with his
visa issues. Rysenecker, you know, as a defenseman, trying to
adjust to the North American style can be hard. Again,
he's the more of a defensive defenseman, but getting his
first goal last weekend as well was big for his confidence.
And for those guys moving away from home, moving to

(25:28):
a completely different continent, you know, that's that's something that
I don't think has talked about enough about how you know,
hard of an adjustment it is for those guys and
for your Malanko as well, you know, coming over from Belarus,
and we don't realize sort of what what these guys
go through to be able to get here and get
to North America just to play hockey, and I think
for them both to have early success in you know,

(25:49):
the first month of the OHL season. So props to
those guys, because I think the imports sometimes just we
expect them to come over here and be great and
that's not that's not how it works sometimes. And for
them already be on the list as a see, like
you said, maybe even up to a B by the
end of the year. But uh, you know the other
guys that think we've talked about a lot. But for me,
it was a nice surprise to see the two imports

(26:10):
on there.

Speaker 6 (26:11):
Yeah, no, for sure, And to your point, yeah, it's
hard to imagine what these guys go through. Just to
think about that, you know, leaving your your childhood home
and you know, your country, your family, everything behind and
hop on a plane and all of a sudden, here
I am and Niagara. I don't know anybody, you know,
I expected to go play hockey now, like so for sure,

(26:35):
like it's it's got to be tough. There's obviously a
lot of pressure on them and you know, for your
Malanko of course, you know some of these these challenges
with visas and there's just a lot going on and
to see them really thriving and playing really good hockey.
Is is awesome.

Speaker 3 (26:50):
It's inspiring for sure, for sure, And that's our first
code word of the day is going to be Risenecker.
So if you guys are listening, reason Necker is our
first code word if you want to get in on
some tickets for this weekend's nag or Ice Dogs games.
And I threw it in right at the end of
the segment, so you people have to listen, right right
all the way to the end.

Speaker 6 (27:08):
You got to listen. And there's another one coming, all right.
So just because the first code word got released, No, no,
you're not turning it off. We got more tickets coming.

Speaker 3 (27:17):
So how would you want to turn it off. You've
got a lot more to come on today's show. Christians
got a lot more things to say. Christian's got a
lot more of opinions to get out about these last
weekend games against the Erie Oters. You've also got to
react to Chris Barch's comments. It's it come on, That's
what I meant. We got a lot going on here
in segment two, So stay right here. We're right back

(27:37):
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Speaker 4 (31:14):
Hey, it's Ryan Robert, This is Ethan Zider, This is
Brady Woslin, and this is Ivan galion Off. This is
Kevin he and this is the Dog Pound Podcast, the
official podcast with Nagara Ice Dogs.

Speaker 3 (31:38):
Welcome back to part two of today's Dog Pound Podcast episode,
the official podcast to your nag Or Ice Dogs. Proudly
you write to you by Global Pet Foods, where pets
are unnatally part of the family, and they're three great
nag or region locations right here on the Armchair GM
Sports Network. If you're watching on video, make sure to
hit like It subscribe to Smash that Belt, stay update
with all of our video coverage and to those that
chose to listen to us on your favorite on demand
audio platform, thank you for doing that as always as well.

(32:00):
And you probably wouldn't have even known why we delayed today,
but we had to get the video version figured out
because it's very important for us here on the network
to get our video podcasts and our YouTube peeps the
episode as well, not just in audio. Again, make sure
to give us a follow on x at Dog Pound
podcast as well as on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by
searching the Armchair GM Sports Network. So Christian, we're back

(32:24):
for part two of the episode, and I know we've
got another codeword coming at some point from you for
more tickets to give away. I do want to say
we do have some tickets to give away for the
Kingston and Brampton games this weekend, so stay tuned on
social media as well if you want to get in
on those giveaways as well. We pick some random winners,
but we're also giving away some on the show as well.

Speaker 1 (32:45):
Again.

Speaker 3 (32:46):
Programming alert, no postgame show, but our big end of
month recap next weekend with Captain Kevin he and General
Manager Frankie Bolla updating us on the roster so Christian
the Home and Home with the Erie Otters first Rivalry Week,
What did you think of it? Back to back with Eerie,
they played a Friday and Saturday. Taking away the results
from it. Did you think this was a success?

Speaker 6 (33:08):
I do. I think it was a success. That's a
hard question to answer because I think at this stage
for the Niger Ice Dogs, it's not just about wins
and losses. It's early season. There's wrinkles that have to
be ironed, all right, and if we're not progressing in
some of those pieces, then I don't think it's a success.

(33:33):
It really doesn't matter if you win the game or not.
You need to be ready for playoff hockey. You need
to be ready for the end of the season. So
you know, we'll get into that. You know, I'm not
going to start there. Start with the Rivalry Week. That's
a fantastic event. I thought it was great. I think
the OHL did a great job with it. Home and
Home with Eerie starts in Eerie and the Ice Dogs

(33:54):
lose in a game that I think was they deserve
to lose. You know. They they did not start well
once again, came out flat in the first period. The
power play struggled again. You know, they they were getting
you know, buried on the score, you know on the
shot tracker. You know, it's just another example of the

(34:15):
kind of hockey that the Ice Dogs can play when
they're not ready to go. You know, they get off
the bus and I don't know, maybe they're they're tired,
or they didn't eat, or they're not warming up properly,
they're not starting on time. There was some goals in
just turnovers in that game that were almost hard to watch,
like poorly, poor positioning, you know, irresponsibility with the puck

(34:38):
scene to be a consistent tissue, you know, looking at
the first period there, and I made a couple of
notes as I was watching the game. You know, there
was a breakout on the power play where the Ice
Dogs gave the puck away like it was a drop
pass and incomes the Ariadas on a on a two
to one zero on the power play. Like you know,
they're just little things, little things. They're giving up short
handed rushes, they missed couple of signments in front of

(35:01):
the net. It's just being responsible, being responsible and having
a respect for your opponent, I think is something that
you know, this Ice Dogs team needs to develop from
the opening face off, be ready to play, like the
Eerieata is coming to this week this weekend on a
four game losing streak, and here we could top five

(35:24):
power rankings where the Ice dogs We're gonna win, right, No,
like you gotta be ready to go from the opening
put trup they were not ready and eerie, and you
could argue they were not ready in Saint Catharine's either,
you know they they won that game by the skin
of their teeth and overtime Patterson makes an ice play.
They got heavily out shot. Your Malenco played incredible. So

(35:44):
for me, there's a couple of games here where there's
some positives. But again I think there's still some things
they have to work on. They have to get more comfortable.
You know. The power play was better in the second matchup.
They got away from the five forward power play, which
was nice to see. They scored twice. Roebrick gets on
the board. It's nice to see him score. But yeah,

(36:06):
I don't know, not exactly for me as an analyst
of the game, somebody who's supposed to rip apart every
game and what was good, what was bad? I want
to say I was not happy with this weekend from
the Nigreis Dogs because I know what we can achieve.
I'm not trying to be negative. I'm not trying to
say that this team's bad. That that is ridiculous. So

(36:28):
if anybody is thinking that, get that out of your head,
because that is not where I'm going. I'm saying that
this team has potential to be one of the best
teams in the CHL. They belong in that conversation. They're
not playing like it right now, but they belong to
be there. And that's where this analysis is coming from.
You know, if I was analyzing the Sudbury Wolves, you know,

(36:51):
and you know, condolences to my good buddy David Bowen,
but you know, it's it's a different conversation. You look
at their team, there's a lot of positives. They're making strides,
they're getting better, right, They're progressing in the Central Division.
You know, whether or not, you know, it looks ugly
on the score sheet doesn't matter this ice Dog's team.

(37:11):
It's the reverse. The score sheet doesn't matter as much.
It's how are we playing? What areas of the ice
are we being responsible? Where are we being irresponsible? You
know what things can we work on. So by all means,
this Ice Dog's team deserves to be at the top
of the Central Division. I think they've played some great
hockey this season, but I think there's a lot of

(37:33):
growth left to happen, and I think this weekend was
another example of some of the things that they need
to get better at.

Speaker 3 (37:40):
And again I got the standings up as you mentioned,
like they're still first place in the Central Division, but
there's you know, reasons as to why maybe they have
those four losses and why the North Bay Battalion are
breathing down their necks and even though they lost to
the Barry Colts, that was a game that they had
in the bag going into the third period and just
you know, weren't able to keep it and hold it.

(38:00):
But it's sort of been the role reversal as of
late where they've had better third periods and just maybe
the first period or two is not up to the
standard of what Ice Dog's hockey is. And you hear
Chris Barts talk about the last few postgame shows is
starting on time and that was the biggest problem, and
then he talked about the power play being the biggest
improvement again, two of six isn't the best performance, but

(38:25):
it's still better than what they were doing because they
were ranked near the bottom of the power play in
all the Ontario Hockey League. Actually, the only team worse
was the Eerie Otters. They played in the back to
back and here he scored a couple of power play
goals in the first game. So when you look at it,
it's you know, again, Eriie is definitely a lesser opponent,
even though it's a rivalry game and they always play
each other tough no matter where they are in the standings.

(38:47):
As you mentioned, you can't you can't go in there
and just expect that four points are going to be
handed your way. And I think sometimes when the ice
Dogs are playing those teams that might be lower in
the standings, they might think it's going to be cookie night.
And you know, sometimes those teams, those lesser teams are
the teams like the Brampton's and the Eeries that will
outwork you the Peterboroughs that you know, they might not
have the top end talent and skill, even though Peterborough's

(39:09):
got some top end young players. Those teams aren't where
they want to be yet, so they have to outwork
you on every single night. So when the Ice Dogs
are going up against teams like that that can for
check you well, and then you get teams like the
Branfords that just work you down low, and you know, like,
I think they're still working through what it's gonna take
to be a consistent team game in and game out.
They finally got their first taste of playoff success last year,

(39:31):
but again the horrible second half brought them back down
to seventh place in the in the Eastern Conference. So
this is a team that's still even though they've got
some top end talent on it, as far as trying
to win as a team, they still haven't done a
lot of that. So they're still trying to figure out
what it's going to take throughout a sixty eight game
season remain consistent and have those consistent performances. You're not

(39:52):
gonna go sixty eight to Oh, you're not going to
be anywhere close to that, But if you're playing the
right way, you're gonna give yourself a chance to win
on more times than And I just think, you know,
that first game in Eerie was sort of a microcuse
of what we've seen with the starts as of late
and and certain certain breakdowns and certain things that have
you know, popped up as potential things that they have

(40:12):
to work on. And now they're gonna get three more
days of practice this week before a tough three and
two and a half, Chris BArch calls it. So, you know,
no rest here for the ice Dogs. They got to
get back going.

Speaker 6 (40:23):
They have to get back going, and there's there's no excuse,
and that's not going to change. You know, you finished
one weekend, the other ones like four days away, like
you there's lots of hockey left to be played. But
you know, I for me, it's not even just starting
on time, it's finishing the job. Like you just start
the hockey game, but you got to finish the hockey
game too, you know. An eerie like the first game

(40:45):
of this back to back, like the third period was
lazy back checks, like rolling pucks, nobody's getting them. The
one the one play that that just drives me insane,
like this is going to keep me up at night,
is at the end of the game, like I don't know,
maybe like twenty seconds left, Earlanden is trying to shoot,

(41:05):
which is sorry, the the eriearis goaltender. For those who
who don't know, the eerie roster is trying to shoot
the puck into the empty net with four ice dogs
in front of him. It was like a slow crawl
for check from the ni ice dog's unit that was
on the ice earland and had like three wax at it.

(41:26):
He came all the way out of his crease and
it's like for me, like those are the things that
you notice. It's like play hard sixty minutes, like he
can't give up, and then to come back the very
next day and get completely outshot on home ice like

(41:46):
they won the game, but did they like did they
really win the game? Like you know what I mean?
You get two points, but it's you know, besides your
Malenko and you know Patterson's overtime winter what else you know?
So I just, yeah, just a slow start to the periods.
I think there's a lot tiring out and for this

(42:07):
coaching staff, you know, more to press. And I think
Chris Parks is the right guy. You know, he's he's
the guy who emphasizes work and they're going to get
there because he's not going to give them a choice.
You know, either you're gonna work or you're not gonna
be on this team. And I think, you know, as
we get deeper into the season, you know maybe changes
will be made and you know the lineup will have
to get you know, moved around. And you've already seen

(42:29):
it with the power Play. You know, some guys that
you don't expect to be on the second power Play
unit are on the second power Play unit. So you
know that's an indication right there. You know, like if
you're not working, you're not given a hundred percent, you're
not getting ice time. And the one thing that is
not the same as the Toronto Make Beliefs Organization with
this group is you know, we know in Toronto it's it's, oh,

(42:53):
we don't want to hurt the stars. It's all about status.
Right If you're one of the top paid guys in Toronto,
you're on every single special teams, you play twenty minutes tonight,
it's a guarantee. You know that here there's no guarantees.
Just because you were a superstar last year doesn't mean
you're gonna be awarded the leniency to have bad nights

(43:15):
this year. And I think that for me is what
I'd like to see from the coaching staff so far
this year, so that you know, I'm not gonna take
a step back. You know, we'll pump the brakes. You know.
They they went one for one on the weekend, they
get to two points. They're still at the top of
the Central Division. So calm down, Christian. You know things
are looking good. But I you know, for me, it's

(43:37):
just it's just about the potential. You know, this team
has so much potential, and it's it's tough sometimes to watch.
It's like, just just do it, you know what I mean,
Like as a fan and as somebody watched it, it's easy.
It's easy for me to sit here and say all this.
By the way, I have to, you know, send that
disclaimer out there. There is the word that is going
to be our my my hidden word for the back

(43:59):
half of the episode for the free tickets is disclaimer.
All right, but I do need to make a quick
disclaimer that you know, I don't really know. You know,
I'm not playing right, I'm not on the ice, I'm
not in that locker room, so I don't know everything.
But you know, I just I see that the talent
this team has, and it's like, just just go win

(44:20):
the Memorial Cup already, you know what I mean. So
I think that that's kind of where it comes from. Again,
I want to reiterate, I'm not saying that this team
isn't playing well. I'm saying they could play better.

Speaker 3 (44:32):
When you have that much talent comes great responsibility and
great expectation, right, So that's what. If they didn't have
a team that we thought, you know, could potentially be
a top team in the Eastern Conference, I don't think
we'd be talking this way. So again, it's we just
know that this team has another gear to be able
to reach and when once they hit it, I think

(44:54):
it's going to be a special group. And you know
that three on three was very special as well, with
the specialty jerseys, with the everything that happened for the
Saint Catherine's you know, history of hockey, with the two
banners coming down as well, everything that came with Saturday's
game was a very special night there at the Meridian Center,
and for Riley Patterson to cap it off was definitely
really special for the Ice has come away with a

(45:15):
victory in those specialty yellow jerseys honoring all the past
teams that have played in Saint Catherine, So a really
good job there for everybody that made that game special
and all the ceremonies and everything like that. Pregame, I
thought it was a really really well done by the
Mayor Matt Cisco with honoring past players builders teams. I
think it's very important for this organization to recognize the

(45:38):
past with such a rich hockey history here in the
Niagara region. So moving on from those games, I think
it's a good time to go to head coach Chris
BArch and his postgame comments on the weekend. As always,
inside the Coaches Room is brought to you by the
Nagar Employment Health Center helping people find work in Niagres
since nineteen eighty three. Check out their up to day
job board at ehct A on your next work opportunity Today.

(46:01):
Here's what the Ice Doug's head coach had to say
following his teams one in one week on Ohl Rivalry
Week against the Eerie Otters.

Speaker 6 (46:07):
A couple of things naice overtime win there. How great
was that after the third period to come back and
turn things around and over time.

Speaker 9 (46:13):
Yeah, we would love to make it difficult on ourselves,
you know, I mean playing in our d.

Speaker 7 (46:17):
Zone and uh.

Speaker 9 (46:18):
You know, I got to say as a group, you know,
they did get in lanes, they and and for me,
it's a selfless act in terms of putting yourself on
danger or in the way of danger with uh, you know, eating.

Speaker 7 (46:29):
As many pucks as they did.

Speaker 9 (46:31):
And you know I always say small victories, small small, Yeah,
small victories. And again we're all a new group for
the most part. And you know these small victories, you know,
really bind us uh and and and get as closer
as this here goes on, and you know what.

Speaker 7 (46:45):
You want to be on the right side of those
versus the wrong side.

Speaker 3 (46:48):
Absolutely, a couple of things got two power play goals tonight.

Speaker 7 (46:51):
How encouraging is that to get that done?

Speaker 9 (46:53):
Because how important is that good power When you look
at the entire league, you know, it almost feels like
the game arend PK.

Speaker 7 (47:00):
A power play?

Speaker 9 (47:01):
So yes, I'd also say that our p K has
been phenomenal as well. So yeah, it was nice getting
power play and also too for the guys on it.
You know, it's a confidence brother. We want to create
that that wave movementum and you know that starts a
small wave and hopefully we can continue that and hopefully
at some point it's a it's a title.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
Wave, yeah, because I mean if you count on a
goal a game or whatever, that's a huge difference, isn't it.

Speaker 6 (47:24):
Like it's could be the difference between winning and losing.

Speaker 9 (47:26):
Well, I think it is the difference between winning losing,
right if you don't have those two power play goals,
where if you don't have two points, So I think
it is the difference of a loss.

Speaker 6 (47:35):
Roal Way sure got a nice goal and the power play.
How safe safe to see may be a little disappointed
in the production so far? Are you okay with.

Speaker 7 (47:43):
You know, you know what, it's a big year for him.

Speaker 9 (47:47):
There's a lot of pressure, you know, I think it's
just again, uh you know, working through that. Players are perfect,
you know, every day isn't unbelievable. So you know what,
he's creating his own confidence by by doing up with
things correctly. He's creating his own confidence. And now he's
getting some results. So you know, a big element I
saw was in the in the third period where you

(48:07):
put on you know, a burst of speed and beat
that player wide and and and we're now starting to
see those things.

Speaker 7 (48:14):
So I think, you know, we're turning in the.

Speaker 6 (48:16):
Right direction absolutely overall. I mean you would have liked
to probably come out with four points this week. How
do you gauge that as far as do you go
weekend by weekend or segments or how do you do that?

Speaker 9 (48:25):
Yeah, we've broken up into uh seven game segments and
the last the last segment.

Speaker 7 (48:31):
It doesn't work out the seven games, but yes, we
do have markers that we want to you know.

Speaker 9 (48:34):
Meet in regards to points per segment and then the
settlement itself. So we based it on playoff series again,
a mindset where you know, I mean we're working and
achieving those elements that we we'll face here you know
later in the new year, in new year.

Speaker 6 (48:50):
And what was the difference between last night and tonight?

Speaker 7 (48:54):
I think power play?

Speaker 9 (48:55):
Okay, I think we you know, we we didn't produce
last on the unit and tonight we did. I think
if you if you took advantage of that last night,
and you know, we had a power play in the
first couple of minutes of the game. We capitalize on
that and you know, maybe things are a little different.

Speaker 3 (49:13):
Or your thought overall thoughts on the rivalry week going
back to back against this team, do you do you
kind of like that being able to especially when you
lose the first game, to be able to have a
redemption like that the next night.

Speaker 9 (49:22):
Yeah, it is, Well, it's kind of you know, it's
a throwback to the nineteen eighties NHL, right, you know
they you know, they used to do it, And I
think it does bring some of that competitiveness, that bad
blood or good blood from from one night to the next.
So I think, you know, as players, you know, you
don't forget what happened the night before, and you know,

(49:45):
I think it drives that heart a little hard, a
little deeper.

Speaker 3 (49:48):
Edgar named earlier this week to the U seventeen for
Hockey Canada and the Hockey Prospect Challenge. What did what
did you see from him tonight? And why are you
so impressed with how he started off his sixteen year
old rookie sae And.

Speaker 7 (50:01):
You know what he uh?

Speaker 9 (50:03):
For me? I don't look at any of these players,
you know, with an age attached to it. So therefore,
you know he's earned everything that he's achieved. You know,
I think it's a great feather in his cap with
respect to playing for Team Canada. And then you know,
over and above that he's He's been a real big
part for us. Like I said, you know, he uh

(50:25):
connects with you know, like minded players Ada and he
and you always had and brought success to them as well.

Speaker 7 (50:33):
And it's nice seeing uh you know that uh you
know shared element within that group.

Speaker 3 (50:37):
When you when you have a pregame ceremony like we
had tonight, Specialty Jersey is a little bit different looking
ice Dogs tonight and you know, honoring the pass and
things like that. Do you say anything to the guys
about how much this might mean to the whole community
or do you do they know sort of when you
go through ceremonies like that pregame that you know they
have a little bit more extra juice and jump in
the game.

Speaker 9 (50:56):
Yeah, you know, it's it's always a great uh you know,
privileged to play, you know, in front of a crowd
like we did tonight. You know, it was nice to
see you know a large number of people in the
stands and then also two to play for you know,
those players and founders that are you know being dropped
or hung in the rafters. You know, it is a
nice feeling for them, and you know, a nice feeling

(51:17):
for the community.

Speaker 3 (51:17):
You've got a four days of practice this week and
with the back to back now you're gonna have you're
off till Friday, and then the three and three next weekend,
So what's what's the mindset there? And you know three
and threes are never easy, but you got the first
two at home and then a short trip to Brampton,
So what's the mindset and what's the message to the
guys in there for next week?

Speaker 9 (51:35):
I do like the two at home first, and it
is not three and three, it's it's actually three and
two and a half days. Yeah, yeah, you know what,
we've got to manage bodies.

Speaker 7 (51:43):
You know, they'll have a couple of days off here.

Speaker 9 (51:45):
We've been pushing them hard for the last month and
a half, so it be a welcome two days for
them recharge.

Speaker 6 (51:53):
You know.

Speaker 9 (51:53):
Really again, you know, this is a battle of attrition
and we've got to have a long term approach here
in terms of keeping these guys healthy and fresh. And
then we start preparing on Tuesday for Brampton twice, you know,
in an interdivision game, and then along with Kingston which
is a conference so you're looking at three four point games.

Speaker 7 (52:14):
So you know, I think our group were excited for him.

Speaker 3 (52:16):
Any quick thoughts on Cooksie, Now that you know who
your three over agers are going to be for this
season with Tiller and Robertson, what do you think that
three of that mix works?

Speaker 1 (52:23):
Well?

Speaker 9 (52:23):
A great person, phenomenal person. You know what I love
about it too, is he's earned this. The group knows
that he's earned this, which has been.

Speaker 7 (52:34):
A phenomenal growth amongst.

Speaker 9 (52:37):
You know us, you know, as a group, and then
welcome him in. But also he's earned the opportunity. You know,
we would like to get a more ice time, you know,
as we move forward here, you know, hopefully we uh,
you know, put a couple of markers up first on
the board and I can you know, distribute ice on
a little bit more evenly. But you know, again, a
great person, a great player, and he's gonna be well

(53:00):
throughout the show.

Speaker 3 (53:01):
Thanks coach throws, thank you all right, Christian. There was
inside the coaches room with Ice Dog's head coach Chris
BArch post game following the game on Saturday against the
Erie Otters. The Ice Dogs pull out the four to
three overtime victory and as well the three to one
loss the night before in Eerie. The name of this
episode is going to be small victories, because he mentioned
that a lot in the in the post game there

(53:21):
talking about, you know, taking small portions of games and
talking about seven game segments that they're moving the season
into and trying to win those segments sort of like
a seven game series. I thought that was kind of
an interesting way of thinking about it. But what were
your takeaway from what the Ice Dog's head coach had
to say.

Speaker 6 (53:38):
Yeah, No, I think there's lots of small victories. And
you know, we've seen you know, positives throughout this season.
You know, we've seen you know, Edgar you know, playing fantastic.
You know, we've seen your malenco playing great. We've seen
the power play makes strides, you know, and I think
he really neiled a lot of a lot of the positives.
You know. I think it's great, you know, but to

(53:59):
you know, to go back to kind of the general
theme of this podcast so far, they're a team of
adversity cravers. They don't like to make it easy on themselves,
and that's exactly what he said. It's just, you know,
they they seem to to like to chase the game
a little bit, like to come from behind and if
anybody has ever seen Secretariat run, one of the fastest

(54:24):
horse horses of all time, this team is like Secretariat,
all right. They come out of the gate a little
bit slow, and then they like to chase you. They
like to they like to pass right, they like to
pass you in the final leg of the race. And
I think that that, for me, is is the big takeaway.
They're not making it easy on themselves. But you know, Edgar,

(54:46):
he talked a lot about, you know, that that top unit.
You know they're connecting with he and Zada. That's really encouraging.
Power play gets on the score sheet, which is nice considering, uh,
you know, kind of the struggles and the jambalaya that
it's been so far this year, you know, with over
three the night before and then kind of you know,
as you mentioned, you know, kind of stewing near the

(55:06):
bottom of the bottom of the barrel for the majority
of the season. But I think a lot of positives.
Ryan Robrick gets on the score sheet. He had a
fantastic back half of the game on home ice. He
really you know, got his legs go and he scored
the goal. And that, you know, those are the encouraging signs.
And when you see a guy like that play. But
to go back to the to the seven game increments

(55:28):
and the these these metrics, that's like really exciting to hear.
You know, that coaching staff is getting that detailed, you know,
with with their you know analysis of hockey and and
you know, really keeping these guys on track. And it's, uh,
it sounds like a lot of good things are happening
in that locker room, and you know they're gonna need it.
They've got a three and three coming up this weekend,

(55:49):
so it's gonna be a busy weekend of hockey. But
I think for me, I take away the the adversity cravers,
you know, starting on time, the power play, get back
where they want to be, and they went two for six,
Ryan Robert cats on the score sheet, and Edgar Gelling
with that top unit. So for me, those are the takeaways.

Speaker 3 (56:10):
All right. So yeah, I think again, he's still working
through a lot with the assistant coaches and what they
what the standard is. But I think again, as long
as they get the guys, as we kind of mentioned
earlier in this segment, to buy in how they have
to play every single night, that's that's what he wants
to see, so we'll see how they go into this
three and two and a half he called it, so

(56:32):
were I mean luckily both first two were at home
and then a shorter road trip to Brampton than maybe
some other rinks. So it it's definitely going to be
important because there's two divisional games against Brampton in there,
and the first time they played Brampton, they all their
guys were still away at the NHL camp, So that's
when the Ice Dogs I think, you know, that was
a good time to catch them if you're Brampton. For

(56:54):
a team that doesn't really have a lot of stars
this season that were away at camps, I think the
Ice Dog to be a lot different of a team
than we saw than that opening game. That was the
first game that they had all really played together, that
that whole new collective group, and without Kevin he Ethan
Zada and Riley Patterson, just a completely different looking team
as well. So I expect a different Ice Dogs team

(57:16):
and a different result against the two for the two
games against the Brampton Steelheads and even against the Kingston Frontenacs,
who under Troy Man play a very you know, pro
style of game. The way that they uh their four
check and their their cycle games. So I think Saturday
is going to be a real test for them as well.
But I really expect them to come away with at
least one, if not both games against Brampton because especially

(57:39):
in division games like that against the Brampton team that
this season doesn't look like to have a lot of expectation,
but they're gonna work hard. So the Ice Dogs have
to show up on time if they want to come
away with those four points.

Speaker 6 (57:51):
That's it. Show up on time. They got to show
up on time, and if they do so, I can
see them sweeping this weekend. That's that's what we're striving
for all three, you know, get the six points, you know,
improved to nine and four, which would be a great
spot to be challenging for the Branford Bulldogs. I mean,
depending on you know, kind of how they you know,

(58:11):
how they stack up this weekend. I don''m not sure
exactly who they're playing, but it'd be nice, you know,
Brampton kind of climbing that Central Division standings, it'd be
nice to kind of push them down a little bit
as well, you know, really distance yourself in the Central Division.
With two wins this weekend against a divisional opponent, and
then to take on Kingston who's also been pretty strong

(58:31):
in that East division. You see it right now if
you're watching on YouTube seven and three so far through
their first eleven games up there with you know, right
underneath the Branford Bulldog. So I think these are two matchups,
three games this weekend that are really important for the
Ice Dogs from a conference and divisional standpoint. To get
these victories. These are not teams that you want to
lose to. You know, you don't want to give points

(58:54):
away in your own division and then in your own conference.
So I think they they really want to take these three.
I think if they take all three of them, they
put themselves in a really good spot.

Speaker 3 (59:04):
Absolutely. So before we get out of here, Christian, you
want to give us your name for who gets your
dog biscuit this week?

Speaker 6 (59:11):
Oh man, this is top. I don't know, man, Like
I was, I was going back and forth. God, you
know what, you go first? You go first?

Speaker 3 (59:21):
Why do I gotta go first?

Speaker 6 (59:23):
Because I don't know yet. I'm still deciding. I got four.

Speaker 3 (59:26):
You've had an extra whole day to decide.

Speaker 6 (59:29):
All right, you know what I'm gonna give my dog biscuit.
Oh God, this is so hard. I'm gonna give my
dog biscuit to Brady Wattlin. Okay, I think he played
a great couple of games. The only goal scorer in Ere.
He comes back, assists Riley Patterson on the overtime winner.
He's playing really well. He's showing a lot of promise.

(59:52):
You know, he's bringing that speed. His shot looks a
lot better, and his instincts for the game look a
little bit better. He looks more comfortable. So one thing
I know when I watched Brady Wasslin play this year
as opposed to last year, he looks comfortable. He looks
confident with the puck. I think that's going to serve
him well. And I will give my honorable mention to
Ryers and Edgar. That was the That was the other
guy I was thinking. And of course getting selected to

(01:00:14):
the U seventeen World Challenge and scoring a goal which
we never mentioned that was gorgeous at home at the
Meridian Center. That goal was incredible. I think he's moving
his feet really really well. He created a lot of
plays at home for a Nigri. There was a goal
that was scored as well. Who scored it? I can't

(01:00:35):
even remember.

Speaker 3 (01:00:36):
Kevin he took a shot that Ethan Zada was right
on the doorsteps on to pick it up off the backboard.
And also Ryan Robricks scored a power play goal to
tie the game.

Speaker 6 (01:00:44):
Yes, okay, so it was the Zoda goal where he
bounced off the end wall. Edgar moved his feet all
the way up to the blue line created the separation,
you know. So I loved that play from him. Gets
two points on the night, and of course to get
selected to the U seventeen Challenge in Nova Scotia. So
those of my two, Brady Wasselin gets the dog treat.
Ryerson Edgar is the honorable mention.

Speaker 3 (01:01:06):
Okay, So I got one for you, and it's a
guy that's not going to show up on the score sheet. Actually,
I will say Ladislavia Malanko deserves a shadow because that
forty one say performance against the Ariatters was the reason
they won that game or even got it to overtime.
So a strowth of Vladislava Malenko. He's one of them,
but for me an unsung heroes, Ben Hayden Reid, I

(01:01:26):
love the way this guy plays Christian like the way
that he kills penalties plays in all situations is four check.
He's just a smart player. You can see why the
Minnesota Golden Gophers really liked this guy to want to
bring him into their program. Just a very smart player,
does a lot of right things with the puck, gets
rid of it at the right times. He's able to
make some plays here and there when he has to offensively.

(01:01:48):
But you know when he's winning eight out of ten
face offs and seven out of ten on the two
games against the Ariatters, like he's such a valuable piece
for them for what they have to do on the
penalty kill.

Speaker 6 (01:01:59):
It would have been thank you in Eerie, but they
went six for six on the penalty kill at home.

Speaker 3 (01:02:05):
That's it. So it was six for six at home.
And every time I saw a defensive zone draw coming
for the erie Otters on the power play, Hayden reeves out.
They're taking the key draws. So, along with Ethan Zada,
I think he's their best face off guy. He's their
most reliable face off guy. And I just think what
Hayden Reid brings in that middle six, whether he's playing
up on the second line or playing on the third line.

(01:02:27):
I think he's just been such a valuable piece and
an underrated edition. Coming over back to Niagara with ardam Frolov,
I really like the way Hayden Reid plays, And again,
you need guys like that when you have the Wastlns,
the Roebricks, the Kevin He's, the Riley Patterson's, you need
guys like Hayden Reid. And I think he's just brought
so much on the offensive and defensive side of the

(01:02:47):
puck for stuff that's not going to show up on
the score sheets. So for me, my dog Biscuit of
the Week is going to go to Hayden Reid for
everything he brought, making that penalty kill six six of
six on the game against the ear and help them
get that two points. I just think he had a
very underrated and under the radar performance for sure.

Speaker 6 (01:03:09):
And you know what, also, I will mention just briefly
that he did go fifteen for twenty in the faceoff
dot He won a ton of face offs. He was
fantastic this weekend. But for me, hedn't read is the
kind of guy that gets talked about in the conversation
of your there's a stat I don't know what exactly
what it's called focuses on winning battles and what is

(01:03:36):
your expected win battle percentage? How many battles do you win?
And do you win half a battle? Do you need
another guy to come in and help you win the battle.
There's a lot of metrics that go into this, and
you can tell by the way I'm describing it that
I don't really understand all of it. But there it's
it's all about winning battles and what is your ability

(01:03:58):
to buy yourself regain the puck for your team. And
he's the kind of guy that fits into that conversation.
He wins battles. It's a hard working player, and you know,
he does a great job. Kind of reminds me of
a you know, like a Matthew Nice in a way,
you know, not maybe as big, but but he's very
skillful in tight areas, does a great job with the puck,

(01:04:21):
you know, eating around the net. I think that's gonna
be where we're gonna see him score. He's gonna be
kind of a dirty goal guy, you know, right out front.
But I do think he also, similar to Matthew Nized
does a great job of grabbing possession of the puck
back from the other team. He knows how to use
his body. He positioned, positions himself well in the corners,
and I think that's another thing. Like you said, you know,

(01:04:43):
the unsung hero, not exactly the box score bruiser. You know,
it doesn't really show up. You know, he doesn't score
three a night. But what he does is all the
little things. You know, you see the face off wins,
you see the battles, you see the penalty killing, the
shop blocking, you know, being a warrior in front of
the net, taking a beating like those are the things
that you know a team like this is gonna need.

(01:05:04):
You know, he can't win playoff hockey. If you don't
win faceoffs, if you don't block shots, if you don't
win battles, you can't doesn't matter if you get a
guy who can score forty one goals, you know you
need to have a guy like hated Reed. So one
hundred percent I agree with you. He deserves a dog
biscuit this week. Great in the faceoff dot, great in
the corners, and you know, just just a fantastic player

(01:05:26):
for this bottom six. I think he's gonna be great
this year.

Speaker 3 (01:05:28):
Only three points in eleven games, but to me, he's
been so much more than that. And again, a guy
that brings in intensity. You can see even off the ice,
he's not really goofing around. He's he's very intense. He
takes his profession very seriously, and I think that's going
to serve him well as he goes on to the
NC double a collegiate wise with the Minnesota Golden Gophers,
and you know, he seems like he's always he takes
he takes pride in that faceoff dot. He's always going

(01:05:50):
in there, looks like he's, you know, ready to go
to battle, ready to go to war. So I really
like Hayden reads intensity and what he brings to the team.
So that's it, Christian, that's it for our episode today. Again,
next weekend's monthly wrap up show is gonna be big.
We're gonna hear from Kevin he as the captain as
well as Frankie Vola, gonna update us on what he's
done with the roster. Christian really looking forward to, you know,

(01:06:12):
picking his brain about some of the decisions that were
made and maybe some of the decisions that might come
in the next little while with the trades and other moves.
So I'm really looking forward to that and hopefully you
guys will tune into that. Another big video podcast coming
up next week, Christian. But any final thoughts, Yeah.

Speaker 6 (01:06:27):
And I was thinking about this. I got an idea,
all right for our fan base, for our audience, in
true armchaired GM Sports Network fashion, as we are armchair gms,
I would like you guys to get involved and be
armchair gms of your own, all right. In preparation for
our monthly recap, I would like you guys to put

(01:06:51):
together a list of you know, if you were going
to be an armchair GM, what moves would you make
with this team? How do you think they've done? What
would you change, what wouldn't you change? You know, what
kind of personnel would you bring in? Maybe what are
some of those holes that the Ice Dogs are currently
looking to fill? And Brandon and I will recap those

(01:07:11):
in the monthly Monthly Recap episode, And I think for me,
that's something that I want to focus on. We talk about,
you know, what can we expect from this Ice Dog's
team as we get deeper into the season, maybe at
the trade deadline? What are they looking to add If
it was up to you if you could make some
changes in Niagara, what would you make? Leave them in
the comment section.

Speaker 3 (01:07:31):
Yeah, I like that, Christian. Great way to end the show.
So that's it for another installment of the Dog Pound
Podcast right here on the Armchair GM Sports Network. Again,
thank you to those that tuned in on our video
version and those that choose to listen to us on
your favorite on demand audio platform. Make sure to hit
like kids, subscribe and smash that bells the up to
date with all of our audio and video coverage here
on the network. For Christian Simmons, Mi nu Is Brandick

(01:07:51):
w Buddo. That's it for another episode brought to you
by Global Pet Foods, where pets are un anilely part
of the family. They're three great nag Or region locations.
We'll talk to you guys again next week and the
three games, and look for those ticket giveaways for the
niager Ice Dog's home games. We'll talk again very soon.
And yeah, I guess go Blue Jays this weekend.

Speaker 6 (01:08:08):
Go Blue Jays.

Speaker 1 (01:08:11):
You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network

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"Small Victories" as IceDogs finish up first OHL Rivalry Week - Dog Pound 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;}"Small Victories" as IceDogs finish up first OHL Rivalry Week - Dog Pound Podcast