32 Thoughts: The Podcast - James van Riemsdyk Lands With CBJ

Episode Date: September 16, 2024

This edition of 32 Thoughts with Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman doesn't fall flat, despite Friedge's tire doing so... They open the pod discussing the Blue Jackets' acquisition of James van Riemsdyk and potentially Phil Kessel as well. That makes way for some of the hockey we saw over the weekend. Kyle and Elliotte delve into the exhibition between the Leafs and Habs and the hype coming from their young stars (7:11). Afterwards, Elliotte provides an update on Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov (12:00). Kyle and Elliotte talk about the latest in Detroit and their pending RFA's (14:00), and they give an update on Jeremy Swayman's future (17:14). The fellas also delve into the upcoming Amazon docu-series highlighting a number of NHL all-stars (21:36). In the Final Thought, Kyle and Elliotte talk about CHL players potentially being allowed to pursue NCAA aspirations (25:30).Kyle and Elliotte finish the podcast with their sit-down interview with NHL Super-Star Connor Bedard (32:08). This podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.  

You certainly are the loser in your situation, Elliot. When you say you have some ability to change a tire, I think some is doing a lot of work. She's the loser. I am the big winner. There's no question. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by GMC, Dom Schimani at the controls,

Kyle Bukowskis, Elliot Friedman. Friedge, you know the old saying, a bad attitude is like a flat tire. If you don't change it, you won't go anywhere. So when you hear that, what do you think of? That's pretty good, Kyle. I have to say that's a good open. Bit of an inside joke, so I have to explain it.

We're in Red Rocks in the Colorado area outside Denver. It is my 15th anniversary gift to my wife. She's always wanted to see a concert at Red Rocks. So we are out here this weekend. And earlier on Sunday, we found our rental car with two punctures in the tire. I'm still trying to determine how exactly this happened. I did not hit anything.

And so this has happened to me at least once before. I tried to change the tire previously. I have some ability to do this. And I remember they told me, you never touch a rental car like that. You never want to be responsible if any damages occur. So I didn't do that today, but we had to switch rental cars. And let me tell you something. All the men who listen to this podcast, I would say this. We all know one truth that we all have. Our partners are all much better than we are. We are total losers compared to their partners, which is why you have to buy and I have to buy anniversary gifts and they don't.

Don't ever forget that that goes triple for Kyle you certainly are the loser in your situation Elliot when you say you have some ability no change it I think some is doing a lot of she's the loser I am oh my god I am the big winner there's no question she. She got stuck with me. I got her. Yeah, you know what? Yes, somebody is doing a lot of work there, but believe it or not, I have changed a tire before. All right. Have you?

Hopefully no flat tires. Have you? Actually, I haven't. I haven't had to yet. Just another example. I haven't been around as long as you have. Just another example of what an embarrassment you are to your father who is very handsy from what i understand yeah i i am a great failure especially

when you consider my dad not only yeah really great hands-on with a lot of stuff but also knows his way around an automobile uh better than most and the fact that i didn't pick up any of that growing up uh no excuse given my upbringing. Kyle Bukowska's Family Embarrassment, Chapter 2356. All right, let's go. Great. What a start. Hopefully no flat tires as we move forward here, Elliot. Hey, hockey was back this weekend.

We had rookie tournaments and rookie showcases going on around the NHL. Fans getting excited already with some young players making some noise in a couple of places. We'll get to all of that in a little bit. But first, some news as well. Out in Columbus, Elliot, you know, Don Waddell, the GM, had some quotes to Aaron Portsline and The Athletic over the weekend that they were looking to add some forwards and not just on PTOs per se. And the news on Sunday that James Van Riemsdyk signs a one-year deal at $900K shouldn't come as a shock to any.

No, it shouldn't. There were some rumblings about Van Riemsdyk going to Seattle on a PTO. Columbus had been one of the teams he'd been talking to even before the terrible tragedy happened. But once Waddell mentioned that, as you said, to Aaron Portsline, that was definitely one of the names that was circulating. James Van Rynzak had almost 40 points last year. He's still one of the best in the league at what he does,

which is be a net front presence. And he's a really likable guy. And you know that that's one of the things that Columbus was looking at, just somebody who's going to fit in in a situation where a lot of the players in that team are still going to be in shock. You know, honestly, Kyle, I'd wondered if there was any chance that Phil Kessel may end up there just simply because, and I think this is a serious season for Columbus.

They were disappointed last year. They want to show some improvement. But I kind of wondered about a guy like Kessel simply because he's got the reputation of being someone who really lightens the mood and just creates a lot of enjoyment when he's around but I totally get the Van Riemsdyk signing it makes perfect sense and as camps open you know there's still a few players out there I think a lot of us are wondering about from Kevin Lankanen we know the Vancouver Canucks are interested in him he's got a couple of teams that have looked in his direction you know also Cal Clutterbuck

I'm a little surprised he hasn't caught on somewhere Lou Lamorello's saying last week the Clutterbuck won't be back and Matt Martin's coming in a PTO I just think in the regular season Clutterbuck is the kind of guy who can bring you energy in those dog days of the season when you're sitting there like oh my God it's game 36 I'm not in the mood for this tonight like he's one of the guys that kind of does that um so I'm a little surprised he hasn't found anything but there there are a few of those guys out there as camps open. I'm really curious to see what happens. And also, Kyle, people hope it's a pressure point for some of these unsigned free agents. I don't know that I buy that.

You know, this isn't 1952 where guys work at a furniture store or as a beer distributor all summer. They show up 40 pounds overweight and use camp to get back into shape everybody's in great shape now so I don't know if people see it as the important pressure point that maybe we used to I think they'd like to see it that way but I don't know that it really is all right so the hockey we saw over the weekend there was some great buzz in montreal elliott two games between the maple leafs and the canadians the arena there downtown believed it was sold out or very close to so nearly 20 000 people in there for both games to watch a couple of go down i did not go down already cutting corners i corners, I see. Fine mid-season form.

West of Ottawa. Yep. It's a long year. It's a long year. Pace yourself. You've got to save. Pace yourself. You've got to pace yourself.

Yes, exactly. I didn't want to get a flat tire. That's why I didn't go. That's a good call. Yeah. So there was plenty to be excited about on both sides, whether you're a Toronto fan or or montreal fan you know fraser minton um easton cowan but for montreal i mean lane hudson was someone that got a taste of things

at the end of last season and the one thing about the montreal fan base i mean they show up in droves at the worst of times but when they sense there is someone or something some hype to get behind they really do their job in getting behind it and lane hudson seems to be the latest example of that so first of all i'd like to give a lot of credit to the fans of hockey just to start um you know we're very lucky we have passionate fans who listen to this podcast but we have passionate fans who follow the sport like i couldn't be on uh social media as much as i usually am this weekend which is probably actually a good thing but anytime i look to see some of the results of the rookie games

as you mentioned the montreal toronto one was incredible the stuff that was going on in buffalo there was a lot of interest the stuff you look, Vegas was playing Seattle. Macklin Celebrini played his first game sort of for the Sharks. The Nashville kids were playing. Everywhere I saw there were games, there was a lot of passion about it. And some of these fans are already in mid-season form just tearing into each other

and tearing into their prospects. It's hilarious. Did you see Ottawa, they had their prospect showcase out in the one in Buffalo. And they lost 9-1. Unfortunately, they got crushed by it. And as the tweets or the posts are coming out, you know, now it's 7-0 New Jersey.

And it's like Sens fans in the comments being, we are so back. Like the fans don't need, the fans don't need training camp either. Like they come in shape too. It was, we are lucky. Like shape too it was we are lucky like as a sport we are lucky we have great fans and this is a perfect example of it you know normally like a 9-1 game i check out the replies just to get a good laugh i really couldn't but i was only

imagining what was going on underneath them it's really funny but so i'll tell you a funny story about hudson so i i've been really funny story about hudson so i've been really talk talking about mishkov i've said in a couple of places like you're penciling him in for the calder right like i know it's really premature thanks but it's hard not to look at this kid and you talk about excitement like those philly fans were like uh those philly fans were more excited than shannon sharp on the weekend like that's how that's how things were going for the philly fans were more excited than Shannon Sharp on the weekend. Like that's how, that's how things were going for the Philly fans. And so I said that you're penciling them in for like the Calder is your Calder favorite.

And I don't know if it got aggregated somewhere or where one of these Montreal players heard it, but one of the players texted me and said, Lane Hudson is going to make a run for the Calder this year and it's early and I know that but apparently what this guy has been telling me is that in the captain skates the Canadians have been having like they're sitting there and saying can you believe what this kid can do and I think it's going to be different for him than it's going to be for Mishkov because one I think it's always harder for defensemen than it is for forwards. And number two, you know, Mishkov is a bigger guy than Hudson. You know, Hudson, I guess, again, I didn't see.

But I heard that he got, I read a bit that he got hit a couple times. Like, this is day one of prospect camp. Wait till the regular games begin, assuming he's on the team and they're going to be going after him so he's going to have a bigger curve than i think mishkov will but the montreal guys they're like they they think this guy is is the real deal so i like hearing this stuff early i I like it when players say, hey, pay attention to our guy. I'm really, really looking forward to seeing Hudson play the big games. Because, first of all, you know that this league is going to be like, let's see what this guy is really about.

And you know he's going to take his licks. He's going to probably have some minus four nights. But you can see the talent. I mean, you really can see the talent. Yeah, I worked Lane Hudson's first game in the NHL at the end of last year. It was in Detroit. And it's funny, one of the players, or the player,

that he had fat heads of and posters of in his bedroom growing up was Patrick Kane, who was playing for the Red Wings then too. So like NHL debut, playing against your childhood idol, and it's that Showtime vibe, right? He's given that off already. He's going to be one of those guys that, you know, when he touches the puck in Montreal,

they're going to be wound up to see what he can do. You can see the hype machine is turned up to Oz. Tribune. Ali you mentioned Mavey Michkov with the Flyers he scored in his first game at their rookie event but what's going on with their goalie prospect Alexey Kolasov so he's a third round pick back in 2021 spent last season in the KHL then actually came over to North America he played two games with Lehigh Valley in the American League at actually came over to North America he played two games with Lehigh Valley and the American League at the end of the year but was not at development camp not at their rookie camp what is the latest on that front well so I think Philadelphia is still trying

to sort this out and where this is going to go and and what it's going to mean I had heard at the draft he wasn't coming I I mentioned it at the time. But people, like, the one challenging thing about reporting on this is that what is true yesterday may not necessarily be true today. And the people who said to me he wouldn't be coming this year, they turned out to be correct. But, you know, the Flyers have done a lot of good work in Russia. Like, Mishkov wanted to play for him.

They kept that quiet. Fedotov they did a lot of good work in Russia. Like Mishkov wanted to play for him. They kept that quiet. Fedotov they did a lot of work on, but they got him to come over against a lot of odds. So I think they don't want to give up easily. You know, what I've heard there is that teams have called and said, what's going on? And I've heard that Philly has said we're not committed to training him, but right now we're thinking second rounder.

Now, that's a big price, but that's Philly's price. And I think the challenge for these other teams is they've got to figure out if their situation will be any different with Kolesov if they trade for him. Like what one manager said to me was that, you know, if you take a look at Philly, there's been few teams that have had the successes, if anyone, with players out of Russia in the last year that Philly's had. So if they're having trouble with this player, do we have any reason to believe it would be any different for us or anyone else? So I think that's kind of what's going on. Teams are trying to determine, is it worth acquiring him? But that, from what I understand, is the price that Philly has put

on them or on him as a second round draft pick. Okay. Elsewhere around the league, anything going on with, like we talked a lot at last week's episode of the pending RFAs that still don't have new deals signed. There was an article in the Detroit Free Press, Elliot, about their RFAs. Anything to update in HockeyTown? Well, the Detroit Free Press, yes. They said that Steve Eisenman wants to keep their salaries below Dylan Larkin, which is 8.7.

You know, I don't have confirmation of that from Eisenman, but the story makes sense. Like, logically, it does. You know, Dylan Larkin was a UFA when he signed or heading into UFA, and these players are not. I don't think that would be necessarily a problem for Raymond. I think if there is a player who potentially, without knowing for sure, but if there's a player who I suspect might try to go above 8-7 of the

two it would be Sider but again I don't know a hundred percent you know but you know we'll see I mean from what I understand about Raymond I someone said they heard about a report out of Sweden that there'd been some progress I didn't see that report I'd heard something similar but until it's done it's it's it's it's not done so we'll see where it goes but I don't think that 887 number would be a factor for Raymond although I do think it could potentially be a factor for cider you know the the other thing we mentioned last week was we talked about how apparently the Stutzla contract in Ottawa, like some teams, and I believe Detroit's one of them,

are kind of like, you know, we understand that that's Ottawa's business, but we're not going to allow you to use that as a comparable. I think that has entered the case in Winnipeg with cole perfetti's deal not stutzli's contract but shane pintos and by the way pinto he was a real hit at the uh nhl nhlpa media tour we didn't do him was he ever our content group did him but there were a lot of people who didn't know uh shane pinto like a lot of the people who were there hadn't dealt a lot with pinto before and they were saying how much they enjoyed working with him but Pinto's deal like Cole Profetti's numbers are pretty comparable to Pinto's but I just don't think Winnipeg wants to go quite to where those

numbers are and I got a call on the weekend from someone after our last podcast dropped and they were kind of laughing about the point about perfetti being like the only guy maybe ever to go to that tour without a contract well i believe on the weekend uh he was at like a fishing charity event for the jets and this person called this the nicest contract dispute ever likeetti and the Jets haven't made a deal yet. And he's representing them at charity events, at the media tour. But I, again, I still think that one will be a bridge. But, you know, to this point, they haven't gotten it done. I haven't heard a ton on Thomas Harley, except to hear that that doesn't appear to be a ton of angst there. Mercer, I'm sticking with what I heard, that it's likely to be a bridge.

And, you know, other than that, am I missing anyone? Kyle, off the top of my head, I can't think about it. Swayman? Oh, Swayman. Did you see him on stage over the weekend? I didn't. You mentioned this to me in the prep about, yeah, that he was on stage with a band. Which band was it?

Yeah, Dalton and the Sheriffs. I'm not terribly familiar with them, but he went right out there with a guitar, Henrik Lundqvist style. So whatever's going on with the negotiation, he doesn't seem to be stressed by any of it. Yeah, I think that picked up towards the end of last week. But at this point in time, as we tape on Sunday night, I don't have any knowledge of a breakthrough or anything like that. And I do think it's possible we could see something with crosby this week although again like we all know now that that one is is going to get done at some point that one's getting done so can i just go back to cider for a quick sec ellie i Sure, absolutely. I wonder what would be the proper comparable for him.

I understand you say it makes sense that the Red Wings don't want to go above where Larkin is at 8-7, but only played three years, hasn't missed a game, won a Calder Trophy, has pretty good numbers production-wise. Like, I look at McAvoy.

Now, he did a bridge before signing his big ticket, so it's a bit of a different circumstance there. He's at 9. so I of course can't see him getting to that point but do you have a thought or a hunch of whose Ciders camp would be looking at that would be an accurate comparable as they try to navigate their way through this well the thing is like if it's going to be term I I don't think it would be at McAvoy but I don't think it would be at McAvoy, but I don't think it would be far off. Like one of the real challenges like a lot of these teams and agents are having right now is, you know, where's the cap going? And I think that teams want to lock, in most cases,

I don't want to speak for Iserman, but in most cases, I don't want to speak for Iserman, but in most cases, teams want to lock guys up now as much as they can because they know the cap is going up, and that means that even though your cap's going up, your individual salaries are going to go up too. And I think there are some players who feel if they're going to lock in, they don't want to lock in at a number when the cap really takes off as it's supposed to, and both the league and the players believe

it will. They don't want to lock it in a number. They look back and say, oh man, I was dumb to lock in at that number. So I think with Sider, like a guy like Sider, it's not only the comparable of now, it's where everyone kind of thinks the cap is going and so it's a it's sort of like a two-sided issue both those things so my someone might look at this and say like like I said I don't think it's McAvoy but I don't like I don't think it's really far and if you assume this free press story is true and the logic makes a lot of sense if they want to keep both those guys under Larkin then you've got to believe that at least

on some level somebody has asked for over Larkin so if one of those two players was going to do it it says to me it's not Raymond. It's probably cider. But again, I don't know that for sure. Plenty of things to keep an eye on as we inch closer to the opening of training camp. And Elliot, as you know, one of the things that help bring the salary cap up is broadcast rights. And Amazon comes into the play here this season. They are the rights holders for Monday nights in Canada streamed on Amazon Prime.

They had their crews everywhere. It felt at times throughout the playoffs, following a handful of different star players. We had a few conversations when we were in Vegas last week with a number of different people,

Bill Daley among them. And the reviews already seemed really positive for this docuseries that's set to come out a little later on. They're doing a huge press event next week to unveil all the plans and dates around that. What are you hearing in terms of what fans can be looking forward to with this new content? Well, first of all, as you hinted there, I've heard really good things about it. and i believe it's the 23rd where

amazon is is not only going to announce some more details about this but i think also they're going to announce their canadian broadcast team as well um but you know part of me is like to be honest kyle like part of me is is a little bit jealous like why isn't you know we're a rights holder why isn't this on our air um or why didn't we do this for example but that's over now what are you going to do um but one of the things we talked about and and luke fox wrote some thumbnails from some of our conversations and one of them was with the deputy commissioner bill daly where he talked about how the teams didn't get a chance to um how the teams didn't get a chance to edit these or give their approval. Like when the Maple Leafs did their Amazon series, there was negotiation.

Like the Leafs had some say, and there was a particular interaction between Sheldon Keefe and William Nylander that the agent fought to keep out. And I'm told this time, like like they were really strict about it like no no and I've heard that there's a couple of cases in particular where people are nervous about how some of these scenes are going to be perceived either for the team or for the player or in general and they're they're definitely going to create some buzz and like I said I think people here are really excited for it but they definitely think there's going to be some there's going to be some interesting reaction to some of the scenes let's and I don't know specifically what they're talking about, but that's what they've told me. And there are some people apparently who are unhappy that they couldn't get some creative control on it. I still remember like that first HBO 24-7, Penguins Capitals, first episode, one of the early scenes.

Dan Biles was in the room doing the starting lineup in Pittsburgh. And he looks at Crosby and he said 87 you're going and sid just with like the subtle tip of the cap with his hat on i remember like the hair on my arm standing up thinking like i've just i've never seen this access before and hopefully with what's to come here with this docu-series there's a few more examples of feeling that way again because i always remember bruce budrow remember when he goes into the washington dressing room and just tears a strip off those guys that or uh going to the mall with his kids to go christmas shopping for his wife yeah i i didn't like i felt i didn't that, I felt, I didn't, that one, the one that bothered me was the, was the,

it was the wing sauce. I didn't like that. I, yeah, I, I didn't like that. I thought that really hurt him to be perfectly honest. I didn't like that. But, uh, but the one, but that one where he goes into the room and starts yelling, like, you know, I, I was born in 1970. I had teachers who used to yell at me like that when I was a kid.

It was like, oh my God, I think I'm having flashbacks watching this. That was the one that always stood out to me as being particularly incredible. Yes. This line of don't just think you want it, go out and bleeping want it will live in my head until the end of time. So good. Good advice. will live in my head till the end of time so good good so Elliot that brings us it is good advice as we get to the final thought which is presented by GMC interesting news out of the Western Hockey League at the end of last week Braxton Whitehead 20 years old entering his overage year in the dub plays for the Regina Pats so on Friday he announced through his social media that he has

verbally committed to playing in the NCAA at Arizona State next season. He's the first player in the CHL to do so. And as of right now, there is not an agreement in place allowing CHL players to then go play college in the U.S. after they are done. So, Elliot, bring us up to speed here, because this is something you've talked about on this podcast quite a lot the last little while well i believed it was going to happen and it's nice to actually be right about something for a change um and this is just congratulations thank you and this is just another step like i still don't know how this is all going to work and i still don't know the timeline you know the hockey coaches were really against this especially of the teams that are already established and doing very well. They think

they're winning the battle against the CHL and they saw no need to give in. What it took them a lot of time to realize that this was not a hockey issue. This is an NCAA issue and they have been consistently getting hammered in court and losing in court as the era changes and players can make money off of their name, image, and likeness. It was only a matter of time. And this is a nod to the fact it's going to happen. And who knows, maybe they already know the timeline. Maybe they're hoping this accelerates the timeline. But it's going to occur.

And, you know know I think you should also mention because we were off when this occurred but last month a player named Ryland Masterson he plays for in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League for Fort Erie he sued and you know what happened to Masterson happened to a friend of mine's son and actually I really hated this rule and I hated that this could happen Masterson I don't know how many OHL exhibition games he played but basically even playing a second ends you in the NCAA's eyes and I remember a few years ago. There was a friend of mine their kid was you know a

Solid hockey player had a chance to play in the O and was a friend of mine, their kid was a solid hockey player, had a chance to play in the O, was a great student. And I said to him, do you have any hopes for your son going to the NCAA? And he told me, yeah, we'd like to keep that avenue open. Who knows where we could go? And he was like 16, 17 at the time. I can't remember how old he was. Well, he had an opportunity to play an OHL exhibition game,

and he was very excited about it. And I said, does he still want to go to the NCAA? And we go, maybe. We've got some opportunities. I said, you can't let him play. And he goes, what do you mean? I go, if you let him play one second, he can't go to the NCAA.

He's like, no, you're wrong. And he checked it and it was right. And his son really wanted to play. And I said, well, I never want to stand in the way of a kid's dreams you're 16 years old you should be able to do a lot of things you really hope to do but I just said like you you can't do it if you want to go to the NCAA and the kid played and he really regretted it and I always felt terrible for him and that's what happened to this kid

Masterson and basically one of the arguments he's brought up is that the Canucks prospect Tom Villender you know he played with pros in Sweden and he could play in the NCAA last year which to me is a perfectly sound and logical argument against why this should happen like I I really hate this rule it's it's stupid but you know like so he brought the lawsuit and that lawsuit it's it's only a matter of time before all this changes. And there's a couple of things, I think. Number one, I think it was Pat LaFontaine who was the driving force behind this, but a few years ago, they were talking about really changing the junior development format.

Like, USHL teams could play for the Memorial Cup. All the CHL players could play for the Memorial Cup. All the CHL players could play in the NCAA. Maybe you make the draft a 19-year-old draft, except the first round is for 18 years old. That way you can go in if you're a top player like Conor Bedard. But other than that, it's a 19-year-old draft. And I remember people saying to me, it's a good idea, but it's premature. Like, for one thing, you need the Players Association to sign off on it.

So I am curious to see if this becomes a collectively bargain thing because the league brought it up to the general managers last year at the gm meeting in march and we and we see this as part of a bigger picture but the also the other thing i also really wonder about uh kyle is do we get to a situation where there's so many more players for, you know, the top teams feel they don't need these players. Okay, well, look, like Tennessee State, a historically black college, with the help of the Predators, is starting a team for next season,

not this season. And maybe there's just more players who can play and there's more teams that eventually get created. Like, that's what you want expand your footprint of NCAA hockey and that's for both men and women I mean women aren't as affected by this but still you want more men's and women's programs and I can't help if that's wonder if that's what the league is thinking more players in the states and i know you have a big concern about canadian university hockey but more players in the states means more programs and i think that's like a win

win for everybody for sure and i could see why a league like the whl would be excited about this because that would be part of the pitch to getting young players to come and play in their league to say enjoy your time in the whl and if you wish to pursue an opportunity stateside in the ncaa and play div one and get a chance to live that lifestyle you can but as you mentioned elliot like you sports can't be loving the idea of this there's just a lot of layers to this story and canadian university hockey which doesn't have the same fanfare the same budget as programs in the u.s do but man it is some phenomenal hockey to go watch and another opportunity for players once they're done major junior to get an education as well i'm all for it

count me in all right the final thought presented by gmc when we come back another one of our interviews that we recorded last week while ellie and i were down in vegas as part of the player media tour conor bedard the reigning calder memorial trophy winner getting set for season number two with the chic Blackhawks. That conversation and a little bit more when we return to 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Listen to the 32 Thoughts podcast ad free on Amazon Music, included with Prime. with prime okay before we get to conor bedard we should remind you as we mentioned at last week's podcast the thought line is coming back the first edition of this new season will be friday's episode if you forgot the phone number one eight three three three one one thirty two thirty two you can also write to us via email

32 thoughts at sportsnet.ca and you are still welcome to bring the weird like the weird that's where that's where weird thrives yes You are still welcome to bring the weird. Love it. Well said. So Conor Bedard, Elliot, called a trophy. He has been on Instagram doing NFL predictions the last couple of weeks. He was a grouse grind stud this summer back home in the BC Lower Mainland. He was someone who, like a number of players,

rolled into our set there last week in Vegas in a great mood and just a little bit of a different vibe now, having one year of NHL lifestyle under his belt. I think different vibe is a great way to put it, Kyle. It's only taken you two and a half podcasts to come up with a really good analogy. But different vibe it is. And I love that Instagram Live. Obviously, I didn't see it when it happened, but I saw some of the clips.

The fans loved it. That was number one. The fans loved it. Number two, I really liked it. Some of the clips I saw, I really enjoyed. To me, what he's doing is he's saying that okay last year was about let's establish myself let's be all business and this year he's still going to be all business because he's driven to be great but he's going to drop his hair down a little bit and show a little bit

more of him and he did it in that Instagram live and did a little bit in our interview and so I think this is a good what it says to me that is this is a player who was comfortable not comfortable enough that they're not going to improve like I said he's not wired that way but he's he's driven but he's comfortable enough to say okay I can give people a little bit more of the true me and the other thing I'll say too is remember last year I said to nylander in sweden you look thicker and he's like he looked at me like i had a third ear sprouted on my forehead i didn't say that to bedard because i didn't want that same reaction but he also looks thicker like he's

he's a strong guy he still looks young he's he's got that he's got that youthful look to him, which is good. Keep that as long as you can from old gray guys like me. But he definitely looks thicker and stronger. Just 19 years old and a lot of horsepower. The pride of North Vancouver, B.C., our conversation with Conor Bedard. Enjoy. Conor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks uh my first question is uh which accomplishment uh were you most proud of winning the calder trophy rookie of the year or

your 37 minute grouse grind time um you may go calder i guess but no i think uh not some i don't know if you guys been out to van and done it or not, but it definitely sucks to grind. But, yeah, no, two different things for sure. This year will be mine. I'm going to get it done this year. It's about time. It sucks. It sucks, but it's good.

When you're done, you feel pretty good. How did you feel about your time? Were you like, that's good, or I can do a lot better? No, that was my best I've ever got. So hopefully next time I'll do better, but I was happy. How many times during the summer or during the week I guess during the summer would you go do it? Not crazy. I did it a couple times this summer. I feel like, I mean I'm skating all the time, working out all the time, it's hard to fit in, but you know when I get a chance

I'll go off and do it. Yeah, I was told the Sedin twins at their peak, they did it in 31 minutes. Oh, yeah. Their children, I think. Yes. You know, they did it at the Canucks camp, I think, and beat everyone. Really? Yeah, it's kind of funny. Oh, my gosh.

As long as you beat BX, that's all that matters. That's all that matters. For sure. You know, we saw, I also was watching a little bit of the Instagram Live or some of the clips that made it around on social media, and I wondered, like, first year, everyone's always very careful. Don't want to do anything that causes too big a storm. But I wonder now if maybe that's a sign that, you know, you're feeling a little bit more comfortable. And you're going to do a few more things to show that side of you.

Yeah. I mean, I'm not, like, a huge camera guy or anything. Or, you know, so, like, for me, I mean, it was just something fun with a couple of my buddies. We always just argued about sports or debated something, so we thought we'd go on there and show people if they liked it or whatever, and we had a lot of fun with it,

so hopefully people liked it, and looking at it from that standpoint, for me, it's just that spot I'm comfortable in, and maybe for fans, it gets to know me a little better. So people did love it. What is the biggest Bedard and Friends sports argument? Like, what is the one that takes you guys totally off the rails? Well, I think everyone would say Jordan LeBron debate is probably the biggest one.

But there's some other ones. There's some hockey ones, too, that we do that I'm not going to do any hockey ones because obviously I don't want to make any interviews, but there's just a lot of basketball ones that we get to do. Are you Team Jordan or Team LeBron? I mean, I'm playing in Chicago, so I'm going Team Jordan. Very smart. Very good answer. Very smart.

I just think about, like, even right off the hop last year for you, like, you at least, as you say, maybe you're not one that seeks the spotlight of a camera as much as you can, but it looked like you were trying everything. Like, you were asked to do a lot of different things, and it seemed like you tried to make it all work. Like, how was that experience now looking back? Yeah, it was, there's pros and cons to everything.

You know, I think looking at it, it's your draft year, your draft summer, and people don't know much about you, and that's probably going to be your busiest summer or leading into the year. So, I mean, to say I wasn't at all tired of it and, you know, a little drained when, you know, it was all going on would be a little bit of a lie. But I think once the season started and I was able to just play hockey, then it all slowed down a bit and and that was nice so um but yeah it was good but also it was a little tiring. What will be different for you this year do you think? I mean all that for sure and then just

the familiarity of playing in the league knowing you know what I can do out there knowing the the routine of what's going to make me feel the best every game. I think that's huge. Your first year, you're learning a lot on the fly, and I feel like I did that, and I'm feeling good going into the year, too. What was maybe the most surprising thing you learned, maybe the thing that you weren't expecting? I don't know if there was much I wasn't expecting,

but it was just there's things that were on another level than I was affecting maybe like it's probably more travel than I anticipated and any on the road more than I thought and then just I mean how good everyone is like you doesn't matter you're going against first line fourth line it's just not gonna be easy here all up against so you know that's always an adjustment can I ask you what your stick yeah so. So I heard, like, your last year of junior, like, you were using one with, like, a 67 flex somewhere around there. Am I close? I think, like, 70, yeah.

Okay. Like, has it gone up now that you've gotten to the NHL, or what do you have? It's, like, still, like, low 70s kind of area, similar. I tried to go out this summer, but it just feels a little weird. What did you try? Just, like, 75, I think. do all this summer but just feels feels a little weird so what did you try just like 75 i think um and yeah i was i'm just comfortable if i'm losing right now and i mean i i do think it would be beneficial maybe to go up a bit but uh right now i just feel comfortable wearing it yeah because i

mean like mid 70 flex still is like incredibly whippy yeah for like adults. And I guess, I imagine it's all the shooting mechanics that leads you there. Yeah, I don't know, I mean, I'm not the biggest guy, but I'm not like, I'm not the smallest, I'd say. Right, no, you're a strong kid. It's pretty whippy, but it's just what feels comfortable in me. Did you find a lot of guys tried to lean on that stick

a little bit, like break it, like things like that? Did you get a lot of that? Not really. People are just, I mean, the way they do, and I think maybe face-offs is something that could help me to go up a bit, but yeah, obviously I'll just try to figure out other ways around it.

Okay. I'm just wondering if there was any point throughout the year, you had a lot of great moments, but was there anything that stuck out of like getting back to the dressing room at the end of the game and be like, man, I just had my lunch money taken from me. Like just whatever the growing days of like your first year in the league.

Yeah, fifth game of my career in Colorado. I don't know if I touched a puck the whole night. I was just chasing it. I was skating around and I don't think I did anything. We lost 5-0, I think. But the first four games, I remember I was feeling good. A lot of puck touches, a lot of chances. And then that fifth one, we played Colorado, and it was bad.

So that was one that sticks out to me. Greatest moment of your rookie season? I really enjoyed our home opener. I thought that was cool. I scored in that game, too, pretty quick. So that was really, really neat. And my family was there and it was pretty electric in there so it was fun okay last one for me i noticed you're not wearing a watch

now peter morazic we interviewed him in prague and i learned in prague he is the watch king yeah and i he said i've got seth jones going i've got nick felino going i've got a bunch of guys going i said how's bedard's watch game he goes he, he doesn't have one, but I'm going to get him going. So what is this story? Well, yeah, I feel like just out of the blue, he'll come up to you and be like, hey, man, are you looking for a watch? And you'll be like, I'm good right now. But kind of just always be bugging you about it.

So, yeah, he's got some connections or whatever, I guess. And I think he's got a decent amount of nice watches and he enjoys that stuff so i mean i'm right now i don't have any but i think it'll be something i look into for sure okay that was why because like that was the first thing i checked based on what yeah it's just kind of funny because he he sounds like he wants to get you going yeah he'll ask me probably 50 times if I need to watch. So we'll see. Last one for me, Connor.

I just would love to know, like, what are your expectations for Chicago this year? Yeah, I mean, just take a big step. You know, last year was hard, you know, losing that many games. It's hard. It's frustrating. And, you know, we're all competitive professional athletes. So, you know, going into this year, we want to be playing important games by the end of the year and be in the fight, of course.

So we're really looking forward to getting back to it and getting it going. Great. Pleasure, man. All the best this year. Thanks so much. Thank you very much, Connor. Thank you once again to Conor Bedard for his time with us last week down in Vegas. That'll do it for this edition of 32 Thoughts. We are back on Friday. A final reminder, a thought line is coming back.

Bring the weird, as Elliot mentioned. We are just a few days away from the opening of training camp on Wednesday. It's the medicals, the fitness testing, and then players will be on the ice on Thursday. Inching closer and closer. Plenty of news surely to come out of the opening few days of camp. So we'll talk to you on Friday. Until then, have a great week. Thank you for listening.