32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Surprise!

Episode Date: August 25, 2026

In this edition of 32 Thoughts, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman delve into the NHL's potential expansion into Texas and Georgia. They talk about the uncertainty in Detroit as Steve Yzerman steps out of the picture (13:00), and the CBA deadline on September 15th as 8 year max-terms shrink to 7 (21:00). They talk about the futures of Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes (25:00). Elliotte shares a summer theory that Erik Karlsson becomes a Toronto Maple Leaf (30:00). The Final Thought reflects on the boys' summer break and the people they have run into (33:00). Listen to all the 32 Thoughts music here. Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemail. This podcast was produced and mixed by Cristian Ceniti and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & 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 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And so we did like a fireside chat in front of the group that were playing as part of Women's Day that day, Monday night. Yeah. What's that? Sorry, my, sorry. I just start again. I apologize. How do you do that? Why?

That's the most hell kid thing ever. No, there's a story here. Surprise. Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast, presented by your Canadian Toyota dealers. My God, it's Elliot Friedman's music. He's here. It's late August, Elliot. How are you doing, my man?

First off. Not bad. Good summer. Good trip to Croatia. Look, anybody out there who's thought about going to Croatia, go. It's one of the best trips we've ever been on. And it was one of those trips where every family member had a great time. That doesn't always happen.

But we hit the triple. Everybody had a great time. So if you've ever thought about going, go. Great. Swimming. Great. People. Great.

Good. Great. Great. Great. You? Yeah. Very. Very great also.

I know typically you like to plan vacations that only best serve you. And poor Steph and Max are just along for the ride. So you posted. They're really, you know, let's just be honest, Kyle. They're really lucky they even get to go. Yes. That's right. I'm surprised you don't board separate from them onto the plane. Who says I don't?

Exactly. You didn't think I am, Mark Masters? Yes, yes. Well, no chance. I know. There's a reason why both you get along so well. I did have one question about the trip, though, because you blasted the masses with a lovely collection of photos and videos from your time over there.

But this one of you here where you're balancing up against the wall. What's the story with that? So that's in Dubrovnik in the old city, and there's a little piece of rock or stone that juts out of the wall. And if you can last on top of it, if you can climb on or jump on it or step up on it and last, it's good luck. And it's harder than it looks. It's slippery. It's hard to get good footing. And it's slightly angled.

So the first couple times I tried it, like I flew right off. And so the third time I tried it, I literally lasted there. I was like, Steph, if I last, I'm lasting for one or two seconds. So you better take the picture quick. And she came through. But Max did it on his first try. Nice. He's 14.

On his first try, he did it. So it was. But if you can stay on there for any length. of time, it is considered good luck. And it took me three times to be successful for about two seconds. Right. You could have told us you were there for two minutes, that what the way the photo was. We would have believed it. So here we set late August. I mean, things don't really get going for us full on until September, of course. We did not get out to the European media tour out in Munich last week, unfortunately, but lots of stuff going on there. So I'm not saying we're back full on here yet,

but we wanted to drop one here towards the end of summer. Just chat. Talk hockey with our great audience. Yes. And we're starting to think about hockey. Hope you all have had a great summer. Excellent. So where do you want to start here?

I mean, I suppose one bit of news that's been floated around here the last little while is the idea of expansion. And right now, the NHL, as we learned coming out of the board of governors at the end of June, they're keying in on the state of Texas. And the Friedkin group will either be in huge. Houston or in Austin? And is that the only place they're expanding to? Could we see 34 before too long? But first, before 34, let's talk about 33. What have you all heard about what's going on and the timeline towards getting that finalized? Because it feels like more of a formality than this point and which of the two cities in Texas it will be than anything else. judging from what the deputy commissioner, Bill Daley said, it really does sound like a formality.

It is going to happen in the various interviews he did there, right? Made it sound like Houston or Texas is coming. So do you want to hear, Kyle, my all-encompassing theory on what is happening? Yes. I think a lot of people do because more than a few times being out in about this summer, people have asked. When's the next pod coming? When are you guys starting again? So a lot of listeners are antsy to hear whatever wild theories you got today.

So here is my wild theory on expansion and what is going on. There are two years left in the United States TV deal. They announced at the Board of Governors meeting in June that they are going to take a look at expansion. And Bill Daley really, really, as you said, advanced that. into more than a theory. This is now a possibility, if not a likelihood, Houston or Austin. And the Players Association has been saying for years now that expansion is coming, and now it appears to be arriving.

So there's two years left in the US TV deal. And in one of our last podcast, Kyle, before we took our summer break, we talked about the way that. Betman and the NHL looks at the U.S. This league with 32 teams has fewer teams in the continental United States than the NBA, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League. And they look at that as we have holes and we can fill them. We have room to fill them.

We have 25 teams in the U.S. We have places we can go. Now, TV market size in the U.S., six. Atlanta, TV market size in the U.S., seven. Plus, Atlanta is also the host of TNT, which is one of the league's valued partners, and they hope that relationship continues for a long time. Phoenix, its rank, is 12th.

Phoenix gets split into, or Arizona gets split into two. Phoenix is 12 and Tucson. The last I checked, I found it at 65. Arizona has another problem to the arena. And I believe, and I could always be wrong, like I said, this is just my theory and my opinion. I think the NHL needs this expansion done for the next US TV deal. and if they can add Houston 6 and Atlanta 7, they think it's going to make them even more valuable as a TV property.

So my guesstimate, Houston, Atlanta, if they can do it, new TV deal, which is what a lot of people who own these teams are concerned about, what is our next U.S. TV deal going to look like. And then after that happens, if he pulls it off, the commissioner rides partly into the sunset. He either becomes vice chair of the board of governors or a senior advisor to the NHL or whatever title he wants to give himself. And Bill Daly takes over as commissioner. And I think, because remember back on the before game one of the Stanley Cup final, Kyle, we wrote a story on the website about how they were talking about a succession plan.

I think this is Benin's plan. New TV deal, expansion, TV deal is better with Houston and Atlanta, market six and seven, Sianara. I'm loyal to my longtime deputy commissioner. He takes over. That, I think, is Bettman's vision. Who, and save, people.

Clip and save. We will revisit this in two years when it's completely wrong. Yeah. No, that makes a lot of sense. And I guess one of the questions I have out of that because one of the things you also talked about back during the Cup final,

when this came up, Elliot, was just the idea of not that other governors had issue with Bill Daly being the successor to Gary Bettman, but the idea of some sort of process involving more candidates. Do you see that happening or unlikely? The commissioner's a steamroller, Kyle. He is a steamroller. I don't know. Like I said, at the time, people did say they didn't, as you point, out they wanted a search process. Even if it ended up on daily, they wanted a search process. I don't know if we're getting a search process. We might just get a handover. And you think, though, at this point, they are looking with regards to the state of Texas,

both Houston and Austin. You think it's very likely that Houston ends up being the spot. And the TV aspect makes a lot of sense, the size of the market. I get that. But it is, you look at what the NHL has done in the past, kind of zigged while the others have Zag, Las Vegas maybe the greatest example, but even other examples of that back in the late 90s when they were expanding seemingly every other year, it would not be an NHL-like to say,

we could go to Houston, but we really like the potential in Austin. I just think to me this is all about the TV deal. Okay. Atlanta's going to get another shot. It could be wrong. It's my theory. I like it. It's a good one.

Just with the air, like I do think they want to go back to Arizona. Show me the building. And also, I do think this is time sensitive. They want this for the next TV deal. You ask, if you ask a lot of owners, what are their biggest concerns? I think, or their biggest question marks they have, grow the game. game. How do they keep growing the game? Player costs are about to go up and they're really going up. So you've got to keep growing

the game. And as part of that, US TV deal. Right. Especially in a world where you mentioned where player salaries have gone as we've seen in the summer already and are only going to continue to climb with the cap continuing to go up. And I've thought about this a lot too. We've seen certain in the bigger markets over the last number of years where, I mean, even in the biggest cities, where the demand is at its highest, or markets where the demand is at its highest, tickets can be very expensive. But with those continuing to climb, how much merchandise costs this year, I've started to wonder at some point, when is, when does it become too much for your consumer,

for your fan, right? And so how do you make a fair question? Where do you make money elsewhere? and a lucrative U.S. TV deal would be certainly one avenue. I got nothing else on this one. All right. So you've had a lot of time to think about that one. And you put it to put your time to use. I've been a lot of time to think, period. I'm a very dangerous person when I have time to think.

It's usually not a good thing, but I think in this case, not so bad. So. Seem like there's some sort of path to expand. in there, Texas first, and we'll see about Atlanta or wherever else beyond that. Uncertainty, though, remains in Detroit, right? Yep. With regards to their captain right now, Dylan Larkin, who's still a Red Wing, there's a vacant general manager seat after moving on from Steve Eiserman,

though he's still around the organization as an advisor for the time being. Have you heard much on the Detroit front over the summer? quite a bit actually so they've started to interview candidates I think they interviewed internal candidates we'll get to Jeff Greenberg in a minute but I think they interviewed Andrew Thomas Andrew Thomas who used to work for the Minnesota Wild

he works for the Tigers now too and when this opened up I don't know that Andrew Thomas is going to be ready for this now, but I've heard that they think very highly of him. And so that is a name to remember, although I'm not convinced the opportunity is going to be his now. I'm assuming they interviewed Horcoff, maybe Draper. I don't know, but I heard they did the internals first,

and then they started moving to the external candidates, and there have been some reports, Brett Peterson, Jeff Kelty. Like I heard Jeff Kelty really interviewed well in Nashville. He's in San Jose now, but the problem was the Predators just wanted to go outside the organization. But I heard his interview was quite good. You know, I said this on an HL network before I went on a vacation at the beginning of August.

Jeff Greenberg is the next. name here that interests me. He works for the Tigers. He worked for a year for the Blackhawks. Before that, he worked for the Cubs. He's the Tigers GM, right? Yes, but he's not in charge there. He has Scott Harris runs the baseball operations of the Tigers, but he is the GM. His dad, Chuck Greenberg, was Mary Lemieux's lawyer. When Lemieux was owed a lot of money and became the owner or got an ownership share of the penguins, Chuck Greenberg was one of the people that put that together. Really sharp guy.

And he was, he was a big hockey fan. He later became a part owner of the Texas Rangers. He was a player agent. You know, he has a long history in sports. And when this, when this opening first came up,

you know, you start to look for lists and I had a couple of people say to me, watch Jeff Greenberg on this one. And so now when I was away, I had some people who kind of indicated they weren't sure if he was still part of the process. I'm under the impression he still is. And as long as he's part of the process,

I think it's a name to keep an eye on. Other than that, I'm not sure yet, I'll be honest, I'm not sure yet at this point how to handicap it. But he's in the name I'm watching as long as he wishes to be considered. You know, I did have some, I had some interesting reaction at the NHL Network hit I did about, some people were asking me what I meant about, you'll have the freedom to do what you need to do. What I was referring to there is that when the Red Wings first made the announcement that Steve

Iserman was out, they kind of made it sound like Iserman would still be involved. And I think some people were nervous about taking the job if Iserman would still have a say or sort of be around. He's a kind of intimidating guy. What I was referring to is I don't think that's going to be the job. the case. Whoever takes this job is going to report to ownership and they will have their hand on the rudder of steering the ship. You know, I'd like to say something about Iserman. I, you know, this happened after we did our last pod of the summer. I have joked before about my relationship with him. So one of my favorite stories about Iserman is when he, he's a

He retired. The next year, we went back to do a game in Detroit. And remember Jason Williams, the player? Yes. So I walked up to him and I asked him, like I asked everybody, how is it different now without Eiserman there? And he said, well, it's a lot less biting and sarcastic when you make a mistake. And I was like, what a great line.

I never forgot that line. Thank you. And then I lived it. You know, if I made a mistake was something I report on, on an Eisenman team, whether it was the lightning of the red wings, I was on the receiving end of that. And I'll say this, like, I have a really thick skin. You deal with it.

You make the mistake. You suffer the consequences. But I will tell you, I understood. what Williams meant because Kyle, I am surrounded by sarcastic and biting people, but Steve Iserman is as elite at that as he was at everything else. Like it was tough to be on the other end of those. And, you know, I didn't always like it. And there were times I gave it back.

But the one thing I'll say about Iserman is, He made me better at my job because I didn't want to take those phone calls from him or anyone else. And I will say that about Eiserman. We had our battles. We had our fights. He made me better at my job because I did not want to be bitten by him. There is a place in this world still for intimidation. When used the right way, it can empower people to do.

things much more effectively. I would like to say I was not intimidated. It was not intimidation, Kyle. Although intimidation can be very effective. It was more like, I'm about to get a brutal dressing down.

And even myself, who can take a lot of insults, that would leave you with wounds when he was done with you. You didn't walk out of the ring on Skate Day. No. No. And you know what? I'm still kind of surprised it happened.

And the more I have heard about it and think about it, like initially I thought that maybe Iserman resigned. I don't believe that was the case. I believe the Red Wings made the choice to move on. But I think the biggest thing is that I think the Red Wings have been shocked and surprised at getting people to want to play for them. or be there. And I think that's a very big part of this.

Explain to us how we can get back to being the Red Wings again. Where people want to play for us. So where does this leave the Dylan Larkin question within all this? I think that gets sorted out by the new person. I do. Okay. And you still think the request stands? I think it does for now.

because, you know, we'll see what the new person comes in and says and how Larkin feels. Okay. So, Ellie, we're rapidly approaching September 15th. Why is that day significant? That is when officially the current collective bargaining agreement ends and the new one that was agreed to over a year ago kicks in, which also means those that are eligible to sign an extension right now, if you sign prior to that date, You still have the option of going eight years, the max term length, starting on the 16th, it's only seven. And then six as opposed to seven next summer, if a player were to get to free agency.

So there's a few players right now that fall into that equation. One of them being Ottawa's Drake Batherson, who is now known as a 30-goal score, putting up 33 last year, and has, as we've talked about, improved his point totals every year he's been in the NHL. and has very much outperformed his current contract, certainly the latter years of it. Where do you think that goes? Well, I haven't been bothering people as much as I normally would during the summer. And as you can imagine, there's a lot of secrecy around this stuff.

And definitely, Ottawa is trying to establish itself as a New Jersey Lamarillo-style secretive organization. All I can say I've heard about this one is there is a path to a deal here. I think that that's the one thing I've kind of heard is that this one, there's a path there. I don't want to vary from that because I know what will happen. I'll say something I regret that gets me radioed. So I'll just stick to, I've heard, and I've heard in the separate. several different places that there is a path to a deal between Batherson and Ottawa.

Do you think the horse is out of the barn there in terms of, I mean, you look down the road in Montreal, where they've managed to keep practically everyone in and around, those that got the bigger tickets, a similar number. Yeah. It was too much time passed in Ottawa when you look at when a Stutzel assigned his extension, when a Jake Sanderson, though a different position I know, signed his extension, has too much of the economics of the league change when it comes to being comparable? And you know what, Kyle, I think it'll happen in Montreal eventually too.

You know, Ken Hughes was an agent. He understands this game. You know, he plays it very well. And, you know, ultimately, I think in Montreal probably knows it that eventually there's going to be a guy that they're going to have to go to for just a higher number. Like they already, they went into the nines with Dobson, Demadov, and there's going to, the time will come when they're going to have to go even higher. I do think with Ottawa, it's there.

Like I would be surprised if Batherson comes in under 10. I would. I just don't think that's feasible. But again, I'll stick with my one line that I've heard is that I've heard there was a path to to we deal there. And I guess we just got to get used to the new reality of, I mean, what does 30 goals cost a team nowadays? Is that a lot of money? Yeah.

It probably does. Yeah. Especially when you're on the verge of UFC status. So, okay, that's going to be a big one in Ottawa. There's a lot of change there over the off season, but they want to remain competitive and playoff team amongst what we expect to be a difficult division. What about a couple of marquee defensemen? Kail McCar, Quinn Hughes. You've done your theory already on Hughes in Minnesota.

Yeah. But anything on McCar? Well, all the Devils fans are in my DMs. Like, are you still convinced? There's also one big Devils fan out there. It's like, are you wavering it all? Are you wavering at all? And I will say this.

It has surprised me a little bit about how long this is taken with Hughes. And, you know, as I, said earlier this month, I'll be concerned if it's not done at the start of the season. If this is not done at the start of the season, A, I'll admit I'll be surprised based on what I predicted, and B, then I'll be saying, okay, we've got something here that is not expected, at least not for me. I don't think there have been a lot of talks recently between Hughes and the wild. I don't get that sense. I mean, it has been the summer of Hughes. Someone joked to me the other day, like, how much you think they've been in the gym? We were kind of laughing about it.

But, and I think that's been part of this. They've been enjoying their newfound celebrity and their, and their, and the way that, you know, last year went for them with the Olympic gold medal. And that's fine. If I won one of those, I'd be yucking it up across the eastern seaboard in the Michigan Peninsula, too. So I'll wait to see how that plays out. The other thing, too, Kyle, is I've kind of wondered if maybe Hughes and McCar are kind of eyeing each other about what the numbers are. And part of me has wondered if maybe they're looking to see who will go first. Joe Sackick was at there. He scored, too. I saw the highlight in that Avalanche Denver University alumni game, which is a big. thing every year.

And Sackick assists to what? Haydook and Forsberg? Yeah. Unbelievable. That takes you back. You know, I know Joe Sackick is, I don't know, 50 something years old, but you might want to cover that guy in front of the neck. Don't keep him wide open there.

Even now, he can still hit it. Yeah. But for what I remember, he had a decent shot. He could shoot the puck. He could shoot the puck. But he said before. there that he expects he expects

McCar to be signed before the start of the season. I always look for past examples. When Nathan McKinnon signed his extension, it was at the Avalanche Golf Tournament at the beginning of training camp. Remember the Flames did that with Dustin Wolfe

last year. They signed, so part of me is like, okay, are they going to try to do it at the Avalanche Golf Tournament? with McCar like they did with McKinnick. You know, sometimes, like I said, you can look at the past and see what the future is. I think Sackick is right, though.

I think that that is going to get done. And the other, but what I've heard, one of the interesting conversations there is term. And I think that's one of the things that, like I think the avalanche are smart about this. They're like, what do you want? Okay. And they know they've got to do that.

And I think McCar will be like, Celebrini. I don't see him taking the max number, but we'll, we'll find out. But Kail McCar turns 28 at the end of October. So I think one of the things that everyone's kind of weighing here is, what is the right term for this? Like if he signs for five or six years, it's probably his last big deal. But if he signs for three years, he probably gets another one at the end of that when he's 30 years old, right? So I think that's, I think that's one of the things everybody's deciding is what is the right term. But I expect McCar to get done. You know, the other ones now, too, we should mention are Gochan and Fantilli, right? And, you know, I think that that's similar to what

we talked about with Batherson. I just think that the Carlson deal and the Bedard deal have completely changed the market. And, you know, I think Columbus had a plan for Fantilli, and I just think that plan has to be completely changed because of where the new deals are. And the same with Goce. And I think both the docks and the blue jackets are in position where they're saying, all right, we have to adjust based on what happened in this league. and where are we comfortable with.

Right. Anaheim especially because, I mean, the summer explosion literally went off in their own backyard. Yes, yes. And now picking up all the shrapnel from that. Did you want to talk Connor Hallibuck briefly before we get to final thought? I just think that one, I haven't heard a lot about that one. And, you know, I expect that if that one is not settled before training camp, maybe we'll start hearing some more noise about there.

Okay. Good to get to final thought now? Is there anything else you want to? Oh, can I give another one of my theories, my summer theories? Oh, yeah, yeah. Let's go. Okay. So I got back from vacation and I started kind of calling around.

What's going on? What's going on? It's not a lot. A lot of people are relaxing or on vacation or don't want to return my calls right now. Kyle, I find it very hard to believe, but it happens. So one guy said to me, he says, I have a 26, 27 prediction for you. I said, okay, what is it? And he goes, depending on how both teams seasons go.

My prediction is Eric Carlin. Carlson becomes a Toronto Maple Leaf. Whoa. I was like, oh, that's a good. Not an Ottawa senator? No, he predicted Leaf. I was like, ooh, that's a good prediction. What's interesting about that is that, you know,

Kyle Dubas has never really told the full story as far as I know. But when he was GM of the leaves, he tried to trade for Carlson at one point. So he's always had, and he did do it obviously in Pittsburgh. he's always liked him. And Carlson, it should be pointed out, had a great year last year last year of his contract.

So we'll see how everybody feels. And if Pittsburgh has another good year like they did last year and Carlson plays like he did, I don't know that I see him getting traded at all. But he said, look, if Carl, and Carlson remember has a no move clause, he said, if it comes to the point where he's on the market, said Matt Sundeen, Daniel Alfordson, Eric Carlson, Toronto.

That's his pick. Hoof. Wow. What do you know that one? Well, I mean, I think about what the reaction was when Daniel Alpherson made the jump to Toronto. Yeah. And I think there's been growing appetite for the idea of Carlson, the possibility, whether or not the current senators management team, how much interest they have, really.

but externally, externally, the idea of him coming back to Ottawa. I think the appetite for that had been growing. And if he ends up in Toronto, man, oh man, another dose of indigestion in our nation's capital. That would be something. That would be something. But depending on where it all goes. Okay, time to go. Now that we've done all that.

All right. Let's get to the final thought here. So if you thought our summer spectacular episode was long, buckle up and find a comfy chair because we've gone six weeks of Elliott building up shoutouts. We can only imagine how long this is going to. No, there's not a lot. There's not too many. I did want to shout out a couple players.

So you know Scotia Bank Pond, the hockey rink in Toronto. Yes, never been there, but familiar. Yeah. It's a really good rink. A lot of tournaments play there. A lot of hockey's played there. And there's a gentleman from my gym. He's in his 70s.

And he plays pickup hockey there weekly. And he said that he was there for his game. And he walked by one of the other ranks. And there were some players practicing. And he said, holy cow, like these guys are really good, really good. And he watched them practice. for a little bit. And it was a goalie. And he said the goalie was unbelievable. He was giving the shooters no room. But some of those guys could really wire the puck and they were finding room.

He's like, I can't believe how good these players are. So their practice ended and they went into the room and he's like, you know what, I'm going to go in there. And I am going to ask them who they are. So you can imagine how this could go. It's only going one of two ways. Either, hey, yeah, come on in, we'll talk, or get out, weirdo. Like, there's, there's no middle ground. So he goes in and he said, like, guys, I was watching your practice. You guys are unbelievable. Can I ask who you are?

And he said the two guys that were identified themselves were McKenzie Blackwood and Taylor McCar. And he just said they were, like, he just said, like, I. was mesmerized watching you guys practice. And he just told me the story because he said he knew he wandered in there and he knew it could have gone really badly, but he said they were really flattered and really nice. So I wanted to share that story. I don't know how your golf game has been this summer, Kyle, but until Friday, mine was atrocious.

I was playing horribly, horribly this summer. but last Friday I played better I just wanted to shout out a couple of golf tournaments I do Adam Graves smile zone tournament every year it's a fantastic tournament the cause is incredible Graves won runs a great show I play Zach Hyman's

every year Hyman runs an incredible tournament food is unbelievable so this year actually it was the same day as Max Domi's golf tournament. And Conner McDavid played a few holes in Hyman's and a few goals in Doming's. And Gary Roberts, who was there, said that McDavid and Drysiddle were both at the gym. He got to the gym at 5.57 a.m. that day. And they were already there getting their workouts in so they could play

in these golf tournaments. And I'll tell you the one thing, Kyle, like the Oilers, those guys are wired to play this year. Like, they mean business. They didn't like how last year ended. They gave all the credit to the docs, beat them fair and square. But that's a team on a mission this year. No question about it. But Hyman runs a great tournament. And Friday, the one I played not too badly in was run by Alex Wojanski, who also runs Hyman's tournament and former NHLer Jeff Taff, a great guy. And the tournament, um, is the United Heroes League. And basically what it does is to ensure that children of military service members

are afforded every opportunity to participate in sports. It's given over $30 million worth of equipment, tickets, scholarships, camps, experiences to military families across the U.S. and Canada. It's www.givUHL.org. And they do a great job. So I wanted to shout out those three tournaments I played in. And finally, I wanted to shout out. So one of our feature producers at SportsNet, I hate to give him any compliments,

but he's an excellent features producer, Jeremy McEleney. His daughter, Brooke, played for Team Canada in the women's under 16 ball hockey world championships last month in Sheffield, England. And Brooke and Team Canada walked away with the gold medal winning the final two to one over. Wow. Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, Slovakia.

Sorry, Dom, another international choke job by Slovakia as Canada beats them two one in the gold medal game. Congratulations, Brooke. Your dad's very proud. That's awesome. That is so good. And I'll be honest, Elliot. I didn't realize until today that there was a U-16 woman's ball hockey world championship.

I think it was the first one. I think so. Yeah, I looked at it. Hopefully the first of many. That's awesome. Yeah, hopefully. Yeah, you know what? Like I'm, I'm a guy like, I don't care if it's ice hockey, ball hockey, road hockey, whatever hockey, feel hockey, put a stick in someone's hand.

Tremend. Tremend. Tom just texted. I'm sure the fix was in. That's right. Oh, spoken like a true loser. By the way, Dom is going to watch his beloved Phillies play in Seattle. Yes.

One of the great ballpards of the league. Yeah. Well done, Tom. Okay, so I got one story for you. Okay. So this last week was the Rogers Charity Classic, the golf tournament part of the PGA Tour Champions that's played out here at Calgary at the Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club. You play with Cassie, right?

So we did as part of the Blake's Women's Day. So it always kind of kicks off the week on the Monday morning. We did like a fireside chat. She's got a book coming out in October that I can't wait to read. And so we did like a fireside chat in front of the group that were playing as part of Women's Day that day, Monday night. Yeah. What's that? Sorry.

Sorry. I just start again. I apologize. How do you do that one? That's the most hell kid thing ever. No, there's a story here. There's a story here. No, I think I know where you're getting at with this,

but it's just hilarious. The one time I've like, I've got something. You're like, what can I distract myself with? No, no, you know why? Because, okay, I might as well just do this. Cassie sent me a video of you. and I just remembered as we were talking and I just opened it up now for the first time

and I didn't realize there was music on it. Were you in the final, the closest to the pin? So the Monday night, every year they do like a par three type shootout. And this year it was done on the par three 16th because they had turned that into like a ballpark type look for the tournament with, you know,

a connection to Blue Jays, obviously 50 years. And they did a really cool job. So yeah, It's like bracket style head to head. And before I get to the actual tournament self, you know who I saw there. Do you remember my diversion to Grand Junction Colorado episode? No way.

And the couple that I ended up sitting across the aisle from and we talked for hours as we're waiting to get off this plane, Steve and Kelly Blake, who at the time were on their way over to Germany with their daughter to spend Christmas with their son Connor, who plays professionally over in Germany. Anyway, Steve and Kelly were there because Steve played in the par three shootout.

Connor was there as well, so I got to meet him. And I just, so Kelly, like, we're in line to get food and she's looking at me. And I kind of have that moment of goodness, you're familiar, but what do I remember you from? And she goes, Grand Junction. And it all made sense. So what were the odds that I saw them?

Great to see. Wow. Yes. Sorry for ruining your story, by the way, by clicking on that picture for the first time. That's okay. So a couple days before the event, they send out the bracket, right? So I pull it up. And yeah, who do I draw the first round?

Cassie Campbell, Pascall, who if you follow her on her social at all and have seen some of the scorecards of her she's been posting, she's having a great summer of golf going low. So I'm thinking this is going to be a quick evening for me. So she goes first, hits a great golf shot, has applied the pressure. I step up there and somehow sneak one in tighter. So I get through Cassie against all odds. So I'm on to the next round, the round of 16. I win that one into the quarterfinals.

I win that one. In the semifinals, I'm up against Brady Lehman, who I'm sure you remember won gold for Canada at the Olympics in Ski-cross in 2018. This time I'm going first, and I put what looks to be a good shot. Like I've got, okay, I've done my job. I've given him something to think about.

If he sticks one tighter, you've just got to tip your cap. He steps up and hits a great shot. to the point where from the T-box, you can't tell who's is closer. They've got two people up on the green. Now they've got like measuring tapes out. It's almost like at the end of the curling end when you need the measurement of which rock is closer. And so they finally radio back.

Mine was closer by like a foot and a half. Nice. So suddenly, Elliot, I'm into the finals of this bloody thing. Opposing me on the other side was Carter Wilkie of the Calgary Ranglers, American Hockey League club. Who looks to be quite the player himself by watching his shots throughout the evening. So all this time, it's like one shot each, right?

Whoever's closest moves on. The final, the only difference is two shots per player. And whichever the closest ball is out of the four total, that person is the winner. So we're getting ready to start. And finally they decide, because the actual hole itself for the pros is about 186, and we'd been hitting off a mat around 155-ish.

So they go, want to hit from the tips in the back. We do one shot from the back, one from where we'd been hitting from. So we're like, sure, no problem. My only issue was the clubs I brought with me, because you don't bring your whole bag over to this event, you bring a couple because you know in advance the approximate distance. I said, is there...

And there are other clubs I can borrow here because I can't get there with a seven iron. And there were two pros that played this past weekend. Ken Duke and Brand Joe, they were phenomenal, helping us out almost serving as caddies as we're each person stepped up to hit their shot. So one of them says, well, you can use one of my clubs. I went, okay. So I grab his five iron. I go first. And all night I've been striking the ball.

well, and I've got this guy's club in my hand, and I catch it so thin, Elliot. Like, it was horrible. It was so bad. It got like halfway down the fairway. I'm nowhere close. I've done that. Yeah.

So Carter steps up, hits a better shot, a little bit short and right, okay? So he's not tight or anything. It's wide open. It's wide open. Yeah, but it's way better than my shot. Anyway.

Now, do you have to land it on the green? Well, it's like if you're head-to-head Like if you both miss the green It's whoever's missed the less Okay, so it does Okay, yeah, it does So you don't, because I've played in somewhere You have to put it on the green

And they won't count it if you're not I think for the sake of time It was like if you both miss It's whoever's closer Yeah, whoever's close So you have to hit a better shot here you're done. So now we move up to 150, where he's been hitting from.

And I step up and I hit another good shot. It looks to be within 12, 15 feet. He steps up, pulls his well left into the sand. So Ken Duke, one of the pros, starts grabbing me. He's like, well done, champ, you did it. Way to go. And I'm like, oh, my God, I won this bloody thing. And then out of nowhere, they decide, well, we need a third round, a tie-breaking round.

Because they had determined that his was closer from the back and mine was closer from the front. We need an additional round now to split the tie. So my issue was I finally like exhaled for two seconds. And then they're like, you've got to go again. So I was like, oh, okay. So I step up again. And of course, now I got to tell you, this is. I pull it left and Carter hits a beautiful shot, center of the green.

He ends up winning. I think at the end of the day, Elliot. but right player one. But man, talk about being Charlie Brown running up to kick a field goal. And Lucy just yank the ball right from under me. You got scammed here. There's no question about that. Kyle, I would love to rip you and I would love to say that you deserve to lose.

But no, you got scammed. You got, I would have thrown a temper tantrum of the likes that you which have never seen. Like Berkeley, when he doesn't get his post-dinner ice cream, I would have thrown that temper tantrum. That's ridiculous. So I actually played, I thought what you were going to tell me, honestly, I thought what you were going to tell me was, they came up to you and said,

Kyle, you can't win because you're a Rogers employee. I saw that happen once. Oh, which I would have been totally fine with. Yes. So Ted Walshyn, who used to, was a longtime radio personality in Toronto and an excellent one. He said that he won closest to the pin for a motorcycle at a golf tournament once. And it was his company's golf tournament and they told him he couldn't win it.

Said that the company employees were ineligible. And what he joked about was at the end of the, and at the end of the month he was named employee the month. That's a way to make it. it's not quite a motorcycle. Yeah, you got scammed. Let's let's be honest here. You got totally scammed. No, it was, it was a fun night. They always do a good job with that. So that's my golf story. I can't believe something in Alberta would be crooked. Easy. These are my people out here now. Well, this is fun. It's good to reconnect here before the summer is. It's a good to reconnect here before the summer

officially through. You look good, buddy. You sound great. And now, one final stretch of relaxation before the hockey season gets going again. Kyle, it was great to chat with you. Great to talk hockey. Dom, great to see you too. Great to chat with you. Hope everybody who listens to the pod enjoyed this podcast. But there's, you know, one thing before we go, I'm sure some of you have seen the reports about a hockey player at Arizona State who collapsed during a drill, an off-ice drill, and is in hospital.

There's a lot we're hearing about this. Don't like what I'm hearing about this. We're prepared to wait to hear the full story. Right now, just want to send the best to the young man and his family. All of us are with you and praying for you. Nice he said, Elliot. Okay, well, back to a little more off-season and what's left of it.

September will be here before you know it. Have a great week, everybody.