Halford & Brough in the Morning - Abbotsford Canucks GM Ryan Johnson

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason discuss the latest 'Nucks news with NHL.com Canucks & In Goal Magazine's Kevin Woodley (1:51), plus the boys chat with Abbotsford Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson (26:02).  This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

801 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford, bro, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough for the morning is brought to you by Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-pound.com today. Before I throw over to Jason, quick apology to the listeners. It's been an erratic show today. That's on me

Haven't navigated the waters as smoothly as I would have liked One of the many misses this morning. We did not get it to enough what we learns I didn't rain in the conversation. I didn't move it along a moocow appropriately didn't fire up the dot matrix We only read one what we learned Someone say you extended the conversation. I was just excited. I was really excited with basketball Ben's optimism and enthusiasm, not just for hockey, but for life. And then we got way off track.

So keep sending in your What We Learns, hashtag him WWL and I promise we will read more in this final hour of the program. This I promise, do your business. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio, Kintec Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. Guests on Sportsnet 650 call in on the hotline powered

by Power West Industries. Don't get caught in the dark when it matters most. Visit them at powerwest.ca. Today they keep the lights on. Let's go to that Power West Industries hotline right now. Our next guest is a presentation of White Rock Hyundai. Kevin Woodley from nhl.com and Ingo magazine joins us now on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.

Morning, Kev, how are you? I'm good, I'm good. I'm looking forward to putting the White Rock Hyundai Kona Electric to the test this week out at development camp. A lot of driving in and out of UBC this week. What was the bigger goalie story for you this weekend, Kev? Was it the John Gibson trade to Detroit or was it how many goalies got taken in the early stages of this draft?

Ooh, that's a good question. Um, probably the Gibson one cause we've been waiting on that one for a while. And some nervousness about the fact that it was Detroit because I've been waiting on them for a while to do something right when it comes to goaltending. So, um, yeah, probably, probably the Gibson trade. I'm really curious to see which way this goes. I have a belief that he's better and he had a chance to show in Anaheim and I wanted to see him on a good team.

And my hunch was he would probably have a chance to make some people eat some words, but I'm not sure Detroit's a good team. And when it comes to making decisions on goaltending, like they just leave me scratching my head on a regular basis. So he goes there. They don't have a goalie coach. If I had their goalie coach, the director of goaltending development is gone as well. Probably tie that one to, you know, speaking of things that happened this weekend, the decision to take a CHL goaltender, Sebastian Cosa in the first round a few years ago, tie that departure to that. And yeah, there was a lot of goaltending stuff this weekend, but Gibson to Detroit, what that means their brightest prospect is Trey Augustine. And they can continue

to jam up the depth chart in front of him to the point where he goes back to school for a third year this season. And I would not be surprised if he stays and walks himself right to unrestricted free agency, just because of the way goaltending has been handled in that organization. What did you think about the Canucks using a second round pick to take a goalie?

Well, they wait, I mean, when you wait two years, two full drafts without taking one, you knew one was coming because it just thins out your depth chart. And I know people are like, oh, Tai Yang and Akukos Kenbuo, and they're deep. But the reality is these guys, as we're seeing with Shelob, there's a timeframe and it takes time to develop. It takes time to be ready. And there's a really short window before you got to clear waivers and you risk losing them. And so you need to constantly refresh the pipeline. In Clark's draft record, picks to NHL is somewhat remarkable.

It's over 70%. So when you sort of hear the accolades and the way they see things, and as Todd Harvey told us, that despite being sort of largely diminished in the organization, that's still Izzy and Clark in the scouting role, you're optimistic, right? I know he was drafted higher than a lot of projections had him. When I started to talk to people and look at film after the pick. There was a lot to like. What is the story with Medvedev? Is he Russian born?

And then he came up, when did he, do you know when he came over? I believe it's like four years ago. So I think he played two years in the GTHL before sort of playing Ontario junior, like I'm assuming it's their junior A, it's go, go J J H L and then the OHL last year. So, um, it's funny, he talked on his zoom about, uh, skating for hours without pucks, uh, as a kid. And that is, you know, when we talk about Russian goaltending and why is it so good?

It's kind of that right there. Uh, they have, and a lot of the stuff that they do is very old school, very edge, edge work and there's some Treachy act in it and they've largely done a good job. And it'll be interesting to see how long they can maintain this, but they've largely done a good job of not over coaching at a young age. And I think what you see happen is rather than kids learning the reverse of the H at the age of eight, they just learn how to skate.

I've talked to Russian goalies over the years about, you know, like almost quitting because all they did was skate like no pucks and tears. And I wanna play hockey. But that's just how they did it over there for years. And so that foundation of movement. And I think when they get into their academies and we're seeing that proliferation over here but their athlete academies

over there it's not just okay you're a goalie or you're a hockey player and you're a goalie and that's all you're going to do in this academy and then you go to the gym and you're going to lift weights for goalies and hockey goalies. They do ballet, they do dance, they do a lot of physical literacy stuff in their sports academies over there that I think lends to some of the skating, that combination lends to some of the elite skating and body control that you see

from a lot of these Russian goaltenders, whereas the tendency here is to, hey, you're seven, you wanna be a goaltender, we're gonna teach you the same things we teach NHL goaltenders, whereas the tendency here is to, hey, you're seven, you want to be a goaltender, we're going to teach you the same things we teach NHL goaltenders. So there's a real emphasis on foundation. And like I said, this happens all the time where a country gets on a run with goaltending,

and then you see a proliferation of goalie coaches. And when it's on the private side, like it is in North America, it's like, hey, like we have to separate ourselves, and how do we separate ourselves by teaching new things and teaching things that nobody else is teaching rather than, Hey, the fundamental foundational skating stuff that looks really boring,

but might produce more goaltenders like Medvedev. Kev, are you hearing anything on the Thatcher Demko front or the Arty's, Arters, Arty, Archer's, Silov's front? Do you just throw an Arty at me? Yeah. Um. It's an Arty party.

Yeah. Uh, I mean, by all indications, it sounds like this Temco thing is done. So I wouldn't be surprised, you know, uh, Rick reporting the Garland one, like, I'm interested to see if that's the only news we get, but let's just say that I have the outlines of stories for contract extensions for both ready to go

for tomorrow morning on July 1st, and I think that you know, I understand that that means the likelihood of trading Arthur she loves But I'm not sure what this market thinks that looks like the comparison I would draw you to, because this is a team that I wondered about for him, and they went a different way, would be the Tarasov trade from Columbus to Florida. Was that over the weekend or just late last week?

And that's a fifth round pick. And Daniel Tarasov, I know people in this market that don't know goaltending or haven't thought about it may not be aware of this and may not want to hear it. But Daniel Terrace office, a higher regarded prospect. What happened to him was much like our tears actually like they didn't get him in enough games young. But for Terrace off, the problem was injuries prevented him from getting in enough games professionally. And all of a sudden he needed to clear waivers in the Blue Jackets knew that he would get claimed because he is so highly regarded as a prospect. And so they ended up essentially had this conversation with their goalie coach, Nikki Backstrom this year, like they pretty much had to bury him.

Like they didn't have enough reps that they trusted playing him enough and yet they wouldn't send him to the minor league. So he just never got enough gameplay. Um, but interesting to me that Florida, who I had, I wondered if they might be interested in Shelops because again, Roberto Luongo, Leo Luongo, a lot of ties to Ian Clark and sort of the, the way he views goaltending from a scouting perspective and they ended up going with Tarasov who is another Ian Clark draft pick. But as far as value goes, you're not getting the second, third round pick out of this.

I would say that might be on the high side of the value just based on perception around the league comparing Tarasov to Archer Shilofs. Big picture with the Canucks. Are you surprised they're at this point one day before free agency? With the goaltending or just big overall? Overall. Yes and yet should we be? I think the yes is because there was a lot of talk about how aggressive they were going to be. And let's face it, like since this regime came in, they backed that. And no, because we probably should have looked at the rising cap and had an understanding

that teams retaining players rather than letting them get to market might be a part of this. And so that's not a fault. You can't blame them for it. It's just the reality of the market and it shifted and guys that in the past would have gotten moved are now being resigned because teams can fit them. And so it is a market with way more buyers than sellers and very few assets. And so that's inevitably going to be really difficult to make the type of impactful high top of the lineup moves that the Canucks need to make.

You're surprised just because it's clear they need to. They've been open about it. They've been so aggressive in the past and been able to pull off big moves. So you just maybe at the end of the season expected oh they'll do it again. But just the reality of the market it should have been it probably should have been, well, maybe, maybe, maybe should have been as a

little bit of a stretch, maybe predicting it would have shaped out to this degree, um, was tough, but in retrospect, this, this, this shouldn't be a shock. Okay. I want to ask you a question because we had a, a debate, um, should. Should the Canucks entertain trading the first round pick next year or maybe using it in an offer

sheet unprotected with Gavin McKenna expected to go first overall, would that be a too big a risk or are you confident enough like basketball Ben is, like Halford seems to be, that the Canucks can at least be around the mushy middle and they would never really have a chance of winning the draft lottery. Oh man, that's a, at the end of the season, I

thought it was really easy to see how they'd be able to take a step forward from this past season, maybe not back to the level they were at two years ago, but certainly given everything that happened to them this year, I mean, start with Demko, right? Like just never getting on track after missing all that time and what that did to their goaltending because when the goaltending was elite at the beginning of the season and Lankton was performing at another worldly level you know things were fine that said that feels like too big a risk to me just given how many more teams see

themselves as trying to get competitive this season. And given the holes that remain in the lineup and given the fact that you're not even bringing it back with the same coaching staff. So yeah, I'm not sure that's a risk I would be willing to entertain and yet we wouldn't be surprised if if they did. I mean, that's kind of that was more along the lines of where I'm at with it. Like I just nothing would surprise me at this point because all the chatter and you mentioned that Ian McIntyre just wrote an article for Sportsnet.ca weaponizing the president of hockey, OPS own words that hey, we were we were promised fireworks.

When do we get into the fireworks factory? And there hasn't been I mean, it's been nothing so far to the point where although this may have to do more or say more about our prep work than the actual draft but we did zero prep on the draft because we just assumed yeah that that 15th overall pick was gone it was being traded it had to be trade well the Canucks didn't even go to the I mean Alvina Rutherford didn't even go to the combine yeah we actually youina Rutherford didn't even go to the combine. Yeah, we actually, you know what, I take it back.

We had very good evidence. They probably met Braden Kutze, they were like, hey, how you doing, Brian? It's Braden. It's fine, it doesn't matter. But you kind of get that conversation where it's a lot of hypotheticals going on at once, but it's either you take a big risk now

with what you've got left or you don't. then it is kind of strange that we're not even at Free agency yet, and we were down to one of those two options, but it does sort of start to feel like we're getting there Well, okay, but here's here's the other question though. Yeah As much as You're you're viewing it from the Canucks lens of would you do it? Do you have that much faith that they're going to bounce back based on the way the roster looks today? And maybe this answer changes in 24 hours, depending on what they do in free agency

or if anything shakes loose as other teams try to do things in free agency. Cause there are still some teams up against the cap that want to bring back players like Michael Grandlin in Dallas that need to make moves in order to do so need to move out money, but the amount of teams in that spot is pretty slim. So the question would be, we assume that an unprotected pick in next year, and if you're another team, maybe you want to make that bet and get another chip in that lottery, we assume that that's really attractive and that that might net you something in return. Fair.

But how many teams are selling? Like that's part of you something in return, fair. But how many teams, how many teams are selling? Like that's part of why we're here, part of why they weren't able to do anything. And I think clearly they had hoped to do something with that 15th overall pick. I don't think that's, I mean, Patrick Alveen, you know, indicated on Friday night after they made it that like they were, he has been trying to be aggressive for the past couple of months.

Like how many teams would look at that and be like, Oh, I like, I like the connects chances of missing. I'll take another, you know, swinging that lottery with McKenna. And yet more of them are like, well, that's not where we're at right now. We don't want to subtract off our roster. We think we can compete this year and So the number of sellers like what have you got like like clear-cut Pittsburgh San Jose Like there's just not a ton of them at the beginning of this season as we go into this and that's why we're in this spot in the first place so I

As much as you view it out of the Canucks lens I honestly can't answer and I think it would be less than we assume the number of teams willing to part with a really valuable win now, compete now asset for that lottery ticket. Kev, this was great, bud. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We appreciate it. Enjoy tomorrow. It should be a lot of fun and we will do this again, not next week, but the week following. You mean you guys aren't coming to development camp today? We'll be able to make it out today. Maybe tomorrow. Also not tomorrow. Okay. Yeah.

I'm counting on seeing you out there at one point. I usually go out to those and I'm like, yeah those kids look pretty good. They play hockey. You know they're only golf course nearby. Pretty young but you know, good guys are good skaters. Have fun at camp Kev. See you buddy. See you buddy. See you, buddy. See you, guys. Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and Engel Magazine here on the Haliford and Bref Show on Sportsnet 650. I promise we do more What We Learns.

I got one here from Pierre Lebrun. Not the only Pierre in the news lately. Pierre Lebrun writes that Dallas Stars and Mikhail Granlin's reps are going to reenter contract extension talks today. Mutual interest in getting something done, but the Stars would have to move out money first to get it done. Yeah.

Oh, they already moved Marchman. Yep. What was it, Robertson? Who else could they move out? I'm going to take a pick, but I, yeah, well, I think- The Canucks are going to offer the unprotected first for Duchenne. Let's do it. We wanted that guy.

I bring up Grandin because Grandin was one of the guys that the Canucks were rumored to be targeting should he get to free agency. But according to Pierre Lebrun, again, doesn't sound like it might happen. Okay. So I'm sure you've got lots of what we learned flagged in the Dunbar Lumber tech line. Sure do, buddy. And in case you don't, I'll give you some time to scamper around here. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over

50 years, visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at dunbarlumber.com. Kevin from Calgary, hashtag WWL what we learned. The Canucks are one of those teams. Other general managers think they can take advantage of in trades, making things even harder for Patrick Alveen. I don't think there's any question that the rest of the league knows exactly how dire things are for the Canucks right now. Put it this way. Hey, let's work this conversation another way.

If I was a general manager, I'd be calling the Canucks about their 2026 first round pick and asking if it could be unprotected Unprotected Raw dog. There it is. Please stop. Can we do that? Please do not go down this road pick his raw dog Well, we talked about raw dog. You're flying. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Can you raw dog a pick? Yeah Oh, yeah, you can you can raw dog a pick for sure. All right put it on the board. Unsigned what we learned watching the gold cup

and club world cup over the weekend. I learned that the world cup is going to be a disaster with fields and delays. Props been all over this. You always ask about the weather and the conditions and the temperatures. You've asked every guest that we've had and none of them have the farmer's almanac.

I want to see what next year's temperatures are gonna well it's hot and then you get these lightning delays. I went to Charlotte as well during the Chelsea Benfica match they suspended it for 90 minutes yeah to play the final five and there were a couple of a couple of players that were like this is ridiculous. It's too damn hot. And the delays too like it's not something that soccer players are really used to. They should let them play in lightning storms. Just dance around on the field. Yeah, think of the ratings. Yeah. I think the fans are a concern as well. Yeah. Yeah, but it would be great television.

The fans all, so the fan. It would be great TV. Yeah. Wow, that's getting really close now. He's on a breakaway. Get him, God. Go, go, go. So the everyone left the Chelsea Benfica match. So when they came back, we're like nobody in the stands. It was a very odd, awkward and uncomfortable end to the match. Yeah. They're gonna have problems. Like MLS obviously plays throughout the summer.

And a lot of the European guys that have come over and they're like, I can't believe we play in these temperatures. Like if you're playing in LA in July, like it's crazy hot. So they're taking that Saudi money, it's cooler over there. I mean, that's Saudi Arabia.

But it's gonna be a major concern because one of the things that I think did hurt the Canadians was the pace and tempo and energy that they wanted to play at was almost impossible given the conditions. It was too damn hot. Here's what we learned from Sheldon. You're gonna read this, I had this one flagged.

What we learned, unless they do something crazy over the next two days, this will be the least talented Canucks roster since the 2018-2019 season. Sheldon, Sheldon. That team featured the likes of like, okay, top. So Hughes wasn't on that team, right?

In the top 10 in scoring on that team were Antoine Roussel, Nikolai Goldoben, Marcus Grandlin, and Jake Furtanen. But he's saying since then, so it wouldn't include that team since then. Yeah, okay. I don't even like going back to this team. That was the year that Petey Winn like called her.

So I think people were still like, they were very excited about that, but that team was terrible. That team that had Biega playing half the season on the blue line. Ben Hutton was an up and coming defenseman. Like a blue line alone was not good compared to what they've got right now.

I mean I get it when you're saying the least down since, again. Well I kind of agree because it was the very next year that you've added Quinn Hughes and JT Miller to the mix. You know what that year was? That was the year when Tim Schaller played in 47 games. We're like I cannot believe when Tim Schaller played in 47 games. We're like, I cannot believe that Tim Schaller played 47 games for the Vancouver Canucks.

It was a very bad team. Brendan Lipsick was on that team. Good Lord, it was a bad team. There were some dark years. But they had, they had talent. Yes. I mean, the thing is you looked at that group of players. Miller was 26, Pedersen

was just 20, Hughes was 19, Horvat was 24, and Besser was only 22. Vertanen was on that team, he was, you know, people were, he was only 23 and they had guys like Adam Gaudet who people were excited about. That core, I mean, it is kind of wild and also like Thatcher Demko was there as well. Not wild, but it's so disappointing that that

core, when you look at it, three centres that have played really well at times in their career in Miller, Pedersen and Horvat. Queen Hughes, one of, who's turned into one of the best defencemen in the league. Brock Besser, there's your winger. Demko and goal. It's like, how did they screw this up so badly?

Yeah, they did. Did you watch the rocket mortgage on the weekend? Can I throw a golf, what we learned at you? Sure. Okay. This is from Jay and Poco, hashtag WWO what we learned, watching golf at the rocket mortgage on the weekend, a 558 yard par five that was too short.

Yeah. It should have been a par four. What? That's Jay. He put a what in all caps. Yeah. Well, there was this South African kid, so I can't remember or even pronounce his name.

It's like pot Geiger or something like that. Good enough. Was driving the ball. He had one drive, 374 yards. Seriously? Yeah. Like 558 yards seems too long. I know.

Oh, I was watching. I was like, is Detroit at elevation now? Like what is going on here? That's amazing. All right. Yeah. Okay. We are up against it for time. We got to go because we've got the general manager of the Abbotsford Canucks, Ryan Johnson.

He's going to join us next on the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. We'll talk to him about that great run that Abbotsford had en route to a Calder Cup championship. Talk about Manny Malhotra. And I guess that was supposed to be what we learned as well. I guess we don't have to worry about Manny going to Dallas because it sounds like Glenn Gullitzen is going to get the gig there as well. I guess we don't have to worry about Manny going to Dallas because it's not only Glenn, Glenn sounds

like Glenn Gullitzen is going to get the gig there as the head coach. Sounds like negotiations. Well, we can ask Ryan Johnson is like, so Manny is going to be back next year, right? Yes. Right, Ryan? We will ask him that question and more that's

coming up next on the Halford and Brush show on Sportsnet 650. But before we go to break, I need to once again tell you that free agency starts tomorrow and coverage of NHL free agency 2025 is brought to you by homes by David L. Young of Dexter Realty here there and everywhere. Visit homes by davidlyoung.com. You're listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Vic Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and

even bigger bets weekdays three to four on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. 8.31 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford and Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Campbell and Pound real estate appraisers. on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody. Halford and Bruv, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Bruv of the morning is brought to you by Campbell & Pound, real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Pound.com today.

Before we get to Ryan Johnson, general manager of the Abbotsford Canucks, you have something to pass along, Chris. Well, about an hour ago, Rick Dollywell tweeted out, Thatcher Demko extension. Still hearing things are positive, hope is to get something done soon. Frank Saravalli, just a couple of minutes ago, says, sources say Canucks and Goaltender Thatcher Dempco are closing in on a contract extension that will keep him in Vancouver.

Dempco is eligible to sign an extension as soon as tomorrow, and it sounds like that will indeed happen. Also, Noah Juleson is going to free agency. extension as soon as tomorrow. And it sounds like that will indeed happen. Also, Noah Juleson is going to free agency. And there's that as well. All right, let's go to the phone lines now. Very excited to have our next guest on the program. He is the general manager of the Calder Cup winning Abbotsford Canucks. Ryan Johnson joins us now on the Haliford and Bref show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Ryan. How are you?

I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Thanks for having me on, as always. Yeah, thanks for coming on. We appreciate you taking the time. First off, congrats. What an accomplishment for your crew and for you in particular. Just a great job of team building and roster building.

The question I really wanted to ask off the hop though is this quote that we were going over last week when you were talking about the makeup of this group. And you said that one of the things that you really focused on well two of the things were professionalism but the one we honed in on was the quality of teammate that the guys could be working on that can you give us a little insider a look behind the curtain of how you go about teaching and coaching the quality of teammate you want guys to be well something from day day one that the guys know is utterly important to me and will

definitely impact their own individual development. It'll impact the success that they have on the ice and off the ice with their teammates, with their organization. And I think it becomes maybe a misrepresented statement. People think, well, you know, is he talking about the guy that buys a bucket of beers at lunch or is that a quality teammate? And it's not, it's, I've always said we, I think we won the Calder Cup,

the not because we outplayed every team, I think because we out practiced every team. We practiced every single day, our life depended on it. That is one of the keys of there's in game and there's out of game quality of teammates. The way we practiced, it just pushed everybody to get better. If you didn't, you stood out like a sore thumb and quality team meet is how you change setting up the next line coming over the board. So you could extend your shift in 30 seconds, or do you set it up for the next line and the next line and the next line?

And so those are things that we really harped on, uh, from the beginning of this program four years ago, I always continued to talk about it and I think for a lot of our guys, it really made sense and it was a big key to our success. This isn't meant to be smirch like youth hockey or junior hockey or collegiate or whatever, but sometimes when you get players arriving in the American league, do you find that you have to go out of your way to teach the notion of being a good teammate because maybe they didn't get a ton of experience at it at the lower levels?

Well, yeah. And I, I always hit it on the head with them, right? Right. Again, from the initial meeting is that I don't want players that want to be content being in the American league. Like it's not why we're here. Uh, so I don't expect guys to get sent down at the training camp or guys, you know, end up on AHL contracts that are like, wow, you know, this isn't my end goal. I'm fine hitting that right off the bat with them to say, look, you know, I don't want you all to be here, but we could powder away, we can powder away

through this. Most of them are coming from a situation where they were the best player on their team. And now they're going to face some adversity. They're going to have to change their identity a little bit. They're going to have to get uncomfortable. And I'm fine with that. I don't want you to want it, but if you're not going to allow yourself now and use the resources and buy in to doing what you do to, to, to gotta, to improve your

game and get to the NHL. A lot of that is going to come through in the way you approach your teammates, the selflessness, all those things will shine through in your path to getting to the NHL. And it's, it's no secret that the guys that have, I mean, that is a key component of what they brought to the table. Do you guys see friendships develop on these teams as maybe players pair up or, you know, groups of three or four where they're all

pushing each other and, and, and helping each other work on things that they need to get better at? Yeah. Like I mean, a perfect example of that. Uh, the season was, uh, chase waters rooming with Danila Klemovich. He, he wanted to take Clemo on in a sense of help him and seeing those guys at dinners every night,

and I'd see them in the lounge in the mornings of having breakfast and just talking. And I think that's a perfect example of some selflessness and somebody wanting to help another along but I won't I don't want to candy-coat it and I've in many many laughs at me you know I said to our group along the way like I don't want a team of a bunch of milk drinkers. Like, we're going to have fun and we're going to, and we're going to, there's going to be some grumpy moments. And we were an extremely grumpy team because our bar was set so high. And

that was where I think Manny and our staff did an amazing job of balancing that. But, but I knew we needed to have that if we were going to have a chance at some sort of success for a lot of this group that it was important to find, figure out how to win. It was a huge balance of that. Being a good teammate, challenging, but not crossing the line of being disrespectful. There were days we had to question ourselves, what had we gotten ourselves into, but it certainly worked out at the end. We'll expand on that a little bit.

Well, I mean, it was our guys, our guys had a high bar and I said this to the group is that there was a point in January 4th in Laval, they had just mopped us for two games. We weren't even in the game. Our body language was bad. It was just, you know, on one side of the hall was the players only meeting, on the other side was the staff. And it was a gutted, real look in the mirror conversation. And we knew after that, coming back to practice and continuing to stay focused and consistent on what our foundation was, something in the air changed. But these guys had that

feeling and these guys made a decision that this was what they were going to do. And when that standard wasn't met, whether it was a mismanagement of a puck at a blue line or extending a shift or these guys let each other know about it and, and from the leadership and that they weren't afraid to, but the good thing about them is they could mother F each other in between periods. But at the end of the game, you know, we found a lot of success. They were able to bury it, move on, and the next day laugh about it and say, hey, no,

we got to be better. And that's why I say Manny and the staff really had to manage a bunch of different personalities and expectations. But at the end of the day, this was, it was a team. And we couldn't have, we could have quickly got off the rails and fell apart. But again, the leadership and the guys, they made a decision, they were doing this and you could see that as it went along.

So it seems to me that this year I have learned something that there is a very fine line between holding each other accountable in a big boy way and going off the rails. Because, you know, I'm not going to get you to comment on what happened in Vancouver, but things went off the rails. Um, so what is it that allows a team to hold each other accountable, accountable without

going off the rails. Well, I can only speak from within our group, but you're always, like I said, I don't like a group of 23 milk drinkers, and I've said over the last two years to our guys, some of our playoff challenges was, maybe we're just too much of a bunch of just really good guys. And, and I wanted to change that a little bit,

but when you're, when your core of your group and your leadership is as strong as ours was with, with Watts and, and the assistant captain group and even by the end, all right, say two thirds through the season, I think we, you could say we had 14 assistant captains, everybody was on board with it and it was just, you can always have an outlier too. And when the leadership and the core was that good, it dragged those outliers, they were, they, they kind of changed their tune of, no, no, no, I, I want to be like you guys. And that was a big, uh,

it was a big difference in driving force, uh, for us. So with all that said, what can you say about the job that Maddie Mel Hoacher did coaching the team this year? Well, just, you know, in so many, in so many ways, it could have been overwhelming for him. I've said this, the American hockey, it's just a complete different animal than the NHL.

And we had a lot of conversations about just informative stuff of rosters and travels and all that. And I think as he adapted to those changes and it was very much okay. Yep. And, uh, but I think the one thing we agreed on when I hired him is the consistency of what every day looked like and win or lose. I think at this level, especially a consistent environment is key for these men walking in and, and when there's mystery to what every day

is going to look like or what kind of attitude am I going to get from my coach today? Am I getting reamed out? Or when the consistency is there to just teach and to learn. These guys, they got on board very quickly with Manny. And like I said, even going back to January 4th, in Laval, it could have been very easy to throw in a towel or say, you know what, I'm changing everything up. Now I'm going to, they're going to skate into the ground and they're going to do this. Our conversation coming out of that was just coach, teach, consistent, continue to harp on the things that we believe in. And this will turn.

And, you know, shortly they're out there. Things, like I said, things in the air changed. Uh, and the rest is kind of history. So he, he, he and Jordan Smith and Harry Mash, Justin Pogge, I hired two days before the Penticton Tournament. And these were five guys that did not know each other. All but one had experience in the American Hockey League so this was a daunting task to come together to get on board and figure this out and we had a lot of fun doing it. What an

incredible group and you know a group I'll remember for the rest of my life. All on the subject of assembling a coaching staff, the next question, are you able to confirm that Manny will be back as the head coach of the Abbsford Canucks next season? Yes, unless you guys know something I don't, he will be back and under contract and excited to know, excited to keep building. I think all of us eventually here will be ready for a little bit of a break, but I expect our full group back. They did a heck of a job. Like I said, this was year one for most of them at this level. They're only going to get better and learn from this experience.

We all know the Sedines spend a lot of time out in Abbotsford. Tell us what they've meant to this team. Well, I think our staff, period, I mean, obviously Daniel Henrik, Jason Krog, put in a lot of time in the playoffs with our extra group so that Manny and the guys could focus on our game group. So the three of them did a heck of a job with that.

Alex Hodgins, our mental performance coach, has been around, been a great support to myself. And I've said this before, even our medical staff, our trainers, our John Murray and our strength and conditioning, they're part of our development staff. They help set this environment every day for this group. So, fortunate to have a bunch of really good resources and our players love spending time and using them. So, I feel fortunate and have the support to really build that out because it certainly paid dividends for our group.

Well, I mean, I don't want you to exclude anyone, but can you shout out a few of the players who you think took big steps this season, either on the ice or off the ice? Maybe there's a player that really matured or there's a player that said, I want to work on this and I'm going to get better at this. And then that player got better at that. Um, it's tough for me to say just one because they all did and that's why they had the success. There's so, I can go not even just, you know, entry level guys, or I think even a lot of, some

of our more experienced guys really improved. I think one example I can give you, and this is just an example, is Climo, his understanding of how to win, why it's important, how to fit in on a team. I think we've seen in his first infancy of all the skill and the package. I think Watts did a great job with him of mentoring him, but by the end of it and in this playoff run, the everyday look in this kid's eyes and conversations of just, I want to win. That's all he kept on saying.

I want to win. And it started to mature his game of puck management and the possession down low and spinning and just all these, these call to make up a good NHL player I think it clicks for him because he realized the importance of winning and even some mistakes in the Colorado series and gets back in and scores an overtime winner against Texas an overtime winner gets her watching the maturation and the elation on his face when we won, he got to sleep with the cup that night.

He would not put it down. Watching that process from four years ago to now is just incredible. Archer's sea love. So when I was watching Manny's walk off interview after winning the Calder Cup, he talked about three different times about resiliency and what it meant to the group, especially in this playoff run. And I'm curious about what your guys' conversations with Arcturus were like early in the season where he needed some of that resiliency because things didn't go very well in Vancouver.

And you know, after he got sent back down, he not only had to regroup but he had to become a rock for your team, especially in the playoffs. And man, did he ever shine during that Calder Cup run. So what were some of those early conversations like with Arters when it came to being resilient? Well, I think one of the big things was, yeah, his confidence was a little bit wavering when he came down. There was a little bit wavering when he came down. There was a few go up, play one game in two weeks, come down, get a game, go up. And so we knew he hadn't played much hockey this season, and it was a concerted effort

to get him as many starts and get him rolling. And we felt like we, near the end of this season we had him in a good place and there was no question that he was obviously going to be the guy to start and run with in the playoffs and I think as we've seen in the past and World Championships or last year in Stanley Cup playoffs, he's the bigger the moment, the better he is. And he genuinely like all our group who was, you could see in their language and even from their words that they weren't going home.

And already you could think everything he's been last year playing game sevens and against Edmonton that it'd be easy to say, you know what, this has been good for a bit. I'm good. He, along with the rest of them, you know, fought and the group, even as disappointed as we were to lose game five here and not close everything out, we had a confidence and almost a giggle amongst us right after the unfortunate goal because this team, every time they got put in an uncomfortable place, they responded with an absolute beauty of a game and all through the playoffs, game five in Colorado, nobody goes in there and beats Colorado and you think there's no way

you could do this. So just continually, when you needed the big moment from all of them, we got it and already was obviously a huge part of that. Well, Ryan, we're right up against it for time and we want to thank you for taking the time to do this today. It's always great getting caught up with you.

Once again, congrats on the run. It was fantastic for the organization and for the city, Abbotsford, who really rallied behind the team this year. Congrats once again and enjoy some time off this summer. Thanks so much, guys. I appreciate you having me on. Yeah, thank you, Ryan. We appreciate it. Abbotsford connects general manager Ryan Johnson here on the Halford and Brough

show on Sports net six 50. That was really interesting about how they had that moment in the season, where they had some bad games and he was like, we've got a player's only meeting over here. We got a coach's only feeding over here. And everyone was wondering what's going to happen. And then something in the air changed. And I guess the players decided to hold each other accountable. But the discussion that we had, I thought it was a good one. It was like, okay, well, sometimes that can lead to, he used the phrase,

we're mother f'ing everyone. Too many milk drinkers. Yeah, which is basically like many milk drinkers. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which is basically like, when you hold each other accountable, sometimes you got to be a little bit mean. Or a little bit direct and you might offend someone. So everyone has to be bought into that attitude of like, hey, if I screw up, I'm probably going to hear about it from my teammates. No, it's not every mistake that you're ripping on guys for, but there are certain moments in certain hockey games

where certain things have to get done. But I'll tell you- And you can either say like, I wanna be part of this, or I don't wanna be part of this. I'll tell you this though, some of it does just come down to the makeup of the guys and a little bit of either good fortune or bad fortune, because one person's holding you accountable.

Is another person's berating me constantly. Yeah, it's bullying. And you know, see what we talking about, like this. I mean, the elephant in the room, we all know. But you ask, you can't like when you ask Ryan, like, what's the difference? Like, he said, well, I can only speak to our group. And that's the perfect answer, because it is about each individual group. There's no right or wrong, or there's no correct or incorrect

way, right? Because sometimes people go way over the line, and the person that's on the receiving end is like, I needed that. I needed someone to go so far beyond to really get through this thick ed of mine. And then in some cases, it's like, no, I needed someone to go so far beyond to really get through this thick edamine And then in some cases, it's like now I need a therapist right I didn't appreciate how Ryan was anti milk though I mean, that's I think are you a milk drinker? It's taken a bit too far, right?

What do you think of your cereal juice? You could do it. I've tried. It's disgusting. It's possible No, it is interesting because moving forward This year has the potential when it comes to the leadership and the room and the dynamic all of it it's Like I don't think that they're on any more solid ground than they were last year I think there's just as many questions and one of them has to do with the fact that the guy that's wearing the sea on his jersey might not be long for the city.

Yeah. Right? Like nothing has been solved. Half the sea is out the door. Possibly. And nothing's been solved. Yeah. Right? Like I think one of the great misconceptions was that they figured everything out when they got rid of Miller. That a lot of people think that- We still don't know who the leadership group is going to be. We know Quinn Hughes is going to be the captain. And then- Who, who's the captain now? Well, we got to go, but we will be back tomorrow. A reminder. It's July one tomorrow. It's the opening of free agency. We'll be here bright and early 6 a.m.

start to take you through all of the frenzy on free agency day. But for now, though, we got to say goodbye. Signing off. I have been Mike Alfred. He's been Jason Brough. He's been a dog. He's been laddie and he's been basketball Brough, he's been Adog, he's been Laddy, and he's been Basketball Ben. This has been the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.