Halford & Brough in the Morning - Asa Rehman Talks Whitecaps + What We Learned

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

In hour three, Mike & Jason chat with Whitecaps radio commentator Asa Rehman (1:04) ahead of the Caps hosting the Western Conference Semifinal on November 22nd at BC Place, plus the boys tell us what they learned (27:00). 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.

802 on a Tuesday, happy Tuesday, everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. Visit them online at Sands. dash trustee.com. We are now in our three of the program. Asa Raymond, the play-by-play radio voice of the Vancouver Whitecaps is going to join us in just a moment here to kick off hour three. Our three of this program is brought to by Campbell and Pound, real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit them on the internet at Campbell-Dashpound.com

today. We're coming to live from the Kintech studio, Kintech Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you in step. Time now for a little whitecaps talk on the program. Joining us now, as mentioned, he is the radio play-by-play voice. of those Vancouver Whitecaps, Asa Ramon, here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Good morning, Asa. How are you? Good morning. Doing well. Happy Tuesday. I feel like first time, long time here. Happy to be on with you guys. This is awesome.

Happy to get you on the program because this is, and we got a ways to wait here, a couple weeks still, but we are headed towards a Western Conference semifinal, befitting of an MLS Cup final, if we're being real here, with the star power and the way that the two teams play. But before we get to the Whitecaps L-AFC match, I do want to dial it back. We didn't have a ton of time yesterday to get into the win over Dallas. There were a few things going on in the sports world. So

you were on the call, you watch. It was not an oil painting, especially by the standards that the white caps have, but a win is a win and advancing is advancing. Walk the listeners through, what the caps managed to get done in Dallas over the weekend. Yeah, it wasn't the prettiest performance, probably the sloppiest

they've played in a while, but they managed to get it done and had a few changes fell behind as well in this game. He had Petramusa scoring the 25th minute of that match, a quick transition play. He was on a breakaway, put it away, and yeah, the Caps had to claw their way back into

this game. We've seen them do that before throughout this season, but this was a little bit different because the passes just weren't coming off in the past. We've seen them kind of maintain possession, keep the ball. This was not as comfortable as that, yet they kept pressing, made some substitutions, got to Ryan

Gold in the game, Kendrick Cabrero as well. Jada Nelson had an impact late, and then Ralph Pryso of all people handed to start once again here in a centerback role gets the clutch goal in stoppage time off of a set piece, not the way I would have imagined to the caps getting that late goal, but they found a way in the end and fully deserved it as well because they are this resilient team, next man up mentality. Everyone's been stepping up for this team, and they found a way to at least get the equalizing goal. It goes straight to penalties after that, no no extra time. And then the caps were the better team. I know some people feel like it's a coin flip in penalties, but

But the caps looked like they were confident, calm, cool, collected, and didn't miss a penalty. Got all four. And Dallas sent a couple, one on to the crossbar, the other one over the bar, and that was enough for the caps to win two straight, get the sweep, and move on to the next round. You mentioned the next man up mentality, and we've spoken about it a lot this year. Every time we've had Esper on the show, it feels like we spend half the hit talking about who's not available and what injuries he's dealing with. Ralph Preso, not a centerback by trade, but he goes in and plays.

it effectively scores the match-tying goal. I guess my question is now, looking at your crystal ball, with the amount of time between the last match against Dallas, and it's going to be three full weeks, essentially, until they play that game against L-A-F-C, what does that mean for the likelihood of getting Tristan Blackman back in the lineup, Brian White back in the lineup, maybe a more expansive role for Ryan Gould,

who's been mostly used as a short-minute substitute in the last few matches. Is this going to be beneficial for the caps, this lengthy time off? Definitely, yeah. Certainly it's going to help them a lot to get those players healthy. Let's start with Tristan Blackman. I think that he will be available to start if needed, if they want to go that way. So he's the first one, I think who's closest to return to actually get some starting minutes.

When it comes to Brian White, it's a hamtering, it's so tricky. Whenever you're dealing with hamstring in the middle of the season, it's hard to get back to 100%. You have these setbacks. I feel like if he gets another setback at any sense, stage. She's pretty much done for the playoff. So they've been extra cautious with Brian White. We saw him kind of working on his own throughout training, then doing less on the side and more in the gym. So that one's a tricky one for me. He might be an option off the bench and kind of

a situation where they'll use him if needed in that game. But you're right. You've got three weeks to kind of see and assess where these players are at. The last one, Ryan Gould, the 15, 20 minutes is workout perfectly for him. And he's another one that we've seen in games. We've seen a training as well where sometimes he has a bit of a hitch in a step, a bit of a limp. And then he just works through it, and he's fine to at least continue. So maybe that's the role for Ryan Gould for the rest of these playoffs. He's a super sub, and he's embraced this role. It's been huge for the caps.

And they've got these players that are performing at such a high level. Emmanuel Sabi, Ali Ahmed, Jada Nelson, coming in, having an impact, Kenji Brera as well. So they've got a lot of depth in those areas. Thomas Miller, obviously, first name on the team sheet, doesn't come off the pitch. So attacking options, pretty good for the Caps. That affords them to maybe rest Ryan a little bit and just use him as a Super Zub as needed.

We're speaking of White Caps Radio Play-by-Playman, Asa Raymond here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. So, Ace, you've been doing the radio play-by-play gig for a while. Can you remember a time where you've had the ability to call and be watching this many massive matches in a singular season? Because when we go back, there was the messy match at BC Place

where they beat into Miami in front of 50,000. And that feels like a long time ago. There was the unfortunate but still big event, the Concaf Calf Cup final. And now you've got this match against L.AFC and their dynamic duo up front in Boanga and Sun. And I would imagine that B.C. Place could flirt with 40,000 in attendance for this match. That the White Cups have earned the right to play at home. In a season with big matches and big opportunities, how big a match and how big opportunity is this one against L.A.F. This is huge.

this is the biggest one. And yeah, it's been a special season. The Miami match feels like it was a season ago. The Conky Cap Champions Cup Final. Yeah, crazy that that was this year as well. You have your Canadian Championship, obviously. They're, you know, serial winners of that competition. So the fact that, yeah, they've got this one now.

The biggest one of the season, I kind of like the fact that there's a three-week run-up. You really get to hype this up. It's the matchup that everyone wanted. There's a bit of history between these teams. two teams as well. And then just amplify this season with the summer additions of Son and Thomas Mueller. So you have these two massive players in the league, not just for these teams, going head to head here in three weeks. And then, yeah, at BC Place, already over 32,000 tickets sold for this game. You're saying 40,000? I think this thing could hit 50,000. Once you get

closer to the date, the fact that these things, the tickets are just flying off the shelves, it's going to be an awesome game at BC Place. And we've been treated to some special ones already this season. And what a cool matchup, just the way that these two teams play. It looks like, for the most part, when you watch LAAFC, they're most dangerous in a counterattack. The White Cups definitely want to keep the ball and have possession and kind of create plays, create scoring opportunities in open play.

Whereas, yeah, LAPC wants to hit on the counter, want to hit quick. And it's those two players in particular. So excited to see Denny Bianca and Son, link up. I think that they're just so much fun to watch. And we're seeing it week and week out with those two. Who do you think the favorite is in this game? Oh, that's a great question A lot of times to talk about that one as well

I think because the white caps are at home It gives them the slightest edge But it is a tight one I know a lot of people crazy about LAFC With good reason Yeah, I'd say maybe the white caps Just because it's at home But it's pretty much a toss-up between these two

Let's dive into this a little bit more though Because LAFC does present a different chance than they did earlier in the year, and it's a singular force. Son, for those that haven't paid attention, has been, I would say, is equally impactful to them as Mueller has been to the white caps. I know in terms of off-pitch, Mueller has had far more of an amplification of the team, but Sun's on-pitch ability has turned them into such a dynamic team. Walk us through the challenges that LAFC is going to present specifically with those two

in attack. Yeah, those two are the ones to look out for. And just want to make mention of Sond's impact off the field. Like, he's massive off the field as well. Mueller's another level, though. You guys are completely right there. And Sond on the field, it's Sond and Bwanga for me because I don't know if there are many players who are sort of on the same page as Son.

And we see that with Thomas Mueller as well. There was kind of this learning curve in the first little bit as far as like understanding the space and where to go with it. And Bwonga gets it. It's been one of my favorites to watch in this league. the two of them can attack, and they know they sort of have a great understanding of where each other is on the pitch. So it's the two of them that are just so dangerous in their attack. But John's pace, and we've known that, we've seen that for years, just watching him play in the Premier League,

and the fact that he just continues to go out, players, at defenders, makes quick decisions. It's going to be a handful and really curious to see how the Whitecaps approach this. I thought it was interesting on the weekend that Ralph Prezzo, got the start over Matthias Laborta. I think one of the reasons why Priso started over a healthy Matios Laborta is because he gives him a little bit more speed and he's really good on the ball. So that's one thing to watch going forward is how they handle the pace

of those two players in particular. Tristan Blackman should be available. That will help the Vancouver Whitecaps. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Priso maybe utilized once again just because you're going to be dealing with this dynamic duo. Do the white caps have to change their strategy that's been working for them all season? Do they have to be maybe a little more conservative? I don't think so.

I think that they've been really good at covering for these transition moments or at least emphasizing the focus on this is how teams are going to try to attack us. And NFC Dallas got their goal by doing just that. But they are set up to defend it mostly with the two holding midfielders and Anders Kubas and Sebastian Burrhalter. So those are the players that are kind of helping coverage or apply that early pressure to make sure that they take. can't be hit so quickly on the counterattack.

And then, yeah, Prys was pretty good in the middle. I mean, ideally, through the start of the season, Ronko and Tristan Blackman, the best two tenorbacks for me in the league, really, when they're healthy. So losing Rockefellinovich for the rest of the season, a major blow. But I do think that it's going to be the same sort of set up, similar tactics, just making sure that they execute well on the day. Do you think it could be a high-scoring game?

It could open up. and I think that I wonder who that favors because the white caps can score goals scored seven against Philadelphia one of the best or the best team in the league so the white caps have goals in them it could open up I don't know if the white caps necessarily want that I think for the caps fans and for the Vancouver what caps I think they want like a two-nil win basically get your goal in the first half be somewhat conservative make sure you don't get spread out too much you make sure you have bodies behind the ball defensively and then get that second half cool. I think that's the ideal scenario. If it gets into a track meet, it can be pretty tricky because once LAMC scores, you have to press a little bit higher, and then that just opens yourself up for the counter once again.

So a really interesting matchup. Yeah, that's going to be a busy place in three weeks, so can't wait for it. I know you've already touched on this a little bit, but maybe just get some more of your thoughts on Thomas Mueller. We've talked a lot about his impact off the pitch and how comfortable he is in his role with the white caps and you can just tell that this guy

has done a lot of winning in his life and when you see how comfortable he is in the spotlight you can kind of understand why I don't know if that's a chicken or egg debate to have but what about what about on the pitch? Like what is it

you've seen that he does so well that has made such a big difference for these white caps? The first thing And we've known this about him coming into, yeah, the Vancouver White Cap setup is his understanding of space, his spatial awareness, his ability to find open space on the field, and then for other players to kind of feed off of that or benefit from it as well. So that's the first thing that kind of jumps off the page. He wants to get on the ball. He wants to just create space for others. And it's so fun to watch, especially from our vantage point at BC plates, because you see it all open up.

You see him pop out in wide areas, and then it opens up something underneath. and in the past, the white caps have been pretty rigid or extremely structured in where people go on the pitch. It's way more free-flowing this season. And then Thomas Mueller is taking it to another level now. So that's the first thing from a tactical standpoint. The leadership is huge as well. The words that he shares with his teammates throughout the match,

that instruction that he provides in-game is awesome to watch as well. There was one moment in one, of games against F70 Dallas. I think it was on Decision Day where he had a word with Ali Ahmed after Ali had kicked the ball after the whistle had gone and the referee didn't see it wasn't going to be a yellow card because it wasn't speed but Thomas Miller was quick to go over to Ali and just be like we got to

keep our cool here. You know, just stay focused, can't lose it right here in these sorts of moments and I thought that that was really telling as well. We've seen a lot of that just calming people down in certain scenarios not losing the game before it's done. So yeah, I mean the guys have amazing, so good on the pitch, off the pitch. I was doing everything right so far, and an incredible leader for this group.

No doubt that, yeah, he should be the captain in this situation, especially with Ryan Gallatin, dealing with the injury. So in these games, he's starting, clear leader on the pitch. And a huge sort of bump for the team here, I don't know if I feel as confident about the Vancouver Whitecaps without Thomas Buller, even though they've had an incredible season so far, he's taking them to another level, that's for sure. I'm glad you mentioned the calming influence, because in the first of the two playoff, legs when they beat FC Dallas 3.

No, there was a moment where I think it was Tate Johnson, went on a crazy run down the left flank because he had space in front of him. And he bolted into the box and whipped in a cross and nobody was there on the end of the cross. And you could see Mueller yelling at him. And he's like, it was almost like, I know you're 19 and you just want to run all day,

but you actually have to slow it down right now. It's great that there was open space and you attacked and you did all the right things, but not in this moment of the match. And that's instructive for a young player because a lot of them are like, if I see space, I go to it, I attack it, and it's like, peddle

to the metal. Maybe Mueller was just old. He was just like, I am running. There's also that, too, right? I'm tired. But I'm glad you brought that up because a calming influence is important in these one match, winner, take all things where every minute matters, you really have to be on top of everything. And that's a good point that you brought up there.

Yeah, I know. It's, yeah, it's one of the things that I've noticed is that, yeah, he gets the game. He understands the situation and scenarios. He knows that they'll get another chance here. And, yeah, you can't pick up needless yellow cards or red cards because that impacts you for that game and the next game if there's

a suspension so he gets the big picture whereas I think sometimes in the past it emotions run high in these moments in particular and he keeps a cool head through it and is able to relay that as well to the rest of the team and yeah there have been several moments as well where he's like yeah calm down

we don't have to be going 100 miles an hour all the time so it's been really refreshing and so curious to see how it's going to it's going to work out against LAFC and you know he's doing his homework on LAFC as well and getting an understanding of where Danny Blanca and

son want the ball in these moments so what kind of guidance he's going to have as far as kind of shutting down those transition moments. Real chess match coming up here in a couple weeks. Asa, this was great, bud. Thanks for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. We'll circle back as we get closer

to November 22nd at BC place. The game of the year as far as I'm concerned. It should be a lot of fun. Thanks for doing this again. Sounds good. Thanks so much, guys. Thank you. That's Asa Ramon, the Whitecaps Radio Play-by-Play Voice here on the Halfford and Brough show on Sports 9-650. While that was going on,

I got a text from our good buddy, Nathan, who works for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Broadcasting Communications Department. He's the VP said they're already over 40K tickets sold. Oh, I've got to get mine then. Tell Nathan he's listening. He's like, Nathan, I need some

tickets. I'll text you after this game. Slow your roll, bud. We need some tickets right here. California Brough, got to get in the door. But I am excited because, and I'm not putting on airs here. Like, this matchup... It's going to be sold out then, maybe. This, yeah, I think it might. Because they've got so much time.

They've got 18 days before the match. You can do a lot of things in that time. This match with the guys that are involved and the quality of the football that the two teams play, this really is like an MLS Cup championship final caliber match in the Western Conference semifinal. Like, I have watched. a lot of the other teams in the playoffs.

I watched Minnesota and Seattle play last night. The teams are not, the football being played and the teams are not of the same caliber as what I've seen from the White Caps and from L-AFC. I think those are the two best teams in MLS right now. And L-AFC is a problem to deal with. Like they, I mean, if you want to use like hockey parlons, they are a wagon right now.

Like they pick people apart because the two front runners, Son and Boanga, are, so devastating with their individual skills, but as Asa brought up, they immediately clicked in terms of chemistry. Like, oh, this guy knows what I want to do, and he knows where to go when I want to get rid of the ball,

and they figured it out right away. So they are about as devastating and attacking duo as you can get. It is interesting that the MLS Cup playoffs are interrupted by a big international window. And there are some big stories, like over in Europe, only England's qualified for the World Cup It's a huge window It's a huge window Like Denmark and Scotland

are competing in one group for the automatic qualification Italy and Norway Like Italy better qualify for this World Cup Like even if you don't win your group You still got a chance to qualify through a playoff But it gets dicey

But yeah It gets really tricky But it gets dicey Yeah and I think the other What's the other one? There's a, I can't find it right now. But there are some, there are some big, some big, oh, you know what it is? Germany and Slovakia.

Yeah, that's the other one as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, well, you mentioned that they have this huge delay. It was funny because with Minnesota playing last night, one of my buddies texted me, he's like, let's say hypothetically Minnesota wins this thing and they keep advancing. Imagine playing late November, December matches in Minnesota. Yeah. Yeah, there'll be minus 10 at kickoff, right?

Because there have been some really cold weather. That's like going to Winnipeg for the Grey Cup. It's ridiculous, right? The Grey Cup is in Winnipeg this year. Who would do it? Oh, that's right. Crazy enough to do that. The Canadian Football League, that's who'll do it.

But there have been some really cold MLS Cup matches before because obviously you can't dictate where it's going to be. It's not like the Super Bowl. It's not like the Grey Cup. So you've had, I mean, the benefit of some fair weather teams, the Los Angeles is and, you know, the East, the Southeastern team. team is making it to MLS Cup finals, but you've also had, like, when Toronto FC won, that was bitterly cold. It was minus three. Now, don't get started with, oh, minus three, I lived in

minus 40. I get it. I'm saying, it's still the soccer. Right. It's cold for soccer, especially, like, someone that's not used to it. But you, so you do get those elements going into it. I don't know what the weather would be like in Vancouver on November 22nd, but. Doesn't really matter. It doesn't matter. Just pop that roof over top and you're good to go. Also, it's going to be an awesome, awesome moment for this organization in a year where there's been a lot of awesome moments. Like we mentioned that with AISA during the hit. I can't remember. Can you imagine thinking like the White Caps are going to play two games this season. One will be against Messi, one will be against Sun, and they'll sell them both out. And they'll have Thomas Mueller

on their team. Yeah. This year, this entire year, if you had told me any of the things that were going to happen in March when their season started. I'd be like, no, no, no chance. Never. Beating messy and into Miami twice. I still can't believe that happened. And it feels like so long ago. Yeah. But it wasn't. It was only months ago. All right, we need some more of what we learns into the Dunbar Lumber text line. I'm going to do one on the other side. We need to talk about John Morant again. Yeah. We were a John Morant show for a bit. Things are not good. for John Morant with the old Vancouver Grizzlies currently residing in Memphis.

So get you what we learns into the Dunbar Lumber text line 650 650-650. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and renter warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dunbar Lumber.com. You're listening to the Halfen & Brough Show

on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Big Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People's Show with big takes and even bigger bets, weekdays 3 to 4 on Sportsnet 650, or wherever you get your podcast. Now for my favorite part of the show, what I say?

Talk to the audience. Oh, God, this is always dead. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time. It's what we learn time On the show 832 on a Tuesday Happy Tuesday, everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet at 650.

Halford and Brub in the morning is brought you by Sands and Associates. Get out of the penalty box of debt back into the game with a financial fresh start. Visit them online at sands dash trustee.com. We are in hour three of the program. It is what we learned time. Hour 3 is brats by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the

expertise of Campbell and Pound. Visit on the internet at Campbell-Dash pound.com today. All right. Got some what we learns that we're going to do first. And I get to start. This is very exciting. And this is about as fresh

of what we learned as you can get on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. So I learned that yesterday, Monday, November 3rd, is National Sandwich Day. It's where we salute the Sando. Seriously, how do we not get the day off for that? I don't know. I thought we would.

We did not. But now shout out to Boy With a Knife. It's a catering and events company out of Richmond. And to celebrate National Sandwich Day, literally five minutes ago, Boy with a Knife, 3331 Viking Way in Richmond, dropped off a box of delectable sandwiches to the point where A-Dog. A-Dog with a mouth.

Yeah, who normally doesn't move with the speed of anything. Bolted into the studio and grabbed a Bon Me sandwich. Went back to his perch. A-Dog, can we get a live update? It is delicious. It is delicious. It tastes exactly like it sounds. Please don't talk with your mouth, though.

I'm in heaven right now. This sandwich is great. You can visit them online at boy with a knife.ca. They sent along a little card as well. It said it's been a long time coming. Our ears were burning a couple times. Sorry for the delay. Don't apologize.

Don't apologize. It's great. Enjoy the team with Boy with a Knife. The sandwiches are not real. Next time get these sandwiches here quicker. Figure it out, boy. Your knife? No, thank you very much for sending them along.

And yeah, we missed National Sandwich Day. So good on Boy with a Knife for making up for it. A reminder, if you want to endure yourself further to the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650, Send stuff. Yeah. Just send it. Just skip the sales team and just go straight to us and we'll give you the advertising.

Don't let them get their cut of anything. A bunch of leeches. Anyway, moo cow all that. Thank you once again, boy with a knife. Mookow that sandwich. Mooka that sandwich. Okay, so my what we learned is I'm not sure how much longer Jha Morant is going to be playing for the Memphis Grizzlies. Why?

What's going on? he was suspended by the team for a game for conduct detrimental to the team. I think he had a tiff with the coach there. No, not Jha. Well, he was asked if he's still experiencing the same joy playing basketball for the Memphis Grizzlies. And he said, no, he's not. and his answers were all pretty short and pretty dismissive and he was pouty, you know? He was pouty.

And I wonder if some of this is, there's been a lot of things happened to John Morant in Memphis. Sure. Good things on the court, bad things off the court. And then also they fired the coach late last season, Taylor Jenkins. And people are wondering if. that angered jaw and he's not happy with the current coaching staff that would be huge if you were to be traded out of memphis but it would also be like hmm what are we acquiring if we acquire jaw morant um like so many instances hopefully not uh guns yeah so many we could do with those

so many instances of the past i mean this is a time immemorial the talented yet Mercurial superstar, the guy with more ability than the majority of players in the league, but also constantly running a foul of league rules, disciplinary issues, take your pick. He's a temperamental superstar. And it'll always come down to the same thing. Is an organization willing to take the risk? And more often than not, there's always one that you find that will, because talent is very difficult to find. That being said,

Morant, there have been some diminished returns, for sure. I remember when we kind of went on our jaw Morant trajectory on the show, and I think we actually got someone on from Memphis to talk about the Grizzlies, which was sacrilege at the time. We did it with the context of this is the NBA's next big superstar. Yeah. Because of the high-flying way that he played and he was young and he was charismatic.

You might say the joy that he played with. Right. And now all that seems like it's gone. Can he rekindle it? That would be a great question as well because I think some team will bank on that. Get them out of Memphis. Get them in a new environment.

Re-invigorate his love for the game. I wonder if they'd be like get them out of, you know, sometimes the market is too big for you. Can it sometimes be too small for you? That has been a familiar refrain in Memphis. Yeah. It's too close. Everyone knows his business.

It's kind of remind you of like sometimes when players have been in Winnipeg. Sure. And there's a real fish bowl there. They want to get out of that. Yeah, that's fair. I think there's a guy that plays for the Vancouver Canucks. Well, you spelled it out. I thought that was going to hang in the ether

and we're going to let the listeners figure it out. Talking, of course, about Tyler Myers. Right, yeah, there you go. So anyway, Mucow, all that. Laddie, A-Dug. I know A-Dog's no longer even mid-sandwich. That was... It's gone.

Record speed. No way. I'm working on it. No, I'm halfway there. You're just like Homer with the sandwich? I could never steam out at you. Give me that. Andy, I found your sandwich underneath the radiator.

Duff cardage, hurrah! Okay, Laddie, do you get anything? I do not. Okay, fire up the dot matrix. Humanoid submissions, what we learn, brought to you as always by A.J's pizza on East Broadway. There's a real food theme to this show in case you haven't noticed. AJ's original signature pies are a must try. Like the Detroit, inch thick crust, crispy cheese, top with Parmesan and Basil order online at AJ's.

That pizza. West End, Mike, what we learned, Evan Bouchard, has the sixth worst plus minus in the league and left another guy untouched in front of his own net on the last minute game-winning goal against last night. That guy, by the way, Pew Souter. Is there a single Oilers defenseman you would put on the Canucks of head of anyone currently on the roster? I had this in my notes because we went over the Blues Oilers games earlier, but I did it with the lead being Pew Souter. The other lead from this game comes courtesy Sportsnet's very own Mark Specter,

who has reinvented himself as the Evan Bouchard tracker. Right. Every game. The Boucher. Seriously, every game he writes about Bouchard. For example, the headline of his latest piece, Oilers Takeaways, Bouchard makes another costly error in loss to blues. If you follow him on Twitter, specs been all over it.

And I don't think this is just like traditional jackal media stuff. not that he is, but I think that there's a legitimate concern from those in the organization that Bouchard's play, which traditionally has been peaks in valleys. There's been some very good with Bouchard, but there's also been some very bad. Their concern right now is that it's all valleys, and it's a real problem because the Oilers are not playing well at all.

And I would say that... You can't just stand beside a guy in front of your own net. If you're a defenseman and just watch, him like battle one-on-one with the goalie for a rebound. Having watched and then read a lot of the coverage, it's not just, oh, these are like mistakes. These are like big, loud gaps. So what do they think it is?

I don't know. That's the problem. Maybe he's lost the joy. Maybe. I think that it might be he's in like a gully of where everything, you know, everyone goes through crises of confidence. We saw Peterson and he hits rock bottom and all that. but with Bouchard, the stakes are really high

because on a personal level, I think whatever shot he had of being on the Olympic team is quite frankly shot. Yeah, right? If he ever had any shot. And I think he did. I think he was in that conversation. I think he was.

I don't know how real, but I think he was. Secondly, this is such a huge season, plural, but this one in particular, for the Oilers with the whole, you know, McDavid is looking at the future of this team. He's taking them a lot more. of the cap now. Yeah, like Blue Shred's a big part of that.

Yeah. You know, he's a big part of it, whether it's right or wrong or fair or not. He's got a shoulder a huge load because if you look at that blue line, he's kind of it moving forward. He's the big piece of that thing. Justin and East Van, who by the way put together another great video on social media. This one was about Sandwich Day yesterday. What we learned, the Eastern Conference teams are all over NHL 500.

Yeah. Last place. You'll be happy to hear this, Halfer. last place well tied for last in the Eastern Conference Rick Talkett's Philadelphia Flyers

who are 6 5 and 1 Yeah The East is a lot more Although Talk has been taken aim at the Flyers the last couple of games And he's been calling them out You know how we were

juxtaposing Adam Foote versus Rick Tocket Rick Tocket Rick Tocket went out and like called out some guys He beat he said that They had a game at home

Was it against Calgary? I'll tell you they've lost a couple in a row and they had one bad loss and he said he did the thing where he said I apologize to the fans for that oh he went early to that one

and then he said yeah we've got some guys that aren't going to the hard areas of the ice they lost two consecutive home games to the Leafs and then that two under the flames I think is the one you're talking about right but anyway like six five and one that's the last place team in the east

three nine and two is the last place team in the West and that is the Calgary Flames. Worst team in hockey who just beat the Philadelphia Flyers. I saw a graphic floating around about the shot totals in Philadelphia right now because they're low and it was going chronologically, so like his last two years in Vancouver and how low the shot totals were and all the jackals on X were like, look at it, see it's happening again. But listen, it's fair, it's fair criticism.

You know, I know I read a piece on the flyers, and it was very critical of Rick Tockett, and it was going back to the, like, oh, all they do is throw it back to the point and put it on net. And it made a really good point of, like, Talkett may not want that, but you're not really giving the defenseman much of an option. If you get it back to the point, and then you're telling your forwards, go to the net, because you're going to screen it, or you're going to tip one in, we want traffic in front of the net. Of course the defensemen are going to shoot it because they're like, well, I can't pass it to any of the fours because they're all at the net front. Yeah, there's only one thing I can do.

Right? And I shoot it. And, you know, I guess Rick Tuckett is trying to make Travis Sannheim into, like, Quiggins. He's certainly playing him a lot. Yeah. But I think that's more than fair criticism when you're like, you know, hey man, what are you doing in the offensive zone? Like is the whole idea? Because I remember, you know, I was asked the question of Tocke, like, you know, I was asked the question of Tocke,

last year, I was kind of like, well, do you want all these point shots? And he was like, no. But you're getting them all. Aren't you, right? And maybe that's because there aren't any other options. I mean, I always thought, like, hey, instead of putting it back to the point in the first place, maybe try and work it down low. Low to high.

Put a guy in Gretzky's office and just, like, have a guy down there. But it always seemed to just go back to the point. And, you know, after a while, you're kind of like, and I think you made the good point. It's like, well, you know, you can say that you want all this different stuff, but what's happening is what's happening. So how are you going to get it out? How are you going to stop that? I thought it was one of the biggest flaws that Tuckett had in the second half of year two

was saying publicly that what he wanted to get done, but then looking at the deployment, the strategy, the approach, and be like, nothing's changed. It was almost like execute harder was the answer. I'm like, I don't think that's the way he sees the game a lot. I think Talkett sees the game. And, you know, I do, listen, I actually have some time for it. You want to win hockey games?

Like, go to the hard areas of the ice and win battles. I think there was a, I think there was a hesitancy to lean into it and say this is our identity and this is what we do. Because I think maybe he didn't want to get typecast as one particular coach. Or he didn't want to open up the books that much on what he was doing. Like, because some coaches are very guarded. Yeah, yeah. Right. Anyway, I got one here from Mike and Richmond.

It's an NFL one. Hashtag WWO, what we learned. Regarding the Sam Darnold-type career resurgence, do you think it has to do with high picks at the QB position having the pressures to perform right away? Drafted QBs used to sit for a couple years to get the timing of the program. Program, sorry, pro game. This would have helped QBs like Darnold who hold on to the ball longer. So, Breff brought this up.

Do you ever think we'll get to it where you get? at like a top five pick that doesn't play right away and is allowed there to sit there and matriculate. I think with regards to Darnold, you have to look at the full scope. And by the way, this has been a really big conversation

in the National Football League this year. We haven't done a ton of really in-depth NFL talk on the show, partly because the Js have been such a big story and hockey's going on, but there's kind of been, and Tanier's touched on this a few times. There has been a very cerebral conversation about

how quarterbacking and the evolution of it is working in the NFL because this year you're just seeing it that there were guys that unquestionably were talented and that's the reason they got picked high

didn't work out somewhere and then between you know the media and the pressures of a market and the lack of patience they were cast aside and they're like you're a bust you didn't work and then they showed up somewhere else and it's like oh wait these guys can play

some of it and then you look back at the teams that they're robust on and it's like you guys still stink sure but some of it is on the individual for sure some of them it takes a little bit longer

to figure things out and it Mike brings up a good point in the case of Darnold the Seahawks have figured out what he does well and what he doesn't do well and they've tailored an offensive script to accentuate the things

that he does well but they also had their team progress far enough to the point where they could tailor something to them. Yep. Like some teams just don't have enough talent to, like, tailor anything.

But for example, with Darnold, like they showed a bunch of highlight packs from Sunday night football. And one of the criticisms of them is he holds onto the ball too long. Okay. So, and I'm going to, this is a very rudimentary explanation,

but they showed how quickly he was going through his reads this time. And they're like, part of it is the way that they've drawn up the offense, like Sam likes to look at like read one, two, three, four before he throws. And that sometimes way he holds onto the ball too long. Like, what if we say,

sped that up. Okay. It's like look, look, look, throw. And he's getting the ball out quicker. And he's hitting receivers with timing and all that stuff. He's actually not seeing the first three because he's just like, but he's not getting sacked, right? He didn't remember because in the playoffs last year, he was just getting dropped with regularity. And it was awful to watch. And they've kind of figured out a way to use his strengths and turn him into, again, it's crazy to say it. So what are the other NFL coaches now doing to counter adjust to? the counter adjustment. Yeah, and that's going to be a big part

of the second half of the season for the Seahawks. However, Sam Darnold has gone through a lot to get to this point. Yep. Failures, you know, being a guy that could overcome adversity, all of it makes them the product in his later 20s

that he wasn't in his earlier 20s. Don't you think the Seahawks need another weapon, though, receiving-wise? I think so. It's very JSN-focused. But that's a crazy thing about that game against the commanders

like they were able to find all these guys that were able and Horton's been a great story Horton's been unbelievable for them as a fifth round pick but they've been able to find other guys But if you look at the yards receiving

JSN is heads and tails above everyone else on the CBOS.N is on pace to have 2,000 receiving yards this year which is an unbelievable total for anyone never mind an offense that we thought would score 17 points a game this year it's crazy Peter the teacher

what we learned last night was the first time that three players with the same last name scored a point on the same team since the Stasney brothers did it on December 8th, 1984. Yeah, Elias Pedersen, Elias Pedersen, and Marcus Pettersen.

The brothers. The brothers. Right. Mike and Inima, what we learned, I learned if Evander Kane can ignite his scoring, he will rapidly rise

on my list of favorite Cains right behind Lori, Patrick, Harry, and of course, WWE superstar wrestler, Kane. Just Cain. Kane, Kane. The Evander Kane, the goals were going to come in some form.

I mean, the guy had like 30 shots on goal without a goal. And I realized like some of those shots were at distance, but Kane has a great shot. He has a very, very heavy shot. And it's just the question of like, how much, how many goals can he get? And can he, at the end of the day, can he, draw more penalties than he takes. Yeah. Like I think right now, the answer is no.

Listen, for a guy that hated the acquisition of a Vanderkane, like I don't think he's been playing as badly as people have been suggesting. I went so far as to say I thought he was effective and I got yelled at. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a complicated relationship right now with the fan base and a van der Kaine. He still does some, he still does good things out there, right? but he does some he does some he does some dumb things

I think that's the penalties are a problem like I know the giveaways are a problem too right but I'm more it's a little loose with the puck sometimes but I'm more concerned honestly I'm more concerned about the penalties because I think you can clean up giveaways I don't know where his reputation is at with officials right now but I feel like it's not in the best place I feel like well yeah now all the rest are going to be like

Adam foot was criticizing us like I know you're sticking up for your guy but call it into us and hashtag WWO what we learned after listening to Laddie and Dan Shulman's experiences watching Pahas make that catch in the ninth inning of the World Series game 7 I realized that the moment of the ball going over Kiki Hernandez's head

to when Pah has caught that ball was the shortest time span between elation and despair that I've ever experienced you know Ladi I thought it was interesting it was 0.7 seconds I clocked it I had happiness for that brief moment You won the World Series for 0.7 seconds.

So I thought that the moment would have been IKF sliding home that was between elation and despair. But both you and Dan said the same thing. It was the Clement hit. Yeah. Because you both saw Hernandez's reaction to win the ball up the bat and he was like, oh crap. Why am I so shallow? Why am I so shallow? The panicked turn back.

As soon as he did that, it was like, okay, he's not getting to this cleanly. He's not going to make this. And that was the one. That was the one. And the ICF play, it looked out at first blush, which I think was what held me back from celebrating. And it looked out, it looked out when he hit it, right? Yeah, it looked like it wasn't going to be a hit.

Yeah, you knew he was going to go home. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jason. Sorry, just want to add the kicker to that was Colin said previously, the shortest time span between elation and despair was the Seahawks Super Bowl at the goal line. That's one because you went from, oh, they're going to win the Super Bowl to, oh, God. No. What just happened?

Between, if you ever look at, they did a side-by-side of Pete, his reaction, and Richard Sherman's at the same time. And you can actually, you can see their heartbreaks in the moment. Because it went from, we're going to win the Super Bowl to, oh, no, we've just lost the Super Bowl. Yeah, Sherman was like, I am going to turn this into a very toxic work environment. And he did for a decade. Jason in a chip truck, what we learned, that's for all the kids going to school. The Canucks are no longer six and seven. 7 and 7.

7 and 7. It doesn't have the same ring. It doesn't. Okay, we got to go. It's been a fun show. Thank you all for listening. And thank you all for contributing. We got to say goodbye.

Signing off, I have been Mike Alford. He's been Jason Brough. He's been A-Dog and he's been Lattie. This has been the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet, 650.