Halford & Brough in the Morning - But Can Macklin Celebrini Do A Pull-Up?

Episode Date: June 12, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason talk the NHL draft combine with NHL.com senior draft writer Mike Morreale (3:00) and what to expect from top prospect and local kid Macklin Celebrini, plus they talk the UEFA Euro Championship, which gets going this Friday, with Sportsnet soccer writer Jeff Molinaro (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.

this is actually a very appropriate music with the euro championships i'm i'm unironically actually really like this song. Yeah, this is not bad, actually. I like it. I'm like, hey, this is unlicensed? It's pretty good. So for those that don't know, one, you are listening to a sports radio station.

Two, this is the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 653. It's Eurodance Wednesdays for no other reason than we wanted it to be. However, however, Jason Brough brings up a good point. We are just 48 hours away from the start of the European Championships. I'm currently watching another sports network in Canada. And I'm watching Stephen Caldwell, who has worked for Canada Soccer, boldly predicting that his beloved Scott is going to make a run at this tournament.

I'm watching the bracket unfold, and he's just knocking off giants one after the next. They're going to be Belgium in the knockout round. He's got them going up against France. Who knows what's going to happen there? Can't wait to see what happens. Tournament gets underway on Friday, by the way. Who do you think is going to win?

France? It's really easy and really obvious to pick France. So when they played Canada, I don't know how much you watched of it, if any. You were away on a golf trip, which is fair. They had some hybrid of what would be considered their A team and their B team. And it was just loaded with talent. Yeah. And then you look at the bench and it's loaded with talent.

Someone who is more in the know than I am, actually currently works for an MLS club, texted me and said they could roll out their B team in a major international tournament and probably still have a really good shot of winning it. Like that's how much depth there is in that French side. So, yes. France it is for me. Going chalk with the French.

Okay. We got a lot to get into here. Mike Morial from NHL.com is waiting patiently on the line here. So, I'm going to skip over the business at hand. We're going to get right to Mike. I'll pick up the business on the other side. A little NHL draft combine review joining us now, as mentioned, Mike Morial here on the Halford & Bruss Show on Sportsnet 650.

Morning, Mike. How are you? What's going on, Mike? Jay, glad to join you guys. Sorry I don't have any input on the Euro soccer championships there, but is Italy involved in that as well? Yep, they certainly are, Mike. They don't go to World Cups, but they go to Euros.

Yeah, and they win it. Okay, so we will spare you the footy talk here. I do want to ask you about Macklin Celebrini, an individual that obviously has a lot of interest locally, even though the Canucks have zero chance of drafting him, given they don't pick until the third round. However, you got a chance to go to the Combine, and I know that these draft prospects are usually pretty well recognized and understood and

interviewed and analyzed prior to this but did you learn anything new about Macklin Celebrini and speaking with him over those few days at the Draft Combine in Buffalo? Yeah guys well you know love the Combine it's uh one of my favorite uh events to to to get to during the course of the year. And it's exactly, you know, having the opportunity to talk to these kids, particularly those that might be going in the first, second round, is always intriguing to me to find out a little bit more about them off the ice. And in Celebrini's case, I knew a lot about him, guys, obviously entering the combine.

And, you know, everything that I lot about him, guys, obviously entering the combine. And, you know, everything that I knew about him when I talked to him during the course of the year several times, saw him, you know, just a very mature kid, guys, very driven. I don't think a lot rattles him. There's been high expectations on him for a long time. And I think he just embraces that. This is a kid that has played every level that he's played. He's been the youngest player on that particular team. Obviously, we all know, youngest player in NCAA Division I men's hockey this year, youngest to ever win the Hobie Baker Award.

You know, Jay Poundolfo, the BU coach, he's everything that, you know everyone else has seen in him he's very prepared in the way he goes about things and i think that gives him confidence because he knows he has to put the work in certain areas off the ice he's never satisfied and that was the one thing that i kind of you know caught or got out of the interviews as well, is that the kid just is not satisfied. It seems every time he's on the ice, he makes things happen. Look, the top five players in this draft class are pretty strong,

but there's no debate who the number one player is. It's Macklin Celebrini. I know NHL comps are always difficult because each player is his own person, but it's hard not to look at guys that are already in the league and say, does he play like him? I did notice that there were some Connor Bedard comps, but is that more of a personality thing or is that a playmaking thing as well? That's interesting.

I didn't see the Bedard, the Bedard comps. I know that we did, we did talk to Kyle Davidson. We had a chance to talk to Kyle Davidson at the Combine. And we did ask him, since he did, obviously, he was in the suite last year to interview Bedard. And we just wanted to see if there was any comparison as far as the, you know, off the ice, the demeanor of the kid, what he was like, was he nervous, that type of thing. Not necessarily similarities on the ice.

And Kyle said, yeah, there were some similarities. And just how they attack the game, how they want to improve, how they want to help whatever team drafts them, you know, reach the Stanley Cup. It's a goal of theirs. It's been a goal of theirs since, you know, very early age. Now, you could say, ah, every player has that same mentality, but you know what guys, and you guys know this, you know, some guys are just, you know, geared differently when it comes to that type of stuff that, you know, the off season work they put

in. And I'm telling you guys right now, one story that isn't talked about enough with Mack on Celebrini is the fact that he had a whole offseason of rehab before, you know, stepping on the ice, game one as a freshman at Boston University because of the shoulder injury, staying in Chicago, re-aggravated at the U18s in Switzerland. And look, I know his dad, that's his specialty and what he can do to rehab his son and get him into shape and get him ready. But no one, no one expected him to be there for game one with BU in October against Bentley University. And what does he do? He goes out, has a goal and assists two points, leads BU to the victory in their first game, in his first game as a as a as a college freshman so a credit to to celebrini and you know scouts always talk

about the three areas guys that you know they want to see in players it's the iq it's skating it's the compete and compete can be several different things and one area of compete is is when you're injured and you're going through rehab how hard are you going to compete to get back on the ice and be the player that you know you once were or maybe even better and in and in celebrini's case he became an even better player through rehab because of what he was able to accomplish at bu last year i know that being the number one overall pick means you're almost like assured to be going to the national hockey league but i mean he's not even 18 yet he doesn't turn 18 until tomorrow. And he's young, and he's only had the freshman year at BU.

Is there any chance that he goes back to schools? Or when he's taken first overall by San Jose, is he going directly to the NHL? No, it's a good talking point, guys. I still think he's got some room to physically mature and develop, and that would help his game. I think there's a big difference between his physical development and Bedard's. I do think that's a factor that teams, you know, will put into play, or in this case, the San Jose Sharks. You know, talent-wise, yes, he could make that jump. But the overall growth of his game, I think there's still some things

he can achieve outside the NHL, like maybe winning a gold medal, whether it be World Juniors, the men's national team, whether it's helping the Terriers take that next step to be a legitimate contender and win a national championship, win a beanpot. You know, he always stressed that, too, when we asked him about it. Why would you go back to BU? Well, for one, we didn't win anything. You know, I'm a winner. I want to help my team win., we didn't win anything. I'm a winner. I want to help my team win, and we didn't win anything.

That's the type of experience that I think he can get going back to college. You asked earlier about some of those comparisons. Personally, guys, on ice, there's no comparison. Bedard's a generational guy. We've seen what he was able to accomplish this year.

There are some facets of Celebrini's game, the 200-foot game, the compete, how hard he wants to improve, and that'll translate well to the NHL. But yeah, I mean, there certainly are some things here that uh celebrini wants to work on what is the most important thing about the nhl combine because i can't imagine it's the scouts showing up and wondering how macklin celebrini does in the shuttle run or the standing long jump like i i i actually like what what i guess it's two-part question one what is the most important thing about the nhl combine and um why do they do things like the shuttle run yeah um well you know the most important part of the combine in my eyes and i think when i talk to a lot of the scouts guys is the interviewing stages i mean at this

point of the season all these scouts and maybe some gs have seen these players on the ice, what they're capable of doing, you know, how hard they go. But they want to learn about these guys, their families, you know, how they were raised, what they had to endure, the sacrifices that had to be made. All these things, you know, they want to get inside the kid and learn about him a little bit. We all know about some of the wacky questions that are asked as kid and learn about him a little bit we all we

all know about some of the wacky questions that are asked as well which makes it a little bit fun for these kids and makes them think a little bit um as far as the testing goes guys i all i think and i've spoken to a few scouts about this you know we've seen it too right in years past a big deal was made over the fact that players such as sam bennett and casey middlestat couldn't complete a single chin-up remember that at the combine but but bennett bennett has already played 10 full nhl seasons is in the stanley cup final second straight season with the panthers and and middlestat just finished the seventh seventh nhl season proven to be an effective middle six forward so i think they just want to see these guys compete. Just go at it.

Go as hard as you can. Show us your maximum effort, particularly on the bike test and at the last station there with the Wingate test. So when I look at those two bike tests, the Wingate is almost like playing on the penalty kill to me, a mad scramble until you get back to the bench, where that aerobic, the VO2 max, is the ability to recover from that shift. So you can go out again and continue performing at a high level. So they just want to see you go at it.

Go. Show us your best effort. Show us what you can do. That's all we're asking of you with these tests. And have some fun. Mike and I have joked that not being able to do a pull-up has driven Sam Bennett his entire NHL career, and that's why he plays the way he plays,

because he's still angry at not being able to do a show. That is it. I like that. I like that. Yeah, yeah. So you mentioned the interviews and, you know, teams will want to know about their experiences growing up, et cetera, et cetera, and everyone's got a different story.

But when you talk about a couple of the players, Macklin Celebrini and another name that, especially the last name that some people will know, T. Jiginla,, Jerome Jaginla's boy. How much of an advantage do you think those guys have growing up around professional athletes and not feeling overwhelmed in, uh, around being around pros and knowing, I guess they probably don't have that imposter syndrome that some of the other guys might have.

So I'm just wondering how much that affects their ability to succeed or their ability to get drafted high. I think it does play a part for sure. But think about it. I also think we're talking about 17, 18 year old kids. And even if your dad was a professional in a certain line of work, uh, even a hockey hall of famer, um, he's going to tell you what to, what he might expect or anticipate, but he's his own person. Right. He's going to be sitting on that chair outside the suite of Utah,

the hockey club, or, you know, the Dallas Stars, or whoever it may be, the Colorado Blackhawks waiting. He has his, you know, all these scouts when, you know, when I'm walking the court or around the suite levels, and all these teams have suites, and you see them sitting on the chairs anxiously waiting to get inside the room to talk to these teams. They're nervous. You know, the anticipation there, you could sense it in their face.

And Tiege was no different. You know, I spoke to Tiege at the combine during the interview portion of the combine the first three, four days. And, you know, every interview that he entered, he said it was, you know, it was interesting. I was nervous. And I did ask him that exact question, you know, did Jerome kind of help you out on what to expect? Of course he did.

I thought, guys, the most interesting thing was when I asked Teej about, you know, obviously you went in to see Calgary. What was that interview like? Were there nerves there? He said, you know, for sure. He goes, Dad, you know, was out of the room. He left. He says that was, he took the option there to leave the room while I was there.

But, you know, the family, the Aguilera family, obviously is real close with the Conroys. And, you know, Teach said, as Craig was like asking him questions, he said, yeah, he was listening to Greg and listening to the question that's being asked, but on the other side of his head, he's thinking about the good times they had at that Christmas Eve party way back, you know, five, six years ago

at the Convoys, how much fun it was on Christmas Eve at the party. I thought it was just kind of funny how, and again, you're talking about a 17, 18-year-old kid, so I thought that was just kind of funny how, and again, you're talking about a 17, 18-year-old kid. So I thought that was kind of funny. But yeah, these kids obviously schooled a little bit.

They know what kind of questions might be asked. I mean, things have changed as far as what questions are asked from maybe 15, 20 years ago to now. But overall, I'd say, yeah, there's a little bit of advantage, but not much because these kids still have to be their own players. They have to talk their own game, and they have to be their own person. We are speaking to Mike Morial, senior draft writer from NHL.com here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. So, Mike, when everyone gathers June 28th and 29th

at the Sphere in Las Vegas for the NHL draft, we know Celebrini is going to go number one overall to the San Jose Sharks. Is there a consensus on how things might go after that? Yeah, so, you know, me personally, guys, I really like the kid from Michigan State, Artem Lechnov. You know, I know the Blackhawks, obviously, they got some good forwards in the pipeline that were drafted last year. Obviously, Bedard's the staple there.

You need that big pillar on D. Now, this draft is rock solid with good defensemen this year, guys. There's no doubt about that. But I like the Belarus-born right-handed shot, third youngest player in men's college, college hockey. And he's a player that I think the black Hawks are going to consider. Obviously Ivan Dimidov of St. Petersburg and Russia's junior league has been a hot topic.

Will he go number two? Will he go three to the ducks? 18 year old left-hander. One of the most naturally skilled players in this draft class really possesses a lot of smarts and he adapts real well in stride and put up some real serious points in Russia's junior league. Caden Lindstrom is another guy that's been a hot topic this year for Medicine Hat and a dub.

Obviously, he missed some time because of the back injury he had, but, you know,, Caden Lichten we haven't seen a power center like this coming out of the draft in some time, guys. Obviously, there's a lot of intrigue there and where he might go. It's looking maybe 4 or 5

whether to Columbus or Montreal. If he's not there for Montreal, then maybe a player like Anton Siliev, a big defenseman, 6'7", 211 pounds out of the KHL. Left shot, one of the most intriguing players in this draft because of that size. He's developing his offensive side of the game. So another player I think is going to be in high demand, Siliev. Two Russian-born players, guys, right, that weren't at the combine.

I know that Dimidov is going to be – Dan Milstein is holding his own combine-type thing later this month prior to the draft for some maybe 12, 13 of his clients. And I know a lot of the scouts and GMs will be going to that as well. And that's where D-Madoff will be. Mike, this was great. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the draft. And thanks again for coming on today.

Yep. Thanks a lot, guys. Have a great night. You too. Thanks. That's Mike Morial from NHL.com here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. There you go. The Halford & Brough Show

dove into the world of prospect talk. I now know everything I need to know about the draft. T.J. Ginla going to Calgary. That seems like a layup, right? Man, you just like Caden Lindstrom. You just, I mean, that type of center is just so important for every team to have. That's true.

I love Caden Lindstrom. Of course, we all know he's from Chetwynd. I didn't know that. Yeah. I thought he was Swedish. He's from Chetwynd. Interesting. And his name is Caden and he played for the Medicine Tigers and he had 46 points in 32 games. And I learned something today.

Who's that defenseman on the Flyers who has that name that sounds like he's super Swedish, but he's from Hoboken? No, he's a guy from Hoboken, New Jersey, but his name is super Swedish sounding. I always thought Matt Niskanen was Finnish, right? He's not? No, Matt Niskanen is from Minnesota. Oh, right, right, right, right. And for the longest time, I kept forgetting that Teddy Bluger is Latvian because it's Teodor's plural, Bluger.

Blugers, though? Teodor is Blors, plural, Bluger. Blugers, though. Teodors, no, Bluger is singular. Teodors Bluger is from Latvia, but Teddy Bluger is probably from Mankato. But you never know. You never know. What do you think the rent is at the Sphere? Oh, that's a great question.

I was thinking about that the other day because... A million dollars a day. Yeah, that's big for the NHL to do that. I'm still kind of shocked that they are pulling this off. Are they going to utilize the effects of the fear? Yes. Can you imagine the NHL just doesn't? The screens are off the entire time.

Oh, you could turn those on? Oh, man. It just says the pick is in. That's it. Or it's that big Windows error, like the big blue screen of death. It's just up there the entire time. They forgot to update the software. In all the diligent research,

the minutes of research I did on the NHL draft, it's that the NHL, because they're getting rid of this format for the draft. The centralized format where everyone, all 30 teams have to... This is the last hurrah at the Sphere. What if the Sphere is just the entire screen is just Elliott Friedman's head?

That would be pretty good, actually. So the entire screen is just him. Although, Fried isn't really a draft guy. No, but I'm just trying to think who else would... Yeah. Who would be better than that? I honestly have no idea, but... You're right.

This is the last hurrah for the big... The draft is we know it, which is, yes, Greg has his hand up. I found the name that I was thinking of. It's Matthias Samuelsson from Buffalo, the defenseman. He is from Philly, Pennsylvania. Right, but his dad was Shell Samuelsson, if I'm not mistaken. But he's got the name that sounds like he's super Swedish.

Yeah, okay. Well, he kind of is, though. Yeah. His dad's a Shell. But he plays for USA. His dad is Shell Samuelsson, right? Yeah, okay. Yeah, he was like super tall

there's also oliver wallstrom on the islanders he's from you know what there's one yeah that's that's as far as prospect talk used to go when shell samuelson was drafted it's like he is super tall very tall swedish tall also still how goalie four times and that's how goalie scouting is still done by the way so on the subject of the draft. Yeah. So this is going to be it for. And if you're wondering what we're talking about, like this is it for the draft. They're not out abolishing the draft.

They're not going to go to like some weird conscription thing. You know, it's going to be the last time that all 32 NHL teams bring their, you know. The posse yeah right and the Arizona Coyotes can't do their dress up routine anymore which is too bad

I don't think they'll do it in Utah hopefully they outlaw that although maybe they could all dress up like Mormons like wear the

short sleeve white shirt and black ties oh yeah that'd be kind of funny wouldn't that be funny that'd be a nice nod all the scouts show up and they got Bibles

with them they're like we're here to draft and to teach you about the Lord. That would be fine. The player that gets picked just walks the other direction out of the building. Right. And all of a sudden they've offended their entire market. Yeah.

Anyway, point being, this is it for the draft. I don't know what it's going to look like moving forward. I think it's going to be more Zoom calls. I think it might look a lot like the NFL draft. No, I think it's going to look more like the NHL draft during the pandemic. Where everything's done remotely. Oh, the one that took like 18 hours to go through? Well, they'll tighten it up a bit.

That was more of a technical glitch, though. I just remember it was a long one. I like seeing the players with their families. It's too long. The process takes too long. television it up but you can't when you have like people literally walking down to the stage from the stands right it i think their biggest issue right now if we're being dead honest is that it's an awful television product the way that the nhl draft currently is like you talked about it this year's like we had david amber on in the aftermath and even he was like it's tough to do because you've got so much

dead time it's awful because let's be honest i don't care who columbus drafts exactly like that that's that is the that is the number one problem if you're a hardcore prospects expert and you love this stuff and you watch junior hockey and college hockey, you're like, oh, I've watched that guy. Well, good luck in St. Louis or whatever, right? But once it gets past the first five picks or maybe generously the first 10 picks and once your team has gone and the Canucks don't even have a pick in the first or second rounds this year, you don't care. Right. There's a lot of junior people out there, though. What if a Vancouver Giants player gets picked in the second or third round?

There's going to be a lot of people in this area that care about it. That's great. Okay. But once in a while. But for the most part, you're like, okay, good luck with that. The draft is exciting when trades happen. We all know that. Right?

That is. What is the one thing we think about in. So the draft is exciting when trades happen. We all know that, right? That is, what is the one thing we think about in Vancouver about the draft? One of the things is when Gary Bettman goes up there and, you know, we have a trade to announce and, you know, it's Bo Horvat. Yeah. You know, like that was. We have a trade to announce. Right? That was exciting.

What wasn't exciting that year probably was when, I don't know, Minnesota went up there and made their pick. I don't even know what it is. That is the underlying. That's a thing that nobody will kind of say, will admit. I'll say it. I don't care who this team picks at number 21. I'm done by then.

I've flipped the channel by then, and I can follow things on social media and be like, oh, wow, there's a trade. I'll flip back to the draft. I know we're up against it for time. What you're talking about is what the draft was meant to be originally, which is a celebration of every player that gets picked. And it's their moment in the sun and a moment for even if it's just a handful of people, a handful of people that watch them play junior

college hockey and they get that time carved out. So the first overall pick gets the exact same amount of time as the 23rd overall pick. If you're a first round pick, you get to walk down and you get to meet with all the guys and you get to shake the hands and put on the Jersey and everything. The issue is, is that translates into a horrible television product because let's be real.

As Jason said, the 23rd overall pick does not have the same level of significance as the first overall pick. And I know we've got to get to break, so A-Dog, just chill. Mike and Maple Rich text in, how come the NFL has been able to absolutely maximize the NFL draft? And you guys are saying no one cares. They've got to find a way to make it like the NFL.

It's so fundamentally different. First of all, college football is way bigger than junior hockey and college hockey and european hockey yep those players are big names second and most importantly all those players taken in the first round are going to jump immediately into the nfl and play an important role except for michael pennix but the rest of them absolutely are going to jump immediately into the NFL and play an important role. Except for Michael Penix. But the rest of them absolutely are going to. Except for Michael Penix. Right.

That is the deal. Like, you're looking to see, like last season with the Seahawks, well, are they going to shore up the defensive line? You know, that sort of thing, you're looking at it. So it's almost more like free agency. And at any rate, we we got to get to break. You're listening to

the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2

on Sportsnet 650 or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 734 on a Eurodance Wednesday here on the Halford & Ruff Show on Sportsnet 650. The very fitting, given that the 2024 European Championship started two days time from Germany,

where most of this music was born. Halford & Ruff in the morning. I think it was the Netherlands. Don't they have all the DJs, right? Sweden, too. Yeah, yeah, Sweden. Europe, guys. It's called Europe.

It's a continent. Look it too. Yeah, yeah, Sweden. Europe, guys. It's called Europe. It's a continent. Look it up. Read a book sometime. Howl for the Broth of the Morning is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Ah, yes. Primetime. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste. Primetime is full flavor without compromise.

You can get some at a liquor store near you, or you can visit the brewery to see how it's made. We are in Hour two of the program. Hour two is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. Vancouver Honda is Vancouver's premier destination for Honda customers. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for, sales, financing, service, or parts. Let's do a Euro 2024 preview now. Joining us on the program is Sportsnet soccer writer John Molinaro

here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Good morning, John. How are you? Hey, good morning, guys. I'm fine, thanks. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it. So, as of Wednesday, this morning, DraftKings had five teams with 10-1 odds or better to win Euro 2024. England, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and France. So while there are five with pretty decent odds to win it,

is it fair to suggest that France arrives at Euro 2024 as the team to beat? I think so. Yeah, I think that's fair. I mean, when you look at sort of the team that Didier Deschamps has at his sort of disposal, it's really amazing. I mean, I think he has so much depth at every position that he could probably field two teams at this tournament. You know, when you're talking about players the caliber of Real Madrid's

Eduardo Camavinga and Inter Milan's Marcus Teram, who aren't guaranteed starters, you know, but would likely start on any other team. I think that just shows you how much quality and depth that Deschamps has at his disposal. And he has Kylian Mbappe, the PSG forward who recently signed with Real Madrid, who is the top forward in the world. So, yeah, I think France is, for me, they're the favorite. I mean, you look at it, they've been to the last two World Cup finals, winning it in 2018.

But they haven't won this tournament since 2000. And they famously lost to Portugal in the 2016 final and on home soil. So I think they come in with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder as well, with feeling as though they have something to prove. So for me, it's their tournament to lose. Do you read anything into the friendlies, the warm-up friendlies? Because France couldn't even beat Canada. 0-0 draw against the Canadians, and the English lost to Iceland.

Again, 1-0. I don't read. I mean, I read into them in terms of terms of you know in the long sort of stretch of games right i mean if we were talking like a five to seven game run where you know france or england were underperforming and not getting results then i think that's cause for concern i think you could you know you could certainly sort of value put some value into the friendlies. But when we're talking about a one-off result, no, I don't put any sort of stock in, you know, France being unable to, you know, beat Canada

or, you know, England leading to Iceland. I mean, these are one-off games. So I think it's, you can't sort of get too bent out of shape about them. They're friendlies. A lot of the times the managers will be working out on sort of formations and different sort of player rotations and whatnot. So I don't think

they're a harbinger of anything to come, really. Speaking of England, Gareth Southgate knows this could be his last tournament as England manager, and he seems to know that if there's not a title at the end of it, he might not be there. As a matter of fact, he was quoted in BBC as saying, if we don't win, I probably won't be here anymore.

Do you think that played into some of the rather controversial selections he made for this, including not having guys like Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish on the roster? Possibly. I mean, but I still think he has a pretty strong squad. He does. You know, when you look at, again, the players at his disposal, you're talking about guys the caliber of Jude Bellingham,

who played a key role in Real Madrid winning the UEFA Champions League this year in his first season in La Liga. Harry Kane, who scored 36 goals, which is an insignificant amount for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Yeah, there were certainly some eye-raising choices. But again, I think this is a really talented English squad. I mean, just forgetting those two names that I mentioned, but there's Phil Foden and a lot of exciting talent on here.

And England have done really well the last few international tournaments, losing to Italy in the final at Wembley in 2021. So I'm expecting big things from that. I wouldn't, you know, in my power rankings, I have them as number two right behind France. So I wouldn't be surprised if they finally live up to their potential and then, you know, win an international tournament for the first time since, you know, thinking the World Cup in 1966. The German national side hasn't found a lot of joy recently in international competitions, but one, they are the hosts of this tournament. There's always something to be said for that. And two, they've actually had a decent run of results lately since Julian Nagelsmann has taken over as the manager. How do you see the host Germans faring at this tournament?

Yeah, I've been impressed with them since Nagelsmann took over for Hansi Flick, the previous manager, because Germany was really sort of struggling for results in 2023. And they didn't have to go through the qualifiers for this tournament. And sometimes I think that's not the blessing in disguise that a lot of people think they think. I think there's a lot to be gained by playing in the qualifiers because you're playing competitive games against top nations, and I think you can a lot to be gained by playing in the qualifiers because you're playing competitive games

against top nations and I think that you can only stand to benefit from that. But I like how they've sort of turned things around a little bit under Nagelsmann and it's a talented German side. I mean, when you have someone like Tony Kroos, the Real Madrid midfielder who's in his, this is going to be his last

tournament internationally, still competing at the height of his powers in his 30s. I think, I think that says a lot and, you know, they're going to have home field advantage throughout the tournament, you know, and that's not insignificant either. So I think the Germans are, you know, when we're talking about the final four, like the semifinalists and who might be there, I would be stunned if, you know, they're not in the mix. last stand for Ronaldo and it's crazy to think that he played in this tournament in 2004 and 20 years later he's still doing it. This is a Portuguese team that just wiped the floor with the

competition and qualifiers. They went a perfect 10-0 in their 10 matches they're loaded with talent and then they've got this narrative and I don't want to do the Ronaldo-Messi thing too much but it's hard not to look at what Argentina and Messi did at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and think that maybe the Portuguese will be motivated to have a similar send-off from Ronaldo.

Am I scripting too much of a narrative here? Could you see that happening? Yeah, I think you're probably scripting too much. I don't think that's part of the calculus. I think it's more, you know, it's his last tournament, right? I mean, he's 39 years old. I can't foresee him playing. Maybe I shouldn't write him off,

but I can't foresee him playing at a World Cup at age 41. But if anyone could do it, certainly he could. But this is going to be his 12th major international tournament for his country since 2024. And I think they want to send him out on the right way. And I don't think it has anything to do with, you know, sort of equaling Messi or anything like that. And look, Portugal are well-placed to do well in this tournament because I think one of the criticisms of Portugal in the past is that it's relied too heavily on Ronaldo.

But this is a balanced side. I mean, when you talk about players like Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, who I think is coming off a great season at Manchester United and Yael Polina, who I think is coming off a great season at Manchester United, and Jalpolina. This is a really talented, rich side. And so, again, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if they go on a run at this tournament and make a name for themselves.

So another major tournament that's going to start in eight days' time is the Copa America, and the opening game is going to be the Canadian men's national team going up against the aforementioned Lionel Messi and Argentina in the tournament opener in Atlanta in front of what's going to be 70,000-plus people. It is going to be a huge test for this Canadian team, which just had a couple of big tests recently,

losing 4-0 to the Netherlands and then bouncing back with an impressive 0-0 draw against France on Sunday. Those were also the first two matches where Jesse Marsh was in charge. What did you have as takeaways, John, from those two matches and specifically the 0-0 draw against France? Tactics, things that you saw from what Marsh was trying to implement with this Canadian men's team? Well, I saw tactical flexibility, which I think was, I think, one of the things that people were kind of worried about

when Jesse Marsh took over. He's someone who likes to set his team up in a distinct style of play. He's a disciple of German manager Ralf Rangnick, who's actually coach of the Australian national team right now. And Rangnick really sort of like had his team play aggressive pressing football that um you know sort of is physically demanding of the players because it asks of them to sort of constantly press and and try to stop their opponents high up the pitch

in order to win possession you know jesse marsh served as an assistant coach under him at rb leipzig in the bundesliga and he's kind of adopted Rangnick's philosophy as his own. And so for me, and I think a lot of people, one of the worries when Marsh was coming in was like, he's just going to set Canada up this one way to play, that there would be no plan B. And we kind of saw that against the Netherlands, right? I mean, they kind of came flying out of the chute

where they really were aggressive in their high press. And then, you know, by the second half, they lost a lot of steam. It was a very different look against the France. I mean, they slowed things down. It was much more patient in their build-up play. There was still a pressing element to it, but it wasn't as, you know, fervent as it was against the Netherlands. And so, you know, I think if you're a Canadian soccer fan,

you're encouraged by the different tactical approach, you know, by Jesse Marsh. He wasn't as tactically entrenched as a lot of people feared that he would be. So I think that's encouraging. I think the other thing is that, you know, he made some bold decisions, right? I mean, he made Alphonso Davies captain for the first game. He, you know, started him at left fullback, which he really hasn't played all that much for Canada, although he certainly plays that on a regular basis for Bayern Munich.

You know, he didn't bring in veteran goalkeeper Milan Borjan and went with Dane Sinclair and Maxime Grapeau split between the two games. And he went with a new centre-back pairing, and Moise Bambito, who's only 24 and only had four caps before these games. And Derek Cornelius, who, you know, has 20 caps, but really didn't feature all that much under John Herdman. And, you know, that center back pairing

was really impressive against, you know, two European sort of giants. So I'm not going to go so far as to say this is a center back pairing of the future of Canada because I think it's, you know, we're talking about two talking about two games, and it's still a very small sample size. But I think if you're a Canadian soccer fan, you have to be encouraged by the way that he's kind of giving young players a chance to shine. Ishmael Coney, another perfect example of a young midfielder

who was a little bit overlooked by John Herdman, but I thought was man of the match for canada against you know the french with his you know outstanding two-way play so there's a lot to there's a lot of positives from those first two games what kind of expectations should canadian soccer fans have for this copa america uh obviously it's going to be tough to beat the argentinians peru and chile are the the other countries they play in the group stage. Will Canada be significant underdogs in all three of these matches? I don't know that they'll be significant underdogs. I mean, certainly in the Argentina game, absolutely.

I mean, you're talking about, you know, the reigning World Cup champions and the number one ranked team in the world. It doesn't say nothing of the fact, you the fact you're going against Lionel Messi. And you'd be an Argentinian side who has players playing at the very highest levels of European club football. So I don't think there's any question they're going to be the massive underdogs in that game. I think they will be underdogs against Peru and Chile,

but not nearly to the extent they will against Argentina. I think those are a lot more winnable games, but they will still be tough for Canada because they haven't played a great deal of South American nations over the last few years. I mean, they did play Uruguay once before the Qatar World Cup. But other than that,

it's a different sort of style of football that they've gone up against. And to say nothing of the fact that both Chile and Peru, they're likely going to have huge fan bases supporting them at these games. So they're essentially going to be road games for Canada. So that's another element

they're going to have to come. So, yeah, it's a tough group and I'd be, if I'm being honest, I'm not for seeing them gather the group. That's not to say it's impossible. I think it is possible. But I just think, you know, Jesse just hasn't had a great deal of time to work with the players, and it's asking an awful lot of a new coach

to get his team to sort of bond together quickly against, you know, three quality opponents in such a short period of time is it fair for me as a fan though uh certainly not an expert but a fan just to want something good unexpectedly good to happen for this squad because it seems like it's been a while i know nil nil against france was good but it wasn't like you know i i don't know it wasn't like, you know, I don't know. It wasn't a win. It wasn't a win. They didn't score. You know, you'd like to score.

They didn't score against the Dutch either. It just seems like ever since Canada qualified for the World Cup, not a lot of good has happened both on the pitch and off the pitch. I think that's fair. You know, I don't think there's any question that you know qualifying for guitar was kind of like the zenith of the program and ever since then it's been kind of like a slow steady slow and steady decline because the results haven't been there i mean they sort of you know didn't qualify for the kaka kappa nations league uh finals this year

they lost to the united states in last year's Cockacuff Nations League final in a really tepid sort of affair. They sort of were booted out at the quarterfinal stage of the Cockacuff Gold Cup last year, and it was an impressive run. There's all sort of the labor stuff going on behind the scenes. John Herdman unexpectedly stepping down as coach last year and then the team that you know the the Canada soccer taking you know a fair bit of time to get his replacement having to get a hire a new general secretary and you know electing a new president so yeah I think you know look there's

I don't think there's any question that the club the team has been on a bit of a downward spiral so you know it'd be nice to for a couple feel-good stories here in terms of just getting the program back on track. That's not to say that the program is in a state of chaos or anything like that, but I do think it has been sort of trending downward since Qatar, and I think some strong results would certainly get the team moving in the right direction again. The 2024 European Championships get underway on Friday with the host Germans taking on the Scots.

And then a week tomorrow, the 2024 Copa America gets underway when Argentina and Canada play in Atlanta. John, thank you very much for doing this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy this month of footy. It should be a lot of fun. I will do. Thanks for having me on, guys.

Yeah, thanks for coming on. We appreciate it. That's John Molinaro here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. I like this text that came into the Dunbar Lumber text line. It's funny how, although I'm somewhat interested in Canada soccer and NHL prospects, I'd still prefer two and a half hours of Canucks-UFA talk. Well, don't worry, friend. Fair enough.

Satyar Shah is going to be coming up on the other side of the break. But just a reminder to send in your what we learns. And if Halford and the dogs don't waste too much time today, we'll actually read some of your texts into the Dunbar Lumber text line at 650-650. Shots fired. What was all that about? Dunbar Lumber with three stores to serve you.

Yesterday, you guys were wasting time. Yeah, we're the only ones that waste time around here. We couldn't even get to, we got to like four texts and then people get frustrated. Dunbar Lumber with three stores to serve you in Lander on Bridge Street, Dunbar Lumber Express at Lander Center or Budeson, Vancouver online at DunbarLumber.com.

Someone's got to stick up for the poor listeners here. Somebody on the show. I believe that yesterday's interruption is largely due to the fact that you didn't know what Riz meant. And then we had to go down the road of explaining what Riz was,

how you can have Riz, which you don't, and how you can Riz someone up, which you're incapable of doing. The whole Rick Riz conversation. I did not bring up Rick Riz. I tell you that. Someone just texted in there,

are you more excited for Copa or Euro? That's a great question because... Really? Yeah. I don't think Canada's going to do anything at this tournament. I am a big England guy and I want, you know, this could be the last for Gareth Southgate. So this is a huge tournament for England.

Not only could they win it, if they don't, you look at a completely different manager for the World cup which happens to be in north america i think canada has a very realistic shot of getting out of the group okay yeah because now without going too deep into the back story of the peruvian and chilean national sides um chile is not in its you know this all cyclical right where they have players that come through the age categories and then they're supposed to ascend at a certain time to go through like they go u-17s u-20s and then eventually at a certain world cup or domestic stage they're ready to take the next step uh chile had it and it's no longer there they had some great teams around sort of

2014 where like a guy like alexis sanchez who's now in the twilight of his career if you look at that team uh it's not as dominant as it once was and peru is a entirely beatable team now the the best part about all of this i'm not gonna lie is that it's not friendlies like these tournaments I mean I know that everyone's like well Argentina and Brazil Copa yeah it means a lot to them it means so much to the likes of Chile and Peru because this tournament gets them ready for uh what is widely considered the toughest region to qualify to the World Cup from which is South America because there's there's very few seeds available going to the World Cup.

There's going to be more now in 2026. And if Canada qualifies out of the group, let's say they're the runner-up in the group and we'll give the group to Argentina, I think they'd have a pretty good chance of playing Mexico in Texas, which would be a heck of a challenge for Canada. See, that's why I'm really excited to watch it because all these friendlies and the games that they've booked, which kind of means something,

but they kind of don't. When I was watching the game on Sunday, I'm like, how seriously is France taking this? Probably not very seriously. It was a good tune-up for them, and they tried to score, and they generated some chances, but it wasn't a life or death thing. This is to these countries because it is great shame to peru and or chile if they don't advance out of a group where they have canada because canada is still canada to a lot of these south american countries it's a country that you should be beating when you're in

uh a competition with this much importance and this much history. So I'm very much looking forward to it. That said, this is such a referendum on the Gareth Southgate era as England gaffer. Because it's really like you either win something or you don't now. You've come close, especially at the last Euro. You've had good performances at international tournaments. But your golden generation right now has hit because it's Foden

and it's Bellingham and it's Harry Kane coming off 36 goals. Has he gone against his gut and not picking players like Harry Maguire? And Jack Grealish, yeah. He used to love getting Jack Grealish off the bench for 20-30 minutes spurts so that he could inject life into the match. And Grealish had

a lousy year at city he was a kind of forgotten player yeah and southgate made some bold choices he went young right he brought kobe mainu from man united he's like 19 years old who's probably going to play a pretty big role he knows that he had to make some bold decisions because if he fell back on the tried and true staples and they fell short i think it would always be gnawing at him that he never really went for it in that moment. Because this is a golden generation for a lot of these England players that they're not young guys wanting to make their mark on the international game. They've arrived.

Well, this might be the last time that Harry Kane is playing at the highest level. 100%. We're going to talk Canuck UFAs. Don't worry, hockey fans. We'll get back to the Canucks talk. Coming up next on the Halford & Brough Show with Satyar Shah.