Halford & Brough in the Morning - Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

In hour three, Mike & Jason chat with Canucks radio commentator Brendan Batchelor (1:04), as well as head coach Rick Tocchet (25:30), ahead of tomorrow night's season opener.  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.

it's his friend and bachelor bachelor bachelor life from rogers arena calling canucks games it's his friend and bachelor bachelor bachelor 801 on a tuesday happy tuesday everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough for the morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda. 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. We are in hour three of the program.

Brendan Batchelor is going to join us in just a moment here. We've got Batch and Talkit in hour three. What an hour three. Hour three of this show is brought to you by in just a moment here. We've got Batch and Talkin' in Hour 3. What an Hour 3. Hour 3 of this show is brought to you by Campbell & Pound, real estate appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at campbell-pound.com today. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio.

Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. Sorfie, what are you waiting for? Kintec. To the phone lines we go. Brandon Batchelor joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Batch?

Good morning. How are you guys? We're good. I imagine you must be good as well because we are now just one day away from the start of the regular season. How much are you looking forward to tomorrow's game against Calgary, Batch? Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it, especially after the length of the preseason.

Although, as we talked about in the last preseason game, the Canucks only had six games. The Oilers played eight. So we can be thankful for that at the very least. But yeah, ever since you get to training camp and start watching the informal skates in the summer, the goal for everyone, players and media included, is to get to the point where the games count for real.

And for the league, that starts today. But for the Canucks, it's tomorrow night. And I'm definitely looking forward to getting back into the booth and getting back rolling with a new season, especially with the excitement around the team. So, obviously, final roster cut down day. It's always great for some and not so great for others. It was great for Atu,

Ratu and Nils Amon yesterday. Not so much for Arshdie Baines, who got sent down to Abbotsford. Do you expect to see Baines at some point again this season, given how well he acquitted himself last year and then during training camp in the preseason? Yeah, I would.

Absolutely. You know, and then during training camp in the preseason? Yeah, I would, absolutely. It's probably going to depend on health for this team because if Dakota Joshua comes back, that bumps someone else down in terms of the pecking order and would bump Baines down as well. But I thought he was really good in the preseason. Obviously, he scored a couple of power play goals and was able to finish in the right place at the right time.

And Rick Tockett spoke very highly of him. So, you know, he acquitted himself well and I think kind of was a victim of the numbers game and of, you know, being able to go down without having to clear waivers and all of these factors that, you know, play into the decisions that get made around nhl rosters but um you know he for my money he he would be deserving of being on the nhl roster because of the preseason uh that that he put together and the organization i think probably feels the same way so he'll be

high on the list of people to be recalled if they need it. So the Canucks are going to practice today 11 30 a.m at Rogers Arena what will you be watching for? The big question will be whether Connor Garland is back at practice or not he missed both practices over the weekend Rick Talkett said he skated on his own on Sunday and was very optimistic that he might be able to get back into the lineup but I think the indication today will be if Garland does practice, he has a chance to play tomorrow. If he doesn't, he's probably pretty unlikely to be in the opening night roster, which, you know, I guess if Garland is able to play,

it remains to be seen who would get bumped down or out of the lineup as a result. Maybe it would be Atu Ratu, but at the same time, you know, he broke roster with the camp or broke camp on the roster with the Canucks, I should say, even though, like I was just talking about Baines, he's a guy that could have gone down to Abbotsford without waivers. So I think they like Ratu. I think they really want to give him a look.

And, you know, that'll be interesting to see how the lines shake down if garland is there and and how they think they might deploy uh that group in the bottom six best heading into the season opener where does pew suitor fit in on this roster and just to confirm he is he's healthy right he was wearing a regular jersey at the last practice yes he wore a regular jersey on sunday after wearing a non-contact jersey on Saturday. So he will be available, I would imagine, for Wednesday. I think Pugh Suter is kind of going to be a guy that they can put anywhere in the lineup because he can play the wing, he can play the middle. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they put him on the wing on that line

with Ratu at Hoaglander if Garland can't play, but then he might end up taking some draws or playing the center ice position after Ratu has taken the draw. He's a player that they value because of his flexibility, and we saw that with the first line minutes he got with Miller and Besser last year. So it's nice to have a guy like that. You can basically put him anywhere in the lineup, first line, fourth line, in the middle, on the wing, and know what you're going to get from him.

And that's sort of how I see him fitting in at the moment on this Canucks roster. And then ultimately, once we get into the season, Ratu struggles with consistency or with the step up to what we expect in the regular season as a guy that hasn't played a ton of NHL games, then maybe there's an opportunity there to slide him back to the middle shooter, that is, and send Ratu down to Abbotsford to play some bigger minutes. But that said, Ratu's had a great camp. There's no reason to believe

that he can't continue that into the regular season either. So for the moment, it seems to have bumped Suter to the wing and I'll be interested to see how that plays out in the next few weeks here. I assume you heard these comments, but what did you think of the remarks

by Patrick Alveen that he wants to see more consistency out of the likes of, and you name-checked these guys, Besser, Petey, and Hoaglander. Yeah, I think my initial reaction was that those are the young players who are skilled who can probably still stand to grow and get even better. And so those are the guys that you probably want to lean on the most because you expect the most out of them and you believe in them the most

that there is more than what they've given you to this point. Certainly with Patterson late last season, no one can argue. I don't think that he can step his game up and be a lot better than he was. For Hoaglander, he had the great season last year. He's just been, you know, awarded the contract extension. He could be a more consistent two-way player because we saw how that went once they got into the playoffs and how his minutes decreased.

And he eventually was healthy scratched in that Oilers series, which, you know, for a 24-goal scorer is not something you really want. And then it's clear they hold Brock Besser to a very high standard, even though he's coming off a career year offensively, based on the previous comments that Alvin made that he could have had 50 goals and let off the gas a little bit in the back half of the season. So my thought is they're name-checking those guys or Alvin is anyway, because those are the guys that could make the biggest difference in their key years of their career that they're in right now

because they still have a lot of room to grow not just in terms of offensive production but in terms of night in night out consistency and if those guys can find another level in their game that will make a very big difference for this team going forward. We should already start doing that. I'm assuming the starting goalies will go Seelovs in the opener, Lankanen against Philly, and then we were joking earlier. It's like then you just throw them into a two-man battle royale, let them figure it out and battle it out for who gets the starts. Is that how you see the goaltending situation playing out as well? Yeah, I definitely expect Seelovs to get the opening night start,

and I think after that it might depend on how he does. Tauket did say that they do want to get Lankanen in there early. So even if it's not in the first two games, I would imagine he at least plays one of the four games on the road trip after that. And, you know, Canucks being in a unique situation where they don't have any back-to-backs early means they don't necessarily have to do that. But you also don't want to have Lankanen, you know, sitting around not playing, you know, coming into the year because he could be important for you if anything happens to Shelovs or, you know, anything happens in terms of Demko's long-term ability to get into the lineup. So, Shelovs for sure in the opener. It wouldn't surprise me if he goes back to Shelov's on Friday, especially if he plays well against Calgary tomorrow night.

But I would expect to see Lankan at some point this month at the very least. We're going to talk to Rick Tocan in about 20 minutes. I know you talk to Rick on a regular basis. What do you think his biggest challenge is going to be this season? Finding another level collectively for this group, because he always talks about raising the bar, and this is a group that did raise the bar quite a lot last season, and he's talked about how, I think, I you know i'm paraphrasing here but that he

needs to be a little bit harder on them at times and push them to get more out of them and i think sometimes that can go in in different directions but i think he's got a lot of buy-in i think he's brought in a culture of accountability a culture of winning and these are all good things it's just about you know with the group he's got what does raising the bar after a tremendous year like last year look like and i think um you know one of the hardest things is having a great year and then having to build off it and dealing with expectations too which let's remember last year, right? These conversations we were having going into the year, we're all about, Oh, they've got to have a good start.

And all they can't lose the first seven games in a row. Like they had the year before. Don't do that. And now, and now we've got LA Friedman talking about them legitimately being in the running to win the Stanley cup. So it's a completely different conversation, a completely different set of, you know,

set of expectations that they're approaching this year and dealing with prosperity, dealing with success, and then having to build on that and be even better is something that's really hard. And, you know, I don't think that applies just to Tocantin and the job he does, but it's organizationally, what can they do to raise the bar to try and make sure that they meet all of these massive expectations that are being set on them going into the season. Boy, I hope they don't lose the first seven games of the season. That'll be on us then, right? That'll be us.

We should have reminded them. We should have just kept on harping. You've got to have a good start. We took our foot off the gas. We didn't make a hashtag. Yeah, hashtag the start needed to be a thing this year, too. Do you have in your mind a return date for Thatcher Demko, or are you just keeping it open-ended in your mind? Probably pretty open-ended.

I guess my hope would be sometime in November, based on some of the noises that have been around that situation. But would it surprise me if it's later than that? Not really. This seems to be completely uncharted territory. The organization has not even attempted to really give us a timeline. It's only some of the whispers and reporting that are talking about November as a possibility.

You know, until he practices with the team, I don't think there really is a point in trying to project a return date because, you know, if the doctors and the medical staff around the situation don't seem to have a clear picture of it, or at least if they do, they're not telling us, then how can we as laymen have any idea how this situation is going to play out? So if Demko's back at practice, that's a positive sign. You have to imagine at that point, he'd be within a couple of weeks at least of possibly playing. But until we get to that point,

I think it's probably futile to try and project anything with this injury. Hey, since the opponent actually matters now because the games count, let's spend a minute here on your pre-scout of the Calgary Flames. I imagine some of it has to do with figuring out who plays for the Calgary Flames. Because I'm looking at the NHL just announced all of the opening night rosters. And it's just so it's alphabetical. And I'm running through and I'm like, Calgary isn't quite at the level of Pittsburgh of like, oh yeah, that guy plays there now. But they do have a few of them, like Anthony Manta.

I forgot about that one. What did you kind of unfurl or discover about the Flames? Or what are you looking forward to? Maybe that's not the right phrasing. What are you looking at as this team takes on the Canucks tomorrow night in the opener? Yeah, I think the obvious thing with the Flames is they're top guys and what they can be. Obviously, Huberto's had a tough run of it since arriving at Calgary.

Can he get back to being the kind of player he was in Florida? Or, you know, has the ship sailed with him? Same goes with Kadri, I think, to a certain extent, although he's been better than Huberto, certainly. And then it's a lot about the young talent in that lineup. So some of the guys they acquired, particularly from Vegas, Miramanov is an interesting prospect on the back end. I like Braden Pahal quite a bit, as well as a younger defenseman. But, you know, it's about the future for the Flames, right? This is something that we went through in Vancouver

for much of the last decade, where you're looking at the young guys, and then you're looking at which veterans they're likely to trade at some point this season. And so, you know, Rasmus Andersen, I think, is a big name in that conversation. But, you know, they'll be an interesting team to watch because even though expectations for them are low, I do think they still have some talent in their lineup.

That means they could be better than people expect. But at the end of the day, they're a rebuilding team. And, you know, the conversations, as we know, when a team is going through a stretch like that are usually more interesting in terms of the off ice storylines and who's going to get traded and those sorts of things rather than the actual games and the results on the ice i think their top line going into tomorrow's game is nazem cadre at center and then talk about the vancouver connection andre kuzmenko a former vancouver canuck and samuel honzik a former vancouver giant and that's their that's an interesting line that's their top line for vancouver yeah That's their top line. For Vancouver. Yeah, that's interesting. Yeah.

Anyway, Batch, enjoy the game tomorrow night. Have a good call. Thank you for doing this, as always. And we'll do this again, not next week, but the week following.

Yep, sounds good. Thanks, boys. Have a good one. Yeah, thank you. Brandon Batchelor, play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Canucks here on the Halford & Brough Show

on Sportsnet 650. Calgary has the worst, one of the worst defense groups in the NHL. What? Yes. They still got Rasmus Andersonen and Mackenzie Wieger. They sure do.

Yeah. You guys love Wieger. He doesn't like Wieger. I don't like Wieger. Yeah, and he's probably their best defenseman. Yeah. It's Wieger and Miramanov. But I've admitted I don't like Wieger based on two or three plays that I saw from him in Florida in the playoffs.

I was like, no. Can't have a guy like that. Good sample size? Yeah, good sample size. Yeah. He's their first. I was like, no, can't have a guy like that. Good sample size? Yeah, good sample size. Yeah, he's their first. I love a small sample size. It is the best sample size. He's their first pairing defenseman.

I don't like. It confirms you're already. And I don't, you know why I don't like that pairing? Because he wears 52 and Miramanoff wears 62. Those are like training camp numbers. You can't wear those in the regular season. Everything else is retired. You're more of a Kevin Ball number seven guy.

And Anderson's number four. Those are real numbers. 52 and 62. That's like a September 25th lineup. You can't do that. I'm going to do what we learned here. Sure. So I know that the NHL is starting for real tonight.

They had a couple games over in Prague. But the Sabres were in them, so they don't really count. Okay. I learned that I'm going to be flipping back and forth because I am really curious about game three of the Padres Dodgers series. This series is so far shaping up to be

everything we hoped it would be. Muy caliente. It is getting spicy and um there was a hilarious story this is pathetic honestly this is a hilarious story um and dodgers manager dave roberts essentially has accused padre's third baseman mananny Machado of throwing a ball at him and um we're gonna play we're gonna play the Dave Roberts audio of this and I want you guys if you haven't seen the video of the ball being thrown over to the Dodgers dugout. I want you to imagine how hard and viciously this ball must have been thrown

at Dodgers manager Dave Roberts because he just sounds like he can't believe it happened. I didn't notice it at the time. I really didn't. I didn't notice it. I did see the video. And it was unsettling. Obviously, I have a relationship with Manny from years past. There was intent behind it. It didn't almost hit me because there was a net and that was very bothersome um it's it's uh if it was intended at me i'd be very um it's it's it's pretty disrespectful um so i don't know his intent i don't want to speak for

him but i did see the video and the ball was directed at me with some something behind it so um but i don't know what led to that i didn't't see it in real time, but I did see the video. Did you feel after seeing the video, he should have been ejected for that? I don't think they should have had a little arm around each other conversation. If players can throw balls at opposing managers, you know. I have also seen the video and it looks like Manny Machado is throwing a ball rather gently to the ball boy, probably. It's so bizarre that he's going this route. I only hope that Dave Roberts was unaware that the video was available

for public consumption. Did he watch it sped up or something like that? Was he playing at two times speed? Okay, I know what he's trying to do. He's trying to rile the padres out because the padres run hot right with the guys that they've got they run hot they do they're an emotion they're an emotional swing team is he trying to defend maybe also his fan base which was the one doing a lot of the throwing yeah like he's doing that game throwing balls at the fielders and beers

on the field like there's a lot there's a lot of projectiles in that game. Sometimes the manager, because you've got the platform that you do. I mean, you go up there and you very intentionally and strategically say things and do things, right? So I think in Roberts' mind, he's trying to spin the wheel here to have the arrow pointing at the Padres and Machado as opposed to the Dodgers and their fans. But statements like this? The ball was directed at me with something behind it. We have the video of it.

Come on. That's so bizarre. Yeah, it's not good. But it makes this series. I mean, I don't know if I'm cheering for the Padres, but I'm mostly a neutral observer. I'm tongue't know if I'm cheering for the Padres, but I'm mostly a neutral observer. I'm tongue-in-cheek cheering for the Padres. They're sad club members.

But this is good. This is good stuff. It's amazing. And I'm looking forward to game three tonight. Give me a mookah. So I learned that we have another goalie contract drama unfolding in the National Hockey League. Uh-oh. Yeah. Forget about Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins.

That saga's over. We got one now between Igor Shosturkin and the New York Rangers, according to Kevin Weeks, noted NHL insider for ESPN, NHL Network, TSN, blah, blah, blah. He put out there on Twitter this morning that he's been told Shusterkin has rejected an eight, or sorry,

11-year, 88... No, eight-year. Eight-year, $88 million extension with the New York Rangers an eight or sorry, 11 year, 88. No, eight year, eight year, $88 million extension with the New York Rangers that have an $11 million AAV. That's what it is. I think it's the max eight years, 88 million, $11 million cap hit.

And Shisterkin said, he rejected the deal. What is going on with goalies, Greg? We want to get paid. Apparently. It's about time. I thought Swayman's ask was a tad outrageous.

You want the best goalie in the league? Well, you got to pay for the best goalie in the league. Is this like goalies not wanting to end up like running backs in football? I think this is the start of a bit of pushback in that. Yeah. Nice. And there was another article, I forget who wrote it yesterday, and I think it was the Hockey News,

saying that goalies shouldn't get this kind of percentage of the cap because they're only playing a percentage of the games. But do people fail to realize that when goalies play, they play 60 minutes of that game? The whole thing, except when they get pulled at the end. So if we're doing the math breakdown here of time on ice, goalies spend a lot more time on the ice than the average skater does. I get the thinking behind it.

It's like there's a surplus of good goalies and we don't it's like there it varies well the idea behind it right everyone thinks they can pick a goalie off the waiver wire but how many teams actually do it connects out of as the candidate got hurt no problem and we'll wait to see how that turns out we'll track back on this conversation so the highest cap hit right now for goalies is still actually Carey Price at 10.5. And then Bobrowski, who won the Stanley Cup for the Panthers, is at 10 million.

But he's been very up and down throughout this contract. Then you've got Vasilevsky at 9.5 and Hellebuck, who ended up staying in Winnipeg and took an $8.5 million cap hit. He should have gotten more money. Yeah, that was kind of weird. Yeah. No, but I think at that time, paying goalies was so out. It was like, we're not paying goalies.

Because guys winning the cup. Because they all pointed to Hellebuck and said, look, Hellebuck took $8.5. Hellebuck screwed it over everybody. Thanks, Hellebuck. No, but it was also like think of the guys that were winning cups it was Kemper

yeah yeah no I get the Aiden Hill is that yeah yeah right I'm even forgetting his name Stanley Cup I get the

I get the thinking behind it yeah yeah but now goalies are getting paid again it's hot it's back in I like it I mean

Shusterkin's a little bit but that's but that's that's a big number and a big contract to reject when the rangers essentially saying listen we will make you the highest paid goalie in the nhl especially when you're one butterfly and hip turn away from and you say no yeah i don't know like what's the ask at that point what do do you want? They can't offer much more. Well, they could offer $12 million. Dreissel's got $14 million, so yeah, $12 million would be what he's looking for.

I mean, he is the best goalie in the league, I think. I think Shusterkin's the best goalie in the league. I agree. Yeah. All due respect to Hellebuck, I think it's Shusterkin. And I know there is something about New York, right? It's just a different market. I think you're a big star in a big market.

And there's also the Lundqvist contract, right? That kind of set the bar for what they're willing to do when a guy's your franchise goalie. Yeah, give us a mookow on that. We got to get to Rick Tockett on the other side of the Halford & Ruff show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Vic Nazar. Have your say and join me on the People People Show with big takes and even bigger bets.

Weekdays 3 to 4 on Sportsnet 650 or wherever you get your podcasts. 831 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford Brough of the Morning is brought to you by Vancouver Honda, 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. We are swinging into the regular season here. I mean, Big Band Tuesday is the staple of the show. You can jazz it up a little bit. What's wrong with this? Nothing. Nothing at all, Greg.

We are in Hour 3 of the program. Hour 3 is brought to you by Campbell & Pound Real Estate Appraisers. Trust the expertise of Campbell & Pound. Visit them on the internet at campbell-pound.com today. Let's go straight to the phone lines. Very happy to have our next guest on the program. Head coach here, Vancouver Canucks, Rick Talkett here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

Morning, Rick. How are you? How are you, gentlemen? How are you guys doing? We are well. We are excited, as I imagine you must be. Preseason's done. Training camp is a distant memory. The regular season gets underway tomorrow against Calgary. How excited are you for the start of the regular season? How are you feeling about your team going into the 2024-2025 campaign? Yeah, well, you know, I don't care who you are over the summer.

When you get back, you're just excited to start, right? Excited with the guys. I think Patrick and Jim have put a nice roster together, a really deep roster. We've been some competition in camp. We've tried a few new things. I think the guys came in in really good shape. I think their mindset right now is good. So I think, you know, you got to be, you got to train yourself for the long haul though. That's, you

know, I know opening night's a big thing for everybody, but we have to train our mind for the long haul and that's really what our message as a player is. What's the status on those new things that you were trying? Are you happy with the progress that you made? It doesn't all have to happen in training camp and preseason, the regular season you continue to learn, but do you feel like you got off to a good start? Yeah, I think for the most part, I think, you know, we're just trying to make guys understand when we get a team that's a weakness and we have, whether it's a three-on-two or a four-on-three,

there's a moment there where if you're not training your mind fast or, or, or, or have that mindset, we got to burn them. The other team will catch up. And I find sometimes we're, whether it's, I don't know if it's playing safe. I just think, you know, it's a, it's a matter of just training your mind. Hey, we're going to get the puck here. There's going to be separation. We've got to go. And I think sometimes we wait a second because maybe it is a safe mentality. So, you know, that's why I said to you guys, I think, in the press last year, you know, is it a little bit me where I wanted to make sure guys

without the puck and we really wanted to get the structure? Is it, you know, certain guys' mentality? I think we all meet in the middle and say, hey, I think it's a little bit both. Let's go here. But we still got to be responsible to puck. I don't want to change our identity. We're not going to get in a river hockey game. That's just not who we are.

And we won't be successful that way. But saying that, there is more from some guys on the offensive, especially off the rush. I think there's more. Is it almost reteaching them their instincts, or is it telling them certain places to go on the ice? A little bit of both. I think we're big with these landmarks.

Landmark can be a pretty good area. It's not just one small spot. But we'd like you to be in this kind of area, a landmark, and then use your instincts from there. You know, we got some younger guys, like a hog lander, for instance, where, you know, you've got to use him. Like, he could be really good off a rush and use his instincts, but he's got to go know when's the time.

If it's a 50-50 puck, you know, Hoggy, you can't take off. If we're going to get it and, you know, you have your hockey brain, hey, we're going to get this puck, and if that puck's going to go to, you know, a garland or whoever he's playing with, he goes, if I take off, I'm going to beat this guy instead of, you know, overshooting it or waiting too long. I think you've got to find that sweet spot. We even spent a lot of time with that.

And so I guess to answer your question a couple minutes ago, I think we've made some strides, but, you know, it's a long haul. We've still got a long way to go. Do you feel better about your team speed? Well, I think getting Sherwood and Jake DeBrusque and Sprung can skate, you know, I think that alone makes you a faster team. And then the mindset of playing fast. The guys that we had last year, we know that they can play faster mentally.

Listen, you are who you are. You can improve your skating a little bit and your speed a little bit, but you can improve your mindset a lot when you think faster. You kind of touched on this, but is this maybe the natural progression of this team? When you came in, you knew, okay, I've got to clean us up defensively. I've got to clean us up in our own end structure-wise. I've never even heard the word structure so much as I heard it

heading into last season and and and and and to your credit and the reason you won coach of the year your structure was impeccably improved it was an incredible turnaround but now you have to maybe add on to that without throwing the baby out with the bath water you have to add on to that more of an attacking mindset so you can not only be a good structure team but be one of these teams that's dangerous both ways they play correct exactly i i think you hit the nail that head where you know last year and even when we got here you know we just you got to give a team confidence by where to be when you don't have the puck. You know, so instead of giving teams great, you know, 16 grade A chances, you know, five, you know, tic-tac-toe plays, you cut that down, now we're only giving maybe seven or eight or nine a game.

Very rarely, and it happens, don't get me wrong, but very rarely, you know, we give the weak side that's a tap and go, you know. Right away, the confidence of the level of the players rises because now, hey, we're in the game now. So now the next progression is like, if you want to be one of the big boys and you want to go, you know, you want to be a playoff team every year and you want to compete every year, there's going to be some times where you just got to convert and there's going to be times where, you know, you're playing edmonton and they have three guys on the four check and they're they they send three guys at our guy and we beat it but we we don't get anything out of it um i think that's the next

level for us you know i think i was telling you guys are the press last year after the playoffs we had ample opportunities where you know and i got video show like hey we had ample opportunities where, you know, and I got video show like, hey, we had a three on two here for a second and we never took advantage of it. Hey, we had a four on three. We didn't take advantage of it. Those are really missed opportunities. You know, those are ones you got to, you got to, you got to convert. If you have five of them, you got to at least get one goal off that, you know, whatever,

whatever the analytics says, what you're supposed to get the top teams. That's why we really had a mindset and practiced a lot in training camp, that mindset. So I want to run through just a few individual players here. Quinn Hughes had an incredible season last year, wins the Norris Trophy. What do you think he learned last season? And I would say especially in the playoffs

that he can bring into this season. Well, first of all, he's played unreal. I'm lucky to have the guy. I mean, I took the job a year and a half ago. The guy's played great hockey for me. He's a Norris Trophy winner. So what he's done for me to help my career, I owe him a lot. Saying that, I think he knows going into this season,

obviously the playoffs is the goal and i think he learned a lot from the playoffs because even not just quinn all of us like when things don't go your way um you've got to stay with the team system you know don't go individual and i'm not saying he went individual um i'm just saying a lot of times in the playoffs when people get frustrated uh they try to do things themselves and i felt at times our team did that a little bit, especially against the Edmonton series. And I think you just always fall back on the team stuff. It always evens out.

You always use your talent and stuff when you're in these different positions. But I think, you know, you've got to live for another shift. You know, that's really what I think our team learned, is that you've got to make sure that you want to be individual sometimes and you want to use your talent, but when things aren't going well, and the other team's playing great. Sometimes the other team's playing great, and you've just got to make sure that you hold water. You're fine.

You don't have to make everything. You don't have to hit a home run and shift. I think we know, we learned a little bit about that, but I give him a lot of credit because he did a hell of a job as a captain of his team. That's a tough position to put a kid in. He's 24, he's the captain. The pressure, you know,

can the Vancouver Cubs make the playoffs? And he took that pressure and ran with it. So, very lucky to have him as my captain. Same question for Petey. Yeah, I think Petey is a guy that learned last year, especially this, and listen, if you go into anybody's career,

there's going to be some down moments and you got to look back, or after you have a down time or whatever, you had a tough second half or whatever you want to say, how do you learn from it? You know, what can I do that that doesn't happen again? Well, I got to make sure I come in good shape.

I got to make sure my practice habits get better. You know, I have to be able to, you know, dig in at certain situations. I got to, you know, get me mentally strong. These are all things that athletes or players have to go through. And I think that's something that he goes, that's something that he's learning from last year. You know, I've got to be better at practice. I've got to have better practice habits.

I've got to, instead of 20 shots at one time because I'm taking after practice, I'm going to do 100. Like, these are the obsessions that I want him to have. You know, I coach Crosby. I've coached Crosby. I've seen some of these high-end athletes play. I've played with Maryland. They're obsessive about their game. And I think P's getting to that level.

He wants to be obsessive of a game. Now you've got to work on your game. Which he does. He came into camp. He's trying to do the things that we want. And I think he's a guy that's a key to our team, let's face it. He's going to get some matchups where, you know, for me, where I can expose the other team, and he's got to take advantage of it for us.

Daniel Sprong, a guy you're familiar with. I noticed a few times this offseason when you were talking about Sprong, you'd bring up that he's had seven coaches, seven different teams. And it was funny because I was watching Monday Night Football last night and they had the Derek Carr graphic up and quarterback. Four years, four different offensive coordinators. I'm like, I wonder if it's the same thing. The Alex Smith story.

Yeah, where it's like you're just constantly trying to learn a new system or trying to, you know, not necessarily impress a new coach, but learn what he wants as opposed to trying to either find or play your game. Is that kind of what's happened with Sprong in the past? And what are you expecting now that he's with you guys in Vancouver? Yeah, the first time I look at his game, last game, and this is where I really saw a difference. Like, listen, he, I'm not saying he was all world,

but I like his, he was skating, he was back checking, he was doing all the things that probably in the past people had a problem with. So right away he knows I've got to get my work ethic up. I've got to move my feet. The shot and the ability to make a play, he can be a very elite guy. So I want him to continue working that. Obviously, play without the puck is something I'm sure each coach will say

is that he gets lost out there. So he has to apply himself in that. I felt this camp, and I know him a little bit as an 18-year-old, 19-year-old in Pittsburgh, so I don't know him really, really well, but I felt that he has really tried, and not just for a game or not for a practice, like every day. Now, you've got to remind him, and we're working with him, whether it's me or one of the coaches are going to grab him almost every day.

He's craving it. He knows that he's been bounced around. He doesn't want to bounce around again, or he wants to stay in the league. So I think he's really – his antennas are up. He knows that this team plays a lot of structure, but he's also a wild card. I mean, he's a little bit of a wild horse too. I can't – maybe the fence is a little bit, I'm going to have the fence a little bit longer for him to run.

He doesn't have to be, I don't want him to dump and chase type of guy because he's just that guy that you give him that one shot, it's a 2-2 game with six minutes left, and he'll hit that corner. He has that ability. So how do we make him a roundout player? I think he's started already. We've got a long way to go, and we'll see how it works. I'm going to play him with Petey and Jake.

And, you know, it's not a warning, but those guys got to understand that they're going to get some good matchups out there, and they've got to take advantage of it, but they've got to also play a responsible game too. I mean, they're all three shooters. They can't be playing the outside and they can't have three guys below the goal line and the other teams have three on twos again. So that's not going to work. Unless their conversion rate is unbelievable, then I can close my eyes, but that's not going to happen. So Rick, I know you're a busy guy. We got to let you go, but I do want to ask you one final question and that is just how you deal with higher expectations and how you deal

with success because Mike and I were almost laughing at the difference between the start of this season where, you know, you look around the league and you see all the predictions and people are like, oh, the Canucks will make the playoffs. Last year we were like, please don't lose the first five games of the season and bury yourself right away, right? I mean, it is remarkable the turnaround and you're responsible for that. But I guess now you're also responsible

for the higher expectations. So how do you manage that for yourself and for your team? Well, it's a great question. And, you know, I wish I had a half hour. We can talk about that. But for the short answer, for me personally, coming into this season, like, you know, I'd be a jackass to think that I'm coming in here, I won an award, and I'm just going to say, I've got to reinvent myself.

And I think it's the same, and have a different expectation for myself. And I think it's the same and have a different expectation for myself. And I think the players have the same thing. You know, if we do the same thing like last year and we do everything, you're probably going to get the same results or somewhat the same results. So we have to stretch the bar here. And that is preparation. That's every day. Like we did a really good job last year blocking out noise.

And, you know, there's a lot of noise, right, when you're an NHL player, an NHL team. I think we did a really good job last year of blocking out noise. And, you know, there's a lot of noise, right? When you're an NHL player, an NHL team. I think we did a nice job. When we came in these walls of the Rogers Arena, I felt the guys were safe and they trust each other. We had to build that here. It's the same thing this year. You know, there's going to be some noise.

You know, somebody's going to have a bad game and we're going to have a stretch. We're not playing well. Or, you know, a star player's not going to be playing well how do we deal with all this stuff well we deal with it every day and here uh so that we're ready for it so you know i don't that you know it's a it's a long it's more of a like a longer answer and back and forth type of thing but i think one thing with the relationship of the players is the is the most important for me and understand i think the players is that is the most important for me and understand I think the players understand each other more than ever uh it's a close it's a

really close group uh it really is the new guys have stated they've actually actually called their buddies on other teams saying hey this is a really close team which makes me proud because I'm not in that room all the time you know I don't I don't like to go in there very often. I let those guys do it. But when you hear that, that probably makes me the most proud of this team, how close the team has become. And when a Miller or a Hughes and Pettersson, all these guys, the Myers and our veteran guys, it's like they're just thinking about winning the cup. They're not worried about their individual stats.

Who cares if this guy scores 50? That's a byproduct. You know, the byproduct of how not worried about their individual stats. Who cares if this guy scores 50? That's a byproduct. You know, the byproduct of how the guests have a good year. But the first thing they should be talking about is we want to win

the Stanley Cup. And how do you do that? So that's kind of, I'm probably trying to give you the short answer. It's tough. You know what I mean? Yeah, it's good.

We love to hear it too. Rick, thanks a lot for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. Good luck tomorrow night. Good luck with the rest of the regular season as well.

Okay, guys. See you down the road. Appreciate it. See you. night. Good luck with the rest of the regular season as well. Okay, guys. See you down the road. Appreciate it. See you. Thanks. Rick Talkett, head coach of your Vancouver Canucks,

reigning Jack Adams winner as the coach of the year here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. Sorry about creating all that noise, Rick. That's kind of what we do. I like how he's like,

and then I was talking to you guys or the press. Yeah, it's good. I don't like being, I don't want to say we're iconoclasts really but we're in our own little category yeah no one takes us too seriously and by too serious i mean seriously at all but we're there we're just kind of around we've been hanging out for a while

all right you guys still on in the morning like yep still doing that they're like right on and then we talk about something else yeah don't really make an impact at all positive or negative you're just there and you know where the bathroom key is. That's it. It's a good place to be. I can't wait to see how this pans out for the Canucks. I mean, last year, I have to admit, I went into the season with a bit of apprehension

and just going like, oh, they can't please, please just, I mean the expectations, I know that the management group came in and said, we've got to raise the bar. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But the expectations were honestly pretty low. It was, do you remember when we would ask the listeners, would you take five and five after 10 games? And people were like, absolutely. Absolutely. I would take five and five. 10 games? And people were like, absolutely.

Absolutely, I would take five and five. You're not out of it at that point. You're still in the race. It was just don't bottom out. Well, here's the other thing. Now, in just a matter of a year, we even got a laugh out of Rick Tockett. Things are very different for this team. Even the analytical models that would always, Canucks fans would always get upset at them.

They'd be like, oh, you don't respect our team. And then at the end of the year, you look at the models and be like, actually, you probably gave us too many points in your predictions. Now, even those analytical models, they're all expecting the Canucks to be a top three team in the division and by extension you even hear it like trying trying to win the Stanley Cup we'll say okay that you know okay so like what so think about that think about it this way I was actually thinking about like why have I been just like okay let's get through this okay let's get

through this and every year Let's get through this. And every year it's kind of the same thing with the preseason. But when you consider how last year went and ended disappointment, yes, but so much optimism about the year that was and how far they made it in the playoffs, it's been an awfully long time for this market to have achieved post season success,

just getting to the post season and then having something to look forward to the next season. Because I don't, I just, the bubble now doesn't even exist. Yeah. It was nothing. Because you remember, when they came out of the bubble run, they went to the all-Canadian North Division, and it was an unmitigated disaster. That team wasn't on its way up.

There was nothing, because there was no trajectory, because it was so janky. Then go back to the time they were in the playoffs prior to that. 2015. Well, no one was thinking that the team was on its way up after they got knocked out of the playoffs in the first round against Calgary in 2015. No one was looking forward to the next season.

Everyone was like, ugh, this team's probably on its way in the wrong direction. But the playoff loss to Calgary was a sort of precursor to the bad times, and people felt it, and they kind of knew it, right? The differences in the last two years, I think, it reminds me of the lunches for Lisa and Bart, where he gets the one that says, I'm so proud of you, and then the other one is, please, please, please be good.

And those are the two differences. This year, it's, I'm very proud of you. Now do better. Other years going into the season, you either didn't know what was coming or you knew what was coming and it wasn't good. That was it. This is a very unique feeling.

Something's coming and I don't like it. Yeah, it's like I know the season's about to start and then it's like, oh, the season's about to start. Your team's expected to make the playoffs, go on a run and potentially win the Stanley Cup. And it's been a very long time season's about to start. Your team's expected to make the playoffs, go on a run, and potentially win the Stanley Cup. And it's been a very long time since Canucks fans have been able

to say that. It's a combination of... It's a combination... It's not a hot take. They are our favorite. It's a combination of other things, too. A competent management group

for the second consecutive summer who's done a lot of really good work. Yeah. Tidy business. They've had a really good offseason. Please don't say that anymore. The fact that you can suffer

a massive... I hate tidy business. The fact that you can suffer a massive... I hate tidy business. The fact that you can suffer an injury as significant as Thatcher Demko's and not have it... We didn't even bring it up with Rick. Did not even not have it cripple the team. Not have it... He finishes the interview like, thank you for not asking about Demko. Oh, right, about that.

Nothing will break your stride. Who? Not going to destroy all our hopes and dreams. It's a very unique feeling. And it's why I think... Because I'm going to be all our hopes and dreams it's a very unique feeling and it's why i think because i'm going to be dead honest the collective coverage of this pre-season and exhibition campaign and training camp has been very run-of-the-mill by vancouver standards everyone's just sort of sat there and dutifully taking notes about what's happened and you know even the ones that have tried to drum up some drama or controversy it didn't really go

anywhere and it's a unique feeling. And now we're just one day away from the thing finally getting underway, which is all we've been waiting for. I just want to see the games. I want to see how this team is going to do. I want to see what it's going to look like. And I want to get back to last year where the vibes were good and it was fun to be a Vancouver Canucks fan.

We've got to get out of here for today, though. We will be back tomorrow. Signing off for now, I have been Mike Alford. He's been Jason Brough. He's been A-Dog. And he's been Laddie. This has been the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.