Halford & Brough in the Morning - EP40's Revenge Tour Is Fast Approaching

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

In hour one, guest hosts Josh Elliott-Wolfe and Randip Janda look back at the previous day in sports, they chat Victoria Mboko's big win at the National Bank Open (3:00), plus they speak with NHL.com Swedish correspondent Peter Ekholm (33:05) about his recent conversation with Canucks forward Elias Pettersson.  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.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You're listening to Halford and Brough. It's all back and out of South America. It's in Bocomacomani in Montreal. No obstacle too big for the 18-year-old. and champion in home. I took pride in letting everyone know I was from Hamilton.

The lot of took the test to determine that was a lot. Ladies and gentlemen, the weekend. Welcome to Alfred and Brough. Good morning. We're coming to you live

from the Kintech Studio. It's a wonderful Friday. It's Friday. He says sweet, sweet Friday. Isn't that his thing? It is, yes. Okay. All right.

Good morning. Good morning. I'm feeling good. Friday. I got the vibes going. The vibes are good. The vibes are high. A dog, one day before vacay. Yeah, good morning.

Good morning. Laddie, good morning. Hello, hello. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio, and Halford and Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Didn't have the reads ready, guys. Not going to lie. Pulling them up right now.

Sands and Associates, B.C.'s first and trusted choice for debt help. With over 3,000 5-star reviews, visit sands-trustee.com. And we're broadcasting live from the Kintech Studio, Kintech, word and orthotics working together with you in step. I tried to do the thing where you say Sands and Associates really slowly as you pull it up and then I just It's not a long enough phrase to to really draw it out. So it got on top of it. That's when you need Randeep to come in sweep in and save you. Yeah, you got to give me a look or something like that. I should have. I should have instead I just exposed myself 650 650 done by that we're streaming. Not in that way. Not in that way.

So please nobody go. Radio only. Sportsnet.orgia. We do not want to get sued. 650, 650, Dumbar Lumbert's text line. You can text in Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and Reno Warriors

for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dumbar Lumber.com. We will try to recalibrate after a hot star from Josh L.A. Wolf. So text in your Ask Us Anythings because we are still doing that.

It's an Ask Us Anything Friday on the Halford & Brough show. Already got a couple questions. but we will welcome and receive as many as you want to send in. And also, if you throw a pizza emoji on it, we are giving away a $100 a.J's pizza gift card. Let's get pumped. Oh, that's quality pizza right there.

That's $100 of just like money in your pocket to spend that, what, the best pizza in Vancouver? I think we can say that comfortably. It's out there at least. We can say that comfortably. Okay. So, yes, send those in $6.50, $6.50, and we will read them as the, show goes on. You haven't lived until you've had a Detroit Ronnie.

Right. So, and if you, if someone wins, yeah, not a Ronnie from Detroit. Okay. I mean, he's a good guy, too. Yeah, I'm sure there's making sure. It's been a rough start to the show. Hey, it's me, Detroit Ronnie. I don't know why he's got New York accent.

Yeah, guys exposing themselves over here. Do people from Detroit have an accent? No, that was very New York. Is there? Is there is? Is there is? There is, because there, I grew up in southern Ontario. I don't know how to describe it.

when they say Detroit Tigers, they say taggers. There's like a weird draw that they have in Detroit. So yeah, it exists. Fair enough. Okay, coming up on the show at 630, we're going to talk to Peter Eckholm from NHL.com in Sweden. He spoke to

Elias Pedersen. And Pedersen had a lot of comments that I think if you are looking for positives from Elias Pedersen, signs of Alias Pedersen potentially being a motivated, coming into the season, I think there were a lot of quotes that would strengthen that argument.

So we'll talk to Peter about that at 6.30 at 7.30. Esper Sorensen, Vancouver Whitecaps head coach is going to join us. What will we talk about? Probably Thomas Mueller. We're going to talk to, we're going to talk to Esper Sorenton about Thomas Mueller and what else is going on with the white caps, but mainly Thomas Mueller. Is he good? First question.

First question will be that. second question will be, where will he play? Yes. Not a central defender, I hope. Yeah, they're really, I don't know. They're all injured right now. He's so versatile. Where are you going to put him?

Yeah. I know, like, I can't wait to actually talk to Sorensen about just the options he gives the white caps. That'll be a fun conversation. Maybe the soccer nerds will enjoy that one, especially because the, you know, you've got the club and actual Schuster actually making this signing. But like, if you're a manager, you're like, thank you very much. Well also I saw a bit of Josh Cloaks athletic piece Halford retweeted it And Mueller was glowing

Glowing praise for Sorenson That was one of the big reasons why he wanted to come here So that's pretty cool They had a conversation We're going to get to the bottom of What was that conversation about Because I've seen a reference like two or three times already Like oh I talked to Esper Sorensen

Mueller said that So very good point And we'll yeah Sorensen about that at 730 And at 8 It was a big win for the BC Lions in overtime, kind of a wild game in Hamilton last night. We'll talk to J.C. Abbott from Three Down Nation about that at 8 o'clock.

And then once again, get your what we learns in, get your Ask Us Anything's in, and we'll hit them as the show goes on. A Wild Night in Hamilton. I've heard that a few times before. As everyone knows, wild nights often happen in Hamilton. All right, if you took the over on two and a half Hamilton mentions on this show by the seven minute mark. You definitely won because we had one in the intro, and we've had Greg mentioned Hamilton two other times.

Well, it helps the Lions played Hamilton last night. We're hitting the over on this one. And we've barely talked about that, though. It's just Hamilton content all around. Okay, so working in reverse 8 o'clock, J.C. Abbott from Three Down Nation, 7.30, Esper Sorensen, Vancouver, Whitecaps head coach, and 630, Peter Eckholm, NHL.com in Sweden. That's what's happening on the show today.

Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened?

Missed it? You missed that? What happened? What happened is brought to you by the BC Construction Safety Alliance, making safety simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools, resources, and safety training. Visit BCCSA.com. Had that read ready. Good job, Josh.

Okay, so the big news. Vicki and Boko caps off the wonderful run with a wonderful win over Naomi Osaka last night in Montreal, her first career victory, WTA victory, for the Canadian, 18-year-old Canadian, comes back, she beats Osaka after dropping the first set. She beat four Grand Slam champions on the way to the victory, and it was awesome. She was great throughout the tournament, overcame some potential injury issues, and the story had a fitting end, I think, last night.

Yeah, she cracks the top 25 in the world when starting this tournament at 85. So just a meteoric rise of this young Canadian. And as a radio show host in this country, I'm thankful for her that she got this done. She made the final because we got something to talk about. Great timing. Perfect timing, but it's also something that, like,

When you see a story like this, somebody who's a relative unknown in this country, and now she's a household name because of this tournament, you're able to see not only her win, but the way she won. You mentioned dropping the set. She did that consistently in this tournament, right? She dropped that first set, but would come back and bounce back in, power through. I think that one play where it looks like Naomi Osaka has the drop shot, and Osaka kind of gives up on the play because,

It's done and dusted. Not for Mbocco, it wasn't. And she keeps on fighting. She keeps on... She almost did the splits. It was insane. It was fantastic. And remember, she's potentially injured still, right?

And she doesn't care. She's going for the ball. And that's kind of the mentality in this tournament. So it's not only about a special young talent, but it's like the no-quit attitude just makes you think, if she keeps that attitude, like the sky's a limit for her. Yeah. And like there's, I guess, multiple conversations to have

because there is the conversation of, Like this is an out of nowhere win. Like I think if all of us are being honest, most of us did not know about Bickey and Boko before this tournament, right? Or at least she wasn't fully on the radar for a lot of even Canadian tennis fans that were preparing for this tournament, mainly because she's an 18 year old that hasn't really made waves until now. I watch tennis pretty, like, you know, I'd say more than an average fan. But I knew her as a wild card entry and cool, like cool story, but yeah, probably going to get bounced in the first. first round. Which is like the normal occurrence. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, even somebody like, I know

there's a lot of folks and we had Jeannie Bouchard on the show. I think everybody's surprised, but in a great way. But, you know, there is going to be a, all right, now it gets really tough because there's a book on you, right? There's expectation internally. But that's the future. And we've seen players like Jeannie Bouchard, Emma Radicanu, you know, go through the list, Bianca Andrescu, that it's tough. It's tough to bounce back after a huge, you know, was it a 2014 season for Jeannie, 2019 for Bianca. Even Lela Andy Fernandez has had, you know, her peaks in valleys as well in terms of taking it to the next level. So that will be the challenge ahead. But here in the moment, a fantastic moment and really an announcement that her arrival on the tennis scene,

like she's going to be a story heading into the U.S. Open, which is a really cool thing for a young Canadian. that's the part of this that I think I'm really interested in seeing is how does this translate to the U.S. Open and is she able to keep the momentum going? Because you mentioned 2019 and that's where Bianca won the MBO as well. And it was a it was a really big moment for her and her career. She had also won the Indian Wells too. So and then she went into the U.S. Open and continued that momentum. And at the time, it kind of felt like, oh man, like she's going to be a thing for for a long time. Obviously, she's dealt with injury issues and, and it's been a little more up and down for Bianca than potentially hoped. But for, for Vicky, in the short term, I do, I wonder what this is going to look like at the U.S. Open for her. I hope that this isn't just a, a flash in the pan situation. I hope it's something that that can continue and she can continue to not only sustain this, but continue to get better and be a household name, not just for a year like we've seen from a lot of Canadian tennis players in the past,

but for at least an extended run of time. Yeah, I think for the viewers as well, and people that follow the game, we're going to have to come with realistic expectations, too. Like, just because somebody has won a tournament and they did an unbelievable job winning it, showing a lot of resilience, like 18 is still 18th. Yeah.

Right? Like, it's going to be, you're going to have some stumbles along the way, whether that's, you know, injury, whether that is having, you know, a tough match. We're seeing, I think a good example of that is Naomi Osaka, the player that Vicky beat yesterday. Like, she was on top of the world. And obviously she's had her own issues over the last X amount of years, but it does show you that there's going to be things that pop up for a young tennis player.

And hopefully for Amboko, she can handle it a lot better than some of the folks that have come before her. But I think this is an excellent starting point, but we got to have realistic expectations. Yeah. Yeah, like, again, if she goes to the U.S. open and hey maybe maybe it's underwhelming based on what she did in this tournament I don't think we need to like I hope there are no like big declarations made or anything like there can there can be ups and downs in in someone's career and you know just because she won this that doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to continue uh right away or that the the momentum is going to carry over right

away but that being said I think this is a really good sign for for her career and it's a big moment of like personal growth for her not only we talk about the rankings like she climbed from the 300s at the start of the year to now she's 25th after winning the tournament like that is a meteoric rise and then also there's like financial benefits for her like this is a really big win for her on a personal level as well oh yeah and I loved watching the reaction of her parents

because like her mom was all up in it she was cheering but her dad was like stoic yeah even when she was winning other matches like he'd get up and clap or like a big point you would barely move But finally, when she won the tournament, that's when he kind of got up and raised his arms in the whole thing. Like, totally, you can maybe see where she probably gets her, like, mentality of just, like, staying grounded and fighting through stuff because her dad's reaction was, like, flat out, like, I'm not even going to crack a smile. I loved it. To take out Sophia Cannon, Cocoa Gough, you know, the seated players that she ended up taking, basically all Grand Slam champions. Like, the Coco Gough win was the one where you're saying, okay, like, she's not, this.

This kid is going to be a problem for these players because even the previous, one of the tournaments this year in Rome, she took Cocoa off to three sets. So the fact that she was able to do the job tells you she's wired a little differently. Like she's very methodical. She's very tough to, you know, close in a match, right? Like we saw that in the semifinal where she was down 5'3, gets a double fault and you think it's game over. You think, all right, hey, you know, it's over. because you've maybe shot yourself in the foot, no, she wins that. Same thing with the Naomi Osaka matchup where first set, not good, double faults again,

and then storms back. I will say though, Osaka kind of did it to herself too. She had a tough match. Yeah, it was weird, I guess, is the way I would describe it. It did feel like, and I know everything that's gone on with Osaka, and I know that there are more to, there's more to her story than just what happened in that match, but it did feel like, as someone that doesn't opt to watch tennis, I was like, this is, this is weird.

It did feel like, you mentioned that that drop shop play. And it was like, she kind of gave up on it before it was even done. And I was like, what, what's happening here? Yeah, she wasn't set. It was like, she was just kind of standing upright and like, it was over. And there were some, there were some moments as well. And I saw some people talking about them that would be more informed than me on, on social media. And like, she was rushing some of her serves and stuff.

And she wasn't necessarily taking. the time, and there was some speculation that, like, hey, maybe she was not upset with the crowd, but she maybe didn't expect the crowd to be as pro Mboko as it was, which is surprising. Like, it's a Canadian crowd cheering on a Canadian player. Like, I think that should have been expected, but also at the same time, like it worked for Mboko because it did feel like Osaka, to an extent, kind of did unravel a little bit as the match went on. Yeah, the Montreal crowd is different. Maybe it's kind of similar to a U.S. Open

crowd in New York, which is a little bit more rambunctious, and if there's a local talent, yeah, they're going to back them, right? Osaka has never really been the villain. And in this case, you could probably say she was because the other side was supported so well. They weren't booing her anything like that, but like, there's clearly a divide of

one of the few times in your career, you're actually not the person that people are saying, oh, hey, it's, you know, nobody has anything bad to say about Naomi Osaka, but here you're the second of the two. Yeah. you're not maybe as well liked. Not maybe, definitely.

You're not the villain, but you're not the hero. Yeah, they're rooting in a way against you, though, right? So you're not feeling the love. But that's, I think, the reality for really any home crowd, right? You go to Italy and you're playing an Italian, and guess what? They're going to be cheering for them more a little bit more. I think that does speak to Naomi Osaka's journey, though. Like, she has had a tough few years, as you mentioned.

And she was overwhelmingly positive early on in her career. Even when things would go bad, that's really changed. So I think for Mboko, it was a great story. And Osaka making the final was fantastic for her too. But you can see the attitudinal shift over the years from Naomi Osaka. And that's kind of a kind of a bit of a how a player can go from being the great story on the tour. and then the internal pressures and the expectations go to the point where

you're in a final, but it's one of the most frustrating experiences because you expect more of yourself, right? Definitely. And I know some people were upset as well about Osaka not congratulating Mboko on the court when she spoke to the crowd after the match. My first thought is like, why is the loser

of a championship match? Why are they forced to speak to the crowd? That's wild. But second, like, I don't know. I feel like that's a situation where and hey maybe I'm reading too much into it maybe she should have said something different but I in my mind I look at it as a situation where you mentioned she's frustrated it's been you know an up and down road for her over the past few years I don't I don't take it as like a personal shot at Vicki and Boko I think it was just it's a it's a tough time to have to speak to

a crowd especially a crowd that you were probably frustrated with because we just talked about it they weren't on your side for the match. Yeah, it's what they do in tennis. And I don't mind it because, you know, there's a lot of ways to win in a, lose in a, in a way that you can shower the other person with praise. And we've seen others do it. Like when Naomi Osaka won, Serena Williams did that for, I think Serena did it for Bianca and Drescue at the U.S. Open as well.

Like there's, there's ways to say, hey, this is all about you, right? Yeah. But, yeah, everybody's, you've got to be in that mindset. So I actually, we've seen it with some other players, like Danil Medvedev is notorious. He can be a gracious winner, or sometimes he can be not the most gracious loser at times as well. So it's not limited to Naomi Osaka. Other players have shown that kind of, in that moment, they don't want to be out there.

But that's tennis. Like, you got to, for those two minutes, you got to suck it up and do it. Yeah. Okay, so yeah, big win for Mboko on the women's side, on the men's side, on the men's side, Elias Patterson's best friend, Ben Shelton. He won in Toronto. No PD siding in Toronto, no, I'm sure people

would have been very upset if they saw Elias Patterson in the crowd in Toronto watching tennis. Well, maybe not if he was like lifting weights at the same time. Yeah. He's just doing curls. There's a guy in the crowd lifting, that's Olias Patterson with a ring on. No days off. Somebody set up a Peloton in the crowd.

It's very distracting. No, they criticize that because they want him to put on weight. Like, why are you doing cardio, man? No cardio. It's true, yeah. Only waits. Only wait. And eat while you're doing it.

A fake fan base. You got to eat a family-sized lasagna while you're on the Peloton. Otherwise, it doesn't make. Good call. Good call. Yeah, so Ben Shelton won the men's side. And we'll see what happens in the U.S. Open. I'm excited.

It'll be a fun storyline to follow Vicki and Boko going into the U.S. Open, which starts later this month in a couple weeks. All right. Moving on. BC Lions. They win a very, again, it was a weird game in Hamilton. Wild Knight in Hamilton,

we'll call it. The Lions win 41 to 38 in overtime. They beat the tie cats. They get back in the wind column. They snap the winning streak that the tie cats were on. And I mean, there are some positives you can take away. There's maybe some negatives you can take away. But I, this watching the game, it did kind of feel like one where

it was difficult for me to have many big takeaways to be honest because it was a weird game there were a lot of special teams aspects to it that I don't know would carry game to game yeah so special teams has been a bit of an issue for the lines this year where we talked to Moji yesterday and you said that's an area they need to improve but another game of the year candidate

for the Lions high event but as much as you can praise one side the ball, whether it's defense. And credit to the defense, they made some big plays, right? In this game, they were much more aggressive. We saw them blitzing in overtime. There was elements to that Mike Benavides defense to say, all right, they've made some changes. But it wasn't perfect. They still gave up points. Now, on the offensive side of things, they scored, but it wasn't the most efficient either, right? Nathan Rourke and his timing was maybe not the greatest. So, like, I think there's a lot of good that could be said. And the best thing that could be said is

that they're that much closer to 500 after that victory. That's the most important thing, but it wasn't a perfect game. And I think that's why you could probably walk away from that game to say, hey, you got the victory, but on both sides of the ball and special teams, teams certainly needs to do better if they want to be a contender heading into, you know, and making the playoffs, first of all, but doing something in the playoffs. Yeah, definitely. It wasn't necessarily the game you wanted to see them have coming out of the buy,

but in the end, the important thing is that they needed to get back in the win column and the Thai cats are a very good team like beating the beating the Hamilton Tiger Cats in Hamilton that is a good win so yeah the Lions they get the W they win in overtime

and they'll hope to keep it going throughout the season and maybe try to build on it as well also NFL preseason we don't have any big takes I promise we do not have any big takes about the National Football League

preseason week one but the Cs Seattle Seahawks, they did play, and they got a tie against the Las Vegas Raiders. So, you know what? A preseason NFL tie. Nothing more exciting in the world of sports than that. So do with that information what you will. Hopefully the fact that there's a tie in the preseason

doesn't mean that there's none in the regular season because those are terrible. My big takeaway, not to that game, though. It's the other one, the Bengals versus the Eagles, where Tanner McKee, Yes, I repeat that name because many of you don't know who I'm talking about. Tanner McKee sliced up the Bengals defense. Yeah. Bengals' offense look great. Their defense, I know it's free season, but they're not good.

It does feel like it's going to be the same story for the Bengals this year where it's like, oh, you know what? Hope the offense can outscore the defense issues, which, I mean, they're going to play some fun games. I'll give them that. Bet the overs. Yeah, betty offers. I don't think they're going to be a great team. But yeah, the Seattle Seahawks, a lot of the headlines from.

the game where Jalen Milrow, and he had some exciting plays. So maybe there's some hope there for the future at quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, but it's also the preseason. So it's hard to have any big takeaways. 650, 650, Dumbar, Lumber Text Line. Keep the text coming in there. Keep the Ask Us Anything questions coming in there as well. Before we go, the BC Lions Saturday, August 16th, your Lions face the alouettes for the show

and shine game featuring over 200 classic. and exotic cars, get tickets at BCLions.com. And it's Halpert & Brough, Josh L.A. Wolf, Randeb Janda, SportsNet 650. Ford and Brough, Josh Elliott Wolf, Randy Jande, here with you. Coming to you live from the Kintech Studio. Get your text in 650, 650 on the Dunbar Lumber Text Line. Howford and Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest.

Visit sands dash trustee.com. Piesta Friday is my favorite of the theme days. That's a good one. You just vibe most with me? Yeah, it just resonates most with me. Really? I don't see you as a fiesta guy. I'm sorry, Josh.

That's not my When I see you I don't think Fiesta I mean that's fair Maybe maybe brunch That's fair You should have shown up In that big sombrero

Yeah Yeah obviously You just haven't seen me I made my sombrero That's the issue I like this one too I was in Spain in February So this is very much

All right This is my vibe The subtle flex From Randy Chandah I was in Spain I'm more of a fiesta guy than you are Yeah true

Okay so we do have some Ask Us Anythings coming in We're gonna talk to Peter Eckholm in about 10 minutes on Elias Pedersen. He spoke to Elias Pedersen, had an exclusive interview with number 40 from your Vancouver Canucks. So we will talk to Peter about that and his main takeaways from speaking to the most focused on player heading into this season.

But we'll start with this one, Juan from Comox, ask us anything. You get to travel anywhere in the world, even Spain. But there's a catch. would you rather fly there with someone you can't stand or drive there with your favorite person? Okay, I have a question, though, just because you're flying with the person you can't stand,

does that mean you have to stay the entire trip with them? Well, yeah, let's say yes. Like the trip and so, okay, but let's say you're going to Europe. Let's say there's an imaginary world where you can, there's a bridge that goes from North America to Europe or you've got to go the super long way, but we'll go North America to Europe. Okay.

And so you can theoretically, drive there or you can fly there much quicker but you're with someone you hate i'm a very picky traveler like i'd rather travel alone than go with the wrong person so i would go with my favorite person and drive rather than have to stick it you know with somebody that i do not enjoy at all so i would take the longer more scenic route so to speak i think so too i think i think i would take the long because man it's just like especially if you're on the trip with someone that you just hate it's like this is you're going to hate the trip you're not going to look back on the trip fondly yeah and it's just not going to be a good time for for you why would you go on a trip with someone

you hate well that's the that's the ask us anything that's the i don't know that's the question that's okay when you said when you said would you rather fly there with something you can't stand you know the first duo that popped up in my mind what's that j t miller leas peterson do you imagine them vacationing together doing a road trip yeah maybe that would have fixed them though maybe they would have been maybe they just needed some time together alone yeah they're going to the whole team's flying to like a game in California and Rick Tock, it's like, you know, J.T. Elias, you're driving there.

It's going to be a great movie. No, no. California is too eventful. You got to go somewhere where you drive through Idaho. Like, we got a game in Minnesota. You guys drive to Minnesota. You guys are driving through like Alberta to get there. He would just show up without PD in the car.

Like, no, I left him behind. He's in Cordillane. He's at some gas station somewhere. He's in Surrey. We didn't make it that far. We crossed Alex Fraser Bridge and decided. I was not. I'm not into this anymore.

Adam, the former bath guy, that leads into a good question. Who is on the Mount Rushmore of most disliked Canucks in history? You can include players, coaches, management, and more. Okay. I feel like there's two locks here. There's two obvious ones. Yeah. So Mark Messier.

Yeah. And that contract and just everything. The whole situation. The guy that brought in Mark Messy, Mike Keenan. Yes. Yeah, those are the two, like, even, as someone that wasn't super, wasn't super alive

for when those two were. Super alive, you mean alive? Minor detail. Yeah. I still know and I still like know all the stories and if you are a Canucks fan, you know all the stories and you're like, you know what? Those two deserve to be on the most disliked Canucks Mount Rushmore. It was a dark time in Canucks history.

So I think the rest of the list is very personal though. It really depends on your experience as a Canucks fan growing up in the city. So I'm going to come in with a couple of, that might surprise, folks, for mine. Dana Mersen, and I know, like, Dana is a great guy, see him at alumni events. But when I was a fan of 94, kind of on the back end of his career, frustrating player to watch. The movement wasn't there. So for me, Dana Mersen is on that list because it just couldn't move.

And Matthew Schneider, Matthew Schneider, for some reason. I know he was 40 years old. What did you? I know he was 40 years old when he came. here, but I had expectations of he'd run the power play. This would be a great signing, and he was a terrible signing by Mike Gillis. This kind of feels like an issue, like a, like a U issue. You expected 40-year-old Matthew Schneider to come in and run the Vancouver Canucks power play? He was supposed to run the power play. He was getting scratched. He was a defensive

liability. And then there was one good thing to come from that deal, though. What's that? They realized he was not the guy and they brought in Christian Airhoff. Yes. So even that had a silver line. There was a win. There was a win in there. Who's your final two? Uh, okay. So we do get some texts in from like Keith the water guy saying Jim Benning. I think he's a good shout. Like he's a good option. It's tough when we talk about like most disliked. I kind of feel like people were just most disappointed in Jim Benning.

You know? Like I guess there was like legitimate. There was some hate. There was legitimate hate. There was legitimate hate. And I think it's so like he might be on the list. I do kind of want to just go. So I do agree with the, the Messia Keenan first two.

my remaining two, I kind of just want to go J.T. Miller and Elise Pedersen. Okay. So fresh. It might be recency biased. It definitely is recency bias. Okay. That situation did like essentially kill a season. It ruined a whole season. And I know like I know people are divided on, you know, some people are team JT. Some people are, are team PD. And I might not fall on either side. But it's just like, man, how did how did a how did two adults who are very good hockey make the vibe so bad that one of them had to get traded it ruined a whole season they were making headlines around the the entire league and every time we would interview someone about it they'd be

like i've never seen a situation like this and it's like oh that's awesome really good to hear uh so yeah that's a spicy take though josh like the question was who is on the mount rushmore of most dislike canucks and that that's a spicy take i mean that's it's those those are the two i put on right now. The other names that like we get one coming in from Dan, Louis Erickson. Yeah. How much of that is on Louis himself and then

being on Jim Benning too though? Yes. Right? Like I... By extension Jim Benning. Yes. It's the you made the wrong decision and yes, Louis didn't do anything. I think he had what, three hits in a season one year. It's not his game but still was not, scoring was not doing anything but Benning obviously signs that deal. Some people

also putting John Wisebroad on. on the list who, again, I feel like it's extension Jim Benning. Other ones, Eric Good Branson comes in. Yeah, Eric Good Branson got some hate over the years. Yeah. You know, they paid a once again, do you blame Eric Good Branson or you blame Jim Benning? Yeah. It's like anything.

Actually, because you can throw like Jake Fittanan on the list, deservedly so. And then, but also to a level, to part of, part of it is a Jim Benning extension. And then also another name I would throw on there that hasn't come in that I've seen John Tortorella is someone that I think could be on the list as well Yeah, that one because that year was just

a flat out embarrassment It was a tough Cidine's killing penalties Like just just wild And then charging the The opposing locker room With Bob Hartley It was not a great touch on it

It was a fun time Yeah, it was Keep the text coming in 650, 650 Dumbar Lumber text line And we will hit more Ask Us Anythings as the show goes on.

But right now we go to the hotline, powered by Power West Industries. It is Halford & Brough, Josh Elliott Wolf, Randy Bjanda. Welcoming in Peter Eckholm, NHL.com in Sweden. Appreciate you taking the time. Peter, how are you? I'm really good, thank you.

It's a nice summer day in Sweden. I'll just finish golf round, so I'm all good. I'm all good. Awesome. Great to hear. No, we're doing really good. And we wanted to talk to you about your interview

with Elias Pedersen, who is the focus of a lot of storylines for the Vancouver Canucks heading into this season. First off, just wanted to ask your kind of main takeaways after speaking to him. Well, he's very determined to have a revenge season, a better season to say. He wanted to put last season in the back and just look forward. And there's a, there's a sense that he is, I don't know, he seems so determined to just go out there and play the game. We all know he can play.

So, so I was excited to kind of see that. You can see it in his body language. And so, yeah, full determined to have a great season. So what does revenge look like for Elias Pedersen? Because, you know, that's a great line in your piece. but what is that going to take for him when it hopefully gets to Vancouver? Well, you know, I think he will just contribute each and I don't know if he won, I mean, points is important, but you know, I think he wants to show that he can be a player,

each and every not have those setbacks, kind of longer stretches. So I think that's the main thing. And then if he plays like that, I know and he knows the points will be. come as well. So I think that's a judgment, I will say. I think a lot of people here look at last season and it did kind of feel like a lot of it for him

started in the off season when it comes to his struggles and we know he was dealing with some injury issues that may be lingered into the season as well, but he did mention he's fully healthy. Does it seem like he's been putting in a decent amount of work

in the gym and doing what he can this off season? yeah like the first thing i noticed when i saw him he was like he's he's bigger uh you saw it by high and then i i asked him about it and yeah he said he put up put on some some muscles and gain a few pounds which is good for him uh because i think he has i don't know if he struggles with you know gain weight but i think it's um some people are some players it's it's tougher for for some players, like myself, I have trouble putting on weight. Like, it's tough.

So I think he was pretty satisfied with how this offseason we're going. He said he didn't have any injuries and didn't have any setbacks and could go full speed. So you could tell, looking at him, that he was bigger and he looked healthy. So, you know, when we talk about Elias Pedersen, there's obviously, you get to the 25, 26 years of age in the NHL. There's a physical growth, as you just referenced, but also a growth maybe in maturity, mentality. Did you notice that this off-season,

is there something different about the way he's thinking and the way he's speaking and just overall, just from a maturity perspective? Yeah, so I asked him about, like, there's a lot of sweets, obviously, in Vancouver in the organization, and I asked him about what it's like to see those players come up and play, and he said stuff that I was impressed by.

He wanted to take care of them, held him out, on and off the ice. He said he wanted to be more of a leader. Maybe not the guy who stands up in the locker room and have a motivational speech in the pregame. But, you know, with his game, show what his take and also be more like an off-ice leader and take care of the guys outside eyes to get the group tighter. That's my take of it.

Yeah, and I think that's fair. It does seem like the Canucks need that from them too, especially now that they've kind of made the decision to move on from J.T. Miller, and it seems like in favor of Elias Patterson, this is going to be a big opportunity for him to step up. What is his – so you mentioned that you were talking to him, and it does seem like he has a bit more of a –

I guess a motivation. Do you have an idea of where that motivation has kind of come from? Is it just to be like, hey, I want to prove that I am still an elite player in the NHL, or is there more to it? No, I think you said it right there. Because he wasn't happy with last season, obviously, with how he played and with the points total. So, and I know he knows that he can do better, and I think that's the motivation.

Like, he want to show every night that he is the player he was two seasons ago or three seasons ago when he scored 102 and 89 points. So, I mean, I just feel like he wants to show the world, the NHL, and that's how good of a player he can be. And it looks like he is really determined to do that. Peter, we micro-assess everything in the NHL here when it comes to Elias Pedersen in Vancouver. We discuss them at length. But I want to get the idea of the perception that he has in Sweden right now.

Obviously, playing in the Four Nations did not have a great tournament. I remember talking to Philip Forsberg last year, and he was saying, I'm really excited to play with Elias Pedersen. So there can be maybe in Vancouver we've focused on the downs with this player. But what's the perception in Sweden right now on his talent and still his potential? There's no hesitation that he is one of the best Swedish player in the NHL, even though he had that year he had, I would say. I think people are talking about it like, okay, what happened? Because they're here in Sweden, they necessarily don't know, have all the details on the last season.

So that could be a point. But I think he's up there among the most popular Swedish NHL players. And I think just fans over here, just like that. like Elias himself thinks and want him to have a good year because they're rooting for him in a way like he when he came up as a junior player here he he was loved by the fans even though even the way fans sometimes so I mean he he has a high value here in Sweden I would say so I wouldn't it's not like we talk about everything every day here because it's kind of hard to follow, you know, the NHL within night times and all that.

So I think it's more of a Vancouver thing, to be honest. There's a lot of talent on Team Sweden, right? You start looking at the center position, of course, but there's still that need for a one, maybe two first or second line centerman. Is there any doubt that he can be that guy? Because I know last year in Vancouver, there was still that question of, is it your first line center, is it your second line? When it comes to the Olympic team,

he penciled into your roster in either of those positions? I have him first or second. I think Leo Carson is maybe number one center next year. They might give him a really good opportunity to play with a couple of the best

wingers in Sweden. But for me, if Alias has this fall, a really good fall, I think he would slot in as a number two center and then they could use like Zibandijad as a number three maybe so I think still he is

he's one or two for sure Hey Peter really appreciate taking the time and enjoy your summer Yeah well thank you for having me And you too have a great summer Thank you there is Peter at Colm NHL.com in Sweden speaking to us about a recent interview he had

with Elias Pedersen which you can find the English translation of it unless you know Swedish. You can read it in Swedish too, but the English translation is up on NHL.com too. We're not all Satyar Shah. Yeah, you don't all know Swedish. You don't have to run it through the translator. NHL.com has done that for you. Yes. So, and there were some good quotes in there. You mention Elias Pedersen saying he wants revenge for what happened last season. The exact quote is, I know what I'm capable of. And he says, I haven't thought about it for myself. It is revenge.

I'm not happy with last season. And I think a lot of times with Elias Pedersen, even during last season, there were times where he said the right things. Like there were times he came to media and wasn't abrasive as as abrasive as he had been throughout the season. There were times where he kind of took ownership and people were like, you know what?

This is the moment he turns it around. It didn't happen. Right. So I do think there is an element of, He can say everything you want to say, and I look at it as a good sign, but at the same time, I'm like, well, it doesn't really matter until we get to the season and you actually do it on the ice. Yeah, I've never doubted that Elias Pedersen cares. If anything, I think he cares too much at times because there's a paralysis in his game where he's overthinking. So, you know, that comes from maybe a lack of confidence in moments or you've kind of got the deer in the headlights moment. And so this whole concept of, you know, he doesn't care or some people have come out with that.

I don't buy that for one second. I think it's actually the opposite. I think he cares so much that it's been a detriment. Now, saying the right thing versus doing the right thing is a completely different conversation. So I love reading this stuff because it tells me he's not shying away from it. He's not saying, oh, yeah, everything's fine. What are you talking about? I'm playing great.

No, there's an acknowledgement of, yeah, last year wasn't good. I need to correct this. But until we see it on the ice, until we see him translate into having that burst again, being confident with that shot, they are words. And he's got to say them because

you got to, you know, you got to build that mentality. But Josh, training camp, preseason, regular season. October is when we're going to get a true assessment of, all right, is he backing up what he's saying with action and is that confidence back? Yeah.

Now, you mentioned training camp. That's where I want to see it first is like just be a leader in training camp. You don't have to be the guy that's, again, like Peter mentioned, you don't have to be the vocal guy. You don't have to be the J.T. Miller. You just have to be Alias Patterson. And on the ice, you need to be clearly the best player of the forward group. You like, hey, if Quinn Hughes is better than you, that's fine.

But of the forward group, you need to set the tempo. You need to set the tone. You need to be the guy offensively because the season. kind of comes down to him being the guy offensively and if he isn't the season is going to go really bad yeah and there's one comment that Jim Rutherford made at the end of

season that I thought was really important and it was you know Elias knows that he's got people that here are here to help him and it maybe seems like at times he's kind of loaded himself with pressure and I got to deal with this on my own

you've got the Sadiens there you've got you know a player development group that is loaded, right? Some very, very accomplished people in the organization. And it's, of course it's on you, but at the same time, you got to, you know, tap into those individuals. So be a leader, be a point getter. But at the same time, I think loading yourself up with pressure,

that's only going to provide that paralysis. So with Elias Pedersen, I want to see points, first and foremost. With this team, you don't have the same outlook that you did with J.T. Miller. You're going to need those points. He's got to be assertive. You need that power play to be legit this year. And sure, you don't have JT on that left-hand side operating and driving traffic and providing that dual threat as a passer and a shooter.

So that's going to have to make sure that Elias is a legit threat from that right-hand side. And that to me, Josh, for a team that's going to probably struggle at times scoring five-on-five, that power play has to be locked in because that's where you're probably going to get a lot of your wins. that might be one of the edges you have to, you know, really produce from. Yeah, and in previous years, rightfully so, the power play kind of went through Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller. And J.T. Miller, even if you're more of a Pedersen guy, J.T. Miller is really good on the powerfully. He's one of the best power play players in the NHL. So, again, rightfully so. I think the power play did go through those two.

But at its peak, it did feature the threat of Alias Pedersen. And there was more of a shot from Alias Pedersen. And now I do think more of that, more of the power play is going to have to go through him, especially if he's confident and playing well. Well, think about it this way, right? Tampa Bay's power play when it was one of the best in the league, and it's still up there, but when it was Stamco's Kutcherob and Hed and Hedman and Braden Point in the middle, which is arguably the, it's just crazy.

Just like in their heyday, they're unbelievable. But let's take point out of it for one second. The Canucks could have had something similar to Tampa as far as those three players I mentioned. because Miller could have been that dual threat like Kuturov. Headman is the guy that's directing traffic. That's Quinn Hughes. And Pedersen could have been more of the trigger man. But we just, we didn't see that last year.

We didn't see them jive. We didn't see Pedersen's confidence in a shot. So like you don't have that same outlook. You're going to have to be a little bit more puck dominant now if you're at least Pedersen and you're going to have to drive that traffic. And that's where I think if you don't have confidence, if you're not locked in, there's moments that can be really good. but you're going to be, like, he's got to produce this here.

There's no F. Ans and Butts where, you know, there is no J.T. Miller that's going to be that puck dominant player in the power play anymore. 650, 650, Dumbar, Lumber, text line. Keep the text coming in there. We have a few Ask Us Anythings, but you can text in your Ask Us Anythings, and we'll hit them as the show goes on. We have an open segment next, so we'll probably hit a few in there as well. And if you want to be entered to have a chance to win a $100 A.J.'s Pizza Gift

card throw a pizza emoji on it and we will pick a winner by the end of the show so text those in 650 650 it is halford and broth josh o'y wolf for and deep jand on sports net 650