Halford & Brough in the Morning - It's NHL Draft Night But Not For The Canucks

Episode Date: June 28, 2024

In hour two, Mike & Jason chat with Rick Celebrini, Golden State Warriors director of Sports Medicine, plus father to this year's projected NHL 1st overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini on what should be a memorable night for his son this evening (3:00), plus they talk the latest BC Lions news with Leos radio PxP man The Moj (27:00). This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

7 o'clock on a Friday. Happy Friday, everybody. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. It is a fiesta Friday here on the Halford Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. This show is brought to you by Pacific Honda. Pacific Honda is North Vancouver's premier destination for Honda vehicle sales and service. They have a friendly, knowledgeable staff that can help with anything you're looking for. Sales, financing, service, or parts.

We are in Hour 2 of the program. Hour 2 is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste, Primetime is full flavor without compromise. You can get some at a liquor store near you, or you can visit the brewery to see how it's made. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec,

Canada's favorite orthotics provider, powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews. So, Rafit, what are you waiting for? Kintec. That's what you're waiting for. Let's go to the phone lines now. AJ from AJ's Pizza on East Broadway joins us here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, AJ?

What's going on, gents? I got to ask us anything for Laddie today. Oh, yeah. Go ahead. What's with Laddie now being okay becoming a Yankee? I mean. He just didn't want to hurt your feelings, AJ. He just wanted to.

He got the haircut. He's feeling like a new man. I'll take him in a heartbeat. We had Adnan Virk on the show earlier this week, and we went through the usual song and dance of who can get traded and who can get fired. So he suggested that that's like a family thing did his dad have like maybe i'm saying something completely obvious you know did his dad have something against the yankees

just well yeah yeah something happened with steinbrenner i believe like way back in the day so vladdy said how they treated his father he would never become a yankee but then didn't griffey say that too i thought that was a griffey quote no that was a griffey quote too it was both i've got it here two years ago vlad jr said he would never play for his al east rival new york yankees not even when i'm dead i don't know why that came into the equation yeah it's very difficult to play baseball when you're dead they're like we'll see about that hey look you gotta walk and then very cryptically, he's around there. He said,

it goes back with my family. So he was alluding to his dad. Yeah, but I wanted to know what the deal was with his family. And AJ's saying like... I don't know. I don't know. I thought it was something with his dad. I thought it was something with his dad. A lot of people just don't like the Yankees. Yeah. That's very true. That is a very true statement.

Okay, so AJ's Pizza on East Broadway this weekend. Full-throated, full-throttle footy bar. We've got a bunch of matches as Euro gets back underway. The round of 16 kicks off on Saturday

and Sunday. So you guys have Euro specials and, as we always mention, Sunday all-day happy hour. Yes, absolutely. Come down. It's going to be fun.

The weather looks a little iffy, so eat some pizza and watch some footy. Sounds good. Thanks, AJ. Appreciate this, bud. Take care, everybody. Come down. It's going to be fun. The weather looks a little iffy, so eat some pizza and watch some footy. Sounds good. Thanks, AJ. Appreciate this, bud. Take care, everybody. Have a great weekend. You too. Thanks. That's AJ's Pizza on East Broadway. Try AJ's traditional New York pizza or sink into their famous Detroit pizza. Only at AJ's Pizza. Order online

at ajs.pizza. Please never say full-throated again. Full-throated? Please. Why? Please don't. Just don't. Come on. That's what you do when you're singing. You're full-throated. We know. We getated? Please. Why? Please don't. Just don't. Come on. That's what you do when you're singing. You're full-throated. We know. We get it.

You're a singer. I know. You're often full-throated. Can you stop, please? You used to be full-throated all the time as a younger person. When you were on tour. Actually, that's incorrect because you sing from your diaphragm if you're doing it correctly, not your throat.

You're full-diaphragmed. Your diaphragm's full. All the way down there. Down there, eh? Okay. Full diaphragm if you're doing it correctly not your throat you're full diaphragmed your diaphragm's full all the way down there down there eh okay uh full diaphragm we're gonna talk to uh rick celebrini in just a moment here do we have him on the line no no andy's working on he's doing a full-throated phone call right okay to rick's enough um yeah so euro does get underway this week it's so funny anecdote about aj's is we have a text thread going on and i guess someone was doing one of those like social media influencer things about their pizza and they were talking about the detroit and in the comment section someone said oh yeah i love the ronnie and not like as a typo

like the ronnie as andy calls it yeah even though it's a ronnie catching on are they gonna have to just change the name of it soon? They said. They said we might just call it the A-Dog. Okay. Could you imagine? Would that be a career high for you? Yeah, I'd have to put that on my resume.

You've toured Canada as a musician, but they also named a pizza after you. Yeah, that would be the highlight of my career. Much more so than working with either of you guys. Do we ever come to the line? We do. Okay, perfect. Let's go to the phone lines now. Very excited to be joined by our next guest. He is the director of sports medicine and

performance for the Golden State Warriors, Rick Celebrini, here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Morning, Rick. How are you? Good morning, guys. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks for coming on. We appreciate you taking the time. So I imagine the excitement level for you and Macklin, the entire family, has to be pretty high. Obviously not a ton of drama. Like, I think you know what's going to happen. But nevertheless, still probably exciting going into round one of the NHL draft. Yeah, it really is, you know.

You know, it really is a lifetime of work that leads you to this point in time. And especially for Macklin and, you know, obviously as every parent of, you know, hockey players and soccer players and basketball players out there know, it's a team effort. So to get to this point is pretty special. And, yeah, we're all excited for sure. So there is a bit of symmetry here, you working with the Golden State Warriors and the San Jose Sharks having the first overall pick. How do you go about knowing that your son is going to play in San Jose,

but you still have to have the caveat of, well, whatever happens at the draft tonight, we'll just have to wait and see. Yeah, it's kind of been a bit awkward, to be honest with you. You know, I think, I mean, truly, we don't know. All kinds of things can happen. Deals can be made. And you certainly get to realize that in the world that we live in, you guys live in, you see it all the time. Having said that, I think we've allowed ourselves to kind of get there in terms of hoping and getting excited about the fact that he'll be

literally 40 minutes away from us where, you know, mom can pop over and make my meal every once in a while and do his laundry. And, you know, I can I can keep tabs on him. And, you know, we have our we have our boy close to home, which is the first time in several years after he went to Shattuck and Boston for the last couple of years. You've got four kids. They're all athletes. How much have they been helped by just being able to be around athletes, professional athletes like Steph Curry and just knowing how things operate, how those guys go about their business

and having these role models that aren't just TV role models, but guys that they can even go up and talk to? Yeah, honestly, I think it's been invaluable. And I think there's two stages to it. Early on when I would bring the two older ones with me, when Steve Nash and I would have our two, three, four-hour workouts, it was kind of almost by osmosis that they'd be taking it in.

They'd be doing their own thing and shooting hoops or playing soccer, something like that. But, you know, they would take it in and understand that, you know, Uncle Steve with the bright lights and the cameras on TV is different than, you know, the three, four-hour workouts that are grueling and behind the scenes. And I think later on, you know, especially when we were all in the Bay and they got to actually that point in time as young athletes where they're actually trying to learn and educate themselves

on the details it takes to, you know, to get to the next level. I think then they're actually active students in watching Steph Curry and watching, you know, the first year of Kevin Durant and just how they approach the game and their training. It's just, it's something that's just incredible. And I think would be valuable for any young athlete to watch. So this is something that I always ask successful athletic parents.

How much did you push Macklin and Aiden and your other two kids versus how much is it just that they want it? It's a great question. I think there's always a little bit of a balance there because, you know, kids at certain ages, you know, don't really understand the process. But I think one of the things I say to to you know i've given talks on you know player development etc and one of the most important things is just don't don't destroy the love that they have or the potential love that they're growing for the game and for that sport or activity um that's paramount you know know, you read about or you hear about the 10,000 hours it takes to become a master. You don't get those hours by like trudging through it. And this is work,

and this is an obligation, and this is something you have to do. You do it because you love it. And so that's first and foremost, you have to foster that love for the sport. But there is a point in time where there's there's a discipline and you know there's an understanding of of you know if you if you really want this and it has to be theirs they have to own it but if you really want it this these are the terms like this is the commitment this is the discipline this and you have to be on time you have to you know get up at 4 30 in the morning and get to the ice like you know these are things that are non-negotiable if you want to, you know, realize your dream. And so that's, you know, that's the part that's a bit of a give and take

in that they have to also be educated on what it takes to realize their dreams. It doesn't just come because they want it really bad. At what age does that happen? Does that realization happen? Because I think, you know, having some experience coaching in minor hockey, you've got kids that are seven to eight years old and you talk to the parents and the parents are just so impatient. They just want to download everything onto their kid in five minutes, right? And they just want them to get it. And sometimes that becomes less fun for the kid and then the kid doesn't like it as much it's well intentioned from the parents but at what age do the kids need to and are they able to are they are their brains able to say okay i'm actually going to get serious with this yeah that's a great question i think that the timeline's a little bit different for each kid.

Each kid's path is unique. Even between Aiden, our oldest, and Macklin, they're completely different kids. Aiden had all kinds of other interests, and so really the penny didn't drop for him until he was at Shattuck at 14, 15 years old, whereas Macklin, I think probably the time that he laced up skate, he was driven to do that.

And I think the personality, the drive, all those different elements are unique to each kid. And I think you have to read the kid and adjust to them, not the other way around. They don't adjust to your program or your, you know, your, your perceived path that you've defined for them. I think you just need to, you know, push when they need to push and then pull back when, when you need to pull back. And again, most importantly, it's just don't destroy that love for it. You know, that's, if that goes, when we first went to the North Shore Winter Club, an old sort of old school coach said something to me that stuck with me forever. And he said, you know, Rick, if you have a 15, 16 year old,

the most talented kid, but he has dead eyes, you know, the energy's gone. The love's gone. You've got nothing. Like that's, you know, you failed. He's failed. It's just, it's a worst case scenario. We are speaking to Rick Celebrini here on the

Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Rick, of course, the Director of Sports Medicine for the Golden State Warriors and Macklin's dad, who will be selected first overall tonight by the San Jose

Sharks at the entry draft. Speaking of pushing your kids, Rick, or not pushing them, I suppose, how was it that you didn't force them into playing soccer? For those that are unaware, prior to becoming the director

of sports medicine for the Golden State Warriors, Rick had a very decorated and celebrated career. Actually, he got to play on both sides of the Vancouver-Edmonton rivalry because he played with the Brickman and the 86ers back in the old Canadian Soccer League. Oh, I remember the Brickman. What a great name.

Back in time. You're also capped five times by the Canadian U-20 team. That's not a basketball name that you hear quite often. No. The Brickman. You can't name a basketball team Brickman. How did the older two not end up playing soccer like their dad? I mean, I tried my best, but obviously failed miserably.

I actually, you know, I coached them both. Macklin played up more out of convenience on Aiden's soccer team. And I really still believe, and Steve Nash and I talk about this all the time, it's well documented, you know, he believes soccer helped him as a basketball player. He played a little bit of hockey as well. And I really believe watching the boys, even on the ice, the way they sort of see the ice and survey it,

et cetera. I think soccer has helped them in so many different ways, coordination and decision-making, et cetera. And, and so I think, you know, it's,

it's a lot of these sports you could throw basketball in there as well. And, and, you know, these sort of um four directional sports and there's a lot to be gained from um you know from doing one and transferring to the other and and i do think it it keeps them fresh it it uh it allows them to to um develop in different ways that that ultimately uh helps them in in their you know

sport of choice down the line. They were both really good soccer players, but as you guys know, growing up in a Canadian city, you're immersed with hockey. It's everywhere. We wound up buying a house just by chance close to North Shore Winter Club. That just sealed the deal. All of a sudden, the kids are there from morning till night on open ice um you know just just in an environment where it just they eat sleep and breathe hockey literally you know

to pick up the conversation jason was having about like coaching young athletes and mentoring them and getting them through are you a big advocate of them being multi-sport athletes for as long as possible before they have to start narrowing it down to one? I am. I am. And I know there's different paths. And I know when actually Macklin told me that he just wanted to focus on hockey, I kind of actually brought up the Sedins and Steve Nash and different people that I've worked with that were multi-sport athletes far later.

And then he brought up other examples of a Connor McDavid and a Bo Horvat and stuff. And all they did was play hockey. So he kind of countered me. And that's where, again, there's no just one single pathway, but I do believe it, it there's benefit to it in terms of not burning out in terms of just having a more diverse sort of skillset that you lean on later in years. How has Macklin prepared himself for the moment tonight and for the pressure that goes with being possibly a first overall pick in the NHL draft and having to be a spokesman for the organization

and making sure he says all the right things because he is going to be the face of an organization soon yeah that's the one thing that i've said guys that i'm most proud of as a parent is just to see him you know mostly at 17 years old through his first year of college as an underager the way he's handled it we we obviously knew this was coming. We talked to the BU coaches. They've had some experience with the Jack Eichels, et cetera, to manage it. But you never know, you know, what the pressures and the demands and expectations are going to do to a young man like that,

and especially his own expectations of wanting to, you know, to reach a goal and achieve his dreams. And so to see him, how he's handled it in sort of a humble, respectful way so that we're, you know, he's just, like, exceeded our expectations in terms of just how comfortably he's handled everything and sort of taken it in stride. And, you know, this is no different. This is obviously the moment that we were waiting for.

And as excited as we all are, I think we're actually also looking forward to this point in time as maybe a return to a little bit more normalcy where, you know, that draft night is not coming up anymore. It's behind us and now we can just get to work and contribute to the team, whichever team he plays for next year. So it's phenomenal just seeing him. I know I wouldn't be able to handle that at 17 years old, no chance.

Yeah. Well, another thing that, well, one thing that you didn't have growing up is social media. What have you, have you had any conversations about your kid, with your kids about social media? Because, you know, we talk about it quite a lot on this show and, you know, you have a bad game in Vancouver. If you, after the game, if you're searching your name on Twitter, um, that can be pretty

psychologically challenging. Let's put it this way. Have you had any conversations with your kids about that? Well, this is actually a really cool story because, as you say, I mean, you know, even in the NBA, the guys are subject to that and just the, again, like you said, the scrutiny and the pressures. I mean, it's just crazy what they have to deal with. True story. I mean, it's just crazy what they have to deal with. And true story, Macklin actually told me that he was going to go off social media.

And I sent him something in, like, September. I'm not very active at all on social media, but the old man sort of came across something that I thought he might like to see. So I sent it to him in September. I didn't get a response for a couple weeks. And I said, hey, did you get that thing that I sent you? he goes dad like I told you I'm on social media so um it for you know again at that time he was probably 16 when he made that call and 17 going into BU he he truly has anticipated the perils of of social media and and has self self, you know, um, uh, restricted himself from, from actually going on it. And, and, I mean, I know he, he, he's kind of on and off it, um, at present, but, but for the

most part, I think he, he really realized that and tried to, um, shield himself from, from, from that. That is, that is really interesting and fascinating that he is that driven and that focused at that age in order to recognize that that could be a distraction were were you were you taken aback by that i was i was yeah i mean you know it's um he goes hand in hand with his you know with his diet like you know i mean there's temptations everywhere and and it's just he's so locked in and so driven and he has been since this is a part that's innate and you asked a question earlier about you know different kids with different drives i mean we can't take credit um for any of that part of it you know he was

probably and even when i was down in oakland the first year i went down without the family my first year with the warriors and robin uh my wife had the the four kids, and she's just basically barely hanging on, trying to get them to all their stuff. And she's got Macklin waking her up at 4.30 in the morning to drive him down to the rink. Oh, my God. It's not even open right now. That was something that was just innate in him.

And like I said, you don't train that or coach that. It's just who he is one final thing i want to ask you about what's it been like working with steph curry and what is it about him that makes him so great where do i start we all marvel at he is a culture creator uh the whole Warriors environment is a result and reflects just who he is. And he's got this, if you ever meet him, he's kind of got this calm, just really sort of cool, smooth way about him. But then when he gets on the court, it just changes into this dynamic, you know, sort of force that imposes his will and he's able to

sort of switch between those very effectively but he's just got such a good feel I think Andre Vidal has said it once about him he always says the right thing the right moment and just one of these guys, I was talking to his security guy

Yusuf once about him and he summed it up perfectly. He said, you know, there's a lot of people in this world that are made for their families or for the community. And he said, you know, Steph has been made for the world. Do you ever just sit around and watch him shoot? I mean, seriously, like, it's just, it's, it's magic watching him shoot on TV. I can't imagine what it's like just being able to do that in person. It is. It's crazy.

And, you know, it's, it's something, again, it's one of those many lessons that you try to impart on the kids. And it's just the attention to detail, the intensity and focus that he, you know, like he will, the president of the United States could be waiting to talk to him and he would not cut his workout shirt for anyone or anything. It's just once he's locked in, it's just this intense, like creative energy. He'll, you know, if he makes 10 in a row from a spot, then he'll mix it up and they'll try to hit the back rim or he'll try to bank it or he'll, you know, do a step back. Like he's always, like he's always always challenging himself and it's yeah again it's so fun to watch that you know

you know all four kids haven't had a lot of opportunity to watch him but when they have or anybody does it's such a treat as you say well rick uh i just wanted to thank you for joining us today i know it's a big day for you and your family. So good luck today. I'm sure everything will be great. I'm sure everything will be exciting. And thanks for taking the time to join us so early in the morning on such a big day for you. I really enjoyed it, guys, and I appreciate all the support.

Yeah, you guys have a great day, and thanks a lot. Thank you, Rick. We appreciate it. That's Rick Celebrini here on the Halford & Brough show on Sportsnet 650. The head of, the director of sports medicine. That was really cool. And of course, Macklin's dad. Yeah, he's great. He's awesome. Was an awesome,

awesome player back in the day. Awesome soccer player. I liked your question about the multi-sports as a kid. Every smarter person than me about sports has said that answer, where you should play multiple sports. Don't just go to one sport. Everyone smarter than me says that. It's hard for some parents because some parents think that if you're not.

It's a time commitment, too. But if you're not fully dedicated to one thing, you're going to fall short. But there's other skills you can pick up from other sports. You're saying if I want to make it in pickleball, I've got to play more than just pickleball. Yeah, you can't be doing bocce. You've got to focus on pickleball. You can't do both.

That's good advice. One or the other. I mean, lawn bowling is a commitment as well. Part of it is what he's talking about. Long hours. Part of it is like hockey especially is a huge time and financial commitment yeah huge i mean and can you imagine being their mom with four kids when rick was down in the bay area by himself everyone else stayed back in vancouver and he's you know working he

has to take this job i mean what an incredible opportunity for him to go down and work for the golden state warriors and then there's a poor mom at home with four kids one of them waking That's to take this job. I mean, what an incredible opportunity for him to go down and work for the Golden State Warriors. And then there's a poor mom at home with four kids, one of them waking her up at 4.30 in the morning and can go to the rink. She's like, Macklin, go back to bed. Take the bus. Are they running right now? Take the bus.

But you talked a lot about burnout, right? The burnout is real. We've all experienced it, I think. The one thing that i've learned coaching hockey is that the the most important thing you can be hard on them but the most important thing is that the kids are smiling and that they're having fun and that they're laughing with their friends and they're laughing with you as a coach if you want to volunteer and be a coach make sure you're fun because taskmasters is the same as for a lot of kids. And most kids actually strict is the same as mean. So you can be strict,

but you also have to have a fun side. You don't want to make it feel like a chore, right? Like you have no passion for it. Like you're playing sports. Yeah. It's supposed to be fun. It's such a challenge though,

because you want to, like I said to Rick, I was like, you want to download all the things, you know, onto like, you want to download all the things you know onto the kids in one practice, you know? And it just doesn't work like that. Yeah, remember that thing I showed you once for 20 minutes at a practice?

Have you mastered it? And they're like, no. Yeah. Who are you? I wasn't even listening. Are you my coach? Okay, we got a lot more to get to on the Health and Breath show on Sportsnet 650.

Bob the Moj Marjanovic is going to join us on the other side in the aftermath of the BC Lions' narrow victory over the Edmonton Elks on Thursday night at BC Place. We'll talk to Moj about that. Eight o'clock, it's Dollywall for all the latest out of Canucks camp, and there's been a lot of news out of Canucks camp over the last 24 hours. The Dakota Joshua re-signing.

The Tyler Myers re-signing. Of course, Quinn Hughes winning the Norris Trophy last night as the NHL's best defenseman. There's a lot more to get into. You've got a BC Lions read. And I have a BC Lions read to do. I think the roar is back, you guys. I've heard that the roar is back.

Many people say that the roar is back. We've been told the roar is back. Many people say it. Lots of people. The roar is back. Best've been told the roar is back. Many people say it all. Lots of people. The roar is back. Best roar ever. According to multiple people. At BC Place for the BC Lions 70th season. If you want to get some tickets to an upcoming game, visit

bclions.com now. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Drance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on Sportsnet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. It's the Moj. I did not eat four burgers.

Yes, it's the Moj. I don't want to go to Winnipeg. Nobody wants to go to Winnipeg. Yes, I love food. It's the Moj. I went online and kind of did a little surfing. it's the mooch halpern's fine but you know bruff is just grumpy all the time Moach, moach, moach, moach, moach, moach, moach. It's the moach. Moach, moach, moach, moach, moach, moach, moach. It's the moach.

Moach, moach, moach, moach, moach, moach. It's the moach. 7.33 on a Friday, a Fiesta Friday. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford & Brough in 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 2 of the program. The Moj is going to join us in just a moment here, a presentation of the Clayton Public House. Hour 2 of this program is brought to you by Primetime Craft Beer. Meticulously brewed for quality and taste, Primetime is full flavor without compromise.

You can get some at a liquor store near you, or you can visit the brewery to see how it's made. To the phone lines we go. Moj joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Moj? Good morning, gentlemen. Not an oil painting last night, but a win nonetheless, and a couple injuries as well. let's start uh with the result maybe not necessarily the greatest process to get there

but the lions do get a win their third straight dropping edmonton to oh and four tough times for the elks uh your thoughts on the win last night for the lions yeah you're right it wasn't an oil painting it was a tough game i mean edmonton despite coming into that game at 0-3 had played three games that they lost by 8-3 and three points I mean second week in a row they they lose on a walk-off field goal I mean against Toronto against Montreal it was a three-point game this is a team that is a lot better than their record indicates and it was a it was a tough game and it just seems like the Lions have been involved in all these games lately that they're just grinds, right?

And it kind of brings me back to something that Rick Tockett talked about with the Canucks all season long, that you have to be comfortable playing in tight games. And right now it seems like the Lions are comfortable playing in these type of games. So why were the Lions able to pull it off last night? I just think just what I said. I mean, they know they have reference points.

They know that when they're in a tight game, they can pull it out. They can do what they need to do to win that game. Whereas a team like Edmonton is still kind of searching for those reference points. I mean, they get into a tight game and basically they just can't get it done, whereas the Lions can. And I think probably playmakers too, right? I mean, when the Lions needed plays, they got it. They got them, I should say. And when Edmonton needed plays, they didn't.

And let's not kid ourselves. Edmonton, McLeod, Bethel, Thompson had a wide-open Dylan Mitchell late in the game and he overthrew him, right? If it's Vernon Adams, maybe he hits that receiver. But the Lions won the football game. The other thing, too, I think, is depth. I mean, you know, aim and he overthrew him right if it's vernon adams maybe he hits that receiver but the lions won the football game the other thing the other thing too i think is depth i mean you know we saw some injuries last night josh woods unfortunately tore his acl he's gone for the year starting

middle linebacker acly stepped up on that last drive alexander hollins was on the sideline nursing a hamstring so they got guys, you know, next man up mentality. Was that a tough game in terms of the potential letdown factor too? You had the season opener, which is obviously going to get some attention. They went to Toronto and lost to a very good Argos team. And then they come home and they have their home opener with 50-cent in the big crowd. And then they go to Winnipeg, and that's always going to be a big game and they win that one and then if you were to look at the

schedule you'd be like yeah we got the elks at home we should be able to win that one do you think that was tough for them to get up for that game compared to what they've been through maybe subconsciously um you know to a man i think everybody realized you know that when you looked at the elks you didn't look at that own-3 record and say, this is a really poor team. I think probably the bigger factor was four games in 18 days. That's a bit of a strain on the body, but they did go out there. I think the other thing, too, is you're right, Mike, in the sense that you have 50,000 people the first game.

You're all jacked up, and then unfortunately with the long weekend and such, 20,000 last night. So that might have had something to do with it. But I think the Lions, again, like you guys said, found a way to win. So what's next for the Lions? And how are they health-wise after playing so many games in 18 days? Well, they do have a bit of a break. I don't think they practice again until Tuesday. Next game is the following Sunday, what, nine days away in Hamilton.

So they'll get a bit of a reprieve health-wise from what we understand. Again, like I said, Josh Woods, their starting middle linebacker, he's gone for the year. There's no ifs, ands, and buts towards ACL. So, again, ACL steps up there. Hollins, we don't know about. I don't think it's that bad, according to what Rick Campbell talked about postgame. And I know Christian Covington got shaken up, but I think he did go back into the game.

So, health-wise, in terms of those players. Now, in terms of T.J. Lee and Keon Hatcher, let's not forget a couple of All-Stars that are on the sideline rehabbing those Achilles injuries. And we're hearing good things about them. I mean, we see them at practice every day, you know, running sprints, going through agilities and such. So they're getting closer and closer. Keon Hatcher talked about even practicing shortly. So I know TJ Lee said that he hopes to be back.

The target date is after the Lions have played the six games and he comes off the six-game list. And I think Keon Hatcher's a couple of weeks back, so probably maybe a month at the latest to get those two guys back. A moment here to discuss last night its opponent, the Edmonton Elks, only because they're now 0-4 on the year.

I did not realize until doing the research last night they are 8-32 since Chris Jones took over. That's bad. That's really bad for a team that means a lot to Edmonton, obviously. It's tough times, as we pointed out, really in the province of Alberta for the Canadian Football League. They have 17 days off now. What do you think happens in Edmonton?

I think they stay the course. I think one of the prerequisites when you're looking at making a coaching change, a lot of times you ask yourself, has the team quit on the coach? I don't think these guys have quit on Chris Jones. And I don't think anything will happen until the Edmonton Elks finalize their ownership situation. There was rumors yesterday that there was a sale. I saw Rick Lallister, the president, the former Lions president. finalize their ownership situation. There was rumors yesterday that there was a sale. I saw Rick Lallister, the president,

the former Lions president, he denied any sort of sale happening yesterday. So maybe wipe that one off the board. But, you know, probably close to making a deal. And I think once the new ownership group comes in, they'll probably determine the fate of Chris Jones. Has Vernon Adams been the best quarterback in the CFL so far? I know Cody Fajardo has been pretty good for Montreal, and that'll make Matt Sikaris so happy.

Well, Sikaris got a hole-in-one the other day, so it's okay to razz him a little bit. But, I mean, Vernon Adams, he seems to be making the plays that he needs to and more. Yeah, I'd probably go with Vernon Adams Jr. for one reason. I think Vernon Adams Jr. throws a better deep pass than Cody Fajardo. And, you know, they both have talented receivers. They both have weapons at their disposal.

But right now I'd probably give a slight edge to Vernon Adams Jr. just because of the fact, like I said, I think Cody Nail, he's more of a guy that's going to be looking for the open receiver, the check down type of thing. And a lot of those guys are getting the yards after the catch. I mean, Tyson Philpott's a great example. But I think if I was looking at a big picture,

I'd probably go with Cody. Or pardon me, with Vernon Adams Jr. So I do want to ask you a bit about the Canucks. I know, well, I mean, you're a boots-on-the-ground reporter for the Vancouver Canucks. Intrepid reporter. me or pardon me with with vernon adams jr so i do want to ask you a bit about the connects um i know well i mean you're you're a boots on the ground reporter for the vancouver connects intrepid reporters how i've described you on all these scrums and everything here moj no i you know what i haven't even been part of the zoom conferences as of late i've been focusing on the lions and actually i did a piece this week on shea weber and jeremy roenick going into the hall which is

out right now black press so i haven't been following the Canucks, but go ahead. I'll take your Canuck question. Well, no, I'll ask you, what did you write about in terms of Shea Weber and Jeremy Roenick going into the hall? Well, you know, I just talked about the fact that both of these guys have had pretty good relationships with over the years. And the fact that they're so different, right? I mean, Shea is so quiet.

I talked about when he had his golf tournament up in Sycamore, he donated $80,000, and he didn't even speak to the group. It was Cody Franson. The reason why is, wasn't that Shea was too big for the moment? That's just the way Shea is, right? And, you know, then you got J.R., who is completely, he's at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to public speaking. Both of them have a tremendous passion for the game.

It was interesting hearing their reactions to the call from the Hall of Fame. Of course, Jeremy Roenick's been eligible since 2012. He didn't think he was going to get into the Hall. He got the Hall from Lanny McDonald and Mike Gardner as he was going through a Starbucks drive-thru. He said he pulled up. He just started crying. He said when he pulled up to get his coffee, he was bawling.

He said, I think the guy probably thought that somebody had died. You know, tremendous emotion there. And Shea Weber was playing in an RBC scramble with his father-in-law and his two brother-in-laws. He got the call at the turn. He said he dropped to one knee when he got the call and started crying. And he was just completely flabbergasted that, you know, he got a call from the Hall of Fame that he was going in. And when he got the call, there was a bit of a media embargo.

So they said, don't tell anybody. So he really couldn't tell his playing partners. And then finally, he kind of, you know, let him in on the secret that he was going into the Hall of Fame. He said he almost jarred the shot on 10 but he goes after that he goes nobody really cared about golf everybody was talking about the fact that you know he's going to go in the hall and he said he pulled his dad at the turn as well and he said his dad's a pretty stoic guy and he was just a blabbering idiot like he was crying he wasn't coherent and his dad's like will you shut up and put it together and he told his dad that hey i'm going

into the hall of fame and his dad was like oh my goodness right so um just the emotions that those two had and you know what it means to go into the hall of fame for them neither of them won a stanley cup um of coursea had tremendous success as part of many great team candidates, both of World Juniors, World Championships, the Olympics, of course, but they just both talked about it. And Shea had a really good quote when I said,

how do you compare this to any of those Olympic golds or World Championships? He said, you know, it's so interesting because all of that was in the moment, right? You're always in the moment. It was always something leading up to it. This was just out of the blue for him right he didn't expect the call and when he got it he was like i said just blindsided by it so it was pretty neat talking

to those two guys and getting their reactions to going into the hall i thought you're gonna after saying like you know roenick is uh you know he's he's his personality is out there and uh you know he got the call and he was crying at a Starbucks. I thought you were going to tell me that Shea Weber got the call and he was like, okay, good. All right. I'll talk to you later. Yeah. You know, that's, that's a good point because with Shea, like he's, you know, he talks about his dad being stoic. Hello, apple from the tree. There is a guy who really doesn't show that much emotion.

And when he's talking about dropping the one knee and crying and not being able to put sentences together um that just kind of tells you the impact that getting that that call means for these guys i guess that is the final step of a of a great career though isn't it like to to get the to get the Hall of Fame call, I mean, maybe it's if you get your jersey retired or something along those lines, but I imagine if you're Jeremy Roenick and you're wondering, am I ever going to get this call?

And it's been years and maybe you've even allowed yourself to think, okay, well, maybe it's never going to happen. And then when you finally do, it provides a sense of closure for him in some ways. Yeah, it does. And I think Roenick even touched on that, but it's kind of funny you mentioned final step.

You think a lot of times that that is the final step of a player's career. But I'll give you a really good example of where it's not. Well, Roberto Luongo, right? He goes into the hall, you think, okay, that's it's not about Roberto Luongo right he goes into the hall you think okay that's it well you know here we are and now he's celebrating a Stanley Cup when in Florida eating spaghetti out of the Stanley Cup so um you know for some it is for others who are involved in the game and still involved with an organization at some level it's not hey Moj do you think if you were to retire after a great career and you've made lots of money,

do you think you'd just want to play golf every day and enjoy your life and travel the world? Or would you want to get right back into it like Roberto Luongo has done and go work for an organization and take on another challenge? That's, you know, I think it's just where your priorities lie, right? right i mean you look at a

guy like weber who made the most money of any player from 2010 through 2020 i think he's still getting paid by utah and he talked about that yesterday he's going to go down there and work work at their development camp um there's a guy who for the most part is just taking some time off and just spent time in colona and fishing and playing golf and such. And now maybe he's starting to get the itch to get back into the game. I mean, you look at Luongo getting into the Florida Panthers organization immediately upon retiring. I just think it's where you're at and what you need to do and how you feel.

But I think the biggest thing is whatever you do, you have to have a passion for it. If you've got that type of money and you don't need to work well it better be something that you're extremely passionate about and it's not even considered work to you you know what i mean well you have to have purpose in life i think like you can't just be you know i think this is why some of these guys get into media um even if they're not going to be i mean we had cory Schneider on the show the other day and I was kind of thinking like,

why would he even agree to come on our show? You know, like he doesn't, it's not like he's getting paid for it and it's not like, you know, he has to come on. But I guess for a lot of these guys, when you go through your NHL career or your hockey career, professional career, you do have a purpose. Every day you wake up and you're a professional hockey player and that's pretty important. And once you retire, you know, it might sound great in theory to go play golf every day and

travel the world and just have fun with the money that you made and kind of treat it as a reward. But if you don't have a purpose in life, I don't know if you're going to be all that happy with your life. You know, that's a good point. And I think that's why a lot of times you see guys get back into the game or get involved perhaps at the junior level or just do something, right? And again, it goes back to what I talked about is what are you doing and do you have a passion for it, right? If you believe that, you know, you can help other people and pass along your knowledge and go do that and you have a passion for it, you're going to do it, right?

And you're not necessarily going to be worried about the money because you have X amount of millions in the bank. So, to me, it just boils down to do you have a passion for what you want to do? That's why we love you, Moj. You've got a passion. What question do we have today? Ask us anything Friday. I don't even know if we've got one for you. Oh, wow.

Here's one from Woodrow the Eligible Bachelor. It's a food one. I know you love food. Moj, how often do you eat dessert? Never, always, or only on special occasions? Oh, I don't eat dessert. Yeah, me neither. Never?

You know where I'll eat dessert? Ever. At a golf tournament. I don't ever eat dessert. So there's a dessert. Yeah, me neither. Never? You know where I'll eat dessert? Ever. At a golf tournament. I don't ever eat dessert. So there's a dessert, you're out for dinner, and it's like ice cream and something, and you will say, no, I don't want any dessert. If it's birthday and there's cake, I'm like, no, I'm good.

No, let me rephrase that. I will not eat dessert at home, because obviously I'm going to watch my smelt frame and try to look good still. here yeah the only time i will eat dessert is if i'm out like if i'm at a restaurant i might you know i'm not saying all the time probably a 50 50 chance like if you go to the keg and you don't have i mean a billy minor pie at the keg oh a dog's not here right now, but he... A-Dog and Laddie liked a Billy Miner pie. Yeah, we

all went out for... Was that our Christmas dinner? The annual dog dinner. The annual dog dinner. A-Dog got the BMP. A-Dog got the Billy Miner pie, and it's just, when you have kids like A-Dog, it's just nice to see them smile sometimes.

Yeah. I mean, can you say no to a Billy Miner pie? I mean, I don't think I can. Right. So, well, they definitely didn't that night.

Yeah. Mo, thanks for doing this, bud. We appreciate it. Okay, fellas, have a great weekend.

Yep. See you later. That's Bob, the Moj Marjanovic, brought to you by the Clayton Public House. They have desserts there. You're home for every game day. Catch all the action on 15 screens and two giant projectors.

So I want to actually get into this more with you. Dessert? The lack of dessert. Is it because you don't have a sweet tooth at all? I mean, it's not like I eat well. I've developed a sweet tooth. When I was a kid, it's funny. I didn't really love chocolate.

I didn't really love candy. And Halloween, I'd be excited to get all the candy. And then I'm like, I don't really want really want this now i don't know what it is but you've developed a sweet tooth i've developed a sweet tooth yeah that's interesting getting sweeter in your old age i guess i think i am softening up a lot of people say that about me um so like now if there's if there's candy in the house i'm finding it i guess what it like just because again like it's not like I'm like a super like health nut. I think everyone's pretty, that's well established.

I based my diet around yours, Alfred. What are you talking about? It's not working though. So like I've never understood and I've never had a sensation where like at the end of a good meal, I need to like finish it with something sweet. And I like, I've watched cooking shows and I've seen the,

the high end quality chefs talk about how it's like the perfect like accent to a meal as you have something man not necessarily huge but there's just something sweet at the end and i don't know if it's a flavor profile or a taste bud thing it just never appealed to me like i'll have a drink yeah like an alcoholic beverage at the end of a meal as opposed to what? Alcoholic beverage. Well, no, but as like a cap to the meal, right? As opposed to cake or like a chocolate or whatever, ice cream. I have an alcoholic dessert. Yeah, right?

I'll have a beverage. I was like, I'll have some ice cream and put a shot of vodka on it. I'll tell you what my dessert is. Give me a beer. Give me a boozy milkshake. Tyler in Chilliwack hasn't asked us anything. Do you think the Dakota Joshua contract is an

overpay? He really only had half a good season. I don't mind the money. I just think four years is a long time. It could age poorly for a physical player.

Any contract in the NHL could age poorly. But it's not an overpay if Dakota Joshua gives the Canucks exactly what he gave them last season. And it could be a value contract if he takes his game to another level. Right. He left money on the table. If he comes back and does exactly what he did last year. Fine. That's $3.2 million worth of hockey.

Yeah. The stupidest way to look at it, but the most obvious. What I'll be curious to see, and a lot of it will depend on who the Canucks add in the next few days, especially up front, obviously up front, is what role do they expect him to play? Do they expect him to, I don't want to say just be a third liner because he did that and he did that really well and that was such an important part of the Canucks. Oftentimes it was the second line. Sometimes it was the second line. Well, sometimes it was the first line. So do they want,

do they see a player that can do even more next season? Or are they just happy if he does what he did last season? I mean, I'd be perfectly happy if we had another repeat performance of what Dakota Joshua just did, well worth the money.

Oh, yeah. Well, that line in general. To be honest, there were times that I thought that the Lindholm acquisition made things more difficult from Rick for Rick talk. It, you know what? I wanted to ask Teddy Bluger,

but I, I didn't, I ultimately chose not to, um, were you hurt? No, no. Were you,

yeah. Were you pissed off that you lost, That you lost your spot on the third line because Elias Lindholm comes in there. He didn't immediately have chemistry with Elias Pettersson and all of a sudden Lindholm is the 3C and Bluger who'd done such a good job with that and developed this amazing chemistry with Garland and Joshua and really taken his offensive game to another level.

He said, you know, the best hockey in my career. He was obviously talking about that time when that line was just cooking and it was often carrying the Canucks. Yeah. And it was this great momentum breaker. If the Canucks, their game started to slide, Rick Taka could be, just be like,

Teddy, take your line out there and, you know, right the ship a little bit. How did he feel about that? Yeah, it would have been a valid question. It might not have been like the most hard. Yeah. I just didn't ask a guy on the heels of signing a two-year extension.

It's like, Hey, remember when they took your job away? Were you pissed at the coach for that? Yeah. The coach of the year. Are you talking? Okay.

But you know what? There were times in the playoffs last year where I was like, the easiest solution here is just throw the third line back together. But then you had the old, well, where do we put Lindholm? And then do we have to rejig everything? I mean, that line was really, really good. And it wasn't a third line. It was the third line in name.

But the way that they cooked, I mean, it elevated Bluger to being well beyond a bottom six center, right? Like a 3-4-C because of the way that the line mates elevated him. That's a really interesting thing about it is that when you bring them back, individually you can say, well, this guy has his limitations and that guy has his limitations, but collectively as a group, you could say that they'd be a bonafide good second line in the NHL the way they produce.

All right. Do you like shouting? Because Rick Dollywell is going to join us. Big Rick day today. Rick Celebrini, Rick Dollywall. Rick Astley. Can we play some Rick Astley? No, we can't.

I'm a big Rick guy. I love Ricks. Rick Dollywall is going to join us next. We'll get a little gossipy about what the Canucks are doing heading into free agency on July 1st. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.