Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 4/10/25

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

Mike & Jason look back at a busy weekend in sports, including a memorable Masters for Rory McIlroy, who wins his first green jacket and long-awaited career Grand Slam, they chat with Whitecaps FC Sporting Director Axel Schuster, whose squad is currently sitting atop the MLS standings, plus they preview tonight's penultimate Canucks game of the season versus the SJ Sharks with Canucks Central host Satiar Shah. 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.

You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da The man in training is over. McElroy has his masterpiece. What are we all going to talk about next year? Now for Zuccarello and alone on net he scores! Matt Zuccarello deep south Kevin Lankenen. Hoggy missed his man. Poor guy. He's played good hockey and he missed his man. Move on. Let's get him a present. Good morning Vancouver 6001 on a Monday. Happy Monday everybody, this is Halford at his broth at his Sportsnet 650.

We are coming to you live from the Kintec Studios in beautiful Fairview Slopes in Vancouver. Jason, good morning. Good morning. Adog, good morning to you. Good morning. Laddie, good morning to you as well. Hello, hello.

Halford and Broth for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5-star Google reviews. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are in hour one of the program. Hour one is brought to you by North Star Metal Recycling, Vancouver's premier metal recycler pays the highest prices on scrap metal. North Star Metal Recycling, they recycle, you get paid. Visit them at 1170 Powell Street in Vancouver. We are coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec footwear and orthotics working together with you and Step. What a weekend in sports. We got a lot to get into on the

show today. Guest list begins at 6 30. Jason Sobel is going to join the program. He of course from Sirius XMPGA Tour Radio, as we heard in the intro, Rory McIlroy ended his long wait for the Masters on Sunday, beating Justin Rose in a playoff to claim his first green jacket and the career grand slam. We'll talk to Jason Sobel about that at 6.30. I believe he will be driving from Georgia, out of Georgia. He was on the, he actually talked to Rory after the third round on Saturday. So we'll talk to Jason Sobel coming up at 6.30. 7.30 Axel Schuster is going to join the program. Whitecaps sporting director,

Whitecaps on fire. They're tops in the MLS. They're in the CONCACAF Cup semis, maybe a new stadium on the way. We'll talk to Axel about that at 730. Eight o'clock Satyar Shah is going to join the program, host of Canucks Central here on Sportsnet 650. Now that the Canucks season is just about done, two games left. When are we gonna get clarity on Rick Taukett's future as head coach?

We'll talk to Sad about that at eight o'clock. Also speaking of the Canucks games remaining, there is one tonight. Canucks Sharks seven o'clock from Rogers Arena, the penultimate game of the year for your Vancouver Canucks. So we got a lot to get into on the show today without further ado, Laddie, let's tell everybody what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night?

No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that? You missed that? What happened?

What happened? 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 them online at bccsa.ca. As I mentioned in my intro, Rory McElroy, great drama on Sunday in the final round of the Masters after missing a 5 foot par putt on 18 to win it. He rallied, made sure he did not miss his latest chance to win a green jacket. He did so. So in winning the Masters on Sunday, Rory McElroy

now becomes just the sixth player in the history of golf to win a career Grand Slam. Most recently, of course, Tiger Woods doing it. A really, really, really exciting, drama-filled and emotional day yesterday. So I was talking to a listener on Thursday and he was saying how Thursday's hit with Adam Stanley got him interested in the Rory McIlroy story. He was casual golf fan, but he thought, wow, that was a pretty compelling story that Rory McIlroy's got. I guess I'll follow him in the masters this weekend and boy, am I glad we focused on that

narrative heading into the tournament because I cannot imagine a more dramatic way for Rory to get his long awaited career grand slam. Amazing theatre. And I mean long awaited. Um, for anyone that would have been a roller coaster win. Let's do a little recap here.

Okay. And I'm probably going to leave details out of this. You'd be like, well, you forgot this. I'm like, yeah, I'm going to forget stuff. What about that? A lot happened on Sunday at Augusta National. Okay.

For Rory McIlroy, went in there with the lead. And then there was the tough start over the first two holes, where things didn't look good. Started with a double bogey on the first hole and two holes in. He had already lost the lead to his playing partner, Bryson DeChambeau. Then came the bounce back, where he actually established what looked to be an insurmountable lead. But then he blew that lead, including another double bogey on the par 5 13th, where he actually played it safe by laying up,

only to hit one of the worst wedge shots of his career into the water. It wasn't Ray's Creek, it was a tributary of Ray's Creek where he put it into the water. But then a couple of more birdies and things looked good again. Rory was going to do it. Or was he? Because then came the long putt on 18 by Justin Rose. Wait, where did Rosie come from to get to 11 under? Well, he got there and that forced Rory to make par on 18 for the win. All he had to do? Make par on 18 for the win. One of the most intimidating driving holes in all of golf. And he pumped one down the middle

and par looked almost certain. Of course, then he, what are you doing man? Pushes a wedge into the bunker. Rory has not always been dialed in with his wedge game. You know, a 13, puts one in the tributary of Race Creek. Then he puts one in the bunker. I felt sick to my stomach after he put that in the bunker, but he falls that up with a nice bunker shot,

leaving him a very makeable putt, which he then misses, sending this thing to a playoff. So it's back to 18 to play the same hole that he just blew it on. Once again, pumps a drive, maybe even better drive this time. Uh, but so did Rose and Rose had a decent approach too. So what, what's Rory going to do this time with his approach? Well, this time he nailed it with his ball rolling back four feet from the cup.

Even then though, I didn't know what was going to happen. Actually imagine because it's Rory, the worst case scenario, which would have been Rosie making his pot, which was a makeable pot, leaving Rory with a short one. Just putting it all back on his shoulders. To keep the playoff alive and don't forget what happened recently at the US Open where he missed a couple short ones and blew the US Open to DeChambeau. Now if Rosie would have made that putt, would Rory have missed his? Well, we'll never know because Rose missed leaving Rory to step up and make it.

And the scenes after he made it will go down in golf history because look, I just went over why that was a rollercoaster in a vacuum. Now consider the context and this is what we got into with Adam Stanley. Rory hadn't won a major since 2014. He'd been looking for the career Grand Slam for over a decade. Last year chokes away the US Open. And he finally, finally got it done. The career Grand Slam in golf is a big, big deal. Rory's only the sixth golfer to do it. He joins Tiger, Jack, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Saracen. Among the legends who didn't win the

career Grand Slam, a guy by the name of Arnold Palmer, who never won the PGA. Tom Watson never won the PGA. Lee Trevino never won the masters and never really cared for Augusta until it was too late to care. But that's another story. You know, I was thinking about while I'm watching that, this is why I still watch sports.

Yeah. Because some people, you know, they come up to us a lot and they're like, do you still like sports? I'm like, yeah, I don't know. I've become a little cynical about some of it. But it's, it's for moments like that, where it all comes together to produce this incredible drama. There's the perfect storyline or narrative, whatever you want to call it. There's the perfect setting. So much of golf is about, so much of sports really is about the spectacle and the crowd

and where the game is being played. But most importantly, most importantly is the human element. Yep. Where someone is either going, someone or some team is either going to own the moment or get owned by the moment. And it's funny because Rory did a bit of both on Sunday. Like there were times where you're like, I can't believe Rory is choking this away again.

And other times where you're like, I think Rory hit the golf shot of his life. He like, I think he hit the golf shot of his life four or five times on Sunday. He owned more moments than he got owned in, but just barely. So look, I'm a massive golf fan. Of course I'm going to be into that. What did you more of a casual golf fan think of it?

It was the, why it was so compelling is the stuff that you're talking about because in the moments down the stretch, there was an undeniable level of pressure. You didn't have to know a single thing about golf. You didn't have to know a single thing about golf. You didn't have to know a single thing about sports to know how much pressure was on the individual. The great golf writer, Alan Shipnuck,

who we've had on the show before, I think he summed it up best. I'll dance around the expletive, but he said, "'This is why tournament golf is so effing compelling. "'There's nowhere to hide, "'and the ball is just sitting there mocking you. This is an X-ray of Rory's soul. And I was like, damn, like that's deep, that's heavy.

But that's, everyone can understand having to sit and wait for a moment of pressure. And everyone can understand that all you've got on this golf course is hundreds of thousands of people staring at you. Some of them pretty close. The only person that you've got to kind of confide in is your caddy but even the caddy is like this is on you like I'm just here to offer some advice and hold back. Don't blow this. Yeah it's like I could use the money and that's the stuff that kind of transcends well

like the hardcore golf analysis. I want to play some audio here from Rory, just talking about the nerves, the nerves of the day and how, you know, it's relatable because we've all gone through this where you can't eat and your legs feel like jelly and you got the, you know, shaking hands and the whole bit happens to everybody. But you know what? Some people think that it doesn't happen to the athletes and they're different. They're above that. And I think knowing that they're not

makes it even more compelling. Here's Rory McRoy to tell you all that nerves affect us all. Those nerves that are natural and they're all good things. If you weren't feeling like that, I think that's more of a problem than when you do feel them. But it's such a battle in your head of just trying to stay in the present moment and just trying to hit this next shot good and then hit the next shot good.

And that was, that was the battle today. My battle today was with myself. It wasn't with anyone else. You know, at the end there it was with Justin, but, um, you might, my battle today was with my mind and, and staying in the present. And, um, I'd like to say that I did a better job of it

that I did, but it was, it was a struggle, but you know, I got it over the line. Um, so we'll talk more about the, the masters and Rory's big win with Jason Sobel coming up in about 20 minutes. Um, I was just thinking though, over the last little while, two events have really, uh, got my attention and made me like feel something while

I'm, I'm watching it. And it was not, one of them was not the Canucks lost to the Minnesota Wild over the weekend. It was... It was the Chicago St. Louis game for Friday night. Yeah. It was that and it was the Four Nations. And in this... God, I'm gonna sound like such an old man here, but in, um, in this time where we talk about money so much about sports, you know, and this has been going on for a while.

Especially with golf. You know, definitely with golf, but also we're always talking about money when it comes to the NHL and you know gambling ads have taken over you know the airwaves and the internet and everyone talks about gambling and you know that sort of thing that yesterday and the four nations on when when Canada beat the Americans do you think Rory cared at all about the money that he made like he made millions of dollars yesterday. He's already made millions of dollars.

No one cared about money when Canada and the United States was playing that game. That's purity. That's the purity of sports. That's why we watch, because for us as Canadians, our stake in that Four Nations was bigger than just hockey and then yesterday we all felt the pressure that Rory was under and we kind of felt his emotions of the pressure to get that career Grand Slam when it had taken again over a decade to get that done He was mid-20s when he was one green jacket away from the career grand slam and everyone thought, yeah, it's going to be easy.

He's just going to get it. Like he'll find he's that good. Well, life happens then. And think of all the stuff that Rory's been embroiled in since then, including the live stuff. He's had a bunch of, you know, off-course stuff in his, in his personal life. Like he is, he's kind of a vulnerable figure and he leaves them out there. He leaves it out there to be vulnerable. Unlike Tiger, I would say, who wasn't a very, he was like a dominant figure, but he put up a lot of walls, right? You know, like he, but Roy was kind of out there. And that, I don't know, for me, that's why, that's why we

watch sports and I hope, you know, I hope one day, and I tweeted this out afterwards, you know, when Rory won, there was that sense of, he's like, he said it was immediate relief. Like that was the number one feeling. Yeah. But then if you watch it, then there was that immediate jubilation. It was like, yes. And then came the tears.

It was like all of the emotions came out. And like this might sound cheesy, but that's how I imagine if the Canucks ever win the Cup, that it'll feel. Like it'll be like, they did it. They finally did it. There was that relief. And then we'll probably like freak out and like go crazy. did it there was that relief and then we'll probably like freak out and like go crazy and and then you know what I will probably look back on all the all

the hard times which we're gonna talk about soon right you know that that made it all worth it and I you know I was thinking something like I almost feel sorry for like the Vegas Golden Knights fans what they have the things are good for them it started out, but what have they been through? You don't know pain. You don't know pain? You don't know relief. When they won the Stanley Cup, they were like,

oh, that's cool. Fun. It happens every year, right? Yeah, anyway. Now it's gonna be a hard transition to talk about the Canucks and Wild on Saturday night at Roger's Arena, but we're gonna try. The Vancouver Canucks fell in their third final game

of the season on Saturday. Matt Zou Karelo, the ageless wonder to 47 over time. Wild beat the Canucks 3-2 on Saturday night as they inch closer to a playoff birth, although Calgary just won't go away and they won last night. But we'll talk about that in a minute. A major talking point from Saturday's game honestly had nothing to do with a huge win for the Wilder. Another loss for the Vancouver Canucks. It had to do with Yakov Trenin, not to be confused with 80s comedian Yakov Smirnov,

Yakov Trenin. And what I can only describe is the greasiest, dirtiest punch I've seen in a fight in an awfully long time, fracturing the orbital bone of Derek Forbort while Derek Forbort was on the ice and defenseless. In the game, for those that missed it, Trennan got a 5 minute major in the game as conduct for being the aggressor in a fight. No supplemental discipline though from the NHL's Department of Player Safety despite the fact that he was booted from the game and his actions resulted directly in a pretty serious injury for a player.

There's been some online chatter about why there was no suspension. It seems to have something to do with the book interpretation of the aggressor suspension and that you actually need to be a multiple repeat aggressor as opposed to just an aggressive aggressor in the moment. None of it makes sense because this is now the second instance in the last couple of weeks where I've seen something on the ice in a fight

saying, I don't know what, but I know that that's suspendable. The other one, of course, was the chat field was it Connor McMichael fight with the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes? Those two instances in a fight, guys going way over the line and the NHL's Department of Player Safety not suspending either of them. You know the tough thing though is it's a fight. I know, I know, I know.

So I don't think, I'm playing devil's advocate. I mean I thought it was super dirty, super, but Trenton might have thought it was dirty that when they were going down, Forebort was still throwing punches, right? But the linesman hadn't come yet. And when the linesman come and try and break it up, especially when a player's in a defenseless position

like Fourbert was, it was pretty greasy. And I love the people who are like, what about the spear from the bench from Blugr? You mean the poke? The poke? Are you comparing the two? One poked his bottom, which is padded, and the other one broke his orbital bone, right? Like there's a difference in those

two. It's just an unfortunate way to end the season for Derek Forebort too. Started with some injury concerns, had some rough stuff personal wise early in the season and played really well I think this season and I think gained a lot of respect from the fan base who, you know, like Adog was like, he's just one of the new guys that isn't working out for the Canucks and he's actually like a pretty good player, like he was a really important part of the PK and I hope the Can hope, I hope the Canucks resign them for next season and to end your, your season with that. And then all of a sudden you're like, oh, okay,

well now this makes the summer a lot harder because I'm going into the summer where I'm hoping to stay in shape and you know, now I've got a broken orbital bone. How's, how's this going to change my off-season training? And by the way, off-season training is going to be a big topic of conversation for about the next week. Would you like to play the audio on that?

Sure. Okay. We've got the audio here. This is Takedon Pedersen with regards to his summer. So a lot of the conversation now as we focus it on the Vancouver Canucks, including Satyarshot coming up at eight o'clock, we're going to be looking forward to the future. I know there's a couple of games left,

including one tonight against Macklin, Celebrini and the Sharks, but there's a lot of conversation about the head coach and getting some clarity on whether or not he's going to be back. And then I guess, as a tangent off that, what the head coach wants to see from a number of players going into next season, including number 40, Alas Pettersson. Here's Rick Tauket discussing Elias Pettersson and what he needs to do this summer, what he needs to do training wise and what the club can and can't tell him to do.

Here is Rick Tauket on Elias Pettersson. Well, I think when you go in these situations, you really want to get your training dialed in, you know, like example, Thatcher Demko. He's almost got his training to a science, to a day. This week I'm doing this, this week I'm gonna take off, this week, so every, he knows what he's doing every week. He's got a good team together.

You know, and I think we're just trying to understand PD for his training the last couple of years, maybe we can help him. But listen, you know, we can't tell him what to do. But there is gonna be some standards that we all have to come into camp with. So whatever you're gonna do, you gotta make sure that those standards are withheld.

That's just the way it is. So we've got, obviously, no more Pettersson for the remainder of the regular season, no more Derek Forward, Thatcher Dempko, no more Tyler Myers. I don't know if there's any point to rushing him back into the lineup. We might see more and more guys coming up. Rushing him back into the lineup for two games, including one tonight against the Sharks. Doubtful to play tonight and I don't see any reason for it to play a veteran on Wednesday when the Canucks finish off their season against Vegas. Uh, as for Petey, you know, we played this audio and this is setting up to be the narrative of the off season for Pedersen.

I don't know when, uh, the Canucks are going to have their end of season presser, it might be Friday. Um, but we'll have to wait and see on that. Um, you know, I imagine even though he's hurt, he's going to be there at the press conference. And I would like to hear from him about what he thinks about all this talk, including the, um, suggestions that he stay in Vancouver and train

using the quote unquote resources that the Canucks have. Um, now some people have noted and they their right to note that the Canucks don't have like a dedicated practice facility. Ah, yes. The practice facility. Maybe that, um, makes staying in Vancouver less, you know, appealing. Um, and also just staying in Vancouver might be less appealing for a guy that

might feel that he needs to get away. The thing is, last season he needed to get away. At the end of the playoffs, I think we all went, been tough for Petey. Ever since he signed that contract, and even before he signed that contract, there was all sorts of pressure on him. Didn't go well for him down the stretch, didn't go well for him in the playoffs. get back to Sweden, have a good off season. Um, hopefully feel the, you know, get that tendonitis in your knee figured out. But, you know, by all accounts from the Canucks at least he didn't have a good off season.

And you know, whether or not this whole thing sounds like the Canucks needing to essentially babysit Pedersen because they don't trust him to do the training by himself. I think what Takeda is saying is, you know, whether or not you stay in Vancouver or Sweden, there's going to be standards for the off season like there are every year. It's not new, but there are standards for the

off season and those have to be met. Now the problem with that is like, you can say there are standards, but that won't change if Pedersen shows up to camp next season and it doesn't look good again. Yeah. Right. Like the expectation right now with Pedersen is that he has an off season, whether it's in Vancouver and Sweden, and he comes back and he comes flying out

of the gates. That's what we're hoping for this season, right? Yep. And people will not have time for excuses. And that's assuming by the way that he's still a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Again, the Canucks are saying, we've got all these resources and I'm sure some of it is strength and conditioning guys. Uh, some of it might even be sports psychologists because they have sports psychologists on staff there.

Um, they've got these resources for Pedersen. Is he going to use them or is he not going to use them? It's his choice. The Canucks can't tell them what to do in the off season. That's the CBA rules, but it is incumbent on him to come back and be a lot better next season than he was this year. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.

Your Vancouver Whitecaps are enjoying a fantastic start to their season, a five, one victory over Austin FC on Saturday, in which there could have been even more goals on the board. It was a great day for the Whitecaps. It's been a great start, as I mentioned. Joining us now, their sporting director and CEO, Axel Schuster joins us here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650.

Good morning, Axel, how are you? Happy Monday morning. I'm very, very good. How are you guys? I can imagine you're very, very good. How are you guys? I can imagine you're very good. It's been a very good start to the season for your team. I got to ask you, be honest with us here. Did you expect this much success this early in the Jesper Sorensen tenure?

You know, I could not tell everyone that I have actually laid that all out in winter and I was 100% sure that that all will happen. But no, no. I have to say we all look genius now, but there was a lot of hard work, a lot of little things that had to play in our favor. There is also a lot of work from different people in the club that are going into this. And so at the end, it is a perfect execution of our team. Something we were hoping for, something we were almost expecting from ourselves, but that it would go that well was not predictable.

go that well was not predictable. Is there any specific thing that you can point to that the new manager has done, implemented that has led to such a good start? Look, I would say that yes, he had deleted everything that was preset before. Everyone had to fight again for his own spot, also for being in his favor. And he has been very, very clear from the beginning. He is not shy about calling out some of our star players if they do something wrong. And he is not shy of playing a young guy like Tate Johnson, 19 years old draft pick in very important games. So I would say the energy with that he entered the building is probably the foundation to the energy

that we now see on the pitch. How has he been able to do this with the amount of injuries that your squad has suffered? Because again, for those that are listening that aren't aware, uh, the team is winning and is atop the MLS standings, despite the fact that Ryan Gould has missed a ton of time. Sam Atacube has missed a bunch of time. Jayden Nelson, Matthias Laborde, you can go down the list. Uh,

there are several very important and dare I say star players that quite frankly haven't been able to contribute much because they're injured yet. Yes, first found a way to do it with young players and second players. How has he been able to manage that part of the game? You know what? That is the maybe very good thing if you come to this league and you have no experience in this league, because I saw one interview from him and people were

explaining him, you know, with this many travel, you cannot play that style on teams in Mexico, always suffer in Mexico City, it's impossible to go with high temp. And if you have a lot of injuries in MLS, you cannot be successful. And his answer was, you know, I don't know all of this. I just focus on the next game. So yeah, he, he, he works with what is there. He said from the first day that his belief is to make a team better, is to make the players better. That's what he's focused on. And I think it's maybe a very healthy, natural focusing with not getting distracted with so many things that we all always think we know better because we have so much experience in the league. that we all always think we know better because we have so much experience in the league. Axel, with the match against Inter Miami coming up at BC Place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup

semi-finals and congratulations for making it that far in the tournament. We all know the last time that Inter Miami came to Vancouver things didn't go great for numerous reasons. So how did you, as an organization, approach it this time around? Look, for me, this is a complete different situation. And we play in the semi-final of the Concord Cup Champions Cup. We host the first leg. We are right now top team in the standings. I really think everyone in the city should focus on our team, come to get behind our team to support us in this extremely important game.

And what our opponent is doing, honestly, I don't really care about it. I hope that they bring their best team if they want to have my recommendation, they better bring their best team because it's very difficult to play the Whitecaps in Vancouver right now. But at the end of the day, we want to win the game. We want to make it into the final and the first time in our history. And that's what we focus on. I think we also don't need to make anyone aware that it's completely outside of our control what the opponent is doing.

But obviously, we cannot spend any energy on these thoughts because we have to be like Jasper Zerens Zets. We control what we can control and we know what we don't know, we don't know and we focus on ourselves. So I understand all of that, but I don't think the game would be sold out with tickets on the secondary market going for $200 in the upper deck of BC Place if it wasn't Inter Miami.

I understand your position, but has there been any contact whatsoever with Miami? And it's, I know it's a weird question to ask because like this is your opponent and you know, they're not going to tell you they're starting 11. There's like, what's your strategy too? Like what's your formation?

Like I understand all that. What are you guys doing on set pieces? But all I know is like the last time this happened, the Interim Miami came and you can acknowledge this. There were a lot of disappointed fans. Now the ticket prices weren't jacked up for this one. And I know people noticed that and were appreciative of that. So there isn't going to be that same issue,

but was there anything done differently? Because even though You know, I know what you're saying is like you should be coming to watch the whitecaps There are a lot of people there that are coming to watch. Yes the whitecaps but also Hopefully one of the greatest players to ever play in the game's history and in the game's history. And two things to that. First of all, there was a lot of frustration also within our organization, within our players, within our staff the last time.

And I think last time it felt like it was the one chance in all life to see this player and to play against this player. This time is a little bit different, but I understand everyone and I can tell you that every of my players, my coaching staff, every of my employees, and every person I speak with, including me, has the same question. And

everyone would be super happy if the best players and the one best player in the history of this game will show up and play in Vancouver. The one thing I want to explain everyone, even here this game is very different. Miami has said right from the beginning of the season that the most important competition for them for the first half of the year is the CONCACAF Champions Cup. They want to win this. So we can do our assumption that that means that they will bring their best team, but you can also imagine that they will not share with us anything

to give us any advantage in preparation on that game. Because the game of Miami is obviously very different if he shows up on plays or not, because then they choose a different approach. We will know two days before the game, like the last time, and we will obviously share what we know and it will be public available information. But I hope that everyone understands that there's only so much that we can do to find out. And what we can find out, we will share share and I can tell you that my coach is probably the most interested person to find out because he has to prepare for this game

and he wants to prepare right for this game. We're speaking to Axel Schuster, Whitecaps Sporting Director and CEO here on the Haliford & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Okay, let's turn our attention to some more exciting news for the Vancouver Whitecaps. It was now about two weeks ago that reports started to surface and you guys released a statement about conversations that are happening with the city of Vancouver regarding a potential new stadium build at the PNE. Is there anything new to add or even if you just want to address our listeners right now

as to what the update is or where you guys are at with regards to a potential new stadium for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Yeah, look, everyone of the listeners probably knows that this club is up for sale since December 2024. And we have said right from the beginning, and I have said several times, that there's only one plan, plan A, times that there's only one plan, plan A, and there's no plan B to work on everything needed to keep this club in Vancouver to find a next good ownership group here in Vancouver, who then leads the club to the next decade. So it is in our in our discussions with a lot of stakeholders and groups in the city, we also have addressed what we think could be a game changer.

I have to say thank you to the city because we found a lot of open ears to have a discussion about is there a solution for a new venue, a new stadium that then could be this game changer? We have at a very early stage, the one thing I can say that the conversation went very well and that everyone wants to have an option on the table that then the next ownership group can take and execute. But more is at this point, not to say to it it because we are at the early stage of creating this option of finding this out and and also getting it to a point

where then it really can be executed right away. Is it fair to say that if the Whitecaps are to stay in Vancouver long term they absolutely need a new stadium. You know, we have, I think after 15 years, we have a contract with BC Place since 15 years. And you and I, we know that 15 years is a long time and the world has completely looked different 15 years ago. So I think we are in a negotiation period right now. I think that we can get to a way better model with BC Place also. And I think that the club can also live in a more competitive financial model

to its competitors in MLS, in BC Place. But a new stadium would always be a game changer, a total different thing. So do I think it is needed tomorrow? And we all know there will be no new stadium tomorrow, but do I think it is needed in very short term? No, but to have the option on the table to execute it long term is probably a thing that is needed if we see with whom we compete and that all our other opponents, including Miami for example, are having new stadiums or building new stadiums right now. Yeah, I keep saying like, you know, and I think the fact that that game against Miami did sell out so quickly in Vancouver and knowing that Vancouver does have a

pretty storied soccer history, North American perspective, maybe not, you know, European or global, but Vancouver, in my opinion, could be one of the great soccer cities of North America, but not in my opinion, if they have their games at BC Place. Just how big a challenge is it for you? And feel free to disagree with that statement or agree with parts of it. But how big a challenge is this?

Like getting a soccer stadium, getting a stadium built in Vancouver, where there's going to be, first of all, you got to identify the site and talk to all the stakeholders and that, and land is so valuable. Every little piece of land in Vancouver, there's a debate on whether it's, it's not like building a stadium in Vegas where there's desert and that sort of thing. It's a big deal. How big is this project that you're looking at, that you want to kind of hand off to a potential new ownership group?

Look, first to your statement, I agree with it because there are other cities that we can use as an example. I would say that Cincinnati, who also have played in a big venue, the NFL venue before, after they have built a new stadium, they have a total different vibe in the club, around the club. Although their venue now is smaller

than the venue they had before, but this is now a total different franchise that is also competing in the top of the league. So I think you couldn't see it. You can see it in other markets, what the new venue makes. To your second question, we know that in Vancouver, sometimes I joke if somebody shows me where they have built a new stadium, they said, wow, this year wonderful. And I say, yeah, but for the cost of the land that you have here in whatever market, you

get a garage in Vancouver. We all know this, but we love the city and a lot of people love the city and the prices are up for a reason because it's such a nice piece of land. The one positive thing I can say from all of this since December and this gives me a lot of energy is how many groups have come to us who maybe had not felt the pressure before to work with us on solutions, including province and city and many others. And it gave me also the feeling this club means something to the people, to the organizations, to everyone in this province. And if everyone feels the same way, I think we can get something good done. Axel, this was great.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this today. We appreciate it. Congrats again on the great start to the season. Let's hope it continues. The Whitecaps are in St. Louis this weekend. And let's do this again real soon. Thank you very much and have a great day. Yeah, you too, thanks.

That's Axel Schuster, Whitecaps sporting director here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Satyar Shah here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Seth D'Archaud here on the Haliford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Seth? What's going on, boys? Yeah, I'm not sure whether to be relieved or sad that the season is ending. Relief? I think it's the relief, honestly. It's been a very long, very trying season and we're just playing out the string.

Now, before we get into all that, though, there was something like noteworthy that happened on Saturday and that was the I don't know how else to describe it other than like one of the worst and dirtiest cheap shots I've seen in a fight from Yakov Trenin on Derek Forebort on Saturday. Forebort suffers a broken orbital bone and I think most distressingly nothing from the NHL's Department of Player Safety. Do you have a really good or even halfway good explanation or reason or logic as to why Trenon's not being suspended?

I mean the only thing I can think of is that in the fight towards the end of it, when Trenon's on a knee, he's forward as he's falling down, throws a couple punches that kind of hit Trenon at, you know, in his back and his kind of collarbone area. That's what I thought too. It's as they're going down, right?

And it's as, you know, Trennan has a knee on the ice as well. So are they saying, well, they're both similar situations? I don't buy that because when you get to the forward end of it and he's on the ice with his back on the ice and the health alliance and holding him down, he has no chance of protecting himself at that point. But that would be my guess of the NHL's warped reasoning that they felt both guys are the same thing, even though it's not the same thing.

Uh, okay. Let's move on past that game. Um, Elliott Freeman over the weekend reports that the Canucks and Rick Tauket are going to come to a decision pretty quickly. Now, Elliott didn't tell us what that decision would be, but when do you think we could expect a decision on Rick Tocket? Do you think it could be as soon as end of season pressers, whenever that might be?

I think it is a possibility. I mean, I don't know how much more time there needs to be and that they need to have to figure out what they're doing. If it's monetary wise, those things can take a little bit longer because you're going back and forth and you're negotiating. Maybe that takes a little bit longer to figure it out. But that whole idea of, are you aligned on vision? Do you want to be here as far as the organization, the working relationship you have with people here, the vision that the organization has? To me, those are the big questions and I can't imagine that's going to take a very long time to figure out. I mean, you probably have a pretty good sense

of that anyways. So I would imagine it should come pretty quickly. Now that doesn't mean it will happen before the end of year pressure, just in case, you know, the hagging takes a little bit longer. But the way I view it is I'm expecting a decision to come down within at least a week or two of the season ending. So I don't think we're just going to drag into the month of May. And I think everyone has their way. They want to get something done and announced by the end of this week if they can.

We were talking about Thatcher Demko earlier in the show and someone texted in and said, do you think he's really sick or is this another injury? And I was like, I don't know, man. You know, um, but what do you think the future holds for the Canucks and Thatcher Demko? I think as of now, they're coming back with Demko and their, their idea is to have a tandem of Lankton and Demko. And I think when they signed Lankton and as much as we took it as well, they've chosen their guy.

I think it partly, you know, they already made a commitment. And if Demko goes, that they're going to rely on Alankan in quite a bit and maybe give him a chance to be the number one. But one thing that Rutherford spoke about, and I think they have talked about internally as well is expanding their budget for goaltending, at least for next year. And I think for that means they're going to have both guys come back. But even big picture long term, because the cap has gone up, I don't think they're operating as well we're only keeping one beyond this season I do think there is a chance that if things align they'll try to keep both guys beyond next season but I do think for the time being the plan is to

have Demco back and I think they understand that up front it's going to be a challenge like they said all the right things are trying to get those forwards at least one top end, top six forward. They want to get a winger too. Like they want to add to the forward group, but the edge that they currently have is obviously good defense, the depth they have, but if you have both guys healthy, you have one of the top duos in the NHL next season. So if you're trying to be a playoff team next year, and it's going to be hard for you to go out and find those needle moving

forwards and the trade value for a goal, it's probably not high enough for you to be able to get what you're looking for forward-wise to make up for the fact that you're giving up a guy of Demko's caliber. I think the plan is have both goalies that give us a backbone, we have a good defense and even if we don't answer all our forward needs we should be competitive enough to be a playoff team or be around the playoff bar for next season and I get it we all want to talk about winning a Stanley Cup but but I think the certainty of having two good goalies and being able to give them a real chance of being

a playoff team, no matter what they do upfront, is too enticing to move off dental this off season. Do you think we'll be monitoring Elias Pedersen's flights in and out of Vancouver? And if he takes one to Sweden, all of a sudden we're going to be all over him because the Canucks seem to be putting pressure on him to stay in Vancouver and train in Vancouver, which just adds another

wrinkle to this crazy storyline. Well, I know, I'm not sure I would say the gauntlet was put down by the organization, but it's pretty clear that they laid their expectations out there, right? So if Pedersen is not going to be spending his entire summer in Vancouver, I think people are going to notice. But I will say this, I mean, the season just ended and we have four months or almost five months before training camp begins. So there's a long time. It's okay for

a guy to fly out and go on vacation for a couple of weeks, right? Like nobody's going to be upset with Pederson for going to Europe and spending a few weeks there or going somewhere and enjoying himself for a couple of weeks. You got three days to see your family. That's it. Exactly. Right. You mean you have a long vacation. It's not a problem. But can Vancouver be his base of operation? Right. And I think that's something that we're going to find out pretty quickly. I mean, whether it's social media, people see him around town and he's going to be skating in the summer. There's only so many places you can skate in the summer.

Right? So like we would have a pretty good idea whether he's in town or not. So I have no issue with them going on vacation and coming back, but will this actually be the center? This will be the, will this actually be his base of operation? Now, a couple of things.

One, there isn't like I just mentioned, the ice isn't ideal. There is a group of guys that work out here in a summer, but a lot of guys go somewhere else to spend most of the summer to work out. And is he truly willing to do that? And do they have the, the in the facilities that he feels comfortable about doing that in? And I think it's fair for him to come out and say like, Hey,

I have a better place that I can work at. I feel like I'm better at doing it. But because of the organization has said you need to be here. I think we all want to see him stay here. And I think the organization is also very well aware Like listen, I know we all talked about them have not having a practice facility I think they also know they don't have a practice facility, right? So I think they understand that it's not the perfect situation But with that all in mind they think it's more valuable to have him here to have a watchful eye on him as opposed to him going

To a perfect environment where they don't have her eyes on him And I think that in and of itself is very telling, right, about how they feel about where he's at and what he needs to do. But yeah, if we see him spending most of the summer in Sweden and not being in Vancouver, showing up to Vancouver, let's say late August, beginning of September, well, we're all going to

be talking about it and asking about it. I don't want to hear any fans getting upset about it because the organization essentially asked him to stay here and work out. At the end of the day, I just think it's fair for us to want and expect both sides to be on the same page and to come up and to be able to come up with a plan.

And there might be some compromise from both sides, but to be able to come up with a plan and say, this is the plan and we're going to follow it. Is that fair? Yeah, I think so. I think that is fair. I think that there hasn't been transparency in general. And I get it, like, especially when it comes to personal stuff

like that, or some things that aren't exactly on ice, game to game related, they're not going to come on and tell us, but with everything that has been said, all the coded language that we've heard as well, right? All the stuff being brought up about practice habits and showing up and being prepared. And here's the highest paid player. I think it is fair to ask, okay, what is the plan and are you executing it? And can these two parties be on the same page? And even if, even if even if you're a fan who wants to see the Canucks move off Pederson it may have to

take him coming back and playing well for that to happen like I think that this is an everybody's best interest here for them to be on the same page and move ahead and I think it's here for us to wonder if that can actually happen you're listening to the best of Halford and Brough