Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Best of Halford and Brough 8/8/25

Episode Date: August 8, 2025

Guest hosts Josh Elliott-Wolfe and Randip Janda speak with NHL.com Swedish correspondent Peter Ekholm about his recent conversation with Canucks forward Elias Pettersson and how he is looking for "revenge" this upcoming season, plus they chat with Vancouver Whitecaps bench boss Jesper Sørensen about what to expect from new star acquisition Thomas Müller.  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. Welcome back to Halford and Brough. Josh Elliott Wolf, Randy Jandah here with you. Coming to you live from the King Tech Studio. Get your text in 650, 650. On the Dunbar Lumber Text Line, Halford and Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest.

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

Really? That's not my, uh, when I see you, I don't think fiesta. Yeah. I mean, that's fair. Maybe brunch. That's fair. You should have shown up in that big sombrero, yeah. Yeah, obviously.

You just haven't seen me in my sombrero. Fair enough. That's the issue. I like this one, too. I was in Spain in February, so this is very much. All right. This is my vibe. The subtle flex from Randy Chandar.

I was in, I was in Spain. I'm more of a fiesta guy than you are. Yeah, true. Okay, so we do have some Ask Us Anythings coming in. We're going to talk to Peter Eckholm in about 10 minutes on Elias Pedersen. He spoke to Elias Pedersen, had an exclusive interview with number 40 from your Vancouver Canucks. So we will talk to Peter about that and his main takeaways from speaking to the most focused on player heading into this season. But we'll start with this one, Juan from Comox.

Ask us anything. You get to travel anywhere in the world, even Spain. But there's a catch. Would you rather fly there with someone you can't stand or drive there with your favorite person? Okay. I have a question, though. Just because you're flying with the person you can't stand,

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

And so you can theoretically drive there or you can fly there much quicker, but you're with someone you hate. I'm a very picky traveler. Like I'd rather travel alone than go with the wrong person. So I would go with my favorite person and drive rather than have to stick it, you know,

with somebody that I do not enjoy at all. So I would take the longer, more scenic route, so to speak. I think so too. I think I would take the longer, Because, man, it's just like, especially if you're on the trip with someone that you just hate. It's like, this is, you're going to hate the trip. You're not going to look back on the trip fondly. Yeah.

And it's just not going to be a good time for you. Why would you go on a trip with someone you hate? Well, that's the, that's the ask us anything. That's the, I don't know. That's the question. That was the stipulation. When you, when you said, would you rather fly there with someone you can't stand? You know the first duo that popped up in my mind?

What's that? J.T. Miller or Leas Pedersen. Do you imagine them vacationing together? Doing a road trip? Yeah. Maybe that would have fixed them. though. Maybe they would have been... Maybe they just needed some time together alone. Yeah, they're going to

the whole team's flying to like a game in California and Rick Talk, it's like, you know J.T. Elias, you're driving there. It's going to be a great movie. No, no, no. California's too eventful. You've got to go somewhere where you drive through Idaho. Like, we got a game in Minnesota. You guys drive to Minnesota. You guys are driving through like

Alberta to get there. Jaytie would just show up without PD in the car. Like, no, I left him behind. He's in Cordillane. He's at some gas station somewhere. He's in Surrey. We didn't make it that We cross Alex Fraser Bridge and decided I'm not into this anymore

Adam the former bath guy that leads into a good question who is on the Mount Rushmore of most disliked Canucks in history you can include players, coaches management and more okay I feel like there's two locks

here. There's two obvious ones. Yeah so Mark Messier and that contract and just everything and the guy that brought in Mark Messy. Mike Keenan. Yes. Yeah, those are the two, like, even as someone that wasn't, you know, super, wasn't super alive for when, for when those two were super alive, you mean alive. Minor detail. Yeah. I still know and I still like know all the stories. And if you are a

Canucks fan, you know all the stories. And you're like, you know what? Those two deserve on the, to be on the most disliked Canucks Mount Rushmore. It was a dark time in Canucks history. So I think the rest of the list is very personal. though. It really depends on your experience as a Canucks fan growing up in the city. So I'm going to come in with a couple of, that might surprise folks for mine. Dana

Merzen, and I know Dana's a great guy, see him at alumni events, but when I was a fan of 94, kind of on the back end of his career, frustrating player to watch. The movement wasn't there. So for me, Dana Merzen is on that list because it just couldn't move.

And Matthew Schneider. Matthew Schneider, for some reason. What a Matthew Schneider do. I know he was 40 years old when he came here, but I had expectations of he'd run the power play. This would be a great signing, and he was a terrible signing by Mike Gillis. This kind of feels like an issue, like a U issue.

You expected 40-year-old Matthew Schneider to come in and run the Vancouver Canucks power play? He was supposed to run the power play. He was getting scratched. He was a defensive liability. And then there was one good thing to come from that deal, though. They realized he was not the guy, and they brought in Christian Airhoff.

Yes. So even that had a silver line. There was a win. there was a win in there who's your final two uh okay so we do get some texts in from like keith the water guy saying jim benning i think he's a good shout like he's a good option the i it's tough when we talk about like most disliked i kind of feel like people were just most disappointed in jim benning you know like i i i guess there was like there was some hate there was legitimate there was legitimate hate and i think it's so like he might be on the list i do

kind of want to just go. So I do agree with the, the Messia Keenan first two. My remaining two, I kind of just want to go J.T. Miller and Elise Peders. Okay. So fresh. It might be recency biased. It definitely is a recency bias. Okay. That situation did like essentially kill a season, right? It ruined a whole season. And I don't like, I know people are divided on, you know, some people are team JT. Some people are, are team PD. And I might not fall on either side. But it's just like, man, how did two adults who are very good at hockey make the vibe so bad that one of them had to get traded? It ruined a whole season. They were making headlines around the entire league. And every time we would interview someone about it, they'd be like, I've never

seen a situation like this. And it's like, oh, that's awesome. Really good to hear. So yeah. That's a spicy take though, Josh. The question was, who is on the Mount Rushmore of most dislike Canucks and that's a spicy take I mean that's it's those those are the two I put on right now the other names that uh like we get one coming in from from Dan uh Louis Erickson yeah how much of that is on Louis himself and then being on Jim Benning too though yes right like it by extension Jim Ben yes it's it's the you made the wrong decision and yes Louis didn't do anything I think he had what three hits in a season one year it's not his game but still was not scoring was not doing

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

It's like anything. Look, actually. Because you can throw like Jake Frattannon on the list, deservedly so. And then, but also to a level, to part of it is, is, uh, is, uh, Jim. Benning extension. And then another name I'll throw on there that hasn't come in that I've seen. John Tortorella is someone that I think could be on the list as well. Yeah, that one, because that year was just a flat out embarrassment.

It was, hey, Cedine's killing penalties, like, just wild. And then charging the opposing locker room with Bob Hartley was not a great touch. Yeah, it was a fun time. Yeah, it was. Keep the text coming in, 650, 650, Dunbar Lumber Text Line, and we will hit more Ask Us Anythings as the show goes on.

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

It's a nice summer day in Sweden. I'll just finish golf round, so I'm all good. I'm all good. Awesome. Great to hear. No, we're doing really good. And we wanted to talk to you about your interview with Elias Pedersen, who is the focus of a lot of storylines for the Vancouver Canucks heading into this season. First off, just wanted to ask your kind of main takeaways after speaking to him. Well, he's very determined to have a revenge season, a better season to say he wanted to put last season, in the back and just look forward

and there's a there's a sense that he is I don't know he seems so determined to just go out there and play the game we all know he can he can play so so I was

I was excited to kind of see that you can see it in his body language and so yeah full determined to have a have a great season so what does revenge look like for Elias

because, you know, it's a great line in your piece, but, like, what is that going to take for him when it hopefully gets to Vancouver? Well, you know, I think he will just contribute each and I don't know if he won, I mean, points is important, but, you know, I think he wants to, to show that he can be a player, each and every not have those setbacks, kind of longer stretches. So I think that's the main thing. And then if he plays like that, I know and he knows the points will come as well. So I think that's a judgment, I will say. I think a lot of people here look at last season, and it did kind of feel like a lot of it for him started in the off season when it comes to his struggles.

And we know he was dealing with some injury issues that may be lingered into the season as well. But he did mention he's fully healthy. Does it seem like he's been putting in a decent amount of work in the gym and doing what he can this offseason? Yeah, like the first thing I noticed when I saw him, he was like, he's bigger. You saw that by eye, and then I asked him about it. And yeah, he said he put on some muscles and gain a few pounds, which is good for him.

I think he has, I don't know if he struggles with, you know, gain weight, but I think it's some people are some players it's it's tougher for some players like myself I have trouble putting on weight like it's it's tough so I think he was pretty pretty satisfied with how this offseason were going he said he didn't have any injuries and didn't have any setbacks and could go full speed so and you could tell looking at him that he was bigger and he looked healthy so you know when we talk about Elias Pedersen, there's obviously, you get to the 25, 26 years of age in the NHL. There's a physical growth, as you just referenced, but also a growth maybe in maturity,

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

take care of them, held them out on and off the ice he said he wanted to be more of a leader maybe not the guy who sends up in the locker room and have a motivational speech in the pregame but you know

with his game show what it's take and also be more like an off-ice leader and take care of the guys outside eyes to get the group tighter. That's my take of it. Yeah, and I think that's fair. It does seem like the Canucks need that from them too,

especially now that they've kind of made the decision to move on from J.T. Miller, and it seems like in favor of Elias Patterson, this is going to be a big opportunity for him to step up. So you mentioned that you were talking to him, and it does seem like he has a bit more of a, I guess a motivation. Does

do you have an idea of where that motivation has kind of come from? Is it just to be like, hey, I want to prove that I am still an elite player in the NHL or is there more to it? No, I think you said it right there. Because he wasn't happy with last season,

obviously, with how he played and with the points solo. So I know he knows that he can do better, and I think that's the motivation. He wants to show every night that he is the player he was two seasons ago or three seasons ago when he scored 102 and 89 points. So, I mean, I just feel like he wants to show the world, the NHL, and that's how good of a player he can be, and it looks like he's really determined to do that.

Peter, we, you know, micro-assess everything in the NHL here when it comes to Elias Pedersen in Vancouver. We discuss him at length. But I want to get the idea of the perception that he has in Sweden right now. Obviously playing in the Four Nations did not have a great tournament. I remember talking to Philip Forsberg last year and he was saying, I'm really excited to play with Elias Pedersen. So there can be maybe in Vancouver we've focused on the downs with this player. But what's the perception in Sweden right now on his talent and still his potential? There's no hesitation that he is one of the best Swedish player in the NHL. even though he had that year he had, I would say.

I think people are talking about it, like, okay, what happened? Because here in Sweden, we don't necessarily don't know, had all the details on the last season. So that could be a point. But I think he's up there among the most popular Swedish NHL players. And I think just fans over here, just like Elias himself, things and want him to have a good year because they're rooting for him in in a way like he when he came up as a junior player here he uh he was loved by the fans even though even the away fans

sometimes so i mean he he has a high value here in sweden i would say so i i wouldn't it's not like we talk about everything every day here because it's kind of hard to follow you know the NHL within night times and all that. So I think it's more of a Vancouver thing, to be honest. There's a lot of talent on Team Sweden, right? You start looking at the center position, of course, but there's still that need for a one, maybe two, first or second line centerman.

Is there any doubt that he can be that guy? Because I know last year in Vancouver, there was still that question of, is he your first line center, is it your second line? When it comes to the Olympic team, Is he penciled into your roster in either of those positions? I have him first or second. I think Leo Carson is maybe number one center next year.

They might give him a really good opportunity to play with a couple of the best wingers in Sweden. But for me, if Alias has this fall a really good fall, I think he would slot in as a number two center and then they could use like Zibandijad as a number three maybe. So I think still he is one or two for sure. Hey Peter, really appreciate taking the time and enjoy your summer.

Yeah, well, thank you for having me. And you too have a great summer. Thank you. There is Peter at Colm, NHL.com in Sweden speaking to us about a recent interview he had with Elias Pedersen, which you can find the English translation of it

unless you know Swedish. You can read it in Swedish too, but the English translation is up on NHL.com too. We're not all sat to our shop. Yeah, you don't all know Swedish.

You don't have to run it through the translator. NHL.com has done that for you. Yes. So, and there were some good quotes in there. You mentioned Elias Pedersen saying

he wants revenge for what happened last season. The exact quote is, I know what I'm capable, capable of and he says i haven't thought about it for myself it is revenge i'm not happy with last season and i think a lot of times with alias peterson even during last season there were times where he said the right things like there were times he came to media and wasn't uh abrasive as as he as abrasive as he had been throughout the season there were times where he kind of took ownership

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

with that. I don't buy that for one second. I think it's actually the opposite. I think he cares so much that it's been a detriment. Now, saying the right thing versus doing the right thing is a completely different conversation. So I love reading this stuff because it tells me he's not shying away from it. He's not saying, oh, yeah, everything's fine. What are you talking about? I'm playing great. No, there's an acknowledgement of, yeah, last year wasn't good. I need correct this. But until we see it on the ice, until we see him translate into, you know, having that burst again, being confident with that shot, they are words. And he's got to say them because you got to, you know, you got to build that mentality. But Josh, training camp,

preseason, regular season. October is when we're going to get a true assessment of, all right, is he backing up what he's saying with action? And is that confidence back? Yeah. Now you mentioned training camp. That's where I want to see it first is like just be a leader in training camp. You don't have to be the guy that's again like Peter mentioned. You don't have to be the vocal guy. You don't have to be the J.T. Miller. You just have to be Alias Patterson. And on the ice, you need to be clearly the best player of the forward group. You like if Quinn Hughes is better than you, that's fine. But of the forward group, you need to set the tempo. You need to set the tone. You need to be the guy offensively because, The season kind of comes down to him being the guy offensively, and if he isn't, the season is going to go really bad. Yeah, and there's one comment that Jim Rutherford made at the end of season that I thought was really important. And it was, you know, Alias knows that he's got people that are here to help him. And it maybe seems like at times he's kind of loaded himself with pressure and I got to deal with this on my own. You've got the Sadiens there.

You've got, you know, a player development group that is loaded, right? Some very, very accomplished people in the organization. And it's, of course, it's on you, but at the same time, you got to, you know, tap into those individuals. So be a leader, be a point getter. But at the same time, I think loading yourself up with pressure, that's only going to, you know, provide that paralysis. So with Elias Pedersen, I want to see points, first and foremost. With this team, you don't have the same. outlook that you did with J.T. Miller. You're going to need those points. He's got to be

assertive. You need that power play to be legit this year. And sure, you don't have JT on that left-hand side operating and driving traffic and providing that dual threat as a passer and a shooter. So that's going to have to make sure that Elias is a legit threat from that right-hand side. And that to me, Josh, for a team that's going to probably struggle at times scoring five-on-five, that power play has to be locked in because that's where you're probably you can get a lot of your wins, that might be one of the edges you have to, you know, really produce from. Yeah. And in previous years, rightfully so, the power play kind of went through Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller. And J.T. Miller, even if you're more of a Pedersen guy,

J.T. Miller is really good on the powerfully. He's one of the best power play players in the NHL. So again, rightfully so, I think the power play did go through those two. But at its peak, it did feature the threat of Alias Pedersen. And there was more of a shot from Alias Pedersen. And now I do think more of that, more of the power play is going to have to go through him, especially if he's confident and playing well. Well, think about it this way, right? Tampa Bay's power play when it was one of the best in the league, and it's still up there, but when it was Stamcoast, Kuturov, and Hedman, and Braden Point in the middle,

which is arguably the... It's just crazy. Just like, in their heyday, they're unbelievable. But let's take point out of it for one second. The Canucks could have had something similar to Tampa as far as those three players I mentioned, because Miller could have been that dual threat like Kuturov. Headman is the guy that's directing traffic. That's Quinn Hughes.

And Pedersen could have been more of the trigger man. But we just, we didn't see that last year. We didn't see them jive. We didn't see Pedersen's confidence in a shot. So like you don't have that same outlook. You're going to have to be a little bit more puck dominant now if you're at least Pedersen. And you're going to have to drive that traffic.

And that's where I think if you don't have confidence, if you're not locked in, there's moments that can be really good. but you're going to be, like, he's got to produce this here. There's no F. Ans and Butts where, you know, there is no J.T. Miller That's going to be that puck dominant player in the power play anymore. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough. On the move, Thomas Marlon, magnificent.

That is how you shatter the deadlock. A bang gold of sublime quality. Welcome back to Halford & Brough. No Alford, no Brough. It's Josh Alia Wolf and Randy Janda coming to you live from the Kintech Studio. Halpert & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. BC's first entrusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 5 star reviews. Visit sands dash trustee.com.

And this hour of Halford &Bruff is for Jason. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. that's jason dot mortgage you heard the thomas muller goal coming in uh the hype is sweeping around the city and the man that will be uh his head coach your head coach of the vancouver white caps is yesper sorensen we go to the hotline powered by power west industries and welcome him in uh appreciate you taking the time yesper how are you i'm good thanks no problem man uh uh yeah so we we've been talking so much about thomas muller the couple weeks. What's your excitement level and the team's excitement level to make it official

and finally bring them in? I think there's been so much talk about it for a while now. I think that everybody is just happy that it's finally announced and public, right? I think, you know, everybody's excited about it. I guess it's fair to say that it's one of the biggest sports names able to come to Vancouver. And I think that it's, yeah, if you're not excited about that, I don't know what could excite you. So I think it's everybody is, yeah, of course, excited. And we, yeah, and we want to, he also wants just to do whatever we can to make this season a little bit more special than normal. Capps fans are excited.

I think, you know, soccer fans in North America are excited. But when you got word that this was a realistic possibility, Axel Schuster came up to you and said, hey, we might, we might have a shot at this. What was your reaction? Yeah, it was okay. Let's go. Let's go for it.

It's not that we find Thomas Muster, it's not that we find Thomas Mulla. It's everybody knows who he is and what he can bring in and about his. It's more about that he opens up also for it being an opportunity that may be coming here. And then, of course, you have to look within yourself and see how can we do best possible to make ourselves attractive for a player like Thomas Mueller. That's definitely what I was thinking about. And how can we not persuade him, but I think that's or sell something to him because he's way too clever for that. I think that it's about talking to him about what I think is, you know,

realistic expectations and how we can and how we can succeed together. That's what I think I think is important when you talk to a player like that and I, yeah, it was exciting and I was also surprised that it could be an option. But when I told that it might be, then I think it was just about how can we put ourselves in a position. So he likes what he hears from us and also, you know, And we have a realistic chance of getting him. So you talk about making the team attractive and making it a desirable location for him to come. And obviously the way the team has been playing is a part of it.

But what else was part of that pitch to him to come to Vancouver? You know, I think for me, of course, it's when you hear that it's an option, that Vancouver is an option for Thomas Mueller. then you know what the guy is about. Then it's not about going to Middle East to make money. It's not about going somewhere to where it's more about glamour. Then it's about him wanting to play football.

And I think we made ourselves attractive by the way we played and the season we've had because it's a guy who's used to winning and wants to win and is ultra competitive and always wants to to be in the hunt for winning something. So I think we already made ourselves interesting for him

and then it was more about for my take on it, how I see him play, how I can see him fit in with the team and how he can help us on the levels that he can, because there are so many levels to this, there's on the pitch, there's off the pitch, there's the way he behaves

when he's on the pitch and the competitiveness he has and, you know, the experience he has but also his football qualities. And for me, that was what it was about. And not trying to, you know, sell a lot of stuff that we couldn't live up to anyways. It was about getting expectations right

if he chose to come here. And yeah. And then, of course, also it was up to our owners to make it possible, right? So I think that's definitely who we also need to address the here, that our owners made it possible for us to make this move. In some of the comments after the signing, and I know the Whitecaps video staff did a great job of putting up the conversation,

he references a conversation with you, connecting with you and how that played a role in, you know, ultimately understanding where he'd fit in and why Vancouver was a fit. Like, how did that, what was that, conversation and how did it play out? Because it seemed like it had a pretty big role and impact with him. Yeah, as I told you before, I'm not going to, you know, talk about what I'm talking to players about because all of a sudden players they can trust what they tell me and, you know,

when it's private. But just getting around it, it was for me not a question about persuading him to go anywhere. it was up to him to make a choice and then it was more for me a question about how can we how can we get expectations right if you choose to come here what can you expect from me and

what can you expect from your teammates obviously he knew and we also told him I also told him that we are very excited we would like you know it would be great for everyone everybody would be excited if he came

but I think he knew that so I think it was more about what could the expectations be how do it fit in how can you yeah what role should you play well do you see yourself play in the team

how can we maximize what you can bring to the table for us and I think that was it was more about football and as I told you before if if Thomas Mueller wants to go to Vancouver it's you know

it's for my as a coach it's about football and then what I wanted to talk to him about was about football and the game and how I saw him and I see him as a player and how we hopefully can make things best possible for him and the team so let's turn our attention to the

on the pitch side of this how do you see him fitting in and will there be any adjustments made to how the team plays of course there will be adjustments we will adjust to when we have some special players and we'll try to adjust to get the best out of his abilities of course because otherwise

we shouldn't go for a player like that but on the other hand we also have a very good and well functioning team where it's also important you know that the reason he's coming here is because he can see the

We are a good team and we are doing well. We have opportunities to be competitive in the league. And we don't have to change all of that. So it's how do we maximize what he's best at and how can he has the biggest impact positively on our team. And that's what we talked about. And also how I think about and we think about in the coaching staff. and we already now played a little bit flexible

formation-wise. We played a couple of different formations and we will also look to see how we can, which formation will fit, not just Thomas, but everybody in the team best. So I think, so we have the strongest possible team, right? That's what it's about. And then, of course, I think the strongest possible team

will also be if we maximize what Thomas can bring in to the team. So it's going to be, of course, maybe some adjustments. And we have time for that. We are in a position where, you know, where we have opportunities to, you know, to not experiment, but where we have opportunities to, you know, work a little bit around a couple of options, also how to do it tactically. there's so much versatility in his game over the years but at this point in time

we know that he's put 250 goals in the back of the net for Byron Munich but he's a great playmaker as of right now though at this point in his career what do you think his best attribute is yeah I still think that he's an extremely good finisher you know

he can finish both feet and he also is very good with his head has a great hit over in the box but you're right he's a very good playmaker as well

I think his passing game is good his football IQ is good he sees the game reads the games fast and

and sees options before maybe some others does and that gives him you know an edge in his playmaking so I think

that's his best attributes and I think overall his competitiveness is one of the things that really stand out

because Thomas for me is not an individual player he's more relational player he's always been great playing within the team and playing within his teammates but not a guy that dribbles three, four men like you see some other guys do

so it's also important for him to play well within the system within his team but if we does I think right now he's a great playmaker and a maker for others but but still he's a good finisher as well so that's the uh the on the pitch aspect off the pitch what do you think the signing can do for some of the younger players on this team and and can he be someone that helps them grow as well yeah i definitely hope so i definitely think so

and i definitely also hope so i think um with his experience who would not like to to have a guy like that to look at every day in training sessions who would not like to have a guy like that you know maybe giving you an advice or two uh i just you know if you if you think about the game of football and and how many players in in the game of football would you have an idea where you can sit down and maybe talk about the game the way you can with thomas it's not many so I think that's that's also something he could be a great a leader of the pitch as well just with his behavior I think

one of the most important things for me is that the career Thomas has had so far you cannot plan for it you can you can put in the work and you can hope for the best and all the things he's won he showed that he's a he's a champion on the pitch but I think more more importantly I think that he shown that he's a champion outside of the pitch. He's always been an excellent example for others and, you know, a genuine guy and, you know,

well-respected and not just for his football. And I think that's very important, you know, for us as well, that he's also the character and he's the role model that others can look at and hopefully, you know, learn from and get good advice from and grow from. Hey, Yesper, we really appreciate taking the time and all the best moving forward. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. There is Yesper Sorensen, Vancouver Whitecaps, head coach talking to us about the addition

of Thomas Mueller and supposedly from what we've heard, Mueller, a big fan of Yesper Sorensen as well. Wouldn't get into the specifics of the conversation they had, but as I mentioned during the interview. It clearly left a real good impression from Thomas Mueller as well. He's referenced it a couple of times. But that is, you know, that's where this team's at. It's a lot of positive. They play a match tomorrow against the San Jose earthquakes. Still some injuries to deal with Ali Ahmed. Sam Atakubi, obviously, is done for the year. Ryan Gould is injured. But, you know, some, a real boost for this organization heading into that match. What a freaking boost. Yeah, there

is. Oh, man. I didn't even notice. I knew it. I really leaned into that one, too. You said boost. Have it. I really leaned into that. I thought you were begging for it. No, no. That happened naturally. And then you got the match on the 17th against Houston, which will be his debut. Which is going to be big. It's going to be huge.

And now I did see, we were talking about yesterday. I was like, oh, there's a decent amount of tickets still left. And now there are not a lot of tickets left. I do wonder if they opened the upper bowl. Because I think it was still lower bowl unless I completely miss. Last time I checked it was not, but that might be something to monitor because this is the moment, right? This is the time. And remember, we're still a week away, though.

Why wouldn't they do it? I mean, if there's the demand for it. Yeah. I assume they would if they sell out the lower bowl, especially if there's still, like, there's over a week to go. You still got time and there's still going to be hype building. And talking to Yusper there,

we've talked to a lot of people this week. Axel Schuster has been on the station as well. And there is a, it's a palpable excitement around the white caps, within the white caps. And it's a really exciting time for the vanquester. for white caps. And it does seem like a lot of this signing was helped or got across the line in part because the white caps have been good this year. If they were not where they were in the standings, it seems like maybe they still end up getting Thomas Mueller, but it seems like

from what we've heard, the likelihood of that would have been way lower. So the job they've been able to do this season has gone a long way. And Sorensen mentioned something there that, you know, if winning was not a priority for Thomas Mueller, he would have gone somewhere else. He would have gone to the Middle East, which is paying ridiculous amounts of money right now. Darwin Nunez went from Liverpool, and he's going to be making a lot of money.

And he did not have that much success. Even though he won with Liverpool, he was not a key part of that team. My point is players that are not even having good runs are getting paid a lot in the Middle East right now. So the fact that he came here and said, hey, I've made a lot of money in my career, but you know what I've also done?

I've won. And that's important moving forward. That tells you that this organization really tapped into, hey, do you want to come here and have a good experience? Do you want to win something? Because we can give you a really good opportunity with that. And it does seem like this is a, from all aspects,

this is just going to be a very productive signing for the team. We've talked about like, hey, the future impacts of like, hey, is it going to be more likely that you can get some bigger name players to come to Vancouver in the future? or at least consider Vancouver in the future. And I think undoubtedly the answer to that is yes.

But then there's also the aspects of like, oh, off the field. He's like, this is a young team, uh, the Vancouver whitecaps. And he's going to help this team grow. And like he's, uh, he's sometimes we talk about stars and guys coming over from Europe. And it's like, well, they're just kind of finishing their career and they're, they're wrapping it up. They're kind of checked out to an extent. This doesn't feel like that.

It feels like he's going to be very involved in the team. team and helping the team while he's here. Yeah, there's a different, you could say maybe different types of players come to North America and MLS for different reasons. I think there was a previous generation that did see it as a retirement league, right? You want to go out there and hey, maybe you live in L.A., maybe you live in Miami now, and you're just kind of chilling. Thomas Mueller is not wired that way.

And Sorensen mentioned that as well, where there's an intensity he brings that he's not that type of guy. Like, if he was going to do that, he would have, you know, flew off to another market and said, give me the most money possible. I want to lay on the beach when I'm not at the, at the field. And like, there is going to be another element there. What excites me, though, you mentioned the kind of the youth and the ability to be impacted or be affected by, you know, having a strong leader in the room.

That's a really exciting part for this organization, not only for the players and them developing with the white caps, But in the global football industry, in the way that revenues are made, like if you can develop players like Alfonso Davies, you sell them on, you get more financial might, obviously you want them on your roster to win. But if they become really, really good, Europe is still the destination. So there's an element of if they are able to tap into his mentality and as a collective get better, you have team success, but you have individual success as well, which is, you know, maybe it's the cart before the horse.

but there is a trickle-down effect that happens when you bring in a player like this. Yeah, and like you mentioned, it can kind of have a lasting impact for years if you're able to, if someone comes in like this and is able to help develop players and obviously that's not going to be his main job, as main job is going to be to be Thomas Mueller and be good on the pitch and help the white caps win. But also, again, the reason this is another reason this is exciting is because it doesn't seem like he's just in it for himself.

It's because that there's going to, there's, seems like there's going to be a team level impact from Thomas Mueller. One of the most famous personalities in all of global soccer is Latan Ibrahimovich. And he is known as a very intense character. Like there was even stories of him doing like roundhouse kicks on his teammates just to keep him on like on their, like, hey. So I don't think Thomas Mueller is coming in to do roundhouse kicks on the, on the white house.

But my point is though like everybody was on edge in Europe or. or with, you know, L.A. When Zlatan was around, because he's just that type of guy. Yeah. Thomas Mueller's the opposite. He keeps everybody loose, right? We heard Manuel Veth with us a couple of days ago talking about just his impact on Alfonso Davies, Jamal Musiala, like these younger players could be themselves and grow effectively that way.

It's the opposite of like, you know, being intimidated by somebody. It's just like, no, man, you do you. I'm going to do me. I'm going to hold you accountable, but we're going to have a good relationship. Like that's, on a winning team, that's a very, very healthy situation. Yeah, and we talk about just not to bring it back to the Canucks, but I'm going to bring it back to the Canucks. We talk about trying to create an atmosphere for the Canucks where it's like,

the vibes were so bad with Vancouver Canucks last season. And I think to an extent with that as well, and look, it's been better this year because the White Caps have been good, but the vibes maybe around the team with the White Caps haven't been as good lately in recent years for obvious reasons. And so if you can make moves, that not only help you on the pitch or on the ice, but also help you create a better atmosphere in the room

and kind of bring the team together, that can go a long way. And for the Canucks, I guess their version of it is someone like Marcus Pedersen, who is not the hockey equivalent of Thomas Mueller. But a hopeful vibes fixer, I think, is kind of what they were going for, as well as being a guy that can make an impact on the ice.

And I think for both of these teams, you do want to see a level of the culture get raised, but also the vibes around the team and the enjoyment you get watching this team and the enjoyment they have while they're playing, you want to see that raised as well. Well, being in the room when media is allowed in, obviously, like you could see and feel the sense of the difference

between the two years. When the Canucks were having success, and they had certain types in that locker room, Ian Cole, Nikita Zedorova, a winning team is a very positive experience. When the team is losing, I don't know if Nikita's the same type of personality. There's some thoughts maybe in Calgary, but

you know, he carries weight, right? And the following year, we saw when those types of individuals were taken out of the room, it's hard to replace those guys. And you're right, Marcus Pedersen is a step in that direction, but you need players like that. You need like kind of floor general, so to speak, or

guys that can be a representation of the coach. And I think with Mueller, like, you've got a player that is going to command respect just through his reputation. Like, right off the bat, won everything. Like, one of the serial winners in global soccer. And that's not even

like, that's not hyperbole. Is it safe to assume he'll be a leader in the room? Very safe? Like everyone will just listen to him because he's Peter Mueller. Yeah. Well, Thomas, but yes. I'm sorry, Tim Thomas Miller or somebody else. But he he's going to be, like he doesn't have to say a word. Like, especially that

generation of player is just going to look to him. Like, I would love to be in the room when he walks in the first time because there's going to be guys that watched him play when they're like 10 years old. Yeah. And be like, I can't believe he's here. I'm not saying a word in front of him. This is insane. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the closest

you could get to, you know, a Canucks comparison would be if they got Sidney Crosby, where it's just like, this guy's one everywhere. He's still good, can still make an impact. He's also going to come in and it's going to be insane that he's in Vancouver. Yeah, like, that might sound very extreme to hockey fans, but I think it's a fair comparison. If that generation,

if an Ovi or a Sidney Crosby or somebody of that nature walks into your room, you're just like, do I say something? How do I approach this person? You're in awe. Mueller brings that for a soccer player. Somebody who has seen him do those things, when they walk into the room, you're probably going to shut up first and spoke when spoken to. That's the type of the type of reputation he has. So yeah, once again, Thomas Mueller's debut with the Vancouver Whitecaps will be on August 17th at BC Place when they take on the Houston Dynamo. You're listening to the best of Halford and Brough.