Halford & Brough in the Morning - The Canucks Are A "Vibes" Group

Episode Date: September 17, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the latest hockey news with NHL insider Frank Seravalli (2:24), plus they look ahead to the upcoming Vancouver Giants season with new General Manager Hnat Domenichelli (24:15).   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.

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Frank Frank Frank. 3 on A Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. I didn't time it right. It's been a while since we played that music. You're listening to the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough in the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. B.C.'s first

and trusted choice for dead help. With over 3,000 5-star reviews, visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. We are now an hour two of the program. A-Dog working furiously to get Frank Sarevalley on the phone. We'll keep trying. We'll keep working. Our two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominock at Jason.org. If you love giving the banks more of your money

then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason Dow Mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintech Studio, Kintech, footwear and orthotics, working together with you in step. All right. So everyone is doing their media availabilities today as most people are starting training camp

tomorrow. The Habs, the Senators, the Leafs, the Oilers, the Jets, and of course the Vancouver Canucks all have media veils today. Craig. Craig Burubi joked that. he was most excited about not having to hear about the core four anymore. Now, some said he was joking. I don't know, yeah. If there was a coach who struck me as having never made a joke in his life,

Craig Brew baby right at the top of that list, right there. Laddie, can you let the listeners know what we have in store on Sportsnet 650 today, as Canucks Media Availability goes live at 10 a.m. Yeah, 10 a.m., Bick and Jamie will be here. They'll have an early people's show for a few hours to cover the presser and everything afterwards. Then there'll be an hour in between where they're going to play the In-the-Booth podcast with Brendan Batchelor and Randy Bjanda. And then Connect Central 2 o'clock to 4 o'clock and then the Blue Jays. Lovely.

Okay, let's go now to the Power West Industries hotline. Our next guest is a presentation of Angry Otter Liquor. Frank Saravalli joins us now on the Halford & Breath Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Frank. How are you? I'm good, boys. Good to be with you again. Hope you had a great summer. Yeah, I hope you had a great summer as well.

Very excited to get back into this. No shortage of stories to get into you. I do want to start, though, with the Connor MacDavid thing. Now, tell me if I'm crazy or not, but it feels like every time Connor McDavid speaks now, feels more and more like he's less and less enamored with what the Oilers did or didn't do this offseason, and maybe a little less enamored about staying in Edmonton long term. Am I crazy or does it feel that way? Not crazy, but what I would say is,

I think it's wrong to draw any assumptions based off of what he says. I think what he's doing is buying some time and keeping his options completely open so that regardless of whatever happens, that, you know, he can say, hey, I said in September, this is what my plan is. And I think the truth is this is happening on Connor McDavid's timeline, whether the Edminton Oilers like it or not. And I think they've probably been pretty frustrated, but have internally, but have to put on a good face of, hey, this is a Mount Rushmore player in NHL history. And yes, I know exactly what I'm saying when I say that, even without the Stanley Cup.

He's going to decide whenever he wants that it's time to resign or not. And they're going to have to grin and bear it. And that part, I think, has probably been uncomfortable. But what I believe is a more interesting dynamic is why. how the Edmonton market unfolds after that or as this is going on because look I'm not there but from my perch it feels like given the magnitude of this player and given the fact that these two sides have not even engaged as much as trading numbers on a deal that the market has been relatively calm all things considered and I do believe that in his, you know, game plan here, it's to see how loud that conversation gets over these next few weeks, because he's not signing a new deal before training camp opens. We know that.

That doesn't mean he's not signing before the regular season, but once that date comes and goes, what's the next impetus to get him to the table? there's no real hard and fast date and all of a sudden the months slip by on the calendar and then you start to really get nervous if you're an Edmonton oiler fan it's been reported that McDavid's biggest concern is an aging roster and I'm wondering if he's biting his time to see what young players like Matt Savoy and the kid they got from Tampa Isaac Howard how they look in this season and whether or their players that can potentially take over from some of the aging players in a couple of years.

Do you think there's anything to that? Yeah, I do. I think that's a huge part of it. He knows having gone to two consecutive Stanley Cup finals that the Oilers are fair game to compete now. But if he's going to be signing for a while, he wants to know with an aging corps how they will look in five years. and no one has a crystal ball, but will they still be properly positioned to compete? They've got question marks in net. They've got a lack of prospects, and certainly with being in all-in mode, a lack of picks,

so there's not much in the pipeline. And you mentioned the two players that are going to be really key, I think, in trying to make that convincing argument of if Ike Howard and Matt Savoy end up being top six or middle six players, that could help change that conversation. And I have it on good authority that one of those players is going to be starting training camp on Connor McDavid's line, the sort of first audition to begin that conversation of, hey, we do have more coming and this is the first step of that. There's no coincidence that that's the case.

Because I hear people say like, oh, this is McDavid putting pressure on the oilers to get to get you or to find more players or whatever i'm like i'm sure they're trying you know like we're we're here in vancouver um talking about the canucks down the middle and it's not like anyone could put more pressure on jim rutherford and patrick alvin to go out there and find a second line center you know there's pressure on a lot of teams to find a second line center it's just these players aren't readily available and the Oilers have been a successful team for the last few years so

this is what happens to teams that are successful they don't usually have a great prospect group and I'm just wondering what in your opinion oilers management could do to convince McDavid to resign well two things one you can't have it both ways

like either you are being super aggressive at deadlines and trying to do everything you can to give your team a chance to win, which they've been in that mode as we talked about. And two, they can't unring the bell. Like I think a big focal point in thinking about the future and youth of this team is not matching those two offer sheets last summer that saw two players in their early to mid-20s walk and go be very productive in St. Louis. and that hurt they were able obviously to put a strong team together that got to the final that

interestingly enough wasn't didn't feel nearly as close to the panthers in this cup final that leaves them kind of if you're in macdavid's shoes sitting here going yeah okay like with this group we can win but what it it's not just about this season this season's already signed for It's all the ones in the future that make the difference. And I think if you're in the oiler shoes, let's just spin it to the other side of the conversation, which is we don't have a crystal ball. And you don't either, in terms of having or engaging in those conversations on what the free agent market would look like next summer. Pick a team, Leafs, Blackhawk, sharks, Bruins, Rangers, whoever it might be, are any of those,

those teams, could you say on paper, if you're thinking Connor McDavid Marquis Market, could you make a reasonable guarantee that any one of those teams is going to be better suited to compete five years from now than the Oilers? I don't know. It'd be hard to do. I think the hardest thing in this sport is predicting who's going to win this year, let alone five years from now. We're speaking at Frank Saravalli, our NHL Insider from the Hathlet & Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. Let's turn our attention to another star player embroiled in a contract stalemate, let's call it, Karil Kaprizov in Minnesota. What is going on or what isn't going on, I suppose, between Kaprizov and the wild right now? Well, I don't think a lot's going on right now after that really interesting decision from Kaprizov's camp last week,

and we'll hear more from them on Thursday as they have their season opening media avails. he has yet to address the subject with reporters, and we'll also hear from Bill Garon again. But it is a fascinating juncture, right? You turn down the biggest deal in NHL history in both AAV and total dollars, eight times 16 for $128 million. The big question I've struggled with is, what's the counter to that? Like, if you're the Caprizov camp and the Wilde put that on the table, what do you turn around to them

and say that you actually want if that's the key? Does this really have to do with signing bonus? Does it have to do with structure? Does it have to do with closet? I don't know. But it has been

I think the wild have sat back and gone, geez, I'm not sure what else we can do other than offer this massive deal to show you how much we want you here. And they're not interested in trading him. That part hasn't come up as much as everyone on social media seems to think that this has been a declaration from Caprizov that he doesn't want to play in

Minnesota. I don't have any evidence that's the case. In fact, I'm told that his singular focus is on playing with the wild. I've just never heard of a player turning down a deal of that magnitude and then what's on the other end of it. Frank, this is a very open-ended question, but how much pressure is on Canucks management heading into this season? I think a fair bit, but at the same time, I mean, I think they've done a pretty fair job setting proper expectations, right? I mean, go back to, you know, last season's wrap-up press conference. They had a lot on their to-do list. They knew that some of those things solving for the center position, the unknown surrounding Elias Pedersen, kind of the influx

of obviously the changes with the coaching staff and everything going on. There's been a lot of moving parts. And so if you were to say to me, give me a number one to ten, what the Canucks management group is feeling, with this ownership group, it's probably always a relatively high number compared to most around the rest of the league. But I'd say it's probably an eight. Like there is pressure to win. It is a Canadian market.

They understand what's in front of them. But at the same time, you can't make things materialize. You can't make players available that aren't. And for some of that, like I don't blame them or fault them. And I don't know how anyone reasonably could. There wasn't as much movement on the market. as they would have liked or wanted. And with that, I'm not making excuses for them.

They're somewhat handcuffed, and they've been one of the most aggressive teams in the league over the last few years. I think when they said these things that they were going to do, they seemed very difficult to do. And I think it was the way they put as, like, we're going to do it because we have to do it.

And it was kind of like, well, okay, but then they didn't do it. Right? Like they added one player to the top six. And that's, but you can only do it if there's available runway to do it, if there's availability to do it. And that's why they didn't do it. Yeah.

Like tell me who, like who on your list would you have gone after? No, no, no, I'm just, but I'm saying that we, that's what we talked about before this, the summer went. And we were like, how are they going to do this? And I think that's why they were they going to do this. The expectations the way that they did, which was like, hey, we're going to try, but this, like, I viewed last season's. ending press conference as we're up a creek right now and we may get there but on the off chance

that we don't don't say that we didn't warn you I viewed it from a different perspective yeah I guess I guess that might be it like I I viewed it as these guys are going to do whatever it takes to get a second line center because that's what they said we're going to do whatever it takes to get a second line center it's kind of like well you know you didn't um and And I just feel like maybe they should have been able to predict that it was going to be very difficult to find players in a rising cap environment where fewer teams were cap-crunched. Yeah, I mean, there was a total lack of player movement.

What a lot of people thought might be an interesting summer, offer sheets, I was included in this group, activity, everything else. it was pretty stagnant and it's not as if everyone just bleeped off and went to the lake for the summer I know they were trying they were trying hard no yeah they were trying hard I'm saying I can't fault them yeah no no I get where you're coming from but I think when we when they said here are our plans for for the off season Halford and I were both like man that is a massive ask and and I and I guess hey you can't fault them for wanting to do something and trying hard to do it and not getting it.

Well, I guess you could fault them. But at any rate, let's table that part of it. Have you guys, have you ever tried to grow out your hair? Like, did you ever have hockey hair at any point in your life? Yeah, during COVID. Yeah, I've tried to do it. It just, it's never worked for me. Yep.

It gets frizzy. Oh, that's an interesting connection here. I was going to say there's this period of time when you try and grow out your hair where like you're in this really awkward stage. And I view the Canucks as being in a hat stage right now, meaning they're not where they want to get to. And it might look a little bit ugly, but they're going to have to wear a hat for a little bit and cover it up. And then at some point, when they grow out and get to where they want to, then they'll be all right. That is one of the greatest analogies in the history of this show.

That is perfect. Here's the problem with it. I usually get to a point in the awkward stage where I go, I can't do this anymore. Take it all off. You give it up. I always, I always, I always. And then I'm back to the retooling stage. Haircuts aside, there was a name that you brought up this week

that I hadn't thought about in a while. And it's a name that I'm not trying to connect the dots here, but it's a name that has been bandied about in Vancouver throughout the course of the last 12 to 16 months at times. And it's the name of Marty Natchez. What's going on in Colorado with his contract situation? They're back in exactly the same spot that they were. one year ago with Miko Ranton.

Okay. And with the cap increasing so significantly, I believe that the Naceous camp has been pretty patient in, let's see how this year goes. Like, this is a guy that's ultra willing to bet on himself, and I'm not saying, not predicting that he won't sign a new deal, because if the right ones put in front of him, of course he will. But this is a guy that's probably sitting here thinking, if I can have another north of point per game season.

I mean, think about what we just talked about with the numbers and Caprizov. If he's north of 82 points or whatever that number is, 88, 90, like, we're talking about, and that's entirely possible with the players that he's playing with, we're talking about an AAV that starts with a 10. And then you rewind back to January and December when they were in these talks with Rantanin and he wants 12 and a half probably would have settled for 12 if you really pushed him to stay in Colorado might have been 11 and a half and all of a sudden you make this wopper of a trade it sets your team back changes the functionality and the feel of your team and not to

that's not knocking NACIS just that NACIS isn't Miko Rantanin and now all of a sudden you might have to turn around and pay Natchez 10, and if you're not comfortable with that, you're going to be auctioning him off on the trade market this season. It's a little bit of cat chasing tail is how I see it, and they're in a tough spot to try and figure this out. Mitch Love in Washington, what can you tell the listeners and us, because we've been trying to follow all these stories and keep tabs on everything, but do you have anything more on what's out there on Mitch Love in the situation in Washington? I do. I think some further reporting is required, and To boil it down into the simplest way possible, if you haven't been following along,

Mitch Love, the Capitol's assistant coach, was placed on leave by the team while the NHL investigates, I guess, an allegation that's been made against him. Okay. My understanding is that that allegation stems from a woman that he had a prior relationship with. So this extends well before he was hired by the caps. And this is somewhat of a known thing. Like he did go way down the path with both Seattle and Pittsburgh for their head coaching openings. And I think part of the reason why they decided to go in a different direction is that some of these same allegations may have been whispered or rumored um and so i don't know the full details and have been working through the reporting

process to get there again um no one is that's why there's an investigation is to understand what has been alleged by whom what's the time frame and what if any repercussions come from it um and so i think they're kind of working through this process to get all get their hands around all that. Frank, it is great to be back. It is great to have you back on the program, and we're looking forward to another season of the National Hockey League. Thanks a lot for doing this today, as always.

Enjoy the rest of the week and the start of training camps. We'll do this again next week. Likewise, talking next week. See you guys. Good, Paul. Thanks, buddy. Frank Sarah Valley on Sportsnet 650. It was brought to you by Angry Otter Liquor. Plus program members save for game days at Angry Otter Liquor. This month save six bucks, Jason,

on Old Style Pilsner 15 packs. Find more savings at Angry Otter liquor dot c r s uh that was a great analogy by the way that the connects are in the awkward stage put the hat they're wearing the hat right now wearing the hat yes but what kind of hat are they wearing one of the ones it covers up your ears too maybe like a big oversized cowboy hat i don't like my ears either i grow up my hair to cover up my ears i didn't do that though i fail all the time i had every every year i'm like i should i should i should i should grow up my hair i'm like you if i try and grow up my hair, it just gets poofy.

Yeah, it gets frizzy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it doesn't go down. It gets, like, that tennis ball kind of frizz. Yeah, after long enough, it just looks like March. And then I'm just like, yeah, just take it off. Mine got real greasy, real greasy. Mm-hmm. I wasn't prepared.

Like your style. Yeah, right. It's just a total grease ball. I wasn't prepared. I wasn't prepared to deal with long hair. Mm-hmm. Everything takes longer. Yeah, yeah.

Washing it. Drying it. That's why I just want to, I just want to wash it. Yeah. That's where I went there. It's a big part of having it. it is when you sweat with long air, it gets way, way, way greasier than just like regular air. And you sweat just kind of like sitting around. Yeah, thinking about doing

exercise, not even doing the exercise. All right, we got a lot more to get into on the program. Coming up on the other side of the break, the new general manager of the Vancouver Giants, Nat Domichelli is going to join the program. After we speak with Nat about the upcoming campaign, which by the way kicks off on Saturday, Western Hockey League opener for the Giants at home with the Langley Events Center against the Penticton vs. Yeah, the Penticton vs are in the dub now. We're going to play some of this audio from Connor McDavid's. He did a sit-down interview with Freed and Kyle as part of the 32 thoughts.

And the audio from this has really taken the internets by Storm. There's a lot of consternation about what he's saying about his future in Edmonton, which is why I pose that question to Frank. Is it crazy for me to think that every time McDavid speaks, he sounds more and more like he's worried about the future in Edmontonon. Every time he talks, seems like there's more concern about where this team is going, and maybe he won't be a part of it. All this is coming up in the second half of the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Don't go anywhere.

Nat Domicely, new general manager of the Vancouver Giants is coming up next. You're listening to the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. 7.32 on a Wednesday. Let's go. Halford Brough, Sportsnet 650. Alford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal reduces your debt by up to 80% with no more interest. Visit them online at Sands. That's trustee.com. We are in hour or two of the program. We're actually at the midwomen.

way point of the show. The new general manager of the Vancouver Giants, Nat Domichelli, is going to join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to by Jason hominock at Jason. Dot Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.morgia.

Let's go now to the Power West Industries hotline. Our next guest, as mentioned, is the general manager of the Vancouver Giants. Nat Domichelli joins us now on the Halford & Brough Show on Sports Net 650. Morning, Nat, how are you? Good morning, gentlemen. Thanks for having me on the show. Thanks for coming on and taking the time.

We appreciate it. Belated congrats on getting the gig. I know it's been a couple months since you were officially named general manager of the Vancouver Giants. So let's start right there. What have the last couple months been like leading up to Saturday's home opener against Penticton? Well, it's been busy. There's no question about that.

I think any time you take over a franchise, regardless of where it is in the world, there's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes and it's been no different here in Vancouver the players arrived in August training camp got underway but you need to know the organization the people who work in the office

you need to know the billet families at junior hockey all of our players are in billets I need to meet the education advisor and get the school system set up so by no means have the days been quiet but we're ready the team is set and they're ready to go

Saturday night versus Penticton. How different is the dub now compared to when you were playing with the Blazers back in the 90s? Well, the players are much better for sure. The quality of the game is higher. Taking out the red line has changed the game. The speed is better. The players are well prepared. I think the league as a whole has grown leaps and bounds.

I think social media has a reason for that. seems much more professional and organized. The landscape of hockey has changed. So from that aspect off the ice, I think it's grown leaps and bounds on the ice. The goalposts are still in the same place, and still the fundamentals of hockey haven't changed. So from that aspect, I'm quite confident that we can do a good job,

and I'm excited to be back into WHOHL. Yeah, what about the, what about the NCAA story is going to change the approach for WHL teams with players now able to essentially leave the WHL and go play college hockey? Yeah, that's a great question, I think, for all sports, it's changed the landscape. But what I would say to that is for years, for years and years and years before this all, players were coming and going from the WHL. Previously

they were graduating on to the NHL or they were graduating on to the CIS and getting on with their lives at school and so from that aspect nothing has really changed. We don't want anybody to come to the Vancouver Giants and for the Vancouver Giants to be their last team because

we are a development league and we are a junior hockey and so that players have have come and gone, and so what we can concentrate on here in Vancouver is we want to create the best atmosphere for the players when they're here in Vancouver, and we're going to develop them the best to our abilities, and we believe that if we do that, then players are going to graduate on and speak well of the Vancouver Giants. So my focus is not where they leave, when they

leave the Vancouver Giants. My focus is on that they're better people and players when they do graduate from our program. What are some of the things that you can do? Well, we have, I think we've done a lot already just hiring a new staff with Parker Burgess and Wacey Rabbit and Galen Patterson, three young energetic coaches that are going to provide a base every day to get better on the ice. I think my job off the ice is to really manage the people at the organization, provide good structure. I spoke with the education advisor preparing these guys for what after.

I think one of your questions is about NCAA. And if someone wants to play for our organization for three or four years and then go on to school, the funny thing is you actually have to go to school. So you have to be eligible and you have to be ready. So one of my priorities is to make sure all our kids are moving forward in their education. And then thirdly, we just have to keep doing what we've been doing.

I mean, we have to be honest about what's been going on. If people are going to get paid money to go play in NCAA, that's pro hockey. Money wins every time. And I'm not going to be mad. If one of my players tells me, while I'm receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars, I'm going to move on, that's nothing we've done wrong. That's just reality of life.

So we're doing a lot of things right, actually, right now, and we're just going to continue to do it. You mentioned your head coach, Parker Burgess. Young guy, only 40 years old. Tell our listeners a little bit more about what they need to know about your new head coach, Parker Burgess. Parker Burgess and born in Calgary, Alberta, played hockey in the Alberta Junior Hockey League,

B.C. Junior Hockey League, moved down to the United States where he went to college, got a degree. Didn't turn pro, but jumped right away into coaching. He's been coaching for over 16 years. has had a lot of success in the United States working in amateur hockey recently last year with Muskegon of the USHL won the Clark Cup. What I can say about Parker and his staff

is we're going to play a fast, exciting hockey. He has a lot of energy day-to-day at the rank. The players are feeling it. So we have an up-and-coming, exciting coach, and I think Vancouver Giants fans are going to watch an exciting hockey this year. Matt, tell us about your time in Switzerland. what brought you over there and what kept you there so long?

Well, what brought me over there was the famous lockout in 2004. I was 27 and single. I finished my contract with the Minnesota Wilde and didn't want to get caught without playing hockey. I wasn't on a superstar, so I couldn't afford to go an entire year without working. So I went over to Switzerland, think it would be a one maybe two-year adventure waiting for the lockout to finish. And then I enjoyed the hockey. I had a good role in the team. The money over in Europe was, for my level,

was pretty much the same as a one-way contract at the NHL level. And then over time, I met a girl who we started dating, and we ended up getting married, we'll be married 20 years this December. And so life kind of changed a little bit. And one year turned into two, which turned into three, and then which turned into 22. So it was a, it was a change.

change in my life. It was a great, great story. It's still going. Switzerland and Lugano, Switzerland is always going to be home now in the off season for my family and I. It's been just the way life works. So a buddy of mine and I have said that we need to go to the Spengler Cup. And I know you've been involved in that capacity. Is that a good road trip? Is that a good road trip? Yes, that is a bucket list trip for any sports fans

or hockey player or manager if you have the opportunity, if you're asked in any capacity to go and work for the Spangler Cup or you want to put something on your list, I would highly recommend attending DeVos between December 26th and January 1st.

Is it going to bankrupt me going on this trip? Well, the Canadian dollar at 57 cents to the Swiss rank, I would say it's not going to be cheap. We're speaking to Nat, Don McKelley, the new general manager of the Vancouver Giants here on the Halford of Brough Show on Quartznet 650. Since we're going on the way back machine here, Nat, I did want to ask you, because you spent three seasons, parts of three seasons playing in Atlanta. Atlanta's become a hot topic conversation starter when we're talking about expansion in the National Hockey League and potentially getting 18 back. I know it was a long time ago, and a lot of things have changed. What do you remember about playing in Atlanta

and where that Atlanta Thrashers team was in the sports hierarchy? Great memories of Atlanta. Great group of teammates. We were an expansion team, so obviously success on the ice was not at its peak. But my time in Atlanta, what I can say about the city and the passion for hockey is it's real. And we played downtown at Phillips Arena. I believe now the talk is they want to move. If there was a new franchise, they'd move north to Marietta.

We were out in Gwinnett where the practice facilities were, and it was fabulous. And I would say in the hierarchy, though, when I played, it was a Braves Town. The Atlanta Braves are very well ingrained into that. And I think the reason for that is because they were so successful, they won. They had Glab and they had Maddox. They were, did Chipper Jones. They'd won titles. So I think Atlanta is a huge sports town and they'll gravitate to a franchise that's winning.

And so I think for Atlanta, off the ice, I don't think there'll be any problems. Like financially, they'll have a lot of fans. And then what it is to the city is they need to be successful. because there's a lot of competition there. Okay, well, before we let you go, let's circle back to the Giants. It is the season opener this Saturday. It's an interesting one because it's at home,

and it's against a new team in the dub, the Penticton V's. So set this one up for the fans and the listeners that might be heading out this weekend, Giants Vs on Saturday at the Langley Events Center. Yeah, we're getting started. Penticton. We played them in the preseason.

They're coming from the BCJHL, an expansion team. We're coming with a brand new staff, we have exciting players. I think it's a great chance for hockey fans to see returning veterans like Cameron Schmidt, who's drafted in the NHL, Burk Hood, who's drafted down in the NHL, but there's also an opportunity to see probably two first-round picks on our team all season for the NHL draft.

If you like hockey and you like exciting hockey and you want to know where the future stars of the NHL are coming from, then I would recommend coming to our games. Matt, this was great. Thanks for taking the time to do this day. We're going to be doing this regularly throughout the season. Very much looking forward to it. I appreciate it, guys. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, thanks for coming on. Thanks, Matt Domichel.

The new general manager of the Vancouver Giants. A reminder, Giants are in action this weekend. Season kicks off on Saturday. Seven o'clock from the Langley events are, and yeah, Penticton's in the dub now. Things are changing. It's a brave new world out there. Okay. So just to set everyone up for the day,

the Canucks are going to hold some media avails today at Rogers Arena 10 a.m. this morning we will be broadcasting that I believe it's just the brass so it'll be Jim Rutherford, Patrick Alveen and Adam Foote obviously there are going to be questions

the typical questions for Rutherford and Alveen expectations for the season They all come out wearing hats Yeah. How's the hair coming? That sort of thing. There will be questions about, you know, are you still on the lookout for depth down the middle or a second line center or whatever? And they'll say, yeah, we are. I'm curious to hear from Adam Foote because we haven't heard too much from the new head coach of the Canucks. He's done a few media veils here and there. But he's had a whole off-season to think about how he's going to attack this season. What's the focus going to be for foot at training camp? You'll recall last season when the Canucks were trying to find that sweet spot between creating more scoring chances off the rush.

We heard a lot about rush chances while maintaining their defensive responsibility. How'd that go? The plan was abandoned after the Canucks. got off to a pretty tough start and I heard that Quinn Hughes went to Rick Talk at one point he was just like Rick, let's just go back to what we were doing before and talk said.

Yeah, that sounds like a plan. You know what? Just interrupt, very briefly. I do wonder how much different it would have been last year if they had goaltending at the start of the year. Me too. Of course. If they could have played that way

and maybe gotten a couple more rules. You know what? Let's take it a step further. what happens if the first game of the season doesn't go like the way that it did you remember after the first period

of that game against Calgary to start the year last year I was like 4-1 these guys are great just as good as they were the year before everything's going to be great and then it just collapsed

and I remember thinking hmm that's a tone setter I wonder I wonder if this might make them rethink this let's go find some more offense strategy

and then I think everyone just panicked because CELS didn't It didn't happen that quickly, but yeah. Am I blaming after C. loves for the entire season, perhaps. But anyway, go on. No, I think it's a good point. I mean, the Canucks are very much a vibes group.

So the vibes have to be high right out of the shoot. So, you know, a question that I would have for Adam Foote is, do you have a plan to create more scoring chances? Is that a focus for you? Or are you going to lean in to the Canucks strengths, at least on paper, in goal and on the blue line? I always say on paper, just because you never know it with goaltending, you never know with injuries. But on paper, the strength of the Canucks is in goal with Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen. And on the back end with the likes of Quinn Hughes and Philip Peronick and Marcus Pedersen and maybe some young guys like DPD and maybe Tom Willander eventually.

you know, I'm also curious to hear how Adam Foote plans to I guess this is the way like galvanize the group in the face of a very high-stakes season. Like what is his meat pressure with pressure? Because the connects you know, remember they were struggling

for slogans last year. There were none. You know? Embrace the hard. Honestly, if you want to blame Archer C-Laws for last season, I'm going to blame the slogan. Like, I don't think everyone got behind and embraced the hard.

Like they got behind meet pressure with pressure. And it was just awkward. That's where a talk at lost them. It was just the slogans, you know? You need good propaganda. Embrace the hard was not a great start to the season. You know what you're saying? Did you think about the words?

Are we doing phrasing anymore? They're like, no, we're going to embrace it. We're going to embrace that hard. And no one liked it. And the season went completely off the rails. What does Adam Foote? expect from his leadership group. Who are his

leaders? Who are the guys you're going to lean on because you remember he had that offseason meeting where they went and played golf and PD came over from Sweden they were very impressed that he made that

gesture and it was with Hughes and Thatcher Demko right? You know Quinn Hughes, Connor Garland, Tyler Myers that's his leadership group. Well PD's part of it too you know he is I guess I mean I don't know

I know what you're saying I would debate that but I mean if he shows on the ice that he is then I guess but that's a question mark for me I have one more I have one more question get it out there

not that not that you'd ask management this but will management be able to get through an entire press conference without saying something controversial no zero percent chance

So Brotherford's up there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like Alvin doesn't say much. Brotherford's like shaking. Jim, you want to say something right now? Yeah. Have you heard that Quinn really wants to play with his brothers? Oh, I did it again.

Yeah. We got a practice facility. I hope we don't regret signing Brock Bessor. He looks out of shape. You know, like something like that. He just, you know, and it was, I really found it funny last season at times when they were like, oh, there's a lot of noise around this team. I was like, yep, you created a lot of it.

And it's been this way This is the Jim Rutherford experience But this is the Jim Rutherford experience In a Canadian market And it was this way right off the hop When you go back to Bruce Boudreau And how they handle that

And Jim Rutherford You know on after hours On Hockey Net in Canada I just been like, I don't even know We had this contract with this guy And his message was like He would not be here if not for the option you're in his contract.

That was the message. And it was clear as day. And it ended up being a very ugly breakup with Bruce Boudreau. And it was just kind of like, you kind of handle that a little bit better. Yeah. For an organization that spends as much time telling everyone they want to quiet the noise, like every time we have sat on the program,

we're like, what are you hearing about the connects? Well, they didn't like all the noise around the team last year. I just sit there silently for a minute. And I'm like, but they cause two thirds of it. I don't understand silencing the noise and then I guess allowing, although he is the president of hockey, so who's really allowing him, he's in charge, to just shoot off, shoot from the hip and off the cuff and say whatever you want to say. It happens all the time. And I don't mind it. I really don't.

I think it's great for entertainment purposes. I think in a Canadian market, it's a double-edged sword because when you make the kind of promises and proclamations that he makes. you do tend to have to deliver. And if you don't, the receipts will be kept and waved in your face. But unbelievably entertaining. And in an era where we have, I mean, it was funny, when we were talking to Softie two weeks ago, and he was talking about the crack and he's like, are all the head coaches in the NHL this boring? I was like, no, you guys had, you know, all due respect, but I can't think of two more boring individuals back to back than Dan Bilesma preceded by Hugh Parkfield from the Simpsons,

better known as Dave Haxstall. Like, you got two of the worst. So I look at that scenario and I'm like, this is great that you've got Rutherford saying the stuff that he does. And he makes it interesting and entertaining. But there is, I mean, there's a philosophical divide within the organization clearly where they want to be seen as a functional, smooth operating entity that doesn't have these loud noises going on.

And then the reality, which is they're a dysfunctional at times kind of crazy organization. that often has loud noises. I like Tabelsaw James' suggestion for a new slogan, Meet Noise with Noise. Yeah, that's a great way to do it. When the noise goes up to nine, you turn it up to 10. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then when it goes to 10...

Let's get crazy. Get those amps, it goes to 11. But you know what? To be dead honest, I never really cared about that. From our perspective, especially, as fans of the team, not just media people, but fans of the team, I think it's great that there's always something to talk about. And I think it's great that for a passionate fan base

and market that wants stuff to happen, there's a guy out there making stuff happen all the time. That's actually why this summer was so bizarre. You know who was making stuff happen on the internet yesterday? Who? Biz nasty. Yeah. I don't know.

I mean, this is going to be, okay, let's talk about this. This is going to be it. Let's talk about this like adults. Let's prepare ourselves. Let's not, let's just, no. Let's prepare ourselves for the noise. and we'll meet noise with reason.

Hasn't Biz done this before, though, where he's just like, I hear this thing and it's not a true thing. He's got a whole thing. So right now, it's kind of going to be like, the Hughes Brothers dynamic, and I'm not just talking about Quinn, the entirety of the family is like a very hot button content factory, electric factory conversation for the NHL right now

because if you haven't been paying attention, there is a situation going on. in New Jersey where they're about to go into camp and Luke doesn't have a contract. Yeah. Right? And there have a question marks about Jack and whether or not he's the guy you want to build around.

And the Luke deal will probably get done, but things are happening. Biz is trying to frame this as this family, this trio of young, successful elite brothers, you know, kind of coming into the NHL and then emerging as stars at a time where, as Biz put it, you're seeing more of the NBA influence with players and they feel emboldened to call their shots

and make their moves and go where they want to go and do what they want to do. There's this piecing together of all these ideas and I'll call them that and that's even being sort of like gratuitous ideas that they might call their shot and go somewhere the trio together. He threw out the Rangers or possibly just make it easy

and they all go to New Jersey. But the idea is not going away that the three of them are going to want to play somewhere together one day and in this current NHL landscape it's maybe a more bountiful place to do it like the ability and the options to do it are more real than in previous generations in previous decades I don't know how much I'm buying it because I look at the NHL I'm like it's the same league it's always nobody goes anywhere we talk about it yeah the only guy that has ever left was marner and that was after like nine years and eventually getting to

the point where you run out of town yeah you had to be chased Yeah, like it's not even like McDavid or Caprice off or Hughes where they're dying to keep him. They were like, get out of here, Marner. And he left. And then you have to go back to like maybe Tavares or something like that. Tavaros is the last big pure sweepstakes one. Yeah. Where the Islanders desperately wanted to keep

him and he went shopped the services around. All these other ones are way different. So I don't really see it in this way. I know that... But can we just also prepare ourselves for the very real possibility that Quinn Hughes might leave. You can prepare yourself for the possibility, sure. But in doing it, if you're going to do do doomsday prep,

you should also prep for maybe it won't be as bad. Like maybe like every other guy in the national hockey, he just ends up staying because it's the easiest thing to do. Yeah, it might be good, but it might be bad. But it might be good. That's why they have to celebrate every single goal he does and have maybe some memorandums like, will you remember me, like midgame, like play those randomly throughout the game, like clips.

What did you call them? Memorandums? Memorandium I think you're talking about a memorandum Yeah A memorandum is something that they send around the opposite Like a memo? Yeah, you don't read Yeah

Yeah, but just play those throughout the game He doesn't read, that's for sure All right Just make him feel as bad as possible As Adog digs a hole Yeah No, just think about it though You just you've got to guilt him into staying

That's the trick Did you get the memoriam on that? Yeah Randeep's going to join us next We'll keep talking about The Vancouver Canucks and I liked this suggestion from Bob on X texted us. Embrace the noise.

It's not a bad slogan. I like that because there used to be Embrace the Hate. Remember when the Knox were relevant? And they were hated. Yeah. How about embrace the noise? I would actually like to see that. Embrace it.

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