Halford & Brough in the Morning - Vancouver Goldeneyes Head Coach Brian Idalski

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

In hour two, Mike & Jason discuss the top hockey rumours of the day with Victory+ NHL insider Frank Seravalli (1:10), plus they speak with Vancouver Goldeneyes head coach Brian Idalski (32:06), whose club's inaugural season gets going on Friday. 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.

Frank. Sarah Valley. Sierra Valley. Syravelli. Frank. Sarah Valley. Frank. Sarah Valley.

Frank. Frank. 703 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody. Halford Brough. Sportsnet, 50. Halford and Brough of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates.

Scory Debt Freedom Hatrick. One, no more interest, too much lower payments, and three, financial peace of mind. Visit them online at sands-trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Hour 2 is brought to by Jason Hominoch at jason. 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.

We are coming you live from the Kintech Studio, Kintech, Footwear and Orthotics, working together with you and step. Our next guest is a presentation of Angry Otter Liquor from Victory Plus, our NHL insider Frank Sarah Valley here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Morning, Frank. How are you? Pretty good. How are you guys doing? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it.

So I was watching your open ice segment earlier in the, or yesterday as a matter of fact. Among the things you were talking about was the New York Rangers home woes. Well, those woes extended to the road last night and a 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Vegas. There's a lot going on around this New York Rangers team right now. Mike Sullivan had a short absence from the team for personal reasons. J.T. Miller's really come under a lot of scrutiny recently for his lack of production,

and there was a clip from yesterday's game with a, how should I put it, uninspired effort on one of the Vegas Golden Knights' goals. What's going on with the Rangers right now, Frank? well as you mentioned a lot this is a team that i think has made some significant improvements this year particularly with how they defend but they're not getting the production and they're certainly not getting the effort at least as it related to last night from their captain and so they're a team that's just kind of hanging in the mix um they've significantly cut down on their goals against their goalies been good they've changed their structure and how they

they play, but they're not scoring enough. And so, you know, when you take a look at their road record, I mean, heading into last night, it's one of the very best in the league. And obviously they're pretty disparate to their home record. They're going to have to figure out and justify how that discrepancy is managed because it's going to be so significant for how we ultimately view the New York Rangers as a whole. How big a risk did Chris Drury take by acquiring J.T. Miller and then making him captain? The acquisition, I'd say, really not a significant one.

Look, in Philippe-Hedal, the Rangers obviously were super close to his medical care and knew just how precarious of a position he was in. obviously the pick ended up getting flipped I think what they were acquiring in Miller is a guy that for the most part last night notwithstanding he usually brings it and I don't know what's going on with him

I mean think about last year right they acquire him and he's north of a point per game to close out the season with the Rangers even though they were outside of the playoff position. The captain choice is a different beast altogether. And, I mean, no secret from our conversations over the last few years. I'm generally a fan of his intensity and way that he tries to drag everyone into the fight. But it should be lead by example, not lead by words or mouth.

and that part look I think not to dwell too much on one clip that's gone viral but that leaves a little bit to be desired I just wonder what the future holds for the Rangers because they've also got Artemi Panarin as a pending unrestricted free agent and that list of pending unrestricted free agents

is pretty thin especially after Kempe signed with the Kings you know like someone's going to give him a lot of money yeah and unfortunately for that team whoever it is if it's not the rangers someone's going to give him a lot of term too because that's what he's looking for he's looking to sign for as long as possible i don't know if he can stretch quite to age 40 but that's certainly more along the lines of what they're looking at and thinking and that's going to be speaking of risk that's going to be pretty sizable, I would imagine.

What is this New York Ranger team? It's a great question. I think they're not really in all that different of a position than the Boston Bruins. They've got some pieces that indicate this team should be better than the way that they've shown. Obviously, the Bruins are, their record and the run that they've been on had been pretty good. But I'm not sold on either team as being a, you know, playoff firm, playoff team, let alone being an

authentic cup contender. And so if they're heading in that opposite direction, you know, we're going to know in the next 60 to 75 days what the posture will be like for both those teams heading into the deadline. I want to talk about another team

and that's the Nashville Predators. I thought when they got shut out in Sweden by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, that that might be it for Andrew Brunette as a head coach, but You know, that was just me wondering. They fell to 6, 10, and 4 on the season.

Things are not looking good for them again after last season's disappointment. Can Barry Trots, the general manager, can he do anything about this? Or what are you hearing are his thoughts on what's happening? Well, on a couple fronts, the coaching position is interesting. and I'm with you that the hot seat has definitely gotten warmer for Andrew Brunette. I was saying that before Sweden that I thought that might have been the right time to make a change because with the trip, although there's some pomp and circumstance, you also have additional time spent together and practice time that teams is generally a luxury right now with everyone's schedule.

So that to me stood out as an opportunity to make a change. now there has been some rumbling around the league and i don't know how accurate this is or isn't but there was some thought process that if barry trots were to make a coaching change that they'd want to see him behind the bench specifically and so i think a couple things one i don't believe barry trots has interest in coaching again is my understanding and two this roster is poorly constructed that's stating the obvious but barry trots himself knows that and i believe he's reticent to lay the blame for this debacle at the feet of their head coach who look it's been a tough run i think every part top to bottom of this national predator's

operation is dysfunctional to single any one particular person out is wrong because it's roster construction, it's coaching, it's players and poor production, it's all of it, and no one should be unscathed in terms of the blame game. If there was a guy to be moved out in Nashville, who would be the one most likely? I guess there's a couple of major candidates in Stamcoast and O'Reilly. Yeah, and people ask the question, well, what about Philip Forsberg? What about Jonathan Marciussoe? look, I think perhaps, you know, the easiest to move, the one that you'd find the most value in would be Foresburg.

That part is clear, but when you're looking at this roster, which seems to have either guys in their 30s or some young players that are 22 and under, there's really no middle ground, there's no middle age on this team. that Worsberg would, you know, you'd have to think he'd be one of the pillars that this team is going to stand on for the next little while. And so you'd think Stamcoast or Marcia So or O'Reilly, and the trouble with those guys is obviously their declining production, but also the commitment. I mean, Stamcoast has two additional years beyond this one at $8 million, and people have said, well, you know, surely someone can dig deep

and find a way to acquire this guy and convince him to come. Maybe, but I don't know how many teams, honestly, are beating down the door of the Pred to go out and get him. We're speaking of Frank Sarvelli from Victory Plus here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650.

I want to keep it in the division and talk about the St. Louis Blues for a moment here. They have three wins in their last 15. It's been a really rocky start to the season. I mean, they're right down there with Nashville in terms of dysfunctional starts to the season. Do you get a sense that the Blues are willing to move on from anyone or trying to entertain a trade?

I know that Brayden Shen's name has been out there feels like for a while now, even though he's their captain. Falk's name has been out there as well. What are you hearing out of St. Louis? Look, the St. Louis Blues have a very small list of untouchables. And it's, you know, you're talking about probably Jake Neighbors, Robert Thomas and maybe if you're, you know, really squinting Colton Pereko based on how valuable that contract is. And speaking of pillars, like one that you'd like to build around

on your blue line, outside of that, my understanding is, and I'd include Jimmy Snuggard in there, too, and maybe you'd have a conversation about Dylan Holloway. But that's it. I mean, everyone else is, there's a for sale sign hanging up in St. Louis. They've let everyone know that they're open for business. Doug Armstrong is ready and willing to shake things up. The trouble is they don't have very many trade partners. And that's the same thing that a lot of these teams are facing.

There's probably, by my estimation and by the volume of calls, In speaking to general managers, there's like six, seven, maybe eight teams that are ready to do something right now. St. Louis is one of them, Nashville. We just touched on the Minnesota Wilde started playing better, so they've kind of pulled back that thought a bit. You know, then you've got the Toronto Maple Leafs in the east. We know the Canucks continue to look for a center. and outside of that maybe you catch an aggressive

Carolina Hurricanes and the Montreal Canadians are trying to fill some voids from their injuries that's it that's the list it's pretty exclusive to that group of teams and now what?

Let's say you're St. Louis you're dealing from a deck that is only a third full so is now the right time as much as you want to do it that's sort of what they're left with. Doug Armstrong's going to be a busy guy over the next little while because he's also the general manager of Team Canada.

We've been talking a lot about. Well, that's also, by the way, that's aided some of those conversations because he's been doing so much scouting in visiting arenas that he's popped in and had some of these initial trade conversations with general managers in person. Yeah, he's certainly going to be a guy to watch over the next little while. not that it's a bad problem to have

that Celebrini and Bedard are among the NHL's leading scorers but you know maybe just some commentary on some of the tough decisions that Team Canada is going to have to have I know you've talked a lot about roster turnover from the four nations

and suggested that there might be more than some people expect I guess people might be now expecting it because they want Badard and Celebrini on this team and they've earned it I mean, good luck convincing me or anyone. If the message that Team Canada has sent out,

which is we're watching play your way onto this team, I don't know how anyone could look at this first quarter of the season and say that Connor Bedard and Mackin-Selabrini aren't two of the five best players in the NHL right now. Not Canadians, not forwards, two of the five best players. And so, you know, if you want to then turn around after the fact and say, oh, well, we're not convinced or we're not sure of their big game experience, I mean, they're 19 and 20 years old. Like, where do you want them to pull big game experience from? They haven't played for a Stanley Cup.

They haven't played on the world stage best on best among men. where like the only way to get it is by doing it and so if you want to pick someone else who could only dream of doing some of the things that Badard and Celebrini have accomplished in the first 20 games of this season then then be my guest

and I know we're not assembling an all-star team here but you can't convince me that those two guys aren't worthy of playing on Team Canada because they've absolutely earned it you're high on Suzuki as well though right I am because he's been fantastic and he impacts so many different areas of the game. He's a guy that you're perfectly comfortable playing in a bottom six role. And maybe that's the question that you have about Celebrini and Bardard.

I think their games are relatively complete, Celebrini in particular. But if you want to, you know, if you want to say, hey, we can't play those guys in a bottom six role, then maybe I could kind of understand that a little bit. The experience part, not really. I mean, put MacLen Celebrini or Connor Bedard on the line with Sidney Crosby and have him teach them, have him help them through those moments. You've got all the experience to surround them with. I think it would be the defensive responsibility with Baderd in particular.

I've got to be honest with you. I haven't watched Sellebrini play enough, but, you know, Baderd. His defense is head and shoulders above Baderd. That's, okay. And that's the consensus. So do you trust Badaard in a big game situation where every little mistake gets magnified? I think you have to because the payoff on the other end is so, like, it significantly outweighs it. And I'm not, like, this isn't me slagging some of the other guys on the team or guys that have been in the mix.

but when it comes to Travis Kinec or Anthony Sorrelli or Brandon Hagle or pick a guy on the team I mean no offense like those guys can't hold Connor Bardard and Mackleine's jockstrap when it comes to some of the things

that they can do with the puck so you know as good as those valuable additions as those players were at Four Nations I'm sorry like I'm not letting head coach or GM biases impact the decision-making process. Again, not an all-star team, but these guys should absolutely be there.

Are there any similar conversations going on with the American roster right now? Maybe not the volume of guys that could work their way in, but there were some high-quality guys left off the Four Nations team. I think Cole Caulfield jumps to mind for a lot of people since we were just talking about Nick Suzuki. Are there any other ones, or is Coffield the major talking point about going on to this squad from the Four Nations team? There are definitely a handful of them. Caulfield is one,

and obviously his knack for finding big goals and big moments this season has really stood out to me. There's questions about Page Thompson, and obviously the U.S. has preferred size and brawn. Page Thompson has size, but doesn't necessarily play overly physical, and I think that part stands out. Alex Tuck has been in the conversation

in terms of younger guys, Logan Cooley there. Matt Nyes is probably looking like a pretty good bet, provided that he's healthy. Obviously, he missed last night's game. And that's the one thing about the U.S. roster guys is that the injuries have begun to pile up a little bit. Jack Hughes, Matthew Kachuk is a couple weeks away from skating. Brady Kach is ramping back up again.

Jacob Slavin has missed a ton of time for the Carolina Hurricane. So, Thatcher Demko, I mean, there's a lot going on in terms of the U.S. injury front that bears watching for sure. Frank, this was great, buddy. As always, thank you for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the games tonight and all this week. We'll do this again next Wednesday. Sounds good.

Have a good week, guys. Yeah, you too, thanks. That's Frank Sarvalley on Sportsnet 650. A presentation of Angry Otter Liquor Plus program members, save for game days at Angry Otter Liquor. store up on Canadian-made favorites ready to enjoy before puck drop visit them online at angry otterlicker.cr-S. Okay, it is time now

for the world famous Limitless AV one to watch brought to you by, of course, Limitless AV, Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts. I'm going to cheat for tonight's one to watch. It's going to be two to watch. It's a very, very tantalizing matchup

in Washington tonight between the capitals and the Oilers. Connor McDavid and Alex Lavechkin. Those are my two to watch tonight. Boy, why don't you make Tom Wilson your guy. We've been talking about Tom Wilson a lot. I don't know what's going to happen with Tom Wilson. He's too much of a wild card.

That's what I might keep a lot of team Canada. And obviously Jack Roslavae. And Jack Roslavaig, of course. I changed it up. That's actually a great name for the Tony Gallagher impression. Jack Roslavit. That is a good one, actually. As soon as he said it, I'm like, uh-huh.

He's right. Yeah, so it's mostly the one to watch tonight, the game to watch if you want is Edmonton and Washington. Good Lord, their best player out there right now is Jack Roslovick. Scores all the overtime winners. Maybe he'll get another one tonight. You have to watch to see you. But yeah,

it is Edmonton in Washington. McDavid, Ovechkin, Wilson, Ronslovick. All of them are going to be doing things tonight. Four o'clock our time. It's the first of three games on the Sports Net Networks tonight. That is your one to watch. Brought to you by

Limitless AV. Vancouver's most trusted audio visual integration experts specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at limitlessavis.c.ca. Finally, before we go to break, I need to once again

remind you about our live on location show Friday courtesy of the Duick Auto Group. You can find out on Friday why nobody beats a Duick deal since 1926. Visit Duick GM on Marine Drive, visit them downtown, visit them in Richmond, visit them online at Duick Auto Group.com.

We are going to be live on location on Friday. Same start time as always, 6 a.m. We're going to be at Duick on Marine. You can come by and visit. They've got incredible sales on. It's the Black Friday sale, so it's going to be on the entire time. We'll be there from 6 to 9, and they are now a part of the Hellbrough universe. Very excited to have Duick on there.

Since 1926. Yep. Since 1926, Duick is an icon in this city. It's 100 years. 99 right now, soon to be 100. What do you do for a 100th anniversary? We'll have to talk to them about that on Friday. Give away 100 free cars.

Don't say that out loud. You get one, you get one? You're listening to the Alfred & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Hey, it's Jamie Dodd and Thomas Strance. Get your daily dose of Canucks talk with us weekdays from 12 to 2 on SportsNet 650. Or catch up on demand through your favorite podcast app. 7.302 on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday, everybody.

SportsNet 650. This song's in the rotation, isn't it? Yeah, you seem to bob your head to this one a lot. Always gets to be going. Midway point of a Wednesday show. I like it. You are listening to the Halford and Brough show on SportsNet 650. Halford and Brup of the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates.

Only a licensed insolvency trustee can cut your debt by up to 80% with no upfront fees to learn how. This is Sands-Trustee.com. We're at the midway point of the show. We're in hour two of the program. Hour two is brought to by Jason Hominoch at Jason Dow Mortgage. If you love paying too much for your mortgage, and don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at jason.comge.

So while we're waiting for our next guest to call in, head coach Brian Odelski of the Vancouver Golden Eyes. Who kick off their season Friday. It's hated Seattle. I don't know. Hated. I hate the torrent. This is something I've been wondering about in the last couple of days,

and I was wondering about again when we were talking with Frank. How many rumors are going to be starting during the Olympic break? Ooh, good one. Because the Olympic break is in February, and then the trade deadline is March 6th. Yep. And do you remember the last time we had in Olympics? There were all sorts of rumors about one guy named Ryan Kessler.

I do remember that. And the rumors going around Sochi is that he was telling everyone he wants out of Vancouver. Where did the rumors start? And then he came back to Vancouver, and he, lied and he said I have people make stuff up and then a few months later he was like actually that was

that was all true it's crazy how it works but that's exactly what happened I went you know when you we talked about this last night I went back and looked at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver that was and I barely remember this

at the time but that was Ilya Kovalchuk the trade rumors were really hot for him because he was getting moved from Atlanta and they actually used the winter I don't remember that at all I know they actually used the winter Olympics

in Vancouver as a sort of like GM summit where they were just kicking around ideas. If I'm not mistaken, I'm not mistaken, Don Waddell was on the U.S. selection committee and he was also the general manager at the time that was responsible for shopping Kovilchuk. So it does become one of those moments where a flurry of trade rumors and everything else could happen.

And quite frankly, so if the Canucks aren't in a playoff position and people are wondering about Quinn Hughes. and he doesn't have trade protection. Yeah, February is it. Would it come up then? Or have the Canucks already said, like, we're waiting until at least the offseason? Because you could make the argument that if you're going to trade him

and if he's not interested in staying, you could make the argument that a team, and it wouldn't have to be New Jersey, it could be any team in the NHL will give up a lot for two guaranteed postseason runs with Quinn Hughes. That's the big kicker, right? Two. Yeah, instead of getting him in his last year, you get that too.

Man, if you retained, his cap hit is like, what, $4 million or something like that? Yeah. I, you know. Just throwing it out there. We've got to build up something the next couple of months. I think it's totally valid. I've always thought, like, people have said, like,

when does the conversation start? I was like, I think the conversation starts at this trade deadline if the Canucks are not in a playoff position. this trade deadline just happens to be preceded by this huge gap in the schedule where everyone's going to have an opportunity to take stock of where they're at in their NHL seasons and look ahead and say, like, are we a legitimate playoff contender? Are we a cup contender? Are we out of this thing?

Do we have Brian on the line, by the way? No, we're still working on that. I think that from a Canucks perspective, what you brought up about, like, that second year of Hughes is vitally important. Like, you could go to him and be, you know, you can't. I can't sign them until July 1st, but you could go to him and be like, hey, buddy, how are you feeling? Right? Yeah. And if he's like, eh, well, the other part of it is that based on what, so last week, we talked about this yesterday, we bookended the week with two interviews from the two Kinnucks executives who are making these decisions.

It was Patrick Alvin. On Monday, we talked about his after hours interview with Scott Oak. And then on Friday, we had Jim Rutherford and his interview with IMAC on sportsnet.ca. One of the takeaways for me was that there was a sense of a no-plan plan, plan. And by that, I meant they didn't seem to commit themselves to anything. It was like, we'll just kind of keep rolling along.

And do we want to add young players in the draft? Yes. Do we want to stay competitive? Yes. Do we want to build around the players that we have? Yes. Do we want to keep the players, the young players that we have? Yes.

It was yes to everything. it was having their have their cake and eat it too and also eat that cake over there I will also have that cake I want that cake but not even living in every world not even just two separate worlds

but every world imaginable they wanted to be part of it so from that sort of line of thinking I do wonder that if part of it is okay let's say we get to that stage in the season where it's not looking great for us are we leaving a door open

do we exist in another world where we have to entertain this idea Would they even consider it, though? That's what I'm just saying. If you're going to say everything's on the table. Rutherford's even suggested that the Canucks could wait until the following trade deadline. Sure. But I think you have to, I think you have to have a conversation with him and be like, hey, like, we got to make some decisions here.

I mean, they pressured Alias Pedersen into signing that contract because they had to make some decisions. But I could also see them just like hanging on and hanging on. hope, hope, hope that maybe, you know, Quinn signs eventually, right? Well, that's the downside of having your fingers in every pie is that you don't really know what direction they're going to go in. They could go in any direction, and it might not be the direction that you see best for the club.

There is so much banking on this season, I do wonder if they're going to be in or out of it by February, March. Like, that's the biggest concern. for me. They could be out of it in a month. No, but what if they're not? Oh, what if they're not? Right.

Well, if they're not, then fair enough. But that's going to dictate what they do in a significant way. Like, I don't know if they'll have the foresight to be like, we're barely hanging on to a playoff spot here. Do we wave the wife? And when we talk about rebuilds, by the way, and I know I've mentioned the New York Rangers a couple times with what they did, but I want everyone to remember when Jeff Gordon was a general manager and they announced that they were going to sell off all

these players that were beloved on Broadway because they had been deep in playoff runs before and they had developed an affinity with the fan base and they were two points out of a playoff spot when they sent that letter to their season ticket holders that were tearing it down and we're

rebuilding, they were right there standings wise to be a playoff team. What they weren't from the eyes of management was a realistic playoff contender and those were two very different things but I remember like Mark Stahl was visibly shaken when he saw what was going on.

Yeah. Because he said, we're right there. Like, you tell us all year we're going to shoot for the playoffs, and then we get close to it, and then you pull the rug out. It'll be hilarious if the Rangers have like two rebuilds. Well, I mean. In that time span, because I'm looking at their Rangers team right now and going, okay, if they lose Panarin in unrestricted free agency,

and they've got JT, who, I think we all worried about when his game, how long his game would last. Zabanajad is getting older. Lafranier, I don't know what he is. But he's been a big time disappointment for the first overall pick. You might have to, listen, if this season goes off the rails,

does Chris Drury keep his job as general manager? No, I think Chris Jury put his job on the line with J.T. Miller, and I mean the entirety of it. Yeah. So trading for him was one big gambit. Making him the captain was. That was doubling down, right? But that's also... It's a volatile guy. That's also saying that your executive

career, at least in New York, is dictated by one guy. But in the wake of what happened last season, where let's be honest, there was practically a mutiny against management. Yep. And the way things went in New York. But back to the Canucks, I really

do, I do think that like you have to you have to play it out in your mind about what is the return at this point what is the return at this point and I think if you were to put Quinn Hughes on the market and you could send him to any team again any team he doesn't have any trade protection and you'd say to that team let's say they're a contender or a playoff team at the very least and you go you can have Queen Hughes for two post seasons. What are you willing to give for that? You get a massive return.

A massive, massive, massive haul. Okay, we're going to pivot now to the PWHL. As we mentioned off the top, the Vancouver Golden Eyes are going to play their inaugural home game Friday, November 21st, 7 o'clock at the Pacific Coliseum against the Seattle Torrent. Joining us now on the program, first-time guests, very excited to get them on the program,

the head coach of the Vancouver Golden Eyes, Brian Nadelski here on the Halford & Brough Show on SportsNet 650. Good morning, Brian. How are you? Doing well. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thanks for coming on and taking the time. We appreciate you doing this.

So big picture question to start. This isn't just the start of a season for you and the Gold Nights. This is the start of a franchise. And I know it's a long list of things you had to do to get to this point. But walk our listeners through what it was like building a team from scratch and then leading all the way up to this. Friday when the Goldenizer finally going to make their PWHL debut? Well, it's been an interesting journey.

I came on right the day before the draft, so a lot of that work was done with free agency and expansion draft, and so that was part of the reason I was excited about the opportunity was some of the players that were already on board and the roster the Kara had built and was constructing was in a great spot with a lot of talents and a lot of good human beings. And then from there now we're putting in the infrastructure of staffing and then the PNC and some of the additions and updates. And it's been a bit of a world win and training camp.

And here we are now with a selected roster and preparing for our first game. How do you put together a team identity when none of the players have been together as a group? Well, there was a framework when we were adding players about what we were looking for as far as people, character. Obviously, you can tell why people that were selected by

Kera had defense and goaltending was early and often what we were looking at and kind of building from that area out into the forward group. So, I mean, identity, you always have an idea of what you want to play in everyone's like, what are your non-negotiables, what are you going to, you know, advocate for in the room and players. The reality is my job is to put the players that we have in the best situations for their skill sets and what they're able to do.

And I think that's what I'm most excited about the roster is because there's a great mix of gritty players. There's a great mix of high-end skill. There's a great mix of players that can skate and get up and down the ice. And so there's a lot of different things identity-wise we can become. So it'll be interesting to go through that process. The expectations are pretty high right out of the gate as well. I was looking at the odds makers.

And I don't know if you know this, but you are the favorite to win the championship this year. So I know you've said in previous interviews that, you know, pressure is a privilege. And there is going to be a honeymoon period with this team for sure. But how do you deal with the expectations for an expansion team when you're the favorites to win it? Well, that is a little surreal, no doubt. That's not the normal thing is to walk into an expansion team. and be favorites like that.

But that's why we play. Like, who doesn't want to be in that situation? I would much rather be in a situation like this where people care and are watching and you know that you have an opportunity to win and be successful than some other opportunities I've been in where you know you don't have the resources.

You know you're playing uphill and every day is a complete grind because you know you're not where you need to be from a talent perspective. I will take this any day of the week, every day of the week. Brian, let's get to know you a little bit personally. You're a Detroit guy, and I know you like drinking coffee. Who would win a coffee drinking contest between you and Detroit Lions head coach, Dan Campbell?

I'm a huge Dan Campbell fan, so I don't know. I think I'd be happy with a tie in that one. But side note, I literally just stopped with my e-bike and bought four bags of beans on the way in this morning. So I got that going for me. I also heard you, like, you grew up, okay, you're talking to a guy that had, grew up in Vancouver, but had a Detroit Pistons bad boys poster growing up on his wall.

What was it like growing up a Detroit sports fan? I mean, obviously, you had the Red Wings, I'm sure you're interested in them, but did that Pistons team shape you at all with the type of person you are and the way you like to compete? Honestly, 100%. And I'd take it even further. I mean, you go with the Russian Five through kind of that time for me growing up and even, you know, Joey Kosher bought Probert and just the identity of growing up. up in Detroit and then the fat five with Michigan basketball that was a pretty good era to be a sports fan and you know

what Dan Campbell is doing back there now and bringing that back and grit and yeah that there's no doubt that if you're growing up in that area especially that time frame you had a huge chip on your shoulder and kind of embraced the grit and the grind

and working hard and just competing and being a little on edge and nasty. So I would love for our club to be like that. We'll see how that shapes out. We are speaking to Brian Adelski. Vancouver Goldnise head coach here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sports Net 650. The Golden Eyes have their inaugural home game this Friday, November 21st, 7 o'clock at the Pacific Coliseum against Seattle.

Just one more on your history coming into this job, Brian. You've coached in a lot of different places. and the typical pipeline from North Dakota to China to Russia. Everyone's done that before. Tell us a little bit about your coaching career prior to landing the job with the Golden Eyes. Yeah, one day I woke up and I was an old coach. Yeah, life is funny. I would have told you I probably would have stayed at North Dakota forever.

And then when that program was eliminated, it actually turned out to be a great opportunity. opportunity of growth for me. So being able to coach different age levels, being able to have the opportunity to go overseas and coaching China and Russia and then be a part of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Yeah, very fortunate now back into college hockey and then the opportunity in the PWHL, it's, you know, for a self-described, you know, Michigan kid who is a bit of a grinder like Yeah, it's been a great ride and opportunities, and that's what I've always loved about hockey is how a game is like that and how close-knit and people and relationships.

So it's cool to be here, and I can't wait to add in our chapter to all about it. Okay, well, before we let you go, let's do a quick preview of Friday's game. It is the big one, of course, it's the inaugural game for the Golden Eyes. Set the stage for us and for our listeners, who are some of the players that you're going to be leaning on to get through what's going to be, obviously, an exciting but emotional night. There's going to be a lot of energy in the building, and then the players that are going to kind of set that standard moving forward and what is high expectations for the PWHL campaign for Seattle or for Vancouver.

Yeah, no doubt. Probably starts in goaltending for us with Merence Mashmire, and then Kristen Campbell, solid number two for us, super excited about our decor. Honestly, Sophie Jake's bomb of a shot and very offensive-minded, but great in their own end as well. Claire Thompson is honestly, I knew of her, but seeing her in person is probably one of the best athletes I've ever coached. She's all over the ice. She'll be dynamic.

Ashton Bell, similar. So right there, those three defensive players are pretty elite. And then up front, Sarah Nurse, and then Michelle Carvinan, and I'm a huge Michaela Kava fan just with her hockey sense. Jen Gardner, great shot. I mean, I could go on and on through the whole roster. Any given night, somebody could be the kid in Curious, and that's a special thing to have.

If you want to go check them out. Sorry, go ahead. I just was going to say we have great depth. If you want to check it all out, it's this Friday, November 21st, 7 o'clock at the Pacific Coliseum, it's the Golden Eyes and the Seattle Torrent. Brian, thank you very much for taking the time to do this today. We really appreciate it. Best of luck on Friday and with the season, and enjoy that coffee. Sounds great, guys.

Appreciate it. Thank you. That's Brian Adelski, head coach of the Vancouver Golden Eyes here on the Halford & Brough Show on Sportsnet, 650. Sports weekend in Vancouver is pretty interesting, actually. Friday night with the Golden Eyes debut, Saturday night. Another sellout at BC Place for a Vancouver Whitecaps game. And I reminded myself while I was driving by BC Place yesterday that I need to get to the game earlier than I did for the messy game.

Oh, yeah. Because it was wild outside BC Place. Like, it was, it was at the point of kind of, like, dangerous. You know, like, you're like, this is, there's like a bit of a crush going on here. So I know BCPA will be like, we'll be better this time. I'm just going to show up early tomorrow or on Saturday and make sure I get in comfortably. Tomorrow I'll get in. If you go tomorrow, it would be very early for Saturday's match.

Do you see Sebastian Bearhalter yesterday with all the soccer going on? Do you see the U.S. routed Uruguay 5-1. That's a good win for them. Yeah, tremendous win for them. And Bear Halter was unreal. Yeah. Scored a banger of a goal, set up another one on a cross. You better enjoy him.

You better enjoy him, White Caps fans, because... How old is he? He's not very old, is he? He's like... Early 20s. He's made such a good case to be on the U.S. team at the World Cup that I think he's almost guaranteed to be there, there are going to be massive, massive clubs calling for him.

Like, I'm not, and this isn't just me putting on the, the rose-colored white caps glasses here. Like, he is turned into one of the more promising young players in league. Thomas Mueller talks about him constantly and is pumping his tires constantly. Because he, when he came to the white caps, it was kind of like, yeah, we'll see. We know his name. He's got a name. Do you know what they paid for him?

$50,000. $5,000. $50,000. thousand dollars. I thought it was a little less. He is the best value in all of MLS. He's one of the best value players in the world right now, given what he's doing. And he's

destined for bigger things. He's been a fantastic white cap. And I don't want to start writing the obit of his Vancouver career, because he's still got a huge match. That's what happens, though, right? When you're that good, and his development has been phenomenal. I don't think anyone thought that he

could be as dynamic as he's been. And he could be destined for bigger and better things. So if there's an opportunity, to get a ticket to Saturday's match against L-AFC, I recommend you go out and get it because it's going to be a lot of fun on the weekend. Biggest White Caps match in the season that's had a ton of really big white Caps matches,

so I'm very much looking forward to it. Okay, hours one and hours two are in the books. As we often do here on the Halford & Brough show, we jump from topic to topic. We're going to get right back into the Canucks talk on the other side of the break. Randy Janda is going to join us at 8 a.m. Here's the rundown for the Canucks.

They will practice today at 1115. Anytime this team practices with the amount of injuries that they have, there's usually some news that comes out of that practice. So that's going to happen at 1115 this morning. The Canucks play the Dallas Stars tomorrow at Rogers Arena. That's a 7 p.m. puck drop. And of course we can look back on the recently completed three-game road trip with Randy. We'll do all of it on the other side of the break.

Also, get your what we learns in. Dunbar Lumber text message in Basket is 615. 650, hashtag it WWL, and tell us, what did you learn over the last 24 hours in sports? Let us know. There's a lot of stuff we haven't got to yet. We didn't do the entire World Cup qualifying story. LeBron James made his NBA regular season debut yesterday. His debut is the first game?

23rd year in the NBA. That's incredible. It's crazy, right? So all this stuff is out there. 23 years in the NBA. It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. So if you want to weigh in on any of this stuff, get him in.

Dunbar Lumber text message in Bass. at 650, 650, hashtag at WWL. You're listening to the Halford-Dimbrose. LeBron Jones, LeBron James, LeBron Jines. On SportsNet, 650.