Halford & Brough in the Morning - Wemby Is Changing Basketball

Episode Date: June 1, 2026

In hour two, Mike & Jason preview the NBA Finals with The Athletic NBA's Joel Lorenzi (1:32), which sees Spurs young superstar Victor Wembanyama making it to the final round in just his first playoffs appearance ever, plus the boys discuss the latest Canada Soccer news with The Athletic FC's Joshua Kloke (24:28), as the World Cup fast approaches. 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.

On a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody, Halford Brough, Sportsnet, 650. Well, manic Monday music here. Halford & Brub for the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Are you drowning in tax debt if you are? Sands and Associates can have to reduce your debt by up to 80% when the upfront fees. Visit them today at Sands-Trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Joel Lorenzi, NBA writer from The Athletic, is going to join us in just a moment here.

Our two of this program is brought you by Jason Homunuck at Jason. dot mortgage. If you love giving the banks more your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit them online at Jason, dot mortgage. We are coming to you live from the Kintech studio. Step Strong with orthotics and footwear from Kintech. Guests on Sportsnet 650 call in on the ABLE Auctions hotline. Email sales at abelhe auctions.com to get your business assets sold and your building cleared. The NBA finals are set. The Spurs upset OKC over the weekend to punch their ticket to the final to face the Knicks.

Wemby's coronation, it happened on Saturday night. Joining us now to talk about it, as mentioned, NBA writer from the athletic, Joel Lorenzi here on the Halford & Breath Show on SportsNet 650. Good morning, Joel. How are you? I'm good. How are you guys? We're good. Thanks for taking the time to do this. We appreciate it.

So I know that you were covering this Western Conference final thoroughly, very thoroughly, for the athletic and at the end, and I know it's hard sometimes to capture these things in the moment, but did you really feel like you were witness to an occasion that you really you went through something there that you saw the coronation of Wembe?

I know it's only to the NBA finals, but it feels like that was very significant on Saturday. No, that's completely fair, especially because I think a lot of people were anticipated, you know, whoever was going to come out of this series, I think it was widely considered. That was kind of like the NBA finals itself, right? And it's more of a knock-to-the-east. and I think maybe that perspective changed a little bit

just because the Knicks are rolling the way they are and they do seem to be prepared to bring a little better of a fight than previously anticipated. And they actually, like, once we get down the matchup, like they've given the spurs a little more trouble than they gave the thunder over the course of this past year. But no, like it did feel like a coordination, especially because when the,

There's so much emotion rooting, like, these matchups for Wembe. Like, beyond, like, playing against Shet, clearly he had his eyes fixed on the MVP and Shea. And, like, all of this mattered. It was so pressurized, and it went seven. Like, I think a lot of people probably figured this was such an exhausting series, such an inflection point for him. Like, it felt a lot like the way,

when I was covering the Thunder last year, when they finally got over the hump with Denver, that was an inflection point for them. And this was even bigger. This was a different stage. This was against a better team. This was against the defending champions. Like, it certainly felt like everything you framed it to be.

What did you make of how emotional Wemby was in the aftermath? I think it's a great thing for the league. Like, I do think he's going to become polarizing pretty soon. I see my God Tim McMahon say that. He's just too great of a player to not draw hate, but he is a very easy player. I think just as an easier player to love for the emotions, right, because of the care factor,

because he's admitting that jealousy and envy or emotions he wields, strictly weaponizes in competition. Like the guy just cares, man, in a way that, like, you know, and part of this is, I think, team, team functions and team ecosystems kind of breathe and groom some of these guys to, like, not be PR disasters and not wield emotions because a lot of these guys don't know how to, whereas Wendy, there's, like, this emotional intelligence

to where he could be all these things and he could show all these emotions, and it works out for him. It doesn't just work out for him. Like, it's added to his startup. So, like, the tears were predictable, but it's who he is, and it's a great thing. Like, the guy cares, which

honestly, like, make me more star or should. I think you really hit on something important here, and it's the collective uniqueness that I'll call it, of Wembe, and it's, okay, the physical stature, I think it goes without saying. There's, like, I don't think there's another human on the planet that possesses everything that he has in a physical

nature, but there's also his background coming from an entirely different, you know, throughout ecosystem, like growing up in France, playing in Europe as opposed to North America growing up, still being exposed to the American game. And then there's all of the offseason training and with the Shaolin monks and everything else. It's created this, this character that I think we're still trying to figure out. And the other interesting thing you brought there is that, you know, he's going to be a villain in New York. This is, you know, it's going to be this next sort of.

of iteration of Wemby that when you're that great, you are going to have people that want to see you lose, because obviously, in the case of New York, you're going to try and take a title away from their team. So I think we're at a really fascinating point, maybe not just for the individual, but for the league, because if he wasn't the face or the presence already,

he might soon be, especially when this series of time. And of course he now has to become polarizing. Yeah, and he has to. Yeah, really. No, and not even New York. Hey, Oklahoma is not New York, but he is not very well like there. I can say that. It's already started. And that just comes with this level, this tier of talent.

Like, I think even like, like, Wembe, I think it's pretty, I'm comfortable saying that he's the best part in the world right now. But Shays reign lasted about 18 months, and I thought you saw the pinnacle. And it's not over with Shepard. But I thought you saw the pinnacle of Shea's, like the reception of Shea and how it was kind of, I mean, Shea had a weird thing where he was never really heralded this way. Yeah. He had the strange ascension. So people really only ever went from being confused about him to realizing like, oh, this guy, this guy's a first team all NBA guy to being like, no, we don't like the way he plays. it was a pretty weird ascension,

whereas Wembe was like, this guy is coming into the league, challenging everything we've ever thought of basketball player can be. Then it's like, oh, well, can this guy be the goat if he's not going to be injured, if he's going to be healthy, if he's going to keep improving steadily.

And now it's like, okay, this guy in year three is the best player in the world. He's making his first final trip, his first playoff run, and he's kind of challenging again. challenging everything we thought we knew about ascension as a basketball player. People are going to

hate this guy. But people are also I think he's going to bring a I think he's going to break the ceiling on fandom to be honest. I mean that conference finals I believe certainly the game one was the most watched game one of a conference

finals ever I believe like he's going to bring that trail with him. And it should be good for the game of basketball. But people got to know he's not going to be the dawn in forever, especially if they win this ones, because he's going to be around for a long time. Yeah.

What do people, you mentioned that people in Oklahoma City do not care for Wemby. Why? Well, it's obvious. He's here to stick. And I think people before, I mean, when they first emerge as this real threat in the fall, I think people were even skeptical then because when OKC1, it was clear. Like, they've got the draft picks.

They've got these guys on cost control contracts. They've got this willingness to spend when the tax and whatnot comes around. They've got a guy who's the best player in the world. They've got three all the NBA guys. They were built more than anybody by a mile to stick. I think a lot of people thought they would be lonely at the top. and it became pretty clear early in the air, like not only were the Spurs that had a schedule,

but as they continued to beat them in the regular season series, like, oh, this team, this team is for real. Not only are they an interesting matchup, but they're, like, mutating in real time. Like, they are younger than the Thunder. They have a guy who has tougher a scheme for than anyone. Like, all you heard out of a show, said Gilders Alexander's mouth and even

Chet Hong with his mouth was that look like that that guy on the back line victim with Miyama like we've never had to try to score on something like that like no I imagine no offense and NBA history has ever seen anything like that right I think that's completely fair to say and so it was just such a unique thing for them that they couldn't even they didn't I mean obviously

they were missing two two of their best ball handlers for a chunk of a series that probably swings a series. But for what they had, they were capable of winning. They had a lead in game seven. And it was just such a difficult thing to respond to with Castle Hound and the ball and Wemby, man in the rim. And those guys are only going to get better. So that's why OKC takes Wembe,

because he is this thing that you know isn't going away and he's only going to improve. I mean, that's a terrifying thought. Yeah. So is all the, if you want to call it, at hate, is that, is that just because, because he's unbelievable? He's a great player in Oklahoma City. We thought we're going to have this dynasty and now we may not.

Or is there, is there something about Wemby's personality, which is very different compared to a lot of American pro athletes? Are there some people that are like, this guy is un-American? I don't like this guy. He's from France and he's, you know, in touch with his feelings. And I don't care for that. Is there some semblance of that, too? I think it's mostly

it's mostly rooted in there he's a roadblock but like shit is Canadian I don't know if they're worried about American guys on a that Thunder roster like half of Team Canada plays for them

but also I do think people like to your point like people are starting to nitpick some of the personality things because he is so because they know the basketball stuff is inevitable. Like he is going to crush your team. And so now I think people will start to, you know,

like I've seen people call like the thoughtfulness and interviews like they're starting to call it performative. Yeah. You knew it would come to that, right? Yes, I knew it would come to that. And it's fun because me, like selfishly as a reporter, it's like I don't care what y'all think. Like I would prefer the guy who acts poetic about,

anything instead of the two-word response. Like we, we prefer a guy who's thoughtful, who is introspective. Like, that is pretty cool to see an athlete of that statured be like, yeah, I read before every game. I don't even read before every game. I'm a writer. I'm a writer, exactly. It's a cool thing, but you know that, like, you knew as he as he rose and shared this sort of darling image

and, you know, as the naivete, like, kind of wear off. Like, you knew it was going to come to this. This guy's going to reach a ceiling that I'm not sure we've seen since the barn. We're speaking to Joel Lorenzi here on the Halford & Breff Show on Sports 9-650. Joel is an NBA writer for the athletic as we preview the NBA finals. Let's talk about this NBA final. mentioned the spurs are the favorite. Not a significant, but they're a fairly big

betting favorite. I think a lesser favorite than people thought. Yeah, but still the favorite going in. So the challenge for the Knicks now, let's even go Wemby aside. One, how big a challenge is this? And two are the Knicks up for it? Yeah, I think they got a couple wins in them, for sure. They gave them a little pushback in the regular season.

So it's not like, you know, the Spurs and Thunder regular season. When you looked at that, you were mostly betting on the fact that the Thunder had this playoff resume and that they could problem solve in the series with them. The Knicks actually have wins over the Spurs. And on a bigger stage, I mean, say what you want about the NBA Cup, like they beat them there. And I was pressurized and that mattered and the Spurs cared. It'll be interesting because Mitchell Robinson obviously had a procedure on the fifth metacarpal on his hand, I believe. And he's like such an important change up for them if we want to get granular like that. He was going to matter in a series against whoever they play, but he especially matters against his first team who like really the pride of their team.

I mean, obviously you want to play Wembe as much as you can, but the prior to the team is that Pornett can come in. And I thought through the regular season like that, like their rotation was good, their big man rotation was good. Obviously, they lost a chunk of those minutes against the thunder, which that's the thunder. But like if Mitchell Robinson can kind of eat into that

and give Wemby a different look, that sort of thing matters, man. Like, the thing you need to throw off is, is Wemby. And so I do think, though, that the Spurs just have too many responses. Like, this is their first playoff run, and you saw the amount of counters they pulled out against the Thunder.

Like, they won those last two games because they just had more timely responses, and they have more of them. They have Devin Vassell and Julian and Champini hitting quarter threes, hitting transition threes. They have Wembe doing all that he does. They have Steph Castle being this. physical load-bearing guard. They have Deerrin Fox hitting clutch shots.

Deerr-Fox by game seven was moving, and like he had all playoffs. Dillon Harper, dude, like, I can't believe Dylan Harper is working. They have really what's not being talked about enough and how they beat the Thunder, I believe they had only like seven turnovers in that last game. They have more ball hands. more capable ball handlers than any team in the league right now.

Castle, Fox, and Harvard. These guys are not just physical. At their best, they don't turn the ball over. I know Castle had a couple of those games early on where he was coughing it up without Fox. But, like, at their best, they are all capable of running offense, which is, like, if you can't turn them over and get points like that, and they're just going to keep finding ways to get Wendy the ball and the office is going to keep running.

They're going to keep getting threes from their best shooters. That is impossible to stop, let alone the defense. So do I think that NICS are up for the challenge? I don't think they're going to beat them. No way would I say that. But they are rolling, and it would be silly of me to think they couldn't win a couple games. The series gets underway on Wednesday, wildly anticipated NBA finals, Spurs. Nick. Joel, thank you very much

for taking the time to do this today, man. This was very cool. Enjoy what should be a very cool NBA finals. And thanks again. This was great. I'll try. Thank you, guys. Yeah, thank you. That's Joel Lorenzi, NBA writer from the Athletic here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650. So here's something for, do you want to go somewhere?

Yeah, I did want to go somewhere because the Montreal Canadians are doing their end of season interviews right now. The locker cleanouts. And Brendan Gallagher, according to Eric Engels was very emotional and said it's pretty clear I'll be moving on here. I mean, hopefully to Vancouver.

Yeah. That's the end of an era. It is the end of an era and I feel bad for Galley that, you know, he didn't play much in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And there were a couple times where I thought, you know, they're going to put him back in. Never did. As a player, he is not nearly as effective as he was.

in his prime, obviously. But I do wonder if the Canucks can kill two birds with one stone and not only add Brendan Gallagher to a team that desperately needs more veteran character leadership guys, role models that will teach the young players how to be in the NHL, but also maybe get something out of it because the Montreal Canadians will need to move off his contract. It's too bad that we're not in the flat cap era anymore where these contracts would be more onerous.

I mean, it's not like it's easy to stomach. He's still got what one year left at 6.5 million, right? Yeah. I mean, it's not, it's not nothing. Yeah. And he's got a no move clause. So I think he's got. got a six-team no-trade list

as well. So I'm not exactly sure how all the no moves and the no trades come together. I'm on the record saying that I would love this for the Canucks. Absolutely. I don't know. And I know some people are going to push back with like, he's ranced and he can't play. That stuff is so secondary.

Tertiary. Culture builder, man. That's what's about. Well, I mean, he's going to need to put, here's a thing. You are going to need to play with regularity if you're going to be a culture carrying a bad team. The problem with Montreal is he couldn't get in the line. Yeah, but it matters way less if they can get a draft pick out of it. Something out of it. Yeah.

Whatever. Like, again. If the habs are forced to move off of this contract and maybe Brandon Gallagher, if he wants to come to Vancouver and he wants to be that guy for the Canucks, he wants to be the character leader in his hometown, maybe he can make it so that he forces his way to Vancouver and gets the Canucks something in the process. I'm using glory days, like with a wink and an edge, but in the glory days of, you know, cap flatdom, where these contracts were really onerous and you needed to get the first round pickings. Yeah, like you would get a lot in return

for taking that money off someone's hands. Again, you want to talk about opportunities missed over the last few years, and I know we don't want to keep relitigating the past when it came to the Canucks, but there was an era where you could accelerate a rebuild to a certain degree by stockpiling picks, by taking on bad contracts.

That was a mechanism that was available to. They never got on board with it. And it is unfortunate because one of the teams that did was Montreal. They went out and mined a couple of those, like, lousy contracts and got good picks in return for them. I mean, Dolly has already come on our show and said they're going to be looking for veteran players to sign veteran players and leadership guys and roll guys. And, I mean, this just seems too obvious to me.

Yeah. Like, his cap hit is six and a half. his salary's 4 million. Now, I don't think the habs are going to want to retain. They'd want to just get the entire cap hit off. And that's fine. But that's fine. But you, I do think that you would want to get some sort of sweetener out of it.

Oh, yeah, for sure. And it can't be like a seventh round pick. Like, you'd want it to be significant, but I'd really love to see Brendan Gallagher come home to Vancouver. and maybe this is last year in the NHL. Okay, it's time now to tell you about our friends at VGH Plus hometown heroes lottery. They need your support

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that's the important thing about this hometown hero Lottery. Yes, obviously there are some cool prizes to be won, but it also goes to help people, helps doctors, nurses, patients, but also firefighters, and that's why it's called the hometown Heroes Lottery. Win with BC's Bravest and help save lives. Millions and prizes are just waiting to be won, and tickets start at four for only $85. Don't wait, buy your tickets now at Heroes Lottery.com. We're at the midway point of the show.

We're going to go to break when we come back. Joshua Cloke, Canadian soccer writer for the Athletic is going to join us. A very eventful weekend for the Canadian national team ahead of the World Cup. 26-man roster named. Boom, right away, down to 25 men after a pretty serious injury on the weekend. We'll find out about a replacement from Marcelo Flores. We will also previews tonight's match against Uzbekistan. Canada is in action.

Just two friendlies left until the start of the World Cup. Josh Cloak joins us next for Canadian Soccer Talk. You're listening to the Halford & 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. 732 on a Monday. Happy Monday, everybody.

Halford and Brough, SportsNet 650. Halford & Brough in the morning is brought to by Sands and Associates. Got debt? If you do, reach out to Sands and Associates during regular business hours. and they'll get back to you within 20 minutes. Visit them online at Sands dash trustee.com. Still in our two of the program, Midway point of the show, Joshua Cloak from the Athletic.

It's going to join us for some Canadian soccer talk in just a moment. Hour two of this program is bratsy by Jason hominock at Jason. 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.com. Sometimes it's said that if you didn't have bad luck, you wouldn't have any luck at all. That could be the case of Canadian men's national team manager, Jesse Marsh, right now.

Just when he thinks, he's through the looking glass and gets his 26-man roster ready to go for the World Cup. Big injury hit over the weekend. That's unbelievable. Attacking midfielder Marcelo Flores ruptured his ACL during the Concaf Champions Cup final on Saturday. And of course, we'll now miss the World Cup for Canada. joining us to talk about that and a whole lot more, as mentioned from the athletic. Joshua Cloak joins us now on the Halford and Breft Show on SportsNet 650.

Morning, Josh. How are you? Yeah, I'm good. I mean, didn't someone also say that it's also darkest before the light? Can I put an optimistic spin on things here? Like, is this, have we hit rock bottom with the injuries on the national team? Is that where we're at? Well, there's still two friendlies left.

So let's check that idea. But I'm glad you brought this up because I have noticed that Marsh has been, I don't want to say defiant, but very resolute in saying, I think the line was, you know, we're not going to let anyone tell our story. We're going to tell it. We're not going to let the injuries dictate this team. But at this point, Josh, it's hard to look at the upcoming World Cup and say that injuries aren't going to play a factor for not just like Canada, but one of the host countries where much is expected. in a group where they should be able to thrive, and they would have, if they were at full strength. Do you agree or disagree with that assessment? No, I agree.

And what concerns me, I mean, there's a few ways to look at it, but what concerns me off the hop is that if Canada played the kind of style where, you know, they just, they like to have the ball, but play slowly, slow buildup, you probably wouldn't be as concerned. you guys both know, and your listeners, I'm sure some of them know that Canada plays full throttle soccer, right? They are constantly in fifth gear. That's what Jesse Marsh wants to do. That's Red Bull soccer. And so what's concerning here is not only do you have a litany of injured players, you are also asking some of these players who are returning and are probably 75, 80%. You're asking them to hit the gas pedal right away.

Right. And I worry if that kind of elevates the risk of more potential injuries. So that's the worrying part for me. But, you know, I was at an event last night, a Canada soccer kind of event. And one thing that I said, and this is the other side of the coin, I guess, is that there are a number of very good and very important Canadian players who have a clean bill of health, right? Jonathan David, Tejohn Buchanan, Ismail Kone, three attacking players who are going to start up front and could play every single minute of the World Cup. Max Kripoe, we can add him in. A lot of Alistair Johnston, right? A lot of very good players are very important players who aren't hurt.

Is that being overly optimistic? Maybe. But I do think it's important to note, you know? Yeah, no, it is. And I just want to focus on what they're losing with Flores in particular. here before we move on to the big picture stuff because I'm not sure how many listeners are intimately familiar with this game because he's still relatively new to the program so what have they lost with Flores two-part question one of they

lost with Flores and then how do they possibly make it up well they've lost the next factor they've lost you know one of their most creative dynamic and really unpredictable players on the roster right like you know Bosnia or I guess not Bosnia, they qualified late, but Qatar and Switzerland for sure would have spent months and months analyzing Canada. And Marcelo Flores, who only debuted for the national team in March, right? You know, a young player born in Canada to a Mexican father and chose the Mexican national team to the chagrin of many, you know, longtime Canadian soccer fans who maybe felt that him and his camp were stringing Canada long under John Herdman. Because he has, he was, you know,

only made three appearances for Mexico under the age of 21. He was technically allowed right under the wire to switch to Canada. And I think if you watched him against Tunisia and Iceland in March, you said, wow. Like this is a player that once he gets close to the opposition box, you know, he can he can dribble in a phone booth. He can get in and out of traffic and set up the final pass really, really well. And for a Canadian team that struggles, to score and they do. Marcello Flores was incredibly important. What do you have started?

I don't know. What do you have been first off the bench when Canada needed a goal probably? So they're hurting there. Right? And who replaces them? That's the issue. If they don't have anybody like him right now in their player pool,

there's a few schools of thought. I'd love to know what you guys think. One, and this is how I feel, I think four forwards to begin with is a little too lean for a World Cup roster, especially when one of those forwards in Promise David hasn't played since February. So maybe this is an opportunity to add a pure forward because Flores was seen as kind of the de facto fifth forward. You could do Jaden Nelson, right, who's still with the team. You know, some listeners will know him

from his time in Vancouver. He's a he's more of a winger, certainly not as dynamic, but he's Pacey. He loves to attack or like maybe junior hoilett right he'll be 35 when the world cup starts he's a veteran incredibly well respected very you know more of a cerebral player right now um but can get to the net really really well wasn't even invited to canada's training camp but still very much in the picture you're losing some pace with him but culturally that's a real a real important piece to add i i don't know. I think Jesse Marsh is really going to take advantage of the, you know, the Lou La Marello saying, if you've got

time use it. They have until June 11th. So, yeah, we'll see. I think your first point was that's where I was leaning towards that you've only got four strikers and you're not 100% certain on Promise David's health. I thought Jebison

kind of was probably got maybe the raw steel out of all of them given his profile. I know he hasn't had a great year, but this is a guy that played, what, 16, times for Bournemouth in the Premier League last year? Like it's a fairly high profile guy. Maybe if you're saying we can't replicate what Flores was going to bring to the table anyway with Nelson or Hoylett, we just completely rethink it and add Jebison and carry a fifth

forward. That's my thought on it. Yeah. And I don't think Jesse Marsh thinks this way, or at least I don't think he would publicly admit he thinks this way. But you bring four forwards, again, one of them had hip surgery in February, hasn't played since February. If you lose any one of those other guys to injury, that's catastrophic.

You're thin. And again, this is, this is, my issue here too is that this team is an incredibly strong defending team. They struggle to score. They've been shut out in four of their last six games. You can't nil-nill your way to the knockout round. And they have to reach the knockout round. bare minimum for expectations here. You need to score more.

And I understand that Daniel Jebison, he's been playing a lot, hasn't been scoring a lot, but the talent is there, hasn't seamlessly fit into the national team. But I think he, and Jason Russell Roe, to me, as another player we should mention,

like how many players does Canada have who have been playing regularly in the second half of the season in a top five league? He's been doing that in France. he scored for Canada against Guatemala in January you have options right and I just think you can't go into the World Cup

with injuries already lingering over this team with just four forwards I'm sure you know some listeners disagree I don't know where you guys are at but that's the concern for me compared to four years ago at the World Cup what is Canada's depth like because I think we all remember watching Canada in Qatar

and going like, oh, they got some players that are a reach to be out on the field. Well, I think it's telling to me that, you know, a starter in all three of Canada's World Cup games in 2022 was not even invited to training camp, right? And Kamal Miller. And that, to me, just kind of symbolizes the depth in the player pool. And it's interesting. This was, you go back to the start of 2025.

that was Jesse Marsh's goal, was widen the player pool. You're deep in the player pool and make sure that like come this point, you're not kind of saying, well, I don't know how I feel about this guy. You can't say that about any guy in the roster right now. But you're right. There were players up and down in 2022, Lucas Cavalini, David Wetherspoon, that you really went, okay. Like I don't know if I can trust this player in the moment and the results.

were the results, right? Like Canada were ahead of schedule in 2022. Fantastic story. But they, you know, they were very much, again, as much as they're going to say otherwise, there was a big vibe of like, whoa, we're here. And like their eyes were wide,

wide open. And I think, too, when you look at how much their depth has improved, some of their players in 2022 that were there have taken incredible leaps. Like Liam Miller, for me is probably starting June 12th. He was a player of promise, right, in 2022. Now he's a player

whose team is getting promoted to the Premier League in a, like in big part because of him. Like his swagger and confidence this last week in Charlotte to me was off the charts. And you got questions about Ali Ahmed, huge questions about Alfonso Davies on the left side, start Liam Miller because he will likely play in the Premier League last, next season. And you couldn't say that about most of your players in 2022. So, yeah, the depth has improved. And I think big picture, that's a good thing because I think more Canadians than ever are going to tune into this tournament.

And, you know, people are going to want to find their guys, right? People are going to want to say, oh, who's that guy? I've never seen that guy before, right? Like, you know, Moy's Bombito is another example. He might be when fit, the best centerback in North America, right? when fit. And you know, we all watched the first game against Belgium in the World Cup four years ago. If they have Bombito's speed in the back, they probably don't allow that goal.

Maybe they get a draw out of their first game and we're having a very different conversation. So, yeah, a long way of saying the depth is much, much better. Okay, Alfonso Davies. I mean, I don't know what, I don't know what to expect because if Jesse Marsh says he's probably not going to be ready for the Bosnia game. Like is he going to be ready for Qatar or is he going to be ready for Switzerland? And then part of me is also thinking

is this Jesse Marsh playing games with the media or like I don't know that's maybe some desperation. But you know you talk about Canada's ability to score goals. You know, Davies could be a factor in that.

You know, he can create chances when he's on. Yeah. Do we have some time here to go into this? because there's like there's a lot to unpack here. He only arrived with the team or was scheduled to arrive with the team late last night. I think start, like I have to say, it was disappointing not having Alfonso Davies just with the team through Charlotte. His absence was notable. His absence hung over the team.

And the team to me, and this is just nothing more than a vibe check, it felt, different from almost every camp I've ever been to and I've been with this team for a long time covering this team for a long time. They felt more serious bordering on somber sometimes looking exhausted.

They'll say they weren't. Again, this is just me and a vibe check. This is where you need a captain. This is where you need your tone setter. And I worry that it will be difficult. Again, they'll say

otherwise, but I worry that it'll be difficult for him to integrate. We'll see, right? It might not be. So there's that. And then I think you've got to ask yourself through Canada, when do we really need him? Like, it won't be against that game against Qatar, right? If Canada only get a draw against, you know, Qatar, that's a massive disappointment. It's probably Switzerland when you really need him, right? Because Switzerland should be considered one of the dark horses, the tournament. Very, very good team. And they're a very good team because they play a very European style where they want to have the ball, they want to have possession,

they want to play really smart soccer. And those are the types of teams that Alfonso Davies plays when he's healthy every week in Germany. So you need a player like that that understands how to break down a team like Switzerland. You're not going to have him against Bosnia. And I think Canada need to set some of those expectations right away. is it going to be disappointing for a whole country tuning in being like, okay, I'm here. Show me what you've got.

And the one player they know isn't there, yeah. But I think if you can, you know, mitigate expectations and really make sure that you have Alfonso Davies when you need him because potentially June 24th against Switzerland, that's a game that like if all goes right, that game is for first place in the group to stay in Vancouver. and I think that's when you really need him, right? Yeah. Real quick, Josh, I know you're up against him for time, but before we let you go, what are you looking for tonight against Uzbekistan? Health, health. Everybody get off the field healthy. It's pouring rain here in Edmonton right now. They're playing on turf.

They're going to split the squads largely. There could be one or two players that play most of the game, but I think, you know, they're going to take advantage of the 11 sub-rule in these friendlies. Health, health, health. If everybody can get out of this game healthy and on turf, we're going to learn a little, but probably not a lot. And then we'll see what kind of stronger 11. They roll out against Ireland in Montreal this week.

But if there are health gods out there, I bet Jesse Marsh is saying a prayer to them right now. Josh, this is great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do it. Stay dry. Enjoy the match tonight. Yeah, anytime, boys. Thank you. That's Joshua Cloak from the Athletic Canadian Soccer.

writer here on the Halford and Breft Show on Sportsnet 650. So Josh had to go, so we didn't have, but I wanted to ask him that. So I'll ask you. Okay. I'll ask you instead. Maybe you'll know. Why didn't Davies show up to the training camp in Charlotte? Because there were only two players that didn't show up.

Flores had an excuse. He was still with Tigris. Yeah. Why wasn't, do you know why Davies wasn't there? I think he went to go get some personally tuned physio rehab. I think he went to go see his own people, would be my guess. Okay.

Nothing has been confirmed. It's always been a weird thing with David, like, don't get me wrong. From a footballing perspective, the way that, like, obligations and media and responsibilities work, they're a lot different. Just, it's like, it's not even so much a cultural differences. The practices are different. Because you remember there was this big thing at the World Cup and Qatar about Davy's not being made available to the media and Davy's not speaking.

And Davey's not being the sort of prototypical. typical what we're used to leader, like let's say in hockey with a C on your jersey, right? He wasn't Sydney Crosby. Yeah, and it is different. You're losing to Norway. Now, that being said, I'm not trying to dismiss that the captaincy

doesn't matter in international football. It's a huge responsibility in the armband carries a lot of weight and significance. I do think it's a tough thing for Davies to negotiate because I just don't think he's used to it. he's never been

he doesn't have to be the guy for Byron but he's never been the guy because his entire career was about being this young phenom who was I mean I remember interviewing him for a piece for the athletic way back when we was with the whitecaps and he was so young and so naive

that he his de facto was always like well I just want to make sure I kind of stay quiet and you know stay in the background of the veteran guys now that being said you're the team's best player. He knows he's the team's best player. And I think more importantly, his teammates know that too. Yeah. So it's almost like, well, that's fine that you've been this one person your entire career.

But right now, we need you to be something else because, you know, your career and your legacy and your hopes and your dreams. A lot of them are going to be defined by what happens in this World Cup, right? The no guarantees for what happens four years from now. No. And Qatar was such an erratic one for Davies. I mean, you got to admit, There were the highs and lows. Of course, he scored. Yeah. So this is a really important one. Someone texted in, by the way.

Yeah. They said they kept Davies with the Byron medical team and Jesse Marsh confirmed this. Okay. Yeah. That's what I was kind of alluding. So I think what Josh was saying about the Switzerland game being the target is pretty bang on because that Switzerland game is either, wow, we got a chance to win the group. Let's go out and do that, even though we might be underdogs even with a guy like Davies and homefielded.

advantage. Or it's going to be like, we better win this game where we're crashing out. You know, the game is going to be, you know, if you, if they really need to do the business in the first two games. There's no way. There's no way. And I hope I don't jinx it here. But there's no way they're going to lose to Bosnia and lose to Qatar. No, I don't, I don't see that. I don't. Okay. I don't want to say this out loud, but I'll take a step further. I could see them having two disappointing draws in the first two matches. Yeah. And needing, needing a win. Putting unnecessary pressure and emphasis on that. final group stage match against Switzerland? I think they'll beat Qatar. Bosnia,

I'm less certain about. If you go into... I think they'll beat Qatar. I'm fairly comfortable with that. I think that they'll be fine, but I am throwing out the possibility of it not all going according to plan. Because right now you know what the plan is. And it's to get

to the Switzerland match on six points. Yeah. Now, if you go into the Switzerland match on four points, you're probably still in decent shape, but that means that you've probably drawn with Bosnia and beaten Qatar. Yes.

And let's be honest here, every team not named Qatar in that group is thinking about taking three points off Qatar. Yeah. Okay? You don't want to leave an awful lot to chance in that Switzerland match. Which is why opening against Bosnia is going to be so important. And which is why putting the boots to Qatar is going to be vitally important. Right?

By the way, a lot of people that are looking on this from the outside and, haven't been invested with all the World Cup qualifying. People might wonder, well, wait a minute. Bosnia beat Italy to qualify for the World Cup. So why would Canada be favored against Bosnia? Well, I mean, if you watch the Bosnia-Italy match, first off, it was a draw. I went to penalties.

It's not like they beat them in regulation or extra time. But, I mean, it's a draw, technically speaking. They went to the coin flip of penalties. They defended very well. they scored the one goal that they needed. Italy was wildly disappointing. And if you look at... And they were in Bosnia, too.

I think that mattered. Right. But if you look at prior to the Italy match, Bosnia's form was not scintillating. To get to the playoff, get past the semi-level, get to the final playoff against Italy. They also needed penalties. Right?

Against the team, a Welsh team that was just fine. But I would say in that match, also largely carried the run of play. If you look at their form prior to that, not a lot of wins. Look, they're a proud footballing nation, and they do have some talent, but their best player might be Edin Jekko and he's 40 years old.

And they have a minimal amount of talent. I don't think they have the depth that Canada has, although that would be when Canada was fully healthy. Now, that being said... Canada is like three healthy guys right now. That being said, you've got to understand with a lot of these, like, quote unquote, smaller European countries,

they have players that are routinely playing in like the Bundesliga, the Austrian league, like very good leagues. And these guys are all playing their trade with regularity. So the non-household names are still very good players. They've also been tested and qualifying. Well, that's a big thing. That's another thing. And I think we're all,

almost the last high-pressure game that Canada played. High pressure. High-high pressure. It was probably two years ago at the Coppa America. Yeah. By the way, there's more on Brendan Gallagher here. Okay. Gallagher himself has said that he'd be open to going to Vancouver.

I'll just read you. Yeah, I'll just read you what Eric Engels wrote. Gallagher says if we're up to him, he'd stay in Montreal for the rest of his career, but at least he'll have a say in where he goes. He was asked specifically about the opportunity to go home to Vancouver, and he made it clear it's one he would welcome. Let's do it. He will discuss with his wife and agent about,

destination. So, okay, we'll talk about that a little bit with SAT on the other side, but I also want to talk about the Canucks scouting department heading into this very important draft. All the scouts are going to be in Buffalo for the NHL combine. And this scouting group has not had much to work with for the last, I don't know, six years. But they haven't made much of that either. Before we go to break, I need to do the one to watch. brought to you by Crow. So, I'm sorry, smart decision brought to you by Crow. Sorry, I always get these mixed up.

So the smart decision is from the Minnesota Vikings. It's a tough decision for the Seattle Seahawks. The Vikings have replaced outgoing general, man, their outgoing general manager with Nolan Teasley, the former assistant general manager to John Schneider of the Seattle Seahawks. I bring this up, Jason, because there's this thing called the Super Bowl tax, which is after you win the Super Bowl and then you lose all your guys. Well, right now, they've lost their assistant general manager, their offensive coordinator and Clint Kubiak, Kenneth Walker, Boye-Mafi, Kobe Bryant, Rikwollen.

They've paid a pretty significant tax. Now, these aren't anything that they can't overcome. They didn't lose their... I'm okay with the Rikwollen departure. Yeah, that was fine. But, you know, that's a lot of pieces to lose it. This is the general manager and offensive coordinator, Super Bowl MVP. The Super Bowl tax is being paid.

Those are smart decisions, though, by the teams that are picking these guys up, maybe outside of Rikwollen. I didn't say that part out loud. That is your smart decision brought to you by Crow. Your trusting accounting and tax advisors for over 55 years. Crow smart decisions lasting value. Learn more at chroma-kai.ca. Final hour of the program coming up.

Satyar Shah is coming up. You're listening to the Halford and Breath Show on Sportsnet 650.