Halford & Brough in the Morning - Which Canucks Prospects Could Make The Team This Year?

Episode Date: August 8, 2024

In hour one, guest hosts Jamie Dodd & Israel Fehr look back at the previous day in sports (3:00), they give a Canada Olympics medal update (6:00), plus they talk Canucks prospects and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup w/ Sportsnet's Jason Bukala (26:31). 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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Oh! Good morning, Laddie. Come on, man. Come on. I had to do it. I had to do it. Clearly, you had to do it. It is Halford and Brough here on Sportsnet 650.

Jamie Dodd, Israel Fair, filling in for Halford and Brough for the remainder of this week. Izzy, what's going on, man? Good morning, Jamie. Good to be here. Only one more early wake-up for you. You're almost there. That's right. I can see the finish line. That's right. I'm back doing the shift next week, so a long ways to go for me, but

congratulations to you. Halford & Brough brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. We are, of course, coming to you live from the Kintec studio. Kintec, Canada's favorite orthotics provider,

powered by thousands of five-star Google reviews, sore feet, what are you waiting for? And 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line, so always a good time to get your what we learn submissions in we'll do that of course at 8 30 uh before we move on to the guest list and everything of course

i i referenced laddie but i should officially welcome the dogs to the show hey dog good morning good morning thank you laddie hello hello good morning wait until i say good morning you screwed it up dramatic pause was a dramatic pause there. I know. I was testing you, and you failed. You're too eager to get your catchphrase. You got your own brand of administrative nonsense. It'll only take us two more weeks to get this down, and then by the time we get it down,

Jamie won't be here. I was waiting. You know how you hold the treat out for the dog, and it's like, no, don't jump up. Wait until I say. That's what I was doing. Wait until I say good morning. I'm hungry. What can I say?

They do that to me with cereal sometimes. Just torch a bowl of cereal right in front of you. That's true. Anyways, good morning to the dogs. Big, big show coming up. Another show packed with guests here today on a Thursday at 630. Talk a little hockey. Jason Bukala, a regular on Canucks Talk.

He's covering the Ivan Hlinka Gretzky Tournament in Edmonton, the U18 Tournament. So we'll talk a little bit about that. Also get Bukala's thoughts on some of the Canucks prospects, what to expect from them in the upcoming season at 7. Adnan Virk, of course, from MLB Network and the Cinephile podcast will join us. We'll talk baseball, maybe some Olympics as well. Adnan Virk, of course, from MLB Network and the Cinephile podcast, will join us. We'll talk baseball, maybe some Olympics as well, with Adnan.

7.30, big baseball hour in the 7 o'clock hour. Ben Nicholson-Smith from Sportsnet is going to join us. Blue Jays lost again, no surprise there, to the Orioles. We'll talk more about that in what happened. Also, president of the Jays, Mark Shapiro, had a media availability yesterday. So we'll talk to Ben about his takeaways from that, Jays fans' reaction, what to expect going forward from the Jays. And at 8 o'clock, Ian Furness from KJR Radio in Seattle.

Very, very interesting practice for the Seattle Seahawks at training camp yesterday, Izzy. Very chippy practice, up to five fights, including some helmet swinging from DK Metcalf. So we'll see what Ian Furness has to say about that and maybe a little Mariners chatter as well. Maybe even a Kraken question for Ian because I know he's a hockey guy, too. So working in reverse order at 8 o'clock, Ian Furness from KJR Radio in Seattle, 7.30, Ben Nicholson-Smith from Sportsnet. 7 o'clock at Nantverk from the MLB Network and the Cinephile Podcast. And 6.30, Sportsnet Zone, Jason Bukla. Before we do

any of that, Laddie, let's get into what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. What happened? I missed all the action because I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? You missed that what happened what happened is brought to you by the bc construction safety alliance making safety

simpler by giving construction companies the best in tools resources and safety training visit bccsa.ca we'll recap what canada did at the Olympics yesterday. Starting with the good news, a bit of a surprise podium appearance for Canada. Alicia Newman wins bronze in the pole vault, and this was her third Olympics. She'd never even made it to the final before. So for her to not just advance, but actually end up on the podium, she set the canadian record personal best also which is always cool to see right you've training so hard and then in this

moment where it matters the most you're able to do your personal best something you've never been able to achieve before i know she's had a lot of injuries in her career as well she was talking about that but pretty cool story right your third olympics your third shot at it to not just go farther perform better than you ever have but set your personal best a canadian record and you end up on the podium as a result as well very cool story late in the games here for canada yeah absolutely pole vault getting a lot of attention at these games on the men's side on the women's side and uh that was yeah that was a pretty cool way uh to close it out for for canadian who knew pole vaulters were so spicy it's very spicy yeah absolutely yeah so shout out to alicia newman winning bronze in the pole vault uh also on the good news side of things for the canadians

yesterday at the olympics uh the beach volleyball team melissa humana parodies and brandy wilkerson they advanced to the semi-finals in beach volleyball they beat spain they'll take on switzerland today but of course they get to the semi-finals they will have a chance at least to play for bronze they're into the metal rounds of things now on the uh on the less good side for canada uh andre degrasse fails to make the finals for the 200 meters this is a tough. Won't be able to defend his gold medal. Didn't make the finals in either the 100 or 200 meter. And apparently he says he has a hamstring injury. Now, it's not a total loss.

He did compete in the semifinals of the 4x100 relay race for Canada. That was earlier this morning. They advanced to the finals. And my understanding is because it's a bit of a running start in the relay, it's not as tough on his hamstring. But still, really disappointing Olympics. Tough to see the injury. There's the situation with his coach as well.

Not even making the finals in either of those two events is wildly disappointing, I'm sure, for Andre de Grasse. No doubt. The 200 is his specialty, obviously the one that he took gold at at the last Olympics. So really tough. I think even going into these games, taking out the potential of an injury, he was going to be in tough in the 100, just get the age that he's getting at,

being someone who thri on on picking up speed throughout the race he's never been known as being a guy that starts super well so the 200 does play into his strengths yeah and there was going to be a little bit more challenge certainly he wasn't going in as the favorite like he was uh or at least you know among the favorites like he was in tokyo so this was yeah this was tough and when you're dealing with some kind of injury even a minor injury when the these races are being decided by tenths of a second you know he ran an okay race but in these heats in these semi-finals you've got generally from what i've seen there's usually a couple of

people at the out front and he was well behind the couple of people that were out front in, in his, in his semifinal. And he, you know, he's, he's not like he's coming in last or anything,

but the expectations for him are, are pretty high. Yeah. And as you said, like we all know how, how thin the margins are in these events, right. In the sprints,

any little thing that's throwing you off, you know, no matter how serious the injury is, if it's bothering you, if you're noticing it, that's going to put you in a really, really tough position. And, you know, as you said, he's, he has the rep as somebody who picks up speed throughout the race, you know,

especially on the bend on the curve of the track and the 200 meter has been a strength of his and the people there observing it just said he looked noticeably off, right. Especially uncomfortable, uncomfortable in the, in that segment of the race. Yeah. He just, he looked noticeably off right especially uncomfortable uh uncomfortable in the in that segment of the race yeah he just he didn't have it i mean even going back to his uh qualified trying to qualify for the 100 he actually had a good start and did not have his his usual his usual verse yeah even even in the race yesterday you could see that he was trying and that was where he was that that's what made him among the recent memory Canadian Olympic icon.

He was the guy that could actually keep up with Usain Bolt, who is the best ever at these races and the best ever at having that burst. And that was where, you know, the memes in Rio 2016 of him actually keeping up with Bolt where no one had really ever done that. And here it was very much a muted version of that, him trying to find that separating speed and just not being able to find that gear. Now, as I said, he's part of the 4x100 relay team for Canada.

They are in the finals, and this is a competitive team. I believe they medaled in the last Olympics, medaled in recent world championships as well. So it might not be a total loss from Andre DeGrasse's perspective at these games. Still got a chance to medal as part of the 4x100 relay team for Canada. Something else just to keep an eye on today, and I think it's going to be getting underway any minute here, is Maude Charon, who, of course, was one of the flag bearers for Canada in the opening

ceremonies. She's competing in weightlifting today. Interesting that the weight class she won in in Tokyo, not a part of these games, so she had to go down a weight class. I know she's been dealing with some injury issues as well, so we'll see not necessarily

a straightforward path for her to defend a medal, but still a gold medalist competing today or form gold medalist from Tokyo competing today for Canada, March on in weightlifting. All right, we'll keep you up to date on anything else that happens while we're on air here. We've got a men's diving and artistic gymnastics or rhythm gymnastics.

What do they call it? Rhythmic or artistic? Rhythmic, I believe because they switched the name sometimes. Have you noticed they've switched? Rhythmic or artistic? Rhythmic, I believe. Because they switch the names sometimes. Have you noticed they've switched synchronized swimming to artistic swimming? Yes. And we're all supposed to know. Why do you have to switch?

We're all supposed to know. But it's, oh, okay. Rhythmic gymnastics. Anyways, we got rhythmic gymnastics and diving on. So if there's an incredible dive or an incredible rhythmic gymnastics, I guess we'll tell you about it. Yeah. Look at that. That guy did so many spins.

That was incredible. You have to say spoilers first, though, because there's three guys in the inbox that get very upset when we talk about live sports on a live sports show. So you have to say, but you have to also say it not sarcastic, because Halford tried this. He said, spoilers. And I guess they didn't like the tone of that. So that didn't work either. They're very hard to please there's somebody out there who's like pvr'd just to watch what the slovenian diver is gonna do it's like no how dare you tell me that he got a 7.3 yeah so i'll

definitely make sure uh to say spoiler spoiler alert non-sarcastically yeah you gotta watch the tone sure uh before i give you any o any Olympic results. Moving on from the Olympics, I did want to just update you on the Whitecaps quickly. We talked to Vanny Sartini yesterday. Tough matchup against, you know, anytime you're taken on a Mexican side as an MLS team, it's always going to be difficult. They beat Tijuana 3-1 on the weekend,

but Pumas a cut above, my understanding, is in Liga MX. So Whitecaps lose 2-0 to Pumas. That means they're out of the League's Cup. And I got to say, you never want to lose a match, obviously, but probably not the worst thing in the world for the Whitecaps, right? Like the League's Cup, this is a relatively new competition, kind of a new invention between MLS and Mexico to try to promote both of their leagues.

It doesn't have that prestige that really gets the players and the clubs and the fans into the tournament. You saw the attendance at BC Place yesterday. Now, I don't want to dump on the Whitecaps because they've had really good attendance this year, and this is a match added to the schedule only as a result of the win on Saturday, right? So just a few days notice to get people hyped about it. It's a midweek thing. That's always going to be win on Saturday, right? So just a few days notice to get people hyped about it.

It's a midweek thing. That's always going to be a difficult draw, right? Pumas, good Mexican team, but not like a name draw. But what it illustrates is that fans care more about MLS, right? Fans care more about getting results in MLS. They care more about the Canadian championship. They care more about all of these things well ahead of the league's cup. So look, would it be cool to go on a run to rack up some wins against Mexican teams? Yeah, sure.

This way, you get some time off. I think there's a little bit of a gap in the schedule now before they resume MLS play. Ryan Gould can get fully healthy. Hey, you get the win against Tijuana. Tough to see a 2-0 loss. But at the end of the day, how often do European teams talk about this, right? Like, oh, hey, well, at least our fixture schedule is not quite as dense now, right?

That's where the white caps are at. Certainly, yeah. I mean, this is a recent initiative by, as you said, Jamie, MLS, and the Mexican League to sync up a little bit and have some of these matchups. But ultimately, it's going to probably have a bigger impact in Los Angeles, in the Texas cities where there are huge fans of these Mexican teams and they're going to be able to capitalize on that. It's, I think, for hardcore footy fans in the city, cool to have a Mexican team come in with something at stake but yeah with this new and i mean i've

even people that are in the know have either negative opinions on this league's cup initiative just because they don't like the way that it's been rolled out or are ambivalent about it right so i think getting a win is a good one for the white caps as they they were keen to say their first win ever over you know mexican side on the weekend uh pumas is they're not quite on the like the chivas club america level in mexico but i think they're they're firmly a second tier mexican side that that's that's competitive and um yeah not not you know the best performance by the whitecaps, but that's kind of where they're at, right? There is some of that fixture congestion to steal a term from the Brits. And I think that it's one thing if you make the semifinals or something,

and then all of a sudden you're like, okay, well, let's go win a trophy. Maybe we're not the biggest fans of the League's Cup, but let's go get it done. This is the round of 32, right? So there's only so excited you're going to get about this tournament at that stage. So Whitecaps lose 2-0. Bigger story is, and this is something Vanny touched on yesterday with us as well. This is the MLS transfer window for Canadian clubs closes today.

Vanny said fans could expect some news either yesterday or today. Haven't really seen any official reports from the Whitecaps. I know there's rumors out there about them adding at least one player. Vanny also kind of said, hey, it's transfer day. You never know what might happen. Last year, we got some last-minute business done. So, again, we'll keep you posted. We'll keep an eye out to see if the Whitecaps make anything official

before their transfer window closes today. I want to talk a little bit of baseball here, and it's going to be a fairly baseball heavy show, I would say, with Adnan Virk and Ben Nicholson-Smith coming up later on. But first, I'll just give you the results. So as I mentioned, Jays lose 7-3 to the Orioles. And no big surprise, Jays aren't very good. They've traded a lot of their players. Orioles are good. So yeah, Jays lose 7-3 to the Orioles. Mariners lose 6-2 to Detroit. Their bats go cold again.

As a result of that loss, they're now out of a playoff spot. They're a half game behind the Astros. They're four and a half out of the wild card, right? And that's always been a big part of this story is it's really a battle between the Astros and the Mariners for the AL West because the AL West is so mediocre this year. Whichever team finishes second is probably not going to have a chance in the wild card race. Astros and the Mariners for the AL West because the AL West is so mediocre this year. Whichever team finishes second is probably not going to have a chance in the wildcard race. They're only like three games above 500 now. They're just kind of a mediocre team.

And that's a really tough position to be in. Now, another interesting thing that happened yesterday in baseball was Jays president Mark Shapiro talking to the media. And it got me thinking a lot about the Jays and the Mariners, where these teams are, where these fan bases are, and especially where the fan bases are in terms of what they think, the kind of the opinion they have about the people running the team. And Mark Shapiro, I think you can look at it and say he's done a lot of good for the jays overall right like he's helped them build a new spring training facility in florida they he's overseen some some renovations at uh at skydome whatever it's called now rogers center you should probably know that i know it is but i just want to call it skydome keep calling skydome

skydome it's skydome like come on anyways you said you were there, and it's made a difference. It has. It's made a big difference to an old building that needed a facelift. But there's just something about whether it's Shapiro, whether it's Atkins. And I think this extends to Jerry DePoto in Seattle. They struggle to really connect with fans and explain the vision in a way that gets fans excited. Now, of course, it doesn't help that the on-field product is disappointing, right? Like management teams are inherently at a disadvantage when they're trying to communicate. If the team's not winning, you're always going to be subject to criticism. Then your words are going to get picked apart. van bases are just increasingly frustrated, not just with the product, but also with the messaging that they're hearing from their front offices. And I wanted to play this clip from Shapiro. Of course, one of the big questions that he was going to be asked yesterday was, is GM Ross Atkins, who's increasingly under fire for his performance from fans,

is he going to be back next year? Didn't give a direct answer, but here's what Shapiro had to say. I mean, I very rarely am unequivocal about anything. Commenting on job status during a season throughout my entire career when I've been asked about those things is not something I have or will ever do. That being said, contextually, I'm a huge believer in stability and continuity and that those are competitive advantages in professional sports that reacting and change don't necessarily mean improvement. So we need to be better. We have to be better. And, you know, I again, I think stability and continuity and making adjustments are where I'm focused right now. So that's Mark Shapiro talking about the future of Ross Atkins and kind of answering the question while saying he's not answering the question, right? It doesn't take a lot to read between the lines there and think that he's going to bring

Ross Atkins back as general manager. And, you know, look, I get it. On the one hand, you're not going to fire your GM randomly. You're not going to throw him under the bus at a press conference a couple of months before the season ends. I understand that. But there's also just that kind of it's like almost like a corporate way of talking about it, right? Where you're saying, wow, we couldn't possibly make a knee jerk reaction and we have to preserve continuity. And it's like, OK, but do you think he's doing a good job?

Can you just give it to a straight? Is he? Why are you keeping him rather than using the kind of corporate buzzwords and the continuity and all yada yada? Can you just tell us straight why you think he's the best person for the job and it's something that i think the jay's front office struggles with but i think that's something that the mariners front office struggles with and they're not the only two teams in baseball that have this issue right this kind

of they almost come across sometimes as trying to prove how clever they are rather than just trying to be honest and trying to put a winning they are rather than just trying to be honest and trying to put a winning product on the field first and foremost. I fully believe, especially in the case of the Blue Jays, the too clever, that they'd almost rather win 88 games their way than win 90 games a traditional way. And Seattle's part of that, and Jerry DiPoto, even if the Mariners end up making the playoffs

the 54 comment from the offseason is gonna stick with him forever the other part of this and this certainly applies to both is that they're almost buying into the narratives about their market and their teams like that's what mariner fans are upset about is that they they all know the story that you it's it's tough to get good hitters to sign in seattle and that you're going to have to overpay and things like that and they've got the reason that they're frustrated right now is that they've got a great pitching staff and it feels like if they don't make the playoffs for a second year in a row with this pitching staff it's it's a huge huge waste and you've got the front office basically regurgitating the talking points and the the league-wide perception to the fan base yeah it's really hard to get good hitters

to come to seattle your job is to change that your job is not to to not just to buy into what people are talking the way that people are talking about you and the blue jays have that a little bit as well when when they were not competing it was well it's so hard to play against the yankees and the red sox and i get it they've got huge payrolls um i'm an arsenal fan in the premier league it's easy to sit here and say that man Manchester City doesn't have a huge competitive advantage because of their payroll and how much they're willing to spend on transfers. It's the reality, but ultimately what you have to do

is try to find a way to beat them. It's not enough just to say, well, they spend more money than us and we can't compete. And when it comes to Seattle, yeah, it's a huge blow because fans want to hear the opposite of that. Yeah. And look, as I said, you're losing. No one's going to give you a perfect score for a press conference when you're losing, right? Because there's an inherent amount of frustration.

You're always behind the eight ball when things aren't going your way on the field. But I do think there's better ways to handle things and to kind of bring the Canucks clumsily into this conversation. You know, one of the things that I think as you're alluding to plagues, both the Jays and the Mariners is an inability to admit mistakes and inability to change course, right?

As you said, they have one way that they think they don't have to do things. That's the smartest, cleverest way to do things. And they're not interested in deviating from that path you know i think you look at jim rutherford and patrick alvin and what they've done with the canucks and first of all jim rutherford as a communicator he's able to just give it to you straight sometimes too straight right and he said himself like sometimes i get in trouble because i'm so honest and i'm so candid in the media but i think

fans would much prefer that rather than you know layering everything and kind of corporate speak and buzzwords like you hear a lot from shapiro and uh and jerry depoto and the other thing is they'll admit mistakes right andre kuzmenko hey we signed this guy for two years he's not working out with rick talkett let's trade him yeah they'll move on quickly if something isn't working and they are less concerned with okay we always have to be the smartest guys you know we have to find the most efficient way of doing it jim rutherford just wants to win and it's like hey if i had to overpay a little bit for elias lintelm whatever i think he's going to help us win i think he gives us a better chance

and we're going to do that can that get you in trouble sometimes sure but how much would either mariners or jays fans this upcoming offseason love to see the front offices just throw caution to the wind a little bit say you know what is this the most efficient deal that's going to be signed this year no but it's going to help us win so we're going to do it and we'll figure out the consequences later at a certain point you have to have that element of understanding that winning is the most important thing even if it's not the the prettiest way to get there the most's not the prettiest way to get there, the most efficient way, the cleverest way to get there.

You just got to put a winning product on the field. Especially when you're close. There's one thing to sign contracts that aren't going to age well when you're in a rebuild cycle and you're speeding things up. In the case of the Mariners, they have an elite pitching staff, arguably the best starting staff in the big leagues. So feeling that you're not trying to capitalize on that is, is going to sting for fans.

And like the baseball example, the Jim Rutherford comparison is Dave Dombrowski. Yeah. He's an honest guy. He will go out and spend money and sign players. And you can see where the Phillies have been the last couple of years and where they're at in the standings right now. Yeah,

no doubt about it. The roar is back at BC plays for the BC Lions 70th season. Get your tickets now at bclions.com. There is hockey being played right now. Yeah, August 8th, U18 hockey at the Hlinka Gretzky tournament in Edmonton. Jason Bukla from Sportsnet, former NHL scout. He'll join us next. We'll chat a little bit about that. We won't go too in-depth He'll join us next. We'll chat a little bit about that.

We won't go too in-depth, all the prospects there, but just talk a little bit about that tournament, its place in the scouting cycle, who's caught his eye. Do a little Canucks prospects chatter as well with Jason Bukala. Lots more to come. Get your What We Learn submissions in here on Halford & Brough, Sportsnet 650. Welcome back to Halford and Brough Sportsnet 650.

It's Jamie Dodd and Israel Fair filling in for Halford & Brough. Halford & Brough brought to you by the Dilawri family of Honda dealers. Experience the Dilawri difference today. Visit your nearest Dilawri Honda dealer today. 650-650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. The Bridge Street, Dunbar Lumber, and Ladner has moved to Progress Way in Tilbury's Industrial Park. More room, more product, more awesome details at dumbarlumber.com. Of course, what we learned is coming up at 8.30, so send your texts in now. Hashtag WWL, what you learned in the last 24 hours in sports.

You can get them in too, the 650 Dumbar Lumber text line. Izzy, this is our third day doing the show. We have barely talked about hockey, so I feel like it's time to rectify that. And right now, joining the show from Sportsnet, former NHL scout, he is Jason Bukla. Bukla, what's going on, man? It's been a while since we chatted. Hey, good morning, Jay. Doing fantastic. How are you guys out there? We're doing very well. As I said, it's been too long since I've talked hockey in any respect whatsoever. So, you know, I know you've been covering the Hlinka Gretzky tournament.

And, you know, before we get into some of the specific players there and what you're watching, just this is an interesting event for me because it's something that's really seemed to, the reputation and the prominence for fans has grown a lot in recent years, right? I feel like it's a lot more on people's radar now than it was, you know, five, certainly 10 years ago. How have you seen this kind of this tournament evolve as an event in recent history? You know, certainly it's changed because as you're aware,

it used to only be held in Europe, you know, based out of places like Pia Stani and Breklav and Bratislava. And I have to, you know, based out of places like Piestany and Breklav and Bratislava. And I have to, you know, listen, I have to tell you guys that, full honesty here, awesome place to travel to in the summer. Just go to hockey in that region. So you miss it. You're going every other year. But, you know, when it comes back to Canada, like last night's game in Edmonton,

you know, Team Canada versus Sweden it had that feel you know that kind of world juniors type of feel in the building obviously a scaled down crowd but a good crowd good solid crowd and they were into it and the kids uh the kids the U18 this is Canada's best U18 team their summer team because the spring team that goes overseas for the world championships some of the kids are still playing for their CHL teams, and obviously they're not loaned to Team Canada when they're in playoffs still, although Team Canada did win gold this past year in Finland. So this is an important event.

The kids are excited, and the atmosphere was great last night. When you look at that broader, I think we've been talking about this a lot in hockey the last few years, especially coming out of those COVID years and how difficult it was to to get eyes on players and the fact is players weren't weren't playing a ton is that just part of a broader evolution of the way that people are viewing hockey scouting these days and there's just an understanding that as you as you mentioned you know maybe in the spring some guys are still playing for the CHL team. So in the summer, here's this opportunity to see guys in a different group and on a different stage.

Yeah, you know, that's an area that's changed a lot, too. Obviously, the technology has come a long way. And the quality of what we can gain off of video in rinks is exponentially better than it was even two years ago, three years ago. And COVID, I think really pushed that along, you know, technology was working behind the scenes to improve because it was a necessity. And you know, now you're finding there's, there's never going to be a replacement for boots on the ground.

You have to be in the rinks. You have to see the players because on video, as everybody knows, the video follows the puck, right? be in the ranks you have to see the players because on video as everybody knows the video follows the puck right it follows the play and there's a lot of other things that are going on off the puck and out of screenshot if you will and um but you know there's a couple of things that work here if if you don't get a chance to see a kid as often in person uh the quality of the video has improved a lot the tag tagging has improved a lot. But also, like you mentioned, the value of these events and the opportunity for these guys to pull on a jersey, you know, to represent their country in a really prestigious event is a real nice experience. And it tells us a lot as a scouting community.

You know, you mentioned how good the crowd was for Canada-Sweden last night. Does the increased atmosphere almost make it more valuable as a scouting exercise. You know, you mentioned how good the crowd was for Canada-Sweden last night. Does the increased atmosphere almost make it more valuable as a scouting exercise for you? Because there is that extra intensity, right? I'm sure the players feed off it as well. It feels like it helps to create that kind of more intense environment where you get maybe a little bit of a better read on the players.

Yeah, I think that's interesting. Absolutely. I mean, the more people that are in the building, the more excited the athlete's going to be to play the game. I mean, nobody at any level, whether it be Major League Baseball, hockey, I don't care what it is, you know, you want to play in front of full buildings or at least an energetic crowd, and it pushes you along.

And it really does test your internal mechanisms, you know, like you can't be too hyped up and you know start straying away from responsibilities and doing silly things you know taking dumb penalties at the worst time stuff like that or you know goaltenders uh you know looking around for the first time in a while and seeing a huge atmosphere you know and get dialed in you know early in games and making big saves you know starting on time on time. Yeah, that's interesting. And that's a nice advantage that these guys have to start this scouting cycle for the season at an event like this as well because those high leverage

situations. So as you said, right, this is kind of the unofficial start of a new scouting cycle. And obviously the people like you who are doing it, who are, you know, boots on the ground, you've seen all these players before. You're aware of them before they get into their draft year. But it is kind of the kickoff of their draft year process how important is this event for for your process as a scout to kind of almost check okay who am i going to be really

paying attention to this year let's see what these guys can do and is there almost a danger though on the flip side of putting too much stock in this one tournament in August? Yeah, all of the above. So, you know, absolutely. You're going to have some kids that, well, I'll put it to you this way. So the Europeans right now, the European club teams, when these teams return from Holenka Gretzky, their season's starting already. So Europe starts about a month before, a little bit more than a month before the CHL does

and way before the NCAA does and the USHL. So they've got kind of a leg up because they've already been in training camp with their group. So they tend to, some of them tend to be better prepared earlier. The Canadians and the Americans, it's not that they're not

prepared, they're just not quite there yet game-wise. You know, it takes a few reps to get going. So, you know, that can be a little bit misleading. It's going to take some time for some of these other guys to catch up. But I will say that there are some players, when you're monitoring players as underagers, you want to see the type of

work they put in off-season before the start of this year to get bigger, stronger, faster. Obviously, all these guys are prospects, so they have things they have to work on. There's a kid from Czechia, for example, this Adam Benek, who played pro a little bit in Czechia last year. He's an undersized guy.

He's 5'7", 145 pounds in February. While he's up to 157 pounds or 158 pounds now, I can see, plain as day, the work that he's put in to get faster, stronger, because he's an elite offensive talent. So you, you start to notice these things and that's, that's the fun part of the job, seeing how the kids are putting in the work.

Many of the top prospects for the 2025 draft are, are playing here, but one name that's going to be talked about a lot, I think for the next couple of years and is at the top of the board for 2026 is Gavin McKenna. He's someone that's gotten a little bit of attention over the last couple of years and is at the top of the board for 2026 is Gavin McKenna. He's someone that's gotten a little bit of attention over the last couple of years. I expect that to ramp up as people get more familiar with him and he gets into these kinds of opportunities.

But at this point in his development, what kind of player is he? Oh, boy. A super elite. So if I think back to Conor Bedard before before his draft year i was in um where was i in the world germany i'm losing track here i was in germany when he was an underage playing for team canada's u18 team and he was you know arguably one of the best players in that tournament then you fast forward the year later as michael celebrini has an underage in switzerland and then you fast forward this year to Gavin McKenna. In Finland in the spring, guys, seven games played,

10 goals, 10 assists as a double underage. Like, that's insane. Those statistics are crazy stats. And so this is the next one. You know, I think it's fair to label him that. He's the next franchise-type player. He would be in the conversation with James Haggins, who's projected to go first overall next year from the U.S.

He'd be in that conversation this year as a first overall. So it gives him some perspective going forward just how elite he is, and he's got another year on top of this year before he gets drafted. Boogs, I wanted to ask you also about Vancouver Giants player Cameron Schmidt, who's a part of the Canadian team. I know he had a couple of goals the other night as well. You just look at his profile. Undersized,

but put up points in his draft minus one year. Last year for the Giants, 58 points in 59 games. How does he measure up as a prospect going into his draft year? I really like him a lot. So, you know, kind of got off to a good start this week early.

He's got a couple goals. He is playing up in the lineup on the power play. He's similar to the Benak kid in that, you know, stature-wise. They're almost the exact same size. One's a left shot, one's a right shot. Now, you know, when we're talking a right shot. Now, you know, when we're talking about the size of the player, you know, with

Cameron, there's things that you have to be able to accomplish so that your skill set can rise to the occasion. So you have to play fast, you have to have escapability in small areas, and then, you know, your compete, you've got to be a relentless competitor. And Cameron has all those things, guys.

He's got that. He pushes back. He's got a little snarl to him. He doesn't like it when people get in his space. Like, he pushes back, and I really like that about him because at 5'7", he's going to be challenged. But I really like his skills. So he can do a lot of things offensively.

He is one of the better passers of the puck on the Team Canada's team from the forward group. He really zips the puck around, sees the ice exceptionally well. So nice mix of a lot of different things going on there with him. I expect him to have a big year in the double. Is there anyone else at the Holinka-Gretzky that's caught your eye, maybe a player that isn't getting a ton of hype at the moment? Well, Team Canada's loaded compared to the other teams.

Sweden's a very good team, but Team Canada's a little bit different. It was a 2-1 game last night, but Team Canada's captain, guys, Matthew Schaefer from the Erie Otters, he was the first overall pick in the Ontario Hockey League two years ago. He only had like three goals, 14 assists in Erie last year. And I actually wrote in my pre-tournament type of piece that I'm really looking out for this guy to go to another level offensively. And he's done exactly that already to start this tournament, playing in all situations.

There's certain players, like remember when duncan keith was really you know at his prime in chicago they just they have this glide about them the way they skate their jump to space and stuff it's so effortless it's it's fun to watch like you guys have hughes out there you know this this guy doesn't skate like hughes nobody really skates like hughes but but you know you get my drift shaper is an elite skater, used in all situations, offense, the compete, the pushback. He's gone already. I would say that if I had to forecast it, he could be the first defenseman taken off the board next year,

so that's been fun to watch. We're talking to Jason Buchla, Sportsnet NHL prospect analyst here on Halford & Brough, Sportsnet 650. And, you know, Jason, I wanted to pick your brain just a little bit about some Canucks prospects as well. And one really interesting name that stands out to me going into this year to monitor is Tom Volander and going back to be you. And of course, that team is losing a lot of firepower in Macklin Celebrini and Lane Hudson from the blue line. So kind of given that context, right, a team that's going to look a lot different than it did last year, but it's his second year in the NCAA as a first-round pick. There's certain expectations that come with that. What are you hoping to see from Villander in the NCAA this year?

Much of the same, to be perfectly honest with you. Like the kid, I'm doing this off the top of my head, but I believe he ended up about plus 28 last year as a freshman. Now, they had a good team. You know, you just mentioned it. They had a good team. He's going to be under duress a lot more defensively this year than he was last year as a freshman. Now, they had a good team. You know, you just mentioned it. They had a good team. He's going to be under duress a lot more defensively this year than he was last year.

But BU is still going to be good. Like, they've got a solid group of kids coming in on their, you know, their recruiting class. I need him to just continue to do what he does well. He's an exceptional skater. He's got good size. He can transport the puck with with you know he can join it you know as an extra layer off the rush uh as well as transport it you know on his own

but it's just going to be in the details guys this is his last year of college like make no mistake the only reason he's back in college is he needs to continue to add more strength like a lot of prospects do um but i just need him not to stray outside of his comfort zone too much because that's when you run to you can do a whole bunch of things just okay or you can play to your identity very well and that's what's going to get him to the next level this is a top four two-way transitional defenseman on projection who can maybe eat minutes on their second power play unit and match up against the top six forwards so take take care of your zone, get to the puck, move it, use your extra added strength to body up a little bit more consistently,

but really just continue building on the platform that he already has. So, as you said, this is going to be his last year in college, in the NCAA. And of course, you know, we all know what happens at the end of the season for college players, right? Their year wraps up before the NHL season does depending on when that happens i mean should the kind of goal or expectation be that he could potentially finish his season and make the jump and play nhl games at the end of

the year for the canucks yeah to be determined you know it's going to really depend on where the canucks are as a team i expect them to be building off of last year. It's going to be difficult, let's be honest. Like, you know, the fancy look at it right now, I think there's going to be opportunities potentially, depending on what goes on, trade deadline, injuries, there's a whole bunch of things. Now, it's really hard for a defenseman to be thrown into the heat of battle at the end of the year when teams are vying for playoff position,

home ice, whatever the case may be, especially when you're a really good team like the Vancouver Canucks, I'm hoping, are going to be again. So to be determined, it will be a heavy lift is my short answer. I'm going to monitor it closely, and let's just circle back on that because he's going to have to earn it. I have a real problem, and I guess I'm old school this way, but nothing should be given. It should always be earned. And if you've got guys in your lineup who are playing at a real problem, and I guess I'm old school this way, but nothing should be given. It should always be earned.

And if you've got guys in your lineup who are playing at a high level, toe on the rope for your team in the right directions, pros already, you know, college kids, just because they want to come out and they're ready to come out, that doesn't mean you get a game now and you're going to be thrusting the lineup right away. You've got to earn that. After the Canucks signed a bunch of wingers, there's maybe a little bit less attention

on Jonathan Lekaromaki and his path to the league, but he's a hyped prospect. Fans have seen the shot. What's key for him as he continues his development and at least gets his name in the discussion of getting an NHL opportunity? Well, so he really took a huge step last year real positive step two years ago pretty pedestrian he suffered through some injuries but even before he suffered a knee

injury um after the connection selected him he was just okay like his he wasn't getting he wasn't going after pucks first he wasn't you know creating space for himself to use that shot fast forward to last year of of course, World Juniors were the best players, best forwards in the World Juniors. And coming over here, he's going to need some time in the American League. Smaller ice surface, he's going to have to adapt to learn how

to spill off a check, how to find quiet ice, and also how to explode through the neutral zone when he does get open space on zone exits, defensive zone exits, to use that shot. And I think that's going to take time. I anticipate him getting games. And, you know, the salary cap will really push this along one way or the other,

as we all know. But he'll get games, but it's going to take some time. But his trajectory and his buying has been excellent in the last year and a half. Bukes, one last guy I wanted to ask you about for the Canucks is Atu Ratu, right? And, you know, of course, he came over in the Bo Horvat deal, and his trajectory as a prospect even before he was a Canuck is really fascinating, right? Because you go back before his draft year, he was hyped as a potential top five guy, ends up going in the second round, but that skill is still there.

And I know last year in Abbotsford, he ends up switching from center to the wing, has a really strong finish to the season as a result. And, you know, I look at him now at his age. He's got a big body. He has that skill level, making the shift to the wing. Could this be a dark horse player to, you know, not just play games for the Canucks, but maybe even break camp with the team and figure in right from the start of the season? I think he is.

I think he is. And you bring up a really good point. Like, I remember his cycle coming through as an underage and then even in his draft year. He had a little bit of draftitis, I call it. You know, it happens to kids. Like, you know, they just kind of hit a wall a little bit because you're absolutely right.

In his underage year and even in international events, I'm looking at this kid thinking he's a top five pick for sure. he's he was that good um i appreciate the fact that he's come over here he's adapted he's moved to a new position and i actually think he's a guy that uh that the coaching staff can use up and down the lineup like i think he's serviceable that way um you know hollander scores goals at even strength and he didn't i i got to imagine he's going to get some power play time this year, hopefully a little bit. You know, I know their power play is kind of loaded, but you understand, like, Holander was producing at even strength.

Boom, he had a role. I think Ratu can play a variety of roles up and down the lineup and lean on some opponents a little bit too. So it's going to come down to sustaining pace, guys, over an 82 game schedule for him at the NHL level when he gets there. But I'm really intrigued by, by his trajectory right now.

Books always appreciate the time, man. Nothing like talking hockey on, on August 8th. So thanks for doing this. Enjoy the rest of the, the Holinka Gretzky tournament. Anytime fellas.

You know where I'm at. If you want to ever chew the fat, I'm here for you. I appreciate that. That is Jason Bucala from Sportsnet, NHL prospect analyst and a former scout as well. I always enjoy getting

Bucs' perspective. And yeah, it's wild how much of a bigger deal the Linka Gretzky has become, right? Where, like, five years ago, if we were doing the show, we wouldn't think about talking about the tournament, right? It wouldn't be on people's radars, but it's just the appetite for prospect chat and prospect news and information and perspective has grown so so much it reminds me a little bit of almost like the nfl draft right

now where there are people whose job it is they don't cover the nfl they just cover the nfl draft right they don't call her college football. They cover the NFL draft. And it feels like we're almost getting to that point with the appetite for it in hockey as well. I think so. And yeah, you're right. This is a thing that was, people knew it was going on in the summer. It might get, you know, to use like the TV, the Sportsnet Central example, it might get a little highlight right at the end of the show. And hey, here's this great goal scored by a Canadian kid.

Or if they win gold and it's dramatic or something like that. Yeah. But now it's not front and center and it's not front and center in an Olympic year. But certainly not. No. In the hockey context, it's getting a lot more broader attention. 650-650 is the Dunbar-Lumber text line. We're going to get more into the baseball conversation with Adnan Virk next

from MLB Network and the Cinephile podcast as well. I did want to throw this question out there. We were talking about the kind of similar issues that the Mariners and the Jays front offices have communicating with fans, getting that buy-in. Which fan base do you think is more upset, more angry at their front office, the Jays or the Mariners? And it feels like it should be,

like the obvious answer is the Jays because they're just worse, right? They're not, the Mariners can make the playoffs. So you think, oh, well, the Jays fans should be way angrier. Every time I see, whether it's talking to a Mariners fan, reading what they're saying on social media,

reading the comments to an article, anything like that, I don't know that it's that clear cut. Like, I think the Mariners fans are right there with their anger, their distaste, their loathing for their front office. They're the most damaged sports fan base. I think that's a big part of it.

But sometimes you get damaged fan bases and it's like, it turns into apathy, right? And it's just like, oh, who cares? We're going to lose, of course. We're the Mariners. Right now it's anger. And I think it's what you're saying, right? And it's just like, oh, who cares? We're going to lose, of course. We're the Mariners. Right now, it's anger. And I think it's what you're saying, right? They're so close to being a legitimate team, a legitimate contender.

And I think the anger is totally justified. But I think it's an interesting question because I'm sure there's Jays fans listening out there saying, how dare you? We're more angry at our management group. But both fan bases are ticked off in a big way right now, despite being in fairly different positions in the standings. Mariners fans have never seen a World Series. It's wild. It's insane.

Yeah. Longest route in all of pro sports. I can't think of a fan base that's suffered more. It's insane. Really? I mean, how do they even have interest there in that team anymore? I don't get it. Like,

what's the, what's the draw? It's, it's just, it's insane. It's wild too, because they've had iconic players. Yeah.

Ken Griffey Jr. It was superstar. Ichiro, you know, Randy Johnson, like Edgar Martinez. A-Rod. A-Rod for a little bit there.

They've had these incredible players. They, they tied the record for most wins in a regular season. And yet it's just always been, there's always something preventing them from taking that next step. And I think what you're seeing a dog right now in the anger is all of those years and decades of frustration kind of spilling over and Jerry DePoto,

the GM, the coach, the players to a certain degree, they're all in the crosshairs right now. For sure. For sure. I mean, I think the best example of that is that Adrian Beltre just went into the Hall of Fame. His Mariners, he was with the Mariners for five years. His tenure is completely forgotten because the team was pretty forgettable

while they had him. Get ready for the ultimate sports fan trip to Michigan from September 27th to October 1st experience games at the Big House Comerica Park and Ford Field contact Neal Chark at Neal C at Uniglobe carefree.ca for details Adnan Virk

we'll talk Major League Baseball White Sox I see the White Sox have just fired Pedro Grifal so we'll talk about them breaking the streak but also being absolutely terrible we'll talk Mariners Dodgers Jays all that and more of Adnan Virk next here on Sportsnet 650