Halford & Brough in the Morning - Will Alphonso Davies Play Sunday?

Episode Date: June 26, 2026

In hour two, Brough and guest host Josh Elliott-Wolfe preview Sunday's World Cup Round of 32 elimination matchup for Canada versus South Africa with The Athletic Soccer's Joshua Kloke (5:11), plus the boys preview the NHL Entry Draft with Sportsnet prospects analyst Sam Cosentino (26:37), as Round One gets going later today. 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.

Welcome back to the Halpert & Brough show. No Mike Alford, Josh Elliott-Wolf, filling in. Halpert & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. All their clients say, I wish I'd call them sooner. If you're ready to be debt-free, why wait? Click sands-trustee.com. This hour of Halford &Bruff is for Jason.mortage. If you love giving the banks more of your money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's jason.

dot mortgage. We're coming to 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 abelle auctions.cions.a to get your business assets sold and your building cleared. It is time for the one to watch brought to by Limitless AV and the one to watch. A layup is going to be Ryan Johnson. He's still yet to make his first trade as Vancouver Canucks general manager. Do we see it tonight, round one of the draft. I hope it's not just like a boring day two trade down.

I want his first trade to be something fun. That's the one to watch. He's traded the third overall pick for a 29-year-old left shot defense. Okay, you know what? I'm all in. He was like, just kidding, we're trying to win next season. Yeah, this is going to be awesome. That's the one to watch brought to you by

Limitless AV. Vancouver's most trusted audiovisual integration experts specializing in seamless video conferencing solutions and hybrid workspaces. Book your personalized tour of their experience center today at limitless a.v. Dot C.A. Let's go to the ABLE Auctions hotline. Welcome in A.J. from A.J.'s I appreciate you taking the time. How have the vibes been down at A.J. Everything's been great. How's everybody? Everybody excited for this weekend?

We're very excited. There's, I wouldn't complain about this, but there's almost too much going on. We've got the NHL draft. It's like, oh, yeah, it's the draft. Which we will have on tonight, for sure, with sound on. Okay. The Canucks pick, yeah, yeah, 100%. Yeah, what's the plan for AJ's? Like, what's the TV schedule? There's an England game on Saturday.

I don't know if you get any other supporters, or if you want them at your establishment. And then, of course, Canada's got the big game on Sunday. Right, we'll be, obviously tonight, FIFA and the draft, which is, as we all know, huge. and then yeah all weekend FIFA will be on and then Sunday standing room only come in

and let's have some fun and it's happy hour all day and you know we need a team Canada to win here AJ are you sneaky excited about the Americans at the World Cup I know they lost a turkey yesterday but the game meant nothing for them

are you are you wondering like if this if this could be a deep run for the Americans? I think they could, I think, you know, I guess it depends on draw. I mean, there's just, I mean, those are, sometimes I watch like, you know, the Netherlands and, and, you know, Spain. I mean, those teams are unbelievable. But I, but I think, I think the U.S. could make a little damage.

I do. But we'll see. You know, it's just going to be fun. All right, buddy. It was nice to see you at Dublin Calling. Yeah, you too, my friend. It was not an entertaining England game. I think I nearly fell asleep during that one.

but hopefully it was so hot it was it was it was almost as hot as I heard BC place was enjoy the weekend buddy have a good one yeah everybody take care enjoy bye bye yeah thank you there's a j

from AJ's pizza and yeah it's gonna be bumping this weekend there is too much going on it's there's just it's a lot yeah it's a lot and I wanted the I feel bad for the CFL it must be just like oh yeah by the way and the lines are in

Colona. Yeah. The what? The what? The CFL. Oh, right. The Canadian Football League. Yeah, they must not be enjoying this so much.

Now, they'll have their moment. It's fine. It's World Cup time. Anyway, that was the ABLE Auctions. Online email sales at abelhe auctions. Dot C.A to get your business assets sold and your building cleared.

We will speak to Joshua Cloak in a moment here. You mentioned Team USA. and now their match is set as well. Yeah, they're going to play Bosnia. Bosnia on July 1st in San Francisco, and we've been making a lot of it, or at least I've been seeing a lot of it on Twitter. Their side of their route to the semis,

or quarterfinals at least, is a little bit easier than a decent amount of teams. I mean, who's going to be the best team that they maybe play South Korea? Egypt, South Korea, yeah, one of them. Which just lost two. South Africa. South Africa. Yeah.

So we'll see how it goes. Let's go back to the ABLE Auctions hotline and welcome in Joshua Cloak, or staff writer for the athletic covering the Canadian men's national team. Appreciate you taking the time, Joshua. We just spoke to AJ from AJ's pizza. We heard you had a wonderful experience there. I actually had two wonderful experiences in the last week to go with the many wonderful experiences I've had there over the years.

Do I have time to tell two quick AJ's stories? Sure, absolutely. So how do writers get together here? There's a lot of writers from out of town being graciously hosted by some Vancouver writers, Patrick Johnson, one of them, who I'm sure you guys know very well. He sets up a great, you know, afternoon hang at a brewery for a number of local and out-of-town writers. And you do as you do at a brewery.

and then you get a bit hungry. And the night or a few nights before, I had taken just one writer to AJ's. And that writer said, man, I wish we could go to AJ's right now. But it's like seven o'clock on a Saturday. And I said, I think we can do it. And this writer said, no way, cloak, it's never going to happen.

We can't get 12 of us into AJ's right now. So I call up. And I don't know if I got AJ on the phone, but I will say that I said I've got 12 starving, you know, half-cut writers here who would love to try. And they cleared out the entire bar for us, sat us all down. I think we, in total, we dummied nine pies. Sports writers are always so healthy. Yeah, and so awesome was the pizza that, again, I'm going to be frank, this was the second part of the

story. After the Switzerland game, I had three stories to write. And I was on my own, and I just said, I know where to go for inspiration. So I bellied up at the AJ's bar and, you know, also watching the South Africa, Korea game and cranked out two stories and got talking to the bartender. He said, what are you? Like, why are you, why is your laptop out of the bar? I told him what I was doing. And he said, oh, you might know.

I told him I was a journalist. and he said, oh, you might know any, he gave me the name. I'm not going to out him of a very prominent Canadian sports journalist. And I said, yeah, I know him. He said, he was here the other night. He brought his family here because he was here the other night with, you know, a bunch of writers. And he said, this is the best piece he ever had. And I felt disappointed that I didn't get credit for bringing him there.

Right, right. The point is the AJ's web is really kind of spinning out of control here. And it's due. It's due. It's fantastic. I love the spot. I really do. Well, tell us about some of the stuff you wrote while you were at AJ's. Was that one of them about Jesse Marsh? Well, I mean, it's been hard to not write about Jesse Marsh through this tournament, right? But I don't think, I think if I'm being honest, that was kind of trying to understand Alfonso Davies status.

Or let me rephrase that. Trying to understand why the greatest Canadian soccer player ever, was being used as a decoy at the World Cup. Like this one is real, so I wrote about it then and, you know, a pretty honest, critical, you know, column. I don't know where you guys stand, but this was a story after Switzerland. This was a huge story yesterday. You know, Alfonso Davies will not have played

a single minute of the World Cup in front of Canadian fans. And you can't call that anything but, a disappointment. My understanding is he was never really in contention to play the first two games. But Alfonso Davies says to Jesse Marsh, according to Jesse Marsh, I'm ready to play the third game, and Jesse Marsh essentially says you haven't hit your max volume yet. Again, according to Jesse Marsh, and we'll reveal why I'm saying that in a minute. And he says, no, you're not going to go.

after the Switzerland game, Alfonso Davies walks through the mix zone on his phone and doesn't stop to answer reporter questions. Look, again, I'd love to hear what you guys think, but you're the captain of a national team at a home world cup game. Stefan Astaccio, Jonathan David, stop to take questions. Like, this is a difficult look,

and that was difficult for me to square. And then we learned that, you know, Jesse Marsh, even though he said before the game, Alfonso is available and he expects him to play. He then says afterwards, no, I wasn't really being completely truthful. He was never going to play. I was using him as a decoy. You know, it's the World Cup. That's what you have to do because essentially, if you're Jesse Marsh, you're thinking,

well, if Switzerland's coach, excuse me, spends an extra planning for Davies, that's five minutes less than he can spend. you know, planning for the rest of the team. I get that and that's Jesse Marsh's right, but it just, the whole thing becomes very difficult to kind of understand and then it becomes difficult to truly believe or know, you know, if you ask Jesse Marsh about the availability of a player today, are you getting, you know, how accurate is the answer that you're getting?

Well, yeah, I don't know what you guys are at with that. Well, I'd like to, I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I'm just, I'm just, there's a lot going on in my head. I wonder, you know, Marsh said, said yesterday that Alfonso Davies came to him before the Switzerland game and said, I want to play. And then it was Jesse Marsh who shut it down, which might explain why Alfonso Davies didn't want to talk after the Switzerland game. He didn't, you know, if he, if he was upset about. not playing upset about not being an option for that game.

We all have to do things we don't want to in life. Yeah, but just interject there. I 100% understand that. But I'm just, I'm not looking to excuse or accept the behavior. I'm looking to try and understand it. And, you know, there have been some insinuations out there that Alfonso Davies won't play or won't risk his health. and I certainly don't want to be the one making that accusation

if he wanted to play and he wasn't allowed to because I think we should also maybe discuss the role of Byron Munich and all this if there is a role. I think we're all just trying to figure out what's going on here and why there seems to be just this weirdness around this story. I think there is weirdness around this story, and there has been from the start because Byron has sent an

independent specialist trainer, his name is Matthias Blankenberg, to basically aid Alfonso Davies in his recovery. And that's pretty, that's not normal. Yeah. It's not normal to have, you know, someone come and say, right, there's 25 guys over there who are following national team protocol. And then there's one other player. A player who has different, what are we going to call them standards or different expectations around him at club level, who also has a lengthy injury history. But the point is that to send a specialist to take care of a player and return to play is not normal. Now that Alfonso Davies is out of return to play, Blankenberg is still here.

Yeah. That's where I get kind of, huh. That's where, you know, I just, I wonder. And all we can do now is ask questions. But it's really tricky. Like, it's really, really tricky to figure out, you know, what his future, and I just mean immediate future is going to look like, right? because if he doesn't play, first of all, he didn't play in Canada.

And I don't know if you guys went to any of the games, but you saw more Davies jerseys than any other Canadian player. And this was an opportunity for Canada soccer to really hook a new generation of fans. And that was a goal of theirs. You don't host World Cup games without the intention of exposing your product to a bigger market than you've ever had. And like, I've got a seven-year-old at home, right? He adores this national team.

He didn't get to see, like, and kids love heroes. They love players, not teams. Yeah, they do. That's the way that kids operate. You have missed an opportunity and, you know, to expose your hero. And there's a number of heroes on this team. There's a number of fantastic stories on this team. But you've missed an opportunity to connect the face of your team with millions

and millions of people. And you have missed that opportunity as well by, I think, not explaining the plan. If there is a plan, I think there is a plan, but you have missed an opportunity to explain that to the wider public. Do they owe, do they owe the public an explanation? Maybe, maybe not, right? That this is all within their right as a team because they want to win World Cup games. Well, also, I want to see what happens on Sunday because for me, The explanation that Jesse Marsh had, part of his explanation, hold some water.

He said, look, we knew we were going to play another game. Did they want to win that game or get a draw against Switzerland and host? Absolutely. Was it important? Absolutely. Was it a huge game? For sure. Was it do or die?

No. No, but hold on a sec. But winning in Vancouver and staying in Vancouver was their number one goal. That was their stated goal. But it wasn't do or die. And you were pushing for a draw, and they pushed so remarkably well, and Switzerland was gassed. And that felt like a pretty good time to bring on the best player in Canadian soccer. Absolutely.

Absolutely. But if he's not ready to go, he's not ready to go. Like, I guess my retort to this is always going to be, I don't know, maybe, because we've been told one thing. And then later we were told another thing. and all we have to do from here on in is just go, maybe. And that's not what you want. That's just not what you, like, this is like, and look, it's never, no sports story is never going to be perfect and seamless.

And, you know, you go back to great Canadian international tournaments. There were questions about, you know, again, we're here in Vancouver. There are questions about the 2010 team, you know, at the Olympics, right? This is a moment that they're trying to capture like that. And you guys remember during the group stage, whatever it's called in hockey, there were questions, right? They lost to the U.S. It was, you know.

And it's never going to be perfect. But, you know, I just think Jesse Marsh talks a lot about how he wants this team to be the people's team. And I love that. I love that idea. I really do. It just feels like a lot of people still. have questions about, you know, the biggest player on this team. And you just, you wonder, too, like the other guys on this team who have been fighting and grinding through injury. Like, I can tell

you, there are players really banged up on this team that are playing through. Stefan Astakio dealing with an injury. He comes in and he looks fantastic to end the Switzerland game. Guys are hurting. And I just, I hope this is not the case, but you wonder if, you know, you're a player looking at Alfonso Davies, you're going, we're all grinding here, man, we need you. Like, what is going on here? Well, again, I mean, if the, if the story is accurate to what Jesse Marsh is saying, he wanted to play and he couldn't.

Do you do not buy that? Um, I don't know if I'm paying full price on it, if that makes sense. Okay. Like, and it's just, look, it's just, it's just hard when, and Jesse Marsh is, a good person and a good person to cover, right? He's always been, you know, up front. He's given a lot of his time. He's one of the best coaches, maybe the best coach that I've, you know,

ever covered from a relationship standpoint, and I mean that. But is he waiting to really unleash Alfonso Davies against South Africa or we thought it was going to be South Korea? Maybe, but like, honestly, like how, this is just part of the plan that I think the public would like to know. Okay. Let's talk about this South Africa match because in my mind, that was a huge break for Canada that South Africa was able to beat South Korea. Canada is. Yeah, you went viral in South Africa.

Oh, my God. I'm still, I'm still dealing. Do you know what? 1.6 million views on my tweet, which is hilarious. And listen, if Canada loses, I'm going to hear about it on social media and I don't really care. But Canada is the favorite in this. Canada is expected to win this game.

They would not have been the favorite against South Korea. What did you think about it? Was this an enormous break for Canada or do you think South Africa is still a pretty dangerous team. Well, any team that pushes, like, it's interesting. South Africa and Canada are coming into this round of 32 game with completely different momentum, right? Canada, even though they both finished second in their group, Canada loses their final game after their goal was to just get a draw and stay in Vancouver.

So the momentum feels a little lagging. South Africa, with a real heroic win, their country. coming in on top of the world, right? They're getting out, both teams are getting into the round of 32 for the first time, but the moods feel very, very different. That's not nothing. Look, for me, it's still, if Alfonso Davies is not going to start, which I don't even know, Canada's most important player here is Jonathan David.

If Jonathan David, and he's not the only player on this team, but if he can score, Canada should win this game. that's it, right? Because you still, like, he represents an attacking threat that outside of the very best teams in the World Cup, most teams don't have. Yeah. So if he can get clicking, if he can get firing, South Africa don't have a chance because they're a team that don't want the ball. They're going to play heavily defensive and Canada can struggle against a low block, right? and they're missing their best creative midfielder. So a lot of it is going to be on their best attacking player in Jonathan David.

But, you know, Kyle Laron is having a great tournament, promised David, should he start? Maybe. Maybe, yeah. He's played 44 minutes in the World Cup. He has a goal and an assist. He's one I'm looking at. He's just a giant too.

Like, how do you deal with him? Well, if they played South Korea, they should have started him, no question. Yeah. Like, no question. In South Africa, maybe you bring them on at 60 instead, if you can tire South Africa out a little bit. But to me, it's on Canada's forwards. If they can make the most of their chances, Canada should get through. Joshua, before we let you go, you do have a piece up at the athletic today.

We were talking about Davies's injury and obviously Kone's leg break as well. You wrote about Canada's medical team. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yeah, I mean, a World Cup is just such a wide-ranging thing, and it's important, I think, for any journalist to, you know, just expose all the different layers of a team when they're playing in a World Cup. And, you know, I think injuries have been such a story with this Canadian team. I thought it was important to sit down with their medical team and understand, A, what their process is like, B, what makes them different, and see how they've dealt with so many injuries and still kind of, repelled this team to a round of 32 match. So whether it was getting insight on what they said to Ismail Kone right afterwards

or how they have literally gotten Moise Bombito to a place where he could start, you know, after breaking his leg, you know, the medical staff traveled to France to deal with Bombito on their club side. That's pretty rare. Really fascinating stuff. And if your listeners feel like it, I encourage them to read it because it's, it's, again, there's so many layers to this team and the medical staff

have done incredible work and I guess I just think they need to be recognized. Joshua, we appreciate you taking the time and enjoy the match on Sunday. And a little bit more AJs before I fly out. Yes, good call. There's Joshua Cloak, staff writer for the athletic covering the Canadian men's

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It is the Halfernd & Brough show. On the other side, we'll get into round one of the NHL draft. It goes tonight. Sam Cossentino, prospect expert for SportsNet is going to join us. It is Halford & Brough. Josh Elliott Wolf, Jason Brough,

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. Welcome back to the Halford & Brough show. Josh Elliott Wolf, Jason Brough, here with you. Coming to you live from the Kintech Studio.

650-650 is the Dunbar Lumber Text Line. Halford & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Don't spend summer sweating over your debt. Sands and Associates is ready to help you get debt-free. Clicksans. trustee.com. And this hour of Halford Abrupted is for Jason. Mortgage.

If you love paying too much for your mortgage, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. That's Jason. dot mortgage. You did that read really well. Did I? I don't think Halford's

ever quite figured out the right cadence for that. Honestly, neither have I. Okay. I will never figure out these reads. Right. And that's okay. I think you're doing a great job. You're doing a great job.

I appreciate it. Let's go to the ABLE Auctions hotline and welcome in. Sam Constitino covers the NHL draft and prospects for SportsNet. Appreciate you take the time on a busy day, Sam. How are you? Cuban Wall, thanks. I'm pretty pumped. I've got to tell you. You should be. There's a lot of movement going on around the NHL, a lot of question marks about the draft. What is the most intriguing part about what we might see tonight in round one for you? Now listen, I'm not going to just appease the crowd, but quite honestly, for me, the draft starts at three.

The big question mark is Caleb Mulhaltrow going to end up with his dad, Manny, or are they going to go a different route? Is it going to be a chase read of Carson, Carl's? Are they going to go with Vigal Bjork? I mean, I've sort of had this on my mind here for literally the last month and going back and forth in my own head. What would this look like? How is it going to work? What's the storyline? Am I overthinking it?

I've gone through it a million times. So for me, the draft really starts at three with Vancouver. Rest assured, though, as I said right after the draft lottery, this is the best spot to be in because you're going to have an opportunity here to pick the best defenseman available if that's the route you want to go or the best center available if that's the route you want to go. So perfect spot for the connects to be in for Ryan Johnson, make his mark and start putting a stamp on this club.

So you're pretty convinced that it's going to go McKenna, number one, and then with some of the moves that San Jose has made recently, you're pretty convinced they're going to go Stenberg number two? Yeah, I mean, listen, you get Castlewing. He's not a Chase Reed, but it gives you more immediate help, right side, big shot, and playing the power play. Underrated guy, for sure, I believe, and at least the conversations I've had with people in the NHL.

And then you look at Eklund, he leaves, and quite honestly, I think Stenberg walks in right away and produces at least at an Ecklin level, playing with Celebrini this year. That's how highly I think of Stenberg. So when I look at that opportunity for San Jose to do that and then find another sidecar to play with your ultimate superstar, I think you're going to see Magic Guys, I really do, I really do. What do you think about Caleb Mulhotra?

Good pick at number three or a bit of a reach? I think he's the best center available in the class for his all-around game. And so it sort of works like a little bit like the McKenna Stenberg thing, right? Like Stenberg is a better all-around player than what McKenna is. But McKenna has that high ceiling. When I look at Mahaltra, I think he's the best all-around center of the draft class has to offer. He's got leadership qualities. He's got a big frame, which is what you want down the middle of the ice.

He's going to add 20 or 25 pounds before he's a regular in the National Hockey League. He's defensively aware. He's got his dad's pro men. mentality. The NHL bloodlines always play, really good stick skills. Skating is not an issue. Like, you just go down the list and you continue to check boxes. So does he project to be the highest output center out of the draft class? I wouldn't say that that's the case, but I'll take everything else and take the best all-around guy who, when I look at him, I look at his basement as a second-line center. And I think that's what you want when you're picking that high.

And now number four is even more interesting because that's gone to Buffalo in the Bowen Buyroom trade. And from what we're hearing, Yarmal Kekalina still wants to do some big stuff. And I just wonder if that pick could be in play again. Like this guy is Showtime, eh? He loves it. He's Showtime. He's the best. I still remember the trade deadline he had with Columbus.

I'm like, yes, finally, a GM that wants to take a swing. Now, did it work out? No, it didn't. But, you know, still, like, he's, he's fun. Yeah, he's fun. He's showtime. So he's appeased the whole city here by going to get that number four pick, which I believe was a good deal.

You know, we can debate the Chicago side of it all day and all night. But for Buffalo to go and get that pick, they can essentially draft Bowen Byron right now and do it for what ultimately is going to be $8, $9, $10 million cheaper or whatever it is. So I look at their situation and I say, okay, there's your fallback position. You're going to draft probably a defense. in there, even though you're stocked with them, but that's going to be the best player available.

Maybe you jump the gun on Vigal Bjork here a little bit, which wouldn't be too much of a reach for me. But the other side of that is it's an asset to go and build the voids left by Tuck and the void left by Bole and Byram. So that's what I'm looking to happen. And Showtime will probably wait right before the pick to announce it. You know, is it a hell of a buck thing as part of a package going back to Winnipeg? Is it somebody else that they're looking to do to replace the goal scoring left by Tucker, the defensive left side, left by Bowen Byron? I don't think Buffalo makes the pick, to be honest with you.

Okay. So, yeah, I was going to ask that. We saw fourth overall moved. We've seen ninth overall moved twice now. Do you think we see any more movement with these picks in the top 10? Well, I think it's going to be really fluid at nine especially, and I'm looking at San Jose again, because if you get a Rudolph or a Verhof that falls to you there, and you're trying to address the right side of your defense

and you're looking for a guy who, you know, was going to be able to be an effective guy on your power play down the road, then I think they make that pick because it fits in line with their youthful group. Having said that, and I said this going back, you know, a couple of weeks before the draft, both Chicago and San Jose had to do something to improve the immediate. And I still think they're very much in that mode. When you have that number nine pick,

and I say it's fluid because if that guy is there who's a right shot defense and they probably keep it, but if not, and they see the board going a different way, then I do think they move it because someone else is going to want whatever's there at 9. And then I would look for San Jose to try and find something that's going to help them a little bit more immediately or, you know, a little bit older in the 22, 23 range or maybe even more of a stock veteran that can that can help out and contribute with the young group. Sam, who's the prospect that creates the most debate among experts like yourself, where, you know, you might have two guys that you really respect in terms of their opinion.

One of them has this player, you know, top five and another doesn't even have them in the top 10 or top 15. Is there a player like that? Marcus Nordmark is the guy. Top 10 talented Swede. But the motor, the engine, and the compete are our last. And the NHL general managers, eagles are through the roof. There's always someone there that say, oh, I can fix that. We can, our player development.

You know, like, that's just the way they think because they get so excited about the talent. Nordmark, he is literally projected all over the place. Now, I have him outside of my first round, and there are people that have them in and out towards the latter stages when it looks like you can kind of pass that threshold where you're going to take a gamble and take a swing. He's a guy you take a swing on. The other guy is another suite, actually, is Elton Hermanson. So he started in the J20 loop this year was pretty good. Guy promoted to the Alves Vanskin had like 11 goals, 21 points, 38 games, pretty good. And then he goes to the world under 18s and I think he led the whole tournament with 12 points. And so he kind of left that

really good lasting impression. But he's a very similar guy in that he's a little bit bigger, super skilled, yet the engine, the motor, the drive to compete, some of those things that you're seeing that really identify what playoff hockey is all about isn't necessarily present on a consistent basis. Having said all that, you still need those guys that are going to get you to the dance in April. And he might be one of those guys who gets you to the dance and then come playoff time, you're going to have to find an attitudinal adjustment or you hope that the player develops more of that as they continue to grow

and mature. Can you think of any players that came into the NHL and people are like, I don't know about this guy's motor and turned it around? Because for me, that would be a big red flag, especially in the NHL,

which is how, I mean, I think there are questions about Gavin McKenna defensively and what his commitment level is going to be off the puck. I mean, I've watched him play, and I mean, it's terrific vision. Like, unbelievable.

vision, but the relentlessness for the puck, the relentlessness off the puck, I think it's a fair question to ask. And we have to remember that the bar is very high when you're the first overall pick. Yeah, and it is a fair question to ask. And this is why he kind of bounced up and down between one, two, three, even four in some rankings throughout the course of the year. What I was really impressed with about Gavin is the fact that he was the fact that he was, that when we saw him at the combine, he made that difficult decision not to go to the men's world, but he was prepared at the combine. Like, he lit it up at the combine physically.

You know, he had used that time, which he said he was going to do, so he came through on his promise there. It tells me that the hard work commitment is at least there. It's in the mindset. And the other part of it is he presented himself much more calm, not, I don't want to say combative or defensive, but just he didn't walk in with a burr under his saddle or a chip on his shoulder thinking, oh, I'm the guy, why were you guys questioning me all year? He was really like forthcoming, candid.

You know, Bukes asks a lot of tough questions when we get into our interviews, and he challenged him on some stuff. And Gavin was like, he wasn't pissed about it. He was like, I'm going to answer the question. And I feel the same way you do. And yeah, I feel I did some things better here, so on and so forth. So those, like getting that last look at the combine, I think it changed the complexion of what I felt about the kid for sure.

And what it tells me is that, you know, given the proper environment and support, you know, when you see Austin Matthews, if he gets back to full health, the way he plays the game, like Gavin's not going to have a choice, but to do some of the things that Austin does. Now, obviously, we're assuming he goes to Toronto. I believe that's the fait accompli. But when you get that kind of mentorship and leadership and guidance around you and understand that, hey, they don't need you to put up five points tonight. What we need is to be really effective in the power play,

give us some good stuff five on five, and make sure you're responsible so you can play enough minutes to allow those other two things to happen. And I think it's in, Gavin, and I think the mentorship piece is probably going to help them out in that regard. Well, I mean, on the power play in Toronto, if you've got McKenna out there, and now you've got Darren Radish to feed and Austin Matthews,

I mean, I wonder if this is a big part of their plan to get back into the playoffs next season. Well, it has to be. You got Tavares at the net front. Like, is there a better guy in the power play in the league? Like, there is, but not many. When it comes to 15 feet around the net, like Tavaris is still deadly in that regard.

You can talk about five on five and pace and all that other stuff, but on the power play, he's still a deadly player there. So, you know, like their power play is going to have to be elite, and it should be elite. With radish fire, 98-mile-per-hour bombs, with the ability to, you know, move Matthews. And this happened, I think, when Jim Hiller was running the power play in his last edition there, to both sides. Sometimes they move into the strong sides, not just the one T side.

So I do think that, you know, it's going to be a big part of the plan moving forward. And I think in order for them to make the playoffs, you probably have to project the 25% power play or better. Yeah. What were some of the questions? What were some of the tough questions that Gavin McKenna got? Well, it's interesting. Like, he only, I think he only interviewed with six teams. it tells you how, however,

but how the rest of the league felt about him and where he was going to go. But in terms of where we are, I know Bookes challenged him on a weekend, oh, was it against Michigan State, I think. And there were some clips that Bookes showed him, hey, what about this, what about that, what about that? And he responded, like, really well.

Pittsburgh is known for that, like Kyle Dubas will bring guys in and show you bad clips and ask the player to explain. Interesting. Yeah, Bookes is not quite, to that extent, but he's, but like he's super fair. You guys, you have to see this guy work. Like he's, he's, he's unbelievable. And he's steadfast in the job and he takes this job here in media as if he were running a scouting staff for an NHL team.

So it's really refreshing and really good opportunity for me to learn, especially when you get into that situation. And he doesn't worry about, am I going to offend the kid or whatever else? Like, you're going to have huge responsibility kid one way or the other. Yeah. And Jason Buckel is talking to you in a question. closed room with 12 people, shouldn't rattle you one bit. Yeah. And so, and he didn't get rattled.

And I was really impressed by that. Do you think some of the experience that he went through with Penn State this year, I mean, there was the incident after the bar, after the outdoor game, but there was also just the general criticism that he faced. Is that going to help him prepare for what's coming? Because, I mean, one of the things we've been talking a lot on our show is that we think NHL teams need to do a better job of preparing these guys for what's coming because there will be criticism. And there will be unfair criticism.

There will be online abuse, whether you are the greatest player in the league or not. Like Connor McDavid, if he searches his name on Twitter, as good as he is, there will be like, can't win the big game. You know, like, you know, it's very difficult. And I think a lot of these guys, you know, hear a lot of compliments when, and they're teenagers and junior, and they're thinking like, I'm going to be the difference. I'm going to be the one that everyone loves. Well, guess what?

You aren't, and you need to be prepared for that. Yeah. So what I'd say to that is I do have some concerns. The Penn State stuff surely would have helped out a little bit in that regard, but nothing like what it's going to be in Toronto. Like I'm not there all the time, but I go down there when I have a game to do in studio, I go down there, I go to the morning skate, I check out.

And it's like it's full speed. It's heavy, heavy, heavy intensity. So the one thing that I'd say is like we did a feature on Gavin. And he has this tattoo on his arm of his grandfather's cabin, which is like where he goes to kind of get away from everything. It's no cell service there, four hours north of Whitehorse. And that's his happy place. And that is a complete contrast from being in a room with, you know,

20 reporters asking. hey, why did you do this or why did you do that? And, you know, like that, that sort of thing. So I do have some concerns about that. Having said that, these teams that are playing near the high end of the cap have all the resources in the world. And you can utilize those resources in the non-cap situation to find support staff and training staff and whatever else,

sleep, nutrition, all the other things that go along with those endless resources to support your players. Now, if the Toronto Maple Leafs aren't doing that, then they're missing out on an opportunity to prepare this young man for what he's about to face. Sam, before we let you go, just one final prediction on what you think the Canucks are going to do at third overall here and who the best player available after McKenna and Stemberg is in your eyes. Okay, so I have Mulholtra, okay, as being the guy. I have Chase Reed as the next best player, as the third best player in the draft class.

Like I think he's absolutely elite. I think he's just scratching the surface. He's had diversity in his background. He's got a few McCar-like qualities in his game. He's not Cal McCar-olde. Don't get me wrong. But there are some McCar-like qualities in his game. And I just think he's getting going here.

So I would have him third. I would have Mahaljutor fourth. And then it's, oh, my gosh, probably Carl's, Bjork, Verhof, Rudolph. Like, it's a pretty tightly packed group after that. To reiterate, I would have the Vancouver Connects taking Mulholtra at 4, and me personally ranked Chase Reed as the third best player in this draft. All right.

Sounds good. We appreciate you taking the time and enjoy the next couple days. Okay, guys, thanks a lot. Take care. You too. There is Sam Cousantino covers the NHL draft and prospects for SportsNet. We got some Ask Us Anything. We got a few minutes to do some Ask Us Anything.

Jeff from Mission, ask us anything. How insufferable will Drans be if he's right about Veeho? Bjork. Well, he's going to be insufferable anyway. I mean, that's just who he is. I kind of hope the Canucks, just to shut Dran's up, takes Bjork. Can you imagine if they're like, they take him third overall

and Caleb Malhotra isn't a guy? Yeah. I'd be incredibly surprised. I'd be like, Kaden, now we really know nothing about this management group. What I will say about Drans taking victory laps, did you know that he has a group chat with Saty Arshah and I, who, we've been known to be like, hey, Tom the liner might be good. Yeah, yeah.

He has a group chat that he started in the playoffs with us, where every time Zach Benson did something, he would just throw, he would throw messages out of us. Oh, okay. So, A dog should join that. Yeah, like that group chat. I like Zach Benson. I'm from Chilliwack. I like Zach Benson. I also think Tom Vilander might be good. Yeah. No, I'm in the same boat as you. Like I, some people are like, you know, like, you know what Benzner. I'm like, no, I do. I think VLLULG is going to be really good. I just like Benson more.

Is the Benson love getting a little out of control? The guy had 13 goals last season. Yeah. Like, I like him. He's a good, he's a warrior though. He's a good player. I like him. Show us when it counts.

Do we think he's going to be like a first line forward on a cup winning team? Maybe. Yeah. I don't know. I think he could be like a really, really good second line player on a cup winning team, which is awesome. Maybe like a great pay. But I mean, this will be really good.

The other thing to know with Benson as well is he has some of the best stats in terms of penalties drawn to penalties taken in the league. And that is an underrated quality of that. He's a terrific hockey player. Al and East Van, if you were a prospect, what would your scouting report be? Okay, so are we doing this as if... You were drafted today.

So if I was drafted today, he looks like a 50-year-old out there. I actually think my scouting report would be like, good vision with the puck on a stick, can't go get the puck by himself, has the motor of a long. lawnmower. All right.

That would be, that would be, hasn't won a puck battle in decades, which is crazy because he's supposed to be this 18 year old prospect. He hasn't even been alive that long. That would be mine. What would be yours? You could do it at any,

any sport. Mine would probably, at least in hockey, would be like good speed, a little small, but needs to put on some weight at the end. He'll fill out. Before you,

yeah, he'll fill out. And then I'm 28 years old. And they're like, well, yeah, he hasn't filled out yet. What's going on there?

Maybe you got that PD body. Remember he said, like, I don't put on muscle very easily. I don't. But also, it's not my job. I want to ask you, because I haven't worked with you since the long walk. Oh, yeah. So how is your relationship with Elias Pedersen? Because you had his back.

Not on speaking terms. And the reason that you had to do the walk from Surrey into work was because, what, you had a bet, right? I bet that Elias Patterson would outscore point-wise J.T. Miller this season. and J.T. Miller had two more points than Olias Pedersen. But J.T. Miller had a really good year, though, right? No. No, he did. I don't know if you heard about J.T. Miller. It's not going well. Did it change your opinion at all? I wouldn't say the walk changed my opinion. It certainly didn't help.

I would say my opinion, as the year went on, I slowly and slowly just got a little more heart. Yeah, I got a little more heartbroken now. I was just watching him and like. When you were doing the walk, were you kind of like grumbling? like, get Petey. Like, I was going to walk to work. I was listening to this show on my walk to work. And like, I think you guys brought up that it was related to PD. And I was like, man.

You couldn't get like five more points this season. Awesome. Adam, what then ask us anything. Broth, I have recently become obsessed with golf. What is the one thing you would recommend to someone who's just starting? Well, I'm going to steal this from Tiger Woods. go to the driving range and hit balls he says the way he says it is beat balls

and I don't like that so just go just go and hit balls he said stop looking at YouTube and go hit balls and like I think you do need to understand the general idea of the swing but I also think you just need to go out there and hit balls and I don't know take your phone

look at your swing see what you might be doing understand it but you have but yeah you're gonna you're like oh is that what i look like you're like that's what you look like but you just got to go and hit balls and try stuff like just be like okay if i want to hit a cut left or right what do i need to do and you can google that and try that now i want to hit a draw what do i need to do in order to hit that what do i need to do to hit it low what don't need to do to hit it high because you actually have to go out there and just try that. Now, you'll get to the range like I do and be like, man, I am killing the ball. And then you'll get to the course and you'll be like, oh, what happened to that?

I'm so bad at golf. Yeah. But I think that's, that's like, you just got to play. You got to go out there and play either at the range or go on the course because you're going to waste too much time and you're going to get confused and in your head if you spend a lot of time on YouTube. So going to the driving range. Someone would call that a smart decision.

I know I would. And smart decisions are brought to you by Crow, your trusted accounting and tax advisors for over five years. We're sorry, 55 years. That's a lot more than five. 55 years. With close grow, smart decisions, lasting value, learn more at chroma-kai.ca. Okay. And before we go as well, the Duick Auto Group is the official

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