Halford & Brough in the Morning - Will Demko Make The US Olympic Roster?

Episode Date: July 22, 2025

In hour two, Mike Halford & guest host Jamie Dodd talk the latest 'Nucks news with NHL.com & In Goal Magzine's Kevin Woodley (1:20), plus they discuss the latest hockey news and notes with NHL.com's Dan Rosen (25:31). 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.

7.02 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday everybody. Halford, Brough, Sportsnet 650. Halford and Brough for the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt free in just two weeks. Visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are now in hour two of the program. Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and Ingold magazine, a presentation of White Rock Hyundai is going to join us in just a moment here. Our two of this program is brought to you by Jason Hominock at Jason.mortgage. If you love giving the banks more of your

money, then don't let Jason shop around to find the perfect mortgage for you. Visit him online at Jason.mortgage. We are 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? To the phone lines we go. The Power West Industries hotline. Kevin Woodley NHL.com and Ingo magazine joins us here on the Haliford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650. What up, Kev? How much? I feel like sort of like I'm wearing like European hockey

jersey right now with all the different logos on it, right? That's a lot of reach. That's what our station is. That's what we aim for. So this is funny. There is a Austrian team. I sent this to my buddies

this morning and they released their new kit, Austria's Austrian Bundesliga, 23 kit sponsors. So all across the jerseys, both sleeves, and then down the shorts. And let me tell you, it is a kaleidoscope of advertising. It's a lot, but yeah, it's very much what we do here, is we try and make sure we get all of our advertisers

in early, especially ahead of Kevin Woodley, because we got a lot we need to talk to you about, even though it's the middle of July and there's no hockey news. Okay. You ready for this? I'm just glad that that team's giving you guys something to strive for.

And I will say that life is a little easier for me. I take a little less ribbing, pardon the pun, now that it's a White Rock Hyundai is the main one on the logo as opposed to the old days with the old Rectile dysfunction. It's just a little easier to get through. I remember those days. That was the morning wood with Kevin Woodley.

Okay, I digress. Look, so what we've been doing here throughout the morning is a fair amount of Olympic talk in wake of the news yesterday that Canada is gonna run it back with the coaching staff from the four nations. Cooper, Taukeet, et cetera, all of them are gonna be back for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

So we went down the road of how many Canucks are gonna be going to Italy in the 2026 Olympics? What does the Canadian team look like? And then we saved the Canucks' goaltending conversation for you, Kevin. I do wanna start with that, Chidamko, because I feel like this might be the most intriguing goalie storyline going into the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

If the US was to run it back, it would be Hellebuck, Oettinger and Swamen, at least right now. What does Demko need to do? Is it just stay healthy? Is it find the form? Does he have the trust and pedigree within that US selection committee to be there?

How do you see this all playing out over the first three months of the season? And then as we get closer and closer to the Olympics in Italy? Well first off, interesting that you name the coaching but not the goalie coach. Sorry. And a little soapbox moment to stand up and say that the sort of disappearance and cancellation of goal-tenning coaches is pissing me off on this one but hockey Canada has done that before., you can go for 20 minutes on this if you want, by the way. They kept, yeah, it's July. They kept David Alexander, who as I understand it, played a

pretty important role in the Four Nations in terms of pre-scouts, in terms of making sure that Bennington, his goalie from St. Louis and the other goalies were sort of all on the page systems wise. Like he's a hell of a coach. And at Four Nations, I believe they called him a coach. For the Olympics, they've downgraded him to consultant. But I don't know if I did this rant with you guys, but when they actually engraved the trophy and showed off the engraved trophy for the Four Nations, his name wasn't on it. But like management, and I don't mean GM management. I mean like hockey Canada management who basically booked the hotel rooms and paid everyone,

they got their name on the trophy. So the sort of dismissiveness around the goalie coach position, obviously I'm biased towards it, really pisses me the hell off. So there's my rant. As far as Demko, David Alexander, who is the goalie coach and we have part of selection, he knows how good that your Demko is. Everybody knows how good that your Demko is.

It's up to him to have a start that sort of, you know, to borrow a Thomas Drans phrase, peak of powers. He can't get off to a so slow start and find it. He has to remind everyone what he's capable of. And then you're right, he has to stay healthy, but healthy through when? Isn't selection like November in terms of naming the team? I think it's December, but yeah,

it's relatively early in the process. Not a huge window, especially when you're probably only playing every second game to start, right? So there isn't a big window here. And yet I do feel like the goalie community as a whole, the goalie coaching community, and I would assume David Alexander is part of that, understands that Thatcher Demko at his best has in the past and has the ability to outperform other guys on that list. And so it just because he hasn't done it in over a year, there's going to be

a show me element without much of a window. And part two of this is the Americans have so many great goalies to choose from now that that makes it that much harder. So are you supplanting an Ottinger who at his age has been to three straight Western conference finals, that's going to be tough. But if Jeremy Swainman gets off to a slow start behind a Boston team that you know appears to be headed the wrong direction as an organization and franchise maybe that's where the window opens I don't

think you're supplanting the three-time back-to-back Vezza trophy heart trophy goaltender and Connor Hellebuck no matter what happens in the Stanley Cup playoffs and for the record I think by the end of it he sort of had discovered how to get back to playing his game. But there might be a window there and I think Autenger will be hard but there might be a window there in the three spot. I kind of look at it and obviously differently and obviously biased because I've seen what he does when he's at his best but I kind of look at it like, why not name Demko? Have that option. As long as he shows you that he's, that he's, he's playing at a high level again.

There's no reason to believe he won't. And then if he does get hurt, you just name somebody else. Like he kind of opened, like the injuries as much as there, he needs to prove you can be healthy, the window, the injuries in a way allow you to sort of some wiggle room to possibly have for, but that's the challenge and it is a challenge because the other three are really good and the window is so small. See that's where I'm, I kind of wonder if when we talk about running it back, if they look at it, the selection committee and say, no one's supplanting Hellebuck anyway. And

if hella something happens to Hellebuck, it's either an injury or really an effective play in which case we might be cooked. So do we just bring it back with guys that as you pointed out are three very good goalies. So maybe even that short window to prove if he's healthy or not might not be enough because the safest, the most obvious thing might just be to run it back with Hellebuck, Audinger and Swainman which would be unfortunate for Demko because I'm sure being part of that team, regardless of role would be something that he would really want. Yeah, there's one thing and the challenge is Swamen has similar sort of properties for lack of a better term, similar abilities.

One thing that, that Demko brings when he's playing well and when he's healthy that is that that almost is above Hellebock and frankly above Autinger too is there's another level sort of dynamically offense sorry athletically like there's a there's an extra layer to his game in terms of spectacular and the ability to make spectacular saves as good as Hellebuck is spot to spot. He's won three Vezina trophies. His ability to read the game in a controlled environment is like is that's why he's the best at it.

Right. Like we always say the Dominic Kashchig brain like a computer body, like a slinky hellbuck has the brain like a computer and nobody else does it the way he does. But dynamic athletic battle scramble. If you need to dial up another level in the Olympics, if it becomes like the playoffs or traffic and everything ramps up to that intensity and teams decide to sort of play it a little more that way then

Honestly, like there's another layer there athletically that Thatcher and and Swainman to an extent Has Beyond those first two to be honest it more dynamic. There's a there's a sort of there's a higher gear There's a higher ceiling and so whether his body allows him to show that in the first couple of months and remind people of it, you know, as much as if you want to play it safe, I understand it with the first two, but if you're picking a three, do you want something different in case you need that? And so that would be the one counterpoint.

But you're right. Like again, this is not necessarily going to be easy, not necessarily going to be a slam dunk, but I don't think he's completely out of it either just because that ceiling is so high when he's on. And if he can show it for, I mean, show it for October, November and December, at least there's a chance. Well, it almost feels like the perfect spot for him is kind of the break glass in case of emergency third goalie on the team right and you're

you're hoping that you're gonna ride Hellebuck you know you've got maybe Ottinger there just in case but with as you said with his upside and his athleticism if you're ever in a tough spot in the tournament and you think okay we need to take a big swing here who better to have than a healthy Thatcher Demko and as you say it's not like you're taking a big risk naming him if he's healthy when the rosters are due, because you can always just sub him out if he gets injured. I actually think there's a lot of logic. You know, it's not as if you're committing to playing him if if you take him on the roster, right? You're just kind of having him there as a potential insurance option, as you say, who gives you something different and gives you potentially a very, very high ceiling in a short tournament. Yeah. And again, none of it matters if we don't see it right pretty quick out of the gate pretty consistently and healthy through whatever they named the team in December. Right. So, you know, and that's been the question mark, but,

and here the Canucks, you're probably deep down hoping he doesn't get name. No, like as much as you never want to say that and you never want. I was my only thought. Yeah. Because you're all Kevin Lankin is already gone. Right. And we've talked like the way they've doubled down on their goaltending makes a ton of sense because both guys have yet to show an ability to sort of be the workhorse. Thatcher has for stretches, but as yet to make it through a season completely healthy and nobody makes it

through completely healthy. But in his case, you know, injured, significant injuries, at least in the season or by, I think the first year, they shut them down a little early because once they realized they weren't out this first year is a full-fledged number one, but ultimately ended up needing surgery that summer on a knee. So he's yet to make it through healthy. Lankinen I think probably learned some lessons and you'll see him better equipped to handle the job and the role and demands this year than he was last year. I mean until you've done it you haven't done it and so there's some some things

you have to learn. I think he did learn those but at the end of the day still hasn't you know gotten through tip to tail And so if both of them end up going to to Italy because this isn't four nations to Montreal Handful of games trip to Boston. This is the other side of the world like there's travel There's all kinds of things going on in this one You know that that places an even more important emphasis on managing workload for these two. If there's a chance that both of them, certainly one, but if there is a chance that both of them are going to go over, you have to be that much more diligent about how you handle your workload.

We're speaking to Kevin Woodley from NHL.com and Ingole Magazine here on the Haliford and Bref Show, featuring Jamie Dodd on Sportsnet 650. The Canucks have to be the only NHL team with two goalies, and at one point it was three when Archer Silov is still a member of the organization. But they've got to be the only one that's got two goalies that are going to be going over and possibly, I mean, if Demko makes it, I'm just going through the list for now. I don't think there's another one that has that dynamic at play. And I do want to focus on Lankinen right now because that's another interesting one as well.

Like he's going to be counted upon, you know, a fair amount by the Vancouver Canucks this year. And then it'll be very interesting to see what happens with Finland because, uh, UC sorrows is maybe not the UC sorrows of the couple of years prior. Oh, don't get me started. Oh no, you're, you're going to start with the goalie coaches. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. UC sorrows was very much a product of a horse poop environment last year in Nashville. I had people coming at me in November be like, what's wrong with UC Soros?

And I looked up the numbers and I'm like, nothing. He was literally running through the end of November at a Vezna clip. He was doing everything in his power to prop up a really bad team that was not playing well defensively. And eventually, and we've talked about this before, terrible environments wear on you. to prop up a really bad team that was not playing well defensively. And eventually, and we've talked about this before, terrible environments wear on you. It's really hard to sustain that over the course of the season. And yes, by the end of the year, UC Saros' numbers had fallen down to just barely above expected in the NHL.

By the way, still, I think 26th in the league in adjusted save percentage. So it's not like he fell to the bottom of the barrel, but you expect more than 26th out of him. The reality is for the first two and a half, almost three months of the season, he was closer to the top five in the National Hockey League. So it's not like he forgot how to play goal. I do think by the time you got to Four Nations, again, another team that was overmatched in Finland and it's not like Kevin Lanken went in and had more success than UC did behind that team. They were just overmatched.

And so especially with some of the injuries on defense. And so I don't, I think I just don't fully buy that, oh, UC Saros like fell off a cliff last year. Everything around him fell off a cliff. He managed to sort of hold the rocks up for a good third of the season. And eventually they all crumbled on top of him. So I would not be counting him out in any way, shape or form. That said, I fully expect Kevin Lankton to be on the team.

Uh, and if he's able to play like he did for the first two months of the season, kind of like Saros, right? Like, like getting in with Superman for the first month, like he was posting heart trophy numbers for the first month, leveled off in the second and then the second half, you know, by the end of it ends up below expected for the year. So there's sort of similarities there in terms of workload and demands and asking too much of a guy in both cases, different ways asking too much of a guy for what they've done in the past. But they're both capable and they showed they were both capable of still being really high

end elite net miners. And that's the beauty and what the Canucks are hoping for by bringing back both guys. It's not just that Lankinen spells Demko and allows him to get to the finish line healthy. It's that with Demko here, you get more of that early Lankinen who was, like I said, like at one point he was like plus four and a half percent adjusted save percentage

through the first like month plus of a season, which do that for a year, you know, and you've got a heart trophy. So getting more of that guy for longer into a season and maybe that does change the conversation around the Olympics is part of the equation Here in Vancouver. So in classic mid-july or late July sports radio fashion We are breaking down team Canada's Olympic roster and what it might look like earlier in the show We left the goalie discussion though for when we had you on the show Woodley. And I think it, it seems like it's going to be less of a panicked discussion around the goalie

position for Canada, considering what Bennington did to the four nations, especially in overtime against the USA feels like he has a very, very strong chance if he's not a lock to be back on the team beyond that though, I think it feels a little bit more wide open for the other two spots. What, who do you foresee as having a strong chance to be the other goalies for Team Canada? Yeah, it's gonna be interesting I mean, you know Darcy Kemper was a Vezna finalist and a worthwhile Vezna finalist. I know a lot of people Take a look at you know, the fact he went to LA and all goalie succeed in LA

It's a really easy environment for goaltending. And for sure their structure, their kind of reminds me of goaltending in Boston when Pat Patrice Bergeron was the captain, right? Like anytime you anchor your team around on J. Coppitar, defense is a priority guys take care of their own end there, where they're supposed to be. And as a goaltender, that's a more predictable environment you get to read off of, but at least statistically,

the environment around Darcy Kemper took a significant dip from past years as the Kings sort of experimented with some systems changes, tried to get away from some of the things they did defensively, tried to open things up for at least portions of the season. And Kemper was full value for what he did behind that. So he's a little older,

but he's a guy that gives you real steady goaltending. I don't know if the playoffs and the way they ended as they always end for LA against the Oilers changes any of, of, of what a team Canada would think about it. Um, but he'd be a guy that's on my list. Sam Montembeau has established himself as a 1B minimum, maybe a 1A goaltender in the national hockey. Again, the numbers by the end of the year come out just above expected, which isn't terrible.

You're still in the top half, or in the top 30 in the NHL, as we mentioned, Saros just above expected, 26. Montemoy's in that territory, but he tends to run a little hot and cold. Like he goes on heaters and then he cools off. So you get him on a heater in the right spot and he's a guy that could be a part of that equation as well. I think though,

at the end of the day, it's you know, it would it would require Binnington to fall off a cliff for him not to be the guy going into it just because of what he did in that tournament and because honestly and this was the conversation we had going into the Four Nations, like Bennington over the previous five years by the numbers was a no-brainer. The challenge was and the risk was those numbers had fallen off this past season. So maybe if they continue to fall off for a second straight season, somebody has a chance to pass him and at least earn some starts in the round robin portion of the tournament. And I haven't even checked the format guys, because it is, as you said, July, assuming there is one. Um, but other

than that, like other than him really falling off a cliff and saying, well, if I can't, I struggle to see how he isn't the guy heading into that tournament, just because it's not what he did at the four nations alone. It's what he did for the previous five years, which is post numbers that aren't just the best among all the Canadian goalies. But over five years combined, he's top 10 in the National Hockey League, adjusted numbers when you account for a St. Louis environment that has always been probably since they won

the cup, the narrative about them being good defensively has been really far from the truth and it's been him propping it up. Well, we've talked a lot in this segment about guys in that first three months of the season possibly playing their way on or making a name for themselves. And I know one of the more recent pieces you wrote

for nhl.com was of the top young goalies under the age of 25, top 10 goalies under the age of 25. Is there anyone worth keeping an eye on, maybe a younger guy that's poised for a breakout or a bigger breakout that we could be, not necessarily see in an Olympic sort of sphere, but maybe someone that could play their way into a larger platform or gain more attention with this first three months of the season? Are we talking Canadians or beyond that? Because I can't kind of think anywhere you want to go. I mean, the one I thought about, the one I thought about that it's tough because he's American is Dustin Wolfe.

Yeah, and 100 percent like, you know, the next Olympics, 2030 Wolff's in that conversation. I'm not sure he's established himself. He hasn't had a taste of playoffs yet. Right. So we haven't seen that in the NHL. Is that something where or do you bring them along? Like, Hey, you talk about like having the extra guy in the spot Jamie, and how you're sort of playing with house money there.

Why not give Dustin Wolf that exposure? See what it's like to go to the other side of the world and compete and be around that environment. But there's, there's so many Americans that sort of fit that bill. The one guy who wasn't on my top twenty five under twenty five list. And I need to sort of. Clarify this, I didn't do it well enough for the way that the introduction to that piece was set up, didn't clarify enough is under the age of twenty five when the season starts. And so Joel Hofer would have been on that list and talk about, you know,

guys with a chance and with multiple, he's got a world junior gold. He's posted really good numbers as a very young pro with the St. Louis Blues in his first couple of seasons. And so he might be a guy that pops on the radar. He's actually by the numbers outperformed Jordan Bennington for stretches with the Blues. I don't know that he's going to get an opportunity to do anything that would pass him for this year's Olympics, but when we talk about the future of Canadian goaltending,

there's some guys that in the voting finish just off the list. A lot of people really like Carter George, the L.A. Kings draft pick who had a late season run in the American hockey last year, first taste of pro hockey and was exceptional. So there's a name to look for for the future, but I don't think any of them have a chance to burst onto the scene this year.

You know, the Russians would kind of be the same way. There's a couple of really talented Russians on that list, but again, look at the depth chart. You know, Shusterkin, Vasileski, Sorokin, Bobrowski. Like you're not cracking that because those guys have shown they can do it already on the biggest stage in the National Hockey League. So just not enough runway, not enough experience I think for any of those young guys to crack that list this year. Kev, this was great buddy. Thanks for taking the time to do it. We genuinely appreciate it. Enjoy the summer although I may be

calling you again soon. Happy to do it. We genuinely appreciate it. Enjoy the summer. Although I may be calling you again soon Happy to do it. There is no summer. Whatever all the the other real insiders go to the cottage after July 1st That's when the goalies start getting back on the ice. So I am I am around I've been to multiple camps I will beat them anymore. And this is actually probably one of our busiest times of the year. So happy to do it boys Awesome. Awesome, thanks buddy. Take care. Kevin Woodley, NHL.com and Engel Magazine here on the Halford and Bruff show on Sportsnet 650.

Before we go to break and turn things over to the other side of the hour, Dan Rosen from NHL.com is going to join us coming up. Going to get into the Rangers, the Devils, the Islanders, we'll try and do some East Coast hockey stuff with Dan. I need to tell you about the BC Lions. July 27th, this Sunday Bring the family to celebrate Generations of Lions fans as a family traditions game as your Lions take on the Ticats. Get your tickets now at BCLions.com You're listening to the Halford and Brough show on Sportsnet 650 732 on a Tuesday. Happy Tuesday everybody. Halford Bruff featuring Jamie Dodd Sportsnet

650. Halford and Bruff of the morning is brought to you by Sands and Associates, BC's first and trusted choice for debt help. With over 3000 five star reviews, visit them online at Sands-Trustee.com. We are in hour two of the program. We're at the midway point of the show. Dan Rosen from NHL.com is gonna join us in just a moment here. Hour two of this program is brought to you by Jason Homonuck at 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. Visit him online at jason.mortgage. Before we get to Dan, friendly reminder to get your what we learns into the Dunbar Lumber text message in basket. It's 650 650. Tell us what you learned

over the last 24 hours in sports. I know, Jamie knows it's a slow time in sports. It's not a ton going on, but we managed to cover the J's in the intro segment. We got into a lot of different Olympic talk in the wake of the news that Canada is running it back with its coaching staff from the four nations for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.

So there is a fair bit out there. Get yours in, Dunbar Lumbertex line 650650, hashtag it WWL and tell us what you learned over the last 24 hours in sports. To the phone lines we go now, the Power West Industries hotline, Dan Rosen from nhl.com joins us here on the Halford and Brough Show on Sportsnet 650.

Morning, Dan, how are you? Morning, guys, what's happening? Not much, it's a slow time in the hockey calendar. There's not a whole heck of a lot going on right now, but we did wanna get you on because we've done our run through all of the Canadian markets in this off season and we thought let's go further to the East Coast, south of the border and let's talk some Rangers, let's talk some Islanders, let's talk some Devils. I do want to start with the

Rangers because it's been a very very interesting offseason for the Rangers. A lot of player personnel moves which we can get into in a second, but the moves behind the bench is what I wanted to start with, because it's not very often that you get two former coaches, both an assistant and a head coach of the team, coming back to do it all over again in New York. But that's what they've got with Mike Sullivan and David Quinn now. And obviously, Mike Sullivan as the head coach. And I know that you've written about this a little bit.

What are you expecting change wise in terms of what Sullivan and Quinn are going to bring to this team after a year in which there was a lot of disappointment and it ended with Peter Lavielet losing his job? Well, I think more to the point of Mike Sullivan, what he'll bring to this team. And I'm not saying that Peter Lavielet didn't because it certainly was trying, but there's an accountability that it's got to come to this group of players. Um, and I think too often, uh, to maybe to a fault of LeBulette, he kept leaning on the same guys all the time and it, it dropped, you know, like the

ball dropped essentially at times. And you saw it last season when they went on that stretch where they lost 15 and 19 games, it was like, you were wondering where the team was. And it just, there was, so I think Mike Sullivan is going to bring an accountability here. And I think he might have a little bit more to work with in the sense. Yeah, they, they lost Chris Crider, but JT Miller is there full time now, uh, for the full season.

He'll be there training camp. Will Cooley taken a step? No question about it. And I think there's no marriage that Mike Sullivan has to Mika Zabaniad or to Mika Zabaniad playing center. And I think that's also a key part of this decision-making in the offseason for the Rangers is what is Mika Zabaniad? Is he a center or is he a right wing? To me, he's better on the right side right now because you can have Miller and Trotrek

as your top two centers and Zavaniad can play the right side. You also took Zavaniad's running partner away in Chris Crider. So that should open up some, make him think, oh, okay, here we go. You know, there's a little bit different now. Uh, but also I think they're going to maybe look to a Brennan Ostman a little bit more, a Gabe Perot, if he can make it a little bit more,

you know, so go a little bit younger in that sense, but there's going to be, there has to be an accountability to the way this team operates to the day to day activity, to who plays, when they play, how much they play, and if how they're playing. And I think that got dropped a little bit through a very tumultuous time last season. That has to come back. No questions asked. And I think that's number one priority here for Mike Sullivan is to make these guys accountable for everything that they do. If you're not playing well, you're not going to play. That has to be it because this is not a development time for the New York Rangers.

They're not in that mode. They're in the, hey, we're all in our prime here. Let's go. We got to win. Well, and to that point, to be able to hang kind of ice time over people as a, hey, if you're not living up to these standards, I'm going to take it away. You need the other options, right? And you mentioned Will Cooley having a breakout. And I look at Cooley and Alexi Lafreniere, who still, you know, he won't turn 24 until right around when the season opens. He's still very young in this league in a lot of ways.

He signed to that massive contract now, but it feels like for the Rangers to have the bounce back they need, they need both Cooley and Lafrenier to take those next steps and really continue to build not just for the production, but to kind of take the load off of the guys like Sabanajad, Panarin, Miller, Trocheck, who are all into their thirties now. Lafrenier is the one that I think when I talk to accountability, he's the first name I should have mentioned him first., right? I mean that is the guy that has to be

held accountable. He's I think too often been okay he's the first number one pick in the draft and hey he had a really good breakout type year two years ago, the Rangers go to the Eastern Conference Final, well he dropped big time last year. His game dropped, he disappeared. You're wondering where, where, where is this guy like, come on, where's this that you'd see the flash of skill and he'd be like, and the flash of that, uh, of, of even power that he can play with. And then it was gone. There's gotta be an accountability with him.

He can't just keep getting run out there in a top six role and. Think, all right, this is okay. And I think from his perspective too, there has to be a next level now. He's got a big contract now. He's got to take his game to the next level here. He's 23, almost 24 years old. It's time. Like he's been in this league now long enough so where he shouldn't be figuring things out anymore. And so that is one player. And it's also interesting. You're going to remember David Quinn was the head coach when Alexey LaFrenier came in and he was hard on him. Same.

He was with capital tackle. He wasn't just giving him ice time. Well, let's fast forward it now. And I think Sullivan who's going to control that has to be the same way. Like this guy's got, he should be no, no doubt 30 goals score for this team. If not more because of the game that he has, the skill set that he has. He's got to get there.

He's got to play that game. If he doesn't, then he can't be a fourth line guy. He's really not a third line guy anymore. So what is he if he can't be your 30 to 35 goal scorer, which is exactly what he should be. So there's got to be an accountability with him. Will Cooley I think has take keeps taking these big steps he took a huge step he was one if you're looking at anything from last season for the New York Rangers of a positive Will Cooley was the biggest

positive he had he took a massive step in his game and his confidence and now Will Cooley should be slotted he should be the guy that takes in my opinion he's the guy that takes, in my opinion, he's the guy that takes Chris Crider's role. He's the guy that, he can be net front on the power play. He's going to battle, he can score, he can get up and on the ice, he can kill penalties. That's the guy you're looking at right now and saying he can take that Crider role. But if Lafrenier can take a step up, now you're talking, now you got something, right? Now you have two guys taking steps up and that's a big thing that the Rangers need.

Vladislav Gavrikov in on the blue line. Kandri Miller out. How much better are the Rangers defensively in the wake of those two moves? Well, Gavrikov should, on paper, we're looking at all this on paper right now, he should slot perfectly next to Adam Fox. And that should make Adam Fox, I think a better, more dynamic player. I think too often last season in particular, Fox was making up for a little bit of his partner and that's not, I'm not knocking Ryan Lindgren, who was, you know, has been his partner. That guy is, I mean, he's put his body all over, you wouldn't talk about a guy who puts his body on the line. I mean, he

is as banged up. He's, he enters game one of the regular season banged up because he probably took a puck to the face in the preseason just because that's the way he plays. Um, Gavrikov can, can play that stay at home role. He can get up the ice, no question about it, but he's a defensively strong and that should fit perfectly for Adam Fox. Let him get up, let him play his game. And then you got yourself a top pair. Keandre Miller, he couldn't quite do what Gavrikov could do. They would, Miller is a guy who gets up the ice and gets up and down really,

really well, but he's not necessarily physical in front of the net. He's not necessarily a physical in the corners. And he last season in particular, he was turnover prone. That's not what the Rangers need. The Rangers need a guy who's going to move some bodies around. So Adam Fox can get up the ice. And as I think it's a big reason why they never really set on playing Miller with Fox, they never really did.

There was always Lindgren with Fox. So I think they're better off with Gavrikov in this situation. And on top of that, they made a trade that I think benefits them. I think it was a terrific trade. Plus they're playing Gavrikov, I think it's a half a million less

than Miller's being paid by the Carolina Hurricanes. And Miller, it might be a perfect fit for him in Carolina. I don't know, we'll see. That style of play could be perfect for him. But Gavrikov right now with the Rangers, I think is a better fit than Miller. Sticking with the New York teams, looking at the Islanders, it feels like it's a fascinating mix of different storylines and dynamics for the Islanders. Obviously, having the first overall pick and taking Matthew Schaefer, the defenseman, you know, Patrick Waugh behind the bench, but

Matthew Darsh coming in, uh, to lead the front office now and Noah Dobson goes out, but you still got this veteran forward group upfront that they don't seem inclined to really start dismantling it just yet. Just kind of overall big picture. What are your expectations of this Islanders team and what the season is going to look like? Well, I think, yeah, I think to view expectations, you gotta look at the division, right? Who's dominant in the division right now? There's nobody dominant, right? Carolina's probably the best team. I think you might see

Washington take a step back from where they were. That was an overachieving year for the Washington Capitals, if you ask me. And now that Alex Ovechkin has the record, what are we going to see from Alex Ovechkin? Uh, you know, is Dubois going to be the same player? There are all these things, right? So Carolina, okay, they're there. The Rangers, I think should be fine. They're better. Devils are around, but nobody's dominant. So that gives the Islanders, I think a chance here to be a top four team in this division. They think you give it, and they have the goaltending.

So they, they have the goaltending to be able to do it. And now I think what you're going to see too, is more of a voice for Patrick Waugh. And that's going to be very interesting to see with Lou Amarillo there. Patrick really didn't, it's like he couldn't be Patrick Waugh. You know what I mean? And now with Matthew Darsh there, I think Matthew Darsh is going to let Patrick be Patrick. He already let him hire his own coaching staff, Ray Bennett, Bobby Boogner, you know, so Patrick never really had his own coaching staff under Lou Amorello.

He inherited a coaching staff. Now he's got his own guys. You got Drew Ann in there, so you got a little bit more, maybe you get a little bit of offensive points, but I think they could be a top four team in the division. I really do. It's a lot has to go right for this team to do it. This thing that they're still lacking that scares me from the Islander perspective is speed. They still look like a slow team, especially on the back end. I mean, Romano, Pulek, Pelek, Mayfield, these aren't burners on the back end, right? So if they can play solidly enough there in front of Sorokin, then you got a shot. I think they could have enough offense with what they have, but they just don't have a

ton of speed and we know this is, this is a fast game now. We're speaking to Dan Rosen from nhl.com here on the Halford and Brush show featuring Jamie Dowd on Sportsnet 650. I guess we should turn our attention to the New Jersey Devils who had the quietest off season out of the three. And I, you know, it's interesting because you're not going to like dismiss the moves that they made, but it just felt not necessarily underwhelming, but quiet compared to the Rangers and the Islanders who admittedly had very big sort of loud off seasons. What did you make of what the Devils did or didn't do over the last couple of months? I absolutely love the signing of Connor Brown for this team.

Three million dollars a year you get a guy who can pretty much play anywhere in your lineup, right? Like he could play first line, he could play fourth line. He could play in a power play if needed. Like, I love the signing, he's such a versatile player for what you're looking for. So that one I like, maybe they get a steal in Dattanoff, one million bucks, why not, right?

I mean, he might be able to pop some offense for you there. Their defense to me is, is solid. You know, you Hamilton Pesci, Dylan, Kovacevic came a long way last year. Seigenthaler has got to stay healthy. The kid's shame is Casey, if he can make it. I mean, he's got a lot of offense to his game. Hughes, obviously Nemec. I mean, they have a lot of options on the back end.

Their goaltending should be solid. I like this team and I don't blame them for being somewhat quiet in this off season because they've got depth. They've got a lot of guys who can really do some special things for them. They have to stay healthy. Like they, Dougie Hamilton seems like he's heard a lot. Jack Hughes has heard a lot. Nico Huescher seems like he's heard a lot, you know, they, they have to stay healthy. Like they, Dougie Hamilton seems like he's heard a lot. Jack Hughes has heard a lot. Nico Huescher seems like he's heard a lot, you know, they, they have to stay on the

ice. If these, that was a big thing with the devils last year, they got so banged up. If they can stay healthy, they can win this division. They're that good. They're that talented. And you pop in a Connor Brown and you pop in a Dattanoff, you know, it adds to your depth. I don't know what they would have done this off season, to be honest with you,

that would have drastically improve their team beyond what they did. So staying quiet, I was okay with it. A big feature of the NHL schedule next year, Dan is going to be the three week break for the Olympics and team Canada named their coaching staff they're bringing everyone back from the four nations so we were chatting a little bit earlier about what their roster might look like and I don't want to put you on the spot too much I'm not sure if you've had a chance to really kind of dive into the US roster possibilities but it's kind of funny right we're talking about Team Canada and well they won the four

nations so the temptation is to run it back yeah it was a one- one goal game right it was an overtime game so I don't know how much the US is looking at it and thinking oh man we got to really change things but have you thought about how much turnover there might be from the four nations roster to the Olympics for Team USA? Well there's gonna be some like there's no question about that like this Chris Kreider and Vincent Trotschek do they get back on Brock Nelson's another one. And you got to look at Clayton Keller, you know, as a guy who can get on there. Tage Thompson as a guy who can get on there. So Elaine Hudson as a guy who can get on there. You know, so there's, there's, there's Quinn Hughes,

by the way, another one who probably make it, I would think. He's got a pretty good shot. He's got a pretty good shot. He's got a pretty good shot. So you're going to see some turnover. There's no question. And you should, because they put a, they put a team together to win that tournament and they came very, very close and I didn't have any issues with the guys that they put on that roster. I honestly did not, but now it's a little bit of a different tournament.

It's a longer tournament. So you're, and you're, and you're seeing guys like, like Thompson out of big worlds and you know, he can score. So I think there's going to be in Keller, you know, same. So there's going to be some turnover there from the US roster, but, but you would expect that. I think there'll be some turnover from the Canada roster too. It's just, I get why they run this coaching staff back. Like, I mean, honestly, what's wrong with what they got there? You know, like the great coaching staff.

So I don't know, like just nothing you can really say or be like, ah, you know, this guy doesn't belong. No, no, no, he belongs. I was actually surprised that I thought Misha Donskov, who's gonna be their eye on the sky and he was for their, you know, uh, you know, four nations. I thought he might've had a shot at the Dallas stars coaching job. Cause they love them.

They loved him in Dallas. Um, maybe not quite ready yet. Maybe not there yet, but you know, he was the only assistant coach, uh, in the only NHL assistant on their staff at the four nations. So, you know, obviously he's thought of quite highly and now you got Pete DeBoer who doesn't have a job right now, last I could tell. Wait a minute. Nope, doesn't, I don't think.

No job, no job. And yeah, he's the one, he's the one that could get out and scout too and just be, you know, focus on that until somebody gets fired and he gets their job. Yeah. You know what, before we let you go, I do it because we mentioned Kreider about three times here and, and Bruff and I always talk about when we first started working at NBC, it was when Kreider made his debut, which feels like a long time ago because it was a long time ago now but he made his debut in the playoffs and where we came in as a rookie and you know over the last

10 to 15 years like one of the most identifiable faces of that New York Rangers organization. How weird is it going to be to see him playing for the Anaheim Ducks now. Yeah, it's certainly strange because when you, because he's been such a staple for the Rangers. Yeah. He is a Rangers legend, right? I mean, let's be honest. I mean, he is a Rangers legend. Never won the Stanley Cup, but neither did Henry Longquist.

I mean, he is, who obviously is one of the biggest Rangers legends of all time, right? So, Criater is that player. It's weird that he's not, but honestly, after watching it last year and the way this core was unfolding last year, like it was time and I, we ended the season, they ended the season last year and we were walking out in Madison square garden and I was like, he's not going to be back. Right. Like he's just not going to be back. He can't be back. You can't keep running the same thing back over and over and over again. Uh, and I knew he would be the going to be back. He can't be back. You can't keep running the same thing back over and over and over again.

Uh, and I knew he would be the guy to get traded and he was, uh, I did not think it would be his advantage. And I think there's still that, well, number one, he's got a no move, but number two, I think there's still a feeling of that versatility that's advantage at has right wing center, uh, you know, little younger, like let's see what he can do, you know, and he has the no moves too, so it makes it a little harder. But they went about it the right way this time. Like there's no animosity between anybody, at least not publicly, and that's a good thing because

the way things played out at first with Barclay Goudreau and then with Jacob Truba, it was ugly and it certainly impacted the Rangers team. We can argue that it should have impacted them. We can have that debate all we want, but it did. And this, I think, was a nice clean break for the Rangers and Chris Crider. Dan, this was great, man. Thanks for taking the time to do this this morning. We really appreciate it. Enjoy the summer.

Maybe we'll circle back as we get closer to the start of training camps in the actual NHL season. Sounds good, guys. Appreciate it. Thanks. Thanks much. Yep. Thank you. Appreciate you as well. That's Dan Rosen from NHL.com here on the Halford and Rough Show on Sportsnet 650. See, it's funny that you talk about that U S team and one goal away from winning the whole four nations and having a very successful tournament. The turnover there. And I go back to this, even when the team was selected, I thought Kreider was a mistake. I thought Brock Nelson was a mistake.

And it's obvious that they need to move on because the guys that got left off. There's some incredibly talented players who got left off. Yeah. And again, you talk about it in the finest of margins here. But when you need it, like the idea needing a goal and not having like Cole Caulfield who's age, Tom Seven yeah, Jason Robertson who I think finished with 35 last year. Those are three guys right away and I think sometimes we forget that Not only did they not have Queen Hughes for that tournament, but they also lost Charlie McEvoy during the tournament. Now I know the Canadian blue line is gonna look

a lot different as well. Patrangelo's obviously not gonna be a part of it this year and there'll be some other changes, but that US defense is so good, so deep, so dynamic. When you think about Hughes and McEvoy, again, assuming all goes right, being healthy and ready to go. I mean, that is that's a game changer in a major way.

If those guys are, you know, both there and ready to go for the U.S. Well, and he and Rosen mentioned Lane Hudson potentially getting a shot and with being able to take eight, that wouldn't surprise me at all. And I mean, we were talking about Evan Bouchard, you take him almost as Kayle McCarr insurance. And I see a similar thing with Hudson and Quinn Hughes, right? Hey, maybe he's not going to play above Quinn Hughes, but if anything happens, we have him on hand to run power play one or at least step into and do some of what Quinn Hughes does, but just Hughes, Fox, Wurensky, McEvoy, Slaven, Faber is a ridiculous top six.

So the aid that they've got right now, again, we just finished speaking to Dan Rosen from NHL.com, so I'm deferring to their projections as well. You mentioned Faber, Quinn Hughes is there. Seth Jones, which is an interesting one, right? If you wanna talk about the Florida Panthers, the Florida Panthers glow up and guys reviving their international chances.

We talked about it with Brad Marchand earlier in the show. Seth Jones will be a really interesting one. Charlie McEvoy, they've got Brett Pesci in here to replace Noah Hanifin, which I thought was interesting. Jake Sanderson, Jacob Slavin, Zach Renske. Yeah. The thing here is that- I didn't even mention Sanderson.

He's outrageously good too. Sanderson's very good. Sanderson was one of the guys who impressed me the most in Four Nations. He was great. But if you look at it, it's almost like the seven, eight spots are the ones that are gonna be hotly debated

because the top six is so set. And they've got a nice like lefty righty balance, right? You got Hughes, Slavin, Renske, Sanderson is left. McEvoy, Faber, Jones. If you wanna go with Seth Jones, I think that's gonna be a really interesting one for them on the right. And then if you go to that, you know, as we were just jumping all over the place here, but you go to that Canadian team and it's going to be interesting because Patranjal

obviously is a hundred percent out. He won't be participating. And you just wonder like, is this the time where they give Evan Bouchard the nod, which they didn't for the four nations for a multitude of reasons, but yeah, it's sort of Do we want to go down the road of not having a replacement should something happen to kill him? I think they almost have to take Bouchard. There's just not enough credible Right shot candidates beyond him with Patrangelo out and you got like is Doughty a lock considering a question. That's a good question He's almost still I don't know if he is a lock

But when you think about his history with Team Canada and the way hockey people revere Drew Doughty, lock might be too strong, but he's not far off. Doughty jumped into that tournament, having missed a ton of time and look, I thought he looked good. Now, the issue is gonna be, is a guy that's gonna be 36 in December

with a lot of miles on the odometer. Is it going to be good to go for the kind of role that you want him to play? Can you slide him into a role where he's playing, I don't know, 16, 17 minutes a night as a third pair guy? I think at the end of the day, you give him the benefit of the doubt because it's dowdy and internationally he's been so good and he's cerebral enough to alter his game. He also loves being there. And I think that's part of it. Like you want to talk about guys that have the energy for these tournaments.

There's, there are few guys that like playing hockey more than Drew Doughty, right? Like he'll probably do it until the wheels fall off entirely. So I'd say that he's probably in, but he's one to watch, if only because of the age factor. And he's not going to be any younger when December rolls around.

Okay. We got to go to break. Before we go to break, I need to tell you about Jan Pro. From the boardroom to the break room and everywhere in between, Jan Pro keeps workplaces tidy, clean and disinfected. For a free quote, visit JanPro.ca. Coming up on the other side of the break, we're going to turn our attention to the Canadian Football League and the BC Lions. The head coach of the BC Lions, Buck Pierce, is going to join us next.

Then we're going to get into some what we learned. We're going to do them on our side of the table. You're going to do yours as well. The Dunbar Lumber Text Line is 650-650. Text them in now, hashtag it WWL and tell us what did you learn over the last 24 hours in sports? Let us know. We'll do them at 8.30. It's your chance to be on the radio. You're listening to the Halford and Breff Show on Sportsnet at 650.