Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Mapping the Penguins road back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs

Episode Date: July 22, 2024

It's been two years since the Pittsburgh Penguins made the playoffs and the road to get there hasn't gotten any easier, so can they make their way back to the best tournament in sports? Patrick and Hunter discuss what this team needs to do to get their first Stanley Cup Playoff berth since 2022, how much better the division has become, and if it's attainable. Then, a cool stat dropped over the weekend showing that the Penguins will have the least amount of travel this upcoming year. They talk about how this could potentially aid the league's oldest team in their quest to get back to the postseason. Finally, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have a new assistant coach, trainer, and equipment manager. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!IndeedStill searching for a great candidate for your company? Don’t search, just match–with Indeed.Claim your SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR CREDIT now at Indeed.com/LOCKEDON. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need Indeed. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM and add a big win to your summer bucket list!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The road to the Stanley Cup playoffs is a difficult one, and the Pittsburgh Penguins certainly are no exception. On this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast, Hunter and I are going to discuss whether this team can get back to the postseason after two straight years of not qualified. Your Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguin, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. And welcome back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me on Twitter at Synonym 4Wet. Joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes.

You can give our show's account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. And we thank you for making this your first listener watch of the day, because we're your team every day. And don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as YouTube. And before we get going today, today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Well, Penguins fans, we all know this. We are way too familiar with it after 16 straight years of being participants in the Stanley Cup playoffs and bringing home the Stanley

Cup in three of those 16 appearances. The Penguins have not been invited to Lord Stanley's table for two straight seasons. It's been very tough. It's been very annoying because we have seen a lot of great hockey out of several players on the Penguins roster, but unfortunately it has not been enough to get them into the Stanley Cup playoffs. So Hunter and I have mentioned this quite a few times in the offseason thus far that we wouldn't be shocked if this team made it three in a row and missed the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2025. But in talking to each other this weekend, we kind of realized, wait a minute, we keep bringing that up, but we haven't really elaborated on it.

We have just kind of said in passing or with other discussions that, hey, we don't think this team's going to make the playoffs in 2025. It's going to be three straight years of no playoffs. So we figured maybe it's time to. expand upon that. And that's exactly what we're going to do. You've no doubt heard us say that we don't think this is a, we think this is not a playoff team, excuse me, in 2025. So it's time to put some discussion behind that. So Hunter, I know I said it last week that both outcomes would not be all that shocking to me in 2025. If they were to make the playoffs and just kind of be cannon fodder

in the first round, wouldn't be the most shocking outcome. If they were to miss for a, third straight year, you wouldn't see me on my fainting couch because they missed the playoffs again. So let's expand on this a little bit. Hunter, looking at this team right now as it's constructed, obviously we still got plenty of time to go between now and training camp in the regular season. Can this team in your mind get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs? I do think so, but there's going to have to be a lot that goes right for them to get back. I don't think it's as much as say Winnipeg for this past. season where they got contributions from everyone in their lineup.

They had massive bounce back campaigns. Connor Helobuck was God every time he was out there. Rick Bonas, his system was working to perfection basically every night. I don't think it has to be strictly that. But I do think for the Penguins to get back, we've already discussed it about the powerplay. It has to be at least average. I can actually count on Sidney Crosby having another 80 to 90 point campaign just because he's a cyborg.

And the day he falls off will be the day. that I get surprised at this point, considering how great he's been throughout his career. I think he's going to have another big year. And even for Evgeny Malkins production, 27 goals, 67 points last season. Some people may look at that and it's like, eh, not that good. But when you stack it up to other second line centers, it's actually not bad overall in the NHL. And he'll have a full year of Michael Bunting and potentially a full year of Ricard Raquel

bouncing back. I do think you can see Malkin bouncing back a little bit next season. But I think he should still be good for at least. to 65 to 70 points, if not maybe a little bit more. I'm not sure he's going to hit 80, but I'd say maybe in that 70 point range, 77, 75, I think that would be good. They got to get better, consistent goal-taining from Trishanjari for a full season. And last but not least, the newcomers have to be a lot better for this season compared

to last season. Some of the newcomers last season for the Penguins weren't bad. Obviously, Lars Eller performed at a high level. Eric Carlson, especially late in the season, was pretty solid. Alex Nadelcovic was a great signing. But other than that, a lot of these other guys, they signed, you know, Ryan Graves, Nola Chari, Matt Nietto really didn't do that much. So they need the newcomers, especially in the bottom six this year,

to perform a lot better this upcoming season than the players they brought in last season performed, you know, that season overall. So it's definitely an uphill battle. I still think right now it's more unlikely that they make the playoffs compared to likely. But if some things do fall, all their way and maybe a team or two in the metro isn't as good as we think they will be, the opportunity will be there for the penguins to potentially sneak in as a wildcar team. I think in terms of playoff ceiling, that's what it is, a wildcar team.

That's where I am too. I look at it this way. I kind of look at it halfway the way you do where everything kind of has to go right for them to get into the postseason. But I also look at it from the sense that there's a road. for them to get to the playoffs in 2025. And it consists of a few things. A lot of it, you kind of already said.

Obviously, until Sidney Crosby falls off, he has not fallen off. He's still one of the best players in the National Hockey League. Is he among the league's elite anymore? He's right on the cusp of it, I would say. There's a handful of players, I think, have eclipsed him and firmly sit in the elite category. Sidney Crosby is still right there. Obviously, I think of getting more. Malkin having consistency on his line will be a huge help for him.

I think him and Bunting go together like peanut butter and jelly. They have done really well together and I think there's something there. I think Ricard Raquel bouncing back is probably more likely than not, especially if he has health on his side. But the biggest things for me are what you kind of already said. I think Anthony Bavillier and Kevin Hayes, I think they're candidates for big bounce back. this year. I think Kevin Hayes was in was in some situations that weren't advantageous to his success. St. Louis kind of being one of those fringe teams where he never really had a defined total role.

And then Philadelphia being in the middle of rebuilding really wasn't great for him to be a successful bottom six player. I think he brings a lot to the table that the penguins are missing. The same thing goes for Anthony Bolivier. I think he can get back. to being a 15-ish goal scorer like he was with the Islanders, especially in those days when they were all defense and no offense, and he was able to do that. That's fairly impressive. And then I think the addition of Blake Lazot is also very big for the fourth line

because he could be a fantastic contributor on the fourth line, and he has a track record of doing so on a younger up-and-coming Los Angeles Kings team. So I'm surprised they were unable to keep him because that seemed like that would have been a huge asset for them for where they're going. And then the other roadmap for me that gets them back. And this lies fully in the hands of head coach Mike Sullivan. I have been beating this drum all off season. The workloads have to be closer to even for Tristan Jari and Alex Nadelcovic. Now, I still don't know fully if Tristan Jari is a true.

starting goaltender in the national hockey league. But I do know when he's had lessened workloads, he's continued to be a good goalie. Maybe not a great one, but a good one. And we know after the last few years in the way the NHL is gone, you don't really need an elite starting goaltender. You just need a goaltender that won't lose you games. Maybe they won't steal them for you, but they don't lose them.

The problem with Tristan Jari as of late is he's lost a lot of games. You look at a lot of the games in the last two years where this team has struggled, and he's kind of been the reason that they haven't been able to win those games. You look back at the Islanders series from a couple years ago, they should have beat that Islanders team. There was no doubt in my mind they were the better team. They played like the better team for the majority of that series. The problem was they couldn't get a save.

The ongoing numbers support that, by the way. They were better in high danger, scoring chances, expected goals. They badly outplayed the Islanders in that six games. Tristan Jari was just really bad, and Ilya Sorokin was just insane for the Islanders in that series. But it also didn't help this past season that Nadelcovich got hurt a bit early on and was out for a few weeks, which, you know, you put that all that workload on Jari. And it was obvious, you know, towards the late stages of the season that he was worn down a little bit. I do think if you are able to split it, you know, 55, 45, or even, you know, 50, 50, I do think that. that could benefit those two overall.

And as for Hayes and Beauvilliers, yeah, it would be nice if those two bounce back. But I'm also very much in a believe it when I see it in terms of Beauvillier just because he was really bad this past year. Yeah, the contract is whatever. The cap hit is also whatever. But if he can get back to 15 plus goals, I will obviously take that then for Kevin Hayes.

I like that in terms of a fit, but just how much more does he have in the tank? That's going to be my question. Again, I like the fit for third line center. I think him next to someone like Valtrey Pusinin, where he can dish the fuck off to him and he can finish his chances. It makes a lot of sense. And maybe someone else like Drew Connor on his line also makes sense to me. But I still want to see what else Hayes has left in the tank for this team.

And I'm right there with you. I think that that's the biggest question mark around Kevin Hayes is does he still have quality hockey left in him? And that is a huge open question. The last thing I also look at is I want to find out. And again, it's another big question mark because like we said, a lot of things have to go right for them to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The other thing I want to see is, was Eric Carlson's performance down the stretch last season, who he really is or was it an aberration?

I lean towards that's who he really is because he finally started to seem like he had a fit. He seemed like he was getting comfortable in Pittsburgh. You add another training camp. You add another preseason. and a familiar defensive coach with him. And all of a sudden, things are lining up for him to become at least closer to what we have deemed the unrealistic expectation a lot of fans had for him. I think he can get a lot closer to that in this situation. And that's going to aid the penguins in being a better team.

The one last thing I want to say before we wrap up this segment is you briefly mentioned this. And I think this is really the most Herkulean thing that is going to stand in their way. of getting back to the playoffs is the Metro got a lot better this offseason. There was a lot of people who called the Metropolitan, the Mid-Dropolitan division this year, and they were not wrong. Now all of a sudden, the Metro is right back to its old self where if you come out of this division, you are in a good spot because you had to earn your way out of this division. I agree.

I mean, the Rangers are going to be very good again this season. I don't know if they're going to be President's trophy level good, but I think they're still a bona fide contender in a playoff team, Carolina. I think it's taken a step back considering the losses they've had, but they are still a playoff team, New Jersey. I think they're going to finish top three. Washington, if I had to say right now, I do think they can get in as a wildcard team,

but I don't think they're top three in Metro. The Islanders always have thrown on everyone's side. They're going to be in that race. Philadelphia will at least be in the race, especially with Michov coming in now, but will they make the playoffs? I think I'm still a little skeptical. The only, I think, truly bad team we know is going to be just not good are the Columbus Blue Jackets.

But, yeah, man, I hear you if I had to give one more, I guess maybe key for them to get back to the playoffs. It's playing better in their own zone, man. I'm tired of seeing all the odd man rushes every game throughout the season. I want them to play a lot better in front of both Tristan Jari and Alex Ndankovic. I know that some of the defense is a bit weaker heading into this year compared to last year, but they still need to play a lot better in their own zone. And I'm hoping David Quinn can unlock some of that as the Penguins assistant coach. We'll just have to see.

We will. And speaking of the road back to the Stanley Cup playoffs, really cool stat came out over the weekend about the amount of travel in miles that NHL teams will have this year. And that could be something that could help the Penguins get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs because we know this is a pretty old team. in a league that's pretty competitive. But Hunter and I will talk about that in our second segment.

And before we do that, we have to tell you about our first sponsor. And that is game time. It's summer. Our Pittsburgh pirates, maybe not hunters, but my Pittsburgh pirates are very much in a wild card race right now. They just took two or three from the powerhouse Philadelphia Phillies. And that was a huge series victory for them. So game time is going to be your place to get some tickets to go see those pirates and

Paul Skeens at PNC Park this summer because game time is an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets faster and easier. Prices on the GameTime app actually go down the closer it gets the first pitch. And with killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee, Game Time takes the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets. I love telling this story. I wish Game Time was around back when I was buying tickets from Scalpers back during high school. I bought tickets to a penguins game from a scalper. They scanned. They worked. I got in,

but they were for a row in a section that did not exist. So I love game time because with Customize Your Spot as the supplemental, that is something that really helps me find tickets. I get last minute tickets, flash deals, zone deals, easy to find and buy those MLB tickets at PNC Park. I give views from the seat right in the app, which helps me know what I'm going to be looking at when I get into PNC Park. And of course, there's the lowest price guarantee, event cancellation protection, and more. Last minute deals can save you up to 60% off buying last minute tickets for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, and more.

All in pricing, you can toggle that feature. You'll get the total price up front so you're not hit with any of those last minute fees at checkout. Seat views, like I said, you get that panoramic view from your seats, so you know exactly where you are going to be sitting. And of course, the lowest price guarantee. The lowest price guarantee has game time who will credit you up to $100,000. 10% of the price if you find a lower price anywhere else.

Take the guest work out of buying MLB tickets with GameTime, download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Locked-on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-O-N-N-H-L for $20 off. Download game time today, last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. All right, we're back here on the Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. Thank you, as always, for joining us and making us part of your daily routine. So a really, really cool stat came out over the weekend. This was thanks to at TJ

stats on Twitter. They tracked the amount of distance that NHL teams will travel in miles this upcoming season. And this could be potentially great news for a penguin's roster that is up there and age and is looking to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs. Like we talked about in the first segment, it's going to be very difficult for the penguins to get back to the playoffs given everything else that's going on. But this could be one thing that helps them. Sitting at 32nd in the league for travel are the Pittsburgh Penguins. This upcoming season, they will travel 31,700 miles for their schedule.

And that is 1100 miles less than the next. closest team at 31, which is the Ottawa Senators who will travel 32,800 miles. So Hunter, while there's a lot of things working against the penguins to get back to the playoffs, this is one thing that helps them out quite a bit if I say so myself. Yeah, I agree. This is really good news. And it also should show to, I think, a lot of people, especially some that really don't follow the penguins overall, that, you know, Pittsburgh, it really is just in a great

location for travel overall for this team. I mean, you look at the Metro Division, for example, they really don't have to travel that far to play their divisional teams. I mean, heck, Columbus, you can just drive there. Washington, same thing. Philadelphia, it's a bit longer. You can drive there, but it's only like an hour flight. I think the longest flight probably is Raleigh down for Carolina, but still, that's not really that bad. It's only a couple hours. And then the flight to Detroit is not bad. A team like Chicago, that's a lot. not bad at all. The main big, long flights for the penguins, you know, the Western Canada trip, the California trip, and then maybe a trip out to Colorado, Vegas, Utah, I almost said

Arizona again. I'm still getting used to it a little bit here, people, but, you know, that sort of trip out, not all the way out to California, but close enough overall. But it is really good news overall for this team, just because, again, I know they have a lot of road games to start the season in October. But when you really dive into that schedule, those first couple of months, it's not really too bad. You know, a lot of those games, they don't have to travel too far. Yes, I understand they do have the Western Canada trip a bit early this year.

But outside of that, you know, the road games are mostly pretty close. So I do think that has an advantage for the Penguins. And even for the Western Canada trip in October, it's good to get that out of the way early compared to later on in the season where you might be feeling a little bit gas at that point. Yeah, and while it's definitely an advantage for the penguins, it's an advantage that's shared by the entire metropolitan division. Because if you look at the breakdown of those miles traveled,

there's not a single Metropolitan Division team in the top 20. So just a heads up here, listeners. Here comes a number dump. So try to pay attention a little bit on this one. Sitting at 21st with the most travel in the metro are the New Jersey. Devils, they have 39,900 miles to go. Just a couple spots below are the Carolina Hurricanes with 36,800, right below them at 25 or the Islanders at 36,300.

Then at 27 are the Capitals with 35,600. And then it goes the Flyers, the Rangers, and the Blue Jackets. The Capitals have 35,600. Flyers have 35,500. Rangers have 35,300, and the Blue Jaggots have 33,400. So all of those teams being clustered basically in the same region really makes this division about as even as it can get because you're not traveling far. And like we were saying in the first segment, outside of Columbus,

there's not really a truly bad team in the metro. There's versions of good and versions of average, I guess. You look at this division and it's a dog fight because everybody's right there and everybody competes. Yeah, I have my questions about the Philadelphia Flyers, but they competed pretty much all the way up to the last month of the season. And I don't have any doubts. They're going to do something similar this year, especially with the addition of Mishkov.

So this is, again, going to be a division that's going to be very hard to get wins in. Right. know, I agree. And just looking also at the initial team travel distance, if you look at the top 16, there's barely any teams from the Eastern Conference in there. And that's by design. A lot of the teams from the West have to travel the most just because they're playing a lot of teams, you know, in the Eastern time zone, in the Central Time Zone. So that makes sense. You know, a team like, I know the Florida Panthers are over there, but they're all the way down near Fort Lauderdale. Of course, they're going to be up there just because they have to travel pretty far for

a good chunk of their away games. I mean, heck. And the thing real quick that hurts both Florida and Dallas is that they're starting their season in Finland. So they have to go across the ocean to travel for games. So that kind of puts them already at a decided disadvantage because they have to do international travel, which most teams this year do not. Well, even looking at Tampa Bay, they're number nine, but that makes sense.

Tampa, Florida, you know, going up and down the East Coast, going central, going out to the West Coast, going out to the West Coast, going up to Canada, of course. Those are not short flights. So it makes a ton of sense that Tampa Bay would be over there. But, you know, the Eastern Conference, most of the teams, they benefit from this travel schedule and the Penguins. Again, for a team that's still the oldest team in the league, this can hopefully only

mean good things for them as they try and get back to the playoffs and hopefully not be, I guess, as gas and quotation marks, jet lagged, whatever other word you want to call it. it's really good news that they have the least amount of miles traveled. And again, goes to show that Pittsburgh, really strong location overall. It is. And the last thing I'll say about it, you brought this up very briefly a few minutes ago. We know they hit the road a lot early in the season. So this actually also helps them because if they're in the stretch run and they're fighting for a playoff spot,

they're not going to have to deal with, oh, no, now we've got to go to California or we got to go to Texas or we got to go to Western Canada. they are going to have to travel, but not very far. So they get all this travel out of the way. And if they don't completely tank early on, you add all this together. This could really add up to be something that helps them push back into the playoffs because they're not going to have to go on these big long road trips at the end of the year when they're potentially fighting for their playoff lives. Yeah, no.

And I know it evens out later on the season just because they have a lot of road games, start them. they'll have more home games later. That's great news because you'll be playing more home games later in the season when the games start to get even bigger after, you know, October, November, as you hit December, then obviously when you hit the new year in January for 2025, you know, some of those games, some of those really important games will be at home after you had a lot of those early games on the road. I think that's also something to consider when you look at this sort of thing. Yeah. So this is potentially great news for the penguins going into next.

year, especially with the stated goal of trying to get back to the Stanley Cup playoffs, really helps them that they're not going to be crisscrossing North America all season long, which could really hamper their ability to perform. Yes, I know their professional athletes is what they signed up for. But in a hyper-competitive league, you look for any advantage you can get, and this certainly is one. But that'll do it for this second segment when Hunter and I return. We got a little bit of a news drop this morning with the Wilkesbury Scrant.

and penguins making some more hires as this offseason progresses. We'll discuss those right after this. And we're going to tell you about our next sponsor. And that is eBay Motors. Passion drive and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more, whether you're into

speed, power or style. eBay Motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one rider die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with the eBay guaranteed fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back. Because with eBay Motors, you're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices you want,

it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your rider die alive at eBaymotors.com, eligible items only, exclusions apply. eBay guaranteed fit available only. to U.S. customers. All right, we're back here on the Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Thank you, as always, for tuning in and making Hunter and I part of your daily routine. So, Hunter, we got a little bit of some news to get to before we wrap this show up.

The Wilkesbury Scranton Penguins announced that they have made quite a few staff hires as they continue to rebuild the pipeline here in the Pittsburgh organization. They announced that they do have a new assistant coach, and that is Nick Loco. He was named the assistant coach of the Wilkesbury Scranton Penguins. They also made a couple other announcements, which we'll get to in just a second. But Loco is joining Sheldon Brookbank and on the Wilkesbury Scranton staff, along with new head coach, Kirk McDonald. They really seem to like this guy. He's young.

He's got, for only being 32 years old, got quite a bit of experience the last three years. He was the head coach and director of hockey operations for the Jacksonville Iceman in the ECHL. Under his tutelage, they did very well in the ECHL, putting together a record of 126, 73, and 17. He also got a club record in wins in the 22, 23 season with 44, which is a, as I said, a record for them. He also spent some time in the Philadelphia organization as an assistant coach for the Redding Royal. that meant he spent time on new head coach Kirk McDonald's staff. So there's familiarity there. Got to say, right off the hop, big fan of this hire.

I really like that they're going for a lot of youth with these hires in Wilkesbury. They're not just going after a bunch of quote unquote old heads overall. They're really adding some youth to this staff. And I think that's going to mean good things for Wilkesbury this year as they try and get that team back to the playoffs with some of the talent that they have down there and some of the talent that they will have for the first time this year, namely Owen Pickering as he turns pro. And he also, you know,

he was a defenseman overall, 274 ECHL games when he played. He had 87 points, 25 of those were goals, 62 assists. He also was a six-run draft pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 national draft for anyone that cares. But by all accounts,

really good hire here. And I like the coaching staff that Wilkesbury is putting together here. I really like the McDonald hired when he was announced and I'm excited to see how this team looks overall this year. Yeah, again, it really brings to the forefront that Kyle Dubus and the Penguins are going all in in making sure that their minor league teams are playing meaningful competitive hockey. It's no longer just going to be an incubator for the biggest prospects.

This is going to be setting a culture in the organization that they want you to play winning hockey wherever you go. That was one of those biggest goals when they took over. They wanted Wilkesbury to be a very good team in the AHA. I think they wanted to get to the point where it's kind of like Hershey for the capitals organization. I think they want it to get to that point. Yeah. And I'm totally for that just because from a mentality standpoint, it's not the most advantageous thing. If you're a highly touted prospect, you go to the HL and think, okay, I just got to come down here, take care of my own, play well, I'll get the call to the big club, and everything will be cool from there. It's saying that when you're there, you've got to be there. You have to play well. You have to play within the structure of the team, and you have to be committed to actually winning.

And then once you get to the big club, that's going to be the same mentality, the same culture, and that's how you want your organization to run. So I'm all for this. A couple other hires they announced, Matt Mitchell has been named the head equipment man. of the Wilkesbury Scranton Penguins, and Zander, Kazmala, has been promoted to head athletic trainer of the Wilkesbury Scranton Penguins, which got to give a big shout out to a friend of mine who was the Wilkesbury Scranton Penguins trainer. That's my good pal, Seamus McKelvie. He was a wheeling product, just like I was, worked his butt off, got him up, himself up to the HL. Now he's got himself a new gig in Virginia, not in hockey anymore, but guys, he was a great dude worked really hard very good at what he did so congratulations to mitchell and kuzmala for getting

those gigs so very excited like you are to see where wilkes bear goes what they do this season and how they develop a lot of these guys that we've been speaking very highly of this off season right no i agree with you and just as a little background on mitchell he has over 30 years of professional experience across the n hl a hl and e c hl he has over actually 2 000 games of a hl experience and he spent the last nine seasons with the Ottawa Senators as their head equipment manager of their AHL team. And then Cosmala, he was a athletic trainer in Wilkesbury. So very nice promotion from him overall.

But when I look at these three moves, absolutely no complaints from Kyle Dubus, Jason, Spetson company. We'll sound overall. Yeah, very good stuff. Very excited to see getting ever closer to the start of training camp and the start of hockey season. But that'll do it for the Monday edition of the locked on. Wings podcast. We appreciate you guys tuning in. We know it's the dog days of summer and we love you for spending time with us, even when the news may not be as quick as it is during the season.

But for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thanks again for tuning in, Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode for you all on Tuesday.