OverDrive - OverDrive - December 17, 2025 - Hour 1 - Dylan Strome

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Maple Leafs' win against the Blackhawks, the team turning up the notch, Auston Matthews' celebration calling out the noise, Craig Berube's viewpoint of the roster, Leon Draisaitl hitting 1000 points, his all-time rank and the Oilers playing Stuart Skinner in the crease. Washington Capitals forward Dylan Strome on his season with the Capitals, the Alex Ovechkin experience and the team's overview and Ja Rule shanking a golf shot.

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Fanduil, bringing you everything from the opening line to the final score. All right, here we go, overdrive, off and running TSN 1050 on the TSN app, your home smart speaker, and up on TSS at 4, Brian Hayes, the O-Dog, Jeff O'Neill, Jamie Noodles, McClennan. What's going on, boys? What's going on? How are we feeling this afternoon? How are we feeling after that Maple Leaf game last night?

Are we happy? Are we still skeptical? I saw on Twitter where somebody was like, you guys got to stop this. You got to stop saying it's a must win. And then halfway through the game, you're like, they're terrible. And then when they pull it out,

you're like, you change your mind again, and you're like, here we go. So after what we witnessed last night, where are the heads at? A win is a win is a win, right? Like you guys always say, you don't criticize a win. But, man, you can criticize the first, like, 50 minutes of a win. You're right?

You can't criticize the outcome in the end. But I think all you need to know is, you know, the polar opposites of reactions. Craig Baruba in the first period, if you're a fan, you just look at that. You're not overreacting. If you're yelling and screaming at the TV. It was appropriate. Yeah. If you're in the building, just say, go look at the coach.

that guy is losing his mind based on the way this team started. He's called one shot, one shot, outshot seven to one, almost 12 minutes into the game against a Chicago team that was depleted based on injuries and discipline and the leaves have been called out and their leaders and they're at home and they did not have a very good home stand and yet in the end it turned into one of the more it went from one of the most disappointing games of the season to one of the more memorable games of the season like i think that's i think it's a footnote game now i think it's a game that people are going to remember oh yeah matthews and he pointed to his ear and oh that's right joshua scored a big goal to close it and

barouba blowing a gasket like it it turned into a very memorable game where if it kept going south and they lost, all bets would have been off, and people deservedly would have been freaking out. I like that Austin Matthews did that hand signal to the year. It was like some emotion. It was like, okay, you guys want to boo us? We deserved it. But let's kind of get some mojo going here and raise the roof a little bit.

I had no issue with that at all because I got that today. It's like, who's Matthews kidding doing that? I would have done that too. Well, when they earned the booze, but they earned the cheer. Like, that's the, that's the, ultimately, I just, Hayes, I've got to be consistent, because I always say, it's hard to criticize a win, but this one's thin, it's a thin, like, because you're almost there, right? You're almost going, I want to criticize it.

Yeah, there's almost an exception here for this one. But I'm not going to, because it's like, Joseph Wall looked good. I think there were some good performances. I thought the top dogs were not very good until they showed up. And Matthews at the forefront of that. Like I had a tweet locked and loaded of our boy, Sam Mitchell, zero, zero, zero, because he didn't have a shot on goal. He didn't have a hit. He didn't have a block shot.

He didn't have anything. And, you know, I agree with you. Oh, I loved it last night for a couple of different reasons. First and foremost, I'm not going to sit here. Yeah, the hand thing. I'm not going to chastise or, you know, sit here on my perch. and try to convince, you know, jaded Lee fans, disappointed Lee fans that they should feel differently

than the way they feel. I totally get why you would say, wait a minute. Steam hasn't won anything. Steve's killing me. They've been awful this year. Matthews has been terrible and you score once and you're going to give us the, hey, where are the booze? I understand where those people are coming from.

I get it because I heard the same thing from a lot of people. I'm getting sick and tired of this. How dare he? What is he thinking? For starters, it wasn't overly egregious. You know, he didn't moon the crowd at center. ice you know he grabbed his ear for a second yeah and if it's okay for patrick kane to do that in chicago austin matthews is allowed to do it in toronto right and listen him playing in the crowd here's here's where i think it lands for me if he did that and then in the celebration was

bitter and was shaking his head he wasn't he was jacked up and that's what fans are asking for like i think you know it's been disappointing from my standpoint this year and i'm curious where you guys stand because we spent all summer talking about it all September talking about it. I put my stake in the ground for 34 and said, I think he's going to come back raging. I think he's taking notes and anyone thinking he's done or that he can't play or he can't play with Mitch or Baruba is not. He's going to come out and torch all of you. And I was dead wrong.

And I've been dead wrong through 32 games. He's not even close. Not even close to the top guys in the league. He's not even close to an Art Ross, a rocket, a heart. By his standards, he's been terrible. and I'm surprised by that but he clearly didn't listen to everyone in the offseason

but he heard them last night and the fans maybe they can take solace in that like be loud get loud because it's respectful they weren't throwing stuff on the ice they were booing they should boo that's the way it works you play like that you're going to hear it and I like the idea that he finally

showed some life because that's what he's got to show you got to score and you got to show some life because he's played with exuberance throughout his whole career and it hasn't been there this year. Yeah, those goal celebrations where he's, like, crouched over and he kind of, like, just, yeah, fist pumps and clenches his fist. And it's like, that's real emotion.

Like, when he's cooking and doing that, but even sometimes this year he's scored and it's just kind of his arms go up and it's like, that's not the guy. And he was jacked, man. He did the year, but then he was jacked. Like, and that's what you need. He's got to come alive, man. The mob was calling you out last night. You got to go out and respond.

And he did it. Yeah. And I like it, man. Show a little bit of motion. Go out there. I think he put his captain's hat on after the game, which he should. Right? I was because I heard the cheers.

You got to play the game right when you're talking after the game. You've got to be careful. You can't get crazy and start, you know, calling out the fans and saying this, that, or the other. But here's the reality for Lee fans. If he came out and all his teammates came out and said, we hate all of you with a passion. And then they went on to win a Stanley Cup, Lee fans. would say, I love you so much. I love you so much.

And even if you showed up at the parade and said, we still hate all of you. And we wish none of you were here right now. Everyone would give them a standing ovation and say, thank you. You're the greatest leaf of all the time. Yeah. Where's your statue going?

Where's your statue going? Because that's all people want. Go out there and score, play well, and win. And it wasn't there for 55 minutes, but the last five was electric. It was weird. Like, sometimes you do need a good bounce. you do need something good to happen on the night where it's not going well and you know i thought the goalie interference challenge like that that ended up well like i that was close man i i thought

it was a lot closer than people think like i was looking at that i'm like the puck was there it was behind the pad but you it was loose and so i they got that and they didn't respond to it the legs didn't go to them like there was a couple things during the game where you're like okay now you could see the legs will get going the minds will get going they just just didn't have it, you know, but they found a way. And I've got to be consistent. When the standings, it's two points. It's hard to criticize, but there are things there that concern you, yes.

But maybe, again, maybe we come back, maybe this lights of fire. Maybe it shows some passion. Maybe it helps with the confidence of the group. These are giant maybes, but we'll take it. And you take it and you move on because I keep saying this daily, there are other teams that are winning in the conference and the divisions, all of that. You just got to take care of what you can control. You guys all agree that if that goal he interfered, that goal counted it was curtains.

It was not good because there was no life in that building, guys. That was what I call it Tuesday night special, man. They got the first two. People started getting pissed off. And if that goal was allowed, it would have turned into an absolute circus, a circus. And no badard, too, right? So ticket holders are already bitter because they want to see it play. If you're going to lose at least allowed Badaard to light you up, you know,

so you can go home and say, I saw that live. Yeah, you take it, though. You take it, take it to the bank, and then you respond. You need a better game, your next game, because the opponent's better. Yes, you're off to Washington. I think another question I have that comes out of the game is, like, what does Craig Barubei have left in his bag of tricks? Like, he's playing every card, snapping, losing it, timeouts, calling people out, yelling one shot, you know, like repeatedly. He, like, everyone was getting trapped in the last night.

Domey got it. I felt for Benoit because he was standing on the bench, so he had to kind of acknowledge it. You know, like, if you're sitting, you guys know, you can kind of get down where he, he was standing and felt like it was directed right out of, which some of it probably was. But what else can Barubei do? Well, doesn't he go back to his own seat in his office and say, I yell at these, like, I try to, I try to get the message to them and they're just not. So why not? Like, what does he, how does he get it across? Because something's got to give.

I think you keep pushing, guys. The thing is, is coaching is a nightly and hourly thing. It's like being a parent. It's flat out. I've said this before. It shouldn't be, Jamie. But, guys, we're all parents now. I wasn't a parent when I was a coach.

Now that I'm a parent and I look back at what I did as a coaching career, I felt like a parent. You're constantly, don't touch that, don't do this, don't do that. You're constantly managing that particular. particular situation. So Chief was coaching the hell out of that group last night. There wasn't much there. So you're yelling, you're screaming, you're trying different things. It worked out.

I think what you do is positive reinforcement. Guys, tape burner, let's go into Washington. Let's see what we got here. Because there's so many different things. Eventually you get tired. We all know. Our kids tune us out. Daddy's yelling again or whatever.

Mommy's yelling again. Blame it on staff. Mommy's yelling again. Like, it's just you got to, you got to, to me, coaching is. is such a very it's a it's a cerebral game and i think chief is he i like it think of guys i don't know i get in long-winded here do you remember last year he was looking for four minutes remember his fingers were all bent and he was doing that like four yeah last night he was doing the one and his thing i was like that was that intimidating like that finger is so many people

square in the face it's scary exactly um and yeah and i i think listen it they're I guess what I'm saying is, you know, I appreciate the fire. You've got to have it. You've got to ebbs and flows. You can't yell and scream all the time. Other times you've got to be supportive. But like the actual execution of whatever is being asked is still, you know, again, they got they got caved in and their power play.

Essie scored, Matthew's goal was on the power play. They've had a couple recently, but it's still 30th in the league. You know, they still give up a ton of shots. And that's got to be on Barubei to figure that out. You know, like the yelling. and screaming and being ready on time and all that is important. But he's got to get these guys playing better because they're staying above water. They're keeping their head above water.

You know, they're 15, 12, and 5. It's not a great record by any stretch of the imagination, but they're in the hunt. They're in the hunts. But you guys know what's ahead of them. Like, if you could think of a possible scenario where a teams had a schedule that says, go ahead and get ahead of the pack, they've had it, man. They have had it. these home games against crap teams and look where their record is right now.

So guess what's happening the second half of the season? They're going on the road and guess who they're playing against? Quality teams, man. And it's going to start on Saturday night or Thursday night, actually. Yeah, they're in Washington tomorrow. They've got Nashville and Dallas on this trip and Nashville is one you've got to get, clearly. But, you know, it's a tough building to play in and it's, we'll see. But Washington and Dallas on the same trip is very, very,

very difficult and he's still got to go through Colorado and Vegas and Western Canada and you know there's there's a lot of really difficult trips that they still have they got to go through California which is not easy anymore you know it was there was a dip for a few years there's no dip anymore so yeah it's it's going to be challenging

they put themselves in the spot and yet you know their yes teams win and yet and other teams lose in east you know Montreal lost again last night and you know Pittsburgh's kind of in the wild car race and there's the oilers going in there and just putting on another clinic and they dummy them last night. McDavid had another cut through the team goal last night. Like it's almost like you don't remember Hackashack in the NBA? Like when do you not when do you start just two handing that guy and

say we'll take the two minute trip, try to beat us on a break on a on a on a power play? Like right here just hack a shack like I can't imagine it's that far off because this is. four or five games in a row he's done this look at those defense and they're just helpless they go one way and they're screwed man yeah well you did it last night you're right did you not guys did you guys not feel for skin man when he's standing there and they all were celebrating I was like that sucks for the stew

yeah he got torts last night you know guys he did and I felt bad for him because there was like a Libro done on Twitter he was seven feet away from the scrum at one point like literally seven feet away the scrum kind of actually made its way over to the crease watch macdavid though macdavid looks at him turns away and you could tell he was feeling like i felt bad stew turned it back on it at that point but like did part of you i don't know i thought about if stew gives him a tap on the way by would people be pissed his teammates would be like screw you man well i don't know man like i just this guy's been in the in the fight with leon for most of those

thousand points. Yes, you don't want to give it up, but it is a special circumstance. I'll give you an example. Obie breaks the record. Remember they stopped the game. Sorokin signed a stick for him, went over, like they took a picture together. It was, yes, it's a different context. But this just happened. They were teammates like six days ago, you know, a week ago. Like it is, I felt for him because Evanton, that wasn't a six-four game. Evanton gave up two moldy ones at the end, but like they dummied Pittsburgh. They were, they really, really, really, well. went after them pretty good.

Yeah. I felt for Stu. I felt for him, too, and that vision, like, listen, it was going to happen. Dry Cedles on fire right now. He had four points. Yeah. Like, he was getting a thousand points last night, and Skinner must have known that. But it was the nature of it.

It's just, it's awkward. It's somewhat symbolic, you know, of the run, too. Like, he, you know, he's a big part. They love that guy. They've all, they've, you saw them after the game, seeking him out, hugging, and knoblock was right beside them, which I found a little bit strange. McDavid and Drysdale were doing their goodbyes, and Knoblock was, like, lurking two feet away.

He's standing there against the wall. Is Knoblock eight feet tall? Did you see how tall he looked in the background? Massive. I'll tell you one thing, that's two Skinner. He's pretty calm about his game. He was like, yeah, I was a little bit nervous, and then I kind of settled in, and I was thinking, like,

that's his mentality. Dude, it is, because he got lit up, man. The celebration was tough. I don't think he can get in it. Personally, I'm with Owenness. I think if you're Skinner, you look the other way, you skate to the other corner. Yeah. You're not an oiler anymore.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I would have done it. I would have been laying in the corner and just in the fetal position. My point is, would people have been mad? It was more a question back to you. It is a valid question. I think it depends on the generation. Like I spoke to Doogie earlier.

Doogie's an advocate for Stewart Skinner getting right in the middle of the thing. Like get right in there and start patting him, take your helmet off and congratulations. Dugie lives in his parents' basement. Yeah, Duggy's out to lunch. I was shocked to consider that. Duggy thought Skinner should have been leading the charge for the celebration for dry cellar lunch. I'm going to give you an opportunity here, Dugge, please.

You thought that Stuart Skinner should have got involved and went into that celebration? Well, not essentially that. Just to be around it, just give him a tap at the end. Dude, go back in the basement. Back in the basement to me. I love Duggy, but I was flabbergasted by his reaction to that last night. What is his original comment? He said he should have got involved right in the middle.

Yeah, like basically act as if you're still an Euler. That was my interpretation. Like, you're right in there. One of the boys. You said that, Dugie. I did say that, yeah. I felt for Stu. I felt for Stu.

You're not alone. I felt for him too. You're not alone, man, because it was a scenario where there's Jari gets the win and he's off with the Oilers. Dude, that was a tough one too when Jari came in the pack. It's like you've been there three days and he's jumping in the pack. Right in front of the other guy. Crazy.

And now you're riding shotgun with a team that's absolutely red-hot. And McDavid and Dry Saddle are the, you know, two best players in the game right now. Now, McKinnah had a great night last night, two of the Avalanche won again. Where's Jari? Did he, did you see it? Seriously. There he is. There he is.

There is. There's good stuff, guys. I love you guys. Love you, Jars. That would sting if dry saddle said. Like, love you, pal. And it was just within earshot of Skinner. But I'm curious where you guys think the ceiling is for dry settle on the all-time list.

Can he get into the top 10? In your opinion, top 15? Like a top 10 player of all time? All time. Because he's already. In my opinion, he's got to be in the top 50, top 40. Oh, dude, 100%. You got to do some winning, though, right?

We always judge whether fairly or unfairly, you've got to do some winning. Yeah, but, Jamie, there's players in the top 50 that have never won a Stanley Cup. I get it. Listen, I flip-flop on this all the time because, you know, one of the guys that I admire as much as anybody in this world, Jerome McGinla, he's got gold medals, but he didn't win a Stanley Cup and you know I think he's one of the greatest players who ever played but it's you know when people talk about

it's like well that guy won this guy had this that like dry side of I don't know is Germany going to win a medal is like I think they're not getting a goal I don't think that has anything to do with it man I think that he is that's fair he is he's just one of the things that's special about him

is just how unique he is like the way he moves around the ice It's almost like it's not like graceful, but he's got to send attack mentality. And the way he protects the puck and just the way he gets open. And obviously Connor McDavid has been a massive part of this guy's success because they go out there in the power play. And I don't know how many times McDavid. I mean, you watch him live.

You watch the replays on the power play. He is looking to dish it over there for that low one timer all the time. That is option number one. It's like if a QB is checking off certain things, his first go-to is, dry side will open. So McDavid's been a big part of his success, but I think this guy's the limit for this guy. I would have to talk to the quiz master because he is so knowledgeable about what's happened in the past and what guys have done and what's going to happen in the future. But this guy, I could see him just soaring up as very high. I don't know how this is,

but I have the utmost respect for his game. It's so good. I agree. I agree. He's one of my favorite players to watch he's so different because he invites contact in a game where guys don't like to get hit guys don't want to go in in tough areas he's like bring two on to me and then i'll find the open man like that's that's why he is able to excel in the playoffs because his style of play is suits the playoffs because he's he's physical and he's got a little bite to his game i don't know hayes you always talk about winning that's why i brought it up But I do think he is as good as anybody. I think he would be a top 50 player for sure right now.

I'm looking at a list here. Most recently, the Athletic put one out, and I'm sure they surveyed a million different people. Is this an all-time list? Yeah, and it's obviously very subjective. But you look at it, like number 51 on the list is Mike Medano. I've got Drysettle ahead of him, but Medano's won a cup. And Medano played 1,500 games and a ton of points.

Like, McDonough is a great player, but I think I'd go dry-siddle. I think, you know, Patrice Bergeron. I'm going dry-siddle. Yes. Who's like, who's 30? Well, you get that high, you get into territories like, well, here's a good one. Sergei Fedorov. Who's better?

See, I, but I think Fedoroff might be. Like, I just, I shouldn't say might be. I think Federoff was, but I also think dry-sidal's story's not. no exactly and he's still going and he's got another 10 years right um like federal thornton bobby clark you know i think he's going past those people to be honest with you i would put him ahead of those guys right now with all disrespect to them but like brian trache peter forsburg like that's the area that's what we're talking about if he's in that world that is the area he's going to been in by i honestly think when it's all said and done if he can

keep trucking like the way he is i think he's moving ahead of those people he's that good i think he's got to win the humbred noodles i think you got to get a cup i think you have to and well you just mentioned jumbo joe i well i agree well i think he's better than thornton i do even without like just right now i think dry settle's a better player like you give me their a game on a night tonight best game of their career prime i'm taking dry subtle yeah i'm taking dry sidle's best game over sergey fetteroff and i played for against federoff a long time and he's he's so good But I think dry saddle is that good, man. Well, but it's a good debate to have because now he has put himself into that special player.

Not that he wasn't, but that special player debate where it's like this, how good is he, how good can he be? I love his temperament. Like, you know, he's got some snarl to him. Like you can tell he competes. He gets pissy out there. You know, remember Jim Matheson went out of him, why he's so pissy? Like, yeah, like he gets pissy out there. I love that, though.

That says to me the guy wants to win. His playoff record, yes, he hasn't won, but if you look at what he's been able to do in the playoffs, like that's not a drop-off. And I think that's the word, to be fair to him, yes, he hasn't won. His points per game in the playoffs are like top five all time, I believe. You know, like literally it's like Gretzky, Lemieux, McDavid, Drysettel. Like he is, I think he's the most clutch player of this generation, like in the last 10 years.

You know, maybe short a Cid McDavid's been there, but Dry Suttles been, I think, just as clutch, like prior to the last two years he was. Remember, McDavid was hurt the year they went to the second round against Anaheim. That was all Drysettle seven, eight years ago. My brother just sent me a message saying Leon's single

bar play back in the day would have been out. He has a handsome guy, too. He's six foot five. He looks like a model, and he's just an NHL stud. And, blows darts when it gets late well you see their shirts last night i want a hoodie man oilers if there's an oiler hoodie made with those that logo or either do it or we're doing it ourselves

i'm gonna see if i can like you know what's funny i have to pass on a message so i did strutty they're that t-shirt i love that that is unbelievable you got me i was out of my i was his own wedding it was his own wedding yeah his own wedding blowing a dart but i did strutty show today and he messaged me he's like hey i've been waiting by my phone he goes what is it wednesday now he goes didn't get the call and he was he goes why wasn't i on on monday show i don't know maybe evinton one i said that's cold call that loser today let's cold call strutty today if he answers he was so he was put off he's like why didn't you have me on the show and i go i don't know i said maybe i said if if emminton loses three in a row you're the first call

first guy we call they want saturday we're not we're not calling We're not letting Struddy come on. He was like put off. Dance on the graves of Napoli fans. No chance. We know what his attitude will be. We'll get him back. We'll have strutty on.

That's not going to be a problem. We got a lot of time for Struddy. No. And believe me, there's lots of fires to put out. Absolutely. Dylan Strong coming up, Leifson, Washington, tomorrow. We got Ray on the show. Ray Ferrar will join us.

Jerry's percentages in just over an hour. Overdrive continues up on YouTube live. I'm Dylan. Play Fair. And I'm Tyler Smith. We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is bromance. Bromance is brought to you by Charm Diamond Centers, proudly Canadian-owned and operator. Charm has been part of your love stories and bromances for over 50 years. And you can find Bromance on the IHeart Radio Network or wherever you get your podcast.

Band Duo bringing you everything from the opening line of the final score at the World in action tonight oh look at you doing a little panel work a little tune-up game yeah i mean replacing bobby mackenzie tonight this is usually his territory i got to have my a game got to have your a game you got to have some inside info you've been talking to the hunters or what you got any scoops let's get to uh our next guy okay so you're an analyst guy i love it yeah i'm an analyst guy analyst guy it's all good well we got a guy on the line who knows all all about playing at the world juniors multiple times at the world juniors obviously of eerie otter i believe won a memorial cup certainly an o hl championship with the erioters play with mc david there

and he's not playing with oliv in the caps and they're having a great run right now the leaps are in town playing washington tomorrow here he is dylan strome how you doing dylan i'm pretty good i'm pretty good thanks for having me on unfortunately we lost in the uh the finals of the memorial Cup to Windsor, the host team. So that one still stings. But we did win an Oitchell championship, so I'll hang my hat on that. Okay. Yeah, that's my bad.

I'm looking at your hockey DB, and I can see the championship crowned beside the otters, and I could not remember on the fly. E.J. Smith, Oshawa Generals, man. Yeah. Was that Sorrelli on that, too? Who was on that team? Yep, Sirelli, Michael Del Cole, Dakota Murmiss. Right.

Yeah, well, he's a leaf now, Dakota Mermis. He just got hurt. But while you guys, I mean, in Erie, it was, that must have been something. Like you and McDavid, I remember going to see you play Oscewa in the finals. I guess it would have been that year, the year before that, I think. And like, what was that traveling road show like when you play, obviously, at home in Erie, but when you float through Ontario, you two playing together and how great that Otter's team was. Oh, I appreciate you lumping me in there.

but it was quite the circus going to different cities, especially that year. I mean, especially the second half of that year. I don't know if you remember, but he broke his hand early, maybe like mid-November, I think it was. So he missed like a month and a half, and then his first game back was actually at the World Juniors. So the second half of the year really picked up,

and it was pretty crazy going to a bunch of different rinks. And I feel like the OHL fans are usually pretty good, and most teams got really good crowds, but when McDavid was there, it was quite the traveling circus for sure. Absolutely. Well, you beat them in points that year. You played 21 more games, but you got them.

Okay, I'm going to hang my head also on that. Absolutely. Absolutely. Leading score in 1415 with Erie. With Dylan Stroman, we were just talking about Drysettel actually hitting 1,000 points last night, and after the game, he had the picture of him smoking a cigarette at his, at his a wedding

and he's a character and the guy you play with Ovechkin man we love seeing the shots of him get on the plane with a subway sandwich and he's got the bag of chips yeah he always gets the chips too man

he loves that you have to I mean what's what's he like what's Ovi like just kind of hanging out on the plane on the road what's this guy like behind the scenes yeah he's just the best

I mean yeah he brings the you can you can usually tell on how his uh his previous game went because if he gets the flaming hot Cheetos then he probably had those the game before and probably did pretty well but if it didn't go so well then he just gets the regular hot Cheetos so that's

kind of the superstition that we all joke with we kind of go through his subway order as soon as he gets on the bus and see how much we can remember about it it's quite the quite the event when he gets on the bus at that subway but he's just one of the best guys ever just a guy wants to hang out, wants to go for beers loves watching soccer, love sushi

just a good hangout at all time. So when there's something going on, you know that Ovi's going to be there. That's for sure, no matter where or what time on the road or at home, he's going to be there. I love it. Dylan, at what point did, I know this is much publicized, but before you guys go out for a game,

there's like a routine in the hallway and Ovi's there and their shoulder bumps with Tom. Yeah, I mean, at what point did that to develop? Has it been around for a while with all different dressing rooms, or do you feel like you guys started it in Washington? I think most teams would do something similar to that, like kind of when guys, like, because, you know, when the clock counts down, I think we go on ice at like 16 minutes on the clock.

So usually around like 20 minutes, Ovi goes and turns off the music, and then he goes in the hallway, and then guys kind of filter in. And I think most teams kind of do something similar where they're waiting in the hallway before we go on the ice. But I think just with the caps kind of post it almost every game, what they do. and now they're, you know, yelling stripper and bands and make her dance for Chickren and Ovi is doing his thing with Carlson, like talking about chicken parm and then Tom goes

out there and they're like, I think they're trying to actually knock each other over. I think it's been going on since as long as I've been here. I think TJ Oshy is a big reason of that. He's a big cause of that. He's a big handshake guy. So I think I'm thinking kind of when he got to the caps. That's kind of when it all kind of started. But I don't think he's changed in a long time.

so he kind of adds a few new ones every time a new guy comes out there and and usually every time we're playing a team that a guy has played for um he does the like you know what those efforts don't want you but you know what we want you baby and then he sings the whole song and everyone kind of chimes in so it's just something to keep the mood light i mean he's probably the the guy i play with the that that you know can can keep the mood light pretty much at any time so it's um definitely a welcoming environment and and very fun to be a part of just always singing and dance and singing songs and enjoying, enjoying life. Stromer, how, how is everything settled down at home? I know you experienced something in Montreal that was like real life. Everybody, when they have a child, they obviously want to be around, like, at all costs. Like, can you just take us through that experience and just when you got home, how relieved you were to see your family after having your baby? Yeah, that was quite the experience for sure.

I mean, my wife was three weeks until her duty. date and it was funny because I had like a we had like a nine-day road trip the week before that and then I was home for 15 straight days with the exception of Montreal so I figured that if it was going to happen you know I was going to be home for it it was going to be you know fine timing it we had a back-to-back in Montreal so we played Wednesday night at home flew after the game she had nothing going on all day and then Thursday rolls around I get off the ice for warm-up I talked to her right before I got to the rink she was fine nothing of concern and then I got off the for warm-up and our team services guy,

Rob Tillotson, called me over to the side. And, you know, it didn't really click into me right away what he was about to tell me, but he just said, you know, your wife's at the hospital, like, do you want to call her? And I was like, I guess I better call her, yeah, and see what's going on. So she, she, she, I answered the phone, and she's basically having a contraction at the time I answered the phone. So I was like, I mean, what am I supposed?

I'm just sitting here in Montreal in the trainer's room about to play a game. I can't get home in time. There's no chance I can get home. So I talked to the nurse, and the nurse kind of told me, I was like, look, like, can you give it to me straight? Like, how long do I have until she's going to have this baby? And she goes, like, maybe like five hours. And I'm like, well, my fastest route home is to do the team playing.

So I was like, I'm just going to go play the game, and hopefully I can make it home in time. And I got off the ice after the first period and checked my phone. I think that's a reasonable time to check your phone in the game. And she sent me a little picture with my third little girl and just said, hi daddy so it was pretty it was pretty crazy uh the whole the whole thing that happened but um it was incredible that's that's crazy that is awesome and i mean typical road like you said you're at home you're gonna be at home you get the one game you float up to montreal and then

obviously it goes down and and i people are writing in saying is i don't know if your wife is from philly or do you have a father-in-law who's a flyers fan or something like that you got to deal with Yeah, he's a Flyers fan. Yeah. What's that like to handle within the house? Is he going to give that up and be a Caps fan now? Yeah, he's pretty much a Caps fan now, but he definitely is a Flyers fan his whole life.

But I think I converted him to a Blackhawks fan first, and then now a Caps fan. So I know when the Caps are playing the Flyers, I'm pretty convinced that he's cheering for the Caps. Okay, that's all you can ask for, right? That's all you can ask for, for sure. with Dylan Strom, the Leicester in Washington tomorrow, and you guys are really rolling.

I mean, it's been such an up-and-down year for seemingly every team not named Colorado and maybe not named Dallas, I guess. But, I mean, you guys maybe had a bit of a slow start, but you're really back on track last year. You guys were unbelievable, top team in the east. And your head coach is a guy that, you know, is a easy guy to like, he's got to root for, and he seems to be poking all the right buttons. I mean, what has happened with you guys in the last?

month and a half, two months that has you looking and playing like he did a year ago? Yeah, I mean, last year, it kind of just seemed like everything, you know, clicked at the right time. Like, it was obviously with the goal chase and everything that was going on surrounding our team. And, you know, we kind of, we made the playoffs the year before that on the last game of the season, on an empty net goal when the game was tied. So I just think, you know, we kind of just built off that momentum and just had an unbelievable year last year. It seemed like we didn't have any injuries pretty much the whole year. like everyone played I think there was like nine guys I played all 82 games and and we were scoring goals like I've never been a part of a team like that before so it was a lot of fun and then this year like you like you kind of said we had a bit of a slow start and then we just had a meeting about maybe about 20 days ago I'd say and we had 39 days till Christmas and there was 20 games and Carbs kind of laid that out for us and it was kind of like a huge part of the season because of how tight the eastern conference was and and I think we kind of just buckled down and went on like a

I think it was 10-0-2 stretch, and we stumbled a little bit the last couple, but I think it was 10-0-2 in those 12 games since we had that meeting. So it was, you know, something that we knew we needed to dial in on, and like I said, with how tight the Eastern Conference was. I mean, we lost two games, and now I think we're like in a wildcard spot, and like last week we're in first place. So it kind of goes up and down, but I like the way our team's playing. I like the way a lot of the good things that our team is doing,

and it's a lot to look forward to for sure. It feels like every time we go in a game, we have a really good chance to win. It doesn't matter who we're playing. So it's a good sign to have for a team. Dromer, I don't expect you to kiss your coach's ass on national television because that just wouldn't be the way things should be. I'm a big Carberry fan. And I'm just talking about by watching him on the bench, how he handles situations,

how he looks like he's in control. I just think he's a fantastic coach. Can you just speak about him a little bit and how he's been the last couple years since he's been your coach? Yeah, I mean, he's very intense. He's a really emotional coach, and I think, you know, I think any time that you have a coach like that, you know, the wins feel really good and the losses, you know, they feel like they hurt a lot more than like a normal coach, I would say. And I think that, that, you know, leads our teams to success. I think, you know, we go into every game and he kind of lays it out in the line of, you know, why this game is important and, you know, what our team needs to do to be successful. And, you know, it's hard to argue that he hasn't gotten the most out of his players. I mean, not a lot of people pick.

us to, you know, to be a good team, maybe even a playoff team last year. And we kind of, you know, you know, flip that script pretty quickly. And this year, I think, you know, the expectations were a little higher than last year. And I still think people were kind of questioning, you know, how are we going to be able to repeat it? Are we going to be able to sustain the offense? And it's like you said, it's been a little bit up and down. But I feel like, you know, overall, our team's been pretty consistent. And we've been missing Pierre-Luc Dubois for the majority of season, I think he's only played six games, and he's a huge part of why we were so good last year, just the way he plays on both sides of the puck, and then Ryan Leonard, who is our

rookie this year, it was really just hitting his stride, and unfortunately he got hit pretty good there by Truba and Anaheim, and so we're missing two players that are a huge part of our top six, really, our top nine, and, you know, so we're battling, we're fighting, but lots of guys just stepped up, and we're going to need to continue to do that because the schedule doesn't get any easier for us. Basically, when you're playing the Eastern Conference teams, everyone feels like they're still going to make the playoff so it feels like every game's even that much closer that's where i was going to go how's the schedule been for yourself i mean it feels like it's either practice day or game the next day like every second day has it taken a toll on the guys

if you had to manage the body a little different this year yeah definitely definitely um you know like you said it pretty much every it feels like every you know it's either a back-to-back or we have a day off where it's a practice day. You know, luckily enough, we negotiated in the CBA a day off per week, so that's always nice to have. So we find one or two of those in there a week. But, you know, you kind of have to, just with how condensed the schedule is,

because obviously there's, you know, three weeks off of the season this year with the Olympics. So I think it's like 20 days. I think most teams are getting off. So when you got to cram every single – I think we have 16 games in January. So, like, obviously it's 31 days in January, plus a couple back-to-backs in there.

So it's tight, but I think most teams have to deal with the same thing. So, you know, like I said, with Carberry, every game feels like it's, you know, very, very important, which it is. But, you know, those dog games, you know, games 40 to 65 or so in the season can kind of be a little bit of a low. And I think that's where last year we kind of just took off and kept their foot on the gas. Well, we'll see what you got in store tomorrow night, at least back in town. They were just there a couple of weeks ago. Lease Caps tomorrow night, he is Dylan Strong. Great catching up with you, Dylan.

I really appreciate you doing this. Obviously, congrats to you and the fam, and we'll do this again down the road. No problem. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me, guys. You got it. Telling it, those Strom boys know how to talk and do an interview.

His brother was fantastic earlier during the Jay's run. He was fantastic. Awesome. Awesome guys, man. Great details. Good family, eh? Like, good guys. Yeah.

Yeah, no, there's a lot. Like, I was going to ask them, you know, it's uncomfortable to an extent, but like the Hughes stuff, the brothers in the league and you know do you guys think that way do you is that something you emphasize like him and ryan ryan's obviously in in anaheim he's very comfortable and playing great in washington but there's just so few brothers in the league you know what i mean like it's such a rarity that there's three hughes brothers at one point there were three stall brothers

um you got the strome brothers you know the kachuk brothers it's it's actually kind of crazy there's four or five or six of them, to be honest with you. But anyway, it's a great interview and he's playing really well. And Caps are, they're a team to be reckoned with, man. Like they dominated the Leafs two weeks ago. Hey, you just mentioned the brothers combination. Like, I often think about how cool it would be to be a dad to sit down after work and watch your kid play in the NHL.

Like imagine Mr. Stahl back in the day watching three, almost four of his sons on a nightly base. Like every night you're watching a kid play in the NHL, if not multiple. That would be pretty cool. Crazy, crazy. There was, I think Pittsburgh had the Joseph, well, Joseph brothers, so Matthew Joseph and Pierre Oliver, Oliver Joseph played in Pittsburgh.

I believe they played together recently. Was it St. Louis maybe? I can't. But they, remember that I did a game because Matthew Joseph was playing for Ottawa and him and his brother got a penalty on each other. he went to hit and his brother high stuck him and it was they both were in the penalty box and the parents were sitting in the crowd going like what's going on

it was kind of funny but like I watched it is Rimo in Hartford fight his brother Wayne and I was like what the hell is that? That's a wild wild trivia I was injured that game and I remember watching it on the TV and I'm like okay they kind of paired off and I'm like they're going to have a laugh and separate

and then they dropped their gloves and started fighting and I'm like, Mrs. Primo is going to be so pissed at those two. And he came right in the locker room and he called her. Yeah, and I think she was pretty pissed off. Yeah, because Keith is the older brother, I believe. That's right. He would be the one that would take the heat for that, for sure. And he was, Keith Primo was a good fighter, man.

He had a reach on him. He was fun to watch fight. Yeah, he was a big dude. Yeah, he was a good player. Yeah, the Tanev brothers, the Shen brothers, Neelander brothers, Jack Guy brothers, Joe from the bridge. There's actually a lot of them in the league. It's crazy, man.

It's like a decent percentage of the league is made up of family members. All right. Ray Ferraro coming up, Ray, in about 20 minutes. Jerry's percentage is still to come. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. I'm Dylan Playfair. And I'm Tyler Smith.

We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is Bromel. Bromance. Bromance is brought to you by Charm Diamond Centers, proudly Canadian-owned and operator. Charm has been part of your love stories and bromances for over 50 years. And you can find Bromance on the IHeart Radio Network or wherever you get your podcast. You guys see Jal Rule hitting the Tom Kite shot?

Unfortunately I did. Yeah. Dude, like, Jal Rul after this shot. You can't play in a gallery again, man. Like, you can't do it. No, it's one of the worst. I don't even know what it is. Not a ceremonial first shot or something.

It's a celebrity tournament. And there's just a bunch of people around. And this guy sculls one sideways into someone's kneecap. Dude, did you call it? Is it a worm burner then? No, it's worse, dude. It's a full skank ball shank. Shank.

It's, yeah. It's a, it's a, it's a healy cut shank. Look at this. Watch this go right into a guy's kneecap, 10 feet away from him. Oh, God, man, that sounded right. That broke that guy's knee. The sound of the guy's shin, play it one more time, it's, play it one more time, Joe.

It sounds ridiculous because that, you are not looking, the guy's probably got a camera up, and he's looking to videotape this guy, and he sculls it off of his leg. yeah oh my god that is so painful that is so painful

the people in the background are dying laughing is the best reaction to that because they're like oh my god I can't first of all they're like I can't believe he did that and I'm so thankful I didn't do that well you know what they're really thankful for

that they're smart enough not to be anywhere within range of job watch this view this view is insane how dangerous this is. Dude, this is job rule. It's not Scotty Schaeffler. What is anyone doing

within range of this guy being able to hit a shank? Go right at someone's pills right off the tea. It's insane. Oh, my God, man. That is dead right. Dude, but you saw like Hayes, wasn't there on like an Australian tour player that lost an

eye at a pro-am? I think you're right about that. Dude, he was playing in a pro-am, and Australian, like, he might have been on the D.P. World Tour, and an amateur pro-am playing guy hit him in the eye, and he lost vision in his left eye. Crazy. Dude, it's a dangerous sport. Yeah.

Like, if you're not in, like, there's a part of me, yes, I empathize, but I'm also thinking you're an idiot because what are you doing anywhere close to being ahead of the T-box with jaw rule teeing off, right? Like, this isn't some guy who's a plus four, and he's a pro. it doesn't matter we've seen tommy kite do it but at the u.s. open i know at least though with a professional because i you do i get like wincy man when i see pros like you'll see speed in some crazy area and he's trying to hit some big like swooping cut and there's there's a gallery that is three feet from his line dude spith did that this year at the memorial i think it was where

he just zung it over somewhat like a group of people's head and they were they didn't even flinch Right. But if he, dude, he doesn't get that up. If it's flighted, he'd kill somebody. This is insane this guy. If that hits somebody in the head, they're down. Yes. And J-Rour, look at that.

Doesn't even go over to check on him. No. Just check, please. Yeah. Because I'm real. He's like, I'm out of here is what I am. I'm leaving. All right.

Hour two coming up. Ray will join us. Jerry's percentages. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. You've been listening to Overdrive. powered by Fanduil. Fan Duel,

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