OverDrive - OverDrive - December 18, 2025 - Hour 1 - Dale Hunter

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Dave Feschuk for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss the Maple Leafs' matchup against the Capitals, Dennis Hildeby starting in the crease and Joseph Woll's load management, Matias Maccelli not being in the lineup, the Jets' rough stretch of the season and Max Domi's movement around the roster. Canada World Juniors head coach Dale Hunter on Canada's roster at the World Juniors, the team's lines and improving from previous tournaments.

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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 TSN4, Brian Hayes, the O'Dog, Jeff O'Neill, and Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star. What is happening this afternoon? Gentlemen, it's great to see you, and I am going to try to be at my best today.

because according to this turkey, he said, I'm annoying to listen to and finds my take to mostly be shallow and often tailored for maximum engagement as opposed to honest analysis. I like that. Maximum engagement. We are looking for that. Don't sway from that. I don't even know what that means. So what? You just say stuff to get clicks? Yeah, I guess it's click-bait stuff. I'm on TV every day for two hours. Does this turkey think I need to get

clicks i don't care i like that uh we're bringing up some criticism yeah to start the show it's mean tweet season mean tweet season okay i like that i mean that's all year round isn't it like that's 365 24 7 mean tweet season let me ask you this haze as a man of the people and everybody loves you do you ever get somebody just rip you like that all the time all the time i guess oh all the time dude you think you think it's exclusive to you do you know many people me to shut up and stop talking and how does this guy have a job, you're awful, the opinion.

I could go on and on and on. And I get DMs all the time, which is particularly I wouldn't say harsh. Invasive. Particularly invasive. Personal. Right? Like Twitter, you get it. Twitter's just, it's a town hall, man. The invasive nature of a DM, we're like,

okay, there you go. Because a lot of people were right and be very positive. Hey, heard this, heard that, love the show. You guys great it's awesome and i try to respond to people if i can you know thank you appreciate it all good but sometimes you open it up you're like oh this looks like a normal person that's probably maybe you're going to disagree with something which is great no problem with that i don't care if someone writes hey i totally disagree blah blah blah right but sometimes you'll open up and you're like that was serious serious comment oh yeah like that was very rude and i'm called what about you if

write a piece like you get just what are the responses to that or you just shut that noise off no i mean i read it all man like you get you still get i still get letters man in the mail that's old school stuff newspaper readers are there some of them are pretty old school right yeah you still do get reader mail in the physical form some of it's you know with dicey looking powders occasionally but you that you call in the hazmat people but um but oh doc i'll tell you what though when you get the negative feedback my my mentors in the business always told me when you get a really nasty letter email tweet DM if you respond as a human being and say thanks for listening to my stuff appreciate your interest in my work no my response was and you can find it on Twitter I wrote

everybody hates somebody chum oh you call them a chum see no I just I think I said pal I said everybody hates everything because what i realized about this business is everybody hate somebody like i'll get random people up to come up to me and be like you know that guy teah like i hate that guy and it's like it's probably me just admit they're saying me it's not it's just random people it's like it might be somebody just a random person that's the nicest person on earth with like just doing their job not a ton of opinions like i can't stand that guy and it's like what it what is that guy that's the way i it goes, man. I know. That's the way it goes. When you're going to put yourself out there and have

opinions and have fun. Yeah, it's all good. Like you said, they're watching and listening and reading. But the only point I was making, O'Dag, is you would be surprised if you respond to the nastiest email you ever got with like a really nice, like, thanks for reading, I appreciate your opinion. Sorry, we don't agree on this or sorry you don't like my work. And then you just say, hey, hope you have a great day. You will get another email very shortly thereafter where the person says generally in my experience and in the experience of a lot of people I know in the business they'll basically say oh yeah sorry I was

a little nasty in the first email as soon as you acknowledge them as a human being and you pay attention to them and you acknowledge that you are interested in their opinion you know suddenly they become your pal not their not not trump but pal and I think if you kind of address him as pal generally

he'll come back with some well I believe that happened because I saw that didn't the guy right back goes no I'm just you know it's all good I'm just saying that you know he followed it up with when I wrote everybody hates somebody he's like oh I don't know you and I don't hate you and I just wanted to absolutely anyway it's all good your work it's all good it's all good man listen sometimes you get it from people you don't know sometimes you get it from people you do know and I was actually going to seek out some advice today because I found myself shopping today which

I don't think is very late like my wife on the way out said oh it must be nice going out on the 18th I'm like there's a week left like this isn't even close to crunch time Crunch time is the 24th when you're scrambling, and I have been there many times. Dude, I had to throw a couple people at Sherway Gardens, 500 cash to wrap all presents on the 24th at 4 p.m. Yes, I know the feeling, and I know exactly what you went through. And what I ended up doing today, I was going out, and I was looking for some stuff and picking up some stuff for other people.

And I never go out and shop, ever. like I never go out and just I need a shirt I'm going to buy a shirt so I end up buying stuff for myself and then I told my wife and it did not go over so well dude why would you ever tell your wife that you bought items for yourself on a Christmas mission but why is that wrong a donkey move why is that wrong though why does it matter if I need a new shirt on December 18th how's it any different than July 18th like I was in the store I got the other stuff why can't I also be like you know what, that shirt, kind of need that, need a pair of shoes. Got it, I actually end up getting a lot of stuff, and I just never go shopping.

So this forced me to go shopping, and I happen to kill two birds with one stone. I don't see anything wrong with that. It's the only stupid move you made was you always. It's like buying a new set of clubs, man. It's just, you don't ever let anybody know that. It's just go right in the bag. It's just like going through customs, man. rip the tags off, act like they're yours, and away you go.

Yeah, good point. I should have grandfathered it into the rotation. It's a bit about perfection. I could have done that. Like, I think O'Dog's dead on here. Like, it's supposed to be the season of giving, not the season of getting stuff for yourself. Spoiling yourself. What was it about spoiling?

It was a necessity. These are shoes and jackets. Between you and you. Right, I hear you. You know what I mean? Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. Probably. But I don't know.

You can't grandfather a jacket in. You know, you can't a new wedge. you can't show up with a new jacket I live with my wife he's not going to be like hey where the hell did you get that jacket no you can you know why because as much as they want you to pay attention to what they're wearing they

you could have five new jackets and I don't think you could be right they don't pay attention to what you wear man like you could have a pierced ear and a nose ring and a new jacket and they would be like 10 days in they'd be like hey looking different these days I like that

what's different about you with a face tattoo. Say you got a hand-me-down from Odin face tattoo. You can say the O-Dog gave you a hand-me-down out of the trunk, right? Yeah, I guess you're right. He's that kind of guy. He is that kind of guy. He is a charitable guy.

He is. Well, anyway, listen, how about you on the panel last night? Canada was a low-scoring game. Look pretty good. We got Dale Hunter joining us in 20 minutes. And that top line looked good. McKenna was flying. And it's a sign of like, all right, we're going.

You know, they're going to be in Minnesota and just over a week, eight days away from getting things started. And, you know, they're going to play sweet. and again, I think, in London over the weekend. But pretty good start. Pretty good start for Canada last night. I think they've got all the pieces to kind of do damage at that tournament and do what they're there to do every year, which is win gold.

They've got the phenom in McKenna. They've got some returning guys from the NHL, some guys with NHL experience, and then just some other real solid players around Canada. So if they can put it all together and guys can play and get it all done, There's stuff you've got to figure out. Like, you've got to make your power play lethal. You've got to establish your forecheck.

And the right guy's got to get things done. And the goaltender looked really solid last night. And you put all those things together. You're going to have a good team. Big time. Yeah, big time. And that was it. Last year it was about can they score goals?

Right. And was it ever? It was so frustrating. It's like all this talent, and they could not score. Power play couldn't, they couldn't score goals. Could not score goals. Killed them. It was the whole story of the whole tournament.

Cannot get goals. And in a tournament like that, there's going to be six, five games. Like, it's just the nature of the beast. There's too many breakdowns. They're too young. You got to win a game, six, five. You want to win gold at the world juniors.

It's junior hockey. It's a comeback sport. Big time. How many times you see it? At the highest level of junior hockey, you see a team down three nothing, suddenly they're up four or three. I mean, that's the nature of the business. It's a game of runs.

It's a game of momentum. It's a game of emotion. And it's a young emotion, right? You're talking about teenage kids. I mean, and so I think, look, Canada is under a little bit of pressure here, right? Like you've had two straight tournaments where it hasn't gone your way. You have not ended up on the podium.

You know, there's high expectations here. This seems like a team, O'Dag, that, as you point out, should have the pieces. It has NHL ready guys. It has guys who've proven themselves at the highest level or close to it. But that doesn't always equate to the gold medal you're hoping for here. I think once you kind of have this streak here of two straight non-poenaum finishes, is, you know, you do worry that the pressure ratchets up on these kids, and the pressure has gotten to Canada in the past.

Well, Hayes mentioned the guy that's coming on. Dale Hunter, like, if you're going to get a coach to put in place that's been under pressure situations in junior hockey, you can't get better than that. I mean, all the winning that that guy's done, it's like him and his brother involved in this is a great move by hockey Canada. Like, just get the guy that wins the most. Doesn't that make sense? Yeah, it's pretty incredible how, you know, they had,

great NHL careers. You know, Dale Hunter had a great, great NHL career. And I think it's hockey legacies, junior hockey. You know, I mean, the guy, he played, what do you play, 1,300 games, like he played a ton. Oh, yeah. It was a true impact player, like one of the craziest careers ever, as we know. And yet it's, I think, more about what he's done in London, which is the powerhouse of the Canadian Hockey League. And what he's done with the world juniors, and this is a big task for sure.

So Dale's coming up in about 20 minutes. The lease are off to Washington tonight, and we got our answer. We talked about it last week. Joseph Walt's load management season. He's not playing tonight. He'll be a play tonight. They've got a back-to-back this weekend. Wall will play one of them, clearly.

So how long does that last for? Is that like, okay, you're just coming back. We're going to ease it in here? Or is that as a new reality of life? It's like you've got to play one game and then take some time. off. That's a reasonable question. It is. Like, is that his new reality. Right. If you are a load management player, then context of the season of who else is available

is irrelevant. You're just not going to do it. You're not going to play three games in five nights or what have you. Or is this just a grandfathering back into the swing of things? I guess we'll find out. Well, look, I think this is smart. I really do because they've made this mistake, right? Where they, when Joseph Wall wasn't available early in the season, they overworked Anthony Stolars, and we haven't seen him in quite some

time with an injury that has not been disclosed and is very murky. And then when, you know, Wall came back, and Stollers wasn't around, I think what was Wall started eight and nine games, it was a very

concentrated amount of work for a guy who'd missed training camp and it sort of have only had a couple of, you know, conditioning games with the Marley's. And what do you know? He got hurt with that heavy workload after, you know, barely a few weeks on the job. So, you know, I think, you know, those are two mistakes they made, or you could argue they made mistakes with not having faith in Dennis Hilderby. In those two instances where they didn't want to give Hildo B starts when Stolars was riding with it.

They didn't want to give Hilderby starts when, when Wahl was riding with it. And both guys got hurt. Dave, are they mistakes or is it the player that's just not durable? Well, they have to know that, though, because these guys haven't been durable ever since they got to the NHL. But we were talking about it last week. It's like, well, what actually are you if you're not durable in the NHL? Like, are you just, are you a guy that earns the paycheck of a guy that's supposed to, like, I know my responsibility was to play close to 82 games and try to get 30 goals and have a bunch of hits and shots on net. Like, it's almost like you should be paying these guys half.

It's like, I can only do this and that. It's like you're almost like you're not a full-time. I'm an HL player. If that's what the new reality going forward is. I don't know. I always just thought a part of the job was doing it a lot. Like, it's an everyday job, and you've got to play all the games. That's what you get paid for.

Everyone talks about fitness and science and all these stupid websites that MJ and Frankie go on, and they're great and everything. But the most important thing is the games, the games. Right. And that, I think, is what we're driving out here. Is this, okay, you just got back three weeks from now. this will no longer be the case or is this just the everyday reality

of Joseph Wall and more than likely will be the reality of Stolars when he returns I guess we'll find out but what if it is if it is load management then we have the answer that they're not capable of being starters. They're not capable of being number one guys where I thought that was

possible for Joseph Wall when he came up as a young guy and he's still relatively young like you would want to take advantage of the opportunity and you talk about money the only way you're going to make $8, $9, $10 million is if you start 55 plus games a year. Right. That's not going to be possible.

It doesn't seem like it. And there also was, again, this is old school versus new school. There was a time when O would play where players would storm an office and say, are you kidding me? I'm playing. That mentality doesn't appear to exist in the modern game. I don't think that's exclusive to wall. But could you imagine, oh, back in the day, a veteran guy with a chance to take something? Like, I could tell you, noodles would have crawled through a wall to start.

Like, I could use noodles as an example. If you went to noodles 30 years ago and you said, yeah, the other starter's not playing and sure it's a huge opportunity for your career, but we're going to give you the night off. He'd fight you. Are you nuts? I'm playing. I want to play. Play me, please.

That doesn't exist. In the league, there was a lot of 34, 35-year-old players. And I watched Paul Maurice tap Kelly Chase on the shoulder and say, you're not going to a night chaser. And the hockey stick went directly through the large screen right in the dressing room. the monitor and I was like in my head I thought that's how serious that this and how important it is

for that guy to be in the lineup and it was a great lesson just watching the whole thing transpire because it was like that guy cared that much like it wasn't like some guys you just see I remember my dad pulled me aside in junior and he said see those guys that are scratch right there how happy they are

and he said if I ever if you ever are not playing and I see you wandering around here like you're the happiest guy in the building I'll be pissed because it's like that's the thing you're supposed like it's the games yeah i think i think you're right oh dog but look i don't think this is about these guys not wanting to play it's not about them not being eager to play i just think it's it's the reality of the position now like you you know we you you played in the league o dog at a time when you know martinburgh there was starting 78 79

games or whatever it was and that's just not happening anymore right like nobody's doing that not even the best guys the most durable guy in the league's not doing that anymore and it's become more of a platoon position because they're up and down more, their side to side, more more of a toll on the body. All these guys are growing up with, you know, they're having hip surgeries, they're having knee surgeries, the whole butterfly era has been tough on bodies. The whole goal-tending position is a way different thing. And I understand it's a difficult position.

It's harder than knees, the groins, the hips, the back. But it's like, I don't know, it seems like Shasturkin and all the quality guys, they don't have a problem. But Barovsky, like he wheels. in there and he plays a lot and he gets the job done and he plays well it just seems like and i'm never going to accuse somebody of not wanting to play but it's it's just very easy for them to say i'm not even stepping foot near that ice surface unless i'm 110 percent which is kind of a different mentality well well and to each their own man if you if you need to say i like for instance a couple

years back in game seven where joseph wall just all the sudden got off the bus and he couldn't play like there's a scenario and it's dating yourself but back in the day like that would be completely shocking and you would be half you'd have to be dead not to be putting your gear on dead half dead yeah well and and that was a couple years ago and he's you know you're still here you're still moving you're still doing your thing ultimately he'll be has proven that he can play you know that's a big benefit that hilderby has played very well and he'll go tonight and listen the the pressure can't be on the goalie every single game with this team. That's another thing that

has got to be rectified here. When they have won recently, it's in large part been because the goalie has played so well. And that's what's put so much focus on Wall. Wall played so much because they were a dead in a water team based on their start and he had to play because they needed to win

games. How about dominating a game and give your goalie an easy night? That's it. Like you're a veteran team. You're one of the oldest teams in the league. Now it's not easy. Washington's really good and they're playing really well right now. But maybe dictate the pace and keep the puck out of your end and allow Hill to be to breathe tonight.

Like that, you would think would be the focus. I'm sure it is if you're Craig Barube. Do you believe it'll happen? Not based on what we've seen through 32 games, but something's got to give. They just have not had enough easy games. They had some on that road trip in Pittsburgh, Carolina by the end of the game, even Florida by the third period.

But it's either been coming from behind and trying to find a way to get a point or win a game. or holding on for dear life and trying to get points. And that puts a lot of strain on your goaltender. You're right. Look, I mean, I think that's exactly why, to your point, like, you know, Broubae ran Joseph Wall out there every night because Burubei was probably one or two losses away from losing his job at some point.

Desperate. But as somebody said to me during that run, like desperation has a price, right? And the price essentially, in this case was Joseph Wall was suddenly unavailable because, you know, you can argue they ran them out there at a pace and couldn't sustain. Don't you think they had conversations? I don't think Craig Barrube is a smart guy. Don't you think he went up to him and said, what do you think about going?

And the kids said, yeah, I'll go. Like, is that just him saying, I really don't know about this? And I'm scared of the coach because I'm going to say yes. Like, he's bailed before. Like, why would he, if it was such a problem, why do you keep going in the net? Well, my point, though, dog, is like,

you look at the history of these guys. Neither guy stole ours or a wall has been able to play more than half a season, right? Like, they just haven't been able to do it. So why would you think they're more than anything more than every other night guys? You know, and suddenly they're playing them as though they're 60 game guys and 70 game guys or on pace to be that. And I just think it's unrealistic. Like if you just...

The thing is that he may get hurt anyway. You know what I mean? That's true. That's the reality is like that was a point I made last week. Maybe you just, you've got to ride a guy and tell you, tell he's going to get hurt because you just know it's coming. So do you give a week off or do you just say you're playing, man? And then we just know it's coming and you're going to miss a week here or there.

You've got to just look at what you got big picture. Like what kind of value are you getting out of two guys that can only play in a tandem system where it's like each guy is 33 game maxed out and Hildeby's got to play the other one, and they're often hurt. So what are you actually getting for the money you're paying your goaltenders? Part-time guys that are always injured. What a great investment. Well, listen, that's what they've got.

They've made that decision. Hildabies going tonight and Wall will start one of the two games over the weekend. But they got to hope Hildeby continues to develop because they need a third guy. Yeah, 100%. He's got a big opportunity. Like, if you're Hildoby, you're probably sitting in the corner saying this is great. I get to keep playing.

I'm playing in the NHO. He's cash in NHL checks. Right. And if he plays tonight and I think it's Sunday in Dallas, like those are the two tough games on the trip. You put Wall more than likely in Nashville, I guess. I guess we'll find out. We'll see what Berube says about that.

But it's interesting. Max Domey on the fourth line to start the game tonight. And I have to believe, if you're Matthias Michelli, are you not watching that saying, how is this guy keep playing and I can't get in the lineup? Like Max Domi has been pretty terrible this year. Like, he's really struggled. And the other night, Peruvre was not happy with him.

But instead of taking him out of the lineup, you just put him on the fourth line. And Machelli is about to miss his, I believe, 15th game in a row. And I'm not a big booster for Miteas Micelli. Don't get me wrong. But if you're that mad at, Domi, want to take him out again and give Micelli a shot. Well, you saw Ruebe talking to Micelli this morning.

I always wonder what that conversation is. Like, how do you massage into that conversation of the 15th straight scratch? Right. It's like, well, you're close to going in. You never know, maybe in Nashville. It's an unfortunate set of circumstances. It's no one's fault. The coach doesn't like him.

Won't play him. GM got him. I'm sure the GM wants to see him play. But he hasn't been good either. No, exactly. I'm not boosting Machelli. I'm just saying there are guys on this roster. Robertson has made mistakes.

Domey's made mistakes. And this guy cannot get in. I just, I look at Max Domey. I'm like, how is this guy on the fourth line? Like, he has moved everywhere.

He started on the first line. He was on the first line. Then they needed him to play center. And now he's on the fourth line. And it's a mess. Like he's got to play way better. And he keeps getting opportunities. And yet guys like Micelli in particular are like,

I can't even get a shot. And that's the difficult thing, because everybody handles scratches differently. And the times that I was scratched, I selfishly would look at guys that I was kind of like comparable or the guy that were replacing me. And I would watch them like a hawk. And you just want to go up to the coach and say, you're seriously playing him again in the next game? Or what about this other guy that played just God-awful the other night? Like, you're just dying to get back in and you're just looking for – you're looking at the coach saying, And if I was held accountable, what about these other guys?

What are we doing here? Right. Yeah. And yet, Barube fills out the game sheet, and he's got the guys he likes and the guys that he doesn't. All right, Dale Hunter coming up. We've got Luke will join us today. HBO on the clock, what a game tonight. Battle the NFC West.

This will basically determine who wins the division tonight. Seattle and the L.A. Rams. We've got big games on the weekend, too. So Luke's coming up. And more on Leaf's caps tonight. We've got the Raptors taken on Milwaukee this evening. the Jets lost again last night. They cannot score. We'll get into Winnipeg

and mini jerrys on whether or not they're going to make the playoffs because it is getting very, very concerning and very, very loud in the peg. Our second home, by the way. So more on that later this afternoon. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4.

All right, overdrive continues. Powered by Fandul, bringing you more ways to play your game your way. Getting worried about our Winnipeg Jats, man. I'm getting very concerned. We're talking about the World Juniors last year, how they could not score. Winnipeg can't score.

They have Shifley and Connor. They broke up that line recently. They put Valardi, I think, further down the lineup. I don't think Arneal's been ecstatic with his game. But basically, if Shifley and Connor aren't going, they have nothing right now. Well, then they've got to go get somebody then. How can they keep watching the same thing every night where it's like if Shife and Connor and that top line doesn't get it done, they have no chance.

chance. No one else is contributing offensively. No. No. And they got to go get a guy. Yeah. It's very simple, man. Well, we spent most of the first segment talking about the Leafs relying on their goaltending. Nobody relies on their goaltending as much as these guys rely on Helibuck. All hellabuck all the time. More so than last year, because we're not defending at the same level. Which is why people were given this, been given this guy, you know, MVP votes regularly for how many years now? And rightly so. Like, he is the team in a lot of ways.

And when he hasn't been able to show up in the playoffs, we've seen what we've seen what's happened to this team. I think they desperately missed my buddy brought to my attention earlier today. Eilers was always a secondary guy who would like carry the mail and he would lug the puck and he'd make plays. And that was a secondary guy. And he's gone, man. Yeah.

No, you're right. And I remember that was the issue at the deadline last year. Do you go find a secondary, a second line center? They moved to Mistikov to the second line. they've been wait for Perfetti to keep taking steps and they've got good depth guys Adam Lowry everyone loves Lowry but Lowry's not a 30 goal score

you know Jonathan Taves is struggling you know like he's Taves is not going to put up numbers and that was a bit of a Hail Mary right like as much as everybody loves Jonathan Taves and there's no there's no desecrating the legacy of Jonathan Taves he's a surefire Hall of Famer he was the captain of a team that won three cups in six years in Chicago like it's been a long time since he's been an effective place

in this league, right? And the comeback was, to me, like, it was a faint hope comeback to, like, in terms of him becoming, like, a, you know, an integral player. Something other than just a bit player, right? And, like, what did you expect? Who's done that? Doesn't happen? No, leave the game

for two years. And even prior to him leaving, he had slowed down. Like, that Chicago dynasty, they, like, came to a halt at a rapid pace. If you look at it, I want to say the, maybe the 16-17-year, because I think they won their last cup in 15, I believe, right?

Yeah, I think they did like Pittsburgh did. They start getting punted in the first round, and that's the first sign. But even, yes, but even worse, oh, like, it was bad. Like, Quinville got fired pretty quickly, and they were still there. It was Taves and Kane and Sharp was still there at Seabrook and Duncan Keith, and they just, their wheels fell off. And really none of them have, like, aged gracefully. You know, Seabrook retired.

Keith went to Edmonton and then abruptly retired. He's already in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, exactly. There you go. And Patrick Kane, actually, he's been pretty good. And Kane, remember, he had the pretty serious surgery himself and missed a large portion of his season. But none of them...

That's what happens. They earn their wheels falling off. Totally. Deep runs, conference finals, three Stanley Cups. And those guys are all blue-chip guys. We're talking world juniors, under 18s, All-Star games. When you're those guys that are doing everything all the time

from young players up to 30 years old and you're winning cups and going on those long runs, you earn your legs falling off, and that's what happens. But, man, it's damn worth it. It's 100% worth it. If you're a fan, if you're a player, if you're an owner. Yeah, exactly. They have three cup rings, man.

Like they're all getting statues. They're all, probably the greatest run in Chicago Black Hawk history. Oh, by far. It is. I mean, outside of McKee to and Hall. And won since 61 when they won in 2010. I mean, it was an incredible turnaround for that franchise, right? And you're right.

They were incredible to watch, man. Like, there was nobody more exciting to watch in a playoff game than Jonathan Taves. Yeah, it was amazing. I mean, like the passion he played with. And he was clutch. It was incredible. Yeah, no, that was an unbelievable team, unbelievable run. And it makes the penguins kind of dipping and then coming back up pretty amazing.

But even that, like when the Pennians, one back to back. That was eight years ago. Yeah. Like now they're trying to get a third possible run, which is not going to happen. They're not going to go on a cup run, but they've been better this year than I think a lot of people expected. And obviously a different sport,

but you look at Brady, like Brady had three different tours of that. Like his first years and then the years of the middle where they lost to the Giants, but they got to the Super Bowls. And then it was like 18, 19, 20, or 17, 18, 19. And then in 21 in Tampa. It was just incredible

Yeah, incredible. Just kept ups and downs, ups and downs. All right, Team Canada made their debut last night. A little pre-tournament tune-up, beating Sweden 2-1. Oh, you were up there. A lot of people buzzing about that binder you had on the desk. Was that necessary for you to have that on the desk last night? What was that?

You have to have all that information about kids' backgrounds, European players. It is the Bob McKenzie Directory to the World Juniors. It is a new era starting on Boxing Day. I love it and Duffy how would you respond like he wasn't happy with you calling Dale Hunter Hunt's is that valid

like he basically told you you can't do that exactly and I'm like we're both former players we played against each other I'm allowed to call him hunts all right well let's go right to the source and find out if that is true or not here he is the head coach of Team Canada

there's Dale Hunter Dale is so allowed to call you Hunt's during the tournament on TSM yes for sure he called me a lot worse on the ice sure you said nothing but nice things to him I always say nice things on the ice I always did I'm sure I'm sure well it's great to see it thank you for doing this how did that feel last night to get back behind a bench

get the team together and kind of get the get everything in motion so to speak yeah it felt good you know we were in practicing like three or four days here and, you know, just to go play a game. The boys really wanted to practice as one thing playing against each other, but to actually play a real game

against a good team. And it was a good challenge for us. How do you keep these guys focused on just the task at hand and not have the pressure of the last couple years, Hans? I mean, there was disappointing performances in Europe and then in Ottawa, but it's not on these guys. They just got to go ahead and do their thing, don't they? yeah they do you know it's you know it's like you you talk about it early and then we don't talk

about it's a different team different season different uh a year and uh so they're they're all pumped up about it they they know that uh we're in it's a good it's a good tournament that's why it's tough like last night two one game that's a tough game yeah well and and gavin mckenna who was a part of the team last year came out and uh said you know unacceptable and that's not what Canadians expect, and I appreciated that honesty, and I like that type of mentality on the outside looking at it. How do you approach that type of commentary from a guy like that, an important player for you? Do you get the impression that permeates the group? Like all these guys understand that, you know, the standards are high and the expectations are high?

Yeah, you know, all the guys have talked about it, and they know it is. And it's important for Gavin to be one of the leaders, one of the returning players, to actually, acknowledge it and as soon as you acknowledge it and grip it we know it's there it's not no sense hiding it just go out and talk about it and we have to go out and perform and definitely the pressure is there that's what's all about that's why we love playing hockey yeah aside you brought in some specialists to help this team prepare for a tournament where you know so much of it can come down to a big power play or or in this case a shootout in the world juniors we had so many great Canadian moments in the shootout.

I know you brought in Kyle Turris. What did you see from Tura's kind of tutoring the players on the shootout and what kind of value do you hope he added? No, it's definitely, we've been working on our shootouts, just not for the shootout, but also for breakaways. And in a game, you usually get one or two a game. So there are always one goal game, so it's so important. So he's got it down really well, Kyle, and he knows how to, whatever.

angles that come on, what you're thinking. It's your thinking is the most important thing. Don't think about 10 things. Think about two things. And he slowed it down for the guys, and it was really good. And the best of it all is he came down and he dropped it to escape, kicked it up, and scored. So he just sealed all the guys with that goal. Yeah, what do you think guys that, like, for instance, Perak, guys that have had some

NHL experience, what do you expect them to do as opposed to acting like a big shot and trying to big league everybody what are they supposed to bring to the table and how can they help with that experience well definitely they can come back and you know some know when you go to the pros and when you go to camps but these guys actually uh uh and stayed up and and played games and they just watch the the older guy you have to show your stuff well dale one thing that's changed this year like i saw you guys the email came out that you sent three players back to their junior teams it's such a different world than what it used to be oh you've you've told the story about waking up at four in the morning,

waiting for a call, thinking you might get cut or what have you. And it used to be this kind of three-ring circus that hockey canada. Oh, it was a big production. The guy's getting cut. It was terrible. Right. It was very tough on the players. I'm sure tough on the coaches. Like, how much easier is, I know it's tough to tell the three kids

that are going back. It's still tough for them. But it's not as much of a kind of circus like it used to be. What do you make of the new process? Well, you know, I just wanted, you know, we brought it in couple extras. We didn't have a real camp, like 40 guys coming in. We went out, scouted, Mark and L, and made sure we got the right guys in here, and they spent a lot of time at it.

And now we came back here, and we just had to make a few cuts. And we wanted to make it early. So right tomorrow, we start with our lines playing. Our team's going to play in Kitchener. I mean, in London, we're going to play our regular lines. And we sat out a couple of boys last game. to get everybody a shot to see who can play. And we made her choices. Tough choices, too, because, you know, they're very good players. And it was tough. And there's no enjoyment of letting kids go.

And it's tough, but we have to make our choices. Yeah, I know you're coaching the team. You're coaching in the here and now. But, you know, Canada's had a couple of, as O pointed out, a couple of disappointing finishes in this event the past two times. How much can we look at those two, you know, quarterfinal, losses and learn lessons, if any, and how much have you looked at them

and how much do you have to sort of pay attention to the idea that these guys, you know, there is a pressure element here. Yeah, it is. You know, it's like, you look at it, you watch the games, you learn from your past, and then you got to move on. You know, it's you know, it is what happened

and everybody knows it, and it's one of those things. It's, that's why every game, like last night, it was a one goal game. and you've got to learn to play in them one goal games like either to hold it or try to tie it and by playing a tight game like last night it's a good lesson for us

that how tight we have to play and how disciplined as much as we can be disciplined that we don't take penalties and also how to play with a one goal lead are you on babysittering sitter duty right now Dale what's going on over there? I'm outside and a couple of kids just watching

Bye. All right. We got you. It's all good. That's what matters. That's what matters. That's the main thing. Well, we wish you nothing but success, as always.

We'll be rooting for you guys. Always going to be down there. So I'm sure he'll be poking around looking for, he's a new Bob McKenzie. I don't know if you're aware of that, but he'll be breaking news and looking for insights. Yeah, absolutely. So good luck and Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Thanks for doing this.

Okay. Thanks, guys, for everything. You got it. You got it. Dale Hunter. I love it. Just outside, I don't know, to park doing a little FaceTime. As he should, he's a man on the move.

Rascals running around somewhere over there. There was something going on there. But listen, he brings a lot of pedigree when it comes to being behind a bench and winning. One thing I love that he said, guys, and it's just great to hear him say that. When you're talking about the quality of players that are on this team, he said the best guys are going to play. and he didn't mean the best talent who's ever playing the best like that's what he said he's power play guys who's ever playing the best offensively he's going to go out in the power play whatever goal he's playing the best there's no other agenda or trying to overthink things or

this is going to be the best who's ever playing the best is going to play the novel concept you know given the fact that we've been watching a Toronto Maple East power play where the same five guys generally the same five guys get trotted out there no matter how bad they are right uh that's what i can't believe fest it's like i get it they're they got the contracts and they've got everything but it's like to wield that same unit out there it is crazy stuff like it is really time to sit somebody down and i don't care if it's matthew nyes or if it's john tavares and i don't care who the replacement is it's just got to be different like if you got to throw nick waw in front of the net and say just stand there and deflect some pucks

and go on the court. I don't care. I don't care if it's Nealander for Michelle. It's just got to be something different. To watch them continuously go out there and do the same things, we all know the saying it is insanity because it's really crazy to watch how good players can go out there and keep doing that. Yeah, pro sports is very different though, right? That dollar amount, it hangs over a guy whenever he goes on the ice.

What about wins and losses? You're preaching to the choir, but like I remember talking to Sam about this. It's like, the guys who get paid are playing. Like those are the guys that are getting, they're playing. Where with the juniors, like, you don't have any obligation to anybody. Dale Hunter is not there. If Gavin McKenna's playing great, he'll play, as he should. But it's not his obligation to make sure he goes first overall.

So he has a great, you know, world junior experience. Hans just cares about winning the gold medal. Exactly. That's why he won so much in junior. He does not care. Who's going to play? Who's on their toes? That's what's going to happen.

The World Juniors, they happened last year in Ottawa, it was the same unit with Bonk and Cowan, and they went out there, and it was, they weren't scoring, but they just kept going out there. Never took them off. Never made any adjustments. And then it was like, how dare you challenge us or how dare, you know, while we, that whole experience was a disaster last year. Yeah. I think that's the most important thing about a coach is adjustments. I mean, you talk about Belichick after halftime all the time there was an adjustment. Andy Reed, you're talking about big time adjustments where the game can flip. like you got to give Buffalo a lot of credit like they were garbage the first the first half against New England what an adjustment and they just

crushed New England afterwards like making big adjustments or maybe it might be subtle adjustments that mean big things but you got to be able to do it and you got to be able to do it quick on your feet as well exactly what matters the most like once you're in the fight what are you going to do to make sure you get across the finish line

you can talk about preparation you're talking about watching game tape having the greatest practice habits ever. The games it would matter. What is the coach going to do when it's go time and the puck is dropped or the ball's in the air? That's what really separates

great coaches from good coaches. Greg Button has great stories about that. Playoff matches where it was like they saw Newundike one game and they won and then the next game they would just switch it up and throw Medano out a different line just to give them a different look how it would offset things and give them momentum

and change things. It's just it's great stuff when you got a smart coach who knows how to make adjustments. Yep, absolutely. Luke Wilson coming up in about 15 minutes. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and up on YouTube Live. All right, Luke Wilson coming up, into the

next hour. We'll get to our best bets powered by Fanduel. Leaves in Chicago tonight. Raptors back in action. They're in Washington, sorry. They're in Washington. I'm all over the map here. I was going to get to the Raptors, and they're actually in Milwaukee. They're not even playing the

tonight so lights bothering you a little bit yeah the lights keep going on and off in the studio i don't know what is happening as far as i know we're still on the air the chance we're not we're just broadcasting to ourselves yeah i know the amount of people that will be rushing in to fix that oh it's a very high priority it's a very high priority like we were just on break no one was in here no no one checking to make sure you know the lighting actually works and it's all good JP and Doogie look completely at ease back there. Very relaxed. Like, Doogie, very, very relaxed.

So that's always, you know, a soothing. That's good. Well, that's one element to fix the problem is Doogie actually has to reach out to somebody and say, we have a bit of a lighting problem. Generally speaking, that's the way it works. I thought I just heard Doogie and JP on a commercial that we just aired. Like, that is pretty cool stuff.

Well, is that the College of Sports Radio? Yeah, the two of them were promoting the fact that Dugie and J.P. are alumni. Big endorsement deal for those guys. That's a massive endorsement deal. Yeah, I mean, Dugie, I'm pretty sure they've named the wing after him. Dugie was almost in the honor roll, like as close as you can get. How many more years does Dugie have to do this before he speaks to a group? Like before there's a class where Dugie is leading the charge.

I don't think it's far off, man. I think he'd be surprised. I think Dugge is within a year or two I think it's within a year or two of being a dignified guest at a school teaching you know young students about their future. And about Cologne.

And about Cologne, yes, which is a high priority for Dugie. So yeah, the Raptors are in Milwaukee. The NBA Cup is now officially behind us. Can't stand it. I'm sorry, guys. It's, it didn't work. Like, you can move off it. It's okay. Sorry. Yeah. I won't, like, Adam Silver's Very abrasive these days.

You know, like he was on, was he on with Prime or NBC? Amazon. So he was on with Amazon taking shots at other partners, you know, kind of subtle, passive aggressive shots. And I guess the Knicks have said they're not putting a banner up for the NBA Cup. No kidding.

Why were they supposed to? The previous two teams have. I got to think, if I'm Adam Silver, I'm calling Dolan and saying, excuse me, you have to do this. No, you don't. Yes, you do. if it's going to be, if you're a league partner and the owners are literally

the league, you can't pretend this is a real event and then have a team win it and say, that's stupid. We're not putting down up the office. Any organization with any dignity and pride would chew on the $100,000 fine for not putting up the banner.

It's ridiculous. The Knicks are doing that. The Knicks put up divisional banners. They put up conference championship banners. Who are the Knicks to say no? They haven't won a championship in more than 50 years, though. Dog, they at least they want something. Right. The Lakers.

They put a Billy Joel, got some sellout banners. So Harry Stiles sold this place out banners. You're okay with them putting up a... There's a banner for everything. O'Dagg, and the league's trying to build the tradition here. The Lakers put one up, even though Kobe used to say we don't hang garbage banners. And, you know, the bucks put one up in the second year, and they're supposed to put it up. But this is about Dolan going to war with the commissioner.

And that's what... There's a big backstory there about Dolan being unhappy with the league office. Okay. And I also think Nick fans, I've seen a bunch of them say that would be absurd if they put it up. That's embarrassing. And yeah, the Atlantic Division Champions is fine. I know, exactly. You haven't won anything if you're in New York.

You've won nothing. But this is going to be a problem. You can just see, you can see where it's going here for Adam Silver. All right, Luke coming up, hour two, leaves in Washington tonight. We'll get back into that. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN4. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by Fandul.

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