OverDrive - OverDrive - December 31, 2025 - Hour 1 - Doug Armstrong

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

Join Michael DiStefano and Dave Feschuk for Hour 1 on OverDrive! The guys discuss Canada's roster selection at the Winter Olympics, the team's overview for the tournament, Connor Bedard, Sam Bennett headlining the biggest snubs and the goaltending depth for the team. Hockey Canada Olympics General Manager Doug Armstrong on the Canada's roster at the Olympics, the building process and the style of the team and New Year's resolutions for Toronto sports teams.

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Overdrive, off and running for the final time in 2025. No regulars today. It's Al's brother, Mike DeStefano, Dave Fess Chuck of the Toronto Star, in with me on December 31st. It's the New Year's Eve edition of Overdrive Fest. How are we feeling? buddy first time i've seen you in a long time and unless this was an a i generated fan post on instagram are our congratulations in order oh correct yes they are this time it's in order

i don't know what happened a month ago do you put out some fake news that i got engaged on my trip i was on a month ago didn't happen i had a bunch of people reach out to me but over the holidays it did actually happen i did propose and my beautiful now fiancee decided to say yes, I'm still not sure why, but thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, very happy. It was a great holiday for us in the DeStefano clan. Well, congratulations.

I mean, it goes to that same. None of us will ever be sure why she said yes, but good for you for coercing her into it. And, hey, man, you put a ring on it. But, my man, I'm very proud of you and very excited for your future together. You know what I think sealed the deal, honestly? Like, so before we even knew each other, she knew who I was. family, they're big overdrive fans. And when we first met,

day one, she brought up the 40 meter dash. She brought up the race and said that her family has watched that thing over and over and over and over again. And still to this day can't stop laughing. I mean, anytime I meet new family members, they bring it up and they pull

it up on the TV. I can't escape it. But I think that's where she realized, hey, that's a man I want in my life. I think that's when I sealed the deal. So the last year and a bit, was really just all a formality in my opinion. So she's essentially like a scout. She wants you for your speed.

Yeah, sure. Sure. That's what you want to call that. Speed, correct. Yeah, yeah, basically what that is. But no, thanks, Dave. Really appreciate it. And let me tell you,

how quick you jump in from, oh, my goodness, you're engaged to all of a sudden, everyone wants to ask you about the wedding, and you're already starting your wedding plans. You got a date yet. It's like, I just proposed three days ago. No, I haven't, it's the holidays. No one's open to go check facilities, but you're starting your guest list.

It is already a hassle. Let me tell you that. So it should be an interesting next few months here as we start the whole preparation. I will say any vendors out there who are terrific photographers, have a great wedding venue, great videographers, get in touch with me because we're on the hunt now for all that stuff. Well, given your, you know, esteemed history on this show, I was brother, I assume this was going to be a seafaring wedding. Is this not going to be a wedding at sea on a beautiful cruise ship? It's funny you mentioned that because that was talked about.

That was talked about. That was a possibility that that could have been the situation. But it's tough. You know, you want a lot of friends and family there for the big day. A lot of people want to see you get married. and I think ultimately we decided that we're probably not going to be able to do that. But you bet your ass the honeymoon will be had on a boat.

You just know it's exactly what's going to be happening for the honeymoon. And hopefully, you know, going to enjoy ourselves at that point. Indulge in the cruise festivities and whatnot. But I don't think the idues will be made on sea. But it was a topic of conversation. I can tell you that. You know what really sucks, though? and I'm so pissed about it.

The entire proposal engagement process went pretty well to plan, except one thing. This guy was so nervous and so excited at the same time. I forgot to get on a knee. I forgot to get on the knee, which is so important. It's almost a must-do when you're proposing. And, yeah, I actually forgot. I ended up getting on a knee and putting the ring on the finger, but what I actually got, I didn't kneel down.

and ask the question, I popped the ring out, we were sitting at a tape, popped the ring out asked, and then get on the knee afterwards. So that was my little mistake, my oopsie, in that entire scenario. But, uh, no, we're good. Everything's good. We're happy. I had a great holiday. I hope you did as well, Dave. It's going great, my man. I mean, I mean, not as good, not as good as yours. I mean, how you can't, you cannot top you, but, um, so I mean, and I wouldn't worry about not being on one. I mean, so just take me through it. You were, instead of being on knee you're on your butt essentially you're on your keister sitting down yeah so we went out to a to to a restaurant nice restaurant that that we both really really like and you know i was trying to just

get the words out and i kind of just got lost in the moment and i just pulled out the ring and asked the question and forgot to actually maneuver myself onto the floor and get on a knee but uh she said yes so it doesn't matter at the end of the day that's all i really cared was to get that that that three-letter word after the question, and I got it, and hopefully it's a happily ever after type of moment. Big day today in the world of sports. I mean, a big day to end 2025. And as we look ahead to 2026, the Olympic Games,

we now know what the Canadian Olympic team is going to look like, Dave. And there's obviously, as always, a lot of discourse about who made the team, who was the big snubs, what was your overall impressions? of how Hockey Canada decided to put this group together that's going to compete in Milano in a couple of months. Well, look, I mean, it's one of the great privileges of our business to be able to talk about this team, right? Because we're talking about the best of the best.

And you're talking about probably, you know, so many different combinations that could win the gold and should win the gold. And the beauty of this team is that no matter who you leave off pretty much, no matter who you allegedly snub, you still got the favorite to come home from Milan with the important hardware, right? So this team can win the gold. This team should win the gold. You get a $190 million cap hit on this roster, Al's brother. I think they should do okay for themselves. So I have no problem with the team in general, but I do have a couple of specific quibbles.

How about you? I mean, I think everybody's going to have, you know, one or two, guys who missed the team that they thought would have been there. I mean, I think the one that everybody's crying about is Sam Bennett, right? And he was a big part of the four nations last year. He's obviously the reigning playoff MVP winning the con smite. He's played big in big games. And obviously that's a player that I think a lot of people expected to see announced today. And he wasn't. Is that the guy? Is that one of the quibbles you have that Sam Bennett was not named to the team? That would be quibble with capital Q, number one, you know, in flashing lights and neon, you know, the largest sign you can

possibly buy a billboard out, you know, on Young Street to let the world know that I think Sam Bennett got absolutely screwed here. Because this guy's done everything. Like, what more do you need to do to prove that you are Mr. Clutch, that you are a guy that can be counted on when the chips are down, when the moment is biggest, when the pressure is highest. Sam Bennett's not at all. You know, you win the Consmite. You lead the NHL in playoff scoring. You score a huge goal in last year's four nations that ties the game that you eventually win in overtime against the U.S. You draw that game's only penalty. You lead

candidate and shots on goal in that final game. You are as tough as nails. You are a freaking menace on the ice that other teams fear that other teams have to have a head on the swivel when you're around. And somehow, at the most important moment of your career, you know, in what would be like a crowning achievement of all these guys' careers, the first Olympics best on best in more than a decade, you're off the roster? Like, make that make sense, I was brother. Yeah, I mean, look, it obviously is one that was a big question mark. It raises eyebrows. But, you know, if you listen to the press conference from Doug Armstrong, who is going to join us, by the way, at 4.30 in about 20 minutes or so, and whether or not he's going to, you know, go behind the scenes here and explain why he did or didn't, you know, take San Bennett or player A, player B.

He did mention that they had a meeting back on December 2nd, and they left that meeting and had 12 forwards, 7D, and two goalies locked in, which meant there was really only room for two more players at that point, or two more four. boards, one defenseman, and one goaltender. And from that standpoint, you look at the season that San Bennett had leading up to December 2nd, and it wasn't that great, right? He had a very slow start. And I wonder how much that slow start had to do with the decision to leave him off. Like at that point, when they got together and they left on December 2nd, they had decided, okay, San Bennett had a career year last season, but it's starting to regress back to the

means and at that point they maybe ruled him out but then he had a great December like the last few weeks he's been coming on like he's you know up to what 19 goals now like he's having a pretty good season you know when all set and done when you put it together but I wonder if that slow start how much that really cost him his roster spot here on team Canada that's fair but the bottom line is if that's if that's actually what cost him in the roster spot that they were making decisions on December 2nd about who was going to be on this team when they had a whole another month to essentially wait and see that and you couple in who made the team over him like let's

I mean it's tough to any of these players that didn't make the team a mark shyfully didn't make the team they left set jarvis off the team who's at the four nations uh tournament Travis connectney a player who they liked a year ago and decided not to bring to the four nations tournament I mean the few players who they decided to bring like you can make the case for each and every one of them somebody was going to be left off and there was going to be a couple quibbles And, you know, Sam Bennett, unfortunately, drew the shorts strong for whatever reason they decided that they could probably win a gold medal without him. And whether that's because they, you know, had to make the decision, do we want, you know, the intangibles that Sam Bennett brings or the intangibles that Tom Wilson brings or Bo Horvett? Who can play in more situations?

Who's a more situational player? Who can do special teams, kill penalties? You know, who's more likely to have success on the wing as opposed to down the center of the ice? So there could have been many different factors. Like, it's not just the date, but you look at the guys who were on the team and were selected, like the Suzuki's, the Bo Horvats. Macklin Celebrini, obviously, is another guy who wasn't there at Four Nations who put himself into this conversation. It's tough to leave those guys off the roster, too.

So regardless, there's going to be quibbles and there's going to be somebody that was going to be upset, and San Bet it turned out to be that player. Yeah, and let's face it, like, so much of this comes into who's picking the team, right? And by judging by what Doug Armstrong said, and we're going to have him join us at 430, as he said else, brother. Rightly so, John Cooper, who's coaching this team, had a big say in it.

And there's no doubt in my mind that- You had the Battle of Florida. There's a little animosity there between Coup and Sam Bennett? I mean, I don't know about the animosity so much. Clearly, there's animosity between those two teams. We all know that. But, and look, I mean, Sam Ryan Hart and Brad Marchan are on the team, so they're both Florida Panthers.

and they share that animosity. But I would just say it's more about the affection that John Cooper has for Anthony Sorrelli and Brandon Hegel, right, as a penalty-killing duo, as a very reliable defensive presence out there that would obviously lead John Cooper to push for those guys. Like, let's put it this way. If Paul Maurice is coaching this team, and he very well could, I mean, he'd be. Bennett's there. Bennett's on this team.

Ben, it's there. So it's that, it's really that simple. It's about who's coaching the team. how much say he's got. John Cooper's a lawyer. John Cooper's one of the great arguer of points that we've ever met in the history of the sport. I would not like my chances as a player not on John Cooper's roster that's on the bubble against one of the players on John Cooper's team to make the team. Because John Cooper's going to make a hell of an argument for you. You know that.

And he apparently made a hell of an argument for Anthony Sorrelli and for Brandon Hagel. Well, I think you could look at Doug Armstrong, same thing, right? Colton Pereco, that's another guy in the blue line who he was on the team last year and he had an up and down tournament, but they won. They decide to return the exact eight players that they took to the tournament and the Four Nations and bring all eight of those guys to the Olympic Games. They didn't consider, or I said consider, but they didn't go with anyone else. They're bringing all eight back and then goaltending wise. Jordan Bennington is there, Darcy Kemper, and Logan Thompson, which is the correct decision. I'm really glad they decided

to kind of put whatever past, you know, indifferences that Logan Thompson and hockey Canada had or whatever coaching staff was at, whatever the situation was that didn't allow him to be on the team last year when he was deservedly should have been on the team, in my opinion. They put him out there because he might be the best goalie that Canada has right now. Does that mean he's going to start game one? That's probably going to be Bennington's job to lose at this point.

But the way that Thompson's played this year, I think he's a guy who can certainly play his way into that role. It's going to be one of those two guys. I mean, Kephyr, he's the third goalie. That's going to be pretty well stated going into the tournament. But it's going to be fascinating to see if Doug Armstrong kind of leans on his guy, if John Cooper, who won the Four Nations with Jordan Bittington, leans on his guy and gives him the kind of inside track to the starter's job,

despite the bad numbers this season, or if Logan Thompson gets a real shake based on his terrific numbers, arguably Vesna caliber numbers this year. Yeah, I'm with you on that one else, brother, like that you heard that buzz in the selection process that Logan Thompson maybe had alienated himself from certain members of the selection committee, the coaching staff, whoever you want to say, he's had this reputation as being, you know, occasionally difficult to deal with as a teammate, which, you know, personally, I don't mind. Like, you know, for me, if a goaltender is difficult when he's not playing when he wants to play, like, we've seen quite a few of those guys that have, you know, become Hall of Famers. gone to the Hall of Fame, who were difficult personalities to deal with when things weren't going their way. It's not always a bad thing, right?

It's sometimes just great competitors and, you know, ultimate alpha dogs do not like being the one-A choice, a backup voice. And so there can be friction there, and there is often friction with great goaltenders. So I'm glad that that is behind us here. I'm glad that Tom got chosen on the merits of his play, because let's face it, statistically, in a crop of Canadian goaltenders that is not particularly comforting to Canadian hockey fans. We are not producing the Patrick Waz and the Martan Brothers and the Roberto Luangos that we have produced in previous generations at the current moment.

Logan Thompson is the best we got, numbers-wise. So to leave him off would have been criminal. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you look at the last two years, got a 9-12 percentage and 242 goals against, dating back to the start of last season. Those are the best numbers of any Canadian gold tender, you know, walking around in the NHL right now. So it made absolutely all the sense in the world to make sure that that guy was going to be on Team Canada. Him and Bennington, those are going to be the guys to battle it out for the starting position.

It's so funny because we always sit here and we talk about the guys who make, miss, who spend more time talking about the bubble. But like, like, Joe for the bridge, put the board back up and like just look at this team from an overall talent perspective. Like down the middle of the ice, you got McDavid, you've got McKinnon. you'll have Brayton point there. Macklin Sellebrini is a 19-year-old makes the team. I think he's going to end up with a massive role on this squad. Sidney Crosby is going to get pumped out to the wing at some point.

Like, just look at the talent level on this Canadian team right here. I mean, this is a good team. Like, you just look at the group as a whole. And again, we spend a lot of time talking about the bubble roster guys. But think about the horses that are going to lead the way. And the way that McKinn and McDavid have been playing this season, yeah, both those guys on the same team,

no wonder Canada is the favorites right now over on Fanduel. Oh, they better be the favorites. I mean, they have to be the favorites. And you're right. Like, that's the beauty of this.

You know, we're going to, you know, the bubble conversation and who was snubbed is, it's a great conversation. And I think, I think those guys that got snubbed or the guys that were on the edge of this roster, A,

they've still got a chance to make it because clearly this, you know, there's probably going to be injuries. Touch wood, you know, you hope there won't be, but the reality of pro sports these days, there probably will be injuries that keep at least one or two of these guys away from Milan, and that'll mean somebody else is going to step in. But like, let's just think about what this means for us.

Like people who love hockey house, brother. Like, I covered the last men's Olympic hockey tournament. And not to disparage anybody, but I wasn't particularly excited to go see, you know, the guys that played on that team, play hockey, you know, like, there was nothing wrong with the team, but it wasn't an NHL team, right? It was a bunch of guys who sort of were available, who did not play in the NHL, and guess what, they did not, you know, they did not do particularly well either. So, and it wasn't a lot of fun, like the tournament, it was okay, but it was a bit like a,

it was a bit like a Spangler Cup kind of vibe to. Kind of, yeah, did have that feeling. It wasn't even like the world juniors is way more excited than an Olympics without NHLers. And in my view, anyways, I mean, you know, you pick your poise or whatever you think is more important. The Olympics is still the Olympics. It means a lot to players and they play hard and these guys did their best. I'm not disparaging their effort. I'm not disparaging, you know, the idea that they got the opportunity.

They took it. But like, that's what we were, that's what we were given, Al's brother. That's what the NHL's, you know, inability and refusal, Frank. to be a part of the past handful of Olympics gave us. And now we've been given the prime product, right? We have this chance. So long as the arena is built, so long as there is ice on the floor in Milan,

we will see the prime product. Imagine it cancels this thing else. I don't see that. I just don't see that happening. Like I think, and Scott Salmon, actually, I think we have the clip today. When he was speaking at the press conference, I believe he did have an answer to the update.

on the rank situation. Nope. Spent a lot of time in Milan ourselves. I've been there personally three times and the day after the world juniors ends, I'll be going back. And so I told Doug yesterday that we'd have a much better idea where we are in the facilities,

both the main arena and the practice facility. We have, again, taken some steps to make sure that we have backup plans should we need them. But, you know, we fully expect and we've heard from the IHF and the IOC that the arena will be built and it will be ready and that's our expectation. Now, Dave, when he says backup plans, do you think he means an alternative roster or an alternative place to play? Because he didn't necessarily say what the backup plan was. But we did hear a month or so ago, Bill Daly did come out, commissioner of the, or deputy commissioner of the league come out and say that if the ICER,

surface is not up to par than the NHL players weren't going to go. Yeah, you had to level that threat if you're Bill Daley. You've got to like these, because Bill Daley, just like Gary Bedman, works for the NHL owners and the NHL owners are not going to be happy if

these guys are set over to play on a slush pond and one of them or two of them or three of them gets hurt as a result of it, as a result of crappy ice. Not that there's not crappy ice in the NHL occasionally, not that not that the NHL doesn't, you know, expose its players to winter classic ice, you know, in the coming days in Miami, which I'm wondering what the quality of.

Yeah, not going to be great. The Florida Winter Classic. Was it, was it Cuomo a couple years ago and, like, they had to literally stop playing in the middle because the, I think that the glare on the ice and you started getting some chipping and it was, it was awful. Yeah, Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, yeah. It's exactly. And so you got to, like, look, I'm not.

not saying it's i'm not saying uh you know that that happens right there's there's never perfect ice or there are no there always isn't perfect ice in the n hl but bottom line is like yeah to your point about backup plans would it be an alternative roster no i think it would be could they go to a place in italy that has a hockey rink because there are hockey rinks in italy right you know they do have a domestic league there are hockey rinks that they could play on that would not of course be a part of the olympic infrastructure at this current moment but but I mean it's getting kind of late for you know plan B you know when when people are going to be arriving there in less than a couple of months so man this this thing is absolutely down to the

wire as you kind of knew it would be because it almost always is the olympics i was at sochi man i'm telling you they were they were literally nailing in they were nailing in carpets as you sort of walked up the ramp to the arena uh at the at the at the sochi olympics back in 2014 the last than we had NHLers there. So it's not unusual for Olympic fans used to go, you know, to be really late in coming and almost too late. But this one seemed to be pushing the boundaries far than we've ever seen before. Well, I mean, for the sake of any hockey fan out there,

I mean, we obviously want to see the NHLers play best on best. The Four Nations was terrific. I think everybody was blown away by the level of play and the buy-in from the players. The Olympic Games typically, you know, kind of elevates that to another. a whole other level. So I know we're all going to be excited for that again. Doug Armstrong, GM of Team Canada, going to join us in about five or so minutes to dig into, you know, how they came to their decision and his thoughts on the team and their chances of bringing back gold overall. Last night, though, watched the Maple Leafs with maybe, would you say that's the

most improbable victory they've had this season of 4-0, shutout victory over the New Jersey Devils, no Matthews, no Nylander, no 10. Anev, no Joshua, no problem. They get it done. You know what else? Brother, you're a guy that likes to gamble. I think one of the best bets in pro sports is betting on a team without its star players. Because how often does, even in the NBA, it certainly works in the NHL. You look at the Math, the Leafs without Matthews in his career, now 46, 26, and 4.

Yeah. You know, and those, you can kind of run those numbers for a lot of really great players in this league. and you can run for a lot of star players in other sports. It is kind of an issue that it can't be sustained over the long haul, but I think for one-offs and for short windows, teams often rise, right? And, you know, next man up mentality takes over. Guys kind of say, hey, this is my chance to prove something here and make a statement. And what do you know?

The Leafs were true to that last night. Yeah, and they played what seemed to be like the Barubei way. They played the Barreubei way. And it just, you continue to ask yourself, why can't, Can't they do this with Matthews and Nealander in the lineup? You know, like last night they played a different way of hockey. You know, it seemed like everybody played a little stress-free. There wasn't, you know, a lot of weight on their shoulders.

They played simple. They played direct. They got good goaltending. They won the special teams battle, and they were winning some puck battles along the way. That's what Craig Burvey asked for on a daily basis. And they don't seem to get that a lot of the time. But for whatever reason, with their backup against the wall, they knew it seemed like That's how they had to play to stand a chance to win last night.

And I credit them. They played very well, despite being extremely short-handed within their lineup. A lot of guys stepped up, and the next man mentality really did shine through. We can get back into the Maple Leafs in a little bit here, but we've got to take a break. Doug Armstrong, the GM of the Canadian men's Olympic team joins us next here on overdrive. I'm Mike DeStefine with Dave Feshoek of the Toronto Star. You're listening on TSN 1050, watching on TSN5. on YouTube.

Overdrive continues on the New Year's Eve division of the show. Mike DeStefano, filling in for Brian Hayes, got Dave Festruck of the Toronto Star with me. It was a big day for us Canadian hockey fans, Team Canada, finally announcing its roster

for the upcoming Olympic Games to join us, the man who made all the decisions or at least had final say on them. It's Doug Armstrong, the GM of Hockey, Canada for the men's Olympic team. How's it going? Doug, thank you for joining us today. It's going well and thanks for having me.

Absolutely. Big day. You know, when you look at it, are you happy to have the announcement kind of out of the way after months and months of deliberation? Yeah, it is nice to have this portion behind us. I know the work that the general I work with have done over the last, you know, certainly three months, but even longer than that to prepare for it. So it's great to go from pencil to pen with these names

and start preparing for the tournament. So, Doug, we've obviously a lot of reaction to your choices around Canada today. And, of course, we always focus on this day before we get into the big picture of the games about the snubs. I mean, what's been your reaction to the reaction so far? I understand it. I was just thinking about this. before I jump on the call, if we had to name 30, we'd still have snubs.

And if we had to name 35, we'd still have snubs. So I think that's just, that shows the depth that we have in Canada. And also, more than that, the passion that our fans in Canada have for the team. And, you know, I love that. That's what makes this special is how much people care. And what we talked about when we named the team is that really the people that you're talking about, they didn't play their way off this team, this group, 25 played their way on and they believe what we believe this gives us the best opportunity but

I understand the angst of the fans around the country that their favorite players should be on because it I I understand their passion well what factors kind of weighed into the final decision for you guys was it you know a situation where you were trying to build out you know a team of the best players the best Canadian players or was it one where you're sitting there and you're thinking, okay, can we build the best team and who can fill what role? Like, how did that process go about? Yeah, I would say that we want a little bit of both

the best players that can build the best team. You know, if you look at the points per game, I think we have 12 of our players in the top 19 in scoring, and one of those players that is Braden Point. who's a 50 goal score. So I think we have a lot of skill in this group. We just want to make sure we can give the coaches the proper tools when we need to kill penalties,

when we need to close games out six on five, or score six on five or close it out five on six. You just want to make sure you have all the elements that build a hockey team, and we believe we've done that. One of the things that we wanted to do is make sure we could play inside the goal scoring areas, and that's where a player like Corvette, I think he's got 22 goals now, scores in different ways, came into the equation. So it's a balancing act, and this is a group that we felt most comfortable with.

So, Doug, we were interested in sort of how you weighed sort of looking at the seasons guys have had to this point, you know, October, November, December, versus the legacy and the sort of track record in big moments of players. because obviously Sam Bennett comes to mind, a guy who ripped up the NHL playoffs last year as the Rainy Kahn-Smith guy, scored a big goal at Four Nations in the final against the U.S., maybe had a slightly slower start leading to that December 2nd meeting you talked about.

But, like, how much, how difficult was that to kind of parse between what this guy has done in big moments versus what he's doing at the present moment? Yeah, I'll talk more in general terms with all of our players. You have guys at resumes, are deep and long. You look at a guy like Sidney Crosby. He could be sitting here with four points and still be on the team because of who he is and what he does.

And then you look at someone like Celebrini who has a 14-month resume and's on the team. So you try and balance out the resume with current play and with how we believe they'll fit into a team and come up with a roster that you're happy with. And we believe we've been able to do that. Well, you talk about Macklin's Celebrity.

and he's had an unbelievable season obviously he's now named to team candidate here like were you surprised at how easy of a decision he made it to include him on this roster at just 19 years old uh yeah i would say yes i obviously i watched him last year i was very impressed um with how he played but it was on it wasn't on a uh highly competitive team in san oz then he goes to the worlds and that team he was a he was a very good player in that team, but that team didn't reach its goals either. Then he comes back this year, and he's a top, top-producing player on a team that's overachieving now and in a playoff spot or right near a playoff spot. So that was really impressive to me that he's dragging a

group along with him, and that's hard to do in this league. So he's earned the right to be on this team, and you could see in early November that what he had done in the past, it wasn't a mirage. And not only, like, he didn't plateau, he's continuing every day to get better and to push his own game. And he became a very easy choice for us. Doug, obviously, you know, we see the John Cooper

as the head coach of this team, Canada. I'm wondering, how much do you give the coach, the leeway to make some choices or have some say in who you put on this roster? Because we all know there are a lot of coaches in the NHL that want to be. be general managers that want to kind of pick their own players, and there are a lot of general managers who say, hey, you can't let the coach pick the players all the time.

What's that push and pull been like with Cooper? It's been excellent. John is passionate. He has a great, obviously, understanding and knowledge of the game and now of these four-nation players. And, yeah, as a manager on this team, at least, and working with Steve Eisenman, seeing how he worked with Mike Babcock in... 2010 and 2014 and how I had the opportunity with Mike Babcock in 2016 at the World Cup.

You want to make sure that the players on your roster from 1 to 25 have the coaches trust. And so when you get down to a certain number of players, you say, how does this player fit into your mindset of how you would use them, where would you use them? And some people fit in like a glove and others you have to debate more on. And so it's very important to have the coach's opinion on this. And ultimately, you know, managers, manage, coaches, coach. But in a situation like this, in a tournament like this,

you want to make sure that the synergy is there between the head coach and the manager. With Doug Armstrong, the general manager of Team Canada, the roster was announced earlier today. And I'm curious, when you look at the position groups here, Ford's, defenseman, goaltending, which would you say was, I guess, the more difficult decisions you had to make? I would say that our depth of forwards is greater than any other area. And so there was quite a bit of positive, strong debate on different players there.

Yeah, so to me, and I think probably every manager might see a little bit differently, but I just kept looking at the depth of our forward group and try, and that's where you get into the coaches. How would you use this player? What synergy did you like at the Four Nations that you go back with? What didn't have, you know, the best laid plans of Misen, men? You know, what didn't work out at the Four Nations and how can we improve that?

And so the forwards probably provided us with the most options, which made the decisions the most difficult. Doug, you talked about at the press conference today, about having, you know, essentially a taxi squad, ready in case of injury and those players that are going to be in that situation to have to continue with the IOC mandated testing that needs to be kept up to date. What's the uptake for that? Are there players who are not interested in that or do you find that if you ask a player,

hey, can you stay in the testing program in case we need you, they're amenable to that? I've yet to have a player asked not to be tested, and not to be part of the process. But also, if they go to that direction, I certainly understand, you know, a young family, some of them, they want to make plans for three weeks.

But right now, the players that I've talked to and other guys in our group we're talking to over the next couple of days want to be part of it. And, you know, I respect the decision either way. But we hope they do stay there because, as I said, and you look at the cadence, schedule, the NHL injuries are a reality,

and we'd love to have the opportunity to pick the best of the rest, and so far everyone wants to be part of that group. Really quickly, Doug, you know, obviously we're all hoping that you guys end up going to play, but there was discourse, you know, regarding the rink, and Scott Salmon today talked about how there's a contingency plan if the arena and rank isn't in place. I don't know, the contingency plan, is that mean that maybe there's an alternative non-NHL roster

or is that just in terms of different buildings that you guys are going to go? Like, is it a lock that the NHL at this point is going to the Olympics now? I don't want to be evasive to that question, but for me and my role, that's just white noise. My job is to select and prepare a team to play. you know, I'm probably naive in some fashion.

There's likely billions of dollars at stake, so I'm sure they're going to find a way to get these venues ready, and I'm preparing like they will. If they don't, then quite honestly, this will be somebody else's issue. I'm preparing NHL players and rosters and NHL coaching staff to be ready to go to the Olympics. Well, best of luck, and hopefully, you know, you can bring home a gold medal for all of us.

sitting here north of the border. We appreciate your time, Doug, and best of luck the rest of the way. Guys, I appreciate being on, and happy New Year's to you and all your listeners. Yes, happy New Year to you as well. Doug Armstrong, general manager of the men's national team for the upcoming Olympic Games.

I had to get that question, because, like, we were talking about it, whether or not it's a lock. Like, I think it's 99%, like maybe 99.9% chance that they're in, but there's that little seat of doubt that Bill Daley left saying if things aren't status quo, like things aren't up to standards, like they're not going to put the safety and jeopardy of NHL players, you know, they're just not going to jeopardize it. So I thought maybe he would have an answer that question, but I guess we'll find out when everyone else does, but I hope the truth is, yeah, nobody knows, right?

Like you're taking it on faith that the organizers of the Milan Cortino Olympics are going to have this rink ready. By all accounts, it's been nowhere near ready for far too long. And so the idea that it could be a complete disaster and they don't get it finished, they don't get it over the finish line and that the ice isn't up to snuff. And we know it's already going to be shorter ice than it should be. Yeah, it wouldn't be a shocker. But as Doug said, money generally moves the needle. And the fact that there are billions at stake here, the fact that it would be a massive national embarrassment to the Italians if they can't get this thing finished, you have to believe that every constructing contractor that they could enlist in the entire country of Italy.

That's supposed to be the calling card of my people, Dave. And they're really disappointing us fellow Italians around the world by not getting this done. Let me tell you, everyone up in the bridge is like, I'll go over there, I'll get it done. Get me, my zero, let's go. You need a concrete guy. Yeah. The bridge could help out. If we send Woodbridge to Milan, we probably have this thing finished in a couple of days.

I think it'll be dumb by tomorrow. But thank you so much to Doug Armstrong for joining us. That was great. I will say, like, you know, he talked about the things that they were deliberating when it came to the depth and some of the bubble guys, what they wanted to make sure they had. And they talked about playing in the tough areas, playing, you know, in the areas that score, whether that's right in front of the goaltender, the middle of the ice, right in the slot, whether it's offensively or defensively.

And I couldn't help in the back of my mind think like, well, Sam Bennett does a lot of that stuff. That's often where Sam Bennett kind of rises to the occasion. So it is curious when you find out that that was something that they really valued in depth players that somehow San Bennett fell through the cracks and didn't end up on this team, I will say. You know what else?

Sam Bennett does? he's pretty good at accidentally on purpose running into goaltenders. And, you know, Connor Hellebuck might be on alert if Sam Bennett's kind of lurking. Yeah, I mean, Stollars, you know, figured that one out pretty easily. Remember that one? No, I recall. Remember that one? I recall that one.

All right, we got to go. When we come back, New Year's resolutions, Dave. We got a New Year's resolution for each and every Toronto sports team. So we'll get into that. Mike Richter, it's going to join us as well at 505. former Olympian, so we'll get into a good chat with Mike Richards and his kind of experience at the Olympic Games back in 2010. I'm Mike DeStefano with Dave Fescher.

I can listen to Overdrive on TSN 1050, TSN5, and live up on YouTube. Overdrive is brought to by Fandul, bringing you more ways to play your game, your way. Mike DeStefano, filling in for Brian Hayes, got Dave Fes struck of the Toronto Star with me. And speaking of Fandul, the Toronto Raptors in action tonight. against the Denver Nuggets. They're favored by six and a half points. No Nicola Yochik, Yokic for the Nuggets tonight. Based on your logic from earlier, Dave,

are the Nuggets to play. I think they are. This is like the sleeping, the sleeping giant, right? Without, everybody thinks, oh, Denver's absolutely cool. Yeah, no faith in the Raptors tonight? Well, look, I mean, I'm just, I'm saying,

look, it's not that I know of faith in the Raptors. Raps is playing very well lately, obviously. They're on a bit of a bit of a streak since RJ Barrett got back and it's looking pretty good at times for the Raptors. That's not the issue here. What we're talking about is a different phenomenon. The phenomenon of everybody counting out a team,

just like people counted out the Leafs last night without Matthews and Nylander and on down the list of guys who weren't there, this is the situation where it's often a moment where a team says, hang on a second. Us without our star, yeah, we're in the long term, it's not going to be good, but in the short term, we can surprise people.

And I think the Denver Nuggets might be in for a surprise. The Raptors might be in for a surprise with the Nuggets tonight. Like Canadian Jamal Murray would have to have quite the game for the nuggets to come out without Yokit. So that's the player that I'd be kind of circling possibly on a prop bet for tonight. All right. It's New Year's Eve. And usually this is about the time where people start to look ahead and think about New Year's resolutions. Are you like a resolutions guy, Dave?

do think about things you want to change in the new year? Has that been part of your, part of your setup throughout your life? Or you think they're kind of bogus? Or you sit with the resolution? Yeah, I've never really been a resolution guy. You know, I'm more of like a year. Like if I need to change something, like, why would I wait for January 1st? Right then there.

Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully I'm going to change it. And if I don't change it, well, you know, it can wait, you know, so it can wait. Maybe I'll never change it. Maybe I'll just be that stubborn. Possibly. So, uh, we do have some New York.

resolutions though for the three major Toronto pro sports teams we're looking at the Maple Leafs the Raptors and the Toronto Blue Jays and we've got a resolution for each each of those teams we've been talked about the Raptors so we can start there what is your New Year's resolution

if you are the Toronto Raptors Dave well look we we just talked about the Denver Nuggets losing their big man the best man in the league obviously in Nicole Yokish the undisputed world number one in terms of being very good at basketball.

The Raptors need another big man. Their resolution, Bobby Webster's resolution, and I'm sure this is actually Bobby Webster's resolution. I don't think this is any secret. This is not some crazy demand from some whack-job sports blowhard. This is just common sense. They need to trade for a big man, because with the Aka-Purtle on the outset times with this bad back

that's been giving them trouble all year and keeping a line up far too often. They've shown again and again that they don't have a good alternative. I'm not sure the signing of Mo Bamba is going to be that alternative. So I think this is kind of basic Raptors 101, trade for a big man and Pronto. Yeah, I mean, mine goes very similar to yours and mine's to continue to build around Scotty and Brandon Ingram, right? I think those two have proven that they can be the pillars of moving forward with a core group. been, you know, RJ Barrett's played really well at times, but could he be used as a piece,

could quickly be used as a piece, you know, Jacoby Walt, like, there's a bunch of different players that I think you can look at as pieces that could be moved. I think those are the guys you're building around, and to your point, find a way to continue to add to that group and really try and build your own new big three. Because, like, you've got two guys who you like and that are feeding off each other very well this season. You add another one. You add a third and could probably be a big man, I think would be the most preferable option, but continuing to build around those two, I think should be the resolution here for 2026. As for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dave, what's the resolution for the

Maple Leafs? Well, look, man, this is, this is a big moment. This is a big year for the Maple Leaf, Siles, brother. It should be a resolution year, and the resolution should be this. And I And I'm pretty sure it is from Keith Pelly, the CEO of Mapley Sports Entertainment. It is, this team better have a deep run at the cup or they've got to start rethinking this core. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's the next couple months are going to be huge and key for the future of this team, I think. For me, play with more urgency and consistency on a nightly basis.

Like, that's all I want to see. What we saw last night, let's see that on a nightly basis. When the stars are in there, when they're not in there, no matter what, I want to see high effort level, high motors, winning puck battles, you know, special teams being successful, good goaltending, and all that comes down to effort and just playing consistently and with urgency. So for me, I want to see that on a nightly basis. That should be their resolution starting in 2026.

All right, we'll get to the Jay's. You and Craig Barrebe both, my man. You and Craig Barreiber both. He wants it as well. We got to fly, though. We'll get to the Jays on the other side. Hour 2 of Overdrive coming up next. You've been listening to Overdrive, powered by.

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