OverDrive - Pang on Bedard facing the noise, his overall season and Stolarz's return with the Maple Leafs

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

NHL on TNT Darren Pang joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the NHL, Anthony Stolarz's return to the Maple Leafs and the tandem with Joseph Woll, Connor Bedard's overall season, his response to the noise in Chicago and more.

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There he is! How are we doing? I'm doing really good. I was just reminiscing about how big I was when I played. Yes, there it is is any load management during your playing days for a year or one other that's the same size today's that were back then that hanger how do you think you on that like serious question with that gear and the helmet and the whole routine how do you think you would have to be or like all the one timers like right to the groin slash inner thigh area like that would rip your leg right off your body

I gotta get an old mask then hang on yes and go Look at the inside of this thing. No way. Terrified. Weathered. Yeah, an OV-1 timer off that. That thing's, it demolished. Yeah.

I thought I'd bring entertainment to the show this morning based on overly analyzing so many things as we all do this time of year. But how would I do, oh dog? That's a really good question. He would find holes after holes after holes and blow them through me. I think there's no question about that. I'm not naive enough to think that that would be a big issue. That one-timer from that side, the best one-timer that I ever faced and he was awfully good

was Brett Hall. But man, Brett Hallt all been bullets through you he just scored on you yeah i i think all the finds a way right with that velocity and he always hits the net that it just would squeak through me i mean i are pants were just regular kind of pants i think i was right in the middle of the trial i was right in the middle of the transition panger like when i

and it's no disrespect to the goaltenders it was just a visual for me but when I was going down on Chris Tereri or Billington I would look and I'm like there's a lot there's a lot of stuff to shoot out there but at the end of it where I was looking at Roberto Luongo it's like there is there is nothing I mean you're but you're between the benches a lot both you guys are these goaltenders are all six foot six and you come down the wing and you're looking for something, there's nothing. That's what makes the special goal scorers. The guys that if they get a one-timer pass, it's under the bar regardless of the goaltender, regardless of how quick they get across. There's

about 10 guys in the league that are automatic and that's it. Everyone's got to bang it in and slash and hack and whack in front of the net. And, Panger, you know what's crazy? Like, you watch the game, and then the puck'll be in the offensive zone, and you're there, and you're like, I swear that goalie's been, like, on one knee or down for the last 25 seconds, because their shoulders are still at the crossbar,

so they don't have to waste that movement. They're down a lot already. Yeah, they are. I think they waste a lot of time on their knees but I can see that if you're a long guy I talked to Ben Bishop a lot about this and he was almost 6'8 and and he just his back hurt you know I mean that's quite simply in back hurt so it's easier to stay on his knees and just push push side to side hey but oh dog listen here's what Terry and Craig Billington Let me see some of the guys. I guess van Beesbroek Mike Vernon. Those are probably guys

You're thinking about Al Bester that era see what we did was we tricked you Oh dog See we made you think that this was this net that you had all this time and space and then we went We sucked you right into that area. I don't think that was it. I really don't think that was it, Panger. That's a great idea, but that wasn't it. I don't need to fool you on national TV, but that wasn't it. The big guys, they're six foot six and then they go into a reverse VH on a bad angle and

give up a goal and they look small. So, you know, you pick your poison, you know? Well, I'll tell you what, Panger, the one thing I do appreciate about the shooters is the reverse V8 or standing there sitting on one knee or whatever, they're smart enough over the years, they're like, I don't care what you do, I'm ripping it right over your ears and right under the bar and somebody's got to look at that because they look stupid when they're just, they don't stand up and they're just crouched down and a guy just rips a wrist or right from the goal line.

It's the shooters, you can only take so much where they're like, we got to find a way and they found a way. And our goal when we played was not to get hit in the face. Like why would I want to get hit in the shoulder, the collarbone, the side of your face and expose yourself to that? That's crazy to me. Goalie said headbutt, pucks. I'm like, man, that's the last thing I want to do is get hit in the head with a puck.

So yeah, there's a different philosophy. I thought we were weird, man. They're weirder now. Yeah, they are strange now. They're really strange with Darren Pang. We were talking about Anthony Stollard making his return tonight and you know coming off he's been out for eight weeks he had the surgery done and he's had the lower body injury so he's gonna play tonight he'll back up Saturday I would presume

he backs up Saturday in Vancouver and then he's gonna take two weeks off so is this about the psychological hurdle can you take us through that mentality, Panger? Like a goalie coming off an injury, especially a knee injury, going into a game like this, like how much of the psychological hurdle exists where it's like you gotta trust yourself, do it, get through it, and then you can breathe afterwards. You know, I think, I tell you what, Hazy, I think if you don't have any experience in injuries,

it's a lot more difficult. I think if you have experience have any experience in injuries, it's a lot more difficult. I think if you have experience and from what I understand that Anthony has had experience with knee issues, whether that's a cartilage, whether that's there's something in there that he has had in the past. So in saying that, I think it will be okay for him to come back because there's a certain amount of confidence that you have when you've done it before, whereas there's a certain amount of anxiety that you have naturally if you haven't had it before. So I came back from a torn hamstring, like right off my butt, and I came back and I got

to tell you, I was really hesitant. I'd never had an injury like that before and I was afraid to do a stretch. I was afraid to butterfly. And then funny thing is i tore an a c l i was i was gone all year i came back uh... into the net one full year later than when i injured that a c l and it was in the miners and i get there's a difference in in play

and i i i got a shutout i think figure that out everything seems so slow and it was come at me like so slow and i felt confident. My knee was fixed. I had a brace on it. But, you know, so again, going back to it, it depends on the injury. But I would have to think again reiterating, I think Anthony's been around long enough and he's experienced enough in that kind of injury to know that he can bounce back from that.

Hang on. I think now that calm and get some rest. Well, and now, you know, you have Wal playing well. Stolars was playing really well before he got hurt. So both these guys, how do you handle the rotation when they're back healthy? Is it one of those things you look at Washington and say it worked for them just going 50-50

alternating starts, or do you feel like you have to kind of give one guy a week, the other guy a week? What's the best way of doing that when two guys have played so well this year? You know, I feel like there's an opportunity for the coaches to ease the player that's been injured. If things are going well without that player, why throw them into circumstances that other players have excelled in while that player is gone?

You know, for right now, personally, it's great to get Anthony into the net. That's good just before the break. But for me, it's really, it's not a rotation-based business when a player's been out that long. It's Wall's net for me. And then let, there's going to be a time where Joseph Wall struggles. It happens. It's inevitable. And then when that does happen, it'll be midway through the second

period craig ruby's gonna say honest my time death make a change in the net and then it's going to be at the opportunity for anthony to get into the net and then they can either get in a rotation or anthony takes the net over so but right now i i don't like just told the guy right back in there in the circumstance that he was prior to

for me unless it's a big struggle and unless desperately man I need this goalie to come in here and change change our game up We need that energy or we need that excitement from that player But otherwise don't be in a hurry here in Chicago I got to wait a couple of players just prior to the winter classic Seth Jones had a broken foot they all that he tried to get back more as it try to get back for the winter classic. Seth Jones had a broken foot. He tried to get back, Morazzic tried to get back for the winter classic, and I think looking back on it, I don't think it was right to throw him into the same situations that he was before.

The power play was working without him. The minutes were being handled by other guys like Alex Vlasic, and I think the team took a bit of a step back just because everybody was anxious to throw player A and player B right into the exact same spot when they weren't up to speed with what was going on with the players that were having success while they were gone. Penger, the question we have with the tandem moving forward, I think for the rest of the

regular season they're most likely going to figure it out, but one of these guys has got to play every other night if they want to go where they want to go for two months. So how do you pick that guy by the end of the year when none of them have done it in the past, none of them have a sample size where they've been a true number one and it's really critical and there's a lot of intense pressure and it's non-negotiable where it's like you got to go in there and do it. This is where you can do a trial but if you if you stink then you're out of the net, so how would you handle that come playoff time?

Yeah, I would handle it as if you know down the stretch You know exactly which guys going on Oh dog like you for me. It's like Joseph wall Went into the net when Sam snob struggles I'm not mistaken a few years ago with the pressure on and and he performed very very well in his life anger but i a seven-month situation injured game seven last year he didn't skate out because he was hurt it's like and i think predictability of a dog and that's the frustration you're talking about such that

you're basically talking about that's a damn co in vancouver you know it is that we're going to be healthy enough to to to run it well i think every team old dog has planning and plan b Vancouver. You know, is the player going to be healthy enough to run it? Well, I think every team, oh dog, has plan A and plan B. You know, plan A is, hey, this is our guy, we believe in him. And because it happened last year, you know, we're getting another crack at it. But at the same time down the stretch, you're going to have to have to have two guys going anyway. But I don't think that means that you alternate, you know, during

a playoff series. But I mean, how many times have we seen it that a guy plays great in game one, great in game two, struggles in game three, needs a break, the coach takes him out halfway through, sits him on the bench and says, hey, bud, you're going right back in there for game four. But we're going to get goalie B in the net for this one here. And that's get you re-energized. It happens an awful lot. And then you just go on again and keep going.

But then if the goalie struggles in game four well now you got yourself a question mark because now you're likely going to the other guy for game five that's the facts with Darren Pang of the NHL and TNT so you're between the benches in Chicago last night calling that game and it was it was a really fun entertaining game Edmonton ends up winning in overtime Connor Bedard has been a you know topic of discussion since he was 14 years old. We all knew this kid was coming. We knew what he was doing in the dub,

what he did at the World Juniors. First overall, he's into year two. But he's starting to hear it a little bit, at least from outside of the Chicago market. Where do you stand on his game, up close and personal, where he's at? And what would you say to people that are wondering, okay, where are we going with this guy guy and what's gonna happen here in Chicago?

Well I think he's first of all I think he's handled Hazy extremely well after Marc Messier said something on Saturday listen the Florida Panthers it was like it was a one-dimensional game I mean it they dominated especially that first period and so they picked apart a play play that he certainly should have had a stronger stick in front of the net. So I asked him the next day, I had a chance, I'm saying, hey, listen, I want to know, do you listen to the analyst or do you listen to the noise that's out there? Do you, you know, do people send you something on social media?

Are you on social media to watch it? And he goes, you're talking about like Mark Messier's comments. I said, yeah. And he goes, he goes, well, he sure wasn't wrong on that one. You know, like he doesn't go, oh man, Mark Messier, what's he done? Of course he wouldn't say that. He respects the game and he respects people's jobs.

And he's like, yeah, you don't think I don't know when I make the mistake? Same thing happened with Paul Bisson at last night. You know, Biz went through a shift. The shift was bad. It was a bad line change. It was a long shift. It was a turnover in the same area that I said it happened before. You guys are analysts. We all sit in the studio. What do you break

down? You break down that. And again today, sure enough, what did he say? He's like, I'm not, I'm not getting, I think he used the word butt hurt. If I'm not mistaken, he's like, Biz has got a job to do and that's his job. And I'm okay with that job. Like I'm not mistaken. He's like, business got a job to do and that's his job and I'm okay with that job. I'm not laying awake wondering what guys are saying about me. Basically he's like, I already know before I watch TNT or ESPN or ABC, I already know what I did wrong. I know that that was my fault. So I'll say that so people can understand that part of Connor.

The reality of it is when those same mistakes happen time and time again, then there's teaching moments that have to take place. And it's great that Connor recognizes that, hey, I can't be button-hooking up right inside the blue line of the opposition, spin around and try to make a blind backhand pass to somebody against a good team like Carolina, Florida, and now last night the Edmonton Oilers. And so if you do it time and time again, then I think you've got an issue. If he learns from it and doesn't do it again or it's limited, then you're on the right path in my opinion. And oh Doug and Frankie, you guys have played with young players that have come into the league. I mean, a lot of them have junior habits. You know,

they're 18 and 19, they come in, they have junior habits. They're used to playing two and a half minutes. If his coach in Regina, John Paddock, says, hey, Connor, we're down by two, like, don't come off the ice. Well, he thinks, you know, that's right in that circumstance. But now in the NHL, when you've got Pat Maroon's won three Stanley Cups and Alec Martínez won three Stanley Cups, and they're all trying to create a winning hockey environment and i might be dump the pocket

getting deep no turnovers in that area ice well then that gets frustrating certainly for the veteran players but uh... he's a sharp kid a he analyzes his performance very accurately all say that so he's is hard on himself as everybody else is on when he makes mistakes darren were you surprised there was no follow-up on what does but hurt me

that it was a little bit fuck i was in i threw it out there and i'm like you know dot fire me something up here like seriously i'm not getting into it that i have no idea what but hurt his i don't know what's also the i'm pretty sure that was the quote that he said that i'm afraid of the quote that he said Don't do that not on the phone stay away from that one HR exactly exactly You've got to know this guy pretty well now you see him every day games practices

You think there's an element element of, he's almost too hard on himself? I know he wants to be professional, wants to take the next step. There's so much noise and pressure, but can he be too hard on himself? I don't know. I grew up with, I grew up with Stevie Y. Like from 14, 15, 16, 17, I mean,

he didn't have to tell Steve if something wasn't done right. I mean, you didn't have to tell Steve if something wasn't done right. I mean, he was the first one to, you know, to live it and correct it and, you know, do it. Conor's not the first one. You know, like people talk about Sydney, Conor McDavid, the same thing. You know, these young kids, they don't have, he doesn't have a dog, you know.

You can't go home and pet your dog. I mean, you know, so, I mean, he loves the game of hockey, he loves sports. In fact, one of the things he said, Frank, was like, he likes the criticism or the analysis of plays and breaking down plays. He says Monday morning, because he's a big football fan, he goes, that's what I watch. I want to see what they're talking about with what the quarterback did the next morning. So he's got life away from the game. There's no denying that. But his number one passion is the game of hockey.

Listen, last night he did something special with the Blackhawks. There was a Make-A-Wish young man named Lennox. Came in from Nova Scotia. His favorite players were Connor Bedard and Connor McDavid. Make-A-Wish and the Blackhawks made this happen. So there's Connor after the optional skate. He is on the ice with this kid. He's got him in the locker room.

He walks into the building with him. You know, he's a great kid. He's got a lot going on, but yet he finds the time for other things as well. And then, you know, and then I think there's a lot of pressure on him probably to play well for young Lennox and for himself and up against, you know, Connor McDavid. So, you know, and the end, and what he ended up with it, maybe a point or so, but the guy that was the man child in this game, I'll just tell you, if, if, if, if you don't have Leon dry side, I'm in there for the heart trophy conversation, you're, I think you're not watching the game of hockey and maybe the selfie award

winner too. I mean, the guy, the guy's a machine of both ends of the ice. And man, was he snarly last night with, I didn't know that he and Ilyum Mikhailov had a little bit of a battle going on. I mean, they were drawing back and forth and I was surprised that Mikhailov, he didn't back off one whatsoever. Oh dog, you would've loved this banter between the two.

I believe one of them said, you do that again, you're gonna eat the blade of my step it was great stuff i think that i'm also just going right back and forth and uh... i expected mckay up kind of the back off a little bit is such a quiet but man he is a competitor and he was certainly in the kitchen of uh... of only on until leon daughter going barry again yeah i thought that's always comment regardless, I think it always gets you thinking.

Because when I second year in the league, Mark Racky said that to me. He said, I'm not playing that much longer. I will break my stick right over your head. And I was thinking, he's not going to do it, but would he do it? And then you're just thinking like, how crazy is that guy? And you're just wondering the whole game how crazy that guy really is. Or the worst is if you're like not really tough and you say that and the guy says go ahead and do it then you're like now I gotta do it I probably won't

even break it called my bluff did you never want to see that all right we'll leave it there we appreciate you doing this as always Okay, well, I appreciate you looking at my pictures and analyzing the net watching my mask and and just being the great show that you are You're my dad's favorite show and he watches you all the time from Fernie, British Columbia. My dad's 88 years old I'll get an email from him right as soon as I'm off this and he calls me Joe My whole family is who say Joe just watch you get on overdrive my favorite show I love I'll tell you that ah we love hearing that that's amazing say hi for us please we love it okay thanks thank you guys all right there is yeah Darren Peng joining us here on the Maple Toyota hotline