OverDrive - Weegar on joining the Mammoth, the Flames' experience and players departing from Canadian markets

Episode Date: September 2, 2026

Utah Mammoth Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar joined OverDrive to discuss landing with the Mammoth, the departure from the Flames and his experience in Calgary, Utah's roster strength, Bill Armstrong's impact on the deal, where Utah has bolstered their lineup and more.

There's no shortcut for saving time, but saving money is simple. Just combine your car and home insurance with Bel Air Direct and save. Get a quote at bellair direct.com. Joining us now is Mackenzie Weger, defenseman of the Utah Mammoth. Mackenzie, how's it going? I'm doing well, thank you. How are you guys doing? We're doing extremely well. How's your summer been?

You get up to anything awesome this off-season? It was pretty chill for the most part. I was back home in Ottawa up at the cottage a little bit, playing lots of golf. Probably the highlight would be one of my best buddies getting married in Halifax. So we went out east for a little bit. Back to the old QMJ-HL routes. So got to hang out there a little bit. But for the most part, it was very, very chill.

You had to have cab it while you were out there. Did you have time? No, you know what? A lot of the guys were, they wanted to go out there. couldn't get it done. And my guys from back home, we're not the most organized group of guys to get that all done. But hopefully in the future we can get out there for great things about that golf course. So it's on the bucket of us for sure.

So McKenzie, you just spent your first year with Utah Mammoth after being with the flames and the Panthers. I mean, obviously Utah market that is relatively new in the league. What did you make of your experience there? And how would you describe the market to people who haven't been? been there? It's awesome. I got no complaints about Utah. I think, you know, if you look around the league right now, I think Utah's, you know, that new destination city that a lot of players want to go to. And I got to see at first end last year when I got traded. Obviously, you know, at the beginning parts, you're just trying to get comfortable and fit in and meet a lot of the guys and

stuff. But it's an easy group here, you know, starting from the ownership, you know, down to Bell Armstrong, down to the players. It's a comfortable place to play. And, and it's a comfortable place to play. It's a great hockey team and then going into playoffs, I wasn't really sure what to expect but you know that Delta Center, that place rocks. So what a great experience that was and hopefully

in the future we got many more playoff rounds to go and hopefully bringing the big trophy there but for the most part it was an absolute blast to be a part of that that series. Cam McKenzie, you just said something that Canadian hockey fans don't want to hear

that there's another destination city in the United States that hockey players want to play in that of course is not in Canada. You mean, obviously, you're a Canadian guy. You've played in both the states and Canada, and we've been grappling on this station with the question of, what does it mean that we've seen so many players, so many star players,

leave Canadian franchises or demand to be traded from Canadian franchises. We just saw Connor Hellebuck issue a trade demand out of Winnipeg. I mean, what do you make of the landscape in the league and how it is affecting? Canadian franchises. Yeah, it's a tough question because as a Canadian-born player and to play in Calgary, like for me personally, I had a great experience in Canada.

Calgary was an absolute boss to play in that city. And I think there's great things to come for that team, especially obviously everybody knows when that new arena is built. You know, they're going to be, you know, right in the sweet spot with all their prospects and whatnot. But it's a bit unfortunate to see. players wanting out of Canada just because I know how passionate

all the fans are there and all the citizens in each city and how much they love their hockey and their star players. So, you know, you don't like to see it, but at the same time, you know, there's a lot of teams, you know, out here and Utah, you know, there's a lot

that, you know, has to offer a little bit more than you'd say in Canada. You know, but at the end of the day, I think we're all hockey players and it doesn't really matter, you know, where you play. You just want to play in the NHL. It's the best league in the world. And, you know, to represent any jersey that you wear, it's, you know, it means a lot and it's an honor. But, you know, for me, I'm thrilled. I have a great opportunity here in Utah. And, you know, this city has a lot to offer, you know, not just on the ice, but off the ice as well.

So, you know, that's kind of my perspective on it all. With McKenzie Weeger, the Utah Mammoth, I mean, the Mammoth, I really started to take steps forward. And I think last year getting into the playoffs, getting that first kind of getting your feet wet, what are the expectations for you in the group this year? Expectations are a lot higher for sure. You know, I just give you an example. You know, Bill Armstrong came down to visit me in Ottawa, you know, over the summertime and we had breakfast. And, you know, standards are a lot higher.

The demand, you know, to get further in playoffs is, you know, it's going to be harder for us. You know, I think we learned a lot against that series in Vegas, but I think, you know, we want to take that next step as a team. You know, on paper, I don't think we're a young team anymore. I think we're, you know, that mature team that has a little bit of young guys, you know, that older guys. We obviously picked up, you know, two great experienced veteran guys over the summertime. So there's no reason for our expectations not to, you know, have our eyes set on, you know,

the big trophy. That's kind of where we're at. That's our mentality right now. and, you know, we've got to get off to a good start here with that short training camp. It's going to be a long road, but our expectations are going to be high. I am curious how that's kind of changing things. You mentioned a short training camp, you know, the games now starting late September as opposed to, you know, early to mid-October, adding two extra games into the regular season,

you know, shortening the games in the preseason. Like, how does that differ for you? Does that change your process to get ready for the year at all? Yeah, I'd say it changes a little bit. I'd say, you know, there's going to be a, you know, a lot of onus on the captain skates before the training camp starts. Obviously, you know, Andre Behr is going to have, you know, two or three days to get, you know, some high intensity practices going

before we go right into exhibition games. But I think, you know, I think everybody's talked about it. I think everybody nowadays shows up in shape, ready to go. and, you know, a lot of the older guys, you know, that vouch for this short in training camp, you know, we love that just because you hate to see guys get hurt, you know, in preseason. And we don't mind playing two extra games during the season, you know, could, you know, those two extra games could be, you know, a spot in the playoffs for some teams, you know. So, you know, I have no problem with it, but I think training camp is going to be, you know, a big, big part of, you know, how you get off, you know, off the box to start the season. and it's going to be, you know, a key focus point for our group. Kenzie, you talked about Bill Armstrong, the mammoth GM coming out and meeting you in the offseason in your hometown for a little meal and a chat.

I mean, in your experience as an NHL or, I mean, how unusual is that? And what's that say to you? Yeah, it's a bit unusual for sure. I was, you know, I think it's, you know, I thought it was great. I thought it was, you know, that when your GM's coming to visit you, taking time out of his summer to, you know, hop on a, a flight, you know, four hours and, you know, come meet you for, you know, an hour of breakfast just to see how your summer is, how you're doing, you know, how your family is. It means he cares a lot. And, you know, that shows, you know, where this organization's at. I believe he went to

go see Cooley, you know, after me. I think he saw John Marino, you know, after Cool. So he's, he wants to see how everyone's doing and he cares a lot about his players. So it was definitely unique. I think I was a little bit nervous for the breakfast, but, you know, it turned out that it was a little bit less stressful than I thought. And it was just nice to, you know, sit down one-on-long with Bill and, you know, talk about the season and my personal expectations and personal goals. And, you know, it's good. You always like to communicate well with your GM and, you know, to see where everyone's at. Well, that's funny you say you're nervous.

I mean, I guess he is the boss coming from breakfast, right? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, he's the boss. So, you know, I wore a nice collar shirt and I tried to look sharp. And, you know, it was good. I'm glad it was a good breakfast spot. I'm not sure if, you know, he enjoyed it as much as I did. I think he wanted steak and eggs and they didn't have it for him.

But, you know, next time I'll take him to a better spot. Awesome stuff. Well, McKenzie, really appreciate taking time out of your summer. I know there's only a few days left before we all got to get back to work and stuff. So I appreciate the time and best of luck this season. We'll do it again. Yeah, thanks a lot, guys, and enjoy the season. Absolutely.

You as well. McKenzie Weeger, Utah Mammoth, Defenseman. I'm Cynthia Lois. And I'm Josie Dye. And we're done pretending we have it all figured out. Each week we laugh, cry, and talk our way through life's messiest moments. The things you think about but would never say out loud. The questions you are always too shy to ask.

Relationships, regrets, awkward moments, and the stuff no one warns you about. It's honest, it's funny, and sometimes it gets a little uncomfortable. But that's kind of the point. This is Cynthia and Josie's unmentionables. on the free IHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.