Shaun Newman Podcast - #71 - Justin Mapletoft

Episode Date: April 20, 2020

Born & raised in Paradise Hill SK. Played for the Red Deer Rebels where in his final season he led the WHL in scoring with 120pts in 70 games & earned the league award for Most Valuable Player. The Rebels that year would go onto win the WHL championship & the Memorial Cup. Justin was drafted in 1999 by the New York Islanders and from 2001 -2012 he spent time between the NHL, AHL & Europe. 

Hi, it's Justin Mavitaph. Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Hey, folks, welcome to another Monday. As I'm sitting here recording this, I just got done doing, I don't know what everybody else is doing to stay active, but we've been walking a ton trying to get the kids outside as much as humanly possible, but wife and I have been doing Beach Body or what have you. And I just went through about a half an hour doing, punching the air and felt like a complete nutter moron. and I'm sure the wife was just laughing at me.

We should have had, you know, if you could have been a fly on the wall, seeing me do some of the moves, I just, you know, I can't, I guess I can't wait for a gym to open back up, and I never realized how much I enjoyed going to the gym, or how much I miss going to the gym now, until you can't do it at all. And I'm no gym rat by any stretch of the imagination, but just getting some weights and doing some actual lifts

instead of just kicking air, man, alive. I, that is a long, it's been a long, it's been a long month, folks. Now, I want to remind everyone that we started putting the podcast out on YouTube, so now you can start to see some of the newest episodes. We're starting to backlog and put up some of the old ones as well. but they are coming up on YouTube so if you want to see some of the guests in action you can do that now so just a reminder to check out your YouTube page just search Sean Newman podcast like I've been doing for the last several episodes if your business is looking to get some

info out for free right now while this COVID thing is going on and everybody's you know got store hours that are fluctuating they're you know they're not open to walk-ins you're doing curbside pick up that kind of thing if you got a message to get out let me know and uh I'll get it on here so just look me up Instagram Twitter or Facebook shoot me a message and like I say we can get you on here so first off Malcolm Radkeke and the Lloyd Minister Regional Health Foundation I'd like to say thank you to our local frontline health care workers we will stay home for you and hopes to flatten the curve so you can be at home with your families too I also like to point out they've had many generous donors who have stepped forward in our community contributing to

the COVID-19 emergency fund. And if you would like to donate, visit www.lrh.org.c.org dot CA backslash donate. Kenny Rutherford, Rutherford Appraisal Group, where the podcast has been housed out of since last February.

So a huge shout out to Kenny. He's been huge support and getting this thing off the ground. He says in these difficult times if you're in need of any appraisal work, now we're talking bankload, setting a fair purchase price, where you're buying or selling any type of real estate shop, home, farms, cabins, restaurants,

you name it, give Kenny a call. He's one of the best folks, 306, 307, 1732. Another one who's been pretty instrumental in making the podcast studio what it is. Not that I'm sitting there tonight. I talk about missing the table all the time. But Carly Closs and Windsor Plywood, they built me the podcast table. That is an absolute beauty. and if you're in any custom woodworking whatsoever, these are the guys.

I mean, they've got everything else too, folks. Don't get me wrong, but go take a look at their Instagram page. It's amazing what they've been doing. They're still open regular hours. So call ahead, if you can, to help with physical distancing. They have curbside pickup or free in town delivery while this current situation. These tough times are still going on. So stop in and, um, stop.

Port Local as always, guys. Corey Dubik and Midwest Flooring, open regular hours, call, stop in or shop online. Lori LaBerge, Abbey Road Flowers and Gifts. They're temporary closed to walkins, but are doing curbside pickup and free in-town delivery. 780875-2211, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wander and Wilde has a new one this week.

They've teamed up with Let's Walk to Talk, Paul Liberson, let's walk to talk. So essentially, with every purchase of a hoodie or tea, they're doing Let's Walk to Talk, hoodies and T-shirts, $10 will be donated to Paul's organization. Not only do these funds or donations help with this walk by providing fuel, food, and water, and hotel expenses, but donations will also go to Project Sunrise and the Thorpe Recovery Center. If you'd like to donate to Paul's Walk, please visit his Facebook page. Let's Walk to Talk. or if you're looking to get one of these cool shirts, check out Wander and Wild Apparel.

Grid Athletics, check them out on Instagram or Facebook. They still have their deal going on where if you spend 100, you get 25 back and a local gift card of your choosing. Factory Sports, the boys over there, Taylor Holt and Nathan Mullet, they got all their different bikes out right now. So give them a call 306, 825-7678, or you can check out all their different stock.

either at their factory sports Instagram page or they have their factory sports bikes and Instagram page where it shows all the different cool units they're selling. We haven't done, well, I did a couple last week and I had a couple, one of them being my father, he just texted me out of the blue and said, just listen to Bucky and Price, good show, the wrestler that sticks out the most, he's talking. So folks, if you didn't listen to the previous episode, I had Grae Buchanan, and Kurt Price on, and we got talking, and they got talking about wrestling. I was talking about, you know, WWE and them doing WrestleMania,

and they got talking about old stampede wrestling, a smidge before my time. So my dad, text me on the blue, and he says, the wrestler that sticks out the most for me was Abdullah the butcher. He would roll his eyes into the back of his head, reach into his trunks and pull out a wooden popsicle stick, and stab the guy in the forehead. The crowd was going nuts and could not believe he got away with it every time. I have no idea what he's talking about, but it sounds fantastic.

And then Sean Priest again, he said, hey man, listen to Skips. He's talking about Skip, Craig. That was, geez, that was a long time ago in the last year, obviously, folks. But a while back in the podcast, he's digging through some episodes he'd missed. And he went back to Cy Campbell World War II, so a couple of good ones. And he just said, got to say, I wish I was sitting in your shoes for them stories. They sounded unreal. So thanks guys for reaching out.

Now, here's your factory sports tale of the tape. Born and raised initially in Paradise Hill, Saskatchewan, and then at a young age, they moved to Calgary, Alberta. He played his WHL career for the Red Deer Rebels. During his 20-year-old season, he put up 120 points and 70 games. He was nominated, or he won the league's most valuable player that season. Along with his personal success that year, the rebels would go on to win a Memorial Cup,

6-5 and O-T over Valdeur of all like just to win a Memorial Cup would be amazing then on top of it in overtime he was drafted in 1999 by the New York Islanders in the fifth round from 01-05 he spent a time between the islanders and bridgeport their HL affiliate and from 2005 to 2012 he played overseas in finland Sweden Germany Austria and Switzerland of course I'm talking about mr. Justin mapletoff So without further ado, welcome to the Sean Newman podcast, man. I appreciate you joining me. Today I'm joined by Justin Mappletoff.

It's nice to, you know, thanks for having me for sure. Yeah, well, I've been touching base with you now for probably eight, nine months. I know people who listen to the podcast regularly hear that about a lot of people. With the current situation, I'm trying to make the best of it. And the best of it is open it up to technology. allows the whole world to connect. So I appreciate you taking some time. Yeah, no. Like I said, it was, yeah, we've been communicating for quite some time. And obviously, schedule to allow us under these not so great circumstances that I had to connect up.

So it's good. How are things in Calgary? I know in the world of Alberta and COVID-19, Calgary's kind of been, I mean, if you can say the epic epicenter of outbreak, it would be. Not that it's a giant outbreak, but it is the spot that has the most cases currently. Yeah, you know, it's definitely interesting, right? I think that I'm always kind of the person kind of interesting what's going to happen afterwards. I would say that a lot of people in this situation right now where we're sitting here, you know, people going to the grocery store and, you know, nobody wants. beside each other where everybody's kind to keep a distance you know I say

in to my parents there night there they're there's snowboards snowbirds they're down in Arizona and I was saying to them you know like driving at nighttime and said a little bit of eerie you know like there's no cars in the road and it's you know nobody's out there no restaurants no lounges no bars no entertainment where it's just everybody's home and confined right so I think to some degree I think people are taking it obviously pretty serious. You know, hopefully we can, you know, keep this, you know, contain for this period of time and have some kind of,

some kind of relucing after this to come out of it and start kind of life back up again, right? So hopefully that's coming. But as far as listening to the media and outside world, I mean, who knows what that's going to be, right? Yeah, well, you can't listen to, you need to listen just enough to keep it. and form, but not too much to make yourself go crazy.

Exactly, exactly, right? Well, I want to talk, you know, I followed your career when I was younger. You originally being from out in this area, you know, you're a name that a lot of people followed. So I was curious, though, because I, you know, when I started digging, I didn't realize you played as much minor hockey in Calgary as he did. And I thought maybe we could start before that because I know, I believe you're originally from Paradise Hill, that country. Maybe you could just talk about how you got to Calgary and where you started from.

Yeah, you know, like any good Saskatchewan boy, you grew up on a slew. That's where you learned to how to play hockey on the black ice of a slew. You tribble over a few beaver runs and you kind of fall on the ice and learn to survive that way. And, you know, over time, I guess, you know, growing up in Fort Pitt, and that's where the farm was at and all my relatives and playing minor hockey through paradise soap. My dad from his, as everybody knows up there is a little bit of a wild side. He was involved with a few too many car accidents over his time. And, you know, he couldn't handle the farm anymore. And then we, you know, he made a step in his life in his career and we came to Calgary.

I think it was in 91. And then I started playing minor hockey in Calgary. You know, obviously it's interesting because I try to explain to people when you're as younger. You know, you grew up in those areas of the world. I just remember playing, you know, you got a combination of kids from all over that country of Perry, so. you know, St. Walbert and an Onion Lake and

Fulmont and all those different areas, right? You combined everybody together. And two, you probably don't know what the age kids, age of some kids were when you're playing with in that area of town because everybody just wanted to play and you just combined everybody together. And then when I moved to Calgary,

you know, tryouts and different levels of kids and it was quite interesting, you know, because obviously come for the first time or, you know, everybody just wants to play hockey, and you only play hockey for when the ice gets in to, uh, to when you come to Calgary,

it's pretty much, you can almost play a year-round hockey. And, uh, and then there's trials. So that was obviously interested in, I mean, played minor hockey through Bull Valley organization,

Southeast Calgary and then worked my way up through, through that to, you know, to the Buffalo's organization, which is their, uh, what they call just a, uh,

more elite group, I guess, uh, out of house, league it's more competitive and then work my way all the way up and then and I'll see him to junior and to red year and then off into my career pro with the with the buffaloes did you play in the line with Danny heatley yeah you know it was it was kind of a funny one actually is for for the water there was there was being the dispensed in that area of the town I don't know

what it was about that age group too because there was there was actually a line of life in the Buffaloes, it was Danny Healy and Chris Clanis. Another guy played big BU, I think Boston, or is at BC, Boston College, and the both guys played pro. Myself played pro, and then Ben come off as another guy, played junior, a bit of pro. Yeah, there was quite a few guys from that same area, town, same age group that all kind of played pro together. So, you know, it's funny enough, we were all on the same team.

and I think it was my first year, minor Bannam, I think it was. It was one of those years where it's, well, I think I only remember this is because I think we played provincial finals and they called the gasker one game. Just to the fact, I think, yeah, the score was outrageous. There was just not, there wasn't too much competition that year. Obviously, the lead players that we did on the team was pretty interesting. Do you remember getting taken in the Bannam draft at all? Yeah, you know, it was so, you know, it's, it was more, not so much.

I remember, I remember getting a call from a guy. His name was Paddy Matzioca. He was the skeleton time for Bradbeer that drafted him. The guy named Carter Sears at a ready to, they drafted me. Didn't really know much about the draft. It was kind of a lot of those things. You know what's funny? The only reason I kind of can do a little bit of the Western hockey league was,

I don't know if you maybe had him on the show, maybe not, Travis Clayton. Because he was, I think the time he was drafted to Saskatoon. But it was like one of those circumstances where they took him up a really young age. And I said that's the only reason I knew of the Western hockey league. And then obviously I was good at the time, good friends with our family friends. We were friends with the Reddings, right? So, you know, Reds, he was, you know, drafted the brand and I kind of knew of that too, right? But didn't really know too much about it.

And until after I was drafted, and that's where we obviously find out a little more. It's pretty crazy. It's pretty crazy in how many years of that. I mean, it's a few years back now, but it's drastically changed. The Bannum draft, how many eyes are on it. Everybody knows about the dub now because I've had a lot of guys from your, right around your age range that you know got a phone call said you've been selected you're like oh sweet right didn't know much about the league kind of showed up went to work and and and it just

kind of carried on from there yeah it was uh definitely definitely right because i just don't think that they don't like in all reality the media and attention and and the way you connect with people nowadays and youtube and so on and so forth like you're you're seeing kids now that days of, you know, 10 years old doing stuff that I can never even think of trying. And they're doing it, right? So, and you're watching on YouTube, right? So then you see these kids and they play and obviously get drafted, but then, you know, the visibility they have, it's crazy, right?

You and us at that time, like you said, it's a phone call, right? And it's interesting because I think, I'm going to say, I think my parents got a piece a paper in the Calgary Herald at the time or son or whatever it was and it would show who was drafted right and then you see who the top guys were and then you're like where did this guy play you know but nowadays and you said you could you could probably pick excuse me you could probably pick kids but are going to be drafted two years from now and you can see you watch it on YouTube right so definitely definitely a little bit different I guess probably nowadays to the time when I was drafted for sure yeah well the like we're doing right now

technology has just opened everything up. Every kid, no matter where you're playing. If you got a phone out, you can put enough videos up. And if he's doing talented things, people are going to know about them. Oh, for sure. For sure. The kids are sitting on an outdoor rink doing kind of stuff or things in their backyard doing stuff or whatever it is.

You know, in a different sport when I was in, I can't remember, I'm thinking Bryce Harper. I was in college in what year that was, 2010, summer rated around there. And I remember him playing as an underage in college hitting home runs. that was one of the first global sensations that was on YouTube and you could watch him absolutely crushing the ball. And it's evolved since then like 10 time or 10fold. Yeah, exactly. For sure.

Yeah. Yeah. I don't think that, yeah, you could show a quick glimpse of a kid in a game, right? And you just pop it right away on YouTube and then boom, it's spread, right? You just check this kid home, watch this move. And then before you know, wow. You know, every guess it comes on. I got a few similar steps I do, right?

So one of them is you always check YouTube because it's like, oh, maybe he's got a good tilt, a good goal, or whatever. And the older you go back, unless they're Bobby Orr, there's just less and less and less. But the younger they get, like the guys that are in the dub right now, it's like crazy amount of content on, like too much. Like you can't get through it all because there's so many videos and highlight videos and everything else.

I would take it to the way of, I was fortunate enough to, when I was playing pro, we they had a VHS and then we watched Game Team and that was about always, because back playing and go from now, I wouldn't even want to be involved in a, you know, what a session looks like a video session nowadays because they could dissect your game at every angle for every second, like, yeah, maybe a little too much. No, VHS tape. That's awesome. Yeah, for sure. Talking about Danny Heatley just for two seconds. I talked to Gord Tibdo, roughly four or five days ago, and we got to talk about him

playing in Junior A and how good he was at the junior level. Back when you played with him, was he, he was that good? you know what it was funny about here was he was like one of those guys and i think that like um as you you know throughout you know portion off to you know play quite a few years and and experience a lot of different things but when you play with guys you got some knacks for something right and he was a guy that was like not to that degree but he was like he was in that in that conversation with guys like, you get a puck anywhere in the facility and it's,

it's in the net, right? Like, it's not, like, when he's in the offensive zone and he gets a puck where it's, you know, a one-timer, it's close in net. Wherever it is, it was in the net. He only needs one opportunity he puts the puck in that, right? And I think, you know, when we play, we're all young and sure we're all pretty good.

I think where I think where he like really, you know, blew it open was I think when he started playing Junior A, like Canucks. Or maybe the year, I didn't play with him a year before that because I went off and played junior. And I think he played AAA midget and I was in junior. Or no, sorry, I was in, I think would have been, I wouldn't play Triple Midget. And he was in Major Bannum.

I played as an underage AAA Midget. And he played Major Bannum. And I think he, those kind of years where he started really lighten the lamp, right? But then when he played, whatever, AGH, whatever like that, I think he was, well, I think he was 50 goals and 50 games, whatever. I mean, what he likes, right? And he would start blowing open. And when you even play college, right? He just didn't really get to that.

I just remember Tibido telling me that he was by far the best player he'd ever seen playing the AJ. Yeah. So. Yeah. Yeah, like I said, like he's one of those guys. I think, yeah, like I said, like he said, like you you get it's it to some degree but it's like obviously i think of like i don't not a it's funny enough of all years of white hockey i'm not a hockey guy anymore i don't even before

this thing i don't really watch it i don't uh so what do you do attention got three girls so life's busy how old are your girls uh nine four and two um so yeah so life's busy um and be honest, I don't have cable, so I only watch stuff on, like, the internet, that kind of,

that kind of stuff, but, uh, like Netflix and that kind of stuff. So, yeah, I don't really watch pay attention. So,

have you, have you gotten into Tiger King? No, I haven't. Yeah, I can't even get, yeah, my life right now,

especially right now is, I can't even get into, uh, I don't even get a show in night. I can't even, that's not impossible right now. So, uh,

with work being, busy and home life being busy. So it's just sick, yeah. But I do watch the case with I do watch the highlights. I still like watch them. But I think about like guys that still, he's still my favorite. Like, in watching what this guy's doing right now is like this guy's, yeah, it's amazing what he's doing. Is he going to break?

If we didn't have the, if we get to go back playing hockey, right? So we miss out on the end of the season, but starting next season where you go again, Does Ovechkin break Greci's record? I don't think he does, but I do think he comes, like he comes maybe that second or third guy. I think he eventually will happen. I think just in years will catch up to him and he can't. Gratzy he had those 70,

70 goal seasons, right? And Gretchen's scoring 50 a year, which is especially at a day and age where there's the average goals per game and he's still scoring 50, which is crazy. Especially for a guy that, like, for us that play hockey, you know exactly the spot he sits in every single game and everybody knows and the goal he knows and he still scores which is right but that's the thing where i was getting back to is you get the puck

to him and he shoots it and it's in the net he only needs one shot and it's going to be in the net and that was like either back the day when he was younger first couple years pro right like he just you know he gets out of the open ice and he gets an offensive zone he dishes off to somebody and then once it gets back after him, it's no chance. It's an in a net, right? He scored 50, right? So, he's just scored 50,

he did it, right? Yeah. Well, let's talk about going to Red Deer. You get drafted in the Bannum draft by Reddardt. What was your first dub camp like? Because you would have been, what, 16 at that time? Yeah, I was 16 at the time.

Or, no, my first, like, actually, like, my first dub camp was, whatever, 15, yeah, 15 years old. You know, I don't know what it is. It's not maybe a good thing. My memory's not very good for all the years I've played. So I don't know if that's as good, but, you know,

there's some things that do come out to me. I remember, but, you know, one of the things I still remember from my first ever, you know, there's different things from all the different pro camps I've been involved in. But my first pro cap in the Western League was, I remember a guy named Lloyd Shaw.

He was a 20-year-old. time, big defense and mean defense in the red year. And he, him and Aaron Ash, and we're going at it. And Ash, Shaw had his nose, was broken so many times over the years and was really bent. Obviously, going in a training camp for some reason, probably from the last year, probably some fighting. But Ash said to him, he's like, you know what? Shad's, yeah, let me put your nose back in place.

And I remember hearing this as like 50-year-old and I was like, what am I involved in right now? And yeah, and, and he, sorry, I cut out there. All good. Yeah, he, and asked Fawton and put his nose back in place and bust his nose and put it back in place. And I was like, wow, this is interesting because obviously I've never been involved or seen anything like this. And now you're seeing it first hand, right? So I was a start of my, starting my dove career, right?

So it was quite interesting. And then, yeah, you learn things. You play with some guys that are like, I think as you get, over years, you get, you know, higher level you get in, the players get better, right? So it was my first experience of being with older guys

that were really good, like really good players, right? So, you know, my first camp, I think I had, like, you all, there's Aaron Ashton, which was at the time, like, he was, he was my kind of player, you know, he's 250 pimms, 40 goals, 40 assists, like, the guy was fun to watch the play, right? So, and I was like, BJ Young was another guy, Terry Ryan, which is another guy that played, right? So there's some guys that play hockey, right? So there's my first real experience of seeing guys that could, you know, as I was coming

up, I was good on my teams, but then soon as you get to this level, you're like, you're not so good in life. So, but it's good. It's good. It's good experience, right, obviously. And then, you know, and I guess eventually it was,

I was that guy for younger guys coming in when they all come in the junior cap, right? Well, you mentioned Brent Sutter as one of the big influencers on your hockey career, and I assume your life as well.

He purchased the team in 1999, so part way through your dub career. Was that a big shift? Did you notice? Or was it just like it was awesome to have them in? You know what?

It was interesting, right? Because the first couple of years I went through a whole bunch of coaches. Like I said, the things I do remember some funny times. And so the first year we had a bunch of guys. We had a guy Rick Carrier, Doug Hobson, Peter. Anne Holt for some guys I think had two or three coaches that year so and we're supposed to be a good team and you're not so good and we were owned by Wayne and Terry Simpson and then my second year Terry Simpson took over a team I came out of Winnipeg and took over the team and yeah I remember Terry it was my draft year he was just an older guy that had lots of experience. And him and I got along pretty good.

But obviously, our team was another not so good and so on and so forth. But there's some funny stories because I was, I remember one time, Terry said me, he goes, Justin, who do you like to model your game after? And I was like, well, I really like Forgeberg at a time, right? And he was like, I kind of like Forgeberg. He's two-way players. He's like, yeah, not so much. You know a guy named Bob Basson?

and I was like Bob Bassett I think that was Bob Bassett he was like yeah you should model your game around to him and I was like this is so good he'd model after Bob Basson but he did have a few years in the NHL so I probably probably could have helped modeling my game after him but it didn't work out but yeah and then I had Terry and then Brent took over the team my third year and the Simpson family sold to Brent and to be honest to you it was I got drafted I got drafted to, but I got drafted in New York, so the camp, but I also had, I also had a World Junior camp that summer too, at first World Junior Camp, so, and it didn't go really that great. Due to the fact, I'm kind of the guy who, the last game of the year,

I put my skates up, and then the first training camp, or first back into it for the year on the next season. my skates back on and I believed in the I'm a kind of guy that you need to work on other things during the summertime and you need to find that fireback because you play so much hockey during the year that you need for me I needed to fire a bit of fireback and I remember coming at a world junior camp midway through summer I yeah I didn't want to be there I would rather be on a golf course or oh training than being sitting in a hockey rinker now so the World Junior Camp didn't go over so well.

And I remember Brent being a coach. Him and I did not get along off the bat, actually. It was pretty two heads budding each other. Actually, actually, my aging at a time, too. I was like, I think I need to get out of here. If he's going to be the coach here and owner, I didn't believe. And then it just end up probably more on. me than him opened up a little bit and then him and I clicked and then yeah it was just I think from him

coming from a pro environment um to be honest to you it probably comes a lot from the way I was raised from my family the way I grew up that just very it took a while but like the attitude of just just do your job right and pretty simple black and white you're good I'm gonna tell you're good if you're bad I'm gonna tell you're bad right and then once that once that we kind of both click on those cylinders. And like, yeah, it was, it was good. It was a good relationship. And it was a, you know, it's good start to be in a pro and him bringing that in, right?

So under his leadership, you eventually become the best player in the WHL pretty much. Yeah, that's exactly, you know, he pushes you, right? And I think that's one of the things where, uh, uh, like I said, the way I was raised, but my old man is the same way where he's, you just don't settle, right? And, you know, he looked at in terms of, he got the best of the players. And I think, you know, I have to say through his, like, his coaching career in the NHL, I think that's probably one of the things he probably, I ultimately, probably hurt him the most was with guys who don't want to be pushed like that,

right? And that's, it's, it's his way. or the highway. And I think that's one of the things where I, that's where I liked about him, where he was, he was the kind of guy, he just, he just expected everybody to, to push. And if you were good, get better, right? Don't settle for anything else. And, you know, you look at our last year, my last year junior, the amount of guys we had drafted, like, you can't say anything bad at this guy, right? Like, he pushed guys and he expected the best. And if he didn't give him the best, then he just got rid of it, right? So, well, and some of the names you're talking about are Colby Armstrong, Jim Van der Meer.

Boyd Gordon, Jeff Wewicka, Martin Nierat, yourself. Ross Lupus, Chuck, Kyle Wanvig, Joel Stepp, Doug Lynch. There's quite a few guys there, right? And he, yeah, and he was that guy, like I said, like he, you know, I think there was a point in time, and during that year, I think we had, I didn't know where we went, like maybe 27 games on beating. And we used to call him grumpy because he was grumpy all the time. and he pushed and we you know you go on a string like that of 27 games on beat and he was still

grubby and we're like what's up with this guy right and uh and remember we lost that for that last the last whatever game we lost up for 27th game whatever and he was like yeah don't worry about it guys we're like what like you think he'd be mad but no he was just like no don't worry about guys we'll figure it out right and it was just like yeah like he was just that kind of guy right even if you're winning all the time, it's not good enough, right? So, yeah, so it just, you know, kind of helps you in anything you do in life, right? Don't settle, right? Absolutely.

Well, that last year you played with Red Deer, you put up 43 goals, 77 assists, 120 points, and 70 games. That's a pretty damn good year. Yeah, it's great, for sure. Was it where it was it just like you couldn't do anything wrong? You know, one of the thing about it was the way I looked at is the amount of guys we had around surrounding the supporting cast, everybody, right? Everybody supported each other. And I think that no matter what kind of game we got involved in, we could play that game, right? If we want to play a light, you know, shoot out the lights, we're going to do it.

We'll play that game. If you want to play one one game and brawl it, we'll do that too, right? So I think that was the thing where we had, I think at the end of the day when you look at teams, you know, championships teams over in any sport, I think for sure in hockey, I think the one thing that was what it was with us is that we could play both ways, right? I think that's the, and that's, I think that's a big thing that would let us do, you know, obviously last winning in the championship of the years that, you know, whatever, the final game we won and six five, I think it was, right?

It was a six five game, right? And so we can play that. I'm saying actually in the Moral Cup was over. Oh, oh, yes. Actually, yes. Yeah, 6. 6.5 over Valdor. Yeah.

So, you know, we could play this. NOT, right? So, yeah, so we could play those kind of games or, yeah, I remember games where, yeah, we played Calgary. It would be, yeah, there's just brawls. We were fighting all the time, too. So it kind of either way, right? What was that stretch like winning the dub? You play Portland in the finals, which if I've talked to enough Western Hockey League guys,

they always talk about the States fans just being some of the best and some of the funnest hockey you'll ever play. And so you get that in a WHL final. Like what was maybe that like? Yeah, like I said, like it's terrible. I can't remember half of stuff. I think that, like, you know, it was funny because those playoffs, one of the things I remember is we lost every game, the first game to the series. And we were, we were the number one in the country going in the playoffs.

And we lost to Leftbridge first game. Like, there was a disaster, right? And then I think, I can't remember if we played Calgary the next round. And it was a really good series. I think we won in six. It was like, that was the hardest series was like Calgary one. And after that, it was just kind of, I think we did, we lost the first game and then won next four straight.

And the same kind of thing. And then when you play, we went in Portland into the finals, we won in Portland in game five. And, yeah, and it was, but Portland is like, like Seattle. Like they, they're, their hockey traditions there, right? And I don't think people realize that. Like, you play, you packed house and 15,000, I think, inside Portland, right? Same in Seattle.

it was a good time, and their fans are intense and a lot of history right there. So it was, yeah, it was a good ride. So it was a fun time. I'm not going to,

not going to, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. But it definitely was a definitely exciting time in my life for sure.

What was the, did you guys have much time off in between, um, winning the dub champ and then going to the Memorial Cup? I know I was talking with, uh,

Trevor Redden earlier this month, actually March, and he's the play-by-play for Prince Albert Raiders now. And he was talking about when they won this last year, they had like not even 24 hours and they were on the plane of the Memorial Cup because they went all the way to the wire, you know, the end of the wire. Yeah. Did you guys get to celebrate a little bit? And being in Portland, how did you guys make that work? Was it a bus trip back? Do you remember? I'm stretching your memory.

I know. Yeah. Yeah, it was. It was, and we celebrated in Portland. And then we took the 18-hour bus ride home or whatever it was back to Red Deer. And I think we were only back in Red Deer for, I want to say maybe a week, not even. And then we were back on the bus and we were the bus to, to Jana. And we were right into it, right? So, yeah, and I think time, yeah, it was never. who is the teams there Regina Regina is one they were the host and they were lost of first round I think so that was kind of even crazy because they lost their first round

at the playoffs they've been sitting for two months Valdor was in there in Ottawa and then else yeah and someone who else no has to be four teams yeah you got her bang on still remember that you're you're in select company you win the w hl championship right and that in itself any year would be

the cherry on the top but obviously by winning you get to go to the memorial cup which is the national championship you get it in regina of all places regina yeah like that's almost home court advantage right yeah it was uh yeah i remember like they had to uh they had to add to add seats to uh what was the name of the thing egregorm there that he's the eggerdome isn't i think of vagina i can run out of the names but yeah i remember they had to add seats to it because it wasn't enough before the moral co um and two is like it was kind of interesting too like we touched on a little bit like we touched on a little bit like a little bit like i think sports net started doing the

Moro Cup I think maybe that time maybe just a little bit just touching on it so a little bit of media coverage now because now you're in the national championship so yeah it was it was yeah it wasn't

the traveling out to somewhere out in the east yeah I was rejoined on a bus ride right right so but yeah definitely definitely fun time for sure what was you know

you were a nominee for a CHL player of the year. And the two other guys that were in there were Brad Boys and Simon Gamachi? Yes, Simone Gamash. Yeah. Simone Gamash. Yeah. And I think he wanted it. Yeah, he did.

Yeah. He was on Valdor. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, he played with another guy named Brandon Reed. I remember those two guys I played against Brandon and then pro Yeah, so I play with those guys Well, against Brandon by new Brandon

But yeah, they had the time Well, I didn't know what it was I think we threw up with 170 or 180 points that year Or something like that, so A little bit different leagues, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah I mean, you saw him for limited time

What was the finals game like? A 6-5 O-T win to win the national chance? That had to have been a little bit nerve-wracking, exciting, roller coaster ride. You know, it was funny. It was, yeah, it was because, you know, I remember the game. We only remember parts of it, but I remember the game, like, we were up 3-1, and then we're down, 5-3, and there's always, like I said, there's a turning point in every game, right? I think that I remember we had a two-man advantage before the end of the third period.

So like a minute left in the second period, I think it was. We had two-down advantage. And I remember, remember this because in Satsi's fine form, he put on the second unit with a five-on-three. So you didn't put any of us out. Obviously, the final... The top unit, yeah. The top unit. And we didn't go out.

And he put the second unit on. But we scored and made a 5-4. And then I remember intermission came in, the second intermission, and he called the five of us in on the top unit and said, I don't need to explain anything, right? And we went out and scored right away to make 5-5. And then it was a whole, you know, back and forth through the whole. So he put on.

put on the second unit and they scored? Yeah. Yeah. To make it 5-4 going into the third period, then we scored right away the start of the third period to make it 5-5. And then, yeah, and then I went to overtime. And then it was funny because I never forget. I was sitting next to another guy,

a guy named Dernan Kelly. Him and I were sitting on a corner of the bench, not even paying attention, basically head down. Yeah, it's just one of those things. I think that, like, as hockey, but like, I can't remember what it was. I want to say first round of WHL playoffs, the first round for sure and the second round,

I dislo, I separated his shoulder and then I bruised ribs. So I was getting, I probably shouldn't say this, but I was getting needle injections every single game to freezing, half of my body. And I remember sitting on the bench just like dead, like just tired. And we scored and I looked, he looked at me, he's like, we just won. And I was like, we won.

He's like, we just won. I was like, holy shit. So, yeah, but everybody who's already jumped off the bench and here we're still sitting there looking at each other. They're ready to jump the bench and we finally jump the bench, right? So, yeah, there was some kind of funny moments through our career. Definitely. That was one of them.

It was a funny play, funny play, right? Because I think Jeff Smith was a guy just shot it from the corner, re-deflected off somebody. And this, yeah. because it was a sideboard shot that, yeah, just went in, right? Getting froze every game. Did that, like, did that take away all the pain? Or were you still, like, frigging?

No, no, yeah. Because I never getting, I used to get injections in my ribs, and then injections in my shoulder at the same time. So, yeah, you just covered, right? Look like a, yeah, just track marks every little of needles, trying to, like, freeze you up every game, trying to, like, freeze your body up, so you can play.

Yeah, because bruised, the shoulder was okay, the bruised ribs was the bad one. I don't try everybody that's ever had bruised ribs. It's the worst. So trying to play hockey at bruised ribs, try to hit somebody with bruised ribs is another thing too. Well, breathing anytime you're touch. Yeah, it was pretty much everything.

Yeah. How about the draft then? You get drafted in the fifth round by the Islanders. leading up to the NHL draft, did you get invited out to, you know, I don't know how I'm trying to think of the timeline. Did you go to a bunch of places at that time? Did you go to New York? Or did they have a central thing? Yeah, they just had, they had combine testing, right?

So we did that and had combine testing. And then another funny thing. for all the kids out there. I'd say we, we had combine and then, yeah, there was maybe a couple phone interviews. I know some guys came into the town.

George Mfee from Washington came in the town and I met it wasn't George Mofi at the time when he was in charge of Washington. I met in a hotel here in Calgary. And I met San Jose guys too, I think. I came up in who was up being Doug Gosa and him and then, and that was, And that was about it.

So, yeah. So, you know, for me, I didn't, at the time, I remember seeing a mid-season ranking came out. And I was ranked in the mid-round, mid-first round. I don't know how many I had. I think I had like 18, 17, 18 goals my Christmas time, my draft year. And I never forget this because,

I just used like a simple, at the time, some simple co-hostick, whatever. And I remember I got my own pattern after Christmas. And I scored four goals after Christmas. So I'll blame that pattern stick that I got. So for all the people out there and kids out there, if you're using something, just to stick to it. Don't change. Did you go to the NHL draft?

I did. I did. It was in Boston at the time. my parents and I and actually a friend of mine and my dad's a good friend of my dad and his wife were from Drayton Valley they

What was the company? You know well house limited Out of Drayton Valley? I don't if it's there anymore. Can't say I do. Yeah, but they're big in the well patch back in the day and then obviously kind of Yeah

Anyways, so in front of my dad's he owned it So he came down too and then We actually stayed with Ace Bailey my dad was with friends with him. No kidding. Yeah, so we stayed with Ace for, oh, the draft because he was actually responsible for L.A. at the time.

So, you know, I stayed with him out in his place out in Massachusetts, actually. So, yeah. What was the draft like? Because, I mean, how hard was it to wait until the fifth round to hear your name? Or was it, you know, was it just exciting to hear your name? You know, what's funny is, you know, I guess this is just probably I'm raised and so on and so forth.

So I don't really should report anything and I'll tell the truth. So it was funny because I was sitting there and the islanders at the time drafted four first rounders. And then they had a bunch of other guys drafting a couple rounds after that. And as time goes by,

you're sitting there all day. And I'm always sitting next to my brother. And then the New York Islanders called me. First, when they drafted all these guys in first round, I was like, that's got to be the worst place to get drafted right now. They just drafted four guys in the first shot. And so my brother and I was sitting there.

And yeah, and then whatever they call my name and I looked at my brother and I'm like, you've got to be kidding right now. And yeah. So I was drafted by to New York and I was like, sitting this thing. You're not shitting. They took Tim Connolly, fifth overall. Then eighth overall they took Tyler Piot. And then ninth overall, or 10th overall, they took Branislav.

Mezzly. Yeah. And then 28th overall, they took Christian. Christian Kudjarat. Yeah. Yeah. He's a Slovak and a sweet, an American and Canadian tight. But, yeah.

So I was like, they had all these guys. They actually took another guy too. Like, Sutherland. I think it was Matthias Winehandle. He was pretty good of speed. And I remember who else. I forgot. But yeah.

They took all these guys. And when my name was drafted, I was like shaking my head, my brother. My parents were like, oh, you got drafted? I was like, not impressed. So Milbury had never met with you to that point? No. It's funny because I was just, it's funny that this has happened the same time. Last week I was an interview with actually the guy from New York talking about the island of days.

And the guy, I can't remember the guy's. me and he was a scouted on left bridge and they basically gave after they've drafted so many guys in the first round and the second round they're like here you can have your own draft pick you can pick whoever you want we're kind of done for the draft now um and there was a guy an older guy on left bridge and can't remember his name and he drafted me um and it was his pick so nobody even know exactly nobody knew nobody knew anything about me and where nothing and to be honest you the only time i probably flew on their radar is when

yeah our team was number one in the country and at the time I was leading their Western League in the scoring that's probably when they're like oh maybe that was a pretty good pick up right yeah so

what was what was the New York Islanders organization like you know Yeah, sometimes guys say, like you should write a book on half of this stuff. But, you know, the first camp I went to was another one of those funny times where I walked in. I got in late. I took like trying to get anywhere.

There was Lake Placin, New York train camp. First camp, plane ride, plane ride, basically some steel plane with like some steel seats getting into Albany. the drive to Lake Placid, which is Upper State, New York. Open the, open my, get to my hotel, open the door. It's like 10.30 at night. Been traveling since the morning time. Just exhausted. Open the door and the cat was sitting there.

Felix Bobbad. And he was my roommate. And I was like, I knew exactly who he was. I'm like, uh, am I in the right room? He's like, no, no, you're adjusting, right? I'm like, yep. And he's like, yeah, come sit down. I was like, good.

So my first ever experienced, because I remember just watching a hockey night in Canada, right? Well, he was playing in Toronto. When he's playing in Toronto, he was everyone's favorite goal. Even an Euler fan loved Felix. Yeah. Yeah, right? So he was my first roommate.

So he was my first roommate. I didn't know anybody. I didn't say anything. And yeah, and it was kind of an interesting. He was just looked up. Like, I was a big fan. and then yeah and then so the first we are first meeting in New York and there's a

guy name the guy's name is Charles Wang was the owner he also owned computer associate back in the day and then another guy named Sanjal Kumar they're both the owners and they said first meeting was like here we got this book it's the fundamentals and how to play hockey I was what is going on right now know and because these guys knew nothing about hockey didn't know anything about it but they bought the team right so i was like wow this is interesting and uh yeah so then you first experience your first couple of kind of pro camps and then yeah what was the first pro camp like you're now on the ice with guys like what yash and you got was popping the goalie that year well see this that that

wasn't even that so you're thinking like so well i'm thinking like three years down the road the year you're talking about yeah yeah yeah yeah you're 18 like they had like so they had Brad isbister um what would have been the first year marriage marish mary mary scocke uh 99 and was drafted so yeah mary scocke uh Kenny yonson Martin the point or clode the point who else who there had yeah so there was yeah 99 was the first so it was 99 2000 team so is Bistor Tim Conno Tchaucke yeah yeah yeah gino Ojick yeah uh Roman hammerlich Roman hammer lick yeah so that was my first oh you had you had you had Roberto uh Roberto Luongo would have been there yeah so yeah so it was kind of obviously that's the first camp the team was like yeah it's just never

the team has been bad since they won the cup in the night or eight well you were in the you were in some of the darkest years of that team yeah so yeah and then obviously that and then after we won the maro cup or maybe you'll get to it I don't know but I'll kind of share with you when we asked one the world cup i hadn't signed yet so i was in the midst of this decided on what i should do and i never talked with my age at that time i was like saying you know what what do you think and he said well we do have i had in the works he had in the works a trade to trotna after a moral cup but at the time Toronto had like sandine and tucker and the team was pretty stacked Toronto at the time and he said yeah

Islanders don't really have anybody. So you have a better opportunity to probably play in New York. So anyways, so, yeah, signed with the sign of New York. And a month later, they signed Yash and Paca, Scatchard. So just staffed right up the middle. And, yeah, the rest of history. That was pretty devastating, man. you know it's just it was um you know it's one of those things where if i can say anything

any advice to anybody out there in anything if you have somebody that likes you then probably go down that path i think that's just the simple way of saying it i think that you know at the time, like he said, Toronto wanted to make a trade and we just thought at the interest of where we're at, that we, the opportunity is probably better in New York. And I think, but they were interested in me at the time, right? So they saw something in you that they wanted. Exactly, right? So I think that I think at a time where you look at things like that in anything, right, when somebody wants you, then that's, because in some ways they'll make things work, right? And I think yeah it doesn't doesn't matter to this day like I think about now it's like I still

to be honest what I do in life right now is probably in some degree I think I'm better what I do in life than I was or hockey but it always it grows me the person I was and I think I can relate and reflect back to anybody as saying those are the kind of things in life that you somebody's in some position doesn't matter what you do somebody wants you they're going to make they're going to move mountains to make it work yeah there's lots of guys as you come on here. The one who always sticks out is Kyler Hope. Kyleor Hope is playing in the University of Fairbanks right now.

Yep. And he, he, he's got a really funny career. Like he ends up in West Cologne and wins a World Bank Cup, but he's from Lashburn. And you being from this area, I know exactly, that's like 10 minutes outside, Lloyd Minster. And I always just, my brain always went, how on earth did a team that's got a junior your club right behind right beside you miss you and not so much of their fault more that uh west colonna because he tells of scott hartnell actually calling them and wanting to come playing

lloyd but there was a team that went after him right away and it was west calona and they wanted them and they got them and then the same thing with these university career so far is first team to call he didn't hesitate boom he's out there because they obviously see something and what you're talking about is you know exactly that listen to the team that wants you go there they're going to make things work for you yeah it would be yeah it's definitely uh yeah definitely definitely something like that right so you did get in you know with the islanders well maybe we should before we get into the islanders too much like your first year in bridgeport which i had to look up where it was because i'm like

where is bridgeport right like i know canada camp but like man you're pretty much in new york city like you're right across the bay, right across the channel. Yeah, it's, uh, Bridgeport is, well, when we first went there, we remember, I remember driving through like the town of Bridgeport, just places all, places were all buttoned up. There's like wood on all the windows. It's a sketchiest place. And one time, I think in the 90s, I think, or maybe 80s, it was like the number one crime

rate in the United States. Like this place is low-income housing, but the arena was brand new. right on the water and built by union workers of Italians. So you can only imagine that. And right in the hardest and the sink. But as you go, it's in the I-95 on the East Coast. If you know anything about the I-95, the cities come and just move along counties, right?

But you go from Bridgeport, it was the worst area ever to a place called Black Rock, which is like pretty bad, but getting better. And then it goes to Fairfield County, which is Fairfield County is right next to Fairfield. and then Westport are some of the two richest counties in the all United States. So it's like right on the I-95. So we live down in Fairfield County and played in Bridgewater.

If you only drove into the rink, you got up the rink and you go drive right out. There was no sitting around from that place. Yeah. What were the fans like in there? They were okay. Like there was just mostly people from the East Coast side. People were, it didn't have the greatest fans, but they were, it was entertainment for the air.

Because the only way you can do is entertainment is you have to go driving in New York City for like all the New York and Nixon Rangers and baseball and you ever miss living in New York? Yeah all the time. Yeah. I think it's, for me it's the best place in the life. New York. I like the fast pace. Yeah. Because I used to live out in Long Island too.

So that was, it's a good spot. I like the East Coast. I like New York. It's, uh, do you go? Do you got lots of friends in there right now that going then through all this COVID-19, like they have been absolutely hammered on? Yeah, you know, I think in reality is it would be the same here in Canada if you took the entire Canada and put in one city, right?

I think that's the thing is too. People don't realize New York City, I think, during the daytime, I think it's what, 25 million people during the daytime? So you think, well, you put 25 million people in anywhere. the rates are going to look a lot bigger in what they actually are and they spread out, right? So I haven't really connected. I've got some buddies to live in Boston.

A couple of guys live in kind of Long Island in Connecticut, but I haven't touched based on since kind of this whole thing's gone down. Well, how about the finals of going with Bridgeport? You guys go to the Calder Cup finals, lose to the Chicago Wolves. And I was trying to figure out who the big dogs were there. and you obviously will know better than I. The two names that stuck out to me were Rob Brown, who if anybody knows hockey,

Rob Brown was a guy back for the penguins who got stuck on the line with Lemieux and Yager put up 49 goals in a season in the show. And the funny one that stuck out to me was Dallas Eakins, because if you're an Oilers fan, he's one of the most hated coaches ever to come across. Yeah, they didn't. Yeah, they're, so,

actually I only know where they've been I think they were the Atlanta's farm team at the time okay I think partially I think but anyways the difference for them is like we are the farm team of New York so all our guys were kind of HL contracts and and some NHL contracts but we are own to New York. I'm pretty sure a lot of those guys who are in Chicago,

the owner of Chicago was quite wealthy and he had his own guys. So downtown Robbie Brown, Dallas Eakins, there was a couple

other guys there. Steve Maltice, I think there was another guy there was a big guy. All these guys were paid by the owner, not by the Lantan team. So these guys

were all making huge money playing in in Chicago. And they weren't owned by Atlanta. So they were kind of like, they were owned by Chicago. And then Atlanta had some of their guys down there. But nothing, like they said,

well, we are owned all by the Islanders. These guys were owned majority by Chicago team, right? So, yeah, but it was, yeah, for me,

it was, you know, two years of a wild ride, right? We went in World Cup. I didn't really train that summer because we finished the end of May. And then June,

June we had they made this funny thing usually have summer camps we were younger and they made a summer camp for the islanders and for some reason they put it out in Hamptons in Long Island so the Hamptons is probably like the number one hotspot for rich people in the world to hang on in the summertime

and they rented us two houses in the Hamptons for all the younger guys and everybody came in shape to the Hamptons and left out of shape because it was just like just a party for a month. And then we had New York Islanders camp, and then so all of us are down. So the same guys are all there in the summertime, all went to their Bridgeport.

And even that year, you know, there's funny things that you remember, but we won like, we went like one, four, lost four, and then went 25 unbeaten. And it was just, yeah, first team. and we were just, yeah, it was a lot of fun.

It was a good time. We had a lot of fun. And I remember we went to start practices until one of our guys kind of lean over the board and started yacking. And then our coach would be like, okay, now we're ready to start practice, right? So because we're having a lot of fun outside of rent too, right?

So, yeah, my year and it was just a fun ride. And then, yeah, we lost in the finals, but it was a good time. I assume that was a bit of an adjustment coming from Brent Sutter and calls. or in WHL hockey to the HL and what sounds like a little looser rules. It's everybody's being paid, right?

And everybody's paid and you're paid to do a job. And I think it's one of those things where, like, put it this way, we're playing in St. John's out in the Rock. And one of the guys, we are playing, so you always play back-to-back games on the Rock, because you're going to fly in, you play back-to-back games, and then you update and you come out. So you got to get out there.

So, well, we won the first game. We went out after the second game. I don't know what time it was in the morning. And our later guys got traded. So at the time, and we knocked, he's like, oh, this is my hotel room. He knocked on the door, and there was our coach's room. I had like, I don't know what time. Four in the morning or something.

And he opened the door, and our coach is like, is shaking his head, right? because the boys have been just going hard until 4 in the morning. We played that night. And, yeah, he just shook his head. And he was like, going to bed. And that was the extent of me, right? But, yeah. Yeah, you get paid, you play hard.

You play guilty. You play guilty, right? So that's one of those cases. The head coach at that time would have been Steve Sterling, yes? Yeah. He's, did that help? Like, I know in your two years where you split a little bit of time up with the Islanders, you had Sterling for your second year and then your first year was Lavie-a-Lette.

Yeah. Was there a bit of a relationship built there with Sterling? Is that, did that help you at all? No. No? Not whatsoever. No, whatsoever. Yeah.

I guess simple ways, simple terms. Him and I did not see I die. Keep it at that. I was a big fan of, you know, I look at, throughout my career, I'd say, like, you know, obviously Brent influenced a lot of my hockey standpoint and coaches. But Peter Lelho, that was probably another guy too. I was a big fan of.

You were a big fan of? Yeah. He's one of those guys, the same thing, expect a lot, right? Didn't settle for anything, right? And he was a straight shooter, right? I think that was kind of, that's where I, for me, that's what lined up with a lot of guys. You just tell the honest truth of the coach. Like, like I said, my old man's an old farmer.

It's pretty easy, black and white. There's no sugar-coding stuff. Just tell the truth, right? And if your feelings get hurt, then I guess your feelings get hurt, right? So, yeah. And as my wife says, I don't really have that much feelings, so I would rather, I want to hear the truth, right? So it was tough then seeing Laville let let go. And it walked Sterling.

For sure. Big time. Yeah. But, you know, like, to that, even before that, like, even I can look at it. It was a battle uphill right from that point of when they brought all those guys in, because I'm a centerman of two-way offensive, defensive centermen play both ends, and you brought in three guys that it's essentially $20 million bucks and three guys. So you're not going to steal ice time from those guys.

right and that was uh you know ever since that kind of from that day it was like you know was a little bit discouraging to the fact that you know you bring a guy in or you sign a guy who's and then i guess in my position and yeah what do you what was i going to grow into really essentially the way i looked at it was like when you're going to a fourth line center right you play six seven eight minutes a night did you ever ask for a trade out of there then oh yeah yeah definitely. And it's just, you know, at the time, it just didn't come to it, right?

What was playing in front of DiPiatro like? Because you would have had the young, young, young, deep theatrical. Yeah, in our bodies, we grew up. We, you know, we lived down the street from each other, our first year pro. Well, he lived in Chicago's first year pro because he was a younger. He played as a younger.

a younger age guy that he came because he didn't go back to college he played as a what is it 19 year old he played in chicago roles as a 19 year old and then when his first year pro because he was a backup but then we played together my first year goal and we had a lot of fun guys that year but we had I know I live with the guy uh Rafi Torres to play oh yeah yeah and it's there and then he's called Tico Torres guy from uh he from erosmith people tours. And then Steve Alcette was another goalie that we used to live together. And then D.P. Piaccio lived down this road for us. And then D. Piaccio ended up living together. Here I lived together off and I'm for most of my years when I was in New York. I lived in

Oyster Bay in Long Island. And we lived together in Connecticut. So him and I were, yeah, him and I were really close. Yeah. He was one of those exceptional. He was, he was a physical specimen. That's what he was. I don't think he was. too much on the goalie part when you look down and you're like this guy on men's health magazine this guy's on the goal right so and then he ends up signing uh what was it 13 year deal 15 year deal 15 year and it was funny it was funny because he got signed the 15 year deal and the interesting part about it was is that uh he uh he had like a bad hips bad knees when i was playing with him and garst snowed

was his roommate, which is, you know, it's kind of interesting. And then, yeah, they signed to the 15-year deal. And that's what Al-Qaeda brought him down to was his hips and his knees, right? He was built like an ice cream phone, just stacked upstairs and nothing downstairs. When you heard a 15-year deal, did you go, man, I need to get his agent? Well, when I saw that when I came out, I was like, did I miss something? Like, like, as a goalie perspective, for sure, like, he was, he was elite, right? Like, he was good.

But the thing about it was, like, I knew his body, like, his body wouldn't last for 15 years. I don't know how that is going to be impossible, right? Yeah. What was the first NHL game like for you? Do you remember where you played your first one? I don't remember the first one. I was against Nashville and Long Island. that's about an extent to us.

I know that guy, like I said, like when I got angry, last week the guy asked me, said the same thing, what do you think your first game? I think one of those games where you're like, the first time you step up,

if the crowd is not, I played inside big crowds all before, so it's not a big deal in far of big crowds. I photoshopped a big crowds. One of the things was you step on the ice with like, everybody's good.

Like, your fourth line guys are good. And your top guys are really good. Right. Like you, when you play with elite players, you realize like, wow. When you look at a top line in the NHL, these guys are next level players, right? Like these guys are out of this world's good. And then your second line and third line, they're good players and the fourth line are good players.

But everybody in the ice knows your job and everybody's good. And when you write stuff on the ice for the first time, you're like, that's the thing. You're like, passes and crisp, like everything's moving quick. Like you're, yeah. And you can see how it's, like, ultimately, it's a game on mistakes, right? Because when everybody's moving that fast and everything, it's tape and if there's a screw up, then it's ultimately transitioned back the other way and it's very quick. And it's very quick.

Yeah, you also get to experience on those things on both sides of the ice, right? Who was the guy who stepped on the ice then when you looked over and you went, holy shit? I can't remember. I wouldn't say so much. That game for me, I remember the second game, I think it was a second game we played, we played against St. Louis. And Pronger and McGuinness were playing in St. Louis. And I was Poundy Killen. And I flamengoed.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. But it was also Alba Guinness taking a shot. So I was like, there's not a chance. I'm taking that shot, right? And because I was late getting out. And anybody knows hockey knows if you're blocking shot, that means you're in the wrong position.

It doesn't mean that you're trying to block the shot. It means you're in the wrong position. And I caught late and I had to get out on them. And I was late. I was like, there's not a chance I'm taking that shot. Let me get a shot, right? And, yeah. I got back to the bench, Lavia, let just look to me and said,

don't ever do that again. That's okay, okay, okay. Right, so. But yeah, you look at those ones. And then, yeah, I think, yeah, you play games in, right? I got to play against, like, well, I don't know how long I've been in. But that year, I got to play against, like, the Rangers. When the Rangers had Burrey, Yager, McGuinness, or sorry, Messia and Lindros.

Like, these guys were, yeah, like, Lindross is. I was face off against Lindross all night, and he's, like, six, seven or six, eight on skates. Just a machine, right? Yeah, a monster. monster. Nessie was just strong and big and then you try to get them yeah you play against Yager

his his reach is like 20 feet you're not getting the fuck away from not even the chance right he's so big and strong and yeah you play against some of those guys right so well maybe what what made you decide to go to Europe then because I mean

you end up going from 05 to essentially 2012 when you're done to Europe. I know there's a year in between where you come back to Binghamton, not Birmingham, Binghamton. But what was the ultimate factor on heading overseas? You know, when I was playing in New York, I was playing off and on. And it was after my third year.

So with my last year, my first year, my deal. And I was always asking how can I play more and so on and so forth? And then, yeah, so you have to say, you're going to three guys in front of me. I'm not going to replace, right? So, and end up happening is after, it was the fourth year and it was a lockout year, first lockout. And I was planning on Europe, actually, for a lockout because I didn't want to stay. I didn't want to stay in the H.L. anymore. my third year was majority of the year I think it was up with New York kind of my second year was kind of back and forth

and I just wanted to get away I needed a break and and end up being like yeah you know you know season if it breaks then we'll be ready to go and so on and so forth and that fourth year was just a nightmare in the hockey perspective it just didn't work out and and then after that it was like yeah I was one more get moved and then it moved so then it was like after that 50 year i was like well i'm going to europe so i took off my year so the fifth year you're talking being with the islanders no my third year is with the islanders and the fourth year my fourth year pro was the lockout year the lockout okay okay yeah yeah yeah so i played in bridge for that year because i went back to the because I finished my third year.

I finished a year up in New York. I finished the year. Right, right, right, right. Okay, yeah. Yeah, and then so then I went to New York. And then I was a lock of year. And then they're like, well, so I want to go back to the, in fact, playing bridge for just the lock of year.

So a lot of the guys, the younger guys, went back to their, like, the HL teams, just to play, right? And a lot of big pro guys went to Europe and play. And I was, I want to assume we're going to Europe and just enjoying Europe for a quick time time and then come back and see what happens right and then as far as hockey wise it just it was just didn't work out and it was just an overall bad year and uh so what i end up doing is um was that yeah sorry bad here just on like playing wise you mean uh playing wise it was just a it was a it was a huge disagreement for both parties from my part like for myself and then with

with with with the outlanders um you know just the way the year with how they were positioning, how we're the expectations, what they are thinking for our team, our HL team compared to other teams and so on and so forth. It was just, yeah, it just didn't, it wasn't aligned. And so it just, yeah, in my eyes, just, yeah, it was horrendous year of hockey. And so when it happens, I was already asking to get moved before that. and and then yeah and then end up being that one of the things being young and I wanted to I just wanted to play and then they had they thought differently and so my

fifth year so I said you know what I'm not coming back and I went to Europe I just went to Europe I went to Europe and I think too is I understand at a young age I understood at a young age good or bad but you know ultimately it's a business it's a business at the end of the day and and I recognized that at a very young age and I was taking the business approach and and so if the case was that I didn't get if I wasn't again moved that wasn't going there so I just left and took off to Europe do you think that that hurt you I don't know you know if the thing what it was like if you weren't gonna move me and and then you're gonna I wasn't interested I guess at time too is

I liked I loved hockey growing up and I liked hockey as I got older I didn't love it as much it actually more. And I realized there's a business and there's a, it played for money, right? Like these guys, you can see nowadays or whatever it is and you see guys shrunk their entire career, guys making huge money and all of a sudden, like something doesn't work out and they bury them in the minors, right?

Or whatever, it's a business, right? And at a young age where I was a guy who was, you know, I think it was my second year, my second year, I made the team out of camp. I made the Allenners, but because I was the only guy that could clear waivers, they sent me down. And they say,

we'll get you up here, back as soon as possible, until we have space or whatever it is, right? And they couldn't send some guys because they had waivers. And that's like, you start figuring all this thing in the business world. It was like, I made the team,

but because you don't want to send down anybody else or you don't want anybody else to be afraid that you're going to lose long waivers, we'll just get rid of that guy. but can create. Right? And a young age is, you know, a lot of things are mental and you're like, wait a second, I just made the team, but I didn't make the team because you can't, right?

So, and then when you actually do play on team, like, well, how am I supposed to get more minutes? Well, you're going to have to do things differently. Well, how am I going to play in front minutes when the top guy makes $10 million a year? The second guy makes $5 million. The third guy makes $3 million or $4 million and then even the fourth guy is making over a million, right? And then you being a younger kid, how am I supposed to get past these guys? get past these guys, right?

So then for me, I was like, I don't go to Europe. I was, they make good money over there and go wherever that goes, right? What did you think of Europe? Because you end up in your first year over there, you split between Yoker in Finland, and then you go over to Sweden. What did you think over there in Europe? You know what?

My first, I think you, I think there was a question you asked me, but let me send me a note there, but asked me like work or talent. And I'm, I was always a guy who was like working smart and working hard or two different things. And over there, it's about working hard and forget about the working smart part. And when I was in Finland, like it was a different, like over there, you play to play. Like when you play a game, that's where you play. Over there, they practice twice a day, train twice a day, practice in the morning and then play a game at night time.

I'm like, this is ridiculous. Like, who does this, right? How are you supposed to be ready for a game? Isn't the game the most important part? But it's the opposite. It's all about training and perfecting things. but when it comes to a game, you're like, put it this way. I've seen some of the best practice players in the world over there, right?

Not good in the game, but good of practice, for sure. So Finland was awful. And then went to Sweden and had a good time in Sweden, but then it was one of those funny things. Like, yeah, I guess I could be pretty honest and things in life, but I don't know. I think I don't know how I mean. I think I scored like half the games.

I got scored whatever, 50% of the games I played, I scored a goal, which over in Sweden, it's hard. But then when I came to the next year, when I wanted to go back there, I heard from somebody like, oh, he's not the best practice guy. So I just ruined it over there from me on the Sweden side.

So quite interesting. You didn't go back because they, they basically, didn't like your practice ethic work ethic epic work ethic yeah my practice work ethic nothing against my game but the practice part yeah so i definitely an interest one right like i said working hard and working smart two different things for sure so out of all the places you went over in europe because i think if i remember this correctly so you went Finland Sweden Austria Germany Swiss Germany correct roughly?

Yeah, I finished up in Switzerland. By last year, I finished my career in Switzerland. Okay. So out of those countries, which is five countries, what one did you like the best then? I finished my career in Bahazos, Switzerland, which is phenomenal. It's a great place. I had a really good time there.

I liked my time in Sweden, too. I lived in Stockholm. So two pretty great places in Europe to live. My daughter was actually, my oldest daughter was. born in Germany. So I was kind of interesting. So my wife gave birth in a hospital and nobody spoke English.

So I was kind of interesting. How was that? Well, the midwife, midwives delivered there, not doctors. And the midwife, the first midwife for the first half of the time was she had broken English. And that in my broken German,

the second, the wife, a woman that actually delivered, my daughter, didn't speak any English. So, but my wife said she would have never had it any other way. So, and my daughter was born on Christmas over there, so 24th of December. That's when she was born, so, yeah. 24th of December?

Yeah. Early Christmas gift. Yeah, so over there that's Christmas, right? 24th is their Christmas, so. Oh, okay. So it was a Christmas gift over there. Yeah. That having a child is intense enough, not being able to be.

able to converse with anyone must have added to the stress level, I assume? It was definitely interesting because my wife was, you know, just looking at me and like, what is she saying? What is she saying? I'm like, I think you're saying this. Where was you, where's your wife from? She's from Calgary. Yeah. Oh, Gagor? So, yeah, so she was over there. So yeah. You guys met earlier in life then? Yeah, she actually, you know, I actually stole it out of her house and took her to Kimmeling and took her and joined that journey of the entire time as in Europe. So a few times where she hated me, probably more times than not, but I probably still eats me today probably actually, but yeah, we together for 15 years, I think.

So, yeah, you've got her quite a lot of us. Well, the last thing I'm curious about is when you come back to Binghamton, the senators, What brings you back over? You've gone over to Europe, a little bit frustrated by the islanders. You go over to Europe, you have a couple places. Well, you want to go back to Sweden,

but then Sweden falls through. So was it, let's see what the H.L can do again, or was there more to it? I want to give me a shot. I want to give one more shot, right? I think at the time I wanted to, yeah, I had enjoyed it, had some fun over in Europe, and then I want to come back for one last shot.

different organization. Yeah. What was Ottawa Senators like with Brian Murray at the home? Yeah, it was, you know, they still had a, they had a really good team. I think they were, they were, I didn't think they had too much as a sporting cast in the HAL. So I was like, you know what? I come back, I'll go play in the A and then put up some good, put some numbers and see what

happens, right? And give one last shot. And, yeah. Yeah, like anything else. They had a bunch of kids they liked and they gave them a shot, right? And then I didn't give them another opportunity. And, you know, I guess I wanted to give them a shot and work out and then I went back to Europe. Well, let's end here with, I end every podcast with the Crude Master Final Five.

Just five quick questions. Heath and Trace McDonald have been big sponsors or huge fans of the podcast. Support me since the beginning. So just five questions. long or short as you like. You could pick your two linemates. Who would you want? Is that in terms of pro or anytime?

Anytime. Any line mates you want. Could be current past. Don't matter me. Yeah, I think the two guys I played junior with my last year, one big a near wrap. Yeah, it was a pretty fun time because we could do a lot of different things

of three of us three completely different players all playing on the same line because it's pretty fun um if you could go for a beer with one person who would you want to sit down with cool that's a question probably steve isman that's a solid pick yeah we have instantly became best friends i was fortunate if i got to play with them i got to play against them all night and there's a couple things in my career that i really missed i didn't get a chance to do was a lot of A lot of guys would ask other guys for sticks, an autograph stick.

And I got to play against him all night in Joe Lewis. And I actually let him up in the face off draw to you all night too. So it was pretty good. But, yeah, but I never asked him for a stick. And there's only one guy I wish I would have asked for because I was like, remember watching him score that goal against St. Louis, the Slapshot from the Blue Line, top corner? Yeah. Steve Eisenman's the man.

Simple as that. If there's one guy I could ever get on this podcast, at the very top of it, is Steve fucking Eisenman. Yeah. Yeah, he, yeah, him blocking the Guinness's shot, base down, blocking shot, the guy's a warrior. Next level, yeah.

If you go back to your 20-year-old self and impart some wisdom, what would it be? I think I talked to before us. At the point in time when somebody reached out, and said they wanted, wanted me, that I should have, not should have, that's, I would have went with that, right? I would have took that and said,

you know what, let's do that, because that person really wants it, right? Yeah. How about if you're going into game seven, I think I already know the answer to this, but if you're going into a game seven, would the one guy in the locker room you'd want to have? A locker room, yes.

That's a different thing, right? You look at it. Yeah, you have to think about it. The guys, like, if you think about the guy's, were silent leaders you know there's like the guys like the Eisenman sackick those guys those guys were not your locker room guys those guys in the ice this they showed you what to do right that's what the presence they had right as a locker room guy like I remember a guy who I play the guy

guy, Adrian O'Coyne, and this guy was like, yeah, he was vocal on the ice, but he was, he he's one of those like born leaders, like he commanded, he earned respect to the roommate, and he's one of those guys where I looked at like this guy's, he's real, right? Okay, final one then. If you could have picked any organization, you're sitting in the, at the NHL draft, it's 1999, you're watching every team go up there. If you could have picked one team to be drafted by your first year who would have been? That is tough. I guess I think it's too easy.

You just hear of like organizations over time, right? The good ones, right? You know, the guys that produce players constantly, right? So the one that was, it's always the one that was like a factory for producing players was Detroit, right? Like, you know, Kenny Holland, what he's doing to, you know, collect the racehorses right now and the stable inside emminton right now like this guy built teams on building guys

young players good young players and bringing them up and that's where he fills the whole team for the majority of the guys are guys who are grew up in the organization right and his big thing was you know you play you know hundred 150 games in the HL and then you work your way up and then you play in the big in the big leagues and you're ready right I think that's one of those guys where it's a very hard thing. I think you pay your dues and you work your way up. And I think, yeah, and he's had a lot of respect.

I think, you know, Iceman continues nowadays. You know, he did that with in Tampa Bay now. Like a lot of those things, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. When I watch Stevie Y go to Tampa, the way he constructed Tampa, I mean, you got a little bit of luck too there, right? Walking into Stamp Coast and Headman and guys like that. But the way they constructed it after. that was through their draft and we saw it firsthand with geran you know ends up trading him

getting when he gets back for him and just slowly picking away at it and that's exactly what Detroit did under holland's leadership and what did stevie get to learn from he got to learn from Kenny Holland yeah exactly right yeah yeah no there's some definitely some things up there you know you keep your eye on right you know there's the other organization you always shotgun approach and bring everybody and trade for everybody and it's hard to make a team right it's hard to make a winning team for sure well the islanders have had been like that for a very long time but now with uh very trots at the coaching helm and uh oh who's gm and um lu lamrillo loomrello loo lamrello thank you uh they've i mean it feels like in

less than a year they've become way better than what they previously had been yeah Stoji, right? It's all it means a lot. It means a lot from coaches and then it's like anything. It's hard to find good players and it's hard to find good coaches and hard to find good GMs and it's hard to find good owners and and if you can get them all together then you have a winning pedigree right but other than that there it's guys are bringing guys in or the pressure they put on guys and developing guys and it's a it's a hard thing it's hard thing in anything right and I think even in, uh, you look at in anything in life, but even the business you're in today, like why do companies succeed or fail? People. Yeah, people.

People, right? And if you don't have good people, uh, it ain't going to work. It doesn't matter how good your product is. It ain't going to work. I think that probably everybody on the end. Uh, for the people following you and anybody listening or the people you know up there. That's the exact thing. If you can't have good people and what you do, it ain't going to work, it'll matter what. Yeah, I would agree 100%. Well, really appreciate you joining me today and taking some time to sit down and talk about your career and your journey.

And it's been very interesting to sit and listen to. Yeah, I appreciate having me on. Hopefully everything is going and getting your road and family and obviously your podcast and and everybody else in life. Yeah, well, it's been fun. I can hear kids in the back. background. I laugh. I have to leave the house because I got three under four. Well, our oldest just turned four this week. So you can imagine I'm also a little busy. So I hear the

in the background. I got to chuckle a little bit. Yeah, no for sure. It's, yeah, keeps life, but interesting. Actually, my middle one just turned four this week too. So. Oh, there you go. Yeah. Yesterday. So, yeah, it's definitely, I don't know, anybody has kids out there or anything that has something to reflect on or not reflect on but to put them in a place of happiness doesn't matter what's in life is going on and go back and sit up your kids and just grounds you right absolutely now well once again thanks again for joining me stay safe on that side and hopefully you know we're back up and running here soon enough yeah for sure awesome hey folks thanks again for joining us today if you just stumble on the show and like what you

here please click subscribe remember every monday and wednesday a new guest will be sitting down to share their story the sean newman podcast is available for free on apple spotify youtube and wherever else you find your podcast fix until next time