Shaun Newman Podcast - #87 - Brayden Klimosko

Episode Date: June 15, 2020

Born & raised in Humboldt SK. He played all his minor hockey & junior in Humboldt which resulted in back to back SJHL championships & a national title in 2008. He spent 3 seasons as an assistant coach for the club before taking a job with the Drumheller Dragons of the AJHL (the year of the bus crash). He is now the head coach of the North Battleford North Stars where he has won an SJHL title in his first year & a coach of the year award in 2020.  Wicked guy. Enjoy. All episodes can also be found at shaunnewmanpodcast.com New guests every Monday & Wednesday

This is Braden Clamosco, and welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the podcast. Happy Monday. Hope everybody is doing well. Had a great weekend. Before we get to our advertisements for today's episode, I thought we'd start with Dave Chappelle's 846 video.

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of the tape. This guy is originally from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, won back-to-back SJT titles with the Humboldt Broncos. In the second title, they won a Royal Bank Cup, the national title in 2008. He was an assistant coach with the Humboldt Broncos from 2012 to 2016, an assistant coach of the Drumhauer Dragons in 2017-2018 season. And then finally got his crack at being a head coach with the North Battle for North Stars starting in 2018 till now. and his first year he won an SJHL championship. And this year, they were poised to defend that. He got a coach of the year award here in 2020.

Of course, I'm talking about Brayden, Clamosco. So buckle up, because here we go. Well, welcome to the Sean Newman podcast tonight. I'm joined by the head coach of the North Battle for North Stars, Braden, Clamawksco. So thanks for joining me. Thanks for having me. This will be lots of fun. Yeah, well, you're originally from Humboldt.

You got a story career in a very, short amount of time in coaching, specifically head coaching, you made a name for yourself in the SJHL. But before we get to all of that, I just thought maybe we'd start right back at the beginning. Your hockey in the early years, I know you'd mentioned your dad coached you all the way. What was some of the driving force of him being around you that much? And what did he teach you? Must like me that much. I don't know. I guess that's the first of foremost. You know what? I think overall it was just, you know, a great relationship growing up. You know, he coached me throughout, you know, my minor hockey and, you know, we had some really good teams,

you know, growing up. And especially in Midget where, you know, our last year, like, we won Midgett all three years of league, you know, and in our last year, we actually went undefeated. And, you know, a lot of those guys, you know, transitioned from the AA program, actually to the junior program, which doesn't really happen much anymore, you know, with, you know, I think there's about, you know, I think quick count, about five or six guys that moved on from that double A program right to the, you know, to junior A with the Humble Broncos. And, you know, we, you know, the situation with him was, you know, he was kind of done coaching me once Midget happened. And, you know, Dean brought up in head coach there was looking for an assistant. And obviously the first thing that Dean did,

you know, is a good guy as he is, he made sure that I was a, I was cool with, you know, dad being part of the staff. And, you know, we had a good conversation, you know, with that and how, you know, he made sure that, you know, dad was going to be coaching defense and that, you know, he wouldn't be, he wouldn't be coaching me day to day, you know, as, you know, as he would be normally, you know, through midget and everything. So basically, what we ended up, you know, had a good relationship. I was obviously cool with it.

Dad's been a good coach throughout. And, you know, I thought, you know, who, you know, why not add him to the team, you know, and everything like that. And it just worked out, you know, it worked out really good. Obviously, we had two good years, you know, playing. We, you know, we won, you know, my second year, we won league and lost in the Advent Cup in game seven and in the fourth overtime versus Selkirk. And then the year after, we were able to, you know, win a national title versus

Camero. So, you know, obviously that was, you know, a pretty big highlight for, you know, both of our careers. And to do it together was really cool. So, you know, it was a neat experience. experience. And I think one of the cool things about it was I, from there, I actually transitioned to Leroy just playing senior hockey or whatever. And the first thing they asked was like, would your dad coach? And I'm like, no, I'm done. Like, that's enough. I want to not have my dad coach me

anymore. So it was kind of a situation where we decided that that was enough. But, you know, overall, it was a cool experience, you know, I think overall to how many people can win a championship with your dad and you know it's kind of neat how we how we how it transitioned from you know him assistant coaching the broncos to you know then me kind of almost taking over so you know it was kind of a neat situation that we were able to experience and that we still get to experience here you know daily now is me being a head coach with battleford well that was a lot you just hammered off about 30 things i'd like to pick on and the first thing i'm curious about is humble to me when you look out from afar, it just feels like it breathes hockey every day.

I mean, it's a typical Saskatchewan town. But you growing up there and talking about going through minor hockey and stepping right on to the junior A program, I bet that was a dream of years from a young kid. It was. And it was a situation where I didn't think I was ever going to be good enough, to be honest. That's kind of why I stuck with the AA program. I felt like I was a football player. And, you know, I always just kind of had my hopes that I'd make that team.

And I was able to make the Broncos. And probably what really helped was, I was a late birthday. So I got held back a year. So basically in grade 12, I couldn't play minor hockey anymore. I was done midget. So it ended up happening that they were interested, you know, in me in grade 12. So basically, I couldn't really pursue my football career anymore. I decided that I wanted to play hockey.

And it worked out. So obviously, you know, Humble's a great town. They support their club like, you know, one of the best tuner programs around. And, you know, obviously, it was definitely a dream come true. How about the SGH-L Banim draft that just happened? How did you guys make out in that first off? Were you happy with the results? You know what?

Yeah, we're extremely happy. But it's really funny because I think if you'd ask all 12 teams, they'd all feel the same thing that they just nail it out of. Park and it's kind of one of those things where everyone's interested in different guys and it's so cool that there's 12 different coaches and 12 different eyes and 12 different you know different ways to you know grade talent and and what people are looking for that it's such a cool experience and especially during this time where we haven't really been able to do much since March it's nice to get the blood pumping again and you know getting involved in that and it's just you know it's a

cool situation where, you know, even in our second round pick, we were able to draft the kid that his dad actually was a scout with the Broncos that I didn't even know about. So it was kind of cool that him and my dad, you know, were part of the same staff at one time. And yeah, we were, we were pumped with it. I think, you know, we went to a draft now. Our first group is the 2000-born group. So now this is our fifth year, you know, doing a draft. And it's, I think it's been really successful for the SJ and it's been it's been a lot of fun on the reason i bring up the draft and hop from Humboldt to the draft is me and rod i had rod peterson on last week and he was one of the guys helping put that on or announcing it or however role he played and we got talking about and it got

brought up on his show first was the hometown rule and that you can't draft a kid from um the hometown of another uh SJ team and i was curious you being a humbled bronco being from Humboldt, what your thoughts on that rule are? I love that, you know, and it might suck on draft day where, you know, you don't get, you know, you don't get picked and you don't feel like you're part of that process. But I tell you, I'd hate it to get drafted by Webern or Nordame or whoever, right? It just, it sucks, right? So, like, that's why they do it is so that, you know, you can be part of your hometown.

You know, I think overall it's, you know, it sucks that they don't get to be part of that day a little. bit. You know, they, you don't get the glory of that. But in saying that, you know, you got to treat them, you know, like one of your other picks, you know, we've got, you know, a couple of kids from town that we're really excited about and hopefully, you know, they turn out too. And I think overall it's, it just, it wouldn't be the same if you got drafted by another team. And I feel like that's kind of the advantage you have is to use your locals to your advantage. And, you know, it's, you just, you want them to be a part of your program and it's so huge for all the local teams to have some local talent on your team. You know, I think overall we figure out that your per local kid, you're looking at about 30 extra tickets per night, you know, with, you know, family and grandparents and whoever else watching is such a big part of the community and a part of the organization that you need those locals.

And that's why I feel like, you know, someone like Battleford's has been so successful is we've got such such a, such. strong local group, not only from the town of Battleford's, but, you know, from the area like Wilkie and Unity and Meadow Lake and, and, you know, Maidstone and all those towns in between. It's just, we're pretty fortunate. It's a hockey hotbed, really, in those towns. So we're pretty fortunate there in Battlefords to have such a great, you know, great surrounding area of hockey. You know, I guess I hadn't thought about it until you start talking. about it, but it's almost you treat your minor hockey system like a feeder program for your junior

team then. You hope to, yeah. You really, it's all part of it, right? If you've got a great program with your peewees and your bantams and your midgets, it's only going to produce more for your team, you know, going forward. I think, you know, overall we've been success, you know, last couple of years we've had a better batch program in Battleford's, you know, our midget double A program's been great. You know, I think overall the AAA programs progressing nicely. So I think overall, it's an advantage. And, you know, like we always feel like once you, you know, even someone that's moving to Battlefords for the AAAs, you know, once they live in Battlefords and see what it's all about, you know, it's so much easier to get them, you know, to convince them to play

junior there as well. And you mentioned, uh, by having a local kid, you're selling more tickets. and I told you before we started this, I wanted to talk about the Loon Brothers. Because when you guys, for people who don't recall or didn't realize it happened, Hillmond had Hockey Day in Saskatchewan this year. And little tiny Helmand and in comes the defending champs, the North Battle for Norris stars playing Notre Dame. And it was pretty cool for our little town to have that come. And I'm sitting in the penalty box and I get talking to one of the Loon brothers.

I honestly can't remember which one. He's talking about where he's from. He's from Sioux Lookout, Ontario. And that struck with me because I played my junior A in Dried and played exhibition games in Sue Lookout. And I was curious, you know, I got talking, I'm like, why are you playing from North Battleford? And he said he got recruited by you.

And I thought maybe we could go down that road and talk about why that came about. Yeah, I think it's a pretty neat story, obviously. you know, it was my assistant GM at the time that, you know, talked to, it had been Eliza Lewin-Stewartson at the time to see if he'd come out here. And I don't know the full story, but he actually, to come to Saskatchewan, his first time around, he actually had to come by train. So he actually, for the trial, came on a train, if I'm not mistaken. And, you know, both the brothers that we have, we obviously had Eliza the first year.

And then my first trade was with Quentin. It would have been, it had been the first day of my job, you know, and Wiley, my assistant's like, you've got to go after his brother. It's going to be a great hockey player for you. I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Can I at least put something on my desk here in the office or something before we're making a deal? Like, let's relax here. Like, he's like, man, there's going to be teams all over him.

We've got to do this quick. So, you know, Elijah, the older brother said, you know, if you think, I'm good. My brother's twice the player I am. So, you know, we decided that, you know, we got both of them. And, you know, the boys just love their hockey, you know, and the one thing that, you know, I give both of them a lot of credit for is the passion that they have. And they just love playing the game, you know, and they just, they get the game and they understand what it's all about. And, you know, the finer details, they just follow it and understand what all those little details are all about. And I think overall it's been a great relationship.

Like they kind of have fans everywhere, which is kind of neat. You know, there'll be, you know, there'll be different reserves from different places. I remember Yorkton in the playoffs, there was a bunch of them that, you know, a bunch of aboriginals that just were sitting behind our bench that, you know, we're cheering on the boys. You know, the, you know, the one thing that both of them really like is that they will talk to, you know, anyone that wants to chat and they want to be part of the community as much as possible. And, you know, they understand that they're, you know, a big influence amongst the, you know, the Aboriginal community.

And it's, it's been a great relationship. And, you know, obviously both were stud hockey players for us. You know, Quentin arguably was her playoff MVP last year to win us, the Canaltic Cup. And, you know, overall, it's been just a great relationship with both the boys and end with the community. It was just, they have their, you know, they played their heart. on their sleeves. You know, I was getting a joke that saying it wasn't, didn't surprise me that one of them was in the box talking to you. You know, like, you know, not very, like every game, they're probably in there taking a family or two because that's the way they played.

They played intense. They were fierce competitors. You know, I think overall they love to win. And, you know, I'm going to miss the boys. You know, both of them are are going to be guys that I'm going to, you know, always, you know, keep dear to my heart and always follow up to see what they're up to. and, you know, I really hope that, you know, that they're more than just junior hockey players. They're going to be great individuals growing up. And I'm, you know, I'm just excited for what the future brings for both. You know, well, it's funny. They may make an entrance to the penalty box every game. But as soon as they got in there, they were super nice, like super nice kids.

Like, just, you know, I mean, here's two dudes. They don't know chatting them up and they just having the time in their life, right? and just tell it like it is. It is. You know what? And they have the time of their lives. They really enjoy the game. And, you know, that's the best part is they keep it light at times when it needs to be.

And you know what? It's a lot of fun. You know, I enjoyed, you know, having them, you know, around the last couple of years. And I'm going to miss them both. Do you know then was the mindset on trying to bring in some First Nations kids that were talented and could lead your hockey team with all the. reserves around was that the mindset right from the beginning or do you know the full story that way you know what i don't know i think the one thing that i know is especially first names the

first nations especially the community that we're in it's normally um a community that they'll embrace coming into it you know sometimes it's a little bit tougher to convince someone else to maybe come in necessarily especially from out of province you know you know first thing you google on on battlefords it isn't usually the nicest things right you you you you you you you're you you you're you hear about all the all the bad stuff and you know i think overall all all eliza wanted was an opportunity and we were willing to give it to him and you know i remember wiley saying that you know he didn't want a guaranteed spot he said all he wanted was a chance to make a hockey team and he did came on a train all the way there and and made a hockey team and had three great years because of it so you know i think

overall it's just it's it's a perfect fit for what we have in our community and it's uh you know it was excellent that, you know, that we had those boys there. Imagine taking a train. I remember in Finland, when I was in Finland, we took a train up north, loaded our hockey gear and went up. It's a different experience, but I can just imagine on a train going across Canada by yourself, that would have been an experience. No doubt. Exactly. So, no, that's wild. Going back to your days playing, what was it about the Humboldt team during that time? that you were playing specifically.

Because, I mean, in a short period of time, they were one of the perennial favorites, I would say, of the SJHL. I mean, you spoke to it back to back years. You guys won. What was it about that squad, that group, that coaching staff, that leadership? What was it? I think it was a little bit of everything. Like, you kind of touched on this, Sean.

Like, we're just, we're so fortunate to have, you know, great leaders, of course, number one and then you know we we also just were very competitive we're a competitive group that just love to win you know we we actually love playing with each other i think that that's another thing that you know sometimes gets you know misled or people don't understand how important that is is how important it is to like the people they are playing with so you know we just enjoyed coming to the rink had a lot of fun doing it you know and winning and losing is very contagious it it is you know winning, there's a reason why winning programs are always winning and there's a lot of times the reason why losing programs, you know, continually lose. It's, it's just, it's, it's, it's,

it's almost bred in you that you're going to win and you just find ways to do it. And that's the big thing that I felt like we had so much success. You know, obviously, I was part of two league championships. They won the year after they were, you know, they lost in the finals to Vernon, I believe, you know, so they, they've been so successful. well, you know, those years and everything. And it just, I don't know, I think it was just a great group of local kids that love playing for the Broncos. And, you know, we were just, we were, we were a great group, you know, it's something that we'll always remember and always cherish. And, you know, we felt like, I actually felt like that group there was very similar to what we

had this year going, you know, into playoffs and stuff. And seemed like we was just the same type of atmosphere and same type of, you know, mojo that we had going. And I was just really, excited for our group to see what what could have happened this year well you guys finish the year 45 11 and 2 92 points for the top of the SJ this year and looked poised to defend your title like it looked like it looked like you're gonna have well i mean you're gonna have a very good shot at doing it back-to-back years and then you know maybe walk us through how how difficult it was i mean everybody's got their story on how tough it was for the the year to end the way it did How about for the North Battle for North Stars?

Yeah, it was real difficult, obviously. You know, we lost game four to Nip 1, and we were up 3-1 in the series. So it was Thursday. It was a day off. We were going to be playing Friday back at home. And it was basically, as the day went on, we were watching a little bit of TSN, and things were getting canceled, right? You know, first it was the NBA was canceling their season,

or I guess postponing it at the time. You know, NHL was following, and it was just like March Madness was next. It was like, boom, boom, boom. And all of a sudden you're thinking, man, like, how are we playing? You know, we thought, like, maybe we get through Friday, but when, like, are we going to play anymore? Like, there's no chance that the SJL is going to be the only league going.

You know, we just knew that. And we kind of sensed that before we even got the official word from, from SHA or Hockey Canada, we had a good sense that was like, man, we're going to be in tough here to at least postpone the season. I never thought it was ever going to get canceled the way it was and everything like that. And so, you know, Thursday instead of a prep day,

we kind of just told the guys, hey, like, look what's going on here. Let's, you know, let's kind of let go the day. Let's not really prepare for tomorrow because I don't think tomorrow's going to be, you know, we're going to be playing. Let's come back in the morning. let's talk about this, you know, and maybe we'll have some answers for you. So the next day comes and, you know, we obviously knew the news and I tell you it was tough, you know, especially it was difficult looking those 20-year-olds in the face and, you know,

saying that, hey, we're not, you know, knowing that the season's over and basically there's nothing you can do about it. You know, there's lots of tears, you know, there wasn't many dry eyes in that whole, in that whole facility, obviously knowing that, you know, There's one thing to lose it yourself, but when you get forced out of it, like, especially the run that we had, it was a difficult one. And, you know, a tough pill to swallow, I think, you know, and obviously over the weekend and, you know, a couple days after, you know, even as a coach, you're pretty mad. Like, you're, you're frustrated. You're thinking, what's going on here?

Like, why aren't we playing? You know, you're, you just don't get it, right? You don't understand it. And as things started happening across the world and you're watching the news and how negative everything. was you kind of understood it more and more and you just I guess you accepted it a lot more as the days went on because you're just like there's everything's shutting down it's not just you it's it's businesses it's schools it's everything's shutting down so we'd be the same thing so I guess it was it was really difficult the first couple days and and as everything kind of as the water's kind

of cleared and everything else was getting shut down as well we were kind of thinking the same thing that like we understood why we were getting shut down. Obviously it made it a little bit easier to swallow, but it's one of those where you just, you wish you had a chance to play for it, right? You'd like to have a chance to see where this team could have went. And, you know, it wouldn't have been easy. We knew that everyone in the yesterday was gunned for us.

And we weren't sure where that would wear it end, but we were just hoping that we could play for. Well, we both played and we both got. got to finish out our seasons and whether you won or lost your last game, at least you got to play it. So my heart breaks for the 20-year-olds because that is a tough way to end of your career. It is, you know, and the one thing is like next year, no matter what, I'm back on the ice, let's hope I'm back on the ice, you know, I get to at least do, you know, get to be, you know, coach another hockey game either way sometime down the line, never get to finish their junior career.

that's difficult and that's something that, you know, you really feel for those kids. Well, what I'll say to those kids is keep playing then because, I mean, I know I was looking up your stats on the Bruno senior hockey. And I don't know your thoughts on senior hockey, but I tell you what, I played yet again another year. And senior hockey is some of the funnest hockey I think I've ever played. And just the group of guys and the ability to play with the same guys every single year. you want. And that is guys from 20 to 40, well, we're, I saw, you know, we played Wilkie one year in eight provincials and they thumped us. There's no doubting that. Wilkie was a absolute, um, superstar team. But they had a 47 year old on the team that year. And I just, that's like awesome,

right? And what other level of hockey can you ever play where you might play with this? I had the same defense partner for nine years. Like it was real. It is. And, and, you know what, we still have a senior hockey kind of group chat and we still talk about those great years in Bruno and man, there was some good times, you know, it was, the laughs and everything else were just, it was, you can't beat it, you know, you still have the competitive edge, especially during playoff time, you know, damped up a little bit and got the intensity going a little bit, which was great. And I, I loved it, you know. You obviously have a couple of beers afterwards and you know have some fun you know some great stories that they laugh about to this day and

you know you're right there's that typical old local that played forever and then you know you got your young guys that you know that carry the kind of the team and everything and everyone in the middle right it's just it's a blast and there's so many good senior hockey stories that you can we you could be on here forever talking about some of them and it um you know it's something that you know you you hope that everyone, everyone that's part of it just enjoys the game and wants to go out. And it's a great time. I still miss those days and wish I could still do it. What's the best, in your senior career, what was the best arena you ever played in?

And by best, the most storied, just rickety barn. That's a good one. Man, R1 and Bruno was great because what we had was we had natural ice. So what would happen is we would play all of our away games until January 1st. So all we'd have is home games in January and February. Well, sure shit, the barn is freezing. Like minus 30, minus 40. Teams would come with about eight or nine skaters every time that they'd come to Bruno.

No one ever came to Bruno with a full team in January or February. We called it the Bruno flu. So all we would hope for is just to go 500 away from Bruno. And then the second half, we'd take over at home. We barely lose a game at home all, you know, throughout the regular season. So that was kind of, that was a pretty rickety barn there. I'm trying to think of what was worse than that. Well, Leroy's rank when Leroy's Saskatchewan had a bad one when their old one that burned down.

And, you know, whoever, however that burnt down, thank Christ, because that was. That was terrible. It was cold. I hated playing there. What other ones were bad? I'm just trying to think. You know, while you're thinking, in Hillmont, Hillman used to have the old Silver Dome. And then in 2008, I believe it was 2008, they built the new arena, but it had natural ice.

And when I came back from, I would have been in college at the time to watch the first season of the senior team coming back, they'd been gone for, it was close to 20 years and their first season back they did the same thing they didn't play any home games I don't think until the second half into January and it was so cold in the arena you literally couldn't see through the glass so you had to stand up above the glass

to see what was going on like everybody's just bundled up having a grand old time because senior hockey's back but you can't see it through the glass you need the you need to jump off well and you know what was so wild We're going to Hillmond, right?

We've got the bus. You know, we're bundled up. North Stars are going to Hillmond, right? Well, we get to the town, and there's nothing there. Like, oh, my God, where are we playing? This is going to be awful. You just hear them rumbling in the back. They're grumpy, right?

What kind of ring are we going to be playing in? All of a sudden we get to it, and we're like, wow, this is. You guys have a great facility there, considering how small your town really is. So many people actually live in your town. Well, actually, I had quick Dick McDick on and me and him got laughing because it's a hamlet. So like it's not even considered a town. So it's just a farming community, right?

Like a very tight-knit farming community that loves the game of hockey, has a little school. And that's about it. So in the actual town, I don't know, there's probably, I don't know, 10 to 15 houses slash trailers maybe. Yeah, yeah. It was wild. And I was like, man, what a nice facility you guys have there. And obviously, you know, Wade Red and I'm sure, you know, forked over a little bit of cash for that.

And, you know, it was nice. It was just, you know, we got, you know, the hospitality we had there was awesome. You guys have a great room. The boys were loving watching a little bit of hockey night in Canada before our game and everything like that. That was, it was a great experience. And I love being part of those hockey day in Saskatchew. And because, you know, all you small towns, you know,

it's nice to give back a little bit in the grassroots of hockey. It's just such a cool atmosphere to be a part of that we don't get to, you know, see every day. And, you know, to have a junior game in some of those communities, it's been a lot of fun. We've been in two of them here in the last two years and I really enjoy it. Yeah, well, I know for our community in general to have you guys come in, it was a big deal. I was saying, you know, we were all saying, like, when's the next time junior A hockey hits home one? Maybe never, right? And the game was good.

It was good, clean hockey. You know, you talk about coming on a rink and how we treated you. I always sung your praises after that. You created a new fan out of me because I, you know, I met you guys that day. And I, you know, I just, you go, well, if there's a couple things that go wrong in the dressing room, it's okay. It's one day, whatever. And your guys were like over the top, awesome. I swear you guys left it cleaner than when you walked in.

And that's saying something because we had her, you know, almost spous. it shine for you when you came and and uh you guys were over the top so hats off to your guys's team i'm glad you enjoyed it i know we were laughing because typical canada typical saskatch one we're trying to get everything ready there's a group of i don't know 30 people trying to like make sure everything's eyes dotted t's crossed and that week leading up to it it was minus 41 out there the one night and we're trying to like you know what can you do in minus 41 but there are people just bundled up doing it Wow, no doubt. That wasn't miserable week. So hats off to you guys. That was, that's a cool experience.

Can we talk about the Anavit Cup? I have a fascination with that. The old Manitoba versus the SJ. You got to play in it twice. What was playing in a different league at that point, you know, back-to-back years? What was, you play Portage both years or Portage one year? We played Selkirk or first year? Oh, yeah, Selkirk. So they beat us in game seven. So honestly, the Ambit Cup is, you know, it's a grind once you get to that point. And I think we learned lots from the first time around to the second because, you know, the first time around you win your league and you kind of all the emotions come out where you win, you celebrate, you know, it's a great old time.

Well, now you've got to get amped up again. And sometimes it's tough to get that motivation and to get to that same level of intensity. because, you know, the team over there, we haven't played them all year, so we don't really hate them. You know, like, they've made it on, we've made it on, we're both kind of happy. Like, it's tough to get kind of that intense bad gone. And it, there's one heck of a series. Salkirk was a blast to play. And they basically, the first two games were there, then the next three were back at home,

then the last two were there. Well, their ticket, like, they would, they were sold up before warm-ups. So we warmed up in front of a full building. And it was something that I've never experienced like that in my life where, you know, in warm-ups, the place was back. So it was a cool experience there. And, you know, we did, you know, we started off the series pretty well.

And then we struggled back at home and we're able to win game six back there. Basically, what ends up happening is you play two games there. You get two days off. You play three games here. You get one day off. You play two games. So basically you play seven games. That's a grind.

Yeah. That's a grind, man. Yeah. And then the seventh game, we played four overtime. So by the end, they actually, it was funny. I was talking to someone that was one of their coaches back then. And their one player, Torres groin, one of their top guys, you could barely skate. They actually didn't play him the whole game in game seven until the fourth overtime.

He was the fastest. skater by the fourth overtime. He's the only one that could skate. Like, everyone was exhausted. So they ended up, yeah, they ended up beating us in, in that, in the fourth overtime there. And it kind of, you know, then the next year, we were kind of ready for that series. After, after four overtimes, are you just like, man, I don't care. Somebody just score.

Like, I'm almost, man. I'm done. Exactly. So we were cooked. So that was a, that was a cool experience. and, you know, obviously it got us ready for the next year. We knew we were going to be good the year after. Like, kind of, that was kind of the year that we thought we were ready to go for.

It was my last year of with our 20-year-olds and our 19-year-olds. Our 19-year-olds were very strong. And that's why they won or they were close to winning it again the year after. But, you know, we put a good run in. We barely snuck through league. We won in game seven. And then we were able to sweep portage, you know, in the ANVIP, but we were ready for that series,

and it's the experience that you need, you know, to get ready for that. Just a little bit of a different dynamic, not seeing them, not playing them before, you know, just to kind of get that intensity back up. How about the fans, you know, with social media, it's so cool to see the fan support that different teams get and whether it just doesn't seem to matter what city it is or town it is in Saskatchewan.

In the playoffs, the fans go to another level. What was the fan support like around North Battleford when you guys won it last year or humbled the years you guys want it? What was some of the crazy things you saw? You know what? There's a lot of cool stories, obviously. You know, our series last year versus Flint Fund was epic.

You know, we were up 3-0. They come back and win the next three, and then we win game seven to move on. And, you know, we knew, like, that potentially could have been the finals. They were strong all year, and we just got into some injury trouble late. So they pushed them, they got pushed down to seventh place. We just snuck in a second late. So we knew it was going to be a battle from the beginning.

And like that series, both sides, the fans were nuts and everything like that. It was, it was a cool, you know, one of the pictures, the epic pictures that we saw was Braden Booziac scores an overtime winner and there's a guy in a flin-flaw jersey giving him the finger and someone takes a picture of it it's like I'm going to send it to you after because you couldn't find a better picture of what was what was going on with both teams

with boo scoring a big goal and you know their fan was sour that he's screaming and yelling at him in the glass so he gives him the bird and it was just like it was such an epic battle that you know there was probably a good chance that we were going to play those guys you know, potentially in the finals again this year, and we were really looking forward to that matchup again.

You know, obviously through, like, I felt like Battleford's, you know, they support our team like nothing else. Obviously, you know, I think we had 2,600 people for the final game there versus Malford. And, you know, obviously in Humble, we always had good fan support as well. Like my, you know, the year that we ended up winning at all,

our game seven versus Kindersley, you know, in the finals, I bet we had, you know, 2,600 people. You guys were, you know, sitting in the aisles and everything like that. And you know what? The Saskatchewan Junior League, the playoffs fan support is unbelievable. It's second and none. You know, the towns really get behind their teams. It's a great experience for all.

Yeah. Yeah. Saskatchewan's such a special place. It is. And hockey just fits in right with it like two peas in a pod. Yeah, no, I agree. It is. You know, we need it. I don't know what we do all winter if we didn't have some junior hockey. Everybody always talks about going summer hot in the wintertime, and I always say my winter getaway is the rink. I enjoy being here so much. Yeah, exactly, for sure. So. Let's talk some Saskatoon Hilltops, because I didn't realize this until, you know, I got going over a couple things today.

But you played two years, so you finished, you win a Royal Bank Cup. you win back-to-back league titles. And did you ever have thoughts about, like, maybe I should try and go a little pro or anything like that? College? Was none of that ever a thought? I bet it wasn't. I wasn't that good shot, you know, like really.

Hockey player. You know what? My love was hockey, but I was a better football player than I was hockey. And, you know, I felt like, you know, I wanted, I wanted a chance to see what I could do at the football level and just enjoy that experience as well. And, you know, I wasn't going to go, you know, they started camp and I wasn't, you know, I didn't do anything all summer.

I wasn't going to really, I was kind of wiped from the, you know, the run we had with hockey and I thought it was just done with sports. And, you know, my parents really convinced me to, you know, give it a chance. And, you know, my high school football coach helped me here as well, Sean Gardner. And they kind of pushed me to try. and, you know, I phone coach Sarge up and he's like, yeah, come out, you know, see what it's all about type of thing. So, you know, I tried it out and, you know, it was a great two years. You know, I learned lots. You know, Sarge was a great guy to, you know, obviously get mentorship from.

You know, obviously it was a different, you know, there's two spectrums of coaches I had. I had Dean Brockman and then at Sarge and there were probably two exact opposite, you know, styles that basically it showed me lots. in coaching that, you know, whatever your style is, it can be successful. You know, it's just whatever fits your mold. That's what you've got to stick with. And, you know, it was lots of fun. You know, the problem was, you know, I was thinking, you know, you're going to the Hilltops, a good chance to win another national title.

I think they won three titles before I started, and then they won four after I was there. So the two years I was there was the only two years that they didn't win in like a nine-year stretch. So it was pretty wild, but it was lots of fun. I enjoyed it. And, you know, I think, you know, it was great to be, you know, playing a different sport in understanding what that was like being a junior football player. You mentioned two different coaching strategies and how they impacted you.

What were there two different coaching strategies? Sarge was in your face. He was loud. He was, you know, you knew where you stood at all times. He was, he's a great coach. And there's a reason why he's been so successful, you know, know, at the, you know, at the junior level at the hilltops, he's intense. He gets, you know, gets the most of his players all the time. And, you know, Dean Brockman was a guy that, you know,

he put his arm around you and explain, you know, what you did wrong and what you need to get better. And you got the most out of you that way too. So both were great coaches, we're great motivators in different ways. And, you know, we're very successful at what they did. So I'm, Very fortunate, you know, as a coach to understand that, you know, there's so many different ways to do things and both as we're huge mentors on why I'm coach here today. I assume playing the two different sports, you can kind of pick and choose different tactics, that kind of thing. You mentioned two different coaches, different styles. What has made you success? Because you're, what, turning 33 this year, correct?

Yeah, yeah. So your first year as a head coach, you go to a league final and win it, and your second year as a head coach, you're knocking on it again until you get shut down. What did you transfer from your playing slash your assistant coaching? What was that all to get to where you are? You know what? I think you just always learn. You know, I've had so many great coaches, you know,

throughout my career as playing as well as coaching, you know, as an assistant. You know, I've learned so much and I have a passion for it. And I don't really, there's obviously some luck involved, you know, there really is. I've had some great teams that have wanted to win. I've gotten some good situations that not many rookie coaches go to a team that potentially could win a championship usually. It's usually a rebuild of some kind. You know, I think overall it's just, I've been just very lucky, you know.

And I think overall, I've learned from, you know, all my experience. you know, if it was playing or coaching. And, you know, obviously I feel like, you know, with me winning as a player, I try and take that, you know, to my advantage in playoff time, you know, and try and, you know, implement some of that. And, you know, it's just, I got to thank my players. They just trust what we're doing, you know, everyone buys it in. And I think most of the time, that's all it takes is what one of my coaches always said was it's not the team that wins it, or it's not usually the team that wins the championships. It's the team that, you know, it's the team There's a lot of teams that just lose it, you know, and we just kept together throughout it

and we're able to grind through it and win something. So, you know, I think overall I've been very fortunate, you know, assistant coaching. I've had, you know, Dean Brockman, who's now the head coach with Swiftcrum Broncos. I have Ryan Smith, who is, you know, the assistant coach, the Medicine Hat Tigers. You know, I had Darcy Hogan, who, you know, was part of the humble Broncos when, obviously when they had that that that that crash you know i had kevin hasberg was the head coach of the drum handler dragons you know i've had so many great coaches that i've got to learn from you know you take you take a little from here a little from there and you just keep trying to

build your own as well so it just it's worked out great and and you know hopefully i just keep riding this wave a little bit it's been lots of fun so far and you know what one guy always said um you know the way you spell fun you know coaching is w ys You know, and it's, I've been so lucky to do that. So it's been fun so far and hopefully keep it going. And winning's fun. It is. It's a lot of fun.

Yeah, you know that. Even your senior hockey days, you know how much more fun those were than losing, right? Well, winning solves every problem. It does. Yeah, I agree. You just can't have a bad day when you win. You lose a game. You can have every problem in the book comes out.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no doubt. And you know what's funny, because, you know, my first year, we actually had 10 overtime slash shootout losses. And it was like a lot of them were shootout losses. I forget how many. But, you know, at the end of the day, we were getting so frustrated with those losses. And I was like, think about it this way, guys. If we won those games, we'd be on top of the world. We can't be down to the dumps because we lose a skills competition, you know. And that was the one thing that sometimes you can't have your wins. You can't be too high for wins. You can't be too low for your losses, but it's tough to be at times when you're competitive. You mentioned your different coaches you were assistant with. How did you get your start in coaching? Were you just like, you know what? I want a coach or did you fall into it?

Or how did you get your start? Did you know what you want? I got lucky, man. I really did. I was in Humbold. You know, I was actually selling furniture at the time. How was the furniture sales? you know what i really enjoyed it a good buddy of mine owns a furniture place here in town a line

furniture and you know me and him were good friends and they needed a salesperson and did really good with that i really enjoyed that and whatever else but dean brockman was looking for an assistant coach and kind of phoned me up thinking hey what am what am i up to and you know i kind of gave up the furniture sale business for you know trying to be an assistant coach and you know what There's a lot of things I learned from as actually a vehicle salesman first. And just talking to people in the relationships you build with, you know, both those businesses as able, I probably am not here today without doing both those two jobs. So it's funny as it is to say it. It's a big part of, you know, where I am today.

And, you know, it's talking. It's making relationships. It's, you know, it's talking to kids. It's recruiting. It's all those type of things that you've got to do in all those business. businesses as well as coaching. So, you know, you're always, you're always building relationships. You're always trying to, you know, you're always trying to build on all those type of things. And it's, the communication is such a big part of everything now. And go different than kids.

Kids want to know where they stand at all times. You got to make sure you're there for them and communicate with them as much as possible because, you know, everything's through a phone now, right? They get access to everything. You know, they want to know, you know, an answer to a question. and they Google it, they find it right away. They want the same from their coach. So, you know, it's very similar in that, in that aspect. So, yeah, I think that's how I kind of got into it was, obviously, Dean gave me a call, asked if I'd be interested.

Obviously, they jumped at it. And kind of the rest is history from there. So, you know, I was an assistant for five and, you know, I've been a head coach for two. And when you're five years as an assistant coach, you know, you do three with, you know, Is it three with Humbold? Four. Four with Humbold. You did four with Humble.

Yeah. Did you get to coach with your dad then for a year? Or was it the year after your dad? There was actually a year in between us. So there's one guy that kind of came in between for one year. But yeah, yeah. But other than that, we didn't get to coach for any years together. Did you ever talk?

You must talk about that around the coffee table. Like maybe one year we could. That would have been fun. You know what? Dad couldn't anymore. He's too big. of a hard ass you know i think i don't think you can have the kids these days he's like back when i when i coached i did this like man you can't go like that anymore dad like this won't get anything

out of him so you know give us a coach tim what he made you do that that he can't do anymore you know what he i don't know if he just talks a big game or what he he always called he said he's called everyone out all the time i don't know if that ever happened i don't remember that in the room A lot of guys used to joke with them because Dean was, you know, the more serious guy and dad was the jokester, the prankster type of kid or guy. So, you know, I remember one time it was Dean and Dad. They decided that this one guy kept getting picked on the team. And, you know, he could handle it, but he was getting sick of it, right?

So what they told them to do is pack up all your gear and dress on the other, like for practice, pack up your stuff before practice. go dress on the other dressing room, you know, down the way and come out just before we stretch. So, you know, he packs up all of his gear. He dresses over there or whatever. And, you know, the guys are getting ready for practice. And they're wondering, well, where's body here? Why is he gone? And they're just like, geez, did he quit or what? So Dean and Dad go in there and say, look, boys, you guys picked on them too much.

You quit hockey, you know, way to go, guys. Hopefully you guys feel good about yourself type of thing. So obviously they feel bad about it, right? They feel, you know, down in the dumps or whatever. So they're all stretching, doing their circle around. And then here he comes out, wheeling out from the other, the door opens they're up and starts skating around and just thinking a big jokester type of thing. So, you know, he's more the prankster type, but he thinks he's more of a hard ass.

I don't know. Well, I'd have to actually talk to him to see what he actually thinks. He talks a big game now than what he really did. Good lesson for here, some kids to learn, though. A little bit of teasing. A little bit of teasing. There's nothing wrong with that. That's friendly room banter that happens in any dressing room amongst any group of teammates.

But it can always go across the line too. So it probably got a lesson for them. It was a great lesson. You know what? And now is the one thing that, you know what, as the coach now, you would understand. Like there's more to, there's more to coaching than just the hockey, right? You're trying to get these guys ready for, you know, the future. You know, if it's because, you know what, I hate to say.

say it, but they're not going to be hockey players for the rest of their lives. So you try and make sure that you mix in a life lesson or two during the year. You got to be an assistant coach in Drum Heller for a year. You got to see the AJHL versus the SGHL. What do you make of the two leads? It's totally different, you know, I think overall, obviously, you know, you were talking before you got Papiano on, you know, next week or whatever. Like there's a guy that, you know, has, you know, elevated the HHL to the max with what Brooks has been able to do the last 10 years. And, you know, he's, you know, it's just totally different because of our backgrounds of where we're at as, as provinces.

You know, the AJA, a lot of kids from Calgary, Eminton, bigger centers, they have access to, you know, facilities a lot more than what Saskatchewan has. So, you know, you find that kids come into camp, you know, in probably better shape, you know, kids that are just doing, you know, a lot more skill stuff than what is access to in Saskatchewan, where Saskatchewan, I feel like guys think the game better. They're hard-nosed. You know, they usually come, you know, from, you know, some rural, you know, sometimes from rural province or rural places where they're just, they're hard, they're rough, they're tough to play gates. So they're totally different leagues in some aspects. But, you know, I think both from

bring, you know, positive, you know, aspects to the game of junior hockey, where, you know, I think overall it's a good mix of doing a little bit of both. I think, you know, the AJ could use, you know, a few more Sasky voice, you know, and then obviously, you know, the Saskatchewan League could use some, you know, some more skill involved. And I think overall it's been, it's a great learning curve. It's a totally different game. You know, I think overall, you guys got a lot more younger players in the Alberta League,

which I think for Saskatchewan and the Sjahel to grow, we've got to get to that point where there is a couple 16 year olds. I know Humboldt had two last year and hopefully we continue to keep getting younger where you don't need 8 20 year olds every year to have a chance to win, you know, hopefully a league title. It's you get younger so that you get more guys that are interested in school and, you know, get guys that are getting Division I scholarships a little bit more.

And the only way to do that is by getting younger, I feel like, you know, get some more skilled guys that are 16 and 17 so that they can grow and develop so that by 1819 they're ready for, they're moving on. And that's the one thing. I think that we got to learn in Saskatchewan to do. And hopefully we progress into that role as the SGHL and as coaches. Yeah, well, you bring up Brooks. I think the one year I read they had 16 guys move on to division or get Division

one scholarships. Like that's. It is. You know, and I think, Last year, their last loss at home was in October. Like, my goodness, like, that's Bruno Tiberts type of thing there, you know. That's amazing right there. So it's impressive.

And, you know, that's a program that you always want to strive to get to is something that what they're doing there in Brooks. What made North Battleford the right decision? And I was curious, did Kevin Hasselberg play a part in that? because I know he coached for Battleford for about a five-year stint. Your assistant coach, that job comes open. Like, how much did that play into it? And what made you make the jump?

You know what? I think a lot of things. It obviously, it worked to our favor. Obviously, you know, with Jump Heller, you know, I was there for one year. Kind of the Bronco accident kind of happened here. I wasn't sure if I was going to go back to Drum. I just didn't feel like it was the right move for me. I was also having a kid.

I was expecting a kid in September. So it was a situation where I didn't feel like that was the right move for us and my family. So I was basically going to pack it in as a coach, to be honest. And it almost was fate that the Balford's job kind of opened up. And I was debating forever to apply. I think I, you know what? I think it took me over a month to apply. You know, once I know with the board and with Kevin,

And once they knew that I worked with Kevin, they were so strongly, they loved Kevin. And Kevin was probably their favorite coach. And, you know, I think they, once they saw that I worked with Kevin, I gave me, obviously, you know, a big, big step into the right direction of what they were looking for in a coach. And it just, I think it just was a perfect fit. You know, I was, I applied for, you know, that was my sixth head coaching job that I applied, that I applied for. you know one it was one of those where i felt like it was the right opportunity for me you know and it just i don't know if some things just happened for a reason and it got it just worked in so many ways

so it was obviously kevin was a big part of it i'm sure they phoned him a couple times asking what i'm all about and everything and you know i still you know thank kevin for all he's done for me and and and what i learned from him the year before was was amazing you know i think overall it's just it's different when you're in a community that isn't your own. You know, I was a humble Bronco throughout. I played there. I coached there. It was nice to see someone go to a different program

to see how everything's run in a different town. You know, he's got it down to a science there, Kevin, and I learned so much from him that year. And I think overall it was just, it worked out so good. And obviously, I thank Kevin and the board of directors in Battlefords. It's been a great relationship overall for both sides. It's pretty crazy that you were almost ready to hang it up. Yeah, it was.

And it just, that's the crazy part about this all is like, it was that close. Like, there's no chance it could be an assistant coach and have a kid, you know, like it just can't do it, not money-wise and everything else. And I just, I wasn't sure. Honestly, I gave myself till 30, you know, to be a head coach. And I was at 31 already.

And I just wasn't sure if it was ever going to happen. You know, I don't think people understand. how hard it is to get, you know, a position as well as a right position that you have a chance to succeed. You know, there's a lot of jobs out there, but there's a lot of them you have no chance. So it, you know, it worked out and obviously, you know, it's been a great relationship ever since. When you talk about opportunities where you don't have a chance to succeed, could you just elaborate on that for a second? Yeah, you know, I think overall you got to have the, you know, like, No many people get to go to a head coaching job like myself in Battleford's where they had such a strong list.

They had a strong returning group coming back. No many people get to come into a role where you have a chance to win a championship right away. It's normally a two, three year process. Well, you better have a chance, you know, by that year three, you better be winning or doing something, right? Otherwise, you're going to be out of a job, right? So I just felt like it was just a right mix of, you know, the board, you know, finding me the right opportunity and giving me a chance to work with these guys and giving me the confidence that I can do that. Normally, I think in that situation, you're looking at a veteran

coach instead of a rookie and trying to find, you know, a veteran to take over that team to win them something, right? And for them to give me that chance, I'm forever grateful for that. So it's just, it was just a great mix and a great chance for me to be able to be successful. So just, it's luck. I hate to say it, but there's some luck and ball. Yeah, it's, you do raise a good point, though. If you go to a struggling program, you've got to have the ship on the right course. Just take a look at, I don't know, the Emmington Oilers. I mean, when they went through their decade of darkness, I mean,

I agree. Best coach, you're in a lose-lose situation almost because you are. And you know what? Like we talk about the draft. Well, these are Bantam kids. So, you know, even if I were to draft, you know, your bad to kids, I don't see them potentially for three more years. By then, you're long gone, you know what I mean?

If you aren't doing your job. So that's the thing that people don't quite understand is you can recruit, you can draft all you want. But the time those kids come along, you know, like, they might be, they might be out of your hands. So you've got one good chance to make a run of it, you know, as a first year or as a coach, and you want to make sure it's the right opportunity and everything just checked off a lot of boxes for me

and it just has been a great relationship, you know, ever since I'm forever grateful. Now, I've heard you mention it a couple times and I think I, well, we need to talk about the Humboldt Bush crash because, I mean, you were on that team the year prior? Yes, yeah. The year prior. So you would have known, well, I mean,

your assistant coach with Darcy. Right. I don't my in-law, I married a girl from the United States. My in-laws were up the day that happened. And I don't think a word was said in the house as it was being played on the TV and everything else was being talked about. And they got it. And that in itself kind of showed to me what explains what happened that day. But coming in your community, a team that you grew up bleeding for, coaching for, you talk so highly about.

maybe we could just talk a little bit about that. Sure. Yeah, obviously, we were actually having a spring cap at time in Drum Heller. And, you know, we were on the ice at the time. And all of a sudden, my phone was going off the lock. And it was just like, well, this is weird. Like, it's just not normal. So, you know, a couple guys were trying to phone me.

I was deleting them as I was going through. And then they kept trying to phone me. And I was just like, well, what's going on? So I answered and kind of tell me the situation. that, you know, they heard that there was a crash and it's not good. And I was like, wow, like, how bad can it be? You know, like, so, you know, the first thing I do is I'm texting guys, right? I'm, you know, I'm texting Darcy, you know, obviously.

I'm texting, Mark, the assistant. He was actually renting my house and Humboldt at the time. I was texting a couple of the old guys, like Logan Schatz and Logan Boulet and some of those older guys, hey, how's it going there? What's up? You know, I heard, you know, the bus crash, whatever, no response, no response. like the way I was looking at it it was like however bad it was it either hit the front or the back and you know you'd think that either one you know a lot of them would have you know either the back people a lot of them would have survived or the front type of thing so you know overall it was just waiting and waiting and nothing no responses back from any of those people obviously you you know you hear about it afterwards of how many you know we're past you know passing away and you still don't know who is all part of that right so you know the next day I I travel home and all of a sudden you hear who didn't make it and type of thing.

It was it was probably the worst, obviously, the worst day of my life. And, you know, I knew half of them, you know, I think overall, I think there was, you know, you were at eight services in about five days. And, you know, like the rink was packed for some of those services. It was just, it was miserable. And I don't know, like, you never want to feel that again, obviously. And, you know, he was just so. so crazy that, you know, as much as you're, you know, you're, you feel bad, you feel awful,

but what happened, you almost feel grateful that you weren't part of that either. Like, how often does a local kid like myself decide that, hey, I'm going to go to Drum Heller and coach there, right? So you feel like, holy smokes, like, you know, someone was kind of looking after me a little bit too where, you know, it was just, it was a crazy, you know, wide mix of emotions for obviously, you know, a couple months after. And you just, it was tough to believe, really, at the end of the day. And I just think it, you know, you just, you feel for those families and what they went through. And, you know, even the guys that are battled now, you just, you hope for the best for everyone that was involved.

And it was just, it was just a crazy time. It was something that, you know, it just, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know all else to explain it. It was just, it was a crazy couple months and something that, you know, you never, never thought would be possible. It, well, I mean, anyone who has played any sort of hockey has been on the bus. And the higher you go up, specifically in Western Canada, you ride the bus an awful lot. So it just hit home very, very fast. It's still getting chills to talk about, to be honest.

It does. You know what? It is. It's tough for anyone. And it was tough part of that, you know, tough part of. the community for a long time. And, you know, I think overall they've done a great job of rebuilding the team, you know, they got a great coach in Scott Barney, you know, and a great, you know, they're doing their best there and, you know, you, you hope nothing but the best organization as well

as the town. Why, and you may have said this already and maybe I missed it, but why did you leave that year to go to Drumhaller? I felt like it was, for me to grow as a coach, I had to go, you know, and it was just so easy. You know, how, it is when you're in your local town, you know, you've kind of been that, that assistant coach forever, you know, I felt like it was just my time that I need, if I want to do this for a living, I needed to get better. I need to, you know, get a different opportunity where, you know, you learn from different guys, a different league. It was just, it was just, I just felt it was right, you know, and it just, it obviously was a gut feeling. Normally, you know, I just felt like

if I kept being an assistant coach in Humboldt, I don't know if I get another opportunity anywhere else. You know, I don't know if you get that opportunity in Battleford's if you're just the assistant in Humboldt again for another year. You know, I just think it was just the right decision for me to grow. And I wanted this career to see where I was going to go with it. I didn't want to be stuck in Humble as the token assistant coach throughout my whole life. So it was just an I thought I had to take the chance. And it was only, I only felt like I wasn't going to go for very long, you know, one, two years max type of thing. And if nothing came about it, I was maybe going to pack it in, who knows.

But it was just, I just felt it was right and it was the right time for me. So what's next? You know what? It's going to be an exciting year for us. It's going to be a great year for me to grow and to develop. We're going to be young. You know, everyone's talking rebuild, rebuild, rebuild. It is what it is.

I think overall, I can't wait to put, you know, some more culture stuff involved in Battleford's, you know, see what, see where it comes, you know, with a young team. And I'm excited to grow with these players, you know, it's, there's obviously always a lot of pressure, but there's a lot of pressure when you're, you're expected to win. Now I want, you know, I want to develop our hockey players and make sure that they're getting better and, you know, develop our program a little bit more. and it's just, it's going to be a totally different look than what we've had the first two years where we knew we were good and we had to win. And now it's like we still be good. We just have to make sure we put in the work

and develop our players properly. So it's going to be a totally different aspect as a coach and I'm looking forward to, you know, kind of a 180 of what kind of team we're going to have from a veteran group to, you know, a young and young and full of energy type of group that we're going to have this year where we're going to have to put in more work.

than normal and it's going to be it's going to be exciting i'm looking forward to the challenge of this and uh it should be lots of fun to be a part of and i look forward to well hopefully you know in the fall the s j gets going back up the a jay gets going back up um yeah and sliding into watch a game because uh you know it just got took it away way too quick and uh yeah it'd be nice to get back in the rink and watch some hockey hopefully they let people back in to watch wouldn't that be strange to have an SGA game and no fans in the stands. I just don't think at the SGA level we'd be able to do it. You know, we just don't make it up like we don't have owners.

We rely on, you know, ticket sales and, you know, 50-50s and whatever else. So, you know, I think overall we need people in the, we need butts in the seats. And that's the only way we're going to be able to have the season. So, you know, hopefully we can all figure this out. And hopefully the, you know, the cases stay low enough that we can have ourselves this season and, you know, keep it as normal as possible. small. Yeah, you raise a good point.

I forget if it was Jason Davidson. I can't remember we got talking about essentially that there's very few leagues that can survive by not having fans in the building. Like it's the NHL king because they got TV deals and everything. But quickly after that, there's not too many teams that can survive. That's just it, right? So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes down.

there but hopefully everything gets back to normal for everyone's sake what did you what did you think of the virtual playoffs this year that you uh with that they did for i hate it all everyone's texting me after games hey nice win or hey that's a tough loss hey i'm just like you guys give it up you know it's it just it sucks so it just uh i didn't like it really to be honest but you know what it's great for the league that they did something like that and everything like that, but it just wasn't for me. I wasn't going to sit and watch our team in front of a video game. So I was more looking forward to see what kind of what I looked behind the bench,

actually, more than anything. But I didn't watch enough to really see. So you didn't sit down and watch one of your games? You didn't like go like, you know, I want to see what my team looks like. You know what? No, it just wasn't for me. You know, it was too big of a freaking tough pill to swallow. the way it ended, I just, I didn't want to see us be part of that.

So I was kind of hoping that Nippen was going to knock us out that first round and then we were done with the playoffs. And then you could have been like, I don't know who the jackass is behind the bench on this game, but he's doing a terrible job. No thing, for sure. Well, we're going to move into our final segment, the Crudemaster Final Five. A huge shout out to Ethan Tracy McDonald. They support us of the podcast.

It's day one. just five questions longer as short as you want to go bradden um if you could go back and play on one line what line would you want to play on oh gretzky and curry me baby you're a leaf spad and you're taking that line man even a even a plug like myself probably could get 70 80 points with those too well i don't disagree there i sometimes think if you start me on with McDavid, I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I'd be able to get some points. For sure. Absolutely. If you could sit down with one person, have a cocktail, who would you want to pick the brain of?

Oh, that's a tough one. Obviously, you know, you watch, you know, the last, the last dance there with Michael Jordan. That was pretty cool. You know, I'm a big sports fan. There's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of people I'd want to talk to and sit down with, to narrow it down, hey, one, I think it would be, I think it'd be Bill Belichick, actually, you know. I think, you know, I read his book. It's been great, but, you know, I think overall, there'd be a guy I think I could learn lots from.

Well, I mean, yeah, right? Like, that guy is, you wonder. The argument always goes, does Bill Belichick win as many titles if he doesn't have Brady and vice versa? And I think it's probably hands down. Bill Belichick finds ways to win. And I love Brady. Yeah. You know what?

It's so tough because they're so made for each other, you know? I know. And I say that because I'm, I should clarify, I'm a Tom Brady fan. I cheered for the Patriots for the last time. many years because of Tom Brady and now I'm a Bucks fan because you know I was disappointed when he left and I people tell me different things all the time whatever I'm like she'd have just played another year or two and Patriots retired had this big giant statue up front went down as the greatest quarterback on the greatest team of all time and just done instead now he's going to the

bucks man I'm excited to root for the Bucks I guess but damn I know I know and it'll be interesting to see how both of them like how their seasons go Oh, you know, obviously, I think Brady might have a better chance than Billis Check this year, but I think it was just, that might be one relationship that would be tough to be, you know, moving forward with those two guys. Like, I don't know if you'll ever see it again in the relationship with those two had and how competitive those two were. So that's a good question though.

There's a lot of people you like to sit down and have a cocktail with. You know, you say never. And I think someday you'll see something. similar because there's just great players great minds that come around and it just you know someday there's going to be another dollar track like there just is good point you're you're probably right and i mean tom brady just he's the right mind right he's not the most athletic quarterback to ever grace the field he just isn't no he's not it's just a winner you know and that's what just made those two so successful no different than jordan and you know and in all those guys

that were part of that team too, right? Like, you see the last dance? Oh, my God. Did I see the last dance? COVID will be remembered for a few things. The end of hockey, the Tiger King, and the last dance. No doubt, hey? Yeah.

So, yeah, unbelievable. And obviously, you know, that was, you know, crazy, you know, documentary and how, you know, the successful people that are by far the best, the most successful guys in their sport. Just the brains and everything just runs so much different than everyone else. They're highly motivated people and it's exciting to hear their stories for sure. It blows my mind.

It just like hurts my mind that in an eight-year span, he wins it six times, wins at three, takes 18 months off to go play Major League Baseball. And when he comes back, they almost win at that season. I don't. And then when he's back playing full-time, they win three more and the GM blows the team up. I know. What? I know. I agree.

It's crazy. Like the whole story behind that and Rodman just leaves. He decides he's going to go to Vegas for how long. It's just like, man, this is, you know what? You just know their team and they understand that when Rodman comes back, he's going to be leading the drills and practice. And that's just, you know, that's how it is, right? It's just such a cool story. And it's something that I remember as a kid, because I was pretty young at the time,

you cheered against them, right? You wanted them to lose. You wanted them to lose and to see them win. You know, you weren't overly happy, but now you just appreciate what they were able to accomplish. You know, when you talk about Bill Belichick, Phil Jackson would be another guy that would be fun to sit down. No doubt, for sure, 100%. If you could become the assistant coach of one, guy tomorrow, who would you pick? Who would you want to learn from?

And let's go, let's go hot. Joel Quenville, I think, actually. I've really liked everything that he's done. I thought, you know, this Black Hawk days were just, I thought he was phenomenal. I thought what he was able to do with those teams and everything. And I don't know what it was, is I was just very fortunate to be able to, to watch a lot of their games. Just, you know, I didn't get to see many NHL games. but anytime it was, it seemed like the Blackhawks were playing.

And I just felt like his systems and everything were so advanced to prepare to other teams. And I just, I think he'd be a great guy to learn from. Yeah. Well, Quinville might be one of the, one of the or the best coach, anti-trails ever seen. Yeah, I think so. I really like him. Yeah, he's written the conversation at least.

Yeah. And he's been through many times, right? You know, it's not just, you know, last couple of years. He's been kind of through it all. So I really appreciate what he's done. If tomorrow the Toronto Maple Leafs called and said you're the guy, you're the guy. Braden, you're the guy. What's your first move?

What's my first move? Find ourselves a top D man, probably. I don't know if that's something that I can actually do. You know, overall, what would it be? Oh, that's tough. That really, yes. Let me think. I don't know.

I don't know what my first move would be. I think overall, I really feel like they're just, we're so offensively heavy. We're up, you know, we've got lots of great forwards defensively. We don't have enough, in my opinion, to be a Stanley Cup contender. So I always feel like you've got to build through your defense first. We've got to find some defense. You know, whatever it takes to get headman, I'd have to go after them.

That would be my got. I tell you what, this year you got a chance because if your offense comes out of the gates after having what, like three months off or four months off or whatever it is, they might catch everybody by surprise because nobody, you know, you just never know. You just never know. You know what? We're going to see some of the best playoffs we'll ever see. guys are fresh you know there'll be there'll be teams that normally are out of it at this time that

are injured and everything else everyone's got to feel great so we're going to see some kind of playoffs here and i'm looking forward to it even if it's in july or august there'll be there'll be some great games to watch you like the 24 team uh format it is what it is i i'd prefer to all way down to 16 you know i really would but uh you know i just hope our leaps don't play the bruin you know that's all i hope for but i i haven't looked at it lately if we play the Bruins, we're screwed again. You know, man, they've had, you guys have had some tough times against the Bruins.

And the Bruins are good, you know? Like, they're a hard-nosed team, and it's just, it's just a bad matchup for us, right? It's just one of those where you got the Bergeron and Marchand on the thornier side, and, you know, like, Pastornecks good. Like, they're just, you know, Char is still decent. Like, they're just, they're made to beat us.

and that's the problem. This is a veteran team that knows how to win. And we just, it's kind of like the capitals, always playing Pittsburgh all those years. You know, you got to beat them finally to have a chance to win it. And I'm glad someone like, we had that chance to. So what you're saying is maybe they should get the Bruins

because if the least you're ever going to win, they got to get that demon out of their offer. They do. Absolutely they do. Yeah, 100%. Final question. Who is the most talented hockey? player to come out of Humboldt or maybe never to come out of Humboldt?

Huh. Most talented out of Humboldt. Or, you know, you must have had a guy growing up or girl. Maybe there was, maybe there was an Olympian or I don't know. I'm throwing a wide net here. Oh, any sport? Any sport. Well, hmm.

Brianne Tyson I guess is Brianne Tyson Eaton I think is now her name She won a bronze medal in the heptathlon In the Olympics so she's probably right up there The heptathlon The heptathlon seven different events What are the seven events do you know? It'd be javelin, shot foot, long jump, high jump, hurdles,

800 1,500 I don't know that's yeah two days two days they're doing all that so she's got to be

right up there is one of the best obviously Glenn Hall is up there yeah yeah who else would be up there is one of the best I think it'd be those too hmm

those are pretty good uh pretty good picks yeah yeah watch there's a kid from Munster which would be five minutes away Logan Hoffman he might go in the MLB draft tomorrow really yeah so there's only five rounds

and he might be in one of them so you know watch for his name tomorrow well by the time this episode comes out on Monday we'll know and that'll be cool that'll be superishing all pay attention cool yeah absolutely well thank you very much for hopping on I've certainly enjoyed this

the next game I stop in to watch you guys I'll be over the glass yelling at you. I love it. Can't wait. Thanks again. It's a lot of fun. Thank you. Yeah, you bet.

Yeah. Hey, folks, thanks again for joining us today. If you just stumble on the show and like what you hear, 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.

Well, either you left your radio on, and you didn't realize that this was going to happen, or you're an avid listener and you're still listening. So, huge news over the weekend. I landed my 100th episode guest. I had circled this date, July 29th, down on my calendar, and I had been searching for somebody that I wanted to kind of, this is going to be a hundredth episode like a big deal and i'm happy to announce that that is the case i got an absolute epic hundredth episode coming he's one of my top five a guy that i have looked up to

all my life and i'm super excited to sit down with so what we're going to do if you uh want a little bit of a game here over the next month is at the end of every episode i'm going to and give you a new clue. And since we're far enough away out, here's your first clue. He's a Canadian. I know you're going, well, that doesn't freaking help me. Yeah, we got time. And let me tell you, July 29th is going to be epic.

So, have fun. Have a great day. And we'll catch up to you next time.