Shaun Newman Podcast - Ep. #107 - Jon "Nasty" Mirasty

Episode Date: August 24, 2020

Originally from Meadow Lake SK. Over his career he amassed 297 Pro fights, spent time in the ECHL, AHL & a cup of coffee in the NHL. He traveled to Russia and played in the KHL and has stories of fighting at 16, partying with President Putin & just crazy stories from the life of a fighter.  Let me know what you think     Text me! 587-217-8500

Hi, this is Braden Holby. Hi, this is Brian Burke. This is Kelly Rudy. Hello, everyone. I'm Carlyagro from SportsNet Central. I am Jason Greger. Hi, this is Scott Hartnell. This is Quick Dick McDick.

Hey, it's Ron McLean, Hockey Night in Canada and Rogers' Hometown Hockey, and Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome to the podcast, folks. Let's get on today's sponsors, HSI group there, the local oil field burners and combustion experts that can help make sure you have a compliance system working for you. The team also offers security surveillance and, automation products for residential, commercial, livestock, and agricultural applications. I've talked many a time about these salesmen coming around and offering up surveillance systems.

Why not keep it local? They use technology to give you peace of mind so you can focus on the things that truly matter. Stopping at 3902, 50 seconds straight or give Brody or Kim a call today at 306, 825, 63310. Lauren over at Art and Soul. This passion, a hardworking lady, does, amazing, amazing work. I was showing off my SMP 100 frames she had done, and people just can't get over how good and detailed the work is,

and that is truly, truly, she's talented of what she does. And, you know, if you got anything that's a keepsake or an heirloom or something that really means something to you, and you want to get it framed, stop in and see Lauren at Art and Soul, she's got all these stories that just go all over the place and it's not just one thing she does all different things whether we're talking jerseys photos artwork you know last week it was a sheath of wheat

and with Lauren you just get the best and she makes it look sharp and it'll hang on your wall and look superb she's open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. 5 p.m. give her a call 7808.68 6313 or stop in at 50 1639th Street. It's more than just a frame. It's a story. How about foremost? They offer smooth walled grain bins, hopper bottoms, and fuel tanks. They're in stock and manufactured locally. They want to ensure you know that they are constructed the highest quality and engineered for a long life. Delivery is free within 300 kilometers of Lloyd Minster. You can buy any of their co-op,

from any of their co-op locations, which is Lloyd Minster, Lloyd Lashburn, or Nealberg. For more information, you can check them out on their website. most.ca. Gartner management is a Lloydminster-based company specialing in all types of rental properties. Obviously, the podcast studio is in a Gartner management facility, and Wade Gartner has been awesome to deal with. Whether you're looking for a small office or a 6,000 square foot commercial space, give Wade Gartner a call today, 7808, 808, 5025. SMP, the billboard across from the UFA is looking sharp and I got to give another shout out to read and write. They came in and put up my quote on the wall.

Whatever time you have attack like you're trying to save the world. I got that from a Joe Rogan episode and they made it look unbelievable. Check out my Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook pages. I'm telling you, it just kind of makes the room feel a little more homie. It looks badass. Now if you're interested in advertising on the show, Sean Newman Podcast.com in the top right corner, hit the contact button and send me your information. We got lots of different options and I want to find something that can work

for the both of us. Now, on to your T-Barr 1, tale of the tape. Originally from Metal Lake, Saskatchewan, he had 297 pro fights, played in the ECHL for the Bakersfield Condors, and the HL for the Syracuse Crunch, suited up for the Columbus Blue Jackets, has played in Russia and Kazakhstan in the Quebec. Fighting League, and now back home for the Middle Lake Broncos of the Sask Delta. I'm talking about John Nasty Marasty. So buckle up. Here we go.

This is John Marasty. Welcome for the Paul Newman podcast. The Sean Newman. What did I say? The Paul Newman. Paul Newman is a, hey. Oh, I was putting podcast. Paul podcast and Paul.

Hey. I might have to start up. like that anyways that's fucking awesome oh you got it you got it okay should i try it again though or no yeah sure sure fire away this is this is john morasty with the sean newman podcast so welcome to sean newman podcast i'm sitting with the the man himself mr john nasty marasty how's it going sir not too bad yourself yeah doing real good well we're just uh talk before we got started here uh you know you played with metal lake last year actually last two years hasn't it been no no no just last year.

Just last year? How much fun was that? You know, I really, I was just telling you that earlier, I really enjoyed it. It was an opportunity to come home. And, you know,

for the last shit, fuck, I'm getting old, the last 15, 20 years of my, oh, should I ask, are we X-rated or no?

Oh, yeah, a fire away. All right on. So, no, anyways, yeah, like I said, the last 20 years,

I've been kind of, you know, out and about throughout the world, you know, Russia and California and New York and Quebec and everywhere else. and I never really got to be home and play in front of my family and friends. You know, I had my close family would fly and watch me play and stuff.

But, you know, the last few years of my career was pretty far away. So it's always awesome to be able to have family. And even my younger girls that are still, you know, when I was playing pro, they were, you know, still, well, my daughter was, I think, one at the time. So she doesn't really know what I did for a career. So it's awesome to be able to have her come out and watch me play. And, you know, with the Mustangs and Meadow Lake here, they did a really good job, you know, with before games.

games. We let the young kids come out and ski with us. So my daughter, I think she was a regular. I think she came out pretty much every home game and got to ski with us. So it was just a good feeling to do that. And I have, you know, a lot of my family and friends from home come to the games and watch. So it was a really treat, a good treat for myself. Well, I can safely say being on the other side and going to war, what seemed like every game and go to triple bloody overtime with you guys. The fan support you guys get there is unbelievable. Yeah, Metal Aics are a real good Hockey Town. I mean, we got a lot of big name guys that come out of here. You know, you got the King Brothers, you got myself, you know, Y Blonsky, Jeff Freeze, and Blake Coma.

I mean, the list goes on for a small town. It's produced a lot of good hockey players and guys that, you know, we're successful at the next level. So, you know, it's just, it's kind of sad to see, you know, as hockey develops here with the younger age as we're losing a lot of our tier one teams and stuff like that. So, you know, unfortunately, I think the days of us developing a lot of good, good players is going to limit now because of that. But, Like I said, Metal Lake, they really love hockey, and they follow us through our whole career, right? So it's quite a treat. You know, another guy that I missed that was Mike Siklinka.

You know, he played this year. And, you know, man, it was it fun playing with him. And we just sit there and giggle and laugh, you know, when they're in the dressing room. So he was kind of my dressing room partner. And you just enjoy the game, you know, and have fun and giggle. And I guess for my aspect, I didn't really have to do what I did for my career. I didn't have to fight. So it was fun just to go out and have fun and tease guys.

I got to tease you and say, hey, you want to try it? But for the most part, I'm just out there having fun and enjoying it and getting an opportunity to play and, you know, score some goals and just have fun. You know, I'm glad I didn't watch too many of your fight videos before you asked me that because I was dumb enough on ice to be like, nah, I'm okay, nasty, I'm okay. But I watched a few again today and I'm like, yeah, that's like about 12 belts above my head. Yeah, no, it was a good career.

I enjoyed it, man. it was fun. Are you, you know, you've been bugging me. Are you back next year? Are you going to suit it up for the Broncos again? I don't know, to be honest. Like you said earlier, too, so it's time taken, right? And I have a younger boy that's getting to the junior ages now. He played his first year, junior last year. So I really like to watch him play now. And then, you know, my little girl, I actually volunteered to be a coach this year for this whole COVID thing can fuck off, you know. But, you know, so I'm hoping that hockey's a goal. And like I said, I'm looking forward to coaching my little girl and being there for her.

So I won't doubt that I get the itch to play. You know, I played a little bit the year before, too, but I didn't go until I think it was January. I got a phone call from Grand Prairie in Alberta. And I ended up playing. I played this the right amount of games to play for, to make the play in the playoffs. So I was actually flying for senior hockey.

I was driving to Saskatoon, flying to Calgary, Calgary to Grand Prairie playing a Thursday night and a Saturday night game and driving home. It was quite a ride. It was actually my old junior coach, Wayne LaBrie, that called me up and said, hey, I got a proposal for you to do it. So I think I played, I think, six or seven games

prior to the playoffs, just enough to get to be on the playoff roster. And I actually ended up winning that league. So it was a lot of fun, you know, a good group of guys there too. So the itch is always there to be in the dress room. I don't even think it's the hockey. I miss it just being out with the guys

and being into bullshit and have fun. Did you enjoy, like having a drive to hop on a plane, to drive to get there, to kind of play a couple games, to hop back on, to drive, to fly, to drive? Like, geez, that's a lot of work. Oh, it was. But, I mean, I did that for a while there, you know, like, you know, through my, throughout my,

towards the end of my career, I ended up opening up Tim Hortons here in Metal A. And so I ended up leaving my contract in Russia a little bit early. And when I came home, I was supposed to get this restaurant, I was supposed to open up right away, but because they said, oh, there's some delays. I ended up having not much to do,

so I ended up getting a call back in the old Quebec Senior League, and I was doing that pretty much every second weekend. I'd leave here, you know, Thursday, and I'd play Friday, Saturday, and I'd fly home Sunday, and then I'd come home for, you know, 10 days, and I'd do it again, and basically playing pro hockey, but living at home was quite a unique experience, but, you know, I mean, they made it financially worth it to do that one.

And that's a bigger league, right? So I was making a good salary there doing it, but it was a lot of travel. I sure collected a lot of air miles. And you bring up the Quebec. Like it is notorious for it's, well, I mean, we all see the NHL now and you see a fight once every 10 games. I don't know. They say Ryan Reeves is the heavyweight chap and that kid used to turtle everyone.

So I don't know. It's a different league now. No disrespect to them, but it's a different, like you said, it's a completely different league. You know, I mean, even in junior, I remember my junior career, I think my 16 years old, I went to the Kinder Street Clippers, and I think I fought 15 times in the weekend, you know, to make this spot. And, you know, guys don't fight 15 times in their whole career now. So it's, it's definitely, definitely hockey's changed. I mean, it's a lot faster and more skilled, but I still miss the old, you know, the old time clutch and grab, big hits and, you know, where the guys kind of patrolled the ice themselves and had a lot more. more fun, I guess.

Well, I was listening to a different podcast of you today. Hey, you're kind of like, you must do like two of these a week, I swear, because I like searched it and I'm like, oh my God, like I can't get through this in a week going at it steady. But the one that stuck out was a guy had added up all your fights. And he had he at 297. Now that is pro fights. Does that sound about right? I'd say, I'd be close to that.

I mean, I honestly don't remember half my fights. I shouldn't say I don't remember them, but guys say, ah, you remember that fight, and then it kind of rings a bell. But, you know, there's been a lot of fights and maybe too many. But it was what I did. It's made me who I am today. And I know, it's good, you know. I don't like when people put down fighters because most of the fighters that I played

straight from junior to pro or, you know, usually do the most within the communities and give back to the communities and to the youth. And, you know, to this day, I still give back to my First Nation community. and yeah, but a lot of fights and a lot of videos. And, I mean, you could sit there for hours and watch. There's guys that I didn't even know I fought. I said, oh, shit, I fought him. Okay.

You know. Did you enjoy it then? Did you actually enjoy dropping the Mets? Because, I mean, you're not, it's not like you're, you, I should say, you fought some absolute heavy weights. Like, just bears of men. And you're not a small guy, but John, you're not, you're not six foot five. You're not strolling in and being George LaRocque by any stretch of the imagination.

I ain't going to lie. I can actually say I loved it, you know. And, you know, with all the negative stuff on fighting nowadays, I don't buy it. I mean, I'm not trying to sit out here and promote fighting, and fighting's great for you and the hits the head are great to you. But, you know, with a lot of the tragic losses that we've had in the past, I mean, those guys were fighting some other issues as well. So, I mean, it's such a sticky topic.

I've had reporters call me and want to interview me and stuff. I'm not going to by any means bash fighting in hockey. I mean, I think it still has a place for it in a game. And, you know, but yeah, there's guys out there that tell you they love it because I think it's an image they say, and I'm not going to name any names. But I have even close friends that say, oh, I love fighting. I wanted to fight every second. But those guys I fought, and the minute after we fought, we'd be in the penalty box,

and say, okay, we'll go again in the second period. And they'd say no fucking way. There's guys out there that say they love fighting and they, I don't think they really did. It's just an image they want to put out there. there. I can actually truthfully say, and I'm not trying to, you know, say I'm an animal thing, but I enjoyed fighting. It was, you know, I smiled when I fought. I loved it. It was, I know, I never been into really drugs or anything like addiction. So I think that was my addiction was fighting. It was the adrenaline. I mean, to this day, I still look for adrenaline.

Like I would skydive, I'd jump off cliffs. I do, you name it, I'll do it if it scares me, because I just, I love that rush. And so, yeah, to answer your question, I love fighting. And like I said, I don't regret one bit. How many fights did you do? What was the most you ever did in the game? I was actually, the chief and I were just sitting here talking a couple days ago about that. I was laughing.

We were talking about chewing snuff. It was my first game in the SJHL. I think I was 16 years old. I was playing for the Kinderstead Clippers, and we drove up to Flin Flan, Manitoba. And this was just one, this is a younger story. I mean, obviously I had a lot of three-fight games playing pro in the NHL and the HL. But we were in Flintlawn, Manitoba.

and it was the year that they just included the two-fight rules. So you're allowed to fight two times in a game where before it was only once. And I was 16 years old, and I remember I went and got in a fight. In the first period, I fought and did really well. I was a young rookie, won my fight really well and gotten another fight.

And as I was getting escorted off the ice, some guy said something to me that pissed me off, so I grabbed him and fought him too. So I had three fights when I was only allowed to have two fights in the SJHL. And anyways, getting on the bus, that was not even what we were talking. We were talking with chewing snuff. And I remember, you know,

as a rookie sitting in the front of the bus, the older 20-year-old vets, you know, said, Bras, you get to the back of the bus, you're a man now. And, you know, when I look back at it, they were just kids too. But, you know, to me, being a 16-year-old getting called to the back of the bus with all 20-year-old vets was kind of cool. And all I remember is one of the guys said, here, have a chew kid. And I put some Copenhagen in my mouth and thought I was the coolest thing in the world until about 20 minutes later, I threw up the whole way home.

And to this day, because that's why we're talking about chewing stuff was, To this day, I can't smell Copenhagen or I'll puke because it reminds you that that bus trip from Flint Fawn, Manitoba back to the industry. It was all because I fought three times and they wanted to tell me I was a man now. I bet if you asked, let's call it 70% of hockey players, they all have their first chewing snuff story, and I would say most of those result in puking. And most of those result in Copenhagen short because you can't keep the damn stuff anywhere. I never knew that you got drunk or high off of snuffing. Was I dizzy?

So I can probably say that was a long bus trip home, and it wasn't the best feeling. Well, you mentioned 16 and you're fighting in your first camp. So was that something you were into at a young age then? Not at all. Not, to be honest, not at all. I was actually, you know, playing, you know, back, hockey's changed so much with all these academies and stuff.

But back in Bannum, I was actually one of the leading scores in Vantam hockey. And I think we were playing in the center for hockey league in Saskatchew. And it was a lot of good hockey players would always get drafted out of that league. And, you know, going to the Western League and then go pro. And that one year, I was one of the leading scores in the league. And, you know, I got convinced to go to some junior camps at a young age. And I had older cousins that were playing in the East Coast and stuff already.

One guy's name's Leon DeLorm. I don't know if you ever heard of them. A couple of those guys. And they were running, they were, you know, second or third year playing pro. you know, they're 20, 21 years old, 22 years old playing in the East Coast, and they were running these camps, you know, these tryouts for the North Stars and clippers and all that.

And then all they remember, they'd say, well, Marasty, that number 18 said you're a pussy and wants to fight you. Go fight them. And, you know, that's kind of how I got introduced to fighting. And I did good, you know, I think never really lost many fights in junior. And, you know, next thing you know, they're telling me they're going to put me in a billets house. And, you know, so I'd, you know,

go from being a first-line power play guy in Bantam to be a young 15, 16-year-old rookie and junior and having to fight the 20-year-old guys was quite quite wild. But I always said, you know, it was a blast and I enjoyed it and I was good at it so I kept going. You know, I saw this year firsthand when you'd put the puck in the net and I'd be like, is that Marasty again? Like really, was that morasty? Because you had a couple, I don't want to pump your tires too much, but you had a couple of beauties this year. I think it's everybody in the building that you still had it there. Yeah, oh, yeah, I think that, and that's what a lot of guys don't understand. You know, they look at the videos, they look at

you know, what you did in pro and they say, oh, he's a gooner, you know, but to get those, to those places that we've played, you have to have a little bit of skill. And, you know, like I always said, if you gave Sidney Crosby, you know, two minutes of ice time a game, he's not going to get mad many goals, you know, so my, you know, when I was put on the ice, I was usually tapping on the shoulder to go do something and I wasn't trying to score a goal. I was either trying to hit someone hard or getting a fight and change the momentum or stick up for a teammates. So, you know, obviously come home and be in First Nation. I love to come home and play in the Indian tournaments and have fun and, you know, show guys that you can play. And, you know,

there's been times where I've led to tournaments and scoring. And it's just fun to show people that you're not there just to fight, you know, and, you know, and sometimes people don't even know your personality and they think, oh, he's nothing but a, you know, mean guy. And sometimes you're, you're the nicest guy in the world. People just see what you do, you know, on TV, right? So, yeah, I enjoy what I do. How many times this year have you had a guy want to try and challenge? I read an article, I'd read an article saying that some guys wanted to challenge you this year to try and make a name for themselves. And I laughed.

I went, I don't know. I read that article and I think it was misinterpreted because I think Daryl Worm said that guys were trying to fight him. But there wasn't, I don't think there was one guy that tried to fight me. And I'd usually laugh when they would because I wasn't there to fight. you know, I mean, I have nothing to prove and nothing to, you know, I either hurt my hand or hurt somebody and what does it do for me? So, you know, I don't know. I think I read that article you're talking with too.

And I didn't really know where that came from, to be honest, because I haven't had a guy challenged me at all, to be honest. Growing up, were you a boxer? Did I read that, too? I, as a young kid, I think I was about maybe 10 years old, 11 years old. Like I told you earlier, I wasn't. a tough try. I actually got picked on lots. You know, being First Nations, but I look

like a white kid, you know, like growing up on the reserve, a lot of the Indian kids would always call me white boy and stuff. So I grew up getting picked on and having to stick up for myself. So my dad put me in boxing and I actually ended up being really good at it. And I became a Golden Gloves boxer, I think, three or four years in a row. Wait, wait, golden gloves, what do you mean?

I won provincial titles quite a bit in Western Canadian titles as a younger kid. So you were throwing, you were throwing the, so when you got fighting then, you had some training behind it. Oh, yeah, I boxed. Like I said, I didn't take it, you know. But at that time, when I got to be 17, 18, I know, I was going to major junior camps and I couldn't box them where that was kind of just a secondary sport to stay in shape.

But, you know, that's a sport that really makes you be, you know, conditioned and makes you really, I don't even know what the word is, you know, but you have to be on top of things and always be structured, right? So boxing was a really good thing for me. And to this day, I talk to parents and I say, you know, put your kids in boxing because, you know, yeah, you have to put a lot of devotion into the sport. And, I mean, it helped me. I ended up having a pretty long, good, successful career from fighting. And boxing was a big part of that, you know, to help me train and how to take a punch.

And how to protect yourself from the bullies. Yeah, how to protect your friend's guy from the bullies. And I guess now I was considered the bully. Yeah. Was it a jump, you know, when you talk about, playing in the SGA at a young age, you end up playing in the dub. And anybody around hockey knows the jump from, you know, there's top players in junior A, but the caliber of hockey is just another tier up.

I assume the heavyweights are another tier up. Was that an adjustment? Oh, definitely. Like I said, you know, but I took the long route to play in games in the NHL. You know, I wasn't a drafted player in the NHL. I wasn't a draft to play in the WHL. I kind of always went, I took the long journey, you know. So I remember being as a kid.

I think the biggest thing that pushed me, and you said it earlier, I'm not the biggest guy. So I still had a lot of haters. I would always tell me I was too small. I wasn't going to make it, you know. And that's kind of what drove me to do what I did. I know, there's a guy at the top of my head right now from Meadow Lake. I played with his son.

And every time I might come home, he'd say, oh, John, you're too small. You'll never make it. You know, and then that year I went to the SJHL and I think I had 488 family minutes and led the league. And I don't think I lost a fight. And then I'd come home that summer. and, you know, he'd say, oh, you did good in the SJHL, but, you know, you're too small to play in the WHL. You'll never make it. Those boys are too big. And, you know, next thing, you know, I get a phone call from the PA Raiders.

I'm in PA fighting Steve McIntyre and Derek, you know, all the big boys there. And, you know, come back. And I said, oh, you're too small. You did it in junior in the WHL, but you'll never do it in pro. And, you know, it just went on and on. And then I went to the East Coast and did it. Then I went to the HAL and did it. And then, you know, I was fighting guys in the NHL. So I think that's what pushed me the most to do what I did was to have people that doubted you, you know? guy. I'm 510. You know, I'm pretty heavy, 220, 230 pounds in my prime, but, you know, it's just having that push to people to doubt you to prove them wrong. And so, yeah, I did it. But as far as calibers, yeah, every league that I went to, you move up. You know, obviously the

skill sets better, better and faster. And, you know, but I remember even going from the HL to playing games in the NHL, you know, I always said it's a lot of those third, fourth line guys are the same guys that are in the HL that are in the NHL. It's your Sydney Crosby's, your Ovetkins, your goalies, like, Fleury, you know, it's those stars that really make that difference. I mean, I played with guys that were third-line guys in the American League that are now third-line guys in, you know, in the NHL. And it's those star guys that really made that, wow, you know.

I didn't realize you played any games in the NHL. Who did you play for in the NHL? I was in Columbus, yeah. With the jackets. With the blue jacket. I played there and I think it was 06 and 07 or 07-08. So, but that's like I said, you know, guys will say, what's the difference? And that was the difference that I really noticed was the, like in Columbus, it was Rick Nash and, you know, those big name guys that you're like, wow, look how good that guy is.

And, and, but, you know, in junior as well, you know, you played with some, some guys that were first round draft picks and second round draft picks. And those are the guys that you really say, wow, those guys got skill, you know, but for the majority of the guys, I mean, and obviously the, treatment, flying on planes and being treated. Like, you know, it's a lot more higher class celebrity status when you're, when you're playing games in the NHL than you are in the American League. So who is your, who is your seat made on the plane when you're flying? I think I, I can't even remember. I think it was, might have been, it was probably, I was probably besides Zen and Konopka,

him and I were really close. Zee Kanopka, you know, he was, he was a good friend of mine and he kind of had our skill set, you know, the year I was in the American League, we, we ended up, breaking the record for the most consecutive wins in a season. And that year, I mean, we were like slap shot. We were the old school hockey team. And we had, you know, myself, we had Zen and Konopka, we had Derek Dorset, we had Tom Sestito.

And basically, no one touched our red line or there was going to be a brawl. And, I mean, I remember our building being sold out in pre-warmups, you know, our building to be sold out because people knew that something was going to happen in that game. And that was the year that, you know, to this day, I still get phone calls and people ask about the year. I think it was the 07-08 year with Syracuse Crunch where we, I think we were in dead last place at Christmas time and we flew into the Chicago. The Chicago Wolves were in Chicago. And I remember, I mean, they were in, I think, first place that time. And we ended up going in there and having a brawl and warm-ups and we

ended up beating them five-nothing. And from that point on, I don't think we lost a game the rest of the year until the season until the playoffs started. And, uh, And it just, like I said, that was the year that we all talked about because I remember we were in, we started a rule. I remember we said, okay, well, if we win five games in a row, we're going to let the entire team go out with, you know, because in the American League, you don't have to wear your helmet and wear it. You know, you always like to do that to look cool and show up to do or at that point, I had a mohawk. And so I always, I didn't wear helmets because I was the designated tough guy. So I got to go stroll around with no helmet on. But I was also my first in America league.

But we made a rule, me and Konopka, we said, if we win five games in a row, we're all going to go out with no helmets on. So, you know, sure enough, we won five in a row. The entire team, all 20, 20 players were on the ice with no helmets on for warmups. And then I remember me and Z sat down and said, okay, well, what's next? And we said, okay, well, if we win 10 in a row now, so another five games, we're all going to go into warms with no helmets and no shoulder pads, you know. And you got to remember, this is a pretty high caliber league.

And we were actually in Cleveland. We had won the 10th game, and our next game, our 11th game was in Cleveland. And Cleveland's really close to Columbus, right? It's only like an hour and a half drive. So I remember all the brass from the Blue Jackets were coming to watch us play because at this point we were the hottest team in the American hockey league. We had won 10 games in a row. And I still remember Scott Housen.

He was the general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, come into the dressing room, and he called me and Zen and Konopkin to this room. And this is my first year really being in the American, you know, dealing with NHL guys. We got called in a room, and I remember Scott Housen started yelling us and said, we got guys like Derek Brassard and all these guys that are our top round draft picks, and they're 165 pounds soaking wet. And if they go out there and warm us with no shoulder pads on and they get hurt,

what's that what second they're basically telling us that we couldn't go out with shoulder pads, eh? So he said, if you guys go out there with shoulder pads, you guys are going to be off this team. So we leave the room and I'm shooting my pants because that's an NHL GM where I want to be at, you know, telling me that we can't work. We have to go out with our shoulder pads on. And this is it just warm-ups. I mean, we're just being stupid. And I look at Konopka and I say, well, what are we going to do?

Like, we can't go out there. He looks at me, goes, fuck him. So the entire team went out there with no shoulder pads and no helmets. And, yeah, I remember looking up at the press box and they were freaking out and livid. But they didn't kick us off the team. I think we went on to it. I think it was 27 games in a row. And we ended up losing up in the North Carolina.

Northern Finals against the Toronto Marleys in game seven. That was kind of a shitty feeling. But that year, like I said, we won 27 games. So from Christmas on, we didn't lose a game. And I mean, it was a tightest group of guys. And all we did was fight and get suspensions and score goals and win. So, I mean, no one could really stop us. I remember even Knotchka, funny story called Scott Housen and said,

or he called somebody in Columbus. Because Z was our captain, right? So he kind of had the strings, the pull people to call people. And I remember he told them Columbus. He goes, well, you guys didn't make playoffs. Why don't you let us use the team jet? You know, and this is just the shit that that year was all about. It was a lot of fun.

And, you know, to this day, we're still a tight group of guys that talk to each other. And we always talked about that one year, how good we were and how much fun it was. I read an article on that team. And one of the things in it was a little boy's poster that said the climbing in our arena is always nasty. That was a year. I mean, I remember we had shit our entire management staff shaved their mohawks in their hair. And I mean, we had a night where fans would come

and pay us $20 to shave Mohawks. Me and Z and a couple of guys would shave mohawks in fans' hair. And we fundraised money. And we sold T-shirts that paid our fines that we would get in warm-ups. And, you know, it was just, it was a wild year. And how much that team gelled.

I still remember how we, every player on that team bought into that, into our method, right, to play tough. And Derek Brassard was 20 years old or 19 years old, first year pro, you know, going to be pretty much a star in the NHL. And I remember we were playing Manitoba Moose in the first round. And I think it was Brad Moran. He was one of the bigwigs in the American League at that time, you know, making 300 grand

or whatever. And Derek Dorset off, the opening face off dropped in his, Derek Dorset, I mean, not, not Dorset, sorry, Brassard, Derek Brassard, still plays in the show, drops his gloves in his helmet and tries to square off with this Heather centerman and the guy didn't want to fight him so just skated away but I mean it just goes to show that even a guy like Derek Fassard bought into the system right and he says I fuck I wanted to fight him and set the tone for the game and we ended up beating Manitoba moose in that series and going to play we ended up losing to Toronto in the

final so but it just goes to show you like we all bought in and and I mean I could tell you so many X-rated stories that we got in trouble at bars and it was a wild gong shoy year but we were we were one of the hottest teams that year what was your best playing guilty story then because obviously you had it playing in the a um bouncing around from all these different cities uh you must have had a night where you stayed up you know a little too late but had to get up the next day to to perform oh shit i've i've played guilty every time i've played guilty so much i can't even remember my best time i mean i remember one one funny time was it was actually it had nothing to do with the American League with my first year pro.

I had, uh, we played, I think we played Las Vegas in Bakersfield. I was in East Coast. I was 20 years old. And, uh, I just got called up to California. I actually quit hockey. I quit the Western League and I was going to go to university. My high school girlfriend was pregnant. And, uh, so I, like I said, I'm going to quit and was going to university in Saskatchewan at

U of S. But I got a phone call to go play in Bakersfield. That's how I got my foot in the door in pro. But anyways, uh, long story short is we were, I had played the night before and played a pretty good game and got in a fight. I think I actually got a goal my first game pro. And so whatever, that was the Friday night. So the Saturday night, I know that was a Saturday night because we had a two o'clock game on Sunday.

And we were playing the Anchorage Aces, the Alaska Aces. And an ex-teamate of mine that I actually ended up fighting the next day. His name was Mike Lee. He's a big black guy there. He played with me in Tri-Cities. and so I ended up partying with these guys all night and this was only my first weekend and playing in California

and so I was still living at the hotel right beside the arena where all the visiting teams played so I remember that Sunday morning I get called into the office at like 10 o'clock in the morning and the coach back then still had the VHS tapes right the tape, you know the movies and he said press play on there so I pressed play and it was a recording

of the hotel security down the hallway and I was walking in from room to room with a towel. I was naked with a towel wrapped around me going from room to room partying with the other team. And all I remember is you said, you're damn lucky you played the best weekend of your life. He says, because I'd send you home for this. So they had me on security footage going from room to room, you know, partying with the visiting team. And I, and so that was probably one of the more funny, embarrassing stories that I remember I put my head down. I'm like, I can't believe that's on camera.

You know, I guess our coach was friends with the manager at the hotel, and the manager gave him this footage of me partying in hotel rooms with the other team. So I probably killed a few of them up that night, Phil. Good old VHS tapes. That's awesome. What did you think of playing in California? I loved it. You know, that's actually where I ended up meeting my wife that I'm with now.

And, I mean, what can you say? I mean, it's California, right? They're going to the rink every day in sandals and beach shorts. and golfing all winter and just, you know, living the dream, really. I mean, like I was a joke around with people. I mean, there was a time where I was making $500 a week, and there was a time I was making $500 a day. And I remember back then when I was playing in the East Coast,

I was a champ. I loved it. And, you know, I was a rock star. I loved it and I enjoyed it. And it was just as fun as it was my last year making big money. Well, you've played, you know, when you look at the list of places you've played, and you've listed off a bunch of them, Yeah.

You got to be the first guy, you know, I know you played in the K. Yeah. But you've got to be the first guy I've had on here who's played in Kazakhstan. Yeah, Kazakhstan, the movie Borat. I've never ever watched that? Absolutely, yeah. I've never watched it until after I played there, and it just made me laugh because it's kind of like that. But Kazakhstan was awesome.

I mean, I have nothing but good things to say about Russia and Kazakhstan. When I was there, I mean, to this day, I have people right and you saying, we miss you. we want you to come back here and I'm thinking, I can't go back there, you know, but Kazakhstan was a really cool experience. You know, I remember we'd hire. I mean, that was the KHL, right?

But the city was based out of Kazakhstan. It was a stand of Kazakhstan. And I would hire, instead of getting a car there, you just pay a driver, like you get your own personal driver. I mean, we were making a really good chunk of change while we were playing there. So we would hire, I think I hired my driver for like $2,500 a month. And he was basically worked for me. So he would drive me.

around and he didn't speak a word of English and I didn't speak a word of Kazaki so you know we we just learned to get along and sign language and he'd drive me around and take me when I wanted to get in trouble and my wife would always laugh because he would she was I can't believe how you guys communicate but we we we became really good friends he was my driver to like you know if I had to be at practice at 10 in the morning he'd say pick me up at 830 he'd be down there waiting with a coffee and it was just funny to watch us communicate because he didn't like I said he didn't speak English and I you know we just hand language and you know I you know I'd find a way to communicate with them and we became best of friends and you know even my wife would

struggle because when I was gone on the road you know she he still had to drive for her right so it's funny that we're talking with all this stuff because a lot of stuff we just talked about it was huncheteer was was the big mall it was like west edmonton mall and that's all Janessa would say it's huncheteer and he'd take her to hunch it here and he'd wait outside in the parking lot all day while she shop so Kazakhstan was quite a quite a cool place. When you said to him, or signed to him, I guess, hey, I want to go get in some trouble. What is trouble in Kazakhstan? I don't know. Either fighting or girls or I don't know. Just take me and let's have fun or drink or I don't know. We found it though and he was a good wingman.

What was maybe one of the things about, you know, going over to Russia, Kazakhstan that surprised you about the place? In a negative way, or not even in a negative way, but in a way that really we don't appreciate what we have in Canada. That's what I still tell people to this day. Like, just having a luxury to go to the city convenience or the 7-Eleven store at midnight to get a popping chips, you know, there's, we're really lucky to have what we have here.

There's so much poverty there. You know, in Kazakhstan and Russia, I mean, they're both pretty much similar. there's no middle class. You're either wealthy and you're hiring people to drive around or you're dirt poor. And so, you know, it really made me appreciate what we have here and, you know, going out. But at the same time, you know, it made me respect other people's lifestyles. You know, you go there and, you know, Americans weren't too liked in Russia. And sometimes I get why because even our attitudes, you know, we'd go out to a restaurant and we'd ask for something and they'd say, well, we don't have that.

And then we'd get mad and say, well, what the fuck we have that in Canada? You know, you can't compare countries, right? They're a different, different lifestyle there. But just how nice they were, I mean, being First Nations, I remember in Russia. I got to, and I party with some pretty big people. I mean, I got to party with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. And, you know, when I was in Vezes in Chekhov and by Moscow, he was, he flew in like Roy Jones, Jr. And some pretty big names because he was his, our owner was kind of Russian mob in Moscow.

and he was two big sports were boxing and hockey. Of course, me and Yablonsky going to his hockey team kind of was a match in heaven, right? But just how much they actually appreciated us and especially being First Nations. They would always be really intrigued about the Indians in Canada. So it made me really proud, right,

to see how they thought of us and treated us and just treated me like gold. Like I said, you hear so many bad stories, but I have not one bad thing to say Russia or Kazakhstan. What was Putin like? I'm a Trump supporter. I love Putin, man.

It was his way or the highway, you know, and he was honest. And I don't know. I don't want to really get into politics, but, you know, I like to, I like, I know, for example, in Canada, you know, we have all these people coming and they want us to live. We have to adapt the way they live, right?

You know, we have to change our, we can't single Canada or whatever. I mean, I don't want to get into it. But, you know, there, he just said, He says, we welcome foreigners, but this is Russia. If you're going to move to Russia, you're going to live like a Russian. And that's what really stuck to my head. That was his attitude. He says, I'm not against people coming here from other countries.

He said, but if you're going to come to Russia, you're going to live like a Russian. And that's what I really respected, right? Because I just see us trying to change for so many other people. And they should come here and want to be Canadian. And that's what's took out the most about him to me. And I think you don't have to worry about offending too many people with that statement. I mean, we were talking about before we started. It's in, well, I mean, you look around where you're at,

and it doesn't feel like the world is that strange. You go online and the world gets strange in an awful hurry. The biggest thing I've heard in his last few months is they said, if you don't have internet, you don't have your phone, you don't have TV, the news, would this disease affect you? And I'd say, no, it doesn't. It's just everything you read. And that's what made me mad, you know, being in California, you know, everyone's saying,

oh, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a infested down there. How could you be down there? And I mean, life was normal and having fun. I mean, I think me, this is more of just a political game here. You know, it's, it's basically what president you want to get in next year or whatever. So I just, I don't know. I like Trump. Let's just leave it at that.

And that's pretty rare for a first nation, the guy to say. What, you know, over in Russia, were you into the vote? vodka? Oh yeah. Was it good vodka? I've been, I was. Fair to Stoker, I've been to Finland, so I've been close, but I've never been in Russia. I love it. It was the whale, the beluga whale. Yeah. It was a higher class vodka, but Rick was it good. It went down like water.

And one thing I learned in Russia is you don't really mix your drinks. You know guys here will drink vodka and Pepsi or vodka and orange juice. You don't drink vodka there like that. You just do shots. And all you do is you have a chaser. So if you're drinking vodka, you'll have a bottle of vodka and you do shots. And every time you do shots, you honor somebody, right? They're really into respect like that. So, you know, when we were doing a shot, I'd say, okay, to your health.

And we'd do a shot, and then you'd follow it with a chaser, but you'd never have a mixed drink. And I remember there was times where I couldn't even remember the night before, but I'd wake up the next day. Like, I'd wake up naked on my bathroom floor. As funny as it sounds, but the thing was, you wouldn't have a hangover because it was so, I don't know, just the vodka was so smooth. and you'd be so drunk you wouldn't remember,

but you would never wake up with the hangovers. I was going to ask, how many bottles of vodka did you go through, but you have no idea anyways. I have no idea. We went through too many. Just leave it at that. Did you do any traveling around in that area?

Or were you playing so much hockey that you didn't have much time to, like, I mean, you're on the other side of the world. You got, you know, when you're in Kazakhstan, I mean,

geez, I always think of Mongolia is like, kind of right beside you. Did you like tour into countries like that? I didn't get a go to like that. We did get to go to Dubai during the, it was the year of the Olympics. So they had a bunch of Olympic breaks for the Olympic team to skate. So the KHL would shut down for like four or five days. So the one, the one it was in, I think it was in like January. They flew with the whole team and wives to Dubai as a vacation. But it wasn't a vacation because we still skated every day and had to run on the beach and do who workouts. But

I mean, it was kind of cool just to travel the world and see things like that, right? because it's not every day that you'll have that opportunity. So, you know, and then just, you know, on my way home, I stopped it. You know, Riga, Latvia was a beautiful place. Frankfurt, Germany. Prague was beautiful. I mean, there's, like I said, it's a different world over there, right? So it was really fun to see.

What brought you back from the KHL then? Tim Hortons. I was told that I was ready to open up by Tim Hortons, and I needed to get back. So I actually had a year left on my contract and turned it down. I just basically revoked it. and came back to Canada to open my Tim Hortons, and then I got word that my Tim Horton's going to be delayed another year, and then that's how come I ended up going to play in Quebec for a little bit.

But you're not, correct me if we're wrong, you don't have Tim Hortons anymore, right? No, I sold it. I sold the Timmy's, yeah. I sold it about three or four years ago. Did you enjoy having the Tims? I've got to assume, and this is being naive that Tim Hortons is, I'll be a full-time job. You're married to it, and I think that was the hardest. thing for me, I think, was just, you know, having a young family at that time still and having to be there 18 to 20 hours a day, you know, it's a completely different lifestyle. You go from playing hockey and making hundreds of thousands of dollars and not really, I don't like saying not doing much because, I mean, my body paid the price. But at the same time, I mean, everything's laid out on a golden platter for you, right? Your flights, your workouts, your schedules, your hotels, everything's set up for you in front of your eyes and, you know, you come home and you have to put in 20 hours a day working.

and you're not getting paid as much at that time. You know, it's like, holy shit, is this worth it? But I look at everything like a, you know, a chapter and a book, you know, that's one chapter in my life. And I moved on to different things and different opportunities. And it's still cool. I know I still go down as a legacy that I brought the only Tim Horton to Meadow Lake. And, you know, that was something that people wanted for 20, 20 years. So, you know, I still go there and get my perks.

And it's cool to think that I brought it here. But like I said, it was just one chapter in my life. I don't know what else I don't know what else I'm going to get myself into a funny story for you the first chirp you ever threw at me when you were playing for the marwain comments was I own a Tim Horton's what do you do and I was like yeah I don't got nothing I'm gonna skate the other way yeah I like I only played like two or three games there so I like to tell Joel bud showed out to Joel Budd that I saved his life because you were in a scrum with him and it looked like you were going to punch him. So all I did was just grab onto your arm and you gave me

this stare and then said that. And I was like, yeah, I'm good. I'm going to go back to the bench or whatever, right? Like, I don't know it anymore. That was fun too. I'm really good friends with BJ Carey. Okay. Yeah. So that's kind of how I ended up going there and play. I don't think I got to play many games there though. It's real. It was really hard. Like I said, I was in a point of my life now where things were just kind of changing and I didn't have as much free time. But it was always fun to play with a few of those guys. You know, you got to play with another team that has come up on a podcast before I interviewed Brad Crickshank. And he played for the Motor City Maniacs back in the old 405 lockout. And I didn't realize it, but you were on

Danbury Trashers. The Danbury Trashers. Yeah. We were probably the top. office team in hockey. Yeah, that was a good year. That was a year that the NHL lockout was on. I was actually, that was after my first year pro. I played in Bakersfield. And I, I had an awesome rookie year in East Coast. I actually got called by the Blackhawks to go to camp and all that, right? So I was all pumped to go try out for Chicago. And that still happened in June or whatever. The NHL decided that they were going to do a lockout. So it kind of screwed my plans over. And Jimmy Galante was a, in Google, them, or there's a thing on Sports Illustrated, he was a, yes, you could say, an Italian mafia.

You know, to this day, I'm still close to AJ's son. It was quite an experience. I wasn't watching the movie Sopranos, but from what I hear, Sopranos and our team in Dambury were pretty much go hand in hand. We had Frank Bia Lois, we had Garrett Burnett, we had Brad Wingfield, who's still a really good friend of mine, Steve and Pete, I mean, we had it. They didn't care. They had so much money.

care who they called. They just said, hey, you want to come play and name a price and you come, you know. And I mean, I'm not supposed to, I mean, that team was investigated by the FBI and stuff, but there were guys making four, five, six hundred thousand dollars a year. And this is only double A pro hockey, right? These guys are only supposed to be making anywhere from 25 to 35,000 a year. You know, we lived in cabins on, on New Fairfield, Connecticut, which is the, the richest the richest county in the country. I mean, we had a million-dollar cabins along the lake, and we didn't pay rent.

It was an experience, man. It was awesome. And he ran a, it was just like the movies. He ran a trashing company, a Danbury trashers. That was another chapter in my life. You know, like I said, this book's going to be long, but it's still going. I swear to God, there has to be a great story from playing in Danbury.

You got to have one that you're just. Just like, like, you've said a couple times here, whether it's in the KHL, now Danbury, a couple times the mob comes up. And I'm like, I don't even think the regular person knows what to make of that, right? Like, yeah, well, that's why I laugh. I do a lot of work back home now with all these little gangsters here in town. And I, to me, I laugh because I got some stuff that I probably can't even say on here that I've dealt with or was around. So when you see these kids talking about their little gangsters with their, you know, pepper spray. or little knives.

I was with, you know, when I played in Quebec, we had the Hells Angels all surrounded by us. You know, when I was in Danbury, Connecticut, it was the Italian mafia, you know, and then when I went to Russia, it was the Russian mob. So, you know, I was with some pretty big organizations, and, you know, there's stories here I can tell you all night. And maybe we'll save some of those for when I come down to Lloyd and have a talk.

That sounds cool. I got to ask then, at any point, with all those different organizations surrounding what you're doing. Was it ever uncomfortable or was it like, no, man, this is like take care of us and it was good? Not really. Like I said, I'm never been into rough stuff. Like I've always been pretty even head on my shoulders.

So, you know, like, and especially being in Quebec, I was a bad, you know, there was a time, a couple years there were me and Steve Bossy were probably the two two baddest men on ice. And they loved us, right? The bikers loved us because of who we were and what we did. And, I mean, so you'd go to a bar and you'd be VIP with them. But I was never a guy that would really buy into them. You know, they'd order me a bunch of drinks.

I would never, I would take them, but I'd always turn around and order them a bunch of drinks. So I never, you know, I just never wanted to have, oh, anything to anybody. And same thing, you know, in Russia, same thing, just, you know, I respected them. They respected me. I've never been, and I was probably a bad downfall in my career was I've never been an ass kisser. You know, if you like me for who I am, I'll like you for who for you are. And, you know, if you didn't like me, then I didn't like you. So, yeah, it just, like I said, I just, the kind of person I am, I didn't really get too involved with them.

I mean, I was around them. I've seen a lot of shit, but I never, never got myself into deep. Talking about the LN-A-H, the Quebec Fighting League, was that enjoyable? Was that, like, was that a fun league? Because I think it was, I had Kurt Bensmiller on here once upon a time, and he talked about going out there and some of the, just the craziness of it. I mean, you played in a lot of years on and off. Yeah, no.

I mean, Kurt, I think only played a couple games there. A couple games, that's right. I don't think he was cut out for that league. I mean, that's a, I don't think he was tough enough or I don't know if he had it. But yeah, it's not in every man's league, man. It's wild, but it's not as wild as it said. Like, if you're a goal score and you take a guy over there to go play, you're not, that goal score is not going to hurt.

There was bench brawls. But when I would jump on the ice to go kill somebody, I wasn't trying to go kill us. Like, I was going after the other tough guy. So usually the goal scores would grab each other and basically hug and kiss. And it would be guys like me going around trying to make a statement, right? So, I mean, you rarely, like, guys, like, there was times I tried to bring some of my guys that were skilled guys. I'd say, let's go, and they were so scared to go. But I was actually, the one year that I was there,

I was really impressed with the skill level. I bet you that year, it was us in St. Jan. If you took us two teams, we were like an American League team. Like we had, we were probably scared because our fourth line was made up of straight meat, right? But, I mean, your first and second line, all those guys had played in the NHL or the HL. The only difference was they were a bit older and had jobs at home now and work. But, like, I mean, those years,

is we were, it was good hockey. I remember we were playing, because there was a lockout that year, because that was towards the end of the year of Danbury, that we would play into Quebec, the old Quebec stadium, you know, that's an NHL rink. And I mean, that rink would be full and,

and the fans there loved it. I mean, so to me, it had a rough, it has a rough reputation, but it was awesome. I mean, I enjoyed it. It was professional. I was, I've seen some bad things where guys,

you know, but I was, when I was there, I was such a kind of a high player in demand, I brought it. a lot of fans and, you know, when I travel on the road, I was a big draw. So I was always treated first class and, you know, I got paid good money and got treated first class and always, same thing. I had nothing bad to say about that place, you know. You hear stories negative about Russia or about Quebec, but, you know, I guess when you're

valuable to them, you're treated well, right? I mean, maybe we went there now and I'm out of shape and can't do what I used to do, then maybe I want to be treated as good. But, you know, like I said, I have nothing bad to say about pretty much any place I've played. Who is maybe one of the best players then you've been on the ice with? I mean, you've played a lot of the different spots. You've seen a lot of different talent. Who's one of the guys that stuck out to you?

I always, this story gets asked. I mean, I didn't play with them. But I remember the one guy that I just would play against, and I couldn't believe how good he was. And I got to play a couple of games against Ovechkin. and I got to play a couple games against a event of Genie Malkin. Okay.

And, but the one guy that I went, wow, was that Alexander Radulov. Really? For Dallas. For Dallas. But when he was just so dominant, guys would, you'd hammer him,

but the puck would never leave him. Like he would just, he'd get crushed everywhere, but the puck would never leave a stick. And he'd get up and keep going. I don't know why. Like I said, I know just from stats,

you're going to say, of course, Oveshkins better, you know. But then I remember playing against Malkin, and I remember he split our two demon. I still remember it fell on his knees and still put it crossbar in. So, I mean, I'm not going to say one guy's better than the other. I mean, they're all fucking good. Yeah, they're all talented. But I just remember looking at Radjolving going, wow, fuck, you can't even get him off. Like, he just bounced off, you know, and keep going.

Well, it's slowly getting dark on us. So I want to slide into the Crude Master Final Five, the last segment. And then, well, if you're in Lloyd, we'll, we'll, Natalie up here at the studio, we'll have a cocktail, and we'll pick your brain on some mob stories. But until then, let's get into the Crude Master Final Five. Just five quick questions, long or short as you want to go, John. If you were getting in a line brawl tomorrow and could have one guy on your side, who would you take? Shit, I got two really good buddies. And I would have to say, can I take two? Can we change it to two guys?

Sure, let's put two. And this is fighting against any other toughest guys in the NHL. I would take Dean Mayeron and I would take Brad Wingfield. Dean Mayeran was the guy that played in Quebec with me. I never fought him. He was actually on my team, but he was the guy that won the hockey enforcers. Remember they had a thing 10 years ago in Prince George? Yeah, that's right.

Big man, six, five, tough his nails. Big teddy bear, if you really know him. He actually lives up in Coal Lake now. And so that's been there and I'd take and then Brad Wingsfield. They called him Wingnut and I put him in Dandery. And shit, I don't know if he can't beat you up with his fist, he'll find something else to beat you up with right beside me. Guys are not that case saw.

And then like I said, both those guys. And the funny story I want to throw this in there too is both those guys hated me. Because I never fought either one of them, but they were always in my team, but both guys hated me. Because I'm a lot younger than them, right? So I came in as a young tough guy, and they were the old veteran tough guy. And they probably said, oh, who the fuck is this kid, you know? And to this day, they still tell me they know why I was talking out because, you know,

going to be in a serious issue, you know, is your head's a powerful thing. And I look back and I go, fuck I was talking. And I don't really like that. But to be honest, when I was fighting guys that were sick, like Steve McIntyres or there, you know, those guys are big men and they're tough. But if I didn't go in there with a mentality, that I'm tough and I'm, you know, I used to tell myself I'm the toughest guy on the ice, you know, and I'm, was they? Probably not, but it just, you know, if you go into a fight saying,

fuck, I'm going to get beat up, I'm going to lose, I'm not tough. Guess what? You're probably going to get beat up, you know? So, so that's why I always had that cocky attitude just to make myself, you know, go. So those are the two guys. I would take Brad Wingfield and Dean Mayeron. Well, these might, these names might come up for the next two questions. And say, number two is, which tough guy was the best to go for beers with. The best guy to go to for beers with. Probably Zenning Konopka.

You know, Zee was, Z, Z, like the party. Z, he reminded me, he's a, I always called Zia, a white Indian. He partied like me with me, like I would party back in the reserve, but he was a white guy, and we had some good stories. I remember, I mean, I guess we only got five minutes, but one story pops to mind when we were in a bar, and some young guy got called up to us. He was from the East Coast and he got called up to the American League.

And me and Z were like the two older, you know, veteran leader guys. And the guys you wanted to kind of be around because we were popular. And his young goalie came up to us. I don't even remember the kid's name, but he said, I want to buy you guys a shot. And me and Z, we could drink, right? And so this kid buys us a shot. So, you know, we do the shot with the kid. He's like, oh, awesome, thank you.

And then the kid tries to leave. He goes, no, no, no, get back here. He said, you're going to buy us a drink. We're going to buy you a drink now. what Z ordered a freaking 20 and Z would always order like wild is it called wild turkey I used to hate it

yeah it's wild turkey yeah absolutely it was disgusting but he would order like 20 of them and we'd sit there and drink it it so the kid was you know didn't want to tell us no so they sit in there drinking these shots of this but he ends up while we're not looking

he's spilling his shots and this is our teammate and anyways Zee ended up catching the kid dump his shots and Z grabs him by the throat and is like trying to trope the kid the kid's scared and all the bountains come running over but the bouncer knew who he were so they're like kind of back off and i'm like z i said let go of the kid but i mean that's he was just a

wild he was a wild party guy and then and a great guy you know so he was he was fun to drink but if you could sit across from uh any guy or woman for that matter like i'm doing with you who would you who would i take don't trump the trump the trumpster the trumpster i think i would yeah i don't know I would have asked for someone cool, but I think it would be cool to talk to that guy. He's so hated, but he's also loved by others. So I don't know. I think that'd be kind of cool to say I got a party with Donald Trump or at least talk to the Trump. What's one league you never played in that you wish you could have?

I would have, well, obviously, the NHL. I would have loved to play full time in the NHL. I mean, but, you know, I came in a late time and my size might hurt me and my skating. but if you weren't to say the NHL, I don't know. I think I played in a lot of good leagues. Okay, finally then your last one is the best establishment. What is the hole in the wall, if you're in Cleveland, Chicago, Miami, wherever it is. If you're in Kazakhstan, where is the one place that people got to stop in to have a briskey at?

I'm going to promote my hometown. Can I do that? Absolutely. Dorn Tosh. The Dorn Tosh, Bar? Parkland Inn. Owner is Brent Teevich. Hey, nothing wrong with that.

I've been there. I've been there. Yeah, I mean, it's a steak night. I would bring all my buddies from the states that would come and visit me, and we'd go to Parkland on a steak night, and you cook your own steaks, and it's, I mean, it's awesome. You got deer heads hanging all over, and, you know, you had some of my, yeah, you might see the, you might see the,

You might see the odd little fight in there. And, you know, so yeah. Great little spot. Well, like I say, the lights are slowly going out on you. I assume that's the curtain call. So what we'll do is the next time you're down on Lloyd, we'll have you in the studio where light, we can sit here all night and we'll make sure the beer fridge is full

and we'll have a BS session, maybe get Mr. Carey in on it too then. Yeah, let's bring that guy in there. Let's talk about him in his fighting days. Sure. It sounds like a plan. Well, thanks again for hopping on, John. All right, bro.

That was awesome. 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.