Shaun Newman Podcast - Ep. #109 - Wade Redden & Cory Cross Roundtable

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

While in Kelowna I sat down with 2 former NHL'ers to discuss life in COVID, thursday night hockey, players taking a stand with Jacob Blake shooting & a few fun stories from their time in the NHL. Cory has been a guest on the podcast twice Episode #29 & #50 Wade has also been a guest and was on episode #41 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. Well, we're finally on our way back, just pulling through Edmonton, Alberta. Here is a little bit of a summary of what's going on in the last week. from the 23rd dog is 30th we've traveled over 4,000 kilometers two ferries, four books, Daryl Sutter, Judith Reeves, Jim Paterson, Wade Redding, Corey Cross, Jordan Tutu,

and a couple of our uncles, Bob and Dan Reeves. So I've rattled off a bunch of podcasts in a short period of time and you're going to get to hear that over the next couple weeks. I first got to give a huge shout out to my parents as they sit in front of me. they've dealt with my yes yes I don't know if you can hear dad or not but they've had to deal with me

the weird guy who has pretty much sat here and read the entire drive and then made them sit in a hotel room or do something other than drive around and look at the scenery because all we've done is talk to people which I thoroughly enjoy so a huge shout out to my parents

who are probably going to listen to this again so I appreciate them coming along for this journey Now I've had four companies help get me there and back. One very silently, the family of T-Barr-1 transport. The boys get to have the T-Bar-1 tail of the tape every episode. They've been very kind and enlisting their fearless leader, old Daddy O'Numan, the captain the ship and get us safely there and back,

which has been an interesting journey to say the least. Foremost, the idea started with Foremost. It was sitting in a boardroom with Lewis Stang, and that's where the idea started from. So a shout out to Lewis and the team at Foremost. They offer smooth walled grain bins, hopper bottoms, and fuel tanks that are in stock and manufactured locally. They want to ensure you know they are constructed of the highest quality and engineered for a long life. Delivery is free within a 300-kilometer radius of Lloyd Minster. You can buy them at any of their co-op location, Lloyd Minster, Lashburn, or Nealberg.

For more information, you can check them out on their website, foremost.ca. Baker Hughes, upstream chemicals. When you need improved performance or productivity, your solution often exists in the proper application of specialty chemicals. We offer multiple chemical lines to improve performance, use, and production. Not to mention we have the best group around. Did I mention I work for Baker Hughes? We will go above and beyond to ensure that you get the answers you need to all your questions. For all your oil field chemical needs, look to Baker Hughes.

Tracy Clots and Titus Tools is a locally owned business, which Tracy formed back in 1997. He's got 40 years experience in the oil industry, and under Tracy's direction, Titus has remained loyal to Lloyd Minster and the surrounding community, continuing to invest in local charities and the fundraisers. I have personally seen his passion when it comes to our local talent, whether we are talking about Andrew Mavaritas, who is an amateur MMA fighter, former guest of the podcast, or maybe Brandy Hofer, the very talented artist who also was a former guest of the podcast, or maybe some Yahoo driving across the West Coast for a road trip for his podcast.

I really do appreciate everything he has done. If you're interested in finding more out about Titus Tools, head to Titus Tools.com. I appreciate everything all these businesses have done for me. So let's get on to your T-Barr-1 tale of the tape. Wade Redden, originally from Holman-Suscatchewan, was drafted second overall in the 1995 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders. He played 1,023 games with the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues,

and while playing for Team Canada, they captured a gold at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Corey Cross, originally from Lloyd Minster, Alberta. was drafted first overall in the 1992 NHL supplemental draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played 659 games over his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Emmington Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings. While playing for Team Canada, he captured a gold at the 1997 World Championships. So buckle up. Here we go.

This is Corey Cross. This is Wade Redden. And welcome to the Sean. Newman podcast. Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. I'm joined by Wade Rand and Corey Cross. Let's talk about Men's League for a bit, because that is the most important thing. Number one issue in the world right now.

That's right, our TNHL Thursday Night Hockey Group. So you know what's funny is on the way out here, we play noon hour and Lloyd, I'm sure all around the world. They got different little leagues they play in, and all the old boys are worried about how we're all going to be back on the ice. What's the hoops you guys got to jump through? Well, they just came out with a phase three, they call it. And so we're hoping that we can all get on the ice and play. Dress rooms are going to be a little more room and not as many guys in the dress room. But on the ice, they're saying now up to 30 guys on the ice.

Do you get to use the showers? Do you get to dress or do you get to come? Are the XNHL is going to be the guys riding in the vehicles full of gear? Like, am I going to drive by Wade and he's going to have all gear on? Maybe. I don't know. I'm waiting to hear it. It sounds like it. It'll be like the oiter is going to Short Park to go practice

driving down highway, highway 16 with all her gear on. But yeah, it sounds like we got to have her gear on and then no showers and leave right after. But at least we'll have a few more guys on the ice. Wives are certainly going to love that, aren't they? And no spectator, so the wives can't come watch anymore. Oh, they'll be upset about that, eh? Not that they came here.

They didn't come. 10.30 Thursday night. That was a highlight for them all. Is it a pretty good group you guys have Thursday nights? It is. Yeah, we got, well, well, there's a bunch of guys in town. They've had this skate going for probably close to 30 years. So there's a mix of, like, local guys.

And then a lot of the pro guys, really, that retire and want to kind of have a skate or whatever. A lot of those guys come out now, too. So I'm not. the youngest anymore. We got guys like Tutu and René Bork and Tyler Boke. So there's, it's a pretty good skate. You get a good, good sweat on and a little, little fun and competition. And then there's some characters out there too that make it a lot of fun just to just to come and visit with the guys and get a night night at the rink. It's a good time. Yeah, Mike Ridley, remember that old name? So he played in Washington. He was a really good hockey player back in

the day, but he kind of runs the league and he made these rules where he keeps stats. And it's not like goals or assists, but it's if you win and you play up to five as many games as you can up to five. And if you win five, three, then all the guys on the winning team get three points. If you win five, four, you get two points and the losers get one point. That's an overtime win. He calls it. And then a shutout, you get an extra point so you can make four points if you shut the other team out. And then he keeps a total. of all the whole year. And then we have a championship at half, halfway,

and the championship at the end with the high percentage winning guys versus the low percentage guys. So it makes for a lot of good competition and fun. So have you won? Have you been on the winning side? Yeah, we call it. For some reason they called it,

there's one guy, Tyler Fox. Thank you, it was his idea to have this championship. So it's called the Foxy Cup after him. So we've had probably close to 10 Foxy Cup games or the last number of years because it's two a year. Maybe not that many. But yeah, my name's on it a few times. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's funny because so at the start of the night, Michael picked two guys who are equal and skill level and they'll quickly draft the team.

So every week the teams are a little different. And so, but then, you know, you have the two top guys are on, they're going to be on a winning team and a losing team. So at the end of the year, the winning, the high percentage, and it's pretty even, like, the teams are even still. So it's a couple times it's been a little off, but they've made a couple trades to make it, make it a little bit of it. But usually when they pick captains, it's usually Corey and I against each other. And I screwed up a few times.

Who's your number, who's your number one pick? Well, that's the question, right? But the way we do it, we pick the other guys team. And so we got these, we got the shitty, the shitty guys we teased them. They're the good guys in the room too. But so we got obviously a guys that have played a lot of hockey. And then there's, it's a whole range of talent. But I think a few times there I screwed up and Corey, you know, if you're off one pick

and then that kind of throws the whole thing. And then all of a sudden he's got two extra good players or whatever. So you're trying to sewer him the entire draft. I sewered myself, I think is what happened. So you give who you don't like playing with, you give him to Wade right when I don't like play with that guy. You're all going to put him on your team. So the first pickover all that night, usually, that's not the best player. That's right.

Anyways, it's fun. It's a reverse draft. Reverse draft. It doesn't matter how old we get. We're all still kids at heart, eh? That's right. Yeah, it's tons of fun. And the emails, like the banter back and forth and in the dress room and outside the dress room are just hilarious.

Like a couple of guys are so funny. Well, I'm glad to know you guys are still having some. some fun in life. Oh yeah. Yeah, life's good, man. Well, I was saying to you boys before we started this, this is a pretty nice little view here. I had a good one yesterday, but this is, this is far from Lloyd Minster. Well, yeah, we've settled here. It's a good spot. I mean, yeah, you got the lake, the climate's great, and I don't know, it's a comfortable spot where I'm happy here. Miss a lot about Lloyd, obviously, but Hill Monde area. But

this has got a lot to offer. It's a great spot. Yeah, I mean, the weather, you can't beat the weather, plus, you know, the skiing and the wintertime, and we both enjoy that with our families. It's a great family sport that we love going up to Big White and doing with our kids, and

Wade's up there too, and a bunch of the guys are getting spots up there, so you go up there and you're always seeing it running at the guys, and then you come back over the summertime, and you're on the lake, it's best of both worlds for sure. You know, speaking to Hillmont for a quick sec, so I'm in Jim Patterson's office yesterday.

He has a map of Saskatchewan on there. And if you can believe it, because this is saying something, because a lot of, you know, Hillman is like, you blink and you seriously miss it. Hillman was on there. So Jim Patterson had no idea where it was. I'm like, it's right there. And I'm like, and it's there.

It's actually on the map. Throw a thumbtack in there for him. That's right. Don't forget that spot. How has COVID been for you guys? has it, you know, for a lot of people, they're constantly on the go and here or there everywhere and COVID hit, walked everybody inside. Was that good, bad? Did you see a lifestyle change at all? Not really, to be honest. I mean, so that hit in March and there's, like we were just saying,

there was almost 20 degrees here and summer was like, it was full on spring for sure. So, I mean, I wasn't working. I wasn't missing any travel or anything that way. We were just kind of settled in and kept quite busy with the kids. It's hard to believe it's been six, seven months that we've been doing it. We've had a few little trips just in B.C. driving around, but it's been good. I don't know. Getting out golfing and, I don't know, I mean, so fortunate that we're in the position we're in to, you know, to not have to be stressed in a lot of ways.

So it's been pretty good and busy with the kids. They're, you know, kind of getting them busy every day. We're getting sick of it now. It's going to be nice to get them back to school so we don't have to think of what to do with them every day. But other than that, there's a lot of fun for the most part. Yeah, it was kind of nice. Well, the one good thing about COVID,

you spend a lot more time with your family and saved a lot of money from spring hockey and spring volleyball. I was going to be gone seven weekends of the eight. We figured it was going to be in Vancouver or around this area for tournaments. And so that was all, you know, suspended. So we spent a lot more time here with the family.

And life for us didn't change too much. We didn't, obviously didn't travel, though. You know, work back in Lloyd was shut right down. And there was no traveling to Calgary for me. So, yeah, we just try to enjoy the, keep the kids busy. Did you notice in town if there was, you know, Kelowna is a tourist town? Was it dead? Or was there still people rolling in?

Once summer hit, you started seeing people come in. July started getting busy. Yeah. I mean, well, what is the timeline here with the restaurants or whatever being closed and then getting open? I know a few good friends that run restaurants. And I think once summer hit, things were rolling pretty good. I think they're, you know, after taking kind of April where nothing was open, May started loosening up.

I think come June, like I think the summer's been pretty busy here. Well, out east, I keep wanting to say west because normally I'm the West guy, but out here I'm the East guy. But out east, I guess, we always hear that it's dead out here. Oh, you got to come out to, you know, Banff, Colona wherever, right? Because there's not a whole lot of people traveling. And then you get out here and you're like, what the heck are they out? There's a ton of people out here.

Yeah, there's a lot of people here. Yeah, for sure. I think you, I don't know if it would have been as busy, but it was. Summer seemed pretty normal. Yeah, I know some people couldn't find a place like an Airbnb or something. It was book sold. Yeah. Yeah.

But a lot of people are just staying at home, though, maybe not going, not getting out too much. Like downtown, it wasn't as busy as it usually is the times I went down there, but still on the lake is busy. And lots of people are here. What do you think of August hockey? That's been good watching. Nice to see it on. I don't know. It's something to watch on TV anyway. A lot.

I wonder, you do miss, well, I'm sure the players feel it, obviously, without having a crowd in the stands, but probably lack a bit of intensity or energy in a building without the fans. But I've been enjoying watching it. It's been good to have it on, and yeah, it'll be a bit of a downer for the team that does win. I don't know. It'll just not the same, right? that imagine winning and then there's no one to celebrate with. And it's just like, so I think they'll lose out that way. But yeah, they're still going to be the best team at the end of the day.

So that's something to say. Yeah, I think they've done a good job with the TV part of it. Like, as a fan watching the games. I think, you know, they've done as good as it can. And it doesn't look, it looks pretty good. It looks like a video game. Yeah, a little bit, yeah. Right?

Like, it's just kind of like, like, it's done supremely well, but it looks like a video game. Yeah. Even the little crowd noise in the background when they score, and they have all their horns when they score their goal songs. That's pretty, they've done really well on the small details of keeping those in. I don't, you know, as a fan, that's cool. As a player, I just can't imagine being in game, you know, six of the playoffs

and having no fans. You guys, well, you guys squared off against each other quite a bit there for about three straight years. It was Toronto, Ottawa, Toronto, Ottawa. Yeah, the fans are the big part. I mean, for playoffs, I mean, how hot, how excited you are when you come out in your home building, the fans are just going nuts. I mean, that is, that is something you can never, like that high you get. Well, you can't duplicate that.

Like, that is probably the only thing I miss in hockey is stepping out on that ice to start the game and the fans are going crazy. That is so cool. And that's what they're missing. Oh, 100. That's exactly what I thought of, too. And I kind of get shivers when you think of it. When the lights are off and you come out and the crowd's just going nuts, it's like, yeah,

that's what gets you going. So, yeah, they're not feeling that. And that's a big loss, I think, for sure, because that is a great feeling. Yeah, but, you know, we're talking about our Thursday night hockey group, like, sometimes it gets, it gets competitive. Do you get the lights out and the fans are going nuts? No, but it gets competitive, right? Like, and it's just ingrained in us when the Foxy Cups are on the line, the, you know,

You know, the intensity picks up. And so I'm not surprised that it took maybe a little bit to get used to it, but the guys are, it's pretty intense now, I think. Yeah, no, that's a good point. Well, have you been watching the Dallas-Colado series? Man, that has been, for no fans and, you know, kind of a weird atmosphere, they're going at it. Yeah.

Like, that's a fun series to watch. Yeah. There's some big boys. I thought Jamie Ben could possibly killed McKinnon there the other night. Oh, yeah, yeah. And I think that's probably the new rules coming into effect where he kind of, to me, maybe I'm wrong. He kind of, you know what the hit were? I didn't see it.

Dushain does one of these button hooks on the side that he's, you know, he's patented for, right? Comes in, dancing, does a button hook, and who's standing there, but Mr. Ben, and he is cruising. Like, I mean. McKinnon. Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I, yeah. He just missed, like.

He just, he was, he'd see him missile. And it almost looked at the last second, maybe he let off a little bit because he's like, I'm probably going to kill his kid. Yeah. And I'll probably be suspended for 27 games. Yeah, yeah. Well, that was the interesting part about COVID when they were playing all the old games. Oh. And all the stuff that guys were getting away with and what we used to get away with.

Oh, my God. It was just kill or be killed, right? These playoff games were just, it was, they were so rough and so intense. Like, way, way rougher than. What was the worst injury one of you guys fought through in the playoffs? Well, I separate my shoulder the one year. and I guess that's the

yeah separated shoulder I remember playing playing through a few games with that and then in knee too I kind of tweaked a knee and

got a brace on it and battled through it but yeah that time of year you kind of if you think you can go you go

I remember I was told you can't play unless you do 10 push-ups so I couldn't yeah I missed all the islander It was a pretty good separation. So I missed all the Islander series,

and then I missed the first two games against Ottawa. Then I finally could do 10 push-ups, and I was back in the lineup. How many times did you try to do push-ups then to try and build that, or you just waited, and one day you walked out and grits. Honestly, couldn't even do a push-up when I started, so, yeah. Well, it's funny.

So that was my last game was, so I hurt playing with Boston against Toronto. I think it was game four I got hit in Toronto. Then I separated my shoulder. So I kind of played the rest of that game. And then we come back to Boston for game five. I don't play that. We lose.

We're up 3-1. We lose game five. And then we go back. Game six, I get it frozen, and I play. We lose again. And it was a back-to-back game, game six, game seven. It actually happened that our plane broke down. So we're supposed to fly home to Boston after the game.

And we get stuck in Toronto, so we have to get up in the morning, go home, fly in the morning, and then play game seven at night. And I'm like, my shoulder's just hurting. Like, you freeze it up, you're fine, play game six. And then get home and, you know, getting your dress shirt on. I couldn't lift my arm. So I get into the rink and, like, not feeling real good about it. They freeze it up.

I do warm up. I'm like, I can't. No, I mean, it was a liability. I think looking back I wish I would have I don't know I never played again after that so maybe I should have played but the guy that went in for me ended up scoring a big goal that night too so then we went on a run and I was a Tori crew wasn't it well him and then Bartowski too oh yeah Bartelsky because I think Seidenberg might have been hurt too so there's a few guys that were out but anyways that was kind of how she all came to an end for me and then I was kind of

long for the ride and never got back in and we end up losing the Chicago in the final. But anyways, I digress. But yeah, a lot of guys play through stuff. And obviously they're healthy. This is a different year that way too. Everyone's healthy coming in, but I'm sure they're getting dinged up, you know, daily on a daily basis. Have you heard anything from inside the bubble? Like I've seen a couple of things on SportsCenter, I think, about kind of their routine and what they

have to do in the COVID testing and how they're all separated. And have you heard anything from any of the players inside what it's like? Well, I was texting with Corey Schwab, who's a goalie coach for Phoenix. Him and I are still friends. And he was enjoying it because he goes, all we do is eat, sleep, and play or watch hockey. So he goes, I'm enjoying it. Because he'll go to all the games and watch the games. But he goes to his players, I think it's pretty boring for them.

But you might have. Well, I just, Mike Smith's got a place here, the goalie with the Oilers. Right. So I ran into him. And I think the young guys, I think they get and play their video games. So I think they keep busy that way. But I know some of the older guys, they, too much time in their hand. So they're drinking, having too many beer.

But I think they all hang out. I mean, they're in the same hotel and there's no one else around. So that's another bad, you know, you kind of right shoulder to shoulder or you're kind of around the other team all the time, which would be kind of annoying and awkward. Are there any families there? I don't even know if there's something. No, I don't think there's families. I think.

I think Daryl was telling me that as teams lose out and there's less people in the bubble, then they can start bringing families in. But I want to say that's maybe the semifinals, something like that. Maybe. That would make sense. They have talked about that. I don't know. I haven't heard if that's actually going to happen or not, but that have been mentioned.

Yeah. You know, if this was back when you guys were kids and you were, you know, now you're a young guy going into the bubble, go back to when your kids. and Atari, I would assume, was maybe the first gaming console you both played. What would you, what would have been the game of choice you were crushing out back then if you got stuck in a hotel room? Well, it's funny, I just, they have Atari 2,600s that sell in the store now. Do they really?

Yeah, and they have all the game. And I bought my son one of those. Maybe I bought it for myself. Did he actually play? Yeah, yeah, we were playing it all Christmas time. Really? Oh, it's hilarious. All these old games, Decahathlon and Riverade and Chopper Command.

So I was killing them in all the games. It was awesome. He's like, I can't believe this is a game. All the old Atari sports games, hilarious. I can't remember which Atari games we would have played. Was it Centipede? Yeah, centipede. Space invaders.

Wasn't there a jungle gym? Yeah, I think there was a jungle. Pitfall was the one. Pitfall? Yeah. We were just talking. So I was mentioned that we're doing a reno at our house. and so I remember

I think it was in the I remember this arcade game I think you were in Paradise Hill at the one general store but remember that it was like Summer Olympics one where they have all those different but I remember some of the guys

had it figured it was a two button thing you had to run back and forth but guys had like the plastic spoon or a pencil or something so I want to if you guys keep an eye out for that because I might want to put one in my newly run out basement

nice nice It'll be a fun little game to have down there. I'm sure if you searched Amazon, you could probably find something, or eBay. Yeah, for sure. Somewhere there's something sitting out there. Yeah. I bet you. I remember the Cathlon, the pole vault, I was showing my son.

I said, let's just see if this cheat still works. And you pole vaulted and you're going, I just kept pressing the fire button. And the guy would just launch into, through the screen. We broke the game, Dad. I don't even know. Do they have, you know, this is, I'm going. I'm dating myself now. Do they even have game cheats anymore?

I mean, all games all the way through like Sega Genesis and everything, always had like, you press the certain buttons a certain way. Sure they do. All sudden, you know, Mario, you hop through the right spot and all of a sudden, boom, you're on to. Well, and then also you'd get like how many men you could get for Mario on that, you'd get to the final, and then you'd get that turtle, you'd jump and kind of get stuck on the stair.

And then you'd get like 200 lives or whatever. Remember that? good old times but when you guys were young breaking into the NHL did you uh I mean it it was well past the Atari by then but did you guys play games on the road Sega yeah you played Sega when I was at Atlanta so the minors there's lots of downtime in the minors and touring I mean we'd have 15 day road trips and we'd bring the Sega with us and have you could play two-on-two so hockey and football and and a Pierre Luc Dubois. His dad was my roommate. So him and I would play guy named Jason Ruff and

Eric Chiron, and we would play hockey and football against him all the time. And that was in the minors. Once we got to the big leagues, we left the toys at home. You left the toys at home? They brought the toys with them. Yeah, I was never a big gamer. I got to... We're never a big gamer, but you knew all about the Mario Cheats. Well, of course, back Nintendo when I was 12 years old, yeah, we knew all about that. But I remember playing the Sony or the PlayStation Golf and Medal of Honor.

That was the two games I remember for a few years playing. Tiger Woods Golf? Tiger Woods Golf. Yeah, Tiger Vision. Everybody remembers that. Oh, yeah. I look at the games nowadays and they're almost too realistic. Yeah, no kidding.

Play any challenge. I haven't played for so long that, yeah, but I can imagine. Does it hurt your brain knowing that kids now can make millions of dollars playing video games? Like, they can use that against you. Dad, I'm just working on my craft. My son keeps telling me that, but it doesn't work. It's funny how the kid's attitudes change depending on what games are playing. Like, I find that Fortnite and the Call of Duty games.

His attitude changes. It turns in a little donkey, so we have to live. As soon as that happens, we... games are done for a few days here. Yeah. So trying to keep him aware of his attitude, when the whole thing. Well, same, yeah.

Roblox, roadblocks or roadblocks? That's what our kids are into. But yeah, yeah, they love it. And then they, it's like you said, though, they'll go on and YouTube and watch other people play this game. I don't get that, but it's a big thing. And I don't know, even kids, obviously there's the, I've seen different,

stories about these guys playing and making like seven figures like their world championships and they fill out arenas for people to come watch but there's also the guys that make a couple thousand a month like you can do that too if you have enough followers so it's interesting well yeah i think there's been a few nchel guys who've had some tough years maybe a few too many hours of fortnight and i know there's some guys that are addicted addicted to fortnight in the league yeah to fortnight Yeah. I still don't get Fortnite. Who was it?

One player, was it the defenseman the finished kid with Calgary that there was something about him. I think he was a tri-city player. But there was something come out. He was like too much Fortnite. Anyways, I'm starting rumors, but I'm sure that's the case

and some guys you don't sleep like he's up all night playing these games. How do you think you're going to react to that? We had a guy in college who used to play online poker all through the night. Oh, yeah. One morning he woke up and he was, or we woke up and he was 10 grand up. He won 10 grand through the night.

And by like 10 in the morning, he lost. It's funny how certain guys just get sucked into that world. Oh, I know. Well, it is, I guess, addiction. Yeah. A different form, yeah. There was in Brandon, after I left, the VLTs, some guys were just spending hours in front of these things and addicted to them.

Yeah. One of these games, they have these stuff. psychologists that work for these game companies and figure out how to addict the kids. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know, making sure it's going to be addicting. Well, all they got to do is go back to Atari or whatever, and that was addicting back in the day, right? Mom's yelling at you to get outside and you're one more. One more game. A couple more minutes, Mom.

I don't hear that a lot. How much fun would no reporters be? You guys dealt with, wow, Toronto is an absolute nightmare. But in general, I mean, New York City both you, both you have played in Canadian markets. I mean, I'm assuming Otto was no cakewalk. How much fun would it be right now to have no reporters coming in? And in the locker room, just be the locker room. Well, I mean, it's funny.

usually they are, I think they have access pretty much to the whole room. Obviously, they usually just stay in the dressing room and wear your equipment, but I remember Al Stracken coming back to where, and he's a Hall of Fame writer for Toronto. He was kind of at the end of his run kind of in the early 2000s, and, but I remember him walking back to where the guys are dressing just because he could, and he was like kind of pushing his weight around, kind of puff in his chest. But he was, but for the most part, I don't have any problem with the report. Like, a lot of them are doing their job and, you know, there's the guys that are negative and they're dinks or whatever. And they're writing because that's what it takes to get a viewer

too. So you kind of somewhat appreciate that. But for the most part, I get along good with all the reporters. But how much fun would it be to have none of them in there? Would it just be enjoyable? I don't mean it as a negative to the reporters. Well, yeah, because, I mean, seriously, you're rushing to get undressed. Well, and how much fun is it in your Thursday night hockey league? Did you just sit and have a BS and not have a, you know? At the World Championships, that was the fun part, right? There was nobody, there was no reporters.

The guys were called out just like they are now to the media scrums. And you're just sitting there and, yeah, you pop open a beer. And you're sitting there just, and it's awesome, you know, and that's why everybody loves going to the world championships and that camaraderie you get. And so yeah, it would be great to just sit there with the guys. Nobody bugging you and just enjoy the dressing room. Yeah, you know, now that I think of it, yeah, you do rush out of there. You're dressed and there's people around you.

Yeah, there's no time to reflect like for 10 minutes. Like they're in there in five minutes basically. Oh, it's a cattle call. Like in Toronto, they open the doors and just. Man. They're just running. They're literally running and throwing elbows trying to, get to the

whatever the story that night is who they want to talk to. Think about it from their shoes. They got to run in there. They got to get something. Then they got to go back

to wherever they got to go, put it out. Like they're up until probably one in the morning, just trying to get that all along. Yeah, it's not easy for them, for sure. And they're like,

Wade's saying, like they got to have something for them to sell papers, right? So it's got to be a little edgy, usually. And so controversial is always... Can we get a little controversy on here, guys?

Could we fire it up a little bit. I tease. Controversy cells, we all know that. Yeah. Now, there's been some guys I just like, and I've told them, I had one opportunity right in my career to tell a guy

what I really thought of him. So that made me feel good. A reporter? Yeah. Yeah, I cornered him and said, I thought it was a piece of crap. And he was looking. Did that come out in the paper?

Oh, no. was this was a little hidden he was walking by me and I just kind of cornered him and I knew I was done so I'm like yeah it's time to tell you what I think so maybe feel good oh wow I probably wouldn't there's a few that I could have said that too yeah yeah but I didn't get the chance yeah I just had the opportunity and I thought I'd take it who's who's gonna win who's your picks for winning the cup this year who's your team coming out of the east west and who he thinks winning Philly, Vegas. Philly Vegas, eh?

Yeah. Wow, Philly, yeah. Philly, you know. Well, yeah. That's who I kind of liked coming into it. So I'm going to stick with that one. You know what? Dallas, I really like watching Dallas.

I love that Heisken in that number four. It's just so good. But between them and Vegas, for sure, Vegas, another great team, just up and down the lineup. There's no real weaknesses there. Isn't it unbelievable that an expansion team can be like that good? Yeah, I don't think Seattle's going to get that opportunity. I know they took full advantage all the rules or whatever that were in their favor.

And I think they did such a good job too, and I've talked about this before, with just, I know the scouting they did and the diligence they put into getting the right people there too like just the character that they assembled with the talent to boot then they've added guys like stone and stassany was a free agent i think after the fact too wasn't he and patty yeah well no and net they got lanner right yeah i mean they got flurrie and lennar and lenders is the guy right now yeah sorry i i totally cut you off so you got vegas and yeah or you got Dallas? Well, I think Vegas is going to be Dallas, too.

And I like, I'm going for Tampa. Tampa. Yeah. See what the score is right now. Well, that's what I was going to say. What is the score right now? I don't know if Stamco is ever going to come back, but. One-nothing Tampa right now.

You guys saw them, you know, everybody's seen the players walk out in the NBA, and then, you know, everything filtered across from there. and I don't know, maybe somebody can tell me different, but that's the first time, I believe, the players have ever walked out of a game like that, and it hasn't been like a forfeit or I don't even know. Like, it's pretty powerful when the players can do that. What's your guys' thought on it?

I mean, I think every, I shouldn't say everybody, everybody has their thoughts on what's going on in the States, but some of the videos that have come out of some of the things going on are pretty shocking. And so what did you think of the players, you know, siding with all the other leagues and postponing or canceling games? Like, would that ever been possible back in the day? Well, I think just the media, like, you know, the access to the filming and all that,

like stuff and stuff for sure went on like that back in the day, but it wasn't... Never caught or captured. Yeah, captured. So, I mean, it's, yeah, it's terrible to see my wife being an ex-police officers. We've had lots of conversations about what's going on. And, you know, she sees it from a police point of view, and she's got some great points. You just don't know what the whole video, a lot of times they show the video, but, I mean, you don't know the whole scenario. And that's where, you know, the media comes in.

and sometimes skews it, but I mean, some of the things we've seen is, you know, things can have been done differently for sure, right? And it's just horrible to see. And it's just, it's so ingrained in their society down there. I don't, I don't know it's going to take years and years and years for it to resolve itself. It's not going to happen overnight. And I, yeah, I'm totally okay with them making that stand. I think, like you said, it's going to be.

going to take years and years and if it's this generation, if there's kids now seeing what's going on, and maybe that's making an effect on them, you know, and then down the road, you'll see the change, hopefully at some point, but, you know, if there's a young 10-year-old kid from whatever, you know, a white kid call it, and he sees this happening, maybe that affects his change, maybe his dad was a little different on the other side, and everything's hopefully moving the right way in the psyche of these people and even ourselves too like the change that's happened in Canada obviously it's not the same you know US they've you know that's an ingrained thing it's a lot different in Canada but like even my kids like they're learning about this stuff now and they're

going to be more accepting and understanding to this type of stuff so it would probably be a generation but you know by the you know these professional athletes taking a stand and doing this stuff, I think it's only going to create positive things for the next generation. And hopefully they're aware of the issues and they can, you know. Yeah, the voices take care. I mean, these guys are, you know, everybody knows who these guys are. Maybe not the hockey players, but the NBA guys, you know, a lot of the kids know who they are. So when they stand up to something, they're, you know, as a role model, you're thinking, you know, that's a good thing to stand up for.

and hopefully changes their point of view. Because just by doing it, I don't think it's changing anything, like right today, but yeah, I think it sends the right message. So it's such a messed up stuff going on. It's just tough to watch them. That's those things you see. A lot of fans, whether we're talking baseball, NBA, NHL,

just sports fans in general, want their players to just shut up and play the sport. You two are players. I'm a player. Heck, supposedly all I do is a hockey podcast, which I laugh about. But I've always said, don't tell me about it. Like you hear superstars say their thoughts on politics or on climate change or whatever. Show me with your action.

So I was really impressed at the NBA, because I mean, whether they know it or not, by doing what they're doing opens them up to some risk. Some, like, you know, if you don't finish playing out the season, maybe TV deals don't go the right way, maybe that money falls sideways, maybe your salaries get cut. You just don't know where that leads, right? And so by them not playing,

I thought it was, you know, there's a lot of people out there that didn't like it. They're like, get back to playing the games and just leave that alone and whatever. But if you are, uh, feel that passionate about something, I thought,

um, I thought it was good on them that they, you know, spoke about it. And the only thing more powerful than words is actions. And they went and decided that we're going to walk out of games. I mean, like, there's got to be some owners who are absolutely furious right now. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

It's hard for us to put ourselves, like, like, some of these neighborhoods and some of these areas. No idea. Where they're feeling what they're feeling and been repressed or oppressed for so long that, like, we don't know what that feels like or what they're going through. So you've got to kind of respect their, you know, their feelings or their point of view. And like you said, I mean, it's a couple days where they make a stand and obviously everyone's thinking about it. But at the end of the day, they're going to move forward.

And it doesn't help anyone to sit the rest of the year out. No. And throw in the towel for the season for basketball or hockey or baseball or whatever. life's got to go on but yeah hopefully yeah you want to see change there's a lot of things that could get better and you know hopefully stuff like this is going to make a difference it's you hear some of the stuff going on like in Portland and Seattle and there's an uprising and who knows what's gonna you know not that I'm a big political guy but after this election in the fall what don't get maybe the whole country could be up in flames of who depending on comes in like you just

know that there's going to be something. It's a crazy time. It's a crazy time. You're just like the gun laws. I mean, I mean, you know, and my wife was saying, you know, the cops are scared. Like, police are scared down there because they don't know what a guy's got. What is one occupation you don't want to be right now? You don't want to be a place officer. Their enrollment numbers are going to go right through the, like they're not going to have anybody.

Yeah. And, you know, and she says, she goes, you don't defund the police. You got to give them more funds to more training. And, but, you know, they're all unionized. you know how unions I mean there's good things about unions but the bad things about unions are tough to get rid of guys so there's a bad bad cop it's tough to fire that guy you know as much you know as much as you like to do it you know and that's where yeah that's where they have to you know they got to be diligent and bad things happen on the streets and they got to they got to put their thumb down and you know fire these guys yeah and get them and get them out of a roll of authority I mean all the like the little bad there's way more good cops and there is bad cops, you know, and, uh, and, uh, and, or did I say that right? Yeah, way more good than bad. Yeah, you know, we need that, we need them, you know, to hold the law. I mean, things go, things would go real sideways. We didn't have police. I mean,

nobody would, I mean, everybody's seen that movie where there's one day of. The Wild West. Yeah. And, uh, I can't remember what the movies call it was. Not a good movie, but, um, I mean, everybody. The purge? The purge, yeah. So, I mean, yeah. I'm up on my pop culture. We need police, but we need good police, right? Yeah, yeah.

Well, and we all know one bad apple can do a lot of damage, especially nowadays with social media promoting it. But, I mean, at the same time, good comes of it, too, because otherwise, you know, it was probably going on for the last hundred years and nobody was seeing it. Now you're seeing it. It's pretty eyebrow-raising. Now, talking hockey play,

You two played each other three years in a row, one for Ottawa, one for Toronto. What's some fun thoughts from back then? I know Wade, I think we've talked about this. I don't think guys anything of one thoughts. That's right. Frustraity thoughts. Were you there for three? I think Ottawa, Toronto played four times.

Yeah, but you were three. Three, three. Three, 2000, 2001, 2002. Toronto wins four games to two, four oh, and then in game seven they win four. they win the series 4-3. Well, what year? And they were pretty much the same teams. I'll give you the breakdown of some of the top scores.

In the first year on Toronto, you had Steve Thomas, Berzin, Sundeen, Tucker, Cabrille, Wendell Clark was there that year. Tideomie. They had Curtis Joseph all three years. They had Pat Quinn all three years. And then the next two years you had guys like Gary Roberts and Shane Carson, that kind of group,

Alexander McGilney, the third year. Well, just hearing those names, you veteran team, right? Because a lot of the play, like we'd out shoot them. Kujo was really good, like a few of those games, but they knew how to win. Even Tom Fitzgerald, I remember him being on the team. Yeah, the fourth year. Was he the last year? Yeah.

Okay. But the guys like that, I'm just thinking him and obviously Robert, Sundin, Corson, Tucker. I don't know. They're just character guys. Character guys that. And we were learning too a lot. that we here's what here's what you had weighed on your side elfrtson the first year you had elfridson proffertsville juno hosa york mckeckern dackle tom barasso and net after that you it starts to you get

elphurtson hosa fisher yash and bonk havelat charra patrick leam for two years and you had uh jacques martin as your coach all three yeah yeah i remember i was hurt the one time so i can't That was the difference in the series right there, right? Corey, Reddenzo. The year we lost in six, I broke my foot the last game of the year, so I missed that one. I was there for the sweep against. That's when Corey scored in game three.

That year we were big underdogs. They had better. They finished real high during the season. And then game seven, well, the last two times we played them lost in game seven. Game six, though, I think it was that year where Ricard Pearson hit We were up two nothing at home for game six, up three two in the series. First time I ever seen blood, cut on Tidomi's face.

Ricard Pearson just gave him a little push from behind at the half wall in our end. He goes right into the top of the boards, Big Cat, five-minute major. We're up two-nothing this time. They score a couple of power play goals to tie it and end up squeaking out a win at the end of the night. But we were in control of the game, like I was only the first period, but that five-minute major was a turning point,

and then I think he shut us out in game seven. We couldn't, yeah, they just found a new way to win, and we couldn't get over that hump and high, still. Well, we just, yeah, in our dress room, we were always thinking, okay, we just be physical on these guys, wear these guys down. And that was, and you could kind of see how the start of the playoff, like the first year of the playoffs, they had a lot of European guys, a lot of skilled players.

And by the time the third and fourth year, they had a lot more toughness in the lineup. Like Neil. Chris Neal and Fisher was. They brought Char in. So you could see their, you know, them trying to match. They always knew they're going to, you know,

run up against the line up. Run into the Maple Leafs. That's one thing too. That was your neighbor, Simmer was on our team the one year. It might have been the last year when you were there. but he didn't play like we and we had him in the decision i think would have you know just tough like d-man that play the game right and move the puck i think yeah we needed guys like that and we

had me nothing against him but paith brian poth he was a small puck moving guy who could play and good power play guy but yeah we we just and then we lose in seven so it's such a fine line but Yeah, it was that toughness, I think, especially at the start. I know Corson was kind of had, he was all over Yash and like, and Yash just totally folded his tent up. And that was his role. We lost his role. Pat's like, you're going to shadow Yashin. And every time Yashon stepped down, I used Corson was on the ice and Bonk just like,

or Yash just said, yeah, I've had enough. But it's funny looking back and it's frustrated now when you think of it. But really, that's the best time of the year. And we had good teams. But yeah, we didn't have that extra level when the playoffs hit. We just kind of shied away too much. We learned that. But as a whole, as a team, we just had to kind of figure that out.

And then we had a few runs or whatever. Like guys like Bonk and Hosa that they were really, you know, they ended up being very good playoff guys at the end. But we couldn't score. I mean, it was tough. You guys made it so tough on us that we couldn't get through. it so. And goal-tending, like Curris, Cujo was, I mean, he was one of the best, right? And Laleem always seemed to let one maybe, maybe questionable one in, right? Well, yeah, and that's all

it takes is one goal in the playoffs, right? Well, we'd out shoot them, whatever, 35 to 20, and then we lose to one. It's like, you just sit there after the game, like, what the hell? Like, you got to find a way to score. Oh, I know. Well, I had Sean Hill had sent me in this video. Remember one Corey? Oh yeah yeah yeah Hammerhand well that was so funny remember Hammerhand from slap shot from Slapshot from Slapsh yeah well and I kind of gave Alfie a little shot in the back and pushed them in the Coojo and so for the listener tackle I think on this play were you on Alfie yeah it was Alpherson for you listeners were watching the video of Curtis Joseph freaking out after Corey pushes what looks to be Alpherson in

very lightly and it'll slow it down here. It was funny. Mick Magoo. Yeah, Mick Magoo. So, uh... No helmet on. Cross here right in the middle of that, I didn't even know.

Oh, yeah, I crossed him right on. And there's your buddy Rob Zomner. He was on those who scored. Anyway, Kudjo, when Kudu was writing his book, he, uh, they called me up and, and we talked for like a couple hours, the author and Kudio and myself, just recapping, trying to recap things. and this was a part of the book that we talked about. And, you know, he probably didn't know that I cross-checked to it.

Here it is. And here it is in slow-mo. Oh, it is Alfie. Yeah. I'm wrong. But Alfie was one of those guys, right? He always was one of those few Europeans that would go to the net, and he played hard, right? Well, that's another play with Toronto when he rammed Tucker into the wall.

Right. That was the year you're gone, though. Was it? Yeah, I think so, yeah. Yeah, anyways, a lot of stuff's up. Well, Mick Magoo, unfortunately, passed away a couple years ago, but we're in Edmondson, and the guy's in the corner, and I'm going after him while he steps in front of me,

and I just bowled him off, like purposely, just bowled him over because he was in my way and was trying to get to the guy, and I just sent him flying. And I went to the bench and just kind of grabbed a bottle of water and was like, had my head down and just taking a sip and not making eye contact corner of my eye. He's just staring at me. He's going up the ice. And just like, I was just kind of giggling to myself a little bit.

Thinking back to that play. Speaking of Curtis Joseph, did you ever do? What did he say after his freak out? Do you come in the dressing room and lose it? Or was he? So I don't remember. I don't remember if we talked about it after. But, you know, he just lost an edge there, right?

And then everything. I know, but he throws his gloves. What was the last time you saw? The only time I can think of something remotely close is when Dominic Hasick threw his, what was it, his blocker at playing for the Buffalo Sabres. You know what I'm talking about? I think it was playing Dallas maybe in the finals. threw his blocker off?

You both. Yeah, I don't know. Make a save? No, after somebody bumped him. Who was that? Oh, I forget. Yeah, he could probably snap. Well, you got to play with the dominator.

How was the dominator? Well, he was an interesting guy. Yeah, I just remember him after games. Like, even in practice, it was hilarious because he'd just throw all his stuff in a big heap in the dressing room, and then the trainer would have to come and hang it and everything like that. But he was just, I don't know, didn't really get to know him too well.

He was only kind of half a year. He kind of got injured at the Olympic break and never played much after that. But I just remember him after games. He'd loved going in the hot tub in the sauna. He'd have a beer. He'd be on his phone texting and just kind of so chill and relaxed.

But yeah, kind of an interesting guy. Goalies, eh? Goalies. But like as far as like remembering him in practice and how he competed and and how he works so hard and it's unorthodox as we all know. And but he just, yeah, he's, you could see the passion and the love like, you know why those guys stick around and so good for so long. He was just so, so good. It was unfortunate we didn't have them when we needed them. Yeah.

Well, I got a bunch of listeners that commented a bunch of questions. They were curious about those pictures you posted of us. Oh my gosh. Like how bad were those? What was yours from? Oh, I think that was my first year in Tampa. Oh, is it? Mine was, I remember.

Signs gel. No gel in the hair. Mine had gel because that was a picture taken at, well, we went to Kitchener for the Islanders, our first training camp, and then they do the head shots. these these two hairdressers they're doing everyone's there and I was like I was like 18 I'm like okay she's gonna do my hair but she did it like that big yeah probably doesn't look much different now but uh I was like she's finished and I'm going for my picture and I look in the mirror I'm like that's not how I usually do my hair but whatever I guess I'll just keep my mouth shut and get me

I started by like grabbing a couple like action shots oh I put some action shots and then I kept searching and I came across Corey's first and like, or we could use that. Like that is awesome. So then all I had to do is just find one of you, Wade, and it was perfect. Two little kids coming on the show. We got a lot of hits on the Twitter.

It certainly did, yeah. People enjoy the early photos. Well, Jake Gilbert wanted to know who, and I've probably asked you both this on separate episodes, but if it is a recurring

question, just bear with me. But Jen Gilbert wanted to know who the best locker room leader you experienced was. Who was the best guy leader-wise in addressing her? I was fortunate enough to play with quite a few guys. Steve Eisenman,

Messier, Matt Sundeen, I mean, Jason Smith, they were all excellent leaders. Yeah, really good leaders. Smith and Emmington. And and, you know, but one of the best, and I want to give this guy

props is a kid that I coached in West Colonna when we won the national championship, a kid named Kyle Marino. And man, oh man, he was, he was one of the best captains that I had seen. Like, I could put him into the group of those guys. In the group with Messier? You know, honestly God, like for, for maybe not at that level, but for a, for a, he's walking on water listening to this right now. For a 19-year-old kid to be that good leader, and he had some really good assistant

captains, Kyler Hope. Alashburn boy and Ryland Eremko, another great kid from Grand Prairie. Those guys were just such great leaders. And it was unbelievable how they just controlled the guys in the dress room and had everybody so tightly knit and wouldn't let things get away and they knew what to do on the ice to win. And it was really neat. But, I mean, all the folklore about Eisman, Messier, Lindross,

lived up to expectation. I mean, yeah, you could go on and on. You know about those guys, how they just controlled the locker room. Matt's in Toronto with all the characters we had and the egos in our room. And Matt's, you know, just was able to control all those guys, just being Matt's and just being a good, you know,

all the Swedish guys are always good guys. But Matt's with his play, with his work ethic and all that, you know, he was just able to keep everybody in line. Yeah. Well, I've been sitting here thinking about, there's a bunch of great leaders I've played with two. And I look back, obviously, Alfie, like he was the guy, led more by example than anything probably. But he had a presence to him and a bit of a strut about him, like a confidence and a cockiness that I think helped our group a lot. when I for the short time I was in New York or even shorter with this guy but Jody Shelley came to our team and he just had a presence in his in the room like he was a tough guy and but just a guy like that that had a loud voice and a and even before the games like I just remember having such a great feeling with when he was there to to just say the right

thing and and even to call guys out like you know like not and not in the bad way but just like He kept it real and kept the group really loose. I really liked him. And now looking and being close with Nick Folino, he was young when he came in the league when I was in Ottawa. But watching him with Columbus. And he's, I guess, a cousin-in-law. He's my wife's cousin, so I got to know him really well.

And he's a great buddy. And he's just got so much personality and such a great work. and talented guy, I feel like he's just kind of every guy too, like in the locker room, can relate with everyone and we'll fight, we'll score, we'll do everything, and talks. He's always got verbal diarrhea, so sometimes he's a... But he's always says the right, like he's always outgoing and doing, you know, whatever he can for anyone, so I really like him. He's love the guy.

He's a great leader. Stephen Larry asked, who is the best goalie you ever played with or was the toughest against? So best with and against. Goalie? Goalie. Well, Kujo was, for me, was the best. Just unbelievable. All the time, right?

Yeah. And there was a lot of good goalies against me. Didn't score too many goals, but. Who was back in your day the Kerry Price? I mean, I was. Was that guy? He was not good. Yeah.

Because, I mean, you watch... He was in Buffalo, so... You watched Montreal this year. They had really no business being there, but between Weber and Kerry Price, man, they can do all hard to get around Weber, and then when you do, you still got a score on an absolute elite talent. Yeah.

No, Price is unreal. Big guy, too, like, standing next to him, like, he doesn't look as big he is on the ice. He doesn't seem so big, but he's a big man. And, I mean, We talked about Patty Lillim. He had some great years in Ottawa and just love the guy, too. He's such a good dude.

And when you think a goalie sometimes are quirky and you can't talk to him during game days, stuff like that. But he was such an easy-going guy and a great guy in the locker room that he was one of my favorite to play with for sure. Was there a goal, Dominic, Asick, against them as well? Oh, yeah. And Kujo, like, well, the times it stick out or the playoffs, right? these guys were so good against us. Because we should throw Marty Broder in there too. He was okay.

Yeah, he was. It's funny, though. Not that we lost to them. We beat them once in the playoffs, but we always seem to do fairly good. I guess we probably played a similar style as them in Ottawa, but we had some success against Jersey, but he was, yeah, Marty Breder.

Yeah, he's probably the best one. Here's a better question. Who had the weirdest, out of all the goals he played with, who had the weirdest question? where you're like, what was that about? Ronnie Tugnut was hilarious. Like, and you'd think of talking about the size of price as a goalie, and Tugger, you'd think he's a little.

He's my size. Yeah, and skinny, not much to him. But he was hilarious because he was so focused and, like, mentally, like on a game day, he was just kind of in his own zone, and you get to know his whole routine by the end of the year, how he did everything, how he taped a stick, how he, in between periods, his pregame meal, he'd always do the same thing, like, make his little plate of food and stuff like that.

But he was, I'd call that quirky the way he operated. But, yeah, he got in the zone and focused, did what he had to do, but we kind of poked fun on him a lot because of it. Corey Schwab, he wouldn't say a thing. He wouldn't talk to anybody during the game day. Like, not a thing. You couldn't talk to him. He wouldn't say a thing.

And the same thing, you just, you know, chicken and rice, that's all he eats. And guys would start bugging him, like, try to get him to talk, and he just looked at you with a scowl. But he eased up as he got older, for sure. But I played with some Mark Fitzpatrick, this guy. And I was watching the junior practices, and guys are always shooting high on these goalies now. You could never do that. When I got in the league, like, these goalies would come after you with their stick. you know, they were going to take your head off if you shot high.

And Mark Fitzpatrick was one of these guys, and he was just, he'd snap on a second, and guy would go high, and he'd be chasing guys around the ice with a stick, ready to take their heads off. And, you know, goalie's got, it was good. Like, I tell goalies, now, I'm like, like, don't let those guys. You've got to say something. The guy's going to keep shooting high until you, you know, stopped them somehow, right?

But, well, Fitsy, he was pretty crazy. Well, we traded for Tom, well, actually tugged at Ferbrassel. Oh, he was nothing. So, and we've heard the stories. He's coming from Pittsburgh, and this, obviously, after their heyday there, but heard the stories about him, and he could fire the puck, too. I think he'd fire, to shoot pucks back at guys in the corner. If there's one go by his ear, he'd shoot right back at the other guy's ear.

He could shoot the puck hard. But, yeah, his first practice at us, there was no high shots at all. But yeah. Knowing all these quirks, all these different goleys, did guys have some fun with it? Was there any pranks pulled on them or the odd time if a guy was like fast-scroar I'm putting one at his head? They would always bug Belfour. Belfour was real quirky too.

He had his equipment all set up. And the guys were telling me, I wasn't with him in Toronto, but after a while, guys would move a piece of equipment somewhere or just doing little things. Well, you don't want to do too much. No. kind of your bread and butter. Just poke fun. Yeah, anyways.

You don't want to get them off there. You don't want to rattle them too much. Yeah, on a game, you know, in the playoffs, I get it. But in the middle of the season, when it's starting to drag on a little bit, and he's got his pads, I could see having a little bit of fun, moving his glove just a little bit. Yeah, and he was high-maintenance. Like, old Eddie, he had the trainers.

you know, in the rink after games, the one in the morning working on his skate blades or his glove or whatever. Yeah, he was a trainer's nightmare that guy. What was the best prank you guys ever saw? There's always one, maybe there's a few on a team who loves to do a little bit of playing around with guys, whether it's, you know, I've heard a lot about the skating, cutting the skate laces and things like. like that. Is there anything that you guys used to see or was there a guy that used to like to have a little bit of fun in the locker room? I'm just thinking the one instance in the hotel. I think we had a day off or was it playoffs in between a days or something, but I think Chris Neal somehow he got another

guy's room key, but he ended up getting, I forget how it exactly went, but he got all the matches and furniture from another room, and he just stacked everything in one guy's hotel room, just like move everything down the hallway and just totally to the ceiling, floor to ceiling, in this guy's room, so he gets back to his hotel at the end of the day, and it's just he can't even get in.

So just stupid things like that. Todd Simpson told me one good one that he did, and he was always really good at the pranks. I don't ever played with him, but he just lives down the street, and he got traded from Arizona to somewhere, and he went to the rank, all the guys were out of practice. He took all the key rings of all the guys,

and this was before the fobs and stuff, and had took all the keys off the rings and put him in a... The house keys. Yeah, like house keys, car keys, everything, put him in a big bag. In a bucket or whatever. And so after the practice, all the keys were sitting in this bucket all messed up.

So it took him a long time too. That was one of the best I've heard. Mark Bergevin, though, he was the funniest guy that I ever played with and the stuff he would do, and he got me one time, him and I were roommates. And we were in Philadelphia, and we missed a wake-up call. And we didn't get a chance to eat breakfast. We woke up, didn't have a chance to eat breakfast, had to go just jump on the bus, just made the bus,

and go straight to the rink. Being the rookie, he was blaming me for not having the wake-up call. So that night I'm like, hey, I need a wake-up call. Yeah, yeah. So, go to bed and he wakes me up. Crosser, we didn't get a wake-up call again. I'm like, what? And I look, and it's like 10 to 9. And I'm like, oh, geez. So the bus is at 9 o'clock, so I'm slowly getting dressed. And he's hurrying me along. Come on, come on, come on, get ready.

And the elevator was just outside our door. So he gets in the elevator and I come out. And he's, all my glasses. And I say, well, I'll hold the elevator. He goes, no, no, go down and make sure the bus doesn't leave. So I go down. and I'm walking through and I'm tired. I'm looking around, there's really nobody in the lobby, and I go out, and the bus isn't there.

So I'm like, oh, so now I'm mad. So I go with the guy at the lobby, and I'm like, hey, you didn't get a wake-up call again. And he's looking at the list, and he's like, well, we got you here, Mr. Cross at quarter to nine or 8.30, whatever was. And I said, yeah, nobody called us. He goes, well, it's only seven. So I'm just like, oh, man, I've been had, right?

So I go up and Burge is back in his room. He's under the covers and he's just giggling away. That was the best prank on me. That was a good one. Good, clean fun. Enjoy it. You guys, who is on the road? Who is the worst roommate to get stuck with?

Did you have roommates? Or we always, was there a guy who's snoring terrible or? Jeff Reese. Jeff Reese, another goalie. Talk about quirky. Oh my gosh. So we go have our pre-game meal and we're getting ready to have a nap. I think it was not actually, yeah.

And he cranks, he goes, I like a cold in here. And he's wearing a turtleneck. And I'm looking at him. This must be, sorry, this must have been during the night before we went bed and he's cranking the air conditioning on and he's got a turtleneck and I'm like what he's like a cold I like a cold and I'm like thinking how cold is he going to get right now I don't sleep with a shirt on wow holy it was it was like minus 30 in the you know the little bed sheets right and he's just he's just tucked right up with his cover is almost over his head with a turtleneck on so I thought

I better slip on her shirt and I'm like yeah he was the worst one he was the worst one for sure I can't. Who did I have? Excuse me. That's some good roommates. I was with Curtis decision. He was a good one. He was always upright and early too and to bed early.

Make sure he always take care of me, make sure I got out of bed and wasn't sleeping in. But, geez, I actually missed that when the lockout happened. When did they get your own rooms? Yeah, that was all four or four. Yeah, yeah. So then I never had a roommate. I hated it being out.

Yeah, it was lonely. So after 0405, they gave you everybody their owner? If you had played so many, you had 10 years? Yeah, you needed whatever, the 600 games. There's certain seniority, which I'd had, and you would have also. But you, so, yeah, you got your own room, which. Which sucked. Well, you did suck.

I mean, some of it was good, but some of it was bad because you wanted childhood. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're on the road. Yeah, that was the best part. Yeah. Now I think they all get through. After your entry level, I think you're at your own room nowadays. You've been privy to be around some unique individuals. Have you ever, or looking back or even now, have you been sitting in a room where you're like,

man, I can't believe I'm sitting here with whoever. Like a fly on the wall and you get to sit and watch or listen to a, couple of legends talk. Have you ever been kind of where you're like, I can't believe I'm sitting here? Well, I guess early on. I still remember my first training camp. It wasn't sitting in the room. I was just on the ice, but I was with the Islanders and we had a preseason game against the Rangers. I might have even said this before to you, but I just like sticks out like a dream to me. I got a two on one coming at me. It's Graves and Messier. And like second period, I'm looking, I can still see the lights

from the overhead clock or like the jumbotron. And I don't know, that was kind of an aha moment where I'm like, holy fuck, this is Graves and Messia coming down on me. Did they score? I don't think they did, but they may have. I forget. Yeah, I think my moment was my first game. And we played Pittsburgh.

And that was when they had, you know, just a stack team with Mario and Joe Mullen. Yager and Larry Murphy and Kevin Stevens and Ron Francis and say it to everybody and I was just a member in warm-ups and I'm just standing there or stretching as I always did and I'm just looking at their lineup and my holy crap I was pretty scared and my my my me and my defense partner were checking yager Francis and Joel Mullen that was the line we were checking so that was my moment I was like what am I doing here? Before a game, what were you listening to?

What was your go-to to get you going? Oh, what was the go-to? I don't know. Just whatever the music guy had playing. You didn't care? I wasn't a guy that had headphones or anything like that, like they all do now. But, no, I just, whatever the music was going on. Yeah, basically, me too.

I never really ran the music. You didn't have a jam? You're telling me you played in the NHL for... Well, that's funny. So it was actually a game series against Toronto and Bart was in town. My parents were there and I get in my car to go to the game and Bart has my, I had the old five CD change or whatever and there's a note on my steering wheel. I'll go to CD4 song three or whatever. It's from Rocky and it's the burning heart I think it's called.

Oh, yeah. I don't, I was the ride to the rink was only enough for one song. I was only like five minutes away, but some of those old songs, the warrior's heart, there's no surrender. The body says stop, but the spear says never. I was fired up that. But to be honest, old Metallica, I mean, I remember that would get me going. Because we had the dressing room, then the gym, so I remember actually throwing some music on when

you, because I'd do my whole routine and warm up. and so it gets some Metallica going or even this was before the day nowadays what gets me going to some of the the techno stuff I kind of like listen to that and that gets me way to the golf course or something that's what I'll be listening. I know what Wade listens on the

golf course and it's it's like making love music and we're like me and my buddies are like what what Wade's like yeah can I turn a little music on and we're like yeah and next thing all is like all soft jams and I'm like what is good we're like what is

going You got the rock balance. Well, that's what I used to, I always laugh too, because going back to the Midwest Red Wing days when we'd have provincial games and Maidstone, we had two tapes in our car. One was Garth Brooks, Rope in the Wind, and the other was the best of Don Williams.

In some reason, the Don Williams songs, they get me just in mind, fired up or calm down. I don't know which one, but get me in a good frame of mind anyways. Next time I'm putting Don Williams. ACDC, T&T and Thunderstruck. They always got me going.

That stuff's timeless for sure, too. You guys both played in New York City, and this is the last one I'm going to give you. You got to be around a guy from Wainwright, Mr. Glenn Sather, a little bit. What is Mr. Glenn Sater like? Because in the hockey world, on the level of. Guys who are legendary, Mr. Sather, at least from our area with the Oilers and everything else, is relatively, well, not relatively, he's a huge name. What was Glenn Sather like around in those days?

Well, so I got him. He was right at the end of his run, basically. He signed me, and then he only would have lasted. When did he go till? Maybe another four or five years, maybe. But just his presence, like, I think he'd lost some of his, you know, they look at his days with the Oilers and the way he'd get fired up. Like, obviously, he was the coach there too, so he was right involved in everything.

But the few times, like, when a GM would come in and run a meeting, if things were going poorly or whatever, like, he had unreal, like, kind of to hear him control a meeting and to speak and just how he approached it. Like, it was pretty impressive. Some of the things he said still stick out and stuff like that. But he was funny. He had a cigar walking around the training facility and be working on his golf clubs because the trainer had all the tools for the whatever stuff they had to do with sticks

and skates and that. So he was enjoying life lot in New York too, I think, and had a great setup. But yeah, great hockey guy, obviously. Knew a lot about the game and how to get the players going. Yeah, and for me, I knew he'd always liked me. I went skiing at U of A and we got an OIDER scholarship given out and I won it one year. And then I started, then I got drafted by Tampa and my agent was in Edmonton and he was always saying, well, there's a lot, the oiters are trying to get you.

You know, and that's when Glenn was with the oiters. And Tampa obviously didn't trade me. And then, you know, years go on. And then I'm a free agent and a few guys went down with the Rangers during the season. I didn't sign with anybody. And then Glenn signed me in December. And Brian Trotcher was the head coach. And when I got there, he's like, I finally got you.

You know, and it was. So that was good for me. like knowing a guy with that, you know, his background, thought I was a good player, right? So that meant a lot to me. And then Trotche got, he fired Brian Trache and he came in as a head coach. And like Wade said, the presence he had in the dressing room was, you know, it was amazing.

And his practices weren't very good. But real old school and just like, you know, horseshoe and three-line weave and just real basic drills. but that's what he did with the Oyders, right? Did the same with the Rangers, and then I'll never forget the time when I got traded to Evanston. I was just walking out on for pre-game skate, or no, sorry, to practice.

We're in the practice rink, and he goes, oh, Corey, I'm thinking, like I've been playing some of the best hockey in my career in New York that went after they signed me, so I didn't think I was going to get trade or anything. Hey, come to my office, and he pulls me in the stick room. and he was like, hey, you're going home. And I'm like, oh, what are you on?

He was like, oh, I trade you at Edmonton. And I was like, at first I was disappointed because I really liked being in New York. And he goes, oh, you know, you don't want to go back home? I'm like, no, it's fine. I just was, you know, I really liked it here. He goes, well, I thought you played great. And thanks for coming in and a tight spot

and playing good for us. But they want you there. And, you know, we get a chance to get Anson Carter. And so that was a real cool, like, exchange with him being in the stick room. And, yeah, so that was my Glenn Sather story. Cool. Well, thanks, boys, for making some time from this. This is a...

Nice to see you make the trip here, but, yeah. You're going to see you. Put a few clicks on. Well, Corey's slowly becoming one of my most sat down with guys. This is the third time. I mean, you're just adding it up here. He's got lots of say of this guy. Lots of stories, eh?

I've heard a few, but a few I hadn't heard, so it's always good to hear. Well, it's good to see you guys, and I appreciate you making some time for me on a weekend. And yeah, no, it was enjoyable. And next time I'm through, I'll make sure we do it again. Drive safe. Definitely, buddy. Yeah, good to see you. Hey, folks, thanks again for joining us today.

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