Shaun Newman Podcast - Ep. #137 - Vegas Golden Knights Nick Holden

Episode Date: December 16, 2020

Originally from St. Albert AB we discuss his road to the NHL which is a pretty unusual from playing in the AJHL to the WHL, spending 5 years in the minors, signing with the Avalanche and then playing his first game as a forward & of course we have to talk playing for the Vegas Golden Knights & their unreal fans as Nick puts it.    Let me know what you think   Text me! 587-217-8500

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I mean, happy Wednesday. How's everybody doing? I'm doing fan-freakantastic. I recorded this before the 12-hour Radiathon, so if we really blew it up or bombed it, I guess I'm not doing so well, but I assume we killed it. I went, do I want to record this after

and you can just hear how tired I am from being on air for 12 hours? Or do I want to record it a night before? I got free time so I can talk and I'm I'm ready to roll. I'm excited for it and I went well you know where my head's at. We got a great one on tap for today. I hope your Wednesday is going great. Before we get to today's episode, let's get to today's episode sponsors. Carly Clause and the team over at Windsor Plywood, they've signed back on for 2021.

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Now, let's get on to that T-Barr-1, tale of the tape. Originally from St. Albert, Alberta. He spent time in Junior A playing for the Camrose Codiacs, who lost in the 2005 Royal Bank Cup to the Weyburn Red Wings. He spent two years playing for the Chilliwack Bruins of the W.HL. Five years between the Springfield Falcons and the Syracuse Crunch of the H.L. He then ended up playing games for the Colorado Avalanche,

the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins, and now currently for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. I'm talking about Nick Holden. So buckle up. Here we go. You say this is your name and welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. This is my name. Welcome to the Sean Newman.

This is Nick Holden and welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Today I'm joined by Vegas Golden Knights defenseman, Nick Holden. So first off, thanks for hopping on, Bigel. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me. Now, man, I read a bit about your story. I was talking with Dean. Dean's the one who hooked me up.

I'm looking at your story and I go like, well, I'll let you explain a bit about it, but I'm like, man, that's unusual. Your road to where you are right now isn't exactly, you know, get drafted in the second round, second year in, start playing for whatever club, stay there for five years and carry on. You're originally from St. Albert. And by the sounds of what I read, you didn't really have high dreams. or big dreams of making the NHL. You want to just talk us through maybe early on?

Sure. I mean, a kid growing up in Canada, in St. Albert, I think when I was really young, I had all the dreams of playing in the NHL. I wanted to play for the Oilers. The Detroit Red Wings were my favorite team. And so I'd say early on, I had, I always wanted to play in the NHL

when you were playing street hockey you're at the outdoor rink, you're wanting to play for an NHL team. And then as I got a little bit probably into my early teens, hockey just wasn't a priority for me as much. And I didn't really want to play. And my mom and dad wanted me to just continue to play. Our family, my older brother played. My younger sister played.

My dad had played in AJ. Can I ask why you didn't want to play anymore? I think at that time I had been playing kind of the top levels in St. Albert and so I had played, you know, double, yeah, tier whatever. Yeah, I played Adam AA and it was really serious. And there was a lot of kind of, as a kid for me, it seemed like a lot of fighting, like arguing stuff like that. And my personality, I don't, I didn't really like that. And so, uh, I shied away from it a little bit, but mom and dad just wanted me to continue to play.

They, um, they thought it was important, uh, hockey now that I'm older and stuck with it. Uh, it's so valuable teaching you life lessons and stuff like that. And I think, uh, they knew that at the time. And so they wanted me to continue. And so they didn't push me, uh, to play, uh, at a high level. They just said, well, just continue to play. And so I did. And I played through my second year, Peewee, I didn't even try out for kind of rep hockey or anything. I just played. And then Bantam, same thing.

You didn't even try out. Just played House League interlock hockey. And Midget, I was the year that they switched all the midget. And so I only had one year Bantam, then went to midget. And I tried out for the rep. I started enjoying hockey again and really started getting passionate about it. And so I played midget single A my first year, midget double A, my second year, midget triple A, my third year midget. I was fortunate that Camrose, my last year, you know how you say that like, you know, I just kind of like, you know how cool that is?

Like there are so many parents, kids, whatever. I'm this little short, stocky, five foot six, five foot seven guy, you know. and that's cool. It's just, it's nice to, I think it's always good for parents to hear that, you know, just like you don't have to, what you're saying is, I mean, not that everyone can have a story like that. But, you know, at the same time, let your kid find their path, right? Like, obviously kept in hockey, right? Yeah, exactly.

Even if it's not hockey, if it's something else, your kids are going to sort out what they're good at. and just support them. And my parents were great for that. And I was gifted and blessed with a gift to play hockey. And so I was able to kind of take some time. I don't want to say off because I still played, but time to really enjoy hockey and not worry about playing at a super high level where it's very competitive and stressful and stuff like that.

And so once I started getting back into it, I loved it. And I just, I kept my, my, uh, thing was always just, let's see how far I can take it. Okay, I made midget single A. Next year, let's, I made midget double A. My third year, I went to Camrose camp and I almost made, uh, the Kodiaks out of camp. Uh, Boris sent me back to midget AAA played my year there, got to play a ton. It was an awesome year.

Uh, when we were done, they were still going. They had a really good team that year. ended up going to the RBC and Wayburn. I watched that game on television. I'm a year older than you. So I watched that goal go in where you were there. You were there. Yeah, it was for me, I mean, it was obviously kind of a whirlwind situation for me

because I got called up a little bit at the end of their regular season, didn't play throughout the playoffs, but I was around the team. Practice every once in a while was around for some of the games. And then I hadn't skated for like a month. And I get this call from Boris. My high school graduation is happening the following weekend, the following Friday. I get a call from Boris and he goes, hey, have you been skating? And I just said, oh, yeah, I've been skating.

I haven't been on the ice for a month. and he goes, well, can you fly down to Weber and a couple of our Dmen are hurt? Can you play? And I'm like, absolutely. And so I was like, I told him, I'm like, hey, I got a, I got my graduation on Friday. So I'm going to have to fly back. And he's like, that's okay. Because if we make the whatever semis, we play Thursday, then Saturday is the semis.

I'm like, okay, sweet. So I go down there. I get to play a couple of the round robbing games. and then some of the older guys that were hurt played in the semis and the finals, just because it was kind of their last hurrah. But yeah, just standing in the corner when that play happened. I mean, if I was on that team full time, I wasn't there for everything throughout the year.

And my heart sank when that play happened because it was nobody's fault. It was like, I think it was Travis Friedly was kind of maybe yelling for him to play it. And Thompson was going to cover it. And then he heard that and started to almost, and they just poked it. And it was just like, that was the reaction. Everyone in the corner, we were all just like. That was the reaction on the television. That's exactly how I was like, like, what?

Like that's such a heartbreaking way to lose a Royal Bank. listeners who don't know what we're talking about. It was a two-two game with what, like a couple minutes left on the clock? I don't even think. I think there was like a minute. I think there was a minute 20. I think there was a minute 20 left on the clock. And it was like a harmless.

Yeah. No, tell you. Yeah, it was a harmless dump in. And yeah, Thompson stopped it easily with his paddle and he just had it. And then he started putting his glove over top of it. And then I think, I think he would freeze. I can't remember. But I think it was a, and he just, he went to start to play it.

And then he was like, okay, the guy's too close. They went to try and cover it. And the guy just swung his stick and it poked through his legs. We were literally in the corner that that happened. And we were just like, and it was just, that was it. And then we had an 11-hour bus ride home the next morning. And it was like crickets on the bus. You're playing movies, but everyone just, the guys are just obviously in a bad spot.

but yeah it was wild. As good as, well, I mean, right now in the AJ. H.L. Brooks has been an absolute power host, Spruce Grove, Shored Park Crusaders have been really good. But back in that day, the Camrose Codiacs were one, two with, you know, who was it, Foreback maybe? Well, yeah, it was like right before I came into the AJ, it was like Grand Prairie had just hosted the to the RBC so they were really good. My brother actually played on that team.

And then Fort Mac had been good for years. And then Camrose in the South, I don't think there was anyone that ever came close to touching them, really at that time. And then I played after that, I think they went to the RBC every second year for a little bit. And then, yeah, Brooks came in and just, I think they did a great job with,

scouting and facility and bringing guys in from outside of Alberta. I think that was the biggest thing with the cameras. It was mostly Alberta guys. And so Boris somehow always found guys out of Calgary that were just studs and goal scores. And obviously, when you have a good team, guys want to play there. And at that time, guys were getting drafted every year. and guys were getting scholarships and stuff like that.

So it was a great team to be a part of. Well, you end up going to the Chilliwack Bruins, which I like watching where your career goes, I kind of chuckled to myself as I'm going through because I'm like, oh, Chilwack Bruins aren't there anymore, right? Oh, I'm still chuckling that I'm where I'm at. Yeah. It was wild because when I, the general manager of that Chilliwack team, he's from St.

Albert. And so I think he was scouting Eminton area pretty hard just because he had, that's kind of where he was from. And so he was kind of all over me that year I was playing in Camrose and saying, hey, would you come, would you sign and come play in Chilowack next year? I would have been a 19 year old rookie going to the dub. And growing up, obviously, the WHL is like the league. I mean, the NHL is obviously awesome, but it seems so unattainable.

The WHL is like, if you make the dub, your hockey career is awesome. And so when he's talking to me, I'm like, I can't play in the WHL. What is this guy talking about? And so I just, I kind of kept telling, you know what, I want to get a scholarship. I want to finish my year in Camrose and probably play next year in Camrose and hopefully get a scholarship somewhere. He's like, he respected that, but he never let it go. He would just kind of come back every couple months and say, hey, have you changed your mind

at all? Well, November, I get traded from Camrose to Sherwood Park. I literally go from at the time, the best organization. organization to unfortunately Shirt Park at that time was one of they were just the bottom. And so it was like, I'm back living at home. And it was just a little bit of a mind change. At the end of the year, I had a couple schools kind of talking to me, but not really. And so I just said to my mom and my mom and dad, I just said, you know what? I started my plumbing apprenticeship actually while I was playing in Shirt Park.

And I really enjoyed it. So I said, you know what? I'm going to go and I'm going to just see how far I can take hockey. If hockey doesn't work out, I really enjoyed plumbing. I'll continue to do that. So mom and dad, again, super supportive. They're like, absolutely. And so I went down to Chilowack that following year. And I didn't sign. I said, I'm not signing anything until I get there. I can see I can actually play at this level. So I went down there, didn't sign anything throughout all the training camp, everything, got to the very end. And I said, okay, I guess let's do this. And so I signed there.

And I love my time, my two years in Chilawak there. It was a great time. You know, when I have the younger guys on, or heck, when I have guys, it doesn't matter really about playing in the dub. Everybody always talks about the bus trips, the long bus trips. what was the one bus trip you uh well maybe you loved being on the bus i don't know or maybe you hated being on the bus but in the dub you guys were on the bus an awful lot is there any memorable ones that stick out where you're like frick x happened or maybe you guys had a really good going and you made a tour and won a bunch of hockey games i'm not sure uh we were an

expansion team so every year we we squeaked into the playoffs so i don't know ever remember us having a really good run of anything. We would win games, but it wasn't like we were putting, I think I won one of my years, maybe my second year, we had an 11 game losing streak. So I remember that. So our division was Vancouver. And at that time, they were the absolute powerhouse. So we would play them, because we played them in the playoffs both years. And we played them in exhibition. And then you played them like 12 times in regular season. So they would just beat us up. Who is the guy on the Giants back then?

The guy. There was more than one. Luchich was there. Their decor, I think every one of their decor played in the NHL. It was like Cody Franson, Jonathan Blum, Brendan Mickelson.

It was just like the list went, Brett Wagner. It was like the list went on and on. Their forwards were like Michael Repic, Luchich, my hot check it was like ridiculous what was what was trying to slow luchiche down like back then you wouldn't you just get out of the way it's the same as now i mean you just you let them sleep or try to you and then obviously one of the like third fourth line guys would be like nah and go try

and run them and then he'd wake up and just start burying people scoring goals and you're like oh thanks man i really want to go back on these pucksry now but so it was like Vancouver Camloops Colonna but then Prince George was in our division it was like a 10 hour drive from Chilawak and so we'd have to go up there and it was you'd go up there for two games no fans in the building

because at the time PG wasn't very good and it was just like what are we doing up here right now like this is useless and they would win one we would win one and then we'd go home and it was would be like, you're going, our bus driver was our radio guy. And so he would drive us up there, call the games, and then he would drive up. And so he's got to be snoozing, but he's flying around these turns in the mountains,

snow everywhere. And so you don't sleep a wink. You're like lying there like, please don't die, please don't die, please don't die. So I think that would probably be the most memorable was like coming down on these hair-pin turns and he's just cruising. You know, I played my junior A. Odin, Dryden, Ontario, and we used to play a marathon. And it was on like the north side of Lake Superior. And when you go around the top side of Superior, it is like, it's more dangerous in the mountains, I swear. And our bus driver's nickname

nickname was Auto Man. So shout out to Automan if we have a license. And I remember, I remember we're in the middle of a snowstorm going up and down these hills and they were like, you know, like 90 degree corners and you go back and forth and back and forth. And I remember thinking that too. I'm like, I don't know. I'm tired of worrying about it because I can't tell if we're going to make it down this hill or not, right?

But old bottle, man, shut out to him because he always found a way to get us home safely. And I mean, all the bus drivers do, man. It's funny that I don't know how they do it. I don't know. I don't know. Lots of coffee and cigarettes. I guess so. I guess so.

Yeah. I just, for me, I guess what I tell people, I love playing pro. Pro has been so much fun. But if you talk to most guys, their best memories are, unless they've won a Stanley Cup or whatever in professional hockey, I think their best memories are junior hockey. And I just, you have no other worries. Usually you're a little bit older, you're 17, 18, 19, 20, whatever you are. And so you're not really worried about school.

You're not worried about working. All you want to do is just hang out with the boys and play hockey. And it's just a blast. And so I still keep in contact with a bunch of guys from Chilawak and guys from cameras. And it's just, it's such a fun time. And so I have great memories from playing there. I can share that sentiment.

There's a special thing about those junior years because everybody's relatively the same age, not married, no kids, no cares, right? I mean, you got- No worries, there's no worries. There's no worries. You got four kids in the middle of a pandemic. How are things going with four kids? How old are your kids, Nick? My oldest is nine. Carter is my second oldest. He'll be seven in the beginning of January, and my daughter just turned six, and then my youngest is two. So that's a busy house. Oh, no, five. Sorry, my daughter just turned five.

Yeah, I can't even remember. Yeah, you can't keep track of them. Can't keep track with. Half the time, I don't even know their names. You! You! Get over here. So, no, I mean, I just, it's such a blast.

It's obviously a lot different than when I was in junior, but it's just about having fun with wherever you are, whatever situation you're in. And I was able to marry, somebody that has as much fun as I do in every situation because we've been in and around everywhere. So we've had a lot of fun. Well, you've been, you've been across the continent is what you've been. Like, I mean, when you're playing in Chilliwack, how does, how does Syracuse happen? How does the Columbus come and knocking? Like, is that just something that, because you, you talked

a lot about wanting to go to school, did something just happen and all of a sudden you had some NHL offers come in? Like I read one story that said you went to the Oilers training camp. Is that true? Yeah. So coming out from Camrose when I, when I was there, it was, it was really a, okay, I think I could get a scholarship to a good school and then got traded to Sherwood Park, started my apprenticeship as a plumber.

It was like, okay, you know what? Let's take hockey as far as we can. Went down to Chilawak. My first year there when I was a 19-year-old rookie. I got to play a ton. Jim Hiller, Dan Price were my coaches there. Jim Hiller is now with the Islanders, was with Babcock in Toronto.

I think he was in Detroit with Babcock. And he just played me so much and gave me every opportunity to play every situation and really let me kind of develop as a player. And so without the opportunity, those guys gave me, I don't think I would have been seen because obviously usually the guys on good teams are the ones that can get some extra looks and stuff like that. And so maybe it was because we were playing the Giants all the time that we had extra scouts in the building. And they noticed

that I wasn't getting beat every time. So just letting Luchich go in the corner first. Yeah, exactly. You go, you go. And so yeah, after. my 19 year, I got to go to Emminton's rookie camp, which was awesome, great experience. Who, if you don't mind me asking, who would have been there at that rookie camp? I'm just, you know, oiler country here. You got my fan. Yeah, yeah. It was, I want to say it was gone. It was gone in his draft year. I think it was the year he went in the, did he go in the first round? Yeah, he went in the first round. Absolutely, he did.

I think it was his year because he didn't play in rookie camp, but he came and like drop the puck or something like that. Because the rookies always play U of A. Right. And I got to play in that game, and I think he dropped the puck for that game. He wasn't, he didn't, I don't know why he didn't do rookie camp, but he dropped the puck for the game. He was taken.

Just for your brain. That's year Patrick Kane was taken first overall, and Sam Gagne was number five. Okay. great hockey brain right there or L'i on the internet go. I'm totally, hey man, that's where I'm like, 2007, geez, that doesn't sound that long ago, but that's 13 years ago. So it's actually quite a while ago.

So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's Sam Gagne. Yeah, every time I do something where I'm like, oh, yeah, I was in Chiloac and people are like, Chilowach, when were they in the, I was like, uh, whoa, I guess I'm starting to date myself a little bit here. Still feel like I'm 18. So yeah, I was at their camp and it was, honestly, it was the best thing, obviously being from around Emmington.

It was like I got to, the camp was up in Yellowknife. I don't know why they had it up there that year, but got to go up there, get my first taste to kind of playing against guys that NHL organizations were really recognizing to be kind of prospects or good players. So went up there and I felt like I had a really good camp.

And then my next year going into Chilwaukee as a 20-year-old, I just, I felt so good. And my coach after the year, he kind of just told me, he said, you know what, Nick, or maybe even a couple of years after. You were just like, you know what, that year, you were almost like a man amongst boys in that year. And then I'm like thinking to myself after, I'm like, well, I was a 20-year-old. I was a man amongst, like, I should have been, because everyone else is 17, 18 years old. But I'd really never started, like, training and physically developing until I kind of went to Chilawak.

So I started training with a trainer and stuff like that. And so felt great my 20-year-old year. Again, our power play was really good. I had some great players on that team, Mark Sanarelli, Oscar Moller, who just, our power play was lights out. And so I ended up scoring,

I think, 22 goals that year. And so I had, at the end of the year, it was like, I had three off, or I had a few more offers, but I had three that were all the exact same offers.

And so as a free agent, I could kind of choose where I wanted to sign. And it was Toronto. They had no GM at the time. And I was like, not sure. Talking to my agent, I'm like, I'm not sure it's great to sign with a team that doesn't have a gym. Because whoever's coming in might not like you. And then the other team was the New York Rangers.

And I said, I think, I think that's it. I think we're going to go with the Rangers. They had said, okay, you're going to go to the minors, play a few years, develop. But then once you're developed, we bring our guys up, which they had a track record of doing. They were bringing guys up from the miners after a few years of getting them groomed. So I was like, yep, that's my decision. Told my coaches in Chile, like I said, you know what, guys, I'm signing with the Rangers. Went home that night.

Not sure what changed in my mind, but I was like, okay, maybe I can get in the NHL faster if I go to Columbus. And New York City scared the crap out of me. And so I said, okay, I'm going to go to Gluck. And so the next day I went back in, I'm like, ah, got you. I'm going to Columbus. And my coach was like, what, what happened? Whatever. And so we ended up signing with Columbus.

And right after the season, we lost out to Vancouver within a couple days. I think I was on my way to Syracuse because they were still playing. And when I get there, I think they were on like a 20-game winning streak. And they're like, the coach is like, hey, you're just going to practice for a little bit just to get kind of up to speed and then we'll get you into a game. And they keep winning. And I'm like, I'm not sure I want to get into a game because if we lose it, I'm in this game like, dang. And so it was going from junior hockey to professional hockey in Syracuse, New York. The first guy met, I walk in the rink there, it's called the war memorial.

It's this super old rink. And so they're up, the dressing room is upstairs where you actually get dressed to go on the ice. But their locker room, weight room is down under in like the basement. And so I walk into the locker room with my bag over my shoulder. The first guy I see is Zenon Konopka. And he's awesome guy. But his face is like his nose, he's been through war. and fought the topest people ever.

And so I walk in straight from Chilawak, got my bag, and I walk in and I see him, and I'm like, holy, like, what am I getting myself into here? And he's like, hey, I was good. And I'm like, I'm good. Try to mock you up a little bit. I'm doing good. How are you doing?

And so we ended up, I played one game that year. They lost in the second round. to Toronto, the Marley's. And then the following year, going to camp, Columbus is, they're pretty high on me. And so I'd spent the summer in Columbus training. And they were,

it was, I think there was like a six or seven guys. Chris Russell, Derek Dorset, Tom Sostito, Jared Bull, myself. I lived in a house with Jacob Borichick and Derek Brassard. how was that it was it was wild because i'm i'm like right in the middle where so me and bursar are the same age but i i'd started uh dating my wife at the time and bursar was a single borgic was 18 had a girlfriend in in the check republic and so he would be on Skype every night talking eating his m&Ms all

the time. I would be just like, whoa, what's going on here? Brissard had played a year professional already. And so he kind of knew what was going on. It was hilarious because Brassard was the only guy with a car. And so me and Jake would have to get up in the morning and go with him. But Brass, for some reason, he just loved to crank his music. And he would have like pop music going but just cranked windows down cranked and we're cruising in Columbus which was dead in the summer the like ohio state isn't no one's really there cranked his music windows down like we're impressing people and i'm like i'm kind of cold can we roll the windows up here like what's going on but it was a that summer was a blast uh living with

those guys. You end up spending, is it six seasons in the, in the A? I'd five. Five? And did you get to play three of those with Nasty John Marasty? I only got two. I think he was only two. The reason I, I don't think he came to Springfield. I think he was only in Syracuse. The reason I ask is So I'm pointing there, but it's not there. It's in front of my head. Hillmond is my hometown, Wade Redden's hometown. And we have a senior there. So when I first got back, I was playing senior for Helmand.

And Metal Lake came in our league and they had, while John Marasties played the last two years against us, I think it is. So I had him on the podcast and he was talking about the days in Syracuse and how wild it was. And I Okay, so let me Let me speak to that real quick So that year that I came up When they were on their like 20 games So it was Kanopka, Dorset, Sastito, and Marasty

Were like their fighters, whatever Tough guys Knavka told these guys If anybody crosses the red line You go after them In warm up I think that year they had like three or four warm up, not fights or brawls, but like a little bit of a skirmish because somebody would just

cross over the red line. And it was just like the most intimate, the warm memorial is a tight rink. And so it's just super intimidating. You have all these guys. Yeah, Marathi, but sorry, continue with. No, no, I wanted to know he just talked about his time in Syracuse. Obviously, he, he enjoyed what you're talking about. He enjoyed that part of the game. He still enjoys that part of the game. Although, I mean, now in senior, he's definitely, I mean, I don't think he got in a fight all last year.

I could be wrong. But I just heard the stories of all the names you just rattled off and how mean these guys were, how, like, intimidating, I guess I should say, not mean. And you're the guys sitting there as a young kid getting to be a part of this. I assume your eyes must have been. wide. Yeah, yeah, it was wild. It was, so when I got into the HL, our division was Binghamton, Rochester, Toronto,

Hamilton, and Winnipeg, I and Grand Rapids. So we had all those guys, but then the next year, Dorset made Columbus, Canopka was, I think in Columbus, Cestito was still there, Marasty was still there, and then they would always Syracuse, their owner, always wanted to have a little bit of meat in the lineup. And so he would always sign guys just to meet it up a little bit. Well, Binghamton had Yablonsky, like their head super heavy was Yablonsky. Rochester had McIntyre, who else Lassard was in Portland, like every team in in our area just had a super heavy. And these

guys would fight each other and you're just like, oh, oh, oh. And I just remember when Marasty and Yablonski used to fight each other, because we'd play bingo, I think, eight times a year. And they would fight each other. And it would literally just like, they would go to center ice and they'd just be like, as fast as they can, they're hitting each other, just straight in the face. Boom, boom, boom, boom. And then they would yell at each other. They'd be like, okay, switch. And they would switch. And they would switch. And they would switch. chance. The other one, they'd go left. They would just meet each other. And then it would be like, they would stop because neither of them would go down.

And neither of them, neither of them bled. And so they would just stop. Linesman would break up. I just remember the one game we were in Binghamton. And there was always a huge rivalry. We would always have tons of fights, all this stuff. It's at the end of a period and it turned into a melee because our goalie was It was after the second. Our goalie had to cross their bench. Their bench had to cross the ice to get into the corner to get off the ice. Well, as their cross and our goalies crossing, whatever, bumps. And then everybody, there's like a huge melee going on.

Everybody's on the ice. And then all of a sudden, you know how like goalie fights usually stop a brawl? Like everyone just starts watching that. Yeah. Well, these two do what they do. They go to set a rice. And then both teams just line up on the ball. blue line. It was like an award ceremony at the end of a game. Everybody's lined up on the blue line

and these two are just squared up at Sunrise getting ready to go. And then they just grab on, boom, boom, boom, boom, grab switch, boom, boom. And we're all just like, what is going? Like, how does that not hurt your face? Like, what is going on here? But yeah, yeah, he's a, he's a great guy. You Blanche, they love doing it. And so it was just funny times, funny memories. In your five years of being in the A, did you ever get frustrated? Maybe there's a different word for it, but that seems like maybe I'm wrong. That seems like a long time to percolate.

But maybe that was exactly what you needed. I don't know. Yeah, I mean, obviously, for me, my belief is that, you know, you know, you. You are where you're meant to be. For me, God hasn't applied for me. And that's what it was. And so it was like, at the time, I didn't see that. I was sitting in Syracuse, my first two years pro,

and I was loving playing and being in every situation. Columbus at that time was still not very good. And so what I thought when I signed with them was that, okay, if I played well, I would be able to get an opportunity and maybe make the team. But what I didn't understand is that when the team wasn't very good, they kept signing guys, NHL guys, to try and fill those spots instead of giving guys chances because they wanted to be better. And so it always kind of like pushed you down a couple pegs. And so it was like, I don't know if my first couple of years I got frustrated. I think I got more frustrated with the coaches down in the A at some point because they kept trying to make me kind of play meaner.

Like, I'm a pretty big guy and I didn't have a real, I don't have a real edge to my game. And so they would always try and be like, you've got to be tougher in front of the net. If a guy comes in, you've got to cross check him. You've got a slash of it, all this stuff. And so there were times after practices, they would just be like yelling at me about something. And I'm just like, what do you want? And I just like blow my top and freak out for no reason. And it's just immaturity at that time.

But then as we transitioned, it was like I was so close my first couple of years I felt to getting into the NHL. and then when I went to Syracuse, as a player, I was getting way better. I was still playing top minutes, power play, penalty kill, all this stuff. I wasn't getting called, really called up much, but I was still playing big minutes developing as a player. I think it was my first year, maybe it was my second year in Springfield. I had an unbelievable camp in Columbus, got sent down because, They had too many NHL defense men, was having a great year in the minors,

ended up high ankle sprain. The guy, I went to hit a guy, he like chop blocked me, high ankle sprain, missed a month. I rushed back. I tried to wear like this plastic brace inside my skate. First came back, dislocate my shoulder, need, need a surgery my ears done and I'm just like yeah and then the next year and the next year it was like they gave me little opportunities and I didn't I didn't play as well as I probably should have

to be able to stick and so as much as they didn't give me opportunities I didn't do anything with the smallest opportunity they did give me and so again it just gave me opportunity to develop play in every situation. Play in Springfield for three years, which looking back now was wild. My first child was, like, my oldest guy was born there. Me and my wife lived there for three years. And again, I think the minors is probably,

the HL might be the hardest league, I think, it's playing. Because you have guys that in the NHL, the NHL, everybody wants to be on the NHL team. Everybody wants to give everything they got to help that team win. But in the miners, you have the top guys that don't really want to be there. They want to be in the NHL. You have the bottom guys that are usually getting called up and down from the coast. They're on PTOs. So they're trying to make themselves look good so that they can get a contract in the HL. And then you have kind of the core group, which is trying to win. for that team. And so I find it away from the rink, way better because nobody really has much money. You're just relying on each other, very tight-knit that way. But on the ice, the hockey side of it, I don't want to say really selfish, but you're looking out trying to get yourself advanced.

You're trying to get yourself a contract. You're trying to get yourself to the NHL. And so sometimes that would play. out in the in the in the hl where you're like oh man like what's this guy doing or you get guys that are like kind of negative sometimes like oh why are they calling that guy up like I'm having a better year that he is and and so I was fortunate that I guess over my year every year that I stayed in the hL I started to realize this and so my mindset changed from oh why that guy getting an opportunity and I'm not to, okay, I'm going to just do what I can. I'm going to control what I can

control. And if I get an opportunity, I'm going to try and do my best with it. And if I don't, I got to keep playing well so that I can get another contract, maybe somewhere else or with Columbus again. So the HL definitely, I would say, the hardest league to play in. I think you used the word maturity just over time you started to realize and some guys figured that out and other guys don't and it's probably why you're sitting where you're sitting now is that you figured it out and continued to improve. I mean, it makes sense to it. Yeah. Yeah, I think the biggest thing like I just said was just like my mindset when I flipped it to don't worry about what you can't control. I can't control how much ice time my coach is going to give me. I can't control how many opportunities I'm going to get from the,

from the GM or from this organization. I can control how hard I'm working and my play. And if that's not good enough for them, then unfortunately it's not good enough for them. But I'm going to give you everything I got. And so I think that has helped me because I'll give you everything I got, whether it's in practice for 20 minutes or during the game, I'm going as fast as I can, and I'm not always the fastest, but I'm going as fast as I can. And my shot isn't very good, but I'm still shooting as hard as I can.

And you know what, I'm just giving you everything I got. So I'm glad that I've been able to continue to fool people here for a few years. Fool people. I like that. Yeah, I bet. Let's talk about the Colorado Avalanche. That team that you signed with in 2013, you're walking onto a roster. I was looking at it today.

I'm like, oh, yeah, I forgot how good they were, right? I mean, young, but like talent oozing out of the ears. I just wrote down a couple of the names. Dushane, Landisog, O'Reilly, McKinnon, Stasney, Tyson, Bury, just to name a quick few. Nick Hold. Nick Holden. Nick Holden, no big deal.

Barlamov with our goal. In net, that's right, that's right. Like, what was the sales pitch or they just wanted you to come in? Or how do you land on that team? How do you land in Colorado? So what happened was I'd spent five years with Columbus. At the end of my year I'm meeting, it was like, I knew I was gone. They were saying they're gone.

And so going in, it was going to be my first time ever, with free agency. And so I'm like, how's this going to work? What are you, all this stuff? You're kind of nervous. You're like,

have I played well enough for teams to really be interested in you? And so July 1st, so I've gone through July 1st where it was the old style where you just, you had like a two hour window to talk to teams and then you signed.

And then I went through with Vegas. Yeah, the five days. one and it was the five day was way worse way worse oh way worse that benefited the club way more than it benefited the player and so how so how so well well so when when they do the two hour window it's almost like they give you the best they got we want you and we have a short amount of time because if you don't want to come here we got to move on well with the five days they're like they kind of poke in and out it's like hey or

they just say, hey, this is what we got, take it or leave it. If you're leaving it, we're moving on. But they have days to keep going with guys, whereas they only have hours the other way. And so I found it. It was stressful because you had to make a decision faster, but the money was better. I would, I've never been in a situation that somebody is like,

obviously I'm making, I've made good money over my career and I'm never going to say anything about that because it doesn't matter what you're making the NHL, you're making a ton of money. But to say the money was better, I don't know if I'd say that. But for other guys, yeah, that would play into it for sure. Like a guy making $2 million to a guy making $4 million, I think guys that in the old way that they did it would make more than the way that they did it before because I had teams the second time around when they had that five day, teams would just be like, ah, we got a, we got a million dollars, a two-year deal, million dollars a year, just think about it. And then they would kind of leave you alone. And then other teams

poke in and be like, hey, we got this for you. They wouldn't come at you with their best offer. They would kind of give you that and see if anybody would bite on it. So I'm sure they had like a handful of guys that's like, okay, we'd like to have that guy. If he takes this, great. But if he doesn't, we'll move on to the next guy. Somebody will take it. And so. So why Colorado then?

So I had talked to, I had Hitchcock in Columbus my first two years. He got fired my second year. He was in St. Louis, Winnipeg. So it's kind of Winnipeg, St. Louis, Colorado, where the teams that were talking to me. and I was just hitched kind of said you'll be in the minors but I think you'll come up and you'll play Winnipeg they had a good like talk with me and stuff like that but then Colorado was talking to my agent Patrick Wall was coming in they had a really young good team and I just said I'm like you

know what I signed a two year two way and I said my first year if I can go into camp have a really good camp. I was 20. I would have been 26 at the time, I think, 25 or 26. I said, you know what, if I can go into camp, have a good camp, and then they'll send me down, play good in the minors, maybe get called up a little bit, and then maybe the next year I can stick in the NHL in my second year, and then hopefully sign it one way after that. And, and so that was my thinking, because I just, with Patrick Waugh coming in, I was like, okay, everyone's starting fresh here. It's not like he has his face, like guys that he likes already and fresh guys.

And he had kind of talked with my agent and said, you know what? I don't really like some of the defensemen they have here. So we might try and move them. There might be opportunity for them. And so that kind of was like, okay. And I was okay going down, hopefully to come back up. But I just remember when I first went there, this training camp was so hard. it was like it was like a junior he was still running the rampart he was just like bag skating us at the end of every practice our practices were like an hour and a half long just hitting each other and it was just like Columbus they did they we had hard camps and hard fitness testing but I up until that point I had never seen anything like this but I had never been in the NHL and I thought this was my real opportunity.

need to be there. And so I don't even remember how sore or tired I was. It was just like, just stick, go. Like every day. Okay, I'm still here. Keep going. I'm still here. Keep going. And so I just remember when he said, okay, you're you're sticking around. It was me and Nate Gennon had both were kind of minor league guys. And we both stuck. And he's like, I'm starting Nate in the first game of the year, but we'll rotate you guys. You're going to have a little rotation while we won our first 11 games of the year. And he's a very superstitious guy. And so he's like, I can't take it, or I can't take Nate out of the lineup right now. Like we're winning. I'm like, I don't care. I'm still here. You do whatever you want. And so he just kept rolling, rolling, rolling,

and then one day in practice. So I think I've gone a month without playing yet. And he comes up to me after practice. Maybe before practice, we're playing Dallas the next day in Dallas and he goes, hey, have ever played forward? And I go, yeah, I played in the minors a little bit. They used to throw me

up front. He goes, perfect, you're in tomorrow. I had played forward since Adam hockey. I just wanted to play. I'm like, sure. Who did you play in a line with? I can't honestly I don't remember who would have been on my line you're telling me you make the team out of training camp decides to go with somebody else and says you're going to switch then you win 11 straight games so you don't play in 11 superstitious because he's Patrick frickingois yeah and then in game 12 you start as a forward in Dallas and they interview me before the game and they're like so

how are you feeling about playing forward? Like what's your thoughts? And I go, I'm just going to get the puck deep and hit somebody. Like, what do you mean? What am I thinking? I just want to get out there. Like, let's go. And so, yeah, my first game was forward against Dallas.

And then I think I started playing during the season. They start putting me on the power play, different situations. O'Reilly kept finding me back door. and I, like, would have my stick on the ice, and it would just hit my stick and go in. And I scored a few goals that way. And then ended up having a good year and a good playoff. And then I ended up signing a three-year extension that summer with them.

Your first goal comes against a hometown hero here. I read your first goal is against Mr. Holpey. You remember that? Yeah, snipped them. Sniped them. Yeah. It was in Colorado. Landisog came around the net, and I was, I need to be within probably like eight feet at least of the net to score a goal.

And so I started sneaking in a little bit down. He came around the net and popped it out, and I went glove side on Holby. And I just remember it was obviously as a kid, you grow up thinking about scoring in the NHL. And then when it really happened, you're just elated and just happy to be. able to call my mom and dad, call my wife, or I think my wife was there, but talk to everybody and be like, they were obviously all watching and stuff like that. Yeah, it was pretty fun. Besides Patty Waugh being superstitious, what was he like as a coach? I loved him. I absolutely loved him. My idea of him might be skewed a little bit because he gave me my first

NHL opportunity and he really gave me an opportunity. But I loved him. He was, he loves to win. Anything he does, he wants to win. Obviously, as a player, people saw that. And then as a coach, I think he showed his passion on the bench, but nobody really got to see anything behind the scenes. And so people always ask me that, how about how was Patty?

And I just, he wanted to win. And so he would do anything. He wasn't, he wasn't hardheaded at all. He wanted everybody's opinion. If you didn't like our forecheck, if you thought we were getting beat because our forecheck was wrong or you thought something was going to help our team win, he wanted to hear it. And so in team meetings and team video, he would be doing X's and O's and telling you, okay, I want you here, here, whatever. But then he would always ask for input. What do you guys think?

What do you think? And so, I mean, we had some pretty spectacular players. we had Hall Faye, like we had Aftangie on our team, Jerome McGinnla for a year. And so, and then you had the young guys, Dushane, Landiscaug, McKin, and so it was just like, hearing all these guys chime in and give their input, he listened to it. And that first year, obviously, I think the stars aligned for us. And we scored a million goals, it seemed. And Barley stood on his head most nights.

And so the way we lost to Minnesota was very disappointing, but super exciting first year. And then I think the second and third year, because Patty wanted to win so much, and he is so passionate about hockey, it started to like wear on them that we weren't winning really consistently. And so he was just trying, he wanted to fix it.

He wanted to fix it. What do I got to do to do? fix it what do I got to do to fix it and and so I have nothing but good things to say about him as a coach and he always monum he always called everyone monom my friend and and so it was kind of a a special thing for me because obviously growing up uh I love the the redwigs but at the time the avalan and the redwigs were the two powerhouses and so when I got to play for Colorado for those three years. It was like, Fatty Waw is my coach.

Joe Sackick, my general manager. And then Adam Foote was around all the time. He was coming out on the ice all the time. And so it was just like almost like a dream team. And so it was like, this is unbelievable. And Denver is so beautiful and unbelievable city to play in. And so it was fun. Yeah, our family had a blast there.

had two kids there and so good memories there as all. I was saying and Dean when he first mentioned that he, he texted me about you. I looked up with stats and I went, Colorado, I wonder if he was playing the year, Colorado. I couldn't remember if it was game six or game seven.

And then obviously it was game seven in O-T. I remember watching that because that was like, that's the way hockey should be. I mean, I know you wanted to win. but as a fan who doesn't really care of Colorado, well, actually I was pulling for you guys because you guys had all the young talent.

And Patty won his crazy antics, and it was great against Minnesota. That series was like electric. And I watched the highlights of it today again. I'm like, oh, man, game seven. I remember that. It's like, oh, Colorado scored again. They're going to went, nope, there goes in the net again.

Holy crap. But can't they just hold on to a lead? Like, it was just like, bang, in the net. Bang, in the net, bang, in the net, back and forth. And then an old T winner. We scored it. in the third, we scored in the third period with like 12 minutes left. I think it was Johnson scored.

And it wasn't like, yeah, okay, we're going to win this game. But it was like, like, yeah, let's go. And then they scored. And then when they scored in overtime, I think it was being a writer. It was just like, it was almost like Weyburn again. It was like, what does happen here? Like, yeah. You get into playing the bubble this year with Vegas.

And then if you look at that compared to playing Game 7 in Colorado, you got a Game 7 in Boston. You went to the second round in New York. Am I missing anything here? I think those are probably the three big ones that come to mind. I assume I pretty much assume you would take going back to where fans are losing it in those buildings and you score a goal and the roof is coming off. What was playing in the bubble like? I mean, you guys go to the conference finals.

You play against Dallas and a goaltender that played mind-blowingly good. Yeah, so I actually, when I played in Boston, me and Hadovin, we were on the plane. We sat with each other. And so I saw him the whole time throughout the bubble because we're all in the same areas. So you'd see guys all the time. And so I'd be joking with them all the time. Even during the series, like, if I saw him off the ice, I'm like, just let me score. Like, just giving it to him.

And, yeah, he, obviously, I want to win. I am a super competitor. But for him to play as well as he did, it was awesome to see that. Because obviously, I think he's an awesome guy. But the bubble, for me, it was like, the NHL did. probably the very best that they could. They tried to give us an atmosphere, which didn't really work.

But they were trying. They were giving us little crowd noises and stuff like that, but nothing replicated 18,000 people in a building just making your skin tangle and you score a goal in the place, like you said, the roof pops off or there's a huge scrum and people are screaming and whatever or you're coming off the ice as a visiting team

and they're screaming at you, just losing it and throwing beer at you and stuff like that. There's nothing like that. And so I think that was probably the only thing that was missing. I think the NHL did a great job setting up activities for us to do for the ice crews that kept ice in very good condition, giving us opportunity to have some sort of atmosphere. I think they did a great job.

I think the teams did a really good job. I thought the, just the competitiveness, nobody kind of was there just to be there, which was obviously in the NHL and you're trying to win the Stanley Cup, and so you would hope that's not the case, but you never know in this crazy,

wacky situation that we were in. And so I think for me, it was like when you first get there you're just so excited something new and you hadn't played hockey in a while and so just being in the bubble was exciting and new and whatever and then as it went on things it was just kind of like the same day over and you walk the exact same walk you go get timmy's at the exact same time. It was honestly like clockwork. He was just, and so as it went on, I think guys kind of just started to get almost like robots a little bit. And then the hockey side of it, I mean, for the most part, we're professionals. And so we're able to dial in and play well. But outside

of the hockey, we're at the beginning, like I said, it was something new and kind of exciting. It kind of began like being not as much more. And you're kind of like, man, I'm kind of starting to miss my family. And the guys just started staying in the rooms a little bit more because they didn't want to come down and play Mario Kart again and watch a movie and do the little things that we were doing. And so, or play. They had around the rink, they actually had some virtual golf set up.

and so the first like 30 days it was like this is awesome you're going to play virtual golf every day but then after that you again you're just kind of like okay i don't know if i want to go play virtual golf again well how many days how many days were you in the bubble i can't remember exactly but i want to say mid 50s i think we're in their 50 some days and so it went by just like anything else it goes like fast when you're in it it's kind of slow but once you start to get to the end or get out of it you're done and it's like whoa i was just in here for 55 days and it's like what it's how fast did that go um but yeah during the time like i said at the end it started to get a little bit longer where you're just sitting there trying to fill your time with some something. Well, I just think, you know, as for fans, I always, we talk about it all the time. I kind of rather enjoyed the morning games and the afternoon games. When you had hockey all day, first round in the NHL playoffs, nothing compares to it in my mind in any sport. It is awesome.

The only thing that I enjoyed about this year was that you could actually watch multiple games because when the first round is normally going on, it's like you got eight games going off simultaneously and you're kind of like trying to pay attention and you can't and you miss really good hockey. I'm not sitting here saying I watched every game this year because that'd be dang near impossible. But this year was kind of cool that way. With you, once again, I go back through your career and I think you got to experience Madison Square going nuts.

You got to experience the gardens going nuts. Yeah, I had to experience Vegas going nuts, Colorado going nuts. Like I think of where you've been. And, you know, I assume you're like most hockey players. You want to play in the same place for 20 years and have the jersey hung and whatever. But if you're going to bounce around, you might as well bounce around like that. Like, I mean... You know what?

I have been so blessed that my career has gone the way it has. And like I said, my wife has been so supportive. And for somebody, she is a super homebody, like super home body. and it's for our path that we have taken, I keep moving her every couple of years. It's like she has done so good with all of this stuff and taking care of the kids and getting them re. Kids are very resilient.

I understand that. But just getting back into schools and sports. And we just got traded to New York in the summertime at the draft. Well, we got to figure out where we're living, schools, all this stuff. Okay, go. and then get traded to Boston. She was pregnant, and it was probably the worst time ever because her pregnancy was going terribly.

She was like pukin all the time. She couldn't eat. And I get traded. I knew I was getting traded because the Rangers kind of told us, hey, we're blowing this team up. And so we're all just sitting there waiting. And so I was the first to fall and then a bunch of guys went after me. But I just remember getting the,

and the kids actually were coming home. And we're sitting around the table. We're in our house. And I go to the kids. I go, you know what, guys, when you guys come back, I'm probably not going to be here because they were going home for 10 days. I go, yeah, I'm probably not going to be here. And my oldest guy goes, can you just quit hockey already?

And like that side of it, I felt terrible. I'm like, oh, man, I'm so sorry. So, but luckily, it was the best place to get traded to. Boston contender, only like a three-hour drive from where we were living just outside New York. And so, and the kids just stayed there. They were in school and sports and stuff. And then they would drive up on weekends if we were home. What was strapping on the bee like?

Strapping it all, it was wild because like you talked about all. those teams. When I first put on Columbus, different story because newer franchise, all that stuff. Absolutely. But it was my first NHL. True, true. And so it was super special for me. Then I go to Colorado, obviously, it's such a fairly new team as well, but rich history. You already mentioned Sackacan, Fitt. Like, it's just like, you got Drome, Drome freaking a gindler walking around the dresser. room like yeah i get it yeah exactly and so putting that jersey on i'm like whoa this is awesome getting traded to the rangers i don't know if there's a nicer blue than ranger's blue it's just well you're just once again you're talking history you're talking history right i think it was

my second year there maybe it was my first but it was the 90th anniversary i'm like how sick is this Like they do such a good job with their alumni. And so to start the year, they always have a golf tournament. And the guys that would come to this tournament, I'm just like, whoa, whoa, whoa. It was just unbelievable. And then some of the guys that they had around the rig, like Adam Graves and Brian Leach and all these. I'm like, what world am I living in? You know, like, this is great.

And then when you're stepping out for the first time, Madison Square Garden, you step out on the ice and you're just like, holy jeez, because it's different playing as an away team. I mean, it's exciting, but I don't think you fully understand and feel the fan passion because I don't know if there's anywhere like New York fans. Good and bad, they let you know. it's like how so you yeah yeah you'll be walking down the street and people be yelling at you like i always just remember because these guys always would always have chirp like themselves it was like

mark stall he would always be like hey stall go back to your rookie season it's like they're just chirping him he's like an elite all-star defense man and some guys chirp him because he maybe didn't play very good the game before so yeah it was just like just good or bad they just let you know But they always supported the team. And so they were just a special time there. But yeah, then you get traded to Boston, which again, unbelievable history. So you're putting on a Bruins journey and it's just when you, I guess for me it's like, I put on a Rangers jersey.

It's so surreal. I put on a Bruins jersey. It's so surreal. But then when you get on the ice, you're just playing hockey. Yeah. And it's such a, for me to. say that it sounds stupid but it's honestly like I'm just a kid just playing hockey I don't think I don't think it sounds stupid at all it makes it makes complete sense to me makes complete sense

I think one of my one of my favorite series that I ever played in um was when I was with the rangers I mean that minnesota's uh Colorado series is awesome my first taste of NHL playoffs and obviously the way it went so back and forth And but then when I was at the Rangers, first round we played Montreal. Yeah, original six. Oh, yeah, that series was awesome. Montreal in the playoffs,

I don't know if you can beat that. They get the flames all over the ice and people are screaming in French. And it's just, what did you think of Vegas, the pregame they got going there? Vegas is just like, just such a whole other level. They just,

so when I first, so I, coming from Boston, I was talking to Boston in the off season, so July 1 again, I talked to Boston, Vegas came in kind of later. And they kind of said to me,

okay, well, we have a two-year deal for you. What are you thinking? We need to know because we're going to move on. And I was like, well,

you guys just went to the finals. You have a sick, like a good, team. I hadn't heard a bad thing about living there. The rig and the owner is unbelievable. I'm like, this is kind of a no-brainer.

Like, we're coming back to the West. Like, it's nice to get our family back out to the West. And then the very first, I played in the first exhibition game in the Fortress at C. Mova. And it was honestly, like, what is going on here? Like, I just played, I think it was like 11 years of exhibition games.

And it was like, this is playoff atmosphere. Like this place is buzzing. And I just, ever since then, like every night it's the exact same. And some nights it's even louder. And I don't understand how that happened. But the Vegas fans are just so passionate. You go, I go to drop my kids off at school. And it's like two thirds of the people.

have Vegas hat, Vegas shirt, car decals, and car license plates, like, everything. It's just unbelievable. And it's just so crazy to think how fast Vegas has accepted and jumped on board here. And I think obviously their first season with everything that happened, the emotion from the October shooting, how the team handled that. obviously them making the final and everything like that brought a ton of people to the team. But I think the team has done an awesome job getting out and involved in the community. And so it's just super interlocked here, which is pretty cool to be at the point in my career in such a unique situation, very young franchise, but probably one of the, of the top franchises in the league right now that people want to be on this team.

And it's just for me, it's an unbelievable experience and an honor to be part of this right now. Just going back to comedy you made there, were you around when the October shooting happened then? I can't remember. Yeah, that was their first year. The first year. I was in New York, yeah. Did that cross your mind with you and the wife and the kids at all? Anything were you worried or concerned about that when making the decision?

No, not at all. I think coming from New York, New York was probably, again, the scariest place. So I would say the scariest, but the best. It was like, I didn't understand how New York, it just scared me. So big. The size. The size of it, the amount of people, the subways, the trains, the cars, just everything about it scared me.

When we were there, I think there was two or three terrorist attacks. And it was just amazing to see that city. The one day we were coming in, we're coming in on the train. train. So I lived out in the suburb and we'd have to take on game days, we pregame skated at MSG and so you'd have to get on the train at 7.30

and it was like an hour train right into Grand Central Station and then you'd take a couple of subway trains to get to the garden. We're riding in on the train and we're I think we're halfway, a little more over or halfway and

our phone started blowing up and somebody there was like one of the terrorist jacket bombers in one of the subway i can't remember which one and we're i'm just kind of like holy shit like should we just go home or like what's going on are we even going to play tonight like what's going on i think it was it was actually so there was like in a day there was a guy that went down the west side highway and like a rented u-hall and was hitting people and then there was another guy an hour later in one of the subway tunnels or something like that so we're coming in and this was my first experience with any of this stuff and I was just like I didn't know what to do but there was a group of four of us and we just continued on we got we got

to um grand central from grand central you just had to almost detour it wasn't like everything was shut down they just shut down the one track the one or two tracks the one or two tracks that were connected to with what happened, they shut that down. And so it was like, these people, through all this kind of crazy chaos, somebody attacking you, it's like the way that they are so resilient, they're, I think the mayor at the time, he said, don't let them create fear in you, continue on because that's what they want. They want to scare you. and so all these people it was like their day they were cognizant of it but they didn't let it affect them to the point that they weren't going to work they weren't going out all this stuff and for me it was like what do you mean like holy cow like we should all be at home like kind of bunk hunker down here like let this pass like what happens if something else happened and it was wild to see we played that night and

fans came to the game and obviously we had a moment of silence and stuff for the people that were injured or killed in that attack but it was just a real eye-opener for me at how that city just just keep pushing on. Keeps moving. Yeah, keeps moving. It is wild. And obviously coming from Evanston, St. Auburnet area, it was like, nothing I could never have even thought of. And that was one of the things that I've told a lot of people, too,

is like playing in New York for those one and a half, two years, it was like, how cool? Like, how cool is this? I get to go home and we always joke, we're going to end up living back home. And my kids are going to be in classes with kids that they're going to be like, yeah, we went to Winnipeg. It was awesome. And my kids have, my two of them were born in college, in, Denver, lived in New York, lived in Boston, lived in Las Vegas. Like the places we have been because of hockey, we are so blessed to have all these opportunities. And it has just been the best ride ever.

And so it's just, I'm very, like I said, I'm very, very fortunate to have a wife that is enjoying this ride as much as I am because guys always ask you, they're like, how do you have so much energy and how are you like happy and I'm like what do you mean like look at what we're doing this is look where we are this is amazing well I uh I really appreciate you hopping on I I'm I kind of lost track of the time I was laughing I was having um enjoy enjoying myself we've been going for an hour and 20 minutes now uh I want to do the crude master final five it's the final little segment five little questions longer short as you want to go Nick then I'll let you get back to your family. By the sounds of it, we're just going to have to do round two at some point,

because I've been thoroughly enjoying this. But we'll save that for a different time. Let's do five quick ones. Shout out to Heath and Tracy McDonald's supporters of the podcast since the very beginning. I always ask, especially on a guy's first time on the podcast, if he could pick one guy to sit down and pick their brain like I'm doing you, who would you take or past, present, male, female, doesn't matter. Who would you want to sit down with? I think Alexander Ovechkin. This guy, like, I enjoy hockey, but I don't know if I've seen him.

He looks like he is having a blast. And obviously, being from Russia and some of the stories I've heard from Russia and all that stuff, I'd be interested to see and hear some of the stuff that he's got to see. I'm sure there's better guys to pick, but I can't think of it. I put you on the spot, and Ovechkin would be fun. You know you'd have a good time. You'd have a great time. Yeah.

If you got traded tomorrow and can bring one guy with you, who would you bring? Bring one guy on my team now or somebody I've played with. Oh, I was going to say your team now. Yeah, my team now, probably Flurry. He's a guy that I, our families are pretty close, and he's another guy that loves to compete, but have a really good time while doing it. I'm not going to lie,

I was really hoping with the train rumors swirling that the Oilers might have gotten Mark Andre, because I've always appreciated his, demeanor and his style of play. He looks like a fun guy and he is talented. Yeah, he's a, he's a super fun and very fun to score on because it doesn't happen very often. So usually you celebrate pretty good. If you were hired tomorrow, you're going to get, you're going to, Hollywood comes a knocking. They want to remake an old sports movie and they're going to star you as is the number one spot. So you could pick, you know, Kevin Costner, Bull Durham, Paul Newman slap shot, Rob Lo

Youngblood, Emilio Estevez, Mighty Ducks, Brad Pitt Moneyball, Sylvester for Rocky, Sean asked him for Rudy, Charlie Sheen Major League. I'm just spitting off a whole bunch of If you could remake one of those parts, which one would you take? Or any sports movie for that matter. I think I would take Stanka in cool running. And cool running, you're dead man. Yeah. Okay, you're dead man. Cool runnings.

There's a movie I haven't heard of in a long-ass time. Yeah, we've been trying to, over quarantine, we started trying to watch some of the classic movies or classic that I think of with the kid. And they love cool running. And so, yeah, it's on every other week, I think, in our household right now. That might be one of the best things about being a parent that you don't realize is that you get to introduce your kids to so many cool things and movies obviously being one of it. I just had the kids watch Home Alone for the first time. And like the sheer terror in my daughter, like she was so scared of the wet bandits.

And I was like, it's going to be okay, right? Like it's going to be okay. But they were like on everything. Every word. Anyways, cool running. Cool. All right.

Hardest player to shut down. Who's the most talented guy coming at you that is just like Friggies good? Yeah. So obviously, everybody knows McDavid. I think it's A-B for me. McDavid and McKinnon are probably right now the two most elite. skaters, puck handlers in our league. They can just beat you one-on-one,

but they can also beat you passing it. And so I always laugh. I'm like, if you're playing those guys, you either have to have the tightest gap and try and get them right away or just start skating forward to your goal. Because if you're any in-between and they're picking up speed, they're just blowing past you.

So those are the two guys. But in my career, the one guy that I hate playing against is Zach Porese. This guy, he's fast enough and skilled enough that he can kind of work around you. But this guy's effort level is I've never seen anything like it. He'll have 10 shots in a game because he is getting rebounds everywhere. It's like you think you have him tied up. and he is getting the rebound.

You think you have them in the corner side up? And he's somehow rolling out of the pin you have them in. And so I used to hate when I was with Colorado and we'd play them all the time. It was like, you're paired up against him and you're just like, oh, man, this guy just doesn't stop. Most guys, it's like if you get them to a point, they break and they stop. This guy has no breaking point. He just keeps going and going and going. Question 4B, because I, uh, I, uh, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I,

see that I forgot to ask about it. I hated, I hate the Calgary Flames, but if there was one player the dang, I wish he had played for the Emmington owners, it would have been Jerome McGinla. What was what was having Jerome McGinla like in the locker room? Obviously, at the point in his career that he was at, he's starting to try and find teams that he can try and win with. And so when he came to us in Colorado, you saw obviously the talent and everything that was there. And so he was, I'm from St. Albert. He grew up in St. Albert.

And so growing up, he's kind of a huge idol already. And then it was just like, the first couple of times I saw him, I met him and started to talk to him. It was like, it's for real. Like, he's really on my team right now. Whoa. And then the more you play with them, I mean, I think the common denominator with any elite player is just their determination and their passion to win.

And Jerome, he shows that in everything he does, he fights, he scores, he gives you everything he has. And obviously, just his leadership in our room was amazing. he wasn't talking all the time because we didn't need him to be talking all the time but when he did talk obviously he was a guy that guys were like okay i'm going to listen to this because he's uh this is jerome bloody again and he might and he might beat me up if i don't your final one then is you seem like a guy who likes to have fun what is the best prank that you've seen pulled or pulled on someone? I don't know.

Pranks are a prank or hard act. When I was with when I was with Colorado, I'm not going to name names. I may or may not have been involved with this prank. But we were in Montreal.

Gabe Landisg was suspended for a game. He was missing. He had taken the trainers out for supper and then they were grabbing drinks after. So we were playing the next day. So we knew he was going to be out later and he wasn't playing. And so we had to go, we wanted to blow up his room. And so I had to go down to the front desk and pretend that I was him and say I lost my key.

And so I go down to the front desk, I go, hey, I'm a gay Bladisca. I got lost by key. And they're like, oh, okay. and they asked what room. And I knew what room he was at. And this room, say 10, 12. 1012. And they're like, do you have ID?

We have to check ID. I go, my wallet's in my room. I forgot it. And the lady goes, okay. And she goes, just one second. I'll just check online picture. So she types in on her internet, Jay Laniscog. And then she goes, okay.

And she gives me her key. And I just start dying. I was like, oh, my gosh, this really worked. And so we ended up blowing his room up, putting mattress in his shower, stole all his bedding and pillows. So he had nothing. So he got back and they got like two or three in the morning. Obviously, probably drank a couple. So she was just wants to go to bed.

He had nothing to sleep with nothing. And so I just, the best part of that prank for me was that they thought I looked like him. And so I gave it to him. I'm like, are you kidding me? Look at this. They thought this was you. That is the biggest insult. And so I just never lived them, let him live it down.

Compliment for me, insult for him. Well, Nick, I really appreciate you hopping on. This has been a lot of fun. I hope, I really hope in the new year you guys are back playing some hockey. It'd be good to have it on the TV and all the best, you know, in the coming, you know in the coming future hopefully like I say we get to see some Vegas hockey again hopefully the weather's beat up on you guys a little bit that's what I'd like to see no offense Vegas is my number two uh the fans there look like they'd be a lot of fun but you know

born and Brett oiler fan it's hard to it's hard to switch mid yeah I mean I appreciate that I don't think I've uh the Vegas that that atmosphere again I'm just I know I talked to about it earlier. You're saying, if I come down and experience a game, it may change me for life. Is that what you're saying? There are the amount of people that come and they leave that going, holy cow, like, it's just not, they've changed, they've changed hockey. Vegas has changed the way that it's, it's not just about hockey anymore. It's the entertainment of the whole package. It's the outside entertainment. It's inside. It's during whistles, all that stuff. They've changed it because the

amount of teams now that are are trying to put drum lines and different things on the board that Vegas started is just incredible how many people are trying to replicate that atmosphere and that energy in the rink and I think too it was hilarious I heard that the owner told the person in charge of the entertainment he goes I don't because in warm up and anytime music's like it is so loud and it He said, I don't want you, if you're standing beside somebody, I don't want you to be able to hear them talk. And so it's like a nightclub.

It's like, what? What? So it's just, it's a good time. Well, regardless, thank you for hopping on here and sharing some stories about your career and your journey to where you are. I think we've got to do it again here at some point, Nick. But I'll give you a reprieve, let you go hang out with your family. and just once again, thanks for hopping on.

Yeah, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me. 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.