Shaun Newman Podcast - Ep. 39 Colorado Avalanche - Tyler Weiman

Episode Date: October 16, 2019

Tyler Weiman backstopped the Lacombe Generals to the 2019 Allan Cup, but before this he was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche 164th overall in the 2002 NHL entry draft. He played his WHL hockey for the Tri-City Americans and has 14 years as a pro. We get into this and more on this episode. 

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and ask for some details and they'll get you hooked up. All right, guys, this week on the podcast, I have Tyler Wyman, former draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche. He just finished winning an Allen Cup with Lacombe Generals. He is a crazy good goaltender, had a ton of fun sitting down with them, and without further ado, enjoy.

Okay, well, welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. I'm sitting across from Tyler Wyman. Thank you for coming on. Thanks for having me. I appreciate you being excited about this. I'm excited about this. Same here. Yeah.

So we were just talking about the Melville Yorton game. That just happened. It's blown up all over Twitter. The goalie gets destroyed. About, what, top of the circles, coming out to play a puck, the guy runs through him. Total dick move by the guy.

I don't know what he was thinking. to be just blatantly honest, right? Like, I mean, it's interesting to watch on repeat because it's hard to take away it or like look away from it. But I thought, oh, perfect. Get to interview a goalie. Like, have you ever been even remotely close to run over that hard or anything like that?

No, no, it's never happened to me. Just going wide, obviously, taking it to the net and lowering your shoulder. But nothing like that, no. A friend of mine usually, well, he sends me clips all the time of activities and that's the one he sent me the other day. And when I first saw it, it was, yeah, I thought, you know, the average fan. They love it.

They love the excitement in it. Players are like, yeah, I would have did the same. But then others are, you know, a little on the fence that it's dirty. And my point of view, it's pretty freaking dirty. It's going out. He played the puck, and the player knew what he was doing, yeah. Oh, yeah, you can see it blatantly, right? Like, he doesn't, he doesn't, like, trying for the puck, and it's a close call,

and he runs in and, you know, and, you know, kind of like accidental, but not that. Like you can see him lower his body and pop right into his chest and just explode him. Now, there's probably more to the story too with, okay, is he an overage? How old is the attendee? How old is the player? What's the reputation of the player? So there's a lot of storyline just based on that as well.

How can I tell you played some decent hockey and you probably had reports written that were wrong because they didn't know the full story? So there's, yeah, there's more to it that way. So again, what kind of role? player is that guy? Is he familiar with? Are you speaking of something? Making hits? No, not at all. But I'm trying to see it on both sides and that's kind of how I see it nowadays, but it is a dirty play. You know, you try to analyze it that if that was the case, would you play the puck and then throw your elbows up and let him eat one? That's probably what I would do. If I knew it was a certain player and he was

dirty, oh yeah, I'd give it right back. But again, I think that comes with experience, what kind of player you are, how competitive you are, and everybody has a different point of view on it. So I thought it was, yeah, definitely dirty. Justified the suspension, but give his teammate credit for jumping in right away. Oh, yeah. And hopefully the kid's okay. Yeah, I'd heard he had a concussion and possible bleeding, but I don't know if that report was correct or not.

I should have looked at it a little deeper before I came on with you. I just, the video over and over again, it would transfix me. And then I'd read a couple Twitter things that said he had been concussed and went to hospital. And went to hospital, yeah. Yeah, so yeah, hopefully he's okay. And, yeah, I didn't read too much more into it for outside the lines from just the video. Yeah, well, the guy who hits him gets 25 games, right? Yeah.

Which is, in my mind, it's justifiable. I mean, you can't have that going on, right? You've got to protect your goalies. No, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. That's... You're speaking of...

players you might want to stick an elbow into. Was there ever a guy back in the day that you're just like, if he comes close to me? And I always think of, I always think of Sean Avery and Marty Broder, right? I don't know what Broder was thinking when Avery was doing his antics in front of him there when he was playing for the Rangers at the end. But do you ever have a guy that just kind of like,

that guy comes near me, he's going to get it? Yeah, yeah, obviously you've thought about it on multiple occasions. There's guys that, again, going back to you're taught to lower your shoulder, take it to the net. If somebody takes you down, kind of run the goalie. People think that's a hockey play. My point of view is going to be different and a lot of other goalies are going to be different. So some of it we see it as dirty, even in the net.

You try to, some guy tries to do your butt end of the stick to lift it up for screens. The guys you didn't like that ran you, there was always a way to get them because guys wear visors. and their visors would come depending on, you know, how big their schnaz was and lips and everything and how like they like to chirp and talk. But it would come low enough that when you were battling or they ran you, that you could jab their visors right down into their mouth and kind of cut them, whether it's on their nose and that. And yeah, obviously they didn't like that at all.

So there's always different ways whether you want to stick them in the groin when they're in front of screening. So there's always different options. that goalies have as well. I don't recommend that, but I'm just saying there was, there's individuals that you'd like to do it to because they obviously picked and chose when they wanted to run you at their own will. I just don't know, you're not going to throw out a name? No, I don't have really any names, no.

No, not really. That off to top of my head. Fair enough. Well, first off, cheers. Cheers, I'm excited for this. We're having a little Game of Thrones. Scotch and it's pretty tasty. Got it from a co-worker.

Thank you, Scott. Yeah, it's a good bottle, Cractor tonight. So let's go back. I always start with all the way back. I want to know how you got your start, where you start. Where did you start playing your hockey? Because it wasn't in Lloyd Minster. No, I grew up in Bruno, Saskatchewan.

So that's what I would say my hometown is. I was born in Saskatoon. Bruno, Saskatchewan is about an hour east of Saskatoon, close to Humboldt, for those that don't know, 500 people roughly for population. Yeah. And, yeah, small town, country living, and I loved it. Were you always a goal tenor? No. No, I was always majority as a player, to be honest with you.

Yeah, I turned goalie for not until maybe my 10-11 years. I would say. That's close to peewee. That is peewee. That was, so maybe my second year, Adam, would have been. I was still switching off. For first year, peewee, I played in Humboldt. That was the first, you know, trying to get to a higher level,

and I played Humboldt for the full year. So that was my first year, peewee. Do you remember why you decided to go as a goaltender? Like, if you, up until that point, you've been playing out. Yeah, you're out, well, in a small town, you're, there's always, you're always one of the top players. You could go through guys. I was bigger than kids at the time.

One of those where you could go off the draw and go through their legs and then just shelf at top corner on the tendee. And it was easy. When you played with older kids, their competition level, it increased your compete level as well. But I think it stems back from road hockey with friends and family. You just like frustrating them.

Gear, paint jobs. masks kind of designing as kind of artistic at the time for for coloring and tracing and and trying to do that so and then just yeah watching the game and kind of fell in love with it yeah were you a national when you started playing like when you went full-time goal tender were you like oh yeah I'm good at this or did it take some work uh no I'd say again coming from a small town Yeah. You always the level of hockey

compared to maybe obviously Edmonton or Lloydminster, there's always those kids that are above and beyond. So that was me in the small town. Now, in order to do that, you'd have to get to the next level and then compete against high caliber kids, which that's why I went to Humboldt the following year.

But yeah, I was always, always good for my age, always above average. I matured and hit puberty at an early age compared to everybody else. So I think that helped as well, playing with the older kids and excelling in that matter. And then I always had older cousins that I played with too for, whether it was street hockey, whether it was on the ice. And I come from a big family.

So it's, yeah, it's easy to do. to get together with with everybody and them to push you and you push them. Do you remember what you did in the off seasons? Did you play hockey year-round? I mean, you're, what, 35 now? Yeah. So you're a couple years older than me. So I assume you're like me and the fact that unless you were in a big city,

like an amateur or Saskatoon, there was no hockey year-round, I assume. No, there was, it was always baseball in the summer. I am a baseball guy. Hockey in the winter, baseball in the summer. it was. Yeah, we had competitive. So if you could go back and hockey wasn't an option and you could play any sport with baseball have been in? Absolutely. What position? A pitcher and shortstop. Pitcher shortstop, eh? Yeah. Throw the old 90 mile an hour meatball. That's right. No, we had again, a small town. It's a, it's a sports town. Bruno is it was a best place for me to grow up and

I still think it's the best for a lot of kids. I was exposed to sports and we won there. Obviously winning and you're with your friends and you know everybody. They know you. There's really nothing to worry about. You can ride your bike and get there across the tracks or, you know, we can go golfing. We can do this. It was, yeah, go to the farm.

It was, yeah, it was really enjoyable. So what age do you move to Lloyd Minster then? It would have been grade 8 was my first year in Lloyd. So that was 13, I believe. Which would be first year ban? That would have been, it would have been, sorry, second year, Peewee was my first year in Lloyd. Yeah. Yeah, so 12, 12, 13, it would have been.

Yeah. It's curious. So when you came to Lloyd, you would have been playing double A then, right? That's right. Yeah, Lloyd only had double A at that time. And you went in the Bannum draft, correct? Yes. Playing double A?

Yeah. Yeah, so here's the question I ask everybody. Is do you remember even following the Bannam draft or did you just get a call and say, hey, you've been selected? I was, yeah, I got a call. If I recall how it worked, you don't really pay attention. Obviously, being a Western kid, You knew that was the route you wanted to go and how things worked.

But he didn't pay too much attention. You weren't sitting in class like kids today on their phone waiting to see if they're getting selected. No. Right? Dwayne Perillet, who is, well, he'd be, you're 35. I think he's about 38. So you've been a few years old than you, three, four years older than you, remembers seeing it in the paper.

He got a paper and his name was in it, but he had no idea. Yeah, I think I got a call from somebody in the Tri-City organization saying I've been, you know, we've chosen you in the Bannum draft and obviously you're excited. So what did you do? You're just like, hmm, going to get a slurpy. No, I don't even remember to, to be honest. Yeah, it was just, it was the next step. You knew, you know, you hadn't made it. You haven't really accomplished anything yet.

They just have your rights. It's a big deal. You're a 15-year-old kid. And you're going to be playing against, you know, 16 to 20-year-olds. And you've got a lot of improving to do. You think of it as it's a huge step. Not only maturity, you're moving away from home. It's in the U.S.

It's a different country. As a goal, you don't know when you're going to get it to chance. You're looking who they have in the system at that time. Who did they have in the system at that time? It was actually another Lloyd. It was Blake Ward, who was the, goalie there. So, which Blake helped out as well and it made me a little more comfortable going there, knowing, you know, he was from Lloyd and what to expect. But you're still,

you're still nervous, obviously, a young kid and you don't know what to expect. Up until this point, I'm curious, I was talking a little bit about this before we got on here. Does a coach really know what to do with you? Like, I think back in my minor hockey years, I had a couple of coaches that were just fantastic, like doing drills and kind of teaching you mindsets and whatever, and they've been players and they kind of, were you ever, did you ever have a coach up until that point?

Or I don't even know, maybe you could say when your first coach was, it just got goalies and knew what to teach you, or if it was a goalie coach that you had to finally wait for and he just started throwing things at you're like, Oh, this is awesome. No, not really. I think it was at that age, it was more your athletic ability.

And it came from, just as it is today, it's what's between your ears, how mentally strong you are. Do you battle on pucks? And you have the will to win. And that's kind of how it was. However you stopped it, it didn't matter. There wasn't really any structure involved. all the praise was pretty much going out east and obviously Quebec of how they were developing the goalies and those were the best in Canada but yeah growing up I don't that make you feel if

you obviously if you're talking about it you kind of clued into that message yeah it didn't it didn't really affect me until I got in maybe my second or second year maybe in the dub and then you start to hear it more and then obviously get invited to deep Canada camps and that's when they really dwelt on that a lot more. But it's a lot of politics like anything. As you see, whoever the head coach is for a lot of World Juniors these days, is a Western Hockey League coach? Well, he's going to have a lot of Western Hockey League guys.

Yeah, we're talking about familiarity. He's familiar with them. He knows their roles. He's comfortable and can put him in those roles to succeed and be successful for what he needs. in a short tournament. So I think that stems from whoever, whether it's an old coach, whether it's a Q coach. But I think they've done a better job in recent years of incorporating who the best players are.

They're so well advanced now from when I played to goalie coaches, to videos. To everything. To personal trainers, to nutritionists. It's on another level. I just went and watched the Lloydminster Bobcats play their home opener this past week. Now, when people hear this, this will be a month past. But I was talking to the two guys. They used to do the games on the radio, right?

Play-by-play on the radio. Heck, that's what I helped do. I did color commentating for a part of the season, which is a hell of a lot of fun. Anyways, so I'm getting talking to them. I'm like, oh, no, we don't do the radio. I'm like, oh, what are you doing, right? There's two play-by-play guys. oh we got this online TV and we commentate on it and I was like oh and they're like and

actually and they pull it up and I mean it is like it looks like TSN HD like that good quality I'm like wow like this is this is really good quality oh yeah they mandated that it'd be HD now too so like everything is like crystal clear nice and that's Lloyd right like I mean no knock on Lloyd Lloyd Lloyd's listening to this but I mean that wasn't something you had two years ago, let alone 15 years ago. No, and I think that stems from, you know, just you can reach out to any audience, whether you know, family, friends, grandparents or anything are watching or listening. They're able to keep track and show their support and monitor your progress.

And it's so easily accessible these days. It's nice to see. And I always think to the business side of hockey, right, if you're a scout and you're sitting over and wherever you can tune into any AJ game you want and catch it in HD and you can just watch and you can see everything and you don't have to you know be physically there that opens up that league to the entire world essentially all players now are on a national stage to get watched from anybody anywhere at any time yeah which is crazy when you think about that yeah with scouts as as you say it's it's easy for them to put their progress reports together and um as you've seen

obviously in most recent years too is more guys are getting drafted out of the H.HL than never before. So guys are picking their path, wanting to go to the college route, and thinking what's the best scenario for me, knowing that I can still be at home or choose the route I want to be and still have a chance at higher pro or go to Europe or whatever my path is. Did you ever think of that? I mean, you get drafted by Tri-Cities. do you ever think maybe I should do Junior A or does that even cross your mind? It didn't even cross my mind. It was an easy decision.

I know this is another issue, but the lawsuits that have come because of, you know, the minimum wage and that from past players, which I think that's kind of a joke in itself. When you sign up to play in the WHL, it's a privilege and a right that you're, every year you play there, you're going to get a college, one year of college paid for. Correct. So that's the chance you're taking. You're given free equipment. You're giving free housing.

You're given an education and they're taking you in a part of your own family for billets. So whether it doesn't, oh, you don't get drafted, you don't sign a contract, well, at least you have your schooling still to fall back on. So that's the chance you take and you know that going in. And there's like anything, you know the risks, you sign on for it. So there's no excuses. And there's no reason why you should have and want hand-me-outs after it's all said and done. That's my opinion on it.

The only thing that I could maybe, when I don't know it well enough, you've been through that system. So I'm talking to what I would consider an expert in the field because you've gone through it. The only thing that comes to mind is for a 16-year-old kid to make that decision, does he know what he's actually doing? Right? They're a young kid to make a big decision like that. Although, in saying that, kids are making pretty big decisions at that age. I mean, if they're well-informed and you give them the option and they understand it,

I can get why you're why you say what you say. Most of the time it's not the kid making the decision. It's the parents. It's the supporting cause. Does he or she have an agent? Did you have an agent at 16? I did, yes. Did you?

Yeah. And what did an agent help at 16? Yeah, because I'm... It was after. So as soon as the Bannum draft happened, and that's when I started talking, and it was brought to my attention that maybe you started talking to some agents. and first it was just to put you in contact with what you need to do to be successful to get to the next step.

One thing Lloyd has now, and they've done a great job, is the trainers there. There's the accessibility to have personal trainers, to have those summer on ice sessions. Those weren't available when I was there. So what I had was a trainer or a, sorry, my agent was from Saskatoon. And he would fly a guy in from Calgary and all of us, whether it was rural Saskatoon, we'd all go to Calgary or to Saskatoon. He'd put together our program and then we'd go on our separate ways and do that once a month in the summertime. Now, it's on you for your progress and to monitor that.

And as a 16-year-old kid, yeah, you say you're going to do it. But, again, you sometimes you need a foot in the ass. Yeah, you're training. you're probably not eating right you're trying to get everything down so it just it's a whole new level these days and they're so well prepared like everything we talk about it we can talk this over 20 times the difference that probably 10 years is made is unthinkable right like nutrition training just drills thought process everything everything is just ramped up so much it's unbelievable It is.

It's unbelievable. It's, it's nice to see, but also at the same time, it creates, everybody's on that same page. So it creates the competitive level even higher. There's a lot more expectations. There's a lot more pressure. Social media is a huge, huge influence. So that's even, that's another avenue. But, yeah, it's, it's come a long way.

Are you happy that social media wasn't around when you were growing up? The way it is now? Or do you wish it was kind of there, don't you? No, I like how it was, yeah. I think a lot of people get absorbed in it and can get in trouble, especially at a young age. Yeah, definitely in a young age. You can use it for your advantage and some might have too big of a mouth

and whether you're, whatever, you're tweeting the wrong thing or you just overanalyze, I think, personalities and what they're thinking or how they dress or who knows. It's just, there's no black and white area sometimes. They just analyzed, so Luchich gets traded out to Calgary this year, right? And he's getting interviewed by the Calgary media. And he gets asked something about captaincy, and I wish I had the quote here to pull it right in front of me.

But that quote they talk about him bashing Connor in it, Although he never talks about Connor. He talks about the Calgary having a more mature captain. No. That little quote right there gets analyzed for the next month and a half. To the point as a fan, you're like, nobody cares. Nobody cares. Just leave it alone.

Summertime. It's a slow news day. They need something to talk about. And living in Edmonton, I see it every day. I see now that I'm back here, well, full time for the last couple years, how toxic it can be for a player playing here. and living here and how again the average hockey fan thinks they're a GM they think they're the head coach they think they know what's going on i am a GM all right so fantasy yeah absolutely how you doing

uh not very good not very good at all so it's funny to see that um i'm not saying i'm an expert by any means but it's just knowing that inside track of of again i'm not supporting luci but uh i know what he was trying to say you're not going to go to a team and and speak highly you're going to be excited i'm I'm looking forward to the season. It's the generic answers. Everybody says, and you'll see it this year in the season. And you'll be like, oh, I've heard this a million times. And the guys that have a personality to speak up and have the balls to do it, it's like, oh, geez, he's not humble.

He's not a hockey player. It's like, what do you want? Do you want a guy that's outspoken and can speak his mind? And it's like, oh, he's a beauty for seeing that. And the other guy's like, we've got to shut his mouth. So, again, guys get paid to talk, whether you're watching TSN, Sportsnet. They want to ruffle the feathers, but it's just funny knowing what's going on and playing those mind games and what the media does, for example. And I know we get tired of it here in the Leafs.

Sorry, Leafs fans, but yeah, just DSN with the whole Marner situation. And it gets overblown. And it's it's nice to know what's going on. Absolutely. No, here's a question for you. You've played in places like San Diego. You played in places like, well, you played for the moose, right? So that would have been Winnipeg, correct?

That's correct. Which is a traditional hockey market. Would you, where would be your favorite place? If you could go back tomorrow, just flick a wand. And it doesn't have to be that you, well, I mean, you're probably going to go somewhere where you won because you're going to have fond memories. But if you could pick anything. any place to go play in your career because how many years did you play pro now 14 years

14 years so over your 14 years span what was the best place to play that's a loaded question okay I'm full of loaded question uh it again everyone and I'm not just saying it's every place has its positives I know nobody from and um Tim luck two's gonna listen this we're talking no it's if Tyler Wyland could go flick a switch are we are we talking to my single or are we talking about married with kids, that completely changes the aspect on things. So that's why I throw it right back. So we're, okay.

You're single. If you're single, if you're single, San Diego was a good time. So that's, yeah. And married life, obviously with kids,

Europe was great. So it's two different avenues. What was so great about Europe having kids? It was just laid back, the freedom, less games, less travel. Oh,

yeah, yeah. Two week breaks in the seasons. Everything's paid for. Um, it was, yeah, when you can take the family or, or go anywhere for a hundred bucks flight. Yeah. Where do you want to go for the weekend?

Oh, we'll just go to Paris. Where do you want to go? We'll go to Rome. Like, it's just, it's so accessible. Yeah. And, and you're comfortable. You're with guys that you're familiar with. It's not like you can't speak to language because there's enough Canadians and Americans

that, um, you kind of help each other out. if you do have those issues at the start, but it was never a problem for me. So, yeah. Let's go to Tri-Cities. Let's go back here. Let's rewind here. Okay.

You're on your way to Tri-Cities for the first training camp. Walk me through that and tell me about your first training camp with Tri-Cities. Well, Tri-Cities in general, we had five coaches in four years, four different GMs in four years and four different owners in four years that I was there. So right there it kind of, I need you to say that one more time because that was a whole lot of holy. Five coaches in the four years I was there. Four years. Four years. Four different GMs. So a GM every single year and an owner every single year, new ownership group. Holy man. Yeah. And there was myself and a buddy of mine, Dylan Stanley, who was

the only guys that have stayed there. I was there for four, my 16 to 19 year old, and he played his full five years. And you're the only two over that entire span stuck out? Yeah. Or didn't get whatever. Yeah. Yeah. So it's, yeah, it started, I believe, well, Don Hay was the first coach when I was, when I was 15 and going to camp for your first question. You're nervous. You're coming into obviously a different country. You're more big lights, obviously a bigger rink. Guys are men. I'm a scrawny little kid trying to stop a puck here.

And you're just trying to work hard. You're trying to show them that, you know, you're going to do whatever it takes to try to get to that level. You're going to listen. You're going to be a fly on the wall, whether it's with the training staff, the coaches. What was the going from Bannam hockey to now you're

suiting up for the Tri-City Americans? Like what was the, I mean, there's probably 50 million things that didn't change. But what in your mind was like, obviously guys are all, they're bigger, faster, the skill levels out the wazoo. But what's something the common person just doesn't even think of and you're just like, oh man, this is freaking unreal. You get overwhelmed with the guys that have got drafted and who you're up against and almost mesmerized by them?

So who was the guy when you were playing back then? You get put in your game and all of a sudden X is coming down on you or maybe standing in front of you. Who was some of the guys that you were playing with? There was, well, Seattle, yeah, Jamie Lundmark, Marcel Hosa, Dubinsky, McLeod, Braddon Cobra, those guys were all in our U.S. division. Yeah.

Which you'd see a ton then. We'd see a ton, yeah. Yeah, Spokane. I've always heard, I'm bouncing a little bit here, but I've always heard the American fans at those ranks are unbelievable. All the young guys talk about it right now. Were your fans in Tri-City just nuts? They were.

Yeah, they were great. Yeah. I think they were frustrated with the whole turmoil within of hearing the same old story. Well, this is how it's going to change. This is what we're going to do different. And as a player, you can't control that. No.

You're just trying to do what you do, right? You're trying to listen because they're in charge. They're the coaches. And luckily, I've, you know, got a good upbringing with family and friends to keep me grounded, to work hard first and not trying to get a big head. But I'd be lying to say I didn't at a young age when I got the starting job as a 16-year-old. You have everything at your fingertips. and you know you're doing reports and and that's why i say social media again that

good thing because there's articles coming out that you know you're going to be a high draft pick or or this and that and then obviously that wasn't the case but it uh it's um there's just yeah it's a different avenue for for going to the next level um and not saying it was was easy or difficult but you try to manage with again who who you surround yourself with the kind of people that keep pushing you. And ultimately you have to find it within of what's important and trying to stay on track and not trying to have those side distractions

as to hinder you from moving forward. What was it like getting a starting job at 16? I didn't expect to make the team when I was 16. I didn't. I remember thinking, okay, this is what I'm going to come back to. I'm going to start school here. I'm going to do this. and then when you know things are going well they're seeing your progress they're saying okay well you're yeah you're going to you're going to stay and you're trying to again be a fly in the wall

learn as much as possible and you're you're thrown into the action you're not thinking too much again you're just enjoying the moment and and trying to do your job but also manage school over tri-cities I had three different billets over my four years there And those were experience in itself. Oh, so? The first ones were, they were Mormon, so that was the first time I was introduced to, you know, that, and their family stayed in.

And just, again, when you come to a family that you're not familiar with the way they do things, and there's consuming certain fluids, pop, for instance. They thought the world was going to end. So that was the Y2K year. So we had stockpiled things in the basement. And Tri-City is a hot climate for rattlesnakes and black widows. So they don't kill anything. So there'd be just say a spider and they'd put a glass over top of it with a paper underneath and free it outside.

So they don't believe in any killing. Kids, I had bunk beds that year. with Daryl May. So we had three guys stay there. There's the older guy. Bunk beds shared with another 16-year-old. And we couldn't watch the Simpsons. We couldn't do this because it would hinder their children for different TV programming.

How tough was that? I mean, I mean. It was, but it's not like, oh, a boo-hoo sort of thing. It's, it made you stronger in a way. Like, there's, again, I didn't come from a silver spoon or anything. So I'm coming from a small town. I'm trying to earn everything I get. I shouldn't say tough.

I don't be it tough. I mean like culture shock. That way. Right? So again, there's one belt. The other one I never got fed. So what do you mean you never got fed? I never got fed.

So she was, again, bullets were never really around. They were busy at work and then certain things happened within their family where divorces and whatnot were going on. So we had a sponsor, which was Carl's juniors for Tri-Cities. And I'd always get a stack of coupons from the rink. And that was my meals most of the year. That was my 17-year-old year with Carl Juniors. I don't know how many burgers I had that year, but I still couldn't put on weight.

I was just, again, a scrawny little kid. And you're playing a lot of games. So you're trying, I never knew how to keep it on. I never knew how to take care of my body. I never had that mentor that I, I could confide in and learn from that way. So you try to, you think you know what you're doing or doing on your own, but ultimately, yeah, nobody was going to help you at that time unless you did it and did stuff yourself.

So I had to do what I had to do in order to obviously. Carl Jr. became the place. It was, yeah. That was a call for everything. Pardon the interruption, folks. Here's your IHD innovative question of the week. Who currently holds the most wins all time for a goaltender in the NHL? You got the answer to that?

Shoot me an email, Sean Newman Podcast at gmail.com. Hit me up on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Just reach out to me, get me the answer, and you're entered into a draw for a visa gift card. Mystery amount. Yeah, we're not going to give you how much it is. We'll let your mind do the work there. All right? You won't be disappointed.

Now, back to the show. You know, usually I have guys give a shout-out to their billets because I'm a guy who played three years, lived with the same family for three years. They were phenomenal, the Lane family, showed out to the Lane family. They were awesome. And most guys have really, really good experience with their billets. I do. In my last billet, Bob and Linda Russell.

Okay. So shout out to Bob and Linda. I was their last player they ended up having there. I've, you know, coming from the other two and, and those are just a few stories I told. But again, I thought it made me stronger. And then going to theirs was like a gold mine. They had everything where you lay and open up the fridge

and where they had yogurts all in a line, milkshakes all in a line. Like, you name it, sandwiches all in a line. Like they had. everything. And they were more than accommodating on so many instances from, I can't even, I can't begin to explain, but it's a relationship I still have to this day with them, keep in touch with them frequently, not only them, their kids. And I wish to become a part of their family, right?

Yeah. Yeah, she. decorates for all the holidays. So over the top from St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Christmas, like just decked right out. Yeah. I was reading Brian Kilroy's book. I was kind of telling you about that.

And he talks about disciplining guys in Ottawa. He's coach in Ottawa at 67's for the longest time. And I was curious, in your four-year stint in Tri-Cities, I have to assume you slipped up once or twice or had to. teammates and there must have been punishments for that or something along that lights. And I see a giggling over there. You got to have a story or two from that. Yeah, there's a lot.

You're playing in the U.S. So it's a lot different than Canada. I couldn't imagine how it would have been knowing to say Alberta, for instance, the drinking ages 18. Okay. Yeah. Those are some things we never have to worry about in the U.S. because it was 21.

21. Yeah. I'd be lying to say we didn't do it, but it was more house parties. So it's not like we're going to the casino or the bars or anything like that. So there's obviously instances that guys would have to pay and houses that got a little vandalized and trash, whether it's guys that chewed and putting chew in the fish tank and the next day and the fish are died. And guys, stupid things in the shower and in their shampoo and conditioner bottles and just, guys that I played with that had DUIs and got out of the country.

And it just, yeah, you've, again, me and another guy were the only guys were there that long. So we traded for a lot of misfits that came to Tri-Cities. We traded a lot of our top scores for toughness at times, depending who the GM was. And you picked up pretty soon of who you think you should hang out with. Yeah. And who's going to bring you up and who's going to bring you down. So I kind of learned at a young age of being selective with your friends and who you can count on. Because even though your teammates and you have to rely on each other, you can't because you're going to always have, okay, come with me.

There's always going to be temptations. There's always going to be people pulling you in one direction. So where's that coming? Is that your parents upbringing of you? I'm kidding. We're going down a deep rabbit hole here because that's, I'm really curious with young kids.

One of the things that always scares the living crap out of me is when they get older with alcohol, drugs, you name it, right? So where does something like that maturity, understanding that at a young age come from?

I don't know. Maybe it's just seeing it saying, I don't want to be that guy, knowing that you have a future in order to get to where you want to be in that path, that these are the steps I need to take. My path isn't going to be like his over there and I don't want it to be.

And again, surround yourself with the right people. It's not always easy because you're going to have your closest friends sometimes going in that direction. But again, it's okay to say no. So it's easy to say now. But wherever I played at a young, age it was always there whether yeah it started and try obviously Colorado San

Diego there was always those everything everything is accessible to you yeah everything is especially at a young age especially when everything's almost given to you or had it to you and you can either have a great year or pick do you want a great year and have a great time or do you want a great career and that's kind of the two things that you have to assess. There's a difference between having fun and picking your spots and being smart, then just doing it to impress other people and just making sure it's the right call. Yeah, I would agree.

I agree. I think as a young guy, seeing that, that's pretty impressive because a lot of people aren't like that. A majority of people aren't like that, I would say. But again, I think seeing those people that you or those teammates or staff or anything that you didn't want to be like. Yeah. Like I don't want to go down that path or okay. No, and I get that.

I think that's what I was able to see at an early age. Like, you know what? He's not what I thought he was or this is not the path I want to go on. And, and yeah. Let's talk road trips. because in the WHL you have a lot of road trips what was the worst like what was the road trip either you had the fondest memories of

and you're like I can't wait to go on this one this is going to be awesome or you're like man this road trip sucks we're gone for like two and a half three weeks they did it different we we only went once to Brandon Brandon would have been a brutal one I think that's like like 22 hours or something like that.

And yeah, you're with guys. Sleeping on the seats, sleeping on the floor. Doing whatever you can. Doing whatever you can to sleep. And we've had, well, we had laptops and DVD players at that time and cruise through a number of movies. But, yeah, nothing like now with that. But yeah, cards. What was your card game of choice?

I played park, carcnerps, pass the ace. Yeah, those just to keep everybody involved. God, I miss cards on the bus. Same, yeah. The bus was the best. Yeah, it just, yeah, you don't see that too much anymore. I got to play a good game of poker cards. Well, I don't know.

When was the last time you played a game of cards? It's been a while. And the boys talk about it. I had a bunch of young guys on the podcast of the summer. They talk, they play a little bit of cards, but, I mean, now you can play cards on your phone. What evolved over the years when we always had the PSPs after, which play states and portables and guys got the same game. So guys would get those instead of interacting with each other.

And we'd still play poker, but we weren't interacting with one other. And we're still beacon back and forth and chirping. But now you're staring at a screen. But now you're staring at a screen. So I can't see you face-to-face. Are you bluffing? Are you bullshund me or or not? It's a really strange.

It changed that way. That was, again, that's probably mid-pro that happened. It's a really strange thing. You see it every day now, right? We go out for a drink. Me and you went out for a drink with two colleagues. Within 10 minutes, everybody's pulled their phone out. And even if I'm not trying to, you'll look up and there will be four you on your phone.

Or there'll be three of them on your phone and be like, well, hell, and maybe I should just get on my phone too, right? Like, it's hard to have a conversation for a long period of time without checking that damn thing. Yeah, you're right. Right? And it's getting worse. It ain't getting better.

Yeah. But I think guys have fun with it too. Oh, yeah. It's enjoyable. You know, you have the Snapchat, you have the Instagram, you have the Twitter. So, again, in all fun in games. And again, being selective these days because everything can be used against you, whether you do it at a young age.

and it's taken and used five years down the road for you. I hate to bring up Trudeau because I'm sure I'm just going to boil everyone's blood, but the thing that came out today was back in 2001. So that is 18 years ago. He dressed up for some sort of party and had a turban on and painted himself brown. And the world is losing its crap right now. obviously it's poor decision right i think we can all agree on that poor decision no i agree it was also 18 years ago yeah and he was a kid and i'm not one to stand up for trudo because i tell you what

there's a lot of things i do not like about the man but social or media just in general right now it's just bizarre yeah no i i saw that today too and i i i chuckled because i thought they'd eat it up. And I thought it was beneficial too because obviously I'm voting conservative. So I'm not a big political guy either, but we live in Alberta here. We know what we all need. And we know the way he's handled things. So that's really all I have to say on that matter. And anything to burn him under the bridge, let's just piling it up. Yeah. He's got a pier going right now, right? Like it is burning high. Yeah. But I thought it was funny because at first I thought, I don't even know if that's real. Like is that real or is somebody just make that?

and it's just being, you know, false media. Oh, no, it's real. And he came out and apologized about it. And I'm like, oh, well. It's not the last fear of it, that's for sure. No. How about hotels? I remember playing and being on the road with the boys,

and you get that many guys in that close proximity. You just, you find ways to irritate each other and have fun with it, though. I don't mean irritate, like, in a bat. I mean, like, in a good way, right? It's a way of bonding, but probably at a coach's hair because he's probably pulled a lot of it out after you've leanered the 14th room and it's leaking through the ceiling or some damn thing. On the road, what was your go-to or what was the go-to of the boys back then?

Oh, man. That's, I'd like to know how it is these days for some of them. If we go back to even like initiation or like rookie parties, that was that was a never avenue compared to what they're allowed to do these days oh let's talk about what did you do back in the rookie days but uh well we enjoyed it that way we did it more of an olympic games okay of of of drinks and our and are some of our coaches um this is a lot off of too but if he knew the boys were we're going out for for a good time instead of a beg skate we'd have two teams and we'd almost do like an olympic begscape of

you're doing twirls and then skate to the blue and back and obviously that's going to mix it up a little bit and you're not you're not feeling too good but guys would still hurl but um you just did in a fun way not like you're you're dreading to come to the rink and oh no we're going to get in one and and we got to sweat it out sort of thing yeah so again those are some of the good coaches that that did it that way and um it helped us as as teams um for on the road It's you could

you could do the toilet ones where you got the saran wrap the guy's pissing on the toilet it's it's brazen you can do it where you could put where he flushes it and out of the top where it shoots it back at him.

Yeah that's a good one. I see that one done. Yeah you can put the Vaseline on certain things where it's a little sticky. You can shove all his clothes and his whole bed into one pillowcase move it out in the hallway Who is the best prankster across your entire career?

Was there a guy that just sticks out? That just love having a little bit of fun. No, one in particular that sticks out, no. But I got roused on pretty good in my first year. Again, the rookie in Colorado, and they gave it to me because they knew I could take it too. But they tried to always push my buttons, and they used them all.

Yeah, they use Yeah, definitely them all So it's If you can think it, it's It's been done Put it much Put it that way Yeah

And I'm sure they still do the shoe checks And that's just good Good fun on What was the pun for shoe check If you got shoe checked And they got you So you actually got ketchup Or whatever on your shoe

What did you have to do In your career? What was the punishment For being shoe checked? There's nothing You just took off your shoe Showed everybody And it was almost like an embarrassing

that you got it. But if you had just a swayed shoes on, well, geez, then that guy's going to be pretty pissed, obviously. So you never had to get down on one knee and ask the waitress to marry anything like that? No, nothing is that. Really? What would happen is the rookies usually got set up. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And then you get the jug of water poured on you. Oh, that's happened on multiple occasions. Well, I think that's a cultural norm across any age level. You always get the One rookie who wants to get the vets. That has played out every different place I played. That one right there played out.

100%. Because you get the rookies early on because they don't have a clue what's going on. And then they want to get back. Oh, yeah, that one was beautiful. We were too. We were scared of the vets. So I think it's different these days where guys a little more, some kids are a little more lippy.

Do you think so? They're a little more self-confident with things from what I've seen, depending who they are. But back then, yeah, you were intimidated. You were intimidated to walk to the back. You're intimidated to even speak or anything. You loaded the bus. If they said jump, you're almost like how high.

You got to load the bus. You guys had to load the bus back then? Oh, yeah. You're in there grinding it with your suit all dirty on a, you know, I forgot about that. Downstairs and swift current pulling up tubs and just freezing your nuts off. Like it's, yeah, you remember those. But you're working with the guys.

Like, you're just hoping there's a lot of rookies doing it because if there's only two or something on the team, you're in one. You're in one. It's right. Yeah. Did you have to double up in seats, stuff like that? Oh, yeah. Yeah. You just hope you got a bigger guy because they need to have a little more softer shoulders and some bony guys.

And he'd be a good pillow going against the side. So some of those long trips, yeah, you need. it. Yeah. I always hope for the little guy so that I'd have a little more room. The big guy, you're just jammed in there. You need a little more cushion, yeah. What was your go-to movie on the bus? You got to go to the club. You got to go with young blood and slap shot and that's, we watch those all the time. But then we also had a head coach where he played in Philly and he made us watch his fight tapes all the time and Don Akbar. And he was one of the hardest working guys and one of this fitness testing so he'd always make us watch

his filly tapes of himself and how they um played and trained and but yeah obviously hockey movies and then your whatever was out there at the time whether it was i don't know happy gilmore austin powers and any both very good movies any any funny movies or wedding crashers um old school like Yeah, all those, well, classics, yeah. All the boys, all the young guys now say stepbrothers. Step brothers. That's, that is probably the most universal across guys that are age 17 to 25 right now, stepbrothers.

It's always the one-liners now. Oh, yeah. It's always been a one-lilers. It always has, but the quick-wittedness and just anything you can do with the boys, right? That's right. Yeah, to use that again. and all in good fun, of course. Did,

back then, was that right at the end of being able to initiate players? No, you're still going on. Yeah. Again, it wasn't bad with us. It's like, like what's bad having, having some drinks and it wasn't tying up to anything.

It wasn't hot boxing in the, In the on the bus or anything. I think we can all agree that some guys went way too far with it. Yeah. It wasn't beating guys with certain things or paddling or. No, and then we never got that. It was, I have no regrets. If anything, it made you stronger.

It's the way you looked at it. I always found it as. You're doing it together and you're building team cohesiveness. I always found too, it like made you a part of the group. and people now say, well, you shouldn't have to go through anything to be a part of the group. But I found like it was like a right of passage. I think that was the whole thing of it, right? Was it right of passage?

Yeah. Again, it depends what it is. There's some extremes. Well, I get those. But it's taking it with a grain of salt. Like you got to know what you're getting yourself into. You got to know that you're doing the same thing that your other rookies are doing. You're in it together.

Embrace it. Have fun with it. You're only going to do it what. Excuse me. It's just, yeah, it's all in good fun. Yeah. Where was your favorite rink to play in the dub? I mean, you're going to say tri-citys probably, but I mean, away from home.

Spokane. Spokane. Why? Spokane was our rival. Okay. Saturday night in Spokane, Sellout Barn, 10-5. And, again, it's something about quieting the crowd, shutting them up. winning there and shoving it right up their ass.

Like there's something good about that. There's nothing better than beating your rival on their turf, knowing they're the favorite. And you can, yeah, you can be the talk of the town the next day and they're going to get shit on. And yeah, it's going to be a battle. It's going to be tough. But it's fun.

Yeah, it's fun to be a part of those. Who had the best fans? At that time, it was. again in the West it was probably again them I would have to say because of our rival Camloops

they were supported locally and they always sold out yeah it was always fun coming to Canada obviously to play those that are sold out because we were not too many times drew well in try

yeah except for those maybe games against Spokane the odd time like New Year's Eve games or maybe a home opener. That's about it. But yeah, we were probably the most competitive of my last year. So that's when it started to really shine with us being more competitive.

And then people wanting to see us more, whether we were in Kelowna and other centers. And that's when the stability happened. That's when new ownership was stable. That's when the GM was stable, the head coach. And like anything, it starts at the top. Yeah. I say that with, it's not sports. It's business, too.

It's everything. It starts at the top. You've got to look yourself in the mirror for who's running things and take ownership and accountability for how things are run below. Yeah. I feel like you told me this month's upon a time. Completely switching the subject. but who was the goalie who came in right at the end year last year?

Carrie Price. Was it Carrie Price? I am remembering that correct, right? So yeah, Carrie and I were together, my 19-year-old year, and he was 60. Yeah. What was the 16-year-old Carrie Price like? Again, like a sponge, like trying to learn. I'll ask a better question.

At 16 did you go, wow, here's the next super-strand. our goal tenor of the NHL or was he just like a 16 year old kid? No, just a 16 year old kid. Obviously he was a high draft pick for try. Had good family genes because his dad played as well coming from a good family. Where does dad play? I think he played pro two and then he was a goalie as well. So he had that background and he could fight in his dad for a lot of tips and mentorship and what to do and what to expect.

anything else. Yeah, so that helps. But yeah, he was, you know, he was learning like everybody else coming into the league. He had the capability. He had the size already. Yeah. But that comes with experience. Can you get up to that speed?

Can you get up to that level? Can your skills improve over the course of the season? And he did, yeah. and I didn't see it as at that young age. I think anybody that you're paired with, you're not looking to see their improvements. You're kind of more into, into like your own craft and trying to do

to make sure you're bringing it every day into the table and you're working together. Obviously practicing, working out doing this little thing and hanging out after. but what is the bond like between two goaltenders is it a love-hate relationship or is it like two brothers i don't know i'm curious i think it depends who it is i think it depends on your personalities yeah there's there's some again from from my experience that i was always the one that was younger um and if you have a younger guy going for an older guy's job

he's not going to be happy about that. So is he going to help you as much? Are you going to be as close with him? Again, is it junior? Is it pro? Is he on his last year's his contract? Are you fighting for that on March? So there's so many intangibles to take into effect of why he's doing things this way,

why I'm doing things this way. I've had good relationships with a lot of my guys. Yeah. For the most part, I've always been the starter. Which helps? So which helps? which you're so in tuned, again, of just your next game and trying to stay focused in the moment

because you play so many games over the course of a season. You know, I don't know many other positions in sports. There probably are, and you can maybe list off a couple. I'm not sure. But how hard is it to walk that line as a goaltender? Because he's like, you have a bad game. Okay, yeah, a bad game. You have two bad games, you have three bad games.

I don't know how many games you get. You probably know. and then you're sitting on the pine, and if the other guy goes in and goes amazing, you don't get another game. And like, there's not too many positions in sports like that. No, again, it's a special position.

It's the most important on a team, I would feel. That's me being biased, but I think a lot of people would agree. You need support, too. Whether you're the best in the world, you still need your good decor. You still need a good system in front of you. You still got to be on the same page with your coaching staff

and what they expect of you. And the feedback these days is a lot more better. It's improved for what everybody expects of you. You have goalie coaches where, again, we didn't have that in try. So if you didn't have the goal. goaling coaching and stuff like what were you doing to improve that you would you would try to learn the most in the off season you would go to a goalie camp golly camps yeah so what we started to do in in the dub was let's go see a goalie coach cam ward and i would go see uh ian clark in vancouver

so he had a it was gdi i would go see him in burnaby and and stay there for you know a week or two weeks before we went to our dub teams. And that's how it was. And then it kind of transformed into the pro level as well because certain teams had goalie coaches and then probably well over 60% didn't. Is that changed now? Does everybody have a goalie coach?

I would say, yeah, that's changed dramatically. Yeah. Where if they don't have full times, they'll at least have a guy that comes in once a month for a week. And in your opinion, is that like, I don't know, night and day difference? It is.

Like to have somebody critiquing and helping and drills and whatever else? Yeah, it's just somebody that you can relate to on a different level. Some coaches, they just think, okay, golly, just stop the puck. And we laugh at that because that's still something that's out of it. That's not it?

Just stop the puck. Just tough to pack. So, and we could go off here with, oh, goalies are weird and they're quirky in that. Goleys are weird. Are they? Are they? Who's the idiot dropping shots with no gear on and stuff? And, oh, that's.

That's this guy. Yeah. Yeah. All right. I'm the one wearing the face shield here. You're the one blocking shots with your jaw. And I, believe me, I do appreciate that. And with your limbs, but who's the crazy one?

Yeah, I would say. So I think, I think, you know, we all know some crazy guys and some crazy goalies. But then if you're a player, oh, he's a beauty. He's a beauty. And he's, and he's wacko. He's just out to lunch on his own program. But then he's just a beauty. And then if it's a goalie, and it's like, he's a weirdo.

So where is that balance? There's not. It feels like there's a lot of weirdo goleys, but you bring up the point about beauty. you might have something there. Yeah, so, it's all a good fun. I see you've been preparing this argument for a long time. No, no, it's all in good fun. 2002, you get drafted.

Did you go to the draft? No. Did you think you were going to get drafted? I thought I was, but wasn't sure. Again, playing in Tri-Cities, we didn't have the best team. So my draft stock definitely plummeted it because of, you know, our record. Yeah. Were you, sorry, were you following along with it? Like you, you talk about reports, kids today see report. Here's this draft summary and this prospect. Well, yeah, they had, I believe they had the red line report then. Now you have, you know, so what was the, what was the, McKenzie doing all those reports.

Were you ever, I don't know. Were you, what was the high. used to a river rate or what was the thing you remember i was i was high after going into my draft year simply because i played as a 16 year old okay so if you play you know if you're starting goalie and you stole the job as a 16 year old well jesus kid has potential and he can you know how's he going to evolve and how are we going to see him the next year but then you started analyzing everything else um again i didn't have the size um i was a smaller guy so i've i've short changed that way and those are things you can't control. Didn't have a great year,

had an okay year. We made the playoffs. We lost in the first round to Spokane. Oh, that must have been tough. But again, it was a good year for moving to the next step to where we were projected to be at.

And you see a lot of guys just don't pan out. They're on good junior teams. A lot is, a lot is, is timing. You see it, whether it's players, whether it's defensemen,

whether it's goalies. You're on a great junior team. You have that one good year that you put up stellar numbers. You get drafted high. And you're like, well, what happened to this kid?

It happens all the time. But ultimately, you always want a great year. It goes back to the resume, right? Okay, has he competed for this? Has he been on, you know, Team Canada?

You've seen, it's easy to, pick those players and justify your decisions based on their resume on the resume right so but yeah it was yeah it was a it was a dream it was a dream day so did you did you have thoughts of going to the draft or was the draft that year held uh i don't even know to be honest with you yeah i didn't i didn't pay too much attention um the i've talked to the teams and that obviously Colorado being my favorite team at the time what was a uh when you mean you talk to the teams did you have to go somewhere no this is just over the over the phone yeah and they send you reports some teams send you

reports um reports you got to explain to me such as the rangers so they do uh analysis for um sky is blue as the sun is what so and what would you be your answer. There's no right or wrong answer, but they have this report that they send in and they try to analyze your train of thought and how you think, and they think they can justify it, how competitive you are and the type of player they might be looking for. So it's different reports like that. Some of the top questions are, has any of your family played in the NHL or at a high level before? So they're looking for ancestry to see if you can yeah if it's in your blood yeah well and when you're when you're surrounded by it that's what I mean yeah you're you're more prone to have success because you're

surrounded and and given those necessary steps for for going forward and succeeding yeah but was the co so Colorado was stuck out just because of phone call? No. Colorado was your team. Colorado was my favorite team at the time. Yeah, I like Patrick Waugh, and that was my favorite goal at the time. Well, they were dynamic back then.

Patty Wannette, Joe Sackick, Peter Forrestberg, Milan Hayduk. Milan Hayduk? Yeah. It's Milan, right? Yeah. Hedgy, yeah. I'm saying these names because I've got to pull myself back to that time,

but as you go to your first. training camp with them. That's who would have been there. Yep. Okay. I'm still stuck on draft. So you didn't go to the draft? I didn't go to the draft. So they just call you? Yeah, it was the second day and I woke up. Did you? It wouldn't have been on TSN. No, I think dad and I went golfing that, that morning after that. It was, again, you're you're drafted. It's, it's an honor. You're excited. It's your favorite team. But it's just the next step. You're, I know, but fuck off. I mean that. I don't. I mean that literally.

Like, yes, but you still got drafted. Absolutely, yeah. I love your mentality. You could be my goal any day. No, it's, it was a dream come true. Absolutely. Don't get around. I'm excited to go to camp.

More than happy. We got back this up. So you're golfing, you get a phone call. Hey, by the way. I was sleeping. I just got up. And before I went golfing. You got a call saying, hey, you just got taking in the fifth round.

Yeah. By the Colorado Avalanche. 164th overall. Yeah. And then what? You go golfing. Yeah. Did you go paint the town red that night?

No. You haven't accomplished anything yet. It was just like checking the box, but I wasn't at that level yet. It wasn't, you hadn't got there. It's official. I would have been one of those guys who got drafted and then fizzled out before he even went to training cap because he would have been so pumped. Yeah. And then you're overwhelmed at who you're going to see that upcoming fall.

So speaking, as a goaltender, you went to the depth chart and seen who they had in front of you, I assume. Because if I'm a D man, which I am, I would have checked and seen they had guys like Rob Blake and Adam Foot. I don't know, you can name off probably 10 more. And I would have been like, ooh, that's some stiff competition. At that time, they would have had Patrick Waugh. would patty patty played one year while you because he would have been raid at the end right no patty was there for a number of years yet okay so you had patrick waugh peter budai david abyshire david abyshire yes yeah that would have been the three big ones at the time right

yeah okay carry on so they thomas and yeah those were the other ones so when was flying down for training camp like nerve-wracking Yeah, you're going from your favorite team to get to meet these guys in person, to shoot on you to, yeah, it was nerves. I was throwing up some days beforehand. It's just the nerves. That was the first time I've experienced that. So when people speak of being nervous and throwing up, that was, that was me. Yeah.

What calm the nerves? First puck in the chest? Or were you nervous on ice too? No, just, yeah, just getting out there. Just stepping on. Yeah. Yeah, just feeling that brisk of. of cool air and yeah who is the who is the other high prospects that would have been at

colorado the time you went like right around that time who were the other guys they were drafting etc uh there would have been johnny boychuk oh yeah would have been my age um wolski stazni maybe year afters um spatos i was just curious of the the the group of kids that were coming in all at the same time that's all it was curious about no we had a good number of uh I've dubbed guys, which obviously helped you that you were familiar with. Yeah. And then knowing, you know, Johnny from, from Edmonton here too. So that helps along the way.

But it was, it was great. Yeah, just being in that environment, going down there, feeling welcome from day one with the staff, taking you under your wing and different management. Now, I'm going to ask, so I asked, what was it like going from? ban them to the dub. What's it like going from the dub to the NHL? And now I know you're going to say speed, skill, size, age, everybody gets that answer. But what are some of the things you just, like, I just can't even remotely understand?

Money. Well, that's a good one. So when you pull up to the lot and when you're a young kid and you see, you know, a rangerover, Porsche, Mercedes, and you're like, Geez, like these guys are rolling out here and they're going to come shoot on you after and you're, you're thinking, okay, this is what I'm in, and one I inspire it to do. Like this is next level here. Guys signing autographs out there and it's just in you.

They're like rock stars. So, you know, I think they've already, yeah, they were already won a cup by that time. They just won another one that following year. Yeah. And it, uh, it changed every year in camp. the one year, for example, they had an All-Star team. If you remember, I think an ESPN special,

they had cameras on us for camp the whole time because there was Salani, Korea, I got them written down. Blake. That was 2003. Fork. That was... It was unbelievable.

Like our inner squad games and our teams put together were phenomenal. Like they could have beat some of the teams across the league, but it didn't pan out that year. No, it did not. When you have all those superstars, you need those role players. And guys, in order to tick off those minutes and play diminished roles, it's tough to do when you've been a superstar and other teams. So to say it wasn't fun, it was unbelievable.

But a lot of pressure was them to win it all. When you're the top dog and you're expected to win it because they were always the one competing for championships. Yeah. They were phenomenal. And they would always be the one to trade away prospects to compete for championships. And yeah, along for the ride for Black Aces during the playoffs to Paddy's last game before he retired. Yeah, against Minnesota and seeing, yeah.

If it was me, my first question would be about Peter Forsberg or Joe Sack. But since you're the goalie, what was it like? Being around Patrick Waugh. What, like, we're talking about, I don't know, you can argue with me on this, but top three goalie ever in the NHL? I think that's top five at the farthest moment. I mean, like, the guy was unbelievable.

Yeah, he's, again, you're just trying to be a sponge. So what did you soak up from Paddy Wall? What did you, you're sitting there in your sponge? You got Patty Waugh there. You're like, well, you're nervous. You're not having in-depth conversations with him to pick his brain. You wish you could. It's just things that you wanted to do.

And now that you're older, that it wouldn't be a big deal to just go talk to him and pick his brain. You just didn't do as a young kid. Some of the biggest is equipment. If you remember how equipment was so huge and trainers would tie webbing into his jersey. so pucks wouldn't go through. So he revolutionized different aspects of the goalie equipment of how he would make himself bigger, how pucks wouldn't go through him, how he changed the, like the puck handling as well. I still tape my sticks the same way.

I did in my whole career, tape my sticks exactly the same way he did. Making yourself look bigger than you actually are playing big. I was never that, you know, six two, six three frame. but guys always said, geez, you look big in there. You don't play like your five or nine six feet. And where some guys, you know, crouch out and they might seem that way. You look like what do you? Are you, you're upright, you're square, you look like you're wearing an illegal chest

protector in that. And just different things, whether you keep your chest protector out of your pants, I know these are different things that only some people would understand, but it adds those little inches on each side. that make a big difference in the end where some people like it because it's more comforting for them.

Here's a really random question about goalie equipment that I heard, actually I read an article on, that by wearing colored pads, so instead of white pads, colored pads, you can see the edges against the mesh. And it's easier for shooters to pick corners so you should wear white equipment. Does that make sense to you?

You're talking about little inches here and there. Does that seem to be like, oh, I've always done it for that reason. Majority I've always picked more white on my gear. Just because, again, I didn't have that 6'4 frame, so any advantage I could get, I took advantage of it. I know some goalie coaches, for instance, Ian Clark, who's a goalie coach for Vancouver, he will not allow those goalies to put any color on their outside rolls or their pads.

That's just a rule he has. But I do think it's true. It makes you look smaller for black gear and dark gear. Abyshire wore all black the one camp and had a horrendous start to the season. And to this day, they still talk about, okay, well, it looked like guys could just pick corners, left and right on him where he had a stellar year the year before so we switched back halfway through the year and kind of turned it around i don't know if a lot of his mentality too um but yeah you ask the shooter can i can i pick the corner is it visibly easily to see i think it is you know you blend

into the ice you blend it to the net it makes sense some will make an argument that it's the same size all round, but it's what the visual effects of it and what the mind makes you want to see. So if I can play tricks on you knowing I already have that advantage, knowing I already know where I want you to shoot, well, don't you think I have an upper hand already on you? I would say so. So different things that he taught me that way where you need to take advantage of those in order to to get the upper hand any way you can are just, it just seemed so simple to me.

And I follow that kind of the best I could wherever I went on. Besides obviously the competitive nature and the way he thought it, but we never had those in-depth conversations to the way he thought the game or what he saw or anything. I just knew when we did drills together during camp, God forbid you put one higher than his pads. And then when the rookies goes in, well, they go zipping by my ears and they're going barred down. So you're just taking it.

Obviously, the guys are shooting the score. And when you're the starter, you're better be, you know, mid to low. So he's always feeling the puck. And again, you just know your role. You're like, well, it's Patty. So I'll just get in there. He makes it look so easy.

and all of a sudden, oh shit, ting, ting, ting, ting. I got to ask about the forwards on that team, right? Who is, I don't know. Maybe you can elaborate on who's got the hardest shot. I don't know. The story I love about Joe Sackick is, I can't remember exactly how it goes, but he always shot to miss legs not to hit the open spot than that, right?

Because if it hits the leg, it ain't going in anyways. And so we always shoot to miss. So I always love Joe because he just had a fine way of being around the net and finding ways to pick little spots and score from really weird angles or come in on a harmless 2-on-1 or 1-on-2 and put it between the defender's legs and it goes in because the goalie can't see it because it's a quick release and boom between the legs. And he was a fun player to watch.

But, I mean, you also got guys, we've already been talking about all these friggin' names. It's like you speak of Timu Solani. Like, Team Uslanie put up an ungodly amount of goals in his first year. And then Paul Correa and Peter Forsberg in my head is just starting to spin right now. Like being on the ice with all these guys, are you like, yeah, they were pretty freaking good. Was there one guy, though, or was there several that just walked in on you and put it past you? Or maybe you grabbed, I don't know. I think you

once you get to that level and you you know you stop a few in here you realize that you get the timing down packed and that's why when you say okay who had the hardest shot or anything I can't pinpoint one guy that had a cannon everybody can shoot the puck card yeah

some guys in the A can shoot the puck harder than the guys in the NHL yeah which makes sense yeah that just it's place it's placement it's timing it's When you're at that level, guys are better positioned. You know where they're going to be. And it forces you to become that much quicker and to get to that next level and analyze the play

and think that much forward than you have to. And then you don't even think anymore. It just becomes natural. You're just like, it comes rather than overwhelming. You're like, you know, I can play. here I can I can do it I'm helping them just as much as they're helping me and and they make you feel that way too so and that's stemming from going to development camp and and coaches telling you that too and putting in that time and doing different off ice with with the lights where you're

getting your doing concussion tests and agility drills and yeah it just you know you can get there once you've done it before. So the more, I did it for a number of years going to camp, but once you go to camp once, then you're comfortable. Then you go the second year. Well, you should constantly getting better, and that's what it was. And then the more you get to know the guys, and they say hi and take you under their wing,

and you're going to their house and having barbecues and driving to the rink with them. And, you know, you're backing up games, and you're riding on the plane and the bus and in the hotel room. and you're part of them and you feel it. It's still a big deal. Don't get me wrong. But you kind of have to not think that way.

And if you think you don't belong, I think you've already lost. Yeah, that makes sense. So as much as it's mental and as goaly it is, confidence is everything. And there's a difference between confidence and it's good to have that cockiness too because I think you have to.

but it's how it's how it's brought out. I think you can have that cockiness the moment you go on the ice or to have that screw you attitude that I'm not going to get beat rather than that conceitedness when you do interviews or the way you talk to people. So it's, yeah, sorry, I'm a little off topic. It's your first year pro. Right?

You don't have billets, I assume. you're living with a roommate? I was living with a roommate. David Sogorovsky. He's from Czech Republic. And he, yeah, he played in the dub prior. He played in Seattle.

Right. So we played against each other. But, yeah, we thought, obviously we knew each other from camp from a couple years. Right. And, yeah, we had fun together. Like, it was, we were not great chefs at all.

But we enjoyed ourselves as roommates. Yeah. What did you guys live in? You live in an apartment? We live in an apartment, yeah. Yeah, a little apartment living like that. I like that. Okay.

A little apartment, a little pool in the gym next door. Yeah. Yeah. Jim didn't see too much action, but the pool did, yeah. Like, I just think of W.HL Junior Hockey in general. And whether or not you had a mandated curfew, you were kind of, you know, you're living with a family. You kind of got to be in a certain time. You kind of got to abide by rules, but to.

And then you go to pro, you're living in an apartment with another guy on the team. It was a frat house, put it that way for us. Right. That's what I'm getting at. Two single guys in a college town. How hard of an adjustment was that? Just for having to get up and play hockey and be like on top of your game, but knowing at night you could do whatever the heck you want it.

The toughest was just really making our own food. Like, yeah, because we, we, we ate like shit. Like, we, yeah, we took a, we should have took a cooking class because some of the stuff that we ate there. So what did you eat? And they did an interview on us a couple times because we were having so much success. And they'd come by and we, you know, be making spaghetti and putting, you know, ketchup on it. And just dried chicken. And they're like, really?

Really, this is going to make you win tonight. And this is what's making you successful. Like, yeah, we were. again, our guidance and grocery store etiquette for what we were buying. And that was horrendous. Yeah, it was, but we managed, yeah. So we were young kids. It didn't really matter what we were fueling ourselves with at that time.

We had enough energy to go around. We were still young. We were, yeah, both 20, I believe, yeah. Where was the popular spot? bought in town to go. Was there, oh, 20, you weren't even old enough to get in the bars? No. No.

Holy crap, you still weren't old enough to get in the bars? Okay, so you couldn't even, you were still, that's why it's a frat house. You can't even even go to a local pub and have a watering hole. No. No, so we have to be very selective when we went out to, with the team. But, you know, being the two young guys and a college town, we could find our own watering holes pretty good. long bus trips in that league it was at the time yeah yeah what what uh sleeper bus and all the way

you know we went from louisiana yeah he plays memphis some of these places you think you'd never see you which it was it was cool to see we had a rookie party in memphis uh yeah dressed us up as women in high heels and and night on the town and did some karaoke and some singing and we're the laughing stock but had a good time yeah that down to Shreveport um yeah Texas all over Texas that's before

that's when Austin had Austin ice bats Austin ice bats yeah bats like literally flying over your head going into the rink you're like where the hell am I right now like

it's yeah what was it I don't even know how to phrase this you've probably played in some of the most random places I'm going to assume where is the most random place Is it the ice bats? Is it just you walk in and you're kind of like,

where are we right now? No, it'd be Europe. It definitely been my first year of Europe in Europe there in Germany. Really? Yeah. Because it was just a cultural shock. And when you go to Europe, you have two a days. So two practices and a workout.

And you do it for a month straight. So you go there. Training camp usually starts at the start of August and goes all of August and then the season usually starts in September. Now you might play anywhere from six to ten exhibition games over that span. But yeah, doing the two days. And in Augsburg where I played, they had an open stadium at the time. So an open stadium where light would shine in or the sun would shine in. So you're getting shots and you're like squinting where guys are coming down.

You can't even pick the damn thing up. No word of a lie. And there's birds flying over you. There's birds flying in the stadium. It was 30 degree weather because it's beautiful weather in Europe at that time. There's whether it's moths or flies, like just coming after and then dying on the ice. And then they could smoke in the stadium. So there's fans in there darting up.

So you're inhaling all this smoke. You're squinting, taking shots off the collarbone. And you're seeing these. birds fly over, you're like, where the hell? What did I do coming over here? Like, did I make the right decision? And that's when you question everything, everything. I remember that like yesterday. Yeah, that's, no. Did you ever play with any player that had to have a smoke break in between periods? Not a smoke break, no. No. It's, uh, not a smoke break. What? It would, it would be more tobacco. Yeah, guys would, yeah. Guys would chew all the time. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's,

That's pretty standard. Yeah. Not a smoke break that way. You know what I love about senior hockey? Still playing senior hockey now? Is the smoke breaks. Actually, they're actually becoming way less. But when I first started playing senior hockey,

when I first got back here, there'd be like six guys after the first period to walk out. Where are they going? Well, they didn't have the smoke, and I'd be like, oh, okay. But you listen to like older, older generations, and they talk about that like standard. Oh, they smoke right in the dressing room, which is awesome.

And in Europe, it was awesome. And in Europe, it was so normal. Again, in Augsburg, my first year, the dressing room was, and the fans are all over you, so you can pretty much inhale it from in the dressing room. Like, it was just, you're like, this isn't what I was told. This is. Like, what's going on here? So don't get me wrong.

It got better. And it definitely improved from there. But that was my first eye opener to that experience. Okay, so we're closing on two hours. So what we're going to do is we're going to rattle off a boat. I don't know. I'm terrible with this. I'll just say 10 questions because I like rattling off questions

because as soon as you start talking, new questions are going to pop in my head. But we're going to say right now we're going to have to have a part two because I'm not going to hold listeners here for six hours. I'm pretty sure I could go six hours. I haven't got into the good stories yet. That's right. So that's my first question.

Because we said if we didn't get into the good stories that I was allowed to ask right now for Justin Moran that you have to tell a couple stories. So. You wanted those hot tub Colorado stories, I guess, eh? Sure. You give me whenever you want, Bigfella. I'm saying right now for Justin Warren, who's sitting there going, he's got his hands in the air. He's going, come on, tell me a story already.

Are we talking country music awards? Are we talking? What are we talking? I'm just saying throw the dog a ball. Oh, we can do that one. All right. So I was playing in, you want to do Colorado first? Sure.

Okay, so we're Colorado. My roommate's David Soegrofsky, right? The season's over. We win the championship. Life is good. We're going back home for the summer. You have to figure out, okay, how's mail that's been sent here all year.

we have to go talk to the manager. So we go talk to the manager. We've seen her throughout the year a few times. We give her our home address and we say, okay, if anything gets, you know, sent here in the summer, can you send it home? So she's like, yeah, you know, no problem. And you should have a championship video if you're, if that comes in the mail too. I'll be sending it to you. I'm like, okay, perfect.

at the time I was in Washington State with my girlfriend and I got this call from my mom. She's like, Tyler, do you know a Julie? I'm like, no, I don't know Julie. She's like, are you sure? She sent you a package. I'm like, no, I don't know Julie. Where's it from? She's like, oh, from Colorado, Fort Collins.

I'm like, did you open it? Oh, yeah, I opened it. I was like, well, what was in it? She's like, oh, there was a tape in there and some photos. I'm like, well, what was the tape? Oh, it was a championship tape. I'm like, oh, now it's making sense to me here. It's cluing in that, oh, yeah, Julia was our, you know, our manager at the,

at our apartment complex. And we said we, you know, give her address and our address and send anything that, that we needed over. And did you watch the tape, ma'am? No, I didn't watch the tape yet. but it says championship video. And I was like, okay, perfect, cool. Are the pictures championship videos?

No, they're not championship videos or the not championship photos. I'm like, well, what are they? Are you sure you don't know Julie? She goes, I'm like, mom, I just explained the damn whole situation here. What's like, what's the chat? She's like, well, she sent some risque pictures. I'm like, well, what did she send? She's like, well, she has lingerie on.

She's on the bed. She's on all fours. She has a shotgun in her hand. Are you sure you don't know Julie? I'm like, wow. No, Mom, I don't know Julie. But you might want to hold on to the photos. But you might want to hold on to those.

So you'll have to quiz Linda about those ones, but I'm sure she has her own story for those. So I get home, see the photos, and to this day, I'm sure she thinks I'm a damn liar that I don't know Julie better. But that's the honest truth. So, yeah, the photos, she sent me a number of risque photos. along with the championship tape, a huge fan.

And the first one to open them was my mom. So, yeah. But that's one story for Colorado. So tidbit is we did meet Julie the following year and got a little more information of why she sent the photos. But, yeah. I know Justin's happy right now. He's been waiting for an hour and 40 minutes to hear that.

That was good So there's Yeah there's there's There's plenty of those stories But Yeah being a Being a married man now So I gotta

I gotta calm it down So No that's good That's good Do you want country music You want me to rattle off questions Oh you want the country music one I don't know

You kind of half-ass mention it So Okay so we got We got me playing in San Diego A teammate of mine who's well connected in the LA market for concerts and events and hooks up a party bus to take us from San Diego to L.A. for the American Music Awards, which is, I believe, it's in November. So we all go, I know, four teammates of ours with a couple people that, or random people,

maybe that we don't know on board, some, you know, good-looking women and some couples. So we go there and you kind of get nosebleed seats. And what you don't know what the award shows is when certain celebrities are doing, the announcements are giving out the awards on stage. They have to vacate their seat. And when they vacate their seat, they don't want to stand in the crowd and see empty seats. So they're called seat fillers. So we kind of made ourselves down, made our, made our,

self down from the from the nosebleed section to eventually great seats. Met a, lovely girl there as well who accompanied me, who, you know, being in the San Diego scene, I was single at the time. She was a playboy playmate and we made our way down. So she got a lot of, obviously, attention that way. So it helped my chances. Made our way next to, you know, Paris Hilton.

Ron Jeremy, in between sessions, talking to Faith Hill Tim McGraw. And it was an eye-opener for me, being a 21-year-old kid and being there, seeing all those stars at those award shows. But, and then seeing afterwards the award show and then meeting, meeting Ron Jeremy and him signing RJ and all the girls' breasts that they wanted autographs for. but then after the award shows happened and ended up dating this girl who we made our way down with and after after games in san diego guys would be like oh who's he with and and and like always whime and the goalie he's like what the hell how'd he pull that off and and then my mom and dad

ended up coming down to visit shortly after and I'll remember this day too when, you know, they came to a game and they got introduced to her and my dad's face and my mom's face and my sister's face was kind of like I was 21. She was, I think, 29 at the time and just their face alone like, what is going on here sort of situation? So again, you're going to have to get that story from Lyndon Miles to really to really, to really, to really, to really, to really, to really. really get the depth of that. So it's, it's something we really haven't discussed or talked about since them to see their reaction. But, yeah, I'm sure you guys a good chuckle about it. We, laugh about it at certain, whether it's, you know, the uncle that asked me in winning events. A playboy playmate. All right then. So just, yeah, the expression on your mom's face and

and your dad's, when you see that. You're just like, my poor son, I don't know what he's going to do down here in Southern California, I hope he's not getting into the, who knows what. So let's just let's just say I had my head straight, screwed on straight and everything worked out. All right. I'm going to rattle off some questions. So I love to end the podcast. I'd love to give you a number, but like I said before, I start rattling these off and then you're going to say things and I'm going to ask more questions because that's what I do. We're going to say on the high side 10.

All right, folks, 10 questions. So, first one is, and this is not about you, it's about Patrick Liner right now. I'm just curious on your thoughts. Patrick Linae is over in Finland and is holding out on contract. I was just curious. We go from Play-by-Playmate to Patrick Lina.

I know we went a little serious here. But I'm just curious, if you are sitting there watching the scenario going like, And just shut up and drive. Sign the contract, come play. Or if you're the player guy going, no, you need to do what's better for you, essentially.

A lot is his advisors. A lot is his agent driving the bus. Driving the bus, you think? Absolutely. That's absolutely what's going on there? I'm not saying absolutely, but a lot of it stems from, okay, what can they get on the market

compared to what everybody else is? You're going to do comparables. You're going to see what's the best chances to hold out to get you paid because ultimately he wants to get paid too. So do you sympathize with him then? If you're a Jets fan or just a... Just a no fan.

You're just sitting there looking at it going, I don't know. I'd tell him just to zip his mouth, go in and sign whatever the... It doesn't have to be a long-term deal, but sign something so you're playing. Because the longer you stay away from it, I feel like you hurt.

But maybe I'm wrong. No, absolutely, yeah. Again, you have to earn it. He's had a great start to his career. They've had success as a franchise since they've been back to Winnipeg. They don't want to retract this year, which I got a feeling they will, knowing some of the losses they've incurred. But, again, they need him. So it's kind of, again, Shelday off is, needs them to have success or him. to have the jets to have success. They need him to come back and have a good year. Exactly.

How long he's willing to wait, how long they're willing to wait it out to give him what he wants. That's a different story. That's a different story. As a teammate, if you're a teammate of his, you understand the business side of it

because everybody's there. Everybody loves to be in that position where you have some leverage going into some of those contract talks. So again, it's a tough situation. As a fan, you're just saying shut up and play as a teammate if you were in that situation you understand that it's it's all business and he's not going to hold out forever it's just part of it

it's only training camp a lot of guys that have been in the league for for a long time it's they don't like it's like okay i don't need to play x amount of games um they keep in touch with certain teammates um he's i'm sure he's staying in shape obviously keep keeping ready But at the same time as the management, they want them there. They want this done as soon as possible. So it doesn't become a distraction and a question going forward pending the success they have or the start they have to the season. To take you from serious to a little lighter, what was your favorite level of hockey?

If you could go back and play minor hockey, WHL, minor leagues, pro or like NHL, Europe. Like what is your fondest memories? Like where would you go? That's a tough question. Good question. Again, each of them have its attributes to it.

It's when you're younger, you don't, you don't think much. It's, there's no pressure. You're just playing, you're with your friends. You're playing the, you're playing the game you love. I know, no. I want the spot. It's, it's being the NHL by, by far. Like it doesn't compare.

When you're at that level, when you're there with the guys, when you're stepping on that ice in certain stadiums, when you're rolling off the plane on the buses, it's, and I've just had a couple coffee. Like it's, yeah, I've been around it with some pretty good superstars in that. But you're pretty fortunate to being in the best league. and there's a lot of perks and you get, don't have to, it's amazing how many people want to do things for you

when you're at that level, then you do for them sort of thing. And you always want to reciprocate, but it's amazing how many people reach out to you when you're there. Best chirp you've ever heard. This chirp? I don't know. Nothing's really, yeah.

Carry on. Best fight you ever saw. Who is the heavyweight who went at it where you're like, I was ready for this game? Junior, it would, uh, John Marasty. John Marasty from Metal Lake, Saskatchew? And David Bougard, or Derek Bougard, sorry? Derek Bougard? Yeah, yeah.

And I played with his brother Aaron in Tri-Cities. Did you play with Marasty? I played with Marastry in Tri-Cities. Yeah. I did not know that. Yeah, so, yeah, obviously, Boogie as the big man he was, and Marasty. half the size doing pretty damn well if not getting the inside track and you know thrown uppers and um but again that's just junior obviously the pro level with you know

Scott Parker Cummins war l um all these guys come to camp shantz it's that was that was that was a blood that year it was trying to who makes the team and who's going to stay up on to be the enforcer for the abs that year. So I remember there it was pretty heated. Yeah. Who is the best player that you played with or against that never made the show? That's a tough question too.

There's, again, there's a lot of guys in Europe that have gone there simply because, are sick of going up and down whether it's again you get a couple call-ups hl probably Darren hadar is one that stands out he was obviously put up a lot of good numbers in the a didn't play a lot in the show but always a superstar um great guy um and uh and and and yeah it's it's everything's everything's timing so it's it's it's He didn't have the biggest size, but it's, yeah, he's had a good career. Who was he drafted by?

I believe he played at the start for Atlanta. Atlanta. Yeah. I had a lot of success, obviously, with the wolves. Yeah. I played with him for one year in Lake Erie, Cleveland. Yeah, and then he went over to Europe and, yeah. Going to this year's NHL, who wins the Vesna?

Who, by you be biased and take friends, or do I? Who's going to win the Vesna? I'm going to hold this against you. By the time we do our second part, we're going to be partway at least into the season. So you better... That's definitely getting brought up. I'm going to rewind this part right here

in the next couple of seconds to hear this answer. Let's come back to that one. Okay. That's going to be the last question then? Let's come back to that one. Guys always say if they could be anything in professional sports, They'd be one and two positions. A bullpen catcher or a backup goalie. Because in theory, what the fan thinks is you don't have to do much and you get paid for it.

That's a bull face lie right there. The backup goalie is one of the hardest ones to do and you get, again, you got to be a great teammate. A lot of people say, okay, that's natural. You've got to be a good guy. you're staying out always longer. You're taking shots. They're thinking, okay, there's not a lot of pressure. You always got to stay ready.

Your job's really always in jeopardy because you always got to prove yourself because there's always the guy in the pecking order behind you, whether it's a young prospect. And if you don't have a lot of games, and they're just molding him in the minors. So that goes in, but it's, yeah, not easy. Even the backup catcher.

Again, you got to stay ready. you got to stay focused just like a quarterback but being there obviously you support those guys and it's it's a fun gig, don't get me wrong

you can joke in between periods and have the odd hot dog here and there I remember I was in St. Louis to one year and guys I didn't even know what they did this I was like don't he do that in the National Hockey League? This is like

oh yeah you don't take it as serious as you think son and he's like he's like these dogs are awesome. Certainly, certain places around the league have better, better dogs and better snacks and others. So he goes, he's like, whatever you do, don't get mustard ketchup on the damn Jersey. If you're going to do it, like, and sure enough, I got ketchup on the jersey, he's like, well, good thing it wasn't mustard, because then we couldn't lie about it. So, you know, that was in St. Louis

the one time, but, so, but yeah, certain places have better foods than others. And, and, and you have fine you're just again you form the relationships with guys you stay out longer you work on your craft but um and doing what they need as well as more than anything um because you want them to feel that when you're in there that you're they're they're blocking shots for you the same way um they would the number one guy and and they're they're happy to see you succeed so because you know the type a person and player you are. Who has the best national anthem singer? Where have you gone where somebody's just blowing your socks off?

And I'm going to give a quick little shout out while you think about this to Raymond Falemeyer and Hillman. Because if you ever come to Hillman when Raymond Faltermeier sings, it is somewhat impressive, downright impressive. He can do it in Russia. It is awesome. It's impressive. Mm-hmm.

Yeah, nothing stands out because, Because I feel like when you're playing, you're so concentrated of just get me through the damn anthem sort of thing. You're not even listening. You are listening, but you're not taking it all in as you would a fan. I remember being part of the... We've seen tickets to the Oilers and being a part of that game where the mic went out and we all sang the American National Anthem.

And you see it on YouTube. You see it all over that. That's right. Everybody praises us for singing it. And that sticks with you. But as a player or when you're in the moment that way, I don't feel like you're... Clued into what's actually happening.

Yeah, you're more, you know, whether guys go side to side, whether they're doing their neck back and forth, whether they're shaking their hands. They're just ready to chomp at the bit. Whether the anthem's done or not, they're ready to skate around. and some see that as, you know, disrespectful,

you don't stand for the whole anthem. It's not that at all. It's just, again, depending on where they're from and their nationality, it's not a disrespect thing. It's just they are chomping at the bit because they got the pep talk in between. They took their whatever, red bowl or anything ready to go. And they're all amped up to bang and crash,

dump it in the corner and get to work. So. What is the most rare? random thing you've seen guys take in between periods before a game, et cetera. I've seen guys, yeah, pump suita feds and, yeah, Fedron to the Red Bulls to Coke to Coca-Cola. Yeah, just whatever guys need and it's crazy how much guys rely on that to get going to coffees. with different different things. Yeah, power bars.

It's, yeah, it's just, it's amazing how guys need that every time. And some guys have a routine or a superstition that they, that they need it. Yeah, I didn't rely on that. I was more just trying to stay, again, hydrated. And then once kind of bio steel came into to it with, you know, the Gatorade and trying to get those in every period and get your electrolytes up. And some buildings are hot. Some buildings, you don't even.

have to do anything and you're just leaking like shack at the foul line like it is just it is hot so it's um yeah i feel like this could be a long question but i saw your basement i saw the goalie mass i was enthralled how often did you get a new goalie mass painted like and i assume that equated to all your equipment too, or maybe you could just talk to both. Because in your basement you have, I think we count 11 masks. They were impressive. Everybody should see that. It was freaking cool.

Yeah, it's one of those. If there's a couple things that I'd like to keep always with my masks and my jerseys. Played long enough where each year I tried to get a mask painted. it and most of the time that the teams would would supply that and I'd design it with with my painter the few times that I didn't happen to get it done whether it was through lack of payment in Europe or just the team being very cheap it just didn't happen but yeah it's but once a year is what you once a year it's it's a chance to really to really design something and bring it into your own with whether it's a team concept whether it's a

little bit of your own did you ever think of keeping a mass for a second year because like maybe you just had like a great year like you had a phenomenal year and like yeah maybe I should just wear that again yeah but again if you can get one every year you play a lot of games you you practice practice every day. Like it beat up. It gets pretty beat up. These days I know a lot, some have two. Some have, again, the later part I had two sets of gear.

So that evolved and it changed over time. Why do you have a practice set? You have a game set. It's built different. You have a little more stiffer glove because it lasts longer from the amount of shots that you're taking in over the course of a practice and over the course of a season where the game is going to be more broken in and game ready.

Was that not hard to jump back and forth between not having the same equipment on all the time? No. Really? No. Because you see it, guys, you're like, okay, has a new set. I notice that for guys at home and away gear. Some guys do that.

Some guys have home and away helmets now. That's crazy. And whether you see, well, you see it at winter game, right? When they do outdoor game, they have those. So it's, everything's lighter. It doesn't take as much to get broken into. And depending where it is. And they're probably getting custom made to them as well, right?

That's right, yeah. So everything almost feels the same, especially if you're getting new everything all the time. Yeah, they know there's measurements. They know their specs. They know their requirements for what they need and what they want and altering any changes that may. me be needed.

And it's part of it. It's fun. That's what you look forward to. I remember you play street hockey. You had foam. We didn't even have, like you can go Canadian tire now and buy a set of road hockey pads where we were making them on a cardboard. No shit.

And coloring on them. And we thought that was a cat to me out. Like that was unbelievable. So. Kids have no idea what you're talking about. No, not at all. being a senior hockey guy i got to ask but the next time we talk we're going to talk about it a little bit better but what was winning the allen cup like on your career stage of winning things what is

winning the oldest trophy in hockey it was just going out on top like it was i hadn't played in a year and a half since i since i stopped playing and then and and and due to work commitments, due to family commitments, and following it every year knowing who the top teams were. And it was no joke that, you know, was always Lacombe or Bentley that was right there. Right there competing. And friends and close teammates that I played with in the past were always like,

are you done playing? Do you want to come play with us? So, I'd be lying if I said I didn't still want to play and I didn't have a passion to play like like even pro but work has taken over and then you have to start somewhere after after after hockey and I've given it you know 100% devotion and and commitment for that so I just I just think anything I do now or commit to I want to commit 100% and and not be half in and half out.

So I thought if I do commit that, well, the only way I'm going to win a championship, so there's, it's that. And then you get the Allen Cup. It's that or bust. That's the only reason you play. And, yeah, no, I was, I talked to pretty much all the teams in Alberta,

and it was really an easy decision knowing they were hosting. And they've always been one of the tier, if not the Yankees of senior hockey, of all of Canada. So it was really an easy call and I was just a piece of the puzzle for what was needed. And it was fun. It was good to get back out there. Different adjustments to start.

Going back to the smaller ice surface. Going to a straight bar cage, which is as weird as that sounds. it's a big adjustment. Yeah. It's like you go into a, like open or advisor and going to a cage. That's right. So it doesn't sound like that big of a deal,

but I know how much it would piss me off. Yeah. At least for the first little bit. So again, it's a liability thing. It's a safety issue. You're back with the minions. I would be signing a waiver in case that if something would happen, that nobody would be liable and it would be my full responsibility.

Now, again, hockey Canada, hockey Alberta, that would just not happen. So, yeah, it was, it was everything I thought and actually more. They did a phenomenal job hosting. The guys were welcoming. They run it as a first class organization. We had, yeah, great support and everything worked out the way we planned. Yeah. If you had a time machine, I could take it anywhere.

To any point in time, to any event in time, where would you take it? Gee, that's deep. Any event. Correct. Any place. Mm-hmm. You don't have to stay there for all the time. Stay for as long as you want.

I'd go back to Europe with my family. So that I was keep playing with my family. with my family. In Germany. Germany? In Germany or in Europe, yeah. Yeah. Interesting.

Yeah. Again, it was this is another episode, but it's very simple. And when you're with family, you appreciate the simpler things over there of what you really need.

Here, obviously you've got to drive everywhere living in Alberta now it feels like we need so much we're there again it's so simple you go to the grocery store again once a day you don't need a lot to live everybody's kind of on that that same level it's it's not what you have or keeping up with the Joneses or or going on trips or it's just very down to earth easy type of living. Don't get me wrong. You could do that here,

but it's just not the same as in Europe. If you can party with one celebrity, wait before I had to say this, Vesna question is coming up last. So that is the question after this. So I need you to figure out the Vesda. Okay? But in the meantime,

if you can party with one celebrity, who would it be? Tiger. Tiger Woods? We're talking partying or just being with them? I love golf, so I say that. And you might say, okay, Tiger now or Tiger before. You caught my son.

And, yeah, I love golf just as much as I do hockey and baseball. So just being able to go out and, and have a good time and, you know, I have a drink with him. But, again, that's a tough question because I don't see myself as a need to and infatuate with any celebrities. No, no, no. I guess I look at it. And it's funny saying that because not that I say I've very fortunate. I'm lucky to experience what I've experienced in my life and seeing the things.

and lived in some of those places to see how real it actually is and who, you know, when you're at the top, who your friends are and who you're not. But, yeah, I don't know. I guess I always think of the question as, in my brain, I said who you want to party with as a celebrity, but I mean it more as like, obviously celebrity is just universal. If you said, oh, I'd like to go party with Bill,

Travis from down the street nobody's going to recognize that so I go who is universally known celebrities that you think would be just a blast to go hang out with one night so I always go party

because that's you're not just going to go hang out maybe you go hang out and play video game I don't really care but I guess I put it as party so like who would be a blast to absolutely go sit and just have a good time with and so if that's Tiger that's totally cool I mean the guy is

he's been through some shit. I think he'd be more of like just for the day just to go shoot the shit, play around with him. Yeah. Again, the party, that's, yeah, that's a loaded question. That's tough. Is it just me and him or is there a crew of us? I don't know.

What would you like it to be? Where are we? Where are we going? Nashville. You're in Nashville. Ooh. Yeah, all right? I'm setting the stage, Nashville, folks.

That's where we are this weekend. We're going to Nashville. We've got all weekend. Money is not a problem. We're all single. How's that? We're all single. I love country music.

So, yeah. Yeah, again, little, yeah, that's a tough one. Yeah. You got me stuck. I always laugh at these questions. I'm not trying to make it this like. No, you got me stumped. Yeah.

Luke Brian. Like I again, it's like a lot of country stars. So that would be cool. I think a lot of guys would say too that, yeah, being on, if you could do another profession to be like a rock star, to be on stage to perform, I can play a little bit of guitar. I wouldn't say I'm good whatsoever,

which is hardly nothing. But I think it'd be pretty cool to be in concert and to. That'd be. To rock one with a, with a star, whether it's at an award show, whether it's at an, again, an event in Nashville. I think that'd be pretty cool. That'd be a lifestyle. I think that'd be, you talk about different things that you don't think about.

I bet you'd be a lot about a rock star that you have no idea what they go through in a day. It'd be, I mean, don't get me wrong. Obviously, it's glamorous and everything, but there'd be some things in there. You're like, that doesn't sound that fun. Yeah. Okay. Final question. All right.

I've given you an extra 10 minutes now. Who is going to win the business this year? I think it's going to be between Veseleski and Bishop. Those are two. Ben Bishop? Those are two teams that are set up to have success. Dallas stars Ben Bishop. Yeah.

If that surprised me. If he can stay healthy with that lineup and that's supporting, yeah. They can do some damage. So, but then again, I think it's Veseleskis to lose. To lose. He's got the team in front of all. With how they structured things and the guys that are signing for almost a league minimum to be supporting causes on that squad.

And they're going to be tough to beat. It's cup or nothing, I would say, for Tampa this year. Final one. I'll add one more in. At this point in time, when this episode comes out, we will be almost 10 games into the Oilers season. What is the Oilers' record? What are they doing in the first 10 games?

And to point it out, they have four home games, six away. They play Vancouver, L.A., New York, New York, both New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota. I'm doing this all off memory. I haven't looked at the schedule, but just by you naming those teams. And depending, obviously, if they're home away, it would be, they should be, I'll say they'll probably six and four. Six and four, you heard it here first, folks. I'm going to hold you to that one too.

Okay. Six and four. I hope so. This guy right here, hope so. Connor McDavid better have 10 goals and 10 games. That's not rush him back. He's got to take his time. Is he back first game?

It's a long season. You don't think he's back first game? It's a long season. There's no reason to rush him back. It's a marathon. It's not a spragic. They either are going to be laughing at us at this point because McDavid will be back game one or he still won't be back and everybody will be freaking out.

And we'll have said it here first. There's no reason to freak out. It's a long year. What are you going to benefit if he comes back for game one? Why? Because us season ticket holders want him to see. Obviously we do. I want to win game one.

Yeah, we do. That's not going to help. And then a long game. Is that going to help us get into playoffs? Possibly. It might. If we've missed by one game, it will. It might.

But is that going to, are you going to do that to jeopardize health? Not a chance. Maybe. I'm kidding. Well, thank you for coming on. This has been a blast. And I hope you enjoyed it. Absolutely.

Well, we'll get you on for part two here soon enough. Okay, we'll dig deeper. That's right. Thanks. Hey, guys. Hope you enjoyed Tyler. Wyman had a blast hanging out with them and hearing, you know, the first part of his journey. Look forward to have him on for part two, which hopefully will happen soon enough.

But next week is Ross Thompson. He's a local 60-year-old who just finished completing his 13th Ironman and just finished another 100-kilometer race and is doing just crazy things that my brain has a hard time comprehend. So here's a quick little clip from that. And we'll see you next week. All right. See you then.

This type of strenuous activity, it's not like you're going to the gym once a day and just lifting weights. It's not like you're going to noon hour hockey and just playing hockey. And that's, you know, your social outing. This is pretty like life altering, right? It's a big time commitment. Well, it's maybe something that you look back and that's a big lesson you've learned or it's taught you about yourself.

I think the biggest lesson is, you know, I keep telling people, you know, you need a goal, right? Once you figure out what your goal is, then you need a plan, and then you need to execute that plan. And the biggest thing is being able to find a plan that works for you, a training schedule that works for you. And what I do works for me. I've got a lot of other people that I train with that, you know, we all train together, but not necessarily six days a week. There's, you know, some people will show up, you know, two or three days a week, others once a once a week, that type of thing. But the biggest thing is, is, you know, get a goal and, you know, make it something you really want to accomplish. And once you do that, you know, find a plan and then execute it.

and you know there's no shortcuts in in this training I mean I've I've trained with a lot of people that shortcut things and they don't have a lot of fun and I know my questionnaire they're one of the things that you know when it comes to the end of a race you got two options you got to go to the massage tent have a beer meet your family or you go into the medical tent and every time you go by that medical tent those people in those medical tents they're not having any fun you know they're having IVs they're you know they're just not having any fun and my preference is to go the other way you know to go and have a nice massage have