Shaun Newman Podcast - Ep. 75 - Jason Davidson - Thunder Creek Player Management

Episode Date: May 4, 2020

Originally from Asquith, SK. He started in the amateur rodeoing circuit at age 14 and by 20 he was a professional bull fighter. He's had 4 selections to the Canadian rodeo finals &  2 selections to Canadian bull rider finals. During his career he represented himself & when he retired he started representing Professional Bull Riders. In 2010 he joined Thunder Creek Professional Player Management where he now represents players like Ethan Bear, Damon Severson & Micheal Ferland (among others) All episodes are also available on Youtube & Spotify. If you like what you hear please subscribe & leave a rating 

This is Jason Davidson. Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Happy Monday, everyone. Hopefully this Monday finds you well. It is start of the week again, although really, you know, none of these days really mean anything anymore. All of them kind of are muddled together. But happy Monday, nonetheless.

I had a fun weekend. I turned 34 in the weekend. I, for the birthday, went and shot gophers, drank some Pilsner. It was a little bit of normalcy in life that I think a lot of us have been missing for a long time, so I got to enjoy some of that on the weekend. I hope everyone out there is doing good. It looks like we're going to have golf here.

Well, very soon. Alberta and Saskatchewan's starting to unlock some of their courses. That's going to hopefully help everyone, you know, just stress. get rid of some of that stress. It's been a long time, and it'll be nice to do some fun things again. Now, I want to remind everybody that if you want to get your business info on the podcast for free while this COVID-19 lockdown is going on, hit me up, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. I'm more than happy to put you on here, and if it helps you guys, you know, great.

I'm not looking to make anything off, but just want to get some people, you know, let them know that they're, you know, their customers out there that you're still open, you're still, you know, finding a way to do business in these crazy times. Lloyd, Mr. Regional Health Foundation would like to thank all their, or all our local health care team who responded so quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our local hospital leaders move fast to secure life-saving supplies for the frontline staff, and within days our hospital had a strong stock of life-saving supplies from the local community, and this happened because of you, our donors.

Thanks to the strong support of all our donors. donors over the many years, our frontline workers are empowered to care for all of us through the Lloyd Minister Region Health Foundation. If you're looking for ways to help, a COVID-19 emergency fund has been started. While there is no pressure to give in these uncertain times, we are taking donations to cover a variety items that have already been purchased and still need to be purchased. The Health Foundation encourages those looking to donate to call us at 306 82061 or online at LRHF.ca.ca backslash donate. The other thing is they're accepting cards and letters of support

and encouragement for the health care staff and isolated residents and patients. These can be mailed to our office. For more information, visit our website, LRHF.ca. Chris Weeb, Crave of Concrete, they're open for business, specialize in commercial, agriculture, residential, basement floors, driveway, sidewalks, patios, garage shops, barns, countertops. I mean, you dream it.

They'll do it. Give the boys a call. 780871 1083. Kenny Rutherford, how was in the podcast, Mr. Rutherford Appraisal Group? In these difficult times, if you're in need of any appraisal work from a bank loan, setting a fair purchase price, whether you're buying or selling any type of real estate, shop, homes, farms, cabins, restaurants, etc. Give Ken Rutherford a call 306, 307, 1732.

Ken is the man. Carly Clawson, I just saw him there the other day. Side note with Carly. Shea is, my son, his road his strider since he's like two. And for those of you without kids, it's a bike without pedals. Balance whatever, blah, blah, blah. And then now we get him a bike with training mills, right? And Carly Closs and and Colby Mann were like, no, no, no, you had him riding a strider?

Just put him on to the bike with no training wheels. So that's what we did. And I was kind of like, I don't know how this is going to go. Well, I tell you what, Carly and Colby, you guys knocked it out of the park because I'm having a hard time keeping up to him. But it took him, you know, a couple hours. And all of a sudden, would you look at that? He's biking like crazy now.

So shout out to Carly Clause and Windsor Plywood. They are still open, regular hours. Call ahead so you can help with physical distancing. They have curbside pickup or free in town delivery while this current situation is at hand. calling ringette, CR sales and marketing. He's hoping everyone is staying healthy and safe, and if you're looking for a unique and cost-effective approach to sales and marketing within the oil and gas industry, give calling a call.

780871, 1417. Corey Dubik, Midwest, flooring, they're open regular hours. Call, stop in or shop online. Lori LaBerge, Abbey Road, Flowers, and Gifts. They're temporary close to walk-ins but are doing curbside pickup and free in-town delivery, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 7808. 75-2211. And I should point out to every guy listening right now,

whether you're married or not, it is Mother's Day this coming Sunday. So maybe get the mothers in your lives some flowers. Just throwing that out there. Here is a very, very, very good reminder. Wander Wild has teamed up with Let's Walk the Talk. They are selling gear there where if you buy any of it, $10 of it goes to supporting lets'clock.

Walk the Talk. That's Paula Burge, walking from Saskatoon to Lloyd Minster for mental health. Great athletics. Check them out on Instagram or Facebook. There still have a deal going on where if you spend $100, you get $25 back in a local gift card of your choosing. Factory Sports. Taylor Holt, Nathan Mullet, give them a call. They're ready to help you guys.

Wow, all their summer stuff is out. Factory Sports Bikes on Instagram. If you look that up, they got to be. All these wicked bikes. I was saying last week, Kent Stannapforth had bought a couple, and he'd been posting that. They just got lots of cool stuff there. Hopefully ball season. I think we're all pulling for ball, some sort of, you know, let's get some things going.

And if you need stuff, you need the new back, glove, et cetera, give the boys a call. 306, 825, 76, 78. They'll get you hooked up. Now, here's your factory sports tale of the tape on Mr. Jason Davidson. Originally from Asquith, Saskatchewan. I hope I didn't torture that. Amateur rodeo started amateur rodeoing at the age of 14. He started his career as a bullfighter at age 19.

I can't read today, folks. At age of 19 and 1992, he turned pro with a year later at 93. He had four selections to the Canadian Finals Rodeo, two selections to the Canadian Bull Riders Finals, and four Calgary Stampedes. one alternate selection to the National Finals Rodeo in 01. During his time, he represented himself as his own agent in his bullfighting career, and when he retired, he started representing professional bull riders.

In 2010, he was hired by Thunder Creek Player Management, so now he is an hockey agent as well. So his first draft that he was a part of was 2010, where he had Michael Furland draft of the Calgary Flames, A couple other guys he's got, Damon Severnson from the New Jersey Devils, Ethan Barry, your Emmington Oilers. Yeah, he's got a very, very cool story. So I'll stop blabron. Here is Jason Davidson without further ado.

Welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Today I'm joined by Jason Davidson. So first off, thanks for hopping on with me. I appreciate it. Thanks for reaching out, Sean. Looking forward to this. Yeah, well, I should probably give a shout out to the Tamirs because they're the reason why this happened. They threw out your name and I said, I don't know, what would he do? And then they

started listing off some of the things you've done and I'm like, well, yeah, hell, that sounds like a lot of fun. Let's hook it up. And so here we are. It's only a couple weeks later and away we go. So yeah, a huge show out to the Tamirs. Um, what is, how do I pronounce your hometown? Ask With. Ask With Ask with. Ask with Saskatchewan. And where is that? It's right in the center of the British Empire, according to the sign. But it's actually, it's 20, 25 miles west of Saskatoon on Highway 14. We're between Vigar and Saskatoon. Okay, okay.

And so did you, I mean, you end up being all over the rodeo trail, PBR, now you represent NHL players. You got all these different avenues. Life is a kid there, where you then playing hockey and, out on the farm, that kind of thing, and that's just kind of where the two loves kind of started? Yeah, just like lots of Western Canadian kids, you know, grow up in small town. We lived fairly close to the town of Ascot. We're only about two and a half miles out of town.

So hockey was obviously a big part of the winters and ball in the summers until I was about 14 years old. And we lived on a ranch. So we were exposed to the Western lifestyle and rodeo. at the time. And I always enjoyed going to the rodeos at Saskatoon and a few of the local rodeos in the, you know, probably 50-mile area or radius of Asquith. So I think it was about 14. Dad said you either have to, you're going to play ball or you can rodeo. And that's when I chose to go rodeo on and started riding steers at the amateur level. And when we graduated from that, I tried my hand or luck in the bareback riding event, which I really didn't want to do, but I wanted to stay involved.

Mum and dad were not big fans of this bullfighting idea that I had. So it was always something I wanted to do probably from about 16 on. And I graduated high school, moved out, literally graduated Friday, partied for two days, and moved out Monday. And that fall I went to, or sorry, that next spring I went to actually a bullfighting school. There's clinics like bull riding clinics and learned from a guy by the name of Ryan Byrne, who's probably the most decorated Canadian of all time. Bullfighter. Bullfighter, yep.

So my brother went to the bull fighting, or sorry, the bull riding school, and I went to the bullfighting school. And the rest is history. I got to ask, I got to go back. So at 14, you know, I, well, I was saying before we started, Colby Mann, the man family, Frank, man, and then they, they were a part of that lifestyle of age 14. You go out, you start riding steers and that kind of thing. I think for a lot of us, we never even glimpse that lifestyle. What is it like going around at 14 from rodeo event to rodeo event? Oh, it was, oh, those are some of the best years of best memories I have.

You know, it starts at home. We, my brother and I built a shoot and we always had cattle around. And I don't think, well, I know dad didn't know this was going on. Whenever he wasn't around, we'd sort off a couple and run them in and buck them. You know, they're supposed to be gaining weight. That's how you make money on cattle. And we're running them through the buck and shoot and riding them. So we probably did that for a good summer before we kind of got busted and caught on that.

And my dad was good. What did they say when they found? Oh, he wasn't very happy. But, you know, the damage had been done. We already had gotten away with it. So he let us start rodeo. And we were good friends with the Kelleher family that owned Royal Rodeo at the time. So they did rodeos in North Battleford, Unity.

bigger. We ended up having a hometown rodeo there and asked with. So Spirut was another one of there, Shelbrook. So we kind of made it a family affair to go to those rodeos as a family the first year I rode Sears. And then the next year we actually got to travel with some bull riders, which that was an eye-opener. Could you imagine sending your 15-year-old kid with 19, 20-year-old bull riders? We would meet them in Saskatoon or wherever. jump in and go for two or three days, Friday, get home Sunday, and pretend like we were just good kids and never went to rodeo dances, never did all that extracurricular stuff that went with the rodeo dances and whatnot. But we grew up real fast, I'll tell you that.

No shenanigans had, I bet. None, none whatsoever. Bull riders, I swear, make hockey players look pretty soft. I mean, to hop on a animal that size? Well, yeah. You know what? I have the two mixing and jellin quite a bit now at our PBR events that we produce just in Edmonton this last fall. I had Chris Russell, Ethan Bear, and Florida was in town. And at the time, Jace Howardluck was playing for them.

So they all come to the event because it was a night off for the Oilers and for the Panthers. So, you know, I think they have a lot of respect for each other, which is kind of neat. You know, I think they envy each other. I think the bull riders wish they could make the same kind of cake as the NHL hockey players. But for some of those guys now, you know, they're making a good living with endorsements. And if you can be successful in the PBR tour in the U.S., you know, you can make upwards to about 1.4, 1.5 a year. So, and that's million. So, yeah, it's come a long way.

That's not too bad. Yeah. Like, I mean, back in your day, how much was a bull rider making? Oh, well, the PBR wasn't even around when I was rodeo in my first few years. So I would guess looking back on what the best guys would be making, maybe $100,000. Then that's just a few of those guys. You know, I think you could qualify to the Canadian Finals Rodeo with $12,000 or $13,000, which if you do the math, when you're traveling, paying your own expenses, and paying entry fees, $12,000 isn't a lot of money.

Most of those guys worked during the week and took off on the weekends, no matter what level you were riding at back in the mid-90s. Just enjoyed it, and so kept doing it. Yeah, yeah, just was something I think that gets in your blood and it's a lifestyle. And you got the same group of traveling partners and buddies. You know, we'd ram six people in the vehicle when we were 17, 18 years old and just go. Like not a care in the world. Splitting the gas and the hotel room. Well, rarely did we ever get a hotel room.

We had an old Chrysler, Newport, that slept about seven in it comfortably, one of those old boats. So, yeah, it was a good times. You jammed seven guys in a Chrysler? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Three in the front and four in the back. Oh, how times have changed. Yeah, no kidding.

No kidding. Now they travel with trucks and campers on the back or. vans and stuff like that but no we didn't have that luxury or the money or the resources at that time so why then bull fighting um honestly i really like the idea um of the guaranteed paycheck um you know i was paying an entry fee at the time i was i'd enter a few rodeos in the bull riding but mostly in the in the bareback riding so you're paying an entry fee every week And unless you placed or stayed on, you're not getting a paycheck. And hanging around the rodeo group enough, I got to know in the bullfighters that were working,

Shane Earhart was one of them, a guy from North Dakota who'd come up here regularly. And, you know, I knew what he was making every weekend. And he got to stay at one place. He didn't have to travel the three rodeos all across Saskatchewan, Elborder, or Manitoba. You know, you're driving sometimes eight hours in between rodeos. So that really, I think it was a business decision more than anything to stay in the, you know, in the industry and make a guaranteed paycheck. Could you paint a picture then for the listeners on how much, when you say driving eight hours between gigs, how close were those, like events? Well, oh, let me, like back in the day, I remember, I remember getting, we met Kelly McEwen in.

And he was killed in a car accident here years ago. But anyway, we traveled with him quite a bit. So he would come from Leoville and we'd meet in Saskatoon. And I know one time we started in Saskatoon, went to a rodeo in Montana, came back up to Herbert Saskatchewan, which is just east of Swiftc Current. And we rode there. And then we went to, there was a real big rodeo in Manyberry's, Alberta, south of medicine hat.

We're there for the Saturday. So it was a Thursday, Friday, Herbert, Saturday, many berries. And then Sunday we had to be back in Vibank, Saskatchewan, which was east of Regina. So we ended four. Four days? Yep.

Yep. And then back to Saskatoon Sunday night. How is the body doing after that? Well, you don't even think about that. You know, you're young and just wanted to be a part of it. And, you know, it's, I guess it's no different than kids trying to, you know, train in the summers and be hockey players. Like you, you just work your ass off to be better. And that's how we didn't train at all, probably the farthest from, you know, using the term athlete for us back in the day would have been probably not the right, pretty vague description of what we were.

But, yeah, we just, that's how you. practiced. You just went. You just kept going. You paid your entry fee and you went to another one. And in the summertime, it was, you could often do always three in a weekend. And if you got lucky, sometimes four. What are the, what are the kids doing now to train for bull riding? Oh, it's completely changed now. Completely changed. These guys are, they take it real serious. If you take a look at just, oh, like J.B. Mooney, who's probably right now, you could say, is, you know, one of the best ever. He, uh, he stands on a medicine ball, like literally stands on it with his cowboy boots for,

that's how he trains, his balance and, and they'll stand on it for an hour. And watch a show standing on a medicine ball. It doesn't sound like much, but give it a go in cowboy boots. It's ridiculous. But, uh, the guys that train now with, and you never knew what guys did because there's no such thing as Instagram and stuff back then. now a lot of these guys are posting that stuff. So I got a, you know, I got a real respect for, always have, because I've grown up in

the industry. And when you're tying your hand to 1,500 pounds of something that wants no part of you on their back and literally has the ability to take you out completely, you learn to really respect those guys. And you see, just like in hockey players, the guys that want it more. Some guys want it more than others. And that's evident, too, just how people carry themselves. You know, if we could pick a captain, we don't pick captains because it's an individual

sport. But, you know, there's reasons why Connor McDavid is a captain, you know, if you've heard any stories about what kind of guy he is. And, you know, if I had to pick a team of bull riders, I think I could pick a captain because I just, just the leadership qualities and whatnot. But it's hard for the public to see that now. You know, they don't really see how hard these guys train. They don't know what they're like behind the scenes, how they care themselves in the dressing room, amongst the peers, amongst us as executives.

But yeah, I have a real admiration and respect for the athletes we have now. I think we've got one of the best groups of guys here in Canada that we've had here in the last 20 years right now going. Yeah, it's got to be a real tight-knit group, I would think. Very, very, yeah. If you were ever to get back in a corner in a pub somewhere, you'd want that group of guys with you because if you picked a fight with one of them, you're going to fight them all, I guarantee it. But usually there's some pretty handy guys.

The tough ones usually come to the front of the pack, and it only takes one guy anyway. I've seen it many a time. well go back to your your bull fighting then so you decide you know it's going to be a business you're more in for for a constant paycheck yeah what uh when you go to the the the school which i assume is like a weekend course yeah absolutely yep what uh what are the some of the things you learn there and were you surprised um well i think for for me the edge I had was I had what we call livestock sense. I'd grown up around cattle. So I

didn't have a fear of cattle. Now, you have to have some fear of a buck and bull that's chasing you down. Like if you don't, you're, I just don't think you're playing with a full deck. So, you know, they just teach you the basics, show you some video. But I'd been, I'd been around it for already, you know, watching it for a lifetime and really been, like, dropped right into the lifestyle and traveling with it for probably at that time six years. So I was ready to go, like, you know, just like a blueheeler dog chomping at the bit to go. But, yeah, you just, no one can really hold your hand. Do you remember your first event of doing the bullfighting most?

was after the school yeah you mean yeah north battleford north battleford saskatchewan was my first rodeo and how and how did that go uh it went good um got my first real hookin as we would call it i remember a bull got me up against the shoots and and which are made out of steel yeah and there isn't any give there and that was the first night friday night kind of got me under the chin and give me a little raspberry and and uh you damn sure hurt and probably the best thing that happened because right then you got to decide you know is this really what i want to do you're saying on on the first weekend the first night of you doing that you get pinned by a bull up against the rail yeah yeah a bull rider well our job is to protect the bull rider right and he was thrown in a

vulnerable spot and i just i had to i had to get in between there to to take the bowl away from the rider and I got it. Yeah, I would probably, I couldn't honestly say it was the first bowl out. It was more towards the end of the performance. So at the end of the night. But yeah, it happened. And, you know, I was pretty sore ribs. And I remember the chin thing because he did.

He clicked me under the chin. And, you know, I wasn't, it was more of a suit guy for the next two or three days than I was a state guy, I recall. But it was the best thing that happened. because I gained the respect of the bull riders immediately. And, you know, well, I always wanted to be the best at whatever. If I was going to continue it, I wanted to be good at it. So it all took off from there.

I started my career right there. Worked for one year with amateur rodeo. Got my professional card in a year and started doing some professional events. There was a tour called the Wrangler. bullfight tour at the time. So we actually, we fought, Mexican fighting bulls. But not like Spain.

We don't, it's bloodless bull fights, right? So it's like an organized game, a tag. So that got my foot in the door to get to some pro rodeos and be seen by the professional bull riders. Because at the time, Ryan Byrne, you know, was still going and he was the guy in Canada, a guy by the name of Darren Tufton, Raymond Goodman, T.J. Baird. Like, it's not easy to get your foot in the door at those big rodeos. I think it took me about, I started in 92, 93, I think, 97.

I got my first Canadian finals rodeo in 1997. And then after that, that's when I started getting some of those bigger rodeos. And then once you got those rodeos, you know, I would leave home in June and not come home until mid-August, you know, Wainwright, Pinocca, Calgary Stampede, Innesville, another big rodeo um strathmore morris manitoba so it's when you can get all the big rodeos your your rodeo in in july your rodeo in 25 days out of 30 so it was a good way to make a living uh how many how many guys in your profession then are at each event well back when i started it was only one you only had to have one bullfighter um and then the bull riders got together and

And I don't blame them for that. It was great for us, too, because it wasn't long into my professional career where they were required to have two bull fighters at every rodeo. Because, for example, you get hurt the first bull out, you know, and it can happen. It's a dangerous sport, right? And who's going to look after the next 15 bull riders that are supposed to get on? So, and I've been to events where I was one of the guys that did get hurt. And, you know, if there wouldn't have been another guy, who's there to fill in? So two and now at the PBRs, most PBRs now you have three guys.

And are you miced up then when you're doing that? Some do. We do that with our Monster Energy Tour events that you can watch on TSN. Sean, we mic up our one guy. But I'd done a lot of stuff like that. During the Calgary Stampede, they miced me up every day, the one year, just so they can, I think they had me on a delay. I sure hope they did because it would have been definitely,

it wouldn't have been PG or would it should have been. But yeah, we do do that. It's, we've had cameras on us like actually having a camera. Like a GoPro or something. Yeah, yeah, before GoPro was, God, a guy should have been thinking back then. Well, we should have, we should have invented the GoPro. Damn.

What, uh, I assume when you get to the Calgary Stampede and, you got how many thousands of people watching you in that atmosphere? That must have been electric. Yeah, that, yeah, it's like, you know, you take a look out at 23,000 people and, you know, you're at the greatest outdoor show on Earth. It was the first time, yeah, I'll never forget that. It was like the first time I got selected to go to the Canadian Finals Rodeo or when I went to

the NFR as an alternate in Las Vegas. Like those are those are the moments you'll never forget in your career because those are definitely the highlights. I was fortunate enough even when I was done fighting Bulls with Calgary to go work with them for another, you know, probably eight or nine years on the production side of things as the arena director. So there's a lot of fun. I would not change one single thing about how I grew up and, you know, the path I took to get where I'm at today. that's for sure. When you're doing things like fighting Mexican fighting balls, I assume that is for the entertainment of the crowd.

Was that a lot of fun to do? Yeah, I enjoyed it at the time. I would have been about, so that was 96, I was about 23. So from 23 to 26, and I did, like I kept myself in good shape, I trained. The contest would last minimum 40 seconds, and then there was a horn blown and you'd have an option for another 30 seconds. So I used to do sprints. I'd sprint for 50 seconds and then slow down and sprint. Like I really worked on sprints, so I had the endurance to push that 70 seconds if you had to.

So what did they give you? They give you one of those, I can't even think of what the heck it's called, the Matador. Cape? Cape, thank you. No, no, no. So it was just you and the bull? That's right, yeah. You stand out there and you nod for him.

You have the clown or the barrelman, what we'd call them back in the day. That's your only island of safety out there. So if you ran to the fence, climbed up the fence, or didn't look like you were in any sort of control, you obviously got Mark's dog. And we were competing for big money. I believe it paid. Well, I don't believe.

I remember it paid $918 to win first and $578 to win second and 204 to win third. And how many guys? In the mid-90s, three. You're guaranteed a paycheck. But I'm competitive. I'm as competitive as they come. And third just, I didn't, you know, I never wanted to win third. You know, so every time you could win first, that's a good day's work back in 1995,

918. And some places was US money. so that even made it you know cherry on the top cherry on top to to buck up and hustle your ass a little bit to you know and it's no different in the bull riding today you had to have a good dance partner on the other side like you needed a bull that wanted to chase and if you went in there wanting the one that wasn't as good well then you probably shouldn't be in this business you know so it was great I had three years of it and I really did I loved every minute it hurt sometimes Sean I'm not going to lie but it's a pretty fun way to make it make a living.

Who was the best bull you ever had that danced with you? Well, I had one, I used to keep notes on all these bulls. There's probably about 30 or 40 fighting bulls came through Canada in those three or four years. I had a bull, his name was Bob, because he had a Bob Table, or Bob Tail, which meant it was cut off. And him and I hooked up a few times. And if I didn't win, I was second. But he just, he was just a good draw.

But they, the three amigos was the firm that owned all these bulls at the time, which was Ryan Byrne, who was my mentor. He had a bull. His number was 58. They're branded just like the buck and bulls so you could identify him. And his name was Kaching, but a bang. And I had him a couple times where we won and I had him a couple times where I didn't even finish.

Like he wiped me out. He hooked me so hard one time in Edmonton at the Canadian Finals Rodeo. I got a picture my shoelaces untied. I'd be like, wow, that is something. It's got me flying through the air and my shoelaces even flung out on my Reebok pumps at the time. But yeah, he, if you stubbed your toe on him, he'd hurt you. He would.

So, but it was good. Like, talk about mental fitness. when you knew you had him because you'd find out when you got to the rodeo and a lot of times we were the last event. So you have three hours, two and a half hours to think about who you're squared off against. But it was good. You know, I always thought, I always looked at it. If I do my job right here, I'm going to win nine.

You know, I'm going to win first. So I did get a couple first with him, but I got a couple thirds too because it didn't go very well. I think I had them four or five times, and I know I got two firsts out of them and two pretty shitty scores out of them too, but that was my fault. I got to think after stepping in the ring one-on-one with an animal, anything that comes after that's got to be almost dravy. Like it just, right, to have one of those beasts chasing your route? Well, yeah, it helps you build confidence, I guess, maybe in the run.

wrong reasons after I was never scared to back down from an altercation, I guess, if that's what you're getting at, Sean. No, I was just thinking, I was thinking actually what I actually thought was like, you know, you go on to do some big things in life and still are. And I just figure stepping in the ring with a bowl, something I, oh man, I don't know. Yeah, confidence, right? Just confidence, yeah. And for whatever else you go on with life to do,

I would assume that that played a big part in it because, I mean, a lot of guys can just hop in the ring and do what you guys do. You know, that's a good point, actually, Sean. So the year I went to that school, oh, there had been nine of us went to that bullfight in school. Two of us ended up having professional careers out of that. another guy by the name of Bob Morse

and I think was around, he lived in the Lloydman's area or North Balford is where he was raised, sorry. But, you know, like my buddy that Scott Byrne who had a really great career as a bullfighter who was a nephew to Ryan who mentored me, you know, he puts on a school every year. And that's always the first question I ask,

was there any good kids? And, you know, they're not even pumping out one good kid a year anymore. It's about every two or three years we find somebody that, because I want to give that kid a shot. I've got enough events that I don't mind helping that guy because I was that guy once that was just looking for the opportunity to prove myself in front of the best bull riders in the world or at the bigger or better events.

I wanted to be a part of the PBR events that were in Edmonton and Calgary every year. That was my goal, right? It's just like a young kid in minor hockey and Lloyd Minster. They want to play in the National Hockey League someday. Sure. being a double a bantam is awesome and then you get to play triple a midget you know you're you're there can you get to the western league and then go on from there that was that was no different than how we were so i'd like to give those kids a chance if they're you know but it's not easy finding them anymore

well it's just not it's just not like a career path that many would think of i i would assume right no probably not no if you're not growing up around it i you don't i don't i don't know what would bring one guy to think that they should give it a go, you know, I really don't. So like you said during your career bullfighting, you represented yourself. Is that kind of where you start to get the idea of this agent? Like, you know, maybe I should represent some bullfighters? Or is it bull riders? Yeah, bull riders. Well, yeah, I had a good group of sponsors. Like back in the day, you know, I got to wear Wrangler. I got to be endorsed by Wranglers. I think I started my endorsement deals in 1995. I was the only Canadian athlete on the what was called the

Wrangler Bullfight Tour at the time. So they saw an opportunity and I believe there was only six of us. The late Todd Bogus, steer wrestler from Peyton, went to the world finals a number of times, great guy. He was on Wade Joyle, Rod and Danny Hayes. like Rod Hayes goes down maybe as one of the best Saddle Brank riders in Canadian history. And I was included in that group. So, you know, I felt very good about that. I was proud of that accomplishment that Rangler had come to me and wanted to write me a check and wear their clothes, you know. So I just started pitching the idea to other companies and contacts I had about, you know,

endorsing their name on my shirts and stuff. And it became quite a good deal for me over the years and over my career. So when I was hanging it up in 2000, I don't even remember, 2005, maybe it was my last year, 2004, I'd have this relationship with all these sponsors. And, you know, I just thought it was a shame that all this money is sitting here and I can't I can't get it because I'm retired. But how about this family of boys from Ask with where I grew up? Matthew, Aaron, and Nathan Roy.

They've all won national champions. Aaron's went on, he's won over a million dollars in the PBR in his career. So I talked to every single one of my sponsors into endorsing those boys. So that's where I started was with Matt and Aaron and Nathan. And then I continued to grab guys like Canadian. champion Tanner Gurlitz, Canadian and Calgary Stampede champion, Chad Bestplug. I worked with Tanner Byrne, Zane Lambert, and I still look after Zane and Aaron. And actually, I got a guy working with me now that's managing the rodeo side of things for

the endorsements. I've got a family of Saddlebronk riders out of Utah, the Wright family. And to put that in perspective for your listeners, that's like having. having Connor McDavid, Jonathan Taves, Sid Crosby, and there's eight of them. Like they're the cream of the crop when it comes to Western Lifestyle athletes. They carry the endorsements with the biggest brands going Yeti, Stetson Hats, Rangler, a big diesel company out of the U.S. called PDI. So I handle them still.

And then Tanner Byrne is looking after all of our bull riding athletes. So we've picked up a few more guys because I just didn't have the time to do it. And Tanner really wanted to do it and comes from the background where he managed his own career and did a well, similar to what I did, did a very good job of it. So I trust them with these guys and with these companies. Is it safe to say then there was nobody doing it before you, like representing the, the riders or were there guys? No, in Canada, you did it on your own. So, I never even thought of that before, Sean, but no, there would have been nobody doing it. When I started looking after Aaron and those guys, there would have been an agent.

There would not have been an agent looking after Western Lifestyle guys in Canada. Ty Murray had an agent back in the day, I know. And then a few of those PBR riders were being represented by agents. So that was another reason why I wanted to get in. to it just because Aaron, Aaron Roy was doing all the televised events in the U.S. And that was, I was worse something to somebody. So, you know, Aaron had some really good years there where, in fact, the first year I did it. I didn't, I didn't even charge the guys anything.

I just did it for them. And then I realized how much work it was, you know, managed getting shirts, getting shirts organized, embroidered, making sure the embroidery went in the right spot. getting the guys to autograph sessions, not physically holding their hand and getting there, but coordinating everything. And then the next year, I told Matthew, the oldest of the boys, I said, I can't do this for free guys.

I just can't. And he just said, well, yeah, whatever. He goes, I can't get the money. You know, I wouldn't have a dime if it wasn't for you. So it was a very cordial discussion. And I did some research on commissions and whatnot. And that's, year two is where I really got serious about the agent business, which would have been about 2006, I guess, 2007. So did you never go and I don't know, I guess I should have looked into it, but no schooling.

It wasn't like you went to business school to become an agent or anything. Just nobody had ever taken care of the bull riders. And so you start doing it and become very successful at it. Yeah, just saw an opportunity. And, you know, when you're representing the best names in Canadian bull riding, it's real easy to go to Wrangler or Cinch or whoever, Justin Boots at the time, Boulet boots. And here, this is what I have.

It's fun when you got the good guys. Trust me, Sean. It's really fun. It's a lot of work when, you know, I've been approached by a number of athletes, rodeo athletes over the years to help them. And I just, you know, I don't even sugar-coded or lead them down a road that I can't deliver. I just, I go recruit the guys.

I go find the guys. I know I can make a living for and help. Well, that's kind of where I'm curious, as an agent then, because I mean, now you represent a handful of guys in the NHL and some, you got a guy that's coming up in the draft this year. You got all these bull riders. How do you go about attracting prospective clients.

Are you scouting them going to hockey games, watching, going to rodeo events and watching? Are you taking a huge bunch of your time going around to events, kind of scouting a guy and then going, you know what, I should approach this guy. I think there's something there? Well, the bull riding part, it's easy. If they're riding at the events I'm producing,

namely the Monster Energy Tour events, they're riding at the best, the highest level in Canada. So if they can get there, then they've already got my attention. And then if they can get there and win. And, you know, I look for qualities, you know, how they carry themselves. Can they, you know, can I get these guys in front of a microphone? Would they embarrass, you know, themselves or whoever they're endorsing? So, you know, I just, I guess you can say I'm an evaluator of talent.

Like, I'm looking for talent on that side of the fence and in the, in the hockey arena. in the past 10 years, it's really about building a network of people you trust, you know. And I think when you do a real good job for your clients, then you, you know, you'll get a, you'll get a call from somebody saying, hey, you should give this kid a call or I've had some family's call and just say, you know what, you become highly recommended from this player who's from the same community or something, you know, a lot of my best, you know, a lot of my clients are, there's a story behind how I've got them or found them or met them. And I like that.

And I think it's, I guess if you could say the stars lined up or however you want to put it, but it was almost like we were supposed to work together. So I just look for little signs like that. Now, when the light is getting lit up red four times a period by a player, that's a pretty easy sign to see that he's going to be, you know, he's got something there. But hockey is very, very competitive. Very competitive.

The bull riding sign, I think I can say if I really wanted somebody, I could go get them because there isn't a lot of guys doing it. And we've got the, you know, I've got a roll of decks of contacts that I know nobody else has in that industry. And hockey, well, when I stepped into that world, it was totally the other way around. it was a challenge, a huge challenge for me, which I, you know, I liked that. And I just worked worked really hard to establish that business. My first client was Michael Furland, which was a whatever test. Yeah. Yeah, but, you know, nobody, he was a walk on on Kelly McCriman's brand in 2010 when they hosted a Memorial Cup. And that for me right then,

said something. Okay, this kid was never drafted to the Western Hockey League. They, you know, somebody found him somewhere. Al McPherson would have been the guy that would have found him. He was Kelly's right-hand man at the time. And I remember watching him here in Saskatoon. I hadn't got a client yet. I was just newly in the business.

And he scored three goals on the fourth line. He was playing with Mark Stone. Mark Stone was a fourth liner with Furland that year. in, oh, who the heck else? It doesn't matter. Anyway, he scored three goals that night as a fourth liner, and Duncan Siemens was projected to be a first rounder that year, and he was to the Colorado Avalanche tough kid,

played with some real grit and bite to his game, and Mike put the run on him that night, and pretty much schooled that guy for the rest of his WHL career. So that's kind of what, jumped at me right away. Like this kid plays the game hard. He can score. He had some hands.

He hit hard. He was probably about 20 pounds overweight at the time because he had no idea about fitness working out. But Kelly McCrimmon had saw something in him. And I saw something I liked. And I remember I called and called. I got the contact list to every GM from my senior partners. And I had two teams.

that wanted to talk about Michael Furlin. It was the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Calgary Flames. That was it. He went in the fifth round to Calgary. And ironically, I've talked to Garth Milarchuk many times about this. He was a longtime scout for the Toronto Maple Leaf. He said, we traded our pick. He was the guy we had marked down.

He would have been a Toronto Maple Leaf. But he ended up being a Calgary Flame and been a good career for him. And it was a great start for me to get to know a good hockey guy like Kelly McCrimman. who was, I can't say, always easy to work with, but we always had Michael Furlin's best interests at heart on most of the decisions we made together for him. So it was just a great experience and having a guy that Mike that trusted me right off the bat.

Because he could have went, well, in his 19-year-old year, he had plenty of other agents calling trying to poach him. So that's the one thing about this business I don't like. It's pretty greasy that way. Really? Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it's very greasy that way. So if you get a guy who's going to make something of himself,

you've got people trying to call to try and pull them away. All the time. Really? All the time. Yeah, all the time. So you build that relationship with the parents first, and then, you know, we're recruiting kids now. at 13 years old.

13 years old? 13, which is crazy because they might not, they may never play pro. That's how you get paid. And if they do, it might not be for seven years. So you get seven years of time, money, and effort put into a client before you even know if he's going to turn out to be a pro. Well, and think of a 13 year old kid. I mean, geez, I mean, you're seeing a lot of them.

At 13, I mean, there's standouts. I mean, everybody can agree to that. There are standouts, but a standout at 13, I mean, does that always translate to a standout at 18, 19? Never. No, no, it doesn't. Every year that competition gets a little stiffer for those guys. And that's where, you know, you want to,

the more time you can spend around your guys and see what kind of, like what they're made of, so to speak, or how big a heart these guys really have. You know, like local kid, you guys have there, Chase Waters. Yeah. Like I always tell Scott, he's going to make it. That kid has got, you know, it hasn't. Well, I told his dad many times.

In fact, his dad texts me when we lost Colby Cave here on the 11th, which Colby was a client of mine. And, you know, Colby had to work for every single thing he got. But if you got to know Colby, and I think a lot of people feel they do know him now after the outpouring of support and the stories and the stuff, the kind words said about Colby, that's just the kind of guy he was. And that's why he figured out. He got to be a pro. He was an assistant captain in Providence in year two of his entry-level deal, never drafted. He was an unsigned free agent, never been drafted, and the Boston Bruins took the chance on him.

You know, he was going to be a sought-after player in July 1st here. He'd have been an unrestricted free agent, and he was exactly the kind of guy that teams wanted. And I see the same things in Chase. He's a leader. You know, teams can say what they want about certain styles of his game right now, but Chase Waters will figure out a way to be a pro. So I've got all the time in the world for Chase Waters because I know he's going to make it.

He will make it. Yeah, we actually just had Chase on the podcast. Well, his episode comes out tomorrow. Him and Bryce Kindop was on and Zane Franklin, all three boys from around this area that are all captains in the dub, right? All good kids. Zane's one of our clients too. Oh, is he?

he could go on if hockey isn't his thing he could be a stand-up comedian for sure he's got personality for sure he does you know it's ironic i rodeoed i rodeoed with with zane's dad really Quinn rode bulls when i was fighting bulls yeah yeah we we put a few miles on together quinn and i and cross paths hundreds of times over the years uh what a small world it is exactly those are little things I always look for and Scott Scott Waters was my line mate in and stallmate in in Lloydminster for the Kings yeah Chase used to come into the room when he was like three probably yeah he'd be about three

2002 three yeah he'd be about three years old carrying a mini stick and want to shoot something around a tape ball or whatever just we just needed a minute so we could have our beer after Scott and I. We had to keep them occupied for a few minutes. Not much has changed in the senior world. I won't lie. I bet. I got, like I was saying, yeah, I got three kids. And now after the senior game is done, I get shoveled two of them and they run around the room, hacking them, whacking everybody, searching for those tape balls. And all you want is your cold beverage or a couple of cold bevies. What years did you play, Kings and Lloyd.

Jesus, what were they? Went to the NFR in 01, married in 02, so it would be 0304, I think, somewhere in there. Not the years they won Allen Cups, in between the Allen Cups. In between the Allen Cups.

Yeah, I must have been bad luck, I guess. I actually, Stanney, Kent Stanofford, just gave me a jersey this week for the podcast studio. Not this wall. Oh, the autographed King's jersey? Yeah, yeah. I never got to,

I wish I could have played for Stanley with, never, I don't want to play against that guy, but Stanley's a big supporter of the PBR. He's always, I'm always dropping off one of my 3D bull riding caps for him. I have to make sure you get one too, Sean. I appreciate that.

I wish I could have played for Stanley or with him. He sounded like he's a bit of a legend in those parts. I hear. He is an absolute legend. Yes. Yeah. I never got to play for him. When I was playing junior, I think he was coaching the bandits in town and I left town for about seven years, kind of basically all through his career. And never came back. At my time I was back, he was pretty much done, I think. Well, I had one of those, I played a lot of hockey with Jeff Rosner over the years. Like he was one of our imports out at Askwith. And, and then in Lloyd Minster, he was there one year when I was there as well.

So he's kind of got that same reputation as Danny. Just somebody you really don't want to be lining up across from if you can help it. Does Asquith have senior hockey still? Not anymore. No, it kind of, I would say the last good years of senior hockey in Asquith would have been like in the late 90s. But, you know, we had, well, the last provincial title, Ralph Claussen, played for the blues and the Colorado Rockies. We had him, Jerome Engel, played with the North Stars.

Those were just two of the guys that were on the team that year. But yeah, we always had good players out there, Lindsey Carson, lots of ex-pros. Because it was, you know, when those guys come back and we'd fill the rink. In fact, the ass with Canadians, they were the Hardy Cup champions for a couple of years. That was the Western Canadian Championship for senior hockey.

So that would have been like 78, 79. in those years. So I was a big part of growing up, going and watching, you know, when I was six, seven years old, watching the ass with Canadians play. My uncle was always involved with the executive. But, well, small town hockey back,

like you didn't have to, every town had all teams. You know, your arrivals were either south of you 20 minutes or up the road 15 miles or down the other road. You know, it was, those were some. the greatest best years of your life playing your neighbor towns and you know and trying to literally beat them to whatever you know an inch of their life in the corners or whatever like it was it was war yeah absolutely the hate that grows when you're playing your rival that's that close well

heck the last couple of years we've played metal lake metal lake has been in our league now for two years we've met them both years in the playoffs and the semifinals and uh this year was game five we beat them and the year before was a best of seven instead of a best of five and it went to game six triple overtime to beat them and that's just an absolute war man but fun you go up to metal lake and they got like they still fill the rink up oh yeah they used to too when we were there when we used to go up there with border kings old lake was in one year and they didn't draw worth the shit. But I always enjoyed that Christmas tournament that the Border Kings hosted over between Christmas and New Year's. That was always a fun time too. So a good group of

guys we had awesome and really enjoyed it when I played. Well, you were fortunate. You got to, even though you didn't win with the Kings, you got the heyday of those groups, right? Like, I mean, the Merv would Moore still have been playing then? One year. I think more in I don't know if it was a game or what, but he broke his wrist. You know, he was the fastest guy on the ice, and I don't know if he forgot to stop or what happened, but he broke his wrist one year. So I remember, right, we only got him.

It was early in the season, too, so we didn't get him back to the playoffs. But yeah, Merv was a captain. Ray Nielsen on the blue line, Tyler Scott. Yeah, Jason Clegg was in that. Trevor Logan, you know, I still got a relationship with all those guys. I see Jason in the rank lots. Tyler, I still talk to Tyler a lot.

Corey Down, whenever we see each other. Scott Hood calls me when he's up in Bonneville, so he actually called me on a kid he thought was pretty good this year. Like that's that networking, you know. Yeah, absolutely. Those guys will reach out to you. So, yeah, it was good times. Ryan Rivett, Jordi Dugan.

Like, I remember all the guys in the team, you know. It was, we had a lot of fun. It's too bad you hadn't won. you could have come. We had Hockey Day and Hillman this year, hockey day in Saskatchewan in Hillmont. And we had Wade Reddenback out, and Marty McSorley came for that weekend. And we played a fun little Wade and Friends game.

And we had a bunch of those guys out, well, guys who'd won the two championships. Yeah. A bunch of guys from Helmand as well. It was a blast. Like, that was a fun night. But all the names you were talking about were there. Yeah, well, you got a, I noticed I follow your team on Twitter. You guys got a good room.

and whatnot there in Hillman. What a facility, too. We've done the Wade Red and PBR. Yeah, that's right. Two or three years we did it. You know, so it's good. Do you guys fill the rank up on the senior night for the games? You know, I would say once you hit the second round of playoffs, she's a pack bar.

And it's a lot of fun. Like when Meadow Lake was coming to town, like not even standing room only. It was like four rows of standing room only. But it's just, the senior hockey in general is, there's just almost too many options now. You know, you talk to the older generations. And they talk about like when I was, when I had Shep on here, he talked about back in the day of the Border Kings, you'd show up like an hour and a half early to a Border King game to get a seat. Because if you didn't, you weren't getting a seat.

And I actually had a guy on, who was that? who said they packed it to the rafters i forget who that was and on the civic center they had people sitting in the rafters because that's how full it was right like there was nowhere to sit so they and and times just changed i mean you know firsthand you've got a a player playing anywhere for any team almost as long as it's what junior a and above and you can flick their game on the internet and watch right you don't have to leave the company your own home yeah and so you know which is amazing and everybody wants that but when it comes to something like senior hockey which is a past time of sask like anywhere in saskan it's you have these same conversations with people because it was

a lot of fun if you play it or play it it's some of the funest hockey you'll ever play in the memories and the groups of guys you get around in the dressing room and all of it is awesome but it's just slowly you can just see it's slowly disappearing in a lot of places and it's a lot of effort to keep it relevant when you got the ability to not go anywhere and watch good hockey or, you know, now speaking of Lloyd, like Lloyd's got all these elite teams, which is awesome, right? And so you got this no senior team anymore though. But no senior team. No.

Well, you lost a good core, you know, when you look, you talk about Merv and Ray and tight, like those guys, that was, look at that team of, we didn't, you know what I admired the most. nobody got paid. You never had to, you know, we all chipped in for the beer, but the bus was always looked after, so we always got to travel on a bus, but no one got paid to play. You know, we bought our own sticks,

but it was just a good atmosphere. And, you know, we were up against some big payrolls there that year. That Minnes-Dickland team had a huge payroll. You know, Meadow would have paid a couple guys to come in and play there, but we never paid anybody. You just had a ton of talent. But, you know, and those guys played together for a lot of years, You know, Rob Quist, like Quistie would just come for the playoffs.

Usually he was getting to that point in his career where he wasn't, there was no training camp for him or preseason or anything. He was just, he just stepped right into provincial game number one. I remember. So it is. It's too bad. I know like for Askwith, when we started moving away, that's when the senior, like, if, you know, us veteran guys or older community guys, we're the ones that kind of,

you know, run the ship and we brought the young guys out, you know, kids graduating from midget or AAA hockey. We had some, you know, some kids that played some pretty good hockey I've asked with them when they come home, you know, if there was a team. But once all of us older guys had kind of quit playing or moved away, which I did, then that just, there's no core group or no leadership. And, you know, we did everything. We did all our own fundraising and all that. And I think people just they don't want to do that anymore unfortunately and like you said Sean like there's just other options to watch stuff on TV like back when we were playing senior hockey there was two channels on TV there's no Netflix there's no Xbox and shit we had the

Atari and the television right yeah you were looking for a reason to go out graphics to you were looking for a reason to go out and socialize right like yeah and it wasn't it was a cheap way to go to a game, sit down and have a BS, watch some decent hockey, probably a few scraps in that, right? But some of the best talented local hockey players sitting there. And, you know, you raise a couple good points. Like, I mean, A, you got to have, it doesn't matter what team you are. You got to have a core there, a nucleus that allows a team to grow, right?

because if you have the right group of guys, it'll attract good guys and keep the riffraff out, which then breeds a healthy team and allows you to kind of grow, right? Because, I mean, there's very few teams that just get put together and then the next day they're winning, right? Like, especially in small town, Sask hockey. Yeah. But it is hard, really, really hard to pass down the torch. when as every year that goes by, you just said it, right? Like, when I came back from college,

I'm not positive Netflix was even going yet. Like that's, you know, like, and now it's like, you know, do I want to go anywhere? Do I just want to Netflix and chill for the night? You're right? Like, just binge watch Tiger King, you know? Like, who doesn't want to do that? What did you think of Tiger King?

I think Carol Baskin's a bitch. I'm with, I'm with Joe. exotic she's a bad woman but yeah I nothing surprised what surprised me the most is actually it doesn't because that producer had he knew he had something and all the footage they had it's amazing the footage they had and wow if they if he wouldn't have burnt down his own studio it'd have been nice to see exactly what he had in there for footage too but yeah it was quite a show um we we did it in I think we did it in two sittings. So that's seven episodes in two sittings. Like you couldn't stop watching it. Well, the first like four episodes you're watching, you're like, this is the most

bizarre thing I've ever seen in my entire life. I did not realize there was a world of that many tigers just sitting in a zoo in Florida. Like it's right. Not to mention all the other things going on, right? Like I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on. The other one, have you been watching the last dance about the bowls? No, but I'm going to. I heard it's unbelievable. So I want to get my boys to watch that. I was a huge Michael Jordan fan growing up.

Not a basketball fan, just a Michael Jordan fan, you know. So I understand it's really good. And my neighbor said, make sure you let your boys watch it with you because it'll be inspiring for them. Well, you watch Tiger King and you're like, it's crazy the amount of footage they have, right? well this uh the last championship the bulls won they let a camera go everywhere with them almost kind of like what they're doing now with all of professional sports right where there's always cameras and everything it's almost ahead of its time and then that year like i just you know i was young when that

when they were winning then i only would have been like 13 14 somewhere in there so i remember bits and pieces but i go back to two and four right like you didn't have enough channels to watch all that Sports Center wasn't a thing. So you didn't get like a full story. And now watching it is like, oh, this is unbelievable. Yeah, I'm saving that one for a rainy day or a Sunday. And I'm just going to, how many episodes are they planned on pumping out for that? So I think there is 10 episodes.

Every Monday in Canada, they release two of them. And every Sunday in the States, they release two of them if I'm correct. So there'll be four as of tomorrow then. That's correct. Okay. Yeah, I'll definitely tune in. Oh, it's, this is a really side note that we've gone down, but it is, that is a fantastic. If there's two things I'm going to remember COVID-19 for, I mean, there will be several.

But Tiger King comes up with everyone. Everybody talks about Tiger King. Yeah. And Carol Baskin. And now Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan. Carol Baskin did it, right? Well, we should have, absolutely, 100%.

There's no question. We should have all about Mark, take a look at the stock price of Netflix in the last five months. It's probably gone up. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I wish I could have remembered that about COVID, where I've doubled my money on Netflix. But no, I'm just still paying the $11 a month like everybody else, I guess. Well, let's go back to you.

I mean, how, see, you're the agent for the rodey or the bull rider's side of, it. Thunder Creek player management, they approach you, I assume then? Yeah, yeah. Brad Devine and Jeff Helperl actually works with Thunder Creek Player Management. He's a, he's a Walberg boy, I believe. And Brad was a big fan of the Western lifestyle stuff. He had seen all the press Aaron Roy was getting and sometimes my name was attached to it. And I didn't know Brad at all at the time. And just a tremendous human being. I wish I really wish I could have got to know him about 10 years earlier. He might not appreciate it what I was doing 10 years earlier.

So probably best it worked out the way it did. But learn a lot from that guy. You know, you asked me about mentors and stuff. And I got to give I got to give Brad most of the credit. He's a master negotiator and the way he would out muscle and outwork other guys to recruit kids. you know, and the respect that he's, you know, the relationships I have with GMs and assistant GMs, the doors that have opened because, you know, Brad's endorsing Jason Davidson now. So, you know, like I remember the first time I got to talk to when Ron Hextall called me

on a player, you know, there's a guy I used to just idolize. I was always a Philly fan and loved the way he played, you know, he was just a, you know, He was just, you know, you never know what. It was a circus some nights when he was on the ice. But, you know, I remember being Ron Hextall on the outdoor rink. You know, that's who I was playing. If I was, you know, playing that, now I'm talking to him about, you know, Blair Jones

and getting that hockey contract done with him. But that was, that's kind of what Brad Devine did for me is open those doors and trusted that I wouldn't let him down. What you're saying mentor, what was some of the things then he taught you? Like specifically going into a different world of the of hockey in general, right? Coming from where you had been, I assume that although it translates, you're doing a similar thing. It is a completely different world once you're into the hockey, NHL side of things. some things the same

I think from one and totally different as well just like Ryan Byrne was in the bullfighting gig Brad didn't just hold my hand either he wanted me to figure some shit out he set me up with the right calls to start with I think with certain management groups in the National League that he's had relationships

with for 30 years guys he's growing up with in the business and and now I guess it. It is a small world and the relationships that I've built in the last 10 years, you know, like, you know, we talk about how our kids are doing with each other with some of these executives on teams and stuff. But he was always there if I fell down to, you know, maybe brush me off a little bit and then give me a good cussin about how I screwed something up. And so I learned right away, I didn't want those cussons. So you make sure you know your shit right off the bat when you're before you, you go into a call, you're prepared.

that's the number one thing I've learned for me. You said you've got to know your stuff. You've got to be prepared. And, you know, it's a negotiation. You've got something they want. And you've got to maximize and use all the leverage you have. And sometimes you don't have a bunch of leverage in a negotiation. You know, players can't be unrestricted free agents every year.

You've got to work to get a player to that status where, you know, then you can sit back and take calls from several teams. teams. But, you know, when you're coming off an entry-level contract, you don't have a ton of, you know, when a player has only played seven or ten NHL games, you don't have a ton of leverage. So you better figure out how you're going to maximize that opportunity with the guy on the other end of the the other end of the phone to get your client paid because, you know, that's what you build your reputation on. And, you know, he's done well over the years and very well-respected guy. So I want to make sure I leave that legacy in the same, you know, in the same manner is what he's handed it to me.

And, you know, we're looking, we've got guys working underneath us now that are watching lots more of these young guys. So I'm mostly just looking after our pro guys and American League guys right now. I've still got a few guys in the Western League that I look after. But it's a lot to manage, you know, when you've got 20-some guys that are playing pro hockey right now, It's not easy to be chasing three, 15-year-olds, four, 16-year-old, seven or eight every year. You know, that's a lot of clients. And then you just can't service them. And I'm not into hiring recruiters.

And I never ever believed in that because, you know, if I come sit across from you, Sean, and want to represent your kid, if I send somebody that isn't even an agent, I hope you see through that. and, you know, we'll, you know, you build a relationship with this guy and then as soon as he's 19 drafted and going to go play pro or, you know, when he's 20, you know, I should be the one sitting in front of you selling my product because I'm the one that's going to be looking after your son. And that's what I've always tried to sell to potential clients and the parents that I'm going to be the one looking after your son from when he's 15 until he's hopefully. 35 and played a long professional career. You remember who the first GM you had to talk to in the NHL was? Ron Hextel.

Sorry, about a... No, Jay Feaster. Jay Feaster would have been with Furlins on Michael Furlin. And Jay came from, he just won a cup in Tampa, not too many years before that. Right. They'd be... Calgary.

Calgary. That's right. Yeah. Oh, yeah, Flames fans, they don't like that, that cup. They believe they should have won. Me being a diehard oiler, fan, I mean, we've all taken our lumps, so. Yeah. Yeah, no, it would have been Jay and then Ron, Hextall, I think, would have been the next guy. Ron was always good about returning calls, but that was because of Brad, for sure. You know, I just, I always mentioned Brad's name and I got a call back. But that wasn't always the case. You didn't always get calls back. when nobody, you know, nobody knew who I was.

They didn't give a shit who I was. Kind of an old boys club in that industry. And you got to earn your way. There's no question. You got to earn it. Have you started earning it now then, you think? Yeah, I think you earn it with your clients, right? With the guys you have as players.

And I was just, you know, this last couple weeks, it's been a tough couple weeks with Colby's passing. you know, I built a really good relationship with the Boston Bruins over Colby Cave. And I think when you got quality kids like that, you know, they want to talk to you. I've had several conversations with GMs that didn't go so damn good because, you know, your client isn't, you know, he didn't come into camp the shape you should have been, or he isn't figuring out how to be a pro and he's screwing around off ice. Like that never bodes for a good conversation.

Like they're pissed. they've invested money in your guy to be a professional hockey player and play at the highest level. So if they're not, it's not always a good conversation. They've become an extension of you, is what you're talking about. You're choosing people that if they, well, they're going out into camps and around everywhere. And if they show up and it doesn't go well, then it shows up on you. because you're the one representing them. I never really thought about it that way before.

Oh, yeah, and you, sometimes those GMs will let you know it too. They will. But I always, you know, to be a professional athlete, you need to be a professional person first. So that's what I try to drill into these kids at a young age. You know, you've got a lead in the dressing room. You got to, you know, learn that stuff now because you're going to need to have that when you walk into the, you know, into the American League.

Because I think if you can play in the American League, If you can play at the pace today in the American League, you're going to get a shot. You know, if the game has changed drastically, even in 10 years, you know, I've had clients that would have been, you know, big, strong, tough D-Men that would have been drafted in the fourth, fifth round

that now can't even get an American hockey league deal anymore because they just don't have the feet. They don't have the jets for it. But they play the game hard the way, you know, back in the day, you know, there was some big, miserable, mean defensemen on the ice. that you didn't want to go in the corner. And you didn't go.

Guys just didn't do it, which allowed those guys that were a little slower to get the puck and make that first pass. Well, it's a different game now. So, yeah, you, I really try to prepare my guys to be professionals. So they can, if they can play in the American League, I've, you know, I've got all the confidence in them that they can play.

Colby Cave was a testament to that. He did it for two teams. You mentioned Kobe Cave, and I assume you've probably talked about this subject an awful lot over the, you know, since his passing. But I guess, you know, I'm a diehard oil fan. So I got to watch a little bit of him. And him being from North Battleford, you hear more and more of the stories about him now. But, man, it was, I mean, just absolutely shocking to see a guy of his age. and just, you know, he's not the guy sitting on the couch eating donuts and not do anything, right?

Like, for him to go, it's just heartbreaking, I guess. Well, it makes no sense. And, you know, I talked to the NHLPA's Dr. John Rizzo's following the surgery because everybody thought it was a brain bleed at the start, but it wasn't. the MRI and Barry showed fluid, which they assumed was bleeding on the brain, but it was actually fluid that the cyst had blocked from flowing through Kobe's brain. So it was a colloid cyst that was the major cause and eventually what killed Colby. So, yeah, it just makes no sense when a, you know, Colby was as professional as they come. He was a true professional person, an athlete.

Like what went into his body, he took a lot of pride in his diet and his training. And, you know, I think after they wanted him to come into training camp after year one. And Don Sweeney put him on a pedestal as an American League guy coming into Maine camp, put him on a pedestal and said, you know what? This is what we asked of Colby Cave and he came back. Now, he only played a couple games that year at the end of the year, but still, you know, he made an impression. on management. And I'll never forget when they put him on waivers. I was in the Toronto airport.

Actually, on a five-game five-day run where I was going to catch him in Providence on about day three. And Don Sweeney said, we're going to try and sneak him through here. We really hope we don't lose him. And they were disappointed. They lost him.

And Edmonton picked him up. And I ended up getting, I was lucky. My last game was actually unsubed. Sunday in Edmonton on that trip. So I ended up running into him anyway. But it was a great opportunity for him to, you know, get in a lineup and, you know, make an impact. And well, here's what he meant to the Oilers. Connor McDavid yesterday stopped in at his mom and dad's place in North Battleford, unannounced.

Just drove over to give him, you know, wish condolences. So that's the kind of effect Colby Cave had on that group. Yeah. Don't have the words for it. It's a sad day when something like that happens and nobody can really, you know. Yeah, it was, you know, we were just coming off the two-year anniversary of the Humble crash. So it's, you know, I was, Scott Thomas lost his son in the. that and you know Scott reached out to me about four days later and just said you know what um if if

they want to talk you know I'm here like it's yeah it's yeah you hug your kids tight you know it was a it was a real difficult week for a lot of families um including ours i assume with uh your job you were gone an awful lot having guys all over the place would I be wrong in And thinking that? Yeah, I travel quite a bit. This is, yeah, like my May is real busy with PBRs. June, I'll work playoff hockey in, depending on who's still playing. July, we do the odd event.

August is my month off, kind of, but you still have U-18s in Calgary, World Junior stuff. September, we kind of picked back up with PBR's, October, finishing up some PBR stuff. I try to get out in November to see all my pro guys, my NHL guys once, either on the road or at home, wherever I can get a dinner in with them. December is busy with the National Finals Rodeo with my Wright family. January, I'm back on the road trying to see the rest of my players.

And then, you know, my own kids hockey, WHL, we have a suite here in Saskatoon. So we try to host families when they're, you know, if they're not a Saskatoon, Toon Blades family, obviously when Lethbridge or PA's in town, we, we, so a lot of hockey games, a lot of airplanes, a lot of airport lounges, pretty busy. This is the longest, I think, I've been at home. This is 40-some days here now that I've been, haven't traveled anywhere. My dog's actually starting to like me more than my wife, I think. I really noticed that here this last couple days.

And that's, that definitely was not the case for the last year. and a half of having the stock. Well, you're talking like 97% of us, right? Like nobody's, you know, and when this whole thing started and, you know, and everything starts getting closed down, it was probably like a two-week adjustment for my family because you just, you're not, even though I'm not on the road at all like you, you know, I'm home every night most of the time and two weeks though of going literally nowhere is uh well it took a trying yeah yeah and actually and then trying is a very good word and then all of a sudden you just kind of find fall into like a little new routine yeah find in the groove man yeah and and it's been great

ever since it's like change in line mates you know you got to find the chemistry you know you just it's a little bit of a change up and you got to you got to go with it like We were in Lethbridge. We had our first, sorry, our second Monster Energy tour, one of our TSN events in Lethbridge. We sold out the NMAX Center, March 6th, and I'd have to look back. It was March 6th and 7th.

So we're coming out of Lethbridge with the sellout. We're rolling into Regina the next weekend for the 13th. We are set up. We're advertising tickets. Tickets were selling great. I see reports. every morning, 14 days out on all of our events. So we're trending right where we were wanting to be, you know,

we're looking at having 3,500 to 4,000 people in the Brand Center. And then this news hits kind of, I think it was about Tuesday. You know, this COVID thing is, you know, it's real. Wednesday, well, Wednesday, we sold 15 tickets. You know, that's how much the news that affected. We sold out Lathbridge and rolling into Regina. to the Brant Center, and we were on pace to do 3,500, 4,000 people. And then come Wednesday, when the news really hit, when the media got a hold of it,

we sold 15 tickets on the Wednesday, which we should be selling about 3, 400. So we ended up, Scott Moe, Premier Moe didn't, I think it would have been the 16th. Monday, the 16th is when he was putting the ban on gatherings over 50 people. but we we did what we thought was the right thing and we we pulled the pin Friday at about 4.40 p.m., which was, you know, it was like, do we really do this? Like, you know, we didn't. And it wasn't an easy decision. The PBR actually was in the U.S. was in Atlanta, Georgia that weekend. And they played to an empty house.

Well, the NBA walked out on that Tuesday night. So that's right. Right. So, and the PBR actually just did an event in Guthrie, Oklahoma, made for TV only. We're the first sporting group to do an event. Just, they awarded the champion today. Really? Yeah, yeah, at the highest level. But our athletes can't, because it's still non-essential travel, they can't.

We would have had three Canadians that could have been riding there. So until they lift some travel restrictions, we can't do anything. And we're looking at doing the same thing here in Canada. we might just using an exhibition arena here in Saskatoon and set up what we would have for TV that would be in Sastel Center or the NMAX Center or whatever.

We'll just make it look and ready to go and do some events with no fans to deliver our TV obligation for our national television sponsors. And you've got to get creative because you don't like, I assume that has to go on. then at some point somehow.

I have been relaying what the PBR has been doing to the NHLPA because they're in the same boat. Like this is my livelihood. PBR bull riding and national hockey league and well hockey in general, you know. So if, you know, here's a concern of mine. If, if they're not going to allow fans, let's say, they're talking about they need a cure, they want to have a cure for COVID before they start filling buildings. okay well yeah the NHL might be able to to survive for a year or so with no fans i don't know how

the owners aren't going to want to continue that obviously but what's the american hockey league or the east coast league or the western hockey league they can't survive with no fans not a chance markets like prince albert well lloydminster junior a you know i've you guys you got to have those fans that's that's the only way they survive so what happens to hockey Like, so I've been, there's been no days off in these 40, whatever, two days since. We rescheduled Monday morning. We got added after the Regina event. And we had everything rescheduled to the fall.

I was supposed to have six events in May, four of them being the Monster Energy televised events. So we've got them all rescheduled now to the fall. But there's no saying we can do it in the fall yet. But at least we have time on our side. So it's allowing me to focus more on the hockey thing right now. One of the other things I read on the NHL is the salary cap, right? You're talking about what happens with the AHL, all the lower levels. Well, if they have no fans in the stands,

they're already talking that the salary cap might drop. And, well, last time I checked, how the heck does that work with everybody then? Because not everybody's, you know, on the salary cap's, what, 80 million, 79, 80. 81.5. Thank you. and if all of a sudden you drop down to even 75 let's say how many teams are already over that and how do you get under that that's why i just forgive me i'm moving around here on you just getting my phone plugged in um i don't i don't think um i don't think the cap goes down next year

but i know i'm pretty confident i won't go up um because there's too many teams that'd be in too much trouble right now to try to get under that cap. Like last year, the cap was supposed to go up $1.5 million. And it was supposed to be at $83 million. And those GMs, I promise you have never worked as hard as they did last summer to manage that. I had one GM. Actually, the assistant GM tell me every day, every day they get to the office in the morning. and the first 30 minutes is discussing how they manage their salary cap that day, that day, not that week, that day.

So it's big business. They all have capologists now and those guys that work those numbers for them. So I couldn't imagine if it went backwards. Like a team, like Las Vegas, for example, they're pushing it right now. Like they're at it every day, Washington Capitals. And they got to get, you know, are they going to re-sign Holby? I don't know. They got to get a, they're pushing it every day.

And to lose a million and a half doesn't sound like a lot. But I know what a million and a half did to my negotiations on Michael Furlin last year, it's not going up a million and a half. So I couldn't imagine it going the other way. July 1st, like one of your funnest days or not? It's a rewarding day and it's also an ass kicking day to do. So it can go either way. Do you like, you could, well, you get a week to talk, like usually June 23rd or 24th.

I was just going to say. Yeah. The interview period start. Yeah. Have you enjoyed that? Because that's new in the past, what, three, four years? Yeah. So that allows you to get rolling.

And then, yeah, sometimes you can, you can have some, you know, commitment. It's done four or five days in advance. So, yeah, I like July 1. I don't know when July 1 is going to come this year, though. We will have a July 1st on the calendar, but it likely isn't going to be free agency for the National Hockey League this year. We have to, you know, we've got to have a draft. We're supposed to be in Montreal the end of June.

We're not going to be there. And how do you determine who picks first if you don't have a Stanley Cup champion? So where's lots of scenarios and, like, you know, they got to play out the rest of the 12 game. They can't just go on a win percentage or, you know, there's been talk that they go back to 68 games and they'll take those teams to, you can't do that. You want to win a Stanley Cup with the asterisk besides it saying COVID year,

less than C, no, no, no, you don't want to do it. You can't do that. Ownership doesn't want that. General managers don't want that. The players on the bubble, they don't want. that like they want a chance to you know the Ottawa senators we know aren't going to make it you know the New Jersey Devils but there's a lot of teams right in the mix the one thing I learned I was researching the Spanish flu and in 1919 in game six of the Stanley Cup finals they

shut it down and that was Montreal Canadians were playing the Seattle metropolis Metro Politans. And in game six, about six hours before the game, they closed it down. And I guess on the Stanley Cup, which I've never seen, or never looked that hard out, I should say, says no winner or something along that lines. Really? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. And right now, as it keeps progressing, although, you know, you see Saskatchewan, and we're hopefully going the other way. We're hopefully, they got a five-phase plan out now, and it looks like, you know, if things are okay, they're going to start to, you know, but like you say, if they want, I don't know, it's, you look at the United States, it's not the easiest thing to just be like, boom, light bulb, let's go back to filling buildings and playing some hockey games. It ain't going to be that easy.

No, no, it's like, you know, they're not going to be playing hockey in Madison Square Garden anytime soon. And I'm not a scientist or a doctor, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. You know, you're in a hot spot in the world, basically, right now. So it's going to be challenging. No, there's talks that, you know, one city out of each division or out of each, yeah, out of each division, sorry, will be the home ring. And I believe Edmonton is the Pacific decision. Right now. Yeah.

So each team will have their own hotel. It'll be interesting. The PBR got a lot of sports coverage. ESPN picked up what they were doing in the U.S. So there's going to be there's going to be commissioners taking a look at how they did it. And I got to give Sean Gleason some credit for what he did. I was on the emails, reading the emails. And like I said, I've been talking with the PA on what the PBR was doing and informing them.

they're going ahead and doing it, which they couldn't believe they were going to get it done. But Oklahoma is one of the states that's partially open. They actually wanted to do it the week before Easter, but the community at Guthrie was in an uproar over it. So once you had that kind of pushback, they had to slow it up. But they were ready to go two weeks ago with this plan. So it'll be interesting what happens, but they've got to get these 10, 12 games played and get the playoffs going.

made for TV. I think that's the best for the game. But again, we've got to look out for the safety of mankind. Yeah, absolutely. We've never had to say that. We've never had to say that in our lifetime. But it's a fact, you know, it'd be nice to get this cure figured out and we get our lives back to normal. And I've got the same issue.

I want to, you know, I want to fill the Lloydminster exhibition building up here in December. for our PBR. That's, you know, I want to get back to work. I'm, you know. I'm unemployed right now. I'm unemployed, Sean. Oiler fans, oiler fans might kill me if I had you on for this amount of time and didn't ask about

Ethan Bear. Because I know you represent Ethan Bear is. Right there, man. Right there. It's my shirt. I didn't realize we were, I swear, I didn't realize I was, we were going to be I did not know that. I thought I just was going to talk to you.

I didn't know I was. So that's, I got the COVID scruff like you and I just wearing a t-shirt. So anyway, back to Ethan Bear. Well, I would think I'm in like most of Euler fans. We want to hear that he's getting signed long term and he is going nowhere because he has been an absolute pleasure to watch. He has been. That's what makes the job fun is when you see a guy that, has kind of taken an opportunity that was given

and literally run with it. You look at some underlying numbers of his. Like he's got some great numbers. We obviously, we haven't even talked yet. So there's no rush because we don't even know when the 20, 21 season is going to start yet. We've got to get through this one. But I would expect that Ethan Bear would be a priority

for the Edmonton Oilers. you know, they got nurse signed up. They got Jones signed to a two-year deal. So he would be next. They got Cassian signed. So I would think he'd be the next piece to the puzzle that needs to get done with Ken. I spent so much time on the phone with Bill Scott and Bob Nicholson the last 10 days or two weeks. But it was obviously in a different situation.

So, you know, Ethan's at home. He's getting to skate a little bit on the reserve that are at a chapway. He's just enjoying some downtime. But there's a kid right there that figured it out. He learned how to be a pro. He got that little stint in his first pro year, and he never got one game last year. He suffered some injuries.

But he also didn't, I don't think he took his off ice as serious two summers ago as he did last summer, which is obvious. And you could just see it in his face. We had dinner in October one night after the Washington game. It would have been in October. And you can just like the kids, he figured it out, he's in superb shape. I think his hockey sense is off the charts. That little pass that he can make out of his end, like so calm, cool.

And, you know, I just keep telling him, just get it to that. captain like pass that guy the puck you got dry saddle you got nude you got some really good players you know what just make that first pass and that's what he's been doing and you know he really didn't even get a bunch of opportunity on the power play you take a look at his numbers in seattle and and barsel's numbers well barzell's a great player not taking anything away from it but who do you think was teeing the pucks up on the blue line for barsel and making those passes it was uh it was Ethan Bear. So there's a lot more. He's got a lot more to show. Well, and you can see that when he's playing. Like when he first stepped on the ice there, however long ago that was now, all my days

are mixed right now. It doesn't matter. But when he first came on, like, you can see, oh, there's something there. Like there is something there that's going to be fun to watch for years to come. Yeah. Well, and he's, and the confidence that he, you know, he's been having fun. He loves the game and he's got a really good supportive family. Great family. Again, you know, I think,

well, he was a bantam player when I, when Ethan come on board. So I've, you know, you build a relationship with mom and dad first, right? So he got drafted out there to Seattle and, and they drove out once a month, minimum once a month to see him in Seattle.

So lots of support from home and, he's figured out how to be a pro. Well, really appreciate you coming on here and sitting down with me. It's been a lot of fun. It's been very, very interesting. And I could probably hold you here for another hour, but it's one of those things where I don't want to overstay our welcome because it's been a lot of fun.

And I can see where down the road I'm going to be hassling you. And I probably caught you at a perfect time because, I mean, you sound like an extremely busy guy and uh well this thing's open up your unemployment unemployed right now but that means they get an opportunity to sit down with you for a little bit yeah yeah your timing's impeccable Sean well we'll do the final the final segment it's five questions it's uh the crude master final five shout out to heath and tracy macdonald here in town they're sponsors of the podcast and uh so it's just five quick questions longer short as you want so if you're If you could sit down for a beer with one person, who would you want it to be?

It could be past, present, anywhere around the world. Who would you want to sit and pick the brain of? My grandpa, Wes, I never got to meet him. He was killed in a car accident when my dad was 16. But I hear lots of stuff from family, how I resemble him a little bit. So that would be, I'd like to meet him, have a beer with him. And I know he'd have the beer. for sure from what I hear.

Are you a beer guy? Yeah, but I like, yeah, tequila. I'm a tequila guy, rum guy, scotch guy, but tequila. I really like my tequila, good tequila's. I'll remember that next time you're through Lloyd will hopefully be in the podcast studio and I'll sit you down for a tequila. Okay, fair enough. If you could represent one athlete,

doesn't matter the sport i'm not saying hockey i'm not saying bull riding i'm saying if you could represent one athlete right now across any sport who would you want to be any sport oh well the great one wayne gratsky for sure i think uh yeah wayne yeah that's not a bad choice i was i was uh i was expecting like i would have done all right on that i was expecting like Muhammad Ali or well actually I was it even Jordan right but none of those Michael Jordan was going through my mind it was for sure it was but none of those are bad

real answers because I mean can you imagine being Krakski's agent yeah yeah the only the only problem you would have had back in the day was you know they weren't making $20 million contracts not that they're making what's the highest now 13.5 yeah but you you'd make a living off Wayne after hockey, you know, appearances, all that stuff.

So that would have been the gift that kept on giving when you represent the great one. True. Just like Brady. Brady is another guy. That was like, I thought of him too. How much fun is Brady going to be having in Tampa Bay and now getting Gronk there? Yeah, that'll be changing for the ownership and the fans, everything. You watch, that's awesome stuff.

I love that. That's what I love about sports. What individuals can bring to a franchise. It's like Michael Jordan, obviously, to the Bulls, you know, Connor McDavid to the Edmonton Oilers. I hope Ethan Bear to the Edmonton Oilers. You know, that's what I love about sports. If you could have, if one organization approach you to come join them,

what organization would you want to join? Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas Golden Knights. Yeah. Love the city. Favorite city. in the world. I've never been to Vegas. How weird is that? Seems like the easiest place to get to. I'll have to get there. Your final one is your favorite team was Philly, yeah? Growing up, yeah. What guy off that team would you've wanted to represent?

Pick one. Probably Haxie. Ron Haxdahl. Ron Hickstall? Yeah, he's a beauty, man. Western Canadian boy. He's the beauty. He's the beauty. watch this, just highlight, like, YouTube, Ron Hextall. He's a beauty. No, Ron Hextall was a character. That's the way I would describe Ron Hextall's playing style. Yeah. No, I'd have to say him. Well, cool. Well, thanks again for hopping on with me. Jason, really appreciate it. It was my pleasure, Sean. This was, it was fun. I don't get to talk like this and get asked questions about stuff. I usually keep a lot of that stuff to myself.

So it was a lot of fun. I appreciate you having me. Right on. We'll have to do it again sometime. Yeah, I'll do that. Let's do it under better circumstances when I really do have to try to find some time to get this in. The last 40 days, we had plenty of time. We could have got this done, unfortunately, but we'll get through it.

Absolutely. Well, thanks again. We'll see you at the PBR in December. Now we're talking. I'll make sure you're lucked after. All right, that sounds good. Awesome. Hey, folks, thanks again for joining us today.

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