Shaun Newman Podcast - Ep. 77 - Sportsnet - Colby Armstrong

Episode Date: May 11, 2020

On today's episode I was joined by Colby Armstrong. He won a Memorial Cup with the Red Deer Rebels, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins, played on a line with Sidney Crosby, was dealt on Trade Deadline to the Atlanta Thrashers (Marian Hossa went the other way), has appeared on the Spittin Chiclet's Podcast & now can be found on Sportsnet. (thats the quick & dirty) Unreal time with this guy. Enjoy All episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts, Youtube & Spotify.

Hi, I'm Colby Armstrong and welcome to the Sean Newman podcast. Welcome back, folks. Monday is here and man, do I got a great one for you today. First off, happy belated Mother's Day to all the ladies out there. I know I am married to one of the best I had, and I had one of the best growing up. So happy Bladed Mother's Day. Hopefully you all got spoiled. You all deserve it. Let's get on to our sponsors of today's show. Lloydminster Regional Health Foundation would like to thank our local healthcare team who responded so quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our local hospital leaders move fast to secure life-saving supplies for our 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, hats off to all of you that donated. Thanks to the strong support from all of our donors over many years. workers are empowered to care for all of us through the Lloydminster Regional Health Foundation. If you're looking for ways to help, 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 of items that have been purchased or are still needing to be purchased.

If you're interested, you can donate either by calling 306-82061 or visiting online at LRHF.ca backslash donate. Chris Weeb, Kiva Concrete, open for business, specialty in commercial agriculture and residential. Basement floors, driveways, sidewalks, patios, garage pads, shops, barns, and countertops. Essentially, if you can dream it, they can do it. Give the boys a call. 780-871-1083. Kenny Rutherford.

Rutherford Appraisal Group. In these difficult times, if you're in need of any appropriation. The appraisal work from bank loans, setting a fair purchase price, whether you're buying or selling any type of real estate, shop, homes, farms, cabins, restaurants, etc. Give the K-Man a call. That's Kenny 306, 307, 1732. Carly Closs and then the Windsor Plywood team. Open regular business hours. Call ahead so they can help with physical distancing.

They have curdside pickup or free in-town delivery while this current situation is at hand. Call and ringette. CR sales and marketing is hoping everyone is staying healthy and safe. If you're looking for a unique and cost-effective approach to sales and marketing within the oil and gas industry, give Colin a call. 7808, 71871, 1417. Corey Dubik, Midwest flooring, open regular business hours. You can either call, stop in, or shop online. Abbey Road flowers and gifts, I really hope everybody went and bought some flowers for their mothers, They're temporary closed walk-ins but are doing curbside pickup and free in-town delivery.

They're open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Give them a call 780-875-2-211. I don't think you need a special occasion to buy that significant other. Some flowers, folks. Just throwing out some life advice to you. Wander and Wild has teamed up with Let's Walk to Talk. They got tons of clothing, guys. If you look them up online, anything you buy off the Let's Walk to Talk gear, $10. goes back to Let's Walk to Talk, but they got lots of cool stuff. I'm currently wearing one of their hockey life hats.

It's pretty kick ass. Grid athletics, check them out on Instagram or Facebook. They still have a great deal going on, where if you spend $100, you get a $25 gift card back to a local business here in Lloyd of your choosing. Factory Sports, Taylor Holt and Nathan Mullick, give them boys a call. Look at you hooked up here for all your summer needs. I know we're all talking about ball and whether that's going to get going. They got it all there.

If you need a bike, you know, there's a ton, man, there was a ton of bikers out today. We took the kids for a bike. Tons of people out there. If you're looking for some new wheels, take a look at factory sports. Give them a call 306, 825-7678. Now here's the factory sports tale of tape. The guy on the show today won a Memorial Cup in 2001 in overtime. Won the last game in the year, 6'5 in overtime.

Oh, what a night that would have been. In 2001, same year, he was drafted 21st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He wouldn't crack the lineup until 2005-06 season, where he would begin his career in the NHL, that is, and he played the next three years. 08, he played on the line with Sidney Crosby. In 08, he was traded at the deadline for Marion Hosa. He played the next two years for the Atlanta Thrashers

during these years, 2007 and 2009. He'd play in two world championships for Canada and take home a gold in 2007. 2010-2012 saw him play in Toronto for the Maple Leafs. And 2012-13, he ended his career for the Montreal Canadiens. Now you can find him on Sportsnet or as an analyst for Pittsburgh Penguins games. I'm talking about no other than Kobe Armstrong. I had a blast doing this one, folks. I won't hold it up any longer.

So without further ado. Appreciate you sitting down with me tonight. It's a pleasure to have you on. I got the opportunity to sit and watch you this morning, do your little home show, whatever you guys are doing. Now, Sportsnet, come riding up on a horse, and you have me chuckling. So appreciate you hopping on.

Yeah, yeah, no, it's got a lot of downtime right now. Things kind of obviously just halted with work and the pause with NHL. And, yeah, that's what we're doing now. exactly what you and I are doing and they're putting it online or they're using it to try to build content for other things and, you know, everyone had to kind of, you know, adapt on the fly to what was going to happen. Like, I live in Pittsburgh, so I'm sure you guys are getting all the great 80s and 90s games of the past and, you know, that's what we're left with right now.

So, but, yeah, I mean, it's, it's been a job that I've really loved doing and being involved in hockey still. And now it's just different. I'm stuck at home with my four kids and I sneak away to hide and go to work and record a few things every once in a while from home. So this is the life we're in right now. I got three kids under four. So I feel you're paying.

How's being at home with four children full time? I have a nine-year-old boy who I got to drag him out of his room most days. He's on his fortnight with his buddies, get him to do his homework, get him to try to do something normal. We're stuck at home and then I got three daughters. So from six, four and three years old daughter. So yeah, we're fairly busy, constantly cleaning up. Dishes like crazy. Somehow laundry is like a massive thing still. We're not going anywhere, but it does keep you pretty busy. I just did some baths for some of the girls just now. So we just got down here in time to talk to you. But yeah, they're full days for sure when you're at home and appreciate when they get to school.

and how nice that little break is during the day. And well, you kind of think back. Like, I always complain to my mom and dad, and, you know, my dad's from Lloyd, but I complained to him. And I remember one time I was complaining about something recently, and he started laughing. And I said, what are you laughing about?

He goes, pay back some bitch. So I'm like, yep, yeah, you got to think back to the way you were with your parents and however you were at those ages. and going through a global pandemic being stuck at home all this time is a lot of parents are trying to keep them busy and stay on top of things and I'm in that boat right now. Yeah, I was doing a little bit digging on you yesterday and then today.

And the wife was in as a teacher. And so she had some developmental course today. So she was downstairs trying to work. And I'm trying to like listen to a couple things. and I got a four-year-old on one side, a two-year-old on the other, and I've got the little baby trying to feed them, trying not to lose my absolute top as I try and listen to something. I don't even know what I'm doing here.

It's impossible that. It's like you've got to find a place to hide, you know? You got to find a place to hide. Even for like that, go in your room for just a bit. Like you need your own time. So I think that's been important through this as well. But I feel your pain, man. Those are tight ages with three kids.

Great there with your hands full. Yeah, I'm trying to, everyone's trying to work from home right now. It's just wild. It's just absolutely wild. So hopefully we can start digging ourselves out of this. I know here in Pennsylvania, I'll say this. We had people golf and we opened up the golf courses finally here on Friday. And I live on a golf course out here.

And just to see, like, people coming by and golfing. There's like live sports, right? So I got live sports now. It's really cool. But just to see, like, people moving about, like kind of some kind of normalcy starting to take over. it's like a it's like a shot of adrenaline almost it's like life blasts in you it's like okay okay okay you know your engine starts ticking a little bit so it's hopefully we can get back you know to a little bit of normalcy I know it's going to take some time but it was nice to

see people out golf and I haven't been out yet obviously poor kids you yeah I'm screwed they're just starting to Alberta and Saskatchewan just starting open golf courses here in May Nice. But I'll give you a nice visual. Yesterday was my birthday. And for my birthday, I got to hide away from the kids for the day. Go out in the outback of Saskatchewan with a 22, a box full of shells, and a full case of Pilsner. And she was over all day.

It was beautiful. There, happy birthday. Yeah, there you go. That's good for you. Well, turkey season opened up here on Saturday. So that's big here. So I'm sure there's lots of guys just waiting for turkey season to open up. and I know my father-in-law and a bunch of my buddies went out with their kids and stuff.

So that's saving a lot of people's lives too, getting out there going, just sitting in the woods and calling in some turkeys. I know that people are enjoying that right now too. So we got golf and turkey season. That's big. Right on from Pittsburgh. That's awesome. Yeah. Now, with what we do here is we kind of go back over your guys' career.

I know you'd mentioned listening to Maple Toth. talk about the rebels. I'm curious. So everywhere that I look, and you mention your dad's from Lloyd, everywhere says you're from Lloyd. And every time I've seen you on SportsNet where they bring that up, you kind of correct them and be like, well, kind of, but not really.

So are you from Lloyd? Well, I was born in Lloyd. So the story is my parents, my dad's from Lloyd, lived in Paradise Hill, though, at the time. My dad was playing hockey out there and working on the patch, and my mom was teaching skating. out in Paradise Hill. And then we moved to Ontario for like a year.

And then we moved to Saskatoon, and that's where I grew up once I started school. So I was raised in Saskatchewan, let's just put it that way, and grew up and played minor hockey and went through school in Saskatoon. And that's, you know, where we live. My parents still live there now. My sister still lives there. Try to get back every summer, at least now. And when I played, I had a place there and lived there all the time.

So spent some weeks. every summer as a kid as well up at Loon Lake where my aunt and uncle have a place up there and been up there quite a bit. I know I think Holpe's family, his grandparents, I want to place just on the corner from my aunt and uncle. So I saw him while he was going through the junior ranks. Didn't see him too much after that, mostly in Saskatoon working out and playing some summer hockey when he was there. But man, he's turned out to be a hell of a player, hasn't he? And yeah, just in and around that area has kind of been, you know, where. where we've kind of hung out as a family, obviously grew up and spent summers.

Yeah, and Loon Lake's a beautiful spot. Awesome, awesome place. Now, did I hear your mom was a skating coach? Is that figure skating? Yeah, that's figure skating and obviously got into like coaching, you know, hockey and power skating with a lot of hockey players and does that a lot in Saskatoon now. But mostly just a bunch of, I think mostly just, little kids right now.

And she has, like, I think a few figure skaters that are a little bit older that she still teaches and coaches. So, yeah, she's been doing, I don't even know how many years she's been doing that. But well before, I think, she ended up in Lloydminster and then ended up in Paradise Hill, a little bit before that. So far before I was born, she's been, and she's still going. She's still going in Saskatoon. She's still working and skating and bending over to talk to stock those kids and picking kids up

and shooing parents away. So yeah, it's still going on for her. I assume with her being a skating coach, you were on ice then at a very early age. Yeah, look, we have pictures from the old Paradise Hill rink of my sister and my brother and I just on the boards and skating in the rink with my mom and dad and can skate out in Paradise Hill

and in the carnival, Paradise Hill. Like there's some funny pictures. There is some funny pictures. And she did eventually coax me into becoming a figure skater as well. So I was doing hockey and I was doing figure skating. But it all started just kind of, I was a rink rat, you know. I grew up at the rink with my mom. And, you know, even when we moved to Saskatoon, as I got older summer skating school was there.

All the figure skaters came in from all over the place. And they were there for a couple months all summer training and working. And I was at the rink all day, all the time, hanging out, hanging out with all the figure skaters and skating like four times a day. It was kind of the way we grew up. Yeah, it was our, life living at the rink. A lot of small town kids can relate. I have four older siblings that all played hockey and my sister figure skating. So we never left the rink. Yeah. And even in the summer, I know I went back to Paradise Hill a few times like just small town, right, but this happens everywhere. Like they take the ice out and that things like a party machine at the rink, right? Like,

They're holding all the carnivals, all the gatherings, all the, you know, weddings. You know, they have it all going down in the rink and the doors are open and it's like, come one, come all in and out. You can go in any room you want. It's not shut down to anything. Like, it's just a whole community center. So I always found it like fun to get back to, you know, when we went to Lloyd to visit my grandpa or my aunt and uncle or go up to Paradise Hill and go to like my dad's hawks reunion

or whatever it is when he played senior hockey. there. It was always fun getting back to those places and meeting all my parents' friends that they had in those days and see how they rip it up, get the polka music going and have a good time. Your old man used to play for the Hawks then back of the day? Yeah, he did. And I think he coached as well. So the weird circle of like small town and hockey and is like Justin Mapletoff. My dad and his dad are good friends. And I think Frank, his dad, ended up coaching my dad for the Hawks. And then they may have coach together. I don't know exactly the whole thing. And then in Lloyd, there's, I don't know if my dad played with Sam Chapman who's there too and who I think, or Greg Chapman and his brother,

Blair, who got, who lives in Pittsburgh here, who I ended up meeting when my dad just retired from work. And he got drafted like second overall to in the WHA and the first overall WHA, second overall NHL draft pick. And, yeah, and played in St. Louis. in here in Pittsburgh, but played with all these guys and like Wade Redding's old man, Gordo. Yeah, Gordo. So it's like a weird, it's like a weird small town family of hockey. And I end up playing and winning a Memorial Cup with Justin years later and playing

against Wade and, you know, falling Wade all the way up. I thought Wade was the best, you know, coming up through, you know, pee weed, come to a hockey tournament when I was just a little kid. I'd be begging to be like their stick boy or water boy for their peewee team. And, I mean, he was, he was the man as a young guy. obviously as well. So yeah, he's been like a favorite of mine since I've been real young and obviously watch him get drafted as high as he did in the career that he was able to have.

He's awesome. He's such a good guy and still stay in touch with him now. It's too bad. You know, Wade probably hates hearing this. And if he's listening to this, I apologize, Wade. But they got so close to winning a cup. Like, Hillmond would have came off the frickin' morings if that would have happened. Well, with Holby, when Holby won, when they had.

the cup out in Lashburn, it was unbelievable how many people went out there. It was unbelievable. You got a mirror painted on the train overcross crossing. And they got this beautiful mirror of them painted now. You're like, yeah. You know, it's, it's funny because like you see all these kids now that go away to these like academies and all this stuff and they take off or they have to move or, you know, there's different circumstances. The game's kind of different now. But I mean, it does take like a it takes like a town to raise a guy you know it's not just the parents because i was getting picked up my parents could you know we weren't well off it's hard you know to get to get ice and you know get the practices where your parents are working and and to make it

happen so you know those guys on your teams and those communities and everyone that supports you and you know the one kid to maybe come out of those small towns they're pretty um you know your community is pretty behind you as probably being the greatest hockey player to ever play And, you know, it showed when I saw some of the video and the lines that, you know, for Holpey, other guys that bring cups back to their small towns or the places where they're from and, you know, want to show it off to their friends and family and their community. It's, that's what it's all about, man. You know, it's why it's always, I always loved getting home in the summer when I was away.

Because it's always great just to get back to, like, where I'm from, get back to Saskatchewan and see it and feel it and chat with the people. And that's why we ended up in Pittsburgh, actually. Just the people here just remind me a lot of being back home. My wife's from Pennsylvania, but just like that's what it's all about, you know. It's it's comfortable. And that's the way Saskatchewan people make you feel. And you see it in those small towns.

It's awesome. What do I got a visitor? You got a visitor. I'm working here. You got to go. You got to go. Sorry, honey. That's my second oldest.

That's awesome. your daughter's name's mila mila yeah our daughter's name's mea that's small world yeah we got a cruise a mila a live and a lucy yeah that's our that's our crew that's awesome that right there just made my day my wife literally sent me today uh a guy on like NBC or whatever he's sitting there talking and he's trying to give like a uh you know this complicated answer and all of a sudden you see like a two-year-old come walking in, and he's like, I apologize, I apologize. And then all of sudden, on one of those rollers, whatever they're called,

where the kid can sit and move his legs and it rolls around, all of a sudden, like, a one-year-old just comes strolling in by himself. And then the nanny comes in and she's caught on camera, and he's like, oh, my God, she's trying to grab them and pull them all out. Yeah, that's, I saw that clip through. That is hilarious. And that was just funny because that's from working from home, but now everyone's doing it.

So I can imagine everyone's Zoom calls or whatever they're doing when they're actually trying to, you know, work deals or, you know, keep business alive. And you've got the whole family walking in and out of your Zoom shot. So we're here, you hear some funny stories, people with no pants on and everything, right? That's right. Girls, you got to go. Lucy, go, go. Go see mom. It's honestly, I find it really refreshing.

You know what? You watch you guys on Sportsnet, right? And you guys always have like these magnificent, magnificent. magnificent sets and they're so like they're just they're just amazing right everything's so professional and now nobody can really everybody everyone's like well what can we do right this is what we got to do it so now this is what i did this is what i did i took my jerseys they were sitting on the floor in the basement i'm like well if i got to do stuff from home i'm going to make it look like a hockey man cave kind of and it's not but i just did that behind me i hung some jerseys up

for the places that i that i've spent some time and played so it made it made it look cool if i'm going to be doing this kind of stuff. Oh, man. Well, it looks really good. I just, I go back to, I think it, I think it makes you guys feel a little more relatable when you got kids rolling into shots, because that's all of us right now. Everybody's dealing with that right now. I can't imagine my wife's on maternity leave. We extended it. But I'm trying to think right now, I'm like, I can't imagine if we were both working full time with three kids. And how do you do that, right? Like, you're trying to be on like a work conference call and she's doing something. It's like, so who's watching the kids? Right? You can't put the kids anywhere because there's nowhere for them to go.

Yeah, we're making it work, man, aren't we? We're making it work. We're making it work like our parents made it work when they were battling all the time when they were raising us. So I guess we're all in the same boat, aren't we? Here's, it's 1997. Go back to 1997. Okay. Yeah. The Bannum draft just happened in 2020. Here? Yeah, crazy.

Where were you when the Bannam draft happened? And you got taken in round six? Yeah. And third overall? I don't even know how many rounds were there even. I don't even know if there were that many rounds, which is, I was pretty late, pick. You were still picked? Yeah, it was, it was cool.

It was really cool. I was shooting hoops down the street at my buddy's house, Brian Heisler, who I spent a lot of time at his place shooting hoops. He had a nice basketball hoop in his driveway. And I was down there playing rebound. with a few of my buddies and no big deal. And I remember my sister came running down the street. You got to come home.

And we were in the middle of a game. I didn't understand. I didn't even know like the draft was happening, you know? It was just like one of those things. And I think that's fairly common story, not like it is today, but it's, I got home and they told me I got drafted

into the Red Deer Rebels or whatever. And I was like, oh, that's great. And that was like it. And I went back down the street and started shooting hoops. Like, it was just like didn't register, you know. It was like whatever. like the only thing that I'd really seen at that time too is Saskatoon Blades and growing up there I mean they were they were hot like they just got Sask Place and it was I mean they was packed to

the top every night for the games back then and watching those guys so that was kind of NHL hockey for me as a kid and obviously watch hockey night and Canada on TV but you know making it a Western hockey league was like if you could you know it was awesome so uh it didn't really register that like a draft meant anything but nonetheless it was it was still pretty cool um you know to be to be selected uh and and yeah like middle of the sixth round i believe i was i was taken um so whatever that means when you go to camp uh did it mean anything when you went to camp um not really and and i went there too like like mapletoff had played a 16 year old there and you know they had steve and pete they had all like

they had all these like they had good players but they were They were all like tough. They were really tough. And I was, I was small at the time. I was actually hilarious story. So I went to my first camp ever. I got to play a main camp game, playing against all the big guys.

And like, there was fights all the time. It was crazy. It was like kind of from like the old Western Hockey League. And it's, it was starting to transition a little bit of a different game, but it was still, it was still crazy. Like my first year was the first year that we went back to warming up

where two teams are on the ice for warmups instead of doing like the split team warmups just in case there was absolute gong shows and warm up, which was so weird, right? Like you warm up and then you come off and have to wait like 45 minutes to an hour before you got back on the ice and start the game. That's how crazy it was. That's how they had to do it to keep the team separated. But, you know, going to camp like that, and I was really small, six-round pick,

really, really skinny. Like, I was like 135 pounds, five-nine, five-ten was, like, smaller guy. and I grew a bunch the next year and they said they wanted me to put on 10 pounds when I came back for my 16 year old year and it was still like Terry Simpson running the team and Wayne Simpson and I came back

for my 16 year old year and I I was laying in the parking lot on a back of my buddy's truck Michael Garnett, a goalie that we had with us at the time who ended up playing in the NHL for a bit and then had a great career over in Russia but we drove up from Saskatoon together and I was in the back of his dad's truck with my legs up in the air on my back,

and my dad's a welder, and he got a guy at work to melt down these little lead plates, and they're taping these lead plates the inside of my thighs. So when I went in to weigh in, I gained 10 pounds. And I'll never forget. It was like so funny, like, calls me into the room, the head coach there, and Terry, and he's like wants to just talk to a few of us young guys and he's like go ahead take a seat so I sat down in the lead plates when you sit down you know it pitched me and I was like sitting there I was like oh my goodness like what am I doing I'm going to get busted you know like what's going on

right now so that's how I gained 10 more pounds and they were thrilled with that when I showed up to camp for my my second camp as a 16 year old they were crazy right gained 10 pounds and they were and I was cheating yeah I was cheating So that's a little junior story. But that was when they wanted you a big and heavy and strong and old time hockey kind of thing. So it was always hard for me to put weight on. And I was just kind of a late developer at that age. But, man, they had some good teams there.

Like when MAPS was there, like he's talked about like Asham and BJ Young and Terry Ryan. And, you know, they had a lot of really, really good players. and good teams. I think they probably should have made a little more noise than they did, but nonetheless, they had a couple good runs with some of the teams they had before Brent Sutter ended up buying the team. Yeah, well, you know, the Red Deer Rebels of my generation, of me watching them were, I don't remember the bad years.

I don't remember any years where they weren't like a top-tier WHL team. What was it about that group? You mentioned Mapletoff. He'd been on here a couple weeks ago talking about the year you guys, 2001, specifically where you win the league against Portland in five games and then you go on to a Memorial Cup. What was it about that group then? Well, we had just kind of grown together.

Like my first year was Brent Sutter's first year, his owner and GM and head coach and I don't know what else he did. everything but you know he he came in there and said the tone and got rid of guys and he ended up keeping you know myself Boyd Gordon Joel Stepp um thrice Toma Saskatoon kid actually all those guys are Saskatchewan guys um Doug lynch like we probably had like seven or eight 16 year olds on our team um Jeff boy Whitka another guy that undrafted and made the team and he's a hell of a player He was unbelievable for us. And, yeah, he ended up kind of designing and picking his own guys.

We had some older guys that, you know, he was really hard on and, you know, really pushed them hard. And if they didn't want to buy in, you just got rid of them. And I think that's where he ended up just saying, you know, I'll keep these young guys. They're going to play hard for me. And, I mean, he had us going like, he had us like machines, man, since we were 16, like we were machines. And, you know, you turn that over to the next year after we won, just, for example, you know, Dionne Funnone. comes in, Colin Frazier comes in, Cam Ward came in, like, we had good players. Yeah, all three were really good 16-year-old players for us the next year. But, I mean, they were machines,

too. Like, those guys were absolute machines. And, you know, Sutsi had the plan. Sutsi told us this is the way it's going to be and, you know, let's do it. And all those guys did it. And we had good teams every year that I was there. We were really good. You know, the first year we he took over. We had a lot of young guys and we cracked the playoffs and we lost Dekooten in the first round who went to the Memorial Cup that year. But that was like kind of our first taste of making the playoffs and going, man, like we're going to be good next year. Like we had a feeling we're going to be good. Just the way we played, just the guys that we had, the good veteran guys that we had sticking around for the next year as well. And then a couple trades that put us over the top and getting Martin ERA was huge. and Kyle won big, which was big the next year for us.

And, you know, that just, that just put us over the top. But I think, I think the one thing we always hung our hat on is that we could play any way you wanted to play at that time. And we played again, like, there was a lot of good teams. And, you know, but we could, we could wear you out. Like, in a seven game series, like, no way we were going to lose a series, like seven games, just the way we played as a group. And, you know, our mentality.

And it was, the season was unbelievable. Like, we won a ton of games. It was awesome. And we were ranked like number one. one in the country all year long. And at the same time, like, Sotty did a good job, like, not letting us feel like a ton of pressure, like not letting us get complacent. Like, we were just kind of like automatic, like game to game to game to game, you know.

And it was kind of just the environment that we learned to be in. And that's the way it was. But I think it helped a lot of us, you know, get to the next level and survive and thrive at pro hockey. Well, you had a pro hockey guy leading the way. with a Brent Sutter, right? Like he takes over the team. It almost tells a guy how much impact a good leader or a great leader can have on an organization.

Because, I mean, within two years then of him taking over the team, the pieces may have been there, but he found a way to kind of construct it, you know, and really leave his imprint on it and on you guys, for that matter. Yeah, and you know what? We had a guy in there that had been there for a long time in Carter Sears, who was the guy that, you know, with the head scout that drafted all of us. Like he was with us, you know, through our entire careers. I still talked to him a little bit here and there,

but he was the guy that kind of scouted all the talent, all these young guys that came into camps and the Jeff Boywickos and all these guys that, you know, that their staff were able to find. And, you know, Carter was a big part of putting that team together with Brent and the pieces and, you know, the guys that fit in. And, you know, you don't get too long to get a crack at the Memorial Cup, man. And some of these guys, like we, you know, we lost MAPs the next year, Lupus Chuck was gone, Juan Vig was gone, ERAT was playing in the NHL, it was crazy, the turnover that happens in one good

year when your team's really good. So, you know, you got to hit it when the iron's hot, and our team was good for a bunch of years there. Yeah, well, you guys went to back-to-back league finals. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The last one was a killer. I was so upset about that one. We lost, I think, every game to Kootenie the next year after we won in overtime. Duncan Milroy like buried us with a big O.T.

winner in the one game and in Cootney. And I thought we were going to win back to back Memorial Cups. We were that good even though we had lost a bunch of key players. But yeah, that was heartbreaking for us. But yeah, they seemed to whatever, they seem to continue to turn it out. Because I remember my first year pro like turning on Shaw Cable, I think, when you can get junior games, you know? Yeah.

And it was like the Western Hockey League finals again. And next year it was like Matt Ellis and all these other guys are playing against Colonna in the final again the next year and I was like that like three years in a role from when we were there they're continuing to pump players in and you know fill holes and you know have good team so yeah it was it was a fun run great place to play junior hockey I loved it there it wasn't too big of a place it was the travel was meant like we were rate central to everything and in and out we had some great rivalries with Calgary being so close and obviously in our division and Lefbridge and some of these other places but

yeah awesome awesome town and city to play junior hockey and grow up in. Obviously, the facility we had, too, it's kind of crazy. You go from, you know, playing in, like, your minor hockey rinks and midget AAA and, you know, wherever the heck you are, to go into, like, you know, a beautiful rink there in the Centrium and able to stay on the ice as long as we want and sweet new equipment and gave us awesome hockey sticks. And, like, I mean, I had used equipment most of my life.

So I was living the dream playing junior hockey was awesome. How about billets? I always try and bring up with guys. the billet family. Did you have a family you stayed with for your three years there? Yeah, I did. I stayed with kind of three different families, but predominantly at the end, my last few years,

at a family, the Tomlety family, their dairy farmers just outside of the city. But they had been the longest tenured billet with the rebels at the time. So they had all the glory days when the team started and the names and the pictures on the wall downstairs to go look at some of the guys that they had kind of.

come through there, guys that were playing in the NHL at the time and everything. So it was, that was really cool to be around that and kind of be out away from everything a little bit. So we were about 15 minutes outside the city, you know, get a fresh jug of milk in the fridge every morning when Neil went and picked it up and brought it in after he was working. He was always up and he was always going. He was working. And, you know, when I had a, I had a kind of a cheat code at the time, like everyone watches. video now like crazy but uh neil tomlety my billet dad there he he was the team videographer so he had like a little camcorder that he would video all the games make copies on a vhs tapes give one to

the rebels and then give one i think to the visiting team is how they ran it back in the day and then he'd bring it in like the raw tape was still in like the camcorder bag so like after every single game i'd sit in the basement i'd hook like the whatever those chords are like they're yellow. I'd hook it into the thing and I'd sit there and I had a little camcorder by me and I'd just hit like fast forward to my ship and then watch my ship and fast forward and I'd watch like the whole game. So what did you watch every shift?

What did you learn from that? I don't know. I just see what I could have done different and see what I could have seen differently maybe because it's like totally different, right? Like maybe you have more time than you think or you should have went, you know, you know, took the puck out this way instead. You would have lost a guy or how to gain ice. It's just like interesting to me, see how plays develop from, you know, this is like a bird's eye view camera.

So you get just like you're sitting in the press box watching yourself. So it was a great, you know, learning tool for me at the time. And video wasn't like huge, you know, back in those days in junior hockey anyway. We watched a little bit of video and went over it, but not like a ton. But for me to just be able to sit there and watch it and see that, you know, that's kind of a good way for me to learn. Like, I'm a visual guy. Like, I do a lot better with seeing stuff, you know, and seeing it being done. And then I can think about, you know, ways to have done it better in my head and like a puzzle almost.

And, you know, it was great for me to learn and just I had it right there in my basement. When he brought the camcorder bag home, I'd just take it right downstairs and do my homework. It's crazy to me or interesting to me that at a young age, you were putting in the extra hours of watching yourself. I'm just thinking back when I played junior, I was like, after a game, I just needed to decompress for a bit. Yeah, I know, like I did previously. I didn't even think about it, but it was just there. And I was like, I started doing it. And I enjoyed it.

I liked it. I like breaking it down. I like seeing different things. I like seeing when I did really good. Or if I scored a couple goals that game, I'd go watch and see what I did. I don't know. It's kind of weird. Probably fast forward to the goal part, eh?

Yeah, fast forward to the goal part and see how awesome I was. Yeah. But it was interesting why I did it almost every game. I would do that. It was kind of a way, I guess, my way of decompressing, but my way of kind of figuring it out, figuring it out a little bit mentally on what things I can do or things that work a little bit better.

We used to watch quite a bit of game tape, and I hated my shifts because there's a defenseman, Small little defenseman, I thought I was moving my feet all the time. And the video always showed, I stood around an awful lot. The video never lies, man. No, man. You know many times when I was in the NHL and I was, I couldn't sleep the night after a game because I was dreading, like, knowing that I definitely was going to be on video the next day. Not because we lost.

Not because of anything else. It sucked that we lost. But I was like, he's going to destroy me on video tomorrow. Like, I am going to absolutely get killed. And I was so anxious. I'd be bumped off another line just because I had like two or three bad shifts out of like 18 shifts in a game or whatever you get. And it would ruin my night. I mean, I would absolutely ruin my night.

It's crazy. When you're at that level, the NHL and you're in fine company, fine, fine, fine company. And the difference between having 18 minutes or maybe nine minutes in a game could be the result of a few shifts. I could see how that could weigh on anyone. Oh, yeah. Like, I mean, we can get into it later when I finally crack the NHL and I get a chance like playing with real good players and getting from the fourth line an opportunity to play on the first line. And it starts going really well. And then, you know, you're kind of, you're kind of like that you're not, you're not like a first line guy, but you do a good job where they can put you there. And you're expected from your line mates to make certain plays. But in your brain, your brain's going, man, you're going to kill yourself. Like you can't. do this stuff. You cannot make that play right there. Like you don't like your coach doesn't care, you know, what are those other two guys do. But if you, if you're the guy, you're going to be feeling it and hearing it. So yeah, it's a fine line. It's a fine line at that level between,

you know, those five, five or six minutes extra or less that you get future with the way your game is. Well, speaking of the NHL, fast forward to 2001 the NHL draft in sunrise Florida geez that must have been awfully nice it was it was awesome it was like the first kind of travel trip our family had gone on you know we haven't I think the first time I ever flew on a plane was to go play in the western hockey league championship I think we flew there and busts back I can't I think but that was like the first time I'd ever been on a plane and then the second time I'd been on a plane was after that I flew to to the combine in Toronto, which is like three days after we had a parade in red deer,

I had to leave, which sucked. I hated it. And then the next time with my family. So I started flying quite a bit after we, you know, hockey started flying me places, which was pretty cool. But yeah, like you just mentioned like sixth round pick in the bantam draft and flashed forward a few years later. I'm in Sunrise, Florida here in my name called at the NHL draft in the first round,

which is like, you know, pretty crazy feeling, just absolutely wild feeling. Did you have any thoughts? Pittsburgh, of course, as well. Were you expecting to go in the first round? I kind of was. Like, our team was really good. You just come off winning a Memb Cup. We just came off winning Memorial Cup.

We had a really good team. We had, you know, surrounding cast really good. I got to play, like, up and down the line. up all year long and different roles. So, you know, it's pretty central base for scouts as well. A lot of, a lot of NHL scouts in Calgary and we're just down the road, Red Deer played Calgary at tons. So we got in and out of there a lot. And I think we had a lot of eyes on us, obviously being first in the country almost all year and winning. So that had a lot to do with it. You know, that had a lot to do with, you know, people getting a look at me a lot more.

But like the rankings all year long, like played the prospects game and like kind of the rankings kind of kept coming out. in the hockey news or whatever. And I mean, at the time, maybe they didn't have, like, internet. Like, you know, at Prospects game, I saw Jason Speza in a, in the hockey news, but to actually see him with your own eyes in real life and, like, see what he was because it was like all the talk he's on, you know, in the CHL section of hockey news, like, every week.

So, you know, everything was just kind of new. We didn't really know what to expect. And even, even all the way up into going to the draft. Like, you never know what's going to happen, but I had an idea. yeah, it was going to be a first round pick. How did, back then, was it a similar combine to what they do now where they bring all the top prospects in? Or was it, were you in line around where Wade and them got flown out to specific teams? Yeah, no, I wasn't, I didn't do that.

I went into Toronto. We put us up at a hotel. You know, you go around, they give you a list of which teams want to meet with you. And I remember looking at my list. I think I had like 22 or 26 teams. wanted to meet me. So I was like, holy cripes in two days, I got to meet with all these teams. And my schedule was crazy. I didn't eat lunch one day. It was just like room to room to room, waiting a line, getting in the other room. So it was pretty nuts. And all at the same time doing

the fitness testing. The fitness testing was hilarious though. I yacked so hard on the Wingate test. And like we were just like, we were just like one of the Memorial Cup, you know, so the party was on pretty good. And I remember walking in there and they didn't have like the tight fitting cool stuff that they have now. Like you know how everything's like kind of spandexy. It was like the old like Walmart like muscle shirt and like the NHL logo with like some number on it or something.

I just remember like my, I was so skinny, you know, like my shoulder kept falling off. I kept having to like pull it back up. I was just so young and skinny. And then I got down and do the bench brats and I. I'm like, the guys like standing over me. I pulled it down once. I get it up.

I put it down again. He goes, come on, come on. I go, I'm done. I'm good. I'm good. It was like one plate aside. I was like, come on. You should be able to do better than that.

But I was just so I just finished playing. Like I think it was like a hundred and some games that year counting preseason. And there was like nothing left to me. There was nothing left to me. So it was the little strength that I had was literally just put into skating and playing hockey, nothing in the weight room. So it was quite the funny fitness test I had. Yeah.

It wasn't very impressive. How unreal was it, though, to look at your schedule and go, I'm going to the Maple Leafs, the Oilers? Yeah. I don't know. The Oilers was awesome. I thought I was going to get drafted to the Oilers, and they took Hemsky, I think. I mean, that would have been really high. But I just had a really good interview with them.

And going in that room was crazy. Like you're talking like all the guys that you. hear about like Samanko all those guys low like everyone's in there so you walk in the room and it's just like you recognize every single guy and it's like it's pretty intimidating um but also like super cool like you know to see those guys for the first time like seeing gretsky on the draft during the draft first time i ever saw gretsky in like real life up close sitting there with my parents like there he is oh my god there's wayne like you know it's just one of those surreal things you're kind of at the nchl level kind of and there all those faces and people

that are in the game are there. So, yeah, going around all the teams was, each team was different. Some teams had like different strategies asking you a question. Some teams were just relaxed and wanted to get to know you. And, yeah, it was a really cool experience. It was pretty neat to go through all that. Before we carry on, you have a pen in your hand, don't you?

I can hear it. Yeah, can you hear clicking? Sorry, I'm like, what is that? What is that clicking on? It's a bad connection. No, it's a... It's a ballpoint pen. I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

Yeah, sorry, I'm wrecking your damn podcast. No, no, no. It's all good. It's something I'll easily click out this little spot. It's not a big deal whatsoever. Heck, we've caught it. That's the big thing. Good.

I know I'll get some listener who will be all over me because there's... Yeah. Who's clicking the pen, right? Yeah, yeah. That's exactly what's going to happen. I've been on live TV and, you know, the camera shots are cooking. around and I'm sitting there click click click click click click click click click click click click click click on like probably like just like a little tick you know and uh and I look across

the table and the host is staring at me like like knock it off it's bugging him like I'm irritating the heck out of him you know so I'm like oh geez I'm like oh okay then it comes back on to like the three of us and everything looks cool meanwhile he just gave me the googly eyes yeah so yeah TV's wild when you go back to uh interviews team interviews you mentioned different teams have different strategies. Is there one that just like, you know, you mentioned Emmington being surreal because you walk in and you know all the faces. Yeah.

Is there a team that sticks out when you just look back and you're like, man, like, why were they asking those questions? Yeah. San Jose, I remember, was a pretty tough interview. Like, asked some questions like about the Western League and how tough we are and certain things. And I was pretty confident we were like the toughest, you know? We had the really tough players.

And, you know, I played on a team with, like, Vandemar. We had, like, you know, Stephen Pete was in Calgary at the time. Goddard was in Lethbridge. Like, our division had some pretty crazy guys. And I was like, we got some really tough guys. And we just finished playing, like, Valdor, who had a really good team. Like, they were unbelievable team. And, you know, I spoke to Q and about Simone Gamash, who was one of the best players in the league that year.

If he's tough, you know, and all this stuff. And I'm like, I don't know. He had a good year. Like, I was, you know, being nice and stuff. And then the guy, like, busted, just started naming, like, Sandy McCarthy, George LaRocke, like going through all the guys from the queue that are all, like, super heavyweight to the NHL. I was just like, oh, my God.

He, like, set me up and then just roasted me with actual facts of, like, super tough guys. I was like, oh. I just remember being like, why is he asking me this? Like, I'm not even a good fighter. Like, I don't know what's going on right now. But I remember, like, even some of the teams that were picking, like, way higher than, like, my selected spot kind of thing. thing, like in my range of where I thought I might go.

I remember one time, like, Florida, I think it was Florida. They're like, you think you're going to be a first round pick? I'm like, yeah, I think so. And they're like, oh, well, we're picking, like, you know, I don't know where they pick pretty high. So, like, you know, if you're going to be later, like, what's the point, you know, why are you here? And I'm like, well, you might as well take me second overall,

like I remember answering like that. That's why I'm here. Let's go. Yeah, I remember saying that. They started laughing, you know. So I think they just wanted, it's always good, I think, for them to kind of, you know, there's always trades to be had and, you know, like look at Wade drafted wherever he was. And then he flipped over to Ottawa right away.

So, you know, there's always things that happen. They want to get to no players. It's a good excuse to meet players and see them. And I think they're always kind of doing their homework on certain guys. Well, I'm looking at your career in general. You start off with one team, but, you know, there's very few people in all. of pro sports anymore that last the test of time with one single team. It almost is, you know, Tom Brady.

Here's a guy I thought was going nowhere. And now is a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. I know. Isn't it wild? Yeah. And, you know, even more so now, I think, with salary cap. And, yeah, you get those guys that, you know, get those big eight-year contracts. And they're like the core group guys and the guys that settle in there.

But, you know, I think, you know, even when those are said and done, a lot of them find those guys find their ways somewhere else. So yeah, it's not, you don't get the, you don't get the heart and soul core third line guy that sticks around for 20 years in a certain team or 15 year career anymore. Those guys are always bombing around, finding jobs everywhere.

Yeah, doing what they can, right? Yeah, trying to stay alive, find a spot, find somewhere that fits for the right money so that you can, you know, grind it out and they don't replace you with the young kid that makes league minimum or whatever is on his entry-level con. track and they're all pretty darn good these young kids now. So yeah, you're you're constantly

searching for a job almost every every few years. It seemed like down at the end of my career. What did what did Pittsburgh's interview with you go like? Like did you have a sense that they might take you? No, like totally not like they were that they were like relaxed like Greg Malone was in there who was a head scout at the time ex player and I end up playing with his son Ryan Malone for a bunch years in Pittsburgh, but and Eddie Johnston, who was the guy that drafted Mario Lemieux and coached and now I

sit beside him at every Peng's game when I'm home here up in the press box. We sit next to each other. I love the guy. Great sit with him, but they were the two guys in the interview. And I remember the interview actually, because it was so relaxed, they told me I was wearing like a one suit I had that Brent Sutter bought our entire team, got like a deal. We all

had matching like suits. You did not. Yeah, we did. It was hilarious. And I thought it was awesome, though. Like I wore it all the time. We always wore it. And so I wore it to this. It's like the only suit I had, you know?

So they're like, take off your jacket, you know, relax. And I'm like, no, I'm good. I'm good. And I remember, like, Greg Malone was like, oh, come on, take it off. And he, like, helped me take my coat off. And I just remember my back was, like, soaking wet. I'm so sweating. I was so nervous just my back.

He's like, holy smokes, man. You're back and soaking wet. I'm like, yeah, I know. Like, that's why I wanted to keep my coat off. like go I figure it out and then like they were just kind of like chilling and chairs in the room in the hotel room watching TV and I just sat down they were just like you know had a nice little chat with them like totally casual like really comfortable and nice and I was so like it was off the like totally off my radar when I did get drafted by them but I was so glad I got to come well the way it worked out right but I was so glad I was part of this organization I loved it here even my time in the minors as well that's your draft or is he, I assume, then hanging on the wall? Yeah. Yeah, where is it there? Yeah, that's the one that they gave me when I went up on the stage and drafted and my mom got it framed for me. So it's kind of,

it's really cool. I love the retros, right? Like, yeah, yeah. It's not even that long ago, I swear. And it just, that's a sweet uni. Yeah, it is really, it was really cool. And obviously, like, you know, you get drafted, you know, Mario Lemieux's kicking around there. It's, you know, pretty exciting feeling. and I had one buddy of all my friends because all my buddies are Oilers fans, you know, most of them I got a couple of cute Leaf fans here and there, but mostly everyone's a big oiler, like hardcore Euler fan. I had one Pittsburgh Penguin, like Mario Lemieux, hardcore buddy that was the first guy like I thought of when I got drafted by them.

So he'd like lifelong Mario Lemieux Penguins fan. So it was like, it was really, it was just really exciting to go to a team, obviously, with like guys like him that were there. and then I got to go and see all the other guys that they had. It was crazy. Was Limeu on the stage when you went up? Geez, I'm trying to remember. I don't remember.

I don't think he was. No, I think it was, you know, like Greg Malone and Eddie Johnston and Craig Patrick, the GM at the time. I think those guys were just up there with me. I don't think Mario was there at the time. He was still playing. True, true. Yeah.

What was the first training camp? Like when you go to Pittsburgh and that man's on the ice. Yeah, like something about him and, you know, like I talk about seeing Wayne at the draft. Something about those like great players or guys. Like he's huge. He's like six, five, six, six, six, just without skates on, like a monster of a guy. But some like just like those kind of guys like walk in the room if they leave your like jaw open kind of just look at him. Like you can't say anything.

He has that about him, you know? And so seeing him just kind of strolling through him and he's so big and cool. He walks, you know. It's like interesting, like watching Michael Jordan documentary that's on right now. Like he looks so cool. Like he had the earring. His tongue was out. He walked all cool.

Like he's the greatest thing ever, right? Like you see a guy like Mario, like the same thing. You like just look at him. Like it's just like awesome. It was awesome. Then you see him on the ice and he's like huge and he's like, looks like he's just like floating and he's flying. He's just so smooth.

and big that it's so it was just so different to see those guys but it's like him Straca Covalov Lang Casparitis you know they Morozov at the time like they had like really skilled really really good team and a lot of really good players so for me to come in and see these guys at camp and the way that they could skate and play and think and you know how big and strong they were I was like what am I doing here I remember later a few years later when I was actually, the guys started knowing me around camp a little bit, trying out and coming to camps and in the organization.

And like the trainers are like laughing. They're like, man, I remember your first camp a few years ago. We thought you were like one of the other helper trainers kids, like in here to fold towels because I was so skinny and small. They're like, no way this guy's our first round pick.

Like, get out of here. What did you do then to change that? I'm assuming they got you on weight training like nobody's business. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't super big even at the time, like in the early 2000s there when I was coming up, like the weight training and stuff. But it changed like overnight and boom, you had to like adapt and find a trainer and get working out. So yeah, I was always just kind of like a late developer.

I think I just was a tall, skinny guy at the time. And it took a long time before I kind of became comfortable with like my size. And, you know, I'll tell you one thing though, like with my like skating. background and figure skating and my edge work and, you know, my strength and sturdiness on my skates. I was popping a lot of big guys down at back in the day out of right. You know, when I was playing just the way I played too, like the way I grew up playing like hard nose kind of style hockey. And, you know, my size wasn't like a factor at all. Maybe if the gloves came off it wasn't factor. Guys were way like I'd grab on the guys. I'd be like, oh, no. Like right off the

bat, you know, you can just feel how strong they are. I'm like, oh, my God, no. But when when I was going on the corner with the guy, I handled myself fairly well physically with bigger guys. I saw a video today with children crawling all over me. Of you from your first pro game in the A. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you put up two Ginos that game.

Yeah. What I was curious about was on the board, there's a three or four rookies that go up and write a number above their name and it was money amount. And I couldn't figure out what they were doing there. Do you remember what you guys were doing? It's like guys can just do that randomly.

And we usually have like a team pot that we put it into. And we use it to like fund like a team party or dinner or get the, you know, the wives and girlfriends and team together and do something. And, you know, it pays for catered food. So it's kind of like a team allowance. And you can just put money on the board. I didn't know what it was until I got there either. So you saw my first time doing it.

I didn't know what the heck I was doing. And yeah, really cool thing, actually. They followed our team around that entire season with cameras and filmed the whole season. So it was like a reality TV show with our team. And here I am like 19 years old in pro hockey. My first year, I don't know what the heck I'm doing. It was, it's hilarious to look back at it because I'm wearing some of the worst clothes ever. But just hilarious to look back at like just how dumb I am, you know, just how absolutely dumb I am.

Green, not dumb, green, man. Green. Okay, great. I was very green. I had no clue what's going on. And, you know, there's guys that have been playing, like, you know, in the minors for like 12 years that were on my team. Like, I'm talking, like, grizzled veteran guys that are like, you know, I'm this long, curly-haired kid from Saskatchewan. There's no one. They're looking at you, like, fresh meat. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So, yeah, you got to put money on the board. If we win the game, it goes into the fund. You got to pay it. And the guy keeps track of it. If you're, if you're late for practice or if you wear the wrong clothes, you get a $100 fine or something. It all goes into that, kind of like our own team run little fun that we keep, that we can, you know, tip trainers or, you know, have team dinners or things like that. So that's what that went towards. And yeah, I had a good first night, my first pro game, cranked the junior visor off and away I went and got a couple goals.

Yeah. What was the jump from, you know, junior to a, like professional hockey? How big of a jump was that? Or was it a big jump for you? Yeah, it was. I mean, I guess just like the preparation of every guy you get to see. And, you know, obviously certain guys on your team stand out more than others with what they do. And, you know, you're starting to kind of, and I think kids do it now much sooner.

Like, you know, these guys, you know, have a much better understanding of what the next level is going to be like. And, you know, individually, their preparation or what it's going to take. and what you have to do. And I just, I had, you know, my own thing, but it was like junior kids, just a kid. And then you get there and you see guys warming up. You see the way guys take care of themselves. You see the way the guys, you know, handle themselves around the rink and, you know, on the ice and what they work on after.

And sometimes how you're on your own to kind of do stuff. And, you know, no one's holding your hand and going, hey, come here, let's do this. You know, guys get together and they do it on their own. Yeah, it's an eye-opener, massive learning experience. You know what? I always, when I finally went up and I played with Crosby, I always bugged. I always rip on Cid. I said, buddy, like, you didn't he play in the minors. Like, you have no clue what it's like to, like, battle and grind and battle and grind and like, like, play guys. You never even heard of some of these guys that I had to play against.

So we're savages. They're just crazy. You came right to the NHL and skipped a whole great step of hockey and playing in the minors and learning and developing. and turns out he was pretty darn good though, but maybe just a little bit. I love my time in the minors, though, and I was appreciative of it. And I know everyone's always in a big rush,

and I obviously, of course, wanted to get, I didn't get a game until I got called up. I didn't get called up once due to several reasons. Maybe I wasn't ready, and also the team was going through some financial issues at the time here in Pittsburgh, which is a whole other beast with bankruptcy, and, you know, rumors of the team moving,

and, you know, there's a lot of crazy, stuff going on. So we had a pretty good stockpiled young team in Wilkesbury and we had some we had some good teams as well. So I went from red deer to there to learning how to be a pro to stockpiling, you know, tons of players down in the miners. And, you know, we had some really great teams there as well, had some good Calder Cup runs and a lot of fun, lots of fun in the miners. Well, you just hammered off about 20 things that I got to follow up on now. What the What did the kids say when you were busting his balls boat, not being in the minors? Oh, here you go again.

He always gets going. Oh, here you go. Oh, yeah, the minors. Oh, okay. I always like to get him going. I like to give him a hard time about that. But you know what? For as good as he is and, you know, his kind of path that he had is totally different than anyone's.

but still like just a super grounded like totally great normal genuine hockey guy you know so it's we got we had some great times together man I love I love hanging out with him and you know obviously practicing on the same sheet as him every day was unbelievable and um you know learning from him I was like 23 years old he was 18 and I was asking him 100 million questions you know. He's that good. Yeah, crazy that he sees the game that way. Yeah, I know.

Oh, my God. I know. Like, I ask him stuff. Like, buddy, we're on a two-on-one. Like, where do I go? Like, where do you want me? Like, into being triangle, like, to the back post. Like, it's just a feel thing.

Like, just tell me what you want. And he's like, man, just get off the back of his heels. And I'm like, what? And he's like, I'll just pass it by his heels because, like, you can't move his foot back. It's hard for a defenseman to, like, move his foot. Like, he can move his foot forward and block it. but it's harder for them to like when they're backing up to like move his foot and just like little thing that like he just did you know just asking them questions but understood it as an 18 year old

oh like seeing stuff like that though like seeing stuff like that and understanding that yeah as an 18 year old coming into the NHL is I was just like those like little the little fine details of understanding where everyone is on the ice like all the time in the corner no look back through six layers of defenders and players and to the far side D-man coming down, pinching down to the back door and just right on his tape, like perfect, like out of traffic, out of a pile with guys on him. But he had like a,

he has like a sense of where everyone is. And he always has like outs no matter what because he just, he sees it. No one else does. Like even now I get to go to games. I work here to do games on TV and radio. And I sit up in the press box and he, I'm sitting up there now watching them.

He's doing stuff that I didn't even see in the press box. I'm like, there's no way he knew that guy was there. Like, that had to be like a, that had to be like a, like, just like a hope play, you know? Like, he just threw it to that area. But, like, it's not. Like, he sees it all. It's crazy. I don't know how he does it.

How many more years can he play at that top level? Yeah, what is he now? Holds he now? 33. I don't know. Yeah, he's got how many years left at his deal? Just to be at the top level. I don't know, it's kind of funny talking to him.

He used to, we used to take, they'd have to kick us off the ice. I mean, back in those days, and we were just young, but. He turns, he turns 33 in, and, uh, later this year, August. August, yeah. Um, yeah, he'll play, he'll play out this contract and then what it takes

until he's probably, I think, 37 years old, maybe. And then, I don't know, you could probably squeak a few more years out of that, out of his body. We'll see how he is. But he takes real good care of himself, man. Like, he's dedicated to hockey, I'm telling you. So, but, like, you know, he doesn't, he manages his body so well now. Like I was saying, like, optional skates, practices. Like, he's out there all the time now.

Some mornings, if I feel ambitious, I get down to go watch a morning skate. And it's optional. Most of the teams now are just optional. He's hardly out there now anymore. He doesn't go out for option. I always bug him like, he can go on the option. What's wrong with you? He's like, I'm getting old, man.

I'm getting old. So, yeah, you've got to take care of yourself and he's sure knows how to manage his. He's probably got a team around him making sure. Well, he knows how to manage himself through a game. He knows how to manage himself through a season with practices and through a season with his games and stuff too. So, you know, you become pretty wily and when to crank it up and when to, you know, when to dial it down.

And, you know, 82 games is tough schedule on your body. and, you know, mentally and physically every single season to be at your best. And I think that's probably the biggest thing for me is watching the good players in our game, you know, the great players and how they're, well, they're good, so they get good opportunity to put up numbers and stuff.

But just how consistently good and dominant they are every single year because everyone's watching your video. Everyone knows what you do, you know? Everyone knows how you play. Everyone knows the matchup going in the game. Everyone knows the best demons are going to put playing against certain guys.

It's just like, but to put yourself in a spot when you're that good, physically, you know, also that good just with, you know, your senses and just being that skilled and gifted of a player, but mentally the grind of an 82 game season plus playoffs and then to regroup. And like the Penns went back to about cups when I first moved back here. Like that is an incredible grind. I lost in the first round of playoffs in the NHL, the two times that I made it. I was covering the penguins here doing radio and some other stuff through the playoffs on both. those runs and I was exhausted at the end. And I wasn't even playing that. It was crazy.

So what they put themselves through and how they manage it. And I think that, you know, the best players that do it so consistently every year is unbelievable. Are we going to have playoffs this year? I think we will. I think we will. A lot of guys that I talk to, I think everyone's kind of saying it's just a matter of figuring it out because I don't, I think just think they're so.

many question marks of everything right now. And I also think like what's happening right now, like as we're sitting here talking a week from now could be totally different, right? Like you know, the attitudes change a little bit. People aren't scared. You know, things start to loosen up maybe. We start getting some answers on certain things. Another plan is rolled out on protocol and testing and all this stuff and how they're going to do it. You know, do I think there'll be fans in the stands? I don't think so. That's me personally and probably most people. but I do think we see hockey games. I just think it's too hard for the league that's not making any money right now

and to roll that into next year and the ramifications of salary cap players contracts and escrow is just, it's massive. So I think that on top of the opportunity to finish the season, I think are just two things that I think that's why we'll see hockey. You think they're going to do a full playoff seven-game series? Or do you think they're going to get creative and wait? to shorten that. Well, you know, what was interesting?

I don't know. Did you listen to Ron McLean with Gary Bettman like a week and a half ago? It was a really good. Yeah, it was a really good sit down. And I mean, a week and a half ago in quarantine is like a month. It might as well be. But things changed so fast. But, you know, I thought it was a really good interview and sit down.

I thought it was really good like information. I think people just have to wrap their heads around of like what used to be normal might not be normal, you know, coming up. And we, you know, you know, when Ron, would ask him a question. He said, yeah, that's great, but like we might do it different. You know, and like it's the stuff that we're used to being the same. They're just going to find another way to do it and it might be totally different than what we're used to, but, you know, they might have to try different things. And, you know, so there's a lot out of the box thinking

to try to get this in and will we see a best of five? Maybe, maybe in the first round or, you know, maybe we might see some of that for them to fit it in. For me, the wildest thing to talk about right now is next season, starting hockey, if it does go down and starting hockey in December, wouldn't that be crazy? I think that, like for me as a player, never mind playing hockey in the summertime when you're usually off after sitting on the couch all day and squat and your dog stay in shape. Now you're going to take like a month off or whatever and come back or two months and come back and start in December, like when it's kind of like mid-start of the season, which is like pretty comfortable feeling for most players that you're going to start right there.

It's just crazy to wrap your head around, but this is where we're at. I don't know. If you can get hockey going back around, I think you have, it'll be the only time, hopefully, knock on wood, in the next call it 30 years, hopefully, where you get to just, you could have a little bit of fun here, right? Like you could really try some out of the box thinking. And some of the ideas that have been thrown about playoffs, is March Madness style, which might be a little extreme, but a winner take all.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice and quick. At international tournament style, so you're in pools, you play each other, and now you get through to a tournament style again. Yeah. Or maybe more like a baseball format where you have a wild card game to get in, and then, you know, whether it's a 357 or what have you, I think as a fan, knowing that chances are they're going to go back to the way, you know,

as things, hopefully, whatever that looks like in a year or two years when things start to, you know, you get to have things the way they are and you can go back to best of sevens and 82 game seasons and blah, blah, blah. But for one year, for the next year, it could be a lot of fun. Yeah, we might see something we've never seen before, that's for sure. And this might be the year to do it. Well, and I think, you know, I don't, you would have played through the year where you guys had the league short and season, the 40, what's my last year.

Yeah, I think it was, yeah, 48 games, I believe it was. Did the players like that? Did the players like that, or was that too much? Well, I liked it because we didn't have training camp, which was cool. We just kind of, like, they ended the lockout. We came back and they were talking about because it happened so fast. Okay, we're going to do fitness testing. I remember Brian Giante was our captain.

He went in there and said, hey, we don't want to do fitness testing. They're like, all right, no fitness. Let's get on the ice. Let's get going. Because we had like a week before we started the season, you know, like it started right away. So that was pretty crazy. But like the whole attitude was it was, you know, during the seasons,

I have a marathon, it's not a sprint. There's going to be ups and downs. Like we knew it was a sprint. So it changed the whole mindset right from the start of the season. Obviously getting a good start every year is super important. But, you know, that year was, it was like, it was like full speed ahead right from the drop of the clock. You had to be going all year.

Well, I know when fans, 82 games is, it's a lot, right? even for the most diehard, it's just a lot of games. And when you get a league short in season where, you know, everyone hates it because everybody wants to see you guys play, everybody playing wants to play. It's not like. Yeah. But when you get a league and it is just like every night there's hockey on and every night it is. Everybody knows you got to win the games because you don't get the extra 30 sum at the end, right?

Yeah, exactly. That's really cool. Yeah, it was different. It was cool and it just happened that way. and we just had to go with it. And I think that's what's going to happen right now. You know, they're going to say, all right, if they're going to, you know, play in these four cities that they're going to, you know, decide and pick.

And, you know, all the protocol is going to be set up for this entire thing. And, you know, teams, guys quarantined everywhere and do the tournament style. Like, this is like what's going to happen. They're going to say, what's what we're doing. And the guys are going to go, okay, let's go. I'm sure there'll be some guys a little pushback on it. You can stay in a hotel for a couple months. But, I mean, when it comes down to it, if everything's done properly, I think that's the way it's going to happen.

Yeah, I think I was listening, I think it was you that said it actually, that I wasn't thinking, honestly, I was like, oh, geez, that, okay, that makes sense. All right. For whatever cities, okay, and there'll be hockey with no fans, all right. And then it was brought up, well, what about, you know, an American who has to come up to Canada now? Yeah, yeah. And then what happens when you come up to Canada, and now you're going to be in quarantine by yourself for two weeks on top of everything else? And now you're away from your family and everything else. And you're like, man, that's more complicated than just, hey, let's go play some hockey.

Yeah, on top of that, players apparently saying they want a three-week camp as well. So they've got to fit three weeks of players getting in shape and doing a training camp again after they've, you know, been stuck in their houses for two months. So that's, it's interesting times. It's crazy times right now. And obviously basketball and football is coming up and, you know, canceled the Dang Memorial Cup in Colonna. I was all ready and fired up to go to that. That'd be starting here in a few weeks. That would be nice, hey.

14, 15 days in Kelowna, let's go. It's a beautiful spot. Oh, it's awesome, yeah. This is like, for Canada, specifically this area. This time of year is like the best time of year because you just come out of the long winter that never seems to end. And then it finally does, and you're into what will be around two of the playoffs-ish right now, which means you've just gone through the best round, which is round one.

And now you're in round two. Everything's just ramping up. And hey, the Oilers look like they were going to make the playoffs this year. And we haven't had a whole lot to cheer out out this way in the last, you know, we get to see McDavid every night. And that's a lot of fun. But everybody wants the playoffs back. And we're about to maybe, maybe have a battle of Alberta again.

Oh, I know, right? And I mean, and then you just talk about everything. The Memorial Cup, I mean, the Royal Bank Cup, everything, right? all the different hockey, let alone all the sports. It's, it's, uh, I laugh when you say a week feels like a month. It's like a day and a half feels like a month and fricking solitary, right? Like it's unbelievable. Yeah.

And you know, we would have hockey every single night right now. I mean, first round is unbelievable. Every night, boom, two games, boom, two games, boom, two games. It's unbelievable. It's just action-packed. I'm usually been able to work at Sportsnet doing the first round, which has been awesome in studio every night. Like it's just electric factory. So much on the line, uh, every game. So, um, yeah, I miss it. I miss hockey. I miss games. I miss the excitement. I miss what could have been

this year. And yeah, I do a lot of oilers games at sports net too. So they've been, they've been awesome to follow this year and just seeing how they compete and give themselves a chance to win every night. And obviously McDavid and Dryside will make it pretty fun as well. Yeah, they're, they're pretty good. They're okay. Hey? They're all right. Oh my God. They're unbelievable. I was working the one game, what was it, Drysidal got like five or six points. It was right like last few weeks of the season. Yeah. It's like, are you kidding, like, in a sleep, in a sleep right now.

That's how good he is. So, yeah, it would have been, oil country would have been ramping up pretty good right now, yeah. Oh, and I just think back with Drysettle when they signed him to 8.5 and the place lost, it's absolute uncontrollable shit. Everybody was like, heads were popping off. We've just made the worst decision ever. And this year, every oiler fan was strut around just like, that was a brilliant, brilliant move.

He's made them look pretty good, hey? Yeah. What a bad deal dry sidel side. Oh, my God. Hey, what an idiot, hey, why would he sign that? Now it's going the other way. You know, going back to... He's been that good.

He's been that good, though. Holy small people are not good. Going back to something you brought up earlier, I was actually surprised, you know, when I suggested Sunday, Sunday night recording, I was thinking,

oh, that's a bad time because I know in the States, they release the last dance, the new episode. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jordan,

I'm like, geez, that's a dangerous time for me to suggest because in Canada, it doesn't happen until tomorrow. So I got a day to... You're good,

yeah. How crazy you, I didn't realize, or I guess I was probably too young to realize that Pippin's contract. Oh, I know, like this is the stuff

that we didn't know about her like I didn't anyway as a kid right like like the the business behind the scenes dealings that was going on with that super team so you know I think this has been like for our generation like how old are you 34 34 yeah I'm 37 so like for our generation it's like you know everyone had the starter Chicago Bulls jacket and everyone had Jordan everything and it was like that's every kid at school and we watch them on TV and Michael Jordan on the cereal boxes and Pro stars. Pro stars, yeah, they're so good. And then now we get to see, like, and we get to understand, like, the business and sports and putting this team together and contracts and this and that. It's been pretty cool to see actually how it's gone down because I didn't think anything

other than I thought Scotty Pippen was awesome too. Like, I didn't even think, I didn't care how much money he made when I was a kid, right? You're just going on. He's like Jordan and Pippen are unbelievable. itself. Yeah, that's kind of, they're dropping that at the absolute perfect time. Oh. Like people are getting that right now and that's kind of been driving sports, I guess, for a lot of people to revisit, you know, one of the, probably the greatest athlete, mogul to ever, ever play. It still hurts my brain that he can win three championships.

Take 18 months off, walk back in and win three more. Like what? Yeah, and well, and while he was. doing his other his real championships was like playing he was golfing and like hanging out and like not and like like stuff that we would think that he wasn't doing like he was so casual and just go in and just light up 50 60 point it's like like after golfing all day long 36 yeah no kidding how how tough was it you know as a player you probably felt at first hand all the social media because i mean in the beginning, while when we were young, there just was no social media.

Pretty simple. And then as time goes on, it just, well, it ramps up 110%. And it is a beast now. And towards the end of your career, I would think you would have started to have felt that, yes? Yeah, I think it started becoming a thing with, like, I think I got Twitter in like 2010, which was in Atlanta. I remember we're having our, I think our first.

kid and I was sitting on the couch hanging out and like saw a TV show they were talking about this and like you and me were emailing like I didn't even use email until like stop playing hockey and now everyone at SportsNet wants to email and I'm like I don't even know what I'm like what do you email just text me but but yeah and then Twitter and Insta like it just kept evolving into other things and more things and then you know became like points to train young kids coming in the league on how to understand and use these different platforms and I think it was more people were scared of it at the start of what it could be. And now it's used by players, you know, to build their brands and do different things.

So it's, yeah, it's really evolved into an absolute beast in, you know, sports culture, really. And, you know, we're getting a good taste of it now during this quarantine, man. We're getting all like, oh, everything every guy's doing at home during this quarantine. You know, fans are getting to see that. So, but it's, yeah, it was different, like camera phones to cell phones to, yeah, and everything's come a long way and come a long way pretty fast. Yeah, the technology growth in the last 10 years has been unbelievable. Oh, crazy.

Yeah, it's crazy. When you're playing in Wilkesbury, the HL, you were there under Tarian? Was that the head coach? Yeah, yeah. Well, I was there when I first got it. there was Glenn Patrick. It was Craig Patrick, our GM's brother, my first year. So that was my rookie season, pro hockey and Wilkesbury. And then they fired him and brought in Michelle Terry and who had just been fired by Montreal, I believe, at the time, the year before.

And then I had him there, yeah, for three years and three continued in Pittsburgh, another few years in Pittsburgh. So I had him, yeah, come in and little did I know I'd be having him for like majority of my pro-pro careers as well. Yeah. Well, when you trend or track your career, you play in the A and I didn't realize you hadn't been called up. You said you'd never been called. No, not even games. Yeah, that was tough. That was tough. Like your first round pick, you don't get a game. Like I had other guys getting called up here and there. And I was sitting there. And then, yeah, I played out my entry-level contract. So I had to re-sign.

So I signed like a two-way one-year, I think it was a one-year deal out of that. They qualified me. Okay. So now I had to clear waivers. So I came to camp that year. I had a great camp and they sent me down again. And I had to clear waivers. And this is coming out of the lockout season as well, which was like the best season of American League hockey maybe ever.

I don't even know. But it was like stacked with talent. all like high draft picks like every guy that was on the top six was in the NHL the next year on every single team to getting sent down again and I cleared waivers so I was like devastated I hadn't got a game yet I'm a first round pick I've been playing some having some good years in the minors by then we had some good we had a Calder Cup run and another decent run the year in those other years and haven't got a game yet and then I clear waivers which like no one

wanted to claim me and I'm like I'm like I'm going to Europe next year I'm done like this is it and it's not going to work out um and then flash forward yeah like around Christmas when I got my first call up did they tell did how did you get over that like did you did you did you call your parents and and they talked to you off the ledge or like like like I talked to my agent I'm like what's the plans here like what am I doing like uh you know talking to teammates like what's going on And I mean, no one was really getting called up from our team at the time, though. Like, we had a really good crop in the minors. Like, you know, you look at, you know, those Detroit teams that you talk about,

that, you know, they develop their guys and really season them down in the minors before our guys get, you know, their eventual call up and they get plugged in with a certain spot. It fits. And then they've been, you know, they've been groomed to be that guy to come up after three years. And this is the plan. So I don't know if it was necessarily the plan in Pittsburgh, but financially it was at the time. And then my going into that camp where I cleared waivers, that's the summer that we drafted Sydney Crosby. And kind of everything kind of changed after that.

Like Michelle Tarian was my coach in Wilkesbury at the time. Came down, we won like 22 games in a row. We hadn't lost a game all year. We were that good. And Pittsburgh was kind of floundering and they had a bunch of guys. Mario was still playing and it was Crosby's rookie season and Eddie Olcheck was coaching and eventually they got fired Eddie Olcheck and brought up Michelle Tarian in-house right up to the you know NHL and I just played for him for three years so I was like man this guy knows me this

and he was up there for three weeks and then finally he got gave me a chance to come up and play how was your happy dance when you got that call oh man it was at Christmas too So it was like the first, I think we played two or three games out of the Christmas break in the minors. And it was like a three game and four night joke, you know, one of those things. And I scored two goals that night, like two assists. I think I had four point night. And they knew I was getting called up before. Apparently, this is what I heard after.

And then after the game. So I had like my family was in visiting me over Christmas still at the time. So it like worked out perfectly where they were. were from Saskatoon. They were out east here. They were going to go home, like, I think, the next day or two days later, which got changed to going to Pittsburgh

because the next morning after that game, I flew out, and I played the next day. I played the next day. I flew out at like seven in the morning with Max Talbot. We got called up together. Flew out, went into Pittsburgh, played the New Jersey Devils first game in that day,

and my family all got to come up and watch the game. It was awesome. How unreal of a day was that when you're looking into the the stadium, you know, roll into the dressing room. Yeah, it was, it was crazy. It was crazy. Like, for me, just the emotion of finally getting to do it and, like, just worked out with, like, my family there and just like kind of the feeling the night before.

And then all of a sudden, like, the next day I'm playing. I'm in a hotel across the street from Mellon Arena. I walk across the street for the game. I didn't skate that morning, played the night before, didn't know what to expect, didn't know where I was going to play. The coach is really excited. I knew them. It was like Mike Yo and Michelle Tarian. They were really excited to have me there. They knew me. They're excited for my opportunity. And so that kind of made me feel a little more comfortable. And then, you know, then you just go out and get what they take what they give you, you know? Like I got to kill penalties.

I played on the fourth line and I think I got like 13 minutes my first, my first game, which was I didn't know what to expect. So I was like, man, that's a lot of ice time. I think for a fourth-line guy to get 13 minutes in my first NHL game against, you know, still a New Jersey Devils team that was pretty relevant and good. Marty Broder and still some of the guys that they had there. So it was

it happened like a, it happened like a whirlwind. It was crazy and it was wild, but I remember I was killing a penalty. I came down in front of the benches. I fired a shot like from the blue line as I was coming into the offensive zone, kill a penalty at Broder. Not a big deal.

Like, didn't think anything of it. No, I haven't played against Broder before. He just does like a pad kick. You know how he like would direct it? Like a pad kick breakout pass to the red line. He didn't even stop it, knock it down, pass it. He took my shot, kicked it with his pad to break out going the other way. As I'm changing at the bench and I'm going, okay, don't shoot it at Broder when you're on the PKK

because he's got other ideas going on, you know. That's unbelievable. Yeah, total another level. So that was kind of my something I really remember from that first game. How about when you, when you signed your first pro deal, what did you, everybody's got the story of like, now you got a little bit of money. Did you, did you, like, go buy X? I had to take out, I think I had to take out like a line of credit because, like, you didn't have the money rate away, but like you had the contract saying you were going to get the money. I had like no, I had like no money, you know, like $0.

constantly calling my mom and dad for like 100 bucks to put 100 bucks in my account. And yeah, it's a wild, crazy feeling when you do that. And you go from like nothing to like crazy, crazy contract. And that was in that day when they had the crazy signing bonuses. So it was, it didn't even make sense. Like it was just like I was, I remember like, I remember like just sitting there going like, do I deserve this? like what the heck is going on here?

Like, this is great. I haven't even played a game yet, you know, thinking in my own head. But it was awesome. It was great. First thing I bought was a Denali, GMC, Denali, like SUV, like the big one. And that was kind of my first thing. I didn't buy it right away. I bought it the next year when I was in Wilkesbury a little bit into the season.

But, yeah, it was a pretty cool, pretty cool moment. That is awesome. So you had to take a line of credit out right off the hop. I'm like, yeah, you got to pay for your cell phone now and you get gas and like, you know, I can't keep asking women, dad for a hundred bucks all the time. What, I had a buddy, I was talking about you today. And he goes, you know, and you kind of mentioned it a little earlier on. And I think it's somewhere in between that first season you get called up and maybe the next season where Jim Basile is trying to buy the penguins.

Yeah. The Blackberry guy. Yeah, the Blackberry guy. I mean, he was rolling in the games. I remember every once in a while and there was buzz around, like Jim Ballsillies here, he's going to buy the team. And then we were going to move to Kansas City through that season as well. And, you know, there's a lot of crazy rumors going on.

I think the Kansas City thing was probably more likely going to happen. And I remember I was playing in the game that night. Like Mario retired, he was done. And he came out and made an announcement that, you know, the team is staying in Pittsburgh and we're staying here. a place went just absolutely balkers. Like that old rank could really rock, you know? And it was just like the roof blew off.

It was just, you know, this town's like a blue collar, you know, hardworking down earth city here. And they love their sports. They love, you know, the penguins and Steelers and, you know, pirates when they were good. But, you know, we got a great, it's a great ballpark here if you ever want to go to a ballgame. It's probably one of the best in the league. But they're a big sports town. Like, it's just, it's awesome. So the city, I mean, Mario made that announcement and I mean, look what it's turned into here.

They got a brand new rink, new facility. The downtown's completely redeveloped and turned itself around. It's totally different place from 10, 15 years ago. So it's hard to believe that it got that close. Yeah, like it was that close. And I mean, you know, you wonder why we have, you know, 10 first round picks playing together in Wilkesbury. and you know there aren't too many guys called up and you know the contracts that we as young guys and first rounders you get you know these certain contracts and bonuses all ladled through all the contracts

you know a chance to hit all those and come up and a team that's in financial trouble makes it a lot more difficult so yeah I mean I mean after I got drafted and you go down the list is like Ryan Whitney it was Mark Andre Fleury and his Jordan Stahl or Sidney Crosby, of Gennie Malkin, like they just started rolling these picks in. I mean, you got to be bad to get those picks, but they got really good players and, you know, those core guys that were like franchise changers.

Well, and all of them turned out to be like franchise changers. Yeah, like huge. I mean, even Chris LaTang, who's still here, he was, I mean, I don't know when he was picked later, like second or third round maybe or something like that. I mean, to see what he turned himself, from being like captain the world junior team and having a great junior career but coming in and basically taking over as like the mainstay um you know defender here in pittsburg like he's

you know i get to watch him every night but you know the minutes that he plays 26 minutes like and i'm not talking floater minutes he's playing hard 26 minutes like he's a competitor and he's he's involved all over the ice physically um defends like super hard so you know they've had lucky to have a like him too that's come along and then it's been another another guy just to add to the you know to the stew yeah he was at 2005 he was taken in the third round 60 second third round yeah yeah crazy right yeah he's kind of like uh just outside of the norris conversation almost every single year yeah he's he's he's that consistent and that good and that competitive and i know he's had some injury issues but when he's when he's playing and going you know you put him out there with you know malcolm and crosbie and i mean

It's a pretty good, you know, pretty good triple threat. What was it like playing on a line with Mr. Crosby? It was, it was incredible. It was awesome. It was like the time of my life, man. It was great. Like, he was, I like playing with him because. Before you go, who is the guy that was with you?

Armstrong Crosby and. Andy Hilbert was a guy that we played with for a while. And when I first went up there was me sit in Ziggy Palfi. And then Ziggy retired like middle of the year out of nowhere. Like, see, yeah, Ziggy didn't show up for the rank. And we're like, where's Ziggy? Like, Ziggy retired. We're like, what?

The middle of a hockey season, you just quit. And then they put Andy Hilbert with us. And, yeah, like, my first year in the league, I think I had 40 points and 47 games. And I played, like, the first 12 to 15 games in the fourth line. And I got, like, probably two assists at that time, and maybe one goal. So it's like the pace that we went on was for me playing with Sid. Like Sid got 100 some points that year.

But, you know, to be involved in around that. And like the buzz of the Krasby machine at the time, you know, this rookie sensation and all the buzz about him. And, you know, you're going into visiting team rinks and everyone wants to get a look at him and watch him play. It was just like an incredible vibe to be around every day. Practice or meet our dressing was rammed with media. like the it was it was it was it was so cool to kind of get just get like put into that situation

just by him being there being around that and having more people watch you and more people pay attention via and um yeah it was good our team our team wasn't good but uh it was it was it was it was really fun playing with him because he's he's not like uh he's kind of like I think he's probably heard this he's kind of like a grinder a little bit like he has that the tendencies where he can go and play in those hard areas but just everything else that he has along with that just, you know, puts them above everything. So, yeah, he was fun to play with, like, the little give and go, 10-foot plays with him and out of the corners.

Like, that's the way I kind of thought, like, you know, to get through guys, like, he could go through guys on his own and hold guys off. And, you know, only so many guys can do that. A lot of kids now individual skill-wise can, you know, beat guys one-on-one. But for me, it was like a, it was like tactical more to get in the corner, bump a guy off a puck, free of the puck, said he'd come in, swoop in there, get it. I'd jump out, he'd bump it back to me.

give it back to him right away pick a guy he'd roll back down the wall guy on his hip see you later you're not catching him you know we just run those little like you know three plays to set up the one play and then you know he he worked good in those tight areas he's really good in the corners and in tight spaces and guy on his hip i don't think there's anyone better in the league with the guy on his back so you know it was it was fun just for my game to play with a guy that was like uber elite at playing my game crazy one of the best do it all one of the best one of the best players to ever play the game. And you got to sit shotgun to them and throw up some points. I roomed with them on the road for a few years. You were in Sidney Crosby's room.

Yeah, we were when we had roommates. Yeah. So we room together for a few years. And, you know, after every game, we're on the road, you know, talking to them or, you know, wrestling and beating them up to him starting to get stronger and starting trying to throw me around. I was going, here he goes and the young kids starting to get strong. You know, it was fun. We had a lot of, we had a really good time together. It was fun all the time every day. I think I kept them a little bit loose too.

So we had our good routine that we kind of had set up and we worked good. Although I snored a little bit. He wasn't too happy about that. But it comes with the nose. I mean, when you don't play in the minors and you don't work on your nose construction that well, like you've got a nice Crosby nose. Like, buddy, you've got to go to the minors and grind a little bit, you know? Then you'll start snoring, you know, drizzle yourself up.

Those are fun days. Skipping the miners rate to the pros, I could just be a fly on the wall for that. That would be awesome. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, like, it was fun. It was fun. I like, I love giving it to him. I love ripping on them, his legs and how, look at how big your butt is. What the heck is around? Look at you. Like, you know, he's like, built like the perfect hockey player. He's like five, 10, 5-11, whatever he is,

six foot, I don't even know, but he's, like, he's got, like, the wide base, he's got the butt and the legs,

you know? I'm like this skinny, gangly, you know, like opposite. I just, I just, like,

rip on him, but, man, we had some good times together. He, like, pushed me hard. Like,

he was younger than me, but he, like, push me hard, practice, like, let's go, like,

in a game, like, make that play, you know, like, we got to make, And, like, he didn't back down from, like, you know, we go into Philly and everyone hated them and hated us. And, like, guys are on his back, like, Hatcher and all these giant defensemen.

And, like, he would go, he would go right at him. Like, he didn't care. Like, he was right in there. And I loved it because I was on his line. So I was in there, too. It was just so much fun. It was just so fun. We were just young and didn't know any better, you know?

Who was the biggest guy you got in the corner with and went? Yeah, you mentioned Dary and Hatcher. That was a big man. Oh, that's a good. guy is huge. I caught him like a, like a, I knocked him down once. I knocked Charra down once with a hit. I thought it was like the coolest thing ever. He's a monster of a man. That's probably the biggest guy, Charra, yeah, for sure, as he is like the biggest guy to ever play. He is a, yeah, he's a giant. And I've seen, we've all seen his fights where he, he doesn't look like he should be that

sturdy. Like, he's just so, like, tall and gangly. Yeah, he is. And then all of a sudden, he grabs a hold of a guy and he's so strong, you know? Yeah, he's so strong and big and I mean, it's not even fair. Like, I think the guy I work with Jeff Merrick at Sportsnet, great guy, but he always, I think he says all the time, he's like, Charis, you get the lady bang every year.

And like, everyone kind of looks like, what? And he's always like, yeah, well, he could like kill like 15 guys a year and he doesn't. He's a really nice guy. I was like, oh, that's a great point. Yeah, really good thinking. When you were sitting in the dressing room and you're playing fourth line and what have you, and all of a sudden your name gets tossed on a line with Crosby.

Are you sitting there going like, had you had any inkling that were you playing really good? Or was there a guy hurt or how did you slide up? I don't know exactly what happened. I remember I got given an opportunity on the power play. Like our team wasn't good, you know? So I got out there on a P.P. And I was in Atlanta. It was when I scored my first NHL goal.

It was like Mark Recky, shot. at the net, the rebound popped out, and I just achieved the rebound in, first NHL goal. And then the next game, I think I scored again. We went to Chicago. I scored again. And then I got bumped up to play on Sid's line, like, right away. I was like running a hot hand a little bit and kind of out of nowhere. Harry knew what I could do, though, and he knew the way I played or where I could fit in. And I was hanging out with Sid already on the team and away from the rank, we were hanging out. So we were, we're buddying around a little bit. So it was like, it was exciting, you know, I think it was exciting at the time.

I think even for him, you know, get to play with me. But we were buddies, so, like, worked out good. And then things started going good. Like, we started producing, like, all the time, every game. And it just became like, even if we lost, we knew we were going to, like, get a couple goals a night. Like, our line would produce. So it was that kind of, that kind of feeling. What was the playoffs like in 0-607 that Penguins had.

been, you know, you talk about how they hadn't been a great team. I think it'd been six or seven years. I think it was 2001, I think. Yeah, that's year I got drafted that I think like Casparaita scored that overtime winner. That's right. Kind of made a little bit of headway in the playoffs through a couple rounds and kind of made some noise. Moose, headberg, the goaltender kind of came in out of nowhere. That was like the big thing. And so yeah, yeah, it had been a long time since it had kind of been a relevant team in the league. And, you know, for us to make the playoffs that year, we're a young team. We're still trying to figure things out.

We had great young players. And we came up against Ottawa. I mean, yeah, who was pretty decent as well? They went to the final and they were, I mean, they shit kicked us in the first round.

Like, it was, they were so good. They were so deep. They were fast. They're physical. They could score. I mean,

um, yeah, we were fairly out matched in there. But it was like, it was all of our, young guys and guys that called up and stuff, all of our first tastes of playing for the Stanley Cup. And the team since then hasn't missed the playoffs.

I think they're running the longest streak now in the NHL since Detroit broke theirs, 14 years maybe now, whatever it is. But that was our first taste. And like we lost, but like we were kind of like, we knew we were going to be good the next year, you know. We knew we were going to have like a really good team. So it was one of those things.

It was like, yeah, it was a good taste, but we knew more was to come. And, man, the next year it did. What, how tough was trade deadline day when you get set? Yeah, so that was the next year. We knew we were going to be good. And we were. Like, we came out of the gates. We were playing well.

We were a really good team. I think we were battling Montreal at the time for first place in the conference, flip-flopping around at the time I got traded. So I kind of didn't think I would get traded, which is weird, right? Like you think, I guess like no one's untouchable, but I kind of thought, like, there's no way I'm going to get traded. Like I'm not like a big name or anything. Like what's going to happen here? So, yeah, it was tough because I'd played with a lot of those guys for three years in the miners.

And then, you know, almost three years in Pittsburgh. And then you get traded right at the deadline to Atlanta, of all places. and on a team that, you know, we knew we were just getting good. Like we were just tapping. You could see what was coming. You could see what was coming. You knew we had Sid and Gino. Like we had Flurry.

We had like the pieces were there that we were going to be really good. And so it was like heartbreaking in a lot of different levels for me. Just friends, guys I played with like my whole pro career, a number of years. And we were just starting to get good. So it was like it was brutal. Yeah, and you mentioned the Atlanta Thrashers, which, you know, that's, in the, in the scheme of franchises, Atlanta was a tough place for a lot of places. Well, they, we didn't get too many fans.

I loved living there. Like, we had our two. I got married there. So it was, it was a great place to live and be, but it was, uh, tough. place to play hockey. Atlanta, I mean, you go, you get traded. It's a big deal. You're part of like,

I remember that deal being like, holy shit. Like Pittsburgh just picked up Hosa. I mean, that was a giant deal on that day. But you're walking into, you know, Colvichuk. Yeah. And Colvichuk. Yeah.

Like, there wasn't a whole lot else going on there. but in your second year I kind of all forgot about it until I was looking into it but you also got to play a few games with a 48 year old Chris Chelyos yeah yeah yeah yeah we had

so when I was there I played yeah Colchuk obviously is like you know the face of the franchise and thrashers and forever will be known as Leelie Cochuk's team probably but yeah we had Chelyos who was how old was he yeah he was old 48

and he sat next to me the dressing, which was really cool. He almost killed me one time. I tried this sauna bike riding thing, and I almost died. Jesus. Bad, bad idea. But we also had at the end of his career as well, another guy in Matthew Schneider, who came and played with us also, you know, which was really cool. So, but to have Chelly around, which is, which is awesome, like, I think he was playing in Chicago and, you know, he's from Chicago, or I don't know where he's from. Like, he was playing in Chicago, we called him up from the miners. And he ended up sticking with us for a long time.

But just a great guy to have around. He's so laid back, so cool. And, you know, for our team, he was, like, awesome for us. Because, you know, we needed a good veteran, a guy like that. We've been around a long time, had a good voice. And, you know, he was just also just a lot of fun to be around, like in stories he had. And just kind of that cool guy that he is. It was it was something else to, you know, have him out there and then look and go, yeah,

this guy's like 40 some years old. Like this is awesome, you know. 48, man. Like that is unbelievable. Actually, you know, you look at pro sports. I think Michael, speaking of like the last dance, I think Michael Jordan was kicking around a little bit when he was there too from some of the stuff I heard maybe and, you know, come out after a game and like, you know, there's like Hollywood actor buddies of his at the game that he's

going out to dinner with and stuff. So it was like a whole other world with Chely around too. You know, just a real solid great guy. You're telling me Chelyos was having dinner with Jordan? I think so. Like, I think they're really good buddies.

Like, they're really good buddies. But I'd heard from other guys and I think that he was hanging out with Michael Jordan and stuff. And I was just like, really? Like, I didn't see him.

He had the game. Like, God knows we'd see him because there's not enough fans there. You know, like he'd, there he is. Oh, in the section over there with the five other people. you know it's like yeah that's him yeah who's the who has been the coolest guy you've come

ran into by playing uh wow i guess now doing your job geez you meet a whole whack ton of them yeah a lot of people come through the studio now and uh for interviews i i love that brett kissel i love that guy uh knows the oilers like the back of his hand country singer but um yeah great guy he's not that far away from uh from a lloyd boy i mean he's only Yeah, super talented. It's just like a beauty of a guy and a great guy, easy to hang out with. But celebrities, geez, I don't know. I'd have to ask my wife. I can't really. You never, you never had one guy that you were like a little bit awestruck with? Like, I mean, you mentioned Grexie on the floor at the draft. You mentioned Lemieux.

And I just assumed as you play and you're in the league, you're around. I'm thinking now, yeah. You ever meet, you may ever meet Don Cherry? I assume. Oh, yeah. I've seen him in her. in and around at the studio and stuff when I was there. But I didn't work, you know, I don't work Saturday nights. I'm like Mondays and Tuesdays. I got to do my first hockey night in Canada, actually, this year, which was unbelievable.

It was really cool experience and unreal to be a part of. But I usually never in there during that. But I played Prospects game, and I met Bobby Orr and Don Cherry when they coached us at the game. It was in Calgary, my draft year. So I got a signed Bobby Orr picture from that, like flying to the air that he sent. out to everybody, which was really cool. But man, I don't know, celebrity, I would say, I guess Vince Neal. Who's he lead singer?

Who's he sing with? A bit of mine crap right now. He's like an old hair band guy. I saw him at a party somewhere in like South Beach or something. I was that when I was in the minors. It was cool. Motley crew. Why can't I spit that out?

Yeah, why couldn't I know that? How dumb am I? We both just lost fan points. That's right. We just lost fan points with a lot of people. Dad losers. Edit that part out. Shoot that part out.

But you know what the, one of the coolest things was when I was playing in Pittsburgh is going to Edmonton and like Calgary, Vancouver for the first time with Sid because during his draft year, the prospects game, I think was in Vancouver and he didn't go out, he didn't go play the prospects game. I don't know what happened or if he didn't want to go if he was hurt or what happened. but he'd never been played out played out west so it was like the first time that like everyone got to see him

so it was like it was like a circus it was crazy like get to the hotel and edmonton like absolutely nuts outside the hotel it was like the first time i'd ever experienced anything really cool like that um and then like the traveling crosbie road show he went to calgary and then on to vancouver and it was like my first time also in the NHL playing out in those places, which is like home for me. And, you know, to have kind of that circus around us that was like fans and media and just the attention in Western Canada was, it was crazy. It was awesome. It was like electric.

There was like the building was just buzzing for like a random game in the middle of the season to have like that feeling for people just getting to see, you know, Crosby play. It was just so cool to be a part of. And you see the same thing with McDavid out east then? Oh yeah. Like I, oh yeah, I wanted to say I haven't seen, I saw McDavid at the World Cup of hockey live. Like he came to Pittsburgh here and I haven't seen him play live yet other than the World Cup when he was on team like North America. So I only seen him on TV. So I was working at Sportsnet and they were playing the Penguins on a Wednesday night. So I usually fly out Wednesday morning to get home. And we're, I'd be working the game. And I was all fired up like I'm going to finally get to see McDavid live.

Like just to see what he looks like live. You know, it's just different. And there was a snow storm. My flight got canceled. I had to call work. I was supposed to work the game on TV here. I had to get out of the game. And I rented a car, though. And I'm like, I'm driving back.

Screw it. I'm getting there. So I drove. It's like a five-hour drive from Toronto to Pittsburgh. And I'm driving this thing. And that's like brutal, like snow squall and Buffalo. It's like brutal weather. Like I probably shouldn't have done it.

But I thought I could have got back. And it took me like forever to get it. I missed the game. And I'm like, call my wife, I'm like, record it, record it. I got to watch this game. Crosby, McDavid, I got to watch this one. And I'm trying to drive to get home in time to make it to the rink. And there's no, no chance.

I missed it. So I still have yet to see him, catch him live. Just because when he's been out here previously, I've been in Toronto or just, it just didn't work out where I missed it. Oh, you're missing a treat. He is. Yeah, I know. Spectacular. Yeah.

Like, just like when you watch it on TV, it's like, okay. You know, he's, you know, he's, McDavid, you'd like see it, and you get all the camera angles. And it's like, but like when you sit in a press box and you're like able to watch live and just see the difference, you know, and you can like actually watch them all shift or see like the little things that he does, it's such a difference live. So I'm waiting for my time to get a, to get my eyes on him. I was a little sad, you know, with them not going to the Olympics.

I was really, really, really stoked to see like him and Crosby on the same team. And I mean, it's a fans dream to when you get the best players. all from all teams go together. Well, them and the American team as well, like it's too bad because, I mean, you look at some of the young American talent as well, like the team Canada and, and the U.S. team would have been awesome with all those new young guys, you know, mixed in with some of those older guys. But, you know, Eichols and Matthews, Brederow and then on the other side, you know, you got McDavid's and all those guys coming in now, Bars andals and you go on and on

with all these young guys. So the flavor and the skill level and the speed and the young faces, it will be a lot different next time Canada puts a team on the ice. Oh, it's going to be awesome. Oh, it's going to be fun. You got to play for Canada in a World Cup, two World Cups. Yeah, World Championships. Yeah, I have it right here, yeah.

Yeah, right there. And it was my first time I ever got to, I tried out for World Cup. years and got cut and stuff, but it was the first time I got to represent, you know, my country and play with the, you know, the logo and play for Team Canada. So it was, it was something else. And we were playing in Russia, too, for this world championships in Moscow, which is unbelievable. Like, that city is the biggest, craziest place I ever been to. And they, like, to go over there and, oh, there's like so many people there. It's huge. It's like the never ends. It's a city that never ends. It's monstrous.

Traffic is insane. There's so many people. It's so big. It's so busy. And like to go over there and actually see how much they actually, you know, the rivalry of Canada, U.S., but to see how much they actually love hockey, like they love hockey like, we do. Like I was amazed to see that. I was kind of like, like fans were crying when they lost it in the semifinals.

They lost to Finland who ended up playing the final. and like people were falling, crying. It was like that everyone was devastated. The city was devastated. The country was all upset and sad. And so it was, it's like an eye-opener because you think we're the only ones that love hockey, you know? Or love hockey that much. That much, yeah.

To see how much Russia, like, really cherishes the game and loves hockey, I was like an eye-opener for me because you just kind of hear about it and see the great Russian players. And you don't really understand that it could be kind of like. what we are with hockey, but they truly just really love hockey over there. So it was really cool to see that kind of stuff. But you get to do that when you get an opportunity to go play for Team Canada and go. We went to Moscow, and then a couple of years later, I got made it again because I was in Atlanta, and we never make the playoffs.

And I got to go to Switzerland, Switzerland, which was awesome. That was really good. We lost to Russia in the final. So, and that year is, so the first year you go and you guys win, Matthew Lombardi was your leading score. Rick Nash, Eric Stahl, Shane Donne, a young Jonathan Taves. And then for Euler fans, Cam Wardenet and Dwayne Rollison. Roley, yeah. Like, you guys were really good.

We didn't lose a game. We went like 9 and 0 in the tournament. We went all our round Robin games. We, and I don't even think we had like the best. team that Canada has ever put on the ice. But we were like super well prepared. Andy Murray was our coach. We had just the right pieces.

We had a good checking line at the time. It was like Jamal Mears. Jason Chamiro was there and Jay McClemmet. And they all played together in St. Louis, I think, at the time. And, you know, so they were like kind of our, like our checking line against a lot of the team's best lines and shut them down. And we had, you know, Rick Nash had a beast of a tournament. and, you know, we won every game.

Like, it was awesome. So it was a great experience, and we ended up winning gold. So there's no feeling like winning, you know, for Team Canada. It was unbelievable experience. Yeah, throwing that jersey on must have felt pretty cool, too. Amazing. Right behind winning a Stanley Cup as a kid, as a dream, right, winning the Stanley Cup. We're making the NHL, right in there somewhere.

and I, every kid's a little different, but putting on the team Canada jersey is pretty dang close. Yeah, you know what? Like, I think if you ask my mom, like what her proudest moment was was, was probably that putting on Team Canada jersey. Like, yeah, I mean, you get to play for your country. It's like, you know, it's, you know, the sense of pride and feeling is unbelievable. So it's, yeah, it's something I cherish a lot. And I got the gold medal framed in there.

once again my mom kind of set that up and got it done for me years ago as like a surprise so yeah that's that's one of the best things that I did in my career right there is is win gold medal and I actually end up scoring one goal in the tournament I was playing on the line with jordan stall who was 18 year old that year in the NHL and uh jonathan taves who was you know played world juniors and won gold that year and then came and played with us and one gold is with the men's team like that's how good he was this guy was absolutely insane working the half while on like the first or second unit p p as well like he was that good um yeah that those are fourth line those two and me and uh end up scoring a goal to make it like three to two and then rick nash at the end of the game scored the like most epic

like might be one of his best like team canada goals he had like two fins on his back and he's like in the splits and he like typical like power big length Rick Nash goal around the goalie with two guys pulling him down and he tucks it in. It's like a nicest goal to make it with like 40 seconds left to make it 4-2. You know, like they didn't get their goalie out because Rick Nash dominated. And then like that goal that's the one they show all the time. Not my beauty, three-two game winner. Like Rick Nash, four-two, you know, cherry on the top.

So thanks, Rick Nash. Just the, just a tad bit sour on that one. Yeah, no, I like to say that. But it's, yeah, it's probably one of the nicest goals I've ever seen, too. But it was, you know, for us to do that. And the coolest part about it was with, like, Hockey Canada. Like, there was Canadian fans there, obviously, that travel around and, you know, media, Canadian media that come cover it.

Like, we had everyone in our dress room after the game, like, partying and celebrating with us. It was awesome. It was so cool. Like Stevie Y. Like, it was, oh, man, it was awesome. It was just awesome to be around that whole thing. And do that. So,

yeah, highlight of my playing career, right there for sure, one of the least one of them. Yeah, well, there's nothing like winning. Yeah,

nothing. Exactly. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. What is, you don't get to do it. You don't get to do it very often.

You never know how often it's going to happen. So, yeah, like my rebels teams, and then that championship team, like, unbelievable. What,

you know, speaking of the rebels, you win, A Memorial Cup, 6, 5, and overtime. I assume that night had to have been like a blur. Yeah, like it was, it was cool. We had like all of her families there, all of our billets there, like rebels fans there.

So it was just like, it was amazing. And it was like such a grind, you know? Like we played like so many games. And you got to play that tournament at the end. And it's just like you don't even know these teams that you're playing against. It's just like mentally physically, just such a grind. But we beat them 6-5 in overtime in game one of the tournament too.

So like the next, we play them in the final and it's 6-5 again. It's like crazy. I think it was 6-5 in first game two or 5-4, like another shootout, you know? The Memorial Cup that year was in Regina. You must have had a ton of people that you knew watching. Oh, yeah. It was like buddies come up. They drive a couple hours down the road, go to a game.

Yeah, and go to a game. Drive back home, you know. And yeah, so it was like a home game for me. I had everybody there. I had aunts and uncles. My mom and dad, my sister, my brother, all their friends. I mean, it was a big party for everyone. Of course, it's like a big two-week tournament with like, you know, the beer gardens

in Regina and like the families were in there every night. And everyone's sleeping in everyone's hotel rooms and brothers are sleeping with all the other guys' brothers. And like, it was awesome. It was just a great thing. Well, what is winning a gold medal in? Moscow party like? Oh, it was great. Like we were lucky to make our flights, probably a lot of us the next day. It's a quick turnaround though. Like you win, you get together that night, have a little

get together and then just guys just start filtering out of the party and they start having to get to the airport for, you know, a 5.30 a.m. flight. So a lot of guys, no sleep. And, you know, you can kind of get your flight time so when you're getting out of there. And that's it. So comes and goes pretty fast. And the next year you don't see everyone until you play against a lot of those guys, which makes it a lot weirder when you have to, you know, play it in your face kind of a little bit more of a rat-style game against a lot of guys who just won with that you care a lot about.

What was playing in, you know, you go Pittsburgh, you can just tell you, those are the best, I think you even said it, the best memories of your hockey career coming those years, playing for the team that drafted you. and now where you're living back and you're broadcasting and all that. What was it like going to hockey mecca world of the Toronto Maple Leafies? Yeah, it was great because I, like, I wanted to go somewhere from Atlanta. I wanted to go like, somewhere where, you know, hockey was like big.

You know, I wanted to go somewhere where it was awesome. So to have, yeah, so to have the Leafs on Free Agency to come in, you know, come and make me an offer and like a good one too was awesome so I was kind of like okay what's their team like you know what's what's happening who they got where are they going is this a good move and eventually came and decided like yeah this is going to be electric to try to go and you know go into the you know the pressure cooker that is the Toronto and that is Toronto and playing for, you know, that franchise is insane. What was the first maybe month like?

Because, I mean, you just, like you went from Atlanta where you're, you know, you joke about being able to pick every person out of the stands to, you know, one of the pet peeves of all, everybody out West is you flick on SportsNet. And you guys, everybody just talks about the Leafs, right? Or talks, you know, they're the team. everybody wants to see you know the the leaps you know they haven't won a cup since the 60s right like everything is just on them and it's about them yeah and now you're playing for that team I have to assume that there is a different type of pressure buzz whatever you want to call it uh and coming from

Atlanta that had to have been enjoyable or was it like oh man what have I got myself into no like I was looking forward to that like I was looking forward to that like I was looking forward to being a part of that. And unfortunately, like, my two years there, I got hurt, like, all the time. It went awful for me, not only physically with the injuries, but, like, mentally, the toll it took being injured and, you know, having different expectations for yourself and how it would work out, which is really, really tough. But I was, like, looking forward to being in that situation and being, you know, part of an

organization with the storied history that is Toronto Maple Leafs and going on road games and half the entire stadium being blue. you know, it's, you know, the fans all over the place that support the team is insane. So, you know, I was looking forward to to that part of it and kind of the excitement that comes with that. With that and the pressure. Like I knew expecting that going in there that there'd be expectations and, you know, a lot more pressure on a team that doesn't do as well. There's a lot more ramifications from, you know, the public and the media and the scrutiny would be. lot more. But, you know, knowing that going into it, I was, I was excited to go to a place that

was, like, electric. Like, I wanted to feel like what that was like. So, you know, to throw in a Leafs jersey and to go and play in that kind of a market was incredible, was a great experience, honestly. It was a great experience getting, like, you're playing hockey night in Canada every Saturday night. It's like, you're the big ticket. Every time your team steps on the ice, no matter which rink you're in, the fans are crazy everywhere. And they outnumber even at the strongest of buildings. Yeah. Yeah.

So it was, yeah, it was cool to experience that. And, you know, growing up in Saskatoon, like, you get a lot of leaf games. Like, you have no choice, you know, it's always the Leafs that are on all the time. So, you know, growing up watching a lot of Leaf games like most Canadians do, you know, it was really cool to kind of like be a part of that, you know, like your dream of playing the NHL. You see the Leafs all the time and it's, you know, you're in that spot. Well, you know, you go through everything in your career and you've almost hit like all the big days of,

and all the big things of what the NHL has. They got their free agent frenzy, right? You've been a part of that. You've been a part of the trade deadline. And then you get to be a part of not one of the great parts of it. And, you know, I've never had anyone on that's been bought out before. How tough was that? You know, when you talk about the injuries and everything.

Yeah. Yeah. You know what? Yeah, I've had a little bit of everything. Yeah, it's funny you mentioned that. Yeah. So the buyout was, you know, when I was in in Toronto, we had gotten rid of our coach and Randy Carlell had come in and our team wasn't doing that good. And I was injured a bunch. I had a high ankle sprain and a concussion in the same year. Miss significant amounts of times within two injuries that literally you're like can't do anything about. But, you know, you can't use your legs. You can't do anything. You got to lay around. they're challenging injuries to have. That was in that one year. The first year I tore my hand apart. I broke both my feet. You broke both your feet?

Yeah, I broke my foot. I broke my foot in training camp blocking a shot. And then at the end of the year, I got shut down like the last 10, 15 games by blocking another shot. And I broke my other foot. And then in the middle of that, I had surgery on my knuckle. My tendon, like, ripped off of my knuckle. And they had to sew, like, my hand.

I couldn't, like, pick up. my hand. Like they had to sew it back on. So I had like just a rash of injuries while I was there in those two years. Um, that were just, you know, didn't let me get my wheels turning really at all. So, you know, when the buyout kind of came around, I was like mentally tapped out anyways for the point with, you know, just trying to battle through like, you know, 10 different injuries and play and hurt like all the time. Like it was, it was so frustrating and it's beyond mentally tiring to deal with that. So I kind of was just like, okay, like I looked at it as a good thing. Like I just needed a fresh start. I just needed to get out of there. You know, maybe this is the

best thing for me at the time because, you know, I was spinning my wheels bad. I couldn't get any traction. I couldn't stay healthy. And, you know, they just hired a new coach. And I was trying to come back off a concussion at the end and barely playing. And I was in and out of the lineup at the end of the year. So it just didn't work out. It just didn't work out. And, you know, to be free and to get out of there and kind of get rid of some of the demons that I had at the time with the injuries that I'd go in through and get a fresh start was probably the best thing for me. So when I got bought out, I was kind of like, good, yeah, you know, good. I'm done. Like, it's over, you know. That's just the way it worked out. And then you sign with their arch nemesis.

Yeah. So Michelle Tarion goes to Montreal. And sure enough, you get hired as the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. I get bought out and then free agent frenzy comes around again two days before that I was bought out or one day before that and you know the next day I signed with the Montreal Canadians yeah just and that was the lockout short in season that was my last year in the NHL so it was uh you know to go from one team storied franchise to another another team in Montreal it was uh you know to put on I grew up a Habs fan actually I was like the lonely Habs fan in Saskatoon so to uh to uh to put on the jersey and play there. And we made the playoffs that year as well. It was, it was awesome.

You played with Ryan Whitney and Paul Bisnett. I've listened to you on Spitting Chicklets. I've had, I've had the opportunity to sit down with Biznasty. I don't know how the hell I pulled that off, but I did get it. Is it any surprise to you what they're doing? Or did you, like, being around those teams was Spitting Chicklets, something you're like, geez, if it was going to be pulled off those two, yeah, who's would do it? I am surprised, but I'm not. I don't know, it's weird. Like, you know, wits are like a super smart guy.

And obviously, I thought he, when I played with him here at Pittsburgh, he was really good, like really good defenseman. He was really good for us, like nice skaters, like tape to tape, first pass, like shot passes, heads up. Like, he was a smooth, really good, smooth player. but he was like really smart and quick and witty like you hear him on spit and chicklets how good he is and i love listening to them to him on there and he does such a really good job um he's just like an easy fun guy to be around um and bids on the other hand was like a camp and he asked a hundred million questions and he's

just like one way then he's going another way and that's just kind of the way he was um did i think they'd both be involved in media or like doing something i don't think i would have thought that first of them but to see what they've been able to do now and the way that they do it, the style that they've chosen to do it in, has taken off like wildfire, man. And like everyone listens to them. Are they probably not the number one podcast in hockey?

Oh, they're the number one hockey. The only one that comes close to it, I would. 31 thoughts probably. 31 thoughts. I was just going to throw out a guess and say 31 thoughts. Yeah, like I would guess that. So, I mean, they just do it so. differently. It's just, you know, raw. They get guys stories and guys, you know, talking hockey,

hockey guys and, you know, relatable to the people that they're talking to for the most part. And I don't know, they're just characters, right? And I think, you know, the way they deliver a lot of their stuff is, like, unique and different than we've heard ever before in hockey, especially hockey. Unless you're a hockey player, because what they've done is they've taken what every hockey player knows goes on. the drive-in-room and put it on a podcast. And so it's relatable to anyone who's ever suited up. And if you've never suited up and wonder what goes on, now you get to hear it.

Yeah, and then you have RA with this super thick Boston accent that's like the host of the show, which adds like another flavor to it altogether. And, you know, he's like the old guy that knows all the movies. And then you got these two like don't like, they're like, what are you talking about? Like it's just a really good mix of, you know, three different guys that, you know, like you said, bring, you know, behind the scenes,

chatter kind of right onto their podcast for people to hear. So, and they, they found a ton of success doing it. And they're doing a great job. And I think, you know, to the point where I think their voices in the hockey world, you know, it's not just fun. Like people wait for their opinion and their take on certain issues inside of the game. So, you know, they've been pretty big. in the hockey world, I think, as far as, you know, dealing with certain topics and, you know, lending, you know, the spit and chicklets voice on certain trends and topics and stories. So, you know, they're pretty heavy hitters in the media world with hockey in the NHL. And by the sounds of it, by the sounds of it, they get questions.

I was, when I listen to them, they're like, hey, you guys going to get anyone from Detroit on it? Like, we try. like we can't get any like teams are kind of nervous of their guys possibly going on there too it sounds like so you know they're kind of in that risky territory as well yeah except every player wants to go on yeah they've got they've gotten to that that status yeah yeah like they're they're pretty fun if you can get on there so they got you know and we've forgotten to see like keith yandle like you guys played in florida and Arizona and like yeah he's played for the rangers but like no one would ever really know like what his personality was like if it wasn't for that probably you know and hayes and philly

who's a big buddy of theirs who comes on and like yeah i'd love listening to that guy guys it seems like a great guy you want to hang out with so you know you've gotten to you've gotten to see a lot of guys for like you know they're they're you know what they're really like when they go on with those guys you really you know it's been interesting seeing how it's kind of blossom i don't know how many episodes or seasons they're into now but um i'll tell you what a lot of people i talk to people randomly on the street and I've been on spitting chicklets, I think, twice and people yell at me spit in chicklets like I'm on the show. So it's, it's pretty funny sometimes, yeah. About yourself, I was going to ask, what was it about media that did you know, like, when your

career was coming to an end that you're like, you know what, I really want to get involved? Well, I always enjoyed, like we talked about, like just doing the interviews. And when I was in junior, I always did the interviews love like on the camera, joking around, horsing around, got to pro hockey. They did a reality show type thing on our first season and Wilkesbury and kind of behind the scenes of trying to make it to the NHL. And, you know, I enjoyed that.

I had fun with that. And I think kind of always in the back of my head, I had an idea that like that might be something I'm interested in. And then when I went to Toronto, like not even thinking post-career, it probably really helped me a lot to just, you know, you know, people to know who you are a lot more. And you're doing a lot more stuff like that, you know, on our national broadcasts across Canada.

People see your face and know who you are. And I was able to do a playoff series when I thought, we didn't make the playoffs in Toronto. And Burke, he's like, hey, they want you to go on, you know, the panel here. And, you know, if you want to do it, I think it would be a really good opportunity for you. And so I did that.

I also did, when did I do that? I was playing in Atlanta, and I went and did the finals for SportsNet at the time, who didn't, like, cover the game. We just did, like, the pregame show and then the post game show. And they asked me if I'd come down, like Darren Millard, Kiprios, and it was like John Garrett, I think, at the time who were doing it. And so I flew down to the final and Pittsburgh against Detroit in the, final the year I got traded talk about torturing yourself so I was like sitting on it I was like

oh my god this could be awful like this is like pure torture being here but um they wanted some insight on the penguins team and I just played with them a few months prior prior to that so it's it's kind of an eye-opening experience for me to do it but you're doing it as a player so you're not really thinking the same as you are now that it's a job and the preparation that goes into it being ready every single night and every game and the trends and what's happening around the league and staying on top of it and staying up till, you know, 1.30 in the morning to finish watching Arizona against Vancouver on the West Coast and in a shootout for no stupid reason. What am I doing? And I'm watching the damn thing just because I got to watch all hockey games.

And I love watching hockey, but I mean, I'm telling you, sometimes I'm like, what am I doing? What the heck am I doing right now? But, you know, playing in Toronto, playing in Montreal. playing in those A markets, playing around, you know, teams that, you know, have 30 person media scrum after every single game or 40, whoever's in there. It's just crazy. Put me in a good position, I think, post-career with the interest of doing it. Who knew if I was going to be good or bad?

I didn't know, but I got an opportunity and the door was opened up for me. And I worked at it. You know, I've been critiqued and I've gotten advice and I've tried to get better. and I think slowly over the last few years I've gotten better every year. That's the way I'm looking at it right now. I think I've gotten better every year. And, you know, when the camera turns on

and you're live sitting on a front desk with your suit on and guy talking in your ear, it's on live TV with no scripts, no, you know, there's no screen, like none of our hosts, nobody has like those telepromp. There's nothing. It's freewheeling live, live shows, live chatting, like on the fly.

a few topics you want to talk about but it's i mean you know to to sit there and go through that you know takes a lot of reps before you actually can feel comfortable and and understand and good and know what you're you're kind of doing like most nights still i'm like i don't know what i'm doing i have no clue what i'm going to do like what are we going to talk about i don't know i'm like what's going on but it's hockey right like i've done it my whole life so like after i kind of called myself down a little bit i'm like okay settle in here like just have some fun it's hockey This is got to be torture for you right now, not having any hockey, right? It's just like...

Oh, I got nothing. Yeah, I literally got. I got nothing, man. I got nothing. I'm trying to lose weight. I'm eating like a rabbit right now, just salads all day. I'm like, chase my kids around. I don't do anything.

We had a nice day to day. I got to go outside. That was cool. Yeah, like we're, we got no hockey. We got nothing, buddy. I got nothing. Okay, well, I got the crude master final five. It's the last five questions, nice and quick.

for you. Kind of like a rapid fire like you guys like to do. Crude Master, local business here. Shout out to Heath and Tracy McDonald. They've been supporting me since the beginning. Shout out. If you could pick your line mates, who would you want to be in line with?

Anyone. Turner passed. I would pick Kirk Muller and Peter Forrestberg. I don't know. That sounds good. A slight on Sid the kid, really.

I played with him already. And I was thinking, like, I got to play on a line with Mario at camp one year, too, just for one day, one day. So I got that. So I'm thinking, and I grew up a Habs fan, and I loved Kirkmuller, man. I don't know why I love Kirk Muller. He's, like, the greatest thing. And then I loved, like, Mike Medano and Peter Forsberg. So I kind of was like, man, I played against Peter Forsberg.

That was really cool. Mike Medano played against him. but like it would be cool to play on on those guys line. I'll say those guys here. If you could sit down with one person to have a beverage of your choice to pick their brain, who would you want? Ooh, interesting. You know, like, I think a guy that I find pretty interesting who you brought up

that would be really cool to sit and hang out with is Joe Rogan. Like his podcast is super big, but like on top of it, like everything that he's into and just how interesting of a guy is and like how cool and fun he seems and like he knows a little bit about everything like it's just like he's like got like what's going on with him you know it would be a really interesting cool guy to sit down and kind of see what's going on in there well he's on my bucket list for this thing I would love nothing oh my god do you imagine where where would you go with that conversation you go anywhere aliens to working out to UFC to comedy to I mean he does it he can he can do it all he's

He's a pretty interesting guy. He's a fascinating guy. Fascinating, right? And he talks so well. Yeah, very well. When he's, I mean, when he talks about such hot topic issues, he gets a lot of scrutiny too from both sides, right? Yeah.

And he deals with that so well, too. Like, he'd be fantastic to sit and have a beer with. Yeah, it would be, like the amount of questions you could just ask him. There would be no script needed. I mean, it's just. Just let her go. It'd be a long of a lot. Yeah.

If you were sitting on a roundtable, three other host, co-host participants, who would you want to be in a round table with? A hot stove. Like with the people like in media? Yeah. Oof. Let's start with the host. I guess you got to go, you got to go Ron McLean.

Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah, you got to go Ron McLean. A guy that I've really appreciated and liked in my time since starting has been really big help for me. Jeff Merrick's guy I work with right now. And he's kind of like a hipster, hockey hipster guy. He's really intriguing guy himself and just a really smart guy. There's a guy's mind you could get into too, too.

But he's easy to work with and he makes everything really comfortable. He's a really good guy to hang out with. And I would say my partner in crime, the last few years now, Carolyn Cameron, who came on to hockey the last couple years and hosts a show I do every Monday, Tuesday night, Hockey Central. And talk about a good teammate. She's been awesome. She's like a pro. She's so well prepared. She knows hockey.

She's fun to work with. We have a great time together every night I'm up there and working together. So it's, it's been, it's been kind of good, you know, when you have a teammate. And we've been together now for the last two years every Monday and Tuesday night. So it's, it's comfortable being on air with her. So I'd put her right up there with, with those other two. What's one COVID hobby you have currently? Oof.

I've been taking a lot of baths. I never take baths. I'm a huge shower guy. but I've been really I've been really testing the waters on baths lately and I like it I got to say before I came down and on the podcast with you tonight I jumped in for a quick bone soak up there

just relaxed no kids there's the full bath I never take who takes baths like adults take baths I don't know I'm COVID I'm quarantining with a bath hobby I'm bathing. Baving. What are you calling? I've been asking that question now for a month. And that is by far the best answer I've heard, bar none. I'm taking like a bath a day almost. They'll say that. Like every once in a while,

I'm like, got nothing to do. I'm like looking around. Like nothing's going on. I'm like, you know what? I'm going to go up. I'm going to throw on the show I'm watching right now, my Netflix or wherever you're watching. And I'm just going to set it up, put on my headphones, and just take a bath. Unbelievable quarantine move right there. Unbelievable. So that's what I think. Yeah, I don't know why.

I never really do that. Well, your final question before I let you go. You mentioned since you've been on Sportsnet that you've been every year, every day kind of improving. What's one of the best pieces of advice you've learned while you've been there to help? Best piece of advice mixed with the most confusing piece of advice that actually translate to being really right is just be yourself. And it sounds weird. It's like, yeah, duh, like, who else am I going to be when you go up there? But like, I'm telling you when, sorry, I'm telling you when you do live TV and it's kind of awkward and you're sitting not facing each other at a desk.

facing cameras and you're stuffed in suits and looking all nice. And they say, you know, just a couple guys up there talking hockey like you would at a bar with some buddies. You know, I always hear this. And I'll just go up there and be yourself. But for you to get to a point where you're comfortable enough to actually understand, like, what yourself is in that moment is tough. So it takes some time to get there.

But just be yourself is probably the best piece of advice I've gotten. obviously with no going to school or training, just having my experiences and life and hockey being, you know, something as I played. I was a player. So I have to bring that and I have to bring my personality. And I think I try to make it entertaining. And I think our game's fun and awesome.

And we have really good players. And I love showing how great guys are. And, you know, at the same time, I just go out there. and sometimes I black out, but I end up just being myself. And I think, you know, over the years through doing that, you get more comfortable and you get better. Well, I really, really, really appreciate you coming on. It's been a fun couple of hours. I am going to let you get back to your kids now if they are still awake.

But thank you so much for coming on. It's been a blast. All right. Say out, I have Brady and Lloyd and everybody in Saskatchewan, everyone listening. Stay safe. your sponsors, thanks to them for hooking you up. Look at your studio. You're looking really, really good. And thanks for having me on. It was great just chatting hockey, man. I've been dying. Like when you wanted to chat, I'm like, let's go. So I was ready to go. It was great chatting

with you. And good luck with your future podcasts and everything else you're doing and with your kids and young family. Well, thank you very much. Right back. I'm going to go take a bath. All right. Hey folks, thanks again for joining us today. If you just stumble on the show and like what you hear, please click subscribe. Remember, every Monday and Wednesday a new guest will be sitting down to share their story. The Sean Newman podcast is available for free on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever else you find your podcast fix. Until next time.