Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 365: Featuring Nathan Walker + Jim Playfair

Episode Date: December 21, 2021

On Episode 365 of Spittin’ Chiclets, the guys are joined by Nathan Walker and Jim Playfair. Nathan joined (1:01:10) to discuss being from Australia and making it to the NHL, playing Youth hockey in the Czech, and playing in Washington and St. Louis. But first, the guys open the show discussing all the recent COVID-19 news surrounding the NHL, including the massive news Chiclets broke this past weekend. The boys also touch on the recent Paul Maurice and Winnipeg Jets news. The guys are then joined by Edmonton Oilers Assistant Coach Jim Playfair. Jim joined (1:58:03) to discuss his coaching career, his infamous bench freak out and his son, LetterKenny star Dylan Playfair. The guys wrap up the show talking Charlie Woods and the Succession season finale.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/schiclets

Hey, Spittin' Chicklets listeners, you can find every episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Hello, everybody. Welcome to episode 365 of Spittin' Chicklets, presented by Pink Whitney from our friends at New Amsterdam Vodka here in the Barstool Sports Podcast family. Put the last couple off the glass and out, had to step up a little this time, even if it took me a couple times.

Boys, we had a big scoop this week for the hockey world, even if some of them don't want to give us credit. uh, outstandingly surprising news from Winnipeg with the coach resigning out of the blue, tons of stuff to get to this week, but we're going to say hi to the boys for us. Mikey Grinelli running the chicklets cup. Things are going crazy. What's the latest bell? Uh, the latest is I'm back home in Burlington, Massachusetts. I'm here for the holidays and, uh, you know, my mom's birthday this week. Absolute actually as well. So happy birthday, Sue. But, you know, I think I'm going to be a great son this year and, you know, spoil my mom for birthday for Christmas, just really get her a ton of presents and lingerie. Fuck you. And I get, I get onto the train today

and I forgot every single one of them in New York City. So I'm just a piece of shit, son. Minus two to start the family trip home. So I'm struggling, boys. So if you really want to impress her, you'd go buy them all again and then make sure that you had gifts for her. And you know, you can't buy true, you know, like respect and love.

Your time is what would really get to her heartstrings, buddy. It's not about the gifts. It's about the time spent with the ones. Great point, Ryan. All right. That's she's not worried about the gifts. Okay, good. Maybe making something in the next 24 hours, like hard boil an egg and paint it kind of like you do on Easter. What would be a good Christmas gift that you could make? Maybe a reef. A reef.

What do you give away for Christmasmas that you would make with make yeah a card i don't know how many people are making gifts these days i guess it's still common if you're making blankets and sewing things for your grandma but you knit something i'm buying stuff i mean in terms of what grinnelli could could not do is give her lingerie which is what you originally mentioned that's a little sick and twisted, isn't it? That's how half the videos I start or I watch start out. Speaking of videos, Biz, that's a full subscription service. That's a foreign background behind you.

What are you making a Brazos video tonight or what? Where are you? Is that a speaker? I'm in Buffalo, New York, and I can't say what I'm up to. But you were up to something all secretive last week. I was. I'm up to my old secret stuff as well. So we can't tell you Chicklets fans what I'm doing in Buffalo, New York.

But let's just put it this way. They're going to be excited when they find out, though. That's true. That is very true. Much like when they find out what R.A.'s doing. So I know a lot of secrets. And we got the little, you know, we're blue balling our fans a little bit with all these things that we can't tell them so yet. But down the road, I think you guys will really enjoy it.

And as you said, R.A., a ton of, well, some not so shocking, some very shocking hockey news to get to. But as far as my trip to Canada, that's where I was before this. It was great seeing my folks um oh fuck you guys will love this one camera goes downstairs he has to drop a few crisp towels off in the bathroom and i think that katie had snuck off and he was unaware that she was using the shower and then of course out doing her makeup camera walks in fucking gets a nice view of katie's bolt-ons maybe even no she just so happened to be standing directly facing him. No clothes on. She was, I have my bathroom separate all the way downstairs in the basement.

And he, he had no clue that anybody was down there. Cause she'd snuck off to, to go get ready for the nightly festivities. And yeah, he opens the door and you know, it's like the scene out of dumb and dumber when he opens the door and, you know, it's like the scene out of Dumb and Dumber when you got the. Yeah, but why didn't he just say, no, I'm giving I bought you this thong for Christmas. So I'm just giving it to you. He was he was dropping off the lingerie. You sandbag and son of a bitch.

So it was quite the interesting weekend at the Bissonette household. Very much like the time I walked in on my sister getting plowed by her or my now brother-in-law by another bike. Not to be confused with the time your mother diddle herself. The 17th time. Every time I go home, it just reminds me of these

awkward situations I found myself in. It's like you haven't been there in two years. It's almost like, is it worse to get caught by your mother or your father? So, anyway, interesting trip. Great to see all my family and friends. We ended up going out to a local spot called Trappers. So, it was good,

boys. Just kind of take a step back and enjoy the old friendships and share some stories. So, good to go here. I spent a couple days up up North Ontario and I noticed like, you know, we always say, I'm sorry, I'm sorry with Canada, but I think no worries is maybe overtaken. I'm sorry. I know you say it on the pod all the time,

but I didn't realize how much and someone on like a few people online said, well, when someone says, I'm sorry that they respond with no worries. So that's the millennial version of saying sorry in canada sometimes different pockets especially in ontario the linger the lingo definitely uh differentiates big word for me keep the change um um but yeah uh no i i drop the no worries quite a bit i i also say cheers quite a bit even when i'm not drinking. That might rub some people the wrong way and really piss some people off. But that's probably the least of what I've said to piss people off on this podcast.

People get mad at giving a quick cheers? With no alcohol. Like, if you go, oh, cheers, bud, cheers, bud, cheers, bud. You know, like, if you don't have one, they're kind of like, why are you saying that? It's just become a bad habit of mine. I don't mind that. I can picture you doing that to everyone at, like, Barstool. All of us, bing, but cheers. But, you know, like if you don't have one, they're kind of like, why are you saying that? It's just become a bad habit. I don't mind that. I can picture you doing that to everyone at like Barstool office. Bing, bing.

I can picture that. It's not bad, though. That's not annoying. Canadians always sign their emails with cheers. Anytime you connect me with a Canadian, they always sign their email. Cheers. Yeah, it's not. It's not always an alcoholic thing.

It usually is. But there are some societies. It's just like, you know, like Ireland, they say it there quite a bit, like cheers. I mean, although most of the time. Or like Boston, when you say goodbye and you're like, fuck you, you fucking asshole. You're a goddamn crack, Saga.

Fuck you. I wanted to go to an OHL game when I was up there, Biz. Unfortunately, this will be a recurring theme for this show, the COVID bullshit. I wasn't able to see my first junior game in Canada, but I had a really, the wolf gave it to everybody. The wolf got it on the, on the track line and gave it to all the fans. He bit you. But I had actually a really cool, like full circle moment.

Like I didn't realize it driving up. Cause I, I had a snooze on the way up and coming home. I was like, Holy shit. We drive through Parry sound. And like, I may have had time to pull over and go to the museum, but like with the COVID airports, shit, I didn't want to fuck around traffic in Toronto. I'm like, you know, but just going through, it was kind of crazy because like, you know,

Parry Sound obviously was Bobby, is where Bobby always from. He came to Boston. My parents got season tickets his rookie year. And then I was born into like that fandom and led me to ultimately this career. And then like this career led me to this this side this fun little thing i did in uh in ontario and i drove through paris on the way back and it was just like kind of like hit you in the face like this real serendipitous thing but it was pretty fucking cool man that's why i gave like a shout out to bob you're on instagram oh you're

driving all right pulled over took a piss on the side of the highway in order to show his respect hey little did he know the sign said Parry Sound this way, but it was like 190 miles from Parry Sound down that highway, so he wasn't even near it. That's right, kids. As long as we get over the river. Yeah, exactly. It looks like in a picture that sign that says Parry Sound.

Yeah, so God bless Bobby Orr. Without him, this podcast doesn't exist in the end, possibly. Because he was my agent, too. He was my agent. Let's all trace this thing back to Bobby Orr. In Parry Sound, and like you said, there was this serendipitous moment. I got to drive through it on the way home after,

well, you know, basically being a Donkey Bruins fan. But we'll get to that later. Not only your agent wit, but also my coach at the Top Prospects game where I fought Dion Phaneuf. He must have loved that. oh yeah uh also we want to thank pj stock for his appearance last week wildly popular guys right i mean the feedback we get great feedback every week but pj like i said when we interviewed him he's such a folk hero folk hero here uh the feedback was great he was great just want to thank him again the funniest, because the funniest line I hadn't heard, because when we're doing these things, you miss a lot. I swear to God, like there's so many different things I end up seeing on Twitter

getting clips of that I don't even remember. And and he's whoever he was fighting said the guy connected with his 18th lucky right in a row. Rob Ray, yeah, maybe with his 18th lucky right in a row. Rob Ray. Yeah. Hit me with his 18th lucky right. So I saw that. I didn't remember him saying that, but he was very entertaining, full of life. I enjoyed talking to him a lot. He had about 16 veins popping out of his head during that one.

Yeah. He was amped up. Oh my goodness. Just, just like a nail gun when he played, man. Yeah. Tough as tough as they come folks.

So if you guys haven't had a chance to listen to that one go back and uh we got a couple more doozies for you today yeah good good stuff biz uh we got uh australian nathan walker he got called up last week by the blues next night he gets a hat trick because he's the first australian to be drafted in the nhl first to score a goal first to win a stanley cup everything this guy is the first australian to do what a great personality we we brought him on the first Australian to do. What a great personality. We brought him on the other day. You're going to love that interview. And we also have one of Biz's old coaches, Jim Playfair,

current assistant in Edmonton. All those fans are going to love the insight they get tonight, Biz. I agree, man. It's just good to hear about how you have to coach these modern-day players. A little bit of a different change. But Jimmy was always good to me, a great assistant, very knowledgeable. We talk about, you know, the advances you have to make as an assistant coach in order to keep up and,

you know, teach these kids what they need to know. As far as the video component, as far as Walker, he was a treat too. I fucked up a little bit. I thought that he'd had a point in the natural finals of the Stanley cup. I don't want to be a dick and correct you during it. So I figured it'd be nicer if you. Oh, no, you didn't have to. I saw the look on your face when I asked him the question.

And you're like, what the fuck is this asshole saying? So a typical spit and chicklets not knowing our facts. But you guys still hang out. You guys. Well, there is one fact I know, Mikey Grinnelli. There are still openings for the Chicklets Cup at All-Star Weekend in Vegas. Huh? Like, fill us in, dude.

There are. There are spots for the Chicklets Cup, and there are also free agent spots. RA put out that video this weekend. We're now accepting free agents, so if you don't have a team, there are a lot of goalies. A lot of goalies have reached out, said they want to come play. They don't have a team to play for. So just go to chickletscup.com and sign up.

There's still roller teams. There's still ball hockey teams. And maybe you get the chance to go up against old biz nasty over here. Well, that's pretty cool. So if you don't have a squad, you could show up, you get thrown on some random team, meet some new friends. I mean, there's going to be tons of people around anyway. At this point, I hope the NHL still has the all-star game going on, but Hey,

if you guys end up there and there are no festivities, we are going to be throwing an absolute shaker. Please join us for those couple of days. We're going to have the sign-up party on the Wednesday. We're going to end up having a crazy party on the Thursday night. What was that, February 3rd, Grinnelli? That is correct. That is correct. And then leading into the weekend that has Pro Bowl in Vegas.

So join us. We're going to have a great time, and it's going to be some good hockey. Yeah, if you're one of these lone wolves who comes to chicklets events solo, this is the fucking place to do it. Cause you'll blend in with everybody. Plus like with all the shit going with the NHL, there should be more NHL all-stars in town this weekend. So even more folks to stop by. Hey, visit the guy,

the single who just goes to the golf course and gets put with a threesome. But with, with golf, I mean, with chick, instead of having to play golf with three nerds or maybe one nerd, if you're the three guys hanging out, you get to come to chicklets, join a team in Vegas and then just like smoke drugs with R.A. for three days. So it's a little it's a wonderful scenario. If anyone's alone and just wants to join a squad. OK, let me ask you about that. The join up guy.

How do you feel? How many times has that ruined your round where you got to – I never – I think I mentioned the one time I've dealt with it maybe five years was this summer at my economy in Nantucket when the guys – we're not playing the tips. The tips were closed because they had some enormous tournament. The U.S. Mid-Am was coming. And I said, well,, because they had some enormous tournament. The U.S. Mid-Am was coming.

And I said, well, but the the teaser close. I'd love to play. There's like, oh, my God, this course is so short. He proceeded to pound three balls directly out of bound off the first tee and shot about one hundred and thirty. So, I mean, like those are the type of people you if you bitch about the tips and you shoot one thirty, you should never be let on. I also shot sixty five that day. And at the end, the guy's like, nice meet you. I'm like, you shoot 130, you should never be let on. I also shot 65 that day.

And at the end, the guy's like, nice meet you. I'm like, you don't even know what I just did, you clown. So I know stories of amazing people, singles that joined. Three guys have been good dudes. Like, it's worked out good. I also know times when you get the guy who maybe you're like, oh, my God, we're stuck with this dude. Hey, next thing you know,

the guy's getting your mom lingerie on Christmas. Yeah, exactly. Your besties is plowing your mom. Anyway, two bucks for this. Yeah. All right. What do we got here? First up, we do want to let you know, just the season gang holiday parties are up the wazoo.

And that means a constant flow of pink Whitney for everyone. Bring a bottle when you show up to every party you go to. You don't want to be a deadbeat. And if parties aren't your thing, then head over to your local bar and order some Pink Whitney there. You boys all stocked up for the holidays or what? I always got Pink Whitney on flow. Although the sooner I get it, the sooner I'm giving it away,

especially in Scottsdale. I know I did that giveaway last week with those guys, but always stocked up, R.A., and for those of you out there, make sure you drink responsibly over the holidays. Make sure you take a cab, maybe an Uber ride. Maybe you go for a stroll. Don't get behind the wheel if you're sucking back Pink Whitney. You know what it's good for this time of year, too,

is tipping like the Amazon or the UPS guy. If they come by frequently this time of year, they they love nothing more than a bottle of Pink Whitney. I'll tell you that. That's what you tip them with. All right. You love and you love not having to spend any money to tip them either. All right. That's a win win. I mean, like three bottles a year. You know, I think I know my second case of Pink Whitney. Hey, no, I'm saying it's a great move, but it's also nice. Hey, I didn't pay for this. And here you go.

Yeah. Oh, if it's free, it's for me. I mean, I pay for this hat. Just don't use it to clean off your your knuckles. If you get in a bar fight, you'll have to punch some guys. That's what the Captain Morgan's for, folks. Shout out. Did you dip it in?

Did you pour it all over? Did you dip it in something that was filled with Captain? No, I know. I poured Captain it all over? Did you dip it in something that was filled with Captain Morgan? No, I poured Captain Morgan all over. I thought we got a hook, line, and sinker. We're out of here. We're out of trouble, folks. Seven days in the hospital. So, R.A., we got some hockey to talk about, though.

I don't want to get off the rails. Humble brag here, but we broke a huge story on Sunday, and people can snicker or not give us credit or whatever, but we were the first to report that, per a source to us us that NHL players will not be going to China for the Olympics uh I know a few other outlets uh sort of reported or said they were hearing the same thing but uh we're standing by it we got it from a great source we don't doubt uh the league and the union met over the weekend nothing has been officially announced but since our report like I said others have basically reported the same kind of parroted what we said.

Players were still gung-ho this week. Our buddy Strick had an honest quote from a player saying he didn't give a shit. He still wanted to go. And, you know, it is possible that individual players could go on their own dime and do all that on their own, but if this isn't fully endorsed by the whole organization the way it's supposed to be, it's just a huge risk for these guys to go there on their own risk to quarantines and loss of pay. It just, I mean, patriotism is nice to have and

being proud to, so proud to wear your country's colors, but at a certain point, it's just like, it's counterintuitive. So, you know, they're going to have this break for, for the Olympics. Now with no Olympics, apparently you got to think is they're going to just make up as many games as they can to maintain the schedule integrity because the the the loyalty is to the NHL on the schedule, not the Olympic Committee, International Olympic Committee, especially what they've been through and now using that gap of time during the Olympics to maybe make up some games. I don't know what exactly what the plan is now, as far as not one single NHL player going, you could get a federation or a president or whatever, whatever a leader of a country who's willing to buck up and not only pay for

all the travel pay for the fact that if he might pay for all the, the, the missed games, because as I mentioned, there's potentially missed games that could be made up during that time. And if for whatever reason you test positive and you stay in a holding cell for five weeks and you have to forfeit pay from the NHL, maybe they'll even buck up and pay for that. But for most people, I would assume, especially North America, there's going to be no no Olympics and as you

said all right I think at this point it would be it would be stupid to jeopardize the NHL season given with what they've dealt with in the past and how they got to get back to they got to get the 82 games in and they got to get playoffs and I know a lot of people are very disappointed by this and this is very I think it's a little bit short-sighted I guess what I could say you could have a great all-star game experience still hopefully and get all the players there enjoy that get the 82 games and get a great playoff in that way the players are not behind the eight ball as far as what they're going to owe the owners given the escrow and how much money they am and how backlogged they are and regarding that status but also the fact is right now you're

on pace you can take the season off everybody can get away from the covid bullshit if they have to and then they can continue next season right as scheduled i think the olympics at this point does not do anybody any favors especially from an nhl standpoint yeah well said biz bravo you too all right i i I am confused. So when we when when we broke that story to just nobody say that like we didn't get any sort of credit or anything. I there are a couple of reporters outlets who I've certainly given credit to over the years. They you know, I don't think SART ignored it, didn't pay into it. But they said, oh, we're hearing that this and, you know, clearly we called it.

We didn't we're not making it up like I listen i've been doing this for 14 fucking years on barstool i've whiffed on a story or two but that's because uh things changed i didn't fucking make stuff up nobody here made stuff up we got it collectively and fucking it's true so uh yeah i mean pl lebrun he you know he he tweeted at 11 30 whatever and i don't think he heard it from us and i'm sure he got on his own but typically in the in the, people say, oh, so-and-so had it first. And, you know, he didn't. Others didn't. I will say, our pal Bucci, because last night after someone pointed out this to me,

like, oh, these people are saying the same thing you guys said, but, you know, they're not saying who had it first. And I retweeted our story, like, oh, in case you missed it, from earlier this afternoon when we had it like we posted what the scooby-doo fucking gift for a laugh and buchi fucking retweeted that fucking afterwards to say like hey these motherfuckers had it first i mean i know he didn't just come out and say it but that's as long as you know as long as if we're wrong we don't get any heat i don't need the credit you know if we break it right you know yeah paul i don't want to

hear a word if this isn't true fellas and if it is well that's the thing that's the like i would say the glory but if this turns if this somehow doesn't pan out you know like it's gonna take a crazy set of circumstances our source didn't lead us astray it would take something fucked up so you know like i mean i've gotten frosted on sources i said tory crew was get his rights are gonna get traded didn't happen i feel like an asshole. But, you know, based on what I was told at the time, things changed after. But I don't think that's going to happen here.

So, yeah, we had it first. It's a good thing. I know you guys are the hockey players, and me and Drenelia are the fucking media nerds. But it's fun to have that and fucking beat everybody to it. Did we just pump our tires the last four minutes? Is that what we did? So what, man? Who cares?

Okay, all right. That's fine. What do you think? I wonder who even wants to go to the Olympics when it's not the NHLers. These guys in Europe still want to go and possibly be stuck there for five weeks and not get paid? I know one kid who wants to go. Johnny Walker.

Johnny Walker. Our barstool athlete sent me a text message and said, get spit and chiclets on the johnny walker to beijing train he wants to go he's like 28 i know but like so he would he would rather go over there and do that instead of playing his college year playing at asu johnny are you stupid dude he's like 35 years there what he's played like 35 years there i know but this is his last kick at the can at asu going over and sitting in china for fucking 55 days doesn't sound too appealing and not being on

campus i don't know i don't know i understand playing for your country is amazing like it's an incredible feeling but who wants to go do this where with what's going on right now with covid and china fuck that and and i don't want to sound too negative. I love Olympic hockey. I love when you get team USA versus team Canada, all the juggernauts. But what would we be risking here? Basically a good chunk of the NHL

season if shit got out of hand. And for what? Maybe six or eight games that people are going to actually watch front to back. Maxtrom to get hot as hell and Swedes to upset everybody. There you go. That's what we already had a future on it.

That's probably the case. But that's a, that's what we would be risking here. If you want to watch eight unbelievable games of hockey and, and of course you can grow the game. And you guys, I'm the first one to say, I love Olympic hockey. I thought it was ridiculous even before this outbreak that they were considering going over and to jeopardize this NHL season. This one right here.

And this one's important. And given the parity in the league, and let's look at it from an NHL standpoint right now, how many teams would you say are under the gun to win a Stanley Cup now? Fuck a dozen. Easily half the league. I mean, everybody. I would say easily where people would be fired if they don't.

No, I'm saying is like right now. Right now, think of how many cup favorites you got in your head. You could probably say, well, Jesus Christ, man. Vegas is on a bit of a. Yeah. Vegas, Colorado, New York Rangers. I mean, fuck, you can't really count Pittsburgh out of the mix for crying out loud. Tampa Bay is okay.

Tampa Bay, Florida. Just four points separate the top 12 teams right now. There you go. You could probably say 10 teams who legit win the cup. I mean, there you go. Yeah. You're watching the best hockey right now. Let's not fuck it up. It

sucks. We're not getting Olympics, but folks stop, stop thinking so short-sighted. We got still a half a season, less of a half a season, more, excuse me, of NHL hockey and unbelievable playoffs. The only thing that would really suck. And you notice the big difference is the amount of emotion when the fans are in the building, as opposed to not. If they have to go back to the bubble format. Don't even get me started. Okay, we won't even go there. Let's not be negative. Let's keep it positive here and move forward.

That's why I wore my NHL hat tonight, Paul, because we're not about the IOC. We're about the NHL. We want our NHL schedule to get finished and our playoffs to be proper. Also, a smaller ripple effect, too, Biz, we mentioned, like obviously much further down the line, finished and our playoffs to be proper. Also a smaller ripple effect to biz. We mentioned like, and obviously much further down the line, but a lot more of these all-stars who aren't going to China now might come to Vegas to either participate in the game,

hang out with the chickens, boys, potty a little bit, meet the fans. I mean, you know, a little ripple effect I thought was worth mentioning. Absolutely.

And I think once that's another element that grows the game. Now, as far as making up games, we're at, we're at close to game. Now, as far as making up games, we're at close to 50 now as far as games lost. Are they planning on making those up during that Olympic break, or have they not said a word so far? They haven't said anything. So when they come out, I don't know what's today.

We're recording Monday. So either Tuesday or Wednesday, they'll essentially confirm our report that there will be no Olympics, and I'm sure they're going to give the rest of the lowdown from that. And I'm sure they've been working on that a little while now too. Yeah. Contingency plans. Absolutely. Getting ahead of it as much as you can now. And you got to wonder too, like Billy Guerin and Chris Drury.

Guerin was named the team USA GM Drury assistant GM. These guys are probably like Coleman, like hockey DB and like elite prospects right now, trying to fucking fill this roster for the Olympics. I mean, they're great guys. They do it. Will they still be going? I don't know. Will they still be going?

Like if the NHL players aren't going? I don't. That's why I'm wondering. I mean, do they? I don't. I wouldn't think so. I mean, do they? You can't leave the way the Rangers in the wild are going.

I mean, who knows? Maybe they do. But I would feel I would think that that might that might be a duty handed over to USA Hockey. But that is kind of odd to all of a sudden say, who knows? Maybe they do. But I would feel, I would think that that might, that might be a duty handed over to USA Hockey. But that is kind of odd to all of a sudden say, all right, I'm out. I mean, I don't know how that's going to work. I would say there's no way. And they just canceled the Spangler Cup.

I'm not saying that. Canada, Canada left the Spangler Cup. They didn't cancel it. Oh, same thing. Spangler Cup, for people who don't know, is an awesome tournament. I think it's. Same thing. Spangler Cup, for people who don't know, is an awesome tournament. I think it's 100 years old. It's the oldest hockey tournament in the league. Is it in the world?

It's the oldest hockey tournament in the world. Well, it's played in Davos, Switzerland, just this beautiful area right in the mountains. And people love it. Actually, Upshaw won it, I think, the last time they played it. Canada won it. They didn't play it last year. I might be off, but it is a great event. Canada always sends a national team, and unfortunately, they won't be going.

They're out. Yeah, and I'm going to put the caveat with that this is on Wikipedia, and I haven't had time to cite the source, but first held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. So I knew I had read it somewhere. Again, it's Wikipedia, so I won't sign off on it. But if it is, still pretty cool.

And Switzerland is one of those places I want to get to big time. They won't let you in. I know they won't let you in, for a fact. Dude, I got connections. Oh, yeah? All right. I guess we could put an ending to all the COVID talk, guys. It's mostly speculation.

We've had our opinions on it, right, as far as a group. As far as the Olympics. But there's still the other part of the schedule we didn't get to. I know. It's the last fucking thing we want to talk about. Trust us. But it's the news. So we got to relay it and get it out of our system here.

Again, a bunch of games have been postponed. More teams have shut it down until after Christmas. Detroit was the latest. They joined Boston, Nashville, Colorado, Florida, Calgary, Toronto. The NHL and the Players Association have agreed to postpone cross-border games through 12-23. The NHL revised protocols but will continue to play the schedule. Basically, they're going to shut down teams

on a case-by-case basis, but a league-wide shutdown is the last resort. And I know Grinelli just texted over something from Frank Civelli right now. I'm going to pull that up. Literally just came over the wire. Sources say there has been conversation today about a possible league-wide shutdown

effective tomorrow, which will be Tuesday. The situation remains very fluid, no decision yet. There's just seven games left before Christmas break. So whether they do or they don't, I've got these last few games, and obviously COVID's running amok. But this also got a reaction from players and general managers alike. Nashville's Nick Cousins tweeted, just basically closed the season down, like just shut it down until after Christmas. And it's kind of refreshing to hear that from a player.

And then Stevie, why? I don't know how much of the clip we want to roll G if any, it was pretty long, but I throw a little up there. I don't know what the right thing is at the end of the day. I think now I'm getting political, but at the end of the day our players are testing positive with very little symptoms if any symptoms at all i don't see it as a threat to their health at this point so i think it might take it a step further in question why are we even testing for guys that have no symptoms

the players i think ultimately they want to play um i don't think and i get you probably need to ask them that you know guys i've talked to nobody really has any is none of the players have come to us and said hey we should shut this down if they feel that way they haven't expressed that to us um i i think our players have been very positive in that just tell us what we need to do and we'll do it they've been uh acceptive of the protocols whether they like them or not is irrelevant but they've been willing to do them ultimately i think they just want to play and get through this to the best for all nobody wants anybody to get violently ill or deathly ill anything like that guys are

willing to do their part um but right now i think i guess uh my perception is they'll do what they have to do they want to play and uh get through it and you know what i i think biz he was just wondering what a lot of people are privately thinking maybe tweeted about i've been asking themselves that like you themselves at what point is this making sense to people? I know that asymptomatic people can give it to other people, but if you're

only around other vaccinated people in the same circles, it's this convoluted thing. I know we're all fucking driven crazy with it, but Stevie White doesn't say that without thinking. Two weeks to stop the spread. Remember? Two years ago, just about.

Two weeks to stop the spread. And it's now at the point where what the hell is going on? Every single guy in the league just about. I know Cousins tweeted that. You talk to anyone, they're saying, why are we being tested when we don't have symptoms? We're the healthiest individuals in the world. What is the point of testing all these guys every single day

when they don't have symptoms? And so many guys are missing games, missing time. The teams are losing because they're missing top players and they feel completely fine. I just don't i know everyone is so sick and tired of talking about it and it's such a political brutal topic but this is never going away it's like when when do we get back to just like a normal life i don't understand like guys are saying shut down the league what do you think in two weeks this isn't going to be around it's's the winter. People go inside.

It's 70 degrees. You go outside. It's minus 10. Like, it's not going anywhere. And just for us to be able to figure out a way to continue to play games when none of these guys are getting sick and they're all fucking double vaccinated. It's like, what are we doing here? I think everybody's just frustrated on the inside because of what they have to go through

on an everyday basis. Like, we just kind of sit back. I got my – listen, I'm double vax, guys. Like, all these players have followed the rules. Biz, that's a double Z-pack. Shut the fuck up. I mean, other than one guy, we'll get to the chirp later, but these guys have followed the rules, and then all of a sudden it's like,

well, they have to jump through all these hula hoops. And I think Arzeman really hit on the head and he's just kind of as confused as everybody is, is I think these players just, just let them fucking play inside their, their bubble. They have to remain kind of out of the public eye too. Now they're back to the old protocol. So especially now, if not more than ever, let the thing run. Everybody within that little bubble and in the locker rooms who's interacting

is, is I think that has to be double vac. So let's, let's keep the train rolling and boosted and they got the boosters. It's what is. And how many arena workers did they come in that close of contact with? And if those arena workers, you could say, Hey, if you don't want to come in, you don't want to lose your job. Like, you know, like if you're afraid of it, fine, but yeah, it's just everybody's vaxxed and masked. It's like, and I feel so I feel so bad for people.

Some of you people in Canada, like the fact that like no crowds and half crowds. I feel so sorry for you guys out there. Moms out there with kids, sons and daughters that you want to take them to an NHL game. These kids are seven, eight, nine years old. We're coming up on two years and their lives are being fucking ruined and affected so much up there. And it's happening down here, but it's, it's everyone's vaccinated. Everyone's double vax.

You got the boosters and there's more cases than ever. It's like, what the fuck planet are we living on? Yeah. I'm losing my mind. Have you felt that since you've been there sorry what i mean yeah i mean i had it was a bit of a process to get into canada to see my family i think that i think that i think just people overall are just worn out by it yeah yeah absolutely well so when are we gonna go back to being like living normal i'm just having an open conversation like

yeah i i think i'm saying i think me and me and you have 100 on board with this i know you know we we always we don't always see things eye to eye but i think on this we're like yeah man like i think people know the the risk the drawbacks whatever you can get vaccinated be boosted wear masks you can go but society has to fucking function this is part of the this is the new normal and like you know and also true it's like these vaccination like show your backside that's a dog and pony show from what i've seen regardless of what state or what building i'm going in like if i can show a fucking photocopy of my buddies and no one cares then why do it like why pretend to do it if you're not going to actually fucking enforce it which i don't think you should because at this point man it's a free country it's just

fucking like i know a lot of folks have died but you know there are precautions people can take and if they don't want to partake in those elements of society they don't have to or they don't want to work in them fine but i think they're ready the majority of people are ready to like you know if they're vaccinated and they want to wear a mask or in where they need to like let's like just function again like let's we have to function again and and especially like this last variant i think it was i don't know if it was denmark some country it was like like 0.06 percent of people who had those late latest variant uh we had to actually go to the hospital and then there's going to be another variant and then the fucking next letter

the greek alphabet fucking omega and fucking delta it's like it's it's just like the new normal man and you can't fucking every single time, especially if they're being weaker. I think we all know the risk of going out. And if you fucking don't want to take it, that's fine. But you know, it's a fucking globe.

That's going to keep spinning and the fucking, the world has to keep going at some point. And I don't know. Well, I agree. All right. Well, we did get a good laugh out of it anyways.

Regardless of how you feel about any of this shit and whether you think it's political or not, New Jersey's Mason Gertz and to Tyler Bertuzzi, like these guys chirp each other all the time. It's been written, and I think it's pretty well known that Tyler Bertuzzi is the only player who has not been vaccinated and we're not we we get no problem with that we gets his decision we don't judge him one way or the other but when gatson goes trip and go get vaccinated like people like oh that's weak i'm like no that's

kind of funny because he's the only guy if there were three guys it wouldn't be as funny but because he's the only guy and he's calling him out for it like and you know we obviously like tyler here we got no problem with it but that's a good trip and we's calling him out for it, you know, we obviously like Tyler here. We got no problem with it. But that's a good trip. And we just want to get. I thought it was worse than the Bruce. There it is. So I thought it was one of the worst chirps ever.

I don't know. What do you think of it, Biz? I thought it was very. Go get vaccinated. What do you do? Go get a checkup, dude. Well, because you're the only guy, dude, who didn't like the 770 is. You're the only guy who didn't.

I mean, I mean, I feel it's predictable. I'm sure he's heard it before. I think that's probably the best camera angle we've seen it captured on. And I think he proceeded to talk about what a minute later, I think he had to that game, right? Yeah. He scored a minute after that comment and I think he had two in the game. So given with, I guess the only thing that you could chirp him on is the fact that he can't go to Canada and he has to forfeit his salary but other than that it seems like they all have to

jump through the same hoops but as i said guys i'm double vaxxed the last thing i'm going to do is spend my time and energy shaming anyone that they're not i just yeah this this whole situation has kind of left me very perplexed and that may come as a shock to a lot of you i can't even pronounce certain words on on here So I'm going to, I'm going to probably tone down my opinion on this whole thing, other than the fact that RA I agree. And I, I want to say about a year after COVID originally came out, they, they said that get used to this. This is the new normal. And,

and we may be wearing masks for a long time. And before the next one is they figured out a booster or how to beat it. There's another one coming out. So I kind of just tend to either focus the energy away from being all down about it and or the people who are really getting fucked by it. Like the small business stuff, you just think about that again. You just hope it doesn't get back to where it was.

And I guess that's all I'm... They can't. They can't do it in America because they don't have the money to hand out that they did before. I respect the hell how you just try to always stay positive. No, I'm going to be honest. The first the first time through COVID and we had to keep continuing our episodes and stuff, it was I think it was just very difficult on everybody. And I didn't have to worry about, you know, closing a business or worry about where my next paycheck was coming from. So I guess that's just kind of where the energy goes and just wondering. I don't think that they're going to go back to that place.

And I just hope the suffering stops from a mental health aspect. And I hope that maybe more of that stuff is also used when when considering on decisions that are going to end up being made on the overall. And it hasn't been so far. It really I agree with you. And and we can 100 percent end this. my one thing I do not understand and could not disagree more with people who are vaccinated and despise and fucking hate unvaccinated people. You're vaccinated. You're good. You got the boosters. You're all set. Why is it the hatred towards the unvaccinated? It's so bizarre. We can end it now, but it is such a part of life with our job and everyone else's job in life right now that we have

to talk about it on a hockey podcast it's ridiculous oh yeah we went off the rails there and that'll put a bow on it uh hey you know what at least we still have the world juniors on track that's going to start up uh the day after christmas going to go through january 5th up in edmonton and buddy rick up at red deer and the big news when i was up Canada last week, Connor Badad is going to be making the team. That was like, I love doing the sports center in Canada is so good. Like it's like you go from like the general manager from one team to the goalie to another. It's like this stuff.

It's like, Oh, I wish we had it down here so bad, but that was the big news up there. Busy. You're getting geared up for those juniors or what? Well, you know, you, you just try to shift the focus. If there's no NHL hockey going on, I mean, you got world juniors to look forward to and a very special player in Bedard who, Grinnell, I don't know if you have the list of guys who have made Team Canada

as a 16-year-old for world juniors. This guy is going to be wearing a full cage over there. The hype, I know the hype is real. I've seen highlights of this kid. I hope he's able to step up in the first big stage that he's going to have an opportunity to. And Team USA just unveiled their new retro throwback type jerseys. So I think there's a lot of cool storylines going on in this one.

And, of course, the undeniable first overall pick coming out this year in Shane Wright, which will be coming to the Coyotes. And if anyone thinks otherwise, you can lick my big salty nuts. Now, Grinnell, we're going to throw it back. You think they're going to let them win the lottery? So you can play in a fucking. By the way, let me try to guess those names. Let me try to guess them.

Spezza. You got them in front of you? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn't know if you wanted to do all of them. You played for Cannon World Juniors at 16. Yep. Spezza's correct. Spezzo, Bollmeister.

Correct. McDavid, Crosby. Correct, correct. Taveras? Was it Calo Caliacovo? No, I don't think Taveras. McDavid. Did you say McDavid?

He said McDavid. Are we missing somebody back in the day? Yep. Gretzky? Yep. And then one more. Lemuel? Nope.

One more, and it's not back in the day, but back before my time. Oh, Lindros. Yep. I was going to say Lindros. Christ. Yeah, Lindros. I didn't get it. What list did I look at the other day?

Lindros was, like, crushing everyone in the OHL when he was 16. I guess his games in the OHL were some of the most ridiculous sights you could ever see in a hockey rink. Getting three goals, pounding the shit out of the tough guy on the other team, and running the goalie. 16 years old. Yeah, he was a monster back in the day, no doubt. I don't know enough about the World Juniors this year.

Is Canada the favorite as they usually are? Just like the Spangler Cup. USA is coming off an amazing win last year, but I think one name to keep an eye on. He was at the hockey fest in Detroit, red Savage for team USA. He was with the boys the whole time. Kids, the man red Savage.

He was hanging with us that weekend, hanging the whole time. Where does he play? He came up to me on the street and he's like, hey, man, I'm Red Savage. I actually got drafted this past year. That's his name? And I'm like, you stick with us the whole weekend. That sounds like a 50s gangster on this.

What a name. Red Savage. Does he have red hair? Savage Brothers from Mystical. Just a huge fire bush. Yeah. Fucking. Coming out of a tunnel lit on fire.

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they're awesome people. Cross-country mortgage, by all means, check them out. All right, boys, the other huge story, and this really come out of left field. Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice abruptly quit. Just stunning news. He stepped down out of nowhere in the middle of his ninth season as Jets coach. He said the team needed a new voice. His quote, if you'll allow me some arrogance, I feel I'm better positioned than anyone to know that they need a new voice. They haven't quit on me, but they need somebody that can get to them,

get them to the next place. He said he also didn't have the same joy going to the rink after the last two seasons with the COVID effect. His other quote, I didn't enjoy it. And that's the very first time I could say I didn't enjoy coming to the rink. If you lose some of that passion for the game,

you can still be good, but you can't be as good as you should be. That's how I feel. I am. I did a good job here. I'm proud of my work. He leaves the Jets five points back of the wildcard. The players were said to be stunned.

I figured this guy's been fired three times as an NHL coach. I think he probably sees cracks in the foundations that leads to players eventually tuning him out, and he knew that might have been next. I think he did this out of love for his players, to realize I'm not the guy to get on the promised land.

I thought it was a pretty boss move, and he should be commended for it. Biz, we'll go to you first on this one. Well, and probably thought he had a team with, if they had a big change and a spark that could probably make a deep run into playoffs. I mean, we talked about it in preseason. I think they have a very, very good team. One of the weaknesses they had was their back end.

I thought they addressed it enough where we know that they have a Vezna caliber goalie and then they have an unbelievable top nine. You know, has that top nine clicked as much as they had expected coming in earlier in the season? No, but they still got it. And I think too highly of Paul Maurice to think this is him looking ahead being like, hey, I'm not going to wait until I get fully tuned out and then can for the fourth time where now I have more leverage as a guy who walked away given these other head coaching vacancies

and probably the opportunities that will present themselves this offseason. uh no I think he just generally did this out of the fact he probably had just had enough of barking that same message where these guys are I mean nine years man with with with a lot of that core group with and you know regardless of how much you love a coach you know at a certain point that that message does seem to fall on deaf ears. And I'm a little disappointed because I thought this was probably a year where if they didn't make a run or didn't do anything significant, they probably would have parted ways with them. Would you agree with that, that this was probably the year

where if they weren't able to get – because every year I felt like it's been a decline to where, if I'm not mistaken, they ran into the year that the Nashville Predators ended up going to the finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins was when they met Winnipeg. And I think that Winnipeg was just as coveted as them going into that series.

And those are two of the juggernauts coming out of the West. And ever since then, they've really just never been able to reach that caliber of play. And it's kind of, they've been just left in this purgatory with him. So as much as I love Paul Maurice, I think he's very accurate in the fact that he hasn't been able to get these guys over the edge

or really anywhere near it. I think they went to a Western Conference final against the – did Vegas beat them to go to the Cup final? Can you look that up quick? Oh, really? They went to the Cup Final? Can you look that up quick? Oh, really? They went to the Conference Finals? Yeah, they lost to Vegas four games to one of the Conference Finals.

Okay. So they've had some good teams, but it was a master class in basically being a veteran, I think. First of all, his press conference. The guy is so well-spoken. I think a lot of people immediately said the media in Winnipeg is really going to miss the guy the most.

He gives a quote. He's able to talk to you about a multitude of different subjects, analytics, players. He's very open. And I think that that's going to suck for the media members and even fans up there to not get his usual quotes after games. But at the same time, I'm not saying he would have been fired this year, but they're outside the playoffs right now.

His seat was probably getting a little warm. And like you mentioned, biz, all right, I could see this isn't really working anymore. I might be let go when the season ends. I don't know his contract situation. I know he had a couple of years left,

right? He had one year left. Okay. One more. And why don't I just take a step away right now? And then I'm probably the most wanted coach on the market when the season ends. A guy could have a job in a second, right?

But I do believe it wasn't that. It was more I'm being honest with myself, and I can tell we really are kind of stagnant. And if you talk to fans that were maybe not haters of his, but would pick apart things they didn't like, I think people wanted to see Ehlers play a lot more. Since Maurice has gone to two games, he's got one goal, four assists. I mean, he's a dynamic game breaker.

And then at the same time, Scheifele averages two minutes more of five-on-five ice time a game, which is a lot, right, on just five-on-five than Pierre-Luc Dubois. And Dubois has been better than him this year. So a little bit changefive ice time a game, which is a lot, right, on just five-on-five than Pierre-Luc Dubois. And Dubois has been better than him this year. So a little bit change in ice time probably, and we'll see what happens. But he did a hell of a job. I mean, Connor, Ehlers, Wheeler, Scheifele, all these guys, you know, were younger players when he started coaching them.

And the team has had some success, but was never able to get to that cup final. There's some negativity online. Do you view it as quitting on your team? This was his team. He's been there nine years. He's been with this core group. So now all of a sudden, things are getting a little bit difficult.

How do you view it from that sense? Are you shocked that a guy as reputable as Maurice wouldn't have tried to at least solve the puzzle you still got the great team um a little bit but not really actually when I think about it he knows he I think his arrogance is what he said like I know more than anyone that this team needs a new voice and i'll say this i i don't know if there's ever been a coach in pro sports that if after nine years he decided to quit that the core guys wouldn't be like all right fine let's get somebody else in here i'm not saying that the big dogs and all the players in winnipeg didn't really like him but i would i i think it'd be a little naive to think that they're not like all right yeah we've kind of had enough nine years the same coach i i understand that some people are great at

their job but in the end these athletes at some point they tune you out a little bit i don't care who you are so we'll see how they respond but lowry interestingly enough coaching his son who's on the team adam um and somebody said the last time that happened was Kevin Deneen's dad coached him on the Flyers maybe. Was Bill Deneen a coach of the Flyers, R.A.? But that's a long time to have a – Yeah, that's way back, yeah. I will say, though, that I have heard quite a bit,

and I don't watch this team enough. I'm not completely dialed in, but they say that he does favor the veterans. He's less likely to, to, to give the younger guys more ice time. And, you know, sometimes, uh, sometimes if you've had guys for so long, your, your vision of them can be a little bit jaded, especially when things aren't going so well with productivity on the ice. And yeah, I, I, I'll go back to my original statement. So I commend the guy for, for having the balls to be able to walk away. I was just curious to know your thoughts on the, the, yeah, I'll go back to my original statement. I commend the guy for having the balls to be able to walk away. I was just curious to know your thoughts on the, like, the quote-unquote quitting comments. You know, I think that they're a little bit absurd.

I was just interested to hear what you had to say. And I guess overall, I mean, let's see what this core group can do. Yeah, I mean, it's a fresh set of eyes. And we've seen what that's done in Vancouver already. I mean, they've rattled off six in a row under Bruce, and we'll see how long it lasts. But just guys like, you know, guys you talk about in the doghouse, like all of a sudden a new coach comes in,

and this guy's going to get more playing time. He's going to get more power play time, and we're seeing the effects of that. So, you know, we've got to give props to Maurice. 1,684 games is the fourth most in NHL history after Bowman, Quenville, and Trotz. Like you said, Dave Lowry's going to take over on an interim basis for the rest of the season. The team's going to look for a new coach this summer. Lowry will be an option.

Obviously, he's going to get a little bit of a tryout now. So, yeah, I don't think he's a quitter, man. I think he knew that this team, I think he respects these guys so much, Paul, that he knows that they need somebody else right now. And that's why he's handing off the, but I'll say this though. Hot seat core group.

Can't blame the coach anymore. They're like, oh shit. Oh, son of a beast thing. Slow start next year. He could have got canned. We would've got that little extra leeway.

Now it's all on us. Bingo. Let's see. Moving right along. A pretty cool moment on Sunday, Robin Leonard, a friend of the show he returned to Long Island and he was only there for one year but he did talk about his one year there and how it meant so much to him uh you know that's where he was getting sober and he was dealing with

his mental health issues and he said I'll say it again the Islanders fan base saved my life they have a special place in my heart in my family's heart uh he showed the Long Island tattoo on his neck that he told us about in the show. And then what was really cool, he shaved his beard because, you know, Lou doesn't allow facial hair. So in a nod to Lou Lamorello, he took his beard off, which, you know, it's a pretty big sign of respect for a guy to do that. Then, of course, he gets the win on the shootout.

Vegas ends up going 4-0 on the roadie. Max Pacioretty, hot as hell. He had a seven-game goal streak. Him, Stone, and Stevenson combined for 43 points in the first nine games, max get back on the lineup. But then Lena also got in the mix. You've seen that little scrap with New Jersey. He got, he got involved in the dust up too, but you know, it was, it was great to see that highlight video of him biz, you know, like,

cause he, you know, he's, he's a unique character in the NHL. And he told us how much New York meant to him. And listen, other people, I think they confuse you with me. People are like, Ari shits on Islanders fans. I never shit on Islanders fans. Oh, you were giving it to him during the playoffs, dude. You were giving it to him. During a series.

You give it to him all the time. Okay, well, you just said I don't give it to the Islanders fans. You were giving it to him for two straight weeks. I don't call them scumbags. You call them scumbags. I think you said scumbag at Hurricanes, but you were buckled. We won't hold it against you. I think the moment

was amazing, and it's funny because I've never in my life used the word endearing when talking about somebody pointing to their neck tat, but it was endearing, right? I mean, the guy, it was an amazing job that whoever did that did of Strong Island. And after we talked to him and you realize how open he is with what he's been through and what

his life's been like, you see the true passion when he talks about Long Island and like that area and that team saving him as a person and a player. So I was so happy for him. It was a great story. I can't believe I didn't bet him. Of course, he's going to win when he goes back there and shaves the beard out of respect to Lou. Funny. Yeah. Funny Twitter post with the hair in the sink. And that's also a guy that that's on my mind right now because of what he mentioned and him him being like, that is not good for me being in the bubble and all that with what's going on. So I'm thinking of a guy like that who's been through a lot. You got to see him show his respects to a place that really kind of uh made him who he is now he says

well said well said my man uh and i i mentioned this to biz last night like lana was a guy i don't know that he was ever a journeyman he was a backup a few times but there've been so many guys this year who have stepped up you know they've been backup uh goaltenders number two guys minor league guys you out in St. Louis, two guys alone. Charlie Lindgren, St. Louis, 5-0 with a 1-2-2 goals against, 9-5-8 save percentage. He only had 24 NHL starts before this season. John Gillies was drafted third round of the 2012 draft.

He started one game for St. Louis, played great. Then he gets traded to New Jersey for future considerations. Starts for them Sunday. We've never seen backup goalies have this much value before where they're getting traded. I mean, Malcolm Subban gets traded to Buffalo. Has one of the most amazing fucking saves of the

season with that crazy wraparound behind his fucking back save. You guys seen that? I think it's cool that all these guys who... COVID sucks, right? We've, we've fucking done talking about it, but if there's a silver lining,

it's all these guys getting these opportunities and grabbing them by the balls. Like Zach Fucali, one start for Washington earlier this year is only shot, only start ever. And it's a shout out in the NHL. If that's all he ever does, man,

he can hang his hat on that forever. So I don't know. I'm like, I'm a fuck. I also, I also believe the parody and the parody and goaltending and and the like the quality of goaltending overall has just severely improved now so when you when you have a guy drop you're just getting these ahl guys

that are coming up where they're just as good as the next guy in line in my opinion i think that's the most improvement we've seen in a position maybe in all of sports over the last 10 to 15 years, we've had goalie coaches on who have talked about it. And just the fact that they've well, finally gotten coaches, even at the NHL level, we're looking back 15 years, like half the teams,

he maybe didn't even have goalie coaches. So especially specifically goalies are, but I agree with you some unbelievable storylines, even the guy in Dallas, is it Ottinger? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he's, he's i mean he's i think he's more of a dress of a journey man but but a guy who's had the opportunity now with injuries and in this situation can can come and play yeah but i sent the clip uh to the group sunday night garrett sparks i mean he hasn't he played for toronto a couple years ago was never able to grab that number one job and he gets

called up because of all this shit. And I sent the presser to you. It was a four-minute clip. It was very emotional. I mean, he wasn't like sobbing and crying or anything, but you could tell how much this moment meant to him. And the last minute, he just says, man, I was out there, and I got to shut down the greatest goal scorer in the history of the game

and be part of this. And it was like, how do you not get goosebumps watching this? That was amazing. He played for Canada World Juniors too, didn't he, Biz? Yes, he did. So that means he was somebody at one point, it was like this is a future starter in the NHL, so he's been through so much.

I saw that interview as well. I didn't mean to cut you off. Sorry, it was great. No, actually, gee, want to play a snippet over here? Because it was really worth listening to. Who do you lean on for support in a journey like this? You know, a quick phone call maybe you make after this. My family, you know. worth listening to. Who do you lean on for support in a journey like this? A quick phone call maybe you make after this.

My family. You know, I've had to retool everything that I do. I just had to get my life back. It's more than just hockey. life back you know it's more than just hockey I was just a lot of work it's worth it though it was worth it I don't know I suffered a pretty bad concussion in Toronto in practice and I was having a really good season and I kind of derailed my season there and uh the wheels just fell off for a little bit and you know you got

to start from the ground up and work your way back I started in the East Coast League this time last year I was making 600 bucks a week I was having a good time. Just enjoying playing hockey. I just, it was just crazy to be on NHL ice again and playing against the greatest goal scorer of all time and having an answer. So it was cool. Boom. So you hear the emotion in his voice.

And yeah, getting to shut down Ovi is a little bit of like, in 40 years when he's sitting at the bar with his boys like let's throw that save on pull up again but buy me another shot pink Whitney but also glory days is playing in the background like biz when I see these guys grinding like this I mean I could see a number one job for one of these guys opening up at some point you look at like Tim Thomas is the best example he didn't become a start until he was 31 years old. Basically Latchdown,

the Bruins ends up winning a cons might. And you know, even in the recent years, James Rima was somewhat of a journeyman. He he's, he's become a status since then. Jack Campbell up in Toronto, Craig Anderson,

like these guys bounced around and then later, they become status. So I love this fucking type of story, man. And I mean, that's something I didn't even mention when I was rifling off about all these goaltenders and the overall quality rising is these guys, most of the time they're on entry levels from the age of, let's say, 18 to 21, or maybe they're college kids.

So a little bit older goaltenders are they're just late to developing. Now they take that extra, you know, three, four or five years. Sometimes they don't even come into the best goaltending until they're 30, 32 years old. So yeah, I guess I'm partly, I guess I am surprised by it, but, but no, especially the fact that they are late to developing RA. Yeah. And you know, and I think it's probably the position that's easiest to lose your confidence and really fall off a cliff as well. So.

Buddy, I, I've talked about all the time. I play with Jack Campbell. He was a first round draft pick to the Dallas Stars, and he ended up coming over to the Ontario Reign and had to build up that mental game. The mental portion for the attendees is the biggest element. So, yeah, I completely agree, Ari. Well, we're talking about bringing guys up, journeymen, that help the team and guys you might not be familiar with. So I think it's a perfect time to bring on Nathan Walker.

St. Louis Blue was called up last week. Next day, he gets a hat trick for the Blues. Of course, he's the first Australian in the NHL, first Australian drafted. Basically, every time an Australian does something for the first time, it's him. We do want to let you know that this interview is brought to you by NHTSA. You know, it's the holiday season, gang.

You're hanging out with some friends. You're putting back a few drinks. A few becomes a few too many. As the evening comes to a close, people start head out you think of calling a ride and you live nearby you can make it home okay it's no big deal what do you how'd you get pulled over anyways and even so what's the worst that could happen your insurance goes up you lose your license you lose your job you total your car kill someone. Everyone knows the risk of driving drunk. It's fucking stupid. The results are tragic and often deadly.

However, that doesn't stop everyone from getting behind the wheel while under the influence. That's why police officers are out right now protecting our roads from impaired drivers to save lives. So if you think you're okay to drive after a few drinks, think again. It's just not worth it. Play it safe. Plan ahead. Get a ride. It only takes one mistake to change a life or someone else's forever. Drive sober or get pulled over. For more www.nhtsa.gov slash drive sober. Folks, I know it's that time of year. There's some extra cheer in the air, but please make good decisions and look out for those who might not be able to make them for themselves. One little goofy night can screw everything up. So be safe out there. And without further ado, we're going to have some fun with our Australian mate,

out there. And without further ado, we're going to have some fun with our Australian mate, Nathan Walker. Well, it's a pleasure to welcome our next guest. This player left his home in Australia at just 13 years old to move to the Czech Republic to chase his hockey dreams. And he became the first Australian ever drafted by an NHL team and the first to play in the NHL. In 2018, he became the first Aussie to win a Stanley Cup when the Capitals won it all. And currently a member of the St. Louis Blues, he recently scored a hat-trick the day after the team recalled him. Yes, another Aussie first. Thanks a bunch for joining us on the Spittin' Chicklets podcast.

Nathan Walker, how's it going, Nathan? I'm good, thanks. That was a sick intro. Gotta get a tire pump for you, though, you know? He wrote that one on the ride home from Sudbury recently, so he put a lot of effort into it. I knew he crushed that one. Speaking of crushing it, buddy, I mean, what an amazing,

amazing story the other night. You get recalled. You get a hat trick in the game, and the last goal was like a tip. Everyone wasn't really sure right away, but take me through your emotions not only after the game but before and just looking forward to just trying to prove yourself and play well um yeah it was pretty nuts i mean obviously with all the injuries and the code things that were kind of going on here um yeah they just gave me a call and called me up and obviously whenever you get called up you know

you want to try to do the right things and you know play the right way and everything and uh you know things just kind of kind of happened the right way for me that game. Even had the owner stop by after the game to give you props, huh? Yeah, that was cool. I saw him coming down. I was like, oh, boy. But, no, it was good. He had some nice words.

That was nice. You're used to the big moments because going back to that Stanley Cup victory, you get one game and it's in the finals and you end up getting a point. So even though maybe you weren't there the entire season and you feel like maybe you hadn't contributed as much you kind of feel just as much a part of it because in that moment you were able to help contribute yeah 100 i mean uh all those guys on that team that year were incredible like the way that they would make you feel and be a part of the team when you know like you said i wasn't there the whole year it's they were they were so good to me and all you know i be a part of the team when, you know, like you said, I wasn't there the whole year. It's, they were,

they were so good to me and all, you know, I'll cherish that for the rest of my life. But yeah, I mean, those big games, I, I fucking love it. Like getting up for those games. It's so easy to get up and, you know, get ready for those, those type of ones. And being born in Cardiff, it kind of got you ready to be able to drink with TJ Oshie. Yeah, true. I got to keep up with my old man too. Obviously the Australia factor is a huge part of your story, Nathan.

Let's dial back to the beginning. How old were you when you first started skating? How do you get into hockey in a country where it's really not popular at all? That's kind of funny. Like one day, my brother and I just went to a rink and we saw a D league drop in league. And we just were kind of like taken back by him. Like, wow, you know, this, this is kind of pretty sick. Let's give it a go. So next week we joined and we started playing and I would have been, I think I started playing

ice when I was like five or six or so. And then, um, yeah, we just, my brother and I just both loved it from there. Was there like a full team for you guys to have in terms of like players and stuff? Or was there only a few of you? Like how many kids actually your age at the time were playing? There was actually a pretty decent amount. We had a pretty decent league. There would have been maybe like six teams or so around the Sydney area.

But yeah, as I started to get a little older, I was playing. I was playing Peewees, Bantams, Midgets. We were only practicing like once a week which kind of sucked but it got to a point where i was like i you know i want more like i don't i don't want i'm playing three games a weekend and i'm skating once a week in practice but i just want more and then um you know from there that's when i went out to czech republic and played were you were you able to consume it from like uh like watching nhl games perspective like what were you seeing from from a from a hockey content perspective um we actually played an

inline tournament in toronto one year uh my brother was playing uh from team australia and i just went over to watch him and uh we went to the hockey hall of fame and grabbed up a couple of vcrs and um i think that one of them was wayneretzky, the great one in the next ones. So we would come home and plug that thing in. And you got guys like Paul Korea, Mike Madonna, like Yags, all these sick players that are playing. And we would throw that in every day and just, that's what we would watch every day.

And we just wanted to play hockey. It's like so fucking bad. That is nuts. And then your father, I'm guessing never played. So I had no really opinions on the games or what to tell you or or was he a little in the mix in terms of like hey just try hard out there Nathan yeah well he was a rugby player when he was younger so he was he was all about the rugby and I played that up until I was about 15 as well um he was uh he'll probably never

admit it but it was a little heartbroken I think when I chose hockey over rugby yeah but um no he understands the game a lot more now obviously when we're younger you just go there with a little flask of whiskey keep himself nice and warm but that was that was probably it um did you ever get homesick like moving away at such a young age and like given that not not a lot of people where you're at could speak the language or your language yeah it was tough um i mean the first few years are really hard obviously you know calling the family every now and then and um you know chatting about kind of what was going on there and um you know obviously not being able to speak the language and no one being able to speak english too well it was it was really tough but um at the end of the day and i was i was there for hockey and that

just kind of kind of kept me going through it and pushed me through those shitty times for sure. And when you decide to go to Czech at 13, 14, whatever that age was, what made it be there? Like what about somewhere in Canada or U.S. or even another European country? What was the connection in Czech? We had a couple Slovakian coaches back home in Sydney, and one day they just came

yeah I know crazy but um they just came up to me and said listen if you want to play hockey at some point like you got to get out of Australia now and and go overseas um and then you know we discussed it and they were like listen we can get you tryouts at the um Vitko Vitset team and we'll kind of go from there and see how we go. And that was the first step. And then it kind of just stuck, and I went over there. So without those coaches, there's a possibility that you're never going anywhere, right? Like those people truly affected you by at least getting you in the mix.

Oh, yeah, 100%. And I'll cherish those guys until the day I die. Like that was obviously at 13 to kind of move away and do that was tough. But I think if it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't have done it or I would have done it and it would have been too late. I would have come over maybe 15, 16. And by then I'm kind of, I've missed out on those years to really develop and kind of get a knack for the game.

You had a billet family over there and you guys couldn't even speak the same language, right? Is that correct? Yeah yeah the first year so what happened was um we would get so the the owner of the team i believe or the gm of the big team would give me like these little tokens for restaurants so i would grab these tokens like go down to the restaurants and eat food and everything didn't know what the menu said i had no idea what the menu said so i would just go there and go you know what bingo i'm picking this is what i'm eating tonight this is a young age to be doing this too you're an old soul insane so i picked this first thing and this is when like google translate like smartphones weren't like that popular then like it

was the nokias were kind of still floating around like they were dying down everything like that or maybe maybe i just maybe i just got on the boat was that the paris hilton one the flip phone the sidekick i did have a flip phone i had the sidekick pathetic but i couldn't um for some reason i couldn't get on google translate whatever so i just picked this thing and it was fried liver and which i didn't know i i take one bite of this thing nearly puked it was absolutely disgusting so every time i go down there i'd get these tokens again i go down and then the lady slowly figured out that was working out that i didn't speak any czech so she would help me and she would like pick food for me and tell me this is good so next thing you know like all these good foods are coming out but with the um with the billet family they would be pissed because sometimes they would cook dinner

for me but i wouldn't know that they would have dinner because we didn't speak to each other because we couldn't so i would like they they'd be picking their kids up from practice not be in the restaurant having dinner and they'd be looking at me like what are you doing there's food at home for you like you don't have to be going to the restaurant every day. But we had eventually got to a point where we could do some hand signals and, like, you know, the eating and everything like this, eating tonight, you know, all the wristwatch signals and shit. But it was good.

Was it even harder competing against men for the first time? Because weren't you 13 over there playing against, like, 20-year-olds? The first year, olds um the first year i think the first year i was playing in like bannon so i was a couple years older and then i think uh when i was 15 i was playing against the 20 year olds i think i was playing juniors when i was 15 or 16 i think yeah but that uh it was tough yeah that was that was good though i think i needed that um obviously playing when i was 13 playing 18 year olds back home was good but it's not you know it's not the same as playing playing over in check like the same age kind of guys and and

check isn't necessarily like like a country like sweden where they all speak english so was there was there at least a couple guys on the team that could or were you really not even talking to the coaches or the teammates yeah the uh the coaches from my team were super old school, so they didn't speak a lick of English. Once I got to juniors, the coach there would like, he would go online and try to learn how to speak English and come and try and have a chat with me. And that was great.

Like that was kind of showed that he cared a little bit, which was cool. But there was actually one coach coaching in the organization who coached the Australian youth team, which is just crazy and he played actually in the australian league as well no way so it was just like a full circle it was kind of nuts but he uh he helped me out a bunch too and then um like i said as i as i kind of got older i learned how to speak czech and then the kids are obviously learning how to speak english in school. So we could get by a little bit through that.

So you said your coaches in Czech were a little old school when you first got there. Like, would they be like screaming at you in Czech and you just be like stand there with a blank stare, not having a clue what they were saying? Oh, yeah. Like the first couple of weeks, like they'd be like looking at me, trying to tell me to skate and then just be like saying something. I would just be like, I don't know, man. Like I got no clue. I'm sorry. I'm trying to do everything I can. I don't know what you're telling me. And then some of the younger guys would come up and be like, skate, skate.

I'd be like, all right, skate. All right, gotcha, gotcha. There she goes. There she goes. Just get me back to that restaurant. I'd rather have the fried liver than be getting screamed at and checked right now by this guy. How old were you when you started living by yourself over there?

14, 14, 15. Holy shit. Really? Like no supervision at all? We had like a, it was kind of like a dorm setup. So it was a few of us kind of living at the same place. So yeah, there was, there was a bit of supervision, but it wasn't like, it wasn't like super strict rules or anything like that like obviously we we'd go on road trips and be coming back pretty late and all that kind of shit but it wasn't um it wasn't like super strict or nothing what was nhl always the goal like at that point in time were you making that move at 13

because you're like i'm nhl nhl i'm gonna make it there i'm gonna find a way to get there yeah i mean obviously that was the that was definitely the end goal um but I think before that would have happened you know there's definitely a lot of things that I kind of like needed to tick off in order to try and get there um but that was the first step I think taking that leap to go over there and start playing hockey was definitely the first step towards that then you were I believe you were passed over in two drafts and then you were finally drafted by Washington in 2014. So were you getting discouraged at all when you were passed over in the draft?

Like, you know, what were you thinking about then? Yeah, I mean, obviously, you know, when you don't get drafted, you think you might have a shot. Yeah, like you said, you get a bit discouraged. But at the same time, it kind of lights that fire as well. Like, you're thinking, well, fuck, now i really want to prove you wrong for not taking me and then the next year goes by and it doesn't happen again you think what fuck all right one more shot another fucking fire 364 more days i'm running out of wood here get the gas

get the gas but um no that was good and And then eventually I went to Walsh's camp and had a good camp. And then they actually signed me to an A deal with Hershey and drafted me from there. Yeah, you actually played pro before you got drafted, right? In Hershey? Yeah. Yeah, it's kind of unusual for it to go that way. A little different stats for sure.

And a great organization to go to as far as AHL, like their way that they've been so consistent about like the way they treat their players and the resources that they spend into the players in order for them to develop like who were your coaches there and like who had the biggest impact on you as soon as you got there um yeah like you said they had great resources and they were all about winning and developing. The coach that stood out for the most there was probably Troy Mann when we first got in there. We had a really young team the one year, and we went to finals that year,

actually, which was – that whole experience was sweet. And then, yeah, like you said, the whole organization from top to bottom was, you know, tip-top shape. I'm curious. So you played in the USHL check and then you then you went pro so were you were you able to go to college and you chose not to or was because of where you played in check you lose your eligibility what was the whole situation and maybe not going to play college hockey i think i think because i did play pro in, I wasn't allowed to go to college. I wasn't 100% sure on that, but I'm pretty confident.

But yeah, I mean, I would have enjoyed going to college. I think that would have been good for kind of the style I like to play. And obviously talking to guys about how college was, they loved it. They said the hockey was sweet. So that would have been cool. But yeah, I believe because I played pro in Czech that I wasn't eligible for it. Because the USHL to pro hockey, that's a big jump. There's actually a goalie, Schmid, the other day, I think,

that played for the Devils and he played in the USHL last year, which is nuts. But for you, was it really difficult? Because the AHL is a great league and that age going from the USHL to there must have been a little overwhelming at the start. Yeah, for sure. I think what helped me a lot was playing pro in check um kind of being around like those older guys too like those old school kind of players as well um and then going to the ushl i guess was almost like taking two steps back to you know try to take three steps forward i guess um but it was good like i'm so glad that I made that move.

It was kind of getting a bit stale for me in Czech at the time. Were you always going back to Australia in the summer times? Yeah, I always go back. Yeah, always go home. So what were you doing in the summertime? Were you surfing? Is that a bit of a cliche? It's like not all Australians surf?

Yeah. I mean, I used to be able to surf. Not anymore. With the little ones, it's kind of hard to get out but um no we were on lockdown actually last year which sucked so we like we could do some things but not obviously everything um but yeah every every summer it's sick going home like the weather's pretty nice it's it's winter time but it's like 20 degrees golfing weather it's it's winter time but it's like 20 degrees golfing weather it's it's unreal the start of the 2017-2018 season nathan you know you're way by

washington claimed by edmonton way by edmonton claimed by washington were you getting frustrated at all were you trying to just find your spot what was that experience like before you kind of finally settled in with washington yeah that was uh that was crazy um i mean you get picked up by a team you think you know it's the start of something new and then it doesn't just quite work out so you you know you go back to the organization that had you and um yeah that was tough i mean i ended up selling my car in washington and i needed one fucking three weeks later but no that was that was a good experience i mean getting to get to see uh you know mcdavid and know, McDavid and those guys was –

that was cool to share the ice with them for sure. That's about as much ice as I got with Malkin and Sid. Just a quick cup of coffee, eh, Nathan? Hey, you get to tell everybody back home you play with two of the greatest players in the world at that period of time, man. It's the best. Exactly. In one season too.

It was nice. Oh, man. It's the best. In one season, too. It was nice. Oh, man. Who'd you score your first goal on? Which goalie? I think it might have been Al Montoya. I know it was against the Canadians. I don't think Price was in that, but I'm not sure.

Oh, my God. I could tell you every player that was on. I could tell you every person that was in the stands. That's how memorable it was for me. But you don't even care to say water off a duck's back. Mine came off my ass. I didn't know if it was mine or if it was his. This counts as first goal in warm-ups, like where the goal wasn't even looking.

So you're ahead of the game in terms of that. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, man. I'll go ahead. All right. I was going to say, what was your experience like playing for barry trotz he seems like a guy a lot of guys i love to play for yeah he's great um he was really good to me in my time he told me a lot of things um obviously every team he coaches is you know great defensively and i think that really helped me kind of tune in tune out my game a bit more and uh you know, be a bit more responsible with the puck and things like that.

And, yeah, no, I really enjoyed playing for him. I thought he was a great coach. In Australia, is rugby kind of like what hockey is in Canada? Every kid plays rugby. That's the most popular sport? Yeah, pretty much. Like rugby, soccer, they're probably the two big ones. What about cricket?

Cricket's big. That's in the summertime. So i'm never really around when that's kind of going on so i don't i don't really see that but cricket is huge too cricket's big um but yeah when i'm home it's usually rugby and soccer like you see every field on the weekends packed if if somebody was like i'd love to go over there at some point, Australia, New Zealand, what would you say like the kind of amount of time you need to spend over there? Like, can you go for it for 10 days? Are you saying you got to go for longer? I mean, it depends. Like if you if you can kind of time that flight right where you get a good sleep and you're

not too jet lagged and don't feel too shitty, then you're pretty good. Like 10 days would be good. And it depends what you want to do. Like Australia is big. It's as big as the U S. So if you want to go like to the West coast, is it really? Yeah.

Is that where Perth is? Yeah. That's where Perth is. Yeah. It's like a four or five hour flight from Sydney. Holy shit. I didn't, I thought Australia was like the size of like new England.

I'm not kidding. Yeah. No, it's, it's huge. Yeah. A lot of people actually think that's funny. So have you been to Perth?

I have. Yeah, we've had a bunch of hockey tournaments there. Yeah. What's it like there? It seems like magical. I think Bon Iver wrote a song about it. So I was like, I always want to go there. That's like on the bucket list.

I like it. They got good beaches. I mean, I haven't been there for a few years, so I wouldn't kind of know what the nightlife's like, but I'm sure it's pretty good. It's nice. But in the middle of the country, it's all desert and outback, correct? There's nothing much going on in the interior. You've got to close to a death wish if you're going there. You've got to be pretty prepared for everything. What do you mean? Even if you stop at a hotel on the highway kind of thing? Like, what do you mean? You might have to check your clothes for snakes and spiders,

check your boots and stuff. They thought there was just, like, serial killers, like, hanging out at, like, the rest stops and stuff. Yeah. Well, there is actually a true story. I'm more worried about the hookers here, Nathan. Just kidding. Tough crowd. No, but, like, I don't think everyone is used to, like, true story i'm more more worried about the hookers here nathan just kidding uh tough crowd um no but

like i don't think everyone is used to like having like you know maybe the middle of their country be like very very dangerous have you have you ever had any run-ins with anything like snakes or scorpions and things like that no i've never been to the middle of australia i i really want to go um we got to think about like it's like this massive rock that's in the middle of australia i i really want to go um we got to think about ularu like it's like this massive rock that's in the middle of australia that's pretty pretty popular for tourist stuff but um just go do like coyote and shit and get fucked up or what hey just a big rock and roll country no i would love to go and kind of i guarantee there's a lot of drugs involved nathan it's kind of like uh joshua tree here you know just an excuse to go do drugs

and look at weird shit um but yeah maybe one day i'll take a trip to the middle of australia but i'm no i just kind of hang out on the coast but you don't have to go to the outback to find those crazy animals i mean they're all over the place down there right like brown snakes and one of the most poisonous snakes in the world you can find them anywhere right yeah we uh we actually kind of live like in the national park so we we like put like back onto the bushland and it's uh yeah it's crazy like you you'll you'll hear snakes like people seeing snakes all the time kind of stuff like that but we got uh my my family house has three cats so they uh they kind of take care of business which is nice for us there you go yeah you

mentioned how australia was so locked down it's you see some crazy stories coming from the news and stuff a lot of people upset with what's going on like are you staying informed in terms of like buddies you're talking to being pissed off and and upset with the government yeah i don't think to be honest with you i don't think it's as bad as the videos kind of make it out to seem. Shocker. Yeah, like one of our friends actually sent my wife and I a video and said, oh, my God, this is crazy. But it's not that bad.

There's obviously, you know, you can see both sides of things. But it was locked down, but it wasn't super crazy. Like we could still golf. We could still grab some food from like cafes and stuff. We just couldn't really sit down at restaurants and go to bars. Like that was pretty much it. Okay. What do you miss most about Australia when you're playing in the States?

Oh, probably the brekkie food. The brekkie food back home in the cafes is just so good. Like what is it? What is it? Yeah. What's the brekkie system? It's legit to say it's the same food as here, but it's just different. I don't, I don't know what it is like like the we don't have streaky bacon back home either we got like nice like

round cut bacon which goes perfect on some avocado toast it's unreal oh my god oh avocado toast is just becoming popular in australia that's good to know no but it's it's we've had a dumber just come out trust Trust me. They're actually ahead like 20 hours. So they actually – we've been ahead of the game. That's true. That's true. That's true. You guys are the other ones.

You know what's unreal back home is the coffee. Oh, buddy. I went there and that's far and above the best thing going on. The coffee is – like my first couple weeks when I'm back, it's probably four or five coffees a day. Just getting a latte, a cappuccino a flat white a long black short black fuck anything so when you drink the stuff over here you're like this is junk you just want to yeah it's it's it's tough but i mean you just you come adapted to it right it's how bad is foster's australian for

you know what i've never tried, to be honest with you. Really? Yeah. We don't. I mean, it's such a stereotypical thing. Like, Foster's Australian for beer. That's whatever. The Steakhouse has got to be pretty legit, dude.

They got some deadly animals running around those bars. Oh, that place is all right. We got, like, our own little steakhouse and stuff, which we're fucking dialed into. Do opponents ever chirp you about Australia? Anything to do with your homeland? No. You probably don't know anything about it.

R.A.'s trying to get somebody sussied. People just say, what the hell did you just say? Because obviously my accent comes out when I'm mad, I guess. But I didn't know. My first couple of years, I was a few chirps, but that was kind of it. Now guys just ask me questions about it, which is kind of cool. I like explaining it. According to your Instagram,

did you build your own house this offseason or have a hand in it? Oh, in that little shed out the back? Yeah. Oh, it's the shed. So during when we were locked out, we couldn't go to gyms. So my old man and I just decided, you know what, Flackett, let's just build a shed. So I've turned that into a full gym now, which is unreal.

So I get to spend a bit more time with the family. And the best thing is it's at my in-laws' place too. So I knocked down all their trees they're fucked up their backyard my yard still looks great so that's great so we you know i go work out wife takes a little one over there so everyone's happy well it's all good worked out but um yeah no it's a full-size gym which is unreal um i was gonna ask you about the little one you guys had a gender reveal you ended up doing the old slap shot well you did yeah we have to we have to do that we had a bunch of buddies back home that said we have to do it but we decided to do it on the beach so we kind of mixed it up a

little bit that way so you had no clue going in no i didn't have i didn't have an idea i had no clue okay yeah we're actually uh it's probably be a lot of news to people that are listening back home with this too but we're actually having another one coming up whoa congratulations we don't know the gender of that one i don't know what we're gonna do for that one but when's the baby due um should be i think end of may like mid to end may oh wow so you so it depends maybe you'd still be here yeah that's interesting yeah so that'll be yeah it'll be interesting to see kind of where we're at there and um good for you in the playoff playoff race for that nate then after you became the first aussie to win the stanley cup did hear from any famous Aussie actors or actresses or anyone uh no I didn't actually oh there might have been a few people reach out I mean it wasn't it

was a while ago but uh there was a few rugby players actually when I went home went out for dinner with a few of those guys and um got to spend some time with them so I was pretty cool since you have one has there been an uptick in Australian kids playing hockey have there been more rinks has there been a noticeable increase? I think so. The hockey shop that kind of runs things back home have done a really good job bringing in new gear and everything over the last

five, ten years or so. But before that, we didn't really have much going on in regards to gear. It was kind of tough. People would be bringing gear in from obviously Canada and the States because it's a lot cheaper. They've kind of done a good job bringing all the gear in. And I think there's been more kids join. I've definitely had,

I've had parents kind of reach out to me saying that their kids got into hockey because of me and all this kind of stuff, which, which is great to hear. So that's, I would like to say that, yeah, more kids have kind of gotten into it, which is cool. Good. Well, mine was going to piggyback our A's. Do you feel like maybe a little bit of uh added responsibility is basically being like the wayne gretzky of australia are you on bill you got to be on billboard you want a stanley cup like you got to be on billboards no all this stuff over there yeah um no actually not which

is kind of i'm not gonna lie it's kind of nice because I can go out to a pub and have a couple of drinks and not have to answer any questions, which is nice. But once I kind of walk into a hockey rink, then it's, you know, it's kind of game over. Like everyone kind of knows that. But outside of the rinks back home, it's no, no one has a, no one has a clue. What about, I know you mentioned like playing a little golf. Are you big into it?

I only ask because I'm a junkie for it. And Australia is my dream place to go playing a little golf. Are you, are you big into it? Or I only ask cause I'm a donkey for it. And Australia is my dream place to go on a golf trip. It, it looks like, you know, the gold coast, everything, all those courses must be so amazing. Yeah. They've, um, I kind of just play the one that's close to me. It's a little public course, but I've played, uh, I played a course. I think I want to say it was designed by Greg Norman up north, a place called Hamilton Island. This whole island's a course, and it's unreal. It's right on the coast.

Yeah, it's so sick. But, you know, I'm pretty into golf. I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and say I'm good. But, no, I love playing. It's fun getting out there with the fellas, too. All right, I guess we got to ask him about the Blues, right i mean what's your first impression of berube is that probably the most intense coach you've ever played for oh dude the the first time i heard him talk was a couple years ago for a pre-season game as soon as he said a couple words i was like all right i'm ready to go for a wall

for this guy like this guy's nuts i'm fucking ready to do whatever it takes. But he's a great coach. Like whenever he talks, the whole room listens. Like he's intense, but he's intense with a purpose. And I fucking love it. I think it's unreal. You're in your third year with the organization, signed through next year. But last season was pretty tough on you with the COVID situation,

obviously coming from Australia. You had to leave your wife and your baby back home. But you said the organization was really great. They really helped you out through some trying times last year. Yeah, it was tough. And, I mean, I don't think just the organization, but all the players too.

You know, they could all relate. They all had kids, and they kind of – they'd always be checking in on me, like all the older guys would always check in. And, you know, everyone on this team is unreal in regards to that. they'd always be checking in on me like all the older guys would always check in. Everyone on this team is unreal in regards to that. They always make sure that the younger guys or the guys that got called up kind of have everything they need. If we ever did need anything, we all know that we could call them and they'd kind of help us out with anything like that.

In talking to the guys that have been there all year with the Blues, I think just two points out of first place in the division. Like, are they talking about how good Binnington's been? Or is the whole group just really confident as a whole in terms of everyone knows their job? That's why the season's been going so well. Yeah, I think everyone knows what they got to do for us in order to be successful.

I mean, obviously, there's a lot of guys out now. Bin has been out for a while due to the protocols or whatever. But, you know, we've been winning and we've been finding ways to the protocols or whatever but um you know we've been winning and we've been finding ways to win and i think guys just kind of know what it takes um you know to get to that next level and you know get the get the two points every night and guys know you know guys know what they got to do were you laughing when uh when bert gave you the fake out on the game puck when you scored the hat trick? Yeah, he said a couple honorable mentions. My dad was like, well, fuck, that's all right.

Whatever. It doesn't bother me. But no, he came back to me. You're like, you motherfucker. I just got to have you. You're going to just give me a quick name shout out? Give me that puck. No, that was good.

I had a good laugh at that one. That was nice. Yeah, it was awesome. You've seen Kairou in the minors and the NHL. Like, no surprise as to what he's done this year for you? No, I don't think. I mean, I think he was due for a breakout year. I was lucky enough to play with him actually in San Antonio for a bit.

And, you know, you can see the way he skates, the way he plays, the way he sees the game. He wasn't meant to be in the NHL, and I think he's doing really well this year and obviously uh you know the points got to show that too but I know we mentioned the COVID already it's been running amok all over the league they got to postpone all the games a guy's getting frustrated in the room where they just kind of weathering the storm because there's not much you can do about it what's what's kind of the mood in the room with this stuff yeah it sucks I mean obviously like we want to we want to get back to normal right like

we want to we want to be able to go out to eat at restaurants still and all that kind of stuff and games are getting postponed and all this shit it it definitely sucks but like you said it's it's kind of out of our control like we're not we're not the ones making these rules we just kind of kind of kind of got to abide by them but it it is shitty like i'm sure everyone in the everyone in all the all sports and in life in general i think just want to get back to normality and kind of, you know, piss this shit off. So hopefully I can get fucked off pretty quick. Well put.

When you won the cup, did you get a day with a cup? I know the certain, you know, parameters and who gets it and whatnot. Were you able to get it for a day? No, unfortunately I wasn't. I was, my wife and I were kind of talking get it for a day no unfortunately i wasn't i was um my wife and i were kind of talking about that and my brother and uh i mean if we were to get the cup i think it would have been game over like it would have been so sick to have it back home and it would have been cool i think for the league too to kind of expand and um you know obviously having the cup in

australia i think it would have been a great great little marketing gig but i don't think uh i don't think they just had time to kind of fit in the trip to make it down under. I mean, the positive is you don't get recognized at pubs. So, you know, you got to cut, you know, and then you don't have any billboards as well. So, so, so you, so you obviously got a ring because you ended up playing in one of the Stanley cup finals games, correct? No, second round game second round oh excuse me i thought you played in the in the stanley cup five the the final series my apologies but like uh you know what was that like like when you found out you were actually going to get in the lineup yeah it was nuts i mean obviously i didn't have an i didn't have anything i was playing um you know i must have been fourth on

the list to get put into a game. But it was obviously a few injuries, and I believe Willie was suspended at that point too. So, yeah, I just go to the rink and see my name plugged in on the fourth line and was like, holy fuck, I'm playing. I haven't played for a month and a half because we didn't make playoffs in Hershey. So I was like, all right, well,

I better put the work boots on this morning and do something good. And then, no, it was unreal. That atmosphere was sick. And I, you know, I was just – I'm so glad I got to play in that one game. Safe to say you're running on pure adrenaline during that one. Oh, yeah, 100%. Like, you think you're not really going to get in, so you're not, you know, you're not mentally dialed in with stuff like that.

But, you know, I had to flip a switch pretty quickly for that one averaging a point the game in the playoffs you can't be too bad and over a point per game this year well buddy we we really appreciate you coming on all right you have something else for i'm sorry i just wanted what i know when he got the hat trick the other night you said you got a nice little bump on your merch site i wanted to have you share it with the crowd so you can get some, get some more hits there. What's your site? Oh,

it's a www. The storm down under.com. www. The storm down under.com. Check it out. Was that strip club or something? Thunder, thunder down.

That's the only place he gets recognized. You're doing your, your every, every American league city you've played in, you're going to do a little pop-up? I'll get you to be my model, man. We'll do the – me and R.A. will do the – what was the one back on SNL? Chippendales.

Chippendales. I like Patrick Swayze and Chris Fowley. Let's go, Wox. Thanks so much, buddy. And best of luck the rest of the season. Yeah. Thanks so much for having me on guys. It's been a blast. Anytime, buddy. Keep, keep, keep ripping it up. Have a good one. Well, thanks fellas.

Thank you, buddy. Thank you. Man. Huge. Thanks to Nathan Walker for joining us. What a great conversation biz we had with him. Just a friendly guy. Happy to be where he is. And of course that Australian accent. I mean, I could talk to people like that all day,

man. I couldn't hear it at first, but it popped out afterward. I bet you he's, as he said, with a few cocktails, that's when it really comes out. That's like when Wick gets drunk and he starts and he sounds like me.

Do I? That's something I got to work. That might cause me to quit drinking. Yeah, how you doing? All right, well, either way, that interview was also brought to you by No Days Wasted. Who's been boozing this holiday season, Biz? Well, be ready to bounce back the next day with No Days Wasted. The exclusive holiday sale is live now.

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Moving right along. Ah, man, this is a fucking tough one to watch. Brett Conley, Chicago Blackhawk. He got four games for an interference hit on Tiana Caro. And then after the game, we got a very, very emotional Joe Pavelski talking about the hit after the game. Of course, he had an awful hit similar to that in the 2019 playoffs, and it obviously brought him back to that point.

Just a tough scene to watch that. But going back to the hit with Conley, you know, here's a guy, I wouldn't say he has a bad, dirty reputation at all. He gets five for interference, a game misconduct. But why even make that hit right there? He commits before the puck is there. Carroll's not even close to possession. It's a needless hit, man.

And, you know, four games, I had no issue at all with it it could have been more and I wouldn't have a problem yeah I mean the game's fast and it just seemed like it was one of those brain fart moments where maybe he was trying to time when the puck got there and it just it never really did on time and as you said our rage he shouldn't have been thrown even in the first place even if it had gotten there maybe in time. So ugly result, very similar to the Spezza thing where I'm left perplexed at the fact that this guy doesn't really have a history. And the result is horrifying. Now, you go to Pavelski postgame and, you know, there's been a few incidences through my through my playing career where I saw where afterward I was just a bit of a mess from seeing something that scary. One, when I was in minor hockey, I saw a teammate get hit

and then swallow his tongue. And you just see them there and they seem to be lifeless. And yeah, just situations like that. And especially with Pavelski having gone through it himself and seeing the reaction and the care that his teammates provided for him. And I mean, there's a guy who lived it and this game can be very emotional. So it was hard to see him break down like that after the game. It was great to hear that the player ended up being all right afterward.

But as far as Conley concerned, I think four games well deserved. And if anything, he probably feels the worst of anyone here. Yeah, just a horrible hit. And I think you're 100% right, Biz, in that he's planning on the puck getting right to Caro at that time, and it didn't come close. I thought if Spezza got six, he should have definitely got six. I thought that was worse than Spezza's.

So a little confusion there, but that's kind of usual with these hits and the punishments that get doled out. Pavelski's situation, it kind of made me feel bad, I think, looking back at how I was talking about it and the fact that Cody King got kicked out of the game for that. I didn't think he deserved to. It was an awful situation, what happened to Pavelski, but then looking at how emotional it made him feel.

You know, I also did think back to the times I was on the ice when guys were knocked out cold, lights out. It makes my skin crawl thinking back to it now, let alone sitting on the bench that time. I remember Steve McIntyre with Edmonton put someone to sleep on the flames. It might have been Radius Sivanis. Maybe I might be mistaken that. Colby Armstrong had some hits where it was just like the silence in the arena

and the panic of kind of kind of like, you see the, the, the training staff and what a job they do getting out there. And it's like, I understood Pavelski to have to have dealt with that himself to then see a teammate going through that. The,

the emotion was, was, was real there. It was tough to watch. And, and I would have been fine with more games. It was just a bonehead play by a guy who in his entire career really hasn't done any of that.

Yeah, you hate to see that shit. I want to go back to the Spezza thing, too. His suspension was upheld, but it was reduced from six games to four. So I think his really excellent record of a 19-year NHL with 1,300 games or whatever it was, they realized this guy probably didn't mean it, so they did reduce it to four games. Oh, maybe that's why he got four then.

Yeah, yeah, who knows. Conley, like, I don't know, maybe that had something to do with it. Spin that wheel either way. Like I mentioned earlier, boys, standings tight as hell, just four points separating the top 12 teams. Carolina, Washington, Tampa, Toronto, the Rangers, Florida, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota,

Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota, Nashville,

Nashville, Minnesota, Minnesota, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Nashville, Tampa, Toronto, the Rangers, Florida, Minnie, Vegas, Anaheim, Nashville, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, all bunched within four points right there. The Canucks 6-0 under Bruce. Now the team's getting shut down just as they heat up. Boys, do you think this will kind of curtail the momentum at all, have any effect or what? Well, listen, I'm getting owned online by Canucks fans. Let's hope this slows them down.

Talking to some guys from Philly last year, they were rolling. And then that whole shutdown happened and they got back to the bubble and they weren't able to, not last year, excuse me. It was the year before. So some people who are jumping down my throat already. This type of shutdown, two, three weeks, it can throw the whole fucking chemistry of the team off. All of a sudden, certain guys maybe not keeping as in shape as they should or, you know, staying away from the holiday treats. And yeah, that's all it can take, R.A., to throw off the feng shui of a team, man. I will say whenever, I don't know if they're one of the teams,

I'm guessing they are, that had to shut down their facilities. Where I think there's a few teams you can go right now if you're not positive, but some you can't go at all. Like Edmonton today shut down all their facilities. So I don't know when Vancouver will be on the ice as a team again, but if you're looking at a good part of this for them, is even though they're buzzing 6-0, you're going to get time where Boudreaux can really get his systems

and the way he wants this team to play. Like there's more time for like a mini training camp per se. Yeah. Yeah. I don't need it. I don't need it. Boudreaux is going to find those systems at the top of a Whistler Mountain. Maybe at an Uppress ski up in Whistler. We're not going to stroke off too many teams.

I know we get every Twitter feed. Nashville deserves a little love, right? Oh, my goodness. Juice? I got the two teams that have seven-game streaks. They're the ones we're going to stroke off. Pittsburgh, seven straight to take over the first wildcard spot. Nashville also won seven straight to rocket up to second in the central.

Back to Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarrett appears to be the real deal, and they're doing this all without Gino Malcolm. They throw him back, then sky could be the limit. Nashville, UC Saros, I've been stroking this guy. Gee, you know, he's one of my many Vezina picks. He's been the best goalie for the last calendar year. If you add up the last two seasons, his save percentage,

his five-on-five save percentage, by far the best goalie in the league. And the Preds, man, they're fucking second in the division. I don't think many people had that wit. Talk about a reverse jinx by me. I said they were going to be a lottery team at the beginning of the season. I said they were missing playoffs. I said every team, they get progressively worse every season. You mean progressively better?

Fuck, I thought Winnipeg lost out in the second round one year. They went to the conference fucking finals. I don't know. What do you want to hop into? Nashville or Pittsburgh? Pittsburgh. We've kind of mentioned what they've done with the injuries, with Crosby out, Malkin not playing, and we talked about Gensel,

and then Evan Rodriguez deserves some love. He played at BU for four years. He was a Buffalo Sabre, and now he's just taken off on the Penguinsuins he's scoring this year he's playing an enormous role in the first power play he's got a great shot just one of those guys as they continue to stay relevant and a really good team that kind of comes out of nowhere to have a what's what's going to be a career year nashville's just they got great d the goaltending

um nashville talk about doing it like with with names you don't really know much about or that are that are not household names yet in the league like you have Duchesne and Forsberg coming back to enormous and Johansson playing well but then they got guys like I I don't know much about the dude fighting Chara Trennan they got they got there's Olivier playing I don't even understand where they find them I don't know their backstories, but I know that they're good and they're playing well. How's that for analysis? Boom, done.

I got 40-1 on Saros for the Vezna. What? Yeah, 40-1 beginning of the year. Wow, when did you get that? Before the season? Yeah, prior to the season, yeah. You said it on the pod too, R.A., if I'm not mistaken. I did.

I mean, granted, I gave out 75 fucking picks for all the trophy awards, but Saris was one of my favorites. So, yeah, those are the two hottest teams in the league. But we had some great highlights. We're going to go to the Sabres Penguins this week. Great clip of New Jersey Devils general manager Tommy Fitz and his wife, Carrie. The son, Casey, he got drafted a couple of years ago.

It was his first NHL game. And he gets in a scrap with Pittsburgh, Sam Lafferty. And it was just perfect. Like hockey parent picture, right? Right. What the old man's clapping and the mother's like peeking through her hands and, you know, proud parents. They float to Pittsburgh to see the son's first game.

Just the stuff we love to see in the league, whether we know the folks or not. Oh, and he was throwing rights and lefts too. I was impressed. It was a college hockey D-man that's played pro a little bit and knew what he was doing, and I was real happy for him too. So that was a great moment.

Also, Biz, I know I mentioned earlier, but that Malcolm Subban save on Evan Rodriguez. It was insane. It didn't make any sense. I've never seen that before where a guy went with his opposite hand behind his back like that. I don't recall it. It was a clear save too. It didn't make any sense. I've never seen that before where a guy went with his opposite hand behind his back like that. I don't recall it. It was a clear save, too.

It never crossed the line. We've got to give full props for that because that was an absolutely amazing save. I think he's got save of the year in the clubhouse right now. There's so many contenders this year. I mean, every year the goaltender is so freakishly good, but that was insane. So yeah, Malcolm is probably the lead on the clubhouse right now.

One last note out of Buffalo. Welcome back to our pal Alex Tuck. Well, he was supposed to make a season debut Monday, but Buffalo did get postponed while there's COVID shit. So Tuck will be back whenever the next game is. He missed the first 30 games, recovered from off-season shoulder

surgery. I always struggle with that. I think he could light it up there. Dude, and he really is happy to be there. He's a local kid. And I have people who want to play at Buffalo. Yeah, a kid who grew up in Rudderfell. I'm like, why the fuck wouldn't he? And he's our pal, and we can't wait to see him get out there

and fucking bust a move out there. Let's see. Fucking the Zegras. It's a thing. The Western Hockey League last week. Portland pulled it off. A couple of youngsters. Unreal stuff to see.

And then all of a sudden we get torts again. Was torts backpedaling? Gee, we had a little audio from torts. I live under a rock. I didn't realize all this was going on after the show. I mean, Ray, myself, and Ricky had a really good conversation regarding my comments. But then a coach in the league sent me mean, Ray, myself, and Ricky had a really good conversation regarding my comments.

But then a coach in the league sent me an article yesterday, and I read the article, and I saw what this kid was going through as far as the questions that were being asked of him. And my heart dropped because that is the furthest thing from my mind was criticizing this kid. That was a tremendously skilled play by a tremendously skilled player, both him and Sonny. My thoughts were, is it a hockey play? And we can debate that all the way through here. Agree, disagree. I'm not saying which right is wrong, but what bothers me is the media. Yeah, the media. I do think they have taken it to another level where they put this kid in a tough spot and this is what i feel terrible about is that my comments have been taken out of context and almost is trying to pit me and trevor against one another that is the furthest thing i want to

want it to happen i do not want to interrupt anybody's play, any team's play, through comments. If media has disdain for me, so be it. What you feel about me is really none of my business, but it is my business when you turn my words to a kid, a 20-year-old kid, and put him in that type of spot. And I feel terrible about that, and I've reached out to both him and his coach. I've had conversations, and, yeah, I don't feel great about that and I've reached out to both him and his coach I've had conversations and uh yeah I I don't feel great about that and uh uh I I hope he does it again quite honestly you don't have to agree with it and I stick with my thoughts as far as what I think it is but uh I wish him nothing but the best I mean you know he's saying one thing one week and now it's like

all the game all all together So I don't know. Is this a back? Well, we talked more about torts for the Zegers than we did Zegers for the fucking Zegers. So I think he's fucking winning. I thought that the most talked about thing was going to be the fact that he was walking out with baby Yoda. Oh, my God, dude.

That's the fight. Why was he carrying? I'll say this, and I'm sure some people are like, Oh my goodness, you're going to spend more time stroking off Zegers and you are pumping the tires of the Nashville Predators. I will say the NHL has craved a type of image like Zegers is providing to the NHL, a laid back surfer dude in the national hockey league. And something that he's done this year is just having a ripple effects through

every league below the NHL. So I don't know. I don't, I don't know how we can avoid talking about them, but definitely good for the game. I mean, Friday night, it was style was night for the ducks Yotes and he shows up at the press set with the baby Yoda, like, you know, satchel over him and he not only walks up to the mic he pushes the button so like the audio noises that baby yoda will make will get caught on the mic

and he's like this is baby yoda uh guru like they call him like that's his other name which is just grew but he's like guru he's like and tonight's the horse night now he's going the game like he's coming with us like i mean like it's just like a childlike fucking innocence. It's hilarious, though. It's so good for the game, man. I don't understand why people can't like it. I can't really think of a laid-back surfer type dude that the NHL has ever really had.

Joe Thornton? Yeah. I mean, he's also Canadian, and I think there's also like a kindness to him. I don't know, R.A., you were around more so Boston in his early days. I know that he wasn't this hot coming out of the gate. No, but honestly, that's a great call by Grinnelly, because when I got Joe's autograph, he was like 18, his rookie year,

and he totally had a Spicoli vibe to him. Okay. When we say that, we don't mean like you know weed smokers just like a surfer chill wicked like relaxed vibe and that's what Zegers has that's what Joe had but he just like doesn't care man like that you know he's like hey

whatever like I'm gonna go with his Yoda fucking I would say Jeff Carter maybe a little like he doesn't do the like laid back like like, but he seems to be pretty laid back. I guess I'm thinking of like the hair and the tan. That might be what's hopping into my head for the surfer. Was Joe embracing it?

Was he, you know, the younger vibe? Was he was he being a little bit sillier in interviews? No, I think he was probably someone on the shy side because Pat Burns was the coach early, and it was a veteran locker room, and I don't think he – of course, this was 20 fucking years ago. Yeah, he couldn't show too much personality, whereas we keep talking over and over again about the new culture, young players, and if you don't let it bother you like Zegers doesn't, then just keep doing it, and people keep talking about you.

I will say it's probably a good thing that he is playing in Anaheim and that Dallas Eakins is it a second tour as a head coach right because yeah and they're winning of course winning changes everything but I would say that probably a decent amount of head coaches probably wouldn't be as receptive to how ridiculous it's gotten off the hop here. Is that a fair? And when I say ridiculous, ridiculously good, he's busting out the yo he's, he's probably done more interviews in this half a season than most guys will do in their entire careers. Yeah, absolutely. And he's like, just as fun, fun, loving bubbly self. So the fact that the organization and the coaching staff is also embracing it

is probably helping for the mojo. So definitely some funny stuff. By the way, I didn't know. I was reading up about the Maurice stuff. So when he was fired, they talked about coaches who could be gone next year. I didn't realize, but Ruby and Dallas Eakins don't have deals for next year right now. Because all the other coaches have been re-upped, like Bednar and Cooper and all that.

But I was surprised by that. Eakins right now is lame duck coach. That's tough on the mind. I mean, unless you're sitting pretty where every time you see a coach go down, you think your dollars are going up, baby. Bottom line is this is the most we've talked about the Ducks in quite a long time, and it's largely because of this kid.

So also, too, if he does a Star Wars night, we may have to get together in Vegas and rent the theater one night while we're out there for the All-Star. Never seen Star Wars. Yeah, probably not. Never seen Star Wars. Wait, you never saw the original? Me either.

No, and I have no desire to i know it sounds like i'm not i'm just not a sci-fi guy yeah okay and then i know i watch game of thrones but that's like different side that's not side that's not sci-fi guy yeah i don't have a sci-fi bone in my body what i respect that like my old man i get my love of movies from him he as a divorced father in the 70s, we went to movies every fucking week. He didn't do sci-fi. Like, I had to go see those off for my cousin, so I can respect the no sci-fi vibe.

Speaking of sci-fi, boys, I'm about to log off here. I got some plans tonight. What are you, leaving chicklets? No. Guys, we're going back OG status. Just R.A. Grinelli and Whit. Have fun. I'm off.

Before you do go, actually, Biz, should we get a couple of coaching notes in before we send it to our second interview? Sure. All right. No, I figured that, you know, the big reason we had on Jim Playfair was that he was your coach back in the day. I don't know if you want to have a few words. I think I've said my piece, and, you know, we're going to joke around a little bit during the interview here.

But, yeah, no, he was an awesome guy, man. And having assistants that you can approach and joke around with on the side is very important. He always made me feel welcome and like a part of the team, although he was bag skating me most days. And, yeah, we had a great relationship, player-coach. So I hope you guys enjoy the interview. I will not be here when you get back, but we'll see you next podcast.

All right. Well, business taken off, but we are going to bring on his former coach Jim play fair shortly, but we do want to tell you that this interview is brought to you by OCB rolling papers. OCB is the largest rolling paper brand in the world and has been one with nature crafted naturally since 1918. So, you know, they've perfected the process for a consistently great session time after time. Like I tell you all the time, I am an OCB convert because they give me a proper burn every time I have a sesh. So make OCB Bamboo your new second favorite plant.

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to stay in touch with the natural wonder of OCB. You must be 21 to buy the papers and to follow the social accounts. But I would not say you're wrong. Listen, guys, I've converted long ago. OCB is the way to go. And now, without further ado ado we're going to send it over to jim playfair all right it's time to welcome our next guest he played professionally for nine years before getting into the coaching business between the east coast ahl and nhl he's been behind one bench or another for about 30 years now and while in the NHL, he won the 2001

Calder Cup as head coach of the St. John Flames. Nowadays, he's an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers. Thanks so much for joining us on the Spitting Chicklets podcast. Jim Playfair. How's it going, Jim? Great. Thanks, guys. A pleasure having you, man. You go back a few years. That's the connection

here. Oh, God. Yeah, we had some fun inzona back in the day for sure jimmy was the one bag skating me when when i never even got your side of this story remember in winnipeg when i put that stupid post on instagram bitching about the price of the fairmont water and then you got called over well i think it was right at the beginning of my bag skate and he he must have told you because you came back and you weren't as friendly as you normally are and you bagged me twice as long and twice as hard so what did tip tell you when he called you over you know at times are tough in phoenix extra money for high price water so it was like

get it from the rink or don't get any don't have any water. What was Tip saying to you? I mean, like there was a few times that I ended up pissing him off, but I mean, I loved you guys as coaches. You were always great as an assistant, always a joy to be around, but that must have been a pretty wacky experience. No, we loved you. You know what? You've always brought the juice and the energy.

Obviously, you're such an important part of the team. We laughed at some of the stuff you did did but we couldn't come out and laugh with you because like so off the rails we had like somehow act like we were on the right side of the law but a lot of times we're like oh my god that's hilarious but we had to toe the line right so i wouldn't say you did such a good job of hiding it and then of course you know i got to meet your boys and i mean i mean the ones went off to i mean he's a superstar now yeah yeah keep that under your hat hey so i actually heard uh rumblings that the reason that he got his original break with letter kenny was because they're like oh that's jimmy play playfair's boy the one who like snapped

on television uh during your advert advertford moment there. Is that true? He told me what happened was he got interviewed, uh, Jerry Kiesel, the head guy of, uh, of letter Kenny and him, we're playing hockey together and he introduced him to his agent. So his agent sits down with him. And apparently she says, I don't need another good looking hockey player that can't act. If I tell you to lose five pounds or, or or or get your hair cut or do this or do that like i don't want you pissing around thinking you're bigger than this you know hockey

player and so she's kind of lighting him up a little bit and he says hey listen i'm going to show you something so he spins her computer around shows me trying to straighten the referees out like look this is my dad i can handle any shit you can handle she's like all right so she took him on as a client and that's kind of the story behind it. That is unbelievable. Well, so if we're going already into that, one of the all-time best coaching freak-out moments I've ever seen, what's the whole backstory on what happened?

I think a player had ran the goalie. What was it that made you so upset for that to go down the way it did? Well, first of all, I was right, right? I mean, of course. What happened was at the start. I mean, of course, what happened was it started the game, the referee or the play comes into our zone and, and one of their players comes by and our goaltender freezes the pocket. And as he rolls by his knee catches his chin and knocks his mask off in the

corner. So the referee skates over by our bench and I'm like, no goal interference, nothing there. He goes, don't fucking worry about it. Just focus on coaching. So the players on the bench go, Ooh, that sets it up. So then, um, uh, near the end of the first period,

their goaltender, the play was in their zone. He goes side to side and he falls over and he's hurting. So the play leaves his own and I'm yelling at the referee. I'm like, Hey, their goalie's their goalie's down. He's in pain. So they drag him off the ice and it's up that he had broken his ankle and he went side to side. So they put their backup goaltender or their, you know, their backup goaltender. So now we start the second period. We shoot the puck down the ice goaltender comes out to freeze.

And as he freezed it, he kind of does the old one knee kind of turn but he's about the both the hash marks and he turns and JD Watt are a really good competitive guy for us he's chasing the puck down the ice he jumps over his pad slides into the corner and they're tough guy they're captain Alex Henry they're kind of talking out JD's on his elbow kind of looking up and Henry's looking down and they're having a conversation and jd's on his elbow kind of looking up and henry's looking down on they're having a conversation and i think well that's their tough guy that's our tough guy if they got a beef they're gonna sort it out and then the next thing you know jd's kicked out of the game so i call a referee over and i'm like what happened what'd he say to you he goes nothing

it's goal interference i'm like whatever he's i'm like are you kidding me so he skates away so i grabbed the stick and literally honestly just to make a big whack noise and i break it so i'm like, are you kidding me? So he skates away. So I grabbed the stick and literally, honestly, just to make a big whack noise and I break it. So I'm like, I'm all in. So I grab another one and I break another one. I get kicked out of the game. And so that's the short of it. My son, Austin, who is a stick boy for Hamilton at the time,

he goes on and he gathers all six little pieces of the broken hockey sticks he puts them all together and tapes them up and puts them underneath my desk i don't know they're there and uh game's over we go home and that's kind of the the story of how it happened then it was an afternoon game and uh so i talked to the team after the game and i give my whatever and then i wait for us to be finished we're driving home and I phone my wife and she's like, she didn't come to the game. She's like, I hear you need a whiskey and a Taylor suit button. So I get home and on the way home,

I phoned Dave Andrews, the president of the American hockey league. I phoned Rod Pazma, the sheriff. I phoned Ken King, the president of the Flames. I phoned Daryl Sutter, the GM of the Flames, just to say, hey, listen, it's probably not on videotape. So I went to my office and checked during the third period, and there was nothing on video. So I'm going to do the solid soldier thing.

I give him a heads up. Hey, listen, the referee phones and gives you a report. Just talk to me before you rule on it just look at the very first clip of the for the game what they do to our goaltender and after that like you know guilty as charged well our pr guy takes the takes the video that the vancouver news like that you know the news TV station from Vancouver was out filming the game he gets that video he takes a voiceover he blends it together and he puts it out there so our video guy or our sorry our PR guy our radio guy sends it viral so I go home sit down gonna watch Hockey Night in Canada kick back whiskey sitting back and all of a sudden my phone starts like vibrating on the couch and

everybody's phoning me. My kid comes down and goes, dad, you got like 5,000 hits. I'm like on what? So then the next morning we, you know, whatever. And Rod Pasma phones me Sunday afternoon. He's the sheriff in American hockey league. And he starts laughing. He's like what happened so i tell him the story i'm like hey you're gonna whatever you're gonna do just watch the very first clip of the game and then whatever you want to give me give me you know so what they

ended up doing was they fined me 500 they made the team pay the fine because our video guy put it out and reblog charge be 600 bucks for breaking both our sticks because i remember the time they used to give them yeah yeah you broke you had to put them in a bag and send them back so uh daryl sutter didn't phone me back till tuesday afternoon and all his his phones and says are you out of jail yet and that's all he said so it was uh yeah it was that's what happened but that's the story oh the funny the funny part is both one sec biz the the his assistant coaches behind him kind of like almost getting ready to catch him it was jared bedner he looks a lot different now with the flow he's got but you guys go a long way back huh how much yeah how much sean weller when i grabbed his stick and

he starts laughing yeah he was i was just going to mention that. They got the old pullover, having a good chuckle behind you. So the next day is a day off. So the players all go watch football. And Anaheim had loaned him to us because we were short of players. They needed him to play. He hadn't been there like maybe a week. So they're all playing football, drinking, goofing around.

And the guys are like, oh, my God, like what's Jimmy going to do? And they're like, oh drinking goof around and the guys are like oh my god like what's jimmy gonna do they're like oh man he don't take no like he doesn't like that kind of shit laugh on the bench like you're for sure gonna go back to east coast like his mom phones him and said you better get in there apologize to that coach i seen you laughing like on hockey date in canada so monday we go to practice and I don't know any of this. And we're standing at the end of practice, you have a little conversation and I liked him. I think he's a good player. So the meeting's all over. And I said, Hey, well, is it, come here.

So he comes up to me and he's staring at me. And I said, listen, I think you'd be a really good player in this league. I said, when you're driving down the wall and you got puck in your six, I said, take it to the net. I said, you're a big, strong guy. I said, you just shoot pucks in the corner. I think you can get more pucks to the net. He looks at me and he goes, strong guy. I said, you just shoot pucks in the corner. I think you get more pucks than that. He looks at me. He goes, is that it? So what do you mean? Is that it? And he goes, oh my God. He goes, I was so scared. You're going to send me down to the East coast. Like my mom told me I had to come and apologize to you. Oh my goodness. This is awesome. I was going to ask if he was a Hulk Hogan fan with

that, with the jacket rip off there. Where'd that come from that move? I had no idea. I was going to ask if he was a Hulk Hogan fan with the jacket ripoff there. Where did that come from, that move? No idea. I swear to God. Just in a moment? No idea. Jimmy, do you like being an assistant more than a head? I mean, I feel like it fits your personality a little bit more because, I mean, you seem a little bit –

you like to have conversations with the guys around the rink. When you're a head coach, you can't really – there's got to be that fine line, correct? Yeah, you know what, Biz? My history with coaches, when I first started coaching, I was working with Ken Hitchcock. He was coaching in Kalamazoo. I was in Dayton. It was Dallas and started as an ECHL team.

So Hitch was really excellent with me, helping me on structure and details and stuff. And then I went to Kalamazoo, and I followed Hitch into Kalamazoo. And then I played for Daryl Sutter in uh hitched into Kalamazoo and then I uh I played for Daryl Sutter in the IHL we'd won a championship together and then I worked with Daryl in Calgary and then I uh worked with Mike Keenan in Calgary so those types of not like the style of coaching they have is heavy hard demanding and uh I enjoy the head coaching role I think what happened was you know when you get I had the one year in Calgary think what happened was, you know, when you get, I had the one year in Calgary and then when you're out, it's,

you got to win your way back in. And that's kind of where I'm at. I'd love to get back and be, I'm a head coach one day, but you got to win. You got to win often. You got to win in, in the right ways. I think you get a chance to get back. So I do enjoy my role now. I think working with tip is outstanding work with the staff we have is excellent, but I think your passion a chance to get back. So I do enjoy my role now. I think working with Tip is outstanding. Working with the staff we have is excellent. But I think your passion is always to try to have a chance to be head coach. Head coach, yeah. The year that you were the head coach of the Flames,

you guys made the playoffs and then lost to Detroit that season. And were you a little surprised that Keenan was coming in that next season and that you were going to be back being an assistant? I mean, because you'd had a good year. You'd gotten to the playoffs. Yeah, I was really surprised in fact i think we we had uh daryl called me in and just said he's gonna make it make a change and and uh and we'd lost to detroit i think in six games and i just said if i had a gun i'd put a bullet in your head i said that's fucking bullshit and he

just like well he was crying and i was upset you know of course and and we'd been together a long time with like i say in 1990 we'd start you know interacting was upset, you know, of course. And, and we'd been together a long time with, like I say, in 1990, we'd start, you know, interacting and working and, you know, coaching together, playing together. I was playing for him and, and, but the decision was made and, and, you know, you move on. And so it was, I had a chance to later on, I had a chance to go back down and, you know, work in the American league team when they start up a team in Abbotsford. So I got back into the head coaching role there for a while.

But yeah, it was a surprise, especially the fact that we did have some success that season. Jim, I mentioned you playing in Korea. You were a first round draft pick by Edmonton, but back in the 80s, that must have been obviously a pretty tough roster to crack. But you got a big assist on a Gretzky goal when it was your first game. Yeah, it was my first game. And, you know, it was obviously it's an honor to be drafted in the NHL, I think, at any given time.

And to have such a short career, I wasn't here very long. I played a couple games and went on and signed as a free agent with Chicago. But to be able to come full circle and come back here and have the opportunity now to be coaching back in the organization is – it's awesome, actually. I mean, there's a lot of tie-ins, of course. You got to play with Gretzky. Now you get to coach arguably probably the greatest player on the planet.

I don't think many people are going to argue against that one. Going back to the Hitchcock thing, though, you talked about this four basic areas to defend, and it picked up a lot of steam online as far as the Oilers fans very interested in. Is that kind of, it picked up a lot of steam online as far as the Oilers fans very interested. Is that kind of your like philosophy and theory towards like coaching your defenseman? Yeah, I think there's the biggest thing I try to get the players understand is

I think everything has to start at the offensive blue line. If you can get yourself organized at the offensive blue line, you can support the offense. You can get shots through to the net. i think you're in good offensive defensive positioning so if something happens you know through the neutral zone or back into our zone i always try to go back to the offensive blue line and say did we did we gap up enough did we were we aggressive enough that we get ourselves set up enough to work inside the dots and defend the rush and And so I have a theory with a defense, but I want each guy to get one shot per period. So six shots per period from our back end over three periods,

18 cracks at the net. And if we can, if we're doing that, then we're spending time in the offensive zone. We're supporting the four check. We're supporting the offensive part of it. And from there, then it's, you know, you get back inside the off the rush and you read to the rush, you protect the inside the dots and you can kind of get a read. So it's basically offensive blue line, you know you get back inside the off the rush and you read to the rush you protect inside the dots and you can kind of get a read so it's basically offensive blue line you know creating offense shots um you know having a good gap through the neutral zone you read to the rush you get organized you see what's what's going on not only in your immediate one-on-one or two-on-one

but what's going on behind we have trackers coming back then in the arriving in d zone try and get the first one-on-one stop and get the puck and everything organized in the part of the ice where the players can come back and support i think lots of times when you arrive in these own company we're running out the other side and all the supports have arrived on or near the puck and when it's out the other side you kind of lose some of that support and then we have a you know we can bring the puck out the same side the puck comes in it's you generally have people around there and then the fourth part would be just executing breakouts you know when i first came here i remember i sat down with uh uh nugent ryan nugent hopkins and and uh leo and connor and just said hey i think we can bring pucks more pucks

through the middle of the ice exiting out our our zone. I mean, we have three guys to carry through the middle of the ice. So we really encourage the defense to start feeding a lot of pucks into the middle of the ice. And it drives our energy and our team leaving our zone. So those are basically the four

kind of principles we kind of work on, I think, here. I look at a guy like Evan Bouchard and he's top 10 pick in 2018. He continues to get better and better. So when you're working with a guy like that, who has so much poise, like he has the ability to wait guys out. He's got a great shot from the point.

So as a younger D man, are you just talking to him about gaps about things where you're at least like, I've seen a lot of hockey in my day to know that you're good enough with the puck. I don't need to mess with you there. It's away from the puck where I'm going to try to help you become that top top two top pairing defenseman in the league yeah i think the biggest deal with bush is um he was here in the bubble and he didn't play much he did a lot of uh you know practicing and so on and so forth and we really kind of developed a relationship on what we thought his game could become. And honestly, the biggest thing with Boosh is to learn to respect the fact

that he has a really calm demeanor about him and not try to change that, not try to beat that out of him. Let him have his calmness with the puck. Let him have the ability to get pucks through from the point and just help him organize the rest of his ice. I think the big thing with Boosh is his ice management. Can you put him in more situations consistently where he can defend better he's really strong he's got a great mind for for the offensive and defensive part of it and the deal we made with him up front was let's get your

defense organized let's get you on the penalty because he's number one penalty killer for us people would have never ever thought yeah and so he's got a real fundamental base of plan. And then we did a side deal. I said, listen, you know, let's try to avoid a bridge deal for you. Let's try to get your first three years of your deal to cover off all your bases. So your offense is going to be there. Your defense is there. So when your agent goes in and negotiate, you can bypass a bridge deal and get that four or five year term that sets us up to have you continue to grow with the group. And if we can,

if we can do that defensively and get them, get all the details implemented, then I think he's going to be a long time, really good player. I think the biggest thing is you got to respect the fact that his, it appears to be casual, but he's a great competitor. It's just a disposition that you can't take a stick and beat it out of you gotta let him be his guy jimmy is it a conflict of interest to be his coach and his agent well hey you could be making more money you know

it's a good point though for fans too where sometimes they see guys and because they're not the grind it out and look like they're, you know, skating so hard that they almost think the guys are dogging it where it's like that's just who he is. He's not dogging it at all. He just looks a little more relaxed doing it. Yeah, I think we talked last summer about him trying to connect with with with Darnell and train with him in the summertime because Cause Darnell really is our, our, our leader in that area. And I think eventually what I've talked to Darnell about is as we bring Broberg and Sam Rukoff and legs and these young kids, as we bring them in, let's create a profile of what it looks like to be a really solid, good player through you.

And so the video and the details of the structure that, that docs got in place, that can kind of be the fundamental framework of what all these other guys can aspire to get to. And so, you know, give Boosh credit. He went out and spent some time with Darnell this summer and spent some time training with him. And, you know, he's in great shape.

He's a great skater. He just does it with a little bit, you know, more of – it looks a little bit like He's a great skater. He just does it a little bit more of – it looks a little bit like he's not pushing and grinding, but in his own way, he's doing what we need him to do. Jim, some guys kill penalties. Other guys don't. How does a coach know a certain player will just be useless when it comes to penalty killing?

Is it like a desire thing, an effort thing? Yeah, I don't know. I think the game's changing the penalty killing mindset i think now you see a lot more offensive players look at vancouver did i mean you get pedersen up to where they think he should be they threw him in a penalty kill and i think that our you know we we have we have the structure set up where ideally we're not blocking a lot of shots i think if we're slow in some areas we're going to end up blocking shots and so i i don't know how you pinpoint exactly who's you know certainly guys are are are better at than other guys but i think with us

especially with tips teams he likes the third and fourth line players to have really defined roles where they feel like they have good ownership in the group and and those guys they take on a load of the penalty killing responsibility and it really keeps them invested in the game. So I think that, you know, at the end of our penalty kill, we last, you know, block of time, we try and get Connor and Leon out there as much as we can. So it's, yeah, I think it's, you know, a lot of things, but I don't think it's the old school where you got to stand there

and block shots, you know, as much as maybe in the past everybody did. So one of your comments when you came in and you got control of the penalty kills, they were allowing far too many cross-scene passes to get through. And is that kind of what you're referring to? Then you're going to end up having to lay out and block shots? Yeah, we try to load up one half of the ice with four guys. And then anything that goes back to the far side becomes the goaltender's responsibility.

So some teams play near side posts and some teams play far side posts. We try to keep the load on the strong side and then kind of use the mentality of a five-on-five, you know, sort of four-on-four battle. The puck goes through the seam and that becomes the goaltender's guy. So he becomes a part of it and then it becomes basically a five-on-five penalty kill. So I think the big thing we try to do is recognize we get up ice pressure um and then arriving in d-zone coverage we have two

a rule where off a d-zone loss we want 15 seconds of just flat out pressure just pushing go before they got structure and on entry we want 15 seconds of flat out pressure before they get set up and i think the players have enjoyed that freedom, maybe to get, to get themselves up and running and moving on the penalty kill and a little bit of a push on it. And, and that's, we're trying to establish. I know we spent a lot of time talking like video, but I'm a little bit interested.

So when you first got hired as well as the PK, you ended up watching each defense when you guys had, you watched 20 full games to kind of figure everything out and i guess your overall assessment was that just the back end needed more swagger there was no swag is it also on top of that is it hard to get these young guys into watching all this video and learning about their game because darnell talked about it is that something that they're like okay with watching and consuming so much yeah you know a couple things about that biz when i when before i came here i took the you're at 20 games of each player i broke it down i just

kind of built like a a teaching uh video session for each guy so when i came to camp um when i sat down with him i'm like listen this is what i see uh here's where i think we can maybe have a look at getting better and improving and then even even with Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci, we did the same thing coming in and just sat down with those guys. And I phoned Duncan in the summertime. I said, listen, I'm going to take 20 of your games, you know, like five or six at the start of the season, five or six in the middle and five or six at the end,

blend them together and just see what becomes consistency in your game. And, and from there, we'll sit on, have a meeting, and then we'll just kind of build your you know just soon fine and uh then i think the big thing that i do i try to do now with a defenseman is not to just stuff it down their throat i'll build i'll take three games i'll try to find you know two or three games try to find consistency and then i'll have the whole thing built and i'll just go by and say listen i got some cartoons you want to come watch you know don't like you know what i mean and if they feel like they need it they'll come if they don't feel like they don't want it they don't come because i think this is we're in a generation now where these kids have been watching

video from themselves either they've hired someone to do it or a coach has done it their whole generation i mean there was times know, when you guys were younger players, well, there's, there wasn't video. And now this whole generation that's, you know, that's a big important part of their game. But I think now you got to kind of set it up where, listen, I did it today with Darnell. I had two games cut and we sat down this afternoon. I was like, listen, here's some stuff you want to see it. We can see it. If not, it doesn't matter.

Cause yeah, I'll come in the office after practice. I think if you leave it open like that it's probably more of a not a this is what you have to do it's like hey here's a you know this might be a better way to try it or look at it from this point of view or because you know what happens on a videotape is you get the overhead rafter you got like everyone's got 20 more feet out there and three more in the coach the next day is going here's what you should have done it's like really but you would have been doing it back in the day so not easy you know so i think you have to leave it kind of leave it out there for him you mentioned duncan keith and and i love the move bring him over hopefully he gets healthy soon and can be playing again but what did you kind of take away from him right as a leader, right?

As you, when you met him and you saw the respect, he saw a future hall of famer and, and I don't think he's resting on what he's done, right? He's looking to still be as elite and be as good as he can and help this team win. So did you see things right away that really stood out as to make sense as to why he's had the career he has? You know, when I sat down with, uh,

when we talked about the course of the summertime, I came to camp and we looked at his videotape. I said, you know when i sat down with uh when we talked about the course of the summertime when i came to camp and we looked at his videotape i said here's my view of your tape i can see why you guys have won cups and i can see why you've had the success you have on the top of the circles down to below the goal line he's as fast as any defenseman there is a national league still today his ability to turn get down strike on a puck get a puck off someone's stick get back to position support his partner is awesome but what I found was once he started moving the puck up the ice once he started going up the ice he either deferred to his partner

or at the offensive blue line he wasn't thinking net first and his feet were facing his partner his pucks were going back down low and I, I think you can really grow your offensive game. He started laughing. I was like, holy shit. He goes, that's crazy. I wouldn't have thought that my feet were that way. I wouldn't have thought I didn't get as many pucks to the net. So the theory of one shot per period and maybe not deferring so much

to your partner, my point was you don't need your partner to make the pass to the center iceman. You don't need your partner to make the pass to the center ice and you don't need your partner to to make those plays for you because he the one thing about Chicago was he had a lot of different partners and I think he really felt like he had to be the stay-at-home guy and be the the stable partner I'm like look at you and Cody and new kids on the block and Cody Ceci let it rip like just go your thing. And now I think what you're seeing with him is he's exploring his 200-foot game again. I think he's having fun doing it because you can – he doesn't say much, but his commitment to be prepared to play, his commitment in practice

is why he's been around championships and Norris trophies. And that's so good for the rest of our players to see that. You mentioned our tip head coach, Dave tip, and you guys have a history together. We're together in Arizona. How far back do you go with him? When did you do first start working with him? You know, Brad tree living the GM and Calgary at the time reached out to me, or sorry, he was assistant GM in Phoenix at the time. He reached out to me when I was's assistant gm in phoenix at the time he reached out to me when i

was in abbotsford and said we'd like to have you come down and interview for the assistant coach's job and i said i don't want to go back as an assistant coach i left the nhl as an assistant i want to come down reveal my craft as a you know the head coach in the american league and see if i can't create another opportunity and he's like you know, Brad's a convincing guy. He's like, just come down for the weekend, meet with tip. And so I came down, we sat in the office for two hours and, and, uh, uh, I phoned my wife. I'm like, if I ever come back to the NHL as an assistant coach,

this would be the guy I would choose to do it with. Um, and then I went on for supper with Don Maloney and Adrian, a coin had told Don Maloney at the end of the year, apparently he said, uh, Don Maloney said to me, um, what's your relationship with Adrian a coin? And I said, well, we worked together in Calgary. He's a great guy. And that's about it. And he said, he came up to me at the end of last year and said, I think with Ekman Larson as a young player,

you should reach out to Jimmy play for and see if he'd come in here and help you with him. So that was a good endorsement, obviously by Oki to kind of get the ball rolling. And then the next day, I think I flew home and they called me and offered me the job. So that's kind of the, but I've never met Tip prior to that scenario playing out. Now, I mean, he's a pretty defensive minded guy,

or at least when he was coaching us in Arizona, I mean, that might've been a personnel thing. How has he adapted to now coaching two of the most offensive, gifted players on the planet? He was just a defensive guy when you were on the ice, Tiff. He was good at everybody else. Oh, that was not a lot of the time. I think it's a misnomer that tips is defensive guy. Okay. All right.

Well, there you go. Yeah. I think it's a very responsible guy. I think his foundation is about building, um, from a good base. He's built homes. He's built hard to get or build motorcycles. Yeah. And his building teams is, is really his passion. So the foundation of anything when it's in place and solid just leads to offensive opportunities. And I think that, you know, when you look at the reasoning, one of the big reasons he came back to play was obviously the high-end talent and the ability to coach in Canada and to see what he could do

to push this group along. And, you know, I think the one thing that, from even your experiences with Tip, he's very well organized, he's very well prepared, he's very well thought out. And every time when they meet with Tip, they walk away feeling respected. And so I would say he's more of a coach that's organized,

that gives players a chance to be successful, and he's got a deep passion for each guy individually to feel like they're a part of the team. Yeah. And somehow in all that, it gets lost. And he's just this defensive guy, stand back and block shots. He's all about creating. I mean, he, he does want guys to chip pucks and dump pucks. And if there's a play, make the play, if not be responsible, you know, take care of the puck type of thing. So I think that it's, it's a good, it's for me personally,

it's been an excellent opportunity to work with a guy that is is organized and is consistent with his with his approach to the game and so um yeah yeah I think his ability and his offensive mind is something that he's underrated very underrated underappreciated is it is it it must be pretty cool to be around ken holland too and this year he goes into the hall of fame and he's now there and looking to kind of build another stanley cup winner is he super involved with the coaching staff are you talking to him after games as a coaching staff or is he more just kind of on the outside he's looking at trades he's looking at different things and he keeps his nose out of what the coaches are telling the players kenny holland

is an amazing person. The people you've talked to that have been around Kenny. People love him. And I'll tell you why they love him. When it's about the business of winning hockey games, he's as serious and as intense and as focused as anybody needs to be. His knowledge and wisdom of the league and his understanding of agents and where they play

their their role within the players his respect he shows the players um is all in spades but his ability to tell stories and make and tell you funny he'll get on a roll and he'll be telling like stories from back in the day in Detroit and you know during the bubble remember how we had okay there's four guys at this table and six guys at this table and your tables was assigned you're assigned on the seats in the plane seats in the bus at the table so exactly we're all sitting there going seriously so we're all like be nice to go there and have breakfast with that guy all of a sudden one day and he just starts sitting at everybody else's table he's like sitting with these four guys and sitting the goaltenders,

whoever the tables were. And we're like, all right, that's good. Now we can do this. And he kind of changed the simple little thing. But when he starts doing it, then we all get the green light. And we started interacting. And I think he has an unbelievable knack and sense of how people feel each day within the group. And then he understands how to deal with that. But he, he puts people in positions to be successful. And in fact, there's times like we've been on the road and he hasn't been with us.

And I'm like, you know, Hey, Tim, what can he say? Cause I'm talking to him four or five days. He just lets you do your job. He just trusts you. And if there's an issue, yeah, reach out to him, but he doesn't, he doesn't babysit anybody. And he doesn't feel a need to babysit anybody. He treats you like pros and he gives you the tools and he expects you to do your job. And it's easy. He's a cool guy.

How much of coaches had to adjust their styles and say the last 15, 20 years, because this younger generation of kids, they're different than they used to be there, you know, maybe a little more catered to have coaches really had to adjust how they approached them. Yeah. I think, you know, the, the non-negotiable, than they used to be there, maybe a little more catered to. Have coaches really had to adjust how they approach them? Yeah, I think the non-negotiable, this is how we're going to do it and don't ask questions and don't think there's a better way because my way is the right way.

I think not only in hockey, but in society. I mean, you're in the blue ribbon society, right? Everybody gets a blue ribbon. It's like, no, there's still a winner and losers society right everybody gets a blue ribbon it's like no there's still a winner and losers but everybody gets a blue ribbon but i think that it's it's changed for the betterment because i think that it it it helps everybody feel like they're an important part of it i think the the the hard i still think there's a demand and expectation needs to be in place in the game in fact one of the things that drives me nuts is during tv timeouts and the two linesman come and stand between the two benches it's like that's when the best chirps happen that's when the best guy starts saying you know they start

that's when biz made his money was telling other guys oh no i made my money getting gatorade and water for the officials but i think you need the juice of the game. I think you need the energy in there. Yes. I think you need the emotional investment with the game. And I still think that if it's not coming within, sometimes the coach has got to bring it. And I think that's not a bad thing. It's just, it's hard to win.

There's only like 32 teams, right? So you got to, you need an edge. Well, speaking of emotion, going back to your Oilers days when you're playing there um gretzky he ended up uh making a comment in one of the games you played in about the devil's organization which for a guy who he wasn't very outspoken it just so happens one of the two games you played you were there for when i think the devil's got beat what 14-2 by you guys and he called him a mickey mouse organization which I have a friend, Pasha.

He's still bent out of shape, but I don't even know if he was born when Gretzky said it. A funny thing about that story is Ron Lowe, who was a good friend of Wayne's, was a goaltender in New Jersey. And I scored the 11th goal. Flop shot on the ice from the point, old school. I think Glenn Anderson picked the puck up and Gretzky skates by and goes

Thanks for taking the pressure off, kid That's my NHL story That's part of my goal In the old dressing room in Edmonton There was like a double stall And that's where Gretzky's stall was And he had like a double stall And it was right beside the door that went into the weight room.

So nobody wanted that stall because the traffic going out of the weight room. So I come up and they put me there and I'm like, I'm good. Like I'll sit beside 99. Like I'm good on this stall. The game's over. I think it was like 13 to two maybe. And a media, all crowds around, all four media guys, right. Crowd around them and uh he just stood up and said hey that's that's mickey that's a mickey mouse organization like nobody should beat anybody by third by you know 11 goals in the nhl and it blew up and remember the next day the pr guy comes out and says slats wants to talk to you so wayne goes in the office and they can hear him talking when

he's like i'm not going to apologize i's like, I'm not going to apologize. I'm right. He says, I'm not going to apologize. And Glenn's like, the president called. You got to apologize. He comes back and sits down. He goes, I'm not going to apologize. And he was dead to rights.

He wasn't going to apologize for saying it. And then I went wherever I went. And the next time they went to New Jersey, all those fans had those Mickey Mouse ears on their little half caps. Mickey Mouse ears on their head. Oh, that's good stuff. That is fucking good stuff. You must have been in a camp or two with that legendary squad, hey? Yeah.

I must have done something else. No helmets, no shoulder pads in camp, like practice? No defense? Never. Never. You know what, though? I'll tell you something. What I do remember about the short

time i was there was wayne was at the front of the line and he was the hardest working guy to start every drill and he competed to the very end and he competed hard and and uh yeah but it was a uh uh when you you don't realize how cool it is right so you look back on it and you're like wow that was a pretty good opportunity to be around those guys. And as short as it was, it was still cool opportunity. The game's changed so much from, from that era. It was so much more rough and tumble. What's something from that era that you wish we still had a little bit more of

today? I don't know what it'd be. It's cool to see guys out there with no helmets on the ice, but obviously back to that level of hockey. I don't know. I think the, yeah, I don't know. I can't specifically say one thing. Just there was a competitive nature.

I think it was a little bit more non-negotiable and, you know, it was a little bit of a harder time to have to get to the net get around the ice and i still think within the rules that's an important part of competing that's good to keep in the game but i don't know if i'll ever obviously go back to there but yeah it was a it was a good era for sure jimmy you're obviously oh go ahead sorry what oh no i was just gonna ask are you guys uh are you guys one of the teams that have cut out pre-game skates and like what are your thoughts on pre-game skates and kind of the teams that have cut out pregame skates? And, like, what are your thoughts on pregame skates and kind of how teams maybe got rid of them?

Some teams still have them. Where are you on that? We try to skate one time between games. Like, we play, say, Monday, Wednesday, Friday. We try and pick either, like, for example, today was an optional, and tomorrow at the 8 o'clock game we'll have a full pregame skate morning. So it's just based on, you know it it is about rest and i think the other thing today that's so important to realize is players are in shape

and they don't get out of shape i mean they they take such good care of themselves they spend so much time looking after themselves and and i mean i talked to cody cc we skated uh we come here on the morning off before the game. We skated early in the morning, Duncan Keith and him and I. And he went out for like a vitamin drip in the afternoon and, you know, whatever he did to make sure he was, you know, replenished with vitamins and fluids to get ready to play yesterday. So we didn't do that back, right?

They were at the bottom of the beer can. We had fluids, they were different you get them and we got those vitamins in pink whitney actually for all the young young hockey players out there and so now you recognize that you realize that they're they're in phenomenal shape and so i think that you you just got to manage their their ice i think it's important to go on the ice with a purpose and just go on the ice because there's ice time available. I think you have to have a short, clear purpose on why you're going out there. You do such a good job of breaking down these guys around you and these players.

We've got to talk about McDavid and just like every day what you're seeing. And I know Torts made a comment recently about him adjusting his game defensively, and I know you get to see him, and you completely disagree with all of it 100 towards couldn't be more wrong i mean i think when you when you look at it and you're first of all when you're around connor you realize in his own quiet way he demands everybody around the organization be better work you want to be better you see the dedication he puts in you see the work he puts in you see the work he puts in

zero maintenance he yet he was walking through the dressing today i looked down his toes are sticking out of his socks i'm like no new socks around here because i love these socks they don't make them anymore he said i want to keep them as long as i can his toes are sticking out and he's he's all ratty he used the same stick like the trainer's gotta go change the sticks out for him because he won't change you know everybody's changing their gloves between periods. Every TV time they're changing, they got new gloves. He never changes his gloves. He's like him and Leon, same pattern they came into the league with.

They get skates, I guess, when they need new skates. And that type of approach to the game is what makes him, I think, part of such a good player. He's just focused on preparation to be better. And I think we've had this conversation many times. I've never seen a top-end player adjust their game to a 200-foot game like Conor's made the adjustment. When you look at videotape of our team and you watch our team arrive

in D-zone coverage or get down low to support the defenseman or get under a stick and slaughter, get into a battle. Connor's involved in those things on the right side of the puck all the time. I mean, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's steady players in the league that he respects that plays 200 foot games. Last minute goaltenders pulled or for, you when we're when we have are protecting a lead of the middle left in the game connor's out there all the time because he's in right defensive position he wins wall battles and that's not because he's our best player we want to like you know keep him happy it's because he's committed to doing the job and i think when you he takes these own face offs and he's studied that. He's worked hard at it.

Tips, prepared to put him out there whenever he feels he needs to draw one, just like Leon now. And I think it's – for Torres to take a run at him like that, he just – I think he's going on to highlight real goals. And I think that that's not fair to Connor. I think Connor deserves the fact that when you look at his game and you pay attention to it and study it, he's an unbelievably committed defensive player for us now. In fact, he's up there with anybody else in our team, I think, right now.

So funny story about Connor. We're in Phoenix a couple weeks ago, and everyone's excited for for chris russell chasing the uh the shot block you know so i come out between periods and i'll come out in the connor stand there with zach cassie and they got the you know the sheet you know the between periods the stat sheet and there's like 10 columns in the stat sheet you know goals assist points face up so connor looks at me as i walk by he goes russ Russ, he didn't get a block. And I'm like, yeah, I think he had one for sure. He goes, well, he's not on the sheet.

He goes, and I'm assuming that over here, BS must be blocked shots. I just never looked this far to the right on this sheet. Oh yeah. I know exactly where it stops. I looked as far as it could go. There are still zeros. He's like, I usually stop. I mean, I have to put the points. I'm good, maybe. But I think that's why I think when you pay close attention to him, you understand he's dedicated to growing his game

and stretching his game to become the best player he can be on both sides of the puck. Is he talking a lot this year, or is the entire team doing a lot of discussion? And we got to do this based on looking towards the playoffs and guys like we, we have a team here that we truly believe can go on a run. So it's little things, not just to win games now, but what's going to win us games once, once spring comes around.

Are the guys talking about that or is it more of a day to day? Let's just approach each game the best and the most we can right now? Yeah, I think I would say this. I think our game is under construction all the time. I don't think we viewed it as being this is going to set us up in the playoffs. I think when you look at our team, we had a great start. Our combined special team is like 140%. I mean, that's just not sustainable.

140 percent like I mean you know that's just not sustainable and I think that we're trying to figure out a way um to have our five on five team five on five play be as consistent as our special teams have been lately and I think that's where we are now like we you know we lost a few in a row and I think we've probably won a few when maybe we were playing not as good and now we're starting to play a lot better last couple of games, and the wins aren't there. But I think we're doing enough good things. We're creating enough scoring chances that keeping our game under construction all the time is kind of the daily focus as opposed to looking too far ahead. I was just going to chime in about tips preparation,

and I think he was questioned on analytics not too long ago, and I remember all these numbers and situations he was throwing on analytics not too long ago and i remember all these numbers and situations he was throwing at us and it was essentially i don't want to say analytics before analytics but he'd been doing it forever and he got i don't want to say he got offended by it but he's like listen we know we know what these things are we've been keeping track of this stuff yeah i think tip's been doing for a long time it's basically scoring chances for and against and then he he'll create situations for players where you know like how many hits how many he creates an environment where everybody feels like their stats can matter at the end of the night you know i mean how many hits did you get how many pucks did you get out how many block shots did you have he has his own little

kind of idea of what's important for a team to win consistently. And so I just think that his basic view of the analytics is only important to each player on a team to combine, to have an identity. What's our identity? What are we doing good? What do we need to improve on? Not we're getting so many shots from inner slot or outer. It's, it's,

you know, he has his own ideas on that type of stuff. And so I think he just, he basically, I think he observes that stuff. He looks at it, he kind of sees what's out there, but he really trusts the system he's built over the course of his career. And, and, and he, you know, he shows it to the players, every block of time the players sit down and can look at it. It's only about what are we doing? What can we do better? It's not about trying to bury anybody or hammer on anybody.

It's just like, here's where our team's at without the puck. Here's where we've got to improve. Jim, I was looking at old rosters from your AHL days, and I noticed you played with Bruce Boudreaux, who just got back in the league. He seems like he must have been an absolute character back in the day. Yeah, Gabby is an unreal fun guy. But when he got on the ice, he's a great competitor. He's a great goal scorer, a great playmaker.

And it was a lot of fun to be around Gabby because I think as young players, you're trying to be so serious and so intense and so focused and scared to make a mistake. You want to have you know when you're playing the American League when the scouts come down to the GM you want to have them kind of catch you playing a good game you know and his whole idea was just play good all the time and you'll figure out how to get up there and his disposition about it was always like he wasn't crazy about playing defense real hard all the time but you get him the puck he'll

take care of the offense and And I think that's, that's why he's been successful in the NHL. I think he has a fun way about creating offense. And I think he's very demanding and serious about defense, but he brings some, some juice and some levity to the group. And I think players respect that over the course of a long season. Yeah. Cause he was like 30 years old, probably one of the older guys in the team.

He must've bragged about being in slap shot all the time. Actually the product, he looked more like he was 40 30 years old, probably one of the older guys on the team. He must have bragged about being in Slapshot all the time. Actually, we had to pry that out of him, but he looked more like he was 40 than 30. But yeah, we had to pry that out. Jimmy, is it basically just kind of a carbon copy between McDavid and Leon? Because I feel like it's an insult if we don't really talk about him too,

because he's such an interesting player. One that some people thought that they overpaid at the time, and he's really turned into basically another McDavid. Yeah. The coolest thing is about how they compete with each other and push and challenge each other. But Leon's got a great disposition about the way he expects the games to go. He sees it a certain way.

He expects the group to push a certain way. And, and like what he does with a puck and, you know, in practice and the stick he uses, you're right. What do you call it? Table hockey stick. It's like a bubble hockey stick, the paddle on it. Like no wonder he hasn't fucking lost the face off this year. His backhand pass like the app and it is, it's good good but it's such a good combination you back it up it's kind of like the you know the crosby malkin thing it's it's a combination that gives you a chance to be dangerous and i think you know sometimes we get chasing games and tip just

says i'm gonna go nuclear and just just like let it roll and it's such a you know it's such a good break glass if in danger the two-headed monster out there but they're they in their own way they're both like very dedicated very driven and and uh and it it's awesome when you see them working as hard as they work every day it's not by accident they don't you know they're not blessed with a bunch of talent they show up and they they go through it they compete and they work every day. It's not by accident. They don't, you know, they're not blessed with a bunch of talent. They show up and they go through it. They compete and they work and then they both demand excellence. So they do stuff in practice that if it was a game would make you jump

out of your seat on a regular basis? All the time. And you know what's cool is they try to go against Darnell. They try to go against, like, they try to go against each other and they have a competition. And sometimes when it's full ice, when it's Leon versus Darnell or whoever it is, everybody kind of stops to watch to see what's going to happen because then they go full boat.

They just try to do whatever they can get after. But they compete hard in practice they drive practice they have uh when they get the puck in their stick in the offensive zone they're looking to score there's nothing soft or like you know they don't you know let off the gas and so when that happens they're they're special those poor bastards gonna they gotta do the out of the gate drill with mcDavid. You know, and the D on the hash mark. That's when I was, like, just seeing where Crosby was going to be in line and trying to finagle your way to be seventh when he's sixth. Oh, I need a lace.

I need a lace. Ah, yeah, well, guys, my skate's broken. I'll be right back. I need it. My blade's broken. Next guy up. Oh, yeah. Exactly.

Well, Jimmy, we've taken a lot of your time i don't know if there's anything uh actually i had one last one here this might be a geeky dumb question i might be looking into it too much you have the title of an associate coach is that different than assistant coach is that just the way that they write it in canada or is that because maybe you're more involved in other areas and just maybe the D. Just a negotiating play contract. Okay, there you go. All right, I'll leave that one at that. Hey, so he's going to take care of Bouchard and himself.

Yeah, I don't fucking blame you. I love it. Well, Jim, thank you so much. It's been a real joy watching the Oilers this year. I know a little bit of a slide lately, but still, good things to come, and I really enjoy watching your club plays. So thank you very much for coming on. All right.

My pleasure. Thanks guys. Thanks Jim. Good luck. Rest of the year. Thanks Jim. Take care. Thank you so much to Jim play fair.

We really appreciate him coming on. Let's go oil. Love my oil. But that interview was brought to you by simply safe. If you've ever wanted to make your home feel safer, there is no better time than right now. This week, our friends at SimpliSafe are giving Spit and Chicklets listeners early access

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Shout out to them. All right, moving right along. A couple more stories to get to here. After a long mediation session, the Chicago Blackhawks reached a confidential settlement with Kyle Beach. After all that horseshit that basically went on with that organization, for lack of a better word. And they're close to a settlement with John Doe, number two.

Hopefully everybody can kind of put this stuff behind them off this awful episode. And the Blackhawks, they had been fighting it for a while, but they've obviously decided to settle. So that's that. Locally, A.J. Ketter, who was a local play, he suffered a spinal cord injury while playing for bishop fionn last year uh he recently had a rink named in his honor uh the premier rink at the new

england sports village in attleboro is now known as the aj ketter rink uh aj said it's such a great honor to have a place named after you this place is going to stick around for a while so generations down the road see my name, and that means a lot to me. He's also an assistant coach for Bishop Fee in this year, and that's an awesome thing to see, Whit. I'm still playing a role in this team after what's happened to him, and he's still a big part of the squad.

AJ, from the boys at Chicklets, want to tell you to keep it up, brother. And our boy Jake Tebes, Jake Tebow. I know you hung out with him already. I actually went to the Flood Mart this weekend where he played at Milton Academy, went through that awful injury. He's doing great. But Nobles took it down.

I was at Nobles for eighth grade. So amazing. I love seeing the high school hockey. I was impressed by the pace of these games. But I know in the final had Jake, had Teabes been out there, I think Milton would have got it done. But I want to shout out both those guys. Absolutely.

I had, honestly, the tremendous honor and pleasure of meeting Jake and his parents, Tracy and Michael, a couple of weeks ago. He's basically my neighbor for the next couple of months here down the street. And they invited me down. They're just awesome people. I mean, they've been dealt a pretty shitty hand for the next little while here. And they're just so positive about it and so welcoming. And like I said, sometimes you go in a situation like that,

you might feel sad leaving. And I walked out smiling with like the inspiration and the spirit of that kid and the family. Like I couldn't help but like feel good about like how they made me feel leaving there. And, you know, teams. Same here. We're your boys, buddy.

And anytime you need anything, you reach out and I'll be down soon for a game. So I want to give you a little shout out, my man. Let's see what else do we got here? Oh, yeah. It's episode 365. I know it's close to the holidays, but our buddy Mike Camito, he's had an excellent book series the last couple of years, Hockey 365. He's on version two of it. You can get either on Amazon or wherever fine books are sold. But great gift for the puck fans in your life. Some obscure stories, some well-known,

but Mike makes them all interesting. So if you're looking for a late stock and stuff, by all means, check out hockey, three 65, great Twitter follow to RA Mike's the best, best fall. Like he's like,

like I said, it could be obscure trivia, a fight you didn't know about. Like he's great online and, you know, perfect, perfect holiday gift for you, for your friends who love hockey. We got to talk about this Charlie Woods over the weekend.

Tiger's 12-year-old son. What a clinic. Apparently, European books have offered 1,500 to 1 odds that he wins a major before he's 22 years old. Are they too low, high or what i would think that's that's crazy i would want at least five grand to one for a 12 year old kid i don't care who his father is yeah and i i was i was told by somebody that apparently he's not like top 50 golfers for his age in the state of florida or something like that which i find crazy now who knows if tiger even has him playing in all the events?

He might be like Jedi master. You'll go out when I tell you you're ready type thing when you've mastered it all. Like he's almost like, who's the guy from Karate Kid? Wax on, wax off. Mr. Miyagi. Mr. Miyagi. Yeah, Tiger's a little Miyagi where he's just like,

I'm going to train you perfectly before you go out and rip up tournaments. But the kid's swagger. You can't tell me that there's a lot in life isn't just general genetics because the kid was walking around shoving in darts from like 170 yards. He's 12 years old. They made 11 birdies in a row. There's a scramble formation.

So like Tiger had to drive. His son had to drive. Whoever has the best one, they both go hit a shot from there they both putt from the same place and they finish second place so tiger of course has made this like this is this is a tournament it's a father son it's a great tournament if you love golf it's pretty cool to see legends and i believe everyone who plays in it has won a major except for kuchar was in it somehow and he never won a major so i don't know but i thought you had to win a major and then you could bring your dad or your son. So it's a great event. But now the fact that Tiger Woods is playing in it with his kid, who's this stallion, like it's just

probably I bet you the ratings were through the roof yesterday watching it or Saturday and Sunday. Excuse me. It's Monday now recording. But I was I was just so impressed by the kid because you could tell he's got the confidence, too. And why wouldn't he? He's got the best golfer of all time as his father. But just an unreal story. But to say, like, he's going to win a major by 22, I'd want way higher odds. Maybe, like, win a major at some point in his life.

Even then, I'd want more odds. Like, he's 12. Who knows what happens? odds. He's 12. Who knows what happens? Exactly. He's 12. I would want even more for any fucking future odds. That got me thinking, what if you could buy other future odds on other

life situations? Like if Biz says organization in the podcast ever again? I mean, that's a fucking slam dunk right there. No, what I was thinking was like a certain actor or actress who like you think they got like

a really good future and you could say, hey, man, I want to buy stock. Like remember the Kevin on the on the office? Who did he who did he buy the stock and that was going to win an Oscar? Not Rob Lowe. Was it Jolly Sheet? I don't know. I've seen the office, but not like every episode. I don't know. I know. But I would I would like every episode. I don't remember. I know.

But I would be down with that where you're saying if you see some 19-year-old actor and he crushes a movie, like I want to buy, I want to bet that guy wins Best Actor someday. Absolutely. And I got two of them. I'll tell you right now. Do you know who Paul Walter Hauser is? No. If I saw his picture, though, I'm sure I'd know who it is.

Have you ever seen Richard Jewell? Yes. The guy who was falsely accused of the atlantic city atlantic city the atlanta olympic bombing clint directed he played richard jewel in that movie he's been in a handful of movies dude everything i see this guy in he absolutely fucking kills it and like he was so good at richard jewel if i could put like legit ten thousand dollars in stock and he will win an oscar someday i would do it in a heartbeat he's that good of an actor uh and the other one

as for an actress jesse buckley she was on google and r2 i recognize this guy paul jesse who jesse buckley she's an actress it's j-e-s-s-i-e uh she was actually in chernobyl recognize her you might not and like she's been in a bunch of obscure roles she actually it was in chernobyl but she was the woman at the she's the real red savage oh yeah she's yeah she's a redhead she's in this movie called wild rose which is a a really good independent film about a woman who's trying to become a singer in battle and personal demons but she was on the last season of fago which was the weakest season of fago we've seen on tv but her character and her acting was so good i i like earmarked her i'm like i this woman is gonna be a stud uh a star rather because studs aren't women uh and then she was in i'm thinking

of ending things the netflix movie jesse buck, I would put $10,000 onto him, Paul Walthauser, and Jesse Buckley easily to win future Oscars. And what would you want for odds? Well, right now I would say Jesse Buckley should be probably – Because both of them have never been in a big movie, right? Walthauser has been in a couple of big movies. He was in Richard Jewell. That's a Clint Eastwood movie. right so like you they well how's that was been in a couple big movies like i mean he was you know he was in richard jewel that's a clint eastwood movie um he's on people's radars but yeah i would

want at least fucking 50 to 1 neither has been nominated they're still young but yeah i wish and by the way if anyone knows where you can put these type of wages in or buy these types of stocks let me know because i think europe you can bet everything in the future over there you definitely oh shit we can't talk about this oh yeah yeah it's the x name on the europea or buy these types of stocks, let me know. I think Europe, you can bet everything in the future over there. Oh, shit, we can't talk about this. Oh, yeah, yeah. It's the X-Nay on the Europe-y. We said nothing.

So, all right. Well, we can talk about gambling at the Super Bowl. Vegas is actually going to be at the Super Bowl, what, next year, right? After this season, they announced it. They should just have it every year. They should. Or there, like Miami, you know what I mean? Just L.A., have it every year. They should. But or they're like Miami. You know what I mean?

Just L.A. Have it in awesome, awesome cities where you want to go with good weather. But you know what, though? Like as an old school guy, it just pisses me off so much with that. After all these years of like crying about Vegas and saying how bad it would be to like have sports there and gamble now, everyone realizes it's harmless. Like Vegas is just another city with gambling and everybody's having all the events there they just look like the biggest hypocrites in the world for the last fucking 30 years i know but you couldn't really like as much as i agree like back when vegas was run by the mob like you it wouldn't have been going down like you know

what i'm saying yeah you know they had more integrity when they were run by the mob no but i i know but then when you're talking about like everything's changed so much in terms of like how everything's run out there before it was such a gong show it's like how are you going to figure out how to get a pro sports team in there well they always act like those guys off corruption was going to be right around the corner but uh all right well that's about it for sports i think the one final topic with i know biz doesn't watch the show, so we didn't really need his input. The succession final season three he had last Sunday.

What was your reaction to it? Yes. So if you are succession fans and you're not caught up, I would say maybe fast forward for a little bit, but we're going to go into what was one of the best finales. Every finale of each one of those seasons has been top notch. And this one, that final scene with them in there with that guy, like thinking they had the upper hand on Logan Roy for one second and the entire car ride where they're talking about their plan and how they're all in

and she's making the phone call. And then to see how it all went down, I was just blown away i actually said this show is so incredible i read some recaps after where everyone pretty much agreed a top-notch finale and for tom to be the guy all right tom and greg together and then their conversation at the wedding like it was just perfect perfect and like that guy tom he's actually an english uh an englishman matthew mcfatty and mcfady and i forget his name he's actually an English, an Englishman, Matthew McFaddy and McFaddy. And I say his name. He's actually an English actor.

He was in, you know, like Little Women or some fucking English movie years ago. Phenomenal actor. Like he's sort of basically been the cuck the whole time. And then for him to like do a 180 and spin the fucking knife into her back. And she deserved it, man, because she's a brutal wife, like a brutal spouse. Oh, she's telling him she I don't even love you. it's like what do you just keep kicking this guy when he's down the one episode when he's talking about like jail and she's like will you just drop it it's like that's what i'm like this poor guy like he's got her wedding night she's like i want an open

marriage on a wedding night and it's like in like and that scene at the end of uh season two when they're on the beach at the lagoon and he's like i don't know if it'd be more sad i don't know what's worse the sad i'm when i'm with you or not with you i'm paraphrasing but like in other words like it was like such a heartbreaking line he's like i don't know if i'm more sad when i'm with you or when i'm not with you like because he loved her and she was a fucking dick to him so he was so torn but to have him like realize he had that fucking trump card yeah it was it was just it was incredible tv and i guess people had said like prior in the season he'd been bringing up a story with greg that ended up being the case and like yeah i there was so much foreshadowing that i think if you went back

and watched now the end final scene and then the other thing was uh logan like what these these fucking kids what do why do they why do they deserve to be given it that's the thing I was thinking the entire time it's like this guy has been oh and whatever Tom said to Kendall at one point like I've never seen Logan get fucked once you know what I mean

I've only ever seen you get fucked and then in the end though all these kids it's like why did they deserve it he's like I'm the one that's done this when the kids ask him why are you doing this? He goes, because I prove it works. And it was just like, there was just so much you could talk about about the whole season.

I love that show. I don't know how much longer they said there's going to be. I would be shocked if there's more than two more seasons. They've asked Brian Cox about it, who plays Logan Roy, I mean, tremendous Scottish actor for so many years now he said basically this can't go more than two more years like it so they'll do probably season

four then season five and I agree with that I would so much rather show end it like too early than stick around too long especially a show like that because you know you could see a show like that get caught spinning its wheels by the fourth or fifth season if you're kind of doing the same shit over and over again but this season yeah there's need to be an end game and see how it goes down on that show yeah tremendous payoff

but plus you said what like him and greg you know he went to greg because like he's fucked with greg for three seasons but he actually went to him it's like are you with me and he gave him that like okay last like last option and he jumped on board with him so yeah he goes you can be near the bottom of the top and greg's like that works yeah yeah he goes you can have 15 other gregs to yourself that's a great line that show is classic what do i need a soul for uh one other quick show too i don't know if you've seen it on hbo uh i don't hbo max i don't know when they added it's called south side it's about the south side of chicago uh it's a comedy it's fucking hilarious man like i don't know where they picked it up from another network and on and it's just like about uh the some of the characters they work at like one of those rent to own centers so they're

always like out like trying to like track down the people who are renting stuff and like all the bullshit they got to go through in the south side of Chicago. If you haven't seen it, man, I haven't finished the first season. It's fucking hilarious. Just a, it's a different kind of comedy. So another recommendation,

if you haven't watched that King Richard. We're about the Venus and Serena Williams. Had we ever talked about this on biz? Biz brought it up. I hadn't finished it yet. Great movie. So good. Great movie.

That guy is, Oh my God. Like he was, you know, it worked out exactly as he planned, as he wrote it out. But, oh, my God, watching it, you're like, wow. Talk about sticking to his guns and knowing. And the fact that he told Serena, you're going to be the best of all time. Like, it's just wild that it all went down the way he had planned

the entire thing. And it's one in a billion the way it happened. Will Smith was incredible, too. He was awesome. Unbelievable. Taking the beatings in the park from like the gangbangers. Just that was a great movie. I highly recommend King Richard on HBO Max.

Yeah, it was good to see Will Smith like get a challenging role again. And plus, you know, that's like we said before, I did when Biz brought up the idea that this father had a plan to make, you know, his two black daughters from Compton, like the best tennis players in the world was probably an inconceivable thought when he came up with it, and he made it happen. That's what everyone told him, too, I think. What are you talking about?

I also think it's important. Their mother was just as big of a part of it. She was their coach, too. I think you don't hear about that until you watch the movie. You realize it was her and him. It wasn't just him out there doing it no no no doubt takes take fucking two to uh to raise kids like that you know can't do it by yourself but yeah richard obviously had the tennis plan that that that's what i think is just the craziness of like having a sport that you know you know black girls haven't't succeeded to that level. He had

this vision and it worked, man. He raised the two greatest tennis players in the last 30 years. Anything else, Whit? You've seen out there you want to recommend then? I know you've been talking about old flicks lately. Have you seen anything on that? No, I've been a little bit on the... I was a little busy this

past week. I think the next one did i already say i want to watch the color of money that's one i know i somebody mentioned i want to watch that one that's a sequel that's a sequel to the hustler the hustler was uh oh well good i didn't watch it first yeah i mean it's you could watch it without it haven't seen the first one but it's the hustles like a classic movies from the 60s and I saw the hustle. I saw the color of money was by who's the director. He's very famous.

Oh, man. It's easy. Yeah. So any movie he does, I'd like to maybe see, right? He's got all the hits. So I'm like, all right. Well, that's a score. Did he do the hustler? No, the hustler. Oh, shit. Who directed the hustle? Shit. Oh, no, no worries.

No worries. Everyone, you know, we don't have biz. So obviously it's a little different, but we appreciate you tuning in. And hopefully the league gets figured out. And hopefully maybe you get some credit there on the news. We broke no Olympics. Come on. If that ends up being no doubt and we banged it, we banged it in time.

And we were the first. I'm going to I'm going to beat that drum. Yeah, absolutely. Hey, it wasn't. I'm were the first. I'm going to beat that drum. Yeah, absolutely. Hey, I'm not taking credit. It was a collective thing. It was a chicklets thing. I put the blog up and made sure we bragged about it. But, yeah, we'll make sure everybody knows it was us

because you really can't dispute it at this point. Guys, chicklets, cups, spots are still open. Go sign up right now. Who doesn't want to are still open. Go sign up right now. Who doesn't want to come to Vegas? Go sign up right now. We have influencers. We have former hockey players. We have current hockey players.

We have celebrities. We have R.A. It's going to be a blast. You're not going to want to miss this. I promise you that. So sign up now at ChickletsCup.com. All right, everybody. I go on fire.

You've probably seen it. Risky Business. It's on HBO Max. You've probably seen it. Risky Business. It's on HBO Max. The Tom Cruise movie that made him a star. If you haven't actually seen it. If you are anyone who hasn't watched it, it's the movie that made him a superstar. And we have one last note for all of you wonderful

spitting chicklets listeners out there. We want to wish you a very, very happy holiday season, whatever you may celebrate. We love you guys. And we have one last note for you, G. We do have one last note. And we, for the, for the amazing year of our chicklets listeners, we're going to give them another sale right before 2022 boxing day,

the 26 to 27, 15% off the entire Canadian store. And you know what, RA we don't just love our Canadian store. And you know what, R.A.? We don't just love our Canadian listeners. We love our American listeners, too. So we're going to give them 15% off the entire store as well. That's barstoolsports.com slash chicklets. Happy holidays to the entire Chicklets Nation. Well said, G.

And again, have a great holiday to everybody out there. We love you, and we'll see you soon. And like we do every week, we want to thank our terrific sponsors here on Spittin' Chicklets. So a huge thanks to our friends at Pink Whitney and New Amsterdam Vodka. Rickardsaw, a huge thanks to our friends at Pink Whitney and New Amsterdam Vodka. Big thanks to our friends over at Cross Country Mortgage for helping us out with our first or our recent mortgage. Huge thanks to everybody over at NHTSA. Listen, folks, it's crazy time on the highway, so be careful and be safe and make wise choices. Big thanks to everybody at No Days Wasted. If you're going to be having a few cocktails, you might want to pop a few No Days Wasted.

Also, big thanks to everybody at OCB Rolling Papers. Listen, gang, I converted. You should too. They're the best out there. And a huge thanks to everyone at Simply Safe for keeping us safe in our homesteads this year. Have a great week, all.