Spittin Chiclets - Spittin' Chiclets Episode 375: Featuring Thatcher Demko + Natalie Spooner

Episode Date: March 1, 2022

On Episode 375 of Spittin’ Chiclets, the guys are joined by Thatcher Demko and Natalie Spooner. Thatcher joined (01:03:49) to discuss playing in Vancouver, growing up in California and even getting robbed at gun point. But first, the guys open the show discussing the Pink Whitney party in Nashville this past weekend along with Biz and Grinnelli’s trip to Atlanta. The guys then recap the Stadium Series game and breakdown all the recent NHL news. The guys are then joined by Canadian Gold Medal Winner Natalie Spooner. Natalie joined (02:19:40) to discuss the Olympics, Team Canada’s Gold Medal win, and what needs to be done in the women’s game moving forward. The guys then wrap up the show with Grind My Gears and RA’s top Boston movies.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 375 of Spittin' Chicklets, presented by Pink Whitney. My friends at New Amsterdam Vodka here in the Barstool Sports Podcast family. Lots to get to this week, boys. We've got a pair of awesome interviews coming up. But we were down south, Atlanta for Biz and Grinnelli, then the rest of us were in Nashville for the big game at the stadium series. Looks like you boys are still recovering from a long weekend. Let's check and see how we're feeling. Mikey G, you did a lot of traveling.

How you doing, buddy? I feel great. Great weekend in Atlanta. Me and Biz got to hit the Jell-O dunk tank, so that was awesome. And then I headed over to Nashville, which was, again, great time. Pink Whitney party. Unfortunately, you couldn't be there. I'm sure you'll get into that.

But a big week of content ahead. Tons of Barstool content for the Barstool hockey team from Chicklets Cup is dropping. So I'm pretty excited. I feel good, RA. Yeah, we got some good stuff coming on YouTube with our buddy Patrick Sharp a little later this week. But Paul Biznasty, Bissonette, your feet must be tired from tap dancing. We'll get to that shortly. But how you feeling, brother?

Is RA on fast forward right now? Did you do Death Wish coffee before you hopped on? No, just two cups, but I should probably stick to one. I think two gets me a little too revved up. I can't even keep up right now. My fucking brain's scrambling. Yeah, no, it was a great week of hockey, guys. It was fun.

Gee mentioned we got to get down south for the ECHL game with Derek Nesbitt. He already played in his 1,000th, but we did the celebration game. Gee, there must have been, what, 6,000 people there. Of course, everything went as scripted. It's like we were the Wizard of Oz kind of orchestrating everything. He ended up with a goal and assist, turned out to be first star. Incredible pre-game speech, post-game speech. This guy was meant for

the mic so uh we're excited man we got two really really fun videos for the echl jungle series coming out uh that's all brought to you by laundry sauce as you can see on my shirt but going back to that dunk tank though gee like i if you want to touch that thing before we hopped in it uh before the game had started i think we'd both have third degree burns because they had to make the jello with the warm water warm water that they use for the zamboni wit so this thing was like scalding hot i still can't feel my feet so when we got dunked in it because we they put so much ice in it they thought it was now at that point like room temperature well we get dunked and at the bottom it took a second for me to kick in and then i'm like oh shit it's still hot at the bottom so i'm trying to get my feet up oh yeah because i was filming him i had i had him filming on on the

phone and i'm like ripping on him i'm like haha baze you got dunked and he's looking at me like help help and then finally he looked at me like fucking help me now or i'm gonna kill you and i'm like oh my god there's something wrong here. Hey, it's kind of like the East Coast League, dude. That's the coast right there. You go down there, you get third degree burn. If it was an NHL dunk tank, you'd probably have a foot massage down at the bottom of it.

So that just shows what that league's all about. You dealt with the elements. Get the Manny Petty at the bottom of the NHL dunk tank. Plus a tug. That's the voice of the wit dog, of course. Wit, you probably heard the most of us. I mean, two nights in Nashville. That's like a couple nights in Vegas, boy.

That town fucking rocks. Yeah, boys. I mean, listen, I would possibly say I'm blessed with one of the sweetest pro jobs post-career you could ever have, but it's slowly killing me. We've been able to go to Vegas. We go on all these trips and every single time I'm completely waffled the whole time. I don't really know what to do. I don't really know how to approach the next trip, but I'll say this. Nashville is one of the best cities in the country and I forgot about how cool it was.

It is actually a time from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep. And in a way, it's so different than Vegas. There's no casinos and that ruckus and that bullshit to deal with. It's just people having a good old grand time, listening to some phenomenal music, having drinks early, often, and going up and down Broadway. And I know that's a little bit for the touristy. I guess there's other sections of Nashville that maybe people who live there are more familiar with, a little more chill. But if you're going to chill on Broadway like we did, you're getting after it. And I love that city.

It was the best outdoor game I've ever been to or ever seen. We can go into that. But I had a hell of a weekend. And Biz, I actually talked to Grinelli. I'm not going to spoil how the whole game went. But wow, what a storyline for that Atlanta Gladiators game and the way it all went down. I can't wait to see the video. Yeah, it's going to be good. As far as the game it looked awesome on television like perfect skyline

perfect night to have the game like as far as temperature and and uh they said it was drizzling a little bit did you guys feel it no not no sweet let's be a dick but no i didn't even notice it though i went walking over there I didn't I mean it must have happened during the game I didn't see it even falling during the game at all

we didn't get to mention Jason Aldeans either what a showing we had there was like a three hour line just to come take a picture with Witt and it was it was unbelievable

shout out to Jason Aldeans and everyone that came out there that place is great so my brother came with me on the trip Colin Whitney got the call I need to have somebody with me and and so we got in on uh friday and i went over and i did busting with the boys

so um for people who aren't aware check that podcast out it's under the barstool sports podcast network it's will compton and taylor luan both nfl guys taylor's actually signed like an 80 million dollar contract a few years ago this guy's a stud offensive lineman uh 50 million guaranteed we talked about that but i think my episode with them will be coming out wednesday we we shot the shit for like two hours and 40 minutes on the bus it's a great setup they have so then i went back and my brother and i just walked up and down broadway for a couple of drinks and you don't realize that the talent of of the talent from these musicians playing these little hole-in-the-wall bars is top-notch. I mean, you're talking like Chris Stapleton played there before he really started making

his way, becoming a big star. You have people that are looking to get their chance and to maybe get heard by a powerful person with a record label or whatever it may be. So we did that. And then we crushed dinner at Jeff Rudy's. Great steakhouse. We sat at the bar. Great bartenders helping us out. And then above the bartenders, just an unreal band. Guy on the piano. They got the musicians.

Just nonstop good music, good vibes. So then leading into the next day, I was like, all right, well, this street's already banging. And the thing was that I think if you go to Nashville on any normal weekend, like a Saturday, it's going to be maybe not as crazy as it was this weekend, but bumping nonetheless. So we hit up a couple of bars leading into Aldeans. And when we got to Aldeans, the line was, I probably got there at like 2.30. We started something with some New Amsterdam Gallo folks at three, but the line was down the block. I couldn't believe it. And they have a roof deck bar. They had a middle section where we were, then a downstairs.

The guy told me that a normal Saturday, 7,000 people go through Jason Aldean's bar in Nashville. Wow. They must just be hammering, hammering money away in that place. They get you with a cover charge too or what? I don't think so. That was like the Sundowner in niagara falls they would get like well that's a strip club well i know but i'm just saying like fuck you think about seven thousand through the the door at 20 a pop like you are just printing it and i i apologize the fans for

the four who came out to see me i could i had travel snafus i got delayed and i basically barely made the game i i it sucks because that's why I wanted to get down there. So apologies to the Nashville fans, like I said, who are coming out to maybe say hello. I did bump into a few of you out in the street, but it was a bummer. Don't doubt yourself. There was a lot of people in line that said, where's R.A.? Where's R.A.? Oh, R.A.

R.A. Four people. A lot of people were like, where is he? I was like, oh, he's doing drugs around the corner. He'll be inside in a minute. Don't worry. I wish. Hey, they're like, oh, he sent the bat signal for some flour and everybody's here to

drop it off 17 pounds on fucking broadway yeah i actually walking into walking into the aldeans i saw our kid it was like i said like 1 32 o'clock as we were kind of starting our trek up broadway and some kids just smothered actually holding a body armor which i love like he probably his buddy's like take this body armor it's great when your waffle try to sober yourself up and just like immediately just like and puked all over the sidewalk i was like holy shit this game doesn't start for five hours but the meet and greet was great i want to thank everyone for coming out it was an absolute pleasure two lunatics i'll tell you these people though, they're out of their mind biz. Our fans are crazy. First off, almost every single person in line had a chiclet, some sort of merch on. So I said, thank you to all of them for actually spending money to rep our brand. It's the

biggest honor. I really appreciate it as we all do. And then one guy came up with a sick Saros jersey. And he's like, hey, will you sign this jersey i'm like dude what you don't i don't i don't think you want me to sign this like no sign i'm like i'm gonna ruin the jersey bro this guy's one of the best goalies in the league i'm on a retired scrub no doubt he wanted me to sign it so i signed it like big name right on the letter i don't know why it's now ruined and then a bolts fan shows up with the brand new tampa bay lightning outdoor jersey stamp coast captain and he has me sign the stamp coast jersey too i go what are you guys doing i'm like angry right now when i was angry did you actually sign them yes like but i told

him we're gonna fist fight next time i see you because when i was in detroit you say no to a fan punch him in the face i did in det did in Detroit. A couple guys asked me. They wanted me to sign their Bob Probert jersey. I said, I can't. I just can't. To face a Bob Probert jersey, I'm not worthy of signing a Bob Probert jersey. I politely declined. Normally, I'm eager to sign it.

I mean, it's funny because I always practice my autograph in the fourth grade, but it was my real name, not my fucking future nickname. But I couldn't in good faith sign a Bob Probert jersey. I'd feel like an asshole doing that. Guys, real quick, you guys are speaking of jerseys. The Barstool team jerseys go on sale this week in the Barstool Sports Store. Nice. I'm glad you guys got reminders of how cool you are signing jerseys.

So obviously we couldn't go to the game. Big, big bit of a work call. So I ended up going over to my buddy Donnie Supersteins last night for dinner with his son Joey. Pasha was there because they're buddies. And I'm trying to have a relaxing night. And for whatever reason, Pasha wants to remind me this one time that we're on the street in Vancouver and we were going to get some film gear. And we bump into this guy I know.

I know him like he's kind of like an acquaintance more than like a buddy and you know i was just kind of jammed up thinking about this film project and the camera work we were the camera uh equipment we were going to get and i was just like oh so he was with his his girlfriend and i dropped out so is this your mom and just like like obviously like no like i don't i mean i don't i don't know it's just one of those fucking brain farts like it's one of those ones where i think it's worse when you drop the like oh so like you know when you do and she's like oh that's that's the that's top tier oh my foot your mouth but he decides to remind me of this and you know you know when somebody brings you back to this most uncomfortable moment and you know when somebody brings you back

to this most uncomfortable moment and then now for the next 20 minutes you you you you go right back to that awkwardness you had when you had to end that conversation after seeing that guy's reaction to your fucking question if his girlfriend's his mom so uh that was uh that's how i spent most my night last night but it was good to see Pasha. We also edited, sat down and edited a behind-the-scenes vlog video for our experience at Chicklets Cup with the Big Deal Select. So we're going to have a video coming out Wednesday. G, yours drops what, Tuesday? So the Barstool videos drop Monday and Wednesday, and the Chicklets vlog will drop Thursday. All right. stool videos drop monday and wednesday and the chicklets vlog will drop thursday all right and then we have a full-on video series from the chicklets cup that's being edited by sean and

then of course it's incredible yeah we got some we got some awesome uh stuff coming to our youtube channel guys like we didn't really have the ability when everything was shut down to be together as much as we wanted of course course, not throwing these live events. So we're going to keep pouring this stuff on. We got more sandbaggers coming. I'm not going to divulge you and wit. I think you already know who the guy is, but I'm going to be getting some golf lessons here in Scottsdale

from a golf legend. Hey, I've been carrying my weight in the last couple, so I don't want to hear you and and hey the putter's been on buddy tnt golf and business has been on yes or no i know um yeah you've been you've been you've been solid there's a lot of room for improvement and i've been begging i'm more i'm not clapping to say like oh my god like you need to get a lesson like oh we're fucked i'm more clapping because i've been asking you to get a couple lessons for a couple years, so I'm fired up.

Well, hey, sometimes things happen for a reason. I know there was a reason I waited, and wait till you see, folks, who I got helping me with my swing. I might even wind up three quarters now. I might get rid of the Jovanoski special with the short backswing with the stiff shaft. So I'm excited to see what I can do. All right, boys, before we get to the game, I do want to mention the two guests I alluded to earlier. We have Vancouver Canucks goalie

Thatcher Demko, who's been absolutely killing it lately. Got the Canucks, I think, three points out of the playoffs right now. And Canadian Women's Olympic gold medal winner Natalie Spooner joined us for a nice chat. So we got a couple of great interviews coming later. Also also i saw you boys were fueled up pretty good with the old pink whitney this weekend there was lots of it in nashville and atlanta and you too can enjoy the fine taste of pink whitney at your local package store or you can belly up to your favorite local joint and order some there either way be sure to get your hands on some pink whitney speaking of pink whitney um sorry uh at one of the uh watering holes that that Colin and I jumped into on Friday night, I could tell the guy, like, he heard me say something to my brother.

And, like, there's a guy near me with a woman. And he kind of, like, snapped his head. Like, I think he's like, oh, I recognize that voice. And so he's kind of, like, looking. He said, hey, are you Ryan Whitney? I said, yeah, what's going on, man? So we're just shooting. He's like, oh, big fan of the show.

And actually, I got to tell you uh this is my girlfriend here and we met through Pink Whitney we met because of Pink Whitney I had a Pink Whitney drink at a bar in Toronto he's actually from a town he said he's from like 45 minutes from Welland I don't remember the name of the town but um then he saw this this girl who he's now dating she ordered a shot of Pink Whitney and he's like hey is that Pink Whitney? She's like, yeah, I love it. So they started chatting it up. And boom, now they're dating, going on road trips to Nashville,

just smashing each other the whole three nights, I'm sure. Smashing. So I was like, wow. So they tag you in? So they tag you in? I thought you were going to say biz. You want to lay my own name? No, I put Colin in.

I tag Colin in for me. Witt's got the gag ball in his mouth in these people's room. Hey, what a great. What a co-edit, man. I dressed up as a giant bottle of Pink Whitney, but one of those things outside the gold stores that are fluttering around. Yeah, I don't know how to say it. Come on, Ari.

You got to know that. The squiggle and wiggle. Oh, man, they hit the used collets. Yeah. Oh, I thought for sure you'd be able to rattle that off. I know. I think it might be an old family guy joke. But either way, man, listen, first off, I got to shout out the Lightning fans.

Like, there were so many Tampa Bay fans. I know fans travel every trip, and people still kind of have a stigma with the state of Florida fans, not Florida Panther fans. But Tampa Bay, man, they showed out big time. Tons of fans. It was great to talk to a lot of them, interact with them. The game itself, actually, before we get to the game, we've got to congratulate Pecorine, his number 35, got retired.

First Predator ever to have his number retired. He's actually getting a statue as well. So big shout out to Pecorine, huge part of that franchise. But the game itself, man, Tampa won 3-2. Very, very chippy affair, Biz. For two teams with really no history, they're in different conferences. Of course, earlier in the game, Ryan Johansson, heic chernak with a shoulder to the head uh it was initially called a major uh they reviewed it they put it down to two minutes for an illegal check to the head

chernak tried to get back in the game couldn't and that kind of set the tone for the game were you surprised biz that it got overruled from a five minute to a two minute and why do you think so yeah so i think my initial opinion was and I thought Cernak was going to come back. It looked harmless. I like the fact that he was able to keep playing. I don't think it was malicious at all. And I understand the rule is if you make head contact. But in my opinion, he didn't target it.

What happens sometimes is guys towards the end of their shift, you can correct me if I'm wrong, when they go in to just put an easy body check on a defender, like Cernak's trying to kind of dodge him a little bit and then also make the play but he comes he comes up it looks as if though he jumped but it wasn't a jump and I don't even think he was off the ice by the time he made contact he just kind of came up on the hit and when you do that sometimes you do run the risk now to make head contact and head contact first so the semantics semantics of it did not look good um i was happy that the ref decided to to take away the five and just make it a two but then to see that he didn't come back

it's like fuck i'm more of an eye for an eye guy i don't think he should get games for it but he should have probably left the game and then i guess could say, when you talk about eye for an eye, later in the game, I think Johansson got hooked on a breakaway, and it probably should have been a penalty shot. Maybe they didn't call because he got the shot off eventually, but they just ruled it a penalty. So I just felt that the game was well-officiated, given the circumstances of,

as you mentioned already, that hit, the chippiness went off the rails. But I will say, I guess I underestimated Nashville's size. They got some really big guys in the lineup, and the camera angle they had on for the TV, it was a little bit lower, so you kind of had a closer angle to the ice. You really saw the size of how big they are and how physical they like to play. But as we know about Tampa Bay, man, they can play any way you want because they're just as big.

We talk about the big guys on the back end, and they can match that physicality and a big reason why Patty Maroon is so fucking valuable. And I should mention mention i'd say half the people going through the meet and greet prior to the game were also showed up granelli i wrote this down i just checked my notes granelli a minimum of 15 shots of pink whitney he did i don't even know how you were standing up after that meet and greet you were like fine by the end of the game too but you were in one i respected the hell out of it you know why because it was the second night i think the day before he had a couple too so you know the second day

of vacation you always get that like oh i thought it was because you weren't there to yell at him so i was maybe i'm mistaken oh my god about what i'm fucking around but listen so half the people uh they said to me like who are you betting on? Who are you betting on? I said, guys, no offense, and I don't mind at all if Nashville wins, but Tampa Bay Lightning, they are the Alabama in football. You just don't make money betting against them. I said, I'm on Tampa. It's just the way that team plays, and I know you were just talking about size, and I think besides having the best goalie in the world, their D is so big.

I've talked about it. But when you talk about size on Nashville, that Tanner Janot is one hell of a fucking hockey player he's out there running i don't know if it was us i don't know if it was mcdonough it was one of the big defense that tampa has basically all of them are he trucked him you could tell he was kind of like taking him back and maybe it was headman i don't know but he's just out there like he plays scissons is the center and then they got that trend and that monster on the other wing it's like that team is legit, I don't know, but he's just out there. He plays Sissons as the center, and then they got that Trennan, that monster on the other wing. It's like that team is legit, and I don't know what's going to happen. We can get into the whole Forsberg rumors later in the show,

but you're right, Biz. I was impressed by Nashville's size. And in terms of the game, the other thing for viewers at the stadium, which I'm guessing also people watching at home got to experience, was the microphones were the best I've ever heard for a game. They must've had 50 of them down near the ice. You could hear every single skate blade, every pass, every check. You could hear the refs talking to each other. It was unreal to set up the league did in terms of like getting to hear some real audio from down low to the ice,

especially when you're in a stadium holding 70,000 people. But in terms of also the game, I want to shout out Cal Foote, dude. What a pass he gave to Stamkos on that one goal. And I got to meet Adam Foote the day before. I recognized him, said we'd love to have you on the show. One of the friendliest guys I've ever met. He said we can make that work, no doubt. So pretty cool he's there watching his son play.

He goes, yeah, it's a tough city to go home at night in. So I'm sure he knew from playing that Nashville, they bring the thunder. But other than that, the game just showed that Vasilevsky is like, why I'll never really pick against the Lightning. I think because I made the Islanders my preseason pick. That's gone real well. They've looked real good to win the Stanley Cup. I'm going back to the Lightning.

They're my pick again. I'm done fucking around with anyone else. I'm on Tampa again. I picked them last year. And this team is built to win any way you play, just like you said, Biz. So I think that that game showed, even with Nashville playing a big, not slow-style hockey, but not really offensive and not run and gun, Tampa says no problem.

Also, a couple of fights, man. Buddy, the big rig, Pat Maroon, I saw him afterwards in Tootsies, and I was like, dude, what was it like fighting in front of 68,000 people? He's like, it was unreal. Him and Mike McCarron went at it, nice little tilt. And then Joe Hanson, you know, basically had to answer for Santino in the second period. P.E. Belmont went right at him off the faceoff.

Maroon actually gave him a little shot. So we had a couple scraps in the game. But, yeah, very entertaining game. Also, we got to shout out the Worm. Prior to the the with the classic he scored his 400th career goal in his 14th of the season business guy's playing a bottom six role he's kind of signed for veteran leadership and depth 14 goals I'm not sure people are expecting that out of him he said he said Timu rubbed off on him all the stretching that created

the longevity where was he a big stretcher when you were there yeah he was i actually got to run into perry we were staying at the joseph so where tampa uh was also staying i saw i saw big rig the night before i saw the worm and it was funny i hadn't seen perry in so long you forget he's such a nice guy he's quiet guy too like he's but we got to catch up just quickly before he was heading to dinner in the lobby but i said congratulations on your 400th i said buddy you're still getting it done out there he goes these guys are so fast wit they're so fucking fast but you know he does his thing in front of the net and i do remember he was super into like stretching i mean he's a driven guy that's why he's been playing this long but um i didn't know that that he was saying that's

something that that he's really jumped into lately maybe is that what you're saying from your interview with him well just like i think think more so later in his career, guys really emphasized it when he was in Montreal. So he really rubbed off the young guys in a positive way about how to prep and take care of yourself post-practice, pre-practice, post-game, whatever it may be. So I used to play against him growing up. He played for the Peterborough team, and fuck, dude,

he was sick when we were playing minor hockey. They beat us in the OMHA final. Then they ended up beating us in the OHL Cup, like the year of our draft. And I think he ended up going fourth overall to the London Knights. But just a guy who has a knack for around the net, always. It was always like that, always was able to step up in big moments to throughout his entire career and like I'll be honest right like I wasn't watching him that closely when he was finishing off in Anaheim and how kind of maybe ugly things had gotten and

really negative and to see how he's able to kind of push through that and and continue to do it and now you know I think it's his 16th season i believe and i think he's got 14 goals right now and and he's playing in a limited role and when he ended up scoring the 400th did you like did you see when he went by the bench like it's not easy to get that type of love and and an emotion from teammates when you've been hopping around and you haven't really spent much time there and you could just kind of sense like he's fit in like a fucking glove and and it's just like he's he's just kind of like a an unbelievable teammate guy and i'm really happy for the guy like this to see the fact that he's still getting it done yeah that was a pretty cool scene i think he actually did

like a 360 during the yeah the tap line because they were all grabbing at him and stuff it was a cool scene but uh what you were talking about the music on Broadway earlier. I don't know. The Big Rig might be getting recruited. That could be his second career because afterwards, I went to Tootsie's after the game late night. I think the whole Tampa Bay staff and players were in there. The Big Rig was up on stage singing his heart out to it.

He was up there for like an hour, had his tab open at the bar. It was awesome stuff. But the highlight of the night, Paul, Biz Nasty, Bissonnette. Did you take tap and jazz as a kid? Where did that footwork come from? You look like Riverdance out there. Me and Whit watched it in the box, and we were fucking dying when we saw that. Where did that come from?

I don't know. They said, let's see your two-step, and I don't really know how to two-step. And like a couple times, I've done that stupid Riverdance thing. But, boys, I'm telling you what my fucking i had to go the reason i sound so tired is i just came out of a two and a half hour massage my legs were killing me the next day after that i thought i popped my acl out again my fucking achilles were bugging me but yeah i just kind of like figured it out and then at towards the end i did the old uh the old dumb and dumber off the set and and and fucking wayne always belly laughing so anytime you can get wayne having a good time it's uh i'm down for it

the scene was so good but when i i laughed even harder watching gretzky like die laughing and i was i was impressed bro that was that was legit footwork that i think you could skate too i think that i was just so happy like those demos are difficult and like right before we ended up doing the uh the demo like talk it like took control and he's like this is what you're gonna do this is how we're gonna frame it and this because we wanted to talk about the half wall and sometimes you don't really know how to snap it around for the opinions but it worked out perfectly because liam opened it up uh threw it over to gretz gretz touched on the half ball point

about how kucherov like did you talk did you see it were you able to hear it no no i mean i just saw the clip that went viral so talk mentioned like as a talking point if we needed to do a demo we should talk about the half ball and how special they are on the power play that they have the dual threats on each side well sure shit their fucking first goal it was a perfect scene entry zone entry Kalorin lifts the guy's stick on the far side it goes to Kucherov on the half wall Kucherov comes up goes back down because he ends up dodging one of the guys and he has the area for the stick and throws a beautiful little backhand pass into point now point ends up knocking the thing out of the air it was a stunning hand-eye reaction so wayne was able to break it down and explain how important that is now on the

second goal the that low forward or the the forward on that side the strong side ends up coming down to take the point away like where where point was and sure as shit they slide it right back to the defenseman so it just he was we were able to highlight how like once one thing closes on this unreal power play they're going to expose you in another way so then anson talked about where point was and then talk it mentioned the guy coming down on the second one and how they were able to adjust and then i just picked up the the trash with the how colorn lift the stick on the far side. He doesn't get an assist, but he makes the play that keeps it going around, and then he creates

the screen on the second goal. So it all flowed nicely, so we were just happy, and then that's when I think everybody was just kind of like jubilated that we'd done it, and he goes, let's see your two-step, and then boom, fucking out of the gate, and then it all ended, and afterward, we're pumped. It's a good team win. We got the fucking demo out. We we're you know afterward we're pumped it's a good

team win we got the fucking demo out we did the stupid fucking dance and everybody's having a good time right so that's kind of how tv works and it was good teamwork by talk and liam and everybody and uh and you know and then you end up getting a viral clip out of it i saw uh i saw cologne too he was saying dude that biz he doesn't stop working. I see him TNT. I see him chicklets. And he's still doing those Coyotes games, too. I go, yeah, he's brought him a lot of luck this year. It's been good.

But he was pumping up your work ethic, bro. Shout out to you. Well, he's the content king of the NHL. Yeah, he is. He is. He looked great, too, with the shades he had on, warm-ups. What's his, I'm forgetting his go-to name now. Doc Talks.

Doc Talks. Doc Talker. The content king, Doc Talker. He knows how hard it is to get all the... He wants us in the sandbag or bad. You don't think it was a pain in the ass getting the logistics going to get five guys in their jet skis out on a day together? Especially, we're talking about Stamkos

and Vasilevski, a couple of studs on the team. Ross Colton wants you guys in the sandbag too. I bumped into him in Taylor Radish when I got something. Oh, that rookie can wait. That rookie can wait his turn. He's sitting on the Colorn's bag. I thought they were locals because they had all the denim and cowboy hats on. I had seen the clip of them going in the game, but I was like, hey, what's up?

And then like, hey, I shook his hand. I thought he was Logan. He's like, hey, Ross Colton. I was like, oh, you guys are the lightning. I didn't even realize they were Lightning players because they had all the Nashville get-up on. But, yeah, they want to stand back at some point. But they're probably going to pay their dues.

But listen, boys, if you told me like 35, 40 years ago that someday I'd be at an NFL stadium in Nashville watching an NHL game between teams from Tennessee and Florida, I'd be like, what are you smoking? Can I have some? But this is all the Gretzky effect. We just talked about Wayne Gretzky. You know, this is a ripple effect from him getting traded to L.A. back in Florida, I'd be like, what are you smoking? Can I have some? But this is all the Gretzky effect. We just talked about Wayne Gretzky. This is a ripple effect from him getting traded to LA back in 1988. It led to the

expansion everywhere, teams everywhere that they weren't. And now we're getting these outdoor games in Nashville. And Biz, you guys did a hilarious bit as well. We go back to TNT that they retired his sweater vest and they brought it down from the rafters and they had all these NHL stars come on and talk. I was pissing myself laughing.

And you know what? Wayne getting his balls busted and laughing about it, it was like, okay, man, if Wayne can laugh at getting his balls busted, then anybody can. He takes it as good as anybody. He was one of the boys. It was just an awesome thing to see. Yeah, him coming out of the gate, episode one,

with the sweater vest really paid dividends. And yeah, the fact that they did the work to get all those guys to comment. But I'm pissed, though. Now none of us get to wear any because it's retired. So you'll never see me with the NCAA college coach special. I thought we were going to come out with some pink Whitney sweater vest. Right, Grinelli? We're going to have to put those on the shelf, pal.

Sorry. The best is Jason Robinson on Dallas City goes, I paid homage by not ever wearing a sweater vest my whole life, which is fucking hilarious. It was like a subtle shot, but funny that he said it. I think it's such a fair point to bring up, and obviously he's had a major impact on the fact that the NHL was able to grow in the South.

I ended up throwing up a tummy stick tweet online about just thanking the NHL and all the people behind the scenes that put these things on, guys. There's a lot of people putting in a lot of work to make these things go as flawless as possible. And from your tweet, it seemed like this is probably one of the better ones that ever went down. I think part of it was that it was perfect weather.

It was a little chilly for Nashville, say 45, 50 degrees. But added to that the music, and I know I mentioned the bars and people probably think I'm blowing smoke. I'm not even the biggest country music guy, but they had big time performers every single TV break. The first intermission was Dierks Bentley, a rocking show where it was pretty much like a concert in the stadium. And that along with, this is a kind of a minor detail, but the area around the ice down on the field can sometimes just be like, I don't know, like sometimes it doesn't look great depending on what they have. They had those huge wild music notes and all this black setup. So it just made the whole setup and the way the guys walked out next to each other with the anthem singer at the end.

It was just it was definitely the best scene. I think part of it was the party atmosphere and how close it was to downtown, right? When you're able to just walk like three minutes over to the stadium, it kind of changes the whole vibe of where you're going to pregame and where you're going to postgame party. Gives you a chance to sober up, too, that little walk, just some fresh air.

Yeah, unless you're G. Also got to shout out Miranda Lambert. She was another singer. I think she was at the same time as Dierks Bentley. I think Gretzky's coming from my job biz when he dropped a Gunsmoke reference when he called you Festus. I know nobody on the set got it except maybe Liam at 1960's show Gunsmoke. I was like, oh, Gretzky with the old school reference here.

But like I said, it wasn't all fun and games with Gretzky talking, and he took a very hard stance, and this is where we've got to kind of shift into real-world matters. Unfortunately, you know, what's gone on in the last week in the world, Russia declaring war or invading Ukraine, just absolutely ridiculous stuff. But Wayne came out, and he said he thinks Russia shouldn't be allowed to play in the World Juniors because they are in Edmonton this year, and, you know, there's only so many ways you can send a message,

and by not allowing them to come, it kind of tells the rest of the country, hey, this is how much of an asshole you have in charge. It's a dictator doing dictatorial things. And he also kind of stuck up for Ovechkin. He said, Alex isn't driving this bus. And he said, why would – and also I think it was Dominic Kasich said that Russian players should be sent home, which is kind of an odd take. He went off the rails.

Yeah, and Wayne said, well, why send just hockey players back? Like, why pick on hockey if you're going to send people back to russia which is just a crazy thing why why just send hockey players but uh either way you know wayne's not a guy known for making kind of declarative statements like that but but it was nice to see him come down and i think it was an easy call given what the fuck's going on with that idiot in charge of russia but kudos to wayne um so maybe hashek's comments in the fact he said hockey players which I don't agree with is deriving from the fact of I don't know how many other professional athletes in North America are vocal or because I don't even know when I say vocal

I'm assuming that Ovechkin has said vocal things in support of of of uh Putin I don't know what they personally are. So obviously that's probably where he's catching so much of the flack. His Instagram photo is also him and Putin. But like, Whit, going back a little bit too, I don't know exactly when the hockey players met them, but I remember a picture with Malkin coming out next to him. And Malkin kind of had the funny point and look. Whereas I don't remember reading about Malkin's out next to him and malkin kind of had the funny point and look whereas i don't

remember reading about malkin's opinion on putin either i think the only guy who's had a strong opinion opposed to him has been panarin in the nhl um i don't really think that the criticism is warranted in the fact that if if ovechkin really hasn't said anything much in support other than the fact that like does he even really have a fucking choice because things are a little bit different over there and like shit's fucking scary and when panarin was not in support of of putin um i believe that they made up like a fake story about how he like assaulted someone so like there's like there's also a fear-based component uh i i also wouldn't be the type of media member where i'm like i need answers from alex ovechkin about the fact that putin's invading fucking ukraine like that's where for me i'm like okay maybe they're a little frustrated the fact that they've he's supported

this guy but like direct your anger somewhere else like you're you're now all of a sudden in my opinion making it more about yourself than the actual matter at hand and is that you know what to this guy but like direct your anger somewhere else like you're you're now all of a sudden in my opinion making it more about yourself than the actual matter at hand and is that you get what i'm saying yeah i do i think that um i i think that that guy is a straight up fucking lunatic he's a horrible human being and what i'm and i'm talking about Putin obviously so when I look at all this it's like I really have a hard time judging NHL players from Russia I respect the hell out of Artemi Panarin for what he said because he's on the right side of things at the same time Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk when he was here and a lot of these guys I mean that's where they grew up as O as O said in his press conference, he's my president.

His family is over in Russia. Like, what do you expect here? I don't agree at all with these reporters saying he needs to answer questions. It's like he's from there. He has no – he's not American. He's not Canadian. He doesn't even necessarily see how awful what is actually happening is. And I'll say this.

Ovi did a good job. He said, I wish for peace. I don't want there to be a war. I thought that was pretty good. And maybe you're rolling your eyes at what I'm saying. To be from Russia and to have this fucking lunatic looking over you with where your family is. To even say you hope for peace and wish there wasn't a war. That's kind of speaking out against this madman. So it's an awful, awful scenario.

My heart is with everyone in the ukraine and these people and let me tell you these fucking people are tough as nails they are amazing right now you're seeing stories of 50 60 year old men going down getting weapons and being prepared to fight people leaving as gretzky mentioned driving their family across the country to hopefully get them out of the ukraine and turning right around and just preparing for battle it's such an awful thing what's what russia's doing what i say when i was there that place sucks so i feel so bad for these people in ukraine i i we all hope and pray that this comes to an end and that putin fucking gets off his crazy ass high chair and tries tries to at least like get i don't know i don't know i don't even know where you go from here it's hard to even talk about something like this.

Yeah, and then as far as the kicking them out of either the Olympics or World Juniors, before there's a pity party for the fact that these kids didn't do anything. These are also the kids that were ripping darts and drinking and got kicked off that plane, leaving town when everything ended up getting canceled. They also are kids, but i think it's more of like

it has nothing to do with the kids it has to do with more that that russia needs to realize that there's rest of there's consequences for their civilians as a result to like what they're doing to other countries how about the kids from ukraine you know like well there you go right so it's just like you're nuts and fifa and fifa which are cowards the same way the Olympic Committee is in the same way the NCAA, they're morons, too. They are. FIFA's decided, OK, well, they can play in the World Cup, I think they said. But they just have to be like they were in the Olympics. Like they can't use the flag or the crest. And that's not that's not a true like sanction.

Like they shouldn't be allowed to play. That's not a true sanction. They shouldn't be allowed to play. And obviously, maybe that sounds a little different than us saying that Russian players shouldn't be forced out of the NHL right now. But to represent your country is a little different than playing over here in America and being over here for 20 years as Ovechkin's been. Yeah. I think most people can understand how ridiculous this is

and why they need to probably just tell them to tone it down on the sports for now. They can go think about what's going on over there. Yeah, you need to send a message everywhere to let the people know if they're not aware that there's a fucking dictator in charge. Like, hey, the reason you can't come is because of this asshole here. And going back to Ovi, like you said, a lot of media critical of him because he's not going to publicly denounce a madman dictator while his family's in the country. And even if they're not, even if he come out and, you know, he's not going to publicly denounce a madman dictator while his family's in the country.

And even if they're not, even if he come out and said fucking something, that's not going to change anything. All it's going to do is put his family in danger. Like, like, I just don't know that. I don't think that all that criticism is warranted for Ovechkin. He's in a shitty spot. I know we supported him in the past and I didn't grow up in Russia. I can't speak to his experience, but it's like, you know, what it changes already. You know what changes? These R.A.? You know what it changes?

These hero reporters are then happy. They got the answer they wanted. That's what it changes. But it does nothing in the big scheme of things, and it does nothing for Alex Ovechkin and his family's safety. So I thought it was pretty good that he came out and said he hopes there isn't a war. I mean, obviously, you'd think that he really is in disagreement with what's happening, but for him to at least say that was something.

And there's also been lots of talk about, you know, there's been a lot of support for immediate removal of Russian teams from the IIHF events for the rest of 22, including taking the juniors away next year. And this just come over the Twitter a little while ago. At Pekka Yalonin, I'm not sure who this guy works for, away next year uh and this just come over the twitter a little while ago uh at uh pekka uh yalonin i'm not sure if who this guy works for but he said inside information russia and belarus will be thrown out of the iihf federation in a couple of hours apparently the meeting as we

record the show uh darren drager said there's that's the sense out there there's a strong position by the iihf if they were to do this now i'm I'm skeptical that the IIHF is going to do that. What you just mentioned, FIFA and the Olympic Committee, these are organizations that they're in bed with Russia, basically. And so if the IIHF doesn't invite Russia to the World Juniors, I think that will be a shock. I'll be shocked if it actually happens. But obviously, it's a story we'll monitor. So I don't know if you guys have any closing thoughts before we move on to some happier things here. Just thinking of the people in Ukraine and a lot of the Ukrainian people that are in the United States and Canada. And I've heard about, I've actually had a couple of different DMs from

people who have, who are maybe billeting Ukrainian kids playing junior. I know there's a kid in my neighborhood, actually from Ukraine, living with one of my neighbors. And those are the people you think of who not only can't go home right now, but are also in panic and thinking about their family. So, I mean, not to try to be somebody lecturing, but if you think you're having a bad day right now and a cuffed up a weeks in your life, it's like, just take a look at what's really going on. And we're really thinking of those people over there. It's awful. Very well said, Whit. Like I said, we're all thinking of the folks in Ukraine, whether they're in the country or around the world.

So, all right, moving right along here. Listen, fellas, biz, I noticed you got your laundry sauce swag on. Your laundry deserves better. Meet Laundry Sauce, the world's first designer laundry detergent made specifically for the lads. At LaundrySauce.com, you'll discover a better way to muck your laundry. Laundry Sauce's premium, simple-to-use laundry pods are made with bold fragrances that will have you smelling like a beauty and feeling like a man rocket. Their carefully crafted detergent doesn't just smell great, it's gentle on your clothing.

It's the lady bang of the laundry room. And every order of Laundry Sauce comes with, you guessed it, 69 premium pods per box. Nice, as Biz would say. And if you want to start buzzing out there, then scale up your laundry game by going to laundry sauce.com. You and your wrench are going to be smelling like a million bucks. All right, biz Saturday night. The wildest game wasn't in Nashville, Toronto at Detroit,

the least one 10 to seven. They almost blew a seven to two lead in true leaves fashion. Mitch Bonner, four goals, two assists, but your boy, Mike Bunton, one goal, four assists. Now second in rookie points with 40. Mitch Bonner, four goals, two assists. But your boy, Mike Bunton, one goal, four assists.

Now second in rookie points with 40. He's two behind Lucas Raymond. Tie for goals with 18 with Tanner Janot. I mean, this kid's rocking, Biz. I don't know if this is you manifesting him winning the call or what, but the kid's been getting in the race now. Oh, my God. I want to know what Witt thinks of it.

Witt, he has been lighting the lamp since you doubted him and said that you would put your cock on the line just like I did last year. Hey, R.A., you're a typical Munson in biz. You're the biggest idiot out there because you guys haven't mentioned. Lucas Raymond had a hat trick in the game. He's seven years younger than Bunting, you idiots. And you know who else is better than Bunting? It's the monster defenseman, the next Victor Hedman on the back end,

Maureen Sider. He's about nine years younger than Bunting. And I actually hate how it's come out where I'm against and don't like Bunting. I love this guy. He is one hell of a player. And he's made that line really tick. I mean, they are monsters together. It's Marner, Matthews.

Also, Biz, shout out you. I'm actually on board. Matthews is the greatest Leaf of all time. I've switched my opinion in one week. he's made that line really tick i mean they are monsters together it's marner matthews also biz shout out you i'm actually on board matthews is the greatest leaf of all time that's my opinion in one welcome aboard buddy he's got 77 goals in his last 100 games he's gonna be the i think the second leaf ever to have 440 goal seasons when he gets 40 this year he is at another level and marner looks awesome and bununting's a great player, but you cannot compare him. And you know why I'll say it? To Lucas Raymond or Moritz Seider in Rookie of the Year. You know why? Ask 31 GMs and they'd rather Raymond over Bunting. So in talking about Rookie of the Year, as great as Bunting's been, while being 26 years old,

he's not going to win the Calder. It's a great year for him. He comes over from Phoenix. He gets to be a big part of an original six franchise while playing on the top line. And he has five points. And also the assist to get Marner. The fourth goal was so sick. It was a Marner type assist. The behind the back no look. I'm a big Bunting fan.

But keep talking about him for the Calder trophy. And you prove how stupid you really are. Keep talking about him for the Calder trophy, and you prove how stupid you really are. I don't think I've ever really said that he's been ahead of Sider or Raymond once. You've been yelling Bunting's going to win the Calder. What are you talking about? Because there's still one-third of the season left, and I think that they have a lot of important games coming up,

and he's playing with a couple special players. I said that he has the possibility to lap those guys and get past them to lap them well i meant to say pass i'm not lap them come on you know what the fuck i'm saying hey hey sometimes he's a great player hey he's also been playing pro for you know five years or whatever it may be so he's used to this pro schedule sometimes these young guys who step in they tend to fade out on the back half of the season in their rookie year and i'm not saying that i think maureen sireder is the clear number one right now i think me too raymond's right underneath them i think that bunting has to do something pretty special in

this last you know 30 games or whatever it may be in order to even give it a chance, especially given his age. But I'm all on the fucking train, dude. Why wouldn't I be? If Bunting's 20 years old, boom, he's right there. It's the age. But you've been going nuts about it. You're not just talking about how he's a good player.

You've been yelling about Bunting for Calder, Bunting for Calder. Yeah, I know, because he's a 26 year old guy who was playing in the coast a couple years ago who's all of a sudden put his name in the top three and i think that we still got some games left here to play he won't even be top three okay so okay so what would be the criteria given the fact that you've thrown in the age factor and you're saying he's 26 how much how many more points and or or intangibles does he have to bring in order for him to be able to win it or are you telling me there's just not a

possibility i think another season he probably could have won it maybe he'd actually be screwed no matter what because of the age and the professional games argument with kaprizov last year he might be screwed no matter what it's more about who he's going against this season for the calder and even said that like i i guess if he had if he had 30 goals 80 points at his age and with who's there with him as rookies that's probably his only chance and even then raymond's gonna end up with 70 points and he's 19 so it's just like it's more about the age i love bunting so so i guess Mike, what if he scores eight more goals than him and gets 16 more points?

I don't think it... So if he were to win the scoring, the rookie scoring race by 16 points, you're saying? I'm just wondering what consideration would you give him at what point as far as how much his play has to be better given his age? I think he'd need 30 goals and 80 points. And part of it is biz. at what point as far as how much his play has to be better given his age i think i just think it's not a criteria points and part of it is biz i think part of it is voters will look at the fact

he's playing with two of the best players in the world and that's a big factor dude it really is he needs to have a big piece of a big back half here and he's off to a hell of a start you know let me ask you this does the fact that he put up a five-piece against Detroit not make your fucking dick move just a little bit? I was like, this is amazing that this is happening, and Giz just keeps talking about it. And like Ari said, he's legit making it. What's the word, Ari?

Manifesting. Oh, yeah, manifesting. I didn't have that one in my bag. Thanks, Ari. But let's put the bunting with an amazing season. Great job bunting. Yeah. Let's put that discussion and the Calder Trophy aside with Zgris, Raymond,

Sider, all these studs. Let's talk about what's really going on in Toronto. So, Biz has – what's your – okay, you have two Western Conference teams. Yeah, Toronto's your Eastern Conference team. So, that's your third favorite team. And they've looked great. They're goalie socks now they have no goaltending i think campbell is one of the worst goalies in the league since january 1st and marazic's your backup and this is the year we're getting out of

the first round oh not much cap room muzzin who knows if he's coming back and now what do you do about the goaltending boys what do you do in leaf land you guys can't stop the puck now what are you gonna do because you don't like goalie i'm not concerned at all i think most teams i mean outside the obvious ones like shusterkin's having a massive year um vasileski never goes through periods like this i think it's a pretty strong case for guys who are pretty new to being the starter to go through a little segment like this in their season when they finally get the reins.

He had a huge start to the year for him. He's so liked in that locker room. They got Mrazek for that reason. They had the 1A, the 1B coming this season. He'll get the net for a little bit while Campbell figures out what the fuck he's going to get going moving forward here. We know he's going to put in the work

because he's got a tremendous work ethic, and he's going to level things off before they even get the playoffs. But the beauty of it all is the team's still doing all right considering it. They're still putting up the goals and giving that offensive support. So just like you tell me nothing matters till playoffs like well then should go goaltending really matter till come playoff time if they're winning games if they're winning games 10 to 7 i would start worrying about it now now here's this i didn't mean to quickly say like all muzzins hurt and like make it sound like i was like happy

about that because that sucks i think it was his second concussion in a pretty close time he's now on LTIR and and that sucks that's a guy they would need in their lineup to make a run for the Stanley Cup but my question to you is uh first game after the trade deadline are the two goalies for the Leafs still Mrazek and Campbell because I don't know man no no no no no i think for sure i think what they did they got carter hutton as like kind of like an extra backup um i mean you know he was playing in arizona i think it's pretty tough to gauge how the season went i know he didn't have a good first game i think he got lit up for like seven fucking goals on like five shots um but i just don't think that they have they have really the room to to do anything

and i think that you really really fuck up the dynamic of that room if you do that when i say he's well liked the guys on the team love him like they're they feel for him right now to the point where when you have a goalie that you're kind of like you don't you know maybe you're not crazy about and you don't like the way that he handles the adversity it's easy to not like the guy and not want to play in front of them they're trying to fucking give him as many tucks as possible and and i'm sure that they're they're shooting them texts on the side being like hey man you're gonna turn this around and we all know how much jack campbell cares too i mean if you ever listen to any of his press conferences. So, short answer, yes, both those guys will be their goaltenders.

And let's not forget here, Mrazek's a pretty solid goaltender. Like, if all things fail, like he's, you know, anybody could catch fire. Yeah, it feels like they are showing cracks. Or I don't know if they're just falling because they started so hard. You know, sort of a regression to the mean. But since December 1st, the 5-on-5 save percentage for the Leafs goaltenders is 31st in the league out of 32 teams. Campbell's numbers are still good, 9-1-7 save percentage.

Mrazic down to 8-9-4. And I think there might be some concern. Mrazic last year after Carolina, he kind of had a little bit of a meltdown. And Campbell, you know, as great as he was, he had that one mistake which kind of swung the whole series. So I don't know, man. I think it might still be a question mark. And going back to Bunting's call to trophy qualifications,

you know he made the limit by two days because you can't have hit your 26th birthday in that next season by September 15th. He was born September 17th. So he's two days. Chip in a chair, buddy. Hey, no, I'm not knocking him. I looked it up to make sure he was qualified, and it was two days within it.

That would make it even sweeter, and the public outrage would get me going. I also, in wrapping up our Leafs talk slash bashing, another little scary thing is I think it's 12 games without a Tavares goal. He's playing around 16 minutes a game. Not a great look right now for the Leafs captain. And there's some question marks.

As good as the season's been, I think Leafs haters and people who root against the Leafs like myself, they're starting to get a little bit of a wry smile even as they continue to win. There's some more being shown. This is what I'll always say about Toronto and why I despise the market and I support and love the team, even more so now.

It's almost like fueled my fire. Because if they win 10-7, it's a goaltending problem. If they win 1-0, it's an offensive problem. So it doesn't matter if they're winning, they're bitching about anything. Like we're talking about how about Taveras? Like he's had a great year. He's I think he's over a point of game. Like maybe he's been fucking addition magician lately. I'm reaching.

I'm reaching. No shit. You are, buddy. He's fucking buzzing right now. He should have been in a goddamn all-star. We know running gun won't work in the playoff so we'll see what happens we also want to wish best wishes i wishes to jake muzzin uh he unfortunately suffered another concussion he was placed on long-term

injury reserve so uh hopefully he feels better gets back in the lineup and also they announced that toronto did that their 2020 first round pick uh rodeo on a mayor off he's being treated for a brain tumor in germany uh he put out a message on Instagram thanking everybody for the support, saying he'll be back. And, I mean, needless to say, we wish the kid the best. That's just awful news to hear. But it seems like he's in good spirits. He's getting help with the tumor.

Amazing positivity coming from him. I think he's in Germany right now getting some work or treatment, whatever it is. But, yeah, we're thinking of him. That's horrible news. Yeah, absolutely. Again, we're thinking of him. That's horrible news. Yeah, absolutely. Again, we wish him the best. But moving on to a team that has been on an absolute fucking tear,

a team nobody gave much chance to at the beginning of the year, 85-1 Stanley Cup odds. Their coach was 80-1 to win Jack Adams. Talking about the L.A. Kings, five wins in a row, eight 1-1 in the last 10. They've vaulted into second place in the Pacific, three points behind Calgary. I know Calgary got a couple games in hand.

But this team, man, they made a couple moves in the offseason, brought in Victor Arvidsson, brought in Phil Deneau. Phil Deneau's already got a career high with 15 goals to go along with 15 assists. Imagine Stan Bowman traded this guy. He was Chicago's first-round pick in 2011. They traded him in a second round a few years back for Dale Weiss and Thomas Fleischman. Thomas Fleischman and Dale Weiss played a combined 34 games for the Hawks.

They never re-signed with them. Fleischman ended up retiring. Weiss signed elsewhere. Deneau had played 32 games with the Hawks. Just another brutal trade from Chicago. A guy who could have really helped them out. But either way, other guys. Adrian Kempe, 25 goals, leads the team. He's going to be RFA this summer, making $2 million now.

Huge raise down the line. Andrzej Kopita. Biz, you've seen this team quite a bit out west. I mean, what are they doing different? I know the goaltending wasn't great to start the year. It's been stellar lately. Give us your take. They just got a good structure.

They play their 6D. They're all pretty solid. Dowdy's having a great year obviously he was amped up coming in basically calling out the team saying like i ain't fucking missing playoffs again guys we're getting this thing done and really you mentioned that addition from dino that has been so massive i was you know i was a little nervous for them with that lack of offense with what they gave him but maybe it was just a case of the fact that he had to lug the mail so much on the defensive side for the Montreal Canadiens that he didn't really have the energy.

Now he gets to play below Kopitar where he's getting those easier line matchups because we all know what Kopitar can do from a 200-foot game standpoint. So their line in general has been buzzing. That Trevor Moore kid, he's been a great surprise. Let's not forget here, drafting and developing has been one of their strong suits for a long, long time, LA Kings. Well, all of a sudden, they got good, and they weren't able to have high draft picks

because they were giving them up to fucking win cups. Well, all of a sudden, they had those few downturn years, and what they've done is they've filled up their stable. I'm excited to see what this by field like he's able to play in that third line role and he's not going to be exposed to you know to the the more difficult competition so he's able to ease into it just overall all their moves have been great and and i don't know if you've uh i had to put my charger in there arvison looks great you know he was a guy who maybe dealt with some injuries in the past and you weren't sure what you as far as production what you're going to get from them but i guess you just got to credit that

front office and the moves that they've made the players that they've developed and and the other foot soldiers who have kind of came in the lineup so i got a couple things about the kings and and dino is probably the most important and the biggest reason I think things have changed I know that may seem a little crazy but it isn't just another big-time center and and granted offensively he's not not a top tier player but the whole game and the whole package what it creates is a little break so you said it's a little break for him I almost think it's a it's a little bit of a break for Kopitar where he doesn't always have to have the hardest defensive matchups.

And because now you can put out to know when you're at home against the other team's best line, you can really trust that he's good defensively. And then he's got the 15 goals. So he's chipping in offensively with what he's making. You're loving his game. Dowdy's returned to form. I don't know if he ever really left in terms of the team struggle.

The Dowdy still drew Dowdy. One of the best to ever do it as a defenseman. He's an unreal player and a leader. I love how he was asking Clayton Keller's handicap when they were playing the other night. That was great. But you talk about the drafting and the developing, which is so important. But another big part of teams becoming really elite and getting contributions from guys is the ability to sign an undrafted player. from guys is the ability to sign an undrafted player.

And it doesn't happen that often where you see a guy lighten up college and he's undrafted and all of a sudden he's going to have his choice. Well, they got three guys. They got Ayafalo, undrafted. They signed him. He's a really solid player. They got that defenseman, Biz. Did you play with him, Matt? Roy.

Roy, right? Yeah, he's solid. Just solid. Steady Eddie. He was drafted, but it was a seventh-round pick. But still, that's a guy that they've developed three full years pretty much or two full years in the minors. And then there's one more guy.

Who am I forgetting right now? The Blake Lazotte, another undrafted player that LA's figured out how to sign and get him into the organization, have him learn a little bit. And that's the type of thing that really can kind of separate teams. If you're able to get, you know, I know that, like I said, Roy's drafted, but it was late. But then you get two other guys playing a pretty big role that weren't drafted.

It's like that's a great job by the scouts. That's a good job by signing guys who any team could have had. So I think seeing Quick, and I would say they're pretty much 50 50 in starts right is it it's quick and peters i got it right here uh quick has 30 starts peterson has 22 and like i said if you look at the numbers they don't jump out at you but i think i that's indicative of the bad start they had it's kind of the opposite of toronto and you know toronto's safe percentage has kind of come down where la the goaltenders have played a lot better uh it really don't matter what who the start and peterson are quick uh the kings are playing Toronto's save percentage has kind of come down where LA, their goaltenders have played a lot better.

Really, it don't matter who they start, Peterson or Quick. The Kings are playing outstanding right now. And my last thing on them is I don't think they're really going to go anywhere. I'm not 100% sure they get in the playoffs. There's a lot of hockey to be played, but they get Edler back, I think mid to end of March, right? That's kind of like a... That's huge. That's a trade deadline move, just getting him healthy again. He was playing solid hockey.

I think he broke his ankle. So, yeah, I think it's no surprise because you look at... Or it is a surprise because of what everyone thought before the season, but the guys they have there and the success they've had

with that core, I think they're going to be right there and probably get into the playoffs and be a tough out for anyone. Yeah. And the fact that Kempe has pretty much joined that core. And sometimes it comes down to patience too, right? Like I played with him in the AHL and, you know, there was, he came in and he lit it up when he was 18,

when we ended up winning that Calder Cup, not a big deal. But then there was like a little bit of regression in the minors when we moved over to Ontario. And then when he finally got up there, you know, he still wasn't having that impact. Sometimes he would disappear for a few games, but this year, man, he's finally came out of his shell and he's figured it out.

And, you know, sometimes teams give up on these guys at a young age. Yeah, like I said, it's 25 goals lead the team, and I'm rooting for the man. I have an 85-1 ticket on the Kings I put in at the beginning of the year for the Stanley Cup. Hey, guys, this is the time of year when we get – R.A.'s got futures on 24 of the 32 teams. So everyone here, I got a 60-1 ticket on them.

He bets everyone, guys, so don't let him fool you. I bet the long shots, baby, because you hit one win, it pays for the last 20 years. So that's all I'm hoping for, baby. Keeping with the theme of teams on the West Coast, baby, because you hit one with it pays for the last 20 years. So that's all I'm hoping for, baby. Keep with the theme of teams on the West Coast on the Pacific Thursday night. We had some serious uniform porn when the Calgary Flames visited the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks, they dusted off those old funky black jerseys with the skate on them from the 80s and 90s.

And Thatcher Demko, man, he had an awesome tribute to Kirk McLean. Of course, he was a legendary goaltender for the franchise. We've seen some awesome goalie, what do they call them, kits, setups, he had an awesome tribute to Kirk McClain. Of course, he was a legendary goaltender for the franchise. We've seen some awesome goalie, what do they call them, kits, setups, whatever, this year. Dude, his might have been the best, the black pads. And I sent you guys the picture. He made a save that looked exactly like McClain,

like the legs were spread the same, the glove up in the air. And he even said, Demko, I don't really make saves like that. I don't know where that came from. It was almost like McClain was kind of getting into his body or something that night. Biz, also you mentioned Michael Bublé was in the house, and Chase Claypool, wide receiver, I guess he's from the area. He got on the mic, said the flames sucked up the crowd going. Kind of a lame chirp.

Let's roll it, G. This is a bit weak. Oh, he's a lame-ass dude, buddy. Remember the fucking move he did that cost the Steelers that game? He was celebrating his first down, and they got a delay a game over or something? You remember that, Goon? Claypool, fuck off.

I don't even like the Flames. And I'm like, who's this guy chirping the Flames? I'm with Chase Claypool. We put up a touchdown, baby! 7-0 is a touchdown score. And I just want to say the Calgary Flames suck so bad. Yeah yeah there you go I

mean it's important the team I guess maybe had a couple cocktails in the booth but uh also we're gonna give a shout out uh Elias Patterson uh alumni of the Chicklet Show since January 16th uh he had 11 goals on 30 shots I know that's an unsustainable shooting percentage but he's a different player under Bruce as well I know he struggled getting out of the gate. The Canucks also ended the Flames winning streak at 10 and became the first team in NHL history to face an opponent on a 10-plus game winning streak and beat them by 6-plus goals. And prior to Pedersen's goal Thursday, the Flames hadn't trailed at any point for nearly six hours of game time.

Pretty impressive streak. Calgary's still getting it done. And, Biz, I know you were more impressed by Johnny Hockey's salad. I know. It was out for warm-ups, and then they ended up getting dusted, so it kind of got lost in the shuffle of all the goals and them getting fucking speed bagged. But yeah, man, I

thought it looked pretty funny on there. Sonny Milano might be giving a run for his money, too. Sonny Milano got some Caesar salad, Cobb salad, all kinds of stuff going. But either way, we just talked about Thatcher Demko. It's probably a great time to get to him. Fantastic interview with one of the great, brilliant young stars of the NHL.

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or a mattress firm store today near you and speak with a sleep expert to unjunk your sleep. And now we're going to go to Thatcher Demko. All right, well, we'd like to bring on our next guest. This goalie from San Diego was Vancouver's second-round pick in the 2014 draft, and he had three stellar seasons at Boston College before turning pro. He's since worked his way up to become the Canucks' number one goalie

and recently participated in his first NHL All-Star game. He's also the first goalie from California to be chosen as an NHL All-Star, thanks to his many highlight reel saves. Thanks so much for joining us on the Spittin' Chicklets podcast. That's your Demko. How you doing, brother? Good, guys. I'm excited to get

on the show with you great to have you guys had a wild one in san jose last night right in the thick of the wild card race looks like you guys are having a lot more fun out there than the beginning of the year huh yeah i mean things kind of got off on the wrong foot and you guys know when you're you're not winning it's uh it's a pain in the ass it's uh no fun going to the rink and i think we just need a little breath of fresh air. And, you know, since the coaching change, things have been kind of turning around for us, which has been huge. So we've got some work to do here down the stretch.

I think we've got like 31, 32 games left. And they're all going to be important for us. So hopefully we can make a pretty solid push. Give me your honest opinion. What did you think about Bruce? There it is. Because I was all over that thing. That was one of the worst chance of all time i um i think like the first time it was kind of funny

you know we were kind of hot there for a second and um you know then the fans just started kind of overusing it a little bit you know we'd like score a goal in the first period there's like 10 minutes left in the first and fans are like acting like we just won the game or something or you know whatever it was i mean it's fun you know it gets the fans won the game or something or, you know, whatever it was. I mean, it's fun, you know, get the fans into the game or whatever. But, yeah, I know he's not a big fan of it. And, you know, our team kind of uses an inside joke. We're always sending around the meme of you, you know, doing the goofy boost.

There it is. They're just pissing guys off or whatever. So, I don't know. It's fun, but it's, you know, it is what it is. Is he still dropping a million F-bombs for pregame speeches? Yeah, I think sometimes he gets stuck in what he's trying to say so he just kind of fills in the gap of uh you know just filling in the the quiet areas with a couple f-bombs here and there but uh he's a funny guy man he's uh he's definitely a one-of-a-kind coach someone i he's a guy i've never really met anyone like him so it's been a treat getting to know him

that's me on the podcast when the brain isn't clicking that's when you know that the f-bombs are coming in more and more often now uh do you guys give it to him about being on cameo which is pretty uncommon for is he really oh yeah and it's yeah it's like 38 bucks yeah Canadian and he's making two sheets yeah no we um I don't think we know him well enough yet to bring it up but we've definitely passed around a couple um I can't I can't remember who it was but I think someone on the team had a friend or a family member kind of got pickled one night and ended up ordering one from him and um he came through the next day like on a game day or something so uh we were kind of testing him to see if he was still on there.

But yeah, he's pretty active on there. It's pretty funny. They got to get these on the Jumbotron in between periods to keep fans in their seats and boozing and having a good time and entertained, obviously. Yeah. Hey, Biz, people ask him to put like a little barbecue shirt on, a barbecue sauce on his shirt.

But he's like, oh, no, it's already there. I don't even need to do that. Oh, yeah, yeah. Makeup, that's unbelievable. Any funny instances at pregame meal? We've heard a couple stories in the past. Yeah, I saw you had Spurgeon a little bit ago, and he's talking about the hands in the ice cream there.

We had a couple of guys that had played on mini when that had happened so we heard that story and um i don't know i mean like you guys mentioned he's walking around with some some couple stains on the shirt or or what have you he's hitting up the hotel bars and mini bars you know grabbing some snacks and stuff like that but um yeah he he's a treat. Everyone's always kind of laughing and he's keeping things light. So he's hilarious, man. You guys are 15, 6 and 4 since he took over.

What was the biggest change he made when he came in? I think it was just preaching the team aspect and, you know, really coming together as a group. And I think we, you know, when things aren't going well, it was a situation where a lot of guys were trying to solve it on their own. And, you know, that's never going to work, especially in this league.

Everyone's such a good player, but you need to have a solid team, you know, working together and everyone on the same page. So I think that was something that guys kind of banded together with and, you know, paid dividends pretty much right away. Other than him, who else keeps the room the room light um i would say jt miller's a guy who's always uh he's chatting and uh making jokes and he doesn't shut up very often but um i think it's it's for the better um him and uh garland are always giving it to each other yeah garland garland's a treat i didn't realize how funny that guy was until the guys in the locker room started Him and Garland are always giving it to each other. Oh, my goodness. Garland's a treat.

I didn't realize how funny that guy was until the guys in the locker room started telling me because he keeps it pretty serious and stoic on the ice, but that's unbelievable. Yeah, he's a little rat on the ice for sure, but behind the closed doors on the bus, on the plane, he's always cracking jokes. Yeah, I mean, those guys together pretty funny and we have a couple other guys you know bo and tanner pierce and tyler myers guys like that that um you know they've been around and um good spirits in there so uh it's been fun you know especially

when you start winning everything seems a little bit easier too yeah the losing is just so difficult and in the canadian market as the number one goal, there must be times at the beginning part of the year where you're like, oh my God, just need to get some wins to loosen everyone up a little bit. No wonder Mark, you left. Yeah, well, I mean,

yeah, it sucks at times, man. I'll be honest. I mean, everyone, you know, I'm from San Diego. I didn't know what Hockey Night in Canada was until I, you know, got drafted and signed pro. So everyone tells you, you know, the Canadian signed pro so um everyone tells you you know the

Canadian market's tough but you don't really feel it until um you know when Marky signed and I just kind of put in that position to get an opportunity to be the number one guy and you know I'm getting DMs telling telling me they hope my dog gets run over by a car I hope you're I hope your mom gets cancer like I've seen just some fucking wild things where I'm like, you know. There's been times where I've just put the phone away for a long time. I think last year even I deleted my Instagram just because it was, you know, we were brutal last year too. So there's been times where it's like, it's pretty tough sometimes.

But I don't know. I'm definitely learning how to manage it a lot better and making it easier on myself. Is that something that that marky helped with like easing you into that i feel like you guys had like a really really good uh like tandem relationship even to the point i think recently he commented on one of your 50 safe performances about one upping them so you guys still kind of keep in touch and i'm imagining he helped along the way. Yeah. I mean, Mark, he's been, he was in the organization from the day I signed. So he was always a guy I looked up to and you know,

seeing his progression, not only as a player, but as a person too, like, you know, he was in Florida there for a while and, you know, guys weren't really sure if he was going to make it. And he, he really made a choice to, you know, to, to mature quite a bit. And you guys all see what he's become now. So he was a guy I definitely looked up to and learned a lot from and kind of took me under his wing, you know, when I first got called up and I kind of got to watch what it was like for him from a distance, you know, I wasn't quite in the spotlight yet, but you know, just he helped me a lot for

sure. I obviously don't know a ton about goaltending, but having played with him and kind of seen him on the ice, would you describe him almost as a little bit of a natural? Like the way he moves is so fluid and he's so big that you're shocked he's that coordinated and that smooth being that size. Like, is that how you describe his game a little bit? Just kind of born with it? Yeah. I mean, he was a guy that was like just all natural, you know,

early in his career and I think once he came to Vancouver and you know we brought Ian Clark in and Clark he kind of gave his game a little bit of structure it was just scary you know like he he had that combination of you know the the structure and the technique and then mixed in with that like natural ability that he kind of grew up with and you know he when when we were partners like watching him play every night there was just times where I was like holy like how did this guy do it man like it's like I could never see myself doing that you know like some of the things he would do so um you know it's it was awesome to see him kind of grow up and and go

through that process and obviously he's having tons of success in Calgary this year. I mentioned I mentioned it from San Diego You moved to LA as a young kid. Did you play goalie right away from the start, or did you have a play out first, then go into goalie? How did that all transpire? Yeah, so I always just was drawn to playing goalie. Obviously, when you're a kid, you always rotate or whatever it is. I was always asking every week if I could play again,

and I think I was like 10 years old when I stuck with it full time. I kind of regret it sometimes now. It might be a little bit easier to play winger some nights. When people tell you they hope your dog dies, you're like, yeah, I wish I was a fourth line winger. Yeah, I'm like, fuck, I could soak a few and get the puck out if I needed to. But, yeah, I mean, it was something that I was just drawn to right away for whatever reason.

I want to ask you a little trivia. There's been three goalies born in California that have played in the National Hockey League. You and do you know the two others? I know John Blue is one of them. Yeah. I don't think I know the other one, to be honest. I think it's pronounced Colin D'Elia.

Oh, yeah, yeah, Colin. Yeah, we're around the same age. I think he's like Colin D'Elia so there's not there's oh yeah yeah Colin yeah we're around the same age I think he's like that's stupid of me I should have known that so I'll call that one Colin yeah oh geez but uh I was surprised to see that there were only 10 current NHLers born in the state of California like was it was it hard to find good development like how did you get so good with maybe like a lack of that in in California yeah I mean to be honest like I wasn't very good growing up um I was always playing double a um I tried to play up uh with the birth years ahead of me you know the 93s and 94s um even if it was at the double a level I just felt like being around the older guys might help me out um you know I wasn't really making the triple-a teams I was trying to move away relatively early I think when I was like 12 I went up to Toronto and um there's a school called

Peak or something um you know I tried out for the Vaughn Kings I tried out for the Toronto Marlies all those guys and you know didn't get called back I tried going to Shattuck a couple times didn't make those teams um and um RA mentioned like i went to la and that was kind of like my last resort like i i called teams in colorado i looked at prep schools out east you know gunnery and um you know victory honda and detroit honey bake all those teams and just i i never really got the call back so i ended up just going to la and things just kind of fell into place to be honest did that put a chip on place, to be honest. Did that put a chip on your, I was just going to ask, did that put a chip on your shoulder, all that rejection?

Like do you have, or are you just. Maybe a little bit. I, I just, for me, like for whatever reason, I just had it in my head that it was going to work out. Like, I don't know what, what it was. Like, I just knew that, you know, I'd get an opportunity at some point. I just have to make the most of it. And, you know i'd get an opportunity at some point i just have to make the most of it and um you know i think like a month into me being in la something went weird in omaha where they had two starting goalies and they had to trade one and they called me and they're like hey do

you want to finish the year here like you're going to be our backup but if you want to come up you can i was like i was 15 at the time i was like yeah let's go let's do it um things just kind of rolled from there i was going to ask because to get all that rejection and then to move, all right, go to LA. Like I wondered not too long after that, you're making the national development program. So maybe it was Omaha. Maybe it was, it was even LA at the beginning before you went there, but there must've been a jump and there must've been a moment. You're like, Holy shit. I'm like,

I'm feeling like I'm really improving at a rapid pace is that the case yeah so like I think you know I I tried out for because I didn't play both years at the development team um I got cut my first year um I was kind of in the mix I didn't get invited to 40 man camp or any of those goalie camps where they're making picks but I heard my name kind of around and you know I didn't get drafted into the dub I didn't get drafted into USHL so I was like holy man like I guess I'll just you know go to LA and the Omaha thing really just fell in my lap like I was so shocked you know like I didn't get drafted I didn't get protected and I was just like okay I'll play here and then I'll go to a couple camps you know next summer and see what happens and you know that year in Omaha like I

that was when I kind of like you know really got my name out there and you know next summer and see what happens and you know that year in Omaha like I I that was when I kind of like you know really got my name out there and you know I played pretty well I you know I didn't play a ton I had Alex Lyon was my uh goalie partner he's a stud at Yale he's playing in the American League now I think in Chicago this year but um that was the year where it was like okay like this is my chance like I gotta you to, you know, take advantage of this. And, you know, I went from there to the U.S. team. And then, you know, I accelerated my senior year high school and I went into BC a year early.

So everything kind of happened really quick once that first call came. Is it true that your parents did not want you going to the USHL at first? My mom was a little worried about it um my dad was you know my dad was a guy that obviously my mom was super in the mix with the hockey stuff but she was more you know trying to develop me as a person and my dad was you know the hockey development side of things i guess you could say um so i i had to make a decision like the day they called, like, so I, I called my mom right away. I was like, Hey, just let you know, like I'm moving to Omaha tomorrow.

And she was like, what the fuck do you mean? Like, no, you're not going to become a farmer. Yeah. Yeah. There's tons of corn out there. Um, so she, she was just like, we need to talk about this later. I was like, there is no later, like I'm packing up, like I'm, I'm on the next flight in the, in the morning.

So, um, I was like, you can come out and visit me and you know, a couple of weeks and, you know, see what it's all about. But that's where I'm going to be tomorrow. So were you at that time, were you already six, four? Had you grown at a younger age and then you kind of grew into your body or was there a late growth spurt? No, I was six, four. I felt like when I was 10, I was always kind of long and lanky um and that was kind of the reason I wasn't too sharp as a kid um you know growing up and I was just real awkward in the net you know it didn't move well I I had a little bit of the the compete the natural battle like that kind of stuff but you know there's no goalie coaching really in San

Diego um you know I would anytime I went to a tournament somewhere, my dad would kind of look up what the best goalie coach in that city was and I would get some goalie coaching in between games or, you know, just to kind of see what it was like. I mean, there's not a ton of stuff going on in San Diego back when I was growing up. So, it was kind of tougher to find, you know, the right path in that sense. Hey, you get any coaches that had like these wacky devices and shit kind of like golfers dude but yeah and of course like you know my dad was super invested into it you know he's doing

whatever he could to get me you know to the next step and he would take home everything that ever any goalie coach the guy could barely tie his skates in some cities and you know he's got all these like strings attached to my helmet he's like using like the white pucks the tin cup the mini pucks yeah and then i i'd get i'd get home and like write in the mail like my dad ordered it online i'm fucking sitting at home in the living room with my bucket on like got strings going like it was just you know just doing wacky stuff just trying to figure it out you know that's didn't you actually drop out of high school and enroll in like an independent study program so you can get more ice time yeah that was um that sucked man i'll be honest it was fucking brutal it was my freshman year high school um i was trying to make the

development team and i think you know we i played on uh i was the backup on our 16 triple a team uh that year in san diego and we only practiced tuesday thursdays and then we play on the weekend but you know i was playing maybe once a weekend and you know getting two practices and so i was like that's not enough if i'm going to try and make the u.s team so i dropped out of public school and i went to an independent study program up by the rink and so i would go to school in the morning from like eight to ten i'd get on like the public bus go to the rink and skate for a couple hours with like the beer league guys you know like the stick times or whatever get back on the bus and go back to to school and then you know go back on the bus

and go back to the rink for practice yeah um so it was just like you know especially as a young you know freshman in high school I was you know kind of right in those those adolescent years and I spent a lot of days just kind of by myself on the bus or at the rink and um just trying to get some extra ice time and um you know and then I went to the tryout and got got cut so or I didn't even get called for the tryout so I was like it kind of sucks but um yeah I mean it was just part of the process in San Diego like Like, I was just desperate to do anything I could to figure out a way to get out of there. Any crazy stories from riding public transit? Oh, dude. Yeah, I mean.

Don't get R.A. going. In California. There's some creepy dudes on the bus, man. That's for sure. I had a guy freaking come up to me and he's just like he was asking me to like go get like get off the bus and like go behind this building because he had like something to show me and i was like what are you talking about like i don't think he got anything to show me he's like no man like it's awesome i was like oh the dick now i'm told

like that's all you had to say but yeah i mean it was just like i felt so awkward on the bus i just had my headphones in and kind of kept myself there's some some creepy dudes out there for sure it's like that text you open you know the emergency and you open and it's barry with this huge yeah just mess of horn behind come check it out behind the shed over here um i want to ask you go off the grid here uh you're a big NFT guy, I understand. Yeah, a little bit. My dad, he used to work for Upper Deck when I was growing up. So he started a little NFT line for me this year.

He's trying to kind of blend the ideas between the physical card and the NFT. And so we put together a little something with all the proceeds going to the Vancouver Children's Hospital here. And so that kind of kicked off right before the season started. That's awesome. Does that kind of derive – I know you're a big video game guy too, so are you kind of into all the Bitcoin and all this crazy Internet movement? I couldn't be farther from it, to be honest.

I don't really get it. It might sound naive, but, yeah, I'm so far away from that stuff. I got my real money or whatever you want to call it. I got my paper money and my credit cards. That's good enough for me. But yeah, I mean, it's crazy. My dad was trying to explain it. We were going through the process of launching that whole line.

And I mean, I spent a lot of time on the phone with him and the guys that were kind of putting it all together. And it was kind of still going over my head. That's awesome. Well, that's a good thing you're doing. R.A. wasn't a big Bitcoin guy until he found out you could launder money through it. So now he's all in the crypto. Pulling up my spot biz, the feds are listening.

Yeah. Hey, you think the Canucks fans can be bad? These NFT people, you just called it not real money you might get serious action on your Instagram I know the Bitcoin off my phone today um when you got to the U.S. program like being a late bloomer and all of a sudden being there even though a year and a half before that you're in you're in L.A. were there a bunch of offers from schools because you end up going to one of the top schools in the country pains me to say in Boston college, but did you have options?

Or was that kind of like one of the only ones? No, I definitely had some looks after that us year. That really just opened the door for me. You know, I was getting talked about for the draft and, you know, I was, I'm a late birthday. So I had another year. You know, a lot of my teammates were getting drafted out of the program, but I had another year, you know, before I was supposed to go to college. So I visited a ton of schools. I really wanted to go to Cornell in Denver and I was actually, so I was supposed to meet with the Cornell coach. We were playing them

one night when I was with the U.S. program and they were like hey like come stop by the office like after the game and so I went to the office I guess I went to the wrong office and I got back on the bus I like called my dad I'm like hey I couldn't find him like you know I'll call him tomorrow whatever and the next day they offered a kid and they were like hey he didn't show up for the meeting so we gave it to someone else I was like there's a miscommunication. Like, went to the wrong door or whatever it was. I was like, that kind of sucks.

But, yeah, so I ended up visiting Denver, too, and they wanted me to go back to USHL for two more years, which I wasn't a huge fan of at the time. You know, I just played a bunch of college teams that year with the program, so I felt like I was kind of ready to get in there quick. And then BC said hey we'll take you a year early and I was like all right let's do it wow a lot of twists and turns in your career already and it was wild yeah and and the one thing I was going to bring up is probably maybe the biggest adversity you face your entire career you ended up having to get double hip surgery yeah while you were in college and basically completely

reinventing your style of goaltending while in the process of healing through this the hip surgeries yeah so i i had hip problems from the time i got to omaha i knew i was going to need some surgery at some point um so i got through my draft year my freshman year uh college and you know i was i was in some pain i was debating whether I wanted to get it done but I didn't want to get hip surgery right before the draft it felt like I'd kind of fuck me so um I was like you know I'll just wait I'll play another year and then my sophomore year was just terrible like I was you know having a hard time like you know walking

around after games and you know I was getting golf cart rides back to the dorm because I just couldn't get back. And, you know, I ended up, you know, I think it was like two days after our season ended that year, I ended up getting both of my hips done. And luckily the process went pretty quick. I think I was back on the ice in like three months. And, you know, lucky enough, I didn't miss any games. And I got off to a really good start in my junior year,

which was nice. Well, the numbers yourself when year were good, though. I mean, that's pretty impressive to be in that much pain, and you played pretty well. Yeah, it was okay. I mean, I felt like I could have had a better year. You know, college, I feel like in college, like it's pretty normal for a guy, you know, a goalie to have a good year.

You know, you look at a lot of the guys that are coming out of college, like they're coming out with just crazy numbers. I feel like the numbers, Safer Sanders going up and goals against is going down. So, you know, I had some giants in hockey those years, you know, I was trying to keep up with like Hellebuck and John Gillies was really good for Providence. You know, that O'Connor from BU was having some great years too,

the year that they went to the Natty Championship. So I hate to bring it up, but it seemed like on paper it looked like a good year, but for me it didn't really feel like it. So I felt like I had a lot to prove going into my junior year. So a lot of guys, they go to the national program. And I think later on, like myself included, it's like, I think that really was an important step for me. And it's maybe one of the reasons I was drafted higher, made the NHL. You learn how to kind of be a pro at a young age, but you have a more memorable story. I talked to Mike Ayers, who was your goalie coach at USA

and at BC. He was my high school teammate and amazing college goaltender at UNH. He told me, interestingly enough, that's where you met your fiance, right? Yeah, we met at one of the USA camps when we were like, I think, 15. We just stayed good friends. We didn't really hit it. I mean, we kind of hit it off, you know, as friends at the time, but she was dating Mike Babcock Jr. When I met her, which is funny. She was, he was coaching the wings and they were at the same high school together. So I was trying to, you know, wheel

her a little bit and she shut me down pretty quick, which, you know, looking back was a good thing, but yeah, we just stayed close friends and you know, in sophomore year of college, we ended up starting dating. So we always say that Mike Ayers kind of got us together did she play at bc as well no she actually uh ended up going to nodak um she played there uh same time with like brock besser and uh troy stetcher um so they were there kind of all at the same time you're like brock you never met my girlfriend did you i'm like please tell me you don't know who this is. What's this Danson Demko I heard about? I couldn't find any clips online.

What did you used to do? A little jig on the ice? They told you to knock it off? What was that all about? He worked at Brandy's in Vancouver. No, Danson Demko's been retired for a while. It was just when I was in college. It was something that I used to do just to kind of keep myself, you know,

in a good frame of mind during the game. I used to be pretty hard on myself, you know, so the dancing thing, you know, during the, in between whistles or whatever, you know, they play tunes and, you know, just dancing kind of kept it light for me. And I was actually at the combine and, you know, I go to meet in with Colorado and i was actually at the combine and um you know i go to meet in with uh colorado and patty was there at the time and um he fucking laid into me for this dance and demco thing man you know like it's one of those situations where you kind of go in you're like patty wah man like i grew up idolizing this guy like i can't wait to see what this guy's like

and the first thing that comes out of his mouth, he goes, what the fuck is wrong with you? And I was like, God, this is not going. I was hoping it would go. And I was like, what do you mean? Like, I'm just, you know, young, scared kid. And he's like, I see you out there fucking dancing around. Like you don't give a shit. It's like, how are we supposed to draft you? Like, you know, it seems like you're out there just having a good time. Like we need a guy that's like willing to do whatever it takes to win and like just go like laying into me and i was just like from that day forward i was like you

know like you know to a certain extent he's right you know in college you can kind of get away with it but you know if you see a guy fucking out in the national like dancing around in between whistles like it's not the best. Flower kind of does. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's flower. Yeah, true. He's going to the Hall of Fame. I mean, he was doing it in junior too.

He always had the smile. You could see the chicklets from the top bowl for crying out loud. As far as, as far as Patty was concerned, he's got to hit the fucking Stevie Weiser, Iserman kind of program at program at these fucking combines. Yeah, like why'd you bring me in to interview me if you hate me that much, Patrick? Yeah, I mean, it was just as a kid, I was just,

I didn't really understand what I was walking into, but yeah, it was just kind of a bummer having to meet and go that way. Well, a lot of kids, Ares, he always also mentioned to me, like, you know, a lot of kids, people think maybe they got their athleticism from their father. But he tells me your mother and your aunt were unbelievable high level volleyball players. So they were they were pretty athletic themselves, huh? Yeah. Studs, man. Still are, honestly.

They still play? Not as much as they'd like to. But I mean, my dad was an athlete. He played rugby in college at Arizona he ended up breaking his back so we had to hang him up but um yeah my mom played at the University of Florida and then transferred to San Diego State uh volleyball and then my aunt was an All-American at USC um she ended up playing pro in Chicago for a bit and um you know they they're friends with all the volleyball

legends and you know the people that kind of you know reinvented the sport back in those days and my mom actually ended up coaching college for a good amount of time when I was growing up so I was just kind of always around it and um you know it's it's definitely something that was fun growing up just to be around a different sport and, you know, just, you know, kind of developing that athleticism, I guess a little bit. Um, but yeah, they're, they're studs. It's competitive, man, whatever we're doing as a family, like they still kind of got that fire in them, which is, uh, it's pretty funny. Where, uh, where are you boys hanging out in Vancouver? Like where are you? Is the Roxy even still a thing right now? Do you guys still go there? The Roxy, not too much, to be honest. I think, like, the organization kind of has tried to steer guys away

from the Roxy a little bit. Oh, yeah? I think it was my second – Not enough Z-Packs floating around for the guys? Yeah, we're short on Z-Packs right now. But I think it was, like, my second development camp. I came in, and I was hurt my my second development camp i i came in and i was hurt from my hip surgery and so the team had to work out the next day and there's like

three or four of the injured guys that the team knew that we didn't have to work out the next day and they could kind of feel we were probably going to go out on the town or whatever and i remember stan schmiel called me aside and he's like hey like whatever you do do not go to the rocks and like of course the second bar we go to is the fucking roxy like bolt our feet in for the night and hey dancing temp goes back baby let's go make it a comeback for sure uh uh what's your move on the dance floor what do you got for us i like to drop it low man for sure i got the new hits he learned it on the public transportation in LA. You got the pop it lock at hips. You got that. Once I get a couple of cocktails, I mean, you get a good baseline there.

I'm, I'm, I'm fine to dance for real quick. That's unreal. What was that? What was your favorite things about living in Boston for three years? It was just, it was so different from what I was used to and um you know it was such an awesome city to go to school and with all the schools kind of right there you know you're running into BU and Northeastern Harvard at the bars out at dinners like things like that it's it's so cool you know I grew up in San Diego and then I was in Omaha and then Ann Arbor and then you know it was kind of like my

first time out east experiencing that whole thing. And it's definitely a different type of people out there for sure. And, you know, it kind of makes you a little bit more well-rounded just being around, you know, the preppy kids out east. And it was cool. You know, my first year I had Kevin Hayes and, you know, Jimmy was around a little bit in the locker room here and there when he could be. And, you know, those are some,

some big time Boston guys and just kind of looking up to them as a young kid and kind of seeing, you know, the type of people that Boston can produce was pretty awesome. Well, your freshman year, you saw one of the greatest college hockey performances of all time and in Johnny hockey, like you must've just been blown away because the best part is everyone knows this is no secret he'll go out and get after it and then the next game he still gets four points after being just waffled yeah i mean that was that was the biggest eye-opening thing for me like i was 17

like i i had just started drinking like figuring it out you know and um you know here i come into college and i got kevin johnny and billy arnold leading the charge on a thursday night like you know just fucking mangled and then i'm like these guys are gonna suck today like we're gonna get you know pumped and then they have five points each and i'm just like all right i gotta figure this shit out because that looked really fun i think i think we can agree on music tastes you're two two of your favorite artists uh led zeppelin and also rapper j cole have you ever been to a live show of j cole's no it's bucket list for sure um he's he's definitely a guy i like a lot um i'm big hip-hop guy so i mean i grew up on you, the classic rock stuff. My dad got me into Led Zeppelin, you know, Leonard Skinner,

those type of guys. So I got a pretty wide variety of music tastes, but J. Cole is definitely up there for me. So I definitely want to see him live one time. Yeah. What's your go-to Zepp album? Tough one, I know. That's tough for me. I kind of like their slower slower stuff sometimes you know like stairway to heaven's obviously a classic um all my love like those type of songs

for me like obviously you can get the headbangers going but uh i like when they kind of slow it down a little bit yeah stairway to heaven still the most awkward dance song at a school dance because at the beginning you slow dance what school is grinding her ass stairway to Heaven is still the most awkward dance song at a school dance because at the beginning you're slow dancing. What school is playing Stairway to Heaven at a school dance? Buddy, I was in eighth grade in 1993, I think. Buddy, this was still a big time song back then. Eighth graders now are listening to Lil Nas Wayne X. It's a fucking joke.

I think that's probably one of the teachers slipping the DJ a $5 bill saying, hey, give me a little Led Zeppelin action. Keep me away from baby. One of the chaperones biz. Yeah. Well, yeah. Leave room for the spirit. I was going to ask you about your mask. You got the zombie on it as the, the, the Mr. Canuck is the big zombie guy. No, not really. I just, I like to keep it somewhat original um you know and you get

into the you know Vancouver everyone's got the mountains with the sea and you know they got the same look kind of across the board with goalie mass over the last you know 20 years or whatever so I was trying to figure out a way to you know you kind of run out of options so i i felt like the zombie twist on johnny canuck there might be kind of cool and something that um is unique so um my dad and i kind of came up with it and i've thrown him on the last handful of masks so it's kind of turned into johnny zombie look like a east hastings guy with a canucks jersey on come out of the fucking yeah that's the other way to put it I guess after that after that junior year at BC just looking back I mean it's hard but those numbers

you completely dominated but was it like oh I want to stay for my senior year or it's just like I'm ready to go I'm ready to take you know my game to the next level and with that did you know there would be a little AHL time for you yeah I mean I wanted to win at school so bad and um you know there would be a little AHL time for you? Yeah, I mean, I wanted to win at school so bad. And, you know, that decision was really tough, I'll be honest. I spent a lot of time on the phone with Airzy. And, I mean, he's kind of in a tough spot. You know, that's his job. He wants to be competitive.

He, in a way way wanted me to stay but at the end of the day his message was kind of like hey man like you've you've done everything that you can do at the college level like might be time for you to go um and I definitely knew that I was going to be uh spending some time in the HL um you know the transition was actually a lot harder than I thought it was going to be um you know just kind of being a naive kid but um so it took me you know I think I was going to be, you know, just kind of being a naive kid. But so it took me, you know, I think I was down there for like two and a half years. So it was definitely,

it took me a bit of time to kind of get acclimated, but yeah, it was a tough decision to leave for sure. Jim Benning was the guy who drafted you, yes or no? Yeah. Yeah. So I feel like handling you through the whole process of like getting the surgery on the hips and even like the way you came up through the American Hockey League, like obviously he just got fired. But I guess the handling with you, you guys probably had a great relationship.

Yeah. I mean, Jim was he was business first guy for sure. You know, there's I think there's different personalities around the league. I didn't talk to Jim too too much uh it was definitely you know maybe once a summer um but you know obviously he was in the loop with the hip stuff like you mentioned and you know he did a great job handling my decision to to sign and you know he didn't pressure me or anything I know there's a lot of pressure on organizations with you know guys, guys like Hazy. I remember, you know, he stayed for his four years and then ended up, you know, becoming a free agent and ended up going to New York.

So I know he was probably a little bit nervous about me doing that. So I thought he handled that with a ton of respect for me and my family and gave us some time to make the decision, which was awesome. And, you know, I think, you know, as much as you don't want to be in the American league, I think it was necessary for me. I think I needed the time and, um, you know, he definitely didn't rush me in that regard either. So, um, yeah, I mean, credit to him. He, he definitely had a, an eye out for me. Just as a quick follow-up,

like was there a point in time where you were chomping at the bit where you're like, I want to get called up now. Is that, is, Is that kind of why you mentioned that he kept you down there to kind of marinate for two and a half years? Yeah, I mean, I think through my first two years, I only played one game. And it was a weird one. Like I was showing up to the rink for a game in Utica. And there was a car waiting for me to take me to the airport in Syracuse and I was in the car you know my flight was at like seven o'clock so I didn't get to Vancouver until like 3 a.m. and right when I landed I got a text they're like hey you're playing tomorrow games at

one and I was like holy fuck sounds good yeah so um the game you know we ended up winning whatever but I just I was getting itchy like I wanted to see if I could take that next step you know, we ended up winning, whatever. But I just I was getting itchy. Like I wanted to see if I could take that next step. You know, you're always at least wanting the opportunity. And, you know, I wasn't a guy that was pissed off about it or anything. But, you know, you're a competitive guy. You want to get up and see what you can do. And, you know, at the end of the day, I went into camp the next year and got sent down again.

So I was like, all right, like I just got to go down and, you know, at the end of the day, I went into camp the next year, got sent down again. So I was like, all right, like, I just got to go down and, you know, do what I can. And, you know, next time I get called up, like, we got to roll with this thing. So I know you mentioned being in the AHL can be a good thing, which I agree. And, you know, you could play in Austin or now there's a team in San Diego. And no offense to the wonderful people at Utica, but that place is horrific. Now, I got to ask you, you dealt with a robbery there. No, as he said, I got to get this out of you. You got robbed there. Dude, I got robbed at gunpoint in my own crib.

Dude, crazy. This is like my, my go-to story. I've told it so many times, but it was, it was actually after the gold medal game of world juniors. I think it was the year that U.S. beat Canada in a shootout. I think Parsons was in that year or something. But I was living with Jordan Subban at the time, and Subban had gone to bed around like 10.30, 11 o'clock or whatever. So I was a couple hours behind him. I was just dozing off in the back door, and our house didn't lock.

So I heard the back door open, and I was just dozing off in the back door and our um our house didn't lock so I heard the back door open and I was like you know Sue you know we had banter back and forth his roommates in my head I'm like what the fuck is Sue be doing like I'm trying to fall asleep like whatever and then I hear like wet shoes on the hardwood floor and I'm like that's kind of weird like you know maybe Sue he's getting something or so I called him I could hear him in his room like across the hall and then I could also hear, like, noises out in the living room. So I was like, I don't know. Like, you always hear shit in your house, and you'd go out and check,

and there's nothing there. So I just, like, got out of bed. I was in my boxers, and I'm, like, walking down the hall, and this dude, like, turned the cord, and he's got, like, all this shit in his arms. And I was like, what the fuck are you doing? And he's like, I'm taking your shit. And I was like, goddamn.

Like, do you need a hand or something? Like he was just so confident. Like it definitely wasn't his first time doing it. Take the toaster. Yeah, seriously. So I don't touch my PlayStation though. Oh yeah. That's all he took, man. I was rattled. Like he only ended up taking the X-Boxes, but yeah, I like followed him out into the snow and I was just like, still in my boxers i put

my hand on i was like hey man like if you just give us the stuff back like i won't call anyone like no harm no foul whatever and you know he kind of switched the stuff over into his other arm and like pulled the gun on me and i was like hey man go ahead like it's all good all you and you forgot the nfl blitz yeah seriously so gator yep what else you want here's my wallet anything man um so he got in the car and they started driving away i like ran inside grabbed my phone and i like chased after him and i took a couple pictures of the license plate actually i still got him on my phone um and so like when the cops showed up i just showed them the plate numbers and they found the guy in like 10 minutes we found him mike babcock jr yeah that's right i was like i think his name was mike i don't know um but uh yeah so we ended

up like going to the police station we had a game the next day i remember i called because greener was my coach at the time and i called greener at like four in the morning i'm like hey i just got fucking robbed like i'm in the police station like this is crazy i just wanted to let you know he's like all right i'll see you for morning skate oh he's like no maybe trying to get out of the morning skate green are you ever at a glock to your temple buddy fuck can i get a day off yeah so it was it was a wild experience man i got lucky i mean it was kind of stupid chasing after him you know in hindsight but you know you always watch these movies and you're like fuck like if i got robbed i just beat the shit out of the guy but when it actually happens it's kind of like i froze man i was like i don't know what the fuck to do you gotta watch those internet

videos of that guy what is it detroit yeah yeah that's right hey the craziest part of an ambulance but not for me yeah the craziest part of that story to me is that you lived in utica and you couldn't lock your back door like come on well yeah so we were bitching at our landlord like the whole the whole year really we were like hey like this fucking door doesn't lock like and she's like she was the sweetest woman she was like 95 um she went to church like three times a week she's like yeah yeah i'll check it out i'm like all right like you know you can't really lay into her you know she's too nice so but the funny thing actually was it ended up being her son who set us up to get robbed

get the fuck out of here because it was so set up like the guy had a van like waiting so they were like gonna swipe the whole house because we were we played the next night and then we were supposed to go on the road and so i guess this guy got this is what the da ended up telling us he's like the guy kind of got caught up in this like you know drug predicament where he couldn't pay this guy and he was like hey these guys are going on the road like they're not going to be there he mixed up the date by he was one day off he's like the door doesn't lock like you can go swipe the whole house and like we'll call it even and so um it was just yeah it was just the sticky bandits yeah the mutton cuts yeah is that the one dumb and dumber mutton cuts or whatever yeah mutton cuts yeah yeah the guy just messed up the date by one day and you know ended

up i think he got 10 years like we had to go on trial and everything like i had to testify in front of him i had to i had to go in front of the jury do the playstation it's nerve-wracking isn't it testifying huh it was actually worse than the robbery honestly no shit yeah i mean like you're going in and like i don't know you don't want to like be a rat or anything you know like i don't know it's tough like you know calling a guy rat or anything, you know, like, I don't know. It's tough. Like, you know, calling a guy out right in front of him, but like they make, they made me like stand up and like point out and like physically point out

and be like, this is the guy that helps me out. Yeah. Fucking putting guys away. You gotta get the six, nine tattoo now right up here. Yeah. Right.

Yeah. Hey, you're a, you're big with the Halloween costumes. You should go with him next year i don't know man that's uh i'm sure i'm sure the canucks fans will be okay with that i'm sure they won't fucking have the check mark for grade going nuts oh they can be going nuts for sure yeah were you a big willie walker fan as a kid biz just mentioned the halloween costume you

dressed up as an umpiloper and i'm assuming that was your your girl who was dressed as willie walker in that picture yeah that was lex um yeah i mean that was a movie i always grew up watching with my grandma um you know the gene wilder version oh yeah it's way better than the only version the johnny depp version so um yeah my grandma passed away she was always a big big movie gal so um some of those older movies kind of stick with me a little bit and uh some of those older movies kind of stick with me a little bit and uh lex and i were kind of chatting about what we wanted to go as and you know we ended up doing that it turned out pretty good nice i want to ask excuse me biz about your first goalie partner when you went pro richard bachman was he still wearing those

stephen king masks even all those years later i know he did when he was with dallas all that time later no no he's kind of off of that stuff but I remember seeing that you know he's a guy you know I obviously was a little bit younger when he was coming up and playing uh for Dallas and um you know as a guy I watched so I definitely you know remember him watching and watching him in those but uh when we were together um you know he wasn't too too into it but he's a fucking great guy he He was awesome to me. He's, you know, a big reason that I was able to, to, you know, kind of transition into the HL and, um, you know, continue developing for sure.

So I see like looking at it now, I mean, your numbers, they get better every single year, no matter what level you're at. So I imagine you don't even consider yourself, you know, near a finished product yet. You could consider there's a lot more left to learn and improve at. Yeah. I mean, I, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface. Um, you know, I, I felt like, you know, I was a backup to Marky and then last year I was kind of like the a one, a 1a1b type of thing with holtz um and just like such a you know fucked up year um you know it was so hard to i was dealing like we were all as a league just dealing with so much stuff other than hockey it was like so not about the development last year

i felt like it was just trying to keep your head above water and um you know obviously i learned a ton through it you know playing through a bunch of shit and figuring that all out. But I felt like this year was the first year I came to camp, like, all right, like I'm the guy, you know, I'm going to take over. And, you know, I still think there's a ton to, to improve on, you know, I'm, I still think that, you know, there's been times this year where, you know, you know, get off the ice after the game, like, fuck, like I can be better for sure. So just keep working and, you know, there's been times this year where, you know, I get off the ice after the game like, fuck, I can be better for sure. So just keep working and, you know, take it year by year.

That's the bubble sort of you're coming out, Paddy. You had that stellar showing versus Vegas, 2-1-1, 9-8-4-6, a percentage shutout. You were the first start three games in a row. I know it was only three games, but did it feel like something changed when you had those appearances, or was it just kind of business as usual at that point? I mean, going into the game, but did it feel like something changed when you had those appearances, or was it just kind of business as usual at that point?

I mean, going into the game, it didn't feel different. You know, I felt nervous as shit. I mean, I hadn't played a game since the shutdown. So my last game was March 10th, and, you know, fast forward, like three months or whatever it was, and, you know, we're down 3-1, and they're like, all right, like, let's go. And I was just like, Jesus Christ. Like, I don't even know how to handle this situation.

I was like, you know, I kind of had that, like, fuck it, like, whatever mindset going into the first game. And, you know, we ended up winning that game. I can't remember the score. But, you know, after that, I was like, hey, like, I can't be a one-off. Like, I got to do it again. You know, I don't want to just be like oh you had one good game then you shit the bed like I got to do it again and then you know we end up winning the game six there um and then I was like fuck I got to do it again you know I don't want it to be just two games so I kind of just kept rolling and unfortunately we we didn't get it done in game seven but um I think it

definitely kind of it made the decision hard for the organization. You know, Mark, he was going into free agency. Had I not played those three games, who knows what the situation might look like right now. You know, and it's crazy, you know, like I said, when I was talking about being a kid and just waiting for that one opportunity and taking advantage of it. Like, it's as simple as that. And, you know, I got lucky with an opportunity and, you know, you know, I took the most of it. So it all it all goes back to the shit sandwich that Benny gave you. It all goes back to the to the fucking the car service from Syracuse shit sandwich special. Yeah, it's almost similar in a way.

Like Vancouver got lucky that you were able to kind of show them how good you were whereas Florida they hadn't really seen Spencer Knight yet and they give this monster deal to Bobrovsky and now it's kind of like even though he's been great this year it's tough Markstrom might have got a huge deal from Vancouver and then it would have been like oh we got this young stud so lucky for them you were able to show yourself and kind of light it up those three games probably changed the course of the organization in a way. Yeah, I mean, it was just, it's one of those things where, you know, I feel like this game is just all about opportunity.

And, you know, it's so unpredictable with how things are going to play out. So it's definitely, you know, the nickname Bubble Demko is getting a little old for me. But, you know, it was definitely a huge, huge point in my career for sure. And with, I mean, talking about the goalie situation, I think they kind of dealt with it with Luongo and Schneider. They already, uh, they already fumble fucked that one a little bit. Oh, two really good goalies. It's tough to, yeah. Tough to handle.

Exactly. Um, anything else, RA like that's, I mean, this has been awesome, dude. This has been awesome dude this has been awesome no offense but the bet one of the best stories is you getting robbed at gunpoint it's all time man it's all time i i want to go back to uh kirk mclean you were recently sporting the old retrograde the uh canucks skate logo from the 80s i guess you guys are gonna wear those jerseys soon where did that idea come from and also that was your back, the back plate on your mask too. You had the clip from the painting from him from the 94 series, right? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was again, just trying to be unique and you know,

I'm a big history guy. You know, I love to pay homage to the guys that have come before me and I have a huge respect for that type of thing. You know, I always take, take pride in that kind of stuff and and paying my respects so I figure you know what's what's the best way I could do that with the the skate jersey and um so I went on google and you know I did the the 1994 cup run you know when they ended up losing to New York there and um you know it's it's literally a head-to-toe replica set so the stick the pads gloves helmet, gloves, helmet, everything. And then, yeah,

I got the picture of him and Linden on the back plate, which is a cool little touch too. Before we let you go, I see you got some, some mug shots of some artwork there. Who is that besides Frank Sinatra you got up there? That's so we got on the bottom guy there is Elvis. And you got Jimi Hendrix, Sinatra, and then Pac there on the top. Nice, nice. I love that.

So a wide range of – kind of hit every genre there. Biz will have a mug shot at some point. You can frame that one. Hey, come on. Don't be saying that. Next up. You mentioned you're a big hip-hop fan. Have you seen the new Kanye documentary?

Yeah, I saw the first epi. I watched it pretty much right when it came out. So I'm looking forward to the next couple that are going to be released here. Yeah, pretty crazy, man. I know. It's awesome. I'm obsessed. I'm dialed in.

All right. We're going to talk plenty about our next podcast. So I love it. I got to get to catch up. Well, Thatcher, such a humble guy. We really appreciate you coming on. It's awesome to see

the success of a California goalie that's lightened up. And we really appreciate you taking the time to join the show. You got fans here now for the rest of your career.

So thank you. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. It's a blast. Our pleasure. Keep killing it, brother. All right. See you guys. Man, big thanks to Dacha.

Great kid. We enjoyed the hell out of talking to him. That story about his time in Utica, absolutely bananas. Just some good stuff. Hopefully, you all enjoyed it. We do want to let you know that his interview is also brought to you by our friends at Roman Swipes. Guys, you know the drill by now. Thinking about weird shit doesn't always stop you from arriving at your destination on the rack.

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Per our pal Andy Strickland, Nashville is, quote-unquote, actively shopping Philip Forsberg. His reps said they were very surprised by the report. There have been preliminary talks with the Preds about an extension. He's a 24-year-old forward. He's going to be UFA this summer, and he's making $6 million now. He's definitely going to get a raise, 44 points in 38 games thus far. Preds currently the number one wildcard team, so trading him would be a big deal.

Whit, I know you want to chime in on this. Yeah, I just wanted to mention, I think it's kind of crazy, and I believe Andy Strickland, he's a well-informed reporter. He knows what he's talking about, but if it is true, I don't agree with it. And it's only because, like, Nashville's shown this season that they are a good team. I don't necessarily think they're a Stanley Cup contender. But like we've said a million times on this show, you never know once you get in. And with Saros in that, then you really don't know. I mean, he's one of the top goalies in the league.

So unless you get this ridiculous return, which probably is not going to happen being a UFA and a possible rental, I don't know how you trade your best player or best forward. Yossi's their best player. And what does it say to the entire team? Like, wow, we've had a season like this where not much was expected and this is what we're doing. And all of a sudden Forsberg's gone. So if he's going to you and saying, there's no chance I'm resigning that is a little different and then maybe you have to look at getting some sort of asset if not assets for for you know when he does leave um that's one thing but if you can get him talking and what what they've made clear is that he's not going to make more than Yossi, which I believe was at 9.5 a year right around then.

So if he wants more than that, maybe he could get it. But it seems like he loves playing there, and I don't know him, so maybe I shouldn't say that. But I know the guys all love him there. And for me, it's hard as a fan of the Predators or a player on that team, if the season they've had where they're getting momentum, they're trying to get into this race, all of a sudden their best forward's gone. I don't agree with that. you could almost look at it like they

were trading for a possible rental if you keep them do you know what i mean by that where it's like all right well we're bringing this guy in and and if that wasn't you know if that's not the case that he wasn't already here all right well we're bringing a guy in to try to get over the hump and make a run at the cup so i don't know how you trade him unless it's an enormous return yeah i agree with you on the fact that you're basically kind of telling everyone, hey, we're looking towards the future here. But if you're so far off on your number and you just want to trickle it out there to maybe some teams that would overpay and you can get a good prospect

who you think is going to make an impact in the NHL and maybe a first-round draft pick, I mean, yeah, it's a hard part of it being a GM, right? You also have to worry about the future. You want sustainable success, and you don't want to just roll it where if he genuinely doesn't think this is the team and he thinks they're close, especially with some of the guys they got coming up. They got a pretty good wave of young guys coming up.

So I don't know. I don't know what do you think he makes on the open market though he nine million he could some team maybe give him 10 i mean it sounds crazy but this guy i think where poil screwed himself was when he paid dushane and when he paid joe hansen yeah you're just like like they're having great seasons and they're playing up to what they're being paid right now. But I think that, that those,

those two, you could chalk up as an overpayment where if you even wanted to consider keeping Forsberg, if you're not as close as you originally thought, you've kind of washed it out the tube. You can't, especially a team like that. You can't invest so much in so few guys.

I don't think they have what it would take to get him, but imagine him on the Bruins. Jesus Christ. Get your hand out of your pants. All right. Yeah. It was already there. Yeah.

Johansson. He's making 8 million a year for the next three years after this year. Duchesne making the same 8 million for the next four years after this. And of course, Yossi making over nine for geez. I don't know. The next several years after this. So the reason, this and of course yosi making over nine for geez i don't the next several years after this so the

reason the reason i threw the nine number out um was because like as as a guy who's been there longer you're probably like hey i'm outperforming and i have these two guys like there's no way i'm taking any less than eight so he's just like he's probably at an astronomical number for us, but I think he'll probably end up getting it. You mentioned Yussi Saros. I had the pleasure of meeting him the other night in Nashville. It was great. I got to hang with the Tampa guys.

I said at Tootsie's, and then I went to the Tin Roof. Me and Upby took a cab over there, hung out with all the Preds guys. So Yussi's here, and I get to meet him. That's the only guy I took a picture with all weekend because I was fanboying a little, and I got to chat with him a little bit. Just a super guy, man. Like, we chatted for a few minutes, and I'm really impressed with him. Got to, you know, basically tell him how much I appreciate his game.

So it was pretty cool, man, pretty cool moment. I was a fanboy. I'm not going to lie. It was good stuff. There's also been speculation about Patrick Laine and Brock Bessa, of course, and Emily Kaplan from ESPN. She said there's been no meaningful offers brought to the table as far as Patrick Laine, but Columbus and them will talk this summer.

She also said that Canucks, regarding Bessa, they don't want to trade him. They're kind of dangling his name out there to see if they get maybe a godfather offer, you know, an offer they can't refuse. And he's going to be due for a big raise as well. And the Habs are also looking for at least a first round, if any deal for Ben Sherratt. So a lot of trade chatter out there. We still got till March 21st.

I'm sure things will happen by then. But do you know, Laine's eighth in the league in goals since he came into the NHL. So it's as, as much as he gets dogged occasionally for defensive play, it's like that guy can score. And the run he's on right now is wild. I don't think they can trade him,

but that's how it goes. I know the one year he had like 27 goals in fucking six games and then and then he went cold for 25 he goes on these he's like fucking merles at the craps table he just like goes he goes dry and all of a sudden you're just like two hour and 30 minute roll let's go you know you're fucking like, two-hour-and-30-minute roll. Let's go. You know, you're fucking buying, you know, putting a mortgage down on a house because of it. Yeah, he's a holy shit does he get hot. His pregame outfits, man. They've been a lot of chatter online about it. I know we've been cheering him, too.

He's got a unique style, and it's pretty funny. We love to see these guys showing their personality. A few other player notes here. Islander Zdeno Chara, future Hall of fama he passed chris chelios for the most games played by an nhl defenseman uh when he played in the 1652nd game thursday in san jose i thought it was really cool the shocks honored him on the jumbotron they had a clip from patrick malo you know praising char was just you know pretty cool to see an opposition give him a little uh dap him up like that he also had a scrap as well in that game with Jeffrey Vielle

and he became the oldest fighter in NHL history as well. At least the oldest player to get a fighting major. His 77th regular season fight and he gave him a little nice pat on the head after so congrats Big Z. Keep getting it done out there. And his teammate Zach Parise in the same game scored his 400th goal.

The 10th active guy to do so and the 5th from that famous 0-3 draft. Eric Stahl, Joe Pavelski, Jeff Cotter, and Corey Perry have also done the same. Edmondson forward Derek Ryan launched his first hat-trick of his career Saturday at 35 years old, becoming the eighth oldest player to do so in league history. Nick Lidstrom, of course, did it the oldest at 40 years old and a defenseman to boot.

Let's see. Rattling right along here. Boston's Brad Marchand, my boy, said he's not going to appeal the NHL upholding the six-game suspension. I know he already served it, but this is more about getting, I would say, money back. Right, Biz? If you're appealing, it's more about getting your dough back. And Brad said, I think I'm just going to move past it. It is what it is at this point.

I miss being around the guys. I miss being part of the group. did return to action thursday night i also we want to congratulate the marshans on the birth of their baby daughter this week so congrats to brad and i i gave a little tweet he uh he was patting rima on the back i was like oh this is what the media doesn't want you to show clearly a troll clearly a joke because some people didn't like it dude it's hilarious like it's what used to be a place you can joke 10 years ago and people got it now it's like either people don't get it or they try to correct you it's like people are a little wound up clearly i get a guy i have a snap show every now and then on there i used to snap a lot more but i've had some like written out response tweets

and i'm like oh don't send that and then Twitter's like are you sure you want to threaten this person? I said are you sure you want to say 14 F-bombs in this tweet sir? Utilizing three different forms of media but saying the media don't want you to see it. That's the joke. In fact it just seals over everybody's head. But once again

congrats to the Mashans. We got that a little later coming to you. We got to talk about your boys' sandbag participant, Cole Caulfield. Absolutely on fire since Marty St. Louis took over. Six goals, four assists in the first seven games out of Marty St. Louis. He had just eight points in 30 games under Dom Duchamp. They put him on a line with Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson. They went five straight, and they've combined for 19 points.

Marty St. Louis said, I can see this line being together for a long time. It's like, yeah, the combinations they have out there right now. You know, Canadians, the season's probably lost, but they're building for the future. Have you seen them play much at all? I know the Canadians are probably on number one on your radar. No, no, I haven't, but I'm really happy for them. And it just shows that the ups and downs of professional

hockey, it doesn't matter how long you play or how short you've been in the league. They're always there. It doesn't matter if you're Sidney Crosby or a young rookie. There's times when it's really hard. You're struggling a little bit. You're squeezing the stick tight and you can maybe have a coach. And I don't know the relationship between Caulfield and Ducharme, but maybe the trust wasn't necessarily there and obviously the ice time i i don't think that it was what caulfield had hoped for and you get a new coach in and not only is it a new coach it's a guy you probably idolized as a player an undersized forward who went on to be a hall of famer who no doubt had a talk with caulfield about how much you believed in him and

and now you just see you're seeing what's going on with a little belief for a player and and there's not anything that's changed his skating stride hasn't changed his release is still the same it's mental it's it's it's your mind and in terms of looking at situations a different way while also getting a chance to play on a better line so suzuki and caulfield's games have both exploded since since uh saint louis takes over and the problem is if you're a canadians fan you really want that first overall pick it's almost like oh whoa whoa whoa whoa hold on hold on i i love caulfield scoring i better break up that fucking line yeah yeah we don't want them winning the fuck you're doing break up that line man we don't want five wins in a row so uh but i'm happy for him because

you know before the season the expectations were sky high and and that team's just been such a it's been such a struggle this year that now you're looking for at least positivity for certain players and i think caulfield's proven not only to the fans and to the coaching staff with saint louis but himself like all right i am still the player i know i was and know i am and i'm going to be able to score at this level where maybe some people question that saint louis like dude this season's over go out there and get your fucking cookies buddy i'd be hanging out that fucking far blue line all night brother get over there Fuck the rest of these guys, man. Get your Skrilla, dog.

One for the little guys, man. Come on. Oh, shit. Fuck these big motherfuckers back here with those long legs, man. You get your bread. A couple injuries to note here. Carolina defenseman Tony D'Angelo, like I said before, he's been a huge part of that D.

They haven't misdug you all that much after signing him. He's going to be out for at least a month because of a midsection injury. His 40 points, a third on the team. 16 power play points and a plus 19 lead the team. The team did recall Jalen Chatfield from AHL Chicago. Vegas goalie Robin Leonard and forward

Nolan Patrick were both placed on IR. The Lainer injury doesn't seem to be too serious. He should be back soon. Obviously, we mentioned Patrick before. We're both placed on IR. The Laina injury doesn't seem to be too serious. He should be back soon. Obviously, we mentioned Patrick before. We wish him the best. Hopefully, he can get back out there soon. In Pittsburgh, defensive Mike Matheson, he's out indefinitely with an upper body injury.

Mike Sullivan said it's going to be week to week. That's the RA injury report. All right, what's bugging you? What's bugging you? We're saving ground, I guess, for the et cetera. No, I didn't mean you mentally. I meant physically. you what's bugging you no we gotta say we say we're saving grandma gears for the etc well i know i i didn't mean like uh like you mentally i meant physically like it's the ra injury report you got any bumps and bruises from the trip sore nostril

i was only one night only one night now white credit card you're good yeah no no i'm feeling i'm feeling good i like i said i if anything my heart rate's up because the two cups of coffee i was i was you know a little tired from the trip just one night i had a late night at that tin roof not not buckled just having fun hanging out with the preds and whatnot oh you didn't mention my injury my fucking knees i had to get paul pierced out of there in the in the studio last night i had gretz pushing pushing me out of there after my river dance. Yeah, no, I'm feeling good. What were you going to say, Whit? I had nothing. My body feels horrible.

I think I know what you were going to say. You were going to say, I'd imagine the ice bags that would be on Barnaby's knees if this ECHL thing goes down. What the hell is happening? Well, nothing anymore. Oh, okay. We're going to jump up to that. I don't know. Did you guys want to do it now?

I think we need a little excitement right now, R.A. Absolutely, yeah. I had labeled this Comeback Kids in our outline, but apparently it's all for naught. You know, our buddy Merles, of course, he came back. He started a little comeback in Sweden, dusted off the skates, got back out there. It was looking good. I don't know if that made other guys scratch the itch but all of a sudden sean avery

decided he wanted to play again he reached out to the yolando solo beers and then it started this like sort of twitter ripple effect all of a sudden matthew bonnaby chimes in if avery signs in toronto i'll sign with any anyone in that division you can play me as much as torts did he said he seems like he's really itching to get back at Avery. The Jacksonville Iceman replied, they're thinking about it with a little emoji. And then Bonneby said, I'm very excited for what the next few days might bring with the East Coast. Then Big George LaRock chimes in,

I want to make a wish. Can a team in the EHL sign me for at least one game against Sean Avery? These guys are lining up to punch Avery's head into the coast. But then it was a big sock at the end of the day. It felt like a wrestling thing. You know, like there was a big work. But then all of a sudden, Orlando released Avery on Friday. Avery went on Instagram.

He said he was missing his kid too much. He wanted to go home. He thanked Orlando for the opportunity. He skated with him for a couple days. So it looked like it might be an absolute circus in the coast turned into a big wah, wah, wah. Well, I mean, I don't think it was Merles who sparked him. I think he'd been talking about it for a while.

Like, he's pretty active. And, I mean, when you retire, you get a little bored sometimes. You know, you're sitting around. Maybe sometimes the roles aren't coming. Avery moves the needle. I'll say that. The guy goes back to the coast for three days, and there's 50 people lining up to try to play against him, to fight him.

It's like, that guy gets people talking. That's what he does. Oh, my God, would that have been a treat. And now think ra when you were describing it you said sign in toronto i'll sign somewhere else you meant to say orlando okay yeah my brain like honestly i don't even know i said that my you know sometimes the leafs are on everybody's mind buddy like i don't blame it they're fucking wagging right now i'm going to actually you know what bunting is gonna lap those fucking guys when i'm gonna go back on my statement i'm gonna stick with what originally came out of my mouth just like hey here's another one for you i think austin matthews should be considered for the selkie as well if you watch

his defensive game hey he commands the ice just as much as Kopitar would. Kopitar got one, and he was able to put up 100 points the year he won it. Matthews Fenoris. While we're at it. And Campbell, given the recent dip, still has a chance to pass Igor Shosturkin for the best goalie in the NHL.

Hey, how about him right now? He is freaking humming man he's gonna win the vesna yeah he might win the fucking mvp too the way he's playing he has a save percentage that i think only has been matched by jacques plant in the history of the nhl 941 if he should hold yeah which which which if i'm a rangers fan i'd be very nervous it's yeah you have this world-class goalie but i don't know like this it's almost like lundquist in the way where they had this the best goalie in the world and then like other than that it's like without them is the team as good as their as their points in their record show i

don't know yeah just 22 goals allowed in his last sorry 22 goals allowed his last 13 stats and only carolina has allowed a fewer goals than the Rangers thus far. Interesting. Yeah. We were just talking about guys banged up, and I don't know. Right now it's been a tough week for the officials, man. Last Monday I was at the Avalanche Bruins game, and Nate Dogg, our buddy, he was not disciplined. He inadvertently whacked the linesman with a stick after faceoff.

He was going to hit Thomas Noshik. I guess he apologized to the lineman shortly after. And people think he got a break because the league is supposed to have a zero-tolerance policy. I guess the official said it was an accident. That was apparently enough for the NHL, not even a fine. I mean, listen, I'm not saying he should have been fined. But, you know, when you have a zero-tolerance policy and a guy, even by accident, whacks a ref, should anything happen there or what, Biz?

So some media members are saying he's, like, getting out of hand, with some of his antics he's just a really intense kid in this case he's 100 trying to whack the centerman who got him with his butt end he just so happens to hit the ref like it's so obvious when you watch it it's so obvious from the overhead because you could tell how quickly he goes out and extends it i mean like it seemed like a bit of a love tap so i think this is a big fat fucking nothing burger and if you guys no but but if you have a different opinion ra like do you agree that he was going for the other guy no absolutely and like i said i'm not advocating he should be it just that you know when you say a zero tolerance policy that that's zero tolerance and it shouldn't be, whether in other words, that implies if it's an accident,

you should still get a fine. Oh, okay. You know, I thought that that would mean on just like if there was genuine intention. Like, I mean, if a guy makes an accident and he makes an accident,

right. I don't know. Does zero tolerance mean like, I don't agree with that. All right. I think zero tolerance is if you mean to do it, like no matter what happens, it could be light. It could be rough. It's like you're in trouble, but tolerance is if you mean to do it like no matter what happens it could be light it could be rough it's like you're in trouble but when you don't mean to do

it it's pretty obvious i'm sure the ref even said he knew he didn't mean to i know i'm i'm not disagreeing with you i'm just you know i'm i'm just saying like when you say zero tolerance means like even if it's an accident like guys still get like penalties or fined if they do something by accident so and i love listen i love the nate dog i'm a huge fan of his i'm not saying he should get fined look at r.a going at the nate dog no no i'm saying i'm going to the nhl i'm going up the nhl saying if you say zero tolerance and and that means anything it means no tolerance at all for nothing whether accidental or not i'm not going to date i'm saying the league is not saying it is not backing the zero tolerance policy that's the league did nate not like dab you up in the hallway last time at the garden or something they got smoked

i didn't even go down and say hi i was like yeah they got fucking whacked at what do you think uh whit sounds a little it sounds a little personal to me i think i think we're i think we got no chance at a sandbagger with crosby and m.A. But there was absolutely no, no. Everybody knows what happened with Witt's old team, though. There was the other awful clip that went viral. South Shore Kings, this guy on the team, sucking a line. The disgrace of an organization. I mean, just an absolute ugly play.

That is not the same, like, they got the same name. But, I mean, listen, there's the younger kids. That's like a junior league team. And that kid is one of the biggest idiots I've ever seen in my life. A disgraceful exhibition that should be kicked out of hockey for years. If that was my kid, oh, my God, I would hold his arms behind him and let the ref sucker him after the game. Because to act like that and to go, first of all, he hits the ref first. If you watch the clip, he actually bumps sucker him after the game because to act like that and to go first of all he hits the ref first if you watch the clip he actually bumps into him on the boards and then you go and you see him actually just straight up sucker guy i've never seen anything like that to

disgrace i look at the alumni and and the example they set whether it was guys getting kicked out of their bill at houses um kicked out of their high schools, keeping their cars. I just, disgrace of an organization. I mean, it looked like you... They should be, A, they should be treated, they should be kicked out of every peewee tournament moving forward in Quebec. It looked like he checked them, basically.

I mean, he saw them, he kind of ran into them. Then he gave them that extra shove. That's why the linesman tossed them. I thought he was giving them a penalty, but someone said, no, he was telling them to get get out the penalty benches weren't on that side uh so either way he was he was that's the worst you're late in the shift and it hits the ref and it goes back the other way and you just want you just want to clock him right in the face but you don't because you're not fucking crazy you're a human being one thing that's ridiculous to me is all everyone's hearing in canada and the united

states is there's a shortage of referees they need more referees people don't want to do it anymore yet as you hear that news you're seeing more and more clips of guys like attacking the referees and fans screaming at referees it's it's it's asinine and the fact that people like aren't understanding referees are there to do a job most of the time they're getting paid very little money if any and they're taking abuse why would they want to do it so as i've said before in minor hockey for kids that are younger parents kids are like shut up don't say anything to the ref keep your mouth shut and for sure don't punch them in the face yeah he was being for life from the USPHL.

That was the league. I guess they're not even a sanctioned league. A few people tweeted saying they're not. USA Hockey doesn't even sanction them. And people, a bunch of refs, I got DMs saying, oh, this is bullshit. This is why I quit reference. This was Sean Cormier 08 on Twitter. Shit like this is exactly why I quit reference.

I know hockey. It's not worth volunteering my time to get harassed. This is the reason we have such a shortage of refs in Ontario. We have a shortage here in Massachusetts as well. And, you know, people stop being dickheads to the refs. It's a thankless job, man. And, you know, you can't have a game without ref. Like, to make a comparison, one of my old jobs,

like you can't run a building without a custodian or you can't run a hockey league without referees. So stop fucking with the refs. Let them do their job. Leave them alone alone it's tough enough as it is so all right you should uh you should go through the program and become a ref i might need to work on my fucking crossovers first specifically going left to right it's a little struggle for me when you're talking to the coaches you can work on everything sorry mr eloquence over there yeah i can use a lot of work on things uh Sorry, Mr. Eloquence over there.

Yeah, I can use a lot of work on things. All right, boys. Like I said, we had a second interview. I think we should probably send it to Natalie Spooner, eh? All right. Well, first off, we do want to let you know that this next interview is brought to you by our friends at Sling TV. Boys, this Coach Prime show has been unreal so far on Bastl's network, man.

Absolutely great stuff. It's a real fly on the wall, behind-the-scenes look at so far on Bastl's network, man. Absolutely great stuff. It's a real fly on the wall, behind-the-scenes look at a major college program that's changing the game, and the new episode is on at 8 p.m. tonight on Sling TV. And if you love watching live sports but you're tired of the high prices, it's time to take control of your TV experience. It's time you go out to Sling. Watch exclusive new Bastl content and past episodes of Chicklets and the Yak plus a whole bunch more.

Sling is the place where your favorite sports channels like ESPN, FS1, TNT, and more come together for less. And it's the cheapest way to watch college hoops, the NBA playoffs, the entire Formula One season, and more. Sling is easy to set up, it's easy to use, and there's no contracts. Sign up now and try it absolutely free whatever you're into sling is where you can find the live sports you love all in one place so go to sling.com slash barstool to sign up now and try it for free and don't forget to watch coach prime episode three tonight at eight o'clock on sling and catch up on all the prior episodes as well and now without further ado we're going to send it to gold medal winner Natalie Spooner.

Well, it's a huge honor to bring on our next guest. She just got back from China, where she won her second Olympic gold medal for ice hockey. She also has a pair of world championship gold medals and has been representing Canada on the international stage for about 15 years now. Not to mention she kicked ass in college at Ohio state for a few years. Thanks so much for joining us on the spit and chiclets podcast,

Natalie Spooner. Congratulations on the gold medal, Natalie. Thanks. Thanks so much for having me. You must be going crazy making the media around since you got back, huh? It's been a little wild, but it's been fun. I mean, I got, I actually got the gold medal right here. Um, it's super fun to be able to share it with Canada and lots of little girls are going to be, you know, super inspired by this. So the more the merrier.

Sarah said it's so heavy. She needs like a medic on staff to give her constant massages and acupuncture because of the weight of it. Right. It is really heavy. If you wear it for a long time, you're like your traps get sore back. Your neck muscles get sore. It's worth it. It is really heavy. If you wear it for a long time, you're like your traps get sore, back of your neck muscles get sore. It's worth it. It's worth it. Take us through the post-game celebration. I mean, we were in the locker room the whole time. Where did it lead to? Like, bring us through that experience. stayed on the ice as long as we were allowed. And then we got kicked off the ice.

So we made it to the locker room. We partied there for a while. There was actually a few girls who had to get drug tested. So they were a little late to the party, but we had so much fun. I mean, I think like most people from watching our team saw that we like to dance. We like to sing. So the party had a lot of that in the locker room, pretty pumped. And then eventually they were like, okay, we got to hit the showers.

You guys got to go back to the village. So we took the party back to the village. Obviously, it looks a little different with COVID Olympics. We had to stay in the Canada house to party. But no, it was still a blast. Who led all the dancing? Because I noticed that you guys were posting videos even before the gold medal game. Was that a i noticed that you guys were posting videos even before

the gold medal game like is that was that like a little ritual that you guys were doing to specifically that song you guys had like choreographed dancing going on as well yeah missy elliott so um we had a like during lockdown i guess we were like in a bubble right so we couldn't really do anything so we have a lot of like zoom activities like we did um like crafting a vase and then we did hip-hop dance and that was the dance we learned and then that just became a ritual where like we would do that before as like a warm not really as a warm-up but like during our warm-up i have to say we got pretty good by the end that like we were nailing it so you're like you're gonna be the next Seth Rogan making all the vases were you guys doing like clay like the clay vases yeah they I some people were good some not so good but yeah we did lots of activities is that when you guys had time

to paint your nails because the biggest thing that popped and all these pictures and these close-ups were on your guy's wedding uh finger It looked like you painted your nail gold. There it is right there. Yeah. I think it was Sarah Nurse got like a nail painting kit because obviously you normally get your nails done for a big tournament, but because of COVID, we couldn't go to the nail salon.

So we all had to just do our own nails. So that was the money. You and your husband are gonna be like patrick swayze and demi moore and ghost making a vase uh when you get home i've i've seen that scene i can only imagine it now you've learned a new craft yeah we'll see we'll see if he lets me put it up in the house though well i think you gotta tell the story of how you uh how you met your husband okay like at calgaryede. So I met my husband at Calgary Stampede. Well, if you ask me, it was at Calgary Stampede.

If you ask him, it was on the ice because he was a skills coach. I didn't realize it was the same person. So until he flipped me on the dance floor at the Calgary Stampede, and then it was love since then. Usually the Stampede's like the meeting of maybe one night stand you got a lifetime out of it that's great

one in a million for for those uh americans listening you've got to describe the calgary stampede because they might not take my word for it oh it's like a huge party um pretty much they shove as many people as possible into like tents um there's like bull um i don't even know what you call them not bull racing bull riding bulls bull riding um uh we met at an event called bull busting that was like the name of the event um and then there's like the truck wagon races there's a whole bunch of like actual stuff that's like real cowboy stuff and then there's like the party bit which is what we we watched the actual horse stuff but then we pretty much just partied most of the time what's it like for him like having a celebrity in the household like you must be on this like

insane media run right now i'm sure you did so after your first gold medal so like what's it like for him like how does he handle it all uh he's good at like poking fun at himself like he sent uh like we all got like videos before the olympics um of like from our families and like he was sitting up at my we have a cottage in muskoka so he's sitting up at the cottage like having a beer being like hey it's mr spooner here like his last name's not spooner but like he calls himself mr spooner as a joke so like all the girls just love it and yeah so he just he embraces it i was the olympic village all the other stuff were you able to see any other events yeah we uh you know during the first few games i didn't go to many events some of the girls went and saw like big air.

But I went to pairs figure skating, which like, I love all the figure skating. Like that's pretty crazy. I mean, I got to be on battle of the blades and try figure skating. So I think I had like a new appreciation for like just how hard it is. And then what else did we hit up? Oh, we went to some speed skating and. Oh God, there's quite a few. We were hoping we could be able to watch the men play, but they got out early. So too many, too many, too many drinks.

Fuck on that, guys. Yeah. Don't don't remember too well. I was a little overtired. Wasn't much sleep. Was the food a disaster over there? Like people saying online, I was that overblown. Like, how was that situation? It was pretty rough. rough it was pretty rough we tried to make the best of it

um but yeah like it was like the meat was either like really really dried or it was like really fatty meat there was one time i was standing in line and it was i think it was like a ukrainian guy in front of me i can't remember but there's like a young Chinese man behind serving it and they were like he's like wraps and he's trying to find out what the meat is that's inside so he's like what is the meat what is the meat and then like the guy was like I don't know what you're saying right and he like he like looks at him he goes crack crack crack I'm behind here and I just burst out laughing so then like the young guy behind the counter burst out laughing and then he's like yeah yeah like it's a duck it's definitely but like i was just i thought it was like the funniest thing i'm like this is how we now

communicate what the mystery meat is still better than subway i thought you were gonna say that even the guy didn't know what the meat was that's like that's china we're not sure so luckily luckily he knew but yeah then we got into the conversation with the girls like are all animal noises the same in every single country or like are they different good question that's interesting but if you do this you gotta know it's a duck yeah yeah luckily he knew he knew and then he started dying laughing too and he could barely serve me but it worked out as far as that when you guys were uh at the olympics were you guys at least to be together when you were there or were you just quarantined beforehand like because i know you said you guys were doing a lot of these zoom calls yeah it was beforehand

so we were in a bubble in calgary before we left so we had a lot of zoom calls there but then once we were in the village like we were obviously allowed to go we were you know covid tested every day um we're we had to wear masks like you have to wear masks around the village but we're allowed to be around our team and even around like at first when the guys came in we weren't allowed to be around like any of the guys hockey players but then once they were there for a few days like when people started coming in like how i gave them a few days and then we're allowed to hang out more you just mentioned the team we haven't even gotten to the game yet you ladies tore through the olympics you went seven and oh uh sarah get you guys on the board you ladies on the board early three nothing lead going on that third period it was three one were you kind of like nervous at

that point did you know you had it what was the attitude in the locker room going into that third period uh you know what we we were feeling pretty good i think we prepared so much for these games like we had gone through every single scenario pretty much in all the games leading up to it um that we knew like we had an awesome pk we called our pk the power kill because they were that good um you know we had a really good power play so we were just like let's you know keep the pedal to were just like, let's, you know, keep the pedal to the metal and keep going. Obviously they, you know, got another one, but then with 12 seconds, we were like, we can hold on to this. And yeah,

I think we just felt pretty confident. We had been creating so much offense through the tournament and just kept, kept rolling. So obviously that quote that you had before the game amplified right before you know the gold medal game like what made you say it did you even realize you said it like did it make you a little bit more nervous and add pressure I asked Sarah Nurse the same thing and she said it didn't it didn't affect her at all it affected me it is I actually I don't even remember exactly when I said it I hadn't been interviewed in a few days. So I was like,

I'm not sure where this came from, but you know, like looking back, like we have the most respect for the American players. So the, obviously the team we want to be playing against, they're so skilled, like they're the reason why we're as good as we are because they push us every day to be better. Right. Like after they beat us in 2018, it was like, we got a job to do here and like, let's get better. And it's always in the back of your mind. So, um, I think really maybe why I said that is because we wanted to put

on such a dominant performance, um, just to make sure that we've obviously gone to overtime and shootouts with them in the past. And we wanted to make sure that we weren't ever going to put ourselves in that, you know, scenario again, like we needed to get the job done in regulation. And then obviously you end up scoring that first goal and, and probably alleviating a lot of the pressure off yourself for that quote. And then they ended up taking it back. Like what was the feeling on the bench when they said, nah, nah, no goal. Yeah. Obviously like super exciting, but early on in the game,

we knew we still, you know, keep pushing and just to keep the energy up and nurse, he like looked at me and was like, sorry for going off side. I was like, don't worry. She's like, I owe you one. And she literally went out. I think it was like 40 seconds later in sports. I was like, sweet. Thanks.

We're good now. We're good. We're good. So I was amazed. And it was great to see how many people watch the game in the U S it was an 11 Eastern start. I think it's the second most watched game hockey game here. And it's quite a long time. And since you started playing internationally, 2010 is I think when you

started representing the women's team, like what's it been like to see the growth, not only in Canada, but the U S as well, where now women's hockey is reaching such a different level. Yeah, it's, it's amazing. I mean, even from, you know, I was at the Olympics in 2014 to 2018. Now the skill and the speed of the game is getting so much faster, like and so much better, even every four years, which is pretty amazing. And I think it's only going to keep getting better because you see these young girls that get skills, coaches and skating coaches and they have all everything, you know, so early on. And I think that, you know, the numbers, the people watched our game, it's a testament to just how, you know, there is a market for our game and people do want to watch it. And now it's about getting a pro league in North America and making sure that,

you know, all those young girls that got to see us play that, you know, were inspired by us can see us on the daily basis. Cause it's only going to help the game of women's hockey. And we're going to get so many more of those young girls that are going to want to be, you know, playing in a pro league or playing for team Canada or playing for team USA. So it's just, you know, hopefully keeping this momentum going and you know,

getting that league up and running. Well that and getting their own Tim Hortons dolls. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I think MPP and both Sarah nurse had a special edition doll come out through Tim Hortons and obviously more brand deals to come. I want to talk about a few of those girls pushing the pace for women's hockey, aside from yourself.

MPP, is she like the goat of all female hockey players? For sure. I mean, it's almost comical. We have to laugh about it with how many overtime goals she scored for us. You know, we call her Captain Clutch for a reason. But, I mean, even in the rivalry series against the U.S. leading up, like, she scored two games in a row in three-on-three overtime.

And, like, we were like, how? Like, there's not even an answer how, but, like, it's just so funny because, like, it just, she's that good that it's like, okay, put her up throughout the day, like, she'll go score. And then, you know, in these big gold medal games, like, she's the only player that's ever scored a goal in in the final game in like all four olympics so like it's kind of mind-blowing how good she is and that like she does that what's her demeanor off the ice she seems super chill she is super chill she's super nice um works so hard it's just like a great human being like so kind

i got to room with her at the olympics and like we're really good friends like we go on some vacations and stuff together um she's just awesome what did you uh what did you make of her kind of turning down or not kind of but turning down the opportunity to maybe join that east coast hockey league team like did you talk to her about it was an easy decision for what went through her mind on that if you if you don't mind sharing yeah we actually didn't hear about it like um obviously we were enjoying ourselves at the olympics so i didn't even know it happened until i got back but i mean kudos to her to throw it back to them and say like help grow the women's game like it it's true like our games are not the same game like it's it's different but they're different in great

ways right and they both deserve to have that same platform and they both deserve to be watched games are not the same game like it's it's different but they're different in great ways right and they both deserve to have that same platform and they both deserve to be watched um so i mean like big ups for her just to you know say help us grow our game right absolutely we gotta shout out your goalie too and renee debian i mean that first game versus the americans the preliminary round incredible she was like a cat like out there. She's been playing with her for, cause I know last time you won, it was Shannon was the goalie last time. How long have you been playing with Ann Renee for?

So Ann played in 2018 also. And then after that, she took a few years off. She was an accountant for a while. And then decided to come back. I mean, like Biz and Whit, you guys got to see her firsthand at the all-star game um just like her lateral movement her you know she makes those huge saves like it's pretty crazy how how good she is but also like nothing phases her like she's the most relaxed person that like you could do anything to her and like she'll just she's fine like it's it's pretty crazy and really cool to see because i I guess as a goalie, that's, that's pretty good.

But she's, I mean, she's amazing. And she held us in a lot of games and I mean, we need her. You mentioned she took, took some time off and became an accountant. Who, who, who are some of the girls who have the wackiest jobs on the team? Because I don't know if a lot of people know this listening, like you guys have to balance it where you, you know, maybe the, the the maybe the amount of money you guys are making playing hockey can't uh can't like help pay for your your living so you guys got to figure outside jobs oh man i'm trying to think oh like the girls on the team now i mean the past year we obviously haven't no one's really

been working but i mean there's some in broadcasting there's been some in like kind of media communication roles before. Probably accounting would probably be the best one. Maybe the most boring job in the world. It doesn't surprise me a goalie did it. They're a little odd usually. Yeah, for sure. Maybe she'll go back to accounting later on in life.

Who knows? I had a backup goalie when I was in the EIHL who worked at a rental car place so we would always give them a little bit of a hard time but like not not in a bad way but just you know it's just kind of a random job to have when you're a backup goaltender playing pro hockey for sure all the rental cars you needed though yeah exactly we we know the hate with the americans is real i mean you you teams play each other all the time when you do like the Bond Storm and tours and stuff. How bad does the shit talking on the ice get? Does it get pretty nasty, the chirps?

You know what? It doesn't get too bad. Like we used to have a player, Haley Irwin, who was like great at chirping. They've got a few, like they used to have the Lameroo twins who were pretty rugged around the edges. Like maybe I just don't hear it

because I'm a terrible chirper um like I can't think of anything like that quick um like I don't even know maybe like a girl tells me I'm heavy if I fall on them or something like I have nothing to say like um but yeah no I don't I don't know like it does get like heated obviously um and it's rough but no I think we one of my teammates when we were playing the Swiss, she, she had a funny story and I wish she could tell it because the way she tells it's hilarious. So there's one shift, like this girl was following her like all around the ice.

And she looks at this Swiss girl and goes like, like kind of trying to trip her. Like, are you going to do this the whole game? And the Swiss girl looks at him and goes, that's the plan. And then she's like, so you are. And she him goes that's the plan and then she's like so you are and she goes that's the game plan and so we were she told this story we're like oh my gosh like how do you not just start laughing like you can't even surf for anymore it's just like it's just like you have to start laughing man on man wit exactly exactly you gotta we gotta do that the d zone

wit was a liability back there so they couldn't do man on man does that hate like going back to the americans that does that ever come off the ice or does it always get left in the ice just because you always play each other so often does it ever like yeah when the cafeteria dirty look something like that no no, no. I mean, we, uh, like got to play together a lot too. Obviously, um, we came together with the PWHPA. Um, so I think, you know, obviously when you put that Jersey on and you're on the ice, it's like nothing matters, but off the ice, like you for sure say hi and how's your day. And, um, you know, we obviously felt felt for decker like she's an amazing player and having that happen so early on in the tournament i mean i think most of us reached out

and just made sure that she was doing okay um hanging in there it's i mean you never want to see anything like that happen so we definitely are you know like a lot of the girls are friends with players or played with them in university or played with them in the CWHL. So there is, you know, that mutual friendship and respect. But obviously when you hit the ice, it's do or die. We've obviously had all those big games against them. I'm sure we're going to get back to the Olympics. I was just going to go back a little bit. You ended up going to Ohio State. For the ladies in hockey, how do you guys, like I know you play minor hockey. How does the recruiting process work? Is it different than the men?

How did you personally end up at Ohio State? Yeah, I mean, I think it's similar to the men. Like I tried out for Team Ontario, ended up making Team Ontario, and then my last year of high school was when they first started the under-18 Team Canada team. So I think that kind of helped me get my name out there more. But I mean, scouts were at tournaments all the time we had or games and then you get all the letters

from the universities and you kind of narrow it down my oldest brother played at Wisconsin so my whole life like growing up I had like Bucky Badger dolls and like Barbie dolls so I thought I was gonna play at Wisconsin and my mom was like let's just go see like you've already been to Wisconsin because like you visited my brother like let's just go see, like, you've already been to Wisconsin because like visit my brother. Like, let's just go see another big school. And then I visited Ohio State and I like loved it. Like, yeah, Tessa Bonham was there at the time who played on Team Canada and she showed me a great time. I also visited BU and Cornell. And then I just decided Ohio State was a spot for me.

So for somebody like yourself, like three Olympic games now, and then the next game's four years away, how do you decide, like, I still want to do this? Like, is that in your brain right now? Like I'm playing again or like, cause I imagine after you've played in three different games, you started thinking like, Oh, it's four years away. Can I do this again? Have you even thought about that yet? Or is it too soon? No, I thought about it. I don't want to do it again. I mean mean when you have like the experience and our team was like so much fun um you know even closing ceremonies they start talking about milan and we had the italian team sitting behind us and just like got us all jacked up about milan so obviously it's four years away but um you know

i think about from like four years ago to now and just how much you know i've personally improved as a player i still think like our team can years ago to now and just how much, you know, I've personally improved as a player. I still think like our team can get so much better and everyone can keep improving for those next Olympics. It'll be fine. But can we bring that? Can we bring the Chinese cook, though? No, thanks. Yeah, the Italian Olympics, everyone's going to gain 15 pounds. But you mentioned the Italian team behind you at the closing ceremonies when what's kind of your response to people and you've seen different articles.

I don't agree with them where they say, well, it's just the US and Canada. Like this is kind of ridiculous. No other countries can compete. Like what do you think helps kind of change that in a sense? Yeah. I mean, I think it's still like there is other, other countries that do compete and we have to be, you know, good. Like you see Finland, they beat us in the 2019 world championships. I think,

you know, Czech Republic is coming up. If you watch Japan play even now, like they play such a structured game and they're like, they all play exactly how they need to play to win. So I think that there's a lot, you know, still developing. Like we're pretty lucky that in Canada and US,

like we get to play best on best all the time. And I think if we do get a pro league here, like it'll attract a lot of those players from other countries that will then help develop them and be able to, you know, then bring that back to their countries. And it's going to level out the playing field a lot. But I mean, I can't believe in 2022, we're even talking about, you know, taking women's hockey out of the Olympics because the game has come so far. And it's only, you know, the beginning for our game.

Like it's, it's only going to keep improving when women don't have to have jobs and play at the same time when they can just focus solely on training, like the guys get to do, you know, the level is just going to take off. training like the guys get to do, you know, the level is just going to take off. As a player, do you get to round table with people in maybe power positions about your ideas and the other girls' ideas in order to how to grow the game? Yeah, for sure. Obviously, with the PWHPA, it's a players association. So kind of, you know, putting on the table what each of us think, you know, we need to

be at our best and to be able to play in a pro league and um then it's you know finding the funding and the sponsors um and just keep showcasing our sport uh you know we had the dream gap tour where we got to go around to a lot of different places um and just show our our sport and see all the little fans in the stands and even their parents and everyone cheering i think it just shows that there is a market for this game and people do want to watch it. And we just need to get, you know, whether it's, you know, on TV, we need to get on TV. We need to get the sponsors. We need to get following. And people just need to know where we're playing other than every four years.

People watch us. Obviously, they want to see us in the Olympics. But I mean, people do want to watch Mary Philly play all four years along. So it's about, you know, making sure they know where we're playing and how to find us. Jeff Merrick mentioned him and Elliot do the 32 Thoughts podcast. How he was thinking it'd be a great idea to get some sort of like a Netflix documentary following a bunch of you girls throughout a season. And I was listening. It's a pretty good idea.

I don't know if he's chatted with it with other people, but that would be cool to just see what goes into it and how much preparation and how professional you guys are in a sense of like, people don't know. They just see every four years, but to get to, you know, see the day to day,

I think it could be huge. I mean, I think I agree too. I don't know how that would happen, but our team also has some pretty good personalities that i think just like letting the fans meet the players right like normally we're behind these cages no one really gets to see us gets to meet us um so having that and them getting to meet all the different characters we have on our team like i always say like what made this team so special is that

everyone was different and that they embraced all the differences. And like we had a blast because everyone was just wild. So I think that it would be really cool for the world to meet the girls on the team and get to see their personalities and what makes them tick and how they are on a day-to-day. I always like to ask who was the court jester in the locker room. Like let's say when things were maybe a little bit chill, somebody would come in and crack a joke or i mean maybe not in the ladies case like rip a big fart or whatever it may be well that one didn't happen but um oh boy we had a lot we had a lot

of good i mean emma malte she's a young one she's just a a little firecracker who's always dancing. But Soupy, she's our third goalie, so she didn't dress a lot of the games. Oh, yeah. She is, like, she would come up with songs for us. Like, she'd be singing to us. Like, I mean, she brought energy and was always so positive and just, like, a light every time she walked in the room. You also mentioned about, like, getting more in the spotlight and, you know, being on TV more. Obviously obviously you're not shy to that type of stuff. You mentioned the battle of blades and you're also on the amazing race. I don't know if it was the North American one or just the Canada one. So you've done a, a massive amount of stuff just away from the rink.

I mean, I like challenges, I guess something new. And I just kind of go for it. I mean, I think our goal going on amazing race was like, don't get kicked off first. And we ended up making it to the finals. We came second, but we made it there. We ran the whole race. We had a blast doing it. I skydived, which I never thought I would skydive. I puked in the plane and I puked in the air and I puked on the ground, but I did it.

Like, if you watch it back back like my guy is wearing a full ski helmet and everyone else guy is just like wearing a little hat because like I was like buddy you have to lean to the left because like I'm probably gonna puke on the right so it was not great that episode but that was episode one and it was you know great after that and then bow the blades I mean I got to skate with an amazing skater who you know olympian andrew pogey and um definitely not a little bit nervous because i'm much bigger than figure skaters like probably double the size of figure skaters but um we did it we danced i was thinking we would just be doing spirit fingers the whole time but we didn't we actually did some lifts and some choreography

and had a blast were you somebody who ever figure skated growing up or was that your first time in battle of the blades that was my first time with the toe so how crazy is it fell a lot it's crazy it's crazy like you cannot go like you cannot lean forward like half the time i was skating too they're like i don't know how you're not face planning i'm like this is how i would like skate but um it's, I face planted a lot. Like when I, the, probably the first like two weeks of skating, I was just like bruised all up and down my arms. My whole knees were bruised. Uh, it was just, it was not good, but we did it.

We did it. Luckily I didn't, I didn't toe pick in like a performance. Who was your partner again in, um, in the amazing race? Was it Megan Mickelson? Yeah. Megan Mickelson. And she's a former. Oh, I played with her brother, Brendan. Yeah. Yeah, great guy. So she's a former player.

She had a tough injury and wasn't able to end up cracking the lineup this time, but she's done a wonderful job transitioning into broadcasting. Now, what were some of the wild stories along the way through this amazing race? What's the day-to-day like on a competition like that oh boy okay so well first of all like you get there and you're it's pretty much like quarantine for the first five days you're like stuck in a hotel room and then they come and search your bags and they take everything that you're not allowed to have so you can't have phones no magazines no like only clothes pretty much um and then even when you're in the hotel

rooms they take the phones out and the tvs out so you can't like find out where you are like you'll know where you are but you can't find out anything that's around that you might be doing so um every leg could be different lengths but you'd always have at least 12 hours to sleep in a hotel between and then you start running again um trying to think like i mean it was it was pretty crazy but you just like went with adrenaline just kept going like you didn't want to eat or drink that much while you're doing it because you didn't want to have to like stop and pee um yeah you just went and hoped you made it to the finish line as quick as you could oh my goodness it's like a squid games where they like

throw a tranquilizer dart in your neck and then they bring it to this like secret location and close all the blinds yeah maybe not quite like squid games oh okay yeah no death though just no death yeah no death just puking just puking in the skydiving now when you puked and when you skydive does the puke hit the ground first or do you i don't even know i was you know i get really bad motion sickness so i probably should not have chose to skydive. But Megan, like right after 2014 Olympics, she broke her hand during the Olympics. So we were like, whatever physical challenge I'll do. And then like non physical one, she'll do. And we just kind of assumed, okay, it was a physical challenge. So I'll do it. And then it was skydiving. So we get up in this like tiny helicopter, and I'm glued between the sky's legs, like who I'm going to who I'm like tandem jumping with. And I like turn,

I'm like, I don't feel good. Like you need to unclip me from you. And then, so I like, he's at the back of the, um, helicopter. And then he was like, okay, well, do you want me to just take you down? And I'm like, no, you're like throwing me out the plane. Like we're, if I, we go back, like we lose, like you need to get me to the ground. So I was like, let's just go and pray for the best. she's like when i came down mick was like cheering and then she just realized she looked at me she's like you look like a rag doll and then we had to get in the cab and normally like how the camera works i have to sit in the middle and i was like i need to sit by the window oh have you gotten any sort of offers

yet you know given the your background you've done these type of shows anything come in yet nothing yet we'll see anyone you'd want to hear from any shows you'd like to dancing with the you know, given your background, you've done these types of shows, anything come in yet? Nothing yet. We'll see anyone you'd want to hear from any shows you'd like to do. Dancing with the stars should be dancing with the stars should be all over. Yeah. That would be really fun. I would totally do dance with stars. I always thought like big brother, but I don't know if I'm cutthroat enough for big brother.

Like you have to, I think have some kind of cutthroat too. And I think I'm too nice for that. So you mean like personality? That'd be perfect for biz fuck oh yeah shriveling everyone in the oh yeah yeah yeah

what about like the next until the next games like when do you guys start playing again as a team next like what is the whole like kind of build up until Italy comes I know you Italy comes? I know you have, you know, I know you have like the, the world championships every year, but like how much time off do you have now? Well, we actually have a world championships in August, which normally

they're in April, but because of the Olympics, they put one in August. So we have that one coming up and then it'll just be April after that. And then, um, you know, we have, there's still the dream gap tour going on right now. We're not in it because we're taking a little bit of time off. So they got a game in Ottawa and then a game in Washington, um, coming up, uh, this weekend in Ottawa. And then I think the following weekend in Washington. Um, but yeah, just continuing that momentum and then hopefully, you know,

fingers crossed we get a pro league hopefully next season and we can be competing. I know you've played ball hockey before. Any chance you can make the chicklets cup this summer in Buffalo? July, Natalie, we need you. I need a ringer. Ladies there. Yes. Send me an invite. I'll see if it fits in the schedule. Consider, consider this your invite. Are you, are you a Leafs fan? I know you live in that area. Are you a big Leafs fan?

For sure. I mean, growing up in Toronto, you kind of automatically become one. I mean, it's been tough to follow while we were in China. We kind of were in like our own little world. So like coming back, trying to like catch up on what the world has been doing was tough, but definitely a Leafs fan. So hopefully I'll be able to get out to some games now that I'm back. Let's talk for the Leafs about like 30 minutes here you guys can log off what do you think Natalie

you think we're going past the first round this year or what I sure hope so I mean there's been rough patches but hopefully they can figure it out um they got the skill it's just pulling it together now what do you what do you think they need right now, Nat? You to stop rooting for them? Oh, man. I mean, I think just, you know, belief and just maybe even just, like, grinding it out at the moment. Like, it's obviously a tough part of the season. Like, it's tough.

So, just, you know, winning battles, like, making sure they're getting on teams early. I can see why you say you wouldn't be good at Big Brother. You don't want to say anything mean. You don't want to say anything critical about the Leafs, and that's why I respect you because they're the best team in every one of the finals. Anything else, R.A.?

I was going to say, what was the highlight of the trip that wasn't hockey-related? Oh. Highlight of the trip. Probably, I mean, even just being in our rooms rooms like we didn't go to watch lots of sports but we got to see um speed skating and watching you know the guys win the short track and the girls win um their relay like the night before and the night before we were about to play in our finals was pretty cool and like super inspiring for us um and then just i guess getting to meet all the other canadian athletes um, you know, getting to celebrate for a few days after and getting to hang

out with some of the hockey guys, speed skaters. Um, that was, you know, really fun, even though we had to stay, I guess like Kyung Chang, we went to all the karaoke bars. Sochi, we were partying, you know, with all of our families. So it was a little bit different this time, but still super but still super super fun and really cool when you get to hang out with like the best athletes you know in canada who you have won so many medals and it's pretty amazing did you get a chance to check out the power plants near the ski jumps i didn't go to big air but some of the girls went to big air they said it was kind of a cool atmosphere like this really like misplaced but like pretty cool that it's just there yeah because they were high from the fumes from the nuclear plant next to the to the ski it looked like the simpsons like uh springfield yeah exactly in there uh were families not allowed is that was that the case this year

yeah so that sucks china was even letting in any families. So yeah, I have three older brothers and they have a blast every Olympics they go to. So they had a little screen set up. So sometimes after the game, you could talk virtually to your family, but most of the time it was just FaceTime. So my whole family got together for the gold medal game

and my one brother drank a little too much and he has two twin babies that are two years old. So the next morning he had to get up and it was still nighttime for us. So I was FaceTiming with the babies and he was like, can you just babysit them over FaceTime quick? Like I got to go to the bathroom. So I was like, okay, what am I doing? Like singing songs to them from here? Like if they do something, I can't stop them, but okay. That's the way to go. I i'm gonna take a quick nap yeah yeah just watch them on face time and i'm in the middle of like the party like watching them we really appreciate you coming

on and and congratulations i mean what a career you've had it's gonna continue and an awesome run for your team so so thanks for joining the show and congrats on another gold yeah thanks so much so much for having me. I mean, it was great to meet you guys in, you know, at the all-star game and the support that you've shown, you know, us as players and helping, you know, grow the women's game. So we appreciate it a lot. And thanks for helping spread the word. I'll make sure I'll make sure we get you on dancing with the stars. Yeah. I'll be about that i'm not a ballerina shoulders that was something you had to learn for figure skating ballerina arms like how do you get shoulders this big to be ballerina arms i'm not sure i have no clue what that even means yeah i

know that colby armstrong did the battle of the blades and didn't he mess up his knee he was actually so good he was like amazing he figured was like, thank God he got hurt. Well, I mean, you said ballerina shoulders. He had them his whole career. So, I mean, he had the advantage going in. I was like, thank God he got hurt. Yeah, he pulled his quad. I can't remember what he pulled now.

Yeah, it's online. He was in like awful pain. But his mother teaches figure skating. And he started off skating that way. That was my season. So, I would have to compete against against him. So I was like, thank God he got hurt because it gave me a second place finish. Wow. Maybe there was a little tomfoolery behind the scenes. Maybe you were missing with his blades. A couple of nicks. No, maybe, maybe you are prime for big brother. Yeah. Only figure skating, big brother sports sports if it has to do with sports done done

we'll create our own well nat thanks so much and congratulations again uh what a great run and i'm looking forward to the next one now we're in italy yeah are you coming um if they allow people to show up and the food's not like it was uh in china for sure yeah they will they'll be they'll be fans in in italy we'll be fans in Italy. We'll be through this by then. All right. Maybe we'll see you in Buffalo this summer for a little street hockey, hopefully. Yeah, that too.

All right. See you, Nat. Thank you so much. Thanks so much. We want to send a huge thanks to Natalie for making time for us during a very hectic few days for us. She's come back from China.

She's got all these media obligations. So we really appreciate her making a few times for us idiots here on chicklets uh also want to let you know that her interview was also brought to you by cross-country mortgage when you're buying a home it can feel like you're skating on thin ice there's a thousand things that can go wrong so you you need a team that will help you navigate the home buying process cross-country mortgage has a team of loan offices dedicated to getting you the best possible loan terms available. They have an average close time of 21 days, which is ridiculously fast. They've also got a wide variety of loan types, which means they've got everything to cover everyone. We got exciting news as well. They're giving away free

barstool and Cross Country Mortgage sweatshirts when you sign up or refi or get pre-approval while supplies last. So go with cross-country mortgage. You'll experience what it's like to skate on fresh ice. Make sure to hit up crosscountrymortgage.com slash barstool right now to take care. They'll take you through the buying process. Cross-country mortgage LLC NMLS 3029. All lines subject to underwriting approval www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Check them out if you're looking to buy or refi. All right, boys, we've got some other notes here, too. The Chicago Blackhawks announced that Bobby Hell will no longer be a team ambassador for the team. They said they were redefining the role, and it was a mutual agreement earlier in the season between the player and them.

He had been named back to the post in 2008 along with Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito. Both of those guys have since passed away. The team had been frequently criticized during that time for having him on, given his history of the ugly domestic violence allegations as well as him being attributed to making some pretty awful statements. But I think after what's gone on in Chicago lately, it was the obvious move to just not bring this guy back.

Also, great news, though. We heard Avalanche TV analyst, and one of my favorite players as a little kid, Peter McNabb, he said his cancer is in remission. One of the well-liked guys in the league. Everybody raves about him. And so, Peter, we're so happy to hear that. Happy to hear you're well. And he didn't even really leave the booth.

He was still working while he was getting treatment. So kudos to him for grinding it out and gritting it out. But great news to hear about Peter McNabb. We got a – what do we call him, G? A Michisonko? When a guy fakes a Michigan. Michisonk. Merrimack's Ben Bra.

I mean, just – it was on a power play, too. So it was obviously a set play. Faked the Michigan. Talk about taking a play to make a hit to make a play. Got absolutely buried. Liam Walsh was the one who got buried. But awesome play. You guys seen it.

Any chime in here? It was a great set play. Yeah, I've seen it a lot now. Oh, you've seen it before? Well, I don't know if it's been. Not that style, right? Well, sort of. I mean, basically, I mean mean i've seen the setup of

where everyone thinks that michigan goal is going to happen and now you have so many different options coming out of it that one was sick but i mean more than anything everyone's trying all right well teams are kind of looking out for the michigan let's now get a guy flying in front of pick the puck up and it's it's it is certainly like change the way teams are playing down low when you have a guy that's that good with his hands and able to do it, you open up different options. So teams got to figure out how to defend against it. I mean, I'm sure the NHL teams are talking about making sure it doesn't happen again

because it's embarrassing when a goal gets scored like that too. Yeah, I'm sure. They were getting a little jersey pop too. It was a pretty good clip there. All these kids are doing these crazy stuff. We're going to start seeing people doing that. What's the one that Schefter was doing? The gritty?

The gritty. Yeah, like when... Schefter. Oh, man, the old man yelling at clouds are going to come out when guys start doing, like, dance cellies in hockey. We've been getting a lot of clips of the gritty. We've actually posted a few of them, but the kids are all doing the gritty.

You think in the next two years we see somebody dancing after a goal? In the NHL? Maybe in the next two months, dude. I don't know if I can do one of these afterwards. I mean, I'm sure somebody has danced before like one time, but like doing it on a regular basis

to like coin an on-ice dance. Yeah. I'm sure, like you said, Biz, old men yelling at clouds would be going crazy about it. doing it on a regular basis to like coin an on ice dance. So yeah, I'm sure. Like you said, there's old men yelling at clouds would be going crazy about it. Oh yeah. A couple of notes here. The IHF suspended Andre Dennis skin of the UHL,

the Ukrainian hockey league for a year for his racist actions toward Jalen Smerek back in September. He cannot play an IHF events or international competition in that time. The reason it took so long, I guess they had a disciplinary board being waived in or signed in or all that shit, so that's why it took several months to make this decision. But either way, they tossed him for a year for being a fucking idiot and doing what he did, which I guess is some good news this week. Earlier we did mention G, the Chicklets Cup.

We got Patrick Sharp on the YouTube. We're going to be dropping that later just want to remind you about that as well and also the other day boys was the 45th anniversary of Slapshot was Friday I wrote a blog celebrating it on Boston Sports and that was my grind my gears it's kind of a weird obscure one for this week

but I'm sure we've all been to hockey games and you look out and you see guys with the Charlestown Chiefs jerseys on you know there's usually three of them, 16, 17, and 18. What grinds my gears is when they put the name Hanson on the back of the jersey. Because in the movie, there's no names in the jersey. So anybody who knows what you get the jersey for,

you don't need to put Hanson. It's like explaining a joke after you tell it. Wow, I actually agree with this guy right now. All right. For a long time i've seen people with red socks home white jerseys where they do not have names on the back with names on the back for the fans and i think it's ridiculous i'm with you it's an absolute foolish look and it is it kind of goes along with when people have current bruins jerseys

with or on the back it's like no no he didn't wear that jersey it's kind of all the same thing but I'm with you on this one buddy wow a little backing from the boys on the old GG I don't know if I agree with wit of not having a current jersey with or on it I um I think there was one year I think you're being like you you should be at the games handing out tickets to all these jersey fouls to people. Maybe do a little piece on it. But I 100% agree with the Hanson one because if you know the jersey, you know the jersey. Exactly.

People aren't going to be like, oh, the Hanson. You know what I mean? Once you see the jersey, you get it. It's redundant to put Hanson on the back, and it's also inaccurate because, like I said, they didn't have it on the back in the fucking movie. And wait, I think there actually was one season where the Bruins't have it on on the back in the fucking movie and what i think there actually was one season with uh the bruins did have the name on the back there might have been one season with or had it on the back but if it's not that season then the jersey's inaccurate you got to keep it correct no i was just saying now how they have like the current

bruins jersey but or will be on the back i get you yeah so it's like not even the one he wore which he didn't have his name on the back either. Well, the one that he wore is like 60 pounds, and you'd be sweating your ball bag off because it's made of 100% wool. Well, if you want to be authentic, you can fucking be authentic, Paul. Big deal if you sweat a little bit. Look at you on TNT. And if anybody out there has that ugly-ass fucking yellow poo jersey, if anybody out there has one of those ugly-ass yellow poo jerseys,

that pussy fucking bear in the front Or on the back I don't think they should be in the garden with that I've long said that's the worst jersey ever It looks like the bear's taking a shit But shout out Marina The big time Bruins fan She loves that jersey

I constantly see her saying on Twitter She loves that jersey I'm sorry Marina, you're wrong We're team meth beer here. Crazy fucking wolfed up beer from the 70s and 80s with shoulder pads. That's the only beer we want to fucking see. That's like a beer from Florida.

Well, Charleston. Boys, you've been raving about this Tinder swindler doc. It was my assignment from Whit this week. Make sure I watched it. I watched it, boys. Listen, it didn't blow me away uh it was just another con artist documentary like this guy puts i'm a son of a billionaire and these women glom onto that and then they get taken for a ride i mean guy's a billionaire he's asking you for 25 grand after you're banging him for a month is that not that's 17 fucking red flags right there first off and

they they got hook line at sika man i didn't feel bad for anybody i just walked away like that's that was the i mean the the nine different wire one for the girl who lost the 250 like you wake the fuck up honey i know i know he must have ate her pussy good he must have been throwing some tongue darts down that badge nine different wires she was taking out credit card loans you name it just like my enemies my enemies are like babe i need the i need the big lobster tonight come on you get that credit card loan the best character in the whole movie is my enemies guard there that monster he looks like a wrestler that guy who's got the ketchup up back in the ambulance the picture they had of like the one

picture he's got the blood and then the back of the ambulance where they probably paid somebody to let him like sit in the ambulance and take a couple pictures it's just I was I was similar to you already like just an all-time scumbag this guy and what's amazing is he's still out there like living his life like doing his thing

it's it's it's nuts. I include the blog that Pat wrote a postal. He's getting like $20,000 appearance fees at a nightclub. Like who the fuck wants to go hang out with this guy? Like, you know, the people still think he's a big, that is the most bizarre thing about our society.

The fact that he's able to now like financially benefit from, from putting, you know, other people in bankruptcy. That's the one thing. As silly and dumb as it all was, there's a part of it that infuriates you, the fact that he gets to walk the street now.

I think in some countries, any type of fraud, you're in for life. They don't fuck around. Really? Yeah, oh yeah. Some countries, I mean, people on Twitter would probably know more than me and be able to comment in depth about which countries it's way more serious.

I want to say in Sweden it's pretty serious, where if you get caught with fraud. What's up, Marls? One of those girls was Swedish, I think. No way. All right, you said you didn't feel bad for anyone, and those girls are so dumb, but it's like they're so desperate to meet a guy i mean it's i i guess i don't like feel bad for them because it's their stupidity that caused them all

these issues but part of me is like oh these poor girls like just totally taken for a ride by this guy and continually sending them money and now they're just trying to like get their life back buying off getting rid of this debt it was just a horrible story and he he is like a master manipulator but the bodyguard that bodyguard guy he should be in the wwe he'd kill it i uh i thoroughly enjoyed the one girl who got ripped off by him but kept him on the hook and she was with the clothes yeah with the clothes i took all of his clothes and then ended up uh basically getting him to to admit that he was traveling back. And she was able to call the authorities.

And then she got the witness's demise, too. Like, the crazier. Oh, the text he was sending. I know. He was going fucking nuts, dude. That's the craziest part about these people who want to go hang out with this guy who were given 20 grand appearance fees. Like, he was going nuts because these women weren't, like, getting duped for him frauding them so he was like flipping the script on him i think he should have a bullet in the back of his brain i couldn't believe at the

end because i was like all right well these three women are on the show and the one girl's 250 grand the other one's 80 grand whatever and then at the end they said he's gotten 10 million dollars over the course of his life it's like yeah if, if somebody took him out in the street, we should, yeah, we should, I'm not going to say what I was going to say, but yeah, he shouldn't be around anymore. I think a lot of people would be okay with it, Whit. Suck a bone every minute.

Either way, the doc itself, I don't know. I just thought it was run a mill. I know there's been a big hullabaloo about it, but I didn't think it was all that great. Actually, I wrote another blog this week. Whit, I'm not sure if you read it. My top 10 Boston movies of all time time i've been working on it forever i finally got a creative burst one night after a session and and banged out about 80 of it and uh i don't know it seemed

like it got a little bit of heat online and uh with boston yeah i saw it already and i guess i hadn't even heard of four of the movies. Which ones? Just some of the top. I don't remember exactly right now, but it was like. Read the list, RA. Do your one through 10 for people who haven't read the blog. Yeah, let me pull it up right here. Hang on one sec. Oh, you can't remember off the top of your head?

Not the order. I can remember the movies. I don't want to fucking butcher you. No, let's try it off the top of your head. Come on. Oh, yeah. This is so popular. He's going to read one that wasn't even in the top 10. No. All right. No, I'm going's try it off the top of your head. Come on. Oh, yeah. This is so popular. He's going to read one that wasn't even in the top 10.

No. All right. No, I'm going to try it. I'm not pulling it up right now until I name them. I'm going to go. Okay. 10 was What Doesn't Hurt You, the selfie movie. Number nine, Monument Ave.

Number eight. Number eight. Was it? Oh, Gone Baby Gone. Number seven, Spotlight. Number six. I know. See, I told you.

This is fucking boring as fuck. They're already tuning out. I'll just pull them up because I'm legit not going to remember. No, I got them right here. I got them right here. You had Gone Baby Gone eight. You had Spotlight seven. Okay.

You had The Verdict. I'd never heard of The Verdict, but that sounds like a good one. Number six. You had The Friends of Eddie Coyle on number five. I've never heard of that one. You had Mystic River 4. Pretty solid movie. You had The Departed 3.

I actually think The Departed's an awful movie. I think it's just such a weird storyline and all the shootings at the end. Whatever. Disagree with you on that one goodwill hunting i absolutely love that probably would have been my number one and then your number one everyone knows where you start in it a leading role went to the sag and the oscars the town so it was just interesting because some of those movies i got to check out i didn't know anything about them yeah i mean the verdict paul newman he probably should have won his oscar for that

uh you know we obviously know him from Reg Dunlop and Slapshot. We talked about that before. But he played like a drunk lawyer who's like down on his luck, just kind of his bum scrub lawyer, ambulance chaser type. And Newman is phenomenal, dude. If you like Paul Newman and just like terrific acting, check out the verdict. The town, and the reason I went with the town, I literally had one, two, the town Goodwill Hunt. I was going back and forth, back and forth. And the reason I went with the town is, like like I said it had an intrinsic Boston thing about it like Goodwill

Hunt there were four guys from Southie and you know bullshitting and drinking beers whatever but there wasn't like a very like a distinctive Southie thing about them you know what I mean there wasn't like a Southie part of the story whereas Charlestown the town those guys were bank robbers and like that's a very intrinsic thing to Charlestown to be having bank robbers so that's why I thought it was more of a quote unquote Boston movie than Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting is having like a they're at L Street Tavern

they're like down the park but you know I think you can have four guys hanging out bullshitting like anywhere I know in specific salty spots but like you know he was a genius janitor working at MIT I just think that you know there wasn't a historical bent to anything, whereas the town was based on actual things that happened, whereas Salty.

And again, I love Go Hunting. I'm not bashing it. It was number two for a reason. But the reason I had the town number one, it was just more of a fact-based Boston thing, I guess. I noticed you had a list after of some movies that didn't make the cut, and then you had some movies that didn't even sniff making the cut, which almost I read as like these movies weren't that good. And one of those was Celtic Pride, R.A., which is an all-time classic. If you haven't watched this movie, I'm telling you, even if you're not from Boston, I think you'll enjoy it.

It's Dan Aykroyd and I think Marv from Home Alone who actually kidnaps the best player in the NBA and bring them back to their apartment. They're these Boston scumbags. A classic old school movie that I enjoyed. So I didn't know you didn't like that one. A lot of people did chime in with Celtic Pride. Daniel Stern, the guy you were talking about. They actually filmed that in Charleston as well. Kidnapping Damon Wayans, star of the Utah Jazz.

I know it's a little bit of a cult classic. I just wasn't crazy about it, didn't think it was a great movie. The other one, a lot of people chimed in on the boondock saints. What craziness? Uh, it's just, I saw it years ago. I don't know if it was young kids who watched it as teenagers fell in love

with the movie. It's not good. It's not worthy of probably a top 20 boss, the movie. So, uh, either way had to, had to clarify on that,

but listen, gang, we've gone long. We've had a couple of great interviews. Hopefully everybody listened to the show. Enjoyed it this week. And, we'll be back for more. So everybody have a fantastic week and, we'll gone long. We've had a couple of great interviews. Hopefully, everybody listened to the show, enjoyed it this week. And we'll be back for more. So, everybody, have a fantastic week, and we'll check on you next week.

Have a good one. I thought the departed sucked. Oh, fuck. As always, we like to thank our awesome sponsors here on Spittin' Chicklets. Of course, big, huge thanks to our friends at Pink Whitney and New Amsterdam Vodka for always taking care of us. Huge thanks to our new friends over at Laundry Sauce. If you're looking for some new laundry pods, guys,

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