The Hockey PDOcast - Episode 316: Super Duper Early Season Takeaways

Episode Date: October 4, 2019

Ailish Forfar joins the show to discuss takeaways from the first couple days of the new season, and help try to figure out what's real versus what's not.2:00 Early season trends9:30 Dougie Hamilton's usage12:20 Jesperi Kotkaniemi's evolution20:00 Pittsburgh's dreadful opening act25:00 The Golden Knights living up to the hype 30:00 The recognition of Mark Stone's greatness36:00 The highs and lows of the Leafs 44:00 The Jets and Rangers as good bad teams48:00 The new look Colorado Avalanche52:00 Women's hockeySee acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices If you'd like to gain access to the two extra shows we're doing each week this season, you can subscribe to our Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/thehockeypdocast/membership If you'd like to participate in the conversation and join the community we're building over on Discord, you can do so by signing up for the Hockey PDOcast's server here: https://discord.gg/a2QGRpJc84 The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Are you ready for the most ridiculous internet sports show you have ever seen? Welcome to React, home of the most outrageous and hilarious videos the web has to offer. So join me, Rocky Theos, and my co-host, Raiders Pro Bowl defensive end, Max Crosby, as we invite your favorite athletes, celebrities, influencers, entertainers in for an episode of games, laughs, and of course the funniest reactions to the wildest web clips out there. Catch React on YouTube, and that is React, R-E-A-X-X. Don't miss it. This podcast episode is brought to you by Coors Light.

These days, everything is go, go, go. It's nonstop hustle all the time. Work, friends, family, expect you to be on 24-7? Well, sometimes you just need to reach for a Coors Light because it's made to chill. Coors Light is cold-loggered, cold-filtered, and cold-packaged. It's as crisp and refreshing as the Colorado Rockies. It is literally made to chill. Coors Light is the one I choose when I need to unwind.

So when you want to hit reset, reach for the beer that's made to chill. Get Coors Light and the new look delivered straight to your door with Drizzly or Instacart. Celebrate responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden Colorado. Regressing to the mean since 2015, it's the HockeyPedioCast. With your host, Dimitri... Welcome to the HockeyPedioCast. My name is Dimitri Volovich.

and sitting across from me on a nice, comfy plush yellow couch. It's my good buddy, Alish Four of R. Alish, what's going on? Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here with you and welcome to Toronto. Yeah, it's a blast. We're recording this on a Friday afternoon. We have some technical issues,

so we've been kind of sitting around the studio waiting to make it happen, but hopefully it's all sorted out. We're coming in nice and crisp through your headphones or speaker or however you're choosing to listen at home. It's kind of an interesting part of the year because I equated to like preparing for like a final exam or something in terms of preseason where you're like cramming as much information as you can. You're trying to make your predictions, your previews, you're sort of trying to figure out

what the season's going to look like. And then once it starts, it's like really cathartic because you just sort of just like get to sit back and finally watch the games. Now for us as content producers and for myself running this podcast, it's kind of tough figuring out what to make of the first couple days of the season because like you don't want to come on here and have crazy hot takes about all this team. sucks or this team's going to win the cup or this players yeah write them off exactly but at the same time um you know we want to keep giving the people what they want to keep giving them shows we want to

keep providing analysis so we're gonna we're gonna have some fun with it we're going to kind of embrace the uncertainty and sort of um on today's episode focus on what's happened over the first couple days of the year and then maybe try to figure out what's legitimate and going to actually sustain itself through the rest of the season and what's kind of just like a one or two game aberration where it's just mayhem at the start of the year and we'll see how it goes. What have you been watching so far at the start of the year? What's kind of caught your eye for the first two days?

Well, we were talking about those first two games were such high intensity, fast pace, felt like they had been practicing all summer and clearly we're hitting their prime, all these teams. We saw like 74 goals and two nights. Really amazing to watch that. But then there was a couple boring games we mentioned.

But I think the teams, that are supposed to be firing at full cylinders are. Like, I thought the Leafs had a great debut. Obviously, here in Toronto, you're kind of... You're contractually obligated. Yeah, I've got to say that. But I think watching what's happened in the first two nights, it's very promising. But, you know, there might be a lull, but we've been spoiled.

Yeah, we have. Yeah, and it seems like every year at the start, everyone's citing the, what would you say? It was like 74 goals or something through the first two days of this season. I don't even know if that's a lot. It just felt like a lot. It does. Watching these games, especially, it feels like when there's like five games on it once, they're just trading goals back and forth. And I think every year we see this where teams come out of the gate, you score a lot of goals. It's kind of that like playground mentality. And then the coaches are going to have some tape to really go over and comb through and then sit the players down and be like, yeah, you see this stuff over here?

We're having too much fun. Yeah, we need to muck it up in the neutral zone. We can't be having fun. And so as the air gets going, and especially as like competition heats up and people start thinking about the playoffs, I feel like, you know, the mentality. changes a little bit, but the start of the year is always fun. I'm kind of curious because it's great having a player as you're just off on the show because you can actually provide sort of like functional insights into stuff as opposed to someone like myself who's never played the game. I'll try.

What's the sort of mindset or mentality at the start of a season like this where I think we see it's on a case-by-case basis a little bit where some teams, I guess, maybe out of necessity. Like the Jets, for example, I noticed yesterday, were just playing their top guys like Shafley and Wheeler and Morrissey pretty much as much as they could. and maybe that's because Paul Maurice just felt like he had to, whereas some of these other teams, you see, like, the Bruins, for example, I noticed, like, their first line was only playing 16, 17 minutes against the stars. And I imagine, especially with maybe the older players,

you probably don't want to, like, push them too hard out of the gate because they probably weren't ramping it up in preseason as much, right? Especially if you've been, like, a 10-year veteran, you're kind of just going through the motions, trying to stay healthy. Yeah, exactly. And so I imagine there's some of that, whereas for a lot of these young players, you're probably, like, trying to make a name for yourself. and this is your opportunity to shine

to get more playing time down the road. Exactly. I think as if you look at being a veteran in the league, I think you're right with easing it in, but there is a lot of high expectations on these players. But what I've noticed, I mean, I was a rookie last season in a professional league. And those first couple games,

that thing doesn't exist anymore, but still. The first couple of games, I think that nervous energy actually works in your favor. And I think we've seen that with a couple of these, I don't know, debut for young kids. your expectations are really low and it's almost like your freshman year at college you go out there and you just

try to make a name for yourself and I think that works in favor for a lot of these players like a kale McCar who came out and and obviously he had a couple games last year but this is his first big year he's got a lot of pressure on him but he he shined

and I think that's a lot of the mental game these players will have especially at this professional level they're able to come out and put that aside and own that energy and use it in a positive aspect and not be nervous whereas sometimes when you're a veteran, it's like the world's on your shoulders,

you better bring this team to Stanley Cup, and that can be hard to, I don't know, move through and to perform at your highest. But if you're coming in a league and it's your first year, you have a little bit more leeway to go out and do something and try and learn from your mistakes, right? Absolutely. I mean, we were talking before we went on the air, like the game we were focusing on on Thursday when there was all that madness and it was just a frantic pace was. Carolina and Montreal and that did not feel like a first day of the season game.

That felt like down the stretch, maybe even a playoff series. And we'll see, I think, for those two teams to play each other than the playoffs, obviously we expect Carolina to be there, Montreal, have a bit of a tougher road considering the three teams ahead of them in their own division. But just the back and forth nature of that game and how relentless the pace was, I imagine for a lot of those young players, that's probably like a fun thing to step in. into play.

And I think that kind of works in harmony with what you're saying in terms of that nervous energy where it's like you don't really even have the opportunity to sort of sit back and think you're probably hopping over the boards. You're coming back. You're trying to get a quick breather and you're back out there before you know it. No, it's got to be exciting. And if we think about the Montreal Carolina game, I think Carolina's atmosphere is something that's actually going to help them through those younger players.

They've made it a fun experience. They've embraced the fanship that's kind of come from out of nowhere. And I think that would be an amazing place to play hockey on the road or as a Carolina hurricane. And we saw that last night when the fans got into it. I think they were up to nothing. And then Montreal came back. And I feel like in the intermission, they had that conversation with their leaders on the team. Like, let's use the energy of our fans.

Let's use the energy of this storm surge that we have brewing. And they came out and turned it around. I think you have to find a way to use that energy as a veteran or as a rookie to come out and make that change. And they did and they ended up having a shootout. That must have been such a great environment to play in and think about how they can use that. I mean, they had kind of a magical year last year, Carolina. And I feel like they have an opportunity to continue that because they've got something special there. Not a lot of other teams have that.

I mean, Vegas has something similar I could compare it to. But those two places, I would love to go see a game in either of those places. brace that environment and it's so much different than like scotia bank here and it's awesome that it's like three of my favorite environments or vibes right now are in carolina in las Vegas and in Nashville so cool it kind of really sticks it really sticks into those traditionalists where it's like you can't this isn't a hockey town it's like no it's if you have a fun entertaining product that's young and fast base and embrace what the nchl is all about like fans are going to care exactly and i think that's actually something that the nchel can do so much better is is own that

those markets that like Nashville you're not growing up being like I'm going to be a hockey player or Carolina not really quite sure what goes on there in Vegas obviously so far from being a hockey hotbed but if you look at those places now and they're being successful their product is improving because they're embracing their I don't know bandwagon right and it's it's I'm going to use this for again it's electric yeah watching from my couch I'm I need to be there and I want to embrace it no wonder their team are going to be successful is because they're going to have that riding from their fans. Yeah, no, it's great for the league and it's obviously great for the sport too because I,

you know, you mentioned they're not necessarily hotbeds. And if you're a kid growing up there, you're not thinking about it. But if you're watching that team compete for a Stanley Cup and you're watching sort of the entire league embrace it, I imagine you're probably like, hey, that looks pretty cool. Maybe I'll try playing hockey, right? So it's the more eyeballs and the more people we have playing the sport, the better. And it's fitting we're talking about that as there's a picture of, I think it's Trevor Van Reneering, like dunking on a basketball hoop on the court, framed on the wall beside you.

A bunch of jerks. Yeah, let's stick with that game. I think for both of those teams, there's a couple things that I wanted to hit that I noticed from the start of the season for them. And, you know, for Carolina, one of the things that I'm watching is Douggy Hamilton and to see if he can be a bit more unleashed. Now, I think he was fifth amongst Hurricanes defensemen in usage last night. So it's kind of similar vibe to what we were talking about last year.

And there's going to be a lot of sort of hand-wringing in one-day-one. about why he's not playing more, but we saw the effect he can have on the power play where I think he directly set up a power play goal. And then there was a second one that he had an assist on, that it was just as time it expired on the power play. And so then he has the shootout winner. I think he led the team in shots or was right up there with five shots on goal. And you just sort of see the impact he had. And on the one hand, it's like if that's all he is, it's great. And the hurricanes are blessed with probably the best depth on Blue Line on any team in the league so they can afford to sort of do that.

But on the other hand, maybe this is kind of like the fantasy owner in me speaking. That's like, imagine what this guy could do if he was playing just a couple more minutes and was on the top unit power playing with the best players on the team. And I don't know. At this point, like he's been in the league long enough. Then maybe it's just like a thing that is not going to happen. And we should just sort of embrace where he's already at. Well, it's interesting because I think trying to balance that they do have a really deep back end.

but, and look how much impact he had with his limited time. It's almost like finding that perfect cushion that you're not going to push him to the point where he's going to degress, but he's at that perfect balance of what you said fifth? Yeah, I think he was fifth. That's amazing that he had that impact, though. Yeah, even Joel Edmondson played more than at a 5-15. So you think of, I think that's an omen to the coaching,

being able to know how to get the best out of your players without the wear and tear that they might need down the road. Yeah, especially I think they're hoping they're going to be playing another 15, 20 games come postseason. You'd hope so. So I think you look at it, obviously earlier we talked about this off the top. We don't know what's going to happen. But if you can get that out of your fifth defensemen, you're winning. Like I don't know many other lineups in the NHL that are going to be able to have their

fifth defensemen making that much of an impact in the game. No. So I think that's a huge testament to coaching and development. but there might be a time where they have to ask for more out of him. And if that happens, you have to hope that there's no injuries down the road. Like your players are aging. You got to be smart about that. But I was excited to see that he was able to lead the way because you're right.

There's a lot of questions around what his production can be. But, I mean, last night's was an awesome example of what you can expect at times. Yeah, it was kind of like that. I think that's what keeps people coming back for more in this whole debate. It's like so tantalizing seeing what he can do when he's put in those situations. You know, on the other end of the ice, I really like the Canadians. I know they didn't make the playoffs last year. They were one of the most exciting five-on-five teams.

And I think sometimes they get docked a little bit in people's minds or sort of how we talk about them because they don't really have that traditional superstar, right? They don't have like the guy who's on the marquee on the top of the poster who's making Max Domi. $12 million a year. Right. That's it's basically, I guess, they're their best forward or how, or I guess like the biggest star. You have Shea Weber and you have Carrie Price there, but just purely on the forwards.

And I think for this team to take that next step and make the playoffs and make a run and really realize some of this potential, it does seem like Yusperi Khadkini is probably like their best hope in terms of what they have right now of like the guy who can take that leap. And I'm not saying he's become a superstar, but really like what he showed in his rookie season, especially in the limited usage and how good he is defensively. And then that goal he scored last night where he just waited out, Petter Morassick. and roofed it on him. I mean, if he can take his game to another level, it feels like he's probably their best bet to be that sort of go-to guy

that can really carry a full line for them. Yeah, and I think you're right and your point of him waiting out the goaltender. Like, I watched that goal, and I think that's, like, that's not a rookie presence. Right. Like, veteran knowledge of the game

is knowing when to make the first move or wait it out for the goaltender. And I think you're right, and that fact that I was surprised I had to double check. He's like 20 years old. Like having that vision already is incredible. So you're right.

It's just about, I keep coming back to this, about being able to develop your players without pushing them too early. And I don't think that the HABs have a chance at making a Stanley Cup run, but we look at other teams that have come out of the woodwork. And I think maybe the fact that they don't have that one name that's going to be that person that they're putting all that pressure on,

they can almost be an underdog. I don't put my money on them being the underdog, but they can live underdog. that we don't have a lot of pressure on us. I mean. Well, tell that to the market. Well, that's true. So those fans listening might be coming at me.

But I just feel like no one's looking at them this year being like, ah, they're my sleeper pick. You know, I think they could fly under the radar and make a lot of progress. And as you said, there's a lot of teams ahead of them, but there's such a long season. Look what the Blues did. Absolutely. Yeah. And I mean, you know, you clearly have Toronto, Tampa Bay, Bay, Boston ahead of them in some order. But it feels like even just Florida based on all the money they spend the summer and they're signing.

It feels like they're kind of thought of more as being kind of that next tier behind those three teams and Montreal's lurking. And, you know, Claude Julianne gets a lot of credit for all the stuff he's done over the course of his coaching career. And I think he is one of the league's better coaches. And I love the adjustment he made yesterday. He had Cochinami playing with Druand. And I think that's sort of the perfect fit. Drewann was probably their best player in that game. I was just about saying.

He came out of like the woodwork last night. He had been getting it in the press from his own coaching stuff. There were a lot of trade rumors that they were looking. Exactly. And I think it's interesting if you look at how that might inspire a player, I think it might have worked or obviously his pairing there. But I think he, Druin had one of his best showings in a while. He had a kind of a dull end of the season last year. But how he played last night is what you want from him and more. So I think you're right about maybe putting him with the right players, sparks that, makes him feel a little bit more included on the team, makes him feel like, okay, I'm not going anywhere. I can help change the face of this franchise in a year or two. But I think it did. make it a huge impact immediately watching him last night with that matchup. Yeah, he's so dynamic. I feel like, I mean, he has such a wide range of outcomes. Like, when he's at his absolute best, you're like, this guy's one of the better players

in the league. And he's a threat every time he's on the ice. Or he can be totally. Sometimes you're just like, is he even playing tonight? Is he in the lineup? I know. And that's upsetting. But I think for Montreal, like, they do have the depth to be okay with that in a sense.

I think based on, you know, them trading Mikkel Sergich, I have to get him. And then the contract they paid him in the market he plays in. and it's never going to people are always going to be like wanting more from him and they'll never just be like oh just let's embrace the fact that when he's good he's good and when he's not we have other guys to step up yeah exactly but um he does provide that kind of dynamic game breaking element to them and i imagine there's a lot of you know it's always tough to know how this works for players in terms of um if you're a center or you think about yourself as a center especially if you're an established player in the league you don't want to you don't want to you know how this works for players in terms of um if you're a center

You don't want to get you, but it's like a point of pride in a way, right? Like I give Claude Drew so much credit for this where it's so late in his career as established and as productive as sort of decorated as his resume was, he acknowledged that maybe bumping off to the wing and letting Sean Kachirri handle a lot of defensive responsibilities was good at that point of his career. And he handled it in stride with a ton of class and it was like a mutually beneficial relationship for both those guys. And with Drew, and I know there was a lot of like, is he a winger, is he a center?

What is he going to play? and everyone wants to pencil those types of guys into the center role because it provides more value for your team. But watching him with Kotkanemi because Kotkanemi is already one of the best players in the league, I think, and for a player of his age to be able to say that is remarkable. It allows a guy like Drew-Anne to just do what he does best and not know that there's like a safety valve behind him that'll do a lot of the dirty work. And so I imagine there's like that level of trust as well where if you're Drouan, you're probably like, oh, this is great.

I get to just have fun with the puck and, you know, try to score. And if not, I don't have to worry about all the other elements. Yeah, I feel like it's so easy to think that being demoted. I'm using quotes from center to wing can be a negative experience. And I've personally done that. I've played center my most of my life and then put on the wing and I remember being like, oh, well, I hate when you're such a lazy position. Then you realize like, no, man. I get the score?

This is a sweet setup. But I'll get my centerman to do all the work. And then, I mean, you can focus more on your production as a winger. And I think if you can get rid of the fact that you don't need to be the third floor or low, you don't need to be helping the D as much, obviously, you're kind of responsible for your defense and then getting the puck out and flying down the ice. Like, you're in just better position to make an impact. And obviously, I would much prefer to play center because you feel like you're more in control of the game.

But in the end, if you're getting put on wing for Drew-in, like he's, Like, you're right. He's got to be pumped about that situation. He's got to capitalize on it, though. Because if not, what, like, where else can we put you, man? We can't put you in that. Can't put you on D? Like, this is where you're going to be, and you have to make an impact.

And I think that that is good. And if you look at his speed, you're going to be better utilized when you're not wasting all your energy down in the corner and then getting the puck and then trying to fly down the ice with these young guns. You need your young gun to be able to get from the end of the zone and catch up with you when you're at the red line, right? So I think that's a bold, good decision. I mean, probably sucked for him at the time.

But if you look at it, start racking up points, right? Yeah, absolutely. That's what he's paid to do. Okay, let's do some of these overreactions then. I love that. Here, I'll start us off again. The penguins. Oh, what happened?

Are not going to make the playoffs. Yeah. That's not that I'm going to agree with you. That's my like talking head, like radio guy. Of course, I don't actually believe that necessarily. I mean, listen, there was a lot of buzz. I feel like it was kind of the trendy pick this off season to be like, this is the year the Penguins don't make the playoffs.

You know, the hurricanes are there. The caps will probably still be good. And then, you know, a lot of these other teams with the devils, the Rangers, the Flyers, they all improved the summer. And so everyone kind of wants to break up the status quo and bump one of those teams up and who's going to come down. And the Penguins seemed like the logical fit. And my pushback was, if you have Cindy Crosby,

of Gendie Malkin and Chris LaTang in your lineup. I get the depth concerns, but those guys are so good, especially how good Crosby played last year that it probably won't matter. Maybe you won't win a cup, but just to get to the playoffs, I feel like those guys are good enough to get you there. But they got absolutely embarrassed by the Sabres on their home ice in the season opener with those guys, presumably all healthy in playing. And, man, it's only one out of 82, but considering that's all we have to go off of right now,

like that was a pretty, pretty bleak scene in Pittsburgh. I don't think you're too far off by saying that they're, I know you may not believe it, but make the playoffs. But if you just, yeah, they have Malkin and Crosby and like they're getting old. I'm sad to say it, but the league is getting so much younger. And you look at these teams that we're talking about having a chance. It's because they're adding these young gun power superstar forwards that are having. Brandon Tanev doesn't do it for you? No, he doesn't.

But you just look at like, I would never take away from what they've. achieved these older superstars in the league, but it is becoming a younger man's game. And I don't know if they can keep up with that. I mean, I thought Murray had a really great game. I mean, he kept that from being like an embarrassment. It could have been five ones. Yeah. But you can't just rely on that. You need Malkin and Crosby at minimum to do more.

I think they got like one or two scoring opportunities all game. That's not good enough. And obviously, I don't know what to expect at a Buffalo. they're a terrible place to be but you never know if they can beat Pittsburgh in game one and feel that ride that wave I don't know it was devastating for Pittsburgh

but it is just game one so you can't give them too much to I don't cry about but I think you're right I think they need a little bit more depth up front well they definitely need more depth I mean I thought them all can play better

those a lot he was their only he was the only guy kind of that felt like he was dangerous on the ice for sure And, you know, especially after last year where he had a relatively down season based on his own sort of lofty standards. And then the buzz about the rift between him and Phil Kessel and sort of how he was excited to come back and play this year. And so I think that was encouraging that Malkin looked healthy and sort of motivated and was dangerous. Their blue line, I mean, beyond Chris Littang, that Justin Schultz, Jack Johnson pairing, which was getting a healthy workload of minutes for them just got absolutely eviscerated.

I'm going to give you some stats here because that's what. do you're on the hockey pdf yet so it's like 47 minutes worth of five-on-five time in that game buffalo outshot them 3219 outscore them to nothing and the high danger chances were 11-1 so pittsburgh managed one as you mentioned one scoring chance at five-on-five in so bad 47 or so odd minutes which is just crazy like that especially since they were down for most of that game too so like you would figure that just based on score effects, they would be kind of, you know, going for broke a little bit,

maybe sacrificing some of their defensive responsibilities to try to get up the ice as quickly as they could. And there was just none of that. And maybe we need to give more credit to Ralph Kruger and the Sabres. Like, you know, it's easy to sort of make fun of how bad last year was for them down the stretch. But they made a bunch of changes to their roster this summer. They brought in a new coach and we'll see if it translates to anything.

But for the time being, we do need to give them a bit of credit here as well. We always do the thing where it's like, this team sucks or this team played poorly. It's like, well, maybe some of the stuff the Sabres were doing was kind of making it difficult for the penguins to get out of their own way or kind of get the wheels moving. It is easy to hate a Buffalo, especially in this market. That's all you hear is people wanting out of Buffalo and people not enjoying themselves in Buffalo and all the downfalls that are happening there. But, okay, you've convinced me. I can give them a little bit more credit. obviously they were able to shut down some of the best players in the league

or have been the best players in the league. So I will watch Buffalo with a little bit more optimism after that game, but I still think that they're not where they should be. And I feel sorry for some of those players on that team, but maybe a new coach is able to shake things up. I think that's always like an interesting situation as a player coming in, having to reform a relationship with a coach or maybe your expectations of your impact,

is different because the coach sees you in a different role. So sometimes that can be a really beneficial swap in the off season, come in with a new, I don't know, a new face. It is what it's a clean slate. Yeah, exactly. Maybe I should give them a clean slate then. Yeah, yeah, maybe we all should. Okay, I'll give you another, maybe this isn't an overreaction,

but I had, I went into the season sort of acknowledging that in the Pacific division it was going to be like Vegas, San Jose, Calgary. and I was really high on Vegas. Maybe after one game, I wasn't high enough because I thought they were the most impressive team that I watched. You're a huge Vegas fan. Through these first two games. I was just watching them, it feels like they're playing a different sport than a lot of these other teams.

Like as much fun as I thought Montreal, Carolina was, for example, that we just talked about earlier, there's like a certain crispness to how Vegas plays that is kind of unmatched. I don't know whether it's the talent. level in the personnel, whether it's the coaching, whether it's a combination of those two or the system. But it just feels like when they're humming, it's, it's, they're like doing this like performative dance. It's not even, it's not even hockey. It's, it's beautiful. I know it's Vegas. It is so fun to watch. Like, the passing is so crisp, east, west, north, south, moving it up the ice. And now I know Eric Carlson wasn't playing. Van der Kaine was suspended. Kevin LeBank and

Timelmeyer both got hurt towards the end of that game. But Vegas themselves, I mean, they lost an Mitch Mitt early in that. Jonathan Marshalls will miss some time and looks like he's a bit banged up. They didn't have Alex Tuck and Cody Eakin. So it's not like they were 100% either, but just those top two lines. And sort of the identity of that team, like think back to year 01 what made them so successful. And towards the end of last year, it was that kind of like tempo and that sort of just team

approach where it's just line after line. You're not, you're not having any time to breathe or rest up. And so I don't know, like as a player, I'm sure it's kind of has this like snowball effect, right? Like if you're playing Pittsburgh, it's scary knowing that Afghani Malkin and Sydney Crosby are going to be coming over the boards. But you know that you'll have like a couple shifts there with the other guys to either take a breather and relax or to do some damage of your own.

Whereas with Vegas, it feels like it's just this like title way where you're just like, oh my God, like we cannot take a single shift off. A hundred percent. I would say it's harder to play against a team that's maybe just like middle of the pack but balanced than against a team that has one crazy good line. and then a little bit of a drop-off because you're line matching, you're putting your best players up when you can. But if you're playing against Vegas, you're right.

It's honestly like you're just getting pounded and pounded out for every shift because they're very evenly matched. And they have a lot of young talent that honestly, like what you were talking about with this before, Cody Glass, for example, new face, this is like first NHL game. How are you supposed to know how to play against this guy? And he comes in and makes a huge impact in his first game. And I feel like Vegas is having a lot of,

to unknown players that are going to make a huge impact there. But playing against Vegas, it's fast. They're dynamic is the perfect word as you use. I don't know, but your acrobatic images of them. I think dynamic is 100% the way they play and they're fast. Like their possession from the goal line out to the far end is so quick. Like I think they can move the puck up the ice faster than most teams. It's definitely difficult to play against. And I mean, they only played that one game against San Jose. Obviously, that's one of the, the best blossoming rivalries in sport. And I'm very excited to watch them play for the rest of this, I don't know, a couple

years that they're going to hate each other. But the bad blood there makes it even more exciting to kind of be a Vegas fan or a bandwagoner as myself. Well, listen, I know San Jose beat him last year. Obviously, it kind of reflected a bit of a divine intervention and a sequence of events that we'll probably never see matched again. but I think especially with all the players, the sharks lost this summer and sort of how they're thinner, or I guess their margin for error is smaller now, just that they have less

of that depth. Vegas does, and does end with the speed. I feel like Vegas feels like a very bad matchup for them right now. And so San Jose probably is in these games going to have to sort of resort to some of this, like some of these post-whistle shenanigans and trying to get Vegas into this sort of like rock fight between whistles. because if these teams are both just skating and playing at their absolute best, I don't see how San Jose can keep up with them as currently constructed.

Yeah, I think you're right about the bad blood. You almost got to pull Vegas off their game right away because you know that they have the upper hand in speed and in depth. So you're going to look for a cane. Well, he wasn't in the lineup this time, but someone like that, you just provoke them, push their buttons a bit, and then maybe you take a top player out of the lineup for five minutes or a game misconduct, and I think that's sadly what San Jose might be resorting to now,

because, as you said, they lost a couple players and their depth isn't there, but it'll still be fun to watch. Oh, it'll be a blast. I mean, I really just enjoy this biggest team, even on the penalty killer with William Carlson and Riley Smith, they're always just creating chances, and they're just getting odd man rushes on the penalty kill. They're telling them is better than most people's power plays. I know.

It's ridiculous. And you mentioned Cody Glass, you can just step up and fill in a role there and playing with two guys like Max Patscheretti and Mark. Mark Stone certainly makes that transition easier for a rookie, but I'm kind of curious just in terms of overreactions, whether it even is an overreaction at this point to suggest that Mark Stone could be a legitimate candidate to win the hard trophy this year. And he's got a lot of things going for him in the sense that I think Vegas is going to be one of the best teams in the league. They realistically could win the West. He has a lot of that sort of kind of narrative or buzz about, you know, after the trade getting out of Ottawa. how much better he made Valle is sort of, there's like a bit of a, not an overreaction,

but a pushback to the fact that wingers can't win the Selke. So now everyone just always makes a point of how good and how deserving Mark Stone is defensively. But then on this team, on the power play at 5-1-5 playing with Patredi, he will get the points as well to be near the league leaders. And they're using him in an Ovechkin slot right now in the left circle on the power play. And so we already saw him score a goal there. He set up another for Cody Glass. first career goal. And so if he has the points and he has a defensive acumen and he's on one of

the best teams, it really feels like it's like kind of that perfect storm of a hard trophy candidacy. I truly hope so because last year I thought when he got his trade to Vegas that there is potential for that type of recognition. But I think now he's got a full season ahead in the same spot. He's obviously acclimated to this new team. He's out of Ottawa. And what he did in Vegas in a few short months is just a taste, I think, of what we're going to get from him, which I'm hoping, because he's one of my favorite players to watch. And I feel like he's going to take that team to that next level. And he has already, but just imagine the growth he can have there, especially now that they've got him in an OV's spot trademark. But he's just, he's so good. And I think

underrated until now, we're starting to realize like, holy, this guy's a machine. Well, when you're watching a guy like him, what makes him so effective, especially? defensively because I feel like our definition of good defense in hockey still leaves so much to be desired. Like a lot of the best defenders are, I guess, like your job is to make sure nothing's happening. So if nothing's happening and we can't see it with our eyes, just because of your good positioning, it's kind of tough to like quantify that or sort of point that out. But like with him, I wouldn't say he's like the most physically gifted player in the world. He's not the most dynamic. He's not the best skater. He doesn't hit the hardest. He doesn't shoot the hard.

artist but it feels like he just like does everything well but like just in terms of your own definition of of playing defense or of hockey IQ is like a common term you here throwing out how do you define that like what are you what are you looking for when you're watching a player to see like that they do have that hockey IQ which stone seems to have he definitely does and I think a couple of reasons why I would say that he's one of the best defensive players is it's not just as you said being the right place at the right time or I think he uses his body really well I think he isn't the biggest as he said, it isn't the strongest, but when he goes into a play, he's not leaving the play without that extra effort, and he can take people off the puck that he shouldn't just because

of his size, but his work ethic, I think he's one of those players that is never going to back down from a battle or he's not going to give up if he goes into the fight and he's a smaller body. That is huge, and I think the team feeds off that as well. If you see someone that just gives their all at all points on the ice, like four check, back check, if he's up on the the point battling it out against a defense. I just feel like he has that extra level that he can go to, which is hard to notice if you're just looking for who's got the puck on their stick. It's what he does away from the puck, which actually makes him a more valuable player in my sense. Obviously, when he has a puck, he's so dynamic and he can make anything

happen. But is watching someone how they play when they don't have the puck is kind of the definition for me for hockey IQ? And his is one of the best because he just can read. He's one step ahead of the game. He knows what's going on and what's going to happen. And he's he's there. Yeah, this sort of like coronation or kind of like, because you have this elite tier of players clearly with, you know, McDavid and Crosby and Coutherob and Ovechkin. And it's a lot of these guys that have like been there for a while now and everyone just sort of accepts that they're in that sort of higher tier. And it's really rare for a player that's been in the league for a while to make it in there to take that next step before our very eyes and make it in there. Like legitimately,

both in terms of like their play warranting it, but also people just widely accepting it. And now that he is playing on a bigger stage with more sort of relevancy or bigger spotlight on him, surrounded by better players, it does feel like it's not even like a hockey hipster or sort of niche thing anymore to be like Mark Stone is one of the best players in the league.

It feels like people are just like, yeah, like it's there where no one's really debating that. Yeah, he's truly earned it. And you're right about a lot of these other players. They are toaded to be the best player from... Either you're like the first overall pick or you've just led the league in scoring. Exactly. And I think he's done an amazing job at not kind of buying into that and saying,

I'm going to change the narrative. And I don't care if I'm playing for the Ottawa senators and maybe not getting the media coverage or the attention. And our team isn't successful. And now he gets to trade. And it wasn't even just because of Vegas, I think it's just as like overall growth as a player. And I don't know many other people that we can kind of put on. that same pedestal to have kind of grinded it out to be one of the best players in league. He wasn't always that gifted from the start, right?

He's worked his butt off really. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, he didn't really have the pedigree. And he's pretty much every year just gotten better and better and out of different layers to his game. What else were you seeing for the first couple days? Do you have any overreactions of your own or any hot takes or any stuff you noticed? Hot takes, putting me on the spot. No, you know, I have a couple notes here.

Let's do a Leafs one. Okay, Leif's one. I think Tyson Barry is unreal. Yeah. And I had never really paid much attention to him. I'll be honest. Obviously, Leaves Market, we don't see many games from over on the other side of the coast. But I thought his debut was awesome.

I'm not a defense, but I played D growing up. So I feel like I have a little bit of a liking to offensive defensemen that can make things happen. And he's really high risk. Don't get me wrong. Some of these plays, like toe dragging through offensive players' legs. it's scary, but he makes it happen and he's so fun to watch. I really enjoyed his first game for the Leafs, and I think he was a huge pickup,

and we didn't talk about it enough, I think, because we were worried about all the contracts, issues in the summer, and we got a couple quieter things that happened like that, but I feel like he has surpassed expectations in game one, and imagine comparing him to Gardner. Like, I think we made the right choice there, Leaves Nation. Right.

Yeah. I mean, he slots in to sort of fill that role that was a part of By Gardner. They're different players. Right. He's definitely more of a risk taker, and I think adds a bit more of a dynamic element. I mean, I still think with this team, a lot of the questions that were there before still persist. Like, they, you know, they beat the centers. They took care of business.

It was a bit sketchy there for a while. It was. I mean, listen, they beat a team who's leading ice time getters for forwards where Ardemon Isimov and Tyler Ennis. So I think they just sort of did what they were supposed to. to do. There were definitely some, let's say, defensive lapses or habits you saw there where there's a lot of open space. It felt like it was a bit of an all-star game at times. And one of the teams didn't have the finishing ability of most all-star teams. So they weren't scoring a lot of goals. But yeah, if you're playing that way against Tampa Bay, you're probably going to be coming out

of that with five or six goals again. So that's something they need to shore up. But you're right. I mean, there was a lot of made about Cody Cici and sort of how he would fit in his New Jersey and new landing spot in terms of playing with better players, whether he'd have a bit of a clean slate now, playing for a different team. And it took him 25 seconds to reward us with the most Cody Cici play ever, which was somehow losing Brady Cichuk right in front of the net and getting boxed out and letting him have one of the easier goals he's going to have in his career. And that was sort of the thing. We were talking about in the office before the game, and the question came up of like, because everyone's aware by now of the Cody Cici's draft pedigree and how sort of hockey men talk about him and think about him versus the reality of sort of his underlying numbers. And it stems back to that hockey IQ argument for me where you watch him and he's like physically he looks like he should be really good. He's a big guy. He skates fast.

he has like flashes of skill sometimes with the puck so you're like oh you put that all together and this guy could be a good player he just like doesn't really seem to understand where the game is going you know we talk about how a sydney crosbie or unlias peterson is actually one of my favorite example of this he sees the play like two plays ahead he's like he knows where the guy's going he throws him open like an NFL quarterback Cody cc's like four plays behind he's like oh that guy oh i was supposed to be there and you're like watching you're like watching the wheels move and And when he has the puck, it's like, it's like he can either skate or he can handle the puck. He cannot do the both at the same time.

It's like, it's like the hockey equivalent of like walking and chewing gum. Like he cannot do both. Or it's that equivalent of like when you pat your stomach and like your head at the same time. You can't do both. Your brain like doesn't have the synapsis to pull it off. And I think it's so, you're right. It's so easy to rip on Cody C.C. But you didn't give much opportunity to say positive things after that debut and that 25 seconds in.

but you can't teach hockey IQ I feel like it's something you can teach structure you can teach systems you can teach this is how you are going to do our power play breakout this is how we want you to box out but if you can't put it together

on the spot under pressure in a fast pace the game is getting faster and younger you're going to be exposed like you were and that's exactly what happened to Cody CCC and that's something that is reoccurring with him and you're right he has the body like he's got the

pieces and you just can't put them together like in a puzzle piece. And it's very difficult to watch because it's not like he's a write off on these other categories. Like he has maybe 80% of the things you need, but that big 20% missing is the most important. It's a crucial 20% in it. Holy. Like it's almost like he's been dropped from another sport. Yeah. Like he's an amazing ex player of something and we've plopped him into hockey and said, oh, it'll translate. It doesn't translate. Yeah. He does feel loss out there. And, and okay, maybe there's, nerves playing against the Sends and it's your first debut in the least but no i've seen that enough time yeah i can't give him that like it's i'm trying to make an excuse for him but it's very difficult

because i just that's a great descriptor he he plays hockey like someone who has never played hockey right but sure you're in a good athlete maybe you understand the game yeah it's like it's like if you put some of these twitter personalities that know so much about hockey sure there's people that have amazing yeah i physically cannot do what he can but then you plop them on the ice and that's kind of what Cody see. It's so sad to say. It's kind of like sometimes what I feel like when I watch him. There's moments where you're like, ah.

Yeah. But then there's moments you're like, ah. Well, that's the thing. It's been happening. This discussion's been happening for a couple years now where people are like, you know, give a time. He was picked 15th overall. Like he's still like 24, 25 years old.

It's like, yeah, but he's played over 400 games in NHL right now. And I think that hockey IQ sort of either you have or you don't is such a salient point because you can watch as much tape as you can. as you want. You can be coached up. You can sort of know like when you're in the locker room you can know like where you're supposed to be. Exactly. But then the game is happening so fast that it is like a read and react sport. You know, you're not sitting back and having the benefit of the doubt of taking your time getting there. And a lot of these times it just kind of boils down to this like raw instinct of moving to the right place without as it's necessarily

even thinking about it. And for him, he just like he lacks that. one very, very crucial element to his game, especially for a defenseman. Right. Because it just leads to so many breakdowns where you're like, he's in the vicinity, but his stick isn't on the ice or he's not getting the body. Or like, if you're boxing out, you have to box out. You don't stand behind the player and watch them put the puck in the net. But he, like, it was like literally 25 seconds in, but he could check just makes a B-line

towards a net. And he just like, he like, I could see it happening as it was progressing. a frame by frame basis. He's like slowly getting edged out. And then all of a sudden you look and he's like just behind him. I would rather you take a penalty. Yeah. Knock the guy on his butt or whatever.

Like lift a stick and I don't understand how you just stand behind him and watch it happen. So like it's interesting. You say he's had 400 games in NHL. Like that is a huge fact that needs to be known. Like he is young, sure, but he's not that young. Like I watched on the Montreal side last night, kale flurry. Is that his name?

Yeah. Kale Fleury had a debut. first ever NHL game, I think. Unreal. Like the guy had, yeah, sure, he's a young, a young pup. He's still getting his feet wet in the NHL, but he's got the hockey IQ. Like that's the difference. He was able to make plays under pressure.

He's able to carry the puck out of the zone. He was one of Montreal's best defensemen, and he's young. So there's the difference there. Like he's got the hockey IQ to be able to make decisions under pressure that Cody CCC still has yet to find and maybe we'll never find. It's sad to say. Wow. just based on where he was drafted, teams will keep giving him a chance.

Right, that seems to be his silver lining. Yeah. Okay, let's rattle through a couple more of these then. Jets Rangers. Jets Rangers. That was a fun game to watch, a lot of goals. I think what we saw in that game is, it's not an overreaction to say that that's probably going to carry over for the rest of the season.

I hope so. The Rangers are going to be probably like the best good, bad team where I don't think they're going to make the playoffs. I don't think they're going to win many games. They're going to be involved in a lot of shows. shootouts, similar to the Blackhawks team last year, I think. Poor Henrik Lunkwist, another 40-plus save win for him. And I imagine there's going to be a lot more of those in his near future. Can he's the same, like a whole season like that? He's, it'll be tough. I mean,

last year he started off really strong. And I think part of it was also psychological of like they're trading everyone away and they're not trying at least this year like this is the team they're going to have. So I think there's like a refreshed energy or like an excitement of this team, which I'm sure is nice for him. But yeah, yeah, the play in front of them, uh, still leaves a lot to be desired. I think Mark Stahl was still like their second most used defense minute five-on-five as they were nursing that lead. And so, you know, that's rough.

Yeah, no, well, Truba. I mean, that was a storybook sort of debut against his former team. The goal he scored was beautiful, the bar-down shot from the point. And he was moving the puck well. Yeah, no, it was great. And he's going to be, it is a bit ironic because I think part of why that relationship deteriorated for him in Winnipeg was a frustration with all the players that were being put in front of him on the death chart and him feeling like he deserved to play more minutes and he's going

to get as many minutes as he can handle on this Rangers team. But it is ironic because if he had stayed on the Jets he would also get as many minutes as he could handle because their blue line is right up there with Detroit I think for like the thinnest blue lines in the league. Oh yeah, they lost a lot and now they don't have Bufflin at this point right? So it is really shaky on the back end for the Jets. Trouba, I think, made the most out of his debut. It's got to feel good to go out there and kind of crush your old team and have a huge hand in that. But you're right when you go back to saying the Rangers are going to be the good, bad

teams to watch. I cannot get enough of Rangers Devils talk. I'm excited to watch them play. I think it's brought life to those teams that were kind of forgotten. Floundering. Yeah, floundering is a great word. I think having, obviously, the first and second draft picks, respectively, is going to help you.

but it's just brought a new light to that franchise on both sides and how they're going to kind of make their rebuild successful. And I even think Panera, and obviously his debut last night, I think he got a goal and an assist as well. Like you're going to bring so much more energy to your fans. You may not win in the next couple of years, but I can't say that those fans are not going to enjoy selling out Madison Square Garden

for $400 bucks a night and enjoying the atmosphere that's going on. And then it's just like what we were talking about before, with the canes and having the fan base on your side, anything can happen, right? But I think that was a really great game, so much back and forth action. And hopefully we see more of that. But a couple more wins for the Rangers this year than last would be a step in the right direction. Yeah, no, absolutely. I'm just trying to, like, rattle through a couple more of these games.

I mean, Caps, Blues, it feels like forever ago now because it was an opening night. I know we've already had a full night since, but it was a good reminder of a, Alexovescine is still an animal. So that's one note I had written down. Ovi is a machine. Like 24 minutes, goal, five shots on goal, 16 attempts, nine chances, four rush attempts. I mean, he's just, he's a, he's a robot.

He's the Russian machine who never breaks. I mean, and if anything, I think maybe like that extended off season a bit for him where they went out in round one. And he wasn't, you know, drinking and doing push-ups and fountains. Like, I think it did, it did well for it. good for his body and he looked great. He looked like the abetchian we've known and loved. And so at this stage of his career and his age,

like you always worry that the guy's going to show up and he'll still have the same nameplate, but he won't have the same skills. And he definitely at least start the year. But those are great concerns to be. So it's like he ages backwards. I know. It's crazy. I mean, his hair is getting grayer and grayer.

He's looking old, but he's not playing old. And that's all you got to ask for him. No, the production is there. And the other one was in terms of living up to the hype, the abs in the first game. I mean, that rematch, the rematch against Calgary, the tempo, the power play. Like, I, watching that game, I thought David Ridditch actually played remarkably well and whatever he gave up four goals against or whatever.

I think anyone, if they just look at the box score, they'll be like, oh, I don't know, probably like a 900 say a percentage. They'll be like, oh, like Calgary's goaltending is going to let them down this year. I thought, especially on the power play, like Colorado could have easily had like four or five extra goals there. I mean, the puck was just moving up around the ice. It seems like everything McKinnon does is at an unparalleled pace. Like, there's such like a frantic nature to, it's like so jittery and stop and start. And I imagine being a defender against that. You're just like, you never know what where he's going to go or what he's going to do. And on the one power play goal with Miko Ranton,

and he just like sucked the entire defense in. And he like looked like he was going to shoot. And then all of a sudden he just flips it all across the ice and Ranton and it's like by himself. And and has enough time to make himself a peanut butter, jelly sandwich, and then put it in the back of the net. And so, I mean, Colorado lived up to the building. I don't know if they're going to live up to the building as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender just because of how tough the Central Division is.

But in terms of being a really good team that is incredibly fun to watch, you know, put a checkmark next to them for that because it certainly looks like they're going to live up to that. Yeah, Avalanche would be one of my favorite teams in this just the first couple of games and the preseason. I'm a huge fan of Kail Makar. I can't say it enough. I like, obviously, as a college hockey player,

someone that can step into that. I relate to that. I think he's got such a bright future, and I'm a huge fan, and he obviously took over the spot of Tyson Barry. I thought pretty well in the power play. Their power play looks better than last season, and it was one of the best power plays last season,

but without Barry, they've added McCar, and then they have cadre. And it was actually, like, they got a couple of power play goals, but even the ones that they didn't capitalize on, they looked at dynamite. And Rantan, worth every penny.

Worth all this suffering this summer for fans. Like, I think he came out and showed, hey, I'm here for long haul, and this is what I'm worth. And it was an awesome debut. And I felt a little bit confused

about how Codry would play into it all. And he was obviously bummed out about his trade, but a fresh face, a fresh franchise to play for. And I think he showed pretty well that first game. Yeah, and he fits a perfect need for them. down the middle there where it allows to take some of the pressure off these guys like JT

Confront, Tyson Joost and not have to do it all right away behind McKinnon. So yeah, I think that, just like we said at the time, like I think that barrier for cadre trade is a win-win for both teams kind of fills a need and it makes a lot of sense based on how they're designed. So, listen, I really just, I mean, I'm enjoying the NHL season being back. Before these coaches do sink their claws into this and really dumb it down and make it less fun, like enjoy these first couple weeks. There's so many good matchups. And let's give the NHL credit. Like we, it's easy to dunk on the NHL. Their website's bad. They make dumb decisions. The way they handle stuff, diversity, like everything. Like the NHL is behind the times and backwards sometimes as an organization

and the way it's run. The schedule maker has knocked it out of the park this year. I mean, we get sharks nights back-to-back games. You know, you get this rematch of Colorado. versus Calgary, you get Jacob Truba versus former team. We're getting treated to all the matchups we want to see early on, and so that makes it fun. I mean, listen, we missed NHL so much after the summer that we would take any games. For sure.

So, you know, beggars can't be choosers, but the fact that we are getting treated to some of the tastiest matchups is really nice. So it all goes downhill from here, right? It's, yeah, the entertainment value will drop, and then it'll peak again. Right. Come the stretch run and the postseason, and, you know, it's got peaks in valleys,

But right now is definitely one of the peaks. All right, let's get out of here. So plug some stuff. Where can people check you out? What do you got on terms of the workload or the agenda? I mean, it's going to be a busy fun season here. Yahoo. What are you up to?

You know, yeah, I'll plug some stuff. I'm here at Yahoo full-time covering the NHL. It'll be fun. Cuthbert's covering the Leafs. So we're kind of covering the rest of the league. So that'll be great. I guess I could plug some women's hockey stuff. Yeah, let's do it.

part of the professional women's hockey players association. So our league, I played for the CWHL last year, it folded. And we're kind of banding together to try to create a better opportunity for youth growing up and to dream to play in a professional league. So for me, there isn't a league right now that's sustainable that I can make a full-time living wage in and be supported in many various assets. So we are going on a dream gap showcase tour where we're playing in various cities across North America and raising awareness.

And so far it's been a huge success. And I feel really positive about the change that we can make. You know, it's not for next year. We're not asking for NHL money. I think that's a common misconception that women's hockey players just want to. Just asking for sustainability. Yeah, we just want a sustainable league that can grow into something that when I have kids one day, like if I have a young girl, she can be like, I want to be a pro hockey player.

And I'll be like, yeah, you can do that. But right now that isn't a possibility. And it was only the Olympics and only how many people make that, right? So that's what I'm a part of and it's really positive. And I feel like I'll look back on this one day. I'm like, damn right. I was able to make a huge change for women's sports and not just women's hockey, but professionals in the industry in many facets.

Well, that's awesome. I mean, there's definitely not many people out there that can say that they were kind of part of an important change like that. Yeah, I hope so. So where can people check out like some of the schedules or like or how they can help out in any way? Sure. We have, um, there's actually a showcase term.

happening this weekend in New Hampshire. So if any of your followers are from New Hampshire, there's... Oh, we have a bump in following in New Hampshire. Yeah, all right. I went to school in New Hampshire. So I love that place. There's a weekend there.

Obviously, it won't be there. Then there's a Chicago showcase tournament. It's actually put on by Billie Jean King's Foundation. So she's a huge advocate for women's sports, as we know with her tennis passions and her career there and making it sustainable for female tennis players. So she's putting that on in the end of October. and then to be continued,

there'll be some in the new year. We haven't announced those dates yet, but obviously back in the GTA would be great, but we may be hitting the West Coast. I can't tell you all the details, but we have an account at PWHPA, and that's on Twitter and Instagram, and we'll be posting all that,

and then my own stuff is at my handle. So I'm always sharing and always engaged in the conversation, so we'd love to be able to have more advocates and people that are just allies. Like, you don't need to be a woman's hockey, expert you can just understand like kind of what our purposes absolutely yeah I feel like information is key here because I feel like there's a lot of people who are misinformed and and I don't blame them it's hard to find that information it's not that accessible and that's

kind of part of the the change we're trying to make is put us on the same you know level of access that's all well excellent I'm glad we got to do this this was a blast thanks me too next time I'm in town we'll definitely do this again and yeah to everyone out there listening. Enjoy the first weekend of the NHL regular season. It's going to be a blast. And, yeah, strap in, it's going to be a fun ride. The Hockey PEDEOCast with Dmitri Filipovich. Follow on Twitter at Dim Philipovic and on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com slash hockeypedocast.