The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Hurricanes Take 3-2 Series Lead, NHL Headlines & OHL Draft Tonight ft. Brian Burke & Bryan Crawford

Episode Date: June 12, 2026

The Carolina Hurricanes are one win away from the Stanley Cup. On today's episode of The Sheet, Jeff Marek opens the show by breaking down Carolina's massive Game 5 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights as Rod Brind'Amour's club takes a 3-2 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Jeff dives into the biggest storylines from the game, what went wrong for Vegas, and what to watch for as the series shifts toward a pivotal Game 6.Later, Brian Burke joins the show for his weekly visit to discuss the latest news and notes from around the NHL, including the biggest offseason storylines, front office decisions, coaching chatter, and more as teams begin preparing for a busy summer.Then, OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford stops by ahead of the 2026 OHL Priority Selection to discuss draft day, the growth of the league, and what lies ahead for junior hockey. The conversation also looks back on the Rangers' Memorial Cup championship and explores the future of both the OHL and CHL as major changes continue to shape the landscape of junior hockey in Canada.All that and more on today's edition of The Sheet with Jeff Marek.#TheSheet #JeffMarek #NHL #StanleyCupFinal #LetsGoCanes #VGK #OHL #MemorialCup #CHL #HockeySHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼 Canadian Blood Services: https://www.blood.ca/👍🏼 Ninja: https://www.sharkninja.ca/ninja-crispi-pro-6-in-1-countertop-glass-air-fryer-rose-quartz/AS101CRS.html?utm_source=Meta&utm_medium=Paid+Social&utm_campaign=H1NinjaCrispi&utm_content=NinjaEN&dwvar_AS101CRS_color=cdb9b8Reach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@FNBarnBurner🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoffReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Carolina Hurricanes now one win away from the Stanley Cup, all eyes on Sunday and game six, and Jordan Stahl continues to make his case for the Kahn-Smith Trophy. Good afternoon, good evening, good morning, depending on where you are and when you are watching or listening. This is the sheet for this Friday, June, the 12th, glad to have you aboard today. It's an action-packed one today, not going to lie.

We've got a lot of stuff to get to both on the ice with what we saw last night, off the ice with trade requests, and also an important return of a in-person draft in one of the three major Canadian junior hockey league. So let's get right to what's on the program today. We'll get rid of all the formalities and just get right to the brass tacks here.

The blueprint is powered by Fanduel. Play your game. Download the app. Play your game on. Fan Duel. Coming up on the program in a couple of moments, he is Brian Burke. He is in Kingston.

We'll find out why in a couple of seconds. Brian Crawford is the commissioner of the OHL. He's also in Kingston. You'll find out why in a couple of seconds. Carolina Hurricanes now take a 3-2 series lead over the Vegas Golden Knights and kind of spectacular fashion. Svetnikov with a pair on the power play NHL news off the ice, including the discussion about Darnell Nurse

and yet another trade request. First, Dylan Larkin, now Darnell Nurse. And the OHL draft, the round one in person live tonight in Kingston. And that's why Berkey's aboard. and that's why Brian Crawford is aboard. Well, Berkey's on every week. This segment, I think we're going to Berkey now. We're going to Berkey now.

Okay, Berkey, first of all, in Kingston, Brian Crawford's coming up at the bottom of the hour, OHL commissioner. Want to talk to you about the OHL draft, the in-person draft, which returns. The last time it was in person was in 2000, for all of you who collect knowledge like this. Patrick Jarrett went first overall that year

to the Mississauga Ice Dogs. This guy with the name of Rick Nash, went forth to the London Knights. We'll get there in a couple of seconds. But first, what we saw last night. So it seemed to me that in game four, the Carolina Hurricanes Berkey figured out how to play against the Vegas Golden Knights. As the game went on,

Carolina became more comfortable and they knew what to do. And then yesterday was a continuation of it. Carter Hart surrenders another four goals in a game. wonder about who's in net for Sunday. But wide-brush thoughts on what we saw last night from you. Well, first off, I thought the Aho line finally came to life. Stetsnikov scored twice. Oh, had a beautiful goal.

It was about time they woke up. They had done a bloody thing the whole tournament. So anything came to life. I agree. I think Carolina's getting stronger. And now a wild bill hurt. It's going to be tough for them. You know, that is the ultimate wild card here.

You mentioned William Carlson getting hurt and they hit by Sean Walker. Walker's been like a wrecking ball, by the way, all playoffs. Like everybody on the Carolina Hurricanes does get better. And you look at that back end and Tim Gleason's done a great job there. But like everybody has improved on that back end. Kandre Miller is better. Sean Walker is better. Go right down the list.

But you mention that Aho line. So a nice tweak by Rod Brindamore. So he swaps out Seth Jarvis for Jordan-Martinook. and that Aho line looks way better with Martin Nuck winning battles along the board. Seth Jarvis goes down to play with Jordan Stahl, and Nick Eilers will talk about them in a second. But the effect of having someone, I believe you refer to these guys as pick and shovel kind of guys, pick and shovel hockey players going up there to play with the skilled Aho and Svetnikov. That one worked beautifully last night, Berkey.

Yeah, both those switches work well. I like when my grint comes in and does the job with skill guys. have a guy like Martina who plays hard, makes intelligent plays, very highly intelligent player, but not a great playmaker. The score retrieved puck's getting back to the middle of the ice. He was really good. Jordan Stahl is distinguishing himself as if Carolina wins this thing and cons to my favorites.

He now finds the back of the net in five consecutive games to kick off the Stanley Cup final. We haven't seen this in quite some time. We saw Yvonne Cornwall A score in games. games two to six, but we haven't seen one to five, the likes of which we've now seen with Jordan Stahl, going back to 1956 with Jean Beliveau. Jordan Stahl's been fantastic. Like this is like, if we can turn the audio down on that a little bit, suck, because that's

really hot. That's the Jordan Stahl goal. If you're watching us on our daily face off YouTube right now, the stall factor here is immense. Like, even if you look on his goal, like he completely eliminates Braden McKinney. nab from the play and goes to the front of the net uncontested. Like every time he's on the ice, Jordan Stahl is doing something massive here, Berkey. Well, it takes a big defenseman out with a heart here, eliminates him completely, and beats him back to the front of the net.

It's a big-time goal. He's been outstanding, but he has been for Soul Career. Remember watching him play his draft here, you can see he's going to be a great player. Yeah, he really is. I mean, all the important draws, he's out there as well, 37 years. old as well. Like, you know, I think we can all remember him, you know, certainly the trade to the Carolina Hurricanes, but before that playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins in that big three

down the middle with Malkin and Crosby. And I'll tell you, it's, it really is interesting. I was talking to Eric Johnson the other day and we're saying, like, who do you think's going to win your draft, which is who's going to be the last man standing from that, that Vancouver draft where Eric Johnson went first overall? And he said Jordan Stahl. he said this guy's just going to keep on playing. He will be the last man standing from this draft.

Do you have a sort of snapshot on this moose of a man who is excelling at the most important time? I went into watch Jordan Stahl play his draft here. He didn't do anything the whole game. Two and a half periods he did nothing. And the third period, he got up. He'll have the penalty by himself for the whole two minutes. I almost scored at the end of it.

And I said there were scouts. Now I know why you dragged me here. So how does Carolina close this one out? Like I think we all appreciate John Totorella saying, you know, we're coming back. I'm leaving my clothes in the hotel room. This thing isn't ending in Vegas. We're coming back to Carolina. Torz is always great for a headliner too.

But the last one's always the most difficult to close out. You did it in 2007 with your Anaheim Ducks, Rod Brindermore talking to the team about 2006 and how difficult it is to close this thing out. Give us a sense of, like, what do you do on a Stanley Cup clinching day, a potential clinching night? Like Sunday's going to be exciting, and it's also going to be a tough one for both teams. I think the extra day out's from the help Vegas more. It's going to help Carolina.

I think they're really tired. They looked old. They look slow. They need that day off more than the Carolina does for me. but I think they got to get back to what they made them successful. Barbershav I didn't notice last night. They didn't know cycle after the first goal. Didn't notice stone other than the two-in-a-penely.

You've got to get back to Vegas hockey. It's tough to play Vegas hockey, I suppose, though, when guys are dinged up. You mentioned William Carlson. I personally think of all the Vegas players, and I know everyone is nuts about Marner's production, I think shift in, shift out, the best player on the Vegas Golden Knights in the series and maybe the playoffs,

since he came back as William Carlson, who's just one of the best two-way centers in the game. You had someone similar in Sammy Paulson. I was talking about this yesterday. You had someone similar in Sammy Paulson on your third line with your Anaheim Ducks in 2007. That's a massive hole. That is an absolutely massive loss.

Ikel, I think we all think that he's hurt. I mean, Stone's always got, you know, half a hospital bracelet on on a good day. but the Carlson injury, Eichel, maybe his back, who knows, it's tough. Like, I get it. It's the attrition of it all. Of all the guys you talked about in the playoffs, the guy that no one ever talks about was Wild Bill Carlson.

And he's probably the most important player that nobody talks about. He's a really effective two-way player. He can skate like the wind, hockey X's off the chart. If he's out, I think he is, that's a huge hole, huge hole. They can move it to the middle. Not the same. No, not the same. This one's going to be tough sledding for the Vegas goal.

Would you, now that Carter Hart, again, surrenders four goals. Like, you can't surrender four goals for a team like the Carolina Hurricanes who, you know, they shut down every power play defensively. They're sound. Like, you surrender another four to Carolina. Torz is going to go have to, you know, go back to Raleigh to get his suits and then head home. Do you think, do you call it to play to goalie change here? like is it that desperate that's pure panic for me

you know I'd say with Carter Harter I think he's earned that right but I'd have him out of short least for sure but I think you gotta give him a chance to win that game I think he gives them their best chance so I wouldn't move them

but I wouldn't have moved I wouldn't have gone to Bussie either and that's worked out very well for Carolina I thought that was a mistake and Freddie had earned the loyalty the right to play that game they put in Brandon Bussie

he's been lights out yeah the weird thing about Anderson too and even Brindmore saying yesterday everybody's available to us here yet at the same time even though he wasn't injured or the

saying he's not injured it was Kachetkoff backing up yesterday with Bussie and Berkey I can't help but think of that the Barbashev play when Barbashev skated right through the crease hit him in the head there was nothing with a concussion

spotter or you know back to the NHL to pull him out but he gets pulled later on that game, surrenders four goals. You can't help but I know no one's going to talk about injuries, but I can't help but wonder if he's available to play, why is it Kachikov backing up and not Freddie Anderson? I mean, everything points that. It wasn't even the e-bug.

It wasn't even the e-bug. Yeah. Of course, he hurt. Something's wrong. I thought the same thing when Barbershot ran him over. He's got a lingering concussion effects, I think. Yeah. it's a bizarre one.

Svecnikov with a pair of goals, as you mentioned off the top two. Whenever it's so funny, hey, Berkey, whenever I see Svetchnikov, I always go back to think of the combine with you interviewing Svetzikov and you grilling him about working out. That was one of those moments where I saw like GM, Brian Burke come out, like your brow gets fur, where do you work out? How often you work out?

Where's your gym? And it was like, I don't know. Whenever I see Svichnikov, Berkey, I think of you. I think of them too. His first goal was just a, I thought the second goal was beautiful. The first goal, he was taking a chance there. He thought, well, we're passing the fuck on the script one, and went in and shouldn't have gone in.

That's where we go like and fault her or her. You only go like to fault her in the game. So I don't know, again, I come back to Carrher, I play him again. Yeah. Without Svenzikov and Aho going out, who knows? Well, Svetichikovanajo going now, and going back to the.

Jordan Stahl line with Seth Jarvis on it and all of a sudden, you know, you grab the game sheet and there's Nick Eelers with three more assists. And he was the big one they were going for in the offseason. He wasn't going back to Winnipeg. It came down to two teams, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals. Carolina offered the extra year. And that's where Eilers ended up going, obviously. And that speed, that game-breaking ability, finally Carolina has something like that in their lineup. We're all trying to figure out like what's different. I was talking to

Justin Williams on the show the other day about it and saying like, we remember Carolina last year in the playoffs, Berkey, and they got bullied by the Florida Panthers. Like they got pushed around, sand kicked in the face, like all of it. They got physically bullied by the Florida Panthers.

And they've come back tougher this year. Right? Like they've come back and they've pushed back. Like they initiate contact. They go at you hard. Not that this has been a violent series, if anything, like, there's nothing after the whistles. Like, I'm kind of, it's kind of freaky, to be honest with you. But this is a Carolina, I think. They're working out for their favor.

They're getting better as a series goes along. I thought Vegas was more physical early in the series. And now they're not. They look back up, too. They look tired and banged up. But if they can't hit, if Vegas can out hit Carolina, Carolina's trouble. Okay, so we'll see what happens here in game six on Sunday. We either have a Stanley Cup awarded or we're going to a game seven, and who doesn't love that?

News around the NHL. You've been through this before with players asking. I'm always curious how you have handled it in the past. But initially, so Dylan Larkin was the story requesting a trade from the Detroit Red Wings. We'll get in that in a couple of seconds. But the latest is Darnell Nurse, defenseman for the Edmonton, O'Oller's talking about needing a change of scenery and asking to be moved from Edmonton. Your thoughts on this one?

Well, everyone's saying darnel nurse is closely overpaid. It is. That's never the player's fault. I never fault the player for being able to pay. That means we messed up, not the player. So he's overpaid, but he's still a good player. He can skate. He brings a physical edge.

He's a good kid. Someone's going to take him, but we'll have to move some money back to make it work. So some of the destinations, like you would look at, you know, Los Angeles. Like we try to sort of marry up, like which contract would have to go back to sort of make this more of a palatable trade. You know, if it's Pittsburgh, it's probably Ryan Graves going back the other way, Brian Dumlin, Los Angeles, Kings. I'll tell you what, Berge, I wonder about the Philadelphia Flyers with Darnell Nurse and maybe Sealer part of a package going back the other way. that would probably make some sense. But do you have sort of an idea of like what the marketplace would be like for Darren L.

Nurse? Like, you're right. Like, he can skate. Like, there's no denying the athleticism and the skating and the toughness to. Sometimes the decision-making leaves you wanting, but there's no denying the skill set. Yeah, your question is decision-making. I think that's fair at times. But as hard is there, his feet are there, his toughness is there.

that's a valuable player, just probably in too high spot, who has a payroll figure. But someone's going to give them a chance. It might not just be one player. You might have to move two players to make the money work. Right. How do you handle this? You know, you're a general manager.

Someone comes to you, an agent comes to you, and my client would like to formally request the trade. Like, what's the first thing that you do, or is it just case by case? I'll ask him to keep the quiet first. first the first of you do the best trade the easiest time to move a player is when no one knows he wants out that's what i said with dill mark and if today had done it quietly i think any or uh c izman could have made a much better deal and he's got it to make so number one would be do it quietly if you can

that's that ought to happen obviously so now everyone knows so now everyone's everyone's interested he's going thinking we can get them for cheap that's a problem It's a big problem. The quiet steals are the best ones. How often has that happened to you where players come to officially request out? I will worry. And what was your initial thought when that happened? I begged them to play.

So just keep playing, Powell. If you're not playing, I can't get fair value for you. He wouldn't play. So I told the agent, it was Mike Gillis. I told him we'd take till January a trade him, which you did. And we did not make a good deal. It was not a good deal to connect us. I had to me.

Was there anything that came close to that deal? Was there anyone that gave you, that gave you? No one, eh? Really? No. Pavel Burry, maybe I'm just so biased because I loved Pavel Burry, but Pavel Bury going to market to me has got to be like a whopper of a marketplace.

Well, the late great Brian Murray was the guy I made the deal with. And I met her and shared a cab with him in Winnipeg at the World Juniors. We shared a cab with him. I love Brian Murray. He's a great man. We shared a cab together. So what are you going to do with Bor? I said, do you need goals score?

I got the best goal score in the league. I'll trade into you, but we've got to make a deal. And Joe will have got to be in. That's how it started in a cab, and then I went back away and I made the deal. Kevin Weeks was in that deal. Mike Brown was in that deal. Fred Heine was in that deal. Not a good deal.

Brad Heardin didn't talk to me for two years after I dumped him. Two years? It's so mad. going to come on in Florida. He loves a food. Yeah. I get it. Rewind to the Larkin situation, because I think that the thing that I've been saying about it is to your point about do it quietly. To me, the big story here is how did the relationship get this bad that it got to be this public? You know, Emily Kaplan has reported there's sort of been, you know, something between the two, even going back to the, to 2023 with, with the new deal.

Like, if you're a manager of someone like Dylan Larkin, I mean, you've managed superstars before. Like, are you not like on the phone with the agent on a regular basis? How's your client? Anything we need to be worried about? Anything we need to work on. Like, isn't that the way this works? Because to me, the story is how did that relationship get so sour? I don't know.

I haven't talked to Steve about it. I'll find out someday. But I think the main thing was Bill Lacken played in the playoffs this first year in Detroit. Hasn't played since. It's been eight years, nine years, ten years. Yeah.

It's been out of the blouse. It's not enough. I get it. One of the things that people are wondering about now, and maybe we can extrapolate this as someone like Connor Hallibuck with the Winnipeg Jets here, players from that gold medal team,

from that U.S. gold medal team, coming back to play in, and it doesn't have to necessarily be Canadian market, but American market as well. Like when you go through something like what the American players went to, winning the gold medal, top of the mountain, all of it, for players that aren't in the playoffs, that's hard.

Like, it's hard to come back to a non-playoff team. Like, you get the feeling of what winning feels like and you want to get back there fast. Do you think that that is a contributing factor to whatever happens with Hullabuck and now what is about to happen with Dylan Larkin? Well, I don't see any reason to transfer it over to Hullabuck, but I think you're right.

It's really hard to come back from a goal battle for a Stanley Cup championship team and face losing for a number of years. I think that could hold in a hurry. So you are in Kingston. Let's finish up here. So you're in Kingston for the OHL draft. Now, this is the return of the input.

person O HL draft. The Quebec League does an in-person draft and they do it upright. They really make it a big deal. The Quebec League does a tremendous job with this. So I was glad to see that the OHL is now returning. The last time we saw this, as I mentioned off the top, was in 2000 at the Hershey Center in Mississauga, the Ice Dogs, taking Patrick Jarrett first overall. What do you think of this?

What do you think of in-person drafts for 15-year-old hockey players? I love it, but what do you think? I think it's fantastic. I'm really looking forward to it. I can't wait to get up there on the stage with Spencer. Spencer Hyman is my buddy. He's asked me to come here. I'm unofficially here as a mentor and an advisor.

I'm not on the staff, but I still get to see it at the table, I think. I hope. I'm looking forward to very much. You didn't bring you in his muscle? Muscle at the table? Well, I think, you look at this. I think in-person drafts are really cool. I think it's great, especially 15-year-old players.

He's the biggest silver light to this point. I think it's great. I can't believe with the NHL still doing the other way. I mean, that complication in the NHL, I think it's just because the calendar gets so squeezed at the end of the month. Like, I understand it. It's expensive to send your full contingent there, but here's what... It doesn't save money, though, Jeff.

They'll bring all that people in. No, I have to fly on all our scouts from Europe, whenever, Western Canada, whatever it is. It doesn't save money. That's bullshit. It's fair and simple because guys think it's more convenient. Here's what I think about it. And this is why I like that they're doing it in the Ontario League.

I think it's always good to have one of, at least one event per year where the whole industry gets together. And for the Ontario League, if they want to do it around the draft, that's fantastic. Next year they'll be hosting the Memorial Cups. They can do it in Guelph if you want. But to have an event where all the teams are there, so every team gets face time with one another.

And you know what that's like. We just talked about Brian Murray and sharing a cab in Winnipeg and starting the Pavil-Burray trade. More things happen when people meet face-to-face. No question. And the drama. He gets announced at the draft. He stands up, hugs his mom and dad,

hugs his sister, takes out the jacket on the way down the floor. It's so cool. I've made two of my biggest steal. My two biggest deals at the draft were both made on the floor. On the floor. You can't do that in some ballroom somewhere. Yep.

I don't disagree. Here's the question that I have for you. I know you're there with the Bulldogs in an unofficial capacity. You mentioned Spencer Hyman, who's the general manager of the Bulldogs. Would you advise Spencer not to put a baseball hat on the kid? that he takes in the first round.

I'm not going to tell anyone anything. I'm not giving orders. Okay, for those that don't know that story, share why you didn't have your kids with baseball hats on stage. Okay, so it started with Chris Breyer. When we drafted Chris Breyer, I said, no baseball hat. And Steve Sullivan from the week came up and said, you're going to find him five grand if he'll put out a hat.

I said, no hats. Look at the photos that are taking the baseball cap on. You can't see the kid's face. That's a great, great sign. It's know, it's Calgary Flames. Okay, wherever. Daniel and Henry did it. It's great.

But you can't see their face. The pictures you take without the cap are fabulous. That's why. That's why I never let my guys wear a hat. Didn't the Riley family thank you for that with Morgan Riley in 2012? Yes. Mrs. Riley did, yes. But thank you.

All the other guys you can't see their face. It's a huge thing. Take a photo without the cap. Put the cap on and take another one. I guarantee you the one you like better has no cap. Yeah, not wrong. Listen, have a great time. Brian Crawford's coming up here in about five minutes,

Commissioner of the OHL, a lot to get into there, including the return of the in-person draft for the Ontario Hockey League. Enjoy your time in Kingston. When was the last time you were in Kingston? Well, it's been a couple of years. Been a couple of years. I've been doing this too long.

Do you have any haunts whenever, I go to, whenever I go to Kingston, I always try to have dinner at Shea Piggy. I'll get some great bread at Pan Chancho. And it's always breakfast at Morrison's in downtown Kingston. Do you have like some go-to spots there? Two can was always a favorite of mine. I used to go, I just got a lot of berry. It was easy to get to.

Oh, yeah. To go to Kelsey's at Barry before the game and have a soup, put some onion and rings. It was good. Nice, nice. Well, listen, enjoy yourself in Kingston. It's got a lot to offer both in the venue and outside it as well. It's one of my favorite Canadian cities. You enjoy it, Berkey.

We'll check back soon. Thanks, Jeff. There is Brian Burke in Kingston for the OHL draft. You know, Zach, one of the things, and we're going to pick up on this in a second, one of the things that Brian talked about there was Darnell Nurse. And there's one thing that I want to add on to what is going to be a Darnell Nurse trade for the Edmonton Oilers. But first, the segment is a presentation of Canadian blood services who invite you to experience what giving feels like. In a world that can feel isolating and divided, blood and plasma donation offers something rare and fulfilling.

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So here's the thing about the impending Darnell nurse. deal. And let me know when Brian is aboard here. We'll get them on ASAP. It's a big day for the, for the Ontario Hockey League. There's been a lot of talk around Edmonton about doing everything with the focus or the lens of analytics. This is going to be the first test because you look at a darnel nurse deal and I doubt it's going to be money equal here. There's going to be some cap space for Edmonton most likely to play with here. Let's see what they do with that. Like this one is,

this one's going to be interesting because how many, how many times over the last couple of years have we talked about a darnel nurse deal? So if everything is being sort of filtered through the analytics department of the Edmonton Oilers,

this one is going to be an interesting audit. This one, this one's going to be fascinating to see what they do. With more so with, maybe more so with the cap space. Because I would imagine that with a contract, like darn all nurses. And again,

not his fault. Like with a contract like Darnell Nurses, you're probably going to have to take a bad contract on the way back, like a Brian Graves or a Brian Dumlin or these types of deals. Yeah, that's what I was going to kind of ask you is when you go to money in, money out,

or even just the general concept of take something back because you're giving something, right? Where it's say, hey, we can't deal with this or we don't. want to deal with this and we'll take on the thing that you don't want to deal with or can't have any more in your organization. The one thing that I keep wondering about is what is the cost

benefit, which again, it will be a very interesting thing here to see how the analytics department handles this, but how much they have to retain on a darn illness? I don't think they're retaining. I don't think they're, I don't think they'll end up taking a contract back, a quote, unquote, bad contract back, which is why to me the most interesting thing of a darnel nurse deal is going to be what they do with the cap space. How they use that. That to me is going to be almost as interesting

as what they do with darnedle nurse. Again, assuming that it's not going to be dollar for dollar here. And I think we're to start to hear less about dollar for dollar. Now there's more salary cap space in the system. Like dollar for dollar was very much flat cap. Like, oh, it's got to be money in, money out. How many times you hear that one from Ken Holland? It's got to be money and money out.

That's why I wonder this time around. And now for the next however many years as the cap continues to grow, do we hear less about that? But make no mistake about it, I think that there's got to be some type of money going back the other way in the form of a pregnant contract. Fair enough. Or however you want to frame it.

How much value do you think teams still hold on what Darnell Nurse can bring? Let's take contract, aside what he brings to the table. People still view Darnel Nurse as a valuable player. He's a talented player. Honestly, like, Darnel Nurse, Darnell Nurse can help a ton of teams. I just don't know, like, in that spot with the Edmonton Oilers,

is he the most effective? I think we all look, like, first of all, I'll always defer to a guy that can skate, right? And this guy can skate. He's an excellent skater, and he's physical, and he's not shy. sometimes he doesn't make the best of all possible decisions, but maybe he's playing too high on the depth chart.

And maybe he's playing too high on the depth chart because everyone looks at the compensation and says, well, for that kind of money, you're going to have to be playing up high. So, like, honestly, the thing about Pittsburgh, and I know everyone's going to marry into Pittsburgh right away because of the Suss-Marie Greyhounds Association and Caldoubis, I can actually see it.

I could see, here's another one for you. If it's not that exact decimal point, given how everybody improves on Carolina, and they look for athletic players, now again, I know the decision making, the decision making sometimes for nurses difficult, but he does fit the mold. He goes there, he fits in, and it's not apples to apples on this comparison, but it's all I can think about is Keondrey Miller where in New York it was like we can't get anything out of this guy we can't get the player that we wanted to be ghost to Carolina

all season long it's a wow look at Keondry Miller here now look at the player the Rangers missed out on it's probably a lot to do with the environment which is a good point by you that would be one of those ones Jeff for three rounds we talked about loosely but Keontry Miller could he be in the con smite conversation for Carolina I know Darnell Nurse goes to Carolina. Fits in there, they make another run at the cup.

Next year, a year from today, you and I are sitting here like, could Darnell Nurse be a Con Smythe candidate for Carolina and Oilers fans are just punching air? You know whose birthday it is today? Who's the day? Gustav Forsling. Okay. How many teams quit on Gustav Forsling?

Vancouver, Carolina, Chicago, nothing there. He gets to the right environment. the place where it all fits for him and all of a sudden we're talking about him in the Stanley Cup playoffs as a dark horse cons might candidate. How good is Gustav Forsland been since he got to the Florida Panthers?

Dude, that was waivers. Yeah. Everybody could. He was offered to the entire league. Okay, like everybody. And he ends up with the Florida Panthers and all of a sudden he's a different defenseman and by the way, happy birthday to Gustav Forsland.

Offered to the entire. League. Now, there might have, I get it, like there might have been something inside between Quinville, Florida, and understanding back to Chicago with Gustav Forrestle. But nonetheless, that's the only point that I'm trying to make here about Darnelner's. Okay, let's get to, listen, as we mentioned with Brian Burke, who's in Kingston right now, it's a big day for the Ontario Hockey League. The return of the in-person draft, which I've been banging drums for.

I love the way the Quebec League does it. I would love it if the OHL did it. And lo and behold, they are doing it. Brian Crawford is the commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League. And he joins me now on the sheet. Let's get to Brian. First of all, Brian, thanks so much. I know it's a really busy day for you.

So I thank you for taking a couple of moments. The return of the in-person draft. We've got to go back to 2000 in the Hershey Center and Patrick Jarrett and the Ice Dogs and Nash goes forth overall, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, since we've seen this. How long has this been kicking around it as an idea? and what was the reason you finally pulled the trigger on returning to the in-person draft in the OHL? Oh, yeah. Hey, Jeff. Thanks for having us on today. We really started to think about it last year, right?

My first year in the role, as we think about ways to elevate our league and grow our brand, grow our properties, create assets, create properties, and create that experience for our young players and their families that is so memorable and for so many of them, you know, it will be the only opportunity that they get to have that experience and really be welcome into our league in a way that is, you know, we're unable to match in any other things that we do. So we started talking about it last year and building out what it might look like

and finding partners for it and shopping around to different communities that might be interested in hosting. And Kingston stepped up, the tourism organization in the community and the France, stepped up to want to bring it here. And this is a great market for it. You know, the downtown setting for the arena, the hotels, the restaurants, the waterfront, the market square. You know, it's a fantastic place.

And we've got, you know, thousands of people here in Kingston now today for the draft tonight and tomorrow. And we've been here all week for our board meetings and our business conference and all other sorts of things that we've been doing throughout the week. So a real festival and celebration and bringing everyone together in person to celebrate our League. See, that's the key to me. This is one of the reasons why I always sort of lamented that the Ontario League had

the in-person draft and then went away from it. And that is, I firmly believe that you need to have like one event every year where everybody in the league gets together, where all the teams are there. You know, Brian Burke was just on with me a couple of seconds before he came on. And actually, he's there with the Bulldogs. I don't know if he's sitting at the table with the Hyman's, but he's going to be there at a sort of unofficial capacity. And he was talking about, you know, riding a cab, taking a cab with Brian Murray,

and that was the beginning conversations, what turned into the Pavel Burray trade. And I always think that it's always a better idea when you get all the, as many people as you can, from all the organizations in the OHL together. There's nothing like being face to face with someone else to get, whether it's ideas or, you know, ways to move the team forward or the league forward. there's no replacing. Like there's no replacing, you know, like walking down the street from you are to the, to the to can or Shea Piggy, where I always love having dinner whenever I go to Kingston,

or breaking bread at Panchoncho, and having two people sit down over a coffee or a mug and talk about hockey. There's nothing to replace that. That's why I love the fact that the OHL is doing this in person again, because it brings everyone together. Yeah, you know, you're exactly right. And, you know, throughout this week, we've been here for three days. We had three days of board meetings and accomplished a lot of great work. And there's so much going on in the hockey environment and in our league and new initiatives that we're trying to tackle. And so it was really important for us to get together.

But we also brought all of our business staffs for all of our teams. So a couple hundred people that came together for their two full days of business conferences and best practice sharing, ideas sharing, you know, speakers, all those sorts of things. We brought other parts of our ecosystem in place, kind of events each night. You know, we had a couple hundred people out at the Kingston Frontenax alumni. Anni association hosted an event for us last night. We had our business awards and all our business teams and everyone else was in the night before. So activities every night, you know, chances for people to be together, to get together, to talk about, you know, the business of our league, to talk about the future of our league.

And really celebrate what it is that, you know, makes it so special. And we think that, you know, that was, you know, an exercise worth doing. You know, it's been 25 years. We certainly understand, you know, the reasons to be online. and we felt that this was a good time to look at it again. And we'll see how it goes and we'll explore what we want to do going forward. But for all intents of purposes, it seems like an overwhelming success already. And tonight goes with round one.

It's like Rod Brindamore has been saying during the Stanley Cup run, stacking memories, right? Stack memories for your kids that are coming in, for all the parents that get to watch it, for all the organization, just be in the business of stacking memories. You mentioned the future of the OHL. Could the OHL's future include a 15-year-old draft? You know, I think that that's something we see that, obviously,

in the Western Hockey League where they do a 15-year-old draft. I mean, I think that there's a lot of challenges. You know, it's a young player. Like, they just are hitting puberty in some cases or just have, like, there's so much development to occur and it's tough. And, you know, thinking about bringing, you know, players away from home and all those sorts of things. I think, you know, could there be a world in which, you know,

underage players, 15-year-old players are part of the draft? Yeah, potentially. I think those are all the sorts of things that, you know, you need to look at and explore and what makes sense. Does it make sense to get that, you know, player into the system, into the program, playing with our development leagues, you know, doing those sorts of things as part of their development now

as we think about how kind of the ecosystem is changing. It's not something that's, you know, on the, you know, kind of on the docket to happen immediately or anything. Certainly something that we look at and consider, you know, what makes sense? How does this fit within, you know, what is a changing environment and where we are today and where we think we're headed, you know, going forward? Yeah. And again, like, you're right. The Western League does it this way.

And I just can't help but think, given the new reality of junior hockey in Canada, stateside, the situation with NCAA Division I college hockey as well. Just the idea of like perhaps now more so than ever, the idea of getting kids into. the system of the OHL earlier makes a lot of sense to me. Like do many teams talk about this? Like you've just gone through a few days here. Like, do teams mention things like this to you? Yeah, I mean, it's certainly something that, you know, we're thinking about and talking about as this environment continues to change and evolve.

You know, one of the, you know, one of the main things that we focused on last year was building out this development league partnership with the GOHL. And we're looking to expand that, adding and adding other leagues to it this year and expanding that footprint so that that pathway from tonight to graduating in our league becomes a lot more linear, a lot more clear. Right now, you know, a player works so hard through their minor hockey careers, you know, gets on a great team that has success and they have success and they get the, you know, get themselves into a position where they're able to be picked. But then it's like, now what? Outside of those, you know, top elite players, it's really hard for a 16-year-old to play

in our league. So where do they go next? And making sure. sure that that pathway is a little bit more constructed, a little bit more clear, that there's more opportunities so that that player, you know, is a better player by the time they get to our league. And whether that's at some point when they're 16, some point when they're 17, or even for a player that's, you know, a late bloomer develops a little later, you know, hits that growth for the maturity, that whatever it might be. So making sure that we've got that system in place. And we had a fantastic first year with a formalized relationship with the GHL and making sure that that pathway becomes really strong and focused and ultimately makes the pool way deeper,

way stronger, way better players that are in our league and ultimately graduating from our league. Speaking of younger players, I mean, junior hockey, we've seen players apply for and get granted and also rejected for exceptional status. It's happened in all three leagues positively and negatively as well. The Cato-Rourke situation was an interesting one. Many were disappointed that he was denied exceptional status. and the ability to get into the OHL a season earlier. And I'll tell you what, like right around that time,

like when Cato Work got turned down by Hockey Canada, there seemed to be like a real conversation about junior leagues in Canada going independent. How much of a conversation is that on a day-to-day basis? Like if Hockey Canada is not going to help us out here, what do they do? What are they doing? Is that a conversation? I think on the first matter, you know, that's been a long-standing kind of partnership in the way exceptional status has been handled in hockey Canada.

And, you know, I think things always evolve and change and what that looks like going forward, you know, kind of who knows. Like, you know, Cade, for example, is a phenomenal player. We're really excited to see him in our league in a, you know, in a year's time and be here in the draft and call his name in the draft. And so I think that, you know, as we think about how things best work for the entire system, you know, that's one of those things that's constantly, I think, reviewed and considered. You know, on the Hockey Canada piece, like we have a relationship with Hockey Canada through, you know, a commercial partnership, essentially, an agreement that establishes our relationship. You know, that's something that we have had for a long time that we continue to work on and develop going forward.

You know, we have no interest in, you know, being a rogue league in Canada or something like that. Like, we're an independent organization. We have been. We have independence in our relationships with hockey Canada. And I think that the big thing for us is making sure that that relationship evolves and grows to match, you know, the changing dynamics within the ecosystem. And so, you know, we have a really invested partner in hockey Canada that has been supportive that we've worked together with for, you know, decades. And I think the important thing for us is that we want to be the best league in the world and we want to have the best players in the world. And that's Canadians, Americans, European players.

We want to make sure we're developing all of the top players for the NHL draft and for other leagues around the world. And that it is the premier place for a 16 to 19 year old player to play and develop and hopefully achieve their hockey goals and their other life aspirate. So, you know, I think that that's an important part of our role in the ecosystem. of making sure that hockey is strong, both in this country and in the U.S. Speaking of U.S., having a conversation with someone this morning, how many Americans do we expect in the first round? Like right now it seems as if, you know, more so than ever,

you mentioned Americans, you mention Europeans as well. There are more than ever. More American players going into Canadian junior hockey, your league, for example, specifically the Ontario League, more Europeans that are going right into Canadian major junior hockey as well. This is here to stay and we're going to see and hear Honeybaked.

We're going to see in here, Little Caesar, so you're going to see a lot of American kids getting up on stage. Do you have a thought on the dynamic between American-born players and the OHL? They've always been here. This is nothing new. It just seems as if now there are more than ever

American kids making the choice for junior hockey to go to the OHL. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's not, it isn't just seemingly that way. It's a, it's a fact. There's been more American players in our league, a record number that were drafted last year and played in our league. And that is a result of the change in rules at the NCAA level, that players that are, you know, grow up in the United States that think about and aspire to play at the NCAA, those players now have a pathway in the best development league in the world that can also still lead them to play for an NCAA program. And that's a great thing. That's a great thing for hockey.

It's a great thing for our families and our players in our league that that pathway is available to them. If they're not at the position where they are ready to make the NHL at 18 or 19 and that they may have now the choice to continue their development for another four or five years, whatever kind of direction that goes, that's a great thing for hockey, and that's a great thing for our league as well and our players. So I think that that's, you know, the reality is that, you know, the players want to play in the best league possible, and that is the OHL, and that is the CHL. And so more and more American players are interested in those opportunities.

We have teams in the United States, as you know, so there's a footprint there. And, you know, as I said, we want to make sure that the level of play in our league is the highest anywhere in the world and that we have the best players. and so Americans and international players will all be part of that. Has it been a challenging experience getting a lot of the different operators on board with the new reality of the development model in hockey right now?

Like, listen, when everything changed, and I still hear it to this day, too, talking to some teams, there's a lot of complaining about things that aren't going to change. That just aren't going to like, this is just the new reality. And one of the things that I always say to operators is like just make your program the best it can possibly be. Like if you do that, like just take care of your slice of the development pie, everything will be fine. Like the big picture is the big picture. The new reality is the new reality. Has it been a challenge?

Are all the operators there now in understanding and no longer having, you know, arguments that ultimately don't lead anywhere about what this new reality is? Like, do you know what I'm getting at, Brian? Like, there's a lot of complaining about like, oh, this is wrong and I hate this and kids need to stay for four years. And if they don't, we're not going to have them in our program. Like, I feel for you that way because there's this new reality that exists. And if you just take care of your spot in it, everything most likely will work out. Well, I mean, yeah, that's exactly right.

We're focused on what we control and that's our league and what makes our league the best in the world then what will allow us to continue to be the best in the world, what we need to focus on both areas of strength and areas of weakness and things that we need to invest in more and ensuring that the player experience is elevated and the standard of development and all of those sorts of things, whether it be areas that we're extraordinary in or areas of improvement, right?

And so, you know, that's how we kind of approach things. Like, what happens at other levels of hockey and in other places and other leagues? That's for them. What we can control is what we can control. And I think that generally, like our ecosystem, like change, change is hard, right? Change management is a big challenging thing for most people. I think that, you know, our league, given the amount of change that's occurred in the last, you know, two years, really, I've known, you know, I've known nothing else other than this kind of really dynamic time in sport.

I think that we've handled it very well and are very focused on progressive action and adjusting and well, you know, some areas are, you know, scary or intimidating. I think that we've done a good job in understanding, you know, where our strengths lie, where the opportunities lie, because that's really at the center of all of this. We have, you know, we're in a very enviable position, right? We have a lot of opportunities in front of us and it's really our job to grasp those opportunities and ensure that, you know, our model, our system is strong and healthy and sustainable for the long term and getting bigger and better. And, you know, it's all there for us.

So, you know, I'm excited about that. That's been, you know, part of what's been really rewarding in the position in this job in the last two years is that we've had these changes and we've had these opportunities that we've started to grasp. Going back to the in-person draft is an example of that, right? Mm-hmm. Okay, a couple of OHS spots here. So doing games in Cornwall, should we read anything into that? Well, I mean, other than going back to a market that we once existed in, it's about expanding our brand in Eastern Ontario, growing the brand there, right? It's about creating an event property. Yep. Also, in a time of year, you know, the fall, we've created a number of event properties in the fall to, you know, continue to kind of gain more relevancy. that time of the year. And it absolutely is an opportunity to see what the Cornwall market looks like and how it would

respond to, you know, OHL hockey. And, you know, we've, you know, been very transparent about the fact that we're very, you know, encouraging, not just encouraged, we're very aggressive in our desire to want to expand and grow our league. And so that's really what it's about. Is that mean that we're ultimately looking, you know, we're ultimately returning to Cornwall? No, it doesn't mean that at all. It means we're going there for a series of regular season games that are going to be a great event property

and will give us a good measuring stick of what might be possible. Okay. A couple of other markets really quickly here. What is, Dale DeGray takes over as a new general manager formerly of Owen Sound. What is the future with Niagara? Yeah, I mean, I think that Niagara is a bright future. It's one of the kind of as a, when you think about Niagara, a great hockey market, a tourism, destination, a great building.

Like, you know, it can be one of the marquee franchises in all of the CHL, let alone our league. And, you know, there's some things that it needed some help with to help get it going in the right direction. You know, we talk about Dale DeGray. Jason Diploc is a gentleman there, you know,

helping really establish the business. A major league baseball, you know, former Blue Jays executive, worked in golf with me, started his career way back in the OHL. So, you know, I think that we've got things headed in the right direction. There's lots of additional things that'll, you know, happen in the coming months there.

And so, you know, we want to build it so that there's a memorial cup in Niagara one day, right? Like, that's the kind of market that it is, that that's what we should be doing. You know, we went there with our futures camp event this year and that was a big event. And it's an important market for our league that is strong and healthy. The Niagara region is strong and healthy and contributing to our league in meaningful ways. So I think there's a really bright future,

You know, that organization, that franchise has everything at its disposal that it needs to be Uber successful. You would know a lot better than me, of course, because they'd be calling you on it. But I can't tell you how many people that I've talked to who's like, this guy wants to buy a team, that guy wants to buy a team, this group wants to buy a team. Like right now for OHL franchises, I'm guessing things are pretty robust within inquiries, both for expansion or just buying established teams. Is there anything there that you can share with us about, I don't know, future markets or new ownerships around the NHL? Because, as you know, the appetite's pretty high. Yeah, no, I mean, we've been very fortunate.

The inbound interest in our league is tremendous in all different ways, too. I mean, record partnerships over the last several seasons successively. You know, interest in ownership and being involved in our league is, I mean, I don't know the, you know, stats from before, but from every kind of, indication and feedback I received that it is certainly kind of a record that there's people that want to be part of the league that believe in what we're doing, where we're headed, what we mean to the communities that we're in. And that's really exciting, right? That's really exciting to have great people wanting to be involved in the league. You know, we continue to explore all sorts of

different markets in the Halton region, the York region, southwestern Ontario. And we have a number those communities that are, you know, highly engaged and invested in carrying out feasibility studies and working in negotiations, lots of reporting on Burlington over this last week as a market that we're very, very interested in and working together with a variety of public and private partners. You know, so we're, you know, we're encouraged that there's going to be traction and, you know, we'll be able to get, you know, get somewhere that allows us to see new teams in the league, you know, some point down the road. So they're big projects. They're managed in years. not months. There's a lot to them. That's a big investment for a community, especially when we're

talking about building new arenas. But the value of our franchises, they are, you know, the most important thing in these communities. They are, you know, they bind communities together. And they just, the economic impact is, of course, massive on a year to year base. So we believe in the mission and we believe in the value. Vaughn? Yeah. Like I said, York region is absolutely, you know, these are growth markets that are, you know, growing and expanding at rapid rates, leading the province and growth. When we think about the hockey markets in these communities, both from the teams and fans, you know, the desire for entertainment offerings in these communities that aren't, you know,

so that they don't have to go to, you know, downtown Toronto or they, you know, they're big enough that they support those. They have, you know, kind of a commercial base and a partnership base, all those sorts of things. You know, we're really interested and excited in all of those. Vaughn is one that we're certainly, you know, very, very keen on and would like to see, you know, really being able to also establish, you know, a presence around the GTA that might not be Toronto proper, but allows us to be, you know, very, very prevalent in the biggest hockey market in the world along with, of course, Oshawa being, you know, a leader of that group

in Brampton as well. I know you're probably not going to give me names, but if you give me numbers, how many since we talked about this last time we were together in Brantford, but how many NHLers, either current or X, have been around to kick tires or make phone calls?

Well, good question. A few. Yeah, definitely, definitely a few both current and former, but several that are currently playing in the league that are interested in being involved and, you know, can they work with a partnership or a group? And, you know, I think that, you know,

Zach becoming involved, I think, open some people's eyes to how they could be involved. I mean, we certainly have former players that have been involved in the league. That's really nothing new. But I think the current player, and as they become, you know, they're more and more savvy about, you know, their investments and their in their futures and what they're involved in and the desire to give back, right? These guys that were part of our league that was so, you know, fundamental to the kind

of their development, you know, they believe in it. They want to be part of it. So I think that's a really cool thing. And, you know, I think it speaks volumes as to what, you know, the league is. all about. Any of Zach's teammates? Just throwing darts. Any of whose teammates? Any of Zach's teammates?

We shall see. We shall see. Listen, Brian, first of all, before we wrap up here, thought on the Kitchen of Rangers, I really, really thought this was a great season for the Kitchen Rangers from disappointment, you know, not being, not being awarded the Memorial Cup to actually going out and winning the entire thing. I don't think that's ever happened in junior hockey before that a team that got turned down for hosting the Memorial Cup

went out and won it the season that they got turned down. This is a major accomplishment for this organization. Absolutely, absolutely. And I think that, you know, Mike made comments, I think, during their rally that when Joe came to him to tell them that they didn't get it and, you know, his response was, well, let's just go win it this year. Amazing.

Like, you know, I think, you know, I think that a lot of credit go, you know, Joe Birch, the governor and president there, that, you know, like the Rangers are a historic franchise in our league and in the CHL. And, you know, he, you know, I think they had some, you know, they did have some down years. And he's built a program there that is now at the top of the junior hockey world. and the moves that they made and the players that they brought in and what they did and obviously the fan base that's always been supportive and how they've invested.

I mean, they jumped on our new kind of player experience standards by investing and elevating their facilities immediately. Like they didn't wait. And, you know, their example of what is kind of a best in class in our league. And to win the champion, like, you know, they played a really great champion from the Western Hockey League who many thought may have been one of the best teams the Western Hockey League had ever seen. Oh, yeah.

Hands down. They're great. They're absolutely dominant for two games. And, you know, it says a lot about, you know, team building and culture. And, I mean, what the work that UC did to build, you know, build that program and, you know, integrate new players and leaders from other teams that have come, that came to the team. And, you know, that it's a magical run. And we're, you know, obviously, you know, blessed to have.

three straight O HL champions now, you know, three pretty amazing programs that have won championships consecutively. So, you know, it's, it is a very special time for our league. And we've got all this momentum and kind of success that is just, I think, compounding and piling on top of each other and just, you know, further accelerating, you know, where we're headed. You're, you're spending a lot of time with me here, so I want to be sensitive to it. So last one. What are the kids in store for tonight, round one oh-h-l priority selection well i mean we are we have put together an absolute first-class professional event tonight like it will look and feel like just like an hl draft with the LED video boards and the production value and the music and the process and all those sorts of

things kind of a return to the old um with the with the teams on the floor which actually that wasn't necessarily part of the vision that i had for it originally i love it um I love it. I love it. And, you know, I was thinking more of the NFL style, but no, they were like, no, no, give the tables on the floor, man. Yeah. Great. And so they're all there in the arena. You know, all of our teams are hosting their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their,

their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the hats, the, all of the details. And we wanted to be a first class experience set the standard, um, you know, the queue has done this at a really high level for a lot of years, you know, you know, we want to catch up feed them immediately and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, And so that's what they have to expect. And it's a celebration with their family and friends and teammates and supporters that is really what's at the center of all of this to celebrate, you know, the sacrifice, the years of hard work, you know, what the family has invested in this and welcome them into and be excited about what's ahead for them. So, and that'll continue, you know, from tonight through the weekend. It'll be, you know, great broadcast production.

We've got celebrities and guests and other sorts of people there. Like we've got, you know, you're going to see. some NHLers up there making selections on behalf of their alumni teams tonight and all sorts of things. It's, um, we're really excited about it and we're appreciative of everybody that's, you know, committed and come up here and there's, you know, as I said, thousands of people who have come in for the event this week. It's fantastic. Listen, I think everyone's excited about this, you know, on whether it's, you know, junior hockey,

professional hockey, like all of it. This is, it's a wonderful thing. Like, I don't know if you, if you sort of got a sense of like how much people missed it. Like, it's more, trust me, it's more than just me. Like, there's a lot of people like, I wish the OHL was doing it this way. So congratulations on you and your group for putting this together tonight and all weekend. Well, tomorrow will be an outstanding weekend.

We wish you all the best in Kingston. Thanks so much for stopping by tonight. Yeah, thanks, Jeff. Appreciate it. There is. Brian Crawford is the commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League. Today and tomorrow, the OHL returns to an in-person draft. I love it.

I think it's great. I think it's great for the kids. I think it's great for junior hockey. I'm having a hard time finding any negative in returning to the in person. I know that for the longest time, the OHL didn't do it. One of the main reasons was Don Cherry and Dave Ranch have had a very special relationship before Mr. Branch passed away. And like Don didn't like that there were kids that went home without getting drafted

and like long faces and tears and all that. And I understand it. Like Don's heart is in the right place on that one. But I think that the way to do it to make it special for the kids that do get drafted, and I always say to kids, previous to 2000, if you don't know if you're going to get drafted, don't go. Don't go. If you know you're going to get drafted, go.

If it's like maybe I'm going to get drafted, don't go. So I'm glad they're doing this in person again. I'm happy for him. Yeah, I think it's also a good point, too, about this might be the only opportunity for some of these kids. to get up there and put on the jersey and put on the hat and shake the hands and all that kind of stuff. It's a very special experience for kids to be drafted into the OHL, the CHL in general, and it should be celebrated as such. And I think making it in person makes it feel all that more special. You know, like the same thing is happening. You're getting drafted to a team,

whether it's in person or not, but this just feels special. And it's a special moment. These kids and their families will remember for the rest of their lives. It's pretty cool. I like that they're bringing it back as well. Yeah, I know. It's really cool. And congratulations to all the kids that get picked and the obligatory, even if you don't get chosen, that doesn't mean your hockey career is over.

Plenty of players don't get drafted into junior hockey. Then go on to have wonderful careers, both in junior and pro. But the list is long. Like there's so many guys that don't get picked. end up having tremendous, tremendous careers. Okay, let's get the weekend going here. So the segment is a presentation of the Ninja Crispy Pro Countertop Glass Air Friar. Get faster, crispier results at home or on the go with legendary Ninja Air Frying Power.

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They got there in game four. They got there in game four. And then they really took over in game five. They really took over last night in game five. And maybe it's just the Lee fan in me where it's like I need to actually see this for more than one time to actually start believing things. and I'm just a skeptic at this point. But I think in game four, I was like, okay, I'm seeing it. It's there.

But, you know, Wishes' counterpoint yesterday was, well, you know, goaltending. And I was like, okay, yeah, fair point. No, last night was the Carolina Hurricanes playing Carolina Hurricanes Hawking. It's going to be tough. Just the way that they kill penalties, the way that Carolina is just like, yeah, no problem. Just snuffing out power plays. Just snuffing them out.

Yeah. And flipping momentum in their own direction by creating chances and constantly having Vegas, not be on their heels during the power play, but have those moments where it's like attack, attack, attack, attack, attack. Where normally a team will just clear the puck and get it out. It's like, okay, regroup, come back in, attack, attack, attack, attack. It was like attack, attack, Vegas has a couple good chances. Oh, Carolina's on a two on one.

And then all of a sudden you're seeing there going, oh, my God, okay, and then they swarm the offensive zone. And then Vegas is dying to get back out. 30, 35 seconds have gone by. Now you got to bring the next unit out. Like it was creating problems for Vegas to create any type of momentum. So, Berkey says short leash for Carter Hart in the next game. I don't know, man. I'd be really thinking hard because he's given up four every game.

So I was thinking about this after our boy, John. I was thinking about it after our boy, Las had his, his first John Torrella moment. But I think, you know, the last probably in the moment was like, oh, damn, was that a bad question? It was not a bad question. It was an extremely valid question.

I think that was less... Put it this way. For young broadcasters out there that wonder about that, go, I don't want to be in that situation. If it's what everybody is thinking, ask it. Yeah. Doesn't matter how they respond. Your responsibility to ask.

If everyone's thinking it, you ask it. So I was thinking about it after. I think that that was more, maybe more so towards giving a nod to Carter Hart and backing his goaltender than it was dumping on Johnny. That's not a bad question. And I think that's him giving the support to Hart. So that's why I think he's going Hill here and it is going to be,

or Hart, excuse me, and it is going to be Hart starting. But look, man, DJ, put out, DJ Bean put it out last night. Putting in Aden Hill last night makes it a lot easier for you to have to make a switch going forward because now if you go down to nothing in the first period on Sunday and you have to go to Aden Hill, like, I'm stealing a phrase from Jeff O'Neill, but the underpants cam is off the charts on everybody involved in Vegas. Like you're, you shouldn't be wearing white underwear on Sunday night if that's the case.

That's a scary situation. Do not disagree. All right. It's the NHL season. FanDuel, you're home for all the action on the ice. From Blue Line to Bet Slip, we've got you covered all season with unique promos, live offerings, and more features to let you play your game. What's the market on Aden Hill getting the start on Sunday? Miss Puck drop, no sweat with the live same game parlay.

You can build your bets up until the final buzzer. Download FanDual Sportsbook today and play your game. Please play responsibly, 19 plus, and physically located in Ontario. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1-8665-3-3-2-6-100 to speak to an advisor free of charge. How are you doing this one today on a Friday, Zacharoo? You know what I just wanted to show you what's going on in the Con Smythe Trophy market because we've talked about constantly here, is it Mitch Marner's no matter what?

The odds are no longer showcasing that that would be the case. we now have a definitive leader in the consmite market. Amazing, eh? Stahl. Yeah. Look, another amazing game from him last night. He scores the goal. A fantastic play by him, you know, takes McNabb out of the play.

If he doesn't close on that hit in the corner either, he doesn't have that half second to get to the front of the net with the separation from McNap, right? Because McNabb probably just turns back towards the front of the net. He's toe to toe with stall, and he never gets that. So great play, but it wasn't just that. It was what he was doing on the penalty kill. We saw the play where, you know, it's broken sticks and getting in lanes. We've seen him, you know, commanding everything out there, commanding traffic, as well as a couple of chances he created.

Now he leads the cons my trophy market at minus 110 Mitch Marner and second at plus 270. And I don't see a way here in which the Carolina Hurricanes win and Jordan Stahl doesn't take this thing. I just, I know. Even if murder has a four-point game on Sunday night and Carolina wins 5-4, I don't see it. Yeah, I don't think you're wrong. And I hate to admit it, Wyshinsky was right. Wyshinsky was right.

Before the last night, I was like, there's no one that's really dissing. No, no, no, no, Jordan Stahl. And after last night, it's Jordan Stahl. Because he's going to score on Sunday. Everybody knows. He's going to score on Sunday. Oh, I know.

That was something I was looking at as well. what are his odds to score on Sunday. I was hoping that they would put up some type of stuff for like a Jordan Stahl game six and seven and bet on that kind of stuff, score in every game. But yeah, betting on Jordan Stahl to score on Sunday night I think is something I'm going to have to be doing myself. But, you know, clips that are going to live forever, Jeff, one that I'm going to keep for the rest of my life.

What's that? You yelling the other day last week when we were talking about what lines to change. you said Jordan Martinuk save that top line baby Did I say that? Yes Oh I mean yes of course Zach I told you And by the way

It was before he It was before Rod changed the lines We were talking about on the show you and Greg What do you do with the first line And you said you you know tongue in cheek said Jordan Martin saved that top line So I was talking about it was intended I was talking to Roddy the other day.

I'm like, you might want to do something with Bump Martin and a swap out with Seth Jarvis. Not that you mentioned. Yeah, I remember that. Yeah. Talk to Roddy on a daily basis there. Of course, that was all my genius. Broken clock right twice a day, right?

Find squirrel, finds him out of course. Yes, save that clip. And all of my other bad takes, boom, to the moon. Delete. With all of one forever. To the moon. buddy you have a great weekend we'll talk again on on monday my friend thank you uh you as well by the way the canada world's cup game is kicking off here at 3 p.m i live downtown

toronto yes you do it is a madhouse here and i wasn't sure what to expect are you leaving i can't leave the house seeing it are you going to go um probably going to go to a bar to watch the game here but i think that other than that that's probably it come back here after do some work but like it's it's a a very, very cool environment. I didn't know what to expect. It's awesome. Parading the streets, chanting, thousands of people waving flags, face pain and everything. It's, it's very, very cool. Go down to college street. Go down to go down to college, like, uh, college, like Italy, or Portugal, like go. That is, that is an experience, man. That's the coolest. College,

college cheat when Italy plays is fantastic. Anyway, enjoy your World Cup festivities and a couple of days off hockey and then, man, all eyes on Sunday. Game 6, can we see a close out here by the Carolina Hurricanes? Yeah, swap out Martin. Come on, man. I knew that I called that, of course. Thanks to Brian Brooke for stopping by the program, as always. And thanks to Brian Crawford, the commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League. This weekend is the return to the in-person draft for the OHL. I should have mentioned this earlier. It does very much sound like Kane Clucce will be going first overall to the Oshawa. generals and yes, just to make you feel old or older, his dad was former NHL netminder,

Dan Cluchet, who's now special advisor to the GM. I believe that's the title with the, with the Guelph Storm. Also, Riker Kessler, expected to go in the first round as well, perhaps to London, we'll see. Or if not, first round, at least early second. So he plays on that Little Caesar's team. So just making you feel old here on Friday afternoon. You know, Kessler and Clucet. Kids getting drafted in the OHL.

Where's my cane? Oh, my hip. I better get moving. Thanks so much for watching. Thanks so much for listening. Thanks so much for interacting, chatting all of it. And subscribing as well. We thank you for being part of this experience with us here at Daily Faceoff.

We will be back Monday 1 o'clock Eastern for the sheet. We could be talking about a Stanley Cup champion in the Carolina Hurricanes, or we will be talking about a game seven. And who doesn't love that? We all do. We'll see it Monday.