The Sheet with Jeff Marek - Lucic Opens Up, Luchanko Blockbuster, Rantanen Suspended ft. Milan Lucic & Spencer Hyman

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

Jeff Marek kicks off a packed episode with Milan Lucic, who opens up about his road back to professional hockey, the physical grind of returning from a major adductor tear, and the mental challenges he’s worked through over the past two years. Lucic dives deep into recovery, vulnerability, family support, and what he hopes the next step in his career looks like as he continues his PTO with Springfield. Marek then shifts to the massive Brantford Bulldogs news, bringing on Spencer Hyman to break down the blockbuster Luchanko trade, why this move was years in the making, how Brantford is building a “traveling all-star team,” and what top prospects like Caleb Malhotra are projecting toward for the NHL Draft. The show also covers Mikko Rantanen’s automatic suspension and the fallout across the league, the razor-thin margins in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and why so much of the league’s elite talent is concentrated in the West. With standout conversations, CHL/U-20 insights, and big-picture NHL storylines, it’s a loaded Monday edition of The Sheet.SHOUTOUT TO OUR SPONSORS!!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Bauer: https://www.bauer.com/👍🏼Uber Eats: https://www.ubereats.com/ca👍🏼Prime Video: https://primevideo-row.pxf.io/c/5560083/3303015/20020Reach 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-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay, I want Zach in for the first one here. Hey, Zach. You are still alive. Your mother and I are very concerned about you, by the way. Trying to keep you off bridges these days. Does it have anything to do with three-hour T-hour posting shows? To say nothing with having to deal with the rage of Jay Rosehill After watching certain players on a certain night

Against a certain team On a certain broadcast In front of a certain country But anyhow, perhaps more on that later I wanted to ask you a question Yeah We'll play a game called Know Your Standings And maybe you know your country

If the playoffs started today Guess how many Canadian teams are in? I believe Three, Ottawa, Winnipeg. That's a funny way to pronounce one. You're pronouncing one, three? Did I miss something? I haven't been to school for a while.

One. I mean, I didn't look at the standings after yesterday. I thought as of Saturday night, Montreal was back. I mean, I'm not going to say you're wrong. I'm just explaining my thought process here. You're obviously looking at it. Mm-hmm, I am indeed. Huh.

One. Do you know who that team was? Winnipeg, right? Nope. Winnipeg's in a tough way right now, bud. Wow. Ottawa. Ottawa.

Senators. Senators. Canada's hope right now. Edmonton. Winnipeg. Should I mention the Maple Leafs? No, you don't have to do this. Okay, well, I want to mention the Maple.

Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver. one the Ottawa senators if it started today the only reason we bring up things like this this week specifically is because the cut line is usually drawn on the U.S. Thanksgiving. It just becomes that much more tougher. Although this year I will throw in the caveat though

that everything especially in the east is really, really tight. Like all of a sudden now the Buffalo Sabres are kind of looking not great but maybe if you squint really hard and they get lucky and get a save and get some timely goals and maybe Bill Garen can be in attendance at every Buffalo Sabres game to look at Tage Thompson and Alex Tuck so the Sabres can perform the way that they did yesterday. You can kind of make the argument that maybe Buffalo has a chance.

Dare we say it, but one, Zach, one Canadian. So Montreal is tied with Philadelphia in points. That's where that was where the confusion was for me on that one. They're there in a wild turn with the points percentage. Yes. Philly's played less games than the Montreal Canadiens. I get it. I get it.

That's all right. Not a math guy. It's why I played hockey and do that kind of stuff. Creative. Drop your pants to count the 21. I get it. Your hockey player. I never heard that one.

Let that one sink it, everybody. Hold that one. Hold that one. Okay. I like that. Oh, geez, Mary. Come on. Thanks for joining.

us here today. Anything, while I have you on, before we get to the blueprint, anything jump out, I mean, non-leaf related because that's a, boy, that's a, that's a weighted conversation. But like a few things jumped out at the weekend for me. Colorado continues to excel. Oh, actually, you know what? I want to, I was mentioning this to Gregor last night. One thing I want to bounce off you is having a conversation with someone who's been around like forever, around various NHL teams and players who brought up a really interesting point, which is, and we're not talking about like the heart trophy. Okay, so bracket the heart trophy in this statement. and just think about like the most valuable player to his team

right now we're all and rightfully so going nuts over what Colorado was doing and yeah they had the soft first period last night against Chicago but like that second period when Colorado turned it on shots are 19 to 1 tilt the rink all of it they look like the best team in the universe it's phenomenal and we're all going crazy about it and this person I've known for a long time I've got a lot of respect for it says

you know who the MVP is he goes Gabe Landiscock and said well well, listen, he's my favorite player. So, of course, I'm going to go, yeah, right on, man. But, like, even I can't go. Like, he's not playing better than Cal McCarr. He's not playing better than Nathan McGinn.

And I said, no, no, no. He's not talking about what they're doing on the ice. But he said as far as, like, making a lot of this possible. And this isn't a shot against Nathan McKinnon, but, like, he runs hot. And that's what makes it work for him. And without Gabe Landisog, it can be at times tough for players in that dressing room in that locker room when there's someone that's like that tightly wound

all the time. Like Nate needs that in order for him to succeed. He said, the presence of, he said, it's no surprise that Landiscag has come back to that room and all of a sudden everybody feels better about themselves. The last time we saw Landiscag, he was winning the Stanley Cup. Colorado kind of dipped a little bit there for a couple of years.

Gabe Landiscag is back now and all of a sudden we're talking about the Colorado Avalanche as if they're the best team in the world and who's going to beat them and they're going to win the Stanley Cup this year. And he said, it's not hard trophy stuff because he's not at the same level as McCarron McKinnon, but you can make the point that what's making this work with the avalanche right now

is the presence of Gabriel Andescott, one of, if not the best leader, Tengen Sidney Crosby, in the entire NHL. I thought a lot about that over the weekend. Does that make sense to you as a former hockey player, Zach Phillips, not that Zach Phillips, but the other Zach Phillips? Not the one that I've been tweeted at about like 14 times this weekend

because the guys at the athlete also put out an article about the uh the worst trades for each team and that was listed and i'm like getting tweet tagged being like oh i didn't know this like no wrong guy yeah anyways uh yeah 100% it makes sense uh it's kind of one of those things that i think we saw life injected into them in the playoffs last year where it's not the way he plays on the ace but it's like the presence in the room he's here and now you're getting the full off season preseason regular season effect of it where it can like actually be implemented and i know the kickback is like well he was around the team previously it's different not like this when you're going on the ice it's different

when he's there in the battle with you and not just like not because he doesn't want to but like standing behind the lines being like go get them like it's it's like way different being like i'm gonna go in there and throw rocks with you guys that it's a very uplifting thing and i think that that kind of changes the mentality of that team going into each game where it's like we have our warrior with us like having that guy alongside also to your point it's kind of like in a weird way also a guy who can run hot but like the cooling heads effect where like McKinnon might be like throwing a helmet at a guy and then Landiske's like it's all right well you have to you have to understand. Well, you see by your honor. Like what my client is trying to say is. Yeah, you just

kind of do that. Well, what Gabe is trying to get. What, what Nate is trying to get at here. Like, listen to your buddy Gabe. Like, this is, this is what's going on. But no, it just feels like everybody is really comfortable being themselves on that team. And it's no, it's no coincidence that that is the return of Gabriel Landisog to the Colorado Avalanche. Now, again, I will admit my bias. He is my favorite player and has been for a number of years in the NHL. But That one really resonated with me and made a lot of sense. Okay, so to today's show, and we have a packed one for you. The Blueprints is powered by Fanduel.

Download the app today and play your game on Fandual. Looking forward to a couple of big interviews we have coming up here in a couple of moments. In a few seconds, we will be joined by Milan Luchitch, 17 seasons in the NHL. He is trying a comeback now, as we all know, in the St. Louis Blues organization with Springfield. We'll talk about the comeback. We'll talk about the last couple of years in his life and we'll talk about essentially where he's at mentally, where he's at physically and how things are going and has returned to pro hockey. Spencer Hyman of the Hyman family who owned the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL pulling off a massive trade today. Philadelphia Fire's first round draft pick Jetlucenko goes from the Guelph Storm who are hosting the Memorial Cup next season, goes to the Brantford Bulldogs.

And now essentially, Brantford is more of a traveling all-star team. even were before. We'll talk to Spencer Hyman. He's like Hyman's brother. He's the general manager and one of the owners of the band for Bulldogs. We'll talk about the nature of Dilichenko deal, which I think actually goes back to last year's OHL trade deadline and everything else, Bulldog, as it relates to Spencer Hyman.

We'll get into the Rantanin suspension as well. That was an automatic, by the way, and I don't expect anything supplemental. now for Rantanin, there very much was the feeling that the calls on the ice, obviously for Romanoff, and then with Coronado on Saturday, were sufficient, but the two misconducts within 41 consecutive games kicks in,

and it's an automatic one gamer for Miko Ransan. Also coming off the weekend, Winnipeg Jets, as I mentioned, there's only one Canadian team currently in a playoff position, and that is the Ottawa Senators. Winnipeg is out as of this moment. The Minnesota Wilde for the first time in nine,

is it nine games or ten games? I think it might be ten. Actually beat the Winnipeg Jets. The Minnesota Wild right now are on an absolute heater. The goalies, like for the two goaltenders, and Jasper Walsh stat with another great performance, three shutouts in four games for the tandem. but right now the pucks look as big as flying saucers for these two goaltenders

and the line of Joel Erick Seneck, Matt Boldy, who's been fantastic and Marcus Johansson. I'm going to come shy of calling them the best line in the NHL, but man, you can make a case for it. The Minnesota Wild right now are basically untouchable and leaving teams in the dust. And the other thing about Minnesota, I've mentioned this previous, there may not be, although Vegas, Vegas is right there over the last 10 years. There may not be another team outside or perhaps Vegas that makes better games with multiple opponents than the Minnesota Wild. Now, the caveat is Vegas because they have great games. They have the ability to have great games with different styles of teams, perhaps more so than anybody in the NHL,

but I'll put Minnesota there right along with the Vegas Golden Knights. That team is a lot of fun to watch. That team is highly skilled. I'm glad to see it really come together right now, specifically for the goaltending, which was a massive question mark going into the season, specifically with Yesper Walshatt, who did not exactly have the best year last year in the American Hockey League.

So happy for him, happy for John Hines, happy for those players, happy for management, ownership fans, all of it with the Minnesota Wild. So, and if you're, if you're wondering why so much of the conversation revolves around the Western Conference right now is like, it seems like all the great things in hockey right now are happening in the Western Conference. We just mentioned the Minnesota Wild. Previously, we talked about the Colorado Avalanche. A quick little glance here at, let me just grab this quickly, the top scorers around the NHL. and what they all have in common.

Let's go through it. Nathan McKinnon, Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid, Connor Bedard, William Nielander, Jack Eichel, Leo Carl McArle, David Posternak, and Mark Schifley, eight of the ten in the Western Conference. And there are, as much as in the Eastern Conference,

you can make the argument, there's a collection of really good teams, and we see a lot of movement in interdivisional. when you have a look at the Western Conference, Western Conference is where you get like capital T teams, and that is led by the Colorado Avalanche. The Dallas Stars have found their way. They look awesome.

I just mentioned the Minnesota Wild, even though I don't know the Anaheim Ducks have quite the staying power to stay on top of the Pacific Division. Right now, they're looking like a juggernaut. I know a really bad giveaway by Mitch Marner, that game on Saturday, to Cutter Goce, who makes no mistake. Anaheim finds themselves on top, the Seattle Cracken.

Again, I'm not sure whether this is legit, this is a mirage, this is Fool's Gold, what this is. But the Seattle Cracken are in there, number two in the Pacific, and the always dangerous, although right now kind of mid-Vegas Golden Knights, are in third. Utah is on the horizon, and that's a team on the come. Don't be surprised if, and we talked to Drew Amenda about this last week and kind of said, like, is there a chance? Maybe this will happen. Don't look now, but like the San Jose sharks are just below the cut line. And Yaroslav Askarov has been nothing short of phenomenal.

And as much as, let me just grab a quick list here, as much as we talk about all the young kids, I just mentioned Cutter Goce a second ago and we talked about Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard. Just a moment of respect for some of the young goaltenders. And again, the one thing these goleys all have in common is they play in the Western Conference. Yaroslav Ascarov in the month of November has like a 952 or a 953 save percentage. Lucas Dostal, we're looking at now with Anaheim and saying how many Veznance does this guy have in him? Spencer Knight, it is at 920 or 922 safe percentage. Just mentioned Ypres Wallstatt with another shutout.

He's in and around 926, 927 as far as save percentages go. So amazing things right now happening in the Western Conference. And so this is sort of a message to everybody that watches in the, the Eastern Conference. You might want to stay up a little bit later because right now the better teams and you can make the argument the better players exist in the Western Conference. And the evidence is before us each and every night. Okay. This segment is a presentation of Prime Monday Night Hockey. Prime Monday Night Hockey streams all national regular season Monday night NHL games on Prime Video and

Canada and is available free to Prime Members in Canada. Stream Prime Monday Night Hockey exclusively on Prime Video and experience thrilling goals and dramatic plays from the NHL. Monday nights are hockey nights. Don't miss a moment of the action. Tonight, the Ottawa Senators, did I mention it's the only Canadian team in the playoffs right now? They're on the West Coast.

You take on the Kings. Puck drops at 9 p.m. Eastern. Check out the link in our description for the Prime Monday Night Hockey schedule on Prime Video or go to Prime Video. com slash NHL. Also on Prime Video, faceoff, inside the NHL season two. Subscribe with a 30-day free trial to Prime Video to watch Monday Night Hockey and the new season of Faceoff. Download the app or go toprimevideo.com. With that, we'll bring aboard our first guest. He is a veteran of 17 seasons in the

NHL, currently on a PTO, playing with AHL Springfield, making a comeback. He is Milan Luchich, and he joins me on the show now. Milan, thanks so much for stopping by today. How are you? I'm doing good. How are you doing? I'm doing well. I guess that really should be the first question. How are you doing physically?

How are you doing mentally? I mean, the two can go hand to hand. How are both sides of you doing right now? Like you said, those are two different things. But physically, physically I'm doing all right. I mean, I had an unfortunate. pretty big injury in the exhibition season. I ended up having a grade three ad-doctor tear.

So that set me back. And I actually played the last three preseason games, you know, battling through it because of the situation, what I was in, I wanted to give the blues something to evaluate. So physically, I'm finally feeling good again. You know, mentally I'm just doing what I can. to, you know, stay positive, stay motivated.

You know, it's, it's been fun being around these guys here in Springfield. So, you know, doing what I can to stay positive for sure. I want to get to the mental side a little bit more because, like, look, we're all works in progress. I've said this from day one. None of us are finished products by any stretch of the imagination. But the nature of your injury, like, those are the skating muscles. I don't know if you ever had anything similar to that earlier in your career,

but what was recovery from that like for you? Like, what did you have to go through? Well, it's tough because, you know, touching on the mental side of things, you know, I don't think a lot of people realize how mentally how it affects you when you are injured. you're on a different time schedule you're on your you're on your you're on your you're on your own um you know i've never had this injury before thankfully uh which is odd for hockey players you know at some point some guys usually get a a growing strain or tear or something but fortunately for me i've never had this experience before and you know when you're dealing with a big time lower body

injury um it's it's tough because you can't go on the ice yeah you got a you know the start of the rehab process you're you're basically just walking you know i spent a lot of time just walking in a treadmill walking going for walks outside you know just to keep the movement and the blood flow going but that's that's really all you can you can do at the start the first i would say you know two weeks and And like I said, it gets a little mentally taxing because you're used to your body being your moneymaker and being able to do things that most people can't do. So, you know, it gets frustrating, but you got to just kind of, you know, mentally just focus on what you can control on that day and just try to get, you know, whether it's 2% better, 5% better, whatever it is, you know, and control what you can control on that day. and then, you know, once things start feeling better, you get on the ice. But when you first get back on the ice, you have to be cautious because you don't want to, you know, redo it.

I think that's the difference between, you know, muscles and bones and tendons is, you know, when you're dealing with muscles and tendons, they have a tendency if you rush them too fast or you push it hard a little hard too early, you can you can re-aggravate it or re-injure it. so you know you're you're trying to be cautious but you're also trying to push it so it's it's it is mentally taxing so um yeah but all in all i mean the recovery was great they they took really care of me in st louis and and um you know got me going to where i was able to get back with the team and and play a few games at springfield Who in St. Louis really sort of pushed for you for this opportunity with the blues organization? It's always easier when you have someone stumping for you. And in your corner, who was that guy, who were those guys, who were your people?

I mean, from the get-go, it was just talking to the general manager, Doug Armstrong. He was very interested in pushing for me. And even from the coaching staff, you know, Jim Montgomery and even Claude Julian, who's a part of the coaching staff, you know, I would say those three guys were definitely pushing for me to, you know, come to the blues on a PTO because I had experience with all three of them in the past. So, yeah, those are the guys I would say that were pushing for me. I mentioned earlier

like nobody is a nobody's a finished product and I also have and I learned this really early in my life that I carry with me this belief that nobody wakes up in the morning and says I'm going to blow it today no one I'm convinced

that nobody wakes up and says my decision is to blow it as much as you can can you tell us what the last couple of years have been like for you yeah It's, you know, a lot of ups and downs. I mean, just going through a lot.

Obviously, I'm in a better place today than I was even a year ago from today. But like you said, you know, everything is, I'm trying to word this the right way. Take your time. Take your time. Yeah. It's, you know. nobody nothing is ever perfect and and and people deal with struggles and and people are struggling every day and and I think a lot of people suffer in silence as well and you know I I I think I grew up in a way where you where you you know you don't show

weakness you're you're tough right you know you don't ask for help you you you you deal with it internally and and eventually it just it just piles up and piles up and piles up and to your point. And I agree with you that nobody wakes up and says, I'm going to, you know, just blow it all up today. And, you know, for me, I think there were a lot of things that I didn't deal with properly in the past. I mean, you know, a big one, and I've talked about this before, was, you know, my dad's death who he, you know, 10 years ago he decided to take his own life and and you know it was it was one of those things that

I didn't grieve properly and then you know a lot of different things started happening and and I just didn't deal with my issues the right way and and and eventually it just like I said it just came to a point of you know where where my life was unmanageable anymore and and you know I I knew I had to make changes, and I did over the last two years with a lot of, you know, support, especially, I would say one of my biggest support has been my partner, my wife, and, you know, she's helped me and had my back and been a huge support for me through all this. And her and the kids are a big reason why, you know, I've been, you know, making strides in the right direction.

So, you know, still things aren't perfect. I mean, there's no, to add to your point with what you said, you know, so everything's always a work in progress. It's one of the quotes that we like to use is progress, not perfection, because there is no finish line as far as self-care, self-worth, you know, getting better, recovery, whatever program people run in their daily lives. There is no finish line to it. you know until the end and so just just finding tools and ways to to manage myself and and loving myself

so I can you know have good relationships and love others has been a big part of you know the last the last few years you know I'll I'll tell you something about my past when I was 16 years old you know here we are in November where you know NHL um And NHL Fight's Cancer Month is very much front and center for a lot of people. I lost my mom when I was 16 years old. And I didn't deal with it very well at all. And it carried well into my 20s and 30s. And my two passengers I carried everywhere were drugs and alcohol.

And that was two of the more miserable choices I ever made in my life. But I didn't have anything else around me. And those were all the decisions I made were fueled by that. And it all stemmed from that one event. And I carried it. And I probably still do carry it. to this single day. And I've thought about you, Milan, when I hear you talk about your father and I can't

imagine what that feels like, but that's another, like, dark passenger that you carry and you're going to carry for a long time. I don't know how, I mean, passing away from cancer is bad enough. I don't know what type of tools I would need to go through what you went through with your father. Do you still carry that? I do. I definitely do.

Yeah, that's why, you know, I said before, you know, people, you don't really know what's going on in other people's lives because I think a lot of people suffer in silence. And I know I did. And sometimes an event like that, you know, you just, you just share. your experience with your mother and even for me, you know, I had a really hard time getting vulnerable with people. And, you know, and I turned to, you know, mainly alcohol, you know, to mask what I was feeling because instead of, you know, because I built walls, you know, I started to not be vulnerable and, you know, I would never really express how I would feel. And also, there's a fine line to that, you know, it's, you don't express to everyone what you're feeling.

And, you know, it's not like now you need to be vulnerable to every single person. But, you know, it's good to have, it's good to have people in your corner, you know, whether it's three people, four people, five people, you know, people that you truly trust, you know, um that that you can be fully vulnerable with and and that truly want to help you and uh for me you know that's that's something you know that i that i struggle with and led me down a path of uh masking my problems more and more just because of a big event like that and and and not only that like you know i i i was struggling you know i had that event and then i started to struggle with my play um you know and so you know that that was it compounds it compounds it's like one at the other one and then it's just like a layer and then eventually right and and it's

it's it's like i said it's it became unmanageable and and and and from the outside you know a lot of people look oh look you know it's an hl player it makes a ton of money you know gets to live this lavish lifestyle and and whatnot so how could how could somebody like that have any problems when you know i think most guys deal with a lot of real life problems like like everyone else does in their in their in their regular days but i think an important thing is is like i talked about is you know having support and and being vulnerable i i don't know if you talked about this but when when um when eddie old chick spoke about hockey fights cancer and you know when he when he first started going through it he he felt like he was a burden on people but because people were

trying to help him and it wasn't until he started letting people help him you know it helped him in his recovery and it also you know when you allow people to help you it helps them too you know because they're being of service and it helps them with whatever you know they're going through and you know to to help somebody else and so you know if someone's truly trying to help you know then you know that's that's a good sign to to let someone in and be vulnerable with that person and not build those walls like like i did and and and also you know and also you know search for answers at the bottom of a bottle or or mask your problems by trying to escape with that dopamine hit. So, you know, it's, it's, you know, it's a powerful thing to be able to have support and

people to rely on. But also you learn that, you know, you can be, you know, in a right place to help someone else too. And that's, that's a big part of, you know, recovery and in dealing with your problems as well. I do want to ask you about hockey here. I just have, have, have, one one more question sort of along this vein about you. What do you want? And the answer might be, I don't care. And that's legit. But what do you want people to know about Milan Luchich?

You can say I don't care. And it would be a legitimate answer. You answer only to the immediacy of your family around you. Yeah, I mean, you know, I've, what do I mean it's it's funny because you know I talked about a little bit about you know being an NHL player and you know it's it's it's a great game I love playing the game I gave my life to the game and but that's just that's just the part of who I am you know that's not that's not you know it's almost like it's almost like a character

right because the person that I am on the ice and and and you know how I go about my business and in trying to help my team achieve a goal and win hockey games is is is is is not who I am uh you know as a person and you know so I guess that's that's that's that's really the only thing all the other stuff is you know I've is I've I've I've I've I've always tried to be a good teammate, a good friend, good family member, and that's, that's, that's really, that's really it. Okay, let me ask you, let me ask you about hockey here. So next steps, next week, what's the plan, next game, next skate, like walk us, walk us through if you can, sort of, how far ahead are you looking, or is it just, I'm just looking forward to the next time I'm on the sheet? uh yeah i mean it's hard it's it's hard for me to say i'm just looking forward to the next time i'm

on my sheet on the sheet because you know that's that's that's where i'm trying to keep my mind at you know you know just just worry about today just worry about today just worry about the next you know worry about the next practice but um because at the end of the day you know the goal is to be playing in the nchel right um and you know, I'm in a position where I can only control what I can control, and it goes back to what I just talked about. I can only control what I can do on the ice today, and then, you know, see if there's an opportunity with the blues.

If not, maybe an opportunity with another team. But then again, those are things that I can't control. So we'll see how the next, I guess, couple days go and see if I end up back, you know, playing the game I love in the NHL more than anything. Listen, we wish you all the success. And wherever this ends up leading, it's pretty obvious that your head is in a really good place.

I love the sweater. I think we all do looking at that. Like you talk about, like, you know what? Like, I'm a hockey player, but that's just part of me, but, like, dad's a lifetime role. And it sounds very much like you're in a really good spot. Thanks so much for joining me here today. Continued success and best of luck wherever this has.

All right. Thank you. Have a great day. There he is Milan Luchitch of H.L. Springfield currently on a PTO. Well, that went in a lot of different directions there. I want to go back and watch it and listen to what he had to say. But I can, and the story of his father taking his own life is one that hopefully, not everybody can relate to, but can sympathize with and bring with that the understanding

that sometimes all of our choices are not our own, despite the fact that we are all responsible for our choices. I'll have more to say on that interview and some of those comments from Luchich, after I go back and listen to it, I don't want to, I respect you too enough just to give you a glib sort of what I thought about it until I go back and watch it and listen to it again. but we thank Milan Luchich for stopping by the program today. Okay, this next segment is a presentation of Bauer and the Bauer Pulse, the first Bauer stick to feature their latest kickpoint innovation.

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ultra-lightweight and rigid boron fiber material, which creates a high strength to weight ratio and optimizes energy storage. It also increases reactivity. Featured on 40 flex sticks and above for more information, check out Bauer.com. With that, we'll bring aboard. One of the owners of the brand for bulldogs of the OHL, the general manager of set of franchise, who pulled off another Whopper today, bringing in Philadelphia Flyers first round draft pick, Jet Lechenko, Spencer, joins me Spencer. First of all, congratulations on bringing in Jetlucenko to this team that was kind of already a traveling all-star team, and now just looks like an absolute wagon.

How far back did this one go? be honest with you, I heard rumors and reports and whispers about this, even going back to last year's OHL trade deadline. And congratulations on the deal, by the way. Yeah, thanks, Jeff. Great to see you. We purchased the team last year in January, you know, kind of before the deal was right around the trade deadline. And our GM at the time then, Matt Turc was, I know, working on, you know, trying to get this deal done. And for whatever reason, You know, it didn't work out at the time. And, you know, we've, you know, wanted to acquire Jet for a long time.

And, you know, touch base in the summer. And, you know, and then obviously he wasn't sure if he was going to be back in our Lee or not. And when he did come back and both got the bid, it, you know, felt like it was time to touch base again. And we're grateful that we were able to work something out. I'm not going to ask you the obvious question, which is why were you attracted to Jet Lechenko? I mean, that's pretty obvious. anyone who's seen him play. I'm always wondering about sort of touch points and who knows who and who's like,

I can't help but looking at this one and saying Philadelphia Flyers, Danny Breyer, Jay McKee, like a lot of it sort of goes hand to glove here. Is that an accurate way to look? I know you always wanted the player, but I mean, the relationships are already there. I have a hard time believing that Danny Breyer wouldn't be looking at this going. You know what? That's a good deal for our prospect. you know what I think it's coincidence you know Jay and Danny are obviously very close

but golf's got an amazing staff there as well and great development program so I think the flowers were probably comfortable with him being in either organization you know for us I think the biggest thing is you know we feel like we have a team that's positioned you know this year to hopefully go on a good run and you know with that I think it's very important for a young player that's, you know, on the cusp of getting into the NHL to learn how to win. And, you know, so from, you know, I spoke to Jed this morning, my perspective is he's, he's coming to play for the best coach in the CHL and Jay McKee, a coach that I've said multiple times as an NHL coach coaching at the CHL level and we're very fortunate that Jay's our

head coach, you know, and he's going to come here develop and hopefully learn how to win. That's our goal. We want to go on a long run here. And, you know, a big reason to make the move now to bring Jet in, obviously, before World Juniors, is for him to get familiar with our club, with our players, with how we do things. And, you know, knowing that when he does get back from there, if, you know, he's on the team and, you know, that he's comfortable already right when he walks to the door.

A couple of things. Oh, by the way, you mentioned the World of Juniors. How many players are you going to lose to the Junior, to the World Junior Championships? Like that, like, December, early January piece is going to be a little bit tough for the Bulldogs now? You know what? I actually, I think it's amazing because at the end of the day, this

whole level in junior hockey is all about development and putting players in the best position to succeed. Of course, you want to win. Everyone wants to win. I wouldn't hide that fact, but I want to see all my players have that opportunity. I think it's unbelievable. What's great about it as well is that while I miss players at the World Juniors,

I get younger prospects that are developing incredibly well in the tier two level. They can come up and really showcase them solves, get the experience. So, you know, next year and the years, you know, the year of the years, you know, following, they're ready to come and contribute.

So I think it's a win-win. If I had it my way, I'd have every one of my players in the World Juniors, you know, and we're excited and grateful to see as many as we can, you know, get that opportunity. One player I do want to talk about. talk to you as well, who's going to be a big part, and he's the captain, of the CHL USA Prospect Challenge in Calgary and Lethbridge is Caleb Malhotra. Now, for those that may not be familiar with Caleb Malhotra, he is Mani Malhotra's son, and as such, as a second-generation

hockey player, he already has, like he already sort of understands how all of this works. There's no awkwardness, there's no growing pains, even just as far as like the protocol of who gets off the bus first, who checks in first, all these tiny little details that you never think about with hockey, he's already got nailed. But as the weeks and months go on here, I was just talking to Stephen Ellis about this a couple weeks ago, and he's like, I'm all in on him now. Like, I'm all in on Caleb Malhotra. Here's someone who probably started mid-second round projection and not slowly but steadily

is climbing up all the prospects lists. How high do you think he can get and what should we know about? Caleb Malhotra. I think Caleb's a special, special player. You know, it's funny, we came on, or I came on with you and Pierre when Jake got drafted in the top 10, and I made the comment, hopefully I'll be here next year with Caleb. And that's how I feel.

I think Caleb is not only one of the most special players in this draft. He's a special human being. He is a leader of men. He's a young kid that, you know, acts like he's, you know a 40 year old pro um he's special uh he leads by examples in all areas of of the game um and just just a really good kid uh you know it's funny because like he's he's so nice that you know before you watch him play you're kind of like does this kid have what it takes can he be you know aggressive and and then he goes on the ice and he's totally opposite he's mean and he's tough

and um you know you don't want to you don't want to get into it with him at the net so he he's a he's an amazing kid. We're so proud of them. He's earned this opportunity. I don't think he was on anyone's radar to be in this top prospect game at the start of the year, let alone the captain. And he's earned it. He's a special, special kid. I think his ceilings as high as the top five, you know, in this year's draft. And I think he's deserving of that. He's a special player. How much, just out of curiosity, how often would Mani Malhotra check in? Never. Mani is, is, one of the most humble people I've ever met. Mani is,

you know, very adamant that this is Caleb's journey, his path, his experience, and he's dad. I've got so much respect for his approach and how he does things. And the whole family,

they're just really great people. First class all the way. And you really see it in Caleb. I don't know how many times I've mentioned it to both his parents. They just raised a really good young man. Yeah. As I mentioned, and this is like a traveling all-star team, it seems.

I know you don't want to hear it. It's really. Everybody's looking at this team and going, okay, let's just get to the tournament at the end. I know you don't want to set your sights that far out, but there's a lot of hockey still to play. I get it. But at what point are you comfortable looking at this team and saying, okay, we're done. We just need to let things settle. or do you take it right up the trade deadline and say like managers will always say I'm never done I'm never done I always open to making the team better etc etc but how do you balance the Ben Ben Danford how do you balance the we want to make the team better with we need to let this settle so all these kids can play together for a long time before the playoffs how do you balance that you know what I think it's a hard it's a hard thing to do in junior hockey because there's so much

change every single day like we have the world juniors coming up there was you 17s i got the the top prospect game this week um you know and on top of that you're going to have injuries you're going to have players uh you know philly players playing so i i think um you know for me my approach is and and i know it's a little bit of a cliche answer but you know we can get better every single day um i'm very uncomfortable being uncomfortable i'm sorry very comfortable being uncomfortable um you know And that's a really, I think, important trait to have. It's something my dad and brother have kind of thought me, you know, that there are going to be situations that, you know,

you are going to be uncomfortable and you just have to be okay with that. And so, you know, with that, my perspective is I've got an unbelievable coaching staff. I've got great leaders in our room. You know, we take it day by day. If an opportunity comes where we, you know, feel that we can better our team in a club, we're going to take it. It doesn't matter where we are. But, you know, in that I don't wake up this morning or, you know, any other morning and say, I got to make a move today.

It's, you know, if the timing's right, if the player's right, if the fit's right, if it culturally makes sense, and that's probably the most important one, then I won't be afraid to jump on it because I like to be aggressive. I think it's important. I think you have to put your team in the best position to win every single year. Do you think it's now, given the reality of the situation with Division I College and the C.E. that now more so than ever, patience isn't a luxury that managers can afford the way that they did previous. Like if you have a shot at it, you have to go for it because building a team for like four years out is going to be even more difficult than ever.

You know, my perspective on it is that you should want to be great every single year. I don't believe in the fact of, oh, let's wait, let's wait. and, you know, what next year comes and you've got to try and be good every single year. I know it's a hard thing to do. You see certain franchises that, you know, very few can do it. But I think as a manager, the perspective that I would have is you want to try and be strong every year. You want to recruit really good players, really good people. You want to draft well and you have to have confidence in your scouting staff.

I've got two of the best people in hockey, Mike Lottie and Piquet, that are my eyes in your scouting in the ranks. you know and and you have to you have to trust the people that are around you so for me development is key drafting developing but when your team's positions you know like we are this year where i've got jake o'brien as our captain you know i've got two unbelievable goaltenders to start the year um you know merrick thanacker and and so on and so forth uh i felt it was a responsibility for me to put those guys in a position where you know we were going to add around them Um, you know, so for my perspective, pay, patience is, is important. Uh, you know, it's something I'm working on. Uh, you know, let's say that. It is something that, you know, I don't have a lot of. Uh, but, but in, but in saying that, I think it's a, I think that's a strength of mine because, you know, I, I like to, I like to push, um, and not just be, you know, okay, here's a pick there, pick there. It's, it's, it's, it's finding free agents, okay? It's finding the right players in the draft, the late. the later rounds it's it's it's developing and um i've a tremendous belief in everyone every one of our staff members that you know we're gonna we're gonna be able to do that okay quick two questions about zach um first of all did you watch his first game back from injury and if so did you get the sense that he thought he was still playing florida with 11 hits in his first game back yeah that i mean there's no surprise like

that's not a normal human being he's he's he's tough he's relentless um you know and and he was going to be back when he was ready and and he took it in stride

and so um you know he's a special human being special hockey player um and he wanted to get back as fast as he could so that you know his teammates um you know he was their first teammates so yeah i watched it uh proud of him obviously

thrilled that he's back. We actually, we had a game at four. He was at seven, so it was really nice. And I'm actually looking forward to him to getting back on the West Coast, so I don't miss you ready. Were you surprised like 11 hits? I'm watching this game, I'm like, Hyman's going crazy.

He's hitting everything moves. I wasn't surprised because if you've seen this guy in the summer, he wasn't allowed to sweat for like two months. So, you know, Zach's very, I got to work out, I got to do this. He was going a little crazy. And then, you know, you see everyone. one starting to get back on the ice and play and I don't know if he could do my job because

you know he's such a warrior and he's got to be out there helping and maybe down the line when he's uh you know when he's retired and can't physically do it but but he um I wasn't surprised he's just a different different breed uh and last one one final one on Zach like how often would he I mean he's busy with the Oilers obviously but like how often

would would you two talk about sort of what's going on with the Bulldogs Yeah, his number one priority is Edmonton, obviously, and winning a championship with the Oilers as a player. They've been so close. They've been to the top of the out and twice, and I really believe they're going to get over it hopefully this year. But we talk every single day. I don't make a move without talking to either my brother or my dad. Both of them, I trust with everything in me. My dad has had the experience of running a junior hockey team since I was four years old, Zach. was five years old. His knowledge for the game and specifically for this level is just such a strength that I have, knowing that I have his support and his brain, I guess you could say.

And then with Zach, you know, I've said it before. I think he's one of the brightest minds in this game. I think he's going to be a guy that when he's done playing, he jumps right into this type of role in some capacity in the NHL and to have his knowledge, to have his perspective as a player currently still watching our team and seeing different things, what we need in his opinion, bouncing ideas off both of them. It's critical for me and it's allowed me to be more aggressive and trust myself even further. That's awesome. Listen, congratulations again on the Lucenko deal. We'll see what happens next with the Bulldogs. Congrats. Congrats on getting the player. We'll chat soon. Thanks, Spencer.

Thanks, John. Appreciate it, bud. There he is. Spencer Hyman, the general manager and co-owner of the brand for Bulldogs today pulling off the big move. It's massive. And, you know, it's interesting to a lot of Flyers fans obviously reacting to this one in a very positive way. And I know that, you know,

Spencer was kind of shy about, oh, yeah, we're not a wagon, a lot of hockey to play the team's a wagon. Zach, I'm sure you've had a glance at just how good and how loaded the Brandford Bulldogs are. Like, there's going all in, and then there's all in. Like, there's some really good teams in the O. Like, Windsor is another, you know, high-level team in the OHL this year. But then, like, the Bulldogs are at a different level as far as, like,

we're identifying our needs and we're getting the best possible players available. And I think Flyers fans are pretty pumped. That Jetlochenko is now off to the Bulldogs, and that is top team in the CHL and pretty good. Pretty good opportunity here for them to win the J. Ross Robertson Cup and make their way to the CHL's Memorial Cup. Do you have a thought on that one or anything from Spencer or anything from Milan Luchich as well? Like I don't want to comment on until I go back and listen to it again, but anything on Luchich, anything from Spencer, anything from the day? Well, I just thought that that was very impactful from Milan, first of all.

Just the conversations about what going through and speaking to people and relying on people around you and being vulnerable. but um i mean to the point of brantford and spohet spencer and you were bringing up as well with the world junior guys like i saw the trade go down earlier today and i'm like wait a second and i pull up the bramford roster and i had the same thought because you know there's also something in the works here for the sheet and i don't won't leave too much or bring too much up but i'm like there some stuff would be cool to see and i'm like oh that guy could play at the world juniors, that guy, that guy, that guy, and I'm like, all the way through the line up, I'm like, but like, it's not, yeah, you look at all the different countries, look at all the different

countries, like, yeah, yeah, for sure, this guy, this guy, this guy's guy. Yeah, and then I talk to you about it, I'm like, well, they're making all these moves early, and it's like, well, it's probably a good thing here too, because you're going to get the guys together, and this is even just like, so, like, stupid thought of me, but it's like, you're going to get the guys together, you give them the extra time, maybe you build up a couple extra points and then you lose like half your team to world juniors you fill them in as he as spencer brought up like it's a good opportunity for a bunch of guys to get their feet wet in the o hl get more opportunity get more high leverage situations all that stuff it's great but maybe you're going to sacrifice a few points so

get the guys now like give them the opportunity to give you a bit of a buffer when you lose the whole team for a good reason you're like in a good position you're like yeah what's all right we'll come back we'll be fun. Did you, do you get the same, did you have the same thought that I did? Like, when you look at the Bulldogs roster, do you think to yourself, I'm going to call Brian Crawford,

the OHL commissioner, and ask if they're still only playing with one puck? Because, like, you look at this team. It's like, holy smokes. Yeah, yeah. Well, I was also laughing back behind the scenes when you started bringing up the traveling All-Star team and he was very quick to say,

Oh, no, it's early. It's early. It's early. I like, okay, you know what you've done. You know what you did. You know what you did. You know what you did. You never mentioned Ben Danford.

Maple Leaf's first round traffic when he grabbed him from the Air Squad General. It's like, I don't know. It's impressive. We thank Spencer for stopping by Spencer Hyman. I thought the point about Zach, too, I didn't really spoke every single day, but it does make sense. Yeah. And his father, Stu, who's legendary, around minor hockey and junior hockey circles as well.

So no surprise there. Oh, by the way, anything jumped out of you. I don't know how much you watch the PWHL opening weekend. Tough one for our girl, Aaron Ambrose and the Montreal Victoire yesterday against Boston. Tough watching Marie-Philippe Poulin take two minor penalties on the same shift. And sit like, and she was like crusty yesterday, too. She was like nasty in that game. Anyhow, fun weekend.

And if you get a chance, the Toronto Scepters put this up there on their social media. Did you see what they're doing for the player of the game? No, I missed it. It's awesome. Oh, the jacket, the jacket. The pretty woman jacket. So as they handed out, they play Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman.

And it's got like all the players like hometowns on it all, the picture of Raccoon. It's awesome. If you get a chance, go check out with the Toronto Scepters are, are doing, but successful opening weekend for the PWHL and Aaron Ambrose will be along with us for the season, for the PWHL season, and leading up to the Olympics and afterwards as well. So look forward to that. In the meantime, I got one thing to say. Sorry, I got one thing to say.

Okay. That barn that they played in in Vancouver made me so jealous. Oh, yeah. I know. That we don't have character like that in the NHL. I have a buddy who's playing pro overseas right now. I see all the rinks that they play in and stuff. And it's like, oh, like atmosphere aside, just the arena makes you feel good inside. That was amazing watching that.

I know it's a, it's a, it's a beautiful, beautiful old rink. Like I love a couple of things. But one, I love seeing wooden beams at a rink. Like nothing screams like old barn, like making it look like a barn with wooden beams. So yeah, I'll take that. One day we should do a show But like our favorite things about The favorite things that we like about

The game itself Favorite sounds, favorite sites All those types of things High on my list Exposed wood Exposed wood at a rank It's just Picasso to me

Yeah Gorgeous gorgeous Bucket list is Spangler Cup for me Part of it is because of the arena Same I know I just natural Natural sunlight I want to see it too

Natural Sun Beautiful bosses at the Nation Network If you're listening Spengler Cup Jeff and I would both be interested. Oh, we're huge Spangler Cup fans. We'd both be interested. Oh, me and Philly, we're massive Spangler Cup fans.

Holy jeez, 100%. Yeah. Fans get all jazzed around Christmas. Said your boys with Switzerland. Let's go. All right. The sheet is powered by Fandle. Pull some money out the tree.

Send us to Switzerland. The sheet is power by Fanduel. Play your game with Fandle. Take your empties back almost. Send us to Switzerland. It's the NHL season, and Fanduel is your home for all the action on the ice. From Blue Line to Batslip,

We've got you covered all season with unique promos, live offerings, and features to let you play your game. Miss Puckdrop, no sweats. With a live same game parlay, you can build your bets up until the final buzzer. Download fan dual sportsbook today and play your game. Please pay 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 1-866-531-2,600 to speak to an advisor, free of charge. Over to you, Philly.

For this one, I just want to see points go through. I want to see a win go through the uprights. So I'm changing this from the goals and that kind of stuff where we're in lofty. Let's just get points. I don't know if you're familiar with this. I think it was a bit on SNL maybe, but it was something that was popular around my time. If you remember the Lonely Island, guys,

we like sports and we don't care who knows. I'm changing it up. We like points and we don't care. knows. It's all about points tonight. We're going Sean Couturier to record one plus point. So this is an SGP plus for those interested over on Fanduel. Keturier and Gensel in the same game. Keturier, he had coming off a game here against the Devils. He had two assists. Before that, he had one assist against the St. Louis Blues. Jane Gensel, if you're just seeing anything online, it's constantly Rangers fans

being pissed off that they wouldn't trade for Jake Gensel a couple of years ago. And that's because he's on fire right now. So we get Jake Gensel to get two plus points. And then finally, Mitchell Marner, two plus points here tonight. Comes off the gaff against the ducks the other night in overtime. That was a tough one. That was a tough one. It's a tough one.

But if there's one thing I know about Mitchell Marner, it is that that will happen and he will come back to find a way to erase it in the next game and say, what gaff? What do you mean? What happens? I had five points tonight. So I'm betting on Mitch to get two plus. If you parlay all these, it is plus $25.40. $5 on this one wins you $127.

Awesome. That is great stuff. It'll be an interesting NHL universe this evening. This weekend had some really cool stuff. Tonight, the NHL is back on the ice flyers and bolts. As Philly just mentioned, with Sean Couturier and Jake Gensel, the Red Wings and the Devils, the Blues, and the Rangers. Did our boy Johnny broadcast the Robert Thomas interview?

Did he put that out on morning cup? Is he going to do it tomorrow? No? I don't think he did anything with it. Robert Thomas talking about you in the blues dressing room? Oh boy, Philly. Don't ask Philly to stand up and go do math of the chalkboard right now. He just watched the Robert Thomas interview.

Blue Jackets in the Capitals, the Panthers and the Preds, the Golden Knights welcome the Utah Mammoth to their building and the Ottawa Senators. Did I mention Ottawa is Canada's loan? hope for the Stanley Cup playoffs this year so far they'll face off against the Los Angeles Kings and that is your action tonight in the meantime want to thank our

guests for stopping by Milan Luchich we'll talk more about that tomorrow when we get a chance again I want to go back and watch it and listen to it that was a little bit more than just a Nexus and O's hockey type interview thanks to Milan for stopping by also thanks to Spencer

Hyman the general manager the brand for Bulldogs this morning pulling off the big deal of getting Jet Lechenco, Philadelphia Flyers' first-round draft pick from two years ago from Guelph to the Bulldogs, as that team, I can see Spencer Heim and rolling the eyes back into the back of his skull are a traveling All-Star team. They look really good, and they're playing really great. You know what you did, Spencer. You know what you did. You know what you did. Listen to Philly. You know what you did. You know all the players you brought in. Don't pretend that you're not an All-Star team. You guys are awesome. Okay, thanks those two gentlemen for stopping by the program today. Thanks to everybody who listened, who interacted, who downloaded, who left reviews, who subscribed, who haven't already subscribed either to this program in video form at YouTube or in audio form at your favorite podcast platform, whether that's Apple Paws, whether that's

Spotify or elsewhere. We thank you for doing that. We're back tomorrow. Greg Wischinski is aboard only one day this week because he's going to be stuffing himself on Thursday, but we got him tomorrow. So Greg Wyshinsky from ESPN for MVSW Tuesday And then Berkey returns on Wednesday as well So full of week of programming ahead on the sheet here

Don't forget morning cup of hockey 9 o'clock Eastern DFO live With Tyler Eremchuk and Carter Hutton Goes at noon In the meantime And in between time Ed Whalen fans will get that one Enjoy the rest of your day

We'll talk to you tomorrow I sweat 16 hours last night every day this week, every day this month. I can't get up my head, lifestyle, ambitious day-to-day, because you can call it all right. I went to the dark man and tried to give me a little medicine. I'm like, no, man, that's fine. I'm mad against those men that's better new. It's me and myself and I this don't be fixing my mind

I do on the bracket I turned on the music I do want to bed music fixing up, hell I don't get you sometimes losing I have been on the days that we're wrong