The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Spencer Hyman on the Jett Luchanko Addition and More

Starting point is 00:00:00 With that, we'll bring aboard one of the owners of the brand for Bulldogs of the O'HL, the general manager of set of franchise who pulled off another Whopper today bringing in Philadelphia Flyers first round draft pick. Jet Lechenko, Spencer Hyman, joins me.

Starting point is 00:00:16 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? Because I'll be honest with you,

Starting point is 00:00:34 I heard rumors and reports and whispers about this, even going back to like 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, it was right around the trade deadline.

Starting point is 00:00:54 And our GM at the time then, Matt Turik 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 league or not.

Starting point is 00:01:18 And what 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 for 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

Starting point is 00:01:41 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?

Starting point is 00:01:59 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 Wolf's got an amazing staff there as well and great development programs. I think the flowers were probably comfortable with him being in either

Starting point is 00:02:15 organization. You know, for us, I think the biggest thing is we feel like we have a team that's positioned you know, this year to hopefully go on a good run. Um, 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, um, you know, so from, you know, when I spoke to Jeff this morning, my, my perspective is he's, he's, he's coming to play for

Starting point is 00:02:39 the best coach in the CHL and Jay McKee, uh, 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. Um, you know, and he's going to come here develop and hopefully learn how to win. That's our goal. We, We want to go on a long run here. And, you know, a big reason to make the move now and 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.

Starting point is 00:03:18 How many players are you going to lose to the Junior, to the World Junior Championships? That, like, December, early January piece is going to be a little bit tough for the Bulldogs, no? 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. And, of course, you want to win. Everyone wants to win. I wouldn't hide that fact.

Starting point is 00:03:43 But I want to see all my players have that opportunity. I think it's unbelievable. And 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. and the tier two level, they can come up and, you know, really showcase themselves, get the experience.

Starting point is 00:03:59 So, you know, next year and, you know, 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.

Starting point is 00:04:17 One player I do want to talk to as well, who's going to be a big part, and he's the captain, of the CHLUSA 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,

Starting point is 00:04:55 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.

Starting point is 00:05:12 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.

Starting point is 00:05:41 He's a young kid that, you know, acts like he's, you know, a 40-year-old pro. He's special. he leads by examples in all areas of the game and just a really good kid 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 then he goes on the ice

Starting point is 00:06:05 and he's totally opposite he's mean and he's tough and you know you don't want to you don't want to get into it with him at the net so he's a he's an amazing kid we're so proud of him 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.

Starting point is 00:06:35 How much, just out of curiosity, how often would Manny Malhotra check in? Never. Mani 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.

Starting point is 00:07:09 They just raised a really good young man. Yeah. As I mentioned, this is like a traveling all-star team, it seems. I know you don't want to hear it 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

Starting point is 00:07:31 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'm always open to making the team better, et cetera, et cetera.

Starting point is 00:07:49 But how do you balance the, because you brought, like Ben, maybe you mentioned 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,

Starting point is 00:08:08 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 U-17s. I got the top. prospect game this week, you know, and on top of that, you're going to have injuries, you're going to have players, you know, affiliate players playing. So I think, you know, for me, my approach is, and I know it's a little bit of a cliche answer, but, you know, we can get better every single day. I'm very uncomfortable being uncomfortable. I'm sorry, I'm very

Starting point is 00:08:35 comfortable being uncomfortable. 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 in 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

Starting point is 00:09:15 right, if the player's right, if the fits 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 CHL, 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.

Starting point is 00:09:57 You know, my perspective on it is that you should want to be great every single year. I don't believe in 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, 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.

Starting point is 00:10:26 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 Laude and Piquet that are my eyes and your scouting in the ranks. You know, and 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, you know,

Starting point is 00:10:54 Merrick Thanacker and so on and so forth, 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. You know, so for my perspective, patience is important. You know, it's something I'm working on. you know let's say that it it is something that you know i don't have a lot of 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 i like to i like to push um and not just be you know okay here's a pick there pick there no it's it's it's it's finding free agents okay it's finding the right players in the draft the later rounds it's

Starting point is 00:11:36 it's developing and um i've got tremendous belief in every every one of our staff members that, you know, we're going to be able to do that. Okay, quick two questions about Zach. 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, I mean, there was no surprise.

Starting point is 00:12:02 Like, Zach's not a normal game being. He's tough. He's relentless. You know, and he was going to be back when he was ready and he took it in stride. And so, you know, he's a special human being, special hockey player. And he wanted to get back as fast as he could so that, you know, his teammates, you know, he was their first teammates. So, yeah, I watched it. Proud of him, obviously thrilled that he's back.

Starting point is 00:12:32 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 get back. on the West Coast, so I don't miss you, ready. Well, you surprised, like, 11 hits. I mean, watching this game, I'm like, Hyman's going crazy.

Starting point is 00:12:45 He just hitting everything moves. I wasn't surprised because if you 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 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

Starting point is 00:13:09 and maybe down the line when he's 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 and 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

Starting point is 00:13:28 yeah his number one priority is Edmonton obviously and winning a championship with the Oilers as a player uh they've been so close. They've been to the top of the mountain 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

Starting point is 00:13:47 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

Starting point is 00:14:03 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.

Starting point is 00:14:37 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.

Starting point is 00:14:53 Congrats on getting the player. We'll chat soon. Thanks, Spencer. Thanks, I appreciate it, bud. It's not every day this week, every day this month. I can't get out my head, lost all ambitions day to day, because you can call it all right. I went to the dark man. He tried to give me a little medicine.

Starting point is 00:15:23 I'm like, no, and that's fine. I'm not against those methods, but you. It's me and myself and how this is going to be fixing my mind. I turned on the music I do want to make you. I turn it on the music I turn it up and I don't get you sometimes losing I've been on the days that we're wrong

Starting point is 00:15:56 in the dead dark night

The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Spencer Hyman on the Jett Luchanko Addition and More

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