The Sheet with Jeff Marek - PICKS 1-10: The Sheet Draft Special with Jeff Marek and Pierre McGuire

Episode Date: June 28, 2025

Round 1, Picks 1-10: Join Jeff Marek and Pierre McGuire for a special 2025 NHL Draft Watch Along as they guide you through one of the biggest nights on the hockey calendar. Broadcasting live throughout the entire first round, Jeff and Pierre react in real-time to every pick, trade, and surprise development, while also breaking down what it all means for each team’s future. They’re joined by a rotating cast of special guests from the player's current and previous teams.#NHLDraft2025 #NHL #DraftNight #HockeyTalk #JeffMarek #PierreMcGuire #NHLProspects #NHLTrades #HockeyAnalysis #DraftWatchAlong #NHLFutureStars #HockeyCommunity #LiveDraftCoverage #HockeyNews #NHL2025Shout out to our sponsors!👍🏼 Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼Ninja Kitchen Canada: https://www.ninjakitchen.ca/products/ninja-crispi-4-in-1-portable-glass-air-fryer-cooking-system-zidFN101CGY?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=olv&utm_campaign=25Q2-Crispi&utm_content=en👍🏼Budweiser: https://www.budweiser.ca/ca_enReach 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/@Flames_Nation🚨 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.

This episode of The Sheet is sponsored by the OCS Summer Pre-Roll Sale. Sometimes when you roll your own joint, things can turn out a little differently than what you expected. Maybe it's a little too loose, maybe it's a little too flimsy. There's a million ways to roll a joint wrong, but there's one roll that's always perfect. The Pre-Roll. Shop the Summer Pre-Roll and Infused Pre--roll sale today at ocs.ca and participating retailers. of fun settle in relax we have a long night ahead of us Pierre McGuire welcome to our daily face off the sheet draft special right here at our daily face off youtube channel for everybody tuning in on their favorite podcast platform your your spotifies and your apple pods we thank you for

your attention on this night where it's just after seven o'clock eastern pierre as we get started as always we want to thank our friends at fanDuel. Tonight's draft special is presented by our good friends at FanDuel, North America's number one sports book. We thank our friends at FanDuel. And Pierre, you know, it's been an interesting day and we're gonna get to the picks here as they happen. We all expect Matthew Schaefer to go first overall

to the Islanders, but the Islanders were one of the big teams that made a huge splash today. You know, the last time we were on together a couple of days ago on the sheet, we talked about both general managers and agents testing Matthew Darsh. Well, so far, Matthew Darsh has passed every test. And there's another one coming up in a couple of moments,

but I don't think that Matthew Darsh is done yet. So the news of the day leading into the draft, Noah Dobson goes to the Montreal Canadiens Emil Heineman who's gonna challenge Mike Sillinger for most NHL teams played on heads up 12 is dead is directly in his sights along with two first-round picks And then a contract extension, which is a really nice number signed by Noah Dobson, eight-year contract, $9.5 million. Before we get to the draft, your thoughts on that big news. I thought it was great for the Montreal Canadiens. I think Matthew Darz passed his first test with flying colors.

It generated enthusiasm around the Islanders organization. It really endeared him to the ownership group, Jeff. And I think the biggest thing that it does, it sends a message that we're doing business differently with the New York Alves compared to when Lou Lamarello was there on the Montreal Canadian side of things. This is exactly what they needed, a right shot defenseman that's offensive, that can help Lane Hudson run the power play if he needs it.

But the biggest thing to me is if you look one through 10 now, the Montreal Canadiens, whether it's Caden Gouli, whether it's Mike Matheson, whether it's Jaden Struble, whether you know, it doesn't matter, Lane Hudson, Alex Carrier, Logan Mayou, David Rheinbacher, Arbor Jack guy, the sheriff. So you go one through 10. They're as deep and as good as any team in the national hockey league right now on defense. And no adoption is a huge addition for them. I would not be surprised to hear Logan Mayhew's name this weekend. That is one of the names that teams have said the Montreal Canadiens have very much made available.

But having said that, here's what I wondered with this trade. Is this the indication that, as I wrote on Twitter, Montreal is now out of the green banana business? It's no longer about prospects. To your point, they have prospects. You know, they've got, Laval looked fantastic this season. You've talked plenty about net miners like Jacob Fowler. Does this indicate that they're out of the prospect business? And does it also indicate that perhaps the New York Islanders are going to try to do this on, let's say,

a younger timeline, maybe a Schaeffer timeline, an Iserman timeline. Is one ending a rebuild and is one beginning essentially is my question. I think one's beginning a very aggressive rebuild. Talk about the New York Islanders. I'm so glad you brought up Cole Iserman's name. Nobody's talked about Cole Iserman very often. He's such a good goal scorer and it's something they desperately need their pure offensive point producer And then you look at Matthew Schaefer going in on the back end as a left shot who can play both sides

He's gonna be able to log a lot of minutes. I don't know whether he's gonna make their team or not this year I don't know if they want to rush him into it But the islanders are really on the right direction And if they get down deep enough where they can get James Hagens, that only helps them. In terms of Montreal, that business is over. The rebuild is over. I'm telling you, I'm not saying they're winning the Stanley Cup. They took their first step this year by making the playoffs. They're going to take another step next year. That defense is too good. Their goaltending is too deep. And the biggest thing to me is they

have the draft collateral and they also have the player collateral to go out and make a deal to get a second center. And if they do that, this team is going to be slotting down the middle unbelievably well. Okay. One more note on Matthew Darsh, because you mentioned James Hagan's there and we're all waiting for this to happen. Like where is Matthew Darsh going to try to pull the trigger? And a lot of this groundwork will have to have been laid this afternoon. Like probably the busiest general manager I would imagine. You know, the manager that needed two phones today was Matthew Darsh.

As he tries to figure, okay, where can I pull the trigger on a deal from Hagen's? Is it Utah? Is it Nashville? Could it be Philly? Could it be Boston? How late can I wait until I pull the trigger? And then you have to have an interested party as well. Is it, commande en francais, un fait accompli? Is this going to happen? We know, we can kind of see this one coming from a mile away.

Is this what the play is gonna be for Matthew Darsh, a second top 10 pick that turns into James Higgins? I think so. But I would say one thing that you talked about yesterday when I was on with you I thought was such a good point the Barry trots factor in Nashville the importance of character in a Barry trots built team and you talked about Caleb then why a And you couldn't have been more right you couldn't have been more correct We'll see whether it goes to Nashville or not

But I think that you could probably get James Hagens at seven where Boston's picking. Maybe you can get them one before, but I don't think Philly is going to move that. I don't know what Utah is going to do. I think we're locked on from Dell and Mesa two, three, I think you would agree. Yeah. Whatever order. Sorry, sorry. But I just think that, no, no, I think Hagens, I've seen the history of the Bruins and the Onders.

They're not afraid to make trades with them. I know Darce is different. He's not old school. But I tell you right now, if you really want that kid, you're gonna have to get to at least seven, I think, or he'll be gone. So here's what I wonder too, when we talk about trading partners.

I wonder about two teams, Nashville and Utah. Like today's been a very, very bizarre day, like rumors and smoke and mirrors and misrepresentations and falsehoods and half truths and all the, so I'm today wondering if there's any chance, because we've seen them make moves before, and we've seen them also consummate trades at the draft in Nashville I wonder about the Nashville Predators trying to move up to get number two for Michael Mesa you know Pierre how long they've looked for a

number one Center a highly skilled San I know and Caleb Dainwaye is not in the same cut as Michael Misa. Doesn't have the same offensive slant that Michael Misa has. I do wonder if a team like Nashville tries to move up because my career is that like, look, if the deal's right, we'll make the deal. Do they need Michael Misa? Or is that a luxury item for them? Could they be in the business of maybe moving down,

getting something else and picking up an asset from the Nashville Predators here? I'm throwing this one against the wall and I'm wondering, could Nashville do this? Wow, I never even thought in those terms, but that would be very interesting. I mean, the thing that's cool about Michael Mesa, and I know you're the expert on the Ontario Hockey League, but I follow pretty close.

You'd have to go all the way back to 06-07 and Patrick Kane to find a guy in his draft year that had as many points as Michael Mesa. And the last guy is Patrick Kane. Think about that for one second. Of all the players that have had exceptional status in the Ontario Hockey League, John Tavares didn't have more points, Connor McDavid didn't have more points, Shane Wright didn't have more points. I didn't talk about Sean Day and I didn't talk about Aaron Echelad because they're

defensemen. But think about that for one second, Jeff. That's unbelievable. So I wouldn't be looking too far past Michael Misa. And what's really cool about it, and I'm not, and your theory really holds water to me. I started thinking about it, but let's just say everything stays Pat and let's say Chicago picks at three and let's say Chicago takes him so think about that Kane at one the guy that had almost as many points as Kane in his draft year is Michael Misa pretty good sell in their community the last time they played in the

IHL their farm team was in Saginaw it was coach coached by Brent Sutter, the Saginaw Gears. Yeah! Yes, the Saginaw Gears. So where did Michael Misa play this year? Forever! Saginaw! So it fits perfect in Chicago. I hate to rain on your parade, but I just thought we'd throw that out there. Wow! Okay, so let's say that everybody does make their picks. It's funny too, because every year we go through this exercise, Pierre.

I'll just be blunt. We go through the whole week and we talk about the potential trades and we talk about who's gonna draft where and who's going up and who's moving down and switching picks and all that. And then we get to the draft and everybody makes their picks. And then everybody goes home.

Oh, actually, you know what? I wanted to mint, and we won't see this this year because this is not a centralized draft But they're gonna go back to it next year. Do you have a thought on one thing? There's this one thing about the draft that's always bothered me And normally the draft is a really really happy day and this might be my favorite day on the calendar because the kids are happy The parents are happy the teams are happy. It's a day of smiles. Everyone's happy. It's great. It's wonderful. Great. Um, there's one thing that always bothered me.

When the last team makes their pick, even before the kid goes up on stage to put on the jersey, everybody's folding their books and making for the exits. They won't stay that extra five minutes to give that kid his moment. We keep talking about doing what's right for the game and it's all about the kids and right for the kids and all that. And then as soon as that pick is made, everyone's high tailing it for the saloon,

even before he gets up on the stage. It's always, it's like the one negative moment in the draft. The next year, we're gonna get away from this, you know, this decentralized draft and go back to a traditional draft. Does that, is this just a me thing or does that bug you as well? It bugs me a lot because this is my 36th draft. And one of the things I took great pride in was really being knowledgeable and up to speed on

the players, whether I was working in a front office, whether I was a pro scout or whether I was a coach in the league. And I've done all of them. I always cared about the draft and I always did a lot of extra time interviewing players and making sure I went to their practices just for what you just talked about, Jeff. I think respect to the players is so important and it doesn't matter what age they are, whether they're coming in the league or whether they're leaving the league. You know, I've coached a lot of older players too, and the hardest part is to say, it's over. If I'm heartbroken to tell you, but it's over. And so you try to do it in a dignified way

so you're not crushing the guy's spirit for the rest of his life. And I won't say the player's name, but there was one time where I was working for Brian Burke and Brian threatened the team that was trying to get the guy. And the team said, well, we're not gonna take your false bravado, we're still gonna take the player and Sure enough, Berkey did a great job by the way with our team. I mean, the way he engineered the Pronger deal was unbelievable, but eventually the player moved on and every time we would play the team he moved on to, I'd go and see him because

I was heartbroken to have to see that guy leave our organization because he was such an important part of it. You know, it's interesting with the 93 draft, how he was able to maneuver Pronger to second. Now, Berkey would tell me the stories about how he would have fake Hartford-Waylor draft lists that he would leave around the lobby of the hotel for other teams to find and be completely, oh look, Hartford, oh those dummies, they've left their draft list here in the lounge at the hotel. uh, at the, at the hotel.

Look, we got Brian Burke's brain trust in here. He said we'd leave phony draft lists all over the draft hotel. He wasn't lying. That's true, but he doesn't give him, he doesn't give himself enough credit though. On the, on the Christopher Pronger deal. He had Doug Reisberg and Calgary and he had Dean Lombardi and Jack Farrar and San Jose. Doug Reisberg in Calgary and he had Dean Lombardi and Jack Farrar in San Jose. And try to facilitate a three-way deal, especially with two teams, San Jose and Calgary that were kind of rivals at the time, wasn't easy.

And Berkey found a way to massage it so it worked for everybody. And it really was brilliant how he did it. We ended up picking it too. You know, San Jose I think went at five. They took up picking it too. You know, San Jose, I think went at five, they took Victor Kozlov. And all I remember, all I remember is just how poised Brian was. And when the deal was finally consummated, he said to everybody going to our draft table, your tie has to be done up. You can't have a shirt. You have to have your jacket on, not just take your jacket off and get there. And we're going to look like a dignified organization. And you know what? If you look

at the pictures of that draft table, everybody's tie was done up and everybody had their jacket on and we got Chris Pronger. You know, it's interesting about that one. One of the great stories about, and that's a wonderful story. By the way, Matthew Schaeffer has just been drafted first overall. No surprise. I do have a Pronger draft story that I do want to get to, but you know, we're gonna have Matthew Barney be on here. The whole show we're gonna sort of sprinkle in guests that have a background with a lot of these players. He's given his brother a hug. This is tears and this is all about his late mother, his late billet mom as well, his late

owner Jim Waters as well with the eerie otters. I mean this young man has grown up around a lot of personal tragedy, family tragedy, billet tragedy, his owner passing away early. I'm sure you knew Jim and he was one of like the wonder. I met him when he first worked at Standard Broadcasting in radio before he before he bought the Erie Otters. Just like really good decent people all the way around Matthew Schaeffer. He makes his way up to the stage. The one thing that I think about with Matthew Schaeffer, outside of the hockey pier, this guy's had to grow up really fast. And you talk to him and he sounds like someone that's grown up really fast.

Before we get to Matt Barnaby, do you have a quick comment on Matthew Schaeffer? He goes first overall to the Islanders. As good a player as he is, he's a better human being. I've heard it from scouts. I've heard it from opposing players. I've heard it from people that have worked with him in the summer. I've heard it from agents and I've heard it from general managers that have had to talk

to him, interview him, and they all say the same thing. I haven't heard one person say, you know what, this guy's fake. He's not the real deal. This guy's the real deal. And I'm prepared to do this as an athlete. If he doesn't break his collarbone at the World Junior this year, I'm convinced Canada wins a medal and it might be more than the medal that a lot of people think. I think they play for gold and I think they have a chance to win. I don't disagree. Let's bring Matthew Barnaby aboard. He'll be a part of our free agent coverage on July 1st here at the Nation Network and Daily Face Off. Who

knows the Schaeffer family well? Barney, first of all, how are you today? And your thoughts as you watch Matthew Schaeffer walk up the stage, put on the jersey, first overall pick. You know the family, your thoughts? Yeah, pretty awesome. How are you, Pierre and Jeff? And thanks for having me on. I coached against the brother, know the family well and all the things you guys alluded to before. Great player. I mean we can all tell great players. We can tell that they skate well. We can tell that they have great hockey IQ. They make the right plays. Those things jump off the page at you when you watch Matthew Schaefer play hockey what people don't know that they're getting is an incredible human being and that comes from the family that comes. He's

fighting back tears on on stage now. Yeah you I tweeted it out just as it came through and you know this is an emotional day it's the best day in this family's life and his role model was his brother Johnny who was a very good player in the OHL and they grew up in Hamilton obviously so going first overall Matthew to Erie and you not having your mom there, the rock behind this family. This is a funny family. This is the family with Levity all the time, and the dad, Todd, just an amazing dad. Never one to pressure his kids into being the best player, just be a good teammate, be a good person,

and work your ass off. That, that's all he ever asked. And that's the thing that reminds me when I watched his brother play, and Matthew was just a little boy coming around the rink with the mini sticks and having fun. And then you watch him grow, and his brother was a great player, a great person,

but it all stems from the family, the father and mother mother and God rest her soul. She was around the rink always laughing and I've seen so many things on her at her laugh and and again Pierre said it it's about the character they're getting. Great player, he's going to be a great player, a great skater, gonna run a a power play, going to create offense from the back end, from turning pucks over, but they're getting a character, family, and a character kid. All Zones player in all situations, Pierre. Oh no, 100%. Matthew touched on it, Jeff, and I know how much you've watched them play.

Breakout passes, they're there. Defending one on one. They're there neutral zone gap control. It's there making a read and react at the offensive blue line. It's there. Everything is there. Now he need Matthew knows this because he had to go there a lot. He needs to get stronger to clear the crease. We all know that, but that's going to come. He's 18 years old. Matthew, you remember like when you were young coming in the league how hard it is, but then you get man muscles and all of a sudden you can do that. Once he gets that, this guy will take over games. I'm fully convinced of it.

Without a doubt. And there's a reason why he can create offense on turnovers because he trusts his skating. And when you're a great skater and you trust your instincts, well, you can't do that if you don't skate very well. They all skate well now, but this is an elite skater with, it's a little different than when I played. So yeah, it's much different. Again, there's not many 18 year olds that step in at six, four, six, five, by the way,

Roger McQueen, and this is a kid that someone should jump on pretty early. That's a physical nature. But this kid's gonna add size to his frame. They all do. That's just part of maturing. He will start in the National Hockey League next year. He'll have growing pains like all 18-year-olds do,

especially on the back end. But he's gonna be a special one. Okay, really quickly, you two guys. So the first time I watched him in Erie, like I'd watched him play with the Hurricanes in Halt and Previous, and then he hit a whole different level when he was in Erie, and I said, this guy skates like Drysdale, and then I realized, no, it's just because he's wearing the Otter's jersey. I think what he really skates like is Jay Bommeaster. That's what I see in the skating. What did, and I never thought that I would see anyone skate like Jay Bommeaster again.

Yeah. And I never thought that I was seeing him when he was skating like J. Balmister again. Is there like a, what do you, like what elements of other, elements of other players that you guys see in Matthew Schaeffer? For me, it's the Balmister skating. So I see Tyler Myers skating. I see him skate like Tyler Myers. Myers, for a big man, could really move. This guy's got way better stick skills in Tyler

And I think he passed the puck better than Jay I do I think he passed the puck better than Jay And I think he'll run a power play like Matthew said for a long period of time My only concern about him is just getting rushing in the NHL and not being physically ready to dominate It's my only concern. This is a franchise defenseman. He's a 15 year player for your team. If you treat them right. Bernie. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, obviously a left-handed shot. You look at Jay Boney's turn for a big guy, man, he could move and it was effortless. Um, Tyler Myers is six foot seven. So it's tough to move when you're a six foot seven, but he really could move as a first round

of the Buffalo Sabres and has a tremendous, had a tremendous career. I think this guy's way better than both those players going forth in just his offensive mindset. He skates as well as Jay Bomeaster and that's saying a lot because Jay could really skate, but I think his offensive mind is way better than both. You're great. Listen, Barney, thanks so much for stopping by. I really appreciate it. Look forward to working with you on July 1st my friend as the as the pens get out as we like to say. Cheers my guys. See you Matthew. Did you know socks are one of the most requested clothing items by

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Knows the Schaefer family. The San Jose Sharks are now on the clock and barring a trade, we imagine it's going to come down to two players here. Probably Michael Misa, outside chance of Anton Frontell. Agree disagree with that? I do agree, unless there's a deal. Somebody told me, and you may have read this, that Anton Frondel has been the apple of the eye of Mike Greer for a little while now because Mike was watching the playoffs.

For a guy that played over a thousand games, which Michael did in the National Hockey League, and for a guy that played for the recently inducted Jack Parker into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Mike, you would have thought he would know about the physicality of the game. But he says, you know what? We might need somebody a little more physical than Michael Misa. We may need somebody like Gabriel Landeskog, who Frendel plays a little bit like. So this is going to be an interesting one. This will be interesting.

One person I want to bring on here, Dave Brown, the general manager of the Erie Otters. A little bit more on Matthew Schaefer as we're joined by joined by Dave right now. First of all Dave thank you and congratulations the Erie Otters have yet another first overall draft pick to compliment Conor McDavid. Congratulations to the organization. Thanks guys it's it's great it's um it's amazing to have somebody you know like Matthew be around your team especially the last 18 months or the last two years, I guess. They talk about what a great player he is, but he's an amazing person and I think generational in terms of his ability to just welcome people and just, you know, just on how great he really is in terms

of, you know, the person and he makes everybody feel so welcome. And I think that's what makes him such a great player. Pierre? Well, I was just going to ask about his ability to get bigger. Do you see that being a long-term problem or will he just continue to evolve and get bigger and stronger? I know I think he will. He's very determined in everything he does. And I think the beginning of the year, he had a setback with Mono. I thought he had a great summer last year, the

Sri Lanka and everything else. And then following, you know, mono, he obviously lost a lot of weight. I think he was down into the low 160s. And I think he's back. Yeah, he's back up to about 185 pounds right now. So I think, yeah, I don't know what, what he's, he's a pretty tall kid and he's got a good frame. I think he probably gets that from Todd. Todd's carrying a few... And Todd probably wouldn't mind me saying that. So he maybe could borrow a few from Todd, but yeah, no, I think the work ethic is there to get after it than Jim.

And I know he surrounds himself with real people in the off season. San Jose's about to make their picks. I've got time for one more question with you. And I know it's an awkward one because I'm sure you, you want them for the full compliment, but how close do you think Matthew Schaefer is to playing in the NHL? You've watched a lot of players. Yeah, he's really close.

Obviously, you know, the question I get asked is, you know, being a defenseman, how hard is it for a defenseman to do it? But he's very close and I think Matthew Darshen and his group will do a great job of making that decision. So well, listen, it looks fantastic on your organization. Congratulations, not just to Matthew Schaefer, but the Erie Otters as well. Dave, thanks so much for hopping on. Really appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of the evening and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Awesome. Thanks very much, guys. There is a general manager of the Erie enjoy the rest of the weekend. Awesome. Thanks very much guys. There he is, Dave Brown, who's the general manager

of the Iriadas popping by to talk about, to gush a little bit more about Matthew Shaffer, to your point, Pierre, like not just a great player, but a wonderful person as well. You know, the San Jose Sharks are on the clock here. The way this is working is Gary Betman is on stage and then they do the reveal to the war room or the draft room for the individual teams.

And listen, last year, the star of the show were the San Jose Sharks. It was Macklin Celebrini, it was Sam Dickinson. And for those that watched Sam Dickinson play with the London Knights this year, might have been thinking to themselves, this guy might be in the lineup next year. Like, listen, like, uh, like, uh, Mark Edward Vlasic is, is getting bought out

here by the San Jose sharks and we're wondering that just opening a spot anticipating that Sam Dickinson is going to be on the lineup next year. Yeah, no, I think Sam Dickinson will be in the lineup next year, you know, with Will Smith, with Macklin, so Labrini, Sam Dickinson, be in the lineup next year. You know, with Will Smith, with Macklin Sellebrany, Sam Dickinson, they're going in the right direction. Now, I think goaltending needs to be determined. Depth of the organization needs to be determined, but I know one thing, Mike Greer didn't inherit a Rose Garden there.

There's a lot of work that has to go into that. Oh, absolutely. And they have something in the neighborhood of $44 million worth of cap space to play with. And Michael Mesa has just been selected second overall by the San Jose Sharks. So now, you know, now we really wonder here. You have Michael Mesa, you have Macklin Celebrini, you have Will Smith.

I think Celebrini sliding over to the wing. Does this serious firepower? My you got you got serious firepower. So what what does this pick? Does this pick say to you, we're just taking the best player available, does this pick say to you we see Will Smith as a winger in San Jose I think we're taking the best player and this you know we talked about it before you go back to 0607 is the last time you had an Ontario Hockey League player with as many points as Michael Mason That's Patrick Kane who was a first overall and a three-time Stanley Cup winner. I think this is a great pick for San Jose. No disrespect meant to Anton Frontell

or any of the players that still are on the board. And obviously there are a lot of them. This is a spectacular offensive force. Now I know they play wide open hockey with the Saginaw Gears and I know- Saginaw Spirit, you're slipping. Your IHL days are coming back. But the biggest thing to me, Jeff, when I look at this whole thing, this all it is, is fine tuning defensively for this player. You know, if there's one little hiccup in his resume, maybe not enough defense, but I understand it because those numbers are so gaudy. Offensively, he could get away with murder murder that won't happen at the next level but

those numbers will still happen I think that kids gonna be unbelievable offensively. I first time played for the Senators in the GTHL and you know Malcolm Spence was on this team like this was a really really good team and even as an underage and he was granted exceptional status as you as you pointed out and into the OHL. He was head and shoulders above everybody. There are people that have been talking about him since he was 11 years old playing at the Hockey Hall of Fame, All-Star Game, Scotiabank Arena, Scotiabank Pond, way, way back so many years ago. And here he is drafted second overall and we're pleased to welcome his coach to the Broadcast Chris, Chris Lassery, head coach

of the Saginaw Spirit joins us on the Sheet Draft special. Now, Lass, first of all thanks for stopping by because as I just said to Dave Brown about Matthew Shafer, not just a huge day for the player but a huge day for the organization, Michael Misa, the highest draft pick ever. In the Saginaw spirit history. Congratulations. That sounds good and excited and proud. I think, you know, watch Mike's progression over the three years and to see it come to

this moment, it's it's wild and it's exciting. And we're just we're a proud franchise and so happy for a player and a kid that served everything here. Chris, what stands out about his offensive games? and we're just, we're a proud franchise and so happy for a player and a kid that's earned everything. Pierre? Chris, what stands out about his offensive games that you say that translates immediately to the National Hockey League? I think instincts. I think Puck touches under pressure. I think his ability under pressure to try to hold Pucks and manipulate. He's got a special knack. One, he's under pressure to be able to find plays in tight spaces. And I think the elite, elite players can make plays through defenders. And he does that well. He always has. I like to take credit for it, but it ain't me.

It's Mike. Because I haven't made one, but special at making plays through defenders. I was going to say once upon a time, we believed Chris that, oh, you can't teach touch. You're just born with it. But now coaches are actually, like they're teaching offense. When you have someone like Michael Misa and he comes in as an underage, granted exceptional status into the Ontario Hockey League, as you're working with Michael Misa,

I'm curious because the offensive instincts are all there and the production is all there. As a coach, how do you work with Misa while at the same time not trying to blunt or stunt any of the creativity because it's on display every night? Yeah it is. I think like one you got to develop a relationship with the player. But I like what you said we don't try to stunt our players. I think in junior we're developmental league and it's not my job to put players into a box. It's my job to try to pull out their skills and develop them.

And I think Mike coming to this program, obviously highly talented, highly skilled. We just wanted to put them in an environment where we could pull his skills and abilities out of them. And I think at the end of the day, I learned from him probably more than he learns from me when I pick his brain or watch his video or ask him why he did something.

There's always things there that I'm grabbing as a coach that I hope I can share with another player to make them better. So he's teaching me as much as I'm learning as I'm teaching him. Can he come back and can he come back Chris and play for you next year and continue to evolve as a player?

100%. Like I think, you know, listening to what you guys, obviously offensively, there's not much more you're going to do there. You can keep refining things. I still think as good as he is, his abilities to make plays can still grow. I think his puck protection can still get a little bit better, but I think breakouts and supporting pucks and playing through the middle ice is the center, but Ndela was defending in his stick details and taking speed on angles

and making sure when he does close on a player, like he's learning how to rub and take speed and gain position all over the ice. Cause you know, if you can't check, you can't play. So I think he'll come back and I know if he does come back, he's going to be excited to work on that. And we'll work closely with San Jose to make sure whatever their program is or whatever their plan is,

we're aligned with that. Cause at the end of the day, we want to make sure if Mike is back, he's back and then he's in the NHL. So there's some work to be done. If it's with us, great. If it's with them, great. This conversation is all revolved around the skill set and the player. Tell us about Michael Misa, the person, the guy you know, as opposed to the player, you know, what's he like day in, day out around there, around the other guys coming to the rink, leaving the rink with the billets, all of

it. Give us a snapshot. Well, the best way to describe it is he's when he does leave our program. It's a sad day because you won't get to interact with him every day. It's been such an honor. And I speak for the entire organization to be around a person like him does not like the limelight. He doesn't want the attention.

He's just a good human that cares about people, that wants to do it the right way, the respect factor. Like he's just, he's such a, if I had a kid or a son myself, I have two daughters, I hope they grow up with a lot of the characteristics that Mike has because he's so impressive and he's so kind and I'll miss the friendship when he does move on. I'll look forward to texting him, but I've been blessed here for the last couple of years to have him walk through the door every day. Let me close on this.

We've got to get to Chicago who's on the clock here, but you know, this is a wonderful day for Michael Misa and a wonderful day for Saginaw as well. And what a remarkable run it's been of late Memorial Cup champions last year. Michael Misa drafted second overall, highest ever in the organization. Do you have like a hot 30 seconds on for those that may not understand hockey and Saginaw in the OHL? Like this is back-to-back American OHL teams that are producing picks here. Give us a little 30-second snapshot on Saggy. Unbelievable ownership, care about their people, care about their staff, crazy fan base, and

just really an organization that wants to be elite and stay elite. And I think we've gotten there and we're lucky to be here every day. It's honestly a treat and a pleasure. I love it. Thanks so much for stopping by. Congratulations to your player. Congratulations to your organization and your ownership. Thanks so much for doing this, Chris.

Okay, boys. Thanks so much for doing this Chris. Okay boys thanks. There is Chris Lousy who by the way is one of the more progressive coaches and progressive thinkers in the game like there are just some some coaches Jeremy Ronek is is on stage right now in Los Angeles got the handshake from from the commissioner. He's one of those like naturally curious you know I was talking to Rocky Thompson on the sheet the other day and he's another one of those guys, always questions, questions, questions, not gonna make my mind up about anything.

Laz is the same way, he really is. Like that guy's got a future in the NHL outside of junior hockey. I was really impressed by how he presented Michael Miesa because I couldn't agree more with everything. And he wasn't looking past the defensive deficiencies. He talked about stick details. He talked about the little things that Michael has to do to take the next step.

I thought that was really important. He wasn't sugarcoating anything. Isn't it cool that Jeremy Roenick is on stage with Commissioner Bettman. He played for San Jose and he was drafted in the first round by Michael Keenan and the Chicago Blackhawks who are on the clock right now. I think that's so fascinating. And the year that Jeremy was drafted by Mike Keenan, he was at my hockey school in the summer in Boston. What was he? Okay. So take it, take us back to then the, the, the young Jeremy Roenick and Anton Frondell, by the way, just got selected by the Chicago Blackhawks and we had. So he just flip flopped. Yeah, there you go.

Frontel to Chicago. Really quickly before we get to Frontel here, and there's a quick snapshot playing in the All-Svenskan this season. So a lot made rightfully so about playing pro hockey and playing amongst men specifically down the stretch. Give me a hot 20 or 30 on what Jeremy Warnock was like at your camp. So dominant, it was ridiculous and he played with a guy named Tony Amonti who played over a thousand games in the national. I know who!

Imagine those guys were line mates at Thayer Academy. I know Thayer. It's just insane, but where Jeremy was so much better than the other kids he was so physically strong in the puck for a guy that wasn't overly large at that time. It was scary to see the pure hockey strength that Jeremy had at that time. Where did I mean? He always had a drive. I mean, we think of Jamie Roddick and we think, you know, showman too, but I think I like the drive and the physicality and the toughness that went right along with that skill.

And you remember that rookie season in Chicago. I checked in the mouth, doesn't any other stone and would not turn around and think twice about it, just move on and finish his shift. Like that was... He spit his teeth out on the ice and came back and played. Tough as nails. That's the one thing. Jeremy could have gone to Boston College and cruised because his girlfriend who eventually became his wife went to school there. But instead he says, you know what, this isn't for for me and he goes to play in hall and he plays for the Olympic and the rest is history. He really did and that and that was rare too like an American kid going to play in the QML. I remember talking to Eddie Olchuk about that like the the different decisions he had to make Mario Lemieux's team in the the queue and there was I think the Marlboro's

and the OHL made a significant pitch as well. Anyhow so last year at the draft Artem Levshunov playing Michigan State drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks Sasha Boivier who's a really good playoff to BU this year. That is a major, major score for B. Merrick Vaneker of the other brand for Bulldogs. Yes. Jack Predeman, the third, uh, who played, started with the kitchen arrangers this year. Ty Henry, we just talked about the Erie Otters.

He was a six round pick, real nice defenseman there. Like the Blackhawks, I know they're not there yet. And the year before that was, but, but Badaarden and, uh, and Oliver Moore and the Licklardas, they're not there yet. The year before that was Bedard and Oliver Moore and Nick Lardis. They're not there yet, they're not close. But you can see how they're going to get there, Pierre. Like when you look at what Kyle Davidson is putting together here, what comes to mind? I'll tell you what comes to mind. Alex Vlasic, Ryan Green, Drew Comesso, Kevin Krasinski, Frankie Nasor, Sammy Rinzel.

They can go down the line. Sasha Boivier, who you already talked about, he's going to be you. So think about it. Vlasic's be you, Ryan Green's be you, Drew Comesso's be you, Swashe Boivier's going to be you. So they're taking players, putting them in one program where they think they're going to evolve from, which they are. And you know what? You got to coach at BU and J. Pandolfo, who's just phenomenal because he played

for so long. He's a Stanley Cup winner, coached in the NHL. I can't stop talking about what Chicago is doing right now. Vastly underrated. I think there's going to be a little bit more pain there, but once they turn the corner probably in a year from now, everybody's going to be a little bit more pain there, but once they turn the corner, probably in a year from now, everybody's going to be like, holy mackerel, these guys are good. Let me ask you a question. If his kid didn't make the program and wasn't going to be you, would Jay Pandolfo be the head coach, with all due respect to Marco Sturm, of the Boston Bruins right now? I would say there would have been major discussions about it.

I don't think Jay, I don't think Jay wants to go because listen, how many chances do you get to coach your kid in college? Well that, that, and there's another, you mentioned Pandolfo, like that guy, another guy I just talked about, Lazarie, Pandolfo was going to coach in the NHL. And if he did, a kid involved, he probably would be there now. So his son Sam did make the program. I watched his son play for the river school coached by one of Jay's old college teammates, Freddie Meyer.

So I watched them this year and Freddie Meyer's boy, Carson, is a tremendous player and he's in the program too. So I think Jay's sticking around to coach both guys if you want to know the truth. I think Boivare will be one and done at BU by the way. But think about it, Cole Hudson, Lane Hudson's brothers are like, you go down the line, they just got a murder of real players at BU.

Yeah, you just don't stop, so. They're gonna be really great. One thing we wanna get to here is Michael Miesa goes second overall, Matthew Schaefer first, Anton Frondell to Chicago, the Utah Mammoth are now on the board. But one thing we wanted to share with you here, and this is presented by our friends at the Ninja Crispy,

which is an all-in-one system that includes four quart, six cup, temperate glass containers, two storage lids, and Ninja Crispy is thermal shock resistant, can go from frozen to crispy in minutes. With the Crispy Power Pod, you get the power of a full sized air fryer in the palm of your hands. Four quart container fits four pounds of chicken or veggies. Cook a personal size meal in seven minutes

in the six cup container. Max crisp, bake, air fry, re-crisp with a ninja crispy. Prep, cook, store anything from crispy favorites to one dish meals. I wanna get in here a couple of moments of our Stephen Ellis, Daily Face Off, Draft, and Prospect Guru in conversation a couple of weeks ago with Michael Misa. Enjoy.

So you've had some time to digest since the end of the OHL season. Obviously you get the 62 goals this year. Like have you had a chance to think like oh like that's like that's a special season? Yeah I think overall it was definitely a good season for myself. I know we ultimately ended a little bit short in the playoffs, but yeah, I was really happy with my regular season and I think for me it was just trying to leave this year with no regrets. And you said at the combine that you really wanted to play center this year. What made you want to be a middleman as opposed to a winger like you played last year?

Yeah, like ultimately, it was in minor hockey, I played center growing up. Coming to the White Shell, I did switch to a winger. We did have a lot of good centers at the start of my career in Saginaw. So I ended up shifting to winger, but coming into my draft year, it was like I wanted to get back down the middle, take face-offs, just feel like myself again a little bit.

And yeah, it definitely helped me. I think getting the puck on my stick, more just driving the play, you know, into the offensive zone yeah, it definitely helped me. I think getting the puck on my stick, more just driving the play into the offensive zone as a center definitely helped me. How special was that Memorial Cup run last year? It was pretty cool. Yeah. Those 10 days were some of the best days I've ever had in hockey. And that group we had, we had a really tight-knit group, so just being able to hang out with those guys after the season and stuff, it's friends for life kind of thing, so I'm really grateful for that.

Do you think the move to centre is kind of what helped you unlock that offensive potential this year? Yeah, I think it definitely was a bit of a help. I think just in general, the experience of playing the OHLs my third year now helped me as well, but getting back to the middle um feeling like myself um a lot more confident with the puck and um yeah. All right you can watch that uh full interview by the way on our daily face-off youtube channel uh right it just dropped right now 745 Eastern. You can watch the complete interview, Stephen Ellis in conversation with Michael Miesa of the San Jose Sharks.

All right, on the board of the Utah Mammoth at four. Are they keeping this pick? Are they gonna keep this pick? Pick is in, Pierre, the pick is in. Wow. The pick is in. So they're gonna, I mean, we're curious to see what happens here. There was a lot of noise.

This is going to be very interesting. This will be because we, we wonder about Brady Martin. We wonder about to your point, Caleb De Noye as well. Um, I wondered too about Jake O'Brien in this position, but, uh. I agree on all fronts, my friend. We'll, we'll see. Like, do you have a, I, to be honest with you, I kind of felt like they would, they kind of felt like they would move the pick.

I kind of feel like they did too. That's why I asked. I really felt they were moving that pick. Like I want to give credit where credit's due. You're the first person that really called this out. Brady Martin was a fast riser. You nailed it. You told me this about three or four weeks ago, maybe even longer.

And I've been tracking and tracking and tracking and you know what, you're spot on. But you know what put it over the top? Like what put it over the top? What put it over the top? Oh, who just got selected here? Caleb Dainoyer of Moncton. So that's gonna break the heart of Barry Trotz. I told you before this, we

went on this, he's the fastest riser. Yeah. And so just for those that don't watch Monkton and aren't very familiar with the Quebec Maritime Hockey League right now as it's called. Well done. This guy, this guy is a lot like Jonathan Taves. Look, I go way back with Jonathan when he played at Chattuck, when he went to Dakota, when he was a stick boy for the 05 World Junior Team in Grand Forks, North Dakota, like winning gold in 06, winning gold in 07. I'm not saying Caleb D'Nya is going to be as good as Jonathan Taves, but I got to tell you, Jeff, the characteristics and the winning of Caleb winning Caleb Denway are so similar to Jonathan Taves and I've known the family forever

Father played with Brodeur and st. Hyacinth. The son was a tremendous player part of the Philadelphia Flyers organization Elliott Denway, so I know the family this kid's really special. He's really special Jeff You know, I wondered to like all season, with all the respect to London Knights who won the Memorial Cup, I thought that the best team I saw in junior hockey this year, when they're all healthy and all together and playing great was Gardner MacDougall's team. And that is the Monk to Wildcats.

They're like, well, man, this is going to be a tough out. And more times than not, they were ranked number one, uh, all the way across the CHL. And a lot of it was, was due to Caleb Dane, YA outstanding player now as a member of the was, was due to Caleb Dainway, outstanding player, now he's a member of the Utah Mammoth fourth overall. But you know, during the Memorial Cup, this guy was banged up bad.

There were times in the QMJHL playoffs where flat out he couldn't play. And you saw it in the Memorial Cup where he really tried to gut it out as well. Uh, he's got a huge heart. He's got great skill. The thing about Dainway, I'm glad you brought up the Jonathan Taves comparison. You know, other people have said to me,

Bergeron Light, you know, um, that good two-way guy, really responsible. Don't expect anything really flashy here from this player, but he's going to be a coach's dream. Like, you know, those guys you had Pierre when you coach's dream. Like, you know those guys you had, Pierre, when you coached and you tapped him on the shoulder and you had no questions about what they were gonna do when they got out there. You felt confident.

Yeah, I had one of them. Go ahead. I had one of them named Ronnie Francis. Of course. He was a coach's dream. He was pretty darn good. You didn't have to tell him too much. You know, I had another one, number 66, Marylin Mu.

You didn't have to tell him too much. You know, I had another one, number 66, Mary LeMieux. You didn't have to tell him too much, especially in big games. And I'm not, listen, I'm not trying to say that then why he's going to be Francis or LeMieux. He's Mary LeMieux according to Pierre McGuire. But this guy gets winning. He understands how to win. And I love the point that you just raised about how tough he is. You got to be physically tough to play in the sport

and he's physically tough. He's not a fighter, he's not a thug. He's just a tough physical kid. He is and he's played for one of the most interesting coaches that we've ever seen in Gardner McDougal. Yes, I agree. He is the winning machine from UNB, the Reds. We all know about the records. He was a hired gun with the St. John's Seedogs when they won

the Memorial Cup as well and has this real charm about him. Kids love him. He does things a little bit differently. Like when they were eliminated from the Muriel Cup, you know, before they did handshakes, he did a circle. Altogether as a team. And McDougal talked about, you know, what all of this means for them and to cherish it and understand what they achieved. Like, he's just a different thinking guy. Like, there's a, first of all, that organization is run first class, right? First class. Um, and they ever,

they have a real special one there in gardener MacDougall whose son Taylor also happens to be general manager. He used to be an agent with Elaine Wa. Before that he was a player. Like it's when it comes to hockey and Moncton with the coach and the general manager, it's it's bread in the bone. It's bread in the bone. All you gotta do is bring the kids to magnetic hill and you're all good and then and then you'll be fine back in the i spent a lot of time in moncton back in the day well they have a beautiful rank and they have a wonderful organization too and now they

have a player in Caleb De Noye who heads to Utah and listen last year at the draft it was you know Atija Ginla drafted by the Utah Mamas, son of Jerome McGinla, plays with the Colona Rockets. They're hosting the Memorial Cup next year and don't forget, there's still plenty of players. I think it's like, Pierre, correct me if I'm wrong, I think it's like four, maybe five first round draft picks from the Arizona Coyotes, Simashev, Daniel Booth, who still haven't played in the NHL.

Utah's got players coming. And right now, they're filling out the roster. They have cap space I agree that it's got Paturka like this is a team Let's go for it. What happens if they get what happens if they get Aaron Ekblad and they play him with Sergeichev Well, then you have the Florida Tampa connection. You got the Florida back end your first pair You understand what I mean? I know they become a formidable force You understand what I mean. I know.

They become a formidable force. So they're going to be tough. It seems to me like they're like, like the, the, the mammoth here for next season, looking for a right shot, first pairing D. That's why we wonder about Aaron Echolet and we wonder about Vladislav Gavrikov, if they can get them. Like there are three teams trying to get Gavrikov. There's the LA Kings that are trying to keep them. There's the Rangers that are trying to get them.

And there's Utah that's trying to get Gavrikov as well. The other place that they're looking, and I always say like, good luck with this market. They want a goalie. Utah. That's not going to be that easy. No, wants a goalie. It's, it's, it's not simple at all. That that's, that's going to be a challenge for this team. But they've added up prospects. You know, T.J. Ginla had the injury this season, which really, you know, sort of dampened his

performance obviously. But they got a real good one there. Like, this is a team that's set up and now they got these wonderful new jerseys that I think we're all gonna adore next season. Even though I wanted Yeti, Pierre, I'm not sure where you were on this one. I wanted Yeti and I understand why the, you know, the the mom's coffee cup, the mom's youth hockey cup, the Yetis couldn't be used because of gimmick infringement, I suppose, threw a wrench into that one. But I'm good with Mammoth. You good with Mammoth? I'm good with mammoth. You good with mammoth?

I'm good with mammoth, especially from Utah. One of the better winter Olympics I've had the privilege of covering was 02 in Salt Lake. And they're getting it back in 30. I know, right? They're getting it back in 30, so yeah, it's good. Ryan and Ashley Smith have done a marvelous job there,

already. Oh my gosh, what a good ownership group. And just from what I understand, Jeff, I hadn't been to it, but I understand the practice facility that they're building or have built is unbelievable. Oh really, eh? It doesn't surprise me.

Nashville is on the board right now. So the Preds are picking fifth. I just wonder if this is gonna be like, all right, there's a lot of talk before. And then they just pick think they're mad because I think they're big they wanted Elliot then or not Elliot that's his brother they wanted Caleb Caleb's not there so we wonder I mean Jake O'Brien is still there Brady Martin is certainly still there we wonder if it could be James Hagens. Like I have a hard time.

Do they take Roger McQueen? Barry Trotz likes big guys. I know it's early. I know it's early. I know. He's a western guy, Barry. I just, I don't know. So he plays with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Barry Trotz is an old Regina Pat defenseman. I know what you're getting at. I don't know. I'm just wondering. I don't know. I think he really wanted Din Wye and I think he's probably pounding the table.

Is it just like Bobby Clark when he wanted Trevor Lewis but then Los Angeles picked a couple before him and Bobby was so hot he forgot Clojure's name and had to say, hey Homer who we taking? Remember that in Vancouver. Vancouver, yeah. One of taking? Remember that in Vancouver. Yeah. Vancouver. One of the greats of all time. By the way, Gardner McDougall is gonna be joining us here

in a couple of moments. I'm just texting with his son, the general manager of Monkton. When do you want G-Mac on? It isn't that cool. What am I now? Kid just got drafted. But Brady Martin just got drafted by the Nashville Predators. Brady Martin by the way.

That is your guy. I'm putting him on here the rest of his career. That's a lot of responsibility Pierre. No because you nailed that. He's no huge fan. Huge fan of the player. Here's the thing about Brady Martin. Brady Martin is not from the old school, Pierre. He's from the school they burned down to build the old school. He is a farm boy. His parents own a farm in Elmira and he takes a lot of pride working on the farm. And right now, that's where his draft party is. He didn't go to Los Angeles. You know why? Because there's work to do on the farm. You know those old pictures that we've all looked at and been shocked by? Bobby

Hull, Gordie Howe, where they didn't do lat raises and Bulgarian split squats, worked on the farm. That's Brady Martin. Now I remember talking to Matt Nichol, you know, for the first time, um, uh, uh, Brady Martin went to, to Matty's gym, which is state of the art. He's like, this kid hasn't worked out and he's, and he's, and he's, and he's

better than everybody. You know, those strong tendons, those farm boy tendons, like that is Brady Martin. And at the U 18 this year, um, and Matthew Turcotte led the charge as the head coach, Brady Martin really did a real number physically and sort of got everybody's attention. And the other thing that I thought that he did,

and this was really wise, at the combine this year, Pierre, you see the kids that get it. And he's a physical guy. And he was asked, you know, who the, who his favorite players are and who he models his game after said Tom Wilson and Sam Bennett, who just got eight by eight today, by the way, the second Stanley Stanley cup ring. Give us, give us your thoughts on, on Brady Martin of the Sue Grahams. I'm going to ditto everything you said,

but I'm going to go to a Northwest Ontario guy. His name is Mike Richards. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I see a lot of Mike Richards in Brady Martin. The winning component, the physical component, the fearless component, the component that makes the players around him better. I got to know Mike so well when he was with the Kitchener Rangers playing for Peter DeBore and Steve Spott.

Got to know him so well when he was playing in Philly. He and Jeff Carter were one, two tandem. But more than anything else, the time I spent with him at the World Juniors, whether it was 04 in Helsinki or 05 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, I couldn't say enough good things about Mike Richards. I see a lot of Brady Martin from what I saw in Mike Richards. And that's a really high compliment because I am the biggest Mike Richards guy.

I just have so much respect for Mike and how he played. You know, he's a physically robust player. Oh, by the way, I was telling this story on the sheet today. My favorite Brady Martin stories, he gets drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and he goes to the suit and they're trying to sort out the billet situation and he says I have one request. I say what's that? He says I want to bring my cow. Can we find a billet that can take my cow?

You imagine that, you're Kyle Raftis gentleman to the Sue Greyhounds like, first some interesting requests before but he wants to bring his cow for the milk, wants to milk his cow every morning and... I'm not sure that worked out though, did it? I don't think it worked out. No, not, not, not, but the thing that they're gonna love about Brady Martin in Nashville and and you know this about the Preds Not that he's like a slugger in like the Darcy Hordechuk sense But the the Nashville Predators have always had tried to have tough physical players in their lineup They've always gone. They've always gone after that

so Congrats to the Nashville Predators. They get... And congrats to Brady Martin and to Jeff Merrick who called that a long time ago. You did. Everyone... but you know what the first time I saw Brady Martin that really popped for me was a Waterloo Toronto Marlies game at the OHL Cup and he went off for four goals, like four goals four different ways. Remember Jeff Carter against Finland when he scored goals, four different ways. Remember Jeff Carter against Finland when he scored four goals four different ways

and everybody went, you were there, you called it. You called the game, of course. And everybody went, oh, there's something there with this kid. And that was the same thing with Brady Martin and just got on the radar and the Sioux had themselves an absolute gem. Charles Barkley is talking to Commissioner Bettman

right now in Los Angeles on the big screen as the Philadelphia Flyers are poised to make their first round. That would make sense. Philadelphia 76ers, that would make sense. Now, last year, the Flyers drafted someone who played four games and we wondered about if he was going to stick or not in Jet Luchenko. Which turns out to be one of the better, this Macklin Celebrini stole the show and rightfully so, but I think Jet Luchenko, considering he wasn't someone drafting like the top two or top three, really turned a lot of heads. So we'll see which way the the Flyers go. I wonder about Jake O'Brien here with the Bulldogs,

but your thoughts on on the Flyers, where they're at, what they need. with the Bulldogs, but your thoughts on the Flyers, where they're at, what they need. Well, I like the fact they brought Rick Tauke into coach. You know, I had the honor and privilege of coaching Rick and winning with Rick, and I'm a big fan of Rick the way he composes himself around Rick. Porter Martone. So they went big, so they went Flyer,

and look, he's not Tim Kerr, I get it, but they're Tim Kerr qualities to the way Porter Marton plays in terms of slot presence board presence physicality If there's one thing that Porter needs to do better and he'll do it he needs to get quicker But that's gonna happen. He'll all these teams have great skating coaches. He'll get quicker But his hand skills are elite as you know His board play is outstanding. His slot area play is really good. And I don't think I think it's a really good pick for them.

I really do. Um, do you have a quick thought on, on this one where we're six picks deep and five of the six are from the CHL. Like we know this is going to be a big year. I believe the record is, I got to check on this, either 22 or 23 for the CHL in the draft and that was 2013 I gotta check this with the Nathan McKinnon. I think you're close on that. I don't know if they're gonna come close to tie or maybe break the record here but this is and specifically the OHL who had been, had a tough year. For the first six are OHL. For the first six are OHL. For the first six are from the Ontario league, which shut down, you know, during COVID as well.

And you saw that and there was a lag in player development, but this is kind of a return now with Porter Marzone of the Brampton Steelheads getting selected by the Philadelphia Fire. Kind of a return for the OHL in some senses here, Pierre? Yeah, no, I agree. I think it's a great point. What's going to be interesting is going to be the influence of college hockey and the ability of players to leave major junior and go play college. But I think what's going to happen, because I spent a lot of my life in college hockey before I got to the National Hockey League, I think what will happen is it's really difficult for 17 and 18 year old players to play college hockey. I think you're going to see a lot of Ontario League players stay until they're 18 and then

maybe leave when they're 19 and some will even leave when they're 20. And so I don't think it's going to be that devastating for major junior hockey. And I still think the best players are going to play major junior hockey before they go to college. I believe that. I really believe that. So 2013. So that's the New Jersey draft. That's the, that's, that's Nathan McKinnon. And that was 22 players from the Western league, OHL and QMJHL in the opening round, most ever from a single league in one draft. We'll see how the rest of it goes here. But you know, players going to NCAA, it's changed the entire landscape, right?

Everything has changed. I think Dan McKenzie, and by the way, Dan, who's the president of the CHL, he's going to be joining us towards the president of the CHL, he's going to be joining us towards the end of the draft. Right away, before we get more on Porter Martone here, Daniel Brier, the Philadelphia Flyers choosing the winger from James Richmond's Brampton Steelheads joins us. We have someone real special on. We're just gushing about him.

A couple of seconds ago, he's Gardner McDougall. He's the head coach of the Moncton Wildcats. Caleb Dainway goes to the Utah Mammoth at fourth overall. Gardner, do we have you? There we go. Yeah, I think so. We'll get it the right way here. There we go. We figured it out. Technology's our friend. Technology's our friend. This is like running a powerplay. I don't do it. Dude, you're like me. I can talk a good game. Ask me to frame something up, not a chance. Listen, congratulations when one of your players gets picked as an accomplishment, certainly

for the player, but great for the organization as well. Great for the coach, great for the general manager. Your thoughts on Caleb Dainoyer becoming a member of the Utah Mammoth. Yeah, an unbelievable moment certainly for Caleb and his family and the Moncton Wildcats. He's got a lot of excited people in Moncton, New Brunswick and the province of New Brunswick. In two years he's been the passion of all the hockey fans in New Brunswick have just loved him as a person and certainly him as a hockey player and yeah it's just an outstanding opportunity for him. Hey coach how underrated is his offense because you see him every day.

Hey you got to think about this guy at 17 years old the top player on our team that ended up winning the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey Championship. And you gotta think from about October onward, he couldn't play center's natural position with a wrist injury played through it. He got a tremendous amount of grip. And then in January, he hurt the other wrist. So he's playing with two injured wrists. He couldn't, he could be the best face-off guy in our league if he takes them all the

time and he just finds different ways to contribute to the success of our team. You know Pierre was talking about, we were just talking about Dain Woye and we're talking about players like Jonathan Taves and there's elements of Jonathan Taves in that game. I wonder about, you know, I reference like you know Bergeron Light with the Boston Bruins. As Pierre mentioned, you see him game in and game out and you coach him. Like whose game do you see in Caleb? You know, those are great comparisons. Obviously, you know, legends of NHL and Canadian legends at that. And, you know, Kelsey Tessier is one of our coaches in Moncton

and he played in Shattuck when Taze was one year older and he got to watch Taze and he says that Caleb D'Noye reminds him a tremendous amount of Jonathan Taze. I agree I was there watching those guys play so I totally agree with that 100% coach. I know the family really well the dad was a tough guy when he played in St. Hyacinth. How much has a father interacted with Caleb over time? Yeah, I think, you know, we're all products of our families and our environment and both, you know, Caleb's dad, his mom, it just means so much to him.

And you know, obviously his dad has that fire and that passion and you know anytime they come to the family and want the family there as much as possible, he'll find that extra notch, you know that type of stuff. So they'd be very very proud of him today. You know, you're a very unique coach. You connect with people, you connect with players. There is a real sort of maritime charm about you. On what level, like how do you connect specifically with with Dainwaye? Is there anything that that really works like you have to be you know you have to build relationships with all the players on your team but you know what was it that really clicked between you

two? I got a head start. I got to coach him at the under 18s in Finland and even though I didn't know I was going to be a full-time coach with the Moncton Wildcats, I developed a tremendous relationship. We had an assistant coach there, Bruce Richardson, that also connected really well with him and you know he wasn't supposed to play a lot of games. He ended up playing our first line center and that was the start of an unbelievable summer at a Hulinka as well for him. But the thing about him he just you know when we took the job in Moncton the first thing my general manager my son Taylor first guy he called was Caleb and said listen I'm flying to Montreal tomorrow to meet with you and that's how much he means to our organization and he has just a strong belief and a strong passion and you know I think I have been quoted he changes our team every day he

walks in the dress room we had 280 days as a group so our team certainly got better every time he walked in the dress room real quick no James Hagens just got drafted by the Boston Bruins Pierre well I thought that the Boston Bruins might hook up with the New York Islanders and make a little deal, but that didn't happen. The reason why the Boston Bruins know James Hagens so well plays at Boston College and Dean Laterno, who was their first round pick last year, is a teammate with James Hagens. I'm not sure there was any team in the National Hockey League that saw the Boston College Eagles play more than the Boston Bruins last year

No surprise real quick gardener before that you get on with it with your evening. Give me the give me the 30-second elevator pitch You're talking to someone from Utah sell us on Caleb Dan why a I'm gonna start with that. They change this. It'll change your team right from the day you walked into your development camp. Utah visited them a lot and Caleb spent a couple of days this week in Utah and met all their organization and their general manager. We had more, we had a number of NHL players, but we had more people from the Utah our at our rink this year than any team and they did a tremendous job with Gabe Smith and I'm sure they'll do a tremendous job with Caleb D'Annoye. I heard Barry Trotz was around the team a lot at the Memorial Cup specifically, is that true?

I did watch every game we played, yeah correct. So he's not, I'm sure, listen, I'm sure they're happy getting Brady Martin, but I was told that Trotz was around a lot, a lot to watch you guys. Listen, looks great on you, great on the organization, certainly great on the player. Gardner, thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of the evening and best of your son, Taylor. Who's your boss, by the way? Thanks, yeah, Jeff, much appreciated. Pierre as well.

Have a great rest of the evening. Go CHL Go. Thanks, Garry. Thanks. They're cranking about Go CHL Go. So it's Schaefer Miesa, Dainway A. Martin Martone, and now James Hagens breaks it up from Boston College at seven. Go ahead. I'm a little surprised, Jeff, that the honors couldn't pull it off with Boston to get up. I am too. That's where I thought, I think at the beginning of the show I said to you, it's going to be Boston.

He's not going past seven. And Boston took him and I'm really surprised that those two picks at 16 and 17 weren't enough to get it done. So here's what I wonder about. If the Islanders didn't think that they'd be able to get Haggins with those two picks, would they still have made the trade? We're all wondering about this. Like, okay, so this is the setup, right? I see.

You know that Noah Dobson is going, okay, the trade is the setup, right? You know that Noah Dobson is going, okay, the trade at the draft, they got the two picks, okay, what's the second domino here? Like this must have been just a frantic afternoon for the New York Islanders to try to put all of these pieces together. But I really do wonder if Darsh didn't know, if he thought, eh, you know what,

I'm not gonna be able to move up and get my guy, would he still have made the trade? I'm not so sure about that. Well, so here his choice was, he could have done that trade, or he could have done the trade with Columbus, and he takes 14 and 20 and he gets for Ankoff. So I just don't know.

I just, I think he probably, I think they valued 16 and 17 a lot more, Jeff. Because I think once you get past there and you get to 20, I just don't know. This draft is really different. It really is. And we've seen a little bit different. I mean, when the season started, did you honestly think Brady Martin would be a fifth overall? I did not. No, I thought I'd tell you, I did not.

Chance may have slipped low into the first, but I thought second round. So I thought Brady Martin before this, like in the last two weeks, based on what you were saying and based on the tape I was watching, I thought Brady Martin might slip into 11 or 10. But it just shows you there's a value. People watch Florida a lot. You know that and I know that. The Florida footprint is all over the league now. People know they need those players. Yes, they do. And with that, let's get to the head coach and the manager of the Brampton Steel heads, JR, our man, James Richmond, to talk to us about Porter Martone,

who's now the latest member of the Philadelphia Flyers. First of all, JR, thanks so much for stopping by alongside Peter Weier. Glad to have you here. Your thoughts on someone that you helped shepherd through his junior hockey career, is now a member of the big, tough team in Orange. Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. Yeah, I mean, what a great fit, right? I mean, he's team in Orange. Yeah, thanks for having me guys.

Yeah, I mean what a great fit, right? I mean he's going in there, they've got talking as a coach there. Yeah. Gonna see this kid come in here and I think he's gonna be looking in the mirror. So, the way the quarter plays, I mean every night, every practice he's coming in

and he's gonna make his presence felt. And he is a very very skilled offensive guy but he'll play it any way you want to play it so i think rick would like him and and obviously uh oh and tippenstier who's the steelhead as well and yep i've already text back and forth with tippy so i'm sure he's on the call with him right now and the funny thing is that they both had the same billet family when they're in with the steelhead the, how far away is he from playing in the NHL, James? and and the ready to go. And I thought he was the heck of a world champion for Canada there. So I have, I have someone that's quite close with his father. I'm curious about the family and his dad has always been

described as, Hey, I'm having a problem with my plumbing. He'll show up with a six pack and he'll fix it for you. And then he'll stay and he'll make dinner for you at the same time. Do you have a thought? Do you have a thought on the family? By the way, Seattle has just drafted Jake O'Brien from the Bulldogs Terrific Partners in it so good for him good for Jake. He's the heck of a player and

yeah, I mean the Marton family is just terrific mom and dad and sister and You know terrific. Mom and dad and sister and you know Mike and I talked every now and then and he's a hard he was a hard-knocked player and he's okay you know when I've talked to him he's one of those parents that say hey be hard on him you beat JR and take it to him and I have. We've pushed Porter and he'll come in and sit in the coach's office and we'll do some video and he'll have some questions, but he'll always go out there and try to execute what we're talking about.

So the family is second to none. They are a beautiful family, top down. Obviously it starts with Mike and Angela. Just terrific people and couldn't be more proud of them. Well listen, we're proud of their son. Listen, it looks great on you JR. You've sent another one to the show, James. I don't know if you count, but you've sent a lot of guys into the NHL. You mentioned Oed Sippitz. So that's another notch for you. Thanks so much for

spending time with us tonight. Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me. Thanks so much for spending time with us tonight. Really appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me. Thanks James, thanks a lot. Take care, take care. There is JR James Richmond, the head coach and the manager of the Brantford Steelheads.

Yeah, so Jake O'Brien of the Brantford Bulldogs goes to the Seattle Kraken. This kid is just loaded with potential. Oh my gosh. This kid is like, and he's got he he looks lean and he is he still has to he still has to fill out But he's got size. He's got skill You know, I think you know Spencer Hyman Jay McKee with the with the Bulldog keep this kid eating as much as you can Because he has a frame that can handle more weight and really that's probably what he needs here.

The more I watched him play this year, the more I said, this is Dylan Strom. When Dylan Strom was playing in the Ontario Hockey League. Dylan Strom was such a great offensive player, Jeff, especially when it came to the power play. And you know, if you're Nick Lardis and you're seeing this, you're going, man, that 100%, this guy's an unbelievable playmaker. He's got peripheral vision. He's got awesome sense with the puck. He's going to be a power play specialist to start. But

I'm looking at the center ace position in Seattle, just off the top of my head with Matty Beniers, with Shane Wright, with Jake O'Brien. Like now it's starting to slot properly. You know, eventually I could see Wright being in the three hole, Benhears being in the one hole and O'Brien being in the two hole. And then it starts to balance. It really does. But bracket that for one second. I think we're going to have Spencer Hyman come up here in a couple of moments, but first I want to rewind and get to Brady Martin. We have his general manager with us, Kyle Raftis, a longtime GM of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, who joins us now. Kyle, thanks so much for stopping by today. Much appreciated. Your thought on Brady Martin, now a member of the Nashville Predators.

Like, I don't need to tell you how unique this story is and how unique this player is. Pierre and I have been talking about it but your thoughts on Brady Martin new Pred. Well I think just looking at my background here you can kind of see how unique this story is. As we joke the stage. As you're at the farm. Exactly. The stage looks a little different tonight but I think it's a match made in heaven. I know he's super excited about it. He's already getting a lot of ribbings about cowboy hats and boots already but no I think it's going to be awesome.

Pierre? Kyle, you know, the one thing that really blows me away about Brady is his tenacity. Is there any one player you see him reminding you of? I don't know. It's tough. You know, every elite player has an ability of wanting to win, can turn it on when they need to. But with Brady, what's so fascinating is he doesn't need can turn it on when they need to but with Brady what's

so fascinating is he doesn't need to turn it on as soon as he's playing that's who he is. He competes like that at practice you know I think if he was playing men's league down the road he'd be that same guy just competing working incredibly hard and it's not something that he flips the switch on and off when he wants to and so I don't know he just has that one that ability to will himself to win and when you see him on a day to day basis, it's no mistake why he can get himself to that spot. You're at the Martin farm.

It seems as if he brings like that type of work ethic to the rink every single day. Like what I do when I wake up in the morning and this is what I do in the afternoon. This is what I'm gonna do at the rink, this is how I'm gonna behave, like this guy's just wired, like would it be accurate, Kyle,

because you know him better than I do, to say that he has like a farm boy mentality when he goes to the rink, like this is my job and I'm gonna put in on a shift every single day. Is that too simple? Definitely. No, definitely.

We kind of joke that it's almost like we're being soft on him when he gets to come up and just focus on hockey. He gets to sleep in, he's ready to go. I know his mom and dad were always like, get him up, get him doing something. If he needs a job before he has to go to the rink, make sure he's doing his stuff. But no, I think when you see how much love he has for the game and how much passion and he definitely comes there with a work like mentality and he just elevates whether it's in the you know in the weight room with the guys on the ice practice whatever it is He just wants to be at the rink and pushing the guys. So it no definitely brings that mentality

Kyle what's the next step that Brady has to take to get to where he wants to be? For me, I think he watched him as a player and he's incredibly strong you know on his skates he's incredibly strong from working on the farm doing those things but truthfully and I don't mean to put this in about he hasn't spent a ton of time in the gym and I think just you know making sure his body's ready for that next level I think is going to be the biggest thing for him because the way he plays I don't know how much you guys have watched him play like you got to make sure your body's in proper shape ready to go and obviously he's an excellent shape but I just think really shaping that body to make sure you can take that kind of

you know punishment as you go in because as I said he can only play one way and I think that's you know the next step for him for sure. Are there times though because you know I remember talking to Matt Nicol about this when he went to Matty's gym. It's like he's got that farm boy strength. He's got like those strong farm boy tendons. It's not like your new age hockey body. Are there some things, Kyle, that you look at and you see

and you're like, hockey players aren't supposed to be strong like that, but this guy is. Like, you know, go climb a rope. Vroom. Well, even a couple guys were talking about it when he first came to camp. Like there's some exercises that, you know, you worry about your technique. How are you going to do it? And he's just like, yeah, could somebody show up me?

And then all of a sudden he's really good at it already is one of those annoying guys that just like, oh yeah, you're really good already. Without any work. It's some of these other guys that go on the super expensive gyms over the last few years going through it. But I think for him, I think he has that natural strength. He continually works at it every day. And I think just kind of rounding that out is going to be an awesome step for him. Hey, Kyle, as somebody that's really involved in the Ontario Hockey League like you are, this has been a smashing debut, this draft year so far for the Ontario Hockey League.

What does it mean to your league? No, I think it's huge. I think there was a couple years, you know, coming out of COVID where I think everybody wasn't sure where to place it. All the Ontario players where they weren't playing that type of thing. But you know, it's funny when you see these players play their youth 16 year, which is the draft year for the OHL. You know, there's always a lot of talk about this guy's going to be a good junior

player, this guy's going to be a good pro, you know, and at 15, how do you know? But that's always kind of seems to be a narrative. But I think you could kind of see this group coming, and there's going to be a couple years after this as well. I think it's going to be a good run for our league. And it's incredibly encouraging, because I think for us, obviously, we're all competitive against each other. But as a league, I think we've got to be really proud and take a step back and really see the work that's got to do over the last few years for sure. Buffalo State was just drafted Radham Mirka, so the CHL run continues as well.

Last question for you here, I'll let you get back to the party at the lovely farm in Elmira, I love it. I was telling Pierre about the story that I heard about when he showed up for the Soussaint-Marie Greyhounds. He wanted to bring his cow with him. Were you ever able to find a billet that could house a cow, Kyle Raftis?

I don't think that would have been an issue. It didn't become the breaker for him actually signing with us, so we kind of went on that way. But no, I think it was more so than just trying to see how much they could kind of get out of me of like, yeah, we're super excited about you. Sure. You want to bring the cow, you can bring up the cow.

Yeah, I love it. It's a unique one and it's not a high maintenance one. So what can you do? Because he's going to take care of it himself. So why not? I just love it. Listen, looks great on you. Looks great on the Sousa Marie Greyhounds organization as well.

You've sent another one to the show. Congratulations to the hounds. Thanks so much for this. Much appreciated. Enjoy the rest of the night in Elmira. There's apparently a big spread coming here, so I'm looking forward to it. All right. Chow down. Here we go. Thanks, Cal. There is the general manager of the Sousaimourie at Greyhounds, Kyle Raftus. Spencer Hyman is going to join us in a second here. Quick, give me like a hot 20 on Radium Mertka. Look up, look way up.

Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman now Buffalo Sabre. Size is not a factor, that's for sure. I see a little bit of Travis Sannheim in his game. Oh yeah. A little bit of Jay Bommiester in his game. There's a stopping power to his game that's really important. I'm not seeing huge offensive upside once he gets in the NHL, but I do think there's gonna be some there But I'm seeing more stopping power than anything else. It's kind of been interesting for the Buffalo Sabres They went out and got Michael Kessel ring yesterday right shot JJ Peturka deal So, you know you look at it Merck as a right shot D as well

So they're trying to recognize it they definitely need depth on the right side for their defense. Absolutely. Okay, let's get to Spencer Hyman, the general manager of the Brantford Bulldogs, one of the busiest general managers around the OHL these days. Jake O'Brien, Spencer, first of all, thanks so much for stopping by. Your family buys a team this year and you're sending one to the show already, Seattle Kraken grabbing Jake O'Brien.

First of all, thanks for joining me and Pierre. And second of all, your thoughts and what should we know about Jake? Yeah, no, thanks guys. Jake's first and foremost an incredible human being. So we couldn't be more proud that he's now the highest ever Brantford Bulldog drafted into the NHL. So we couldn't be more proud, you know, to see Jake get picked in eighth overall by Seattle. Here. You know, Spencer, the biggest thing to me is when I see Jake play, it's the peripheral vision,

especially on the power play. Is that something you guys are aware of as an organization? Yeah, I mean, the one thing I'd say about Jake, I think at eight overall, they got the smartest player in the draft. I mean, the one thing I'd say about Jake, I think at eight overall, they got the smartest player in the draft. I mean, he makes plays on the ice where you think there's the right play and then he does another transition move and then you think that's the right play. And then eventually he makes the right play and you're just like, how did he even do that?

So I mean, Jake is one of the most skilled hockey players I've ever seen in my life His brain is off the charts. He thinks the game unbelievably well and Seattle got a steal at eight You know, I it's funny hearing you talk about Jake like that though The one thing I remember Mitch Marner's draft with that been well I wouldn't the Mcdavid draft but when when Marner went to the Maple Leafs at four without in 2015 one scout I was like, how would you describe Mitch Marner? And he said, here's how I describe Mitch Marner. He doesn't make the right play, he makes the better play. He makes the play where we all go, no, no, no,

what are you doing? Oh, oh, okay, now I see what you're doing. Is that Jake O'Brien? 100%, and I got to see a lot of Mitch when Zach was in Toronto. So, you know, he's uh, He's just an unbelievable player. Like I said, he thinks the game on a different level His brain is right there amongst probably the top in the NHL right now. We're lucky that that he's a brand for Bulldog How much is Zach hanging around the team? Does Zach have any opinion on the team?

Yeah, Zach and I talk about the Bulldogs every single day. Obviously, he was a little bit busy for the last few months in the playoffs, but, you know, he's the best support system, you know, for me, for our players. He, you know, all of our players in the organization have Zach's number and he's there for anything they need. And so, you know, he's just unbelievable support system, not only for me, but for our whole staff and all of our players. You know, real quick point too, about the Bulldogs, one, um,

one headline that came out a couple of, a few weeks ago, really, um, Gary Roberts now retained by the team. And when we look at Jake O'Brien, the one thing we look at is he's got the height, he's got the skill. Give me the size for the size for the NHL. How much work would Gary Roberts be doing with Jake O'Brien already? Yeah, I mean, Gary's humongous for all of our players. Obviously the best in his industry at what he does.

And what's incredible about Jake is that there's just so much growth ready to happen there. He's not even close to hitting, you know, his full potential. I really believe that, you know, when it's all said and done out of this draft, he's going to be the best player, you know, that was taken here. So Gary's going to be massive in terms of helping Jake with his growth off the ice, you know, so that it transitions on the ice. And obviously Gary works with Zach, he works with Connor.

He works with a lot of NHL superstars and really excited to get him into working with all the Bulldog players. And I know he's excited the opportunity to work with Jake directly too. You've done a lot of work recently and a lot of it has really been noticed about putting together a team that looks like it's going to compete not just for a Robertson

Cup but also a Memorial Cup as well. And you know, the one name that jumps out if I can just detour away from Jake O'Brien for one second, Caleb Malhotra. Manny Malhotra's son, Manny just won the Calder Cup with Abbotsford the other night, so a real family affair there. Would Caleb play, I mean I'm guessing this, that he'll play with Marek Vaneker and Jake O'Brien. Would you put, and this is a Jamie Key question perhaps, would you put Jake O'Brien with Caleb Malhotra as he comes to the OHL? Yeah you know I think we want to develop Caleb as a center. I think we'll maybe be here next year this time talking about Caleb Malhotra

as well. We're really excited about him. So, you know, but, but Caleb, the sky's the limit for him. I know he's going to have an incredible role model in front of him and Jacob Ryan to learn from not just on the ice, but off the ice as well. He's an unbelievable kid. I say that first and foremost, the hockey player as well, obviously,

but he is a culture kid. And you can tell that from the second you meet him. So we're incredibly excited that Caleb Malhotra is now a Brantford Bulldog as well and no better person to learn from than Jake O'Brien. Well, listen, this has been great. Congratulations than Jake O'Brien. Well, listen, this has been great. Congratulations, Jake O'Brien, the newest member of the Seattle Kraken.

Looks great, not just on the player, but on your entire organization. Spencer, thanks so much for stopping by today. Enjoy the rest of the night. Appreciate it, boys. Thank you. There he is, Spencer Hyman, from the general manager of the Branford Bulldogs.

Jay McKee is the coach there. And we talk about, you know, it's interesting, he, Jay McKee interviewed with the Philadelphia Flyers. There's obviously an association with Danny Breyer that goes through the Buffalo Sabres organization. That's another one that I look at and say, you know what, Jay McKee one day, Jay McKee one day, and he's done a really good, really good job with the Bulldogs so far. That's another guy who's going to get more NHL attention, Pierre. Agreed. I got to know him really well when he was a player.

I couldn't agree with him more. He's a guy that wants to be at the rink all the time. And if you want to make it, you've got to want to be at the rink all the time. You don't look at the clock. You just want to get to the rink. Quick thought on the Hyman family. Oh, by the way, Anaheim has just, Anaheim gotcha guy Roger McQueen. Oh, did they? Yep. Big forward Brandon Wheat Kings, Western Hockey League. Some would say, like listen, if I told you at this time next year that Roger McQueen was going to fall to 10. You probably would have said no chance, but there was a significant injury this season that hampered him, that gave a lot of teams pause.

But listen, Pat Verbeek is the general manager of the Anaheim Ducks and he wants a big, strong, heavy team, period. This goes a long way to answering that question about, do you have a big, strong, heavy center down the middle? They got it in Roger McQueen. You know what's amazing about their team right now, Jeff, and you know this as well as anybody,

this is for the viewers at home. You look at their depth chart, start with Dylan, or with Ryan Strom, excuse me, and then you go down to Leo Carlson, and then you go down to Leo Carlson, and then you go down to Mason McTavish, and then you go to the recently required Ryan Paling. They're setting up the way you want them to. They're Florida-like.

I'm not saying they're Florida yet, but they're getting Florida-like down the middle. And so that's what you have to have. The biggest question on McQueen, and I think you know this, and again, this is for the folks at home. How healthy is he going to be? How's the back going to be? I obviously know.

We all know. That's the one question mark about Roger. But this is an amazingly talented person. And the future is extremely bright if he can stay healthy. There's no question about that. Absolutely, too. And let's not lose sight of one thing, too. And this is a big part of the recruiting process for the Anaheim Ducks.

It makes things a lot easier. And I, I don't know whether, you know, Chris Kreider would have waved his, his no trade to go to Anaheim. If this guy wasn't the coach, but let's not forget like whether it's Roger McQueen, Ryan Paling, who you just mentioned, who was in the Trevor Ziegler steal, whether it's Chris Kreider, these guys are all going to be coached by Joel Quenville. Like that's a calling card. Like when Pat for B goes out to

market and says, you know, I want to talk to Darren Ferris of Quartex about Mitch Martin. And one of the things he has in his hip pocket is does Mitch want to be coached by Joel Quenville? Such a smart comment. And I can tell you, I'm very

comfortable telling you this. Matt Kader is the agent for Christopher Kreider. And I can tell you right now, he also owns Ian Moore. That's a young prospect in their organization, Anaheim. Chris Crider is not going to Anaheim if Joel Cuenville is not the coach. I'm just telling you right now, there's no way he would have waved. So I think Joel is a huge asset for Pat Verbeek.

And by the way, Pat and Martin Matten Jr. they've done a fantastic job. Yes. They have the Martin Madden Jr. and the amateur scouts in Anaheim really have an amazing record. They should be really proud of that. And Pat's done a real good job stabilizing things as an I slept 16 hours last night, every day this week, every day this month I can't get out my head, lost all ambitions day to day Guess I can call it a ride I went to the dark man, he tried to give me a little medicine I'm like, nah man, that's fine

I'm right against those methods, but no It's me, myself, and how this gon' be fixing my mind I do wanna break it I turn down the music I do wanna break it I turn down the music Listen up, they're, don't you sometimes lose it Helping on the days that went wrong