The Sheet with Jeff Marek - PICKS 22-32: The Sheet Draft Special with Jeff Marek and Pierre McGuire

Episode Date: June 29, 2025

Round 1, Picks 21-32: 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. We have a trade. Let's get to the trade. What do we have? Do we know what this trade is here? Hang on a second. So the LA Kings are up on the board 24th overall.

The LA Kings are up on the board, 24th overall. So Pittsburgh goes into this spot. So Pitt goes in 24 for 31 and 55. 31 and 59, apologies. The Pittsburgh Penguins who have drafted Bill Zonin most recently from the QMJHL's at Blaineville, Bois Brienne. And Benjamin Kindle. And also Benjamin Kindle from the Western Hockey League.

They make the trade with the Los Angeles Kings and so the Pittsburgh Penguins will select again. Speaking of Michael McKenzie, you know who one of his teammates was in junior before Michael went to college? Brendan Smith. Oh no way! So you know when I used to watch him? I used to watch Brendan Smith. I had a men's league Thursday nights and Don Mills and every now and then, and the Don Mills Flyers, minor midget team, a U16 now they're called, would play right after us. And every now and then the Toronto Marlboro's would float through.

And that was a team with Brendan Smith and John Tavares and Sam Gagne and Justin Vive and Akim Allou. I think they only lost one game that year. That Brendan's, well, John Tavares was the underage. So listen to this. Their draft year, Kyle Tarris, they were all going to Wisconsin. Kyle Turs was drafted in the first round. Ryan McDonough was drafted in the first round and Brendan Smith was drafted in the first

round. They all ended up at the University of Wisconsin. They all did. Wow. That's, that's awesome. I do want to get your thoughts on Logan Hensler in a couple of seconds, but we have Bill Zonin's coach from... Speaking of Wisconsin. Speaking of Wisconsin.

We have Bill Zonin's coach joining us now. Steve Hartley joins us on the program from Miranda Randa. Steve, first of all, thanks so much for stopping by today. And did you have a feeling that it might be the Pittsburgh Penguins for Zonen? Well, you know what? Their their regional scout with it, with that scouts, our league has always found a way to get our guys through in the first round. And we know it was going to be them, obviously not. But with them adding a third round pick, it's obviously not a very surprising to see Bill come out there. So we're extremely ecstatic for him. to be them, obviously not, but with them adding a third round pick, it's obviously not very

surprising to see Bill come out there. So we're extremely excited for him. Obviously he's moved on to play Ville-Bourbier for next year, but you know, he was developed in our organization, spent three years in our organization, was drafted by our GM, Yannick Gaucher, and we're extremely thrilled. It's a big night for our organization. Sure is. Hey, coach, what is it about Zonin that stands out to you? For me, it's just the maturity to his game that he... Obviously, I was there for the last year and a half with him.

I had the pleasure of working with Bill on a day-to-day basis. His ability to drive plays, he moved from the wing to center this year in his third year in the league. Wanted to get him some more responsibilities and you know what he made the change with with flying colors and he was dominant. He was a, I always told him you're our bus driver you need to drive the play for us you need to drive our team. Our team will go As far as as far as you will take us obviously as he had helped but You know what? He was outstanding for us. Let us all the way into the final four We where we ran into a very good Monkton Wildcats team. That was much deeper older than us, but

He was outstanding for us drives plays You know what? I think he has got a shot that is very deceptive and he's got a lot more skill than people can think that he has and I think just the move to centre allowed him to be closer to the clock, allowed him to be much more in motion. Some people say he's not a very good skater for me. He's, his skating is fine. And you know what, the change, the center allowed him to be much more involved, much more close to the club. And I think probably led to him being picked by the penguins. Tell us about the person.

Outstanding person. You know what, and just from what I heard when he was 16 to what he is today at 18, he was always in the gym, always leading activations, always the first one to be there for cooldown. On days off, he was always at the ring for treatment, taking care of himself. Just the evolution from even when I came in in early February last year to now to see just the evolution of the growth that Bill displayed. He was great for our young players this year. He was a great example. He wants to be a pro and I wouldn't bet against him. Hey coach, what's your favorite place to stop in Saint-Gervais, Quebec on your bus trips? the the is it la vie marmite in Saint-Gervais Yes

We did stop there this year on the way to Blainville down the stretch we We had to allow our players to go to school in the morning before heading out and we wanted to get a good dinner And then he goes yeah, I've actually suggested that place for us He's got a condo in truck. He's got a condo in Montreux and I had the pleasure of working with Benny in Drummondville that's and to be closer to bond. We had an extremely close team this year that probably didn't have the talent level to get to the final four, but all that time spent on the road, all those times on the bus, the hotel rooms, I think it brings the team closer and we embrace it. Do you find that, you know, you grab the schedule when it comes out and if you have a younger team, like this is true

at a lot of levels, do you find that if you have a younger team you want to get a big road trip in early so all the kids all the kids can bond as opposed to later on in the season you know what we try to get our we go twice to the Maritimes obviously it's gonna change a little bit now with Newfoundland but we try to get our two road trips out before Christmas we want to get to the Maritimes as early as possible to get our team together we did a we were traveling this year on Halloween from and, the midtown was my my go-to for free game meals. See? There you go! All those hockey guys stick together! That's pretty cool! That is outstanding. Well listen, we'll let you get back to your evening. I know he's with

Blainefield now but it's a great reflection on you and your entire staff. Thanks so much for stopping by Steve. It's a wonderful accomplishment. Thanks for parking some time with us today. Thank you guys for having me. Thanks a lot,. Have a good one. Thank you. Thank you. Who is? Isn't that awesome? That's awesome. That's fantastic. And one thing really quick too, I'm always impressed with, and maybe I shouldn't be, I'm always impressed with goaltenders who become head coaches. Because as a goalie, you know, growing up and playing through your career, um, and he would have played at Miami, Ohio for a couple of years. Um, you kind of like on your own, you're there to, to stop pucks and you have to

really sort of pay attention to everything around you, if you're going to go on to be a head coach. It's rare to see head coaches that have a background goal tending because you're not growing up with the rest of the team and goalies are always sort of out on their own. Maybe I'm making too much of this, but is there something there for you too? Yes, there is.

So I think, and I had a chance to work with them, I think Jerry Cheevers might be the best goalie that was ever a coach that worked. You can't really say, oh yeah, there are a bunch of great goalies that ended up being great head coaches in the NHL. Amell Francis. Can you think? The cat.

Amell, he was, but was Amell a great goalie or was he just a guy that played the position? I can tell you one thing, I worked for Amel. He was the most amazing guy to work for. I love working for Amel. Someday there's a story for you and I to talk when we don't have a microphone about Amel. He was so good to me. I am so grateful for the time I spent with Amel. He was an amazing person to work for.

We are, we're, we're, we're getting ahead of ourselves here. Surprise, surprise Chicago blackhawks are picking, but before we get there, the Pittsburgh Penguins at 24 while we were talking to Steve selected William Horkoff. Oh, great pick. Yeah. I like that. He goes to the, to the, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. One of the youngest players, I believe, in NCAA hockey this year, I want to say. At Michigan he was, and he's smart where he's really good though, I got to tell you, Jeff, he's outstanding defensively.

The numbers aren't gaudy, so that's part of why they're not gaudy. His father was a great player player and it must pain his father because his father played at Michigan State, Sean, before he went on to a really good NHL career. But Will's a really talented kid, he really is. Hey, you know who's making the pick for the Chicago Blackhawks right now? He's calling it a career.

Who? Gary Mehar. Oh, is he? Yeah. That's awesome. Why would he be doing Chicago though? I don't, I'm not. He's a Montreal guy. Gary Maher is a Montreal guy.

I'm not, maybe he was going to do Montreal and then they traded those two picks. I don't know. But, but Gary Maher. His family is a legendary sports family in Montreal. They all went to Loyola High School, which is a rival high school of where I went. So the Mahars are legendary family in Montreal, really good people. Nice, nice man. Vaslav Nostrasil goes to the black house. How far away by the way do you think Chicago is? And this by the way, this by the way is the first, we had with the USHL earlier, he plays USHL Muskegon, this is the first USHL pick.

Yep. So I'll say this, they're not going to be, I don't believe there'll be a playoff team this coming season, but the year after they're going to push. It's a lot like what Columbus did last year, and I think Columbus is gonna really push to be a playoff team this year. I see Chicago kind of on the same trend, if that makes sense to you. Mm-hmm. You have a look at the prospects, and like, listen, these guys are already gonna be graduating into the Blackhawks organization right now. Hey here's another one that I was speaking on the Blackhawks I was having this conversation with someone in Buffalo at the combine. July 1st Connor Bedard can sign a contract. I don't think you will. I think he'll probably wait to

put up more numbers throughout the season. But as you sort of blue sky considering all this is being built around Conor Baddard, what do you think a contract like, what should they be looking at coming out of the entry level? Great question. Because someone, this person I was talking to said, is he going to get $10 million? Well, so here's what I'd say,

Timmy Stutzla in Ottawa is a little over eight and a half, I believe. Yeah. And I think Connor's going to get more. So, you know, you're probably looking at ten. Is there a point, and we see this now, I'll tell you why we see this, we see this with the Buffalo Sabres right now. There comes a point where you say, we've got a lot of prospects and we need to start using our prospects as capital to get players. A lot of teams are there. They've done a great job drafting. They've done a great job identifying and drafting, and we all know the names,

and the guys that are coming in. And now there's another one in Anton Frondell. At a certain point, you're running the Chicago Blackhawks, Ukelle Davidson. Do you not need to say, okay, now it's time to make the team? We've got all the ingredients,

we need to use it in a way to make the team and all the hawks. Didn't they do that last year? Didn't they do that last year when they trade Seth Jones to Florida for Spencer Knight? They identified that they weren't good enough in goal. So they wanted to get a guy they thought could be. So they go get Spencer Knight. And I told you before about Drew Camesso. I still think Drew has a chance to be a real good goalie in the NHL.

I watched him grow up playing in Boston and I'm telling you he's a tremendous athlete. I think he's got a chance. So they identified that in goal. They've drafted fantastically well in defense. We talked about Vlasic, we talked about, you know, Kerchinski, we talked about Rinzel. They got guys in defense. So you look at it, they're starting to come now, and they're going to have to, I think, take one of those forwards or one of those D and turn it into whatever they think is a weak point. They're going to have to utilize one of those players to address their weak link. I was shocked, and I say this in a complimentary way, Ryan Donato got a four- year deal there

for four million dollars a year. I was happy for him. I was really happy for him. Look, I'm gonna be totally transparent. I'm really good friends with the family and I'm really good friends with him. And his wife's family allowed my son to be a billet at their house.

So I mean, I've known the families forever. And I think the world of him and that kid, Ryan Donato, couldn't wait to go back to Chicago. We want to stay there because he sees the potential for greatness in their organization. You know who still hasn't gone? I just got a text from someone here a second ago. And I'm a little bit surprised at this one.

Yeah, I'm listening. Jordan Spence. And you were talking about Jordan before. I know you were. Riker Lee just went to Nashville. Okay. Speaking of USL, that's back to back USHL players. USHL guys, yep. So that's back to back. USHL players. USHL guys. Yep. Jordan spent still hasn't gone.

Riker Lee was a heck of a player, Madison. He was a heck of a player there in terms of points. Sorry, not Jordan. I'm thinking of the defenseman, Malcolm Spence. Yeah. Michigan. From the Erie Otters. Malcolm Spence who, if you, if you, if he, if he went back to the OHL next year,

had a shot at maybe being the best player in the league. Malcolm Spence still hasn't gone. No. You know what? I had Malcolm, I'm just looking at it now. I had him just on the tip of the first round and the start of the second round. He did, eh? Well there's still time. Maybe I didn't rate him properly but that's where I got him. Maybe I had Jordan Spence on my mind because I think LA is trading him.

I think Ken Holland is moving him. I look at either Boston or Ottawa. He's such an efficient player though, don't you think? I like him. First of all, I like the person. I really love watching Jordan Spence play hockey. But it sounds like Holland is going to move him. In the LA Kings.

Right shot defenseman, third pairing. Yep. Yep. Well we're getting down to the short strokes. You got six picks left in the first round. I wonder if Malcolm Spence. So we still have Malcolm Spence on the board. To me, that's probably the big one here.

That's that's. You know what I am going to say that I think Sasha Boumediene is going to go at some point here in the next six. The defenseman from BU. And I think Blake Fiddler is going to go the defenseman from Edmonton. Oil Kings. Yeah. Yeah. And I think Jack Murtaugh is gonna go

I'll give you three that I think will go on the next six above Malcolm Spence Yeah Do we see another goaltender here, I hope I'm wrong too, by the way, I do I Yeah, I like I hope he breaks. I know you do and I hope he breaks wrong too by the way. I do. I hope I'm wrong. About Malcolm Spence? Yeah, I like him a lot. I hope he breaks through. I know you do. And I hope he breaks through.

I really do. Hang on here. I wonder if someone's taking a goaltender here. I wonder if Josh Rabins-Bergen's going. Well, that's the only goalie that I would think would be... Don't you think? Or would you have somebody else, that's all I got. I don't think Andrew Panoff was going to go that high.

No. No. Um, Ravensbergen seems to be the one. That's what I think too, but. I'm always stunned at how, I'll be honest with you, like I'm always stunned at how it's such a premium position. It's such an important position. And I mean, outside of, you know, Di Pietro going first overall

and Flower going first overall, generally teams kind of have a meh, I'll get my goalies later approach to it. Think about, think about like where Dominik Hasek was picked. Oh, wasn't he sixth round? Or was he even later than that? Yeah, but he was later I think. He was traded by the Chicago Blackhawks and this is no disrespect man to Stefan Borregard, but it was a one-on-one, one-for-one deal. He was traded by Chicago to Buffalo. Think about that for one second. But the one that blows me away all the time,

and I talked about it before, Gordur went at it before he was playing behind Belfort he wasn't he wasn't gonna get the opportunity. They pulled Eddie they pulled Eddie twice in the Stanley Cup final that I coached in with Scottie and we won in four straight and Hasek went in in game two and Hasek went in in game four and he was so good it was ridiculous how good he was he was unbelievable how good he was. He was unbelievable how good he was. We're like whoa this guy's good. But I still go back to Brodeur at 20. Can you imagine 19 teams passed on Marty Brodeur? Why do you think that was? I don't know because I tried to recruit him out of he played for a midget team called Montreal Budassa and other goalies have played there.

Roberto Luongo, Jose Teodor. There was one other one that played in the NHL and we're missed right now. But they had an amazing program and we almost got Marty to come to college but he ended up going to St. Hyacinth. But I'll tell you what, he was, Marty was so good, it was ridiculous how good he was before he got the job. Did you know socks are one of the most requested clothing items by organizations addressing homelessness? Bombas also makes incredibly comfy underwear and t-shirts,

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That's bombas.ca slash the sheet and use the sheet for 20% off your first purchase. That's bombas.ca slash the sheet and use the sheet at checkout. You know what, when you think about goaltender development specifically in Canada where it's like it's crisis time, do you find that the way that the Canadian hockey is structured where essentially you're making all-star teams will never develop the greatest goaltenders because the best goaltenders that

get identified end up on the top team. And when you're on the top team, you might get a dozen shots a game. Well said. I totally agree with that theory. It's a really smart way to look at it. How did the Finns develop so many good goalies? So here's what I've been told about all of it. Like the goalie the goalie the goalie factory has gone from Quebec to Helsinki and is now in Moscow. And there's a brief stop in Stockholm. The Russians are good. The Russians are really good. The Russians are so good. Like my producer Zach has heard me mention this before

countless times. I swear they have had their hip bones removed. When I look at the way that they play around the posts, Russian goaltenders are freakish. Like, bodies don't move like that. But the thing about all of it is, as I'm told with the Russian goaltenders, and you see what's just jerking. Lyndon Lakovic, by the way, goes to Washington. Hey think of the thing about Lakovic. Did we talk about him before? Moose Jaw. Remember how tough his uncle was?

That's Ross Mahoney. That's Ross Mahoney. Yes, yes, yes, yes. 100%. That's a Ross Mahoney pick. That's good. It's a good pick though. He can skate and he's big.

Washington Laceholtz guys. Do you remember how tough his uncle was Sasha? Who do? He was too. I'm kind of surprised that he's that he's gone this late real leader with the Moose trial Warriors of the Western Hockey League, so that's No, 19 You're gonna get there that's the night gonna be over 22. I think you're gonna get to there. Well we need Malcolm Spence to help us out. Lyndon Lackovic goes to the to the to the

Washington Capitals. So once again, if we can, if we can, Zach you have the the first round board for the Washington Capitals? Because this is because this is the second year in a row that they go shopping in the Western Hockey League in the first round of the NHL draft. We'll get Zach to pop that board up here in a couple of seconds. But the thing about, and that's the lack of it, because we get the Washington Capitals, there we go, Terek parasak um last year again western hockey league the year before ryan lennard uh ivan marosh nachenko hendrix lapierre who by the way can i say one thing about hendrix lapierre he was probably the best combine interview i've ever been part of like eloquent charming funny all of it hendrix lapierre what was it and and connor mcmichael

funny all of it. Hendrix Lapierre was it. And Connor McMichael, first round draft pick, playing with the London Knights. Previous played Ajax Pickering, the Raiders. And what I love about, what I love about McMichael is, and you remember this Pierre, remember how he was rushed? Washington had like a slew of injuries. 100%

Slew of injuries and it's like, and McMichael, he didn't belong and he struggled and he went back to the Hershey Bears, great American oculi organization, stuck to it and the kid never quit and hung in there and now he's one of the most productive players on the Washington Capitals. But how many times have you seen a player get rushed too early and that's it for the career? I got to hand it to Connor McMichael. He hung right in there and didn't allow him to get wrecked.

He's an impact player in the National Hockey League right now and he can play center wing and his skating is phenomenal and his puck possession skills are awesome. Hendricks LePierre is going to be very much the same. He's going to be a very good player for Washington. Ryan Leonard, he didn't have the kind of playoff I thought he would have for Washington. I thought he'd make a bigger impact. But I do think the fatigue factor with the World Junior, with Boston College. Boston College got upset by Northeastern University in the hockey playoffs. And then they had a real tough time in the hockey playoffs. Um, and then they had a real tough time in the NCA tournament. And I just think mentally and physically was just knocked out.

I really do. I just think it was too big an ask this year for Ryan Leonard. When you, um, when you see his game, uh, when I see his game and you've seen him a lot more, I say to myself, that game is going to translate into the NHL. Eventually. Once he gets strong enough, that's going to be a great game in the NHL. But watching him make that transition from BC to the Washington Capitals towards the end of the season, like you can see it, okay, it's going to work eventually, but he's not

quite there yet. But having said that, I would watch him at BC this year and watch him at the World Juniors and I'd say, this guy should probably be in the NHL by now. Yeah, he should have been. I was surprised he went back. I think that he and Gabe Perot made a pact because they had been upset the year before and I think they made a pact saying we're gonna go back and we're gonna get BC a championship and they were hoping Will Smith was gonna come back and Will Smith was a late defection. He was a late defection and so I think that kind of upset the

Alpacartan. You know Jacob Fowler so darn good, so darn good. Yeah you've talked about him a lot. You know just he's a real deal and I don't know what happened down the stretch at BC but it looked like they were all mentally and physically tired. That's what it looked like. The Winnipeg Jets are on the clock right now and the most recent story involving the Winnipeg Jets involves the signing of Jonathan Taves and a bonus late in contract that protects the team but could really, really pay the player well. I know Taves is one of your favorite players. You've covered Jonathan Taves like his entire career, specifically on the international stage as well. Just as a quick thought before we get

back to the draft here and Winnipeg's pick, I have no idea what to expect. I really don't. I have no idea what to expect for Jonathan Taves. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that you know he'll start off. Lowry's injured to start the season. Taves probably get a third line center spot and by the end I hope he plays right behind, plays second line center. Behind Shafely. Thank you. I'm thinking of Matthew Schaeffer in the draft. It's been a long night. Mark Shafely. Yeah, yeah.

That's what I hope happens to Jonathan Daves. But really, I have no idea. I have no idea what's going to happen here. So here's what I would do. Mark Chipman's a phenomenally proactive owner in Winnipeg. He does a great job. If I were Mark Chipman's a phenomenally proactive owner in Winnipeg. He does a great job. If I were Mark Chipman, I would have Brian Trotche and Jonathan Taves meet this summer. I can tell you from firsthand experience, we win two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh in the early 90s.

Everybody said Brian Trotche was done. He was far from done. He was a guy that put us over the top. He was an amazing leader. He was at the end of his career, and he knew what he had to do to help guys get better, and he knew what he had to do to survive on the ice. I think Jonathan Tage is very much in the same position. If I were the Winnipeg Jets, I'd do everything in my power to try to hook up a meeting,

and even a tape session with Brian and Jonathan. As soon as Jonathan signed there, I was saying, oh man, Trot's got to get in touch with him. Now maybe I'm biased because I won with Brian, but I'm telling you right now, that guy's a pure on champion human being and a pure on champion player and he gets how to coach people. If I were Winnipeg, that's the first thing I'd do is put Taves in with Trotche. That being said, I think Jonathan's going to kick butt. I think he's going to do so well.

I really do. I hope so. I'm so excited. I think the world of Winnipeg. I hope so. He's an easy guy to cheer for and what a Christmas card decision it was for him to go to Winnipeg. Like going away. Like if you pick any

this destination in the NHL, the local boy goes home. Sasha Bomidien, by the way, goes to the Winnipeg Jets. Hey, hey, what did you say? Told ya. There's one of my three. He's gone. Just got selected. Boston University, played at the USAHL before that. Was it Lincoln? No, Youngstown. Youngstown Fanning before that, the USHL. So, hey, you know what? Winnipeg's got a history taking guys out of Boston University. There's a guy they took in 1990, his name would be Keith Kachuk. Kachuk, yeah.

Played on one of the best college lines ever. Tony Amante, Keith Kachuk, and Sean McEachran. You should have seen those guys get to her. Two of them played, two of those guys played over a thousand games in the league, and one of them played over 900. McEachran played over 900. Yeah, I thought McEachran was an underrated player.

Love them, just love Sean McEachran. Real good player, real good player. He could skate, he went to Matanyan high school man Could he skate Wow? What can tell us about Sasha Bomedyan? He is really good player very good on the puck makes great outlet passes definitely needs to get stronger That'll happen at BU with Pandolfo there. He's gonna play in the NHL good player great hockey sense He's not as good as V lander who's going to Vancouver, but there's some similarities there. This guyL, good player, great hockey sense. He's not as good as Vylondar who's going to Vancouver, but there's some similarities there.

This guy's a good player. He just needs to get stronger, but he's got great hockey instincts. Want to rewind to the Washington Capitals first round pick 27th overall, Lyndon Lakovic, his head coach with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Marco Leary, joins us now on our draft special here on the sheet.

Mark, first of all thanks for for stopping by today. Were you getting a little nervous as the first round started to wind down a little bit about your player? Yeah a little bit. I think I was going for luck a little bit there but you know at the end of the day it's it's the first round and I know him and his family are real excited and the whole organization's excited too. Hey, Mark, that's a tough family, by the way. How tough is, uh, Linden?

I don't know if he's that tough, but, uh, when the chips are down and the moment is big, Lack's there. There's no question. Uh, did you, did your organization, did he, do you think? When the chips are down and the moment is big, lax there. There's no question. Did you, did your organization, did he, do you think have any idea it was going to be the Washington Capitals? How much, how much were the caps around? The caps were around a little bit.

They, you know, there was lots of communication there, you know, throughout the, throughout the season. But, you know, I think you, you know, there are certain teams that you see every year around the rinks and there's certainly one of them. But speaking with Locke, I don't think he had any inkling that it was going to be Washington per se, but certainly I know he's real excited about going there, that's for sure. So when a player like that goes to Washington and he goes to the big camp in particular, do you tell him, hey, try your best to hang out with Tommy Wilson, see how he plays, see

how he prepares himself? How do you handle that, Mark? Well, first and foremost, I think from my perspective, I just want them to go there and be themselves. I don't try to get in the way that way in terms of what they're going to see or hear when they're there, but that is one of my first questions when they come back. We've had a lot of really good players the last little while go to some NHL camps, as highly touted first round picks. And that's one

of my first questions is what did you see from, you know, the star guys and not just on the ice, but off the ice, how they are. And, you know, that's a question for me and, you know, my, you know, my personal preference to find out, you know, what they're like, but for them, I just think it's a great experience just to be around those guys and what it takes to be a pro. Your player's family has a strong hockey background. Have you seen evidence of how that has helped him?

Whether it's protocol for checking in the hotel or getting off the bus or whatever, has being around hockey and his family his whole life helped him and if so, where do you see evidence of it? Well, I think for any player, when you're around hockey and it's one thing on the ice, but just like you mentioned, all the things that go into being a hockey player, a pro player in particular,

the more you can be around that at a young age, it certainly helps. But you know, with with Lack, the thing that sticks out is, you know, the family connection that he has and how supportive they are. You know, they travel real well. You know, they're from up in the Okanagan, but you see them all over the rinks, all over the place. Obviously, travel out west here is difficult at times, but that family's around and they're supportive and just a real humble family that has good values and you see that with Lac. And I think that's real important with a family. It's hard to be a young player playing this game nowadays. and with the pressures and the responsibilities that

come with it, when you have a family like Lac does, it certainly helps. What a great night for the Moose Jaw Warriors. Congratulations, coach. I'm sure you're really proud of what Lyndon's done. Really happy for you. Thanks, Pierre. Appreciate that. I know the whole organization is real proud.

Lac, he's a likable guy. He's very popular around the city of Moosejaw and certainly with our organization. So real happy for him. Really quick before I let you go. Before you go coach, hold Jeff, sorry to interrupt. I just want to ask, is the A&W still near the old crush can there in Moosejaw? I wish the crush can was still around, but, uh, cold as rink I've ever been in. Coldest rink I've ever been in.

NW is still a popular spot in Moose Jaw, that's for sure. There you go, see Jeff, I know all the fast food spots. Nevermind all this nonsense about hockey questions. Let's get to where you can find the burgers, the fries and the shakes. Let me close on this. For him to take the next step, and gonna go to Caps Camp, et cetera,

what does he need to do, Mark? Well, I think the biggest thing is, Lac is, he's very honest in terms of, he knows what he's good at, but he knows what he needs to work on. And he's got all the skill to make plays in big moments, like we talked about, but you know, getting the puck inside on a consistent basis, and I know there's pressure on a big guy to be physical, but I really

think that he's physical in his own way. He uses his size and his reach so well. And he's certainly not afraid. It's just a matter of, you know, playing against pros playing against, uh, bigger guys. Can you get inside on a consistent basis and we've seen it enough to know that he can do it and he's willing to do it. Now it's just a matter of doing it consistently. That's awesome. Mark congratulations. Big accomplishment for the entire organization. Not just the player but we

think of the player obviously. Mark thanks so much for stopping by. Congratulations again. Alright thanks for having me guys. There is Marco Luis, head coach. Organization not just the player but we think of the player obviously mark. Thanks so much for stopping by congratulations again Alright, thanks for having me guys. There is a mark coach of the Moose draw warriors of the Western Hockey League Lyndon Lakovic goes 27th overall to the Washington Capitals I Used to be one of my favorite stops in the Western can yeah Yeah, it would. So I'd go Regina, Moose Jaw, then I'd head down to Wilcox, then I'd go down. Oh yeah.

Yeah. Then I'd go down and maybe sneak into Dakota. We'll see, you know, a little drive down to Dakota. And then I'd come back and make my way through Yorkton, Saskatchewan, and then back to Regina. Wow. Then I'd go the north route the next time. Head up to Saskatoon and go that way. The western hockey league road trips in the winter are frightening Pierre. They are. I once said a prayer in my car. I will tell you this.

I was running out of gas. I was going by Humboldt and it was late and it was dark and it was cold and there were no gas stations. And I said a prayer, if this, if you get me out of this Lord, I'll never run on an empty tank again. And he got me out of it. It was scary. I'm telling you, I was probably the most afraid I ever was on any of the road trips. I, I, listen, Scouts are some of my favorite people in the world. And I always feel for the Western league Scouts because there's a

lot of white knuckle drives. Uh, I gotta go to period here. I got to get two periods there and it's snowstorm and ice and white outs. Um, I got all the respect in the world for them. Uh, I want to get to Stephen Ellis, uh, in Los Angeles. Um, but want to remind everybody the segment is a presentation of Budweiser.

Budweiser is encouraging buds to make time for hockey, not excuses. Every goal, every check, every win is better enjoyed with your BUDs. Phone a BUD, text a BUD, ping a BUD and call out their excuses for bailing on hockey. When it's hockey time, it's go time. Steven Ellis joins us from Los Angeles, I believe here on our sheet trade or a draft special It's late Stephen how you doing? We have a trade. I understand going on right now. I just have it off the corner of my eye Carolina hurricanes are on the board

We'll see what the trade is looks like it's with the Chicago Blackhawks And this one is going to be, hold on one second here. Chicago moves into Carolina's spots. 34th, 62nd, and a fifth round pick in 2027. So they must want something in particular. They really want something here. So we'll see which direction Chicago goes through. Okay, what's been the big story for you so far in Los Angeles at the draft, Steven?

How long this is taking? Other than that, this is a draft. Of course, it's taken a long time. I'd say kind of just what the New York Islanders have been able to do. You go out there and you get Matthew Schaefer, obviously that's the big money pick right there, but then you go out there and you get Ka'Shaun Aitchison, you get Victor Eklund. It's like those to me were two top 10 prospects and you got to look past the flaws. Like Eklund is not big and Ka'Shaun Aitchison not the greatest skater, but those are things you can work on with those two guys because they got everything else going on

So the islanders for me, I love it Pittsburgh's been aggressive will horcrux standing like right in front of me right now Let's see if I can get his attention. He's on the phone. So never mind But the the penguins have been busy So it's been you know, the teams that have picked in the most of the ones who are doing the most interesting stuff How about the Philadelphia Flyers they identified team identity they went big porter martone and and obviously uh... jack nesbitt they went real big what's the buzz around the philadelphia flyers

uh... it was really cool actually i was right behind porter martone when he found out that the pick was traded so they could get Jack Nesbitt they seemed to know each other quite well, so he was pretty happy about that and I love Porter Marton I think this is a guy that you'll look at the skating and that's the big concern with him But I don't know if I'd be too concerned about it because it has come such a long way since watching him play at the triple a level back in the u16s and Look at Nesbitt. I think was a bit higher than I would have taken him, but I think what you're banking on here is that he's a lot more than just that big frame.

And I think when you watch him this coming season in Windsor, I think we're going to see a guy that's going to really evolve and take his game to another level. So far so good for the Flyers. Again, I think Nesbitt was earlier than I would have taken, but I think the identity they're looking for and they wanted a big center. They got it One goaltender selected so far Columbus blue jackets. Does that surprise you? Yes, because that you know if the one goal you're taking is a six-foot Russian guy who was very quick

It's a little bit of surprising that Joshua Raven Ravensburg is still on the board here. I'm assuming that we haven't seen him get called yet, but you know with Andrei Anov, it's a fast goalie. Very good glove hand, moves very well, like takes up a lot of space for being a smaller goalie. It's only six foot, but you know, I know his draft stock really rose the last week or two. That's when people really start looking at him as a potential first round pick. Has there been any buzz around the Islanders not getting James Hagans? Oh boy, yeah.

Yeah, that was, I think, the minute Hagans was drafted, I remember just seeing kind of everyone here around the media floor like, whoa, okay, so like all that for nothing. But I think, you know, would they have liked Hagans over the two guys they got? Absolutely. Will they be very happy with the guys? Yeah, and I think, you know, would they have liked Haggins over the two guys they got? Absolutely. Will they be very happy with the guys?

Yeah, and I think actually in the end it might work out better because you get three for the price of two type thing. So I'm not getting Haggins as a second pick. I think that's what it looks almost like a certainty at one point. Like that's what all the talk was. But I think the Islanders are still going to come out of this looking pretty happy. Chicago Blackhawks just selected a football player. Mason West, Mason West going to Michigan state.

I, I like that. I like that. I wasn't as high on him on my draft rankings because it felt like there was such a high expectation for a guy that was on no one's draft rankings, like three months ago, but you'll look at it. And he went to the USHL for that short stint, he was dominant. And that really kind of opened up some new opportunities for him. And he's a six foot six guy that doesn't have six foot six player problems. He's not slow. He doesn't have slope.

He's up great hands. You put that together like you look at all the big forwards that we've seen draft in the last couple years and Roger McLean obviously today a big one I'd say Mason West we could be looking at this being a total steal today Well, they better hope he's like Anders Lee when he came out of Edina High School as a football player Player and don't forget Blake Wheeler when he came out of Minnesota That was Mike Barnett that took him fifth overall in Arizona That was a heck of a pick Blake Wheeler was one heck of an athlete. But Mason West, obviously, tremendous athlete. Tremendous athlete. Yeah, I'm no football fan, but the

fact that like you could be a quarterback and you can also be this high-end centerman and you can juggle that both at the same time without issue, like that's special. What a fast rising prospect. You mentioned a second ago Roger McQueen. So Roger McQueen goes to the Anaheim Ducks at 10th overall. Is that where you kind of felt McQueen was going to go? Probably would have gone higher. Safe to say he would have got top five probably.

If he didn't have the back issue this year. 10 to Anaheim that surprised Steven Ellis I Had him go on number 11, so I'd say it's pretty pretty close there But with yeah the fact that he didn't play a lot of games this year definitely doesn't help you look at the numbers there But he was good for the most part at least at the start of the year like we were talking about him being a potential Top five pack maybe top three what do you have lasted there? I don't know but, talking about a big player that doesn't have big player issues, he moves so well.

He can decode anyone. He's got a great shot, and you put that together. I totally understand the appeal. I just would not have wanted to be the GM to make that pick, knowing there's all the risk. But, you know, it's a pick that I think you look at it and still be, there's so much upside there This has been a this has been a draft that last time I stopped it looks like right now it's

19 CHL players selected the record is 22 from From from 2013 the Nathan McKinnon draft. Any thoughts on why, any theories on why this year has popped so hard for the CHL, specifically the Ontario League and the Western League? Now, listen, the Western League, and this might be the story of the rise of the academy system, but the Western Hockey League is consistently now sending super high end players into the NHL. But any thought on the predominance of OHL players and Western Hockey League players in this draft? I think you look at the development levels, you look at things like the GTHL and obviously the academies out west.

But there's just so many high level places for people to play now. But you're also seeing guys that aren't necessarily going to play just in the GTHL there's other avenues of other places like Brady Martin's a guy who didn't play in the GTHL and he played the Waterloo Wolves it shows you in a lot of cases just getting the ice time is important and there's plenty of opportunities for that and you see the success of obviously the CHL and it's gonna be interesting to see how this evolves the next couple years of all the players going to the NCAA and I expect a lot of these guys drafted today will not be playing the CHL next year. But I think it continues to show you just how deep it is and how strong it is and that you look at what Michael Misa did,

you look at what Schaeffer did in his short span and it's exciting. Schaeffer didn't initially expand and it's just kind of... Real quick before I wrap up with you, I want your thoughts on like this this feels like it's going to be a one and done. We're going to go back to the old way of doing the draft next year. What's the conversation around there? What's the what are your thoughts on how they've tried to make this thing work? Once again, bringing in the celebrities. This is very much in the bailiwick of Steve Maier. This is how he likes to do things, so that shouldn't come as any surprise. Just thought on this night in Los Angeles as we probably head back to something more

traditional next year. If they were to do this again, I hope they bring us some beds next time because it has been very slow. I've been here for what feels like six hours at this point but you know at the same time it's like you see some of the technical issues they've had and some of the other things so it's been tough. It feels like all the chaos we were looking to have for heading in today we just we didn't get it and I wonder if everyone being here would have allowed that chaos to happen. So I say that knowing that a lot of drafts,

we just don't get that chaos. So yeah, I think it's definitely something where you look at it, I wish there was more people in the seats. It's a lot of empty seats, but overall, like it's, I think the one thing that's been cool is how much closer the players are together. Cause if you look at previous drafts, they're kind of all like in different spots.

Yeah, when a player gets drafted, especially early, they had to walk through the full line of people. And watching Matthew Schaefer in particular, how emotional that was, watching him have like basically be embraced from every player that was sitting on the edge of their seats there. I thought that was cool. So that's one underrated aspect,

but yeah, having everyone here would be nicer. I'm gonna put a smile on your face. Joshua Ravensbergen just got selected by the San Jose Sharks, your second goalie in the first round. Steven. OK, so they really like right handed big goaltenders. So that's the second one there. So I'd say Ravensbergen was one of my favorite goalie prospects in a long time. My last one would have been Yaroslav Asgarov, so I like it.

So a good friend. More goalies the better. I think we should have a 32 goalie first round. That's what I would do. You know, it's funny too, you know, before they ended up getting their goaltenders, there was that one year where I wondered about the Detroit Red Wings taking seven goaltenders. And if there's going to be a general manager who's gonna go off the board and not think about or consider how people feel about how he's

drafting, it's probably Steve Heiserman. But you know Pierre and I were having this conversation about about goaltenders before he came on. I'm happy that Ravensbergen went in the first round. Really good goaltender. He was great at the the Canada-US thes game, the ones in London and Oshawa that we went to, Stephen. So happy for him, happy for the San Jose Sharks to get another right catch goaltender. Yeah, it seems to, I guess, be a thing. I was thinking about the ones the last time we had a double right-handed catching goalies. Would it be like Fedor or Matthew Garon? There's

got to be someone more like Thomas Fokoon probably had a... Just watch the Washington Capitals play. Both are starting to roll. Oh yeah. How about, was it Matthew Garand and Steve Mason in Columbus? That'd be a good one, yeah. So Garand probably was on a few teams. I had to think about it first. I think that's a good one. Yeah, you're right. Capitals are the obvious one. Okay, we'll let you go back to celebrating the second goal tender selected in the first round Stephen. So I know you're a ball hockey goalie yourself Thanks so much for popping by today much appreciated. Thanks. Thanks Stephen

Enjoy the last two picks. So we're so San Jose Sharks get get another right catch goaltender Prince George goalie Really really good Joshua Ravensbergen Get selected by the San Jose. Big. Yeah, big. You know San Jose is fascinating. You know we think about all the firepower and now they bring in Michael Misa as well. Sam Dickinson's gonna be on the horizon. I really enjoyed watching the Sharks this year because there was something in every single game where Macklin Celebrini did something. And occasionally Will Smith did something.

You know, and it's like, okay, you get the peek into the future. I just don't know how long it's gonna be until they actualize. Because as we've seen, when you do the burn it down to the ground rebuilds, takes a while, man. And it's not linear.

And it's like, I always say like rebuilds are bunny hops. Two steps back, three steps forward, two steps back, one step forward. You ever thought on where San Jose is at and what they're trying to build here? Sam Dickinson looks like he's gonna be a good one too. Yeah, they're gonna be an exciting and fun team to watch, but there's not gonna be playoffs there.

I mean, think about the neighborhood they're in. You're looking at LA, you're looking at Vegas, you're looking at Anaheim, you're looking at Utah. I haven't even touched on Edmonton or Calgary. They're in a tough neighborhood, and I don't know where Seattle's gonna be. I have no idea what the identity of Seattle cracking Kraken are. I just don't know. I think they're starting to get it down the middle, but I have no idea. I don't know if

they're good enough in goal right now. So look, they're in a tough neighborhood. There's no question. I think it's going to be really difficult for them. But I will say this, they have a bunch of firepower and they're going to be a ton of fun to watch. They really are going to be fun to watch. They were last year. I don't know how many San Jose Sharks games you watched, but I really, really enjoyed watching San Jose. Even like at the end of the day, like they were gonna lose and maybe the coach was gonna go Herb Rick's on them in the dressing room afterwards. Like that's okay. It was a developing team and I really did enjoy watching this team last year.

I liked watching Ryan Rzoszki coach and truth be told, one of his assistants, Brian Wiseman is a really good friend of mine and I liked watching him work. Brian Wiseman was a heck of a player. He's a good coach. He was an amazing player for Red Berenson at the university of Michigan. He was some heck of a player. He's a good coach. He was an amazing player for Red Berenson at the University of Michigan. He was some kind of player. He played for a Chatham-McMack team

that was so good back in the day. And Steve Shields was his goalie. Matt, remember Steve Shields? Of course. Steve Shields was a goalie in Chatham. Was Cam Stewart on his team when he was in Michigan? Was he part of that crew? Cam Stewart was in Michigan.

Cam Stewart was Cam Stewart part of that that squad? Yeah, I have all day for Brian Wiseman. I think that's he's going to be. Oh, he's a heck of a hockey coach and a real good person. Phenomenal human being. Okay, a couple of picks left here in a couple of seconds. But let's pause here and talk a little bit more about Josh Ravensberg and with someone that knows him very well, of course from Prince George,

he is Mark Lamb who joins us now on our draft special. Mark, first of all, thanks so much for joining us. Your goaltender goes 30th overall to the San Jose Sharks. Between a scare off and your guy, boy San Jose likes to right catch-a-goaltenders. Yeah, I'm very happy for Rav Woodagoli. It was kind of surprising, you know, you just never know what's going to happen in a draft follow and you know, you really care about your players. You always worry, you know, how they're going to feel if they don't go in the right spot in the draft. So you're just kind of like a parent when you're sitting back watching, but very happy for them. Hey, Mark, who does he stand out and look like as a goalie that you can identify over the

course of your career, whether it was a player or as a coach? Well, I don't have a lot of guys to compare him to really in junior hockey. I think he's a very special goalie. He's the best goalie I've seen or I've had and the best goalie I've seen at that age. So how he plays, probably he's really smooth, like a Kerry Price guy, really composed in there so that's who I compare him to. At what point did you realize and maybe it was right from the get-go his goalies are so unique that you really had something special with him? Well we knew we had something special in in training camp but it's

still you know it's still so hard to tell with these guys. What he was, he was really competitive and that's what really stuck out in him. He didn't get drafted in our league. He comes to training camp, he kind of gets caught up in a little bit of a COVID situation. So a lot of people didn't see him. And we had a guy that had seen him a lot. So he told our scout about him. We brought him to camp. And as soon as we had him in camp, we signed him. That's amazing. What a good story that is. That gives a lot of hope to a lot of young

players. It, for sure. Being undrafted, undrafted in the Western Hockey League to be in a first round pick. That's an awesome story. That's fantastic. Mark, what's the, um, what do you think the timetable is for that, for him? Can you guys hear me? Yep. Yep.

We got you. We got you. Can you hear us? Yeah. I kind of went out there. Did you guys, uh, you. Yep. We got you. Can you hear us? Yeah. I kind of went out there. Did you guys, you said something about timetable? I was just going to ask you.

Yeah. I was just going to ask you, what's a timetable looking like for him? You know what? You know, he's like, he surprises me all the time. You know, I think, you know, he needs some more time, just like all these other players. I don't think they all need to leave right away. There's a lot to improve on. He's a very competitive kid.

I know he has a lot to prove in this league, which is very exciting because I really think the sky's the limit for this guy. We talked about before his style of play, he's going to be, even last year he grew, I think he's just about 6'6 now, and a guy that can move like that. Another part of his game when he first got here, he really didn't handle the puck very good at all. And he worked on that. The D were pretty much scared to go back for a while. And he worked on that and he improved on that.

So that just tells me his work ethic and every other part of his game is hard proof. Yeah. That's awesome. Mark, we really appreciate your time today. Congratulations on getting your guy through in the first round. It looks great on you.

It looks great on the Cougars organization. Thanks so much for being part of it today. Yeah, thanks a lot guys. Great to meet you Mark. Yeah, you too Pierre. Mark Lamb of the Prince George Cougars. By the way, Henry Brustavich, the defenseman from the London Knights

went to the Los Angeles Kings at 31. So that was Pittsburgh to LA, right? Philly to Pitt to LA. Yeah, Henry Brustavich. So that would be 21 CHL picks. I think Calgary Flames are on the clock. It's always fun to work with a partner that knows what he's talking about. You've nailed this thing. How so? I have not nailed this thing. You called all the, you said we were going to rival a record and now we're at 21. 22 is a record.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's, I mean, that's just looking at this and saying, look, man, like there's a lot of great CHL players this year. I didn't, to be honest with you, I didn't think it was going to get to where we're at now at 21. Because you know what it's like. You can plan everything. Like all of us, I read all the lists and enjoy it and make my own lists, but teams have their own lists and teams don't care what's public and what we talk about. That's why I always say grain of salt with all of it. Everybody has their own scouting departments.

Every general manager believes in their own staff. But here we are at 21 now with Henry Prustavich drafted out of the London Nights organization. Here's another first rounder from the London Nights, A. Pierre. Oh, another London night. Yeah. Just go put it over there.

That's another London night. Yeah, here we go. It's unbelievable what those guys A.P.R. Oh, another London night. Yeah, just go put it over there. That's another London night. Here we go. It's unbelievable what those guys do. It's unbelievable. They have, like they have an incredible program. Listen, we just talked to Mike McKenzie. Kitchener's got an incredible program as well, right? And that is a-

Those are two blue bloods. Two blue bloods and they're both rivals. It's unbelievable. It really is. It's amazing to me. My favorite Kitchener London moment was after the Royal Junior at Grand Forks. The Bud, then called Budweiser Gardens,

or was it John LaBatt Center then? It would have been Mike Richards and Corey Perry, I would imagine. At Center Ice? Center Ice. Yeah, I was gonna guess. So that happened with Red Deer in Calgary. Sure did.

It had Dion Fennouf and Ryan Getzlaff. They must have made a pack or something in North Dakota. We're going for it. We get back. We're just going to go. We're all just going to throw down and what the heck. So in a really nice touch here as the, I just got a text, although CHL players must be the tariffs. And that's from a doctor, okay? That's

from a doctor who just sent me that. Lanny is closing it out in great fashion. Lanny's just one of those people that always puts a smile on your face. Remember the first time I was a, I mentioned to you earlier Lanny was the first hockey player I ever met. I was doing like this is in the years before you know like power skating. I was my parents put me in figure skating to help my hockey and he was married married to a figure skater and they were doing some presentation or something at Keelsdale's Dale Arena. Oh, Cullen Potter, ASU. Yeah, Arizona State. There you go. So one, the CHL record doesn't fall, 22 and 2013, and Cullen Potter, Arizona State goes 30 second to the Calgary flame.

He can skate. He can really skate. Wow. Look at it. It's a project. He's not turning pro tomorrow. But he can skate. Look at him. That's great. By the way, it sounds very much like, and the NHL and Players Association are not going to confirm it at this point, what do you make of the idea of players needing to be signed

by the time they're 22? So if you're drafted at 18, you got four years to sign them 19 You got three 20. I got to 21 you got one. I think it's better. I think it's good I really do. Yeah, they're not a lot of players that can play in this league at 18 or 19 They're just aren't I don't know if you agree, but I for all every Sydney, for every Sydney Crosby I see, I see four guys that fail. I just do. And I know that, who was it in the seventies, Ken Lindsman, who changed everything and changed

the draft. But I know people sort of sideways snicker at this and think about all the legalities that would be involved. I still think the draft should be 20 and there should be accommodation for unique players certainly but I really do think the draft should be 20. So we agree I remember when Guy Lafleur was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens first overall he was 20 years old. I'm just telling you. Denny Potfan, Denny Potfan, same way New York Islanders. Kids aren't ready.

This league's too hard. I tell this story all the time. Brady Kachuk, his draft year, had eight goals at Boston University. Eight goals. The next year, he had 23 playing in the NHL. It's hard. It's a hard league man. It's a really hard league. Okay so the first round is done. We began with Matthew Schaeffer of the Eerie Otters and we finished up with Colin Potter of Arizona State ASU as everyone makes their way out. And for the last time, Pierre, we do the draft this way. It's back to managers.

Next year. Oh, I would love that. I'm not talking about the NHL. Oh yeah. Well, hopefully they get it right. But I had so much fun with you tonight. You have no idea. You talk about getting somebody's spirits up. Thank you so much fun with you tonight. You have no idea. You talk about getting somebody's spirits up. Thank you so much. This was a ton of fun. I had a blast. You're great.

I had a blast. It's a thrill to work with somebody you've always admired and get a chance to work with finally. And that's what this year has been for you and me. I'll tell you what, Pierre, one of the interesting things about the draft every year and and being there being there live is always interesting is just watching managers interact on the floor. I won't say who the two managers were,

one of the funniest things I ever saw at the draft was one manager who had obviously called another manager asking for cigarettes, holding cigarettes over one gentleman and watching him try to jump up to grab them on the floor. I'm like these are these are grown men, these are professionals, but then you forget at the at the end of the day it's hockey so nobody nobody really grows up that much, right? Like at the end of it you're still there and you're still having fun and I think the draft is the draft to me is one of the most fun days. I still remember being a kid Pierre and one of my favorite issues of the hockey news and I was like a

lifetime subscriber. The first subscription I ever got of any magazine my parents I think I was like eight years old got me a subscription to the hockey news and it came every Thursday and it was cover to cover for me like and over and over again and then when the draft edition would show up like the draft preview and there was only like they would have only had profiles on 20 maybe 30 players that was like sacred to me because where do you get that information and now the internet is so wonderful and social media is great and a lot of information. It's become its own cottage industry, you know, hockey prospect information but back then it was different. Right back then it was like hockey

news put out this one edition once a year and that's what you had and other than that it's all whispers here and there and information you can try to pull from different different areas now it's all over the place but that's that that's why I got the draft bug early and the prospect bug early and the junior hockey bug early my dad would take me to Marlboro's games all the time I don't know what what did it for you, but at what point in your life, Pierre, did you really click with either prospects, junior hockey, the draft, all of it? For me, it was the Marlies in the mid-70s. What was it for you? Watching Gilbert Perrault play for the Montreal Junior Canadians.

Oh, wow. role play for the Montreal Junior Canadians. Oh, wow. Watching Ray Jean-Louis and Mark Tardif play. When I was a kid, you get spoiled because you go watch the Junior Canadians on Sunday afternoons, you know, at the forum. It was amazing to me just having that privilege and honor to go down there. And I was they didn't charge me to get in. Let's put it that way.

I don't think I get in trouble now, but I was always around the rink and I loved it. It got to the point where you see these great players and they eventually get to the National Hockey League and you're like, wow. I think the biggest thing was just growing up in Montreal, how great the teams were. They weren't just great players, they were great teams. Not just the junior Canadians, the Montreal canadians and so you just were so spoiled and I was hooked right from the start I was hooked. Yeah, I love it. Listen congratulations to all the kids selected today 2 through 7 tomorrow and and that's all that's always fun to

Enjoy it Pierre. It's been a real delight working with you today as always. Thank you, sir. That was a marathon. We went on the air at 7 o'clock and now it is 11.35. We probably should wrap this one up for the day. We're hoping to get Dan McKenzie. I know he's super busy. So thanks to Zach back at Master Control for handling all this. Thanks to all the coaches and general managers. Oh hang on we do have Dan McKenzie he's getting set up. So hold on before I start to do the thank you thank you thank you we're gonna get Dan McKenzie on. So by my count and I don't think that I'm wrong here.

21 I think you got it. Yeah one shy of the record of 22 set in 2013, but just in advance of getting Dan on here. So nine picks from the Ontario Hockey League, nine picks from the Western Hockey League, three from the QMJHL, for a total of 21 in the first round, starting with, no disrespect to all the other prospects prospects one of the most special players we've ever seen selected the very mature and very talented Matthew Schaeffer as we get Dan set up do you have a quick thought on the the young man selected first overall by the

Islanders? You have me can you hear me Pierre? Oh I thought you were talking to Dan. I'm sorry. Oh, no, no, no. We're just getting Dan set up here in a second. Oh, I got a huge thought. I got a huge thought on Matthew Schaefer. He's the best player in this draft. He's going to be a 15 to 17-year player barring injury. He's a godsend to the New York Islanders. He's a class human being. He's a better player than he is, or better person than he is a player. But the biggest thing to me is he does everything well and he's going to make a huge impact

on the New York Islanders for many, many years to come. Their organization is very blessed to have him. Does it feel like this is the sort of dawning of a new era? New general manager, first overall draft pick. They feel that way around the Islanders right now. Like I'm sure at their draft party, part of it was they were expecting James Higgins. Didn't happen. It's so tough to make to make deals when you get there, but nonetheless you get the best player in the draft full stop. San Jose Sharks do again another real nice bit of business. Do you ever thought on maybe I mentioned

this when you're off briefly that this is you know picks number one and two come from US based OHL teams. I don't think that matters. Oh no I don't think it matters. I think it's more of a comment on the success of those teams. I can still remember, and this goes back to the the 80s about how it's the Ontario Hockey League and you know what's Plymouth doing here and what are these junior Red Wings doing in the Ontario Hockey League? This will never work. And here we are, you know, Saginaw five minutes ago won the Memorial Cup. The Erie Otters have graduated first overall draft

fix, Conor McDavid and then now Matthew Schaeffer. You have a sort of comment on the US side of the CHL. Yeah, I spent a lot of time in Seattle. I spent a lot of time back in the day in Spokane. Obviously Tri-City is a really important franchise. Everett is a really important franchise. We saw Carter Bear go in the first round to Detroit. So I have good feelings about the American expansion of major junior hockey. I don't think it's a bad issue at all.

I think it's a good one. Erie Otters have always been great, going back to when Sherwood Bassin was there. I remember when Sherwood took the team down there. He was a legendary Oshawa Generals guy. I have nothing but great thoughts about expansion in the United States with major junior hockey. I think there's going to be more. I don't think there's going to be less.

I think there's going to be more. I don't think there's going to be less. I think there's going to be more. I agree. Let's bring on the president of the CHL on a very busy night for the Canadian Hockey League. He is Dan McKenzie and he joins us now. Dan, by our count, one pick short of tying the record from 2-13 with 21 CHL selections. Do you have a quick thought on what quickly turned into here the CHL first round? Well at first to all Jeff again, thank you to see it. Thanks for having me on here. How you doing? Nice to see you. Great to see you Dan. I Yeah, you know what? This was a I think Obviously great night for the CHL

I would have been great to get the record but I mean 21 picks in the first round is our best since the night we set the record in 2013. So it's been a dozen years. And I think it just goes to show number one, I mean, the commitment to these players, I mean, so nice to see them and celebrate with their families and celebrate the years and years of hard work and toil and what it takes to kind of get to this level and then have their name called by called you know by the commissioner is such an amazing feeling it's just great to see. So starts obviously with the players and their commitment but it also really talks to the I think the environment that our clubs create that that allows these players to test their skills and get better and go through the grind that is um the chl and the 68 game season and four or seven game series potentially in the World Cup. It really tests these players in terms of getting ready for the NHL, playing the NHL and play pro hockey. And you could hear it in some of the feedback when the player would talk to the team on the screen and they talked about, you know, hey, we've seen you play in multiple situations. We've seen you play, you know, 200 feet of ice. We've seen the fact that you led your team through the playoffs. All those things that are sort of

hallmarks of playing in CHL. And we're super proud of these kids and their families and their teams and their billets and the whole bit. It's a phenomenal night. Hey, Dan, how tough was this year for you considering what's gone on with the CHL and the NCAA? How big a difference was that for you as a boss of Canadian hockey? Well, you know what, Pierre? It's a great opportunity. I really think it is. I think at the end of the day, having players have lots of options is good overall. And I think at the end of the day, having players have lots of options is good overall. And I think it's good that these kids, when they're 15 years old, don't have to make a decision that's going to affect the next 10 years of their life.

And they can make the decision that makes the most sense for them. What we're seeing is we've seen a significant influx of players into our league at the, you know, over the last six months at the 16, 17, 18 year old level. I think we're going to continue to see that. And then I think making sure that the players understand as they're making decisions in the later part of their career what makes the most sense for them and educating them on, you know,

what the CHL can do for them as an older player. And we feel pretty confident that given our track record, not just, you know, draft picks, but also developing guys in their later years, that we're going to be a great place and continue to be a great place for them to develop, and to be at the top of their options when they got to make that decision. I think, again, that some of the things I mentioned earlier, playing, when I talk to NHL general managers, I talk to player personality people, and what they consistently say is that there's nothing that prepares the player for the NHL grind, and the fact that there's nothing that, like, there's nothing that prepares the player for the NHL

grind. And the fact that it's a hard league to play in and the travel and that, you know, playing a lot of games and then, you know, getting through the playoffs and being able to perform at that level. And there's not anything that prepares you for that, like the CHL. And so I think, you know, we're in a place right now where, you know, there are lots of choices and we'll see where that goes eventually, but we feel pretty confident that A, we're gonna be able to continue to be the place where those older players can develop,

and B, you know, it's been tested over time. And so we're pretty confident that we're gonna be able to continue to be a part of that, that decision making set. Dan, I know it's been a late night and the draft was long. I don't want to keep you too long, but I do want to ask you about the star of the show, Matthew Schaeffer, selected first overall, great ambassador for the sport. Just like, and Piero was just saying, like wonderful player,

but an even better young man. Man, you have to have the coldest heart not to have a tear or have a lump on your throat when you see him go up on stage and the tears well up as he kisses the jersey and thinks about his mom and he's pointing at the sky and all of it. Do you have a thought on that moment, seeing Matthew Schaeffer drafted first overall,

the tears with the family, the father, the brother, everything, you ever thought on that one? Yeah, I mean, the brother, everything. You ever thought on that one? Yeah, I mean it's, you're absolutely right. You can't help but just, you know, be, feel, feel for the kid and be so proud of him. I've had a chance over the last few weeks to spend some time. I got a chance to meet his father who we actually, we have a common friend, who we actually found out we have a common friend that we sort of convinced over a little bit. But what a great family and what a great kid. You know, and, you know,

understanding what he's gone through, you know, over the last, you know, year and a bit of his life, we can't help but just be just so proud of him and so happy for him and what's ahead of him. And one of my guys we were chatting with here was telling me about how I think after he had one of his interviews he went and shook the hands of everybody, all the tech people who were behind the scenes to say thank you. He's just that kind of a kid.

The Islander's got a great person. He's of a kid. The islanders got a great person. They had a great player and they got a great person as well. Dan, I know it's busy. It's always a busy time for you, especially on the first night of the NHL draft. Thanks so much for stopping by and congratulations for coming this close to snapping the 2013 record.

21 picks looks great. Hey, you know what? I think given where the future looks, I wouldn't be surprised if we get there in short order. The future looks pretty bright, I think in terms of where all these kids coming into our league are going to be. So thanks for having me on guys. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks Dan. Thanks so much. Thanks a lot, Dan. Dan McKenzie, the president of the CHL.

Final thought to you Pierre on what we just saw tonight. Well Schaeffer's a big story. I think Mies are going to San Jose is a big story. Caleb Benoit might have stole the show going to Utah. I thought Utah was gonna trade their pick. That's a heck of a pick. And I think the biggest thing is I'm shocked that James Hagen is not a New York Islander. I'm going to be totally frank with you. I'm really, of all the things that happened, that's the one where I'm like, I wonder how he didn't get out, get to the Islanders.

I don't get that. Everybody is going to rethink the Dobson trade now. Everybody's going to be open for debate now for a hundred percent. It is. Yeah, it's gonna be open for debate now. For 100% it is. Yeah, it will. But now, it's time for us to find our pillows. Or for some, a quick drink before bed. Pierre, great stuff as always.

You enjoy the rest of the weekend. Enjoy rounds two through seven tomorrow. It's always a delight and a pleasure being on with you. I feel like I've won broadcast fantasy camp. So thanks for being a pro that you are. And I look forward to catching up with you down the road, as always. Thank you very much, my friend. This was an unbelievable pleasure for me.

Thank you so much. The great Pierre McGuire. And thanks to Zach Phillips for playing the keyboards and keeping everything fresh and moving the entire way. Thanks to everybody involved behind the scenes here. This is the first of what we hope are many NHL draft watch alongs here on the sheet on the Nation Network. Hope you enjoyed it.

We'll be chopping up a lot of it for clips to fire out over the weekend. I hope your team got what they wanted and got who they wanted and that everybody is very happy and everybody thinks that today brought them this much closer to winning the Stanley Cup. Congratulations to the kids, congratulations to the families.

Thanks so much for hanging in there for a very long evening. Bless you. You've earned it too. Merrick signing off. The sheet returns Monday at 3 o'clock this evening. Have a great week. Monday, 3 o'clock Eastern. Great. The dark man, he tried to give me a little medicine I'm like, nah man, that's fine I'm not against those methods, but I knew It's me, myself and how this gon' be fixing my mind I turn on the record

I turn on the music I turn on the record I turn on the music It's enough, yeah, I don't get you Sometimes losing Helping on the days that went wrong