The Sheet with Jeff Marek - World Juniors Day 6 ft. Jonny Lazarus, Greg Wyshynski, and Cam Robinson

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

Jeff Marek is joined by Jonny Lazarus, Greg Wyshynski, and Cam Robinson to preview the Blackhawks/Blues Outdoor Game, news and rumours in the NHL, and tee up the Canada/New Years rivalry game...Reach 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.

If you're looking for flexible workouts, Peloton's got you covered. Summer runs or playoff season meditations, whatever your vibe, Peloton has thousands of classes built to push you. We know how life goes. New father, new routines, new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it.

Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at one you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. Already getting roasted for putting on too much makeup by Big Willie in the chat. Co-opted from the Morning Cup of Hockey chat. That's my goal in life now is to steal everyone from Laz and Colby's chat in the Morning Cup of Hockey. Johnny Lazarus, by the way, kicking off the show today.

Welcome aboard, everyone. Whether you're watching our live stream on YouTube, whether you're listening on podcasts, whether you're here in Ottawa at the World Junior Hockey Championships where I assure you, Johnny Lazarus, nobody is nervous about tonight at all. Canadian fans are very cool. American fans, very

cool about the whole thing. No one's nervous at all. No undue pressure has been put on these children disguised as grown-up hockey players. Laz in Chicago, you arrived as a Rangers fan, but you're wearing a Chicago Blackhawks winter classic hat. How are you today, pal? I'm great. The Blackhawks are my second favorite team since Pat Maroon joined our show. I got to stay loyal to my guy. I'm rooting for Chicago today. You know, it's funny. I remember when I was a kid, Laz, sitting in front of the TV.

I must have been like seven years old. And it was a Saturday night hockey night in Canada. And my dad was sitting in the front, like right in front of the TV with my sister. And my dad says, hey, Jeff, turn around. I go, oh, this ought to be good. So I turn around and he says, I want you to remember one thing. You're a fan of two teams. And I said, I am?

He goes, yeah. You're a fan of the maple leafs and whoever's playing montreal i mean i was seven years old what do i know it's with the old man it's how i was brought up and i turned into a buffalo sabres fan because i love ted darling anyhow uh last first of all congratulations i heard this morning on the show on morning cup of hockey we're approaching the one year anniversary of what i consider one of, if not the best hockey shows going. So a, um, a, uh, congratulations in advance for that. Second of all, set the scene. How's Chicago winter classic St. Louis blue Chicago block Hawks, not exactly a marquee matchup, but for an event like this,

who really cares? It's all about the event. It's about the live market. It's about everything around the game. Give us the, uh, Give us the time and temp here on Chicago. I think it has a bit of a different feel this year. You know, granted, it's not a marquee matchup, but because it's New Year's Eve, there's more of an excitement than, like, a drowsiness to it, right? Like the New Year's Day game. Hungoverness?

A hungoverness of New Year's Day? Yeah, it's not actually at the game. You know, you're hungover on the couch. Like, ah, it's just, you know you're hung over on the couch like ah it's just you know it's the winter classes but the spectacle and like the partying the pre-game the concerts the scenes leading into not only what will be a fun game but then a great night after there's just like more joy around it i feel like this year and um you know that's something that is so special for both fan bases they get to come and enjoy reedley Field and take in what the scenes are.

And if you're at home, listen, I don't know what people at home are doing right now, to be honest, but I'd imagine they're, you know, cooking some food, pouring some drinks, getting ready to have some company over, watch the Winter Classic, lead into USA vs. Canada, and then ring in the New Year with family and friends. I mean, what's better than that? It's an awesome day for hockey. I believe it's 13 NHL games, including the Winter Classic. And then the big one tonight, as you mentioned, the World Juniors, the annual tradition, the New Year's Eve game, Canada facing off against the United States. I'm curious from your point of view, how do you look at this tournament? Because in Canada, we treat this as a matter of like national identity like I it's it's

hyped up big these kids become overnight sensations they can become stars if they're successful you know part of me is always reminding myself that you know this is a collection of 18 and 19 year old hockey players let's not keep too much on them I think a lot of other countries just look at it and say yeah you know what? It's a development tournament, not unlike the Hlinka, not unlike the U-17s, etc. How do you look at this tournament? You played hockey. You and Colby played.

That's one of the hooks of your show that I really enjoy. How do you see this tournament? It's funny now because it's changed so much over the years. I remember the first World Junior I ever watched. I was in Ottawa for the Bell Cup in 2009. Oh, yeah.

And playing for the Long Island Edge, playing double-A hockey. And our dads and moms took us to the USA versus, like, Slovakia game. And we had no idea what it was. But funny enough, growing up on Long Island, I had gone to nate's camps like a local hockey camp in port washington on long island and kevin shattenkirk was one of the coaches at our camp so kevin shattenkirk was on that team so getting to watch him you know jordan schrader who was nasty if you remember that name oh i do yes he was hockey player one of my favorites

when i was younger and i was like this is my my new dream like I want to play for Team USA in the world junior and then the next year is the John Carlson overtime game you know you idolize these guys who back then to me they were only like six years older five years older than me like they were kids and I was just a younger kid but now that I'm older you know I'm 28 now watching you know 18 19 20 year olds play or you know whatever the ages are 17 to 19 or 17 20 and now i'm looking at it like this is only just the start for these guys like i thought it was like a peak thing when i was younger right like you're representing your country you're playing in front of 20 000 people and this is just their introduction and i think that's so cool and jeff

you made a great point with steven ellis the other day how there's a sense of innocence to this tournament right like little these kids still a little bit yes they want to prove themselves and they have that sense of pride but like every single goal that's scored they're jumping in the glass they're celebrate like there's so much joy in every little piece of these games that granted in the NHL, you still have that, but not over the course of 82. Right. So I think watching this now as an older guy and appreciating, appreciating, excuse me, just that younger innocence and pure joy of the game. That is so fun to watch. Like I'm not sitting here saying, Oh,

Gabe Perot is the future of the rate. You know, like I'm just enjoying Gabe Perot, Gabe Perot enjoying hockey until he steps into the Rangers and we ruin him. Okay, so a couple of things there. One, I don't remember the John Carlson tournament. I don't remember the John Carlson game. Was that Saskatchewan? I don't. Something I've blocked out of my memory.

No, no, no. Jordan Eberle in 2009. Oh, yeah. But I don't remember this John Carlson game that you Americans seem to talk about so much. And I'll have to go look that up on Wikipedia. Two, by the way, Colby's in the chat right now giving you a zero out of ten on your outfit. How do you feel about that? Do you have a response to your co-host on a zero out of ten?

Colby wears the same hat every day and he does wear Out West, so I'm not going to rip him for wearing Out West every day because we love our sponsor Out West. Yeah, that's good. That's good stuff. I'm not taking style tips from Colby Cohen, that's for sure. Alright, let me move to the Winter Classic here.

I just want to get your nickel and dime thoughts there a little bit on the World Juniors because I think as Canadians, it's good to hear from people in other countries give this its proper context because we tend to get carried away uh with this thing all right uh winter classic and then i want to get your thoughts quickly on the new york rangers and what we saw last night which actually i thought was a pretty good effort by the rangers but again daylight8 short and strong remains the same. Let me ask you about players. Let me ask you about Pat Maroon, for example. I'm of the belief now that when you make the NHL,

there's a number of boxes that you'd like to check. Of course, the big one is the Stanley Cup. There's individual things like my first goal, my first fight, my first big contract, like whatever, like my first shift, the rookie lap and firing pucks in an empty net. Like there's a lot of things that you want to do when you get to the NHL. Do you not get the feeling that for a lot of, if not all these guys, playing in a winter classic game is now a box that guys want to check?

Agree or disagree? Oh, yeah. Oh, I fully agree. Because the kids now grew up with it, right? Like, it's a dream to play outside if you're born in 2003 and you're five years old, six years old, and your first memories as a kid is, you know, New Year's Day with your family on the couch watching Sidney Crosby score in the shootout.

You know, like, I was 12, and, and like to me that's still a core memory, you know, being 12 years old. So I can only imagine what like, you know, Conor Bernard and some of these younger guys playing the game today, you know, grew up thinking about or dreaming of. And they had all that access to the Road to the Winter Classic and those behind-the-scenes shows, like everything that led into this game, you know, these kids and younger guys grew up on.

And I think that's a really fair point. You know, I heard you and Colby talking about the road to the winter classic and the videos that they go along with it, the documentaries, and they're all good, like peek behind the scenes. But there was nothing like that first one. When the NHL completely, say, surrendered creative control over to HBO, now everything is, you know, it's besides. The corners are rounded off a little bit.

Everyone's got to look good. You know, are things great or are they really great? But when HBO had it that first year, you know, we got like Bruce Boudreaux with the chicken wing sauce. The F-bomb. The F-bomb. The F-bomb. We also had, and this was my favorite.

I remember sitting there watching with someone. There was that one scene where Dan Bilesma, it was either before or after Penguins practice, someone's feeding him passes for one-timers, and he's shooting knuckleballs. And we looked at each other and watched this thing. We're like, this guy played in the NHL? I remember Dan Bilesma killing penalties for the Kings

with Ian LePeriere. I'm like, this guy who shoots like this actually played in the NationalL. Like I remember Dan Miles with Killing Penalties for the Kings with Ian LaPerriere. I'm like, this guy who shoots like this actually played in the National Hockey League? But it was great. Like it was like, here's a bunch of mistakes.

Here's some things that you had never thought that you would see before. And over the course of the years, the NHL sort of picks it up and cleans it up and it becomes the polished product that it is now.

But man, that first one you know like there was there was that scene where was it ben lovejoy had like with his face but no no not mother's face when all the guys took the furniture out of his out of his hotel room and he's a rookie and i'll never forget this last was a great line so all of this stuff is in the hallway and uh the hbo uh operator camera operator says so what happened and he says oh yeah it's the older guys that took all the all the furniture out of my uh out of my room and i gotta try to find a way to put it back and the operators the camera operator says so what are you gonna do he goes i'm gonna find out who did it

and then do nothing about it. And I'm like, this is perfect. Of course a rookie is not going to do anything. It was like these perfect moments, Laz, in that very first HBO 24-7 Road to the Winter Classic that set that thing up so perfectly. And what it did for us as kids, you know, the next day, and I'll paint another picture of one of these scenes, like the PSP, you know, playing PSP, the PlayStation Portable.

You know, Sid and Marc-Andre Fleury playing it on the plane, and Marc-Andre Fleury does, like, the suck it, Talbot, like he says that line to Maxine Talbot. And the next day at practice, like, us as kids, if we chirp somebody or something, we're just screaming across the ice, suck it, Talbot. Like, that's just, that's the influence they had on us as kids and, like, little things like that.

And honestly, one of the cooler scenes that goes underrated, too, I don't know which episode it was, but Sidney Crosby had fought Max, or Matt Niskanen, excuse me, on Dallas. Yep, I remember. And the camera here in Crosby's room with Pascal Dupuy, and they're watching NHL Network, and that fight comes on. So you get to see crosby like watching his own highlights and that's something that like every hockey player can

relate to and not every guy will admit it like we all love watching ourselves do stuff that's cool like we do everyone you know some might say i don't watch my own goals or whatever but like yeah there's a part of you that likes i like seeing it right um of course so to see crowds be like one of the best of the best like in that element too is pretty cool because sometimes you might think they're uncomfortable watching themselves but realistically people love doing it um how much have we talked to pat maroon since he got there i hung out with his son anthony a lot actually yesterday it was really cool talking to him, 16-year-old kid, playing for the Long Island Goals. So he actually lives on Long Island where I'm from,

playing for one of my old coaches, Vinny Smith. And I got to just hear about what the younger hockey kids are experiencing, what they're looking forward to. I hung out with Cruz Armstrong. He's a cool kid too. Colby was a couple doors down. Is he going to the Western League? All right, give us a spoiler.

Last time I talked to Colby, he was like, no, no, no. Is couple doors down is he going to the western league all right give us give us a spoiler last last time i talked to colby is he going is he gonna declare himself come on let's go i can't i can't share i'm not his agent but uh all right yeah i was getting the western league yesterday um and yeah pat is just you know for him to have like eight family members here, his daughter, Anthony, who's 16 and now can like really appreciate it. It's really cool. And one of the funnier things, actually, I don't know, like I was talking to Anthony and Bedard walked by and I was like, is that your guy? He goes, yeah, like he's such a good player. And I was like, he's like three years older than you, which is crazy. Funny to see how they act. crazy funny funny to see how they act um okay so the very first the very first fight at the winter classic was 2010 fenway sean thornton and dan carcillo could we see pat maroon continue what

is i don't even want to call it a tradition maybe an infrequent tradition of seeing guys actually throw down in the winter classic i remember that one in 2010 it was frigid in boston it was tough i remember watching these two guys chuck and i'm like oh it's got to be so cold this has to be so painful do you think like pat grabs like braden shen or something like that and says we're doing this well they're buddies and uh in that video i did with pat yesterday he said shenner's the one guy who gets under his skin um but if i had to put my if i had to put my finger on it honestly if there's one person that might fight today i'm gonna say it's jordan goodington oh finally finally would someone

give you know what? It's funny. I always... So here's... I think about goofy stuff all the time. Part of me really wants to see a St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Stanley Cup final. Because I think the one goalie... Listen, we saw Fleury go almost go at him too. But the one goalie who I think would really go for it is Piotr Kocetkov.

I would love to see Kocetkov and Bennington throw down center ice, spotlight fight, buckets, shoulder pads, off, gear down, and go for it. But that's interesting that you mentioned Bennington because I think we've all been waiting for him to finally get that out of the system. I don't know that we'll ever see it, though. I don't know if we will. But, Jeff, because everyone keeps saying that this isn't a marquee matchup,

what else would make it cooler than having Jordan Manning? So Pac going to do it? Pac going to do it and make history? I don't know. Ray Emery used to fight players. Billy Smith used to fight players. Ray Emery fought

Josh Gratton once in the American League. It was a wild fight. The proud tradition of goaltenders fighting players. That could continue. Really quick, because I know you've got to get to Wrigley. What are you looking forward to today, most of all? What are you expecting, Johnny Lazarus? Me, personally,

I love Chance the Rapper, so I'm excited for his first period or first intermission performance. That'll be cool. But to see Conor Bedard playing outdoors, I think the uniforms look great too. To be at Wrigley Field, you know, it's such a classic ballpark, and the feel around it, you know, very similar to Fenway in Boston. But really just the whole spectacle of everything.

There's not one thing in the game I'm looking forward to. It's just the overall feel for the event, honestly. I'm a sucker for that stuff. Colby's probably making fun of me in the chat still. I'm Johnny Drama, as he always calls it. This is the kind of stuff that I love.

I love everything that goes into these events. It's what makes it so special. I'm going to close on this. I'm going to give you some advice. What's that? I mean, I don't think it's – I'm going to the Canada-USA game with my kids tonight. So after here, I'm buzzing up to CTC to see that, get them some dinner, and then watch that. But the thing is, like, I don't think it's that great of a TV property.

I think it's a great live event, though. And that's why I think every single market should have one of these things. I don't care whether you're Florida. The Dallas one was great. Whether you're Tampa, Florida, Nashville. I think every single market should have this experience. But as far as the TV spectacle goes, eh. Guys aren't playing at 100%.

They're playing at like 80% or 75%. Everything's not a controlled environment. I'll glance at it, certainly, but the days of sort of parking three hours for this thing are probably gone. But if I'm ever in town for one, I'm going 100%. There's no way that I'm going to miss one. I'm going to end with some advice for you, and I'm curious to see percent. Like there's no way that there's no way that I'm going to miss one. I'm going to end with, with some advice for you. And I'm curious to see your reaction.

Okay. Johnny, we are now releasing you into Chicago and the winter classic. I want you to go out there tonight and make some really good decisions in life. I got no show tomorrow. So we talked about playing guilty today. Tomorrow's an off day. It's a show tomorrow, so we talked about playing guilty today. Tomorrow's an off day.

It's a green light. Green light tonight. Alright. There'll be no good decisions today. No good decisions. I want to thank you, though, and I want to wish you a very happy New Year. It's great to have you as a teammate and a friend. I feel the same way about you. You got the best show going.

You and Colby are awesome. Keep it rocking. Enjoy the game tonight and go Canada go, right? USA all the way, baby. Happy New Year, Zach. Happy New Year to the chat. Hope you guys talk to you soon. There he is. The great Johnny Lazarus from Morning Cup of Hockey

here at 9 o'clock Eastern on our daily face-off YouTube channel. Check it out where you get your podcasts. Someone who's no stranger to winter classics and discussing them. Someone who's no stranger to the World Junior Hockey Championships and cynically discussing them

is Greg Wyshynski from ESPN. He may stay here on Tuesdays here on the program and he joins me now on the sheet. Hello, Greg Wyshynski. Are you here to remind us that they're all children? They're all children. They're just kids. They're just kids.

And you know what? If all of those players that are in the NHL that are eligible to play for Canada would just play for Canada, they wouldn't even need a tournament. You just crown the Canadians off the top. I got a couple of winter classic things. First of all, Lazarus is a child.

He's just a baby with a painted on beard. Who goes to Wrigley Field with a chance to see the Smashing Pumpkins? Okay. And you're like, I want to go see Chance the Rapper.

It's a joke. No, but that's a generation gap, bud. You and I are the similar vintage. We got to respect this Chance the Rapper. It's a joke. No, but that's a Generation Gap, bud. Like, you and I are the similar vintage. Like, we got to respect this is the future here. Like, all right, that's cool. That's cool. It's a Generation Gap moment, bud. Really, I don't know if you saw entrance outfits for the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.

They're bad. They're bad this year. Okay, hang on. Pause on that. If you were a lawyer for the PWHL's Toronto Scepters, would you be looking at the St. Louis Blues logo on their helmet and saying, I'm going to get to the office early tomorrow. and saying, I'm going to get to the office early tomorrow.

I know it might be New Year's Day, but that turtleneck's a little bit too close for comfort. They swiped it, but I believe it was a much-renowned podcaster who once said that greatness borrows, but genius steals. So you have to give the Blues credit. You probably haven't seen it because you're on site. The St. Louis Blues, you know, these entry outfits for the Winter Classic have become something that a lot of people anticipate every year.

Well, the St. Louis Blues wore sweatshirts from Gretzky's basement across the street from Wrigley. And then the Chicago Blackhawks, they got off the train to go to Wrigley, which is kind of but they were basically just dressed i don't know like it's a chilly day in chicago they had like vests on and sweatpants i'm like what what is happening like you know we are a far cry from you know the canadian tuxedos we saw we saw warren in nashville for the stadium those are great i thought it was very low effort situation in Chicago. Last thing I'll say about this Winter Classic.

I know that there are people in the NHL headquarters that advocate for the Winter Classic to be played on New Year's Eve. And I got to tell you that I agree with those people. I have always felt that having the Winter Classic on January 1st, a day that college football owns in the United States, a day where people are groggy and feeling terrible and not wanting to be on their couch any longer to watch a three-hour hockey game on January 1st.

Have it exactly where you have it now, as the lead- in to dinner and drinks and merriment on New Year's Eve, stake that territory out for the NHL and keep the Winter Classic on New Year's Eve. I never understood the January 1st obsession. What it is, is

a lead in for Canada USA at the World Juniors. That is, in Canada, the 31st staple. Right? That's it. We're closing out the year with the World Juniors. This is essentially the warm-up act.

How about that? Yeah, exactly. And here in the U.S., it's a prelude to overpriced, prefixed dinners and then watching Ryan Seacrest. We all have different priorities here on our two nations. You've got the World Juniors bug. We've got other priorities. But, yeah, January 1st is college football day, especially now that there's the playoff going on every year.

And, in fact, in a couple of years, Turner is going to have a college football playoff game. So, you know, who knows what the Winter Classic on January 1st then. So keep it on New Year's Eve. Make it a staple of New Year's Eve. It's New Year's Eve. It's time to watch two teams play a pretty poor hockey game in terrible conditions in somebody's baseball stadium.

Like, won't that be a fun tradition? You know, I was getting a little nostalgic talking to Johnny a second ago, thinking back to the original HBO 24-7 Road to the Winter Classic, Boudreaux versus Bilesma, Pittsburgh versus Washington. Like, I understand how things get cleaned up over the year, over the years, rather. But there was something so beautifully raw about what HBO presented to the point where you couldn't wait for that winter classic game. And it was must-see television.

It was must-watch. Like, we remember, like, listen, you and I were on the air together. This is, like, the greatest thing ever. This is fantastic. And then things get sort of, as I was saying, like, the corners get rounded off a little bit, and the whole thing ever. This is, this is fantastic. And then things get sort of saying like the, the corners get rounded off a little bit and the whole thing gets a little bit more polished. But that original one that HBO puts together,

that thing was brilliant. Which I think when the NHL just finally said here, we sit, we surrender editorial, go for it. It was brilliant. Great. It is.

And Johnny made a really good point. Like one of the things I always remember about that series too, is being in Sidney Crosby's hotel room. That's crazy. That level of access is crazy. It's awesome. He's lying in a hotel bed watching television with Max Talbot. That is incredible access for a guy that's going to go down

as a top five player of all time. So the original 24-7 series had a bunch of people that didn't necessarily grow up with reality television and then didn't know any better. Ilya Brijgalov, I'd wager, was not watching MTV's The Real World growing up. And he gets on HBO and he's waxing poetic about the mysteries of the universe. Oh, the great, we are so small. All of that stuff. Siberian Tiger. Right, exactly. Siberian Tiger blood, the whole thing. the universe, you're so small, all of that stuff. Right.

Exactly. Siberian tiger blood, the whole thing. Um, now I wonder if, if you watch the Amazon series, like this is a group of, of young players who probably watched more reality television than scripted television in their lives.

Right. They all understand the game. And I, I wanted to believe while this generation is clearly more like social media savvy than the one before it i kind of believe that they also know what these cameras can do to you and what editing does to you and they're even i was worried i would really hope that they were going to be more candid they didn't they knew how to manipulate the the reality genre but i think they're twice as guarded because they know exactly how things can look in the end process.

And if you saw the Amazon series, that was all over the place there. That is a generation of people that have grown up without an idea of the concept of privacy. Like the generation, Greg, we grew up with the idea of privacy. One of the things that someone told me, it's a while ago and it always stuck with me, he said, here's the difference between your generation and the generation that came right after you. I said, what's that? He said, your generation grew up thinking one of the worst things in the world was that people were watching you.

Oh, they're watching. They're always watching. The generation after you grew up with their big fear being that nobody's watching. That's the difference. They all grew up knowing, like, you're judged by how many cameras and likes and favorites and all of that are attached to you as you live through your social media world. I'm with you. All those athletes, all those players, they're way more sophisticated than,

and I just mentioned Ben Lovejoy is not going to go to last, than Ben Lovejoy was, or Pascal Dubuis was, or anyone involved, Mike Knoopel, in that first HBO 24 set. But your point was well taken, which is that the goal for these guys is participation in a show like that, or participation in Road to the Winter Classic, or any of these reality shows that the nhl has a hand in the goal is participation the goal is not candor the goal

is not being unhinged to the point where we remember you like we remember brish golov like the point is just to be on the show and then don't do anything interesting on the show after that like it's crazy um i i think the flyers uhRangers game was one that was as sold as the Washington-Pittsburgh game based on the quality of the 24-7 series before it, the Bridge Golov thing, you know, some of the stuff, the Tortorella with the Rangers, like all of that stuff was as inherent in that. routines, new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. I'll give you my top five winter classics real quick.

Oh, okay. I don't know where this one will rank. Probably not very high, although I am interested to see how Steve Mayer is going to dollop Wrigley Field to be different than the first time that they were there. But my top five, I got Cotton Bowl 2020, number five, Mechanical Bowl, the Big Boot, Pig Races, Pork Arena, and Andrew Hogliano. You can't beat it! It's pretty good. And it was a pretty good game, too. The only thing we... The walk of shame was great. It was nice

and long, too. The only thing we needed... You remember the Iowa Chops from the AHL, and their intermission feature, the Pork Belly Futures. The chubby guys that came out to dance, etc. It's the only thing from the... I know it didn't end well for the chops of the ahl but just bring back the pork belly futures please for i do have that jersey though uh number four is the 2012 citizen bank game between the flyers and the rangers 24-7 hype uh and then of course the one of the maybe the greatest ending of any of these games uh outside of the shootout

the first one which was henrik lundqvist stopping danny briere on a penalty shot and then john tortorella getting a massive fine from the nhl by claiming that the penalty was called because the refs and the broadcasters were conspiring to send the game to overtime that's number four yeah clearly yeah um number three is the first wrigley game wind wind-assisted goals. I would argue the best jersey combination of any of these games between the Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings with that gorgeous giant D sweater was awesome. Hang on, better than Detroit and Toronto with the blue versus red, which we've screamed for forever?

We'll get there. We'll get there. Number two for me is 2008, Ralph Wilson Stadium, the first one. You never forget your first time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the snow globe game. That's the snow globe game, Sid, the whole thing, the element of danger in having never done this all before. And, yeah, if you go back and watch it,

it's kind of like watching WrestleMania I. Like they don't really know what they're doing. The Zambonis are coming out every two seconds to clean the ice there's no flow it's it's a real it's not the best sit to watch that game but from all of the memories that we have and how important it was to launch the outdoor games uh phenomenon it's it's still the number two for me and then number one's michigan stadium like you said the red versus blue the red the red wings versus the maple leaves the most hype the best style you know eric the balls inside of the linesman's whistles froze in place it froze i know that's how cold it was the big house those uh weren't the only balls that froze that day the one thing that's funny because i thought about i thought about sorry i thought thought about that game on Saturday.

So I get back to the hotel room Saturday night and watching hockey caps and bleeps and then watching the late game on hockey night. And it's the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks. And all I could think about was that game and how good blue versus red and how good teal versus red that night would have looked. Right? Oh, just a nope. Nope.

Still fighting it. We still have to have a white sweater and white socks. There's still that one guy in Montana with a black and white television, and the NHL is like, that guy will never be able to tell the difference between the two of you. And so we've got to keep it. The road team is wearing white, and then the home team is wearing solids. And it's that one guy in Montana who's still with the black and white television, and once he dies, then we can go color versus color.

Until then, we've got to keep it the way it is. Then we'll get our blues versus yellows, Nashville, New York Rangers, and we'll get our reds versus whites, Toronto and Detroit. Speaking of New York Rangers, okay, it's taken this long to get there today. 32 minutes into the show, and here we go. First of all, I didn't think the Rangers played that bad last night. But even then, not playing that bad isn't good enough for the New York Rangers as the losses continue to pile up.

Like, Sabanajad's getting destroyed all day. Yeah. Like, when Mika Sabanajad is trending on Canadian Twitter X, you know there's problems. And Mika Sabanajad's been trending on Canadian Twitter X since the game ended yesterday. So, like, what now? Like, do you have any – you're a lot closer to it than I am.

Any clue what what now? Like, do you have any, you're a lot closer to it than I am. Any clue what happens now? We keep hearing bodies out the door and no sacred cows and everything's up for grabs. What do you think? Well, you know, I've been thinking a lot about the core of this team, which obviously is the root of the problem right now. Either they don't want to play for La Villette anymore or, you know, in Zibanejad's case, his numbers have fallen off a cliff. If you're around the team, there's going to be somebody that comes to you

and says that Mika Zibanejad's life changed dramatically when he had a kid, and there's a thought that maybe his life off the ice has changed and it's affected how things have happened on the ice. It's not fair to him to speculate necessarily, but it's definitely something you've heard around the team insofar as what's happened to him this season yeah um but again like you know truba out the door was the first member of the quote-unquote core of this team that was going to go and he wasn't going to be the last like truba said it himself this was probably going to be the last opportunity for this group to win together. Now, maybe he was saying that because he wasn't going to be part of the group anymore, and he knew that.

But it's also checking the ages of these players and what this core can accomplish going forward. So, you know, is it too late to push the panic button this season? Probably not. If Chris Drury still wanted to slam it and make a coaching change or or ship out somebody you know he could probably do so but the more you think about it the more it probably makes sense for them to take a mulligan and you know change the coach in the off season which they're obviously going to do when Larry Brooks starts writing essays in the New York Post about the necessity of a coaching change either now or months from now it's gonna happen

about the necessity of a coaching change either now or months from now. It's going to happen. And then you try to do what you can to figure out a way to influence the veterans on this roster to waive the trade protection and go play someplace else and change the collection. Look, the foundation you're building on here is Igor Shcherkin and Adam Fox and maybe Lafreniere if Lafreniere can recapture the magic a little bit. I think the contract took a carrot away from in front of that kid, and it's just not been the same since he got it. But that's a decent thing to build on.

They've got some other good young players. They're not in a bad way. And if you can clear out the veterans and recirculate that money with an eye towards some big things this summer or maybe the biggest thing, Merrick, in a couple of years as I look at the Edmonton roster and have to pay wages and say to myself that someone has not put pen to paper yet on a deal? Just saying. I don't think the Rangers are in dire straits in comparison to, say,

like when Pittsburgh fell off. So you know what I wonder about? What's that? I wonder about the conversation between the New York Rangers and Igor Shcherkin's camp. Like, you don't – neither side commits to that term and that dollar figure without having a conversation about what the team is going to be i have no idea what that conversation was was the conversation we got to move out some driftwood

here clean the beach up a little bit and then we'll get back to you? Or is it, we're staying the course and we're running with these guys? Like, Igor knows the room. Like, what? I do. Again, I'm not asking you because I don't think that anyone outside of Igor and his camp knows. I'm really curious about

what that conversation was. Igor, here's the money and the term we're prepared to offer. Because don't forget, he signed the deal the day after Trouba left. It was shipped out. What's the conversation there between Drury and Shisterkin's camp? Okay, so I don't think that that conversation was as prevalent as you do. I don't think that they're going to Igor and being like,

here's our five-year plan. Maybe they said that to the agent. Maybe they made them privy to some of the things they were looking to do. You don't think that a player before he signs that offer wants to know what this team is going to be like? I think he knows Adam Fox is going to be playing in front of him for the rest of his career. Like if he stays in New York. I think that's one thing he knows. I think he knows Adam Fox is going to be playing in front of him for the rest of his career. Like if he stays in New York. I think that's one thing he knows. I think he knows that he just got the money he was looking for. Why did he sign it after Trouba left or was traded?

He signed it because you might as well hit the button now while the offer is still good from the banker, like deal or no deal. Because the team is going to go down the toilet. It's going to take your stats with it. So to me, like it makes sense to sign the deal when he did. And then the other thing too is that they gave him the money he was looking for. They have to sell him on the team

after they gave him the contract he's looking for? A couple of things there. I still do think that conversation would have been had, but secondly, I looked at it like the Ottawa situation with Daniel Alfredson. That the Rangers really needed to change the conversation. They needed something else out there. They had just been roasted because of the Jacob Trouba situation.

The next day, here's the new Igor Shcherkin contract. Let's talk about that. You'll recall when everything went south with Alfredson and the late owner and the Ottawa Senators, and he ends up at a red wing. What was Brian Murray instructed to do? Change the conversation. In comes Bobby Ryan.

Right away, massive deal. Change the conversation. To me, that was Igor Shostakovich's situation. We need to get people to stop talking about this. We need to sign Shostakovich. All of the roasting came because truba roasted them into the media like like truba basically said you know all this stuff was unprofessional so maybe you know kick that boy a 500k igor for for getting them to start gears and get you signed listen i i understand what you're saying and i think in a lot of cases especially when you have somebody who's going

to be an unrestricted free agent coming up, you do have that conversation. I just think at the end of the day, it's like Adam Fox is playing in front of you. You're going to be a New York Ranger. You're playing in the biggest media market in the United States, and here's the money you're looking for, and here's the years. I don't think that Igor needed to be convinced to stay. He just wanted to stay with the financial compensation he was seeking.

And they gave it to him. So I don't think you have to necessarily then make a flow chart of the next 17 transactions you're going to make over the next two years to convince him because he wanted to stay. He wanted to stay. They gave him what he was looking for, and he put pen to paper. Okay, off the Ranger page. Quickly, got a few minutes left with you to paper. Okay, off the Ranger page.

Quickly, got a few minutes left with you here today. Cam Robinson on the other side. We're going to get ready for this exciting New Year's Eve tradition. Hell yeah. Greg Wyshynski, Canada versus U.S. But before we get there, some predictions for the new year. So when you and I chatted this morning, you said jot down three. So here's my real quick three, because I'm sure you've thought about this a lot more than

i have my three is this as much as i love watching the san jose sharks i cannot remember the last time i was this excited to watch a team that like in san jose's case just lost seven games in a row and probably going to finish last overall i can't remember the last time I was so excited to watch a team like that, but here we are. San Jose Sharks get the first overall pick again and take Matthew Schaefer. My other prediction is finally

CBA Peace. A deal is done before the next one expires. We've never seen these two sides talk publicly like this before maybe we're just jaded but i think we have a good reason to be jaded going back to 1994 greg wischinski but the timber has completely changed labor ownership peace and the other is and this is one that jason gregor and i are simpatico on and have been from day one.

By the end of the season, we will be saying Shane Wright is a better player than Matty Beneers. Oh, wow. Well, one of my predictions before this season was that Shane Wright was going to quiet the critics, and I think that that is clearly coming to pass. On the way. Extremely happy for him.

The other two predictions are interesting. So do you think that Bettman is going to have the opportunity to announce the new CBA at the State of the NHL address at the start of the Stanley Cup final? Ooh, I don't know about that quickly. Because if I'm the Players Association, I want to string a little bit and see what I can get. I want to push on expansion.

Right. There's no need to say like, let's not, I'm just a simple country lawyer, Greg Wyshynski, but from where I come from, we kind of take our time with these things. I don't think that you're getting a cent.

They're not getting a cent of expansion money. Do you understand what the owners would ask for if they try to get a cent of expansion money. Do you understand what the owners would ask for if they tried to get a cent of expansion money? But you are dealing with Marty Walsh here now. Good now is a tiger. Donald Fehr just wanted to write his book and say,

money in Europe, money in Europe. But now, this is a different beast here in Marty Walsh. Honestly, I really do think that the conversation will probably be had. I'm with you. Remember Bill Daly talking about Hill that we'll die on? I think that's probably one for the owners this time around.

But I can see the Players Association at least pushing for it. I don't know that we get any type of announcement that soon. Listen, if we do, hallelujah. That's great because this will be a peacetime CBA. Then, you know, Bettman will do the Canadian rights deal. And then he has this sort of, if you look at it, his succession program already in place. And all of a sudden, it's a peacetime CBA that we're putting together here. For me, long-time hockey observers, that's a miracle. It's a peacetime cba that we're putting together here for a long time hockey observers

that's a that's a that's a it's a miracle it's a miracle i'll never forget don fear speaking to the professional hockey writers association for the first time he walked into the room grabbed a chair he turned it around like a cool teacher about to lecture us about the dangers of drugs and then he basically said something along the lines of like, now I don't know a lot about hockey, but I'm willing to learn. And I'm just like, here we go. It's just like, this is, I don't know if these guys know what they've hired here. But Marty Walsh is a different animal.

Gary Bettman and you're licking your chops. Oh, this is, this Oh, this is great. Okay, so those are my three that I thought of this morning. Well, on the Sharks, though, the thing about the Sharks that really strikes me is they bought back the holiday music video. Yeah. And with all the players doing their raps and stuff. And they used to do that back when joe thornton and patrick

marlowe were there and they bought it back and the only thing i could think of because i feel like these two teams now are intertwined whether it's our celebrini bedard debates or just because they've both been kind of like great for a decade been absolutely terrible at the same time but could you imagine the blackhawks having that kind of fun in a music video at this point like you can't right no it feels like the sharks are trending in a different direction than the blackh kind of fun in a music video at this point? You can't, right? It feels like the Sharks are trending in a different direction than the Blackhawks are in a very significant way and I feel good about it. Alright. Four predictions

for 2025. Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's record. Not a bold prediction. The numbers are there. Here's the bold part. Not when. Who cares when? I'm not Nostradamus, but I can tell you this. He breaks it with an empty netter.

So you know what I've wondered? Yeah? I've wondered if he would deliberately shoot wide. Because everybody knows what kind of goal we want. And what kind of goal he would want. He would never shoot wide he he finds he's been a defender of the internet or throughout his career but how wonderful would that be like the caps are up one nothing the other team pulls their goalie the

entire arena comes to their feet I'll tell you what as Ovechkin takes the ice to defend the goal you know you know who will like that you know who loves that idea every goaltender out there every single goaltender out there because no goalie wants to be the victim right no one wants that's right you don't want to be the pitcher that gives up the otani home run exactly exactly you're exactly right you do not want to every goalie's like yes washinsky preach on buddy empty that goal snap that goal. Snap that record. With your wish. I love it. Prediction number two, Joel Quenville is hired by the New York Rangers.

What say you? I could see it. You know, there was a part of me that wondered if he was waiting for the wings. And, geez, we haven't even talked about it. Tom McClellan of the Detroit Red Wings. We'll hit pause on that. 101 so far. I'm planning again tonight.

We'll see. I wondered about the wings with him. I would imagine that the National Hockey League would probably want him in a quieter market to start. Anaheim's making a decision on Greg Cronin. Maybe that's a place. But it does ring like it's a possibility, certainly. And what's the one thing that Joel Quindle is concerned about right now?

Legacy wins. Legacy wins, right? He's chasing Scotty here. He also needs a place that can cut him a check. And he needs a place that can cut him a check. Make no mistake about it. And as you well know, James Dolan can wake up any day and do something crazy.

And no one would be surprised. Bold prediction number three, Utah makes the playoffs as a wild card. I made that prediction before the season. I'm sticking with it. I think the numbers are in their favor to try to maybe grab one of those last wild card spots in the West. I hope that it's done

because of performances, the likes of which we're seeing from Carl Vermelka this season. Vermelka is a fascinating goaltender. You know, the goalies that are one year on, one year off, one year on, that's Vermelka.

But when he's on, man, he's awesome. I'll take that one. I'll take that one. And I hope that it's done with great performances by Karl Pamelka. And I hope that Barrett Hayton is a big part of all of this, too. And hopefully, you know, Conor Ingham comes back

and can kind of recapture the magic a little bit, too. I'm really bummed about the season he's had. Finally, I'm going to go. Corey Schwab's made great, by the way, very quietly, Corey Schwab's made great goaltenders. He does. He's had a lot of goalie coaches. Corey Schwab's made good goalies. There you go. Okay, go a lot of goalie coaches. Corey Schwab's made good goalies.

There you go. Okay, go ahead. All right, finally, I'm going to go on the opposite side of your prediction. Uh-oh. I'm going to say that the Nashville Predators, I believe for the first time in their history, win the draft lottery, and Barry Trotz is lauded as a genius for taking a step back this season

to increase his lottery odds and get the first overall pick. We're going to sign Marcia So, we're going to sign Stamkos, and we're going to draft first overall. Right, give him all year to get acclimated to Nashville, run it back in year two, win the cup, obviously. Does that mean then that James Higgins is automatically first overall? Because what's the one position that Nashville has always

coveted and never had? That one. Yeah, that one. Exactly. You'd be looking at Matthew Schaefer? No. No. Whoever's number two. Fine, San Jose. Alright, fine. We'll take Matthew Schaefer, number two. Schaefer to San Jose, to me, looks like such hand-to-glove. A million forward prospects prospects they got the goalie for the next 10 years in

the scar off they need the horse back there the 10 to 12 year guy matthew uh that makes a ton of sense you and i are both like talking nashville talking san jose i mean obviously chicago is going to win the lottery again. We all know that. They need to put... Listen, if they're going to keep putting Bedard in these outdoor games, they need to surround him with something, right? He's on an island right now. They'll just figure out a way to get Chicago the first overall pick. Awesome.

Listen, you enjoy the evening, the Winter Classic at Wrigley. Canada versus USA. 13 games on the board today around the NHL. Thank you, as always. Wish a happy new year to you, your readers, your family. Health and happiness in 2025. We'll chat soon.

Yeah. Happy new year to all the MVSW fans, by the way, too, that have recaptured the magic with the show and all that stuff. Take care, everybody. More to follow. More MVSW love on the horizon. That is Greg Wyszynski from ESPN. We grooving along, Zach?

Oh, Zach, he can't make it? He's not here right now. He's coming. Okay, so we're just waiting for Cam Robinson who's at Canadian Tire Center right now in advance of this much lauded, much ballyhooed Canada versus USA. I mean, listen, that's the reason we're here. We're here at the World Juniors

and we spent a lot of time talking about the National Hockey League and the Metro Classic today. But the reason the show came down was for these games. And, you know, I kind of have a weird sort of feeling about this tournament. I mean, I love it. The quality is great. The drama is all that. The one thing that I really don't like about the tournament is just how the athletes are raised up to this elite level pedestal.

Don't forget, these are still kids that make a ton of mistakes. These are young kids whose brains aren't even close to fully developed. I know that most NHLers go through their career until they're in their late 20s, and their brains still aren't fully developed. But still, I know they all grew up in hockey hothouses. I get it. Whether it's development programs, whether it's playing in the OHL, the Western Hockey League, the QMJHL,

that they play in these hothouse environments. So it's pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. That's all they've known, which is probably why when they walk into the nhl the idea of pressure is foreign to a lot i'm sure you might be nervous a little bit about some some games sure you might be nervous a little bit about you know your first game in the nhl but as far as playing in high pressure situations all these guys have done it their entire lives but there's's something different about Canada and Canadian players. And I mentioned a couple of before, whether it's Max Comtois, throw Jake Furtanen into that mix as well, Mark Byzantine,

the netminder in 2010 in that horrible third period in the Buffalo tournament with Panarin and Tarasenko just destroying them. It is a lot of stress for a lot of kids. Some react well, some react poorly, and some have the fog hanging over them for a good portion of their career. Here with comments on what we could see this evening, what we've seen so far at this tournament from elite prospects, our good friend Cam Robinson.

He's on the sheet. Cam, how are you today, pal? Looking sharp, by the way. I like the new lid. Oh, yes. Why, thank you, sir. Doing well. How are you doing?

Doing very well. So, in advance of tonight, are you surprised that we arrived at this place where neither team really seems, nor should they seem, confident of what the outcome might be. Canada can't score. USA can't defend.

We have questions about Augustine's glove. Both fan bases are nervous. Everyone along Popcorn Row, myself included, are just throwing their hands up and saying, I don't know what's going to happen here. Does it seem like both teams are kind of limping a little bit into this one? Yeah, they are and and you know we hoped to be coming into this new year's eve game not knowing who was going to be the outcome winner but we thought it would might be in different circumstances because both teams were rolling and we kind of projected them both to be undefeated

um instead that's who'll be they have the two undefeated teams meeting today um so you're absolutely right canada coming off a win still limping you know they weren't satisfied with that three nothing victory with an empty netter us coming off a loss they're not satisfied with that facing finland um but if i had to say i'd say that us is probably the more confident team coming into this match uh just because they've been able to generate and convert um those offensive chances at a far greater rate than the Canadians have like you look at the top scores there's no Canadian on the front page in the top 30 no I know I can't tell you the last time that's ever happened it's

like I think that Canada's top scorer is 24th or 26th in the entire tournament when I when I checked last night that's that's virgin territory we've never seen that before cam what gives well there's a lot of things that are probably contributing to that number one they are snake bitten um but number two i i have to say is that they're not some of the players aren't being deployed to maximize their skill set so a player like bradley nade, who is a shooter, he's been playing on the goal line on the power play, on the second power play.

You know, he's been demoted down to the third line. Easton Cowan's been, you know, a lot of volume shots from up high. He doesn't have that type of release without traffic that he's going to beat a goaltender from that distance. You know, Gavin McKenna should be playmaking a little bit more. He's one of the only players that's been able to penetrate, get into the low slot or make those cross slot passes they really need to penetrate into the middle of the ice and then go and get some greasy garbage goals um their only thing going for them really right now is carter george and net he's got the hot hand and like you mentioned trey augustine has been fighting

a little bit his hand it looks like it has a bit of a hole in his glove too so you know the canadians are going to be looking at some of those goals that finland popped on him and they're going to be attacking that glove side as well. This game could go any which way. It could be a 2-1 finish. It could be a 6-5 finish. It could be a blowout either way. This one's really up for grabs I think. This one should be a fascinating one.

I think a lot of people are waiting for Canada to finally break out offensively. But to your point, why should we be surprised? I'm going to go to the roster construction question here. I do understand that, you know, fiddlers fiddle and dancers dance. They put people in the right position to do what they do best. But having said that, there's been a lot of offense that's been left at home.

Players that are lighting it up with their junior teams right now, partially because they're elite players, but two, they want to prove a point. They shouldn't have been left off a list. What do you make of the roster construction of Team Canada specifically? The questions always come, and it's because Canada has just such a wealth of talent to pull from. But they do sometimes get a little too galactic brain about these things, where it's like, we need our checkers to be third line checkers we need our fourth line to be fourth line bangers where it's like no you probably need to just inject a bunch of offense maybe have three

scoring lines and then have your checking line and you can mix some of those big scoring wingers they can be bangers as well for you right that's what cole boudoin is supposed to be doing on the first line he's not there to set up plays in a finish off place he's there to create space for his line mates um which is fine if he's doing that job and his mates are converting on some of those opportunities and so with that when when the coaching staff and the people that put together these teams they open themselves up to criticism until they win gold and if they don't win gold then then the floodgates really open up at that point too but you know for a team like this especially after you lose matthew schae, and then suddenly you don't have another defenseman who can do anything that he could do, right?

You lost that entire element. No one can replace him on this team. Where there were a couple of names, you know what I'm saying? Correct. Carter Yakumchuk. There were some guys that could have filled in that role if you had brought them. And they could have even been your number seven or number eight. You didn't have to play them right away.

But then you'd have them in your back pocket. Be like, okay, we lost our top D-man. We'll slide these guys into it. But it's deployment, it's personnel decisions, but they still have enough talent on this roster to win gold. I have no doubt about that. So it's just now about utilizing them in the correct manner, and they

have to get it going themselves. They have to find a way to get going here, and it's now or never sort of thing. I'm glad you brought up Matthew Schaefer there. Just off the junior page for a second, Cam, does this injury, because you and I have been on the same page about Schaefer from pretty much day one here. We both think this guy is the next combination, Scott Niedermeyer,

Chris Prong, or whatever. Does this injury, let's say, let's go worst case scenario, even though it's not going to happen. Let's say that his season is scrubbed. Would he have still done enough in your mind to go first overall? Absolutely.

And, you know, I just released a piece where I polled 10 executives and scouts around the league to see, you know, and nobody's concerned about this right like he battled mono early in the year no big deal right now he's got the broken collarbone no big deal because every opportunity he's had to showcase going back to finland at the u18s last

year i was there he was my vote for the top defenseman as a 16 year old as an underage player he was excellent at that so at the u18s at the helenka you know in his club play this year and then in the four and a half years or whatever he had here at the world juniors he was explosive he was dominant he was everything you hoped for and because he's so young the the runway for him of development is so much it's so vast compared to a player like james haggins who's you know 10 plus months older than than matthew schaefer so i think he's absolutely done enough even if this is the end of his season if he doesn't make the playoffs and that's and he doesn't get back in time and maybe they don't send him to the u18s in texas year this year because he's already been there he's won that um i think he's still done enough depending on who's picking

there at one that he will be a first overall candidate the very least i think it's a two horse race at this point uh we might see michael misa slip into that conversation as well here as we go down the stretch but i do believe that as of today mat Matthew Schaefer is the frontrunner to go first overall, and that's without the rest of this tournament, which is too bad for us because it would have just been a treat to watch him. Oh, absolutely. Okay, a couple of things quick before I let you go here. One, E.J. Emery with the United States.

We talked about omissions for Canada. That's a big one for the United States. When you look at how they put their team together, what pops to your brain? He's clearly the big omission. Like, I thought he was a lock for this team. Number one, the chemistry that he's had with Cole Hudson internationally at the program before this is that, you know, Hudson's the rover, the offensive guy, and EJ is the one to do all the big stops, right?

His ability to surf across the neutral zone and rush a 10, or even have a chance to get going is really, really but you know he didn't have an injury i checked i checked in with the agent um it was just a matter of i guess he didn't have a great showing at summer selection camp and that kind of stuck to his name throughout the process here and he was the odd man out i certainly would have had him on my team and so you know we talk about the canadian defense is that they're lacking a lot of offensive punch but on just like a pure skill basis, it's a better blue line than the Americans is. They don't have, Canadians don't have a Zee Booyah. They don't have that rock solid number one star,

a shaper who can play 30 minutes a night for you. But on a whole, there's enough talent, there's enough bang and playmaking that they can still generate enough offense and be a better defensive squad than the Americans. Then you look at the upfront, it's the same thing. You can make a match, but again, I think Canadians have the edge there. What really separated was the Americans goaltending.

And so far quarter George has been the better net minor. So I think, like I said earlier, I think this one's a coin flip if both teams can have their confidence rolling, it should be a heck of a match. Can't wait. Eight o'clock Eastern tonight. Cam, thanks as always for stopping by. Continued success with Elite Prospects and the app is excellent. Thanks so much, pal. We o'clock Eastern tonight. Cam, thanks as always for stopping by. Continued success with Elite Prospects, and the app is excellent.

Thanks so much, pal. We appreciate that. Take care. Really good. There he is, Cam Robinson from Elite Prospects. I'm going to wrap up here. Heading off to the Canadian Tire Centre for this one tonight. You're probably settled in. You're going to watch the Winter Classic. Maybe you're watching this one tonight as well.

Maybe you're watching some of the other NHL action on the go around the league tonight. Maybe you're watching League Station After Dark after this. Oh, hang on. Let me just go over to Zach Phillips really quickly. Because, Zach, you're staying here, right? Correct. Okay, so you're staying. I'll be sitting right there.

You'll be sitting right here in the big chair? Yeah, I will. Okay, who's going to be on today? Nick Alberga and producer Vic. Amateur Nick. Amateurs. Amateur, amateur. Well, listen, tune in for that one, as always,

after every single Toronto Maple Leafs game, and good for you for turning in on that one. All right. Who was that? All right. Studios falling apart here. We've got to get going. Thanks to everybody in the chat.

Please favorite. Please follow. Please subscribe, whether you're listening, whether you're watching, whether you're watching live, whether you're watching in the you're watching, whether you're watching live, whether you're watching the archives. We appreciate it. It's been a wonderful time getting to know everybody here on Daily Faceoff and working here with all the shows and all of our different personalities

and working with Zach and following his success as well. We got all, it's a really, like I always say, this is a really great mix of people with veteran voices and younger people who just wake up every morning and live this passion. If you've come over here, whether it's from the old 32 Thoughts podcast, or you've heard me around or seen me around,

please do yourself a favor and check out some of the other shows that we have on offer. I've said it before and I'll say it again. This lineup is undefeated. I will put it up against any other lineup in hockey media, period. Health and happiness to you, your families, your loved ones, your hockey teams in 2025. We're off tomorrow, back January 2nd for the Sheets. Right here live streamed at our daily face-off YouTube channel and wherever you get your podcasts. right here live streamed at our daily face off YouTube channel.

And whenever you get your podcast, hit the like button, hit the subscribe button. We thank you. We'll talk to you next time. Bye. Get out my head Lost all ambitions day to day Guess I'm caught all right I went to 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 that's gonna be fixed in my mind So on the record I turned on the music I do want to break it. I turned on the music. I do want to break it. I turned on the music. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.

It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.

It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.

It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.

It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.

It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.

It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I Have been on the dance the way I roll Mmm, in the dead dark night If you're looking for flexible workouts, Peloton's got you covered. Summer runs or playoff season meditations, whatever your vibe, Peloton has thousands of classes built to push you. We know how life goes.

New father, new routines, new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca.