2026 Milan Olympics Were A Dream w/ Hampus Lindholm and Nikolaj Ehlers

Welcome to the Empty Netters Podcast. Can you believe what this has become? There was a full 48 hours where I felt like I was literally Superman. Jumbo loves playing Fortnite, so he gets on the stick. Did TR show you the sauna cycle or was that all you? No, I invented that. Almost a year now that I haven't taken a body check. That's kind of nice. So we are back. We are horned up. And we are going deep. We finished tonight with some chicken fingers and a few Guinnesses right into you guys. That's where this pod came to life. Ice is ready and we are back with another episode of the Empty Netters podcast brought to you by BetMGM. I'm your host, Dan Powers, joined with me by the man who I cannot wait to get away from. This is how I always feel after a long trip, Chris Powers. Say hello to the people. As always, we are currently in the Dolomites, in the Alps. CP and I tried to take a two-day vacation for the first time. Maybe since the beginning of the show, we truly unplugged from everything, from all the social media, from all the, you know, we didn't do an episode. We thought it was going to be a long, long trip over the Olympics, which it was. It was a ton of fun, ton of work, and we thought, we'll just take a quick break. We'll unplug from socials. We'll unplug from the Internet, and good God Almighty. so apparently we can never take a vacation again Chris because we are not allowed this is what happens yeah this is what happens so folks we've got an awesome episode here for you like I mean like I said we're sitting here I'm in like the dining room of this Alps restaurant because incredible establishment yeah it really is but we had to get an episode out for you babes we got tons of fun stuff to get into the NHL is back today the time of recording quick hitters on that We've got an unbelievable interview from the Olympics with Hampus Lindholm of Team Sweden and the Boston Bruins and Nikolai Ehlers of Team Denmark and the Carolina Hurricanes. You're going to hear from both of them. We're going to get into the news with USA Hockey this week that has really exploded, and we are going to talk about our Milan adventure, some of our favorite parts. Forgive any of the background noise that you might be hearing from me. I've got a lovely, lovely party in the next room just having a great time. So if you can hear some laughter, that's what's going on. They're playing cards. Oh, they sure are. They're playing everything. It's unbelievable. So by the time you're listening to this, it will have been day one, night one of the NHL back. So the things we're going to, or at least one of the things that we're about to talk about will have happened. Like we said, not a lot going on. We are usually a bad news first type of gang. Rip the bandaid off. So we've got to rip the bandaid off of the entire city of Pittsburgh. Coming back from the Olympics after missing the semifinals and missing the final, Sidney Crosby is has been put on IR and will be out for up to four weeks for the Penguins. CP, how are you doing? I am devastated. This was the fear. And dude, it wasn't just it, right? Like I actually anticipate a lot of announcements coming soon of guys missing significant time. Obviously, Kevin Fiala badly hurt. the Penguins reached a point right before the break of 70 points in 56 games and if you look at other central team or excuse me, MET teams the Penguins, they built a bit of a gap where it was like, okay you know, you'd have to stumble pretty solid to come down the stretch here and fuck up this you saw what happened to Team Canada this is not a sustainable injury for this Penguins team, period there are a lot of games happen in four weeks of hockey and now we are staring down the barrel of the nightmare scenario which is the penguins just miss and they didn't miss enough to trade sid and all that shit we've rehashed a million times um you know so i fucking feel terrible for myself i feel terrible for sid i feel terrible for penguins fans and the one thing i want to kick back to you Dan because I want your thoughts too is I get before big game planning you go someone's questionable because you're like you're just trying to smoke and mirrors it but we people well we know well who have no reason to lie to us told us that Sid looks great skating before the gold medal game and so I'm like four weeks he almost played on Sunday like what the What happened? You know that Matt Davin scene in Contagion? What happened? Literally, what happened? Dude, I think he probably did look great because I think it's Sid. I don't think, obviously, that there were ways for them to do x-rays and MRIs in Milan. But I just think he was like, dude, I'm fine. I'm going to play through this. And they did an assessment and they're like, he looks good. But I don't know if he should play. And then they probably did. Because what those people probably didn't see were the MRIs. They probably just saw him skating. Like he was just skating and his MCL is torn off his body. And they were like, he still looks great. I won't fault anyone for saying that he still looks great. He would look great. He would be the knight in Monty Python Holy Grail with no legs and he would still be ready to rock. So I don't blame anyone for thinking he looked great still because he will always look great. But yeah, I think here we are. I mean, this team is a playoff team again out of nowhere. and you just like you gotta you gotta make sure he's healthy for this run and i after all after all the the the deading of the penguins and not in a negative way as as far as like we don't like the penguins love the penguins and love sid but it was just like let let him fly don't make him be a flightless bird let him let him grow his wings and fly back into the playoffs and now all of a sudden they did it and I'm like fucking right this Penguins team but at this point if this four weeks man without him if they just lose a bunch of games and fall out of a playoff spot I don't know what I'll do I can't even imagine what you will do and what Penguins fans will do but I don't even know what I'll do that's how severe yeah right that's how serious this is it's awful god damn dude yeah it's awful brutal I feel awful for him and it's it's that's it I feel terrible yeah so We're going to have sharp eyes on the Penguins to see how they go. The other bit of news is we've got a debut. Artemi Panarin making his debut for the LA Kings tonight, Wednesday. By the time you're listening to it, it'll have been last night. But exciting times. Really shit that we've lost Kevin Fiala for the season. I mean, this was a big move by the Kings. Just a great trade. You're adding Panarin to this offensive group, and now you've lost Fiala for this offensive group. And it's just like, are you fucking kidding me? It's just, it's devastating times. But either way, exciting times to see this new future king for at least a couple few years here. This new future king joining the team. My favorite part about this, I don't know if you saw this, CP, but Panarin's wearing 72. Ooh, I didn't see that yet. 72 was worn by a very important king by the name of Bailey. That's my doll. And we had a Rolex bribe for the number. That is so fucking awesome, dude. Panarin, there's some great photos that the Kings posted. Panarin had to snag a Rolex and give it to Bailey so he could wear 72. I don't know if Bailey's going to keep wearing 72 because it's not a roster issue. I think he probably will. I don't know about that, dude. I feel like he can't be wearing that shit. Yeah. It's kind of what I'm saying. He's part of the team, dude. uh i've always thought it is the craziest thing in the world how in major league baseball managers wear numbers and they potentially are taking a very significant number from a very good player that could possibly happen i always think that's nuts dude my dad my prep coach on on and hockey i wore 13 and then the assistant coach of the hockey team was the head coach of the baseball team and then i was like yeah i'm wearing 13 here too and he was like actually i wear 13 and i was like bro There has got to be nothing more ridiculous on this earth than a high school baseball coach wearing a number and taking it from a player. I'm like, you know, not to be fucking glory days, but it's like I'm hitting leadoff playing center field. I'm not like an idiot. I'm like, give me my fucking number. You can't, dude. He's had that number for decades. And he had, honestly, though, he threw us, if we won four games in a row, he would throw us the fucking sickest dinners at his, in not spot, at his basement. So he can wear whatever fucking number he wants. That's true. All this Chandler banging aside, I love, I am here for mascots wearing numbers and getting gifts from players. Like, if you're a mascot on an NHL team, you've got to change your number to something very significant. Like, change it to 19 or whatever, you know, like, just to... As soon as it frees up, yeah. Do a quick Google, what is the most common number in the NHL? Change it to that. And then, bang, you're going to get a watch out of this, pal. That's a no-brainer. That's a no-brainer. It has to be so big, though, to get around Bailey's wrist. Yeah, that's even better, dude. Now you've got a fat daddy. No money. It's going to have so many links on that thing. Holy shit. Shit. But I'm telling you, I think this is a brilliant move. Mascots out there, start picking some significant numbies. I love this. You might get a gift or two. I fucking love this. It's just fantastic stuff. All right. Like we said, folks, that is just going to be some quick hitting news in the NHL. We don't want to waste any time getting into these amazing interviews. So, CP, let's kick it to Hampus Lindholm, our boy. Our boy, and dude, I was so excited to talk to him because Sweden probably had maybe the chance, but had the most interesting tournament to me. Yeah. The games you won, the games you lost, the draw you got, there's so much to talk about with him, and he didn't shy away from any of it. It was just so cool to hear his POV as someone who dreamed of putting on that jersey in the Olympics, and then the experience they had, and also the fucking shenanigans at the village. I mean, dream, dream guest. Dream, dream guest. It's been a long time coming, getting a hampon. Met the world to us while we were there in Milan for him to take his time as he was getting back to pop on with us. It's amazing. Enjoy Bruins fans, Sweden fans, and just good people fans. Here's Hampus Lindholm. at long last because i'm going to be honest sam this is the people have been asking we finally got you here on the empty netters podcast fresh off of the olympic tournament you are back in boston right now which is also we just talked about a little bit we'll get more into it but you got back what yesterday the day before yeah it was quick turnaround we played and then uh right after the game obviously a little sad after losing the way you went down and then And just get a text. Bus leaves at 6.30 in the morning five hours later. And you skated today in Boston? Yeah, I didn't skate. I just came in with some treatments. So it's kind of a little maintenance day. But, yeah, I was back at the ring today. So it's been a quick turnaround. God, that's insane. Incredible. I have a question about that plane ride, but we'll get to it in a second. I first want to hear how you got the first call. A couple guys get hurt, and they're adding guys. There's no guarantee who it's going to be. But where were you, and what was that first call like that you were coming? Yeah, that was obviously a nice feeling to get that call. We were actually playing in New York, so I think I was going in for my get-and-go, doing my pregame nap there before the game, and then he said he wanted to talk to me, the coach there, and call me. So that was a really nice feeling, obviously, with everything going down, missing the Four Nations and the World Championship last season with my injury and stuff, and then coming back and making the Olympics was a nice feeling, and all the work you put in there in the summer, that kind of got paid off. Man, it's so funny, Ham. We did our whole preview of we picked our rosters and who would be on what team, and obviously you were on the team that I picked, and it's amazing to see you in the games, and like Chris said, we'll get into that. but you never want to see injuries of course and Jonas is obviously such a good guy such a good player but the second he got hurt and it looked like he wasn't going I texted Alice immediately and I was like Hampus is going to make this team and when you made it and I messaged you I was like holy shit let's go let's see you in Milan and you just said like it's obviously such a good feeling but what were the first things going on in your mind as far as like you know seeing obviously we'll get into the fact that you've roamed with Ricard who's your buddy you obviously were had to I have so many great members with him in Anaheim, but were there just so many feelings as far as getting back with a lot of the guys that you used to play with and being able to represent your team? It must have been unbelievable, and it all happened so fast. Yeah, no, like you said, it happened fast, and I think obviously we haven't been able to play the Olympics my whole career, basically. I think my first year in the league when I was like 19, that was the 13-14 season. that was yeah so i haven't had a chance to play it like i've been at the we had like that world cup 2016 but just like the best on best and being out there on the ice like it was a really fun feeling uh to be out there like playing against the u.s and stuff just just to feel how that is and just kind of show to yourself that it's you're you're just as good as all of them not that i didn't already know that but it's like it just kind of gave you a little extra confidence boost and I think it's just so fun games to play because you play like an MLA, like a game like that in quarterfinals, it's win or lose. It's ups and downs and I think you learn so much from it. And then representing your country, like you speak in your own language in the locker room. Like I've been in the US now for so long. I remember when I won World Championship there in 2018. It's just the short tournaments would speak in your own language and like, you know, like she's chatting in the locker room and culture wise it's a little different. so it's overall it's just such a fun experience i love okay i love that you just said that i mentioned that the other day how like what how quick do you realize that because obviously like elias your teammate is there with you on the team but how quickly do you realize like when you're in the locker when you're practicing you're like oh shit we don't have to speak english here it sounds like it's a small thing but that must be awesome yeah no it's like i was joking i think was at Forsberg, I was joking with it on the bench. It's like sometimes saying some stuff in Swedish that you haven't said on the bench to guys in a while, it sounds so soft. You're like let's effing go boys and then you turn into Swedish. I feel like a schoolboy what I'm saying there. But it's fun. Like I said, it's our own language. It's been a while, too long, but it was fun. hemp camp can i hear what is what is let's fucking go in swedish can i hear can i hear what you guys are snapping around you say in different ways but it's it's yeah it's it's not like uh the american movies when they're just like coming in and you get dropping the yeah the hockey words you know which ones there which we all know yeah dude um we uh obviously and i'm gonna ask you about this in a second too but childhood dream you wouldn't have traded this for anything but i need to know did you have to sink a vacation to come like so i was i was also smart for once i had some travel insurance uh on my vacation so i knew there was a chance they told me obviously uh when when i got the call for not making a team so i was like i might as well be smart so i don't have to eat down so yeah no i didn't i didn't have to eat it i had insurance luckily good good man that's chris that's veteran shit right that is veteran shit that is veteran shit you're not going to see that from guys like jarvie but you will see it from correct yeah where where were you going him uh bahamas oh my god dude hey it was nice here though eh it was okay it was pretty nice i thought it was gonna be colder yeah the sun came out so it felt like kind of winter was over then you come back to boston and snow everywhere yeah yeah uh okay so i wanted to ask you this dude you you just brought this up but you won a world championship gold in 2018 you won a u18 silver in 2012 you've put that jersey on but this was your first olympics and how different was it like how amazing was that feeling where you're like this is the fucking olympics and i'm here in milan putting this later on yeah no i think i've also played for so long so it's like i don't know been around the guys been around the league i've been fortunate to play in a lot of different scenarios already so but olympics is like i think it's everything it's almost more for everyone else around you like it was so cool to see my parents in the stands that's the game even though we lost like my obviously you said a baby and amanda came out like it's just like as a country it's like every fourth year it means so much to your country and to your friends and your family so as an athlete like having the chance to possibly win something at olympics it's like it's so special like it's it's hard to explain because like you you grind with the guys in your in boston like all year it's like winning stanley cup would be like like nothing you can't compare to it because you grind all year together like there you come in short tournament but it's as a country as a whole it means so much and that's for the players because you don't play it very often. So it's hard to really put it into words, but it's obviously so special. All the little things, like speaking Swedish, coming in, like you have all the different sports. You can connect with all the different athletes. It's a very unique experience. But the only thing I do wish is that we stayed together with the cross-country skiers because I know a few of the guys over there. Because that's one sport that would be fun to go watch live for me as a suite because we're really good at it. So, but it was overall like such a cool experience. I'll never forget. But that's such a good point, man. It's like, I love the dynamic of, you know, you play with the guys in Boston for so long and then you come here. And I had mentioned earlier, is there an element for you, like you're in the Olympic Village, you're rooming with Ricard, who's like, you know, just a hot mess, as you've said. And you guys, your beds are like two feet apart from each other. You're speaking Swedish with the boys. You're putting on that jersey. is there a part of you that kind of it transports you back to being a kid just playing the game it's like you're it's almost like you must have felt for a little bit like you're back in sweden you're playing in your youth days you're playing with the boys you grew up with and how crazy is that feeling no 100 like you you've been playing against a lot of those suites like i've been fortunate to have a few of them as some teammates like you said ricard and alias but you've been playing against each other and battling and like being on the same team and then kind of just fighting for something together obviously we have so much in common coming from the same country so it's yeah it's it's it's very unique it's really it's really fun like obviously our our journey kind of fell a little short i think we could have gone further but that's just the way hockey goes sometimes it's um winning lose and it's small small margins but it's um it's definitely really cool like all those guys been battling against them forever and then go and play for the same country and together it's it's definitely a new experience but it was really fun and like you said it turns me back to being a kid like you just go out there and enjoy it i just try to enjoy that tournament as much as i could and soak it all in dude did you know on the bench the tiebreaker in that slovakia game because we were watching on tv and it's like yeah they're celebrating when and they score the pad like you guys pulled it. I'm like, what the fuck is going on? Because in my mind, I didn't realize they didn't count the Italy game. I didn't realize you made like the subgroup. And obviously your staff knew, which is why you pulled the goalie, but did the players, did you guys have a sense of what the stakes were in that last group stage game? Yeah, we knew we had to win by four. And then when they scored, we had to score five. So we knew it. Yeah, we were aware of it. It's a very unique situation. We put ourselves in it, so we can't really say anything more than that, but it was a very unique situation. But if you look at the playoff bracket, it makes a big difference if you end up first or third. So it's a huge difference. So it's, yeah, no, it was definitely weird seeing a team celebrate when they score and you're still winning. Yeah, but we knew it. So, like, we knew how much it meant. So, like, it wasn't weird for us, but, like, I understand, look from the outside, it's definitely weird. Because it's such a unique bracket. Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, Dan. Well, I was going to say, Ham, this is kind of an inside baseball question, but it's been a very funny topic of conversation inside the hockey world with Haaland being your coach for Sweden, who's a coach in Sweden, not being a North American NHL guy. Was that hard at all for the players with coaches that maybe you haven't worked with that none of the guys really work with, kind of that translation of the different styles of games? Or was that just easy because it's kind of the similar style that you've grown up with than, like you've been saying, the same language and stuff like that? I don't know. Like when you get the best on best, like everyone is such a good pro. Everyone's played for so many different coaches. So that's usually not a problem. Like you throw a system in or you want us to do something. Everyone's there to try to have a chance to win gold for your country. So I think as a coach, it's not really that hard. You just kind of have to come there and like embrace all the talent you have. I think any coach, I guess a coach, any Olympic team, I think it's probably, I'm not a coach myself, but it must be a really fun experience because you have guys you can put in any situation, basically. So it's more, it's almost like playing chess with only queens. So you get it all in your own hands. Such a fucking great comparison. And on that note, was there any guys, obviously there's tons of guys in your own division, in your own conference. Were there any of the guys on the team that, like you said, since World Championships and juniors and things like that that you were super excited to get back on the ice with on the same team or or maybe guys that you've never played with that you were you know excited to see what their game's like while playing yeah i would i would add ham like that you were surprised by we're like damn this guy's nasty i didn't realize how good he was i think i i feel like i know the guy so well so i wouldn't be true that surprised for me personally it was really fun to be back with raquel obviously uh we yeah we don't get to hang that much now like we both have kids and like he He plays in Pittsburgh. But when we do, it was like yesterday. We lived together forever, played together forever. We roomed together so much in Anand that we always said we saw each other more than a married couple when we played in Anand. It was a nice throwback to live with him again. That made the journey even more fun for me. So I'm super, super happy I got to spend extra time with him. But to your point, if players were better than I expected, I would probably say the opposite. I would say, like, I think playing, like, against a lot of top guys when they're, like, singled out on a team, like, you can have, like, pre-scout, watch out for this guy because you play the team. But when you put them all on a team, like, there weren't many guys that I would think that in a tournament like that really stood out. Like, I haven't played against Canada. I think McDavid and those guys, obviously, I think in a tournament so far stood out. But, like, when you put the best on best like that, it's still all things. it's like it kind of levels out it's a great team yeah i love that it's like when we play the u.s like you put a lot of those guys in their own teams and you play them like you're like watch out for this guy but like when we played them i think because we have so many good players in our team so it's just kind of like evens out so it kind of ends up with who works hardest it's kind of like it's kind of evens it all out so that was a fun fun experience to feel in the the u.s game in the games i i got to play him dude well speaking of that usa game i feel like you guys because obviously i'm sure everyone was fucking pissed after the finland loss because even ignoring the group stage ramifications you just want to be finland at all times and i fuck with that but once it shook out the way it did and you're like holy shit we're getting the u.s in the quarterfinals it did feel like watching for us you guys really found your game as as it continued every game you were better than the game before so just tell us a little bit about going into that USA game What was the attitude in the room And then during the game cause that was a fucking heavyweight tilt dude. Like how was that whole experience? No, we knew they weren't really happy about playing us in the quarterfinals after winning the group, which you understand. And so we came out there with a good, good mindset. I think the guys who were hungry were excited to play. And I think it shows in the game, we had some good chances. You didn't really get the goals there in the first two parries. Obviously, tied it late, but I think we played a good game. And like I said, the whole tournament, you look at Canada, Czech too. I talked to Pasta today. It's like it's such a small margins of winning and losing. And it just shows all the little details that matter so much in a tournament like that. Every little thing you can get on your side to hopefully win a hockey game, it's going to matter because it's so little that really like changed from team to team like it's even though you have all those stars like every team has stars every team has good players so it's like you just get that one little balance or you get get hot at the right moments uh yeah that's what makes this tournament's fun too was there yeah go ahead well here's a an interesting thought for you is it you know you've been in super intense playoff series in your nhl career and you're going to be in more. Is it weird in the middle of the year like this in February to lock in? Because there's so much mental preparation in the NHL season that I think a lot of fans don't realize. There's so many games. There's so many ups and downs. There are breaks that you need to prepare for mentally and emotionally. And then all of a sudden, here you are. You're about to be in the Bahamas. And now you're in Milan representing your country, playing with some of your best friends playing with guys you haven't played with in years and you're on the biggest stage like the games game seven stanley cup all of a sudden the olympics are insane and now you're in a quarterfinal matchup against the u.s one of the better teams in the tournament and it feels like game seven stanley cup how crazy is it with that emotional shift of in a time where usually in the year you're used to taking a break and getting a rest all of a sudden now you're in one of the biggest games of your life how crazy is it for to prepare for that yeah no it's it's definitely uh pretty crazy but i think even if someone woke me up in the middle of the night and said i got to go and play a quarterfinal for sweden i'll be yeah yeah heck yes yes where i'm going where you taking me i'm ready so yeah i think that's that's at least my mindset around it but i don't know i was just more excited and try to soak it in and be in the moment and play my best hockey and then that's all i can really control but yeah of course it's it's it's a high pressure situation but i think also being a sports fan myself i know it's it's worse for the people watching than the guys that are on the ice so uh so true dude yeah so true um can you tell you know and don't reveal any inside info but what just give me the vibe in the locker room going into overtime just kind of like who's talking who what's what's the what's the speech like and then also the vibe after is it like everyone's crying or is it everyone being like hey boys hell of a fucking moment appreciate this like what what are those two moments like in the locker room i think the the overtime like it happens like it's not that we get a break we sit on the bench i know let's go it's kind of like you just go for oh yeah right yeah so you don't really get like that like you sit together and talk in a way. I think I turned around, I think to Rass, I said I had a pretty good feeling. I was like, I think I got a good feeling. I felt good coming in, like 3-on-3 overtime. I think it's such a scramble. One guy falls, one bounce, one scoring chance that way goes the other way. So it's like, obviously playing in the shop for so long, I know how 3-on-3 works. It's a little bit, not a coin toss, but it's obviously a little bit more up in the air, so you don't You obviously have that kind of like in your head. You're like, I had a good feeling, but like you never know, right? So and then obviously losing when we thought that we played a pretty good game and gave him a good effort and it could have gone either way. He's kind of like left empty. I think it's quiet and it's guys get interviews and stuff. The guys get into the locker room and different times. So that's also makes it a little more quieter. And then, yeah, it's just kind of quiet. I think we were proud of that we played our best hockey in the last few games, but obviously it wasn't enough. So it's a disappointing feeling overall. It's a fun experience. I learned a ton, and I think as a team and as a nation, I think there's a lot of stuff we can take from it moving forward because I think Sweden is a team that should always aim to be in the finals in every tournament. So I think what I take from that tournament is that we could definitely be in the finals tomorrow. And what can we learn from this tournament to make sure that we're there the next tournament? Yeah. Dude, real quick, Dan, before you ask your question, I will say, Ham, that the – certainly with our page, right? Like we have a massive U.S.-Canadian bias in our fan base, right, that follows us. And everybody's like, oh, just give me that gold medal game, give me that gold medal game. the i think the biggest eye-opening thing from this tournament for the people that follow us is how much you and finland put it on u.s and canada where it's like this isn't this isn't some like haha let's all laugh till we get to our usa canada gold medal game yeah you guys in finland are right there where it's like this could go that was a coin flip for for both games it could go either way and i thought that was awesome yeah no it's yeah like i said i think yeah we we know that though it's not like yeah i feel like i feel like in going to tournament obviously u.s and canada are like favorites but if you look at past tournaments like finland and sweden and even chick chick now like there's a lot of teams are always in it so it's like for yeah as a european i don't look at that that way i think u.s and canadian sometimes you guys are causing you are you don't look across the pond that much but it's okay it's all about us half it's all about us Hey, don't lump me in there. You're so right, though, man. And it's like, you know, you mentioned it earlier. The U.S. fans were petrified to be catching Sweet in that quarterfinal. And rightfully so. I mean, like you said, I mean, be as cocky as you want, U.S. fans and U.S. players. That game could have gone either way. That was a massive tilt, and it was such a good game. And I know you'll never do it, so I'm going to do it for you. You are one of the most team guys I've ever met, and that's all you care about is the team success. But if I may, holy hell, buddy, you played so incredibly well in that. I mean, every game you played. But in that quarterfinal game, you were unbelievable. You were just as good as your game gets, and it was just someone who loves you. It was amazing to see. and uh i you know i i can't believe the amount of pride that you must feel in in the boys and in the team and in yourself but i loved what you said earlier about taking this tournament and the way that you feel playing with these guys playing in this tournament and then taking it into the rest of the nhl season i think that's such a veteran and mature way to look at it because it's it could be such an exhausting thing you know you come here and i mean that in a positive way you come here you're representing your nation you you're coming abroad and playing and it could be you get back and you have three days to get back on the ice and it's like oh jesus but the mentality you have of going i love the way i played i love the way that we all played and now let's take these lessons and put it into the nhl season do you think that that's something that comes naturally to you or is that something that you've learned over the years and and you know how do you kind of instill that in your other teammates maybe some of the younger guys on the bruins team because it's really remarkable yeah no thank you for the compliments but no I think I obviously learned over the years I working on my mindset and also I think I've always had a pretty good mindset since I was as a kid I've always kind of had that but I think over the years I think I've been better of kind of like putting it to words and putting it to words for yourself to use as motivation I think i've always had it kind of without understanding it and i think when i got older i know how to put it into words and kind of put it to use more you know i mean and use it as fuel for myself because like you said we play so many games seasons up and down so you need to get yourself ways to motivate yourself too uh every day and find some extra juice for where you can find it and that tournament uh obviously gave me a lot hell yeah yeah that's awesome um okay well i will let you get out here soon but i just give me give me a highlight of um like something you guys got up to in the off day or something you ate like i just want to hear like a fucking great meal you had or some sightseeing you did in the lawn what was awesome while you were here moments in the village yeah yeah what was the village like yeah all the fans are just so curious about like what you know not the crazy shit but like what's going on in the village tell us that later tell us that later yeah well i won't say the names but there was obviously we got those uh samsung phones yeah They gave us an Italian phone number and data for I don't know how long it lasted. So there's a few veteran guys in the team that got to hold that phone pretty early. And there's a guy that had to do drug testing. And then I guess he got a phone call. And one of the guys tried to pretend with broken Italian English saying that he needs to come back because there was something wrong with it. Oh, my God. so wait wait wait actually i can't be too that is such a good prank yes it was that is incredible wait wait was was the person who was accused freaking out were they like freaking out what calling calling the team doctor call like and then he starts walking because we lived in like dorms and then there's like a hallway and so i guess he walked out his door and i was gonna go walk down because he like oh fuck and then he sees these two players like giggling in the hallway yeah he's like prepared to do the walk of shame yeah and he's just oh my god how how deep in the how deep in the tournament was it like what when did this happen i think that was pretty early because they like i said they were early with the phones like i guess so you're like this guy's like i missed the whole fucking i'm out for the whole olympics yeah because i failed this time out like he's like i'm holy shit dude like that i can't even imagine myself like that prank is mean but it's funny because like i was gonna say you're gonna have to tell me later because that's fucked up like it's it's so funny because it's like you know you've not done anything you've not taken anything but then there's that moment where you're like how much wine did i yeah yeah but what shouldn't take that sleep pill last night yeah that is incredible yeah uh any what was your favorite dinner any any awesome dinners out or were you guys in the village all the time no i got out a little bit so we we had a team dinner where it was really good a really good pasta vongole and then there was this other other place in milan in the city where i went with my family which i had like a lemon pasta i was like you should always that's a if you go to an italian restaurant in milan if they have like a their signature dish just a restaurant you just do it you just do it yes do it whatever it is correct do it ham we went to a place in that we asked i asked the waiter i said what's the dish and it was this pasta dish was like a tagliatelle or something and on the menu it says it said tagliatelle with 40 egg yolks and i was like 40 and he was like yeah i was like okay so i got it and i don't even know it just looked normal we still don't know we still don't know if the sauce has 40 or if chris's actual portion had 40 egg yolks but you know it was delicious it was delicious are hilarious i had a yeah i've been to milan like i i have a friend i used to marcus erickson he used to drive so he would drive from the one in Milan so I was there watching his race and I've been in south of France and for people that have been to the south of France you drink a lot like it's more Rosé and stuff on that coast and so I was there with one of his buddies and we're gonna go watch this race here and we go out let's grab dinner one night before the race we go out and we're kind of in the French Riviera vibe it's summer so like let's order a bottle of Rosé the little Italian guy comes walking up we're like bottle of Rosé place he looks at us and he's like he just walks away like disgusting yeah he didn't say a word to us he just walked away and we were like so in shock and like sorry yeah sorry but he just walked away no one came to us for minutes so and then he comes back with a bottle of reds puts it down on the table you drink red wine in italy we're like so yeah yep best bottle of my life by the way so yeah yeah best bottle of my life yeah well at least at least he came with a great bottle he could have come and give you the bullshit and been like this is all you get no they're pros then they tell you what to order ham we were at a dinner uh early when we got here and we were just with like you know one of our american buddies who works in the league and he ordered it he was like do you have chicken parm on the menu and the waiter just goes oh no and just walked away and i was like oh even i knew that one you idiot god damn it no you're gonna love the clients they're they're correct it's a vibe here it's a vibe yeah they're the best um all right well ham you're the i you're the best in the entire world for hopping on with us i know it's been like two days since you got you're still probably jet lagged but um i was hanging with aliens so it's fine yeah no we'll let you bounce but um can't thank you enough for popping on we got to get you on again soon for for a full proper and that is experience but um we just want to say man like unbelievable tournament congratulations and it's just uh again as as big fans of you it's it's with with the injuries and some of the bullshit over the past couple years seeing you pop on this team and have such a great tournament it's so child's child's dream dude child's dream incredible we're so pumped for you buddy i appreciate it thanks for having me on guys hell yeah brother we'll do it again soon sounds good hampus you are the fucking goat massive thank you dude we are going to do it again and we're going to get as he said we're going to get the proper empty netters treatment when he comes on for the real deal interview but that was just we wanted to give you guys a taste of olympic life from someone on team sweden and hampis delivered as he always does as always incredible stuff hampis you're a fucking legend okay let's take a quick ad break and we'll be right back ladies and gentlemen boys and girls there is no better place to be during march matchups than vegas and think about that i know the olympics felt like it was chaos and it lasted a million years but it lasted almost a full month and it's already march it's basically march and And this year, college basketball fans can win a VI trip to the Court of Legends event featuring the Kavinder Twins. Simply place sports bets and your position on the leaderboard will determine if you win one of the 25 grand prize packages. It's that easy. So just sign into your BetMGM account, opt into the promotion, and then start placing sports bets of at least $10 to climb the leaderboard. Make this March one to remember by joining the Court of Legends leaderboard and make it legendary. All right, now it is time to kick it to our next interview with Nikolai Ehlers. There's another long time coming situation here, but new member of the Carolina Hurricanes, absolutely buzzing, had an amazing time planned for Denmark. So pumped for you to hear his experience getting to play with his family. It's incredible. Nick is incredible. Hope you enjoy this. God, he's the man. Well, I know a lot of Hurricanes fans have been waiting for this one for a bit, but we are thrilled to be here and joined with Nikolaj Ehlers, fresh off of the Olympics with Team Denmark here joining us like a legend after being home for like 36 hours. How are you, brother? How are you feeling? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. The jet lag isn't so bad coming this way. It was more getting to Milan was a rough one the first few days, but doing good. Excited to be back and get this started again. How is the current feeling of just like your first Olympics? And we'll get into you know we've got all the crazy stats about like 2022 you maybe could have played and then you didn't get to go but now here you are you've just played in your first olympic games with your countrymen with some of your teammates as we know are you kind of riding a high still how unbelievable and nick i'll add before you have an answer obviously you've put this sweater on a lot of time we've talked to guys that haven't got to wear that country sweater right like many world championship games, Olympic qualifying games even. But was there, could you feel like a level shift of like, okay, fuck, this is actually the Olympics? Yeah. I mean, like you said yourself, like I've been trying to get to the Olympics for a very long time. You know, it goes back to 2015 or 16 where we somehow, Now with the team we had back then missed out on qualifying and then finally qualified and wasn't allowed to go. And now finally getting the chance to play for Denmark at the Olympics was obviously a dream come true. It was an unreal experience. Obviously, I got to do it with Freddie, my now teammate here, and with my cousin who also plays for the team and family down to visit. So all in all, it was incredible. And, you know, it's obviously a little different now coming back to Raleigh, getting back into that grind. But, yeah, the last two weeks were pretty special. Dude, it's a super interesting situation with you on this team. And obviously we'll talk about the fact that you get to go there with Freddie. And I mean, the fact that you're playing with your cousin is like so cool. So cool. But you actually had a bunch of really cool comments. And I'm curious to hear a little bit deeper in your thoughts. This is an interesting group in that a lot of these guys play together often. You know, they're playing together year round almost. And it's almost like you guys, the NHL guys who come in and join this team. You're almost like the outsiders to this group. was that i i know from the things that you've said at least there was no growing pains at all as far as them welcoming you in and meshing with the guys but is that an interesting feeling of you know being in the top league in the world and coming into this group and they already have so much chemistry with each other what was that like um yeah i mean it's always a a little different but i think you know i can't speak for the other guys that that come from over here but i think for myself i've been able to play five world championships uh already and and i know all the guys so well yeah right so i've played with most of them already um and you know we're such a we're such a tight group i know every team says that and you know i can get a little cliche and stuff like that but the tightness of that group you know playing for a small country like Denmark that's not really a hockey country um makes it so much more special when when you put on that sweater and and you go out and you can see that in the results that we've been able to make over the last you know five six six years beating Sweden and yep uh I played against Canada twice in my senior career, and I've won both times. How about that stat, dude? How about that stat? Let's go. So, you know, there's some results that we've been able to make with this national team that, you know, may not come from being the best team out there, but playing for each other and really just working our asses off. And I think when you look at our games, yeah, the other teams, they skate around us sometimes. And that's we know that. But we work hard and try to make it hard on them. And that gives us some games. So it's it's always special putting on the red and white jersey and playing for your country. But, yeah, I mean, those guys, they do all the small camps during the year. they got the four or five weeks before every world championships plus the world championships and you know those guys are are really grinding for the national team and and and that's uh you know i'm proud whenever i put that jersey on dude do you ever get chirped like okay the nhl guys are here all right here we fuck i got i got one guy blickfeld he's uh he's a guy who's uh who's actually played in the NHL as well. Yeah, okay. He's allowed. He's allowed to chirp. Yeah. Yeah. But he's definitely got some comments once in a while. I'm done with you guys. Yeah. I'm sick of you. You know, I think, like I said, our group is so tight that, you know, you can chirp and all that. We have a good time and there's no hard feelings. And, you know, they I love playing for the team and so do they. It's the same. We we all play for the same team. So it's it's pretty fun. Dude, it's like you mentioned the cliche coming earlier. And, you know, I think it's good to point those things out. But can you try to put into words how awesome this feeling is? Because it's like, you know, you can make the argument all the time that it's like you even happened last year with four nations, with you know the four different countries that were planned in that tournament it's like this is usually your break there's you know it's such a fucking grind of a season with injuries with time playing every other day it feels like and yet you come to this tournament and you guys get so jacked up for this to play for your country to put on that red and white jersey like you said can you try to put into words how cool the feeling is and like getting out with all these boys again coming to a different country like in a city like Milan and playing is it does it do you feel like you're just like a kid again ripping around out there uh yeah in a way um I think all these like I've always loved going to the world championships um and you know playing with those guys because you know you gotta have fun doing it right and like i think this is going to tournaments with the national team can be a nice break too sometimes to you know not saying just have fun because we do work um but you know we we we try to have a good time together um to to make those tournaments and the long weeks fun. And, you know, I think that shows up during the games. I think you can see that. I think you could see that during the Olympics as well, that we're a tight group off the ice. And there's just something about playing for the national team that is so special. You're not just playing for each other. You're playing for the whole country. and we're a pretty small country. Yeah, yeah. To be able to play in these big tournaments like the Olympics and the World Championships, I mean, Denmark has been in the top group in the World Championships since 2002 or 2003, right? And you take a deep dive into, you know, how many hockey rings we have in Denmark and how many players we have in Denmark that aren't beer leaguers, it's pretty impressive. Yes, it is. That's why it's special to me and all the other guys as well. Dude, we talk about the success you guys have had for such a small nation competing at such a high level. And this format was kind of new, right, with the three groups, and it was like everybody's kind of in. So there's a lot to think about, right? So I wanted to ask you, and I don't even mean this as disrespect to Latvia, but if I'm just saying looking at the odds, like the Vegas odds, the big game for you guys in the group was kind of going to be that Germany game. Yeah. So was that a frustrating night for you Because I know you outshot them so much You played so well that game Did you guys feel like fuck this is the big game and it our first game We don even get to ease into the tournament at all Like, what was that mindset like kind of going into that big swing game for you guys right away? Well, I think Latvia has been a team that we've had trouble with over the last few years. Yeah, yeah. Dude, they're frustrating. They're a frustrating group for sure. So I think even if we played them in the first game and we would have lost that, we would have thought the same thing. I think that game against Germany, you know, you get in three days before the tournament starts and, you know, it's the same for them. You're trying to scramble together the power play and, you know, you're playing with different guys and new guys. And at the end of the day, I thought we played a really good game. And I thought over the full 60 minutes, we probably deserved more. For sure. But, you know, we just weren't able to score on our chances. So to start the tournament out with a loss, it's, you know, if we would have won that game and then we would have won against Latvia, we would have ended up playing against France instead of the Czechs. Yep. But it's so easy to sit here and – I know, I know. And, you know, France wouldn't have been easy for us either. So I'm proud of the way that we played, you know. Definitely. Yes. We lost three out of four games. But, you know, Germany game, I thought we played really well. We deserved more. The USA game, did we deserve more? I don't, I probably not, but at the same time we were in it for, for a long time. Oh yeah. That was a chance. The Latvia game, I, I don't want to say we didn't deserve to win, but that was probably our worst game. And we found a way to, to win. And then the Czech game, we worked our asses off and lost. I was going to say that might've been your best game. You guys were incredible that night. Yeah. Yeah. it so you know i'm i'm proud of of there's results that you know we made even though we lost three out of four so dude is it is it weird i mean you've been in stanley cup playoff games where a power play in a tournament like this in a playoff situation is so intense is it weird that in those huge high pressure swing moments you're kind of like i've never really practiced with, I've barely practiced with this power play unit. Like, what a unique thing in such a most important part of the game. Is that a kind of unique thing in this term? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's the same for all the countries that have, you know, especially the NHL players that have never ever played together. Yeah. To come in and have two days of practice and get your power play figured out, I mean, you got the US and the Canada that Figured it out pretty much, right? And they got some pretty good players. So it's not easy because you're trying to figure out where guys are going to be and, you know, kind of what the plays you want to make and things like that. And we had three different defensemen on our blue line because one guy got sick right before the game. Oh, my God. So that's not easy. but at the same time if you want to score and get good results in these type of games you got to have that down and we weren't fully able to do that on the power play unfortunately I mean man I like what you said about you know like we're talking about how awesome these games are and how cool of an experience it is but I liked what you said earlier about how you're not just here to have fun and I think that's the coolest part about this tournament and smaller countries like Denmark who don't have as many, not just NHL players, but people who play hockey, period. I mean, it's insane. And the fact that you guys still show up and you're playing balls out, you're competing, you're trying to kill the other guys, and it shows. Because, you know, obviously as a competitor, like you said, you know, winning only one of the four games, it's not something you're happy about. But you guys gave people fits. And I think that's the best feeling. It's like every game was tough. And I know that those U.S. boys in that game were like, fuck me. I mean, like, just go away. It was a long game. Yeah, that 4-3 goal, holy shit. And you're absolutely right. And I'm so happy to hear you say that you're proud of the way you guys played because you should be. But taking aside the competitive nature of it, and as you mentioned earlier, playing with your cousin Alex, is that just like the funniest, coolest thing in the world? Because at this stage in your career, you're like, okay, you know, like I'm in the NHL. He's not here. He's over there now. And we don't know if we'll ever play again. And with injuries and this, that, and the other, you might not make it to the Olympics. When you guys get to that moment, when you got to the Olympic Village, were you like, this is fucking awesome? I mean, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. it's it's pretty like he's one year younger than me and and you know our families always went on vacation together so we have a we have a pretty good bond um and and both obviously love playing hockey so to be able to get this experience with him I've played the world championships with him before but to be able to get this experience with him was was pretty cool and our families were we're both there and um you know what what makes it there's two things that two things that makes it a little more special too is that um my dad and his dad played together on the national team um many years ago i didn't know that that's awesome yeah that is awesome plus my my so his dad's brother played on the national team with uh so those two and then my dad they played together of the national team. So that's pretty cool for us to now be able to do it. And then the other thing is we ended up playing on the same line together for the first three. Yes. Dude, Nick, you're not going to be the one to gas it up, so I will. That's not pretty cool. That is so fucking cool. Also, that is the greatest family reunion of all time. Dude, I was just like the family there at the games, they must have been going crazy. Yeah. It's awesome. Oh, I love it so much. You're at the Olympics scoring a goal and you're celebrating, right? It's pretty sick. Like, dude, literally, you score that goal and you look over and he jumps into your arms and you're like, holy shit. This is all time. And I pray, I'm sure you do, but I'm sure the dads all have a picture together. And now you guys do. And that has to be the collage on every house wall in your entire family from now on. Definitely. That's amazing. And listen, man, we want to at some point, I know we talked about this, we're going to get you on again and get you the full Empty Netters experience. And we'll talk more about it. But this has obviously been a really awesome and exciting year for you with a new team, real cool experience joining a new group. And I know Freddie was a big part of you coming to Carolina. How cool is it, you know, adding to all of these amazing experiences that you got to, you know, join this new team, join a countryman in Raleigh, and then you got to go to Milan together? Did that elevate the experience a ton, being able to do this with him? Absolutely. You know, I've known Freddie since the first Olympic qualifiers together in Belarus 10, 11 years ago. And, you know, it's always been kind of a dream of mine to be able to play with another Danish guy in the NHL. And, you know, for him to be here as well was pretty cool. So to go through a year like this with another Danish guy definitely made it more special and made it more fun as well. So, yeah, it's been a different year, a fun year, though. Yeah. Yeah. Dude, was he, and it actually made perfect sense from a strategy and Olympic standpoint, but was he fucking pissed to not get the USA game? I can picture Freddie like, give me those fuckers. I can take them down. I bet he wanted it, dude. I bet he wanted that game. Sure, he wanted it too, but with the tournament being so compact, he would have played four games in six days with a back-to-back. I don't know if he would have made it through the Czech game then. so I'm sure he wanted to um but you know I that's how it works sometimes it was smart it was smart yeah that's so good um well dude uh obviously the hockey was unbelievable but we we also want to ask quickly about um how was the experience like it was you know being in Milan super fun what were some of the best moments for you guys in the village or like ripping around the city some of the best meals you had what were your favorite memories um well i've had enough of the pasta meat sauce at the villa put it that way hey hey wait can you actually don't have the full picture like what is the eating situation at the village actually like is it is it like a cafeteria buffet thing or what's the situation that's exactly what it is um open pretty much 27 at 24 24 7 and yeah it's just a big dining hall and there's always it's always busy you kind of just walk up and they give you the food whatever you want they got the meat station and gluten free station the salad and yogurt and like there's a bunch of stuff but and there's a meat sauce There's a meat sauce that you've had enough of. I end up at a meat sauce station pretty often. Yeah. Wait, Nick, are you a creature of habit? Like, are you the same pregame meal every single day? I'm the same pregame meal every day, but that doesn't mean I want to eat that for lunch every day and dinner every day. That was more of a... Yeah, I don't have the same postgame meal. It was more of a must. It was a necessity. It was literally an element of survival for you. But no, I mean, it was great. The village was nice. I thought the rooms were good. Obviously, those are going to turn into dorm rooms, I think, for students and stuff like that. But, you know, I think when you're going with, you know, 25 friends and you're all on the same floor, right? Like, and you're in Milan, you're going to have a good time either way. And, you know, we found ways to entertain ourselves and, you know, go into the city and walk around and go for dinners and stuff like that. So we made it a good time. Did you have a guy on the squad who was the jokester in the village? Not in the village, but we have a few guys that are the class clowns, if you want to put it that way. Out and about. Yeah, out and about. Okay, give me one good meal you had. It doesn't have to be your favorite, but just one good meal you had out of the village that wasn't meat sauce. Give me one good meal you had out of the village. Actually, I'll stop there. Tell me that first, then I'll ask my next one. One good meal out of the village. Well, I mean, it was pretty easy. We're in Italy. Mine's a pizza. Yes. You can call it a cheap meal for me. It's a regular, you know, whatever. I'll have a pizza or whatever. That's just lunch out here, baby. Yeah, exactly. So I needed a pizza, and we were able to find a good spot for that. Okay, perfect. and then did you guys because we talked to some of the boys and they said they in the village like on the nights that you're just in they're like playing cards together you know whatever what were you guys doing when you're just kind of in you know a chill night before the games whatever what were you guys getting up to um i don't have the marks anymore but we were playing uh we were playing uh ping pong oh shit sick that i love that yeah wait who's the guy Who's the guy on the squad? Well, we had like three, four guys that were pretty much like they could beat each other. One guy started off really hot, and then he started slowing down. But the thing was like some guys' backs after a couple were, first of all, drenched in sweat. Yeah, yeah. of all uh we were taking like shots at each other like whoever lost was ripping was like like shirt off shirt off shirt off yeah fuck dude that's insane so we had a few guys that had like five six seven marks on their back including you a because you just said you don't have them anymore but you got you took a few i i took a few yeah no i nick i i love the idea that like some journalist is like going down through the locker rooms at the end of a game and is like looks like Ehlers has been doing some cupping uh yeah treatment after the game like no I just lost five ping pong games last night actually yeah what a professional guy there hey yeah yeah taking care of his body seriously hey if you had to give one guy if you had to say this guy top to bottom was the ping pong champ of the week who would it be the problem is it's one of my buddies and i don't want to give it to him yeah i get that i get that i get that he can't hear it yeah you know what chris i love i love that level of pettiness like that we got a chance to boost this guy up on the show no no i'm not gonna give it to him he started off really well and then he slowed down and then And, you know, I beat him a few times. So he was probably the best looking at, like, the full two weeks that we were there. He knows who it is when I'm talking about it. Is he responsible for any of the marks on your back? He is responsible for one of them. Yeah, fuck. But I also got him. So we're kind of. Okay. All right. Good. Good. Good. I love that. That makes me feel good. That makes me feel good, man. That's awesome. He's also the class clown. So he's old. So he had a hell of a trip, honestly. Yeah, this guy had the greatest two weeks of his life. I spend every summer with him back in Denmark. We live in the same city. Best guy ever. Like, he's the fun guy. But, yeah, Ping Pong, he was the champion. Yep. Yeah. I'm proud of him. Yeah, I'm proud of him. That's amazing. um all right well nick we don't want to take up too much of your time again we can't thank you enough for popping on but um just like to close it out to pump up the canes fans how how fired up are you to you know get back with the boys and you know like get obviously like fishy's coming back soon here and you got jarvie and slaveo coming back like you must be fired up to get back with the squad and get ripping oh absolutely um i mean i'm pretty excited about the the season that we've had so far. Obviously, we're in a good spot, but I think there's still a lot of games that we haven't been happy with the way that we've played and still somehow found a way to win, and obviously that's what's most important. But now that you get closer to the playoffs, you've got to start dialing in more and more and not play as many bad games. but I think that the way that we've you know battled and played and won games it's uh it's going to be an exciting last 25 games here before the playoffs start dude mad sprint mad sprint when everyone gets back to me oh yeah I know well it's going to be exciting man and we can't wait to cheer you on for it but uh thanks again for popping on dude like again taking the time out while you you got back like a day and a half ago you're a legend um but again uh we'll we'll see you again soon we'll have you on again soon and get the full thing going but um congrats again man what an unbelievable experience yeah it's unbelievable huge huge shout out to Nikolai Ehlers stud for team Denmark and Carolina Hurricanes now jumping back on this amazing team getting ready for a cup run fantastic stuff what a beauty dude what a beauty I had a blast with him dude he's so funny oh my god and and same deal same deal he was he was so authentic about what went down you know telling us the whole ride start to finish it was awesome hearing about the pride he has playing for his country and how fired up he's going to be in the fucking Stanley Cup playoffs for the fucking games like CP and I said we took a few days break here after the gold medal game needed a just a quick detox from the huge trip we logged offline we got off all the socials, let the algorithms, let all that take care of everything. We took a little reset and obviously we missed some stuff. So here we are to talk about it because we hear you all, we see the comments, we know these things are important to everybody and we always want to show care and appreciation with that stuff. We understand that this is super topical in the hockey space right now and it deserves some attention. The thing that comes to mind for us first and foremost is if you don't appreciate, respect, support, and champion this woman's team and female athletes in general, kick rocks. We got no time for you. And on top of that, and that being something that we've done on this show from the very beginning that is super important to us and that we're going to keep doing because it's awesome, we believe in our hearts from things that we've seen, things that we've heard, that we've witnessed personally, that this men's team loves and supports this woman's team. And we've seen a bunch of comments already since everything went down from a lot of the guys. And hopefully we continue to see more and we continue to see the love and support that they've shown, like going to the games, sharing posts, sharing moments and texts and talking to each other, all those stories. That's great shit. That's what we need more of. And that's what we want more of. And we're excited and hopeful to see more of it because that is what is important. so again for us it's it's a matter of what these women accomplished is so incredible and you know we were so fortunate to be able to go there and witness that game be there in person watching these friends and and people we admire and i've had the pleasure to speak to achieve this lifelong dream and that's something that we just want to see that love and positivity more and this is an encouragement to everyone yes it's like get come on fucking board man like this is what it's all about watching these incredible groups of people do these remarkable things and championing it that is that is of the utmost importance to us yeah if you if you are not supporting women's hockey this women's team you have a dump in your pants it's that simple facts we know a ton of these guys personally, I believe that they support this team very much. We support this team very much. It's not a hard concept. And I also want to add, and I know we're not doing the politics thing, but just zoom out for a second. If you don't think it's fucking awesome that the U.S. women and the U.S. men's hockey team traveled to Milan and both won gold medals together, that is awesome. And I hate to think that it will be tarnished at all for either of those groups. this amazing accomplishment, because that's what it fucking was. We got the lucky privilege and honor of being there. And there are two experiences that I will never forget for the rest of my fucking life. It was exactly. It was amazing. And, you know, we always like to say the only thing that we can control gang is ourselves, is our actions, is how we treat people, how we respond to things and how we champion things. And that is why we are going to continue to boost up these ladies and boost up all of the people that we respect and love and support. And we've been doing that from the start of the show. We're going to keep doing it. And we can't fucking wait to keep doing it because they're awesome. We've been reaching out to these girls, getting them on the show soon here, hopefully, so they can tell all their amazing stories and the experience because that's what people want to hear. So that's the response from us is what we can control is what we do and what we're going to continue to do. And that is fucking boost up these amazing people and keep giving them whatever platform we can to shine because that's exactly what they do. And we encourage everyone to do the exact same thing. And especially the US, man, this moment, this opportunity here of being in the Olympics, one of the coolest things in the world where sports can bring us all together. let's learn from this and just let the positivity let the support let the love and the championing of all these athletes and absolutely these women rise to the top because that's what's needed and that's what's the best that's that's the most fun thing that can come from this it's amazing yep and my closing thought on a little bit more personal level it was kind of a wild experience to come back from two days off and feel that we were completely caught up in an internet controversy And I just want to urge again for kindness and positivity. I feel that any anger should be placed in one direction and not another in this situation, not touching it neither here nor there. I encourage us, everybody, just one collective, inhale, exhale. Let's all take a breath and move forward in the nicest, most peaceful way possible. Yeah. It's like, let the boys take a couple of days off, guys. We love and appreciate everybody. And as we said a million times, we care, man. There's a reason we try to respond to everybody and put importance on as many things as we can because we do. We care so much. but um you know i think the boys maybe give us a little bit of grace to take a couple days off after a crazy trip we got to reset sometimes here so uh appreciate everyone who you know gave us the the the freedom to take a breather but um it's appreciated and uh as always we love you guys and we're just going to keep leading with love and positivity because that's what that's what this game is all about man like we we got to just keep pushing that stuff all right cp now let's get into milan let's close out this episode with just some of our favorite memories favorite moments and fun stuff okay um i had a running doc called italy observations because i've never did you've been to italy and i you know it's my first time so i was excited about just realizing some shit now we have a we have a combined list do you want me to do one first we can kind of go back and forth here i want you because you got you put all my stuff on the on the list too right yeah yeah you're always great at being a sherpa with this stuff so just bring up topics and then let's just chat shit about him for a few seconds and okay okay first one and we just we just saw a fucking incredible black lab at dinner oh my god guys i should tell you the picture of this fucking good boy he was sitting right next to me and he was staring at the food at the table right next to him he was so handsome he wasn't begging he wasn't begging No, no. He was just locked in. But he was so handsome. He was so shiny. He had such a perfect little box head. God damn it. I should go steal him. So we love a dog. I'll steal a dog anywhere. And this, I presume, was an Italy dog. Maybe not. Maybe Swiss. I don't know. Could have been on vacation. You know what? That's maybe my favorite part about seeing dogs abroad is remembering that they are from that country, too. When we're in Italy and we see a dog, I'm like, ciao. It speaks Italian. Buongiorno. like it's so funny that he's an italian dog one of my first observations was dogs are weird in italy they were every fucking dog it was like you see a dog would you see on the sidewalk and you come you turn the corner sidewalk and you like you were like oh my god i will say dogs were on their dogs were odd in italy there were some barky dogs in the park i like that they had isolated parks in milan where dogs could just you go and take them off leash they were fenced in but some of those dogs would then just like run up along the fence and bark at people walking by like crazy also did you notice there were a lot of big dogs like i'm talking like beethoven's type shit they're also like big shaggy dogs like it was some direwolf stuff going on here yes so that because i love a dog i normally want to go up to every dog i see and the dogs in italy i was like yo and i made me wonder we we had a whole we should find this again we had a whole what country has the most dogs debate and all this shit going on after this but it made me wonder yeah it's just shocker but it made me wonder if we really have our own dog culture. I didn't process that. I thought dogs were dogs in any country, but now I'm like, wow, we actually have our own dog culture. That's interesting. Yeah. I think American dogs meet Italian dogs and they're like, chill, dude. Well, it depends. If they meet American big city dogs, like LA and New York dogs, like little yappy dogs, I bet they'd be like, what are you, gluten-free? Fuck off. Yeah. Fuck off. Italian dogs. Go eat your matcha purina, bitch. oh my god okay um all right i've got a couple restaurants i'm going to do that right now um the we said this in some of our videos so you probably already heard this but the uh mid-afternoon siesta i know that's not italian but the the the lunch break every restaurant in italy opened 12 to 2 30 fucking closed and then open again for dinner that that threw a fucking monkey wrench in many of our plans. Let me tell you, when you're in Milan during the Winter Olympics and during like the prelim games and the games, the men's and the women's games, some of them start at 12. The first ones at 12, yeah. You don't get out of that rink and back into the city. You got like a little break. There's a four o'clock game, but a lot of it would be like, oh, I'm going to the seven o'clock game or I'm going to the nine o'clock game. You get out of that game at 12 and you're still jet lagged. You probably slept till 11. You didn't have time for a nice breakfast and a cappuccino. so you rolled right to the game you get out of that thing and you just want some food no no no no no you can't get any food because all of these places are closed from like four to seven earlier dude 233 233 yeah see you later yep so that was a tough window based on the game schedule and the just the ways of italy that was a very tough situation for us and part of me loved it because i was like good let the people go home see their families take a nap but then the the american in that needs everything whenever I want it. I was like, fucking go, come back to work. I will pay your salary. I need lunch. So that was crazy. And then did the other one. And this one I actually am so in on. It startled me the first few times, but now I'm so in on it. Of course, there are leisurely meals in this country. Of course. I knew that coming in. It's a long time. The courses come and whatever. But, dude, when you're done, at most of the restaurants, you just go up to the host and pay. You're like, hey, I'm done. And they go, okay. And then you just pay and leave. And that, at first, it was so confusing. We sat at a table for so long at one point being like, is this going to come and give us the check? This is insane. But once I got used to it, I was like, this is amazing because you just eat. And whenever you're done, you're like, all right, let's leave. It is nice. I will also say they're very not slow in an inattentive way. They're slow in a very relaxed way about bringing your next course or like clearing your plate or whatever. And it just reminded me how fucking bad. And don't cry for me, Argentina. I'm not sitting here complaining. I was just in Milan for three weeks. I just want to go on a fucking actual real vacation sometime soon. Everywhere we go, we're just working. And it's like what we just said. It's like you got to get to a game. You got to go to get to record. You got to go get to this meeting. And I feel like we're always Russian. And the idea of being in Italy with people you love and sitting down and having like a four hour dinner. So dope. It's so fucking nice. And it's also a reminder for me. I don't know if anyone else in the States or in Canada feels this way. We eat too fast. I'm going to call out. I'm going to call out Gavin. I'm going to call out Gavin. Dr. Locke. this fucking kid inhales food it's like he will I will cook him a dinner I'll cook him a steak, sweet potatoes broccoli, he's getting better about the greens but I'll cook him dinner he will not speak to me as he just vacuum cleans the plate and then he goes dude that was gas and I'm like did you even enjoy it we gotta just eat slower put your fork down, hey it's a good lesson I got taught that a long time ago take a bite of your food, put your fork down Put your fork down. This changes the entire flow of dinner. Put your fork down. It truly does. It truly does. Okay, I got two rink things now, Dan. I thought the rink was lovely, by the way. We've said that a million times. The rink was great. I thought the rink was incredible. It was great. One, you know how they do, for people that have seen a hockey game before, they clean the snow off the ice. Oh, Chris, we talked about this last episode, pal. We did a whole segment on power breaks. Power breaks. It was hilarious. Power breaks were ridiculous. Not because they were doing them. It was just like, you got to fucking call it something different. um and then this one they let you walk to your seat whenever you pleased like if you went out to the palace or whatever so that you come back into a rink and anyone who's ever been to a hockey game knows that there's a person at the thing with a fucking little stop sign paddle it's like yeah puck in play bitch who don't know if the game is going and you're trying to walk back to your seat They make you wait for a stoppage so you're not walking through the seats trying to get to where yours is while the game's going on and people are trying to watch. They did not do that here. It was lawless. It was lawless. It's like fucking Canada power play. All the boys out there. And then someone's like, excuse me, excuse me, like walking down the fucking – and I'm like, what the fuck? Handful of mini Coronas. Yeah, the clawed of mini Coronas. And I'm like, yo, and what was even funnier, Dan, is when we would come back mid game from the bathroom or wherever, we would stop at the top if the puck was in play. Because we're like, well, we're going to wait because this is a society. And we would wait. And then the ushers would come up to us and go, excuse me, you can't stand here. You got to clear this area. And I'd be like, no, I am trying to help. I'm doing your job. Don't tell me to clear out. That was insane. And everybody, all the hockey people were dying about that. That was like the most common shirt I heard in Milan. Okay. All right. Now I got some car stuff, Dan. Okay. This is the first one. The second one's funnier. But the first one that got me when we got there is people just parking on the sidewalk. There's cars and then it's like a curve. And they would just bump the cars up. and then like, you know, parallel perpendicular park right down the sidewalk. And then I'd be like, it was trying to walk by and people were like getting, it was insane. Yeah, but it was great. I know, I know. We needed an LA. Just park on the sidewalk. That blew my mind. And then what actually fucked me up was driving on the fucking train tracks. Driving on the train tracks was wild. And I think maybe cities that have like a trolley system are more used to this. I'm not used to it. So it was wild when you would see, like you'd be in an Uber and there are train tracks, trolley tracks, subway tracks, whatever you want to call them, in like the next lane. And your Uber would just like turn into that lane as you drift down it. And I guess it's like if the lights aren't going, you can drive there. That must be the case. But it was, dude, if you were a few glasses of vino in and your Uber driver went on the tracks, you felt dangerous. You were like, oh, here we go. I also want to shout out the areas in the city where there was grass growing between the train tracks looked so pretty. It was a cool combination of it looked almost dystopian, like I Am Legend status, where it felt like the world was on pause for a little while, so grass was growing. But it makes sense that where the literal wheels of the train don't go, that grass would grow. It was nice. Yeah. I might start doing that in L.A., dude, driving on the train tracks when there's bad traffic. Just to see. Just to see. Just to see. Where are their train throws? Oh, buddy. You're talking about the metro. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Got it, got it, got it. Hundo P. This one, we need to steal 100%. I got two bar things now. Almost every bar we went to, the bathroom. Italy doesn't love a urinal, by the way. Wouldn't you agree? Like, there's a few, but most. I would agree with that. Yeah. I would agree with that. So most bathrooms, I'm at the toilet. There is literally a black circle on a wedge. here's the button that you just press with your foot to flush and i was like oh that is gas dude foot flush the foot flush how is that not everywhere dude that was fun to be that's a no-brainer got everywhere like what and that can't be that hard dan that would be like one day overhaul i kind of agree it also i will say it it takes you a while to find it on your yeah oh yeah first foot flush experience you're like where did how do i flush this dad i actually didn't even tell you this yet red's gonna die when he hears this um in the uh canada house there was two or two bathrooms and in one bathroom there was a uh flush up here yes yeah so i had been to that one and then later in the day i went to the other bathroom by the front and i there's a string here and i was like oh my god but on the side of the wall there's this arrow that says flush me and it was a press against the wall so clear they could not have been more clear but i just didn't look because i saw the cord so i just pull the cord and it's it was like i've fallen in emergency yeah it was an emergency i know and dude the guy then i see the thing i flush and but then a guy comes like keying into the bathroom because he's like this dude's gonna be upside down in the toilet and i was like this bonjour no that's odd be uh okay excuse us bars incredible uh also at a bar we had an incredible experience with hayley wins family holy hell man huge shout out if you were unfamiliar with Haley Wynn familiarize yourself absolute stud for this team and Haley's Haley Wynn's family rolled so fucking deep to these games I know fans of the U.S. women's team are going to know all about this situation but the whole family I'm talking siblings I'm talking uh sibling in-laws mom dad all the brothers everyone was there they started their own Instagram account they showed up to every game in costume they were wearing eagle rubber masks They had all of their, like, just the sickest custom-made shirts, hoodies, all this stuff. They were repping at every single game. They were so fun to hang with. But we had one bar night with them. Just like the most straight-up good class of people. And they were so fucking funny. They were so impossibly similar to our family. I know. And this is when was like I was like mom with so many of the things that she said. And they're just like, that was a good American family, man. And like they were all they were all so sweet and kind and just full of questions and curiosity and compliments and also fun. Holy they can. And it's absolute blast. They can throw them back. And it was so funny because they kept talking about it. They were like, God, we've been here for so long. We've been going. I'm so tired. I can't do this anymore. Another round. get negronis negronis and i was just like let's fucking go wins here we go they were incredible had so much fun with them yeah that was fucking electric that was my favorite night of the trip favorite night of the trip um gotta shout out another bar while we're at it yes football pub we told a fun story about the football pub in our first usa game experience trying to watch we hosted our little meetup at the football pub uh went to watch a chelsea game the chelsea game was not on. So instead we watched an Ireland, England rugby rugby and then six nations awesome people. That was the most eclectic meetup of all time. People from all over. Friends of friends, which was shocking. We had some students abroad. We had some local Italians. We had some we had a ton of a paradox, a paradox beer leaguer on the road. That's right. We had a ton of Slovakians there a few a couple of french fans could not believe there were a couple french fans who listen to netters but a couple awesome homies but it was a great spot in the football pub really came through for us so that was huge massive shout out okay three airbnb things incredible airbnb by the way uh probably the best we've ever had on the road right that was a home away from home i loved that spot um they there was you know there's always like a few things in the airbnb we were going through they had like six full packages of those cookies that you get on delta flights oh biscoffs dude biscoffs and hey we think it's called we made quick work of them buddy i think i think i think it's called a lotus cookie so like for uh for everyone listening so this airbnb was stocked as far as stocked with um paper towels there were some good spices there had all the you know plates knives uh um glasses we had a uh laundry detergent dish detergent like it was it was fully stocked but food no there there was like some olive oil and ball and and vinegar and that's to be expected in italy but um we opened one cabinet and they've got a fucking army ration supply of um nespresso cappuccino pots yeah red red probably had fucking nine of those a day and then they also had a massive container filled with those biscoff lotus cookies like sleeves of them dude buddy i i was deleting those fucking things i don't even drink coffee i get home late night fucking see you buddy late night it was just like the couple of nights off that we had i would make cups of tea and i i must have eaten fucking 12 of those in a sitting it was unbelievable you had to get them away from me i know i'm gonna stock my house with those it's amazing uh the two other airbnb stories that i have um one we had a washer dryer in our place which is do red first do red first because this is do red first yeah i think the red one is funnier okay okay for the for the end uh we have a washer dryer in our place which is rare in italy and we're in this beautiful little like plaza of different apartments and um we're it's it's probably 3 p.m in it one afternoon one of our few afternoons off and we're doing some laundry because again we were there for like three weeks we're sitting there watching how to lose a guy in 10 days and there's a knock on our window yeah the window oh yeah and i go over and i open the window and it's this lovely italian man he's looking at me and he's gesturing he's being an italian yeah gesturing yeah yeah why not and i was like oh i'm sorry just just english excuse excuse just english and he goes what is this noise and i was like uh oh the we're washing clothes and he was like it's all night all day ba-boom ba-boom ba-boom can you move it and i was like can i move the washer dryer what do you think this is dude a vacuum i couldn't believe do you know how dryers work clearly not because no one has them in italy but it was so funny i was like i go no i can turn it off do you want me to turn it off is 3 p.m. on like a Saturday. And he was like, please. And I was like, okay. So we turned it off, but I was like, when would you like me to use the washer dryer, my friend? And also, it just wasn't that loud. So I could barely hear it in the house. He was in another house. It took me a second to figure out what he was talking about. That's how quiet it was. It must be like, boom, boom, boom. Can you move it? What a fun, funny experience with our Italian neighbor. But that goes perfectly into this issue because clearly the walls in this apartment complex are paper finn because god bless him man redman our our boy on the road you all know hopefully you all know red at this point red is red sleeps like three hours a night he's a vampire i don't know what the fuck his deal is but he wakes up so early and he is truly the greatest roommate house guest you could ever imagine because like he just cleans the house he wakes up he wakes up and he cleans he's a house elf and he's also on it with the dishwasher like he he is putting shit in that dishwasher every five seconds he is a he is a stubborn american dad's nightmare wasting the or running up the water bill with how much he runs that dishwasher but he runs it every night and for god knows what reason because given the fact that he runs it every night he's washing like three glasses and two plates a day there are plenty of mugs glasses whatever he may need but he wakes he would wake up every fucking morning and the kitchen which was connected to my bedroom he would then proceed to unload the dishwasher and stack the the plates and glasses as loud as humanly fucking possible and wake me up every single morning and because he was doing something so great for us i never said a word but every morning when i woke up to hearing the clanking and clunking of plates and cups i was like could you do it at any other time literally at any other time could you fucking do this and again i probably should have said something i didn't because he was doing a great thing and I wanted to be appreciative, but it was hysterical. I was like, what is happening right now? So good. Absolutely amazing. Okay, after the final, we had a hell of a night celebrating with the team. Yeah, well, first and foremost, you know, before we tell this and close up here, huge shout out to Hockey Canada, Ice Palazzo, everyone there who made us feel so welcome. You know, we're a couple of Yanks and they welcomed us in, showed us a great time. They were so hospitable and so amazing. So, so much love to everyone there. And then so much love to everyone at Winter House, the USA House that obviously let us in a number of times to watch some games. And then at the post-game celebration, just like the best people in the world. And it just goes to show how great the game is right now with all these amazing people in Hockey Canada and then USA Hockey. It's just so cool. Two more. I was going to do thank yous at the end, but since you started them, two more. NHL and NBC hosted an incredible party. invited us to that and that was some of the best food i've ever had ever there was fucking dan we are lobster snobs there was incredible lobster at that point it was very good lobster um and that venue was fucking sick like i don't even know that was like some castle like sanctuary yeah and they like walked us down this cool path it was a kind of secret yeah it felt yeah it was pretty pretty and then um our friends at bauer the bauer event uh was was also in a palace where Napoleon lived. We actually stole Napoleon. But huge thank you to Bauer. That was amazing. You're so dumb. Why would you ever? You think Napoleon doesn't have guys still? You think he doesn't have people still? You're an idiot. God. Okay, huge thank you to Bauer. Huge thank you to NHL NBC. Okay, do start the boys thing. I have the boys thing and then a couple skiing things. Well, no. save the skiing stuff and i want this in the pod save the skiing stuff because top next week we're going to tell some skiing stories because i have some fucking shit to say okay i'm gonna i'm gonna i'm gonna highlight these and move them highlight so do i bro ski talk ski talk is for next week's episode okay okay first first listen it was just it was so amazing um being a young kid playing hockey, you always think about these moments. And being from the US, I've never lived through this, guys. Obviously, I've been blessed to see the women win gold a number of times. We've not seen the men ever win in our lifetime. So to see that moment and to share it with people that we call friends and people we have so much love for was very, very special. And I'm very appreciative of that. And I know some people have seen it, but we walked in to that place and walking in the door and seeing Sway and just like immediate like tears in both of our eyes and seeing his family. And, you know, he put that gold medal around my neck immediately. And it was funny because as he was doing it, I was pretty like, no, what are you doing? I was like, wait, this isn't the cup. I'm OK with this. That's heavy as hell. Dude, it was so heavy, bro. and it was funny because i had the same reaction where i'm like i don't want to i don't want to touch the cup or at least at the ones we've been to like if sway wins the kings win you know but at these moments i'm like no no this is yours i didn't do anything for that but he was like yo you want to hold this gold medal and i was like fuck yes i want to hold that that was fucking awesome yeah it was really cool again like we we you know we're going to keep most things in how just from like it was you know special moments they should they should remain there um but we just had a bunch of moments with with the the hughes boys matthew and brady obviously stars of the show at all times um there was a moment with uh larks he uh took his gold medal off and put it around me but it was tangled with his like credential so we were just like connected and like fully lady in the trapping like we were like kind of spitting like trying to figure it out and then we just started fucking dying laughing that was amazing uh when he had the boom box up and he He was on the aux for a while. And at one point, he goes, I got a great one next and just put on the national anthem. And it was at one point, like, nobody, like, the party was kind of rocking. And then everyone was like, oh, anthem. And then him and I were just kind of standing there arm in arm, like, belting the national anthem until everyone got on board. It's like, perfect. No notes. Sweetest. But for me, man, like, you know, not to get too soft, as I always do, it was so incredible seeing all the families, specifically the moms. Like seeing Ellen and, you know, getting to obviously like Sway's stepmom and seeing Charlie's parents and Big Walt and just like the pride and tears of joy in all of their eyes. Seeing the sisters and the brothers and witnessing their family members, their sons, their brothers, whatever. Experiencing the lifelong dream. Like, I know these guys, they dream of winning a Stanley Cup. But truly, man, I think many of us, when you start playing in the driveway, you think about playing for Team USA. And seeing all the families, seeing them experience that, that was so heartwarming. Again, I just think about our mom, like, fucking waking up at 5 in the morning, driving us to practice every single day. And now she has to watch her two idiot sons on a podcast. God fucking bless her. but seeing seeing these parents looking at their kids and it was again it was the same um with with with the women was seeing them uh uh celebrate and all their like we just talked about the the win family like seeing all of those parents like looking at their kids and looking like kids because like they were all just celebrating so happy that was so fucking cool so special there were some epic moments with Rizzo. Michael Ruzzioni was there. Seeing him talk to Jack Hughes and just being like, wow, you know, that's an incredible moment. Very cool. Seeing him hold the gold medal. I think maybe it was Lark's put it in Rizzo's hand. And Rizzo, I was right there and he got, he killed it. He was like, it's heavier than ours was. And I was like, oh my God, dude, it's so sick. So just like really special moments like that. And then on a personal level, did i got to talk to kyle connor who i've never met but have loved from afar for so long and i i pulled i actually was like fangirl like i wouldn't talk to him and then finally he walked by me one more time and i was like kyle sorry just wanted to say what's up huge fan he was he couldn't have been nicer couldn't have been nicer we'll get him on someday yeah that was special stuff but listen um we'll obviously get get more content and posts going but um what a what an amazing trip again we'll we'll tell more stories and talk more about it but uh end of the day folks the U.S. women and the U.S. men went over to Italy for the Olympic Games and they both came home with gold and that is something truly incredible and worth celebrating and we're fired up for them both. It's fantastic. So that will wrap it up for this episode. CP and I got to catch a couple of trains and then a few planes to get back so we can get in studio to keep ripping it up for all of you guys. Have an amazing, safe, fun and happy weekend. Enjoy some hockey. The NHL is back. The P-Dub is back soon. consume it all love it all and until we see you next episode do what the u.s women and the u.s men do always skate hard