Did The Panarin Trade Save The Kings Season w/ Bayne Pettinger

Welcome to the empty netters podcast. Can you believe what this has become? There's a full 48 hours right? I felt like I was like literally Superman. Jumbo loves playing Fortnite so... Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's on the stick. Did TR show you the son of Cycle? No, I invented that. Almost a year now that I haven't taken a body check. That's kind of nice. I 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 Bet MGM. I'm your host Dan Powers over here on the sticks. He's happy because the penguins are on a heater. They haven't walked in. Hi, wait, wait, wait, it helped me as a homer for the past. People need to know. They need to know. People need to know. And over here to my left, he's happy because his knees stop making noise. His knees stop making that weird clicking noise every time he gets out of bed. Did they? As always. I've actually found a new morning routine. Okay. It's five minutes. Do it every morning. It's a lot of twisting, a lot of bending. And I don't know if it works. It's actually true. Are you actually doing that? No, I swear to God. Sandra thinks it's the dumbest thing she's ever seen in her life. So you're actually waking up every morning and doing stretches. I've been doing, I wouldn't call them stretches. I call them jumping. You're jumping? Yep. It's good for your lymph nodes. Yeah. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Boom, boom, boom. You know about this? What? Yeah, lymph nodes. Like, move them around. So like, get up and jump. Or like, well, like if you like, go hard down on your heels, it like gives your lymph nodes a little drainage. Interesting. Yeah. I feel like I've been, I've been seeing a lot of stuff about guashas recently with the lymph nodes. Yeah, I feel like that fluid. Yeah. People are like, don't buy a guashas. I use your fingers. They're natural guashas. And you just like, do stuff like this. I'm like, like, drain it out. No, but guashas are better. And it looks... You changed. So listen. What the hell happened? We... I bet you're thinking... Chris looks different than the intro of the episode. What's going on? You'd be right. Do you look different, too? Oh, yeah, yeah, there we go. I do now, bro. Yeah. So we recorded, we remind in our business, we're making thumbnails, we're working, we're working our buns off. And then some breaking news. And then... Who tweeted it? Chefty. Shifter. Holy shifter. Like, what the fuck? Unbelievable. We got shifter up in the biz now. This is crazy. So we literally ran from there to here. I'm acquiring this information as we speak. So we're doing... We're doing it just a quick insert of breaking news. Yeah. Because we couldn't have this episode come out without talking about the biggest news of Wednesday. Our Tammy Penaeran, traded from the New York Rangers to the LA Kings. Here are the full details for you. Okay. Penaeran to the Kings. 50% retain. Yeah, we knew that though. We said that in that episode. Had to have. Yep. He signs a two year extension, 11 mil AAV. So like just kind of essentially just replaces the copie. So I've been like, it's way more than copie, but... Yeah, right. Either way, the Rangers get prospect Liam Greentree who is selected, I believe, 24th overall in the 2024 draft. A conditional 2026 third round pick, that becomes a second if LA wins one playoff series this year and a conditional 2028 fourth round pick. Huge, huge trade. And not the return, Rangers fans expected. Well, there was the... Who tweeted out those rumors, Elliot? About the sharks and the... Oh, I saw that on Shout out hockey news, but... Yeah. Or maybe it was Puck and Fire? I don't know. But, yeah, rumors were Rangers hit up the sharks and they were like, hey, you want Penaeran? Give us Will Smith and the sharks were like, lol, no. Then they went to the caps and they were like, give us Ryan Leonard and the caps were like, lol, no. So when you see that as a Rangers fan and you think, even though you got hung up on, when you see the names you were asking for to see what you got now, I understand why you're rattled. I mean, we already got... We've been getting a ton of text, we got a text from Shwiki that was like, who are big Rangers fans being like, make this make sense to me, dude. How is this okay? I'm here to tell you, this was pretty much... This was worse than I thought, but closer to what I thought than Rangers fans are thinking. Like we're here, right? I was expecting them to get in this. Rangers fans are expecting them to get in this and I'm telling you, you were only ever going to get this. Yeah. So you came in a little under for sure, but you were not getting... of some fucking young mega star back for your... For a dude who was leaving for free, period was leaving for free. Yeah. So he... Listen, it always sucks when this happens. You know what's ironic is this happened in favor of the Rangers with Patrick Kane years ago. Yes, Dan. Yes, Dan. Yes, Dan. Yes. Caner was like, I am leaving. I am not signing here. I'm on the way out and I only want to go to the Rangers. So the Rangers fleeced the hawks like it is what it is. Now this has kind of happened in return. Panarin has 57 points in 52 games, 19 goals. This is a... This is a good get for the Kings. Our Temmie Panarin is obviously a phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal player. He is also 34 years old, not that old, but an old. I mean, that's pretty old, dude. Yeah. Like you have what? Four years left. Not everyone's a vetskin. Not everyone's Balkan. Not everyone's crossbeard. But he's got the two year extension. Those are two good years in my mind. I would say... Not like, oh wow, he's dead. I'm like, you're going to get 80 points. I would say two good years, but I would say he's trending down. Sure. He went 90... He had his... In 82 games, his 2023 All Star year, 92 points, 29 goals. Then for the first time in his career, the next year in 2023, 24, 120 points in 82 games. Then last year, 89 in 80. Now this year, 57 in 52. He's playing at about the 85, 90 point pace. And I think he can give you two more 90s. Like even with your trending down, I'm like, I think he gives you two more 90s. So here's the question, maybe not on the Kings. Can he do that in Jim Hiller system? Yeah. So again, I like this trade for LA. They just got better. A lot better. This is a right shot power play specialist, the 29th ranked power play in the NHL for the LA Kings. That is about to go up. Like this guy's immediately on your top line. He's immediately on your power play. He's probably playing with Kuzmanko. Like there's a world because Manko gets way better because of this. This guy's going to make other people better. He's an insane playmaker. He's a great, great player. However, I feel like a big gripe with Kings fans has been they just trade all of their prospects. And like Liam Greentree is a good prospect. Like let's get into that first. Yes, please. Liam Greentree, two years ago, first, first round pick last season lit the OHL on fire with the Windsor Spitfires 49 goals 70 assists to 119 points. He is a big body. He's like six, two, six, three, 200 pound winger. He's got no two front teeth. He's like, he's a fucking bruiser already with an NHL body already. He's got a really all every report about him says he's got great high hockey IQ. He's a he's a he sees the ice. He's got great vision. And this is that's Alex to bring it shit to. Yes. Like you're scoring damn near 50 goals this year. He's got 23 goals, 22 assists, 45 points and 34 games, a little bit slower pace than last year. But like, he's a player. He's a fucking player. And I want to say to that, even though Greentree is in this like top 10 prospect that everyone's juicing over, he's the King's top ranked prospect. Like if you and and don't also forget, Pinarin was going to get to decide where I wanted to go. And he could really limit the Rangers on. If he said behind closed doors, I will literally only go there. Yeah. Then then you are screwed. And the best you can get is the best prospect they have. I'm not saying that's exactly what happened, but I'm saying if Pinarin provided a limited amount of landing spots, the best you can do is their best prospect, which Liam is in LA. So that's, you know, you get what you get. So going, I want to say to the Rangers fans out there, number one, this is good. As in your cell agree. Agreed. We were always going to sell Pinarin. We came into this day. It was sweepstakes day for Pinarin because they were like, he's being moved before the roster freeze. So we always knew this was going to happen. Liam Greentree is a great player. The idea of Liam Greentree playing on the wing, oh, a wing of gay parot in the future is it should be very, very exciting to Rangers fans. Yes. I would get fired up about that. A lot of people are going, I can't believe this return. This is a fleecing. How did they not get a first or at least a conditional first? I think this is what you talked about. Like that, I don't know that that was ever in the cards ever. At the end of the day, this is a 34 year old player on an expiring contract. He's a great player. Absolutely. All of what it is, I am personally shocked that there was 50% salary retention and there was an extension. Yeah. I thought this was a like, maybe he'll extend at the end of the year. Because Pinarin, Frank Sarevelli said this was the only team that really Pinarin's campus talked about. Pinarin likes big cities. Think about it. He was in Chicago. Obviously pitstop in Columbus, but then chooses the New York Rangers. Now he's choosing Los Angeles. It makes sense. He wants to be in a big city. But given that and given that the extension was in place, I am a little bit like, yeah, yikes. How do we not get a little bit more? But if LA somehow wins a, that's not so mean. If they win a first round series and you get a second round pick, it's not going to be the best second round pick. But if you get a second round pick and you get Liam Greentree at the end of the day, you're like, that's pretty good. Yeah, it's okay. It's an expiring player who had your nuts. That's it. He was like, I'm not resigning here and I'm only going to LA. Right. Exactly. That's what I'm saying. That's what it sounds like. If he went, I'm going to one team, you are fucked. And you know, you could say as a Rangers fan, like, come on, dude, we did right by you. Do us a solid and give us a five team list. So at least we can start a bidding war. If that didn't happen, then sucks to suck. This is the situation. And he, as you said, had your nuts. So he wants to play in LA. Yeah. Frank saying here to other teams were they've been preparing to offer neighborhood of four years, 11.75 mill. So like this is, and here's the thing, man, lot of shit talk on Ken Holland by a lot of people with so far what he's done or what he's not done with the Kings. This is a, this is a good trade. Yes. This is a win for the Kings. They just got better this year. Yeah. Come on. They didn't give up too much. Again, Liam is a great player, but like that conditional third and, and a future like who gives a fuck? Who gives a fuck about those? Um, ultimately, Liam Greentree was not making the Kings better this year. And the Kings are in win now mode. Like it's Copies last year. You're trying to get back in, or they, you know, they're currently have a playoff spot. They're out. They're just barely. Yeah, they're just barely in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, yeah, out by one point and you've got a game in hand on see how the fix is fucking. You want to win tonight? Yeah. Right now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and, and people are going to make moves. The Vegas Vegas, Garry got, um, Rasmus that like things are going to happen. Like, like, think about this. The, the Kings have played 54 games. They have 60 points. So 55 points just ahead of them in the wild card. Seattle with 61. So if you win your next game, you're, you're in playoffs. Uh, if you win your next two games, you're ahead of Utah. Anaheim has 56 games. So two more games. They only have 63 points. So you would be ahead of them. You would be third. And here's the crazy one. Edmonton has 64 points. And Vegas has 64 points. Edmonton has 57 games. Yeah. So give, give the Kings three games if they win those. They're at 66. They're ahead of Edmonton. Yep. Uh, so my two biggest final takeaways for this are one, um, the Kings have acquired Panarin, but also known of that none of their competitors acquired Panarin. If you wanted me, like he was such a haughty commodity. He was obviously getting moved, not maybe getting moved, obviously getting moved. So Panarin is going to go to some playoff team. Correct. It might as well be you. So that's what this was a big move for two reasons, both bolstering yourself and hurting everyone else. You're competing against. Yeah. Cause, cause you know, it was Colorado. It was Dallas. Like there were places where you're like, Jesus Christ, they about to add bread man. So you do, that's awesome. Second, uh, and it's, you know, I'm sure other teams were calling them for this exact reason too. This getting done pre Olympic break is so awesome because you were going to come back. If it hadn't got done for any teams, you'd come back. It's such a mad scramble to the deadline. Everyone's trying to get back in the flow of it. Then you trade for him. He's got to come over, try to find a place to live, try to meet everybody. All this bullshit in the, you know, in an absolute whirlwind. He is Russian. He is not going to the Olympics. I'm sure maybe he's got a little trip plan, but he can come here and chill for time. Good. Get in and out. Get, get, get, go try in and out, baby. Go do some. Get settled. You're actually so important for this moment. Oh, time. Come here. You were good. Rest up. Find a place to live. Everything's awesome. And then you're essentially taking a vacate. You should. You hit the ground running. Come to the South Bay, baby. I'm sure all the boys that are aren't at Olympics will be hitting him up. Any of them who's back in town will be like, dude, let's hang. Let's have beers, whatever. That is, you never get this in the NHL. And like you never get, because even if you don't, if you and if you trade before the deadline, the season's fucking going. So you're just, you're thrown in the mixer whenever it happens. This is for remoney, dude, that you just get to come hang out. Meet the boys, meet the city, everything's good. And then you hit the ground running. That's so true. Like he can come here basically going from the tonn of New York right now to Hermosa Beach. They'll probably sing you some block. They'll probably start looking at houses right away. Maybe he just takes Copies house, dude. Copies leave it. That would be sick. Maybe the greatest transfer of all time. Yeah. Yeah. That would be so sick. Fucking $30 million. Leave it furnished. Yeah. Um, I love this for Panarin. Uh, you know, it'll be, and you know what? I know a lot of Kings fans are like, dude, we need young players. We need, but like, like I've said, you've got young players. Like you've got talent. And frankly, this is a pretty cool feeling. Like you've got Copie, this amazing two way player, great, amazing playmaker who's leaving. And that was like a gutting like fucking Jesus. We're losing our captain. But now you get this insane playmaker leader guy who wear, you know, has worn letter. So I think there's, there's going to be a, uh, an element too for this team. It's like, fuck yeah, we got him for two more years. That's pretty sick. So we'll see. I think the big question is, does he, what does Jim Hiller do with this guy? This is a, this is, if I'm our Tammy Panarin and you look around the league at coaches who are great for your style of play, I'm not looking at Jim Hiller. Yep. So you wonder if Jim Hiller and his defense first, you know, like really boring, frankly, style of play is going to look at an R Tammy Panarin and what he can do to the power play, what he can do to just five V five hockey. And if he goes, great. This is a piece we needed. Now we can adjust a little bit. You would hope that you kind of have to because I think if those, you probably had hard conversations with Holland, go and do it. If I'm going to make a move like this, then you will act accordingly. Correct. Yeah. So fucking a huge, huge pickup, huge pickup. Now let's get back. Let's back to our regularly scheduled pod and we got a pretty sweet episode today too. Lots of nice, fun, hot ice to talk about. The professors are back. We got Bane Patinger on the pod to talk about his amazing story and also get hyped for Olympics, unbelievable stuff. Let's jump right in hot ice topics. I can't, I can't go another day on this pod without talking about Connor McDavid's player Tribune article. That is correct. That the players Tribune is a great, who started the players Tribune? I don't know, but it's LeBron. I may fuck, I hope not. It was wasn't it. I don't know. I vaguely remember that. I was just a teacher, but then I was like, that was it. It's my Derek Jeter. Oh, it was Jeter, okay. That checks out. It is also weird. It's the players Tribune would be something that LeBron would say he came up with with Jeter, but he let Jeter take it. LeBron would be like this. Oh yeah. I remember when DJ was talking about that and we said it would be a great idea and I wanted him to have it. I wanted him to be the first one to launch that. That's something LeBron would. Any time I see a player's Tribune article drop, I get fired up because it's always, it's always awesome every time. It does not miss. The players Tribune is Christopher Nolan. The hit rate is 100%. So then I saw a McDavid one and I was like, whoa, yeah, I cannot wait to read that. Then I went to read it and I kind of assumed it was going to be how proud I am to be Canadian and how excited I am to go to the Olympics. A lot of stuff which is in there, but it was so much cooler than that. I can't even wrap my brain around the emotions I'm feeling. I literally feel like I have just received my first boner and I'm going like, what is this? What is happening? That's how I currently feel about Conor McDavid and the Edmonton Olympics. It was. It was. Yeah. I mean, I've long said this. When Conor McDavid came into the NHL, I bought his rookie year All Star T-shirt. And I've loved him ever since. I, you know, being enamored with Florida over the last couple of years and loving the stuff that we get to do with that team. There's definitely a part of me that was like, this is so fun. I love seeing the cats win. Florida hockey. This, that, the other. But this fucking article was so brutal for me because a it was as someone who loves drama. We always talk about that on the show. We love drama. It is now clear that he will never leave Edmonton ever in a million years. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm saying that given that we like drama, there, no drama will come. It also means that we, we are all rooting for them now. Yeah. Like there's no, we've always said like, yeah, I want to say, I'm going to say, I'm going to see Connor and Leon and all those guys win a cup. But now it's like, I need, I need it. They have to. This man cut his bachelor party short because he was so pissed. That is like that. If that's not the most, you're the biggest fucking hockey guy I've ever seen in my life. I don't know what is. So we're now all rooting for them. But then also the way I read that and then was like, I am so fired up. As a Canadian, as a Canadian national, that's, that's how it made me feel. Reading what he said about like putting on the camera to Jersey and wanting to win for Canada, wanting to win for Edmonton. I was like, I am Canadian right now. And I'm like, fuck me. Like if I'm a member of Team USA and I read that player, she'd be in, I'm like, oh my fuck. Fuck. Um, not I want to spoil the Bain interview because he talks about this. Yeah. And it's easy to think that because these guys haven't been going to international tournaments, the Conor McDavid hasn't won something in so long. Yeah. You know, other than a billion individual trophies, but it was a really cool insight where he's like, I didn't won. I didn't think about that. Yeah. And I was like, oh, true. Truly, I didn't think about that. I mean, the best player and being like, I don't ever get to win. Yeah. Like he was like, oh, that was nuts. Like he was like, the lot, what was it? Like the last time he won was like, was a world junior? Um, yeah. Let's see. I'll find it. But yeah, he, he, he was like, I have not won anything in forever. And so he was like pulling on that sweater and winning at, at, uh, foreignations just made me like, oh, fuck yeah. And how sick was it when, um, he was like, uh, he called out like, do we, he's like, I'm looking across the room and just like, do we, and she just said, yeah, yeah, sit just chilling. And then also, I got to text him, shout out, but what a fucking name drop, Mac got. I'm not saying this, or he's like, I'm thrilled to be here. Like the very end dude, he's like, um, uh, Oh, man, on that sweater being in a room with the different generations of great players, sit and mate and celebrating and all those guys, I was like, Mac, well, fucking hell, yeah, that's got fucking 80 points. It was like, oh, oh, oh, yeah, shit, dude, that was fucking chills. Yeah, um, that was awesome. Uh, yeah, the, everything we said about Canada, agree, I was like, Jesus Christ and dude, I, and I know you are too. I am nothing will make me happy on earth and do you a so winning goal against this Canadian team, but holy shit. And I never been more scared in my life, truly of this Canadian team. Like, I don't know how you miss art. I don't know how you beat this team and this collection of human beings and, and just dude, if I were on team Canada and I read that player's Tribune article, I would be, I would be so fucking rock hard. I'd be walking around as if I accidentally, oh, did on a bottle of Viagra. And being like, someone will go, what's going on down there? And I'd go like this, I'm playing on a team with Connor McDavid in these Olympics. That's what's going, that's what's going. So I also want to say about the Euler stuff. I have two things, two more things I want to talk about. I'll start with the Euler stuff. Uh, I, you're right. I am now like, oh, okay, he is, he will die in Edmonton. He'll never leave for good or for bad. And I'm actually kind of even confused about the deal he just signed, considering what I know now to be true about him. I'm like, dude, why didn't you just take an eight year burger and be like, whatever, I'm never, I'm never leaving. I, yeah, I, I don't know, I don't know either. I think it was just maybe to, to give another year of, uh, better cap situation. Yeah, yeah, flex. Maybe potentially years he, he signs for 9.7. But this, this guy man is, he also just stuffed everyone in a locker. But, if that makes me a robot, then I'm a robot line. That was the next thing I'm talking about. Yeah. I, he, it's, it's felt like this dude has just been wanting to win a Stanley Cup for the last 10 years. And he's just been dealing with it left, right in center with the media, with the questions with this that. And he's just been seeing people go, oh, yeah, he doesn't like talking to us. This guy's a robot. He's, he's, he's boring. He's got mental issues. And he must just be going home to his lovely wife and being like, the fuck is wrong with everybody? I'm just trying to win here. I just love hockey. And then he got the taste, dude. Someone gave him a nice little taste to that black tar heroin that is winning. Yeah. And he was like, oh, baby. They losing the cup, obviously, but that probably only made it better because he was like, yeah, I won. I got that taste again. But then I also got the, the sting of losing. And I'm like, I liked the taste more. So they're coming in. I mean, I find, I'm shitting him. I'm shitting my bridges. If I'm Colorado Dallas, Minnesota right now. I'm Vegas right now. He had that one line where he goes, this room knows what it takes to elevate in playoffs. Yep. I'm like, you're, the entire central is now dead. The entire central has now been put to rest. Correct. Because the Pacific stinks and he, they're easily, easily making the Western conference finals. And then I, oh man, this can be tough series against the abs or Dallas. What? They don't give a flying fuck about the abs or Dallas or Minnesota. And everyone keeps forgetting a little man named Zach Hyman is back. He's healthy again. 38 games, 36 points, 22 goals. Like that dude was not playing in that final. Don't forget that very conveniently. So I'm in Florida. It's not going to make playoffs. There's no Florida standing in your way. Dude, that is very possible now. Like there it is. It is shaking Easton in Florida. So the, the, I just, it was actually funny because Connor goes, he kind of stuffed you in a locker being like, I hear all the fucking robot talk. Fuck you. But then he was also like this. Also I am a robot because I, all I care about is winning hockey games. And I was like, you know what? You're right. You, we shouldn't call you a robot, but actually we should because you are, but there's nothing wrong with that. Put it robot inclusivity. Put it this way, man. I am like you are, buy your ticket, buy your ticket to Edmonton right now because I'm, I am telling you, yeah, whatever the future is, whatever the future on the fucking oilers cop right now. Hammer it. If you hammer that. I want to smash right now a parlay of Canada winning gold and the Edmonton oilers winning Stanley Cup. Dude, because that, that player's Tribune article was essentially the sports all maniac from back to the future. That's what it was. David, McDavid consmouth oilers cup and Canada gold. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. McDavid Hart Canada gold. McDavid consmouth oilers cup. Put that in your pipe and fucking smoke it, dude. Smoke it. Smoke it and get higher. Dude, then we all, then we all go to the Bahamas with Connor after that. Correct. And we all go west. Hey, this is your cup celebration and your bachelor party. Yeah, you can't bring a robot to the beach. Oh, rust. Yeah, that's why he had to leave. Yeah. Yeah, he's like, 10 man. Stop it. You're doing, well, you're doing, you're making the mistake. No, no, this is what did this. He's finally eating him just true self here. Oh, it's the 2026 man. It's the year of Connor. I, I've never seen anything more clearly. And that article, if, if you're not, if you weren't already a Connor McDavid fan, if you're not now, I mean, I don't care. I don't even, I don't care what you have to say. So this is like, I'm just rooting hard. We're talking about him winning gold in Canada. Let's talk about team Canada. Anthony Sirelli is out, banged up, not going to be playing immediately. Sam Bennett goes in. We heard, you'll hear from Vayner, Cooper was desperate to get Sam Bennett. And that pumps me up because there were those awesome quotes, you know, I know I mentioned this later, but like those awesome quotes after four nations talking about Sam Bennett and Cooper was like, when I called Sam Bennett and told him like, you might not play that much, Ben, it was like, I don't give a fuck on doing it. That's a guy you want in the fox hole. For sure. Oh my God, dude, I think, again, we want spoiled this part of the Bayonidube because that was cool, but I'm, what I'm fascinated by the, dude, I would kill to have a dog. I mean, the dog release, that's the decision, the war room when they made the decisions for the Olympic rosters. Just because I'm like, there's so much speculation of, oh, this, of course, the Blues GM takes a blue, you know, and we're all just guessing, but I'm like, what happened? What was the actual conversations? And you know, teaser, but this was a really cool mini inside look at what goes on. I can't believe, cannot believe if John Cooper was pushing this hard for Bennett that he didn't make the team. Well, it just goes to shock the hard, the rosters. Yep. I am thrilled that he's on the team. I'm devastated for so long. All these injuries suck even in the beginning of the year we were saying the barcoff shit, every time one someone goes down, you're like, fuck, what about Olympics? This is damn near as close as it could have possibly happened. So it stings even worse. Yeah. Cause I'm sure Sirelli's like, everything's booked. His family's coming, you know, and then you're like, actually, I'm not going nightmare. So that sucks for him big time. I'm thrilled for Bennett. He's thrilled. He couldn't be happier to be there. For me, as if I needed anything else to be afraid of after that player should be an article as an American hockey fan, I think this team makes the team scarier personally. And that's not a knock on Sirelli at all. I'm just like, sanded in these moments. I'm like, get any time you can get the one of the most big game players in the league away from me in big moments. That's a win. And now here comes Sam Bennett, who scored in the gold medal game at four nation. You know what my favorite thing about Sam Bennett is this season? We said right off, we were like, Sam Bennett has to be on this team. And that's not oh, said that, remember? Yes. We were talking early. He was like, no way to Sam Bennett not make this. Yeah. It's not a knock on anyone. It's just a matter of like, he's just got to be on this team. Sam Bennett, everyone talked, everyone was going nuts about his slow start. He's on pace for a career year. Yep. He has 42 points in 55 games, 19 goals, 23 like he's just playing so well. So maybe he'd been playing a shitload of hockey over three of the last three years and just eased into the season. So it is like so fucking unfair. And USA would have this too, but it is so unfair that you lose a guy for team Cannon and go, oh, well, take Sam Bennett. You're like, what? What are you fucking? He wasn't here yet. Yeah, it's just crazy. It's I got a text from a buddy that was like Canada suffers a brutal injury. And then the team gets better. Yeah. And again, let's kind of what I mean. I'm not saying that because I think Ant is amazing. I think I think it's the best like, oh, you just lost a incredibly perfect piece of this team. You put in an incredibly perfect piece to this team and that's just, you're like, Jesus fucking Christ. So good. So yeah, that was a, that is an embarrassment of riches. Yeah. Listen, I'll say this though to your question before we move on. You asked, does USA feel more scared? I think there is an element of the, the IHF difference that fair, fair. You know, I don't think Benny in the Olympics is going to be able to maybe be as much of a pest. He's not going to be donkey punching mullies or, or, you know, fighting anybody. But I think you can still just be a thorn in your side. And this is what we always say. And this is why you got to put him on your team. We talked to him when he came on the pod this past summer. He might be, he might be one of the top five big game players in the NHL. That's what's about to start like this guy just elevates every single playoffs, every single that's why he wins cons might. So I think from that standpoint, not just USA, any team going up against them, you're like, fuck, I hate that this dude's here because he just knows how to play in the big game. Dude, the narrative is like, oh, he's going to, you know, punch people that I'm like, actually, what he's going to do is score in four nations gold medal. He's going to score a billion goals in the final and win cons might. He's going to level somebody. Yeah. He's then going to pick up the puck, go down the ice and dipsy, doodle, dangle, sash, gold moment. Yeah. That's that's what he's going to do. Yeah. That's epic. Yeah. So sorry, Ant, get well soon. Yep. Win yourself a cup. Yep. Be all right. Bennett. Let's go. See you in a lot. Yeah. I brought this up to you the other day. And I just want, I just looked it up just because I was curious. Yeah. The, I forget where did I say that on one of the pods? I said it to Bainer. Okay. But I was like, I wish, I almost wish the Olympic roster selection was based on points. Like literally, like the, like the, you had the right, others what I said, I was saying the rider cup and golf goes six of the picks are just the top point scores in golf. Like who's playing well this year? So even if you're a mega star, if you're having a bad year, you're like, you didn't make the rider cup team. Sorry. It's literally a point system. And I was like, it would be cool to see what the roster would be like if they were just taking, because, because five of the top 10 American scores are not on the team. Right. I heard it was like that the roster building was more about like toughness, maybe for the Americans and everybody's kind of going like, why are we not going for skill and score, you know, scoring it? And it's with the discussion that we keep having is Miracle, the Miracle team poisoned USA hockey's brains permanently. And it's the reason it's the last time the US won a gold in the Olympics and hockey in men's hockey. And it is because that was a time where the skill could not match up to other teams. They could not match up to the Soviets, could not match up to Canada. So it was, we got to beat them with toughness and with endurance and skating and this and that. But now the skill can match up and yet we're still not building the roster. Yeah, you're prioritizing that underdog storyline. Yes. It's like, we got to beat them with toughness and I'm like, or check this out. They win gold every year with skill. Yeah. We have skill now. What if we try to use that? It's very interesting that we still don't do it. Yeah. So I just, I didn't do D because I kind of unfair to do like points for defensemen because I'm like, some guys you are adding because you're like, you're a great defenseman. But the 14 four or so you are prejudiced against D you are a fucking prick. Fuck D. There's a deer ratio, man. So it's like here we go again. No one talking about D. I actually think we should have brought 22 forwards. I bet you do. And just like you just you've got no goalies. Yeah, scumbag 80 to 40. Yeah. This guy doesn't care about D at all. Top 14 score is on, stop 14 Canadian scores in the league as of yesterday. David on the team, Nate on the team, Mack on the team, Shifle, not on the team, Suzuki on the team, Sid on the team, Wyatt, not on the team, Mariner on the team, Stone on the team, TK, not on the team, Reiner on the team, Badard, not on the team, Pagel on the team, O'Reilly, not on the team. Geeky missed by one point. It's like, damn, that's crazy that Geeky isn't, I mean, he's scoring so many goals. I know. He's on his fucking Austin Matthew shit. So that looking at that team, Dan, you're not like, this is terrible. You know, like I think you go, fuck, like we're missing marshy. You know, Bennett ended up getting at it, but you're missing Bennett. You're missing a Tom Wilson. You're missing a Bohorah, Matt. But I'm like, I don't think anyone has any problem taking this team to Italy. And so yeah, I mean, that team is fantastic. That's why we said they could, they could, they could ice two teams. I can't believe how impressed I am with Reiner on Reilly. I'm saying, Reiner O'Reilly is ripple check that. Yeah, I was like, Reiner O'Reilly has 53 points in 55 games, I think, 20 goals. With really? I mean, this is a guy who was in the lock, this is a guy who was in the locker room earlier this year being like, I suck, we suck. Everything's falling apart. And he's just having a great fucking year. He might get dealt at the deadline and get Nashville a fucking hefty piece back. That'd be really cool. You're telling me based on points alone with how many forwards did we just do? 14, 14, 14, 14 Canadian scores. 14 Canadian scores in the Leetsies in there. Yeah, it's like, she. She is. So yeah, you're missing Bennett, Horvath, Marci Tom Wilson. And Marci's slowed. And you'll see this more on the American side, but injuries is a factor. Like I almost would argue if I were to actually push this to the boards, it would be point per game. Point per game instead of. Yeah. Cause Marci has 50 points in 45 games. Exactly. I'm like, oh, you would have, you should be in there. Yeah. So like Brad Martian, you fucking beauty. 25 goals, 25 assists. Amaze. 55 burgers, 55 fries, 55 shakes. God, I love that show. Oh, wait, what do we need to make a reference to every episode again? Oh, yeah. Oh, draft day. Draft day. Yeah, okay. I'm going to do split screens. Yeah. Brad, guys just keep that under your ass. I bet John Cooper had a slip of paper that said, sand, Bennett, no matter what. Cool. Does that count? We did it. He's a little afraid. USA forwards. Jack Ikel on the team, Robo off the team, Kyle Connor on the team, Jake Gensel on the team, Matt Boldy on the team, Paige Thompson on the team, Cole Coffield off the team to bring it off the team, Keller on the team, Schmaltz, off the team, Larkin on the team, the bath off the team, cutter off the team and then tied for the 14, with the same amount of points, Matthews Brock, Tuck Zegress on the team off the team off the team off the team. Oh, sorry, but yeah, sorry. Matt made it, made it, missed, missed. Missing, depending on which way you go on 14, Matthews, Matthew Kuchuck, Braden Juck, Jack Hingry, and then JTVini. That's it. But you said JTVini Brock. Well, because I was like, it depends on who you put on. Like if I say you made it, then Brock is missing. Yeah. If I say Brock made it, Matthews is missing. Oh, I got you, got you, got you. It depends on who get that 14 spot. Yeah, so this one would be a little crazier if they were like this. Matthew Kuchuck, Brady Kuchuck, Jack Hughes, and Austin Matthews aren't on the team. And I'd be like, well, I don't like the system anymore. Well, you need those grinders. You got to have role players. It is an interesting exercise to be like, why this isn't a lifetime achievement award. This is like, who is firing right now? Like, who are we bringing to Italy right now? Because they're playing great. And I'm like, there's a ton of guys on this list, too. But I'm like, they're playing better than our mega stars. And I'm like, can you elevate your game? Yes, probably. But I just think there's something, too. Like, oh, could we have not used Morgan Geeky's 40 fucking goals? I, yeah, it's probably. The US is just so confusing. I know. Can I ask a question? Yeah. Do we have faith in Mike Sullivan here? That's tough talk coming from you, too. So. That is tough talk. Yeah, because the Rangers have not been great. And I just don't know going into that if you're a player looking at what he's been doing. And I'm nothing against him. And I think he's a great coach. But like, it is a streaky game, not just for players, but for coaches as well, you know, and there's an aura around that. I mean, we talk all the time about, yeah, it's funny that you're like, Mike Sullivan, you're the Rangers are in dead last place. Let's get you behind the bench here. And then also it's like, J.T. Miller has destroyed two franchises in 12 months. And they're like, put him on the team. Like, dude, okay. And I, you know, whatever, but that is, that's a tough look. Yeah. So, yeah, it is funny that the connox are last in the West and the Rangers are last in the East. It's JT. I'm not saying, I'm not saying, and I'm just saying the facts. He was on both those days. Hey, they're saving it up for the Olympics. Don't worry. That's why they're not there. Sure. Yeah. I think we need to US hockey. Listen, USL all the way. You would say. But this will be interesting, Dan. If things in these games don't go well, I think maybe it's time to reassess what we do. If this is a USA, Canada final, USA loses a tight one. Nothing will happen. But if the USA crashes out in the quarterfinals here or something, I think there will be a hard look. I also think, what do you guys think about this? I think hockey, international hockey, should be treated like soccer. That we have international breaks. Relax. In that we have international breaks where the international teams play, just like friendly matches. They should have specific coaches. I bet there's probably not the financing for that. That's why they don't do it. But I think it's dumb. Or not dumb. But I think it's interesting how Mike Sullivan is the coach. John Cooper is the coach and they're also the coach of NHL coach. There should be a USA hockey coach. That would be sick. And also with the amount of fucking do's I play, you pay USA hockey to play beer league, there's certainly a budget. I'm paying your salary. Jesus Christ. So there's certainly a budget that would be sick. And Dan, it would just be so tough. If Lycan soccer, we're doing an international break. And then guys get hurt. Flying for that would be tough. And it was crazy in the Miracle doc to hear that those guys played 60 games. That was the guy that was crazy. Have you watched zero? Yeah, I watched, I kind of watched it while I was working, but yes, I watched most of it. I couldn't fucking believe that. 60 games before the Olympics started. I'm like, play the full NHL team. This group of guys played at NHL season together. No wonder they won. They coalesced. Yeah. Fucking Christ dude. These guys don't play together. No. Like they show up and they go go play Lafayette. Yeah, because it's a chemistry, right? It's like you got to find the chemistry. Yeah, it's not a lot of time. Believe it. Crazy. First thing when you're in Italy, isn't the ring cup there messed up? It's tiny. It's small, right? Isn't there supposed to be bigger, right? Yeah. Yeah. Four feet. So I think I saw it. What the hell? Maybe I did I dream this? Yes. No, I didn't. I didn't dream it. I saw a video of like a Zamboni going around the ring. It looks great. They got a jumbo tron. He hit the walkipit in the wall. No. It looked great. It looks fresh. I'm telling you guys, you got to be careful up there. Yes. I know. No lean on railings. It's going to be tough. I know. I know. It's bleeds too. Yeah. You're going to. Blue, blue, the model home. Oh, shit. We're going to be up there. You stand up too fast to celebrate a goal. All of a sudden you're going to feel everything shaking. I need you wearing a harness like sting coming down from the rafters. Yes. W style. Could you imagine if the ring collapsed that I don't even want to say that. No. Let's not put that in here. We're not going to say it. Okay. So I go out the penguins before we move on. Yes. This team, especially with Ev here, deserves. A quick highlight before we get into all Olympics all the time. Shike, can I put my homer hat on? Put your homer head on. Please, please, please. That is a sick hat. Thank you. Yes. Sometimes people see it at first and are like, where'd you serve? And I'm like, oh, wait, look at the top. It's the igloo. Yeah. Yeah. Consul energy center. Or now I guess it's PPG pain. That's fucking awesome. Anyway. Okay. So the penguins. I don't. I don't have a clue what's happening. Because dude, they cannot, could not in the past, keep the puck out of them. That's last year's, that's been the real downfall. And plus 20 gold if for their team eighth in the league this year. With then that's a sturdy number. That's fantastic. They've got great splits, 13, 8, 7 at home, 15, 7 and 5 on the road. Yeah. And keep in mind, they are comfortably right now in a, not comfortably, but they are, you know, in a playoff spot, in a lock playoff spot. Well going one and seven in OT shootouts this year. They're just incredible. That's so many points. So they have, Krosbe, Malkin, Latang is, when he's healthy, usually good at the shootout. And somehow they, they biff it. Every time. Always. So they started hot and we had a blast. I was like, oh wow, because dude, I don't need to say this again, but I was banging the drum of like trade said, trade said, trade said this sucks. They started hot and I went, oh wow. I want him to stay if you're going to make playoff and be fun. And then they dipped pretty bad. And then they dipped so bad that I was like, this is exactly everyone's worst fear. Oh, we just missed playoffs again, but we were too close to trade said and whatever. And I was like, God damn you. God damn you Pittsburgh. And now a levin two and two in January. And they're nasty. And it's, you know what's crazy that's happening is like, let's, let's, let me pull up the penguins. Stats here because this team is, they're doing things that I find very reminiscent of teams of the past. But it's like, Sid is leading with 59 points, Gino 43 and 40. And like you've got Manta with 20 goals, Rust with 19. He's about to have 20. And then there's guys like fucking Justin Brasow. Yup, few cooler stories in the league than Justin Brasow. He gets his first looks in Boston when he was like 25, 26. He's a stick on the first unbelievable. But now it's like, here he is, dude. He's got 27 points in 41 games like this is a guy. Wow, I've done that twice today. This is a guy who's going to have 20 goals in the NHL this season. That's fucking amazing, but that's what said does. And I'm not even saying they play together that much, but it's just being around him. It's the aura. All of a sudden Brasow is like, I'm a 20 goal guy in the NHL. Yeah, that'll get you on a fucking roster. And he's young. So it's like, he's just going to get better. But it's like this, I don't get it. This team. And I say I don't get it in a, in a good way, a fun way. Sid's got 27 goals, Manta 20, Rust 19, Brasow 15, Gino 13, Duar 13. Like they might have six 20 goal scorers this year. And that's like that Boston team that won the cup. They had five or six 20 goal scorers. Those things kind of matter in playoffs. Yeah, compared to maybe the Boston team in 2023 when it's like, or maybe it was whatever, one of these years recently where it's like, David Postranack has 150 fucking points. And he's your best player by a mile and his scores every goal. Yeah. And then you get in playoffs and it's like, hey, shut him down a little bit. And then the team really struggles. It's when you can spread that scoring around that it's awesome. I just hope that, because Kyle Dubas has done a pretty good job of making some good trades with fixing the goal tending. And Chenekov coming in, having that, you know, Russian thing going on with Malcolm. Oh, yeah. They're, they're just firing. He's playing well with them. I know. I think he, he, Malcolm for him, he's like, like a Mad Max, for your roadblood bag. It's like he's getting more energy from his Russian buddy, you know. Hook him up. Hook him up. It's true. But I, but my fear is because it was like, what are we going to do? We're going to build for the future. Correct. How do you do that when Sid, Malk and Latang all want to do the extended farewell tour? Yeah. Which is like, how many seasons is that going to go? Because you really can't rebuild until they're out. Yep. Correct. But then they're looking at the season going well, we're better than we thought we'd be. I just hope he doesn't make some, try to do some big ass trade at the deadline because it's like, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Don't be a buyer, you mean like you don't want to bring in someone. I think if they want to do like one solid defenseman right handed, maybe because Latang gets injured a lot and he's out and who knows? I mean, we have the Olympic break, but he might still be out. Carlson's really streaky. He could be greater terrible. Oh, yeah. So like get one good solid right handed defenseman. Don't go for some like, remember when. Well, those don't exist in the end. Well, that's true. Yeah, they're kind of. Remember in 2013 when they went and got a Genla, crank shaft. Yeah, right after Boston. Moro and we got to the Eastern Conference Finals and we scored two goals. We got our asses handed to us in four games by the Bruins. Yeah. And I was like leading up to that. We looked really great. And then they fucked with the chemistry. Yeah. To try and be like, we're going to win now. And it's like, if you just maybe let it play out. Yeah. Yeah. So okay, interesting. So just you want, you don't want a big move here. I think they're going to, they're going to succeed or fail on their own merits that they've built. I think that they've got a big game tomorrow against the Sabers, which is going to be hard. We want that one. The game last night against the Islanders, they like could have won. It was an OT like the Islanders with a bane of the penguins existence. They're just in their heads. Yeah. But like, I just kind of say it's sick. Well, no, Skinner man, Skinner won four straight to end January. He had a couple of monster performances in there too. I think it was against Calgary at a 947 save percentage and against Van and a 32 and a 938 save percentage with 32 or 30 saves on 32 shots. Like, fucking, we said it a million times. All stew needed was a change of scene earlier. Yeah. And he just looks like he's happy in pit. Dude, and also, man, like they right now, and obviously they've been hot, but the Islanders are a point back with having played two extra games. Oh, the penguins are, the penguins are in playoffs. Like, yeah. But I, here's, I don't want them to play the Islanders first round. Yeah, that would be right. That would, we will, I'd rather play Carolina. They're probably, I know. And that's, that's, but it doesn't know what you would take that. The playoffs, the playoffs. Of course, I take the play. I'm just saying, I'm saying Islanders in play. I know that Islanders have made playoffs. Like there's a core of that team as used to it, but I'm just telling you, the, you are the Sydney Crossby penguins. I can't play off you or more. I just hope you've been burned so many times. Yeah, this, this, the, the penguins are a lock for playoffs. No, yes, they are. Oh, no, the Metro is really bad. I am declaring it right now. Like, the penguins are a lock for playoffs. It can tease me, dude. No, they're a lock for playoffs. And I'll, I'll tell you why. Yeah, they are, they are in second in the Metro. And I mean, unless Washington figures out what, whatever the hell is going on with them, I don't even think there's anyone threatening them. The Rangers are dead. The Devils are dead. The Flyers are dead. Columbus has been surging. And that's fun. They've won six in a row. They're nine and one in the last 10 insane. But they're still a, they're five or so points back. My big thing with pit is they're, they have a plus 20 gold if like they are, they are good. This pit for team is good. They're making playoffs. It's a locked book it by your ticket. Dude, actually, you might be right because it's just, I'm seeing it. Yeah. I'm seeing it now. Dude, good luck. Have fun. Don't die. Came back from the future. You saw it. You saw it. The penguins are in play. The penguins are going to the cup and Stu Skinner is going to beat McDavid. No, no. I, I, I, we'll be lucky if we get past Tampa. Stu Skinner will cost McDavid three straight, three straight. I think as a hockey fan, that would break. Dude, if I'm, I genuinely mean to Stu Skinner pitches, Stu Skinner wins. Consmouth and pitches like three shutouts in a seven watching, watching Connor lose again to Sid, his hero and Stu Skinner. I, that would break me. I don't think I could handle that. I just, I just realized tragic. Yep. That would be tragic. Holy shit. All right. On that note, Pittsburgh is a wagon. They're making playoffs. Congratulations. Let's take an ad break and then let's hop into our awesome chat with Bane Pettinger. Folks, I know this is a hockey show, but today we're talking about football because the big game is right around the corner. It is Super Bowl week. My boy Drake May, I love Drake May. He's in the Super Bowl. We got Sam Darnel bringing the Seahawks to the dance again. It's unbelievable. And Bed MGM has you covered on Super Bowl day. No question about it. They've got the big game boost pack going on right now. It gives you three ways to boost your payout on a winning bet for the game. So you're going to log into your Bed MGM account to receive your boost pack. Then you're going to place any bet on the big game and apply one of the tokens. If your boost bets hits, you'll score a bigger payout. It's very simple. Log into that Bed MGM account. Get those tokens. Make your bet and see what you can win from opening kickoff to the final snap. The big game boost pack is your ticket to unforgettable moments during the greatest game of all. And if you haven't joined Bed MGM yet, you're going to use bonus code netters, NETT, E-R-S, and you'll enjoy up to $1,500 of new player offers on your first wager. Bed MGM is where it's at. Make it legendary. Let's go. Come into us live from Toronto right now of Victoria BC native. This guy has gold medals pouring out of his ears with world juniors, world championships, Olympics. He's going to rub it in our face. This whole chat, I know it. He's now a certified NHL agent, a certified beauty. Bane Pattinger, thank you so much for coming on the anti-nators podcast. Yeah. Thank you for having me a long time listener. So I'm really looking forward to this chat and a lot of topics to cover here. A lot of topics to cover were so pumped to have you. So we got to just jump right into it. We want to first dive into your hockey background because you've done so much in the game of hockey that we're going to get into all these amazing things that you're working on right now. But tell the people, when did this all start for you? Were you playing at a young age, were you coming from a hockey family? What really got you into it right off the jump? Yeah, I grew up in a hockey family on the west coast of Canada there on in Victoria, BC. You know, and really, my brother played in the NHL. He's a 1980 born. You know, he played 400 some odd games with Washington Tampa and Vancouver. I was the little brother always running around. You know, I played up to junior B and then realized I'm better served off the ice with my skill set on the ice. So made the transition, played a bit for rugby Canada actually and then started working at 19 at hockey Canada as an internship in Calgary. I was going to school and luckily got one of their internships and ended up being 12 years at hockey Canada, moved from a finance intern to manager of hockey operations when I left. So that's traveling the world with team Canada. So from, you know, world championships, world juniors under 18s, world cup of hockey in 2016 there, you know, got to work with all the national teams and some of the guys that come along with it, you know, that the McDavid's, the Ryan Hartz, the SIDS, those guys that really, you know, we went through kind of the program there together and some legendary stories from, from traveling the world with team Canada. Oh, we can only imagine. I do first need to know how did you swindle your way out of the finance department because we both know that that is not where you wanted to be. No, I took any job to get my foot in the door. Like I see all young people that reach out to me. It's about networking, you know, my dad says it best. Hockey's a contact sport on and off the ice. You know, I think it's important to have that, that role of Dex and build that. So all of a sudden, I'm playing Thursday hockey with, you know, Scott Sam and Bob Nicholson, Brad Pasco, all these guys that are in the hockey ops department. And that leads to a stop by their office for a coffee. That leads to, hey, I saw an opening in national teams and, you know, to go with the internal candidate over someone externally, you know, everyone's dream is to work at hockey Canada. And I had to grind it out for a bit there and move my way up the corporate ladder. But yeah, definitely didn't have the finance background, but it got me in the door. Yeah. Dude, well, when you're not a numbers guy, it's hard to hide in the finance. You know what I mean? Like some other jobs you can say. It was the filing. Yeah. Yeah, the alphabet where they started to audit me and I said, okay, maybe I'm better served on the hockey side. Trust me. This is a win win for both parties. Yeah. But, but, but, but, I want to go back though for a second because with all due respect to the coolers and your run with those boys in junior B, I want to go back to the club. I want to hear a little bit about the rugby, dude, because that's sick. You were, you were the real deal as a rugby guy. What was that like? Yeah. So I growing up in Victoria where it's kind of the rugby Canada headquarters. You know, there's no snow. And if there is, it lasts for a day. So you can play your round there. So when I showed up to high school at grade nine as my size of six foot four, I was kind of all and told that I was going to play rugby. Yeah. You know, it wasn't really an option. I went to a powerhouse Oak Bay High rugby school and they saw the hockey, you know, they saw the rugby and I ended up playing, you know, in Dubai actually for a world championships with, which is like the equivalent of like a world juniors for hockey. Yeah. Yeah. You know, lived in Wales for a bit, you know, played some provincial basketball too. Let's all, I'm a big believer even with my athletes today like multi sport, you know, play a hand-eye. You can work on that. You can work on fitness. You can work on everything with playing and play as long as you can. You know, I think today, you get these 12-year-olds that are only hockey players. Like let's, let's get them. Let's place them golf. Let's place them across. As long as you can, because you know, I love rugby and it's such a cool game and I, I'm still a big fan of rugby Canada and how they're doing things. So it's super cool to be an alumni from there as well as hockey Canada. Yeah. I love it, man, because there's, and I'm so with you about the multi sport thing because it's everything, but hockey has become so specialized now that we have friends that have kids that are entering that, you know, 12-year-old age and it's like, my God, if you're not being shipped off to the development program by then, you're a failure. Yeah. So it's crazy. The microscope, the microscope that they're under, you know, I advise my players take, take a month or two off after the season, even triple A players. Like let the gear hurt when you get back on the ice. Yeah. Have that build that drive back up so that, because if you turn it into a 12-month sport or a year-round sport, there's burnout and the pressures and the rankings and the trying to keep up with the Jones is because one guy's doing powers gating three days a week, everyone feels they have to do it and it's, it's a bit, you know, I think a problem in our game that, you know, we need to work on it. I think as advisors, we have a big role in that. Yeah. No doubt about it. What was it for you that it clicked in your head when you knew you wanted to stay in hockey? Because it's not always easy and I think you've actually spoken about this. It's like a lot of guys who play forever and they think hockey is the only thing they can do. They then have that moment where they're not sure what type of area they can get into or even if they want to. But for you, it sounds like you always knew this is a world you knew you could serve really, really well and you wanted to stay in it. When was that moment for you? I think in university, you know, I'm sitting there in finance courses and accounting and the guys are talking about going off to internships at big banks and this and that. And I'm like, I don't want to do that. I don't want to hate my job. I want to love my job. I want to, I want it to not feel like a job. Right? I want to go to the ring and have that camaraderie. And I always, I didn't have the skill on the ice, but I could still be around the trainers and the hot stovs and the buses and just that camaraderie of, you know, being building with something and building and having that team mentality always grew up. I grew up with, you know, three siblings. So it was always that team mentality growing up. And I think that's what, you know, carried me into sport and luckily enough, had a pretty good run at hockey can though over my, my 12 years there, you know, was some, was some world medals and some, some memories. Oh my God. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah. Well, I was going to say that's, so that's a perfect transition. As you get into hockey Canada, you're starting to work with the team. You're getting great relationships with all the guys. That's amazing. And then just immediate success. What was, was the first tournament for you world championships or was it world junior? It was under 18s because I started as a coordinator. Yeah. It was the test event in Sochi, Russia. So it was the year before. And so we go and unlike this Milan Olympics, they had it all set in Russia. So they run the under 18, the spring one there. Yeah. So we had a double underage by the name of Connor McDavid. Come on. He was, you know, he showed up. I always tell him he had his Justin Bieber haircut over the, over the forehead. You know, and he had played his year in eerie, but he was still kind of like, okay, you know, who is this kid? And I think he had three or four games with hat tricks over there. He was on a line, on a line with Sam Reinhart. So these guys are 16 like, and you're already seeing the chemistry. Yeah. Yeah. I think we rolled through that tournament, won a gold. And then obviously back the next year for the Olympics. That was my first one was the test event for the Olympics. And to see that venue then a year before and then afterwards at the actual Olympic show was, was pretty crazy to see how they, they pull it together. It was all there was was a rink in the middle of a dirt field for underneath. Like literally, yeah, like the security station was you like drive through and me and Rhino always joked that they had these security dogs were like, those aren't even trained security dogs. They're just, just this guy's pet, dude. Yeah. Like we go up and pet them. We're like, there's no way to do that. That's a cat. That's insane. Oh Jesus. Sniffing they're looking for treats. Yeah. Yeah. That's how you got it. You got a couple snacks, couple, you know, we snacks in your park. Yeah. You're used to, you're used to some Russian guard shaking you down for money. Now you got Russian dog shaking you down for bones. And it's like, what? Back at that and then you go back a year later and the whole village is built and the security and the infrastructure and the Olympic park and you're like, whoa. You know, how easy how, how it goes. And Bainert was that, um, had you traveled a lot in your life even like was that and nuts being like, holy shit, I'm going to Russia for U 18 team can hockey Canada. Yeah. I did a backpack trip with my brother, my brothers two years older than me when we were like 18 and 20 one summer. We went and like did the classic like prog beer halls. Sure. You know, all of that London, England, find the cheapest pub you can find and all that. But never at that level because hockey can't that, you know, they do such a good job of, of taking care of the players and their families, even at the under 18 level, like the travel, the hotels, everything. But yeah, like there's, there was pinch me moments whether it was going to Pyeongchang Korea four times, right? For that, like, yeah, yeah. You're downtown Seoul, Korea and you're like, how am I getting paid to be here with you can't? Yeah. You know, like you can't draw that like you're up to one thing because it's a hockey country but it was really when you go to Asia where you're like, you know, it's the whole time zone goes back and you know, you're not in, you know, traditional hockey rinks and, you know, you're out there, you know, the Zamboni barely works and you're like, what is it? How are we? How is the national team here? But, you know, it's, it's cool. But at the same time, there's times definitely where, you know, you've been, I've been all over now to Russia, to Finland, Sweden, Czech, you name it pretty much all the, Denmark, all the hockey countries over there and, and, but the pride that when you walk in with Team Canada too, you know, it's like, yes, we always, we always said it's like, you know, and I'm not trying to, you know, put it on here because I know you boys are American, but it's like the New Zealand all blacks. Like when Team Canada walks in, when Team Canada walks into a rink in Denmark, whether you're a staff member like myself or Connor McDavid, people are like, they see the logo and they're like, you go, right? It's like it would be like us seeing the New Zealand all blacks and we always said that with, with hockey Canada, like, let's carry ourselves like that. Let's, let's have that because we have that reputation and pride. Yeah, no doubt about it, Boone. Oh, I was just going to say Chris, it's actually funny, you know, we talk about all the time at, yes, we're American, but at foreignations, that first game, especially with all the, the lunacy going on with Trump and the 51st state comments. And when that arena in Montreal started singing collectively, the Canadian anthem, we, I was there in Montreal. I was like, yes, so were we. And I was like, I felt Canadian in that moment. I was like, the, the amount of just pure, good, hard at pride in this country and in this game is so palpable right now. It's unbelievable. And you guys have been to probably as many games as I have, if not more, like I have never seen a ring packed in our, oh my God, it warms. It was warmaps were, were, were to the deals. Like I was standing there and I was like, I've been to Olympic finals before and I've never seen the bell center like that or a hockey ring like that. Yeah, agree. And then obviously the three fights and you're like, okay, this is graphing up here. This is going to be a good case for real. And it's like Chris, jump into what, what you were about to say, but I, I, I do think that this player's tribune article that McDavid just came out with. It's like, I've, I've, I've never been more scared. The, the, you are so right, the, the, the aura of hockey Canada is real. And, and you're, you're feeling it. We're, you know, we're a week away here. It's just coming alive with these guys. It's exciting. And like the gals already being there. Yeah. Yeah. When he said, oh, his last win was in Moscow. I was like, I remember that one. Yeah. Yeah. Right. But that's crazy for a guy that competitive that he hasn't won in eight years. Like, I mean, you, you don't think about it, but that drives, that's what drives those guys. Him and Sid and Nate is like, and that's the biggest thing that I took away from working with those athletes day in, day out is like their preparation. Yeah. Right? Like for us, we're like, oh, we're in Prague. We're having fun. They're like, no, we have a chance to join, like Sid joined the triple gold club. We're going to win this thing. Yes. Sure. Like, and like a student, I think we added him late in 2015. We were in Prague and we had a pretty good team already. And then as soon as Sid called, they got, I think they got knocked out in the second round. And he called, he's like, I want to come over. Usually we call guys. Yeah. He's like, I want to come over. I'm chasing the triple gold club. And then the boys like on the bus heard it. And it was like, Bernsey and Maz and they're like, it's coming over like, oh boy, we better take it up now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But the booze away. Put the booze away. So real. You know, he has that power of, and I could just see it. You know, even when Connor got asked about who should be the captain, he's like, oh, you think you've earned it. And Connor like laughs it off. He's like, yeah, not a chance. Well, Sid is still on this planet that I will cap in Canada if he is on the team. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. God. Well, Banner, so what I was about to ask was going into when it becomes the Olympics in 2014 and you're going there, obviously it's all crazy and huge and security and everything. But is there pressure? Because yes, you are team Canada and everyone and you're coming off the gold medal. Is what was it like going into that Olympics as team Canada being like, we have to win. We have to win gold. It's every tournament you go into. Look at the world, you're new. Yeah. Oh my God. And people say it, gold or boss, the expectation within our media, this side of the border, our players, our program at hockey can. That is win or else from the outside world, everyone thinks it's catastrophic. You know, I look at this here, even after world juniors, people ask like, is there a development program in Canada? I'm like, seven players were in the national hockey league. Yeah. Like not loaned. That's a first unit player play. Yeah. Like I don't think it's a development problem. I think it's a one off minor hockey tournament that you have a bad goal or you call that a best to seven series world juniors. I think Canada wins all the time. You mean to? Yep. Right. But a one off, a bad balance of miss call, a puck over glass and you don't get Sam Dickinson back or you don't get a player that makes a difference. Hey, the hockey world's catching up. Right. But in Canada, it's very much winner bust and I like that. But that's every event they go to because we have set that expectation. And I think it's a good thing to have. We're not comfortable with, you know, all it's a bronze, good showing. It's like, no, and I think that's the attitude for the Olympic team, that's the attitude for every, I think every time hockey can, the players and staff put on the jersey, that's the expectation. Yeah. Yeah. It is unfair that we don't give Canada the grace that people are catching up and that's not a knock on Canada. It's a, it's credit to the rest of the world. You know, but Canada gets no slack on that. It's like, yeah, I feel going to win. I'm like, everyone's pretty good now. And they're like, nope, you have to win. The checks play as hard as ever, the Swedes are skilled as ever, the Americans are top to bottom, all, you know, rock stars. Like, there is no easy lap. He has going to give you everything they got. That's the thing. Like everyone that plays team Canada is playing with house money. Yeah. And that's the best punch. If you win, like, I remember when we were at World Cup of hockey, I was with the team Canada, so the older guys, not North America. And our guys did not want to play team North America because they had everything to lose. They were the vets. They were like, these young box are coming. And if we beat them, oh, well, we should. We've all, you know, 500 plus games in the league and veterans. But if we don't, well, what's the matter with Hawking Canada, the new waves coming, you know, and it's, it's a lose lose. They were like, well, you know, we can't, we can't do anything here. It's so real. We were actually just laughing this weekend. We were looking at the top six goal scorers in the league right now. Three of them are American. None of those three are on team America. Yeah. You're like, what is going on here, US? I want to jump back to Olympics later because we have so much fun stuff to talk about. But, you know, continuing on your journey after hockey Canada, you get into the Agenting world. And now it's like, what has it been seven years or so now that? Seven years, yeah. Yeah. So you've been an NHLPA certified agent working with some of the top players in the league. How fun has that experience been for you in that transition going away from hockey Canada and all of the allure that comes with it as we just talked about now getting into the more personal side working with players like this. Yeah. See, and I dealt with a lot of agents in my hockey Canada time, right? So I always had agents reaching out to me. I was running the team. So tickets, hotels, hey, can I get access to my players? So I knew all the agents and kind of what they did. And you know, everyone thinks it's the Jerry McGuire Red Wine dinners. It's a lot of sports psychology. Yeah. It's a lot of, I don't know any player that calls their agent when things are going well. Yeah. Right. And that's true. Yeah. That's me included, right? Yeah. You put out fires for a living, right? Yeah. Everyone, whether it's ice time, whether it's an injury, whether it's a trade, whether it's moving locations, free agency contract, whatever, your phone rings. And for half a second, you go, what am I putting out here? Yeah. Right? And I love it. But, you know, so I went to, I originally got recruited by CAA. So Pat Persona and JP Berry worked with them for five years. Both Class Acts, you know, nothing but the best. JP represented my brother Matt, so it was a natural fit. Nice. So I was always the younger brother I remember my brother's wedding. JP, when do you hire him? When do you hire him? You know, and he just said, keep going with hockey Canada, get your feet wet network, you know, get, get, you know, another Olympic cycle or another world juniors. So yeah, worked with them for five years here in Toronto. And then decided to open up my own shop. You know, I was in the right spot. I loved my time at CAA. You know, I think there's pros and cons to big agencies. I think there's, you know, pros and cons to smaller bootie agencies. Like I opened up with Apollo, you know, we're really focused on the client and having a small client list and only having a couple in the draft class. You know, but I also love working for myself. I love, I love being able to take on who we want. You know, work with them, see them grow. You know, we're almost in the fall. We'll be three years with Apollo. So our big draft will be next year in 27. You know, we could have three to four NHL first rounders. So I recruited when we were, you know, three, four years ago. So to see that, to see that growth and have it where you control the brand, you control, you know, your marketing, I'm still doing, it's entrepreneur life. I'm still running all the Instagram accounts looking for songs. You know, like, it's very much a startup, but I love growing with the clients. And I think it's awesome to be able to kind of, you know, our tagline is modern athlete management because, you know, I can, as my age, I can relate to the parents, I can relate to the players, right? I can, I can, you know, I have my, my GM contacts through hockey Canada, you know, my time at CAA can still lean on Pat and JP is, you know, with their stature in the game. But I think it's, I think it's the perfect blend of, of, you know, running my own shop, which is always a, you know, running, I think being your own boss is always everyone's dream. And, and I love what I do. And, you know, like I said, it's, everyone thinks it's the glitzy, you know, red wine dinners and draft parties. It's a lot of, you know, sports like, frankly, yeah, I would say 60, 70% of my job is telling players never, never too high, never too low, right? You win a gold medal or you, you get healthy scratched as a 16 year old. It's all about long term thinking, you know, staying in the moment, trusting the process. All the things you think are cliche, but these athletes have all this stuff coming at them now that, you know, I really think, you know, what I've gone through in my life personally too, that I can, I can relate to being in distress and being anxious about stuff. And really having that remove yourself from the moment, give it 24 hours and let's think long picture and really helping our athletes like that by being available, not having too big of a client list that you don't, you can't track your guys and your players and know exactly what's going on with them. Because I think that's important is, is actually know how they're playing. Are there minutes down? Are they not playing on the special teams? Are they struggling? Have they gone 10 games without a point, right? Or are they on a heater? And yeah, you know, they think that they're, they're all of a sudden the first round lock and you got to bring them back down to Earth a bit. You know, that's, yeah. And that's part of it is never too high, never too low, right? And I know that sounds cliche, but I think it's important because through careers as we know, every athlete's had a major in injury, every athlete's lost in a final, every athlete has had setbacks, but also had success, you know, and I think, I think you showed it in Conner's article there, right? Right? Like that, that player's Tribune. He's so hungry to win. He's been in the finals twice lost and that must just eat at him. And so, you know, his injury, you know, he had, like, I don't know if you guys watched that documentary, but when he didn't do the surgery and rehabbed his knee solo, like, you know, everyone, you know, Sid missed almost a year and a half with concussions, like people, people only to remember the highlights. They don't remember the low lights that got them there. And I think that's important to relate to today's athlete. Yeah. I think it's a bear. It's such a cool comment because as rewarding as I'm sure it is and going to be when it's like, oh man, these guys that I recruited when we were tiny are now we're going to have the, all these first round picks, like that's so awesome from the Jeremy Guyer POV. Or you're like, we did it, you know, but I'm so with you, dude, the massive perks now where you guys are at are being so tuned in and clocked into your clients. Because I think that goes such a long way for them where it doesn't feel like, oh, I'm just a number here, right? It's like, hey, I'm aware of what's going on. I'm aware about you, the person. Like, I know who you are, the person, even more than the hockey player, right? And I manage each client differently. Some, you know, need to kick in the ass. Some need to hug. And you only know that by knowing your clients through and through, you know, some parents are involved, some never played the game, right? Each file is so different. It's not just stock. Here's player A and his draft year. It's, you know, what situation are they in? What kind of team are they on? What house they're, how was their hockey candidate experience? How is there, how are they tracking? What do they need to work on? One needs to work on foot speed in the summer. The other needs to gain upper body strength. So they're not just on the same programs, right? You have to, you have to tweak them each individually. And because they are individuals, and they're not just a hockey player that says, go, go do squats in the summer. You don't need to, we need to work on if someone needs track work or someone needs, you know, a goalie needs flexibility. Those are things that you have to kind of, I call almost an agent as like a, like a general contractor. You know, I'm not an expert in anything, but you need a power skater. You need a trainer in the summer. You need a bow or deal. You need a contract. I can kind of be that point of contact for everything. All the players and parents can come to us and then we can find, source it out. So they're not googling power skating coaches in Vancouver. I have four that we've used, right? Yeah. And then they interview them and, and, and, and, and hey, you, you pick who you want to go with, but I see it as almost like a general contractor role, if that makes sense. And instead of building houses, we're building hockey players. Careers. Definitely. Yeah. And well, Bader, it's like, you know, I love everything you said is so fascinating and interesting. All the time about how the, the agent athlete agent talent relationship is one of the more fascinating things in the world because it's like you kind of both need each other. You're almost both courting each other at the beginning. And I'm curious for you and starting Apollo and what you guys are doing, the more personal approach, I think is so important in this space. What is it that you look for in some of these young athletes? You know, if there's a young hockey player who's looking for representation and is, is attracted to you guys and what you're building and what you're doing, what are some of the things that you would want them to know that that's, you know, a great thing for a young player to do that's going to make people want to work with them. I think, you know, and I've never seen a hockey school for it is hockey IQ, right? When we're scouting, you know, I've seen, I've seen power skating, I've seen shooting coaches, I've seen, you know, weight gym programs, I've never seen an IQ school. So it's one of those where, you know, we're recruiting so young now in the agency world that you go to games and kids haven't even gone through puberty, but if they're out there and they see that back door pass or they're attempting to, you know, throw, you know, they're back checking, like compete, right? They're not just out there, you know, going all tilt in the, in the offensive zone and no, no, no care about back checking, you know, those are, those are things that we look for, you know, the amount of tips that I get of you should see this 13 year old, he's got a mustache. I'm like, I'm hoping for a good 25 year old to sign an initial contract, right? I'm not, I'm not looking at, you know, the standings in the GTHL and saying, let's go get the top 10 kids because they're sick at 13. Yeah. I want, I like to find that diamond in the rough. The kid that wasn't, you know, at the brick tournament, per se that, that, that is a late bloomer that has the character that can think it, that the parents are on board for listening because that's a big thing too, you know, as much as they, they interview me with different agencies, I interview them as well. Because, you know, you, you don't want to go down a road where you're just barking up a tree and they, they don't think that they need an agent, you know, and they don't think that my opinion matters and not that it, not that I'm the be all end all the end of the day, I'm an advisor. I'm not a decider. And I always say that, right? If we're in between schools, you know, whether it's a scholarship or a major junior route or whatever, I, you know, I provide my advice based on experience, but I'm not a family decider, right? I don't, I don't necessarily know their financials, you know, can you go to an Ivy League because they don't give full rights. So, you know, it's going to cost you some, some dollars and, and US dollars for Canadians, right? So, or do you go with the full right at Quinnipiac, you know, so it's, it's certain things that you try to provide all that you can based on your experience, but at the end of the day, the family is going to decide what they do. Yeah. So true. Are you asked, you don't have to name any names, but if a guy calls and is like, hey, I'm not, I want more ice time or whatever the complain is, do they expect you to know, okay, here are some teams I think you could get ice time at, you like, how much knowledge across the leagues do you, do you, are you expected to know on for those questions? I think it's awkward, like not at the drop of a hat. I always say give me 24, 48 hours. Yeah, right. I know, like I can do some homework now with Insta and stuff online. You can see, you know, if I'm looking at, say, a 16 year old new HL, I can look at what the other 16 year olds are playing average ice time, you know, power play time, all of that. So I know based on facts, if I call a GM and, and, you know, need to bring it to them, then I do have the numbers to back it up. Yeah. A lot of the time the player, you know, hasn't done things the right way. And I mean that in that, hey, like they're not being truthful in that, maybe they didn't back check or maybe they weren't great here, you know, they, they never, it's like the gambler. They tell you what they want. They never tell you what they lost. Yeah, it's so true. You know, I'll go back and watch their games and say, hey, I didn't think you were great here. Or, you know, do you agree that, you know, hey, I got benched. Okay, well, I thought you missed two back checks there. Like, you know, I can call the coach, but I think we got to save our bullets here, you know, because you don't want to be the boy that cried wolf all the time too. You know, and I, you know, there's a bit of, I think in our youth hockey, a bit of, you know, let's change it up. Let's just, let's, let's quit and move on to the next thing. I'm a big thing of like, let's stick with the team and build and, and battle through adversity because what do you think is going to happen when you're a freshman in college? What do you think is going to happen when you're a rookie trying to make the national hockey league? You're not going to be a top six forward right away. Yeah. There's 750 jobs in the NHL and 650 of them are on one way contracts. Yeah. So are you one of the top 100 out of the world, not in the NHL? Because that's, that's what it comes down to. Yeah. That's fucking crazy to think about. It's so true. Yeah. So I'm, I'm, I'm midst all of this amazing stuff like hockey Canada, like what you're doing with Apollo. Another amazing part of your story was you're coming out journey. And there was that incredible article in the athletic with Pierre LeBron. That was so wonderful. But if you're comfortable, I'd love to, to hear you talk about you, you said that you had been out to your family and some very close friends before you did your, your public statement with that great article. Would you be able to tell us a little bit about when, when you came out to them to your family and your close friends and, and what that moment was like and what urged you to find the strength to do that? Yeah. I kind of knew when I was younger, you know, I was a bit, you know, different, not, you know, not different, but just not the norm, right? I'm always an outgoing, personal guy. You know, I think we've hung out at all star games before and like, you know, I'm a bubbly, personal guy. And I was just, I was so fearful to lose what I had built at hockey Canada. Yeah. That hockey was going to push me out that, you know, everyone's fear before they come out is that the world's going to turn on you. That you're going to, all of a sudden, you know, you're going to tell a Connor McDavid and he's going to say, well, we're not friends, right? Like you think the worst when you're about to come out. And it's just human nature, right? And I look back and I laugh now that I've been out five years. Like I'm like, what was I thinking? Right? That was, that was when I did it publicly. I was probably five years before that to my family, right? But I was always tired of walking in a room wondering who knew, you know, oh, my mom told my aunt and then you get the awkward question, oh, you see in anyone and you're like, do they know that? Do they know that? Yeah. Yeah. Like, do they know that I'm out? Do they, you know, like, and what's that went for? And like, you know, like just awkwardness where you're like, you just live in this world of anxiety. And I just said, finally, you know, I ran it by, you know, I think I mentioned in the article there, you know, Tyson is, you know, it was a big confidant when he was playing for the Leafs here. You know, Morgan Riley, you know, obviously my family. Fainter, can you tell that tight story? Yeah. It's great. With what? It's like you guys are just drinking wine, right? Like it's him and Emma, I think. And you, I don't want to spoil this story, but you just said you just blurted it out because you guys were talking about like sexuality. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Emma's sister's gay and she's out. And we were just talking about hockey and some like, you know, having as we do with the berries, usually there's a couple bottles of red involved. Yeah. And, you know, he was just like, and I knew Tyson kind of knew, right? And like he was still, he was dealing with the whole bab stuff and living in Toronto and first time treated. Yeah. And he was kind of, his world was kind of upside down too. And I just said, you know what? I'm gay. And he's like, what? And he's like, that's awesome. Yeah. And I was like, I said, well, anyway, we always joke about it. I said, well, let's get another nice bottle of wine out. Yeah. Every time I see him now, we go to the seller and I'm like, well, I got, hey, Tyson, I got something to tell you. Yeah. Right. Yeah. That's your confession room. Like we go down to the wine seller. He's like, okay, what now? Yeah. Every conversation you have like that, you know, like I remember telling Connor up at his cottage in Moscoka, every conversation you're waiting for a reaction, right? And you think that it's going to be world ending. And then the more that you break down and you're like, oh, this isn't, this isn't as bad as I thought. The big bad hockey world isn't that bad, right? They're actually, they actually still think I'm a great guy. And you build up so much fear in your head and anxiety of, you know, over drinking and overthinking and, you know, and just thinking that, you know, you have to be a certain way to fit into our game. And I think we've come a real long way from that. You know, but it's, it was definitely a time in my life where I was like, scared as hell. For sure. That I, I, you know, I was like, I'm going to have to quit hockey and I'm going to have to, I built up this great resume and great friendships and, you know, all these school medals and stuff, but I feel like I'm living a lie. And, and so finally, you know, sat down with Pierre over a couple more bottles of red and we did the article and it changed my life. You know, I broke out in, I broke out in Hives the night before I called Pierre. I called Pierre at midnight and said, hey, you got to pull the article. I have no, I said like a mental breakdown. And he said, Boehner, it's, it's done. It's sent in and it's going live in a couple hours like I can't. I don't know if he could, but I think Pierre, I think Pierre for that, I had a full like broke out in Hives and had a bit of a Meltzer and then I remember waking up at 5 a.m. and it was ting, ting, ting, it hit Twitter and the phone went nuts and I was like, oh my God, there is a lot of people that care about you and care and, and are empathetic and are like, you know, just genuine people I hadn't heard from in years. Right? And not that I needed it, but it was, when you, when you fear that your world's going to flip upside down, it was such a, such a reassurance that I was doing the right thing. There wasn't, you know, there was a couple of trolls online, but hey, whatever, they're not in, they're not in my contact book. I don't need them. Yeah. You know, and, and I still get trolls for stuff that I speak out on on Pride jerseys and on Pride tape and certain things and, but hey, I'm not going to let the haters because from that we've, we've started Alphabet Sports Flective from that. You know, I do a lot of advocacy work. From that I'm comfortable speaking on it, right? I would, I would freeze up before if you ever asked me, if you were to told me five years ago that I'd be on talking about me coming out of the closet, I would have thought you guys were fucking batshit crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Right? But I would have said, there's no, I said, there's no way I'll do that. I'll have a secret boyfriend and I'll, I'll, no, I can't do that. I'll just deal with it. Yep. Yeah. So, I'm going to go to the other side and, and, and, you know, be an advocate and, and, and have that, that, you know, not mentorship, but now, now youth come to me, right? Now through our, not for profit, Alphabet, like people come reach out to us and hey, I'm going through this and you can reassure them that, you know, don't read the headlines that the NHL is big and bad. You know, read, read that Morgan Riley marches in the Pride parade every year and he's a huge advocate and supporter, right? Yeah. And those don't often in our media get public, right? If you, if, if you were, if you're just a fan and you read the NHL headlines, you wouldn't know that it was only four players that decided to not wear a pride jersey and hundreds were for it, right? It's, it's the, it's the negative. It's, it's, let's not let the naysayers have that, right? Let's, let's focus on the good that we're doing and the progress that we're making and not, oh my God, three, three Russian players or whoever said, hey, I don't want, and all the power to them. But that's, that shouldn't be what the headline reads. Yeah. And, and, and I went on the merit show and a few and just said, hey, let's try to turn this upside down a bit of, of the narrative that hockey's a homophobic sport because I've heard from some of the best in the game that it's not. Yeah. I, I think that's so well said, Boehner. And it's like, it's, you know, something you and I have talked a lot about over the last week or so. It's like, I think what, what you're doing, and I want to get into alphabet sport collective because there's so much amazing stuff that you guys are doing. But it's like, there is, you know, there's the negativity echo chamber and the way that people feed into it and they, they almost want to fuel the fire of any hate or negativity that exists. But there's so much great positivity and growth and kindness and love that's going on. And the, the movement to push all of that forward is just so important. And I think that that's what I am so impressed with with, with, with Alphabet Sports Collective. Because I think there are a lot of great ways that you're different than a lot of, or other organizations like that where it's like the, the focusing on the good and, and a blifting and breathing life into the good as opposed to the, the, the negatives. It's just so, so empowering. Yeah. And, you know what? I started Alphabet, well, we started Alphabet Sports Collective because I didn't know where to turn five years ago. I didn't gay hockey players online. We didn't have these shows. We didn't have heated rival or we didn't have, you know, what it is. It was still kind of taboo. And I said, well, what, why isn't there, you know, there's people out there? Why isn't, why isn't there a common space for this? Why, why do I have to go to a pride night to feel like I belong? Right? Why can't this just be my everyday life? Yeah. Right? And, and I think, you know, I don't think it's quincidence that when I came out, you know, a month later, Luke Prokop's agent who I know, Jericho Hansen text me and said, hey, Luke saw your story. Can you have a chat with him? Right? He did an article with Pierre LeBron came out the first anytime. Like, that's why representation and speaking your truth, I think matters. And I think, you know, if you're brave enough to do it and get out there and be a face for it, I think that's huge. Yeah. Because, you know, I, I also, it's part of my story, but it's not my whole story, right? I want to be a NHL agent. Do I happen to have a male partner? Yeah. But like, that's not my defining role. That's not, that's not what I want to be known for. I want to be, but let's normalize that. Let's have those conversations so that we're not, oh, it's negative and it's taboo and the NHL and this and that. Let's have a space where, and with alphabet, we really bring in the community where we're not external and let's go, you know, do pride nights and all this. We're more, get members of the queer community that don't think they belong in the game, involved in the game. Yes. You know, if you like hockey and your queer, come join us. If, if you don't like hockey because it pushed you away because your queer come back. Yeah. And if you've never heard of hockey and your queer, come on in. It's a space for you. Yeah. Exactly. Right? We have a lot of parties. We host membership. We have meetups. We have mobilization. You know, I'm trying to personally right now get on the hockey can of the board to have that representation, that queer voice that, that, you know, so when we do make policies or we do make certain adjustments, we have that voice at the table. You know, and that goes for not just players. That's, that's media members. That's fans. That's, you know, you want to be a player. You want to be a referee. You know, our board is made up of such a diverse, at alphabet, such diverse group. You know, we have trans referees. We have, you know, non-binary people. We have members of the community. We have straight members. We have this voice that, you know, hey, come on in. It's a safe space. Join us. And we'll get you feeling good because there's no reason to hide that and we're living proof of it that you can be, you know, successful and be gay in the game and it's, and it's awesome. And why not spread that positivity and that, you know, really because in the days where you're leading up to it, you're in such a dark spot to have people either that are about to come out and speak their truth or are our idea. It's such a turning point for them and to have that network, something that I never had. Right? I never had, I never had an alphabet sports collective to go and say I can talk to an NHL agent that has done this and had the biggest names in the, in the hockey world supporter. Yeah. That's one of the coolest parts I think, Vayner is, I give you spoken of Brendan Burke before and how he was somewhat of a pioneer for you. And I think passing that forward is the greatest thing that alphabet does, right? It's exactly that where you go, this is your, you can see it. I forget, you had an awesome quote that was like sometimes if you just can't see yourself in a situation it's impossible to dream. And what you've created is exactly that. Everyone in this community can see themselves and whatever role they want to have in hockey. And God, that must be so rewarding. And meet the more they're at, right? There's a lot of people that hate the game right now. They think that it's, they're not welcome and that, you know, the, you know, people ban pride nights and people do this and you read the headlines. I would think it's horrible too. But let's have a conversation because I think I've said it a couple times. The big bad hockey world isn't that big and bad when it comes to this stuff. Yeah. You know, some of the greats in the game, although they may not be out there on Twitter, they are more than advocates, allies, whatever you want to call it. And, you know, with, with my network, they're, you know, if they need some support, there's their phone call or text or something away for, you know, people that are, whether it's self-harming or feeling they don't belong. Um, really that's what it is is bringing people together and, and makes them feel good because that's that the day I came out was the best day of my life. And I got to continue my career. I, I don't think it's a coincidence that after I came out, I started my own company and started my own off the profit to lift some weight off my back of worrying about myself and what people think of me. Almost like, fuck it. You, you like me or you don't. And I, I take that on in, in my agency role. I take that on an alphabet of, hey, if you've got an issue with it, that, that's on you. That's not on me. I've, I've done that for 33 years of my life. That's, that's, that's a you problem, not on me. And I, I'm sure I've lost clients because of it. I'm sure I've not got recruits, but I, I, I wear my heart on my sleeve for my, you know, but I wear my heart on my sleeve for my clients and, and they know that. And that's why we keep the small client base and, and I think it's important to be yourself, especially as an agent because there's, you're pulled in a million different directions. Yeah. No, it's so true. And listen, you, you mentioned it. It's, um, we're talking about the fun and the positivity and the welcoming vibe. Obviously this, the past month, heated rivalry did that with such a fun thing. So I really want to know and I want everyone to hear your take and your, your perspective on, you know, when this show was coming out, it's obviously connected to the hockey world, something that you're connected to as an out person and, and former player and someone in the world. What were your expectations, your hesitations when you heard of this show? And then how did it impact you in relation to your lived experience? Because there must have been so crazy for you watching the show and being able to relate to so much, you know, you and I talked about the, the scenes when they're in, in Russia for the Olympics, you were like, I was fucking there. I was in Sochi. I was, you know, like, the, uh, we were out of law. Where's illegal, illegal to be gay and you get arrested for it? Yeah. I'm sitting there battling if I should come out or not. Yeah. Um, you know, I, I thought, you know, originally it was going to be a bit hoki per se. You know, I was like, Oh, here we go, right? But the more I got into it, the more I had people and I didn't, like, I wasn't streaming it the first night. It came out. I was like, you know, but I had random people that I didn't even know, know what hockey was come up to me. You're like, what do you think of this show? You know, what do you think of these storylines? And as they got going, right, I thought there were some unbelievable storylines of having to hide it. I've, I've done that, right? I've hidden relationships because you, the biggest fear is being outed, right? That someone uses your weaponizes your sexuality against you. That's your biggest fear, right? When you're in the closet. But yeah, as it went on, you know, the storylines, the writing, everything about it, you know, I thought was, and the way they did two separate stories, you know, with, with the two separate characters, like, you know, kudos to you guys for, for amplifying it, you know, and, and not, you know, making a mockery of it. I think it's important that people see that those are real life examples, right? Yeah. They don't often see, yeah, as a fictional show, 100%, right? Is it getting people talking 100% right? People that, you know, didn't love the game before that now are coming into it. But, you know, those conversations, like they had with, he had with his mom at the cabin. I've had that. Oh, man. Right? Jesus. Like, it was at my heartstrings. I've had that. The biggest fear when his dad found him kissing on the deck there. Like, that is someone's biggest fear when he was having that melter. I was like, oh my God, I can't believe what he is going through. Yeah. You know, like the fact that it was, you know, Canadian, you know, partly funded. I'm proud of that. Like on Crave, like I think it's, I think it's awesome. Honestly, I think it's getting people talking about the game and inclusivity. And I think that's only good, right? I think I, I think I only break down barriers. I think that only humanizes things. You know, I have all my young clients. Oh, did you watch that new episode last night? Like, when, whenever would they be talking about a gay hockey show, right? Yeah. But it's kind of normalizing it. Kind of like breaking down those barriers that, yes, these things actually happen. And I've lived those, right? Obviously, I'm not an Olympic athlete like that, but I've lived that hiding it. I've lived the going around the corner so no one sees you, you know? You know, all those little things that really hit home for me, you know, is personal. And it's, and it's special. And I think what it's doing for the game is awesome. Honestly, I think it's, I think anytime you can have inclusivity and, and Hollywood and all of this stuff involved. And in the right way, you know, it didn't feel cheesy. It didn't feel, here's the, here's the token, you know, it was, it was the emotions behind it that long summers away, the having to hide it. But then they brought some comedy, you know, and the dad's like, oh, from before the draft. Yeah. Yeah. You know, like, please text, please text before you come back to the cottage. Yeah. Like, you see people let their guard down in humor. And, you know, my dad's the same way now, you know, like with my partner and like, like, I'll show up and he'll be like, hey, boys, you never thought I'd say that, you know, like, you know, like normalizing it and having that perspective and just, again, like, you see something out there that, you know, if I would have seen that when I was in the closet, I'd be like, okay, people are cool with this. You know, everyone's, it's the hot buzz. Every time I go on Twitter now, it's about it. That was, that wasn't five years ago when I was about to come out. I was like, oh boy, you know, like, now it's almost, you know, but I hope that we take that and do something with it, right? I see the NHL doing, you know, pride night to cottage nights. I hope that organizations like that take this and let's, let's, let's get alphabet involved. Let's do something. Let's make a actual change. Yeah. As opposed to, yeah, it's fun to say, hey, we're doing a cottage night when Boston and Montreal play each other. You know, I've seen those, but yeah, how are we, how are we actually going to drive change and get rid of the homophobia in the game that does exist? You know, yeah, go read any online, any online thing when a, when a NHL team does a pride night, it's actually sickening. Yeah. Great. And, and by no means is it religious, by no means is it, but we're here and we exist and we're successful and we're going to keep being here and, yeah. And by no means by our sexuality, are we going to turn away from the game that we love and, and create a living in? Yeah. No, you know, I, I loved what you just said about, you know, because there's, we had such a blast covering the show and what you just said about doing it in the right way. I think that is something that, that deserves more attention. And it's, you know, a big thing that, that we kind of did is like the, the authenticity of the story is so important because, you know, you know, so, so many times in media, there, there can be a story that's included in a show in a movie and it's not real. It's not authentic. It doesn't honor the character and what I think oftentimes more harm than good is, is done with that. And, you know, we had, we went into the show and we were like, yeah, like, let's fucking watch this show. But you do wonder, like you said, like, is it going to be hokies? It's just going to be super sexy and provocative and the way that those story lines, just like the quality was just out of control as it went on and like they pulled us in and you're invested because it felt so real and authentic. And that I think is why it stole so many hearts. I think that's why we, one of the many reasons why we just loved it. And we keep saying it's like the love fest that it created and the way it got people, like, like you mentioned, we got it too. Friends who were texting us as we were talking about the show and reviewing it were like, what is this show? Should I watch it? And we were just like, fuck yeah, absolutely. And it, I can't go people ask me about it. Yeah. I was like, just come on here. Like settle down. Yeah, settle down. I was, I wasn't the captain and best player of a team. But no, it's like, you know, I can't tell you too how much it filled, it filled our hearts when we got buddies in the NHL who texted us and they were like, hey, should I watch this show? And, you know, it was literally just like a curiosity of, is it a good show? And we were like, fuck yeah, watch it. And it's like texting with guys. Can tell they did their homework too because like even the situation where his mom's talking about the sponsorship deals, right? Yeah. And it was all dismissive and I've been there. I've been like, you know, something happened the night before or you get a bad text or you get threatened to be outed, which I've had happened when I was in the closet, right? Yeah. You go into this snappy and I remember my mom saying, what's wrong? Right? Like those are, you know, with, with Ilya being in Russia and it being illegal and him having kind of the fake girlfriend and saying, well, I could just marry her. Like those are thoughts that, you know, you can tell that they did their homework on it of what it's like to be a closeted athlete. And that's what I really appreciated about it was it wasn't just, hey, let's go like, you know, like I thought the hockey was good, but the storyline of the battles and the struggle of what it's like to be a closeted athlete at a high level was, was I thought unbelievable. And, you know, yeah. Yeah. Something really cool was in the, if you take and I'm not dismissing the KIP character, but I'm just saying the three NHL guys you're with, I thought it was awesome that you didn't get, they all have to talk to their parents, right? Like you go, Shane has to do it with his parents. Ilya has the fake girlfriend and go, goes through a lot of it with that. Scott goes through a lot of it with his partner who he's like hiding, right? Like each, I thought it was so cool because, Boehner, you go, oh, I had that conversation with my mom, that felt relatable to me. But I know that we have had people message us going, oh, I had the conversation with my fake girlfriend. And you know, that part was relatable to me. I thought it was so cool. They hit so many buckets of what that experience is and let people watching it who went through whatever various ones it was feel connected to in that way. I thought that was genius. Yeah. Well, yeah, because not every story is, is very bookended. You know, I'm very lucky in my story that my parents, my family, my friends were all accepting embracing whatever you want to say. I've heard horror stories of kids coming out of the closet and getting kicked out of their house, right? A coach kicking them off a team, right? So that's why the anxiety exists. You know, I think I'm one of the lucky ones with how my family and how, you know, my life has gone since. But I'm sure there's out there and I've heard stories of people that it's not as smooth. Right? I think, you know, you guys are obviously in Cali. I grew up on the West Coast, pretty liberal, fun, you know, families that get it and accepting. There's some people that aren't and it's get out of the house. And I've heard those stories and it's sad. But that's why representation and having a safe space to go to like alphabet or even tuning into the show and getting rid of, you know, the distractions in the world, I think is, is, is important. Yeah. And so one, one thing I love to ask in this topic and I'm super curious of your perspective on it is, you know, we, we clearly have seen when something so great like this happens and, and we see the growth and we feel the growth and the happiness and the joy in these moments, there are still people who try to tear it down and there's, there's negativity that can leak in. So water ways that, you know, we all as, as friends, as allies, like you said, whatever you want to call it, can just keep helping and ways to just keep raising awareness and keep making sure these things improve and gets to that place where it's like, yeah, this is a, this is a non-issue. This is a welcome space. The door is open for everyone. Yeah, I think it's amplifying. It's using the platform that you have, you know, again, Kudos to you guys for, for, for doing that and, and having, you know, the live stream shows and the reactions and everything like it's focusing on the positive. You know, I think in today's world, we can get so bogged down like I said with the pride jerseys, like four players said no, seven hundred and fifty. That's less than, that's less than point one percent. Yeah. That's not even near a minority. So, no, the NHL isn't that bad, you know, it's like, you know, there's, there's players that love this show. You know, they may, again, that are big supporters that may not, you know, but they, they text me, hey, was that what it was like for you? So it's just keeping it positive and not, not the, the naysayers of, oh, well, this is just, you know, whatever. And this is, you know, it's just check, you know, doing this. And I think it's important that we keep that momentum going, that we normalize it, that it is people's live stories, whether it's myself or other people out there. You know, and it's not a woe is me. It's just that people are struggling. And I think to bring a light to it and just because we work in sports, doesn't make it any different, right? I think it actually makes it harder. We live in a hyper masculine kind of, you know, suck it up. Don't, you know, you're team first mentality. It's tough to be an individual. And but we all battle something. We all, you know, have something that we don't like about ourselves. But I think I try to live it in my life too is like focus on the positive, focus on, on what this show has brought, focus on the stories of people coming out after seeing it, focus on, you know, that stuff, like the positivity, not the, not the online trolls that don't even show their face. And I think it's just, we're giving that too much oxygen. And I think, you know, I just think it's, it's, it's an awesome thing for the game to get people talking about it. And, and I really hope that the NHL and teams for that matter take this and, and, and use it in a positive space. You've, you've now brought in a whole new wave of, of fans. I think I saw something like there was a 400% uptake on stubhub for a game, like a, for like a pride game. And I'm like, okay, let's now the business side of me as an agent says, let's, let's bring those people in and let's have them stay. Right. Let's have them, let's have them be fans and let's have them by jerseys because that's, guess what? That leads to expansion. That leads to the cap going up. That leads to more money in the system, which leads to bigger paychecks for me. So let's go. Yep. Damn right. Damn right. Right. I think more outdoor, more fun. Yeah. Let's, let's not limit it. Let's, let's, let's keep this thing going in the momentum that it's created. And I think we'd be foolish not to offer it to be a blimp on the radar. I agree. I agree, man. Because you've got this whole new fan base ready to come in and, and say, oh, maybe it's not as bad as we think. And let's, let's cap, like not capitalize, but let's, let's use that momentum and just keep this thing going. I agree. I agree. So perfect transition again. You're a fucking legend at this. You should, you should be a professional podcaster in terms of growing the game, keeping things hummin. Gotta talk about Olympics with you as a guy who's been there. You, I don't need you to shove the Sochi ring in my face again, but I'm going to ask you to do it. There it is. There it is. There we go. Let me get a good look at it too. It's unbelievable. Look at that. Damn, that is really cool. So you can't allow on the side. I don't know if you guys know it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know it, Boehner. Okay. So you've got so much experience here with, with hockey, can I with Olympics, with gold medals, it's ridiculous. What, what is this like for, for the players, for the fans, for people attached? Like, I, I, we're getting so hyped up for all of our new fans who have come in who, you know, are existing fans. So many have not, they can't remember the last time we really dove in and enjoyed Olympics and hockey with best unbest NHL players. We've got the P.D. upgals going in here. They're already there like, you know, seeing, seeing Aaron Ambrose there, like getting ready for these games. Yeah. They start on like Thursday here. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. They're, like by the time this comes out, like they're, they're starting. So it's like the, the, the vibes are already humming. But as someone who's been there, what should people be looking forward to? And like, what are you looking forward to? What storylines? What's firing you up about all this? It's funny. When you're in the Olympic bubble, you, you kind of, you're so much more focused on team Canada itself. And in that, I mean, the curlers, the, sure, sure. Like I remember being in, in 2018 and, you know, Tessa Virtue is across the meal hall there. And she's competing for gold in a couple hours. And everyone's like, hey, good luck. You know, and then every all the players are in the lounge and they know that the, like hockey's the very last event. Yeah. Like I remember in Sochi, we won. And the boys literally had to like go right to the closing ceremonies because it's the very last event. But you've got snowboarders, curlers, uh, by Athalon, all in the village. And they could be done in the first three days. And then they're just tearing it up in there. And you're ready for a gold medal game, right? So, you know, a world champion ships one thing in a world cup, you know, it's all hockey. But they're really feel the Olympic spirit, whether whatever country you're with. You're like, oh, geez, there's that person. And, you know, they're walking through the meal hall with their gold medal. And then you turn on the TV and they just had, you know, it was a snowboarder that just won is, you know, he's some 18 year old kid from Japan. And you're like, yeah, what is going on here? Right? So it's, it's that you're almost in a bubble, though. And Team Canada does a really good job of that of, of, you know, obviously players have their phones and stuff, but they set it up so good with like player lounges and never as a player really sitting in his room, doom scrolling, being like, oh, we got the US tomorrow. Like you have to come together as such a quick team because one game, you know, I think they open against the checks, like one game and it you, you could be a bad quarter final matchup. Yeah, right. I think they have like three practices before they go, you know, like before they actually play, which may not even be in the main rank. So it is like hit the ground running, but really not protecting, but creating a bubble around the players, right? And I think they said the same at four nations, like they, they try to just create this atmosphere because the noise around it. And obviously, you know, like you'll see the Olympics, like half of the, like the, they won't show it on the camera, but wherever the cameras are, half of the lower bowl is booked out for world media. Yeah. Like that's how hard, that's how hard tickets are to get. Like if you could ever get someone in there, if you look back at the cameras, the whole lower bowl is all desks and desks and people writing for like outlets that have the media rights and all that. It's not, it's not going to be that Boston four nations feel where it's fights. Obviously, there's rules, but it's more, you know, you're going to see bad penalties. You're going to see times where, you know, like a world juniors where you see a bad call or you see, you know, a goal that should have gone in or a Bennington massive save in OT, you know, and like that, that split the second, it's not a best of seven. It's, it's one game, best on best, but there's no chance that I'm betting against a motivated Connor. Nate and nothing against, nothing against you, American boys, but like, no, I know I've worked with some of those guys and like a pissed off motivated Connor is a dangerous thing. Yeah. I told you, man, that the players tribune article, I read it and I, A, I got so emotional on his behalf. The story about his bachelor party, like being bummed out on his bachelor party, I was like, fuck, man, I just want to give this guy a hug. But then I also finish it and I was like, fuck, like they are winning so easily. It's ridiculous. Well, and you know, Coup, too, you know, Coup's going to bring them together. Coup is one of the all time, you know, best coaches. I think he's as long as tenured, but, you know, he was a lot to be the Olympic coach. You know, the way he brings guys together, both on and off the ice is second to none, you know, and then you get talk. You get, you know, some of those coaches that are in there, Pete, Pete DeBorre, you know, Misha, you get these guys that I've worked with that you know, you know, you know, most kids can have the boys dialed in, right? You know, he's obviously a Hall of Famer all day long, but this puts them in the all time so you can get this done, right? And I think that motivation, the drive that they have, you know, and obviously I worked hockey at 12 years. I'm right or die hockey. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'll be ready to go and believe me, I've lost in shootouts to USA. They're a hell of a team and not just saying that. The Swedes are stacked. The Czechs. Like this isn't for nations. This is, you know, I hope one day Russia, you can get back in there because I think they're very talented as well. Yeah. Obviously world politics is beyond, beyond us, but I think, you know, if they could ever get back in there, they've got, you know, look at their three starting bullies. Like look at, look at you with these bullies. Like you're like, it's fucking crazy, man. Like it is like it's, it's, it's wild. Yeah. Is it a level for four nations, Boehner, because I was going to ask you this too, that was such a cool moment for all of us, right? Because we hadn't seen Best on Best in so long, it had been years and it felt like, surely you had the same experience we did where I was getting texts from my, you know, basketball friend, friends who are like, dude, this is crazy. Like everyone was watching hockey for the first time in a long time. Do you anticipate that exact thing again or, or did we, did we get spoiled for nations? And now everyone's like, okay, I get this. I see what you guys are doing or do you think it's going to be even bigger? The players will be very motivated because it is the Olympics and they've waited for it best on, like nothing against four nations or World Cup of hockey, but those are NHL, NHL PA run events, right? This is the IOC. This is an Olympic gold medal. This is, this is, you know, you think of Athens, you think of like Salt Lake City, you think of, you know, Nagano when Gretz didn't shoot, like, you know, I was on the World Cup team and I couldn't, like, you know, I couldn't replay every game, but I remember Salt Lake when Mario let it go through his legs to Paul Kurya. Yeah. I remember the Golden Gold and Vancouver were Sidiel Ziggy, right? Yeah. I can't remember, I can't remember stuff like that from four nations, but not, it's just, it's on another level to say, I think we were spoiled from a viewership standpoint. You know, you get those fights here in the Bell Center, you're in TV guarded. It's primetime 8 p.m. You know, I just look like there's a game at 10 a.m. that team can't just play Eastern. So that's like 715 for you guys. I don't think you'll be screaming at your TV, Muck and Pines. Yeah. Right? I'm sure you'd be surprised, pal. I'm at King's head pub in Santa Monica at 6 a.m. watching Chelsea games drinking Guinness. So I don't know what I'm again. That's guy too, but you know what I mean? Like, you know, I think the time zone, the rules, but the players will definitely be on a next level. I think, you know, anytime you throw an Olympic gold medal on the line and I'm just so happy that it's back. I've been to, it's obviously so cheap in 2014 when it was best on best and nothing against non NHL players, but it definitely didn't have the same feel in 2018. Yeah. Yeah. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying like it is great. We had great players. We got a bronze, but it's nowhere near what a Conor McDavid and a sitting crossbe on the same power play as. Yeah. And that's just that's just straight up. That's just straight up facts. Remember that first side, you've got Kitchock, Matthews and Quinn Hughes. You're like, oh boy, this is going to be just stay out of the box. Yeah. Yeah. Seriously. I'm at four nations. Remember that first Canada suite in the first paper that Canada got. Oh, when he just, like, threw a kind of blind there. Just past past, said like no look back and pass across the crease goal and everyone is like yikes. Yeah. I was like, are you shitting me? And then just if you want throw it to Macara up top. Yeah. If you want, if you want, just get him a give and go. Give him a touch. Give him a Tyson Barry assist. Yeah. Um, but, uh, you know, as aside from just all the excitement and everything we're all looking forward to, what do you think that the Olympics? Is going to do and can do for the game, both both the men's and the women's game of just like new eyeballs. I, you know what I thought was interesting, Banner is like T.J. O she's a really good friend. We've talked to him a lot and he's obviously so vocal about how the Olympics made his career. You know, it's like he wasn't a household name and he then has the shootout moment and then, you know, he gets a great deal with Washington when he gets dealt over there and then he wins a Stanley Cup. I think we're beyond the point now where, especially with US and Canada, maybe you're not seeing guys on this team that you're like, never heard of that guy. You know, it's like everyone's so good that you're like, not only do you know who who's on the team, you're losing your mind about the guys who aren't selected on the team. So, you know, what, what do you see is what these games can do for our game as a whole? I think anytime you get the best players competing against each other, it's great. I'm all for, you know, yeah, club teams, but there's 32 of them. Let's, let's get it right there. It's diluted, right? And I don't mean diluted. I mean, I think the team has a lot of different players, but I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. I think it's a lot of different players. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety is the spice of life. Variety products are only for adults of legal age, and every customer is age verified. This is a product that contains nicotine and nicotine is an addictive chemical. Who is fired up to go back to the movies? It's literally my favorite thing to do. Same this year, February 13th, I am fired up because from the completely unhinged and deranged mind of Gore-Rubinsky comes. This year's must see film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. A man from the future arrives at a Los Angeles diner, Chaos and Seuss, as he recruits a group of unlikely heroes on a one-night quest to save humanity, once and for all. What happens along the way will keep you guessing until the mind-blowing end, starring Sam Rockwell, critics are calling it absolute chaotic perfection. I can't think of a better endorsement than that sentence. Some believe that Gore-Rubinsky bringing the pirates of the Caribbean, the ring, rango, one of the greatest animated films of all time. Don't be thirsty. Don't be thirsty when you're watching rango, but be ready to have a good time. It's incredible. It's unbelievable. Sam is a genius. Let's go to the other Sam, Sam Rockwell. One of the greatest actors working. You know him from so many things. Three billboards outside of Ebbing Missouri, JoJo Rabbit, Moon. He's an absolute all-star. So much of this cast. You got people from White Lotus, Ted Lasso, Atlanta, whatever you like. It's all in there. It's fantastic. This is a can't miss movie experience. And they've let us take some sneak peeks and it is so funny because literally it's like, dude, it's literally like Terminator. But instead of jacked Arnold coming up, come with me if you want to live. It's Sam Rockwell. It's like a strainer helmet. He's absolutely out of his mind. It was just perfect. The vibe is so good. It's going to be so funny, so action-packed. You do not want to miss it. I am dying at the trailer and all the stuff we're able to see. And this is one of those in theater experiences. No question about it. In a day where we are starved for original, fun, authentic content. No remakes, no sequels, no superhero stuff. This is the movie to see. Friday the 13th, February 13th, this movie is coming out. You've got to check it out. Do not miss it. Rated our under 17, not admitted. Without a parent. Tickets are on sale now. It's going to sell out. So get one today. Our deepest gratitude to Sabane for joining the podcast. That was fantastic. Delightful. Delightful. Sit down. Delightful. We should have had tea. We should have made him some tea. That would have been fantastic. Professor, you are looking rather ragged today. Daniel, I must admit, I for a piece of content last night. I sprinkled powder, goldbond powder into my hair. You did. And to appear older as if I need any help in that category. And then I forgot about that act and went to go to sleep last night. And I did think to myself, there's a lot of powder in my hair. Now your pillowcase. Yes, yes. And so then I give it to the old rins. I did a rins. But not, you know, a shower. I was more of a rins. And then it was, it was caked in there. In a way, I had not anticipated. And I'm still recovering to be honest with you. Still recovering. You have a PhD. You're not a scientist. And listen, the content is king. And the video was seeing. So it's worth it. It was worth every, worth every tango. I anticipated that your ragged looks might come from the fact that our mega parlay last week was utterly terrible. Well, I would say this, the, when we read the, the matchups, I read them in order of the pop drop. And so sometimes when I'm checking the scores in real time, the next on that Saturday, I, I'm going in chronological order. And you can only win, you can only get them all right if you get the first right. Yeah. So sometimes you lose it. And I tuned into the mega parlay on Saturday. And it began as such, gentlemen, kings, yes, abs, yes, pens, yes, on a road. And I thought to myself, we are living on a beach. We might, we might, we might finally do it. We quite literally will move to a beach. But then cats, no sharks, no canes, no sabers, no devils, no aisles, no one of the worst runs in history of the professors. That was absolutely shambolic as they say, miraculously, miraculously jackets, yes, canucks, no, and Fini will answer for his crimes on that, that, that was a terrible, terrible look for me. No wild yes, night, no five and nine. The worst we've ever done, the worst we have ever done, but we could always do us, always do even worse. Watch me. Speaking of watch me, the life on the line, the worst we've ever done, nights, no sabers, no pens, yes, sharks, no I went Oh, and to I apologize. As you should get your act together. So both games were so close, it was not, it shouldn't have gone that way. It should never, I cannot believe the sharks lost either. I, I, it depends, depends. You bet on the pens. Oh, good happens. Everything else is a fucking disaster. However, Friday fade pulled us out of the trenches. Surely as it always does. Yet again, the blue jackets with a Charlie coil hatchet fade delivered. We continue on the heater. The fade should be studied. Remind other scientists. The Saturday, Sally, we had Maclin, Celebriini to score against the pathetic and woeful flames. We are pathetic and woeful. The sharks loose. Dirt out we are pathetic. However, again, the Sunday, Patrick, parlay. We had the Cain's money line under six and a half and a Seth Jarvis point. The Cain's one three two in overtime. Cain's money line, the under and Seth Jarvis with an assist on the O. T winner by a ho. What a moment. And that is a delicious bet for the people who are withouting me. One single play or three became real. It's, it's incredible. And I will say the Patrick parlay is a, is a lovely payout. I love absolutely. So I enjoy, enjoy the winnings. We are giving you brilliant, brilliant things. We did, we did get greedy. We did slightly and tried to entertain you even more. On a Sunday with the stadium series, Patrick, parlay, bonus bet. Tampa money line, Coocher off point, under six point five. Well, Tampa did win and Cooch went off. Four points, including an incredible one T game tire. Brilliant. However, there were ten goalscord. It was under. It was under. I'm literated. I did, however, in that game, make a bet of Tampa money line and the over, right for a punch drop. Well, thank you for telling everyone. I told the entire Northane team. We were there. But you were there. You were there. You were there. So listen, the fade hits, the silly misses, the Patrick parlay hits, the stadium series parlay misses. You've come out on top. Absolutely. Absolutely come out on top. Absolutely come out on top. So here we are. We are, this is a Thursday that you're listening to this. And we have the Olympic break coming up. Thursday, the fifth is the last day of games. Which means there's no Friday fake. We don't have to face it. We don't have to say that today. Sally. We don't have to have a Sunday hat or a party. Yes. So we are simply going to adjust. We will do life on the line. We will do mega party for the Thursdays slate. Walk us through, Professor. Professor, what? No, no, no, no. I thought we are going to go because of the similarities to a Doctor Watson. We'll be doing a Doctor Watkins. Doctor Watkins. You will be participating in this. You simply say who you think will shall win when I call on you. Do I have to have a British accent too? No, you do not. I would say if you'd like to. Yes. We're all right. I'll do it. Yes. That's a pretty good one. I guess I'll do it. Daniel, Daniel, a ripper over there. Daniel, do you like to begin? Oh, yeah, well, some of you Daniel. Daniel, Pen's at Sabers. I will take the pens. Christopher, Isles at Devils. I'll go Isles. Doctor Watkins. Canes at Rags. I'm going to go Canes. Yes, yes. It's very smart. Daniel sends at Flyers. This is brutal. I'll take the flyers. Finally a home team, Daniel. Finally. Christopher, Preds at Caps. Give me the caps. Give me Logan. He will be playing. Yes, we don't know. I suppose. We don't know. Give me the caps. I would imagine a tune up. I'm not sure. I don't know. That's the tricky part. Doctor Watson. Cats at Bulls. Oh, he got a Bults down, right? Yes. Yes, Watson. Yes. And Daniel, Kings at Knights. I think I'm going to take the Kings. Yes, the Knights did burn you. That's great. I think the Ultimate by you, Daniel, the Megaparlay. Live on a beach. Thursday edition. Pens, aisles, canes, flyers, caps, bolts, kings. Lovely, lovely work. I think the slate's very nice. I think it could do well for us. Lovely work. Now the question becomes, if your life was on the line, and we have four games to pick, which four will we go with? How would you like to do this? Because I dropped the ball last night. We alternated and I went second. What's that? What's that? He's that right. I don't know. To be quite honest, I don't know. Well, I think whatever we did, went for a ride, the warmer hand. Not the hot hand, because you don't have that. But alternates, why don't you go first, and we'll see how we do. Alternates, leg one. Leg one of the life on the line. Palais. In Nashville, they need to stay calm. But Ovis in his office and he'll be shooting. It may be raining clap bombs, but at least they're not the ones from Putin. I know. Oh, fuck an hell. Well. Cab's money line. Not his most ridiculous, which is good. All right, my first. Coach scores two points a night. Kachak still isn't quite right. The Battle of Florida may have officially swung. Katz are in a serious drought, and time is starting to run out. The fat lady has maybe already sung. The temper is so fucking back. Florida must get back on track. But Pantas fans are starting to fear. Katz may have nine lives, but hide your kids, hide your wives, because bolts are pounding everyone out here. Tampa money line. Excellent, excellent work, professor. Excellent work. Excellent work. Right, right, Ochirio. The next leg, the next leg. The Islanders let Shafo run free with no tether, and he's put the league on notice. While the Hughes brothers have played, even worse together, then the brothers on the white Lotus. Oh, Oh, Oh, I don't know, those two brothers had chemistry. They might have done better for being honest. They might have performed better. They at least got results. You know, they could finish. They could finish. Fuck. They might not remember it. All right. Our last leg of the life on the line, Paolo. Two Cinderella's. It feels like Coachella, because both fan bases are rolling on Molly. Sabers and pens are both funnigas. Buffalo folks are starting to feel jolly. With players minds on Milan, their focus may be gone. Tazian Rass have their minds on Millenase. But Sid is no child. His mind will be dialed. Sabers lose because they got lazy. Pens money life. Excellent. Life on the line. Caps, aisles, bolts, pens. Enjoy your winnings into the bread. Treat yourself for something spectacular because we will be in Italy and you deserve something nice too. Yes, you do. Millenase. Yes, yes. Okay. Let's know ad. We'll watch this. We will disappear in three, two, one. Thank you so much to the professors for those delicious picks. Hopefully they did better than last week. That would be great. Make sure to get those in right now, because it's Thursday. We got the Olympic break coming up. We're going to close this episode out with a fun game. This one is called Trivia Factorial. So, I've got a player in mind. I've got questions for Chris. First one is worth 10 points. The next is 8, 6, 4, 2, and 1. If he guesses wrong, he's out. I get zero. So we can go on down the line. Are you ready, sir? Yes, I am. I suck at this game. It's by least. You just have no courage. You have no courage to get. But I also just don't know. Yeah, neither do I. Question number one. We're at 10 points. Despite having plans to join UMass Amherst, this American player decided to go to the OHL, where he spent three full seasons before jumping to the NHL. That's a great, that's a great 10 pointer, because I could have gotten that if I had happened to have known it. Yeah. Almost went to UMass did three OHL seasons, and then went to the NHL. That's how you've said. Yep. And he's an American player. And he's an American player. American player, OHL. Frank, I gave him a lot. Yeah, that's why I was a great 10 pointer. That's a great 10 pointer. I do not know. Move on. Okay. Question number two worth eight points. With the Erie Otters, he set a franchise record with over 50 goals and 100 points in his rookie season, winning CHL rookie of the year. In his three seasons with Erie, he became the Otters all-time goals and points score of any OHL player born in the US. He won CHL player of the year, and is one of two players to score 50 goals and 100 points in all three years of their OHL career. Wow. Wow. Wow. All right. Really? Wow. He's really good. That is sick. Oh, yeah. That is a sickness. Okay. And you haven't given me any time period yet. So I don't know on age. But I have to believe this is... I have to believe this skill translated to the NHL. So I'm just thinking of like an all-time American score. Someone who's pumping in goals, he passed or present. I'm gonna give you a hint. Okay. This guy is very current. Okay, so he's current guy. This isn't some like old school. He's an American guy who is scoring a ton of goals in the league, probably. Certainly he's doing all right, and he did it. He lit up the OHL. Lit it the fuck up. Yes. Um... Damn, damn, damn, damn. We're gonna move on. Yeah. Go to six. I think you could get it on this one. Okay. Question number three worth six points. In his rookie year with the Chicago Blackhawks, he became the second youngest player in franchise history to score a hat trick, four days younger than Jeremy Rohnick. He then became the youngest hawks rookie to score two hat tricks. And then the first hawks rookie ever to score three hat tricks. And the first US-born rookie to do so since Tony Granado in 1989. His 28 goals and 52 points earned him Blackhawks player of the year. Wow. Okay. I'm going to... guess. Whoa. Bum, bum, bum. But I don't know if this is right. But it just... I'll die on this. I'll happily die on this. Yeah, okay. Because I'm like, what? Yeah. Okay. I'm hoping you went very topical to reward a great American. Is it Patrick Kane? No, it is not. Fuck. Damn. That's tough. How is he not the best scoring Blackhawk ever? In question number four for four points. Despite great talent in the Blackhawks tear down of 2022, they traded this player to the senators for the seventh overall pick, 39th overall pick, and a 2024 third round pick. He played a full season with the SENS but then refused to sign as an RFA. He was then dealt to Detroit for Dominic Kubelik, Donovan Subrango, and a conditional 2024 first round. Or a conditional 2024 first, and a 2024 fourth. Cat? Yeah. Question number five. With two points, even though he is a top five in the NHL in goals, this exceptional US talent was not selected for the 2026 Olympic roster and for one. A spin on his last name, this player's nickname is Cat. I actually was weirdly thinking Cat but I couldn't remember where he played and then I was like, it must be, Kaneer must have set all those records of like, I feel like he was pumping in goals. Yeah. Maybe not hat tricks though. Maybe not tricks. It was just tricks. Where did he play? Who, Kaneer? Yeah. I actually don't know. Because I couldn't remember. That's what I was like, I don't know. Program or did he play just in high school? Bum, bum, bum, bum. It must have been a dev program. Yeah, dev program. But no, no, OHL Londonites leading them in scoring. Oh shit, he was in London, that's right. That's right. So I'm like, fuck. He was in the OHL too. That was a trick. That was a trickie. That was a goal score. I think that's the first zero ever. But I'm happy that I guess. Yeah. When you said top goal is like, this is also top goal. Yeah. Talking about talent. But actually, if Kane hadn't just become the old time leading American score, I think I might have been like, I was like, oh, he's definitely doing Kane. I know why he picked me. Yeah. Fuck. Well, we got our first goose egg from CP. Comment's going to be so pissed. People who can't are really puffed up stuff. All right, folks, that is it for us today at the Engine Intercept Podcast. Go on, Spotify, Apple. Leave us some five star reviews. Show us some love. Because we love you guys. We can't thank you enough for all of your support. Always. Check us out on all of the things we've got Olympic merch coming out. We've got a live show on Saturday. If you're in the LA area, come to West Side Comedy Club. We will be there doing a meet and greet before having some drinks with you all. We're going to do a fun little episode. Rip it up. It's going to be blast. Yes. Sean will be there too. Sean will be there. Sean, we got any Sean fans. Sean is going to be there as a part of the show. So if you're in the LA area, you need some fun plans on Saturday. We've got a few tickets left on sale. It's going to be a blast. Again, five star reviews. Subscribe on the YouTube. If you want to see more of us, we got a ton of Olympic content coming up. Jack O'Calahan, US Gold Medal legend coming on the show. We'll be in Milan next week. A lot of fun stuff coming up. A lot of interviews, a lot of guests, a lot of great stuff. So we'll see you then. Can't wait to see you in Italy. Can't wait to see you on Saturday if you're coming to the show. And until all that, skate hard. Join Midnight Casino and discover a whole new world. With hot slots, jackpots, live casino roulette and blackjack at the ready. Come and play your way. Get 100 free spins when you spend 20 pounds on eligible games. Search Midnight Casino or download the Midnight app today. Midnight Casino Dumbair, you decide. New customers only. Restrictions and TNCs apply. 18 plus, BeGumbleAware.org.