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A relatable and honest podcast about the highs and lows of being a youth hockey parent. Join us as we share real stories, struggles, and wins from the rink, offering insights and support for parents navigating the world of youth hockey.
This is for the sled dogs in the trenches. Real hockey parents, real stories. The Good and the Gong Show. No filters, no sugarcoating, no politics, just straight hockey talk, and the best guests around the barn. Welcome to the Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast.
Intro:Alright, boys. Grind them corners, chirp responsibly, and bring that savage fire.
Jamie:Alright, everybody. Welcome back to episode 85 of the Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast powered by Pacific Rink, the unfiltered podcast for hockey parents. No politics, no sugarcoating, just real talk for frustrated hockey parents in the trenches. Oh.
Scott:Oh. Spicy today.
Jamie:You like that?
Scott:We're spicy.
Jamie:Listen. Trying something a little new. I felt like it was necessary, so I just went I felt good about it and went with it.
Scott:You felt good about it?
Jamie:I did.
Scott:Yeah. Okay.
Jamie:Felt good about it.
Scott:Good and frustrated at
Jamie:the same time.
Scott:Usually, don't don't I don't usually have those same feelings.
Jamie:No. But I felt good about it.
Scott:Okay. Good.
Jamie:I'm not gonna lie.
Scott:Alright. Yeah. How's stuff off your chest? Therapy.
Jamie:Lesson, that's what this is about. It
Scott:is part of what
Jamie:it's about. Kind of what one of the reasons we started this.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:Educational end part therapy session for us and everybody else out there listening that needs it.
Scott:Yes. Because the chances of us being the only frustrated hockey parents at the moment are low.
Jamie:Extremely low.
Speaker 4:Low.
Scott:Yes. Very low.
Jamie:Very low. So speaking of frustrations, how was your weekend?
Scott:Well, let me ask you a quick question. Do you do you wanna check out, check out is not the right word, but you want us, to our sponsors?
Jamie:I do. Yes. Our partners. We we can do that first. So thank you to Big John Dangles for our awesome intro.
Scott:Yes, Go check
Jamie:him out at Instagram at Big John Dangles on Instagram. You'll love his you'll love his stuff. He's got really cool shit.
Scott:Yep.
Jamie:Yeah. Should we roll into everything else? Get the business out of the way?
Scott:Yeah. Alright.
Jamie:So go check out Howie's Hockey. Use our code our discount code, Crazy 10 for 10% off. They have great stuff. They have awesome tape, awesome laces. Dominic now tapes his stick, like, multiple times a day, so he's cranked through that stuff like it's like like like it's going out of style.
Jamie:You know? The laces are cool. He likes the wax ones. It's Scott's favorite, the candle, my my favorite, the scissors, the yellow handled scissors that cut literally everything known to man. Yep.
Jamie:Yeah. They have and they have really cool stuff. They have really cool vintage clothing. The blackout sweatshirts that Scott and I have are are awesome. You know?
Jamie:I can't wait to take it away from take it away with me this weekend. So, yeah, so go check out howie'shockey, howie'shockey.com, and use our discount code crazy that no. Crazy 10 for 10% off
Scott:Crazy 10.
Jamie:For Howie's hockey paraphernalia and gear.
Scott:That's funny you, you started, like, mixing
Jamie:up I did. You saw that?
Scott:Well, so I was when I was playing pickup this weekend, one of the guys, that I play with, he he was calling out our discount codes on the bench. Oh, how fuck is that? Crazy 10 or Crazy Dads and I was like
Jamie:He's right. There's a lot of them.
Scott:Yo, shout out Steve.
Jamie:Shout out Steve. For listening buddy.
Scott:Yeah. And he's also at the Saints organization as well. He's got a little one that's playing. So Oh, is he? Shout out coach Steve.
Jamie:Oh, very cool. You know, it's funny. I I don't obviously don't know Steve, but, so when you when you and I met up at the rink last weekend Yeah. Because both our kids had games same time, we and kinda popped into each other's games. But you and I were talking in the lobby, and a couple of our parents were there.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:And and after you met them, they were like, oh, shit. I didn't know that's what he like, they're like they're like, like, I didn't realize that was him. One one one of our dads, Johnny Macaluso, his goalie dad
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:He's, shout out, Johnny. And he's like, he's like, dude, I didn't realize he was so tall. He's like, dude, he's a lot bigger than I thought he was. Yeah.
Scott:Well, at least he didn't say, I didn't realize how short
Jamie:you are.
Scott:Suppose. I didn't You know? Anyway.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. But yeah. So it was just funny, like like, that's the first time you met a couple of our parents who who listened. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:You know,
Jamie:they were like, oh, shit. Look who it
Scott:is. Totally. That you know, it was great to meet them. They are they seem like a really friendly bunch.
Jamie:We have good parents.
Scott:Yeah. That's great. Yeah. So so do we. And and and You
Jamie:guys have a good group?
Scott:Yeah. As as far as I can tell so far. I mean, I've been talking well, listen. We're getting sidetracked a little. We'll get back
Jamie:to the second. Yeah. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. Next up, we've got a hockeytrain.com and coach Kevin. Anyone out there that hasn't checked out that website before, gotta do it. It's great for off ice stick handling shooting, speed strength agility training.
Scott:It's got a awesome app that has everything you can need, know, to follow the programs. I'm currently going through the or using the men's league domination 26. Right. And so, you know, along with that and something that I'm gonna keep on doing is not only training with coach Kevin's workout, but I'm also gonna be doing a few other things I'll share later just to kind of, you know, put our crazy dad, you know, train train through the ringer. So in any event but yeah.
Scott:No. Coach Kevin, at hockeytraining.com. Check it out. It's, he's got stick handling, shooting, like I said, and it's he has got virtual classes that you can also sign up for. So those are also great.
Scott:So check him out, hockeytraining.com for all of your off ice strength, speed, agility, shooting, stick handling needs.
Jamie:Yeah. You're doing well with that stuff so far.
Scott:Yeah. So so I haven't really I've been kinda tinkering. Tinkering is not the right word. I've been kinda thinking about how I'm gonna document this whole thing, but the the idea is that I am going to do all the things that we'd ask our kids to do. So I've been shooting a 100 pucks a day for like the last three weeks.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:I've been doing a stick handling video after I shoot my, you know, 100 pucks every day.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:I've been using coach Kevin's men's league domination
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:Workout. I've been doing that for Awesome. This is week number three, I think.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:Paying attention to my nutrition. Good. I've been taking a hockey IQ course online, which is pretty awesome. I'm going to oh, I took a private lesson with one of our local skills coaches.
Jamie:That surely.
Scott:So in any event, I'm gonna start document this. We're gonna post have a I have a separate social account that I'm gonna link up with Crazy Hockey Dads and we're gonna post some of that stuff. But basically, the bottom line is for all you crazy hockey parents, I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is and do it yourself and see what happens. Yeah. Because I've already had some very humbling moments.
Jamie:Sounds that way. And we'll get to those shortly, by the way.
Scott:Yeah. A 100%.
Jamie:We're gonna get to those shortly. Let's alright.
Scott:So So name is Hockey Dads. That was hockeytrain.com. Next up.
Jamie:Yeah. Go check out coach Kevin, guys. He's got really good stuff. Scott loves the app. And next, we have Titan Battle Gear.
Jamie:So, obviously, Scott and I, we talk about base layers a lot on this on the show. We trust our kids in Titan battle gear because it's the best protection on the market. They also have great looking gear. They have the new sticker pack, which just came out, which is a a new crazy looking base layer with, like looks like it looks like a shirt got sticker bombed
Scott:Yep.
Jamie:Which is pretty sweet. They have the what I forgot what it's called. It's like the popsicle look. The pop? The bomb pop
Scott:Oh, I got a story about bomb pop.
Jamie:Oh, you do? Yeah. Yeah. They have some really cool stuff. The camo is great, but but but the what what we love about it is the protection.
Jamie:It's got a nine protection, which is best best protection on the market. It looks great. Use our discount code crazy dads 10 for 10% off your Titan battle gear. You can find the link in our show notes, which is crazy hockey dads backslash titan battle gear. Yep.
Jamie:Right? Crazyhockeydads.com backslash titan battle gear to go to go right to the website. Go check it out. I know it's expensive. Go buy it anyway.
Jamie:You get 10% off with our with our discount code. Protect your kids. I don't wanna see any more skate cuts. We've seen too many already. Go protect your kids with Titan battle gear.
Jamie:I'm telling you, you will not be disappointed. Crazy Hockey Dads, Crazy Dads 10. Go check it out.
Scott:There you go. Yeah. This weekend, one of the dads on the team, has like a kind of side hustle that they got going on. They've got an ice cream truck. And so he's like he's like, you don't understand.
Scott:He because a kid walked by at the rink this weekend. And recognized him? No. No. No.
Scott:Wearing the Bomb Pop Titan battle gear top.
Jamie:Oh, he did.
Scott:The base layer.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. So I was yeah. I was walking I was walking with his dad and and he was saying, oh, I you know, I gotta either a colleague, his son either said that like he wanted it or he's like, need to get it for my son. He's like, we sell so many bomb pops.
Jamie:I'm sure they do by
Speaker 4:the way.
Scott:So and it makes yeah. He's like in any
Jamie:way Bomb pops like a staple.
Scott:Yeah. You know, like when he said he sold a ton of them, I I kinda found that hard to believe. I just feel like
Jamie:I mean, it's been around forever, dude.
Scott:I know. But so have a lot of things that they eventually go out of style. When was the last time you had an Italian ice?
Jamie:It's been my father-in-law buys me once in a while.
Scott:But like, that's not something like To tell that
Jamie:this was legit.
Scott:I know. But what I'm saying is
Jamie:With the, with the wooden spoon
Scott:And like all the
Jamie:wood. It wasn't even a spoon. It was just kinda like Scraper. It was just like a like a right. It was like a scraped piece of wood.
Scott:It was like a tongue depressor Right.
Jamie:In a
Scott:different shape.
Jamie:Exactly right. They used kinda like scraped at the ice.
Scott:Yeah. But then when you flipped it over, all the gooey syrupy stuff was on the bottom.
Jamie:The bottom part was the best. Yeah. I think the bottom part is fantastic. Yeah. But, like, a lot of those things are gone, I think.
Jamie:Like, I think, like and maybe I'm wrong about this, but, like, all the things that I used to get are, I think, are gone. Like, is the screwdriver still around? That was that thing that was shaped like a triangle, like a cone.
Scott:Isn't that a screwball? Maybe it was
Jamie:a screwball. Sorry. Thank
Scott:you. Sorry. Gum on the bottom. There was
Jamie:a gumball on the bottom. Sorry. Screwball.
Speaker 4:You're correct.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Like the wild bill with the, like which was like the cowboy with the the gumball nose.
Scott:Yep. The all that novelty ice cream.
Jamie:Is it gone? Is it all gone now?
Scott:I don't know. Some of it's gotta be gone.
Jamie:I think you're right about that.
Scott:You know it went away, the Choco Taco.
Jamie:I heard that recently it went away. That's no mas. Nancy said that that went away recently. Yeah. Which is shocking.
Scott:I I would think that that's more like a like, I feel like kids would be more apt to eat a Choco Taco than
Jamie:Than, like, the Italian ice or something like that.
Scott:Whatever. Doesn't matter. But we you know, I know a guy who knows a lot about this stuff. So because
Jamie:he's an ice cream truck. Know. Yeah. Which is pretty legit. Anyway Is is that the gentleman that I know?
Jamie:You know him.
Scott:I do know him. Yeah. Shadow Pat.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Officer.
Jamie:Right?
Scott:Officer Pat?
Jamie:Yeah. In my town. Yeah. No. No.
Jamie:It's when I run into him. Yeah. You know?
Scott:He's a great
Jamie:guy. Because he knows exactly where I live. So you see it's like it's crazy. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:You know, he's he's pretty he's pretty good dude.
Scott:Yeah. Know. They have a great family.
Jamie:Yeah. They seem to.
Scott:Anyhow. Yeah. Anyway. Sidetracked.
Jamie:Yes. Go
Scott:ahead. So bomb pops and Titan battle gear.
Jamie:Yes. Go get your Titan battle gear. A nine protection. Best protection on the market for your
Scott:kids. Yep. And athletic performance insight. If any of you out there, coaches, managers have not landed on a video analytics platform for your team this season or maybe you started the season without one and now you're thinking that you need one, you should definitely check out athleticperformanceinsight.com. Fill out the contact form.
Scott:Eric will be happy to walk you through the platform as well and and demo it as well as break down a game for free. And it's a really robust tool to take a look at all of like, you know, the different game scenarios, look at individual stats, team stats, individual plays, team plays, and basically, you know, all your games will get broken down, stored on his, platform, and you can go back and search through it in, you know, for all different types of scenarios you might wanna go over with your team or individual players. Take
Jamie:a look right now.
Scott:You're using it right now.
Jamie:Very good.
Scott:Yeah. And how's that going so far? Very good. It's going very alright. So there you go.
Scott:The proof is in the pudding. Yes.
Jamie:Very impressed.
Scott:I can't can't speak highly enough about Athletic Performance Insight. So if you're still considering, a video review software, for your team this season, go check out Athletic Performance Insight. Mention Crazy Hockey Dads.
Jamie:10% off. There
Scott:you go. Your season subscription.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty good, man. You know, we keep getting the we keep getting the like, they they keep tagging games. Yeah.
Jamie:And and so the kids log on to the to the portal. Right? They all have their own username and logins. They can go. They can they can, you know, pick the game.
Jamie:Yep. They can sort by their by themselves, by their player number. Yep. And boom. All their all the things pop up.
Scott:That's awesome. And the
Jamie:coaches tags, you know, certain ones they want them to pay attention to, and they and they they write, like, little blurb on it. Like, nice back check. Like, I don't know. Good zone entry. Yeah.
Jamie:You know, yada yada. Whatever you it's it's pretty robust.
Scott:Yeah. No. It's great.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. It was it's pretty neat. And it's and it's pretty user friendly too.
Scott:I would agree with that.
Jamie:Not not difficult to figure out at all. No. Even if you're technologically challenged.
Scott:Like yourself?
Jamie:I am definitely not technologically challenged. Not even a little bit. It's if I if I no. I'm not technologically challenged. It's you think I am.
Jamie:I don't know why you think I am. It's more of the along the lines of, like, if I don't wanna learn something
Scott:Mhmm.
Jamie:I just don't wanna learn something.
Scott:You're stubborn, basically.
Jamie:A 100%.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Yeah. When I wanna learn something, I learn it very quickly.
Scott:I would actually say that's true.
Jamie:Yeah. I learn it very quickly, very easily, and very quickly.
Scott:Yeah. I mean, you're like a savant.
Jamie:I mean, I wouldn't call myself a savant, but I but I but I if I wanna learn something, I go learn it.
Scott:That's good.
Jamie:That's I don't if that's good. Listen. I I I'm not, like, anti a I use AI all the time.
Scott:I know.
Jamie:All the time.
Scott:I know.
Jamie:Like, more than the normal person, I guarantee you.
Scott:Yeah?
Jamie:Yes.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Well, listen. I don't think you're technology challenged.
Jamie:I Definitely not.
Scott:I I there
Jamie:You're putting out fake news into the world.
Scott:Well, I I mean, there was a spell where, like, getting No.
Jamie:I I just I just didn't wanna upload five videos onto, a Google Doc.
Scott:Oh, I I
Jamie:don't know which one. What you're talking about.
Scott:Which one was that?
Jamie:I don't know. That's what you're talking about.
Scott:Oh, well,
Jamie:if that's what you're saying that I'm technology because I am definitely not technologically challenged.
Scott:Alright. Well, listen. You know what? I will walk back my statement, and you're not technology challenged. You just can be stubborn.
Jamie:A 100%. Yes.
Scott:Okay. You know, listen. People resist change. I get it.
Jamie:I'm definitely not one of those people, by the way.
Scott:Okay. You're also not that.
Jamie:I I I gotta tell you. I I definitely again, if if if you show me something, like, like never mind. Fuck you. Fucking dick. How was your weekend?
Scott:Oh, my weekend. You know, I will say I will say that this is like to continue on what we started talking about last week. I don't know what it's been with like there were some holidays you know with the Yeah. Yeah. And like the stops and starts with school and I don't know man.
Scott:I still don't feel like I've even caught like my groove yet with this like back to school stuff to be honest with you.
Jamie:No. Not yet.
Scott:A little bit but I don't know. It's just like it was yet another day with the school kids out of school yesterday and it was Oh yeah.
Jamie:Know, don't know.
Scott:No. Not now I feel like it's all in the rearview mirror but yeah. This past weekend we only had one game. We we had a a tournament our first weekend. Weekend we played three games.
Scott:Last weekend, we only played one.
Jamie:So we
Scott:were off on Saturday.
Jamie:Got it.
Scott:Got Otto up at, like, 04:20 to go play some pickup.
Jamie:Oh, you guys played in Mensley? He never played in your Mensley game.
Scott:Well, it's yeah. Pickup game. Whatever. So that was good. He had a freaking nasty goal, man.
Jamie:Did he?
Scott:And and like he he he did it against someone that is like no slouch on the ice. And I was like, oh, boy.
Jamie:You hit oops.
Scott:I was like, I can't I was like, that was really good, dude.
Jamie:Nice. Very cool.
Scott:Yeah. But we had fun. We've actually both scored on the same shift.
Jamie:Oh, that's funny.
Scott:He was out there, he scored a goal.
Jamie:Oh, son.
Scott:And then I scored a goal. Yeah. So that was good. Oh, very nice. But we know we had fun and then, know, it just sucks the life out of you come like midday if you're not like in the middle of doing something.
Scott:It's, you know
Jamie:Oh, you mean like you felt it?
Scott:Oh, yeah. Would get exhausted.
Jamie:The fact you've ever had.
Scott:Yeah. He he like passed out middle of the day, but it was fun. And then, you know, like what's great is that like he's
Jamie:That's pretty cool.
Scott:He's happy to get
Jamie:Father son bonding thing. Most kids don't wanna wake up that time of day.
Scott:He's game. He's game.
Jamie:That's cool.
Scott:I've I've not had to, like
Jamie:No issue waking him up.
Scott:It's it's harder to get him it's harder to get him up on, you know, for school. That's for sure.
Jamie:I remember that, yeah. That doesn't surprise me, by
Scott:the way.
Jamie:Yeah. Because that's something he doesn't wanna do.
Scott:Yeah. Not as much as he wants to play hockey.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I remember when Dominic used to do, like he used to private lessons in, like, early morning before school
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:When he was younger. Yeah. Like, that was not that was that was it was not easy to get him up for that. No. He did not wanna do that.
Scott:No. There were times Otto was not up for that year. But are you still doing that or no?
Jamie:I haven't done that in a
Scott:long time. No. We haven't done it.
Jamie:We haven't done the the early mornings in a long time. Yeah. I know people that still do them, but we have not done them in a long time.
Scott:Look. You know what happens? Like, it's interesting as you start to see and, like now that your kids are Yeah. Our kids are a little bit older and you look back at like what we were doing when the kids were younger. It's like when they were younger, they're going to sleep earlier.
Scott:The amount of school responsibility is less. Yes. You know, the the the practices are earlier like it's That's true. More conducive to
Jamie:The games are earlier, the pr everything's earlier.
Scott:It get like middle school and then when you get to high school, it's gotta be like getting up to the like the early morning practices are harder because like, you know, you're just you're skating later into the evening. You've got more commitments. You got schoolwork. Yeah. It's harder in
Jamie:the It's a lot.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:It's definitely a lot.
Scott:But, yeah, we haven't done early mornings in in some time.
Jamie:We haven't either.
Scott:Yeah. It's been a while. I there was we're we're trying to figure it out for a minute. Yeah.
Jamie:But then it's just afternoons now. It's Afternoons are our go to. Yeah. With Dom's school, I can get him to skate after. Yeah.
Jamie:And we're not doing a ton.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:You know? We're doing, like, maintenance type stuff. He sees RJ from top line. Yeah. RJ Burns, top line.
Jamie:He he sees, he sees RJ, once a week. You know? But, but but during the season, he's doing a lot of off ice, obviously,
Scott:in school. Of course, he is. Yeah. I know. But then, like, all that off ice training, you also have to be you have to be considerate of load management, I'm assuming too.
Scott:You don't wanna, like, overwork the kid. Correct. You know
Jamie:what mean? Exactly right. Because, like, he's work he's he's working every day at school, so I gotta be careful with what what he does
Scott:What additional stuff. After that.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And practice is a lot. Right?
Jamie:And and, like, a skill session is starting soon. So yeah. No. No. It's it's it's listen.
Jamie:You gotta well, you obviously said you had an overuse injury, so you gotta be careful with kids.
Scott:Yeah. I can overuse injury from shooting hockey pucks.
Jamie:Yeah. He said that.
Scott:Well, I I I mean, listen, I'm self diagnosing it, but I I I ended
Jamie:up Doctor Scott?
Scott:Doctor Scott. I was shooting pucks. So I forget how many have I've I've, you know, whatever, a 100 pucks a day for the last, like, I'm like at around 2,000 pucks. Probably shy two.
Jamie:And how long does a 100 pucks take you, by way? Let's talk about this because we all want our kids to shoot a 100 pucks a day.
Scott:Oh, how long does it take?
Jamie:Long does it take you to shoot a 100 pucks?
Scott:Oh, not that long.
Jamie:Okay. Are you shooting them with purpose, like Ryan Murphy says, or are you just firing them at the net willy nilly?
Scott:No. No. No. So I so we go I have, like, different
Jamie:Go check out Ryan Murphy's episode, by the way. Yeah. It's in the thirties or forties. I don't remember. But he's fantastic.
Jamie:Go check it out.
Scott:So I so it's interesting. This is what happens. So, like, I get out there and sometimes I'll be like, you know, I'll I'll I'll set my intention, you know, to be like I'm going to like shoot quickly. Right. You know, just so I'm not like not that you can really recreate an online situation, but I'm not going to like, you you know, take extra time in setting up the pucks.
Scott:I'm just gonna try to get them off like quickly. Sometimes I do that. Sometimes I'm like every shot, I need to make sure I have my head up, which for some types of shots are easier.
Jamie:So you're looking where you're shooting.
Scott:Right. And so then like I'm just, you know, I'm just pulling the puck in and then I'm gonna take it, make sure I'm shooting with my eyes up.
Jamie:Isn't that like normal?
Scott:It is normal, but it's harder with some things like backhand for me is really hard to shoot with my head up, for example.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:You know what I mean? And if I'm taking slap shots and I'm like not on the know, it's like on the and I'm the pucks are kind of like away from me, so I kinda pull it in. Right. And sometimes like I take a look, you know, peek down just to make sure that it's in
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:I'm not going to whatever. Anyway
Jamie:Okay. Has your shot gotten any better? Have you noticed anything?
Scott:See, that's the thing. So that's the thing that that I need to set some metrics around. So I can I can so I'm gonna put out a post this week? But for the shooting in particular, there's a place around here that has rapid shot.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:And rapid hands. And if you're not familiar with that, it's like a shooting and stick handling setup with like that tracks like speed, accuracy for your shooting, for stick handling it. You know, I don't I've never done it before, but I'm gonna use that as like kind of like my
Jamie:my You're a benchmark?
Scott:Benchmark and like how I'm gonna see whether or not I'm getting better.
Jamie:Okay. Have you done one before? Do you have a baseline?
Scott:I've done it before, but not recently. So I'm
Jamie:gonna do a baseline.
Scott:So this is be So I'm gonna do a baseline this week.
Jamie:Okay. So this is gonna be your jumping off point?
Scott:That'll be my jumping off point.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:You know, for skating, when I do that, I know I'm kinda like jumping off the rails or jumping around a
Jamie:little bit. Get into that show that you're skating.
Scott:My skating?
Jamie:And where and what level you're
Scott:So I am gonna get a Helios. Oh, I'll get a Helios so I can see how my skating goes.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:For Hockey IQ and kinda gameplay, like I'm taking this course, and then I'll do video review just to see how my on ice performance like if I am like taking in what I am learning and reviewing and see how that affects my gameplay.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:As far as like workouts, nutrition, I'm tracking those, like I'm tracking like what I'm eating, I'm tracking like my workouts, so that's easy easy enough to track. Okay. I took my measurements like, you know, like my my chest, neck
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Arms, legs. Yeah. I took measurements. I have my weight.
Scott:What else was there? Oh, strength. Obviously, see if I'm getting stronger
Jamie:or not. Yep. Gotcha.
Scott:So I'm gonna do a put a I'm mapping it all out and then I'll put out a post so,
Jamie:you know, and then
Scott:I'll start doing this stuff. But yeah. Was I you wanted to talk about the
Jamie:I did.
Scott:Yeah. So I I did So
Jamie:we're talking about benchmarks.
Scott:Benchmarks. Wait. Hold on. But where where were we talk what were we talking about just before this? We're talking if I was getting Oh, my overuse injury.
Jamie:I was talking about your overuse injury.
Speaker 4:So in
Jamie:any event.
Scott:So, yeah, was shooting pucks, and and I I started feeling like like a tweak tweak in my thing. But it's like it's like on my hip going around towards, like, my my butt.
Jamie:Alright. Right? Is it like a stabilizer? Like a like stabilizer muscle? I don't know,
Scott:but it's like it's like my my my I'm right handed. So if I'm shooting my and I take a step into my shot, my left foot's gonna be planted forward. Okay. And so my my my left foot is decelerating my body forward.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:And then as I'm
Jamie:Bill Prisode would be so punny.
Scott:Know. Then and then as I'm like twisting my
Jamie:hips Yeah.
Scott:Twisting my hips, my left hip is like getting pushed out and kind of backwards a little bit. Right. And somewhere in that motion Yeah. It doesn't feel Bueno.
Jamie:No.
Scott:No. And so and it's yeah. So I don't know. We'll see.
Jamie:Okay. So something's up.
Scott:Something's up.
Jamie:Okay. So what are you doing to, like, rest and recovery? Anything?
Scott:I I did not go to the gym.
Jamie:About rest and recovery for our kids all
Speaker 4:the time.
Scott:I did go to the gym this morning.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:I have a game tonight.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:I'll get on the ice and see how see how I feel. I'm not gonna push it if it hurts.
Jamie:Got it. Okay.
Scott:But excuse me. So in any event, so this this past week, I went to I went to a local
Jamie:You did?
Scott:Training facility.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:And How'd that go? It went good. I went to, I went to the cutting edge.
Jamie:Yep. You did.
Scott:I went to the cutting edge and I took a private lesson with Johnny Hero.
Jamie:Yeah. You did.
Scott:Shout out Johnny Hero.
Jamie:For those of you who know who are who live in our area, I guarantee you, you'll know Johnny Hero.
Scott:Yeah. And he's
Jamie:been there forever.
Scott:Forever. Great guy.
Jamie:And his last name really is Hero.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:We're not just making that up.
Scott:No. It's a great name. It's almost like you know, it's almost like
Jamie:It's a great name.
Scott:It's almost like if, like, Marvel were to have, like, a new hero, it'd be like, half Captain America, Johnny Hero, Spider Man, Batman.
Jamie:100%. I thought it was like a stage name when I first met him.
Scott:I just can't be real. But anyway, so I I did a lesson with him and he put me through the paces and I will say Something
Jamie:that he would put our kids through.
Scott:Yes. Something he would put our kids through and I and I gotta say I any anything I would get on my kid for, I did myself.
Speaker 4:You'd
Scott:And how'd that go? So let's start off by this. Number one, drill buster. That was me.
Jamie:You're the drill buster.
Scott:I dude. There was
Jamie:You were the fucking drill buster.
Scott:Dude, I literally had to stop in multiple times and be like, I don't know what I'm doing here. And there's a few times where I knew I didn't know what I was doing and I just made it up.
Jamie:And Which our kids, I guarantee you, which they do.
Scott:Which they do.
Jamie:100%.
Scott:Yeah. And they They
Jamie:just make it up because when they because they don't wanna look stupid.
Scott:Yeah. And so I was drill busting and then, you know what the biggest problem was? And I and and the reason why it didn't go as well as planned is because I didn't get an ice cut. I didn't get an ice no. I'm joking.
Jamie:I was just just gonna say, you out of your fucking mind right now. No. You're like, it wasn't smooth
Scott:as it's supposed to be. Was like it was like that really rough period. Yeah. Yeah. No.
Scott:But then I was going through it and what I found was the listen. First of all, he intentionally makes them complicated.
Jamie:Yes. He does.
Scott:Okay. And so
Jamie:Yeah, he does.
Scott:That part was like, alright. I go out there. It there's it's tight it's like tight quarters. You know what I mean?
Jamie:Like It's not a full size sheet.
Scott:No. But I'm just saying like even between like obstacles That's and what you have to do, there's not much like transition time.
Jamie:That's true.
Scott:So obviously quick hands and listen, I so I started out strong and then like in terms of like the way, you know, like my overall energy level and then I start going through it. All these stops and starts and all these transitions Mhmm. Like it it takes a lot out of you. It and and it it doesn't look like it does. So like if I'm watching my son and like let's just say he's going through this whole thing Right.
Scott:And you know, he needs to take a knee at the end of it. Like if he it might not look like he's like full on like blazing with speed Right. But he's also like all these starts and stops add up. Now listen
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:They're they're they're more conditioned than I am to all this stuff. Fair. But all I'll say was that I was surprised that like I didn't have to be moving a million miles an hour in order to really feel winded. You know what I mean? It was all stops and starts.
Scott:Like if I'm playing a game, I'm most winded when I'm like back checking or I've rushed the puck and I need to get back. I'm just like I'm it's like an all out like moving my legs Sure.
Speaker 4:Sure.
Scott:Yeah. This was not that but I was like gassed at the end of it. And I had to take a knee and it was it was interesting because I also found at the end of it, we had a I had to shoot. Like, you know, you go through all the obstacles Yeah.
Jamie:And the end of the drill's shot on that.
Scott:But by the end of it, I'm like I'm like huff like I'm I'm Yeah. I'm get I'm like so winded Yeah. At the end of it, and I feel like it's almost embarrassing to say how winded
Jamie:I was. Were you shooting muffins toward the net?
Scott:I couldn't even like You were working. I couldn't shoot well Yeah. Because I couldn't I I was so like kinda drained.
Jamie:Spent.
Scott:I was spent. I was just so happy to get over the finish line to like shoot
Jamie:the I just threw the puck at the net.
Scott:I couldn't I couldn't get my sometimes I couldn't get my head up.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. And part of it, I'm also in my head a little bit because I wanna I I wanna like, you know Yeah. I wanna get my head up. I wanna Sure. You know, I've been practicing shooting for a while and now none of it's coming together on the ice.
Scott:It's not. It's not. And then Johnny like, let's just say he's got like, I don't know, four different setups. Like, you know, you're gonna do four different things. Yeah.
Scott:And you get like four so it's like four sets of four different exercises with four reps of each one.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:We got as we got further along, I had to be like, dude, Johnny, I can't I don't think I can do this one again.
Jamie:Change the drill?
Scott:I said, listen, we gotta move on to next drill. And then like we go on to the next one, which was like just shooting. And I was like, alright, just shooting. I can handle that. Yeah.
Scott:Meanwhile, it's not just shooting.
Jamie:Of course, it's never
Scott:just me the puck and I'm like walking the blue line and there's tires and I have to like shoot. Yeah. And my God, I was like, even with that, was like, again, the stops and starts were like
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Scott:Killing me. Yeah. So, yeah, it was rough. And then yeah. Go ahead.
Jamie:Were they killing you were they killing you, like, stamina wise?
Scott:Stamina.
Jamie:In your legs or your chest?
Scott:The whole
Jamie:breathing or, like, or, like, or, like, was more breathing. It was more breathing.
Scott:It was more just like look. I I So you're just winded. I was totally
Jamie:much like your legs were shot.
Scott:My legs by the end, my legs were definitely, like, getting tired.
Jamie:Okay. Fair.
Scott:But it was different because more winded. It was more winded. Okay. For sure. This was your
Jamie:first time doing it. So I'm assuming if you continue to do it, that will improve.
Scott:Without a doubt. I mean, like, this hockey specific training I'm doing at the gym, I'm getting a lot of air bike, assault bike stuff, sled pushing. Right. Right. I I've actually felt in my men's like, pickup games Yeah.
Scott:Like, a sense of lightness that I haven't really felt, like, is is is is a little bit foreign. Like, I haven't felt it in a long time.
Jamie:So you're noticing a little bit of A little bit. Ease on the ice
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:Now that you're doing all
Scott:this stuff. And I'm noticing it when, like, you know, I it's I mean, my first couple steps. Right? Like Okay. I feel like my legs are moving a little quicker.
Scott:Okay. It's probably because I'm definitely losing weight also, and I'm strength training.
Jamie:I would think so.
Scott:And again, I'm not saying there's a dramatic change in my play, but, like, just lose the way I feel inside. Okay. It's like I feel a little bit I feel a little little bit of a lightness in my legs.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:Like the first couple, you know, steps. And then also like on the back check Mhmm. I'm, you know, I'm I'm definitely A little quicker. Well, even if I'm not a little quicker at this There's
Jamie:point more there.
Scott:There's more in the tank Okay. That like after I do, like, a hard back check, I can, you know, keep on going where there's other times where I might have, like, needed to, like, hop off the ice or whatever. So
Jamie:Okay. So you're saying we can't ever criticize our kids again in drill No.
Scott:We can. Smarter than we think it is. No. We can. But I'm just saying there some things out there
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:I get it. That that are not as, like, obvious if you don't do them. Right? And again, I think the biggest thing for me is, like, if there's a lot of stopping and starting Yeah. Like, and it doesn't look like the kids are moving that quickly Mhmm.
Scott:It it it that doesn't mean they're not, like Mhmm. You know, really winded. And then the other thing I would say is like standing around, like, needed time to recover. Now this was a private. It was just one on one.
Scott:Yeah. So naturally, you know, for fifty minutes to an hour, you're not going, you know, full on in the game.
Jamie:Yep.
Scott:But, like, if parents are criticizing a coach for maybe, like, there's too much standing around. And, there are times when there's too much standing around. Right. Like, if you have, like, a lot of kids on the ice and your kids are just not getting reps.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:But if it's, a small group thing, like you the kids need time to recover if you're expecting them to give them give everything they got on every single, you know, like lap they're doing on whatever it is.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:Right? They need time to recover. So that's another thing that I found was, you know, important for me, obviously, because I was sucking wind. But
Jamie:Yeah. I have a question. Yeah. So did you notice that as you were so I I never played ice hockey. I played every other sport but ice hockey.
Jamie:So I don't know. But I'm assuming that as you got more fatigued Mhmm. Okay? You know, Johnny sets up a lot of obstacles, like you were saying Yeah. To go around, and you need to pull, and you need to push, and you need to kinda like, you know I know the stuff he does.
Jamie:So, you know, you gotta Mohawk this or out, you whatever it is. So so I'm curious. As you got tired
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Did you find that you're that you also got mentally tired?
Scott:And you
Jamie:were not able to, like, like, figure like, do you forgot some drills because maybe you were so fatigued physically? Did that affect your mental
Scott:Well, you're also assuming I ever figured it out to start.
Jamie:So let's
Scott:just go with that one.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:No. So it yeah. I I yes. It definitely affected it. You know what you know what it affected more?
Scott:Like, if I messed up, Like I didn't stop to try to correct myself. I just said fuck it. I'm just gonna keep going and like do my own thing. Like I don't have I didn't wanna make another stop and another start. Like I didn't wanna lose my momentum.
Scott:You know what I mean? If I messed up. And there was plenty of it. Even just my stick handling through like, you know, like the Patrick Kane warm up, like it wasn't all over the place but even straight line. It's I I was like You mean with the pucks?
Scott:Yeah. With the pucks. Just like quick hands and Yeah. And and you know quick toe drags and and it it was it was a lot hard. It was hard.
Scott:Where am I?
Jamie:This is the fun part.
Scott:Spectrum of
Jamie:I I couldn't believe when you told me this, by the way.
Scott:I said I said, Johnny, how'd I do? And he goes and it's funny. He's like he's like, oh, you did great. And I was like, okay. We're getting off to a good start.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. And then he's like Here we Here
Speaker 4:we go.
Scott:He's like, you worked hard. Yeah. I was like, okay. And then he's like, you were coachable. I was like, okay.
Jamie:I hope so at 40 years old. And,
Scott:I was like, okay. But like, how how did I do? Like, what's my level?
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. And he says, you know?
Jamie:And you want you wanted to know where you were in the might squirt, peewee
Scott:Yeah. I just wanted to, like midget. Like, my
Jamie:a b c, double a, triple a.
Scott:Like, my skill level, like, would be Like,
Jamie:where am I? What do I equate to?
Scott:Like, you would put me in with a group of, like,
Jamie:what kids in terms of skill. Exactly. Where do I where do I land in the in the top to bottom?
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. And he said he says to me, he goes He's probably
Jamie:in the skill ability of a
Scott:Of an a player. Single a player.
Jamie:A single
Scott:a player. And at first, I was like, alright. I can handle that, like, you know, midget a, like, that's fine.
Jamie:Right. Midget a. Right. Exactly.
Speaker 4:Junior a. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:Club hockey, college club hockey, AC h a.
Scott:And then I said, yeah, but like but like what age? You know, like, and he said, oof. He's like, I I I would say you're like a a Pee wee.
Jamie:A Pee wee a.
Scott:Pee wee a.
Jamie:Which was exactly what Rich Cohen wrote his book about. The Pee wee a But
Scott:that makes me two levels below my son.
Jamie:Yeah. It does.
Scott:Meanwhile, if I had to go one on one with my son
Jamie:Your son is a triple a Pee wee. Would Second year Pee wee. I would Pee wee major triple a.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:You're two notches below
Scott:I'm two notches. Two notch according to Johnny.
Jamie:According
Scott:and then listen. I I I
Jamie:And I don't think Johnny pulls punches, by the way. No. Think Johnny's pretty honest. Straight shooter. Yeah.
Scott:And and like, quite and then I thought about that. I was and I'm, like, I'm not happy about that, like, at all. In fact, it took me a little longer to shake than I thought I was going to.
Jamie:Still bad that I shake, buddy?
Scott:A little bit.
Jamie:I mean Goddamn it, Johnny.
Scott:It's it sucks.
Jamie:Well, listen. Now you have a jumping off point.
Scott:No. I have a jumping off point. But here's the thing I'd also say that I had to remind myself, and that's like, you know, what I can do with the puck, like, in these tight spaces. Like, I I never and again, I'm not making excuses. I'm just like I that that's where Johnny is putting me and I accept that.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:But I didn't like when I played growing up, was a defenseman. Right. I did not have to do as much intricate stick handling, you know, as Right. Okay. Was being expected of me, you know, which is fine.
Scott:Mhmm. And in terms of like, you know, my my actual hard, like, stick handling skills, they're not, you know
Jamie:Well, you were never like
Scott:I never had
Jamie:to forward do that was dangling people.
Scott:Right. And I was more of a defensive defenseman. Now listen, that doesn't mean all all that means is that I I even if I was of like, I I anyway.
Jamie:I see what you're saying.
Scott:So yeah. But then I would say the the skating part is also something he pointed out because I said to him, I don't think I told you this. I said, well, Johnny, what about like my stick? Right? Because we're doing stick handling.
Scott:I know like forwards that, you know, like they'll use shorter sticks because it's easier to like maneuver in small spaces. So what do you think about like you know, my stick like I I of course it's subjective but like and I held it up and it's between my chin and my nose around my bottom lip when I'm wearing skates and you know, he's like he's like, you don't even need to worry about that right now. And I was like, no? He's like, no. You need to worry.
Scott:He's like he's like, that doesn't make a difference. I'm like, but it's like an eight it's like a 95 flex. He's like, yeah. I I don't even worry about that. He's like, you need to figure out like your skating first.
Jamie:You're skating.
Scott:You're skating first. Yeah. So now my next step is I'm gonna do a skit private skating lesson and I'll report back on that. But I'm gonna start pumping our, you know, my so like, you know, it's Scott dark and early. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Is the my Instagram thing, Scott dark and early. And I'm gonna start we'll put like a little whatchamacallit? Like a highlight thing on maybe Crazy Hockey Dads Yeah. And then and then we'll we'll show everyone.
Jamie:Listen. Listen. I I'm curious to see your journey, buddy. Yeah, man. Well
Scott:yeah. And and I'll also say this, like, you know, life life stuff happens, and there's times where I've gone out to shoot pucks, I'm, like, not into it.
Jamie:Of course, you're not.
Scott:I I don't like, I don't want
Jamie:do it. Pretty normal life.
Scott:But but this is what I'll say. And and I know I've been kinda talking about this for a little bit now. But like, and it's probably harder for kids, but when I go to the, you know, the garage and I go to stick handle, like, I even if I don't want to, like, I I need to remind myself of why am I doing this?
Jamie:Of course.
Scott:Why am I doing this? And I'm doing this because I wanna get better at hockey. Yeah. Because I made a commitment to myself. Now I'm kinda making a commitment to who's this?
Scott:Oh.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. Listen.
Scott:You know, making a commitment to just seeing something through. So when I go out there, even if I don't feel like doing it Yeah. It's honestly, it's like, alright, it's game time. Let's go. Let's get that mental piece dialed in.
Scott:And you know what Johnny also said, and this is the last to say about it, I really appreciated. Johnny was like, I I was I was I was frustrated after like my first go at something. Right. And he he saw that I I was like I was like being in I was annoyed with myself. Yeah.
Scott:And he's like, positive mindset. Immediately corrected me on positive mindset.
Speaker 4:And I
Scott:was like, dude, thank you.
Jamie:Good.
Scott:He's like, you can do.
Jamie:I'm sure our kids experience every single thing that you've experienced. Absolutely. Right? I mean, there's no way they don't.
Scott:There's no way.
Jamie:So maybe we should all cut them a little bit of slack.
Scott:Yeah. Or or just just understand that, like Yeah. There there's some things that are just, like from the eye test are not gonna be obvious indicators of hard work or effort. And the and and the very oh, I said this, but like, you know, like with the biathlon, that Olympic event where they're like where they're doing like country skiing
Jamie:And then you shoot.
Scott:You have
Speaker 4:to shoot like
Scott:a gun. Yeah. I was like, that immediately came to mind when I had to shoot a puck after going through this whole thing.
Jamie:I was like,
Scott:I don't have the ability right now to kind of like
Jamie:Quiet yourself down.
Scott:To to like organize myself physically and mentally. Like even if I could mentally, my my physical Accurately. Body didn't have like the strength or like the the coordination. Listen. It was hard.
Jamie:I'm sure it was, by the way. And I give you credit for for going through that.
Scott:Thanks, man.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. No. That that's that is listen. It's something.
Scott:We're we're we're gonna see where this goes.
Jamie:Yes. Yes. You are.
Scott:It's, it's all good stuff. Anyway, so
Jamie:Yeah. No. That's cool, man. Yeah. So we'll we'll we'll we'll we'll listen.
Jamie:For all the hockey dads out there that play men's league, you know, we'll we'll continue along with your journey and follow you, and then I'm sure we'll talk a ton about it.
Scott:Absolutely.
Jamie:You know? I I can't imagine you wouldn't get better.
Scott:I'm already getting better. I'm sure.
Jamie:I don't doubt it.
Scott:It's just yeah. Yeah. It's you know? Yeah. So any any event, how about you?
Scott:How let's let's switch gears. Let's go ahead over you. How was your your hockeying weekend? What are you getting up to? What did you end
Jamie:up to? So it's it's a little we're a little crazy right now, because we're leaving for Notre Dame on Thursday.
Scott:Sick.
Jamie:So that's gonna be fun.
Scott:I mean, you must be super excited about
Jamie:forward to that. Right? We're flying out early Thursday morning. All of us are kinda not all of us, but a lot of us on the same plane. So that's gonna be fun.
Jamie:Yeah. No. I'm looking forward
Scott:to that. What what day are you arriving? We're Thursday. Thursday, and your first game will be on Friday?
Jamie:Correct.
Scott:You know, it's a tournament or it's a showcase?
Jamie:Tournament. We have two Friday, two Saturday, one Sunday.
Scott:Guaranteed five games.
Jamie:Guaranteed five. More. I guess. I guess if yeah. I guess if there's yeah.
Jamie:I think so.
Scott:Okay. That's good. At least you're going out there with a five game
Jamie:Yes. There is apparently, I was told two, two, and one. So that's kinda cool.
Scott:Are they full full games? Do you know?
Jamie:I I I assume so.
Scott:I don't I thought we were gonna have full games too, and then we only had two halves. Yeah.
Jamie:I don't like that stuff.
Scott:Yeah. I
Jamie:don't like those half games.
Scott:Unless you're getting smoked.
Jamie:Oh, yeah. That's a good point.
Scott:Then it ends quicker.
Jamie:That's a good point. Yeah. Then you're like, get me
Scott:the fuck out of here.
Jamie:You're like, ref, stop playing the whistles. Stop playing the whistles. You're like, are we losing by more than six goals so we can have a running clock?
Scott:Well, I
Jamie:mean, sometimes We're winning by six goals. You're like, just get me out of this building. Speaking of, like, get me out of this building, I don't listen. For those of you who live on Long Island I don't know how or why you do that to yourself. Dude, we had to go out to Long Island for a game.
Jamie:We were at have you ever been to the rinks, r I n x, out in Long Island?
Scott:I don't know.
Jamie:It's bro, dude.
Scott:I will say, thankfully, I've not had to go to Long Island too many times.
Jamie:So we
Scott:have not hockey. Career in your son's career. Yes.
Jamie:So we've been out there not a lot. I wouldn't say a
Scott:lot. Yeah. Okay? I've been to Massachusetts more than I've been to Long Island.
Jamie:Same.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Same. For sure. So I
Scott:I'm organizing. You're organizing.
Jamie:I am organizing. So I I my least favorite hockey drive
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Which I've said on this podcast, for those of you who've been listening since the beginning
Scott:Why do you think this?
Jamie:Is Pittsburgh.
Scott:Yeah. But it's not that bad.
Jamie:I do not like going out to Pittsburgh.
Scott:Okay. But that's
Jamie:fair. I don't mind the city of Pittsburgh. I don't mind going out there. But, like, I don't The drive
Speaker 4:at all.
Jamie:Drive is awful. Okay. Right? It's it's just not a nice drive. Like, 80 all the way out.
Jamie:Like, you know, when you're like when you're like, okay. I'm done. Like, I wanna be out of my car. You have, like, another hour left.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Right? So, so we had to go out to Long Island to again, I've never been to this rinks, R I N X.
Scott:Yep.
Jamie:Nice little facility, though.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:You know, a really nice little facility that way the fuck out there. We were in, like, Hop Hog.
Scott:Okay. Yeah. Sure.
Jamie:Right? Yeah. So so we it it took us over the George Washington Bridge. Yeah. So for those of you who don't know, we live in Northern Jersey.
Jamie:So it took us over the George
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Cross Bronx to the Whitestone
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:To the Cross Island
Scott:Mhmm.
Jamie:To the LAE. Mhmm. Bro, when when when we got over the Whitestone
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:I looked down at the GPS. And we've already been in the car for
Scott:an hour. Yeah.
Jamie:Okay? I looked down at the GPS. My wife's sitting next to me, I go, there's fucking fifty five minutes left Yeah. After you got off the wall of the Whitestone. I'm like, where the fuck are we going?
Scott:Dude, it's the Long Island traffic Bro. Brutal.
Jamie:I it's fucking awful.
Scott:It is it's in and out. Like, it's both directions
Jamie:Yes.
Scott:Like, seven days a week.
Jamie:It's bro, it is it is for the those of you who live on Long Island, why the fuck would you do that to yourself? It is awful out there. Like, I see why you guys don't leave the island when you're there because, like, I wouldn't want to either. But, like, going out there, I never wanna go out to Long Island again. Listen.
Jamie:I mean, never. My mother's from Dix Hills
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Jamie:And my dad's from Bayshore. Like, why? Why would you ever the bro, the LIE may be the worst fucking highway
Scott:That's brutal.
Jamie:Ever. And we were in the Hovlane, which is, like, which is supposed to move faster than normal. Yeah. It's awful.
Scott:Can be really brutal. It's it's brutal until you get, like, on the LIE until you get to, like It's awful. Until you get to, like, Suffolk County. Nassau County, which is the first half of Long Island going west to east, is is rough. Dude,
Jamie:it's awful. Yeah. I hate I see now why Long Island people are so pissed off. I see why they scream in the stands during games because I'd be pissed off too if I lived there.
Scott:Oh my god. That's an actually that's a good point.
Jamie:Right? Long Island fans are a little tough sometimes.
Scott:They can be.
Jamie:Right? Yep. Like Long Island, Philly. Right? Right?
Jamie:There's some
Scott:I'm just talking about Philly fans.
Jamie:There's some there's some areas where you know that the fan that parents are a little rough around the edge. I'm not saying all of you. No. But, you know, but I see why you're all pissed off, by way, because I'd be pissed off too if I lived out there.
Scott:Yeah. It's it the commute can be brutal. Dude, I I How long did it take you to get back?
Jamie:Back wasn't bad because our game was at, like, 07:30 at night.
Scott:So it was later.
Jamie:So we we didn't leave till, like,
Scott:nine go home. Sunday?
Jamie:Saturday.
Scott:Saturday.
Jamie:Saturday.
Scott:You didn't get all, like, the bridge and tunnel traffic going into the city? I guess that was too early for
Jamie:Well, it was nighttime shenanigans. So on the way home, it took us, like, an hour thirty five.
Scott:But the way there, it took you over two?
Jamie:Two over two. Oi. It was awful.
Scott:Yeah. It's rough.
Jamie:Like, I hate going out there. Sorry, Long Islanders. I fucking hate going out there.
Scott:Well, listen. Next weekend, this coming weekend, we get to go to Utica for the day.
Jamie:Yeah. That's that's not not an awful drive. It's like three, I think
Scott:Yeah. From us. It's not terrible. Our first game's, like, around lunchtime.
Jamie:Have you been to the rinks there, though?
Scott:No. But you said they're
Jamie:awesome. Awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Dude, the rink the rink in Downtown Utica is phenomenal.
Jamie:You guys have two or one there?
Scott:No. We've got two games. Doubleheader.
Jamie:So you're driving three hours for you're driving three hours for two games.
Scott:Yeah. Well, the
Jamie:You're driving six hours for two games.
Scott:Six hours for two games.
Jamie:Well, in Long Island, I drove four hours for one game.
Scott:So mine's better. You are. The math is better.
Jamie:You're clearly batting a thousand and online shit because I was in Long Island. I mean, fucking Long Island.
Scott:Dude, I I listen. That it's brutal. The the drive can be brutal.
Jamie:Yeah. So you you'll like you'll like you'll like the
Scott:Well, that's something to look forward to.
Jamie:So what time are your games, by the way?
Scott:I think they're, like, around, let's say, twelve and three, something like that. But
Jamie:So you have to
Speaker 4:leave at eight.
Scott:Yeah. We're gonna get an early start
Jamie:So you have a long day on Saturday?
Scott:Yeah. Very Sunday.
Jamie:So that's Sunday. Sunday. Well, that's a long day on a Sunday.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. I know. Then get get home and whatever.
Jamie:Right. Gotcha. Okay.
Scott:Alright. So you guys but how how did the hockey how did your How
Jamie:did the hockey go? Yeah. Saturday out in Long Island was, we tied we tied we went to overtime. No way scored. So we tied one one.
Jamie:Mhmm. Our kids did not show up
Scott:for, like,
Jamie:a good period and a half.
Scott:And why
Jamie:I don't know.
Scott:Anything in particular happened?
Jamie:I honestly don't know.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:I I I don't know. That's for the coaches to figure out. Yeah. But
Scott:What's your take on it? Like, just they got out to a slow start. Did was it like sometimes if the other team gets an early goal, like, wind gets sucked out of sails? They're like, was there anything obvious that happened, or it just they didn't the team didn't have it?
Jamie:We we just didn't look good. Mhmm. We didn't look right.
Scott:You know
Jamie:what I mean? So so for some for some funky reason, we did not look good. Like but it was the whole team. It was, like, contagious, which I'm sure you've all seen. Right?
Jamie:I'm sure all of you all of us have seen, like you know, it it just it was it was contagious. We, for whatever reason, just looked we collectively looked awful for a period and a half. Then it started to get better. Not good, but better.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Right? You know, I I don't know if the kids haven't, like, figured each other out yet because we have six new kids. Mhmm. So I I don't know if, like, they haven't just figured it all out yet or, like, or there's, like, a lack of effort. I I don't I have no idea.
Scott:Well, when you say when you say
Jamie:I have no
Scott:it all out yet, like, are is it do you do you have a sense from the coaching staff whether or not they're, like, implementing new systems? Alright.
Jamie:So so new No. No. But style of We have we have kids hurt.
Scott:Okay? That doesn't help.
Jamie:No. No. So we've we've had we've had kids hurt since the beginning of the season.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:We were we were down two opening weekend. Yeah. Right? So now so the one with the skate cut. Yeah.
Jamie:Came back this weekend. Came back Saturday.
Scott:Yeah. How do how do how do you look?
Jamie:Good. Yeah. I felt good. I yeah. Think he felt great.
Scott:Good. Yeah. That's
Jamie:awesome. So because we're down guys
Scott:Mhmm.
Jamie:So we so we were down we were down alright. So we we had two hurt. Mhmm. Okay? One came back.
Jamie:Mhmm. Chris came back from the skate cut, and then another one was hurt from a for a wrist.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:So now he's up for four weeks.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Jamie:So now we still have two down.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:So and then one kid didn't show up to Long Island, so we were down three.
Scott:Didn't show up. Correct. Got it.
Jamie:So so now we have
Scott:Is everything okay?
Jamie:I think he was just ill.
Scott:Oh, got it. Okay.
Jamie:I think he had a cough. Yeah. Something like that. I wasn't feeling well. Yeah.
Jamie:You know? So, you know, so, so we moved the kid who came back with the wrist with the, with the skate cut was normally a defenseman played offense Mhmm. Because we were down forwards.
Scott:Mhmm.
Jamie:We were actually down we were actually down three forwards. Right? So so we had three forwards missing. So he came off d and played o.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:So he played offense all weekend.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Right? So so so so we're down three three kids this weekend.
Scott:Wow.
Jamie:So I think it's disjointed because we have kids moving around in spots that you know what I mean?
Scott:That makes sense.
Jamie:I think they're trying to figure out lines, and it it and it and it's it's it's wonky because things aren't normal yet.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:So we we have we have we have had a slow start to the season on the backs of a lot of injuries.
Scott:That I
Jamie:mean, that's been hard. That
Scott:makes sense.
Jamie:Yeah. That's been hard. Okay. You know? So listen.
Jamie:You got what you got. Right? So you gotta figure it out. Yeah. You know?
Jamie:You know? So I think the coaching staff's trying to figure and piece that together.
Scott:Sure.
Jamie:You know? Yeah. So hopefully, you know, hopefully listen. Hope hopefully, it works. Yeah.
Jamie:You know? Getting kids back healthy is definitely ideal.
Scott:It's amazing how that like, and and this is probably your first the first time that you've experienced such a depletion in terms of injury wise. And I don't know
Jamie:It is.
Scott:I've I've never seen gone through anything like that. And yours is like, it's definitely with the last couple weekends been, I'd say, extreme to say the least.
Jamie:We had. Yes.
Scott:But it's interesting like if you don't have We depth
Jamie:were down like six kids one day.
Scott:Right. Listen. If you if you don't have depth Yeah. Right, it it becomes clear very quickly at how much it changes the team dynamics. You know what I mean?
Scott:And like if you think about the teams that are winning at the higher levels, know, you have to be ready to like, you know, move kids into different positions. You need to be able to have be able to rely on kids to do things more than Yeah. You know you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like do.
Scott:Like the it it becomes harder to start winning games when you when you have holes in your lineup and you don't have the depth to replace that kind of player. You know what I mean?
Jamie:I think you're right about that.
Scott:And that's you would never disagree with me if I told you that a year ago, but now that you're experiencing it, like, can say, like, firsthand, like Yes. Right.
Jamie:Yeah. It's it's it's more apparent to me now than it ever has been.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Jamie:I didn't I didn't think it was gonna be a problem, to be totally honest. Listen, when you're down six, that's another story.
Scott:That's that's I don't think I've ever heard
Jamie:of that. Right. Especially when
Scott:it's half a team being sick with, like, the flu.
Jamie:Alright. So that that was a little bit of a ridiculous that was, like, a little bit of a ridiculous thing because we had, like, two hurt. We had, like like, like, two thrown out. Like, that was just like Right. That that was like a re that was just silly.
Jamie:Totally. Right? Like, and one was thrown out for, like, a really silly reason, which they said he was gonna be thrown out for an entire month, and they reinstated him.
Scott:That makes sense.
Jamie:Right? That was a little much. You know? So but yeah. So when you're down kids, it's a it's it's it's challenging.
Jamie:No question about it. More challenging than it like, when we were mites and squirts, when you're down kids, I don't think it mattered.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:But it matters now. When you start especially when you start hitting
Scott:Right.
Jamie:Like, it matters.
Scott:It totally matters. It changes the dynamic of the team.
Jamie:A 100%.
Scott:Yeah. For sure. Even if you have just, like, one of let's say one of your skill and I see this in men's league, and I know I know that's, like, not apples to apples by any stretch. Right. But like when we have some of our players that are like really good like, you know, are are better players Right.
Scott:They have possession of the puck. Like it it just ends up creating more time and space for everyone else because a lot of the other team they get much more defensive, they get less aggressive. Right. You know, we end up with possession a little bit longer. Getting out of our defensive zone is easier because we rely on certain guys just to make like the right play, the right pass, the right move.
Scott:But like if you take that away
Jamie:Mhmm.
Scott:Then all of a sudden, you know, it it it completely changes the dynamic of things.
Jamie:You know, it's funny. If you had said to me that, like, before the season started, if you said to me that, like, that that they're gonna take, like, 12 forwards Yeah. I was gonna be like, why?
Scott:Why? Right.
Jamie:I would have said, like, why would you do that?
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Right?
Scott:Now you're like
Jamie:Shockingly, they would have come in handy. You know? I don't think that's an every year thing. Yeah. But in this instance, it would have come in handy.
Scott:Would have come in handy.
Jamie:Those other three would have, like, filled a void
Scott:Without a doubt.
Jamie:Which is nuts.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:You know? But so, again, I obviously, when the kids get older, they're they hit. They they're bigger. You know? And things break.
Jamie:Yeah. Things get cut. Right? And things you know? And kids can still get sick.
Jamie:Right?
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:You know? But, yeah. Yeah. It's, so we so we we had a we've had a rough start because I think we've had a personnel issue
Scott:Right.
Jamie:Or personnel issues.
Scott:Right. Right.
Jamie:Right. You know? So hopefully hopefully, you know, the wrist injury comes back. Hopefully, the back injury comes back. Hopefully, the kid gets well again, you know, and is not sick so he can come back.
Jamie:So yeah. No. We we have we've we've had some we've had a rough start.
Scott:So for Notre Dame, what's what are you gonna be
Jamie:Down three.
Scott:You're down three for Notre Dame?
Jamie:We're down we're down two. We're down yeah. We're down the same kids. Same kids are down.
Scott:Oh, man.
Jamie:Yeah. Right. So, unfortunately, we're gonna go out to Notre Dame down. Down three. Wow.
Jamie:So yeah. So listen. What give us the kids
Scott:So what does that leave you with? Six and
Jamie:I think we
Scott:were Six and six?
Jamie:No. I think we were running nine and five.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Does that sound right?
Scott:Had That's 14.
Jamie:I wanna say yeah. We were running nine and five.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Yeah. So when when when our when when when the kids are on the ice, like, the bench looks a little scant.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:You know? It looks Well I mean, it it I mean, it's not awful. Right. But if you look at the other team Right. It doesn't
Scott:look good. Like a short bench.
Jamie:Yeah. It does. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Jamie:No. You can tell.
Scott:Alright. Well, listen. I mean
Jamie:It doesn't look but at this level, it's it's it's hard to it's hard to play with those with the with a small bench. I always thought that lean and mean was the way to go. And when you start hitting and when the when you when the effort level goes higher in the higher ages, right, things change. Yeah. They do.
Scott:I'm sure it does.
Jamie:I'm shocked. I didn't think they would, but they did.
Scott:As much as it change. As much. Yeah. Okay.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Alright. And it's causing a a you
Jamie:know, some it's listen. It's just stuff they have to figure out. I don't mind the adversity to be totally honest with you. Yeah. Like, I don't mind the fact that that, that the kids are losing.
Jamie:I think they need to figure it out.
Scott:Yeah. Well, we also so we had a we only had one game this weekend. We lost. We it was definitely within reach to win. Right.
Scott:I will say that, you know, our challenge is that this is the first year team. There's only there's a handful of kids that played together on Otto's team last year, which was tier two. Right. You know, and now they were playing tier one. We have a, you know, a bunch of kids from a few different teams.
Scott:So it's a first year new coach, you know, like figuring out a bunch of stuff, a bunch of kids that haven't played tier one before.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:And so it's definitely a mixed bag. But I will say this that the and the coach, know, good communicator, told all the families it's gonna take some time to get the kids to be playing the systems that they want them to play. And I think one of the most noticeable things so far is just from, in defensive positioning. Mhmm. In the defensive zone, less so in the offensive zone that I've noticed it but more so in the defensive zone that the kids are doing a good job of maintain like being in the right right spot
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:On breakouts and stuff like that. They're doing a better job of keeping like a third mill, like the f three in a like the high slot position just so we don't get caught like, you know, with an odd man rush with
Jamie:Right.
Scott:All forwards down low. So you you can see that the kids are moving the puck Good. Better and better. So that's also a good sign.
Jamie:So improvements.
Scott:So there's definitely improvements.
Jamie:Okay. Good.
Scott:You know, not and it'll it'll if things keep going the way they will but the wins and losses aside, I believe the kids are learning how to play the game of ice hockey.
Jamie:Okay. And that's the idea.
Scott:Which is totally the idea and so you know, we're taking it a weekend at a time. Even though we lost, we could've you know, we def and we've had a few one goal games Mhmm. So it's not like you know, we've gotten blown out too but, you know, I I think it's it's looking it's it's at this point, I'm I'm I'm optimistic. I'm I'm optimistic. Okay.
Scott:You know, I think that from what I've seen, the the kids are are making, you know, there's progress for sure.
Jamie:Okay. Good. Yeah. Alright. Nice.
Jamie:Another one with that.
Scott:Yeah. Totally.
Speaker 4:That's good.
Jamie:Yeah. Alright. I love it.
Scott:So in any event, so what do we have in store for everyone today?
Jamie:We have a really awesome interview. Hebert. We have Guy Hebert. So for you goalie
Scott:Guy Hebert.
Jamie:Goalie parents, this is gonna be a doozy for you guys because we've been having, a lot of requests for goalie parents. So, for for a goalie for goalie parents.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:And here's your goalie. Guy Hebert played ten years in the league.
Scott:Many years.
Jamie:I don't know the exact number. Yeah. Probably should, but don't. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:I I know I wanna say he was drafted by the, by the Blues. Blues. But then he went to the Anaheim Ducks. And then
Scott:he finished up in the range.
Jamie:And he finished up at the range. I wanna say it was ten, ten plus.
Scott:Could yeah.
Jamie:But, yeah, he was great, man. You know, he has his own podcast called the Mask and the Mic Yep. With with another one of his broadcasting buddies.
Scott:So goalie parents check that one out for sure.
Jamie:Yes. Yes. So he now does broadcast for the Anaheim Ducks. He's been associated with them kind of ever since he was there. I think he was the
Scott:now when the Inaugural and who was the Inaugural expansion draft expansion draft, he was picked first overall.
Jamie:He was the first pick.
Scott:First pick by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
Jamie:Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Now Whacked. I meant to ask him about this when he had him on. I totally forgot to.
Scott:They do not practice the flying v.
Jamie:No. I'm joking. That's probably good to know, by the way. Meanwhile, great movie, by the way. So good.
Jamie:With, with Emilio Estevez. Absolutely. Yeah. The knucklepuck. Totally.
Jamie:Yeah. Banks. Yeah. Yeah. Banks is sick, dude.
Jamie:So so, I wanted to ask him because they did a a, I wanna say Netflix. Somebody did a documentary Mhmm. On the or maybe it was a 30 for 30 on ESPN. I forgot what it was, But it was on the Anaheim Ducks
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:When they became a an expansion franchise.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:And I I'm gonna I I would assume he's all over that.
Scott:Oh, I would
Jamie:He's gotta be.
Scott:I've never seen it. So I
Jamie:don't know. I I saw it, and I don't remember. I have to go back and watch it. It's it's really good. I forgot what it's called.
Jamie:I don't if you wanna look it up while I'm chatting about it. But it's like, if you haven't seen it, it was really good. Yeah. Again, I I don't remember what it was on, whether it was Hulu or Netflix or or it was an ESPN 30 for 30. I wanna say it was probably an ESPN 30 for 30.
Jamie:That's my guess, now that I'm thinking about it, but it was really good. It was it was like a again, I don't know what it's called.
Scott:It's called once upon a time in Anaheim. Yes.
Jamie:And it was
Scott:The one hour special explores how Walt Disney is
Jamie:Is it in ESPN 30 for thirty?
Scott:Let me see. ESPN's twenty twenty one short 30 for thirty.
Jamie:Okay. It is. Once Upon a Time in Anaheim.
Scott:Oh, sorry. Other notable Mighty Ducks specials. No. So Once Upon a Time in Anaheim is not the 30 for 30. But it does say key interview with Guy Hebert in that in that one.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:Sorry. This was an ESPN e 60 special.
Jamie:Oh, it's an e 60. Okay.
Scott:But then they also had an ESPN 30 for 30 game changer promo short minied. Yeah.
Jamie:Okay. So I wanna say it was once at Once Upon a Time in Anaheim. Yep. That's the one that I and you said Guy Hebert is in it?
Scott:Yeah. And there's
Jamie:I thought so.
Scott:There's another one called The Making of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 1993, vintage made for TV behind the scenes look filmed right when the real life NHL franchise was first being assembled.
Jamie:Okay. Got it. Okay. Alright. So this was Once Upon a Time in Anaheim because that that rings a bell for me.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:So I I think I saw it on the ESPN app, and it was and I and I just kinda look I you know, I was I was looking for something to watch one day, and I started watching. It was really good. Yeah. You know? And and, again, so he's obviously in it.
Jamie:So Yes. You know? So so yeah. So Guillet Hebert, I remember him when we were kids.
Scott:Absolutely. You know, he was like he
Jamie:was the goalie for that team.
Scott:Absolutely.
Jamie:You know, so he's he had a pretty cool career. If those of you you know, we talk about paths a lot. He had a pretty different path, you know, to the NHL.
Scott:Yep.
Jamie:I mean, he was a division three goalie.
Scott:Division three goalie. I mean Ends up getting drafted. Right.
Jamie:I mean NHL career.
Scott:Long NHL career.
Jamie:Now broadcasting career.
Scott:So I mean,
Jamie:all from hockey.
Scott:Yeah. And and, you know, and and as far as again, it just goes to show that, like, as long as you keep on putting in the work, putting in the effort Right. Right? Like, just keep on going.
Jamie:Yeah. Even your time is getting stuck. Absolutely. Yeah. It was a great interview, by the way.
Jamie:One of my favorites so far.
Scott:It was a lot of fun.
Jamie:It was a lot of fun. Like like, somebody asked me the other day, they're like, how was it? And I and I respond to them. Like, it was one of the best we've had yet.
Scott:I wouldn't disagree.
Jamie:Like, we want Scott and I wanted to keep going, like, for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours. Like, and we could. We and we I know we say this a lot. We have to bring somebody back for a part two. Like, we really need to bring him back for a part two.
Scott:And we will.
Jamie:Yeah. He was so good.
Scott:We will. Yeah. No. He was and he's he's easy to talk to, lots of knowledge, great stories.
Jamie:Great stories.
Scott:Great stories.
Jamie:I mean, he was a
Scott:part of the ninety eight Olympic team for team Canada, the nineteen ninety six World Cup of Hockey. So he's been around some of the best hockey that has ever been played.
Jamie:Which shockingly, you know, you brought up the World Cup of Hockey. Just dumb luck. Yeah. Just literally dumb luck. We happened to interview him on the thirtieth to the day, the thirtieth anniversary of that US World Cup of hockey win.
Scott:That's unbelievable.
Jamie:Literally just dumb luck.
Scott:What are the chances?
Jamie:What are the chances is right. I mean, clearly, the hockey gods were smiling down on
Scott:us that day. They were.
Jamie:Because that worked out really nicely.
Scott:Yep.
Jamie:Yeah. So I hope you guys enjoy this interview because we had a fucking blast doing
Speaker 4:Alright.
Scott:Well, let's kick it over.
Jamie:Alright. Enjoy, everybody.
Scott:Alright, everybody. Welcome to our next interview here on the Crazy Hockey Dads Podcast. We have Guy Hebert, one and only Anaheim Ducks inaugural goaltender on the line with us tonight, and, you know, he went to Hamilton College. He played in the NHL for more than a decade. NHL All Star, Olympics, World Cup of Hockey, if I'm not mistaken, and I'm sure there's other things along the laundry list of accolades.
Scott:But, Geez, thanks so much for joining us tonight, man.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Hey. Keep on going. I I love I love the accolades. Right?
Scott:Absolutely. The best interview we've ever had.
Speaker 4:It's insane a lot. I think we're, like, forty five seconds into it, so thank you.
Jamie:That's that's
Scott:right. Anyway, listen. Thanks so much for hopping on with us. And and and for those that might not know who you are, your your your NHL career followed you, if you could just kinda set the table and and just give, you know, like a a quick overview of, like, your career, then we'll jump into some questions.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Sure. I I hope you have a lot of time. So as you mentioned, I went to Hamilton College, which is a small NESCAC school, New England Small College Athletic Conference, and I think student body was, like, 1,800 kids while I was at Hamilton. I think it's probably still the same, but, I was able to get drafted out of Hamilton College by the Saint Louis Blues and, still, I believe, the only one to ever be drafted, by the NHL in in pretty much any major sport from the college.
Speaker 4:So a very cool thing certainly for me and and to celebrate with the the hockey team over all these years. Hamilton was a great experience. I had a chance to play for all four years, drafted by Saint Louis, and then had an opportunity when I graduated to turn pro. And like most guys, you know, coming out of a very small college and and showing up at training camp without a contract, it was just more of like, hey. I just have to do something to get noticed.
Speaker 4:And fortunately for me, the scout who was responsible for drafting me, Jack Evans, was such a big proponent of me. And he was the guy who always was going to Ron Caron was the general manager of the Saint Louis Blues during that that time, and and he just kept prodding mister Caron about, you know, he's a diamond in the rough. He's a diamond in the rough. So long story short, I was able to go to Peoria and sign a contract there. It was the old two way contract where I got a three year deal and started to learn my craft at the professional level.
Speaker 4:So, really, I just did an you know, a kid playing at Hamilton College one day, and then the next, you know, day, you know, in training camp having Brett Hull shoot on you, and then, you know, signing professionally. Adam Oates, you know I I grew up in Troy, New York, so Adam Oates was one of the big players at RPI, and I got recruited by RPI as well. And so Adam was there in Saint Louis at the time, so Adam kinda helped take me under his wing a little bit and, you know, made sure I was just wasn't just completely overwhelmed by the experience. So he was really, really great for me and to me during that time. But, you know, it's one of those things.
Speaker 4:Like, all of a sudden, you're able to flip a switch and just say, like, I'm here now at this level. I'm playing with guys who played junior the year before, played in Peoria the year before that. And I I was able to learn how to play at that level with, you know, those amount of games. You know, like Hamilton, we only played, like, you know, 24 games a season. And all of a sudden, I'm looking at, you know, I think we were playing, like, 78 games in in Peoria in the IHL.
Speaker 4:So there was a lot of transition, you know, a lot of learning along the way. But I I spent a couple years there. I got my chance in Saint Louis in, I think, 1991, and then, became the the backup to Curtis Joseph, and then spent a good solid year and a half there before the expansion draft, when Anaheim and and Florida Panthers came out Right. In 1993. So, you know, the quick story is Fortunate got drafted first by Anaheim.
Speaker 4:So I have the, I guess, the moniker of the original Mighty Duck. That's right. Very to this still day, you know, the first ever pick of any franchise. It was really cool, and played eight seasons in Anaheim. I mean, we don't have enough time to talk about all the great things that happened through the course of the years in Anaheim, but eight great years, and then I ended up with a no trade clause.
Speaker 4:I ended up going on waivers at the end of my career and being picked up by the New York Rangers. So finished my career as a New York Ranger at the end of 2001 season, and then one of those things where, like, all of a sudden, life happens. You walk away from the game trying to figure out what you wanna do, and I spent a lot of time. I did some stuff with the Ducks shortly after that. Then I went on a ten year vacation of just being around.
Speaker 4:We had an only child daughter, and I I wanted to watch her grow up. And so I was doing the carpool thing and, you know, going to, you know, AYSO soccer and, you know, all the cool things. I I just considered myself and my wife and our daughter can you know, incredibly lucky to be able to say, like, I'm gonna take this time of my life. I'm not gonna work. I'm not gonna travel.
Speaker 4:I'll enjoy, you know, being at home. So that was, you know, really special pretty much decade. And then to come full speed, the last eleven years, I've been working in broadcasting, mostly doing a a pregame show, intermission, and postgame show for the Anaheim Ducks, and we work for a variety of different broadcast companies. They keep getting renamed. A an incredibly you know, I think it was I mean, I don't know.
Speaker 4:It was Fox Sports West. It was Fox Sports. It was Prime Ticket. It was Bali Sports. And then last year last two years, it's been Victory Plus, and now the Ducks are moving on to yet a different broadcast partner.
Speaker 4:I believe they're with gonna be with Prime, Amazon Prime. Oh, okay. Picked up six regionals. So the whole regional thing is kind of a we'll call it a cluster of of of how to air things to make sure that the the, you know, the regionals can get, you know, their fans basically to be able to see the games without them being blacked out. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And, of course, not having to, you know, buy extra stuff. So I know this year
Jamie:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Prime is offering, I think, it's free for this year if you have a Prime account. Oh, awesome. So so that's my plug. That's my plug right there.
Scott:There you go. That's awesome. Nice.
Speaker 4:So And
Jamie:and talk about your podcast too. You're a veteran podcaster as well.
Speaker 4:Veteran, yes, of 30 something episodes. It's called the yeah. It's called the mask and the mic. And one of my partners on the broadcast for the Anaheim Ducks for a number of years, probably about ten of those years, Kent French. And so we're like, hey.
Speaker 4:Why don't we go into the podcast world? We got a lot of stuff to talk about, as you can probably tell. I like to talk. I like to tell stories, and so does Kent. So we figured, hey.
Speaker 4:It was kind of a a creative name of the mask and the mic. Yeah. Him being the mic and me being the mask. And Yep. I did say, wait a minute.
Speaker 4:It could be, like, the mask and the mic and the mic because I'm in broadcasting too. But Okay. As you can tell, was a little a little too much. Right? But, yeah, it's we've had a ton of fun, much like you guys.
Speaker 4:We try to have some guests on and hear their stories and and share those stories with, hopefully, our viewers, hopefully, they find it of interest.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. That's great that you guys are kind of on the podcast trail. It's a they say when you make it past three, you're good.
Jamie:You guys clearly have that's what they say. They say when you make it past three, they said most don't make it past three. Yeah. Guys are clear as Woodsyllen.
Scott:Who's they? Because people say
Speaker 4:hot day. Know?
Scott:And it's like, who's they?
Jamie:Chatty. Chatty.
Speaker 4:Chatty. Yeah.
Jamie:Alright. So and you listen. Claude? Well, yeah. Listen.
Jamie:Claude, listen. AI is very smart. And and before we get to alright. So listen, you're gonna make fun of me, but my next question came from Chat GPT and from Claude. Okay?
Scott:Wait. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. I'm gonna interrupt you for a second.
Scott:I apologize. But we do have a we have plenty of stuff that we wanna cover. But what I wanna make sure we do is is just take care of the sparks first question of the interview.
Jamie:Okay. You can do that.
Scott:Okay. So let's let's let's talk a little gear for a second because, you know, that's something that I know nothing about, which is goalie gear. So, Guy, what what's up with goalies' skate sharpening, their blade thickness? Like, how how did you how what kinda hollow did you have? Do you even have a hollow on goalie skates?
Scott:Like, what's the deal there?
Speaker 4:It's a great question, and it's changed dramatically even as I went from being a youth hockey player to high school to college and then the pro. Most of the time, nobody knew how to sharpen goalie skates because they used to have to turn the wheel the opposite way, and they'd do a cross grind. So it would make the basically, the skate would be flat. There'd be very little hollow in it so that you could glide across the ice. Made it very difficult to be able to dig that edge in to be able to drive, you know, side to side.
Speaker 4:What you wanted to do is because we stood up a lot more back in the day, so you wanted to be able to push and actually slide sideways on your skate blades. I know it seems very foreign right now. But as I got to where the game got a lot quicker, you needed a little more hollow in there. You needed a sharper edge. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And, I mean, you can see goalies today where, I mean, you know, they take that one edge into the ice, and, I mean, they're really driving across, and they're getting that first pad down. So it's funny because, you know, the goalie skate has changed, I mean, as long as the blade, but, you know, they have the interchangeable blades. They pop in and pop out. So I'm sure a lot of fans are out there saying, like, hey. I've seen goalies, like, lose a blade, and then it's incredibly weird because you see them trying to push off, and they can't because there's nothing there.
Jamie:There's nothing to push on.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So a lot of technology goes into it. Yeah. And and everybody, you know, I I I'll say even kids you know, high school and beyond have very specific needs for how they want those blades to be sharpened. You know, the the hollow is or the rocker, depending on, you know, what position you play, how much you lean forward, or if you'd like to be a little flatter if you're a defenseman.
Speaker 4:Yeah. It it's it's technology is blowing me away Sure. In that department. So, know, fortunately, whenever I play hockey, I just play in, our alumni stuff, and I'm a high scoring forward. So I put on somebody's forward skates and and use it for
Jamie:day. Okay. So no more goaltending.
Speaker 4:No. You know what? The it I always think about, like, one time, like, in my brain, it feels good to be like, hey. I'm gonna go out and play and make some saves and all that. And then you realize that everybody, it doesn't even matter if it's a 60 year old former NHLer, all they wanna do is shoot at top corner.
Speaker 4:I'm like and I'm like That's very funny. I go out there, and I'm shooting on somebody, and I'm like, that's what I'm trying to do. Right? Right. Right.
Speaker 4:Former goalie frustrated forward. And I'm like, you know what? You know, taking them off the chin or the shoulder or the collarbone or whatever just doesn't sound appealing at this point in my life. So yeah. And you'll find most goalies do not really wanna put the gear back on.
Speaker 4:Some will in certain circumstances, but for you know, it's a lot safer.
Scott:Yeah. For sure. I okay. Janet, sorry. Just one question about the
Jamie:Go ahead.
Scott:Go that I've always wondered. But, like, when you're going cross crease and, like, your your skates and your blades are hitting the pipes, like, that must do significant damage to the the blades over the course of a game. Like, are you go are you, like, getting them sharpened constantly, or or it doesn't have as much of an impact as I might think?
Speaker 4:I think for me, you know, a lot of times, it's, you know, you're clipping the pipe. Yeah. A lot of times, you're trying to make sure you get your foot actually in front of the post.
Jamie:Oh, it's in front
Speaker 4:of them. Okay. Okay. But if you do clip it back in the day, we used go to the bench, and the the trainer would have a stone and basically just hand stone it to take off any kinda any burs or any any little dull spots. Like I said, now, like, goalies can go to the bench, and if they are using that technology, they just pop the the blade off blade out.
Speaker 4:And pop them on because they're, you know, they're just in a stack. I mean, the orchestration of those guys, I mean, it is amazing to watch, and a lot of people don't know what exactly goes on between, like, the blades and the sticks, like, when somebody breaks a stick or whatever. You know? How they go and they have the sticks organized and the blades organized to be able to get it to the player in a in a certain amount of time. But, yeah, I mean, I think for goaltenders now, I mean, I would love that technology personally just to be able to go and even if it's after the period, not have to take your pad off to get your skate off
Jamie:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So they can take your skate to sharpen it. And, you know, I mean, it's important to have players be able to not miss a shift, and you can see that with the players on on the benches. I mean, it it is rare that somebody's not using those those skates with the blades that they take the skate off and, you know, you see the guy go down the tunnel. And then all of a sudden, you know, Conor McDavid's not out there for, like, a shift and, you know, great for the other team, but bad for the the bad for the Oilers. Totally.
Jamie:Yeah. You know, it's interesting. It's funny that you mentioned the, like, the, you know, the skates and the sticks. It's funny when you watch some, not all, some of the the guys the equipment guys, I guess they are, depending on who has the hockey puck, they're, like, touching the stick of who's of who has the puck so they can grab quickly. Scott, have you ever seen that?
Scott:I I think that is one of the most remarkable things I've seen, to the extent that I actually think They're it was
Jamie:this. They're like this, looking at the ice, and they're touching the stick. It's insane. Like, we have to have an equipment guy on to say to ask, like, how they do that. Right?
Jamie:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I mean, it is. I mean, it is and it's, you know, because of the fluidity of hockey and that five different players are going out or three different players are going out. You know, somebody's not changed, and now it's a miss mismatched line, and they're still, you know, they're still doing that. They're still being able to keep track of the sticks just in case.
Speaker 4:And, you know, I I mean, I thought if it's, you know, a last ditch effort, you know, someone's gonna lean over the boards and hand the guy a stick. It might not be the right handed or or whatever. But Right. You know, somebody's gonna get a stick, but to get, you know, a guy, especially if there's a turnover and he gets his stick and he gets a a great scoring chance, you wanna make sure he has, you know, his own stick where he's comfortable with it and not using, you know, you know, a a defenseman who's usually cross checking with his stick as opposed to scoring goals.
Jamie:That's right. Or something that's like, you know, like a like a like a 150 flex and you use like a 90 or something like You know? So, you know and it's and it's funny you mentioned about about you playing out because so we're we're from Northern Jersey, and Bruce Driver owns a rink not far from us. And Bruce Driver only plays goalie now in the men's league stuff here.
Speaker 4:True. I I mean, that that's how funny it is. Right? You get the guys who are, like, you know, they play in whenever we had, like, an optional, there would be players who would say, oh, hey. Can I put the goalie gear on?
Jamie:Is
Speaker 4:that right? Look at them and be like, yeah. And and they actually loved it because, you know, when else are they gonna get a chance to put the gear on and go out and practice, you know, against their buddies, their teammates? And so I think it is one of those things where it's like you know? And and we always encouraged it because it gave them a little perspective on, one, you know, guys shooting high on you, and two, you know, like, you know, how difficult it really is.
Speaker 4:I mean, you know, it's that's only four by six, and it doesn't sound very big. And the puck is fairly small. So when you think about even the goaltenders of today, I mean, how big they are, the way the equipment is built, it's all about blocking surface that you know, I think last year in the NHL, the this goal scoring for the season was considerably up. And so it's amazing that that puck can get by those guys to get into a four by six net. And when you look at them, it doesn't look like there's any room.
Speaker 4:But I I I do. I think that it gave the the the forwards or defenseman a little perspective putting the gear on, and I I love I love to hear that story that, you know, a old frustrated forward or defenseman is like, in my afterlife, I'm gonna become a goalie.
Jamie:I think that's all he plays. I don't think he skates out at all now. No.
Scott:So I wanna give a shout out to to one of my son's former teammates, his father, Etienne Dor, who's who plays regularly against Bruce. Although, Ed, I I don't know if he's playing there this season, but
Jamie:Right.
Scott:He would say that, like, he is Bruce is all in. All in is a goalie. Like, that meant, like like and he's like, the only thing I wanna do is score on him and make him furious. And he's like, it's crazy. He's like, you'll be in the crease.
Scott:He'll slash through the back of the legs. Like, takes no prisoners.
Jamie:Sounds about right. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, I mean, that is one that is one of the beauties of being a goalie is that you could kinda get away with some of that stuff, you know, where you could you know, equipment's so good now that, you know, the guys are pretty much wrapped up, but, you know, you could hit them in the back of the Achilles. You can get them right in the soft spot behind their knee. You know, a couple other places maybe I won't mention, but, you know, you you know, the the referees were usually pretty good because they they knew if you were getting bumped that they would give you little little grace. And, you know, I mean, I always tried to sweet talk the refs. You know?
Speaker 4:I'd always say about, hey. Look at Keith Kochuck. Like, he's always backing into me. Look at this guy. Look at Ronick coming in, or, you know, John Leclerc is coming wide, and he you know, like, he doesn't even try to score.
Speaker 4:He just wants to put me through the back of the net. And, you know, so there's, like, all these guys, and then I'm like, you know, I'm like, you know, five ten, and, you know, that was the normal size of an NHL goalie at the time, but we had to try to establish some kind of, you know, respect for the top of the crease that we could actually even move out to to block these shots and and cut down the angles. So, you know, the refs were always pretty good to us if you didn't, you know, if you didn't do a a Ron Hechtahl or, you know, if you didn't go a little overboard.
Jamie:That's right.
Speaker 4:You know, they they gave you they gave you some grace.
Jamie:Some gratitude. Yeah. Yeah. Unbelievable. So so before we move on, I I have to get this in because this is my ChatGPT.
Jamie:Right? And I don't wanna forget it. So, Scott, from from ChatGPT, today is thirty years to the day, because he was on this team, that The United States won the World Cup of Hockey. Thirty years to the day. Thank you, ChatGPT.
Scott:Yes. Did you even know that?
Speaker 4:I saw it on social media. So hey. I I I knew I was thinking of actually, you know, it's so funny because, like, a lot of the guys we played together played on that team and played on the Olympics, played on some other USA teams, and and we're still all pretty well connected. You know, some guys are coaches and general managers or scouts, and so, you know, I'll run into different guys throughout the course of the season. But, yeah, we're we're pretty in tune because, honestly, I mean, I've watched it many times.
Speaker 4:A lot of times, it's just on TV. They'll talk about that World Cup of hockey and what it did for, you know, preview to the Olympics, which was the first time that the NHL players were gonna be allowed to go, and that was in Nagano. And it was some of the greatest hockey, and when I watch it back now, it's some of the most physical, brutal hockey, like, maybe ever. And it's all superstars. Take us back I mean, it is all superstars.
Speaker 4:I mean, you know, like, had the Hatcher brothers as one of my defense pairs. Mike Richter was my goalie partner. Mhmm. And he was by far and away the MVP. He got the MVP of the tournament for his performance, mostly in game two and game three in in the finals.
Speaker 4:We we played in Philly. It was the only game in The States in the finals, so we lose in Philly to Eric Lindjos was getting booed. He was the captain of the Flyers, and he was playing for, obviously, team Canada. And the Flyers fans were USA fans at the time, and they just let them have it. Wow.
Speaker 4:So it's kinda, you know, it's Yeah. Kinda weird. But they won. So they beat us in Philly, and it was best two out of three. And so we rolled into Montreal for the next two games, and it was like, okay.
Speaker 4:This is a pretty daunting task.
Scott:And Yeah.
Speaker 4:The place was just filled, and it was rocking. You know, for typically Canadian cities, you go there. They're just so intuitive and knowledgeable about the game that there's a lot of silence. Right? They they don't react to just everything.
Speaker 4:And in these two games, they reacted to everything because there wasn't a moment that that wasn't a fight or a crosscheck or a slew foot or a great chance on goal and a beautiful save. I mean, it was just it was incredible. And, you know, I mean, you know, Lemieux and Gretzky, and then you had, you know, guys like Claude Lemieux, you had Theo Fleury. I mean, I like, it was I can remember. I think Claude Lemieux fought Keith Kochuck at one point.
Speaker 4:Then I mean, I think, you know, like, even Hulley grabbed somebody. You know? It was one of those things where, like, everybody had to stand up for themselves. Yeah. You know, Brennan Shanahan and, you know, the list goes on and on of of the great players on both teams.
Speaker 4:Danfus? Yeah. Vinny Danfus. You know? So, I mean, as, like, a a goaltender like me and Mike Richter would sit there, you know, just getting ready for the games and whatever, and you start going through, like, their power plays, and it was like, they well, they have two power plays, but they really have four.
Scott:Yes. Right?
Speaker 4:I mean, it's like you know, who else are you gonna put out there? That's right. But it it was I mean, I encourage anybody who loves hockey, who maybe has never seen it, Talk about playing, like, for your teammates and your country and the passion and the pride and the will to win, and, you know, we will the way to get to game game three. We won game two, and, you know, game three was it was all Mike Richter. I mean, Mike Richter was I mean, I was sitting on the bench, and I was like, like, if something happens to him, I'm going in.
Speaker 4:That's right. I'm like, there's not anybody else. So I'm the guy. Like, I'm sitting there, and, you know, talk about being just locked in. I mean, you know, lot of times when you're sitting as a backup goaltender, know, you're kinda, like, looking into the crowd, and you're looking at a jumbotron, and you're, know, you're like, hey.
Speaker 4:I wonder if I know anybody in there. I gave tickets to so and so, and they're probably sitting there or whatever. And you're kinda half checked out or whatever. But, you know, I mean, for the whole tournament, I mean, I was just locked in, but those those last few games, I mean, I was just all in because I said, you know, one pulled groin. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Or, you know, one guy driving the net and and, you know Yeah. Mike has to come out. I gotta be ready to go. So but what a thrill. I mean, not playing, like, I had the best seat in the house.
Speaker 4:Oh, was gonna say. Things. The guys coming off the ice and, you know, being a part of it was was really incredible. I know, you know, a lot of times, you know, if you're if you're not playing over your backup quarterback or your backup goaltender, you know, you feel like, you know, you didn't contribute. And and, I mean, I came through that tournament, I mean, learning so many great lessons about, you know, being around the best players on the planet and how hard everybody works and the training camp that we went through and the attention to detail, but just really the I'm not gonna give up type attitude.
Speaker 4:And and I I it certainly served me well in my career. I mean, we went back and had a great year in in Anaheim after that, and I attributed a lot of that to just me being around those other players. And, of course, Mike Richter seeing how he prepared himself and how he got to him. I mean, I think they gave him a Harley Davidson was the award for the MVP. Right?
Speaker 4:So I'm like That's crazy.
Jamie:Live in
Speaker 4:New York City, Hockey You play for the Rangers, you just gotta
Scott:You're like, contract the same job that you ride this thing.
Jamie:That's right.
Speaker 4:But, yeah. But I'm great. But thirty years, I mean, we all know we're probably at a certain age group where time just seemingly has gone by so quickly, and to think that that was thirty years ago. But, I mean, man, I can close my eyes and feel like it was yesterday.
Jamie:I bet. 09/14/1999.
Scott:It's funny we're even talking about this because I recently so I'm a big Lindrells fan. Like, he he was my idol growing up. I've got, like, an Oshawa Generals jersey. Like, even I played defensive, but, like, this guy was everything. Like, I I looked up to him.
Scott:In any event, so I I recently and speak of ChatGPT, I was like, I this is literally what I searched. Let me see. I I this was oh, is that the wrong one? Alright. So this was August 13.
Scott:It says Lindroz Gretzky, Lemieux, Team Canada. And and it came back for the World Cup of Hockey, and then I went back to YouTube, and there you can you can watch it, and maybe there's better places to watch it, but there's like one homemade clip that's got like three games worth that just like, you know, go on and on. And I tell you just, like, putting that on and watching it again, I mean, it's it's obviously that the TV quality is so much different, but, like, it's unbelievable to see how many legendary players were on the ice. And I I just to even be a part of that, like you were saying, you had the best seat in the house, but, like, even as an NHL, like, all star, you must have been sitting there being like like, will this something like this ever happen again? Like, with the amount of star power on the ice, like, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 4:Well, I mean and that was the thing is that this was like, you know, hey. This is the precursor to Nagano in two years. And the unfortunate thing for well, both team Canada and team USA is that, you know, I think it was much better suited for that summertime. Right? Like, guys weren't in the middle of the season.
Speaker 4:You weren't, you know, maybe dinged or banged up a little bit. You know, we were we were all healthy playing in that tournament. So I think when we went to to Nagano for the Olympics, you know, some guys are having a great season so far. Some guys are struggling. Some got, you know, hurt.
Speaker 4:You know? And so I think when we got there, both teams, which were almost almost identical to the roster there, maybe we had maybe just player a or two or three that were different than the World Cup team and same with same with team Canada. But we didn't weren't playing our best, and they weren't playing their best. And, you know, unfortunately, a guy named Dominic Hockey was playing his absolute best. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And and we, unfortunately, were in the the round playing check-in when we've got to the elimination round. So we kinda didn't play super in the first couple games and but we ran it to the dominator. And, you know, once again, it was one of those things where talk about a goalie being able to, you know, steal a game. I mean, steal a series, steal the Olympics. Yeah.
Speaker 4:He was incredible. I mean, he, you know, he stood on his head, and he was the reason we couldn't beat him. And, I mean, I dig once again, I mean, guys are just sitting there going, I like we play against him all the time. It's like it's not a surprise. We we know he does this, and we know he dives around, and he rolls around and whatever, but, you know, this you know, he's the ultimate street hockey goalie.
Speaker 4:Right? I was thinking, like, Kelly Rudy was for a long time in my mind. Like, what a great street hockey goalie that he became an NHL goalie. And then Dominic Ashek certainly was that guy who so unorthodox, but he just never gave up on the play. He never took his eyes off the puck, and that's why you'd see him twisting and turning, and he'd be like like I don't know.
Speaker 4:He's like a serpent, and Yeah. Then all of a sudden, like, he would stick something out. Yeah.
Jamie:And he would hit the puck out of the air.
Speaker 4:Yeah. He'd still have his eyes right on that puck, and yeah. I mean, an incredible incredible athlete. And, yeah, he was the demise of of us for sure in the Olympics. And, I mean, I think we finished fifth, and I think maybe Canada finished fourth, we both Oh, wow.
Speaker 4:Ended up coming home medalists. So I'm certainly disappointed, but yeah. Sure.
Jamie:Speaking of the mask, Dominic Hockey did not wear, you know, your nickname's The Mask for your podcast. You know, Hockey did not have a conventional goalie mask.
Scott:Him Urbe. Right?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Him and Archer's. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Archie was kind of a throwback. And it wasn't like, you know, the old cat eye where, you know, I mean, because of, like, USA Hockey and whatever, like, you know, for protection of kids, they ended up going to the ones with a lot of bars. So even in college, my freshman year, I wore the cat eye, which is what you see. It's kind of the bigger eye hole that all the guys have now. And then they outlawed it.
Speaker 4:And so but when I got back to pro, I could go back to the cat eye cage, and then eventually the cat eye mask. But the Dominator I mean, in Herve, they both had there was, like, as many bars. Right? I mean, that's what it looked like.
Jamie:It looked like a defenseman. They looked like a college defenseman.
Speaker 4:And he could not he could not get talked out of it. Kinda like Chris Osgood was very similar. Ozzy tried to wear a mask, he he just didn't like it. He wore the cat eye, you know, with the, I don't the SK 2,000 helmet that's was, you know, a standard for every goalie. But, yeah, I I always thought it was a detriment to him to be able to have, you know, all those bars that, you know, at some point, he had to maybe lose sight of the puck just because of that.
Speaker 4:I don't know, maybe just try to make it harder and give everybody a chance.
Scott:Try to level the playing field a
Speaker 4:little bit for the rest of the normal normal
Scott:That's right. Unbelievable. So so since we're talking about the Olympics and, you know, we're, you know, I guess it's, you know, back going back to memory lane, you got any, like, all time stories either from, like, the locker room or just, like, around, like, those guys, like, either from the World Cup of Hockey or the Olympics that just, like, totally stands out for you as, like, an all time hockey story for you?
Speaker 4:Yeah. They were mostly off the ice. I will not say the names to protect the guilty, but you probably go through the roster and maybe make your own assumptions, or anybody at home might know these stories. Well, so I mean so there were some very big guys. I remember going to lunch one day.
Speaker 4:During the training part of it, we were on the ice twice a day and whatever. I go to lunch with a couple of guys, and they said, Hey, let's grab a beer. I said, Okay, let's have a beer. Well, I had a beer, and then maybe two or three, and then the other guys probably had a half dozen to a dozen because they were so large. They were such big human beings that they just kept drinking.
Speaker 4:I sat there, and I'm like, okay. I just lost probably 10 pounds of water weight in practice, and I'm not really drinking water. I'm sucking down cold beer, and I was, you know, completely loopy. And these guys were, you know, I mean, anywhere between six and twelve beers easily. Wow.
Speaker 4:Then they're like, hey. Alright. Let's go. And I was like, I can't even stand up. I'm like, here we go.
Speaker 4:And then another one, we weren't playing well, and as a team, we decided in in Japan, in Nagano, we're we were gonna leave the Olympic Village and go into town. And a lot a lot of teams did it. A lot of athletes did it. You just kinda jumped on that bullet train and took I think we were, like, fifteen, twenty minutes away. Like, it took no time.
Speaker 4:And we're just gonna go blow off some steam, and so I remember and so reporters would try to follow athletes around. And so we just went to a pretty indiscriminate place. I always remember it because it's it's something you can't get out of your head. It was called the pink elephant in Downtown Nagano. And you walked into the bar, and you just went down these steps.
Speaker 4:It was kinda like in the basement, and it's great. It was just they were it was like our whole team was together. You know, great bonding moment and just playing like American music. And so it was great. And there were a lot of people from, you know, all over the world, it was, you know, not just for us.
Speaker 4:And so at one point, I see one of our teammates over on the staircase, and he's now talking to, like, USA Today reporters. And some of our captains are, like, shaking their head, and they're like, you know, it only figures it's just one particular player. So we don't think we don't think anything about it. You know, we kinda go on with our night, you know, have a couple pops, go back to the Olympic Village. Nothing's no no harm, no fall.
Speaker 4:We go to practice the next morning. We're sitting in there getting dressed, and general manager comes in, coaching staff comes in, and they're holding a USA Today paper. Uh-oh. And so they're like, before we open this paper, does anybody wanna say anything?
Jamie:Does anybody may need to tell us?
Speaker 4:Right. And so in the corner can can we swear on this thing or
Jamie:not? Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Absolutely. So in the corner, I hear, fuck. That's me.
Jamie:Yeah. Or whatever.
Speaker 4:Jeremy Rohnich raises his hand and says, is that about me? And they're like, yeah. Jeremy Rohnich teaching the locals how to disco dance at the Pink Elephant in Downtown Nagano, and it was that and there was a whole big article right on the front page of USA Today Sports. And, I mean, I I mean, it was you know, it really lightened the mood for us, and, I mean, I think it was a good thing for that. But it was hilarious because as soon as they opened their mouth, obviously, guilty knew.
Speaker 4:Yep. So at least he fessed up to it. He's like, I was just teaching people how to dance.
Scott:Probably had other priorities while playing for an Olympic hockey team, but that's amazing.
Jamie:Why am I not surprised from JR? Right? Yeah. Come on. Yeah.
Jamie:Now who you mentioned the captains. Who were the captains of that of that team?
Speaker 4:I think it was I'm sure it was Chris Chelios and Brian Leach were probably captain and assistant captain there. And That's right. I mean, I I think Joel Joel Otto was maybe one of our Okay. One of our guys as well. Okay.
Speaker 4:But, yeah, just, you know, I mean, pretty much anybody coulda had the letter because most guys were captains or assistant captains on their team. But Yeah. You know, Leechie didn't talk. Know, Leechie was pretty quiet. You know, Chelly's Chelly.
Speaker 4:I mean, Chelly's most awesome man in the world. And, you know, he's you know, I can remember play I'm like, I only wanna play with you on my team. Like, I don't wanna play against you anymore. You know? And it wasn't because he was, you know, cross and checking me in the face, but it was just the fact that, like, you know, him patrolling in front of his net, you know, made goaltending so much easier.
Speaker 4:Wow. You know, he was just one of those guys. I mean, he was just, you know, pound for pound toughest guy in the league, and he had so much respect for him that, you know I mean, he got in all altercations, of course, but, man, he patrolled in front of his goaltender. I mean, no wonder Eddie Belfort was so good for so many years. And then, of course, when Hockey got there, you know, he got he got some great protection by those guys.
Speaker 4:But, yeah, I mean, I got a million of those stories. I mean, it just I mean, it's just really so funny to think about them. I I haven't thought about those in in quite a few years.
Jamie:There we go. Good. I'm glad we brought them to the surface. That's awesome.
Scott:Well, I I we we should. We should because I know we could do this, you know, for the rest of the evening, and I would love to. But we we do also wanna weave in some youth youth hockey to this. And we Yes. We I know there's so and for what it's worth, also, we have goalie goalie conversations have been very few and far between in our pod.
Scott:That's like shame on us, but, like, you're gonna, like, be leading the charge here and and, you know, help help educate us us non goalie parents about what it's like to be a goalie and what you know, and for the goalie parents that do listen, you know you know, if we could rewind the tape and just, like, go back to your childhood and what it was like getting started and what it was like when the fam you know, like, with your family being hockey parents, being parents of a goaltender. If you could just kinda walk us through what that was like for you, and, like, did you have crazy hockey parents? How did that affect you? You know, all that type of stuff.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Well, I had an older brother, so, know, obviously, you wanna emulate and and kinda hang out with your older brother. And so my dad played a little bit of college hockey at Boston College And back in the so my older brother was already you know, he's a year a year and a half older, so he was already playing hockey, right, in the basement and, you know, getting to do that stuff. So as a a younger brother, I wanted to tag along. So, I mean, that's the rule is generally is that, oh, your brother's gonna shoot.
Speaker 4:Go stand in the net. Right. Hey. Sure. I I just you know, I wanna belong.
Speaker 4:And so that was kind of my first introduction to being a goalie. Was like, hey. Stand between these two gloves in the basement, and, you know, we got a tennis ball or the the the orange hockey ball, which I still The plastic to this day. Yes.
Jamie:Yeah. Sure.
Speaker 4:My luck? Not a friend of mine.
Jamie:The welts, I think, last man.
Speaker 4:It was only rock hard for many, many years, and then they made a softer one eventually. But, yeah, my earliest memories of my childhood is playing down there with my brother. I'm three years old, maybe four years old, and coming upstairs crying because I couldn't even speak because I had welts all over my body. I can remember going upstairs, and my mom's like, why are you crying? And I just was like, oh.
Speaker 4:And I lifted up my t shirt, and I had welts all over my body. You look beautiful shot. Just about lost it. What the hell are you doing to my kid down there? But my dad somehow weaved that into, hey.
Speaker 4:That that's that's a good feeling. That means that you're stopping the shot. You're not getting scored on. You'll feel way worse if the puck goes in. So even at that impressionable age, I I I bought into it.
Speaker 4:Right? Yeah. But so I was able to because my older brother lied about my age, I was able to to start youth hockey in in Troy, New York at four. Amazing. I I just I mean, I just gravitated toward, like, the goal.
Speaker 4:There was no goalie equipment, but they'd be like, hey. You want to stand in front of the net? And I'm like, I'll do it. You know? So you stood there with forward gear on and tried to stop the puck.
Speaker 4:And, you I mean, nobody could lift the puck at that, you know, age four and five or whatever.
Jamie:Right.
Speaker 4:But so I I kinda got bitten by the bug early on, and and I just fell in love with, like, the equipment. Right? I mean, you know, I mean, being able to get on a a computer now and look at everything and the digital and how clear and beautiful everything is is it was brown. Right? I mean, the goalie gear was leather.
Speaker 4:It was boring. Heavy. It was stuffed with deer hair. Yeah. I mean, it and that that's all it was.
Speaker 4:I mean, you could almost not see puck marks on it because this the leather got just so dark after getting wet repeatedly and all that. So but I still loved it. Right? And then it was about the goalie mask, and and that was probably the coolest thing about the full face mask. There wasn't a lot of artwork back then.
Speaker 4:I mean, it started as I got a little bit older, but Right. You know, mean, who, you know, who can forget, like, Ken Dryden's mask or Totally. Ed Jockey man or Bernie Perrant. I mean, the list kinda goes on and on and on, and I had all those, you know, cutting them out of a a paper and having those and and having them in a little scrapbook. But yeah.
Speaker 4:I mean, so I I grew up playing Troy Youth Hockey all the way through until I got to high school level. And then I I actually and and these are great stories because, you know, everybody thinks that you have to make such big strides and be the best player on your team at all times. And and, you know, yes, is it great if that is you? Usually, those kids, unfortunately, kinda peak too soon and then sometimes never get any better, like, by the time they're 15 or 16. Mhmm.
Speaker 4:But I I I should have made my team. I'll put that out here. I I went to a place called LaSalle Institute in Troy, New York. Just an all boys Catholic high school, seventh well, seventh through through twelfth. And my brother was a senior, and I was a freshman, and I got cut from the team.
Speaker 4:I didn't make the team. And it's one of those things where I know people run into all these outside forces of politics, and there were you know, there were a couple reasons why. So they carried three goalies, and and I was the fourth, and I was the odd man out. So I had a chance to just find a way to play somewhere so that I could still play hockey for you. I I found a midget team in Troy that I played for.
Speaker 4:And it's funny because I ended up having one of the most fun years of my hockey life. It was, like, guys who didn't make their high school team, but they loved playing hockey, And it was a travel team, so we went to these tournaments that I had never even heard of. And and we had a great time. And, actually, there were there were, like, you know, people recruiting. So not only, like, there were prep schools, there were colleges, so I got to play in front of some some people for that year.
Speaker 4:And then, you know, I got to play all the time. And so the benefit was is that didn't sit on the bench for the year being the second or third goalie. I played on a team, and I got to play every single game. And Right. You know, worked at worked on becoming a better goalie and getting to see a lot of rubber, and I think that's you know?
Speaker 4:I mean, for a goaltender, don't wanna sit there and see, you know, 10 shots and and not do anything, especially at that age. You wanna see, you know, 30 or 40 shots and, you know, make saves, give up goals, figure out why, you know, why you made the save, figure out why you didn't make the save, what you could do better. And but it prepared me for that next year, and then I played my next three years at LaSalle Institute in Troy. And I stayed at home. I I mean, I had options to go away and play prep school, options to go play junior in Canada.
Speaker 4:You know, major junior in Canada was a real option. You know, there's so many options right now, which is incredible. And and I love the fact that even, you know, major junior in Canada is now they are no longer, quote, professionals. Right? They can actually play a year, and then they don't lose college eligibility.
Speaker 4:So it it's hard for them to retain some of the best players because, you know, we can't get into all this stuff with the NIL and all that.
Jamie:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 4:But there's there's a lot of lot of factors that but there's a lot of options for kids be able to go and play play hockey at at each and every level. And then for me, just, you know, being able to play at home, and I know we talked off camera a little bit about it, but being a goaltender with parents of a goaltender, it is so much harder on those parents. You know? I mean, we just play, and we think we're great. And if we stink, we're bummed out or whatever.
Speaker 4:But, you know, I I alluded the fact that my parents were outside the building. They couldn't watch at times chain smoking because they just couldn't deal with it. I mean, it was just like they're like they're like, ah. You know? They're like, we'll we'll come in and hopefully he won, or hopefully he got a shutout, or hopefully
Scott:whatever. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Hopefully, he's not really pissed off, and we have a terrible car ride home. You know? So, you know, to all those parents out there, you know, first, thank you, because without you and and the support and everything that you do, I mean, it's time. It's money. It's emotion.
Speaker 4:You know? There's a lot of things that go in, and and every guy that I know that has ever made it certainly to the NHL, you know, or get drafted, it's always thanking his support system. Right? I mean and and and for girls too. Right?
Speaker 4:I mean, whether it's a boy or girl, you know, going to, you know, play college hockey or whatever it is, I mean, it is tireless. It's it's thankless at times. I mean, we had practices at at 5AM before high school, and, you know, before I could drive, it was my parents driving me, know, like, you know, up at four and getting in the freezing cold car.
Scott:Yep.
Speaker 4:By the time they dropped me off, the car was just starting to warm up. So they were sitting in freezing car the whole time, and then they either stayed there in the freezing rink, they went home and then had to come back. So it is it's a huge thank you to everybody that helps their children out to play a game that frankly we love. And I think for for me, my dad, or my parents I won't just say my dad. My parents said to me, like, we will do whatever you need to do as long as you love doing this.
Speaker 4:And as long as you're asking me for ice time or to play on this team or travel, He goes, I'll do whatever we can do. But when you stop asking and I have to ask you, he's like, then I'll know what the answer is. And Yeah. You know? So I think that's important for parents and and and kids themselves to know that, if you love it and you're putting in the effort and it's something that you're so passionate about, your parents will certainly do what they can.
Speaker 4:But, yeah, it was a kind of a sobering realization that if I lose interest, then my parents are gonna just say, you know, that's we're out. We're tapping out because, you know, it's expensive and it's, you know, certainly time consuming.
Jamie:Speaking of that, what what did you ask your parents to do? Did you did you go to private lessons? Did you go to goalie clinics? Did you go to goalie camps in the summer? Like, what did that what did your season entail?
Jamie:What'd that look like from, like, the beginning of the year to the end of the year for you?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Well, you know, I you know, humble family, you know, Middle America living, you know, I mean, modest. You know, four kids in the family. So it wasn't like I was able to, you know, go to, like, a hockey school every summer. You know, fortunately, living in Troy with RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Speaker 4:Like, literally, mean, you know, growing up, you know, in the shadows of the Houston Fieldhouse. I mean, playing there as a as a might all the way through high school. That was basically our home rank going to watch RPI practice because it was something to do, and, you know, it was great to be able to, you know, have know, we didn't have NHL players in town, so that was you know, we'd go and I would just watch the goaltenders. So that was a little version of coaching for me was to go and watch the college goaltenders, and you could go and just stand right behind them and watch them go through their their practice routines and and all that. But Mike Odessa was a coach there for a number of years when they won the national championship, actually recruited me to go there.
Speaker 4:But he started a summer camp, and and that was really the only exposure I ever had to kinda real teaching, goaltender teaching. And I I just went there, you know, maybe a couple times. But, you know, it's amazing. It's what you can get and take with you. You know, you get little tidbits along the way.
Speaker 4:You get a little bit of guidance, and, you know, you go from there. I and I always kinda joke that, you know, I I learned a lot just from making mistakes. Then, you know, talking to my dad at the kitchen table about, you know, hey. What did you see? And, you know, what do you think I could do?
Speaker 4:Or, you know, we had, you know, many a pizza at that table, you know, rehashing what happened in games at at all ages and stages of my career. You know? But I was never really technically taught. I joke about it going you know, my first year as a pro, Wayne Thomas, former NHL goaltender, Stanley Cup champion, was our head coach in Peoria, the IHL. We had one coach.
Speaker 4:And Wayne was Wow. Head coach, assistant coach, associate coach. Sometimes, you know, sometimes so we had we traveled. People. Literally, we had a coach, an equipment guy, and one medical guy, one medical trainer, and and that was it.
Speaker 4:So, like, to get time with Wayne was difficult because he you know, I mean, you're on a bus all the time and all that. But Yeah. You know, having Wayne just to be able to give me little and the other goaltenders that were there. Pat Jablonski was my goalie partner. Curtis Joseph was my partner there as well.
Speaker 4:Wow. And, you know, just to get a little bit of knowledge, yeah, from from Wayne, you know, helped immensely. And, you know but it wasn't like he was our full time goalie coach. And as a matter of fact, Saint Louis during those days didn't even have a goalie coach. I mean, goalie coaches weren't really a thing.
Speaker 4:So I turned pro in '89, and all my time in St. Louis, we never had an official goalie coach.
Jamie:Wow.
Speaker 4:And I went to Anaheim, and I remember meeting Brian Hayward, who was hired as the analyst. He had just retired from San Jose Sharks. So, anyways, I'll try to get to the point. So Hazy comes in and says, hey. Great to see you.
Speaker 4:You know, looking forward to working with you. Apparently, I'm gonna be your goalie coach. So Ron Tognaut is my partner. We're on stationary bikes working out, and we're like, well, you know, you're gonna be on the ice a lot? He goes, not really.
Speaker 4:He goes, but we'll have a chance to talk. He's like, because I'm doing the analyst full time, so I'll be on the road with you. And, you know, so that really ended up being we could talk to hazy for the most part, like, on a plane. You know, after a game, and we'd walk by and be like, hey. What'd think of the game?
Speaker 4:Know, what do you think? And he'd be like, ah. Know, we'd have a a conversation. But it wasn't until Jack Ferrara, our GM in Anaheim, maybe our second or third year into the league, and and he was able to pry away Francois Allaire from the Montreal Canadiens. And Francois Allaire that if anybody knows, he is the guru of goaltending, and he almost solely is responsible for the way that the goalies have played in the last twenty years.
Scott:Wow.
Speaker 4:He taught all the Quebec goaltenders at his goalie camps that ended up being so popular that he had them in Europe. He just taught the butterfly style. It was all about maximizing your equipment, blocking the puck, not reacting to it, making sure that you could move from point a to point b, and be in proper position. And if the puck beat you, it never beat you inside of your body. It had to beat you on the exterior.
Speaker 4:And he always said, like, hey. If the puck beats you over your shoulder or past your blocker or where it might be, he goes, we can live with that. He goes, but if it goes through the five hole or your armpits or, you know, any anything in between your body, then that's on you. So but that was really when I first you know? And so I was probably, you know, in my late twenties, like, maybe 28 or 29 when I had my first legitimate goalie coach in my life.
Speaker 4:So Wow. Yeah. I just think that, you know, if you look back and there's there's overcoaching, there's coaches that should be coaching, there's coaches that shouldn't be coaching. There you know? Yes.
Speaker 4:The good news is that there's there's a technique that basically every goaltender uses from you're you're teaching them the same thing from youth hockey all the way to the NHL. So it's all about, you know, the technique of goaltending.
Scott:Let me let me ask this question, you know, because obviously, there's plenty of youth organizations that don't have goalie coaches. Right? And, you know, if if, like, what would you say is maybe, like, the biggest mistake that youth hockey coaches, not goalie coaches, but youth hockey coaches make with their goaltenders?
Speaker 4:Well, it's funny because it's always I've been kinda the trying to put it politically correct. And my dad my dad kinda fell into this when he used to coach us. Was like most coaches don't know anything about goaltending. Right. And most of the information they're giving goaltenders is wrong anyways.
Speaker 4:You know? So it it's like, well, you should be doing this. I I mean, I actually had one one coach tell me, like, I was off my angles. And I I wasn't off my angles, but he didn't know how goalies you know, like, the puck always is supposed to be in the middle of your body, and he was trying to get me to line up on the puck on the stick. And which is incorrect.
Speaker 4:Right? So Right. All of a sudden, there's, like, you know, three feet of open net, and That's just insane.
Jamie:I'm like, all the space.
Speaker 4:Yeah. It's like so it's like, okay. It's you're you're making me worse instead of better.
Jamie:Right.
Speaker 4:Uh-huh. But, know, in today's world, there's so much information online. Like, you can you can go on, like, Instagram, and you can find, you know, goalie coaches who are putting out drills. They're showing certain things that you need to do, like, just say for, like, the reverse VH. Right?
Speaker 4:So, you know, some young kids are like, I don't know what that is. How do you do that? I mean, you can go online and actually find that. So you can get some basics of the technique really just online. And if you see that and a lot of it just, you know, emulating.
Speaker 4:You know? I mean, I had the goaltenders I always looked up to at at whatever level. High school, I looked at the college guys. And when I, you know, got to college, I was starting to look at the pros, and what do they do that I can do that fits, you know, kind of the way I play, you know, naturally, instinctively. And I think, you know, now there's a little less of the, you know, instinctual type of goaltender, less they're not less athletic as in athletes, but they're they play less athletically because they're being coached to block and not to, you know, panic and and stretch across the the crease and, you know, try to get a glove or a skate blade on it like a lot of guys throughout the nineties.
Speaker 4:But, yeah, I I would you know, I mean, if there is a qualified, you know, goalie coach that that people talk about in your area, you know, I would certainly, you know, try to see them, try to be able to get, you know, some ice time. And even if it's just a short amount of time, just to work on basics, you know, goaltenders really have to do skating. I mean, you gotta work on your skating ability. You have to work on all your edge work, and and nowadays, it's making you know, the pads are down, the pads are slippery, the pads rotate. So it is a lot different than than when I had retired, but that edge work is so good at the best players in the world.
Speaker 4:Right? I mean, I watch them every day. I watch Lukash Dostal with the Anaheim Ducks, and I watch him work on this edge work with the goalie kit coach, Peter Budai, who's a former NHL goaltender. And it's amazing to see the detail that goes into it. So I think that if I could encourage anybody who wants to be a better goaltender, it's really about skating.
Speaker 4:It's about your edge work, and then just purely technique. And like I said, you know, these computers and social medias and all that stuff, there's there's a lot of good information out there. You might have to decipher between some good and some not so good, but generally speaking, the technique kinda speaks for itself.
Jamie:So so are they doing, like, inside edge and outside edge? Is that what that the type of skating he's doing just like a regular positional player would be doing, or are there different things that they're doing that's maybe more like figure skating ish? I'm curious to hear what you're gonna say.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Well, it's interesting because you'll see a lot of them, the edge work is mostly on the inside edge, and and some goalies have actually
Jamie:because that's where push off of? Is that what it is?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So some of them actually change the rocker on their blades. They'll actually have the interior edge a little higher than the outside edge. A lot of it's about and some of the pads have changed because they they wanna be able to so, like, for me, a lot of times, it's the way we we used to secure our pad to our skate and the way the calling was, and and you you would try to dig in, and you would not be able to get the edge, you just swipe. And sometimes you'd pull your groin.
Speaker 4:Right? You you wouldn't be able to push off. Yeah. So now they've actually extended the boot so that the blade is less exposed exposed to the actual pad. Right?
Speaker 4:So there's more surface area for you to be able to get your skate blade into it. But I see, you know, there'll be guys doing drills where they're literally on their knees, and they just work the interior of their edges from right to left, and it it's almost like a it's almost like a ballet. You I've seen it online. I've even seen, like, you know, hockey schools online. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And so it it is it is pretty cool, because they'll have them go all the way across the ice, and they'll spin around,
Jamie:and they'll see, you know, some spinning like this. Right? Yeah. I've seen And
Speaker 4:because of, you know, like, the the skins that they put on the inside of the the pad so it stays slippery, you know, so they're able to glide on that. So you push with your right, and you're able to glide on that left pad so so seamlessly. And, you know, to be able to drive across the crease nowadays, you know, is is less difficult than it was for for us back in the day. And we used to, you know, have our pads really tight. They didn't rotate.
Speaker 4:They took up less surface area, and I just wonder why. I wonder why we were doing that. It so
Jamie:much more difficult back It
Speaker 4:was. I'm like, my name could have played a couple more years.
Jamie:I was just going say, I would have looked larger too.
Scott:Have you suited up in modern equipment?
Speaker 4:I I did. So this is actually kind of funny. I I've I've gone in the locker room and, you know, like so John Gibson's been out in Anaheim for a a long time, and was traded to Detroit last year. But so but I'd go in and talk to Gibby and be like, know, and I'd look at his pads, I put his pads on, you know, like, just up to my thing. And and they're coming up past my waist.
Speaker 4:And Gibby's probably, like, six one or whatever, and Dostal's a little bit shorter. Gibby maybe six two. Dostal's about six foot, and but it's it's the same thing is that the pads are just so high. So, you know, I've put skates on, I've put the pads on, and, you know, they're so loose, and there's barely any straps to them so that, you know I mean, they're they're they're made so literally when you go down that you can't not have them rotate forward. And because they're so long coming up past your waist when you go down, it it effectively takes away the five hole.
Speaker 4:I mean, so if you go down and and get down to the ice before the guy shoots the puck, there is no five hole. So the problem is is if you don't get down first and they shoot five hole, they can still beat you. But if you get down there first, you know, it's like barn I always say it's like barn doors closing. And once again, I wish because we wore shorter pads so we could be quicker and more mobile, and there was a huge five hole. And close it up was really difficult.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. I'm curious. So alright. So that was kind of leading into my next question. So what obviously, I was just gonna ask you what modern equipment would you want if you had played today?
Jamie:I'm assuming you'd want today's pads. Right? That would be the answer?
Speaker 4:Yeah. I mean, I'll take it all. Mean, you know, we you know, I mean, we had good you know, call it good equipment. Yeah. You know?
Speaker 4:But I remember getting, you know, blasting collarbone where you'd, you know, you'd get a chip out of your collarbone, or there'd be this you know? I mean, the bruise would be so huge because it would just slip through. And, you know, so even the top gear, you know, the the chest arm protectors are are, I mean, almost impenetrable. But I I mean, for me, I think the the blocker is one thing that had probably the most significant development because, you know, we used to break fingers. You know?
Speaker 4:The puck would come underneath the blocker, and there was a little bit of padding, but you'd break your fingers. Okay. You know? Or you get slashed trying to cover up pucks, and you'd, you know, you'd get hit on the thumb. There was a little bit of thumb protection, but it wasn't anything you know?
Speaker 4:Now it's it's incredible. It's almost like a one piece. So as the and I'm sure you've seen them, but, you know, you can literally turn your blocker, like, to the side and expose what your thumb area is, and, like, mean, I you won't get hurt for the most part.
Jamie:You take
Scott:the puck
Jamie:there, and it's just
Speaker 4:It's so well protected, and it's and it's very flat, and so it's more, you know, more surface area where you can stop the puck from. Not that you encourage anybody to turn your hand over, but when you get into a certain situation, you're you're not as like, oh god. If I do that, like, you know, I'm probably gonna break my fingers.
Jamie:Right. You're not exposed like you used to be.
Speaker 4:Yeah. But in general, I mean, all the equipment is fantastic. I mean, it's built better to perform the way it should. You know, the only thing I think that a lot of us goalies who played in in previous decades, we always say that everybody kinda looks the same. Everybody's big for the most part, and everybody's between, you know, six two and six eight.
Speaker 4:So you say the the the average goalie is probably six four. Yeah. Insane. Which is insane. You know?
Speaker 4:I mean, some guys are more athletic than others, you know, but they, you know, but they play all the same style. Like, I mean, I think about nineties, you look at Curtis Joseph, you look at, you know, Mike Richter, you look at Patrick Wah, who was a taller guy at the time. Yeah. You know, Kelly Rudy, Van Biesbrook, you know, Felix Podcast. Mean, you just go through the list of guys who played, you know, Mike Vernon and Ozzy and whatever.
Jamie:Brodure. Brodure.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I mean, were all I mean, we were all different. Like, I mean, you could put any jersey on that goalie and go, that's Marty Broder. Like, I mean, just because of the way he carried himself, the way he played the position. So that's only thing I kinda miss is, like, the individuality of the goalies.
Speaker 4:And, know, there's still a couple of throwbacks. You know? I mean, Jonathan Quick was a throwback goaltender, you know, playing like the Crab style. Yeah. Gibson will stack the pads occasionally, and some other guys
Jamie:Dominic out Hockey.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I mean, like, who doesn't love a good stack in the pads? You don't see that a
Jamie:lot anymore, by the way.
Speaker 4:No. Don't. Like, usually, the goalie coaches are pulling their hair out if they see you do that. It's like
Jamie:Is that right?
Speaker 4:They're like, oh my god. Did I not teach you anything? Like, you know, that is a desperation move, and sometimes it's like, what the you know? I mean, like, I always say goaltending has to be fun, and, you know, I think when you get so rigid that, you know, I think the problem with goaltenders is is they're they're thinking about their movement, and they're not really thinking about getting there and stopping the puck. Right?
Speaker 4:They're they're taught to be like, I I push to point a, and then I drive over to point b. And if I go to a to b in sync, then I make the save. And and it's not always all that technical, but that's kind of their mindset is trying to to do this. And so it's it's very structured where, you know, in in years past, it's like you go out to a, and it's like, oh, no. It went over to b, and it's like, you know, the split save or the stacking the pads or or whatever you're diving across.
Speaker 4:So I think it's I mean, it's made goalies better. You know, if you look at save percentage, it is shocking that in the NHL, the save percentage was was dropping significant last year. I mean, there were a lot of goalies, and and I'm talking, like, top goalies that were under, you know, like, 900 under 90% save percentage. So that was I mean, just with the technology and all that, but, you know, it's that constant battle. You know, you get the the sticks that are, you know, 500, and, you know, they can make Super whippy.
Speaker 4:Makes every guy lethal out there be able to shoot the puck. And and and all players who play at the NHL now, you know, I mean, I watch college games, and I can't believe how well guys shoot the puck. You see some kids in, you know, prep school or high school, and you're like I mean, you know, part of it is the technology, but I think everybody does practice, you know, practice to find their skills to make sure that they can shoot the puck and and put it in positions. I mean, I think that's the that's always the thing is between, like, you know, every level is so somebody shoots a little bit harder at every level, but their accuracy just gets better and better and better. So as you get to the the elite levels, you know, you give a guy, you know, an a corner that's the size of a puck and, you know
Jamie:And they can fit it.
Speaker 4:You know, Cutter Goache or whoever's gonna be able to put the puck in that little tiny spot.
Scott:Yeah. Yes.
Jamie:Very much so.
Scott:One of, you know, I one of the things that certainly is talked about a lot with respect to goaltending is, like, the mental side of it. Right? And, like, goalies are quirky and, you know, or they, you know, they're they're a different breed and all those things. Like, from your experience, do you find those types of, like, you know, generality generalizations to, like, be true? And, you know, I I guess it's kinda like two questions.
Scott:One, do you think that, like like, goalies are just, like, is a different mindset? Like, they're they're a different breed, or does, like, the position, like, just make them a different breed, if that makes sense?
Speaker 4:Well, I I think the I mean, simple answer is is that you have to be a special breed to wanna be a goalie, I don't think I think you become a goalie because you have that kind of mental makeup that that fits the position. I don't think becoming a goalie can change you enough to to do that. So I think I mean, I've been called a very normal goalie, and I never knew if it was a a compliment or an insult. I I honestly I'm like, they're like, pay for a goalie. Like, you're pretty normal.
Speaker 4:So I always just like aren't. So I get it. And I've had partners who who certainly weren't and and played against many guys who who weren't normal. You know? Mean, everything from, you know, how they handled their equipment or what they did in game day or, you know, just just their prep for games.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I mean, whether guys are throwing up before every game because they were so jacked up, and they played well, and they did it one time, and then they had to do it for the rest of the season. And I'm like like, yeah. I listen. If I start throwing, having to throw up because I need to have a good game because I played well the last time, I'm like, then maybe I am one of those goalies.
Speaker 4:Right? I mean, one of those crazy goalies. But I I think in general, it's just one of those things that, you know, you are like, you play a team game, but you also play an individual game. Like, you have teammates that you'd never really see. You never hang out with them on the bench if you're playing in the game.
Speaker 4:Oh, shit. You know, everybody else takes turns on the ice and then goes back and has a party on the bench. Right? So you're just a guy on an island, and you sit there, and you kinda absorb, you know, everything that's going around you. And knowing that you are the last line of defense and that if the puck goes in, even if it's not really your fault because there were breakdowns all over the place that
Scott:Right.
Speaker 4:You know, one, you feel like you should have made the save, and two, pretty much everybody in the building thinks you should have made the save. So, I mean, you know, obviously, you can't have thin skin to be a goaltender. I mean, I think you have to thrive in the in the moment of, you know, hey. I'm gonna you know, my goal every day is to stop everything that comes my way, and I'm always disappointed if I let anything in regardless of what happened in front. You know, if a defenseman fell down, a guy comes in on breakaway or a two on o, like, I always feel like and I and I'll say that every goalie feels the same way is that I shoulda had that.
Speaker 4:You know? Damn. I had two on o. I shoulda had that for the guys. So I think that, you know, as quirky as we are, I I think that the mental fortitude of of goaltenders and I hate generalizing against other sports because I I think it's always unfair to compare.
Speaker 4:You know? I think the comparisons of a goalie are to a quarterback or a pitcher where, again, you're you're an individual that has so much to do Right. To the outcome of a game, but you're still part of the team. I I always think that, you know, the guys that don't get bothered, you know, who have that mental toughness to say, like, hey. I got scored on, but with the first shot, I'm just gonna stop everything else that comes my way.
Speaker 4:You know? I think that's the mindset that the the the great goalies have. Again, at any level. Right? It doesn't matter what delivery you're playing at.
Speaker 4:You know, if you can brush away, you know, the things that happen and flush them, that was one of the things that Francois Laird, you know, taught me. And it's a great little thing. So if there's any kids out there or adults playing hockey and you're a goaltender, I can remember struggling a little bit during one season, and he's like, I know you're in your head. He's like, what's the problem? And I'm like I'm like, I just, you know, I let him go.
Speaker 4:I think I I know I shoulda had, and it affects me, and it takes me a couple saves to get rid of it. And he said and then, of course, sometimes you you don't make another save. You give up another goal, and all of a sudden, two have gone by, and then you start to spiral. And so I sat down with him, and we kinda went through some film, he, you know, okay, we explained this, that, the other thing, and he's like he goes, okay. I've used this before.
Speaker 4:He's like he's like, okay. They score on you. I want you to crumple up a piece of paper, mental piece of paper in your mind, and he goes, I want you to see it and throw it into a garbage can. And I'm like, yeah? And he goes, yeah.
Speaker 4:He goes, and then it's gone. He goes, it's in the garbage. It's gone. It's flushed. You just worry about making the next save.
Speaker 4:And it didn't happen overnight, but I honestly took that to heart, and I started to do that. And I throw one away, and it just more became almost like a negative thought whenever I had a negative thought, almost not even just giving up a goal. You did. I would make that mental piece of paper. I could see it in my mind and crumple it up, and I'd see myself throw it in the garbage can, and then I would be able to move on.
Speaker 4:So it's a really simple mind trick to try you know, take something positive, you know, get rid of the negative immediately and being able to move on. And, you know, if if anybody's out there, give it a try because it worked for me, and I think it's just something about easing your your brain. You know? It's like there's so many things that you wanna think about as a goaltender and, you know, trying to anticipate, and then you know? But if you're anticipating too much, are you starting to guess?
Speaker 4:And then you become flat footed, and then all of a sudden, everything starts to go in the wrong direction. So I think the simple thing is is, you know, I mean, read and react to the plays as they come at you. Be decisive in in what you see and, you know, execute your movements. And I I think that you'll stop more pucks than than you probably would. But, yeah, that little trick from Francois certainly helped me, you know, get out of a little bit of tough patch.
Jamie:Yeah. That's like that goldfish, you know, brain. Right? Like, the you just kinda forget about it. Yeah.
Jamie:It's not easy, by the way. Like and you said No. I was gonna I was gonna ask you that. So you went right into it. I it was perfect.
Jamie:The pitcher in baseball, that quarterback, you know, in football, you know, you guys are definitely on an island, and and and and that's it's not easy to be able to shut that down like that. That's a that's a skill. And like you said, it took you a little bit of time to figure that out. I hope any of our listeners do use that because I think that's a very effective tool. I'm gonna tell my 14 year old about it.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Well and and, you know, like, I'm glad you brought up, like, the mental side of, you know, of sports. Again, it's just not being a goaltender in hockey. It's it's any sport. But I people ask me, like, okay.
Speaker 4:Hey. You grew up in Troy, New York. You went to a local high school. You didn't end up going to prep school. You went to Hamilton College.
Speaker 4:You ended up in the NHL. How the hell did that happen? Seriously. We knew you had talent. We knew you were good.
Speaker 4:You you had the ability to move from one level to the next. And I'd I always said, you know what? I always believed that I had a stronger mental capacity than the guy I was playing against. And it was all about my mental preparation. I would lay in bed and go through every conceivable play the night before a game.
Speaker 4:I mean, almost to the point where it it exhausted me, but I was so mentally prepared. I mean, I went through every breakaway and every two on one, and I would see and visualize, you know, the shot, the save, the rebound. I would go through all of it, really, again, to an exhausting level where I actually had to give myself parameters of, hey, I'm gonna do this for twenty or thirty
Jamie:then it's time to
Speaker 4:go to sleep. And then I gotta go to bed. But I did. I honestly think that that's what was the success. The secret sauce for me was I'm sure there were better athletes who played goalie, you know, guys who were just technically sounder, but I always felt the way that, like, I could battle to find the puck, and I just thought that when I stepped on the ice, like, I had already played the game, and nothing was gonna surprise me.
Speaker 4:So that's you know, I probably haven't told a lot of people that story, to be honest with you, but that That's cool. I I always thought, and I I continued that through high school, college, pro, and, you know, you know, I I think it I think it serves us well when you feel like you have the comfort. Like, you you're like, okay. I I've done everything I can to be ready for this game. And whatever happens, happens, But, like, I'm not just, you know, I'm just not rolling out there and trying to hope that my talent gets me through.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Scott:Right. That's so interesting. Would you would you, like, get to the level of, like and maybe this is commonplace, so maybe it's not such a crazy thing. But, like, would would you, like, go over the roster of, like, you know, the team you're playing next and just, like, go, okay. He's a righty.
Scott:He's a lefty. You know? And just, like, know, like, when players on the ice, like, what are the what the likelihood of a shot coming, like, off of a right handed shot versus a left handed shot. Like, is that is that, like, the kind of detail that you would get into?
Speaker 4:Yeah. I mean, I started that with, you know, just even playing local high school hockey and knowing who the the better players were on just the the high school teams. And Right. You know, and you always wanted to be prepared for, like, power plays and stuff. So even even at high school level and even before that, you know, like, you would say, okay.
Speaker 4:Hey. You know, this kid's the best kid on their team. You know? I I know he likes to shoot this way. I know his favorite spot is the five hole.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Just the the higher that you get, you know, the more detailed. We just call it our little black book. And, you know, in an age of technology, I mean, I'm sure the goaltending coaches, and I've seen it. You know, they have a lot of stuff for their goaltenders, especially at, you know, obviously, the NHL level.
Speaker 4:But we used to just make notes about, you know, hey. Joe Sackick's coming down on me. Like, I can guarantee you if I give him the five hole he's probably still gonna beat me, but I'm gonna I'm gonna take it away from him. Yeah. And because I know that's yeah.
Speaker 4:I mean, that's his favorite spot, and if he sees it, he's gonna say, I'm quicker than you are. And I you know, conversely, I'm like, okay. I'm teasing you with this, and I'm gonna try to take it away.
Jamie:I'm gonna shut it.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So, I mean, you start playing a little cat and mouse game. You know, they start to know your strengths and weaknesses as well. So, you know, their book on the goaltenders is very similar to our book on them. But, yeah, it is.
Speaker 4:It's one of those things you really try to make sure again, like, I I played with Brendan Shanahan in Saint Louis, and he loved to shoot after practice, and so he would shoot countless pucks on me. He would only go two places. Maybe high glove once in a blue moon, but he would go five hole and low blocker, and he would shoot hundreds of pucks at me. And so then when I played against him, it was that thing. It was like, is he going five hole or low blocker?
Speaker 4:Does he have the guts to go high glove on me? Because I know those are his two favorite spots, and he rarely goes elsewhere. So then you almost it's like, okay. You start overthinking things, and you're hoping that he's overthinking things as well. Right?
Speaker 4:But but, yeah, it is. You know, to answer your question, yeah, I mean, I think it's, you know, it's almost every goalie's responsibility to know who he's playing against, you know, where the threats are, you know, what spaces on the ice players like to go. I mean, obviously, Alex loves to go to his office. Yeah. You know?
Speaker 4:And, you know, even goalies know he's there. They know he's gonna get the puck. They know they gotta get to there. And, you know, just physically sometimes, you know, whatever. The physics of it all, you just can't physically get from from your spot to him and be able to stop that shot traveling at, you know, whatever, eighty, ninety, 100 miles an hour.
Speaker 4:Right? But yeah. But it's fun to visit logic. Sorry. Go ahead.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah. No. It does. I mean, I I think that's the thing is that you, you know, you prepare as well as you can, and then there's you know, sometimes guys are just good, really good.
Speaker 4:Yeah. You know? Better than than, you know, you can be, and it's it's a physical space game. And and when, you know, you're shooting that puck and you know, I mean, lot of times you get hit by the puck, and it and it still goes in. Right?
Speaker 4:I mean, it just you know, it's coming in with such velocity that you can't help, but it breaks off of your body and and ends up in the back of the net. So Yeah.
Jamie:I'm curious. What's the the most difficult spot on the net to defend as a goalie?
Speaker 4:Well, I I think, you know, for for my era, I mean, really, I think the five hole was was the toughest. Because of the gear. You know? Because of the gear. And and just the way you, you know, you'd sit on your feet a little bit more.
Speaker 4:You didn't re you know, you relied on reflexes. You know, today, I I'll say that low blocker is the albatross or whatever for the goaltender. I mean Yeah. You can be in perfect position. There's that spot just above the pad, just below the blocker.
Speaker 4:Right? Because, you know, even in your stance and when you go down, just the way you try to keep your stick in front of you and the blocker, there's about six inches. And if guys can put it there, I mean, it's it's almost impossible to stop. I mean, usually, you're hoping that the guy misses his shot. He hits you in the pad, goes wide, or or it's a little too high and it hits you in the blocker.
Speaker 4:But Right. You know, for guys, I I think right now, they you know, if they're coming in and they're looking right at you, that's that's their spot. And, otherwise, if they can get goaltenders moving, I mean, that's just the the best way. You get, you know, big guys at Yeah. Six four trying to move across the across the crease.
Speaker 4:It's, you know, it is hard. I mean, they got long legs or getting stuff, you know, getting pads over there, but still, you know, that makes you susceptible of opening up. And then when you open up, I mean, you can, you know, you know, you can get beat in the five hole, even today, but it's only if you get moving. If you're stationary, it it rarely ever happens.
Jamie:It's so funny you said that because I I've noticed as my so my son is now a second year bantam. So as we've gone from mites and, you know, through squirts and peewies and now now, you know, almost done with bantams, you know, you you don't see on tier one or tier two, You don't see anything outside the dots for the most for the most part. As long as the goalie can see it, it's not gonna go in. Yeah. Right?
Jamie:I mean, it's it's it's funny how the game has changed. You really need to get the goalie moving to to have you know, because like you said, the gear is so much bigger. Right? You know, you you those shots that used to go in from far out now don't. Anything from outside the dots or behind the dots, really, again, the goalie can see it at the youth level is is is for the most part not going in.
Jamie:Yeah?
Speaker 4:Well, yeah. I mean, it it is. It's, you know, it is. It's part of the technique. It's part of the equipment.
Speaker 4:You know? It's part the size of goaltenders. And it's funny because, you know, we we we talk about the games at the NHL level, and you're breaking them down. And and it it really comes down. I mean, there's very rarely, like, pretty goals.
Speaker 4:And when there is a pretty goal, I mean, it's usually pretty spectacular.
Scott:Yeah. Right. You know?
Speaker 4:But it is. It's it's goaltenders moving. It's traffic. You know? It's about taking away the vision of the goaltender.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And you gotta get guys who are willing to pay the price to go stand in front and either get, you know, whacked from behind by the defenseman, you know, get hit by a shot from their own defenseman, you know, trying to get in there to get a screen or a tip, and scoring those kind of those greasy goals. And, you know, that's why you see in the playoffs a lot of times, you know, it's it's rarely anything nice. It's just some guy willing to pay the price to get in on top of the goaltender. And even if the goalie makes that initial save, if if you can't control it and that's really the job of the goalies nowadays is that if you can make that first save and control the rebound, and it doesn't mean you have to gobble it up and and get the whistle.
Speaker 4:If you can control it and make sure that that puck goes into one of the two corners, you know, you've done your job, and it makes the life of your defenseman certainly a lot easier. You know, the the goals are scored when, you know, you're screened and and you're lucky to make that initial save and then, you know, losing sight of the puck for a split second. And then, you know, your defensemen are stuck. They're trying to be tied up with the guys in front, and then usually it's someone diving in from the outside that's gonna be able to pick up that that loose change and and score the goal. But, yeah, it is.
Speaker 4:It's kinda fun thinking that, like, you know, goalies are like, hey. You know? Like, you're not gonna beat me from the from the dots. Right. Exactly.
Speaker 4:And so I then I think, unfortunately, the guys are like, they're either shooting. You know? I mean, it's become such a thing now, you know, even if it's a two on one. A lot of times, guys, they don't even shoot the score. You know?
Speaker 4:They're coming down the wing, and they wanna shoot off the goalie's far pad because
Jamie:for a rebound. Yeah. The pads
Speaker 4:are so lively. Yeah. So, you know, it's that shot pass, and the other guy is smart enough to know that he's driving for that rebound, and, you know, defenseman kinda gets caught in the way, and, you know, that's the that comes the the communication between, you know, goaltenders and defenseman of, like, you know, hey. Just give me the shot, and, like, I'll just play it as a breakaway because, you know, if he executes the shot pass off my pad and you're not able to get to that guy driving the net, then it's a goal. I I'd rather almost play it just, you know, make him make you know, he's gotta beat me on his own type of thing.
Jamie:So you would have the defenseman pick up the offside guy, and you just hit the oncoming winger one on one.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And I I did that back when I played even, you know, without technically the the lively pads. Right? I I it was more of like, you know, the vetsmen get caught in that no man's land because they wanna kinda slide across and take away the pass. They don't wanna give the guy the free lane to come to the net, and then they end up being doing nobody any good.
Speaker 4:Right? So then it's like you get a little flat footed because you're playing the guy coming in, and then they slide it across, and then they tap it into the empty net. And but that's the you know? I mean, again, at any level, it's the communication. You talk to your defenseman and say, hey.
Speaker 4:If this happens again, this is what I want you to do because I'm more comfortable with that. Eddie Balfour used to say this all the time. He's like, two on one, he goes, I I don't even wanna see you. I I want you to turn and go grab that other guy. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And I just played it. I'm like, I'm gonna take this guy because Yeah. You know, it it's too hard. Or there were times that other guys would be like, hey. Attack the puck possession guy because he's gonna force that pass across, and all I'm gonna do is and then I'm just gonna read that pass across.
Speaker 4:So there's a lot of different ways to play it, but, you know, it's the communication between, you know, defensemen and goaltenders is pretty critical.
Scott:Yeah. Well, listen, Guy. We've we've kept you for for quite
Speaker 4:some
Scott:time
Speaker 4:at this point. Tell you I like to talk a lot. That that's why I got a
Scott:podcast. Listen. It's amazing. And quite honestly, I'm looking at some of the questions that I had, and I was like and Jamie's usually the one that always says this, but, like, I'll say it right now, like, you need to come back for a part two
Jamie:because I was to say
Speaker 4:Yeah. I'd love to.
Scott:Yeah. I'm getting so educated on this, but Yeah.
Jamie:And I've so many more also. Yeah. So we've been upkeep.
Scott:Before we go, I got I got two two questions for you. The first or there's actually gonna be three things that kinda wrap things up, and I'll just give them to you in no particular order. One, parting words of wisdom for any youth goalies that are, like, you know, making their journey right now or parents of those goalies that to help them through their journey as a youth player. And when I say youth, let's just say Yeah. I don't know, like, Bantams and Below.
Scott:Right? We're not talking like major junior, like, know Sure. You know, older kids. That I also would like love to know when you first heard that you were gonna be playing for a team owned by Disney called the Mighty Ducks, like, what did you really think? And and then the last thing would be just please let everyone know where they can find you to hear, like, more about goaltending and just, you know, what you have to offer.
Speaker 4:Certainly. Alright. Well, first, let me put the Mighty Duck thing to the side. For goaltenders of any age, especially youngsters, get as much ice time as you can. Like, a lot of times, goalies are in such demand that you'll you'll be at a rank, and they'll be like, hey.
Speaker 4:Our goalie didn't show up, or we don't have a goalie for this next game. I can't tell you how many times my dad was like, hey. If there's ice time, you're gonna stay. And so I would play for the squirts, and then the peewee goalie wouldn't show up, and then I would stay and play. So I assume that's still a thing.
Speaker 4:I I know that goaltenders sometimes, you know, are a commodity, a hot commodity. So that would be one thing I would say is if you can get as much ice time as you can, if you can play with older kids, you know, don't be don't be worried about not playing great. Like, just use it as the experience of being able to play with better players. And then, you know, I think a lot of it is is that, you know, we all we all wanna see, you know, the the goal, right, of whether, you know, high school or college or pro, and, you know, don't be afraid to enjoy the the steps along of getting better. You know?
Speaker 4:It's that thing about, you know, working towards something. A great analogy a coach gave me was like, hey. You wanna get to the NHL? Picture it as being a ladder. He goes, you're on the third rung of a ladder right now, and you got, like, 17 more.
Speaker 4:He's like, you know, the NHL is the top of the ladder. College is rungs below that. High school are a couple rungs below that. You know, kinda enjoy moving up that ladder. So I I think just not to put too much emphasis on the endgame and and really enjoy what you're doing as you be you know, as you just get better and work on your craft.
Speaker 4:The Mighty Ducks, yeah. I mean, it was it was I mean, I mean, it was kind of it was it was an amazing experience, first and foremost. You know, I think Disney brought their Disney magic to the NHL. We had an incredible time out here. Michael Eisner was the CEO, CFO, president, the whole the whole works for Disney at the time.
Speaker 4:He was a huge hockey fan. His kids were hockey fans. Bruce McNall, who's the king's owner up the street, was like, Michael, you gotta have a team in Orange County. This is a great rivalry. Why wouldn't we do it?
Speaker 4:So we decided to do it. Being able to come out to Anaheim, obviously, there were hockey transplants. They were all Kings fans because they didn't have anybody else to cheer for, but it was really great. We were treated so well. One of the best things we ever got was something called the Silver Pass, because we were technically employees of Disney.
Speaker 4:Oh, wow. For the park. So the the Silver Pass allowed you Unlimited access probably. Right? Yes.
Speaker 4:I mean, yes. Yeah. Free parking, free admission to the park. You can go every single day.
Scott:Oh, that's funny.
Speaker 4:Guys with wives and kids that in those early years, I mean, they used it all the time. It was a great perk. It it was a disappointment after I retired, and I had no longer got the the silver pass. It was mad. So that was one of the great things.
Speaker 4:But, you know, we did a lot of amazing things with Disney, promoting hockey here in Southern California and across the league that no other team could could do, right, with the the assets and the skill and and the reach that Disney has. It it it really was a wonderful experience. Did we get a lot of shit for it? Like, you know, wearing this logo and whatever, which became the hottest selling jersey our first year out of all the NHL jerseys. So they they certainly were on to something.
Speaker 4:But we also had some great guys on our team. Our management knew that we had to have some real toughness not to get pushed around, and and Stu Grimson, Todd Ewan, a bunch of guys we had that weren't household names, Jimmy Thompson, Robin Bawa. We had some tough guys that really kind of stood up for us on a nightly basis, and we didn't get pushed around because of it. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And then what was I don't even remember the last question.
Scott:Thing is just where
Jamie:where anyone find you?
Scott:Oh, where they where Yeah. Instagram, your pod, whatever.
Speaker 4:Don't even know what my Instagram handle is. I think it's giebearer31. I'm gonna take a stab in the dark. That's what it is. I'm on Twitter.
Speaker 4:I'm not sure what my handle is there. It might be giebearer something. Just search it. You can find me on there. Then
Jamie:we'll It is find ea bear thirty one. That is the Yeah.
Scott:Okay. Play the show notes. Right ones.
Jamie:Yes. Yes. We'll put it in the show notes as well. And everybody, go check out the mask and the mic there in this It's very cool. Must say.
Scott:I'm actually on my way to a men's league game not
Speaker 4:Oh, that's fabulous.
Scott:Five minutes, so I'm probably gonna put that on my journey over there and listen to you talk some more. But, no, in all seriousness, this was such a pleasure speaking with you, getting to know you, learning more about your journey. Unreal, unreal. And just thank you so much for sharing it with our our listeners.
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely. And listen, if you need a part two, I'd Oh, yeah. Love to do. Do yeah. Because we 100%.
Speaker 4:We didn't even talk about Hamilton and Hobart, so we saved that for part two.
Scott:I know.
Jamie:That's right. We definitely need to save that for part two.
Scott:That and
Speaker 4:the list As I learned, it's called the teaser. There we go.
Jamie:Well done. Very well done in the business. Yep.
Scott:Coming soon.
Jamie:Part two. Get ready for it, folks.
Scott:Alright. Well, thanks again for everything. Really appreciate your time tonight.
Jamie:Thanks,
Speaker 4:Key. Yeah. You got it, guys. Thank you.
Jamie:Appreciate it. Thank you.
Scott:Alright, everybody. Welcome back from a tremendous interview with Guy Hebert. It was fun. Finally, the goalie episode.
Jamie:Hopefully, you guys enjoyed it. I know it's been a while. Yeah. We've been working on a goalie for a while.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:He was great, though. He was the perfect person for our first goalie episode.
Scott:Yeah. I I mean, like, he's been around the game for a long time, clearly knows what he's talking about. I will say though is when we were talking about equipment though, that was really interesting. A lot of fun. Because his I mean, he he
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Learned to play in a much different era. So The gear
Jamie:was different.
Scott:Style was different. The gear
Jamie:was different. Like,
Scott:thank you sparks for Yeah. For being the the machine that facilitated that conversation.
Jamie:I'm telling you. Was interesting. Yes. Yes. That's that's a good point, actually.
Jamie:Yeah. Thank you. Sparks is right. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:Go check out Sparks, by the way. Don't know about I I love
Scott:You love the Sparks machine.
Jamie:I love it.
Scott:Dude, I I likewise.
Jamie:I I I use it all the
Scott:time.
Jamie:Yeah. Come up with sharpness?
Scott:Sharpening them every day.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Every day.
Jamie:It's so easy.
Scott:Because you just do it.
Jamie:It's like it's it takes longer for me to, like, like, stone it after
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:And, like, use, like, the the leather stroop. I don't what you call it. What do you call it? Strap. What do you call it?
Jamie:What do you call the leather?
Scott:I know. Like, the thing that,
Jamie:like because when when when you're right? Am I wrong about that?
Scott:No. I mean, if you think back in the day, like
Jamie:It's the leather strap, but but isn't isn't it called, like, strobing or something? I don't wanna
Scott:No. I I know what you're saying. No.
Jamie:Know what I'm saying?
Scott:You're not wrong.
Jamie:Yeah. Something like that. Yeah. It takes me longer to, like like, rub the do the stone on to get the the nicks out on the edges and use the leather piece and then to put the, the beam on than it does for the skate to really sharpen for the most part.
Scott:Really? You you
Jamie:I'm pretty meticulous about, like, getting, like, all, like, the shavings off.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:So, you know
Scott:You take great care.
Jamie:I do. Yeah. I do, actually. Actually. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. And and now Dominic is now taking great care.
Scott:Excellent. Now do you trust him to use the machine by himself? Yes. That's excellent.
Jamie:It's it's stupid easy. Yeah. Once you have it set up
Scott:Yeah. He's got the app on his phone?
Jamie:Yes.
Scott:Oh, good.
Jamie:Yes. It's so easy, dude.
Scott:I know.
Jamie:I know. It's so easy. It's
Scott:so easy, dude.
Jamie:Literally, you put it in, and I mean and and it if you have one if you have if you have two skaters in the house, I'm sure that it's a little more complex.
Scott:Yeah. Because you
Jamie:need to go if you if you guys have different rings, then there's another step involved. But Right. It's not it's still not difficult. No. Right?
Jamie:You know? So maybe you need to change a ring here and there, but Mhmm. Again, that that is very user friendly. Yeah. Right?
Jamie:You know? So, yeah, I run I run a skater all the time.
Scott:That's excellent.
Jamie:It I mean, dude, four passes takes how long?
Scott:I don't know. A minute and a half? I would say sub two minutes.
Jamie:Something like that. So yeah. So now he's
Scott:Maybe sub three minutes.
Jamie:Okay. Whatever it is. Right. It's not difficult. Right?
Jamie:You set it and you walk away. I set it and I walk away and go do something else. I come back.
Scott:Yeah. Of course.
Jamie:And then I put the other one in
Scott:babysit it. No. It just does it by itself. It's, like, perfect.
Jamie:It's it's consistent.
Scott:That is yes.
Jamie:It is consistent. Now do you use it for your skates?
Scott:Absolutely. You
Jamie:do? Yep. So do you notice any again, I don't skate, so I don't know. Do you notice any difference?
Scott:Between no. Between getting them sharpened by
Jamie:By a person.
Scott:No. You don't? No. But the one thing I do know is that it's every time I get on the ice, I'm
Jamie:You feel the same.
Scott:I feel the same. Right. Like, you're not gonna get, oh, these are sharper than what I expected.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:Or you know what I mean?
Jamie:I do. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Without a doubt.
Jamie:100%. And the the beam technology, in my opinion, is so cool.
Scott:Well, I mean, you know, it's interesting because it gives you a little bit of feedback. I forget what the numbers were, but like the one edge that I had used the beam on
Jamie:No.
Scott:Or the one skate was from, it was a hand sharpened skate.
Jamie:Oh, you put the beam on?
Scott:And I put the beam on it to see, and it detected a difference.
Jamie:Oh, it showed that it was It showed. Not consistent.
Scott:But but what it did say, though, is that the amount that it was off was less Negligible. It was less than the amount that an NHL player has been able to detect. And I don't know where they I mean, I'm assuming
Jamie:Oh, that's interesting. It gave you that much information
Scott:about it. It said that, like, NHL players, something along the lines of, like, they can detect if the
Jamie:If one side is off.
Scott:If off by some very minimal fraction. Net. This happened to be less of a difference. So it basically said
Jamie:It was negligible.
Scott:You don't need
Jamie:to Your kid's not gonna notice it.
Scott:No. Because an NHL player's not gonna notice it.
Jamie:Okay. So for those of you who don't know what we're talking about, so so so Sparks Skatecharming, which, again, is it we just kinda got involved with them. And, again, I have nothing but good things to say about them so far. And I'm not just blowing smoke up everybody's ass. We are here to tell to tell everybody the truth about gear.
Scott:Yeah. And you should ask a friend that that already has a spark. You don't have to listen to us. They'll tell you probably the same thing, I'm sure.
Jamie:Listen. Like last show
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:I I love Howie's hockey. Yeah. They're baselayer shit. Right? They they have a they have a new base layer.
Jamie:I'm I'm not gonna lie to our listeners. Do not buy their base layer unless there are better things out. I don't wanna say don't buy it. There are better things out there.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Obviously, Titan Battle Gear is better than than the than the Howie's hockey base layer. Yeah. We like Howie's hockey for other things.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:Right? So we're we're being honest when we say that we really like the Sparks.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:If we didn't like it, we would tell you. Right. Right? So the beam the beam, for those of you who don't know, is a little machine
Scott:Mhmm.
Jamie:That once you're done sharpening the skates and kinda wiping them down, you put the beam on it, and the beam is like a laser level.
Speaker 4:Would you
Jamie:say that's correct, Scott? Yep. Alright. So it's like a laser level, and it will tell you if one side is higher or lower than the other. Correct?
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:And so you're saying that when you had a hand sharpened, you put the beam on that Yes. And it was not the same.
Scott:It wasn't right. Interesting. There's a slight difference. Now to now, this is not a knock on hand sharpening. I've also worn those skates on the ice.
Scott:Right. So perhaps they're just from use. There was a chain. Maybe if I had done it right after they were hand sharpened, it would have been like a, you know, like no difference. Yeah.
Scott:But nonetheless, there was a difference here and it, you know, it basically told me that I don't need to go back and and fix it up because it's so negligible. Right. But had it been more than negligible, it would have given
Jamie:It would have
Scott:me instruction to
Jamie:On how to fix it. Correct. Which is awesome. Right. Right.
Jamie:So I've I've never actually had it's funny because obviously, I've been using the sparks. And I'm using the five eighth wheel. Yeah. I've never had a problem where the where the beam is off. So it's never I've never had an issue, but you actually saw where it was off.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:That's interesting. I have not gotten to that point yet. I have not had an issue with with the grinding.
Scott:Right. Okay.
Jamie:You know, so I have not seen it, but you did, which is crazy.
Scott:Yeah. But, again, that was not from the that that was not from his sparks. No.
Jamie:That was That was from a hand done.
Scott:It was I took the skates before I sharpened them.
Jamie:And you had a person do it on the grinding wheel.
Scott:No. Well, I mean, I'm just saying, like, before I sharpened my skates, I had last had them sharpened by hand.
Jamie:By hand
Scott:person. Right. I just put the beam on to see
Jamie:What what it looked like.
Scott:What it looked like. Isn't that interesting? There was difference. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And it
Jamie:noticed a small difference.
Scott:It noticed a very small difference.
Jamie:Yeah. That beam is pretty cool technology.
Scott:Absolutely. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. Again, we we in order to try to save you guys money long term because we know this game is not cheap, if you have kids starting out I mean, listen, Dominic's 14 in the life of Sparks now.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:Right? But if you have multiple skaters in the house, this will save you money long term.
Scott:And the earlier you get it, the better off you are.
Jamie:My god. Yes.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:I I I can almost guarantee if I if I had started out, like and I probably would have had more than one. If I'd started out with Dominic as five
Scott:Oh, you would have gone through the different Podcast.
Jamie:Probably would have upgraded a couple of times. Yeah. Because that my my guess is you could probably sell them on the open market, and there's some value to them.
Scott:Sure.
Jamie:Right? I would think that you pay $6,800 for a sharpener that you could sell it for 3 or $400 on the And back and I'm That would
Speaker 4:be insane.
Jamie:I probably would have had multiple at this point. Right.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. No. They're great. Yeah.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:I I I I didn't I wasn't sold on the, you know No. You were anti. I was not sold on the at home sharpener until I learned about it.
Scott:Yeah. The clincher for me was definitely when I saw pure hockey and moved to them.
Jamie:When you saw that
Scott:Move away from that, then you're like, okay. This is Yeah. They're they're not gonna put their reputation on the line.
Jamie:They're doing it for a reason.
Scott:They're doing it because it's it makes sense.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:It's it's just listen. It's I'm technology is a very impressive thing.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:So It's making all of our lives much easier.
Scott:Yeah. So check out check out Sparx if you haven't.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. So yeah. So so you're right. So Sparks got us on to the, the gear conversation with Guy. Yes.
Jamie:You know? But, yeah, I mean, that was a very cool the the and and you goalie parents know obviously more about this. But the kind of rotating of the pads, like, as you go down to, like, a butterfly. Like, of that conversation was pretty cool.
Scott:Yeah. And I I it was funny because then I had actually gone to a men's league game that night. Right. I think it was if I'm not confusing things, and the goal our goalie had literally just gotten new pads.
Jamie:Oh,
Scott:yeah? And he was just, like, you know, going over some of the differences and I I had a little bit of knowledge having
Jamie:Because of our conversation.
Scott:Yeah. So it was kinda cool to hear a little bit about, you know, like how he, you know, goes about like his equipment and the differences and Right. In any event. But, yeah. No.
Scott:It's it's definitely made a big difference from when he played. And, you know, the fact that he's still, you know, still in involved with the game and and broadcasting because
Jamie:he has
Scott:mic and the the The mask and the mic. Yeah. Yeah. I know.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. Know. It's, I I guess gear listen. Just like golf clubs.
Jamie:Right? Like, you know, gear gets better and better as technology kinda moves forward. Yeah. Right?
Scott:Without a doubt. I mean I mean,
Jamie:it's funny. When we were in Long Island, I know I'm bitching money about Long Island. We were in Long Island waiting for the kids to come out of the locker room after the game. Yeah. And a junior team was getting on the ice after us.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:And the goalie walked by us. Yeah. Dude, it's massive. Oh my god, Scott. This dude was enormous.
Scott:I was like, how how am I gonna get a puck past this guy?
Jamie:One of the dads go, where do you shoot? Like, what are you shooting at? Yeah. Do you even see the netting behind him?
Scott:Well, this is what I'll so I'll tell you.
Jamie:As the gearing people get bigger, where do you find space?
Scott:Well, so that's funny you say that because I'm taking a hockey, IQ program. IQ. Give me one second. I'm just You're looking at don't wanna misquote the name.
Jamie:This is the one that you've been using recently
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:To, like, increase your hockey IQ?
Scott:Yeah. Okay.
Jamie:Do you think it's working?
Scott:So it is called
Jamie:you feel smart?
Scott:Hockeyiqprogram.com. And I need to shout out Marcus Gustafson, who, by the way, well, he played at Maine. He was I I had to play He
Jamie:was a black bear?
Scott:He was a black bear. Nice. He was there just after Paul Korea had left. Okay. But he was there.
Scott:I think they won a national championship while he was there.
Jamie:That's awesome.
Scott:If I'm not mistaken.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:He Sounds he's got a son, Lucas, who's now in the he was he played USHL. Okay. And now I think he's in the a. I think he's in the Winnipeg system. The Winnipeg system.
Scott:And but any event. So Mark has put together this this whole program and one of the first things that he starts talking about is like just scoring more goals. And from a Hockey IQ perspective Mhmm. You know, he he he calls out like, you know, when you're the kids are younger, the goalies take up less space. So some of the things that he's talking about in terms of scoring more goals,
Jamie:you
Scott:might not think are relevant because the kids are scoring at the younger levels, but it's only because there's more space to shoot at.
Jamie:Right.
Scott:But basically, you wanna be able to take one of three things away from a goalie in order to increase your your your odds of scoring substantially. And it's either you need to get the goalie to move. Right? That's obvious. Get the goalie to move.
Jamie:Yep.
Scott:Get the goalie screened. Yep. Or get your shot off fast enough so the goalie doesn't have time to get set.
Jamie:Okay? So funny you're actually talking about this.
Scott:So you take away one of those three things
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:And then the chances of scoring go up tremendously. And he calls it a green shot. So if you have you've got like
Jamie:Which is like a high scoring chance.
Scott:A high scoring chance. There's there's green, yellow, and red. Right. Okay. Now a yellow shot now a lot of it then also boils down to like where on the ice are you taking?
Scott:Your distribution of shots.
Jamie:Of course.
Scott:So there's spots on the ice that
Jamie:are outside the dots.
Scott:Outside dots. Yeah. 100%.
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Then when you get to yellow, right, a yellow shot is the same as a green, but you did not get you didn't take away one of
Jamie:those screen, the goalie wasn't moving just taking
Scott:a shot.
Jamie:Goalie was set.
Scott:In a good area on the ice, but you didn't take away any one of those three things from a goalie.
Jamie:Now, a good area is probably in between the dots. Right? What they call the house.
Scott:In the house or the slot. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Somewhere. Okay.
Jamie:Absolutely.
Scott:So you wanna be in, let's call it that area, and you wanna take one of those three things away, and that's how you're gonna increase your odds of scoring. So, you know, like, if you don't have if you're in a in a red area Yeah. Like, you might wanna look to dish the puck. You know what I mean?
Jamie:As opposed to shooting the shot.
Scott:Yeah. Or, you know, so but that's one of the first things. So we're talking about how big these goalies are.
Jamie:Yeah. It's like
Scott:how are you gonna score on these goalies? 100. They need to be screened. Yep. They either can't be set or you gotta make them moving.
Scott:Otherwise, if you that you're never gonna score.
Jamie:You know, it's it's actually so funny that that that you just brought all that up because I've been saying for the the last, like, two weeks Yeah. Especially at the older levels Yeah. And you'll see this as as Otto gets older. At the older levels, you your chances of scoring from outside the dots are very little.
Scott:Very
Jamie:little. Like, they're very little.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:Like, a shot from outside the dots is just a waste.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:But unless you're you're throwing it toward net, so anything can happen. Right? Can rickshaw somebody or you know? So things can happen, but, you know, those shots that people used to shoot when our kids were little Yeah. From outside, they used to go in.
Jamie:They don't go in anymore. No. I don't I don't care if you're tier one or tier two. They don't go in for the most part.
Scott:I mean, even if the goalie doesn't have all of it dialed in, he's still taking up more of the net.
Jamie:Right. Right. Because these kids are now bigger with bigger gear. We're talking about gear, right, and bigger kids. You know?
Jamie:So so even on a small goalie, I noticed that that the shots don't go in.
Scott:As easily.
Jamie:Yeah. I mean, so so it's funny. So so one of the things that I've actually that I've actually taken away from watching Dominic on the ice, one of the big differences that I've noticed in tier one and tier two Mhmm. Okay, is tier one, there's no catch and shoot.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Okay? Like, if you make a pass from, like, behind the goal to the front of the net, there's no tier two is a catch
Scott:Catch and then release.
Jamie:And a shot.
Speaker 4:Right. Not a
Scott:one timer.
Jamie:Not a one timer. Correct. So so you're giving the goalie time to move
Scott:And get set.
Jamie:And get set for now the shot that's gonna come in front of him. Right. Right? As a and you could you could see that. So a big difference that I've noticed between tier one and tier two kids is the tier one kids just shoot.
Jamie:It's not per not all. Right. Not not all, obviously. Right? Right.
Jamie:But the difference in mindset, I've noticed and, obviously, this can be taught, and it can grow as kids get older. But I the one thing that I notice is the one touch passes and the one timer shots are much more frequent Frequent.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:With a a a tier one kid.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:I've noticed that.
Scott:Well, you also
Jamie:I've noticed that a lot this year.
Scott:That's also a skill. Right? Like, and you just you alluded to that, but, like, you you would you you're not you're not gonna expect a younger kid to be able to
Jamie:Not a younger kid.
Scott:No. So so as the goalies are getting better, the shooters are also getting better as well.
Jamie:100%. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. But the older kids, I noticed that. This is something that I've noticed
Scott:To get your shots off quickly.
Jamie:Not only that, but I'm also noticing that and I I just started Dominic just started doing this, by the way. Like, this is a brand new thing he's been doing. He's been his head is always moving. Like Yeah. I'm shocked it's moving, but it is moving.
Jamie:I I Scott, I'm shocked. He he used to shoulder check. He got electric duck. Yeah. Seriously.
Jamie:Yeah. Seriously. Shocker. Well, I'm I'm zapping I'm zapping him from the stands. I was gonna say if you guys want one of those, we'll we'll make one for your for your children to get
Scott:some outfit.
Jamie:Exactly. Crazy Hockey is like shock collar. Shock collar.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:They're like, goddamn, you're not skinny hard enough. Can you imagine where the fucking stands?
Scott:But you have to, like, put it where it's not visible. Like, build it
Speaker 4:into the display. We need need
Scott:to talk tight. Your thigh?
Jamie:Yeah. I was gonna say on their nuts, but that but that's a little aggressive. So the only reason I said this, just watched a movie. What show is I watching? Oh my god.
Jamie:The Gentleman. Have you watched The Gentleman, by the way?
Scott:It's good.
Jamie:Have you seen the movie by Guy Ritchie? No. With Matthew McConaughey? No. Oh my god.
Jamie:So The Gentleman, the movie with Matthew McConaughey is tremendous. They made a show of, it's on Netflix.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:And they made two seasons of it. And in the one of the two last episodes in the season that was just released, they were shocking the guy
Scott:on his balls. Really?
Jamie:Yeah. Right on his balls.
Scott:That's funny. Auto like, we're at my sister's house yesterday
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:And their dog has a shot collar and a and it's also a beep collar. Like, you can
Jamie:Yes.
Scott:It's an audible sound
Jamie:to train him.
Scott:Yeah. And my sister had, like, this thing hanging from her neck.
Jamie:It's a remote. It's a round remote.
Scott:Yeah. And so I was like, oh, can I try it? Oh, god. And my my sister's like, yeah. Maybe later.
Scott:I was like and then
Jamie:Oh, like, put it on him?
Scott:Put it
Jamie:on him.
Scott:Just a tug not on his neck.
Jamie:So I have actually put it on me because because because because we my dogs were trained with that too.
Scott:Oh, really?
Jamie:So I actually put it on myself because I wanted to know Do
Scott:rank it up to a 100 volts?
Jamie:I I I wanted to know what my dog felt because I don't wanna, hurt my dog.
Scott:But you don't have a full you don't have a fur collar
Jamie:on
Scott:So
Jamie:it's funny.
Scott:Fur codon.
Jamie:So that too. So it does have an electric an electrocution portion. It it has a beat, but it also has a vibrate. Okay. And I noticed that my dog, I used the vibrate to train him
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:As opposed to the the
Scott:The shock?
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:Yeah. Yeah. My sister uses the beep.
Jamie:Okay. Yeah.
Scott:The beep. The dog does well with the beep.
Jamie:Yeah. Yeah. My we brought him to a trainer. He learned on the collar.
Scott:That's what my sister did also.
Jamie:And then we've you then used the vibration Got it. Since. And and he doesn't and then they to be honest with you, they figured it out, so we don't even use them anymore.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. So it's just a training tool. But it is an effective training tool, not to hurt your dog. I would never hurt my dogs. Trust
Scott:me. And we wouldn't hurt our hockey players either.
Jamie:We wouldn't hurt training them. Although sometimes maybe we want to. Maybe we feel like we want to. But, yeah. So so, anyway, so where where where was I going with this?
Jamie:What was
Scott:I saying? How tier one kids versus tier two kids in shooting and shooting quickly.
Jamie:Yeah. So where how do we get on the shock collar part? To zap our kids from the stands? Where'd that come from?
Scott:No. I made that I that was my idea to help train our kids, but I don't remember exactly.
Jamie:Oh, so so Dominic is shoulder checking.
Scott:Oh, the scanning of
Jamie:the eye. Yeah. So, like, so so he started doing it in the corner. Like, he's going to the corner, he looks to see who's around him. But now I noticed when he's on the wing Yeah.
Jamie:Ready for a pass from the defender
Scott:He's already looking.
Jamie:He's looking he's looking to see where the center is
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Coming up the middle of the ice Right. For a one touch pass.
Scott:Perfect.
Jamie:Right? Not catch and pass, which is fine, but if you can just one touch pass Yeah. Obviously, you know, time and space. Right? It's more it's it's it's better for time and space purposes.
Scott:Otto Otto definitely gets a quick pass when he gets the wall, like, on the half wall on the breakout. But to the but I he he I I don't know how often he's getting his head up much as, you know, he's just expecting someone to be kinda
Jamie:wheeling Which is normal.
Speaker 4:And a
Scott:lot of times Yeah. He connects, and it's he's his head isn't always down. Right. But I've also seen when he's, like, trying to make these quick little one touch passes or get it quick off the wall that he it ends up going to like the other team or there's nobody there.
Jamie:It just gets buried in the middle of to keep working on it.
Scott:Yeah. But like, yeah, that's it it's and also like on defense, what I told him like you always need to be a a b s, always be scanning.
Jamie:Always. You know, like Yeah. So If you can teach that to your kid at a young age But watch
Scott:watch your kids on like when the other team is, you know, making a zone entry and let's just say it's even, you know, like whatever like three on three on his Yeah. Everyone is like watching the puck. If you look at like the the the forward that's back and like as opposed to trying to in there on the weak side or in the center of the ice like Otto was when he was the weak side winger, like he's not necessarily looking around to see who's behind him. Is anyone creeping up to like go back door? He's just focused on looking at where the puck and the puck goes.
Scott:I'm like, yes, you need to know that but also you need to know like who's around you because if you're surrounded with possession
Jamie:Yeah.
Scott:You need to know if you need to pick someone up, like, straight away. Like, where's where's where's the threat? Behind me? Yeah. Next to me?
Scott:Not there? Do I have time?
Jamie:If the
Scott:puck comes to me, like, what am I doing?
Jamie:Yeah. You know, it's funny. If if I if I had to redo things with Dominic, I would I would at a younger age, I would really, really stress, like, possession, puck possession.
Scott:Mhmm.
Jamie:Because a lot of kids, even at Dom's age, they just throw the puck down the ice.
Scott:Oh my god.
Jamie:Like, it's still
Scott:They do it a lot.
Jamie:It's still a thing.
Scott:Otto just did. He got the puck on the half wall and, like, on a breakout, and he iced it.
Jamie:Like, I get the I was
Scott:like, what are doing?
Jamie:I get it if you're in, like, danger and you're, like, buried in your zone and you just wanna shift change. Yeah. But, like, I'm talking, like, on a breakout where kids just throw it down the ice.
Scott:I know exactly what you're
Jamie:talking about. Like like and and and I think these kids probably have more time and space than they think they do.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:Oh. You know? But I if I had to do things over again, I would actually I would actually try to, like like, find somebody that would teach him.
Scott:Possession?
Jamie:Like like that puck possession is like a very important thing.
Scott:But those things like what we're talking about like puck like if you have the puck on your stick and you rush into the zone, and let's just say you do an escape turn, you take it behind the net. Right. Like it's a little easier to kinda grasp the idea of like hanging on to the puck because you've already been skating with it and you have possession. But when the puck comes to you quickly on on the half wall
Jamie:Right.
Scott:Right? The idea and you feel pressure
Jamie:From the back end or from the winger barreling down you Right. Defenseman barreling down you
Scott:Whoever it is Yeah. Like it's easier to be like I need to get rid of this because someone's coming to attack me as opposed to like Yes. Someone's coming to attack me, I'm gonna hold on to this puck and I'm going to, you know, do something intelligent to like, you know,
Jamie:you You would almost rather them like eat the puck right there
Scott:Than just give it away.
Jamie:Throw it blindly.
Scott:Make it make them take it from you Correct. Any day of the week than giving it to them.
Jamie:That's exactly my point.
Scott:Make them take it
Jamie:from you. That is exactly my point. Because there's too there's way too many, like, just throwing the puck down the ice.
Scott:Yeah. Like like Up the boards to the defenseman.
Jamie:Just try to make a play. And, again, if if you get if you get buried on the wall and behind your net, that's fine. You're still in a low danger area. When you turn the puck over, like, when, like, when a wearer, like, just kinda, like, throws the puck toward the middle
Scott:In the middle. Yeah.
Jamie:I mean, I mean, you're talk and the defenseman normally fires that puck either down in the corner or on the net. Right. Right? You know, so if I had to do things over again, I would really kinda stress, like, puck possession because I'm seeing a lot of, like I'm still seeing a lot of of kids just throwing the puck down the ice, which is nuts
Scott:at this age. Well, listen.
Jamie:Do you see that at your level too? Listen. Otto's two years younger than Dominic, so I would think it's more prevalent. But I ex I did not expect to see that at
Scott:this level. As much as
Jamie:older levels.
Scott:Yeah. Well, but then you have also have the and again, you're in year two now, but I would imagine at least in the first year of bantams that that might resurface because they're afraid of getting hit.
Jamie:I I
Scott:could imagine that. I don't know if that's, you know, time will tell for me to see that, but, like, I could imagine that kids are now nervous of getting hit, so now they're throwing the puck away. Whereas, like, with Otto's age, hitting is not a thing. So they're just getting rid of it because they either have this sense sense of urgency because they feel pressure. Yeah.
Scott:They don't have enough confidence that they're gonna be able to do something with it, so they're just getting it off their stick, whatever the case might be.
Jamie:Yeah. You know what else I noticed? Now we're talking about, like, things I'm noticing. It's really hard to win games when you're always on a penalty kill. One of the dads brought to my my attention that we have a lot of penalty minutes.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:And yeah.
Scott:That is a problem, especially when you don't have six players.
Jamie:Correct.
Scott:And you're gonna put one more in the box Correct. Who's not serviceable for two minutes.
Jamie:And I gotta tell you, they're like silly penalties. And I can't even blame one game, I'll blame it on the refs when they threw the kid out for for hate speech. I mean, like, Jesus Christ. I mean, like
Scott:But that well
Jamie:It wasn't hate speech. I I I I I we had a game where our our our ref threw a kid out on our team for hate speech, and and and apparently apparently, a thirty day suspension is a thing.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:Apparently, that's a thing.
Scott:Okay.
Jamie:But then it was reversed very quickly. Because? Because it wasn't hate speech.
Scott:They so the
Jamie:I think they they they they looked at it, they're like, yeah. He's a 14 year old kid. He called another kid a retard. A retard. What movie?
Jamie:He was a retard. Like Rain Man, he was a retard.
Scott:I know this, but I can't
Jamie:think of it. Come on, bro.
Scott:I know.
Jamie:I'm having Caesar really live here?
Scott:Oh, hangover. Yes. Yeah. Listen. I I would not have expected something
Jamie:getting a cig on my beeper. How funny is Zach Galvanakis, by the way?
Scott:Did, did Caesar really live here?
Jamie:Did Caesar live here? You guys have a
Scott:Bank of pay phones.
Jamie:Bank of pay phones? Just I'm not getting a cig on my beeper. She's like, there's a phone in your room. Oh, yeah. That'd be fun.
Jamie:But, yeah. So but so so I'm so yeah. So I'm noticing that that kids, when they start hitting, a lot of hands up high still, man.
Scott:Oh, yeah?
Jamie:Like, a lot of hands up high. Like
Scott:Like, pushing, like, wanting to push kids over?
Jamie:They're hitting with with the elbows up. Oh. It's almost like they're, like, bracing themselves with their hands out.
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:And a lot lot of, like, hands to the face, a lot a lot of elbows.
Scott:Well, that's that's you can coach that out of them.
Jamie:Yes. I think I think you can. Yeah. But you see, like, when kids start hitting, they're sloppy.
Scott:That sounds like a very defensive, like, idea. Like, you're gonna go in for contact, but you're protecting yourself by getting your hands up.
Jamie:You see it constantly,
Scott:by the way, Brady. Everyone's wearing cages.
Jamie:Yes. And I gotta tell you, the the taller kids have a a hard time.
Scott:Well, their hands are already up by their face. Exactly. I that would happen to you all the time.
Jamie:I I was gonna say
Scott:You just get penalized for being big.
Jamie:That is correct. Yep. You get penalized for being big.
Scott:Yep.
Jamie:Which is unfair. You know? But yeah. So it's really hard to win games when you're always on a PK.
Scott:That happened when Otto was with the Wolfpack. Yeah. We had so many penalties. Yeah. Like, it was so noticeable, and you just gotta say to yourself, like, like, we're good, but if we Yeah.
Scott:Never were in the box, how much better could we
Speaker 4:have been?
Jamie:Like, we've we've so not only have we been down kids, but we've taken a ton of penalties. Yeah.
Scott:It's not a great recipe.
Jamie:I mean, no. It's hard to win that way.
Scott:That's what I'm saying.
Jamie:You know? When you're always down a man, you know, your your scoring chances are obviously a lot less. Yeah. You know? It's funny how many, like, small little, like, nuances are in the game.
Jamie:And when you actually go back to, like, the 30,000 foot view of the game
Scott:Well, and especially when they're older because, like, the detail, like, the the you get there more and more details that start mattering. Exactly. More and more details.
Jamie:And and as they get older, they're correct. They keep they keep keep compounding on each other.
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:And when scoring, like we're saying, big goalies, lot less net to shoot at
Scott:Yeah.
Jamie:Even though the kids can shoot better
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Jamie:But a lot less net to shoot at because the goalies are bigger with bigger gear, your scoring opportunities are not what they used to be. No. You know? Even again, even at the the even at the tier two level, the the games are not, like, you know, ten one for the most part.
Scott:Right.
Jamie:You know? I mean, they're closer games because the kids are just bigger, less to shoot at.
Scott:Right. Right.
Jamie:You know? So it's crazy. It's it's actually a really awesome game when you actually, like when you actually, like, zoom out and look at everything. Yeah. It's a wild game,
Scott:man. The game of ice hockey.
Jamie:Yes. Which is why we I think we are all addicted
Scott:to it. To it?
Jamie:Yeah. Because it's so cool. It's such a hard game. It's it's like the ultimate team sport. Although, I guess football could be could be a set you know, another ultimate team sport.
Jamie:Right? She gotta work as a team if if all 11 guys or all five guys aren't aren't working as a team. Right? But the fact
Scott:Football has, like, an element of chess to it that Hockey does not have. Right. Well, for the most part.
Jamie:You're also on ice, which is adding Penguins
Scott:it could lose an Eskimos in.
Jamie:Penguins Ice. They lose Eskimos in ice? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:So yeah. No. But but it's a it's a phenomenal game. And when you start, like when you start thinking about the little intricacies, it's it's it's awesome.
Scott:Like, the games within the game. It's so cool, dude.
Jamie:Yeah. It's such a cool game. That's why we all are obsessed with
Scott:it. Absolutely.
Jamie:Yeah. It's super cool.
Scott:Alright. So what else what else for this week?
Jamie:What else? So I guess I'll be back from Notre Dame next time we chat.
Scott:Okay. That'll be I'm looking forward to hearing you. Utica.
Jamie:Right? So so we have we both have an interesting weekend ahead of us.
Scott:Yes. And we'll
Jamie:So that'll be fun.
Scott:We'll have a little more preseason hockey under our belts if anyone watched. Devil's Rangers last night. I did not.
Jamie:Neither did I, but I saw that all the the kind of big guns for the for the Devil scored.
Scott:Yep.
Jamie:I saw Nico Hebert's with Jack Hughes, and I saw Timo Meyer.
Scott:Perfect. That's
Jamie:what we're
Scott:looking for.
Jamie:Listen. Hopefully, hopefully we get hopefully, we can get Sunny Maid on. Yeah. The devil's GM to have a conversation with him. I would love to before the season starts.
Scott:It's Unlikely.
Jamie:Soon. Yes. Season's striking. Is it next week?
Scott:No. I don't know. Soon. It's very soon.
Jamie:Yeah. I'm excited for it.
Scott:But they I think they'll have, like, four four preseason games. I turned I turned on the one of the two Right. Maple Leaf games. They were playing Montreal.
Jamie:Oh, yeah. I saw Gavin McKenna was
Scott:So McKenna almost scored on his third shift.
Jamie:Oh, he did?
Scott:He almost scored. It was pretty gnarsty.
Jamie:Okay.
Scott:But I was not watching that game.
Jamie:Dude, the season
Scott:starts Tuesday. Next Tuesday?
Jamie:Yeah. Excellent. Holy shit. A week from today.
Scott:That's amazing.
Jamie:Holy crap. It's here.
Scott:Yeah. But I was watching the Hudson, Lane Hudson.
Jamie:You are?
Scott:I know. He's my guy.
Jamie:I know, man. So good. It's so fun to watch him.
Scott:Him, Demodoff.
Jamie:That team is so talented.
Scott:Suzuki, Sotovski.
Jamie:So talented.
Scott:They they're gonna be
Jamie:I would expect them to make some noise. They did last year
Scott:a little bit, but But they're only gonna make more. They picked up Chris Crider.
Jamie:Oh, did they? When the Ducks cut him?
Scott:Big ad for them. Chris Crider's on the team.
Jamie:That's a nice, like, better guy in the
Scott:locker room.
Jamie:A 100%.
Scott:You have him on, like All
Jamie:that dude does is score net front goals, by the
Scott:way. You're it's like him and Zach Hyman. Bro. Like, they're a net front specialist.
Jamie:See, guy is like a stud in front
Scott:of net. You gotta be listen. To be a net front guy Yeah. Talk about, like, some of the stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheets, the number of cross checks, slashes that you got the stuff that gets you
Jamie:He probably gets worked in front of the net. Worked. I'm sure he get I'm sure he gets into the locker mouth of the game and has black and blues everywhere.
Scott:Yeah. It's not an easy position to
Jamie:gotta look like a fucking blueberry in the locker I'm telling you, that that job is hard when he does.
Scott:Without a doubt,
Jamie:it's hard. It's not that's
Scott:not an easy job. Fan of heart. No. That's for sure. But that's a big ad for them.
Scott:They're they'll they'll they'll cause they'll make some noise this season.
Jamie:I think so. 100%. That's you know what? That's like a perfect guy to add to those young kids.
Scott:Without a doubt. Yeah.
Jamie:Yeah. Oh, okay. Listen.
Scott:So I'm looking forward to seeing more of them.
Jamie:Are we doing our we can do our picks next? So we'll do our picks for next next pod.
Scott:Alright. We need to get organized with that. Yeah. We do. To We do a little research.
Jamie:Because the season starts next Tuesday, so you and I can so next alright. So we we can get them in before that.
Scott:Next Tuesday?
Jamie:When we both come back Yeah. You and I can get our picks in for the next so the season will start on Tuesday. Episode 86 will come
Scott:out Wednesday. So that Wednesday will offer.
Jamie:We'll have it for that day. Perfect. And I believe the devils have would have not gone yet.
Scott:Not played yet?
Jamie:No. I think it's only a couple games on that Tuesday.
Scott:Don't think so. But they got dude, they got Florida Carolina.
Jamie:I'm looking at it right now, by the way.
Scott:That's a tilt.
Jamie:Montreal Canadiens, and Maple Leafs. Yep. Right? Rangers, Bruins, Canucks, Oilers, and Blackhawks Knights. And like
Scott:you said those games, what are you most interested in seeing if you could only watch one?
Jamie:If I could only watch one?
Scott:Yes.
Jamie:Oh, wow. That's really hard. That's really hard because I really wanna watch Carolina, Florida, and I really wanna watch Montreal and Toronto.
Scott:There's not there's there's only one game that I'm watching.
Jamie:You only wanna watch the Canadians.
Scott:Only wanna watch the Canadians.
Jamie:Because the young guy because the young boys,
Scott:like you saw And I'm curious to see McKenna also.
Jamie:Oh, yeah. Fair. That's fair. I mean, dude, I don't know if you saw, but apparently, Brady and Matthew were on the ice last night, and I think Brady got in a fight already.
Scott:Oh, that doesn't surprise me. Yeah. I mean
Jamie:I mean, they're gonna make such noise down there. Dude, I heard Marksham is not doing so hot down there. Is that true?
Scott:I mean, how long is how how can that even be judged?
Jamie:I don't know. I just happened to see something. It was on NHL rumors, but apparently, he had a little bit of a shaky start in net down there.
Scott:Okay. Well oh, and that's also for the for the
Jamie:Oh my god. He's on the Maple Leafs.
Scott:For the Maple Leafs.
Jamie:Dude, that's frightening. That's actually scary. Yeah. Did they get rid of Joseph Wall?
Scott:I don't know. Who who's a New Jersey guy?
Jamie:He is a New Jersey guy. Yeah. That's right.
Scott:I don't know.
Jamie:Gotta do some more research. We'll we'll come back. Next Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie:So we have that to look forward to. We have some very cool episodes coming up. So thank you to everybody for listening and subscribing and following us. Do us a favor. Go rate and review the show.
Jamie:It really helps us, tremendously to try to get this out to more people, so please go do that. Yeah, man. Another hockey weekend down. Another one on the horizon. Like I said, we have, like, two days.
Jamie:I I I started packing last night for Notre Dame already.
Scott:Why?
Jamie:Because I have so much going on in the next two days before we leave. It's like and Dom's got practice every night till, like, 10:30 at night.
Speaker 4:I know.
Jamie:Which is ridiculous.
Scott:Yeah. That sucks.
Jamie:You know? So, like, I have no time to do anything. Bro, hockey season, it's draining. It's taken years off my life.
Scott:Well, you know what? Years. I don't know how I don't know how to respond to that.
Jamie:I don't either.
Scott:Well, you should
Jamie:just I'm telling you this this game has taken years off my life.
Scott:Well, hopefully, it'll add years on
Jamie:the other raising children.
Scott:Yeah. Anyway
Jamie:Maybe. Maybe it has. That's for sure.
Scott:We'll see.
Jamie:Hey. Listen.
Scott:Alright, dude. Listen.
Jamie:Awesome episode, buddy. Yes, sir. Appreciate everybody for listening, and we'll see you in '86. Let's go. See you.