Grandpa Gorgie the Goalie

Big news in the Gorg family! We try to discuss politics and it goes nowhere. We land on a discussion of legendary Coach Bill Lechner and John's cousin Matt Benz, a great guy who was just recognized for 1500 games as the Minnesota Wild's Equipment Manager. 

Transcript

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Welcome to the Kindness Chronicles, where we hope to inject the world with a dose of the Minnesota Nice that it desperately needs. You got just me and KG today, people. Hi, KG. Hi, Johnny. Yeah, we're playing a man short, but we'll get through it. We're going to try our best. Yeah. Steve's on assignment or something like that. Um, we'd like to talk today a little bit about the post election situation. Have you had enough of election talk? I had enough, like eight months ago. Um, I'm not a big politics guy. You know, me, I do. Um, I live in the sports world. I really do. And it's not involving sports. I'm probably at the movies. So I don't get too. Wound up about it, but you know, I'm on social media and Twitter acts, whatever you want to call it It's just been over the top for months and I don't know that it's going to change, but you know, I just, I scroll right through and get to what I want to see, which is normally some type of update on the wild or horse racing or movies. I just don't pay attention to it. Yeah, I unfortunately pay attention to it and, um, probably pay too much attention to it. I will say this, in a moment of civility. it sounds like President Trump and President Biden had a civil, meeting yesterday at the White House. I heard people saying that, uh, Joe Biden had a bigger smile on his face than, he's had in a long, long time. Which, leads people to believe that he, he may not have been completely upset that Kamala lost the election. He might not even know. That's a good point. That's a good point. Did you happen to see the video of the poor guy walking on the beach? Yeah. Oh my god. Now It's tough. Once again, Kindness Chronicles, don't post that video. Nobody needs to see that. Don't be that guy. To post the video of this, I mean, it's not easy as a, uh, a teenager to walk on the beach without looking like a moron. And that poor guy, oh, it's just awful. You know what? Let's talk about something different. Have you seen the new Wicked movie yet? No, it's on my, it's on my radar because Thanksgiving tradition, uh, for our family is it's, it's the four apps, it's family, food, football, and then a film. So since I was a kid, we'd go to the movies on Thanksgiving night and I have. Kind of push that tradition on to christy's family now and that's on that's the that's the thanksgiving choice Du jour, and I can't wait. Have you purchased uh tickets yet for it? The only thing we haven't done and I know it's going to be on I think three or four screens At the plymouth theater, which is our home turf. Yes, that is, uh, the next item on my agenda for probably next week To get a head count find out who's all going and I am super excited Because, you know, I've seen it on Broadway a handful of times. I've gone with each of my daughters. Yeah. And so it's got a little sentimental value to it for sure. Uh, but the movie, I mean, look at the previews just looks spectacular. are we at Liberty to talk about family matters or should we not talk about that? No, I think that'd be great. You've got a situation, don't you? Got two right now I'm dealing with, you know, On, on one side of the ledger. You know, my, like, like your dad, my dad's had some, some health issues here in the last month, but on the other side of the ledger, I'm gonna be a grandfather. Oh. Oh my god. Grandpa Kg. Yeah, that's a little, um, it's bittersweet. I guess I want to say like, man, I'm not quite ready at, at, at this, at this age to be a grandpa, but no, my oldest, uh, Kate is, is with child and about halfway through the pregnancy and her, her and her fiance. Brandon, although they've got this out of order, our, our, our lovely together out of order, come on. There's no, I'm a traditional Catholic. You know, I got, I'm torn here, but no, we're very excited for them and we're excited, uh, you know, take it all in. But just the idea of saying I'm a grandpa like that, I don't know, man, I'm already having issues with the fact that, you know, it's this, this coming winter is the 40 year anniversary of our. a hockey tournament back in 1985. So I don't know it's it's all hitting me at once. But you know, numbers don't lie. I'm inching ever so close to 60. And it is what it is. It is indeed what it is. But congratulations. That is very exciting. Do we know if it's going to be a boy or a girl? We do not. She has not shared that information. I don't know that they're gonna find out. Be surprised when the whole thing plays out. Her and Brandon are coming back for, uh, for Christmas break, you know, and the week of like the 21st of December. So super excited to see them. I got to see her when the while we're going through Tampa about three weeks ago and we had a nice dinner and so yeah, it's, it's all good. It's just, um, you know, I also worry, you know, as, as a, as a, as a father and grandfather to be. You know, they're down in florida and you know, their support system would be a whole lot different if they were up here. But that's where, you know, they both went to school and that's where a lot of their, you know, their friends are based. So, um, you know, it will be a long distance love affair with the grandchild, but we'll make it work. You know, they make friends up here. Come on. Where's this brand? A fella from? He's from the Carolinas. Um, so it would, but he's I think he's more willing to move. You know, Trina, my oldest is not like cold weather. In fact, she started her collegiate journey at UMD and she picked the wrong year and she went north when I was 2014 was one of the coldest winters on, on record in Duluth, which is always cold as we both know. So she lasted a semester and said, I'm going somewhere warm, ended up at central Florida and loved it. She had a friend down there from high school that. That also attended, uh, UCF, and it was a great go of it for her. Well, whether it's a boy or a girl, let's hope it's either, uh, a goaltender or a, uh, 7'2 basketball player. In that case, let's hope it's a boy. No, but we're, uh, I'm assuming that they have hockey in Central Florida, don't they? Yeah. Oh, that's changed dramatically. Great. Um You know, we, um, when we had some practice time down in Florida on that road trip, I spoke of, uh, I couldn't believe the amount of ringers that have gone up. I think, you know, the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the success now of the Florida Panthers has the ripple effect. There were more kids are playing now. It's not like Minnesota where you can't go a mile in this place without, you know, finding a rank, but there are a lot more ranks now than there were 10 years ago. And, you know, hockey is becoming more global. Um, You know, and I think the NHL and, and where it's at right now has a lot to do with that. You've seen a lot of players, star players in this league that come from warmer climates. You know, the, the top goal scorer last year in the NHL was Austin Matthews, who's a star player for Toronto. He's, he's from Arizona. Uh, you've seen a lot more of that, and I think that's a good thing for the game. did any of your girls play hockey? No, it's funny, you know, when I coach women's college hockey at Saint Thomas, a lot of those gals that played for me were, were babysitters for us and we're, you know, the girls were always around the team. They would come on game nights, they would come and they would stretch out with the girls when they did their warmup in the bleachers and you know, the handful of the older players would babysit. They had pasta feeds at, at, at, at our house. So they were always around it, but they were never interested in it. They were always into. They ended up being competitive cheerleaders, um, and dance, stuff like that. That was kind of what they had their passion for. They enjoyed watching the hockey. They loved having the hockey players around. But they never took to the game. Well, who doesn't love a hockey player? I mean, right. As far as the gals are concerned, I mean, they were always drawn to the hockey players when I went to high school. That's for sure. Hey, Bill Murray. I mean, obviously some, some pretty good hockey players and it's funny you, uh, I don't know. You probably didn't see this. It probably wasn't on your radar, but, uh, I was brought to tears on this past Monday night watching. Uh, Chrissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz go to the hockey hall of fame and it was really cool. And then when they're both giving their speeches and they look out and they're speaking to their mom or dad, oh my goodness. I, I really got emotional. It was really well done. And you know, I've known them since they were, you know, eighth and ninth graders. Like, you know, when I coached at Mounds, I was the boys coach at Moundsview. In the mid nineties, Chrissy was a second or third line player on the boys, on the varsity. What? That's how good she was. Yes. Yes. Her and her brother were on that team and she was that good. No, she played at park center. And so when we were playing them, we lost an epic six, five game at old movie arena, which is no more. And she was third line winner on that park center team. And so, you know, the level of talent that her and Darwich had, and to see them go into the hall of fame. as former line mates, teammates and good friends and their families were there. You know, I've been to that Hall of Fame a handful of times in Toronto. That's a big deal. Like you're walking the halls up there with Gordie Howe and And Bobby Orr and, and Ken Dry, like that's a pretty special deal and good for those ladies and their speeches were just on point, awesome stuff. Very exciting, yeah, um, Johnny Pohl, so Chrissy is, it's Chrissy Wendell, right? Chrissy Wendell Pohl, yeah, we go all three now I think. So, uh, She and her husband Johnny, uh, are at Hill Murray, and Johnny is the head coach of the girls hockey team there. And I think that there's two pole girls on the girls team. And I think there might even be a third that's coming up. Can you imagine the hockey ability that those kiddos must have? If bloodlines matter, look out, because I told you how good she was. Well, and this, you know, Johnny was an unbelievable hockey player at Red Wing. Like this guy had stats that just they blew up. Like you couldn't imagine what he did and I went on to have a great career with the Gophers and played in the NHL for years. So, yeah, you know, if if that plays out where I think it will like on those kids are They're gonna be pretty special players, too. I was looking at their roster. Um, our new CFO has a niece that plays on Hill Murray's team. And, uh, I think they only have four seniors on this team. Oh, wow. I think they have, like, ten 8th and 9th graders on the varsity. And I think the older pole girl is a 10th grader, and the younger one is an 8th grader. But I would imagine that, uh, that they learned how to skate at a young age. They probably didn't. And speaking of Hillmurray, I, I did a, um, a breakfast on Tuesday, uh, for a group of coaches in St. Paul. And Bill Lechner was, was our, our lead guest, longtime Hillmurray coach, former athletic director. What a wonderful human being Bill Lechner is. He's a great guy. Tremendous coach. Oh, I loved it. And the message that he had, and you know, a bunch of coaches from all different sports. And, and Bill just has such a great way to deliver, um, kind of his theories and messaging and you know, how he's done it for decades and I've known Bill for 30 years and he's just an awesome human. Well, Bill was actually one of my football coaches back in the, uh, the mid eighties. Yes. He was a football coach too. Of course he was. Yeah. I mean, just an absolutely spectacular guy. And you know, every time I see him, he's a Johnny, you know, it's like nobody calls him Yes, that's exactly. as this is the Kindness Chronicles, Bill Lechner might be one of those guys that'll be in the Hall of Fame of just absolutely great guys. He's one of those guys, you know, the, the, the legend of Bill Lechner is, is that he had a son that was trying out for the hockey team and he cut his son from the varsity Hill Murray hockey team when the kid was like a junior. He ended up making it as a senior, but you know, he was a guy that he, he knew what he wanted and, uh, sorry son. Welcome to Junior Varsity. And again, you know, Bill, you know, when you win at a high level, um, and do it for that long, you know, you know what you need. Every year, like, I bump into him every year, and he's like, well, Gorgie, this is what we got this year, this is, you know, who we are this year, and he's never wrong. Like, a lot of years, he'll say, yeah, this year, we're gonna have to grind it out, we don't have the, the top end talent. Some years, he'll say, you know, we're low, we just gotta keep these guys all together, and, Um, he's just, he's a remarkable guy. Like, think about this, this is how long he's been relevant in the game of hockey. I mentioned it's the 40 year anniversary of our state tournament in 85, he was on the bench with Terry Skrypek in that championship game in 1985. He reminded me of that at our breakfast function and that was pretty cool. And he's still coaching the Pioneers, isn't he? He sure is. And no plans to retire? I don't think so. Yeah. You know, he, he loves it. Like, he's always done it for the love of the game. You know, I, I know from doing it, like, there's a lot of extra stress that goes into being a, a varsity coach at the high school level in any sport. And he does it because he loves the kids and he loves the game. He's always done it the right way. His programs are first class, on and off the ice. They, they perform at their best. And that's, he demands that. And he doesn't accept anything less than that. And so I, I, I think he's got a ton of respect throughout the state because of the way he's got it. Everybody knows Hill Murray's gonna win, right? Hill Murray's got a great tradition there. But to do it the right way, the way Billy has, uh, that's a credit to him. And he is a player's coach. I mean, as much as he demands of his players, they love him. Everybody that's played for that guy absolutely adores that man. They go through the wall for him. And because, like he said, he's got a gruff exterior. But if you take the time to get to know him, he's a teddy bear. He said that the other day at that function. And I'm like, Yeah, that's who he is. Like he's got a heart of gold, but I mean, if you don't, you're not walking straight and doing the right things and being a team guy and he's not afraid to cut good player. He's done it before. Like he's cut good players and said, we're going to win without you. I'm going to try and get Mr. Lechner and he is Mr. Lechner to me. You can call him Billy. He's Mr. Lechner to me. I'm going to try and get Mr. Lechner on our podcast before he's on wooden sticks. How do you like them apples? You're gonna jump me? Do you like apples, KG? How do you like them apples? So, uh, give us an update on the, uh, on the wild. How are you feeling about things? Feeling great. Good little road trip last week. Two wins in California, and then the overtime loss in Chicago. They got five out of six points. They've got a couple of days of rest. Um, and then, uh, Yeah, they've got a little injury right now with Brodine. He's going to miss the game as we record here tonight, which is the Thursday game against Montreal. He may play this weekend against Dallas but I do think we'll see him next week when the Wilds go back on the road. I think next week, it's Saint Louis, Edmonton, Calgary. So, it's a minor deal. Uh they're they're calling it day to day. The team looks great. They they're just they're they're together like team sports like hockey and football. The guys have to be connected. And these guys when you watch them play, they're all on the same page. And then when you see them around the rank, um, throughout the travel, like they love being around. They enjoy each other's company. It's a long, long season, 82 games. It takes place over the course of six months. They've got the it factor this year. And I'm really excited about where this thing could go. Because they finally, not only have good, you know, chemistry, but they have star power. Boldy and Kaprizov have taken it up another notch. And these two guys are playing amazing hockey. The commie is about as good as they get. he's gotta be playing at the top level of his career at this point. Is it okay that I refer to him as the commie? I guess he's the I wouldn't go that direction, but The Ruski? The Russian lad? Yeah, the Russian kid is fine. Okay. And he's a sweetheart of a kid, by the way. Sure. I mean, it's amazing to watch him around the rink because literally, he's like a little kid. He's most happy when he gets to go out and practice. Like, today was an optional practice. So I would say 60 percent of the guys decided on a game day, they're going to go over and get laced up and go through a 40 minute skate. There's just no doubt you're going to see 97 on the ice. And the day before that, which was their first day back after taking two days off, you know, they practice for an hour and 10 minutes. We go down and do all the media stuff in the locker room. So that's 30, 35, 40 minutes after practice. And there's Zuccarello, Kaprizov, and Boldy out working on some skill stuff. You know, 40 minutes after practice, just themselves, on the rink, like kids, you know, like we used to see back in the 80s at the outdoor rink, hooping around, working on skill stuff. It's just remarkable. Um, I think he's had a real effect on Matt Boldy because I think Boldy in the last, you know, he got here. He's 21 years old. He's 23 now. And in those two years, he's figured it out. Like he's watched for real and how obsessed he is with his craft. And he's like, well, why can't I do that? And now you're seeing Boldy, like do things on the ice that He hasn't done before, creating space and, you know, trick, you know, tricks with his hands and his, the way he's able to kind of navigate through traffic. And it's like, he stays after every day and messes around with Kirill. It's amazing. It's really fun to see. Like I, I'm really excited about this group. I don't know if it's going to happen this year, but I do think before Kirill is done, they're going to have a run of the cup and that's exciting. It's one thing to have a guy like Kaprizov who. Is a scoring machine and is as talent as they get. But when you've got the work ethic that inspires the teammates to kind of follow your lead, it really. You know, you can't put a price tag on, on having, I'm sure that they will pull a price tag on it when, uh, he's looking to renegotiate his next contract. And I'm assuming that, yeah, I'm guessing Kirill will, uh, he won't be pounding ramen noodles for dinner. That's for sure. No, I think he's going to get a real nice deal. And I think a lot of wild fans are nervous right now that he might leave and go, like people are saying Chicago and New York. I just don't see it. Like if he's going to go somewhere else, he has to wait another year and I just don't see that happening. He loves the guys. He enjoys living here. And I think he now can see the path to a cup. I think he's he's wired different than most like he literally just wants to win when they lose. He is so disappointed because he knows it's on his shoulders every night. And if they don't win, He puts himself to blame. And so it's super interesting to watch this thing play out. They needed to be good this year. And I think they're showing they are going to be good this year. And that can only help in what the while they're trying to accomplish. They have this summer to sign it. If he doesn't sign this summer, then the following summer, anybody can get after them. The wild have a couple of things working for him. Number one, they get first dibs this summer when he's a restricted free agent. Number two, they can offer more money and more time or term. So I, I am not worried yet at all. I think he's going to stick around. I see how much he enjoys being here. And if, man, is that going to be good for the while? Well, maybe it'll be another 4th of July surprise. Like we had, how many years ago was that? 2012. We were, I, I was on the golf course and Chrissy was bugging me. Like, she's like, you can't keep looking at your phone. I'm like, It's happening today. I think we're gonna get one of these two guys like we're gonna get Zach or Ryan I just feel it and then all of a sudden we made the turn and I'm like going crazy She's like, what are you doing? I'm like, we didn't get one. We got both And at the time it was I'll tell you it was the greatest it was the greatest Move in Minnesota sports history in the last two years. It seems like the worst decision that they've ever made Well, that was always going to be the case, you know, I think to get them, they had to sign the long term deal that it changed the course of the organization. What's disappointing is they never made a run. Yeah, it did for sure. Like they, they became relevant and you know, I'm telling you right now, if they aren't here, I don't know what this facility that they practice in gets built. And they were behind the curve when it came to NHL teams in terms of Their workout facility where they were fed where they worked out where they practiced like that whole tria thing happened in that time frame And I do think that a big part of that was ryan and zach were here and you know that that changed the landscape Dramatically with ticket sales and with the enthusiasm and yes behind the scenes in putting money into the product because If you're going to lure free agents in and now we're finally going to have that money like These contracts are going to be off the book the salary caps going up. You're finally going to have You A chance to recruit some big time players here, including the guy that we just talked about, Kirill. Having that facility at TREA is a big difference maker. And so, yeah, it's all good in the end. The last couple of years have been tough, no doubt. But that was always going to be the case. One last question, Minnesota Wild related, and then I'll let you go because I know you've got a big game tonight. Uh, Grandpa Gorgie. We're going to call you Grandpa Gorgie. Kind of like how that sounds. No, you're not. Well Don't care for that. Double G, baby. Hey, my, uh, my cousin, Matt Benz, just, uh, got his 1500th game as a, uh Yes. equipment guy for the Minnesota Wild. And I saw some things posted. That, uh, they gave him some special something or other, they gave him some like chain, something or other. Are you aware of that? The hard chain, that's the hard chain that they get after every game. So Bill Guerin, this is a pretty cool story. Actually. Bill Guerin at the end of training camp this year, gathered the troops up. And, and said, no, this actually, let me rephrase this on the front end of training camp, gathered the troops up, kind of his start of the year spiel with the team and said, listen, last year sucked, you know, we had a bunch of injuries, we lost our coach. It was really hard. And he said on the flip side of that. You want to be a winner in this league? It's going to be really hard. You have to work harder than the other teams to climb up that mountain. So, no matter what, it's going to be hard this year. Know right now for the next 6 months that whatever you're doing, it's going to be hard. Do you want to be the hard where you're at the end of the year feeling like crap and you don't get where you want to go and you're not in the playoffs? You're down in the dumps or you want to be the hard or you work hard, run yourself ragged, but you get somewhere special and they all made the commitment like we're going to work hard and we're going to get this thing done. The wild went out and ran the coaching staff with Bill Guerin's, I'm sure nudge, ran one of the hardest training camps anybody's ever seen. West Walls, Ryan Carter, these guys were like blown away by how hard they skated, how hard they work. It was like a military camp and it was crazy to watch. And the players picked up on this and they're like, all right, we're going to do the right heart. We're going to do the right heart. So Ryan Hartman went out and bought the biggest chain he could find. It holds 1, 500 pounds. It's this big, heavy chain that he went to Home Depot and got. And he found this, this uh, wooden, kind of a placard thing and he put, He's got a hard on their spray paint hard on their green red and after every game, they give it out to the player who played the hardest and did the most work. And so Benzie got to have that on, you know, in honor of his 1500 game. The other thing that was cool about Benzie's night is he had the entire team wearing a t shirt honoring him. Oh, no. Yeah. So that was pretty neat. And um, you know, I mean, when you think about 1500 games in this league and think about the time he's been. With the wild since year two, so we're going back 23 years. Um, you know, it's a remarkably. impressive accomplishment. Those guys work hard. So I don't think people realize like, oh, you're an equipment guy. You're taping stick. No, no. I mean, middle of the game. He's sharpening skates like we're fixing equipment. We're doing this. And then wherever we're traveling, like we'll land. So let's say, um, the wild leaves ST louis after the game Tuesday. They fly to Edmonton. We get there some ungodly hour, right? Two in the morning. We're landing. There are three buses. They're a bus for the players, a bus for the coaches in the media, and a bus for the equipment guy. They go to the rink at 233 o'clock in the morning and they get everything set up. They lay out all the gear. They dry it out. They get the jerseys washed and hung. They're there for a couple hours and a lot of times, you know, you're playing the next day like these guys have done this for decades and so the players have a ton of respect for what those equipment guys do and and Benzie's got it for for over 20 years and he's just, as you know, he's just a, just a tremendous guy. And so he's beloved in that, in that locker room and they showed the love to him that night. Well, he's got some Schweitz blood coursing through his veins, so I mean, he's going to be a solid citizen to say the least and handsome as the day is long, but, uh, yeah, that's pretty exciting. In fact, maybe we should have him on our podcast. Before I told him you did, I said, we, we, we gotta have, yeah, he committed to the kindness chronicles only because of you. Well, as, as it should be family first, you can't make a move on the family. You can't make a move on the family., is there like a head equipment manager? Yeah, Tony da Costa. And uh, what is he? 100 years old. He's been around forever. Come on, give Benz a chance. Let's go. Well, he's, he's again, he's in his 50s and yeah, he's, he's a great dude. He, um, from the, uh, the fighting, uh, city of Winnipeg and used to be a goalie. It's been in the league. He worked with the Jets as a youngster and He's worked with the wild from day one. Yeah. Tony DaCosta. He's kind of a legend. He really is. He's the one you see on TV. He looks kind of like a swashbuckler. He's tall, dark hair, kind of a good looking guy. He's always right. The guys give him a hard time because he's always in that area on the bench that they show when they show the coaches or the players on the bench. And the other guys give him a hard time like he's hogging the camera time. Well. You'll see Tony on almost every broadcast. That's uh, I mean if you looked like that, you'd probably be looking for the camera yourself, right? Yeah, I hide. See, I hide in the back. I try not. I'm better heard than seen. That's why I love this podcast. Yeah, me too. Well, uh, Grandpa Gorgie, it's been a great time visiting with you. Blessings to your, uh, to your little, the daughter. Can you believe she's gonna have a child of her own? My goodness. It's amazing. It's amazing. Thank you for the, uh, the great new nickname. And, um, I, I look forward to, uh, sharing some of these stories along the way with The Kindness Chronicles. And, uh, even though we were a man short, we got through it. I can't wait till we get our guy back because he, um, he really, I mean, nobody enjoys The Kindness Chronicles. More than our guy with the red leather pants. Just love the guy. There ain't no, there's nobody nicer than that young fella. He lives it every day, man. He lives it every day. He does. All right. With that off we go.