ROBERT BORTUZZO | Ice Guardians Ep 25

Brett Hull and guest host Tony Twist are hanging out with 2019 Stanley Cup champion Robert Bortuzzo this week. The guys talk about the evolution of practice and conditioning in the NHL and Bortz talks about his long road through the minors. The guys ask Bortz how a fight in practice and a trip to a bar in Philly led to hosting a Stanley Cup party in Thunder Bay.

Ice Guardians, presented by Siteman Cancer Center, comes to you from the Window World Studios.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:34

Welcome back to another episode of Ice Guardians from the Window World Studios, presented by Seitman Cancer Centers with my guest co-host, Tony Twist, and uh wonderful guest, Stanley Cup champion, Robert Bertuzzo.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Welcome. Thanks for having me, boys. How are you doing? I'm doing great. Um, you know, settled back into St. Louis. You know, love being back, big fan of the community here. And um, you know, thankfully get a chance to dip my toes back in with the blues. I'm enjoying it.

SPEAKER_05 1:08

Yeah, it seems to be a theme.

SPEAKER_04 1:09

He's still a free state, still still a free agent, though.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if you see my practice the other day. You're still a free agent.

SPEAKER_05 1:16

You're still available, big boy. Yeah, that theme of uh love the St. Louis community, just there's no one ever says a bad word about it. That's why our alumni is so great. It's over 50 guys now.

SPEAKER_04 1:28

Yeah. One of the outside of Toronto, I don't think there's a Montreal and Toronto. I grew up.

SPEAKER_05 1:33

Yeah, well, how are you ever gonna be Toronto? Everyone just goes back home.

unknown 1:37

Why?

SPEAKER_04 1:37

You're not gonna be Montreal.

SPEAKER_05 1:39

Who do you think the percentage of players uh in the NHL are from the Toronto area? It's a has to be considering how many players in the NHL are. It's a even though it's probably could be seven or ten.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

I mean, still a big number.

SPEAKER_05 1:55

That's a huge number. And they all go back.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:59

We got a strong alumni. We get one of them.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Absolutely. Oh, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 2:03

With depth. Yeah, we need to for good reason.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

We get to like the way we get taken care of is crazy, you know, between our locker room and uh guys getting together, or the way we kind of help all in the community.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

Well, you're giving up your free agency, you're considering yourself an alumni now.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

I put the jersey on now. It's it's I'm out, you know. And that practice the other day confirmed.

SPEAKER_05 2:22

Um takes a while to get those legs back underneath. You know, I always hated that when the coach would give you a day off, which was few and far between, and then you'd come back, and the next day they just skate the shit out of you. And I'd go to the coach, I'd go, Don't give us a day off then. Just give us a nice quick, easy practice. And but but don't agreed.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Don't punish us because you gave us a day off. Nobody wants a bag drag at the end of that.

SPEAKER_05 2:52

No one wants a bag drag ever.

SPEAKER_04 2:53

Fucking medicine, medicine hat hops. Nobody wants to do those.

SPEAKER_05 2:58

But you know, the the way the game has changed now. You know, back in the day, it was like, you know, get up at 5 30 in the morning, catch a flight, fly back, and you're you know, you're getting off the plane, and the trainers are like two o'clock on the ice. It's like, what are you kidding? Your equipment's still wet.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

It's like you remember who like laid the best bag skates on you, like coaching wise, or like what teams, or what era? Like, were you guys skating?

SPEAKER_05 3:27

Oh, you know, I was late 80s, well, mid eighties, late 80s, uh, early 90s. It was anyone. They all did it. Yeah, because they were like they they were just ignorant old players. And there was no there was no information on fitness and wellness, and you know, like we all realize now today that days off are way more important than than going out. Do guys even barely practice anymore?

SPEAKER_02 4:01

Uh practice has gone like way down.

SPEAKER_05 4:03

Yeah, like 40 minutes though, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:05

Like even the time, yeah, even the time of practice. Right?

SPEAKER_05 4:08

A lot of gym work.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Yeah, and you'll rarely see guys just skate without a puck, where I think that used to happen back in the day. Even I caught I caught some of that.

SPEAKER_05 4:16

Wally's wallies were the worst, just line up on the line up on the wall, is back and forth and back and forth.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Yeah, mountains or whatever. Like even I caught some of that, but now it's just like they make the practices really intense and hard, and that's kind of yeah, and you have to do things quick.

SPEAKER_05 4:33

Right.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

So I feel like those days are kind of gone. Oh, unless maybe a couple drills at the end of training camp.

SPEAKER_05 4:39

I you know 84 in my first year of college, and uh Minnesota Duluth had uh taken the 1980 Olympic team skating program and implemented it. Uh because Bob Ba Harrington was from he played at Duluth on the team. And every Monday and half of Wednesday, no pucks. But it wasn't nobody cared because it wasn't punishment skate. It was there was never a stop. And it you would just start, you know, you'd go with your lines, and it was, you know, blue line, turn, come back, and then and then it would come back to your guys, and it'd be red line, and then far blue line, then far end, and then it would be go right this time. And so you had plenty of rest, and it was it was all about skating, it wasn't about conditions, punishment, yeah, right, and then it'd be you know some laps, and it it went by so fast, but you know, you always dreaded Mondays, but it wasn't it wasn't bad. And then we did the same thing, half of it, like as like half of it on Wednesdays with systems. Phantom puck?

SPEAKER_04 5:56

No pucks, no phantom puck, no puck. Meaning phantom puck, like pretending you're passing it. No phantom.

SPEAKER_05 6:02

Not not Jimmy Roberts.

SPEAKER_04 6:03

That's that was where I was going to be.

SPEAKER_05 6:07

It's embarrassing in the NHL, and and you'd go on line rushes with a phantom puck and pretend you were every time. I would I would just go, you've gotta be kidding me. I mean, I like this is the NHL.

SPEAKER_04 6:22

I gotta do a phantom puck, I'd be losing it all the time.

SPEAKER_05 6:27

I tell I would tell Jimmy, I go, Jimmy, half these guys can't do it with a puck. I go give them a puck so they can work on it. You're like, moron. God dressed his soul. But so growing up in uh Thunder Bay, the beautiful city.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

Yeah, home of Tony Hercus. Tony Hercus, yeah. Run ran into him a bit on the scouting circuit. Great guy, Hercus. He was awesome tales about about him.

SPEAKER_05 6:54

He is he was he would be an unbelievable player in today's game. He fits right in there with Hughes and the little fast guys that are all over the league, skilled. Never get tired. Like he he could run for days. Wow, he was like Jericho. Remember the movie Jericho? Yeah, yeah. He was fiddipped. He was unbelievable. And rum and coke, no lime. I'm driving. But he was uh I love the Hercus Circus. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I beat him out for rookie uh freshman of the year when I was at Duluth. He was at Wisconsin, right? Nope, North Dakota. He was a fighting Sioux.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

I think he's living in Pats.

SPEAKER_05 7:37

Uh yes, he is. I saw him a lot.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

Yeah, super unique place to grow up. Like you're kind of up there on your own. Like the big cities are all three to five hours away.

SPEAKER_05 7:46

Um, Duluth might be closer.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Duluth was our closest, like big city. We go down there and party a big city. Big city. Duluth was like the big city. Uh, Winnipeg's like seven hours, so you're like kind of on an island out there, so it's all just friends and families and outdoor rinks, and um, it was a little bit of a hockey hotbed there for a while. Absolutely like the stalls and Pyatt and Litowski, and we had a bunch of people.

SPEAKER_05 8:08

Who else did I just see that was from Normacky?

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Um it was like Normy. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 8:15

Another unbelievable player.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Yeah, was he Duluth?

SPEAKER_05 8:17

Yeah, he went to Duluth, yeah. Yeah, no, uh assistant GM at Chicago. Yeah, that's right. How close was the closest res?

SPEAKER_02 8:26

Minutes, seven minutes, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:27

Minutes.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

Our uh our triple A team in Minor Midget. The rate they built two rinks on the res, so that was our home rink. And um, yeah, another interesting place. I'm sure it was. Um, you know, it was definitely a cool place to grow up, right?

SPEAKER_05 8:44

Yeah, those small towns with I I always loved outdoor rinks. Oh Winnipeg was tough because it was gonna outdoor, that's different. Yeah, that's yeah, this is Thunder Bay's different too. Yeah, it's a little different weather, right?

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Yeah, they would keep the kids in for school at recess, just cold, not just snow. Like it's it's insane up there. So uh yeah.

SPEAKER_05 9:07

A lot of traveling, though, right? To play.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

Yeah, we played in the Winnipeg loop. So what we'd go drive on Friday, play four games in two and a half days in triple A. So fun. Oh, I was honored. Like you didn't know anything. All those guys are still my best buddies, like um that you grow up with. From triple A. From Triple A. It's pretty impressive. Even younger, that's pretty impressive. Yeah, so it was all the same guys. You'd play um you know, hockey in the winter, then we'd all all the baseball, we'd all play baseball. I heard you were a good ball player.

SPEAKER_04 9:35

Um, I love ball too.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

Oh, it was it's such a fun game.

SPEAKER_04 9:39

There was no box of lacrosse because I've been when I grew up, box of lacrosse was big at the hockey player.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Yeah, it was it was big up there.

SPEAKER_04 9:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

I think too much running. It was boxing cross. It was it was hockey.

SPEAKER_05 9:50

You just had anything that has box in it.

SPEAKER_04 9:52

Oh, we love and so uh it was hockey five on five on your on your weapons.

SPEAKER_05 10:04

I just got a new head cover, and it says it's hard to think outside the box when your head is always in it.

SPEAKER_04 10:13

Appropriate wear for you.

SPEAKER_05 10:14

That's a very good, they're very good head cover. So you played uh minor hockey up there and sold your oats.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Yeah, and then um the plan was always to kind of you know, growing up, my dad was like, Can we just get a scholarship out of this? Try and play university hockey. Like um, that was the mission. He's like, I'll buy you a truck if you get a scholarship out of this whole thing.

SPEAKER_05 10:36

How were you in school? Are you good in school? I was I did all right, I did just fine.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

I didn't know without even trying, right?

SPEAKER_05 10:42

Without even yeah, well, and teachers back then trying, but they would they just wanted to go away.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Yeah, you know, go to the next year. Um but yeah, and then kind of switched. I had a few offers from a few universities, and then um Pete Debore and Steve Spott came calling from Kitchener.

SPEAKER_04 11:00

How old were you when you got in the office?

SPEAKER_02 11:02

Uh I was probably 14, 15.

SPEAKER_04 11:05

Holy are you kidding me? The offers are coming at that age.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Yeah, and then back then you had to make a decision um to go junior college because if you played one game of junior, you ruined your NCAA eligibility. I mean, thank god they changed that now.

SPEAKER_05 11:19

Well, no, I disagree. I had this argument the other day, and I'm like, it's to me, it's ruining college hockey. There's no more kids playing, it's all 25, six-year-olds, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:29

And and those guys no longer do you have that developmental time. If you're coming out of college, you got two years because you're 26. Yeah, like you've got to make the NHL or double.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

Well, I think college is turning more into a developmental league. The kids will just stay there as opposed to maybe going to the HL a little bit, but I think I mean I agree, it is an older league now, and I'm sure it's a lot different than your last league. I mean, they just changed it too, so I think it'll take a little bit of time for it.

SPEAKER_05 11:54

We had kids on our team in Duluth that just graduated high school. And you know, I thought it was weird. We had one guy on our team, he was in his uh fifth year, he was a fifth year senior, and he had three kids and he was married, and I'm like, you know, your perspective on that real quick.

SPEAKER_04 12:12

Do you feel that that and in that changing that? And you've got guys that are 25 or 26, no longer is a development. If you're coming out of college versus you want to play National Hockey League, you really don't want to go to college because you're stuck till 25 and 20, or bail out. I mean, because they're you're it's a different style of hockey, number one, and number two, you your chances of getting it into the minors and developing, you got a year, maybe two, because teams aren't gonna spend that money to develop a guy who's 27 years old.

SPEAKER_05 12:41

It's like they're going down there just to get you know education and play some more hockey, and there's no chance they're ever gonna play pro because unless you abandon. You're not it's like you just said, you're not gonna invest in a 28-year-old when you got an 18-year-old you can develop.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Yeah, it might well, one, I think it might squeeze a few younger kids out, but what I will think will happen is more schools will get teams. Like I bet you they'll go through that California loop eventually, like USC will have a team. Like, I feel like there's just gonna be way more players.

SPEAKER_05 13:12

Yeah, that's what and it'll take away from the the traditional teams getting all the best players because you know I went to Minnesota Duluth, and you tell me if the Arizona Sun Devils try to recruit me, where do you think I would have gone to school?

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Right, not Duluth. Now you bring in USC or UCLA like a kid from Saskatchewan, right? Yeah, I'm gonna go there so to see.

SPEAKER_04 13:36

But you chose the junior route.

SPEAKER_02 13:37

I went the junior route. My parents kind of guided me that way.

SPEAKER_05 13:41

And um, get a scholarship, I'll buy you a truck, send them to junior route.

SPEAKER_02 13:46

I still tell my dad. I still tell my dad he owes me a truck. But he goes, Well, you flipped one of my vehicles, so we're oh, there you go. But uh yeah, ended up going to junior because um, you know, Pete DeBore was there in Steve's spot, and we had heard, you know, and you were 16, right?

SPEAKER_05 14:02

When you yeah, I'd say you were younger, yeah, but he looks like a junior guy, like you know big, strong. Well, 16's still pretty young.

SPEAKER_04 14:10

I mean, well for sure.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

I was flanky and had rollerblades on when I was out there, but um, you know, got lucky to play under those guys, and we had some pretty good teams in Kitchener.

SPEAKER_04 14:22

And you know, well, you started Windsor, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Uh drafted by Windsor. I wasn't gonna go there because it was time was a bit of a mess. Um so that was and then my rights got traded to Kitchener. Right. And um they still paid for your schooling when you went to Kitchener. So pretty good. And how far away is Kitchener? Uh Kitchener would be about 12 and a half, 13 hours from Thunder Bay. Everything's 12 and a half hours from Thunder Bay.

SPEAKER_05 14:52

Your minimum but the were the were the teams uh smart enough that they know they have this 16-year-old kid and they developed you slowly and didn't put you in bad situations.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

And they they set me up unreal. They my first year they put me with a Czech guy drafted by Detroit in the first round. Um, so they made it super easy on me. I would just kind of hang out. What was his name? Jakob Kindle. Yeah, who was with Detroit forever.

SPEAKER_05 15:18

Um his parents invented the Kindle, the book reading thing. Really? No, they're loaded. Okay. Well, I wouldn't know. So that's far enough back. I know, right? Yeah, it's about the right era.

SPEAKER_02 15:30

Well, yeah, and we had some good teams. We won the league, lost in the Mem Cup finals. Um that was a killer.

SPEAKER_04 15:37

What year was that?

SPEAKER_02 15:38

That was your last year. Oh, I'm so bad with years, but me too. That was my second last year junior. Right. Um Yeah, we had a good team. We had probably at least 10 or 11 guys end up playing in the NHL, and uh, our goalie got hurt was a killer.

SPEAKER_04 15:53

Story of my life. Yeah, yeah. Junior set you up. Junior set you up good for.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

It set me up. Yeah, yeah. My college buddies are like, You should have gone to college that I play with, and I'm like, there's no way I would have got out and ended up kind of where I was. Um, I was very fortunate to go to Kitchener with that coaching staff. You know, you're playing 68 games, you know, it's it just it was more of the pro feel. And that was kind of like halfway through my second year in Kitchener was when my dad was kind of like, I want to give this pro hockey thing a try and like kind of take it a little more seriously. Yeah, uh glad I did.

SPEAKER_05 16:28

Yeah, if you don't try, were you thinking like that at that age? No, me neither. I quit hockey when I was 17. I'd after I you know, I told you were here when I told the story about Portland and New Westminster Bruins, and I just happened to go to a game when I was living in Vancouver, and it scared the shit out of me. I mean, there it was just a brawl, Boris Fitrest, Stan Smeal, Barry Beck, Brad Maxwell. And then I didn't know anyone on on the Portland team. Uh I mean, it it scared. I go, how in the how do you play in this?

SPEAKER_06 17:03

These guys are not.

SPEAKER_04 17:04

Yeah, it's like a prison break. We weren't thinking like that. And I wasn't thinking I quit hockey at 16 Ross Brains or 17 with the Prince George Spruce Kings. I said, I love to fight, but I wanted to two fights and you're out, right? You fight in the last 10 minutes, you're you you get a game suspension. Well, well, all I got to do is go out and fight. I wanted to play a little bit. You're right. And I said, Well, there's uh I'm fighting them all about, but can I have one shift somewhere? And I and I quit playing very and seriously, because even if you like it. I mean, I loved it, but you know, but going back to your mentality, the way more to it, you know. Here's the here's a guy who who blew the freaking doors off, and you and you took the hardest road to 552 games ever, but you planned it, you didn't, and I didn't. And it's like the mentality blows me away because your dad, your thought, the process, the coaching stuff that you had to develop you. Yeah, I mean, let's be serious.

SPEAKER_05 17:58

I mean, it's unbelievable, but but you get like like Robert said, you know, the guys that, you know, DeBore and the boys at Kitchener, it's like, okay, and they did it the right way and and guided him and developed him into an NHL caliber guy. And then me, I mean, completely opposite. I just happened to get a lucky phone call from a buddy who was going to play in Penticton and said, come on and try out. And I scrounced together some equipment.

SPEAKER_02 18:28

Sconched together 100 goals.

SPEAKER_05 18:29

And you know, I figured they'd keep me around a little bit because I was Bobby Hull's son. And uh, you know, there were so many guys trying out. All we did was was scrimmage, and I'm a good scrimmager, like I'm not a good precipitator.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

So growing up, like you weren't like no, I only played one year or A.

SPEAKER_05 18:47

No, I was where were you? Were you having shoulders?

SPEAKER_02 18:51

I mean, in town, I was like one of the better defensemen, but there were two of my other good buddies that one went to UMD, actually. Who's that? Travis Alexic.

SPEAKER_03 19:01

Okay, absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

And his dad went Bill, Bill Alexic. Yes, absolutely. He might have broken one of his goal records or something.

SPEAKER_06 19:08

He broke everyone's goal records.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

Oh, that's great. Um, really.

SPEAKER_05 19:20

So you were on one of the national championship teams?

SPEAKER_02 19:23

Travis once. Yeah, he assisted on the overtime goal one yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:26

That's good for him.

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Yeah, he just retired actually, too.

SPEAKER_05 19:29

Yeah, we lost in triple overtime in the final four my freshman year to OTC and RPI. Go figure. Yeah. Wow. That's good. That's I love it. It's just uh there's so many great stories about hockey players and how they made it. But yeah, the ones that we're me out are the ones that were better than all of us and never played because from the neck up they they didn't have it and and they didn't you gotta have one of the or the other.

SPEAKER_04 19:59

I mean, this is gonna get you all day long. This that'll get you a cup of coffee, and it may keep you long enough to develop that one, right?

SPEAKER_05 20:06

You're right, you know, and then there's the guys like my brother Blake, he was a great player, but he he he was chasing broads and drinking beer, and that's your base there a little bit. You gotta put those a little bit, push them to the side. Which one were you?

SPEAKER_04 20:22

Were you hard or cerebral?

SPEAKER_02 20:24

Uh I was I was here. Yeah, and I developed, I developed this. You know, I I didn't, you know, especially getting into pro. Like I had one fight in junior, and then I turned pro and I was like, kind of just made a little decision. Like either I'm going to the East Coast League if I don't do this. And I just kind of developed that.

SPEAKER_05 20:43

Like I say that and I go, there could be nothing worse than being a big six foot three guy in the NHL that doesn't want to fight because it doesn't matter. They go, Oh, here's a big guy, he's a fighter. They just assume, right? Yeah, and the team assumes you're gonna too, uh, you know, even though they stouted drafting you.

SPEAKER_02 21:07

No, we are like even if you don't want to do it, you should be able to.

SPEAKER_04 21:10

There's the Rolodex. If if you fight just two times this year, you can make another 150 grand. If you fight three times, no windows are dropped. You can make this much.

SPEAKER_05 21:21

I mean, the Rolodex and the stats are fit into and if you're smart enough to know when to do those three or who to fight.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Exactly. Yes, that's what I learned. Like, it's like in the minors in Pittsburgh, they had a high appreciation for just standing up for guys. Sure, it's like they'd show it in video the next day if you fought, like jumping in for a guy. So I'm like, all right, they have a high appreciation for this.

SPEAKER_04 21:43

And seven years in the pro in the minors.

SPEAKER_02 21:46

Uh well, three years in the middle of the year.

SPEAKER_05 21:48

So hold on, let's take a break and we'll get we'll get to the draft because you're getting drafted in your seven years.

SPEAKER_04 21:54

Right. What a great a great road to 552, probably the most difficult.

SPEAKER_05 22:00

Yeah. We're gonna take a break from the Window World Studios presented by Seitman Cancer Center. We'll be back with Robert Pertuzzo after this. I'm Bret Hall.

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SPEAKER_05 25:04

And we're back from the Window World Studios brought to you by Seitman Cancer Center. Tony Twist, Robert Pertuzo, and Twister, you were uh before the break trying to uh bring up the career uh how would his path attorney pro and what he and the the mental strength and heart he had to continue. There was a lot of ups and downs and injuries and fines.

SPEAKER_04 25:33

Well, we'll get to those because those are spectacular, by the way. Seven years and you were drafted. What round?

SPEAKER_02 25:40

Third round.

SPEAKER_04 25:41

Third round draft pick and never seen the National Hockey, but a game or two for seven years. Give me the thought process on that. I mean, you I mean, when I say a game.

SPEAKER_05 25:52

You must cringe when you see buses.

SPEAKER_04 25:55

You were riding the iron lung during that time.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

I was riding the iron lung. I was putting the money in the cup to buy the soggy sub after the game. I did it all. I was in the minors for three and a half years. Um, you know, even in my third year, it got like a little bit bleak. Like I was like, you know, am I gonna go when I say seven? Junior Hawkins. Yeah, and Jumers. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:16

That's the minors as far as I'm concerned. It probably is.

SPEAKER_05 26:19

It's worse than the minors. That's what I'm saying. That's seven years of freaking minor league players. In the minors, you get to live with with yourself or a couple of teammates. You don't have to, you don't have a mom and dad in a house. Or a billet. Yeah, or you don't have to go to you don't have to go to school every day and practice before school.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

Well, I did in Penticton.

SPEAKER_05 26:40

I they put me with a they were uh wonderful old English couple that had come over from the UK and settled in in Pentikton. And it it was the stories they would tell, because they were both in the military of the Battle of Britain. Oh, it was some they were awesome. And um, it was uh Ralph Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Tapp, and they would cook a ethnic dinner every night. Uh you know, one night it would be English, and we'd have trifle and bangers and bash, and another night it'd be Chinese, and uh and it was just you know, it was that's where you got that accent when you were younger. But yeah, he uh he had a jazz radio show on the local radio, and and they were retired, and uh, they were just wonderful, didn't bother me. And I'm not even sure they came to games.

SPEAKER_04 27:41

Did you have the same bills?

SPEAKER_02 27:42

I had awesome bills, I for the same thing. Um, no, I went to two houses. One was a little far, so they moved me. But I had uh this awesome couple, Robin Meredith, and then their mom that we called her Graham. She was she basically took care of me, but they were awesome, and then I moved in with this other family who had uh triplets and a daughter. So we had a full house there, but I was lucky, like but going back to your other point, it's just like I heard some horror stories too.

SPEAKER_04 28:08

Like you still come to contact any brothers or something.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

Uh my mom speaks and emails a little bit with them.

SPEAKER_04 28:14

You gotta give them a shout out, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:16

I mean, Meredith, how's it going? There you go.

SPEAKER_04 28:19

I mean, the infancy of the career just started.

SPEAKER_05 28:23

If they're watching this, we're doing good, right?

SPEAKER_04 28:26

Right? Yeah, yeah. So out of that, so back to the pro career.

SPEAKER_02 28:31

You got three, you got three, three and a half years, three and a half years, like 250 games down there. Um that third year thing, you know, you know, you have the year where you think you might get called up and you don't. That was a little discouraging, but um, you know, kind of just kept grinding and and then was lucky to pop up in the in the lockout year.

SPEAKER_05 28:49

Um it's gotta be tough to be in the minors and know you're a decent player and good enough to play in the league, and you're affiliated with a Stanley Cup contending team.

SPEAKER_02 29:00

Yeah, they were one of the best teams in the league at the time when I did get called up. We went to the conference finals.

SPEAKER_04 29:05

Uh, you were in a lot of pressure though. You all through junior, you were you're the guy. You won a championship. You had you had player accolades to I mean, so you kind of had a pressure from 16 all the way up, and that's why I say considered seven years in the miners, because through that whole time, yeah, you were the dude, you know, you were the guy. Then you get then you're three years there. Well, when when when does the dude get to be the dude? Yeah, when do I get to be that guy bowling alley?

SPEAKER_02 29:30

At the end of the day, I think it kind of helped me because I always had to like scratch and claw. And then when I got in, like I was never comfortable. I always thought because at my technically my job as six five, six, seven D, those are the ones that are gonna get taken. So I kind of always had the mentality, like, um you know, there's someone's coming, and I don't know where it got ingrained in me. I'm guessing playing in the minors is um, you know, and it's kind of that healthy competition. I think if someone's coming for your job, and you were on it, it hardens you much to yeah, yeah, it hardens you like nothing's really gonna affect me.

SPEAKER_05 30:04

I've I've been through it all, and that's yeah, something to say for the stick toativeness.

SPEAKER_04 30:11

And you and you didn't lose faith, you let you kept moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 30:15

Yeah, mostly. Um, and then I got traded to St. Louis, and when you get traded as a young guy, that kind of you know puts a little shock in your system. And um ended up unless you want to get traded. I was uh 1415, 1415. Yes, uh yeah, 15, right?

SPEAKER_04 30:34

Yeah, 1415, yeah, and then 15-16, then all the way up. Yeah, yeah. I think I was here like four years. And during that time, you're you played some of those were half years fill in the blanks.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

Yeah, my first year I ended up playing like got up, called up for one, sent down, called up for five, sent down, called up for one.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

That's amazing. That's what I'm saying. Going back to the work, the hardest five figures.

SPEAKER_05 30:58

And where was the minor league team?

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Out east. Wilkesbury, Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_05 31:02

Oh, that's in Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_02 31:03

Pittsburgh's minor league team. So we were playing Scranton, like Northeast, like Binghamton, Syracuse, Adirondack, like Syracuse, maybe like War Memorial. Like in the in the concourse, like so.

SPEAKER_04 31:18

You're up and down. You could what that first season are you 30 games, 40 games maybe, or uh my first season was a locker year.

SPEAKER_02 31:25

I played like 14 or 15.

SPEAKER_04 31:28

The next season you were up and down.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

No, then I stayed. Then I I stuck around. Okay, all right. And then uh thankfully didn't have to ride the bus again after that.

SPEAKER_04 31:38

But the year that you're up to the game. How many up and downs did you have?

SPEAKER_02 31:42

My first year I had three. I played one game. My first game was at um staples center, which was cool. Got called up for one game at MSG for my second game, and then called up for four games after that. I had to wait until the next year.

SPEAKER_04 31:59

Just incentive.

SPEAKER_02 32:00

Big time. Yeah, big time. Really good. You come in and you play at MSG, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:05

Well, let's go through the rest of the years because I know your injury plagued. Yeah, I mean, you when I say not plagued, you had a lot of injury, I mean you did the injury stats, and you're fucked, which was spectacular, by the way. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 32:19

Yeah, I um, you know, I'm at whatever amount of games I'm at, but there's a lot of injuries, a lot of scratches, and a lot of things. Hard to work through, right?

SPEAKER_04 32:28

No, but hard to work through, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:29

Because every time you know what I always found with my injuries was like I avoided the big one. Uh, you know, the big knee or the big shoulder or the back. Like they were three to six weeks always. So at least you're coming back in, but I never had to do like the surgery or surgery in the off season. You know, because so many guys, like I think I talked to Otter one time after practicing, he said he's had 19 surgeries.

SPEAKER_04 32:54

How did you keep away from the tag? The tag of being injury prone. You kept away from the tag during this whole time. You didn't get the tag.

SPEAKER_02 33:03

Yeah, I think I like I said, they were always short, quick ones, and I was able to come back and then sustain some length, and then um you know you start missing like three months here, yeah, two months. That's a little different. I think you would get the injury tag then, but um you know, lucky that they got me up and running pretty quickly.

SPEAKER_04 33:21

It's tougher having the small injury here that we gotta get back every time get back in the lineup. Your spot's been lost. Somebody else has claimed a game or two. Yeah, you lose.

SPEAKER_02 33:30

I don't know how many times I came back from an injury, and they're like, Well, you're again.

SPEAKER_05 33:36

And then when you come back and you're not playing and they beg you every day.

SPEAKER_04 33:40

It's like five, the hot tough is 252 games.

SPEAKER_05 33:43

I told the coaches, I go, I want to play in every exhibition game, because then you never have to practice and get skated. I'm like, God.

SPEAKER_04 33:51

So during that time, you're up, you're you're you're up, you're down. You have to, you're you're injured, you lost your spot, you gotta sit in the stands, you gotta earn your spot. I mean, that's a lot of that's a lot of mental coming in and out.

SPEAKER_02 34:04

I mean, that was the hardest thing mentally. It was like or even like when you did play, playing like nine to thirteen minutes. So you had to like that for me took the most mental strength of doing that because you just played shit shitty, so you're in this you're in the press box for a reason. Now you gotta come in and play good. So that kind of that pressure and having to play, like having to play good. Like I remember playing games when I was here in St. Louis. Like, if I hadn't played good that night, I was getting sent down to play.

SPEAKER_04 34:36

And you were capitalizing on nine to thirteen minutes when you got turp back. I mean, you had you were.

SPEAKER_02 34:40

Yeah, we kind of had you. Yeah, that was yeah, that was all I was getting. You had to kind of make the best out of them.

SPEAKER_04 34:46

How did you get fined so much?

SPEAKER_02 34:48

Uh, a couple suspensions, couple fines. Um couple suspensions, if they happened today, probably would have been more expensive. So I guess I got lucky on some of the timing, but my biggest one was 70 for a couple crosses. What'd you do?

SPEAKER_05 35:06

Kill a guy? Yeah. Right?

SPEAKER_02 35:11

Yeah, he did get banged up, but it's unfortunate.

SPEAKER_04 35:15

Geez, Marty McSorley with that. Did the police get involved?

SPEAKER_05 35:22

70, like seriously. Who's who's in charge of five minutes?

SPEAKER_02 35:27

I think they got me.

SPEAKER_05 35:29

No, how long ago was this? He hasn't been doing this for that long, hasn't he? I thought it was only like eight years ago. He's been doing it for eight years.

SPEAKER_02 35:42

Maybe not eight, maybe six.

SPEAKER_05 35:45

Well, no, because I was I was in, you know, he lived right down the street from me in Nashville, where he lives now. And I was there for seven years. So yeah, I could see that because he was doing it when he was in New York too, right? He was living in New York and doing it. So no question it could be I think player safety was on there too.

SPEAKER_02 36:07

I think he does. I think he does, yeah. Wiz still does it. That's I think he does too.

SPEAKER_05 36:13

But he's got good people around him. Like he's got a guy like Ray Whitney that'll that'll give him the perspective from our side, yeah. Right, where Ray Whitney's like, just because some guy gets killed at center ice, he's like, that wasn't the guy's fault who hit him. It was a clean hit. Find the idiot defenseman who passed him the puck to set him up for the killing.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

Yeah, that's a tough gig.

SPEAKER_04 36:36

Uh oh, it is earn the 70 grand. Do you figure that'd just looking back?

SPEAKER_02 36:40

Yeah, that was like I said, if that one happened today, I think it would have been I I got four games, I think it would have been seven.

SPEAKER_05 36:50

I know, but does anyone ever get seven games anymore? I think they're actually pretty lenient on the guys.

SPEAKER_02 36:56

Yeah, but it like even well on the new on the new offenders, I kind of had a few under my belt.

SPEAKER_05 37:02

Yeah, but still, I mean, you look at like every time I see uh what's his name from Washington get another suspension, it's still it's like two games. It's like, hold on, it's his 90th suspension. When when does it all of a sudden go to 20? So they'll learn that he's not you can't do that anymore.

SPEAKER_04 37:20

Can't steal the fans' favorites. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:24

I hear you. And I I guess they just dread those calls with the GMs the next day. So did you have those with the GM?

SPEAKER_04 37:34

Were you getting chastised?

SPEAKER_02 37:37

Um you uh the GM sits in a room and then you call player safety and they say, Hey, what happened here? You talk about it. But they'll listen to you, right? Yeah, you get to you get to present your case basically.

SPEAKER_04 37:50

What about after the meeting with your GM going, what are you doing? Did you have uh no?

SPEAKER_02 37:54

No, good not our GM.

SPEAKER_05 37:56

Now they're always on your side.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

Yeah, yeah. I've I haven't had any GMs. I think they appreciate it.

SPEAKER_05 38:05

All right, well, let's take another break. And you know what we're gonna do when we come back? Go to Stanley Cup. Yeah, we're gonna talk about the road to the Stanley Cup with St. Louis Blues, and uh everyone in St. Louis was uh, I still think they're celebrating, and it's uh it's a wonderful thing to be a part of. So we'll be right back from the Window World Studios brought to you by Simon's Cancer Center. Now it's time for our get check moment of the game. And today we're talking about breast cancer. And if you're a gentleman watching, please tell your wives, girlfriends, friends, daughters, sisters, aunts, and even your mother-in-law. Gals watching, listen in closely to this. If you're 40 or older and haven't yet gotten your manogram, it is so important that you do. Women who undergo regular yearly screening for breast cancer have better outcomes than women who don't. If you have family history of breast cancer, there is a chance you will need to start getting screened even earlier. And that's something to talk to your primary care physician about. Seitman Cancer Centers offer a mobile mammography van that parks at convenient places like Schnooks and Walmart all over town, so you can get screened on your way to run errands. Check out the van schedule and make an appointment on Siteman's website, siteman.washu.edu or type in your zip code at get screenednow.com. If you're in Missouri or Illinois, to find multiple locations near you to get screened.

SPEAKER_03 39:49

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Right now, get 0% APR for 36 months. Call 800 Get Windows for details about credit cost and terms. For new accounts, the APR for purchase is 29.99%, subject to credit approval. Welcome back. Ice Guardians with Tony Twist and Robert Bertuzzo. And it's a segment now that uh I think a lot of people enjoy the the road uh with the St. Louis Blues uh last place to winning the Stanley Cup. And I think a lot of people would they've kind of probably heard the stories about Gloria and and uh how you guys went from the worst team in the league to winning the Stanley Cup, but I think people would like a few more details on uh how it happened. And Chaser uh told me to remind you of what he considers the spark that the match that lit the the flame for you guys to turn it around, and that was your fight against uh Sanford.

SPEAKER_02 42:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 42:07

Um you guys were floundering.

SPEAKER_02 42:09

Yeah, we we were in a tough spot. Um, we kind of knew we had a good team. Um, we just weren't playing very good. Um there were a lot of little different things. Like we had the coaching change, that was huge. So Chief comes in, he completely changes the temperament of our practices. Like they just go from like up and down moving the pop to like super intense, like D zone. Um you know, we go through neutral zone like super detailed, um, and just the intensity to practice went like through the roof. You know, and then when something like that happens, um get kind of what happened with me and Sando. And um you know, that day we had lost to Vancouver the night before 6-0, and that practice just got like to a next level in of intensity. And um, there probably could have been two or three other fights that day, like it was super intense. And last drill of the day, me and Sanford are in front of the net. He kind of I cross-check him, he pops me in the nose, my wires touch. Um, you know, rest is history. Otter kind of jumps in there, and you know, me and Sando are still good buddies. We kind of had a chat it out after that. It was just like fighting with your brother, you know. Um, you know, there's a cool video of us like embracing after we won the cup and like jumping into each other's arms. So I thought those two beside each other was pretty funny, and um, you know, that was part of the story. And then we had the the Gloria. We ended up at a bar in a Philly with a buddy who, you know, we were on the south side of Philly, and he we pull up and we're like, where the hell are we? We walk in, it's just all the like the whole team. Uh, there's six of us. It was like Steiner, Fabs, Eddie, uh, Shenner. Yeah. Um, I mean, we had we had a huge core on that team, but we were having a beer night before a game, and this bar, it's like a members only bar, and that they've downplayed yourself.

SPEAKER_04 43:59

You just

SPEAKER_05 44:03

It's over. You're allowed to say you're getting loaded before the game.

SPEAKER_02 44:08

Yeah. I don't actually don't remember it. I think I'm pretty sure it was in the afternoon. We're in good at a bet hour. Um yeah, they're just playing this song. Me and Steener look at each other being like, what is this song? And uh when the next night Benner has the shutout, that's his first game in Philly, too. So another piece of the story.

SPEAKER_05 44:29

Um that's his first game in Philly, or it's his first game with us. Yeah. And it happens to be a good one. It happened to be the night before.

SPEAKER_02 44:36

And he shuts him out. Shuts him out 3-0. He goes on this epic, epic run. We go on an epic run. Um who was the who did he replace? Uh? I think his name was Chad Johnson.

SPEAKER_05 44:52

Really?

SPEAKER_02 44:52

And then Husso became the third eventually. And um, yeah, so we had Binner and Jake, and uh Binner. How did Lori get into it? Easily could have won the contest.

SPEAKER_05 45:05

Yeah, like how did he get out of here? You heard the song, but I mean, we had to get into what you do with it.

SPEAKER_02 45:09

Next night we go, if we win next game, we're playing it after the game.

SPEAKER_04 45:13

Who said it? Who says it? Steiner. Okay, there we go. That's where that's where I wanted to go with it.

SPEAKER_02 45:18

Um I think it was Diener. Yeah, we were all kind of like, this is the one, and we played it and we won. I think we went on a you know, once you start going on the heater with it, it's not changing. And uh, you know, obviously aligning that with everything that happened and the city being able to bump that song was pretty hilarious, right?

SPEAKER_04 45:36

Reminiscent of Detroit and the octopus. I mean, just something or yeah, for the fans to kind of rally around.

SPEAKER_05 45:42

And then you you guys also had Layla.

SPEAKER_02 45:46

And we had Layla, which is an incredible story, and um it's like a rally around. There were so many things, and um, you know, her story's so incredible, and how amazing she's doing now, and um the closeness and and bond of that team and the families. Like my parents still talk with all the families, and like it was just like the perfect storm of everyone coming together.

SPEAKER_05 46:08

How many games were left in the season at that point when you played Philly?

SPEAKER_02 46:12

I think it was January 3rd.

SPEAKER_05 46:15

So we probably had 35 or 35.

SPEAKER_02 46:18

Yeah, I think we went like 26 in three years. I I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 46:23

So in 35 games, you 35 games you gelled not only as a team, but as families together. And Chief has got to be a part. I he that I mean it's gotta start with absolutely right.

SPEAKER_02 46:39

Uh yeah, 100%. You know, for me, Chief and Binner are but yeah, he he's an amazing coach. He set the tone for us and um got us playing at like a another level defensively. And um, you know, we were a team that we could beat you a bunch of different ways. If you wanted to play the high scoring way, we would play that way, and you know, we were comfortable winning a game one-nothing.

SPEAKER_04 47:01

And what was your role? You know, what was your role in all this? And you know, gonna be modest, Mary. Explain what you wrote.

SPEAKER_02 47:06

I was I was penalty killing, um, you know, tried to keep things light in the locker room. Um, I was getting you know 12 to 14 minutes a night and trying to do my job, keep pucks out of the net and chip in when we could. So you said you're locking room. And I would come in and out of the lineup as well.

SPEAKER_04 47:27

But you're still a locker guy, whether you go in or out, right? Respected in that in that realm, right?

SPEAKER_02 47:32

Yeah, for me, when you know, when guys come in out of lineup and they're pissy and they're you know, their bottom lips hanging down. I to me it's disrespectful to the guy that's going in the lineup, and I always wanted to carry myself um, you know, but there's a problem, there's the problem with you know, you've got dumb people that'll look at it the other way and go, oh, he doesn't even care that he's sitting out, you know, if you're yeah happy.

SPEAKER_05 47:56

But you know, like if you're smart enough, you realize well, he's a good team.

SPEAKER_04 47:59

No, that's a nameplate guy instead of an emblem guy. Right. You were one of us an emblem guy, and so you brought that energy, and you you I'm sure you dragged a few guys out of the freaking hole and the first guy down there high five, and was they came off the ice after the 100%.

SPEAKER_02 48:14

Yeah, you know. Um and then it was just being ready to go. I you know, I think they knew how bad I wanted to play. Um, but for me, you know, if you can keep your enthusiasm up and be happy, like genuinely happy, and that that team just got joys out of the wins. Like we love being together.

SPEAKER_05 48:29

Well, yeah, because you didn't have very many up to that point.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

Yeah, once we got them, we didn't want to give them away. Right. You know, after been you know, after January, and we were on our heater there, you know, we would just play games and practice. Or sorry, we would just play games and recover in days off. So we didn't really practice much. Do a little gym work, yeah. We do it for stretch at the hotel. You know, okay. So how many when you're going for just stretches at the hotel, you're usually kind of having a little bit more fun and that team.

SPEAKER_05 48:56

Right. That team. What is your how or bad wrong question? How many points were you out of the playoffs at that point? Because it's a no matter how many games you win, the other teams are winning too. That I don't remember because that is a huge comeback to make the playoffs when you're in last place in the NHL.

SPEAKER_02 49:15

I think you're last place on Christmas.

SPEAKER_05 49:17

That's been like being in, that's like Tiger when he won uh Tory Pines one year. He made the cut on the number, so he's in last place and he shoots 64-67 and wins the tournament. And and at Fridays, and at never mind. But I mean, that's it, it's an incredible feat. And so then you make the playoffs, and that's okay. That's like there's step one. All right, guys. Step one. Now let's like we can't just be happy now that we did this incredible comeback, and it's like, well, let's do that.

SPEAKER_02 49:52

We we didn't have that attitude. I mean, right, obviously.

SPEAKER_05 49:54

Obviously, did you have a good draw? You know, because sometimes it's hard. Like in today's format, I don't know if it was the same back then. I think it's the worst playoff format in the world, though. Because you you lose two quality Stanley Cup winning teams at least in the first round every year.

SPEAKER_02 50:13

And it's yeah, I don't I don't disagree. I you know, I didn't ever really play the one to eight, so I don't know. But for me, if you're losing some of the best teams in the league early, are you getting exactly out of my out of above my pay grade? But um for our draw. Um yeah, we played 26 out of 28 games, so we went seven, six, seven, six, seven. Um Winnipeg, we went up two, gave the next two up at home. We're losing two nothing in game five on the road. Come back and win three, two. And then Schwarzia's a hat-trick in game six. Dallas series goes seven. That series was our next to the finals. I think the Dallas series was our hardest series. Yeah, so tight checking. Yeah, and they had good goalie, and like they had high-end guys as well. That series was super tight.

SPEAKER_05 51:07

San Jose was conference finals, and it's the easiest one, right?

SPEAKER_02 51:14

We just kind of pounded them into the ground. I think by game six, they had like 11 guys on the bench. Um, you know, and obviously the finals is the finals.

SPEAKER_05 51:22

That was that was our that was epic. And uh my favorite line, yeah, you know, I'm a huge sports guy and I've I watched almost everything. And that line when they gave it to Bennington and they asked him if he was nervous, and he gives it the old do I look nervous? I I I mean they should have played that in your dressroom every single minute. Do I look nervous?

SPEAKER_02 51:49

And that was epic. Epic, you know, and that's him to a T. I mean, you ask him.

SPEAKER_05 51:54

And he won game seven because they were all over you guys early in game seven.

SPEAKER_02 51:58

Absolutely in the first period.

SPEAKER_05 51:59

And then as soon as you guys scored, it was over.

SPEAKER_02 52:01

Yes, we put it in lockdown. Uh Petro scores a crazy goal with like 20 seconds left. Schwartz makes an unreal play, Marshon changes, and then we got up two, and you know, with that team and that decoy.

SPEAKER_05 52:14

Yeah, Terasenko got number two, right?

SPEAKER_02 52:16

Uh Petro got two. Um Shenner got three. Terasenko made a sick pass through. That's what it was.

SPEAKER_05 52:24

He made an unreal pass.

SPEAKER_02 52:25

Unreal pass through Chara. And then I think maybe Sanford got four.

SPEAKER_05 52:31

You should have fought him again.

SPEAKER_04 52:33

One thing I remember that is when they panned the benches. Yeah, 26 out of 28 games. I think you guys would be exhausted. Right. Like, I mean, you're because it's hard. Your top two lines are taking 30 minutes a game, you know, 25 to 30.

SPEAKER_02 52:48

You know, we we had, I think uh between Pechangelo, uh Bomeister, and Preeko, they all played 28 to 30 minutes uh on average for the series.

SPEAKER_04 52:59

That's that's ridiculous. And then when you pan over the bench, when you pan over the bench during a break, right?

SPEAKER_05 53:04

And you look at the faces of that team, the the opposition, uh completely opposite. You should have their looks right.

SPEAKER_04 53:14

Our team should have had the looks. They they were defeated, yes, and they're but still in the game, but we still mean within a grasp of I mean, if you're playing 26 out of 28, we're within the grasp of losing every series. Don't get me wrong, but we won them. The difference, you pan for the bench to bench is like uh ha we're gonna, yeah. The difference was in the faces, and that starts in the dressing room, starts from you're talking about the things that make a freaking difference across the board. The looks, because it was a collective look. It was a collective look of we're going to win.

SPEAKER_02 53:49

It was a I call it quiet confidence. That came with the room. Where does that start? Quiet confidence starts in the room. There you go.

SPEAKER_04 53:58

Right. But but the guy behind the bench has to give room, give lane to the guys in the dressing room to take that.

SPEAKER_05 54:06

But the confidence from from Philadelphia to to that point, it's just like, okay, this is no joke. I mean, we we are we are spiritual.

SPEAKER_02 54:16

Yeah, we're for real. Right. And then like we lost game six at home, we got spanked. Spanked. We got spanked. And the add like you would have been blown away by the attitude of us going on the plane to Boston because we went two days early and we're playing cards and we're yucking it up. And I I remember specifically just looking around being like, this attitude is insane for going to like no pressure. Like, I remember guys like Bosey just turns to me and goes, we're winning. And we were so confident.

SPEAKER_05 54:47

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 54:48

I think we just wanted a few extra days on the road, to be honest.

SPEAKER_05 54:52

And then you you you win. And you got and so what is your thoughts as they hand you that cup? And you go, Wow, what a journey.

SPEAKER_02 55:02

Oh, it was a rush of everything, you know, family, friends, you know, childhood, uh injuries, uh everything. It just kind of came over you like huge wave almost off your back as well. That we were able to do it, and then um, you know, you kind of look around on the ice at the guys, and like you could be happier for everyone else to um, you know, that team will kind of be bombed.

SPEAKER_04 55:26

The guys on the ice. You also saw the family, you guys geled his family, right? So every view it was so much more gratifying because it wasn't just 20 players. Chief brought a team, yeah, brought a the families won the cup. 100%.

SPEAKER_05 55:39

That's amazing to me. It's amazing how important the wives, the wives are in that whole.

SPEAKER_04 55:45

But the celebration to celebrate the families. I mean, I don't know how that works in today's game, but when we played and you played, obviously in that team, I don't I'm pretty sure every team you played for didn't celebrate the families like that. And going back to old time, old style hockey, I mean, that team right there celebrated not only the players, and this is what I I why I don't like the game so much. We all knew each other's wives, we knew each other's kids' names. Is that going on today?

SPEAKER_02 56:14

I actually try and I talked with some kids at development camp, and I tried to explain that exact thing that you're talking about. Is you know, don't just be a guy who comes to the rink, does his work, and goes home. Like, create these bonds. Our game is the best game for that. Lunches are the greatest. I have guys at my wedding party, um, like, you know, best buddies with their kids. You go hang out, like that is what it is. Like, our game difference maker. You know, people come up to me on the streets and be like, you know, hockey players are so different than every other athlete. And like, I want us to take pride in that. Like, when I'm so happy when I hear that. Um, you know, and that's a super uniqueness of our game. And I just want young guys to embrace like their relationships. Are they doing it? Are they is that I think they are. They are.

SPEAKER_04 56:55

I I really do think they are embracing the fact you should know your teammates' wife or something.

SPEAKER_02 57:00

I get to know, like, right, you know, one of my buddies, like when Senner's parents come down, I go visit them, give them big hugs, and oh dude, that that that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 57:08

That means my heart I just yeah, I don't see it anymore. I was my disenchanted with it. You know, I believe in exactly that's why you won. You guys won just because a coach brought you together. You embraced what was given to you and ran with it, and you had players in the dressing room. You were one of those guys that embraced it and helped translate. You're doing that now. You realize the value of that. You realize the value steener, you know, realized Shannon understands the value of that. That's why, and we'll get to it in the next segment. Is that's why you stayed in the league and stayed with St. Louis because there's other teams that wanted you for that experience. But you stayed here. How cool is that parade?

SPEAKER_02 57:51

Epic. One of the most epic, right?

SPEAKER_05 57:54

It's the cool, it's so cool. I mean, especially like I wanted it, I wanted in Dallas, and there was 150,000 people. I mean, it's it's always a cowboy's town, and uh, but it was it didn't matter, it was a parade, and we yeah, and then Detroit, there was two million people. I was like, now this is a parade, and we had no clue in our heads.

SPEAKER_02 58:16

We're like, ah, there'll be some people out there. How many?

SPEAKER_05 58:19

There was there was more people there than in our population, I think.

SPEAKER_02 58:23

Yeah, it was like a million people, right? So when our cars turned the corner, it like hit us on one real, right? So epic. And that and the to your point about the families, like all the families are on every float. They had some guys had fire trucks, cars. Uh and I think we were one of the first teams to get off floats and start engaging with the fans on the street.

SPEAKER_04 58:44

I fight for that, bro. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_05 58:46

Yeah, well, G Carbano told me in Montreal there was so many people, and the cars were going so slow, they would get out of the car and go into bars and have drinks and come back, and the car would be 20 feet from where they were. Oh, wow. Yeah, that's it with you know you had to take a leak and they'd go into bars and take a leak.

SPEAKER_04 59:05

That's the reason fans still love us because you did that. You're attaching, they pay you. No, you should always.

SPEAKER_05 59:12

Well, and and that they waited 60 some years.

SPEAKER_04 59:17

Yeah, and when they waited, they waited patiently. You gave back, you went to the crowd. That's they're the most loyal.

SPEAKER_02 59:24

It's incredible. It's you could incredible fan base like something just run off their back after we won that. It felt like that's incredible.

SPEAKER_04 59:32

Every team doesn't feel that.

SPEAKER_05 59:34

What you do with the cup?

SPEAKER_02 59:35

Brought to Thunder Bay, yeah. Beautiful. Yes, they would family brought on the lake.

SPEAKER_05 59:41

Did it grow up with a I think 90% of the people take it to the lake, right?

SPEAKER_02 59:45

Um, you know, it was honestly like a wedding. We had like 300 people there, big tent, live bands, no pictures. Couple we had to delete, you're right. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 59:57

What if it's unreal?

SPEAKER_02 59:59

Unreal.

SPEAKER_04 59:59

What was the name of your your cup guardian?

SPEAKER_05 1:00:02

Well, it had to be Philip or Philip, Philip Richard.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:07

He was on this guy was awesome. I was going to be a good one. We got so lucky. I don't know. I might hope some guys don't want to go up to Thunder Bay.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:13

Philip Mike and Phil. Yeah, right. But I don't know Mike's last name.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:16

No, this was there was a third guy. Oh, yeah, my guy just save him for Thunder Bay.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:20

We're so tired. I sent him to bed, and they're they're not allowed to do that. And he slept for over 12 hours at my house. He was he was so exhausted from the run of being with guys, yeah. Because he they it's no screw around. No, like they party 24. You only get it for so long.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:39

Yeah, and your third wheel was cool.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:41

Unbelievable. Yeah, so normally they're supposed to leave at 12 or 12:30 or whatever it is. He had a 5 a.m. flight. So we're like, just go right to the airport. So we convince them. So finally it's like 3:30. He's about to go to the airport. He's in his car, he's pulling out the driveway. My buddy comes running around the corner. He goes, Howie's leaving. And I got the cup with me. He's got no cup in the crate. So they run down the driveway. They smack the Howie was his name. Thank you. Howie was his name. Awesome guy. That's smack the cup. That's good. I don't know who was next, but that would have been a rude awakening.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:17

He left without the cup. He was that. I mean, that's balls. That's beautiful. Yeah. All right. We're going to take a break and then we'll come back and we'll talk about your new role with the St. Louis Blues and uh what that entails and how much you enjoy it. Ice Guardians will be right back from the Window World Studios.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:36

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SPEAKER_02 1:03:39

Um I'm doing some scouting. Um got super lucky to you know get the opportunity. Steener and uh Army brought me in and um kind of giving me free reign to go watch some hockey. And I've done a little bit of everything, touched some junior, um, some college hockey for the first time, which has been really exciting. Got up to your neck of the woods, Duluth there, Michigan State, Michigan.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:00

They got a pretty good team there, Duluth.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:02

Yeah, they got a good team.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:03

Plant, Plant, right? Is that Derek's son?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:06

Is that his name?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:08

Well, they he I forget. Won the cup with us in Dallas. I think so.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:12

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, he has two kids there, and I think another kid on the way. Um, but I'm enjoying it. I'm enjoying it just to get to hot watch hockey, stay in the game.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:21

Um so you do you do it all? The amateurs, you look at pros, you yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:27

You're like a free agent, kind of just I think they just want me to learn it, which is nice. Sure. So much to learn, and uh what's what's your thought?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:35

Uh like what are you looking at when you look at guys?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:38

Like uh that's what you're trying to train for yourself, too. I feel like what like what do you want to find? Um, you know, I I am I'm trying to look for hockey IQ. Yeah, that's what I say. Hockey sense, yeah. Um, you know, the skating and puck seals kind of jump off like in the first time. It's easy to see, yeah. Um, you know, kind of how guys think the game.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:56

Um what they do with the puck at the right time, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:59

Kind of how they like compete, you know. Are they like a dog on a bone or you know, are they a dog the other way? Right patient. Body language stuff. So it's all stuff I'm like kind of learning on the go here, you know.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:10

Actually, through this full year, kind of picked up on a few more things, but I've been watching that McKenna a few times, yeah, and I'm like, that's like though you want to talk about bad body language. I'm like, what? This guy's a dog.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:24

And you're modeling that after what are you modeling that?

SPEAKER_02 1:05:28

Uh kind of through my career, kind of what I've seen. Um, you know, thankfully I know the identity of St. Louis team and played through it, which helped.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:37

Um or what you think it should be.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:40

Oh, yeah. Or what what we kind of, you know, we had a good stretch of hockey where we had a strong identity and guys kind of fought into that identity and um army of plans for for that, and um we're all kind of on the same page of the type of player we're looking for.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:58

That's what you gotta have. Years modeling, you could like I know for a fact that I sat a badge. I didn't have to see a number or name, all I had to do seem skate, and I could tell you who that was on any team just by the way they skate. But you are doing the same thing. I mean, I I can guarantee it, you may not know that, but in your head, you do you're watching these guys skate because you played so many, so many over so many years, you watch guys develop all the way up to free agency that you have this right. But your ability to see that you're modeling all that stuff upstairs, you may be consciously or subconsciously, but you know what a body language is. You can see the guy in the bench. You said mechanically, you speak in volumes because hey, yeah, not everybody may not recognize that. You recognize it, I recognize, but maybe the fan doesn't, but that's modeled after a career of watching this.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:46

Yeah, how many players are there that are like the same skill level talent? Yeah, just if you can find a way of pulling out a few of these intangibles at a young age, um, how bad a kid wants it.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:59

That's why you know you can I tell people you can stick your analytics up your ass. You can't tell a guy's heart through analytics.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:07

Or you could take a butcher and shove it up a cow's ass. Rather take his word for it.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:14

Well, I gotta tell you, thank you so much for coming. Uh, another great show, Tony. Dude, thanks for being here. I appreciate that history.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:23

You I got a little bad, that's strong.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:26

I tell young guys too. Like, if you get a chance to sit down with a guy that played in the 70s, 80s, 90s, do it and ask questions, and like they'll tell you the best stories you've ever heard. Oh, damn right. So if I could pass that a lot.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:39

You just did a baton passing. I hope the baton is passing. You have the ability to pass the baton. Carry it and pass as many times as you can.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:47

Now you've you've won it, now you get to help build another one. Good luck with that. Thanks, guys. All right, love it. Thank you for another episode, everybody. Thank you for tuning in from Window World Studio Sight and Cancer Center. Adios.