The Mask & The Mic
The Mask & The Mic brings together two longtime voices from the sports world for real conversation beyond the game. Former NHL goaltender and Original Mighty Duck Guy Hebert and veteran broadcaster Kent French sit down to talk sports, entertainment, and life with honesty, humor, and perspective. From stories behind the scenes to conversations with athletes, entertainers, and influential voices, this is a space where experience meets curiosity — and where the talk continues after the final whistle.
The Mask & The Mic
Chris Pronger | Earned
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Stanley Cup Champion. NHL Hall of Famer. Leader. And now — author.
On this episode of The Mask & The Mic, Guy Hebert and Kent French sit down with hockey legend Chris Pronger to talk about his new book Earned, releasing April 14th — and the deeper story behind the success.
Chris shares what inspired him to write Earned and why this isn’t a book about championships or accolades — but about the struggles, setbacks, and moments of self-doubt that shaped who he became. From the highs of winning the Stanley Cup to the internal battles that tested his resilience, Chris opens up about the journey that built his mindset and leadership.
Now a motivational speaker, Chris is focused on helping others bet on themselves, take risks, and pursue their goals — whether in sports, business, or life.
This conversation goes beyond hockey. It’s about earning your path, embracing adversity, and becoming who you’re meant to be.
Hi, this is Guy A Bear, former NHL gold tender, and this is the Mask in the Mike. And you know what? I'm the mask. He's the Mike. And boy, are you guys gonna be shocked at the guest that we're gonna have on our podcast today? That's gonna be fun. And there's he's gonna sit right in the seat right here.
SPEAKER_02He's not here right now. Yes, but he will be here soon. Stanley Cup Champion, Hall of Famer, now author. We are talking about the Chris Pronger. We'll be joining us, talking about uh his new book, Earned, which comes out on April the 14th. Make sure I get that. It's gonna be uh it's gonna be fun. Whenever you have Chris in the room, you know it's gonna be uh very entertaining. So uh hopefully you enjoy the podcast and Gebo.
SPEAKER_05And good for us.
SPEAKER_02Welcome everybody to another edition of The Mask and the Mic. Kent French, Guy Bear, and Chris Pronger joining the program. We are on location. We had to go find him and make this happen.
SPEAKER_05He has the uh yeah, we teased him. We have to go to and he doesn't come to us. We were efforting.
SPEAKER_02We teased a guest and we were like, we're gonna have a very special guest, but we didn't know if we're gonna be able to find said special guest.
SPEAKER_01Cracked me down.
SPEAKER_05There's a crack in his window of all the things he's doing for uh, I guess a promotion of some sort.
SPEAKER_02Well, and truth be told, I thought the promotion was already out. Yeah, apparently. You want sale numbers. I wanted sale numbers. Thank you for that. Right on the previous one. We could get pre-sale numbers. Yes, we could get pre-sale numbers. Currently at zero. Let's get things talked about. Let's talk about earned. Yes. Let's talk about earned here as we sit in an undisclosed location in Anaheim in a in a conference room.
SPEAKER_01Here maybe a park of sorts. With with ears. Yes.
SPEAKER_02Ears are popular. Earned. Author. Chris Pronger amongst your many accolades. Has it digested that you were now an author?
SPEAKER_01Probably not till it officially launches and people read it and you start getting the feedback that you may or may not want.
SPEAKER_00You know, there's a lot of people that like me. There's a lot of people that don't like me.
SPEAKER_01Well, I mean, as long as they read the book and they have an opinion one way or the other, then that really doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_02Is this officially a junket? Are we a media junket right now? Because you're on the case. You're part of it.
SPEAKER_01You're kind of officially in-house is part of it.
SPEAKER_02You're part of a book tour right now, right? You're kind of rolling around.
SPEAKER_01Kind of rolling it out. I was in uh well, obviously, Amazon Prime. I was in Denver. We did a nice little hit on the on the book. Uh here, up in LA, uh, was in where was I? In Philly. I was in Philly, then I was in I was in Edmonton earlier in the uh then I was in New York. Uh yeah, I just kind of been bouncing around. And I have a big uh promo launch next week when it uh comes out April 14th. So 13th, I'm actually doing blues TV. Okay. Actually, sorry, let me back that up. The 11th, I'm doing Hockey Dank Canada.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01The uh 13th, I'm doing uh Blues TV. Then I'm doing an event with the blues on book launch day and obviously doing a bunch of media stuff, and then all the rest of the week I'm doing a couple events, some book signings, and some other things that uh hopefully people will kind of come on to. We'd be doing journeying.
SPEAKER_05I'm looking at the cover of the book, and you know, he's in a former blue.
SPEAKER_01If I won that in St. Louis, maybe the cover would have been that. But yeah, this is true. This is true. I didn't.
SPEAKER_02But you were at Honda Center.
SPEAKER_01I was at Honda Center last night. Uh actually shocking how that works. Hey, the ducks picked that game. I gave them two options today against the Flames and yesterday against uh the the Blues, and they chose the Friday night.
SPEAKER_02So when we read earned, I'm not a reader, just so you know. But I will it's gonna be book book on tape.
SPEAKER_01Now, do you guys know You were behind a mic? Your voice. Yes. Do you know who did the forward?
SPEAKER_02Uh Sean Pronger. Temu Solani.
SPEAKER_01And I got him to read the audiobook part no way for the forward.
SPEAKER_05No one is ever gonna be able to understand a word of that. We're gonna have the forward done in the world. Because we know how Tamu speaks English, right? I mean Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I don't know if you realize, but it knows how to interview him a lot. A lot.
SPEAKER_04An awful lot. Oh God. Hey, sorry, Temu, by the way. Yes, yeah. I hope I still get that.
SPEAKER_02Well, here's the irony of that, Chris Pronger, is as you sit here and stare at the scar on my forehead. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Talking about that, by the way.
SPEAKER_02I had a running with a dermatologist. That's what happened. Thank you. Yes. Absolutely, yes. I'm I'm worn. I'm worn. Um, Mr. Solani gave you a scar into the board into the board in the old boy.
SPEAKER_01It sealed up much better than yours. And I do show that picture in the book.
SPEAKER_05You do?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_05You know what I'm talking about? It's the only hit he ever emits, right? I mean, literally. Pretty edge. Yeah, pretty much.
SPEAKER_01Barely looks like it's from behind. Barely. I mean, needless to say, that uh you know, has never come up.
SPEAKER_02No. It's so funny. You were so pissed off, and rightfully so. And then and then all of a sudden you end up getting traded and cruise over there, and here we go. It's unbelievable.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's that's the hockey world. Exactly. Your enemy one day is your best, you know, best friend the next day. Because it does happen probably way too much.
SPEAKER_01Well, we all and we turn the page quickly. Yeah. Literally. Yes. Now we're turning it figuratively.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So tell me about earned. What what will we find in this book?
SPEAKER_01Uh it is a, as I like to say, it's part memoir, part life lessons gleaned from my early years, my career, and then post-playing days. And uh it's a playbook of sorts that uh kind of walks people through how to accept and own, take ownership of decisions, betting on yourself, uh, and then putting in the work and earning every opportunity you get. And along the way, talking about setting standards and what that means and what those non-negotiables should should look like. Adversity, how we need to lean into it. You know, I'm a firm believer throughout the course of my career. Adversity has been a gift, and that's where I've made my most growth biggest moves and and uh most growth that I've had in my career and in my life has been through adversity. Uh getting traded to hear from Edmonton is in the book. Uh, you know, there's obviously uh a big part of the book uh from Edmonton to Anaheim and obviously winning the Stanley Cup and what that meant, uh getting another kick at it and you know, life lessons along the way. And you know, you have to really understand with respect to earned uh you have to understand opportunities only come along so often. You have to make sure you're prepared, you're putting in the work, and investing in yourself and and what that looks like.
SPEAKER_05I mean, honestly, like you talk to anybody who's been able to be successful, probably in any walk of life, not just athletics, is you never know when you're gonna get a second chance. Yeah and if you were not, I mean, I'm glad you said that because I mean I lived looking for one chance, and I knew if I could be good or play or perform at a high level during that one chance, then that opens the door to maybe another chance. Yep. Uh, unfortunately, in the in the world that's pro sports or sports in general, as you're trying to go from one level to the next, is that if you don't take advantage of that, and and diversity is part of that too. Sometimes you do, you fall flat on your face and you fail, and then you know, you can either you know go away quietly or you can kind of say, Okay, whatever happened here can't happen again, and I need to improve to be able to get if I'm lucky enough to get another chance. So I I mean I love the fact that you've brought that up. And um, you know, I know a lot of people always say, like, hey, when athletes write a book, like I want to hear about some of the fun stories, you know, the stories behind the scenes. And uh, are there any stories like that in the book that I mean, don't share them now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, no, there's there's uh, you know, I get real in the book. There's a lot of uh peeling back the onion layers, if you will, and exposing myself, not in that way, Kent. Yeah. Uh, but talking about you know difficult stories and difficult moments throughout plan career, post-planned career. Uh, a lot of the stories that are in here you can't Google, so it's not one of those books that oh, why didn't they? I could have just Googled the whole thing and and read up on all the different occurrences and experiences and and moments in somebody's life. And so uh a lot of these uh stories that are in the book are not googlable, they're all up here in the vault, and and moments that I've kind of kept secret to my, you know, the people that were a part of those stories. And uh really the the book is more just about me, my journey, the path I took. Uh, you know, it's funny, listening to Connor Hellebuck talk this year after winning the gold medal, you know, people were shocked that he never played AAA. I talk about in the book. I never played AAA, I played high school hockey, which, as you guys know, in Canada is not really the chosen path of many. But I chose to do it for various reasons. I talk about them in the book, and you know, I was gonna go to college and chose not to. And and as I tell my kids, we don't play the what if game. Like, what if I didn't do this? If you play the what if game, everything else after that moment is gonna change. And so last night at the game, I got asked, well, you know, what if you didn't go to Edmonton? What if you didn't ask for a trade? Well, I'm like, well, then I'm not here. I'm not winning a cup. You know, every everything after that changes. And so uh the narrative probably around me changes. You know, maybe I don't win a cup, maybe I go somewhere else and we don't have a good enough team. You know, you play that and then I'm not regarded as maybe uh a great leader. Maybe all those questions and assumptions and things that uh the media scrutiny that uh you know was going on in St. Louis when I was there, maybe that continues throughout the course of the rest of my career, like we've seen other guys uh deal with. So um, you know, the the narrative that uh playing the what if, if I don't go this and do this, everything else is gonna be the same is you know, I think a falsehood.
SPEAKER_02Why was it important for you to put all this stuff up in your head, like you said, the stuff that you can't Google? Why was it important for you to put it in a book?
SPEAKER_01Well, I think people have to they if they're gonna read a playbook of sorts or they you're trying to impart some wisdom on them, they need to know why. What have you done in your life that why should I listen to you? The credibility factor. Yeah, credibility, and I think if people understand and see that you're being real and raw with them about different moments I talk about in the book two and a half years ago, I quit drinking. And why did I do that? And how has that given me the clarity to begin kind of reimagining my life and building a speaking platform and getting into broadcasting and writing a book and all those things? So it just you know, I talk about all those things in the book that I hope resonates with people and has an impact on people, and they're able to level up and be a difference maker in their own lives.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, uh it's funny because you know, I think all of us have those stories. And we're sometimes not brave enough to decide we want to share those stories. And again, that's like you know, great credit to yourself of being like, hey, I'm gonna open up my life to people, uh, not just for like for you or whatever, but it's gonna hopefully make other people understand that whatever they're going through, yeah. Um good and bad, uh, challenges on the ice, off the ice, or whatever, that they can, you know, either face it and you know, find a way to fix whatever's broken, or uh make themselves or someone else in their their lives better. And and it is, it's funny because you know, uh it's funny you said you went to high school played high school hockey, you didn't play triple A. So I I I I didn't go to prep school. I stayed at my local, like little small private, uh all Catholic military high school. And you know, then I was gonna go division one and wasn't a great fit. And then I'm like, I can go to this division two school, get a great education. Yeah, still gonna keep the dream alive of going to the NHL, right? That's just what I want to do. I don't know how I'm getting there, but yeah, I'm just gonna go and play. And so, like a lot of people just don't know what we've all been through and what our journey's been. And I don't want to steal it from your brother, Sean, of course. You know, I'm not a journeyman. It's all it's all connected, it's all part of the plug. Yeah, it's it's it's another plug for a pronger right there. But uh it is, it's funny because I think we all have very unique journeys getting to where we've been able to get to and achieve the goals that we have. And I think it is really great to share those journeys with people. Um, and very I mean, earned is perfect wording for the title of your book because it takes so much effort for us, and I'll just speak generally about or specifically about professional hockey, to get to the NHL level and then have success at that level. I mean, the stuff that you have to do, the people and the things you have to block out. Yeah, um, like I look back now and and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. It's like uh so my college, Hamilton College, just won the NCAA Division III national championship. She was plug. She was plug. Well done, fellas. Yes, well done. Yeah, it's the shout out to Hamilton College once again. Yes, um took 13 minutes to get there. That's you know, hey, you know, I mean, when it's your own podcast, you can scare everything over whatever you want. But I don't even know what I was gonna say because I'm just so happy about Hamilton winning. Um but yeah, I mean I think it's just that fact that you know, uh having kids, you know, kind of grow up dreaming the dream and the effort that it takes to get there and that the effort it takes to stay there. Like, I just uh I guess my point is is that like I blocked out so much. Like people are like, Well, did you do this when you played? Did you do that? Did you give back to your college? Did you keep in contact with them? Did you do all this other stuff? And I'm like, I I didn't. Like I just had blinders on.
SPEAKER_01Because my job focused on my job.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and I'm like, I I feel bad that maybe I didn't wasn't more aware. Yeah, but for me to be successful, I that that's what I felt like I had to do. And then when I was retired and done and the game was over, then I felt like I could open up to you know all those things that I had had personally had to block out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I I I walk through, we're all on our own unique journey, our own path. Yours is different than mine, mine's different than his. It's just too often we look at, especially in sports, youth sports especially specifically, everybody's looking at a path that person took, and that's the right path. No, everybody my brother played triple A hockey and he was on a bus and he's traveling 10, 14 hours. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to, you know, I'm 14 years old playing high school hockey in grade nine against guys that are got beards and you know they're 19, 20 years old and they've come back from various junior opportunities and things. Like, they were good players for that, you know. I'm 14, I'm playing against 19, 20 year olds. I'm like, man, these guys are good. You know, and then it's about challenging yourself and throughout the course of the book. I'm like, you have to challenge yourself, you have to put yourself, push yourself. If you're not facing adversity, you're not challenging yourself to get to that next level.
SPEAKER_02Is there some therapy in this book for you to kind of deal with some things you you mentioned even the when you stop drinking and certain things? I know you st you dealt with some some injuries along the way that have affected you. Like, are those some of the things you kind of go through?
SPEAKER_01Does that kind of help you? Yeah, I I dig into them. I, you know, I think it's a little cathartic to kind of put it on paper and and put it, but I I wrote the book to really have an impact on people and hope they I think too often to Gee's point, we don't talk about things that are negative. You know, I wanted to show that listen, I've had a lot of success. And I talk about, you know, I always people always they see the rings and the championships and the trophies and all the good stuff and all the awards. They always forget where you started.
SPEAKER_06Yep.
SPEAKER_01And you know, I talk about getting booed in Hartford and getting booed in St. Louis and you know, how the despair and the darkness and the depression, and just how am I gonna get out of this? And you know, the woe is me. And I talk about it. You know, I had to get rid of the victimhood mentality, I had to set standards, and once I did that, things started to go on a better trajectory. But you know, they think, oh, it was easy. Oh, look at look at how big you are. And I'm like, well, there's plenty of big guys that play hockey that don't amount to nothing. That's true. And so you try to explain that to people, they don't want to hear it. I'm like, well, but then what do you think they have? Victimhood mentality, it's somebody else's fault. And until you take ownership of your life, of your career, and really invest in it and say, what are you willing to do? We hear people talk about I want to be the greatest. Okay, what are you doing about it? How how much are you willing to sacrifice? What how dedicated are you? How hard do you work? And all you start looking at all these things, and you're like, you know, I I talk about like I heard Michael Phelps talk, he's like, for 12 straight years, 365 days a year, he was in the pool. Christmas in the pool, like birthday in the pool, like everything. That's how dedicated he was to be the best. It was him against him, always looking to try to level up and beat his score and beat his time. And so when you have that dedication, that fo single-minded focus of I am gonna be undenied, you're you're gonna amount to a lot.
SPEAKER_02When did you decide you wanted to share this message of motivation and to motivate other people? Because obviously the book is a compliment to what you're doing on stage throughout the country, throughout the world, really, as an international speaker. But being on stage, corporations, whatever it is, you are there telling your story. When did that become important to you to be able to do that and motivate other people to be great?
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, I think after it was kind of, believe it or not, after COVID, I'm sure everybody's in the same boat. I was hitting it pretty hard. As most people were. I think we can all say COVID was not good for us. Yeah. Uh on any number of fronts. And, you know, it just kind of spilled over into my everyday life, where it just became a habit. It wasn't like I had to do it. It's just that's what I did. It just kind of became a habit. And that, you know, I talk about it in the book, like the habits and the discipline that we have and the consistency with which we do that is what's going to tell the story and how dedicated we are to making a difference and being better at whatever, whether it's public speaking and getting out there and getting the reps and doing it, whether it's writing a book, whether it's doing broadcasting, whether it's playing hockey, you know, whether it's running a business, whatever it is. Um you have to understand the discipline that it takes and the habits you have to get into and do them every single day. And it it becomes uh a function of your life. And you if you don't do something, you feel like you're oh my god, you feel like you're missing something. What am I missing? What did I not do today? And and it it starts to feel awkward. And so we talk about that a lot in the book, and and really as I looked at it, once I stopped drinking, I kind of had a clarity moment of what do I want to do and what impact can I have on people. And um started really kind of look back at my career in a different way. Okay, you know, you're yeah, you have success and all the different stuff. You start looking back, not in a what-if way, but thinking back on all those moments where I had a decision to make. You know, after you know, I went through my roller coaster ride in Hartford and St. Louis, it was more like, okay, once I figured it out, what about these other decisions? Once I figured out how to play the game and then play it at a high level, you know, what was what were the mistakes that I made and and what was the reasoning behind it? And not that I was trying to change them, but think about what messaging could I use to kind of tell other people about it and and how they could learn from my mistakes, my wins, my losses, and and really kind of dig into that a little bit more. And I a friend of mine is a performance coach, and uh he's I just ran into him one day and he's like, Man, you'd be really good at this. You should get into public speaking. And I'd been asked to go do different talks and things over the years, and would kind of go in, not that I was unprepared, but there was no real messaging.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Go in, tell some stories as you say, and just tell it talk about the game and talk about all funny locker room stories and all the rest of that. But they're not walking out of there with a tangible something they could implement in their lives that's gonna make their lives better. You know, they're having a laugh and then they wake up tomorrow and they're like, what do I do? And so as I kind of sat down to kind of put these speeches together and figure out what kind of impact I could have with them, then I started to see a framework for a book. And uh, and then I started kind of digging into it a little bit more, and as I made the speeches, I'm like, okay, this is the start of a book, and then I need to put some of these stories to kind of that tells the story of you know what people can do to level up and be difference makers.
SPEAKER_05Um I question because I I think this is everybody can take something uh from this book. That's what I'm getting. Can't wait to read it. Um but you know, as a as a former player, right, that there's a day that we realize or someone is telling us it's over, right? Uh hey, thanks for for what you did or thanks for nothing, and now you all of a sudden are moving on into retirement or whatever the next phase is, right? You're retiring from the game. Uh I I think for for most guys, uh, if not all of us, it's the lack of structure, right? You you know, I got to get up at this time in the morning because I got to get to the rink. I got to get the rink at this time because I gotta stretch. I've got to do this before I get ready to get on the ice. And so, like your day, as you know, like our days are planned out by somebody else for us, and we just follow that schedule, uh, whether it's practice day, game day, or even if it's a day off, it's like a scheduled day off. And it's like, okay, well, but you need treatment, so you gotta go and see the trainer for treatment on your day off. Uh, and I think when we retire, there's that you you kind of lose a sense of yourself, right? Because all of a sudden you don't know what to do. No one's telling you what to do. Or it's like I remember like I gotta book my own. Flight? Yeah. I'm like, how do I book an airplane airplane ticket? Right. It's like, oh, there's no buffers. I'm like, what?
SPEAKER_04I'm like, where's my car? Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And and so it it's a seriously, like it's a rude awakening to reality of like, uh what next? And so I mean, I I do, I think it I'm I'm getting that like this book is gonna help a lot of people just understand that like, you know, it's not just athletes retiring and then like uh what do I do now? It's just everybody on every walk of life who has a change in their lifestyle that is like, okay, well, what what do I do next and how can I prepare myself? And I think, you know, I mean, the history of of a lot of sports is that we get done, you know, hopefully we got a little bit of money in the bank, and in a transition to something else, it's uh there's trouble, right? Um there's pitfalls because you know it's a lack of identity. You lose your identity of being, you know, uh you know, Chris Pronger, Guilla Bear, whoever, and you're like, okay, well, how do I, you know, do I reimagine myself? Do I reinvent myself? Do I stay in my same lane as you know, this is what I know, this is what I love, is hockey, I want to stay in it. Um but I think it's an interesting thing. I I I'd love to know, like, I like uh when you give these talks, like is it geared more toward the athlete or is it 50-50 with anybody else in the business world? I mean, is it I mean how is it how does this matter? Like when people are calling and saying we'd love to have you speak, you know, what groups are are contacting you?
SPEAKER_01Uh you know, I think you what you're talking about is finding a purpose afterwards. And and the book kind of digs into that is you know, how did it how did I find purpose? You know, where you you think you want to do something and it's always been in your head that oh that I'm gonna be great at this, and you go down that path, you're like, I'm not feeling it. And then you're like, what do I do now? And so that's the part in the book where it challenges you to you to really think about what you're doing, how to do it at a high level, but is it the right thing for you? And are you passionate about it? And are you it's not if you're good at it, it's can you be good at it and and how good can you be at it? And so to answer your your point, you know, I'll come in and I'll talk to small leadership teams and we'll talk about culture and team building and that type of you know, adversity and all the rest of that pressure. And then, you know, I'll talk to sales teams and bigger, bigger groups, and there'll be, you know, six or seven hundred people in the room. Um, or I'll talk to a conference and there'll be twelve hundred people in the room. And so it the messaging varies based on what the client wants. And you know, obviously it needs to be in my wheelhouse. You know, there's plenty of times where I'm like, you know, that's not I can't do that. You know, that's not in my wheelhouse. And so you have to be, you know, when you're being booked, you've got to be honest with the people and let them know, like, yeah, no, that I can't do that. What you're asking for is not something that I talk about or something that I do or something that I have unique insight into. Uh, you know, I think everything that is in the book, I'm a subject matter expert in because I've lived it my whole life. And so as I've dug into that, you know, I would like to think that as my career has gone on, I've learned by watching other great leaders and people uh, you know, play, you know, obviously Scotty here in Anaheim, um, you know, Steve Eiserman and Mary Lemu and Gretzky, and you know, you go through the list of guys that I've been fortunate enough to play with. Um, you can learn an awful lot if you're a sponge in a locker room and and on the ice and and all the rest of that. So you're able to kind of see and then get into management and kind of see what it looks like. And you know, so for me it's it's really more just about making an impact with people as they read it. You know, what direction are they looking at? Are they you know trying to be better leaders? Are they trying to find new purpose to your point? You know, where are they in their own unique journey? You know, which is why I start with that, the path that you're on and how it's your path, not somebody else's, not your parents, if you're a youth hockey player, it's your path. How do you want to play hockey? Do you like playing hockey? Do you like going to school? What it what it whatever that is, and and try to get them to then dig into that and then you know, go all in and and you know, own your decisions and and own kind of what you're doing.
SPEAKER_02Do you open it up to Q ⁇ A and some of the unreal things? And what are some of the that being said, then what are some of the really questions that impacted you, that you've gotten that really have gone, wow, I I have touched somebody because of the question that they're asking me.
SPEAKER_01Yes. It's funny. Sometimes you're like, I'm as I'm looking at the crowd and I'm talking to them and you're making eye contact with somebody and you don't know if they're really like not on the edge of your seat, but they're sitting there looking at you like this, and and I'm like, oh shit, do I have the room? And then and then you're done, and you're well, and then like I always do the QA in the middle of my speech. Good. I don't like to end on it. Yeah. And so I you know, start my talk. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna pause here and we'll do a little QA and you know, we'll start with the questions. And you know, you can tell by the first couple questions, you know, quickly the hands go up, or they're like, hey, well, I heard you say this, and they start getting into it. Now they're like engaged. Everybody else in the room is now, oh, well, that was a great question.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And you see them start getting engaged, and then you're like, okay, this is going good. And because they're asking good questions about what you're talking about, not who is your favorite player growing up. Yes. That's kind of what I was like, yes, exactly. Once moments like that happen when I'm in the room, I just start my talk again. Like once I lose their train of thought with respect to what we're talking about.
SPEAKER_02Once fandom shows up.
SPEAKER_01Correct. And and typically it doesn't, to be honest with you, because they know I'm there to talk about the book, it's not a sports book. It in you know, it's it's it has sports stories in it, but it's more than that. So it's not your typical sports is your vehicle of how you got it.
SPEAKER_02Sports, my career. Thank you. Yeah, actually that's a great vehicle. You can use that later.
SPEAKER_01Not the vehicle he was looking for. Nope. Dude, where's my car? Yeah. Dude. But uh no, so it it is a vehicle in a sort in a sense that you know, as a and then you know, it's a supplement to what I talk about. A lot of the stuff is in the book, and they're able to then there's a you know, there's guidelines and stuff in the book, and you know, I've got some cool giveaways and different things that you know I walk through. Like I have a Q cool QR code on my that I'll be putting on my website afterward that walks through like all my contracts and walks through my trade tree. You know, where that just people that are interested in seeing all that stuff, I mean it's all public. Yeah, so I don't care. And you know, I'll put you know, put the trade tree and you see all the different trades uh that I was a part of. And going back to the draft. So my draft year, Berkey traded, you know, he had to acquire Sergei Makarov and you know, whatever. Then he had to move him plus draft picks to move up in the draft to get me. Uh so there's all kinds of things like that that I put in there that that are uh kind of interesting.
SPEAKER_05Are you still under contract?
SPEAKER_00No, I have well contract with who?
SPEAKER_05Bobby Beneade. I think it was Phidley, but then it was Phoenix or something.
SPEAKER_00If only that was true. I would love for that to still be true.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna lose this. No, the last, I think the last guy of all of those deals is Kerry Price. This is his last year for of those contracts. Yeah, and and and Ryan Ellis, I believe, is going off this year, too. That's the last of those guys that are kind of like cap-friendly to get you to the floor and and all the rest of that. So now these teams that were utilizing us, the us players that are retired, our contracts to kind of get to the floor. Now like they have to get real players, spend real money on players to then go out and uh fill out their rosters and get to the floor. So it'll be uh be interesting. Uh, I think we're gonna see with the cap going up, I think we're gonna see guys start pushing up.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Bruz Galoff was getting was on that still getting paid. Yeah, but he's on their cap in a buyout.
SPEAKER_01There's some buyouts that are still going out, but yeah, contracts that are getting Ricky DPHR, yeah, right?
SPEAKER_02He's still getting paid. Yeah, it's crazy. Um, you're talking about journeys. It's post hockey filling, it's almost like prongs, like even you, Gibo and anyone, you're kind of filling a void. I mean, you you were go, go, go, go, go, and then all of a sudden, as you mentioned, you kind of put the brakes on, you're done. What do you do next? I know you went player safety, you went the Panthers for a minute, and the front office. I mean, you have the whiskey, the book, motivational speaking. You had a travel company with your wife. I still do. I still do. But you, I mean, Chris Pronger, the brand, is this gigantic umbrella, and there's so much underneath it. How do you like having all those different things kind of going at the same time?
SPEAKER_01I think you try to, you know, I think you have to try different things without wasting your money. You know, like there's a there's a line where, you know, like I didn't invest much money. That whisk the the the journey whiskey that did with my brother was just brought to us and we thought we'd try it, didn't work out, and so be it. But I didn't invest money into the deal other than the legal, yeah. You know, making sure all the paperwork was right. Um, you know, the the travel company is still going. My wife's running that, it's doing very well. Uh, she's now building a you know a super well community underneath that that um you know will be really cool. And I think she's she's doing an amazing job with that. And then, you know, obviously now I've got the book and the speaking and the you know, I've been asked to do a podcast. It's as you guys know, it's a lot of work. Yeah, and it's hard. Like, A, getting guests, but then filling time and trying to what do you what are you gonna talk about? What niche are you gonna fill? And so um I like being guests, yeah. Right now, yeah, right now, yes, uh, but yeah, there's always things you're looking at. Um you never know, like stuff pops up, but uh you know, I'm enjoying what I'm doing right now. It's it's fulfilling and it's making an impact on people. And as I said, if one person buys the book, they read it, and it makes a difference in their lives, then I'm glad I wrote the book.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, I I keep going back in my own mind to the fact that you know when you when you play, you think it's lasting forever and then it ends, and if you're lucky it's in your 30s. And you're young. For me, it's 34. Yeah, right. You kind of feel like you're I I mean, I joked about it with my my buddies as I got older. It was like, hey, when I retired, I mean, mentally I kind of felt like I was in my mid-50s, right? I worked my ass off, I played whatever, and it was finally time to retire. And then I woke up one day and realized I have like a three-year-old daughter, and I'm like, I got a lot of bills to pay for the next, you know, hundred years, and you know, oh my god. There's so I do. I think there's this notion of us like you kind of you fulfill that you know dream, you retire, and then you realize that you've got at least half of a life to live. And then what do you do with that next chapter of your life? And I mean, I do. I think it's filling your day with something that you're passionate about because we spent so much energy being passionate about really one thing. Yeah. And then um, like I mean, honestly, like I commend you for like just tinkering and trying all these things. Like you never know what's going on. Do that. I'll be, you know, whatever, director of player safety, see how that is, and be like, yeah, we got a lot of I got I have a lot of knowledge about that, by the way. I was working like put the uh put the biggest criminal in you know in charge of the uh correctional society.
SPEAKER_02I thought that was fantastic when he gets you know player safety. I'm like, oh my god, no one knows it better than prompts. You know, I mean you know, you know you think stay in your lane, yeah.
SPEAKER_05That's right, for sure. Yeah, but it is. I mean, I think I think it's great. It's a great lesson for for all of us. I mean, you know, I mean, I won't say how old I am, but I'm in my later 50s, and it's still I'm trying, you know, it's like, hey, friends, you're like, we should do a podcast. I'm like, yeah, we should do a podcast. Why wouldn't we try a podcast? Like if it works, great. If it doesn't, we had a great time doing it, you know, get some laps, reconnect with some fun people, and that's right. So be it.
SPEAKER_02So well, what if you mentioned that earlier? I mean, it's like, if not now, when, right? That's kind of how I try to live my life.
SPEAKER_01By the way, that also is in the book. Like, don't wait. No, like, what are you waiting for? Yeah. I I get like we're always worried about failing. Guess what? You're gonna fail. Yeah, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_02At something. If you're not failing, you're not trying. You've heard that before, right?
SPEAKER_01If you don't face adversity, you're not challenging yourself. Right, right. So there's always this, like, we get scared of failing. You're like, who cares? Like, get over yourself. There's a word called fine. Nobody cares.
SPEAKER_02Fine's not a good word. I'm fine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. We've heard that before.
SPEAKER_02How are you doing?
SPEAKER_00Fine. Fine. Fine. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00It's code. Should I dig into that further?
SPEAKER_02Oh, it's it's a loaded answer. What is that all about? Yeah. Um, you know, we when you talk about motivation and you mentioned some some players, but is there a guy that that resonates with you that you played with that motivated you, that was the guy? And and whether it be just through actions or through words or through both?
SPEAKER_01Uh with respect to like a mentor or anything.
SPEAKER_02Hockey, it could it could be hockey, it could be someone you grew up with.
SPEAKER_01Um I mean, as it relates to hockey, I always just loved playing. Like it just was a passion of mine. I just, you know, we played every day, my brother and I. We were in the base, we were in the basement, in the driveway, playing road hockey, up at the outdoor rink, or practicing at the real rink. Like every day, all winter long, and in where we are from Canada. That's a long winter. So wait a long time to do that. But then after that, and I try to tell parents, I try to tell kids, I played baseball. I golfed. I was a kid, and I rode my bike, and I went to the beach and I did all the fun stuff and we farted around. And then I played uh volleyball in high school, and then I played badminton, and then I like I did everything known to man that I could.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Just to a number one, be an athlete because I enjoyed it, but also because it was you you shouldn't sports specialize at a young age. It's just ridiculous that we actually talk about this with seven and eight-year-olds.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and no, and nobody listens to like, I mean, our generation or even any any generation.
SPEAKER_01Well, they have FOMO and they're like, but everybody's doing it. I go, again, let me go back to earned. Uh just because everybody's doing it doesn't mean it's right. And and you you start walking through the who are the best athletes to ever play a sport. You know, we hear this stupid goat conversation all the time. I don't think people realize what greatest, not greatest, greatest of all time. That's one person. It's not a bunch of people. You know, some of the some of the great, if we were gonna talk greats, not the greatest, but the greats of sport, Bo Jackson, multi-sport athlete. Deion Sanders, multi-sport athlete, Michael Jordan, multi-sport athlete. Wayne Gretzky, multi-sport athlete, great, a great lacrosse player. Like you go through all these things and you're like, why are we being sport specific? Like, why at such a young age? It doesn't make sense. Don't we want to learn all the other attributes that these games have for us? And so, and your body needs a break, frankly, from hockey. It's not a natural movement. So I always try to tell parents, I try to tell kids, like, you have to take a break. And also it reinvigorates you when you come back. Like, I want to learn, I want to be more of a sponge, I want to understand the game.
SPEAKER_05You're fresh looking at, like, oh, hey, it's a new season. I can, you know. Uh and it is, I mean, I know we all get on our soapbox of uh of sorts to tell parents that, but honestly, I think, you know, it's the age of social media and all this stuff where you know, contracts, you know, you like, oh, this baseball player just signed for yeah, you were we just did it on our podcast, right? Guy who's never thrown a pitch, never even shown up in a major league baseball uniform, signs a guaranteed$95 million contract. That's right. Right? So I I didn't even hear about this. Frenchie's like, hey, there's this guy, he's with uh, and you have all the info. I can remember the guy.
SPEAKER_02Seattle Mariners, and yeah, you're right. And he's uh I don't think he's got maybe he's played triple Friday or whatever. And they is guaranteed money,$95 million, and he hasn't hasn't played a big league inning. And they're just but you talk about the the money and everything that's involved now, the salary cap not having one, the work stoppage half- all the stuff, all the stuff that could happen or whatever it is.
SPEAKER_01Is he by chance a Boris client?
SPEAKER_02You know what? There's a probably good chance he is. Probably a pretty damn good chance he is. But you even in SoCal, too. I mean, you mentioned in Canada, but baseball here, 365, yeah, you know, and that's what you play all the time because you want to get noticed, you want to go to the right club, the right clinical. You gotta go to all these camps, the camps and whatever it is. Hoops, same way. I mean, in any sport, you can go down the list.
SPEAKER_05The trap is that you feel like as a parent you want to do the best thing for your kid, give them the best opportunity. And so you're like, well, I gotta put him in this, this, this, or her in this, this, this, and this. You know, but the allure of the money that is possible, I think people are pushing the chips in as parents, right? They are mortgaging homes and they are, I mean, they are putting it on the line. And of course, now that there's NIL that gets into college sports, where I mean, you don't even have to look at making it to a pro level. Like, if you could be a great Well, look at that.
SPEAKER_01Carson Beck that went to Miami from Georgia, made six million bucks. Yeah. Like, hello.
SPEAKER_02Now they're trying to stay six and seven years, don't want eligibility and stick around.
SPEAKER_05But I mean, I I'm trying to get some NIL money back from Hamilton.
SPEAKER_01I'm getting my postgraduate degree, and I'm getting my the study of leisure.
SPEAKER_05I don't even know. I think Carson Beck, I don't even know if he was still taking classes. Like there was something like he was registered as a student, but didn't take classes. But I guess that's the trap of whatever, and it is. It's great to hear also that, you know. I get on my soapbox, dude. Yeah, let kids be kids and they'll be better for it.
SPEAKER_01Well, you think about it, especially in today's age, these kids have to grow up so fast with social media and all the rest of it. Like now we're taking their child, like it's getting younger and younger and younger where it feels like a job, yeah, where it's like an investment, as opposed to uh but we just go get a sweat, come away with a slushy and whatever, and let these kids enjoy it and be uh be a good team. Learn how to be a good teammate, learn how to socialize with people and all the rest of that stuff.
SPEAKER_02Without giving too much away from the book, obviously, because April 14th yes, releases is when it comes to the masses.
SPEAKER_01I got the you can purchase it, by the way, just so you know.
SPEAKER_02We're gonna say this over and over at the end, too. Say it isn't it? Tell everybody!
SPEAKER_01Yes, uh, just so you know, April 14th releases go to Amazon.com. You can also go to Chrispronger.com to buy the book. There's links and stuff, but also uh events page where you can see where I'm doing book signings and all the rest of the stuff.
SPEAKER_02Did you write it with anyone?
SPEAKER_01You just you I I had somebody help me with punctuation, polish it. I had somebody help me polish it. Periods and yes, all those things. This thing was fantastic.
SPEAKER_02That's fantastic. Um I wanted to ask you when people read your book or when you were on stage, both, are there some specific hockey stories that impacted you, whether beyond the ice, and we had fun earlier in this podcast talking about Temu and the Olympics and fun things like that? Yeah, are there stories that you relate and some go-to stories that you that were very impactful moments in the game that were impactful that you share with people?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I talk a lot about when I was booed and just the weight of expectations and pressure and and how that changes you, how that hardens you, and how that can make or break you. You know, we talk about quitting. You know, it's a lot of times you're like, do I really want to endure this again? Like, do I really want to be here? And then it's a matter of, well, how good do you want to be? How great do you want to be? Do you want to challenge yourself? It's not it's not easy. Like I you you you all you hear that all the time, but getting to the top and being successful is not easy. There is gonna be a lot of pain and suffering, there's a lot of strife, there's a lot of heartache, there's a lot of failure, a lot of loss. And so you try to impart that on people and get them to understand like when you set a lofty goal, there's gonna be some heartache and failure along the way, but are you willing to endure that and push through it to get to that area?
SPEAKER_02Is there one moment, those those hard moments that you that you could share that you remember? I mean, when coming after you.
SPEAKER_01I remember, you know, specifically in St. Louis, it was probably like game 12-ish, 10-12, where I went out for a face-off, and it just a chorus of boos came raining down, and I'm like, what? And they're just booing me because I'm on the ice. And I'm like, I'm sorry, you're not even booing the other team, you're booing me. And I'm just like, well, this sucks. And then after that game, I go, I'm going to my car. You know, we used to they used to park like in public parking. So I go out to my truck, this guy's waiting there to tell me I suck. And I'm like, you know what? I sat there for a second, I'm like, you know, I'm just crushed, just got booed the whole game, you know, just it worked. And I'm defeated and I'm depressed, and I'm just this is not going well. This is not what I was expecting. And I go into my truck and that happens, and I sat there for a second, and I'm like, I kind of took it, and then I'm like, you know what? This is not right. And I'm like, Do you have a problem? I'm like, you got a problem, let's go. I'm not dealing with this crap no more. And the guy, of course, was like, uh, you know, and left. And I'm like, yeah, that's what I thought. Thank you. Thank you for that. Uh and then, you know, just that moment times 10, you know, moments like that would happen, and I'm just like, this is not good. And then ultimately I went and saw a sports psychologist that Mike Keenan gave me this guy's number. Went and saw him, and you know, he just kind of challenged me to look at my preparation, challenged my mental outlook, like you know, I had a victimhood mentality. It was always the fans' fault. It was always Mike Keenan screaming at me's fault. It was always somebody else's fault. And he's like, You gotta look at yourself and take ownership of your career and your life and uh set standards and have an understanding that life's not fair and life's not easy, but you have to you you are the only one that can handle this situation and lean into it. And it will be uncomfortable and it won't always be easy, but uh if you can get past this part and you know, the outlook on the other side of that is gonna be good. Not great yet, but it's gonna be good, and you're gonna get past this low point. And I was as far down in the depths of despair as you might imagine. And so getting through that really kind of anything else after that moment, you know, wrist injury, thinking about retiring, knee injury, back injury, you know, all the different things, you know, the Edmonton Sug and all these different things that happened were nothing compared to that moment. That hardened me, that gave me the grit and resilience that I needed for all those other moments. For losing a game seven at Edmonton in the Stanley Cup finals, and then coming back to Anaheim and having an opportunity to win it again. Um, you know, it it prepared me and challenged me to look at things differently and be a sponge to learn from your teammates, the coaches, the people in your life that are there to kind of support you and be a part of your life.
SPEAKER_05Well, I I I want to this that's such great stuff. And and what I I bet most people don't know is how old you were. I should say how young you were. Yes, turning pro, right?
SPEAKER_0118. So when I started to get booed, I was 18, turning 19. Then my second year in in Hartford, I was 19, turning 20. And then my third year in St. Louis when it all came crashing down. I was 20, turning 21 as soon as the season started. And uh, and funny enough, uh John Hamm was at the game last night and I did a podcast with him and Joe Bach, who were very young. You know, Joe was in his infancy of his career in 1995 when I got to St. Louis, and John Hamm was actually a bartender at a restaurant bar I used to frequent uh after games and you know after practice. And uh, you know, he vividly remembers me coming in and like sitting at the end of the bar by myself many a day and night, you know, and he's you know serving up cervasa and like I'm trying to trying to find myself somewhere at the bottom of that beer or whatever, and just uh they were not easy days, but um you know, as you look back and you talk about writing the book, as you look back and you put pen to paper or keyboard to whatever uh computer, when you put that on paper and you start to understand just the the magnitude of those moments and what how those actually helped mold and shape your character and who you are, not only as a player, but as a person. And you can understand kind of what could have been or or might have been had you quit or had you gone a different direction. Um it's it's pretty uh you know, I think people really enjoy the book.
SPEAKER_02I I often wonder too, it's that gladiator mentality, and both of you can speak to this, but you know, you are these athletes, you're not a person to a lot of people. And the way that you're treated as such, you're just you're an object, you're uh you're an entertainment piece. Vehicle vehicle. Vehicle. I'm gonna get t-shirt. What's your vehicle? Yeah, who's your vehicle? Who's your who's your vehicle? But it it and it now Prongs and Gibo two both. I can't imagine playing in this day and age with social media and the way that the bullies and the cyber bullying and all this stuff happens, and you see it. But you don't I don't think people understand more people.
SPEAKER_05They're way more brave. Like I give the guy who's standing by your truck calling you out in St. Louis, because I used to park in the same lot when I played in the blues, and it was I mean, there's no security, there's no nothing. You just come walking out. There's people everywhere, whatever. It's free for all. And but now, like anybody can say anything from anywhere. And true, not true, but people are way more brave when they don't have to walk up to you physically and say, Hey, you know what, you suck tonight.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yes, I know. Thank you.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, but yeah, I I mean I I I would not enjoy it. I mean, I remember uh some some cage veterans uh in St. Louis when I first started, were like, hey kid, don't open the St. Louis post dispatch tomorrow morning. Yeah, you know if you played well, you know if you didn't play well, you don't need to read it, you know, whatever. So my advice is just don't read anything. And so I mean now it's almost impossible. Yeah, right?
SPEAKER_01If Hey, did you see no, I didn't know when you handle the media, obviously.
SPEAKER_02I mean, there's their point too, is we it was kind of bring this to a close. I remember, you know, obviously, uh when you came on to Anaheim, got to cover you and watch you work a room. And it was fantastic, especially kind of like this and the sample size of it, this is small size.
SPEAKER_05This is a small sample size, but you had to just play against them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a completely different podcast. You had, you know, 40 people three, four deep around your stall, and just you know, and you you got to that point, and you really have to be able to handle people and be able to be thick skinned at that point and be able to go through the journey that you're talking about to get to that point and to handle it. Well, Anaheim is tame compared to Philly. I mean, there's completely different things there. But yeah, just to be able to do that, and probably Edmonton. And Edmonton is another story as well. Yeah. Yeah. That's and I not Hartford. Hartford current?
SPEAKER_00They were too busy at UConn.
SPEAKER_02Well, I will tell the story. I this is my favorite Chris Pronker story for me, though. I always I always like to tell people is like we're it's the finals. I don't know what game it is, it's after the game. Again, it's like 40 people around and whatever it is. And I'm I'm in the front. I get there early, and all these people around, and literally, I mean, you were throwing elbows just to keep your space. I mean, there's it's like a water pole player under the water, you don't know what's going on, you know. Over the top. And they're like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And Frog's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It's like, in-house, you go first, and it better be good. And like, everyone's like, who the heck? Who's this guy? Who's in this? Who is this guy? And I'm like, oh shit. I'm like, oh man, here I go. It was classic. So good stuff.
SPEAKER_01You know what? And that's the I try to tell it's the entertaining part. It's like you gotta have fun with it. Yes, they're gonna rip you. Like, you know, I tell people all the time when I went to Philly, I'm like, listen, I I met with them all, and I'm like, listen, let's get one thing straight. I'm here, I get whatever you got a job to do. I have a job to do, I've got to talk to you, but I also have to grow, build and grow the game and talk about the game and all the rest of that stuff. But I have two rules don't misquote me and don't lie. Anything other than that, I really don't care. I'm not gonna read your article, anyways. You know, to his point, like I'm not reading the paper, I'm not reading about it. Somebody might bring it to my attention and say, hey, you need to read this. Because it might not be accurate. And yeah, did you really say this? So and I'll give them credit. They, you know, they they ripped me plenty of times, but and probably rightfully so. At times, you know, we didn't always play great, you know, and we're not perfect, we're gonna have bad games. But uh, you know, when they do that, they have a lot of respect that you're you know, I talked every single day. Always. Um you know, one one day, one day I remember Zach Hiller Pierre guy goes, Hey, uh, it's a light day today. Take the day off. Like, oh thanks, Zach. I'm like, is it because it's an off day and there's nobody here that I get the day off? But no, it was uh you know, you gotta you and you have to give nuggets like, oh good Lord will, and we're gonna play better. Like, who's gonna write that? Like, you gotta give the media something to write about. And they all can't get one-on-ones. So you have to give them something they can run with, otherwise they're gonna make it up, you know, especially when there's a lot of them in the room.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, I mean, again, great advice in veterans, and hopefully veterans are still giving the younger guys great advice. But someone gave me advice is like, hey kid, they're gonna write something, so you might as well tell them whatever you want to tell them. It doesn't even have to be like the answer. No, so they could say, hey, don't answer the premise of the question. And you like you can just start talking about anything you want to talk about, they just have to fill that paper because that's their job. So, like, you give them quotes of whatever, like hey, you know what? I didn't play very well, but I want to talk about my defense, like what a great job they did. And or, hey, we got some great titles.
SPEAKER_01Bone crusher, Bobby Dallas was phenomenal.
SPEAKER_05Oh, like the bone crusher. Every once in a while I deliver I choose to deliver a bone crushing hit at center heights. And here it comes. Merely to excite the crowd. It is a it is a quote by the bone crusher. Well, it's fantastic.
SPEAKER_02Um, the book is earned April 14th. April 14th features Temu Stelani. The foreword written.
SPEAKER_00If you read the foreword, it is written by Temu Solani and voiced.
SPEAKER_01And the audio the audio book will be voiced by me and Temu Solani reading his foreword. It's so good.
SPEAKER_00It's English, it will be in English. English.
SPEAKER_02Finlish. Um, so what's next right now for the for the book tour?
SPEAKER_01Uh uh back up to LA and then uh home. Uh then I'm going to Toronto for some book stuff and TV, and then uh back to St. Louis, quick TV and a week of book stuff.
SPEAKER_02Before I let you go, though, I I did want to ask you, do you like the TV stuff?
SPEAKER_01Being the analyst on uh is it Prime Prime, uh, you know, hockey night a few times hockey night and then some blues telecasts. Uh uh yeah, I'm enjoying it. It's uh I I actually one of the things that I've noticed about doing national TV or you know, national TV is you get a better and even and even the local stuff, you get a better cross-section of the league.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, when you're playing, you're like you're focused on your team. When you work for a team, you're focused a lot on your team and and you know, stuff around. You get a really good understanding because you're talking to media people all over the place, and you're getting, hey, what's going on in Anaheim, hey, what's going on in LA, hey, what's going on in Florida, what's going on in Montreal, and you're getting all these little tidbits and understanding of kind of what what the hot button issues are in the marketplace, and what can you talk about, and what are people going to be interested in. And so that I've got a much better uh overarching view of kind of what's going on around the league. And that's been that's been pretty cool.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. Um thanks for joining us, man.
SPEAKER_00Thank you for the part of the nice tracking book tour and 14. I did not create that scarf.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I showed my photoshopped that out.
SPEAKER_02I am a witness. Let's Photoshop that off. Do you remember massive headwound hairy on Saturday Night Live? I showed my daughter that skit last time. That's your dad. That's what I did right there. Uh April 14th, the book comes out at Chrispunker.com. You can find it at Amazon.com. You can find the book. Thanks for joining us. And and don't forget about this podcast. We're gonna promote it. Promote it! The Mask and the Mic or The Mask the Mic YouTube channel or The Mask and the Mic and Instagram. And you can also find us at Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
SPEAKER_01Boom, boom, done it. Uh and then my social nomads.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, go find out where Chris Bronger and Dinner.
SPEAKER_00Chris Brugger.com and everything's on there. Beautiful. All right, man. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for having me, guys.
SPEAKER_02All right, thank you.