Latest / The Sean O'Connell Show / Between The Pipes: Adrian Denny on NHL season underway, Mammoth season opener tomorrow, Simashev and But on opening night roster + more

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Between The Pipes: Adrian Denny on NHL season underway, Mammoth season opener tomorrow, Simashev and But on opening night roster + more · The Sean O'Connell Show

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: You're listening to The Sean O'Connell Show, your source for
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the best youth football coverage. Here's O.C. from the Murdoch
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Hyundai Studio of ESPN 700 at 92.1 FM.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to The Sean O'Connell Show. Adrian Denny joins
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: us here in studio. Between the Pipes is back. brought
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  Speaker 2: to you by aladdin industries valley plumbing heating and cooling
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: our utah mammoth insider who you've been listening to on
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  Speaker 2: mammoth daily and other places already but now we get
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: it back here in studio with us we're excited about
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  Speaker 2: it adrian denny how are.
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  Speaker 3: You sean it's like i never left it's like i
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  Speaker 3: never left it's great to be back just just uh
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  Speaker 3: getting right in here and uh That's what it feels like.
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  Speaker 4: We never left. Yeah. It's good to be back, man.
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  Speaker 2: Chicago Blackhawks coming to the Delta center, a redesigned once again, refurbished,
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  Speaker 2: redone interior of the Delta center. Second time in two
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  Speaker 2: years that they pulled this thing off. I have yet
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  Speaker 2: to see it. I'm sure you have.
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  Speaker 4: What does it look like in there? Do you know what?
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  Speaker 3: We were the first ones back in the Delta center. Oh,
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  Speaker 3: see for hockey night, Utah on the radio. Okay.
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  Speaker 4: It's, we had to do preseason games. That's right. Preseason
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  Speaker 4: games were on the road.
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  Speaker 3: So our mountain blue radio studios for the first thing
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  Speaker 3: finished because we had to do preseason games. So being
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  Speaker 3: in there last week, as you had the, the, the
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  Speaker 3: workers working feverishly, I've never seen so many people inside
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  Speaker 3: the Delta center is on Tuesday night last week as
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  Speaker 3: they were hustling and bustling to, to finish everything. But,
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  Speaker 3: The terrace is impressive. The north side seating, it looks
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  Speaker 3: like a completely different arena. The gondolas that are overhanging
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  Speaker 3: over the east and west sides overlooking the center ice areas,
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  Speaker 3: that spells hockey.
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  Speaker 4: That's Madison Square Garden. That's Montreal.
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  Speaker 3: That's an exclamation point on a hockey building to have
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  Speaker 3: those which are available for fans, but press areas for
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  Speaker 3: the team's respective management, Chris Armstrong and Bill Armstrong have
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  Speaker 3: a new spot up there.
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  Speaker 4: So love it.
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  Speaker 3: I just love walking back in and seeing the latest
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  Speaker 3: and greatest from SEG.
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  Speaker 4: So really cool. They got it done.
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  Speaker 3: There's a lot of new food and beverage options to
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  Speaker 3: go along with great stuff already. So It was fun
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  Speaker 3: being back there on Saturday, got the open house tour
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  Speaker 3: on Friday, and then a little before that, the preseason games,
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  Speaker 3: we popped our heads in, and it's like, ah, it's
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  Speaker 3: a little bit of a chill in here. Are they
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  Speaker 3: putting the ice in and stuff like that?
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  Speaker 2: So I'm attending tomorrow night's game as a fan, very
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  Speaker 2: excited to do that, and experience the new Delta Center
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  Speaker 2: as a fan, and then, of course, we'll do it.
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  Speaker 2: as media members, as soon as we get the chance
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  Speaker 2: to do that as well. But this is another year
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  Speaker 2: where we came into, you know, this conversation this time
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  Speaker 2: last year, we were talking about the optimism and the
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  Speaker 2: high hopes and got to make the playoffs as playoffs
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  Speaker 2: are bust. And it felt like what we were hearing
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  Speaker 2: from the coaching staff, what we were hearing from management
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  Speaker 2: at that time was like, yeah, we're very capable of
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  Speaker 2: making the playoffs, but they were, they were, from the
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  Speaker 2: very beginning, tempering expectations. And I've, I've heard less of
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  Speaker 2: that this year. Now that might be me hearing less
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  Speaker 2: of it, or it might be them saying less of it,
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  Speaker 2: but it leads me to my question of internally. What
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  Speaker 2: are the expectations this year? Now that they made the
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  Speaker 2: playoffs last year, I imagine it's yes, absolutely. Playoffs are
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  Speaker 2: bust again, but now let's go win a series. What
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  Speaker 2: what's being shaped within the building. President of hockey operations.
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  Speaker 2: Chris Armstrong has said since our, closing media availability last year, like, look,
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  Speaker 2: we're disappointed how this ended. And you look at the series,
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  Speaker 2: and we've talked about it. You led in five games
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  Speaker 2: out of the six and lost the series in six.
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  Speaker 2: You led five of those games in the third period.
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  Speaker 2: So that's the first end of it.
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  Speaker 3: The second end of it is, okay, now we need
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  Speaker 3: to get back to the playoffs so we can pick
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  Speaker 3: up where they left off. And so there's been an
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  Speaker 3: emphasis on how hard it is to get back to
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  Speaker 3: the playoffs in the NHL last year from the year
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  Speaker 3: before only 10 of the 16 teams returned back to the,
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  Speaker 3: to the post season. And you look at the team
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  Speaker 3: with the best record in Winnipeg and the Stanley cup champion,
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  Speaker 3: Florida Panthers. They didn't, they didn't make it. A lot
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  Speaker 3: of that has to do with injuries, right? For a team,
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  Speaker 3: not making it back. So obviously you want to stay healthy,
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  Speaker 3: but you got to have that, that, internal hunger to
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  Speaker 3: not forget how you got to the playoffs last year.
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  Speaker 3: So that's, that's, that's kind of been the day to
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  Speaker 3: day is we, we just got to get back in
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  Speaker 3: and then we'll take it from there. Cause we can't
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  Speaker 3: take it. We can't take it for granted making the playoffs.
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  Speaker 3: Cause it's, it's, it's going to be hard to, to
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  Speaker 3: get back because you know, the teams we mentioned like,
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  Speaker 3: like Winnipeg, I think they'll be improved teams like San Jose. They're,
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  Speaker 3: Expecting to take the step that Utah took last year.
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  Speaker 4: And then, OC, you get to the playoffs. And you
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  Speaker 4: become the team that gets hot. Vegas. Carolina.
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  Speaker 3: Florida Panthers had their runs in a couple of seasons.
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  Speaker 3: But just get back to the playoffs. Unlike, you know,
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  Speaker 3: I remember when the Seattle Sonics blew that 2-0 first-round
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  Speaker 3: lead to Denver in 1994. And they lost the series
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  Speaker 3: in five. And George Carl said this is going to
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  Speaker 3: be the longest preseason in NBA history, 82 games, just
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  Speaker 3: to get to the playoffs. And the Mammoth aren't looking
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  Speaker 3: at it like that.
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  Speaker 4: Let's talk about the opening day roster.
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  Speaker 2: And there was some conversation about whether or not the
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  Speaker 2: crop of young stars that they're hoping will be a
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  Speaker 2: big part of eventual Stanley Cup runs, whether or not
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  Speaker 2: like a Tijaginla and a Danoye and some of those
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  Speaker 2: individuals were going to be ready for this season. All
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: those guys, of course, stated that their goal was to
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  Speaker 2: make the big league roster this year. It didn't happen,
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  Speaker 2: at least initially, as they were some of those young
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  Speaker 2: guys designated for assignment.
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  Speaker 1: But.
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  Speaker 2: You've got Simishev on the opening day roster. You've got
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  Speaker 2: Daniil Boot up here. And we'll get to some of
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  Speaker 2: the other fresh names. But those were young guys that
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  Speaker 2: were making this transition last year. And we saw both
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  Speaker 2: in the minors and on NHL ice a little bit
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  Speaker 2: last year. Where was the progress with those two individuals
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  Speaker 2: that made Coach Bear and company feel like, all right,
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  Speaker 2: now's the time.
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  Speaker 4: Let's put them on this thing from day one. Watching
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  Speaker 4: him in the preseason and be like, okay. They got it.
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  Speaker 4: They got it. It's it.
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  Speaker 3: And, you know, you watch preseason, you know. Like, it
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  Speaker 3: wasn't any surprise on any of the cuts that were
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  Speaker 3: made and on any of the guys that made the
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  Speaker 3: team from just watching the preseason.
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  Speaker 4: So, you know, you're like, oh, okay.
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  Speaker 3: Dmitry Simishev made the team last year and then started
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  Speaker 3: to get, you know, two, three months in and the
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  Speaker 3: day-to-day of being in the NHL.
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  Speaker 4: It's a lot.
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  Speaker 3: Um, went back down to the AHL. Danielle boot then
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  Speaker 3: got called up and he played, you know, close to
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  Speaker 3: half of the season. And, but they, at the end
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  Speaker 3: of the year, you're like, okay, they, they both split
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  Speaker 3: the year here. What's next. And then during the course
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  Speaker 3: of the summer, we were starting to hear, okay. Oh,
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  Speaker 3: Danielle boot. Oh, Dimitri Simishev. And then we watched the
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  Speaker 3: games and you can, it's the confidence. It's not, they
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  Speaker 3: were drafted. Sixth and 12th overall in the first round.
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  Speaker 3: They've got talent. They're smart guys. Daniil Boot's dad's a coach,
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  Speaker 3: and you can tell. But the confidence that they were
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  Speaker 3: playing with to actually go play to their abilities is
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  Speaker 3: the biggest thing. And when Daniil Boot was in Tucson
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  Speaker 3: last year, it was night and day difference to me
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  Speaker 3: in just his attack in the way he played, he'd
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  Speaker 3: shoot from anywhere.
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  Speaker 4: He score from anywhere.
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  Speaker 3: He, you know, he was making incredible plays and reading
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  Speaker 3: things just, you know, brilliantly, but it's not what we
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  Speaker 3: saw in Utah. And it was just, it's just confidence to, okay, I'm,
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  Speaker 3: I'm just as good as these guys.
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  Speaker 4: I can do it.
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  Speaker 3: And we saw that in the preseason from him and
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: we saw some swagger from, from Sima chef too. So
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: with the Noye and again, we're going down, you've got
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  Speaker 3: the case study of, oh, look what a difference a
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  Speaker 3: year made for Simishev and Boot in terms of confidence.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: And for Danoia and Aginla, Dylan Gunther got sent down
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  Speaker 3: at the end of training camp three years ago. And
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: it was a shock to him. And Dylan Gunther spent
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  Speaker 3: half of a season in the AHL less than a
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  Speaker 3: year before we got awarded that eight year contract in
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: training camp at 2024. So it's, it's not a punishment. It's,
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  Speaker 3: it's just something you do. 90% of the NHL play
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  Speaker 3: in the AHL. So it'll be good for those, those guys. Cause,
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  Speaker 3: cause the one advantage that Demetri Simashev and Daniel boot
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  Speaker 3: had was they played professionally in Russia and the KHL,
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  Speaker 3: which is pretty similar to the AHL. The Noyan again,
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  Speaker 3: let played in juniors and, It's great hockey. It's a
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: big deal. But you're playing against teenagers. Yeah, the bodies
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: are different. You're not playing against seasoned, grown men with
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  Speaker 3: their man strength. So there's going to be an adjustment
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: for any of these. And we see this in every sport.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: There was some photos put out earlier this year where
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: it was Will Anderson from the Houston Texans. And they
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: were like, this is why you have to have age
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: limits in professional leagues because Will Anderson was, of course,
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: like a freak of nature when he was a 19-year-old.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: Now Will Anderson is like 25 years old, and it's
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: a picture. It's a side-by-side of him when he first
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: got into the league versus now, and he looks like
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  Speaker 2: a different human being. So I'm trying to be patient
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: with these guys from the juniors. I know that the...
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: front office and the people who have been seasoned in hockey,
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: it's a little easier for them because they've seen this
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  Speaker 2: play itself out so many different times. But, you know,
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: these are young guys who I don't think we need
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: to get discouraged by any kind of delay here for
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: the points that you just made.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and the good thing about the collective bargaining agreement
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: in the NHL that went into place September 16th, it
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: allows 19-year-old first-round draft picks to play.
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: In the AHL. Before this year.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: They had to be in their birth year of turning
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: 20 to play in the AHL, or they'd have to
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: go back to Canadian Juniors if that's where they came from.
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: That was the agreement with the NHL and the Junior Leagues,
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: which didn't make any sense for the hockey development, but
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: that's what it was.
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  Speaker 4: And this year, you.
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: Can send a 19-year-old first-round pick in Caleb Denoyer to
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: your minor league team to start playing professionally versus back
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: to score three points a game in juniors, which is
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: what TJ Gimlin was doing last year. And, you know, wasn't,
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: wasn't the worst thing because again, one was recovering from
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: an injury. So that got him, you know, after the, the,
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: the hip surgeries to, you know, get back into the
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: swing of it.
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  Speaker 4: So that's, that's where those guys will be.
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  Speaker 3: And, and I'll see if, if there's a call up
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: between now and new year's, it's going to be, you know,
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  Speaker 3: probably one of your, your veteran guys, your guys that
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: have been up in the NHL before, that you're going
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: to call on first and let those guys get good
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  Speaker 3: and settled down in the AHL and play 30, 40
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: games and take it from there.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: Another name new to the roster this year, not one
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: of the young guys. He's 33 years old. Vincent Trocek is,
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: I think, a big acquisition for this team. And last year,
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  Speaker 2: 16 goals, 37 assists to total out for you math
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  Speaker 2: whizzes out there, 53 points. And, you know, his role
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  Speaker 2: on this mammoth team, have they figured out exactly what
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: it is yet?
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: He's going to play with Keller and Schmaltz. And head
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: coach Andre Turney's already given us, you know, the warning. Hey,
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: this might take five games. This might take 10 games
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  Speaker 3: for those guys to. to click Schmaltz and Keller have
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: been playing together for years and adding Trocek to it. It,
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: it might take him, you know, a couple of weeks to,
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  Speaker 3: to get settled and maybe not. He might have three
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  Speaker 3: points tomorrow night against Chicago, but there, there is a runway.
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  Speaker 3: There's a walk up. There's an understanding that the putting
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: him on that top line with, but those two guys
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  Speaker 3: that have been together forever and, you know, play a
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: little differently than, than what Trocek would be used to that,
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  Speaker 3: that it might just, it might take a little bit
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  Speaker 3: of time to click.
• 14:15
  Speaker 4: I think.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Weirdly, one of the more exciting names on the roster
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: for me is a guy that we won't see every night,
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: but Sebastian Kosa, who you needed some depth, you needed
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: a quality backup goaltender and everything I've been hearing is
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: is that they really like what he's done. Everything we've
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: been seeing is that this is probably something closer to
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: the production you're going to get from your starter, Karel Vemelka.
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  Speaker 2: Number 33 on the roster, number one in our hearts.
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  Speaker 4: How big is this addition for the Utah Mammoth, Adrian?
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they're really excited about it. They've been watching this
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  Speaker 3: guy for years because, number one, he was teammates with
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  Speaker 3: Dylan Gunther.
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: In junior.
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  Speaker 3: So as they did their work on what would be
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: a ninth overall pick, they're watching his goalie.
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  Speaker 4: They want to lead championship.
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  Speaker 3: And, you know, he's, he's got that NHL size and
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: he was drafted in the first round by Detroit. And
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: that's another story, but you know, you're thinking for the
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: last two years, okay, he's going to go up and
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: be the backup in Detroit. And they kept signing veterans
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: and he kept staying in, playing in the AHL and he's,
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: he's played one period of, of NHL hockey, but he
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: looked really good in the preseason, um, stopped 11 to
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: 12 against Colorado on the first game. And, and that,
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: that game against Vegas where we're the surprise, surprise Vegas
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: came back in the third period to win five, four
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: in overtime. When you taught a three, one lead going
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: to the third period at, Power play goal, six on
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: five goal, three on three goal. So it kind of
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: inflated his numbers a little bit. But going into that
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: third period again, second straight game of allowing just a
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: single goal. But he's a big goalie that Utah's been
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: watching for years. And his name was thrown about for
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: teams that needed a starting goalie. You heard Edmonton in
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: conversation for him, which is another completely different story, but
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: teams that, that needed a starter, you heard Sebastian Cosa is,
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: is a guy that, that they were, you know, rumored
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: to be after.
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: How much has this changed the ice time for the Melka?
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: I mean, in, in a perfect world, he played more
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: than every other goalie in the league last year. So
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: you're probably, he likes that he's a workhorse, but, How
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: much does this allow for a little bit of rest,
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: a little bit of flexibility with making sure you keep
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: him fresh?
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: Last year it started, he was playing three out of
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: every four games, which equates to actually what he ended
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: up playing. I think if you're two out of every
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: three games for Vimalca, which would put him at just
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: over 50 games and Kosa just over 30 games. You're,
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: you're comfortable with what you're getting from the, the backup goalie.
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: And you're not stressing when it's a pretty big game.
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: Got to go with Fumelka. Cause we're in a playoff chase,
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: but you know, we'll see what the numbers are. Like
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: Kosa could be the backup and have a better say
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: percentage and, We'll see. But the biggest thing I think
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: for Kosa is the confidence that the team already has
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: in him. Bears brought that up. Like when you, when
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: you believe in your goalie, just, just changes everything. Cause
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: you're not, you're not looking in the back here, your head, you're,
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: you're just playing. You're not thinking, Oh boy, if I
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: turn this puck over, it's in the back of the net. So,
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: The confidence, I think, is the dynamic we talked about
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: with Boot and Simishev. And for Utah, it's off to
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: a pretty good start with their new backup goalie.
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: Adrian Denny, for a few more minutes here.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: Between the Pipes, brought to you by our friends at
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Aladdin Industries and Valley Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling. Talking all
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: things Utah Mammoths as they get their season started tomorrow
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: night against the Chicago Blackhawks. You and I talked about
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: this many times. during our visits last year and we'll
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: do it again on the first one this year because
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: since our last show together, we had a couple more
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: contract extension signed around the NHL that continued to highlight
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: how well Bill Armstrong and company have done in getting
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: good bargains, signing incredibly productive players at team friendly deals
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: and Leo Carlson extended with Anaheim five years, $ 90 million,
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: $ 18 million a year. I think Anaheim actually did okay
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: with Carter Gaultier because it seemed like maybe they were
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: going to have to pay more for him than they
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: ended up. But that's still $ 13. 25 million per year. These
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: are more expensive contracts than any of the Cooleys and
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: Kellers and Gunthers and all these guys that have been
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: so huge for for the Utah mammoth. And that of
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: course lends itself to further flexibility, uh, continuing to tweak
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: the roster and hopefully make this sustainable for the longterm.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: And I think if you talk to, to bill Armstrong,
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: the GM or Chris Armstrong, the president of business operations,
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: they'd throw the compliments back to the players for signing
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: those longterm deals and committing to the organization and while
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: understanding that if you take all of the pizza then
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: there's not a lot of pizza left for your teammates
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: around you and you know you want to win a
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: stanley cup so you know the more pizza to go
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: around the better so i i think i think the
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: mammoth or you know giving stick taps to to their
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: players like next small to sign before he went to
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: free agency like logan cooley and dylan gunther sign well
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: ahead of their contracts expiring july first on back-to-back years
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: keller has two years left but those guys would say
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: yeah well look at it here who wouldn't who wouldn't
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: want to be here we have everything that that we
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: need and we love it here. We want to be
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: here and let's go win a championship. So kudos to
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: everybody involved. Bill Armstrong always, you know, applaud his assistant
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: general manager, David Ludwig, who's the numbers guy, the capologist for,
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: for making everything work and making everything fit and having
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: everything planned out. But I think some, some pretty good
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: relationships and connections, you know, from the players to the
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: management and everybody coming together to, to, to collectively get
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: those deals done and keeping all those guys here long-term
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: and still keeping some pizza leftover for some, some stuff
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: down the road when, when you're eyeing that, that cup
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: and right in the window.
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: So Chicago Blackhawks to start the season and then you
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: go on the road for a little bit and then
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: you come back toward the end of the month, but
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: focusing on opening night at the Delta center tomorrow night, uh,
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: What should fans, people expect from this first matchup?
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: Chicago played last night in Vegas. They lost.
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: I'm not as concerned about Utah opening up a team
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: that's already played in a home opener as I was
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: last year when the Mammoth opened the season in Colorado
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: for the home opener for the Avs when they'd already
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: played in LA. I thought that was just a huge
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: uphill challenge. And of course, it's the NHL, so the
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: game finished 2-1. But Um, you know, the Delta centers
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: pushed Utah, uh, and it's in pretty good spots in
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: their home openers. And again, it's the NHL, everything's close,
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: but I think you look at, at the electricity in
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: the arena for big event nights, like an opening night
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: of the first playoff game. And you can say that
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: the atmosphere kind of pushed the team along in both
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: opening nights against, uh, Chicago two years ago against Calgary
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: last year, Utah just kind of took the momentum and
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: ran with it. They've scored three straight goals in both
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: home openers. Both home openers have been one goal games
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: in the third period, but they've been able to push it.
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: So expect a close game and expect the Delta center
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: to push it over the top. Cause that's just how
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: things go in salt Lake. When, when there's magic in
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: the air on an opening night or, first playoff game or,
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: or big games. That's it's just the importance of the,
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: of the home ice advantage.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: Obviously we'll, we'll revise our opinions on this next question
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: as the season progresses and we learn a little bit more.
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: But.
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: Where's the greatest mobility in the NHL this year, either
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: up or down from a team standpoint, who improves the most,
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: maybe who's going to have a down year.
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: San Jose is the trendy pick, right? I think they
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: might struggle because of questions on their blue line with
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: their defensemen and their goaltending. So San Jose is trendy, right? They,
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: they were in the mix until the last couple of
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: weeks last year, kind of like Utah was the year before.
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: I think the team to watch out for in the
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: central division is Winnipeg. They had the best record in
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: the NHL two years ago. Last year, they're, soon-to-be gold
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: medalist in between the pipes, Connor Hellebuck, got hurt in November.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: They got off to a 7-2 start. They were ticketed again,
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: and then he got hurt, and then he came back
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: and wasn't quite the same, and they finished 500. But
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: this year, Hellebuck's not there, OC, because he has a
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: trade request submitted. Winnipeg has not made a move, so
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: he's not there. But they did sign Stuart Skinner, in
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: the off season, who is a goalie that was a
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: part of Edmonton going to back to back Stanley cup finals.
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: And he's going to carry the load. And I, I think,
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: I think he's fine. He was an Edmonton boy. It
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: was really unfair to him. I thought how the blame
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: was placed on him because he, Gosh, if you watched
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: Edmonton-Vancouver last night, you see how they hang their goalies
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: out to dry, no matter who it is. But they
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: shipped him off in a hastily constructed trade to Pittsburgh,
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: and their goaltending situation got worse. So I say watch
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: out for Winnipeg, two years removed from having the best
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: record and then missing the playoffs. Washington might be the
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: only other team in the NHL that you could compare
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: to Utah in terms of off-seasons. Getting Alex Tuck from
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: Buffalo was a big move, and they made some others.
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: So Washington might shoot back to the top after missing
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: the playoffs last year. I don't think you can say Colorado, Minnesota,
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: and Dallas, three teams ahead of Utah in the division,
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: got better.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: They all had subtractions.
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: Minnesota had to go out and hastily construct a trade
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: with Calgary when the Mammoth traded for Vincent Trocek and
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: signed Anders Lee because they wanted both of them.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: How sincere was the flirtation with bringing Hellebuck to Salt
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: Lake City?
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: Utah's going to be brought up in everything. Utah's going
• 26:36
  Speaker 3: to be brought up because they've got cap space.
• 26:42
  Speaker 4: It's a desirable location. Great ownership.
• 26:46
  Speaker 3: So Utah's going to be talked about for everything, Bill
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: Armstrong is going to say it's my job to make
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: calls on everything. It's my job to improve the team
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: no matter what. So they call on everybody. Sure. It's
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: just a matter of can you make a deal that
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: makes sense, that's not going to, you know, not compromise
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: anything and not take anything for the future out of
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: this because they want this to be something that just
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: keeps– recycling itself in terms of good team playoffs. Let's
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: make a run and win it. Like this isn't a
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: one year window to your window five year. This is okay.
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: We want to do this every single year. So those
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: are the things they got, you know, to, to juggle. And, um,
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: you know, Winnipeg isn't parting ways with him, you know,
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: for anything. And I think that's great because I think
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: every time a guy requests a trade, Quinn Hughes, as
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: an example, teams fold their tents and just get the
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: deal done. So for me, kudos to Kevin Shevelday off
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: former Utah Grizzlies assistant coach, the GM of Winnipeg and
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: the Detroit Red Wings who have another trade request from
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: a team USA gold medalist and Dylan Larkin, who was
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: their captain. They've taken that off. He is going to play,
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: but they haven't given those guys away. They haven't folded
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: their tents and, I really admire him for that because, gosh,
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: looking at some of these deals, you get Quinn Hughes,
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: Brady Kachuk.
• 28:21
  Speaker 4: I'm like, seriously? Yeah. Could you not have done something better? Well,
• 28:29
  Speaker 4: I actually think it's interesting, too, because.
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: You could probably get away with that in the NHL
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: in a way that you can't in other pro sports
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: leagues because of the culture of hockey. Because in like
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: a case with Larkin, even if he doesn't want to
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: be there, he's going to be a professional and maybe
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: you don't get the best, best, best, best version of him,
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: but it's not really acceptable in hockey to sit down
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: and pout. And that that's totally okay in basketball. That's
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: totally okay in pro football. Like guys do that. And
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: their peers around the league, maybe behind the scenes are
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: criticizing them, but to their face, they're just like, yeah, man,
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: do what's best for you.
• 29:09
  Speaker 4: Get your money, get your whatever.
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: It feels like in hockey, uh, there's more of a,
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: an expectation that like, even if you're not a hundred
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: percent happy, you're still a hockey player.
• 29:17
  Speaker 4: So you're going to play some hockey for us.
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: And that's, I think that gives the teams a little
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: bit more of a leg to stand on if that's accurate.
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah. And Connor Hellebuck's not in camp with Winnipeg. He's
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: not going to start the season with them is he's
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: got his trade request in and, you know, his teammates with,
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: with Winnipeg have said, Hey, look, he comes better be
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: all in.
• 29:38
  Speaker 4: That's it.
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: Like, there's no we'll welcome him back with open arms
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: if he would just please come. It's like, well, if
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: he's serious about it and he wants to be a
• 29:46
  Speaker 3: Winnipeg Jet, come on in.
• 29:49
  Speaker 4: You know? Yeah. Fascinating stuff. All right. I'll see you
• 29:55
  Speaker 4: out there tomorrow night, I guess. Can't wait, man. Stop by.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: Mammoth hockey is back, baby. I know you've been champing
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: at the bit for this for months now. Oh, this
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: is it.
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: Last night watching the NHL was like, oh, this is
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: so much fun.
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: Adrian Denny's a Ute. He's also our Mammoth Insider. Brought
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: to you by our friends at Aladdin Industries in Utah
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: in Valley Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling.
• 30:18
  Speaker 4: Adrian, good to see you. Thanks, OC. Great to be back, man.
• 30:20
  Speaker 4: It's like I never left. I feel like I never left.