Latest / Predators Official Podcast / Big Juice and the Final Push feat. Justus Annunen

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Big Juice and the Final Push feat. Justus Annunen · Predators Official Podcast

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  It's the Predators official podcast here on ESPN 102.5, the
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  game streaming on Preds YouTube and a whole slew of other
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  podcasts hosting platforms. I'm Brooks Bratton of Nashville,
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  predators.com back with my friends Max Hurst from Fred's
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  radio and Kara Hammer with Fred's TV.
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  We record on the final day of March the 31st as Max was
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  reminding us off the air of the day.
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  Ron Swanson has all of his meetings for interview Parks and
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  Rec fans out there. And this is also the day that
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  the Predators had a good practice and they look ahead
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  because we are coming up on the stretch drive, just eight games
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  to go in the regular season. We will, of course, touch on
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  everything that is ahead for Nashville.
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  A massive trip out West coming up.
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  Yoakim Camel scored his first NHL goal, Ryan Johansson
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  returning to Smashville. We've got an interview with
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  Predators goaltender Eustace on them as well.
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  And guys, when we recorded a week ago, we said what a
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  difference a week makes, right? The president won five in a row.
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  They were sitting pretty. We can also say now what a
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  difference a week makes. 3 losses for Nashville.
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  They're still in a playoff spot, but Max Cara.
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  This is going to be a heck of a stretch here to see if the Preds
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  can find themselves in postseason contention in the
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  middle of April as we get going. That's exactly right, Brooks.
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  And I think on our last recording, you were already
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  eyeing the West Coast swing, the Preds are about to go on.
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  And you said, hey, that might be the biggest road trip of the
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  entire season. And we kind of looked at you
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  like, well, we'll, let's see what happens.
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  And then sure enough, here we are, Brooks talking about this
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  next few games on the road on the West Coast against teams
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  like LA. They're right in there.
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  This is going to be the biggest road trip of the season.
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  Yeah, you got all the teams right around you.
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  The Kings are next in line, the Sharks have the games at hand to
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  pass you. So look, even after three
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  straight losses, this is still totally in the Predators hands
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  the rest of the way. If you win these head to head
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  games on the road, you're in the driver's seat and only one team
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  out of A5 team race separated by 4 points is going to make it in.
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  And the Preds have the power to make it them if they can win on
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  the road. Well, it is just fascinating how
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  it is coming down to this. I mean, I remember when the
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  schedule came out, looking at it, not sitting here saying,
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  boy, that's going to be a big one.
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  But you look at this road trip and just the month of April in
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  general, because once you get home, it's Minnesota, it's San
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  Jose again, it's Anaheim again. And you kind of looked at it and
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  thought, wow, if some things shake out the way that could
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  certainly happen, what a month of April that's going to be.
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  And that's exactly what we have right here right now for the
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  Nashville Predators. They've seen their playoff
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  percentages fall, of course, having lost 3, three in a row.
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  But as you guys just mentioned, this trip is going to decide the
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  fate of the season, I believe. Now, when you come home, of
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  course, those three are probably going to matter too, depending
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  on what happens over the next 10 days or so.
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  But you touched on it, Kara, the Preds are going to play Los
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  Angeles, San Jose, then back to Los Angeles, which is huge, then
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  Anaheim and then Utah, who sits just right above the Predators
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  in that first wild card spot in the West.
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  And then again, you come home and have three, but particularly
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  those two against LA starting on Thursday.
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  It doesn't get much bigger than that in the regular season.
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  And I love what Andrew Burnett said after practice on Tuesday,
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  that drive into the rink. This is what you want.
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  It's springtime, the weather's nice out and you've got
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  meaningful hockey games coming up and especially 2 against the
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  Kings, Cara. That's going to be a lot of fun.
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  Little, little bit stressful maybe.
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  But also again, this is what this is the position that you
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  want to be in at this time of the year.
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  Yeah, I mean, the preds still control their own destiny, and
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  you kind of hope that going on the road is a positive thing for
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  them. I mean, they showed success at
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  home on the weekend prior, big wins over Vegas and Seattle.
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  But now you kind of hope, hey, there, there's no outside
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  distractions, You're on the road every night.
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  You need to find a way to pick up two points if you want to
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  find a way to play in the postseason, Max.
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  I mean, you were around the guys today.
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  Both of you were out at practice.
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  And it feels like they found a way to work on some things, and
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  they're kind of looking forward to this next stretch.
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  Yeah, three days in between games I think is a big blessing
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  for the Preds they had played. Let me check my notes here. 9
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  games in 15 days over the last two weeks starting three Sundays
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  ago in Edmonton. That is crazy. 9 games with just
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  six days without a game. And some of those off days
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  included travel too. So a really busy stretch.
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  You get 3 whole days to reset. The Preds won't be on the ice
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  Monday nor Wednesday. Tuesday they had one of the
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  longest practices of the season. They were on the ice as a group
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  for an hour and 10 minutes. Some of the players were on the
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  ice for almost 2 hours at the end of practice, a group led by
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  Ryan O'Reilly out there at the end.
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  It was a lot of ice time and I think it was what the team
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  needed. They were refreshed.
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  The energy was high. And this is something, Brooks,
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  that your playoff percentages from stupidpuck.com do not take
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  into account. Vibes were high.
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  They do not put vibes in the playoff percentages.
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  Jonathan Marshall was tackling everyone.
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  Everyone was tackling Jonathan Marshall, which is not out of
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  the ordinary. But yeah, vibes are really high.
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  And I think the preds understand where they're at.
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  They're having a lot of fun and they know that even after three
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  straight regulation losses, which took some wind out of the
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  sails for sure, they do still control their own fate.
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  So I I think everything we saw at practice was reassuring.
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  I think it was a good practice hockey wise, too.
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  So I'll toss it off to Brooks to to tell us what he thought about
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  Tuesday. Yeah, totally agree, Max.
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  It's, you know, you could look at it one way.
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  You're feeling totally different when you lose on Sunday evening
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  in Tampa. You're thinking, Oh my gosh,
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  we've lost three in a row. We're sitting there, other teams
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  are catching up, getting points elsewhere, and you look at it
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  from a different perspective. But you come home, you have a
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  nice day off on Monday and you get back to the rink on Tuesday
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  and you're viewing it totally different.
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  I, I think that, you know, it's tough to lose 3 in a row,
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  especially at this juncture of the season.
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  You never want to lose 3 in a row regardless.
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  But right now, when you need as many points any way you can get
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  them, it's tough to take those results.
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  But again, when you get back to the rink and you say, you know
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  what, if you would have told us, and I think this is a sentiment
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  that a lot of the guys have right now, that if you would
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  have told this team in October or November, considering the way
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  things started out, that come April first, you're going to be
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  right in the thick of things and you're going to head to
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  California with your fate in your own hands, you would have
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  taken that 100% of the time, 110% of the time.
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  So there's a reason for the vibes to be up.
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  And I think at this part of the year, again, it's as a player,
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  this is what you want to be doing.
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  Yeah, sure. Would it be nice to be at the
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  top of the conference or the top of the league sitting pretty?
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  Of course. But I think there's also
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  something to be said for playing games like this when you're
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  trying to get into the playoffs. I think sometimes you see some
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  of those teams at the top and, you know, they, it might be a
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  little bit of a cakewalk, A leisurely stroll into the
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  playoffs. I I think it matters if if
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  Nashville is able to find their way in the fact that you are
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  having such meaningful game, such high stakes games.
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  Andrew Burnett said again on Tuesday that, look, we're
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  playing playoff games already. It might not say it on the
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  schedule, but these are playoff games for us.
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  And when you can hopefully go into it with that experience, it
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  just makes you all the better. So there's a lot of positivity
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  as as there should be right now. But again, you're going to
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  California, you got five games on the road, come home for three
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  and see what happens and, and go out and again, have have fun.
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  I think that's there's a balance of that too.
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  And, and saying that, yes, there's there's pressure,
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  there's stress. These are important games, but
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  also this is what you want. Go out and have some fun with it
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  and and don't take it too seriously.
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  Don't grip the stick too hard. And Max, we really saw that
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  again, guys having fun at practice.
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  I think Matthew Wood, but I felt like had the practice of his
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  life. We were marveling at some of his
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  goals. Ozzie Wise black tackling John
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  Marcia. So Jonathan Marcia, so tackling
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  everybody. And it's a good time of the
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  year. It's a fun time of the year.
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  And and I just think that this is what you want.
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  If again, if you would have said in November, hey, you're going
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  to have this in April, 100% you take it.
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  So that's the way that you look at this.
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  Absolutely, Cara. Yeah, and and I think you guys
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  can agree or or disagree, but looking at the stretch as we
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  touched on the the last three losses, it was really only that
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  Montreal game where the Preds looked like they were outplayed
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  during the full 60. I mean, the Thursday night game
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  against New Jersey, some questionable calls that kind of
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  changed the outcome of the game. But but I think that looking
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  forward to the road trip, all of these teams are almost in a
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  similar situation. We everybody's fighting,
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  everybody's in the playoff spot. People are playing with
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  different line mates in and out every night.
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  So a lot to come. But one thing the Preds have
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  going for them really good goaltending, and we're going to
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  hear from Eustis on and then coming up about that.
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  Yes we will. It's Big Juice.
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  Coming up next on The POP. You are listening to ESPN1O25
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  The game and watching on Preds YouTube.
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  Welcome back to the Predators official podcast here on ESPF
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  1O25 The game and Nashville Predators YouTube.
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  My name is Max Herz from Preds Radio along with Brooks.
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  Bratton from Nashville Predators dot.
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  Com And our player guest on this week's show, Predators goalie
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  Eustis Anandin is here. Big juice.
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  Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you.
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  We have chronicled the nickname evolvement of juice and Big
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  Juice here on the podcast. First it was juice and Big
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  Juice. Now this year it's Big Juice and
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  little Juice with a lot of variations.
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  Where do we stand on nicknames, and what's the best one you've
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  heard for either juice? Everybody has their own, but I
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  think it's right now it's still big juice and a little juice.
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  That's awesome. Well, you've got the fins.
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  Obviously, we've had a long history here in Nashville of a
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  couple of fins in that with you and UC Soros.
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  Now, of course, you've been here about a year and a half since
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  the trade from Colorado. But how have you and UC kind of
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  grown together over that time as as teammates and his friends?
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  Well, yeah, it's of course, it helps a lot when both guys are a
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  Phoenix and we're going to talk the same language in the locker
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  room and everywhere. Yeah, getting getting to know
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  more of each other every day, hide on and off the ice, trying
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  to look up for from him, like try to learn from him every day
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  and just trying to have a fun time.
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  What's something about UC sorrows that we don't know?
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  Juice. Stuff when I don't know, I don't
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  know. How do you guys know?
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  Or maybe a fun fact then? I don't know if I have any right
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  now. Fair.
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  Enough. OK, well, we do know that UC
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  Soros was excellent for Finland in the Olympics and Eric Halla
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  as well coming up with the bronze medal in February.
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  We know the the national pride that everybody feels for their
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  country come Olympic time. What was it like for you
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  watching a couple of Finnish teammates bring home a bronze
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  medal? Oh yeah, that's of course
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  awesome. It's kind of in the culture in
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  Finland. They already lost lost hockey
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  and it's a big, big thing in Finland, like trying to always
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  get something out of the tournament.
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  Yeah, Fund what's them and all the all the other guys too were
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  were known team. Predators goalie Eustis on and
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  is our guest here on the Predators Official Podcast.
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  At Eustis, there's a tangible role as the backup, playing
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  games, stopping pucks, and also the intangible role that you
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  feel very well. Is keeping UC Soros happy and
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  making him laugh all the time part of your job?
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  Yeah, I think so. Why?
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  What's up is keep him happy and blow when he doesn't want to
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  play it. So I it's it's it's my job.
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  I'm just trying to do my best to keep him comfortable, but at the
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  same time keep him on his toes. Yeah, I think, I think that's,
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  that's my, my, my, my job here. Last week there was a game that
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  Juice did want to play in but wasn't able to.
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  A big home game against the Kraken.
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  Soros pulled himself out of morning skate early.
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  You got the call to make a surprise start that day.
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  What was it like finding out in that moment that Juice had left
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  the ice and that you might play and then pretty quickly soon
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  after that you were going to play and delivering a big win
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  for the team? Yeah, it's, well, it's kind of
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  always happening, you know, always need to be prepared.
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  I was trying to do everything the same way every day and I was
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  trying to be ready when I get the call.
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  But yeah, we only have two guys here right now, so if another
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  one gets hurt, it means they don't miss a miss a play.
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  So that's trying to always be be ready.
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  Well, you just, we, we talked to a lot of your teammates after
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  that game and they just talked about it didn't really change
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  anything for them. They still got a ton of
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  confidence in you, whether it's you or Soros in there.
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  How nice is that to to just have the confidence of your teammates
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  that when you're in there, they know that they can trust you
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  back there and and you trust them in in front of you.
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  Well, yeah, of course, big part like they they can play the same
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  way whoever is in the net and has be comfortable and just do
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  what they do best. And like we have seen last last
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  bunch of games like they're what are playing very well.
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  So it's been fun, the fun the was they're they were helping me
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  a lot too from me and making my job easy.
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  Yeah, hopefully we can keep this thing going.
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  So one of the cool things that we realized when you were traded
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  here is you actually grew up in the same town as Pecorini, the
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  man with the statue out front of the building here.
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  How much did you know of him or watch him growing up?
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  And did you think about that at all when you got traded to
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  Nashville? Well, I was.
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  He was the guy who I was always looking up how very younger,
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  like he used to play a lot like national team games and always
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  were watching those. Like of course when he was
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  playing here, like couldn't really see any of the games that
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  are middle of the night. But yeah, always watching
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  highlights and always following how he is, how he was doing and
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  kind of when the year he retired, I came over here.
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  So it's kind of work out, kind of funny, funny way.
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  What's it like being on the ice with Pekka now at training camp
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  and having him be a member of the Preds goaltending staff,
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  evaluating your play and coaching you?
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  Well, yeah, he's one of the best goalers whoever played in this
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  league, so just trying to ask questions and and it's always
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  fun time around him too. He's a great guy and yeah, he's
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  trying to learn from him and just having a having a good
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  time. So, yeah, it's of course we have
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  similar background, so there's a little bit of connection there.
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  And yeah, so it's, it's awesome. Tell us about your hometown of
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  Kapele and playing for Carpot, where Pekka played two in the
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  Finnish league. What's it like in that part of
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  Finland and what's the hockey culture like there?
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  Well, it's, it's unreal. It's paradise.
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  So yeah, it's it's a small town. Everybody loves hockey there.
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  It's a bit, well, it's hockey's big thing everywhere in Finland,
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  but especially where I'm from. Just such a cool experience to
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  play from my hometown team too, you know, you need to move
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  anywhere. 15 minutes outside of Canberra and we were in the big
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  cities. Such a kind of dream come true
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  at that point in my career and just play, play in my hometown
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  with all my friends who I used to play when I was younger too.
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  So that's awesome experience. What's it like there in the
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  summer? I feel like we've heard some
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  legendary stories from maybe some of the Swedes when they go
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  home for the summer. What's it like in Finland and
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  during the offseason, in the summertime?
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  Well it's best time of the year for sure.
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  Like I'm from up north so we only basically see the sunlight.
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  The sun doesn't really set at any point, like maybe at August
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  it starts to go down a little bit, but there's like a couple
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  of months basically sunlight. The weather is usually great,
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  like maybe some some rainy days in June, but June, July, August,
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  it's it's very nice. It's usually between like 70s
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  and 90s and just we are by the sea too.
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  So you can do bunch of stuff and the nature is amazing.
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  Yeah, that's having great time. Always there with with my family
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  and friends and just trying to enjoy all that when I go back
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  there. You said.
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  Take us back. To take us back to the trade
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  from Colorado to Nashville about a year and a half ago, what did
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  you think originally when you were coming to Nashville and how
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  has your life kind of changed over that time now that you've
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  really become ingrained as a member of the Preds here?
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  Yeah, the thread kind of like happened pretty quick, you know,
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  like it's just just tell you where to go next and you just
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  move out. So you don't really have time to
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  think about that. But but yeah, like looking back,
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  back in the was like I had great time in Colorado.
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  They came gave me the opportunity to play in the AHL
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  and my spot in the NHL and I got to learn the game there and grow
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  there and thanks, thanks for that organization, for
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  everything they did to me. And but yeah, at the same time,
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  it does for sure huge thing for me to come over here and learn
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  from juice pegs, Benny meats and all the all the all the guys
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  here and just being part of this, this organization and
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  everything they did, did for me too and gave me the opportunity
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  and trusted me. And so, yeah, this huge thing
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  for me for sure. And coming to the same team
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  where my idol played when I was younger.
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  So yeah, yeah, that's amazing. Well, and you've had a great run
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  of games recently. How have you seen your game grow
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  and evolve over the last little bit to to get you to where you
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  are now? Or has it really changed that
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  much? I've been feeling good all year.
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  I put a lot of work into it in the summer and the whole year
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  and pretty much always. So I felt good, good all year
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  and just give me the OR getting getting their results lately.
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  So it's just that things change pretty much, but I I've been
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  feeling great whole year. Predators goalie Eustis on It is
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  our guest here on the Preds Official Podcast.
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  Big Juice. You've had some cool gear this
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  year. You had a new goalie set up this
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  season with the Preds fangs on your pads and on your blocker
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  and your catching glove. And then also for Pediatric
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  Cancer Awareness Night, you had a goalie math designed by
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  childhood cancer fighters. Tell us about both of those
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  things that you got to rock this year and how cool it is to be
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  able to have such unique equipment out there.
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  Yeah, it's it's pretty cool nowadays.
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  Like specific power. Well, maybe maybe with every
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  brand nowadays, but you can do whatever you want and they're a
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  designer. Kim Cool, cool idea with the
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  fans. Like I want to do something
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  different and they got the thanks going on there.
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  So it's it's pretty cool. I like it.
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  It's not it's not too much, but it's something something always
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  unique. So it's it's been, it's been a
• 21:00
  fun, fun ride with those. Yeah.
• 21:04
  And there mosque was probably the coolest mosque I ever had.
• 21:09
  So I just want to rock that for for one night.
• 21:12
  And as I wished, I could have kept that going for a year, but
• 21:18
  I had to had to keep that away. Oh, it's for a great cause.
• 21:23
  And it went undefeated too, so pretty good.
• 21:26
  Pretty good for the occupied cancer mask you mentioned.
• 21:30
  You mentioned your goalie coach Ben Vanderklok, who fans hear
• 21:34
  about all the time. We talk about him on the
• 21:35
  broadcast. They don't really get to see him
• 21:38
  work. They don't get to see him on the
• 21:39
  ice with you guys or hear from him very often.
• 21:42
  Describe what he does with you and UC Soros day in and day out
• 21:46
  as a goalie coach who is really just coaching two guys when he's
• 21:51
  out there on the ice. I'm here.
• 21:54
  He always watches after us, must make us better.
• 22:01
  He likes to, he likes to work hard.
• 22:03
  Very passionate guy. I've been enjoying my time to
• 22:08
  work with him. It's been great for me.
• 22:12
  I I think for my game. But yeah, just a great guy.
• 22:17
  Loves to love to work, loves his goalies.
• 22:21
  He's kind of like a hard laugh out there.
• 22:23
  So it's been a great 1 1/2 years like you guys said, it's been,
• 22:29
  it's been great. He's been great help from me.
• 22:34
  Well and as you've continued to establish yourself your use to
• 22:37
  see you recently signed a new two year deal.
• 22:39
  What does it mean to have that stability and know that you are
• 22:42
  a part of this team's plan moving forward in the next
• 22:45
  little bit here? Oh yeah, it's always a huge
• 22:49
  thing when the team thrusts you and they say that work you're
• 22:53
  putting in. Well, I of course I want to be
• 22:59
  here. So I'm very, very lucky to sign
• 23:03
  a new deal. I'm just now trying to prove and
• 23:07
  improve myself every day here and just to make best best of
• 23:13
  it. And lastly, we're obviously in
• 23:15
  the midst of a playoff race. You guys have had a great run
• 23:18
  here as of late. To get yourselves from the
• 23:21
  podium of the league all the way back up into the postseason
• 23:24
  conversation. What is it like to be in the
• 23:27
  midst of a stretch like this? And I know there's pressure, but
• 23:30
  how much fun are you guys still having as well?
• 23:34
  Well, it's been a lot of fun. Like when you lose games, it's
• 23:37
  not it's not that great feeling around like a Romeo.
• 23:42
  What do you have when you when you win games, everybody is
• 23:44
  having fun and everybody is just just crawling together.
• 23:49
  So much better to just it's just been a been a fun ride.
• 23:55
  Like start of the year were pretty hard for us, but we've
• 24:00
  been like improving our game like whole time.
• 24:03
  We have a such a good group of leaders here in this like a room
• 24:08
  to they have won a lot. So it's not doesn't really
• 24:11
  surprise me like seeing the work they are putting in and how good
• 24:15
  player players they are. So that's just a matter of time
• 24:18
  and now we are in these things. So just keep this thing going,
• 24:22
  having fun at the same time. We'll just keep having fun, keep
• 24:26
  it going. We're glad you're here in
• 24:27
  Nashville and thanks for taking the time to do this.
• 24:29
  We appreciate it. Yeah.
• 24:31
  Thanks guys. That's Pred's goalie Eustis
• 24:34
  Anandan, here on the Pres Official Podcast.
• 24:38
  Welcome back to the Predators official Podcast here on ESPN
• 24:41
  102.5 The Game, Nashville Predators, YouTube, and your
• 24:45
  preferred podcast platform. My name is Max Ers from Preds
• 24:48
  Radio along with my two best friends in the world, Cara
• 24:51
  Hammer from Preds TV and Brooks Bratton from
• 24:53
  nashvillepredators.com. Guys, always fun to have the big
• 24:56
  juice Eustis on and on. He's been playing a lot more
• 24:59
  recently and I think Fred's fans really, really love this guy and
• 25:03
  he's your backup goalie for the next two seasons.
• 25:06
  Can I tell you how much I love when he's named the first star?
• 25:09
  Obviously I'm so fortunate that I get to interview him on the
• 25:12
  bench. But anytime he's named like
• 25:14
  first star, second star, the way he comes out.
• 25:17
  And I, and I hope if, if you're in the, the crowd next time you
• 25:20
  watch him, but he will skate around and he claps his hand and
• 25:24
  it's just the joy and the excitement that he feels to be,
• 25:28
  you know, named, named, named one of the stars.
• 25:31
  And you pick up two points. And obviously it's because he he
• 25:34
  played exceptional, but keep your eye on that next time
• 25:36
  because I've noticed it and I'm like, I have a smile watching
• 25:41
  him. That's awesome.
• 25:43
  Well, yeah. There's there's an intangible
• 25:45
  part of being the backup goalie and I'm so glad we got to ask
• 25:49
  him about it. Like it's his job to keep UC
• 25:51
  Soros's morale high. And I think Eustace Anna is the
• 25:54
  perfect guy for that. And he does the same for the
• 25:57
  entire team and for the fan base.
• 25:58
  So I think he's so like, understanding of the position
• 26:03
  he's in as the backup goalie on a team with a workhorse goalie.
• 26:08
  So Kara, I think what you're talking about, it is just
• 26:10
  another example of that. Like he understands how he can
• 26:13
  bring his best to everybody all the time, both on the ice and
• 26:18
  away from the ice, intangibly. Can I also mention that in the
• 26:23
  second period, I always go on the bench to interview Darby
• 26:27
  Hendrickson and sometimes I'm standing there and sometimes
• 26:30
  I'll be fortunate enough that something amazing happens, like
• 26:33
  a goal right before I go out. And every time a goal is scored,
• 26:38
  use this on and will turn around and high 5 everybody, including
• 26:42
  me, the little ringside reporter.
• 26:44
  So he's just spreading all the love.
• 26:47
  Very inclusive. He's a very thoughtful guy.
• 26:50
  The the Fins are very thoughtful, very friendly
• 26:52
  people. Well, and it's it's worth
• 26:54
  mentioning guys too, like he's played really well recently and
• 26:58
  he's been such a big part of this turn around.
• 27:01
  I think he's you could really lump him in with everybody else
• 27:04
  who had a tough start to the season, but in the second-half
• 27:07
  of the season he has been since around Christmas time right
• 27:10
  above right around top ten save percentage goals against.
• 27:14
  He's he's really bounced back in a big way showing the reason why
• 27:17
  the Preds went out and acquired him last season to begin with.
• 27:20
  They had been high on him for a while.
• 27:22
  They had tried to get him previously and for and and and
• 27:24
  other trades and they really believe in him.
• 27:28
  And obviously Max, as you mentioned, right, he's got a new
• 27:31
  two year deal behind him as well.
• 27:32
  But you know, big juice has done a really good job and he's
• 27:36
  perfect compliment to UC Soros. We've got a great history here,
• 27:38
  obviously, of having a couple of fins in the net and big juice is
• 27:42
  is the next one in that chapter. So our thanks to him again for
• 27:46
  joining us. It was a great, great little
• 27:48
  chat and we wish him well. All of his teammates as well.
• 27:52
  Here is we know that he'll be playing an important role as the
• 27:54
  Preds continue down this playoff stretch.
• 27:56
  Another fin. Speaking of Finns, Joakim Camel,
• 28:01
  who played on Sunday in Tampa, had been scratched for a few
• 28:05
  games. But he's back in there and he
• 28:08
  scored a goal, his first NHL goal.
• 28:10
  Forsberg into the offensive zone to Kimmel, partial break.
• 28:12
  He's knocked into the net. The pucks in the goal.
• 28:15
  Is that a goal? It's at least a penalty against
• 28:19
  the Lightning. Maybe a penalty shot.
• 28:22
  Could this be Yoakim Kimmel's first NHL goal?
• 28:25
  The call on the ice is a good goal.
• 28:27
  We have the actions of the defensive player pushing the
• 28:30
  offensive player into their own goalie.
• 28:32
  Fred's score Yoakim Kimmel gets his first NHL goal.
• 28:39
  If you know anything about Yoakim Kimmel, highly touted
• 28:42
  first round draft pick, known for his lethal shot, his goal
• 28:45
  scoring ability, and you think, oh, maybe he's he was streaking
• 28:48
  down the wing and he wired one home.
• 28:50
  Top shelf, right under the bar. Or maybe he just got tripped up
• 28:54
  and slid into the net with the puck himself and didn't even
• 28:57
  shoot the puck. It just went right in.
• 28:59
  And oh, by the way, Max, that counts as his first NHL goal.
• 29:04
  What a strange, silly, jubilant moment that turned into in
• 29:09
  Tampa. Hey, well, you got to go to The
• 29:11
  Dirty areas to get good things done.
• 29:13
  And when you're on the rush with Philip Forsberg, you're going to
• 29:16
  let Phil make the skill play and you're just going to go right to
• 29:18
  the net. And Phil fed Kimmel the puck hit
• 29:21
  off a Kimmel, Eric Chernak, flipped him over, knocked him
• 29:24
  into the goalie, knocked him into the goal.
• 29:26
  And we ended up with Kimmel, the goalie and the puck all in the
• 29:30
  net before the net came off its moorings.
• 29:32
  So that's a good goal to me. And it's yo Kim Kimmel's first
• 29:36
  NHL goal. And you know what, Brooks?
• 29:38
  I think it was gorgeous. It was awesome.
• 29:42
  I when we talked to him after practice on Tuesdays, we didn't,
• 29:45
  we just didn't get a chance afterward on Sunday on Tampa,
• 29:48
  it's, you know, you lose the game, you're trying to get out,
• 29:50
  whatever. So I had a chance to talk to him
• 29:53
  on Tuesday. And of course, it's like, that
• 29:55
  was just how you had it drawn up, right?
• 29:56
  It's what you imagined what happened.
• 29:59
  And he was like, he, he had no idea in the moment.
• 30:02
  He said it was Philip Forsberg, of course made the assist and
• 30:05
  was following up on the play. He said it was Philip Forsberg
• 30:08
  who was like, dude, that's totally a goal.
• 30:09
  Like Congrats, that's your first goal.
• 30:11
  And of course they they went to review.
• 30:14
  They thought about it originally because they hadn't made a call
• 30:16
  yet on the ice. The the referees went to the
• 30:19
  referees, they thought about it, they talked about it, they made
• 30:22
  the call on the ice, then they went to review, then they
• 30:25
  confirmed it. And it was quite a shot that we
• 30:28
  saw on the broadcast as well as Kemi didn't really have to go
• 30:32
  down the bench at all. It was kind of the guys coming
• 30:34
  toward him. Yeah, that was a great moment
• 30:37
  back on the bench. You saw you see Soros and him
• 30:39
  laughing it up and he's kind of like the guys are just so
• 30:42
  excited for him. I think Chris Mason was bringing
• 30:44
  it up on the broadcast. He goes, everybody look at Soros
• 30:47
  face. Soros has got a smile on his
• 30:49
  face. So everybody happy for for
• 30:52
  Joakim Kimmel. He just got to stand there and
• 30:55
  everybody came and gave him some love.
• 30:57
  So it was a little backwards on the high five line, but yeah, it
• 31:01
  was, it was great. Look, that's how you got a score
• 31:04
  in the NHL. So I, I loved it.
• 31:07
  Congrats to Joachim Kimmel, the 244th goal scorer in Predators
• 31:12
  franchise history. Well, and as Andrew Burnett said
• 31:15
  after the game Sunday in Tampa as well, you know, after a loss,
• 31:18
  I even got Bruno to smile a little bit as he was recalling
• 31:21
  Camel's goal. And he said, hey, they don't ask
• 31:23
  how. They just ask how many.
• 31:25
  And so when Camel tells the story to his grandchildren, oh,
• 31:28
  yeah, I dangled all five guys on the ice, tucked it in between
• 31:31
  the goal tenders, pads. It was beautiful.
• 31:33
  But they all count the same. And we're happy for Yo Kim Camel
• 31:36
  and guys, by the way, as you may recall that final preseason game
• 31:40
  when he put the exclamation point on making that opening
• 31:43
  night roster with the beautiful hit against Carolina on Andre
• 31:46
  Svechnikov. And then he scored the OT winner
• 31:49
  minutes later. We know what he's capable of,
• 31:51
  right? And he's had a few more games up
• 31:53
  here this season. And he's another young guy.
• 31:55
  We've talked about these guys that have come into the lineup
• 31:58
  trying to find ways to make contributions, but not only
• 32:00
  right now, but big parts of the future.
• 32:03
  Joachim Kemel is a huge part of that future.
• 32:05
  And regardless of how the puck goes into the net, to give him
• 32:09
  that confidence of getting the first one out of the way, now we
• 32:12
  can just go out there and play a little bit more.
• 32:14
  And I think Max, we're going to continue to see that in
• 32:17
  California because he had a really good game in Tampa on
• 32:19
  Sunday. He also could have scored
• 32:20
  another couple, I think. Yeah, I think he's earned the
• 32:23
  right to stay in there. And today he's played ten NHL
• 32:26
  games as his first NHL point. You want him to be able to get
• 32:29
  some extended run, and I think this is the opportunity for it.
• 32:32
  So. And you think of the other
• 32:34
  direction too. Like it feels like Joachim
• 32:37
  Kimmel's been in the organization for a while.
• 32:39
  We've been following him since he was playing in Finland and
• 32:41
  his draft plus one year and all that.
• 32:43
  He's still only 21, so he's still such a young player, 10
• 32:48
  games into his NHL career a year plus after his NHL debut.
• 32:52
  So, So yeah, there's there's definitely more in there.
• 32:56
  There absolutely is. And whether all the goals look
• 32:58
  like that one, whether Eric Chernak pushes him into every
• 33:00
  net, every game the rest of his career on his way to fight a
• 33:03
  referee, which Eric Turnack did later in the game.
• 33:06
  And what was an interesting day for him.
• 33:08
  I think Joakim Kimmel's starting to get some things figured out
• 33:11
  and I want to see more of it. 100% he's a big piece of the
• 33:14
  future and we're looking forward to that.
• 33:16
  A big piece of the past that we had on recently.
• 33:18
  The show as well, Kara, it was Ryan Johansson night in
• 33:21
  Smashville on Saturday, in addition to Mike Fisher and
• 33:24
  Carrie Underwood. Oh, by the way, they were there
• 33:26
  too. But Joey, I think, kind of stole
• 33:28
  the show a little bit as he deserved to do.
• 33:30
  He signed his puck on the alumni wall previous prior to the game.
• 33:34
  Rather, he waved the towel on the band stage.
• 33:37
  And then a lovely little tribute video that was put together by
• 33:40
  Nick Pishnick, one of our great video producers here.
• 33:43
  The nostalgia, the fields were all there because we know a ton
• 33:47
  of great moments courtesy of Ryan Johansson and franchise
• 33:50
  history and Kara. It was just cool to have him
• 33:52
  back in the building and and to relive a little bit of that.
• 33:54
  And as he told us, just continue to emphasize how much he loves
• 33:58
  this organization, loves this city, and he was so happy to be
• 34:01
  a part of it all. Yeah, it it was so great,
• 34:04
  especially he joined Chris Mason and Willie Donnick on on the
• 34:06
  broadcast during the middle of the game and just listening to
• 34:09
  some of the stories he had to share.
• 34:10
  Obviously when we had him on the podcast, he talked about the
• 34:13
  trade and what it meant to him in his life.
• 34:16
  But on the broadcast, he talked about actually hanging out with
• 34:19
  Seth Jones for 30 minutes at the airport because they were
• 34:21
  waiting for the plane to refuel. And then coming here, putting on
• 34:25
  a Pred sweater and scoring a goal in his first game.
• 34:27
  He said he was looking around, didn't know who to pass to,
• 34:29
  didn't know what was doing. So he hey, just shot the puck
• 34:31
  and it went in. He said that was a great start
• 34:33
  for him. But my favorite one liner of the
• 34:36
  whole time having Ryan Johansson on was he was talking about UC
• 34:39
  Soros and calling him the Juice box.
• 34:41
  And unfortunately a goal was scored against the Preds at that
• 34:44
  moment and he said that was not the juice box's fault.
• 34:47
  And I think that that's something we need to coin and
• 34:50
  use going forward if there was a mishap on a play and technically
• 34:54
  not on the juice box. Not the juice foxes fault.
• 34:59
  I I love that. Leave it to Joey to come up with
• 35:01
  something like he's just, he's just the best.
• 35:05
  We had a chance to talk to him again prior to the game.
• 35:07
  He had, his wife was here, his baby boy hang, his parents, his
• 35:11
  wifes parents, they were all here.
• 35:13
  They were all taking it in. His mom, I had a chance to talk
• 35:16
  to her and she was saying she didn't realize she was going to
• 35:18
  get emotional because she was at the game the previous weekend as
• 35:22
  well. And just just to being back in
• 35:23
  the building again. I, you know, it's one thing to
• 35:25
  hear Joey say it, but to to hear his parents talk about what
• 35:28
  Nashville meant to him as well. She said, she said, I got a
• 35:31
  little emotional. I might have to go have a few
• 35:33
  glasses of red wine and just, you know, even even it all out a
• 35:37
  little bit. But but they were so happy to
• 35:39
  be, to be here back in the building.
• 35:41
  And again, I mean, Joey said he's around and I imagine, Kara,
• 35:45
  that we'll see a little bit more of him.
• 35:47
  I know that you asked him do you want to be a broadcaster?
• 35:49
  He said Nope. But I think this kind of stuff,
• 35:52
  if he can just drive down to the arena, he's perfectly fine with.
• 35:56
  Yeah, he mentioned it all the alumni that have now started to
• 35:59
  to move back to Nashville, guys are are filtering and I mean, we
• 36:02
  can name it a a handful of them, Craig Smith, Ryan Johansson,
• 36:06
  James Neal, these guys are all around, they're all in
• 36:09
  Nashville. So he said, hey, we need to do
• 36:11
  more of this. We need to get some more alumni
• 36:13
  back out. And we know that's great for the
• 36:15
  fans when they can go and reconnect with with the players,
• 36:18
  especially looking now what we've talked about it 10 years
• 36:21
  since that cup run. And so it's great to have these
• 36:24
  guys back, to just have all that nostalgia that was that
• 36:27
  surrounds them. In Milwaukee Admirals news, the
• 36:31
  Predators have brought in a pair of prospects as first time North
• 36:35
  American pros on AT OS for the rest of the season.
• 36:38
  That is an amateur tryout agreement to play for Milwaukee
• 36:41
  for the rest of the year. 2 guys who have been drafted by the
• 36:44
  Predators and now we'll get to play in the AHL for the first
• 36:47
  time. First up, 21 year old forward
• 36:50
  from Penn State University just finished up his junior year of
• 36:54
  hockey for the Nittany Lions. David Good Boyle's last draft
• 36:57
  pick Aiden Fink, who has turned out to be quite the college
• 37:01
  hockey goal scorer, will get his first pro look down the stretch
• 37:04
  for the ads. 100% that's a a great deal.
• 37:08
  You know, we we assume that some of this would happen, right?
• 37:12
  This is the time of the year where college season start
• 37:14
  finishing up, guys decide to turn pro.
• 37:17
  We were wondering about Aiden Fink, certainly one of the names
• 37:19
  out there. So, yeah, he's had a great run
• 37:22
  at Penn State, really came into his own, had some time.
• 37:25
  Of course, Gavin McKenna is there, the presumed #1 pick in
• 37:28
  this year's draft. So Penn State had a really good
• 37:31
  run, some really entertaining games and Aiden Fink got a lot
• 37:34
  of opportunity to put up a lot of points.
• 37:36
  And and so a guy that you know, as you said, Max David Pollo's
• 37:40
  last pick, like in the seventh round, you don't necessarily
• 37:42
  expect somebody like that to come onto the scene.
• 37:45
  But this is the first step for Aiden Fink to to get some time
• 37:49
  in Milwaukee and really try to acclimate to the pro game.
• 37:52
  It's a huge transition. But a guy like that who had the
• 37:56
  success he did at the collegiate level is certainly up for a
• 37:59
  challenge like that. Yeah, and with all the call UPS
• 38:03
  that the Preds have had it forward, they need some goal
• 38:05
  scoring there. So think we'll have some
• 38:07
  opportunity to play big minutes, maybe some power play time.
• 38:10
  And he made a name for himself at Penn State as someone who did
• 38:13
  not even attend the NHL draft when he was selected at
• 38:16
  Bridgestone Arena 218th overall in 2023.
• 38:20
  So that was a great moment in Fred's history.
• 38:23
  Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils traded the Preds, their last
• 38:26
  pick for David Poyle, to make one final selection and get a
• 38:30
  big round of applause as he retired from NHL management.
• 38:34
  And the man who all we knew at that point was that he was Aidan
• 38:37
  Fink from Brooks has turned out to make a name for himself.
• 38:41
  He played for the Brooks Bandits in the a JHL before going to
• 38:44
  Penn State. And look, this is a real
• 38:47
  prospect now and he's here. He's in Milwaukee, so Brooks has
• 38:51
  a tie to both of the guys that have signed AT OS with the
• 38:54
  Admirals today. Aidan Fink from Brooks and proud
• 38:58
  ginger defenceman Vigo Gustafson.
• 39:01
  It's headed from Sweden to Milwaukee.
• 39:04
  You can never have enough gingers in the organization.
• 39:06
  We we had a really good stock going for a while.
• 39:09
  Ryan Ellis matter when Cody McLeod we we've been depleted,
• 39:13
  so it's time to get the rankings back up.
• 39:14
  Nick Nick Perbix has helped in that regard this season, but
• 39:18
  it's nice to see another red headed gentleman coming into the
• 39:21
  fold again here. And Reid Schaefer, Big Red.
• 39:25
  Yes, Big Red, of course. Sorry.
• 39:28
  Geez, are you even a Ginger Brooks?
• 39:30
  You are just screwing this up. But yeah, Vigo Gustafsson's
• 39:35
  here. He was a third round pick in the
• 39:36
  2024 draft. He's still just 19.
• 39:39
  Defensive defenseman played and won a gold medal in the World
• 39:43
  Juniors this year for Sweden. So excited to see him in
• 39:45
  Milwaukee. Presume he will get in there a
• 39:48
  little bit down the stretch on D.
• 39:49
  He's younger than Aidan Fink so may not play a huge role, but
• 39:53
  grates. Have him in North America and
• 39:55
  we'll see him at all the Prospect camps this summer.
• 39:58
  And again, this is the time, Max, like you said, those two
• 40:00
  guys have been drafted by the Predators, but another chance to
• 40:03
  sign some free agents for out of college as well as these seasons
• 40:06
  start to come to an end. I remember years ago that was
• 40:08
  how Cole Smith got here, signed as a free agent out of North
• 40:11
  Dakota, ends up carving out a really nice NHL career for
• 40:14
  himself. So stay tuned in that regard of
• 40:17
  the next couple of weeks and. You never know who might end up
• 40:20
  making their way to Smashville, but best of luck to Aiden and
• 40:23
  Viggo Gustafson as they head to Milwaukee.
• 40:26
  A lovely place, Milwaukee, WI this time of year and try to
• 40:29
  help out the ads down there. We're going to come back with a
• 40:33
  very special biggie Awesome Person of the Week in just a
• 40:36
  moment here on the Predators Official Podcast on ESPN 102.5,
• 40:39
  The game streaming on Pred's YouTube. 4th and final segments
• 40:44
  of the Predators Official Podcast here on ESPN 1025, the
• 40:47
  game streaming on Pred's YouTube and wherever you find your
• 40:50
  favorite podcast. Brooks, Max and Kara back with
• 40:53
  you once more. And Kara, our biggie, awesome
• 40:56
  Person of the Week. This time around, some good news
• 40:59
  from one of our friends who goes way back with this franchise.
• 41:03
  The one, the only John Glennon gets the honor this week.
• 41:07
  John Glenn, and I was so excited to see his name pop up on my
• 41:11
  timeline with a post that he put out his first time posting to
• 41:14
  social media in three months to fill us in on kind of the battle
• 41:18
  he's been going through behind the scenes.
• 41:20
  John has been battling multiple myeloma, that's a type of blood
• 41:23
  cancer. He's gone through 10 different
• 41:26
  radiation treatments. He's been doing immunotherapy
• 41:29
  and he's been had a back strengthening procedure because
• 41:33
  he had multiple fractures in his back.
• 41:35
  So he was been a ton of pain. He's been out of work, but he's
• 41:39
  been at home recovering. And he said though now he's
• 41:43
  going to be back. He's feeling great.
• 41:44
  He's on the mend and he's going to start covering some of the
• 41:47
  teams we love around the town, including our very own Nashville
• 41:51
  Predators. And as you know, John used to be
• 41:53
  the beat writer for the Tennessee and he used to travel
• 41:55
  with the team. So he knows the insurance and
• 41:57
  outs of this franchise, and he has one of my best friends in
• 42:00
  Nashville. And so we are so excited to hear
• 42:03
  that things are looking out for John Glennon, and we're going to
• 42:06
  keep supporting him as he continues to battle this awful,
• 42:10
  awful disease. And we're tired of talking about
• 42:12
  cancer and how it is affecting people that we love so much.
• 42:17
  Yeah, it'd be great to see Johnny G around some more.
• 42:20
  We we used to see him a lot more often, but he's got a ton of
• 42:22
  other writing duties as well. And as you mentioned, Cara,
• 42:25
  obviously he's been in this fight for the last few months,
• 42:28
  but just one of those people. I, I forget who it was, but I
• 42:30
  saw someone share after his post saying that the world is just a
• 42:35
  better place with John Glennon in it.
• 42:36
  And that is so true. And especially around our sports
• 42:39
  media landscape in Nashville. It's just a wonderful person to
• 42:42
  be around, does a great job. I love how old school he is.
• 42:45
  He's one of the few people that still has a legal pad and he's
• 42:47
  taking handwritten notes as he's interviewing guys.
• 42:50
  There's something really cool about that.
• 42:51
  We all just, I stand there with my phone that literally
• 42:54
  transcribes as I'm as it's being recorded with any interview that
• 42:58
  we're doing. But I love Johnny G's old school
• 43:01
  and he gets the job done and does a great job doing it.
• 43:04
  And again, he's just a fun person to be around.
• 43:05
  So we're glad to hear that he's doing well and certainly looking
• 43:09
  forward to seeing him not only not only around the rink, but
• 43:12
  reading his work from around all the other venues in Nashville as
• 43:15
  well. So some good news there for
• 43:17
  sure. Yeah, and it was great in his
• 43:19
  post to hear a little bit of his humor where he said I didn't
• 43:22
  have to worry about losing my hair.
• 43:24
  As we all know, that was gone on John Glennon a long time ago.
• 43:27
  But I was fortunate enough to attend his wedding with his
• 43:30
  beautiful wife Amy, and they were out on the dance floor and
• 43:34
  John Glennon was dancing. So we hope now we'll just get
• 43:37
  back to those dancing ways. Yeah.
• 43:40
  Something else that John and I have in common.
• 43:41
  We both have an Amy in our lives.
• 43:43
  There you go. I love it.
• 43:45
  Yeah. Way to go, Johnny G as we wrap
• 43:47
  up here, Max, let's touch on it one more time.
• 43:49
  You and I are getting ready to head to California with the team
• 43:52
  if you want to be doing any scoreboard watching over the
• 43:54
  next little bit. So we mentioned it.
• 43:56
  It's Utah is the team that is ahead of the Predators in that
• 43:59
  first wild card spot. But you've got Los Angeles,
• 44:02
  Seattle, San Jose, Winnipeg, even Saint Louis has clawed
• 44:05
  their way back into this thing. A lot of teams to do some
• 44:08
  scoreboard watching. But Max, this is going to be a
• 44:11
  heck of a couple of weeks here, and I can't wait to see what
• 44:15
  turns out on the other side of things here.
• 44:17
  Yeah, eight games to go in the season.
• 44:19
  The Preds have not played a game in California yet this entire
• 44:22
  season and they're about to play four in a row, maybe the four
• 44:25
  biggest games of the season. Kings twice, Sharks, Ducks and
• 44:30
  then one more in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth, who if
• 44:33
  you play well enough, you could get up there and try and catch
• 44:36
  them for the first wild card. So everything's on the line,
• 44:39
  everything's in the Preds hands. Tons of head to head games
• 44:42
  between teams fighting for the same thing.
• 44:44
  So it's going to be a lot of fun and we'll see if these Preds can
• 44:47
  be Rd. Warriors and get back on a
• 44:49
  winning streak here and find their way into the playoffs in
• 44:52
  these last couple weeks. These games are going to be on
• 44:54
  late, but it'll be worth it to stay up.
• 44:56
  We'll at least do our part. We hope that the guys on the ice
• 45:00
  will as well, but we're looking forward to it.
• 45:01
  Again, this is the best time of the year to try to find your way
• 45:04
  back into the postseason. The month of April is here.
• 45:07
  The snow is gone and we are excited for these hockey games.
• 45:10
  Coming up for Cara Hammer, Max hers.
• 45:13
  I'm Brooks Bratton, thanks so much for joining us once more on
• 45:16
  the POP. Our thanks again to Eustis
• 45:17
  Ananin as well. We're headed out West and we'll
• 45:21
  talk to you when we get back, hopefully coming back to a
• 45:23
  raucous bridge to an arena. But for now, enjoy the hockey to
• 45:26
  have some naps and then you can stay up and watch these ones out
• 45:30
  West. Enjoy it.
• 45:31
  We'll talk to you soon.