Latest / Hey BigHead: The Vegas Local Podcast / Building PWHL Vegas with General Manager Dominique DiDia | 357

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Building PWHL Vegas with General Manager Dominique DiDia | 357 · Hey BigHead: The Vegas Local Podcast

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Julie, since Vegas became the unofficial sports capital of the world, is it safe to say that?
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like we could go ahead and say official.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_02: I'll say it with my chest.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Are we saying it's the are we announcing today that Vegas is the official sports capital of the world?
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: Big head makes the decision.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Big head makes the decision.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm here for it.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, since Vegas now is the sports capital of the world, we also we've we've won some championships here.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: The ACEs are the same.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Plenty of them.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Plenty of them.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And we're not done yet.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_02: Never.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: Never done.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um but we, as we know, it takes more than just the right coach or just one right player.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of pieces that have to be placed in the right spots at the right time to make that happen.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And today we have somebody who does just that and is doing that for our newest women's professional hockey team here in Las Vegas.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Dominique Diaz here.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: General manager of the So let me let me clarify something.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's no official team name yet, is that correct?
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: Not yet.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: There will be before the season starts.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So the the appropriate name to call the team is the PWHL Las Vegas team.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: We're going PWHL Vegas because we know uh people locals.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: You guys can correct me if I'm wrong.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: You don't always say Las Vegas, it's Vegas.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: True.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna be PWHL Vegas until we announce our name before the season.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to later in the show, Julie and I have some some opinions on what we think the name should be and maybe guesses of what we think it is.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't have to tell us, but maybe just give us a wink if one of us is right.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: Can I just I'm I'm gonna ask in advance, you know the name.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_02: I don't.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: You don't.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know the name.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: I think she's lying.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: I wish I knew the name.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it'll slip out somewhere in the conversation.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: That would be hilarious.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but Dominique, thank you for being here.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is so exciting.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: This is this is incredible.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you are so you you just recently moved here from LA, right?
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a month ago.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: I moved here from LA.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think so far of living in Vegas as a Vegas local now?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm that's why I'm so excited to be here to be welcomed into the Vegas local local lifestyle.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: I love it, it's great.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I've only been to the strip, I think, three times, one for the Aces game last week and uh uh for a night's game, and I think that's normal as a Vegas local.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: You're good for the year.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we're in Henderson, which is where we're gonna be practicing at the America First Center in Henderson on Water Street.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm over there in Green Valley Ranch.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's amazing.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: You're a true Vegas local now.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't got if you don't go to the strip more than a handful of times, you're a true Vegas local.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be there for our home games and I don't know, for concerts once in a while.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's and also if you know Green Valley Ranch, you're a local.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: That's true.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: I actually had my first gambling experience at Green Valley Ranch a couple weeks ago.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: With and I won$475.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: It was that beginner's luck.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: I know, I'm never going back.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: You shouldn't.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was insane.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: My friend was here and we played um blackjack.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: What's the one where there's like the two like Switch?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: It was a special blackjack.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they have they have the fancy versions of blackjack and other games.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: She was telling me what to do.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out Nicole.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, it was great.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: That was probably my one and done gambling experience.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's fair.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'll go to watch.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't believe it.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, wait, what?
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're undefeated.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm undefeated.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, when I came to Vegas when I turned 21, I won up at maybe$800 on my first trip.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: And that was the worst thing that could have ever happened to me because now, after that, I thought, oh, I could just win all the time I come to.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And lo and behold, that is not the case.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: No, so that's why I'm that was good.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: See, this is this is why you're in you're in the right role because you make the right decisions at the right time.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: I can see that already in you, Dominic.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: I love this.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: So you moved here from LA.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: You worked with uh the LA Kings, right?
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: I did.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: I was with the LA Kings for about 10 years until 2022.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then after the Kings, I went to CAA Sports as an agent in their hockey department.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: So um, with that, we launched at CAA the women's hockey business there, where we were representing PWHL players, and the PWHL started in 2023.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: So um I did that as um co-head of our women's hockey department, and then I became the GM of this team in May.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: It was uh announced, I believe May 18th was when this team was announced, and I found out two days before that it was Vegas.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't know where the location was gonna be of what team I was the general manager of.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: So and then here I am.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: The expansion draft was 10 days later, the May 28th, and I moved here in August.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's fantastic.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: What was your thought process when someone first reached out and was like, hey, do you want to do this?
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was just like I could I couldn't believe I had the chance to even interview.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like I was thrilled to have the just to have them be interested in and me having this role of being a general manager of a woman's hockey team in a professional league that me growing up playing girls' hockey, like this didn't exist.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: And this didn't exist four years ago.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then for me to be considered as one of the 12 of the GMs, which there's now 12 teams, and you know, that there's people and other GMs in this league that are Olympians and they've won national championships and they've won, you know, uh so many things and so many accolades from Mino Raume and Detroit and um uh other people that are GMs, and I was like, me?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you sure you want me?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: But then, you know, when I was interviewing, I started getting more determined.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, I was an agent, I understand how this works.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: I worked at the Kings for a long time in the business side, and it's obviously new for me.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a first-time GM and in this expansion team, but um it was it was just like I couldn't believe it, but then I was also like, I can do this.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: I know how to I know how to do this job that I don't know how to do, but I'll figure it out.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I feel like I I'd assume you care about the league as a whole, not just your own team.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I I would assume that variation in GM background and and skills and where people might need to improve upon is important to not have the same kind of GM across teams.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I had being an agent in the league the last three years from when it started to going through the expansion last year with Seattle and Vancouver and now with adding the four teams, as an agent, you often hear what's not working.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Like players don't always reach out to their agent unless something's going wrong.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and with that, we were I was able to, you know, have an ear to the ground on the league and being like, now that I'm a GM, be like, okay, I'm not gonna do that.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna, I'm doing, I'm gonna do something different.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna make sure that um, you know, my whole coaching staff and our hockey op staff kind of knows our mission and our core values from the get-go, and we're all on the same page from the beginning.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we've been able to hire great staff and and get a lot of people out here to Vegas.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: And everyone's been moving here this month, which has been really exciting.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: But um yeah, it's uh it was definitely something that um of course there's moments of imposter syndrome when you're like, is this something that I should be doing?
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: But then I've been the feeling of like, wow, this is where I belong is is I've felt it a lot since I got the job.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm a sports fanatic and I I I know I know more about GMs in different leagues than I do about the stock, the stock market.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's just the way it is.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, good.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I I'm very excited to to learn more about this this league that you have.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: But my experience with knowing being on the couch, watching TV and listening to the talking heads, they talk about the certain general managers of doing this way or doing it that way.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: What's your general manager approach going to be?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: What's your style going to be like?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's we're a little different, I think, as a team than than most.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was really important for me to hire a head coach that I saw not only the game the same way, but I saw what we wanted to build in the same way.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I was able to hire my college teammate who I played with at Trinity, um, Kim Weiss is our head coach, and to have her experience with being in both men's and women's hockey and my experience being in both men's and women's hockey, um, it was important for us to have that combined, you know, perspective.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think for for me, it's I I'm a general manager that's involved in all aspects of my team, but I also have hired people that I trust to do their jobs.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not gonna be the coach, I'm not gonna be the equip manager, I'm not gonna be the athletic trainer, and I've hired people that have tons of experience and that can learn as they go, and mostly that are so excited for the sport and um that see the PWHL as the best league in women's hockey to exist and not something that they're doing just because they're not working in NHL.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's important for us that this league gets the respect that we all have for it.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's kind of respecting the game.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: I I love hockey, I'm a hockey nerd, I still play all the time.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um being around it is a dream come true every day that I could like go to the rink.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, that's I was at our practice facility the other day and I'm like, wow, we're gonna be practicing here.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: This team that just didn't exist and now it's exists.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's wild.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: So um our our group loves the game and and wants to win.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: We we've hired people that want to win, we've um drafted and um signed players that want to win, and it's important for us to prove ourselves not only as a team on the ice but as a team in this community that hockey is important here in Vegas and that it belongs here.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think the timing's perfect too.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: If if anything, if there's ever a time for the city to come together and support another local team, especially a woman's team, I think now is the the time more than ever in the history of professional sports.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm I'm gonna be able to do that.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's great to hear, yeah.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh do you have a mentor or like anybody kind of helping you guide along the process?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Or are you just kind of Yeah, there's been a few people that helped me a lot during the um the interview process and and during building this team.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've I've worked with Rob Blake a lot at LA Kings, and he was a general manager there for a long time.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: And one of my heroes as a as a kid, being a Kings fan.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's been surreal that I can been able to call him and ask him questions and bounce ideas off of him.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and another person in the business, Mary Kay Messier, who's the CMO of Bauer, um, her brother Marc Messier, obviously, we all know.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but being able to have her as a mentor and a female in the sport has been very important to me.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: And um, my other mentor is my old boss at the Kings, his name's Pat Donahue, and he's just um he was he was such an amazing um leader for our group, and the kings really changed from 2012 when I started to 2022 when we left, obviously two cups, and we built out our whole department um from three of us to 17 as far as marketing goes.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: So I talked to him a lot, and then um Pat Brasant, my old boss at the at the at CAA, is obviously one of the most well-known agents in hockey.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um and just being working under him for four years and seeing the way he does business, um, it was great.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: He was so supportive.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, it was it was a hard decision to leave CAA working for him, but um he was so supportive of the jump and um he was he's been really helpful as well over the summer.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: You have a strong support system around you, yes.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very fortunate you know, I've been in this this game since I started at the Kings like six months after I graduated college.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: So um the people in hockey just want to continue to see hockey grow, and so everyone's very supportive of the PWHL and of Vegas, too.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's so exciting.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: Who was the first person you called when you found out?
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: My dad, for sure.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, big on hockey.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: He's a big hockey fan.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: He's originally from New Jersey, and um my parents moved to LA right before me and my sister were born.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: My dad works in the music business, and so he was always like a New York, New Jersey fan of everything, but um, he got King's tickets before I was born, and so I grew up going to King's season ticket.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: We had season tickets forever, so um, and then it was surreal for me to even work there, and then I worked there for So We Won a Cup while I worked there.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like all these things happened, and I'm like, how does this is listen?
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to say I know you're not gonna say it and you'll admit it, but I'm gonna say it.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: The reason they won is because you were there.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, they definitely definitely for sure.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: This the role I had a huge role with putting the route making the rally towels.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: That was a big thing.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: I was the coordinator of marketing and promotions at the time.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: We made the bobbleheads.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, no, but yeah, he he's been thrilled, and um he's I I I bet he'll be at every game.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm sure he will be.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: What uh so you grew up in SoCal.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: How did you even get involved in hockey in the first place?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: It was going to Kings games.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: I just loved we we had tickets at the forum and um we went to Kings and Lakers games.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: My sister loved the Lakers, I loved the Kings, and I just started playing when I was I think five, maybe.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um my dad started playing with me.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: He never played hockey, and he just we both learned state together, and we still play in men's league together sometimes, which is funny.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he still plays, so yeah, I just loved playing.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: I just it's my favorite sport, always has been.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I played boys up until I was like 13.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there weren't any girls' clubs in California then in the 90s, and um yeah, then I started playing girls, and I I ended up playing in college, D3 at Trinity.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just like hockey's always been the thing that I love to do, and I'm still not sick of it.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'd love to do it.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: Because now it's like really my job at the time.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine if it's switched, right?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: I know in general, yeah.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm over hockey, I've skated enough.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm good.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I know.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: People have been like, are you gonna go on the ice for practice?
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, no.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: GMs don't do that.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: Like, no, I will I will watch, but no, but it's uh this might be a dumb question, but like, do GMs have to be at every practice?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: I don't I don't know anything about I think it's um it's a style, it depends on your leadership style, I think.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um we're we have offices at America First Center that are being built that like you know, I can be at oops, sorry, I can be at my desk and like look over and see the ice, which is cool.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I'll be I'll be there every day.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um I imagine some there's some times where you don't watch practice if you have meetings or like you know, if we're scouting or um I trust Kim, our head coach, to obviously she does the practice plan, her and her group does everything like that.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: So um, but yeah, I'll I'll be there, especially year one, figuring out how to do this job.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: With all the experience you have, uh being an agent and then also being the captain of your team at Trinity, but also you studied psychology in college, is that right?
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: You pretty much have like all the things, all the aspects that are tools that are needed to really succeed at what you're doing.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna use everything that you've learned from being a captain but also studying psychology as a psych the psych it's funny because Kim was a neuroscience major at Trinity.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you know, psychology, I loved the major.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think if I didn't start working at the Kings, I wanted to be like a sports psychologist.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I've always been really interested in athlete performance, what it takes mentally to perform for a game.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: And um I have a big uh I'm passionate about supporting our athletes on and off the ice.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: So like mental performance is a big um, it's important for us.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have a mental performance coach that the that the players have available whenever they need.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, it's not only that, but um being a leader in um of our group, our team, but also being able to like give and receive feedback is really, really big.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: But it all comes down to people being being a good person, being kind to people, um, and expecting our athletes to perform, but also treating them as humans is just something that we're really passionate about.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I think this league really does that for these women.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they they make it, you know, it's not just about wins and losses, obviously it is, but it's also about the athletes and getting to know them and the fans um uh have a have a lot of access to the players compared to the NHL.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's really different.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's much there's many more signings, that's there's a lot more community appearances, um just to get our to know the players as people.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and for me as a general manager, like getting to know them as people as well is really important um to support them, um, especially coming to a new place.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh every single one of our players is moving, no one's from here.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um maybe half the team's never been to Vegas ever.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's funny, which is crazy.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Because like growing up in LA, it's like a you've I'm like, you've never been to Vegas?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, yeah, I'm from Saskatchewan.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh, okay.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: You think is the team gonna have like a team night out in Vegas?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's up to them.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: They could do that if they want.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: Interesting.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm sure they'll have some sort of a lot of them are golfers, they're excited about that.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: Love that.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's a good place for golf.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a lot of them have dogs, which is great.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh dogs.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think, yeah, I imagine they'll I imagine they'll they want to go to the Jonas Brothers concert.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: I know that.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's fair.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: I've been requested that.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: F1 is right is during training camp, and the Jonas Brothers concerts right after.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: So that's so funny.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll see what we can help them with.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: But mental health is becoming such a big part of professional sports.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: We had the captain of the lights uh football club here.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and he mentioned he brought up that even it's like a league-wide thing with with uh with their league, is taking mandatory like mental health breaks uh for the team, and there's just something new for him too.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I like seeing that it's it's becoming more and more of a common factor in with these athletes too.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's so much that goes on.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's yeah, it's there's a lot of pressure for us.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: There's such a jump between the NCAA for for women's hockey players, I think, to go to pro compared to a men's hockey player by the time they're going into the NHL, because they they'll usually you know get drafted maybe at 18 and then go play junior, or they can go back to uh the N Sable A, they can go so many different routes.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so by the time they're 22, maybe debuting in the NHL, they've maybe lived in five different cities and they've lived with billet families, and there's such a different culture with that.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: For women's hockey, it's like, okay, you're 16, you get recruited, you're going to Wisconsin.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: One of our players played five years there because COVID, they all had a fifth year, pretty much.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, you know, they've been at Wisconsin for five years, and then now they're moving to a new city with the expectation of this is all new to them, and they were drafted by us and whatever, but they didn't get to choose.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they're just sitting on the draft floor, waiting to be chosen.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: So it's definitely a different aspect, and the money is so different, obviously, that you know, the some of our players are moving their whole lives here for not a lot of money.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: So it's uh it's definitely hard mentally.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we want our players to feel home, to feel like home at the rink.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for me, for our team, I don't call our team a family because I think your family's your family.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: This is your job.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we are their home away from home.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we want them to come to the rink whenever they want, you know, hang in the lounge, be we don't want anyone to be lonely, feel like they don't, you know, it's a new place for them.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of them haven't been to like, like I said, like even the Southwest.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: I I was on recruiting calls with some of them.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, well, you haven't been to Nevada.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Have you been to Arizona, Utah, California?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like like it's kind of like Henderson's kind of like Palm Springs, Pomp Springs-ish.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, no.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember going to Trinity and being in New England and having culture shock of being like, what is everyone wearing?
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: What is what's going on?
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like everyone, it's just different a little bit.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: So anyway, it's really important to us that our players feel supported, that our staff feel supported, um, just because if they're not emotionally supported, we can't expect them to perform their best.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: So the difference between representing them with CAA to being GM, I I didn't phrase that correctly, but what what is different on this side of the conversation being you know the advocate on one side versus being a different form of advocate on the other side?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's there's similarities and differences.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: Similarities being like we want what's best for the athletes, like we all want them to make more money.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like I want them to make more money as the GM, their agent wants them to make more money.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think the huge differences I'm assigning them, making moves, drafting them or not, based on what's best for the team, right?
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and what's best for our future, and and as an agent, you want what's best for that individual player.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: So um just the team aspect is the main difference.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: But um a lot of it's there's a lot of you know things that overlap, and um, but for us, it's not only about the team, it's about, you know, for the GM, it's about the staffing, um, it's about facilities.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's so many things that are under our jurisdiction as a general manager that I wouldn't have known, I think, before I got this job.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um but as far as picking the team, designing the team, and making, you know, our values, mission statement, those overarching things for this team, it it's definitely as a as an agent, it's more, you know, you start working with the player early, maybe when they're 18.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: I think the youngest women's clients at CAA I had were 16, which is pretty crazy.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you help them decide where to go to college and help them with NIL now.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: And then um and we at CAA especially like a 360 service.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: they call it like anything they need, anything their families need, how do they pay their taxes?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Financial advisors.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know in our league we're only paid uh which is similar to most leagues but they're only paid when they're playing.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: So they're paid November to June or whatever.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: So how do you make that paycheck last?
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's stuff that the agents are responsible for.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: But for us, like for me as a general manager, like I also, because I did that, like I know a lot of these players are, you know, they're they're learning we have a young team.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of them are learning how to be adults and learning how to be professionals.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: And then we also have a lot of veterans who are the ones that just have really they're the reason this league exists.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: They fought for all this and they're still fighting for um you know we obviously want them the salaries to increase and um everything that they fight for like finally came to fruition which is really cool in this league but there's definitely there's differences and similarities.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: This is more you know team focused for sure.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_02: When you're making decisions team focused with that in mind do you ever feel like the the agent side of your brain seeping in and trying to convince you to do something that you would have wanted to do as an agent but may not be the best for the whole of the team?
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I think negotiating salaries for sure.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah sure yeah um you know we have our league we have a floor of what they can earn right um this year it's 38 to 45 so it's it's low that's the floor like so we have some players in this league that make that um and then there's an average um so the cap is you know you can figure out the cap by that but it's not a hard cap.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: The average increases and the and the floor increases every 3% every year so far um and that's for the CBA for two more years I believe it was a five year CBA.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah it's um it goes quick.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: The money goes quick.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: It comes out to like 1.3 million per team and you know 23 players like it's not a ton to to split that up.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I you know negotiating with agents I'm like I know you want more money I literally don't have it.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's something or maybe I do have it but maybe they're not at the right point of their career or maybe you know there's there's different things that you can you work on from a GM perspective versus an agent perspective where um at the end of the day we they just want what's best for the player we want what's best for the team um but it's more of like an agent being individualized perspective rather than like a holistic for the team.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: The WNBA obviously this is a a a very common topic with the WNBA do you see the WNBA players as using are you using what they're doing as a blueprint or are the players in in your league doing uh using that as a blueprint as to what you know they could possibly uh how to approach it in in that manner do you feel like I'm not sure honestly like the leagues are so different WNBA's been around so much longer and they have they have a tie uh legally and ownership wise to the NBA franchises where we don't we're owned by a single entity ownership um the advisory board is the one that advises and makes all the decisions for us so it's a sing it's one owner for our all 12 teams right um so I think it's just the PWHL was the first women's league to start with a CBA.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: So all the things that the WMBA has fought for we started with which you know maternity leave health benefits um 401k all that type of stuff um the the PWHL was able to start from the beginning with that which is different from the WMBA and the NWSL but I think the WMBA paved the way obviously um but it I I'm not sure that's definitely something I wonder if the players association like if they touch other player associations with WMBA or other sports to to kind of see what they fight for but this league is really unique with the single ownership it hasn't been done at least as far as I know besides maybe the Premier lacrosse the PLL did it for a bit but um the fact that we are you know it's not like we're doing a tour.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: We are in Vegas we're you know they're in San Jose they're in Montreal or whatever we're not it's not like we're moving around but we're just all owned by the same right people.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_03: Gotcha.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: So the money's the same um the resources are the same so in in that way it's great because they're all equal but it's not like you know if if we had you know maybe a Vegas local owner or something maybe things would be different.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: But for now it's it's it's been great and the fact that they've expanded from six to twelve teams in three years is it's phenomenal.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: Your first client as an agent and I I apologize if I say the name incorrectly it was Hayley Scramora is that her yeah she's on your team now.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: What's that like?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because you you have so many relationships that are now you know working with you on this what's it like to have somebody that you know you you you you've had a relationship with prior and now you're obviously working much closely together too.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah it was I I was so excited when she we had we got ours a free agent so it was you know an agreement between us that she would come to Vegas and uh she also knows my head coach Kim Weiss very well because they're both from the DC Maryland area.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it was just Haley was one of the ones as soon as I was a GM I'm like I want Haley Smarra on my team she's just one of those players that is you know gritty like will always she'll she know rather whether she plays 12 minutes or 20 minutes like she's getting in there she'll score she she'll make plays you never see anyone work harder on the four tech than her than she does.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: But as a human she is you know such a wonderful person with great family and she she just loves the community of hockey fans and um for her to come to us in Vegas is just it's gonna be great.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: She gets here on Saturday I think so we're excited to to have her here and you know she's an Olympian gold medalist and just a leader on our team but yeah it was it was it's there's obviously a difference in relationship um and now it's you know I I signed her I could also one day she could not be on our team anymore and it's gonna be it'll be interesting to see how that goes I think um but all the players have been so respectful of my role I've been really respectful of you know I have so many clients in the league that didn't want to come to us or maybe we talked to them in free agency and they chose something else and it's fine.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Like I I'm a big believer in I don't take things personally like this is business.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: I just want them to be happy and I want us to be a great team and if they didn't want to um come come to us then that's okay.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna compare myself to you real quick because when I was a a restaurant manager I started that makes sense I was a server and these were all my friends that I worked with.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah and then you're you're that you're you're their boss.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: The next day I'm telling them they need to pre-bust their table and they're like F you dude get out of here I you were just smoking on you know yeah whatever so um how do you I mean I it took me a long time at at that time to really navigate that and eventually I got to a point where people were just just knew me as the manager.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: But how do you navigate that where you are friends with them you've had relationships with them but you're do you is it just through communication is it through just setting expectations early on that you're like hey you know I know I don't want to make things weird but you know this is this is what I expect from you and they understand because everybody's adults I'm sure.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah I think from the beginning I've always thought they're not my friends they're my clients right um and there's you know I've had clients that my Pat always said you're not a real agent till you get fired and I was fired twice by two women's clients and um he's like there you go you're you're not welcome um and of course at first you're like like what did I it's more for me what did I do wrong right but um it it's business this is what it is and and I don't take it personally you know so I think it's I've always had um the example of my dad who works in music and works with a lot of bands he's a music manager and and like at the end of the day like he could work with a band for 10 years and they could they could fire him one day.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe he wants to go in a different direction.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: So there has to be you want to be friendly with them with your clients um but also there has to be an air of professionalism that you have to have.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't know it'll be interesting.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's also you know I'm 36 and a lot of our players are around my age as well and it's a group of women like I worked at the Kings but there's just a difference in sure it's it's this is a group of women and I'm I'm the GM versus me being you know the marketing coordinator taking photos in the corner.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like obviously my role is um you know in involved with the players but it'll be it'll be interesting for me to figure out it's something that I've thought a lot about um especially you know the first trade I make well we made a few trades already but as far as players that have already started um playing for us or um you know we've thought a lot about cutting players at camp and that's obviously something I've thought a lot about and how we'll do that and um so it'll all be new for me.
• 31:21
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• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's$300 in free bets.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Boomers Sportsbook where Nevada plays the win we love boomers don't we must be 21 and older located in Nevada and please gamble responsibly so you have the season coming up what is the heart I mean take me through how you're you don't have to give me the the the secret sauce but take me through how you're plan on getting the team comfortable and excited to kick off the new the new season with this new team.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah we have we've players trickling in now um Aaron Ambrose was here last week and we did kind of like a mini media tour with her so she'd never been to Vegas before so just showed her she went to an ACES game and showed her the Red Rocks hike and all that type of stuff.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: We have more players trickling in but most of them aren't here until November um so our training camp begins November 18th we're hosting preseason uh November 22nd is our first preseason game at America First um and then yeah opening night's right around the corner um on the sick the 6th of December at T-Mobile so I think it's the players have to get acclimated to a lot not only a new environment but new team new coach new facility all new trainers new ath new equipment managers um new strength coach so it's a lot I just want to make sure we don't throw too much at them um but you know we're we're planning some um leadership training we're planning some team bonding um we're planning to give them enough time to be like you know they're all moving here so it's like we know they need a day off to you know build furniture or figure out where the where the target is or the IKEA.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah um so I think we all just moved here too as far as me Kim the rest of our staff so um our team services people are really dialed and like okay this is the guy you call if you need your TVs hung like this is what you yeah well they've also they've also been able to find like a lot of like really great furnished housing and perfect Airbnbs.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah um so Henderson's been I think probably easier to find housing in than a lot of other cities like trying to find an apartment in Toronto is not that easy.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: So it's I think we're we're gonna really focus on getting them acclimated to each other to the to the area but also we have to play game really quick.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: So our all of our coaches have touched base with them already um our strength coach is in touch with them our trainer if anyone's injured so keeping in touch with them so that they hear from us um up until training camp because it's a long off season like especially for the players that the PWHL season ended in May as far as the playoffs go.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: But you know if you were in call if you're coming out of college like you haven't played a game since March maybe so and then we don't start playing till November.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a long off season so I think that's really important for us that the players have a great place to skate great place to train um I like that you're you're in different roles but you're all in the same boat.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yes you're all just you're you're all fully aware of listen we're all new at this we have we have like we said we guess we're bonding together and we're hoping to do this together but you know we're all this is all brand new to all of us.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah it's that's awesome.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we have a lot of players that have either been on an expansion team before and are coming from Seattle for example or like Haley Skomara has been on Ottawa Toronto and Montreal.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: Wow um so this is now her fourth team I believe and um in four years.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: So she knows she knows what it's like.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: She knows the drill.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yes and she also knows this didn't work this worked I loved this about this like our our our um people we've signed early have been a part of conversations with us to really be like even like niche questions like what do you guys want for breakfast at the rink?
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like are we doing yogurt like are we doing whatever it's a good question.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_02: What are what are we gonna have for breakfast at the office?
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah donuts from drunken donuts chocolate frosted sprinkles I'm gonna be at the rink to get yoga come on and you can bring the donuts for we'll trade we'll trade um I I know you've mentioned her a few times uh Kim Weiss that is the head coach and I know that y'all you you got to know each other at Trinity right what about her coaching style made you decide on Kim Kim is had a great coaching uh experience and her resume is very varied which I think was important for me to know that you know the women's game and the men's game is a little different but at the I think compared to other sports it's really similar compared to if you coach men and and you coach women the game itself by like a few minor rule changes as far as hitting and fighting and there's a little things that are different but she's coached really high level um she's coached in AHL she's been behind the bench in AHL game she's been a part of Colorado Avalanche development um uh and you know training camps with the Colorado Avalanche and her coaching style is similar to how she was as a player um I she was a sophomore when I was a freshman so she was already like an assistant captain as a sophomore um so she if if it was a different time then she would have been in the PWHL for sure it just didn't exist.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: She wants to win um and she cares about winning but she cares about people and she knows how important like teamwork is team bonding is and we had a very special group at Trinity that we loved our team but we also had lives outside of you know the team um so the battle the the way that she coaches is similar to that where it's like obviously we want to win but um she respects the game and she she plays and coaches it the right way in my opinion and she's a lot of offensive focus.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: She was a forward herself and she coaches to score and uh this league a lot of the games are 2-1 1-1-0 um so we all want more goals in this league and um I think she's gonna do well in that area for sure.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: When you mentioned how when you found out the the news that you were going to become the general manager the draft was shortly right after that right yeah what's it like in the draft room when you're when you're looking for one who who are you with when you're surrounded when you're scouting and doing this uh during the draft and then two what are you looking for uh as the draft is going on so the draft was about a month after um and it was in Detroit and um so we were on the stage and it was uh it was surreal I I just couldn't it was like I have a computer with a countdown and it's like oh I have 30 seconds left I have to like this is real.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: But it was so exciting it was really cool.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: The the they the league because I didn't have any staff I had hired Kim maybe two weeks before um they let us hire consultants for so I had um Dave Flint who's the head coach of Northeastern helped me um he was on the draft floor with us as well and then Brittany Howard who's the head coach at Western University which is um in Canada she helped um and it was just the four of us and uh we got to Detroit like 72 hours earlier and just we're in a conference room for three days and um we had done really well with defense in free agency before that um in the expansion draft we got a lot of D like Aaron Ambrose, Kendall Cooper um Mae Batherson so we were able it was forwards was our focus um and we had made a trade um the day before the draft to get another pick so we ended up with picks three and five um so this this draft was really unique in that the top four have were on the US Olympic team that won gold in Milan this year.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: Nice so probably the I mean the best draft class that will ever exist I'm sure obviously KK Harvey's one of the best players in the world um went to Vancouver number one and so for us like Tessay was who we picked number three and she was also a client of mine um so I've known Tessa a couple years and we really needed centers.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_01: We needed wings in the draft and it was just Tessa Lacey Eden and we were like I'll let Kim do the lines but that's those are our people.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have an opinion of what you you want the lines to be even though you're not going to overstep your boundaries no I'll let her you know I'll let her do that.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay good yeah um being that it's a new team in Vegas is you know obviously we're we're spoiled because we're used to winning right now with the Knights and Naces and everything going on.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh even the Raiders being three and I know I saw I was like everyone talks about the Raiders being bad and I'm like I just got here I'm like they're three and oh in the NFL like that's a huge deal.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: Everywhere you go it's beginner's lug I know you need left and right whether you got the blackjack table you're with the LH.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_01: So now you can't leave yeah we're not going anywhere that yeah what do you expect from what do you expect in year one uh from your team and your staff our expectation is to win a cup every year that's our goal like that's what we want we want to not just make the playoffs not just survive the first year like we want to make an impact on this league and we want to be a team that other teams are like oh we have to play Vegas on Saturday because that's how the nights are yeah um and I think our we want to you know I said it earlier but we want to be a team that scores um and we have a great uh goalie Nicole Hensley that was an Olympian she has a ton of experience and um we just we want to have a play a really exciting game that we know the city loves uh excitement and um hockey's exciting as it is but for us it's being a team that's really hard to play against um smart fast hard hockey is like our slogan on the wall that eventually when when it gets painted I like that um but it's more about playing smart but making your decisions quickly um and getting on the ice you know this is like I know you guys are newer hockey people but you know you're only on the ice for like 45 seconds at a time so you sprint the whole time playing hard you change hard um no laziness um a team that plays with integrity is is important for us and plays hockey the right way as we call it um but it's something that uh we want to be I think we're seen as an underdog a little bit which I like I'm fine with um element of surprise yeah we're really young as a team like I said we had eight picks in the draft instead of six um so we just signed four of them which is very unusual yeah um other teams have not even one draft pick signed at this point um we're also an expansion team so yes uh we needed players um but you know I don't know our median age but there we only have maybe two players that are like 32 34 ish um and yeah we're a young team um what's the average age in the league I don't know I imagine it's around 29 28 late 20s yeah yeah okay um but yeah our our team's young but I think we're gonna be really exciting to watch and it's a lot of players that came to us in the expansion draft or as a free agent that um wanted a fresh start in the league maybe they weren't getting the opportunities they deserved because of you know eight teams that's not a ton of playing time but as it's 12 we have a lot of players that we think can really make an impact that maybe have been you know riding under the under the radar a little bit the last few years.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: Love that what what was the motto again?
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_02: Smart fast hard hockey I like that I like that I'm gonna get down the wall so I do feel like we have to get back to addressing the elephant in the room.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_02: We know the slogan we know the team colors what everybody's been waiting for you're wearing the green I literally wore this on purpose okay I did it I sat down I was like no if I had had a golden tank top I would have worn it okay but I don't I mean I have the chair oh yeah you can wear it okay no I wore this shirt on you want to like come play for the team like I don't ice skate well okay I just submitted our training
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: Process this morning, but I could probably add your new.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm still holding onto the wall, trying to just get around.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_02: That's okay.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: Who's the new girl?
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_02: Here's the thing.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_02: I'm from Texas.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_02: I'm from DFW.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_02: Even in high school, we have so few hockey players that we have to have a district-wide team.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so I I actually only knew one female hockey player growing up.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_02: So you know what?
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: It's fair.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_02: I did my best.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_02: That's okay.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but we have to address it.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I know you said that the name will be announced.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_02: You said before the season?
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_02: Before the season.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_02: And the logo?
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_02: And the logo.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_02: But I have a guess.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_00: What the team name is going to be.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_02: I'm also not lying.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know what it is.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_02: And I you guys think I'm lying.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll never believe you.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_02: You're like Pinocchio.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_02: I see your nose getting longer every time you say it.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_02: You guys.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_00: We're all friends here.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think you understand how badly I wish I knew it.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_02: Also, I'm building this team and I'm like, what are we though?
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, what is this?
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_02: Are we?
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_02: But from the and I told you before we started recording, the moment the post went live that we were getting an expansion team, I sent it off to you, to my friends, my husband.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, how exciting that we're getting a women's hockey team.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_02: Immediately, I and now I've seen it on Reddit threads and everywhere, but I'm taking claim that I was the first one to say it.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's going to be the Vegas Oasis.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_02: 100%.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_02: I like the way it rolls off the tongue.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_02: I think it's good.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think that it also fits with like this league really likes um like teams that are like weather ideas.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like the Minnesota Frost, definitely Seattle Torrent.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like even that will be.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_01: I would I think the Oasis would be really cool.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think so too.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_01: I've also that was one of my favorite ones I've heard.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: Because I've obviously been I started it.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: But that was you.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: I started.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: So you are the PHL Vegas on Reddit.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's her.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um the someone told me to like Vegas Venom would be cool.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_01: That would be cool.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_01: I have like a scorpion.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_02: I've seen Vegas Sidewinders.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_02: Would be too it's like a it's a creature.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's a creature.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_02: It's a creature.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do you and this is gonna be tricky, I guess, because now you are gonna be the talk of you know TV and and subreddits on Reddit.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: How much attention do you pay to that?
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm sure it hasn't been too much just yet, but it will, as the season gets closer, you're gonna get talked about more and more personally.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah whether you're winning or you're losing.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: How much attention are you going to try to pay attention to?
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's another thing where it's like you don't take things personally.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, we had a lot of com we were at the Aces game last week, and the photo went everywhere, and there's a lot of comments that are mean um about what we look like and you know about a bunch of this stuff that's not relevant.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: And you you it's just what it it's just that's just what it is being a woman on the internet, you know what I mean?
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_01: But I think there's a level of like, I'm like, hey, people know who we are.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like we we sat courtside at I couldn't courtside at the ACEs game, it was so exciting.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: How much fun?
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_01: That was so much fun.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my god, I was like, we were like on the Sparks bench.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I'm sorry I can hear what you're saying.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, uh, but I think it'll be interesting.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's definitely something I haven't experienced before.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I've never been like a person in the media.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_01: This is my second podcast I've ever done, I think.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_01: Really?
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: What was the first one?
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I did an LA Kings one before I left.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh with Carlin Bays.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: She's like one of the hosts.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it's it's exciting.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_01: Kim has had a lot more media attention than I have, just being a you know, the second female coach in the AHL.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so she's done a lot more media and she will do a lot more media than I.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she has to do pregame, post-game presser every single game.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for me, I'm not I've never been nervous about this type of thing.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm an okay public speaker.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's just um for me, it's it's you put on blinders a little bit.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think there's always there's always people that will say what they want, and I'm just happy people are talking about us and are excited, and every post is like, give us the name, and I'm like, I don't know it.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_00: Stop harassing her.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_01: They're all me.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're all you're Julia, all of her fake accounts.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, but it's been really fun to get more people on board.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, our like our social person is now um like it's not just the league, we have our own Vegas social person as far as running all the counts.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have maybe like 17 staff members now just for Vegas.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_01: So it's cool.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe like three or four of them are Vegas locals, which is nice on the business side.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: So a few went to UNLV, some are from Henderson.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_01: So it's been good to have them um also just have like a ear to the ground of what are people saying.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I'm sure you know, if we go on a losing streak, people are gonna be like, fire Dominique.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be like, just don't take it personal.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I'm interested, it's exciting to me.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm interested to see what happens.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's a lot to look forward to.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, as this is your second podcast, you're doing a phenomenal job.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I know it's natural for you, but you also I can tell you you're definitely media trained.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_01: You you are just you're still people keep saying that, and honestly, I've I've done it with our play, like our as a at CAA, we help our players.
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, sure.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_01: Media training, but I haven't done it myself, but I don't know.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: What's some advice you'd give?
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because being that you're so well and for you're doing so well in front of the media, us, what's some advice you would you would give some of the players?
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: Or what's one piece of advice you give the the players other than don't take it personal?
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_01: I th media wise if you pause, it doesn't seem as long to everyone else as it does to yourself.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, especially if the question's difficult.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_01: If you pause, uh people don't mind.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I think when it's you, you're like your if your mind goes blank for a second, like it feels like it's 10 seconds, but it's really maybe a half a second.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think too for me, I'm trying to be better at um you don't have to fill the blank space.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's up to you all to do that.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_01: So if I can just answer a question and be comfortable with my sentence ending instead of rambling.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um the pla the players, I think that's hard to do when you I I was in a media scrum at the draft, and it's like you know, there's 15 reporters and they just have their phones like this, and it's like no cameras or anything, but it's kind of like it's alarming to have all that those phones in your face and stuff, and you don't want to like say anything wrong or whatever, but like you don't you also just you can kind of just say what you want and uh answer the question.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_01: You don't always have to answer the question, and so many GMs and coaches are really good at doing that.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they'll just say something and you're like, that's not what he asked.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_01: You avoided it completely.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but I'm looking forward to getting know the media.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_01: We had our first um press conference last week, and it was like the same people that were at the draft, and it's nice.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_01: There was there's a lot of, you know, the hockey media is small here, so um, and there's you know some people from the news stations and stuff like that.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it'll be nice.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_01: I hope it's I hope it's uh I'm sure I won't like it at some point, but I'm hope I hope it's it's kind it's people are so excited that it's like so kind hearted and they're just excited to have us.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_00: So have you watched Ted Lasso?
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, his relationship with the reporters.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's gonna be you.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: I hope I was it was so like You'd be like, Steve, how's the wife?
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: How's the kids?
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: What can you do?
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's what I want it to be.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh yeah, the last the most recent season that it was women's sports, I was like, Kim, watch it! This is us, and she's like us there were so many things that I was like You're a Ted Lasso.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this is not how things go, but you know, it's comedy, it's funny.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_00: Your first game is at T-Mobile, right?
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: Have you have you been to T-Mobile yet?
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: What'd you think?
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's insane.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's insane.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: What do you want the fans that go to watch the game for the very first time at Team Mobile to leave feeling like?
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like what's the expectation that you want the fans to leave?
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_01: I want them to feel excitement from us.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, there's no you walk in that arena on a game night at the nights, it's chills for sure.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's so loud.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_01: I want us to be just as loud.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I again I don't know what our name is, so I don't know what our game entertainment will be.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I I can't imagine we're gonna have you know the medieval time show that's happening.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_02: But sorry to interrupt.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_02: Does PWHL have like the live mascots or no?
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_02: Like it's as of now, no.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, as of now, no.
• 52:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you if you want some advice on what kind of live mascot you're gonna have, let us know.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_00: We can come up with some ideas.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_02: I'll be the mascot.
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is Julie, the podcast co-host.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'll put it on.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_02: You're just a big microphone.
• 52:46
  SPEAKER_00: You're just a microphone skating around the case.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't I didn't mean me.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_02: Like Julie is not the mascot.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_02: I will put it back.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_02: You will be in the costume, yeah.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_00: I like my idea better.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I want mostly the fans to walk away being like, I want to come back.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_01: Or wow, I've never been to a women's hockey game before.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_01: I loved it.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I want them to feel welcome and comfortable in T-Mobile.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's a place where a lot of fans maybe haven't been before.
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have a lot of fans from different cities come in.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's an intimidating bit building, I think.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I want our fans to feel at home there.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and a PWHL game is such like a, even though hockey is a rough sport, the girls are, you know, the players are trying to cull each other out there, it's warm and fuzzy feeling.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_01: It really is in the crowd.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it's very welcoming.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many kids, it's very family friendly.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we want it to be a combination of that, but also have, you know, we're on the strip.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_01: We want people to have the glitz and glamour of, you know, you go out to a nice dinner and then you come see women talkie and maybe you go gamble after.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_01: But we really think our fans are gonna be families and people that are locals.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um that, you know, our games are more wallet-friendly, I would say, than the nights or you know, a raiders ticket is so people can afford it.
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, we'll have I think it's 13 home games um so between December and April.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think there's a lot of opportunity for people to come.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's game times all over the map.
• 54:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it'll be I want them to feel excited, but like even from I don't know what our business side is planning as far as the outdoor area, but I went to the nights game last Thursday, and it's like that even the outdoor area is so fun.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_01: So much fun.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's almost like too loud, you're like, but the DJ, and then there's the bars, and it's like as soon as you exit MGM or Park MGM or whatever, you're like people go to the just just for the outside, they don't even go inside.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I I hope people well hope.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_01: I hope people come inside.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_00: I just of course that that too.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_02: But when it's sold out, you hope other people are inside.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, youth hockey is important for you because you've you know you you you experienced it.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say 10-year-old little Julie wants to get what?
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_02: Who's still stomping around in her ice skates because she hasn't know how to actually skate.
• 55:12
  SPEAKER_00: But she she sees she sees the team, she sees the players, she wants to play.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_00: What needs to happen next so that excitement actually becomes an opportunity for 10-year-old little Julie?
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_01: When girls' hockey has grown, I think the statistic is 600% since the Knights started, or maybe it's youth hockey in general, but youth hockey is huge here in Vegas.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um as far as if you come to a game and your kid or whoever wants to wants to try it, like there's so many learn to skate programs at these ranks.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have a lot of learn to skate at America First Center where we practice out of the Knights have um at City National Arena, right by Red Rocks over there.
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_01: So there's just like there's I think there's two other ranks.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 55:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but the girls' clubs are uh the the junior nights and then the Las Vegas Storm are the two travel clubs here.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_01: But there's a lot of in-house, like not hockey doesn't have to be travel from the get-go.
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but learn to play, learn to skate.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um the rinks have so much information and so much opportunities for for kids to start.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 56:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 56:17
  SPEAKER_00: You're also you you you're involved in other things too.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're part of Skate to Eliminate Cancer, is that is that right?
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us a little bit about that?
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's on Saturday, the 10th.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um October 10th, sorry.
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's it's a cause that's near and dear to a lot of our hearts at Peter Bushell Vegas.
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_01: And um Sherry Hudsbirth, who's our head of business operations, used to work with the Golden Knights for five, I think the whole time maybe six years.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_01: Doing their grassroots marketing.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's something that the Knights have supported as well.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_01: So um it's a girls and youth hockey clinic um that people can sign up and uh Kim and myself and Haley Skiamara will be there um to kind of meet the meet the community.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_01: But we're doing a lot more stuff like that.
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be released on social media um as soon as more players get to market in the next three, four weeks, we'll have a lot more clinics and opportunities for players to for fans to meet them.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_02: Wonderful.
• 57:09
  SPEAKER_02: And then um so today is October 1st as we're recording this.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_02: I know you said the full schedule should be out soon.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_02: Soon, but we do know the home opener date.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_02: Can you tell us the details for that?
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, December 6th to Sunday.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um the nights are have a home game Saturday night, the fifth, and they're doing basically PWHL Vegas themed game that night, which will be cool.
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think I don't know what's happening yet, but I'm sure there'll be some sort of, you know, you can buy a ticket to both games or that type of thing.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 57:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right now, for our tickets, we just have season tickets on sale, but we'll have single game tickets on sale eventually.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it'll it'll be I'm so excited for it.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_01: We're playing Detroit.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um Detroit's another expansion team.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_01: Were they the expansion team that came out the same time as the Vegas ones?
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um Do they have a name yet?
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_01: They don't.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they don't have a logo.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_01: They don't have a name or a logo that we're Nasco.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're gonna announce all four new ones at the same time.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 58:09
  unknown: Okay.
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: So sorry, we're just we're we're we're eager.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm eager to do that.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_02: I just want to be able to buy my merch and be ready for that.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_01: I would the merch on the web, there's merch on the website right now, but it just says Peter HL Vegas.
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't want that.
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, wait, wait.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_00: I just need to tell Wait till November.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just need to tell what name I need to tell my tattoo artist for my first tattoo that I get.
• 58:29
  SPEAKER_01: For the logo on your chest.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, on his forehead.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 58:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the guy that rips the shirt off in the middle of the game and is on the big screen.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I I'm really excited for Open Night.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be I think it's a it's gonna be a 5 p.m., I believe, 5 p.m.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_01: game.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I heard the Raiders have a bye week, which is great.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_01: So they won't have a home game.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it's it's gonna be awesome.
• 58:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think I don't know um when single game tickets will go on sale, but they will go on sale before before um obviously the season starts, and so if people don't want the full season, they can you know you seem very cool, calm and collected with with all the responsibilities you have and the role that you have, and I'm sure there's even more than you're that you have on your mind outside of just you know the the career that you're you're you have.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a moment where you're looking forward to like maybe the the puck drop where it's like we finally got to where we needed to get together?
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, there's two.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think the first one is um November 18th, our first day of training camp.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, being in like a welcome meeting, and there's 29 players looking at us, and I'm like, wow, they're like, they're here.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_01: We did it.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's a lot more work to be done to get to the you know the season, but having I that that date is that's the countdown.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_01: We have to get everything ready by then.
• 59:50
  SPEAKER_01: November 18th for us, for the players, you know, two facility builds, hiring all the staff, meals, breakfast, all anything, like everything.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_01: I could go on forever about what we have to do before then, but um that and yeah, puck drop opening night.
• 1:00:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I know I have lots of friend friends and family coming.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_01: I know Kim does as well.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_01: All of our players are like eager to get the schedule as well because Vegas is a place people want to visit, especially a lot of their families being from colder places.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um and we're gonna have some really exciting takeover games too, where we'll be in cities that don't necessarily host um don't have a P-Beutel team already.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_01: So it's called a takeover tour.
• 1:00:29
  SPEAKER_01: The Peterboytel does it a lot to like foster they do last year.
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_01: It was like Denver and um, you know, Chicago, places like that that don't have teams.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll have a lot, we'll have a few of those.
• 1:00:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it's definitely puck chop, not T-Mobile and like being up in the press box and looking down and being like, oh my gosh, this is that's gonna be so exciting for me.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm so happy for you.
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_00: What can we do as number one fans of the Vegas Oasis that we could do to support you guys this early?
• 1:00:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this is very helpful.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, thank you for having me on.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, spreading the word, I think there's nothing as far as what I've learned about Vegas, Vegas locals are very passionate about being locals.
• 1:01:11
  SPEAKER_01: And there's like a Henderson Summerlin standoff of sorts that I'm like navigating.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you know about that.
• 1:01:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and I'm like You're a true Vegas local, yeah.
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like, wait, I'm having been a Summerlin and it sounds cool.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_01: And people are like, we live in Henderson.
• 1:01:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, okay.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_02: It depends on your vibe.
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_02: Both are cool.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:01:27
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 1:01:27
  SPEAKER_01: I have I gotta explore more.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but anyway, I think just word of mouth, like obviously, you know, social media is a lot.
• 1:01:34
  SPEAKER_01: Every time we go on social media, there's like there's so much being thrown at you all the time.
• 1:01:38
  SPEAKER_01: For me, it's more like just telling people that we're coming, we're starting in December, um, and that it'll be even if people I think a lot of this city loves the nights, but maybe they don't always go to the games because they're they're you know, they're expensive.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_01: There's they're not all everyone wants to go to the strip um all the time, but for us it'll be something so different.
• 1:02:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um and women's hockey is just so exciting and it's such a cool thing to be a part of.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um and especially in the city, like you know, watching all the fans for the Aces game, it was just like the city loves women's sports, and I don't think people know that about Vegas.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't, to be honest.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, obviously I knew the Aces were good, but I I knew the Knights were good.
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, it's Raiders and then the A's are coming and then NBA's coming and everything.
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's it couldn't be a better time, like you said earlier, to be in sports in Vegas.
• 1:02:34
  SPEAKER_01: But I think specifically to be in women's sports in Vegas is such a it's such a part of it that I didn't realize I think until I until I got here where I was like, wow, this city like loves women's sports.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um and the city loves you know empowering Vegas born teams.
• 1:02:51
  SPEAKER_01: And like us being born in Vegas, we didn't move here from anywhere else is um we're really passionate about getting in the community, our players doing community appearances, um, everything from obviously on the ice, but there's ball hockey in the schools, being a part of um boys and girls clubs and stuff like that.
• 1:03:08
  SPEAKER_01: Our players are gonna be all over the city for sure.
• 1:03:11
  SPEAKER_01: And they want to do all the fun, yeah, strip, you know, Jonas Brothers stuff like that.
• 1:03:16
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 1:03:16
  SPEAKER_01: Metallica, this year.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_01: Metallica this year.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm very excited.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so thankful that that you you decided to come on our show and and to share your story and share the upcoming preview for the season.
• 1:03:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be there for puck drop.
• 1:03:28
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 1:03:28
  SPEAKER_02: Please, absolutely, absolutely.
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_00: Julie's gonna be the mascot in the podcast.
• 1:03:32
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna get kicked out for running on the ice.
• 1:03:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I'm so excited.
• 1:03:35
  SPEAKER_02: I'll jump over.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_02: No, I won't.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_02: I won't do that.
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_02: Honestly, you should do it.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_00: Wink wink.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_00: There it is.
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_02: Listen, it'll be all over the viral moment.
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_02: Great publicity.
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_02: I love that.
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but Dominique, thank you so much.
• 1:03:46
  SPEAKER_00: We're so excited for you, and uh, we look forward to seeing what the upcoming season brings to you guys.
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_00: And just the the rest of the the lifetime of this PWHL season.
• 1:03:54
  SPEAKER_00: Did did I say the PWHL fast enough?
• 1:03:56
  SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
• 1:03:57
  SPEAKER_01: That was perfect.
• 1:03:58
  SPEAKER_00: PWHL.
• 1:03:59
  SPEAKER_02: PWHL.
• 1:03:59
  SPEAKER_00: PWHL.
• 1:04:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, try to PWHL.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_02: Nice, nice.
• 1:04:03
  SPEAKER_02: You were the only one that struggled.
• 1:04:04
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I have a hard time with that.
• 1:04:05
  SPEAKER_00: When I have to focus on saying something a certain way, I have a hard time.
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but this is great.
• 1:04:10
  SPEAKER_00: Dominique, we're excited.
• 1:04:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um and uh yeah, you got fans right here.
• 1:04:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:04:14
  SPEAKER_00: Number one fans right here.
• 1:04:15
  SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
• 1:04:15
  SPEAKER_02: Number one, number two.
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we'll see you in December.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you in December.
• 1:04:18
  SPEAKER_00: Catch new episodes each week on heybighead.com.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_00: Julie, any last words before we get out?
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_02: Bye.
• 1:04:24
  unknown: Bye.