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On-site 2026 Draft Lottery Results & Reactions with OHL Personnel - OHL Overtime · The Armchair GM's Sports Network

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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.
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Speaker 2: This is Jim Joker's voice of the Cakes to bron Next,
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Speaker 2: you're listening to OHL Overtime and in depth interview show
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Speaker 2: highlighting the players, coaches and broadcasters from around the Ontario
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Speaker 2: Hockey League to make the league so great, as well
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Speaker 2: as in person coverage of events such as the OHL Playoffs,
0:42
Speaker 2: OHL Championship Series, OHL Combine and more exclusively on the
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Speaker 2: Armchair GM Sports Network. Here's your program host, Brandon Computer.
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Speaker 1: Welcome into another episode of OHL Overtime right here on
1:02
Speaker 1: the Armchair GM Sports Network, live here from the Ohl
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Speaker 1: Cup at the Scotia Bank Pond, as well as the
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Speaker 1: OHL Draft Lottery just took place a little while ago.
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Speaker 1: Gonna get re live reaction to that with our interviews
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Speaker 1: on today's show. Thank you for everybody tuning in on
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Speaker 1: your favorite on demand audio podcast platform. Make sure to
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Speaker 1: and TikTok by searching the Armchair GM Sports Network or
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Speaker 1: on x at Armchair GM Pod For all of our
1:34
Speaker 1: short reels and social content. Brandikudo again with you too,
1:39
Speaker 1: bring you some interviews from here at OHL Cup the
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Speaker 1: draft Lottery. As I mentioned some good stuff, We're gonna
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Speaker 1: hear from OHL Commissioner Brian Crawford expansion other things on
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Speaker 1: the league table as well as far as potential ideas
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Speaker 1: coming along in the pipeline, and just to pick his
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Speaker 1: brain a little bit on what we can expect going
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Speaker 1: forward here in the evering landscape of the Ontario hockeyly
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Speaker 1: as things begin to evolve and expand. We'll hear from him.
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Speaker 1: We'll also hear from the two general managers from today
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Speaker 1: who were I guess the beneficiaries of the OHL Draft
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Speaker 1: Lottery second overall pick. Arie Otter is going to hear
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Speaker 1: from Vice president and general manager Dave Brown on their
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Speaker 1: direction with that young team and where they're going in
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Speaker 1: their cycle and getting another top end pick to add
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Speaker 1: to their organization. As well as we'll hear from vice
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Speaker 1: president general manager of the Oshawa Generals and Roger Hunt.
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Speaker 1: He's going to talk to us a little bit about
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Speaker 1: winning the first overall pick. If the last time the
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Speaker 1: general's pick first overall was John taveres So, the Generals
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Speaker 1: are looking to make another big splash of that magnitude
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Speaker 1: to bring to the organization and add to that great
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Speaker 1: culture there in Oshawa after back to back Bobby Or trophies.
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Speaker 1: Obviously went through a rebuilding season this year and they're
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Speaker 1: looking to build back up to stands. Get his thoughts
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Speaker 1: on where they're looking in their offseason and just how
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Speaker 1: things have evolved and changed in the first year of
3:00
Speaker 1: this new NCAA eligibility and everything else changing within the leagues.
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Speaker 1: We'll hear from Roger as well. So those are three
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Speaker 1: individuals will hear from on today's show. Going to be
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Speaker 1: an exciting one. As I mentioned, the Ohl Draft lottery
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Speaker 1: just happened a little while ago with the Yashua Generals
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Speaker 1: winning it. First overall pick goes to them second overall, Eriatters,
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Speaker 1: third overall, Brampton Steelhead's fourth overall, Sarnia Sting. So obviously
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Speaker 1: those first two teams are going to be excited to
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Speaker 1: add to that to the add to those cores with
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Speaker 1: the top two picks. Obviously for Ashwa, they're gonna really
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Speaker 1: start the whole draft off and the in person draft
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Speaker 1: in June in Kingston gonna be a fun one as
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Speaker 1: well going. Maybe we'll see if they get a nice
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Speaker 1: reception going up to Kingston in one of their East
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Speaker 1: Division rivals, if they receive some sort of good ovation
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Speaker 1: when they go up there to make that first overall selection.
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Speaker 1: A slush puppy place On June twelfth and June thirteenth,
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Speaker 1: again the OSHL Cup going on. Some describe it as
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Speaker 1: the Stanley Cup of Junior of draft eligible hockey for
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Speaker 1: those players in the U sixteen age group and potentially
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Speaker 1: those going on to the Ontario Hockey League or other
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Speaker 1: forms of junior hockey. This is the best tournament and
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Speaker 1: the one with the most eyes on it to end
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Speaker 1: the minor hockey season. So a lot of teams on
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Speaker 1: hand today, some new American teams as well as as
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Speaker 1: you hear Commissioner Brian Crawford talk about expanding the tournament
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Speaker 1: to more teams within the United States as well. So
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Speaker 1: a big turnout here throughout the entire week, but today
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Speaker 1: specifically with the Ohl draft lottery that happened a little
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Speaker 1: while ago, all the general managers and scouts, everybody culminating
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Speaker 1: here from the Ontario Hockey League. It's been a fun
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Speaker 1: day to see those around and just see the conversations
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Speaker 1: and the interactions going on between the general managers, maybe
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Speaker 1: some early trade talks as well, getting those things ramped
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Speaker 1: up before we get to the Futures camp next May
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Speaker 1: as well. So it's going to be a fun time
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Speaker 1: for this offseason as well as we're watching the best
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Speaker 1: OHL Draft eligible players coming into the league here. So
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Speaker 1: with that said, I do want to make a quick
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Speaker 1: note before we get to the interviews. Thursday evening tomorrow
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Speaker 1: or today later tonight if you're listening to this. On Thursday,
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Speaker 1: six pm and eight pm here at the Scotia Bank
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Speaker 1: Pond are going to be the semi finals matchups as
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Speaker 1: well as Saturday afternoon at two pm is going to
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Speaker 1: be the finals of the Ohl Cup, which will be
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Speaker 1: streamed live across the OHL social media platforms, so watch
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Speaker 1: out for that as well as you continue forward to
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Speaker 1: watching the coverage of this event. And at the time
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Speaker 1: of this coming out as well, we might have some
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Speaker 1: news about potential some games with Cornwall. Maybe maybe that's
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Speaker 1: going to be some news as well, maybe some games
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Speaker 1: there for neutral site games, potentially Kingston, Ottawa, Brampton. We'll
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Speaker 1: see what happens with that. If that announcement does come
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Speaker 1: down the pipeline as well, but those are some things
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Speaker 1: to look out for as well. Ask Commissioner Brian Crawford
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Speaker 1: about all that as well. So we'll start out with him,
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Speaker 1: get his thoughts on the landscape of the league after
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Speaker 1: this first year of open eligibility with the NCAA, and
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Speaker 1: his thoughts on some of the other initiatives and other
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Speaker 1: rule changes that might come down the pipeline. So here
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Speaker 1: first is the Commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League, Brian Crawford,
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Speaker 1: and then we will get to our interviews with first
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Speaker 1: overall pick, Oshawa Generals Vice president General Manager Roger Hunt,
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Speaker 1: and then we'll finish off with Erie Otters Vice President
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Speaker 1: general manager Dave Brown, a second overall pick for the
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Speaker 1: arie Otters. So though that's the lineup for today's show,
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Speaker 1: hopefully you guys enjoy these interviews Live from the Ohl
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Speaker 1: Cup twenty twenty six and we're back at the Ohl
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Speaker 1: Cup draft lottery just happened a short while ago. Please
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Speaker 1: to be joined by OHL Commissioner Brian Crawford. Brian, really
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Speaker 1: appreciate you taking the time to do this. I know
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Speaker 1: you've been making the rounds today. You're like a celebrity
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Speaker 1: around here having to be pulled in so many different directions,
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Speaker 1: but just general takeaways from the lottery and just the
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Speaker 1: Ohl Cup tournament itself.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I know, thanks for having us.
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Speaker 4: You know, it's such a great week, right This is
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Speaker 4: you know, a huge step for so many young players
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Speaker 4: in their families, in their in their hockey journey. You know,
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Speaker 4: we're excited to be a part of it, to have
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Speaker 4: the partners that we do to put it on that
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Speaker 4: it's continued to grow and the interest in the tournament
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Speaker 4: has continued to grow and you know, desire to be
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Speaker 4: a participant in it obviously led to the expansion of
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Speaker 4: the of the tournament this year. So it's such a
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Speaker 4: big part of our year and you know something that
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Speaker 4: we're going to continue to you know, put more and
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Speaker 4: more time in resources behind to continue to grow it.
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Speaker 4: So yeah, so that it was a great week for that,
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Speaker 4: you know, with the draft lottery today and at least
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Speaker 4: knowing how the first four look and just exactly how
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Speaker 4: they shook out in the regular season standings with Oshaua
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Speaker 4: come in at number one for the first time since
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Speaker 4: John Tavares was drafted. So if they can hit on
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Speaker 4: that pick like John did, I think they'll be in
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Speaker 4: pretty good shape and so will our so will our league.
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Speaker 4: But you know, a great day and you know, we're
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Speaker 4: excited to excited to crown a champion of this tournament
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Speaker 4: on Saturday.
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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and for a tournament like this obviously showcasing some
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Speaker 1: of the best that are going to be coming into
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Speaker 1: your league. So how much of this week is important
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Speaker 1: for the recruitment and and sort of things like that,
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Speaker 1: not only for the teams, but also for you to
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Speaker 1: get to know the players, the parents, everybody here as well,
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Speaker 1: showface as the commissioner of the league and just you know,
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Speaker 1: welcoming people in that Obviously we want them to come
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Speaker 1: to the OHL and the Cochl's more specifically for the
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Speaker 1: betterment of their development.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, no, it's an incredibly important week, right. It's important
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Speaker 4: for them to also, you know, kind of learn what
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Speaker 4: the OHL is all about. You know, not every player
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Speaker 4: and family, you know, knows exactly what the OHL is about.
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Speaker 4: Maybe they didn't grow up in a community that has
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Speaker 4: a team or what have you, and they may be
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Speaker 4: new to this. So they need to learn about the league.
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Speaker 4: They need to learn about the programs that we have
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Speaker 4: in place to support the players, you know, or a
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Speaker 4: scholarship program or mental health support programs, the development and
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Speaker 4: that we offer and and that's this is a big
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Speaker 4: part of it. This event, our Futures event, which is
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Speaker 4: a kind of a relaunched version of our Combine taking
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Speaker 4: place coming up in May. You know, these are good
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Speaker 4: opportunities to connect with the families, connect with the parents
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Speaker 4: so that they have an opportunity to you know, to
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Speaker 4: learn about our league and understand what it is that.
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Speaker 3: We have to offer.
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Speaker 4: So you know, we're you know, part of expanding this
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Speaker 4: too is you know, continue to have more American teams
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Speaker 4: in the tournament.
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Speaker 5: Uh.
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Speaker 4: That's a big part of you know, our future. You know,
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Speaker 4: more and more Americans that are interested in our league.
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Speaker 4: Of course with the change at the NC double A level,
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Speaker 4: you know, led to an influx this year, a record
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Speaker 4: number drafted last year. So you know we're going to
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Speaker 4: continue to you know, be the best league in the
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Speaker 4: world for Canadians, Americans, Europeans.
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Speaker 6: Uh.
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Speaker 4: You know, we want the best players regardless of nationality
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Speaker 4: playing in our in our league.
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Speaker 1: And when you talk about just the evolution of the
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Speaker 1: league and since you've become in as commissioner. We've got
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Speaker 1: the in person draft coming back, the Futures Camp revitalized
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Speaker 1: as the OHL combine. You made changes there as well,
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Speaker 1: obviously with the NC double A eligibility, and we know
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Speaker 1: there's certain things going on logistically about potential expansion, butential
10:00
Speaker 1: of nineteen year old first rounders going to play in
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Speaker 1: the American Hockey League. So there's a lot of moving
10:04
Speaker 1: parts within junior hockey right now. We're how how much
10:07
Speaker 1: do you feel like it's a positive change overall for
10:11
Speaker 1: the CHL, the OHL and junior hockey as it continues
10:14
Speaker 1: to evolve and add new avenues here.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think that the change, you know,
10:18
Speaker 4: there's no question that there's been an incredible amount of
10:21
Speaker 4: change that's occurred, you know, in the last two years,
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Speaker 4: and that you know, that causes disruption for people and
10:28
Speaker 4: it can be sometimes difficult to deal with. You know,
10:32
Speaker 4: we've been very lucky in that, you know, we're we've
10:35
Speaker 4: been a beneficiary if some of that change. There's new
10:38
Speaker 4: opportunities for us to capitalize on as well. You know,
10:41
Speaker 4: we think that you know, the change at the NCAA
10:44
Speaker 4: level providing more opportunities and choice for players, you know,
10:48
Speaker 4: is incredibly beneficial for the players in our league and
10:51
Speaker 4: their families and generally the development of hockey. Right to
10:54
Speaker 4: be able to play in our league, you know, through
10:57
Speaker 4: their eligibility, and then to be able to move on
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Speaker 4: if they're not ready for the NHL or the HL
11:02
Speaker 4: or another level of professional hockey, you know, to go
11:05
Speaker 4: to the NCAA, continue to develop, to get an education.
11:08
Speaker 4: You know, all those sorts of things are really really
11:10
Speaker 4: positive for for hockey. So you know, we we look
11:15
Speaker 4: at it that way. We need to of course kind
11:16
Speaker 4: of all smooth out and figure out how you know,
11:19
Speaker 4: all of this eventually kind of settles in and kind
11:21
Speaker 4: of water finds its levels, so to speak. But you know,
11:23
Speaker 4: we've got a ton of great opportunities to continue to
11:26
Speaker 4: really grow and thrive as a league and build upon
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Speaker 4: the successes that have been you know, piling up for us.
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Speaker 1: And I know expansion has been a hot topic for
11:36
Speaker 1: a lot of people. And I know, you know, whether
11:38
Speaker 1: that's twenty two twenty four teams, American teams, more more
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Speaker 1: Ontario based teams, I'm not too sure the logistics of
11:44
Speaker 1: everything like that yet, but I know you were in
11:46
Speaker 1: Chatham for the potential of them possibly if they build
11:49
Speaker 1: an arena, you'd be willing to sign an agreement there.
11:52
Speaker 1: We've heard about the Cornwall rumors as well, with potentially
11:56
Speaker 1: playing Kingston and Ottawa Brampton in some neutral site games
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Speaker 1: and Wall that could sort of test the waters there.
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Speaker 1: What has been your I guess stance on that and
12:04
Speaker 1: where are we at right now as a league of
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Speaker 1: what are the next steps here if that is going
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Speaker 1: to be the option.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, No, the league is very interested in finding opportunities
12:14
Speaker 4: to grow and expand the league and we have been,
12:16
Speaker 4: you know, since since last year. That influx of players
12:20
Speaker 4: has elevated the overall quality of the league, which ultimately
12:23
Speaker 4: you know, provides us the opportunity to you know, respond
12:26
Speaker 4: to that market demand that we have and grow the
12:28
Speaker 4: league while maintaining a really high level of play and
12:30
Speaker 4: a product on the on the ice. So you know,
12:33
Speaker 4: all of these things are very early preliminary work, right.
12:37
Speaker 4: It's you know, these are projects that are measured in
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Speaker 4: years not months, and doing the due diligence to explore,
12:43
Speaker 4: you know, whether it was you know, meeting with Counsel
12:46
Speaker 4: and Chatham Kent that is exploratory so they can understand
12:49
Speaker 4: more about us, we can understand more about them, explore
12:52
Speaker 4: if that's something that they might want to do. The
12:54
Speaker 4: reality is there aren't arenas sitting there waiting for us,
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Speaker 4: you know, to to to move to. You know, these
13:00
Speaker 4: are these are going to be commitments that communities have
13:03
Speaker 4: to make to build an arena and that's that's a
13:05
Speaker 4: big capital project for for any community. And so that's
13:09
Speaker 4: part of what they have to explore and we have
13:12
Speaker 4: to understand. And then you know, we have to understand
13:13
Speaker 4: how you know, a potential community fits into you know,
13:17
Speaker 4: what our league does, and that's on both sides of
13:20
Speaker 4: the border, both in Ontario and in the United States.
13:23
Speaker 4: You know, as we as we seek out these opportunities.
13:25
Speaker 4: So you know, it will continue to take time. You know,
13:28
Speaker 4: I definitely hear people think, oh this is you know,
13:30
Speaker 4: are said they wanted to expand, and they're interesting expanding.
13:33
Speaker 4: It takes time, right, They're big projects, and you know,
13:35
Speaker 4: we're going to go about it properly and do our
13:37
Speaker 4: due diligence in the proper way to make sure that
13:39
Speaker 4: what we do is additive to our league to make
13:42
Speaker 4: it bigger and stronger and better than it is today.
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Speaker 4: So we're excited about the opportunities that we're exploring currently
13:48
Speaker 4: and and that we've got kind of in front of
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Speaker 4: us and we continue to work on them.
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Speaker 1: O h'all. Commissioner Brian Crawford's with us. Brian, another sort
13:55
Speaker 1: of new project is going into next season. We're going
13:57
Speaker 1: to see some cross Chames. We're going to see London
14:01
Speaker 1: playing against Victoria going out there, some teams coming from
14:04
Speaker 1: the East, the East Coast and the QMJHL Monked in
14:08
Speaker 1: coming playing Kitchener and some of those other teams as well.
14:11
Speaker 1: How I guess important was something like that because we
14:13
Speaker 1: don't really see those teams other than meeting in the
14:15
Speaker 1: Memorial Cup, and that only happens, you know, for those
14:18
Speaker 1: certain three four teams that are involved in that. So
14:21
Speaker 1: being able to work collaboratively with the CHL to sort
14:25
Speaker 1: of grow, I guess the attention onto that just how
14:28
Speaker 1: did that whole project come to come together and how
14:30
Speaker 1: what do you think of that maybe going forward in
14:32
Speaker 1: the future and expanding.
14:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I think that's that is something that we've
14:35
Speaker 4: been really interested in the last couple of years and
14:37
Speaker 4: exploring and trying to do more of, which isn't actually
14:40
Speaker 4: necessarily all that much of a new thing. We've had
14:42
Speaker 4: lots of interleague play over you know, over the history
14:45
Speaker 4: of the CHL and and our three leagues. You know,
14:48
Speaker 4: this year we had Autaw said Barry both participate. Next
14:52
Speaker 4: year we are adding additional teams to that. You know,
14:55
Speaker 4: we are exploring ways to also you know, go beyond
14:59
Speaker 4: kind of regional interleague which I would you know, which
15:01
Speaker 4: how I would describe, uh, you know, the teams in
15:04
Speaker 4: our Western Conference playing you know kind of teams and
15:06
Speaker 4: the sorry, our teams in the Eastern Conference playing teams
15:09
Speaker 4: in the Western Conference of the Quebec Maritimes Junior League
15:12
Speaker 4: where you know, their bus trips are close together. They
15:13
Speaker 4: make a lot of sense. Obviously Ottawa gad No, you know,
15:16
Speaker 4: makes sense. So you know, doing more of those while
15:19
Speaker 4: still trying to explore how do we include other teams
15:23
Speaker 4: and brands from farther away, whether it be the Maritimes,
15:26
Speaker 4: whether it be the Western Hockey League. You know, as
15:28
Speaker 4: we look into the future, you know, beyond next year,
15:31
Speaker 4: and it's part of just you know, creating more you know,
15:34
Speaker 4: more excitement in the calendar, you know, more dialogue between
15:38
Speaker 4: fans as we you know, build towards a Memorial Cup,
15:40
Speaker 4: you know, the rankings and those sorts of things that
15:42
Speaker 4: become more interesting and all that sort of stuff. So
15:45
Speaker 4: you know, once again we're kind of you know, dipping
15:47
Speaker 4: our toe in. We're walking before we run, we're exploring,
15:49
Speaker 4: we're expanding it a little bit next year as we do,
15:53
Speaker 4: you know, just a little bit more and and look
15:55
Speaker 4: at ways that we can you know, continue to grow
15:57
Speaker 4: that as we move forward in the future.
15:58
Speaker 1: How excited are you for next year being able to
16:01
Speaker 1: your first time as commissioner going to be hosting the
16:03
Speaker 1: Memorial Cup with GWELF being named the host there. How
16:07
Speaker 1: excited are you for that? And and sort of a
16:09
Speaker 1: neutral site where a lot of OHL people can all
16:12
Speaker 1: come and and be for for a big tournament like
16:15
Speaker 1: that that maybe didn't have the opportunity to go to
16:17
Speaker 1: Saganaw when it was there in Michigan. And obviously with
16:20
Speaker 1: it going to the to the QMJHL and then the WHL,
16:23
Speaker 1: you've had to wait a little bit for it to
16:24
Speaker 1: come back. How excited do you that it's going to
16:26
Speaker 1: be in GWELF and that whole process.
16:28
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, incredibly exciting.
16:29
Speaker 6: Right.
16:30
Speaker 4: The Memorial Cup is the marquee event on the calendar
16:33
Speaker 4: for the CHL for all three of our leagues. So
16:37
Speaker 4: every year that it's you know, back in the OHL
16:40
Speaker 4: is an exciting year. You know, Gwelf's going to do
16:42
Speaker 4: a fabulous job. They certainly put on a great show
16:45
Speaker 4: for every you know, regular season game that they host
16:48
Speaker 4: and playoff game. The community is great and supportive, so
16:53
Speaker 4: you know they're going to make for a great host.
16:54
Speaker 4: We're excited to have it. You know, we're going to
16:55
Speaker 4: look at some additional events that we can do together
16:57
Speaker 4: and things that we can do together around the Memorial
16:59
Speaker 4: Cup when it's in and you know, when it's in
17:01
Speaker 4: the OHL, and we've been working on some things for
17:04
Speaker 4: next year as well, so this year will be great.
17:07
Speaker 4: You're looking forward to heading out to Klona and then
17:10
Speaker 4: being on the countdown until the Memorial Cup comes to Ontario.
17:14
Speaker 1: I know some fans Brian might be a little bit
17:17
Speaker 1: have a lot of questions about sort of how this
17:19
Speaker 1: whole eligibility landscape has changed and how it's going to
17:22
Speaker 1: continue to change if that nineteen year old rule does
17:24
Speaker 1: come in for first rounders going to the American Hockey League.
17:28
Speaker 1: I know there's some people out there that are excited
17:30
Speaker 1: about the changes. I know there are some that you
17:32
Speaker 1: know might say that, well, is the OHL going to
17:34
Speaker 1: sort of become a best of the best of U eighteens?
17:37
Speaker 1: Maybe the nineteen twenty year olds go on two different levels.
17:40
Speaker 1: What would be your message to those fans that you
17:42
Speaker 1: know still want to see the best players remain in
17:45
Speaker 1: the Ontario Hockey League as long as possible.
17:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, we're we've been actively working with the
17:49
Speaker 4: NHL on what that might look like. You know, that
17:51
Speaker 4: pathway is not the right pathway for everybody, but for
17:54
Speaker 4: some it might be. And we want to be part of,
17:56
Speaker 4: you know, developing players to the best of you know,
17:59
Speaker 4: our abilities and our abilities so they can become NHL stars.
18:03
Speaker 3: Right.
18:04
Speaker 4: So we're working through that and we'll have kind of
18:07
Speaker 4: you know, finalized plan in place, you know, for you know,
18:10
Speaker 4: for next season, you know, as it kind of pertains
18:13
Speaker 4: to what the league looks like going forward. I mean,
18:16
Speaker 4: the league is deeper and thicker than it's ever been.
18:20
Speaker 4: We have attracted more and more players. More top draft
18:24
Speaker 4: choices are going to continue to come out of the
18:26
Speaker 4: CHL you know, at the seventeen in their draft year
18:29
Speaker 4: and are going to be back in our league as
18:30
Speaker 4: eighteen year olds, and you know, so you know what
18:32
Speaker 4: we have to fight at kind of a recruiting battle
18:34
Speaker 4: and retention battle on some players. Absolutely, you know there
18:37
Speaker 4: are some players might feel that they're you know, better
18:40
Speaker 4: off developing on a different pathway. You know that's that
18:43
Speaker 4: that could be the case. We'll focus on what we
18:45
Speaker 4: can control making sure that our environment is the best
18:47
Speaker 4: environment possible for developing players that are sixteen, seventeen, eighteen,
18:52
Speaker 4: in nineteen years of age. So we're we're excited about
18:56
Speaker 4: the opportunities that have been presented to us to grow
18:59
Speaker 4: our league and to be, you know, to be even
19:02
Speaker 4: more prominent in the development space.
19:05
Speaker 1: My last question for you, other than maybe having it
19:07
Speaker 1: cut into your summer activities, how much are you looking
19:09
Speaker 1: forward to the June draft in Kingston coming back. I
19:12
Speaker 1: know that was a big point of emphasis for you,
19:14
Speaker 1: having that live draft back, pushing it back a few
19:16
Speaker 1: months rather than having it right in the middle of
19:18
Speaker 1: HL playoffs, which isn't technically ideal. So, other than maybe
19:22
Speaker 1: having to cut your vacation time a little bit a
19:25
Speaker 1: little bit short, how much you're you looking forward to
19:27
Speaker 1: to really bringing this this whole idea and having it
19:30
Speaker 1: to culminate in June in Kingston, because it's something that
19:33
Speaker 1: you've really championed since you became commissioner.
19:36
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I mean, I'm sure there's some that
19:38
Speaker 4: don't love me for cutting into the summer vacation, but
19:41
Speaker 4: you know that there's plenty of time in July and
19:43
Speaker 4: to get up to the cottage or you know, kicked
19:47
Speaker 4: back by the pool or what have you. But yeah,
19:50
Speaker 4: we're incredibly excited. It's going to be a massive event.
19:52
Speaker 4: We're working on it every day. Great partners in the
19:54
Speaker 4: city of Kingston. You know, the League has bought in,
19:57
Speaker 4: the teams have bought in. You know, it's a week
19:59
Speaker 4: long us to you know kind of festival events, working
20:02
Speaker 4: with the local Alumni Association to alumni events and uh,
20:05
Speaker 4: you know, got all of our business folks up there
20:07
Speaker 4: on our board and all sorts of things. You know,
20:09
Speaker 4: we're we're excited to bring this back in person and
20:12
Speaker 4: put on what will be a really great show both
20:14
Speaker 4: in the arena you know, and on broadcast of course
20:18
Speaker 4: as well, and and really create an event worthy of,
20:22
Speaker 4: you know, the introduction to the League that this event represents,
20:26
Speaker 4: and you know kind of welcome in you know, our
20:29
Speaker 4: new our new cohort of players and future stars in
20:33
Speaker 4: our league and their families, so we're excited about it.
20:37
Speaker 4: We've seen the qmjh'll do a great job with the
20:39
Speaker 4: in person draft for many years, and we think that
20:42
Speaker 4: this is, you know, going to be a marquee event
20:45
Speaker 4: on the calendar for for a long time. So looking
20:48
Speaker 4: forward to seeing everybody up in UH up in Kingston
20:51
Speaker 4: in a couple of weeks time, and then UH and
20:55
Speaker 4: UH ticket sales go on sale for for that event
20:58
Speaker 4: very shortly as well, and we'll have all sorts of
20:59
Speaker 4: package and stuff, so it should be good.
21:02
Speaker 1: Absolutely. There's OHL Commissioner Brian Crawford. Brian really appreciate you
21:05
Speaker 1: taking the time. It's going to be an exciting few
21:08
Speaker 1: more months with the OHL Championship and obviously the Futures
21:12
Speaker 1: Camp and everything like that. So best of luck with
21:14
Speaker 1: the rest of the season and look forward to seeing
21:17
Speaker 1: you at the other big OHL events coming up.
21:18
Speaker 3: Great, thanks so much for having us.
21:20
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21:22
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22:01
Speaker 2: Hi, this is Mike Stubbs Radio Voice of the London Nights.
22:05
Speaker 2: You are listening to Brandon Kapudo on Ohl Overtime.
22:34
Speaker 1: And we're back at the Ohl Cup and draft lottery
22:37
Speaker 1: of the Ohl just happened a little while ago. We're
22:40
Speaker 1: joined by Vice President and General Manager of the Oshawa Generals,
22:43
Speaker 1: mister Roger hunt Well. Roger, congratulations. First off, can't can't
22:47
Speaker 1: get much better than that General's picking first overall after
22:50
Speaker 1: the lottery results, just what are your thoughts about you know,
22:53
Speaker 1: adding another Obviously whatever player you deem is the best
22:56
Speaker 1: available in this draft clash is going to be adding
22:58
Speaker 1: him to the to that the young general's core you've got.
23:01
Speaker 7: Yeah, No, it's very exciting to have gone through this
23:04
Speaker 7: now and I'll quite gladly.
23:07
Speaker 5: Hope to never go through it again.
23:09
Speaker 7: But it was very very exciting for the organization and
23:13
Speaker 7: probably more so the fans that deserve it that you
23:18
Speaker 7: get an opportunity to see the first overall pick. But yeah,
23:21
Speaker 7: very exciting day, A great day for the franchise. And
23:25
Speaker 7: now we've got to continue watching here in the Ohl
23:27
Speaker 7: Cup and compile lists and have meetings and meet families
23:30
Speaker 7: and everything else.
23:31
Speaker 5: But very exciting day.
23:33
Speaker 1: Absolutely. And when you talk about a week like this,
23:35
Speaker 1: I know you don't want to take a week snapshot
23:37
Speaker 1: and you've got your boards and the guys you've watched
23:39
Speaker 1: all year long, and your scouts have done their due
23:41
Speaker 1: diligence on But how much do you take a tournament
23:43
Speaker 1: like this or even the Ohl Combine now name the
23:46
Speaker 1: futures camp that's going to be coming next month before
23:49
Speaker 1: the draft in June. What do you take from tournaments
23:52
Speaker 1: like this? And how much do your board sort of
23:54
Speaker 1: fluctuate positively or negatively from a tournament like this or
23:57
Speaker 1: are you pretty much made up your mind as far
23:59
Speaker 1: as what you guys are looking at as far as
24:02
Speaker 1: the best players available that you might look at.
24:04
Speaker 7: Yeah, I don't think our mind would be completely made up.
24:08
Speaker 7: I think you have to be careful that you don't
24:10
Speaker 7: put all your stock into one tournament. Albeit this is
24:13
Speaker 7: the Stanley Cup or the Memorial Cup of minor midget
24:17
Speaker 7: hockey in Ontario, and you're seeing the best perform on
24:20
Speaker 7: the biggest stage. So that's good to see how they
24:24
Speaker 7: do do that. But I think with the thousands of
24:28
Speaker 7: hours that our scouts have spent, you know, on Tuesday
24:30
Speaker 7: nights and Saturday mornings and everything else, that's where our
24:34
Speaker 7: list gets compiled. And this this can maybe solidify for
24:37
Speaker 7: yourself something that's you were thinking or you were you
24:41
Speaker 7: were happy to see or hoping to see. So this
24:44
Speaker 7: is a big tournament in so much as you're seeing
24:47
Speaker 7: the best of the best competing against each other and
24:50
Speaker 7: very exciting. But I yeah, I think I think you
24:52
Speaker 7: have to be careful of, you know, totally putting all
24:55
Speaker 7: your stock into a tournament like this.
24:57
Speaker 5: Yeah.
24:57
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And you talked about the tough season that the
25:01
Speaker 1: Generals had. Obviously you know, going to back to back
25:04
Speaker 1: HL championships to Eastern Conference championships, you knew at some point,
25:07
Speaker 1: you know, you'd have to try to recoup and restock
25:10
Speaker 1: the shelves a little bit, so to speak. So coming
25:12
Speaker 1: into this year, you know Beckett didn't come back. That
25:14
Speaker 1: was another big piece that you didn't get back on
25:16
Speaker 1: the roster. But you're able to make some moves trading
25:18
Speaker 1: away Ben Danford was really tough as your captain and
25:21
Speaker 1: things like that. But with the moves that you guys
25:23
Speaker 1: made this season and the strides that you made as
25:25
Speaker 1: an organization to try to get back up into a
25:28
Speaker 1: competitive team once again as quickly as possible, how do
25:31
Speaker 1: you feel like you and your staff did in that regard?
25:34
Speaker 7: Well, As you said, Beckett not coming back is a
25:37
Speaker 7: huge blow or was a huge blow, and you know
25:42
Speaker 7: he probably shouldn't have come back. Now you look at
25:44
Speaker 7: what he's been doing in the NHL, so it's especial
25:48
Speaker 7: what he's done. But yeah, I mean not getting him
25:51
Speaker 7: back and then ultimately knowing we probably had to trade
25:55
Speaker 7: Ben at some point. The way he plays, he's such
25:59
Speaker 7: a and he's in the thick of everything all the time.
26:04
Speaker 7: When Beckett wasn't coming back if we ran the risk
26:06
Speaker 7: of Ben getting hurt or something, and then you lose
26:09
Speaker 7: another possible opportunity to you know.
26:12
Speaker 5: Restock some draft coverage and stuff like that.
26:14
Speaker 7: But if Beckett was back, Ben would probably not have
26:17
Speaker 7: been traded in October. And Zach Sandy certainly, who is
26:21
Speaker 7: a huge part of that too. But you know, those
26:23
Speaker 7: things happened and we have to deal with it. And
26:26
Speaker 7: you know, never did I ever want to finish out
26:30
Speaker 7: of the playoffs, but you know, today makes it not
26:34
Speaker 7: worth it because it was a horrible thing to go
26:37
Speaker 7: through for everyone. But it's certainly a nice way to
26:40
Speaker 7: start next season and.
26:41
Speaker 1: You've got some nice building block pieces as well. Now
26:44
Speaker 1: you've got Mario Pouliot with a year under his belt
26:47
Speaker 1: as the head coach now and I think sort of
26:50
Speaker 1: building that culture there again in Oshawa to being a
26:53
Speaker 1: competitive team once again, trying to build up the standing.
26:56
Speaker 1: So I guess what's the off season playing here? Obviously
26:58
Speaker 1: the nc DOUAA eligibil this season that's maybe change things.
27:01
Speaker 1: The recruitment and the retention of players is going to
27:04
Speaker 1: be big for a lot of teams. Maybe Oshwa has
27:06
Speaker 1: the upper hand over some because of the history of
27:09
Speaker 1: the program and the winning tradition that they have there.
27:12
Speaker 1: So I guess what is your thoughts on the overall
27:14
Speaker 1: offseason and what work you guys have to do.
27:17
Speaker 7: Well, there's lots of work to do, you know, finishing
27:19
Speaker 7: in twentieth it lends itself to having a lot of
27:22
Speaker 7: work to do.
27:23
Speaker 5: But you're right, we.
27:24
Speaker 7: Do have some exciting pieces, and we were so young
27:27
Speaker 7: and so inexperienced last year, even you know, a guy
27:31
Speaker 7: like Luke Postumus was twenty years old but a first
27:34
Speaker 7: year player of the league. So there's lots of work
27:37
Speaker 7: to do. But certainly the players that are eligible to return,
27:42
Speaker 7: we'll have an understanding of what they have to do
27:44
Speaker 7: to be part of this team going forward. I believe
27:48
Speaker 7: everybody is clear and the fact that we weren't satisfied
27:51
Speaker 7: with what happened and how it happened this season, But
27:55
Speaker 7: I am very much looking forward to next season and
27:58
Speaker 7: getting it started again, you know, with certainly this first
28:02
Speaker 7: overall pick is a is a nice way to start it.
28:05
Speaker 7: But really, even the returning players, having now sixty eight
28:10
Speaker 7: games of ohl experience under their belt, you know, they
28:13
Speaker 7: were they were good players at various leagues and various levels,
28:16
Speaker 7: but now to have at least one season under their.
28:19
Speaker 5: Belt in the OHL is good.
28:21
Speaker 7: And some of that reasonable expectation that we'll have is
28:26
Speaker 7: is now on them to to produce and become the
28:29
Speaker 7: players that we want them to be. And it's an
28:32
Speaker 7: exciting time for our organization and to get this pick play. Say,
28:35
Speaker 7: I can't can't talk enough about it, but very excited.
28:38
Speaker 1: To get maybe the next John Taveres, which is the
28:40
Speaker 1: last time they picked first overall, right.
28:42
Speaker 7: But yeah, yeah, and I'll tell you if if it
28:44
Speaker 7: is the next John Taveres, it's a. It's a pretty
28:46
Speaker 7: good player. He's John, still playing and putting up huge
28:50
Speaker 7: numbers in the National Hockey League. So yes, if we
28:53
Speaker 7: can get the next John Taveres, that's a. That's an
28:55
Speaker 7: exciting prospect.
28:56
Speaker 1: Absolutely. Yoshuwa General's vice president and general manager Roger Hunts
28:59
Speaker 1: with Roger, I have a couple more General's rated questions.
29:02
Speaker 1: But bringing up Beck at Seneca, obviously he's having a
29:05
Speaker 1: fantastic season, a call their trophy candidate, along with another
29:09
Speaker 1: Ohlder and Matt Schaeffer. Like those young players making such
29:12
Speaker 1: a big impact already at the NHL level, like have
29:15
Speaker 1: you seen just an I guess the evolution of how
29:19
Speaker 1: players are able to make that transition quicker, those exceptional
29:22
Speaker 1: players like a Becket, like a Matthew Schaeffer when they
29:25
Speaker 1: still have a few more years of OHL eligibility left,
29:27
Speaker 1: and then maybe for teams having to maybe rush or
29:32
Speaker 1: focus on their windows smaller because they're going to lose
29:35
Speaker 1: those players unfortunately a lot quicker.
29:38
Speaker 7: Well, I think it speaks to our league and we're
29:41
Speaker 7: maybe doing too good of a job in developing and
29:44
Speaker 7: as much as that's maybe oxymoron, but I think if
29:47
Speaker 7: I put the league hat on as a league, we're
29:49
Speaker 7: producing those players. I believe we had five underage players
29:52
Speaker 7: playing in the National Hockey League last year from the OHL.
29:56
Speaker 7: So now the risk of more players playing in the
30:00
Speaker 7: American Hockey League will hurt, but we'll we'll adapt, We'll
30:03
Speaker 7: we'll figure it out. And again, maybe we're doing too
30:06
Speaker 7: good of a job preparing these guys, but I think
30:09
Speaker 7: our schedule are Everything about our league is probably the
30:13
Speaker 7: NHL on the bus, and it I think probably is
30:17
Speaker 7: the best training ground, proving ground preparation for any of
30:21
Speaker 7: these players to try and get to the.
30:23
Speaker 1: NHL as the leagues continue to evolve, and even this year,
30:26
Speaker 1: maybe talking with the other general managers and people around
30:29
Speaker 1: the OHL, the other nineteen teams, the way that the
30:32
Speaker 1: eligibility had changed, the recruitment and things like that, the
30:35
Speaker 1: draft moving to June. There's a lot of moving parts,
30:37
Speaker 1: expansions also being talked about as well. So how do
30:40
Speaker 1: you feel like the direction of the league is going
30:42
Speaker 1: as a whole and with all these new exciting things
30:45
Speaker 1: coming in, how does that maybe change what you guys
30:47
Speaker 1: have done in the past.
30:49
Speaker 7: Well, there's a lot of uncertainty and how things are going,
30:52
Speaker 7: but I think the league is tried and true and
30:56
Speaker 7: tested and this is a this is a huge part
30:59
Speaker 7: of this league coming through and we're gonna come through
31:02
Speaker 7: this and we're gonna be another side and we'll be
31:04
Speaker 7: We'll be fine. But this year and maybe the next
31:07
Speaker 7: couple of years will be some uncertainty's about you know,
31:09
Speaker 7: player movement, et cetera. But I think we have to
31:12
Speaker 7: just keep doing as a league and each team just
31:15
Speaker 7: continue to put players in the National Hockey League and
31:18
Speaker 7: prepare players for the for the next level. And again
31:21
Speaker 7: we'll we'll continue to prove why this This league is
31:25
Speaker 7: the you know, most coveted development league that there is,
31:29
Speaker 7: and and we'll continue to do that.
31:31
Speaker 1: Do you like the draft move in the June? I
31:33
Speaker 1: know it might might cut into some people's summer plans
31:35
Speaker 1: and out on the boat or on vacation or things
31:37
Speaker 1: like that, but are you looking forward to going to
31:39
Speaker 1: the back to that format.
31:41
Speaker 5: I like the in person aspect of it.
31:44
Speaker 7: I think it's an exciting thing for families and players
31:47
Speaker 7: and teams too, but I still was kind of leaning
31:52
Speaker 7: towards liking it early. It give us various opportunities to
31:57
Speaker 7: get our hands on players, quicker, et cetera. But hey,
32:00
Speaker 7: this is new, and I think you can't be afraid
32:02
Speaker 7: to change. You got to try it, and if it works,
32:04
Speaker 7: it works, and if it doesn't, then it'll be revisited.
32:07
Speaker 7: I suspect from the league level, but it is. There's
32:10
Speaker 7: nothing we can do. It's happening in June, certainly, and
32:12
Speaker 7: we're excited about it, and I'm sure there's going to
32:15
Speaker 7: be hundreds of families and kids that are also excited,
32:18
Speaker 7: and it's a great time of their life and they
32:20
Speaker 7: should really enjoy it.
32:22
Speaker 1: Absolutely. There's vice president general manager of the Oshawa Generals
32:25
Speaker 1: Roger Hunt, Roger really appreciate you taking the time today
32:27
Speaker 1: at the OSHL Cup. Exciting time. I know it's a big,
32:30
Speaker 1: big off season for the Generals, a lot of scouting,
32:33
Speaker 1: a lot of important things for you make that first
32:35
Speaker 1: overall pick. I don't want to ask you who you're
32:36
Speaker 1: picking on the spot here, but look forward to seeing
32:39
Speaker 1: you make that selection in June. And best of luck
32:41
Speaker 1: with the rest of the off season.
32:42
Speaker 7: All right, thank you so much, and yeah, very exciting.
32:44
Speaker 7: This got to warm up a little bit here, so anytime.
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33:50
Speaker 2: Hi, this is Luriy the lot you're listening to always
33:52
Speaker 2: show over time.
34:18
Speaker 1: And we're back at the Ohl Cup with Arie Otters
34:22
Speaker 1: Vice president and general manager Dave Brown. Dave, appreciate you
34:25
Speaker 1: taking the time to join us right after the draft
34:27
Speaker 1: lottery just happened a few minutes ago, Erie picking second
34:31
Speaker 1: overall in the upcoming priority selection in June. What are
34:35
Speaker 1: your initial reactions to that and gonna obviously add a
34:38
Speaker 1: very exciting player to your young core.
34:40
Speaker 3: Yeah.
34:40
Speaker 6: I think the Ohl draft is how you build your
34:44
Speaker 6: franchise and both in the short term and the long term.
34:47
Speaker 6: And obviously you know the draft is of the utmost
34:51
Speaker 6: importance to the entire organization, and you know, we're excited
34:55
Speaker 6: to be at two. And obviously one would be fantastic,
34:59
Speaker 6: but two is probably the next best, so we're excited.
35:04
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. The last time you picked first, I got
35:06
Speaker 1: a pretty good player in Matt Schaeffer. What has it
35:08
Speaker 1: been like to kind of see his evolution at the
35:11
Speaker 1: NHL level, breaking pretty incredible records as an eighteen year
35:14
Speaker 1: old defenseman in the league. I think he's breaking Bobby
35:16
Speaker 1: your records and things like that. And obviously, you know
35:19
Speaker 1: you had him in your program for a few years
35:21
Speaker 1: there in Earie. Just how how excited are you to
35:23
Speaker 1: kind of see Matt's progression?
35:25
Speaker 6: Well, I think SHAEF's he is okay, like he's a
35:27
Speaker 6: pretty good player, but yeah, no, we were super excited.
35:31
Speaker 6: We all follow along each night. Probably would tell you
35:35
Speaker 6: that I'm a very big Islanders fan right now. Just
35:39
Speaker 6: watching how he does, you know, game to game, you know,
35:43
Speaker 6: how much he plays is surprising to us.
35:47
Speaker 1: Still.
35:48
Speaker 6: You know, we look at the Matt Schaeffer that you know,
35:51
Speaker 6: he's not an overly big guy in terms of you know,
35:56
Speaker 6: his his size and weight and everything else. His personality's
35:59
Speaker 6: most certainly been and that's amazing, But you know what
36:03
Speaker 6: it to have guys like that as your alumni now
36:06
Speaker 6: and watching them through how they progress. I don't think
36:10
Speaker 6: we could have ever imagined him having the year that
36:13
Speaker 6: he had. I think he got his thirty fifth assists
36:15
Speaker 6: last night. He's a plus twenty one or twenty two.
36:17
Speaker 6: I don't know exactly offhand, but absolutely amazing and the
36:22
Speaker 6: organization super.
36:23
Speaker 1: Proud of absolutely and sort of when you look at
36:26
Speaker 1: that young core that you've built there in area. I
36:27
Speaker 1: know Matt wasn't there this year, but maybe what if
36:30
Speaker 1: some of the guys taken from seeing a guy that
36:32
Speaker 1: wore the area out of Jersey go on to have
36:34
Speaker 1: such great success. A lot of great alumni there, the McDavid's,
36:37
Speaker 1: the Schaeffers, there's so many of them. But a guy
36:40
Speaker 1: so recently in Matt that was in that dressing room
36:42
Speaker 1: with those guys, how much I guess motivation and just inspiration.
36:46
Speaker 1: Does he still bring those young players in that room
36:48
Speaker 1: right now that want to, you know, elevate their games
36:50
Speaker 1: to the next level.
36:52
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think sometimes, you know, I think sometimes it's
36:56
Speaker 6: hard for the younger players because they lose track of
37:01
Speaker 6: what's important in the moment, and a lot of times
37:04
Speaker 6: it's just getting better every day. I think a guy
37:07
Speaker 6: like Matt having having you know, him go through it
37:11
Speaker 6: is most recently is is last year and him being there,
37:15
Speaker 6: you know, less than a year ago. It's something that
37:19
Speaker 6: you know, I think sometimes players lose track of it,
37:22
Speaker 6: and I think they you know, they get caught up
37:25
Speaker 6: and the whole you know, worrying about where their career goes.
37:29
Speaker 6: But I think I think it's good to have an
37:31
Speaker 6: alumni like you know, Shafe kind of you know, being
37:34
Speaker 6: able to rely on him and say, hey, what we
37:38
Speaker 6: did was good for Shafe, It's got to be good
37:41
Speaker 6: for you, and you know, I think it helps. It
37:45
Speaker 6: gives us an opportunity to keep these guys in line
37:47
Speaker 6: and kind.
37:48
Speaker 1: Of on task. Absolutely and sort of when you go
37:51
Speaker 1: through this is this rebuilding process here in Eerie and
37:54
Speaker 1: and obviously going to have another another bright young player
37:56
Speaker 1: coming into the organization and Chris Mallett another year enderus
37:59
Speaker 1: Belt as the head coach. What is sort of the
38:01
Speaker 1: off season plan here going into the draft in June
38:04
Speaker 1: and trying to again build back up that that window
38:07
Speaker 1: in your cycle. Obviously don't want to be at the
38:10
Speaker 1: bottom of the Western Conference again. So what's the what's
38:13
Speaker 1: the plan to make the Otters more competitive again next season?
38:16
Speaker 6: Well, I think we're taking some time now that the
38:18
Speaker 6: season is done. And I think firstly, I think you know,
38:22
Speaker 6: when we looked at it back in December, we we
38:24
Speaker 6: kind of said, hey, you know, we can do one
38:27
Speaker 6: of two things. We can we can sneak in and
38:30
Speaker 6: make the first round of playoffs so we can strip
38:33
Speaker 6: it to the studs and and do what's best for
38:36
Speaker 6: the organization long term. And we wanted to make sure
38:40
Speaker 6: that you know, not only did management think it was
38:43
Speaker 6: a good idea, but also the coaching staff, and we
38:47
Speaker 6: went into what we called the development mode and broke
38:51
Speaker 6: the team into small groups. We practiced in the mornings
38:54
Speaker 6: when you know, we were working on more individual skills
38:59
Speaker 6: and skills that you know, a player, maybe a larger
39:03
Speaker 6: player needs to work on as opposed to maybe a
39:05
Speaker 6: smaller guy. Defense, We're working more on defensive concepts, and
39:11
Speaker 6: you know, that then led to our afternoon practice where
39:15
Speaker 6: we worked on you know, more skill again and you know,
39:19
Speaker 6: some team concepts. So I think, you know, this year,
39:23
Speaker 6: leading into the into the summer we're we're taking some
39:27
Speaker 6: time to breathe a little bit. We knew it was
39:30
Speaker 6: going to be a long second half, maybe not as
39:32
Speaker 6: long as it was, but yeah, no, you know, we're
39:37
Speaker 6: looking to make sure that we're making improvements. I think,
39:40
Speaker 6: you know, having Tyler Cooper and Jake Murray play first
39:44
Speaker 6: unit PK you know, on the back half of this
39:46
Speaker 6: season and do a very good job of doing it
39:49
Speaker 6: and keeping our PK you know, numbers up in the
39:52
Speaker 6: back half. I think bolswell for for where we're headed
39:55
Speaker 6: and the direction that we're headed moving forward.
39:58
Speaker 1: Are Otters, Vice presd and general manager Dave Browns with
40:01
Speaker 1: us for a few more minutes. Dave, I know, now
40:03
Speaker 1: that we've gone through the first full season of this
40:07
Speaker 1: you know, NCAA eligibility and the transition of the league,
40:10
Speaker 1: how it's evolved now with those younger players coming in
40:13
Speaker 1: and maybe those older players leaving a bit earlier than
40:15
Speaker 1: they would. How has that affected your program in a
40:18
Speaker 1: good way? And what are you still working through as
40:22
Speaker 1: a program. I'm sure like every other of the nineteen
40:25
Speaker 1: general managers out there.
40:26
Speaker 6: Yeah, well, I was just watching a game with Chris
40:29
Speaker 6: Brooks and Clarkson and you know Brooks, He's been super
40:32
Speaker 6: to work with over the you know, the time, and
40:35
Speaker 6: he's just one individual because that's just where I came from,
40:39
Speaker 6: just on the glass watching a game with him. And
40:42
Speaker 6: I think the rule change was fantastic in the moment.
40:45
Speaker 6: We reaped the rewards of getting guys that maybe we
40:49
Speaker 6: wouldn't have gotten otherwise, and it really helped strengthen our
40:52
Speaker 6: team last year. And I think, you know, at the
40:55
Speaker 6: end of last year, we lost some guys and that
40:58
Speaker 6: was a bit of a gut punch. But with the
41:00
Speaker 6: good comes the bad, and you know, I think it
41:03
Speaker 6: all levels off. I think we'll continue to see some changes,
41:06
Speaker 6: some things that you have to do organizationally to keep
41:10
Speaker 6: up with it. We started the year this year with
41:13
Speaker 6: our most experienced player playing fifty six games, which is
41:16
Speaker 6: at first time ever my ohl, you know, career that
41:21
Speaker 6: I've I've started a season where my most experienced player
41:24
Speaker 6: had fifty six games and he was a seventeen year
41:27
Speaker 6: old defenseman, which you know, Lucas Ambrosio. So it was
41:31
Speaker 6: a big change this year and we had to go
41:34
Speaker 6: out and rebuild our team quickly, and I think the
41:38
Speaker 6: staff did a great job of kind of putting the
41:40
Speaker 6: loose ends together, and you know, we'll look to go
41:44
Speaker 6: back to trying to rewards from it.
41:47
Speaker 3: We've got a.
41:47
Speaker 6: Great returning cast coming back and we'll make our team
41:50
Speaker 6: better over the summertime, for.
41:52
Speaker 1: Sure, talking with the other general managers and maybe in
41:54
Speaker 1: trade negotiations and things like that. How important has not
41:57
Speaker 1: only the recruitment of players, but now that we're tension
42:00
Speaker 1: of players, maybe certain certain teams feel desperation to go
42:04
Speaker 1: all in maybe a year prior because of the risk
42:07
Speaker 1: of losing players, Like, how is that balance sort of
42:09
Speaker 1: work that. I know it's going to take a few
42:10
Speaker 1: years for its all figure out, But in this first year,
42:12
Speaker 1: how do you think that that maybe has changed from
42:14
Speaker 1: what you've seen in prior seasons.
42:16
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think the window of opportunity is very much
42:20
Speaker 6: an unknown. And if you think you have a really
42:22
Speaker 6: good team, maybe you should push, push in and and
42:26
Speaker 6: and believe in the guys that you have. But I
42:28
Speaker 6: think the only way you can do that is if
42:29
Speaker 6: you have a base that you've built through the draft
42:32
Speaker 6: and you know, getting getting young guys and bringing them
42:36
Speaker 6: along and having a development program. I think as an organization,
42:40
Speaker 6: we continue to look to ways that we can enhance
42:44
Speaker 6: our program from a not only you know, a player
42:47
Speaker 6: welfare environment, but also from a situation where we're we're
42:52
Speaker 6: trying to get kids the best possible opportunity to you know.
42:56
Speaker 3: Progress their careers. And whether that.
42:58
Speaker 6: Be on the ice or off the ice, I think
43:01
Speaker 6: those are all important things. If you think you have
43:04
Speaker 6: a good setup, you might in the moment, but somebody's
43:08
Speaker 6: always building something better. And that's that's kind of why
43:12
Speaker 6: I think it's the arms race, for lack of a
43:14
Speaker 6: better word, and we're all looking to try and make
43:17
Speaker 6: our programs better. We're trying to enhance it with you know,
43:20
Speaker 6: whether it be different programs that we think can help
43:25
Speaker 6: players off the ice, mental performance, coaches, therapy.
43:31
Speaker 1: You know.
43:32
Speaker 6: We put in a new weight room last year, twenty
43:34
Speaker 6: three hundred square feet thanks to you know, the people
43:37
Speaker 6: at Erie Insurance Arena, and you know, they've been great
43:41
Speaker 6: to us, and we're going to continue to build out
43:43
Speaker 6: our organization and and I guess the key focus is
43:47
Speaker 6: making sure that the players are first.
43:48
Speaker 1: And foremost, absolutely, and I think Eerie obviously over the
43:52
Speaker 1: years have been able to get those players to come.
43:55
Speaker 1: All the great alumni and seeing the banners as well
43:58
Speaker 1: as something that I think isn't freaking obviously to the
44:01
Speaker 1: teams when we're players, when they're trying to figure out
44:03
Speaker 1: what their next move is. So a few more quick
44:05
Speaker 1: questions here for you, Dave. First off, do you like
44:08
Speaker 1: the draft moving to June? It's gonna be in Kingston,
44:11
Speaker 1: you know it's not in April anymore. What are you
44:13
Speaker 1: thinking of how this is gonna work out? And maybe
44:16
Speaker 1: a little bit of a I guess it goes into
44:19
Speaker 1: your guys this summer a little bit, So maybe you
44:21
Speaker 1: don't like that portion of it. But what do you
44:23
Speaker 1: think of the in person draft coming back to Kingston, Enginet?
44:25
Speaker 6: I like in a GM's meeting. Can I abstain from this?
44:30
Speaker 6: I think, you know what, I Hey, I think it's
44:32
Speaker 6: gonna be really exciting for the families and the players.
44:36
Speaker 6: I think it's something they you know, it's new. I
44:40
Speaker 6: think that, Yeah, we have some preparation time and we're
44:45
Speaker 6: going to try and use it as wisely as possible.
44:48
Speaker 6: It does cut into this summer a little bit. I'm
44:50
Speaker 6: not gonna lie to you. It's it's it's something that
44:53
Speaker 6: we're we're experiencing for the first time. I've been in
44:56
Speaker 6: the league since two thousand and three and I've never
44:59
Speaker 6: had a live to So I think maybe George Burnett
45:02
Speaker 6: and Mark Hunter are the only two gms who have
45:04
Speaker 6: experienced a live GM where you've you're down there and
45:07
Speaker 6: the pressures on and hopefully they turn the lights down
45:10
Speaker 6: so we're not sweating buckets. But uh, yeah, I think
45:15
Speaker 6: I'm looking.
45:16
Speaker 5: Forward to it.
45:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, at least Kingston's a nice spot maybe and going
45:19
Speaker 1: on on the lake or something like that. But last
45:21
Speaker 1: question for you, Dave, is here at the Ohl Cup,
45:24
Speaker 1: Like obviously this is sort of deem does the biggest
45:27
Speaker 1: tournament in the Triple A season with the best draft
45:30
Speaker 1: eligible players all in one one roof here and all
45:33
Speaker 1: the scouts and general managers and everybody here with the
45:35
Speaker 1: teams as well. How much do you value a tournament
45:38
Speaker 1: like this to be able to help your draft boards
45:41
Speaker 1: or does it really move a whole lot when you
45:43
Speaker 1: come to this tournament or how do you sort of
45:45
Speaker 1: come into this and then even the Ohl Combine coming
45:48
Speaker 1: up in a few weeks.
45:49
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know, that's a good question because I think
45:52
Speaker 6: sometimes you fall you know, I think it's recency bias.
45:56
Speaker 6: You the guy that you saw they had a great tournament.
46:00
Speaker 6: You know, I we had a draft meeting on Saturday,
46:03
Speaker 6: and I kind of said, guys, I want to be
46:06
Speaker 6: careful that we don't fall into this recency bias. It's
46:09
Speaker 6: good to get out and see these guys, but I
46:12
Speaker 6: think the body of work has to hold value. You know,
46:16
Speaker 6: our scouts get out to thousands of games a year,
46:20
Speaker 6: going through you know, bad weather and and everything else,
46:24
Speaker 6: drinking cold coffee and sitting really bad rinks. But uh yeah,
46:28
Speaker 6: I think we look at it as as an opportunity
46:31
Speaker 6: to see guys for the last time. Our our new scouts,
46:34
Speaker 6: our head coach and assistant coaches are in this week
46:38
Speaker 6: to to help us and give their opinions, and that
46:40
Speaker 6: can sometimes be a little bit dangerous. But they've been fantastic,
46:43
Speaker 6: and you know, we've given them some some things to
46:46
Speaker 6: look at and you know, kind of give us a
46:49
Speaker 6: second opinion. So we're you know, maybe it gets set
46:51
Speaker 6: in your ways a little bit, but always learning. And
46:55
Speaker 6: I think if we can continue to make sure that
46:58
Speaker 6: that we're we're watching and putting in the work, we're
47:01
Speaker 6: going to get the results we want.
47:03
Speaker 1: Absolutely. There's Erie Otters, Vice President General manager Dave Brown.
47:06
Speaker 1: Dave really appreciate the time and the great analysis that
47:08
Speaker 1: you give us all the time when you come on.
47:11
Speaker 1: Best of luck in the off season here and the
47:13
Speaker 1: shortened summer, but also an exciting time for the scouts
47:16
Speaker 1: and getting prepared for next season. So safe travels and
47:20
Speaker 1: appreciate you doing this.
47:20
Speaker 6: Thanks very much, and thanks for all the stuff you
47:23
Speaker 6: do for our league.
47:23
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network.