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2026 NHL Draft Getting Spicier from Buffalo in Wake of Festivities w/ Steven Ellis - Under Review Hockey Podcast · 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: The following podcast Under Review, After Review on the Plane,
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  Speaker 2: the Call on the Ice stands.
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  Speaker 3: You're listening to the Under Review Hockey Podcast, your source
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  Speaker 3: for all trending NHL topics, previews, analysis, in depth discussions,
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  Speaker 3: and live coverage of events like the NHL Draft, trade deadline,
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  Speaker 3: and free agency.
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  Speaker 1: And welcome into another special episode of the Under Review
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  Speaker 1: Hockey Podcast, live from the National Hockey League Draft here
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  Speaker 1: in Buffalo day before Round one goes Friday night, and
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  Speaker 1: then we have rounds two to seven on Saturday. They
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  Speaker 1: get Abody tuned in on your favorite on demand audio
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  Speaker 1: podcast platform. Make sure to give us a follow on
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  Speaker 1: x at ur Hockey Pod, as well as on Facebook, Instagram,
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  Speaker 1: and TikTok by searching the ar'm heare GM Sports Network
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  Speaker 1: for our short reels and content. Bernick brou joined alongside
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  Speaker 1: Steven Ellis, associate editor and prospect analyst of Daily Face Off. Steven,
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  Speaker 1: it's been We had the morning availability at the New
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  Speaker 1: Era headquarters.
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  Speaker 4: Obviously, it was a little bit of organized chaos with the.
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  Speaker 1: Amount of media that showed up for that, but we
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  Speaker 1: got to talk to a couple of the top prospects.
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  Speaker 1: But regardless, this is the lead up for obviously the
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  Speaker 1: big day tomorrow night.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, one hundred percent. And you know we right now
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  Speaker 5: we're recording this in the lobby of the Marriotte Hotel.
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  Speaker 5: And you know, my favorite thing is a lobby, being
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  Speaker 5: the seventh floor of a building. But yeah, you know
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  Speaker 5: it's it's gonna be fun here the next couple of days.
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  Speaker 5: You know, today is kind of the relaxing day. The
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  Speaker 5: players are doing some special events here meeting with people.
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  Speaker 5: Tomorrow it's the big, the exciting day of the one
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  Speaker 5: where like, no matter what you feel about a certain player,
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  Speaker 5: you get to watch these guys is realize their dreams
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  Speaker 5: on the world or in the national stage. Like that's
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  Speaker 5: really cool. That's a lot of fun.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I know you've updated your mock draft in
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  Speaker 1: the last couple of days here, obviously with some of
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  Speaker 1: the movement that's gone on at the top of the draft.
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  Speaker 1: We know Buffalo's made made a move to get into
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  Speaker 1: the top five as well with Chicago and a little
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  Speaker 1: bit other movement as well. Just given you know the
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  Speaker 1: weakness of this free agent class, there's a lot of
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  Speaker 1: teams that are looking to improve, not just through trades,
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  Speaker 1: but also through the.
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  Speaker 4: Draft as well.
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  Speaker 1: Like, I know that the last time we had had
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  Speaker 1: you on for the combine, you had talked about teams
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  Speaker 1: like Columbus really needing to make strides, or teams like
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  Speaker 1: Calgary and some of these teams that you know really
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  Speaker 1: need to start, you know, building a pipeline here. So
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  Speaker 1: with what's happened over the last week or so with
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  Speaker 1: the trades and the movement here in the first round,
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  Speaker 1: san Jose's also moved into ninth, taking that pick from
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  Speaker 1: Ottawa in the William Ecklin trade. But is there as
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  Speaker 1: anything changed in your mind about the teams that are
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  Speaker 1: really looking to improve in this draft.
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  Speaker 5: We'll be interesting to see if San Jose ends up
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  Speaker 5: picking both their picks, because I've asked people like, what
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  Speaker 5: are your thoughts, do you think they pick number two
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  Speaker 5: and number nine? And I've got a mix of people saying, yeah,
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  Speaker 5: they'll probably pick a two, but nine, you know, that's
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  Speaker 5: still the one. I think they're gonna be dangling to
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  Speaker 5: try to see what they can do. But I like
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  Speaker 5: the idea of them picking, you know, getting getting Evar
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  Speaker 5: Stenberger number two, and then still getting a defenseman at
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  Speaker 5: number nine, you're gonna be pretty happy. You're probably not
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  Speaker 5: gonna get as good of a defenseman if had you
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  Speaker 5: been able to pick you know, Chase Reid would have
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  Speaker 5: been the top choice. But you're still gonna get a
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  Speaker 5: guy who's got top four potential. I think that might
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  Speaker 5: just be enough here if you're the Sharks. So I
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  Speaker 5: think this is something where that's exciting Buffalo move into
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  Speaker 5: four very interesting. You know, that's one where you move
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  Speaker 5: on form bow and Byrom and you're getting a guy
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  Speaker 5: potentially in Chase Reid that could you know, fill that role,
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  Speaker 5: maybe even be significantly better than the long run. So
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  Speaker 5: I think that's a win for them. And Chicago needed something.
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  Speaker 5: They needed somebody to come in and help immediately. They
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  Speaker 5: could have got that if they got Stenberg, they get
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  Speaker 5: them to bow Byram now like that's gonna help them
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  Speaker 5: help them a little more immediate. Is that the right
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  Speaker 5: guy to bring this team far out? I don't know.
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  Speaker 5: I think that's a real question here. So definitely an
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  Speaker 5: interesting few days. I've kind of enjoyed that there's been
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  Speaker 5: nothing in the lead up of the recording of this
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  Speaker 5: today on the trades, and I can't wait till this
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  Speaker 5: gets published and then sixty three players you get traded.
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  Speaker 5: It's gonna happen during the the the media reception to
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  Speaker 5: and I remember that All Star Game in Toronto the
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  Speaker 5: one year because I think it was at the trade
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  Speaker 5: was it there was there was like a like a
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  Speaker 5: couple of trades and all the media were in one spot.
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  Speaker 5: Everyone just stopped what they're doing and had to work.
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  Speaker 4: They did it in bomb purpose.
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  Speaker 5: I'm pretty sure that's what they did.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, So I mean Chicago, maybe they they wanted a
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  Speaker 1: certain player at four that they thought wasn't going to
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  Speaker 1: be available, or like you said, they're looking for a
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  Speaker 1: more immediate because they've drafted high with Levshunov Rinzel, They've
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  Speaker 1: got some good prospect defenseman, but they don't really have
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  Speaker 1: that top pair of guy that's ready right now. And
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  Speaker 1: that's what Bowen Byrom is gonna hopefully, do you know.
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  Speaker 1: On our Sabers podcast yesterday we talked about just how
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  Speaker 1: he said he wanted to be a number one defenseman.
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  Speaker 1: He's behind cal mccarr in Colorado's behind Rasmus Stalin and
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  Speaker 1: Buffalo there really wasn't an opportunity for him.
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  Speaker 4: Now.
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  Speaker 1: Kyle Davidson again We're trying to rationalize it from Chicago's
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  Speaker 1: point of view because they got just roasted universally from
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  Speaker 1: the hockey world for that trade. But if you're looking
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  Speaker 1: at what Chicago was possibly looking at number four, you know,
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  Speaker 1: do you think that they just decided, you know what,
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  Speaker 1: we're gonna take bow and byrom now instead of taking
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  Speaker 1: a chase read a Keaton Verhoff of Carson Carrol's that's
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  Speaker 1: not gonna help us down the road for three or
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  Speaker 1: four years.
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  Speaker 5: I think that's the thing you're looking at this Where
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  Speaker 5: Biram wasn't an overpaid Sure was there a situation where
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  Speaker 5: Sam was a could have swept in and got that,
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  Speaker 5: and then Buffalo's looking like we can't improve our defense.
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  Speaker 5: It might have just been the necessary evil. And I
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  Speaker 5: still think Biron's a good defenseman. I still think it's
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  Speaker 5: a worthy gamble. It's tough to give up that pick,
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  Speaker 5: the first pick that they gave up, let alone you know,
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  Speaker 5: another pick on top of that. But I still think
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  Speaker 5: it's something where you know, Chicago need to do something.
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  Speaker 5: Buffalo they were capitalizing a guy that probably wasn't gonna
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  Speaker 5: stick around long term, and I think that's something where
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  Speaker 5: you know for that it's a no brainer for Chicago.
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  Speaker 5: It's like something has to start to really improve with
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  Speaker 5: this team. They have to actually start taking these steps forward.
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  Speaker 5: Byron's gonna help them a lot more than a guy who,
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  Speaker 5: like you said, Chase Reid is probably gonna be a
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  Speaker 5: good player out of the gate. But we know, for
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  Speaker 5: the most part, defenseman take time.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and Byram said straight up he wasn't resetting in
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  Speaker 1: Buffalo according to yrmokkelin in yesterday, So that made that
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  Speaker 1: move easier and obviously messed up the rest of your
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  Speaker 1: your mock drafts and things like that. We know San
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  Speaker 1: Jose is sort of the wildcard at number two, whether
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  Speaker 1: they take Stenberg, who is arguably the best player overall
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  Speaker 1: in the draft, of the most NHL ready player potentially
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  Speaker 1: going into next season, san Jose moves at William Eckland.
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  Speaker 1: You think that there's a good spot there for Stenberg,
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  Speaker 1: even though their position of need right now would be
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  Speaker 1: a defenseman like Chase Reid and he would fit in
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  Speaker 1: perfectly alongside Sam Dickinson in the future. But you know,
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  Speaker 1: do you feel like the domino and sort of the
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  Speaker 1: wildcard is whatever San Jose does it too. Is gonna,
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  Speaker 1: you know, make the rest of the draft sort of
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  Speaker 1: a domino effect there and.
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  Speaker 5: Almost feel less so unless they really just don't take
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  Speaker 5: keep our Stenberg at this point, If they take yave
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  Speaker 5: our Stenberg and then I feel like there's a pretty
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  Speaker 5: clear path of what everyone else would kind of take
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  Speaker 5: from there. If they were to take you know, still
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  Speaker 5: take Chase Reed, then that's very interesting. They do they
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  Speaker 5: double down and take a second defenseman with the ninth pick,
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  Speaker 5: do they, which actually think is not about Ada. I
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  Speaker 5: just feel like they probably don't trade Eckland. If they're not,
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  Speaker 5: they can then get Stenburg out of there too, So
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  Speaker 5: I feel like now being able to have the flexibilities interesting.
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  Speaker 5: San Jose is still kind of this at the start
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  Speaker 5: of their contention window. Like I think we could say
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  Speaker 5: they've kind of moved out of the rebuild. They weren't
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  Speaker 5: expected to draft this high. They had like the eighth
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  Speaker 5: or ninth best odds setting into the draft lottery, So
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  Speaker 5: this is kind of like found money for them, and
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  Speaker 5: I think now they can get two really good prospects.
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  Speaker 5: They could get a guy who could be in the
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  Speaker 5: NHL quite quickly. They could get a defenceman that could
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  Speaker 5: be in the NHL within the next two to three years.
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  Speaker 5: That's when their window really begins. That's when things really
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  Speaker 5: get interesting, and that's when I think that's gonna pay off. So, yeah,
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  Speaker 5: they might be not as great in the short term,
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  Speaker 5: but that's not the focus here. They still got to
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  Speaker 5: be good here for the long run.
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  Speaker 1: And as you mentioned, now that San Jose has that
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  Speaker 1: ninth pick as well, that maybe helps them be able
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  Speaker 1: to pick whatever defenseman is available there with either Smith's
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  Speaker 1: or whoever else that Verhoff could be available at nine
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  Speaker 1: ers Rudelf.
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  Speaker 5: Rudolf feels pretty safe to be there.
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  Speaker 1: Rudolph, Yeah, Sam ormalte Gus, So there will be defensemen
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  Speaker 1: available for San Jose at nine whatever one they prefer.
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  Speaker 1: So now that they got that pick from Ottawa, maybe
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  Speaker 1: it makes it easier for them to, you know, take
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  Speaker 1: Stenberg and you know that then figure out the defense
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  Speaker 1: from there, because.
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  Speaker 5: Well, I'll point out like they in this case actual say,
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  Speaker 5: they've taken the ability to really choose the defenseman they want,
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  Speaker 5: and they're going to get the guy who's left over.
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  Speaker 5: But that guy who's left over is still a player
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  Speaker 5: that was probably in the contention for top five and
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  Speaker 5: would be in top five on some teams boards. That's
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  Speaker 5: why I still kind of and say to win.
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  Speaker 1: And again, I know there's tiers in this draft like
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  Speaker 1: any other ones, but again the consensus around this draft
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  Speaker 1: is that it isn't the greatest as far as the
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  Speaker 1: depth goes in this draft. Like, what are your thoughts
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  Speaker 1: on I guess the tiers and where things start to
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  Speaker 1: drop off here?
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  Speaker 5: Like I think you're looking at Kenna is the best
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  Speaker 5: player in the draft. Stenberg's a very close second. I
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  Speaker 5: think you can survey all thirty two you know, teams,
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  Speaker 5: and you might get pretty close answers, like you could
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  Speaker 5: see like I wouldn't be surprised if it's just like
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  Speaker 5: sixty percent of Keenna, but like not a huge different
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  Speaker 5: d first and second. Like last year it was pretty
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  Speaker 5: clear Schaefer it was gonna go first overall pretty much,
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  Speaker 5: no matter what I think. Beyond that, then you're looking
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  Speaker 5: at a Maholtre, You're looking at Reed, you're looking at Carls.
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  Speaker 5: That's kind of my next group there. I think, you know,
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  Speaker 5: if you're looking at a tier two and then you're
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  Speaker 5: looking at Smith's, Fairhoff, Rudolph Diego, Buyork, maybe Ethan bel
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  Speaker 5: chits and I'm probably forgetting someone else there, but kind
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  Speaker 5: of a lot of those other guys there. But you know,
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  Speaker 5: the top ten, you might see three tiers. If you're
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  Speaker 5: drafting in top ten, you're pretty happy this year though.
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  Speaker 1: And as far as the back end of that first round,
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  Speaker 1: you know, we might see some movement there. You could
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  Speaker 1: possibly see you know, Buffalo has the twentieth pick, maybe
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  Speaker 1: they don't use that now that they have number four,
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  Speaker 1: Maybe they try to improve the roster. Some other teams
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  Speaker 1: San Jose as twenty seven as well, maybe they move
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  Speaker 1: out of that spot. But is there any team that
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  Speaker 1: you're looking at in the back half of the first
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  Speaker 1: round that could possibly try to move something? We know,
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  Speaker 1: you know, do you try to get the Rouck Twins together?
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  Speaker 1: We know Saint Louis has two picks, you know, right
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  Speaker 1: next to each other as well, So do you think
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  Speaker 1: that might be enticing to a team given that there
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  Speaker 1: really is? It's just pick your pick of the litter
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  Speaker 1: at that point.
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  Speaker 5: I think Ottowa is going to be the team to
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  Speaker 5: watch for the Rock Twins in particular because they can't
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  Speaker 5: move that thirty second pick. And I don't know if
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  Speaker 5: Marcus goes before that, which makes me think Marcus Ruck
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  Speaker 5: will be available. Thirty two and twenty fifth is a
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  Speaker 5: pretty solid spot to pick Liam Ruck. Then you go
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  Speaker 5: and look at you know, Saint Luis. You got those
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  Speaker 5: four first round picks. I have a hard time believe
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  Speaker 5: they're gonna use all four of those picks. That being said,
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  Speaker 5: they're not really linked to a lot of things right now,
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  Speaker 5: and it would be very interesting. They have a lot
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  Speaker 5: of draft capital, but they're also at a point where
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  Speaker 5: they could use that draft capital. There's actually not a
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  Speaker 5: bad situation to be in. But I think when the
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  Speaker 5: trade a guy like Jordan Hiro and you know, very
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  Speaker 5: interesting situation there. That's a guy that could help them now,
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  Speaker 5: so you don't really replace him with another guy who
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  Speaker 5: could help you now if you just traded him, right,
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  Speaker 5: So I feel like this is one where I'm starting
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  Speaker 5: to lean towards him. Make EBA four picks, and that'd
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  Speaker 5: be very interesting because they could really use those players.
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  Speaker 5: But that's the most trade options I think any team's
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  Speaker 5: got in the first round.
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  Speaker 1: And we've heard the names that are out there right
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: now with Matthew and Eyes Connor, hello buck vinon Trocheck.
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  Speaker 1: Those are just three but there's a lot of names
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  Speaker 1: out there right now, we've already seen sub movement, and.
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  Speaker 5: Then the Blues might trade Jordan Bitnington, Like that's the thing. Like,
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  Speaker 5: and you know Robert Thomas's name has been thrown around
• 11:38
  Speaker 5: corn Paranko. I don't think we're gonna see he of
• 11:39
  Speaker 5: those two guys. But what about Midnington? Then that could
• 11:43
  Speaker 5: throw things around. They see you worth a first round pick,
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: you know, Olympic goalie for Nations goalie has proven he
• 11:48
  Speaker 5: could play some pretty good hockey, but also has showed
• 11:50
  Speaker 5: he could be really streaky. Like that's a tough one.
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: What's the market for a goalie right now? Because we
• 11:54
  Speaker 5: haven't seen a goalie traded other than Joseph Wold. You
• 11:56
  Speaker 5: know that was that was uh, I don't know kind
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  Speaker 5: of you know what another player would be in terms
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  Speaker 5: of a trade value there. So yeah, you know, Los
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  Speaker 5: are gonna want to watch.
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  Speaker 1: And the thing with the goalies is whoever, Like if
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: Connor Hellibook does get traded, you know what, some team
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: might circle back around to Saint Louis and say, hey,
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: we didn't get HELLI book, what is your ask for
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: Jordan Binnington?
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  Speaker 5: Right?
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  Speaker 1: So that could be the Domino that ends up going there,
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  Speaker 1: and especially a team like Saint Louis who's got what
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  Speaker 1: four first round picks at this given moment, Like you
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: don't expect them to use all four of those, right, Like,
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: as you just mentioned, Well, it's.
• 12:31
  Speaker 5: The thing I'm starting to wonder if they will, like
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: ask me like when they need a tradem Like there's
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: no way it happens, right, But then at this point,
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  Speaker 5: it's like who on the market would they really go
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: out there? And quite again at matthew Nis doesn't make
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: any sense for them, So who within Saint Louis's contention
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: window makes the most sense to target? I don't really
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: get unless like maybe they're trying to get like Mason mctaalish,
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: Like it's got to be someone who's young, who is
• 12:54
  Speaker 5: not in their prime years, that's what you're doing. Well,
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: there's not a ton of those guys available, like Bason
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: mctapps should feel like the best pet. But again, would
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: you almost prefer having four first round picks in your
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: system all of a sudden that'd be more valuable in
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  Speaker 5: the long run than one Mason attavish?
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  Speaker 1: Is there anybody that you think, like, at the end
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  Speaker 1: of the first round or the beginning of the second
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  Speaker 1: that a team is going to be really chopping at
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  Speaker 1: the bit to get up to get like maybe want
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  Speaker 1: to make a trade at the beginning of day two
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  Speaker 1: for somebody that slipped out of the first round that
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  Speaker 1: you think, okay, maybe this guy, you know, could really
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  Speaker 1: be of intrigue to somebody that wants to, you know,
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  Speaker 1: improve their prospect pipeline.
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  Speaker 5: I don't know if there's many teams that want to
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  Speaker 5: use their first pick on like Exaber Villeneuve, who's you know,
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  Speaker 5: a small defenseman but clearly super skilled. Could we see
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: a team want to use them early or use a
• 13:44
  Speaker 5: picker early in the second on him? You know, A
• 13:46
  Speaker 5: team of Carolina is definitely one you would want to
• 13:48
  Speaker 5: watch for a villainouve because they like looking for those
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: high upside guys. That's really what they're thinking. Like they
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: picked Seth Jarvis. There were a lot of people didn't
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: believe in Steth Jervis that draft year. They did, They're like,
• 13:56
  Speaker 5: we see the upside here. Seth Jarvis has been one
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  Speaker 5: heck of a hockey player. Say that's worked out for them,
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  Speaker 5: and they've drafted some other guys like Nikishen was one
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  Speaker 5: where a lot of scouts in like them, and I
• 14:06
  Speaker 5: know he's on the trade market right now, but they
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  Speaker 5: got him in sixty ninth overall that year, and that
• 14:10
  Speaker 5: was one heck of a pickup for them, a guy
• 14:12
  Speaker 5: that I think they should be very happy with that.
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: So I think it's you know, you're always looking at teams.
• 14:21
  Speaker 5: Could Vancouver get more aggressive, Could Caviary get more aggressive.
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: Could Toronto try and find a way to get early
• 14:25
  Speaker 5: in the second because they need to continue to growing
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: their pipeline here, Like the second round, I don't think
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: that brings a ton of value this year, and you're
• 14:33
  Speaker 5: you're kind of hoping these guys turn into the NHL ors.
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: But I always feel like fans overvalue draft picks because
• 14:39
  Speaker 5: often a guy who's currently in the NHL is more
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: valuable than a second round draft pick. Realistically, by the
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: time that second round player is ready to go, the
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: guy who you traded for that is, you know, probably
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: well passed done at that point. So I don't know,
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: I don't know if we're going to say anything we
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: really move up, other than like maybe Vancouver just trying
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: to capitalize the fact they're really starting their their thing here.
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: Or say they have a lot of third rounders, they
• 15:01
  Speaker 5: can move up to the second round.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: Two, is anybody that doesn't currently have a first that
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: you're looking at, like one of those contenders that might
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: want to get back in there or that, Like I
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: know Colorado, Like they're a team that has no draft
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: picks and they've got a ton of players on the roster.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: Is there any way that newly appointed general manager but
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: he was, you know, the president of Hockey Ops, Joe
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: Sakik after you know, McFarlane leaves for Nashville, Like, is
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: there any way you can see Colorado being able to
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: trade some of those players on the roster to get
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: themselves a pick here, because we just saw that they
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: made that trade with Nashville yesterday with the Jack Drewry
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: and giving up a third round pick for Stfeshkav and
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: Zachary LaRue, which might help them, you know a little
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: bit with some of those younger players. But some of
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: those teams that really don't have a lot of draft picks,
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Like what are you thinking from those teams?
• 15:45
  Speaker 5: Maybe Edmonton because like it's a team that took a
• 15:47
  Speaker 5: pretty notable step down this year, you know, going to
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: the Cup Final, multiple years in a row and then
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: not doing pretty much anything this year. I think that'd
• 15:56
  Speaker 5: be a team maybe you'd watch. I don't know, like
• 15:59
  Speaker 5: like Colorado just as a team that just I swear
• 16:01
  Speaker 5: they don't really need they don't need scouts, They don't
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: really do a whole lot on there every year. This
• 16:07
  Speaker 5: time they're kind of just like, oh yeah, we're good
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: draft gay like the fifth round, we're gonna I just
• 16:10
  Speaker 5: don't see Colorado moving up if they didn't get anything
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: more for Jack jury on the draft front, I don't
• 16:15
  Speaker 5: think they're gonna go out and get another pick. So
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: I honestly I don't see a team kind of doing that.
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: Team we haven't talked about yet is the team at
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: the top of the board. Toronto Maple Leafs Gavin McKenna.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: You know, we heard him this morning. He had a
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: couple of good sound bites. He was asked about being
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: the villain and in a way ranks and he said
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: he wants to play that villain role. And the Leaf
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: fans are reading that up and just wanting to, you know,
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: embrace the process and everything that goes about with being
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: potentially the first overall pick and the whole draft weekend
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: and the draft process and being here with friends and family.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: How do you think he's handled everything from all the
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: different events the combine now up to the draft, Like,
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: what are you thinking for McKenna here as he's most
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: likely going to be a leaf tomorrow night.
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I feel like this is the guy who can
• 16:53
  Speaker 5: handle the pressure probably better than anybody else. And this
• 16:55
  Speaker 5: is the guy who's been on the spotlight since he
• 16:57
  Speaker 5: was fourteen years old. This is not someone who kind
• 17:00
  Speaker 5: of came out of nowhere and became his top prospect.
• 17:02
  Speaker 5: So I feel like he's ready to go. He's going
• 17:05
  Speaker 5: to go to a market where he's going to be loved,
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: His mistakes are going to be microanalyzed, but his advisors
• 17:13
  Speaker 5: will have been telling him this the whole time. There's
• 17:15
  Speaker 5: extra pressure, but there's really the big opportunities. When you
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: play in the market like Toronto, you are going to
• 17:19
  Speaker 5: become a hockey superstar. And I feel like if any
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: player can mentally handle that without really kind of falling
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: like coming to the pressure, I think it's it's gonna
• 17:28
  Speaker 5: be Gavin mccanna. And he also is going to be
• 17:29
  Speaker 5: able to learn on a lean on some guys like
• 17:32
  Speaker 5: Austin Matthews, John Taveres, a pair of first overall picks
• 17:35
  Speaker 5: themselves who can go out there and give that experience.
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: So I actually think it's a really good situation.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: For him and for a guy like Caleb Malhotra. We
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: know that all the stars will align for him to
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: potentially be in Vancouver with his dad, Manny being the
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: new head coach there. You know, for some reason he
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: doesn't end up in Vancouver. You know, what are you
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: think in there? Because potentially if Stenberg falls to three,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: does Vancouver pivot and say we have to take Stenburg
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: over Malhotra?
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: Like, what do you thinking of that whole situation?
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Do you just think that you know, regardless no matter
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: what happens, Malholt is going through to Vancouver.
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: As much as I don't love the fit from a
• 18:09
  Speaker 5: you know, the pressure stand by going back to that topic,
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: I feel like everyone I have talked to who I
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: really trust, who Vancouver is gonna take the number three,
• 18:17
  Speaker 5: it's always Mahultra. And it's not because of his dad.
• 18:19
  Speaker 5: It's because they need as much help as they can get.
• 18:22
  Speaker 5: And if you've got an opportunity to pick the best
• 18:24
  Speaker 5: center in the draft and number three. You're loving that.
• 18:26
  Speaker 5: So I think this is something where I think it's
• 18:29
  Speaker 5: just gonna happen. I think Kayla Maultra is gonna be
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: a Vancouver.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Canuck, especially when you don't know the future of Elias Peterson, right.
• 18:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah, most likely. Well that's the thing. It's like, by
• 18:36
  Speaker 5: the time, like the question is is Mahultra two number
• 18:40
  Speaker 5: one center, I think you can look at Vancouver's timeline
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: for being competitive and say they might not need him
• 18:46
  Speaker 5: to they're gonna have some opportunities, like they're gonna draf
• 18:48
  Speaker 5: hih again next year. Maybe maybe they draft high enough
• 18:50
  Speaker 5: and they can get land in Dupa. Maybe Alexis Joseph's
• 18:53
  Speaker 5: answer next year, maybe one of the Russian senators are
• 18:54
  Speaker 5: or the answer like, there's gonna be some opportunities over
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: the next couple of years for them to really get
• 19:00
  Speaker 5: some good help. Where if you are not convinced that
• 19:03
  Speaker 5: this is the guy who's gonna get a job done,
• 19:04
  Speaker 5: as you and everyone center, you're gonna find someone who will,
• 19:07
  Speaker 5: and then he's going to be one of the best
• 19:09
  Speaker 5: number two centers in the NHL. So I actually think
• 19:11
  Speaker 5: this is a good fit from a hockey perspective. I
• 19:13
  Speaker 5: just hate the pressure point here. I just think that's
• 19:15
  Speaker 5: is one that's a I don't think you'd want him
• 19:19
  Speaker 5: to charge his own path. But at the same time,
• 19:20
  Speaker 5: I will also say, like, in a perfect world, your
• 19:23
  Speaker 5: star player lasts longer than your coach, and there might
• 19:26
  Speaker 5: be a situation here where who knows, maybe man, he's like,
• 19:28
  Speaker 5: you know, a couple of years, I'm not the guy
• 19:29
  Speaker 5: I'm gonna step down do the Palm Maurice thing. And
• 19:32
  Speaker 5: maybe he just wants to watch the sun play. So
• 19:34
  Speaker 5: you know, there's a lot of different opportunities there. But
• 19:36
  Speaker 5: I feel like these are professionals, these are smart people.
• 19:39
  Speaker 5: I don't think they're going to treat him any any
• 19:42
  Speaker 5: extra special just because of who he is in the end,
• 19:45
  Speaker 5: because that's just there again there. I know the Canucks
• 19:47
  Speaker 5: have had some strange issues in the last few years,
• 19:50
  Speaker 5: but they're still a professional hockey team. I think they're
• 19:51
  Speaker 5: gonna be able to handle it.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Okay, And Steven ellis, if you could drop yourself as
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: the general manager of a team right now in the
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: National Hockey League, either for to more draft or just
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: in general with their prospect pipeline and everything that you
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: sort of cover on a day to day basis, like
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: what would be one or two teams that you really
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: would love to have to see the outlook of in
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: building this core through the draft Right now.
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: I'd say, well for Toronto because I think they should
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: draft me. I think, you know, they've been talking about
• 20:19
  Speaker 5: some goalies, but you know they they're gonna lose Samuel Orson,
• 20:21
  Speaker 5: probably not gonna sign them. They got to sign a
• 20:22
  Speaker 5: new game. I'm the guy I could put. I've been realistic,
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: realistically though very interested to see kind of I know
• 20:29
  Speaker 5: this is sounding a basic gains there, but how's Vancouver
• 20:30
  Speaker 5: gonna do this? They've got a couple of really good picks.
• 20:32
  Speaker 5: They got to pick a twenty four, they pick up
• 20:34
  Speaker 5: thirty three. I think they can get a really good
• 20:35
  Speaker 5: boost their system. When you're picking a thirty three, you're
• 20:38
  Speaker 5: picking a guy that a lot of teams had as
• 20:40
  Speaker 5: a first round pick, so you get you're essentially getting
• 20:42
  Speaker 5: an extra first round pick out of that. I think
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: that's interesting. San Jose, Again, this is really basic because
• 20:47
  Speaker 5: they got the three picks, but it's like they're picking second,
• 20:50
  Speaker 5: they're picking knife, they're picking the twenty seventh or third
• 20:53
  Speaker 5: pick like seven. Yeah, that's a lot of value that
• 20:55
  Speaker 5: this team's going to get for. But also it's trade, Ammo.
• 20:58
  Speaker 5: Who knows, maybe you are simper or plays a team
• 21:00
  Speaker 5: for the Santose Sharks. They using them to trade to
• 21:02
  Speaker 5: get someone more valuable. Like, there's also that opportunity here
• 21:05
  Speaker 5: because he is so valuable and so many teams want them. Well,
• 21:08
  Speaker 5: if you take it now, you could do what you
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: want with him. So like that's something to keep in
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: mind here. We've seen prospects that have been traded in
• 21:13
  Speaker 5: recent years. Zeebuiam. You know, I know he was not
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: technically a prospect, but he was still one of the
• 21:18
  Speaker 5: better young guys rookie that got traded this year. So
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: there's value there.
• 21:22
  Speaker 4: And you know, I'll jump in here.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: A team that you had mentioned last time, Columbus. Yeah,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: you said that's a team that really needs to improve
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: their prospect pipeline. You know, Lindstrom really hasn't panned out
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: the way that they had hoped for him. We know
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: Lorensky is going to meet with the team. We know
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: the Carol Marchenko is a name out there. So if
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Columbus really wants to you know, improve their prospect pipeline
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: or get some top end picks. You know, could they
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: entice a team like San Jose to jump up for
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: that two pick and you know, a Marchenko and or
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: zach Wrensky type deal.
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: As crazy as.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: That might sound, like, are you looking at a team
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: like Columbus that could really make some good moves here
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: if they decided to get to some of those big
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: core pieces.
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: It'll be very interesting because you know all the Rensky rumors.
• 22:04
  Speaker 5: But the whole thing is like they're not going to
• 22:05
  Speaker 5: meet with him until after the draft and after start fuency,
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: so you'll lose the opportunity to really trade him unless
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: you're just saying, you know what, screw, We're just gonna
• 22:12
  Speaker 5: trade you anyways, then you can potentially move up higher.
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: But I based off of everything if we believe what
• 22:18
  Speaker 5: Don Woodel has been saying in Columbus, like they're not
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: gonna trade him right away, So then let's say they
• 22:22
  Speaker 5: don't really have any other trade assets that would make
• 22:24
  Speaker 5: them move up high, and then the real pick is
• 22:27
  Speaker 5: just fourteen. You know, I wish they could have found
• 22:30
  Speaker 5: a way to move up, but that is not a
• 22:31
  Speaker 5: team that's just rimming of assets to make that work.
• 22:34
  Speaker 5: And I think that's something that's kind of difficult there.
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: But fourteen, you know, you could still get a guy
• 22:38
  Speaker 5: like Eaton Belchetz, who's a Rick Nash like super fan.
• 22:41
  Speaker 5: And you got to get Ryan Lynn, who's a puck
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: moving defenseman that you know, if you trade Rensky away,
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: here you go. You got a guy who's not obviously
• 22:47
  Speaker 5: one for one, but he's going to be able to
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: do a lot what aft action Rudolph Auls. A lot
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: of scouts look at him as another Zach Werretski, like
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: there's actually some interesting opportunities here. That's just a team
• 22:57
  Speaker 5: I wish was making higher because they he needs something
• 23:00
  Speaker 5: to really kind of boost them.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: Keaton Verhoff, what are your thoughts on him? I know,
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: you know at the beginning of the year sort of
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: dropped right now, you know, anywhere mocked from four to eleven.
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: I feel like I've seen, you know, his name pop
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: up on mock drafts. So what are you thinking of
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: the guy? Obviously you know as the goalie background you know,
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: then started playing defense. He's a guy that a lot
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: of people wonder, you know, really what is his ceiling?
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: What is his potential here? What is your I guess
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: final thoughts for Keaton Verhoff in this draft.
• 23:29
  Speaker 5: He's gonna I think he's gonna prove people wrong. I think,
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: you know, a lot of people are really dropping him
• 23:34
  Speaker 5: down ranking, saying his hockey sense isn't great and his
• 23:36
  Speaker 5: skating isn't great, and you know what, two things that
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: are yet one hundred percent they need to improve. Those
• 23:39
  Speaker 5: are pretty critical things in hockey. Hockey sense is something
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: that you always hear, can't really be taught, it can't
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: be adjusted. I'm an older age and it's not I'm
• 23:47
  Speaker 5: not saying like this guy doesn't know what he's doing.
• 23:48
  Speaker 5: Another actually think he's a very smart player. It just
• 23:50
  Speaker 5: sometimes under pressure he kind of can panic that. That
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: is something a good coaching staff can fix. And that's fine.
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: And skating is one of the more noticeable things, or
• 23:58
  Speaker 5: one of the easier things to fix, something that he
• 24:00
  Speaker 5: himself says he needs to work on. I think the
• 24:02
  Speaker 5: big thing about his team is the elements we needed
• 24:04
  Speaker 5: to see from him to really step up really didn't
• 24:07
  Speaker 5: improve this year. But what did improve was his confidence,
• 24:10
  Speaker 5: his ability to handle a ton of ice. Time he's playing,
• 24:13
  Speaker 5: you know, seventeen eighteen minutes nowhere is what he was doing.
• 24:15
  Speaker 5: Victoria but he was doing that in the NCAA in
• 24:18
  Speaker 5: one of the top programs in the country. That's something
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: you can't ignore. And I feel like that's something where
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: I think he's going to be a pretty pretty solid defenseman.
• 24:27
  Speaker 5: Like I'm looking at Seattle and saying, like, you haven't
• 24:28
  Speaker 5: picked a defenseman ever. Take the one of the most
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: upside in this craft, fir first, und ihould say they've
• 24:33
  Speaker 5: never taken one on the first.
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: Round, first round yet.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: So we've seen, you know, a lot of movements so far, Steven,
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: with teams making trades and things like that. But I
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: guess what is your general outlook as we look ahead
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: to the next couple of days here? Possibly more movement,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: just again, as I mentioned off the top week.
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: Free agent class.
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: So these contenders, you know, really want to make some
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: moves via trade to improve the team more so than
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: then what's going to be available on July first for them?
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: So what are you expecting we see on the draft floor.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: I know it's decentralized. All the teams will be back
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: at their headquarters, but the players will be here in
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: Buffalo for the draft.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: But what are you expecting to see the next couple
• 25:07
  Speaker 4: of days here?
• 25:07
  Speaker 5: Well, I think the league proved on Tuesday that they
• 25:11
  Speaker 5: can have a lot of trades without all being in person,
• 25:14
  Speaker 5: and I think that's something wor will be interesting to see.
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: I do wonder if we're done seeing those trades. Lots
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: of rumors, but there's always a lot of rumors at
• 25:20
  Speaker 5: this point, so it's like, how much of it is real?
• 25:21
  Speaker 5: How much of it is are we just buying into
• 25:23
  Speaker 5: the hype of well, look, look we're hearing right now.
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: It's like, in the end, we don't difficacy a ton
• 25:27
  Speaker 5: of trades on Day one. Day two is where a
• 25:28
  Speaker 5: lot of the things happen, but we're not talking to
• 25:30
  Speaker 5: star players because they're not being traded for first round picks.
• 25:32
  Speaker 5: It's just interesting to see what the value of a
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: first round pick is this year, Like if William Eckland
• 25:37
  Speaker 5: is kind of like the key piece in a trade
• 25:39
  Speaker 5: that involves, you know, the ninth overall pick, Like he's
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: a good player, but it always feel like a top
• 25:44
  Speaker 5: ten picks, so exiluted a bit more than most cases,
• 25:47
  Speaker 5: I guess second line player in the NHL. And I
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: feel like this is one where I'm not expecting a
• 25:52
  Speaker 5: ton of crazy movement, but like you said not a
• 25:54
  Speaker 5: great free agent class. Teams might try and take advantage
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: as soon as you can. It just who's on the
• 25:58
  Speaker 5: markets the question mark.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: So I'll leave you with a final thought here, does
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: Stenberg go second? Or does does something else happen that
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: the changes the way the whole first round falls?
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: Well, I think the Shark's gonna be happy to take
• 26:10
  Speaker 5: McKenna because I'm going number one. But if not, yeah,
• 26:12
  Speaker 5: I'll be only Stenberg behind McKennon. I think that's just
• 26:15
  Speaker 5: the one that makes the most sense. When you trade
• 26:16
  Speaker 5: a guy like William Macklin, you might as well get
• 26:18
  Speaker 5: a guy who could replace him, and this is the
• 26:20
  Speaker 5: guy who could replace him and potentially be better. So I
• 26:22
  Speaker 5: think that's Steenberg something that makes a lot of sense
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: for the Sharks. Killam aultra three, Read fourth, Carl's fifth,
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: b O Bijorg sixth, Fairhoff seventh, Smid's eighth, Rudolph ninth, twy,
• 26:36
  Speaker 5: Colin tenth. And that's all.
• 26:38
  Speaker 4: When was the last time you had a perfect top ten.
• 26:41
  Speaker 5: I don't think anyone in the history of the world
• 26:42
  Speaker 5: every done that, but I got to perfect top five
• 26:43
  Speaker 5: few years ago. That that was tough because that was
• 26:45
  Speaker 5: the year when back at Seneca I went third. I'm like,
• 26:51
  Speaker 5: sounds like he's gonna go three. He said he was surprised.
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: I don't believe it. I believe he knew he was
• 26:54
  Speaker 5: going to number three.
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: Worked out well for Anaheim because.
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: That person who told me to say Seneca shouldn't know.
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: So I don't believe him. But may uh nail the
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: top five. It's gonna be hard to do that, and
• 27:06
  Speaker 5: it's it's very I think Vancouver there's always like it's
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: it's never two where the draft really because I think
• 27:11
  Speaker 5: this year is actually more number three.
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: I think, so okay, I.
• 27:14
  Speaker 5: Think Vancouver does because there's a huge hockey argument to
• 27:17
  Speaker 5: take Maholdrop, but there's also a huge, you know, personal
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: argument to not take them.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: So before we go, give us one name you want
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: to see on draft day two called who's a player
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: you really want to co sign that you think it's
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: going to be a good mid round pick.
• 27:29
  Speaker 5: Ryder Cally. I'm excited to see Rader Cally. That guy
• 27:31
  Speaker 5: is a wrecking ball. He just goes out there to
• 27:33
  Speaker 5: hurt people, but he's he actually told us of the
• 27:35
  Speaker 5: draft combat he doesn't want to get penalties. Well, yeah,
• 27:37
  Speaker 5: fair enough. There are some guys who disregard human life.
• 27:40
  Speaker 5: He is not one of them. But he hits hard,
• 27:42
  Speaker 5: he's strong, he's a hard working guy and very raw.
• 27:44
  Speaker 5: Only start playing Triple A when he's fourteen years old,
• 27:46
  Speaker 5: So I think that's something that there's still a lot
• 27:49
  Speaker 5: of development, still a lot of learning to go. And
• 27:51
  Speaker 5: it's also just a cool story. A guy, you know,
• 27:53
  Speaker 5: born in Switzerland, grew up in the Cayman Islands, ended
• 27:56
  Speaker 5: up becoming, you know, a late bloomer, but a very
• 27:59
  Speaker 5: solid late bloomer. I feel like that's a guy that
• 28:00
  Speaker 5: I'd be really excited about.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: Steven ellis associate editor and prospect analyst of Daily Faceoff.
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: Appreciate the time, Steven, It's been a lot of fun. Again,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: we're recording here at the Merriad here because the draft
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: doesn't take place till tomorrow. But it's been fun and
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: looking forward to the next couple of days, and I
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: know you are going to look forward to a couple
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: of days off as well, going to Walkins Glen after
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: this draft is done, so you know, should be a
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: little bit of fun before you start, you know, reving
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: up for the twenty twenty seven draft.
• 28:27
  Speaker 5: My draft rankings come out for twenty twenty seven, and
• 28:29
  Speaker 5: I've almost finished them. That top thirty two, and that's
• 28:33
  Speaker 5: I don't want to think about that draft yet. It's
• 28:36
  Speaker 5: it should be a good draft. We'll see, but you
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: know right now it's to land a DuPont.
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: Draft, yeah for sure.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: So we'll see what happens tomorrow night, here live from
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: key Bank Center in Buffalo for the twenty twenty six
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: NHL Entry Draft. All the players here to have their
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: names called and being welcomed into the National Hockey League.
• 28:52
  Speaker 4: For this year's draft class.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: So for Steven Ellis of Daily Face Off, my name
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: is brandonck Puto. That's gonna be at for another episode
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: of the Under Review Hockey Podcast. Again, make sure to
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: give us a follow on x at Your Hockey Pod
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok by searching
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: the Armchair GM Sports Network forever our short reels and
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: content and updates throughout the NHL Draft. So we'll talk
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: to you guys again very soon here on the Armchair
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: GM Sports Network Live from the NHL Draft in Buffalo.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network