Latest / Predators Official Podcast / Catching Up With Joey feat. Ryan Johansen

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Catching Up With Joey feat. Ryan Johansen · Predators Official Podcast

0:10
It's the Predators official podcast, The POP the middle of
0:15
March Spring has sprung here on ESPN 102.5, the game streaming
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on Predators YouTube and a whole slew of other spots.
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Brooks Bratton of Nashville, predators.com here with my
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friends Max Hers of Fred's radio on Kara Hammer of Fred's TV.
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Max and I are home from the road.
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Kara's in Nashville as well. The gang is kind of somewhat
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back together, but it's lovely to see your smiling faces.
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It's one of the. Brooks thinks that this 40°
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Nashville weather is a spring compared to Winnipeg, right?
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Hey, I was going, yeah, we just came from Winnipeg, where it was
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-10 when we landed there. So I'm feeling pretty good.
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Hey, yeah, it's good to be back, good to be back in Nashville.
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And we've got an awesome interview coming up in about 10
1:00
minutes with Prinz alumni Ryan Johansson, all time fan
1:04
favorite. So make sure you hang out with
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us for that 20 minute long interview with Ryan Johansson,
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who we are happy to tell you will be honored as we recognize
1:13
his retirement from the NHL at the game on Saturday, March 28th
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against the Canadian. SO Ryan Johansson this week
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going to be back in Smashville for the first time since he
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retired. So we are really, really excited
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to celebrate Joey and really excited to have him on the POP.
1:29
Yeah, I can't wait for that. It was a great chat.
1:31
Again, a fan favorite. You all know him and that he's
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really excited to talk to you, the fans, so definitely stay
1:36
tuned for that coming up. Also, as we said, we're back
1:38
from the road and Winnipeg. A huge win for the Predators,
1:41
finishing up their Rd. triple. Touch on that.
1:43
Also, did we almost see a player ref on Tuesday night?
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We'll get into that a little bit later, our biggie a little bit
1:50
later on as well. But guys, as we record this on
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Wednesday, March 18th at around 3:00 in the afternoon, about as
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close to breaking news as you can possibly get on a podcast,
1:59
at least we have a signing to announce Zachary LaRue, happy
2:03
friend of the show just on a couple weeks ago, signs A2 year
2:07
$1.75 million deal that will kick in at the start of next
2:12
season. Of course, Zach started this
2:14
season in Milwaukee, performed really well with the Admirals,
2:17
worked his way back up and all of a sudden he's become an
2:20
everyday NHL or once more and so great to have him in the fold.
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Continuing, Max, you mentioned it as we were talking offline,
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he would have been a restricted free agent.
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So obviously good to get that piece of business done and to
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keep happy in the fold here. Yeah, and I think this contract
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is a sign that everybody's right where they need to be in this
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whole deal. La Rue is expected to make the
2:41
team out of camp by many. Didn't happen, but here he is at
2:44
the end of the year. He's going to be in the NHL
2:45
lineup the rest of the season and presumably have a great
2:49
chance to make his first opening night roster in the fall of
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2026. So yeah, I think I think La
2:55
Rue's timeline is right where it should be.
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I think this was a pretty easy deal to get done for both La
3:00
Rue's camp and the Pred side. And it saves restrictions to
3:03
free agency, which look, as we've seen with these home grown
3:06
preds, isn't a sure thing. So I think this was an easy one
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for LaRue and I think it's a deal that makes sense for
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everybody. And Kara, you know, his
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developments going to continue and we're happy to keep happy
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around. Yeah, we're we love having him
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here, especially on the broadcast.
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In case you missed it, in the game against Seattle, he had a
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skate up interview with our very own Willie Donnick and hit
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Willie with every hockey cliche he could come up with during a
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three question interview segment.
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So we love it. We talk about these young guys
3:36
coming up, being able to energize the the group, energize
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the team. Right now they're sitting at 69
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points. You feel like they still have a
3:44
chance. And so much of that is banking
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on guys like Zach LaRue who have come in, who have been able to
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fill some big spots. Yeah, Zach LaRue told us that
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morning he was excited to work in as many cliches as he
3:54
possibly could. It was a late game, so I said to
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him, you got to give the people back home something good to wake
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up to when they get up the next morning to look at their phones
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and see that Zach Le Rue was telling the people how it's done
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on the broadcast, but happy to have him back in the fold.
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And as you mentioned, Cara, the press are in the fight and one
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of the reasons they're still in there, a Big 43 shootout victory
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on Tuesday night in Winnipeg. Coming off of a couple of losses
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before that in Vancouver and Edmonton.
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The press really needed to bounce back.
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They did. So Eric Holla, Phillip Forsburg
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and Matthew Wood, big goals and regulations.
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Ryan O'Reilly the lone shootout goal, UC Soros denying all three
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shooters in the breakaway competition and a massive 2
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points against the team that is right behind them in the
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standings. And you could certainly say that
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the biggest goal of that game other than O'reilly's in the
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shootout did come off the stick of Matt Wood and Max.
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You and I were there to see it in person.
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His confidence continues to grow each and every game.
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I think you could argue easily that was his biggest goal so far
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for his NHL career. And you had a chance to ask, ask
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him a little bit more about that afterwards.
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Yeah, hey, five goals in six games as the Center for Matt
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Wood, a perfectly played shot against the best goalie in the
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world right now, Connor Hallibuck.
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Matt Wood. Speaking of hockey cliches,
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sometimes he is full of them as well.
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He talks like a coach. He's a coach's son.
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So we had to ask him, is this the biggest goal you've ever
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scored? I just thought this was so
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funny. As Matt Wood invokes Tom Brady,
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the next goal I score is the biggest goal of my career.
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And like he means it. He's he's a young diplomat.
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So I, I find it all so funny. But look, it puts you inside
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Matt Woods brain. And he doesn't think like most
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people who just turned 21 a couple of weeks ago.
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He is all hockey all the time and he doesn't want anything to
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get in the way of his focus. Well, I think Andrew Brunette
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said it perfectly after the game on Tuesday as well.
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He said it's exciting organizationally to watch him
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develop, right, but in front of our eyes right now, and
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especially since he has transitioned over the last few
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games from the wing to the center ice position.
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He had played it before as a teenager, but in the NHL had
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been on the wing for the most part and now in the in the
6:09
center ice position, he's really done a great job of embracing
6:12
that. He's still a young kid.
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This is only his first full NHL season.
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He's still considered a rookie. And as Brunette said, we're
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watching him grow right in front of our eyes.
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Hopefully he continues to grab the opportunity in front of him.
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But I don't know about you guys like, but watching his play, not
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only what he's doing away from the puck, but then with the
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puck, and especially to me, what sticks out in a game like last
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night, in a moment like last night, is the way that he is
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celebrating goals Nowadays. The enthusiasm is really evident
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of a player who is coming into his own.
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We have seen him grow in his confidence, I would argue on a
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nightly basis. Every game he seems to get a
6:52
little more comfortable out there, but to me, the way that
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he celebrates when he puts the puck in the net, that shows me
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that he's a guy who was not only in control of his game, but
7:01
really embracing it and having a lot of fun doing it too.
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How much do you think we have to give credit here to Philip
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Forsberg, who we know is a known, you know, he has some
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celebrations. We've seen different things
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throughout the season. Obviously when he had when he
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had the go 8 mode and you know, it was doing the the gorilla
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bang. But we know that Matt Wood has
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been working with Forsberg. Bruno talked about how great
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Phil has been with him and helped helping him come along.
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So you kind of wondered, is, is Phil pumping him up a little bit
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of like, hey, buddy, you got it in the back of the net, show
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some emotion. Hey, every big goal, every game
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plan down the middle of the ice, every game plan in the top 6,
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you get to see a little bit more of Matt Wood.
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And the more he feels inside that he is here to stay and here
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to make an impact, the more emotion we're going to see from
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a rather silent killer that time.
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Perfect analogy, yeah. No, well said.
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Yeah, and well, and you know, playing with Phillip Forsberg,
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there are certainly worse people to be playing with.
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That's a good guy to learn from, which Phil had one heck of a
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goal on Tuesday night as well in Winnipeg.
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So great to see Matt Wood making it happen.
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UC Soros continues to be excellent in the net and I loved
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what Brunette also added at the end of the night on Tuesday said
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we're in this fight and I expect us to continue to be in it.
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The Prez refused to go away as we record again on Wednesday the
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March the 18th. There are just 15 games to go,
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and six of those 15 games come against teams that are all
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within two points of each other. Seattle, San Jose and Los
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Angeles for that final wild card spot.
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And oh, by the way, who do the Preds play on Thursday night?
8:38
But it's Seattle Kraken. Who do they play next week?
8:40
San Jose. Who do they play in April on a
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huge road trip in California? LA, San Jose, Anaheim?
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Who's in the mix, too? We've talked about it before.
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They hold their fate in their own hands.
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And if the Preds can rattle off some wins, they're going to
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continue to stay in the fight just like they have.
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So that's how that shakes out. Again, we're back home.
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This is going to start a stretch of three games and four nights
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over the next two weekends. But it's Seattle at home on
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Thursday. And then, oh, by the way, our
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old pal Colton Sissons returns with the Vegas Golden Knights,
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and Jeremy Lazon and Cole Smith A3 Fer in the return there on a
9:14
Saturday afternoon. And then Sunday afternoon, the
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Predators head up to Chicago ago.
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So a big weekend, big weeks ahead again, just 15 games to
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go. We're in the middle of March.
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The Stanley Cup playoffs start a month from today.
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And the Predators are certainly hoping to be in it.
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And somebody who knows a thing or two about playoff hockey in
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Nashville. So excited coming up to talk to
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Ryan Johansson, a fan favorite. He's back in town.
9:39
He's loving life. And you'll hear all about it.
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More coming up next from Joey on the Predators official podcast.
9:53
Welcome back to the Predators official podcast here on
9:55
ESPN1O25, The game streaming on Preds YouTube and wherever you
9:59
find your favorite podcast. Brooks Bratton along with my
10:02
friends Max Herz and Carrie Hammer.
10:04
And Speaking of friends, you know you'll love him, a former
10:08
fan favorite, number 92, Ryan Johansson joining us on The POP.
10:13
Max has props, Joey. Look at that.
10:16
What is that with my old dog? Oh yeah.
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Oh yeah. Exclusive 29 Z 20 Red King
10:24
Collection Rare Valuable item. That's.
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Amazing. We come prepared.
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First off, Joey, how the heck are you?
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Man, I'm unbelievable. It's so good to see you guys and
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just have have me on again and hopefully we can do this a bunch
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more in the future and it's just great to see you guys and and be
10:43
talking again. I was going to say, this is
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certainly not your first appearance on The POP, but it's
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obviously been a minute since you played in Nashville and we
10:51
saw you on a regular basis. So what is life like for Ryan
10:55
Johansson these days? It's a lot different.
10:58
My wife and I had our first child December 23rd, so we had a
11:03
baby boy. So that's been new, taking up a
11:08
lot of time obviously, and really that's just the main
11:12
thing going on right now. And other than that, just
11:15
enjoying life and hanging out. Fantastic.
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OK, So what is it like being a husband, being a father in this
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new stage of life for you? Oh, it's the coolest thing.
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It's I mean, I don't even know how to put it into words.
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It's every day just seems to be getting more and more special
11:32
and, and he's starting to interact a little bit now.
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So that's been a lot of fun and it's the coolest thing.
11:39
And, you know, being a husband and finding my wife has just
11:43
been the biggest blessing. And it's we're just so grateful
11:46
for everything. It's.
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Been a decade now, Joey, since you've been here in Smashville
11:50
and now back here retired, raising a family. 10 years since
11:55
that trade when you and Seth Jones swapped keys in the
11:58
airport. What sticks with you most when
12:00
you look back on that trade and how that changed your life?
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Oh, great question. I've looked back at that moment
12:08
so much over the years and and now it's, you know, obviously
12:13
it's so crazy when it happens and you're devastated and all
12:17
those things. But it was the best thing that
12:18
really ever happened to me in my life, getting traded in
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Nashville. And that it's not an
12:24
exaggeration. Nashville is where I want to be,
12:29
where we want to raise our family.
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I love everything about it. And I'm just so thankful and
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grateful and blessed and all those words about being able to
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have my chunk of my career here and, and the memories go on
12:46
forever. We had so much fun.
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We had such a great hockey team for a bunch of years and and
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we're it's just, it was the coolest times of my life being a
12:58
Pred. While we're talking about
13:00
memories in 10 years, I mean it's almost 10 years now for
13:03
that Cup run. Obviously you were injured in
13:05
the Anaheim series, but you were the towel waiver.
13:07
I mean, looking back, like what stands out?
13:09
What are the the memories from that moment?
13:11
That was crazy. And I, I got out of surgery that
13:15
morning because I had my leg open and had to reshut it again
13:20
and do some more. So I, it was like 2 or 3:00.
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I got out of the hospital and I told the training staff, I'm
13:29
like, is it OK if I come to the game?
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I really want to come to the game.
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They're like, it's probably not a good idea.
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I'm like, OK, I'm coming. I'll be there.
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I'll be there in 20 minutes. Somebody wheel me in on
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whatever, I don't care. I'm coming to this game.
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And they were like, do you want to do the towel wave?
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And I was still out of it on meds and stuff like, so it was
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just a blur kind of, but I was not going to miss that.
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As long as they said it wouldn't hurt me or anything, I was going
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to be there. And man, it was, it was.
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So I'm so happy to be able to do that.
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And they let me do that. Talking to Fred's alumni Ryan
14:05
Johansson here on the Predators official podcast and it's going
14:08
to be a big night 2 Saturdays from now.
14:10
Joey, on Saturday, March 28th you will be recognized and will
14:14
celebrate your retirement at the Preds game against the Montreal
14:17
Canadiens. How did that start to bring you
14:20
back to a Preds game, and what are you looking forward to most
14:23
about that? Yeah, well, I think the day I I
14:25
got traded to Colorado, you know, my heart is, is always
14:31
been a pred for life. Wherever my career was going to
14:33
go, I right away I knew I wanted to retire here and live here and
14:39
and be a pred for life. So, and then with the delay on
14:44
kind of just doing it and kind of saying goodbye and thank you,
14:48
I really wanted our our kid to be there.
14:52
So I wanted our kid to be born and we didn't know the gender,
14:55
but, but now it's, you know, I wanted my, my boy to be there
14:59
and to have that moment. I always loved interacting with
15:02
guys kids over my careers and seeing him in the locker rooms
15:05
and all those things. And I was always a little
15:07
jealous that, you know, I, I wasn't able to have that for my
15:10
playing career. So I'm like the next best thing
15:13
would to to have a moment with my baby boy and then being
15:16
Bridgestone together and and have some cool pictures and
15:19
memories with with his dad. Well, you were well known for
15:23
being on the glass and warm up and taking your tongue out at
15:25
about every small child that was there a little.
15:28
Creepy. Yeah, some of the moms, some of
15:31
the wives are like some of the wives is Ryan.
15:33
Okay. Well, and you mentioned that
15:37
and, and how fun that was for you when you were a player here.
15:40
I, I imagine you at least keep in touch with some of your
15:43
former teammates, but do you follow the team at all?
15:46
Do you keep up with any of those guys?
15:48
What is that relationship kind of like?
15:49
Absolutely. And obviously so many of the
15:52
guys I played with have moved on as well.
15:54
So it's kind of all over. It's been more of just going to
15:58
the Preds website to see scores all the time.
16:00
I just go to the NHL and look at all of them and check out all my
16:03
old buddies and how they're doing and obviously the Preds.
16:06
But yeah, I'm keeping up a bunch, man.
16:09
I'm a, I'm a super fan for life and I can't win it.
16:13
Somebody brings up the Preds, I'm always bragging and excited
16:16
to talk about it. You know, that's, that's
16:19
everything I've known is hockey and, and that was my favorite
16:22
memories as as a hockey player playing here so.
16:25
One of your connections to the current team is the entire
16:28
O'Reilly family was at your house a couple of training camps
16:32
you go filling. It out how many of them?
16:34
Were there and how did that go? Oh.
16:36
They had they had the whole squad because he got traded or
16:40
whenever he was brought in. It was right around the time I
16:42
got traded to Colorado. So, so I obviously just offered
16:46
if you need some help before you found a place or whatever you
16:49
can. Y'all can stay in my place.
16:51
And so they did that for a little while while they're
16:54
figuring out a home for them for for their family.
16:58
We heard it was like the coolest with the golf course and
17:00
everything, right? Like it's the ultimate.
17:02
It's the ultimate spot for kids. Yeah, I really wanted to do a
17:06
fun backyard set up so they didn't cause too much trouble
17:11
from my understanding, so all is good.
17:15
Well, hey, Speaking of, you know, some of your former
17:16
teammates, you and Craig Smith just linked up and you guys were
17:19
out at the Underbelt Children's Hospital.
17:20
I mean, what was that like being being back with Smitty and, you
17:23
know, giving back to the community again?
17:25
Amazing. It was I, I always cherish those
17:29
opportunities to go there and it kind of just slowed down life
17:32
for me being able to get in the community and especially the
17:35
Children's Hospital. So during seasons and not being
17:39
back there now for a few years and, and we were talking in the
17:42
studio, The Secret Studios was built in March of 2016.
17:48
So I was just traded here like 2-2 months prior to that or
17:53
three months. So it's like all those years and
17:56
they got plans for some renovations to even amp it up
17:59
some more in there and see all the kids and some of the kids
18:03
come down, take pictures, play a game.
18:05
And it's always just the coolest thing and a blessing to be there
18:09
and, and to see Smitty as well. Haven't seen Smitty in a long
18:12
time. We, we did our thing in there
18:16
and then had a bunch of fun. And then we stood in the hallway
18:19
on the way to the, the parking lot for about 1/2 hour just just
18:23
chatting up, catching up. And, and it was so good to see
18:27
him. And it's, it's amazing how you
18:28
just, when you run into each other again, because life's so
18:31
crazy and it's so hard to keep up with everybody that you know,
18:35
you're just great pals again instantly.
18:37
And it's so fun to to hear everything's going in his life.
18:41
So it was. It was a great day.
18:42
Well, you've touched on that Ryan, and just being able to, to
18:46
do something like that and being around Nashville and your
18:49
affection for the city and and the franchise.
18:51
What are you most proud of 1 Not only being able to accomplish
18:56
over your hockey career, but what do you miss most about
18:58
playing in Nashville? Man, for me, Nashville's always
19:02
been about the people like, and we were, we're so lucky to
19:06
travel all over North America all year long, see all these
19:09
places, all these different cultures.
19:11
And, and I, I just, I can't get over the fact that everywhere I
19:17
go in Nashville, there just the kindness and genuineness of
19:20
people here and the consistency of that is just so special to
19:24
me. And, and I grew up on the ocean
19:27
and lakes and mountains and all that stuff in Vancouver and, and
19:32
the hills are just a different beauty here.
19:34
But for me, it's just the people and I, I just, and that's how
19:38
our organization was run. And that's why, you know,
19:42
another reason I'm thankful to talk with you guys to say some
19:44
things like like to me, David Poyle is the biggest legend
19:49
ever. Not because his hockey, you
19:51
know, accomplishments, but he would come to our team parties
19:55
and events and he would know every wife's name, every kids
19:58
name, every family member's name.
20:00
And he would genuinely care and talk to them.
20:04
And that always was the coolest thing to me.
20:05
And that that leadership quality of him was from just being a, a
20:10
great person made him so successful at what he did and
20:13
helped our team be successful. And, and that whole Poyle
20:17
family, Elizabeth and Brian like it.
20:20
It was just such a blessing to play for them and have the
20:22
opportunity to be here and and be around such great people and
20:26
talking about the community and and the emphasis it was to be in
20:30
the community and to be a part and spend time and and have a
20:36
great relationship with that to to make this an unbelievable
20:39
place to live. So I just this just so thankful
20:42
for everything. Joey, you're giving me all the
20:44
fields because when I first had my daughter, the first time I
20:49
brought her to meet anybody, any of the broadcast team, depressed
20:52
people was an opening sort of get together at your house and.
20:58
Yeah, that's. Right.
21:00
That's right, crazy. I know, isn't it amazing?
21:04
But that's but that's kind of my point is like how we always hung
21:10
out together and and we when we did things together, it was done
21:14
right and it it wasn't like some gatherings or you're like, I
21:17
can't wait for this to be over. It was like this is awesome.
21:19
This is so cool what we do in Nashville and, and that starts
21:23
with with David and our management and ownership and all
21:27
of it. And it was just done so well
21:29
here and, and everyone has been a Pred, I'm sure would agree
21:34
with me. It was just lucky to to be a
21:36
part of it. We're getting ready to celebrate
21:38
Mike Fisher, right for his his bobblehead night coming up.
21:41
What was it like? What stands out to you about him
21:44
being the captain? Oh, that's a guy I could brag
21:46
about for forever. To me, he's one of the greatest
21:49
human beings I've ever been around.
21:53
I, I obviously the all nice stuff.
21:56
He's an incredible leader and player and, and just a fantastic
22:00
career. But he officiated my wedding
22:04
couple years ago or a year and a half ago and he's just been such
22:09
a blessing to me and my growth as a human being.
22:12
And still to today, we, we get together and hang out and do
22:15
stuff and you know, he was just, he's just a world class human
22:20
being. And you can learn something
22:24
every day from just being around him.
22:25
And and Shay, Shay Weber too. I played with him for three
22:30
months and I learned so much in that three months.
22:33
See, like him and Mike both changed my careers.
22:36
And then as we all know, Yos is just like the best human being
22:39
ever and the nicest person. So I was, I was able to grow so
22:44
much being around those people because, you know, I took, I
22:47
took a little time to figure it all out and become a good pro
22:51
and, and those guys were so beneficial for me.
22:54
And just another couple guys that I I can't think enough and,
22:59
and just monumental for this organization and, and the
23:02
character it has in the culture that was built and just lifelong
23:07
special people, special preds that that will be talked about
23:11
forever with hockey in the city. Well, Joy, I love that you
23:14
brought them up because we wanted to throw out some names
23:16
of some of your former teammates, and whether that's a
23:20
memory or a funny story or something along those lines, I
23:24
wanted to do a couple of others. But you know, we'd be remiss to
23:27
not ask you about Peck's everybody's favorite Holy Peck
23:30
Arena. I mean, the best human.
23:32
We all know that, but but what do you think about not only
23:35
being able to be teammates with him, but just to be friends with
23:39
a guy like that? What sticks out?
23:40
Yeah, and it was rude of me not to say his name already, but
23:44
like it just again, it's it's as good as good as it gets as a
23:48
human being. And all of us that have been
23:52
around them would all say that it doesn't matter who you are,
23:55
whether it's a teammate or a security guard in the arena,
23:58
doesn't matter. We all feel if you get come in
24:01
contact with him, that's what you're going to say.
24:04
It's just the genuine genuineness of his culture and
24:07
his character. It's unmatchable You it's and
24:11
it's just being around those people for all those years,
24:15
you're not only being a better hockey player, you're becoming a
24:18
better human. And, and we and Nashville is
24:21
turning into the the best place to be for all these retired
24:24
players, even if they didn't play or so many hockey guys are
24:27
coming and moving here to town. And it's PAX man.
24:31
He's the best. They're all the best.
24:33
All, all of our leaders we've had.
24:35
It's been just the coolest, coolest times ever.
24:39
And I, I always look back with just the most joyful reminders
24:44
and memories of of my time here with those guys.
24:46
Well, I want to ask you about two more and then I'll let Kara
24:49
end it with more of a full circle moment.
24:51
But I I want to ask too because you had some good memories with
24:54
these guys, especially after a win with some post game high
24:57
fives. But PK Subban and Tony Butetto
25:01
tell us about playing with those two.
25:02
Those are some 2 characters right there.
25:05
We had a bunch of of awesome characters over the years, but
25:08
those two are as good as it gets.
25:10
It's hard to get words and when those two are around, but man,
25:14
just non-stop fun and laughter. And, and both those guys when it
25:18
was go time, it was just elite level of competing.
25:21
And but two of the most fun guys to be around.
25:24
And, and obviously they were here for our our great runs and
25:27
PK special talent still doing his thing on TV now and, and
25:32
help grow the game in his way. And I think he's killing it
25:34
doing so well. And, and Tony's well retired
25:38
here in Nashville and, and doing his thing and but yeah, amazing
25:43
teammates, amazing fun. There's a list of like 100 guys
25:47
that we could laugh about and have all these fun memories.
25:51
Can we catch up with with Roz? The guys just got done off their
25:55
mom's trip and we were talking about how fun your mom was.
25:58
Oh my goodness that I was watching those videos.
26:02
They did so good. That was so funny.
26:04
Was it Stammer and O'reilly's mom that did the the lineup?
26:08
Oh, I was dying with the hats on and everything is my mom
26:13
actually, she misses that. She's like, oh, just want to go
26:16
on another mom's trip. She had so much fun on those
26:20
trips and God, those are some of the coolest memories to share
26:24
and all that. We'll have to bring her back
26:26
out, but I think we'll end up with this rhyme, You know?
26:29
What's next for you? Right now actually, it's kind of
26:33
cool how it's all come together when I've during my transition.
26:37
There's a there's it's called the Pro Tour and it's a golf
26:41
tour that's for retired professional athletes.
26:46
So you have to be a certain handicap level and you have to
26:48
add so many years pro to qualify or be eligible.
26:53
Then we go all over the place and you and there's an actual
26:57
like purse of $500,000. So you can like you can make
27:01
some money if you do well. And so my, my old man, my pops
27:07
has been my caddy. You bring your caddy and it is
27:09
legit tournament golf. Then they spoil the crap out of
27:13
us and treat us so well. And, and it's all these legends
27:17
of the game, all these hockey guys and Brad Richardson's been
27:21
playing in it who was with the Preds for a bit and, and tons of
27:25
hockey guys and just hearing all the stories and all the
27:28
bickering going on. It's it's, it's amazing.
27:30
And that's, so that's been kind of something that I've just been
27:34
looking forward to a bunch now and have a reason to practice
27:37
work on the game to, to try and bring home some grocery money.
27:41
Yeah, all. Right.
27:42
So, so we'll end it with what's your handicap and who's the best
27:46
teammate of yours that you played with that you think would
27:49
just still dominate on on the golf course.
27:51
Well, I heard Nyquist I guess was really good, but I never got
27:56
to play with him. So I think I think he had the
28:00
edge on me a bit. But now that I've been retired,
28:02
I've I've worked on the game a bunch and I think I could take
28:05
him, but I think I had the title in Nashville for a bunch of
28:08
years still. Yeah, I think I still had the
28:12
best game. But my caps is plus 0.8 right
28:15
now and trying to get it a little better and but it's fun.
28:19
I love golf and and now a reason to really practice, try to get
28:23
as good as I can and it's been cool.
28:25
Cool. Well, we can't wait to see you
28:27
out. Yeah, and I can I add one thing.
28:31
I need to thank the fans because I can't wait to be back in the
28:34
arena, especially the 28th. And just, and I know I'll go on
28:38
the broadcast for a minute, but just the the people in Nashville
28:42
and the support we had as a team, more than just the games.
28:46
And then being in the arena, just being in the community and
28:49
being a part of living here. It's the best people in the
28:52
world. They're the best fans in the
28:54
world and it's just the best memories of my life.
28:57
We're we're wearing the Preds uniform and I can't wait to be
29:00
back in that arena and, and see you guys and all of them and all
29:04
the people and it's going to be a really cool moment.
29:07
Well, Joey, we can't wait to see the same.
29:10
We're excited for you. We're happy that you're doing
29:11
well. Thanks for doing this.
29:13
We can't wait to see you in person and let the people of
29:16
Smashville shower. You would love once more Max
29:19
getting ready to go. You better be wearing that, Max.
29:22
Yeah. Right here.
29:24
I gotta go find me one. I'm jealous.
29:26
Goodness. Yeah, I'm jealous too.
29:28
Joey, it's a pleasure as always. You're a wonderful human being.
29:31
It's great to see you and we look forward to many more of
29:34
these down the road. You guys are amazing people and
29:37
you guys know how much I love y'all and can't wait to give you
29:40
guys hugs and see you and and thank you for having me on and I
29:44
anytime you you need someone to come on just give me a holler.
29:48
I'd love to come on and and talk some more about whatever.
29:50
That is Predators alumni Ryan Johansson, all time fan favorite
29:55
and we invite you to join us 2 Saturdays from now on Saturday,
29:59
March 28th when the Prince hosts the Montreal Canadiens at
30:02
Bridgestone Arena as we host Johansson's retirement
30:05
recognition and welcomed him back to Smashville.
30:08
Coming up next, which NHL player wants to be a ref the most and
30:14
is it Jonathan Marshasow and did it almost happen?
30:18
That is next on the Predators official podcast with Max
30:21
Harris, Karen Hammer and Brooks Bratton here on ESPN1O25 The
30:24
Game. Welcome back to the Predators
30:31
official podcast here on ESPN1O25 The Game.
30:35
My name is Max Harris from Preds Radio alongside my 2 best
30:38
friends in the world, Tara Hammer from Predators TV and
30:41
Brooks Bratton, Preds team reporter from
30:43
nashvillepredators.com. Thanks again to Ryan Johansson
30:47
for joining us. We are so excited to celebrate
30:49
him and recognize his career and his time with the Preds on
30:53
Saturday, March 28th at the game against the Canadians.
30:55
He also told us he'll be in the house for his buddy Colton
30:59
Sissons returning to Smashville this weekend with the Vegas
31:02
Golden Knights. So we might start seeing a lot
31:05
of Ryan Johansson and Smashville, which I know
31:07
everybody out there is in favor of.
31:11
It swept the NHL social media world this week.
31:16
A rule where that if the refs and linesman cannot show up to a
31:21
game, each team would get to pick a player to officiate.
31:26
And Brooks Bratton, our officiating expert, can tell us
31:30
who the Preds picked and why, and how it almost happened at
31:35
the game in Winnipeg this week. Almost.
31:38
It was so close. So yeah, this is the fun one.
31:41
So this was thrown out. This is not a new rule.
31:43
I mean, this has been the NHL rulebook for decades and
31:46
decades, but it's labeled, it's rule 31.11, unable to continue.
31:50
And I love the way that it's worded.
31:52
It says if through misadventure or sickness, misadventure,
31:56
whatever that is, the referees and lines persons appointed are
32:00
prevented from appearing, the league will make every attempt
32:03
to find suitable replacement officials.
32:05
Otherwise the managers or coaches of the two clubs shall
32:08
agree on referees and lines persons.
32:10
If they are unable to agree, which that's a whole another
32:13
situation. Let's see people not agreeing on
32:16
who to put in the game. If they are unable to agree they
32:19
shall appoint a player from each side who shall act as referee
32:23
and lines person. The player of the home club is
32:26
the referee and the player of the visiting club is Lions
32:30
person. So of course every NHL team has
32:32
been asking their players, hey who would make the best referee
32:36
if this had to happen? The overwhelming majority of
32:39
Predators players, which I think because they would love to see
32:42
chaos, chose Jonathan Marshes. So as the guy who would be the
32:46
ref, I personally would love to hear him on the microphone when
32:49
he's announcing a penalty. I imagine there would be a
32:52
little commentary there perhaps as well.
32:54
But I love the choice. Some of the guys went more
32:56
traditional saying, you know, Roman Yossi, he's the captain.
32:59
Stephen Stamkos, as Luke Evangelista said, he's seen a
33:02
lot of stuff. So he's got some experience.
33:05
He knows what's going on, but I love that Jonathan Marshaso was
33:09
a guy that was chosen and then yeah, it almost happened.
33:11
So Chris Lee actually couldn't make it to the game in Winnipeg
33:15
due to weather. Now Brandon Trader was still the
33:17
lone referee there. The teams were notified earlier
33:20
in the day they agreed to do it with the three man system.
33:23
It used to be the case all the time back in the 90s, eighties,
33:26
70s. There used to only be 1 referee
33:28
instead of two referees and two lines persons, but they made it
33:31
work. Brandon Schrader did a fine job
33:33
and they carried on. But it was funny.
33:35
Just the timeliness of this. We've been talking so much about
33:38
it and then, oh by the way, Chris Lee can't get here.
33:41
Who's going in? So I guess technically we're in
33:43
Winnipeg. So a Jets player would have been
33:45
the referee as opposed to a press player.
33:48
But I don't know about you guys, but it's still hilarious to
33:50
think about. OK so I need to clarify.
33:53
So if this scenario plays out, are the players still playing in
33:58
the game or are they now not dressed and just working as an
34:02
official? Just working as an official.
34:05
They are. They are the official.
34:06
They are not playing in the game anymore.
34:08
Which like honestly good luck on choosing someone to be biased or
34:12
not biased. Yeah, because then you think
34:14
like if you want a guy like Samer, you don't want him
34:16
sitting out. We want a guy like marching.
34:17
You don't want him out of the line up that night.
34:19
Can you imagine though, if they're playing and officiating?
34:22
That's tripping. You trip me, I know.
34:24
You trip me. Go to the box.
34:26
I think that's why Marshy would be perfect for it.
34:29
He'd put all his teammates in the box. 100% one on fire on us.
34:33
Well, and I don't know about you guys, but I can't remember the
34:36
last time I saw a player like agree with a call.
34:38
I don't I don't think that that happens very often.
34:41
So I would love to see it happen.
34:43
It's again, a lot would need to to play out for that to happen,
34:45
but it's a fun little thing to think about and I love that it's
34:48
written in there. I love that that is is the
34:50
solution that we come up with. So if you haven't seen it, go
34:54
check it out on Pred social media with a mini mic of the
34:57
guys coming off from practice in Edmonton.
34:59
They put a lot of thought into it.
35:00
It's a, it's a, it's a hot topic right now.
35:02
So got on the guys for for thinking hard on it and choosing
35:05
#81. Can we also laugh a little bit
35:08
that it happened in Winnipeg? When you look back at the
35:11
history of these two teams and we've covered games where
35:13
they've had four to five different guys in a penalty box
35:17
and you're running out of real estate in there when these two
35:19
teams are facing off. And who broke the news to the
35:22
hockey world that there would only be 1 ref?
35:24
Not our referee expert and referee nerd, Brooks Bratton.
35:29
Yours. Truly.
35:30
Max right here. Hey, if I start taking pictures
35:34
of my food and putting that on the Internet, I'm just going to
35:36
turn into bro. Hey, you know what?
35:39
I did wonder because I saw the other three gentlemen getting
35:42
off of the elevator before the game in Winnipeg and I thought
35:44
to myself, again, being a nerd when it comes to officiating, I
35:48
thought to myself, where's Chris Lee?
35:50
Max knew he wasn't there. He was somewhere else thanks to
35:53
the weather and the airlines, but we figured it out.
35:56
It was all good. That was fun and then also a fun
35:59
thing in Winnipeg, Max, we found some of the Admirals.
36:02
I don't remember an occasion where we were all in the same
36:05
city together. Carl Taylor, the head coach of
36:07
the Admiral, said he couldn't remember anything like that.
36:10
What a fun little nuance on a Tuesday.
36:13
Yeah, the Preds and their AHL team played in the same arena
36:17
basically 12 hours apart. The Admirals had two games in
36:21
Winnipeg against The Jets affiliate, the Manitoba Moose,
36:24
and their first game there on Wednesday was a kids game.
36:28
So it was at 10:30 in the morning.
36:29
So the games were 12 hours apart and tons of the Preds AHL
36:33
players went to the game as fans in Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
36:37
The entire team was there watching the Preds at morning
36:40
skate. Got to see a lot of the Preds
36:41
prospects, got to see their announcer Aaron Sims and the
36:45
whole crew. It was awesome.
36:46
The Preds coaches and the Admirals coaches got to go out
36:49
to dinner together. It's it's pretty crazy.
36:52
I it, I don't know if anybody really even saw this coming.
36:55
They were just kind of there and we made the most of it.
36:58
So is really well planned by the few people who knew it was going
37:01
on and everybody else who didn't was like, Oh my God, here they
37:05
are. And I think the coolest part of
37:07
it is that Oasis Wise Blatt, Ozzy's little brother, got to
37:12
see Ozzy play in the NHL in person for the first time
37:15
because he was the only one from their crew who wasn't there when
37:18
Ozzy made his NHL debut last year because he was playing in
37:21
the Western League. So really, really cool to see
37:24
all those guys and to run into the buff and Winnipeg, it was
37:27
fun. That was awesome.
37:28
Well, we were all leaving morning skate together.
37:31
So the Predators were done skating on Tuesday morning and
37:34
the Admirals were doing what they call a dress and drive.
37:36
So they put on their equipment at The Jets arena and they got
37:39
on a bus and drove to the practice rink for their
37:42
practice. But as we're waiting to get on
37:44
the bus, you see guys like Kevin Gravel, the Admirals captain,
37:47
walking down chatting it up with Ryan Ofco because they were
37:49
teammates just a couple of weeks ago.
37:51
So many of these guys have played with each other, they
37:53
know each other, they're friends with each other.
37:55
And then a couple of the Admirals tried to get on the
37:57
Preds bus because cuz again, we're all in the same place.
38:00
Why wouldn't we be getting on the same bus?
38:01
But yeah, really cool. Just coincidence to have the
38:04
schedule work out the way that it did, have all of us in the
38:07
same place. And it was fun to see everyone.
38:09
So thanks to the ads for hanging out for a little bit.
38:12
That was fun. Yeah, and the ads beat the Meese
38:15
for nothing on Wednesday morning, so they.
38:18
Did. Yeah.
38:19
In front of all the school children, they had nothing to
38:21
cheer about. Yeah.
38:22
Thanks to thanks to Matt Murray and his For Nothing shut out.
38:26
Yeah, so a good time in Winnipeg and most importantly, 2 points
38:29
came back with the Predators to Nashville.
38:32
We will be back in just a moment to wrap things up on this
38:34
edition of The POP. You are listening to ESPN1O25
38:38
The Game and watching on Predators YouTube.
38:40
Brooks, Max and Cara back in just a moment.
38:47
Welcome back into the Predators Official Podcast.
38:50
Cara Hammer, Max hers and Brooks Bratton.
38:52
And as always, the Big E Person of the Week.
38:55
And this one a little more somber.
38:58
Brooks. Yeah, care, We woke up to some
38:59
tough news on Wednesday morning. So David Westby, who has been a
39:03
long time North American amateur scout for the Predators for over
39:08
2 decades, sadly passed away late Tuesday night.
39:12
A very short but courageous battle with cancer.
39:15
We learned that news and we've spoken with a number of people
39:18
within the organization, obviously a huge part of the
39:21
scouting department for the Predators.
39:23
And while you may not know his name, you certainly know guys
39:27
that he was responsible for helping get here to Nashville.
39:30
So you go back years ago, guys like Craig Smith, Colton Sisson,
39:33
Seth Jones, Tommy Novak, Ali Tolvenen, Dave Westby had a hand
39:37
in scouting them and drafting all of those guys.
39:40
And more recently, he also helped to draft rookie
39:43
defenceman Ryan Ofco, prospect Cole O'Hara and 2025 first
39:47
rounder Riker Lee, who seems to have a highlight reel goal every
39:50
week at Michigan State. So a great example of the scouts
39:54
that you don't necessarily get to know, but their fingerprints
39:57
are all over the organization. So I just saw Dave last year at
40:01
the end of the tail end of a trip to Minnesota.
40:03
He lived in the Twin Cities and he usually got out to the Wild
40:06
games when the Preds were up there is a wonderful man.
40:09
He was a giant of a man, very tall, but had an even bigger
40:13
heart. And that was what Predators
40:15
assistant GM Jeff Kelty said when I spoke to him on the phone
40:19
on Wednesday morning, was that yeah, Dave was a great scout.
40:22
We all know that, but the reason that hockey we all believe is
40:27
the greatest game in the world are the people.
40:29
And that was what Jeff Kelty emphasizes, that when something
40:32
like this unfortunately happens, you get to know how people feel
40:35
by the number of people who reach out and offer their
40:38
condolences. And Jeff Kelty said.
40:40
I've been in this business a long time and I'd be hard
40:43
pressed to find someone better than Dave Westby.
40:45
So our thoughts are certainly with his friends, his family, of
40:49
course, especially his two brothers and his two nieces who
40:52
he loved so much. His two nieces were actually
40:55
runners at the draft in Buffalo in 2016.
40:59
They'll have a a kid when they used to do centralized drafts,
41:02
wear the jersey and and run and get the scouts notes and coffee
41:06
and snacks and all sorts of stuff.
41:07
They get to go on stage. His nieces did that in 2016 and
41:11
he was so proud of them and all of their accomplishments.
41:13
So some tough news from the Preds family, but we're thinking
41:16
of Dave. We'll miss him and but we're
41:19
grateful for the time that we did get to have him here as a
41:22
member of the Smashville community.
41:24
And again, those players that he got here and the work that he
41:27
did behind the scenes, he certainly made this the better
41:29
organization guys. So all the best again, to his
41:32
family and his friends, and especially the Predator scouting
41:35
staff. This is a really tough loss for
41:37
them and we're certainly thinking of everybody now.
41:40
Yeah, another really, really sad loss for the Preds family.
41:44
We've had way too many of those recently.
41:46
And that's why we do the big E awesome Person of the Week in
41:49
memory of Arandonic every week. And look, if you have a big
41:53
family, they're going to be sad times.
41:54
And we have a great big Smashville family.
41:56
We've had a lot of sad times recently.
41:58
So thinking of everybody in our front office and our scouts and
42:02
we love you all. The Preds are also going to
42:04
honor Dave. That was what Jeff Kelsey said
42:06
to me. So we're going to make sure that
42:07
we that we raise them up so they're actually the Predators
42:09
are going to wear stickers on their helmet for the rest of the
42:12
season with DW. There's going to be a moment of
42:15
silence before the game on Thursday as well.
42:17
And as well. And we will certainly honor the
42:19
memory of Dave West because he was a wonderful man and he
42:23
certainly deserves it. And that's that's what he would
42:25
want us to do, a smile about him and and not be sad.
42:27
So we're grateful for the time that we got to know him and all
42:31
the best of his friends and his family.
42:33
We're also grateful again to have Ryan Johansson on the show,
42:36
another, another guy who just exudes positivity.
42:40
So thanks again to Joey for joining us.
42:42
And Max and Cara again, it's crunch time, 15 games to go,
42:46
meaningful hockey. What do you think?
42:48
Max and Cara as we sign off here.
42:49
Excited to be back at home. I'm excited to see everybody
42:52
this weekend. Yeah, I'm in for it.
42:55
I mean, it's spring break here in Nashville.
42:56
I've got family coming to town, so I think let's pick up some
42:59
points. And you know, one thing I kept
43:02
eyeing is 3 games against the Sharks to close this out.
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So big games against San Jose and I'm ready for it.
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Get ready, it's a fun time of the year.
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The weather is getting warmer and the hockey is ramping up.
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And we're glad you've joined us for another episode of The POP
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for Ryan Johansson, Cara Hammer, Max Hers.
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I'm Brooks Bratton. Thanks for spending some time
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with us. Enjoy the hockey.
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We'll talk to you next week.