Latest / Seattle Kraken Audio Network / OVERTIME: We believe in the power of radio! (8/27)

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OVERTIME: We believe in the power of radio! (8/27) · Seattle Kraken Audio Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Featuring the great stories, personalities, conversation, and news in the
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: hockey world.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Back to Beneers. Walks in left circle.
• 0:06
  Speaker 3: Shoots.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Score!
• 0:09
  Speaker 4: Bring on the funnel kicks!
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: George Accord with a winner classic.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: He pitches the shutout at T-Mobile Park. It's the Overtime Podcast.
• 0:18
  Speaker 5: A presentation of the Kraken Audio Network and Sports Radio
• 0:22
  Speaker 5: 93.3 KJR-FM.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: To enjoy that one, Jordan Eberle! Game four!
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Overtime!
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: This is Jordan Everleaf. This is Joey Decord.
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: This is Matty Veneers.
• 0:36
  Speaker 5: This is Shane Wright.
• 0:36
  Speaker 4: This is Jerry McCann.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Overtime.
• 0:38
  Speaker 4: Here's Mike Benton.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: All right, we're back. We're doing this again. It is
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: not just any Overtime podcast.
• 0:44
  Speaker 6: It is a special Overtime podcast here at 32 Bar
• 0:47
  Speaker 6: and Grill.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Mike Benton, Everett Fitzhugh, Al Koniski. By the way, get this.
• 0:51
  Speaker 6: Podcast on demand anytime by signing up for it at sportsradiokjr.com.
• 0:57
  Speaker 6: Also getting it for free via Amazon. the iHeartRadio app.
• 1:01
  Speaker 6: We always love new listeners. We will always take new listeners.
• 1:05
  Speaker 6: We consider them, of course, friends in hockey as well.
• 1:09
  Speaker 6: Big shout out to 32 Bar and Grill, our big
• 1:11
  Speaker 6: friend Ken Moriarty and crew helping us out here for today, keeping.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Us well fed.
• 1:15
  Speaker 6: They always take great care of us and we can't
• 1:18
  Speaker 6: wait for more, especially with training camp right around the corner.
• 1:21
  Speaker 6: We're going to be making this place Kind of our
• 1:23
  Speaker 6: second home here in about roughly.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: A few weeks. Second home? That's usually my first home.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Without further ado, Everett's here. You mean we're not supposed
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: to sleep here?
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I might just be sleeping here by about the middle
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: of January.
• 1:36
  Speaker 6: We have Mackie Samaskevich on the show today. We'll get
• 1:40
  Speaker 6: to your tweets, your questions here about this team. We'll
• 1:43
  Speaker 6: take you also behind the scenes because it's a very
• 1:46
  Speaker 6: special day, a very important day to once again remind you,
• 1:50
  Speaker 6: Radio Matters in 2026. Why it does, we'll get to
• 1:55
  Speaker 6: that in a bit, but you wouldn't have all of
• 1:57
  Speaker 6: this without these guys here around me, and we'll tell
• 2:00
  Speaker 6: more as far as what you need to know about
• 2:02
  Speaker 6: what's going down here for today, plus also more on
• 2:05
  Speaker 6: our team outlook.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: How young do the Kraken go for the 2026 and
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: 27 season?
• 2:12
  Speaker 6: First off, I get here to the big announcement at
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: 32 Bar and Grill. Everett's kind of holding it together
• 2:17
  Speaker 6: because I got my kids in the background.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: It's kind of take your kids to work.
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: Day right now.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: You raise these kids on some good musical taste. I'll
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: tell you that much.
• 2:23
  Speaker 7: Oh, man.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Some MJ in the background.
• 2:25
  Speaker 6: Lucas has been on the Michael Jackson train for about
• 2:27
  Speaker 6: two weeks now.
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: I also found out that Lucas has way more TikTok
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: followers than you. 20,000 views, Lucas, on your top video?
• 2:35
  Speaker 7: 22!
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: He just said 22.
• 2:37
  Speaker 5: Lucas is taking pictures for social.
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: He's laying down a bed of MJ's beat-up behind us.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: Cracking Audio Network social media intern.
• 2:44
  Speaker 6: Lucas is taking a picture of us for this announcement,
• 2:46
  Speaker 6: by the way. So, Lucas, I'll pay you back here
• 2:49
  Speaker 6: in just a little bit. But he's already on the
• 2:51
  Speaker 6: Cracking Audio Network payroll in some sense. This is a
• 2:54
  Speaker 6: fun day. It's a big day.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Because at about a little after 12.15 earlier today....
• 3:01
  Speaker 6: We had a feeling that it was going to be official,
• 3:03
  Speaker 6: but it was. The Kraken and iHeartMedia Seattle, which includes
• 3:08
  Speaker 6: the crown jewel of this, KJR, but also Edstations, announcing
• 3:12
  Speaker 6: a multi-year extension on their partnership.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: That also includes the Global Credit Union Kraken Audio Network. So,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: which basically.
• 3:20
  Speaker 6: Means we're doing more of the same, but we're looking
• 3:22
  Speaker 6: to also do more and evolve more here, beginning in
• 3:25
  Speaker 6: 2026 and 2027. I can't understand this fellas as far
• 3:30
  Speaker 6: as how big this announcement is because we hear about
• 3:33
  Speaker 6: just the ever changing landscape of radio, especially here in
• 3:36
  Speaker 6: the NHL. But we still find a place for it.
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: We still find a home for it. And for many
• 3:42
  Speaker 6: around these parts here in Seattle. the outlining communities, Snohomish County,
• 3:46
  Speaker 6: Pierce County, and beyond by different states. This stuff still matters,
• 3:51
  Speaker 6: and I think it's pretty telltale as far as how
• 3:53
  Speaker 6: our relationship has grown with the listener.
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: Over the years. Yeah, I mean, this is a massive day.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: You look around the league, and since our last broadcast
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: back in April, another NHL team has decided that simulcasting
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: their television and radio was the the right choice for
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: them in Columbus. And Bob McGilligit, 17 years, voice of
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: the Blue Jackets, a guy that I trust.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: We miss you, Bob.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we do. A guy that I trust and someone
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: that I really respect and look up to is no
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: longer going to be in the booth. And that hurts
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: as well. And you look at ESPN, the layoffs that
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: they had. TS or a sports net rather up in Canada,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: all the layoffs they had, you had entire stations in
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Vancouver and in Calgary going dark, no sports radio stations.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: So in a time where sports radio is, is usually
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: first to go on the chopping block, the Seattle Kraken, KJR,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: I heart media, they're showing their commitment to play by
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: play to hockey and, to sports on the radio, and
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: it's massive. I mean, Mike, you give us all the accolades,
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: but you're the reason why we have the second largest.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: You do all the contracts. You go out and you
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: talk to all of.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: These radio affiliates that we have, five states, multiple affiliates
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: in Alaska. That doesn't happen without your hard work.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: So Being here in Seattle, being a part of these
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: two organizations with the Kraken and with iHeart is massive.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: And now for years to come, I mean, by the
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: time that this partnership is all, I might even say
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: come to an end, by the time that we are
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: up for renewal again, it will be close to a
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: decade of Kraken hockey on KJR, on the Kraken Audio Network.
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: And that is something that not a lot of teams
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: in the league can say.
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: I love how the radio has evolved, too. Listen, as
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: the oldest person at this table.
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: I can remember driving in my dad's 1980 Pontiac, listening to.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: The Canucks on the AM radio.
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  Speaker 1: Not a day over 31, Al.
• 5:56
  Speaker 5: I can still remember it, but it's evolved since then.
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: We've got the app now. You can listen at your desktop.
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  Speaker 5: The way people consume radio is so different now than
• 6:07
  Speaker 5: it was back then. When we talk to our fans
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: about it, they talk about, listening to the games when
• 6:12
  Speaker 5: they're out on their ship working off the coast of Canada,
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: Eastern Canada, they talk about being in their tractor on
• 6:19
  Speaker 5: a farm. It's not easy to do when it comes
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: to other options, and so we feel, and I know
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: the three of us all agree, that this platform is
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: so important for the growth of the game here in Seattle.
• 6:32
  Speaker 5: And I'm so happy that we're renewing.
• 6:34
  Speaker 6: Well, each of you plays such a vital role in
• 6:36
  Speaker 6: this because Everett, I think your warmth and your ability
• 6:39
  Speaker 6: here to connect with a listener just based on your
• 6:41
  Speaker 6: energy and the ability to tell a story means a lot.
• 6:45
  Speaker 6: And that's where you find the foundational basis of radio's
• 6:49
  Speaker 6: existence is telling a story and being the theater of
• 6:52
  Speaker 6: the mind here for the listener. Al, you the same
• 6:54
  Speaker 6: as well with your ability to take the game, break
• 6:57
  Speaker 6: it down, but it's just not basic X's and O's here.
• 7:00
  Speaker 6: It's finding the human context behind that, I think, just
• 7:02
  Speaker 6: based on your experience. And this kind of leaves me
• 7:06
  Speaker 6: here to the most meaningful part of the job, and
• 7:08
  Speaker 6: that's our impact. And I'm going to kind of go
• 7:10
  Speaker 6: through this as far as an exercise for both of you.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: I'll begin with this.
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  Speaker 6: One of my most meaningful days, if not the most
• 7:18
  Speaker 6: meaningful day on the job, and it's a pretty obvious date,
• 7:22
  Speaker 6: goes back to game seven, of the opening round of
• 7:27
  Speaker 6: the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs when the Kraken pulled off
• 7:31
  Speaker 6: one of the greatest upsets in Stanley Cup playoff history
• 7:34
  Speaker 6: and knocked out a defending champion, Colorado Avalanche. Al, you
• 7:39
  Speaker 6: were just mere months away from joining this crew. Everett,
• 7:42
  Speaker 6: you were front and center of the whole shebang, and
• 7:46
  Speaker 6: it was of historical proportions. For me, I had a
• 7:49
  Speaker 6: set about roughly 50 yards away down in the opposite
• 7:53
  Speaker 6: corner here at 32 Bar and Grill. And I'll never,
• 7:56
  Speaker 6: ever forget the tension in this building wall to wall,
• 8:02
  Speaker 6: beginning from an hour before puck drop, before we had
• 8:05
  Speaker 6: basically gone on the air, you know, to even when
• 8:09
  Speaker 6: the final seconds ticked down, Jamie Oleksiak blocks a shot
• 8:13
  Speaker 6: in front of Philip Grubauer. And this place, to say
• 8:16
  Speaker 6: that they celebrated like it was New Year's Day at
• 8:20
  Speaker 6: 12 a.m. would be a severe understatement. I have seen
• 8:24
  Speaker 6: more muted celebrations in different fan bases for conference championships.
• 8:29
  Speaker 6: But this place was packed wall to wall, shoulder to shoulder,
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: folks going crazy, folks fist bumping me, high-fiving me as
• 8:37
  Speaker 6: I'm off the air, as I'm on the air as well.
• 8:40
  Speaker 6: And then I get a text here from one of
• 8:43
  Speaker 6: our executives, and he said, go as long as you
• 8:47
  Speaker 6: need to for the post-game show. Usually we're going for
• 8:50
  Speaker 6: about roughly, you know, typical road game basis, a half
• 8:54
  Speaker 6: an hour for postgame coverage. We're going to about an
• 8:57
  Speaker 6: hour for home games. And that opens the door here
• 8:59
  Speaker 6: for Talking Kraken, of course. We were on the air
• 9:03
  Speaker 6: for about nearly two extra hours that night. I believe
• 9:08
  Speaker 6: I walked out of this restaurant just as your plane
• 9:11
  Speaker 6: with the team was landing right back here in Seattle.
• 9:15
  Speaker 6: And that, to me, said it has always been a
• 9:18
  Speaker 6: strong hockey market. But for here, it is top of
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: the line as it gets as far as passion and
• 9:24
  Speaker 6: as far as the fan base here for this team
• 9:26
  Speaker 6: and this market as well.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's been one of my favorite parts about this
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: job and coming here is watching the city of Seattle,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: this market, grow as a hockey town. I grew up
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: in Detroit. Some of my earliest memories were the Red Wings.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: winning Stanley Cups in the late 90s. Al, you're from Vancouver.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: You remember 2011. They had a sniff. They had a sniff.
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: Was it 94 as well, right? So, you know, you're
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: from Canada. But to be able to see that same passion.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Shout out, by the way, Dave Tomlinson.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: Exactly. To be able to see the same passion here
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: in that playoff series that I grew up with has
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: been amazing. was unreal but i think for me what
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: makes seattle so special is that because of the t-birds
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: thanks al because of the ever silver tips thanks mike
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: um there were already hockey fans here there was already
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: a hockey culture here which i think was was was
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: very unique in its own right But it's also, there
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: are a lot of new fans. There are a lot
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: of folks who didn't know what the red line was,
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: what icing was. Most of us still don't know what
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: goaltender interference is, right? But watching this city and watching
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: this market go from casuals to diehards, watching people go from,
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go to Climate Pledge Arena because it's new,
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: because it's sexy, it's exciting. I grew up going to
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: Key Arena. I want to see the new building, to now...
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: We've got fans holding this team accountable. Why isn't so-and-so
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: on the power play? Why isn't so-and-so whatever? When you
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: see the evolution of our fan base and the people
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: that listen, the people that watch, the people that show
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: up it's been so fun and we go to community
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: events we go on the road you know you mentioned
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: folks high-fiving you at your set i was in leavenworth
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: this past weekend we're smack dab in the middle of
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: seahawks training camp and i saw more cracking hats and
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: jerseys than i did from the defending super bowl champion
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: right this is becoming we are a hockey town and
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: and The playoffs were great. Trust me, that's going to
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: be a highlight of my life. Working here, living my dream,
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: doing what I want to do was awesome. But the
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: hands down best part of my job. is our fans. Genuinely,
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: our fans, our listeners, the people who didn't know much
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: about hockey, but now tune into every game. Leanne, right?
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: Ronald Alvarez, folks who listen to this broadcast.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Folks, we do read social media.
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: Every single game.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Every single game. I love to know what Leanne is eating,
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: having for dinner out in Canada, right? We've got people
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: listening to this broadcast in London, and you mentioned boats
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: off the coast of wherever. That means so much to us,
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: and it really just validates what we do. We're living
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: a childhood fantasy. We live in Narnia. We get to
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: do this for a living. But the fact that we
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: mean so much to so many people, that's the best
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: part of this job.
• 12:10
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think the fan engagement is unique with us.
• 12:13
  Speaker 5: And when I say us, I don't mean the three
• 12:15
  Speaker 5: of us in general, but I mean radio in general
• 12:18
  Speaker 5: because I think we have more opportunities to say hello,
• 12:22
  Speaker 5: to go to community events, like you said, and meet
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: those people. And, you know, I was thinking about as
• 12:28
  Speaker 5: you were talking about Is there a certain kind of
• 12:30
  Speaker 5: fan I like more than others?
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: I think I like them all.
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: I love the new fan that just went to their
• 12:35
  Speaker 5: first game and said, oh my God, this is fantastic.
• 12:38
  Speaker 5: Like I've listened before, I've watched, but actually being in
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: the building is crazy good. The fans that have been
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: there since day one, season ticket holders since day one,
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: those people are fun to talk with as well as
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: the people that say, hey, listen, I can't afford tickets,
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: but I can afford radio. And I love listening to
• 12:55
  Speaker 5: the games. I love listening to you guys. And, you know,
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: sometimes the accolades are for Mike. Sometimes it's for you, Everett.
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: But they love listening to the broadcast. And it just,
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: you know, as much as we are in Narnia, it
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: makes me feel really proud of what we do.
• 13:09
  Speaker 6: This also gives us a chance here to also recognize
• 13:11
  Speaker 6: the hard work of so many who do this stuff
• 13:12
  Speaker 6: behind the scenes.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: And they aren't heard.
• 13:15
  Speaker 6: They're rarely seen, but we're nowhere without them. Our guys
• 13:18
  Speaker 6: behind the boards, Travis Moger, Anders Hurst, Ashley Ryan as well.
• 13:23
  Speaker 6: Terry Ryan, who's also up in the booth with us
• 13:26
  Speaker 6: routinely and takes care of a lot of us from
• 13:29
  Speaker 6: set up to tear down. And I'll tell you, folks,
• 13:32
  Speaker 6: if you work in broadcasting and you're working your way
• 13:34
  Speaker 6: up the minor leagues, you know, you're a one person band.
• 13:37
  Speaker 6: Terry takes a lot of the one-person band equation out
• 13:39
  Speaker 6: of what we do and makes his job so much easier.
• 13:42
  Speaker 6: And to have a guy like him, it is an
• 13:45
  Speaker 6: absolute luxury. But I want to get to our coverage
• 13:49
  Speaker 6: core values, which I think mean a lot as far
• 13:51
  Speaker 6: as where we've gone, how far we've come, and where
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: also we want to go. And for me, I think,
• 13:56
  Speaker 6: number one, it's all about telling a good story. Example
• 13:59
  Speaker 6: for this next season, how are these young kids going
• 14:02
  Speaker 6: to be coming around here on this team? Secondly, it's about,
• 14:05
  Speaker 6: you know, Telling a tale that, you know, folks allow
• 14:08
  Speaker 6: us for your input every night. That's a secret sauce
• 14:11
  Speaker 6: for us. That's what I love about us, and that
• 14:12
  Speaker 6: we can open the door for you, open the forum,
• 14:15
  Speaker 6: open the mic, so to speak, for you to chime
• 14:17
  Speaker 6: in with your input, whether it might be via text
• 14:19
  Speaker 6: message here, Tacoma Dodge text line, you know, the talkbacks
• 14:23
  Speaker 6: as well via the iHeartRadio app, or even just, you know,
• 14:25
  Speaker 6: tweeting at us or even calling us as well. That's
• 14:28
  Speaker 6: a fun part of these broadcasts every night. It's giving
• 14:31
  Speaker 6: you the floor to express what you want to express
• 14:34
  Speaker 6: because every you feel heard, you feel more engaged. And
• 14:37
  Speaker 6: I think for me, third, it's about keeping you inside
• 14:40
  Speaker 6: of the room, even on the off days. That's a
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: special part about this job, getting to go to practices,
• 14:46
  Speaker 6: one-on-one with these players, figuring out more as far as
• 14:48
  Speaker 6: what makes them tick, what their skill sets are, how
• 14:51
  Speaker 6: much they're building that up, their core values, everything. And
• 14:54
  Speaker 6: we're going to talk to a new guy in town
• 14:55
  Speaker 6: in a bit, Mackie Samaskevich. But also, as well, social media,
• 14:59
  Speaker 6: which is very much relevant in this day and age,
• 15:02
  Speaker 6: of course, and 2026, you know, Everett's voice fits for both,
• 15:06
  Speaker 6: you know, X and Instagram. Al's at Al Koniski as
• 15:10
  Speaker 6: well on X and also on Instagram. betting on the
• 15:14
  Speaker 6: air for me on instagram by the way everett has
• 15:16
  Speaker 6: just hinted at this i opened up a brand new
• 15:18
  Speaker 6: tiktok account that lucas is killing me as well.
• 15:21
  Speaker 5: Did you or did your son lucas open it up
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: for you he finally pushed me over the edge to
• 15:25
  Speaker 5: open up one and i was thinking about it here
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: for a month.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: First 50 followers on uh benton tiktok get the follow back.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: So i did i i i done it so far.
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: Run don't walk to tiktok come.
• 15:37
  Speaker 6: With me to the broadcast no i'm not doing any
• 15:40
  Speaker 6: of that but i'm I'm looking forward to that, and
• 15:42
  Speaker 6: plus also Benton underscore Mike.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: That's a great place to follow us as well.
• 15:45
  Speaker 6: But I think to kind of round all this out
• 15:48
  Speaker 6: as far as what we do from those core values,
• 15:51
  Speaker 6: it's not just about going on the air and talking
• 15:54
  Speaker 6: about the team. It's wrapping it as well into a
• 15:56
  Speaker 6: package where we can tell a good story and keep
• 15:59
  Speaker 6: you with us here for two and a half hours
• 16:01
  Speaker 6: a night.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, storytelling is massive, and that not only from our
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: perspective on the radio side, but from an organizational perspective
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: with the Seattle Kraken.
• 16:09
  Speaker 7: We.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: want to tell the story. It is more than just
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: the stats. It is more than just wins and losses.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: And obviously, at the end of the day, this is
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: a results-based business. I get it. But we want our
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: fans to be connected to the players and to the
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: broadcasters and to the coaches and the management. We want
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: our fans to feel like they are part of this team.
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: I say all the time, and I think Al and Mike,
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: you can agree, when you listen to a game, you're
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: having a drink at the bar with us And we're
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: just sitting there talking hockey together. That's what we want
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: that story to be. We want you to feel part
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: of this. And I think it is gone from I'm
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: going to turn on the radio just for the game
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: to now there's so much more that goes into this.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: to have iHeart, to have the Kraken embrace these trends,
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: video trends, social media trends, whatever the case may be.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: It's been fun. And I think also for like, you know,
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: I'm 37, Al's 39. I'm 37. 39 as well. You know,
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: there's a couple of old guys here on the broadcast.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: I don't do a lot of social media outside of
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: Twitter and Instagram, but like to find out these new
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: trends and the doing more things that the kids are doing,
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: to have Mike Benton on TikTok, like I'm so excited
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: to lean into end of this. And over the summer,
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: I was named board chair for the National Sports Media Association. Congratulations,
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: by the way. Thank you, Humblebrag. Thank you, Humblebrag. But
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: that is one thing that we're looking at as well.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: And you're ripping me here for my TikTok again.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: But that is, I say that to say, it's not
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: just here. It's all over the sports world. How do
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: we lean in to the changes within our industry and
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: our business? And I'd like to think that here at
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: the Kraken Audio Network, here at KJR and at Sports Radio,
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: or the Seattle Kraken, we are trying to steer headfirst
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: into that change in our industry.
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: Yeah, two words that come to mind are continuity and connection.
• 18:02
  Speaker 5: You know, from a continuity standpoint, when you listen to us,
• 18:08
  Speaker 5: we are with you, the three of us, from.
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: Game one to game 82, now 84.
• 18:13
  Speaker 5: You're stuck with us. There's no breaks. There's no national coverage.
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: It's us, every single game. And if you follow along,
• 18:20
  Speaker 5: sometimes there's jokes that continue from one game to the next,
• 18:23
  Speaker 5: which is kind of fun too. But continuity, I think,
• 18:26
  Speaker 5: is really important to the listener. And you get us
• 18:28
  Speaker 5: all the way through playoffs. It doesn't matter how far
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: we go.
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: It's us.
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: And I think that's important. Secondly, on the connection. I
• 18:34
  Speaker 5: think from a connection standpoint, and I think, again, you
• 18:37
  Speaker 5: guys probably agree, the three of us are as close
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: or closer to the players than anybody else. Certainly anybody
• 18:45
  Speaker 5: else that's broadcasting. And so we get a chance to observe.
• 18:49
  Speaker 5: We get a chance to listen. We get a chance
• 18:50
  Speaker 5: to talk. And no, we don't share everything because we can't.
• 18:53
  Speaker 5: But it gives us an opportunity to say, hey, there's
• 18:56
  Speaker 5: a situation where the fans might be interested in this.
• 19:00
  Speaker 5: and we can tell a story because we've seen it,
• 19:02
  Speaker 5: we've observed it, we've talked to them about it. So
• 19:04
  Speaker 5: I think that connection piece is important as well.
• 19:06
  Speaker 6: None of this is possible here. Also, of course, with
• 19:08
  Speaker 6: the powers that be, and that includes here from the
• 19:09
  Speaker 6: radio station side, Rich Moore, Jessamyn McIntyre, so many others
• 19:14
  Speaker 6: who help make this.
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: A big, big part of what we do.
• 19:18
  Speaker 6: Marshall Burgess as well, and from the Kraken side, Samantha Holloway,
• 19:21
  Speaker 6: Todd Laiweke, Jeff Webster, the list goes on and on.
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: If I miss any names, please, we'll get to more
• 19:27
  Speaker 6: of these shout-outs and thank yous there. as we get
• 19:29
  Speaker 6: closer and closer to hockey season. Mackie Samaskevich will be
• 19:33
  Speaker 6: joining us here in a bit from 32 Bar and
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: Grill Live. I can't wait for this chat. First time
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: we'll sit down with him ever as he's just finally
• 19:40
  Speaker 6: getting settled in. He told us earlier that as he
• 19:43
  Speaker 6: walked into the building that he just got here only
• 19:45
  Speaker 6: a few days ago.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: Fresh off the plane, basically.
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: So he's living not too far away with Matt.
• 19:50
  Speaker 7: Benier.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: It's funny how that works out.
• 19:51
  Speaker 6: The two Michigan guys now bunking together in the same
• 19:55
  Speaker 6: house to get ready here for the season.
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: But I'll first get on to the big question of
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: who will be on this roster by opening night. Everett,
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: you joined me last.
• 20:05
  Speaker 6: The other day when I filled in for Ian Furness, who,
• 20:07
  Speaker 6: by the way, is doing his thing about the other
• 20:09
  Speaker 6: corner of this 32 Bar and Grill restaurant.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: How much of his beer did you buy at Georgetown
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: the other day?
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: I bought a whole vat of it.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Oh. A whole vat of it. The Mayor IPA?
• 20:21
  Speaker 6: Mayor Maple Valley IPA tastes better than last year.
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: Oh, OK.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: It tastes better.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: It's got a secret sauce.
• 20:28
  Speaker 6: My wife, Amy, who is very picky about this, She
• 20:31
  Speaker 6: has tried many IPAs, and she has a reaction as
• 20:35
  Speaker 6: if she just drank turpentine.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: That's good. That's a good IPA.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: She took a sip of this, and she was like,
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: that tastes pretty good, actually.
• 20:42
  Speaker 6: So it is built for the masses. It's built for
• 20:44
  Speaker 6: the masses. I got a growler of that stuff, by
• 20:47
  Speaker 6: the way.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: At Georgetown. So you're not chewing hops. I'm not chewing
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: on hops. That's good.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: But you know what? Sometimes you need good hops, like
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: extra hops for.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: A good beer.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: I'll take it. I love it.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: It's like whiskey. You need a good barrel.
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: There you go.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Jason Bottrell to NHL.com.
• 21:00
  Speaker 6: And Kevin Woodley's piece, he said again, quote, there's a
• 21:03
  Speaker 6: possibility we could have seven or eight forwards, 23 and
• 21:08
  Speaker 6: under by opening night. We obviously talked, or we're going
• 21:12
  Speaker 6: to talk to one of them here in a bit,
• 21:14
  Speaker 6: Mackie Samaskevich. And I'll kind of go back to this again.
• 21:17
  Speaker 6: My educated guess on this, Mackie's one, Matty Beneers is two,
• 21:23
  Speaker 6: Jacob Melanson is three, Ryan Winterton makes four, Berkley Catton
• 21:27
  Speaker 6: makes five. Oscar Fisker-Molgaard makes six. Yanni Newman makes seven.
• 21:33
  Speaker 6: And assuming he is here, Shane Wright could make eight.
• 21:40
  Speaker 6: What do we make so far here of this summer
• 21:42
  Speaker 6: and the youth that could be coming in?
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: Al, we'll start with you.
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I was thinking.
• 21:45
  Speaker 5: About this earlier and looking at what I think the
• 21:48
  Speaker 5: depth chart looks like right now and It's interesting because
• 21:51
  Speaker 5: my top six have an average age of 29.3 years.
• 21:56
  Speaker 5: My bottom six have an average age of 23.6 years. So,
• 21:59
  Speaker 5: you know, you've got the youth there on that third
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: and fourth line, and you've got the veterans on that
• 22:04
  Speaker 5: top six. And I think that's not a bad way
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: to at least start the season. I think some of
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: the question marks for me are Jacob Monson. Does he
• 22:12
  Speaker 5: crack the lineup from day one? We've got Curtis Douglas
• 22:17
  Speaker 5: in the mix now. How does that affect John Hayden's
• 22:19
  Speaker 5: role that he's played in the past? So I've got
• 22:22
  Speaker 5: a half dozen questions that I think will start to
• 22:25
  Speaker 5: get answered here, not so much as we approach training camp,
• 22:28
  Speaker 5: but definitely by the end of September.
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: A lot is talked about the middle to bottom, the
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: bottom nine, if you will, forward group for this team,
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: and I think that... We talk all the time. There
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: isn't that big star. There isn't that big line on
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: this team. We get it. We've beaten that horse enough.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: But I do think that where the hard decisions are
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: going to come in is you have a lot of
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: players on this team who do play a very similar role.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: And you need to sift through that quickly. I want
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: to remind fans who are listening to this. You lose
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Jaden Schwartz, you lose Jamie Oleksiak, obviously some veteran players.
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: Ellie Tolvanen's not re-signed yet. So these are all guys
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: that have been, they've served this team well. There have
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: been some great moments for this team. Outside of that,
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: there really hasn't been a whole lot of change. You
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: bring back Bobby McMahon, Mackie Samaskevich, who is a player
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: that is very fast, loves the use of speed. He
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: can shoot the puck. We saw that by McMahon. The
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: last few years, he's been playing behind, you know, Matthew
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: Kachuk and Sam Bennett and, you know, Alexander Barkov. He's
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: been playing behind a lot of really, really grade-A solid
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: players and hasn't had an opportunity to really showcase his skills.
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: So now, could we see Mackie Samuskiewicz becoming... a top
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: six McMahon type of player who's going to score 25,
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: 30 goals next year, right?
• 23:53
  Speaker 5: Well, on my depth chart, I had a third line
• 23:55
  Speaker 5: right wing with Katton in right, but we'll see.
• 23:57
  Speaker 6: That could easily change in a week or two weeks, though.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: But finishing my point, I want to remind fans that
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: this roster largely is unchanged. This team, up until game 70-ish, 74,
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: was a playoff team. And if it weren't for that
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: 1-8-2 stretch out of the Olympic break last year, We're
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: singing a different tune. Now, the Kraken were battered and
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: banged up all year. I don't think they had their
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: first truly healthy lineup until game 55 last season. So
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: many players, so many broadcasters and folks that I talked
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: to last year. This Kraken team plays playoff hockey. They
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: shut you down defensively. There were a lot of 2-1, 3-1,
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: 3-2 games. This is a playoff team. Now, they didn't
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: make the playoffs, but I think the folks out there
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: who think that this team is just going to crash
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: and burn and go the way of Calgary and Vancouver.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: I think they're going to be sadly mistaken. I think
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: that this team is a lot better than folks give
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: credit for. Yes, you need to find more goals. It
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: would have been nice if that Robertson deal had have
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: come through, if that Panarin deal back at the deadline
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: had have come through. It didn't. We move on. The
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: players that you have here, the youth movement, Jason Bottrell
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: has said multiple times, we want to see what this
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: under-23 forward group can do. There's a lot of under-23
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: forwards on this roster. With four preseason games, we're going
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: to see a lot of it. I do think that
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: there's going to be an opportunity for guys to make strides,
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: that youth cream will rise to the top. But I'm
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: not ready to sound the white flag already, and we
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: haven't even began training camp.
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: Across Schneider, long shot blocked and Mackie Samuskiewicz a lane
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: the other way. Samuskiewicz through the far circle to the net,
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: a shot and he scores! Top shelf, Mackie Samuskiewicz and
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: the Panthers take a 2-0 lead.
• 25:54
  Speaker 6: And speaking of, we're getting out of the big guy
• 25:56
  Speaker 6: right now joining us as he has finally arrived in Seattle.
• 25:59
  Speaker 6: This is Mackie Samuskiewicz joining us inside 32 Bar and Grill.
• 26:04
  Speaker 6: Fresh off the deal to come over here from the
• 26:05
  Speaker 6: Florida Panthers. You get all of a sudden now brand
• 26:08
  Speaker 6: new surroundings. Mackie, first off, welcome to Seattle. How are
• 26:10
  Speaker 6: you holding up here?
• 26:12
  Speaker 4: Very well.
• 26:13
  Speaker 7: I just moved here a couple days ago, and it's
• 26:14
  Speaker 7: gone really well so far. I was obviously excited when
• 26:18
  Speaker 7: the news came in the summer. It was one team
• 26:22
  Speaker 7: that I definitely hated playing against, so it was nice
• 26:24
  Speaker 7: to kind of finally join them. I know some guys, too,
• 26:27
  Speaker 7: so that helped out a lot. I'm excited with this
• 26:31
  Speaker 7: group for sure.
• 26:31
  Speaker 6: You know, we often hear about when players move out here,
• 26:34
  Speaker 6: there's the nature component of this here.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: They've been around the building.
• 26:37
  Speaker 6: Obviously, this team's been here for about five years, so
• 26:39
  Speaker 6: they understand what game night feels like, how much a
• 26:43
  Speaker 6: crowd can really get you.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Going, you know, home team or road team as well, too. But,
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: you know, just.
• 26:48
  Speaker 6: Checking out your surroundings, what have you seen, what have
• 26:50
  Speaker 6: you heard also as far as what you're going to
• 26:51
  Speaker 6: be playing around here for Seattle?
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: You know, I've heard the fans love it.
• 26:57
  Speaker 7: I heard that... It gets pretty rowdy in there, and
• 27:00
  Speaker 7: I witnessed it firsthand. They beat up on us pretty
• 27:04
  Speaker 7: good that one game, but we definitely want to bring
• 27:09
  Speaker 7: back playoff hockey to them. They show up in the
• 27:13
  Speaker 7: regular season, it seems, so I'd love to see a
• 27:15
  Speaker 7: playoff game there. That's definitely a goal in mind, and
• 27:19
  Speaker 7: I'm just excited to get in front of them.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: For sure. A lot is made about your speed and
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: the type of player that you are, but for fans
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: who might not know Who are you as a player?
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: What are fans going to be able to see on
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: a nightly basis?
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: I play with a lot of speed.
• 27:33
  Speaker 7: That's, you know, my strong suit, I'd say. You know,
• 27:37
  Speaker 7: I got young legs still, so I buzz around pretty good. So,
• 27:41
  Speaker 7: you know, they'll definitely see that. I love to shoot
• 27:43
  Speaker 7: the puck, too. That's, I'd say, probably my strongest. You know,
• 27:47
  Speaker 7: I shoot the puck all day, so. I hope it's
• 27:50
  Speaker 7: pretty good. But no, it's a lot of speed. I
• 27:54
  Speaker 7: love to make plays to use my teammates. You know,
• 27:58
  Speaker 7: I think it's a fun game to watch.
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: You won a championship, you've played with Matthew Kachuk, you've
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: played with Barkov, you've played with Bennett, a lot of
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: really strong generational players. How do you feel they've helped
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: influence your game and how excited are you now to
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: be able to showcase that talent and to run a
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: line of your own, to be faced in that same
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: situation as they were?
• 28:22
  Speaker 7: Yeah, it was really cool for the last two years
• 28:24
  Speaker 7: seeing those guys, how they go about their business, how
• 28:28
  Speaker 7: hard they play, how They do all the hard things right,
• 28:32
  Speaker 7: and I think that's why they're so good. Obviously, the
• 28:36
  Speaker 7: system we play in there, it works in playoffs too,
• 28:40
  Speaker 7: so I'm hoping to bring that.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: I'm hoping to.
• 28:44
  Speaker 7: Bring some hard playoff hockey kind of play to the game.
• 28:51
  Speaker 7: I learned a lot from those guys, so I'm excited.
• 28:54
  Speaker 5: Mackie, give people a sense for what's been going on
• 28:57
  Speaker 5: with you in the offseason. You know, your season comes
• 28:59
  Speaker 5: to an end with Florida. Most guys take a little
• 29:02
  Speaker 5: bit of time off, and then you start getting back
• 29:04
  Speaker 5: into training and stuff. But give people a sense for
• 29:06
  Speaker 5: what's happened between end of the season, and you said
• 29:09
  Speaker 5: you just moved into town two days ago.
• 29:10
  Speaker 7: Right. Right away, I'd take a couple weeks off, go
• 29:14
  Speaker 7: on vacation, see old friends, kind of just relax. you know,
• 29:19
  Speaker 7: uncharged a little bit and, you know, reflect a little
• 29:23
  Speaker 7: bit on the year, what you could have done better,
• 29:25
  Speaker 7: what you did really well and, you know, play a
• 29:28
  Speaker 7: lot of golf too. So, but, you know, I started
• 29:31
  Speaker 7: skating like June 1, started working out too, you know,
• 29:35
  Speaker 7: and then it's a long summer, but it's a good
• 29:37
  Speaker 7: thing because you get a lot of time to really
• 29:39
  Speaker 7: get better and I felt like I did get a
• 29:41
  Speaker 7: lot better this summer.
• 29:42
  Speaker 4: Where did you spend the summer?
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: In Connecticut.
• 29:44
  Speaker 4: That's where I grew up.
• 29:45
  Speaker 6: Nice.
• 29:46
  Speaker 4: So are you going to miss the humidity on the
• 29:48
  Speaker 4: East Coast?
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: No, not at all.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: Not at all. Especially in Florida, too.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: It's really bad down there.
• 29:53
  Speaker 6: Mackie, we talk about the opportunities that you'll get here.
• 29:57
  Speaker 6: Given the fact that, you know, you still have a
• 29:59
  Speaker 6: lot of miles to go in the NHL, the numbers
• 30:00
  Speaker 6: are getting up, there's obviously promise and potential. But to you,
• 30:04
  Speaker 6: what defines the season that you want for yourself this year?
• 30:10
  Speaker 7: I think number one is, you know, play in playoff
• 30:13
  Speaker 7: hockey like I said I think that's you know one
• 30:15
  Speaker 7: of my strong suits is how competitive I am how
• 30:18
  Speaker 7: much I want to win and everyone's happy when we
• 30:21
  Speaker 7: win so definitely that you know I think that's the
• 30:27
  Speaker 7: only goal really coming into the season all the personal
• 30:30
  Speaker 7: goals and all that is nice but you know if
• 30:33
  Speaker 7: you miss the playoffs it's it's not fun I got
• 30:35
  Speaker 7: a taste of that last year so you know, I
• 30:38
  Speaker 7: want to come in and help this team win and,
• 30:40
  Speaker 7: you know, have fun doing it.
• 30:41
  Speaker 6: Now, when fans say or when fans hear that you
• 30:44
  Speaker 6: love to shoot the puck, that's music to their ears.
• 30:46
  Speaker 6: They love guys who can snipe. And we hear about
• 30:49
  Speaker 6: guys who come up the ranks or it might be,
• 30:51
  Speaker 6: you know, lower, you know, in the levels of junior or,
• 30:54
  Speaker 6: you know, for you, college hockey as well.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: Skill building means a lot.
• 30:58
  Speaker 6: And I've heard stories of guys who shoot 400, 500
• 31:02
  Speaker 6: pucks a day sometimes.
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: What's the most that you've shot one day? Oh, man.
• 31:07
  Speaker 7: I used to, when I was younger, I'd try to
• 31:09
  Speaker 7: get 10,000 shots in a summer.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Wow. That was the goal.
• 31:14
  Speaker 7: I'd count all the pucks in the bucket and I'd
• 31:16
  Speaker 7: just kind of trip away at that. My hands would
• 31:20
  Speaker 7: definitely hurt after and my forearms would be fired up,
• 31:22
  Speaker 7: but it definitely went a long way.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: So what was your setup like then?
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: I got a rink in the.
• 31:27
  Speaker 7: Backyard at home. My parents built it when I was
• 31:29
  Speaker 7: very young. They put ice in the winter and then
• 31:34
  Speaker 7: in the summer you get a shooting pad out there
• 31:36
  Speaker 7: and be out there all day before school, after school.
• 31:39
  Speaker 7: So I'm definitely lucky to have that set up for sure.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: You talked about your parents, you know, who is Mackie
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: Samaskevich off the ice? Parents, siblings, you're married. What do
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: you like to do when you're not shooting the puck?
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: Take us inside. Personally, who are you?
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm a big, big family guy.
• 31:59
  Speaker 7: I love my family.
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: I got two sisters.
• 32:02
  Speaker 7: I'm a twin. I got a twin sister.
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: So And they both play, uh, high level hockey as well, right?
• 32:07
  Speaker 7: Yep.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 32:08
  Speaker 7: My older sister played professionally. My twin sister plays professionally
• 32:12
  Speaker 7: right now. Um, they, they were in hockey right when
• 32:16
  Speaker 7: I was too. So my dad got us into it
• 32:18
  Speaker 7: like very early and it was kind of just us three,
• 32:21
  Speaker 7: you know, playing keep away out there all the time. And, um,
• 32:24
  Speaker 7: definitely lucky to have them, you know, throughout my journey. But, um,
• 32:28
  Speaker 7: I'm a pretty laid back guy. I love to joke around,
• 32:30
  Speaker 7: love to, you know.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: Have fun.
• 32:32
  Speaker 7: Um, you know, and they got some characters in this room,
• 32:35
  Speaker 7: so I've been having fun already.
• 32:37
  Speaker 5: Mackie, what connections did you have with either players or
• 32:40
  Speaker 5: coaches before, you know, coming to Seattle? Because oftentimes that helps,
• 32:44
  Speaker 5: and the second part of that question is, how familiar
• 32:47
  Speaker 5: are you with Lane Lambert's system and the way he coaches?
• 32:49
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I knew a couple guys. Obviously, playing with Matty
• 32:53
  Speaker 7: was a big one in college. You know, I got
• 32:57
  Speaker 7: to know his game and his personality, you know, at
• 33:00
  Speaker 7: a young age, and, you know, I'd Played with a
• 33:03
  Speaker 7: couple guys in Florida as well, a little bit, Monty
• 33:07
  Speaker 7: and Mahur. Those guys were great, great leaders, great people
• 33:12
  Speaker 7: off the ice, great players as well. As far as
• 33:15
  Speaker 7: the system, I don't know much about it yet. I'm
• 33:18
  Speaker 7: excited to learn about it and excited to kind of
• 33:21
  Speaker 7: bring what I learned in Florida to the system and
• 33:25
  Speaker 7: help this team win for sure.
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: Can you go back and recall the first time that
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: you met Matty when you were younger? That's actually a
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: funny story.
• 33:34
  Speaker 7: We were really young, and there was a game in
• 33:38
  Speaker 7: Boston that I got thrown into. I got called up
• 33:42
  Speaker 7: as a ringer or something, and I didn't know who
• 33:45
  Speaker 7: I was playing against, who I was playing with, so
• 33:48
  Speaker 7: I ended up going into the other team's locker room,
• 33:50
  Speaker 7: and it was Matty's locker room that I was playing against.
• 33:54
  Speaker 7: He was the one who was like, are you sure
• 33:56
  Speaker 7: you're in the right locker room? Yeah.
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: I was like, I have no idea.
• 33:59
  Speaker 7: So we were very young at that time. That was
• 34:01
  Speaker 7: probably the first time I met him. I haven't brought
• 34:03
  Speaker 7: that up to him yet. Um, but I'm looking forward.
• 34:06
  Speaker 6: I've heard guys tend to not just get chirped, but
• 34:08
  Speaker 6: get nicknames off those kinds of stories.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: So you, you've kind of kept that on the back burner, right?
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: We kept that buried for sure. What, what was it
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: like having Maddie as a teammate over at Michigan?
• 34:18
  Speaker 2: It was great.
• 34:19
  Speaker 7: He's such a good leader, um, on and off the ice.
• 34:22
  Speaker 7: He works so hard. Um, you know, he's, he's a
• 34:25
  Speaker 7: student of the game and that's why he's so good. Um,
• 34:28
  Speaker 7: you know, off the ice too. He loves to joke around,
• 34:30
  Speaker 7: you know, loves to have fun. And, um, you know,
• 34:34
  Speaker 7: he's definitely a treat to play with for sure.
• 34:36
  Speaker 5: So we're getting towards the end of summer here. You're
• 34:38
  Speaker 5: obviously in tip top shape before camp, but there's a
• 34:41
  Speaker 5: little bit of time left to squeeze in a little
• 34:42
  Speaker 5: bit of golf.
• 34:44
  Speaker 4: What's your handicap?
• 34:45
  Speaker 7: Um, I'd say I'm a, I'm a six depending who
• 34:48
  Speaker 7: I play.
• 34:49
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: You can swing it then.
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 34:51
  Speaker 7: I loved, I love to get out there. It's one
• 34:52
  Speaker 7: of those things too. It's nice to kind of get
• 34:54
  Speaker 7: away from the game and, um, you know, We've got
• 34:57
  Speaker 7: a ton of players on this team, so I'm looking
• 34:59
  Speaker 7: forward to playing with them.
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: Well, there's some great courses around here, and I hope
• 35:01
  Speaker 4: you get to play a lot of them.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: Are you a driver, middle irons guy, putter, best part
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: of your game?
• 35:06
  Speaker 7: Not a putter guy. That's my worst part of my game.
• 35:09
  Speaker 7: Three-putt goal or everywhere, every green.
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: You're all part of the show, and they say a
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: driver's show, right? Yeah, exactly.
• 35:16
  Speaker 4: Awesome.
• 35:16
  Speaker 6: Well, Mackie, we're looking forward to more of these kind
• 35:18
  Speaker 6: of conversations. Seattle is fortunate to certainly have you. It
• 35:21
  Speaker 6: was a great day when this— Trade went down, and
• 35:24
  Speaker 6: we're looking forward to seeing it back on the ice
• 35:26
  Speaker 6: here in brand-new colors as well up here very, very soon.
• 35:28
  Speaker 6: But in the meantime, thank you again for stopping on by,
• 35:30
  Speaker 6: and welcome to Seattle.
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: Yep, thank you, guys.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: Great stuff. Mackie, appreciate you.
• 35:34
  Speaker 6: Thank you again for joining us, and looking forward to
• 35:36
  Speaker 6: having you back here around these parts once again. We'll
• 35:38
  Speaker 6: get you going, and looking forward to chatting and catching
• 35:41
  Speaker 6: up more here in training camp. But Mike Benton with
• 35:44
  Speaker 6: you again. Everett Fitzhugh, Al Koniski again. We're live here
• 35:47
  Speaker 6: at 32 Bar and Grill as again. The Kraken and
• 35:50
  Speaker 6: iHeartMedia Seattle, KJ are a big part of this, announcing
• 35:53
  Speaker 6: a multi-year extension for radio flagship coverage and a lot
• 35:56
  Speaker 6: that we have covered already. And again, in case you
• 35:58
  Speaker 6: miss any of this, go right back at On Demand
• 36:01
  Speaker 6: via the iHeartRadio app as we're going to get to
• 36:03
  Speaker 6: some wrap-up thoughts and also your questions as well before
• 36:06
  Speaker 6: we get out of here. I want to bridge back
• 36:09
  Speaker 6: into the hockey conversation of this where we mentioned youth
• 36:12
  Speaker 6: being a bigger part of the picture here.
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: For this season.
• 36:16
  Speaker 6: And Al, you kind of pulled back the curtain on this,
• 36:18
  Speaker 6: and there are still names out there with pretty healthy resumes,
• 36:23
  Speaker 6: so to speak, but yet there are a lot of
• 36:25
  Speaker 6: question marks surrounding them as far as how capable can
• 36:29
  Speaker 6: they be at this stage of their career to produce.
• 36:32
  Speaker 6: Patrick Laine is technically still available. Vladimir Tarasenko is still available.
• 36:38
  Speaker 6: Ellie Tolvanen is still available. James Van Riemsdyk as well,
• 36:43
  Speaker 6: but there are no first-liners arguably available. out of that mix,
• 36:46
  Speaker 6: and we heard over and over, if you want to
• 36:50
  Speaker 6: adhere to this team, if you want instant upgrades, you
• 36:53
  Speaker 6: need a legit top-line guy.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: Trade talks, we've seen the reports.
• 36:58
  Speaker 6: Dylan Larkin technically is out there. He's got a very,
• 37:01
  Speaker 6: and I mean extremely, short wish list as far as
• 37:04
  Speaker 6: where he wants to go. Jake DeBrusque, Elias Pettersson, Kirill Marchenko,
• 37:10
  Speaker 6: just a sample of names who could still be had today.
• 37:13
  Speaker 6: be a trade, but I think just based on where
• 37:15
  Speaker 6: we've seen this summer play out, do we expect any
• 37:20
  Speaker 6: last second or Hail Mary heaves here for a top
• 37:23
  Speaker 6: line guy? How surprising would that be by the time
• 37:25
  Speaker 6: training camp is?
• 37:26
  Speaker 4: Well, I don't.
• 37:27
  Speaker 5: I don't expect any Hail Marys, and the reason I
• 37:29
  Speaker 5: say that is I feel like that window was wide
• 37:31
  Speaker 5: open during free agency at the end of regular season,
• 37:35
  Speaker 5: and as you get closer and closer to training camp,
• 37:37
  Speaker 5: it doesn't close completely, but it's just a light breeze
• 37:40
  Speaker 5: coming through now, so My expectation is that there probably
• 37:43
  Speaker 5: isn't one of those big trades coming through, even though,
• 37:46
  Speaker 5: technically speaking, those names are still out there.
• 37:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't see the big trade coming, but I
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: still do think this team needs another piece or two.
• 37:54
  Speaker 2: I know that you want to put a lot of faith,
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: and I think you're right to put a lot of
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: faith into that under-23 forward group, and that's going to
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: be the future of your roster. You look at the
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: last 10 years, we'll take Vegas out of it, how
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: many Stanley Cup champions were largely built through the draft,
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: through development. You want to have longevity in the NHL.
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: You have to build from within. I mean, this is
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: no longer the Yankees of the 90s where you can
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: just go buy everybody and buy a championship. That said,
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: I still do think that there may be a hole
• 38:25
  Speaker 2: or two on this lineup that hopefully you can fill
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: with a player. But when you look at, you know,
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: the Tarasenkos, the Tolvanens, Michael Bunting, Jake DeBrus, guys who
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: are out there still I do think that there are
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: some viable options, but I love what Jason Bottrell said
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: earlier this summer. I'm paraphrasing. I'm not going to sign
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: a guy just to sign a guy. And this is
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: an actual quote from him. I don't want to take
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: opportunities away from those young forwards. And I think that
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: is so key and that is so crucial for this organization.
• 39:00
  Speaker 2: You need guys. And I'm going to use Berkeley Cat
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: as an example.
• 39:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: You see Berkley Catton as your generational top line centerman,
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: then you know what? Give him some top line centerman minutes.
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: And if he goes dash five in a game, you
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: throw him right back out there and let him figure
• 39:16
  Speaker 2: it out. Because ultimately, that's the only way you're going
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: to get better. So I do see, especially in training camp,
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: maybe earlier in the season, it wouldn't surprise me to
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: see Lane Lambert playing with the lineups a little.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: Bit more finalized.
• 39:30
  Speaker 2: What works, maybe a little bit of trial by fire,
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: definitely some trial and error, and that's okay. But I
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: do think that It's now sink or swim time for
• 39:42
  Speaker 2: a lot of folks in the organization from a player perspective.
• 39:45
  Speaker 6: I'm looking forward to the conversation, and we'll save this
• 39:47
  Speaker 6: here for the next time we get closer to training
• 39:49
  Speaker 6: camp as far as out of this young group, who
• 39:51
  Speaker 6: could finish as leading scorer? Who could be the unsung
• 39:53
  Speaker 6: hero out of this group? Who's got the most to prove, maybe,
• 39:56
  Speaker 6: as well, out of this group? Mike Benton for all
• 39:59
  Speaker 6: three of those, actually.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: Come every day like it is day one of training camp,
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: as I always say. As I always say.
• 40:04
  Speaker 6: Big thanks again to Mackie Samuskevich here for joining us,
• 40:07
  Speaker 6: and before we get to Your questions, folks.
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: I do want to touch on him as well. 20 goals.
• 40:13
  Speaker 6: What are we looking at as far as the realism
• 40:15
  Speaker 6: of this, and what would it take just based on,
• 40:18
  Speaker 6: I think, number one, where his game is, number two,
• 40:21
  Speaker 6: also who he's going to possibly play with?
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: I said it, I was talking to him, and when
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: we were talking to him, and then I said it
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: again here right now, when you're playing behind Kachuk and
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: Barkov and Bennett and all those, the great players that
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: they have down in Florida, you don't really have an
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: opportunity to realize your full potential. Bobby McMahon, the same way.
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: You're playing behind Austin Matthews and Nylander and Tavares and
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: all those folks, and Now you have a chance. Al's
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: got him on his third line. I got him in
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: my top six. I'm going to give Mackie Samuskiewicz a
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: top six role off the bat and see what he
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: can do with it.
• 41:00
  Speaker 4: Who are you pushing down to the third line?
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: I mean... Everly, Kako, McMahon, or McCann? As of right now,
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: I'm going to maybe say 19, you know, and don't
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: hurt me. I'm sorry. You know, this is just three
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: guys talking here, Jared. I love you, man. Love you, dude.
• 41:16
  Speaker 2: But I'm going to push 19 down and for now.
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: And again, who knows? But you went and got them.
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: You want the youth of this team to start to
• 41:25
  Speaker 2: shine through. If you consider him a piece that you
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: can help build around, well, then you've got to put
• 41:29
  Speaker 2: him in that role. You've got to put him in
• 41:31
  Speaker 2: that position. And, you know, I think putting guys in
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: situations where you expect them to play. Ryan Winterton, another example.
• 41:40
  Speaker 2: I remember when he was drafted, a lot of folks
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: had him compared to Jaden Schwartz. They wanted him to
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: be that power forward winger in the mold of a
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: Jaden Schwartz. Why not move Wentz? up to your second
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: line and put him there and see what he can
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: do consistently in that top six role. So I'm all
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: for putting guys in positions where A, they might not
• 42:04
  Speaker 2: have a lot of experience in, they might not be
• 42:07
  Speaker 2: the most comfortable in, but also B, that's where we
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: expect you to be down the road. Put them there,
• 42:14
  Speaker 2: see how they perform and what they can do, and
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: then evaluate accordingly.
• 42:18
  Speaker 6: Here's one thing for me is that he's known Matty
• 42:20
  Speaker 6: Beneers for a lot of his life. He's played college
• 42:23
  Speaker 6: hockey with Matty Beneers. He's now living with Matty Beneers.
• 42:27
  Speaker 6: What is standing in the way to have Mackie Samaskevich
• 42:30
  Speaker 6: play with Matty Beneers?
• 42:32
  Speaker 4: I mean, I don't think anything.
• 42:33
  Speaker 5: I think there's that X factor of their relationship with
• 42:36
  Speaker 5: each other that sometimes can be a big benefit that
• 42:39
  Speaker 5: you just can't coach other players to have that same
• 42:41
  Speaker 5: kind of relationship.
• 42:42
  Speaker 4: But it also could have no effect at all. So
• 42:45
  Speaker 4: you have to see how that looks.
• 42:46
  Speaker 5: And I'm sure through training camp, maybe through preseason, we
• 42:49
  Speaker 5: might see some of that to see what that chemistry
• 42:52
  Speaker 5: looks like.
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: You mentioned the 20 goals from Aki Samuskevich. And I
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: think for him, I think for a number of guys
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: on the roster, I mean... We talk a lot about
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: we need more offense. This team needs more offense. Well,
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: you know what? Look inside. Look in the mirror. You know,
• 43:08
  Speaker 2: I think for Matty Beneers, you got to get 25 goals.
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: I think for a Capo Caco, you got to be
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: at 15. You know, Jared McCann, you scored 40. I
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: understand that maybe 40 is a lot. Can I get
• 43:22
  Speaker 2: 25 out of you? Can I get 30 out of you?
• 43:25
  Speaker 2: I think the guys that you have on this roster
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: are You're going to need to see more 20s, more 25s,
• 43:32
  Speaker 2: a couple of 30s in terms of the goals. That
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: has to come internally.
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: To our questions, we go in again.
• 43:39
  Speaker 6: You can find us once again at Benton underscore Mike.
• 43:42
  Speaker 6: For me at X, Everett's at The Voice Fits. Al
• 43:45
  Speaker 6: Koniski is at Al Koniski.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: And again, for the Kraken Audio Network, that at Kraken
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: Audio Net.
• 43:49
  Speaker 6: First off, from Bendrick saying, Chase Reed is the most
• 43:52
  Speaker 6: excited I've been about a Kraken prospect. By the way,
• 43:56
  Speaker 6: my opinion, no surprise. The question is, what is a
• 43:59
  Speaker 6: realistic timeline for him to break into the NHL after
• 44:04
  Speaker 6: one year.
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: At Michigan State?
• 44:07
  Speaker 6: I wouldn't be surprised if they try to give him
• 44:09
  Speaker 6: a look by the end of this next season. The
• 44:12
  Speaker 6: only caution I may have is, number one, how far
• 44:16
  Speaker 6: does he dominate the competition in college hockey? Number two,
• 44:19
  Speaker 6: also keep in consideration, yes, you can do this. Matty
• 44:22
  Speaker 6: Beneers has taken that. one-year approach and sign this contract
• 44:26
  Speaker 6: and jump in. But we use one example of his game,
• 44:30
  Speaker 6: Kale McCarr. He took two years before finally signing late
• 44:34
  Speaker 6: and then jumping into the NHL in the spring.
• 44:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, a lot of that just comes down
• 44:38
  Speaker 5: to how his first year goes playing college hockey. Then
• 44:44
  Speaker 5: the question becomes next year, he's turned 19 in December,
• 44:48
  Speaker 5: I believe. So now he's a 19-year-old coming into camp
• 44:51
  Speaker 5: and You know, is it better for him to, I'm
• 44:55
  Speaker 5: going to use the word slow, but I don't mean
• 44:57
  Speaker 5: it in a bad way, slowly develop at an AHL
• 45:00
  Speaker 5: level for a year before he makes that step. Again,
• 45:04
  Speaker 5: it depends on what those building blocks are leading up
• 45:07
  Speaker 5: to camp next year. If he has a fantastic year
• 45:10
  Speaker 5: at college playing against men, getting faster, getting stronger, and
• 45:14
  Speaker 5: it looks like he can handle himself in those situations,
• 45:17
  Speaker 5: then he comes to camp and does the same thing,
• 45:19
  Speaker 5: I think he gets a real hard look next year.
• 45:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would agree with you there, Al. But I
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: would also add that I think his debut will also
• 45:28
  Speaker 2: depend on where the Kraken are and what their needs
• 45:31
  Speaker 2: are as well. I mean, I think we're all in
• 45:34
  Speaker 2: agreement that defensively, this team is fine. And you look
• 45:38
  Speaker 2: at the D-men that you've got in the system, Tyson
• 45:41
  Speaker 2: Jugnoff being one, I know we're trying to figure out
• 45:44
  Speaker 2: what's going on with Vili Odovainen. Are we going to
• 45:45
  Speaker 2: see more of him? There are a couple of guys
• 45:48
  Speaker 2: in your system that you're looking to see what you
• 45:49
  Speaker 2: can do, but I don't think there's a need to
• 45:51
  Speaker 2: rush Chase Reed. However, Chase Reed at Michigan State, they
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: have been a top five program in the last however
• 45:58
  Speaker 2: many years in college hockey. They are the odds-on favorites,
• 46:01
  Speaker 2: you know, top three, four favorite to win the championship.
• 46:04
  Speaker 2: They are stacked this year as well. You're going to
• 46:07
  Speaker 2: be playing against men in the Big Ten and in
• 46:09
  Speaker 2: college hockey. So he potentially, for me, he could play
• 46:14
  Speaker 2: himself into a role. But I think you don't want
• 46:17
  Speaker 2: to rush him. Defense takes so much. Defensemen take a
• 46:20
  Speaker 2: lot longer. to to develop in in terms of being
• 46:24
  Speaker 2: nhl ready but i think for chase reed unless he
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: just smacks you in the face and is like hey
• 46:31
  Speaker 2: i you are fools for not putting me on the
• 46:34
  Speaker 2: nhl roster i think you slow play this i don't
• 46:37
  Speaker 2: think there's any hurry to rush arguably you know you're
• 46:42
  Speaker 2: you're not arguably your best defensive prospect that you've ever
• 46:44
  Speaker 2: had and your top pair defenseman for years to come.
• 46:47
  Speaker 4: Again, a lot of that has to do with him.
• 46:49
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 46:49
  Speaker 4: You know, like after the Matthew Schaefer draft.
• 46:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 46:52
  Speaker 5: Did Islanders front office believe he's going to step in
• 46:55
  Speaker 5: and be an Islander from day one and play.
• 46:57
  Speaker 4: A full season?
• 46:59
  Speaker 5: Probably not. So again, Matthew Schaefer stepped in and said,
• 47:02
  Speaker 5: hold my beer. I also love the fact that we're getting...
• 47:07
  Speaker 5: Maybe not Kale McCarr 2.0, but diet Kale McCarr.
• 47:11
  Speaker 2: That's a high bar, by the way. Yeah, we're getting
• 47:13
  Speaker 2: diet Kale McCarr. We're getting neat, by the way, diet
• 47:16
  Speaker 2: Kale McCarr neat. We're getting Zach Wierenski. We're getting Seth
• 47:21
  Speaker 2: Jones comparisons from Chase Reed. I like that. I want
• 47:26
  Speaker 2: to keep that. I don't want to rush him into
• 47:28
  Speaker 2: the league, and then all of a sudden this top,
• 47:32
  Speaker 2: blue-chip defenseman that you're ready to put the captaincy on, potentially,
• 47:38
  Speaker 2: all of a sudden he's not going the way you
• 47:40
  Speaker 2: want him to go.
• 47:41
  Speaker 5: Right, because he expects to be that from day one,
• 47:43
  Speaker 5: and when he's not that, it can crush his confidence.
• 47:46
  Speaker 5: Confidence in any sport will kill you. So you want
• 47:50
  Speaker 5: to build that confidence up slowly, let him develop his
• 47:53
  Speaker 5: own game, make other people compare their game to his
• 47:57
  Speaker 5: versus comparing him to others, and then maybe he gets there.
• 48:00
  Speaker 6: This is a good time for a refresher, by the way,
• 48:02
  Speaker 6: on some inside jokes. Diet Coke Neat comes from Everett's
• 48:06
  Speaker 6: origination of this thing.
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: Back two seasons ago.
• 48:08
  Speaker 2: Two seasons ago.
• 48:09
  Speaker 6: When I came back from a road trip, I filled
• 48:11
  Speaker 6: in for you for the radio chair. You were filling
• 48:13
  Speaker 6: in for John. And we had a game the very
• 48:15
  Speaker 6: next day. We were in LA together.
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: I flew back.
• 48:19
  Speaker 6: You and I went on to Utah. I was here
• 48:21
  Speaker 6: for studio work at 32 Bar and Grill. I was
• 48:24
  Speaker 6: off of four and a half hours of sleep. Usually,
• 48:26
  Speaker 6: I get a diet here at 32 Bar and Grill.
• 48:30
  Speaker 6: And they brought one carafe out, which is probably about
• 48:34
  Speaker 6: 36 inches high.
• 48:35
  Speaker 2: We all know what a carafe is, Mike.
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: I killed that carafe.
• 48:38
  Speaker 4: Land the plane, Mike.
• 48:39
  Speaker 2: Land the plane.
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: After the second one, I was like, you know what?
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: You usually have, say, a whiskey neat. It has no watch.
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: I was like.
• 48:47
  Speaker 6: Just give me Diet Neat, and you about lost it
• 48:49
  Speaker 6: on the air. We needed that kind of humor that day.
• 48:53
  Speaker 6: We needed that humor.
• 48:54
  Speaker 5: See, in my head, he just ordered it that way.
• 48:56
  Speaker 5: I'll take a Diet Neat. Diet Coke Neat, yeah.
• 48:59
  Speaker 6: Maddie with a question saying, I would really love to
• 49:01
  Speaker 6: hear the take on the Shane Wright trade request situation.
• 49:04
  Speaker 6: Nothing has come of it yet, but obviously it raises
• 49:07
  Speaker 6: a lot of questions about where he fits here on
• 49:10
  Speaker 6: this team.
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: We have gone through this over and over and over.
• 49:15
  Speaker 6: What I look at this as far as at this
• 49:17
  Speaker 6: day and age on August 27, that we're getting closer
• 49:19
  Speaker 6: and closer here to training camp. It seems as if,
• 49:24
  Speaker 6: if Shane Wright gets moved, it's got to be for
• 49:27
  Speaker 6: the right price. We've heard the reports as far as
• 49:29
  Speaker 6: potential destinations that didn't work out. So you aren't going
• 49:33
  Speaker 6: to be taking a trade just to make a trade.
• 49:35
  Speaker 6: That's at least from what we have heard. My own
• 49:38
  Speaker 6: perspective of this, and this kind of reminds me of
• 49:41
  Speaker 6: the Philip Grubauer situation a bit. I don't want to
• 49:43
  Speaker 6: compare apples to apples in this sense. But where were
• 49:46
  Speaker 6: we with Philip Grubauer's game about roughly a year ago
• 49:49
  Speaker 6: and his longevity maybe on this roster? And it was
• 49:53
  Speaker 6: maybe at an all time low. But yet I think
• 49:56
  Speaker 6: the proof came in. You change a few things inside
• 50:00
  Speaker 6: your system. You bring in Colin Zulianello as a goalie coach.
• 50:04
  Speaker 6: You kind of reset, you know, the mind, so to speak,
• 50:07
  Speaker 6: as far as where his game could go. We saw
• 50:10
  Speaker 6: some of the best out of Philip Grubauer that we
• 50:13
  Speaker 6: hadn't seen in a long, long time.
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: And it reminded me of the.
• 50:16
  Speaker 6: Phrase, nothing says solving your problems like solving them from
• 50:22
  Speaker 6: the inside. not from the outside. And that's where I
• 50:26
  Speaker 6: think this could go with the Shane Rice situation. Can
• 50:29
  Speaker 6: they find a way to bring his game, his mind,
• 50:33
  Speaker 6: right back up to par and find a way to
• 50:35
  Speaker 6: make him fit and then produce as well?
• 50:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that, you know, right now he's my
• 50:40
  Speaker 4: third-line center.
• 50:41
  Speaker 5: And for Mackie Semiskevich to have a great season, they've
• 50:45
  Speaker 5: got to work together because he's the right.
• 50:47
  Speaker 4: Winger on my line. And, listen.
• 50:50
  Speaker 4: Nobody wants anybody to fail.
• 50:52
  Speaker 3: No.
• 50:52
  Speaker 5: And the thing about it is that for whatever reason,
• 50:56
  Speaker 5: Shane Wright is not where everybody expected him to be
• 50:58
  Speaker 5: at where he's at right now. I'd love to see
• 51:00
  Speaker 5: that change starting from game one this year. I'd love
• 51:02
  Speaker 5: to see him have a fantastic season, right? No pun intended.
• 51:07
  Speaker 7: But.
• 51:09
  Speaker 7: Ah!
• 51:09
  Speaker 5: But if it's not going to happen, and a lot
• 51:12
  Speaker 5: of people think it's not happening, you've got to do something.
• 51:16
  Speaker 2: And so.
• 51:17
  Speaker 5: You know, will he be in discussions for trades over
• 51:20
  Speaker 5: the course of this season? I'd be shocked if he wasn't.
• 51:24
  Speaker 5: But before I even talk about that or even think
• 51:27
  Speaker 5: about that, I'd much rather him have a fantastic season,
• 51:32
  Speaker 5: earn himself a spot in the top six, and us
• 51:35
  Speaker 5: look back and go, you know what? He just needed
• 51:37
  Speaker 5: some time.
• 51:38
  Speaker 2: In a perfect world, we're sitting here next year talking
• 51:41
  Speaker 2: about Shane Wright having a career year. and the Kraken
• 51:45
  Speaker 2: are thinking about resigning him to an extension, right? Shane
• 51:48
  Speaker 2: Wright is a member of this team until he's not,
• 51:51
  Speaker 2: and I think you do the team a disservice, you
• 51:54
  Speaker 2: do Shane Wright a disservice by putting all the noise
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: and everything out there, and Al, you're right. He's not
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: lived up to, I think, where you saw him to be,
• 52:07
  Speaker 2: but you forget he's still 22, barely 23 years old.
• 52:13
  Speaker 2: Shane Wright, I mean, we've been talking about him since
• 52:16
  Speaker 2: he was 12 years old. I made the joke earlier
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: this summer I was on someone else's podcast. Sorry, Mikey.
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: Sharing is caring.
• 52:24
  Speaker 2: I feel like Shane Wright's a 15-year vet because we've
• 52:27
  Speaker 2: been talking about him since he was dang near.
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: 10 years old.
• 52:29
  Speaker 6: He's got to feel alive because ever since he was 15,
• 52:31
  Speaker 6: his world has been chaotic.
• 52:33
  Speaker 2: 100%. So I think there's still so much more to
• 52:35
  Speaker 2: get out of Shane Wright's game. But also at the
• 52:39
  Speaker 2: same time, you can say that for whatever reason. internally, externally, personally, system, whatever.
• 52:46
  Speaker 2: Maybe it just hasn't worked for whatever reason. You want
• 52:49
  Speaker 2: to see him work, but I think until he is traded,
• 52:52
  Speaker 2: until he is moved or whatever the case may be,
• 52:55
  Speaker 2: he's a member of this team. Al, he's on your
• 52:58
  Speaker 2: third line. He's on my third line as well. Lane
• 53:01
  Speaker 2: Lambert sees him as a member of this team. Jason
• 53:03
  Speaker 2: Bottrell sees him as a member of this team. We
• 53:07
  Speaker 2: will not make a move just to make a move.
• 53:09
  Speaker 2: It's got to make sense for us. It's got to
• 53:11
  Speaker 2: make sense for the player. You know, whatever you want
• 53:15
  Speaker 2: to say. So it's fun to talk about. It gives
• 53:18
  Speaker 2: us something to talk about. But Shane Wright is a
• 53:20
  Speaker 2: member of the Seattle Kraken. He will be wearing number
• 53:23
  Speaker 2: 51 on October 1st in Calgary until something else says otherwise.
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: We'll look to see if he is here.
• 53:29
  Speaker 6: Definitely when training camp finally hits the ground and we're
• 53:32
  Speaker 6: off and running. That, again, will be September 17th. Training camp,
• 53:37
  Speaker 6: by the way, leads into preseason play, which will be
• 53:40
  Speaker 6: September 19th. And then we cannot wait for October 1.
• 53:44
  Speaker 6: And not the 82, but the 84 game. Schedule you
• 53:48
  Speaker 6: will hear right here on 93.3 KJRFM and the Global
• 53:51
  Speaker 6: Credit Union Kraken Audio Network.
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: As we wrap this up, fellas, a little bit of
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: summer left. How are we going to salvage it?
• 53:59
  Speaker 2: Well, in a few days, I'm going to head out
• 54:02
  Speaker 2: east for my annual guys sports weekend. We're going to
• 54:06
  Speaker 2: go to Pittsburgh, see a couple of Pirates games. I've
• 54:09
  Speaker 2: got to hit that ballpark soon. Yep, a beautiful ballpark.
• 54:11
  Speaker 2: We will then drive to Cleveland, Ohio, the mistake by
• 54:15
  Speaker 2: the lake, and we'll see a doubleheader between the Guardians
• 54:18
  Speaker 2: and the Detroit Tigers.
• 54:18
  Speaker 6: Wave hi to APU alum Stephen Bowe for me, by
• 54:20
  Speaker 6: the way.
• 54:21
  Speaker 2: Will do. And then I will make my triumphant return
• 54:24
  Speaker 2: to God's country, Bowling Green State University. to watch the
• 54:28
  Speaker 2: falcons and the tarleton state texans and the home opener
• 54:33
  Speaker 2: for bgsu football uh next saturday before i come back
• 54:38
  Speaker 2: home and get ready for rookie camp so i got
• 54:40
  Speaker 2: my last hurrah on the horizon jersey oh i got
• 54:44
  Speaker 2: a jersey uh we're doing a i guess one of
• 54:46
  Speaker 2: the best highest rated tiki bars is in pittsburgh so
• 54:50
  Speaker 2: we have a day game next thursday and then after
• 54:53
  Speaker 2: the game we're gonna go to the tiki bar And
• 54:55
  Speaker 2: I'm thinking that first Pittsburgh game, me and some friends
• 54:57
  Speaker 2: are going to bring our Mariners jerseys and wear Mariners jerseys.
• 55:00
  Speaker 2: But I got a BG football jersey. I got BG shorts.
• 55:03
  Speaker 2: I might do a halftime wardrobe change, get a hockey
• 55:07
  Speaker 2: jersey on in there.
• 55:07
  Speaker 6: They don't have a red carpet at BG for you.
• 55:09
  Speaker 6: They have like an orange or a brown carpet, I believe.
• 55:11
  Speaker 2: It's an orange and brown carpet. I've got my own row,
• 55:14
  Speaker 2: my own suite. as well. I'm going to get to
• 55:16
  Speaker 2: call the plays. It's going to be fun.
• 55:18
  Speaker 5: Well, you do have a budget of 20 Bowling Green
• 55:21
  Speaker 5: references per season, so I've got to punch your card.
• 55:23
  Speaker 2: There's one.
• 55:24
  Speaker 7: Yes!
• 55:24
  Speaker 2: We haven't even started yet. I've only got 19 to
• 55:27
  Speaker 2: get me through April?
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: You've been teasing us here with the Instagram photos and
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: videos of either your brisket or B.B. Wellington.
• 55:35
  Speaker 7: Oh!
• 55:37
  Speaker 4: So, yes.
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: You got more grilling here, I would assume.
• 55:39
  Speaker 5: Smoking meats, catching Dungeness crab, enjoying the rest of the summer,
• 55:44
  Speaker 5: golfing a little bit between now and training camp. Those
• 55:46
  Speaker 5: will all be my focuses. Talking about new fans, I'm
• 55:49
  Speaker 5: looking forward to my brother and sister actually driving down
• 55:53
  Speaker 5: from Vancouver to see the game on the 19th against Vancouver.
• 55:57
  Speaker 2: They will be.
• 55:58
  Speaker 4: Wearing their Kraken jerseys proudly.
• 56:00
  Speaker 2: We'll get them in the booth.
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: Benton boys behind me, plug your ears.
• 56:03
  Speaker 6: They'll be starting school in about less than a week,
• 56:05
  Speaker 6: so we're getting right back into the routine.
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: And the nitty gritty.
• 56:09
  Speaker 2: Not too far away.
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: All 212 TikTok followers. It's the most wonderful time.
• 56:14
  Speaker 2: Stop right there.
• 56:15
  Speaker 4: Powered by chicken tenders.
• 56:16
  Speaker 1: A little bit of golf.
• 56:17
  Speaker 6: We'll open the grill up once again, but I've been
• 56:20
  Speaker 6: dying for day one of hockey season, and that can't
• 56:23
  Speaker 6: be happening fast enough. Oh, by the way, also, this
• 56:25
  Speaker 6: is going to be exciting here, at least for the
• 56:27
  Speaker 6: Benton crew. So we're going to be taking a boat trip.
• 56:29
  Speaker 6: I'll be hosting this. Dick Fane opened the door for me. Dick,
• 56:32
  Speaker 6: thank you very much once again. But hosting the dog
• 56:35
  Speaker 6: boat like I did last year, but this time for
• 56:37
  Speaker 6: the Apple Cup. A week from Sunday for the Huskies
• 56:40
  Speaker 6: and Cougars. That's going to be a fun time for
• 56:42
  Speaker 6: all of us. And then jumping down there for the
• 56:45
  Speaker 6: game over at husky stadium so uh looking forward to
• 56:47
  Speaker 6: that and then of course rookie camp will be happening
• 56:50
  Speaker 6: not too far away the 11th of september and we
• 56:53
  Speaker 6: are off and running again but that will do it
• 56:54
  Speaker 6: here for us once again folks thank you for being
• 56:57
  Speaker 6: with us exciting day incredible day looking forward to serving
• 57:01
  Speaker 6: you and even serving you better coming up in 2026
• 57:04
  Speaker 6: and 27 and beyond all a part of the global
• 57:07
  Speaker 6: credit union kraken audio network The KJR side, the Kraken side,
• 57:11
  Speaker 6: this is indeed one big happy family and happy to
• 57:14
  Speaker 6: keep this here together and rolling for years down the road.
• 57:17
  Speaker 6: So big thanks again to Everett Fitzhugh, to Al Kaniski,
• 57:19
  Speaker 6: also to Mackie Samuskevis for joining us.
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: And for you, dear listener, thank you once again. I'm Mike.
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: See ya. Your home for the Kraken.
• 57:26
  Speaker 2: Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM.