Latest / stormTRacker Podcast | Carolina Hurricanes & NHL Hockey / Hurricanes on Top! Can Carolina Keep Winning Despite the Injuries?

Transcript

Hurricanes on Top! Can Carolina Keep Winning Despite the Injuries? · stormTRacker Podcast | Carolina Hurricanes & NHL Hockey

• 0:32
  SPEAKER_04: Well, the Carolina Hurricanes may be dealing with an injury bug, but somebody apparently forgot to tell them they're supposed to slow down.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_04: After having their seven-game winning streak snapped in Calgary, the Hurricanes bounced right back with a 6-3 win over Vancouver, improving to 8-2-1 in the season.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_04: Good enough for first overall in the NHL.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_04: Well, the Hurricanes are getting the kind of production they expect from players like Ealers, Stankhoven, and Blake, they're also finding contributions from some less likely sources.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_04: And with key players sidelined, the kids from Chicago are getting their chance to show they belong at the NHL level.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_04: But there's still some questions.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_04: How long can Carolina keep winning with so many key players missing?
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_04: Are the young players proving they're ready for bigger roles?
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_04: And what do the coaching adjustments tell us about the hurricane's death?
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_04: Alongside Aaron and Katie, I'm Tom Ray.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_04: And we have all that and more coming up next on Storm Trek.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_04: Ladies, it's gonna be a fun night.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_04: How are you?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm groovy.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I know both of you have uh had some challenges with your other teams, so it's nice to see the Canes are doing extremely well, and I think uh we're gonna have some fun talking about the run of the Canes.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_04: You know, it's funny, they've quietly moved into first place in the NHL.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, hardly anybody's talking about it, and there they are sitting right at the top and doing this with several key players out.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_04: It's it's incredible.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_02: That was such a fun game to watch.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know if either of you stayed up late to watch it, but I'm a night owl, so I did.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I was doing the recreational dooming out there on Twitter to say, oh, they look terrible.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Because, you know, the first 20, 30 minutes weren't great.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_02: They were struggling to keep their uh their side of the defensive uh game going.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, and whenever that side starts to look a little weak, it doesn't matter if they're scoring, you start getting nervous because that's when that's when they can fall apart.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: But it ended up being just hilariously fun.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think the second uh DeLaurier goal was the point where we all kind of sat back and said, Okay, this is this is happening, this is fine.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't believe it when I woke up this morning and saw that he had not just one goal, but two goals.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: That was crazy.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_04: That was yeah, and you know, if you look at at these wins, I mean, you kind of wonder, um, is this record kind of overstating how they're playing?
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_04: Like with all these players out, are they just getting lucky with some of their opponents or how are they pulling this off?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think you can count it's just luck.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's part of it's just the system and how well ingrained this particular style of play is into the team.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: And they're just working hard, and because they all are pulling on the same rope to take from last year's celebration in the locker room, they they can mix and match a lot easier.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned that you know, my team, my other team, the Aves, are struggling right now, and it's precisely because they are having to mix and match, and they are not nearly as well suited to that mixing and matching that the hurricanes are.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: So the hurricanes have really been able to absorb the changes that they need to make in the forward core, and uh while that's you know giving giving the Aves a lot of fits.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: So it's been great to see that you can move it up and down and have a whole bunch of different lineups um each game, but it stays consistent within the game.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's important too, is that that the in-game mixing isn't happening.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's they they get a morning skate or something like that in in order to get the lines figured out.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: So that's no, I don't think it's a fluke.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, you have to say sorry, go ahead there.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, sorry.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say one point I wanted to make is that, you know, when we watch the early games, the first three, four games, it seemed like it was a constant parade to the box.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, some of that is the referees being a little trigger happy in the early part of the season, too.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_02: But I think uh, you know, unless the referees have suddenly all taken, you know, to this big step backwards and gotten real chill, I think that what's happening is that they are playing really disciplined.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, some of the penalties that they've taken, in fact, have been just you've got people on the broadcast that aren't even Keynes broadcasters saying, that's not a penalty.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: Why are they calling that?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_02: You know, so that's a reputation call.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_02: I heard that um for from when I was listening to an away broadcast, and it was one of the penalties that Svetnikov took.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, that's a reputation call.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: He didn't do anything there, you know.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_02: And and so I think that the fact that the handful of penalties they have taken in the most recent games have kind of been those little bit of head scratcher, okay, somebody's trying to set a tone or something, but they're not committing really serious infractions out there.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: They're they haven't been um, you know, doing the too many men and fuck over glass kind of thing that we were seeing in the early games.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: So I mean, as long as they can keep that going too, I mean, that's going to be a bigger challenge, I think, against Edmonton, but um they they need to.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: They obviously need to stay out of the box against Edmonton.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, we'll we'll um we'll see how that goes.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: But I've liked the fact that they've been playing discipline and that you're not having a period or two where the entire thing is special teams.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we saw a lot of that in the first few games, and we're not we're not seeing that now.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, fun fact, um, there was a there was a post on X that which showed the top 10 or 12 players in the league as far as penalty minute differential between penalties taken versus penalties drawn.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: Jackson Blake was at the top, but Spech was in the top 10 too.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: How much we think of him taking penalties, and he is actually in the top of the league for drawing more penalty minutes than the penalty minutes that he's taken.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: I just thought that was so cool to see for Andre because we know, like Aaron said, he has a reputation for most of those um, let's just say less than timely penalties.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: So that I hope that is a trend that continues for him.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I mean, I think you're onto something because you know, earlier in his career, of course, he was you know, he he was involved in a lot of stuff that wasn't really smart.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, but we do see him change now.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_04: He he's much more mature, of course, than he should be.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_04: And and that's why I think these numbers are skewing the way that you're suggesting, Katie.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_04: I think he's playing a much smarter game.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_04: He's not doing those silly things that he used to do sometimes, you know, or diving or doing whatever.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_04: And and uh I think he's he's definitely getting more respect out there.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_04: So that's all good.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_04: You know, when we talk about this run and and you know, we talk about the injuries, it's insane, right?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_04: So, I mean, Sam Jarvis has been out the entire season, so that's fine.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_04: Jordan Stahl, he's gone for the long time, and and you know, I guess I'd have to say, do we want Stahl back?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_04: We do, but he's not gonna be back for a little while.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_04: Taylor Hall's injury, I mean, that just adds more fuel to the fire.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, all this kind of, as you said, right off the top, it it kind of unbalances stuff, right?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_04: The lines have to be switched.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_04: You've got players moving around, and and you know, those combinations have been have been magic for the canes.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_04: And we're last year in the playoffs, all of a sudden they're all different.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_04: It's like we have uh Glendamore doing his great thing and he's blending everything.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_04: And and then what about Mark Jankowski, right?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_04: Like then he comes in, uh, he jumps in for stall, uh, all he does is score in six straight games.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_04: Good God.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_04: You know, like insane.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and and he was going in, and and the thing he was starting to do, which I think was critical, of course, he had been doing some penalty kill work all year, but then he was starting to take some of those tough face-offs, right?
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_04: And and and you know, as you start to look at uh at you know the canes injuries, I mean who do you think is the worst loss?
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, they're all big losses, right?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_02: I'd have to say Stahl.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: I think that Jordan Stahl's impact on the team has just been so tremendous over all of the years that I've watched the Canes.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, him being out, it just causes everyone else to have to, you know, step up and do more.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, it's unfortunate, very unfortunate to lose Jankowski on top of that because he was taking a lot of those minutes.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: He was taking a lot of the time on the power play, a lot of the time on the penalty kill.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I think the thought was, well, we'll just keep it rolling and just, you know, maybe lean on the fourth line a little bit more than we have to keep uh them from having to have too many minutes.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: But um, he he'll be able to do it, and he and Aha will divide the defensive responsibilities, and then you know, right away we lose Jankowski as well.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_02: So that's it's the combination of both is there, but but I mean if you could get one of them back tomorrow, I don't think there's anybody that would say Jankowski over Stall, they would want Stahl back, and so would I.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, and that's not a slight to Jankowski at all, you know.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like he himself said, it's pretty hard to fill the shoes of a consummite winner, you know.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I I completely agree with Aaron.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's gotta be stall.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um the power play is also missing him quite a bit with the face-off wins on the opening draw and then getting that big body in front of you.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've I've I've liked some of what the power play has done, but they're definitely missing him as far as feeling a little bit more effective and him clearing out some space and and and shielding the goaltender's eyes.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: They've they've really missed that particular part of him.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, I I do think that they miss Hall, but I think he's been the one that they find some different successful pieces um to put up in his spot in the line.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, Hall doesn't do penalty killing, so it's it's not been as bad for him.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: But um it's you know, I'm sure the Canes right now are thanking their lucky stars with Stahl and Jankowski out that they that KK is still on the team because they would be in a world of hurt if KK wasn't there to to help center and help um stabilize things around.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm very glad that that uh that the the canes aren't scrambling even harder than they are with their center decks because of KK and his contributions that he's made.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_04: Well, for sure.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, Aaron, you talked a lot this summer about uh you know, would they be nice and and move KK off and give Kokinami a chance somewhere else?
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_04: And uh Eric Tulski, you know, in a recent uh discussion was very clear and said, you know, we like uh Yesperi Kokinami, and that's before he even started to do what he's been doing.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_04: So and we'll talk a little bit more about Yesperi in a minute.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_04: While this has been going on, of course, we've had a chance to see some of the youngsters coming up from Chicago.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_04: And in particular, I wanted to mention uh, of course, uh Bradley Nadeau and Felix Unger Sorm.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, covering the walls, of course, uh, as I do very closely, I've been so excited about these young guys.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_04: I thought they looked good in camp, but not you know, they weren't amazing, but they looked strong.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, we've noticed with Unger Sorm, he's continuing to get stronger as a player.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_04: He's he's you know continuing to improve his game.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_04: He's always been a tremendous uh passer and he's got great vision on the ice and all those kind of things.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_04: But what what are you thinking about these guys?
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, are they players that we're seeing now that could be you know could be players in the future for the canes and and uh could play a role even this year?
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I don't this year, no.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: I really don't think that they're quite ready for the um to play for the canes permanently or even in an extended role because because the canes are the defending Stanley Cup champions and they are playing a game that requires a lot of precision when it comes to the man-on-man defense and being able to cover and knowing where the gaps were.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I felt so bad for him, but part of Nadeau's rawness was shown in that third goal for Vancouver, where he was trying to backcheck.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he was giving it his all to get back and try and defend, but then he just got his feet turned around underneath him and ended up taking out the Vancouver player and Kochekoving for the other player to score on.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I I think that perhaps encapsulates a little bit of the awkwardness, like the work ethic is there, the the try, the desire is there.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, if it were almost any other NHL team, he would be on the roster permanently and he would have time to find his feet and get acclimated to the big game.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: But Carolina's just kind of a unique circumstance where the wingers especially are so elite from the top line down to the fourth line that I yeah, I appreciate their effort to fill in with with all the injuries, but uh the canes probably don't need them long-term there.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: I I agree, Katie, and I think that you know both of them have you know played well in in the sense that you know what what could be expected of them coming into this situation, especially, you know, you're they're on the middle of a Western road trip and you have to come in and you know, um, it doesn't give Rod Brindemore the chance to do what they really need, which is to be a little bit sheltered at home.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_02: Because, you know, when you're playing uh um in the Keynes arena, Rod has langed.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: There's a lot of things he can do to limit their ice time and not put them in situations where they can get exposed like Bindow was on that goal.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that that's just a matter of, I mean, it's it's always a conundrum for championship teams or teams that have had, you know, a really solid um, you know, I think I remember it was a few years back, the the question of the the New York Rangers when people were asking, why are the Rangers continually drafting left wingers when they know that these guys are not gonna get a shot in the NHL anytime soon with the left-wing core that they had at that time.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: And it's kind of the same for a championship team.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, you know, you're you're you're not gonna get the kind of deployment that you need to take that next step.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I think people have been a little bit unfair to Bradley by comparing the situation to Jackson Blake and saying, well, when Blake came in, you know, he started on the fourth line and then he pretty quickly made his case to be played higher up.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_02: And you have to look at who the Keynes had in the top six on the wing at that time and compare it to who they have now.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's not the same.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, Brad, someone like Bradley Nadeau has a tremendous shot.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: And if he can get to where he can figure out how to unlock that at the NHL level, that will be a game changer for him.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, you need some of that sheltered deployment.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_02: You need some of those easy reps.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you need to be in a situation where you're not on the ice against a team where the coach can put his top line out against you at any minute, you know, and you don't get that on the road.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: And you definitely don't get that against coaches like you do in Canada.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_02: So these teams are very good at exploiting those last changes.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: So um I don't think I don't want people to get too down on the dough because I've seen some of that.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: I've seen people saying, well, he doesn't belong on the canes and they should just trade him.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I don't think that that's a fair thing to do after a tiny sample size in these unusual circumstances.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I also think that people shouldn't say, you know, well, Unger Sorm got to stay up.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_02: That means they like him better.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that doesn't mean anything.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_02: All it means is that Unger Swarm can play center and has played center, and they're gonna try him on the center on the fourth line tomorrow, unless Skylar Brindermore, who was called up, makes it there to Edmonton ahead of schedule, in which case I would expect that Unger Swarm may watch that game if that's the case.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, it's just the the circumstances aren't ideal for young players.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_04: So well, okay, a couple of things on the dough.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, he did make a nice play to set up uh uh Nicholas Delorie in one of the goals.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_04: Great play.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_04: Um I think he I think he was very solid.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_04: I think uh he wasn't spectacular, no, but he definitely was solid.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_04: He didn't hurt the hockey club except for that one situation.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_04: Not sure he wasn't tripped up on that play.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_04: I still not uh need to see the replay on it.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_04: But uh he's he was working hard, he was making things happen.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_04: And Unger Sorn is a cerebral player.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, we saw that.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_04: The way he plays.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_04: He he's he just really smooth out there, he's smart, he's where the action is, he's just not big enough yet.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_04: He's still got to get a little bit bigger, but boy oh boy, both of those guys to me, they they are definitely players of the future, there's no question.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_04: And now let's talk about Skylar Brindamore because he's a guy that we love.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_04: He was on uh Strong Tracker last year, and he's he's a great guy.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_04: And this is exciting.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_04: I think he's I think he's shown whenever we've seen him at the end of seasons, when we've seen him in you know, kind of preseason and so on, uh he's ideal for that fourth-line center spot.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_04: He's great in the face off dot.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_04: He's a guy that uh can take the tough defensive responsibilities.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_04: He's not gonna hurt you when he's on the ice, and he's been playing very, very well this year for the Wolves.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_04: You know, that they're missing a lot of players as well.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_04: And he's really stepped up.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_04: He played a great game on the weekend against Iowa.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_04: He had a goal and assist, he was outstanding.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_04: And so, you know, I don't think this is because he, you know, his dad is the coach.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_04: I think Skylar has definitely earned it.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_04: What do you what are you guys thinking about Skylar?
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's exactly what you said.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think they need a center, they need specifically someone who can eat up those fourth-line minutes at center and just be solid, just be trustworthy, low event.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: That's what you want from your fourth line.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: You want low event, you don't want to get burned out there.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that being said, if Skylar does play against the Oilers, I know he's been up for a couple of games before, but that was at the end of season mop-up duty.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: So his first very competitive regular season game is going to be against Connor McDougall and Leon Dreidle and Evan Bouchard.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: And he might be called to take a face off because of it being last change or something like that.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so someone who's defensively responsible, you probably feel better having him there than some of the other options that there would have been for the fourth line.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited to see what he can do if, like you said, if he arrives and plays again and he plays.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: I think I I think that that would be what they're hoping for because, you know, I as again, as much as I thought that Felix Unger Sorum had a great game, you can a great couple of games.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, the the the thing with Unger Sorum is that, you know, he's not really noticeable, and that's a good thing, you know, because when you're talking about a young rookie, you don't want to be, unless they're you know lighting up the score sheet, you don't want to be noticing them too much because usually when you notice them, it is when they go crashing into the goaltender, you know.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: So it it's it's not I'm sorry for for Bradley.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's not personal.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, um, as far as you know, with Felix was playing on that third line with uh, you know, Jordan Martinook and uh, you know, and the Eric Robinson.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so so the fact that you didn't see him doing anything, he was in position, he was figuring out very quickly how to handle that man-on-man assignment and everything else.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, it's it's he was he did a good job.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_02: But like Katie said, they're gonna go be playing against Connor McDavid, Leandre Seidel, you know, Evan Bouchard, they're gonna have all those guys out there.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_02: If if they have the choice between Felix Ungersorm at center when he hasn't been playing center or Skylar Brindemore, who has been playing center and who can be that low event shutdown fourth line center, I'm I'm pretty sure they're gonna go that route, you know.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that he could be pretty good there.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think that there's any reason that they would have to worry about him in that role.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think it would be fun for him to play with DeLaurier, so that would be cool.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_02: And he can PK.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: And he can PK.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, that's an important one, too.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: It is because they're short on penalty killers right now.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_04: No, I mean, look, um Skyler is is we you know, when you look at the face-off numbers for the guys, I mean, this is an area of great concern.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_04: And and we knew that.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_04: Stahl, I mean, Jordan Stahl had taken 124 draws when he left.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, so he had he'd been leading the team in draws.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_04: We knew that, but it's over 55 percent.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_04: And and I mean, Sebastian Ajo has been incredible in the in the face-off dot this year, and and actually shocking me, he's been just he's been tremendous, and he's taken an awful lot of draws.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_04: So that leaves you with the other guys, and we talked a little bit about, you know, recently they had this game uh when they in the Calgary game, uh Kokiniami and Stankoven were three for twenty.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, in the face-off time.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_04: Now that wasn't bad enough, but last night Kokaniami was one for ten.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_04: His numbers are 25% this year in the face-off time.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think a lot of that uh yeah, a lot of that has to do with him playing uh more wing than center last year, in addition to only playing half the season.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_02: So he played 42 games, 24 of them were at center, 18 of them were at wing.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but the 24 that were in center, that that were at center include the regular season game.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: Up until his November injury, and then nothing until those last five throwaway games.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: So that's he, you know, he hasn't played center that much this you know these last over the last year.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: And then he started here with four games on wing before being switched to center after the Jordan Stahl injury.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: So now it's not an excuse because Jordan Martinook doesn't take a lot of face-offs, and he's doing great.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_02: Or well, he's doing reasonably well.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_02: I would say not great.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_02: Excuse me, I'm sorry.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: But uh, but yeah, so for Kokiniemi, you know, I'm I'm definitely gonna hold his feet to the fire on that because I know he can be better than that, you know.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I do know that, you know, there was some evidence last night that he was in trying to fight through and and get it.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_02: There was one point where he was practically laying down on the ice trying to scrape the puck away from the other center, but but and not maybe the one that he actually won.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, so the fight, the will to do it is there, but he needs reps and he needs practice, and that they need to target that in practices as much as they can, just you know, line him up and make him do 100.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's it's not it will come back because it's not something that you lose once you've known, learned how to do it.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_02: But he's gonna have to put the effort in.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I I would say he I'm sure he's willing to do that.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: It's just that there hasn't been time.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_02: They've had just this one practice the entire time they've been on the road.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I want to see more from him in that because I know he's capable of it.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_04: Pokiniami's uh career numbers are almost 50% in the face-off dog.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_04: You know, there's something interesting.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_04: I don't know if you remember this.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_04: Pokiniamy was testing this idea of switching uh shooting direction.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_04: So he'd do a ref uh left for one side and right on the other, so that depending on the side he was on, he could use his backhand to pull the puck back to him, right?
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_04: This is really rare.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_04: Like I saw him doing it last year.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_02: And he does still do that when he has to take draws on his right.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that um, I mean, not like all the time, but when when he feels like he can has a chance of getting away with it.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that right now, being on the road, too.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, they're on the road, they're all getting tossed out of the dot more than normal, which you know, um, somebody was complaining about that in regards to Stancoven the other day, you know, because you don't want Jackson Blake having to come in and take face-offs.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and then um the the other thing too is that the wingers have to be involved, and they have been.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, there again, it's like when the lines are all in flux, and this is not just for Kiki, this is for Stancoven too, you know.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he did not have a great game face-off wise, you know, when I think when Ehlers came in um originally or or whatever, you know, that the because again, you're you're you're used to that chemistry of I'm gonna do this and you do that, you know, and they just haven't had time to gel.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_02: So that would probably come along too.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_01: Although Ehlers turned one of those face-off losses into a very nice one yesterday.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: So absolutely.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: Lose those face-offs so that Ealers can pounce on it and get more break.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: The lose it forward, that was a great.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_04: Actually, Stan Coven, he was much better against Vancouver.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_04: He was 50% in the draw, so he won seven of 14.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, okay.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_04: It's interesting though.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: When it comes to the face-off with KK, I also think that um the practice lines today had Martinook on his line.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I wouldn't be surprised if even though KK is playing the central role, if when it comes to face-offs, they at least split up.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_03: Probably a little bit, yeah, a little bit more there.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: And with with those with those wingers, that I mean if if it is that particular setup, I think it those those wingers will help uh Jarvis will, right?
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_04: Because he can take the draws on the other side.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_04: So they've got if they used uh Martin Ok and Jarvis to help out on the draws, that's gonna help them quite a bit.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_04: That's a good move.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_04: Well, you know, it's interesting.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_04: We we've talked a lot about this the question of you know, with Stall gone.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, it affects so many things.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_04: And and you think about him on the PK, you think about him on the power play, and you think about first and foremost, you think about that face-off acumen, right?
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, winning the draw on the power play, now you've got control.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_04: And that's when the the power play took off last year, as we recall, was when Jordan Stahl jumped onto power play, and the big thing he was doing was winning draws.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, and then uh on the penalty kill, how many times has he been the guy to go in, win the draw, and then Jacob Slavon will flip it down the ice?
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_04: So you take a look at that, and then let's you know uh play that back and look at the the special teams and see what we see there.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_04: Because I think this is a real kind of a uh uh a point of of uh interest in that regard.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_04: If you're missing your top center guys that can pull the draws back, other than Aho, what are you gonna do?
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_04: So let's talk about the PK first.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_04: How do we feel about the penalty kill?
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's doing surprisingly well considering all of the regular PKers that they are missing.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um it obviously doesn't look like it's top form, but the fact that Jarvis hasn't played all season, Stahl's out, Jankowski's out, all these forwards that turn a penalty kill into a power kill has really been a challenge for them.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it shows.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes they get caught running around a little too much, open up a little too much space, and then the you know, the goal from the Vancouver power play is able to happen because they just get stretched out a little too far and a little too overextended.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: But again, in that context, they're still doing really well, they're still really threatening.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: They um, as of a couple games ago, they had an amazing amount of time in the offensive zone while on the penalty kill.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: And something like 30%, which is ridiculous.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: That is ridiculous when you were manned down about a third of the time during those minutes, you were actually attacking rather than defending.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll see.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Their big test, of course, will be against Edmonton and their power play is is lethal.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so we'll see, we'll see how that goes.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: That will be a big test for them.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: But overall, I've been very impressed with how they've managed to hold down the fort in the absence of some of their big guns.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_02: Well, the fact that Jarvis has officially been activated, you know, and he's not on IR anymore, is gonna be, I know, yeah, um, it's gonna help a lot.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know how much of that they're gonna throw him into right off the bat or if they're gonna ease him in or whatever, but I think at the very least, we could see a little bit of penalty killing work where he's back paired with with Aho.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_02: And that would be great because even though Stancoven has done very well there, the having the ability to have Stancoven um on another unit just increases their ability to do well with those units.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_02: Because I think that, you know, when you look at it, what they've had, I think Martin with Robinson.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: So you've had two-winger, a two-winger unit instead of a winger and center unit.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I mean that mostly matters in terms of the face-offs, but um, you know, it can also matter in other ways too, uh, when they're when they're mapping out their defensive coverage and so on, you know.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it's gonna be great to have Jarvis back.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_02: Um, whether he is able to PK in Edmonton or whether they want to give him a couple of games of, you know, a little bit lesser deployment to make sure they don't overwork him these first few games.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's just gonna be ultimately down the road, whether it's Edmonton or whether it's the Blues or whether it's a few games from now, uh, having Jarvis back is gonna be tremendous because he is one of the better penalty killers on the team.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, with Stahl out, with Jankowski out, they definitely need him there.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: Another thing with that if he's not on the penalty kill, Rod loves to use him for that bump-up shift because they are turning the tide in their favor and creating momentum.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: That line is a perfect line to try and build on that momentum and turn the tide back in the direction and in the favor of the canes and really put the opposite team back on their heels.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so to have to have Stank Open back in his hip pocket for that bump up shift could become invaluable as far as the the flow and tide of the game is concerned.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_04: No, that's a great point, I think that's absolutely right.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, the interesting thing is for all the concerns we've had about the PK, they're fourth in the NHL.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_04: This is better than last year.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_04: They ended up, I think, 10th.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_04: So they're, I mean, they're doing great.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, you talk about Jarvis coming back, and you talk about adding uh Skylar Brindemore.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_04: Uh Jarvis can take the offside draws if he's out there with uh with uh Aho, of course.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_04: Those guys can do very, very well because they can pick their side, and that's great.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_04: And then Skylar Brindemore, he could be working on another combination, and he's also very, very good in the draw.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_04: So I think you know, these moves, adding these two guys is gonna help the PK even more, and it's been tremendous.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, look, when we start talking about the PK, you've got to be talking about the D Corps and the and the goaltending and so on.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_04: Those guys have really stood up, and and we'll talk a little bit about goaltending for sure because uh Kochetkoff's been mites out.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_04: But let's talk about the power play for just a second.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_04: Um look, last year, you know, they were incredible.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_04: Uh they started this year great.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_04: They had a kind of a tough game against Calgary.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_04: Uh you know, they haven't been doing as well on the power playing.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_04: They didn't have a great game against Vancouver.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_04: What what are we thinking about the power play right now?
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_02: Well, like everything, they're missing stall.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_02: They're missing stall for the face-off, they're missing stall for that big body in front of the net.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, so and and even though um obviously he was doing the face-off get off whenever you know they could do that, you know, but he's the fact that he would remain in the zone when they did win the draw led to a lot of goals very quickly in the first um maybe 10 or 20 seconds of the of the power play beginning.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I know that um somebody had a I don't remember where I saw this, but there was something a long while back about how much more frequently power play units will succeed if they can score in that first 30 seconds.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's like if you don't score in that first 30 seconds, you can still score.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, we see it all the time.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_02: The last buzzer beater won last night.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh, yes.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_02: But not our power play.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_02: But um yeah, so but we know that that's true, that that if you get that momentum right off the hop and you get that that goal very quickly, then you know, then obviously that's the ideal.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_02: And Stahl helps that happen.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_02: He makes that happen by being there, by winning the draw, by being physical along the boards, and then by getting in front of the net and positioning himself for, you know, um just a screen or a deflection or whatever they might need.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, they're missing him, they don't have him, you know.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_02: So, and and even when Jankowski was filling in that just one area where, as much as I like Mark Jankowski's game, he's not quite the same player when it comes to having that instinct for where he should be on the power play.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, he does win the face-off more often than not, which is still important.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_02: But he doesn't have that same just fluid movement.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I know that's kind of funny to talk about in terms of Jordan Stahl, but I mean, we're not talking speed here, right?
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to be fast in that little zone.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: But that fluidity of saying, okay, I don't need to be winning this puck battle along the wall right now.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_02: They've got it.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna go stand in front of the net, you know.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_02: So a lot of times Jankowski would still be involved in the board battle.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, somebody would take a shot and there's no screen, and the goalie grabs it, and then you know, they're starting all over again.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_02: So I I do think that that is a huge loss for them.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_02: And how do they get around it?
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_02: How do they fix it?
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think, Katie?
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_02: What are they gonna do?
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're just gonna try and make the best of it until they get the reinforcements.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think part of the problem is the fact that even from the start of the season with Jarvis being out, it used to be that the first line was the first power play plus ghost and stall, and then stall would switch out for Ealers.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then the power play unit was the second line, plus Ealers, plus well, last year it was Nikitian, and now it's Miller or whatever.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's Miller.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so they already had that connectivity from their five-on-five play that they could build on and use for the power play.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: And now with with Blake being promoted up to that top unit, I know this is not going to be a popular opinion, but I'm not particularly fond of him up there.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: He's had some good moments that have been fine, but I think I think it showed that he does not play with Aho and Smetch regularly.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_01: And he seems to be just a little bit off.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: He still has his work ethic, he's still making plays, but he doesn't have that sync and that connection with them the way that he has it with Stankoven and Hall when Hall's healthy.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think right now that's just what they're gonna have to deal with with Hall out and with Jarvis having been out.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: With Jarvis coming back, I do hope that Jarvis takes over his spot on the top power play.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: Although I think in practice they didn't have him on the top power play.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think they had him on power play too, which is fine.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_01: If you're easing him back in, then there's no reason to be, you know, putting him under the gun right from the get-go.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: But eventually I think that's what will happen is Jarvis will retake his spot on that top unit because of the chemistry.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_01: Once he takes his top his spot back on the top line, too, if unless Carrier just decides that that's his Jarvis doesn't get it.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know that I'd want to fight Carrier for it.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: Even thinking of that, even thinking of that, if you need a big body in the front of the net on power play one, Carrier's used to playing with Aho and Spech.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Put him out there on Power Play One.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: No, you'll get that big weird end in front of the goalie and do you say no in this one?
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna say no.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_02: Then we can put D'Lo on PP2.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_02: Anyway.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think no, that's that's a fun thing, but in all seriousness, though, there is something here where that you just said, Tom, that made me realize we didn't talk about somebody when we were talking about the the guys that have been called up, and I really wanted to give a little quick shout out to Yusuf Alamaki because I thought he was fantastic last night.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I wonder, you know, if he stayed, I know he's gonna stay in the lineup a little bit.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_02: I wouldn't mind seeing him on the second power play unit on occasion because he has a terrific shot from the point.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_02: And uh I think that he could probably um, you know, and again, and obviously no disrespect to Kandre Miller, who is fantastic in every facet of the game, but Miller to me is a little bit more of a slaven type player.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: Excellent as he is, he's not the guy you're gonna put on the power play.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that that would be really cool if they could give uh Vallamaki a shot or two there before he has to go back to Chicago.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_04: So no, I think I think you're onto something, Aaron, because Valamacke was amazing in Chicago last year in the power play.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_04: And that's what he kind of you know was known for uh with Arizona and so on when he was when he was in the NHL.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_04: So he's a guy that can definitely quarterback the power play.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and you even saw it with some of his offensive play last night.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, he he was he was making things happen out there, and and and you know that that's that's a great idea.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_04: And I was thinking exactly the same thing, watching the game, saying, why the heck isn't he running the power play?
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_04: And you know what?
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_04: Particularly the second power play unit, which had two of his buddies on it, Nidou and Unger Sorm.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_04: So I mean, he would have been right in this element with those guys.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_04: And yeah, it's uh Keandre Miller.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_04: Hey, I think he's a tremendous player, but he's not a to me, he's not a first-rate power play quarterback.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_04: That's just not his thing.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_04: So um anyway, I wanted to mention something while you were talking about Jarvis and putting Carrier up to the top.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_04: Look, the the thing about the power play to me is Jarvis and the other guys who've been on that power play have a cadence.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, yeah, one of the things about Blake is he loves to pick up the puck, he likes to go all over the place, he likes to dipsy doodle, and and he's great at it, but but that's not what they've been doing.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_04: You know, they get in their positions, they move the puck quickly, they get the goalie out of position, they score whatever.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_04: And I think you're gonna see that once he's back in there the power players start to get its cadence again because they they just have a magic together.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_04: That's what they do, right?
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: And that's part of why Blake works so well with Stenkhoven and why they need to be on the power play together is because Stenkoven will drive the net.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_01: He puts himself in a position for Blake to find him, whether it's five on five or the power play.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: He gives Blake that target.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: And as much as I love the other guys on that top unit, they are not the type that want to drive the net.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: They want to try and find the soft spot, get open, tap ins from the side, that sort of thing.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so, really to complement each other's skills, I I just I want to see Stank Owen and Blake back together on the power play.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I I think that's right.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, you you look at at this discussion around Jarvis and to kind of take it into a different spin here, uh, through this tough period, you know, we've had a number of uh key players stepping up, right?
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, Aho and Svetch have done great.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and you've got you've had Carrier filling in.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, I I I think Carrier did a great job to start off.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_04: I think he's settling down a little bit now.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_04: He's pointless his last three.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_04: He's not nearly as effective as I think he was initially, you know, and that's to be expected.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_04: Look, he's not a first liner, and I think he did a nice job filling in, and I think you know, his his runway is starting to to show, and and just in time for Jarvis to come back.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_04: But what I wanted to mention was something we've talked about so much, Katie, and that's you always wanted Swesnikov on the right wing.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_01: I always because I mean it comes from all of the time that I spent watching, you know, he who shall not be named when he used to play for the he is a natural lefty, but he's always played right wing as a power forward because of the way that he would be able to turn his body, use that big frame to protect the puck, and then create plays as well as then to open up for the one timer and be able to score that way.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I see a lot of that particular skill set in Svetch.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I he hasn't leveraged it enough in the past because he's been playing a traditional left-wing role.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: But with Carrier moving up to that top line and Carrier being a lefty as well, or right?
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, left wing anyway.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it forced Svetch to move over to the right side and has opened up that side of his game, both the playmaking side as well as the shooting side.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: And he has been shooting quite a bit more, at least it has felt like that.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_01: He has um since that change has happened.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's one of the reasons that line is clicking, is you know, you have Carrier who is opening up space, winning board battles, digging out the puck.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_01: And Spetch isn't having to do quite as much of that blue-collar work, it's opening him up to to to survey the ice, to use his vision, to use his touch, to make plays as well as to open up for that big shot of his and um set up scoring opportunities for the canes.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just I've loved seeing him over there.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's uh it's got an expiration date at some point, but for now, I I've really enjoyed seeing that part of his game uh blossom because of his position over there.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I I think it's right.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, we've seen Blake and and Stank Oven have been there.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, they've been they've been getting it done.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_04: Blake hasn't scored, but he's been making a lot of great plays.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_04: Stank Oven, of course, has been scoring south great.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_04: And he scored uh he scored two last night in front of 400 family and friends.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_04: So he is amazing, right?
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_04: Um anyway.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Blake may not have scored, but he's still he's a point per game player right now.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_02: He has 11 assists in 11 games.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_02: So once that once that goal scoring unlocks, he's gonna be even more effective.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_04: So and I wanted to take this a step further, Aaron, for you to pick it up.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_04: Was was now, you know, they they kind of had different people filling in when Hall went out.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_04: They've now put Ealers on there, and look what happened last night.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_04: Holy shit.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_01: I know that was crazy.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh just four goals.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_01: What are you talking about?
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, four goals from that line.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_04: Yep.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_04: Four goals, four assists, fourteen shots, plus ten.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_04: Good night.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_04: Yep, yep.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_04: And they were they were ridiculously dominant.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_04: And and and you know, if we look at that, does that does that change the complexion of the canes right now?
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_04: If they've got another line that can really go because I mean, realistically, without Hall, uh the second line was okay.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_04: Uh and then you've got stall out and you've got that all in flux and and it's not going quite right.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_04: Does this change the situation significantly for the canes?
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's one game, so you always have to be wary of small sample sizes.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_02: I I think that what you've got there is, you know, um you've got a second line that has a lot of speed.
• 43:40
  unknown: Right.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_02: And that is gonna drive scoring because of just how fast they are.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_02: I think that they're going to be extremely good offensively.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_02: I think they're going to be acceptable defensively, but I don't think they're going to be as strong defensively.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_02: If they start to get overwhelmed in some games where you have players that are, you know, exploiting them defensively, that's where I think that you know the downside of that line could end up being.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that that's the reason way back when last year, when uh Rod moved Ealers off of that line, it was because you had a little too much of the game winding up in the other team's end and a little too many chances against on that end.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_02: And that started to be an issue because, yeah, you know, that's how that's not how the canes play.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_02: They they play shot suppression is a huge part of their game.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_02: And it's one of the reasons why I don't think anyone should be surprised when.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_02: After last night's game, when Rod said he loved the whole game, you know, now he didn't just love the third period, he loved the whole game because they kept the Vancouver connects to what was it, 17 shots?
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_02: 17 shots.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_02: You know, something like that.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yep.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, I think it was only 11 through the first two periods, too.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, it was, it was, they were doing their job of suppressing shots that was happening.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_02: So you want to be able to keep doing that.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_02: If the Ealers, Stancoven, Blake line can do that, then that's going to be an interesting question of where does Taylor Hall go when he comes back?
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_02: But at the same time, you know, you could also see a rotation between Hall and Ealers where, you know, whichever one of them is playing with the Stancoven line just does that.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_02: And then the other one plays with the Stahl line.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_02: And then if that gets a little stale, you just swap them back and forth.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_02: Because you could see situations where Hall on Stahl's line could be extremely good too.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, adding a little bit more offensive punch to that line is always a good idea because they get so much ice time.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_02: So when Stahl is back and healthy, and when Hall is back and healthy, you could have, you know, Hall, Stahl, and Martinook occasionally if you if you still have Ealers with the St.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_02: Coven line.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_02: So it's I think it's encouraging to see them have such great results in that game.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_02: I do think it's one game, and I think it'll be interesting to see as they go forward.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_02: It's not even Edmonton, because we all know Edmonton is going to be the kind of challenge that it is.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_02: And it's possible that all of the Keynes lines will have some struggles um defensively against that particular offense.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_02: But when you get to the Blues and some of the heavier teams, that's when I start wondering about will it be a little too easy to shut them down?
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, but I mean those are valid concerns for sure.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_01: But the the reason that line right now is so important is we have seen a little bit that Aho and Spetch have cooled off compared to their tourists to open.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I attribute that almost completely to the fact that Aho on the road is taking a lot of the defensive matchups and really having to be mindful of taking on the top forwards from the other team.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I wouldn't be surprised as much as Rod is able to, even though it's on the road, he is going to be putting Aho out in situation to try and mitigate McDavid and his line when he's out there.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_01: So that means it's just going to be extra important for Stankhoven's line to be the engine of the offense because Aho's priority number one is not going to be in the goal scoring department.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_01: It is going to be in the goal convention department.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: So if that line, if that line goes, I mean, four goals in one game is incredible.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's realistic that they repeat that on a regular basis.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_01: But if they can, you know, at least one or two goals, chip those in, provide the foundation for the canes offense, then the canes will be in a really good position um to win the game, especially if Rahoe's able to temper the torrid, torrid pace that McDavid has started the season on.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_02: I I think that they will be especially effective at home when again when Rod has last changed and can can you put them out there against weaker lines.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, there's no way that they wouldn't feast against the bottom uh you know six lines on on just about any team.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it would be almost too easy.
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, so that that will be fun if we get to see that at home um coming up here in a few games.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_02: So um, but yeah, I I I agree with you, and I think that that's where, you know, we're gonna have to expect tomorrow to just be whatever it is, you know.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_02: That's I don't think I don't think you can draw any referendums on the lines based on whatever happens tomorrow because it's just gonna be, you know, you're not gonna stop Connor McDavid right now when he's you know scoring the way that he is.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_01: But by that token, if he can at least be limited, I'm not saying shut down completely.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_01: Limited.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_01: I was looking at the at the goal and point totals for the Edmonton Oilers, and uh half the ice time, half of the ice time has at least one of McDavid, Dreisidal, and Bouchard on it, and almost all of the offense is coming from just those three players.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_01: That's correct.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_01: When they're on the ice.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_01: If they're not on the ice, anybody else not on the ice, they are extremely upside down when it comes to goals.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so again, I'm not saying that the canes are necessarily going to stop McDavid, Dreysidal, and Bouchard, but if they can at least quiet them a little bit, I think the Canes have a really good chance of exploiting some of the weaker depth that uh exists in the Edmonton forward core because they are very, very top heavy, unlike the Kanes, and even with their reduced numbers, are much more of a balanced roll four lines kind of team.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_04: And I think the bigger problem, Katie, is the power play.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_04: Okay, so you know you've got to stay out of the box because you know they got they got all those guys, and then they got, you know, the you know that big bomb from the point, which is deadly, and and so you've got you know, you've got three guys that can really hurt you.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_04: Those are the three guys that drive the offense for sure.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_04: Now, having said that, uh the decor on the canes can handle those guys, in my personal view.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_04: And and I think we'll we'll talk a little bit about that.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_04: But you know what?
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_04: As as we look at this though, uh it's been it's been uh you know, winning by committee, because look at that fourth line.
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_04: So Yesperi.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: What are you talking about?
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: Are you talking about the let's talk about the one that had Yesperi?
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, okay.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_04: Now you spare Kokanami in particular, alongside Nicholas Delorie.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_04: Those are the two guys I really want to highlight because man, oh man.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_04: Uh they, you know, hey, Kokaniami's got five points his last seven games.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, DeLoria's got uh three points his last couple of games.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, these guys are getting it done.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's great, it's great.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_01: The depth and the and the forcheck.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_01: Now, if you you know, if you look at some of the other stats, they were a little, you know, that there was more time, but when they had their chances, they executed their and they finished their chances because while shot attempts were very lopsided in the game last night, the shots on goal were not, which meant they were doing their job to prevent the puck from actually getting the checkoff and then turning the puck back off the ice.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_01: Not only did DeLaurier have those two goals, but he almost set up Nadeau for a third with that flip that he had from the defensive zone to give Nadeau a partial breakaway.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_01: And he came that close to burying that to give that line four goals or three goals.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you go back to the to the one that D Lo set up with KK.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, when they're getting their chances, they're finding that open ice, they're winning the puck battles, they're they're getting uh they're at least getting the puck on net.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_01: And it's such a luxury to have a fourth line that is able to be as effective as they have been in the past couple games.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_04: Well, considering they're not poking there, I think it's really something special.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, we talked uh we talked a little bit about this with Kokaniemi and and all the you know challenges he's had, and boy, he's jumping in and he's he's being effective.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, he's not doing much in the face-off top, but the rest of his game I think is fine.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_04: And man, Nicholas Delorie, and I'm gonna eat some crow.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_04: Because I really didn't think a whole lot about Nicholas Deloria, other than being a great guy, and you know, he's the guy that's gonna go out and get in the scrap for you, but he's actually showing he can play a little bit of hockey for the Keynes.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_04: And he's making plays out there, which is which is fantastic.
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_04: He's getting some ice time, he's making some things happen.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know, I wanted to kind of segue into something else because last night at the end of the game, Piotr Kochekov, Neil.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_01: That was so cute.
• 52:30
  SPEAKER_01: That was adorable.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: Put that in the Kochekov scrapbook.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_04: That was adorable.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_04: It was fantastic, and and I guess it leads us into a discussion on Piotr.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_04: Katie, you are the biggest fan of Piotr Kochekov, but boy, he is getting it done.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: He is, and you know, of course, all the haters are gonna bring up the save percentage, which you can't do with Kane's goalies because of their shot suppression.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_01: The easy saves that get through to most goalies to help pad their stats don't get through to our goalies.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so the save percentage is going to look a little wonky.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_01: You have to look at goals against average, and he is below two.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_01: That is fantastic in the first six games.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_01: He has just been solid.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now, we saw a couple games ago when he leaves the net, it can get a little he needs to be a little bit more mindful of not going on on you know little field troops around the eye, little adventures.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_01: No adventures.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_01: You can tell that he is enjoying being back, he's glad to be part of the team again and to be in the locker room and be with the guys.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: And what he did with D Lo shows that he is an essential part of the culture in that locker room, that the guys love him and that it it's a it's mutual and it is just I love I love seeing how how solid he's looked.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_01: He looks like he's playing with a lot of confidence, he's at the top of his crease, he's challenging guys, he's not getting too wild with the poke check, which even we all love a good poke check.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it wouldn't be Pyotr Kochekov without it being Pyotr Polkchekov.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_01: But he's being smart about it, he's he's not not going out of his way to try and do something fancy.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_01: He's square, he's solid, he's confident, and you just have to love to see it because you know it just feels like this has been coming for a long time for him.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope, hope, hope that he is able to maintain this for quite a while, and that if and when he does have a couple of stumbles that are brief, he gets himself back together and puts together another strong run because I just I I love watching him play.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really love it.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm couldn't be more thrilled.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_02: Let me just say I love uh Kochekov's puck handling.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_04: Oh, okay.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_02: In these last few games, especially against Vancouver yesterday, there were so many times when he just got the puck up ice to whoever was up there on, you know, and I mean he could have had an assist at least once last night.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_02: And he just, you know, see if no, really, he's he's he's a very good puck handler, and you appreciate that more.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_02: And this is a nice little segue.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_02: You appreciate that more when you see a goalie who's been struggling with that.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_02: And that is what I would say with Busy is that in particular the puck handling has been what he's been struggling with.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I think in the last game that he played, um, they were noticing that he just stood behind the net and stopped the puck and then waited for a defenseman to come and take it.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_02: He was not going to risk throwing it up the ice and having it come back to haunt him because it happened a couple of times so far in the games that he's played.
• 55:46
  SPEAKER_02: I do feel like he's starting to find his game a little bit again.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um he's been better the last couple of starts.
• 55:51
  SPEAKER_02: I think that we saw this from him after the Olympic break.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_02: It took him a little while to regain the confidence.
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the question for them, though, of course, is they're not gonna do a 50-50 tandem if with the Kachekov being this hot right now.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_02: They're not.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_02: So, how hard is it gonna be for Brendan Bussey to continue to work on his game, continue to work hard and practice and everything and work with the goalie coaches?
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_02: I know he's gonna put the work in.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_02: He's got that work ethic.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_02: There isn't a Carolina hurricane without it.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but is he gonna have enough time to rebuild his confidence in the starts that he does get?
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think that that's where, you know, like Katie said, you don't want um Kochekov to have some rough time and have to be out for a while.
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_02: We we certainly don't want that.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_02: So it's just gonna be a matter of Busy being able to get in that headspace that says, you know, when I'm called on, I'm just gonna do it.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna play my game and not let the mistakes of the early games haunt him to the point where you know he's fighting the puck the whole time that he's trying to catch it.
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_02: So but I I've liked yeah, I did like his his most recent game, and I thought that you know um there's things to build on there.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_04: He he's doing a lot of good, let's be honest.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_04: He's he's doing a lot of great stuff.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_04: And you know what?
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_04: It's a long season, and there will be lots of opportunity for Brandon Bussey to get games in for sure.
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, it it's like we said, he's just trying to find his game.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_04: It's you know, a little bit uh, you know, things he's got to tidy up a little bit.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_04: But Paul Schoenfelder is a tremendous goalie coach.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_04: And if anyone can get this guy to where he needs to be, it's gonna be Schoenfelder.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_04: And and you know what, we saw Bussey last year play a lot of incredible games.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_04: I don't see a Keynes goalie make the number of unbelievable saves that he made last year.
• 57:41
  SPEAKER_04: And so he's got it in him, he's played well, he hasn't played, you know, he hasn't been outstanding to the level that we've seen him in the past at different times.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_04: And he'll find it.
• 57:51
  SPEAKER_04: It's just you know, you just have to kind of get uh get the momentum going, and I think he'll be fine.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_04: But right now, I guess as we look forward, they're gonna run with the with the Pioter.
• 58:04
  SPEAKER_01: Works for me.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_04: Lots going on with the Canes right now.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_04: They've got uh they've got some interesting games coming up as we we put some closing thoughts on this.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_04: You know, they've got uh Edmonton and St.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_04: Louis still to come up.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_04: We talked a lot about Edmonton.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_04: Man, that vaunted offense.
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_04: It's gonna be a real challenge for the Canes.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_04: And then they've got Boston and Columbus at home coming up right after that.
• 58:27
  SPEAKER_04: So what are we thinking as as we kind of you know look at this team and and and watch them start to get some walking wounded back and and hopefully get some additional players like uh Skylar in and some others that can help?
• 58:42
  SPEAKER_04: What do we think we'll see in the next couple of weeks?
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, it could be a combination of just about anything, but I'm optimistic.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think that they are going to at least I I think they'll be better than 500 as far as their points are concerned, even though you know that the these aren't exactly weak teams they're going up against, but as long as it's not the Calgary Flames on the second night of a back-to-back when everybody's exhausted.
• 59:11
  SPEAKER_01: That was that was um I think I think they'll be fine.
• 59:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, if if they can, I'd love to see them win, and I think they're fully capable of winning both of these next two road games, but if they end up splitting them, I think they will consider that acceptable results and then come home and try and re-establish their home dominance.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Boston certainly has gotten off to a hot start so far this year, but they are beatable as long as the canes actually threaten Swayman or whoever the goalie is and don't stay to the perimeter.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, Columbus has been going through it, and so they should, if they if they get to their game quickly, they should be able to take care of business there.
• 59:55
  SPEAKER_01: And if people start coming back and they start getting those reinforcements, that would be huge.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_01: And let's let's hope that starts with Jarvis here soon, now that he's been activated.
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_01: That that is one big weapon that they are going to be very happy to get back.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_02: I think I I like your thinking, Katie.
• 1:00:15
  SPEAKER_02: I think I'd I'd kind of go with that too and say like over 500 rather than they're gonna win this many and lose this many, because I think that it's really unpredictable right now what they're gonna be able to do, as long as these lines are still in flux and players are still coming in and out, you know.
• 1:00:29
  SPEAKER_02: So um I think that the one thing when I look at these next four games, my my question right now is does the call-up of Skylar Brindemore mean that Mark Jankowski is going to be out a little bit longer than we thought?
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_02: Because it doesn't seem like a I mean, it's it's always possible that the Canes decided to call up Skylar Brindemore just for these two road games, and then you know that Mark will be back and everything will be fine.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_02: But to me, it's not a move you typically make, especially with the Wolves doing well and Skylar being part of that.
• 1:01:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's not a move that you would make if Jankowski was going to be back, you know, within the next two games.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_02: So, or that I'm at the next two home games, you know.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_02: So um, I I just think that that's the news that I think I'm waiting to hear is what is it exactly that Jankowski's dealing with and what are we looking at, you know, because that's something that I think could impact them.
• 1:01:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um only really in the sense that because Stahl, we already know Stahl isn't coming back anytime soon.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_02: So with Stahl out at least one month, if not two, how long is Jankowski going to be out?
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_02: Does the call-up of Skylar Brindamore point to perhaps this going on a little bit longer than we might have hoped?
• 1:01:41
  SPEAKER_02: So we'll see.
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_02: But um, I do think that they're still capable.
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, they're still they're still chugging along here.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_02: They're not hanging their heads and giving up on on the themselves because they're missing some key players.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_02: They're if anything, they seem more eager.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_02: And the guys that are getting into the lineup, I mean, look at Delorier as our example again.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_02: They're they're making the most of their opportunity to be in the lineup and they're doing the best that they can to help get wins.
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_02: So as long as that's the mindset of the group, um, I don't see any reason why they're gonna fall, you know, significantly out of where they are now.
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um I I hope that that Stancoven line continues to gel because I loved what I saw from them in Vancouver.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_02: And they they do seem to me to be kind of that wild card.
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_02: You know, if if they end up being really, really solid and really, really strong in the goal scoring department, that could be a game changer for the Keynes, you know, regardless of who else is healthy or who else is not.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm excited to see what they have to bring against Edmonton.
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_04: Well, you know, the the thing with Seth Jarvis, we haven't really talked about this, but he's played the last two seasons, injured, basically.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_04: So this will be the first time we see him in a long time where he's actually fully healthy.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_04: And you know, it's gonna affect his game, I think, in a big way.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_04: But one of the things I thought as we just close off, one last point was after all this is done, do you think the canes are gonna be deeper?
• 1:03:06
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, they're playing guys in roles, they're gonna have all of these other players back.
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 1:03:12
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's gonna be so good.
• 1:03:14
  SPEAKER_01: They're gonna be so deep.
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're gonna have and they're gonna have options too.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you don't have to play Jarvis on the top line.
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_01: If you know, if Carrier is still being his bull in the China shop self and opening up scoring for Aho and Svetch, then hey, take your riches in Jarvis and spread the wealth.
• 1:03:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, let I I I'm just I cannot wait for the Bitus tomorrow if he actually does play on a line with Koken Yemi and Martinook.
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, talk about personality on that line.
• 1:03:45
  SPEAKER_01: And that really like KK has gotten, has had some good games.
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that there is a really good chance that between KK's skill set, Martinook's skill set, and then Jarvis's particular elite talent, that that could be a really effective trio.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so you know it just get it's so exciting to know that the Kanees have these options in the bag and that that it is just it's such a luxury to be able to to mix and match and see what kind of magic they're able to produce.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then, you know, if it does go a little stale, just you know, reimagine something new.
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_01: But they they are going to be deep in there, they'll they'll find their groove.
• 1:04:26
  SPEAKER_01: Once the other guys come back, they are going to find a groove and beware to the rest of the NHL if and when that happens, because they are going to be nigh unstoppable.
• 1:04:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I I think that that's one of the things I keep thinking about when I keep seeing the you know, the the tired, retreaded uh trade rumors involving Halibuck, or now these new this new idea.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Dylan Larkin added Carolina to his list, you know, so maybe I mean, I don't know if you if you're Eric Tolski, do you want to disrupt what's going on right now?
• 1:04:54
  SPEAKER_02: This chemistry with this group, the like Katie said, the fact that they're just gonna keep bringing back people and that depth is gonna be incredible.
• 1:05:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um, the chem, the the the the the guys that have been called up to play, knowing that they could get another shot at some point, you know.
• 1:05:07
  SPEAKER_02: I I don't know that I think we're gonna have another really quiet trade deadline unless, you know, barring anything really unforeseen, because you always have to say that, but barring anything really unforeseen.
• 1:05:17
  SPEAKER_02: I don't I don't see the canes being aggressive and handing over the kind of packages that those teams would want because you would be talking about you wouldn't be talking about one or two extra roster players here.
• 1:05:28
  SPEAKER_02: You'd be talking about um the current talent and future potential.
• 1:05:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't see the canes giving that up for players of these ages who are uh disgruntled with their current situations and want out, you know.
• 1:05:43
  SPEAKER_02: At most, I think they're gonna eventually figure out the Nikkeishan situation, but you know, that's that's it.
• 1:05:49
  SPEAKER_04: Well, I was gonna mention we haven't even talked about it, and it's not even news these days, frankly.
• 1:05:55
  SPEAKER_04: Uh that uh nobody really cares about Alexander and Nikitian.
• 1:05:59
  SPEAKER_04: The Keynes are playing just fine.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_04: They've now got a second defenseman they're gonna be rolling in with the Vallamaki.
• 1:06:05
  SPEAKER_04: So honestly, the Nikitian situation is not news.
• 1:06:10
  SPEAKER_01: And how perfect is it if Valamaki really starts to fit and stick with them going to Finland?
• 1:06:20
  SPEAKER_01: Getting to be the third Finn on that trip.
• 1:06:22
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that would be great.
• 1:06:24
  SPEAKER_04: That's a great story.
• 1:06:25
  SPEAKER_04: Well, yeah, lots lots going on with the canes, but certainly a great story.
• 1:06:29
  SPEAKER_04: When they're sitting in first, we can uh sit here and smile despite all the setbacks they've had.
• 1:06:33
  SPEAKER_04: They're sitting in first place.
• 1:06:35
  SPEAKER_04: I just have to think that boy, when they get the walking wounded back, this team is gonna be unbelievable.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_04: So uh yeah, it's another year for a run, ladies.
• 1:06:48
  SPEAKER_04: Anyway, uh great fun talking tonight, as always, and and uh we'll uh we'll be back in a couple weeks and we'll be able to wrap up the West Coast trip and talk a little bit about their first two games back at home.
• 1:06:59
  SPEAKER_04: So it's all good.
• 1:07:00
  SPEAKER_04: Uh before we wrap things up, we want to thank all of you who've been watching and listening.
• 1:07:05
  SPEAKER_04: We really appreciate you making Stormtracker a part of your day.
• 1:07:09
  SPEAKER_04: Uh we always enjoy hearing from you.
• 1:07:11
  SPEAKER_04: So if you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future shows, please leave them in the comment section or send them our way.
• 1:07:18
  SPEAKER_04: We'll do our best to get back to you just as soon as we can.
• 1:07:22
  SPEAKER_04: As always, Garrett, Katie, and I are delighted to spend some time with us today, and we look forward to getting together with you real soon right here.
• 1:07:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us.
• 1:07:33
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow or subscribe and share Storm Tracker with your fellow candidates.
• 1:07:39
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, for everything you need, you need Storm Tracker.