Latest / Brothers In The Box / Episode 36: Knoblauch Fired?!?

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Episode 36: Knoblauch Fired?!? · Brothers In The Box

• Brothers in the Box: Welcome back to another Brothers in the Box episode. I'm Ilias, here with Yishan. And today, we have a pretty exciting episode. Maybe not exciting as last week, kicking off with two guests from out of town. you, Eric and for joining us once again. it ⁓ a packed week, Yishan. was your week? Honestly, I know I've talked about this in last couple episodes. I was in exam season, but now I'm done. You're finally done. Thank you. ⁓ no, it's, I feel like it's a little bit of a big milestone, fully being done high school. I never have to go back to that school ever again. Well, actually you do because you forgot to. Yeah, I to return the book. ⁓ But. But if I'm being honest, I never have to go back first classes or that. No, but you do. Okay. But no, it's definitely ⁓ an interesting Interesting in the sense how? Like, it good or is I feel like it's good and obviously ⁓ it's going be interesting. It's going to be a little bit scary moving on from the typical high school routine of just going to school every day. I'm excited. I'm excited for university and what that has to come. But I'm excited for you. ⁓ appreciate that. ⁓ can't wait for you to experience all the things that you're going to experience and I know you're going to have a good time. Thank you. And we're going continue doing this podcast. Absolutely we are. 100%. So ⁓ news around the league. I mean, maybe not big news, but... I mean, three series done out of four. So fair. Yeah, mean, let's just recap the series so far. Yeah, let's just kick it off with the first series that ended. Flyers Canes. Flyers Canes. Sweet by the Canes. And kind of talked about it at the of last episode because that's when the series ended. Isn't that crazy? That's insane. When did we film? Saturday? Last week? And now it's Saturday this week. And the round is still going on. And it's still, they still haven't started. So they've had over seven days of breaks. Probably around 10 or 11 days when they start playing the winner of Montreal Buffalo, which we'll get into later. But on a bunch of rest for this team. Let's dive into who is the most impactful player on this team. I think it has to be, and Zach did a great job of outlining who the most impactful player is mentioning our player of the week last week in Blake. Yeah. mean- And just absolutely stellar. think from round one round two, we saw how much and how impactful the second line is for Carolina. It really is. And how much Hall, Jackson Blake- and Logan Stankhoven have elevated their game. I'm just his team, I'm just a team in general, yeah, 100 % into making it so that their line takes charge. Like even as a second line. And set the tone for how the game goes for the rest of Like, you have to understand, these players like Taylor Hall, he's a little bit old, he's a little bit of a veteran. was drafted in what, 2011? Something like that. First overall by the Weathers. ⁓ look at ⁓ Blake who's a younger guy. You look at Logan Stankovic who's also a younger guy. These players aren't ⁓ superstars that you go to on a team. You look at Caroline, you think of Ehlers, you think of Seth Jarvis, you think of Sebastian. Nobody thinks of Ehlers except for you. You think of... You think of Aho, think of Gothis Beard, you think of Slavin, you think of all those value players on that team. Who are getting paid. Yeah, absolutely. You don't think of those guys who are on rookie contracts or lower tier contracts. Exactly. ⁓ I feel like in the playoffs, and I've said this multiple times, ⁓ those are the guys we're going to step up and like the Alex Newhooks of the world. Exactly. Like the Jeff Behells of the world. Okay. Those are the guys. No, no, like, let's be so fair right now. Those are the guys who are going to step up and when it matters and when you're in the dirt and when you're at war, those are the guys who are going to peek their heads out of the bunker and they're going to fire. They are. Because they know that it's not just their job online, but they really at the core of their heart they care. mean you look at you look at like March Madness for an example like those younger guys they wanted so much more like the grit and everything that they want in their well-being no matter what they have to sacrifice they'll do anything for that chip. Okay so my side track, little side track for you. Do you think McDavid's still has that fire? I think he does, but this year it just wasn't enough because of the fact that he think Dry Settle still has that I don't think so. And I don't think that's crazy to say. I don't think I think McDavid does. Yeah. I don't think dry saddle does because at least at least not from what I saw this year because you look at you. Okay. You have to understand me. David played the whole season. He played, he played the Olympics. He played the whole season. Dry saddle had a break because he was injured and like obviously a break because you're injured. Like you, have a valid reason to be injured. He was out for the rest of the season. Yeah. But you had a break. had more of a break than McDavid did. And you think you just lost that fire. I don't, I just don't like, I knew we weren't going to win this season after probably game three of that, of that series. But might I remind you, still put the Oilers winning the playoffs in your bracket. I did. No, not after game three, after game one. I just think like, Dry Cheadle didn't have that. and have the motivation. McDavid, I feel like he still does. And I think they'll always be there. But something needs to reunite this team and I feel like something is starting to happen in this team. That started to happen. We'll get into that later. But the least impactful, Eshaan, tell me, who was the least impactful for this Flyers The least impactful player, we call this the ghost award for a reason. It was Mike Riley. sure most of you don't even know who this is. Probably not. there's a reason you don't know who it is because he was a ghost this week. He's a third line defenseman. a lot of players that did well on that team. But, you know, we need to give someone the ghost award and this is the story giving it mean, you don't to take a sweep because your whole team doesn't in, but there is somebody who maybe a little bit of a And I think that was Mike Riley this year. Yeah, he should give me the most impactful player on the losing team Yeah, most impactful player. We've we've said this this name before we've said this name multiple times Yeah, it's it's a it's a surprise every single time I say this but Dan Volador he put his heart and soul out there and I wish he was on the Oilers ⁓ But I know he zero for four. I know this series But he's also going up against a very difficult team. To be honest, he gave Philly a very real shot in winning four of those games. Maybe, definitely two. We talked about how impactful he was in that Pittsburgh series and he's basically the reason that they won. Is he turning into one of those guys? I know... Like a Bobrovsky type vibe? Yeah. Because he went to the playoffs with Calgary, he didn't play because ⁓ was in that. And in that Dallas series, they won. Johnny Goodrell scored the game winning goal. My question is, is Dan Vlidar one of those playoff guys that just like elevates similar to like Sergey Barbovsky? I don't want Dan Vlidar in the Oilers organization. No, no, I don't want to touch him. I don't even want to sniff him. No, no, I understand. But like, I feel like there's a lot of guys that you look at and you think immediately playoff performers. you look at like someone like Alex Newhook. I did not think that this man would. put on the performance he has as a recent. ⁓ absolutely. For the Montreal Canadians. But like there's some players that just elevate their game in the playoffs and somehow find a way to perform at a level that they haven't been performing at their regular season. A hundred percent. ⁓ And very, he very well could be one of those players. You think? But give me who, who is the least impactful player on that losing team? Yeah. So the least impactful player is unfortunately going to be Matt Vape Mitchcock again. Yeah, like he just thinks that Again, he was the Ghost Award last series and now he's, I don't know what you want to call this award, but maybe like the Disappointment Award? Yeah. feel like- Not enough award? Yeah, not enough award. But yeah, he just hasn't done enough to show me that. He's that guy. hasn't. I think that the Flyers organization has to be a little patient with him. It is only his second season. But at the end of the day, I'm disappointed that he didn't have the impact that maybe I would have wanted him to have. No, I Because I think he is a very good star player. He has a lot of skill. shown a lot of promise in the two seasons that he's played. No. for sure. And maybe it's the type of game they're playing under Rick Tauket. Yeah. And maybe that doesn't really fit his play style. But something needs to change for him in order for him to excel, especially moving forward with the Flyers and if not with another team, say he gets moved in the offseason. Yeah. But we will. keep an eye on him. don't think he'll get moved. think the Flyers will be patient with him to an extent maybe a couple years. Yeah, because he does have a lot of value in a young player like that. He's shown his ability to score goals. He's shown his ability to play make. There's a lot of value there, something needs to be unlocked. And it could be like a little bit of a B'ra'dar type thing where he doesn't unlock his full potential until like two, three seasons in. Yeah, I don't think Bernard has even gotten to his potential. So we'll see what happens there, but I'm sure he'll keep drawing. Sean, let's move on to ⁓ v Minnesota. Yeah, excellent series. This was very surprising. I honestly thought this would go six or seven games and... Only five. It was done in five. And I think this speaks to how disruptive... and how impactful Colorado has been. mean, I mean, honestly, how surgical. Yeah. I mean, Colorado's led by man and has been led by one man in multiple times. Didn't lead the Canadian team to the gold medal. ⁓ Nathan McKinnon, yeah, he's going to. Wow. Have you, have you done your job as a Colorado avalanche and leading this team to the Western Conference final? He wants another one. feel like Okay, argue me this or not, but the fact that he didn't get his gold medal, I think has ignited a flame in him. Yeah, I've seen ⁓ multiple clips of him. You understand that a of people, even especially him, the amount of guilt you probably feel on missing that empty net is insane. And blame you. No, I absolutely he's what he's basically the reason that we lost that gold medal. No, no, no, he's not basically the reason he is. He's the reason we don't have a gold medal and we have silver instead. Yeah, no, but it's it's definitely ignited something in him and he's he's definitely playing. He's on a mission. Out of his mind, out of his mind. Yeah, he he played an excellent series. He led the team by example. Elevated from the first series that he played against the Kings. He wasn't really I mean, you know, I didn't need to be against the Kings you know, he got a couple I've nuts against the Kings, but this series he definitely took charge And made up for a least impactful player Mackenzie Blackwood because he was absolutely atrocious he played he played one game and just was absolutely Horrible. Yeah, they pulled him what after game? They brought him in for game four or five. I think game five. Game five, right? Cause Wedgwood won three straight. And then lost game four. Pretty convincingly. And then they were like, Oh, let's bring in Mackenzie Blackwood. Big mistake. led in the first three shots, four shots. But he stayed the rest of the game and he finished out the game. Who? Mackenzie Blackwood. No, he didn't. He didn't. He got pulled. Oh, okay. They pulled him and they put Wedgwood in. and Wedgwood ended up finishing the game clinching the series with shout out Brett Kulak for finishing the series because legend! But I wish you were still here. No, he... Yeah, Mackenzie Blackwood was really disappointing. think if they go to Blackwood again, it's an atrocious mistake. like you always got to go back to Wedgwood. You got to ride Wedgwood this season. And that's crazy. You think about riding the backup. Compared to last season, but I think it's more of a 1A, 1B situation. No, no, definitely. And Wedgwood has definitely played more games this season considering Blackwood's injury at the beginning of the year and then... his shakiness throughout the season. definitely stick with Wedgwood. But our most impactful player on the losing team was Quinn Hughes. moving on from Vancouver, coming over to Minnesota, I feel like he's not like stepped up his game, but he just fully conformed into the team that he's playing with. he's playing that style of game that likes to play. Honestly, I didn't expect... Minnesota is a very heavy team. They have Matt Boldy, have Kaprizov, they have Ericsson X. They have a bunch of players. believe you just put Boldy and the pre-s off with Eric Sinek. Eric Sinek is a great center. Yeah, but he's not at that level. No, no, no. I understand, but he's great face off taker. He's a great first line center. But like you look at those players and you think, obviously like looking on like the power play, looking on like those first and second lines, there's a lot of puck hogging-esque going on in those teams. Quinn uses one of those guys who will haul the puck for as long as possible and get it to the right guy to score. But is that because he's played in a system where he's had to? Or is it because of the fact that I feel like has that confidence in himself and he's brought that over to Minnesota. And that's why players like Kaprizov have maybe slowed down a little bit but have still kept that goal scoring pace. Kaprizov was... a little disappointing in this series. Yeah. I mean, he had a couple of goals here and there, but for a player that's going to be getting paid what? 17 million next year. that's, that's insane. Um, but no, Hughes did his job. He did his job as, uh, probably one of the best offensive defensemen in the league. Um, but yeah, nothing, nothing more to say to there. And then our least impactful player was Jared Spurgeon. Just enough. Zero goals, zero 19 minutes time on ice, average time on ice. Just I didn't see enough impact from him. No, ⁓ I agree. think And he's their captain, am I right? He is. He is. I feel like, as a captain, like... There's some captains that lead by example. There's some captains that lead in the locker room and obviously we can't see everything that's happening in the locker room. I'm sure he did his part in the locker room. But just on the ice it just wasn't enough. wasn't enough. it may be a little bit of a reason of why they lost, but you who knows. It was, I think Colorado was just better than them. Colorado's a dominant team and they're going to be scary going into the finals. Unfortunately, Colorado is going to Actually, fortunately or unfortunately, depends on how you see it, Colorado is going to rinse the next team four or five. But ⁓ final series that is done is the Ducks ⁓ series. And unfortunately, ⁓ Vegas Golden Knights have advanced in five games. I let me fact check that. think it was five games. No, it might've been six. Was it six? It was six. ⁓ was six. we want to shout out, Eric. Someone that was on last last week. ⁓ sorry. Sorry. What did he say? He said, ⁓ said games five to seven. No, four. five to seven. Yes. Five to seven. Mitch. Where's Mitch Marner. Mitch Marner was the reason they won this series. He was. Absolutely. And especially in Game 6. One million percent. If they didn't have Mitch Marner, it's a very different series. If you, if you, please, as viewers, go back and watch the first goal of Game 6 and Mitch Marner's absolutely disgusting between the legs. I think that's one of the greatest goals I've ever seen in my life. No, no. please, as viewers, go back and watch the first goal of Game 6 and Mitch Marner's absolutely disgusting between the legs. I think that's one of the greatest goals I've ever seen in my life. No, I don't understand how he made that space. his whole career. I think that's one of the most disgusting goals of every single life. It's absolutely nasty how he did that with a defender on him and Dostal in the middle of the net. I don't understand how he made that space. his whole career. I think that's one of the most disgusting goals of every single life. It's absolutely nasty how he did that with a defender on him and Dostal in the middle of the net. But Eric... you talked a big game about him playing Ducks and Utah. We'll see how he plays against the Avs. I think... I have a very good feeling that Vegas will rinsed. by the Avs. But still Mitch Marner has had a very classy playoffs, has reached the conference final stage for the first time in his career. Could never do it the Leafs, but did it for the first time in his first season with the Golden I hope he does put up a good fight against the I do agree because 7 games would be nice. That would be. But our least impactful player, you want to? Yeah, we're going to hit you with a key in Kolesar. less hit production than he had in round one. His numbers went down. Wasn't too crazy. I know his minutes went down a little bit, but just not we wanted to see from a guy of his caliber, especially in terms of physicality and giving Anaheim a bit of more of a a little bit rough going. Yeah, you think of Kola star like a gritty guy, know, he's like a, he's like a Colton doc, if you will, for the oilers where maybe a little more experience, maybe a little, no, definitely more experience. he's a hitting guy, know, he'll, ⁓ get the boards you need to and try and, ⁓ dish out the puck sometimes, take a fight every now and then. Absolutely. But, Yeah, I just don't think it was ⁓ where we needed him to be and that's why he's our least impactful player. Yeah, but our most impactful player on the losing team. was one of the candidates, Bennett Seneke, went on absolute terror. He did. He did. In the Vegas series. He was kind of cold in the Edmonton series. Didn't really have anything going for him and then exploded in the last four games. Yeah, I think he had a goal every single game ⁓ for the last game. So, a very impactful series. was really good on the power play, showed why he was a Calder finalist. And I think this kid has a very bright future in the league. No, definitely. Especially on this Doc's team that's growing up, learning a little bit more about their identity, learning with Quinville a little bit more, and just kind of forming into the team that they're going to be. Yeah, no, for sure. Our least impactful player, of the losing team. It's kind of like a double, double player here. We have Leo Carlson and Dostalan. Obviously, having Leo there is a little bit of ⁓ maybe a to some of the viewers, but looking, looking on Edmonton series, he didn't do what he did in that, in that series and what he did against Vegas. think that Vegas and ⁓ Tortorella did a good job of making sure that they made the people around Carlson work and they really silenced Carlson and made sure that there's always pressure on him and he was getting hit and there's always somebody shadowing him. And when he did get those opportunities to try and score, he didn't capitalize on them. didn't, yeah. It's something that probably... Huge pops to Carter Hart, but also like, you you're to, you're going to finish one those, when you get those opportunities and he just, he wasn't able to do that in this year. And then our second part or do style, think again, disappointing series. had him ⁓ least impactful player from last series with the oilers, but just, if you look at his, his from what he played with. I Czechia, to when he played with the Ducks in a similar situation where you have do or die games. Everything's on the line. He played much better for his country. Yeah, mean, obviously- Maybe there's something psychologically for him. No, but also there's a little bit of the aspect of for those games, there was only one game. And for this, it's going to five, six games. for both series, but getting pulled is never good enough. As a starting goaltender on a team where you're going to the Olympics for your country and then you're coming back and going to the playoffs for your team as a starting goaltender, you can't be putting in Ville Huso to bail you out. That's a very big part of why they lost this series. Yeah, and as unfortunate as it is because I really like those styles of goaltenders. I do as well. He is very sound positionally but maybe it's something he's got to work on psychologically ⁓ into the right mindset for for hopping into a long series but I we'll see next season. No for sure. because now they're they're not in there. So currently for Yishan and little wager told you Vegas would win. wins this game seven only the real shot because currently Ishan has Buffalo and I have Montreal and today we learned that Buffalo will push to a game seven. Best two words in sports. Yeah, I mean, know, like, was it 8-3? Like a big, a big, I mean, what, two empty netters? Two empty nets. We'll, we'll, Or three empty nets, I think. We'll, we'll fact check that. But, big game from them. I think they obviously needed to close it out. It was kind of the exact opposite of game five. Yeah. Uh, two empty nets, two empty It was, was six, three, and then they pulled with seven minutes left at, uh, 548. Paige Thompson gets the empty netter. And then. ⁓ this was actually a clean goal. It wasn't an empty netter. They in a ⁓ Fowler. think you go back to Dobesh for game seven. I agree. I he's proven himself to be a valuable player in those games. think it's going to be Dobesh versus Ukopeke Lokanen. Okay. I would agree with you because of ⁓ how he played Lion's performance went 0 for 3 today. I'm not speaking ⁓ bias here, but I just don't think that Uka Pekalukenin will be able to do enough. I think... To fend off. And Buffalo has been very poor at home, this and so... ⁓ When I say that I think they're gonna lose yes, there's a little bit of bias coming in from the fact that I want a numero 7 on sync Jersey Kirby doc, but I Also also from the fact that I've seen what's happened when they've played away and what they played at home and I think that for Montreal They face more pressure when they play at home They definitely do. ⁓ And that's what's led them to conceding the first goal in what today was like 37 seconds? like that? crazy like that? Buffalo obviously has that ability where they've played a little bit better away. They have less stress going into those Less pressure on them from the home fans. haven't been to the playoffs in what? 17 years. Yeah. Like you have to understand like all those, all those fans in that, in that game seven are going to want them to win. And there's a lot of pressure on them and that may lead them to losing. But I, I trust, players like Rasmus Dalin who performed today. I trust players like Tage Thompson. I trust a player like Alex Tuck who didn't perform today. You know what I trust? zero points. I trust a player like Alex Newhawk to bank it off Wookapec Alokanen's back right into the net. It's definitely gonna be a good game, I can guarantee you that. If we're being completely honest, whoever goes and advances is gonna get bounced in 4 or 5 by Carolina. Because of how much rest they've had. I think it will definitely be a good game and I'm excited to watch. I'm very excited. The game takes place when? I believe Monday night, Monday night? I feel like that makes the most sense. Monday night at 4.30? Monday night at 4.30. So we will definitely be tuning in and we will recap that next game on the next episode. But some news around the league, Yushan. Tell me. So... Big a big coach who has left Vegas torque came in Bruce Cassidy is out his three locations are the Oilers Leafs and Kings. Those are the main Teams looking for a coach right now. Yeah because Berube got fired. Yes, Nalblok got fired. Mm-hmm. Don't know if the king I don't even know the keys, but he's definitely not good enough. don't think he's gonna um I have been hearing lots of talk about Jay Woodcroft going to the Kings. Which would make sense because Ken Holland is there. some familiar management. I think Jay Woodcroft going there makes sense. I love it because they don't take Bruce Cassidy. Also, their team is going to be horrible. Yeah. But Bruce Cassidy's number one team currently is the According to Elliott Friedman. Yeah. Is the Oilers? And because Knoblock has gone fired, it's more than, I'm more than happy for him to come to the Oilers. And here's a theory I've been hearing. I don't the Oilers management were set on firing Knoblock. ⁓ I see. were going to see if they could get Bruce Cassidy in. And if they then they would keep Knoblock. But if they could, they would fire him. So does that mean... because the news got leaked that they were trying to get in contact with Cassidy, they had to fire NaBlock because it's it's kind of awkward, No, no, I feel like it's very... ⁓ I... I'm looking for your replacement, but you're coaching right now. Yeah. No, no, Nalbork's built a little bit of a reputation for himself around the league, going to back-to-back finals. then, ⁓ beginning bounce in the first round is obviously not a good thing. But he's a very good coach. He is. So I wonder if he's able to make that adjustment. And honestly, I wish him the best. I think he's a very good coach. Do you think it's crazy? Okay, say in a crazy world that neither the Oilers or Leafs land Do you it's crazy to say that Nau Block goes to Toronto and Borubei comes here. I I don't like Borubei as much for our system. I don't like it either, but like I think it would be an interesting situation. But if I'm being completely honest, I don't think that would Okay. Yeah. I don't think we'd find a different coach. I don't know who, but it's not going to be Naluk or Borubei. Okay. Yeah. On other news, Matthew Schaefer, first our first winner for our major awards. mean, we, Eric, again, you took another L and you're wrong. I mean, we, we all expected it. scoring the amount of points that it is a defenseman leading his team to where he is. impact he had on the He fully reignited that organization as a whole. 100 % unanimous MVP. It's only been done a few other times. Matthew Schaefer. To name the last one, Victor Wenmenyama in the NBA. That was the last unanimous MVP. Sorry, not MVP, but unanimous Work of the Year. Yeah, to Matthew Schaeffer. Yeah, I he definitely deserves to give him his flowers. But yeah, I can't wait to see what he does in the rest of Yeah, and I can't wait to see what happens when the Islanders get a little bit of help. Yeah, for sure. gonna be a scary franchise. are. Another hot topic in the league right now, Vegas had to forfeit their second round pick. Yeah, so after the Golden Knights beat the Ducks in game six, Tortorella refused to talk to the media. Yeah. And for this behavior, he got fined a hundred thousand dollars Vegas lost their second overall or second, sorry, not second overall, but second round pick. It's definitely, it's definitely a big, ⁓ big loss. Yeah, definitely a big loss. think a little harsh in my opinion, but think the league in doing this is kind of setting ⁓ the Like setting a standard. Exactly. For, for what they kind of want. from their teams and from their organizations the fact that nobody safe, if that makes sense. No, no, I feel like that completely makes sense. It's just like everybody's got to participate in their assigned duties and everybody's got to do the things that they got to do. You know I mean? Yeah. So to me, Kind of fire that the league did that. Yeah. Especially because it's Vegas. Yeah, especially because it's Vegas. 100%. Yeah. But it's definitely interesting. It's definitely interesting. So we're going to head into a little guess the player. We got two players. So Yishan, do you want to hit me first? I absolutely can. It's a playoff edition guess the player. So play along with us. If you got the knowledge. If you don't, then you can just listen along. But you should hit me with the first player. Okay. This player was drafted in 2010. Wow. They were to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Currently played for? Currently played for the Buffalo Sabres. Okay. They were the fifth round pick. sorry, sorry. Fifth round, 144th pick. Okay, that doesn't really help. Yeah. Last year they played 60 games, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points. Okay, I know this might be far left field, but I don't really have another thought. I'm gonna go Sammy Carrick. Are you sure? Yeah. That is correct. Wow! That was an absolute snipe. I'm not even gonna lie, had no idea where I was going. I didn't want to give it too hard, for those of you who don't know, Sam Carrick. played for the New York Rangers and before that he played for the Edmonton Oilers. for a half season. Not even a half season, a quarter season. We do know who he is and I didn't want to give you a little bit of a free one. That was a little bit of an easier one. I'm going to show my player. He was signed to San Jose in 2019. 2019? He plays for the Anaheim Ducks. And his 2024-25 stats were five games played, zero assists, zero goals. Somebody cooked me. goals, zero assists, ⁓ points, five games played. So, so what do you think, Adeshawn? I Anaheim Ducks? That could be literally anyone. Could be literally anyone. In 2019. was signed in 2019, yes. And he currently plays for the Ducks. He currently plays for the Ducks. And his last season stats were also on the Ducks. possibly. Possibly. Possibly. But ⁓ only played five games and he had zero points. So definitely a younger-ish guy. You look at ⁓ guys like McTavish. ⁓ Everyone on team is young except for older guys. It's true. It's definitely a It's a difficult one. I'm not gonna lie. It's very difficult one. last season. feel like last time out I was too nice to you. Yeah and there's obviously players like Ian Moore ⁓ who are this year, Bennett Sennke who are rookies this year who wouldn't have five games last So that's who I originally think of ⁓ and I would to go for that but ⁓ it's not going be them. I look at like Carlson, Cutter, ⁓ Cutter Gautier. And that's not either. you're thinking of. I will ask you one question. Is it a defenseman or a forward? I believe he is a forward. You believe. believe. That makes my life so much harder. Okay, we can eliminate players like ⁓ Zellweger, Lecombe, ⁓ all younger guys. They're defensemen. ⁓ I no idea who it is. give me a guess then. I feel like, know, there's been... There's been talks about 2019. 2019, yeah. There's no way Sennke was even in the league in 2019. As much as I want to guess him. As much as I want to guess him. And I feel like it would be crazy to guess Mason McTavish. Because you said he was unsigned. He was unsigned. He was signed to San Jose in 2019. And I know it's not Cutter because Cutter was drafted from Philly. Yeah, you gotta give me a guess now, buddy. It's getting a little long here. I'm going Mason McTavish. It is not Mason McTavish. Is it Carlson? It was Jeff Vielle. In 2019? Yeah. This guy is so old! No way. So you completely... I give you a nice one. I give you a past Oilers player and you give me Jeff Vielle. whole we talked about him this episode he looks like an alien that's 40 I'm sorry I'm sorry Jeff Yell but buddy like you you look like you're 50 years old playing in the league he finished his rookie or he finished his junior year his junior campaign in 2019 so how old is he now do you know Jeff Yell Is currently don't take guess 45 No, no, no. Okay. Let's be honest 30 36 29 I'm sorry. You aged poorly you age so like you know, like fine wine ages nicely You're the exact opposite of that buddy like honestly, like I'm sorry to diss you like this but like holy like there's there's like 29 is not it's not doing you justice. Yeah, so uh I mean, it is what it is, yeah. right. Hit me with your next player. I don't think I went that hard on you, but, okay. This player was drafted in 2007 by the St. Louis blues. Okay. Um, he was a first round pick and Oh, his first rounder, 18 pick. Um, last year he played 2007. Okay. He played 82 games, one goal, 18 or 16 assists. For a total of 17 points, he plays on the Utah Math Myth. Hmm. you tell me his season stats again? One goal, 16 assists. He's defenseman. Is he? Yes, he's a defenseman. So I'm thinking right now, Mackenzie Weger. I like... McKenzie be your only one goal? I don't know, that's the problem. That's the problem. I'm also thinking Naechmin. Naechmin. Hmm. You don't think he was drafted by Florida? I'm also thinking ⁓ Sergechev. Mikhail. One of my ⁓ ⁓ don't think he'd have more points? He could ⁓ been drafted by... by Tampa. I feel like that would make the most sense, That's only thing. Yeah. I'm gonna... Because you took so long in the last one, I'm gonna hit you with a really quick response. Yeah. It's not Sean Dursey either, because Sean Dursey's too young. I'm gonna go Ian Cole. Is that your final That's my final answer. That is correct? Yeah! That is correct. Ian Cole. for two! Yes I okay. I give you two sleeper agents for the end of the northerners. like I forgot about Ian Cole for a second there. Yeah, I totally forgot about him. It's a fair poll. It's a fair poll. Yeah, I mean... I mean, there's no point in me doing the next one, but you you can go ahead and give it to me. Okay. It's fine, I'm okay to get cooked for this one. This next guy, he was drafted to the Hurricanes. Carolina. Round three, pick 69. in 2020. His 2024-25 stats were four games played, zero goals, and one assist. Four games played? Okay, what team does he play for now? He currently plays for the Carolina Hurricanes. So he's drafted, so Jackson Blake. No, last year. He was drafted in 2020. Yeah, Holy like the difference. Okay, I'm sorry, but please in the comments, in whatever you can state your opinion in this, please talk about the disparity and difficulty between both of these. We ⁓ look at like Jackson Blake, Svechnikov. don't know what year Svechnikov was drafted. don't think it was 20- I mean six years ago makes kind of sense for Svechnikov. It does, right? But last year did not have zero points and he did not play- how many games? Four. Yeah, there's no way. That's insane! You gave ⁓ a four game one and a five game one. That's like absurd. I to make it hard for you. I look and I'm proud of myself for the Ian Coppola. Because I always not think of him originally. I'm glad you are. Is it a forward or defense? I'm guessing it's a defense. It might be a forward. okay, you gave me Jeffy L. Can you please give me the position? Okay. It's a forward. That makes it so much worse. He plays in the Carolina currently. Forward. Or a defenseman. No, it's a forward. You said it was a forward. Or a defenseman. I trust at least that it's a... it a forward or defenseman? Give it to me straight. It's a forward or defenseman. Okay. Is it our least impactful player Mike Riley? Who knows? You tell me, give me a guess. You have 10 seconds. Sorry, could you give me the year again? 2020? And he was drafted to the Hurricanes? And last year's season stats were five games Four games played, zero goals, one assist. That's probably gonna be someone that I know too much about. And this is five games played on the Carolina Hurricanes? was. Was it his five games played in total? Four games played in total. Four games played in total. Also those four games are played in the playoffs. He didn't play a single regular season game with them. So he played all four games in the playoffs. You told me forward and just, there's no one else that comes to mind. Nyshyshkin. it is alexander no no way okay first of all told me forward you told me defense you told me forward that's insane that's insane i or defenseman no no no that is unforgivable that is unfree no honestly i think i deserve the win there like you you told me you told me forward you told me straight up forward i said forward or no no no there was a very big gap between defensemen no no i think i think Honestly, that's a tie. That's a tie if anything. That's a fire pole. That's insane. did not. Honestly, there was no thought in my mind. Our honorable mention this week was Alan Zander-Nuhoek. Five goals, one assist in four games played. This guy's been absolutely electric. ⁓ has been. I think he'll be great in game seven again. Yeah, we'll see about that. Yixuan will love his greasy goals. ⁓ Scores I'm gonna I'm gonna love I'm gonna love every single goal that Buffalo scores. No, cuz they're absolutely Electric is winning. He shouldn't give us our player of the week our player of the week the guy that Single-handedly. No, actually, no, no not single handling. yeah the hell of Mitch Marder ⁓ but A guy was a very impactful player scored the game winning goal for Vegas in that ⁓ game six Pavel Dorfee Five goals one assist in four games played He's been absolutely amazing for that team and I'm sure he'll continue to be in the Western Commons final. Guys, we'll see you next week. We hope you enjoy game seven and the start of the Vegas Avalanche series and then all the NBA has to offer because OKC, Shea is looking go back to back. Who knows if he will? We'll see you guys when Buffalo wins game seven. Absolutely not. We will see you guys next week. Have a good one.