Latest / Predators Official Podcast / Home Swede Home & Jordin Tootoo's Homecoming

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Home Swede Home & Jordin Tootoo's Homecoming · Predators Official Podcast

0:00
You know, when people ask, you know what, what, what was your
0:03
favorite city to play? And then I, I mean, how could,
0:07
how could I not say Nashville, you know, because when I was
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there, you know, the first five years, the fans wanted
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entertainment and I gave it to them, you know, and, and I
0:21
enjoyed it. And don't get me wrong, it was,
0:24
it was a hell of a ride, but at the same time, it, it also
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allowed us players to, to get out in the community and to, to
0:33
be a face for the Predators. And you know, like, like I said
0:37
before, back then Nashville was a pretty tight knit community.
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And you know, after my years of moving on, every time I'd come
0:45
back to Nashville to play the Preds, there was a new building
0:48
going up. And now I don't even recognize
0:51
being downtown. But like I talk about people
0:54
evolve. And the state of Nashville has
0:56
just evolved into, you know, a sports city.
1:05
Welcome to the predators official podcast here on
1:07
Nashville Predators YouTube, ESPN 102.5 the game at
1:11
nashvillepredators.com. My name is Max hers from preds
1:15
radio, joined by Kara hammer from preds TV and brooks Bratton
1:19
from nashvillepredators.com. The preds are back from Sweden
1:23
and ready for a big Saturday night in smashville this
1:25
weekend. We'll get you ready for the game
1:27
against the Avalanche, which is our first hockey Fights Cancer
1:30
night of the season. And also Preds alumnus and all
1:34
time fan favorite Jordan Tutu will join the podcast before the
1:38
screening of his new documentary at Bridgestone Arena on
1:42
Saturday. Go to nashvillepredators.com if
1:44
you are interested in attending that.
1:47
The boys are back from Sweden and Brooks Bratton was in Sweden
1:50
with the Preds. Brooksy, that was a trip.
1:54
It was great. It's good to be home, but what a
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time. I mean, obviously it would have
1:59
been sweet to get two wins on the ice.
2:02
The Preds only got 1, but what an amazing experience.
2:06
I, I, I think one of the biggest things that stands out for me is
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just how welcoming the people were, how excited everybody was
2:14
to have us there. You know, I think I mentioned on
2:18
the radio with U Max on Friday before the game, just what a
2:21
buzz there was in Stockholm. It, it felt like a playoff game.
2:26
It felt like a special event. It was everything that you would
2:29
want it to be in that regard. And it was so cool to see people
2:35
in Sweden who live in Sweden or live elsewhere in Europe just
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wear their Nashville Predators jersey to the game.
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I mean, I know that, you know, obviously we have players from
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all around the world and people become fans of different teams,
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but it still just wasn't something that I really expected
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to walk into the building and see little kids walking around
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in Philip Forsberg jerseys. But there it was and it was.
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That was so amazing to see. And yeah, just nothing but good
3:02
things to say about Sweden. I mean, the meatballs were
3:04
fantastic, the FICA in the afternoon, the coffee and pastry
3:08
breaks were awesome. And.
3:10
And what a great experience it was, Max.
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This is the one time Brooks we will let you talk about your
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food here on the PNK because it is hockey related and very cool.
3:21
So live it up. You have my green light buddy.
3:25
So thank you, and if you would like, I would love to share.
3:29
I would love to share one last meatball update because I asked
3:31
a couple of the guys in the locker room after Wednesday's
3:34
practice. I first said to Nick Purbix,
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because one of the big things when the team first got there
3:40
was they went out for a big Swedish meal.
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Philip Forsberg, Adam Willsby leading the charge, showing guys
3:46
what to eat, how to eat it. And so we talked a lot about the
3:49
meatballs and the toscagon with the shrimp on the toast and it's
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all really great. And so I asked Dick Pervix in
3:56
the room on Wednesday what was the final meatball count.
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And he was like, I don't know, but I'm not eating meatballs for
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a long time because on the way home, one of the one of the
4:04
meals OPS. So we played Sunday afternoon,
4:07
Sweden time. We then immediately went to the
4:09
airport and flew home. So one of the meals on the plane
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was Swedish meatballs. And I was going back and forth
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like, am I really gonna do it again?
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And I did. I had Swedish meatballs one more
4:20
time on the plane. Nick Purbeck did not have them
4:22
on the plane. He's like, I'm done.
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I don't want to see a meatball. I then asked Tyson Jost, he did
4:27
have the meatballs on the plane. And he said when he was at
4:30
Costco the other day, they were giving out samples of Swedish
4:32
meatballs. And he thought to himself, I'm
4:36
not really gonna have a Swedish meatball again, am I?
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And he's then he's like, Nah, who am I kidding?
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Yes, I am. And he said they were pretty
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good. So if you get a craving for
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Swedish meatballs, apparently Costco has them.
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But yeah, what a what a great experience with the food and the
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culture and the people and the hockey, too.
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I mean, I want to mention obviously, a dramatic 2.
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One win on Friday, A4, nothing loss on Sunday.
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Friday's game took almost 59 minutes.
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But who else but Philip Forsberg tying the game?
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Stephen Stamkosten wins it in overtime.
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Sunday didn't go Nashville's way, but it really was an
5:07
amazing trip. And I wanted to play this clip
5:09
of Philip Forsberg after Sunday's game, kind of
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encapsulating what it meant to him to play what he called the
5:17
two best regular season games he's ever played in his career
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in his home country. No, it's, it's been
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unbelievable. You know, it's been, it's been
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so much fun. I've had both set of
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grandparents here. I've had watch watch at home.
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I've had yeah, family that, you know, you only see a week, a
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week or two in the summer that have been watching their first
5:35
NHL games. Obviously we beat more meatballs
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than anyone in this team has ever, ever thought they would
5:40
eat, probably. And I don't think we'll see
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another meatball for a while. But it's been unbelievable.
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I think it's been speaking for for me, for for Willie.
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I'm sure he feels the same way. And yeah, obviously it would
5:49
have been even sweeter to have another win on on the on the
5:52
plane with his home. But overall, it's been a great,
5:54
great week. Top moment.
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It's obviously, I mean the the winner, the tire from last game,
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those are those are hard to beat.
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But there's been a lot of we've had a lot of fun, you know, off
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off the ice as well. And yeah, seeing the the kids at
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Children's Hospital was really special as well.
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O'Reilly came and played playing the guitar for him.
6:14
There was was yeah, there's been a lot of really good stuff.
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Not not even to mention that family time they're going to
6:18
have as well. Obviously not the will you want,
6:21
but how important is it that the NHL keeps coming back to Sweden
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and playing these games? I think it's huge.
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And obviously, just speaking from my own experience, it's the
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most fun regular season games I've ever played in my life.
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And being able to give back, you know, see the like St. kids
6:34
yesterday after practice, all that stuff is not possible
6:36
without us coming back. And I am, yeah, I'm very
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thankful for that. So there's Philip Forsberg and
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guys you can just imagine, like he and Adam Willsby were such
6:44
amazing ambassadors this past week.
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I think one of the cooler moments was on Saturday, there
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was an open practice at Avicii Arena for fans of all ages to
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attend. And as the guys came from
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underneath the stands from the locker room and kind of walked
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out, it was a very large vestibule, vestibule to walk
7:07
out, large opening to walk out to the ice.
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And it was surrounded by kids on either side.
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And you know, they might know sure, like they they know
7:14
Stephen Stamkos, they might know that it's Juicy Soros.
7:17
But as soon as Phil walked out, every single kid waiting for an
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autograph, Phillip, Phillip, Phillip and even Willsby, Adam
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Willsby, they all knew Willsby, Willsby, Willsby.
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And so that was really cool just to see those guys get that
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chance 'cause like we talked about with Phil when I
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interviewed him before we went, it's like, you know, we're
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American, we grow up with the NHL.
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This is not something that's crazy new to us.
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For kids growing up in Sweden, who's to say that they'll ever
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get to see an NHL player in person?
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So to be able to do that for those guys, and you heard Phil
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mention it, the importance of of not only doing these games as
7:55
they are already, but continuing to do them in places like
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Sweden, it only helps grow the game.
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And even though, you know, these weren't Stanley Cup playoff
8:04
games, this might not have been the best hockey that anybody has
8:06
ever seen in their life. But for these fans to see on the
8:09
Pittsburgh side, guys like Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin
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and Philip Forsberg and UC Soros and and players of that
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magnitude was really something special for people.
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So, so many great things to, to mention and I, you know, I've,
8:24
I've got a list of things here. I don't want to keep going on
8:26
and on. But I did want to mention as
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well, I got to go to a Children's Hospital with Philip
8:33
Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly. And you know, Phil and factor
8:38
were amazing with the kids. Phil was playing an NHL video
8:41
game which as himself on the Preds, which is kind of crazy to
8:45
to think, but it was enjoying that and they were playing ping
8:48
pong. And then Ryan O'Reilly, who we
8:50
know is a pretty darn good musician in his own right, went
8:54
into this storage room and came out with a six string and
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proceeded to give a little impromptu concert for two or
9:02
three young patients in the hospital wing there.
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And that was that was really sweet to not only see him play
9:08
the guitar, but the way he was interacting with the kids.
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I'm like, clearly this guy has four kids of his own.
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He knows what he's doing. But that was just another moment
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where obviously it's a tough situation for any child to to be
9:21
dealing with an illness and to be in the hospital.
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But to have a couple of guys again, that you maybe never
9:27
expect that you're going to see anybody like that in person in
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Sweden. And so that was really sweet,
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just how excited everybody was. There was one woman getting on
9:36
an elevator as we were leaving. She was going up to see a family
9:38
member and she recognized the guys and all she wanted to do
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was just say hi and that she was going to be the big hero because
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she met them. And factor, without even missing
9:49
a beat, said, well, can we record a message for him on your
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phone? And instantly he and Phil do
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that. And it's just little things like
9:56
that that makes such a difference in moments of that
10:00
nature. So that was amazing.
10:02
And then Phil, meeting a bunch of youth players from his
10:05
hometown in Lex and, and through the NHLPA Goals and Dreams
10:09
program, donated $15,000 worth of hockey equipment to help boys
10:15
and girls in his hometown be able to play.
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It was just really amazing. And again, I, I think everything
10:20
that you could have possibly hoped from a standpoint of
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experiencing something like this, being in another country
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and, and showing off your team and your organization, it, it
10:31
was just amazing. I'm so grateful for the
10:34
opportunity to have been able to go.
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And I know the guys were as well.
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So it was, it was really a pleasure to to be over there and
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bring a little bit of Smashville and Stockholm and something I'll
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never forget, that's for sure. Yeah, Brooke, Speaking of it, it
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being like a little bit of Smashville over there.
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We know that Paul went, Paul McCann, the PA announcer.
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We also had Wayne D in the house in Stockholm.
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So having those two voices just over there, I mean, did it feel
11:00
almost like you were in a home game because of the familiarity
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of what you get inside of Smashville at Bridgestone Arena?
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No, it definitely did. Yeah, that that was a cool
11:08
unique element, as you said, Kara Paul on the public address
11:11
announcement. And, you know, there were there
11:14
were a good amount of Preds fans there.
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And, you know, when they thanked him after the one minute period
11:20
announcement, I think a lot of other people were like, what is
11:22
going on here? That was a fun little element.
11:25
And then, yeah, Wayne D and, and interacting with Nash and
11:29
Iceberg, the Penguins mascot, and just being in the arena.
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Yeah, it definitely had a little bit of a Smashville feel.
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And there were hundreds of fans from Nashville that went over as
11:40
well as part of the Predators fan trip.
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They had taken over pretty much an entire corner of the lower
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bowl was just full of Preds fans.
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So that was really cool to see. And, and then again, I just the,
11:53
the people who lived there, who, they woke up in Stockholm and
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they went and grabbed their, their predators jersey and got
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in their car and drove to the game.
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I I just found that to be such a such a fun little element of,
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you know, you live 4000 miles away from Nashville, but yet
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you're still a fan, you're still following the team.
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And yeah, there were a little bit of a hometown flavor there,
12:15
that was for sure. And that was that was really
12:17
cool to see. Can we talk about one of the
12:20
coolest stories that I think coming out of the games were in
12:24
this highlights being a fan, being an NHL player.
12:27
But the story of Matthew Wood getting to me of Guinea Malkin
12:32
and him saying that he wears #71 because of Malkin.
12:38
What, what does that say about how how young this player is?
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I mean, he's a rookie. He's come in, he's been
12:44
highlighted. We keep talking about about him
12:46
on the podcast because he's been scoring goals, right?
12:50
And to go out and to be on the same ice in a different country
12:55
in a global game, playing against the player you wanted to
12:58
be like. Well, it's always funny to me,
13:01
like when guys get drafted now, obviously they're, yes, they're
13:04
teenagers and they're younger and they're going to have
13:06
different perspectives on things, but it still makes me
13:09
feel old when there's a guy like Matthew Wood.
13:12
Oh yeah, my favorite players of Genny Malkin or you hear guys
13:14
say Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane and it's
13:17
like, well, they're still playing.
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Like, are you that young? But that's who they grew up with
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as kids. And yeah, you mentioned Matthew
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Wood wearing 71 and that's why he wears this for Kenny Malkin.
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And shout out to Emily Benjamin, who writes for nhl.com.
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She actually flew with us from New York to Sweden and back
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with. We helped take some some folks
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from the NHL just to make it easier as opposed to people
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booking all these flights. We had room on the charter, but
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Emily was the one telling the story of Matthew Wood meeting of
13:48
Getty Malkin. He was a little bit nervous
13:50
trying to make it work and he got the jersey, but they were
13:54
able to make it happen and see a moment like that is was also
13:58
really cool and and stuff like that can come out of things of
14:03
this nature. Like the Penguins were staying.
14:04
We're staying in the same hotel as the Penguins and that never
14:07
happens on the road because the only one team is on the road at
14:11
a time. So just things of that nature
14:13
and interacting with some of their staff for me, you know,
14:16
being from Pittsburgh and, and knowing a lot of the people who
14:19
still work there, and that was, that was cool to just all be in
14:21
it together and to experience it together.
14:24
And yes, Matthew Wood did get his jersey.
14:26
He did get his photo with Evgeny Malkin.
14:29
So pretty great week, right? Like, you score a hat trick at
14:32
Madison Square Garden and then you get to meet your idol.
14:34
Like Matthew Wood's got to be pinching himself, honestly.
14:38
Yeah, I love it. Great stuff.
14:40
Fun week in Sweden for the Preds.
14:42
They finish one and one in the NHL's Global series but return
14:46
to action on a big day Saturday in Smashville.
14:48
This Saturday night, November 22nd against the Colorado
14:51
Avalanche it is Hockey Fights Cancer Night at Bridgestone
14:54
Arena. It is also Jordan Tutu
14:58
documentary screening day. His new documentary Tutu is now
15:02
streaming in Canada. Your chance to watch it in
15:05
person at Bridgestone Arena Saturday afternoon.
15:08
You can get a ticket for that by going to nashvillepredators.com.
15:13
Jordan Tutu will join us coming up next to tell his story.
15:17
This is the Predators official podcast.
15:19
I'm Max Herz from Preds Radio with Kara Hammer from Preds TV
15:22
and Brooks Bratton from nashvillepredators.com.
15:25
This is The POP on ESPN 1025 The Game.
15:35
Welcome back to the Predators official podcast here on
15:38
Nashville predators.com, Fred's YouTube and ESPN 1025 The game.
15:43
My name is Max, hers from Fred's radio along with Brooks Bratton
15:46
from nashvillepredators.com. And our guest this segment, an
15:50
all time fan favorite here in Smashville, the subject of a new
15:54
documentary that we will be screening at Bridstone Arena
15:57
this Saturday before the Fred's take on the ABS Former Fred
16:00
Jordan Tutu is our guest. Jordan, thanks so much for
16:03
joining us. Hey Max, thanks for having me.
16:06
And yeah, always look forward to these conversations as Nashville
16:11
has always been near and dear to my heart.
16:14
And we're really excited to come back and, and see a lot of
16:18
familiar faces. Well, we guarantee none of your
16:22
other documentary promotional interviews have started with
16:25
this. The Tutu went through here so.
16:29
Oh yeah, yeah. I imagine.
16:32
Those those whistles are still legendary.
16:35
People are still asking for them.
16:36
And yeah, I mean, it's the little things that matter,
16:42
right? And these these little Tutu
16:44
whistles have gone a long ways for our fans.
16:47
And the only thing that was a a negative with them is every team
16:54
knew when I was out on the ice because the whole fans would
16:57
start blowing their whistles. So yeah, but awesome.
17:02
Awesome. So Jordan Tutu is our guest.
17:05
The documentary is called Tutu, made in collaboration with
17:08
Michael Hamilton. You guys have been working on
17:10
this for a while, and now it's a finished product and it's here.
17:14
What's it like for you, Jordan, to take your story from your two
17:17
books now to film to reach even more people?
17:20
Yeah, it was quite the project, to be honest.
17:23
The the the last five years have been really healing, not only
17:28
for myself, but my family. You know, we, we all fight a
17:33
fight no one knows about. And especially with professional
17:35
athletes, you know, your average fans look at us and say, well,
17:39
how could they struggle in life when when they got it going on?
17:43
And, you know, we're, we're, we're human too, you know, like
17:49
this journey has been really eye opening, not only for myself,
17:53
but for our people in general, the indigenous communities to
17:57
really, you know, start opening up and, and reflecting and
18:02
conversating about, you know, our history and what's going on.
18:06
And so this, this last five years working with Michael
18:11
Hamilton and Adam Scorgie, it's been a learning process, not
18:16
only for for myself and my family, but the film crew
18:19
understanding, you know, the indigenous ways of life and you
18:24
know, the culture and traditions, you know, you got
18:26
it. You got to be able to live it in
18:28
order to, to tell the story. And, and I think the film crew
18:34
has really gotten more educated on our history and, and I think
18:39
All in all, it's been a blessing for, for all of us, you know,
18:45
getting back to Nashville, where, you know, the heart of my
18:48
career started and, and where really Jordan Tutu grew up.
18:53
You know, I was 20 years old when I moved to Nashville and
18:56
spent nine years there and, and, you know, met a lot of great
19:00
people. Couldn't, couldn't land in a, in
19:04
a better city, to be honest, for a young guy like me, you know,
19:07
that the market wasn't really big back in the early 2000s.
19:10
So there wasn't a lot of pressure.
19:12
And, you know, I was able to, to grow and to mature and to, you
19:17
know, live out my dreams in Music City.
19:22
What a what a great experience it was.
19:25
Well, Jordan, you, you touched on that.
19:27
You mentioned at the start that Nashville always has and always
19:30
will have a special place in your heart.
19:32
So now at this point in your life, what does it mean to be
19:35
able to tell this story in Nashville in front of these fans
19:39
that supported you from the very start?
19:41
Yeah. For me, I think it just, it
19:43
comes full circle, you know, with the guidance of Mr. David
19:47
Poyle and and Trotsy really caring about Jordan Tutu, the
19:53
person. And you know, that that bled
19:56
into our fans. You know, when I entered rehab
20:00
back in December of 2010, I didn't know if I was ever going
20:04
to play another NHL game. And I had to be OK with that.
20:08
And I had to make sure that my life was under control in order
20:13
for my brother's legacy to to live on.
20:16
And when I stepped on the ice for the first time after going
20:21
through the program and. And really.
20:24
Appreciating the fans standing ovation towards me, I think
20:29
that's when I really, really sunk in for me, as far as you
20:33
know, Nashville is going to always be family to me.
20:36
And I just, I'm just so grateful that the opportunity was given
20:43
to me and, and our fans understood that.
20:46
You know, this game, it's just a, it's just a hockey game.
20:49
And at the end of the day, it's a brotherhood in that dressing
20:53
room. And and when when you have your
20:55
own teammates supporting you and and caring about you, it goes a
21:00
long ways. Jordan Tutu is our guest, former
21:03
Pred. You can watch his documentary
21:05
film Tutu with him at Bridgestone Arena this weekend.
21:08
The Preds are are such a central figure in your life story.
21:11
Jordan, what stands out to you about the times you had in
21:14
Nashville, the good times on the ice, the bad times off the ice
21:18
that are covered in the documentary, and what it means
21:21
to be telling your story here through all of that?
21:23
Well, you know, I I've had a lot of great moments in my time in
21:28
Nashville, but also it was the rise and fall of Jordan Tutu.
21:33
That being said, you know, I, I really appreciated the, the, the
21:40
support of the fans. You know, they treated us like
21:45
we were regular people. And, you know, back when I was
21:49
there, Nashville was a small town, you know, a big, a big,
21:53
small city. And, you know, a lot of lot of
21:58
memories of, you know, that that family oriented, whether it was
22:06
in the arena, whether it was a staff at the Bridgestone or back
22:12
when I was there was a Gaylord entertainment center.
22:14
But you know, I just really have a lot of great fond memories of
22:21
how nice everybody was and and still is.
22:25
You know, it's that Southern hospitality.
22:29
Jordan, you already mentioned David Poyle, Barry Trotz, but to
22:34
have some of your former Preds teammates in this documentary to
22:38
help tell their story and your story from their eyes, Shay
22:42
Weber, Brian Mcgratt and Scotty Upshaw, a lot of names that
22:46
people will obviously remember and recognize.
22:49
What does it mean to you to have all of them say yes?
22:53
I want to help tell the story of Jordan too too.
22:55
Yeah, I think it really grasp a different perspective of, you
23:00
know, my, my story from the eyes of my own team mates.
23:04
And, you know, I you don't realize how important team mates
23:11
are until you you go through tough times and they're there
23:15
for you. And you know, guys like Appi and
23:18
Webs and Mcgratten, Jim McKenzie, you know, they, the
23:22
word, the words that they use describing me, you know, I, I
23:28
just, you know, it gives me chills because you know, when,
23:34
when you're in it, you don't realize how much of an impact
23:37
you have amongst your peers and the fact that they really spoke
23:44
the truth because, you know, your average fan doesn't see
23:48
what goes on in the dressing room and, and the grind and the
23:51
battle. You, you go to war for one for
23:55
each other. And those guys stood by my side
23:59
through thick and thin and I'm still buddies with all of them.
24:02
And that's what hockey's all about, right?
24:05
It, it brings people together and, and no better place than,
24:10
you know, spending my first nine years of my career in Nashville,
24:14
What a what a blessing it was. Jordan Tutu is our guest here on
24:19
the Predators Official Podcast talking about his new
24:21
documentary about his life story, Your family.
24:25
Jordan is the a plot and you do such a beautiful job in your
24:29
books and now in the film telling the story of your
24:31
family, which is a complicated one.
24:33
Your late brother Terence, your sister Corinne and your parents
24:36
and now your wife and your daughters.
24:38
What do you want Smashville to know about your family?
24:41
Either folks who have seen the film or are going to see it this
24:44
weekend, That shines through as you tell your family story.
24:48
Yeah, you know, like I said before, we all fight, a fight no
24:51
one knows about. And you know, at the end of the
24:53
day, it's about who's willing to walk the walk.
24:57
And you know, I am so humbled by the fact of how much courage,
25:06
you know, my mum and dad showed during this whole process in, in
25:10
speaking the truth And, and also, you know, my wife,
25:14
Jennifer learning, you know, through, through this whole
25:19
process of our, of my family's history.
25:22
And you know, because at the end of the day, we, we, we all have
25:30
battles and, and the, the fact that a lot of US men silently
25:36
hold those battles in. And for, for me, I had the game
25:39
of hockey to, to release that anger and that frustration.
25:43
And, you know, not, not a lot of men can say that they can go to
25:48
work and, and release their anger and, and all that.
25:52
But this whole process has brought in my wife and I closer
25:58
together. It's allowed us to, to be able
26:02
to communicate because you know, like, like I say, men, we have,
26:08
we, we tend to hold everything inside and, and a lot of times
26:11
we don't know how to verbalize. And this, this whole process,
26:15
even throughout my sobriety journey, you know, I've, I've
26:20
now realized that, yes, people do change and, and we have to
26:25
allow space for that, you know, because a lot of times, you
26:28
know, we want to bring history back and, and, and bring him
26:32
back down to, to your level. And, and a lot of times I've
26:36
created boundaries where, you know, yes, I, I, I have a lot of
26:42
shame and guilt with my past actions, but I'm not going to
26:45
carry that anymore today. I'm moving forward.
26:48
I'm not going to forget. But that being said, you know, I
26:52
think my documentary is, you know, you, you want to call a
26:58
spade a spade, Watch my documentary.
27:01
You know, I, I, I don't hold back, you know, just a warning
27:06
to a lot of youngsters out there.
27:08
There's a lot of verbal content that, you know, is, is subject.
27:12
But hey, I'm raw. I, I'm as raw as they come.
27:15
And you know, but that that being said, I've, I've come to
27:21
the understanding of growing and evolving as an individual.
27:26
Yes, hockey, hockey has allowed me to have so many opportunities
27:31
in my life, but that was only one part.
27:33
And today I can honestly say that my greatest accomplishment
27:38
in in my life, it's not about being the first Enoch player
27:44
playing, being the first Enoch to play in the NHL, you know,
27:48
playing for Team Canada, all these accolades.
27:51
It's about being a present father, a present husband and
27:56
being able to watch my girls grow.
27:58
You know, although I never had the opportunity to hoist the
28:02
Stanley Cup, I get to watch 3 Stanley Cups walk out of their
28:05
room every morning and I wouldn't change it for a thing.
28:09
Oh love that. Talking to Jordan Tutu here on
28:11
the Predators official podcast, this is such an engaging
28:14
opportunity to educate people this weekend in Nashville that
28:18
you've travelled everywhere all across the continent about the
28:21
challenges that Indigenous people face in Canada.
28:25
How grateful are we to be able to have hockey, to bring all
28:29
these people together, to really teach them about something
28:31
that's so important and untold stories that I can confidently
28:35
say if it weren't for hockey, I would have no idea about.
28:39
Yeah, hockey brings brings out the best of us and it also
28:43
brings out brings us closer together, you know, and, and
28:47
it's just not in hockey. It's, you know, we got to take
28:51
that narrative and, and bring it into all walks of life.
28:54
You know, whether it's the corporate businesses, you know,
28:58
whether it's college, university, any sporting events,
29:03
you know, the, we need to normalize that sports is for
29:10
everybody. And you know, unfortunately only
29:15
a select few can can be at the highest level, But that's an
29:21
opportunity for each individual to to dig in their heels and
29:27
and, you know, become a team player.
29:30
You know, I tell guys all the time, I was a fourth line NHL
29:33
player for 14 years, you know, and I perfected my role and I
29:37
chose to seize opportunities when they were given to me,
29:42
whether it was to play on the 1st or the second or the third
29:45
line, you know, But at the end of the day, when, when you
29:48
perfect your role and, and you know, you trust your instincts
29:53
and once you become comfortable and contend your own own skin,
29:58
man, the Sky's the limit. And the game has really showed
30:04
me, you know, really who, who I truly am deep down inside.
30:08
And then that's what the help of, you know, my coaches, my
30:11
teammates throughout the years of playing and, and also the
30:15
fans, right, because that's we, we owe it to our fans.
30:19
You know, we, they pay a lot of money to come watch us play And,
30:23
and, you know, we got to be on it every night.
30:26
And, and, and I think that's a real testament of, you know,
30:30
each individual's character. Jordan off of that, when you
30:34
look back now with just your point of view on Nashville and
30:38
the Predators, we can call you a signature player, a fan favorite
30:41
that people love to watch here in Nashville.
30:43
What, what kind of comes to mind when you think of, hey, my time
30:48
in Nashville as a member of the Predators on the ice in front of
30:51
those fans? I guess maybe how much do you
30:53
miss it and, and, and how do you view it now that you're retired?
30:57
Aw man. Like I, I, I can't even begin to
31:01
explain the feelings, you know, when, when, when the puck
31:05
dropped like the, the Bridgestone Arena, the
31:10
electricity that, you know, the buzz and not only in regular
31:15
season, but you know, the fans took it to another level in
31:19
playoffs. And that's, that's one thing I,
31:24
you know, when people ask, you know what, what, what was your
31:26
favorite city to play in? And I mean, how could, how could
31:31
I not say Nashville, you know, because when I was there, you
31:36
know, the first five years, the fans wanted entertainment and I
31:42
gave it to them, you know, and, and I enjoyed it.
31:46
And don't get me wrong, it was, it was a hell of a ride.
31:49
But at the same time, it also allowed us players to, to get
31:54
out in the community and to, to be a face for the Predators.
31:59
And, you know, like, like I said before, back then, Nashville was
32:02
a pretty tight knit community. And, you know, after my years of
32:07
moving on, every time I'd come back to Nashville to play the
32:10
Preds, there was a new building going up.
32:12
And now I don't even recognize being downtown.
32:16
But that's that's like I talk about people evolve.
32:23
And the same Nashville has just evolved into, you know, a sports
32:27
city. This might be an impossible
32:30
question, but do you have a favorite moment or two with your
32:34
time with the preds? Oh boy.
32:38
I mean, I don't remember a lot from back in those days, but I
32:42
got to say, you know, the, the first year we made the playoffs,
32:47
I mean that was an unbelievable experience.
32:50
And then a few years later, I think we we made it to the
32:54
second round and that was just another level of inspiration and
33:00
and kind of the trajectory of our team was heading, you know,
33:03
towards to being contenders. But I, I think honestly, the
33:11
first game I came back after entering rehab and getting that
33:16
standing ovation, it sent chills down my spine.
33:20
I had a few tears and because I, I didn't know if I was ever
33:25
going to get that opportunity again.
33:26
But you know, I, I worked my butt off and because that's what
33:31
I'm, that's how I know how to do things.
33:33
You know you, you all work your opponent and good things happen.
33:38
Jordan Tutu is our guest. Fans can come watch his
33:40
documentary at Bridgestone this weekend.
33:43
Go to nashvillepredators.com to check that out.
33:45
Jordan, for fans who who don't live here or can't make the
33:48
screening on Saturday, what's the best way for them to watch
33:51
the documentary and support you guys?
33:54
Yeah. So right now in Canada it's
33:56
streamed on Super Channel. I think in the new in the new
34:00
year, we will have US rights to to stream it on all platforms.
34:05
But right now in Canada, if you go on Amazon Prime and just type
34:13
in my name, you should be able to be able to watch it.
34:16
But not quite sure how the technical side of things work.
34:21
But right now I know what I've been told is that in the new
34:26
year, the US platforms will be all good to go.
34:30
All right, well, this makes the screening even more of an
34:32
occasion Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.
34:34
We will certainly let our fans know when it is streamable in
34:37
the US as well. Jordan, thanks so much for
34:40
joining us. We're so excited to have you at
34:41
the game on Saturday and so excited for your wife and
34:44
daughters to be here too. Right on gentlemen.
34:47
Thanks for having me Max and Brooks.
34:49
I look forward to to hanging out and seeing everybody.
34:53
That is Jordan Tutu on the Fred's official podcast.
34:56
One Final blow. The Tutu whistle here, you guys.
35:00
It's Nashville on Saturday. Welcome back to the Predators
35:09
official Podcast. I'm Cara Hammer along with Max
35:11
Herz and Brooks Bratton. And who doesn't love Jordan
35:14
Tutu? What a great guy.
35:16
I love all the Tutu stories. I've had a chance to meet him
35:19
and it's just awesome. All right, but also guys, we're
35:22
going to talk about this Saturday, November 22nd.
35:25
We're finally back on home ice and we're here to celebrate
35:28
hockey fights cancer, a big initiative amongst the league
35:31
and obviously an initiative that's very important to all of
35:34
us. And Brooks, you've seen it in
35:37
person, Max, I think you've seen it in person.
35:40
You see, Soros is going to be showing something new.
35:44
It's really cool Kara, and it's something that I don't think
35:49
really any other players in the NHL have done for hockey fights
35:52
cancer. UC Soros will be wearing a
35:55
special goalie mask for the game on Saturday, honoring members of
35:59
the Preds family who have battled cancer, including some
36:03
very familiar faces to us. The four folks will be on their
36:06
legendary Predators locker room. Attendant Craig, partner Baugh,
36:10
who we're happy to say is cancer free.
36:12
Terry, Chris, wife Sheila, who is battling cancer currently.
36:16
Lexi, Pete Rogers, daughter of Predators head equipment manager
36:19
Pete Rogers, who we are happy to say is currently cancer free.
36:23
And also our great friend, the late Aaron Donick, who we lost
36:26
this summer. Willie Donick's wife, who we
36:29
honor every week here on the show with the Big E.
36:32
Their four faces have been drawn onto the mask by the man known
36:36
as Dave Art. Dave Gustafson, who designs a
36:38
lot of the NHL goalie masks. And Brooks.
36:41
It is a thing of beauty, one-of-a-kind only in
36:45
Smashville. UC Soros is going to be repping
36:48
it loud and proud on Saturday. It's amazing and the goalies
36:52
usually like this is not the first time that a Prince goalie
36:54
has won, but worn, excuse me, a special mask like this.
36:59
But for what it means. I I don't know that there's ever
37:02
been one with this much personality and and this much
37:05
meaning to it. And, you know, I was talking to
37:08
Willie Donnick was at practice on Wednesday, and he was the
37:12
first time he had seen juice wearing it, obviously.
37:15
And he was taking pictures with his phone.
37:17
And I was talking to him about it.
37:18
And this was all UC's idea, which I think is the coolest
37:21
part about this is that, you know, UC Soros is in tune enough
37:26
to, you know, it's not just about stopping pucks.
37:28
There's, there's more to all of this.
37:31
And he knows what's going on around the organization.
37:34
He knows who's dealing with what and who's affected with
37:36
different things. And to hear Willie talk about
37:39
it, it, you know, it was Juice that reached out to Willie and
37:43
Willie said he got a text message that said, hey, Willie,
37:45
it's UC. And Willie's, like sorrows.
37:47
Yeah, I don't know one of the other UCS.
37:49
But you know, for Willie especially, he's really touched
37:52
by it. And hockey fights.
37:54
Cantor's night is always a special night.
37:56
It'll be magnified tenfold this season for Willie,
38:00
unfortunately. But also, he just talks about
38:04
how special all of the support has been and how much that's
38:08
meant to him and his family. And so to see one of the best
38:12
goaltenders in the world making a gesture like this, it's just
38:17
almost incomprehensible. But Willie is so touched by it,
38:20
as is the family of everybody else who was on the mask.
38:23
And, you know, as UC said, like, it's the least he can do.
38:27
It's an honor for him to be able to honor these folks in this
38:31
way. And that's one of the great
38:32
things about goalies and, and about this sport is that it's
38:36
rare to find when, when an athlete is in the heat of
38:40
competition, there aren't many opportunities to do something
38:44
like this. And a goalie mask gives a
38:46
goaltender that opportunity. And he is taking it full force.
38:51
And to have those 4 portraits of those four folks on his mask and
38:56
it's really special. I'm going to write a story on
38:58
it. Stay tuned later in the week on
39:00
Nashville predators.com, there'll be a story on the mask
39:03
as well. But what a what a fantastic
39:06
gesture and it's really well done.
39:08
I mean, Dave Art does great stuff.
39:10
He does all of Juice's masks, does a whole ton of goalie's
39:13
masks in the NHL. But that was really special.
39:16
And it was, it was just wonderful to see Willie taking
39:19
photos of it during practice. And I, I can't even imagine the
39:23
emotions that go through him when he sees something like
39:26
that. But what a beautiful gesture
39:28
from Juice and I can't wait for everybody else to see it shout
39:30
out. Do we also know Brooks?
39:33
I know in the past we've had hockey fights, cancer jerseys
39:36
that have been auctioned off. Are same thing happening?
39:40
100% So there's always a ton of things that come with this.
39:44
So we all know that right here in our own backyard.
39:47
Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, Monroe
39:50
Carroll Junior Children's Hospital, The Preds are so
39:53
involved in the hockey fights, Cancer Ambassadors, the 365
39:56
Fund, of course Peck Arena and Shay Webers initiative that has
40:00
been going on for a number of years now.
40:03
But yes, there are so many different ways.
40:05
The fans can get involved. So if you're going to the game
40:09
Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena, an awesome Plaza party,
40:13
there will be all kinds of different things that are going
40:16
on from the Predators Foundation, whether it's at the
40:20
Plaza or it's at the Preds Foundation table inside the
40:23
arena. But there's mini sticks, there's
40:26
mystery pucks, there's foam pucks, there's bracelets, a
40:29
silent auction with players jerseys.
40:32
This is always a big thing, and I'm going to give you a number
40:35
that you can text. So not only will the player
40:37
jerseys be available, but that custom mask we were just talking
40:40
about that will also be up for auction.
40:43
Wow. So if you want to get involved,
40:45
you can text Preds to 76278, text Preds to 76278, you can get
40:54
instructions and you can get involved in the auction and it
40:58
obviously all goes to a great cause.
40:59
So yes, tons of elements here to a Hockey Fights Cancer night at
41:04
Bridgestone Arena. It's a special night.
41:06
We wish we didn't have to do it, but the Preds do it really well.
41:10
And it's all special because I don't know that there's anybody
41:13
who hasn't been touched by cancer in some way.
41:16
It's a family member or a friend or even if it's just you're a
41:20
fan going to the game and you see Juice's mask, you know that
41:23
it affects all of us. So another special night coming
41:26
up. We're really excited to see what
41:28
comes of it. And Maxwell love this part.
41:30
The referees pregame, they have a initiative called Zebras Care
41:34
where some young kids get to go down, meet the game officials
41:39
that are going to work the game that night and kind of have
41:41
their own little element there for the for the referees.
41:44
So everybody is involved. It's a huge league initiative
41:48
and the Preds do it really well. So excited to see what comes on
41:52
Saturday night and wear your lavender if you're going to the
41:54
game. And without a doubt, we're given
41:57
our Big E award. You rock.
42:00
You see Soros for that incredible mask in memory of
42:03
Arandonic. I just really wish Kara we could
42:06
hear what Aaron would think about being on a goalie's mask
42:10
during the game. We know she's already screaming
42:12
during every game watching the Fred's.
42:14
This year she'll be going even more nuts because now she thinks
42:17
that she has something to do with making the saves, right?
42:21
I know that's a huge thing. This is something that we always
42:23
talk about with the donics too, as well as like we're not really
42:25
part of it. No, we we had nothing to do with
42:28
it, even though we believe in like the broadcaster Jinx and
42:30
all the things that come with it.
42:32
But we know Aaron would be up there saying, you see, Soros,
42:36
you're awesome. You rock, you see Soros so good.
42:41
I'm so excited to see it on Saturday, Partner Baugh refused
42:45
to be interviewed despite the fact that he is on the map.
42:48
I tried really hard to get him to come on the podcast and he
42:51
just refuses to let me interview him.
42:52
But he still talks to me for hours every day.
42:54
So one day, partner. We've tried for years, Max.
42:58
We've we've always tried to interview partner.
43:00
He will have no part of it. No part of it, yeah.
43:04
But it's going to be a special day for sure.
43:07
In Smashville, that is Saturday night.
43:08
The game is at 7 against the Avalanche.
43:10
Festivities going on all day. For Hockey Fights Cancer, Visit
43:14
the Preds Foundation table on the main concourse behind
43:16
section one O 7 and its usual spot to see everything up for
43:20
auction. And as Brooks said, you can text
43:22
in to those Preds auctions to bid from wherever you are,
43:26
including on UC Soros game worn one-of-a-kind goalie mask.
43:30
When we come back, Brooks will tell us about all his friends he
43:33
met in Sweden and we will open up the mailbag here on The POP,
43:36
Max Hers, Kara Hammer, Brooks Bratton, and you on the
43:39
Predators official podcast. 4th and final segment of this
43:49
episode of the Predators Official Podcast here on ESPN
43:53
102.5, The Game and Preds YouTube.
43:56
I'm Brooks Bratton alongside Max, hers and Kara Hammer, as we
43:59
mentioned already, But it's worth mentioning again, the
44:02
biggie, Awesome person of the week, UC Soros and his Hockey
44:05
fights Cancer masters. Aaron would have said, you see,
44:07
why are you so awesome? Because you put me on your
44:10
goalie mask. What a jet drill.
44:12
What is from Juice? And we're so excited to see it
44:15
on Hockey Fights Cancer Night on Saturday in Smashville.
44:19
There were a couple things I wanted to mention in the
44:21
mailbag. So Max mentioned somebody that I
44:24
met in Sweden. So my new friend Tommy from, I
44:26
believe he said he was from Norway, but we met in line at
44:30
the men's room, the Globe, Globe Arena, very similar to to Prince
44:34
Joan Arena. You've got to wait in line with
44:35
everybody else to use the restroom.
44:37
So that's where I met my friend Tommy.
44:40
And we were talking about, you know, obviously I'm wearing a
44:42
suit and tie and, you know, who do you work for?
44:45
What are you doing? Whatever sort of work for the
44:46
predators. And he's telling me about, you
44:49
know, how to make the trip from Norway.
44:50
He was so excited to get there and like, Oh yeah, like, you
44:54
know, watching the Preds, watching the Penguins.
44:56
Patrick Hornquist, former Preds player, former Penguins player.
44:59
He said, Patrick Hornquist is my all time favorite player.
45:02
And I said, oh, well, he's sitting right in front of me in
45:03
the in the stands out here. You want to come meet him?
45:06
So I was like, here you go Tommy, There he is.
45:08
And he was just walking out as we were walking in.
45:10
So he was able to talk to him, get a selfie.
45:13
And I don't, I don't know Patrick Hornquist personally.
45:15
He left Nashville the year before I got here.
45:18
So I've never met the man, but I was like, sure, here he is.
45:22
But he was thrilled for that. And then I saw him later after
45:26
the fact and he gave me a hug and was like, that is amazing.
45:29
Thank you so much. And then he sent me a note on
45:32
Twitter and just said have to give you a shout out for being
45:35
awesome. Go me.
45:37
But he said thanks for leading me to my biggest talkie idol.
45:40
Great representative of the Nashville organization.
45:42
Best regards. By the way, we met outside the
45:44
men's room, so I wouldn't forget who he was.
45:46
So shout out, Tommy, he said, you've got a listener for life.
45:49
So Tommy, if you find the podcast, I hope you're
45:52
listening. I hope you've enjoyed what
45:54
you're hearing. And thanks for being a fan and
45:56
thanks for saying hello in Sweden.
45:57
It was great to meet you. Go.
45:59
Tommy. Yes, thanks, Tommy.
46:02
All right, one more stateside question here.
46:05
Tia asked about prior to Roman Yossi's injury, she noticed that
46:10
Stephen Stamkos and Philip Forsberg would alternate wearing
46:13
the alternate Captain A on their sweaters.
46:16
Steven Stamkos wore it at home, Phillip Forsberg ward on the
46:19
road. She asked is there a reason
46:21
behind this? With Roman out, they've both
46:23
been wearing letters. But when Yoshi is back once will
46:25
happen. I believe it is just a home Rd.
46:28
split for those guys since you can only have 3 letters on the
46:31
ice during a game and the Preds have four guys who have worn
46:35
letters this season and would go deeper if there were more
46:38
injuries. It's just members of the
46:39
leadership group wearing them in different ways.
46:42
We put our heads together. We're not sure if there's any
46:45
rhyme or reason. We don't think there is between
46:47
why Stancos wears it at home and Forsberg wears it on the road.
46:50
Refs seem to be pretty lenient with who comes up and talks to
46:53
them in those situations too, which by the rule book is what
46:57
the letters are supposed to show you.
46:59
Who's allowed to go get clarification from the refs.
47:01
Refs are pretty flexible about that.
47:03
So I it's to show that both those guys are part of the
47:06
leadership group and maybe Phil thinks he looks better and white
47:10
and Sam Coast thinks he looks better in gold.
47:12
Who knows? Yeah, and it's worth clarifying
47:16
you don't have to wear a letter to be a part of the leadership
47:19
group. Like the Preds have their own
47:20
internal leadership group. So like UC Soros is definitely a
47:24
part of that. Guys like Jonathan March is so
47:26
Brady Shea, you know, Colton Sissons, I think was a really
47:29
good example back in the day that he hardly ever wore a
47:33
letter unless someone was injured.
47:34
But guys would say he's just as important inside that room as
47:39
anybody else is. So just because you're not
47:41
wearing a letter doesn't mean that you're not part of the
47:43
leadership group. And then we mentioned Roman
47:45
Yosi. Of course there have been 3A's
47:48
with Yossi wearing the C. He's been injured.
47:50
Worth mentioning as we record this on Wednesday, November the
47:53
19th that Yossi did practice on Wednesday.
47:56
He remains on injured reserve with an upper body injury.
47:59
Andrew Burnett said I, I simply don't know if if Yossi could
48:02
potentially play on Saturday against Colorado.
48:04
But obviously some good news there that Roman was on the ice
48:08
getting closer to a return and that gives you a little bit of a
48:10
boost. Like he wasn't even in Sweden.
48:12
It's tough not to have your captain around.
48:14
So the press could use some good news and that was certainly a
48:17
welcome sight on Wednesday to see Yossi back out there.
48:20
So once he is back, he will take the C back.
48:23
There will no longer be 3A's in the game for the Predators.
48:26
And it's it's usually Max. You mentioned talking to the
48:28
refs like it's usually Ryan O'Reilly who is discussing
48:31
things with the on ice officials with Yossi out of the lineup.
48:35
But also guys kind of say whatever they want to the refs
48:37
and they'll give it right back. So that's how that shakes out
48:40
for you there. As they should.
48:43
Trust. And on that note, that's the end
48:47
of the podcast. Thanks for listening, everybody.
48:50
Thanks to Jordan Tutu for joining us again.
48:52
If you want to join us for that screening Saturday afternoon at
48:55
Bridgestone Arena, go to nashvillepredators.com.
48:58
Find the Jordan Tutu link. You can buy a ticket for just
49:01
the screening or you can buy a ticket for both the movie
49:04
screening and the game on Saturday night.
49:06
We will let you guys know. We'll find out after New Year's
49:09
once it becomes streamable in the US.
49:11
Highly recommend that documentary about Jordan Tutu.
49:13
It is just called simply Tutu. My name is Max Herz for Preds
49:17
radio, for Cara Hammer from Preds TV, Brooks Bratton from
49:20
nashvillepredators.com, Nate Baker, Justina Quagliata and our
49:24
entire POP super team. Thanks for listening to the
49:27
Predators official podcast. See you in Smashville.
49:31
Happy Thanksgiving.