Episode 757 "EGOS AND TRYOUTS"

episode 757 of after the whistle. And a couple of things we'll get to today. Gotta look at the

standings. Incredibly, it's just crazy what's going on in the NHL and how close the race is

in the Eastern Conference for not just the visual spots, but wild card spots. So we can talk

about that. The legendary Zach Mezza is back in the NHL back is back with the Sabers after

being recalled. And we will talk about that was that outside pressure or was that just the

fact that the statistics speak for themselves. So we can we can get into that. And had a great

chat this morning with Shred and Reagan down at 97 rock. Love those guys went in and

Jesus shot the shit with them for a little bit. They're fantastic. They're so much fun to

be on the air with. And like, for instance, like what comes up with them sometimes is like

just, you know, Jesus, you know, washing feet. I mean, you never know it's going to come up

with those guys, right? What does that mean? I don't know. You have to go back and listen.

And what else? Oh, and some awesome feedback. Our start of our conversation, but from our

podcast yesterday, but the start of our conversation, we're, you know, minor hockey and the

cost of the sport and all that stuff. We've had it before. Yeah. But I know, I think, I think

it hits differently when you have different conversations. And then obviously, you know, the

emotions that you have with your kids being officially done with hockey. So it was a good

conversation. Did you have something you wanted to say to the guy that told you that you talked

too much? You yesterday you called me and you were like, whatever that guy's name is, you need to

tell him to beat it. Uh, no, I, I just, uh, listen, I mean, I'm, uh, I appreciate his feedback.

But what? But if he doesn't like my voice, then Tom, to shut the hell up and don't listen

to the freaking podcast like this. There's a thousand podcasts out there, bud. It's not that he doesn't

like your voice. No, I just, no, no, I don't know. I'm gonna tell you right now. He's not listening

if you're talking all the time. Okay. That's just the way it is. Okay. But we can, you see,

you got to, you got an issue with my voice. It's not an issue with your voice. It's not an issue

with your voice, whatever. Yeah. Okay. You know, it's like you're the only one that show that's

allowed to give their opinion. You know, I asked the only opinion that actually matters. So how about

that? Yeah. Okay. Um, you know what I, I found out today, Patty Coletta was telling me that, uh,

I think it's tryouts for the Buffalo Junior Sabers today. Have they? Yep. For, I don't know,

like for, first certain age groups, like for the, maybe for the younger mid, mid-aged kids,

I don't know, something like that. Does Western New York still do, the Western New York hockey,

do they still have all the tryouts in the same night? Yes. That's still a thing. Yeah, it's still

it's literally the dumbest thing around. Yeah. So let me, let me just, so I've always found this

to be fascinating. Like growing up, we had tryouts before Labor Day, end of August, tryouts for

triple A and you got your schedule and that was it. You're on the team. You're off the team.

One of the other, you go to double A, you go to triple A. And it was always the end of the summer

because all these kids always developed over the summer. Some got bigger, some got fatter,

some got slower, some, you know what I mean? Like, so basically you're saying the end of,

the end of March is usually 95% of all teams are, are finished. They're finished the regular season.

Oh, sorry. So you're, you're finished basically mid March. If your team, you know, has a chance

to play extended hockey, you could be into the end of March, right? Then they have tryouts,

like you said, some tryouts are basically some teams in Western New York are still playing

after they have tryouts. So there's tryouts where you cut families, cut kids, and you still have

a couple weeks left of hockey. It's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my entire life.

Well, I think the one thing, and again, if I'm mistaken or things have been changed,

someone can correct me. But I do know that there are multiple triple A programs in Western New

York. Yeah, you have junior savers, which are the pinnacle. There's triple A and then there's

triple A that you're adding an A to a triple A, which they should be triple A. I get that. I

go that's where I'm going. I mean, if, if, okay, I mean, I guess I don't really need to worry

about hurting anyone's feelings, but I mean, this is the most ridiculous scenario that I've heard.

And it's hurting hockey in Western New York. I mean, it just is. And you have, like the junior

savers should have 50 kids trying out at every age group, like all the kids that want a shot to try out

or go and see how they measure up. It is the premier organization in Buffalo. And no other

organization comes close. Now, there's two sides to this, though. I think, like you said,

the junior savers should be identified as the elite organization. And you should have the junior

savers try out the day before basically everyone else in Buffalo. It allows families that basically

maybe know that their kids not quite there yet. And he's still working and improving.

But it gives them a chance to go downtown. Get on the ice with what we deem so called the elite

kids at a certain age. And you just get to see where your son or daughter fit in to a level.

Okay, that's the way it should be. But right now, it's all about tampering. It's all about phone

calls behind closed doors because you can't. Families cannot go down to the junior savers or the

regals or something like that and not have a spot for their kid for next year. So they have to

go to the try out. Right. And then the ultimatum is posted to them. Like you go to that try out and

you don't make it. You're not welcome back here because our team's going to be picked by the time

you're done your try out. Exactly. Exactly. So basically, there's tampering in every single

organization, every single one, making phone calls behind closed doors, families that you have on

your team. You're saying, Hey, we would like, we would like your son to come back this that

and the other, but you're also making phone calls. And I hate to say it. It's tampering, but I'm out

of it now. I don't really give shit anymore. But you have to make phone calls to try and improve

your team for next year. There are no try outs in Buffalo. There's no try outs in Buffalo.

In all the years, I coached down in the Buffalo junior savers. I had your try out. I had no

try out. Your team was was made. The team must pick before trials. Why would I ever put it this

way? Why would I ever pick a kid for a team that I have under one practice, one try out?

Why would I ever pick a kid? Even though he might look really good. Why would I pick that kid

after seeing him once? You know what you do as a coach? You watch. You watch. What else is out there?

You see and and you do your homework. You do your homework on families. You do your homework on

the kid off the ice. That's just as important as the kid on the ice. If you don't have good parents

and you and you hear signs that the parents are not the greatest to deal with to say it

nicely, then you're doing your homework. You're never going to pick that kid. Just based off the

parents. But if you have a good parent group, you have a good hockey player, you've played against

them because you're playing other teams here in town and you really like how a player is developing

in another organization, you feel that he can make your team better than what what do you do?

How are you supposed to contact that family? Are you just supposed to hope that they come to your

try out? Nobody comes to the try outs. You can't families can't come to try outs because everybody

tries out on the same date and you have to get your kid a spot before anything. Yeah, I understand.

I put so it puts a lot of stress on when you're a coach because the parents want every parent wants

what's best for the kid. Okay, like that's just that's just a given. Yep. So it almost drives

parents to have to act and not maybe at games and stuff, but act in a manner behind the scenes to

lobby or talk to coaches, talk to teams to figure out where their kid might fit best because they

want their kid put in the best situation. Some parents don't care. Some parents want their kid on

the best team, even if he doesn't belong there. And those are the ones that fizzle out and fail.

Yeah, and then they end up hating the game because we can sit there and talk about the elite

organization for youth hockey. For me, it's the Buffalo junior sabers. But if your son or daughter

is not getting the proper ice time, which is the biggest form of development, I don't give a crap

about practice time and and development time down at the junior sabers. The biggest thing is

development. And that's playing being put in a power play situation, penalty kill situations,

being so hot on the ice. It's not about the problem is people are chasing the logo here in Buffalo.

Do I think the the junior sabers once you hit a certain age? Oh, if they get in that logo by

under the age of 10, they all think their kids are then an expert. David. Yeah, I don't know

about that. But they're just happy that their kids playing on the elite team in town. And my biggest

thing is like, do you want your kid playing on the third line at the junior sabers or the fourth line

at the junior sabers? You do want them playing at the first line in another organization here in

Buffalo. What is better? Where the logo and be on the third fourth line or your kids playing

triple A and going to Philly this weekend? Right. I mean, for me, it's about development. And it's

a long, long, long, long, I've seen kids develop literally at the ages of 15. Yeah. That was one

of the major strides. I was a late plumber. Listen, how about this? I'll give you a great example.

There's a kid in town that I had a team. It was a top five top three team in North America.

The Buffalo junior sabers team that I coached at the old four age group was literally

a top five team in North America. We won every tournament. Little Caesars Detroit,

Toronto Marley's were the only team in the history in Buffalo that's ever won that tournament.

Like, we've won, we won with that team. We won everything. There's a player in town that is without

question. The best player that's come out of the old four age group. Do you know who he is?

Yes. Yes, I do. This kid was a really good kid, a really good hockey player at a young age. I

knew about him when he was not eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen. I knew about the kid. He was

just really small. He's very, very good player, but he's really small. He still couldn't make my

team at 13, 14, 15. This kid right now is the best player to come out of Buffalo. Who is it?

His name's Joey Moldowney. Oh, yeah, yeah. San Jose Draft pick. Oh, you got drafted to

the NHL. Oh, he's ripping up D1 hockey and scoring goals out his yin yang. Never played on the

best team in Buffalo. Here it is, folks. You do not need to play on the best team for your son to

flourish. There is a lot of kids that hear in Buffalo that never played on my team that went way

further in hockey than kids that currently played on my team for years. Yeah. So it's about where

you are. Yeah, I get that. And I don't want to go. I think what I'm trying to have are like two

different conversations. I'm not, but I think we're having two different conversations. Your point

is very accurate. I don't want to, I don't want to insert myself for any experiences I had when I

was younger. I'll save that for another day. But what I'm saying is the issue lies with Western

New York hockey. And I don't know if it's Western New York or New York State. I don't know who runs

it. But someone, and I'm not trying to insult anybody. And I'm not, I know they're going to hear

about this. I know it, but I don't care. It's like wake up. Do what's best for minor hockey in the

area. Don't do what's best for your buddies or your friends. You need to maybe there are enough

players for two triple A programs. I don't know if that's true or not. I don't know. Oh,

there is. Yes, there is. I think there is. I definitely think there might be, but it just seems

like there's, there's clicks. It seems like there's a lot of parents that are clicks. A lot of dads

take over teams. They bring their buddies kids. And it's like it just seems so backwards here

with how they do minor hockey and how they do tryouts and how they place kids. And then you have

kids that were playing in the SCTA league. I don't even know what that means. But

all I know is Southern Ontario hockey league. I thought it was the Buffalo regions. The Buffalo

regals were in that. They got kicked out years. They got kicked out. Why did they get kicked out?

Because they got murdered every game. Why did they get murdered? Well, because all the kids that

belonged in the SCTA playing against those teams were playing for the junior sabers. So

essentially the regals were playing in the SCTA. There are SCTA teams that ended up winning

the championship from the from the Buffalo regals. I think the 2003 team ended up winning the entire

thing. Okay. The problem is the sabers came downtown. They started an organization called the

Buffalo junior sabers were what happened. You had more than half of those players from the regals

that dominated hockey here in Western New York for so many years. All of a sudden now people

want to go downtown to play for the Buffalo junior sabers. There is enough talent here in Buffalo

to put two very solid teams on the ice, two very competitive teams. When I say competitive,

you're competing in the top 20 to top 30 teams in your age group in the United States. Okay.

After that, there's not enough room for three or four top end teams. There's just not

enough. There's not enough kids playing hockey. You look at Detroit. I mean, oh my God,

Michigan has a massive amount of kids, Pittsburgh, a massive amount of kids. Toronto. It's like

they're pulling kids from everywhere. What I would be doing if it were my organizations to run

the whole thing. I would be saying, okay, you have one pinnacle AAA team. So which one's that?

Come on. It's a no-brainer. And I'm not saying, listen, I mean, here's the thing. You have to

realize, and this is why it hasn't gone, is why is the Buffalo regals going to sit there and say,

well, you know, they're they're the pinnacle organization ego. I hate to say it if that hurts

someone's feeling, but it's ego. That's all comes down to ego. It's all it comes down to because

no one wants to say, my kid didn't make it. He's playing double A. So would you would you be okay?

It's like Amherst regals, West Seneca, uh,

West Seneca doesn't have a AAA organization. No, I'm saying they should all be double A.

You could have double. I know. Amherst is a AAA organization, but it also has double A. Yes.

You could have four, you could have you could have seven or eight double A teams right here in

the region and never have to leave and have your own interloop. And then you play each other

fucking, I don't care. Ten times if you want to have an 80 game schedule. And then I guarantee it,

your kid will develop. He will develop more playing double A than he will playing triple A. Now

here's where I'll insert my, uh, self in my, uh, history with hockey. No one really knows this, but

I made triple A every year that I tried out. Okay. My brother tells this story to people. They

they can't believe it. I used to, I say the word quit, but I didn't quit. I used to cut myself

early into the season to say I want to go play with my friends and double A. I wasn't as

serious about it as my brother. My brother was triple A. He was the best player in St. Catherine's

without question. He was a young phenom moved to Toronto, dominated the MTHL. Now the GTHL went

second overall on the OHL draft. That wasn't my path. I used to make triple A and, and, and I do

remember parents and coaches on the team used to say, oh yeah, uh, Andrew Peters got cut midway

through the year because he wasn't good enough. No, the truth is I didn't like the bullshit.

I didn't like the bullshit. I could feel and sense the bullshit on the team. And I hated it. I

hated the drama around the team. I hated. I did not like many of the kids because it was so

competitive and clicky. I hate that. I used to quit. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I used to quit

triple A every single year. And I would go play double A and I would shred double A. Shred it. I

mean, like, like without question, I was a triple A player playing against double A players. And

I loved it. It was fun. Is that why you did it? I had fun. My friends were on that team.

Well, it's fun scoring goals and dominating. Yeah. Yeah. Timmy McEwen, Joey Socia, these guys

were my buddies on the team. Like, we, we had fun playing double A. We all didn't have fun

playing triple A because it was way too serious. And your ice time gets shifted around your

performance, you know, and that was it. That's the truth. And I never let it bother me. I mean,

I knew how good I was and decide when I decided to want to be good, I would be good. But, you know,

it was kind of like I would, like I said, yeah, it was a little a bloomer mentally, a late bloomer

physically. And I blossomed in double A. My skills went through the roof. I could go out and

basically be Mario Lemieux every game and just have fun. And then I go to Ridley College.

I play under 14 hockey there. Shred it. I did play triple A that year in grade eight.

Played two teams high school and triple A. Then I went to grade nine at Ridley.

Should have made the varsity team, but didn't, okay? That's, but that's a whole other,

it's a whole other point. That was actually my dad's fault because he was the athletic director,

and he didn't have a second team for varsity. So they had to keep all the older kids who literally

were ankle burners. But that's fine. My dad's heard that enough for me. And then I was,

and then I had developed and I was six four. And I was, and I ended up trying out in Toronto,

and I made it. And I played in the MCHL. And left, got out of fucking, got out of the,

the, the drama and the chaos and the clickiness of St. Catharines. But I went to that triple A.

Tryout that year when I was 15. I remember this. I remembered my mom saying they called and said,

are you coming to tryouts this year? And my mom said, no, he's not, he's going to,

he's going to be going to Toronto. The coach said, Toronto, he barely, he won't even make this team.

He hadn't seen me play in a year and a half, okay? I had already made a tier two team in Toronto

at 15, all that stuff, right? So I went to the tryout. I just went to the tryout for

fun. And after before I left, they were begging me to stay. And I was like, it was the greatest

FU. I have one of the greatest. I've had some other good ones. But that was my FU to the St. Catharines

Royals. And man did that feel good going out there. And I was the best player on the ice. And I

was validated myself. I felt validated. Well, you improved because you're at the right level.

Because I played double A. Yeah. Well, it's, no, no, no, you played the level that you were able

to flourish, handling the puck skating with the puck, having enough time to be able to make a

play, having enough time over a course of a season, gaining confidence and doing things. Because

here's the thing. There's so many kids that love playing triple A hockey. They love it.

Their brains, their skill sets are not quite at the level to begin to continue to develop.

Because they're playing against kids that are bigger, faster, stronger, and that have higher skill

sets. And therefore they get smothered. Their skill sets get smothered. People think that by playing

triple A or high end elite premier triple A because you're playing the Detroit little

Caesars or the Pittsburgh elite or or something like that, you think that your kids getting better.

No, he might not be getting better. He might be getting worse. And more Italy is not handling the

puck. He's not skating with the puck. He's not making passes on the tape because maybe the pace

of the game is still too. But here's the thing. A lot of parents kind of oversee this and they close

their eyes to it and say, oh, he's surviving. He's my kids okay. My kids okay. He's surviving.

He didn't get burnt. He didn't instead of thinking of himself. If my kid was playing in another

level, he'd be carrying a puck down the ice. He'd be making plays and turn backs and having more

scoring opportunities or just things like that. I mean, you have to play the right level.

Well, let me just blow my own horn here. Two, two years after I told that coach, I saw that

coach not long ago. He still has a chip on a shoulder about it. Two years after that, I was a

second-rounder in the OHL one year later. So then three years after that conversation I had when

they were begging me to stay, I was a second-rounder in the NHL. That's what I mean. It's you are like,

listen, I'm going to tell you this. It's interesting the path that you lead because you could have

played on the triple A teams where you were, but maybe you would have been on the third line and

maybe you wouldn't have developed and maybe you wouldn't have had the confidence. Yeah, I had

sized 13 feet when I was 14 or 13. I could barely stand up cross over some days, but I had sick hands,

sick shot, but I was just gangly. I was tall and gangly and court. I had a conversation with

with a dad at basketball the other day whose kid was a tall kid a few years ago and gangly and

uncoordinated, but he had a lot of like raw potential. Could shoot, could dribble, could cross over,

but just couldn't quite, and I watched, I go, is that your kid? He's like, yeah, I was like, holy

shit, man. And he remembered the conversation I had with him years ago. He's like, I got to

just figure out this, you know, he's struggling with, I go, the coordination is going to come.

I go and when it clicks, your kid's game is going to go like that. It's going to trajectory upward.

And his game is going upward, you know, and I'm just, and he said to me, goes, I remember that

conversation you had about the coordination and people don't realize all kids developing growth

with different ages. The best kid, the best kid I know his name, I'm not going to say his name

in St. Catherine's minor hockey. He was this little whipper snipper turd and everybody,

everyone used to kiss the dad's ass kid, never went anywhere. He was barbecued by the time he

was 18. It's just the nature of it. So I don't know how we got here, Craig, but here we are. I don't

I don't know how this conversation even started. What was there a reason why you were bringing up

youth hockey and try out? Yeah, because I wanted to get Paddy Colletto on the on the pod today. And

he's like, I can't, we got we got tryouts tonight. I got to get ready for that. I was like, oh,

tryouts that I remembered. I called you and I was like, is it tryouts tonight? You said, I think

so for some age groups. And then I said, is that everybody's still? And it just the whole philosophy

behind it in Western New York. They're broken for years. And I don't care who hears this or whose

feelings are heard. The people that are running all of this are just allowing tampering. Everyone

talks about tampering. You can't call this family. You can't do this. You can't do that. That's

tampering. You can't ask a person from another another organization to come to your team. Meanwhile,

every single team does it. You have to. That's the only way because there should be a

hard no tryouts of junior sabers tryouts. And all these other teams and organizations should be

there to watch and know who's going to make it have communication with the junior sabers about

which players are going to be available. And they can all kind of funnel from there. Do you want to

play for the regals in this coach? Do you want to play for Amherst in this coach? Do you want to

go play double a for this team and and be the best player on the team and then try again next year?

You'll be on the ice. The most you'll be, you know what I mean? It's like, I'm just like not that I

care because I don't have a kid in minor hockey. I don't, but yeah, I really don't care. I just,

I have a theory on it and I have an opinion on it. And I think I just gave it. Well, listen,

I mean, I said this to you yesterday that when we were talking about, you know, my youngest son,

Nick, who's now 18 and going through the whole hockey side of things, you know, the regals and

the junior sabers. I said to you yesterday that, you know, I have no regrets. I've loved every

single minute. There was ups. There was downs. There was all around. There was beautiful times.

A lot of friendships made incredible, incredible, incredible young men. I love dealing with all

the teams. I never had an issue with any, any of the kids, okay? My, I will say that I have no regrets

and I would, but if I had to do it over again, I would do it differently. And I can't do it. I'm,

my kids are now grown up. They've now passed through the whole youth hockey program.

Like I said, I, I loved everything, but I would do it over again. I would not have my kids

play at the elite level. Could they play at the elite level? Yes, they could play at the elite

level, but I don't think it benefited them. They would have been, I believe, much better hockey

players if they would have played at a lesser level, skated and, and, and passed and shot and

owned the puck at a level that suited their skill set. And there's a lot of families

playing high end hockey that it's just not the right place. I know they want to be for the big,

big team, but, and I'm talking here, I'm talking here, I'm talking here, I'm talking all over the

place. Well, we can stay just here in Buffalo because it's, it's a big enough sample size and

example that it definitely suits the conversation. And, you know, a lot of people can't handle being

cut. Being cut is is, well, no one's getting cut. That's because they all have spots on when

they, because there's no triodes. So no one's getting cut. There's never been a kid that's been

cut. You know, you know what I'm saying? That's what we're talking about. I think when I coach

the junior sabers the one year we had, like because of the scenario that you were talking about,

I think we have one kid come to try out. Maybe side of all the kids that were already committed to.

Right. And listen, I mean, I've, I've coached two different teams down at the junior sabers.

I would say a good 70, 80% of all of the years over the course of over a decade to 12 years.

There was a large, large amount where there was nobody that came to try out because that's

just the way it was. I mean, let me ask you this question. So there were kids that

came to try out and got an eye opener because they were playing, you know, at a level where I think

they just kind of wanted to go and see how good these kids actually are at this age, at the age

that he came to try out. And he realized real quick that he had some work to do. And that's a good

thing. And we're not going to solve this problem. I'm trying to find out who runs Western New York hockey.

Because I'd love to have. Yeah. Well, good luck with that. Yeah. Listen, I mean, the way it should

be done, you should have the, the, the junior sabers, which is the premier tier one organization here

in Buffalo, they should be trying, they should have a try out where everybody in their dog. I'm talking,

you're getting a large flux of people from Rochester that are coming in because they want to play

on the premier organization. And that's the junior sabers currently right now. They play the toughest

schedule. They play the top tier tournaments. It's, it's high end. The regals is another organization

that has been a very good organization for many, many, many years. I think they've kind of taken

a little bit of a step back because they lost that SCTA card, but there's still a good organization.

That's where my, my oldest boy started. And it's a, it's a great organization. It's, I enjoyed my

time at the, the Buffalo regals. And, um, you know, like I said, it's, um, there just needs to be,

I think tears of triad dates. Maybe it's New York state hockey that decides on this stuff. Maybe

there isn't like a western New York. I, again, like I said, he just goes to show you I have no idea,

you know, not what I was in hockey forever. And I don't know either. I don't know who makes those

decisions because it's just like I just be honest with you. I had to recruit. Yeah. It's the only

way. It's the only, it's the only way of making your team better. You're trying to improve. Yeah,

I had to recruit. I had to recruit you know, I recruit it. It's what it is. Recruit every single

team. It's for use. Does it? Yeah. Every single team. Um, all right. Let's move on here. It's

Akmetsa recalled to the Sabers. Not sure what this for the lineup or the numbers. But I mean,

you must have been happy to hear that news. Yeah. Listen, I mean, is it going to be in the lineup

tonight? Uh, I don't know. Uh, that's good question. I know that, um, I read something. Maybe

for me, I'm not sure who it was from my Carrington or, or Paul Hamilton saying that, uh,

Kessel Ring was skating with Logan Stanley. Okay. So I don't know. Maybe he's going to get a shot

to get back in the lineup. Um, there was Jordan Greenway was another that, uh, looks like he's

been skating and, and starting to feel pretty good. And, well, now you're cutting into my

injury report again. So I just wanted to stay with Zach Metsa and, oh, my God. And I know, I know,

I know, I know, I got this thing planned out in my head. And I think I did tell you that before

the show. But that's okay. Listen, um, my question, my, my question is, it's a lot of people were

pissed off and upset and that he was sent down. And I mean, maybe pissed off and upset is a bit

dramatic. But I think I understand it because you have to get Timons back in the lineup. You have

to give him games. You have only have eight games left. And if he's healthy, you're going to need

him in the playoffs. If you go far enough, so you, I mean, you have two options. You can have

Zach Metsa go to Rochester and play for a week and knock at Rusty, or you can have him stay here

and practice with probably mostly optional practices anyway at this point this season. Yeah.

And game day skates, which, well, I don't that's the reason why they sent them down. Yeah, that is

the guy that can be sent down. Um, numbers thing. And it, it makes sense. It's just, I think it

speaks volumes to what he's done for himself in this team since he came here and got called up

in whenever he got called up. I don't remember how long ago was whatever the date was.

So maybe he plays tonight. Maybe he doesn't. I don't know. But I'll tell you what though, um,

I may as well just get right into the injury report presented by Seleno Law saw billboards on my

way downtown today and on my way out of town, down, heading down to 97 rock and they are beautiful

with the big eight eights out there. Eight eight eight eight eight eight eight eight car crash

called Seleno. You mentioned Greenway close to being back. If he's close to being back, I want to see

him play. I want to get him in games. I would love for him to be available in the playoffs. I think

he's one of those players like a, like a, uh, uh, pickle Brian pickle that could really add

something in the playoffs. Big, strong, skilled, you know, like, uh, that could be one of those clutch

players and physical. So I'd like to see him back. I like him as a player. I met him. I think he's

a great guy. He heard his teammates love him. Um, I'd like to see him back in the lineup. Uh, you

mentioned Kessling. When healthy Jordan Greenway is, uh, a very solid asset for the Sabers. No,

there's no doubt. Um, and you're looking into the playoffs. You're looking to the future. You're

not just looking for now. And I, and I know like this, the sabers are in a situation where they have

what eight games left. They have eight of the most important games left of the season. Okay. They're,

they're in a, um, a race to be number one in the east. Okay. And number one is Mr.

Conference conversation. You just want to blow your load all in all in one conversation.

Buddy, I'm just having a conversation like it. It's just they're in a race. They're going to make

the playoffs. So carry on. Carry on. No, go ahead. No, no, I was just, I was just going to say that

I mean, like they're, they're in a race. They're going to make the playoffs. You know, I mean,

I wanted to, I wanted to know what your thoughts are on Kessling getting back in. I think he has

a bit of a broken heart. I've heard some, I've heard some very interesting things about Kessling.

So, uh, you know, the, the dynamic with him in the lineup and maybe some feathers ruffled, uh,

about ice time and playing time and things like that have not bowed well for him.

Yeah. So hopefully that he hasn't, he hasn't had the season that he is envisioned when he got

traded in the summertime to come to Buffalo. Um, I think both players and, uh, you know, Josh

Don and Michael Kessler and came here with good attitudes and they were really looking forward

to starting with the sabers. It just so happened that Michael Kessler was injured at training camp

um, and, and wasn't able to start the season. And then once he started, you know, he

trying to get into game shape and then all of a sudden he sustains another injury, a high

ankle sprain, which is like literally, it's, it's worse than breaking your leg because it's

going to last the entire season. And I think he told the media that and he injured that

twice. So he, he hasn't played a lot of games. He hasn't played in a, he hasn't been in a

situation where he can gain confidence in his game. It's been a tough, tough season for him.

I'm going to throw it out of him. Is that why he can't stand up in a fight though? Okay. Well, I mean,

uh, I will take a guy that's at least willing to do it. How about that? So, um,

you know, is he, is he, um, you know, the heavyweight in the lead? No, I'm not looking for the

heavyweight. I'm looking for guys who just want to, that, that want to engage physically. And

Michael Kessler Ring has shown that he is willing to do that at least. So, yeah. And it hasn't, I

don't think his attitude is, is where it should be. I'm sure he's probably very frustrated with

everything that's going on, um, personally. And maybe that's kind of affecting, uh, a little bit of

his play and, and how he's being treated as an individual player on this team. So, I wonder if he's

getting, uh, if you've got his feathers ruffled when don't comes here, gets all that love from Utah

and, uh, signs that massive contract. You know, and he's still kind of left lurking in the weeds

there, you know, fighting for his, yeah. Well, listen, I mean, this is, it's about fighting for what

you, it's about fighting for your piece of the pie, right? I mean, I hate to say it that as much as

these guys are all on the same team, everybody's on the same team, they're all fighting for a certain

piece of the pie. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They just came to do it as a team, but there's also, you know,

23 individual teams too. Right. And you're, you're playing for yourself as much as you are the

ultimate total team player. And, you know, I don't know, uh, if he was upset when, uh, you know,

Josh don't, I don't see you. That's his buddy. I would, you would think that he would be like,

take an advantage of, uh, this guy signing, yeah, free dinners, free dinners for the entire year, man.

He came here. I was the main piece of the trade there, donor. I mean, uh, and I just got you 50

mill. Yeah. How about it? Listen, I mean, I think, I think, I think Michael Kesselring is a very

solid defenseman. He has not had a great season here in Buffalo. He is going to be a very good

defenseman for a long time in this league. He's 26 years old. He's going to be an unrestricted

free agent after next season. He's got all the time in the world to figure out a shit, um,

have a great summer of training. He's going to be here though. He's probably here. He probably,

it's, it's not going to be here. We, we have far too much money tied up in our top four. And if

you're looking at maybe extending, uh, Logan Stanley, then, then you're looking at a, uh,

a solid contract there. But Michael Kesselring is going to do fine for himself.

Well, I just know that he, I'm sure he wants to play. He's not happy. He's sitting there watching Luke

Shen. And then it's, uh, Zach met, uh, um, I'm sure he wants to be a staple in this lineup. And

he's probably pretty pissed off. All right. Well, that'll do it for our injury update,

presented by Salino law, car crash, call Salino, call the eights, call 88888888888.

See the islanders got pounded last night by pit.

Yeah, three. Yeah, we'll look at the standings, Craig. Yeah. Like, I said,

I feel like my eyes are bleeding. Like, look at the standings because that's all I do is look

at the standings, trying to figure out where teams are going to fall. Just, it's, uh, it's extremely

difficult. Like a, like, you're the one who brought it up yesterday, right? So the Montreal

Canadians right now are five wins in a row. They currently sit four points behind Buffalo.

And, um, at game in hand. Yeah. So if they win that game, there, there are two points behind

Buffalo. Holy jumping is that make me super nervous, right? And then on top of that Boston, uh, is,

you know, there's six points back, but they've won three. They've won three in a row. Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, it's, uh, it's a race. It's a race. I mean, I, I have no guarantees that Buffalo is going

to finish in an Atlantic spot in one of the top three. There's no guarantee there. Yeah.

And I will be very telling kind of covers are in an absolute dog fight after losing that game

last night. Columbus is one game, uh, one game in hand on, on the Islanders and one point back.

Yeah. The Islanders have to win tonight. They have to win. They are in a, uh, definitely

a win-win situation. You know, you look at the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Metro Pittsburgh,

the Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets are in that division. There are three points behind

the Islanders with two games in hand. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. It's going to be. They have

a game in hand on blockies. If they win that game in hand on Columbus, same amount of wins, same

amount of losses, same amount of OT losses. Yeah. Yeah. Since same. So that's kind of where I'm going

with that. There's just no certainty with, with this team right now. I mean, last week we're,

we're basically calling reads jewelers and ordering the rings, right? I still feel very confident.

I don't, I don't feel not confident. Well, tonight we'll be very telling with what team shows up.

What I've really enjoyed is it just seems like the East in general where you have Tampa Bay

in the last 10 there's seven one and two. The Buffalo Sabers are six two and two. The Montreal

Canadians are on a five game winning streak. There's seven and three in the last 10 games. And then

you look at the Boston Bruins six two and two. You look at the Philadelphia Flyers that have two

games in hand. Like you said, they could easily, easily go to second in the Metro if they win those

two games. They're eight one and one. It's like all of these teams, Ottawa Senators are six,

three and one. Every team seems to be playing their absolute very best hockey at the right time.

It's, it's absolutely insane. What we've watched, especially in the East, I find the West is

just completely, completely a different situation. Yeah. If you want to talk about the Edmonton

Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific and the flip flopping there, I don't know.

It just seems the the Eastern Conference just seems like it's so much stronger than the West right

now, but you still have you actually have more teams in the West vying for that last Wildcard spot.

You have one, two, three, four, five teams out of the Western Conference race that all could make

it into the Wildcard, too. Yeah. Like St. Louis Blues right now in the Wildcard race out of

seven teams, they sit number seven. They are four points behind Nashville, but they have a game in

hand. They win that game. They have, they're only two games out. I mean, it's so exciting for hockey

right now. Hockey in general, it's not even just about watching the Buffalo Sabers right now,

which I mean, we're watching probably the most exciting hockey team in the league this year.

They are, they are, you know, go go get a ticket and watch this team play because every single

night, there's something happening that's exciting. There's high scoring games, there's fights,

there's hits, there's great goal tending like you name it. You're getting all star performances

from slinky on defense and Rasmus Dahlene. It's like the kid doesn't even have a spine in the

way that he twists and turns with that pocket. It's just insane. And it looked, he makes it look

so bloody easy and it's not easy. He does it at a super high level. It's, I'm just so happy to watch

this whole entire team. It's unbelievable. Moving on from there, did you see that

Radco Goudus and Max Domey went at it three seconds into the game last night? Max Domey just

pounded the absolute piss out of him. Yeah, listen, I mean good for Radco Goudus. He's not necessarily

a fighter, but wanted to be in that game in particular. I think he, is he, is he nursing something?

Yeah, he's got an ankle sprain, high ankle sprain. Yes. And he said that he, he absolutely has to be

in to answer the ball for what he did. Pretty admirable for a guy you don't want to admire.

I mean, I love him as a player, but you love him when he's on your team, playing against him,

he is an absolute nightmare, right? He's, he's been a very, very shut down, very physical,

walks the line with many of the, how he plays the game, been suspended, what, five plus times.

And there probably could have been more, but listen, I mean, he, he did an admirable thing by being

in that line up. He got in a fight and actually took a kind of pretty good beating by Max Domey,

who's a tough little firecracker and answer the bell. And then you move on from there, right?

Right. It's it. That's it. Yep. Uh, torts one is, uh, debut with Vegas. Yeah, you know, listen,

didn't change the lineup. All lines were the same. Depends, defense pairings were the same.

Um, walked into the game. Uh, last night, who they play, uh, see, uh, St. Louis Blues. And, um,

listen, they, they ended up, uh, pulling that one out, become victorious and, you know,

torts or no, is Vancouver connox. Um, or sorry, the connox. Yeah, apologize. Yeah. And, uh,

you know, torts, torts gets a win. A big, big, very important win. And, uh, hopefully,

that torts vibe and a new, you know, you, you've seen this in the past, Petey, where you have real

good hockey teams that just need a different voice, a different look. And, uh, sometimes torts

is that guy he likes to come in, coach the team for, you know, a couple of years and get the most

out of that team. And I think that's what the Golden Knights are looking for right now is for

torts to, um, put his staple on this team and get them, get them going, get them over the

top. San Jose played St. Louis. The reason why that was relevant because celibrate went into

the game with 98 points, walks out with three points, broke 100 point mark last night. Yeah.

Crazy. Uh, he's, he's the next superstar of the league. I listen, there's always been the,

I wouldn't say there's always been comparisons, but I think he and Bedard are both from West

Vancouver. And yeah, celibrate is just, he's, I just think he's better than Bedard. I have nothing

against Bedard. He proved me wrong this year. He's, he's a phenomenal player. Yeah. I think,

I think when you're, when you're thinking of like, uh, you know, Macklin celibrate who is 19

years old, like think of that, think of that rolling off my tongue. 19 years old. He has 30

equals 101 points. And he is such a massive, massive piece to that team in San Jose and what

they're going to do moving forward. It's, they've got to be so, so, so excited about him.

That being said, it's like, um, man, I think he's going to be the market center. I think he's

going to be the market center this summer. Like he, I don't know what kind of money, 15 million,

eight times 15. I wouldn't sign that. Well, I mean, I guess he's, I mean, yeah, I mean, how can

you argue that he's not up there with Caprice off? Um, I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna tell you something.

I, I feel that when you are an absolute mega star, you're always going to get paid. You're

always going to be getting paid. I would not want to make your deal that only bodes well for the,

for the team. I would be looking at doing an Austin Matthews type deal. Okay. I'd be looking at

doing a deal that, um, let's start with four years. Let's start with a five year deal. Okay. Let's

start with a deal that pays me 14 million for four years. Okay. Wait for offer sheet. I, the

offer sheet would never happen. That being said, I would be looking for a shorter term deal,

like a four or five year deal, looking at 14, 15 million dollars a year, because I'm going to

tell you something. Next year, we talked about it this a thousand times. It's going up to 103.

The year after that, it's going up to 113 and a half. The year after that, we're being told

that it could be as high as 130. Okay. That's in three years from now. Celebrity, if he signs a

four or five year contract and let's say that it goes from 125 to 132, that's four years.

The, the San Jose sharks, if he signs a five year deal, have to go and re-sign him after four

years of playing. How much money do you think he's, if he signs a 14 year or 15 years? Well,

you're allowed to sign 20% of the cap. So if he takes 15% of the cap at 130 million, I mean,

I don't even, I don't even want to do these numbers. It's going to give me a headache. I just,

it's crazy the kind of money. Imagine he signed a bridge deal for three years, 12.5. That's his

bridge deal. Why, why wouldn't it be, why wouldn't you do it? I don't, it will, David, it's signed a

two year deal. Okay. He's the best player in the game. And he's the best player in the game. He's

the face of the league. And I, I believe that he took a massive diff's count. Like if you got

Krill Caprice off, who's making $17 million, knowing that salary cap is going to be skyrocketing

in the next three years, Conor McDavid took a massive a cut at 12.5. Maclin, Celebrini, why wouldn't,

why wouldn't he go and sign a three year deal for $12.5 million or $13 million? Yeah. And wait

for the salary cap to go up to 130, 140. And then all of a sudden, he's making 20 plus. Yeah. Yeah.

No, you're, you're right. I had to be interesting to see. He could be a market center. Like you

said, but Caprice off is an AAV of 17 million. So, what do you, what do you think that Conor

Bedard is going to get? He's got 68 points this year. He's got 30 goals already. He was hurt.

And he, and he was on say for hundreds and he got hurt and missed the Olympics. I mean, he can't

penalize him for that, but I mean, he signed a bridge deal. I don't know. I don't, I don't know.

But we can talk about that another day. I don't, like I said to you, that's a tough one to kind

of make a absolute 12, 12 and a half. I mean, he may as well sign an eight year deal if you're

him for like 12 and a half million. Why would he sign for 12? Just, let me ask you this,

that you're just throwing out numbers. Why don't he sign 12 and a half when Austin Matthews

is making 14, three, fair enough. Around the league tonight, huge games around the league tonight.

Listen to this, Saber's Islanders, Stars Bruins, huge for the Bruins, Canadian's lightning.

You watch, that'll be a three point game. So, there'll be, there'll be an overtime game. Senators,

Panthers, Devils Rangers for the Senators. Listen to this one, Red Wings, Penguins,

both teams fighting for their lives, Flyers, Capitals. Oh my god. Hurricanes. Oh my god. Hurricanes,

Blue Jackets, Jets, Black Hawks, Kraken Oilers. That's a massive game too. It's the best time

year. It is absolutely. Washington is, this is, if Washington loses tonight regulation,

they probably are out. You know what's amazing about this is like how excited we are. Like, if you go

back and look at our last like five years that we've been doing the podcast and at the end of this

time of year, we are so angry. We're not even looking at the, at the standings, at the stats of

teams that are trying to fight for the playoffs. We've never even had this discussion before.

Because we've been so angry about what the hell are we watching? Who's making decisions?

Who do we need to fire? There's players that we need to cut. Like, think about this. If the

Sabers lose, right? Like you talk about this game, the Islanders need to win. Okay. The Sabers

need to win because of Montreal beats Tampa. Now they're in the Sabers lose. Now it's 96, 98 with

the game in hand. Yeah. It's like, uh, this is some crazy shit. What's your, what's your best

case scenario? Like what do you want? I want a Tampa Bay to win. I want to, I want Montreal,

Canadians to win. Oh, do you want to make it more interesting? No, I want, I want Montreal Canadians

to win Sabers to win. And then I want Sabers to win. And now they're at the top of the division

again. There, there you go with no breathing room still though. So no breathing room, but there's

no breathing room in a lot of situations in the Metro, for an example, the Pittsburgh, the

Islanders, like Columbus Blue Jackets, like there's no breathing room for those teams either.

Yeah. There's no, there's no breathing room for Detroit, Ottawa, Boston. I mean, it's exciting

year. Ever in the history of the game for scoreboard watching. Ever. I, I agree. I agree.

Talk to you later. Thanks for listening, everybody.