What To Make Of Boston Bruins' Surprising James Hagens Decision; CHL Playoffs Preview; 19 Year Olds In AHL And More

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Hello everybody and welcome to called up the prospects podcast. I am Chris Peters and

flow hockey joined as always by Cam Robinson of elite prospects and a lot to get to today,

Cam. So much so that we've got James Hagen's going to the AHL. We've got the NCAA tournament

starting the CHL playoffs starting. We've got 19 year olds coming to the AHL. We've got so much

stuff that we got to get to. And we're going to start today with that decision by the Boston

Bruins to send their top prospect James Hagen's before we get to that, it is also like the greatest

time of the year. It is. I mean, there's hockey. That was such a weird transition by me, but

but it is. It's like we are finally here. It's playoffs in the CHL. It's NCAA tournament.

There's all sorts of stuff going on and we're getting close to the postseason in the pro ranks.

So the playoff races are on in the pros as well. And despite my weird transition, we'll talk about

James Hagen's right now because the Boston Bruins are a team that is in the playoff chase right now.

They have the opportunity to bring in their number one prospect. And I think a lot of people

looking for him to potentially join the Bruins here for the stretch run, the Boston Bruins,

but instead he'll be in Providence and he did make his AHL debut last night as we record this as we

do every Thursday. And Cam, I just want to first want to get your initial reaction on what you

thought when you saw that Hagen's not only wasn't signing an NHL ELC, he was signing an AHL ATO.

I get it. I understand why from the organizational standpoint, they'd want to do that and it's to not

burn a year for a player that you're not envisioning is going to play a significant role for you this

season. I don't love it from an organizational standpoint because it's like this is your top

prospect and let's be frank here is that Boston hasn't had like a legitimate top prospect in a

hot minute. And so, you know, there's a lot riding on James Hagen's and being like a cornerstone

player for them. And so for me, it's like you want him to come out of school. He's ready to come

out of school. Give him his contract. Give him a signing bonus. Burn that year, get him into NHL

games so that he has that experience now to go into the summer with like, okay, that's the level

I need to be at so that that can help him. I, you know, there's he's going to learn at the AHL

level too. There's going to be it's it's going to be a transition. That's a tough leak to score

in. That's a tough leak to play in. But, you know, if you're if you're looking to just like,

oh, we want the three years at the ELC and we want three full years of it before we have to get him

paid. Well, it's like you can look it up from the other side too. It's like you burned that one

right quick. And now we only has two years to really pop and look for that monster second contract.

Maybe now you're looking at a bridge or maybe you're looking at giving him a seven year deal

after this anyways, six year deal, whatever long term or at a really nice price tag just because

he hasn't blown up yet. Now you can get him under contract long term for something that's not

going to break the bank for you too. So personally, I think that the the value of signing him to his

entry level contract and bringing him into Boston to play NHL games right away far outstrips

the the safety of like, oh, let's just like let him get his feet wet. We're in a playoff hunt

right now. We don't need to bring a 19 year old into the fray and give him a minute. So I didn't

I didn't love it, but I do I guess understand it from one side anyways.

Yeah, so the the side that I understand it from and the like here's the thing though by doing

this, the Bruins have bought themselves a little bit of extra time right and it is actually was

in the statement about why you know, they're basically keeping all options open. So by signing

Hagen's to an amateur triad agreement with you know, now they they aren't starting the clock on

his contract yet, but they still can and they can always add you know, add him into the mix here.

If they feel like they need him and if they feel like he can help them, this is a team that's

kind of teetering on the brink. They could as easily finish, you know, third in the Atlantic as

they could finish now to the playoffs. You know, so there's a lot of there's a lot of riding

on this time. There's also a little bit of precedent within the Bruins zone organization.

They did the same exact thing with Charlie McAvoy signed him out of BU. They sent him to Providence

first. He played about four HL games and then they decided, hey, you know what the playoffs are

here. I think they might have had an injury and suddenly he was on the top pairing with Dino Chara

in like game one of the playoffs that year and they it wasn't a long playoffs series, but they're

like, all right, well, we need him now. So let's get him in there. So that's interesting too.

The other factor that I do think makes this a little bit more intriguing I suppose is that

the Providence Bruins are a legitimate Calder Cup contender this year. So you can potentially get

your top prospect into a meaningful playoff run with your HL team. Now does that match the NHL?

And I agree with you like the what you're saying about getting a taste of the NHL. We've talked

that we talked about it last week about, you know, you look at Cole Hudson and how much better is

he going to be next year because he knows now what it takes to play. And so I do think that there's

risk there on top of on top of this. The other risk that I wanted to talk about too is that

think about how this discussion has gone for other teams with top prospects with players that

wanted to jump into the NHL right away. Cutter Goche and I coward or two very recent prominent

examples of that. Rucker McGority was a different situation altogether. But those two were like,

hey, we were ready. Let's go. And then the team was like, no, we don't have a spot for you.

We can't just give it to you right now. And what happened? Neither of them are playing for the

organizations that drafted them. Goche being a top pick, Howard being a first rounder, you know,

like that. So that's the other risk that you run, which I don't think was ever a risk with James

Higgins. But at the same time, the relationship between the team and the player does hang in the balance

in these decisions, doesn't it? It does. It does. And the fact that, you know, I get the player,

you know, playing a Boston college, they were, they were a shriveled version of their recent

selves. But, you know, right, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who expected them throughout the

year to find a way into the NCAA tournament, right? So then as far as I'm concerned, like them not

being there is a disappointment and a bit of a surprise too. So I'm sure, you know, and Higgins

and his agent, you know, everybody saying the right things. It's like the focus was on Austin

college going as long as that season could run and then let's have those discussions. But you

know that those discussions were being had with with the Bruins before that. Like, hey,

is James ready to come out? Yeah, great. It's like you would, if I was him and I was his agent,

I would have been expecting a contract sitting there waiting for me with the big Boston Bruins

logo on it, not a Providence Bruins logo on it. So, you know, I'm sure it's disappointing for him.

Like you said, I don't think this is going to turn into a Cutter Goche situation or an I-Coward

situation or anything like that where it's like he's going to, it's going to be fractured and

that he's not going to be a Bruin long term. As long as they give him a Schedule A bonuses and

do all the right things now, you'll be like, hey, you're our guy. Like, don't cut any more corners

on him here and make him feel like he's not wanted because I don't, you know, one move and that's

probably enough. But like you said, he does have the option to come back in and sign that ELC and

jump up. But I gotta say, too, so like, you know, like get him into NHL games, send him down to

the minors. If he's not ready and he can still get that playoff run experience with Providence,

too, right? Like, so just get the guy paid. That's what I want to see. Do you get him paid?

Show him that he's that he's wanted and needed and going to be a big part of the organization

long term. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it is, it is such a, it's such an interesting dynamic for the whole

situation there in terms of, you know, whether or not to start the clock and all those different

things. You know, David Passionac did play a significant chunk of time in the NHL before he made

the jump to the NHL, you know, McAvoy as I mentioned, only played about four NHL games with Providence

and then you made the jump. But, you know, I think that the likelihood of Hagen's being a full-time

NHLer next season, while I believe it is quite high, I don't think it's guaranteed. So that's the

other kind of factor here is that you also want to try to make sure that you're giving him that

opportunity to, you know, if he is going to get that taste to be like, here's what you need to do

in the off season to come back here. But the other things that I think are interesting in this

whole situation, and this is a total wrinkle that I didn't even think about. And I wonder if this

will ever be tried at some point. If you allow a player to sign an ATO and they retain their NCAA

eligibility. I thought that too. I thought that too. How hilarious would I be? I don't think is, I

don't think that's happening. I don't think that's happening. But it's one of those things where it's

like, is this a little end-around? Because right now, there are guys in the NCAA that played this

year, that played a large chunk of an NHL season. I don't know in ATO. That maintained their

eligibility. And I did get a little bit of clarity on that by the way, Cam, about why the

reasonable, like the cost of living and all that other stuff. It's not the total cost that they

get. It's that that in relation to what a scholarship would be worth. And a scholarship in some

instances is worth, you know, $90,000. And the, those guys are not making $90,000 in the minors.

So it's, it's kind of a, I was like so confused as to how these professionals could get it. Now,

the one thing that they are a full stop on, if you sign an ELC, you're done. So that's, that's one

thing. But I don't think, so I just wanted to point that out because that is something that I've

heard in the conversation about James Hagen's. I don't think he's going anywhere, you know, outside

of the Boston Bruins organization from here forward. But it's just, it's crazy that we are now in

this situation where it's like, Hey, is that an actual strategy that somebody could try? It's like,

Hey, I'm not sure if you're ready. Maybe we do an ATO and see how it goes. And if not, maybe you

go back to school. I'm like, how do you even do that? So, yeah, well, we've seen guys do

that in the CHL, right? Like that's forever. It's been a thing where you, your CHL season ends.

You're not in the playoffs. We get balanced early. We'll sign an ATO, go play with the American

league team for a little bit and then back to the CHL the next year. So it's like, it's not

completely crazy or uncommon in this year. It'd be awesome to see that too, right? If a guy was

like, you know, it wouldn't be able to go back. Actually, play a third year, you know, why not?

Yeah, because the other thing too is like, you give the, you give a guy a taste of like, Hey,

here's, here's life, you know, this is what your next year would be like, are you going to be all

right with that? Or are you going to go back to school and, you know, have a little bit of that

that autonomy and some of my NIL dollars floating around on top of it? So there's a lot of interesting

wrinkles here. And we're going to talk a little bit about the, the, the other wrinkle that will now

potentially change this conversation even further when we talk about the 19-year-olds in the

NCAA. But, you know, before, before we move on from this topic, the one thing that I will say,

as I mentioned, with the Goche and, and Isaac Howard situation, and for that matter, Rucker

McGrawdy, players are now more emboldened than they have ever been to not simply take what you

give them. Yeah. And part of that is because they probably, they, while they don't have the leverage

to make NHL dollars, they have the leverage to make a pretty good, you know, pretty good money

if there are a good enough prospect in the collegiate ranks while having all that fun,

while still developing, while doing all those things. So there's leverage like they really haven't

had before because of the prominence of the NCAA path. And so, you know, and we'll get into that

a little bit more later. But the, the, it's, it's, it's right now, Cam, like we're in a completely

different era when it comes to players. And there is risk in damaging that relationship probably

faster. And, and these players have an alternative. They have a safety net. They have a plan B, which

they had never had before. Not only to have that, but they also have the four years August 15th

that is just sitting there waiting for them as well, too, right? It's like, you don't want to give

me what I want. I can go back and, yeah, I can make 100k. I can make 200k. I can live this really

unique bubble life where it's all about hockey and their studies. And it's a great time and you're

flying. You're not riding the buses like you are in the American League or the ECHL or something like

that. And then I can sign anywhere I want at the end of that, too, right? So if a team values and

puts, you know, spends a first round pick or even a high second round pick, and then, and then

a player pops, it's like, you might get nothing for that, too, if you, if you don't play your

card, right? So absolutely this is absolutely the era of choice for players, you know, choice of

where they want to play junior, where they want to play college. Do they want to move around in

the portal? Do they want to go to the NHL right away? Do they want to sign an ATO? It's, it's nothing

but choice. And it's great. I'm all for it. I'm all about the players having that.

Yeah, no question. I mean, you go back and like in the situations of Adam Fox and Rucker

McGrawdy, in Rucker's case, didn't want to play for the Jets. It didn't want to play in the

organization. There's never been clarity about the wise of that. But he just said, that's not what I

want to do. Adam Fox spurned two NHL teams before he got what he wanted, which was to be a long term

play, you know, wanted to play for the team that he loved, the New York Rangers. He's like out. And

there, this is not something that a lot of players can do. And Rucker McGrawdy is probably like

at the at the lower end of what of those players that are, but that's a top that's still a top

level, you know, top 20 pick in the NHL. Yeah, for some. Yeah, that called a shot. And, and that is

going to continue to happen. Now one, one such instance that I'm going to be keeping a very close

eye on as we get out of this season is Michael Hage. Michael Hage could potentially sign with

Montreal. Could they get him in the game like Michigan is in the national tournament. They're playing,

you know, in the regionals this week, we'll see what happens after that. If they go to the frozen

four, there's less and less time available to potentially hop into the NHL lineup. But think

about the different types of leverage in that situation where, you know, you have to decide,

is there a spot for me in the near future, which was like the question that Isaac Howard had? What

is my path? And I think he was still willing to go play in the NHL, even for another organization

because he felt like, you know, maybe Tampa didn't quite believe that he was ready for something

he did. And, and so Hage is going to be one because he, you know, here he is, one of the top

players in college hockey took a huge step forward this year. You know, obviously there's the,

the emotional storyline with his, you know, the, the Habs being his dad's favorite team, his late

father's favorite team and all these other things. And, but he's also in this position. And

obviously, you know, typically as, as is off in the case in these, you know, represented by, you

know, and, you know, advisors and an agency that will, you know, that has definitely

rid gone down this path before. So that's the one cam. And I don't know, you know, I don't have,

I'm not, I don't want to worry Habs fans. I'm not saying that I have insight into that. It's just

one of those upcoming scenarios. I don't think we'll see that with Porter Marton. I don't think

we'll see that with a couple of other guys. But Hage is one where it's like, hey, and then like

Charlie Stremel is one where it's like, I can go to free agency. Like there's all different things.

These players have opportunities to do different things. But I don't know any, any thoughts on,

on that collection of talent there. Yeah, I agree with you. I think Marton's going to be cut and dry.

You know, we'll see how far State goes. I think it would be very far. But when he's ready,

he'll sign and he'll come out. And if there's time, he'll get into games with the flyers.

Charlie Stremel, you know, as far as I know is that he's, he's really connected with Minnesota.

And he appreciates the patience and the development and everything they've done for him. So I don't,

I don't imagine that's going to be a difficult contract to sign either. You know, he popped

this year as well. Hage is interesting. Hage is interesting for sure. I don't

have any insight on whether he's going to sign right away or not, whether he's going to get

into games with Montreal. It'd be something to poke around on for sure. But my question is,

is he a center? Is he a center? That's a really good question. I mean, like, I think defensively

know. No. Yeah. But I think he can be a plate like transition and probably either. Yeah. Yeah,

it's, it's tough, man. It's tough because I think you want to be a center. That's the other

things. Yes. It doesn't believe that you can be the position that you want to be. That's another

factor. It's like, is there a path for me being a center on this team? Is there? So that's a

really good point to Kim, like where it's like exactly where I was going. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah,

yeah. That's, no, that's, that's, that's, that's, that makes a ton of sense to me. And that's

the, that's a thing is like the players now that are coming into the league. And, and because

many of them have been represented since they were four, 14 years old or sometimes even

yeah, which is old, whatever. Um, you know, they, there's, there's a business savvy. They listen

to their advisors and then they also are pretty clear in what they want. And as we've seen,

the players now know how to use that leverage their advantage. And, and the teams, you know,

teams that don't bend to it, like, finally, I don't know like how it's going to work out between

Winnipeg and, and Pittsburgh, you know, Yeager and, and McGroyy, you know, like I, I don't know

that either of them are going to be difference make like huge difference makers within their

organizations. But at the same time, you know, you look at a guy like Cage and that's a,

that's a guy who is trending in a very strong direction that you would certainly want to have in

your mix as the, a quick dynamic talent. But he, even he knows like the emotional side of things

are one element, but there is a real legitimate business and career decision to be made. And these

players are making them in different ways now. Yes, sir, sir. All right. So a lot of intrigue

there. We'll see a lot of these players that'll sign. There have been a number of, you know,

free agents that have made their decisions already. There will be more available as the, as the

postseason continues. Dartmouth is a team that you'll be seeing soon in today. They're in action.

You know, by the time you listen to this, they'll have already played. But, you know, there's a

bunch of guys there. So there's a lot of really intriguing free agents that are still making their

decisions. So lots of ways for teams to get better there. But I want to transition away from the

college. And I want to take it back to junior because this is going to be the world moves fast.

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slash M365 co-pilot. It's a really critical couple of weeks here for a number of players. And

in a lot of NHL draft prospects, their postseason is probably going to end this week or next.

There's a lot of guys that are on teams that are probably not going to go super deep into the

playoffs. I'm there. They're guys that do go deep into the playoffs. But I do want to transition

over to the CHL playoffs. You can watch the OHL and QMJHL playoffs on Flowhockey every single game,

live and on demand. Make sure you get your subscription now because you can see many of these

players that we're going to talk about as well as a couple of series that we're going to talk about

that have a lot of entry. That starts as we record this. It'll have started the day before.

But watch that. There's so many great things. And this has really

came over the years we've seen players. And I think like Caleb DeNoire last year,

East and Cal in a couple of years ago, we talked about it last week. There are a lot of NHL draft

prospects that have an opportunity here that have the ability to take things to the next level.

And I wanted to zero in on one guy who I think is going to have a very long postseason.

And that's Caleb Melhotra. We've talked about him on this podcast.

84 points this year. I mean, he had just a phenomenal draft season.

Now he's with one of the best teams in the OHL, the Brandford Bulldogs.

He's playing a prominent role. He's among their top scorers, which includes two first round

studs in Vannecker and O'Brien. And they have more first rounders on the back end too.

So this is a team that is an absolute wagon. But I'm going to be really focused in on

Caleb Melhotra because I think this is a chance for him to really separate himself as a potential

number one center in this draft. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I do think that it's a big opportunity

for him to be that number one center to show that, hey, like in big moments, even though I'm on a

loaded team where it's not one of these players that's really highly regarded but has to do

everything himself and that kind of plays into like, oh, well, the points weren't there. But

you know, I will say is that he's he's cooled. He has cooled of late down the stretch there,

which is, you know, he was among the top scorers in the OHL for a good stretch. Now he's dropped

down to maybe not even at the top 10 anymore. I think just three assists in the last five,

just a point of game, just a point of game in the last 10. He's still just a dynamic player though,

right? And he's learned to be more of a dynamic player this season, I think, too. He's got the size,

he's a young birthday, loads of like, he's got height anyways. He's got the room to fill out.

Yes, he's going to be watching him very, very closely like I could see him going as high as three.

I think that there is absolutely a world that he goes three behind, behind McKenna and Stenberg.

But if he has just an okay playoffs, maybe maybe he doesn't get up that high. Maybe it's five,

six, seven, something like that. Maybe we see that D run start a little bit earlier. So yeah,

he definitely has a lot to play for and I'll be watching him closely too.

Yeah, and I mean, I think that the style that he plays should fit well, you know,

into a postseason to, you know, he's got the two way capabilities. He's got a high competitive drive,

you know, and but being a contributor offensively at this time of year goes such a long way.

You know, how much did you contribute to, you know, yes, you're on a good team. How much did you

own what happened in the postseason? And he's got a great chance to do that here. And I,

you know, I think that that's to me is going to be, you know, a real defining factor in whether or

not he has that opportunity to get into that top three conversation. I think there is a world

where that's possible. The right teams would have to be there for that to happen. I think,

but it's still we haven't had a draft lottery yet. We don't know who's going to pick anybody.

So yeah, so I think, I think Malhotra is one to watch. The other thing, you know, like,

you know, I'll obviously be paying a lot of attention to the OHL, the QMJ, but there's a ton to

play for in the West as well in the WHO. And, you know, the top defenseman for this class,

guys that have been the top defenseman for a good chunk of the year are, you know, Chase Reed,

Daxon Rudolph, Carson Carls, guys like that that we think, you know, are poised to potentially

go on some runs here, you know, especially Reed and Rudolph have every reason to believe that their

team can can make some noise at the very least, you know, and certainly I think Carls as well

has to feel like, hey, we got a chance. So how much, you know, like with these guys, it feels like

there's a bunch and you know, you can put them in any order, you throw Albert Smiths in there,

like, but just the defense has been such a jumble this year. And Chase Reed was just injured for

almost two months here. So we hadn't seen him in a little bit. And so now he gets a chance to come

back, did come back healthy. I mean, how much do you think we can shake up the order with this group

here, especially like more, I'm thinking more Reed Rudolph and Carls, because I do think that they're

the guys that, you know, are competing along with Verhoff, Smiths, but they're going to be the ones

that probably have the longest runway for the remainder of the season here.

Yeah, I mean, you hope that no DAC, I mean, we can talk about that a little bit later on too,

that they're playing for a couple more weeks maybe here too, but, but you're right. I do, especially

Daxon Rudolph, right? Prince Albert is a very, very good team. Very good. That addition of

Coots has really helped them, even though, you know, his numbers haven't been like eye-popping,

but he's just such a quality two-way player. I wonder, I wonder how much a playoff run will really

impact this, because it's like these guys have been so scouted for so long, and they have done

so well, like end down the stretch, you know, Daxon Rudolph, four goals, 14 points, and his last

10 with nearly 50 shots on goal, you know, he just tied Josh Morris, he's record for defenseman

in Albert history there, with 28, you know, Carson Carlson. He's got five goals, 15 points,

and his last 10, he's been cooking for a couple of months, right? Like these guys have been red-hot,

you know, Chase Reed just got back, right? So I think it's more important for him to reignite and

re-inspire this guy's big. Look at, I not only am I, you know, in this mix, but I'm the guy,

right? So I think it's going to be more important for him. And then I kid, like, you know, Ryan Lennon,

it's like, sorry, he played for the Giants. So your last chance is going to be at the U-18s,

where you have that moment, that two-week stretch where you get kind of the last laugh,

unless some of these other guys get knocked out early, which is like the one consolation, right?

If a team like Rampford did get knocked out in a kill, Maholcho, well now you get to be the number

one center on Canada, never played internationally, for that would be a good opportunity for him too.

So there's always that kind of fallback for some of these guys, if they do get bounced,

is that you do have the U-18s, even Verhoff, right? Even Keem Verhoff, like he's struggling

on the back half too. I expect he'll be in Slovakia, you know? And so that will be another

opportunity for him to just that last little glimpse to show these guys, because I do, I think

depends on which team you talk to. What day of the week you talk to them, that order might shift,

right? It is, it is razor sharp, I feel like. It's, yeah, and to me that's really these moments,

these opportunities that exist, that is where I start to see some real intrigue in where things go

from here and what happens next, because I do think that they, not huge separation, but you can

create a little bit, you know, like Caleb DeNoie was not a top five pick until after the

postseason last year, like he was definitely in the conversation, he was pretty solidly in the top five,

because we also learned that he was playing through injury on top of it, and just the warrior that

he that he was throughout that entire time, leading Monkton, who's now in first place in the queue

again, because Gardner McDougall just is a magic man, you know, that's, that's, that's going to be

pretty fascinating. So, you know, there's, there's a number of other players, unfortunately, like,

you know, we're not expecting to see Ethan Belchett's, I mean, I think, I think Windsor would probably

have to go all the way to the mem cup in order for him to return, you know, he's out with, with that.

Ryan Rubrek has been injured for the last down the stretch here, Niagara. Do they have a chance to

maybe pull an upset, probably not without him, but also not certainly guaranteed with him either.

So, you know, I think that that's another player that, you know, would certainly benefit. He's

also a guy that's aged out, can't play at the under 18 world, so, you know, you kind of need

something there. But, you know, on the good news, Franz Avery Villanuev did return in time for

the postseason, got an article about him on Flowhockey, and he was talking about the difficulty of

just kind of getting back, but the excitement. And really, the thing that I thought he said that I

thought was really good and mature was that he's like, you know, yeah, the injury sucked and

then I wasn't able to, you know, perform for the scouts and whatever he's like, but I think I

think I've put enough out there, you know, to show that I, what I can do. And I, you know, I think,

yeah, if you can't go into it thinking, I've got to make up for lost time, right? You can't go

into it trying to overextend yourself. So, I'm really excited to see that. And, you know,

before we move on, because I do want to talk about a couple of the series that I'm going to be

keeping a closer eye on in each of the leagues here, and you're going to keep a close eye on as well.

You know, just, is there anybody that I, maybe I'm missing that are one, anybody that I,

that we should be thinking about as a potential guy that really could utilize these next few weeks

to pop a little more? Well, I think, you know, Zav, I heard how to really good game. I haven't

watched it, but I think that's really, really important for him. Um, gosh, I'm trying to, I'm trying

to think because, you know, a lot of these guys are done already, right? Like, I mean, like club

on or they're, yeah, or they will be done next week. So, or they will be done, right? Like, exactly,

right? So there's so many, and I'm just looking at the top of the top of the draft here. Um, you know,

Smith's Oscar Heming's done, Ty and Lawrence is done, you know, Nabatni.

He goes done, hopefully he'll be at the U 18s. Yeah, I think, I think we pretty much hit on

most of these guys, right? Marosa, like white Collins. Yeah, pretty much, you know, like, yeah,

it's, it's, it is interesting that a lot of them are wrapped up. And that's actually the kind of

funny part about a lot of these guys being college guys now is that they're, we won't, we won't

think about them for about a month while everybody else is still playing. Yeah. So it's going to be

interesting to see, but to your point, yeah, you can ask us out on a different day on a different

week. And they're, they're, their order could have changed. So it's going to be really fascinating to

see. All right. I just wanted to spotlight a few series as well to keep a close eye on whether you

are a draft fan or even if you just like good hockey. Um, one of the ones that I'm most excited

to watch at the outset of the, of the playoffs in the OHL is Su Greyhounds versus the London

Knights. Now, London is the two-time defending champion. They are not the London Knights of before.

They are, you know, this is the middle of the, of the, the conference. But you got Chase Reed on

the suit. You've got Carter George, who is actually in his career, beaten London one time ever,

once, one win versus London in his career in the OHL. Um, and you've got, uh, you know, Jackson

Cover, who is a guy who has risen throughout the season. I'm very intrigued by, um, you know,

other players that have, have, have risen. Um, you've got some higher end prospects. Uh,

you know, Henry Rusevich and, and you've got a number of players. I think it's going to be a good

series. I, you know, the Su is actually the road team in the first couple of games. They're the

lower seated team. I do think I like the suit to come out of that one. But, you know, I mean, like,

that's a, that's a fun one, especially with the opportunity to a showcase series for, for Chase

Reed, I think that's going to be a lot of fun to watch. Yeah. I'll be, I'll be a keen in on that one.

It's always fun watching London too. But yeah, go. Right. Cause it's like really, really Yankees,

when you root for the nights, right? It doesn't matter who's on their team. They're still going

to be competitive. So, you know, they, they did trade, like, you know, they traded away Sam O'Reilly

and, and, and, and wooly and like, they traded away some big time players, um, you know, in order

to, to keep going. And they remained very competitive. So always fascinating to watch them.

Number of other draft prospects to watch in that series as well. Um, the other one I wanted to

spotlight in the OHL was Peterborough and North Bay. And so you've got Adam Novotny on one side,

you got writer Callie on the other side. Callie's probably, you know, maybe late first round,

probably early day two pick kind of guy, but he really trended up throughout the season. His

numbers aren't super exciting, but there's a lot to like there. But that Peterborough and North

Bay series, like North Bay's had some really solid games down the stretch here as has Peterborough.

Um, a lot of, I think that's going to be a heavy series. I think there's going to be a lot,

like, that's going to look like a playoff series. And that's one of the reasons why I picked that one.

Um, let's, uh, let's keep, let's get my head down to the, to the, to the dub, uh, because you've got,

you know, that's obviously closest to you. And then we'll get back to the queue here,

because I actually have three series spotlighted for the queue. Um, but Cam, what did you,

what do you got in the dub? What, what, what, what are you looking forward to most in that side?

Yeah. So I mean, there's, there's obviously first round is always, there's, there's potential for

just some blowouts too, right? Like, yeah, for it. You know, sorry, Portland, you're in trouble.

You know, same with the Albert, Prince Albert playing Red Deer like that, that's, that's going to

be troublesome. Um, you know, that, that Prince George Spokane series, I think that that's going

to be a battle. And you know, that's an opportunity for cars to really show out. So I'm definitely

going to keep my eyes on that one. That should be a tight battle. Um, and the another one too is

Cologne of Camloops, right? Like, we've got the mem cup hosts plan, which is basically a pickup

against the Blazers just down the road too, right? Like is like, obviously, there's, there's a,

a lot riding on Tige Gin line company and really pulling that one out, but we've gone on the other

side. We got, you know, JP Hurlbert with, with Camloops too. Um, could we see the hosts get

balanced in round one and have to sit around for what would that be? Six weeks? Seven weeks?

Like it would be a long time to be sitting, waiting to play in the memorial cop. So I'm, I'll

certainly be watching that one closely too. Oh, in terms of intrigue, you nailed it. Like, and

that's the thing is like, how many other, you know, when you, when you are the mem cup host,

you typically see a lot of like loading, right? Yeah. I don't think anybody was super willing to

help Cologne of the season. They weren't willing to be like, yeah, fine. Because you, you watch,

you watch, you know, like, you ever wonder why the dub doesn't win. It doesn't win the memorial

cop more often. Why they're getting bounce all the time. And that's, it's because of the,

it's because of that stuff, you know, so, but yeah, but like, little gamesmanship,

little gamesmanship, exactly. But in the queue, you know, like, yeah, those are two great

series in the dub. The queue, there's a, like, you know, the queue is typically, they're one of the

leagues where if you're a contending team, you are loading and loading and loading and loading throughout

the season is which we have seen, you know, three teams in particular do. Monkton ended up winning

the winning at all. They're, you know, but there are some tight series here. And one of the teams

that I'll be keeping a close eye on is Blaineville, Blabrianne. We talked about Xavier Villanuev,

who is, is, is now back healthy. They're finally healthy, but they have Justin Carbano,

they have Bill Zahn and they have Spencer Gill, William LaSalle, a draft pick in that, you know,

they've got a lot of good players in that group, but they've, and they'll play Victoriaville,

which has a number of NHL draft prospects as well. So if you were looking for NHL draft purposes,

that Blaineville, Victoriaville series is a lot of funny or she love, really intriguing player.

I also got, that's a base. Have you, but have you happened to check in on our guy Ivan

Rabkin in Charlottetown? Have you seen what he's been doing over there in Charlottetown?

Putting up some points, eh? Putting up some points.

Two points a game over two points. Yeah, he's doing all right.

He actually scored my favorite goal of his this season this week. He scored on a one-timer

from the corner. Let me say that again. He scored on a one-timer from the corner. His body was

halfway above the goal line. And he ripped one from the corner.

The under side. Charlottetown is playing Quebec. So great series between two very talented teams,

a number of players on the Remparts to watch, including Charlie Morrison for the draft. So that's

one. And then Shawin again versus Sherbrook, I think is the most even series of the first round.

Yeah. Teams that have good star power that have played well down the stretch. And also teams that

would likely end up playing Blaineville in the next round. And our legitimate threat to Blaineville,

who a lot of people viewed coming into the season as the favorites. But now it's down to

Monkton and Shakudami as the potential favorites. But don't count up Blaineville yet. So that is.

Yeah, very good team. So that's the first round. Keep an eye on though. There's a ton of great

series. Again, OHL QMJ, you can watch on Flowhockey. USHL still in the into their season. Playoff's

still a little bit down the road here. That'll be coming up too. We'll also have the USHL playoffs,

which will include a number of NHL draft prospects as well. All right, Cam, I want to get to this

topic because it's been talked about basically we've been planning on this being true. But it seems

like it's more solidly true that the NHL will allow 19 year old players to play in the AHL as

soon as next season. Now that changes from the CHL agreement that did not, if you, if the player

was not making the NHL team, they had to be sent back to the to their junior team. That's if they

were drafted out of the CHL. That is now not going to be the case. My question to you, sir,

do we think we're going to see a run of 19 year olds in the AHL next season or is this maybe not

the death now for the CHL that some people are fearing? I feel like that someone needs to put up

that stop stop. He's already deadgift on the CHL, right? They're losing their guys to college.

Now they're going to lose like their last marquee 19 year olds that hung around and didn't.

But like he said, this is something that we, you know, we were under the impression this was done

and I know that they figured out finally the GM meetings. But how many do we, are we going to

actually see? Probably not that many because, you know, it needs to hit on like a whole bunch of

things, right? They need to be 19. So these guys got to be wise at O7s. So they need to be O7. They

need to have signed their ELC. They're not going to college. I'm looking at Brady Martin. I'm looking

at Caleb Dino. Yeah, I'm looking at maybe Coots, Giggle Brian, Cameron Schmidt, you know,

Schmidt. He just put up another 40 goal, a hundred point season. Like how much more is he got left

to do? You know, maybe Dallas looks at him as a fourth rounder. Wands up going right up. There's

19. But like, there's not a ton of guys. There's not a ton of guys that I think will fit the mold

that will be ready for that step up and not make their NHL team. Like Brady Martin might just be in

the NHL next year, right? Caleb Dino, yeah, might just be in the NHL. So, you know, I mean, Coots had

a cup of coffee there to start the season of Vancouver as an 18 year old. They're a bad team.

Is he used to good enough to make the NHL? So I don't imagine there's going to be too many. But it

will be a really great tool for those that select few that really needs it. And it's like we

were not ready to put them on the NHL roster yet. But they've accomplished so much in junior already.

Here's the perfect next step for them, right? Which was forever. It was like, well,

you had to go to school because college would have been that perfect next step for them.

They have that option now to before they sign their ELC. But no, I do think it's going to be useful

for the handful of guys that it does work out for every year. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you.

I'm seeing a lot of of, you know, opportunity here for the players, players like what you mentioned.

I think, you know, what we saw with what happened with Zane Perrecht this year is a prime example

of what we don't want to see anymore. He was not ready for the NHL had kind of outgrown junior,

had already signed his ELC. There was no alternative for him aside from what ended up happening,

which was, you know, getting lots of games, healthy scratches and to the world juniors,

like those kinds of things. That's not a good situation for a player. I think teams are going to

have to be careful with this because there is absolutely the opportunity to do this too soon,

just as it is for the NHL. The HL is a difficult league to play in no matter how old you are,

but it's especially difficult for a teenager. Players that aren't physically ready, players that

aren't emotionally ready for the professional grind, that is going to happen. But, you know,

you go back to the COVID season and this was essentially waived. A number of players got the

opportunity to go in the OHL a little bit early. Quentin Byfield is one of the more prominent examples

of that who was able to go and get a taste of the HL and he needed it. You know, he needed it.

He had again, there was a lot of junior hockey in his game and it took him a while even as a pro

to get to more and more established. So I think that there's one motivation here, Cam,

that stands out to me and that is that this is the NHL looking to get some control back

in a in a landscape that they have lost some control because the NCAA does not govern by the NHL

in the same way that the CHL and while they're not governed by the NHL, they are usually taking

a lot of their marching orders from the NHL because there is a monetary reason to do that.

The NCAA doesn't have that. So this also creates this interesting dynamic of decisions that teams have.

Now they have multiple options available to them for some of their most prominent prospects.

And this is going to be a case by case thing. Teams are going to have to be very, very specific.

Their player development staffs. All the more important now in terms of their evaluations

on where players are, their assessments of where players are. But man, the good news is I do think

that this helps the HL because I do think the HL with these younger players, I look at guys like

the impact that Bradley Nudo has made in his couple of years in the league, the impact that some

of these players that have come out of college a little bit early, the Europeans that have come out

a little bit early in the, you know, Constantinists and, you know, if you want NHL examples,

David Pashnak, Miko Rantman, you know, that came in and Willie Nieland, that came in and played

as younger players, you know, so that they make the league better. And I think that they're also made,

those players were made better by their time, the HL. So I think if teams are making good decisions,

I've, you know, maybe it can be a positive and I don't think that they're going to do this. And

my guess is there's going to be language that there's the opportunity to loan these players back

to the CHL if it's not working out. Oh, yeah. I imagine so too. Yeah, that would just be good

business. Yeah, I would, I do hope that there's language in there too that doesn't allow a team to

like pull a guy out mid season, you know, like that would be a little bit more disruptive.

Like to come up to the eight, like call up to the HL, there might have to be some more

parameters around that, like, you know, set number of games or something like that.

But you never know that, yeah, I mean, like, I wouldn't hate it because I, you know,

but at the same time, I'm also like, yeah, we'll see.

Clubs, yeah, I would hate it. Yes, the junior club would definitely hate it. I also think

one of the reasons Cam that that has always been said about why this rule was in place was to

protect the integrity and competitiveness of the CHL, which I, you know, I think good on the

the NHL to protect that, but at the same time at what expense, sometimes it was at the expense of

individual players, which is not, which is not fair in the end. So any, any other last thoughts,

anything that you think will be like any, any material changes or, you know, just generally how

this, how this hopefully will work. Yeah, no, I think, I think that's spot on. I think it'll

take some getting used to and we'll see it, but I do, I do want to hammer home the point is that

I don't think we're just going to see an influx of 19-year-olds American Hockey League next season.

I don't think that's going to be the case and I don't think that will be the case for a while

because I think a lot of these players will take the option to go to school instead because I think

that is a nicer bridge to take, you know, I was talking to an agent the other day too about, you

know, his player going back for another season of college. It's like, why, why rush? Why race to get

out of this really great program to go to the American League and slog it out against like full

grown men in a really difficult league and ride the buses when you can stay one more year

and go straight to the NHL and all likelihood. So I think a lot of these players, not schools not

made for everybody, it's not, not everyone's going to be an academic and so there will be opportunities

for some of these guys, but I think that that will probably be the more, the more likely path that

a lot of these guys will choose to chart. Yeah, yeah, so yeah, no, I think that that is, it's going

to be interesting to watch and obviously hopefully in the end, my hope is that it benefits the

players and then, you know, we get we get better players as a result of that having more,

more stuff. So good stuff there. All right, so good, so good, so good. Spring styles are at

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for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Cam, it's time to hit up beyond belief

and we've got many a topic to cover here and from college hockey to the NHL and everything in

between. And this of course is the segment where we will read each other a statement and the other

will decide if it is believable or beyond belief. And I start us off coming in hot.

It may surprise people to know that since the big 10 has been a hockey conference,

it has exactly zero national champions, not one. Many, many frozen for appearances,

no championship trophies. Cam, the big 10 ends its national championship throughout this year.

Believable, it's not only believable, sir, it is happening. I put in my picks just this morning

for this tournament here and lo and behold, the Michigan State Spartans are coming home national

champs this year and the big 10s getting themselves a championship banner. It's happening. I saw the

future or even playing Denver in the final, which was a bit of a surprise to me too, but I mean,

that's how she went. Yeah, I think they've got some really good chances because you've got Michigan

state, you've got Michigan, you know, you've got Penn State, although I think that their chances are

a little bit lesser and Wisconsin and their chances a little bit lesser, but you got four kicks

at the can there. So there's plenty of opportunity, but yeah, I definitely like the Spartans as

my national championship pick as well. Like that. Look at us. Sympathico. All right, we're doing it,

but we're going to see one major upset, a major upset. I'm not talking to lose over Penn State,

who's soft, talking a major upset here in round one. What do you think?

Man, it's certainly possible. I mean, you look at the run that Merrimack went on,

but I'm going to say beyond belief because I do think that the top top teams, the force,

the number one seeds, I believe are our our well position. However, you look at Merrimack,

which only got into the tournament by way of winning hockey East and ran the gamut,

beating the what the one, two and three seeds in that tournament to win the whole thing.

Their first ever hockey East title, their legitimate threat. Now, Dartmouth is a two seed

in this, so they're not really considered a an upset. You know, they're actually the higher seed

in their first round series, but that's another team that I've kind of got eyes on. And by the time

this rarers, they could be out. Who knows? But yeah, I think that we are going to see

the biggest upsets would have to be between a four and a one, and it's rare enough where I just

don't see it happening this year. But boy, would it be entertaining if it did?

Yeah, that that's the one too, right? That's the Merrimack. It just I think they won more than any other

school down the stretch to like something like 16 wins. Yeah, they've been hot and they have a good

goalie in Max Lundgren who's been hot. Yeah, but they're playing North Dakota in South Dakota,

which is the Dakota South of North Dakota in case you'd map, but that was that was definitely

good. Yeah, that that that one is that's a tough one, a tough draw, but boy, I love Scott Bork,

the head coach of Merrimack saying, that's what we wanted. We want if you got to go, you got to go,

we want to run the gamut. We want to run through the so, but yeah, three Eastern based teams

over there in South Dakota as well, because that's how each of us work.

All right, it might be them. Yeah, James Hagen's will play NHL games this season for the Boston

Bruins. Yeah, I said, it's believable. I think that would be wise. I think it'd be wise

of the Bruins to do so. So I will will assume that they're smart enough and that it works out to

get him to manage all games. Yeah, I'll say it's believable. The pressure is going to mount enough

and the calls are going to mount enough. I think you're right. Yeah, I think we'll see him. I think

I think we will eventually see that ELC sign. Now he will have to play a bit better in Providence

to see if that's going to happen, but still, yeah, I'm with you.

Okay, last one, Victor Eclan, which I saw right before you pointed out here too, right before

we are broadcasting is that that he will play NHL games for the Islanders this season. I was

telling you off air there that I spoke to him after your garden got knocked out and he was really

excited that he was going to be coming over yet in some NHL games, hopefully see some NHL ice,

maybe be a black ace for the playoffs, something like that, get his feet wet, get him skate with

boys. What do you think? Are we going to see Victor Eclan get some NHL games?

I wanted to say beyond belief just to be able to say beyond belief, but I actually think this

is believable that he will play NHL games and the other thing too. So they sent, we talked about

coal iserman last week. They sent coal iserman right to the AHL. I think Victor Eclan, based on

what we saw on the SHL playoffs, based on what we saw down the stretch of the SHL season,

that pro game. I think he fits in a little bit more quickly than coal iserman does,

and I would potentially even slot him ahead of coal, I would slot him ahead of coal iserman if

we were ranking the prospects within their system right now. I do think Victor Eclan has a chance.

Now, I think a few things are going to have to happen for that to be possible, but I could

easily see him signing that NHL contract becoming a black ace and doing whatever they need him to

in the playoffs there, if indeed that becomes part of the calculus. So I've got that as believable.

Yeah, he's already signed his ELC, signed it previously. That's right. You're just loaned.

Yeah, loaned to your guard. You know, you basically took all my talking points there. He's a pro player,

right? He's been playing pro now for basically for two seasons and then I was benching in the SHL

and he's got that grit too, right? He doesn't, he's not a coal iserman that needs time and space

and power play opportunities to be effective. You throw a puck in the corner and be like,

go get it. And he's going to go get it, right? Like he's he's got that he's got that dog in him.

So I can see it too. And I can see him. He is, he's just a beauty too. And like they found a

he found a spot for Maddie Schaefer and like, you know, that that culture carrier just at 18 years old

will toss another one of the mix and Victor Eclan because that kid is all right. I didn't

know. I asked him at the draft last year because like his dad is a is a is a huge offense. I

ensweeted it and and and and and funny too. And I asked Victor, you know, who's the funniest Eclan

then he's like, oh, it's me. And I was like, I can buy that. So, I love it. So yeah.

So when when when last story here, when when William scored that goal a couple of weeks ago,

I might have said this already. But yeah, I love that. Hey, he's like, I taught him how to fall

down. The rest was all on him. He's like, yeah, his old man hilarious.

Fantastic. Yeah, that that that goal is still that's one of the coolest goals. The William

Eclan goal, if you haven't seen it where he catches that, like he caught the puck and threw it.

Yeah, he caught it and threw it. Crazy. On his stem. Pretty incredible. All right, we've got our

you have to pick one segment here next cam. And this goes back to our 19 year old conversation.

Now I want to put you in the shoes of the general manager. You have your options. And this is

a top tier. Let's let's let's let's put the caveat in here. This is one of your top tier prospects.

This is a prospect for your team. Would you rather put that 19 year old prospect

into the HL for a full season or play a full season in the NCAA?

You know, this I'm thinking about this more than I thought I might. Because there is arguments

to both sides, right? You get that you get the lengthy schedule. You're playing twice as many

games in all likelihood. You're in the system. You're in. You're working with the development staff

every day. You got your minor league coach is running the same scheme. Hopefully that your

NHL bench bosses run and there's a lot of pros to that. You're getting physically worse. You're

getting raked over the cools, which could be a pro or a con. But I'm just like thinking about

individual players. You know, do you want Jackson Smith playing at Penn State next year? Do you want

him playing? This Columbus is affiliate, right? Do you want him playing in the American league?

Beat up there. Do you want him working to pop his offensive game? Cleveland, thank you.

You know, I think I think it's school. I think I would prefer for the most part or the most part.

Guys that are maybe physically developed and really ready to go that they don't need that time

in the gym. You know, because that is a huge bonus of the college game is all that time you get to

spend in the gym when you're not playing 75 games, 85 games, whatever in a full season. So I'm going

to say, for the most part, I'm picking school. There might be some cases where I might say, hey,

let's get them into the pros. Yeah. As I mentioned earlier, it's such an individualized decision.

You have to really take the totality of the player and make that decision based on those

things. I think you can make arguments for both. And I'll go on the opposite side. Now I'll go

with the AHL for this one. And obviously, I'm a big proponent of players playing college hockey

in that hybrid structure. I think the difference between 18 year olds and 19 year olds is just

enough to develop mentally where there is the potential. Now what I'll be interested to see,

Cam is if there is teams that are like, hey, at 18, if you went to school, that what we wouldn't

be mad about that, like at 18, like after, after their draft season, that could happen. And that

could still happen. That's the, that's, that's the area where I'm a little bit more concerned for

the CHLs. If you take those 18 year olds into college and then the 19 year olds on top of it,

that's where it could get a little bit dicey. But I look at the guys like Miko Ranton and William

Nielander and David Pastranak. And we're seeing it more now in his second HL season,

Consta Holenia is playing a much, Brad Nidou playing much, you know, he's 20 now, but you know,

playing at a higher level, you know, they just progress. And I do think that the quality of the AHL

and the pro, the learning how to be a pro, there's a lot of that that happens there. You know, a lot

of people look at the veteran players in the AHL and they wonder what, what's that all about?

Those guys are the greatest, some of the greatest mentors to these players when they get there. And

because they've been through it, a lot of them have played in the NHL. So I just think that there

is a number of different things. Now, again, it is on a case by case basis, but I'm saying if I

feel like there's a player who is on the cusp of being ready, it's an AHL, no, no brainer. If I

think there's more work to be done, this player isn't physically ready. I would, I would go to college,

but I'll take the AHL side for this one. If we're just talking like this is an A prospect, this

is the guy that we expect to play in the NHL at 20. You know, those guys, I think that there's,

there's great reason to, to play in the AHL as well. Yeah, fair enough. All right. Well, I,

yeah, and I, I'm going to share some thoughts, some personal thoughts in here in a little bit,

but before I do that, I want to give you, Cam, a chance to, to let us know what's coming up on

elite prospects because this is like the most prominent time of our year as we just get a roll

right in and, and draft lottery is what? A little over a month away. Um, no, it's, it's getting,

it's getting crazy now. Yeah. So, yeah, it's loads of stuff going on. So obviously, we're hyping up.

We just did our top 100 U23 skater rankings and goalie rankings. So that's a big one. If you

guys haven't checked that out on EP yet, lots of hard work went into that project. Um, we've,

we're already set the next date for our next draft board, which is going to be always a great time

that we get to hammer that out. So that's coming up very, very quickly. I'm off to the analytics

conference in Denver here in a couple of days, home for a hot minute and then off to the frozen

four, right? To finish up this college hockey season. I'm very excited to be the first frozen four

for me. Um, and then we got U18s and then when I gets everything's happening fast, rapid fire here.

So I'll be home much, but lots of hockey. Yeah, lots, lots of hockey coming up. I'm looking

forward. I'm heading out to Ontario for a few games in a little bit here. Go see what's going

on the. Oh, and nice. Yeah, there's a lot more to be done here, sir. There's a lot more, a lot

more cooking as we, as we get going here, but I did want to pause for a second and close out the

show. Um, you know, if you are familiar at all, uh, with, uh, with hockey Twitter and with anything,

you, you have definitely seen the story of Jesse Pierce and her three children tragically

dying in a house fire in Minnesota. Um, I've known Jesse for 20 years. We went to Iowa State

together. And that's why I'm wearing my Iowa State hat today, even though I wear it often

anyway. Uh, it is certainly something we bonded over. We actually overlapped very briefly in school.

And there's been a lot of obviously conversation about here. Memory shared about her and things

of that nature. And, um, I haven't really shared much publicly, aside from a few things on Twitter,

but I didn't want to talk a little bit about Jesse because she was such a light in the world. And

having known her for 20 years, having watched her grow professionally from the very, very beginning

stages, including a typo-ridden email that she sent me asking for an internship with the team

that our team at Iowa State, uh, what she got, by the way. Um, you know, to, to what she became,

which was a, a tremendous NHL writer, uh, for NHL.com, um, a, a, a champion for anyone that was

trying to get into the industry and an absolute hustler in terms of she would do anything and everything.

The thing that stands out the most to me about Jesse and the reason that I wanted to talk about her

today is that there are so few things you, we all hear about when we work in sports. There are so

many sacrifices that you have to make. There's so many different things that you have to give up in

your personal life in order to have this career. Jesse was one of those people that made it seem like

everything was possible. She was able to do it all. And that is one of the things that I admired most

about her. She was a tremendous mom to those kids. And, you know, I, I, I have been so sad, uh, for the

loss of Hudson, Caden, um, and, and Avery as well, um, the kids that she cared so much about that she

would, you know, on Friday, go to the wild practice interview players and then was home in time for

going out to dinner, get nice cream and having a good night in with the kids. And, um, she was one of

those people that could do it all. And she also was a very uplifting individual. She is the most

authentic person I've ever met in my life, um, totally comfortable in her own skin, totally

confident. And maybe didn't always feel that way, but she always presented it that way and was so

welcoming to everyone. And so if you have the opportunity, spare a thought for Jesse and her kids,

it has been a very difficult several days for all of us that knew her. Um, it will continue to be

difficult going to arenas knowing that she would have been there and isn't anymore. Um, but we are so

grateful. And I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to know her, uh, to watch her grow in her

career, to watch her become a mom, to watch her do all the things that she always dreamed about doing

and all the things she said she was going to do in that first email that she sent to me. She's an

inspiration to me. She'll continue to be, uh, there is the go fund me for her husband, Mike,

tragic, you know, to have lost his entire family. Um, you know, definitely check that out if you can

and contribute if you can. Um, this is a devastating loss for the entire community. And, uh,

I just want, you know, Jesse was such a bright light. I just wanted to make sure that, uh, I shared

a few thoughts about her because she was special and we are going to miss her so much. And,

you know, you don't like to end on, on sad notes, but certainly it's been a sad time. And, uh,

I'm just thankful that, that I had the chance to meet and know her. So that's going to do it for us

here on called up the prospects podcast for my co-host, Cam Robinson, uh, for myself, Chris

Peters. That's going to do it for this week. We'll see you next time.

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