WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:07.360 Listen up on October eighteenth from five to seven overtime 2 00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:10.039 cards and Sandy will host one of the star players 3 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:14.359 on Utah's newest NHL team, the Utah Hockey Club, Center 4 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:17.760 Logan Cooley, will be there signing autographs for all of 5 00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:21.600 his fans. Be there October eighteenth and buy your tickets 6 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:24.359 to the signing at overtime cards and collectibles. 7 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:27.800 It is timed out to talk some hockey. Excited for this. 8 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:29.879 He's going to join us on a weekly basis all 9 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:33.280 year long now that the hockey season is upon us. 10 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.000 Former general manager of the New York Rangers. My man 11 00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:38.320 has won a Stanley Cup. It's great to catch up 12 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:41.920 with Neil Smith once again on the drive. Neil Happy Wednesday, sir? 13 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:45.600 How are you happy Wednesday? Well, I'm okay, except you know, 14 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:49.439 I live in South Carolina and we took the brunt 15 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:54.560 of that hellene that just went through and hit you know, 16 00:00:55.079 --> 00:00:58.320 western North Carolina, and it hit Greenville, South Carolina, and 17 00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:02.960 we've been without power since since Friday. So you know, 18 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:04.920 a lot of people think I'm in the dark all 19 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:06.799 the time, but I'm definitely dark. Now. 20 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:09.879 Tell okay, I gotta know what's it been like to 21 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:12.480 be in the eye of that storm. I mean, obviously 22 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.079 I'm keeping up with the news cycle. Super sad. I 23 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:16.920 think the last death con was like one hundred and 24 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:19.680 fifty or something. So what's it been like, Deil, what's 25 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:20.400 it like down there? 26 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:23.239 It was horrible during the storm. I mean, there was 27 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:25.799 so much rain. We're in a mountainous area, so we 28 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:28.120 don't there was no chance of flooding us, but there 29 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:32.040 it was just a lot of down trees. And then 30 00:01:32.040 --> 00:01:35.040 when you go around these communities, and I particularly it's 31 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:37.319 said when you go into a poor part of the 32 00:01:37.480 --> 00:01:41.000 community and see homes that have been hit by trees 33 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:44.239 and power lines down, and you know that the people 34 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.000 that live there probably don't have home owarers insurance and 35 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:49.079 probably don't have the money to fix the home. So 36 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.680 that's what's really tough. And hopefully SEEMA can help those 37 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:56.359 folks out because it's really sad. 38 00:01:56.959 --> 00:01:59.599 Goodness, gracious, well, I'm glad you're safe, and I appreciate 39 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:01.920 your time today, and I'm excited to have you on 40 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.000 as a consistent guest to help all of us out her. Yeah, 41 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.480 for sure, to help out all of us out here 42 00:02:07.560 --> 00:02:10.840 kind of learn this game. Is we are now Hockey Town, USA, 43 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:13.560 and I want to start just generally speaking, Neil, what 44 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:17.680 is the preseason in the NHL? What are the points 45 00:02:17.719 --> 00:02:20.199 of emphasis in the preseason As a guy that was 46 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:23.680 a roster constructor that ran teams, is it a combination 47 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:26.719 of trying to understand who your young players are, kind 48 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:29.639 of helping the vets fit in what ultimately is the 49 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:33.719 preseason four mainly in pro hockey, it. 50 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:37.199 Actually is to give those players that are on the 51 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:42.120 borderline of making it see how they can do within 52 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.639 that major league setting of playing in some games. Albeit 53 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.400 a lot of veterans aren't playing in those games. But 54 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:51.719 you know, if you've got your player number twenty four 55 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:55.479 to twenty five, you know just would be desentiment number eight, 56 00:02:55.639 --> 00:03:00.120 number nine, goaltender number three or four that you want 57 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:02.400 to see how close are they to playing? And the 58 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:06.759 preseason is you know, people are playing at full out 59 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.520 in preseason, as you can see by the number of 60 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:12.840 injuries that have happened around the league. So that's what 61 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.919 you're really trying to judge. You know, pretty much going 62 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:18.280 into the training camp who your team's going to be. 63 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:21.800 There might be a couple of spots open, but even 64 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:25.800 then you know you're talking two or three at the most. 65 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:30.159 So so far, Neil, the Utah Hockey Club has looked 66 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.520 really good in the preseason. Four one in zero should 67 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:37.080 fan well, fans should be excited because we're getting hockey, period. 68 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:41.960 But in your experience, does a successful preseason oftentimes tell 69 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:44.039 a story about what you can see during the regular 70 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:45.479 season or is there really not much there? 71 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.280 You know what, You've never really been able to judge 72 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:52.639 it based on that. But the only thing is I 73 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:55.879 will say, Spence, is that every hockey game you go 74 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:57.719 into you want to win it. And even as a 75 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:00.840 GM president, I mean I didn't like to sit through 76 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:03.319 us losing a game, even when it was preseason, and 77 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:05.840 even when we didn't have a lot of our regulars 78 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:08.360 in the lineup. You just you never want to see 79 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:11.599 your team lose. So starting four and one in preseason 80 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:14.159 is never a bad thing. It can only be it 81 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:16.759 can only be positive. It may not be a complete 82 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:19.360 picture of how the rest of the season's going to go. 83 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:22.360 But I might add that the fans in Utah got 84 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:25.800 to be excited because of the improvements that Doug Armstrong 85 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:28.959 and sorry not Doug Armstrong, He's in Saint Louis that 86 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.759 Bill Armstrong and his crew did this summer. I think 87 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:36.240 they made some great improvements to the team. And you know, 88 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:38.560 as I had told you in previous shows, I thought 89 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:43.319 that the Arizona Coyotes were right on the cusp of 90 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:47.560 being a wild card contender. So I think these acquisitions 91 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.879 they've made have pushed them up. Plus the stability of 92 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:53.160 being in Utah this year, knowing that's where they're going 93 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.959 to be, there's not going to be any rumors about 94 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.360 moving the team somewhere else like there was for them 95 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:03.199 last year. So I'm looking for really good things to 96 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:05.519 come out of the Utah team this year. 97 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.279 Let me ask you about a couple of players here. 98 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:11.079 You referenced some of the additions that were made, and 99 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:13.759 since you and I last spoke, Bill Armstrong in the 100 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:17.879 front office brings in Mikel Sergachev there on that back line. 101 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.000 He's a young defenseman but has already won a couple 102 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.720 of Cups. And before the offseason you referenced that you 103 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:27.879 thought that they might try to add to the defensive side, 104 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:31.800 and certainly Mikhel Sergachev is a player that is now 105 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:35.839 he's their highest paid defenseman. Again, twenty six years old. 106 00:05:36.120 --> 00:05:39.480 He's been really impressive in preseason. What should our Utah 107 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:42.600 hockey listener fans know about Mikel Sergachev. 108 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:45.439 You know, he's a winner. He's one of those two 109 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:47.519 Stanley Cups in Tampa. He's a guy that I was 110 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:51.120 surprised that they traded. He did get injured twice last 111 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:55.000 year and for lengthy times. That doesn't mean that he's 112 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:57.480 fragile or anything like that. That just means that you 113 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.360 hope that that injury doesn't get it, you know, hurt again. 114 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:06.160 But he's he's a very ultra competitive guy and he 115 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.920 and he's a really good NHL defenseman. I mean you're talking, 116 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:15.079 you know, a top four defenseman at the worst. He's 117 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:17.879 a top four guy. So that's a great acquisition and 118 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:21.240 that's going to definitely strengthen Utah's defense. 119 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:24.959 So, you know, we talked about some of these players before, 120 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:27.399 but I just kind of want to run run down 121 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:31.279 the list here to help our hockey fan listeners kind 122 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:33.160 of understand what this team is all about. 123 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:35.600 And it doesn't surprise you at all. 124 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:39.079 The Clayton Keller, even the preseason, is the leading scorer 125 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.000 with a couple of goals and he also is leading 126 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:44.439 with four assists sex total points. He is not a 127 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:47.680 new player at all, but it looks like he is 128 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:50.079 on his way to start him in this league. What 129 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:52.360 should our listeners know about Clayton Keller? 130 00:06:52.839 --> 00:06:54.399 What he should know about him is that he is 131 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:58.079 a He is a great offensive talent. He's going to 132 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:03.160 be probably the best, if not then very close to 133 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:06.839 the best offensive player you've got. He enjoys scoring goals, 134 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:09.319 he enjoys racking up points. I think on Knights, when 135 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.439 he doesn't get a point, he's not happy with himself 136 00:07:12.439 --> 00:07:14.920 and he's not happy with his game. That doesn't mean 137 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:18.079 that he puts his points ahead of the team winning. 138 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:20.199 I don't mean that at all. But you need a 139 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:22.639 Clayton Keller on your team. You need that go to 140 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:26.120 offensive guy that on a night when your team's not 141 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:28.439 going great, that he comes up with his points, his 142 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:32.319 goals and pushes you into a w and maybe he 143 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:37.720 really didn't deserve it. So he is looking towards starting, 144 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:39.959 he is looking towards being an all star in the league. 145 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.920 And again I think he's just a great young player. 146 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:47.480 Bill in the front office made a couple of other acquisitions, 147 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:49.079 so let's get into some other names here. 148 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:50.879 John Marino is another. 149 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.720 I mean, Sergyev was kind of like the offseason prize, 150 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:55.800 but what should our listeners know about another new player? 151 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:59.040 And John Marino a veteran defenseman and a guy that's 152 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:01.360 going to add to the of the depth of your defense. 153 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:03.519 He's not going to be Sergachev, He's not going to 154 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:06.480 be a highlight reel guy for sure, but he's going 155 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:08.759 to be somebody that's been in the NHL quite a 156 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:12.839 long time and is going to be able to really 157 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:15.399 bolster the defense so that you it's going to be 158 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:18.079 a police defense is going to be a part of 159 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:20.959 the game in Utah that you're going to have a 160 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.759 lot of confidence in. You're going to go into games thinking, well, 161 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:27.160 there's no way that they're just that we're going to 162 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:30.720 be messing up defensively and getting scored on every night 163 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:34.000 because we're not very good defensively. You are going to 164 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.080 be good defensively for sure, because you've got a good 165 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:42.679 defensive cores in Utah. To start this whole franchise with. 166 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:45.840 So Ian Cole, It's interesting because I wanted to get 167 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:48.960 your take on this. This is a young team, right, 168 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:52.440 but Ultimately, you do want to and the Jazz are 169 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:54.919 doing this. They're bringing Patty Mills and some other vets, 170 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:58.039 but the Jazz, you know, ultimately are relying on their 171 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:00.879 young players to carry them towards the future. Sure, even 172 00:09:00.919 --> 00:09:02.879 called thirty five years old, what do you make of 173 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:04.960 that signing having kind of a grown. 174 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:05.320 Up in the room. 175 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.480 I think he's just that they're trying to stabilize the room. 176 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:11.720 You know, it's the young guys that are going to 177 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:16.039 add the energy and then and they're going to add 178 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:18.559 the foot speed and they're going to chase pucks. And 179 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:20.960 it's going to be the older guys though, that particularly 180 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:23.799 in the room, that have experience and that can play 181 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:28.000 still obviously that they're still good NHL players, but they're not. 182 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:30.080 They don't have the foot speed that the younger guys 183 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:34.080 do they They they maybe get more tired on back 184 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:37.720 to back and and two and two three games and 185 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.600 four nights in that situation, then at a thirty five 186 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:43.080 year old is going to get more tired than a 187 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:44.960 twenty one year old for sure, But they're going to 188 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:48.159 stabilize those young guys. When the young guys get too excited, 189 00:09:48.200 --> 00:09:50.799 get too off the you know, jumping off the deep end, 190 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:53.360 they're gonna say, wha whaaa, wait a minute here, And 191 00:09:53.840 --> 00:09:56.000 that's why you need those older guys, those guys that 192 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:58.559 can settle the younger guys down. 193 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:02.799 What is realistic to expect from some of these young 194 00:10:02.919 --> 00:10:05.360 draft picks right out of the gates. It's different in 195 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:08.480 pro hockey than it is in the NBA when if 196 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:11.440 you're drafted in the lottery, if you're drafted, drafted in 197 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:13.720 the top five, you're expected to play right away, and 198 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.919 you're paid like you're gonna play right away, generally speaking, 199 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.279 because I know you've been without power. What would you 200 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.080 tell our hockey fan listeners out here what to expect 201 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:25.320 from the young players? How much do we expect them 202 00:10:25.320 --> 00:10:28.039 to play right away? What does the development process look 203 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:28.679 like and such? 204 00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:31.559 Well, then, one thing you don't want to do with 205 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:35.080 a young player if he's not ready, don't put him 206 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:37.440 in the lineup and think that, well, he'll get ready 207 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:39.759 while he's in the lineup, because that doesn't happen. You 208 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:42.159 want to send him back to junior or you want to, 209 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:46.240 you know, in a case of when he's over eligible 210 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:48.360 to play in the miners, to go into the minor 211 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:51.639 leagues and not jump into the NHL too soon, because 212 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:54.120 this is like spense. If you put a young guy 213 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.360 in the NHL too early, it would be like taking 214 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:00.720 a tenth grader and saying, Okay, we want to put 215 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:03.720 you into Harvard and just we think you're ready for Harvard, 216 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:06.679 and you know, the kid's a tenth grader. He's not 217 00:11:06.759 --> 00:11:11.399 ready for Harvard yet. Now, some brilliant tenth graders, they 218 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:13.639 might be able to get by as a freshman at Harvard, 219 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:17.120 but most can't. They need a couple more years. And 220 00:11:17.159 --> 00:11:19.679 that's the same thing in the NHL. And you can 221 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:22.039 really hurt the development of a player if you go 222 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:25.080 if you put him in too early. So I think 223 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.120 everybody's just got to be patient with the young the 224 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:31.240 eighteen year olds, and don't expect that many are going 225 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:33.440 to play in the NHL right away. There's going to 226 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.120 be as you know, Celebrini's going to play for San 227 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:40.360 Jose this year. Unfortunately he got hurt against Utah, but 228 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:42.000 he's going to play in the NHL this year and 229 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:45.320 probably be one of San Jose's very best players. But that's, 230 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:50.159 you know, a very high franchise pick on a very 231 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:54.159 poor team and that's something totally different than Utah. 232 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.639 Utahd used their sixth pick on Teage again again, will 233 00:11:56.679 --> 00:12:00.000 excuse me. And you know his dad, Jerome, who obviously 234 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.120 a Hall of Famer, what do you make of I 235 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:04.919 know you haven't seen him play very much, and chances 236 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:06.679 are he's not going to play a lot. He did 237 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:09.159 play the other night, had an assist. But what would 238 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:11.080 you tell our listeners about kind of this family tree, 239 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:15.240 this pedigree between Jerome and his son teg You know. 240 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.559 I don't know their relationship. I imagine it's good, but 241 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:21.399 I can speak to the character of Jerome again, the 242 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:24.840 captain of the Calgary Flames for so long, and such 243 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:29.759 a leader and fearless and played during a very tough 244 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:32.840 era and and battled it out every night and then 245 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:35.600 turned around and was polite to everybody and signed autographs 246 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:38.720 all night, and I did anything that was asked of him. 247 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:41.639 And I'm sure that this z apple hasn't fallen far 248 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:44.480 from the tree, meaning Teach is going to be just 249 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:46.799 like his dad, And I'm sure he wants to emulate 250 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:48.559 his dad, and he wants to make his dad proud 251 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:50.559 of him, So I'm sure he's going to come in 252 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:53.480 and have a lot of the same qualities that Jerome had. 253 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:57.039 How he plays, I don't know whether he be better 254 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:00.360 off well tough to be better offensively than Jerome, really 255 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.200 be a different type of player than Jerome, I don't know, 256 00:13:04.200 --> 00:13:06.480 but obviously the scouts thought enough of him to take 257 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:10.480 them where they did, and he's certainly got great bloodlines 258 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:13.600 having Jerome mcginnler. There's nobody who can say a bad 259 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:14.840 word about Jerome mcginnler. 260 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.919 Connor Ingram is the goaltender out this way, and I 261 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.600 just turned twenty seven, so he is still somewhat young 262 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:26.399 and had a solid year last year. What's your expectation 263 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:29.039 as far as growth year over year from the goaltender 264 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:30.080 out here Connor Ingram? 265 00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:32.960 He's had a really good part of his career. Now 266 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.240 he's at the age when you know they should be 267 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.759 taking that step into solidifying themselves as a number one goaltender, 268 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:41.120 as a go to guy, as a guy that goes 269 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:44.519 in against all the tougher opponents. He's right there in 270 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:46.639 his age bractal, and he should be able to do that. 271 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:51.000 And he certainly had an impressive year last year, a 272 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:52.879 year that you know, you and I have talked about it. It 273 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:55.559 was tough to judge a lot of stuff based on 274 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:59.519 last year's Coyotes team because you know, they were playing well, 275 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:01.639 everything was going great, and then all of a sudden, 276 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.399 it gets out that they might be moving to Utah, 277 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:08.000 and it seemed like they couldn't. You know, you're playing 278 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.960 in the little college arena and all these rumors are 279 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:14.879 swirling around, and it seems like that seemed to take 280 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:18.440 them down. But with Connor Ingram, I think they've definitely 281 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:21.320 got a number one goalie. How good he becomes is 282 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:24.240 up to him, but he's at that age when he 283 00:14:24.279 --> 00:14:28.200 should be able to take that spot and run with it. 284 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:31.799 So we've seen Dylan Gunther and Logan Cooley playing together. 285 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:35.000 Gunther's a right winger. Logan Cooley, who joined the show 286 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:37.639 this week, is a center. But they're both really young. 287 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:40.600 I want to ask you though, about the decision to 288 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:44.200 sign Dylan Gunther to an eight year contract that's not 289 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:48.399 even allowed in pro basketball. He has played really well 290 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:51.000 in the preseason. Both these two youngsters look really good. 291 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:54.200 How commonplace Neil is an eight year deal in pro hockey. 292 00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:59.000 I'm gonna say something, Unfortunately, it's very common now and 293 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:01.600 when I say unfortun because I just don't believe in 294 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:06.039 giving eight year contract. But having said that, Bill Armstrong 295 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:08.840 and the rest of the GMS are sort of sunk 296 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:12.679 because that's the standard for that type of player, that 297 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:15.320 age player, that young player. He's coming off his entry 298 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:17.960 level contract, and if he's a guy that you want 299 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:19.519 to hold on to and you want to make sure 300 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:23.320 that he plays his career with the Utah Club, you've 301 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:25.679 got to sign him long term because that's what everybody 302 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:28.039 else is getting. And if you said to him, I 303 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:30.240 really only want to give you a three year contract, 304 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:32.159 then they would say back here, well, we'll just let 305 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:34.919 our contract expire and take our chances when it's going 306 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.919 to expire. So they've sort of got you in that sense. 307 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:41.480 There's thirty two teams. There's not enough great enough great 308 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:45.120 players to go around. So those players that you do have, 309 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:48.080 like Gun there, that you know you want on the 310 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:51.759 team for the for their whole career, you're sort of 311 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:53.200 on bended knee at that point. 312 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.679 If you're the GM, tell us what you know about 313 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:56.519 Andre Tourney. 314 00:15:56.759 --> 00:15:58.919 They call him Bear and he's been kind of a 315 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:01.759 fun character out here to get to know what sort 316 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:04.159 of coach is he what sort of style of play 317 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:05.159 does he like to play? 318 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:06.559 And what do you know about the head coach out 319 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:07.399 this way, Neil. 320 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.480 I don't know him personally, And again I'm going to 321 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.080 say that by judging him by what he had with 322 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:18.000 Arizona in the first few years that he was coaching 323 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:20.960 isn't fair. I think that you can really tell a 324 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.639 lot about a coach once they you know, once their 325 00:16:24.679 --> 00:16:29.120 team is in a position where they can actually coach 326 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:32.000 them and make a difference. If you don't have the 327 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:35.200 player personnel, you know, you could have a god as 328 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:38.080 your coach and he can't get into the playoffs. But 329 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:40.480 once you've got the player personnel, then the real skill 330 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:42.240 set of the of the coach comes out. And I 331 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.639 think with Andrey, he's got that team now. I think 332 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:49.919 that he had it last year to that certain point. 333 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:53.320 He you know, he's well liked, that's for sure. The 334 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:56.440 players like him. There's there's nothing, there's no problems there. 335 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:59.080 So this will be a good test for him this 336 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:01.360 year in the first year in Utah. 337 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:04.079 So of course, you know, we like winners out here. 338 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:06.720 We have a pro basketball team that's always been very good. 339 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:10.480 They've never won a championship, but they've been very competitive. 340 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:14.480 Just broadly speaking, Neil, what should expectations be, Should it 341 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:16.400 be okay, this is a playoff team. 342 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:17.160 Should it be okay? 343 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:19.440 They should be in the mix at the end for 344 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:22.200 a playoff spot or maybe even something beyond. What are 345 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:24.720 your expectations from a thirty thousand foot view for the 346 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.000 Utah Hockey Club this year? 347 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:29.640 My expectations for them are clearly that they should be 348 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:32.319 in the battle all year to be at least in 349 00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:38.440 the wildcard spot. So that means they're battling in those 350 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.079 top eight spots all year and to get into that 351 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:44.400 eighth spot at the very least. If they are a 352 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:47.200 team that isn't battling for that eighth spot, I'd be 353 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:50.160 very disappointed. Based upon what they did last year, based 354 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:54.920 upon their acquisitions, I would be very surprised if they weren't. 355 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:58.000 I did a show on NHL wrap Around, and we 356 00:17:58.119 --> 00:18:04.279 did the best off season improvements in the league, and 357 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.079 I gave Utah honorable mention. Now we only did four 358 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:11.000 teams and they got honorable mention, meaning they were five 359 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:14.359 or six along with Saint Louis. That's pretty good. There 360 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:16.880 were four obvious ones when you think about Nashville, when 361 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:22.799 you think about New Jersey and Vancouver, but it was 362 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:28.640 Utah actually, and Saint Louis and quite frankly Chicago, who 363 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:30.680 I don't think will make the playoffs, but he's improved 364 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:33.680 during the offseason. But I think the Utah should really 365 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:35.839 be kicking at the door to be in the playoffs 366 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:36.319 next year. 367 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:40.079 You brought up Chicago, Neil, You're sorry, sure, sure, sure, yeah, 368 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:42.920 we got you. Since you brought up Chicago, let's dig 369 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.079 in because that's the first game. And I still every 370 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:48.720 time I say next week, the Chicago Blackhawks are going 371 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:50.440 to be in town, I just started laughing because I 372 00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:53.039 never thought I'd say the sentence. But they're landing here 373 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:57.039 to play Utah Hockey Club in the a nogural game. 374 00:18:57.079 --> 00:18:59.920 The home opener tell us about Chicago the first opponent 375 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:01.759 for Utah Hockey Club next week. 376 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:05.759 Well, they're going to be. You know, Connor Badar is 377 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:11.440 their headliner. They have made a lot of acquisitions during 378 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:14.400 the summer to take themselves from a doormat team to 379 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:18.359 at least a team that's going to give other teams 380 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:21.519 in the league trouble. Uh, They're They're not gonna be 381 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:25.759 an easy w for anybody this season. And and they 382 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:28.599 got a new captain and Nick Calino, who was there 383 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:31.920 last season by the way, with them, and and that's 384 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:35.000 a that's a good pick for them of a captain. 385 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:38.839 Uh Marazik will probably be in net that first night. 386 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:41.720 I think you're going to see an exciting team. It's not, 387 00:19:41.839 --> 00:19:44.079 as I said, it's not gonna be a pushover for 388 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.559 Utah that first night. But anytime you can see Connor 389 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:51.160 Badard play, it's it's it's a it's a good night 390 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.799 because this guy is a is a tremendous young player. 391 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:57.160 He's very small, but he's like a little buzz saw. 392 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:00.559 He can He's got tremendous skill. 393 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:02.480 All Right, Neil, before I say you lose, who do 394 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:03.359 you like in the West? 395 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:06.079 Who are the teams that are Utah Hockey Club fan 396 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:08.319 listeners should be watching out for As far as the 397 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:10.359 cream of the crop out here in the Western Conference, 398 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.359 I think the. 399 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:15.759 National Predators made it and enormous improvements in the offseason. 400 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:18.200 They're an older team, but they don't care. They seem 401 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:21.319