Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: It's time for the Game Sports Podcast is your host, David McCaig Jr. And this is not just a regular podcast episode or segment. This is a special edition upload which we know as viewers and listeners, you love when we upload these. And we have an absolute beauty or gorgeous one for you today here on the Game Sports Podcast. Before I get into that, here to remind you that the Game Sports podcast we follow on all social media platforms, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, all, all at the Game Sports Podcast as well as you can Find us on 91Network, that's the YouTube channel where our video portions of the Shore are featured and through Spaces, which is through Village Media and Sue today. And if you're not following, liking or subscribing, but you should be, the interaction has been great and we love the interaction for fans. And look, if you're not following the Game Sports Podcast, you're missing some electrifying content. Now getting to the guest, it's just, it's just yours truly here. I wanted this guest to myself. I told everyone else to take a vacation day just so I can have the floor to talk and hear my own voice on top of his. And I am excited for a couple reasons. Not just because of where I've seen this individual, but because after reading and researching him and I have a slight connection that he's probably unaware of. We are joined by a man who just doesn't play a tough guy on tv.
He lives it on the ice every single day. Whether you know him as the heavy hitting, gorgeous Gord Galette from the hit show Sorzy or if you see him drop in the gloves, I can't really do it that good. I wasn't known as a fighter, but in the ring for Ice wars, he's one of the most versatile and I will say feared athletes. I would want to get in the ring with them. Are you kidding me? Would not. He's a North Bay legend and a true student of the scrap. Welcome to the show, Nick laporte. Nick, glad to have you on.
[00:01:56] Speaker A: Yeah, thanks. It's hell of an intro. Thanks for having me on.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: Of course. Now I'm sure you're wondering how the heck are me and this guy connected? Okay, so I'll go to that first. I'm sure some people are gonna be like, oh goodness, Dave is gonna bring up his playing days. You know what? I am. Because I think this is a good reason. Nick and I both played in the N O jhl, which is a Northern Ontario Junior Hockey league for Northern Ontario. I'm from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. That's where the game sports podcast is located. Located.
And Nick is from North Bay. Nor for. For Nick. He played for the Skyhawks and they turned into the Trappers, if I remember that correctly. I think I said that correctly. I, for Sioux St. Marie, did not just play for the Thunderbirds. I played for the Sioux Michigan Eagles and the Blind River Beavers. So I was playing in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League while Nick was playing there for North Bay. So Nick, you and I share the ice at one point. And I know you don't remember who I was. If you do, I'd be honored.
[00:02:56] Speaker A: I do remember. As soon as you. As soon as you started talking about it, I definitely remember. You were a short, fast. You're a short, fast player. You're. You're a good hockey player.
[00:03:03] Speaker B: Thank you. I appreciate that. I remember you as a defenseman, if I was correct. You were a defenseman and you have a twin brother, correct?
[00:03:10] Speaker A: That's right. Yep.
[00:03:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. So see, we remember each other. I definitely peaked in my 16, 17, 18. Then after that I went downhill. But that came with having more fun outside of. Outside of hockey, let's call it that. And not focusing on the game anymore. But we Deb. We share the ice, which is so cool. And I remember it being at a game at the Gardens. Okay. Your Gardens, not mine. I'm gonna. I'm gonna say in Sault Ste. Marie, we've had the Memorial Gardens. It's got torn down. It's called the SR Center Steel back. All these different names. Now it's called the Memorial Gardens. Once again, in North Bay, they have. They had the Memorial Gardens. I believe it's still. Is it tore down or you still have the Memorial Gardens? North Bay, do you know?
[00:03:47] Speaker A: No, it's still there. They. I think they changed the name to like the Bort Long Year Center. They did some renovations, but yeah, same building still intact, so that's hilarious.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: So I was in the penalty box for a game and we were. We were beating north bay by score, 5 to 3. When I was on the Eagles or something like that. We got in some penalty trouble. And the fans in North Bay are ruthless. And North Bay in the. No used to like, sell out. Like it was thousands of fans. You got the best fans in the whole entire Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, which is why I'm so glad you guys have an OHL team back there. But nonetheless, I had someone throw a beer at me in the boxes on the glass. Throw a beer and say that I'm overrated. And I remember turning around saying, I'm honored. I didn't even know I was rated, thank you very much. And then I actually said the biggest curse in hockey that you don't do. And I learned it for two reasons. I pointed at the scoreboard when we were winning. We lost. We lost that game. And you guys scored when I was in the box.
So another story. I some A fan did that to me in Tamiskamine and we end up winning the game. So when you're in the penalty box as a player, don't be cocky pointing at the glass ass. You might get your. Your ass beat or you're just gonna have karma be a one one of the two. And I still remember North Bay. And I remember you now that I looked it up too. It was. It was great, man. So you and I shared the ice. I wanted to share that story off the hop. I thought that'd be cool.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: Yeah, that was. So when you guys did. The Sioux won the finals. They beat us out when we were the Skyhawks. I think that would have been like 0708, I think. Were you on that team? You were on Blind River?
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Blind River. I was on Blind River.
And the sad or sorry, the Eagles. I split. That's the year I split with the Eagles and Blind river that year. Cause I wanted to go back home. I missed being in the suit. Bad idea. But funny story, I signed in Blind river instead of signing with the Thunderbirds. Bad decision.
[00:05:31] Speaker A: Bad decision.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: Yeah, bad decision. Could have won a championship. But yes, you guys played and you had some very talented names. I'm trying to remember you had a big individual on your team that was a forward. I forget his name. He was an absolute truck that scored a lot of goals. And Farmerton, I believe, was on that team as well.
Yeah.
[00:05:51] Speaker A: Yeah. Dustin Fomerton, Solomon McCann. I think the forward you're talking about is probably Trent Lizzie. He was.
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Yes, Trent Lizzie. Yeah.
[00:05:57] Speaker A: Yeah. He was a really good player. Really effective. Big guy too.
[00:06:01] Speaker B: Threatening. Threatening North. But that was so cool.
[00:06:06] Speaker A: It was a really good team. It was one of my favorite teams I've ever played on.
[00:06:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. You guys had a good team, great fan base. And when I saw that today, I said, holy.
Like, I can actually relate to this guy on the ice. When you got guys like Terry Ryan or when I got guys like McCarty, these guys on the show that have won the Stanley cup, we haven't shared the ice and I haven't won no cup. So I feel Like, I'm left out. So I feel like it's. I'm great to be able to have that. But speaking of that, you didn't just play junior hockey. Okay. And I left this out of the intro because I didn't want to spare. I didn't want to spoil. Sorry, The. The story that I was going to talk about. So talk about junior hockey. You have played professional hockey as well. You played on a team as well. You played, from what I understand, correct me if I'm wrong, but overseas as well. Correct. You had some time over playing in some professional hockey. So I want you to talk about that. And all that experience was.
[00:06:53] Speaker A: Yeah, so I played a year. It was just Div 3 over there in Czech Republic. It was kind of just a last resort to go play because I had some pending charges. Just laid it on the table. I got in a bar fight when I was home in the off season, ended up getting charged. So I couldn't really travel to go back and play anywhere in the US and while I was dealing with all that stuff, I got a call to go play over in Czech Republic and I was fine to fly there in place. It turned out to be a great experience. Met a lot of awesome people. I had one of my former teammates, Corey Belial, who I played with in the Fed, come and fly over, and he was my roommate over there. So it was a lot of fun.
[00:07:26] Speaker B: That's cool. That's cool. You know, I've had like, I've heard everyone loves play. The dream is playing in the National Hockey League. Everyone knows that. But the stories of being able to go overseas, Italy, Czech Republic. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about Switzerland. Like, I think going over to play and experience, that is fantastic. And I'm sure that you've made a hell of memories over there, not just from playing, but just from seeing around Czech Republic and that culture over in Europe. I'm sure that really still sticks with you today. I'm sure that you still think about it from time to time.
[00:07:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I really enjoyed like our off days. We just go and explore.
I got like, I have a few buddies that are still playing. My buddy Sasha Gimo is still over there somewhere and I think he just won another championship. He's been there for, I want to say, 10 years now, maybe. So. Yeah, like just the. Some of the. Even just some of the posts he makes on social media, them at the mountains or, you know, just different scenery they're taking in is just incredible. So, yeah, it makes me miss playing over there.
[00:08:21] Speaker B: Oh, 100%. And we hear the stories and it's like, holy. And people have told me they've actually had a better time. The money is different and the experience and. But playing overseas was a better life experience than playing in the National Hockey League. I've heard different about Russia, obviously different.
Different feels about Russia, but Italy, Switzerland, like I said, Czech Republic, Germany, I've heard, like, it's great to. To hear that and to experience that piece and if you're not able to play in the National League, to still continue your pro hockey playing career as much as you can over in Europe. And one of the names that I really liked on your thing that I saw was a. Was Denver Cutthroats. I thought that was a wicked name. But A Thousand Island Privateers is probably the coolest name that I've read in quite some time because you have all of it in there. You've numbers, you got a great name. It's. I think you've obviously had some good experience over there. So on top of your experiences over there, what would be one highlight from your professional playing career that sticks with you today? Maybe one story that you'd like to share with the listeners that sticks with you today from either a life lesson or maybe a funny story? Whatever you want to share.
[00:09:30] Speaker A: I'd say one of my highlights overall, probably for my twin brother Will and I, we both agree on this, was just getting to hang out with Scott Parker and his family when we were in Denver. And of course, he was, you know, one of the assistant coaches there. So after practice, him and I and Will would work on fighting and he'd teach us a bunch of stuff. And then, you know, he invited us to his place a couple times to hang out there and, you know, just spend some time. We were pretty new to Denver. Getting to do that with him and hang out with a, you know, former NHL legend like that, it was pretty cool. So I always remember that, just that season in general, I know I didn't last the whole season. It was during the lockout year, getting to, you know, go to the open camp and making. Making the main camp roster and then from there actually signing a spot to play with. I was pretty proud of myself for. For making that happen. From a guy that kind of just grew up playing house league hockey, you know, until we were 18. Yeah, I would say that.
[00:10:18] Speaker B: Yeah. I feel that when you mentioned Scott Parker, my mind went different places, obviously, to. Because obviously he's a.
Knows how to drop the mitts. Let's call it that.
I almost feel like that's a pretty good segue to the next topic that I want. That I want to get into. I was going to think about doing Sorezy, but I think we'll say sorzy for last. Okay, we're gonna. We're gonna say huh. We're gon save huh for last, I guess. Sorry. Don't tell him I tried to copy him. I think that's hilarious. Aquiso does a great job. Obviously assures you have taken the training that you've gotten from Scott and from playing hockey and obviously keeping up the athletic skills to do Ice Wars. And I just want to say, holy. I've watched videos and you guys get into it. You guys are. Are ruthless. It's. It's. It's so awesome. And I don't think that's broadcasted enough, to be honest. I feel like it's more. It's gotten more there, of course. But I wanted to talk about how. How that transition happened from playing hockey, playing overseas, and then calling it a career from the plane perspective to dive into Ice wars, how that transition has been and talk about. Talk about everything with Ice Wars. I want to know. I want to dive into that topic pretty extensively here because it is quite, quite the awesome tag. I've. You guys have events coming up and I want to hear all about it.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: Yeah, so we obviously loved watching the events and we were trying to get into some of the earlier ones before the partnership they did with the bkfc. AJ was running things back then, so it just didn't line up with timing, the way they were setting up their first tournament there. They. I think they only had, you know, eight to 12 guys that they took for that one, so it just didn't work out, but kept in touch with AJ and some of the fighters. And then when I actually landed on Shoresy for season five, John Morassi was in charge of matchmaking. So he got a call to, you know, get some fighters for the Battle of the Border Show. And so I just remember yelling across the room and said, hey, my brother and I will definitely do that if you need some fighters. So he wasn't sure if I was serious at first, and then I told him, yeah, yeah, we'll definitely do it. You know, he said, okay, well, I'll make a couple calls and send me any fight footage you guys have and we'll go from there. So I sent him my stuff that night after we were done filming, and he made a call and a couple days later we had a contract to be on that first show in Michigan.
And so, like, yeah, that one was obviously, you know, a little bit of a smaller venue. And being our first show, we were still on synthetic ice, and we had gloves for that one. We were in the middle of getting all the sanctioning done for where we are now, which is real ice and bare knuckles. So it was an interesting show. We were. We were obviously jacked up for the crowd was electric there. We both got a win and then, you know, move on to two weeks later. Will was fighting again in Edmonton, so I cornered him for that one. I was kind of banged up with a shoulder injury after the first fight.
He went in to, you know, take part in the main event against AJ Schlepp. They had a pretty good spirited fight there. And then fast forward to Florida, where, you know, all of a sudden we're in the Florida Panthers barn having a. Having an event there, which was pretty crazy. Obviously, we didn't sell the place out. You know, it's. It's still growing, and we're trying to, you know, figure things out with the promotion and everything like that, but it was a crazy experience. Yeah, just getting to walk out with your walkout music and, you know, see the venue and get out there and so obviously different.
You know, it's. You're not in a game getting tapped on the shoulder to go get in the fight. This is more, you know, you. You pick up the phone and agree to fight somebody 10, 8 to 10 weeks in advance. So you're kind of thinking about it all the time and strategizing. And so when you finally get out there and the bell rings, it's like everything kind of slows down. And that's the. Probably the most rewarding part, is all the work is done. You get to go fight, as crazy as that sounds.
[00:13:53] Speaker B: No. And honestly, I think this is like a long overdue. I know how it was thought of more, caught on more because I understand, you know, there's different elements to fighting. You. People can enjoy ufc, people can enjoy boxing, but the ice takes it to a whole different level. And for somebody who has skated, you know, people who haven't skated, if whatever the case may be, balance on a hockey skates, set of hockey skates is a lot different than being on your bare feet, on your sneakers, on your feet, your boots, whatever you got, it's a different balance and a different athleticism that people do not understand, I don't think. And there could be that one retry, go and fit, you lose an edge, right? There could be where you have a grass and someone who's a heavyweight or might be a favorite to win a fight, that one pole you slip and you open up a spot. But it's not like boxing where you can kind of just hold and try to show that I could box. Look, I'm not a fighter. People know that.
But it's. People get what I'm saying. If you watch me on video, trip below if you want, I'm okay with that. It's, it's. It's a whole different element, Nick. And I'm sure you can touch on how the psychology is different be. Because I'm sure you've done things off the ice where you've punched a bag or, you know, been involved in some practice for that. So if you could explain to listeners the whole element of balancing on skates for people that might not know the difference because it is wild. All the elements it takes to that to fight on skates.
[00:15:17] Speaker A: Yeah. So just to really dumb it down and sum it up for anyone that doesn't really understand, you could take the best fighter on planet earth who doesn't know how to skate and you could put them on skates against an average hockey fighter and the hockey fighter would absolutely demolish him just because the balance is such a massive thing. And you know, it's. It's all in how you weight transfer on your skates to be able to throw those punches and have any kind of power behind them.
And then like you said, as far as defense goes, if you're not great on your edges and you can't, you know, bob and weave on your skates and you're just going to get manhandled, which we've seen on some previous cars. Right. Some of the weaker skaters just get tossed around. So yeah, I'd say skating is the most important thing. If you're thinking, if you're ever thinking about joining ice wars or any kind of a hockey fight, you know, promotion. The first thing is if you're not a great skater, then I would. That would be what I would work on. I wouldn't sign up until you have that under abs.
[00:16:05] Speaker B: No, because being big thing about holding your stance on skates. And here I feel like gonna give a little coaching lesson. But something that my focus was with skate. I like to get low. I like to skate and skate really low. Some people skate, you got longer legs. It's different the way that your body is and also the way that you're taught some. For people that have been training in hockey, you get accustomed to what works for you, the way you stride. But if you're someone who is new to skating, you're gonna have to find your stride. Literally, that's a pun that we hear, that we hear a lot knocking. But it's true. You got to find your stripe. If you're thinking about fighting. That's a whole different element to it, being able to stand. But obviously, if you're someone who is a more of a strong, aggressive skater who's on form, I feel like you'd be a more of a leg bender. That's what someone was telling me. Maybe more of like a leg bender where you have to use that lower center of gravity. But you got some that are taller, that can handle being higher up because they're taller from a height perspective. Nick, do you think that there's. Obviously in a fight, if you're height. Heights have an advantage in either or in a fight, but on the ice, you can almost be any height and be at an advantage just from a strategic standpoint. How you defend, how you grab and grapple, how you. How you don't want to start going up like this on somebody you want to try to get even. But you have light heavyweight. Heavyweight, there's certain classifications, but for somebody who's taller or shorter, it's a different element for when you're standing on the ice to get ready to get into a fight.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, definitely. And, you know, we've seen some mismatches in terms of size on the previous cards, and, you know, my brother was involved in one of those with our friend Anthony Mendoza. It just was a mismatch from the beginning, from the size. Right. Nothing against Anthony. He's just. He's a tough guy. And just the way it worked out, it was, you know, will holding them way out here, and Anthony couldn't really get any punches off. So you can definitely use your size and your reach to your advantage. And like I said, sometimes I'll. I'll fight upright in certain situations, and other times, you know, if you're against a really, really strong guy, maybe you're crouched down a little bit more. It all depends. It's kind of one of those things you just kind of, you know, play with on the fly when the fight's happening.
[00:18:06] Speaker B: So, speaking of upcoming fights, would you be able to give listeners and viewers some that obviously given when we're recording today. Today's May 5th, and by the time some people hear it, it might be passed, it might not. So if people are hearing this, please please note that depending on when you and when the upload occurs that it might be passed or might be on time or either way. But what kind of shows can you talk about that are upcoming and potential plans coming up that people can keep an eye on for to maybe get tickets to or go see.
[00:18:35] Speaker A: Yeah. So for right now the River Creek Rumble is May 14th in Edmonton at the River Creek Casino. That's right now the only show we're aware of. We've been told there's a number of shows, you know in the works right now for the rest of 2026. So we're all excited to, to get that news and I'm sure the fans will, you know, be the first to hear about it but for right now that's the main focus. So we've got 11 fights. Myself and my brother are fighting on the card. I think Will is number nine and I'm the main event. I'm fighting Alex Panner. He's. He's a tough guy and again he was on the show. He filmed Shoresy with me on season three and season five. And if you look at his hockey resume, you know it's, it's, it's all there. He's fought a lot of really tough guys. He did it for a long time. So I think this is a great opportunity to you know, know win a tough fight against a guy like that and keep moving forward.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: You know I have Alex Penner up because I saw that as a main event card. I have his hockey hockey DB page up and in the picture on hockey db if everyone wants to know half his hair is cornrows on the top. So definitely I feel like this is a. And he is on shores. Yeah as you had mentioned. But not only that, this is a Suse Marie tie in to everybody. 52006 he played for the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds. So obviously if you're from the zoo give him the old, the old search rue on the hockey DB or elite prospects. But he had quite the pro career too where he had a lot of fighting. He had one of his best years obviously if you want to call it in terms of fighting was with Nottingham Panthers obviously over overseas. But in the east Coast Hockey League 239Pali minutes dropping over there. The Colorado Eagles definitely going to be a heavyweight battle. So to be transparent with that. And again people may hear this before or after so the comments may pend on that. But who's the favorite going in between you and him?
[00:20:19] Speaker A: I mean if you're looking at just overall hockey resume then 10 out of 10 people would tell you Alex Penner is the favorite. This is a little bit of a different scenario because he obviously has been off for a little bit of time, but he's never fought in one of these events specifically. So unlike a hockey fight, it is three rounds. There's a, you know, a few different things going on there rather than a standard hockey fight. So if you were to put some Vegas odds on it, I, I think it would probably be pretty close at this point.
That's all I can say.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Oh, he's not going to give the prediction. You know what? I'll get Alex Penner rattled up Nick Laporte with a. With a victory in that fight. And if Alex wants to fight me, I'm. I'm. I don't want to. I don't want to. Thanks for the offer, though. I wouldn't want to. So, obviously, from. From an. From the ice perspective, being on before we transition to a bit more of the. We'll dive into shi and whatnot. The. Of course. But. But from. From the Ice wars perspective, what is. Are you in the loop of what the ultimate goal four is for that? Is it kind of looking at across Canada kind of tournament or kind of tour, or is there kind of like a plan that we're looking at from coast to coast, taking it to Canada only, or is there kind of looking at across the river as well in the United States? Like, what is.
Are you in the loop of that from a perspective of what the goal is to grow Weiss wars and what the vision is for it going forward?
[00:21:43] Speaker A: So I've. I've sat in and talked to some of the guys at the events, obviously our owner and our president, Ian. You know, we. We kind of all have a general understanding of where we want this thing to go, and they do have a number of shows that they're planning on releasing again. Plans have changed since the last time. You know, this was all kind of leaked to us, but there were a number of different states that we had sanctioning for in the US And I know that they were planning on going back to Florida at some point and possibly Michigan again, as well as, you know, five or six other dates that were mentioned. We just don't really know about time frame yet. And then I believe they're currently working on sanctioning in Canada to get into, you know, a number of different provinces moving forward. I really think there's a market in both, you know, Canada and the U.S. but I find it hard to believe we wouldn't sell out shows even in like anywhere in Northern Ontario. Right. If we had something like that in the Sioux or North Bay, like Sudbury, whatever, I think it would be just a complete sellout.
[00:22:33] Speaker B: 50%. That was good. My next point is that there's not enough events here in Sault Ste. Marie. I don't know how North Bay area, the Northern Ontario is, but Sault Ste. Marie, we feel very behind when it comes to getting concerts. Our most recent concert is supposed to be the Google Dolls and they canceled like everyone else. Almost feels like, I don't know if they said they had pneumonia and they cancel other shows. So I don't mean to chirp the Google Dolls, okay, I don't mean to put them on the spot in any which way, but we need some of that entertainment and we have the venues in town to do that. The GFL Memorial Gardens is, I always chirp the way it was built because I feel like they could have fit more in there. But it's a, all in all, still a very good, very beautiful hockey rink that we have here in the Seuss. Anyone from Sue St. Marie listening? We want to see Ice wars here. Maybe this is something we have to look at to bring into the city and maybe if I have to loop in the mayor, Mr. Shoemaker, to look at trying to persuade some ways to get this over here, this would sell out no problem. Especially hockey communities. Nick, like you talk about Northern Ontario in general, hockey is what we bleed over here. Hockey is what we focus on.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: I agree. I think again, whenever those sanctions happen, I think we're going to be all over parts of Canada, especially Northern Ontario is going to be a hub for these events and hopefully I'm still kicking by then, you know, whenever that gets sorted out and I'd love to be a part of some of those events
[00:23:43] Speaker B: would be awesome, 100% and you very agreeable. Good luck of course, again. Or my listeners, depending on when you hear the show, could have been after before, but nonetheless, good luck in the main event. I should almost start calling you Main Event Nick Laporte instead of. Instead of Gorgeous Gore Gallant. I almost feel kind of, you know, I don't know if I want to always say that, but I think that's the best nickname in Shoresy. I know Hitchcock, obviously. That's his name. It's just a, just a good one, obviously. But I think your name is the, the prime to be when it comes to Shorzy. So let's transition to Shorzy. Okay. So everything with Ice wars, we're going to have a link below. I'M going to have a link to the page event by the time the show's uploaded everything, even to Nick's page, to get you directed to there. So look at the description below for any of that information if it's in your area, if you'd like to tune in on the action and comments on the reactions. Look, you. I kind of have an in between first kind of point where you have two different options with hockey culture. Okay, so you have a culture where, sorry, three, technically you played, but I'm gonna stick to Ice wars and Sorsi for this point. So for Ice wars is a whole different culture. It's you, it's. You're on. You're on the ice fighting against an opponent, whereas Shoresy, you know, you. There's a tight knit group of guys there. Okay, I could just tell that. I'm sure each recording each day is absolutely just a ball that maybe that team feel that you remember from playing for so many years, but maybe a little bit different because of the comedic side of it and just the whole approach to the show. But I want to dive into kind of the culture between the two as we transition to Shoresy. What is the difference of Nick the actor, Nick the fighter? What is the different approaches you take to those, to those events or to those, to those occurrences that you're doing in the moment?
[00:25:31] Speaker A: For me, it was pretty much identical. Like, I treated both like a, like a job that I don't want to lose. And so when I, when I got the role as Gorgeous Gord, the first thing I did is dive into the script and just lock myself in a room. And, and I made sure I knew every line because I didn't want to go in there to an existing hit show and be the guy that was going to hold up production or, or anything like that. So I was well prepared for it, obviously grateful for the opportunity. But yeah, much like fighting, I just wanted to be as prepared as possible and not take the opportunity for granted.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: So on that same point, setting the tone is a tone is a term that we've heard a lot in our lives. Even post, when you played Ice wars with Shoresy, you hear it, obviously. So when it comes to an effective set the tone, you're talking about Ice wars, you're talking about Shorzy. What does your set the tone for those two?
[00:26:20] Speaker A: I mean, obviously Ice wars is just go out and dominate and get a win, right? I want to keep winning till I'm the heavyweight champ. So I'd say that's how I set the Tone is make sure I'm prepared mentally, physically, ready to go. And setting the tone. Like, Terry Ryan had a funny, a funny thing. He said, oh, I don't know if you can still hear me or not. I cut out there. I don't know if you still got me.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: Yeah, I still got you. Yeah, we're good. Okay.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: Yeah. So as far as Shores, he goes, like, I know Terry Ryan touched on this. He says, you get, you. You get a different kind of rush when you have a big scene with all the guys and the girls and you, you guys, you know, knock it out of the park and, you know, you finish and everybody's high fiving and hugging and stuff and there's just this certain type of feeling. And I remember when I had my first big scene with everybody and, and you know, we, we got through it and that was our last scene of the day and everybody's high fiving and then we went out for dinner and stuff. And I just remember going up to Terry and saying, you were right about that feeling, buddy. It's. It's hard to explain, but I like it and I want more of it. And he says, that's acting for you, buddy. So I would say, yeah, setting the tone in, in terms of Shores, he would be just going out and nailing one of those big scenes.
[00:27:20] Speaker B: I gotta ask, and you may know this, I know you joined late on it, of course, but the drumsticks, where did that all originate? Did they ever tell you how that kind of came?
I kind of pictured Terry Ryan just knowing him being like, I don't want, I'm not even to try to say it. The accent, he does it. So I'm just gonna say it normally. Just say, hey, hey, boys, let's have some drumsticks. After the scene, I feel like that's where Jared would be like, ding, right? It's kind of was, was it something like that? Or did you ever get told some of those stories or like, how did some of it come as to be like the drumsticks and all of that?
[00:27:58] Speaker A: So that one specifically I think might have been written in. I never did get the full backstory. I just assumed that, that it was written in the show. I could be totally wrong about that.
I never sat down and got this story on that. But what a great addition that was. Like, the fans love that.
[00:28:12] Speaker B: It's. It's great. It's a thing. It's. It's a thing. Even in sometimes it's a thing. Now you, you created a trend. A trend. You know what There's a thing. And obviously listeners, this is Nick Laporte, known as Gorgeous Gorgalant with the Sorsy with Ice Wars. Look, we played against each other on the ice. A lot of things you can look up with Nick. Okay? But there's a thing which shows, I'm sure you'll agree, you think after a season goes well, right? Season one goes like, okay, you're gonna have the same success. Season two, right? Oh, okay. And then it continues. Are you gonna. Are you gonna. Are you gonna. Are you gonna sh.
Has stayed the line and even got better. Okay. This latest season.
Loved it.
Loved the idea about being on the ice. I thought that was great on the outdoor rink. Sorry is what I mean. And obviously we're from Sault Ste. Marie here in the Sioux. We would rather see you guys record here. But I love the nods you give the Sue. Oh, the sue is so good. Love that. We love that here in the Sue.
What a. Every season has been just as good if. If not better. Actually can seriously say not because I have any bias because I've had a fan enjoy it it and I enjoy it so much where I watch it. If my wife wants to watch something else, we're watching Sorsy first and she actually agrees. So we all enjoy, all enjoy the show here in the south and friends and I know obviously a great deal of listeners enjoy the show, but that's the thing, right? You have a show and you're like, do we do another season? And I think it's a no brainer to continue Shoresy, because of not just success and money, because some people think that, but because I want to know what the next story is. And that's what I thought this season was going to be. The challenge. Right? Because what sure is he going to do?
Yeah, there it is. Okay. There's what you did. Okay, now what can be next? Is it a story that he does coach you or that does he get a pro coaching shot or what happens? Right? There's so much more that you can do with the show and I think the writing's been great, but I'm sure as somebody joining a cast, you talked about it about 5, 5, 10 minutes ago where you said you didn't want to come on to a show and be that guy to ruin anything or ruin the mojo of it because each year it's been stable, if not better. Right? And that's the concern about continuing shows each time. So has that ever been a conversation with you guys like, hey, when do we end? Or is that even been a thought.
[00:30:31] Speaker A: Yeah. So I think, you know, he had. He was wildly successful with Letterkenny, and that carried on for, you know, 12 or 13 seasons. Of course, Shores, he's been an even bigger hit so far. And, you know, the fans are obviously screaming for more Every. Every time a season ends, they're like, when's the next one coming out? So there's definitely a lot of different ways you can go with it, but of course, you know, you maybe want to go with the Jerry Seinfeld approach especially, and go out on top, too. So he's talked about, you know, a couple different things. So I. I think there's probably going to be, you know, one, maybe two more seasons, and I. I can't see it going too much further than that. But again, I. I'm not. I'm not the one making those decisions. I'll leave it up to them. I'm just. I'm ready to go if they need me again.
[00:31:09] Speaker B: Well, let's hope that you're there because obviously you did a great job. Everyone that they've added on has been just a terrific ad.
And look, Sharzi captures the, kind of the grit better than any show, I want to say, in history, but I know there's a lot of great shows, there's been a lot of great sports shows, but it captures the grit better than any show that I've experienced just from knowing, I guess, that life from a lower perspective. But have friends who have played from that end, all this, all the level.
But as someone who has played in those rooms, even overseas, what is one specific detail on the spot here that do you think Shorzy nailed? That is that lifestyle of a hockey player. What is that? 1. One of the many. But what is that maybe one detail that you think stands out that they did perfectly with the show?
[00:32:03] Speaker A: I think just depicting the emotion after either winning the championship or losing a championship, something like that. Because we've all sat in those rooms as players and you know, you've. You've either won or lost and been in and you know those tough situations. And if you find yourself watching that show sometimes getting emotional and you're like, what's going on here? But it's because it's relatable. And like, as a hockey player or someone who's been around the game, you've. You've experienced those emotions to the fullest and they nailed everything. Like, it's all spot on. Right. So it really brings you back.
[00:32:31] Speaker B: It brings you right back. That's such a great way Great way to put it. And like, now, knowing you and knowing Terry and John harassing these guys. Jordan. Jordan. Like, it makes it. It makes me feel a bit more involved there because of knowing you guys, too. And just knowing Sudbury, it's just got that whole feel if you're not from Northern Ontario, you might not understand how. How we. How we feel, but it's still any vibe that you would get, and it's still even that men's league approach. Right. Like, some people that want to live that dream still. Like, I won't say a name, but there's. There's people in our men's league that have. That are not too far removed from playing the National Hockey League and that are still. Still. You know, they can still be there. And again, I'm not chirping anybody because I'm not here to start anything, but obviously it's. It's still serious even after you play. Right? So I think that's what it is for me. It's still that real feel even after you play. And, yeah, just. Just the locker room that just having drumsticks and. And substitute drumsticks is basically beer now. But of course, that's. That's all great. That's great. Stuff. Stuff. Now you're playing gorgeous Gord Galant. Okay, Said that about six times on this show. Okay. But between the flow and the nickname, where does Nick Laporte end in gourd begin? Okay. It's kind of how I wanted to word it. Are we looking at the same guy?
Are we. Is it the same or is it or not? Like you said, you locked yourself in a room, basically, and you memorize those lines. I'm sure that you kind of. Of just turned into this. This guy. But I. I think I know my answer, but I gotta hear from you.
[00:34:08] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, Nick. Nick and Gord, probably. Yeah. There's not too many differences. I'm probably not as nice as I'm portrayed on the show, maybe.
And of course, I'm by no means an. A good actor. I. I don't see myself as a good actor. I. I was trying to play the part as best I could, but whether I portrayed what they were looking for or not, I have no idea. I just went in there and kind of tried to match the energy of everybody else. And like I said, being prepared kind of helped. But I would say, yeah, like, you know. You know, you see me on the ice, some of those scrums, that I'm not involved. That's maybe not very accurate because, you know, you played against me and any chance I could get, I was getting in the, in there and I, I don't think I swore once on the entire show in Jersey. And you know that's obviously I swear quite a bit in, in real life. So I would say that, that those are probably the only two major differences.
[00:34:54] Speaker B: That's great. I really just when I mentioned there was somebody else on that show that and we don't need to dive into the from this year to get a chance was Max Buffard, if I believe I said his name correctly. And now I'm drawing a blank of what character that he played.
That's it. Thank you. And some no JHL ties are big on Sharzy and it makes sense, right? Because of Sudbury sue it all, it all makes sense. So as we get to kind of the, the wrap up port, this is obviously wrap up part of the show story. I had something that I want to call it as the local closer. Okay.
Sault Ste Marie, when I grew up was quite a dominant hockey city. Okay. And North Bay was there, Sudbury was there obviously Toronto's Toronto, they were on a different level. I found, you know, there's a lot of players that are similar to our age. Tavares, Damkos, guys that obviously came from the Toronto area that, that would take us to school nonetheless. But you being a North Bay guy and me being a Sioux guy who has developed in from what you can recall, a stronger hockey talent pool that's on the spot. I, I'm going to the Hockey Point. I'm switching gears from Ice wars and Sorsy. But from you the hockey player now, and from seeing it North, Bayer, the Sooner Sioux, North Bay or the Sioux,
[00:36:26] Speaker A: I gotta go with North Bay. I'm a North Bay guy, so that's an easy one for me. To be honest, I, I don't, I don't really keep up with, with you know, the hockey culture as much as I should, especially after I stopped playing. So I really couldn't give you an honest answer on that. But just from a bias standpoint, I gotta go with North Bay.
[00:36:40] Speaker B: That's fair. That's fair. Now I will put you on the spot for maybe one serious question before we let you go. Hockey's different than what it ever used to be. And for those who are tuning in to learning about Ice wars today, you're learning from a different perspective of the ice. From a boxing lens, from a fighting lens, all that sorzy. If you're tuning from a sorzy end, you see it from a men's league from pro players, from a comedic perspective. You've heard me and Nick talk about playing hockey against each other. Me trying to relive some old stories I don't get to talk to about with my buddies as much as much as Nick probably gets the opportunity to.
But today I've had a very popular topic on the show about a lot of. I find that the incidents tend to take over when it comes to social media. So we've had a couple of ref challenges where people have harassed a referee and talking about coaching and how hockey's different than what it used to be. And it is. I remember growing up and you couldn't leave the corner without getting a slash hook or getting rocked. Guys like Tret Lizzie, you mentioned him. Another guy that I'll mention that might cause some names in the comments. If you're from the Northern Ontario area, Mike Bondi on Manitoulin, there's another name I'm forgetting about a couple others.
There. There was. There was guys that played junior and when I played before junior hockey that you got rocked, it didn't matter. And now hitting's different, development's different. Everything is different in the na. In National Hockey League, yes. But in. In the whole overall national development. But speaking with Northern Ontario, you. I know you mentioned you weren't as in tune but as is you want to be. But it's different now. Do you. Have you seen how the game has changed and do you think that players are being prepped and developed the best way that they in Canada? Because I feel that Canada might be losing some stride a little bit and needs to kind of reshape and reform its hockey. And I'm not saying from the 2000s these days where you and I used to walk out of the rink with missing a front tooth or getting black eyes. It's not what I'm saying that that helps when you need to. When a teammate gets hit, you better step in and defend them. AKA Toronto Maple Leafs against Austin Matthews and Racco Gutas just as an example. I know you. I knew you'd shake your head at that. I know if you were on the ice, Rocco Gudis wouldn't be. Wouldn't be standing. Let's just say wouldn't be standing. But what needs to change? Or do you think it needs to change in Canada in terms of hockey developments? Kind of a more serious question and spin off to the normal three topics that I'm sure you get to talk about a lot. Lot.
[00:39:35] Speaker A: Yeah. So I would definitely agree with you. The game has changed a lot. And you know, if you look at the. The past decades where Canada was quite well known as the. The best hockey country in the world, it. It's not based solely on. On skills. Right? We were gritty, we would hit, we would fight. I think collectively that's, that's kind of on the decline. There's no question about it, that the skill is. Is, you know, out of this world now with, with younger players. And there's obviously a lot of focus that goes on to developing skills. And you see it with players edge work and their stick skills, all that. It's. There's no question, it's obviously advancing every year. Like, I look at some of the stuff they're doing now and I'm like, I don't even know if I could play in this generation. But yeah, it's definitely soft, Incredibly soft. Don't quote me on this, but I, I think if I'm not mistaken, they've. They've now taken hitting out of the younger leagues in hockey. Is that, Is that a thing?
[00:40:22] Speaker B: Okay, so like 14 or 15 now to hit or something?
[00:40:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's a humongous mistake. And I mean, you know, you, obviously, you're seeing the effects of that, right? Like physicality and grittiness is, is what wins Stanley Cups at the highest level. So I mean, to. To remove that from the game for a.
From the Canadian game from such a young age. I. I just don't really understand it. I don't agree with it. And I think until we reestablish that kind of physicality and grid, and I'm not saying go out and fight every game, but, you know, finish your hit, stick up for your teammates, I think until that returns. And we are not the greatest hockey country in the world anymore.
[00:40:54] Speaker B: Love that. Now that made me ask one last question. I'd like. I tend to do that.
Oh, you from. I talked about that Racco Gudis, Austin Matthews hit, which happened months. Month ago. Was a month ago. I believe in with about that with the Leafs and the Ducks game.
And obviously growing up a Leaf fan have been nothing but prone to. To heartbreak. And I'm sure, I'm not sure what team that you cheer for. You a Leaf fan or not a Leaf fan?
[00:41:19] Speaker A: I grew up a Canadiens fan.
[00:41:21] Speaker B: Fair enough. And right now at this time, they're going on to the second round against the Buffalo Sabers. Obviously, by the time some people hear this might be a little bit different, but obviously being a Montreal fan, good time to be Montreal fan right now. But let me tell you let me give you this scenario. If you look at the Matthews Gudis hit, Gudis gets knees. Matthews, who's been known to be dirty, look what he did to. To Crosby in the Olympics, which is likely, I'm sorry, American listeners, is a big reason why we lost, but also because Connor Helbuk was turned into Dominic Hasek. And if you know what that means, you should know what that means, because he stopped everything in the day and that's what Hallebuck turned into. Even though he's a good goaltender, I feel like, like, you know, having Crosby on the ice would have a different little bit of an outcome, especially in overtime. But if you were Morgan Riley, this is what I want to put on your lens. You're Morgan Riley. Apparently he didn't see the hit with Gudus and Matthews. But if you see the picture, if I have a, if I have a chance, I'll try to put the picture up on here. Matthews, when he's on the ice or he gets it. Morgan Riley is within eye distance, okay? He, he. He's close by and he looks over and it seems like he does nothing. He just sees Matthews on the ice.
Now, I want to know what you would do, not seeing somebody get hit.
If you look over and your captain is on the ice and the other player is standing over top of him, looking down at him. What is Nick Laporte or even gorgeous Cord Gallette doing in that moment? Are you. What are you doing in that moment? It is. What are you doing?
[00:42:59] Speaker A: It's a full yard sale. Gloves and sticks are hitting the rafters and I'm going to kill the guy. Doesn't matter if you saw it doesn't even matter if he was in the wrong. You see your captain down and there's a hit like that, you're. You're absolutely 100% going after him. You're probably going after some of his teammates afterwards too. Like, you are letting it be known that that doesn't fucking stand. And that was an absolute joke to watch that and see. Nobody even grabbed a guy. I couldn't believe it. Honestly. Honestly, it's crazy.
[00:43:23] Speaker B: We talked about right now, we're one couple months after, like. And then you see Skull, then they do drop the gloves. East to Cowan, dropping against Nikita Zadorov. Look, Cowan, I appreciate the peskiness, but dude, that's not you, okay? Where was where? I don't like. Morgan Riley is another whole conversation. We're not here to talk about the Leafs by any means, but you don't. You ask questions later. In that scenario, you okay?
[00:43:48] Speaker A: Yeah. And I mean, even if you're not a fighter, like, you don't have to go in there and knock the guy out. But, I mean, you're. You're. You're getting in there no matter what. You're putting your body on the line to stick up for your team. That's the end of it.
[00:43:58] Speaker B: And I'm sure they know, and I know fans have heard that, but I need to know your first intention, because even back then, at that point, I say back then, it was a long time ago. Like I said a couple months ago, back then, players on the ice, player over top, ask questions later. Even me. Someone fight you? Who would fight?
So, yeah, like, I don't care about the power play. I'm out of the playoffs. If I'm Tron. I don't give a. I'm in a. I'm fighting you. I don't care if you're 7 foot 5. I don't care if you're 5 foot 5. You're. You're gonna get it. We're. We're going. There's gonna be a yard sale on the ice. I love the way that you put it. Every person that I've asked, pro fighters, non fighters, I've had people tell me who are non fighters that play this set. That is the biggest joke that they've seen, and that is the prime definition that I don't want to see change in the game. I understand fighting is a topic of Russian hockey and all that and hitting. Fighting is a part of the game in hockey. And I'm just going to stick to heading for this one piece. And obviously we talked about fighting here for a little bit, but you can't take those pieces out of the game. And pushing it to be later in development is a problem. But for this example that I'm talking about, this is where that Canadian feistiness is that I always talk about. Do you think the 2002 Darcy Tucker would let that fly? There would have been a scene at Air Canada Center. Do you think? I'm trying to think of some Montreal guys. I don't know why I'm drawing a blank, but I know in the early thousands, they had some tough cookies on their team. No one would have let that fly. And that is what I feel is missing from a game, from the knowledge game, is the respect for your own teammates.
And if you connect Shorzy, that is a team bond. If you look at ice wars and you look at things that you're doing, Nick, it's A different.
Different level. But I think a lot of the world, because of social media and the way things are today is centralized. Worried about me?
[00:45:56] Speaker A: Yeah, it's.
[00:45:57] Speaker B: Team factor is gone.
[00:45:59] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree with you. Well said. That's. Yeah, that's. That's evident as of, you know, lately, even us, you know, if we were out filming a day at Shores and we went out for dinner and somebody came into the restaurant and started stirring some, which obviously, you know, with the cast we had of tough guys, I don't think that would ever happen. But say it did. You would have everybody there, even people that hold cameras and you know, they'd be all, everybody's a family on that show, so everybody would stick up for. For each other. And like I said, any team I've ever played on, even if. Even if you weren't a tough guy and you witnessed or didn't witness somebody get hit or hit from behind, whatever, they were jumping in, guns ablaze, and they were asking questions later. So I think that needs to make its way back into. To certain organizations. Yeah. Like I said. And having guys fight, you know, the next time they play that team, that's all great, but who gives a right? Like it didn't happen when it needed to happen. You needed to send that message, you know, right after that hit. So. Yeah, that was crazy.
[00:46:52] Speaker B: Absolutely. And I. I'd love that we ended on a. Top that topic and I know we got into a lot and to be honest, I typed out all these different points, but I actually didn't even really follow the points that I wanted to and kept this more. More on the candid perspective. So I hope you enjoyed yourself, Nick. Of course. And it was great connecting with you and I'm sure the listeners loved the approach that we took. This is almost that feel that you and I were sitting at a bar, having a drink, just having a normal. Having a conversation. And that's the type of content I love providing on this show that we love providing here on the game. And I'm glad that you're able to be a part of it and that we glad. I'm glad to. That we connected. It took a couple months. If you talk to my friends, I'll tell you that I'm the worst texter in the world. So I'm glad that we were able to figure this out, Nick and I appreciate you taking the time. So before we let you go, I want you to. To do any final thoughts, anything you want to remind the listeners about, anything to check out where to follow you
[00:47:47] Speaker A: other than that event. That's basically the kind of the focal point of my athletic endeavors right now. So May 14th again, I don't know if this one's going to be live streamed or if it's going to be delayed. I think I've heard that it might be delayed two weeks, so they might not be showing it until, you know, the 28th of May. So the link will be, you know, on my, on my Instagram it's just Nick underscore, Underscore Laporte. If anyone wants to tune in, I'll be post that link on the 28th and by that time I should be three and.
[00:48:11] Speaker B: Yeah, you will. Yeah, you will. Tell Alex Penner. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not gonna find him. Tell him he's got a. That's good, that's good. And again, Nick, thank you for taking the time for coming on the podcast here today. We're happy to add yet another Shorzy member to the to the cast list here on the game.
[00:48:27] Speaker A: Yeah, thanks for having me. And I'll talk to some guys from the show and send them your way.
[00:48:31] Speaker B: Love that. Love to continue to add to that roster. Everyone, this is Nick Laporte known as as Gorgeous Gore Gallant. I said it again on this show and also we could check him out on Ice wars as he had mentioned and someone I was able to share the ice with with the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Days, which is great. You can follow my social media, check out Sorsy. It's if you haven't yet, you've been living under a rock and all these special editions of the game and I remind you that we have all the clips on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, all at the Game Sports podcast. Make sure you're following that. Below will be a description of both that but also the Ice wars content that I can provide in Nick's contact information through for his Instagram that you can check out. And this has been a special edition of the Game Sports Podcast. Until next time, I'm here to remind you to keep your stick on the ice, swing your bats, catch touchdowns, drain your threes and shoot your shots. Booyah.
