Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Booyah.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: And it's time for the Game Sports.
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Podcast is your host, David McCaig Jr. And we're starting tonight's episode off with a bang with the Chuka Puck segment. And we got a special segment for Chucka Puck today. It's the first ever Chuka Puck playoff preview for the Ontario Hockey League. And I am joined by co host of the Chukapuck segment, Jordan Trudeau. Now, Trudeau, I was going to call you the one and the only and the traitor Jordan Trudeau as a joke because of how you're no Longer with the 91 and Pandas baseball team and with. And with another baseball team.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: But you know what?
[00:00:41] Speaker A: I want to be clean and friendly in the. In the intro, but I guess I just ruined that right now all of a sudden, even though I didn't plan to. But nonetheless, my friend, how are you? How's the week going? How we feeling for some OHL playoff discussion?
[00:00:54] Speaker C: Well, I'm ready for the discussion for sure. I'm ready for the games to start as well. So definite, getting eager for Thursday night. And I like the OHL playoffs because. Not only because the greyhounds, but I just like. I just like playoffs in general of any sport. I think it's the best, definitely the best you're going to get of that sport at any given time in any given year. So any. Any sort of playoffs, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, playoff hockey is unreal.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: So it doesn't matter.
[00:01:21] Speaker B: I agree.
[00:01:22] Speaker C: Definitely best time of year coming up.
[00:01:24] Speaker A: I 100% agree. And also in this and obviously being the opener of the show, I gotta remind everyone, the Game Sports podcast is powered by 91 Network, featured on Spaces, which is through SU Today and Village Media, and of course also on all platforms of podcasts outside of YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Google, wherever you are, like follow and subscribe. We got a loaded episode for you.
[00:01:51] Speaker B: With here on the game, which is.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: Going to be invaded by hockey. And you know what, what better way than to start off than with the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. Now, just to give everyone a quick little rundown before we get into the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. True. I want to get into some statistics for the season and some shout outs to that. Okay? And obviously here on Chuk a Puck, we talk everything. Ontario Hockey League, but we also dive into the teams around the league. So we got to give credit where it's due. Okay? We can't just have the biased opinions here on where the Game Sports podcast is located in Sioux St. Mary, Ontario, the heart of the Great Lakes. There are some in the league this year who had some great seasons and highlighting some of them I'll go around.
[00:02:31] Speaker B: The league but then I'll go to.
[00:02:32] Speaker A: You TR it's about the Sue Greyhounds in particular But Michael Misa 134 point season the most points in a season by a d by a draft draft year player since Patrick Kane. Great stat to look up look into if you'd like to also Ilia Portrais 124points or Portoir whatever however we want to announce I've announced it I believe it's Produs produce Thank you I look at that correct me I I say Portoir Portis love it for sure though I don't see and if he listens to this don't hesitate to send a voice clip over to the game sports podcast would love to do it right four points Liam Green Tree and 19 points both players on Windsor hitting the two three spot Nick Lardis 117 points and Zane Pere Fenceman 107 points with Saginaw two Saginaws two spits and and one Branford Bulldog on there notable with Nick Larus over 70 goals this season. The guy was fined in the back of the net all season that red light was going was the light bulb was dying back there because buddy was finding the top Chad was finding the five or ever you're a goalie danger sign coming down the ice that is definitely impressive but something that's very impressive. Speaking of the net in the crease Austin Elliott of the London Knights.
[00:03:47] Speaker B: Okay it doesn't matter if you have.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: Alexi in that or you have Austin.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: And net you're going to get some wins you're going to get some good.
[00:03:53] Speaker A: Goal to anybo Austin this year 32 one what a season.
[00:03:57] Speaker B: One loss.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: Okay you go in there one loss you're one away from a perfect season and and obviously a big part of that is the team that is in front of them. Look at how the London Knights did this year but you got to give credit to where credit su and he's a good goaltender. Both goaltenders that are in the crease for London very impressive and you know this is a season that you know and with Austin Elliott must add a 0.924 say percentage as well as I confirmed the stats with that but the wins overall this year Jackson on the Kitchener Wayne Rangers with 37 wins so definitely was a very very very good season to statistically for a lot of individual players but truants give us some of the stats across the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds that, that who were the top scorers in the Sue Grayhawns and who were notable this year that deserve a little bit of extra credit.
[00:04:45] Speaker C: So the Greyhounds didn't necessarily have a dominant offensive like common greyhound season. This team wasn't as offensive as they have been in the past. Maybe that fans are more used to seeing. There are some definitely. There's definitely some notables. Top three being Marco Mignosa, Brady Martin and Justin Cluce. So 85 points for Mignosta, 72 for Brady Martin and 54 for Justin Cluce and 30 goals for over 30 goals from both Brady and Marco. So that line of Martin, Mignosa and Hayes definitely really caught on and in the last second half of the season and they really started to put up some, some really good points there. But yeah, so offensive production. We're going to talk about it too when it comes to playoffs. Not necessarily your dominant offensive greyhound offense that we're used to seeing. You know, Boris Kachuk, Morgan Frost, Zack Snish and Rory Karrons, ty Cartier, Cole McKay like those guys that would come in and just you know, pump shots, pump goals at the net. Bit of a different identity with this crew, which is not necessarily a bad thing either but like credit where credit is due. Newell Nord had over a point a game after coming in the fall late to the season. Chase Reed also with a point per.
[00:06:06] Speaker B: Get your Reed jerseys. Get your Reed jerseys.
[00:06:09] Speaker A: Get your Brady Martins and your Reed jerseys.
[00:06:11] Speaker C: I mean like this little group of players, Brady Smiths and Jordan, Sharon Carson, Andrew all being our between 20 and 29 points. Very solid for a rookie season in the OHL. Very, very solid start. Yeah, you look at like Marco Mosa and Justin Cluce where they are now. That's where their point production started at. At rookie years as well. No, it's all, it's all a good sign. There's a good trend and excited to see what some of these, what some of these players can do in the off season to improve their game and come back next year.
[00:06:45] Speaker B: You know what I want to say.
[00:06:47] Speaker A: Quickly when it comes to Brady Martin, there's been some names tossed around. I like looking around when it comes to draft talk and I think it's very. I saw a very interesting name about him and I believe it's been used commonly because I've seen it. Not for us really too much in terms of chats or pages, but the spark plug. Brady Martin is a spark plug and I. It was a while since I've heard that saying and you know we've say that you come up with aims. Oh, he's a. He's a stud or he's, you know, he's unique. He's got good, he's marks, he's got good. He's got good vision on the ice.
[00:07:21] Speaker B: Right.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: You hear a lot of these scenes. But someone wrote spark plug and I like that. Brady Martin. Spark plug just stuck. I think that is a well used term in the guy. I'm going to give you this prediction. Remind everyone I predicted Pittsburgh. Okay. For obvious reasons and if you don't know why I say that, then I think you really got to check who's running the show there at Pittsburgh.
[00:07:42] Speaker B: Okay?
[00:07:42] Speaker A: Maybe that's a little tip. But this the Brady everything about the Hounds you cannot. There's nothing about this team that you could be disappointed about this year. I feel like they did very well. They battled at the end of the year. They got seventh which was the goal that SHS and I talked about on our previous episode. Make sure you go check that out. It was a great week and obviously it was very much to talk about here in the Su Marie community. Overall, the OHL playoffs truths. Okay, gonna go right into that. This is how the playoff pitchers look at nist. You got Branford against North Bay. You got Barry against Niagara, got Kingston against Sudbury. You got Oshawa against Brampton. In the west you got London and Owen Sound.
[00:08:16] Speaker B: Yikes.
[00:08:17] Speaker A: Owen Sound. Windsor against the Sioux Sary Greyhounds. Kitchener Rangers against the Flint Firebirds. And Saginaw Spirit. Eerie. Very excited about that Saginaw Erie series. I think that's going to be an absolute fire of the series. Might be the most entertaining series out of the whole first round. I'm not, not gonna lie to you. It's one that I got my eye on of course outside of Susei ground series. But trs, you and I are going to do some dissection quickly about they Sue Greyhounds and Windsor Spitfires. That's the series that we're going to target. But you are going to have a treat and that treat is that we're going to give you the predictions in each of the conferences and as each round completes and as we a segment an episode. Well that round still might be going on but if we're able to give you a prediction per round we will do that based on how we time these episodes. But you do get a prediction for of the first round and who we think's going to win the overall OHL playoffs is coming very shortly here. But TRUDES give us your thoughts, your insights on the Spitfires and greyhounds. I. I'll just say because I'm going to give you the floor at this given time that this is a series that people need to give. Don't count the greyhounds out.
[00:09:23] Speaker B: Don't think it's going to be a.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Walk in the park for Windsor. It's going to be one heck of a series and I think it's actually going to be the second most exciting series in the first round.
[00:09:33] Speaker B: I do think Saginaw Erie is the.
[00:09:34] Speaker A: One that's gonna be the most exciting for length seven games. I think it's going to be down on the bone, right down on the wire. Sorry, but the Greyhounds Windsor second series got my eye on. Not because they're local, it's because I think people are going to be counting out the hounds and they shouldn't be doing that.
[00:09:48] Speaker B: Right.
[00:09:48] Speaker A: Trudes, give us a dissection about how the series can go and some highlights.
[00:09:52] Speaker C: That's definitely correct. You know the last time these two teams met in the playoffs was exactly 20 years ago in 2005.
Do you remember what happened in that series?
[00:10:02] Speaker A: If I remember correctly, I thought the.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Sue Grons won that series.
[00:10:05] Speaker A: Truth?
[00:10:06] Speaker C: They did not. Can you remember who was on that team? So 20 years ago is the last time that these two teams met in the playoffs we saw Jeff Carter. Jeff Carter.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: Tyler Kennedy.
[00:10:17] Speaker C: Tyler Kennedy Kyle in that juice.
Jordan Smith was a defenseman on the team. Brad Good, Martin Tuma and the second seeded greyhounds lost to the seventh seeded Windsor Spitfires. After having a three to nothing series.
[00:10:35] Speaker A: They lost game seven here.
[00:10:37] Speaker C: Interesting.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: It's.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: That's right. No, that's right. Thanks for that reminder, Trudes. Love these history lessons.
[00:10:43] Speaker C: Interesting. I got that from the Windsor Star. So anyway, as it comes to today, 20, 20 years later, will that happen again? I don't know. It's definitely possible, but not likely. If this Windsor team shows up to play, they will be very difficult to beat. For the greyhounds, they are big, they are fast, they are strong.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Very big.
[00:11:04] Speaker B: Good point.
[00:11:05] Speaker A: They are very big.
[00:11:06] Speaker C: They have a lot of firepower up front. As you mentioned, Liam Green Tree and Ilya Prodas were among the top players in the league this year in scoring. They Both had over 100 points, both drafted to the NHL. They the key to the greyhound stopping them is to defend them well. Like John Dean said in his article to Peter Ricci, they need to execute on defending their top players well. Now the problem with defending those that top line is the Depth of Windsor, that was going to start to cause you problems. Noah More no AJ Spellisi name like Ethan Belchertz will come up on the second and third lines. So the key to stopping this Windsor team is to defend them. They are very high, high offensive. They have a very high offensive capability. So some players to watch in this series. Let's watch Newell Newert on the Greyhounds. He had a, like fire end to the season. He had a really hot end, very hot. Three or four goals there in the last two games and five points against Saginaw. So he had a, he had a strong, strong end to his season. So hopefully he can continue it to the playoffs for these Spitfires. Let's watch the play of Joey Costanzo. The Greyhounds had difficulty scoring over the course of the year. End of March and February, March they found a bit of scoring touch. So can that confidence carry them through and can they get to Joey Costanzo? That's going to be a big story of the series as well. So that's what I would say. This matchup is a lot closer than I think a lot of people think. Windsor's still a juggernaut. Windsor still is the heavy, heavy favorite, but I like the confidence that the Greyhounds are exuding right now. The last time the Greyhounds were the seventh seed, it's worth noting as well, was 2016. They actually upset the second place Sarnia Sting over the strong, strong play of Brandon Halverson. That series, I remember that series quite well. So you know, historically the seventh seed is, is good to the Greyhounds, but we'll see if that plays out in this series. But it's, it's gonna be, it's gonna be a good one. Nice to get some extra hockey in 100%.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: And I think the, the big thing is I'm glad you brought up because that's the point I had typed was in 2016. And I remember while I was working with the Game Sports podcast co host, one of the original OGs, Justin Heik, we were working at the casino here in Su, which was previously owned by the Lottery, now is under new ownership and direction. But. And that was definitely some big talk when they did pull off the upset, right? Anything can happen. That's the beauty about not just hockey or being the underdog, it's just the overall sports world. Anything can happen. You just got to get into that playoffs and then get into that mindset, get hot, get competitive, really bear down and know that these games are games that you can win. You belong there. You've Made it there because you belong. And I think the greyhounds are going to be really underestimated in this series. And I think the goal for the greyhounds is to for sure steal one in Windsor. If you can walk out of Windsor with one win, coming home, coming home to the Gardens, I think that's going to be really, really beneficial to them and can rake them. Height of momentum, ride that momentum. And truly, I think that win should come in game two. I'm a firm believer that the first game, first game in the series, you know, it's, they're going to come out hot. Windsor, they might. I think you're going to see that win in game two. And then coming home on that high saying, yeah, we could beat them and then have them the doubt seated. I think that does matter, the difference in games, coming home and creating that doubt. So if that does happen for the hounds, I think that'd be the best case scenario or one of the great scenarios. The best case scenario, sorry, would be winning both games. Right?
[00:14:46] Speaker C: You're 20 coming back. Yeah.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: If you're 20 coming back, Windsor's coming here with their tail down. They're, they're, they're not spitting any fire, okay. They're, they're not spitting any fire. They're coming back here and they're spitting swears and spitting negativity. Okay? So that is the thing. The greyhounds you mentioned, a lot of good points there, Trudes, which, awesome. It's great to dive into that. But I think the greyhounds, as I'm going to say right now, before we get into our predictions and get to near the, the conclusion of our segment, they're in tough. And I'm gonna warn people, I've been a Bias Leaf fan a lot on this podcast, okay. For the last four, five. Five years. Five. I was reminded five, but I believe Heiko reminded me five years. Picked, picked these guys to win the boys in blue, okay? And I said this is this year would be the last year. Six, actually. Six. This is the seventh year.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: Sorry, I, I was incorrect again.
[00:15:37] Speaker A: Seven years. I predicted six years. This is the seventh year. I predicted the boys in blue to win the Stanley cup this year. And I said that this would be the last time that I picked Toronto. Winning the Stanley cup doesn't matter if they sign Crosby Ovechkin next year, whoever they bring it, I will not pick Toronto. And I have learned over time in my career with being in sports, it's important to not be biased and be realistic. On this podcast, I have said these guys will win and they're not a bad choice.
[00:16:08] Speaker B: Okay?
[00:16:09] Speaker A: They're not a bad choice. So before we get into into our.
[00:16:12] Speaker B: Picks, the reason why I use as.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: An example is I want people to know that I've learned, okay throughout my career that you gotta eliminate your biases when it comes to being a sports individual and actually pick, especially with having people tune in. And it also creates clips, especially as I know a good deal of Sue Greyhound fans and listeners are going to hear this. I'm giving you a warning. Do not be triggered by how I make my prediction. So if that didn't make you listen further, I don't know what. Well, because I'm sure there's some ears and the volumes might be going up in here, your car or in your headphones or whatever you're listening to. Okay, Trudes, but before we get into our predictions, any other final thoughts you want to add about the Hounds, Windsor or any of the playoff series before we get into our predictions?
[00:16:53] Speaker C: Head to head stats is one thing to consider. It's another thing to consider that Nolan Lalonde has never played the Windsor Spitfires in a Greyhounds uniform. So for those of you looking at head to head stats, ooh, has that matchup? Hasn't. Hasn't happened yet. So it's gonna happen on Thursday.
[00:17:10] Speaker A: Love that you got the facts. You spit in the facts. I love that's the. Might have to be the title, you.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: Know, and it honestly very.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: I'm excited about this year's playoffs and I think everyone, everyone, every community is, but I don't. There's a lot of talk and optimism with the Sounds team, but let's go around. I'm gonna start major. I'll start with mine. Rip the band aid off.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:17:32] Speaker A: People are waiting for it. Gonna go from the east to the west doing the Greyhounds last for the Eastern Conference in the ohl. I got Branford over North Bay in a sweep. And you don't have to list your series amount Trudeau, if you want to, but I'm going to go ahead and do that. Old habits. Barry Colts and the Niagara Ice Docks. I got Barry winning that five.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: Kingston and Sudbury.
[00:17:51] Speaker A: I am going to say Sudbury's winning this in seven. Going Sudbury against Kingston, Oshawa and Brampton. I got Oshawa winning that in six.
[00:18:01] Speaker B: For the Western Conference.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: I got the London Knights over Owen Sounded and three jokes aside in four.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: For the next one for Kitchener and Flair talent.
[00:18:09] Speaker A: I got Kitchener winning this series in six for Saginaw and Erie. It's going the distance, it's going seven. And it's going to be Saginaw. Michael Misa and the boys are going to be a little. I pick up that gear and get the dub. Windsor ends. The Sue Greyhounds look series is going to be great. I hope I'm wrong. I'm going to be cheering for the Hounds. I'm going to be supporting. And if I'm wrong, when you walk by me at the Gardens or when you comment here, be rude, be ruthless, don't care. I got. I got Windsor winning this in six. I got Windsor in six. Breaking our hearts in six games for the Sioux Greyhounds. Overall prediction for the winner of the OHL championship. Gonna give you that. London Knights are winning the whole shebang this year.
[00:18:54] Speaker B: Trudes.
[00:18:55] Speaker C: I got. I'll go in the same order as you. So I also have Branford over North Bay in four. I'm gonna go with. Who's next? Kingston.
[00:19:04] Speaker A: So you got Branford over North Bay. Then you got Barry Niagara.
[00:19:07] Speaker C: Barry Niagara. I would take Barry in that one. Probably five. I'm going to go with Kingston. I'm going to go with Kingston in six.
[00:19:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:15] Speaker C: My boy Charlie Shankle over there, definitely going for him.
[00:19:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: I'm going to get chirped for mine.
[00:19:21] Speaker C: You're going to take Osha. It's okay. I'm going to take Oshawa. That's. That's. Honestly, that's a good upset. I. That's. That's a tough matchup for Kingston. It is good hockey lately. I'm gonna take Oshawa in six. I'm also gonna take London in four. I'm gonna take Kitchener in five. I'm gonna take Saginaw in six. I like the Saginaw spirit. If Andrew Oak returns to the table. And for the Hound series, I'm gonna go with Windsor Spitfires in seven as a heartbreaker.
[00:19:56] Speaker A: Heartbreaker. And let. Let me clear. And I think Trude is going to agree this. That taking this series longer against a deep team is helpful for growth. It is progress. It's more games for these young guys. They're in it very tough.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:20:11] Speaker A: And I.
[00:20:11] Speaker C: The Greyhounds upset. Sorry to interrupt you. Yeah, I was. I would say I'll take. You know what, I'll take the Spitfires in six. But if the Greyhounds were to upset, I believe it'll be in seven.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Okay, so you got spits and six. If it's seven, it's the Hounds. I'll take that.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: Who wins the championship this year?
[00:20:28] Speaker C: London Knights.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:20:29] Speaker A: I think That's a. There's an overwhelming favorite with the London Knights across the board and my friends, friends over at Sportsnet tsn, some people that I've talked with. London, London. London.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: London.
[00:20:41] Speaker D: London.
[00:20:42] Speaker A: London. London, London, London. They're actually everyone's favorite to win everything this year.
[00:20:47] Speaker C: Powerhouse.
[00:20:48] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. London all the way. And I will think that they're also gonna be MEM cup champs. So you get that extra tease. I think Trude's agrees as well. 100 love that trudes. What a fun segment. A little bit of extra time but we're still organized and got everything that we needed out to. To do next week. Tru is we're going to talk about the matchups and where we're at but I would love to do a segment where we talk about. We had some recent uploads about the OHL for Sue Greyhound Century Team or the the 25 Year Team. I would like to do one of ourselves for that but also an overall team for the Sault Samari Gray on since day one of existence. So we'll do that next week. I know that's been something people wanted us to do and we might have a guest next week as well. Join us. Okay. Another surprise. Someone who's a scout.
[00:21:34] Speaker C: Oh I love that they're going to.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: Be working on that and if I don't meet that expectation, if it doesn't happen next week, it's going to happen very soon. But that is the plan. So next week. We don't even want to think it's next week yet because there's a lot to go on this week to, to, to definitely enjoy but definitely things to look forward to here on the esports podcast.
[00:21:50] Speaker B: But T.R.
[00:21:51] Speaker A: I want to say thank you for, for as always with this segment, as we say every time, OHL playoffs. It's, it's, it's going to be exciting.
[00:21:59] Speaker B: But go Hounds, go.
[00:22:01] Speaker A: Love it.
[00:22:01] Speaker B: That's been Jordan Trudeau.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: It's been the Chuck A. Puck segment.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: We're going to take a quick break.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: Here on the Game. When we come back, we got top shelf. Now we're going to go from the OHL up to the NHL level. And more hockey chat here on the Game Sports podcast. Don't want to miss it.
[00:22:16] Speaker B: Welcome back to the Game Sports Podcast. This is the top Shelf segment, segment two of tonight's episode here on the Game Sports podcast. Remind you the game is powered by 91 Network, featured on spaces through SU Today and Village Media and you can follow us on any social media to search at any Audio podcast platform. We're there.
[00:22:32] Speaker A: All right.
[00:22:33] Speaker B: And I'm joined this time on top shelf again, it's myself and Brennan for the back to back weeks. Missing Par on back to back weeks here, we're missing some opportunity on some real big clips that we want to do. But don't worry, we got you settled for this segment and for the next 15 minutes. How you doing, Brandon? Good to see you, pal.
[00:22:48] Speaker D: We're like the. The Pens Back to back, 16, 17, par's missing out far.
[00:22:53] Speaker B: He's out on the. He's on IR, if you will. I was almost going to refer to him as Mark Stone for a guy who doesn't show up until the playoffs. But you know, but you know what? I, he might message me after and say, dave, how many years have I been on your show? Then. Then it starts a brawl and we don't need inner turmoil here on the game because we've never had that. We've never had that turmoil. So we're not going to start that. But it's great that it's not just me talking hockey and we got such a big involvement with our hockey shows from Jordan, from yourself, from Alex, from Justin, great family that we have. And this is the top shell segment where we talk about the professional level when it comes to hockey. We've had our Chocolate Puck where we talked the OHL level, the Suit Greyhounds. Now we're going to veer to the professional level. So look, I. There is a lot to get to here and I we're going to cram it into 15 minutes, but we're going to start with the overall NHL roundtable update. I want to start with Alexander Ovechkin. We've talked about him multiple times on this podcast and I remember saying months ago that he's going to do it this year. I know you and Par were also on the fence about that. And now he's six goals away with just about 10 or so ish games to go. And Brennan, look, I'm going to name off the games that the Washington Capitals have remaining, okay? And I want to get your feedback on how big this piece of history is for hockey, but also what game do you think he'll do it? If he is going to do it, I'll leave that little cliffhanger. So the Washington Capitals upcoming at the Minnesota Wild. Buffalo Sabres. Boston Bruins. Carolina Hurricanes. Chicago Blackhawks. New York Islanders. Carolina Hurricanes again, that's seven scrolling down here. The Columbus Blue Jackets. The Columbus Blue Jackets. The New York Islanders. And then they have the Pittsburgh Penguins in game number 11.
[00:24:37] Speaker D: My goodness.
[00:24:39] Speaker B: Game number 11 at home, April 16, 7pm is the Pittsburgh Penguins. That is Ovechkin's remaining 11 games that he has to get. Six goals. Six goals that he has to get. That's under a goal. A game that he has to get. He has to get one every two games, essentially. There has to be one in there where he skips that math. I know everyone's math out there is going to stand out or think that they're mathematicians out there. Mathematicians. Say that twice. Who do you got? Okay, hold on. Gotta refer to that question. Like Ovechkin, how big is this for history? And out of those 11 games, does he get it? Which one does he get it in?
[00:25:16] Speaker D: Well, it's. It's incredible. And he's gonna do it.
[00:25:19] Speaker B: Now.
[00:25:19] Speaker D: He's six. He's six away from. From breaking Gretzky's record. It's. It's unbelievable. Like, it sends, you know, just so much excitement through my body. And. And when you look at it at the guy, I saw this picture of him the other day, and he has like, a sub and Cheetos before he's boarding a bird. He doesn't. My brother love that one. He doesn't. He doesn't look like a guy who's about to do it, but, man, he. He's going to do it. I think what's gonna happen is he's gonna get to, like, in the 2 range of doing it, and then. Which I think is going to be in the next couple games, like maybe the next four or five, and then that last game that you penciled. Depends. They. They if he's at 2 to go or 1, they'll load. Manage it. Look, dude, load management leading up to it and then say get out there. And they will just. Every power play, there's an empty net. And wouldn't that be something to cap it off and break the record against Sid and the pens? Like, you couldn't. You couldn't write it better.
[00:26:18] Speaker B: Couldn't write it better. I couldn't agree more, my friend. He is doing it this year, and it's gonna be that big momentum story April 17, and he's not at home. I gotta correct myself. He's in Pittsburgh. Okay? He's in Pittsburgh. He's not at home. It's gonna. Make sure I correct myself with that. I would love him to do it even better. I would love for him to do at home, but to do it on the road in Pittsburgh. Yes. Give me all of that. I am all about that story. He's going to do it. April 10th. I've had a few predictions come in on some friends because I've asked them. Lucky 13 seems to be the ones a lot of people are picking. April 13, out of six friends that I've asked, five of them said April 13. One of them said they're going to do it. He's going to do it. April 4th against Chicago. That is. That is 1, 2, 3, 4. Less than five games away. And look, look, it's not far fetched. Okay, so Chicago Blackhawks, Connor Bedard going to be on the front of history. Watching OVI break Gretzky's record, that would also be something. So that is some reaction that I've gotten. But I'm saying April 17th a day it has to be. The hockey gods, if you will, are going to step on it and say, let me take the wheel. We got it here. And this will happen.
[00:27:30] Speaker D: Imagine being the goalie too, like, especially, especially, you know, the Pens at this point, too. Like, they're not going to make the playoffs. And at that point in the season, I could just see the coach, like, giving the nod to some, like, ECHL scrub. It's like, sor brother, get in there and think about that. You are known as the guy who gave up the goal to allow Ovechkin to, to break the Great One's record.
[00:27:53] Speaker B: Like, you'll be on videos forever. You will be on video forever. Because it is very likely, and I know people look at Matthews, it's not going to be McDavid. We don't know what players are going to come through the ranks in the future, but it's very likely that this might not. We might not see this again. It's likely in our lifetime. But people were saying that about Gretzky as well, right? There's certainly one piece of history that will never be broken. It's Gretzky's points. Gretzky's points, I don't think will ever, ever, ever, ever be touched.
[00:28:24] Speaker D: I don't think the goals will be touched, man. Like, there's, there's no, there's no Obetzkin comparable. I don't think there ever will be.
[00:28:30] Speaker A: No.
[00:28:31] Speaker D: Especially just the way, like, you know, he, like the person he is, like his physique, you know, his shots, like his stature. Like, I don't really know a comparable. And if there is someone in the pipeline, like, like, you know, let Dave and I know in the comments, but man, like, there's no one like Ovechkin. So I Don't know who the hell would try and even attempt to come close to that.
[00:28:52] Speaker B: Ilya Ovechkin, 20, 36. There you go, 36, first overall pick. Telling you right now, that would be absolutely wild.
[00:29:03] Speaker D: Get him in there.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: Get him in there. What a turnaround for the Capitals this season. Too absolute, I think, joke of a playoff team last year. Look at what they're doing. And speaking of the Capitals, to get a bit more love here on the Game Sports podcast, Jake Chickren. I've always been a big fan of Chickren. Okay? Ontario guy, eight years, $9 million. Getting a Darnell nurse type contract is deserved, well deserved. He had a great year. But here's what people are arguing. He's played 61 good games and 61 games healthy, and he's had some health issues. Look, he's found his spot in Washington. It's a different culture there in Washington. It's a different environment. It's a team that, even without Ovechkin being there, is going to be a team where they hope that they don't go down to the basement like Pittsburgh is starting to trend down to. They're trying to bring in some of those young guys, they've signed guys. They're trying to keep hockey alive in Washington by signing Chickren eventually, once Carlson leaves and Ovechkin retires, all the above, he's going to be the forefront. He's going to be the face of that decor in Washington and he's found his home there.
[00:30:04] Speaker D: Absolutely. Man, Jacob Chickren is such a stud and, you know, 26 years old. I think it's. He's going to earn every dime of that contract. I mean, he spent, you know, the first part of his year in Arizona. Arizona, and he was effectively buried. And then he was on the trade block for, it felt like years. Finally Ottawa took him, but, like, he just wasn't really finding his groove. He was also on a team that wasn't what the Senators are now. And then, you know, he goes to Washington, he's with a great group, a team that has been spectacular all season in terms of consistency. Comparable is Winnipeg in the west this season. And like you said, Dave, like, eventually, like the guys like Carlson, Olivetti are going to be on their way out. And I think Chikrin is a guy who you want to spend your hard earned money on to go watch, right? He's. He does everything right off the ice. He's probably the most dedicated in terms of nutrition and diet and staying, staying fit. So I think. I think it's it's absolutely a home run for the Capitals in this signing.
[00:31:06] Speaker B: It is 100. 100% right. So I really feel that Washington's really turned a good leaf here this offseason. They've got some guys I'm a, I'm a fan of the guys that they have and Spencer Carberry, you know, former Leaf assistant coach, went over there and he's, he's doing a good job at Washington. Got to give him give credit where it's 100 due now overall further in the national hockey the playoffs started today. We would see some interesting matchups. That being today as of March 26th. That's 6:46pm I'm saying okay listeners, so you don't feel outdated. Toronto would actually be playing Ottawa and the Florida Panthers are actually playing Tampa. Yeah. Avalanche be playing the Stars. As we predicted, the jets looking very good. That game between the jets and Washington were was awesome. Last night while I was flipped, I was watching the Leaf game and then I was able to flip it intermission to check out the Jets Capitals game. Very, very entertaining hockey game. We're in for a treat when it comes to the playoffs. But right now here's I'm gonna bring this up another thing about Washington. If the playoffs are today, they'd be playing Montreal. And don't count out Montreal in a series. Okay. Let me tell you as a Leaf fan, do not count out the Montreal Canadiens.
[00:32:09] Speaker D: Do not.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: Do not. They will. It doesn't matter if you're down 3:1, they will get you. Okay. But the boring matchup, the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings again. Okay, so like and maybe Florida, Tampa if it was another series. We've already talked about that on this podcast and I wanted to save talking about the overtime format but Par has been mia so that's why that's one topic that we're not getting into for clips but also conversation. But around the National Hockey League in general. One final thing. Brad Marchant set to make his debut this week. It seems on Friday.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: Let's go.
[00:32:41] Speaker B: That he's going to be making his debut with Florida. See him in a different outfit, if you will. Jersey. I'm saying outfit just to be simple. He's going to be definitely a big piece of that team going forward. Florida very, very strong looking.
[00:32:53] Speaker A: That team very, very strong looking.
[00:32:56] Speaker B: So now I want to get into now the clip portions. Now we only have 15 minutes. We have four minutes ish remaining. We're going to get to the two questions that Brennan and I have and then I go to you first for yours and we'll save mine for last. All right.
[00:33:09] Speaker D: Well, you mentioned Brad Marchion and he's going to be in Toronto next Wednesday continuing to be public enemy number one against the Maple Leafs, just on a different team, sticking with the Leafs. Who do you think Davey is under the most pressure on Toronto on or off the ice entering the playoffs?
[00:33:26] Speaker B: Mitch Marner. And I'm going to, I'm going to say Mitch Marner because. And I know Morgan Riley is one that's been coming across the desk about there's a guy who signed seven half million dollars, hasn't found a stride. Auston Matthews. Okay. I've actually haven't minded Auston Matthews, his playoff performances. Definitely not Willie Nylander. The guy has been the best playoff performer in Toronto. I feel like he's. He loves the pressure. The guy looked unbelievable against Philly last night, but so do a lot of players against Philly, but he looked really strong. Tavares. Look, I. He's had a great season and there's a lot of people that you can point at here and I've even had people talk to me about Max Domi and how he hasn't been the same. And that's also a very good point. But my guy is Mitch Marner. He always has strong playoff or, sorry, strong regular season with the Toronto Maple Leaf. He just doesn't meet that in the playoffs. And you can look at the clip last year with Nylander and Matthews on the bench where Nylander calls him flat out. I've seen a different side of Nylander the couple years now. The guy doesn't lay the body with for the life of him, but the guy is great at what he does as a role for a guy who can score goals, who can play make.
[00:34:30] Speaker A: Who can be that guy.
[00:34:31] Speaker B: Go to guy. If Matthews is taking a night off, Nylander steps up commonly. It's really good to see Marner. There's times right, like I feel like is he really still like invested in Toronto? And he says that he is. He's having a great season in terms of points. But will that carry over to the playoffs? He needs to bring that defensive game to the playoffs, needs to bring points. The playoffs. Needs to be able to step up if we're down a goal and I mean we're. If you're a trauma, believe fan down a goal in that final minute to set up Matthews in the slot. Make that diving play at the blue line. Sacrifice the body. Don't be afraid to sacrifice, but don't make a no look through the leg pass. If it's an overtime to cause an odd man rush to go the other way, I don't give a When you're in the playoffs and whenever you're in Toronto in general and I'm really leaning towards the playoffs here but overall in Toronto on off the ice, the guy that highlights me because of what he doesn't do in the playoffs is Mitch Marner. And I hope he gives me a big fu this year. And we see the Mitch Marner that wants to get paid by either the Leafs or someone else in the offseason.
[00:35:30] Speaker D: I like that pick. If you're going to say Marner, I'm going to say Auston Matthews. I think at some point he is the captain, he is the best player on that team. He has to be an absolute rock star and a warrior. And if you need some motivation, you look at Matthew Tkachuk, Connor McDavid, Nathan McKinnon. At some point you got to strap on the big boy pants, strap on the boots and say this is my team, I'm going to will them to a win. Might not be every night, but most nights you look back on a cup winning team or a team that you know went to the conference final. You said that guy right there was a prime, prime reason as to why they made it this far. And Matthews needs to put away the Gucci bag and put on the hard hat and go to freaking work this year. I think the most pressure is on the captain.
[00:36:19] Speaker B: Nice. Good picks. Either way you got some right there. Leave your comments below on what you feel or if you want to go with or against Brandon and myself. Now the next question we're going to start. We have different trends on the show where we do redrafts. We've taken a few weeks off from that thanks to Par and we like to do different segments that we can have for interaction opportunity but also to to get further into different different content. And as of late you've seen a lot of hockey profiles post the quarter century teams the the last 25 years that I haven't seen too many all time teams. But it's obvious it's a lot easier to pick all time teams than his last 25 years. But here on the Game Sports podcast we're going to go back and forth and for this one I'm going to put Brennan through the through his thoughts on the all time team for the Calgary Flames. And this is a segment that we're going to do each week as we can and as we can do interactive clips the all time team for each team in the National Hockey League and we're going to start it all with the Calgary Flames. Why Calgary? Because I spun a wheel and it landed on Calgary. You can't see the wheel, but you're just going to have to trust me. That's it. That's all. So three forwards, two defense, one goalie, one coach. Who is the all time team in Calgary?
[00:37:31] Speaker D: Okay, between the pipes I'm going to go. Kippersoff, good call.
On the blue line, I'm gonna go Al McInnis and Mark Giordano. The forward group up front, I'm gonna go with Lanny McDonald, Flurry and Jerome McGinla. And then. And then the bench boss, Bob Hartley.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: I love that. And since you said Lanny McDonald, people on video are going to have the treat to see this.
[00:37:58] Speaker E: Whoa.
[00:37:59] Speaker B: That's a picture of me as a little lad beside Daryl Sitler and Lanny McDonald here. And there's a lot of some memorable pictures there that I could show. But I love that you said Lanny McDonald. So I was going through pictures and I'm redecorating, getting stuff ready for the move and I wanted to show this with Lanny McDonald and he. We had a lot of good words. He gave me quotes on this white shirt. He wrote on the back, continue to work hard. So he was one of my. Obviously I wasn't really around because I'm a 91 birth year, but knowing my roots as a Leaf fan, this is a legend and of course that is a legend here. So I wanted to show that. So, Brennan, good picks.
[00:38:35] Speaker A: That was that.
[00:38:35] Speaker D: Sorry. That's you, Lanny. And is that your pops? Oh, Daryl Slitler.
[00:38:39] Speaker B: Sorry, Hitler. I will show it one more time.
[00:38:42] Speaker D: Okay. It was blurry.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: It was blurry.
[00:38:44] Speaker D: I didn't see. Okay, there you go. Wow.
[00:38:45] Speaker B: And I apologize the viewers if it was for those on audio. You're gonna have to tune into the video to see it. You wouldn't have seen this on the clip. But if you're on video, you get a treat to see a young picture of me. 2002 Dave with Daryl Sitler and Lanny McDonald.
[00:38:58] Speaker D: So I love one legend. One legend and two guys.
[00:39:02] Speaker B: I love that. That's nice. Like that. I'm gonna be quick. I'm just gonna say that I agree with most of your picks. I'm gonna go in between the pipes. Kipper, soft on defense. I got Jared Daniel McInnes too. Very good picks. And on the bench boss side I got Bob Hartley. So we're Similar. Wow. I got Jerome McGinla, Joe Newendyke, and Nice. And Theo Fleury. Sorry to Lanny McDonald as I have his picture right there. But friend of the show and person who's been a guest, Theo Flurry as well. Make sure that I'm throwing them in there. So those are my picks for the all time team in Calgary. Let us know what you think.
[00:39:33] Speaker D: I feel like I'm gonna get ripped because I didn't. I. I said, is that your dad? You're like, no, it's Sitler. I'm like, I honestly couldn't see because it was blurry and it was cut off.
[00:39:40] Speaker B: But you're, you're good. It is good. And you know what?
[00:39:43] Speaker D: It's a compliment to your pops.
[00:39:45] Speaker B: It is. You know what? If my dad was Daryl Sitler, I probably just wouldn't have played junior level hockey. Maybe I would have made the NHL, you know what I'm saying? That aside, I love that you said Lanning. It's funny that, that picture sitting right here, that's amazing. That's great.
[00:39:59] Speaker D: That's amazing.
[00:39:59] Speaker B: Great timing. It made us go a little extra, but that's fine. That was some good stuff right there. Look, we're. This is, this is it for this week on Top Shelf. The time flies by here when we're doing our episodes and especially when it is with me. It flies, but also goes longer than expected. But a lot of great content. Playoffs are just around the corner. What do you think Ovechkin will do? Who's your all time Calgary team? Do you agree? Disagree. Who's under the most pressure in Toronto? Let us know. Interact. Make sure you like, follow and subscribe. And the Top Shelf is on each episode that we have each week throughout the hockey season. Brandon, my friend, thank you for taking the time. Or should I say the cart?
[00:40:33] Speaker A: Just kidding.
[00:40:34] Speaker D: The cart is taken off.
[00:40:35] Speaker B: The card is taken off. The Mario Go Kart. I think that was the Mario Kart. Mario.
[00:40:40] Speaker D: Mario Kart. Yeah.
[00:40:41] Speaker B: Yikes. I need to take a lap. It is Dave McCaig here with the game sports podcast. When we, when we come back, it's here. Ladies and gentlemen, baseball season is back. That is Vlad's jersey behind me. That is my men's league jersey behind me here again, if you're on video, you're seeing some treats today along with my wacky hair day. And of course I'm going to make sure I bring this up. I've changed my background since the first segment. What did I change? Comment below if you can Realize what I changed around. Nonetheless, when we come back, we're talking baseball because the season is just around the corner. Opening day in MLB with myself and Connor. We're going to chat on Strike Zone. Don't go anywhere. Welcome back to the Game Sports Podcast. Your host, David McCaig Jr. Continuing to host you this evening on the Game Sports Podcast, segment three of tonight's episode. And what better way than to end with a bang, a pop, a full swing, whatever way you want to look at it, whatever pun that you want, whatever pun I try to say all the time, that makes absolutely no sense. One thing that does make sense is that this is the Strike Zone segment, okay? That me and this wonderful gentleman, okay? The rookie of the year. If you know, you know, I say that every show. Connor Henderson. Okay. We've been doing Strike Zone for a number of years now. I know we're in our fifth season, if I remember correctly. I believe we're in our fifth season. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but we have been doing Strike Zone for a number of years and each year it's definitely been growing. And we're excited to bring you a different approach to Strike Zone this year. But before we get into our first episode of this year's Strike Zone, let's introduce Conor. Okay. Instead of me just talking about him, okay, he's beside me on this screen. Despite whatever way you're looking at it for video or if you're hearing it on audio, guess what you're missing out on where my fingers are pointing. Okay? That's why you gotta start tuning in some video. So you can just laugh at me with my actions. But the one, the only, again, the rookie of the year, the wonderful gentleman. The wonderful gentleman himself, Connor Henderson. How's it going, my friend?
[00:42:30] Speaker E: Good, Dave. That was an incredible introduction. I mean, I can't.
I'm very flattered. I'm doing great. Excited to talk about the season. I can't believe baseball season's already here. Man, it feels like the winter flew by. Thank God. I know there's still snow in the Sioux, but, you know, beggars can't be choosers. And we've had the Tokyo series to. To start the year. We have a couple games to. To our name for the season, but also for. For most teams that the season's just about to start. So, yeah, really excited to get going on that.
[00:42:58] Speaker B: Definitely. And I gotta commend. You got a shirt on that is. Well, he's got a shirt on, ladies and gentlemen, but the shirt that he has on is a Sioux College Cougars shirt. Now if you're from Sault Ste. Marie, obviously you know what that is for those of you outside the Sioux, obviously, Sioux College is a college here in Sioux St. Mary, Ontario where the game and 91 network is located. And it's actually recognized as one of, if not the top colleges in Ontario. I know London has a very good one that's up there as well. But in terms of programs and everything Sioux College done and what Sioux College has done in the past number of years, just before COVID and during and post Covid, they have done wonderful things with their sports programs. Hockey was the start of that for a little bit. Basketball's been, you know it. It's a program they got, they got obviously baseball which has grown the past couple years. Now they have football starting soon, which is very big, especially for those of you who like to follow in the pocket. And that's where the Game Sports podcast comes in when it comes to some local discussion and different approach as you hear in our Chukkapuck segment. But baseball season locally is around the corner right behind me. If again, if you're on video, you see me pointing at the pandas jersey that is the 91 and pandas the back to back champs until last year where we were defeated in the finals and this year, let me tell you, looking a little bit more challenging as two more teams have come back in the league this year, one of which is being ran well a part of Jordan Trudeau who has left the Pandas organization to join the Cardinals. But he's joining quite a fine ball player if you know, you know who that is. Colton Reed. I'll say his name. The guy is a very good ball player. Connor knows him as well.
[00:44:36] Speaker E: Both of those guys are dear friends of mine. We played Black Sox together all the way through the system in the Sioux. That's a rep program for baseball in Sault Ste. Marie. Both fine ballplayers. I used to play on the Cardinals myself in the slow pitch division all the way up to Division 1 there. Yeah, it's going to be a fun to see those guys stretch the arms back out in the open league with you.
[00:44:57] Speaker B: He's definitely very good. And there's someone else I was thinking of that was on the slug back in the day. That was with, with Reed. Was it Elliott? I believe it was Elliott, if I remember. I'm forgetting his first.
[00:45:07] Speaker E: Ben.
[00:45:07] Speaker B: Ben Elliott. Ben Elliott. There's some good ball players and I know I'm saying their name without their consent on the show. So I hope I'm sure they're okay with it though, because I'm giving them praise. Colton, definitely. I am very excited to see him come back. This is great. It sucks that it makes us a little harder to win, but it makes that win more sweet when you have six almost. I think we might even have seven. Seven teams this year growing from four, which is great. There used to be three. Four. Love it. If you're in Sault Ste. Marie, play fastball or fast play men's open fastball league. It is fantastic. If you're also outside the suit, play it. It is so fun. So, Connor, look, I don't want to dive into too much of local because we have limited time and we want to get into the major leagues, but we had to get some love there to local as the game sports podcast. We'll be doing that as a season goes on. But Trudeau, you're going down, bro. Pandas are still hot and coming. Okay. They're still there. Especially when Kegr is on the mound. Okay, I gotta get my 60 mile an hour. That's very generous arm going. Okay. Slow and easy, baby. That's the nickname on the mound up there. That's why David, just you.
[00:46:10] Speaker E: You can just say you throw a hundred. You don't have to specify whether it's kilometers or miles.
[00:46:14] Speaker B: I throw. Yeah, intelligent. Love that. That's why I play thunderstruck when I go on the mound. Biggie is my walk up song. Thunderstruck. Because it's. It's thunder, baby. I throw thunder, not lightning. Thunder. And if you know what that means, I'll give you a minute to pause the show and maybe search what that means. But look, get here to Major League Baseball now on that highway. Getting off the. Getting off the turn turnout and going back on the highway to mlb. Look, the season is. Look, it's had. We've had the Tokyo series. As you've mentioned. There's a lot. Blue Jays start their. Their opening day is tomorrow at the day of this recording and Baltimore. Look, the season is going to be interesting then. That depends what vantage point you're looking at. If you're a Dodger fan, you ain't looking from any vantage point. You're having a good time right now.
[00:46:59] Speaker C: All right?
[00:46:59] Speaker B: You're having your fun, you're laughing, you're loving life. You're rolling around and you're in your BENTLEY or you're McLaren down in LA having a good time. Okay? If you're the Mets, you're like, you're A little bit worried because you want it. You have expectations this year and you signed Juan Soto to the bank. He basically runs your city now. And then you look at teams like the Blue Jays where all eyes are not on the players. Atkins and Shapiro might get booed out of the Rogers center this year if things don't go that way. And I might be at one of those games chanting, fire Atkins. Okay. And then you look at the Tigers house money. A little bit of pressure though, right? Because what happened last year. But you know what? Nah, it's not. I don't care what anyone says. The Tigers, they're, they're in a good spot. If you're the Yankees again, pressure though, you're like this. If you're the Yankees, like, you better have a good season. Right. So teams are on different sides. Baseball's starting. Connor, what is your take coming up to this season? What are we, what are we going to see in this very, in this upcoming season for the majors?
[00:47:57] Speaker E: Yeah, it's really cool. I guess I'll start with the Dodgers. They're the story of the offseason. They add Roki Sasaki. You've seen both him and Yamamoto pitch in the Tokyo series. They get two wins against, against the Cubs. Using neither of those guys are their one or two starters. They've got Blake Snell, Tyler Glass now they're loaded.
[00:48:15] Speaker B: Shohei's back on the mound.
[00:48:16] Speaker E: Shohei, he's gonna throw a bullpen I think today.
[00:48:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:20] Speaker E: And they think that they might be able to get him in a bullpen role. They don't have to rush him so smart.
[00:48:25] Speaker B: So we were talking about that. He's got to be that bullpen arm. Bullpen arm.
[00:48:30] Speaker E: Have him come in and throw one inning 100 miles an hour, you know, just.
Yeah, it's, it's, you know, insane situation that we have going on over there. Yankees are on the flip side. You know, they lose Garrett Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto obviously leaving to the Mets. They're going to struggle to even make the playoffs this year. Dave. Even the wild card slot will be difficult for the Yankees to make. The AL east is one of the most crazy, I think divisions to predict this coming year. The Jays obviously are in some unrest from, from the fandom perspective, but they're actually rolling out five decent starting pitchers assuming that they all stay healthy. They add Santander, they still have Vladdy for this year at least. And Bo Bichette is, is due to have a bounce back season. They're gonna have a lot of fun I think the Red Sox are actually the team to beat in the AL East. They add Alex Bregman, which is a huge plus at third base for them defensively.
[00:49:26] Speaker B: Thought he was going to be a Tiger.
[00:49:28] Speaker E: Yeah, so did he. And it wasn't until Boston made a final push. Detroit actually offered him the most money in the most term. But based on the scope of Detroit's ballpark being so deep and the angle, both launch and distance that Bregman as a right handed hitter hits with, he actually favors really well at Fenway park in Boston to get a bunch of home runs over the Green Monster. The Comerica park where the Tigers play, it's much deeper. It's way harder on power hitters to make use of it and that kind of hurts. And then as for the Tigers themselves, like you said, they have lots of expectation heading into this year after their Cinderella run season. And they've got a juiced up starting pitching rotation for the first time in a long time. I can actually say all five guys in the rotation have stuff. Dave they re signed Jack Flaherty, who was a Cy Young contender last year. Tarek Schuybel won the Cy Young sec.
[00:50:20] Speaker B: Sec.
[00:50:21] Speaker E: Casey Mize, former first overall pick, seems healthy this year. His splitter is looking dangerous and he absolutely dominated in. I know it's preseason, but I'd certainly prefer my pitchers to dominate in preseason rather than suck. Jackson Jobe is one of the hottest arms coming up. He's going to be in the starting rotation this year. They'll probably keep him on an innings limit, but his slider is so nasty. The spin rate on it is incredible and he can ramp it up into the high 90s. And then Reese Olson was dependable and was a, was a good starter for them as well last year. That's five guys that the Detroit Tigers fans can hang their hats on. They're all young, they all have stuff. You're all cheap. They give you a fighting chance. If you have pitching, you have a chance.
[00:51:00] Speaker B: And that's where like that's the big thing, right? You can. And I'm going to pivot back to the Blue Jays for a second when it comes to defense, right? You look at Varsho, Yemen as you look at what they can. Vlad's been terrific. Like I'm just naming a couple guys here. Everything defensively with that team. That does help. It does, it does help. It's very good in the game and this has been a. It's very good if you have good pitching and good defense. The Jays didn't have the back consistency last year. Right. But the Tigers last year had this Cinderella story run in August that I. They had a 0.2% chance, I believe in August.
[00:51:31] Speaker E: Yeah.
[00:51:31] Speaker B: And then they make the playoffs. Love it. It was a great. They lost to a very good ball team and arguably if that team. You know, I know the Guardians. There's been some question about the Guardians. I still think they're fielding a pretty damn good ball team, in my honest opinion. But again, it's, it's. This is, I think, a winnable division for the Tigers. Okay. I think this is. This could be it. And the Twins, I know the Twins. I'm not sold on the Twins. The White Sox are trash. White Sox are trash still, in my opinion, they still be trash. So I think the Tigers have a very winnable division and I mean that with respect, that they have one probably the best chance, a more. More open division than some in the major leagues. Right. And that pitching is really going to help the Tigers be successful in that goal. And to see a division championship this year with the Tigers, I'm sure that is not just the want by Tigers fans. That is maybe the expectation.
[00:52:23] Speaker E: Yeah. I mean, the AL Central's five poverty franchises seeing, you know, usually who's worse every year. But this year, you know, the Tigers, they have some oomph, they have some spark, some life to them. The KC Royals are actually, I think their biggest competition heading into the season.
[00:52:40] Speaker B: Bobby went. I guess you can't give. They have him growth, more years. I'm really touching on last year, but maybe give. Yeah, the Royals are. Good point. Good point.
[00:52:48] Speaker E: No, I think. I think Bobby Witt has a strong claim for being the AL MVP this year. Like, he's sick. He's so good. But yeah, no, I think the American League for as. As certain as we all are that the Dodgers are going to, you know, steamroll through the National League, the American League is up for grabs in basically every division, which is really fun to see, especially with a wild card system now where it's like Super Smash Brothers Melee.
[00:53:12] Speaker B: Dave.
[00:53:12] Speaker E: Like, any character is playable.
[00:53:14] Speaker B: Reference. Good reference.
[00:53:15] Speaker E: Any character is playable. They all have their perks and their strengths and their weaknesses. It'll be really cool to see how it all shakes out. I'm rooting for the Tigers, of course.
[00:53:23] Speaker B: Of course you are. But you know what? And we give a little extra love when it comes to the Jays and Tigers on the show because that is who we cheer for. But also it's close to home for us, right. For me, Detroit's actually closer to me than it is than Toronto is but I of course Toronto fan of course you see it all around me. I'm a sucker for pain. So the we talked about the AL a little bit. I'm gonna go into the NL a little bit and I'd like to do Conor pre pre preview of who we think is going to win the divisions each division and then a World Series championship before we get into that. Obviously the Mets have a lot of expectations this year. The Braves, another team that you know, people have highlighted to be maybe one of the favorites in the nl. I I'm really excited to see what maybe what the Paul Skeens does this year with the Pittsburgh Pirates. I'm a fan of skin. I think the kid is sick. I think he's going to be if not he could already be up there. If not one of the best, if not the best pitchers in baseball. The Brewers. I love the Brew Crew. I've been to that ballpark. I love the fan base there. Milwaukee, you got the other division, the Dodgers. But there's always been one team that I have a soft spot for. Connor, what team is that?
[00:54:28] Speaker E: Yeah it's the Padres.
[00:54:29] Speaker B: The Padres. But you know what? No, it ain't gonna be. It ain't gonna be the Padres. The Giants. Watch out for the Giants this year. It could be a little sneaker. The NL is not that it's wide open but I think we can have multiple story lines in the NL this year. The headliner teams are the Mets and Dodgers. Those are the guys getting them. And the Braves. Let's get the Braves credit but the team that everyone's watching is that team in la. The team that has Shohei Zach that has Yamamoto, Freddie Freeman still. What what is this GM mode on easy like what I don't every all trades accept it all trades, all sightings accepted whatever settings they have on and MLB the show 25 haven't bought that yet. Definitely want to love my sports games but Connor, the nl little reaction about the nl. We dove into the L just a little bit but more so on two divisions. But before we get into our predictions, what stands out to you in the nl?
[00:55:19] Speaker E: Boy, I think. Well I think the Mets are just always the most fun story they've seemed in the last five years or so to to just take big swings. We saw them bring in Scherzer and Verlander little former Detroit Tigers reunion there. It didn't work but it was a big swing. They forked out a lot of money. They've Got Lindor, they've got Soto. I think that they're a fun story. And it might be one of the first times in recent memory where you can comfortably enter a season and say, look like, I think the Mets are the best team in New York. You know, and, you know, that might be bold to say, but that's. That's my story from the NL is I like the Mets in particular. And then of course, there's like the Dodgers. What more can you say about them? They're completely fully loaded and it's like playing.
[00:56:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:56:08] Speaker E: Like you said, with the sliders on easy and every single person's just juiced up.
[00:56:13] Speaker B: Nice. Love the sliders reference. That is great. That is great. I forgot about that. That's what they use in the settings. It's called this gameplay Sliders. Yeah.
[00:56:22] Speaker E: I'm not. I'm not much of a gamer. I used to be a big gamer in elementary school, so I'm. I'm reaching deep into the toolbox here for some of these.
[00:56:29] Speaker B: Dave, you found it. You found it. You blew the dust right off there. You found it. That is.
[00:56:33] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:56:34] Speaker B: That is great. Now, division, division favor or division prediction for division winners, Easy for me to say. And then World Series champions and the sea, like really early prediction, 162 games prior. But we like to have fun. We want to. We want to give the early favorite out of the gate. I think everyone probably knows where I'm going with mine, but divisional champions and World Series champions. Connor, from Al to N.L. to the champion. You go first.
[00:57:02] Speaker E: Okay. Okay. I'll try to bang this out quickly here in the AL East. I like the Red Sox. I really like what they've added with Bregman. I think that they've got a complete team over there. They've added to their weaknesses. The Red Sox are the team to beat in a very volatile AL East. Tigers for the Central. I love them. They're my team. They have so much momentum and aura coming into this year.
[00:57:24] Speaker C: A.J.
[00:57:24] Speaker E: Hinch, best. One of the best managers in the MLB. They've got a lot going for them in the AL West. I like the Rangers. I think that they're closer this year than to the team that won the World Series than they were last year. And their division isn't that aggressive. The Astros aren't the. The juggernaut team that they used to be for the NL East. The Braves are a safe pick. They're an easy pick. They've been so dominant and such a great run franchise for so long. You have a Lot of faith in them to continue performing at the top of their level. NL Central is kind of a weird toss up. I don't really like any of the teams. I think they're all very close. You could basically sell me on any single one of them. I feel kind of bad for Paul Skeens because I feel like the Pirates are probably one of the weaker of the five. But he's so cool to watch that I'll be rooting for the Pirates and the NL West. I mean, mean, if anybody's saying anything other than the Dodgers, they're. They're just blowing smoke because it is what it is. Those are. Those are my six.
[00:58:15] Speaker B: Those are your six. Who wins the World Series?
[00:58:18] Speaker E: I did. The Tigers, without a doubt.
[00:58:20] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. Okay. Do we see a Tigers, Dodgers matchup? Is that what we're seeing, Dave?
[00:58:26] Speaker E: I'm gonna. I'm just gonna say the Tigers every season on this show, and then at some point, my broken clock will be.
[00:58:32] Speaker B: Correct and we'll keep replaying it. You're like me with the Leafs every year, but I said this was the final year. I'm picking Toronto to win or else I will not pick them anymore. I made that very loud and clear. Pressure's on for Toronto for me never to pick again. My division winners. Going quickly for the AL East, I also got the Red Sox very close with the Orioles. Blue Jays will be third. I wanted to give a little extra love to that division because you're probably wondering where I think the Jays are going to go third. The AL Central. Tigers. The AL West. I don't know what's telling me I'm gonna go with my gut. The Mariners. Just gonna say it. I'm going with the Mariners. No rationale. Going with the Mariners. NL East. You know what we're gonna see. Everyone's taking the easy storyline, and I'm sticking with the same storyline. Just kidding. Going with the Braves. Number one. Mets. Not number one. The NL Central. I'm actually gonna go with the Reds. I just. I feel like the Reds is the pick for me this year. The brewers, though. Go make that interesting. I think that's going to be a very good division. NL West. Look, not the Padres, not the Rockies, not the Diamondbacks or the Giants. Neither team. So what team's left over? Yeah. The LA Dodgers. That's who it is. Winning that and winning the World Series this year. Sorry. Is not the Tigers. It's not the Blue Jays, it's not the Red Sox, it's not the Rangers, it's not the Braves. It's not the Mets. It is again back to back champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
[00:59:51] Speaker E: Honestly, Dave, I don't know why everybody seems to be so disappointed at the idea of having a juggernaut team run it back and win again. I don't even remember the last time the same team has won back to back World Series. Like it might not even be in my lifetime. I, I can't recall. I know that the, the Giants had a sweet run with like I think 2010, 2012, 2014 or something to that effect.
[01:00:12] Speaker B: Yeah, every Yankees were the last team to repeat as champions were the Yankees in 2002.
[01:00:19] Speaker E: Okay. So yeah, it's been 25 years. We're due for another juggernaut team. I think every quarter century everybody can calm down. All right? This isn't like the NBA where you know, people are writing off, oh, it's a Golden State warriors going to win again or whatever. You know what I mean? Like LeBron, the Dodgers are rolling up one of the scariest lineups in, in the modern era, like post steroid era baseball. This is probably one of the coolest, one of the coolest lineups that you can never roll out. And I think that's a fun thing. Do I want to see that for the next five years? Maybe not. But no, I'll take it for two or three.
[01:00:53] Speaker B: So like I want us, I want, I'll ask you this because I know we're going over time, but I want to name, I want you to name out of the Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitching rotation. Okay, who is the worst one out of that rotation? Let me give you some names. You know them, but for the listener's sake. Snell, Yamamoto, Glass. Now Suzaki, May, Ohtani, Tony Goslin, Kershaw. Still be there. Gavin Stone. Look at that rotate in the bullpen. Let's keep going. Tanner, Scott, Blake, Trinet versa. They have former Blue Jay Anthony Banda. That's. But I've totally forgot about that. Evan Phillips, Michael Kopeck, Brewstar, Grotteral. Who's on the 60 day? That's just their pitching. Okay. But from the starting pitcher between Snell, Yamamoto, Glass, now Suzaki May, Tawny Gonsolin and Kershaw, there's your seven. Maybe not Kershaw, because I feel like you're going to have for that pick. I think it's too easy. Out of whoever, out of that, that I listed, who would you rather face, Connor, if you had to go to bat? Who, who are you least scared of? But also who are you most scared of? There's your question?
[01:02:00] Speaker E: No disrespect. I'm probably least scared of Gonzalin. Who am I most scared of? Probably Snell. Lefty on lefty. I would, I, I fared okay against lefties, but I, I mean he's so gross. But I think, I think Snell's the best. If they don't do a sick. I feel like they have to do a six man rotation this year or at least try it with, with how, you know, terrible arm care has been for players nowadays and no one can, you know, throw into the eighth inning and no one's racking up 200 innings pitched in a year. It's very rare, I think that they have a perfect opportunity to say, hey, let's scale it back. We'll run six guys and hopefully just preserve as much of their, of their meat and potatoes as possible to head into the playoffs with as intact as possible.
[01:02:42] Speaker B: Love. Love that. Well said. Here's my answer. All of them I'm afraid of. Who do I want to face? I want Shohei, baby. For a couple reasons. For a couple reasons, okay? And let me tell you, I just be swinging. I just be swing. Ask Conor. I just be free swinging before that ball's even left his hand. Okay? I am swinging. I don't care if it's a ball, don't care if it's over my head and I am aiming at Shohei's stomach with that ball. Okay? That's all I'm saying. For multiple reasons. That's all. He's the best in the league. But again, this has been the strike zone segment opener to the season for the 2025. 2020. Well, 2025. I was gonna say 2026. 2025 season. I'm so used to split.
[01:03:24] Speaker E: It's easier with baseball than.
[01:03:26] Speaker B: Than any other sport. 2025 season for the major leagues getting underway. I already started with the Dodgers being 2 0, but season getting on the way for the Jays tomorrow. A lot of opening days coming obviously tomorrow and this week. Very excited. Let us know below who you think the division winners are going to be in potential World Series champs. I think we were going to see a pretty common theme on who we think is going to win, but I could be wrong. Don't be biased in your picks. Connor. I want to say thank you to you my friend. It's been great and a little bit extra and we promised ourselves 15 minutes per segment but we can start that as we start our bi weekly shows in April. We'll either be on April 8th or April 15th is when we'll have you back, my friend. Thanks, Dave.
[01:04:04] Speaker E: I can't. I'm looking forward to it. I'll try my best this season to not glaze either the Dodgers or the Sioux Open League Cardinals as much as I'm. I'm trying to resist glazing them both too hard. Okay.
[01:04:15] Speaker B: It's okay. It's going to be a Dave Pandas three and four years eliminating the Cardinals in the finals. That's what's going to be happening this year. Okay, Trude's take that to the bank. Think we're gonna have to use some heart in those games. Love it, love it, love it, love it. So excited for this year with baseball. Overall, good year. A lot of good things going on. But nonetheless, Connor, again, thank you. I want to say thank you again to Brandon McCarthy and I also want to say thank you again to Jordan Trudeau with our Chukkapuck segment. Then obviously Brennan with our top Sell segment. Three segments for you that you're able to enjoy here tonight. And we hope that you're all set for the ball season. And it comes right down to hockey, where we have Ovechkin right around the corner from knocking on the door. NHL playoffs is just around the corner. OHL playoff starts this week. Lots of good things in sports and we hope that you enjoyed our content that we brought you here on the Game Sports podcast. We will be back next week here on the Game. So make sure you keep an eye out for that and make sure you hit like, follow, subscribe and all the platforms. That's 91 network, at spaces, that's Spotify, Apple, that's Amazon, that's social medias like Instagram, Tick tock, Facebook. Just search at at the Game Sports podcast. Can't miss it. Okay. Either way, we appreciate you joining us. And if you're tuning in, we love the interaction. But don't hesitate to give us a like and a follow. Those go a long way for us for sure. Again, thank you to everyone who joined me tonight here on the Game. The usual suspects, the family here on the Game. And of course to you, the viewer or listener of the show. As always, I'm here to remind you, keep your stick on the ice, swing your bats, catch your touchdowns, drain your threes and shoot your shots. Booyah. There.
