Episode Transcript
[00:00:10] Speaker A: All right, everybody, welcome back to the good old hockey podcast. This is episode number 49. One more until we're at half a hundred. It's crazy, but we got a crazy. We got some cool shark stuff that, you know, the two resident shark fans can confidently talk about. Not sound crazy. If you've been listening to the last couple ones, you've heard us at the end or you haven't heard us because you skipped off. But that's gonna be the first thing we're gonna cover. But before that happens, Alan, you've got some exciting news in the form of a new friend.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: He's currently eating my chair right now. Come here. Come everybody. Oh, nope, don't want to show yourself off to the camera.
[00:00:52] Speaker A: Come here, buddy.
[00:00:55] Speaker B: Oh, who's your good boy, little puppy?
[00:00:59] Speaker A: What kind of dog is he again?
[00:01:00] Speaker B: He's a Belgian Malinois Dutch shepherd mix.
He's 11 weeks old and he already weighs 35 pounds. Good God, he's gonna be a big boy. He's gonna be probably 80, 90 pounds. Oh, my goodness.
So I was pretty interesting. Picked him up yesterday, and he did shockingly well last night. Didn't wake me up.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Although he's being a crackhead right now.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: And he's gonna start eating, give you a hickey.
Oh, biting your neck.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: I'd rather this happen than him be screaming, so I don't mind.
[00:01:39] Speaker A: That's fair.
[00:01:39] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: So if you guys hear listeners, you guys listening? Hear any whimpering stuff like that? Alan's not hitting the dog. He's just a puppy. Okay. Not doing anything bad.
Any. Any barking. It might be me if we're talking about Celebrini, but if it's not, it's probably the dog.
[00:02:02] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: But, yeah, I got a butcher of a haircut. Hopefully my barber doesn't listen to this podcast. I don't think she will. I got my hair chopped, dude. It's so bad. So, like, I've been doing this, like, push back, and it's so short, like, I can't even slick it back. It's. I mean, it's messy as hell right now, but just sticks up.
Yeah, I got it before Thanksgiving, thinking I need a little trim the locks. And she took the scissors hard to my hair.
I can't even slick it back. It just, like, sticks up. And my hair's been slicked back for so long now that it can't, like, do any comb over or anything like that. So I'm gonna be wearing a hat for the next couple episodes until probably A month or two and my hair grows back. But, yeah, that was my week. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Yeah, I need it back. I know. I told her to leave some. There's still some back there. So it'll grow back faster. But yeah, don't get your haircuts. Kids just don't even. It's not even worth it anymore. Like, I'm. I can't even fight. If anyone knows good barber in the Boise area that can cut long hair, let me know. But I was gonna say, oh, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did. I ate a lot of food. I'm sure you did as well, Alan.
[00:03:15] Speaker B: Heck, yeah, I did.
[00:03:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Thanksgiving dinner is.
It's interesting because you go in and you're like, oh, I'm gonna have five or six plates, and you go in for one and you're done after that, you're just tired and you're like, yep, I don't want anymore. Kind of like sex. But anyways, we're gonna jump into coast to coast. Sorry for any family friendly. If you got kids in the car, tell them to plug their ears.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: But we went from puppies to sex in 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: My life. That is all I think about pretty much all the time.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: Dear God.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: I also think about the same as the Sharks, and that's what we're gonna get into. San Jose Sharks. They. We are back. We're so back. It's not even funny. You know, we've been saying before that we're the happiest bottom five team in the league, but guess what? We're not a bottom five team anymore. We're bottom seven. So I'm hyped. Macklin Celebrini won. Was it star of the week?
[00:04:18] Speaker B: NHL first star of the week with. I think he had three goals, four assists, and seven games played.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: For the week.
[00:04:27] Speaker B: Other notable, Sharks rookie Will Smith had seven points in four games played this past week.
He was. He was not on the stars list.
Brutal.
[00:04:38] Speaker A: Give it to one. But Mac Maxim playing really well.
I have enjoyed watching him play.
I think he is such a complete player. It's crazy.
[00:04:53] Speaker B: It's insane.
[00:04:55] Speaker A: Coming into the league like, in college, like, I know I saw flashes of it. And, you know, college competition is obviously a lot different than the NHL, but what this kid is doing at the NHL level is crazy. And he's a complete player both ends of the ice.
And he's 19, 18 years old, and it's just so fun to watch. But, yeah, getting the first star. Props to him. Jake Wallman, also San Jose Sharks defender, 19 points in 22 games. I've seen a lot of people on Detroit Red Wings Twitter complain and just be so upset that they.
I mean, they gave him away. What do we get? What do we give up for Walmart? A bag of Doritos? Like.
[00:05:43] Speaker B: It was next to nothing. I don't remember exactly what the trade was, but it was.
[00:05:48] Speaker A: I know a draft pick was in there and maybe a prospect. But, I mean, Jake Wallman's been.
Lighten it up. Especially in the last couple games. He's had a pretty good. You know, I think he had two points in both Seattle games, which I was able to watch on NBC California for the first time in forever because I was in California, but.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: Oh, you're back in business. Family.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I was for Thanksgiving.
So those were really fun games to watch. Watch them beat on the Seattle Kraken.
Probably going to be a rival for the next coming years. Just with the talent level that they have coming up and the talent level that we have coming up, I can see some competitive playoff series. Or maybe not because they suck, but.
Yeah, overall, like, what do you think?
I don't know. How do you. How are you feeling about the rest of the season for the Sharks?
[00:06:42] Speaker B: I think we're high on them right now.
They're playing well. It looks like they're having fun playing hockey, which is always something you want to see with the young team. I'm not expecting anything crazy out of them. I don't expect them to make the playoffs. I don't expect them to battle for a wild card spot.
Yeah, they're not bottom five right now. I think pretty soon they're gonna go back to being bottom five. But there's a lot of good things. Yeah, bottom seven.
It's. It's one of those things where there's a lot of great things to look at with this team.
They look like they're kind of building some cohesion between all the guys. At least are going to be there for a while.
They're getting some guys. I don't foresee.
I don't foresee a few of the guys sticking around very long. I think a lot of them are going to be trade bait, but it is good to see. Oh, my goodness, this dog is eating my chair. I might not have a chair here in a minute.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: Plop down.
[00:07:50] Speaker B: Yeah, it's just one of those things.
It's nice to see that it's coming together.
I'd be happy with the bottom five finish, but a competitive bottom five Finish, which is what it's been so far this season. Yeah, you know, you got guys who are going to become good trade bait in the next couple years. Tyler Fully's kind of dropped off a little bit, but Mikhail Granlin is way up there and he's over a point per game right now.
We're building a good team here.
[00:08:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:23] Speaker B: Pretty cool.
[00:08:23] Speaker A: I don't, I don't think.
I mean, like I said, we're not that delusional. We are delusional. We're not that delusional in thinking that this team is going to make the playoffs in any means.
Crazy things happen and you know, Pacific Division isn't the strongest, but I still don't see that and I don't really want that from this team.
I mean, I think the Sharks ultimately still need some pieces, a couple more draft picks.
But like you said at the beginning of the year, all we can hope for is development in those young players and I think we're getting that.
Smith had a pretty shaky start. Zero points in his first nine games.
I don't remember what it is now, but. Oh, actually I think he's.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: He's almost at point per game since he's got 11 points in 22 games.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: Yeah. So 11 points, 22 games and negate those first nine or whatever. Whatever it was. But yeah, development's the biggest thing. I think Mac has shown that he is legit and a great first overall pick.
And I think honestly, like with all the draft picks in the last two years. Right. We've got Conor Bernard, obviously a super skilled guy on the offensive side.
Another rookie doing well is Matt Vamichkov and again doing really well on the offensive side. But they do not play like Macklin celebrating plays. They do not play that full 200ft of hockey which. And that's okay. You need that. You don't need guys, everyone playing, you know, back and forth.
But Mac is making a serious case for himself for the Calder. I thought him with his injury would kind of hurt that because I didn't think he'd be doing this well at this point especially.
But you know, he's clearly proven that he's. He's a real deal and I hope he continues to do that because still early on, but like I said, all we've wanted as Sharks fans is to see that, that development. But do you see anything else between like that Mitch Cobb versus Celebrini.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: I find it funny that it's turned into Mitch Cobb or Celebrini rather than Mitch Cobb versus Bedard. I don't think. I think with Bedard's quote unquote down season that we talked about last week, like.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: I think that's kind of taken him out of the limelight.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: Which I find pretty kind of interesting. You see a bunch of people on the Internet saying that Celebrini is better than Bedard immediately. Right. Which I find first of all, I think it's true, but I find it interesting because last year the, the whole notion around Macklin Celebrini is he's not that number one guy. He's a very, very, very good player, but he's not a Connor Bedard. He's not a, you know.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: Connor McDavid.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: I think, I think this Michikov and Macklin celebrity debate is looking a lot like this Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby debate early on in their careers. And they're both very, what would you say, comparable, the two Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini and Mitch Kavanavechen. Not to say that they're gonna live up to them, but at this point in their career, you know, looking at both of these players, they kind of have a similar situation. They're in, you know, goal score from Russia and a two way Canadian player.
[00:11:51] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: So, I mean, obviously Mac didn't have the hype that Sydney had, but.
Yeah, I just, I find it interesting with all of the, the debates online and I mean, even Bedard, him stepping out of the limelight, I'm pretty sure he has more points in both of them.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: Yes, he does. Yeah, I believe he does. Which is pretty funny. But.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: Yeah. And I want to. The night that we.
I think it was the night after we recorded Bedard, like. Or was the night we recorded last week. Yet again, Bedard just went on.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: I know he scored, not went off.
[00:12:25] Speaker A: He finally scored. Yeah.
[00:12:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:12:29] Speaker A: Which is just funny. And that's always what happens. So hopefully that this does not tank Macklin Celebrini or Mitchkov, but, you know, I don't believe in curses, so I don't think that's what we're doing here. I think it's just coincidences.
But yeah, Sharks, Hockey's back. We're excited. They're a fun team to watch. They might lose a couple games here and there pretty embarrassingly, but overall, like, I've had a lot of fun watching this team. And even like that King, that Kings game was so fun to watch. And I think they haven't scored that many goals since 2018, which is nuts.
Which, I mean, eight goals is a lot, but to think. To think about that, it's just.
There he is.
To think about that. Like, we just. We've been in such a down, downward spiral, but we're back up. And you know who else is back up kind of is the Capitals.
You know, they lost Alex Ovechkin and we kind of thought that it's going to hurt them. It's the only reason why they're still in contention. But they're four and two, two losses back to back after losing Ovechkin and now on a four game win streak. Also the good teams, though, I mean, you got the Panthers, the Lightning and the Devils and then the Islanders, which I'm not. It's news fest. But at least like with that.
I don't know, I.
That's a pretty. I haven't really watched any of their games, so I'm not going to pretend like I know a whole lot, but looking at the box score of it, being impressed. Dylan Strohm is still in the lead, or not in the lead, but he's still in the top three for most assists. So he's clearly still playing well.
Vetchkin's also practicing right now.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: I find that crazy. He just broke his. What was his fibula two weeks ago.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:21] Speaker B: And he's skating.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:23] Speaker B: That's like the biggest bone in your body.
Or it might be the second biggest bone behind your tibia, I think, which is insane that he's skating like.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: Aren't they. The tib fib is on the. It's like the shin area. Right.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Oh, no. What's the big one? The femur. Sorry, the femur.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: That's mixed up. Yeah.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: I'm showing my college education or lack of.
So they're seven, two and one in their last 10 games.
[00:14:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:51] Speaker B: Which I think he Ovi's probably missed six or seven of them. Yes.
[00:14:57] Speaker A: So for the four and two.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Yeah, they're. They're keeping that pace. Even if they just kind of keep up with what they were doing before, that's all they need to do. And I'm looking kind of a crazy stat. I didn't realize they're leading the league in goals scored. Yeah, they have 101 goals scored. The Devils have 99 and then the jets have 94. Yeah, they're putting the puck in the net. They also have the best goal differential at plus 32.
It's kind of crazy how. How good they've been. And that's without Alex Ovechkin. Yeah, that's their best player. Even if he's, you know, on crutches, when he comes back. Yeah, he's gonna be scared of the walker.
[00:15:45] Speaker A: Yeah, he's going to.
Yeah. I mean, I think he's. Like I said, I think that guy's just determined to break. He wants to retire ultimately. I'm sure he loves the game, but as much as anyone would love hockey, I think when you get to a certain age and you're right there, it's like, let's. Let's put this to bed and let's see how fast I can get. It's a chat. It's another challenge for him. Like, I'm sure he's done it all. He's done it all. So now it's just like, this is another challenge for him. He's won a Stanley cup. He's won his awards, everything you can imagine.
So for him, it's just time to lock in. And he's.
It's just the Russian in him. I'm convinced that he's just on. I'm sure his tip or fibula is still broken, I'm sure.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely.
[00:16:32] Speaker A: And he's just like, it. I don't care. So.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: But he's like, I want to go back to Russia.
[00:16:39] Speaker A: Yeah. He wants to go party.
[00:16:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm sure. But, yeah, that's pretty much for coast to coast. We're gonna do a little stats check in, though, talk about the standings, and also some leaders at this moment since it is now December, which is crazy to think about.
2024 is almost over.
I'm about to be 25, which is scary, but this is not a therapy session for me. Yeah, I know You're. You're not far behind, bud.
[00:17:09] Speaker B: I know I'm two months behind, but. Yeah, that's still crazy to think about.
[00:17:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:14] Speaker B: 25 guys. Since I've known this guy since he was 14. A little. Little backstory to mine and Sean's friendship.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:17:23] Speaker B: We met each other in Mrs. Stever's sixth grade physics class. Or. Sorry, sixth period.
[00:17:27] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:17:30] Speaker B: So we were 14 years old.
[00:17:32] Speaker A: So I've known you for 10 years.
That's crazy.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Ladies that. If there's any ladies watching, that guy was an ugly kid. His glow up should be studied. Thank you.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: I appreciate that. Honestly, I think that's the case for the both of us, because I'm still waiting. You.
You walked in with a.
He had a. I don't even actually know. You just had, like, long hair at the time. But that same freshman year, then you got the Mullet. The mullet. Where it was just like a Joe Dirt kind of thing, where you just kind of shave the sides and call it good.
Granted, I've had mullets in my days. I'm not hating on it. But at 14, that was a look. That was a look and a half.
And I will not pretend like I wasn't a fugly little kid either.
[00:18:17] Speaker B: So I was 14 going on 45. It was brutal.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: Yes. No, it was. But yeah, dude, anyways. Oh, God, 10 years. That's crazy. Sorry, guys. I know if you're listening, but, yeah, me and Al have known each other for a long time, so those you guys listening, friendships go a long way. Yeah, but where was I going with that? Oh, stats checking. Almost December. Or is December now? Sorry, I'm just rattled still that we've known each other for 10 years. It's crazy. That's crazy.
Yes. December, stats checking. Here we go.
So, yeah, leader, we're going to go through goals, assist, points. Alan, if you want to bring up goalie stats, you totally can. I didn't want to write it all out.
You can touch on it, but goals. Right now we got Reinhardt with 18. Dry, subtle. 17 Caulfield and point Sharon third with 16 points or 16 goals. Sorry.
Reinhardt is still continuing. I kind of thought last year.
Not that he was like a contract year thing, but I just. I wasn't. Like, he definitely broke out last year, and I'll give him that, but I didn't think he'd continue it like he is now. For him to have 18 goals and, what, 25 games played, probably still amazing. And he's leading the league in goals. And if he wins the Rocket, like, if he told me three years ago that Sam Reinhardt was winning. No, four years ago. If you told me four years ago Sam Reinhardt was going to win the rocket in 2025, I would have called you crazy and been like, what? What drug are you?
[00:19:56] Speaker B: I thought he was a bust until three years. I convinced my roommate to trade him for Timo Meyer last season in fantasy.
I thought it was a good trade at the time, too. I was like, listen, he's gonna fall off.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: But no, no, he continued to chug and he's still going.
[00:20:18] Speaker B: He's not a great team player. Yeah, it does help.
[00:20:21] Speaker A: It helps. Yeah, it helps. He was in, but anyone in Buffalo just get them out at this point? Yeah, but, yeah, he obviously was in Buffalo for a while, so.
Tough place to make yourself look good and, you know, getting to Florida and he's Playing with Sasha Barkov. Great, great center, playmaker. All the above.
I think he's still playing with him, I'm pretty sure. But regardless, I mean, he's on a Stanley cup winning team, so. Yeah, makes sense. Dry side, on the other hand, your least favorite player is second. How do you feel about that?
[00:21:02] Speaker B: You know, it pays to play with McDavid and it pays to stand by the net 24, 7.
[00:21:08] Speaker A: So that is true.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: McDavid made last season Zach Hyman a 50 goal score.
[00:21:16] Speaker A: That. Yeah.
[00:21:17] Speaker B: Imagine playing with McDavid your entire career. All I'm saying is there's zero talent and just results there, which I can kind of respect.
[00:21:27] Speaker A: The grinder.
[00:21:29] Speaker B: Yeah. It does make me a little upset though.
But at the end of the day, good for dry saddle. Good for German hockey. You know, they're gonna remember him being second place in goal scoring in December because that's the only thing they have. Yeah.
[00:21:46] Speaker A: Matt, Marcel, gosh, don't forget about him.
[00:21:48] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, I looked him up. He's like fifth all time in German scoring with like 200 points.
That's awful. There's some random guy I'd never heard of who played in like the 60s, has like 400 points and then that then by far in first.
[00:22:04] Speaker A: Yeah, in first. Where's stuts a lot. He's probably up there.
[00:22:07] Speaker B: He's getting up there.
I think he's still getting. You're talking about playing again? We're ranking him against Marcel Gotch. He's gonna be 100 points, 90 foot some point season.
[00:22:19] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, true. Okay, fair enough.
And then Caulfield in point at third.
So good for Gold Caulfield, he was my favorite to win the Rocket.
Still could happen.
Canadians look like. I don't really. I haven't paid attention to the Canadians a whole lot this year. My bad.
Cody hasn't either. So I haven't been able to relay any information I get off of him.
But Gold Caulfield looks better than ever. I saw him get his 13th goal of the season in Columbus the other night, which is kind of cool. Now, these weren't.
And then Braden points being brain pointed. Not very shocked there.
And Tampa's doing pretty well too, which is impressive. But yeah.
Yeah. Any comments on that before we move to assists?
[00:23:08] Speaker B: Braden point, somebody I would like to touch on that guy.
He's one of those players that is like so good at hockey, but like, you look at him and you watch him play and you're like, he's not that good at hockey. Yeah, but he's so I don't know if that makes any sense whatsoever. I don't think it does. But he is so good. And you watch him play and you, like, he looks like it. He's an NHL player. Obviously, he looks like he belongs in the NHL.
But, like, you're watching him play, you're like, there are guys who are significantly better than him that don't put up anywhere near the same points. So. Yeah, clearly not better than him. But. Yeah, well, he's not like, he's one of those guys.
[00:23:51] Speaker A: Yeah. He's not like a standout player like some of the guys on that list.
I mean, even he could say Reinhardt. But I don't want to.
[00:24:02] Speaker B: You.
[00:24:02] Speaker A: Like, I just.
I. I see what you're saying. Like, it's not. It's not totally crazy what you're saying. It's a little crazy, but I'm crazy, so I get it.
[00:24:13] Speaker B: I'm not a hater of Britain. Point. I think that guy's gross. I love watching. He's also stupidly fast.
[00:24:20] Speaker A: Yeah, he is.
[00:24:21] Speaker B: You watch him beat everybody in a foot race and it's like, that's probably why. But frankly, all you need to be good at hockey is be able to skate fast and sort of shoot the puck.
[00:24:30] Speaker A: So it's like, I've always told that you want.
[00:24:32] Speaker B: You watch them play. It makes sense.
[00:24:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: But I do find it crazy.
[00:24:39] Speaker A: You're gonna do well, just like the league.
[00:24:41] Speaker B: I don't know why. I don't know why speed skaters don't learn how to shoot the puck. Shoot a puck.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: True.
[00:24:47] Speaker B: Because they'd be. They'd all be in the NHL.
[00:24:50] Speaker A: Yeah. But they have those big blades. I know they have technique, but I don't think they can.
[00:24:54] Speaker B: That's also an extremely hot take that not even I believe.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: Okay. Okay.
[00:25:00] Speaker B: There is so much more to it. There's clearly a reason I'm not in the NHL.
[00:25:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:04] Speaker B: But it's not just because I can't skate fast.
But it is.
[00:25:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:25:10] Speaker B: Honestly, it is pretty funny.
[00:25:12] Speaker A: Yeah. That's the reason I'm not in the NHL. I'm not fast enough. So I was told.
[00:25:16] Speaker B: That's what sets. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what you tell us.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: That's all it is. Every level of hockey. It's just faster guys. That's all it is.
[00:25:24] Speaker B: You look at. There's a lot of guys points list.
There are, like, a couple guys who aren't, like, super, super fast, but, like, girl Caprizov, Martin H's, Jack Eichel, Nathan McKinnon. Jasper Bratz. They're all stupidly quick. So if you, if you have like an NHL level skill set, mix in the fact that you're super fast, you're going to be a great NHL player. That's where I was getting with that. That's all I have as far as takes on Braden. That's gross.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: That I don't want to show you, but that was so dumb. You just said.
You just said if someone has an NHL skill set.
[00:26:04] Speaker B: Well, you know what I mean. You know what I mean.
[00:26:07] Speaker A: Yeah, I know because it's just clearly. Yeah, I'm gonna make a quote.
[00:26:11] Speaker B: You can't just put a. You can't just. Yeah. Put it on Instagram. You can't just put like a peewee hockey player who knows how to shoot a puck in the NHL if he's fast. Right. But if you have like an all around NHL skill skill set where you're. You have a good shot, you have good hands, you can pass the puck, you have that vision and then you mix in, you're one of the fastest skaters in the world. You're going to be really good in the NHL level. You don't have to stick out. Frankly, McDavid, this is going to be kind of a hot take. You're going to want to clip this. Clip this chat.
Connor McDavid does not have the greatest shot. Right. There are probably 75 NHL players that I'd take their shot over. Conor McDavid. Right. He has absolutely no. I don't know if I'm there yet, but Max Mac does have a nasty wrist shot. But, like, his shooting isn't that great. He's not a very physical player. It's not like Connor McDavid is skating around throwing big bodies or anything like that. He could. He's got a good frame, but he's got great vision.
He's got great hands. But what really sets him apart is his speed.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:28] Speaker B: If Connor McDavid were like current Alex Ovechkin fast, he'd still be in the NHL, but he wouldn't be Connor McDavid, you know, it wouldn't be consistently leading the league in points. He'd be like a.
I don't know. So it's not saying.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: You're saying that his speed is what makes him stick out?
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:27:51] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:27:51] Speaker B: You look at a guy like that.
We were talking about Joe Thornton last week, and I'm one of the biggest Joe Thornton fans on earth. I love that guy. That guy could not ice skate, right? No, it worked because he played, you Watched him play in his 30s. It looked like he could barely skate. Right.
[00:28:09] Speaker A: But in his 20, what set him.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Apart at that time was the game was a lot slower and he had that phenomenal vision. Nobody saw what he was seeing.
[00:28:18] Speaker A: Right.
[00:28:18] Speaker B: He had rescue, like, vision.
Nowadays you can't be like that and compete at an NHL level. You can't be slow and be a good NHL player. It's like, it's all speed driven. And I think what sets Connor McDavid apart is he is the fast player in the world.
[00:28:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:37] Speaker B: You look like a Matt Barzell.
He's a great hockey player. He has good hands, like, really good hands. But other than that, nothing else that he does is fantastic besides the skating.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: And he's consistently a 60, 70 point guy. He's up there sometimes. He breaks 90. I think he did it one time.
[00:28:58] Speaker A: And McDavid's not very, like, defensive either.
[00:29:01] Speaker B: No, he's really good because of his vision, I think, and his ability to handle the puck. He's really good at pickpocketing.
[00:29:09] Speaker A: Yes, he's.
[00:29:10] Speaker B: He's good in that kind of sense. Like, you can't just be on your heels when you're. When you're in the offensive zone and McDavid's on the ice.
[00:29:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:20] Speaker B: Going against you when you're in the deep or when you're in his defensive zone. But it's not like he's got, like, some innate shutdown ability like a Sasha Barkov or someone like that.
[00:29:30] Speaker A: Yeah. No, I agree. I. I think you make a fair point that.
I like that you said that his. His speed is what makes him stick out to be the best player. Because, I mean, Nathan McKinnon's kind of the same. Well, Nathan Kin is kind of the same way, just in the fact that speed. Okay, let's settle on this. If you're a fast, very, very fast NHL player, you're gonna exceed and suck.
[00:29:58] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:29:59] Speaker A: Like, you're gonna succeed and excel in the NHL because of how.
[00:30:02] Speaker B: There we go.
[00:30:03] Speaker A: There we go. Okay.
[00:30:04] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:30:05] Speaker A: We're trying to work that out. That. Yeah, I agree with that. Yeah.
[00:30:09] Speaker B: But that was a very long.
[00:30:12] Speaker A: That was a very long winded way to say that's okay.
Yeah. You guys listening?
Let us know how you think about that. Do you agree with us? Because that might have been crazy to say, but that McDavid's only sticks out because of how fast he is. He's got great hands, so longer than that, but we'll move on. Assists leaders. Nathan McKinnon at 29 Eichel 28 and Strom, 26.
And Nate Mac was my favorite for.
I don't remember either. The heart, I think.
[00:30:46] Speaker B: Get him for points.
[00:30:47] Speaker A: Yes, I did. All right. Ross, maybe. Yes. Because he won. He won MVP last year. And I was like, I think I.
[00:30:56] Speaker B: Coach for MVP this year.
[00:30:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I have Nate McInart, Ross, and he's up there, but yeah, he's obviously Nathan McKinnon. Colorado's kind of figuring it out a little bit more.
I forget where they're in the standings. Jack Eichel, beauty out in Vegas.
And then Dylan Strome's still up there, which is interesting. I kind of talked about that earlier. But yeah, Colorado's now in the wild card spot, I want to say.
Oh, yeah.
[00:31:29] Speaker B: Oh, actually league.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: They're not in a wild card spot. Calgary and Edmonton are in the wild card spot, which is crazy.
[00:31:38] Speaker B: But I have a things can change feeling.
Very strong feeling. Calgary is gonna get bounced out. I know quickly here.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: Calgary. We can talk about them for a sec.
But I just. Dustin Wolf's doing great. I think that's what's helping them. I think they're clicking right. Right now. And you know, at the end of the day, if your team's clicking, that's all you really need. Yeah, but is it sustainable? I don't know.
Maybe Galley can make a surprise entrance right now with the stone cold music and just debunk us, but Calgary Flames.
[00:32:13] Speaker B: Are the best team in the NHL.
[00:32:15] Speaker A: Yeah. And we're gonna argue that the Sharks are. But no to points point leader Krill Caprizov at 38, natures 37, and McKinnon and Eichel 36. Krill's having.
Obviously, the Wild are the best team in NHL right now, as we're recording.
I mean, I haven't really watched too much of Minnesota, but have you caught any of Krill or, like, what he's been doing?
[00:32:41] Speaker B: That guy is nasty. Yeah, I have.
I'm a huge Kirill Kabrizov fan. He had kind of a down year last year. He was still great. I think he was injured a bit last season.
I think everybody saw it coming where he was gonna kind of break out. He had that insane rookie season.
Let's see that insane rookie season. 51 points, 55 games. Then he put up 108 points, where in 20, 21, 22.
I was thinking that two years ago he had a down year. He had 75 points in 67 games, but he still had over a point per game. Put up 96 points last year. I think Everybody kind of saw this coming, where he was going to break out and be like a top five lock.
[00:33:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:31] Speaker B: And now he's leading the league in points. He's doing it all himself for the most part. He's logging 22 minutes and 23 seconds a night as a forward.
[00:33:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:41] Speaker B: So he's. He's kind of putting the team on his back a bit, and I think that's awesome.
He's one of those guys that he's so fun to watch. He's another guy where, like, you watch him play, he's so sick, but you can't really tell why, because he kind of looks a little awkward when he's playing.
[00:33:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:33:59] Speaker B: I don't know if it's just the way he skates. He does a lot of tomahawking where his feet are like this.
[00:34:04] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:05] Speaker B: He's so shifty and obviously so quick, and he's got a nasty shot.
I'm super pumped that that guy's up there in. In scoring.
It's pretty cool to see. And also, it's a fresh new face, you know?
[00:34:18] Speaker A: Yeah. It's true.
[00:34:19] Speaker B: Him, Marty Natchez, even Jack Eichel, I don't think he's ever been.
[00:34:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:34:26] Speaker B: Like, it's kind of nice to see some new faces. Jasper Brat is at least on my. The Devil's plate today, so I'm assuming that it's helping him out. But he's up at fifth on NHL website, but yeah, it's kind of cool to see some new faces. Obviously, you still want McDavid to keep setting records. You still want Austin Matthews to, you know, chase records and whatnot, but.
[00:34:53] Speaker A: Yeah, where's. Where's. Do you know where Matthew's at for goals?
[00:34:57] Speaker B: Not off the top of my head, but he's not really up there because he actually just got back from injury.
[00:35:03] Speaker A: That's right. Yes.
[00:35:04] Speaker B: I think he has, like, six goals. It's nothing crazy he scored tonight, but he's injured. Yeah.
[00:35:11] Speaker A: I think beginning of November was it.
[00:35:14] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's been like a lot of the season.
[00:35:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:18] Speaker B: Which. It's good to see him back. I know a lot of people don't like Auston Matthews, and I think that's just because he's a maple leaf.
[00:35:26] Speaker A: That is why.
[00:35:27] Speaker B: But personally, anytime somebody puts up 69 goals in a season, I'm gonna want to see him succeed.
[00:35:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:35] Speaker B: Because it's fun to watch. He's also a guy who I think is slept on defensively.
[00:35:41] Speaker A: Yeah, we've talked about that.
[00:35:42] Speaker B: So it's really cool to see, but yeah, hopefully you get back into it.
[00:35:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I agree. I think having the faces, you know, like McDavid, all these guys, McKinnon even at the top, it's fun to see and it's like, you know, want them to keep breaking records. But yeah, seeing Krill up there, who I've been waiting to kind of have this monster season out of him, it's cool to see. And honestly, dragging this wild team to where they're at right now. Not that they're a bad team, but they missed the playoffs last year and now they're the best team in the league. So I think they are destined for a good year this year. They also have, you know, Mark, Andre Flurry in that. But not to mention, is Walsted playing consistently yet?
[00:36:24] Speaker B: No, Jasper Walstead is not. So this actually is a great segue to goalies.
[00:36:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:33] Speaker B: Philip Gustafson is nasty this season.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:36:39] Speaker B: He's currently leading the league in goals against average, save percentage and he's second in shutouts, I think at the beginning of the year. Well, when we, when we first top back on, I had said something about how I think this is going to be kind of one of those situations where he's really hot at the beginning of the season but kind of fizzles out. But we're. He's played 18 games and he's got a.930 save percentage and just over two goals against average.
It's kind of insane to see because I feel like the last few years it's been all Connor Hellbuck. Connor Hellebuk. Connor Hellebuk.
[00:37:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:19] Speaker B: With Igor Shusturkin mixed in there when he's playing well. But he hasn't been great this season.
So it's, it's. It's also pretty cool. We're seeing some new faces up there. Anthony Stallars has been fantastic. So you go down the list. And goals against, save percentage, not shout outs. But it's Philip Gustafson, Connor Hellebuck, Anthony Stall. Ours in goals against and say percentage, which is kind of interesting. Those guys are kind of locked at the top three. Spencer Knight's also been great. I know he hasn't played as much more of playing in a backup role right now. Yeah, he is. Nine games played, but pretty interesting to see some new faces.
[00:38:05] Speaker A: Yeah, no, there's a lot this year, which is fun to see, but. Yeah, let's see.
We're going to talk pretty quickly about these divisions since we're close to wrapping up on time, just to kind of shake it up. A little bit with. You know, we've been talking about a lot of headlines, and now we're just going to kind of about some of these teams here.
We're going to start off with the Nashville Predator. I'm kidding.
[00:38:33] Speaker B: This is new stuff. Hey, they're ahead of somebody in the Met or in the West. Yeah. In the center right now, Chicago. The Chicago Blackhawks.
[00:38:42] Speaker A: Yeah. Good for them. Good for them.
[00:38:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:38:46] Speaker A: Good job, Tim. Currently three points behind the Sharks, though, so. And the Sharks play tomorrow on Tuesday. So when this comes out, standings might be a little different, but yeah, most of these teams on here, we kind of talked about the Wild a little bit about being in the lead. They're actually tied with Winnipeg right now for first with 36 points and the Devils as well, but they have a better say percentage. So they're number one.
Devils have been continuing on their great season.
And then if we look at it by division, Maple Leafs, Panthers, Bruins in the Atlantic, Bruins kind of started figuring out after firing Monty, which I think is good to see in the sense of.
For those players sake. I think if you're a Bruins fan, though, you're just like, what the. Like, what was. What was the issue?
Yeah, I don't think it's his fault. I think just you needed something to change. That's all it was. But they've been doing really well. The last 10. They have been five, four and one, so nothing crazy, but definitely an improvement.
[00:39:52] Speaker B: I think they're three and one since. Or four and one since firing.
[00:39:55] Speaker A: Okay. Monty Makti. Good for them. Job ruins. Don't mess it up. That's all I got to say, because you always do that. New Jersey leading the metro with Washington close behind, which we. Again, we talked about this earlier, but the Capitals are doing well without Obi and hopefully return soon. They can keep. Keep pumping because, you know, watching Alex Ovechkin play playoff hockey would be good for the sport, and I'm all here for it.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: Hurricanes are in third and then Wild cards. Kind of interesting. Philadelphia is actually second.
That second wild card spot. They've been doing well with Mr. Matt Famichkov.
Rangers slowly figuring out they're still in the wild card spot, though I wouldn't really say they've done anything crazy yet.
I say, yeah, because they're 4, 60 in the last 10.
[00:40:48] Speaker B: I was looking at it the other day. They lost tonight. Devils 5 to 1.
[00:40:55] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:57] Speaker B: Before that they were on a 5. So they. They beat Montreal 4 to 3. Before that, they were on a five game losing streak.
So they're 160 in their last seven games. Yeah.
Which I find very interesting. I know we had touched a little bit on it last week, at least when we filmed last week.
And I was like, why are you. Why are you talking about blowing up the team? Like, the team's still good. They have not been good since, which. Yeah, maybe you just have a knack for jinx and things. When I said OBI was gonna beat the record in February, I don't know.
[00:41:40] Speaker A: Yeah, I think we do. And you know what?
[00:41:42] Speaker B: I'll.
[00:41:43] Speaker A: I'll wear it.
The Predator is going to be really good for the next couple years.
I'm calling that so.
[00:41:50] Speaker B: Dude, they're gonna be nasty. They're gonna figure it out.
[00:41:52] Speaker A: So gross. Sharks are gonna suck.
Yeah. Yeah.
Moving on to the west, though. Bottom of the east is the Montreal Canadiens.
Could have seen that coming. Western. The Central. The typical. Well, not typical. Minnesota Wild's new here, but Wild, jets and Stars in the top three. Stars are six points behind the jets in the Wild, which is kind of. Kind of crazy. But.
[00:42:19] Speaker B: Yep, they.
[00:42:21] Speaker A: I don't. I haven't watched too much stars hockey besides against the Sharks. They look good against Sharks, but anyone does. Except for the Red Wings. Of The Seattle Kraken 10 teams, the last, like, 14 kings.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: Oh, they look awful.
[00:42:35] Speaker A: God, yeah. I'm so happy.
[00:42:37] Speaker B: Pretty sure they outshot the Sharks in that game.
[00:42:40] Speaker A: Yeah, I think they did.
We gotta look that up.
[00:42:45] Speaker B: They did.
[00:42:46] Speaker A: Because we scored eight goals on them. If that's the case, that's embarrassing for you Kings fans.
And then the dirty, dirty Pacific. We got the Knights, Kings and Canucks.
The Knights only have three more points than the Stars.
And who else?
Like, just the. The Pacific Division is not very good. Hurricanes, in third in the metro, have 33 points. So do this. Knights.
So Knights, Kings, Vancouver.
[00:43:17] Speaker B: I think it's pretty safe to say that the Pacific is the worst division in. In hockey right now. And it kind of has been that way. It wasn't really last year, but, I mean, really, since the California teams all dropped off, it's been one of the weaker divisions in hockey. And, yeah, now it definitely is looking that way. If you have the Kings, who have a plus eight goal differential, and the Canucks that have a plus two goal differential.
[00:43:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:43:48] Speaker B: And are three, five and three at home in a playoff spot. That's a little questionable. Yeah.
[00:43:54] Speaker A: I think the West. Cool. The west as a whole is not as good as the east and what they have going on out there.
[00:44:01] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:44:04] Speaker A: And even, like, regardless of standings, and stuff like that. Like just those teams out east, like, I just think on paper especially, are better than most of these teams. And obviously, yeah, on the east, you're playing more competitive teams and you come out west and you're playing the Ducks or the Kraken, you're gonna kick your ass. But you're probably gonna lose to the Devils. You know, stuff like that.
[00:44:28] Speaker B: That was a double shot at the Ducks.
[00:44:31] Speaker A: That was. I just felt like it. I saw him down there and I was like, I want to shoot.
[00:44:34] Speaker B: He deserved it.
[00:44:35] Speaker A: Yeah, they do. They're only three points ahead of this.
[00:44:38] Speaker B: Actually.
[00:44:38] Speaker A: No, they're tied with the Sharks right now in points.
[00:44:41] Speaker B: They do have four less games played, but we'll, we'll overlook that for now.
[00:44:45] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm gonna put my blinders on to that. I'm not gonna point out facts.
[00:44:50] Speaker B: Funny enough, I think the Sharks have played the second most games in the NHL. Yeah.
To still be, you know, bottom 10 in the league is kind of brutal. Yeah.
[00:45:04] Speaker A: I'm blaming it on that start. I blame it on that start. 0, 9 and 2 to start the season is never going to help you at this point in the year.
[00:45:11] Speaker B: Since, since that start, they're 9, 6 and 5.
That is true. Actually. The 9, 6 and 3 since that, that nine game losing streak. So they went, oh, 7 and 2 on that nine game losing streaks. They're now 9, 13 and 5.
[00:45:28] Speaker A: We are a 500 hockey team. If you don't count the first 11 games. I'm gonna play the if game. What?
[00:45:37] Speaker B: I said nine. We'll take it.
[00:45:39] Speaker A: Yeah, we're a 500 team. Yeah, we're just not going to count this season. We're in 500.
[00:45:44] Speaker B: Celebrini's gross. He's a top 10 player, but gross.
[00:45:49] Speaker A: Gross.
But yeah. So we'll see these standings at the end of the year. We'll probably, every month we'll kind of do a little check in here, talk about that. There also wasn't a whole lot of crazy news. Actually. I kind of want to talk about Macklin swearing at the reporter today when he said like, oh, yeah, you got named first star. And he was like, oh, really?
That's hilarious.
[00:46:12] Speaker B: I can't believe, like, that's my future captain.
[00:46:14] Speaker A: Yeah, he's just an 18 year old. Like, we just forget this kid literally is 18 and can't even like, probably doesn't even know how to file taxes.
[00:46:26] Speaker B: No.
[00:46:26] Speaker A: Doesn't know anything. And he's lighting up the league and we're talking in mics.
[00:46:32] Speaker B: So Celebrities ever used. I wonder if he's ever used Turbo Tax. I'm just curious. I highly doubt it. He's.
[00:46:39] Speaker A: He's not gonna need to because he's going to be able to hire like a cpa. Yeah, I'm sure the Sharks all like, they all have a tax guy they can go to and do all that, so they're set. He's never gonna do tax in his life. Oh yeah, for sure. They got someone out there, but oh yeah. Everyone, thank you for listening. We're not ending with the Sharks talk because we started with it, so stuck around for that. Cool. Good for you. Thank you.
We got, let's see on the docket this next couple of weeks, it's December, probably around Christmas time. We're gonna do no episode that week just for the sake of the holidays. I hope you guys have a great rest of your week. Great rest of the December. Finish up that year strong. Come with some what's called New Year's resolutions. Make them up now because then you don't have to think about it. January 1st, you already know what you're going to do. But until then, everyone. Alan, I'll see you tomorrow at the game.
745start, which actually really quick last week was brutal.
You weren't there and how bad we lose 63 again. But we had a 30 lead in the first period.
[00:47:53] Speaker B: Oh yeah, Yeah.
[00:47:57] Speaker A: I got actually cross checked. I don't know if you can see it in the light.
[00:48:01] Speaker B: A little battle scar.
[00:48:02] Speaker A: Yeah, nice little cross check to the arm. And the dude skated off and was like, I forget what he said.
I know what I said, but I can't repeat it. And then he.
What was it? He did that and then like told me something like, it's beer league. And I was like, dude, you're the one that hacked me. Like, why are you getting pissed off? We got kind of physical in the corner battling for the puck. But it wasn't like anything crazy. I didn't think it was just playing hockey. Then he cross checks me and I was like, dude, what the hell? And then we go down the rain, like go down the ice and then puck freezes and he like skates by me because I'm on the blue line. He's going back to the bench and just like stares at me and I'm like, what? What are you gonna do? I'm gonna do something about it. And he just like keeps saying stuff. And I was like, yeah, good boy. Go back to your bench. Good boy, good boy.
Yeah. Got pretty intense, but after. That's hockey. Who cares? It was kind of fun, but, yeah. We'll be back next week, everyone. Thanks for listening, and peace out.
