Teal Talk: Randy Hahn

Teal Talk: Randy Hahn

All right, Hunter, let’s talk about the big thing of this summer, your hole in one on Father’s Day. Somebody did the clip where uh they did your goal call of like when the the the ball was sitting on the cup and in the pin, it didn’t fully like go in all the way. It was in and you kind of just move the flag and then it drops in and go. What was that like? It was great. Uh you know, obviously you don’t expect something like that to happen. uh and to do it on Father’s Day playing golf with your sons and the second hole in the round. So, it it just set the tone for the rest of the day. But it was actually my second hole in one. I had one 13 years ago. So, I’m on the 13-year cycle. Um and I was playing when I had my first hole in one with my oldest son, Randall, and we we rarely play together, but that happened. Yeah. And then 13 years later, I’m playing with him again and my younger son, Michael. And uh it was a blast. It was a lot of fun. And as I say, it it just made what’s always a great day. I mean, Father’s Day is a great day. It just made it a little better. You and Will Smith both had hole-in- ones this summer. You had something in common with Will Smith. Congratulations. That would be about it. As you reflect on last season of Sharks hockey, and it was different, right? Couple new players, um coaching staff realigned. There were some good directions I think the team found. They’re not there yet of where they want to be, but what do you sit on in terms of the right steps they took forward and what’s like what’s tangible for this season? Where do they go from where they left off? Well, you know, when I think of last season, I think of the first game first and our our first opportunity to see Mlin Celbrini and Will Smith, right? uh with the team together and I think of the it’s funny it’s but it’s a tangible memory that night and it was a national game so I was sitting in the stands with my wife Andrea watching that game and watching warm-up and watching all the fans and the young fans gathered along the glass and you could feel something different in the air. You just you could really feel it. Uh, and then of course Mlin scoring on that crazy goal, his first shot in the NHL. And I turned to my wife and I said, “Can you bleeping believe what just happened?” Uh, and then sadly he he was hurt in that game. And we didn’t see him essentially for the rest of the month of October. And I think that had a lot to do certainly something to do with the Sharks record in October of course which you know it was just not it was just not a good month after that from the standpoint of of getting points and by the time Mlin came back the team was already in in kind of a hole points-wise right where you know your priorities of what you expect kind of change. Not to not to say that realistically any of us went into that season thinking, “Hey, the the Sharks are going to make a playoff push here.” I mean, let’s be honest. Uh they were coming from 32nd place, 16th in the conference, and and that was that was not a realistic expectation inside or outside the team. But when Mlin got hurt, you know, that that really pushed it to another level. So now you start looking really uh for other things. And I think obviously the chance to watch Mlin who, you know, is so talented and brought so much to the table was number one on that list, but then Will Smith, then William Mcklin, right? Uh and uh those those pieces and and I think coming out of the year, obviously Mlin being a college trophy finalist, finishing third in the voting uh behind Hudson and Wolf, uh that was awesome and I really believe this. I think that if Mlin, who almost averaged a point a game as it was, right, if he would have been healthy all year, right, you know, maybe he pushes Hudson for that award, you know, I really believe that, taking nothing away from Lane Hudson, who had a who had a great year and and was deserving of that trophy. But, um, after that, it was the way that the Sharks handled the Will Smith situation, um, and and brought a player along the right way. Mhm. And I love that. And that bodess well as we go into this season where things are going, right? Yeah. Because we’ve got players coming to the team like Michael Nissa, um like Sam Dickinson. Exactly. Um and I’m talking new blood. Right. Um and then a player like Luca Kenyon who’s been with the organization now and is trying to push through. And I just love the way things were handled by the team, by both Mike Grrewer and his staff, but also by Ryan Worovski and his staff in in integrating these younger players. And and that’s, you know, the future is Teal because this is what has to happen. these players have to be integrated and and I’m just excited to see the continuation of that, but also the change of the veteran players um and how that’s going to affect the growth of this team as well. Um there’s so many new faces in this organization right now um that it’s really exciting again along with what we know. I just feel like to your point, last year was largely about Will and Mac and this year they’re veterans. That’s weird to say. Like they’re not rookies anymore, but they’re a veteran to a certain degree. But now we’re going to have that next wave of young players come in. It’s almost like uh Christmas, you open up a couple presents, but there’s still now 10 more under the tree. And I think we’re at that phase where you get more looks at more people that we’ve been, you know, dying to see. The point I want to make here though is do you sometimes look at the pipeline and the organizational chart and how much talent there is in this organization that we haven’t even scratched the surface on yet? Absolutely. Um, but having been around here for a long time and been around the NHL for a long time, you can’t get too intoxicated because the reality of pro sports and of this this sport and this league is that all the time there’s people who come from within under that um threshold of star young guy, right, that break through and move past those guys. A perfect example. Are you gonna say it? Or or even going further back, you have Genny Debbakov, right? You know, a player that was drafted way low and no expectation and all of a sudden they push through that barrier. And then there’s also those players that are the expectations are very high and it doesn’t work out the same way and they you know they may move on to another organization and it happens there or it never does. So you you temper those expectations. Um but to your point, there’s so much uh talent there. Um that you know, if you hit on half of it Yeah. Uh you’re in great shape. Yeah. And you know, there’s a saying that goes back a long time ago that and and really if you go back over over draft years, if one player from every draft makes it to the NHL with your team, that’s pretty good. Yeah. So that’s one out of every seven or eight. Yeah. Um and hopefully we hit at a higher rate than that. But even if we hit at just that rate, boy, things are going to be, you know, solid here for a long time. I look forward to the season. I look forward specifically to you and Drew Hunter. Thank you. Thank you.

Brodie Brazil talks with Sharks TV play-by-play announcer Randy Hahn ahead of the new season.