Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames tonight, countdown to the NHL season
[Music] [Applause] [Music] I around around me. This is Winnipeg Sports Talk Daily with Andrew Hustler Patterson and Michael Reis. Hey, what’s going on everyone? Welcome to another edition of Winnipeg Sports Talk Daily. our final pre-season game day edition before things get real next week and we drop the puck on the National Hockey League season. Jets in Calgary tonight. Looks like we’re going to be seeing what will be the opening night lineup minus Jonathan Taves. Fingers still crossed throughout the province that Taves will be good to go for next week. He’s out dayto day right now with the lower body injury and will not be participating in the final preseason game. But other than that, as we’ll hear from Scott O’Neal coming up, this is somewhat of a dress rehearsal for the big show, which will be one of 82 Thursday night at Canada Life Center against the Dallas Stars. I should mention right off the bat that if you are thinking about going to the home opener or joining us that uh we’ve only got a few tickets remaining in the WST section and I imagine those will be going very quickly, but an awesome deal with seats in section 316. Your ticket includes a beverage as well. We’ll all get together and kick off the season together. So, if you haven’t already, don’t wait. Go to winnipegjets.com/wst and grab those final few tickets for the WST section for game one of the year. And we hope to uh we hope to kick it off the way we ran the table last year going 6 and0 with the crew. Again, winnipegjets.com/wst. We got a big show today. We will hear from coach Scott Neil. Connor Rabchack was down at the rink today. He’ll come with a bit of a rinkside report. We’ll hook up with Brandon Riki. Um Jeff Hamilton is going to jump on. We got a big week in the Canadian Football League despite the Bombers being on the buy. Then a little later on check in with Dober Hockey and Lee Hacksaw Hamilton. And before Hacksaw comes on, I will have our first Chuds Powers Sports Power Poll. Today’s power poll is going to be the NFL. will do a preseason NHL power poll before the drop of the puck next week for Cheds Powers Sports. And I can’t wait to see Connor and List do their thing with their own power poll. Of course, WST Sunday live is coming up at 900 a.m. on Sunday. Actually, a little programming note. We’ll also have some content for you tomorrow. NHL preview and future show for WST winners, myself, Pat, and Jake, who of course did our football picks this morning. Check that out on the YouTube channel. 10:00 a.m. every Friday. We’re live with the picks against the spread, props, touchdown scorers, and more. That’s waiting for you if you want to jump on that before NFL kickoff this weekend. But tomorrow, of course, the IC boys will be doing their thing up until 11:00 a.m. At 11:00, we will drop the NHL futures preview. So, if you want more hockey talk tomorrow after IC, pop on over to Winnipeg Sports Talk. That will drop at 11:00. And before the puck drops on the season on Tuesday, Michael Connor and myself will have a Jets focused futures edition as well right here on Winnipeg Sports Talk. Listen, just before we bring in Remo, uh, welcome to everybody in chat. Good to see you. Marble Race later on. Make sure to stick around for that. And shout out to all the podcast listeners making us a part of their day. Also want to thank our great partners including Cool Bet Canada, Princess Auto, the Winnipeg Jets, HSC Millionaire Lottery, Rolley’s Transfer, St. Patel Dental Center, Canadian Club, Chud’s Powers Sports, and Manitoba Battery, Boston Pizza, Royal Sports, Little Brown Jug. We will get to a why not question of the day. And of course, fan feedback from all of you at for fansfirst.ca. Let’s get her going. Remo, what’s up? Hey, feeling good on a Friday. Had a great uh Thursday night game last night. CFL kicking off. NHL season just around the corner. And yeah, Jets preseason night on TV, the final one. This lineup could be exactly what we see on night one next. Well, we’d like to see Jonathan Taves in the lineup, of course, but we’ll see how it looks tonight against Calgary. And fingers crossed right here. You see, I’m crossing him. They come out healthy. No injuries in this one. I don’t want to see Posspacil hit perfetti from behind or any garbage like that. That cuz that’s never happened before, right? With is he in the lineup? Pospasil with Cal. Look, he is a top five rat in the league. Um there’s a few like long-term lifetime achievement award rat winners like Brad Marshand. Um Pospasil. Absolutely. He took a shot at Eers too early on in his care. We don’t have a lot of time for that guy. But yes, let’s get through this. You’re already without Taves. You’re already without Dylan Samberg. Um, no more injuries. And I, for one, will be very happy at the final buzzer to put the preeason behind us and get ready to drop the puck on uh on an 82 game regular season beginning next week right here in Winnipeg. We will touch on that in just a minute and hear from Scott Arneal uh as well as Luke Shen and Parker Ford. Um but Remo, just quickly back to last night, absolutely crazy NFL game last night. I mean, everyone had left the NerS for dead. I’m sure Connor will have something to say for this. And by the way, he was one of the people that had the Niners left for dead despite being a hardcore Niner fan. And yet M. Jones comes out, slings it. They get up 14- nothing. The Rams get back in the game and now for the second time this season, the Rams lose a game because of their kicking game. Uh it was two blocked field goals at the hands of the Eagles a couple weeks ago and then this week they couldn’t convert a touchdown which would have put them up 2120. The game goes to overtime and they end up losing. Not to mention a fumble on the oneyd line. I mean, I don’t know how the Rams aren’t 5-0, but they’re 3-2. And San Francisco gets a massive win in the division on the road with like half of their top players not even dressed for the game. Yeah, solid night of uh sports watching last night with the Thursday nighter MLB playoffs all day on all day. The Yankees advancing to play the Blue Jays. But I thought it was a puzzling uh what fourth down call at overtime by the Rams. You have Matt Stafford who’s been cooking all night throwing to Devonte Adams, throwing to Puka Nakua and you give it to Kairen Williams who fumbled at the one already and he just runs into the ass of his O lineman and they blow it up and he gets tackled. I was very surprised after all the timeouts, you know, trying to draw him offside. I don’t mind going for it there, but you have Matt Stafford and all these great receivers and I don’t think that I mean Sean McVey said as much that it was a bad play call, but doesn’t take put the win back. So, uh, it was an entertaining game. Thursday nights usually suck. We pick the under and, uh, the second half, uh, very exciting. So, uh, no more, uh, no football tonight, no baseball tonight. We got preseason Jets, CFL two. I got a double only one game. We’ve had the double double headers. Only three games this week. Saskatchewan in Ottawa. They’ve already clinched Saskatchewan. So, but, but yeah, I’m all over the place. Entertaining NFL game. Tough for the Ram. Yeah. Listen, I mean, just back to last night. I mean, obviously, we’ll talk a little NFL with Saw later on, and we will drop the Chad’s Powers Sports Power Poll, but um the baseball was uh was awesome last night. I mean, you had the Tigers survive, the Guardians. They move on. They will take on your Mariners in the next round. Um the San Diego Padres’s I thought got absolutely hosed in the ninth inning. And I don’t know if anybody saw the scene of the umpires leaving the field. I have never seen um well in a long long time a coaching staff, a team so irate literally trying to get at the umpires the way that it looked yesterday at Wrigley as the umpires left the uh the building last night. Uh it got hairy for the Cubs in the ninth inning. uh a very controversial strikeout called that was uh clearly a ball and uh that’s part of the reason why they’re bringing in the challenge in the robot umps next year in the majors. But uh the Padres’s are done which sets up uh the uh the revenge series, the Brewers going up against their former player and manager Craig Council with the Cubs in one of the NL series and then of course it’s Philly’s Dodgers. But the main event is Blue Jays, Yankees for all of us north of the border. And Rio, I was just saying the way that this the way that if there was going to be a weekend that the Bombers were off and the last weekend for 6 months that the Jets aren’t playing, I think this is an absolutely perfect one for it because we’ve got a ton of football and of course the Blue Jays game one and game two tomorrow from the Rogers Center and Sunday from the Rogers Center. So, uh, it’ll be sort of nice to focus on those things and then we get back to following the Bombers push to the playoffs and the start of the road for Winnipeg next week in the National Hockey League. Yeah, Blue Jays playing at 30:08 Central time. And nice that Sports is going to have their regular crew for this one. You’re going to get, you know, Buck and uh, Dan. You’re not going to get the US call, the Fox call. So, they’re putting that in. I think that’s the prime time. Those are on Fox. So, uh, excited for the baseball playoffs, you know, last weekend of, you know, no hockey and I’ll be watching, you know, every second night glued to my TV for, uh, Dan and Kevin on TSN. So, uh, hey, it’s exciting time of year. As you said, baseball playoffs, NFL Sunday, you need a lot of TVs and, uh, you know, for tablets or computers all around. Um, if you want, go uh go to the Bills to Twitter feed. I’m not sure if you’ve seen this, folks, but uh Remo, there’s a tweet from five hours ago that the Buffalo Bills tweeted out. Um and it’s got a picture of Josh Allen. It’s got a picture of Vlatty Guerrero and it says, “Good luck in the playoffs, Blue Jays.” With the quote, “Good luck to our friends up north and go Bills x Blue Jays.” the comments on this. I don’t know how they were able to trigger the fans so much. Uh they claiming to be the only New York team and uh I would say 99.9% of the comments are outraged that the Buffalo Bills would publicly support the Canadian Toronto Blue Jays as opposed to the New York Yankees. But, uh, the triggering is real. People are ready to go. I just got a text from Ken. I knew that he would find a way to get to game one as well. So, make sure to be following at Weebs World for the latest from the from the ballpark this week. But, uh, you know, listen, football’s usually the big deal right now, right before hockey season. I don’t think there’s any question what’s going to be the number one story in Canadian sports this weekend. It’s going to be two g two games against the Yankees in the dome. in of course the first ever playoff series between the two AL East rivals. Yeah, surprised to see that they never played uh in the playoffs, you know, especially during the Blue Jays heyday what in the late 80s, early 90s. They did have that one series, you know, 10 years ago and again in 2022. So I mean the Blue Jays hadn’t been in the playoffs a lot when the Yankees were ruling the division and you not a lot of teams made the playoffs then as well. They have had the expanded teams. So now you get uh matchups you’ve never seen before and new teams coming in. So should be pretty awesome. Uh everyone’s getting Blue Jays Fior. I remember 2015 people were hopping on. We’re going to parties. People are talking about I think you’re talking to people now and I think people are certainly getting excited. Um you know Connor and Liss were down having some fun with the moose today for Moose Media Day. Uh, I’ll have plenty of content uh on Sunday live and on the channels and our socials as we’ve moved forward. You know, I was going to get to Scott Arneal first, but I think Conor’s ready to go, so we’re going to bring him in a little early and then we’ll hear from the coach before Brandon Riki jumps on with us a little bit later on today. You know what? Before we bring in Connor, uh, let me remind you folks that next Thursday is not only the Jets home opener, but it is also the next deadline for early bird and super bonus prizes for the HSC millionaire lottery. The super bonus worth over $73,000. Deadline for that one is Thursday, October 9th. The next early bird prizes will include your choice of a Toyota 4Erunner SR5 valued at over $57,000 or an amazing package of a Jets game suite for 12 with food and beverage credit, $1,000 Jets Gear gift card, $25,000 in Indeerno travel vouchers, and $20,000 cash or $55,000 cash. And there’ll be four more winners of gas and groceries from Red River Co-op um is as well four $1,000 prizes. Um the deadline for that one again is Thursday, October 9th at midnight. You’ll be in for that, the Gray Cup bonus, the other early bird prizes, and of course the grand prize to become Manitoba’s newest millionaire. your choice of one of five dream home packages of the of $1.5 million value, four in the greater Winnipeg area, one on Vancouver Island, or $1.25 million cash. So, get your tickets now before Thursday. hscmillionaire.com or pop by London Drugs or Red River Co-op to get those in person. hscmillionaire.com supporting Manitoba’s Hospital, the Health Sciences Center. Uh, of course the Jets are moving out to Calgary and then back home to get ready for the season. If you’ve got a move for you and your family, holler at our friends at Roly’s Transfer, the most trusted name in moving in Manitoba for over 60 years. Familyowned and operated, Roies has been doing it. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll get moved in the Winnipeg Sports Talk truck that’s been on the streets. Um, hit up, request an estimate at rollies.com. put in the promo code WST for a special discount for your for our listeners for moving services and moving supplies and then let them know when and where you’re moving and what needs to go. And the friendly staff at Rolies will turn it around quick with a great quote and get you the white glove treatment that uh Ry’s customers have been enjoying now into their seventh decade. For all your moving needs, make it Roly’s. Find out more. Request an estimate today over at rollies.com. And hey, big shout out to Terry, Dr. Terry and the gang at St. Patel Dental Center. I always love it when WSTers book appointments around 300 p.m. on Friday afternoon. So, while Dr. Terry can work on their grill, they can watch the marble race, of which there is great support at St. Patel Dental Center. Listen, St. Mattel Dental Center has been serving generations of Manitobans. And if you’re looking for a great long-term dental practice to take care of you and your family, uh, you couldn’t find a better one. With their brand new location at 167 St. and ans road with state-of-the-art equipment and convenient free parking right behind the building. Got you covered for patients from 6 months to 99 plus with everything from cleanings and checkups to things like dental implants for all your dental needs. Give our pals at St. Patel Dental Center a call or order online or sorry, book an appointment online and find out more online at stel dental.ca. All right, let’s head out to the Hockey for All Center right now and welcome in Connor Rabchack. And I do want to get to the latest on the Jets and how media day went this morning. But uh Connor, I’m sure you will admit that you had completely written off your football team last night and then that happened. What an insane victory. Absolutely insane, Hus. I I still can’t believe that they actually won it. I even told you to take the Rams in their in your survivor pool. I’m glad that luckily I didn’t you you were locked out. Yeah, I remember you saying that earlier. Uh yeah, I mean I I fresh off of playing wide receiver last night for the 49ers basically. Like they were picking up guys off the street putting up 100 plus yard games. Kendrick Bourne wasn’t on a team a few weeks ago and he had 142 yards. Like I I still can’t believe that they won that game. M. Jones was like hurt like like he was hobbling. We all saw it. He was grabbing at his knee the whole game. Went into overtime. I I don’t know man. I I’m still at a loss for words and it’s been a whirlwind day here. I haven’t even had time to think about the 49ers, but I’m just so glad they won. So, yeah. Well, I figured I would not just overlook that. I would expect that if that was a Chiefs team that did that and I was jumping on, you would say quickly, how about that game last night? Wild win, big feather in the cap for Kyle Shanahan. And the Rams, the fact that that team isn’t 5-0 right now, the way that they found ways to lose is uh pretty incredible. And those two losses could be massive down the stretch depending on who’s going to win the division home field in the playoffs and more. We’ll get to the NFL with Hacksaw and some baseball later on today. But uh how was mixing it up with the moose today? Uh Remis and I had a lot of fun at media day last year and I know uh you and Liss were fun to connect with many of the young men that’ll be wearing the antlers to start the season. Yeah, it was an absolute blast, Hus. I’m not going to lie. And I I know you guys were here last year and I unfortunately wasn’t there last year. So for me to have this experience has been so much fun. There’s the the photo there. I caught up with Jared Anderson Dolan and Thomas Millet. List caught up with Isaac Phillips, Colobby Barlo, Isaac Poulter. Uh it was a it was a super fun day and we have tons of content coming out uh on WC Sunday Live. I’m sure we’ll upload these as regular videos as well on the channel. Uh and I’m super excited for people to see them. Obviously a down year for the Moose last year. This group sounds motivated. They sound ready to avenge what happened last season. They’re ready for a bounce back. Um, and a guy like Jared Anderson Dolan, you know, I asked him about the playoffs last year and and scoring a goal in the white out and what it’s like playing in front of that crowd and coming back. Jared Anderson Dolan, also a player that was claimed off of waiverss one time in his career. I asked him what that experience is like as an NHL player. It’s it’s largely a unique one. Thomas Militch, I asked him about his World Junior Championship run with Canada with the Connor Bard year in Halifax. Got some great stuff there. Um and Jared Anderson do Dolan on getting claimed on waiverss had a really funny story. So you’ll have to check it out. Uh this Sunday I think we’re going to premiere the Thomas Militch and Kobe Barlo interviews live on WSC Sunday live. You won’t want to miss it. So tune in then. Uh absolute blast here today picking up uh with the Manitoba Moose players. Yeah, as I mentioned a very busy weekend as we expand more programming on Winnipeg Sports Talk. Tomorrow 11:00 a.m. our NHL futures preview with Pat, Jake, and myself. Uh, that’s going to drop right after Legal Curve. So, if you want to mix it up in the chat with the gang, 11:00 a.m., you’ll be able to do that tomorrow. And then, of course, Sunday A.M., set your alarms. 9:00 a.m. Connor and List with another edition of WST Sunday Live. Uh, one more kick at the cat for the Jets in the preseason. Uh, as Reema said earlier, I don’t even care what happens in this game tonight. Just let this team get through it unscathed. get to that third period buzzer and then move on. But from the sounds of it, and we’ll hear from Scott O’Neal in a minute, this uh basically seems like this is going to be the uh planned look barring any sort of injuries for opening night. Yeah. And he didn’t, you know, confirm that these are the lines, but it it does look that way. And he did say that this is, you know, mostly a dress rehearsal tonight. As for the decor specifically, he was asked if this is the plan for opening night or at least to start the season. and he kind of just gave an answer like we’ll let these guys battle it out and see what happens. Um, I’m sure Scott Neil shares the same thought as you and all of us that what you you just got to get through tonight’s game healthy. I mean, the best part of preseason is going to be tonight at 11:00 when it finally ends. That’s that’s the highlight of everyone’s preseason when it’s over. Um, and I’m just excited to get on to the regular season and yeah, this is the lineup I think you can expect to see opening night and then if Jonathan Taves uh returns from his injury, he’s dayto-day with a lower body injury. Did not skate today. Scar Neil said if he’s playing obviously the the plan there is for him to be on that second line between Perfetti and Nyquis and kind of push everyone down the lineup. Nemesis down to the third line Baron down to the fourth line and I’m really interested in Parker Ford Hus. Parker Ford is going to be skating as the fourth line center tonight over a guy like David Gustoson. And on WST Sunday live on the WST daily show we’ve talked about how you can mostly just look at who’s waiver exempt and who’s not and pick out the roster. Well, Parker Ford doesn’t need waiverss and a guy like David Gustoson would. So, if he were to win a job, that would be a big deal. Um, and Parker Ford has a big chance tonight in Calgary on that fourth line. We’ll see how much they play. I’m sure the Jets are going to manage the minutes well. They don’t want any of their star players getting hurt either. Uh, I’m going to be watching Parker Ford, fourth line center, who’s vying for a job and and might with a strong performance tonight might win one. You know, as Mike McIntyre pointed out earlier, um, you know, I think obviously the top nine for this game pretty much set. I think Cole Kepky’s looked really good. You can pretty much put him in an ink. You know, I was still, you know, interested to see. I think Tanner Pearson is going to get the crack the opportunity at the start. We’ll see how that goes. But yeah, the fact that Gus isn’t in this game and Parker Ford is shows that he has done uh a lot to help his cause in the eyes of the coaching staff. And you know, and I’m not sure I haven’t really asked around what we think of, you know, certain players passing through waivers. I mean, the big question was, would Villy get through waivers? I mean, assuming that somebody from the blue line is going to get sent down, you know, if Parker Ford is going to be in that opening night lineup, um, you know, that will make for some tough tough decisions. Albeit, I guess if Taves is not able to go, they can retroactively put him on IR to last week and sort of kick the can down the road to protect their assets. But for me, Connor, a real huge opportunity for that fourth line. I mean, Ford and Pearson because, you know, Lambert, Chibberov, um, Walker Der, um, and David Gustiffson all still with the club right now would love more opportunities to show what they can do. But I think this is a little bit of a tip of the hand from the coaching staff that up until this point with this essentially being the final act of training camp in the preseason, this is the lineup that considering with the injuries they’ve have that’s going to be thrown out on the ice today against Calgary. Yeah. And obviously with the Dylan Samberg injury and and the unknown of tonight’s game, they’re never really going to say that this is the lineup because anything can happen tonight, right? Parker Ford can go out and score a hat-tick and obviously that would go a long way to earning him a role. A guy like Cole Kepky though, Hus, has really impressed me throughout camp going all the way back to the opening Thursday of camp. He’s shown poise with the puck. He hustles very very well for a fourth liner. That’s exactly what you want from those energy guys at the bottom of your of your lineup. And the his most recent games, he’s really impressed me. So, I’m I’m excited to see if he can carry that through tonight. And then a guy like Parker Ford, like what if there’s chemistry there? What if Jonathan Taves isn’t ready for the start of the regular season? This might be something that the Winnipeg Jets have to explore to start the season here. So Jonathan Tave still dayto-day not skating as Scardon told us earlier today. Not yet. Again, reading off of tone, body language, all those things, doesn’t seem like he’s overly concerned about this, you know, leaking over into the regular season. We still are, you know, 6 days away from opening night. Um, so that gives Taves plenty of time to recover in time for that first game. But if he’s unable to and they retroactively put him on IR, like you said, Hus, uh, look for Parker Ford or David Gustoson or any of those guys to, you know, battle for a job and and potentially win it. And that battle has been going on throughout camp. And clearly with Parker Ford getting the nod tonight, the Jets think he’s a step ahead of Gus. You know, um, you know, just speaking about the center position for a minute, um, you know, we’ve got Vlad in between Perfetti and Nyas, that was the place where Taves has been skating and presumably SL slides in. um to begin. Uh we’ve also got Morgan Baron between Ayafallow and Netheriter and then Ford in that fourhole. I mean I is this as simple as if Taves comes back in he’s in between Perfetti and Nyquist and we just slide Nether Vlad and Baron down a line. I do think so Hus. I do think it’s that simple. I think the Taves line has been together throughout camp. Nyquist and Perfetti with Taves. They’ve played together many games. And the same can be said for those other two lines. The Baron Keepky Pearson lines played a game together. The Nino uh Vlad I follow line played in Edmonton in their road game. So I do think that that’s the Winnipeg Jets plan A when it comes to their forward core and I would not be shocked if Jonathan Taves is there on opening night if that’s how the lineup shakes out and I think that’s what Scott O’Neal would prefer. But again, there’s been battles throughout camp and Parker Ford clearly a guy that if Taves isn’t ready to go, they think he can be ready for that fourth line role. Uh Hella Buck’s ribs all in place. Uh and he’ll be he’ll be the guy tonight. That was ridiculous. Like I I was standing there in the scrum. He’s like, “Yeah, I just had a rib out of place and went to the chiropractor, snapped it back back cracked five minutes and was back before practice ended.” I was like, “What?” Like that that sounds so painful. I don’t know if anyone has Okay, just on that I tweeted out cuz that shocked me. I like what a ri out of place. That sounds a little concerning. But I did just sort of quote tweet Mitch’s tweet and said, “Excuse me.” And it blew me away. Now, Liz said, “Yeah, that happens to me all the time.” I assumed that that was a joke. But then I saw some of these other people. Oh, it’s a chiropractic term. I’ve had it before. An adjustment just puts it back into alignment. Uh Jamie Sigmars, when I used to play, that was a common occurrence. Quick chiro adjustment and all is well. Uh and then there was people saying a baby back rib and some other things. But and you go back, you go back to Scott Neil saying, “Well, he didn’t quite feel right.” Like, yeah, no duh. get a rip out of play. It’s like this makes a lot more sense. Like it it’s crazy. I uh but anyways, bottom line, you know, there’s a couple big-time players, Dylan Samberg and Adam Lowry out for the team for this foreseeable future. Uh fingers crossed that Jonathan Taves will be good to go. Uh but death taxes and 37 in the Winnipeg Jet Net. And uh one final pre primer for him. He’s only played the one game that was the one we were wondering whether he would actually play in earlier this week. um he’s still the hard trophy winner and he’s still the MVP of this Winnipeg Jet team. And for all the consternation about some of the other um spots in the lineup and how things are going to look with Dylan Samberg out, it’s always uh when Conor Hobson, he’s always giving you a chance to win and they’ll look to try to, you know, have that sort of performance tonight in what will be as close to a simulation of a regular season game as we’ll get during the uh during the preseason. Yeah. And when we spoke to Connor Halabuk the other day during that scrum where he said he had a rib out of place and then ended up being fine. Uh one thing that he was asked about by Jamie Thomas from the Winnipeg Jets is you know there’s this break between this game the final preseason game and the first regular season game for the Winnipeg Jets which is next Thursday. And Connor Hellbuk we know is a rhythm goalender. He likes to play every other night. He likes to play three four games a week. We’ve seen this in his games played total that has become a massive discussion on this program for years and years. Is Conor Hellbug playing too much? Well, he likes playing that much. He likes being in rhythm. And this is a a scenario where he’s going to play these two preseason games, but then he’s going to get a full week off almost before the first regular season games. So, it’s key for him to make it through the game, get in rhythm, get as as as game acclimated as he can get in the preseason here despite the long break. Uh, and just last thing on Connor Halbug, I spoke with Thomas Milich here, another goalender in the organization. was great asking him about, you know, sharing the crease with Connor Hellbuck training camp, how he, you know, bounces ideas off of a MVP. Like, if you’re a goalender in this organization and you have the MVP at the same position as you, that’s got to be a massive advantage. And Thomas Millis just raved about how nice Connor Halabuk is and and the advice that he gives them and all those things. So, it’ll be a great conversation. And, uh, yeah, look for 37 to start tonight’s game, the home opener, and a lot more after that, for sure. Yeah, it’s funny. I mean, for a mil a guy in Mil’s situation, uh, there’s good and bad. The great is that you can learn from the best goalie in the world. The bad is that starting job ain’t opening up anytime soon right now. But hey, listen, he’s got some work to do as so many players with the Moose do. Um trying to get to the National Hockey League first and foremost. And that journey will be beginning next week for Manitoba as well in a big opening weekend uh with both the Jets and the Moose kicking off their seasons at Canada Life Center. I’ll get you get let you get back to business there at the Hockey Forall Center. Say what’s up to Lis. Looking forward to uh WST Sunday live 900 a.m. on Sunday. Uh don’t have too much fun on Saturday night. Sounds good. And we’ve got a nice Chud’s powers sports poll cooked up for Sunday along with these these interviews that Liz is she’s going to come here. Hold on. Liz and I did the interviews today. She’s here. Liz, let’s get a quick update. Okay, she’s gone. She can’t hear me. Yeah, just How did it go today? Oh, it was wonderful. Shout out to the moose crew. We had a blast this morning here. That’s good. I know you guys have been cooking up the power pole and everything else for Sunday live. So, uh, we’ll look forward to joining you guys for a cup of coffee on Sunday morning and getting ready for the upcoming season. Connor, have a good one. Thanks, guys. Talk to you later. All right, there’s Connor Rabchek down at the Hockey for All Center. And uh you know, while we stay on topic of tonight’s game and the Jets finishing up their training camp, um let’s hear from Scott Arneal uh who of course spoke before heading out to Calgary. And you know, here’s what Arie was asked if this is uh basically the lineup that looks to take the ice on opening night uh barring Jonathan Tay’s return. Yeah, pretty much. Um, you know, they obviously when you get later in camp, uh, you know, we had talked to veterans about how many games, some were playing two, some were playing three. So, really kind of falls into a lot of those guys, uh, need this second game to kind of get themselves ready for next week. Um, yeah, it’s kind of what we’ve done in the past, try to put as uh, as close to our lineup as possible. So, again, not reading too much into it. The fact Parker Ford’s in the lineup and on your fourth line tonight as a centerman, is that a testament to the camp that he’s had? Yeah, it’s been part of it. Obviously, we’ve been throwing him in the in the center ice position, something he’s has played before and wanted to see that. Um, you know, was hoping that Jonathan was going to be available, but just another opportunity for young guy to go and show what he can do and um I think he’s had a good camp and just kind of play it uh through each day. Plan for hell to probably play the whole game tonight. Okay. Um, and would Jonathan have skated on his own today or no? There is uh Scott O’Neal. Uh just some rest for Jonathan Taves and uh as I said, fingers crossed we’ll get back to work next week and the team will be on the ice skating, getting ready for the Dallas Stars and number 19 will be back out there, but that’s something we’ll be monitoring all week here on Winnipeg Sports Talk. Uh Dylan Samberg’s not going to be back for 6 to 8 weeks, which leaves a gaping hole beside Neil Pian on that second pairing uh tonight. It’s Logan Stanley. And by the uh by what we’ve heard, that could very well be the way things start. Uh Arie was asked about Stan getting the opportunity to play with Neil Peon and Samberg’s absence. Yeah, I mean the other night we uh obviously with Sammy getting hurt the mini game, we, you know, we had all three defenseman in there staying um you know, Flurry and uh and Villi and kind of give them a chance. And then again, I want to run it again here and see with uh with Stan size and you know, P’s uh P’s mobility. Got the same thing with the other pair with Luke’s size and and Flurry’s mobility. Um just kind of still kind of playing along with that right now and see how it kind of works ourselves out. Weren’t really expecting this uh with Sammy being hurt. So, it’s just something we’re playing a little bit of catch up and seeing what kind of works with each group. So, not necessarily this arrangement for opening night next week. Yeah. we’ll just you know what give these guys just like we talk about anybody you get an opportunity um put in front of you take advantage of it so um I I the fact that they you know were together the other night allows them to kind of be together again tonight all right and of course Billy Han and Colin Miller the other pairing which makes eight defenseman um I think for a long time we’d assumed it would be 13 and eight might it be 14-7 Scott Arneal was asked how he thinks that’ll shake out by the time when they do their roster cut down. We’ll see. We’ll see. That’s decisions. Uh obviously waiverss falls into this. Um we actually honestly we’ve been this been thrown around for the last couple of days here. We’re not sure where we’re at with it. Um some guys there’s lots of guys that have had really good camp. So we’re going to kind of watch that game tonight. Uh re-evaluate everybody uh throughout this past probably the last 10 days and and just make a decision. Um, you know, like I said before, how we start the year isn’t always how we may look in in October and November, sorry, November, December. And so, we’ll just kind of we got to talk to management, talk to the coaches, and kind of take it after tonight. He’s good. He’s frustrated. Obviously, everybody, you train so hard and so excited about coming out here. I mean, he’s uh just a new homeowner, uh you know, new contract, all that stuff. Just want to get off to a great start. Yeah. So, he’s he’s frustrated, but at the end of the day, it I’m glad that it’s this early and hopefully you can get him back in a half decent timeline, right? Uh Luke Shen also spoke. He’ll of course be uh playing with Hayden Flurry on his side. Uh Luke Shen was just asked if it’s going to feel more like a regular season game with the projected lineup all together and on the roster and in the game tonight. I think so. I think everyone’s kind of got the same goal in mind where yeah, you definitely want to get, like I said, your timing down and uh be sharp out there and um yeah, like you said, the the regular season’s around the corner yet. You know, we still got some practices, but this is sort of the final, I guess, uh tuneup before it. So, yeah, it’s uh like I said, it’s there’s a lot that goes into it. You know, you haven’t played with certain guys uh in the preseason so far. Um everyone’s still kind of getting the timing down, the systems, just all that sort of stuff. Yeah, we practice it all the time, but it obviously is a lot different in game action. So, um yeah, we’re we’re uh excited to get going tonight and um hopefully finish it off on the right foot here. Right there is big Luke Shen who’ll be in the lineup tonight. And of course, Parker Ford, as we just mentioned, is going to be getting the uh the nod as the fourth line center tonight with Jonathan Taves out. Here’s Ford forward on uh getting the opportunity to play in this final preseason game. Yeah, I think it’s a great opportunity. Um, you know, I just got to continue to do my thing and um, you know, show them that I’m a reliable forward and can do my job. And your job has has now added uh, centerman to the mix. I know it’s something you’ve played before, but just take us through that process when they talk to you about maybe playing some center here in camp and preseason and how comfortable has that been for you? Yeah, it’s definitely an adjustment in the pro level. I played center pretty much my whole career leading up. So, I’m definitely comfortable there, but um there’s definitely lots more um responsibility in the Dzone and just little things that uh you have to kind of pick up and uh yeah, but like I said, I’m super comfortable there and uh taking face offs is something I like to do and uh one of my strong suits. So, I’ve liked it so far. Ford has been good in the dot as well and I think that has turned some heads although I think Gus was five for five in his last game as well. Um, so tonight one final game in Calgary. It is back on the tube. So you won’t have to go to the website for for tonight’s broadcast. And of course Paulie will have the call on 680 CJ OB. All right, we’re going to talk to our pal Brandon Rowiki coming up. Jeff Hamilton uh little Dober hockey um segment and Lee Hackoff. So we’ve got lots to get to. Do want to thank Princess Auto for their great support of WST and of course the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Princess Auto Stadium, sold out every game this year. The home of the blue and gold. And of course, Princess Auto is the place where you’ll find the best deals on the most unique assortment of tools and equipment around. Everything you need to complete the projects on your list or start something new is at Princess Auto. So, pop by and see them. Panet Road, Portage Avenue West, or out in Brandon. And of course, you can always shop online 24/7 365 over at princessauto.com. Um, I know we were talking about some of those fun toys over at Chud’s Powersports. Well, you got to have batteries for your toys. And you certainly need to have a powerful battery to get you through the Manitoba winter. And it is just around the corner. Wondering how your battery’s doing? Pop by Manitoba Battery for a free battery testing. And if you do need a new battery, you’ll have the opportunity to get the best price in town, period, on your battery by shopping local at Manitoba Battery. As Donnie always says, “Wake up Winnipeg and stop wasting time and money shopping at the big box stores when you’ve got a local option with two locations, Logan Avenue, Dover Court Drive, with the best prices in town. Period. And of course, Manitoba Battery can also deliver those batteries to you anywhere inside the perimeter. So, pop by and see them in store, give them a call, or order online today at manitoba battery.com. Hey, as we get into the weekend, mid eve, you might be popping by your local Manitoba liquor marts. Folks, if you are, make sure to keep your eyes out for the Canadian Club display and the limited edition Blue Bomber label. Canadian Club, of course, CC is the official spirit of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers available throughout Princess Auto Stadium. And the Blue Bomber label bottle is now up and available while supplies last in store. So, pick that up. Get ready for the push to the playoffs. Gay Cup week for Canada’s original Canadian whiskey since 1858. Canadian Club. And while you’re at it, keep your eyes out for that Canadian Club Pack. Still some great weather, some more summer drinks still on the menu as we get into October. All right, let’s uh connect with our pal Brandon Rowiki, who now joins us, the host of Skates and Plates. Ru, what’s going on? How are you? I’m doing good, man. How are things over there? Well, listen, dude. This is the best time. I mean, I often say April is the best time. You know, we got the Masters, the hockey playoffs are starting, and we’re just about done winter, but I got to tell you right now, I mean, with everything going on with the crazy stretch in the CFL, the NFL in full force, starting this Jay series this weekend, Major League Baseball playoffs, and getting ready to drop the puck on hockey season. This has been a pretty fun stretch as we’ve gotten into September so far. Yeah, you know, I I mean, you know, I love my masters. Um, and it’s it’s tough to have have anything top that. Um, but this is the best time of the year on the sports calendar. I mean, come on. It it just has to be. And especially with like the weight of hockey to get started and then like you said, everything else going on. I mean, the RDER Cup just wrapping up too. What a crazy I mean, listen, I love the Masters. To me, the Ryder Cup is just above everything just because and it meant it had it all. Uh if we thought that maybe we would see a kindler gentler gentler New York fan uh because it’s a golf tournament. Uh definitely not. Got a little ugly there. But uh man, Rory and the Euros got the last laugh. Yeah, just a little bit. E although I mean could you imagine if they had pulled off the Sunday miracle come? I mean that would have just been I I don’t even want I’m not even going to contemplate what could have happened there. But, um, yeah, I was I was rooting for the Europeans all weekend long. Give Rory credit, man. I mean, it’s he’s one of those guys, too. He’s almost like Buff where it’s like just leave him alone. Like, don’t I know like he’s the the head of the the European team and everything like that, but especially when those bozos on on one of the Saturday matches are chirping them, chirping them, and then he dials one into two feet away for a tap in victory. Like he’s got the f up. It throws a dart to three feet for the win. Yeah, that that was that was a Mroy like I’m trying to tell you guys how to watch this rider come here if you want the Americans to pull off a win. But it is nice as well to see the um by annual um how can the how can the Americans fix their RDER Cup team and how can American golf find a way to compete with what the Euros are doing. It I will say this, it was shocking. I mean having been like I was in Hazelene in 2016. I was in Whistling Straits in 2021. Um, like it was nothing like what Beth Paige was. It was truly one of the great things I’d ever been a part of and there was nothing even close to that. Uh, of course they won and I mean just before we move on to hockey, uh, I basically cashed my Europe tickets on Saturday evening. I could not believe the sweat and credit to those guys. I mean, they can’t play where as a team, but you throw them out by themselves and uh pretty good golfers and uh man, we had to sweat it out. But let’s get to this upcoming season. Hard to believe, man. We’re going into year 15 of Winnipeg Jets 2.0 hockey uh with the home opener on Thursday. When you put it that way, it is a little hard to believe. Um, but it’s it’s almost here and it’s, you know, you would have liked to have had a little more I think of a optimistic start to the year in the sense of, you know, the Taves tweak. We’ll call it that for right now. Like it’s like we could have done without that for a couple of weeks at least. And then Samberg’s injury. I mean, Samberg’s just tough to replace, right? But I mean outside of that, like if you’re looking back at the last 15 season openers, yes, it’s not, you know, I think as this team isn’t as much of a formidable contender as they were back in 171, 18 going into that year where it was, you kind of got the sense like this team could be special, which is funny to say coming off a president’s trophy win. Um, but I think there’s still a lot to be excited for and and despite the West being a little more competitive this year than last. You know, this this team is still set up well to have themselves a really really remarkable season. I don’t think it’ll reach the regular season heights of last year. Doesn’t have to. And honestly, don’t care either because we we’ve done the President’s Trophy thing. Let’s do the deep playoff run this year. And they’ve still got pieces to make that happen. Obviously, they need some good fortune and I think some external additions, but all in all, I do think despite a so- so preseason fans should still be pretty jacked up to get this baby underway. Yeah, you know what? It’s funny. I mean, the uh you know, we uh we’ve got our WST winners, our NHL futures preview uh that’s dropping tomorrow right after a legal curve 11:00 a.m. on the YouTube channel. And going through, you know, the landscape of the National Hockey League, especially with the Barov injury in Florida, I mean, I can honestly say this is as wide open as it has been in a long time. And maybe this is the salary cap, you know, kind of making a very even playing field. And I know people are going to talk about some advantages for other teams, but I mean, I go over to KB, you got Carolina, Edmonton at 8:1, Colorado and Vegas at 9 to1, Florida and Dallas at 10, Tampa 12, Jersey 14, Leafs 17, and then the Jets and Kings at 20 to1. I mean, there is there’s certainly no clear favorite right now. And a large grouping of teams that you could absolutely make an argument with a few good breaks and staying healthy could be a team that, you know, is at the top of the regular season at the end. So, I am I’m fascinated. Part of the reason why I brought up the fact that we’re 15 years in is thinking back to what started it all, and that of course was the the return of the Jets on on May 31st. Do you remember what you were doing on the 31st of May back in 2011? I I I do actually. Um and uh it’s funny. I I remember how the day started too actually. You know, it was it was funny. I was one of my um back back when we were still with I think it was wasn’t even TSN 1290. It was No, we were sports radio 1290 then. That’s what it was. Yeah. And so I had a I had a rare day off and um it the news kind of became official. It was a quick shotgun in my kitchen sink and then I was off to downtown with pretty much the rest of Winnipeg to get the party started. Speaking of that, speaking of that, uh, Remo, if you could throw this up. I was doing some cleaning the other day and I found an uh, an addition of the Winnipeg Sun from June 1st, 2011 and I’m just leafing through it and I see this picture. I’m like, that’s for Wiki. Um, can you confirm that is you, isn’t it? Yeah. as as I told as I told some people that uh bring that up every once in a while. That’s about uh let’s see 15 years and 40 pounds of dough. So that’s yeah that’s that’s about right. Shout out Slicer, shout out Rossy. Shout out Sniffler. Um the whole crew is down there and I totally forgot that picture existed. But yeah, I I had so much fun going through the free press of the sun that day. I mean I guess I just made a point. Hey, this is your big day for Winnipeg. and I threw a couple of those in a box and I went through them and it was just such a a fun run through a bit of a time machine on uh what was I mean I think we’ll look back maybe the most magical year. I mean I guess if the team can run the table and win the cup at some point that’ll compare to it but that day that summer that first season um it was so much fun. I mean now been in the league for a while it’s like act like you’ve been here it’s time to win some games. Um, listen, you kind of laid it out. Uh, winning a President’s Trophy again, I mean, hey, listen, it would give you a good spot in the playoffs and go forward to, but listen, this is a team that is in a little bit of transition, but still with a very solid base of star players that have been uh the basis of their competitive run over the last number of years. just give me your thoughts on the landscape of the Central Division right now because of course the Jets won it last year. Um they’re six to1 to win it. You’ve got Dallas and Colorado who are kind of clearly at least according to the bookies a level above. Um nothing you can take for granted in this division starting right out of the gate in game number one. Yeah. And and just a quick aside, I I do remember I was wearing a Lyall Moffett Jets jersey in that. You want to talk about deep cut? A one of one. Yeah. I might have been the I was probably the only person in the city wearing a lal mop and jets. Um the Central is a beast. It it it’s you know, you look at the divisions. The Central and the Atlantic are are clearly the two most competitive divisions from from top to bottom. You know, I just don’t think you can make I don’t think you can make a compelling case that Winnipeg’s on the level of Dallas and Colorado right now. I I just think, you know, I I think the Jets are a playoff team for sure, but Dallas and and the Avalanche, I mean, their their weaknesses with the rosters they put together are are very minuscule and and nitpicky, whereas I think the Jets do have some legitimate holes. They’ve got high-end talent as we saw last year, but I think their holes are just a little too steep compared to what the teams above them have. Um, I’m a big believer in the Blues this year, man. I I I think they’re going to be a very very tough out. I don’t think they’re I think people will look back at that first round last year, Hus, and say the Jets did pretty good taking that Blues team down. Like I don’t think that was just St. Louis showing up for seven games. I personally think that’s a, you know, depending on what side you’re on, a harbinger of of doom potentially and that they’re going to carry through that momentum and I think they’re going to be I I think they’re going to finish ahead of Winnipeg this year in in the standings. So that then pushes the Jets down to one of those precarious positions, right, where, you know, you’re you’re in a wild card spot officially. Um, but I do think they are significantly better than Minnesota. I’m not buying the Utah hype, although they’ll be a decent team. I think Nashville will be better, which again makes it difficult for Winnipeg. And uh, the less said about Chicago, the better. So, you know, the the top of the division isn’t it’s actually getting stronger. So, it it’s it’s going to be a tough a tough sled for the Jets this year, but I don’t know what’s better, to go through the Central or to go through the Pacific. Like, I I and I don’t know what the answer is because Edmonton and Vegas are outstanding over there. But, it’s I just Yeah, I don’t think 110 points or so is is going to be in the cards for the Jets this year, but I also don’t think they’re going to be down to the wire, game 82, battling for a playoff spot. Yeah, it’s funny you bring up the Blues and the Mammoth. Um, one of the other things that I noticed in the to make or miss the playoffs, those two teams are pickhams. Um, same odds on either side in the exact same spot. And I’m sort of with you. I mean, I guess we’ll see. Maybe JJ Purka turns into a real superstar in Utah and all those players take that next step. And maybe it’s just from the respect that we got from that seven game series against St. Louis, which was as good as you’re going to see uh, in the National Hockey League Stanley Cup playoffs. Funny enough, it often happens in round number one. I’m sort of with you between those two teams. I’ll buy the Blues as opposed to Utah. Well, and you know, it’s nothing against Utah, but you know, it’s just funny because people see Logan Culie, for example, and they’re like, I think he’s going to explode and be 8090 point guy. Oh, you mean like Robert Thomas was who actually did it last year? Um, you know, Clayton Keller, can he do the same thing? and you go up and down their roster and it’s like everybody’s projecting all their young guys to take a step, but development isn’t always linear either. And I just think St. Louis has guys that have produced for a long enough time at the NHL level that you can bank on what you’re going to be getting from them. And I mean, don’t forget, they didn’t have Dylan Holloway at all in that series against Winnipeg. He he was basically a point of game player for them last year. So, he’s back fully healthy. Brober could potentially take another step as well. Um, and then they’ve got a great one-two punch, much better than what they have over there in Utah right now. The Mammoth D is kind of thin for me as well. And Sergeev’s had injury history. Like I I I don’t know. I think I to me Utah is just I think everybody’s jumping on a year too early. I think next year if you want to say the Mammoth take a leap, I I could agree with that, but I’m just not buying the hype train necessarily. And I actually, you know, now that we’re time removed from it, I kind of like Buffalo’s work in that Purka trade. Like, yes, they gave up the quote unquote best player, but they got a big right shot defenseman. They got a big mean power forward that can play in the middle six. You know, I Yeah, I’m just not all in on Utah like it seems a lot of other people are, but the Blues to me are, you know, Doug Armstrong’s built a really strong team. he knows what he’s doing and Monty’s one of the best coaches in the NHL. You know, just and this is a fun conversation to have just a few days before this regular season starts. Um I’m just looking and you know of teams that missed the playoffs last year. Um it seems like the books certainly think that the Rangers are going to be back. They’re at minus 200 to be a playoff team and I can sort of wrap my head around that. Let’s just take the Rangers out of the equation for a minute. Is there another team that missed the playoffs last year that you think will find themselves into the playoffs, whether it be in the East or the West? Not really. Yeah. Like, you know, I think I saw somewhere, I could be wrong, but like there’s 25% turnover from, you know, the few teams that miss make it, vice versa. And I get it, but like I just don’t really see it a ton this year. The only other, and I agree with the Rangers, but even then their their depth is brutal. Like I love their basically their starting lineup and then after that there’s a ton of question marks. But if I had to pick one, I I think I would go with Columbus. The only problem is like they’re banking on either MS Leakans to be good all of a sudden or for Jed Greavves 9 10 game sample to be the real thing. And I just that’s a that’s a tough thing for me to buy in on. But their roster I love. I think Fantelli is going to be right up there with the Chillabbrini Badar discussion officially. Wouldn’t shock me if he has a more productive year than either of those guys. That would then slot, you know, Shawn Monahan down into the second line, which I think would be a better spot for him at this point in his career. Um, you know, Winsky solidified himself as one of the top three top five defenseman on the planet. Um, and I’m a huge fan of of Denton Madachuk as well. I think he could take another step. So, the Blue Jackets would be the one team where I’m like, yeah, I could see it, but even then, like that’s such a massive question mark. Whereas Leakens, Gray, Greaves, and the Crease. So maybe this ends up being one of those outlier years where nobody really does take that next step because there was such few roster turnover this past off season. Yeah, I mean I’m not sure whether there’s a team that’s going to go full Nashville like last year with high expectations that just completely face plants. I mean when I look at the list I mean it’s one I would love to see the Buffalo Sabres finally take that next step. We’ve been waiting for we’ve been waiting for. They’re plus 250. Um, and the other team, and this kind of transition into getting your thoughts on this Jackson Lome contract and everything that’s happened, you know, this Anaheim team is pretty young, pretty exciting, and now they’ve got Quenville coming onto the side of the bench. Like, I think team, listen, I’m not about to say that they’re going to be a playoff team, but I definitely think that this Anaheim team is going to take a step forward. And uh, listen, they’ve spent some money in the past week. I mean, they kind of squeezed Mason McTavish and it took a while and then oh my god, I was not expecting a 9 by8 deal for Jackson Lome, a a player that legitimately most hockey fans probably haven’t even heard of after two years playing for the Ducks on the West Coast in games that no one’s watching. Yeah. Well, and if you did watch him though, you’re like, “Oh, that’s that’s a nice little con.” like it’s the sticker shock, but he’s a player and he kind I mean he just he came out of nowhere last year, but if you’re just looking at what he did on the ice, he performed like a number one defenseman and so to get 47 points. Yeah. And and to get a guy like that locked up, especially with some of the contracts we’re seeing now, that I mean, that’s going to be like number two, number three defenseman money pretty soon. So, I think it’s a savvy bet and I it’s it’s one of the the rare pieces of work I actually liked from from Pad Verbique. Um, I mean, there’s no doubt, too. I mean, how many teams improved in terms of coaching going from Greg Cronin to Joel Quinnville this past off season? I I don’t think it exists. I mean, the team hated him. There’s just no other way to you can’t even sugarcoat it. the players hated Greg Croin um ever since he was he was tapped to go behind the bench there. So I I think the Ducks will be a decent amount better, but I think that’s another team that’s still a year away, right? Like you’re I do too. You’re banking on Leo Carlson to go from promise to 90 point guy. Could happen. I’m not going to make that bet right now. So, I think they’ll jump up a good eight to 10 points in the standings, but that that gets you to the high 80s, low 90s, and and likely still a few points outside the playoff line. Yeah. Give me let me put a marker down on the Ducks as a playoff team in 2627. There we go. You know, but I do think I mean, they um you know, obviously there’s a lot of circumstances surrounding his availability, but Q coming back on the bench with a team like that, I think that the future is bright in Anaheim. Um, hey before we go, how you feeling about the Jays Yank Jays and the Yankees series starting tomorrow? I’m feeling a little bit worse after watching Schlitler just carve everybody up and that was that was a stud performance for a rookie in a big game like Wow. could have done I I would have much rather had an 87 bombfest and then uh but 15 innings. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But I mean, I I feel okay. At least the bats for Toronto woke up in the final couple games and so may like sometimes maybe like it’s almost good to have everybody go cold at once and it’s like we got that out of the way and now we can figure this out here. I I’m intrigued to see if the trend of the wild card teams, you know, advancing further on than the teams that took a break continues this year. uh because it’s been pretty consistent so far that it’s tough for it has been tough at least for teams with the amount of time off that they’ve had to get back into it. But I would say I’m I’m cautiously optimistic. Um you know it’s I go back to one of the games I was watching earlier this year and and Buck Martinez I think it was a Yankees out of town score and Buck was he just had enough. He’s like I don’t care what anyone says the Yankees aren’t a good baseball team. They hit home runs but they can’t do anything else. So, I’m going to stick with Buck. I’m going to say that the fielding, although the Yankee, hey, they they fielded pretty damn good last night, but I’m going to say that either a base running or a fielding error contributes to the Yankees downfall in this series and the Blue Jays do just enough to move. Yeah, I cannot wait for games one and two this weekend. And, uh, listen, can’t wait to chop it up with you all season long. Uh, new skates and plates available heading into the new season, I’m sure. Yeah, Friday is actually the release of the bold predictions episode. So, uh, if you want to laugh, it’s a it’s a good episode to tune into. Although, I do I think some of these will hit. Um, I think people will like my Winnipeg Jets one. It’s an optimistic, positive one, I would say. So, there’s the tease, folks. Uh, skates and plates wherever you get Winnipeg Sports Talk and your other favorite podcast. Have a great weekend. Uh, enjoy everything going on this weekend and we’ll uh talk to you next week once we drop the puck. Yeah, you as well. Looking forward to pug drop. We’ll talk to you. All right, good stuff with our pal Brandon. Um gang, this is a big sports weekend and as we mentioned, no Bombers uh and no Jets after tonight. Tonight though, great spot to roll into your local Boston Pizza, check the Jet game, check this big one with the Riders uh in action in Ottawa. And then tomorrow afternoon, if you’re looking for a great spot to uh get rowdy with your friends behind the Blue Jays, Boston pizzas all across the province are going to be banging with Blue Jays fans. No better place to get together with your gang to watch the big game that your local Boston Pizza. And of course, Sunday, a full slate of NFL action. Game two between the Blue Jays and Yankees. And then Chiefs Jags on Monday Night Football coming up every prime time game. Great prizes at your local Boston Pizza. And uh all playoffs long, your Blue Jays headquarters is going to be your local BP as well. Ice cold schooners, world famous BP wings, gourmet pizzas, and the best place to get together for sports watching is BP Lounge. Standing at home tonight, order and get it hot and fresh to your door online at boston pizza.com. And uh hey, I know there’s probably some people going, “Man, I’d love to get a Jay’s jersey or a lid or something like that for the playoffs.” We’ll get on down to Royal Sports before the game starts tomorrow afternoon. While you’re there, you can pick up some gear for the start of Winnipeg Jets season. Uh some awesome Bomber merch as the team pushes to the playoffs and a full array of NFL gear. And of course, the Royal for over 50 years, the number one hockey supertore in town. one stop to get ready for the upcoming season is all you need. Uh, Royal Sports 750 Pemina Highway. Pop by and see them and make sure to follow them on Instagram at Royal Sports Winnipeg for the latest merchandise drops and sale information. We’ve got Hacksaw coming up a little later on. Some fantasy hockey hammers next. First though, a big cheers to our friends at Winnipeg’s favorite local brewery, Little Brown Jug. You train day in and day out, learning new techniques, approaching new concepts, and living out the thrill of achieving your goals. Building a craft beer is no different. While you spend your hours on the ice, we spend ours here, brewing our trademark beer again, again, and again. Here’s to pushing the status quo and challenging ourselves to build something memorable. 1919 by Little Brown Jug. All right, my uh tag team partner on CFL 110, which of course is live right now as well. This week’s edition on Winnipeg Sports Talk Daily, Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press joins us. What’s going on down at the office today? Holy smokes, that was a quick intro. I rarely start there. I could have been I could have been doing some things here. Yeah, down at the I am doing some things down here. I’m down at the Winnipeg Free Press headquarters. Um we were talking off mic. I do come more than the average sport rep sports reporter as uh I also do other work outside of of of the department but uh this time I’m in as for why I’m usually in is to get some money here to get some uh expenses through. So happy to do the interview here and happy to uh eventually get some money uh back owed to me which is great. Yes indeed paid today too. Holy smokes it’s all coming up all coming up Jeff right now. Just in time for the weekend. Um, hey, uh, you know, just before we kind of get into Bombers, CFL football, um, Hammer, you know, we obviously through the CFL season have really been focusing on on the three down game, but, uh, what are your thoughts on the Jets coming up this season? Hasn’t been a great preseason with the injuries that they’ve had, and we already knew Lowry was going to be out. Samberg’s out right now. Kind of wait and see on Jonathan Taz for the opener. But, uh, I mean, they set the bar pretty high last year, uh, winning a President’s Trophy in the regular season. game one of 82 on Thursday. Where are you at on uh your expectations for what the uh Jets will do coming up this season? Yeah, you know, I’m looking forward to the new season. I think everybody gets, you know, jacked up when the when when a new fresh slate of uh of NHL comes into play. Obviously, being here in Winnipeg and and knowing the Jets better than any other team. You look at this year and and to your point, Hus, I think it’s created some some pretty heady expectations, right? Especially when you consider the expectations heading into last season. um weren’t all that high. Uh obviously were massively exceeded. Uh and then you know and then this year I mean obviously they were high but you know president’s trophy high. I I doubt that but um I’m clearly you know have lived up to those expectations last season and now have have to build on that. That’s going to be a tough a tough deal for Winnipeg. So you know I I think my expectations are tempered right now. I mean obviously with you know the news of Dylan Samberg that was a you know a mighty blow if you will uh in training camp. I know it happens and has happened to other teams as well, but that one’s a you know, we all know what this this defensive group looks like with and without um Dylan Samberg. Heck, kind of have similar conversations about when Connor Hellbuk’s out of the lineup. Obviously, I’m not putting Samberg in the same conversation as the as the reigning heart trophy winner here, but uh he obviously is a big piece. And then of course, you know, you you look at the the center, right? you look down the middle of every team and and while you know it was certainly an exciting thing to get a Jonathan Taves on the roster and and and bring him back home if you will uh he’s already dinged up right I’m sure a lot of this stuff right now is precautionary but um you know you do wonder at his age and his time away from the game how durable he will be right so it’s not it’s not the best news and then of course Adam Lowry right I mean um we all know how big of an impact he makes on the team on and off the ice to have him off the ice for you know we’ll see how long that is, maybe a month or so. Um, you know, we’ll figure that out here. But, um, so I I do think the I think the excitement is high. I think the expectations probably need to be tempered if you believe, uh, you know, this team’s going to come out of the gate, um, as hot as they were last season. Uh, not ruling that out, right? We’ve I think this team plays its best hockey when its backs are up against the wall. Uh, so maybe that early adversity will trigger something um, in this team to, you know, do better than just tread water. But I do think the expectations given some of the exits, not having a Nikolai Eers on the roster anymore. I know that’s going to hurt for some people. I’m going to be weird to obviously see him playing in Carolina. But I do think the Jets are a good team. They obviously have the, you know, great pieces and and they have um, you know, they have the right costing pieces as you look at these new contracts. Hus, which is obviously going to be a very, very interesting situation with Kyle Connor. Already is an interesting conversation. Um, but after you see what Capri off got in the 17 AAV, you have to wonder how that uh is going to trickle down to to the Winnipeg Jets in particular to Kyle Connor. No, it’s a great point. Listen, just uh I’m going to throw out the why not question of the day for not autocorp to Waverly at Waverly and McGelry uh to everybody in the chat. Uh and it is your predictions. Um let’s get a point total and where the Jets finish in the season. We’ll get to some of that in fan feedback. total uh for the books right now 98 and a half is the overunder for Winnipeg. Um so I mean there will be some regression and it is assumed but that should still make the Jets uh a strong playoff team but interested in your thoughts. Let us know for the why not question of the day in the chat. Yeah, dude. The the deals that have been dropped this week have been wild and you know there’s UFA deals and there’s RFA deals. The Jackson Lome one I think caught a lot of people off guard, but there is for that organization. Well, exactly. And the way they hardalled Mason McTavish over the course of the summer. Uh, but they got their stud young defenseman done. He’s there for uh eight years more. Um, but the Capasoft deal was the one that that, you know, sent shock waves through the league. And what’s interesting about the Connor negotiations are that, you know, we’ve really heard from a lot of the people that seemingly have uh connections to it that, you know, they’re kind of similarly on the same page for a deal in and around the Marner number, but what they’ve been going back and forth on was the structure. The Jets did not want to frontload it like so many of these deals has been have have been taken place. And then the Kappersoft deal happens. And not only is it far beyond, I think what anyone expected that he could possibly get, but it is entirely front-loaded. 16 of the 17 million every year paid on July 1st. So, I I certainly would agree that what happened in Minnesota didn’t make Larry Simmons and Kevin Shevel’s jobs any easier at finally putting this Connor contract to bed. Well, you know, and it’s, you know, I’m not going to say it’s all about timing, hus, but, you know, when you look at this situation, I mean, the Jets can can look at Kyle Connor and go, “Oh, man.” You know, like that that certainly creates our it makes our situation rough. And we all know that each situation is different. I mean, even as Capri off was trying to figure out the dollars and cents of his contract. I mean, was being compared to Conor McDavid, who all of a sudden wasn’t going to take the most money, right? wasn’t going to take this and then be 26 27 with 25 million, right? He he was going to take a friendlier deal. But it’s funny, it’s interesting now as the as the cap continues to rise, what the concessions are, right? The concessions now, as you mentioned, are upfront money, right? Bonuses, signing bonuses. Again, getting that money, letting that money, as as other guests have mentioned on your show this week and previous weeks to get that money going, right? You can make money with money. That’s why you want all that money right now so it can continue to grow so you can invest it those kind of things. So there is a big advantage to that especially if you’re like a Kyle Connor who you know when you look at Capriov’s uh number you start doing like how much how much you know you start doing the conversation if he assuming he even thinks he’s worse than him you start asking yourself well how much worse am I am I a million dollars you know worse am I two million multi you know this is what players and agents obviously do especially when there’s new precedents set the thing about Winnipeg hus and I know there’s some people who have talked about on this show I feel like that sometimes to talk a bit around it. I think when you look at the Winnipeg Jets, you look at True North, you you you I don’t want to say you immediately think of David Thompson, but when you start thinking of all the the challenges around money with the, you know, with the Winnipeg Jets and and you know, the the ticket sales and all those things and everyone always goes, “Well, just go to the Thompson family. They’re going to they’re going to cut a check.” That’s never been the case here in Winnipeg. Like, you know, it’s always obviously been somebody in the background and someone who’s who’s been part of it, but it’s been Mark Chipman and True North that have carried this franchise. It’s not like they go to David Thompson and go like I need some more money for this and they manage a business right they run a business and I just don’t think well you know I’m certainly not talking about them having shallow pockets but when you know it’s particularly when we’re talking about the comp present company here hus what I am saying is there are teams that have bigger pockets that have people who are in Mark Chipman’s position within their organization who have more money who are capable of doing that I’m not saying the Jets aren’t capable of doing that I just think it’s more challenging for them and and like a lot of businesses don’t want to set new precedents. Don’t want to set a new precedent with this contract. So the next deal whether it’s you know more than Kyle Connors or less than Kyle Connors they’re giving these upfront money. Some businesses just don’t have millions upon millions to cut a check just like that and they like the fact that it’s obviously paid over a course amount of time in case obviously uh you know yearly. But um you know it’s an interesting thing how how much of that will matter to Kyle Connor. I think we’re about to find out here hus right because I think you know if he’s going to take concessions in one place that be notably the amount of money per year the amount of money against the cap he’s probably going to want a big chunk of it in bonuses. So that’s going to be the the the conversation I’m sure is the conversation to your point to what I’ve heard to what others have heard. It doesn’t sound like Kyle Connor wants out of here. I think he likes the way he’s used in Winnipeg. He likes the players he plays with. I just think he wants a solid deal and he finds himself in a situation where he also needs to do it more than, you know, we you often hear this, right? It’s a business. This is the business part. No players are going to go to Kyle Connor and convince him to take less money, are going to be pissed off at him if he takes more money. But I think what he’s trying to figure out is what is what is respectable for the player that I am with the with the salary cap and the way it’s rising. like what is a fair deal for both sides? And of course, whether it’s your agent or him, you’re always going to want to get a little bit more than that. So, that’s I think is what’s being figured out here. It just doesn’t help when you have these big deals being signed and they have not only a higher value to them, but they also come with those kind of bonuses and money up front like we saw with Caprio. Well, and and you listen, you make a great point and I think a big part of it. Yeah. I mean, it’s not the players that are going to be saying anything. I mean, the players are going to want what’s best for him and to do well for he and his family. And he’s certainly earned it as a star player here in Winnipeg, but there’s also the conversation about what the agents are trying to do right now. I mean, listen, it is a good time to be a National Hockey League agent. I’ll tell you that much, as seen by these deals that have been been signed. And even if Kyle Connor was to say, “Guys, I don’t really care. Like, just let’s just get this thing done.” I really do think there is an internal pressure from the PA and the other agents that for these big deals that will be like the Kappersoft deal in a lot of ways precedent setting for a new market in the league that even if they were kind of fine with kind of meeting in the middle. There’s a pressure on the squeeze to continue to do what’s right for the rest of the players association and that’s bigger deals, more bonus money term, all of that. And uh I think that’s a big factor in this all as well. I Yeah, absolutely. And if you want to add another element to this, Hus, like what about the future? What about signing deals 5 years from now? Like if you’re going to sign an 8-year contract right now, what about the guy signing in four years from now? Are they going to remember four years ago that you took a haircut at a time where they’re trying to get not 5.5 million, but 8.5 million? Like where does it stop? Like who who becomes the nice guy in all this? Obviously, with your if your salary is up near the ceiling of NHL contracts, it’s a little bit easier to to to kind of make those concessions, if you will, if it’s a million, you know, whatever per season or or even more potentially. Um, but I don’t I I think this is setting the stage for for negotiations that happen in the future. That’s why no player is ever in another player’s ear saying, “Hey, man, like we got something special here. Like, you should take like a little bit less than that.” because when their time is up, they’re not going to want Buddy in their ear saying, “Hey, you know, our team’s really rolling right now. And if you, you know, if if you can sign for this, maybe Buddy can do, you know, maybe maybe we can bring this guy over and build around like it’s all situational.” And right now, what we see is a rising salary cath. And the unfortunate part for the Jets organization, and I would call this a luxury hus is the two times that they signed Mark Schiffley’s contract, right? the first time they signed his contract was right at the beginning nearing the end of when you paid for players and what they had done not what they were going to do. Right. So I and then then obviously Mark signing his deal at the same time Connor Halbuk signed his deal. We knew the salary cap was going to be rising but I do not think I know we did not know to the degree in which it would be rising and the continuous degree in which it would be rising. Right. So, no longer can can um can can Mark Chipman or or Larry Simmons or any of the management team or or you know, Kevin Chevel off obviously notably um is going to be able to look and be like this is what we’re paying Mark now. like the e the economics are so whacked from that contract since signing that contract that anybody goes there whether you’re a Dylan Samberg a Kyle Connor a Morgan Baron whatever everybody’s pay got knocked up a little bit just based on the increase in the salary cap. So I just think you know to your point about the agent having an idea of things. I’m sure Kyle has an idea of things. Obviously they have conversations. It’s not like the the the agent is going rogue, but it will get to a situation has when you when the negotiation as it continues on, if it delays that eventually Kyle’s going to have to say something. That’s what happens here. You eventually break the silence by saying, you know what, this is where we’re at. Okay, I’d take that concession. The thing is is does Kyle Condor need to do that before the season starts? Do the Jets want him to? 100%. But does he need to? No. And we also live in a in a professional sports economy where if you get injured in this year, you’re not losing out on your money in the future. So there really I do think there’s very little risk for Kyle Connor heading into this final year and all the risk on the Winnipeg Jets who just saw Nick Eers leave and doesn’t want to lose a guy who nets a bunch of goals and is coming off a 97 point season. So it’s a really interesting situation. I if I had to make a prediction, I’d like to think it gets done before the season, but when you consider all the um complexities to it, when you think of all the uh the things that need to be are being considered in all this, it it’s far from an easy, you know, sign of the sign on the dotted line and and let’s go here. You know, I think there’s going to be a lot more to it. Yeah. I mean, the sooner the better for it because as I said, if it looks like it’s going to get problematic and there’s been nothing to indicate that it it is going in that direction, but I mean it’s not done until it’s done. Um, I mean, I stand by what I’ve been saying all summer. They cannot afford a repeat of what happened with Nikolai Eers. And if it got to the point where they didn’t think they were going to be able to sign him, then they got to go to plan B. And there’s a lot of work involved in plan B to maintain value for and that’s the problem with plan B is like and you hear from everybody you hear from the Elliots. You hear from whatever all the insiders. It’s like if you get if you lose this guy, how do you go find a guy like that? Like how do you go find a 97 point player who tucks a bunch of G’s, right? Like and tucks a bunch of five on five G’s. He’s like he’s it’s not like he’s getting the job done as much as he should be on the man advantage. You know, he’s capable of it, but like how do you replace that? And if you replace it, how much is it going to cost you? It’s going to probably cost you more money. As as as we know, every new contract, every star player that signs a new deal is likely going to be the next highest deal. That’s probably not the case necessarily in the NHL, but it’s possible. So, it does put teams in a tough situation that if you gamble on this, you know, Kyle Connor’s good. You know, the contracts are going up. Get a deal done, get this guy on your roster, and have the fans be happy and have him be tucking goals for the better part of the next decade. Yeah, no doubt. Um, hey, by the way gang, if you missed CFL 110, go check it out after WST before uh kickoff tonight. Uh, we do have our boosted parlay which is up right now. Uh, we got on some good lines because they have moved both for BC and Saskatchewan as we expected. Uh, but it’s still boosted up to plus 528. Riders minus 3 and 1/2, BC – 3 and 1/2 and the Tiger Cats on the money line. Hammer, have a great weekend. and I’ll look forward to catching up with you. Big episode of CFL 110 next week as uh the Bombers get back to it. Three more final games and uh the push to the playoffs. Have a great weekend, dude. Yeah, thanks for having me, friend. We’ll talk about the Bombers when they’re playing. I’ll uh we’ll see you next week. You bet. There’s Jeff Hamilton at JeffK Hamilton on X. And of course, you can read him in the pages of the Winnipeg Free Press. Uh we’re not done talking puck yet. I’m going to check in with our friends at Dober Hockey in a minute and uh look ahead to the fantasy hockey season. Uh just looking at let’s do some fan feedback brought to you by Fans First, your number one spot for buying and selling Winnipeg tickets on the resale market where what you see is what you pay. No added fees unlike the other ticket resale sites. And the best place if you’re a season ticket holder or a uh that’s got a couple extra tickets to uh to sell your tickets with fast prompt payment the next day after each game. Of course, CFL games now on there as well and of course NHL games throughout the season here in Winnipeg. Well, we asked for some predictions uh for the Jets this season. As I said, the total the overunder over at Kool’s 98 12. Shers’s got the Jets at 101 in third. Sean Sinclair says 100 plus. Jay Miller says 97. Uh the Terminator, what’s up to our Chud’s crew. Big power poll coming up in a few minutes. 103. Uh Hel’s rib. Hel’s rib. Great new addition to the chat. 106 for the Jets. Second in the division. Wesley’s going 108. Dan Jets fan 102. And Scott Westman 164 points. No losses on the season. running the table 82 and 0. I’ll take the under on that one, but I’m still very optimistic about the Jets. Keep your thoughts coming into the chat for fan feedback. Brought to you by fans first, by fans for fans, no fees. Our Chuds Powers Sports Power Pole in the NFL, hacksaw, marbles, all still to come. But right now, let’s get ready for next week’s puck drop. and welcome in Michael Clifford, the associate editor for Dober Hockey, who’s getting everybody ready for fantasy season. Michael, what’s going on? Welcome to Winnipeg Sports Talk. Uh, thank you very much for having me, Andrew. Happy to be here. Um, just a beautiful fall day here. I think like a lot of Canadians, excited for the NHL season. We also have the Blue Jays kicking off their divisional series tomorrow. So, I think, you know, a lot of people coast to coast are going to be into that. But, uh, great time to be a sports fan. Uh, this time of year is just absolutely excellent and starting to champion the bit a little bit getting ready for the hockey season. Seems like preeason gets longer and longer every year. So, I’m looking forward to it shortening a little bit next year. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, right here in the peg, I mean, obviously, we knew Adam Lowry was going to be out. Dylan Samberg breaks his wrist. He’s out for six to eight weeks. Jonathan Taves tweaks something. He won’t play tonight. Uh the goal for Winnipeg tonight is just to get out of this game in Calgary unscathed with as many healthy bodies as they can to welcome the Dallas Stars to begin the season coming up this weekend. Just quickly on the Jets, thoughts on the Jets from a fantasy perspective. I mean, this team won the President’s Trophy last year. Kyle Connor was a big-time fantasy stud. You got Mark Schiffley, Josh Morrisy. Is there any guys that you’re particularly buying or selling when it comes to the Winnipeg Jets or some maybe deeper players that are intriguing you that might be some good value plays? Sorry, I bonked his microphone. Hold on a second. Remo just uh bonked your microphone out. I tried to the master of the mute. How about this one? I think is that the good one? Uh it Can you guys hear me? Okay. Yeah, perfect. Okay, good. Um, yeah, the the top of the Jets lineup looks as as strong as ever, right? Um, Kyle Connor, you can hopefully pencil him in for 40 goals over point per game. Mark Shley over 30 goals point per game. Uh, Gabriel Valardi, as long as he’s healthy, looks like um, you know, he could be a 60 70 point guy. So, like all those guys look strong. Josh Moresy. Um, you want to say he’s underrated, but it feels like he’s really starting to turn a lot of heads across the league, even from people that don’t pay attention to the NHL day in and day out. So, they’re all they’re all great. Obviously, Connor Halabuk in your fantasy drafts, he’s probably going to be a top 20 pick. He’s the number one goalie off the board, I think, for very good reason after you’ve seen the seasons that he’s had the last few years. But um not only is is is this guy important to you know fantasy hockey players potentially but I think also the Jets just in in real terms is cold graffiti right. Um losing Nikolai Eers is it’s there’s no way around it. It’s a big loss. Um you know particularly in the regular season. This is a guy where if he’s playing 16 17 minutes a game it can be close to a point per game. He is dynamic and dynamite in transition. and he’s just truly one of the best forwards in the NHL through the neutral zone, being able to get set up in the offensive zone, you know, get his teammates open looks and things like that. You just can’t unless you go and sign or sign a a similar superstar or tra or similar star or trade for a similar star, you’re just not going to replace that overnight. So, can Cole Profiti takes take that next leap that I think we all think he has in him? Because, you know, through his first 100ish games of the of his NHL career, he looked like he was on that ascension to be potentially the next Nikolai Eers, maybe, you know, not as prolific a goal scorer, but certainly as good of a playmaker and being able to elevate his teammates. um he’s getting the first crack on the top power play unit, which obviously is critical for a point production when you’re talking about top guys, you know, being able to get those top power play minutes could be the difference between a 60 to 65 point season or a 40 to 45 point season, right? And if if Jonathan Jonathan Taves being there, you know, Jonathan Taves doesn’t need to be the guy he was six, seven years ago. He doesn’t be need to be 19 20 minutes top of the lineup. You know, they have Mark Shley who can take those minutes. Adam Lowry when he gets back and he’s healthy um can take a lot of the defensive responsibilities. So if if Perfiti and Taves can kind of find a little bit of chemistry there, I think Perfiti is one of those guys that could really surprise a lot of people where I if if he takes that next step, like I said, like I think he has the ability to do and and Taz can kind of be 80% of what he was five years ago, then I wouldn’t be surprised at the end of the season if we’re looking at graffiti having something like 20 to 25 goals and and upwards of 60 plus points. Yeah, perfect time with the young man looking for a new contract uh in the next off season. We’ve all seen what’s happened to contracts over the course of the last couple of weeks. Uh which brings us to uh breakout players this year. There’s always I mean listen, everyone knows if you want to win your fantasy draft, I mean don’t screw up your early picks, but they’re often won in the mid or later rounds. um you know in the past uh Wyatt Johnson, Quinton Biffield, Mason McTavish, these are players that have shown some pop but haven’t really rose to the superstar level. Um give us a few guys, Michael, that uh you know uh are on your draft board that you think are poised to um maybe exceed what the expectations are going into the season. Yeah, I I I think just overall I would start in Anaheim. Um, you know, I to bring it to last season for a second, I think a lot of people were surprised by Columbus, um, especially, you know, the offseason tragedy with Johnny Goodro. You lose not only a player like that on the ice, but in the dressing room and, you know, how do you bounce from that? And this they were a very good offensive team. They took a a lot of players took a big step. Barnky was healthy, played to a Norris level. You know, Carell Mareno was great. Shawn Monahan when he was healthy, he was fantastic. Um, so can the Anaheim Ducks kind of follow that suit? And I think they can. If you, if you look at the second half of last season, they were 13th or 14th in the league by five on five scoring from January 1st onward. And, you know, this was with a blue line with a lot of young guys that were still growing. Obviously, Neil Carlson was only in his second season. Kad Goce um, you know, he’s looks like he’s finally ascending this year. They signed M finally signed Mason McTavish after that long standoff and they got him in. Um there was a lot of uh tracking data um tracked by uh the website all three zones that shows they were creating a lot of scoring chances. They just weren’t finishing on them. And I think maturity is part of that. It’s you know having those NHL games under your belt. So um you know Jackson Lome just signed his huge contract. Uh so and I think he’s he’s started to turn heads last year and he’s going to keep doing that this year. So Cutter Goce I think is a guy that if all goes really really well he can push for 30 goals. I think you know as long as he doesn’t completely you know have a a complete jinx. 25 goals is more than on the table for him. I think Mason Mcavish is kind of the same thing. Leo Carlson, if he’s playing at the top of the lineup, if he’s playing 19 to 20 minutes a game and he’s playing in all three phases and he’s um, you know, one of those guys that new coach Joel Kenville is going to rely on, he could have, you know, a 60 plus point season. Jackson Lome probably isn’t going to be a top 20 defenseman off the board. And if you look at what he did, you know, he was basically on the third pair to start last year. After a month, he was close to their top defenseman in the second half of the season. was their top defenseman. You know, the big thing with Anaheim is can they turn around the power play? Um power play was awful last year. It’s been awful for a few years now, but you know, you have all those young guys that are a year older. You brought in Chris Krider, which you know, how much he has left in the tank, we’ll see. But I think undeniably as a netfront presence on the power play, he’s still incredibly potent. And it was something that that team was really missing last year on the power play. If you look at where they’re shooting from on the power play is a lot of perimeter shots, a lot of missing the net, things like that. And I think Krider is going to be that difference maker for them on the power play. So if that power play can even just get to slightly below average rather than awful, I think you’re looking at, you know, really, really good performances from Cutter Goce, from Leo Carlson, from Mason McTavish, from Jackson Lome. I think it could be a treasure trove of people, you know, after you make your first seven, eight, nine picks. Maybe look for some of these ducks, guys, because I think, you know, uh, give give ourselves a little pun here. They’re kind of ready to take flight. Yeah, they uh and listen, I think that the addition of Joel Quendville is massive. um you know, having an established Hall of Fame coach roll in with that level of experience um to take this team to the next level. I was having a conversation on our NHL futures show earlier um about the Ducks and I mean, I’m not willing to put them in the playoffs this year, but give me a marker for the Ducks next season to be that team that all of a sudden arrives and uh and is there. But I think there’s some fantasy goodness there for you if you’re jumping in. Um, goalies, goalies are always weird because, you know, when you’re talking fantasy leagues, depending on your scoring, sometimes they’re by far the most important position and guys are picking them in the first round and others weight them less so. But just as far as goalending goes, regardless of scoring, you know, there’s the big guys, there’s Hely, there’s the Shist Sturkens, there’s Vaselki. Uh, is there a goalie or two that might be a little off the radar for casual fans that you think either their play or their situation uh provides particularly good value when you’re looking to round out the goalie aspect of your squad? Yeah, and I’ll I’ll stay in the Western Conference for this. There’s a couple guys. One is in Seattle with Joey Dord. Um I think you know he’s he’s kind of flown under the radar a little bit just because Seattle hasn’t been very good for a couple years. And if you’re you know if unless you’re Dominic Hashik literally um you’re just not going to stand out on a team like that. But I think he’s he individually has been very good. And I think the Philip Grubau experiment has just run its course. This isn’t a team that I think is ready to give Grubau 40, you know, 35 40 45 starts or whatever anymore. I think Joey Dord is the guy. And even if Seattle’s I don’t think they’re going to be a playoff team. Even if they’re not a playoff team, the Cord probably isn’t going to be a top 20 goalie drafted in most fantasy leagues. And he’s going to get, you know, probably 50 to 55 starts. And I think I I actually wrote about him a couple days ago. I likened him to Ilia Sroken. Um cuz the New York Islanders I don’t think are going to be very good either. I don’t think they’re going to be a playoff team. But Elio Sroken is being drafted as the seventh, eighth, ninth goalie somewhere around that. Joey Dord is going between somewhere between 20 and 25. And I think they’re similar in talent level. And I don’t think Seattle and the Islanders are going to be a whole lot different when we look at the standings at the end of the season. So rather than take Sroen as the seventh or eighth or ninth goalie, why not wait a little bit um and grab Joey Dord? And the other guy is Carl Vamela. um a month ago or so I was a little nervous around him because I still think there’s something with Conor Ingram. I think he can be a true starting goalie in the NHL, but obviously he’s in Edmonton now and that leaves Vamela wide open to make 55 plus starts and I think Utah is one of those teams that I amongst many others think could be one of the teams that jumps up into the playoffs this year. They have a great top six. They picked up JJ Perurka. They have, you know, lots of scoring up front. Um, the defense might be a little bit suspect, but I think they have to stay healthy, right? Because like they lost John Marino for a huge chunk last year. They lost Shawn Dery for a huge chunk last year. As long as that blue line stays healthy, but Mela making 55 starts for a playoff team and he’s also going to be somewhere around the 20 to 25th goalie off the board. Um, those two guys, I think Vamela and Decord are two that, you know, whether they’re bubble playoff teams or non-playoff teams or whatever, they are the lock number one starters for their teams. And that in itself is is worth quite a bit in fantasy. Uh great stuff. Yeah, I mean a lot of drafts this weekend and early next week and then it is go time on the National Hockey League scene. If you’ve got a draft this weekend, uh or uh you know, you’re doing your pool or you just want to be on top of it all year long, check out the Dober Hockey fantasy guide. Celebrating 20 years as the number one most trusted draft day tool. Constantly updated with trades, injuries, lineup changes right up until puck drop, giving fantasy players the ultimate edge available now at doberhockey.com. The work’s just about done for you guys for preseason and now it’s time to have some fun and drop the puck. Yeah, I I can’t wait. That first day if you got games starting, I think it’s around 5:30 Eastern or 5:00 Eastern, then it’s, you know, bang bang and then um I I just can’t wait for the season to get started. It looks like, especially in the Western Conference, the top half of that conference. It looks like it’s just going to be a barn burner every night. So, I’m looking forward to a lot of late nights here on the East Coast, watching, you know, watching the Jets, watching the Ducks ascend and those things. It’s uh it’s going to be a great season. Michael, appreciate you jumping on. Hopefully, we can catch up later on this season. All the best and uh enjoy the weekend of Blue Jays action and football before we get going with another NHL season. Absolutely. Thanks a lot for having me, Andrew, and enjoy the season. Appreciate it. There’s Michael Clifford Dober Hockey. Check out doberhockey.com. All right. Hacksaw is locked and loaded. And I I figured now with the institution of the Chuds Powers Sports Power Polls, I would drop my first NA NFL power pole right before Hacksaw comes on and he can critique me and tell me how nuts I am. Uh, of course, our power polls are brought to you by our friends at Chud’s Powersports, Manitoba’s ultimate powersports supertore for over 80 years up in Gimy. And uh, listen, the guys, I know Jerry, who I met because he is a former winner, unlike Terminator, who’s been trying to win the marble race for 3 years. He did win and pop by. It was great to meet him. Uh but check this out with and this is part of like the the the the trusted name that Chuds is 130 years of experience in sales and finance for the crew of Jerry, Michael, and Greg who bring unmatched expertise, dedication, and insight to every customer in uh interaction. These seasoned pros have seen the industry evolve and have consistently stayed ahead of the curve, delivering results, lasting relationships, and driving success for Chuds and its clients. And again, whether you’re looking for guidance on your next big purchase or navigating financing options, you’re in the best hands. Their deep knowledge, personalized approach, and commitment to excellence make them the trusted faces of Chud’s Powers Sports. And just before I drop this on you, check out this bad boy. A 2025 Polaris 570 Touring Edition is on sale now until October 31st with a savings of 22.40. 40 off the manufactured suggested retail price of $1,54.89. And the touring edition means it has a two-up seat, so you can put the wife, husband, or one of the kids on the back to hit the trails. And they’ll deliver your new unit to Winnipeg free of charge. Check out the boys, Durang. And uh, of course, over at Chud’s Powersports in Gilly. Now, the first Chuds Power Poll, and Connor and List are going to have their Sunday live power poll. Can’t wait to see what they cook up. Is the NFL and the Rams after throwing up all over themselves now for the second time. This team should be 5-0. They’re not in the power pole. The power pole is the top five. And I will out of respect for Hacksaw and the rest of the league, I’m just going to tell you right now, this is the last week of the year that the Chiefs will not be on the power pole. They have they are a an asterisk. They’re going to I’m going to put them at six with a with a stock price going up. But here is the power poll going from 5 to one. Uh number five is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They’re in Seattle on the weekend. Now, to be honest, I think they could be higher, but here’s the thing with Tampa. They had a chance to beat the Eagles. They didn’t get it done. Uh, and the fact of the matter is the teams that they’ve beaten not great so far. Falcons, Texans, and Jets, still think that they’re very good right now, very live in the NFC. The Chargers, who might be on the other on the other side of this after the Chiefs get in. They are at fourth right now. They had that tough loss last week to the New York Giants. No one saw that one coming, but big wins in Brazil over Kansas City, Denver, and the Raiders. 3-0 in the division. They deserve to be in the inaugural poll power poll. Chargers get number four. Uh the Detroit Lions are number three. Bad news for the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend to get Detroit. Cincinnati is in tatters. Detroit is number three and trending very well after that opening blip with um the loss to the Packers in week one. And then there are two undefeated teams. The Bills are number two. I’m not calling the Bills frauds, but I will say that this 4-0 record is a little iffy. They were incredibly fortunate to beat Baltimore on opening night. The total record of the four teams they’ve beaten is 2 and4. So, we’ll see how they do against the Patriots. A bit more of a competitive matchup this weekend. Bills are number two. And despite looking terrible for plenty of the first four games of the year, uh it pains me, but I have to put the Philadelphia Eagles as the number one team. Uh big wins over the Chiefs, the Rams, the Buccaneers, and the Cowboys. This hasn’t been an easy schedule. They haven’t looked good great doing it, but they’re the champs. They’re still 4-0. So, the Philadelphia Eagles number one on the power poll. If you’ve got some takes on that, you can let them let them fly in the chat. Let’s welcome in Lee Hacksaw Hamilton, who just saw the unveiling of the power pole. Hacksaw, how are you doing? And uh how off base am I in your opinion now that you’ve seen my top five right now in the NFL? Just understand one thing, Hustler. What you say today will probably be different than what you say next week and the week after that. This the Chiefs will be in the top five. This ravage of injuries across the NFL changes the face of a franchise just like that. And that’s a big storyline now in the National Football League. We have so many marquee players, including quarterbacks that are dinged that are changing the chemistry of all these teams. But in terms of where you are, you know, Philadelphia doesn’t look like Philadelphia, but that being said, you’re correct. The schedule has really been a meat grinder. But Philadelphia has gone through a lot of change personnel, especially offensive front, defensive front. So, I don’t know if they’re built to do this for 17 games. But that being said, they did beat up all the toughest people uh that we’d want on the schedule. I tend to think Buffalo, despite whom they played, Buffalo’s got every component covered. And at this point, they’re playing much better defense than they have in the last couple of years. and Josh Allen is just right now put himself in the running for probably MVP of the NFL. Detroit, they’re really rallying. And I think the big story line with Detroit is for the first time in two years, their offensive front and their defensive front are still on the field because last year they got ravaged by injuries. The year before that, the offensive line got necked up, they’re pretty good. Uh Chargers are in trouble. They have so many offensive linemen hurt. the quarterback has taken so many hits and so many sacks he’s going to wind up in the hospital and they can’t stop the run when they play tough people they get their brains beat out. So at this point I think you’re a little bit of a reach to have the Chargers at number four and a Tampa Bay number five until Baker Mayfield gets hurt. I mean he is really carrying that thing coupled with a very good defense. Keep in mind Green Bay is really dangerous. Green Bay has got a really good offense and they don’t have their top two wide receivers there yet. Those guys have been coming off the injured reserve list pretty quickly and out of nowhere Indianapolis is looks like they have every component there is now whether they can make Daniel Jones and and the running back play like this but boy they’re playing really well. So I’ I’d say Indie is going to be probably moving up and in terms of Kansas City they flashed us some potential. I mean, we saw Xavier Worthy, you know, get on the field and I thought he played pretty well uh last week in his spurts and, you know, they’re two weeks out from getting Rashi Rice back. We’ll we’ll just see if they can continue, but that Kansas City looked different last week than they had the first three weeks of the season. So, I’ll grant you that the arrow might be pointing up for them. We got to see if this is the real deal. You know what? We’ll get to some of the other games coming up. But I I actually have a Chargers question for you when we talk about that game against the Commanders. Uh but Lee, let’s quickly I I got to get your take on last night’s game. I mean, to me, the Rams should be not only on this list, but maybe at the top of this list, but the way that they found to lose that Philadelphia game blowing the 19-point lead in the second half with two block field goals, and then the the between the convert, the fumble on the oneyd line, the fourth and one last night, kind of a miracle win for the 49ers, and a huge one on the road in the division with none of their starters minus Christian McCaffrey able to go. Most amazing aspect to me, that was a 49er home game. I don’t know if you’ve seen the video. There were no Rams fans there. Everybody was wearing red. This is Los Angeles. This is a team that’s been to the Super Bowl and thinks it might be a Super Bowl worthy team again. I mean, I was shocked that Rams fans sold their tickets out. And that was a 49er home game in Los Angeles. M. Jones is really playing well. I mean, he’s thrown for 294, 298, and 326 the last three emergency starts. And you know, Brock Pro is is reinjured that toe again. So, we just don’t know. And all of San Francisco’s their skilled people, most of their best skilled people are on injured reserve. It’s absolutely fascinating what they’re doing. So, Shanahan’s fingerprints are all over this successful start. And in terms of the Rams, don’t want it. You got any eligibility left? Can you kick field goals? I mean, this this kicking situation is a disaster in LA. Their two losses are a direct result of failed field goals, screwed up pats, etc. And that being said, McVey not wanting to play for the tie at the end and trying to go for it on the fourth down at what, the 12 yard line in overtime rather than going for the guaranteed field goal. Um, they just they’re really on the edge defensively. They’ve not playing as well as I thought they would. The last two weeks have been kind of shaky. Uh but boy, they got a ton of quarterback sacks. They play with their hair on fire, but they got two losses, which is is really stunning. But they got Stafford, they got Nua. I’m waiting for Devonte Adams to really have a mega game because he’s not had it. I mean, we’ve seen Puka Nua have games of 10, 12, and 14 catches, which is amazing. They need to get Devonte Adams more involved in the offense. So, the whole thing was shocking to me, especially the number of people wearing red in SoFi Stadium. Uh, you know, some big games on the docket this weekend. We’ve got Eagles in Denver, uh, Tampa and Seattle, both of those three and a half point lines, and then this Chargers Commanders game and I kind of want to focus in just a little bit more on the injuries that you were talking about. Um, is Joe, what’s the situation with Joe Alt? Because after they lost Rashawn Slater, if Alt is out for a significant period of time, I mean, that might be the most significant injury outside of Justin Herbert this team could have. Well, it is right now. And he’s got a high ankle sprain and and they don’t talk to the media about injuries. They flat out lie about injuries. High ankle sprains are four to six weeks. Now, they have not put him on injured reserve yet, unless they figure that, hey, we’ll just do have him in 24-hour roundthe-clock therapy. You ask blue bomber people about high ankle sprains, it’s a long road back. So, I’d say he’s going to be gone. So, they’re on their third left tackle. They’re on their second right guard. They’re on their second right tackle. Their offensive center hasn’t played well. And their former number one draft pick at left guard had maybe the worst game I’ve seen him play in four years. And this was against a substandard Giants team. And they got their butts kicked. And Justin Herbert is getting shelled. He’s been, as I said, he’s been sacked 12 times. He’s taken 47 hits in four games. He’s going to wind up in the hospital. He can’t hang in there and do this by himself. And they do have a good running back, but and the other the other story, and I’ve maintained this for two years running, they can’t bloody stop the run. And they let their top two defensive tackles leave in free agency, and now they’re playing a mish mash of kids. and they let the last place winless Giants run for 179 against them. So, I think the Chargers, the injury thing is really derailed them right now and they’re going to start moving back into the teeth of the schedule shortly. In terms of Washington, Jaden Daniels is back and he is dynamic. I mean, the numbers he’s put up in 19 games, 34 touchdowns he’s accounted for, throwing and running, phenomenal. I think they’re going to have to run Brian Robinson a lot to keep to keep the pressure off Daniels and not risk getting him hurt. Uh, and they don’t have McLaren and they don’t have Debo Samuel and they don’t have Austin Eckler. So, Washington has kind of become a one-man gang on offense. So, they’re going to have to do something to protect that quarterback and maybe play ball control and keep Justin Herbert off the field. So, Chargers, Washington, it’s kind of important for both of them. Washington’s lost two in a row. uh both games while Daniels was out after the two and 0 start that they had. Yeah. And the Ravens are probably in the worst situation of anyone right now in the league. I mean that that game they’re at home this weekend to the Houston Texans. The look ahead line like at the beginning of the season when they estimate what the the betting lines will be was Ravens minus N. The Ravens are two-point underdogs because literally everybody is out and uh we’ll be seeing whether they can just get a win or two and try and get healthy and stay in this. But this could be the season from hell for the Baltimore Ravens. It certainly started that way. But Hacksaw, I actually did want to just step away before we go to uh to the majors. Um thoughts on these division series and of course the Potter. I backed you and your guys in San Diego. I that bullpen that Mason Miller I’m like how do you beat these guys? Uh it was close at the end but I wanted to just get your take on the end of the game. I’m not sure if you saw the the video of the umpires leaving the game. I’ve never seen a team more insensed and more aggressive towards officials. You could tell that the Padres’s end of the season did not sit well with the way that it went down at Wrigley yesterday. Well, everybody in San Diego, where I’m based out, it was really heartsick because this this franchise has been pretty successful, but this franchise has just never gotten it done in postseason. I mean, AJ Po, the general manager, has been here 12 years and he spent a fortune of money and traded away the farm system four times and they’ve yet to win National League champions this series and never gotten to the World Series. And the problem is now they got all these pitchers who have all these injuries. hustler. They have no farm system because they traded it all away again and they’re still stuck with enormous long-term contracts with aging players and I’m I’m really disturbed at Manny Machado and at Fernando Tatis. They are two of the highest paid players on this franchise and they continue to fail in postseason play. So everybody what a letown. Everybody is heartsick. The Bogurts call I’ve looked at it from every different angle. I looked at it in slow motion. I think that ball crossed the P plate and then dipped. Now, instant replay. If if we had the ABS system, it might have been called a ball, but that that ball was on the edge of the plate as it crossed the plate and then it it dropped. But they didn’t lose it because of that. They lost it because Dan Dansby Swanson and that second baseman, Nico Harper, made six unbelievable defensive plays in the threeame series. They lost it because the Padres’s hit 189 as a team. They lost it because Machado and Tatis did not get a bleeping hit when it really counted in postseason with the exception of Machado’s one home run. So there’s just there’s a lot of problems here and there’s a terrible undercurrent this morning that AJ Peller might be leaving and that’s too bad because we have new ownership and ownership’s cut in payroll and despite the fact they drew 3.43 million which is an all-time record in this market. If he leaves, that’s that’s if he’s forced out. That that would really be unfair. So, I talked to you next week, he might be in the market for a new general manager, which would inflame half the community and the other half of the community would would probably cheer. In terms of the playoffs, my goodness, Yankees, Toronto, you doesn’t get any better than that. Uh Detroit’s living on borrowed time as they go play Seattle. I think the best series. Hell, this might might be equal to a World Series. The Dodgers in Philadelphia. uh is going to be absolutely phenomenal. And the Cubs renew their backyard rivalry with Milwaukee. The Dodger Philadelphia playoff series. Keep an eye on this though. I mean, the Phillies hit the hell out of the ball at Citizens Bank ballpark. I mean, that’s that’s a home run derby yard and the both teams have big bats. But Joe Otani has never pitched in Philadelphia. and the desperation Dodgers because of his bullpen crisis are going to give the ball to the 22-year-old rookie Roie Sasaki who’s made one appearance in as a closer in his entire career in Major League Baseball and they’re going to ask him to do it in Philadelphia where the fans are beyond hostile. So, I mean there’s so many fascinating storylines, Dodgers Phillies, but I’m happy for the Jays. I wish Bo I wish Bo Bashette was healthy enough to get there to support Springer to you know support Vlad and these other guys but uh baseball the first round of the playoffs the wild card we’ve pretty good games and now we got some the big boys are playing yeah I mean listen the the the wild card round was so much fun I mean the drama uh in the three deciding games last night we got a day off tonight and then they’re back at it tomorrow and I hope saw that when you come on the program next week uh we are talking about a an entire country that is fired up that the Blue Jays have finally found a way to get through a round and uh have sent the Yankees packing. It should be good. Uh enough stuff for you to talk about at leaks hamilton.com this weekend. Unbelievable. We delayed my podcast last night till after the Padra game. We went on with our live stream right when the final out was recorded. Our podcast exploded. We had so many people jamming to get through because I do this thing at the end of my podcast called fans form where people actually join us in the chat room and it’s it was just electric. So yeah. Yeah, we awful lot on the podcast when you’re done watching Hustler here old Canada Network jump online mine go to YouTube Lee Hacksaw Hamilton. You can read everything I write because it’s there first thing every morning on my website it’s absolutely free. lehacksawamilton.com and you know you’re talking about people excited. The damn NHL season’s about to get started right to be excited. You got so much going on north of the border, too. Yeah, if you need any cash, just uh hit up that Jackson Lome and uh he might have a little bit of extra spending money for you, Lee. Or maybe he could just buy Hacksaw Enterprises. It could be presented by Jackson Lome and you could live happily ever after. Crazy deals in the league. Have a great sports weekend. Can’t wait to talk to you next week. Puck dropping on a new season. More NFL and the baseball playoffs continue. It’s going to be fun. and have a great weekend, pal. 1919 to you. Thanks, man. Talk to you soon. There it is. Lee Hacksaw Hamilton with us with the weekly NFL notebook and a little bit of playoff baseball. Uh, which is a great segue into the cool bet lines uh before we get ready for marbles. Uh, last call for marbles registration. If you just jumped in here, exclamation mark marbles in the chat. We’ll get to that in just a couple of minutes. Um, first things first, CFL got a big game tonight. The riders are now 5 and a half point favorites over the Ottawa Red Blacks. Uh when it was three and a half when we did CFO 110, we figured this number would get up and we got in on it early. So that was nice. But if you want to get the riders today, it’s 5 1/2. The Thaiats are one and a half point favorites over the Argos tomorrow. And the big game when it comes to the West, BC and Calgary. BC three and a half point favorites at home over the Stampeders. And I do notice that Cool Bets’s been getting some action on the Bombers. Um, two weeks ago it was 20 to1. Last week it was 15 to1. After the game on the weekend it was 12 to1. And now over the course of the week it’s gone down to plus 1050. Bombers still at over 10 to1. Great value when you look at where BC and Calgary are at like plus 450 plus 550. Bombers should be right there. So, uh, needless to say, I got a little sprinkle on the blue and gold for the gray cup. Uh, Blue Jays postseason game one’s tomorrow. The Jays are a minus 125 favorite, Yankees plus 106. But, uh, when we’re talking about Major League Baseball, this is a great day to take a quick look at the series prices. We just talked about them with Hacksaw. And despite being the World Series favorite at the beginning of the playoffs, Philadelphia is going to go into their first series with home field as an underdog plus 105 to beat the Dodgers in the series. The Dodgers are minus 125. Uh the Seattle Mariners are minus 172 favorites against the Tigers. The Blue Jays are a big underdog. Plus 131 for the Blue Jays. Minus 156 for the Yankees. Great value on the Jays there. and Milwaukee is a minus 119 favorite. Cubs are even money. Now, if you go to the combo cards, uh I believe you will see our parlay for the upcoming series and it is here. We are ride with us. Seattle Mariners betting this one for Remis. Mariners to beat the Tigers. Uh the Blue Jays to beat the Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers to beat the Cubs. That’s plus 572, guys. Always taking care of us. Nice boost to plus 657. Going to bet that right now before that number changes at all. So, we’ve got that locked in. Series prices for the Brewers, Mariners, and Jay’s plus 657 in the combo cards as well. Uh for all the NFL picks, check out WSD winners today. myself, Pat, and Jake give you our favorite uh picks against the spread. We’ve killed the prop so far this year. That’s been going much better than the spread picks. Uh we’ve got that in there. We’ve got our touchdown scorer uh parlay. And right now up in the uh up in the uh the combo cards, we do have our WST winners. Uh, we’re going with the Giants plus one and a half. Houston minus one and a half and Denver plus three and a half. You can jump on that one in the uh and that’s got a nice boost to uh plus 729. And then we did have the one prop parlay that’s in the W the in the exclusives under the Winnipeg sports talk section. I’m rolling with uh James Cook 16 or more receiving yards. Patty’s got Cam Scataboo for three touch or for three receptions. And Jake is going with the little homecoming for David Montgomery with the B with the Lions going into Cincinnati. 54 plus rushing yards. Uh all three of those come in plus 675. And our touchdown play this week, Jake Allen, Woody Marks, Cam Scatabo as well. Those are all up in the combo cards or the exclusives. Take advantage of the great boost that the Cool Bet Boys produced for us. And if you haven’t played there before, use the promo code WST for a 100% bonus up to 200 bucks on your first deposit. And don’t forget, NHL season starts on Tuesday, which means all of the NHL futures are up. Tomorrow at 11:00, right after a legal curve, will be the premiere of our first of two parts of the NHL future show. myself, Pat, and Jake with our favorite picks for players, for teams, totals, conference winners, cup, all of that. That is premiering tomorrow, 11:00 a.m. right after a legal curve. So, pop over to ES for to Winnipeg Sports Talk for that. And uh Monday we’ll crank out a Jets preview along with Connor and Remis’ picks on the upcoming season on a special edition of WSD Winners as well outside of uh a regular edition of Winnipeg Sports Talk Daily. All right, that’s been a fun show. Lots to get to, but uh it is Friday and uh you know what that means? It is time to get into the marbles festivities. It’s not, of course, officially a weekend in Winnipeg until the Winnipeg Sports Talk marbles race. Everyone has made their entries. We’ll find out where we’re playing. But first up, let’s uh get things going with a little Tristan Rivers music redemption. Uh the music, the marble theme. Let’s go. Can’t talk anymore. It’s Friday. Another week of work’s gone by. You deserve to treat yourself. Maybe an ice cream. Keep going by love righty. [Music] Why you put your lace no separate best to worst race study models with punctuation first race will go Oh, make a race to do your before it’s too late. All right, marbles time on WST. Shout out to our friends at Shipman Associates. Uh, we got a WST hoodie for the winner of today’s marble race, Remis. Where are we going today? Yes. Rick Buck says Chris Cross Lake. Yes, that is the Christopher Cross version of Little Yacht Rock. Yeah. Marble Race theme song done by the great Kristen Rivers. We’ve got 166 entries. I’ll put you in as one. Hustler. Yes, please do. Uh, one second. Oh. Oh, we got some last second entries in. Okay, we’re done. We’re done. I got to close it. Uh, okay. So, I sampled a couple tracks. There’s some new ones out there. The one I found, very strong track. It’s Love it. The Brilliant Palace Sonata. What a name. Brilliant Palace Sonata. Excellent. Um, hey, listen. If you missed it earlier in the show, just while Remis gets that set up, I was just checking. Uh, someone just grabbed another pair of tickets for the home opener. So, if you want to join us for Thursday night up in the WST section, we have only six tickets remaining, one pair and one forsome. Uh, would love to have you join us. Uh we’ve got a great deal on seats which in your ticket includes a beverage through your Jets 360 app and uh all you need to do is go to winnipegjets.com/wst. Jump on those tickets, grab them and join us and we’ll get together a little early. I think the doors are going to open at 5:30 that day. Normally throughout the year if we want to get in early we will. But this is an early opening for everybody because of the home opener and of course we’re all going to get there early. to see that President’s Trophy banner, Central Division banner, and meet the 202526 Winnipeg Jets and just everyone crossing their fingers that Jonathan Taves will be in hockey equipment and not a suit for the opening game. Of course, Jets finish up the preseason tonight in Calgary. Uh, but don’t wait, gang. Get on those final six tickets before we are fully sold out. Winnipegjets.com/wstix tickets remaining. Let’s fill that up and we will see you on Thursday to kick off another great season of Winnipeg Jets hockey. All right, Remo, let’s see what we got. Okay, let me uh load this up. I’m closing all my tabs and my thing hadn’t refreshed. 243 marbles and like Whoa. Yeah, we’ve got like 300 people watching. So, pretty big ratio. Uh ratio. Uh I see it’s by the way just people asking D asking can I grab a single ticket or does it have to be a pair? Uh yeah I’m sure you can. I mean I I don’t I mean I’m just looking at what is there right now. So I mean there’s two in one row, four in the other. Um so yeah do it. I’m sure there’s probably a few people that’ll be looking at singles uh if they have it. Lots of people did that last year. I mean so many people have made connections and friends through the Winnipeg Sports Talk chat. That was one of the great things about the the section. um people will recognize you’re meeting people that they know from daily chatting here with us live on the program. Um so yeah, as long as it’ll let you buy it, jump on it and uh and do that. But it would be great to see many of you uh for anyone that hasn’t already jumped on it. Uh myself and Remo and Connor will be there. Guess we’ve got two I might actually sit lower in the section so we’ve got a spot for either Connor or Liss with Remis. Did our season ticket uh draws last night. that that’s always the point where I’m really excited for the season when you go through the schedule a million times picking games and uh getting ready for it all. But one of 41 at home is Thursday night against the Dallas Stars. Going to be a very very fun night at the arena. So uh get on those tickets winnipegjets.comwst and join us for the first of six Winnipeg Sports Talk games of the month this season. All right, Remo, take it away. Yeah. Uh, my app is doing an update. So, I tested it before and I didn’t need to do one. Now, I’m opening it and it’s telling me, hey, I need to update, but let me try try this again. And we do have people asking us, I guess, when you buy the ticket. The drink voucher comes later on. Uh, people are saying, “Oh, I I didn’t get it right away.” They usually add it the day of. And we had someone DM us on Instagram and I clicked on it and like disappeared and I couldn’t find it after. So, I’m sorry to that person. That person I’m getting a kick out of a new user in the chat. Hus. Uh, the 55 yard line says the WST night out sounds like a good time. Don’t hesitate. You’ll never know when you’ll just disappear. So, shout out to to the 55 yard line in chat. Everyone’s in here. Hel’s rib, Brad Marshand. Um, the 55 yard line. Everyone knows Friday afternoon, this is the place to be here on Winnipeg Sports Talk for our marble race. And uh yeah, the uh and by the way, I know there’s some folks that already have tickets for the game. Um if if you do come early and uh come and join us up in the Upper Bowl. Um I think we’ll normally be I think our early access for the other five games is going to be in the craft beer corner over in section 310. Uh I would have a feeling tomorrow or like for the Thursday game with the doors opening early. Uh most WSTRs will probably gather in and around the whiskey hanger there just right outside of section 316. And hey, for those of you that haven’t been at the rink yet, especially in our section, you are going to love the fact that uh outside of section 316, just to the left, is the new market powered by Slurpee where you can get your Slurpees. Uh they’ve got the uh the tachos, the KFC fingers and fries, poutines, a bunch of other snacks that you can just kind of rip through. Um it’s a different look up there. The door to the bathrooms changed a little bit and that concession stand that was there is no longer there, but it’s been a pretty cool addition. We were out there for the preseason game and the uh little media influencer night. We got a chance to see that and we’ll fire that out on our socials coming up as well. We had some fun with uh everything that uh was put on the table and did get to try all the specialty jet dogs this year. I’m kind of still full from from all of that. All right. How are we doing? Have you updated? Are you ready to drop marbles? No, I can’t open uh Steam. Let me try. Oh, here it’s verifi. Okay, now I think I’m good. Well, the last thing I need is everyone shouting at me in chat how to troubleshoot this thing. I’m on it. It’s loading right now. We’ve got a 243 marbles plus hustler and all capitals is in there. So, very exciting time. Yeah, you bet. Um Derek Schmidt, yeah, we’ll all get together. It’s just that with the game being at 7, you know, normally we would get in at 5:30. Uh if for people that wanted to get in early, um the entire building’s going to be open at 5:30 for this one. I don’t think anyone’s getting there 2 hours before the game. Um so, yeah, I mean, we’ll get together. As I say, depending on how things go, they’ve told us that for all of our WST games, they’ll put us aside the area in the craft beer corner, which is just on the other corner. Um, but I’m thinking for the home opener, assuming that the whiskey hanger is open and it’s right by our seats. If you’re coming in early, we’ll kind of start there and uh everyone can get together, hang out, uh, use that beer that will be in your Jets 360 app and get ready to welcome the Jets out for the season. Going to be a lot of fun. And as I say, if you have tickets elsewhere, even if you’re in the lower bowl, feel feel free to come up, hang out with all of us before the game and uh everything gets going for the season. Okay, I got all the marbles in. We have 244 total in the Bright Palace Sonata. And watch the finish. It goes quick once they go into the final drop, I guess. All right. All right. I’m here. I’m here for a brand new track. Uh busy busy marble race today, you know, and I’m going to wish good luck to the Terminator. Uh great to have Chud’s Powersports on board. And it was funny, I mentioned Jerry um you know, who we were talking earlier who’s been uh there along with their great team for uh for so many years. He came, he was all fired up. He got to grab the marbles hoodie to take back to Chuds and show off. Derminator’s been going for three years. Maybe today could be the day. Terminator, good luck to you and everybody else in the race. Uh, it is the Bright Palace Sonata. Brand new track. It has been tested by the Maestro of Marbles, Michael Reis. Without further ado, let’s drop them and see who’s winning today on WST. Interesting drop. A uh kind of like a start finish line if you will. And then every rolling down there’s Bravo Bry with a very nice start. Uh who’s there? Demo thp power actually I think was a recent winner if I’m not mistaken. Rafal Bry coming out of the gate right away. Kevin K as well. There’s Larry. What’s up big Larry? Hope you’re having a great day. VR Montenegro still waiting for that first the historic first Edmonton winner. Uh T Winnipeg, everyone’s getting shot up. I’m not sure whether this means they’re Oh, no. They’re not getting top roped. Although T Winnipeg did get top rope. T Winnipeg 204. Our first casualty uh today. Granny Bomber fan right in the mix. Oh, Derek Schmidt I think just got popped if I’m not mistaken. Um, we move in AJ. Oh, all caps Kyle. All caps Kyle’s in the mix. Haven’t seen him in contention for a little while. Uh, Nicole J. There’s Wild Bang as well. Oh, okay. If you go onto the outside, you’re done. It’s a laser there. There’s a lot of people getting absolutely hosed by the laser. That’s tough. Uh, well, if you survive and you’re into one of the remaining marbles, you’ve got a chance to win. The double heart reminds me of all my friends with the Swifties. Big night last night. New Taylor album. Chiefs win for sure with a new album this week, right? There’s no way they can’t they can’t lose on uh on Taylor Swift uh dropping a new album weekend. That’s a Monday nighter. We’ll talk about that then. Oh, look at this. It’s your boy Bruce and Todd Fertanny. Two scoundrels I’ve had good times recently with Todd last night when I was trying to convince them that it’s not the Yankees or the Cowboys that are America’s team, but in fact the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s another conversation later. I’ve got a very compelling argument to make. Uh, and of course it’s your boy Bruce came and hung out with myself and Dusty after the game last week and we went to the hockey game. Um, all right. Here’s Bruce. Bruce’s first one down. Could this be an ISha boy? Bruce, Lego guy, Todd Fertanny, all coming down. And Bruce is it. What a win. A histo I don’t think ish your boy has ever won the marble race. One of our most loyal listeners from day one of WST. And how about poor Todd? And you had to he was sitting beside last night at the end of the game my friend Todd and of course Amanda threetime winner and she was giving it to Todd and the fact that he came so close but yet so far uh a huge a huge victory for Isha boy. Uh, he’s first. Todd Fertanny second. Lego guy third. John the Canadian fourth. Ric Flair. Ric Flair. Rick Fairth. Um, Bravo Bry strong performance. Bri sixth place. No frrills Dino seventh. Keep it Cruz in eighth. Coach Mike ninth. And hockey guy Jeff your top 10. Nah. It’s your boy. You know how to get a hold of us. Um, holler at me. and we’ll hook you up with one of those hoodies. A big moment. Very popular winner in the chat. Bruce finally got it done. He supported us from day one. He’s bought a lot of merch, but this is the one that you can’t buy. The one for winning the marble race. Uh, excellent track remote. Very interesting one. I mean, obviously a lot of people got lasered. I’m sure I was one of those people as well. Let’s see what the rest of the uh list looks like. There’s Ryan Fox and Kevin K. Ron P. Nice one, Ron. Top 20. Pretty good. Huge power. There’s Rob Pepper. Kathy Cross. What’s up, Kathy? There’s Jeff Montgomery. Nicole Jay, Mike Win. Mike, we’ll be seeing you at the game next weekend or next Thursday. I know that. There’s Granny Bobber fan. King Kenny, not to be confused with with Ken. Uh, we who’s going to be at the games. There’s Alpresente, Mr. V-Dub, Gary O, Matt Heyman, D challenge. There’s Hustler. Okay, I did finish. Right on. And I don’t see Boseman or Rosco. There’s all caps. Kyle did a good job. Hel’s rib finished. Okay, there’s one bird. Boba Jet. VR Montenegro had the great start. Not such a great finish. There’s Rosco. I got you again, buddy. Great to see you guys at the track this week. And uh Joel Kevinson, our final one through here is uh Oh, Patty. Tough one. Pat. Pat got thrown out over the top rope. There’s Drew Dowy. Oh, Drew Dowy popped in today as well. Interesting. Uh Gene Overland. Brad Marian. Brad Marian had a tough one today. There’s Spency 5 Centy. Who else is in here? Key. This is a big big race today. CFL OG60, what’s up? Eagle Eyes. Speaking of Cool Batters, great to see you, Eagle Eyes. Uh, Eagle Eyes, get in the poker attorney next time. Next date for the Cool Bet Poker tourney with WST. Wednesday, October 22nd is the next one. But, uh, fun fun show, fun week. Tomorrow it or next week, it’s all about the new NHL season and of course the Blue Jays in the Major League Baseball playoffs. Get those last six tickets before they’re gone. winnipegjets.comwst and we’ll see you next Thursday and um Remo. Yeah, I mean I’m gonna watch the CFL game tonight. I am going to continue prepping for NFL Sunday and then tomorrow CFL. It’s going to be nice. Bombers on the buy. Jets finishing up tonight. Obviously we’ll be watching that as well. Just hoping having the prayer circle that no one else gets hurt. And then uh Saturday and Sunday, Jay’s Yanks, NFL, and opening week next week on WST. I cannot wait. It doesn’t get much better than this time of year for sports fans. Yeah, this is fantastic. Uh hockey drafts going on, baseball playoffs, NFL, college if you’re that CFL. We’re count, you know, starting to get ready for the Gay Cup. Still don’t have the halftime show. And I looked at when the halftime show was announced in previous years, usually like last week of September. I’m not sure who’s going to be performing here. Speaking of halftime shows, just before we go, I had to laugh at all the people mad online about Bad Bunny being selected as the Super Bowl halftime show. Uh even I am aware that Bad Bunny is one of the top performers on the planet. I believe number two in streams behind Queen of the Kingdom herself, Taylor Swift. But the funny thing, and I didn’t mention to you, Remis, like I have not really heard I think he sings mostly in Spanish, which is why a lot of, you know, rank and file North Americans maybe haven’t been exposed to his music, but um he’s a huge superstar. But my it the reason why I know Bad Bunny, Happy Gilmore, too. He’s a caddy. Well, apparently I heard that. I didn’t make it through the movie. It was too bad. So, I didn’t actually know I didn’t actually know that he was the Caddy. But I think it was 2 years ago as he was really exploding, he went into WWE and he did a a thing where he was on Raw and he got into something and he devoted himself for a few months to kind of learning what was going on and did a match against Damian Priest in Puerto Rico where he’s from. Uh if you if you got the the network or whatever or the Netflix, go and and and check it out. I can’t remember what the event was called. I’m sure you can find it out. The most incredible crowd for a WWE event in Puerto Rico. And I think Priest is of Puerto Rican descent, Bad Bunny as well. And I mean, Logan Paul for a celebrity going in has turned into I mean, he’s that guy is an incredible athlete and he does a lot of the stuff that the pro wrestlers do better than 89% of them. But I remember watching that WWE event and I could not believe a superstar of Bad Bunny’s caliber was doing the things he was in this match. So, former WWE superstar Bad Bunny performing the halftime show for the Super Bowl. And I would imagine Ree, we’re uh we’re about six, seven weeks away from the Gray Cup, so I imagine they’ll fill us in on who’s performing in Winnipeg relatively soon. Yeah, Bad Bunny. I don’t know his music. And I mean, he’s got a ton of Instagram followers, which is life’s currency now. That’s how you know if you’re important or not. You got he’s got 49.4 million. But I knew him from he was in like every skit in SNL50, which blew me away. again, never don’t know any of his music, but I was definitely familiar with who he was from Happy Gilmore 2 and and SNL. But as far as CFL, I mean, they they I remember Green Day, we’re like, where who’s going to be the halftime show? They haven’t announced it. It’s coming so soon. And they knocked it out of the park with Green Day. So, I’m not sure how they’re going to do it. Uh here, I remember it was Fallout Boy last time the Gay Cup was here and it was freezing and I I couldn’t actually hear any of it. I was on the field for for Green Day, which was super cool. So, we’ll see uh who it is for this one. They were counting down, starting to get ready for the festival and all that stuff. Hus. So, uh exciting time. Yeah, the uh Yeah, I know. So, Bad Bunny’s doing it and uh he was amazing in WWE. There’s your There’s your little bit of info if you didn’t know. What a what a great tidbit to finish up the show today. Um lots of fun. Thanks to everyone that joined us today. Thanks to all of our sponsors. uh that make the show happen each and every day and all of you. Uh grab those final couple tickets for the home opener with us. And uh tomorrow 11:00 a.m. right after Illegal Curve NHL futures with myself, Jake, and Pat here on the program. We’ll have another episode with myself, Remis, and Connor focusing on the Jets before the puck drops. We’ll try and do that probably for Monday. And then a WST Sunday live Connor and List. They had a fun day today down with the Moose at Moose Media Day. They’ll be all over that and much, much more. And of course, tonight the puck drops in the final preseason game for the Winnipeg Jets. You all have a great weekend. We will see you, of course, with programming throughout the weekend and of course back with the live edition of WST on Monday, 100 p.m. right here on the WST YouTube. Have a great one, everyone, and uh thanks for hanging out with us. Go Jay’s. Oh my god. Shut it down. Let’s go home. Thanks for tuning in to Winnipeg Sports Talk Daily. Make sure to subscribe on YouTube and your favorite podcast feed at winnipegportsalk.com. [Music]
Andrew “Hustler” Paterson hosts Winnipeg Sports Talk Daily with Michael Remis. They discuss the latest on the Winnipeg Jets Training Camp and look ahead to the 2025-26 NHL season. Guests: Brandon Rewucki of Skates & Plates podcast, Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press, Michael Clifford of Dobber Hockey and Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton on the NFL.
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3 comments
GD STUFF WST
JUS GTTN GOIN ON THE SHOW
N YES IVE HAD MY RIB OUT N ADJUSTED A NUMBER OF TIMES
BUT THN AGAIN IM A GOALIE 😂
LOOKN FWD TO REST OF SHOW N GOOO JETS GOOO🎉
JETS 96
WILD CARD
Hey Hus, Remo, Connor and Lyss..
Had to miss WST today as I was at yet another family funeral but I have watched the entire show now, and it was fabulous as always!
Man I had to look up Cliffy as I was sure he was a Newfoundlander (like me)