Avs Continue to Roll as Depth Shines Through Injuries | GS Off Ice

Avs Continue to Roll as Depth Shines Through Injuries | GS Off Ice

Good afternoon, Jesse Montano here. I’m gonna be joined by Megan Angley in just a second. It is your favorite Colorado Avalanche podcast back. This is Guerilla Sports Off Ice. We have got a really fun show lined up for you guys cuz we’re just going to have some fun with it today. ABS coming off another big win last night. They’re the first team in the NHL to reach 30 points. We’ve got a good one coming up for you guys. As always, want to start by reminding you guys about our great friends over at Refi Jet. Did you know that you could refinance your auto loan? Well, with Refi Jet, you could save around $150 every single month. All which is a soft credit pull and zero hassle, lower payments, flexible terms, might even get some cash back in your pocket from your car’s equity. And is this not the perfect time of year to put a little bit of extra cash in your pocket? Start today. refijijet.com/sports. You guys hear me say it every time. the best way to support us, what we do here at Guerilla Sports and this show is by showing some love to our partners. So, refijet.com/sports. See if they can’t help you save some money this holiday season. That is the faster, easier way to refinance. Hello and welcome in. Please do not leave your luggage on the station. [Music] [Applause] Welcome to the show. Hey, welcome to the show. I’m Jesse Montano. This is Megan Angley. Gorilla Sports Off Ice. I think we got John. We got Ashley. It’s a party back there behind the glass today. Uh Megan, Monday afternoon coming off an ABS win. Uh couple more Eagles games that you were at this weekend. I we keep coming into these Monday shows I’m like, “Oh, hockey packed weekend for you, Megan.” That’s just every weekend for like the last month. But this has been extra crazy because the ABS played Thursday, right? Friday Eagles, Saturday Eagles, Sunday ABS. That’s a lot of hockey back to back to back to back. And and you know, they’re so close to each other, too. I think the driving is what’s making it all feel extra, but it always makes me feel like I’m dedicated. I elected to do all of this. Nobody is forcing me. I’m exactly where I want to be. And a little sleepy. I’ll say, isn’t it always funny cuz like you do that in your head, you’re like, “Oh yeah, you know, I’m here. Oh man, everyone’s going to be so impressed. I’m going all these places.” It’s like, “What do you do? Don’t you have a life?” People will say, “What do you do?” Uh, you know, outside of hockey, outside of work. What do you mean? I watch hockey. We uh we’re we’re we’re still a a growing business here at Guerilla. Um we got back from the off season and there was a bunch of people that are like, “Oh, Jesse, what’d you do this summer? Did you get away?” No, I worked every day. I just I just kept working. Yep. Uh but um yeah, like you said, it’s it’s it is the back and forth that I do think uh makes it fun. Yeah, it’s been fun. It’s It’s been fun. Um, what’s the Eagles record right now? It’s like, you know, off the top of your head, sorry. Uh, it’s like 12. Yeah, 123 0 and1. Sitting at the top of their division. Still sitting at the top of the American Hockey League. I think they actually just fell to second. Okay. Still, you got the Eagles doing that. You got the Denver Broncos sitting at nine and two. You got the Denver Nuggets at the top of their division. And you got the Colorado Avalanche on top of the entire NHL. What a run here uh for Colorado pro sports in the last six weeks. This has been crazy. No, I mean I’ve always viewed Denver and Colorado sports teams as a hub and it’s just awesome for some of these teams to be coming together at the same time and bringing really great results. It’s it’s felt like I mean like honestly my entire life it has always felt like not even for like championships because obviously winning one championship for a city is like a big deal. Um, but like it’s always been like ah you can pick one and a half of them to be good. It’s like one of them’s usually really good, one of them’s competitive, really competitive, and then the other one just sucks. And I I seriously my family moved here in 1995. I don’t know, Megan, if I can remember a time where you had Broncos, Nuggets, ABS, all at this level. And then obviously the Eagles just moving up to the American Hockey League within the last, you know, decade, right? Um, and even them, like they’ve had some good seasons, but it’s always been real, you know, right in the thick of it, right in the pack. I mean, like really pro sports top to bottom are on a nice little stretch here. It’s been fun. like it’s a historic best start for the Eagles since becoming an AHL team. And even just coming to the ABS game last night and seeing the Broncos traffic like as I’m getting across kind of that Union Station area, there’s a lot of people who are utilizing some of the like RTD stops and stuff that are there to go Broncos to Ball Arena. And I just want to shout out those fans specifically to the double header of sports. It was a big amount of sports fans that were making that transition one to the other. So, it’s such a passionate city because something I appreciate about ABS fans is how knowledgeable of the game they are. They’re very involved and they’re very aware of what’s happening on the ice and they’re multisport fans on top of it. So, just really passionate sports fans. it. Um I want to come back to the traffic or the the people going from one to the other. But um I went on the Oilers Nation pod two weeks ago now. Last I think it was last week. When did they play the Oilers? Last weekend. Okay. Then it was Yeah, the Friday before that. And uh friend of the show, Tyler Yarmachuk, who’s been on with us here before. Um great icebreaker question. He said, “If you were a a professional team mascot, would you tell on the first date that you were Ooh.” And I I thought that was a great question and I answered. I said, “I would tell them that I’m a mascot, but I would not tell them who.” And I’d let them kind of every time they see a mascot on the TV for one of the local teams for the next month sweat it out a bit. And they went, “Oh, that’s a great answer. benefits of a multisport city. And I never really thought like I didn’t think about that like oh I guess Edmonton’s probably really just got the one. Yeah. Um but college teams college teams if if you went on a blind date and you were like yeah I’m a mascot that you know for one of the teams here locally that could be any number of things. Yeah. Um, but where I’m going with that is we are very lucky to not only have multiple pro teams. Denver has NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS. We’re getting an NWSL. Uh, we’ve got an AHL team just up north. Pro indoor lacrosse. They finally brought back prooutdoor lacrosse. Um, you have to imagine with getting two PWHL takeover games this year that Denver’s on the short list to get uh a PWL expansion team. There’s a real real possibility that by 2030 you are looking at 10 pro teams in the Denver metro area. That is awesome. And to your point, it’s it’s just so great because the fans are such cross-pollinators. Um, my goodness, the parking lots were I don’t want to think about that. Absolute mess last night. Empower Field and Ball Arena are close enough to each other that a lot of those auxiliary lots are shared. So, there was 80,000 people trying to leave the Bronco game at 6 PM. right as 20,000 people were starting to show up for the ABS game that was starting an hour later. Uh I tweeted about it and it ended up being spot-on. It was a bit of a late arriving crowd. You and I were pointing out there was some chunks of empty seats at the start. By the end of the first period, they were all filled in. Oh yeah. Um but uh craziness uh in downtown Denver last night, but both teams picked up a win. So I think fans went home happy. Yes. It was cool to see people in their tailgating outfits from the Broncos game. Kind of these orange blue one onesies. Um, just sitting in ballerina. Not to be mistaken with Islanders fans. Oh my gosh. Yes. Very distinct difference. Funny. The colors could have lined up like that. Um, well, let’s talk about So, that’s everything that happened in the leadup to the game for the fans. Yeah. Let’s talk about what actually happened with that game last night. um talked to Gabe about it last night and I and I kind of reiterated it to to Jared. Um after slow start, you and I both were remarking to each other after that first period like woo might uh might need some coffee to get through the rest of this one. Things dialed up a bit. Uh the ABS offense started going a bit more. Um I guess broad broad strokes. ABS pushed their point total to 30. Um 31 maybe even uh overall your thoughts on on that game against the Islanders last night. I think a different game than maybe what we had seen in in uh recent weeks. Yeah, 31 confirmation. Um and I like it because it wasn’t easy. You know, Islanders came in on a roll. Um, and I think because of the way that first period started, a little bit of disrupted flow and because the Highlanders score first and it’s a little bit of a weird one, it put the ABS behind just a tiny bit. Um, and so they had to fight back into it because I don’t think they fully had their energy. I don’t know how I feel about describing it as sleepy. I just sometimes think it’s hard for them to get into the game and for there to be the cohesion that you normally see. Um, and so I think in that second period it was the middle six that really stepped up, brought a lot of the energy. Like I love the push that immediately follows the Ross Colton goal, for example. Um, I think that sparked necessary life back into the team that had maybe been lacking a little bit. um until that point and from then on too like especially after the Olivess goal it just was kind of a roll because the middle six contributed so much that I think that top line was incentivized to keep pushing right like a 2-1 lead is not very secure and so going into that third period they really wanted to build on that and so I saw even more of a push from the top line I also thought the Islanders were really effective in containing the top line and So just in looking at attempts blocked and whose attempts specifically are being blocked, it’s Kale Mart, it’s Nathan McKinnon. And so they were doing a great job of containing a lot of the top six talent and and Mar as well, Martaves. And so I think that that push from the top line really helped um keep this one a little bit settled in the third. Discipline goes a little bit off the rails. So, I think there was fair criticism of officiating on the whole, but I don’t like to lean on that as any sort of excuse. But then the penalty kill though tested in a big way, answered in a big way and some of the best saves of the night because I thought Scott Wedwood did great in net but he was excellent on the kill late in this game. And I just think, you know, you talk about timely goals and how those are significant. The timeliness of Scott Wedgwood’s saves is so important. Yeah. So, just a great Scott Wedgewood game and I’ll get to that when we start breaking down the X’s and O’s a little more, but I thought a quietly great Gabe Landisk game, too. And then the second line stole the show for me. I thought just I just want to get this thought out real quick. I thought Gabe Landiskog that was some of the most noticeable I feel like he’s been this season. Yes. I just it felt like every other shift he was out there, every every shift he was out there, he was doing something to get involved. I just wanted to say that show up on the score sheet, but I wanted to acknowledge it because I think the question has been especially because he had some of those goals get called back. He finally gets his first one. It’s good. I just think that he’s continued to build some momentum from that and it extends into this game because I thought from that third line perspective, it was also a good third line game. I really liked a lot of what Olivesson was doing. I’m getting ahead of myself cuz you started with broad strokes and I’m out here trying to dig into the second and third line because I’m excited. Well, let me just pick up on a couple things that you said then then go um the the second line Ross Colton, Brock Nelson. Um right now Gavin Brinley yes very different than what I think anybody had kind of drawn up. I know we had maybe mentioned, hey, maybe Ross Colton there, depending on, you know, Gabe D. Um, but for that line to be going as well as it is, it just it it it we talked a lot about the Panthers this summer, back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, right? And how it really kind of felt like they had that first line, two second lines, and a third line. and just seeing what this combination of Colton, Brinley, Nelson have been able to do. Um, I think you’ve got the offensive upside and a little bit of nastiness in Ross Colton and then you got a really steady, calming presence in Brock Nelson. And then you’ve got Gavin Brinley who has just turned into a you know a real spark plug for pretty much anywhere in the lineup uh that that that they’re plugging him in and just really injecting energy um some some skill a nose for the net and I think you found a really interesting combination there and you know Megan especially once you add Val Nushkin back in I think we’ve maybe seen the beginnings of potentially Jared Bedar finding his first line two second lines and and one third line kind of combination here. Um and then just on Scott Wedgewood to your point um not all saves are created equal. Yes. And I like that even in a game where it’s a one-goal lead, you know, there were moments where the Islanders were starting to push push push late in that third and Scott Wedgwood coming up with big saves, not only holds on to the lead for the ABS, but it helps keep that Islanders team maybe not necessarily back on their heels, but you know, trying to break through and not like a hey, we got one to go now really, you know, step on the gas and and tilt the ice that way. And it helps keep momentum in Colorado’s favor. And I just think that um I think timely goals are a thing. I think timely saves are a thing. Yes, if your goalie makes all of the saves, then they’re all timely because it was good to kept them kept them all out. But um there’s moments in a game where you need a save and and it’s easy to call out the the rolling half windmill blocker save that he makes. But again, like that’s a big moment on a big kill that a couple moments later leads to a clear and the buildings into it. You’re able to get a change. You hold on to the lead and it’s just that’s just such a big save for reasons other than wow, that looked really cool. Uh, and I just think I just wanted to to underscore your call out of what Scott Wedgwood has been able to do on the PK has really aided in a really strong PK to begin with. Yeah, a second ranked PK. I’ve loved that it feels sustainable, too. I don’t think that in the way the power play has ebbed and flowed with its ability to convert, I felt a stability in the PK’s ability to shut it down. And a lot of that is goalending. I also think they’re really bought in to what they’re doing because any given, you know, shift out there on the kill, it can be a good mix of people. And so we’re seeing Bardikov, we’re seeing Brinley get out there kind of later into the kill and they’re handling it just fine. And so I think that’s a testament to a buyin um that it kind of if you’re fully bought into what they’re doing then it doesn’t really matter who you are um it’s going to work pretty effectively and it’s been really impressive to see. Can I ask you a Barnacov question? Yeah. Do you also think that there’s any level of coincidence that the ice time conversation gets had and then suddenly he’s killing penalties? No. No, there’s no co there’s no coincidence. Um especially too cuz his shout out was like I play early in the game and not really late. It’s tough to play late when it maybe is a 2-1 game and so it’s not a secure um so it’s huge trust to get then those reps on the kill. I’m trying to see where his ice time finished to cuz it seemed like it was six on the dot. Doesn’t that seem a little funny? Yeah, six minutes exactly not a second more. Um, but still Dave Hackaw with a stopwatch on the and that’s enough. Sit him. Done. No. Um, I I think it’s good to get those guys out there and see what they have to offer the kill as needed because sometimes your best penalty killers go to the box. It happens. Um, so it’s just kind of good to see what other options you have in there. When you lose a guy like Vonushkin who’s been one of the best penalty kill forwards so far, um you want to make sure you have other options that are familiar and getting those reps in too, especially in the regular season. But it’s been a really good kill. Um I’m going to do a piece on it here soon. I’ve been really locked into it honestly. Like I realized today that the penalty kill represents almost everything I love in hockey because I love defensemen. I love goalies and I love defensiveminded forwards who work minded goalies. Defensive minded goalies. Defensive-minded forwards who work really hard. So that’s a penalty kill. Like oh gosh, no wonder I love it so much. But the abs has been really good. And I continue to love what Parker Kelly, Jack adding there. Brock Nelson. I’m starting to see too all the things I already loved about Brock Nelson. I think people the production wasn’t there so they weren’t appreciating the other parts of his game. But now his line three goals like they have two goals in the Buffalo game then they get this goal for for Ross Colton um against the Islanders and it starts with a nice play along the wall from Brock Nelson. He’s kind of beating Simon Holstrom into him in order to get that pass off to Mard who was able to stretch pass out to Ross Colton breakaway goal. Really cool stuff. But it starts with Nelson on the wall um on the breakout. And that’s the kind of stuff that I think Nelson does really well. Like in this case, it’s not the strong, you know, defensive stick play that helps the spring offense, but it’s still really smart and it starts in his own end. And those are the kinds of things that I think can translate to offense that Nelson adds to that line. Like you said, like trusted adult. He’s responsible. Yeah. Yeah. And then you’ve got the youth and the energy. I’m trying to think of like a generation joke to help name this line. Like it can’t be the Gen Z line because I think they’re actually all from different generations. Holds Brock. No, he’s got to be millennial and Ross might also be millennial. Yeah, they are. Yeah. Okay. I was hoping we’d have a representation of all three. That’s okay. That said, I think that it’s been a good mix. You’re exactly right. What Gavin Bridley adds to that line is a lot of energy, a little bit of juice and I think in this game in particular, he was on the doorstep of chances and it didn’t convert and so I felt even the frustration from him. I think it boils over too. I don’t know how I feel about it. Love it. A little nervous about it. Oh, about him going back at Mayfield. Mayfield. Yes. I’m glad you knew where I was going with this. Um I I don’t know how to feel about it. Like I kind of like it up front that not afraid. Yes, he’s not afraid. And I remember thinking that in the rookie tournament when he was uh playing opposite some really big guys, especially on Utah. Um but I love to see it. Uh not No, I I I get what you’re going I’m glad he’s not going to let himself get bullied, right? But that’s also one of those things where it’s like, well, make sure you know what you’re doing there, big dog. Yeah. Our battles though. uh on Brock Nelson. So, and and well, I guess I’ll say it. Um I’ve got a new theory about Brock Nelson. So, we’ve seen a couple guys in in the last couple years um be brought in to try to fill that role. And I think there’s been moments where it’s like okay well what you’re getting out of that guy I guess is fine production but like what what you know made Nasm Cadri so dynamic in that role specifically and I always like to make sure to point this out in the cup year because 2022 Nasm Cadri wasn’t 2022 Nasam Cadgery the whole time he was here but what made him so dynamic was not Not only did he have a a great offensive year, he killed penalties. He was a trusted guy late in games. Uh he could play on the power play. He was a real versatile player. And I my my new theory around Brock Nelson is that he’s kind of going to do the reverse or the opposite of what we’ve seen guys come in to try to do uh in that role in the last couple years where I think Brock Nelson’s going to come in and I think he’s going to really I think we’re going to get to a point come Christmas, you know, a little bit more than a month from now and say, “Man, Brock Nelson’s game is just so solid. He’s good on the kill. He’s great away from the puck. He He’s He’s responsible. He’s making good plays. And I think the offense is just going to slowly start to tick up slowly, slowly, slowly. And I think by the end of the year, we’re going to find ourselves in this room where it was like, whoa, Brock Nelson just quietly had an outstanding season. uh even with the fact that and and this is still on the lower end for him. Even with the fact that it’s felt like it’s been a little bit slow moving, he’s on pace for 22 goals suddenly. And again, that’s that’s still on the lower end for what you’d expect out of him. But a couple multi-goal nights here, which you’d have to imagine Brock Nelson is going to have between now and 60 games from now, um you’re going to start to see that creep up. And I really do. I think that with what we’ve seen from Brock Nelson, it’s it’s kind of the reverse of what we saw the ABS try to find there from other guys. Oh, can we go get that production? Oh, wait. What about the rest of the ice? I think Brock Nelson is taking care of everything else. Uh, and the production will will come in um behind that. I I want to jump to a couple other things from last night, but there’s there’s some tie-ins to practice. Okay. What did you have? I wanted to add on Brock Nelson for a second because we’re at an interesting mark where he’s played 19 games with the ABS and he played 19 with the ABS after the deadline. And so in those 19 games after the deadline, six goals, seven assists, 13 points. If you recall, his production was slow to get started. Even then, people were measuring his production alongside Charlie Coyle, who I think it was more well spread out. Um, whereas Brock Nelson’s production kind of came at the tail end and then caught up to where Charlie Coyle was at. And so it was very comparable. And I think it’s interesting then that it took about 19 games for Brock Nelson to start producing. Yeah. More so at the rate he’s used to. And so we’re exactly at the 19 mark with Brock Nelson right now. Five goals, four assists for nine points. And he has 31 shots both. Oh, really? Yes. when he when he joined the ABS through those 19 games and when he has played the 19 games to start this year with them and that’s still lower than his shot volume in seasons past. He’s typically around three shots per game or in the high twos, right? Like 2 point something and he’s been below the two mark with those 31 shots in 19 games. And so last night he had three shots on net, which is right around where he needs to be, where he’s had success, where he’s producing at the rate that, you know, when we’re talking about that 30 goal scorer, he just needs to be shooting more is where I’m going with this. And so you see him shooting more in last night’s game. Um, and I think you see Ross Colton also, I don’t want to say selfishly like, but that’s good for Ross Colton to just shoot is where I’m going. I said to you on the goal that he scored, I said I’m happy to see him shoot that because I feel like that exact play, yes, the ABS are pulling up and waiting for that support, which it’s never a bad thing to wait, you know, for numbers, but shoot it. The ABS had multiple times last night where you have a guy with the puck on his stick in between the hashes in the home plate area, rainbow road, whichever term you want to use. You had guys in prime shooting spot and they’re looking for that one last little pass. And I get it. If that pass connects because everyone’s expecting you to shoot, that’s a, you know, that’s a great pass. But the the passes aren’t connecting. The guy you’re passing to is also expecting that you’re going to shoot. Um, you know, whatever. I was just happy to see Ross shoot that. I’m sorry to completely interrupt you, but it was it was just a I wanted you to chime in because you said it in game and you’re right. They need to be the shooters that they are because you have so many shooting options. I think when Brock was playing with Val and Gabe, it was a respect and seniority thing. Get the puck to Gabe. Get the puck to Val. I think Brock Nelson also needs to recognize he’s also a shooting threat. You’re a potential Olympian. Yeah. So, you know, definitely make sure you’re taking those chances when you have them. Um, and same goes for Ross Colton. And so I think that’s why this mix of guys has worked a little better is I think they’re better able to understand what their role is on that line and kind of cycle in, you know, what is appropriate at what time. Um, and I think just the energy that Brenley brings just adds to it. Makes it make a lot of sense. And I also think this is kind of like right around the time that Brock Nelson evidently seems to come to True Form. So I’m excited to see what happens from here. All right. So, last thing real quick and then we’re going to hear from Jared Bednar from today and then I want to talk to you about a couple players you re last night but just some more kind of broadstroke stuff. Uh, real quick, uh, some high praise for Taylor Mar before the game yesterday from Jared Bedar. He had one play in particular that got you and I both to kind of sit up out of our seats. Really nice takeaway and a nice pass that Gavin Brinley just couldn’t quite handle. Um, what do you think of Taylor MacAr? We’ve now seen him in three NHL games. Um, a NHL games quicker than you and I thought and b more games than what you and I thought he’d get. And and Jared Bednar has said he’s like them progressively. Yeah. And limited ice time, but he’s managed. Like I don’t want it to become so clinical that it’s every shift I have to take a hit. But that’s kind of what he’s doing right now is he’s making the most of his minutes. And so he’s finding a way to make an impact when he’s on the ice. Sometimes it’s battling along the wall. I noticed that in last night’s game, laying a hit. And it’s important to try and be effective in those limited minutes and recognizing too though where your own limitations are as a player. And so I think that Taylor keeps it simple. And so there have been times where he probably could have deferred for a pass option. That’s the easy thing to do as a player when you’re playing with such high caliber guys too, right? Like I got to get the puck to someone else. I like to see that he’s had a willingness to shoot um when the opportunity though limited has come. Um not necessarily in last night’s games, but the other two, the the Buffalo game in particular. Um and so it’s the confidence. I think he recognizes his role. He’s confident and so he’s trying to, you know, do exactly what he’s doing with the Eagles and just at the NHL level and I really appreciate that because I think sometimes players can get in their head as to what is expected of them and he’s not trying to be anything but himself and I think that’s why it’s rewarding him and getting him the praise from Jared Bednar because there’s a reason it’s working pretty well with the Eagles. Um, I like to like in the Friday game where he goes up, he plays with the Eagles, he’s playing in a fourthline role, limited minutes, and that was really to manage his ice time. It wasn’t any sort of a reflection of him or trying to get him to find ways to be effective in limited minutes. But the guys he was playing with, uh, Jishka, who’s a big guy kind of like a Bartikov, and then Sundan, who’s a versatile utility player kind of like Parker Kelly, it just it made so much sense to me. Right. and he’s got a big Yeah, he’s got a big hit at the end of the game that helps to secure the empty net goal, helps the Eagles get the win. And so I just love that he’s consistent in what he is. Yep. No, he he he’s um not unlike kind of what he’s done beyond his first year at UMass. His first year there, it was kind of like, yeah, you know, the ABS draft him. It was a nice thing to do. Beyond that year, Taylor Mccard has just every time I’ve watched him, he’s impressed me. Like he he’s exceeded what I was expecting. And I I feel that same way even about these three games. Um you know, I I I thought that first game he was going to look kind of slow and you know, you pointed out I think on the show like you know, his puck skills are are still there’s limitations. A work in progress is is you know, I think a good way to put it. Um, but it just doesn’t seem to matter. He he it there’s a there’s a compete level there that I know that’s why he, you know, Jared Bedar likes him. He competes. He skates. Uh, he’s not afraid to, you know, put his head down and go to work. Yep. Get to the net. Get to the net. Um, you know, get involved. You know, you’ve mentioned it before, Megan, like that’s a that’s a heavy weight. That’s a heavy burden to carry on your name plate on the back. Um, being the little brother. Um, and you could tell he doesn’t shy away from it. I saw him, you know, John with a with a guy last night and it’s just like I I he just ahead of the Parker Kelly penalty. He’s battling along the wall and honestly I think it’s that combination of bodies that leads to the penalty and it felt a little bit unfair to be honest. Silly penalty. Such a silly penalty. But he just um I I think Taylor Mar is a bit of a gamer like is it surprising? Right. He Right. He he he just you you watch him. He’s like and he just elevates. He you know goes from Maine to the AHL last year. Okay, how’s he going to do limited showings? Looked really good. Perhaps even better. It’s like his skill set actually translates better at the pro level than he even did in college. Yes. And we’ve talked about this before, I think, how there are some guys who that’s that’s just how it is for them. Their their game just works in that way. Um, all right. Let’s uh let’s go to practice uh here for today. Uh, and could you guys actually uh cue this one up for me? It’s uh it’s in the videos there. Um, Jared Bednar uh about 10 minutes today. Um, after practice. Yep, that’s the one. Um, we got some updates on on injuries. There’s going to be a Logan Oconor update in here. Um, we’re going to come out of this. He does give a brief update on Josh Manson as well. I want to talk about him. Uh, and then I asked him about Sam Molinsky. And so Manson and Molinsky are where I want to go coming out of this. Uh, but just some good stuff today from Jared Bednar. Some nice updates. Uh, and just some good perspective as as the ABS sit at 19 games and first in the NHL. Uh, so we’ll go ahead and roll. This is Jared Bedar today. Uh, after practice about 10 minutes from the head coach of the Colorado, you played some good teams recently. Taking a look at last night just approaching 20 games here. What have you thought of the process through It’s it’s been impressive, I think, like um consist consistency of our game, being prepared to do the right things on the checking side of it. Pretty um even numbers through like 19 games of the way we’ve defended and what we’ve given up from an expected goals against standpoint. And the offense is doing enough, you know, like we’ve had some really hot games. We’ve had some games where it hasn’t come easily for us, but I think our checking game and goalending, special teams, like, you know, I look at every aspect of it. Power plays starting to come and produce some really nice chances and I I have to be pretty happy with where we’re at and where where results are getting. It uh seemed like a month or two ago there was some expectation that Logan would be back by now. Yeah. Um he’s still in that five to six month range. So I want to say setback, but has it maybe gone a little slower than you guys had anticipated for his return? Yeah. So he’s had a couple things pop up like not hip related, you know, in his return like as he’s sort of got a bigger workload, different like things are sort of bothering him a little bit. So, um, was making really good progress and looked like he probably beat that return date and things have kind of slowed down from a little bit as he’s working through like other issues in his return to play, but it’s really actually not his hip at all. Like that that feels really good. He’s just got some other soft tissue issues that he’s been working through and kind of has slowed his like on ice progression a little bit, but nothing too serious that we’re worried about, but it’s just we’re just trying to get him back to as close to full strength as we can before we get him in the game. Coach, talk about the power play. it has kind of progressed as uh the season’s gone on and last night 0 for three, but is that kind of a a an example of how important Val is to that that power play as well? Um yeah, he’s he’s really good there. Um but so is Lucky. So I don’t think it’s a like there’s not a significant drop off there for me. Like we kind of flipped Val and Leky when Val was healthy even in Van and Leky scores right away, you know, like he’s kind of has a knack of doing some very similar things as well. Both really strong retrieval guys, good shooters in the middle, kind of know how to find that pocket, but they’re relentless on loose pucks and keep pucks alive. Um, you know, one day Bell will be better and the next day Lucky will be better, but you only one guy can sort of play that role at a time. So, I like the depth we have in that position. Um, I’m just kind of looking more at like not like more the underlying numbers like the the looks that we’re getting, our shot mentality, how we’re retrieving pucks, our work ethic on the power play. I think it’s it’s coming. Like there’ll be days when we score, days that we don’t. But you want to be dangerous and even last night I thought at times we we were super dangerous on it and uh just couldn’t capitalize. And you know, you look at the Islanders, they were the same way. They they had a good power play and and they got some dangerous looks off it at some of our mistakes. Somes they some they created on their own, but we were able to, you know, keep them at 0 and four. So, you’re going to have a few of those nights on both sides of it. Seems like a lot of nights you look up Molinski is getting involved offensively. He’s making smarter reads defensively. Yeah. I mean, like, is this becoming a guy that that is going to, you know, as time goes on, start to push his way up or at least make it a little bit more difficult for you decision- making wise? Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of um trust in his game right now. Like, he’s he’s taken a big step for me on the defensive side of it over the last month or so. and and it’s helped him because like on the other side of it when he’s skating and involved offensively he’s as dangerous as as anyone we have back there probably excluding Kale right like for creating offense and he’s been chipping in and helping with that um the defensive side of it to play around the net like that’s where he’s taken a really big step for me so it just helps us give us more confidence to be able to play him against anybody then you don’t have to hide him against other teams top lines and big guys he’s been doing a good not only against smaller guys that can skate and are elusive, but also against the bigger guys now. So, that’s exactly what we wanted to see and hopefully continues to grow. I know his role is kind of fluctuating a little bit towards the end or beginning of the season, but now that you’ve kind of got him repaired with the same shard, I mean, how you seen them kind of working so far? Yeah, two games. I mean, but they’ve been good. Yeah, like I I liked their D last night. I think again on the defending side of it, we did a nice job. Um, you know that there’ll be some like pair mixing matching as we go on through the season depending on who we’re playing, what the matchups look like. Are we at home? Are we on the road? How guys are doing against some of the matchups that other teams throw at us on the road. Um, but I like them as a pair. Yeah, they’re getting in and out of their zone really clean. And um yeah, it just depends on the night who we want paired with who, but I can see them playing together for quite a bit here because I’ve liked the Manson Burns pair. It’s big, hard to play against pair. Is Josh okay? Yeah. Okay. Yeah, everyone’s good. Um usually most years towards the end of you, you guys don’t practice much anyway, but this is going to be like a whole year where you guys are going to practice a lot. How does that change things for you when I’m sure there’s some days where you’re like, I’d love to get on the ice and things? Well, it doesn’t change a lot because you like lots of the learning has to be done on video, you know, like you’re if you have like areas of your game that you want to improve or areas of game you think are good, you want to reinforce them on video. We’ve had some like individual meetings today. We didn’t do a team meeting. We’ll have it in a couple days when we come back just so they’re fresh going on the ice knowing what we want to work on. Um, but our team has handled that really well over the as a veteran group over the last few years late in the season. So now it’s just kind of extended earlier with the compacted schedule because of the Olympics. ABS are playing really really good hockey right now, but Denver sports as a whole are kind of doing really well. Broncos kind of leading their respective divisions. Nuggets doing really well. I mean, how exciting is that for you to kind of see how well Denver sports is prospering? I like it. I like it a lot. You know, I’m a big fan of the local teams and uh yeah, so it’s really nice to see, you know, the Nuggets out to a good start. Obviously, the Broncos, that’s huge, I think, for the city. You know, this is a big football town and um you know, they’ve kind of been building it over the last few years and this year seems to be like they got something special going here. So, I’m excited to see them going into the playoffs. What was that like for you when you first got here? coming to a city that suddenly has a bunch of sports teams and stuff like that trying to grow up with. Yeah. No, it’s fun. I mean, because you always try to get to a few games a year of of everybody’s, you know, games and just go as a fan and relax and kind of support the other teams as they do to us. So, it’s always nice if you want something to do, you can get out and watch a good game in whatever sport you kind of choose on that any given night. Scott said that I mean goalies are their own thing but like he said UC has really worked with him on like calming his feet down to where he’s not overplaying things. Do you notice things like that because I guess it’s been a year of how it’s been. Not really. And they’re always working on something specific, you know, like sometimes the goalie himself will be feeling a certain way about something he wants to work on it. use is really good at sort of noticing things um both positionally and you know like if they’re you know depending on the situations what they need to work on. So they they have really good communication though between Blackie and Jussi Wedge and Jussi and Blackie and Wedge like together and so they kind of collaborate get their heads together and um but that’s probably something Jussi noticed and Wedge was kind of feeling and whatever they’re doing is working so it’s good. I know you mentioned a couple games ago that you’re not going to not play much with to get Blackwood those minutes that he’s maybe looking for. Might sound like a weird question, but is there any concern on your end that, you know, this is the guy that we signed to a longerterm dealer? None at all. None at all. I just think everyone’s in like outside of our locker room is in a panic that you got to get Blackie going, you know, and for me like he hasn’t played in 6 months. So like what’s the rush here? This is a long season. And then we get into the season later on in the year and everyone says, “Well, you can’t why you playing your starter so much?” So like like I just see it as like Baky’s ready to go. Everything’s going well for him. Um he’s going to continue to play games. I don’t want him out of the net too long, but you got a goalie, you know, think about it if it was reversed. You know, no one would be saying, “Hey, you got to start Wedge.” Well, Wedge is playing out of his mind right now, and he’s given us a great chance to win every night. And so, we’ll ride him a little bit here, and we got a busy schedule coming up after this break, and they’re both going to play every week. And, you know, we’ll we’ll we’ll get Blackey probably to like top peak of his game. and then we’ll start making decisions from there. But I don’t see a rush here at all with 60 plus games to go. Hey guys, thank you. Well, there you go. Uh, a lot to unpack there. Let’s start uh quickly with just the the quick injury updates. We did see Val Neushkin out. Uh, optional skate. Optional skates. Uh, been pretty pretty standard for Val over the last couple years. Uh he was out there and you know his just his workout gear stick and gloves looked fine. Imagine still a few more games but major crisis averted. That was the cute part about the BICOV interview talking about how much he yaps about discipline and stuff and like you see it in stuff like that. He’s working back from injury, but he’s still going to find ways to get better and stay fresh. And and with that, he actually So, he was out there working with the the the bumper, like the pass tool, and then he had the I guess I don’t know what the official name for it. Um I see a lot of them that are like kind of handmade or ma homemade. It’s like two pucks and then like a piece of a stick that you can like kind of um like pass a puck underneath. Yeah. Again, I don’t know what the official name for that tool is, but he’s out there and, you know, he’s he’s saucing over that and getting the puck to bounce off and catching it back underneath and he missed one and he slammed his stick on the ice and just, you know, to your point of like he’s he’s hurt. He’s out there in his shoes, but he still wants to be um you know, doing doing everything right. Um, Logan O’ Conor, uh, we just heard Jared Bedar say there, it’s not that he’s had setbacks, but as he’s ramped up the work here, uh, he’s had some soft tissue issues uh, that that have cropped up, but nothing with the hip uh, that that he had surgery on this summer. Jared Bedard even reiterated hip, no hip is doing well. That is on that recovery timeline that we were anticipating. Uh but as of right now he has he is dealing with a couple other just small things as he’s continued to ramp up. Uh and then the one other bit there uh injury-wise that we heard about is Kivy Yol Kimmy Ront on the ice today. It was a it was an extremely optional skate. Um so don’t necessarily put too much sock. He might be back in the red non-cont uh come Wednesday. Today’s Monday. I know what days are. Um and and so he might be back in the red non-cont, but good to see Yo Kibir out there in general. And those are really the three big ones for the ABS. Um Josh Manson had the fight last night. If anybody was paying close attention either on the broadcast or on the big board, uh was definitely favoring that right hand a bit uh that he caught Anders Lee clean on the jaw with. Um was looking for some ice, things like that. likely got checked out after the game. Uh Jared Bendard say he’s good. No works for wear. A little bit of soreness. Um do you want to talk? Actually, you know, I I know what we’re going to do first. I want to talk about Mackenzie Blackwood. Um there was a question asked there about like, hey, Scott Wedgwood’s really rolling here. Uh any cause for concern? And one, Megan, my my initial thought is like there is never a concern when you have two goalies that are playing well. Um, but what you know what Jared Ber I mean he very much dismissed it. No, we’re not worried at all about Mackenzie Blackwood, but he did kind of end up confirming what you and I had speculated a bit about. Mackenzie Blackwood was not able to play all summer when we saw him getting back on the ice at the beginning of camp. That was the first time he was getting back on the ice since the end of last season. I’m sure he stayed in shape and things like that, but that was a procedure that that ate up a lot of his off season. Scott Wedgewood doing what he’s doing has allowed the abs to handle this probably in the best way possible. Let Blackwood slow roll back into things. Get him those good reps in practice. Uh, you know, let him go through his game day progressions and routines and get in warm-ups and all that stuff. and then play him as you see fit. Um, I just want I guess your perspective on uh what we’re seeing right now out of this ABS tandem. We talked so much about it in the summer about like something that you can be really confident in. Has this made you more confident in the ABS tandem? Has this struck any fear in what’s going on with Mackenzie Blackwood? Um, you know, I think the way Scott Wedgwood put it the other night is right and I think he understands. I think Scott Wedgwood is making his best case for making this into a 1A 1B with Mackenzie Blackwood continuing to be the 1A. Uh your thoughts on on the ABS net right now? Yeah, I have a lot of confidence in the goalie tandem. And I think the perspective I want to draw up here is just how different conditioning is for goalending. And I’m not even speaking on this as any sort of authority, but they don’t come in shifts throughout the night. So they’re playing the full 60. So that’s important to keep in mind then in what getting into game shape looks like for a goalender. And then you look at what Mackenzie Blackwood is as a goalie, right? 6’4, 225. He’s a big guy. And I think to get into game shape then it’s hard to go 0 to 100. I think you do have to build back into that and you can only do it through reps in game because you cannot replicate the physical demand in practice. The timing. Yep. the same way that it is going to be in a game and just the entirety of the game then, right? Because I think you can get some of those reps in practice. Um, but then for a full 60, it’s just very different. And so that’s really what I’m seeing in Mackenzie Blackwood not being quite up to 100%. I still think he’s doing well, too. But it’s just not been as strong, reliable as Scott Wedgwood, who started as the starter out the gate. and that’s the opportunity he’s had through this point. So, I think it’s exactly what you’re saying. It’s gonna be a little bit a matter of time for Mackenzie Blackwood getting up to 100% game form. Um, and then once he gets there, and I think it’s just a couple more starts from now, um, it’ll be fine. But it’s important to also weigh the caliber of competition. And so they’ve been leaning on Scott Wedgewood for some of these top teams that have been coming in on win streaks. And so they just don’t want to throw the goalender who’s still working his way up to game shape into those situations right away. I think later in the season, Mackenzie Blackwood’s getting those types of games. It’s just right now where they’re at with Mackenzie Blackwood and wanting to stack up these wins. That’s what’s being measured here. I I I love there’s two points that Jared Bendar made that I really really liked. One of them was if things were the other way around, no one would be batting an eye saying you have to play Wedgewood. McKenzie Blackwood, you know, was the one who was healthy at the start of the year and was on an absolute heater. The, you know, fans, people would be saying, “Keep playing him. Keep playing him. He’s playing so well. Why would you not keep playing him?” I think that, so I think that’s a great argument. And two, Jerry Bner made the point of he goes, “And you know, sometimes we get near the end of the season and people are saying,”Wh are you playing your starter so much? You’re gonna burn him out. You’re playing him too much.” And I just thought both of those were great arguments of like, yeah, there really is always something to nitpick, right? Um, if you’re looking for something to nitpick and really just I I think the ABS, excuse me, are are enjoying it and embracing it from the standpoint of we’ve got two goalies we feel really good about right now. And how different is that from November 17th of last year. Yeah, they’re just there’s one goalie they’re working back up to game speed. And then the other thing is a credit to Scott Wedgwood because everything that I’m saying about conditioning, staying ready, blah, blah, blah, applies to Scott Wedgewood too, who on demand last year had to stay ready to get that start then. And that’s without the benefit of the regular rhythm of starts. And so that’s what makes Scott Wedgwood coming in last year in some of those starts or in relief as needed so impressive. Um, and I think it’s why too being leaned on as the starter and playing at a pace that is more regular than I think he’s been used to the last couple of seasons and backing up has been really impressive from him, too. So, just a huge credit to Scott Woodward staying ready and embracing getting those starts um because that’s a huge workload to just suddenly take on. So, it it’s been awesome to see him step his game up the way that he has to because it’s allowed Mackenzie Blackwood to get back up to game speed at a more gradual pace cuz goalending’s hard. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s goalending is really really difficult. All right, we’re going to wind it down and talk about two uh guys here uh to wrap things up. Uh let’s go to Josh Manson first. he gets in the fight last night uh after, you know, I believe it was Jared Bednar called out today that he’s really liked that that pairing of Manson and Burns, their physicality, the size. You were just talking about it earlier. Uh and we saw that on display last night. Brent Burns dumps a guy in the corner. Uh Josh Manson kind of dog piles Anders Lee onto the other Islander player that was already on the ground. Uh Honors Lee doesn’t like it, gets up, finds Josh Manson. Uh, and that fight was over pretty quick. Uh, Josh Manson’s a can hold his own uh in a scrap. Um, he’s been really good for the abs. We talked to him yesterday morning. Uh, you know, he talked about playing on his offside and how it’s been a challenge. Uh, playing with a guy like Brent Burns has helped him all that stuff. Um, I think he’s been off to a really good start. There’s a little bit of extra emphasis on him yesterday for hockey fights cancer night. Of course, he loses his mother just a couple years ago uh in that fight to cancer. And you and I just wanted to quickly highlight he’s got a an absolutely beautiful piece in the Players Tribune right now. Yeah, I didn’t realize it was the same piece from August that was being recirculated, but it is a really touching piece that just honors um his mom, Lana, and the way that she lived. He talks about how, you know, the way that him and his wife approach raising their daughters is inspired a lot by how she loved and it’s really sweet. So, it’s just a piece worth reading. It’s, you know, he’s uh he’s a guy that when he got added to this group in 22, um you could tell from a personality standpoint he was a special guy. Um, and and I think that is a big part of the reason why he has fit in as well with this team as he has because of who he is as a person, uh, what his personality is like. Um, and I think that the the the Players Tribune piece, in addition to everything you just said about, you know, being such a beautiful piece about his mom, I think it’s a great glimpse at, you know, his voice, his personality, um, and just why I think, you know, he’s he’s such a key part of this team. uh because he is uh he’s a smart guy, you know, he’s very well spoken, very thoughtful, um very open, very honest, uh and he spoke pretty openly and honestly yesterday about his mom and what hockey fights cancer means and uh all that. So, no, I’m I’m totally with you. It was I I I remember reading it back in August and um it’s it’s an emotional piece for sure, especially if you’ve you know know someone or or you know have have a loved one that that’s been affected by some of that. But um Josh Manson has been a pleasure to cover. Um and and and like I said, I think that piece shows a really nice side of him. Nicest guy in the room. Nicest guy. Really nice guy. You know what’s funny? I don’t know. Like they’re all really nice. I know that was the joke. Yeah, but he might not have the crown of nicest guy in the room anymore. I’m trying to think who it would be cuz I mean Scott’s such the easy one to say. No, that might be wise. Like there’s someone and I’m racking through my list of usual suspects like Logan’s easy to talk to, Ross is easy to talk to, Scott. Yeah, just that’s the one. Now I McKenzie might actually be chattier, but like Oh, Parker Kelly. Yeah, honestly. Oh, Parker Kelly. They they they’ve got a now that we’re sitting here going through this, they’ve got a really good I don’t there’s no guys in there that I don’t like talking. No, let it be known that Josh Manson’s still the nicest guy in the room. There’s just so many nice guys in the room and and and that has not always been the case. Like there have been guys on this team that it’s like I don’t really want to talk to to that guy. Whatever. Whatever. Um like Victor Olson’s been really great to talk to. I I love the mix of of new guys, too. Lucky might still be the only one who just doesn’t have a lot to say. Yes, he’s tough. He’s not mean. He’s just tough to talk. If anybody out there ever wonders why you don’t get a lot of Leky content from us, the guy just doesn’t have a lot to say. And I’m not going to sit there and twist his arm and make him talk to us. Well, and I’ve tried. And you know what? You know what he does is he’ll No, hold on, hold on, hold on. Twist his arm. If you try to get him to talk more and you just ask him questions one after the other, he just starts answering with the same exact answer. It’s a really effective strategy, even if the questions are different. Yeah. Yeah. So, it uh we haven’t quite cracked Lucky yet, but even him very nice, very pleasant, just doesn’t have a lot to say. All right. Um we’re gonna we’re gonna finish up here talking about Sam Molinsky and then we have a super chat before we get out for the day. U so we’ll make sure to hit that as well. Can I just speedrun? Someone in the chat earlier mentioned Brent Burns. I thought they had a really great night on the penalty kill in particular, which is funny enough that this play with Manson and Burns is on the kill. So, they’re just trying to defend hard on the kill. Typically, I don’t see Brent Burns dropping guys like that, but it’s good blocks. Um, good stick, good positioning, gets his body in lanes, and I just thought that was on display in particular. Hello. On the kill last night. Uh, so good game for Brent Burns. Just wanted to speedrun that really quick. Yeah. No, he’s he’s been as advertised for the ABS so far for me, Megan. Um, I think he’s been really good. Uh, I think he’s helped eat some of those minutes uh that were, you know, maybe piling up a bit for guys like Kale, Devon. Um, and I also think he’s he’s helped steady, which is funny. I think he’s helped steady a guy like Josh Manson, um, who again is playing on his off off wall. I I think having a guy like Brent Burns has just helped make that, you know, a little bit easier. That’s a that’s just such a veteran player who knows where to be, what to do, uh, you know, what reads to make, things like that. And I just think he’s been, um, really really big missing piece for the ABS back end. Another piece that is making that ABS blue line super dynamic uh, is Sam Molinsky. Um, technically a thirdyear player now. Last year was his first full season in the NHL. Um it was a little up and down for him last year, but Megan, he has been outstanding to start this season. Uh and as Jared Bednar alluded in that uh practice uh presser that we just played the last month in particular, his game is taking big strides. Uh Sam Molinsky is becoming a guy Jared Benar used the word trust this morning. uh he’s becoming a guy on that back end uh that is as trusted as anybody. Um and as Jared Bedar said is maybe he’s among that back end’s most dynamic and one of their biggest threats offensively coming in behind Kale Mar. Uh and that’s that’s an all right guy to be number two behind. Yeah, I think he’s been a big threat offensively and there’s been a willingness and a confidence in his game to not only just shoot from distance, but to activate as needed, he’s got such great skating, too, that he can go deep into the zone and pull back uh just in case. And I think what Jared Bednar pointed out when I asked him about Molinsky um at practice on Saturday was the quicker that Molinsky can shut down place in his own end, the more than he is able to join in on the rush. And I think it is a great perspective. It’s like when you’re tending to those details in your own end, then the offense that can come in transition, it’s like a reward. And I do think that’s been true of his game then, too. I’ve always thought he was good defensively, but I do think he’s being more aggressive in his own end. And I think that is leading to him being able to close out plays more quickly, go toe-to-toe, even with the bigger guys, kind of like Jared Bednar was pointing out. And it’s through smart positioning, right? Like the reality with Molinsky, he’s not the biggest presence on the ice, but I don’t think he is hard uh like soft. Uh, I don’t think that he’s easy to get off his skates and I think he’s leaning into that a little bit more. Um, especially on the breakout and I think that’s led to some good decisions in his own end. He looks more confident, stable in how he’s moving the puck. Um, and then I think it’s translating then to the confidence we’re seeing in what he’s able to do on the offensive side of it. And there’s just a willingness to shoot. We saw it at the tail end of last year and I like that he just picked up where he left off and has continued to build on it. He did it in that rook I know last year was his rookie year in that that smaller sampling of games that he got in his first year pro. That was what I loved about him was that willingness to jump in offensively, put pucks to the net. It felt like he got away from that at times last year, but I completely agree with you. Started doing it again at the tail end of last year uh and then just ran with it. Um he’s top 30 in the NHL for defenseman for points right now. Um and and and there’s a lot of guys that are tied. So, you know, a point or two for him moves him up quite a bit. I I just I I people who have listened to this show a bunch are probably sick of hearing me say it. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing me say it. He’s got some Kale Macar in him. And and I just think that if we were seeing Sam Molinsky start to do this maybe for a different team, I think there’d be a lot more buzz around like who’s this Sam Molinsky kid? Looks a little bit like Kale Mar out there. But because you’ve got Kale Mar, you’ve got Devon Taves, you’ve got Brent Burns, uh you know, Josh Manson being the force that he is back there. Uh you know, Sam Gerard, veteran player who’s a you know, smaller puck moving guy. I think Sam Alinsky is just getting a little bit lost in the shuffle right now. um because there’s a lot of good players here in Colorado. I think if Sam Molinsky was start was playing the way that he’s playing right now for you know the Minnesota picking a team I think there’d be a lot of people who’d be looking at that going holy smokes Sam Molinsky this kid looks like he can be a player to your confidence thing he’s also more confident in the room talking to us his answer he’s more sure of what he’s saying uh he’s and I know this might sound silly but like he’s speaking louder you know what I He’s yelling. I mean, but you know, he’s he’s, you know, for for kind of lacking. He’s sitting up straight. He’s talking, you know, forcefully. And he just he he’s not striking me as the, you know, young player trying to figure out I’m doing all right. I’m trying. You know, he’s like, “No, I’m, you know, I’m doing this. It’s working on this and blah blah blah blah blah.” And, um, you can just tell that he’s taking steps not only on the ice, but just where he’s at in his career. Yeah. I think we’re seeing too like the player at Cornell that had a lot of success especially by his senior season. We’re getting to see that side of it too. And so like the scene that he finds to Olson on the Olsson goal with Anders Lee coming in high IQ play. The timing is just right. So it’s not just taking shots at will like there’s intentionality behind what he’s doing. I think that the confidence is working alongside it. And so that intentionality is in his own end too. Like it’s his handling of the pucks um that he’s able to maneuver around guys with the handling um and then the skating too like the starts and stops that you’ve talked about those mechanics sometimes reminding you of Gabriel Landiskog that’s helping him to break pucks out as well. And so it’s not just good handling he’s using his skating which is another strength of his game um to kind of round out everything that he’s doing right now and it’s working very well for him. Yeah. No, it is. Um, we’re gonna wind down the show with this. He did a podcast interview. Sam Molinsky. That’s right. Uh, last week and the whole thing is it’s good interview. There’s one part in particular that was making its rounds uh around uh hockey Twitter uh and Instagram, Tik Tok, all that stuff. Um, we don’t have it queued up here and and I I should have thought about it a little bit ahead of time to to queue it up, but Megan, this was maybe the most direct we’ve heard. Someone We all know what Nikita Zidorov went on a podcast and said a few years ago about Nathan McKinnon takes the way he eats very seriously and he holds other guys to those standards. He replaced a bunch of the pasta at the team facilities with chickpea pasta. uh you know he’s the one that kind of started the postgame workout sessions. There’s just a lot of that stuff. Nathan McKinnon has a lot of pull over that and it kind of led to this meme of oh Nathan McKinnon’s crazy when it comes to his food and what the guys eat and doesn’t want anyone having sugar and duh. Saminsky used to enjoy a nice pregame peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He got on Nathan McKinnon’s team and according to Saminsky that came to an abrupt halt. Not only did Nathan McKinnon get peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of Samolinsk’s diet, he also tried to get him off pasta, and you and I had a lengthy conversation about this last night. Off of pasta and onto sweet potatoes. I’m assuming that he means sweet potato pasta, which I don’t know if that’s a thing. It’s not a thing. Not a thing. Um, Megan, I couldn’t replace pasta with sweet potatoes. I don’t even know how you’d go about doing that. I Yeah, just a little concerned. Um, like what kind of pasta are we talking about? Cuz I imagine there’s different versions of pasta where you can get a couple things represented. Like if there’s some vegetables in your pasta, you get some veggies, some pasta. Like a sweet potato is just it’s just sweet potato. It’s just a sweet potato and it’s limited in what it can do. I love sweet potatoes as well. I do. I do. But I guess I’m just not sure that that’s a one for one switch and I was really glad to hear that Molinsky reflected. He thought his game, you know, he got a little I don’t know if superstitious is the right way, but he went back to his pasta. Um, and I love that he still gave weight to what Nate was recommending. Like he cut the PB&Js. He said, “All right, all right, all right. I’m bought in, but I will not be giving up my pasta. But I will not be giving up my pasta. I think that’s a right balance between the two. Like, you know what? Stay true to yourself and do what works best for you. I’m just imagining Nathan McKinnon taking a bite out of sweet potato like an apple. So, this here says, “Sweet potato pasta refers to a dish that either uses a sweet potato puree as a base for the pasta sauce or spiralized sweet potatoes that you use instead of pasta noodles.” Well, and you’ve heard that sounds disgusting. Yes. Um, do you like sweet potatoes? I do. Oh, see, I don’t. They’re not my And sometimes I do just eat like a baked sweet potato. So, I’m just not imagining that being a very fulfilling pregame meal. Sweet potato zoodles. I should have read the next sentence. That’s exact. So, yeah. I don’t know. I don’t know. But I’m glad Molinsky stayed true to himself and went back to pasta. Yeah, I’m with you. I think there’s a a balance here, right? Cuz this is the Nate conversation where he cares. I don’t know how he’s delivering some of this, but he’s probably coming to Molinsky like, “Hey, what do you eat pregame?” And Molinsky is honest. PB&Js and Nate says that’s got to stop. See, I’m picturing I’m picturing him walking up on Samolinsky eating with an uncrustable in hand. What in the just furious? Um, all right. Let’s uh let’s hit this super chat and then get out of here for the day. We’ve gone a little bit over. Hit those super chat lights. Minsky season. Molinsky season. Dang, that’s perfect from Molinsky season. We are never losing again. The abs are the abs are rolling right now. And and you know, Megan, like this uh I think I’ve talked about on the show, Evan R, friend of the show, um made mention like this is starting to feel a little 2022ish where you just kind of expect them to win. Um and I think they are starting to build some really strong belief in that room as well. I think they are getting to the point where they feel like doesn’t matter the opponent, doesn’t matter how, you know, how we’re going to play. we are going to find ourselves. We’re going to find a way to get our game in order. Uh and and find a way to win. I think they’ve been really consistent. I think the process has been really good and I think it’s all really good stuff to build on. I want to add the kids on the ice today, Tav’s kids, Ly’s kids. I think that Brent Burns having his child on the ice kind of open this door for more family involvement like this because we’ve seen Land’s kids come on the ice, you know, postpractice from time to time. So, I don’t want to suggest it’s entirely new, but I remember Eric Laqua talking about an era of hockey with Pier Laqua at the helm. Um, where families were in the locker room and that was the standard like they’d come in postgame. Um, and they, you know, they could be with their their dad, their husband. Um, and I think that family aspect of it was really wholesome and kind of a part of some of those cup teams to be honest with you. And so this feels kind of like an homage to that era of hockey that was also very dominant. It’s like it’s being woven into this present era of hockey too, incorporating that family aspect again. I don’t know if I’m making too much out of it, but the kids on the ice today really touched my heart, tugged at my heartstrings. And I I appreciate the family aspect so much. Think back to a year ago. Team starts 0 and4. They’re having to climb out of that hole. You have the chaos around the goalies. Don’t know what’s going on with Gabe Landiskog. Val Nachushkin is still on uh league mandated suspension. Don’t know if and when he’s coming back. I don’t I I don’t think you’re looking too much into it because I I don’t think you would have seen that last year. I don’t think you would have seen the team be in a position to feel like, hey, we can go out and enjoy ourselves today. It’s an optional skate. Families are here. Yeah, let’s get the kiddos out there. You know, I just don’t think it would have I just don’t think you would have seen an environment that would have allowed for something like that. So, I don’t think you’re looking too far into it at all. Kids on the ice. Kids on the ice. We are never losing again. You should uh go check out the video of Gabe Landiskog fighting his son. Uh it’s on my Twitter. It’s hilarious. That’s going to do it. Went a little bit long today. Thank you guys so much for sticking with us. Uh went about an hour, a little bit more than an hour 10. So, thank you. Long show today. She’s Megan Angley. I’m Jesse Monttoano. Uh we got John, we got Ashley back there making it all happen. Thank you guys all so much. We got the official podcast of the Colorado Eagles dropping tomorrow hosted by Megan Angley. Uh I believe I’ll be featured on there as well. Yeah. Um and uh we’re sitting down with Alex Gagny of the Colorado Eagles. Should be a great uh podcast with that’ll be tomorrow and then we’ll be back at it Friday. Abs are playing Thursday. Have a great week ahead of you guys folks. Uh we’ll talk to you later. Bye bye.

Jesse Montano and Meghan Angley kick off the week by unpacking Colorado’s 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, and how contributions from guys like Sam Malinski and Josh Manson have elevated the Avalanche backend into the league’s elite.

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