Michigan HockeyCast 8.19: How YOU Doin'?

0:00Welcome to Michigan Hockeycast 8.19, where we're going to check in with old friends, and also other old friends. Feels like every week I start this podcast by telling you it's that time of year again. Do you know what time of year again now? It is? No. It's the World Baseball Classic.

1:02Daylight Savings Time? Oh, yeah, it was Daylight Savings Time. Did that one get you? My takes on that are not to be sure on this podcast. You're not going to tell people what you think of Daylight Savings Time? Is it controversial? Here's what I think. I don't care. It's easily the number. Why? Easily the number one. I know it's because I'm weird for that. Everyone online is just like, so if you're like, so if you're like, oh, we just got to stop the clock change. I can't take it. And I'm like, never once in my life has this ever bothered me. It just seems right, whatever. Yeah, but you're the person who can't watch a hockey game at eight or at six, but has to at seven. So like, wouldn't that help save some of that time for you? If you, if the clocks weren't changing? No, not really. No, you're just dismissing that theory altogether. All the people are posting the like, it seems like golf season now.

2:06I book your, your, your twilight golf season. Oh, because you can see it. Yeah. Yeah. No, that makes sense. I don't really have an opinion on here. I'm sure there's probably probably a right answer somewhere, but I know it's different. If you have children and stuff, that's what people are always complaining about because they have to adjust. Supposedly, it's like a nightmare for children or something. I don't ever remember it. I mean, it's never like fun when you lose an hour of sleep, but then it's fun when you gain one. Uh, sure. I usually just stay up later, then. So like, it doesn't, it feels the same when you're always staying up to watch. Well, it's always during my new Mexican. Yeah, exactly. Something. Well, I'm staying up to rewatch the Michigan game, but um, yeah, less year was such a bummer because the daylight savings time was the same day as something that's related very closely to the World Baseball Classic, and unfortunately, I couldn't go to bed till like five in the morning because I was just staring at the ceiling and didn't get any sleep, extra sleep that day. But oh, well, what? It just gave seven in the world series was the same day. Oh, I thought you meant last year. No,

3:08like, oh, yeah, the previous one. Yes, the one. Yes. Oh, okay. I was like, what do you do? What? I was like, no, what are you gaining it tonight? Yeah, well, I understand that completely, but like, I was thinking, what happened last March? I have no idea. It feels like the same things happen every March, but anyway, okay, so you want it. You said you wanted to talk about we talked about daylight savings time. There's a real opener, but um, you said you wanted to talk some World Baseball Classic. Um, can you tell me why there are so many teams? It feels like there should be a middle ground between the Olympics where there are going to be six teams, which seems way too few. Yes. And at least one of them won't be serious. And then the World Baseball Classic where there's 20 and then that's probably too many. There are 20 teams. I think a middle ground should be like, there are teams on here that I didn't know even attempted to play baseball. Yeah. I mean, between Czech Republic, Israel, Brazil, and Great Britain,

4:16Italy. Yeah. I guess I remember with Mike Piazza play for Italy, which has a lot of Italian Americans that play for Italy. We don't need that in this. And then there's a lot of like Latin American countries. And so I understand that like Panama and, you know, Colombia, they're like akin to what like Denmark is in the hockey Olympics where it's like, oh yeah, they have like a couple of guys and a bunch of other random firefighters. Yeah. Yeah. Which is whatever. But we don't need all of them. Like we can have some of them. Like you can weed teams out of this. You right. Like Venezuela and Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Like there I'll have a lot of players. Yeah. I mean, I think if you did South Korea, Japan, US, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and then toss in Mexico, Mexico, Canada, boom. Now you're at eight. Yeah. I mean, you could go up to 12 and put in Colombia and, you know, any place that has one or two MLBers and then cut it off at 12. That's fine with me. But you can't be the Netherlands. No, they should be team curious. You can be curious. But you can't be the Netherlands because all I

5:19see is like orange speed skaters flying around. They should get their recognition for, you know, being the place that actually produces the players in the same way the Puerto Rico gets to have its own team. But yeah, anyway. And they were good in the past. So I wouldn't have an issue putting them in a 12 team. Curacao? Yeah. Yeah. But it's, you know, it's a lot of fun. We've, it's somewhere only four or five days into it. And there's already been a number of fun moments. Like a lot of the marquee matchups haven't even happened yet. And you just really enjoy how spirited the teams are. And like watching some of the lower level games that have been pretty close. Like the Puerto Rico Panama won the other night ended in a walk off in the 10th inning. And that was in Puerto Rico and the crowd was just going crazy. And the tours were going crazy. And the other night when Taiwan beat South Korea. And that was like the first time they'd beaten them in a long time. And their players were going crazy. And then today actually it was interesting this morning.

6:20I didn't get to watch because it was very early. But like 10 30. No, it was like five in the morning. South Korea played Australia. And they, it based on the tiebreaker because they finished in that group with a three way tie. South Korea Australia and Taiwan finished two two two two two two two. Yeah. So it came down to fewest runs allowed in the head-to-head matchups. So that's how they decided. Yeah. So South Korea had to hold Australia to like two runs or fewer and they won seven to two. So they are moving on. And their team was really excited. Like these countries really do put a lot into this. And the US is always lagged behind in its enthusiasm. And they're starting to catch up. Well, we can talk about them, but they're, they're kind of loaded, right? This year. This is their, this is the first time they've really brought kind of their, you know, their 18, so to speak. I mean, you go through their lineup now. Last time at the pitching in this tournament, always lags a little bit behind the hitting. And just because the pitchers aren't fully stretched out yet, they're, they're not going full. Right. Like you think like scoobles like in

7:22schemes are like giving everything. Yeah, they're still, but every team can bring all their hitters because the hitters are like, whatever, we're ready to go. Well, and they want to play some games, right? Like because even when you're playing spring training, how many games you play? And you're getting like an at-batter to and then they're bringing in the guys that are trying to make the team. Right. And so you look at their lineup now and Harper, Breggman, Rally, Schwarber, Tarrang, Judge, Bucsden, Anthony Witt. Who's the worst player in that lineup? Tarrang or, I mean, Roman Anthony was a rookie, but he was really, really good. Well, he was like the top prospect, right? Yeah. And then they got Henderson and PCA off the bench. That's, that's as good as it gets pretty much. But, you know, the pitching, I think we're supposed to find out today if scoobles going to make another start. Supposedly, he wasn't. Now, he's reconsidering. But he, he wasn't even their first, I mean, they have schemes. And then, then he'll pitch tonight, then he'll pitch one more in the knockout stage. They also have Logan Webb, Michael Walker, Boyd, Nolan McLean. It's a little bit weaker. If, you know, if scoobles

8:23don't throw again, there's maybe a little vulnerability. And they're bullpened maybe not as, as good. But, okay. But if you're starting, it's all relative. If you're also starting scoobles and schemes, like if that's not. Yeah. That's more impressive than probably the lineup you just, and they have Mason Miller at the back end. Yeah. I think has probably the best raw stuff in the world. But I don't necessarily think it's, it's going to be a cakewalk. I mean, that's a great U.S. roster. But for me, the Dominican roster is, is right there. Yeah. They, and they're on kind of on a mission because last time around, they really belly flopped. They were in a group of death, but they still had no reason to lose to Puerto Rico and Venezuela. They didn't even make it out of the group. This time around, it's a little bit easier group, but they're much more dialed in this time. And you go through this and it's the same thing. It's all of all stars. Pretty much. I mean, you have an outfield of Titis Soto and Julio Rodriguez. That seems all right. Yeah. And you got, you know, Machado with third throwing DeGurero at first and Caminaro D.H.ing. I mean, it's just insane power. Yeah. All all stars. The bigger question for

9:26them is, will Christopher Sanchez wake up for his next start? Because he was horrible. It's Nicaragua for no reason. For me, he was a top five pitcher in baseball last year. Like he's every bit as good as some of the aces in this tournament, but he needs to pitch like it when he gets the chance to throw again. Besides that, they got Brian Beo, who was pretty darn good for the Red Sox last year. Sandy Al Contro, who was a Saiyung winner before his Tommy John. Yeah. He was our last year. The best pitcher in baseball at that time. Then second half of last year, he was starting to look much more like Sandy of old. So he rounds into form. They're pretty darn good. They're bullpen, Camilo DeVal, Carlos Estevez, Brausebond, Serenity Dominguez. You know, pretty darn good down there. I mean, that's a great team. And this is a golden age of Dominican talent. So they're a man on a mission. And then you've got the defending champions of Japan. I don't have a ton to say about them because there's not, I don't know all of their players. They bring a ton that have not played in the MLB before. But the ones we do know are obviously very good. Yeah. I mean, when they throw

10:26Yamamoto against Schienzer's Google, they're right there and show Hey behind him and the lineup, show Hey, but show, he's not pitching this tournament. Is he? I don't know. I don't know. He might assure. I mean, they whoever they bring, you know, they're going to be good for most part. There's a couple guy I'm interested to do to watch some more of Murakami and Okamoto, who are two guys that signed this year to come to the MLB. Get another look at them in this tournament before they start their MLB careers. But they won last time. They're a great team. So those three, I think, are kind of the co favorites of this tournament. Venezuela, their team is better than I anticipated. The one bummer for them is I wish they had distributed it so that you had the four best teams in four different groups. Okay. Like, I'm glad that we get a Venezuela Dominican game on Wednesday in a group stage. Like, that's fun. But it sets it up where Venezuela will likely have to play Japan in the quarters. And they could win that game. Don't get me wrong. Like, there's no question about it. So who's the, so you, oh, you think Puerto Rico isn't one of the top?

11:26So they got screwed by injuries and some other shenanigans. There was an insurance issue with them if you followed that saga. I did not. Kareya and Lendor, I think, both had some off-season procedures. And the players to play in this are covered by insurance for their teams to ensure the contracts. And insurance was like, we looked at the medicals. We're not ensuring you. Like, if you play in this tournament, we think the risk of injuries too high. And so then they didn't get to play. And. Well, Indor isn't even playing in spring training. I don't think. Yeah. And bad bunny was like offering to pay their insurance for them so they would play. But the funny thing was the Indor was on Instagram lies the other night, unlike at the end of the when Puerto Rico hit that walkoff homework. Yeah. And he's just like screaming. Yeah. I saw he's doing crazy. Yeah. I mean, if they had all their eyes, they would be pretty good. But they don't so bummer for them. Yeah. But yeah, in a perfect world, you'd like Venezuela in that group. But just to have the four best teams in four different groups and have that be the semi's. But I won't complain about Venezuela,

12:29Japan, it's a quarter like that. Yeah. If they lose, I mean, they could beat them in the Republic. Like, that's the Venezuela's a good team. Like, you look at these names. Akunya, will you're a brand-new Jackson Choreo, Ayuhenio Suarez, Glaver Torres, the Contreras brothers, and then Luis Arraiz, who I'm not a big fan of, but when he puts on the Venezuela jersey, he's Barry Bonds. He hits home runs. He hit the ball, the infield NMLB, and then he's just hitting nukes in the world from baseball. Maybe he's facing like great Britain pitching. And then their ace is Ranger Suarez. It was very good. And Pablo Lopez having Tommy Jones a big blow for them. Because if they had him and Ranger, then they're in good shape. But instead, it's kind of a they need Erod to turn back the clock, which questionable about that. But a good team, no question. So those are the top four. And then I don't really think anyone else has a great shot of winning it. But I will say that the Mexican team is frisky. They made a little run last time around. It was really made great waves with Mexican baseball, really revitalized the sports culture in that country, which is, again, shows how important this tournament is that

13:33this tournament was kind of, I mean, I remember when we talked about it three years ago. And it was kind of like almost a satirical thing. Yeah, I was like, oh, well, the first few times no one really took it seriously. No, I mean, Japan did in some of the other countries, but not the US. It didn't get good ratings. Last time suddenly, people were watching, you know, all of a sudden, it's a deal. And also an interesting tie in here to note is the, this is a qualifying for the Olympics for the teams in the Americas. Okay. US are not relevant. They're hosting the 28 Olympics, obviously, but this really matters for the Spanish. Well, Mexico and Canada would be. Mexico, Canada, DR and Venezuela are like, they need to do well in this tournament for qualifying for the Olympics. They're really taking it seriously. Yeah. But it, and now there's talk of MLB players going to the 28 Olympics, which is fairly feasible because it's a short tournament. It's in LA. It's not, we don't have to do the whole go to Italy. NHL owners, oh my god, if we send our players to China, they'll never come back. Do you think it's like, oh, they're right there.

14:35We just take the week off. They go play and then they come back. Do you think, do you think that they'll have the stadium done in time? Yeah. Dodger, well, no one will get there. So this is all the baseball Twitter memes that has two weeks of like, Iran, here's where our nuclear weapons are, please destroy it. It's a picture of Dodgers. That's actually kind of funny. But it's just, you know, we talked about this with hockey that international best done best is one of the best showcases for your sport. And it was about time that the MLB finally truly embraced this. And it's just been a lot of fun to watch so far. And in the next week, I think it'll be even better. So if you're a baseball fan, I really recommend tuning in. You know what I find interesting about you being so excited about this. What? It's too early for you to get excited about a sport. You don't get interested in sports until they've started for a little while. Like even, you know, I mean, it's helped with the pistons being good and the wings had a nice start. So like, you got into that and you generally get into hockey. But you don't want Michigan basketball to start or

15:39Michigan hockey to start. You're like, we're still in football season. I'm mad that opening day is as early as it is. But you're really excited about the World Baseball Classic. What is this? I mean, honestly, it kind of has parked itself in this little, like it wraps up before March Madness plays the game. That's good. Like does it really? It's the final game of St. Patrick's Day. So I think that over. Oh, is that a win? That's like a Tuesday. So I think that's the first four day. But first for you. They don't. Yeah. So I just, you know, it's, they fitted into a part of the calendar where it's open enough to have a little fun. I mean, I had the Brazil game on. I was not able to. I saw the very end of the Great Britain gaming in CS, but I had the Brazil game on. And it was, you know, fun. I was, I think I always have stars. I was probably a little more attention to that. But yeah, I mean, I've watched the world. I watched World Baseball Classic the first year was out. And I've mostly had it on every time, except for when the Mets had just been so bad for so long that I was like, I'm not doing baseball this year, which happens now frequently.

16:40But it's, it's fun. Like I said, the only issue I have now is like, they're just too many teams. And like, I can't take like five or six of these teams seriously at all. And then there's a few other teams. But sometimes I play each other. It's entertaining. So like, like, bad. Yeah, I never know. I mean, sure. I think when you get to the knockouts, it gets, it goes up a little level. Yeah. And it's nicer that the US is taking it seriously because like these tournaments get credit get credit when all the best players are there. Yeah. And like if you can't go because you're injured, that's fine. That happens in every sport. Yeah. The world was showing the, uh, from last time when the US had Kyle Friedland pitching in like one of them. Yes. Well, the year they won it, they won it with like Seth Lugo. No, no, he was pitching for he pitched for Puerto Rico. Who pitched in that? Somebody? It's, yeah, they, in the past, they have not had their best players by far, especially on the pitching side. So did you see who threw out the first pitch today for Japan? And they're what do you think there's maybe throwing it out tonight, something like that? I have no idea. Two time world baseball class

17:43like MVP. Base K Matsuzaka. Oh, really? Nice game. Man, I remember when he came over. That was, uh, was the gyro ball that he had? That was probably before you were watching a whole lot of ball. I mean, he was one of the first guys I remember as being like a big name. Yeah, he took forever. He would have been killed by the pitch clock. Hey, you've also concealed two bases off at one time. So, um, yeah, I think, uh, it'll be fun. Knockouts will probably be a little bit better, like you said, where you'll get to see actually some of the real matchups. I mean, there's one or two in the group stages, but, uh, gets, gets a little better. What, you know, knockouts start Friday night, Friday night. Okay, perfect. Well, we don't have a hockey game then. So no, and all right. Um, Big 10 basketball is always in the afternoon. Well, for us. Yeah, when we're the one seed. Um, all right. Well, so we don't have actual hockey games to talk about this weekend. Uh, Michigan was off for the last regular season weekend, I guess, of, of the year.

18:46So, um, we do have other scores and old friends to look at. They did play Simon Frazier. They did play them. They won. It was like tight at first. Like they didn't Michigan didn't start very quickly. I think Ivan Kovac played a period. Um, they had to play all their forwards, though, because, uh, I don't think musket or Valentini dressed. We will see if they will this week. Um, Hunter Haiti scored a goal on a extra pretty nice shot hit the corner. Yeah. Um, good to see them. Yeah. So, uh, nobody got hurt, which would have been my, uh, main concern from that game. But, um, apparently, Yoast was pretty empty. Peter was talking to me about it because, yeah, there's no one there in the press box or really in the stands. I was like, well, yeah, I mean, his Thursday night in exhibition. Yeah. So, um, anyway, so they played. So, uh, what I thought we would do, this is the week that you always like to talk about all the pro

19:51Wolverines, whether in the NHL or the other leagues in this country or other countries. Um, but first we'll do our normal ending to the podcast where we will talk about our old friends look around the league and then we'll preview some, uh, Vensology and the probability matrix and then we'll look at, uh, Notre Dame, whom Michigan is going to play on Wednesday of this week. Uh, so for you listening, it's probably tomorrow. Hopefully you're listening bright and early on on a Tuesday. Um, so, uh, old friends, uh, some interesting things happened. Mercy Hurst, um, outlasted the Golden Griffins in the, I guess it would be the opening round of the, uh, Atlanta cocky, they were the set, they were the 10 seed in the 710 matchup, but they went to Buffalo and beat the Kinesha's Golden Griffins five to two to get into the quarters, which hey, they want to play off game, I guess they have sorts. Um, and then they took Bentley to three over times in game one of the

20:53quarter finals and I believe they lost four to three. I was kind of following that game. It wasn't particularly close. I think the goalie for Mercy Hurst saved 65 has 69 shots. Yeah. Some like absurd. There's one of the longer games and yeah, it was like a top 15 top 20 game of all time in terms of length. Um, not as long as the, the No Dak Duluth game, which was the five overtime game. Delirious by the end. Um, and then Bentley just ended their season on Saturday night, six zero, which everyone could see that coming because you thought, uh, Mercy Hurst pulls us off, you know, maybe they can pull out on a game three or something like that, but Bentley to care of it, uh, Rick Gotkin's 38 year coaching career has concluded, uh, congratulations to him. That's a long time to do, that's a long time to do really anything, honestly. But, uh, coaching college hockey, uh, especially, uh, the friars of Providence put down the Yukon Huskies three to one,

21:54the Rhode Islanders only had one game. They are in an interesting battle with Quinnipiac and Denver for those two seeds, which come into play, um, regarding Michigan or Michigan state, because of where Denver finishes, if they finish higher, um, then it's a bracket integrity kind of solves itself versus if they finish seventh or eighth, then it could get a little dicey for one of the teams from the state of Michigan. Yeah, so the Denver situation got quite an update this weekend. Um, they're now pretty much up full on the two line, uh, 98% to be on the two line. Yeah. And the 86% to be five through seven, and they are, they're pretty much even between those three spots, 29% for five, 28% for six, 29% for seven. So we're quickly angling towards a spot where at the very least first overall will not be probably getting Denver. And then second,

22:57even second, I think you could flip them like in if they finished seventh, you could flip six and seven and have that okay. It could be okay. Yeah. And if they get up to six, then I think it paves the path straight away to put Western and them together in Denver. So we might be dodging that situation. But that one will probably continue on for at least through this weekend, uh, for sure. Um, uh, Bobby Mo lost game one of the Atlantic quarterfinals three to two in two over times, like all of the game ones that three of the four went to went to overtime. They lost to Air Force, I believe. Um, got bombed by the Air Force. Can I do that one? Yeah. Um, and but then they came back and they won the next two games to advance. So Bobby Mo is still alive. Uh, are they playing uh, Bentley next? Is that is that how the Atlantic quarterfinals or the semi finals, I guess let me take our gun at our gonna work out? It seems like they Bentley will play a holy cross

24:01all across Robert Morris will play Sacred Heart. Okay. So so those are three game series or are they single? No, they're going to be I think they're single from here on out. I don't honestly, I don't know the ins and outs of the Atlantic hockey tournament. Most other tournaments you've kind of figured out because you're kind of keeping an eye on it. The Atlantic one is almost like they're all the same team because one's gonna get in. It's whoever wins the tournament. Not super important. Um, but uh, they're still in it and their win on Sunday is what briefly pushed Michigan ahead to the number one overall in NPI by I think one one hundredth of a purpose of a point or something like that is crazy. Um, Western Michigan hosted Colorado College and beat them five to two in game one. Um, I actually went to game two, Peter and I went to game two to Lawson. Uh, and that CC led for like 50 minutes of this game before Western tied it up and sent it over time, which I was like, great. Let's watch more of this game and uh, they and then they they got a major.

25:09So, um, Western had a had a major power play because a CC player, um, apparently slew footed a Western player in overtime putting them on the power play and they scored like almost instantaneously to end that series. Um, so Western's moving on. They're going to play Denver in the semifinals out in Denver, I believe. Yeah, over the weekend. Harvard, um, survived the St. Lawrence Seaway four to three. Have you ever been on the St. Lawrence Seaway? Nope. Have you ever seen it? Nope. In person? No. Have you ever been remotely in that area? Not really. Would you like to see it? Not a big part of it. You don't want to float the St. Lawrence Seaway? That'd be kind of fun. It'd be an inch. It's always been an interesting waterway to me. Sure. Sure. Okay. Um, that is it for our old friends. We can move on to the big 10 games the weekend. There were three series normally we cover two but Michigan had to buy. So there will be three of them. Notre Dame,

26:11Michigan's opponent on Wednesday, uh, beat the buck guys five to four in overtime and then beat them again four to three. Is Notre Dame just winning games now? Are we a little bit concerned that they've figured it out a little bit? They, I mean, I think there are team Michigan has to take seriously in this matchup. Um, I Michigan's better but I don't think it's a true cakewalk. Yeah. I would agree with that. Um, Penn State got clawed by the cheese people seven to three and that was in hockey Valley. They were up two to one in that game and then just kind of got cheesed and then they got clawed by the ice badgers five to two. Um, so has Penn State gone full Tom Petty? Are they free following? You're down to 11th in MPI and do they, I mean, if they lose to Minnesota, are they in danger? They're in them and Wisconsin and both punch their ticket. Okay,

27:15both. So it doesn't the team that has gone from very precarious to now firmly in their Wisconsin's up to 99.6. So congratulations to them. But are we, we don't, we're not cheering for them. They're just, we're just applauding everyone who makes their own. Okay. Um, so the Penn State right now, their highest probability is to stay at 11, 27% for 11, but they could 20% for 10 and 22% for 12. So they're now looking like a three seed unless they make a run here in the big 10 tournament. Also, they can't get higher than like seven, six or seven. And they were like number five for a one point. Yep. Um, they, they just haven't played well in quite some time. They, they got kind of hot, came to Michigan, only got one point and then it's kind of, I think Michigan would be very comfortable getting them in their bracket. Yeah. So I think, well, we might see them, uh, cheering for them against. Yeah, we'll talk about that in a second.

28:17And then the last, uh, big 10 series of the weekend, Michigan State smoked the ice gover, seven to one, wrapping up the regular season title. They kind of mailed it like in the next night. Two, yes. And then went lost in a shootout. And that was really, that was actually relevant for the NCAA tournament seating. Uh, so that's the thing is they're kind of, note the Coda now is on the driver's seat for the number one overall. Like if they went out, they've got it. I think so, but I'm not in it. Michigan's still a 25% for I think if Michigan were to win the big 10 in Mon, they might have a chance to hop over North Dakota. But if they beat Wisconsin at home, they probably what as long as North Dakota, then won the NCC, probably not. Well, that's the thing is that like Michigan and Michigan State's sort of like scuffling in the last month have brought North Dakota back into it into that one. Yep. Overall. And no decks closed their season pretty well. And they've played. Yeah. So we'll see what they do. And by the way, Western is now clinched a one seed. So our four one seeds have been decided. Yes. And it remains pretty much

29:21the top three for three spots. And then Western highly likely to be four. I mean, if they win the NCC tournament, they could get to like three maybe. But So let's look at some Vinsology. Um, Worldwide Vince sent us his bracketology and he says Michigan in Albany versus Bentley or you had like sacred heart because they're ranked higher or something now, whatever, but whatever. The Atlantic hockey champion. And then the two three would be Duluth and Cornell. That seems I would be very awesome. Right? I mean, it's tough to do a whole lot better. I would be very happy with that. Yeah. And then he has no deck with St. Thomas again. And then Quinnipiac and Wisconsin in Sioux Falls. Yeah. I mean, what do you think? Is that tough? Is that tough for them? I think no deck will be favored no matter what. Yeah. In Sioux Falls. Wisconsin is just a dangerous one to me. Like I would like to avoid them because they're just we've seen this season. If they get saves, they're a top 15. So

30:23you don't know what you're kind of getting. Yeah. And also like they didn't even need to get saves to beat Michigan in the last series. But and Quinnipiac is probably the best of the e-cac and the East teams probably. Yeah. That's a tough draw for them. But they would be favored regardless. Michigan State UMass and then Providence PSU in Worcester. That also seems like kind of a lot. Although, you know, getting UMass, which they're a hockey East school instead of sort of a sort of a sport that's pretty dual to me. You think so? Are you a man or a mouse? I'm not in gear. Okay. Time to get the team to the frozen four if you get that bracket. And then, but Providence is better than they were. And I mean, they've matched a pretty well against Penn State. So yeah, I mean, and I respect Providence and everything. And then the leveling regional would be Western Augustana. It's hard not to think that's Western Denver. Denver. And then I mean, I don't have any Dartmouth stock. Did you ever? Not really. You never bought any.

31:27And Augustana, I don't know what to think about the CCHA teams, but yeah, I would think that would be a battle of the two. And they will play this weekend, by the way, in Denver and then CHC tournament. Yes. That's actually a game. Is that Friday or Saturday? Well, the days. Well, Saturday, we would potentially have a game Friday night. If it's Friday night, that would be a game. I would try to get a login for that and watch that one. But, um, so why don't you, before we look at Notre Dame, let's go through the probability matrix. Michigan is we're going to be one through three, kind of depending on how all of the Michigan, Michigan state, no deck stuff shakes out. Yeah. So Michigan 25% for one, 20% for two, 37% for three, MSU 30% for one, 27% for two, 32% for three, very similar. Yeah. And then no deck, as I mentioned, 43% for one, 34% for two, 18% for three. So kind of the same with the little, little way I tilted a little higher. I mean,

32:28I think for the location stuff, the question is, can Michigan get above state? Because that, I think, that's like the Albany question. Like, if you want to be an Albany, you need to be ahead of state. Is my guess? Do you think Albany is a bigger draw than Worcester? I mean, it's kind of, I mean, one's a Friday Sunday, I guess, the others, you're, you're getting bright and looks on your face about this turn. No, it's just like the, you know, who would you take Jack Toddler, Davis Warren? I don't know. Who do we prefer? Doesn't really matter. As long as we're not going to Loveland, it's kind of like, yeah, so, so Loveland is Alex Orgie, is that what they have? They're not that far apart. They're both not anywhere close to Michigan. There won't be any fans in the building either way. Yeah. We'll certain brother viewers make the, make the trip up. Unclear. Unclear. You're not committing either way. So, um, Michigan does have a game this week. They hopefully have two games this week. Um, the first game will be Notre Dame. We'll just run

33:30through their numbers. 53rd and NPI. That's, that's, that's still really low. 38th and Corsi. Don't, I don't have the puck a whole lot. 28% on the power plates. I mean, all these big 10 teams, like, even if they're not a very good team, they just, all of them have good power plays for whatever reason. They should teach the abs how to do that. Uh, 77% penalty kill. Not great, but that's probably around where Michigan says anyway. Um, a drafted skaters, but really only Nelson is that second rounder and he's in his third year, but he's a good player. Uh, four skaters that are scoring over 0.75 points per game. And then I believe I just took Kemp's numbers and he's, he has a three five zero GAA and an eight ninety five save percentage, not particularly. Not worthy. No, but, you know, you look at these results for two and two in their last eight, a lot of overtime though. They bend over time in five of their last eight games and six of their last 10 and eight of their last 12. Can I tell you how much I really want Michigan to win

34:34in regulation on Wednesday? So, um, so Michigan's taken three of four from Notre Dame. And then, you know, these games for the most part, I mean, two of the games they got like way ahead early. And then yeah, they had to withstand first game and had to withstand like a charge later. And then the second games they were playing from behind in the first one. And then the second one was kind of back and forth. And that was the guy who got injured in that one. Yeah, and Muse gets injured in the first one. Yeah, so Michigan's generally been in command of these games as a whole, except for the one where they were playing from behind, but they were like also controlling the puck in that game. Yeah, so the numbers for Notre Dame with their possession and stuff supposedly are decent enough like in chance generation, but they've been undone by really poor gold ending from Nick Kemp. He did have the one really good game against Michigan, but you would like to see the Michigan finishing advantage take its place here in this one. Yeah, and it feels like if they, if Michigan can get out to early lead, goal or two, go up two out at the end of the first,

35:39something like that. This game, it takes on a very different feel. And it doesn't, I'm not expecting Notre Dame to be able to light up Michigan. They're probably not winning like a five to four game against Michigan. The ones that you worry about, two to one, three to two in that realm. And so, if Michigan can kind of push it out early, I think that's a bigger deal in this game than say like a game against Penn State or something like that. The quarter final game is on Wednesday at seven p.m. on the minus, unfortunately, as all of the big 10 quarter final games are rumour has it, you might be trying to go to your host. Is this, is this for real? We'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. You're just non-committal today. We should give you some decisiveness for your birthday next year. I kind of wonder what the attendance is going to be like because, you know, Michigan usually does draw pretty well and obviously they have been a good year and all that, but those games usually Friday, Saturdays, you know, like in but a Wednesday game. I mean, this is the first time I believe that there's been a midweek sort of playoff game that maybe I can

36:45I guess kind of like I guess they played like Thursday when they when they all went to the same arena for those years when they were like this James, honestly, just to shorten this tournament, it was too drawn out previously. Now we're condensing it down to at least 10 days. You like more single elimination? This tournament is hokey anyway. The big 10 turn. Yeah, it's okay. Are they all, are the conference tournaments all hokey? Here's the here's the number one rule. Okay. If you win the regular season, the regular season's all it matters. If you win the conference tournament, the conference tournament is all that matters. So in basketball, this year, it's only there doesn't matter. Yeah, it doesn't matter. But in hockey, now it does matter. I like how it changes near to your faces. It's like the the best version of war is the one that suits your argument. Face the old baseball at it. Yeah, there you go. All right, we've this segment's gone on a while. So we're going to take a break. If you want to hear about all of the Michigan Wolverine hockey players

37:47that are playing professional anywhere that Alex could find, we will have a discussion on pretty much all of them in the next. We'll try to cruise through some of them in the next segment. I can't believe I'm doing this. If you find yourself in the penalty box, you want to Michigan men arguing your case called criminal law attorney and former prosecutor Jonathan Paul tonight. It's 2 4 8 and 9 2 4 9 and 4 5 8 4 visit his old website at Michigan lawgrant.com Hey man come on down. It's telling truth on the corner now. Look at them all dressed in white till the angels must have came into town last night. Hey man come on down. They got your fix on the

38:50corner downtown. Look at them with their heavy hearts broke down in the bottom nothing on where to start taking it's all black and white. You can lay down and you can put up a fight. You can break bread with the baggers and thieves that you could high-wash your way through your knees and you can check out a lesson that you learned. Share it around and throw it away but in the end you're going to see you're the only one I've ever seen. It's just a game until the girls have been in the real games to talk about this weekend. This is when we are going to get into the update on all of the ex-Michigan players and where they are and what they're doing so you sent me a list of quite some names and had some labels on them so I should be able to follow along pretty well. So we'll get started in the NHL the first guy you have written down I would have never guessed but Mr. Luke Glenn Denning he's got to be close to chronological. Yeah he's got to be

39:52though he actually was just done waivers but he is now found a new home and so you have met in Philly. He was with New Jersey but he got waived now. He was with Tampa for a while right? With Tampa for a while. Like is there a fourth line? I think this is probably it. This is it for him but well how many games he's he I don't know if he could Patrick Marlow is way to 1000 games but he's at nine he's at 917 right now. Is he really? Yeah so he would need he would need like one more year canucks to roster next year. He's fly to Vancouver and show up at the arena every night see if they let you play. He's got four points which is honestly if you had told me when he was at Michigan that he's going to have four points to 2026 on the league I probably would have been like man good for you. One of the least likely careers of anyone so do you have a lot to add about what more is this? Always been good at phase-offs and not a lot else. Next up we have a

40:55defenseman who is now in Anaheim played with the Rangers for a while Winnipeg before that Jacob Truba has played 62 games this season 10 goals 20 assists 30 points. I mean that's not bad for defenseman they're gonna make the playoffs they might win the division. Well and he was a guy that people were not really excited when he got traded to Anaheim his play had really declined in New York and then he said a really nice season for the ducks like this is probably one of the best years of his career certainly in many years put up quite a bit of offense has been surprisingly stabilizing on their on their defense so you know good for him and you know presumably be part of the group that leads that team back into the postseason for first time in a long time yeah I mean well they were always in the playoffs for a while right like between when they won the cup and the majority of the team's deck 2018 was their last appearance so it's it's been a while

41:59yeah yeah well they were I mean they were also like they went through kind of they went through kind of like too many rebuilds in the meantime yeah but they found a new core and they certainly looked like in a very exciting up and coming team and he's one of the veterans for them right I wonder if he'll be around like when they are actually really good but good be I suppose if they want to they want to hang on to him and they got they got John Carlson in quite a splash trade so between him Trouble and Red Cogutus it's now kind of the function going on on that defense the next guy on your list is Olympic gold medalist Dylan Larkin playing with the Redwings he's played 63 games 28 goals that's a lot of goals 27 assists for 55 points not a bad value there he was red hot to start the years trailed off some the second half and then he's been banged up a bit recently they really need him to get back in the lineup and close the season strong because it's

43:01does the playoff push they it's going to be a battle to the finish line and well that division is all of a sudden gotten like beyond loaded it's it's remarkable I don't remember ever seeing the NHL this him balanced where right now there are 10 teams in the east tracking towards at least 93 or 94 points and they could all win the Pacific and in the last it's a few teams and not much else yeah so there's going to well they're all in the one division is going to be there's going to be a couple of deserving teams in the east they get let out left out and for the Redwings they really can't afford that to be them so Larkin's going to need to be a really productive piece the one thing that could be good about this imbalance and sort of like all of the playoff teams coming from two divisions is could we see either a one through 16 or going back to one through eight come soon I mean just with I mean fans have wanted it for a long time yeah and the NHL has been so resistant and you know and in credit to Gary like the are everyone's always like oh well they said

44:07they wanted to create rivalries that's a good voice I like is that how he sounds that's pretty good and it's like what they kind of did like people will remember the and LA they will thing right like that they all they used to play each other all the time yeah I mean like how many of those series are like Tampa and the in the Leafs had no history and then they played a few times of the house now they have some history like it yeah I do think I think there's a rivalry between those teams I mean I think that they aren't part of the division now like it did create some degree of like buff like that Buffalo Tampa game yesterday which was like I might actually go back and rewatch or watch that game tonight because I know there's not anything else on I want to see but like to me that's I mean that game eight seven is is bonkers and they all gotten a fight there's like a hundred penalty minutes that's a series where like you know if they play in the playoffs style game that could be that could be terrific but like the rivalries that are being created that have been created feel like they're those rivals are already there I mean

45:07like the Colorado Dallas one they already had a rivalry for like 20 something years like the Toronto and Boston and it's the one where it's a little stitch together yeah bringing teams together the Pacific you know a lot of those were West Coast teams originally in the central a lot of them are the same from like the Old Northwest division and obviously the the Metro is kind of just the exact successor all the way back to the Patrick division of the old days so it's it's really the Atlantic that that created created those rivalries but you know it is what it is all right we've gotten off topic so next up on your list is another red wing another early Michigan Wolverine Andrew cop eight goals 28 assists and 30 or for 36 points in 64 games he had a decent career in Winnipeg and then got traded the deadline signed by Detroit never really lived up to what they're

46:08hoping to get out of him but has had an okay year are you or are you ready to be done with all the cops played well between Debranket and whoever he's playing with usually Kane I think it states back to like the second half of last year where they started to find some chemistry and in that in that line cop plays fairly well so I've been been pretty pleased with him yeah he has one year left on his deal I believe so yes all right um Zach Werencky Olympic gold medalist as well 20 goals 20 goals 45 assists for 65 points in 55 games I believe he's McCart is is picking up now but his slumped off for a while in January and I think Werencky is currently leading the NHL in defenseman points I would think so I mean he's gonna blow past what he had last year in points which was already a great season it I think his Norris case really rests on if he can

47:12will Columbus into the playoffs I'm a little doubtful doubtful that would happen but hey they played really well as a flight so when they made a couple of trades right uh they got they got Connor Garland oh that's right yeah that's something you like him I do uh I don't know if that's enough of to get them over the finish line they were I mean they were digging themselves out of such a large hole do they need they need their goalie to play well right like the new goalie grieves yeah I mean he's a he's a good young goalie so I mean Werencky is he's him and Krillmarschenko are kind of like the whole team in Columbus and uh you know he was always a good player in the NHL but it's pretty surprising I think just how good he's become well the last two or three years suddenly yeah he's just when he signed that contract originally it was all like oh the Columbus tax like aha pointing laughs sort of thing yeah and then now you know he really took that leap at like age 26 ish which can happen with defenseman sometimes but well that that's the McKinnon thing too right is like he was he was good when he started and then he took his at like

48:1621 or 22 which is more normal was it that earlier or yeah I thought it was 2018 was 2018 was the year that he broke out and but that's fine yeah I guess 22 then he's the late 95 but he was already into uh his second contract yeah he was four fourth year in the league I think that's the only okay um jt confer another red wing xf 8 goals 12 assists 20 points in 64 games uh not sell me on jt confer not particularly great the only thing I had to say about confer and it's pretty unfortunate is j fresh has that stuff per 60 uh stuff per six metric okay where it's like all all of the micro stats that you can track um particularly the ones the quarry Schneider tracks over at all three zones um so it's like you know zone entries you know entries with possession zone x blah blah blah blah all these different ones you know hits and then it's just like

49:20do you do things at the do you do things that can be counted in our like recognize or are you getting cardio right and then he totaled up every player in the league on stuff per 60 like just all every single thing and then how many do you do relative to your ice time and confer as the number one cardio merchant in the NHL oh no he was at the very end with the worst stuff for 60 guy in the league and if you watch him it's not that surprising so he in his second to last year in Colorado is when they won the cup and he was one of the drew a lot of iron from abs fans as he didn't do a whole lot for a lot of the year and then down the stretch in the 22 year just starts pouring in goals to like push almost 20 and has a nice playoffs then two and so it kind of like save that year the next year is when he gets all of those points because he has to de facto play second line center for the hours which is probably aligned too high and that is career high there and that's what sort of led to his contract and just probably not more than a third liner in

50:26reality there I mean he's just a guy I think that needs to play with players that can drive play and then he can kind of play off that and the revenues just don't really have that down the line up and unfortunately it just leads to him kind of getting crushed in his minutes pretty consistently so yeah I would consider a buyout frankly really he has two years after this year I think so because he was he has one more than copper I would just like to move on yeah I think they kind of went one for two on the cup copper signings which isn't like a shocking betting percentage on those two is he of any trade value he's a center so maybe but hey centers that this deadline are going for yeah I think your life was traded at one or two other time so Kyle Conner another guy that played surprisingly good year for how bad the jets are but 28 goals 43 assists for 71 points but he's always going to point at it right he's always a goal score yeah I just

51:27thought it would have been lower but I do I did remember that the jets issue was like literally no one on the team scores besides him and shifling well I mean they let dealers go and yeah maybe one of those teams that's been courting just all like you know kind of like tough guys outside of their skill do so we'll have these two guys score and then everyone else just bangs into people I mean beginning in the 17 18 season Kyle Conner has scored 310 goals and that's per 38.8 per 82 games pretty good yeah well I mean he's probably the best goal scorer in the league from Michigan yeah I would say so yeah Zach Hyman 27 goals 16 assists 43 points in 45 games so he started the year late I think because of an injury or got injured he's been banged up but he's still been really productive he had that was it two playoffs ago where he was just on or he also

52:28had the year where the year where he scored 54 or whatever just finishing everything from God McDavid basically yeah I mean these that contracts got to be in the final year or two I would think yeah well you he left Toronto and you were kind of like well the concern was about his knees yeah how they would hold up in the aging but and they mostly have they've held up pretty well and he was a perfect fit and the cap it he got really wasn't that high the Leafs should have just kept him in in the end I mean bunting was a decent replacement but it was temporary and I mean then they went to NICE so it's not like they have stiffs in that spot but yeah Hyman is really showed himself to be a kind of a special player in some way I mean 27 goals is not I mean he's been producing it you know 30 35 per 82 since he signed that deal I mean that was there's no doubt Ken Holland's best move when he was in Edmonton his one move that he made I mean the echo one was good too yeah yeah all right then we move on to Quinn Hughes six goals 57 assists for 63 points in 58 games gold

53:36medalist always in the top two or three defenseman in the league yeah so the move to Minnesota is interesting now they really talked about that because that happened during you know when we were off the podcast for a month so it was in December oh okay but that was that was like quite a trade and I think he's played better in Minnesota it was that in Vancouver well yeah well so to start yeah so like the first two months of the year was pretty reprehensible to me from him yeah like it just it was so clear they needed to get that trade done yeah because like he it was just wasn't back checking he was just standing there while guys walked down the slot and you know shoot it in the net and then just skates back to the bench and stairs into the distance as the captain of the team like he was so checked out on that team yeah and it just needed to happen and so that's not a great look his captain his play has I think improved with Minnesota but we really don't know what's going to happen with him moving forward in Minnesota I mean he's got a one more year after this one

54:41on the contract and do you think they're going to resign it was all this talk about New Jersey but what I had heard was he wanted to be in the eastern time zone now if you have access to a map you would argue that Minnesota is not in the eastern time zone but I don't think they are it is roughly equidistant to uh Plymouth Canton as New Jersey is like if it's you know it's not that much of a difference now the question is sort of the brother thing but now New Jersey looks like a dumpster fire which we'll get to in a minute with Luke Hughes and you kind of just have unsure what is going to happen with this now I I don't think it's a terrible gamble for the wild to make in that generally speaking in the NHL your baseline expectation should be that every guy will sign an extension with their current team because they all do except for a few Nikolaealers but if they go through the summer and they get to July 1st and Hughes says I'm not signing an extension I want to play out next year I'm very interested to see what you do

55:45at that point well what would you do in own rental situation and you risk it to you well the thing is is you could probably get your trade back not the same to the same but you yeah not the same exact players but you could get it would be there's just a world where it could be a ranting and thing where he gets reshopped not that long after yeah um because I mean the wild did give up a ton and so that's the reason to me why you would want you would you would have to be really good next year to then not flip him again if it's non-committal I think so we'll see how this year plays out but like right I mean I think if they went to the Stanley Cup final this year then maybe they be able to keep him but the the problem is that when they traded for him it was very confusing because well Colorado's having a terrific season and Dallas is having the second best season and so you're right now de facto number three and and you're the one team that's going to have to go through the top two teams most likely to make it and it's not like they can't do it but I would say the odds are probably not in their favor yeah the odds aren't great it's gonna be interesting

56:52to see how that how that develops for them down the stretch and into the playoffs I don't think they can get home ice against Dallas I don't sure they can can they can I mean how tight they're not they're not in like the driver's seat only three points they're a few points but they're two they're also two games they they're Dallas is two games in hand yeah so it feels like it's probably going to be Colorado Dallas Minnesota but I mean obviously I think it happened there's 20 games left so yeah I mean I think that Quinn Hughes probably wants to be closer to Michigan I think he wants to play for a good team and I think maybe he wants to have some family tie-ins now what team suits all all of those and how that goes we'll see well the the wings could trade for him but he's not tall enough so yeah poor Alex Josh Norris nine goals 14 assists for 23 points in 26 games so that's like not bad the problem there is the 26 games and that's all that's

57:53just been the story of Josh Norris it's like when he can play his body was not made to play hockey unfortunately except that when he does ensure times he's good at it he's really good when he plays it's just he doesn't I mean he's like Bill Walton you know that's just like oh sorry you just weren't really made for that I mean supposedly I remember when the trade happened last year that shipped him to Buffalo and there was the talk that like his people were like you know those medical files are horrifying like yeah his shoulder is silly buddy like uh oh yeah hey when he plays he's good and the the sabers are an incredible story it's unfortunate that they're in the Atlantic and you know I have all this overlap with them and teams I like yeah it's impossible to root against the sabers at the moment well if there's one team that kind of everybody in the NHL can be like well you deserve it maybe even more than whatever team I follow it's probably the sabers because I mean I would be like if that my Jets finally made the playoff so if anyone's reading

58:54I mean when the Sacramento Kings made the play right exactly there are just those teams that are just never get there and they're always bad and so when they do you're like wow I you know I wish it was my team but like if anyone else is gonna do it it might as well be this team I can't figure out like if they're legitimately a Stanley Cup contender or is this just like an insane land sanity run like or the it would be in like month four of a land sanity well right but they're in like they're at like 30 and five or something in the and since they fired Kevin Adams which is the funniest part about I mean talking to my dad about it because he's a sabers fan and and he was like well it you know it seems like coincidental with that I'm like I don't know it feels like it's the reason it's weird because he's not the coach like if he was the coach no we've seen that happen many times yes but sometimes like we if you just don't believe in an organization and then the organization is like no we're going to be different everyone looks around will be

59:56up and it's like we can do this right there's the money ball meme of like Billy this is Kevin Adams he built one of the best young rosters in the NHL the only problem is they all hate him and refuse to win if he's employed yeah but I mean watching the the clips of the sabers lighting game last night and it's like if this were happening to trying to think of a good stand in here but I don't know where you're going like the Arizona coyotes or the Florida panthers like pre this like like when the panthers got good yeah I just wouldn't care that much in general yeah I try they give like a a really good exam I mean it was like there's on a diamond backs like yeah a team in my head where it's like oh there you know they're finally made the playoffs after 20 years what do you think I mean I got whatever but like because I just feel like those teams don't have actual fans I'm sorry they're there are some but not that many they're not very well supported yeah when you

1:00:57watch their games the half the arena is yeah the other team whereas like Buffalo like people have forgotten how rocking that building was oh yeah and like they are still one of the highest markets for like TV ratings of hockey games and the playoffs like regularly yeah even though their team never makes it so they are like that is legitimately their games are sold out the rest here a market that they need to have the NHL needs to get back going because they are a really good market so I you know that's that's really good and just to watch the clips last night and see how loud the crowd was and they have had fun little rivalries with Toronto and Montreal and Pittsburgh over the years at times and have played them Boston you know like games like what they played them either in the playoffs or just had you know because like those two Canadian cities it those at whenever games are in Buffalo you know people always come down on the weekends I mean again it's kind of forgotten that prior to 2011 they were always I mean they were one of the best run franchise in the league like pretty much from inception for their first 40 years they were

1:01:58almost always in the playoffs they went through many different heroes of didn't have like the greatest players but but we know I mean that's a good thing they came in with Vancouver Vancouver got kind of shafted and mismanaged their first 20 years as a franchise and Buffalo got won the parole lottery and just hit the ground running and they had the French connection and they had Scotty Bowman had some really good defensive teams in the 80s there and then they you know went into the Haashek years and then the Drury Palm andville uh Briar little window and then if Ryan Miller Ryan Miller and then I mean like they were always in the playoffs. Yeah yeah that's true and you know obviously not for Wings fans it's not great I understand that or that division but it's a fun storyline in the NHL um so next we have Cam York who has four goals 19 assists 23 points in 55 games with the Philadelphia Flyers I always kind of forget it exists it was funny I went to Denver for my birthday last year and the to see two abs games and the second game was against

1:03:04the Flyers and we got there and I'm like looking at Hoots over oh Eric Johnson's playing for them oh Torrell's coaching and I was like Cam York oh Cam York hey I forgot about you buddy and I so yeah I mean I think he's pretty decent but he's a guy like if he ever hit the market I would be really interested in yeah it's just like it unfortunately it feels like he is condemned to be just the second pair on the flyers oh he'll be decent on the flyers they'll never make the playoffs would be remotely interesting ever and he'll suddenly be 33 and have played 700 NHL games and we'll have no opinion he's going to do anything about him because like the like he's going to be the guy in 10 years who were like rooting for as he's cup chasing because he finally is free what an unserious team I mean do you have a do you like him yeah I think he's solid yeah I think he's decent Johnny Beacher one goal three assists for four points and I think he also was on the waver wire this year he's now well yeah he's in Calgary yeah I don't think pretty early yeah the funny part

1:04:08was like you know for a couple years when Boston was in the playoffs you know he was on their fourth line and and like scored a goal in the playoffs I think the one time and you know had a decent skill set for a fourth line player but hasn't really kind of faded a little bit he just doesn't have a lot of offensive juice and that profile is really hard to make stick for a long time unless you're really good at specific things and I just don't think he's probably going to be long for the NHL NHL guy if he wants to me sure sure okay Nick Blankenberg six goals 15 assists for 21 points in 49 games he just got traded the abs gave up a fifth round pick to get him to be their seventh defenseman from Nashville couple interesting stories about Blankenberg I mean you and I both remember watching him here played with Owen power and was just was always so small and it was always like you know can he make it in the league and what what does that even look like

1:05:11can you play on a decent team and you know I was listening to some abs podcasts around the trade deadline and well wanted a couple of guys like really like him like they they've really bought into him now I don't think he's a top six he's going to be primarily a seventh until someone inevitably gets hurt in the playoffs um but you know 21 points and 49 games for Nick Blankenberg I mean that's that's a pretty good hit right there yeah I mean I really like that trade for Colorado he's like him to me he's just like a perfect third-pair kind of guy and you can sit him if you need to use him if you need to like he's just his offensive instincts have always been really good you look forward coming up and you see it in a he can really skate in his smart and plays really hard and okay small whatever he can actually get the puck out of the zone so the the story that the guy would that the guy listen to says is you know because the abs just traded Sam Gerard yeah and the abs are like the obvious like it's just the perfect fit but like in terms of this is

1:06:13the you know they they are the one team that thinks you can be good without having Tyler Myers on your blue line jealous um no but the the thing about it is like the the abs just trade Sam Gerard because they wanted to get bigger on the back end and they got Brett Kuhleck to do that and he's a better fit but Gerard has the same profile as sort of a Blankenberg where he's a smaller good skater puck mover and Gerard in physical battles knew he was generally going to lose them and so he tried to play stick games and use his body as positioning and that kind of thing and the guy was listening to is talking about Nick Blankenberg does not do that that's not how he plays he plays like a big man in a small body now he doesn't always win those battles but he's not going in trying to be cute and poke the puck away or take away your stick or something he's going in to push you around and you know you go up against a bigger power forward it's not going to go as well but he's going to be kind of a pain in the butt in that way yeah I mean I I'm always

1:07:14been a Blankenberg guy big fan well so he started in Columbus and got sent down we're like well you know he tried and got close and then he got came back up with Nashville and now he's like being traded for the deadline and so I guess good for Nick huh Maddie Beneers is next on the list 16 goals 23 points 39 or 23 assists 39 total points in 62 games in Seattle who is going to make the playoffs I guess maybe I don't know who you're buying are you buying the sharks I guess maybe the kings I mean the sharks the predators the sharks are OT merchants but they they have I mean the kings are the team that I guess think they were making the playoffs well they're going to have to play Edmonton as people pointed out the humor in the fact that they bought Scott Lawton from the Leafs and they have fewer points than the Leafs actually really fun anyway Maddie Beneers is

1:08:16Seattle so I am a little little worried a bit in just sort of this is kind of what he is and is he a to see he I feel like he's just kind of looking like he's sort of Michael back then kind of guy which I don't have anything wrong with Michael back then but you know you don't really want to take Michael back then second overall now that was a bad draft yeah like when he was in the draft the first time I you know when he was drafted after his first year at Michigan I sort of thought about Philip to know as a comparison and then that second year at Michigan he he shot a bunch in the net his shot looked a lot better I was like okay maybe you know it's gonna work and then he you know he could be sort of like a Nazum Kadry kind of like a much higher offensive ceiling and his first year in Seattle they had that good year and they made the playoffs and his numbers were good and I think he won the Calder and he was looking really you know on the upward trajectory and then since then it's kind of stalled progress wise and his offensive numbers are okay this year

1:09:19with 16 goals in 62 games but the underlying stuff isn't super impressive their team isn't any good he like they're they're they're fake good they might make the playoffs but I was gonna say they're not making a lot of progress in terms of rounding into like if they make the playoffs and play Colorado it's like that that series is on to be we're not even I'm not allowed to watch it I have to listen on the radio hey thanks Alex there's just they're gonna be steamrolled and he plays more less group hour plays and he plays more minutes than just about anybody on their team and so so my question with that is like I think when you were describing leading into Maddie baneers you basically we're describing the Seattle Kraken as an organization is he a guy that if he gets traded serious organization that if he played with the higher skill players that they they could pretend or just like like what happened with the Sabers is all the sudden the lights which went on for that whole team after they fired the GM the Sabers have

1:10:19a lot more talent do you well then that Maddie baneers does oh no but I know yeah if you took him to if he went to a real team and played up with real other players do you think the changes scenery I seven idea uh oh what's your idea this summer okay the Buffalo Sabers extend bone biro okay and they trade Owen power to Seattle Kraken for Maddie baneers um why would why would Seattle do that well they get a bigger young guy on their defense and now they sort of solidify their defense and you know Buffalo solves the defensive all those guys they have and they get a younger center okay I mean maybe Buffalo Package is a prospect and a pick or something with it but I mean powers you know we're about to talk about him yeah he plays a lot of minutes like I don't I feel like it where they are in their careers is fairly similar like how I feel about baneers is how I feel about power is that ever happened where you've had like paid manning trade for Ryan Leaf and they both played together in college oh that would be

1:11:26that's kind of interesting isn't it yeah that's a fun we uh trade idea yeah we have to arrive to get you to write that up um speaking of which Owen power six goals 15 assists 21 points in 63 games was always the guy at Michigan who you're like this guy has tons of potential and you just never really saw the ceiling at Michigan he gets to the NHL and kind of the same thing is he a top pair is he a top four does it matter we plays with it doesn't he's just kind of there he got his extension so he's getting a lot of money you know this is a first real team he's played on basically since that team lost in Boston or the Michigan team lost in Boston you know are you what do you think I think he's solid I think he's like a solid second pair guy maybe there's a maybe a world where he rounds into like a number two on a team I was never big one power guy he was always a sort of jack of all trades master of none kind of guy and still

1:12:30what he is like he's not bad but he's just he's fine I don't I still looking back don't really know if he was the wrong choice at first overall relative to the choices that were logically there at the time yeah the obvious best player in the draft is Wyatt Johnston and he wasn't you know way down what he with the first router he was like 20 something yeah and then you know the only two guys in the top 10 that I'm really like yeah I I would take that guy over power is probably Simon Edvinson and Dylan Gunther and like it got there I think you could have made an argument for the time for at the time Edvinson was way too of like a boomer bus prospect who justified taking him first like if you wanted to take him in your Buffalo you would have traded down I think it's like maybe I mean Gunther was picked like 9th or 10th like he wasn't really it and you can compare power to Benures to Mason McTavish to Luke Hughes to Ken Johnson I mean I take power over all those guys probably like a defenseman's more valuable than and like he's better than Luke and some of those other guys right now it just wasn't a strong top of the draft and what was always

1:13:32the reason in part he was taking that high was the fact that he was just safe yeah he wasn't going to suck yeah you didn't know that he was going to be and that was such a weird draft year there was so little elite talent in that draft that well that was one of the Copa drafts right where yeah yeah but he you know he I think the the backbone to Buffalo success is is Samuelson biorum dolleen and power like it's genuinely a very good top four with the jump that Samuelson's made and then Kessel ring like they're they're legit on the back end it's funny because they just traded for a couple defenseman right from bad trade from Winnipeg are those guys going to play they were going to pay way too much for perico but at least perico is really good whereas yeah they got two stiffs well and they have I mean they they have picks and they have prospects they've been picking yeah not yeah not trading them for a long time so you know this is a year to maybe roll the dice although perico didn't want to go there so um another guy in that same draft wow Kent Johnson six goals 13 assists 19 points and 59 games he's been getting like healthy scratched

1:14:38I think in Columbus um just there were times when he kind of was scoring goals but then it was like a bit of a heater that he was this on um yeah so is he available like is he well I made the joke in the outro last week saying what team will be beyond they ended up not trading him but he has been he did get scratched uh recently he was not doing well under Dean Everson then they fired Dean Everson it seemed like he got a little Joel at first from Rick bonus coming in and then it's just kind of going back to being kind of status quo and which means he just doesn't play that much last year was the year where people started to think it was happening he had 57 points and he was up to 17 minutes time on ice yeah did shoot 19 and a half percent that's a little high yeah on ice shooting percentage if I remember correctly was very high I again I kind of like power I've never been a big Kent Johnson guy I've been kind of shadow boxing uh Scott Wheeler

1:15:43about this for years um and of course last you and your online feuds man last year Johnson has this you know good season wheelers like yeah taking a victory lap over you personally and then if I'm sorry you're nowhere to be seen this year when Kent Johnson has very few points I I think the issue here is wow 13.3 on ice shooting percentage um but he isn't a very well-rounded player there are deficiencies defensive end and physicality and he's never been able to score at the at the rate that is enough to justify more ice time with those deficiencies right like NKK Kuchirov has similar deficiencies doesn't matter he scores 120 points who cares well he's as good a passers there right Kent Johnson just doesn't score enough to get coaches to be willing to tolerate those other issues and he might just be one of those guys that's kind of stuck in a kind of gadget role but I do think he should get a look somewhere else because I think Columbus is bad at developing

1:16:47forwards is you think he could be in any cellar yeah or you mean it just like he is a tough guy to fit in um because most teams in their bottom six don't really like it's kind of the Daniel Sprong thing except Daniel Sprong was like a bad person supposedly in the locker room which I don't I've never heard anything about that with Kent Johnson but it is just a tough archetype to have a bottom six score who doesn't do the things you typically want your bottom six to do yeah just a kind of a bad fit in that regard Adam Phantilly 18 points 26 assists for 40 or 18 goals 26 assists 44 points in 62 games not bad um maybe coming along finally getting to the end of his ELC he's what do you think he's gonna get in this offseason I'm really curious about that I mean NHL teams reflexively are always just like you gotta sign him long as possible like lock him up now and I don't know I I can see from both arguments in terms of should he accept a long term deal

1:17:51she not accept a long term deal I think it's disappointing that he hasn't progressed this season he scored 31 goals last year and he's at 18 this year and the point totals fairly similar I mean should he present just down but just hasn't really he didn't take that next step and I think through three seasons he's he's below what you kind of would want oh he's top three pick right in the top three pick and a really good draft and Leo Carlson despite some of a recent slump is is out scoring and out producing him pretty decisively and so and you would take Carlson any any time you get in that situation now where you've got your peers that are kind of outplaying you there starts to be pressure and what I've noticed with with Phantilly is that when he plays with Caril Marshanko then he produces and when he doesn't then he doesn't and I mean Caril Marshanko is really really good yeah get me wrong but you'd like to see him be able to drive it a little more the other thing is he's just really streaky like he had a stretch in in November where he had seven goals in 11 points and nine games and then you know as soon as that ends you can take it to early

1:18:54January and he has eight points and 18 games so it just kind of comes and goes with him at the moment but they might bridge him I I'm curious I also would like to see him not be in Columbus because again I just think he could routinely we have seen their forward draft picks do not perform very well all right Luke Hughes five goals 24 assists 29 points and 54 games not a terrible total but he's had some defensive issues and some bad luck and just got paid but maybe not quite living up to his draft either tough tough season for him he had a stretch there where there were a lot of issues and he scored an own goal didn't he have two own goals in one game he got booed by the crowd and then he had surgery you know he's out for the year oh is he so he's done yeah hopefully he improves uh next season because he doesn't need to get

1:19:55sort of back on track here uh definitely is not Quinn like by this point in Quinn's career he was clearly a top five to ten defenseman in the league and he Luke is something but we're not sure what at the moment yeah all right Frankie Naser eight goals 21 assists 29 points and 47 games he also signed a long term deal uh what lasts summer um all you guys just signing contracts left and right well good I guess for them yeah I mean free money um he's been hurt or he got hurt he's back but he he started he was at the end of last year the beginning of this year where he started to look like a really good player and then got hurt and the last year was solid and then he started this year with the point per game in an October and I didn't follow him that closely after that and then like two weeks ago suddenly I started seeing all these black ox accounts on my feed I don't know why but and they they stalk you and they were all just like we

1:20:58need to have a serious conversation about how much Frank knows our sucks and I'm like whoa wow I did he's bad now and then I there were and then I looked at some of the numbers and I was like oof uh not good even with a spurt of points I mean he had a he's had actually five points as less three games so hopefully he's turning a corner okay for that he had 13 points in 33 games since the start of October two goals in that minus 17 and he's there de facto what to see I had the I guess at the moment and that did the vibes in Chicago have been very bad just for the whole team well like they started well remember when Spencer Knight was an animal and winning some games and Jeff Blaschow was talking about how the secret analytics said their team is actually really good and I was all this talk about what we've turned the corner and then they have not turned the corner and I just think there's a little a bit of pessimism in the market at the moment about Frankie about Corkinsky about Lev Shinov like a lot of these high picks are not

1:21:58really performing right now and Bidard is starting to have the Connor McDavid early years situation where it's like well he's good but does he have any help yeah where are all the guys we were supposed to have and you know they picked Lev Shinov over Demadov and Demadov is tearing it up and Lev Shinov is struggling and yep there's just there's a lot of frustration in that market right now especially with the sharks where it's like oh wow we might make the playoffs good vibes well maybe if the Blackhawks were in the Pacific they might make the playoffs but uh hopefully Frankie gets it going if nothing else he can skate and play you know palinkill stop but I I think there's still potential in there for him to be better but he needs to start picking it up Mackie Samuskovich six goals 15 points 15 assists 21 points in 61 games getting time for the Panthers he had a bit of a bummer season for him like sure he looked pretty good and he was scoring quite a bit on their four-flying he was scratched for the playoffs but you know you understood that yep and then with this year with all the injuries it was like

1:23:01this is his opportunity to kind of break out a little bit yeah and it's gone backwards so that's a bummer hopefully I mean some of his shooting percentage probably but we'll see what happens in the future I think he's probably a ZNRFA this summer I think so I want I want to say so I don't think he signed any sort of a long-term deal yet so um Rucker McGority mostly the AHL for him this year two goals three assists five points in 20 NHL games six goals 16 assists 22 points in 19 games in the AHL um so he's at the point where he's scoring man you're left like that whole situation is just so I mean I don't like dislike the guy I I'm not always like rooting for him I always really liked him when he was here I didn't like the circumstances which in which he sort of like well left although that was a very weird off-season two because I think he

1:24:03thought that all of his boys were gonna stay and then literally all of his boys left and there seemed like I'm also just I'm not a big fan of the just like the forcing your way out of the team that drafted you and yeah that whole thing is not very endearing to me but that wasn't really trying to leave Winnipey I mean it was it was just more like I'm trying to leave Michigan and I can't go to Winnipey and a part that was relevant to us was him bailing on Michigan very late but it was strong arming the jets into shipping him somewhere else because he wasn't like entitled to a spot on their playoff the way that everybody else right it's like oh I why don't I get to just come in and play it's like well you're not on the Chicago Black Hawk like this is a serious team it's the same thing with happened with I coward now he's with Edmonton right where it's like oh I'm entitled to a spot on the Tampa Bay Lightning playoff roster it's like no you're not and then he goes to Edmonton he can't even play in the NHL like in the regular season why did you these guys just it's it's they need a bit of a reality check to some degree well you know when

1:25:04you're really good for most of your life and you're a first-round pick and you do well in college and you're like hey I'm pretty good and then like well for hockey is hard real life sets in a little bit it takes and then he's gone to the point now where he's scoring at a good clip in the NHL so I would anticipate we'll see him on the on the roster full-time next year and we'll see if he can can finally make the jump but obviously it's a learning lesson and how hard you actually have to work to make that jump Gavin Brindley six goals six assists 12 total points in 49 games he started more with a bang in Colorado after getting traded in the offseason from Columbus so the interesting thing about him is he's not scoring a ton but he has like one his coach over bedner loves him and the abs guys that I listened to like like him they'd want him to start scoring a little bit but he I mean he's the guy that you always talk about plays with a lot of juice and plays a little

1:26:04bit bigger than he is and is I think I was listening to podcasts the other day and the guy phrased it as creates a lot of chaos out there and so I don't I wonder when like when Leckon in and Landisca get back and if O'Connor makes it back onto the roster it doesn't feel like he's going to have like a starting spot in in the playoffs but he's probably going to be right there as soon as somebody gets hurt especially given the fact that he's on the second power play unit and um kills penalties although maybe not anymore after the trades that they made but um has had a nice year I think I think will be interesting to see what he does next year did sign a two-year deal yeah with Colorado so he's he's playing on like the best team in the league and he's getting minutes and everyone seems to really love him he probably is he probably in the in the playoff line up not in the playoff line up I just said that um about like it depends on like Leckon and O'Connor

1:27:06and Landisca like when they all come back it feels like he's right on the fringe but like better than playing him over everybody my guess is that it's just like the sample thing that generally you did you not put those guys in yeah I think he's in the right place to develop that's what all well you said earlier his to me and that's just kind of what I was thinking and I was so proud of myself because I thought it and then you confirmed it for me and so I was like oh maybe I know something here or there but um you said he needs to just follow Archery Leckon in around because that's sort of the kind of player that he is yeah plays really hard he's not the most skilled but kind of plays above what he can and does all the right little things and that's that's very much Gavin Brinley yeah uh shame is Casey two games played in the NHL um in the NHL he had 29 games played one goal 18 assists for 19 points but the only thing I'm gonna remember about him this year is that in a game he fought Dylan Duke and I I don't know if I've ever seen two Michigan guys fight

1:28:09I suppose it's probably happened at some point but it was kind of blew up on Twitter a little bit and um I suppose they made up right afterwards yeah I guess I I don't have a take on Casey really like defenseman NHL is so hard to you have to really watch it well he popped into the league like to start the year it had like four goals in the first two weeks or something and then you know obviously that didn't stay around the thing is is like he's still with the devils right he hasn't gotten traded I don't think no and they have some defenseman that they're trying to sort through I mean this is the Luke Hughes thing and they're just a mess and like Casey's further down the list and smaller and obviously we you know he's a little maestro with the puck in Michigan but that doesn't always fly when you start playing pro hockey you have to do a little bit more the profile that profile is so hard and that was like part of the reason that Quinn Hughes wasn't top of his draft yeah is that we just that curve between the the small you know puck rusher kind of guys

1:29:10like you're either like the the gradient between the Caitlin Addison and what was that guy's name Ty Smith and like the the guys that were hyped in that mold that just never made it in the NHL but they were like fairly top prospect me even knows Lungquist and then you have like Lane Hudson and Quinn Hughes yeah and there's like very little in between like you're either a super superstar or you just never make well if it works for you it really works and if it doesn't it's not in the NHL and that's the tough thing that he's facing and I mean his career is an over I mean he could you could something could still happen but it not not a whole lot has happened so far Marshall Warren we've had too many warrants and your your lists are confusing zero goals three assists in eight games played in the NHL four goals 20 assists 24 points and 41 games played in the AHL um he came up I think last year with the islanders I saw them a little bit when they were having

1:30:15some injuries on the back end and then came down popped up for a little bit again this year producing pretty well in the AHL not really in the NHL course you know they have the islanders have a better young defenseman that they're playing a lot more in Matthew Schaefer but I don't know is he an NHL guy I mean he's gotten a few games is he just more he's been better than I expected that's what I'll say I mean in pro hockey overall yeah like he's seems like he's done well in the AHL and he's already played some NHL games like he's older I mean he was yeah I still would bet against him becoming a full-time NHLer but he's had quite a quite a pro career he can kind of be one of those maybe eighth or ninth guys it goes up and down for a few years anyway uh Brendan Brisson zero goals one assists for one point in three games in the NHL 15 goals 12 assists 27 points for 49 games in the AHL uh he's on like team three

1:31:15now he's an AHLer he just got called up by the Rangers yeah he's playing a little bit for them that's why he's in the NHL he's played NHL games but he's an AHLer is he a good AHLer good AHLer good AHLer but nothing nothing special that kind of went south for him fast he and Bordeaux both of them right the guys I mean within his mold you also have the Phillips adenos and the Alexander Holtzes that were much higher picks that busted where it's just it's really hard to be just a shooter again that that's it's comparable to like uh being the like small athletic guard that can't really shoot in the NBA draft where like the gap between being Scoot Anderson and then Derek Rose it's like not like you if you're 98th percentile athleticism you suck if you're 99.9th you are an all-star and and you are if you are the guy that's like my only thing I can do is shoot then like you know if you were on 100th percentile shooter you could be a pretty good NHL player and if you're a 98th percentile shooter you're not in the NHL yeah

1:32:18and it's just a kind of a bummer so now we're gonna talk about guys who are just can blow through the we don't really need to talk about them individually you don't want to talk about uh this is been long so and we can just note a couple guys that are having good see Thomas Bordeaux 13 points in 46 games um it's Jover that's a meme okay it it's over for him yeah not not looking good uh but Dylan Duke Dylan Duke 29 goals and 56 games give him 49 points he was an AHL all-star I believe uh he he's got to be up near the top of that league fought shameless Casey do you don't want that fight no why is it that that's the only thing I care about but not like that's he with that production he should be getting a look in the NHL well he has a he got a cup of coffee with uh with the lightning right yeah I mean he's so he's second in the uh in the NHL and goals is he really yeah behind Arthur Calle and he's not terribly old because he left after only three years here no I mean he's he's he's he turned he just turned 23 so he needs to get his look

1:33:21soon but the problem is is that like Tampa's like good again they were kind of fading and now they're really good and so that it you know it's if they were if they were not there somewhere else if they were fading down the the standings and get if they were the Panthers you could see him called up at the end of the year now yeah some some other guys to mention here quickly are you not happy we don't need to we don't need to read them all off uh okay do you want to just do it well the I'll just shout out a couple names okay mecubre motorer meroda is a good hl player has been for a long time portillo 909 save percentage one goalie to talk about yeah and he's actually out performing phoenix coply who was a guy that actually played in the NHL for a period of time so there might be a path there for him well he was backing up um well it's camper out I don't even know he was on the he was back for the kings it was called up for a period of time um jack backer yeah was really he still playing 28 points to in 53 game former sun devil yeah and then Jackson the

1:34:24howl and we should mention because he was a you know very was he he was here last year last year yeah his first year in the hl 24 points 52 game where is he I think he's with the vegas organization right so he's in Henderson Henderson that makes sense do you think there's a future I would you left all struggle to see it as a full-time NHLer but I think he could play some games he never really fully developed here did he not he's kind of the same sort of player as he went along and then filled you just up he's still grinding away oh my gosh 51 games played in the HL I think his last year here was like 12 or 13 s for he he ended up playing over 300 NHL games and a lot more HL games yeah I mean he's the fact that he's still playing hey Bartreski you have here 918 the ECHL yeah I feel bad for all these guys in the ECHL you feel bad for him there's been some stories they I they on strike now or they were gonna go on strike oh about the league the stories that have been come out about like what it's actually like to play in the

1:35:24ECHL are horrible and like they just get very mistreated um yeah conditions are very bad I was talking to somebody and they were like I think they get like maybe 60 to 80 grand a year and they will say they don't really get like the be like they think they take the bus to a lot of their trips and then like they get that counts as their off days and stuff it doesn't really yeah like it's so you spend your off day just sitting on a bus that's broken down it's really bad like the Maryland band did you see that were they like a concert yeah you have to really love hockey to play in the ECHL but a few of these guys are me Marcus Dapa yep Nick Granowitz JLF JLF Keaton person geared fan why you know yeah Joe Sikon he's still playing he was um he's in Russia now he was he was a Quinn he was a partner was the final bit here are these these euro guys so succumbing well trust man he's he's been one of the better goalies in the SHL this year he came over at some point right and was yeah he was in the AHL for a period of time but just not what's

1:36:25is he just too small I just didn't really stick there um but he's yeah he's been really good he's second in the SHL and say percentage this year Luke Martin wow Luke Martin's playing in also in Sweden he was he was a second round pick right by uh yeah he won and by far the most enjoyable on here is Nick passage of 61 points in 43 games and Denmark in Denmark what league is that I have no idea the DHL are they like a let me take a look at what it's called like a postal service well uh Dakota rabies in France I didn't I mean I guess all these I'm surprised you didn't make the French Olympic team they gave him some citizenship uh different loose yeah what's the EIHL that's the British league the English ice hockey league do you think the the British ice hockey league is better than the British baseball league I would say probably but I actually don't know Jacob Hayhurst yep so a lot of guys out there the the Danish the Danish league is the so the other pastage

1:37:30jobs are done I well Sasha's not relevant he wasn't the Michigan player but he's playing somewhere I just saw his mic is retired has he uh the Danish league is the superist legan known as the metal legan all right I I don't know Danish very well but that was my my attempt at it speak a lot of Danish just eat him not really but uh overall you know it's uh it's a lot of guys we have a lot of guys and they're you know we'll just keep being more and as more and more guys graduate up and how many are NHLers I mean in in true NHL so like don't take out Brisson Warren KC Brinley counts Rutger if Brinley so Brinley with Brinley that's 21 oh that's it because you remember remember when in the but number of guys who have played games this year you had Rutger you had KC you had Warren you had Brisson that's 25 that have played it at least one game this year that's so that's a lot yeah I just I was just looking at it like remember in the the covid year when they

1:38:35put those jerseys up or like cardboard fake people in the arena it was all the Wolverines in the NHL I think they were 20 then so if you count Rutger it's 21 this year which is kind of the same the thing has changed the thing that is well so a couple years ago is a little more because we've we've had some guys that retired right kogliano retired right Jack Johnson tired so it's a little bit lower now I mean Glendany is probably gonna yeah but I mean you know but everybody else troupe is gonna play a little bit a little longer for sure Michael Hage Beach we might lose Bature Beacher we'll handle in the wind I don't know um yeah Hage H I he probably be an NHL next year yeah I because the Canadians are probably good but I think he is a guy that will play in the NHL at some point okay I feel graduate up to to the league so that's another guy that will join and you know as a whole it's uh well they don't really have a lot of guys in the minors who are like about to break through right like a lot of the guys Michigan has a few players on this team

1:39:39who you're like okay well these guys could play in in the NHL one day but it they're they're still on the team yeah and I mean you compare it to some of the other schools that are you know you could say kind of peer schools and Michigan is definitely right up at the top I mean BU has Eichel Keller Kitchock Coil Fariby E. Rodsey Gris McEvoy Salah Rainey Greenway Greer Fabro Grizzlic Hudson Flasick so that's that's like what 12 something like that 12 to 15 names I mean that the Michigan has a lot of names Minnesota probably has a bunch of dudes yeah let me let me pull them up I would imagine BC is fairly high too and those would probably be the the leaders Denver they don't usually get the top end guys they get some guys but it's not usually like the the bigger names you know let's see uh Minnesota go north Dakota probably has some too I would guess yeah they would have like Brock Besser and Troy Stetcher and stuff I mean uh 18 gophers were on the opening night roster

1:40:40I mean that's pretty good yeah you know Logan Cooley and Faber and you know those guys Snuggaroo and then you some older guys like Nick Buchstead and people like that that so I mean Michigan I I was asked about this in a mail bag I think last year and I said that Michigan was right with London as the single best team you know the most volume of of guys and then in terms of quality as well I mean between Murenski and and Hughes you have you know a couple really good well I mean they have four gold medalists right superstar caliber players and uh you know we in a in a perfect world then someone like Adam Fantilly would figure it out and join them but we'll see if that happens all right so if you made it through all of this which I'm sure some of you did probably not all of you after got kind of tired of some of the names but congratulations um we will actually talk more real hockey next week hopefully there'll be two games be be bad if we lose on Wednesday but uh so Wednesday at seven o'clock on on the minus

1:41:44against Notre Dame at Yost and then if they win then they'll face how they could kind of face anyone um if Penn State wins then they will face Penn State and if Penn State loses Minnesota goes to Munn and Michigan will get either Wisconsin or Ohio State so I think if you're watching these games you obviously won't Michigan to win but I think we're rooting for Penn State and we'll let um Michigan State deal with the hypothetical Wisconsin what do you say sounds good to me you

1:42:56thank you for listening Michigan hockey cast 8.19 for Alex Drain dude and ask your next week we'll be talking about something maybe another game maybe just recapping games but it won't pay the NCA tournament yet