23: Michigan Jack and Ellinas is Back

0:00Justin: Hey, Andrew.

0:00Andrew: Hey, Justin.

0:02Justin: We are the champions. I didn't want to get demonetized.

0:07Andrew: Oh, nice.

0:08Justin: I just totally changed it. We are the champions. We are the champions.

0:12Andrew: My friend and colleagues and family and yes, we are indeed.

0:19Justin: Yeah, that was. It was weird because obviously last week's episode came out after we had already won the World Cup. People knew. People knew. But for us, this is the first time we're seeing each other.

0:30Andrew: We are the champions of the four nations.

0:32Justin: And we were friends because we could cheer for McMuffin together.

0:36Andrew: The greatest hockey player to ever lace up the skates, probably.

0:40Justin: But now he's a bum again because the Oilers are losing and we're laughing all the way.

0:44Andrew: He's not the reason they're losing.

0:46Justin: He is not the reason they're losing.

0:48Andrew: That German guy. He's not the reason either one knows what's going on.

0:52Justin: Yeah, it's very strange, but yes, champions. It was great, that tournament. I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I was going to.

1:01Andrew: I think it was one of the best things I've ever watched. Start to finish. As far as international tournament in any sport, like Olympics included, I think was second only to the 2010 Golden Goal with Sidney Crosby and Jarome McGinlis. That was literally. I will say, though, I thought it was funny how we were all really praising Gary Bettman and I Sam O'Reilly as. They're like the royal we, not us. But I'm just saying that the ether, the pop culture was praising the NHL and praising Gary Bettman for this amazing job of giving us this international tournament instead of the All Star Game. The whole reason we were starving for international tournament is because he took it away from us.

1:46Justin: So screw you, Gary Bettman, for finally doing it right. Yes. Like, it's just like I was like, wait a minute.

1:52Andrew: This guy is the reason we need this so bad.

1:58Justin: Welcome to the AudPod, where we're

2:01Andrew: talking Kitchener Rangers hockey with the AudBalls

2:04Justin: themselves, Andrew and Justin. Take it away, fellas.

2:13Andrew: There's something different about international hockey, man. International hockey is a different beast.

2:18Justin: Here's my two cents on the four nations versus Olympic. Yeah, I do like NHL rules better than Olympic rules. I think international rules, like, specifically the rule book. I enjoy the NHL rulebook that we had during Four Nations.

2:31Andrew: Yes.

2:31Justin: But I do like European ice or the international ice.

2:35Andrew: I would be interested to see. Canada is built for international ice.

2:39Justin: I agree, because we have, like, the fastest team ever.

2:43Andrew: Also, I had no idea Travis Sanheim was that good, but that was the cool thing about the tournament is that there were guys that you barely get to see.

2:50Justin: He never won.

2:51Andrew: Because I just don't see Philly play. And you look at it and you're like, wow, he's doing well this year. But to see that guy skate, first of all, he's huge. And he skates like a forward. I was like, this is nuts. This guy is unbelievable.

3:05Justin: And he's what, our fourth best defense, like, bottom pairing?

3:09Andrew: He was playing the least minutes. I was like, okay, this guy is unbelievable. And, yeah. So Canada. Yeah. And I think we can all eat crow. On Jordan Bennington. People were like, there was no one who was like, outwardly being like, he's the guy.

3:24Justin: Yes.

3:24Andrew: There was no one, specifically not us

3:26Justin: on the podcast two weeks ago.

3:27Andrew: Because you looked it up and you're like, oh, he's the third goalie. I thought for sure Aiden Hill was the guy.

3:32Justin: And I would have put Bennington in over Aiden Hill. And I'm on record saying that. You did say that, but I also didn't think it was a good option. Yeah, I know.

3:41Andrew: But Jordan Bennington was the best goalie on the planet in that deciding game in that final.

3:48Justin: He totally was.

3:48Andrew: He won the game. Like, the overtime.

3:51Justin: He won the overtime.

3:52Andrew: Like, it was like, yes, like, I totally understand. McDavid scored the goal. You're going to give him the MVP, whatever.

3:58Justin: The MVP was Jordan Minnington. The U.S. had way more chances in overtime.

4:03Andrew: They had literally, like, a gaping net. And Auston Matthews, arguably the greatest goal scorer, pure goal scorer in the league right now, is at the side of

4:14Justin: the net in his prime shooting position.

4:17Andrew: In his prime shooting position. And not only that, it's not. There was any pressure on him. It was a perfect pass. It was right there. And, yeah, Binnington saved the day.

4:26Justin: He leafed it.

4:27Andrew: Yeah, he did leaf it.

4:28Justin: He leafed it so hard. Because then they went down the other ice and he came off his man.

4:31Andrew: And I was just like, this is

4:33Justin: the most leafy thing that ever happened.

4:35Andrew: The only positive for the Leafs was that Marner fed McDavid the coal. Marner, former Ohler. I actually was listening to the OHL podcast, as we always do, and they were talking about how many Ohlers stood out in the tourney.

4:49Justin: Last week, we did the trivia about who were the ohs in the tournament, and there was one missing because I put that list together before Thomas Harley played.

4:58Andrew: That's true.

4:58Justin: Thomas Harley, also a former Ohler. I got.

5:01Andrew: Also a former American born in Syracuse, New York. There you go. But his Dad's from Edmonton so he could play.

5:07Justin: Oh, good. I got lit up by Reddit because I didn't get that one on the list.

5:11Andrew: Oh, really?

5:13Justin: So.

5:13Andrew: Oh really?

5:15Justin: Thanks. Reddit.

5:17Andrew: So they're listening.

5:18Justin: Somebody's listening.

5:19Andrew: Somebody's listening on Reddit.

5:22Justin: All right.

5:23Andrew: But we are not a Team Canada 4 Nations podcast.

5:27Justin: No, that's true. We are a Kitchener Rangers podcast.

5:29Andrew: Yes.

5:29Justin: And that's the most important thing because we had three games this year.

5:32Andrew: Oh, we did. And how did they go?

5:34Justin: Justin, I don't want to give away any spoilers.

5:37Andrew: Yeah.

5:37Justin: I really want to keep you all in suspense on these games that happen publicly, but the first game we played was against the Barrie Colts, who are in a bit of a tough way these days, especially after we beat them.

5:48Andrew: That's true. Yes. They are a good team though. the Aud the top of the standings over there. They're in that top three, aren't they?

5:55Justin: They are, but they've been. They were first and they've slipped down to third, I think.

5:58Andrew: Yeah. There's been so much player movement in the East. That's true. It makes sense to me that there's going to be some changes in the standings this home stretch.

6:07Justin: This game to me against the Barrie Colts, I was really impressed with the Rangers, how solid defensively they were. They played very responsibly and they obviously listening to the podcast because they didn't take. They were like so clean. There was no penalties. Like they didn't take any penalties, of course, until the third period when they got a double minor. But it was like generally. And even that was like, eh, fine, whatever. Like they had already had the game in hand a bit at that point, but it was like they were played pretty cleanly the whole game.

6:35Andrew: And not only that, the shot AudPod in all three of these games. Okay, we'll get.

6:38Justin: Yeah.

6:39Andrew: I'm not saying they're listening to the podcast because maybe they are, maybe they're not. Personally, if I was, if I played on the Rangers, I probably wouldn't listen to anything. So that's just me.

6:47Justin: Especially not us. Yeah.

6:49Andrew: Especially not these morons in a room.

6:52Justin: No.

6:52Andrew: But I thought it was funny that they played cleanly. The shot AudPod was much higher. Totally. And I gotta gas up our boy, the young stud, Cameron Arquette, who had two goals in this game.

7:04Justin: Yeah. It was like immediately that night. Immediately two goals.

7:07Andrew: I'm so stoked for him because like we were saying when he was coming out of Bantam, he was escorter and he hasn't Been asked to do that. But you start seeing, you know what, maybe next year he is going to

7:18Justin: be that guy some holes higher up the lineup for sure. And I'm seeing the things I want to see to move him up.

7:24Andrew: Absolutely.

7:25Justin: So this game started pretty insane. Hrevic, the Colts goalie insane. The first period. Like, I got worried in the first period. I didn't know if we were ever going to score.

7:34Andrew: It felt like we were getting goalies. Yeah. Yeah. And it felt like we were getting goalie throughout. But there's just too much scoring depth on the Rangers. I think so. I think a lesser goaltender than Ben Horevic, it would have been an absolute blowout. It was still four to one. But it wasn't necessarily. It was three to nothing until the third period. Barry got one early. We didn't get another one until late in the third and we didn't score

8:02Justin: until the second period. The first period was pretty tight.

8:05Andrew: It was 12 to 4.

8:06Justin: And then second period, two in the second. Yes. Arquette got two goals. He got the first goal, which was great. Then Cameron Reid got his lemonade goal. I'm trying to trademark this because he had the exact same goal last week where he was literally standing in front of the net by himself. Some people can see him because he's the only guy standing in the net. He's got no defender on him because he's the defender in deep.

8:29Andrew: Yeah.

8:29Justin: Cameron Reid stand in front of the net. The lemonade gold.

8:32Andrew: Love it.

8:32Justin: Okay.

8:33Andrew: I think it could become a thing.

8:34Justin: And then, like the goal that. The goal, the empty netter. Mislejavic hit the nos to get that empty goal for the fourth one.

8:43Andrew: Yeah. We'll talk about him hitting the nos later.

8:45Justin: He hit it a few times this weekend.

8:47Andrew: Does got it in the skates there. Yeah, he really does.

8:50Justin: So then after the Barrie Colts game on Friday, we had a day off. And let me tell you, the London Knights announcers in this next game let us know about 15 times that the Rangers had the day off the day before because they were on a three on three.

9:06Andrew: London was playing three and three.

9:07Justin: Nobody's ever done that.

9:08Andrew: No one has ever succeeded at that,

9:11Justin: especially not this season. Even the team that they're playing has never. So many times. London, just sit over it.

9:18Andrew: Yeah. It's also just like, how many times can you. Is it a talking point?

9:21Justin: Ye. Yeah, I know.

9:22Andrew: I get it. Like, we're heavily biased against everything London.

9:25Justin: We're allowed to be because we're a Rangers podcast, obviously.

9:29Andrew: However, like, I do listen to the other teams. Like any team. Any opposing team's broadcast, I do listen to it with an open mind. Yeah. Because I'm interested in learning about these teams players and whatnot. And I'll specifically put out that the Brantford. That's probably one of my favorite telecasts. The Brantford Bulldogs telecast. I think the commentators are great. It was all good. The London. Now, there are aspects. I did text you And I said two of these personalities seem great.

9:57Justin: Yes. Mr. Mohawk Construction Glasses. I wasn't gonna say it, but yeah.

10:04Andrew: The guy who just came from the workshop, I don't know if he's doing woodworking like between periods or something or

10:17Justin: doing some electrical. He's fixing it up.

10:20Andrew: It's a style choice. The safety glasses and the Mohawk and the whininess. And the whininess is. Honestly, I could look past the superficial stuff, but just the mm, mm and moanin about all the situation. Okay. You're the best team in the league.

10:37Justin: You have the best record going into this game. You have eight regulation losses. Yeah.

10:42Andrew: You got even more stacked throughout the season. I'm surprised that he wasn't saying, it's too bad that one of our players got a dur. Like he didn't bring that up. And that would have been a valid excuse that they're not as good defensively anymore. But he didn't bring that up because it's so slanted towards London, the telecast, which I don't. Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't find that the Rangers like that.

11:03Justin: No, I don't either. None of the personalities, none of the players, anything. There's never excuses.

11:08Andrew: Which is a good segue into being slanted for London. How about that officiating?

11:13Justin: Yes. The officiating was tricky. I tried to hold it together until

11:19Andrew: the third period until Missile Jevic hit the nos and got tripped in the neutral zone. Here's the thing. It wasn't even the attacking zone where like you could say, maybe you're going to look past a stick in the legs. Because this is a tightly. This is an important game for both teams. It was in the neutral zone. It was a lazy play. He got tripped up, didn't get called, went back the other way. And then there was immediately a penalty on the Rangers. And I was going. That's when I like, broke with the officiating. I was like, you have to be kidding me.

11:49Justin: Yeah.

11:50Andrew: And at that point it was four to three. The Rangers looked like the better team all game.

11:55Justin: Yep.

11:55Andrew: The third period they were. They played back to Back. The Knights were throwing everything on that. Parsons was standing tall, which he had an absolute highlight reel save in this one at one point where the Knights player was coming down.

12:08Justin: The OHL save of the week.

12:09Andrew: But the OHL save of the week where Knights players coming down and he actually turns and does this like crazy stick save.

12:17Justin: Yeah. Where?

12:18Andrew: And it like bounces out from underneath the Aud I think it's dericola. I'm not sure. It's a Rangers defenseman who kind of tucks it back in for him and Parsons jumps on it.

12:28Justin: How he got over his whole body. He got it over there.

12:31Andrew: I don't know. He flipped around. Listen.

12:33Justin: Yeah, just. Save of the week. The other non penalty that didn't get called was the one that happened as London inevitably scored the fourth tying goal on the play. But Landon Sims came over and like clear cut interference against Chromiak. Yeah.

12:52Andrew: No, the puck was gone.

12:53Justin: The puck wasn't anywhere near.

12:54Andrew: You call it interference, you call it charging, whatever, because he was. He came from a mile away to make that hit.

12:59Justin: And then Mr. Whiny Pants was praising him.

13:01Andrew: Oh, yeah.

13:02Justin: How? Oh, that hit was perfect. It wasn't because it was interference.

13:06Andrew: It was late.

13:06Justin: It was late. Yeah.

13:07Andrew: And then they go down and they

13:09Justin: score because Chromiak set up position. Of course.

13:12Andrew: But the way they started in this game was great. It went up 3 to nothing, but the Aud was 32 early in the second. But I didn't feel like it was one of those games where you had that early lead and you were going to blow it. It didn't feel like that. Those two goals, those were earned. They scored those. But I felt like the Rangers were in control. I didn't feel like they tightened up. I didn't feel like they got nervous. I didn't feel like they changed how they were playing from when they were up 1 nothing, 2, nothing, 3 nothing. As when they were up 3 to 2, they kept playing their game.

13:44Justin: London's a good team. So it wasn't that there was a lot of pressure by London at the start of the second period, for sure. But it wasn't that London was outplaying the Rangers. It's just that you have two extremely good teams playing against each other. You're eventually going to get your chances. London took the opportunity when they had it.

14:01Andrew: Exactly. And that's the game when you have two, like elite teams playing each other is you're going to trade chances.

14:06Justin: Yeah.

14:07Andrew: No one thought that Kitchener was going to score three goals every period and come out with a nine nothing win. That's not how it felt like even in the first period. But Kitchener was converting their chances. And then when Kitchener got that fourth goal, I felt like, now that's big, because I felt like a couple months ago they would have given up that third goal to London and it would have been 3, 3. And then the wheels would have fell off a bit.

14:31Justin: We saw that against Peterborough where they gave up the tying goal on the third.

14:36Andrew: Yes, he did.

14:36Justin: The third goal. And then they never could. Then they were chasing. Even the Aud was tied. They were chasing.

14:41Andrew: Yeah. And I feel like they were in their heads in that game and the officiating was terrible and all that sort of thing. And that. That headshot that wasn't called. They got off their game. That was a. It was a much weaker opponent. That was just being a pest. And you gotta lose some of those to learn your lesson. With London, you knew who you were playing. You knew you couldn't. You knew you couldn't let them tie this game up.

15:03Justin: Correct. That was super important.

15:05Andrew: And when they did the Aud up late in the third, I still felt like this was Kitchener's game to win. I felt, you know what? I'm good to go to overtime with these guys because I think that Kitchener's been playing a better game the whole game. Even though you look at the shot AudPod that London was out shooting him in the second and third, I felt like the chances. I didn't feel like the ice was tilted.

15:31Justin: No.

15:31Andrew: I felt like London had power plays. London had a few longer zone possession. Like, they held it in the zone longer. But did I think that. I didn't think that Parsons was. Listen, Parsons always standing on his head. I didn't think Parsons was standing on his head. Like, man, he's really stealing this game. You know what I mean? Like, he was just in position. That's what. Jackson Parsons is just in position.

15:53Justin: He's.

15:54Andrew: That's why, like, he.

15:56Justin: He's.

15:56Andrew: We saw in that last game, he's an athletic goalie. However, he is a very strong positional goalie. And that's what's making this year so magical. Because when he needs to be acrobatic, he can do it and make a reaction save. He can do it. But whoever has taken his game to the next level, him as well, but whoever is working with him to be more positional, it's unbelievable what it's doing for his game.

16:22Justin: This is why he's action Jackson Parsons and reaction Jackson Parsons and he's the

16:26Andrew: best goalie in the league.

16:27Justin: He is hands down.

16:28Andrew: Even London telecast, they couldn't say anything about that. Talking about Elliot and Medvedev being like second and fourth or something like that. And they were like, but Jackson Parsons is his first.

16:38Justin: Yeah, it is first.

16:38Andrew: I'm like, say it again.

16:39Justin: Loud.

16:40Andrew: Say it again.

16:41Justin: And you know what also made the ice not feel tilted is that our fourth goal came off a great takeaway.

16:46Andrew: Yes.

16:47Justin: And it felt the Rangers were able to do that in a few key moments is like just strip London of the puck either to defuse an opportunity or to gain an opportunity for themselves. And that's what inevitably happened in overtime.

16:59Andrew: And Tanner Lam had a beautiful setup on that.

17:02Justin: Right.

17:02Andrew: So the guys who are being relied upon to score are scoring. The guys who are not being relied upon to score are scoring. It's a perfect storm. We can get the power play going because again, in that Berry game, they didn't need to be going, but they were 02. They got a power play goal against London. I thought that was huge. There's a step forward. The bottom line is the penalty kill is rolling. The penalty kill is a very good. Yeah. Is a powerhouse penalty kill.

17:36Justin: They were also saying on the broadcast that I think we went 16 straight against London.

17:40Andrew: Yeah, exactly. And then, of course, it went to overtime and Mislejevic didn't get tripped and turned on the jets and went in. When you're really tuned into it and you're not on your phone, you're just literally locked into a game like this because it's London and Kitchener and you're watching the flow of the game and you're really feeling confident, and then you see that kind of play develop where Mis gets that pass and enters the zone and you're like, oh, he's got him.

18:05Justin: Yeah.

18:06Andrew: And then I was almost not surprised he scored. It was a weird. You're like, oh, yeah. If he gets that chance, the Missile is putting one home.

18:14Justin: The aura on the Missile.

18:15Andrew: Yeah.

18:15Justin: Going into the zone.

18:16Andrew: What a.

18:17Justin: Coming from the left wing there. All right. And then after the thrills of London Tuesday night, this was a. This is a different type of game where we won six to one.

18:26Andrew: But we gave up the first goal. We did.

18:30Justin: And it also didn't feel like, again, it felt like we might get goalied. That was the first period felt pretty tense. And then.

18:37Andrew: Yeah, Guelph is packed it in a little bit. I think they traded Gillespie.

18:42Justin: I'm going to argue at your point on this.

18:43Andrew: I think that Guelph is going to get in there and make it. It seems like it. You look at the.

18:49Justin: That's my argument. Yeah. It feels like the players really want to. I don't know if the. That's more what I'm saying. Of course.

18:55Andrew: I think the players always want to.

18:56Justin: They always want to.

18:57Andrew: This isn't Niagara.

18:58Justin: Yeah.

18:59Andrew: Niagara packed it in. Niagara backed it in. The team has backed it in.

19:03Justin: Yeah.

19:03Andrew: They've lost like 10 in a row or something. It's insane, unfortunately. But the storm have packed it in. And so much as like they traded everyone away. Like they're rolling with a lot of young guys and they're playing well. Unfortunately, they ran into an elite team in the Kitchener Rangers. And it's just. This is. What happens is you might be able to survive the first period where you're out, shot 16 to 8 and have a 1 nothing lead. But then the next two periods it was the same. It was more of the same. And unfortunately for that young goaltender, it was 6 to 1 at the end.

19:36Justin: It was 6 to 1 at the end of it. I was surprised that they didn't play Shabble. But Parsons was needed in that first period for sure. I think Shabble would have also held up well, for whatever reason, the coaching staff put Parsons in. And I think it was the right call in the end.

19:50Andrew: I think so. I think at this point we've only got so many. Jackson. Parsons starts left.

19:55Justin: Yes.

19:56Andrew: So I think it's maybe if it's like you look at them, how you feeling? You feel like going? I feel like going. I feel good. You're gonna let him go?

20:03Justin: There were no back. Back to back this weekend. There's also this coming up weekend. There's only two games.

20:07Andrew: So if you get one and if it goes Shabble and Parsons, then he's only playing once in a week. The big thing about this game though was Luke Ellen is back. He's back.

20:19Justin: And he reminded us he is back. Yeah, it was good. That was a beautiful goal that he got in the second period. It was great.

20:27Andrew: What a player. Come back in and immediately have the game winner in your first game back. That's Luke.

20:33Justin: God, it was such an important goal too at that moment. Tight. It was like, are we gonna get another goal? Like, it did feel a little bit like that.

20:39Andrew: It felt like one of those games where you could get a little lazy. Yeah. Because you could. Like they're not on our level kind of thing. You could squeak one out. Yeah. And then I felt the tide change. The floodgates opened in the third.

20:53Justin: Yes.

20:54Andrew: It was four Goals in the third, and they were all fairly evenly spaced apart, which tells you how dominant that was. And we saw what we saw. He had two goals in the game.

21:07Justin: He did. But one of them, the Detroit Michigan prospect Chicago. I think he has to go to Detroit now.

21:16Andrew: Chicago is on Lake Michigan.

21:17Justin: Oh, true.

21:18Andrew: So he did the Michigan.

21:19Justin: He did.

21:20Andrew: And he didn't get let up. The fourth goal. Yeah. I thought that maybe things would get a little.

21:28Justin: Yeah.

21:28Andrew: Dicey tested after that. But I felt, you know what? Like, he saw it. He's not really that type of player. He's not doing weird stuff like that. Like. No, listen, he's got lots of skill, but it's usually like he just beats you with his skates and then he fires a beautiful. But like, it's. This was just like he just saw an opportunity and he did it. Which, I mean, you do the. You do the Michigan at any time. Which, if you don't know the Michigan is the lacrosse goal from behind the net, where you pick the puck up on your stick blade and you deposit it over the goalie's shoulder. It's not easy to do. More and more guys can do it, but it's very hard to get into a position where you could realistically think, I can do this right now.

22:10Justin: Having zero hockey skill in real life whatsoever, I imagine that playing hockey, there's already a ton of variables. You're playing against and then all of a sudden to do the Michigan or to do the Zorro moves or whatever, where you pick the puck up on your stick and you get the centripetal force going and whatever. Like you're adding so many new layers. And then you also still have to be aware of the players around you, because if you do it and you miss, it's way worse than not doing it.

22:40Andrew: Yeah. It is one of those things where it's like I've seen a few times like. Like, you know, TSN or someone has posted like they attempted the Michigan. I don't want to see that.

22:49Justin: No.

22:50Andrew: I don't ever want to see an attempted Michigan. I want to see it either scored or we don't talk about that.

22:57Justin: It happened. Yeah. Absolutely embarrassing when it doesn't work.

23:00Andrew: Haeden Ellis also got into it. He scored third of the year. Absolutely. Just like he went around the defender. The defender just got caught. Flat foot and he just went in and he just undressed the goalie. Close quarters. Gold perk is what I thought. Like, that was beautiful.

23:16Justin: He scored one, but he could have had four.

23:18Andrew: He was all over the place.

23:18Justin: He has so many good opportunities.

23:20Andrew: He's one of those guys who hasn't scored a ton being up here. But he's just. He's a spark plug. He's definitely. He's pushing play when he's out there. I think he's an important part. I've enjoyed the hockey that I've seen him play. It's been good. And then the captain, the Andalorian got into it. He got into it also.

23:41Justin: Like a silky smooth goal.

23:42Andrew: Oh, little release on that shot. Yeah.

23:44Justin: Wrister. Yeah.

23:47Andrew: He's been upgrading that. That release. Yeah.

23:49Justin: He's prepping for next year, I think so.

23:50Andrew: He. That was a power play marker. It was nice to see they had two power play goals in this game. Yes. So it's nice to see the power play working and I'm hoping that can carry on because it feels like that's going to be the difference between. That's what you need getting from the second round to the third round.

24:08Justin: Hey, at the holiday break, didn't I say yes? Thing that was gonna make us successful. It has Luke Elena's and the power

24:14Andrew: play has to get going. Yeah. And Luke Elena's. We've been talking about how we still feel like there's another gear. So we still think that there's another gear there.

24:22Justin: I think we started to see it.

24:23Andrew: I think it's there. I mean we saw that where he scored at the side of the net. I don't know if you haven't. If you haven't watched our pod. There's a nice stinger now. Maybe we'll post the Stinger. Maybe we'll post this. Just post the stinger. Which is an industry term for an intro video.

24:38Justin: Yeah. We worked in film for a long time.

24:39Andrew: I did, but not broadcast.

24:41Justin: You could have just taken all of it and nobody would know.

24:43Andrew: I just stole it all.

24:44Justin: So that was our sixth straight win against Guelph and we wrapped up weekend three. Three for three. Three for three. So, Andrew, who's your first star of the week?

24:54Andrew: Okay. The guy was all over the score sheet. He scored the Michigan. I can't pretend it's not Jack Pridham. The guy came from the bchl. We didn't know who he was. We just knew he was a third round draft pick for Chicago. I cannot believe the Chicago Blackhawks got Nick Lardis who's going to score 70 this year in the third round. And they got Jack Pridham. And people are sleeping on Pridham because he only came over for part of the season. And they don't realize that he's absolutely torn it up like most points per game on the Rangers since he got here by a fair margin.

25:27Justin: It's hard to imagine that we started the season without him. I can't even remember not having Jack Pridham No.

25:32Andrew: Because it was like I just remember seeing, oh, we got this guy from the BCHL because the NCAA agreement changed. And ye. Yeah, he is. Chicago seems like they're absolutely loaded, which is good because the Soo bad. Yeah.

25:43Justin: Seth Jones was crying in an interview last night. He won't be there to play with.

25:49Andrew: He will not be there. No. Who's your first start?

25:51Justin: My first start? If you score a mission, you get first start. So it was Jack Pridham Who's your second star?

25:55Andrew: The Missile. I went with all with three different players this week. Rather than concepts or anything fancy, I just thought that Adrian Misaljevic, he was going to be my first star until

26:04Justin: Drag race scored to Michigan.

26:06Andrew: So you could literally change those two. Really realistically. Nisiljevic is absolutely like he's been from day one. He's been an offensive leader. He's been head and shoulders above where he was being projected to play and he just continues to score. Who's your second star?

26:26Justin: My second star is Alanis.

26:28Andrew: Nice.

26:28Justin: Because he came back, injury looked great, got that beautiful goal, needed that goal. It was a end up being game winner. But at that moment in time, we just needed a goal to get ahead of Guelph and he just looked great. So I'm happy to Elines because I wanted him back also. He was going to be my first star. But if you score Michigan, you get the first.

26:47Andrew: Yeah, true. That's an odd part.

26:48Justin: Rule.

26:49Andrew: We just made it. We make the rules.

26:50Justin: And so who was your third star?

26:52Andrew: Cameron Reid Man, Cameron Reid He's just so good. I saw that he is. Someone projected him now to go 11th in the draft this year. So looking forward to that. I will literally be sitting there watching all of these picks with bated breath because I'm rooting for this guy to go top 10. It might not happen. It doesn't matter if it happens or not because next year Cameron Reid is going to dominate. I can't imagine. Because he's 17 and we're watching him compete at the levels of guys who've already been drafted. And not only that, he's going out and he's not just like this silky smooth. Remember we were talking, we were comparing him a little bit to Hunter Brzustewicz and we're just saying they're just very different guys. Right. Brustevich was so good offensively and don't get me wrong, he was reliable defensively. But Cameron Reid is a different player. Same echelon elite talent, but different player. He drops the gloves. He cares about this team so much. You know what I mean? I like. He's a London guy, so I like that. So Cameron Reid by far and away, I thought he's just every game. That's the thing is you could actually. Third star is almost like putting it mildly because every game he's so important.

28:07Justin: He is.

28:08Andrew: Who's your third star?

28:09Justin: It's not a who, it's the power play. Because it started to look good this weekend, I was like, okay. Last week it was my bad. So this week I had to put the power play back on.

28:17Andrew: Give it a mention.

28:18Justin: It looked good in all three games. It did. I'm cautiously optimistic. All right. And then next week we have two games.

28:26Andrew: So getting down to the nitty gritty,

28:29Justin: we're nine games left. So Friday night we play the Sarnia Sting and then Saturday we play Owen Sound Attack We play back to back games and then we don't play again till the next Friday. So Sarnia, we've played them three times. We're heading the season series two to one. This is our last meeting with them. They're another desperation team with Guelph. Like they're in that fight for the bottom slots of the playoffs.

28:51Andrew: The Rangers got to be careful in this game.

28:53Justin: I know.

28:53Andrew: Because they lost the last time they played Sarnia.

28:56Justin: Yeah.

28:57Andrew: And they. I think that this is their third game against them. They've won one. They've lost.

29:00Justin: No, this is our fourth game.

29:01Andrew: Fourth. Sorry. But the last game was a loss

29:04Justin: and it was pre trade deadline. So we are like. They did make some trades so it'll be interesting to see how we match up.

29:12Andrew: Yes, absolutely. I think they're a better team maybe than the last time we played the Aud they took home the win. So the Rangers need to not take this game lightly. I think I have faith in the juice. They're not going to let Sarnia come into the Aud on a Friday night and push them around because they're desperate. Because the Rangers have been playing with a desperation. The Rangers have been playing with a desperation because the Rangers were earmarked to be a bubble team.

29:39Justin: Yeah, they were over performing from the get go and. Yeah, for sure. And I've also noticed that teams aren't really messing with the Rangers since Brad Flynn came back.

29:48Andrew: So Brad Flynn is keeping the Aud bay.

29:52Justin: Bad boy Brad Flynn.

29:54Andrew: I mean, Lachar is in the lineup a lot.

29:56Justin: I know.

29:56Andrew: I've noticed that down the stretch there's been a lot more games where Leuchar is in than Lachar is out. There was a good period there where he wasn't getting a lot of games and now it's like he's just in there. Yeah, because he's the policeman. He's like. He's the sheriff. He's the sheriff.

30:11Justin: Right. Sheriff Lechar's. Exactly. And then is against Owen Sound Attack. This will be our fifth meeting with them. We are 301 in our season series with the Aud they are one of our Midwest Division rivals. They're fourth in the Midwest Division. the Aud of the playoffs by a tiebreaker. So they are also fighting with Sarnia in this particular instance.

30:34Andrew: They are.

30:35Justin: They did more selling at the trade deadline. So they're in a little bit of that state. But they still have Hewkii and Mabui.

30:41Andrew: Yeah. And it's one of those things where they're 19, 26 and three, but like they have 49 points in 56 games. They are in the eighth spot in the conference. However, Guelph has a game in hand.

30:56Justin: Right.

30:56Andrew: Right now Guelph is a few points back, but they have a game in hand. Sarnia obviously has to play a team like the Rangers. Like there's.

31:04Justin: Yeah, Owen Sound does too.

31:06Andrew: Yeah, Owen Sound does too. Now like I said, I think Guelph might have a little bit more juice down the stretch. They have two games in hand on Owens Hound. So I don't know, it'll be interesting because the last spot in the west is up for grabs totally right now. If you quickly run through it, it's London, then Windsor because of the division, then Kitchener sitting third, then Saginaw, Erie. That would be a crazy first round matchup. Saginaw and Erie would be wild. I don't think Schaefer's coming back. So I would think that Saginaw would take that. Flint is who the Rangers would play. If it started today, which is not ideal by any means. I think Flint. They've got some juice. Not our juice. They've got some juice. the Soo is in seventh now. They're also in the hunt. They have 49 points. They're tied with Sarnia. So those last four teams, it could be any two. These teams are going to be playing desperate hockey. The Rangers better come to play.

32:07Justin: Yeah, I agree. So interesting weekend for sure for standings wise, no matter What? And potential future playoff series wise, for sure. So that's it for the previews. News around the ohl. Andrew, guess what?

32:25Andrew: Yeah.

32:26Justin: The Rangers are in top spot in the OHL power rankings again.

32:29Andrew: I loved it.

32:29Justin: It was great. People also hated it on Reddit and I went after all of them.

32:33Andrew: They can let them hate.

32:35Justin: Yeah, we're making up. It was all the London fans. So I just.

32:39Andrew: Yeah, they've got the time. Yeah, they've got the time to sit at home and complain about things.

32:45Justin: And then usually this is the point in the show where I get real down in my sexy voice and I say, the greatest Ranger of all Tommy Kut we've. We finished that segment. But guess what? We're gonna do something with our groats today.

32:59Andrew: I didn't realize that was your sexy voice. Shout out to your wife. I didn't realize that's what she puts up with. You yelling groat in the bedroom.

33:08Justin: Yeah, both. Well, I start and I go, hey, build. And then, how are you doing? And then I go, groat.

33:16Andrew: I don't want to get two, but I'm just imagining the groat happening at a specific point in Tommy Kut that's a different podcast.

33:27Justin: That's a very different podcast.

33:29Andrew: Yeah.

33:29Justin: So what we're gonna do with our groats this week. So Andrew and I took the AudPod, odd GPT and we got it to be beep, beep, beep, beep, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. So we heard the whole OHL is doing their century teams right now. The best team from the last 25 years putting together their A squad and their B squad. And then we were like, hey, we just did this whole thing where we talked about the greatest Rangers of all time.

33:54Andrew: And.

33:55Justin: And then a good portion of those were from the Soo and the Soo and now the Soo And so we were like, why don't we build the Aud A squad and B squad of the Kitchener Rangers?

34:06Andrew: Nice.

34:07Justin: So here's what we're going to do.

34:08Andrew: We're going to do the Aud squad.

34:09Justin: the Aud squad.

34:10Andrew: the AudPod squad.

34:11Justin: the AudPod squad. So we're going to do two teams. Both teams will have three forwards, two defensemen, one goalie, and the coach for both of them is Pete DeBoer. Because we only groeded one coach.

34:21Andrew: That's true.

34:22Justin: And so the coach is Pete DeBoer, whether he wants to do it or not.

34:25Andrew: He has to.

34:26Justin: He has to. Has to. So Pete DeBoer's A team and B team. So why don't we start with the goalies, Andrew?

34:35Andrew: Absolutely.

34:35Justin: Of all of our 32 Groats, we nominated two goalies that fall into this first century of the Soo Perfect.

34:42Andrew: We're taking them both.

34:43Justin: We'll take both of the Soo we got John Gibson and Scott Dicke.

34:47Andrew: Yeah. Two all time growths. John Gibson, I think, obviously had a better professional career and probably arguably a little bit more talented in the OHL as well. Had better single season numbers. But Scott Dicke won a Memorial Cup.

35:06Justin: He did.

35:07Andrew: So you can't deny that.

35:09Justin: Right?

35:09Andrew: It doesn't matter what some idiot in a room says. You didn't have that good numbers.

35:14Justin: Yeah.

35:14Andrew: I don't think he's worried about it.

35:17Justin: And Scott Dickey, when I nominated him as a groat.

35:19Andrew: Yeah.

35:20Justin: One of the things that I said about him is that his numbers are eerily similar to our friend Jackson Parsons. So true. I would want Jackson Parsons on my A team right now. So I'm going to say quarter century mark.

35:33Andrew: Yep.

35:34Justin: Scott Dickey, A team.

35:35Andrew: Yes.

35:36Justin: And then John Gibson, who we also love. But B team. It's true.

35:42Andrew: I love him so much that I would love for him to play for my favorite NHL team.

35:47Justin: You need that now come to Edmonton.

35:50Andrew: I think he's expressed that he'll play for Edmonton in Carolina.

35:53Justin: I think he'll play for anybody I know.

35:55Andrew: Yeah, he's like Anaheim, please. They just run the wheels off.

35:59Justin: Yeah. Okay, so the Soo that's our goalies for defense we have. So we're going to take two for each team. So we have Andre Benoit, Hunter Brustevich, Steve Eminger and Ryan Murphy. We do. Interestingly. We don't have to cut anybody.

36:12Andrew: We don't have to cut anybody.

36:13Justin: Andre Benoit, he has to go first

36:16Andrew: team because he is the all time points leader for defenseman. He has his own banner in the rafters. He won a Memorial Cup. He's a guy that is living in Rangers lore in the NHL. Not as successful. What this is about, this is not what it's about. It's about playing for the Rangers. Andre Benoit, first team has to be.

36:36Justin: And then who are you pairing with him for the first team? Is it Brustevich, Imminger or Murphy?

36:42Andrew: I'm going Imminger because by all records and accounts was what put that Memorial Cup team over the top.

36:50Justin: And it's really that Memorial. I feel like that's the tiebreaker.

36:53Andrew: Because it is. Because they only have two in their history.

36:56Justin: Yeah. Because Brustevich feels like a good push for that second slot on the first team because obviously he was one of the most dominant defensemen the Rangers have ever seen in a single season.

37:06Andrew: I think Brzustewicz is the most talented hockey player out of these four.

37:10Justin: Yeah.

37:11Andrew: But I would just load up that second team and put him with another offensive defenseman in Ryan Murphy and just say, just go out there and pass it back and forth and score one. If I was icing these guys, I would quite literally split them up. I would put injuries, Davich or any combination of Ben, Juan Murphy, Ben, Juan Verstavich if that's how I was icing them. But first team, I'm putting Benjamin.

37:33Justin: Then we have a much tougher decision because we are going to choose six players inevitably. But we have eight forwards.

37:40Andrew: This is where it's going to get hard.

37:42Justin: Mike Richards, Evan McGrath, Jeff Skinner, Nazem Kadri, Derrick Roy, Gabriel Landiscog, Jason Aixon and Justin Azevedo.

37:52Andrew: Who are you taking? It's three fours. Who are you taking on that first Tommy Kut of those eight?

37:59Justin: I feel like it's got to be Mike Richards.

38:01Andrew: It has to be Mike Richards.

38:02Justin: Like, because he was the captain of the Memorial Cup team.

38:05Andrew: No, Derrick Roy.

38:06Justin: Oh, Derrick Roy.

38:07Andrew: However, I think Richards was a rookie and tore it up.

38:11Justin: That right. Yes, that's true.

38:12Andrew: He won a world junior. He was the captain of the world junior team. He was a captain of Philadelphia. I can't imagine how hard that was. He won a cup.

38:19Justin: So like. But I think it's Mike Richards. Derrick Roy's got to be right there.

38:22Andrew: Oh, for sure. You have to take those two.

38:24Justin: Like, they're for sure.

38:25Andrew: Those two are first team because they're a package deal.

38:29Justin: the Aud really. It gets a little tricky.

38:30Andrew: But now it's just preference.

38:32Justin: You don't like Landiscogg because that's a lie.

38:34Andrew: Here's the thing is I don't like

38:35Justin: I you only Atlantis Scott.

38:37Andrew: I'm against Landiscogg. Yes. Because the year he won the Calder, he beat Nugent Hopkins. Even Nugent Hopkins had the same amount of points and less games. And the Aud then he won a cup at basically at the hands of the Oilers in that conference final. So I bought. Then I watched the. Was it called Face off series? It was called the Face off series. And he seemed like a great guy.

38:59Justin: And you're like, I just to be best.

39:01Andrew: But he just seems like a nice man.

39:02Justin: Just seems like a guy to Good guy. Sit on the beach.

39:04Andrew: Good dad.

39:05Justin: Yeah. Shows up for his friends.

39:06Andrew: Kitchener Rangers Yeah. I like Kitchener Rangers So I will no longer badmouth. Not that I ever did, but I will no longer root against Gabriel Landiscott. In fact, I'm rooting for him to come back. He's in my long term IR in my fantasy league.

39:19Justin: Yeah. I hope he comes back at some point. I hope that his end does not come. I agree. Okay, so first team is Mike Richards, Derek Roy and Gabriel Landiscog.

39:28Andrew: Yes.

39:28Justin: Okay, second team, who are you picking?

39:31Andrew: I am going to take. Because he scored 97 goals in two years. I'm taking Jeff Skinner. Yeah. I think 97 goals in two years is absurd. He did crazy things as like an underage young player. Like he just literally did stuff that guys that age don't do, he shouldn't do. Yeah. And he even did it in the NHL. He was like the youngest Calder winner. It's crazy the trajectory that he had coming out of Kitchener Rangers and he scored 40 in the NHL. That's crazy being the size that he is. That's the thing that nobody really talks about is that he's not a big guy and he's gone on and he's been successful. I would have loved to see Jeff Skinner play as a Ranger because I'm guessing that the dude was just automatic.

40:14Justin: Yeah.

40:14Andrew: Playoff run where they got to the third round and he scored 20 goals in 20 games.

40:20Justin: Oh, man, that's awesome. I think we got to take Nazem Kadri for this team.

40:24Andrew: I think so.

40:25Justin: And it hurts a little because his prime in the OHL was with London. That's true. But he started with the Kitchener Rangers and he was a pretty dominant force in the ohl. So I think you got to take Kadri.

40:35Andrew: I think so too. And again, I think that he's gone on to be such a successful player professionally that you realize that obviously he learned fundamentals with the Kitchener Rangers as like playing at a high level. And of course he went on to London because it's a factory there for. To attract good players. That's what they do. They go out and they just buy talent. And. And he was that guy at that conspiracy AudPod here.

41:02Justin: Okay, who's your. Who's the third one that gets picked and then who gets cut?

41:07Andrew: We've got Acevedo, Acheson and McGrath. I think. I think for me it comes down between Azevedo and McGrath because they both had crazy all time seasons. I would lean McGrath because I think he had a better career as a Ranger.

41:32Justin: Okay.

41:32Andrew: And I Think that he blossomed after the Rangers were like they were coming down from being a championship challenging kind of team. And he. But he kept getting better.

41:44Justin: Yes.

41:44Andrew: So I think like you're three guys who didn't make a lot of noise as professionals. That's where I think I'd go. I think. And also I see this. I might be a little bit biased. I see Evan McGrath in the community doing things.

41:58Justin: He seems like a good guy.

41:59Andrew: He's like a great dude.

42:00Justin: He gets the community bump that is

42:02Andrew: part of being a Ranger.

42:03Justin: So there's our two teams. So team A team is Mike Richards, Gabriel Landiscog, Derek Roy, Andre Benoit and Steve Emminger and Scott Dicke. And then our B team is Evan McGrath, Jeff Skinner, Nazem Kadri, Rustevich, Ryan Murphy and John Gibson, both coached by Pete DeBoer.

42:26Andrew: He's got to work twice as hard in this game. But of course, Pete DeBore was the coach in 2003 when they won the Memorial Cup.

42:33Justin: Might win a Stanley cup this year.

42:34Andrew: I hope that he doesn't, but he may.

42:36Justin: Yep. Alright. So that's the episode this week. We have some thank yous to throw out.

42:43Andrew: We sure do.

42:44Justin: Ken Born for the branding and marketing.

42:46Andrew: If you're watching the video, we really appreciate it. You can see the lovely hat.

42:51Justin: I'm not wearing it.

42:52Andrew: Why did you grab your. You don't know what you're wearing?

42:54Justin: I thought I grabbed it.

42:55Andrew: Do you dress yourself?

42:56Justin: No, I have people for that. Imaginary.

43:02Andrew: Is that in the budget?

43:05Justin: A big, huge shout out to our prodigal producer, Liam.

43:09Andrew: Oh, the phenom who went to his

43:11Justin: first Kitchener Rangers game this week.

43:13Andrew: Get out.

43:14Justin: Saw the Barrie Colts.

43:16Andrew: So he's undefeated in attendance.

43:18Justin: He is undefeated. He had some words about officiating that I'm not gonna repeat here, but wow. He had some thoughts.

43:25Andrew: Liam.

43:26Justin: Yeah.

43:26Andrew: So I sure hope you didn't learn those words on this podcast, young man.

43:31Justin: We're a clean podcast. We are. We want to thank the Aud exchange in Cambridge because that's where we're recording this week.

43:37Andrew: That is where we are this week.

43:39Justin: And then you can catch us on the social medias.

43:41Andrew: Yes. Hedd podcast on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Just search Theoddpodcast Kitchenerrangers and we do come up. I confirmed that. Excellent. So that is. We are now in the YouTube ether.

43:55Justin: But it's a little weird.

43:56Andrew: It's weird, but it works. If you search AudPod Kitchener Rangers Nice. You also send us an email@theaudpodcastmail.com we'd love to hear from you.

44:05Justin: Yeah, and as always, you can find

44:08Andrew: us at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium beyond.