76: Hlacar-izard Interview with Matthew Hlacar

0:00Justin: Hey, Andrew.

0:00Andrew: Hey, Justin.

0:02Justin: Hey, Matthew.

0:04Matthew Hlacar: Hey, Andrew. Hey, Justin. Hey, uh, look on the show joining us. Welcome to The AudPod, where we're talking Kitchener Rangers hockey with the AudBalls themselves, Andrew and Justin. Take it away, fellas.

0:27Andrew: Once a Ranger, always a Ranger is what we say. But right now we're talking to the Brantford Bulldogs' new pickup, Matthew Hlacar. Welcome to the show, Matthew Hlacar. I should say Memorial Cup champion. Undrafted to Memorial Cup champion. Doesn't get any better of a story than this. Welcome to the AudPod, man.

0:49Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. First and foremost, I just want to say my thoughts and prayers are with the My family, my friend Matthew Mayich is going through a tough battle right now, and I just want to say my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. You know, he's a great kid and a person I've looked up to playing and coming into the OHL and comes from a great family. So I pray, praying for his family.

1:13Justin: Yeah.

1:14Andrew: Thank you so much for saying that and bringing attention to that. Of course, that's been going around the OHL on Instagram and on social media. Prayers to him and his family. And yeah, just Horrible situation all around. But yes, thank you so much for bringing that up.

1:34Matthew Hlacar: Yeah.

1:34Andrew: Well, if you want to talk about him a little bit, you obviously played with him. If you want to talk about that, just please do.

1:41Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, we were— we're good friends, you know. Our parents are good friends too. And yeah, he comes from a great family and we actually trained a lot in the summers. We were training this summer together and Trained, you know, with Brad Flynn. Actually, the last couple of summers we were in the same group, so we skated a lot in the summer, quite a bit together. So yeah, praying for him.

2:05Andrew: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think the whole hockey world is right there with you. You brought up Brad Flynn there, training with him in the offseason. He was obviously more, more focused on the defense core when he was coaching you when you were in Kitchener. But we talked to him last week or 2 weeks ago and just a great hockey mind. And, you know, he really— he actually kind of got a little emotional when he was talking about guys who were a little bit more like him in and out of the lineup, being that, you know, that 13th forward or being that 7th defenseman. And he knew what it was like and he knew how important it was to stay focused at practice and be part of it. And he talked about how everybody on the team was, you know, the fabric of the team and that you all pushed each other in practice if you didn't make it in. Now, you joined earlier— you joined later in your kind of your junior career, I guess you could say. But you joined as an undrafted player. We didn't really have much information on you when you came to the Rangers. It was just kind of announced that you were coming. And then very quickly you made your status known as a physical player.

3:21Justin: Yeah.

3:23Andrew: What point in your career did you realize that in order to take that next step and get to major junior and stay in major junior, that you were going to have to really lean into that physical style of play? Or have you always been a physical player?

3:37Matthew Hlacar: Oh yeah, I think I was as a kid, but I think when I was, you know, first year of hitting, I think I didn't grow. So I used to be the smallest guy on my team and I used to get Blowing up and stuff like that. So I think, I think it's a little bit of revenge in that aspect. I think, I think it's like you have a little chip on your shoulder, you know what I mean? Like you remember all the, all the times you, you took a beating pretty good. So I think, I think that and also obviously not being drafted, that was really hard for me. And I, I just wanted to do whatever it took. So I just wanted to play in the OHL. That was my goal. And I was willing to do whatever it took to get there, whether it was having to fight or hit or do, do whatever I had to do. You know, sometimes it's not easy, but at the end of the day, it's worth it. Sometimes, yeah, you have to do what you got to do to get there.

4:28Justin: I mean, that's a great attitude, having, having the like, whatever it takes to get where I need to go. Like Andrew said, you, you got into Kitchener and, and you had a pretty like, at least by the numbers, without much videotape to be able to follow up. But it looks like you had some pretty spectacular U15 year. Coming into the OHL and then, yeah, it took a little bit of time. But once you, once you got to the OHL, your presence was known. How, how was the— like, what's the, what's the mental fortitude? Who was there to support you and keep you motivated? Or how did you motivate yourself?

5:02Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I think obviously I have a great support system with my parents. You know, they do everything for me and I couldn't obviously be here without my parents and my sister. But I think it was a lot too, like just mentally just doing whatever it took and making sacrifices to get there. It wasn't easy. There was a lot of bad days, you know, when you're Undrafted, there's a lot of hard days and times where you feel like maybe it's not going to work or something. But if you just keep going, eventually something's going to give was kind of the mindset if I just kept trying. And, you know, I got cut from Ottawa 67's. I got cut from Kitchener. I got cut from London that year. And then I came back the next year and then Kitchener just signed me.

5:42Andrew: So the journey ends in Kitchener with a Memorial Cup. You guys were a spectacular unit. Like, you were part of a team in that first year that we started the podcast, which was last year. We watched a team that, you know, didn't have what it took to get to that final level. But then what we watched was everyone kind of grew together last year and developed. And I think that you specifically set a tone or joined in in such a physical tone. I mean, the whole team was ready to scrap for any— anybody at any time. What's it like when— I know you're a physical player, but what's it like when you know that the whole bench is willing to just go if they have to?

6:31Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I know. That's kind of like what Ando used to always say. He used to say, yeah, like, if a team's going to come bully us, no one's going to run us out of the rink because they might have one guy or 2 guys that are going to fight. We got 10 guys. So That's kind of what Ando always said. That was his thing. Like, no one— even if 2 guys got to fight, well, we got 10 waiting to go. They don't. So that was kind of, I don't know, maybe a sense of confidence that we kind of had in games as well. Like that, that attitude that, yeah, that we just had that kind of— we felt that we were just tougher than every team.

7:00Justin: You definitely were. And there was a— there was an interesting point in this, in this season. It felt like— it felt like all the quote unquote tough guys showed up all kind of around the same time. Like, you were with the team and then Ando came back and they traded for Woolley and all of a sudden this team went from like a hard-hitting team to a hard-hitting team. What was that? What was that energy like?

7:22Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, no, like, I remember after the trade deadline, what was the first game against Oshawa? It was at home, right? And yeah, it was just like, wow. And then, yeah, it was kind of like, yeah, it was good. And then I think we played Owen Sound the next night and we beat Owen Sound in Owen Sound. So yeah, I think Right after the deadline, we kind of knew like, hey, this is— we're gonna do this. Like, we're gonna, we're gonna win this. We're not, we're not— we didn't load up for nothing here. We're going for it all. So that was kind of the mindset. We didn't really talk about anything else, but it was more just like in the room. Like Jared Woolley used to say, um, get ready, this is gonna be long. We still got another 2 months, like at the start of playoffs, because like, you know what I mean? Like, you're there for 2 months when you go to the Memorial Cup. So that was kind of the mindset, right?

8:03Andrew: Yeah. And it means a really short offseason. So, so obviously you're no longer with the Kitchener Rangers now. You're now a Brantford Bulldog. It pains me to say, especially because you're right down the road from us, but we only see you twice this season. We actually looked at— we looked it up and we're like, should we wait until we play Brantford to release this episode? No, we don't play until February. That's crazy. You're a Hamilton guy originally, right? Like you, you're from Hamilton area. Yeah.

8:33Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, just outside of Hamilton. Uh, yeah, so like Stoney Creek Mountain. So yeah, it's very close. I mean, like, to be honest, like, where the Bulldogs used to play in Hamilton and Brantford Arena, like, uh, the Civic Center, compared to my house, it's basically the same. Hamilton was maybe like 5 minutes less. Like, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty much the same for, for distance.

8:53Andrew: That's how—

8:55Justin: that means you get to live at home?

8:56Andrew: Yeah, through all of this.

8:57Matthew Hlacar: I'm actually in a billet house now, but yeah, I'm like 35 minutes from home, so it's good.

9:02Andrew: You get to, you get to see your family. Uh, we actually met your dad before we met you. We met him during a game, walking out of a game last season. Yeah, and, uh, really nice guy, really nice guy. Now he told us a story about— a pretty funny story about, uh, you being maybe not so nice on the ice and then, you know, just being yourself off the ice. where you were, you were tossed out of a game and then you put on your street clothes and then went and sat in the arena with him, which is unhinged behavior to me. But I guess if I was as tough as you, I wouldn't be worried about it so much. What was, what was going through your head there? And take me through that kind of that, that game. You're tossed and then all of a sudden you're like, you know what, I'm going to go, I'm going to go see my family.

9:53Matthew Hlacar: Yeah. Yeah, that's not happened one time. That's happened many times. Yeah, it wasn't the first time, but yeah, even when I was a kid, I remember my dad used to— he used to have to tell me, you know, we would go to spring tournaments and he'd be like, hey, like, you know, I just spent all this money on a hotel, you know, like we got a hotel for the weekend. Like, can you please not get in a fight or get suspended like first game? Like, can you like actually play so I didn't waste $1,000 on a hotel this weekend?

10:24Andrew: Oh, it's amazing.

10:26Matthew Hlacar: That was like spring hockey when I was 10 years old. So nothing's really changed.

10:29Andrew: I was going to say that the stuff that you don't think about when you've got the, the, the family of an enforcer or I don't know how you self-identify if you're an enforcer or a pest or whatever, but you do what you do so extremely well. One thing you do really well, you don't— may not score a lot, but we have a running joke on the AudPod that you only score beautiful goals. What is So you've got hands. So where does that come from and who can you attribute to that, like helping you with that?

11:01Matthew Hlacar: I think I've always had pretty good hands, even when I was a kid. I just was always— I kind of had that to my game. I wasn't— when I was younger especially, wasn't really the best skater. I was actually— when I was a kid, I was a pretty lazy player, I'd say. Like when I was like 9, 10 years old, I didn't really get after it as a kid. I think I was more kind of just like float around. I figured that had to change if I wanted to move on. So that's kind of one thing. The work rate had to go up for sure.

11:31Justin: The silkiest, the silkiest hands comment came after the like, how many rounds shootout game up in Owen Sound?

11:40Matthew Hlacar: Yeah. Sault Ste. Marie.

11:41Andrew: Sault Ste. Marie.

11:42Justin: Yeah.

11:44Andrew: Unbelievable. Where does that move come from? Did you know in your, in your mind if it— I mean, that's the thing is, is, you know, you got to be thinking like, okay, well, I got to be, I got to be shooting soon because everybody's shooting. Did you think, I know exactly what I'm going to do there?

11:58Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I kind of like practiced that. It's like around the world and then, yeah, by the goalie. But I don't know, it's just like we were on the bench there and it was getting late and like, I'm pretty good in practice at shootouts and like all the guys were yelling down the bench like, they're like, you see, let Lach shoot, just let him shoot. And they're all just like, they're all telling you, see, let me shoot. And everyone's just like, let Lach go, let Lach go. And then, yeah, it went to Stark.

12:19Andrew: Yeah. Unbelievable. Yeah, it will live in AudPod lore forever. We always reference that goal. It's just, yeah, it was, it was an all-time moment because we obviously, we up to that point didn't realize that you, you had those kinds of hands. But yes, that's very, very obvious that, you know, you can, you can, you can use your hands in multiple ways, we'll say, out on the, out on the ice. Which brings me to the next question. What, you know, being that kind of player and being— you have, you obviously have to have a mindset going into every game. Is there a player that you look up to or model yourself after, or has there been an influence in your game becoming this type of player?

13:04Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I like the, the power forward guys like Tom Wilson, Milan Lucic, those kind of players. I think those are— they're really effective players when they do their job well and kind of guys that I look at, you know, Josh Anderson's another one like, you know, guys that can— they can play too, but also they're super tough. So that's kind of like guys I've looked up to.

13:25Andrew: Yeah. I mean, Tom Wilson at the Olympics. I mean, a lot of people counted him out and, and, and, and I think a lot of people have been on the wrong side of their team getting Tom Wilson'd, so they didn't like him. But once he was playing for my team, Canada, I was, I was a huge fan suddenly.

13:41Matthew Hlacar: Yeah.

13:42Andrew: That's— yeah, that's, that's incredible. I think that, you know, there's a certain level of being, you know, that kind of like modern-day gladiator type going into it, but also you're a part of a team. And obviously when you're that type of player, you're not necessarily going to be in the game or in every game. How do you stay mentally focused when it's like, oh, like, you know, here I was, I played. And you did play quite a, quite a bit of hockey for most of, most of the run here. But towards the end, you didn't play as much. How did you stay mentally engaged in practice?

14:18Matthew Hlacar: I think it was just the teammates I had. It was the group of guys that's— I think that's the reason we won as well, is just we all played for each other and loved each other, and we had a good group of guys. You know, even the 4th line or the healthy scratches, we all kind of— we all were there, and we kind of, you know what I mean, we worked together. Like, obviously, when you're scratched some days, it's not easy, of course. Like, there's hard days, you know what I mean? Like, it's not easy mentally, but I think we all kind of— everyone had their days of good and bad, but I think, like—

14:47Andrew: Yeah.

14:48Matthew Hlacar: When someone was having a bad day or a hard day, you know, one other guy kind of helped them out. Like, uh, like a Jack LaBrash, you'd call Jack LaBrash. Or like maybe someone else would be having a bad day and maybe Vermeulen would check in on him, or Dirracolo, you know what I mean? So it was like stuff like that, right? Like, obviously it's not easy, everyone has ups and downs, but I think we all had each other's back and we kind of knew when guys were going through it and having a hard time or not. And I think that that was most positive. And I think Our top guys too, our guys playing on the first line and stuff like that cared just as much about us too. Like they'd check in and be like, how's it going and stuff? So I think that, that was a huge reason why we won. Just, you know, everyone had each other's backs.

15:30Justin: It always seemed like this team, like, yeah, there was, there was more than just chemistry on the ice. There was chemistry off the ice. It seemed like you guys were just like a complete unit. Yeah, it translated out to the audience. The AudPodience as well. Speaking of being a healthy scratch, some of us, we, Andrew and I have learned recently about the, the Brandon Merli, like endurance skates and things like that when you are scratched. Does the legend hold true? Is it like a pretty epic thing that he makes you go through and, and keeps you in fit check and all those types of things?

16:04Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, of course it's hard. I think obviously depending on the day, like if it's a back-to-back or something, it'll be, it'd be lighter. But yeah, if there's nothing, it's definitely hard. I think, yeah, obviously Merles is— he knows what he's doing and he's very smart in his job and his role. So he's very well educated on all the training on and off the ice. So yeah, it was definitely— it was good to work with him. He's a really nice guy. And yeah, he always worked with maybe the guys that weren't playing as much or like the healthy scratches or like— The next day after a game, guys that didn't play a certain amount of minutes, like, they'd have to go out and skate, like, in a group, and he'd always be there. And he had a really good mind for that, and he's very smart at what he does. So yeah, he always took care of us. We were always, you know, he worked us hard, but at the same time, you know, recovery was also important, and he kept that. He also made sure about that too. So yeah, it was good.

17:01Justin: We've heard some of the younger guys, they come off after some of those skates and They're not in great shape afterwards.

17:08Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, no, I think the training camp, that skate's the hardest one. That's— oh yeah, that the skate test at training camp in Kitchener, that's not easy, that one for sure.

17:23Justin: I'm assuming you just went through training camp in Brantford. How does it compare?

17:29Matthew Hlacar: We didn't do any on-ice testing like skate tests, but we definitely had a harder off-ice tests. We have to do assault bike and stuff very, very hard. So—

17:39Andrew: Oh, you want to play in what I think is the best developmental league in the world? I guess, you know, you got to, you got to push yourself now. Yeah. I want to ask about maybe some other types of training. I know a lot of guys who scrap may dip their toe in boxing or Muay Thai or anything like that. Do you do anything like that?

18:01Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I've done quite a bit. I was doing a lot during the season at the gym called Darkside Muay Thai in Kitchener with Darryl.

18:08Andrew: Okay. Shout out to Darkside. Yes.

18:12Justin: Not the first mention of that.

18:14Andrew: No.

18:14Justin: Darkside on the podcast.

18:15Andrew: On the pod.

18:16Justin: Yeah.

18:17Matthew Hlacar: Trained with Steve Molitor a bit in Kitchener. He's a boxing guy. And then when I'm back home, a guy from my hometown, Josh Hill, he was like a big Canadian MMA fighter, fought in a lot of big promotions. So we do training. And yeah, it's all good stuff. Get to learn from, pick their minds and learn from guys like that who fought for a living. So it's kind of cool. Even the mentality, the mindset, you pick up things from them. Not even just fighting, just like, you know what I mean? Work ethic, all that stuff, right? Because it is a grind, that job. And that's probably the hardest job in the world to be an actual fighter. Like, it's not easy, right?

18:53Andrew: Yeah. Well, they all say that no matter if you can do anything else, do it. Those guys that do it professionally. Yeah. Yeah.

19:00Justin: You've had a lot of scraps throughout your, your OHL career. Is there one that is like, you're like, oh yeah, like this guy I fought, or like I was exceptionally awesome in this fight?

19:12Andrew: Yeah, like what's your, what's your, what's your favorite tilt and who's your favorite dance partner?

19:15Matthew Hlacar: Well, I guess my favorite dance partner is Boulton because we fought so many times.

19:19Andrew: Yeah, so many times.

19:22Matthew Hlacar: But no, obviously a lot of respect for him, you know, he's super tough and, um, you know, not an easy fight to fight that guy.

19:29Andrew: So it's generational. I, I watch I grew up watching his dad beat up guys. So yeah, I mean, obviously it's, it's a part of the game. I don't know if you— I'm sure you do, you know, because you're playing this year. They've changed the rules. How do you think that's going to affect things with, with the OHL this year and the amount of, the amount of fights that are now permitted?

19:53Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I don't know, because it's more per player, but it's less per team. So it should be basically the same. I don't know. Right. Like, yeah, it's hard to say. I have no opinion yet because I haven't done it.

20:04Andrew: So yeah. That, that to me is a little frustrating as a fan, the previous rule. And I know obviously, you know, you have to be conscious of you're still a player in the league and you don't want to say too much. But I just, I want to express that I found it a little frustrating that you were only allowed to have this many fights and then you were going to be, you know, suspended temporarily and then You were just— it would just reset back to zero. It kind of seemed like it was like, don't go fighting. But they do want fights because fighting obviously puts butts in the seats. So I thought it was a little, a little, a little questionable as far as like, how much is that actually doing? Is that in the back of your head when you're out there and somebody wants to drop? If you're like, I really want to play next game.

20:51Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, of course. Like, you don't want to be suspended. You always want to be in the lineup, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do. Like a fight that I don't know, I think you probably remember was like I actually got suspended for it when I think it was like Humphreys' first game and he got hit in the center ice and I had to come fight.

21:08Andrew: Yes.

21:09Matthew Hlacar: Yes. I have no problem doing that for a teammate like that. Right.

21:12Andrew: So of course. Of course. Well, and that's— I was going to ask about that was you, you guys bonded so much as a team. What was it like coming to the end? You're, you're crowned Memorial Cup champions. Was there a moment where it clicked and you realized this group is realistically never going to be back together playing hockey ever again?

21:34Matthew Hlacar: Yeah.

21:35Andrew: And this particular group, because we even, even if everybody came back, there'd be overagers. What was that like? And did you have kind of a moment where it was bittersweet and, or have you not had that yet?

21:48Matthew Hlacar: Well, I think we just, we really enjoyed our time together and we all kind of still stay in touch. So I think it's, it's good. Yeah, we had a great time, great memories and memories for life.

21:57Andrew: And is there, are there any plans to like rent a cottage in 10 years and do a big reunion?

22:02Matthew Hlacar: I don't know yet. I'm sure there'll be something down the line, of course.

22:07Justin: Right.

22:07Matthew Hlacar: Yeah.

22:08Andrew: What we do want to see is the jerseys on your wall that you showed us before we started recording. You got to just tilt your camera over there and give us a look.

22:19Matthew Hlacar: It's a Brantford one.

22:22Andrew: There you go. There you go.

22:25Justin: But what's the one beside it? That's— I think that's the one that Andrew wants to know about.

22:29Matthew Hlacar: It's an Adam Henrique signed jersey.

22:32Andrew: So that's amazing. There you go, Rico. That's awesome.

22:36Justin: In this weird twist of the world, like, I wish Brampton was the Rangers, like— Brantford.

22:42Matthew Hlacar: Brantford.

22:43Andrew: Don't insult them. Don't insult them.

22:44Matthew Hlacar: No.

22:45Andrew: Yeah.

22:45Matthew Hlacar: Sorry.

22:45Justin: Sorry. Sorry. I wish Brantford was the, was like the official, like, division rival of the Rangers.

22:52Andrew: Yes.

22:52Justin: Of the Rangers, because we're so close. But yeah, like, tell us, tell us about what it's like to be a part of this team now. Like, you know, obviously Brantford was a big, was a big part of the season last year. They were sort of rumored as the, as the team. And, you know, obviously they had their troubles with Barrie in the, in the Conference Finals. And, you know, the GM said when you got picked up that, you know, he was really excited about your physical presence and your toughness, and he thinks that's going to be a valuable addition to the Bulldogs. Like, what's it like joining this team and now with what they're putting together?

23:31Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, it's top notch here. It's the best of the best. I'm honestly shocked at everything. Like, it's incredible. From the training to the food to the coaching, from the billets to everything, it's top, top notch. And I'm really excited to be here and can't wait to keep going here. It's been awesome so far.

23:52Justin: Being the guy that has won, what do you bring to the room? What can you bring to the room and what can you give to these guys as your teammates now?

24:01Matthew Hlacar: I just want to be a good guy, honestly. Just hang out with the guys, be a good teammate, Work hard. That's kind of just what I want to bring. Nothing else.

24:09Justin: Nice.

24:11Andrew: I mean, and that's, that's super important. I— we, we found out, we, we actually chatted with Carson Campbell before we chatted with you today, and he told us that he roomed with Prids. Who was your roommate while you were in Kitchener?

24:27Matthew Hlacar: Well, my first year it was usually me and LaBrash were usually roommates.

24:33Andrew: Okay.

24:33Matthew Hlacar: Maybe Max Dirracolo a bit. And then in my second year, it was just usually me And, uh, Avry Anstis last year.

24:40Andrew: Okay. Okay. The kid.

24:43Matthew Hlacar: Yeah.

24:44Justin: Yeah. Anstis feels like a bit of a character. Uh, you got any stories about him? Yeah.

24:48Andrew: Yeah. Spill the tea.

24:49Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, he's awesome. No, Anstis is, uh, Anstis is a great kid. I, I loved playing with Anstis. Anstis, um, his stall was beside mine too in the room. Just honestly, just a super nice kid and really funny. You know, the guys in the room really liked him because I think he, he got, he got everyone laughing in the room with funny jokes and stuff. And he always, he was always a super nice guy. And yeah, everyone just really liked Ants and yeah, he was awesome.

25:17Andrew: And I mean, he made the most too of like he was another guy who, who didn't necessarily get to play every game. And, and even when he was in the lineup, he may have not had that many minutes, but he just really, really took advantage of that time. Much like yourself. And was that something you guys could kind of bond over? It was like that. It was just like, you know what, when we get out there, we're going to go as hard as we can.

25:40Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, no, he worked super hard.

25:43Justin: Avry.

25:43Matthew Hlacar: Avry's a super hard worker and a really good skater. So yeah, it was easy to play with him. He was always— we'd always kind of be racing that who's going to go in first because yeah, he, he loved going in first too. And yeah, he's a super hard worker. He's a great player. So yeah, I was really happy to get to play with Avry.

25:57Andrew: We're talking about funny players in the dressing room. And it always comes up that Cameron Arquette is a funny guy. You must have an Arky story.

26:05Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I got a few, I think. Well, Arky's hilarious and honestly the nicest guy ever. Like, funniest guy, nicest guy ever. Would always be chirping guys, keeping the room light. And I think he was— his first year on the team, he was, he was giving it to a couple of guys. He was giving it to Ando pretty good. And it was like all fun, like all jokes, obviously. And then We went on the road one time and, um, Arky came back to his room and, uh, I think his mattress was on his balcony. And, uh, I think like the, the office, like the chair and the desk was on his bed, uh, box spring. So yeah, I think, I think Arky had a rough night that night. Um, I think in another one, I think, yeah, he was giving it to Chromiak. Him and Chromiak used to go at it pretty good. Like, obviously all fun. Of course.

26:59Justin: Yeah.

26:59Matthew Hlacar: Awesome. I think, um, it might— we were on the road somewhere and it might have been, um, one of the, um, one of the hotel rooms. So Arky was sleeping and they, they went— it might have been the night, maybe we, maybe we had a practice the next day. I think we had an off day and, um, they went into his room in the middle of the night at like 4 o'clock in the morning and just like just scared him and told him like he was like late to breakfast or something. Yeah, like got it back as much as he gave it away. He got it back at times too. But yeah, just, just fun stories like that. Like memories like that. Obviously, Arky was an awesome guy. Yeah, he used to give it and they used to give it back to him pretty good.

27:40Andrew: So what was it like being a team last year? I mean, last year there was— there was a year before last, I should say. There was, you know, you had the Jackson Parsons year that he had that was incredible. You had guys that, you know, we thought that maybe they were going to move on like Ando. What was it like getting, you know, to that, that, that same old kind of like, at least for the fans, get to that London, you know, they actually go on and win it and you see that happen and, and, you know, they kind of get to the top of the mountain after they failed the year before. Then the following year, you know, Jackson's gone. So that's kind of up in the air. But, but, you know, obviously Kirshy comes in and Steals the show at the Memorial Cup. But what was it like, you know, getting a couple London Knights to come into the dressing room? And were you like, were you familiar with with either of those guys as an opponent? Specifically Wolf. I don't know if you ever had him on your dance card.

28:43Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, no, I think I think when they came, obviously they bring a winning mentality and a contagious work ethic that everyone kind of. Built off of, and they were 2 great guys. I'm sure obviously playing against them in the past, obviously you never know what to expect, but then obviously when someone comes in your room, you're like, oh, like maybe he's hard to play against on the ice, but he's actually a really nice guy, you know what I mean? Like that happens, you know, Wolf's a hard player to play against, you know, people might hate playing against him because he's big and strong, but, and hard to play against obviously, but, you know, when you get to meet the guy, he's a very nice guy. So I think that's usually the most Mostly what happens. But yeah, obviously we've had some battles against them. But yeah, it was great to have them and they were, they were great for our room. I think, I think they were the— that's— that trade really made our chances go up for sure.

29:30Andrew: Yeah. Tipped the scales, as they say. Definitely. And I mean, we can't go without saying, you know, Peanut was— is an incredible player. What was it like Competing against not just Peanut, but some of these other, these other guys in practice. What was that like on a day-to-day basis? Did you feel yourself getting stronger and faster? And, and were there moments where you were like, oh man, like, oh, that's a great play. I got to kind of log that away and I can, I can, I can add that to my game.

29:57Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I think every guy kind of had their skills and I think guys learned from every guy. And I think we, we all talked a lot and communicated a lot well. on and off the ice. I think even talking about hockey off the ice and just like things, right? Like you'll pick up different things from different players and see what they do well, because when you've got a team full of great players like that, they're obviously all doing something very good that makes them great, right?

30:21Andrew: Yeah.

30:21Matthew Hlacar: And a lot of the guys kind of looked at what other guys were doing and kind of put it into their tools, whatever you want to call it, and to help them get better. So I think that was Definitely a huge part, you know, getting guys like that.

30:37Andrew: After it was all over, how long before Ando put a shirt back on? Was it like every day you'd see him and he'd just be— he'd just be shirtless and like carrying the trophy? Or what was— what was that whole experience like for you celebrating the highest achievement that you could— I mean, short of a Stanley Cup, And I've even— when we started this podcast, I said to Justin, I think the Memorial Cup is harder to win because you have to then go to this tournament and play like in a basically a Champions Cup final.

31:12Matthew Hlacar: And it's like a one-game elimination, right? Yeah.

31:14Andrew: Anything can happen. Yeah. So, so what was it like celebrating with those guys? And is it going to live in your heart forever as this amazing memory, or is it just going to motivate you to, you know, taste victory at every level that you play?

31:27Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I think obviously the memories for life. And, you know, we had a lot of fun celebrating the trophy after we won the Memorial Cup. I think that was, that was awesome. And yeah, of course it's motivating because you want to do it again. It felt so good, right? So yeah, I think both, both sides for sure.

31:43Andrew: And just back, double back to the Ando thing. Was he, was he having the most fun or was there anybody else who could match, if you know what I'm saying? Was he having the most fun or is there anybody who matched him in those celebratory moments?

31:56Matthew Hlacar: I think a lot of guys matched him. Great.

32:00Andrew: Good, good. That's what I like to hear.

32:02Justin: I like to hear that.

32:03Andrew: Yeah. Good, good, good. I appreciate that. That's— I think that's a pretty solid note to end on. I really appreciate your time, man, and for you, for you joining us here kind of on somewhat short notice. We really appreciate it. And especially you're no longer a Kitchener Ranger. So, you know, you could have told the AudPod to shove it really is what you could have done. You could have done a full heel turn as they say in the wrestling business, but you didn't. You came on and you reminisced with us, and we really appreciate your time.

32:33Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, yeah, no, you guys have always been awesome, and, um, you know, you guys have always been really good to the team and, uh, the way you've always treated all the players. And all the guys really appreciate the, uh, everything you do and put the podcast out weekly and stuff. So yeah, I had to join. I, I felt I wanted to join because of all the work you guys do for the team and all the guys, and everyone really appreciates what you guys do. So yeah, I have no problem joining anytime.

32:55Andrew: Well, you got— you make it easy for us because you're an exciting player and sometimes a controversial player, which is great for, for, for podcast hosts. We love, we love talking about you and the things that you do, and we're going to be rooting for you. Thankfully, we only have to root against you twice this season.

33:11Justin: And I think it's just one weekend too.

33:13Matthew Hlacar: Exactly.

33:14Justin: Yeah. I think it's a home and home or something like that.

33:18Andrew: I guess we didn't ask, but are you, are you mentally prepared to walk into the Aud and go into the visitors?

33:25Matthew Hlacar: Yeah, I have no problem doing that.

33:26Andrew: Ah, this guy, ice in the veins. I love it. I love it. We can't wait to see what kind of hijinks you get up to in those games especially. I know, I know you're gonna do something.