InGoal Radio Episode 281 with Sudarshan Maharaj

Intro

This is gonna be fun. People have no idea. You download the podcast. You're ready to listen to it. You have no idea what you're in for today because I don't know what we're in for today because I'm I'm I'm joining. I'm I'm hot off the game, and I've I've hooked up with the fellas, and we're ready to go for this episode of InGoal Radio Podcast presented by the Hockey Shop Source for Sports Langley, the hockeyshop.com.

Woody and Hutch are together. You guys are gonna have to carry me today big time.

Well, I mean, let's just if you're lucky that you were coming in hot from the rink, Daren, because while we were waiting for you to arrive virtually, poor Hutch had to watch me stretch because I've got a game in about forty minutes. So I'm down there on the floor at the yoga mat, getting all stretched out.

Woody playing with his toys?

You can just see him rolling his eyes back here. So at least you didn't have to you didn't have to deal with any of that, buddy. Well, it'll it's all smooth for you. Hutch has to erase that from his memory?

Oh, there's a brown out in the neighborhood from plugging in all those foam rollers he's got down there.

You have power foam rollers?

Oh, bad. Yeah. You better get

racks of

them. What does a power foam roller do?

It it vibrates as well.

Like a little massage, a little Hyperice Hyperice vibrating foam roller, Daren. We gotta get you up to speed on the good stuff. The little

slice Those things hurt.

No. It's a

they are evil

of heaven, the vibration makes it more it adds you have the pain, it's still there, but the vibration adds a little massage element. So it's it's like enjoyable agony.

You know what I did buy? Speaking of torture, and I saw this at the rookie tournament when I was there with the Vegas Golden Knights in El Segundo, California earlier this year. This mat, this spiked mat Yes. That you stand on and you lie on.

We have one here.

I I tried it when I was there and loved it, so I bought a neck spiked Pillow. Roller.

This one.

A mat. Yes. That's exactly you guys are you're showing me on the on the Zoom.

So James Wendland, who was a guest on the show few months back, it's been a while, introduced those to us and uses it in part of the footwork in one of the videos over at ingoalmag.com. And several people, as a result, have now made this spike mat part of their daily routine. Right beside the bed, you get up in the morning, and it sort of gets you grounded. It awakens all the muscles in the feet, and it's it's great. You gotta check out James' videos and learn more about

I'm not doing it when I get out of bed. No no chance. I need to psych myself up to stand on that thing because it hurts.

You get used to it, but so many people, quite honestly

used to it. Do not tell people you get used to it. You don't get used to Well, maybe you don't.

I got used to it. That's why we have one here in the in my basement. Daren, stop by my bed, Daren. Don't so soft.

Don't be so soft, Daren. You can do it.

I am soft, and and I I do it.

I I I follow through with it, and I do it. And I'm proud of myself for doing it, but don't try and tell me you get used to that.

Yeah. I actually know some guys who now keep them in their hockey bags too, so it's part of their warm up every day when they get to the rink.

Wow. And that that's where I saw it was with the Vegas Golden Knights rookies, and guys just love it. It it just brings

everything receptors in the foot.

Yeah. I guess now that it's Black Friday, we're gonna have to put a link to the spiky mats within the podcast notes.

Yeah. Because we do have we you can you can buy them through us and and yeah. We we we like our spike mats.

So I should have bought it through you.

You definitely should have. Our ours would have come with the neck pillow too. Ours is over there. I've seen guys use it for rehab too to stimulate, like, Achilles and stuff as they get ready to go on the ice, like, put it underneath the Achilles with some weight over top.

it achillies my feet when I stand on it.

That's well done. I like that. I really appreciate that.

Thank you. Thank you. Somebody needs to put up with me.

You guys mentioned that I was coming in hot, just, for awareness, I was doing the Vegas Golden Knights against the Philadelphia Flyer, you can look at the schedule and know what night that we're we're recording this. It's the best game I've seen in a long time by a goaltender who allowed four or more and ended up being first star of the game. Ilya Samsonov was down three nothing in this game. Talk about mental strength. Down three nothing in the second period, down four two, and was outstanding.

And it was it was really cool. He it was old school hockey.

Yeah. You told us that

Breakaway, this is old school hockey?

Well, he faced seven if you count the shootout.

Okay. And

he stopped all seven.

So that's like I mean That's minor hockey. With all due respect to Ilya Samsonov.

Might tie might tie into the parent segment today.

Come out to my Monday night skate. I'll show you seven breakaways and definitely more than four goals and still feel like you're playing good.

And the the coach was like, our rinkside reporter, Ashley, they said, what's going through your mind, Bruce? He said, you don't wanna go in there. You don't wanna get inside my head during a game like that. But it was but it was fun to fun to watch. Fodotov, well, match phase. Was like watching a team Russia practice.

See, you know what that reminds me of? The old days with Alain Vigneault as the coach here in Vancouver on nights like that, What was going through his mind? He always used to say, come on, Lou.

That's a good point. Hey. We're we're a couple of weeks away from the roster announcements for the Four Nation face off. Did you guys do your homework? Hockey, didn't do your homework.

Do we we had a bit

of a discussion last night, actually, about some of this briefly.

I don't remember the whole USA and team Canada.

But I'm gonna copy Woody's homework.

Sweden. Okay.

It'll be like my days in high school.

Woody, give us an idea of where Sweden and Finland are looking.

I think with the Finns, you're number one with a bullet, and he also happens to be having a hell of a season right now. You may not be able see it in the raw numbers, but the underlying numbers have him near the top of the entire National Hockey League. Matter of fact, when I checked tonight before we went on air, he led the entire NHL in goals saved above expected by Clearsight analytics work, and that is Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators. My hunch is you're gonna end up with Luukkonen there with him, and a strong chance you end up with his former playing partner there as the number three, Kevin Lankinen, and then now with the Vancouver Canucks. That's how I see one, two, three going for the fence.

It's exactly what I was thinking too, Daren.

That's amazing analysis. Dynamite drop in Monty.

Yeah. Well, like I said, I'm copying his homework. Like, feel

like it's great for me when I was the math geek. Somebody's just looking over my shoulder.

What would be the next option?

Quickly searches finished goaltenders because he only went one, three. Was it Forsberg, or is he Swedish? Swedish. Yeah. I somebody's gonna come take away my Union card for not having this off the top of my head.

But but that that's a that's a top heavy nation right now.

And You Well, that was part

of discussion last night. League years because it's not a hockey league event.

This is part of our discussion last night for all the heat that's Canada's taking. And, certainly, we don't have what we used to have. We don't have the the Brodeurs and the Roy's and the Luongos and the Prices. We don't have what America has to choose from. We don't have what the Russians have to choose from this year.

But for all the focus on Canadian goaltending and what they do and don't have this year, I think you can also make the argument that the Fins and Swedes have a couple really great options at the top, but it's not like their depth charts running seven deep either right now. Sweden. Me again?

Copying again.

Well, it's gotta be Jacob Markstrom at the top of that list. No? Linus Ullmark, I would assume, is in there too, although he's not having the start in Ottawa that they would have hoped for. Probably adjusting to a new team, but I gotta think he's in that mix. And beyond that, like, there's a lot there's there's, like, a handful of really good odds.

Lot of another Gustafson? Guy. He could be there. He could be there. That guy could be there.

Well, Filip Gustafson I is

mean, for this goal scoring, if nothing else. Right? Offense.

Yes.

That's Hutches contribution. It's actually a good one because Gustafson is right where he was two years ago amongst the best in the NHL by the adjusted numbers. So that's a pretty good one, two, three. You got another one last night. Gustafson, Ullmark, Markstrom.

Soderblom you brought up last night.

Oh, yeah. Arvid Soderblom's having a hell of a season in Chicago, but I don't think he's gonna be on that list.

Samuel Errason? I he's hurt, but he's he's been really

good too. Yeah. So the Swedes run a little deeper. Maybe that argument about, you know, Canada, you know, making the comparison isn't quite as fair with the Swedes. They do have quite a few goalies after the top ones.

But that's a nation where it's the biggest turning of the page, right, from the last time that we had best on best.

Some guy named Lundqvist? Yeah. Yeah. Anytime well, I mean, I would argue Carey Price is also a massive turning of the page for Canada.

Yeah. That's that's fair.

Price, Luongo

Trying to do the math in my head, like, what would be the biggest biggest segue? And I I don't you're right. Just Canada feels deeper.

I don't know how you'd decide between those countries as to which is deeper. I mean

Two hall of famers tonight. I'll I'll call it equal. I'm trying to give some confidence to the Canadian side.

Well, the irony is the Canadian side, there's names that we keep hearing. Binnington, Vegas, Adin Hill, keep hearing those names sorta from people that are involved at the Canadian side. And yet if you look at who's having the most success this year, it's Cam Talbot. It's Logan Thompson. It's Jake Allen.

It's Mackenzie Blackwood. So I'm I'm curious. Like, for all the focus, like

That Mackenzie Blackwood name? I've heard that a couple of times.

He's he's behind a bad team right now. He's outperforming his environment by a decent margin. He is an absolute beast, and it would be curious to see what he'd be like behind a good team again. That's the other challenge, though. That is huge Yeah.

Huge point. Be I hear it when trading for John Gibson comes up, and people say, what will he be like behind a good defense? And you you wonder that a little bit about Mackenzie Blackwood, put it putting him in that situation, but he's he's a Hockey Canada guy. He's been through the program.

It's kinda like if you're not busy too. Right? Like, it's a different beast under the spotlight of wearing your nation's jersey. And now all of a sudden, instead of 35, 45 shots and you're just you're just trying not to lose, you're only seeing 18 and you can't make a mistake. Like, it's a whole different mental process from what some of those guys that aren't playing on good teams have been through for the last couple of years.

Do you think any of the Four Nations would take a goaltender based on the system they're going to run defensively?

I don't know if any of them will, but I can tell you that I truly believe there's a horses for courses element and that there are certain guys on that Canadian list that have very different relative strengths and weaknesses. And if you're going to consider or take them, you better have an eye towards how you're going to play. Like, for example, and this probably isn't gonna happen because he hasn't had a great start to the season. But if you're taking Stewart Skinner, then you better not be planning on getting into a track meet, a best on best all star type format. Just open the doors and trade chances because his rush numbers are not good at all.

So there's there's an oversimplification. Like, strengths and weaknesses, what style you're gonna play. And I, you know, I think this is going to be a very competitive tournament. You'll see teams defend really hard, but it's also not the Olympics. It's four countries in the middle of a season.

If this gets a little pond hockey ish, I wanna make sure I've got a goaltender who can handle that.

Will any of the Four Nations, and Hutch, I'll get you to answer this first, go down the path of taking a prospect, a younger guy as the third goaltender knowing that we are going to be in a consistent cycle of best on best going forward.

I would like that to happen. I think that's a wise thing if you really think that they're a prospect that might be available to your country a few years down the road. I I love the idea.

Them to the whole Yeah.

I love the idea development, but on on the completely other side of it, and Woody shot down the possibility of this happening when we were chatting last night, but also love the the idea of going the complete other direction and have a nice glue guy in the room with bringing Marc Andre Fleury for Canada as a number three. Do you do that? Do you look at character?

I don't like that. I'd nothing against Marc Andre Fleury. I I don't like the idea of taking, an older guy or a veteran guy or a glue guy who happens to be having a good season and and bring him along for if he's not gonna play. I would I would rather go prospect But or a younger player.

I mean, the the other side of that equation, though, is, like, what does the prospect get out of it? Practice? I mean, you get a little bit of practice there. They get kind of a fun experience. I don't know that it is I'm I know I'm the one who said it'd be nice to have it from a development perspective, but is it development?

No. It depend it's well, it's funny. Like, in the past, we'd say, yeah, getting to watch how Carey Price or Roberto Luongo or Martin Brodeur gets ready in that environment, how they handle the pressure and like, that would be an experience in itself, being in the room, seeing how those guys, but we don't have that guy. Like, that guy isn't there. I would put it this way.

A, I would say that amongst the goalie people that are a part of this decision making process for Canada, Marc Andre Fleury's name was at least bandied about as possible. I'm with you, Daren. I don't think it's going to happen. I'm pretty sure it's not actually, but it actually did get raised as a possibility. I think because you're not, and and Russia's not in the tournament.

So but you but you don't have that depth like the Americans have where if Connor Hellebuyck happens to be in a bit of a funk at that time of the year going into the tournament and has a bad game or two, you've got Jake like, their the Canadian decisions involve a lot of guys who tend to run hot and cold. And so

It the the roster has to be in and announced a month and a half before.

That and that's what I mean. So I'm taking the three best options. I am not taking some super young kid or some suit like, I'm looking for the best goalie as my third option because there's a chance that one of the other two guys that I've picked might be in a downswing at that point of the year.

See what you're saying. You're not even talking about the tournament itself. You're talking about what happens between now and the tournament.

Yeah. Between I'm just saying you could, like

You're getting more lottery tickets in in that respect.

You have more lottery. You're you're relying on

more Way to put it. Yeah.

You're relying more on it. Like, I just think Canada is looking at more of a lottery ticket than, say, the American.

Yeah. Educated bets, we should really call them. But

Yeah. Yeah. Can't give lottery tickets.

Don't have a there is no Hellebuyck.

So here's another name that's been tossed around at least in the socials for a more another interesting reason who happens to be part of this week's ProRead by Vizual Edge, Joey Daccord, who could play for two of those countries.

Joey Daccord, Canadian goaltender. I read a story where Jim Nill actually said they were contemplating this and looking into it. Dad's from Montreal, Canadian passport. Mom's mom's from Switzerland, born in The USA, so he can play for the Americans. Hasn't played for anyone internationally yet.

Eligible for Canada, eligible for USA evidently. They're looking into it. Was asked at one point to play for Switzerland internationally because of his mom's passport, turned it down. So Joey Daccord, free agent. His numbers are off the charts good right now.

Would be up there with any of the Canadian options in terms of his performances to date. Could that actually happen? I don't have the answer, but the fact

that never heard of it before. I've heard of guys playing for one country, getting citizenship, and playing for another country, but I've never heard of a a player at this level being an international free agent.

For at home.

World juniors, you can play you there's guys that that pick a nation, but we're talking best on best National Hockey League, players being international hockey free agent.

Ultimate ultimate late bloomer was never asked to play for one of those countries earlier on. I mean, this this is the this is the reality by this. And, again, I don't have any information on this. I just read a story whereby Jim Nill, who's with the Canadian's management team, said they were looking into it. And that is that is amazing.

I'd I'd love somebody to be a free agent and be able to do it at this age because it I I I you've already used it. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard to me and say, oh, he's a Hockey Canada guy. He's been part of the program before. I'm not even sure why that should play into it. Like, who are the best goaltenders?

The fact that somebody from Hockey Canada picked a guy x number of years ago to be one of the national teams does not make him a better goaltender to be part of the program now.

That drives me nuts. Yeah. But they do have a tendency to stick with their guys.

Yeah. Sure. Just to make make it their original picks look even better. I I can't stand it. Get me going.

I'll take it from He's gonna get

him going. I'm gonna start talking about a pick that they never would have made without somebody else in this room that

Let's loop back on this Joey Daccord situation. Would you, if you're team Canada, take him to lock him up as one of your options for the Olympics next year? I think that would be smart.

There you go.

Yeah. If your third goaltender doesn't stand out amongst the crowd, like, nobody's grabbing that, why not go down that path?

Here's another one. Would you, if you're America, offer them the spot this year to lock them make sure that Canada has one less decent option?

Offense by playing defense or defense by playing offense?

Hey. And Joey Daccord will get you from defense to offense. He handles the puck really well when we talk about systems and how you wanna play.

Okay. Would you? If you're Hockey Canada, I I'm thinking right now, I'm going down that path. I I put out an offer if it was available to me.

I'd absolutely be looking into it. Absolutely.

This is awesome. This is why I hang out with you guys. I didn't even realize that was potentially an avenue.

I think well,

I just saw it on social this week. I can't say it's a brilliant idea here, and I don't know who to credit it to, so I apologize. But

Well and everything's if you throw on Wikipedia on there, you've got a double, confirmation.

I think it was Ken Campbell in the Hockey News was the story that I saw Jim Nill quoted. And so if we're looking to give credit, Ken Campbell's the first person I read it from.

Well, good on him because that's a scoop.

Good one. Especially

We've got our Hockey Shop Gear Segment coming up. We also have the parent segment, brought to you by Stop It Goal, attending U the app. ProReads presented by Vizual Edge, and the feature interview brought to you by NHL Sense Arena and, our good friend, is going to be, the subject of that. But the Hockey Shop Gear Segment, dealing with true, the, kids line or the True Hzrdus presentation and what's going on over well, Black Friday coming up. So they must be busy because they'll be open, but they'll be busy.

Yeah. We were there today.

Oh, were you?

Yeah. Oh, just sale price, sale stickers on everything. I don't know. Actually, I wouldn't wanna be the person that has to slap those on. Literally, on the player side, they have over 5,000 sticks marked down 50% off.

And on the goalie side, I don't know if there's 5,000, but almost everything's on sale. So make sure if you have a chance, you're looking to save some money, whether it's for you or to get a gift under the tree for the goalie in your life, no better time than right now to check out the hockeyshop.com, The Hockey Shop Source for Sports in Langley. Their Black Friday sale is on. They've been sort of trickling out the releases over the past few days leading up to actual Black Friday, on the online sale. But the truth is if you search it, every item is available on sale already.

Get ahead of it before it gets sold out. Sticks from Warrior and True at 50% off. Sticks from CCM and Bauer at 30 to 40% off. Just all kinds of deals all over the store on all kinds of gear to get you ready for Black Friday and into the holiday season.

You can get that empty net stick at a cheaper price and have it standing by for you when the other team pulls the goalie.

I am not sure the, Bauer Proto is one of the brand new just released limited edition.

might not be on sale.

Might not be one of the ones on sale, but there are other options there to help you, get it up and down the ice.

Now dive into that. For sure, there's gonna be an opportunity to make you a better flipper of the puck or sauce pass. A 180 foot sauce pass. That's what we're looking for. The, gear segment, dealing with the kid True Kids Hzrdus line?

Gear

Yeah. And I think we just head this over to Cam. I don't. This is this is his expertise. That's the one thing.

Right? Like, Cam's an adult, although he doesn't behave like it often in our gear segments. Nor does Woody. But okay. Fair.

True. But Cam deals with kids on a regular basis. He knows how to them, knows how to get them in gear that works. It's one of the things that makes them special is that all those guys play it. They've all fitted tons of kids over the years, they all have great insights.

So when it comes to insights into the True Kids line, I think we just hand it over to Cam. Welcome back to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports Goalie Utopia where I apologize in advance. There's probably gonna be some noise in the background construction because much like the position itself, they are constantly evolving and looking to get better here at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. So the 30,000 square foot warehouse with all this great goalie stuff is not enough. 34,000. 34,000 square feet.

Welcome back to The Hockey Shop Source for Sports World Ringle Utopia where I apologize in advance. There's probably gonna be some noise in the background construction because much like the position itself, they are constantly evolving and looking to get better here at The Hockey Shop Source for Sports. So the 30,000 square foot warehouse with all this great goalie stuff is not enough. 34,000. 34,000 square feet.

Thank you. Not enough. They're improving. So we're dealing with a little construction noise. Yes.

As we continue our look at kids lines this week with true cam. I know nothing about this. I don't have children that wanna play goals. So walk me through Hzrdus. I've got the junior line here.

Is that what Hzrdus is? Junior. Yeah. Hzrdus is junior.

That's correct. So you're currently holding a leg pad. So as usual, let's start with the late pads. Alright. So You're itty bitty.

Yes. Exactly.

I like itty bitty.

Smaller version of, say, the Hzrdus 7x4. Looking onto the back of the pad, we start to see some of the differences, obviously, being scaled down to that junior pad. As we open it up, we see a trimmed down version of their FRS system designed to fit more of that junior style leg. Something a little bit smaller. Still nice big knee stack.

Sure grip on the knee designed to help, you know, hold on to that knee cradle a little bit better.

Pretty little butterfly stability.

Exactly. Exactly. So flat style boot. Weave slide surface. So not their exact same as, like, you'd seen the Fast Glide kind of use.

Now they've got their, like, diamond edge material. You're not gonna see that here. You're just gonna see that flat weave along the side. The pad itself without that outer roll break, you know, again, kinda gives the illusion of something that is gonna be a little on the stiffer side, but it's actually quite a soft pad still. It's not very, very rigid.

You can still get some good flex to it as well. So

what sizes are they coming?

Twenty four, twenty six, twenty eight, all stock that they're plus two, even though I can't really call out a plus two, but it's it's that.

Key to sizing is getting it right with kids. I know sometimes it's tempting. Right? You wanna get a bigger pad so they can grow into it. The reality is if it's too big, they can't skate in it.

They can't move. They can't butterfly. Nothing works, and they're gonna get frustrated. They're gonna struggle. So sizing is key.

If you've got questions, we'll give you the number later that you can talk to Cam and his crew to make sure you get the right size how to measure it. Let's go to the glove.

So Easy to close? Yes. That's that's a positive.

Single offset tee. That offset tee does help with that closure a little bit more. Skate lace pocket help to retain that puck a little bit better. Even though Kevin is able to get his hand in there, it is actually a tight fitting glove. So, again, more designed for that proper junior size.

It feel it feels like again, I have small hands. Don't judge. It does feel more like a pro glove. You've got all the all the sort of finger pockets in there. It's Five ninety break.

It's it's a nice glove.

Yes. So, again, not to get too much fanciness here. It's just the scaled down version of that 7 X4. Blocker. Thin blocker board.

Tight fitting on the hand. I don't think either of us need our hands into this one. So, again, a little bit more designed for that junior kid in mind. Not happening. Nope.

So Where's Hutch? We need him. He's got tiny, tiny hands.

I think he's out producing somewhere.

No judgment on that.

So, again, nothing too too fancy to say about this blocker. Thin lightweight, tight fitting on the hand. You know, again, that gear that's specifically geared for that age group. So if

you have any questions Including sizing. Where do they get you?

(604) 589-8299 or 1-800-567-7790 or check us out at the hockeyshop.com.

We've gone through a bunch of different lines aimed towards kids and younger goalies, talked to you about all the different options. If you have questions about which one's best for your kid in in terms of both style, fit, sizing, and price point because there are variations there, make sure you give them a call. It doesn't have to be Cam's entire crew here at at the Hockey Shop. All plays goal. All understands.

I've seen them all fit young kids. They know what they're talking about, and they can help you out.

He's the grown up. Because you said something going into Cam segment that had me thinking. So then I decided to just go call him a grown up. Do you refer to Cam as an adult or an adult? How do you how do you pronounce that word?

I do adult. Okay.

Actually, probably

depends oh, man. This would depend on the sentence even, I think.

I guess when you say Hey.

I'm in my own head right now. I I I wasn't sure how to say adult or adult.

Well, this is I I was a math and computer and physics guy, so let's not get into the English.

I I struggle with adulting.

So And and Woody just writes it. He doesn't have to read it.

I would love it if people would send us a note on that. But but you gotta you gotta phrase it. You how do you type adult or adult?

Spell it phonetically.

Record it and email it to us. And we'll play a montage next week.

Oh, that's good. Let's get a phonetically.

Brought to you by Stop It Goaltending U the app. What's going on over there with Mr. Daccord and Company?

Well, first of all, guess what? This is gonna be a common theme today. Black Friday. Black Friday sale. For the crew over at Stop It Goaltending U the app, or Stop It Goaltending U, the app, Black Friday sale is on their annual memberships.

So everything we've done and promoted so far has been monthly. You can get and so, basically, $9.99 or $10 a month, that's a $120 a year. See, I'm good at the math, Daren. And times 12, carry the one, two. Yeah.

A $120 a year now on sale for $99. The premium membership, which offers a chance to work with the coaches and have, you know, on call consulting, that is normally $20 a month. And, again, with the math, that's $2.40 a year. It's on sale for $200. You save $40 there.

So, essentially, what they're doing is taking their monthly memberships. For those of you that are in on a monthly basis, know you love the product at Stop It Goaltending U, the app, and you'd know you're gonna be committed to it for the next year, you can save by some money by buying for the full year. $20 for the regular basic level and $40 off for the premium one. And, of course, both of them come with InGoal Magazine premium membership as well. Make sure you check out the app this week.

They've got some primers, sort of an in season check-in that you can do with yourself, a pep talk where they're talking about getting the emotions out of your game, and then a playbook where they deep dive into the style and tactics of one Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks, a goalie that our featured guest Sudharsan Maharaj, knows very well.

That dude just stud. Well, both both those guys are studs. That does do it.

Just and Lucas. Absolutely. Lucas is killing it right now.

Parent Playbook

What do you have for us, Hutch?

I I need your help. Common question comes up, especially when and believe it or not, I've actually seen some parents kicking around the what do we do this spring question already. And one of the questions that seems to come up a lot of the time for two different reasons. One is people legitimately wondering where their kids maybe should play next time. And another one is sometimes those of us who probably wanna soothe ourselves when things aren't going so well in terms of our kids' team.

And that's the question, Would you rather have your young goalie playing on a really good team or a really bad team where they see a lot more action? What do you guys think?

I look at it as two different answers. Like, the spring team, I would rather be on a poor team and get lots of action. Like a spring summer hockey team. During the year, I I don't want my kid being shelled every every game. That's an interesting way.

I've never thought of splitting it up by season like that, Daren. That's an interesting idea.

I wondered about that too because I wondered if the the sort of the you know, we we know the risks of being on a bad team. As much as there are positives to the exposure and the extra experience, and I'd rather get 30 shots than five and actually learn how to play the game, as much as those are seen as positives, we also know that if you give up a bunch of goals and lose a bunch of games, you often don't get to move up the ranks the next season. And I do wonder if Murray, I might just hate it and give up. Well, there's that. But I do wonder if that from year to year carryover of where a kid gets ranked and seeded within the pecking order of his minor hockey association.

I've been a part of those evaluations and been frustrated when they won't go outside of the pecking order even though the skill from one year to the next has clearly changed. But I do wonder if, as Daren said, you might be better to take the risk and play on a bad team in the spring where maybe there's less carryover, maybe it's not the same group, maybe it's outside of your minor hockey, maybe it's a private team, and maybe results don't matter as much.

Yeah. It could yeah. That's interesting. Mine was sort of, I'd say a little of both. And and this is obviously an ideal situation, and you can never really design that ideal situation.

But you you definitely don't want just a strong team that runs the table. Though, one advantage, if you're in a situation where you practice more than you play, and I hope that's the case for most teams, is that you then get to face the best players every day in practice. If you're on a weak team and you're a really good goalie, and I've seen this happen before, the practices become too easy. And you end up in practices where you're counting goals hoping that you can keep it under a certain number because you're playing with a bunch of weaker players.

So You gotta have a pretty solid, disciplined approach to your practice habits then.

No. Exactly. Exactly. So so that's one thing. And then I would just add into what you just said there, Daren.

One of the ways you can do that is whether it's a good team or a bad team, the the question that hasn't come up here yet is, what's the coaching situation? What's the environment gonna be like on that team? If you got a really positive good learning environment with a high end coach on a high end team, then you might learn a lot in that experience. Is there goaltending coach support? I think that probably matters more than anything in these situations.

Do you have a like, I and and not just is there a goalie coach, but who is that person? What they're like? Would they be able to help your kid through a difficult situation if they're playing on one of those weaker teams? Or have you got a less experienced coach maybe who doesn't understand how tough it is to be a goaltender in that situation? So I would definitely be evaluating the coaching situation.

And And then the other thing I was just going to add, if you did play for a good team and there really is a lot of value in learning to win and enjoying the experience of winning some games, but are you on a good team that's able to also put themselves into enough situations where there is a challenge? So and it gets more expensive, but is that good team able to go to some tournaments where they're facing other good teams? And so your kids still get that pressure opportunity. It's another one of those sort of best of both world situations. But I think we do need to say though, guys, at the end of the day, you just need to ask yourself, what's the best development opportunity weighing all those different factors?

But we also need to just accept that few of us get that opportunity to make choices like this. Although there's there's more choices in the game today. So make the most of whatever situation you're faced with. Find a way to develop and have fun. And and I think maybe next week what we'll do is we'll circle back to that and talk about maybe ways you can help your child develop and have a little more fun if they are in one of those situations where it's not so ideal.

I feel like I shouldn't have weighed in on this at all because nobody's ever asked me to play in a good team. That's the other part.

Like They might have thought I was gonna be a good team,

Woody. And then they sought me.

Are we are we speaking to the 1% right now?

Well, that's what I mean. Like, quite often, you don't get a choice. You play for your local minor hockey association, and and you're gonna be with whatever. But now parents do have a little bit more choice because you've got these certainly here in Canada, you have these outlaw leagues where people might wanna go. Sometimes they go because they think they're gonna get more development there and sometimes they're disappointed, I've heard.

So there's those opportunities. As you said, with spring, you end up with a few more opportunities to make decisions as well. But it is one of those questions, as I said in the beginning, that we as parents, as we're watching poor little Johnny face 60 shots every day, we say, well, but gosh, he's getting so much more experience. I really like that he's getting that experience.

Well, the other thing too is, like, sometimes parents do face the decision, like, they don't make the top rep team, but, like, I mean, let's I don't know. Here locally, like, I think at some age groups, it's such a big association that there's, like, a fourth rep team. Right. And it's like, do I put my kid on the fourth rep team as a potential backup he's not even gonna play every game, or do I just let him go to house, which is basically the next group of kids down, and play all the time? Maybe even play out when he's not in goal, like, have a fuller experience.

Well, that might be a fun question to tackle one

week as well. We'll make that a different one, but I I've actually had parents ask me that question

I like that.

In years past, and I advised going to play house for one of these young guys. And he and this this young man is now playing junior in in Massachusetts in the state. Love it. So, you know and at that point, he kept having results, and he wasn't getting opportunity at the higher rep leagues, and it was either the fourth level rep or house. And he went to house so he get to play, and, you know, all those years later, I think four years later, he's playing junior hockey.

So sometimes the best decision is not to be on the, quote, unquote, best team you possibly can.

I appreciate the angle of coaching. I think that should play a significant factor in, the coaching style, but fun has to also influence Huge. Which direction you go.

Huge. Huge. That I also mean, the coaching situation factors into that as well because

True. Fun.

Yeah. Some coaches are win at all costs and some are just to have fun and some find a you know? Did you see by the way, did you see that great social piece? I think it was Minnesota Wild put out where it was, what if NHL players were on a minor hockey travel team? They saw the coach come in and I actually was watching it on silent with other people around me.

But I think as I read his lips, it was, and you boys don't go play in the in the pool tonight. And then a bunch of the wild players are playing mini sticks in the hotel lobby. They've got their names up on the doors of every hotel room as, you know, moms and dads like to order these cool things to make their kids feel like pros. And and, yeah, fabulous piece. You should go check it out.

Really well done.

Sounds awesome. I love the creativity of team social media, accounts. Get into the Vizual Edge ProReads and some good reaction. Obviously, ProReads, people love them, but, the idea that we're bringing a little bit more exposure to the ProReads side.

Well, we wanna make sure we talk about it on a weekly basis. And guess who our ProReads guest is this week?

I already told you.

None other than Joey Daccord. Canadian? American? You decide. But he is the guest this week in ProReads, and he got to break down another international sniper, Odd man rush Alexander Ovechkin.

Block react decisions, how to anticipate pass or shot off the rush. Joey got into all of it in our latest ProReads presented by Vizual Edge. And stop me if you've heard this before when we talk about Vizual Edge, We're talking about a Black Friday sale. Use the code InGoal, and you've saved 40% all the way through, I believe, December 2. InGoal premium members, go to the website.

There's a Black Friday story. Also, all the ProReads have it. If you use your special membership discount code, I can't say it because you gotta be a member to get it, check it out on the site. You save 50% off. Vizual Edge is weight training for your eyes and your brain.

50 plus NHL and American Hockey League goalies use it. Some of our ProReads guests, Joseph Woll uses it. So, yeah, make sure you check them out at Vizual Edge and check out all the Black Friday sales. As for Joey, let's just ask him whether it matters if Alexander Ovechkin is the guy coming down the wing or not.

I remember telling my friends after the game that, you know, in this situation, there's about a 100% chance that Ovi was getting that puck. You know.

Is that part of the league?

Well, it's a 100%. Like, if that was someone else on the one timer

Are you?

Yeah. If that was someone else on the one timer, I'm probably not as quick to jump on it. You know, this play

What are you looking for? Is it is it crosses the blue line in a three? Yeah.

So it's hard to miss Ovi.

Okay. So when he he's on the ice over there.

Yeah. I've seen him score about however many goals, hundreds of goals from that that dot there.

Just was thinking about it before you let Joey answer. If if if Ovechkin has the puck, I would play him to shoot. If Ovechkin doesn't have the puck, I'm playing for the pass. I'm selling out there.

You're playing for the pass, but you're playing for Ovechkin to shoot in both those cases, aren't you?

Yes. Yeah.

Yeah.

If Ovechkin's on the ice, you're playing him to shoot.

He he's getting the puck. Actually, he had a two on one against Vegas earlier this year, and the likelihood of him passing wasn't very good, but you still have to respect the pass, and that's the that's the dilemma. He ended up shooting. He ended up scoring. But, but I I would think that everybody in the building was on board with he's probably keeping this going very about this audio clip.

Chasing of Wayne Gretzky.

How many yeah. Different in his regular season when he's chasing Wayne Gretzky. How many times did he pass out of good shooting chances in the Stanley Cup final that year? That was definitely a part of their game plan to go East West even when it was Ovi with the puck on his stick.

Right. That's one of the great dilemmas. On a two on o, are you playing the guy to shoot? That, I'm playing the guy to pass if you've ever been in that situation because hockey's are hockey players are very unselfish.

And, you know, if the guy in, like, a drop in skate shoots on a two on o and you because you

know he's playing pass. Around.

Then you absolutely call him a donkey as he skates by. Who shoots that?

Even if he shoots that

no win situation for him.

Oh, it's a terrible situation.

He's a donkey because he's selfish. And if he if he doesn't score, he's just plain old selfish, and he stopped him, and his buddy's mad at him because he didn't pass it.

So you better pass it.

Yeah. And that's why I'm playing the pass. I think we settled that, right there. Thanks to Joey, and, please keep us up to date, Joey, on what you're gonna do. Switzerland, Canada, United States.

Pretty safe to say it's not Switzerland.

Well, yeah, for the Four Nations. You're right.

Feature Interview - Sudarshan Maharaj

Good for them for for trying, putting out the offer. The Sense Arena feature interview this week is a special one close to our hearts.

Yeah. Sudarshan Maharaj, who is most known, if you don't, has come through his battle with pancreatic cancer. It's Hockey Fights Cancer Month. We have had the chance to catch up with Sudsy a couple of times in person once in Toronto over the summer, and then again, while he was on a scouting mission with the ducks here just recently, and we wanted to sit down and do a formal interview. And it's a little emotional.

I struggle a little bit as an interviewer, frankly, with this one because of some of the emotions involved. Because the truth is we weren't sure we're gonna get to have this conversation. But before we get to Sense Arena, NHL Sense Arena, and is it a

Black Friday. NHL Sense Arena, as anybody who's listened to our show before knows, is an incredible virtual reality tool for training goaltenders and players as well, off the ice anytime, anywhere. And goalies like Joey Daccord of the Seattle Kraken are not only using it as a regular tool to get ready for games, but they're also even breaking it out between periods sometimes. So on Sense Arena, can grab Joey Decord's, various VR training plans, which are included with Sense Arena. You can get his personal morning skate routine.

You can get his personal game ready routine where he sees some shots and learns to read releases or prepares to read releases. His pregame plan to warm up the eyes, the brains, and the reflexes. There's so much in there. And with it being black Friday, go grab it now for a 50% discount on annual training plans. And it actually goes up a little bit more if you also input the code IGM 50.

You'll save another $50 on top. We would love for you to do that. Those same savings hold true also because they've got these bundle deals now as well. So if you don't have a VR headset already, you can go on there during Black Friday, and they've got a couple of different bundles. There's a brand new Meta Quest three s model, which is a little bit more affordable than the other ones.

So for less than 600 US dollars, you get your Meta three s headsets, you get your controllers, your sleeves, and you get a year of NHL Sense Arena in it. They've also got a great deal for the more powerful Meta Quest three headset. We use the older Meta Quest two headsets, and they're fantastic as well for NHL Sense Arena. But if you do need to grab a headset, do that now that it's Black Friday because it also gives you that huge access now to Meta's library of mixed reality titles, which is really cool. So NHL Sense Arena Black Friday, go grab it.

Woody, I'll let you set this one up.

Honestly, we just get right into it. Let's just let's just take it over to Sudsy. He was on his way to Sweden when we caught up with him. He is right back going a million miles an hour in the National Hockey League as the director of goaltending with the Anaheim Ducks. We talk a little bit about that role change, but mostly it's good just good to catch up with him, get a sense of what he's been through and all he's gotten through, and we've already had the sense of how much he means to the goaltending community, and we're so glad to have him back in our community on the InGoal Radio Podcast.

Cannot tell you how excited I am to welcome back to the InGoal Radio Podcast, my friend, the Anaheim Ducks, director of goaltending now, Sudarshan Maharaj, on his way to do a little scouting as part of his new director role. Sudsy, thank you for doing this. How are you, my friend?

It's great to to be on with you. It's always always great to chat with you. And, you know, I've always been scouting with the team.

Right.

But this is giving me an opportunity to spend a little more time doing it. So I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Now I I guess maybe, like, let's just quickly start there because I do think people forget that even when you're a goalie coach, you still have an active role in a lot of organizations in keeping an eye on whether it's amateur or prospects in the system, like that is part of the job, even even when you're actively coaching.

No question. For me, I, you know, I was doing a lot of the duties that I'm doing now when I was before that I was given the title. So it was it's definitely given me a little bit more time to dedicate to a few other things, which is great. And Peter is doing a great job in Anaheim and getting a chance to work together with him closely has been fantastic. And Jeff Glass is is also very talented young goalie coach in in San Diego.

So we're we're definitely well staffed in Anaheim.

Okay. So I wasn't sure. I'm gonna be honest here. I didn't know we'd ever get to have this conversation again. And and for those that maybe aren't familiar with the backstory, you get the news in 2023 of May diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Walk me through just walk me through what the last couple of years have been like because I've kept in touch with you, but people who know you from our podcast in the past, who know you through your work in the goaltending community, maybe maybe haven't been as up to speed. I feel blessed just to to get to do this with you again. How have the last two years been? I don't know how else to put it. I'm doing a really poor job of asking this question because I'm not sure how to ask it, my friend.

You know what? It was it was there's there really isn't a isn't a great way to ask this question, to be honest with you. So I don't blame you at all. You know, at the end of the 2023 season, I was standing in a dressing room with with John Gibson, and and we were we were chatting, and I said, you know, my stomach is telling me I think I have an ulcer. And I just better get that looked at when you go home.

And I was like, yeah. So I got home and we I was waiting for my appointment and started to get a couple of other things pop up that didn't seem correct. And I don't have the greatest kidneys in the world and went to urinate and my urine was black and I thought my kidneys were shutting down and that sent me to the hospital. And once I got in the hospital, the doctor informed me that something was causing the bilirubin to spill out of my gallbladder, to spill into my bloodstream and that thing that was blocking my gallbladder duct was a mass, pancreatic cancer. And so of course, I didn't believe it.

Didn't believe it for a moment. I had a cousin who had a similar diagnosis and his was benign and I thought for sure that's what it is. Sure enough, he sent me to a surgeon who pulled me aside and he said, you know, if I had what you had, there's this one surgeon I'd go see at St Joseph Hospital in Toronto. And he sent me to him. And when I met with him, he broke the news to me that, yes, indeed, the biopsy had come back and it was pancreatic cancer.

And so the decision was made. Were oscillating between chemo and then surgery and then chemo or surgery right away. Had some talks back and forth and decided that we were going to go with the chemo first and followed by surgery, followed by more chemo. I had five bouts of chemo and it really took a toll on me, unfortunately. The first three of the five trips to chemo resulted in a trip to the hospital.

I know I was in trouble when I had this wonderful nurse who, who the very first day she was hooking me up to the to the machine. She looked down at me and she said, wow, they're hitting me with everything they got. And I thought, oh, boy. Here we go. And after this trip, that chemo wiped out my immune system.

I got hospitalized. Then the third trip, after the chemo, I ended up getting, developing blood clots in my lungs. And then I developed, I went upstairs to have a shower one day and my heart rate went up to 167 and wouldn't come down. We're hospitalized again. Of the five first bouts of chemo didn't go so well.

At that point, they opted for me to do the surgery. I started to lose quite a bit of weight. So they did the surgery, they removed my gallbladder, my small intestine, part of my pancreas, and part of my stomach. At which point, once I recovered from that surgery, then I did six more bouts of chemo. I'm glad to say that those six bouts went a little faster and a little better than the the first five and with no results in trip to the hospital.

So it it ended up working out working out. And after the eleventh bout, I was really sort of down. I was down to about one hundred and twenty five pounds, and they opted that we would stop at that point. And I was given the news at the end of in the middle of May or towards the end of May that I was cancer free. So they give me about a twenty percent chance of survival initially when they gave me the initial diagnosis.

So so I feel very blessed and very fortunate.

That is a lot, Sudsy, to unwrap. And I just it's hard to imagine going through that. What were some of the toughest points? What were some of the things that kept you going? I think enough people have heard about pancreatic cancer, as you said, twenty percent chance of survival at the beginning to know that it doesn't usually end well.

To get through to this point? Who'd you lean on? What what type of things helped you get through all those operations and all those trips to the hospital and rounds of chemo?

You know, first of all, obviously, my my wife was huge and instrumental in in helping me through this. Had learned how to unhook the machines they had to me and all that. I guess I should explain that the chemo wasn't just one shot of chemo. It was a I'd go in, it was about four hours, I'd be on that I'd get the chemo. And then they would hook me to a temporary bottle that would stay attached to me for for two days when I was done that.

And when that was done, I would go to a clinic and they would unhook me and attach me to IV units for four hours a day. So the whole procedure took almost seven days to get through. And then I, you know, I'd go first few days, I'd obviously be very sick and then I'd start to feel good for about two or three days and then I'd get hit again. So my wife really was sort of carrying me to all these, taking me to all these appointments and nursing me back to health. Course, my daughters were unbelievable through the process.

You know, I I had said in previously in a number of interviews that what was difficult was that, you know, sitting them down and and planning my funeral with them was was extremely difficult. You don't you don't anticipate after doing that in your lifetime. No.

Oh, you don't. To get through it, to be on the other side of it right now, to be back at work, to be back doing some of the things you love, to have time at home with the new job? What is it? Was it all mean to you now?

The the the Ducks were unbelievable. You know, I've I've mentioned this previously as well that, you know, my contract is expiring in the midst of this and I was really worried about how things were going to transpire at that point. The Samuelis, Jillian Samueli, who's the owner of our farm team in San Diego and daughter of the Ducks owner called me and was in tears. And, you know, we'd become close over the years and about a few days later, all of a sudden I get this unknown number on my phone and I answer it and it's Mr. Samueli himself, our owner, who called to say, hey, listen, you know, I know exactly what's going on.

I know the situation. I just wanna let you know that you're going to be taken care of. They said, you know, we're gonna we're gonna make sure that everything is dealt with. Your only job is to is to is to get better. And once you're better, we'll figure it out.

And a few days later, I had a contract sitting in my inbox, which was unbelievable. So that took a huge amount of stress off of myself and my family. And then to top it all off, about about a week later, I just finished chemo and I was I was quite ill and somebody sent me a video message and I'm thinking, oh, who's giving me a video message right now? And I sort of reluctantly tap on it And it's Lars Ulrich, the drum drummer from Metallica. Mister Samuelli, he's a he's a big music guy like myself, and he had contacted he's friends with with Metallica, and he contacted Lars and said, hey.

Our our goalie coach is having a rough time. Can you send him a message? And so we had the message basically was, hey. It's Lars. Just wanna let you know the guys in Metallica are thinking about you on your journey, and I wanna wish you the best kind of thing.

So it was was an unbelievable great moment in the midst of all of that. So, yeah, that was really an important part of the process. As far as sort of, you know, how things are going now, it's full. You know, once the season started out, I had already started at the Helinka tournament in Edmonton, started scouting in August. I was down for training camp, for all of training camp.

Peter Budaj had asked that I come and sort of help him with the transition and with the goalies. So I was in with on doing all the goalie skates with with Peter and and the the goalies. They, of course, took all the practices, but I I was there at least to help out with the goalie skates. And then now I I literally circulate between Anaheim, San Diego, Tulsa, and then now off to Sweden to to work with one of our prospects as well as scouting. So it's a it's a big giant circle, that keeps widening, it seems.

I know how much you love to teach. I know how much you enjoyed being on the ice. I know you we've in the past about your background as a teacher and more than just a goalie coach. You getting the chance to still scratch that itch when you're whether you're heading to Sweden or when you're in the ECHL or when you're when you're up with Anaheim to be out there a little bit with the guys too?

Absolutely. Absolutely. That's and both Peter and and and Jeff have been fantastic about and welcoming to me about about making sure that I still get to jump on the ice, the goalie skates, and get a little bit spend a little bit time with them and with the goalies. And so it's been it's been fantastic to to still get the opportunity to to get out on the ice and and at least get little bit of time to get the blades wet.

And, are you taking a, you know, ball in a catcher's mitt over with you, to Sweden? I know we used to talk about, you know, keep teaching these European goalies how to throw and catch a baseball.

Actually, this this development camp, I changed it up a little bit and Did you? I I got lacrosse stick and the kids had to we extended the the catching radius a little bit. And and so we had all of the kids learn to catch with lacrosse balls and lacrosse sticks and had to work on their hand eye coordination as well as we used it as part of our conditioning routine. So they would go through run through the warm up drills that an NHL team would run through and have ball while they're doing it. So they had a so much fun with it.

The guys in San Diego took them with them actually.

I love it. Where did that idea come from?

I played lacrosse as a kid and realized and remembered how much it helped me my hand eye coordination growing up. And and I thought, you know what? I'd give them something completely different to to work through. And and the guys absolutely took to it, like, ducks in water. Start with a bad pun.

And and they they loved it, and they thought it was such a great activity for them to improve their to improve their hand eye coordination. They they absolutely loved it.

And they're working foot I like, I kinda think it's not the same as tennis, obviously, but I think of Henrik Lundqvist and the fact that when he used to play tennis in the off season, like, because you're running and doing those drills, there's a footwork movement component as well as you're working on your eye hand coordination. Coordination.

No question. And and the the the whole concept of of having to of having to to differentiate different types of movements and and as well while still maintaining your eye on the eye on the ball and and having to having to work your your way around while still while still anticipating where the ball was going to go and all those things. Was it was actually a great a great activity for them to to have to think their way through a warm up actually.

I know how much those guys mean to you. I know how much you mean to the guys. I talked with John Gibson while you were going through your battle. I talked with Luukkonen while you were going through your battle and away from the team. And they both talked about what you mean to them as a person beyond just a goalie coach.

And I know you've had an impact on other goalies around the league. I think of an Anthony Stolarz killing it right now with the Toronto Maple Leafs who would credit you for a big part of his success from his time in Anaheim. What did guys reach out as you were going through it? What did some of the support what were some of the stories you've heard from guys, and what what did it mean to you? How did you stay connected beyond the Sam Welles to your hockey family as you were battling through the cancer and the chemo at its toughest spots?

It was fantastic. You know, both John Gibson and me just text regularly to to see how I was doing. Anthony, we did the same, you know, former goalies, Kevin Leach, Steve Valiquette. Lots of them played in. Marty Biron, you know, they they just I have to name them all, all reached out to see how I was doing and to make sure I was doing well.

So it was a it was a a really it was a really good moment, you know, on some in some tough days sometimes when I got them up to get some of those guys and and felt still felt like I was still part of their still part of their everyday.

In those moments, knowing that you've impacted them as people as well as goalies because I think when we're in the goalie coaching world, we're in the day to day of the NHL. Like, it's a battle. Right? Like, it's it's a constant battle, and it's a grind. Did it did it mean more just sort of knowing that that you'd had that impact on them beyond that day to day?

I don't coach goalies. I coach people.

Oh, for sure. You know, I I play it all the time. I I I don't coach goalies. I coach people. And Right.

And so, you know, watching these guys go through their careers, watching them grow up in some cases. You know, Luukkonen was a was a skinny little little kid from Finland when we drafted him. And now he's a he's a a world champion, you know, a man who's, you know, an unbelievable goaltender, but an unbelievable person. I was at John Gibson's wedding. You know, I was one of the first people that knew when when when he and his wife were were expecting their first child.

You know, I I've been with with Kevin Leach at at his wedding. I I I you know, all of these guys, really, it's it's a it's a wonderful feeling to know that you've forged a great relationship. You know, Anthony has always, Stolarz has always been a guy that's been very, very, has shown his gratitude in, with his words often. And so, I know how it's affected his life and that feels great. But they've also had a great impact on me as well.

Some hard conversations during those times?

Oh, for sure. You know, calling calling all of my some of my former teammates to be my pallbearers was a difficult call to make. I was gonna have an all star team carrying me out. I called I called Ryan Miller in in Kevin Weekes and and Johnson were gonna be three of my pall bearers and and and the fact that all stood up and and were willing to to do it was a was a great feeling.

Well, I mean, I hope you made a you used to talk about bad puns and pardon mine, but I hope you made a joke about after all these years of carrying them, it was time to return the favor.

Literally. Actually, I think it's the way around. They've they've all carried me really already.

What so, I mean, just to wrap it up, know you've gotta go. Know you've got a flight to catch, but, you know, it's Hockey Fights Cancer Month. And, you know, I know that everyone has been impacted by this, myself included, losing my dad last summer by this disease. But I think sometimes it, you know, sometimes it hits a little deeper, obviously. And I'm guessing that might be the case for you this month.

Oh, for sure. You know, I've taken part in a number of the NHL Hockey Fights Cancer activities already. And I've spoken, I've had a number of people reach out to the Ducks when they heard my story and asked that I speak to relatives or friends of theirs about their journey and which I've gladly done. But I have to be honest, it's taken a little bit out of me each time. Right.

So there's there's no question. I love doing it, but and I and I love the fact that the NHL has taken such a good role in in the initial fight cancer month, But it it is no question. It brings up a lot of tough days, but it's all been worth it.

Well, I apologize for bringing up more of them on this. We just wanted to get everyone up to speed on where you were at and and share some of the good news and some of the I don't wanna say lessons that come from it because it's not about the lessons that come from it. But are there is there a perspective shift? Because like I said, like, in the day to day and that grind and the battle, sometimes it can be easy to lose perspective. And having been through what you've been through now, does it change anything now when you're dealing with your goaltenders?

Oh, for sure. You know, I think it changes. It changes everything when in dealing with every day, you know, just a heck of a lot more patient about a lot of things now because I, you know, you go through these things and if there's one thing you do learn, it's patience. And, you know, I felt that I hadn't been gracious enough with my time and, you know, and generous enough with my time and money and all those things. And so I made up my mind that I was gonna volunteer a lot more and help out a lot more.

Oh, for sure. You know, I think it changes. It changes everything when in dealing with every day, you know, just a heck of a lot more patient about a lot of things now because I, you know, you go through these things and if there's one thing you do learn, it's patience. And, you know, I felt that I hadn't been gracious enough with my time and, you know, and generous enough with my time and money and all those things. And so I made up my mind that I was gonna volunteer a lot more and help out a lot more.

I've already started that process. We're working with some indigenous kids up in the Far North this summer for a little for a camp and volunteering for a number of cancer things through the team. It's been it's definitely created a shift in my thinking.

Okay. Sudsy, really appreciate you spending the time. I'm sorry to ask you to go to back to some of those places and share some of those stories, but you have always been gracious with your time for us. The goalie union, the goalie world that listens to us here at InGoal Magazine has always appreciated, all the knowledge you've shared over the years, and we're just so grateful that we get to keep doing it. So, thank you again, and, it's it's it's good to get to do this again.

I look forward to the next one.

I appreciate it, Kevin. Hopefully, we can do it a little longer next time. I apologize. Had to to run out on you here, but I've gotta get to gotta get to Sweden.

It's all good that you the the Swedes cannot do without you, my friend. I know a lot of the history that's there and a lot of your roots in the game are over there. So enjoy the trip, and we'll catch up soon.

Sounds great, Kev. Thank you. All the best.

Such a fraternity with that group. And there's still friend I think of, I guess, Sean Burke and Freddie Brathwaite, Mike Rosati. They're the happiest people around the rink. Sensei, when I see him at a game, comes right up even if I don't I have my backs to him. He'll come up with, hey.

That's a goal. Like, just such a wonderful world at the highest level of our sport. They're they're the the best people around.

There is a They're goaltenders. Is a goalie union within the goalie coaching union, a separate union. And, Sudsy, he's been a big part of it for a long time, obviously, with the New York Islanders and time he spent there. Our first time we interviewed him, we talked about all his roots in Sweden and the work he did there, not just coaching goalies, but working with at risk youth. He's he's done it all.

He's a he's a teacher. And as much as we talked about his journey and his battle and his fight and some of the emotions that came with that, we had to get in his latest, which is, you know, he's a guy that that's brought out baseball gloves. I joked. I asked if he was gonna take some baseball gloves to Sweden. And what did he say, Daren?

Nope. No baseball gloves, but he did break out lacrosse sticks and balls at development camp for the Anaheim Ducks this summer. The idea of guys being able to run and get their footwork in, but still work on their hand eye coordination by passing and shooting lacrosse balls using lacrosse sticks and how some of the sort of roots roots of his youth played into that as a development plan for the ducks goalies, and they really loved, you know, just a different, more natural way to work on eye hand coordination.

I can't handle a lacrosse ball. No way.

In the sense it would hurt if it hit you?

Anytime. I I can't catch one. I can't throw it. I don't I've never played the cross. I just the the the sport baffles me.

Oh, we're gonna have to get you into Sudsy development camp, get you in one.

Yeah. I I don't want that thing thrown at me or fired at me either.

I tell you what, when when we do it to you, you can put on the full goalie gear.

No. No. I'm fine. I'll just I'll take a pass on this one. Thing hurts.

Or if they said you

can't take a pass, though.

Again. That's couple times. Sorry. Jokes today.

Can't help it. I'm sorry.

No. Dad jokes are fine. People that that make fun of dad jokes should be brought to task and punished because dad jokes are funny. They show a sense of humor. You're trying to enjoy life.

Good on you with dad joke. I don't even know what a dad joke really is because I just wanna laugh.

I don't know, but sometimes I feel like I'm being pun-ished with the dad jokes around here. Woody.

From the top rope, in comes Woody.

Outro

What's the plan for the week, you guys? Anything on the on the table?

Just see what trouble we can get

up to here in Vancouver. Yep. We had a little I'm gonna stop some pucks or pretend to stop some pucks. I'm gonna go get hit by a couple and try and get in the way of a couple and mostly just let a bunch go by. That's that's my goal for tonight.

Only stretched out I've only had a time to stretch out one side here. So we gotta get off the air so I can stretch out the other side. Otherwise, I'm gonna have narrow butterfly one side, wider on the other.

Go blocker side, boys. Go blocker side. He's too stiff there tonight.

Hutch, you gonna go watch and take take the

the shot count? Didn't even think I should be doing that tonight.

Keep track of the shots and and tell the guy or the person running the shot clock. You you missed 14 because Woody's

Woody's been better. Opportunity here to get a new YouTube video up. It could be our most viewed video

of all time. Hutch just come out with the he'll have the Stop It app. They're tracking shot quality for

This is content.

I'm sorry.

My parents taught me the golden rule.

My parents taught me the golden rule. I can't do it to him.

Why?

Because I would never want anybody filming me. It's the golden rule. Oh. Do do unto others.

Fine. What what are the chances he's gonna be in the right place at the right time to film you? Let's take advantage of this right now. Woody, I love you.

I got a new backup. So I got a new game stick. So, you know, the I'll I'll I'll I wanna show it off tonight.

Attaboy. Go get them. Have fun. Okay, buddy? I will.

Thanks for listening. I appreciate your dedication to the world, Goaltending. All the Black Friday sales, go capitalize on it. If there's any way that it can work for you, there's an opportunity right in front

of you.

Enjoy your weekend. Be safe, and happy goaltending.