Empty Netters Podcast: Canada and USA Olympic Roster Reactions

Host: Almost Friday Media
Date: January 6, 2026
Summary Prepared By: [Expert Podcast Summarizer]

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into two main topics:

1. The hosts’ in-depth, passionate reactions to the freshly announced 2026 Canada and USA Olympic men’s hockey team rosters—dissecting all snubs, surprises, and selections.
2. A lively recap of the current NHL season and other international hockey developments, including World Juniors results and discussion of other Olympic rosters.

While the show’s trademark locker-room banter and irreverence are in fine form, the focus is a meticulous breakdown of both roster decisions and their broader implications for the hockey world.

Table of Contents

1. NHL Rundown by Division (03:12–18:41)
2. Olympic Roster Reactions: Team Canada (18:41–33:35)
3. Olympic Roster Reactions: Team USA (33:35–47:45)
4. Other Olympic & International Rosters (47:45–53:42)
5. Goalie Deep Dive: Team Russia & Best in the World Discussion (55:52–58:45)
6. World Juniors Recap (58:45–62:02)
7. Netters College Hockey Update (62:02–62:56)
8. Miscellaneous: Book Club, Beer League Hotline, Blind MVP Rankings (63:32–92:36)
9. Notable Quotes & Moments

1. NHL Rundown by Division (03:12–18:41) <a name="nhl"></a>

Atlantic Division

• Tampa Bay Lightning: On a 7-game win streak. "Tampa’s been so streaky all year, but they’re on a heater right now." — B (03:27)
• Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa: These three have pulled a step ahead. Montreal has “righted the ship,” but needs to move a goalie and possibly add depth.
• Detroit Red Wings: "This is the time to strike ... if Detroit does not make a significant trade, we should be rioting in the streets." — A (05:26)
• Toronto Maple Leafs: "They're dead in my mind ... It will be better for the Maple Leafs to miss playoffs so they are forced to do something." — A (06:14)

Metropolitan Division

• Carolina Hurricanes: In first, but defensive injuries (Slavin out) are piling up. Cap space is available for a move.
• NY Islanders: "They continue to be the best show in hockey." — A (08:16). The team “is having too much fun to not be good.” — B (09:07)
• Philadelphia Flyers: Tied with Carolina for first if they win games in hand.
• Playoff Wildcards: Pitt and Washington. Washington in a skid, Pittsburgh surging, but A dreads the possibility of a bubble year: "What Pitt is doing right now is unacceptable. ... If Sid and Malkin miss the playoffs again, I will lose my mind." — A (10:55)

Central Division

• “Abs, Dallas, Minnesota—the top three teams in the league. The NHL runs through the Central.” — B (11:27)
• Blues & Predators: Blues' defense is “irresponsible,” Preds are “playing up to potential.”
• Winnipeg Jets: "The Winnipeg jets are dead ... I think they're getting Gavin McKenna, insane." — B (12:36 & 12:53)
• Winnipeg job still attractive because of top players under contract. Question if players like Kyle Connor regret their choices.

Pacific Division

• Vegas Golden Knights: “A poopy poopy team” yet still first (15:00).
• Edmonton: Surging, Oilers nearly passed Vegas.
• **Not a single Pacific team has a positive goal differential.
• LA Kings: Coaching situation questioned—"How does Jim Hiller still have a job?" — A (17:42)
• Outlook: “There is not a single team in the Pacific ... that holds a candle to any of those three Central teams.” — A (16:38)

2. Olympic Roster Reactions: Team Canada (18:41–33:35) <a name="canada"></a>

Roster (abridged for brevity)

Forwards: Celebrini, Sorelli, Crosby, Hagel, Horvat, McKinnon, Marchand, Marner, McDavid, Point, Reinhart, Stone, Suzuki, Wilson
Defense: Doughty, Harley, Makar, Morrissey, Parayko, Sanheim, Theodore, Toews
Goalies: Binnington, Kemper, Logan Thompson

Main Reactions & Debates

• Seth Jarvis left off: “Jarvis being as good as he is ... only improved, so to get bumped stings. He was done a little dirty.” — A (22:46)
• Sam Bennett vs. Sorelli debate: Both are “dogs”; only room for one. “If Bennett made it and Sorelli didn’t, we’d be having the same conversation.” — A (25:12)
• Mark Scheifele snub: “My biggest one for Canada ... Mark Scheifele top 10 in points on the worst team in the NHL.” — B (28:45)
• Jacob Chychrun omitted — A bit of a surprise, but D is crowded.
• Roster Construction Philosophy: "We’d be mad no matter who got left off—if one guy was in and one was out, same conversation in reverse." — A (24:03)
• Brandon Hagel’s value (A’s rant): "He had 90 points last year ... He started the fights with Matthew Tkachuk. Are you crazy? He is obviously on this team." — A (33:06)
• No Bouchard or Schaefer: Some disappointment but an understanding of the fit and depth.
• Reliance on experience: “Stanley Cup playoffs, finals, these things matter ... experience does matter” (29:47)

3. Olympic Roster Reactions: Team USA (33:35–47:45) <a name="usa"></a>

Roster (abridged):

Forwards: Boldy, Connor, Eichel, Guentzel, Jack Hughes, Keller, Larkin, Matthews, Miller, Nelson, Thompson, Brady & Matthew Tkachuk, Trocheck
Defense: Faber, Hanifin, Q. Hughes, S. Jones, McAvoy, Sanderson, Slavin, Werenski
Goalies: Hellebuyck, Ottinger, Swayman

Major Discussion Points

• Jason Robertson snub:
  "It is utter lunacy that the guy who is ninth in the NHL in points ... is not on this team." — A (38:51)
  “He’s the guy. He’s not the gold scorer and you leave him off.” — B (40:24)
• Lineup choices (Nelson, Trocheck, Miller): All make it despite being fringe picks in nearly all media projections.
• Chemistry and the Four Nations effect:
  “If you make [Four Nations], you bond, and it’s hard to unseat you ... Bill Guerin said, we picked for chemistry.” — B (49:43)
• Lane Hutson snub: Noted, but depth at offensive defenseman, and size concerns, make it understandable.
• Roster construction critique:
  "This roster was constructed to beat Canada, but not be Canada ... it's high time Team USA starts acting like it's just as talented as its rivals." — (Greg Wyshynski via B, 43:56)
• Other snubs: DeBrincat, Caufield, Zegras, Troy Terry, Matthew Knies, etc. (“Five of the top 10 American-born scorers in the NHL didn't make the team.” — B, 43:00)
• Closing thoughts:
  “Go USA. But I do not feel nearly as confident as I think that we could feel, and I think that's a huge mistake.” — A (50:46)

4. Other Olympic & International Rosters (47:45–53:42) <a name="intl"></a>

Sweden

• Notables: Bratt, Landeskog, Nylander, Pettersson, Headman, Karlsson, etc.
• Surprises: Pontus Holmberg and Jesper Wallstedt made the team; major snub—Hampus Lindholm and Ekholm omitted
• Landeskog’s inclusion, given injury history, commented on, and Ricard Rakell’s selection cheered

Finland

• Notables: Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen, Hints, Haskinen, Lekhonen, Ristolainen, Ylönen, Tolvanen, Joki Harju
• Emil Heineman’s omission discussed; team always dangerous at tournaments

5. Goalie Deep Dive: Team Russia & Best in the World Discussion (55:52–58:45) <a name="goalies"></a>

• Russia's hypothetical goalie choices: Bobrovsky, Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin are locks; Sorokin the odd man out ("Do you think it's obvious?" — discussion of stats 56:38)
• “Best goalies in the league are ... those four Russians, Logan Thompson, Hellebuyck, Swayman, Spencer Knight, Wallstedt, both the Woods, Grubauer --”
• Sorokin gets love but still “left home” in the hypothetical due to logjam of Russian elite goalies.

6. World Juniors Recap (58:45–62:02) <a name="juniors"></a>

• USA eliminated by Finland in quarters, considered a “disaster.”
• Canada eliminated by Czechia for the third straight year.
• Sweden-Czechia set for gold medal game (“Sweden has looked like the best team in the tournament.” — B, 59:18)
• Quick debate on whether overtime or shootout is the best sudden-death format.

7. Netters College Hockey Update (62:02–62:56) <a name="college"></a>

• Holiday lull, but returning to full slates soon.
• Notable recent results: Western Michigan beat Wisconsin, Maine tied and beat Denver on the road.
• Lookahead: “Western Michigan at Denver” series next weekend is one to circle.

8. Miscellaneous: Book Club, Beer League Hotline, Blind MVP Rankings (63:32–92:36) <a name="misc"></a>

Book Club: "Pucked"

• Wild, raunchy hockey romance book gets a highly descriptive, very NSFW recapping, plentiful digressions about “monster cock” metaphors, weird sex scenes, and semi-flaccid cigarette imagery.
• “Boobs are the best thing ever created.” — direct read-aloud from the book (77:58)

Beer League Hotline

• Listener asks: “How do I retire from my men’s league team without anyone making a big deal about it?”
• “This is the worst idea you’ve ever had in your life ... You cannot retire. Stay as long as you can.” — A (84:16)
• Discussion about the “white whale” of not wanting to drop down a league and lose your friends/community; hosts argue fiercely in favor of playing as long as possible.

MVP Blind Rankings (88:23–92:07)

• Emcees rank current MVP favorites (as of halfway point):
  1. Nathan MacKinnon
  2. Connor McDavid
  3. Nikita Kucherov
  4. Jack Eichel
  5. Leon Draisaitl
• “Perfect list.” — all hosts agree (92:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments <a name="quotes"></a>

Olympics Roster Reaction

• “If the Detroit Red Wings do not make a significant deadline trade this year, we should be rioting in the streets.” — A (05:26)
• “He's the best show in hockey.” — on NY Islanders (08:16)
• “Their B team is nuts.” — B on Team Canada Olympic depth (25:41)
• “It is utter lunacy that Jason Robertson is not on this team.” — A (38:51)
• “This roster was constructed to beat Canada, but not be Canada ... It’s time Team USA starts acting like it’s just as talented as its rivals.” — Greg Wyshynski via B (43:56)

Locker Room Energy

• “He starts getting hard and she’s tied the cape too tight ... and they have a big fight about almost strangled monster cock.” — book club segment (79:10)
• “I will be carted off the rink. I will die on the ice.” — beer league segment (85:05)
• “Boobs are the best thing ever created.” — book club read (77:58)

Coaching Critique

• “How does Jim Hiller still have a job?” — A on LA Kings (17:42)

Vibes

• “This team is having too much fun to not be good ... enjoy the ride because you’re getting this till May.” — B on Islanders (09:07–09:20)
• “Sweden has looked like the best team in this tournament.” — B (59:18)

TL;DR – Key Insights

• Both Canada and USA announced Olympic rosters with major surprises and controversial omissions, especially Jason Robertson (USA) and Mark Scheifele (Canada).
• Hosts favor Canada’s selection strategy and express concern about USA’s old-school obsession with “chemistry” at the expense of pure talent, echoing media critiques.
• Pacific Division’s mediocrity and Central’s dominance headline the NHL round-up, with coaching and trade urgency taking center stage.
• Robust international hockey coverage highlights World Juniors and major European roster snubs.
• The show closes with lively banter—ranging from erotic hockey novels to impassioned pleas for staying in beer league as long as possible, capped by a “perfect” MVP top-5.

For the full locker-room experience, listen to the episode—this summary will give you all major storylines, hottest takes, and the most entertaining moments, ad-free.