Spittin' Chiclets Episode 621: Featuring Kevin Bieksa

Summary

Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 621: Featuring Kevin Bieksa

Release Date: February 16, 2026
Hosts: Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette, Rear Admiral, Producer Mike Grinnell
Guest: Kevin Bieksa

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Episode Overview

This episode features a lively in-person discussion from Clearwater, Florida, with former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa (“Juice”) joining to share his Olympic experiences as a broadcaster in Milan. The crew mixes sharp NHL analysis with their trademark irreverence, covering Olympic hockey, locker room culture, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, pop culture bits, and a healthy dose of humor.
The main themes:

• Olympic men’s hockey tournament analysis and atmosphere
• Deep dive into players’ stories and performances (esp. McDavid, Celebrini, the Kachuks, McKinnon)
• The implications of best-on-best international hockey
• Broadcasting life and European oddities
• Classic Chiclets banter on travel, gym etiquette, and Valentine’s Day

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Olympic Hockey Atmosphere & European Life

• Hotel Life in Milan:
  • Bieksa describes the quirks of their hotel (single corkscrew for everyone, sharing with Team USA & special forces from Qatar).
  • [13:19–15:32] “I literally just got up to my room, changed quickly, went downstairs to the lobby to borrow the common corkscrew. There’s one corkscrew for the whole hotel... you have to explain what a corkscrew is to this really nice Italian guy or girl...” — Kevin Bieksa
  • Cultural differences: Coffee is solid, breakfast is great, but the vibe is laid-back and communal.
• Rink & Fan Experience:
  • Walk to the rink is like “cattle” in troughs; transportation logistics are wild between games.
  • Bieksa notes passionate fanbases: Slovaks, Swiss, Germans—all bring “soccer-style” chanting, whistles, and carnival energy.
  • [15:42] “The Slovaks have such an underrated fan base. These guys are wild.” — Kevin Bieksa
• Media Setups & Bathrooms:
  • Rinks double as massive hangouts for international broadcasters; bathrooms are unisex, and decorum is questionable.
  • “Our only bathroom is in the concourse, it’s a unisex... you follow a woman in on the left, dudes on the right—guys stalls got urine all over the seats..." — Bieksa [16:22–17:44]

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2. Olympic Hockey Analysis

Tournament Structure & Stakes

• Talk of how the Olympic tournament differs from “Four Nations”—the group stage is softer, some favorites on cruise control till the quarters, but for smaller nations, every game’s a big deal.
• [20:01] “I think it’s a big deal to them... they’re just trying not to get embarrassed, make their country proud.” — Kevin Bieksa
• Example: Germany easing off before quarters; Drysdale’s minutes are managed.

Wild Individual Incidents

• Matthew Tkachuk “Bridesmaid” Taunt:
  • Tkachuk shadowed Leon Draisaitl, chirping him the whole game (“bridesmaid”)—panel agrees it’s great for hockey, adds spice, not “a disgrace.”
  • [21:09–21:41] “He just follows him around, chirping him, calling him a bridesmaid... would I personally do what Kachuk did? Probably not, but I don’t care... they’re so good for the NHL.” — Bieksa

McDavid & Team Canada

• The group marvels at how relaxed and physically intense McDavid looks at the Olympics after finally winning Four Nations.
  • [29:56–31:56] “I think honestly, winning Four Nations was a big relief for him... I think he was able to relax from there... He looked nervous at the start of the tournament. Now he looks happy and not stressed, which is when he’s at his most dangerous.” — Bieksa
• McDavid’s physical play is new (“running guys over”), attributed partly to playing with Tom Wilson.
  • [33:13] “Having Tom Wilson on your line, you probably think you’re three inches bigger and thirty pounds heavier.” — Bieksa

Macklin Celebrini’s Emergence

• Wide praise for Celebrini’s adaptability, maturity, and confidence at just 19.
  • Noted for “not deferring” to anyone—even beaver-tailing McDavid for the puck.
  • Comparing development systems and Rick Celebrini’s influence as a calm, non-hockey-obsessed parent and world-renowned physiotherapist.
  • [34:34–36:26] “He’s showing you how intelligent he is; [he] doesn’t defer to anybody... imagine a 19-year-old beaver-tailing the best player in the world when he has the puck. This kid believes in himself.” — Bieksa
  • [41:01] Paul on Macklin: “He’s probably doing everything specific... just like how Sid would go balls to the wall in every practice. It’s all firing.”

Team USA’s Outlook

• US has best/deepest defense in the tournament; top-pairing ice times for Hughes and Werenski are increasing.
• Eichel and the Kachuks’ line are praised for being hard to play against—“absolute dogs.”
• Larkin seen as a “key to depth”—important to third line.
  • [53:42] “Third line center is a pretty important position… Larkin’s the guy I’m looking at.”

Sweden & Coach Issues

• Discussion on Sweden’s drama: poor bench management, NHLers benched without explanation (OEL, Forsberg, etc).
  • [48:02] “Europeans, a lot of these teams, have coaches that only coach in their country…they don’t know the NHL, how to deal with NHL players… You don’t embarrass them.”

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3. Behind-the-Scenes, NHL Legends & Training

The “Juice” Nickname Origin

• Multiple theories traded—steroids? Pineapple juice??
  • [27:21–28:56] (Real story): “I used to lose a lot of weight during the season, then gain it back in the summer… then [after the lockout year] everyone’s like, ‘Juice! Juice! Steroids!’” — Bieksa
  • The “pineapple juice” cover-story was invented to avoid awkward media questions.

Rick Celebrini’s Elite Training

• Bieksa gives a glowing, in-depth account of how Rick Celebrini (now with the Golden State Warriors) saved his career, preventing hip surgery through intense rehab.
  • Extensive talk on biomechanical retraining, rehab culture in hockey, and how that “mindful movement” was a game-changer for many athletes.
  • [36:59–39:03] “Give me 100 hours and a lot of times... if you just do the rehab, you don’t actually need the surgery...have never needed the surgeries.” – Bieksa
  • Classic Chitlets ribbing as the group teases each other over who saw Celebrini and his relatives for rehab.

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4. Broadcasting Life & Locker Room Details

• Life as a broadcaster is hectic: triple-headers, socializing with legends like Lundqvist and Sundin, unisex bathrooms, military everywhere ("Qatar Special Forces doing lunges in the gym").

• Elliot’s gym etiquette criticized—debate over whether barefoot workouts are legit or “greaseball.”

  • [68:36] “I rolled into the gym the other day and I was barefoot, holding my shoes…and Elliot thought it was disgusting.” — Bieksa

• Light-hearted reporting on living with the American media, making do during tight travel schedules, and McDonald's runs in Italy.

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5. Refereeing & Tournament Structure

• The group agrees officiating has stepped up—blending NHL and IIHF styles after a joint ref camp in Buffalo, NY.

  • [56:12–58:10] “They allowed the interpretation of the NHL officials to be dominant as far as contact... but any touching the goalie, it’s goaltender interference.”

• Big-picture question: Should the best-on-best tournaments have fewer teams for competitiveness (8 or 10 rather than 12)? Longing for NHL rules (allowing fighting, more physicality).

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6. Notable Quotes & Fun Moments

On the Kachuks (Matthew/Brady)

• “They are so good for the NHL. They’re entertaining, they’re tough... there’s a rattiness to Matthew for sure. But he’s trying to win, I thought it was funny.” — Kevin Bieksa [21:41]

On Olympic Crowds

• “Slovaks have such an underrated fan base. These guys are wild.” — Bieksa [15:42]

On Macklin Celebrini’s Confidence

• “Can you imagine a 19-year-old beaver-tailing the best player in the world when he has the puck?” — Bieksa [34:34]

On the Juice Nickname

• “It was a way to belittle me, like, working out wasn’t even cool back then... so everyone called me Juice.” — Bieksa [28:23]

On Team USA’s Path to Gold

• “If they play Canada, they need to turn it into a street fight. If anybody can slow down Canada’s high-octane offense, it’s the US and those seven defensemen.” — Bieksa [63:21]

On Broadcasting Life

• “You follow a girl in [the unisex bathroom] on the left, the guys on the right... and there’s urine all over the seats.” — Bieksa [16:22]

On Italian McDonald’s

• “It was all in Italian—‘the 1955,’ ‘the 1983’—no idea what that means. We’ll find out though.” — Bieksa [32:27]

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7. Classic Chiclets Banter

Travel Antics

• Whitney’s airport confessional: admits brazenly cutting “the entire line” at Logan Airport with his golf bag—and then chilling in the Delta Lounge with the stolen time.
  • “Not proud of this… I cut the entire line. Like, 175 people.” — [85:31]
  • Panel debates ethical travel, karma, and the awkwardness of airport life.
• Grinnell hides, eating pizza at 6:50am, hoping Whitney doesn’t see.

Valentine’s Day

• Whitney describes his “vet” flowers-and-card setup; Elliot forgets dinner, gets rescued by a Barstool connection.
  • “If you’re new in a relationship and you’re getting her an expensive present on Valentine’s Day…you’re out of your mind.” — [95:29]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:32] Intro, live from Clearwater, Florida, Olympics quarterfinals excitement
• [13:15] Kevin Bieksa joins from Milan; tales from the hotel, corkscrew debacle, Olympic vibe
• [15:42] Slovak, Swiss, German fans—the soccer energy at Olympic venues
• [16:22] Bieksa on Italian rink, media, bathrooms, postgame logistics
• [20:01] Olympic round robin/culture vs Four Nations intensity
• [21:09] Tkachuk-Draisaitl “bridesmaid” incident analysis, are antics good for hockey?
• [27:21–28:56] “Juice” nickname origin: steroids joke, pineapple myth debunked
• [29:56] McDavid’s renewed energy post-Four Nations, intensity boost
• [34:34] Celebrini’s poise as a young star
• [36:59] The Rick Celebrini segment: hip rehab, athlete development
• [48:02] Sweden’s bench drama with NHL players, European coaching culture
• [53:42] USA roster deep dive, Larkin’s importance to depth, third-line center role
• [56:12] NHL-IIHF referee camp, blending officiating styles for Olympics
• [58:35] Wilson-Fiala collision: breakdown of accidental injury, player empathy
• [63:21] What must USA do to beat Canada? Make it “a street fight”
• [68:36] Bieksa’s barefoot gym routine debate, Elliot’s revulsion
• [85:31] Whitney’s epic “I cut the whole airport line” confession
• [93:41] Valentine’s Day takes and mishaps

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Conclusion

This episode is a classic Chiclets blend of sharp on-ice analysis, player storytelling, and off-ice color. Bieksa is an outstanding guest: equally adept at technical breakdowns (coaching, team Canada, Celebrini’s emergence), hilarious personal tales (bathrooms, gym culture, McDonald’s in Italy), and inside stories about hockey culture at the Olympics.

The panel covers why this Olympic tournament feels “best-on-best” in a new way, why toughness and personality (hello, Kachuks) drive fan engagement, and how training, mental health, and team roles shape success at the highest level.

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Memorable Quote Board

• On NHL toughness:

  • “He looked like an idiot. He definitely made fun of me. Would I do what Kachuk did? Probably not. But I think it’s funny.” — Bieksa [21:41]

• On European fans:

  • “The Slovaks have such an underrated fan base. These guys are wild.” — Bieksa [15:42]

• On bare feet at the gym:

  • “I like to go through some of my workout stuff, like, barefoot. Elliot thought it was just disgusting.” — Bieksa [68:36]

• On best-on-best hockey:

  • “This is the best hockey we’ve ever seen, as far as speed and skill. We’re on a collision course. I hope we see it [USA-Canada].” — Bieksa [63:21]

• On “Juice” and Pineapple Juice:

  • “I started telling the media guys in Vancouver... yeah, like, I drink a lot of pineapple juice.” — Bieksa [28:37]

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For Listener Reference

• Skip to [13:15] for the start of Bieksa’s main presence and Milan hockey talk
• All timestamps in [MM:SS] format (rounded to the nearest minute for clarity)

Skip the ads, soak up the hockey, and enjoy vintage Spittin’ Chiclets banter with a heavy dose of international flair.

Transcript

[Kevin Bieksa]

Hey, Spit and Chiclets listeners. You can find every episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify prime. Members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. In sports, winning takes more than talent. It takes strength, reliability and the drive to go the distance. Sound familiar? That's the same DNA you'll find in a Chevy Silverado. As capable and dependable as a winning team. Chevy Silverado shows up and gets the job done. It won't flinch when the pressure's on. It doesn't take plays off when it comes to trucks. Chevy Silverado is football guy approved. To learn more About Silverado, visit chevy.com in sports, winning takes more than talent. It takes strength, reliability, and the drive to go the distance. Sound familiar? That's the same DNA you'll find in the Chevy Silverado. As capable and dependable as a winning team. Chevy Silverado shows up and gets the job done. It won't flinch when the pressure's on. It doesn't take plays off when it comes to trucks. Chevy Silverado is football guy approved. To learn more About Silverado, visit chevy.com Me and Ryan have been officially welcomed.

[Ryan Whitney]

To the jungle that is Bastool Sports.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I brought it towards the coyotes and I asked them if it was okay if I joined the Spit Chicklets podcast full time.

[Ryan Whitney]

Ryan, Whitney's got a pink Whitney out there now.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Sandbagger. Get that on camera.

[Ryan Whitney]

Pete Yandel, the sonk man. Kate is a full time member. Marley just gotten assist from Chris Beat. Whoa.

[Whitney]

We're buzzing right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

Welcome, welcome, welcome to episode 621. We're here in person in Clearwater, Florida at a beautiful hotel. We'll get into Keith's room in a second. Welcome, guys. We want to shout out pink Whitney first. Middle of the Olympics, we're on to the quarterfinals. Very exciting time. Best on best, but it's pink Whitney time. I think we have three sandbaggers coming up this trip for our channel. One of them for Bob does. So four total. That's a lot of golf. That's a lot of pink Whitney.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I'm Gonna have no L5s one by the time this week's over or.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay, yeah, fair enough. That's very true, but. And you won't have any pink Whitney either, but Keith and I will keep. No, that's not a shot at you. It's just, you know, you don't drink the pink. Can we get you pink lemonade without vodka? No.

[Whitney]

So at least his face is pink.

[Paul Bissonnette]

So what I think my new thing should be is I got those camino edibles the 5 milligrams.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Okay?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Every birdie, I gotta take an edible.

[Whitney]

All right?

[Elliot Friedman]

Okay.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

We make that many birdies. I mean, I think that that first I won. We take one. He's, like, sleeping. One birdie. Shut up. Pink Whitney. Shout out, New Amsterdam. Thank you to everyone, as I always mentioned, for drinking it, for trying it, for buying it. You're the best. We love the drink, and I can't wait to really get it going during the golf matches we got coming up.

[Paul Bissonnette]

That. That mincy stuff with Ra's World got some traction.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Holy.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, it did.

[Paul Bissonnette]

It did.

[Whitney]

It did. You got me in some tr.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Trouble.

[Whitney]

What did I do on the mountains? First day I'm up there, four guys stop me. They're like, where's the Pink Whitney? Whit tells all the stories you got. He hands them out on the mountain. I'm like, son of a bitch.

[Ryan Whitney]

Needed a backpack.

[Whitney]

I did. So the next day, me and my boy Timmy, we hit up the liquor store. We bought two sleeves of pink Whitney Nips. And we're handing them. Checking IDs. We checked IDs.

[Paul Bissonnette]

That's classic.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay? That's really handing them all of it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What you did was classic.

[Whitney]

Handing them out left and right. Ran out in probably 15, 20 minutes. Had to go back down to the base, reload. It was unbelievable.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You're the best.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's a classic guy. That's all.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Tim, you're.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You're a. You're a very thoughtful guy like that. Y. You're all about the boys, man.

[Ryan Whitney]

I thought you were gonna say, like, because he just brought up Minty, that he just was, like, in the lodge and just like, stole your lunch that you just paid for or something.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Because that stole his family.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, Man. Yeah. Sorry.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

You lost your family to mints. I mean, that's, like, the lowest thing. Grossest thing. You'll redo the whole episode now. Yeah. So we're having Juice on. And for anyone doesn't know who Juice is. Kevin bx. I. I. I have a tough time with his name. And I know if I was in person with him, he'd punch my head right off my body if I got it wrong. So, b.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay. There you go.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know now I. Just focus.

[Whitney]

We know why they call him Juice.

[Ryan Whitney]

Because he's just. He's a machine.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think he's just. Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And, like, naturally, where guys thought he was on the Juice with. How.

[Ryan Whitney]

Think that's what it's from?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think that's what it's from. Because his motor and just like, his sheer power, like, yeah, he packs an insane punch for maybe not. If you look at him, he's the guy where, like in junior you're like, I'm gonna pick on this guy. And next thing you know, you're picking up your teeth.

[Ryan Whitney]

How about in college? How about if you see him in college? Like, oh, college, I think, and we've asked him before. He, he was, you know, turned pro. He's in Manitoba. He already beat up Fedorov's brother. And then, oh, college guy, Bowling Green. All right, I'll go. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, he's Superman punching you, like, in midair with a left.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, he's from the Niagara region, right?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Okay.

[Elliot Friedman]

I'm seeing online that Alex Old gave him the nickname when they played in Junior together. Drink originating from him drinking large amounts of pineapple juice.

[Whitney]

Okay, you know what?

[Ryan Whitney]

I knew he was gonna. I figured he'd make that pineapple joke. That's your style.

[Whitney]

Humor.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What do you mean?

[Ryan Whitney]

Nothing.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Nothing about your semen tasting better. Is that a thing? Does that work?

[Ryan Whitney]

Actually, hey, I don't know. I'm a pink Whitney guy, and I don't know what that does to the taste. To the taste of your semen. I, I, I'm not.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What else helps with the taste of your semen if it's not pink? Can you look that up?

[Ryan Whitney]

I don't know. I don't know how that just got there. I guess I brought, I brought it there. You're right. I brought it there. What was the other thing I wanted to say?

[Whitney]

Unbelievable lie of why that's his nickname.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, he made that right up.

[Whitney]

Completely made up. That was phenomenal. Rachel.

[Ryan Whitney]

That' figured he was armor on the couch.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

You know, thought he was on steroids.

[Whitney]

Not to mention we're gonna have him on. We could just ask him.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I figured it was, it was a reach, but I'm like, oh, I'll pump my buddy's tires in the meantime. That's a pretty good. I hope that that lie gets told more than, than the fact that he was drinking pineapple juice. But do you think that that's why he was doing the pineapple juice?

[Ryan Whitney]

No, I don't want to go there. I don't want to go. I'd rather honestly accuse him doing steroids and say he was drinking pineapple juice solely for the taste of the semen being better. I mean, also, we gotta talk to him. Did we mention last episode how weird it is seeing James Duffy and Elliot together?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, it's a collab.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. It's the two big dogs. You know, we got sports that we got tsn. And then our guy, O Dog, he's been on Twitter at home. Like, I don't like this. Like, this is kind of Dusty's my guy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

My old lady's cheating on.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like, it's. It's. So I guess Sportsnet or. No, who has it? Cbc.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah. And they just kind of put together, like, whatever panel that they. They wanted to put together. But fun, dynamic. People are obviously loving it. Five person panel, too. So obviously the banter between Juice and Elliot's always unreal. I'm really interested to hear how they're also. Their time has been away from the rink. Like, what have they been doing in Italy? Like, what cultural things have. Have they embraced just pineapple? I would. I would assume that they're probably having, like, you know, some vino at night and, like, getting pretty buckled at these dinners. He seems like the type of guys who have these unbelievable dinners.

[Whitney]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

And I want to. I don't think we had discussed this yet, but I tuned into Finland, Sweden. Yeah. Because that was Friday morning and we dropped on Friday morning, so we'd recorded after the U.S. game Thursday. I kind of got some heat. But Peacock, who's broadcasting the games in the US For a big game. I mean, Finland, Sweden. I was kind of expecting Kenny Albert. Right. And Boosh and the whole crew. Can you get his name? G. It was an English man and.

[Whitney]

It was like watching a soccer game.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. And I was like, oh, this is like a soccer announcer now. The poor guy, he didn't have a color commentator. Oh, no.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He had to do it so solo. So that's pretty badass.

[Ryan Whitney]

I. Yeah, but I didn't. I didn't. I was like, oh, Finland, Sweden. Huge rivalry. I thought it would maybe be a bigger broadcast team. He did a good job for himself. It was just funny. Like, I think he was straight soccer. Gee. Can you get his name? Sorry? You're looking up his name right now, but I don't know. I was, like, surprised at that.

[Whitney]

Well, once they found out that, like, Oel and Forsberg weren't going to be playing, they're like, let's just put the B squad on this.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Well, it's actually the coach's nephew that was doing it. Yeah, it was the coach's nephew.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, really? Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Swedish.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay, that's cool. That's cool.

[Whitney]

Names, Juice.

[Ryan Whitney]

But I didn't. I didn't think. I didn't think that was going to be the case, I thought for the big games it would be, you know, the a, the A fair.

[Whitney]

But I wonder if like a Finnish broadcast or a Sweden broadcast was different than what we got.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, for sure. Lundqvist is doing the Swedish broadcast.

[Ryan Whitney]

So I was, I was told that apparently it was the, like the world broadcast they went to. Peacock did that. Like if they're not going to use their team. But I mean, Brendan Burke's over there, right? Or is he doing it from the studio? Maybe. I know Anson Carter's helping out, so it was just kind of surprising. But a lot of people were kind of complimentary of the guy. And I will say the English accent kind of a nice touch, like very relaxing. But there was just moments when I was like, I think this guy's bored. Or it's more the soccer low key style.

[Elliot Friedman]

Darren Elliott was his name.

[Ryan Whitney]

Darren Elliott. Okay. So I mean, doing a game alone, I, I can't really imagine that. It's like you. No wonder there's going to be some silence.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I feel like a lot of soccer guys do do them alone.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Correct?

[Ryan Whitney]

No, there's always a color guy. There's the big, the big soccer matches I've seen. There's always a color guy in there.

[Whitney]

But especially for hockey too, when you're used to people talking the whole time, like where the game isn't just speaking for itself, like, you know, baseball, sometimes they just let the game speak for itself. And hockey is not really like that. So in that down time, it was like, oh God, what's he. What's going on?

[Ryan Whitney]

And it was also 6, 10 eastern puck drop. So it was like you're kind of like, yeah, just waking up, having a coffee and you're like, no, nobody said anything in two and a half minutes.

[Whitney]

It's kind of good.

[Ryan Whitney]

This is Finland, Sweden, what's going on?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Would you, Would you appreciate that a little bit more? Like if, if maybe there was like a North American one where it was a little more casual, where they didn't chime in the whole time or.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, it would have to be.

[Paul Bissonnette]

It would be so weird to feel it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Like it would have to be elite level microphones down by the ice.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Right.

[Ryan Whitney]

If you're getting. Yeah, if you're getting like all the noises of the games, all the strides, all those tape to tape passes, that type stuff, it'd be pretty cool, I guess. But I just woke up like all excited. I was like, what's going. I feel like I'm watching Chelsea, Arsenal right now.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

So it was, it was kind of Weird.

[Whitney]

But sometimes when you watch, like, I'll watch my nephew's games on. What's it called? Like, live Barn or whatever, and you don't hear an announcer, so it's kind of like you have to make your own assumption of the game. Right. The announcer's not telling you what's going on, so I kind of like it sometimes. I mean, obviously, that's little kid high school stuff, but for an NHL game, I. I want some talking going on.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, this is. This is. We're gonna get to. I'm gonna ask you guys about Valentine's Day. There's people listening. Like, oh, we want to hear about the hockey. We're gonna dive way more into that when Juice gets on.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, we're gonna go over all that with him.

[Paul Bissonnette]

All of it. Like, we'll. We'll talk about every little incidence. Like, I mean. I mean, we got to talk about Wilson falling on Fiala. That was a tough one. There was a few people online who clearly don't understand hockey, thinking he did that on purpose.

[Whitney]

It was bad. It was.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But. But shouldn't have done it. What's that?

[Whitney]

It was bad.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay, okay, okay. You didn't like it.

[Whitney]

I didn't like it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You did what? You liked it. You thought his leg came up.

[Whitney]

No, the original thing was fluke, but the way he didn't have to come back down on him. Like, the way he, like, cross checked him down. If. If Matthew Tkachuk did that in the playoffs to someone on your Toronto Maple Leaf, you would be losing your mind.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. Oh, losing it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay, maybe. Maybe I need to re. Watch it. Where I was distract was like a.

[Whitney]

One set where it was like, okay, well, but the.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The fact that he kind of lo. He kind of went on his heels and he fell on Fiala's leg was kind of. That was accidental. You didn't like what took place before that? To put it in the situation.

[Whitney]

No, no. At the end of it, I didn't like. So the. The play happened. I wish we could pull it up here.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Well, no, we can. We can show. Show me again, G. Well, and we.

[Ryan Whitney]

Have Juice coming on. We get his opinion, but he's Canadian. All right. He's ready to. Okay. Wow. This is good timing. Once again, he's Canadian, so we know how this is going to go. Bring it, Juice. This episode of Spitting Chiclets is brought to you by Body Armor Flash iv. Flash IV is packed with electrolytes, delivering faster, longer lasting hydration without any artificial dyes, flavors, or sweeteners. None of the junk. So for us, after a couple big sandbaggers this week, we're going to need some Body Armor Flash iv. If you're dehydrated, if you're feeling like you need a little bit of oomph in the morning when you wake up, crack open a Body Armor Flash iv. You'll feel better immediately. It's the best drink in the game because you get none of the junk, none of the artificial crap, none of the dyes, the flavors or sweeteners. And whether you're training, traveling, or just feeling the heat, Body Armor Flash IV is for you. Work hard and hydrate hard with body armor flash IV. Grab it at a 711 today.

[Kevin Bieksa]

What's up, boys?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I would assume you just left the rink, what, like probably an hour ago?

[Kevin Bieksa]

No, not even. I, I literally just got up to my room, change quickly, went downstairs to the lobby to borrow the, the common corkscrew. So there's one corkscrew for the whole hotel. And you have to, you have to go down to the lobby and ask this really nice Italian guy or girl and say, hey, can I borrow the corkscrew? And they're like, what's a cork? A screw. And then you gotta explain it. I'm like, you gotta like, twist.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The rig took 10 years to build one.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Cor, the whole town, they grab keys and they go into the safety deposit box. They pull up this only cork screw in the hotel. That's like this old thing. Come on, you open.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Just go buy one. I know.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I can't find it. I can't find one. Well, they're sacred here. They're sacred here.

[Ryan Whitney]

Juice, Is this, is this European style? This is no shot at Europe. But if you go down to the lobby and try to get an espresso or coffee, is it like the solid 11 minute wait, like one of those type European setups? No, we have a.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Well, no, we have a. Oh, we.

[Ryan Whitney]

Got a team Canada room.

[Kevin Bieksa]

We got. No, we don't have a team Canada room, but we have. We actually have a lot of Americans here. I've met a ton of people from LA that are from LA. Olympics for 2028. And they're actually in town to kind of observe and see what they can do better. So tons of Americans in our hotel. We have a really good breakfast set up. So coffee, we need it.

[Whitney]

All we need is corkscrews.

[Kevin Bieksa]

There's a limited amount of corkscrews in Milan.

[Whitney]

I'm gonna be at the LA Olymp selling corks.

[Paul Bissonnette]

It's like, why can't we get the hotel rooms? Oh, they actually brought Somalia too, but you should see.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So I left. We leave the game and you, you walk probably a half a mile through. Like you're like in an industrial area and like everyone's in like their little troughs. Like it's like cattle leaving the rink. You, you walk in your little lane and then you get to the buses and it's like we're staying close, we're like 10 minutes away. But it's, it's interesting because there's pretty much been three games a day and they have to like get everybody out of the arena after one game and ship in everybody else right after that. So you have, you know, people that are leaving the game and they're like wearing their country's colors. Then you have a bunch of people that are kind of like pre drinking, waiting to get into the next game. And it's just, it's just an interesting dynamic. Like some of these fan base, like the Slovaks have such an underrated fan base. Like they're. These guys are wild. Yeah, these guys are in one all the time.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Well, my. We had our under 18 year. Under 18 when I made the team the first time. Not the world champion. Not a big deal. We went to Piashani, Slovakia, and all the dads came and beers were like 17 cents. So we ended up going out after the tournament. They were letting 12 year olds into the club. So they just have an insane drinking culture where they start very young and they.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Buddy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

There was like. It was crazy. There was like kids running around. You're like, ah, we were, we were 17 years old. But to see kids like in the, in the club getting pickled was. Was crazy. Now after games, is it hard for you to, to wind down after you call games for a day?

[Kevin Bieksa]

I mean, you're tired. You guys know what it's like. You're tired because you're doing three games most days. We've done three games in a day and we can't really. There's not enough time to actually leave the rink. So, you know. But there's a lot of guys in the sea. Like I've seen like Henrik Lundquist around and Matt Sundin has actually been like doing every game for Swedish tv. So there's a lot of us and you kind of hang around in between. But like they make for long days and you know, what's, you know, the other thing that's kind of funny and unique about this rink is that it's a good setup for the media because we're not that high up. We're only, like, 20 rows up. We got, like, the whole one end that's not finished. So we have, like, all of our kind of setups, our panels all beside each other, but the. The only bathroom is, like, in the concourse, and the closest one to us is unisex. So, like, when you walk in the door, like, you're holding the door for women, and then you're, like, following them into the bathroom at the same time, and it's. It's really, really unique, right? So you follow it in, and then, like, there's, like, these nice women, and then, like, all their stalls are on the left, and all the guys on the right. And you guys know the guy stalls have, like, urine all over the seats and everything. So, like, the women got to make sure they go to the left, but then you. So the woman go to the left, and you hear guys kind of, like, you know, farting and stuff on the right.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, just airport men.

[Whitney]

Elliot.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Just Elliot.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Literally.

[Paul Bissonnette]

There's a coffee Italy.

[Kevin Bieksa]

It's literally five feet behind my head right now. Our rooms. Our headboards are connected.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No way.

[Whitney]

I was gonna ask you that. Are you staying in the Village or are you pompous like the Canadian team staying at the Four Seasons?

[Kevin Bieksa]

We're. We're like, eight minutes from the rink in Crowne Plaza, so we're humble. We're in a humble play. But it's good. It's setup for us. But Elliot's like, right, right. And he's actually reporting. He's recording his pod right now, too. If I. I got a bang on the door. Elliot, keep it down.

[Paul Bissonnette]

That is so good. Hey, so you said that Slovak had an underrated fan base. Who else do you felt has brought the. Brought a lot of noise unexpectedly?

[Kevin Bieksa]

The Swiss and then even the Germans today. The Germans had their first two games at the other arena, which is like. I think it's like, I haven't been there, but my dad was there today to watch the women play, and there's. I think it's like 3, 500, 4,000 people. That's it. That they have room for this one that we're at a little bit bigger. So it was our first game with the Germans, and it's just that soccer culture, right? So the Swiss and the Germans have that soccer culture where randomly in the middle of the game, they just start chanting, and they have, like, their songs, and we're kind of listening, and we're kind of, like, asking a couple of them that are close, like, what do you guys like? What's the song mean? What are you saying? And all that and the, the good thing or the big thing is like when they don't like a call or they don't. They think a penalty's missed, the whistling and all that. It's just, it, it's very. Reminds me a lot. I don't know if you guys played well. You guys are all American besides Biz, but Spangler cop just like Spangler, right? Like in Switzerland, like that soccer culture that we. We kind of don't get over in North America.

[Ryan Whitney]

So we were talking before we recorded, we were mentioning now we're into the. We're into like the round robin, then the quarters. Seems like the tournament's actually getting going. And Biz and I were saying compared to four nations where every game mattered so much, it's cool. But it's also like, all right, we're kind of just waiting until like the round robin and the elimination game start. Do you feel the same based on some of the games or being there? Do you think it's different where you're kind of appreciating even Italy maybe getting. I mean, they had one good game against Sweden, but do you more appreciate all the teams that have no chance of winning playing, or you like us just like, all right, we're. We're to the good part now?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Well, I think it's a big deal to them. So they're. First of all, they're just trying not to get embarrassed, I think, in some of the games and, and they're trying to make their, their crowd and their country proud. But like Germany today, like Germany before the game, with the way the Denmark game ended and their group, they had second place locked up. So Dry Cyto played five minutes in the first period. Were they really trying to win that game? I don't know. Like, probably not giving it their all if they're trying to win. That dry saddle plays eight to 10 minutes in the first period. So yeah, like, it was kind of a cruise control game because of the way the tournament set.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Well, according to Kachuk, he was busy being a bridesmaid.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Did you. Have you seen anything like that in a while? Like, that was like when you're in peewee and there's one kid on the other team that has 235 goals and you just give your. Your best skater just follows them around and shadows them. Like that's what it was. It was hilarious to watch. It was five, five one. And Matthew is. He's in the D zone. He's on the other side of the ice, just skating around with a stick in his, in his waist, just chirping on him, calling him a bridesmaid. That's what he was calling him. Hey, a bridesmaid.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, it was like, I was like the Alonzo morning meme where I'm like, USA fan, kind of love it. Then the Oilers part of me, like, this is mean as shit right now, but I, I, I think that I want to ask you first basically about Canada because, well, could I ask him.

[Paul Bissonnette]

His opinion on that? Like, what do you make of that?

[Ryan Whitney]

He's like, I would have suckered him probably. He's juice.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What do you make of, of him doing that? Like, with the cameras there, kind of knowing they're right there? Like, do you love that shit? Were you the guy. I remember the one time you made or Fiddler made fun of you? Like, that was kind of funny.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, that was hilarious. Abez Av like that he looked, I.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Mean, he was losing it.

[Kevin Bieksa]

He looked like an idiot. Yeah, he definitely made fun of me. I mean, I don't know. Like, would I, would I personally do what Kachak did?

[Whitney]

I don't know.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Like, I mean, I. Probably not, but I don't care. Like, I don't have a problem with it. I'm not like, oh, that's a disgrace, or I, I think it's funny. I think, like, whatever you think of the Kachuks, and I think, I think I know what all four of us think of the Kachuks. They are so good for the NHL. Like, they're so good. They're entertaining, they're tough. Yeah. Is there, is there, is there a rattiness to Matthew for sure? There' rattiness to Matthew for sure. But I mean, I, I don't know. He's trying to win. I just thought it was funny how he was doing this like when it was 5:1 and they've already locked up first place in their group and he's, and he's just following around like chirping on, putting his stick there. Like after the whistle it was. And Wes Mccully was the referee, like, he knows all these guys. And then eventually gave him the two minute penalty at the end. So it was, it was more for me comical. Like dry. Didn't seem like he was that bothered by it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, we were, we were pumping the Kachuk's tires, like, not only obviously for what they, they do on the ice, but off the ice too, like doing all the ads and basically have to be in the Face of it all. But Brady has had an incredible tournament. They keep.

[Kevin Bieksa]

You need some help, right?

[Paul Bissonnette]

You're doing.

[Elliot Friedman]

You.

[Kevin Bieksa]

You need some help with all the ads and everything.

[Ryan Whitney]

Can't carry this thing on your own, bitch.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You doing Sportsnet in Canada. You're helping kids put their shin pads on. And your new ads, buddy, you got.

[Kevin Bieksa]

An amex commercial in 25 minutes. You better wrap this up.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I love this. I love. Hey, you're going to get more and more lippy the more you sip that vino. You're going to be going down for that cork screw again pretty soon.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So one of the best things to do is go to the grocery store here. So there's a grocery store. It's called supermarket. And you come up with that.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know.

[Kevin Bieksa]

And it's like. It's like that. You could tell it's the highlight of these people's day. So I'm. I'm Italian, guys. I don't know if you know that. My middle name is Francesco. My grandparents are Sicilian. They were my two favorite people ever. I live with them for a short time. It reminds me of them. Like, you walk in the supermarket, and first of all, there's a million people in the produce section, like, picking up and touching all the produce, smelling it, feeling the firmness. Then, like, the wife and the husband are arguing with each other and, like, yelling at each other.

[Whitney]

No.

[Kevin Bieksa]

What's the matter with you?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, are you saying they're arguing over, like. No, like, this one's firmer. Let's get to this one.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Kind of lost your.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, you got a call.

[Kevin Bieksa]

You know who that is? You know who keeps calling me and making me come out? Elliot Deliveroo is the. Is the, like, doordash or the Uber eats of Italy. So we're starving by the end of the day. I. I doordashed or deliverooed McDonald's. And this guy's, like, trying to, like, deliver.

[Ryan Whitney]

With all the great food you need to eat.

[Whitney]

Go get it. Go get it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Go get it.

[Whitney]

Go get it. Come back.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Oh, he'll drop it in the lobby. So another thing about our hotel, which is, I think I feel like I'm telling you too much information.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, no, no.

[Paul Bissonnette]

This is what people want to hear.

[Kevin Bieksa]

There's all, like, Our whole hotel is, like, katar the country, Special forces. There's all this military, this KTAR military. And they also. All these guys are walking around in blue camouflage and guns. So I don't know. I don't know.

[Ryan Whitney]

What are they doing there?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, they're. They're like, this is, like, their headquarters for whatever they're doing or whoever they're protecting. But, you know, when you go to the gym, it's me, Elliot, James Duffy, and then, like, five of these, like, special forces KTAR guys. And these guys do not break a sweat. They're just kind of, like, walking around and talking. Couple stretches, maybe walking on the treadmill.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What's Elliot's routine?

[Whitney]

Same.

[Kevin Bieksa]

No, Elliot's pretty good. You guys. You guys would respect his routine. The only problem is he gets sidetracked, right? Like, if the phone starts going, or he's, like, checking something, or somebody calls him, but he's got, like, these work. I. I tried to tell him. I go if. Because he likes to get in the gym every day at some point, I go, if you work out every day, you don't have to work out for two hours a day. Like, just make sure you're moving. So he does, like, these dumbbell routines for, like, 20, 30 minutes consistently. And then he'll get on the treadmill once in a while and do, like, an incline walk. So he's got a good little routine.

[Ryan Whitney]

You got to get him waffle. You got to get him waffled and get the sources one night. Just. Just keep feeding him the vino. If you can find a corkscrew and be like, so who. Who told you about this trade? Ellie, you might finally. You might break them at some point.

[Whitney]

Juice knows all the scoops.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Biz.

[Kevin Bieksa]

No biz. Here's the scoops, too. When he comes to Toronto, we have the scoops come out after the show when we go for. Okay, I get together and. And the scoops come out. A lot of the ones, the thing, you know, I don't know if Elliot's gonna watch this. I don't want to pump his tires too much.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, we gotta. Is that your phone?

[Whitney]

Yes.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Delivery o. Yeah, let's hear him.

[Kevin Bieksa]

All right, Just to leave the McDonald's in the lobby, and I'll come together.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, tell him we want to interview him.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I don't have the code. I'm a busy. I'm on a phone call. A podcast.

[Whitney]

Got the McDonald's. Caught you a pepe.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Oh, my God. Hold on, guys. I gotta give him.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, you're fine. No, people love this, buddy.

[Ryan Whitney]

Go get it.

[Whitney]

Hey, you got a muck.

[Ryan Whitney]

You gotta eat, bud. It's like one in the morning.

[Whitney]

Biz showed up 40 minutes late to the golf course today and had a sandwich with him. So you're good.

[Paul Bissonnette]

All right, let's hope we get. No, no, More disruptions.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Sorry, boys.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Why is your nickname Juice?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Why you keep asking me about Juice?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Because before you came on, we were talking about this and they said, why is his nickname.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I mean, it's not a great.

[Whitney]

Let's make it great.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's got to be better than what Biz accused you of.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I mean, the real. The real story. Or do you want just like some funny, like.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, no, the real story.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So, like, I used to lose a lot of weight during the season, and then I'd gain it all back during the summer. So when I first went to Manitoba in the HL my senior year, college, I was whatever. I think I was like £190 or something like that. And then, you know, all the guys that were there saw me. And then the next summer I went back to training camp. The lockout year in 2004, when everybod was a mutant and there was like three, four heavyweights on every team. And I was, I think, like 210 pounds and, you know, 15, 20 pound difference. Everyone's like, juice, Juice. Steroids. So it was a way. It was like a way to belittle me. Almost like working out wasn't even cool back then. Like, look at Wit. Like, working out wasn't really, like, the thing to do back in the day.

[Ryan Whitney]

Still isn't.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yanz. And Wit says it was because you used to drink pineapple juice.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, GR said that. Actually, Granelli said that.

[Elliot Friedman]

I did say that. I did say it was the pineapple.

[Ryan Whitney]

So we accused Biz of lying. It was just g. Making something up from the Internet.

[Kevin Bieksa]

No, no, geez. She's right. I. I started telling the media guys in Vancouver that, like, what am I supposed to say? Oh, like, my. My teammates thought I took steroids. Like, I. So I just said, yeah, like, I. I drink a lot of pineapple juice. And so Grelli. Yeah, you've. You read. You read it, right? I kind of had everybody believing that for a while, but now I'm.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Did you say the pineapple juice thing because of the load thing?

[Kevin Bieksa]

You can't say that out loud.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What do you mean?

[Kevin Bieksa]

What's wrong?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yes or no? No, no, no.

[Kevin Bieksa]

And I don't even know what you're talking about.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Debunked. Debunked.

[Whitney]

I don't even know what you're talking.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I'm.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, I'm Crime Dog McGruff over here getting.

[Whitney]

Juice. I was gonna ask.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay.

[Whitney]

About you just. See, like, McDavid. It just seems even doing media, he looks so much happier. Right? Like, do you Think it's just because he's playing with guys at his level. Like, these guys are all like when the best players are playing with the best players, like, oh, finally these guys are as good as me. Or it's just one of those things for him, it's like, there's no stress. I'm playing for Team Canada. I got a chance to win gold. I'm going out here having fun. Like where during the season, it seems so much more of like a stressful job for him.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, I think honestly, winning Four nations was a big relief for him. I think up until that point he had not won anything, anything as a professional hockey player. You know, like, you know, some playoff series. Yeah, but it had just been like every season ending in disappointment. I think when he won Four Nations, I watched his reaction and we all did. When he scored that game winning goal in Boston. And it wasn't so much about like, yeah, winning the Four Nations. It was just the relief that he finally won something. And I think he was kind of able to relax from there. And I don't know if you guys remember, he, he wasn't really dominant in Four Nations. Like, the hockey was way different. I, I, I was like, he looked.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Nervous at the start of the tournament. He's bobbling a lot of pucks.

[Kevin Bieksa]

They all were. So I was talking to his parents during game one, in between intermissions, and I kind of said to his mom, I go, yeah, like, this is way better hockey than Four Nations. Because Four nations was so important. It was the first time the best on best had happened with this generation. And it honestly was a lot of dumping it in and board work and safe play and like the stakes were so high. And then you come to the Olympics here where you kind of got a little bit of a Runway to get yourself going. And guys are making plays, bumping it to the middle, doing some spinorama passes, like stuff that they were too afraid to do at Four nations. And for that reason, it's more entertaining. It looks better. But that's Connor's game, right? Like Tom Wilson, say what you want, like the Gordie Howe, everybody loves that, the fighting, the hits. But he's made some unbelievable passes off the wall to Conner, who I don't think would be an easy guy to play with because he's flying around so fast all the time to get the puck, like on a stick and not in his feet is, is hard. Wilson's done a great job of all these little bumps and allowing Connor to play to his strengths, which Is skating the puck through the neutral zone. So, you know, the points help, the winds help. Like, everything is kind of been a perfect storm for Connor, But. But I agree. You're right. He is very, very comfortable and looks happy and not stressed, which I think is when he's at his most dangerous.

[Ryan Whitney]

But. But also, I mean, you do every hockey night in Canada. You got the Saturday night games. I never seen him throw hits like this. Like, it's gotta be a little different for you at least to see him running guys over to the point where Marshawn on the bench thinks it's Wilson and it's actually him. And he did it again in the next game.

[Whitney]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I don't really have the. Yeah, you see that.

[Whitney]

Big guy? Yellow.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I'm gonna. I'm gonna give some to Elliot later, too. Even though I didn't.

[Whitney]

He didn't ask.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I know he's hungry.

[Whitney]

It's a good teammate.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What's your order?

[Kevin Bieksa]

It was all in Italian, so I have no idea. There was one. They were like, all in Bolognese.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Pineapple juice.

[Kevin Bieksa]

It was like the 1955. The 19. 1983. Like, it was all in years, so I don't know what that means. We'll find out, though.

[Whitney]

You didn't get the 55, did you?

[Kevin Bieksa]

I got the 55. I think one looks. It's called the Arch. No, I don't think I got fish. The one's called the Arch. Looks like maybe a Big Mac. The fries are like spicy fries. Like, what's a spicy fry? What was the question again?

[Ryan Whitney]

McDavid running people over and then getting the 55 in the arch. Late night at the five star hotel they're at.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He's. He's averaging a point per period, Connor, right now in this tournament, the physicality.

[Kevin Bieksa]

One, I'm not sure about what. I don't know. Did those hits just kind of fall into his lap? Like. Yeah, he started the. The tournament in Attack Road for sure. Like, he went out there first shift and he's buzzing around and he's shooting the puck instead of passing. He's hitting guys. I don't know. Like, maybe those hits just kind of fell into his lap. Like, it was just the perfect opportunity to hit a guy. The guy's not really looking. Cause we didn't really see one today. Right. Against France. And I don't know if we'll see any more, but what a. What a great way for the best player in the world to start the tournament. Like, and I don't Know, like, only he knows. But, like, having Tom Wilson on your line, you probably think you're 3 inches bigger and 30 pounds heavier. You know what I mean? Like, that's the old hockey thing, right? When you got somebody really tough on your line, you kind of play a little bit bigger than you are.

[Ryan Whitney]

And. And Biz and I were talking earlier that obviously these guys on Canada with that forward group, they're pumping each other up. You know, they're getting asked after, what are you going to say besides great things about your teammates? But the way McKinnon and McDavid have talked about celebrity, it is a little different. Like, McKinnon saying, second best player in the world, going to dominate. Best player in this league for 10 years. Like, it has to be pretty evident to you watching the games, if these superstars are saying, like. Because they could be like, yeah, he's a great player, love playing with him, but they're going above and beyond with the compliments about him. Are you seeing that?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, I'm seeing what you guys are seeing with the compliments and everything. And, like, I've known Macklin since he was five years old. His dad's a good friend of mine. He's saved my career, prolonged my career at least. And obviously the production is. Is amazing and everything. But, like, I gotta be careful how I say this. Like, I'm the biggest Macklin fan. He's. But he's not dominating. He's not like. He's like, take, like Connor's dominating right now. I think Macklin's not dominating, but he's showing you how he goes from the San Jose Sharks, where he's the guy who transports the puck and he makes all the plays and he's adjusting his game. So I think he's showing you. He's showing you how intelligent he is as a hockey player. He knows Connor is Connor and has the puck and can make plays. And he's like, kind of putting himself more positionally in the slot, like a dry side. He's kind of thinking more like a dry saddle right now. And he's shooting the puck and he's being opportunistic. And I think the biggest thing about Macklin is, like, he does not defer to anybody. He. You see a lot of times when guys play with Connor or Nate, they force the puck to him. Like today with draisaitl, all the German guys are just forcing the POC to him, even when there's a guy on him, even when he's covered and. And Macklin's not Forcing it to Conor. Like, there's times where he's looking off Conor. There's. I showed the one clip in the first intermission where he's like, Conor has the puck and he's beaver tailing like he's hitting a stick on the ice. Like, give me the puck. Give me the puck. Can you imagine a 19 year old beaver tailing the best player in the world when he has the puck? Like, it's unbelievable. And I guarantee you there's nothing disrespectful about it. It just shows you that this kid believes in himself as much as like any other player believes in themselves. So it's impressive. 19 years old guys that everybody think back. What were you doing at 19 years old will biz was at the. Well and legions, you know, Wit, I don't know where you were.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I was working at the Sundowner. I was working at the Sundowner on an AHL deal.

[Kevin Bieksa]

That's a strip club for everybody that doesn't know under the bridge.

[Ryan Whitney]

Go. Go into Rick Celebrini a little bit though, because you mentioned he kind of saved your career. We've heard a lot about his work with the warriors. And. And I mean, they put his picture up in one of the games. I'm like, he's. I Google. I googled. He's 58.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I was.

[Ryan Whitney]

I thought he was 38.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Unreal.

[Ryan Whitney]

So what. When did you. Was that summer stuff for you? Yeah.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So it's funny, I. I ran into him, I hadn't seen him in a while and I ran into him in the bathroom before the first Canada game, the co ed bathroom. And he's like at the hand dryer and I see him and I run in and I jump up in the air and I body check him from behind and he kind of like hits his head against the dryer. He turns around, he's like, what the. And they're like, hey buddy, I haven't seen you in a while. And like, I'm kind of like. And then it just, it was just a weird way to reconnect with him. So I had like, you guys probably hip problems, like in the middle of my career. And I went to an appointment and you know, the surgeon told me I needed bilateral hip surgery. It was like the labrum tear on both sides, you know, that surgery. Like it would have been a year in my career, eight months. And somebody told me, go see Rick. Celebrating. He said, go see Rick. And he was kind of like in human kinetics and rehabilitation and physio and he said, Give me. Give me a hundred hours. Give me a hundred hours of time. And a lot of times with these hip injuries, if you just do the rehab, you don't actually need the surgery. The surgery just forces you to do the rehab. So let's start, and let's try to do the rehab. So I'm like. Like, I'm all in for anything. Like, I literally couldn't drive my car and lift my leg out without pain. So I put in a hundred hours with him. In the summer, it was me, him, Steve Nash would come to the gym sometimes and do some of his stuff and shoot the basketball. We were, like, in his facility 40s. That biz you've been to before, before it was opened, and he'd work on me for 45 minutes and loosen up my hips, and it was just like, pure pain, digging his elbow in. And then we do Corex and instability and reinforce the muscles and kind of reteach myself how to move without pinching my labrum for another hour and a half. So I did that for. For the whole summer. And knock on what. I've never needed the surgeries, and I've never been in hip pain before. And that wasn't the only guy I did. I did with Manny Mahaltra. He did it with Kessler, Mike Smith. A lot of guys. A lot of guys he's helped, and, you know, he's. Now he's doing. In the basketball world.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think that Smitty might have had, like, bilateral sports hernia surgery or something like that. It was. It was weird how they would describe how you're supposed to move as an athlete. And I felt that I kind of had bad habits for so long. It was hard for me to grasp. I don't think I was working with him, though. I think I was working with either his brother or there's someone else in the family that was doing it as well. But, like, you must look.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I don't think so.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I'm. I'm pretty.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Like one of his honor studies or something.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay.

[Kevin Bieksa]

The thing is interesting about that. Like, the. The whole, like, I saw Smitty there a bunch of times. Like, he bring all of his kids and everything. The thing is, like, a lot of us move inefficiently. Like hockey. The skate. The skating strat is not a natural body movement. So a lot of us, like, our knees are in or our hips are like, one side's open. So, like, he teaches you how to move the proper way, reinforces it with bands and, like, strengthens the glutes and all the muscles around. But then eventually you transitioned on the ice and he's like, let's go on the ice and let's see if you can skate and kind of stride and not break your hips and not pinch the one side. And that's kind of like where I met Macklin. Like, we'd go on the ice, we do our. Our physio, and Macklin's like 5 years old and Aiden's like 6 years old, and they're skating around, body checking each other, doing Superman slides on the ice. And that's kind of wild story there, but, like, interesting stuff. Like, I'm surprised you never did any of this biz because a lot of your ex teammates were there.

[Ryan Whitney]

Biz got the Uncle Eddie celebrating.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Brutal. I'm gonna look.

[Whitney]

You can go see.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I'm look into if you had a brother or like a cousin that also did it.

[Ryan Whitney]

Full business here.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Business.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Climbing mountains in Whiz Whistler and having guys dump water over him from a helicopter. You're too busy doing that stuff.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Bradley Freezing challenge.

[Ryan Whitney]

I did, yeah.

[Whitney]

Sorry. He was raising money.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But what I was getting. What I was getting to, though, is the fact that he's got his old man to basically set his foundation on how to like, like, be an athlete. That's why I think he's able to be so special at his age.

[Whitney]

Is he dialed into that aspect or is he just a natural athlete or is he already doing that? His dad was.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I would imagine he's doing none of the nonsense in gaining weight and pushing weight that doesn't need to. To be done in order to be a good hockey player. He's probably doing everything specific, and he's probably a freak in nature. And that's why, like, even the other thing too, like, Whit was talking about 100 miles an hour all the time. Like, even in practice. Exactly how Sid was when he would. Sid would get the practice, he'd get on the ice, he'd be first in line in every drill. He'd go balls to the wall and he'd be battling due to their basically kicking him to the side to say the next group's coming. And he has that mentality. And like, they were praising, like, his ability to keep pucks alive. Like, he's sticky. He has a very. He has a very good knack for, like, not only just like the. The. The big skill set and the big fundamentals you need, but just really like, everything. All the other intangibles. And you mentioned the one, like, to be that young and to Be that confident playing with that group of guys and like not skip a beat. You gotta be, yeah, something's something. It's all firing. Every, every, every, every little bit of it.

[Kevin Bieksa]

He's, he's, he's typical middle child. Like he, he has an older brother. He's always played up. Like I remember going to watch him play in San Jose. When he played there, he was playing Europe and he was one of the best players on the ice. They only had like seven or eight forwards. So he's out there like every two. Like they went to San Jose from North Van, he goes, he just plays on the local team because his dad had taken the job with the Golden State Warriors. They weren't a very good team. So kind of like I, because I know a lot of parents and kids are like looking at Macklin, they're like, how do I, how do I recreate this for my son? How do I get my son to be this good as a 19 year old? Well, first of all, like, Rick is not a crazy hockey, he's not a crazy hockey dad. He's not the dad who's dissecting his son's game in the car on the way home. He's not yelling at Macklin about not getting the puck out on the pk. He's got a soccer background and he's obviously a genius in other areas. So he's not like over hockey talking his son and his son is just like a competitive kid who, what, doesn't care what team he's on, he's going to play as hard as he can. He doesn't want to be on, you know how kids want to go to the Stack team now. Like, oh, I want to go to this team. It's really good that we like win every game because then I'll look better. Macklin wasn't like that. He's like, I'm going to play on this team because it's local and convenient and I'm just going to play as good as I can and help us be good. So there's a lot of interesting things about his childhood that I look back at now that kind of like paved the way to. For what kind of kid he is and what kind of player he is.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Do you regret the way you tackled his father? Like you still think about it? The tackling him in the bathroom?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Well, no, I just wish it wasn't the coed. The co ed bathroom. No, I don't. No, I don't feel like a loser.

[Whitney]

Juice was, was he one of those guys Growing, like, at what age did you, when you saw him growing up, were you like, oh, this kid has a chance to make it.

[Kevin Bieksa]

He didn't look like, like, I don't know, like Yan's at that age, like 5, 6, 7, 8. He didn't look like any, anything different than any other kid. You know who else? Bedard. Like, I, Me and Dan Hamus ran a practice for Bedard's team when he was around that age too. And like, they just look like normal kids. And then obviously, like, I think when you get around 13, 14, 15, you start to see like, maybe that's the big couple years, I think, for growth. But when they were kids, like the, the common thing with Bedard and celebrating Macklin and his brother Aiden was just like, they just love to be on the ice. They were, they would go on the ice after school and just an open ice and they would just skate around and shoot pucks for hours until they were told to come off the ice. So I think, I think just the love of the game was the one thing that stuck out, but certainly not like their skill sets or anything at a young age didn't like, stand out to me. It didn't scream like, these guys are going to be like, Macklin's going to be scoring four goals in the Olympics in three games. And as a 19 year old, no, like, I did not see that coming.

[Ryan Whitney]

Juice. In game two, Canada started Logan Thompson. They took out Marshawn, put Jarvis in. Kind of seemed like just a rest for Marshawn. Same thing with, with Bennington. But then in the third game, Marshawn didn't play again. Is that like, once we get to the, the quarterfinals here, like, he's back in, right?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think they already said he is.

[Elliot Friedman]

Okay.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay. I didn't see that.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, he's, he's battling something. He didn't come in healthy. They got him the first game. The first game was a big one. He played really well. He's one of those guys, he's like the Drew Doughty of the forwards where he just calms things down. I think, I think he's really good in the room. He's good on the bench. His shifts are quality and I think it's just a rest thing right now. That's, that's what I'm hearing. I think he's, I think when the games are really important, I think you. He's got to be in your lineup for sure. And I, I don't know who comes out because, I mean, I know a couple people's theories, but something's gonna have to come out, obviously.

[Whitney]

Is Marchie one of those guys? Cause we talked about it today, like how obviously Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk don't have the cap, the. The C for usa, but it seems like they're the leaders of that group. Would you say March? He's kind of in that, you know, aspect of the team Canada, where doesn't matter if he's playing or not, he's still going to be a leader in there.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah. So every team. Guys, the dynamic that I've seen a lot through my career and I'm sure you guys have seen is there's. There's the captain and there's the. Say there's the two assistants and maybe one of those guys, they have to be the captain or assistant for them, for their ego or for their. To keep them happy. You know what I mean? And then there's like another guy who's like kind of really the leader, but he's so like confident. You don't really need to give him a letter and he's still going to be the leader in the room behind the scenes. And like not saying that, like, obviously Conor and KL Makara deserve to be assistants, but. But you don't need to give Marshy a letter and I think he's going to be a leader on the team regardless. So it's that situation, like he's one of the leaders for sure and you just don't need to give him a letter. I think you give a letter to all the big boys and keep all the big boys happy.

[Ryan Whitney]

Before we get into Team usa, I gotta ask, like, what are you hearing around there? What are you thinking about the other group with Slovakia ends up winning and it's kind of crazy. Like everyone kind of pegged in Sweden or Finland. Finland ends up getting second. They get the other buy. Sweden has to play an extra game. But it's been the ice time in Sweden. Forsberg didn't play at all then. He played a little bit more. But it seems like that coach, it's weird what's going on because he's. He's obviously has like a afraid to lose mentality a little bit. Like, what have you seen around or heard around Milan in terms of like Sweden and them just not looking right yet?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Well, I've heard. Yeah, I mean, I've heard they're not happy with that coach. Like some players and there's been some other alumni people around and they've all had like some powwows talking With Landiscog and some of the players. And it's tough because it's one of those situations like the, the Europeans. A lot of these teams, like look at the Germans tonight. They had Jamie compound. But they have like, like why isn't Marco Sturm on the bench? They have these guys that coach only in their country. In Sweden, like Hallam and Clockwork. I looked them up after the game cause I kind of saw what they were doing to Oel. None of these guys have ever played or coached outside of Sweden. So like they don't know, they don't know the NHL. They don't know like how to deal with NHL players. Like you don't have to coddle an NHL player, but you don't, you don't embarrass them. Like you don't dress oel in game one and play them 0 minutes. You don't dress. You know, Jesper brought and Yampus Lindholm last game and not one shift. Like, you just don't treat players that way. Like Philip Forsberg. He barely, he plays one minute in the first game. He has kind of a bad turnover and that's almost like a, like a reason to give him another shift. You gas him for the rest of the game. Now he's kind of like giving them a chance because they're not scoring to get back into it. I just don't know if that's the right way to treat people and players. I think that maybe that's a very European way to treat them where like the coach doesn't really have to explain himself. I'm the, I'm the guy in charge. I make the decisions, just deal with it. But there certainly seemed like they seem a little bit disgruntled about it and you can see them kind of like arguing and they haven't obviously played the.

[Whitney]

Best hockey, but it's also too like it. Those guys are the best players on their team. If a coach yells at them, they're at their best. When they get another shift and they can go out and prove it. Like these coaches need to be like, all right, I got to put the ball in these guys court and let them fucking handle it. Instead of saying sitting them on the bench.

[Kevin Bieksa]

It's. It's hard to coach at these tournaments. Cause I think you really have to manage the ice time. You gotta say, okay, first of all, what do we want to do? Like who's going to get the big minutes?

[Ryan Whitney]

But every.

[Kevin Bieksa]

You got to kind of be very aware of keeping guys into a rhythm because everyone's here. The Fords are all used to playing 15 to 20 or more. The D are all used to playing 20 to 25. Like, you got to identify who are like, my key guys. Like the US I don't know if you want to transition to them.

[Elliot Friedman]

They.

[Kevin Bieksa]

What I've really noticed about the US Is, is Quinn Hughes wasn't at four nations finding a role for Quinn Hughes. They've really tried to figure that out in the first three games. First game, he. He didn't play. He played like 18 minutes or 19 minutes. The second game he played 23, which was the most. And then he played a ton that I didn't see where his final number is. So they've kind of taken that decor with the US Who a lot of people feel like is the best, the deepest decor in the tournament. And they went from, like, making it, like, very evenly distributed with 73 pairs to very top heavy. Now with Quinn, Hughes and Renske, they're putting them out a lot together. Why not? They're two of the best three defensemen in the world right now. And they're just. I think they're deciding. You'll see when the games matter, it's going to be very top heavy. Quinn Hughes and Rinsky McAvoy is going to be the third guy as far as ice time. And then after that, it's going to be no slave and favor on the penalty kill. Depending on that, Hannifin's gonna get limited minutes. You know, it's gonna kind of go down from there. So it's interesting trying to find, like, what's the right distribution for my team with all these star guys.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What did you make of Whit brought me up to speed on. On Coopsman addressing the team on the ice after the game, which is not, like, typically a common thing. And maybe it was because the first game they did it and it. It just. He got caught out there, and then they're doing it. More superstition, I guess. Like, is that. No, I don't. You know what I'm talking about?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, I do. I know exactly what you're talking about. So it's a weird setup here. So when they. The players leave the ice because the. All their dressing rooms are across this walkway in. In a different temporary building where the practice rink is. So there's the practice rink across, and all their permanent rooms are over there that they get to decorate that maybe you're seeing. And then for the game, they walk through this long hallway, the goalies take a golf cart, and then they get like a temporary room in between periods and have to walk all the way back. So after the game is over, the losing team has to leave the ice first. And they go through this mix zone, which is like where the media is all like in these troughs like cattle. And like you basically tell this Italian worker like, give me, give me this guy, give me like Warinski, give me gentle. And they grab them and you do your quick interview. So that's why the home, the winning team has to wait on the ice so they don't kind of walk through their media, you know, availability. So. So Coop, I think just figures, let's just get our, our team meeting after the game out of the way right now. So they've won all three games, they're on the ice second, they're waiting and he's like, brings them in, tell talks, like his post game speech talk, maybe talk schedule for the following day. So then I'm assuming when they get back to the room after their media availability, they can kind of just get undressed and shower back to the U.S.

[Ryan Whitney]

I think Eichel's been incredible. The D's obviously, like the strongest part of their team. They've all been really good and they, they haven't been tested yet. When you look at them like, who do you think is somebody that maybe they need a little bit more of? And like I said, it's hard. They haven't really had a test yet. But who is somebody maybe up front that you're like, he has to be an absolute dog if they're gonna win the gold medal because Matthews's name's getting mentioned. Although from everything I've seen, I think he looks really good. But there's random people online, they're like, oh, I can't believe he's the captain. He, he's got to do more than this. You know what I'm saying?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah. No, like, the thing about Matthews is like, he doesn't cheat the game, right? Like, he plays it the right way. So I think some people maybe compare him to Connor and they're like, Connor's getting the puck and he's hitting it through the neutral zone. He's getting all these points. But Matthews doesn't cheat the game. Like, he goes down low, he stops, he like defends, Hardy picks guys pocket. So for that reason he doesn't create maybe as much offense and wow you. But he's, he wins his shifts. And it's the same with Eichel. Eichel, you know, he's a great skater, but he doesn't like a lot of times he doesn't wow you, but he wins every shift. So I think Matthews, I think they were really good tonight. His line was probably the best that they've been tonight with Boldy and Gensel. I think the number one line with Eichel and Kachuks have been their best line all tournament consistently. Like they just. They're so hard to play against. They're gritty. They create a ton of offense. For me, I thought he had a really good first couple game or first game. Second game was okay. Tonight was better. Is Larkin. I think Larkin is the key. For me, they have him centering the third line now. He's had, you know, Tage Thompson and it used to be Kyle Conner and then Connor got taken out of the lineup. So now I'm not sure who's going to be their permanent guy moving forward. It's been a bit of a rotation, but you guys know that third line, center is a pretty important position, especially when the games get, you know, they mean more and there's more matchups and deep. So like I. He's the guy that I kind of look at and he's been pretty good. He. His second game wasn't. Wasn't amazing, but Lurkin's the guy that I'm kind of looking at and then that bottom kind of six is very, very interesting to watch. Like what they do. Like when Jack Hughes is feeling himself, he kind of gets a regular shift, which he was good again tonight. Keller, look, I thought really good tonight. He looked like he had poised with the puck for a guy who hasn't played at all. And then J.T. miller and Trocheck, I know they're important to Sullivan. When the game gets too cute, he wants to put those guys out to kind of like get a little gritty, get some contact, you know, play the right way. They. They penalty kill. They double shift in the penalty kill. So us look good. I think Hellabuck looked really good today too, which I think is a huge question answered. And his two starts, he's like, great. So I think they're very comfortable moving on to the elimination games.

[Whitney]

One, One of my biggest things going in was how the officiating was going to be. And for all I've seen, it seems great. Like it's mostly NHL style refereeing. Like, has there any. Have you noticed anything different over there with the refereeing or it. Or has it seemed good to you?

[Kevin Bieksa]

No, it's. It's been good. So I don't know how much of this story you guys have heard, but there's a referee training camp every year in Buffalo in mid August. And this year they invited the 13 double IHF officials that are refereeing this tournament to come down. Is this common knowledge now? Like, I don't know.

[Whitney]

I didn't know this.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, I don't know this.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Okay, so there's 13 NHL officials, ref and linesman combined. There's 13 double IHF, so 26 total. So they invited the 13 double IHFs to come to piggyback at the end of their training camp mid August. And they had a camp with the 26 officials. So what they actually did, guys, is they played exhibition games. Like they played the referees and linesmen and they had each other official each other and kind of like. So the big thing is like the double IHF rules, they're kind of very similar, but the thing that differs is the interpretation of the rules. The double HF is obviously a lot more sensitive and finicky and they kind of tend to react to like the reaction of the hit. So what I found is they've allowed the interpretation of the NHL officials to kind of like be dominant as far as the contact. So you're seeing a lot more hits allowed. You're seeing not a lot of penalties for roughings and stuff like that. But the one area where I don't think it's been compromised for the double HF is goaltender interference. Any, any touching the goalie seems like it's goaltender interference. Like if you touch the goalie at all, it's. It's going to come back the goal if it counts. And the other one is icings. They don't allow that follow through at center ice like the NHL tends to do sometimes. So those are the two areas where I feel like it's really been skewed to the double ihf. But the physicality part, they've definitely let a lot more go than usual. Like if you guys have played world championships, like you throw a big hit at the world championships, even if it's the cleanest hit, the crowd goes nuts. The guys laying on the ice, it's like you get a five minute palate right away.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, you might be going down the tunnel.

[Whitney]

Conor would have got thrown out that first game.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I know for that there's, there's some at the world Juniors, like there's usually like three or four a year that make their way online where it's like, are we really doing this one? That was going around. Obviously me and Yan's were actually talking about it before you hopped on. What did you make of the Wilson hit on Fiala? That eventually he falls on his ankle and, and you know, his turn for the year.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I had a great view for. I saw that whole thing happen. So, so this is what I saw happen. So Wilson, you guys know when he's on the ice, you're aware.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You're aware.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Cause he's getting, he's running around, he's like kind of like a heat seeking missile. Sometimes he hits you, sometimes he doesn't. But if he hits you, it's going to be hard. So Fiala sees him coming. He's kind of got his back to him. He's again close to the wall at the last second. If you watch it, he reverse hits Wilson. He knows Wilson's coming. And I don't think Wilson was really going to finish him that hard because he was kind of like his back was too long. So he's probably worried about getting like a five. So Wilson kind of lets up and Fiala reverse hits him and throws his butt into him. And for that reason, Wilson's not ready and he actually gets knocked over and falls backwards because of the reverse hit and the falling backwards while he does that, he gets tangled up and lands on Fiala's leg. So I think it was super unintentional and super unfortunate and Fiala played a part in it. And, and then he's laying on the ice and you could see like, it doesn't look good and the whole rank just goes quiet. And I've never seen a guy who's, right away they bring the stretcher out. I've never seen them stretch or a guy off on his stomach, like, didn't.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Even put him on. A guy who's got a stomach, his balls down to the mattress of the stretcher. I've never seen that.

[Ryan Whitney]

That was like, yeah, that was like.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He was face down. Like, it was, it was, it was, it was like the, remember that old.

[Ryan Whitney]

Clip where he falls off the stretcher.

[Whitney]

When they pick him up?

[Paul Bissonnette]

So Gans, earlier, you kind of saw something different, right?

[Whitney]

I, I thought he got hit and then landed back down on him with the cross check. And that's when the injury happened. But, but I'd have to watch it again. But I, I, that's, to me, it looked like he got hurt at the end of it when he fell back on him on purpose.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I, I agree with Juice. I feel like he kind of like got surprised and you could tell he like, like falls. He, like, he gets Knocked over. And it just so happens his ass falls on Fiala's ankle, and it's Tom Wilson. You're like, 240 pounds of meat.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So, yeah, you know what's cool is, like, I think everybody knew how serious it was. You could kind of see his leg was sideways and Canada. Right away, they emptied their benches, and they came on, and they're kind of tapping their sticks, and they're kind of just, like, around there. And then the Swiss emptied their bench, and. And I think. I think it was Yosi that kind of went over. I don't even know if the camera's caught this. And he kind of went over and tapped Wilson because, you know, like, if that was you, you would feel bad, intentional or not. And I don't think it was intentional. And it was just cool to see, like, how everybody kind of, like, came together. And then there was still, like, three minutes left. It was the worst three minutes. Like, the building. It was just, like, everyone felt sick to their stuff.

[Ryan Whitney]

It was quiet.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Like, it's just like. Just run the clock, you know, Like. Yeah, it was a tough way for the game to end.

[Ryan Whitney]

Juice rollback. Last question here. Use code chiclets on roback.com for 20 off your first purchase through the end of the week. That's Chiclets on Rho, B, A C K dot com. 20% off all joggers, hoodies, shirts. Chiclets on Roback dot com. I know you said there's different theories around what I'm seeing online. Not always. Maybe the truth. Seems like some people want Suzuki out. If Marshawn comes back in the way Jarvis has looked. Is that something you're hearing or you hearing kind of different stuff? And maybe if you want to say who you would take out, and if you don't, I get it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And the Jarvis's buddies take all the condoms from the village. Is that why they.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, they have all the corkscrews.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, they do. Okay. I heard they're reselling. They resold 8,000.

[Whitney]

Are doing DoorDash in Italy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, no.

[Whitney]

Yeah, he just dropped off some McDonald's.

[Paul Bissonnette]

They resold 8,000 condoms to Western University in London, Ontario.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I mean, I don't even know how to answer any of those questions, to be honest.

[Ryan Whitney]

That went off the rails.

[Whitney]

It's rollback. You have to.

[Kevin Bieksa]

As far as who to take out. Yeah. Like, I'm hearing the Suzuki stuff, and, you know, like, Suzuki hasn't played bad, but I. I just think, like, Suzuki's not a winger. He's a centerman He's a really, really good centerman. He's nice in the league in scoring. And you've asked him to play on a line with McKinnon. I don't think McKinnon's an easy guy to play with as well. We've talked about Connor, but I don't think Nate's easy to play with as well. And you're asking a centerman who's not used to being on the wall play with them. So I think that's why a lot of people think that he's not playing well. But he's playing fine and he's going to get more and more comfortable. He wasn't on four Nation, so I don't know. I don't really know who to take out if Marshawn comes in. That's. That's a tough question to decision. I do not envy coupe with juice.

[Whitney]

I got one last one for you. What does Team USA need to do to beat Canada if they do happen to play in the finals?

[Kevin Bieksa]

I like that they got to turn into a street fight. I don't think we've ever seen, you know, like, in our era was really good. No disrespect to 87 Canada Cup. And what was the American team that won? 96. Yeah, this is the best hockey we've ever seen, like, as far as, like, speed and skill. And it's actually pretty amazing to watch. Like, we've all been retired before of us for a while. I don't know how long you guys have been retired now. I think I'm like seven or eight years. And I cannot believe in seven or eight years how much faster. And just not just faster, but the plays the guys make. Like there's just a lot more like high percentage chip the puck up the wall on the breakouts now. These guys are like absorbing pressure. Spin a Rama backhand pass on the tape to a guy in full stride for a breakout. Just for like a routine breakout and then changing, you know what I mean? Like, there's just such highly skilled plays all over the ice and the Europeans are, you know, like, just as skilled as anybody. Like, Swiss is awesome to watch. Like, their warmup is so fast and so good. So I just think this is like, it's like the best hockey that we've ever seen. And I think the US And Canada are obviously at the top of that. I think they definitely have a little more grit to their game than the other countries. So we're on a collision course. I hope we see it. I think everybody wants to See it, we need to see it. I think it'll be an even game though, guys. I think if anybody can slow down Canada's high octane offense, it's. It's the U. S and those seven defensemen for sure.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What did you make of the curling incident for Canada? When the guy goes, keep your fingers to yourself, Biz.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Keep your fingers to yourself.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I, I used to call that the french tickler when I was on the shuffleboard tables at. When you're trappers, right. I used to give it the little french tickler on the end there. But right before I let go it over, over the line. Who, who gives a fuck? You think Gretzky was fucking when he tie stick Gilmore? I think he's gonna go.

[Ryan Whitney]

So you're saying you guys were cheating?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I'm saying his fucking Deflategate. I'm saying fucking. I'm saying. You think Michael fucking Jordan gave a shit what the fuck he was doing and when.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I would never call it cheating. Like, it's not cheating exactly. Hoglin, I don't know burling well enough, but he liked the rock hogline. Probably had too much spin on the rock. And he tried to like just give it a little finger and slow it down.

[Ryan Whitney]

I know, but after the hog line, I think that's cheating.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I double tap the hog.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, but there's nobody, there's nobody enforcing the hog line. So now I guess they put an official on the hog line. Where was that official before?

[Ryan Whitney]

Like the Hogan would have called it on himself. That's what would have happened.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But seriously, you guys are patriots fan over here. Deflategate. There's a controversy besides behind every goddamn super bowl and he's worried about the French diddler on the end there right before it passes the Hogland. Like, give me a break. If I was this guy, that would be my new finishing move. After every single Rocky. I think the guy who did it's a four time Olympian too. I hope, I hope they fucking win the gold that he's given the double.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Barrel on the way.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, it wouldn't. We already got one in the moguls.

[Whitney]

Congrats, right? French fry eating.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So I was living downtown during. Yeah, during 2010. 2010 Vancouver Olympics. I was living downtown and I was injured. So I was around for the whole thing. Like when the team was on the road two weeks before I was there. So I went to the opening ceremonies with my wife and then I went to a bunch of events and I went to curling. And at first I was like, oh, okay, it's One of those events I can just get tickets to. So I went with like my wife and my buddy and my dad. It was an absolute like, like a show. It was so fun. Everybody was so into it. Everyone's yelling and drinking. Like that's seems like darts. Yeah, yeah. So like it. To see like a fight. Like it's about time. And I think the sport is evolving.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Exactly, exactly.

[Ryan Whitney]

He was trying to fight.

[Whitney]

Evolving to a crowd.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Like it's. The crowd loves that they're. That's. That's what they want to see. Like we need to start seeing like two guys square off like in the middle of the rink or like at the Hog line.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Exactly. I'll meet you at the Hog line.

[Kevin Bieksa]

It's like golf.

[Whitney]

How much would you pay to see Brooks fight someone?

[Paul Bissonnette]

And Sweden hired a private investigator to set up a camera. If you had some balls, you would have went and said, hey, double tap that again. I'm gonna double tap your right job.

[Ryan Whitney]

They gotta get a new hockey coach. Forget the, Forget the hockey Hogline problems.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Like you want to accuse me of cheating, I'll meet at the Hog line.

[Paul Bissonnette]

That's what I'm saying, baby. The Canadian way. That's it. Juice.

[Whitney]

Kevin Martin's gonna come out of retirement.

[Ryan Whitney]

Juice, man.

[Paul Bissonnette]

It's this four time Olympian and he's got like three nail guns. Like Wendell Clark's his broom guy. Title title scar.

[Ryan Whitney]

Tom Wilson.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Tom Wilson's got that a broom in his hand just dropped.

[Ryan Whitney]

Marshawn has a corkscrew, stabs the guy. We're like, oh, oh, hey, Juice, you're the best, buddy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, hey, what's the silliest, funniest thing Elliot's done the whole trip?

[Kevin Bieksa]

Let me think about that one.

[Whitney]

We.

[Ryan Whitney]

We.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So the only night that we actually got to go downtown and like have a few drinks and eat was like, I think it was the Monday night and we all flew in Sunday when you FaceTime me. Exactly. Yeah, that night. So me, Ellie, Kyle got. Kyle Bacostis got to go out and hang out that one night. So that was fun. As far as like funny things. I mean, like when we go to the gym, it's pretty funny. Like, so I. You guys might not like this, but I, I roll into the gym the other day and I was barefoot and I'm like holding my shoes in my hand and then I like to go through like some of my, my workout stuff, like barefoot. And Elliot thought it was just disgusting, right? He's like, what are you doing? You're just. Remember there's all this, like, Qatar Special forces in there, and then me barefoot. So we kind of got into an argument over, like, the etiquette on gym. Like, we're having bare feet. What do you guys think about that?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I would have had my ankle socks on doing it. But. But now, saying that even that restricts you a little bit from, like, the true grounding and, like, even using the skin on the bottom of your feet to, like, like, grip into the floor. But I know you're a grease ball, so I get what he's saying. Hey, we love you, buddy.

[Ryan Whitney]

Thanks, Juice.

[Paul Bissonnette]

We love you.

[Ryan Whitney]

Guys. We're gonna take a minute here and talk DraftKings. We're into the quarterfinals, and DraftKings sportsbook is built for hockey on the world stage. Favorites feel the pressure. Underdogs rise. Everyone's skating for gold. And DraftKings sportsbook lets you back your country or the team you ride with every step of the way. We're into the medal round. We're into the quarters. We're into the lose and go home part of this tournament. And DraftKings is here. Every shift feels bigger. Every puck matters more. And one play can turn the entire game. New customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, get 200 in bonus bets. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code Chiclets. That's code Chiclets. Bet $5 to win 200 in bonus bets. If your bet hits in partnership with DraftKings Sportsbook, the crown is yours. Gambling problem.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Call 1-800- gambler, New York.

[Ryan Whitney]

Call 877-8-HOPE and WHY or text Hope and why Connecticut.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org on behalf.

[Ryan Whitney]

Of Boothill Casino in Kansas.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Wager tax pass through may apply in.

[Ryan Whitney]

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[Kevin Bieksa]

Void in Ontario, restrictions apply.

[Whitney]

Bet must win to receive bonus bets.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Which expire in seven days.

[Ryan Whitney]

Minimum odds required.

[Kevin Bieksa]

For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG CO Audio limited time offer.

[Ryan Whitney]

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[Paul Bissonnette]

I know the end of that one might have been a little bit messy on the audio, but hey, we had to keep them on and, and get that final, final few things off them. You guys ever work out barefoot?

[Ryan Whitney]

No, no. I actually, I remember back in the day, I. I got to work out first to work out barefoot. I remember I was trying. I was like, you know, my feet were so mangled. Remember those shoes that came out with like. Yeah, I was like, oh, I'll give this a go. Right? And I, I like, worked out one day and I couldn't walk the next day. I was like, okay. So I don't think. I don't think this is for me.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The granola. The granola shoes, like, the people that.

[Ryan Whitney]

Whole Foods are like, no, the ones where you're. There's individual toe.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, exactly.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, those are granola.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, I'm saying is like, they could see them.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Not.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, but they're like this now. They're all scrunched up from being skates.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But Scott is. I met like, granola. As in, like, people who are granolas wear those because they're grounded. Like, you know, they got the individual toe things. They're the ones carrying around like a glass water bottle. Like all their clothes are.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, I see what.

[Kevin Bieksa]

You're all natural.

[Ryan Whitney]

I mean, there, There has to be some truth to, like, the more stuff you do barefoot, the better. I mean, that. That's how. Right. If your feet are healthy, most of.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The time, it all starts with your feet.

[Ryan Whitney]

It makes sense. My whole body hurts because my feet are so mangled.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

So, I mean, thanks to Juice, though, I mean, it's pretty sick to get, like, the heads up and, and be able to talk to him about everything going on there. And I mean, I think it's Probably a lot for him, right. Like, he's away from home. He's probably over there, what, 16, 18 days.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

But to be able to be at all the games and the way that the, the arenas look like, the atmosphere is awesome. And he's mentioned in Slovakia's crowd and all these groups of fan bases, and I, I think that it's nice of him to hop on. I mean, it's 2 in the morning over there. He's hammering McDonald's and he's talking to us about all his breakdowns of all the games.

[Paul Bissonnette]

So one thing that we were supposed to get Jacob Voracek on, we'll get.

[Ryan Whitney]

Him on next this week, maybe.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And, and like, obviously it's been, it's been cool, right? We're watching the, the Ferraris hit the road. We're watching the, the, the thoroughbreds come out of the stall for Team Canada, where I think this might be the greatest forward group ever assembled. Like, there was question marks about the D and goaltending, but that four lineup, I don't think you can contest it as far as how deep it is. And I mean, look at the guys who are sitting out kind of. I wish like there was maybe more competitive games because, like these first three.

[Ryan Whitney]

Russia.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Russia.

[Ryan Whitney]

I mean, you did say, which cracked me up today, that Canada could have six Radco Gutuses on the back end and they'd still be.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think if they had six Radko Gutas playing defense, they could still win the gold medal.

[Whitney]

I think any team, if they had six.

[Ryan Whitney]

Or, or like at least kill someone guys all time. But the, the forward group, it is crazy. And I took heat before the tournament saying, yeah, I mean, like, for the US to be Canada, it's going to take a lot. It's going to take Helliba kind of standing on his head. It's going to take an amazing effort from the entire American team, I'll say. If you play four out of seven. I don't know. I don't know if you could be beat this, this Canadian team. Like, you're, you're. We talked at last episode about the lines they're throwing out there. I mean, when you have goals scored by McKinnon, assisted from McDavid and Crosby, I. What do you. I mean, what are you supposed to do now? Being one game, though? And we got it. We got a long way to go to get to that gold medal game. And we all want to see us Canada one game. Hellebuk makes some big saves. As Juice said, you turn into a street Fight. It can happen. But. But you're right, man. What we're witnessing is just something that. That I'll never forget. This Canadian team and these forwards and the fact that the young celebrities in there, it's something that's. That's quite legendary.

[Elliot Friedman]

You mentioned Celebrini and you talked about it in the interview. Juice was actually wrong. You did train with his uncle. And I had our team go back.

[Ryan Whitney]

And listen, Uncle Eddie, celebrity.

[Elliot Friedman]

I'll play the clip right now of you and Celebrini talking about it when we interviewed him.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay?

[Ryan Whitney]

And he also opened this, like, physiotherapist center in Burnaby called Fortias. Oh, yeah, you.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, I worked with your uncle there, I think.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, really?

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't think it was your dad. Don't you have, like, an uncle?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, uncle. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Who helped out. He helped repair my bilateral sports hernia.

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, no.

[Paul Bissonnette]

What's his name again?

[Ryan Whitney]

Randy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Still kind of funny, though, that you couldn't see Rick. They were like, yeah, this guy. Hey, bro, I got a guy for you.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Randy.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, it's Randy Quaid who plays Uncle Eddie.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, you guys, laugh all you want. Hey, you shut the up right now. You shut the up, both of you. Because you chirp me about the Juice thing. I was right. And then you chirp me about Uncle Eddie, and I was right again. So suck on that one, baby. Canada's rolling. I got the French Tickler, just like my curling buddy. Four time.

[Ryan Whitney]

I just saw Olympic. I just saw a tweet. Sweden's doing it, too, apparently.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, that's another thing. The hypocrites. He got. He got caught doing the French Tickler, too.

[Ryan Whitney]

Wait, the wit. No, no. Breaking Canada. Canada's women's curling team accused of cheating just like their men's team after being called for the same infraction just one day after Canada's men team. Yeah, you guys might get big.

[Paul Bissonnette]

We win one gold medal and we have the whole world trying to take us down.

[Kevin Bieksa]

We're out of the.

[Paul Bissonnette]

We're out of the NATO now.

[Ryan Whitney]

Right, Right, G. Hey, but wait.

[Whitney]

Like, Juice talked about, if Canada does play us in the finals, they have to turn into a street fight. But we. I mean, we saw it at four nations, the way that they played. Get the fights going. Can they even do that?

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, based on what we're saying about the physicality, like, if Brady's run around now they have Wilson. Yeah, it's. It's. They. Oh, God. Forgot about Bennett. That's the thing you forget about some of these Canadian players now, I'm okay, though.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Like, I think that there should be a best on best every four years where the NHL rules are, hey, man, if you get a gold medal game, it should be like eight nations, by the way. And we can get to the amount of teams after this conversation. But if there was a gold medal game between U.S. and Canada, if Kachuk wants to try to go fight one of the guys that end, and they should be able to fight and stay in the game. Now, as it stands, you, like, for instance, Tom Wilson went with a guy against France. They get kicked out of the game. But I think it was deemed where it wasn't basically like a square off or that much of a fight, so they won't face the punishment of missing the next game. Where if you square off in the Olympics, you get that game right? And then the next game.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, and. Or I think it could be more. I do that guy on France, you know, Wilson's like, all right, we can't fight. You know, and he. That guy's like, that's kind of taking advantage of. Of Wilson.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, dude. That guy's like, I'm gonna tell the story in my local bar for the rest of my life.

[Ryan Whitney]

And then Wilson got up, went around the ref, and I was like, oh, my God. Like, he might. He might kill him. And then this tournament, you could tell, like, the wires crossed, like, oh, you. You were gonna do that to me knowing that I didn't think that, you know, we'd be able to, like, do any.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And the French guy got to fall on him first so he looks like the hero in France because they don't know how to fucking grade an NHL fight? Are you kidding me? No, I would. If moving forward, would you guys be okay if they didn't do 12 teams and maybe they lowered it to 10 into two different divisions?

[Ryan Whitney]

10 might even be a lot.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think they should do 10. And then it's four games in the round robin and at least you're getting some. Not layups. Like, I listen, is it fun seeing Team Canada wheel out there like the All Blacks and roll over teams and being like.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So the World cup of.

[Elliot Friedman]

Hockey in 2028 will be at least eight teams.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. That's what, 10? So you got. You got us, Canada, Czech, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden. Then you need, like, Leon in it and with the, you know, the German 100%.

[Paul Bissonnette]

They got guys.

[Ryan Whitney]

Who's the eighth? I. Forget it. Well, Russia. You need Russia. There you go. That's eight. That's eight great teams.

[Paul Bissonnette]

That's a heavy hitter.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. So there you go right there. Now, will Russia be in? I. I don't.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't know.

[Ryan Whitney]

It seems like the NHL has said we're going with the IHF kind of ban here.

[Whitney]

When is that ban over?

[Ryan Whitney]

I don't think anyone knows when the war's over. I mean, I have no.

[Kevin Bieksa]

That.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's way above our pay grade. But once we get. Once we get that term, if we get NHL rules. And like I mentioned back in 96, there were games in Europe at the beginning of that tournament. And that. That would be, I think, awesome. Now, biz, I know you love everything in the NHL, Barnes.

[Whitney]

That was before the season started, too, right?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yes. So you get, you know, you had games, I think, in Helsinki and in Stockholm, and then you're over in Philadelphia. I know that was the start of the two out of three final against the US And I'm not trying to bring down the Olympics, but that will probably be more entertaining than right now because of some of these early games.

[Elliot Friedman]

Games.

[Ryan Whitney]

Although the games moving forward, I think should be great. I mean, obvious. And let me ask you this.

[Kevin Bieksa]

You too.

[Ryan Whitney]

So we have. Check. Plays Denmark. Sweden plays Latvia. Germany plays France. Switzerland plays Italy. If you see one at one upset there, who do you think it could be?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Read them again.

[Ryan Whitney]

Check Denmark. That's eight.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Nine. That one, probably.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah.

[Whitney]

Who are you taking? You can't just say that.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, he would. He said Denmark.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Denmark could be the upset.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. You got Germany, Switzerland take care of France and Italy. I mean, Latvia over Sweden. The way they looked. That. I guess that wouldn't be. That. That would be way more shocking than Denmark beating Czech.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But like, Slovakia, Germany. Seems like a coin flip to me.

[Ryan Whitney]

No, that would be this. That would be in the quarters. Yeah, that would be in the. Yeah. It seems like Choco. Choco will get through. It'll be, you know, one through eight once we get to the quarterfinals.

[Paul Bissonnette]

From a history lesson perspective, why did Slovakia and Czechia separate? Like, why. Why are you looking at me like that?

[Elliot Friedman]

Because Czechoslovakia separated as a country.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, no, I'm saying why did. Was that the case? Because obviously, when it was won, they create a stronger hockey nation. Right. So when I. When I was coming up with the.

[Whitney]

U.S. uSSR at one point or.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, no.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. I believe 1968, they. They got their man. This could be. We could look real bad on this war number. Yeah. We're being open on. So we have no clue. So JAGR war number 68. Based on that, something very important happened for Czechoslovakia in 1968. Gee, if I'm wrong on that one, I really don't know anything anymore. Now. I don't know what happened, but it was big.

[Elliot Friedman]

Yermer Yaga wore 68 to honor the Prague Spring, a pivotal failed revolt in Czechoslovakia against the Soviet occupation in 1968.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Wow.

[Ryan Whitney]

Okay. Yeah.

[Elliot Friedman]

And great call.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah, I remember, I remember. He, he's brought. Thanks, guys. Yeah, that's, that's, that's a big one. Something everyone listening knows that I barely got right and then I don't, I don't know when, when, when Czechoslovakia became Czech and, and Slovakia. But you're right, it would be, it would, the team would be unreal.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think maybe for four nations. If it's something that, where like do you think maybe or not four nations, eight nations. Do you think?

[Ryan Whitney]

I didn't like when they had the World cup in 14, whatever that was when they had the European team. I like having the countries. I like having the countries. I don't want to combine. I don't know if those guys want to combine. Yeah, it's going to be way harder for them to win, but we should. I mean Slovakia winning that group is incredible that nobody picked that nobody. It was Sweden or Finland. They end up getting up top. And it was interesting because Merle's brought up what is Sweden doing pulling the goalie in that one game and it ended up costing them in the goal differential department. But it was weird because that last game Slovakia scored late to go. They were down 53 instead of 5 2. So game ends. They're celebrating like crazy knowing they've won the the group and Sweden just had 153 and they were like, oh, so weird scene. So it was a two goal swing when they ended up pulling the goalie against Finland and they gave up that empty netter. So it's. That part of the tournament's tough too where I think a lot of people are like, how who wins the division, who finishes second? Because it's just confusing goal differential wise. But now it's like, hey, you win, you keep going. You lose and you're done.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The real tournament starts now.

[Ryan Whitney]

The real tournament starts now. I do have to be honest about something that, that happened this morning. So I got to Logan airport. My flight was at 7:05. I arrived at about. It was like 5, 5:30, maybe a couple minutes before or after, right around 5:30 I looked at this airport, I said, oh my God, I forgot it was school vacation week starting tomorrow and just was like, oh, I can't miss this flight, like, we're recording. We're doing interviews. I have. And I went and said to a lady at Delta, I said, hey, is there any chance, like, I'm on the 705? She laughed in my face. I had bags I had to check. Not proud of this, but wouldn't blame anyone else. That's why I'm saying it. I cut the entire line. Oh, I caught the entire line. And I'm walking through and you know, there's people like, what are you doing?

[Paul Bissonnette]

So the first. So you go to the last person in line and you say, hey, can I, Can I?

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. I kind of weasel my way up and people like, what are you doing? I'm like, I'm so sorry. I cannot miss this flight. I have. I have a work trip. I'm sorry. And be like, ah. And hey, if somebody stood in front of me, like, yeah, that's gonna happen. I was kind of ready for that.

[Whitney]

Like, he must be a doctor.

[Ryan Whitney]

I might get.

[Whitney]

Let him on.

[Ryan Whitney]

I might get full blown, like, blocked here. And like, you're not going any further. And then up front, the. The guy up front was like, what? So, yeah, I felt bad.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Now if I'm sitting there, skip the entire line.

[Ryan Whitney]

The entire. The entire line. And. And I know there's going to be people. This guy is such an. But if I'm in line and I'm fine and the line stinks, but I'm like, oh, I got plenty of time and you're in a rush. Like, you got to make your flight. Go ahead. I promise you. Go ahead. But this. This was one of the most awkward things of all time where I'm. I'm legitimately cutting like 175.

[Paul Bissonnette]

That's crazy.

[Whitney]

And.

[Ryan Whitney]

And. And it was. It was. Yeah, I was. You know when you just want to crawl out of your own skin? Is that the saying? I was just like. But it was a work trip. Now here's the problem. Here's the. Here's the aspect that people didn't appreciate.

[Paul Bissonnette]

We got our producer, Fishy's laughing his off right now.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, I'm dragging around golf clubs, so it does. I think I heard one guy. What are you on the PGA Tour? Like, it's hard to say. I got to make this fight for a work trip dragging around a golf travel bag. So I apologize if you were somebody I caught. I made the flight.

[Paul Bissonnette]

And this is even worse.

[Ryan Whitney]

This is even worse. Not all guys would have made it.

[Kevin Bieksa]

This.

[Ryan Whitney]

I got through and had enough time to go to the Delta lounge. Now you Lost me.

[Whitney]

So.

[Kevin Bieksa]

So.

[Ryan Whitney]

I cut so many people.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The guy who's in the PGA comment, he's in the back of the buffet line was, if you could have been.

[Ryan Whitney]

In my brain for this. I cut so many people, and then, like, tsa. Like, I had clear in tsa, and all of a sudden I'm like, like, oh, man, I got, like, 40 minutes to this flight.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Like, I got.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I got time to get a massage.

[Ryan Whitney]

To go get a coffee.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He's getting his shoulders so that bad.

[Whitney]

He started cleaning the plane.

[Ryan Whitney]

Then I'm thinking, like, oh, if I run into one of those people that were me in the Delta Lounge, like, I could be, like, straight up squaring. And I was sitting there and I poured my coffee.

[Paul Bissonnette]

It's a neck pillow. Absolutely.

[Ryan Whitney]

Of bacon. I'm like, oh, man.

[Whitney]

I probably.

[Ryan Whitney]

I didn't have to cut the whole line, I guess. But, yeah, when I realized I had.

[Whitney]

People in the Delta line, Lounge, buffet line.

[Ryan Whitney]

When I realized I had enough time, I actually texted my wife, like, what was happening. And I was like, I'm in the Delta line now she's Delta Lounge out. She's like, are you. Are you kidding? Oh, you're a piece of. So I apologize to everyone.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Goods they make in the malls. The ant. Something.

[Ryan Whitney]

Auntie Annie. Keith just said that. I think he's getting.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He's getting an auntie on.

[Ryan Whitney]

But.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But you said that.

[Ryan Whitney]

But I promise, if I'm in an airport and you are. You are like, gonna miss a flight, which I would have missed.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, no, no.

[Ryan Whitney]

If I.

[Elliot Friedman]

Wait.

[Ryan Whitney]

If I. If I didn't. If I didn't.

[Whitney]

Okay, yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

If I didn't take control of the situation. And by take control, I mean cut everyone. I'm missing that flight. It just so happened. I gained so much time. And listen, I'm in the Delta Lounge, like, seven minutes. So it wasn't like I was, like, lounging up watching a movie, but I did the G to the gate. So, like, yeah, I can be honest. Like, this is.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I think.

[Ryan Whitney]

But anytime. Cut me. Cut me if you're.

[Whitney]

Well, be careful what you say. There's a lot.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, So I agreed. So I. I bet you plenty of times in my life and more so somebody's asked to go past me than I've cut in line. It would be fun to see your social score on where that lies, like an Uber rating, like, oh, buddy, I'm.

[Ryan Whitney]

Telling you, people like this guy.

[Paul Bissonnette]

But no, I mean, like, so. So you use that as one time you cut the line. You had to Cut the line because you showed up.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah, not long enough.

[Whitney]

So you're done for the year?

[Paul Bissonnette]

No, I'm. I'm more so wondering if I. If I was looking at fishy right now, there'd be a score above his head. Like, times he cut the line versus how many times he allowed someone to cut. And as long as that's balanced enough, then. Then you should be good.

[Ryan Whitney]

Now, I'll also say this about it if you're. If you're like. And also on me for getting. Getting there. I should have been there five and even that. I think if I'm in line, I miss it. No, no. It was madness, dude. It was. I've never seen. I've never seen the airport like this.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't think they hire enough people behind the desk anymore because they try to delegate it all to machines. And it drives me bananas. It's just like, I don't want to check out at CVS to some robot thing like, oh, scan that, do that. Just hire your cvs, man. You're how rich you need to be.

[Whitney]

You gotta add a tip. And you're like, no one helped me.

[Paul Bissonnette]

No. No, they don't.

[Whitney]

A lot of places, I think adding.

[Ryan Whitney]

A tip to a robot, I think there are places that have that.

[Whitney]

But Delta Lounge.

[Ryan Whitney]

Listen, if you're in my shoes, okay, and it's either you gotta cut and you gotta. And listen, I'm like, I'm walking by. I'm so sorry. I'm, like, apologizing. I can't miss this fight. I can't miss this fight with my golf clubs. If it's that or sit in line and miss your flight. I'm just not on the same page as you. If you choose that, like, I'm going down swinging.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I'd rather.

[Ryan Whitney]

Single time.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I'd rather go. The travelers in that line again.

[Whitney]

Oh, yeah.

[Ryan Whitney]

Go through all of them than miss. Okay, thank you.

[Whitney]

Are you there an hour and a half before you said 5:30. Like, there's no way.

[Elliot Friedman]

There's madness there.

[Whitney]

It happened to me too.

[Ryan Whitney]

And she said, saw me. Like, I. I must have been walking 12 miles an hour too. I was. Because after, I'm like, I gotta get away from these people.

[Elliot Friedman]

Like somebody's I've ever seen him. I was hiding in spot.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I wasn't mad.

[Ryan Whitney]

I was more like, I gotta get away. Because anyone that is, like, gonna see me after that.

[Whitney]

I don't know if they just heard what G said, but repeat what you just said. And for reference, it was seven in the morning. What did you just say it was.

[Elliot Friedman]

6:50 when I was there and I, I was hiding at Sparrows, eating a slice of pizza, and I'm like, oh, there's no one over here. I'll go eat a. Just a nice morning slice. Love a morning slice.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, my God.

[Elliot Friedman]

And I see Wit walk up Beeline, and I'm like, oh, my God, if he sees me right now, he's gonna bury me. I'm eating pizza at 6am Little did I know, he just cut the whole line. He was pissed.

[Ryan Whitney]

So, no, I wasn't pissed anymore. I was like, this is Grandmother Delta.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Wow, you're a morning slice guy.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's crazy.

[Whitney]

I gotta give a shout out to. Same situation for me. Packed at the airport. They a lot of those cruise ships that came in, in Florida, and there was like 20, 000 people there, and I was just walking around like chicken with my head cut off and. But I've never got like, I'm there an hour before and I was like, oh, I ain't making this. And one guy recognized me. Shout out. I think his name, it was Mike. You look like Ovechkin. You told me you look like ovechkin.

[Ryan Whitney]

He was St. Louis, right? Yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

We're getting blood shutouts for line cutting.

[Whitney]

He literally, it was him and his wife. He saw me just like, out to lunch. He's like, hey, just jump in behind me. And I went right to the front of the line.

[Paul Bissonnette]

You want to thank a local flower shop for getting your wife some flowers for Valentine's Day?

[Ryan Whitney]

Moral of the story is like, I felt bad. No doubt. I, I, I was making that flight before. I was waiting and missing the flight. Like, I'm sorry. And if you're in an airport, it is hard to do. You kind of, you got to kind of announce your presence with authority if it comes down to missing the flight or like begging people to let you cut them. And if you run into one guy, like, no, it's like, all right, well, you either, you either, you either eat that and stand behind him, which I probably would have done, or you just like, like bully your way past him like Bernie Sanders would have when he ran the football.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Hey, hey. One, one guy won't move. And it's that same Australian guy you saw at your last airport incident when, when he was losing, when he was.

[Ryan Whitney]

Snapping on the, it's probably because she, he saw the tip come up for the your own service thing. Yeah, he didn't like the price of the pretzels or something. Right? Or the, the what was it with.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Last thing I'll ask you before we end the pod. Valentine's Day. What'd you get?

[Ryan Whitney]

Oh, flowers. And I. And I. So I was supposed to leave for this trip Saturday night, and then I was like, oh, no, I'll just leave Sunday morning. Because I kind of wanted to get in to, like, be here for, like, all. All the stuff we had today. And so I said, all right, let's go to dinner Thursday night. Because Friday night we had stuff. So Thursday, in between the games, because it was Canada in the morning, right? In US at 3 Eastern. I bombed over to Winston. Flowers. Got them, brought them home, hit them, went out to dinner. But as we went out to dinner, she's in the car. I set it all up on. On the kitchen table. Card, candle, flowers. Beautiful flowers. So when we got back from dinner, boom.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Jesus.

[Ryan Whitney]

Right? Yeah. I was kind of a veteran. I was kind of a vet. Now, Valentine's Day, I think Hallmark invented it. There's some women that are super into it. I don't know. Yeah, I'm kind of like, this is. This is just a straight up phantom holiday.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I just said, like, 20 texts, actually. Valentine's Day.

[Ryan Whitney]

Your sister was telling me that. Who's saying to. Oh, there are kids, like, oh, and Maven and tripped it all. Like, whose house are we going to for Valentine's Day? Like, they're like. Because it was on a Saturday, they're like. Like, almost like it was like Easter or something. She's like, no, no, no, no. This is not even.

[Whitney]

Yeah, we're going to wits and skate.

[Ryan Whitney]

So Valentine's Day. Yeah, some women are super into it.

[Paul Bissonnette]

The flower. Flower emojis don't get it done when you're married.

[Ryan Whitney]

No. Oh, I'm getting flowers every Valentine's Day. Every single one. Every single one. No doubt. But I'm not, like, buying presents. You know what I mean?

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah, no, I get what you're saying.

[Whitney]

I'm not.

[Ryan Whitney]

I'm not buying presents.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Like, no Hermes bracelet for no Valentine's Day.

[Ryan Whitney]

That's birthday, anniversary, Christmas. You're thinking of, like, gifts you could buy. They may want Valentine's Day. If you're setting the tone early and you're. You're, like, new in a relationship, and you're getting her an expensive present on Valentine's Day. You're.

[Elliot Friedman]

I had to. I had to. You guys saw my dilemma. I had to get her expensive Noah Kahan tickets for At Fenway this summer.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay.

[Elliot Friedman]

I completely forgot to book a Valentine's dinner. Completely forgot.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Bosco took care of you.

[Elliot Friedman]

And then I tweeted it out, which pissed her off even more. And she's like, this is embarrassing. This is bad.

[Ryan Whitney]

Well, you called her the old lady. Your old lady. That's when I read the tweet. When I read the tweet, and I was like, I don't know if they love, like, hey, I forgot to make a reservation for me and my old lady. Old lady's not flattering.

[Kevin Bieksa]

No.

[Whitney]

But also, Valentine's Day dinner. Like, Whit did it the right way. You go a day before.

[Elliot Friedman]

That's what I did. We ended up going a day before because Rico Bosco. Five minutes after the tweet, I get put in a group text with a random number. This is my. And I gotta beat this name out, because this name can't get out there. He told me so. He said, this is my buddy. He'll take care of you. Any restaurant you want in the North End. He set me up at a restaurant in the North End. Free appetizers, free drinks. The mozzarella came out with hearts. Like, it was unbelievable.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Rico Bosco, he's got the new pod with Jersey Jerry.

[Ryan Whitney]

And I think Jerry's a guy who. Who's.

[Paul Bissonnette]

He was shaming him. He was shaming him for his. His, his. No. When I was on there, they gave me this scenario. So it's funny that it came full circle and that Bosco actually came through for you, because I think that the. The restaurant that Bosco was trying to come over the top of Jerry with was like a 7 out of 10. So what would you give your restaurant that you were at?

[Elliot Friedman]

I'd give it an 8.4 out of 10. And that's high. That's high. The orangeini was unbelievable, right?

[Whitney]

Said free, too.

[Elliot Friedman]

Yeah, it was free.

[Ryan Whitney]

He.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Like, if you had to pay for it, would you still give it the same score?

[Elliot Friedman]

I. I'd say 8.1. The service was incredible.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Okay.

[Elliot Friedman]

Like, them coming out, giving us that free champagne, free espresso martinis that said Happy Valentine's Day written in it.

[Whitney]

It was nice old lady.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Yeah.

[Paul Bissonnette]

Yeah. 0.3 for the. For the free bump.

[Kevin Bieksa]

I like that. That's fair.

[Paul Bissonnette]

That's a fair. I don't really have much else. Anything else that happened outside of the Olympics or the world that we needed to talk about?

[Ryan Whitney]

Not that I can think of off the top of my head besides this one. Dude that cut the entire line at Logan Airport.

[Whitney]

Yeah. It was on news.

[Ryan Whitney]

Yeah. So that was it. We will be back recording Thursday afternoon. So by then the quarters will be been played.

[Elliot Friedman]

Yep.

[Ryan Whitney]

Right. So we'll be, we'll, we'll. We'll be able to talk about the semifinals that will be leading up and then after that we got the gold medal game stream. We got the recap right after then the pod dropping the day after the gold medal. So we'll be back to you before then. Thank you so much to Kevin Biaxa. I mean that's, he's up at 2 in the morning chatting with us. That was awesome. Great. Great catching up with him and great being with you guys again in person. We will see everyone listening or hear or you guys will hear us Friday morning. Thank you so much.

[Elliot Friedman]

Love you.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Won't happen. Come.

[Ryan Whitney]

Won't happen again.

[Kevin Bieksa]

A bad habit worth breaking but it's taking time.

[Paul Bissonnette]

I don't know.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Don't let it.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen again.

[Kevin Bieksa]

Wanna come again?

[Ryan Whitney]

Out on the course, they're the PGA tourist's best players. But in the arena, they're prime time. And season two of TGL, presented by SoFi, is back. With lights, cameras, action. We're talking big moments, big personalities, big names, games in the stands, all on the big screen. Big time matchups with shot clocks. Hammer drops timeouts, overtime and playoffs. It's city versus city, squad versus squad. This sport just hits different under the lights.

[Paul Bissonnette]

It's TGL, presented by SoFi.

[Whitney]

Keep up.

[Ryan Whitney]

It's golf. Tune in to every match only on espn.