← The Athletic Hockey Show
Loading summary
Transcript206 lines
- [00:00]
Max Bultman
Thy ticket, lady Jennifer of Coolidge.
- [00:03]
Sean Gentili
Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance Fairs? Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.
- [00:17]
Jesse Granger
With the times.
- [00:19]
Sean Gentili
You're playing the loot. Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right? Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [00:32]
Jesse Granger
Hey, it's Adam Grant from Ted's podcast Work Life.
- [00:34]
Max Bultman
And this episode is brought to you by ServiceNow. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. That's why it's no surprise that more than 85% of the Fortune 500 companies use the ServiceNow AI platform.
- [00:47]
Jesse Granger
While other platforms duct tape tools together,
- [00:50]
Max Bultman
ServiceNow seamlessly unifies people, data, workflows and
- [00:53]
Jesse Granger
AI connecting every corner of your business.
- [00:57]
Max Bultman
And with AI agents working together autonomously, anyone in any department can focus on the work that matters Most. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work
- [01:06]
Sean Gentili
for people at ServiceNow.com@Schwab, how you invest is your choice, not theirs. That's why when it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices. You can invest and trade on your own. Plus get advice and more comprehensive wealth
- [01:22]
Max Bultman
solutions to help meet your unique needs.
- [01:24]
Sean Gentili
With award winning service, low costs and transparent advice, you can manage your wealth your way at Schwab. Visit schwab.com to learn more.
- [01:45]
Max Bultman
This is the athletic hockey show.
- [01:56]
Jesse Granger
Foreign
- [02:00]
Max Bultman
hey, everybody. Max Boldman here alongside Jesse Granger and Sean Gentili for another episode of the Athletic hockey show. The 2026 Winter Olympics are over. Mark Lazarus going to join us shortly from Milan. But the three of us back here in the United States, which is now the proud owner of both ice hockey gold medals from the 2026 Games. All timer of a gold medal game. We got overtime, we got just about everything everyone wanted. This, the fact that it was settled in three on three. We will get to that. We will get to a lot of things. But I think we got to start, Sean, with the defining image from this game. Bloody mouthed tooth chipped Jack Hughes scoring the golden goal at the Olympics.
- [02:42]
Sean Gentili
Yeah. With what's left of his front teeth. I like to offer condolences to my mother who I think has fallen in love with both Hughes boys over the last, over the last two weeks. I think she wants to adopt. Adopt both of them. So yeah, Ellen, Ellen has some competition there. She's going to be so upset that Jack's beautiful face has been. Has been permanently marred like what a. That's as. It's as good as it gets, man. That's. That it's one of those outcomes. And I'm sure we're going to talk about Jack and we're going to talk about it in detail, but in totality, that sequence by him starting with a high stick from Sam Bennett all the way through the game went goal. That's. If you would have said that that's the way that game finished and wound up. A couple days ago I just said you were, you were full of it. Like it. It's almost too good to be true. Right?
- [03:32]
Max Bultman
I mean, rewind this, Jesse. Like it was two, three weeks ago that a lot of the discourse was, Jack Hugh should have been playing through more for the Devils coming into this tournament. There was still some, you know, memories of the Four Nations Tournament where he hadn't been as impactful as we've seen him be in the NHL. What a complete narrative. And this will be a theme today, a complete narrative reversal on Jack Hughes, who goes absolute warrior mode and delivers a gold medal to his country.
- [03:56]
Jesse Granger
Yeah, it just shows you. Maybe we shouldn't overreact so much to like a two game sample or three game sample, whatever the Four nations was. Because it was like, well, he. Hughes just isn't built for these types of games. And then he comes in here and he's just awesome from start to finish. That fourth line that he started on with Brock Nelson was Washington, the best line right out of the gates for the US and then he obviously gets moved up the lineup and just making plays throughout the game. And I was kind of joking about it before. It's easy for me to say I don't have to get like dental work done on my teeth, but thank God he got his teeth knocked out because those photos could not be better. We're talking 100 years from now, those photos will still be amazing. First gold medal in 46 years. That moment is going to be like in every hockey fan's mind. And the fact that he doesn't have those teeth in those photos makes them sick so much better.
- [04:43]
Sean Gentili
He's talking to Katherine Tappin immediately after the game ended, right? Like, like she, she has him in a. In a side room off, off the ice. And he's learning how to talk without teeth. Like, he's whistling. You can hear him whistling as he's talking. I'm like, how is this? This is, this is fake. This is. This is like write a movie about a gold medal hockey game. And that's the kind of thing that would happen and we watch it play out for real. It's crazy.
- [05:08]
Max Bultman
Yeah. I mean you talk about the sequence, right? Like so us he gets a four. He draws a four minute penalty from the Sam Bennett high stick. USA does nothing with it and he actually takes a high sticking penalty that negates the last 40. I think it was 49 seconds of it at the end. I still think that that was a really crucial four minute power play partly because Canada had so much momentum after tying the game really leading up to tying the game ever since they're five on three. Canada controlled the play in this game and I think even just 4 minutes, 3, 3 minutes in change of the US staving that off and getting this to overtime. A massive factor in the outcome of this game.
- [05:43]
Jesse Granger
Jesse, couldn't agree more. And, and it not only does it like give you four minutes where you're not defending, but it lets Connor Hellebuck's legs get some blood flag flowing through him because I mean Canada had the puck in their zone for what felt like the entire second period and the first 10 minutes of the, of the third period. And like Hellebox a big guy, I can imagine his legs were on fire trying to go back and forth as this Canadian team just slings the puck across the zone. So. Couldn't agree more. Even, even without getting the goal, even with kind of negating the last half of that power play. Massive, massive moment in the game for the US to kind of just take
- [06:19]
Sean Gentili
a breath and regroup and just to go back to the Jack Hughes of it all too. I, I, you know, Mark, Mark Lazarus recorded a video saying as much. So this isn't a unique point, but I think a lot of people felt this way, including me. Me and McIntyre talked about it after the bronze medal game yesterday. The biggest thing for me to come out of that semifinal win over Slovakia was that Jack Hughes looked like he was rolling. That felt. And that is such a variable not just relative to the Four nations tournament, but relative to even, even the start of this one. Like we can talk about Quinn being in the mix because he wasn't, he wasn't at Four Nations. We can talk about a player like Tage Thompson being in the roster because he wasn't at Four Nations. I think we need to include Jack's uptick in performance within that discussion as well because when you have a player that skilled who is, who should be getting top six minutes at minimum on any team he's on with anybody, like that's, that's a Huge, huge variable. And it's. It's like it's adding, you know, a true stud to the mix, which they didn't get in the four nations tournament for one reason or another. So the fact that they came into this game with him rolling with some amount of confidence that he found. He obviously was sick against Slovakia, we got another highlight goal from him there. I mean, that couldn't be overstated. It felt important in the moment as we were watching it. And then to have it play out the way that it did on such a wild scale is. Is even still crazy to see.
- [07:48]
Max Bultman
You're right, because just in the same way that you can make the case of like, hey, no, Tage Thompson to. Having Tage Thompson going from Jack Hughes is a little bit of a question mark to Jack Hughes was their best offensive player at this tournament. It's either him or his brother, right? And he was a massive difference maker in the knockout round games too. This was not just a, you know, in, in prelims and in qualifiers and in, you know, play. It was in the biggest games. Jack Hughes kept showing up. And including the final goal. I mean, let's talk about the final goal because it's an interesting one, Sean. It does not come against. Against lightweight competition. They are all of the heavyweights for Team Canada on the ice. It ends, I mean, Zach Warrensky puts a big body blow into Nathan McKinney.
- [08:27]
Sean Gentili
Incredible.
- [08:27]
Max Bultman
End of it. Incredible. Yeah.
- [08:29]
Sean Gentili
I went back and watched that whole sequence a couple times, like after the celebrations were done and after we watched Nathan McKinnon, you know, get his stuffed animal and look at it like someone just handed him, you know, a ticking time bomb. Right. I went back and watched all of it and the sequence is still, it's still, it's mind boggling to me. Like you have McKinnon going one on three for the, for this at least the second time during overtime alone. Skates directly in the teeth of three guys, gets rerouted by guess who. Jack Hughes and kind of forces him into. Into basically turning the puck over in, in front of the net. It was just a, like a weird. The. The puck went off his stick and started the movement back in the other direction. That's point one. So you have a, you have a McDavid mistake to kick things off. Next up, Kel McCarr mistake. Terrible pinch, bad timing, executed poorly. Puck goes even goes even further down the. The ice obviously ends up on. On Warensky stick. By that point, McKinnon is gassed. He. Even though he's, you know, back and doing his best in his defensive zone. Warrenski completely bodies him in, puts a perfect in stride pass to Jack for the. It's, it's, it's incredible. It would have been incredible if it was anybody, like, if it was anybody on the ice for, for Canada engaging in that sort of stuff. The fact that, the fact that it was McDavid and then McCarr and then McKinnon in succession like that, like huge mistakes and, or misplays led directly to the goal, like, I, it still blows my mind. Those guys blew it. That's just, that's, those are, that's. That's. The facts are around that sequence, man. The three best players on the planet potentially each made, you know, consecutive errors in very, in very critical moments to lead directly to that chant. I still can't believe it.
- [10:16]
Max Bultman
Well, speaking of disbelief, let's bring in now from Milan, Mark Lazarus. Laz, do we have you with us?
- [10:23]
Mark Lazarus
You have me. And I just want to say all those times you made fun of me for my Jack Hughes love, for saying he could be one of the best players in the world. Bill Garon is not the one vindicated here by this team. It's me.
- [10:37]
Max Bultman
You can pick up your gold medal at will call.
- [10:41]
Sean Gentili
I was starting to lose faith, man. Like, like we, we especially like me and Dom do it, do those player tiers every, every year. And I feel like I was starting to waver on Jack's placement in the larger scheme of things. Right. Like, you know, this is the most vindication we're ever going to get, but
- [10:58]
Max Bultman
I really do think, I think he unlocked a new level. Like, I don't think I've seen Jack Hughes play as complete a game as I saw in the last three games, like in this knockout round. And he's excellent. Like, he's always been a dominant offensive player, dominant NHL player, highly skilled, controls the pace, all of those things. But just the totality of him last. Like, I thought it was the best I've ever seen him.
- [11:18]
Mark Lazarus
Yeah, I mean, like Sean kind of outlined. I mean, he won two puck battles en route to scoring that goal. That's not in the defensive zone. That's not a thing. We expect to see it from him. But that's. When you get to this moment, big players step up, right? It was really fun listening to Quinn Hughes in the mix zone after the game. Kind of shove it back in everyone's faces. He's like, no, all these reporters, they've never had a rehab and injury before, let alone two in a row. You don't understand. He's only 24. And I'm sitting there nodding my head like, yep, I agree. You're making fun of reporters.
- [11:46]
Sean Gentili
I agree. Those losers, media dorks don't know what they're talking about. That's right.
- [11:52]
Mark Lazarus
It was interesting after the game, like all of a sudden everyone was cursing a lot. Like every. It's just F bombs and everything was asked this and F that and these guys got a lot looser all of a sudden once they got that weight off their shoulders.
- [12:04]
Sean Gentili
Got a hall of Famer Lip read from Vince Trocheck on the ice, by the way, during the, during the medal ceremony. I'll leave people to find that.
- [12:11]
Max Bultman
Oh, yeah, it's a good one. It's a good one. We know his post game plans.
- [12:14]
Sean Gentili
He's got plans.
- [12:16]
Max Bultman
Laz, what was the energy like in the arena? On tv, it looked like a huge Canada crowd. Like, talk me through the, the sequence of overtimes, the energy, the. All of these things.
- [12:25]
Mark Lazarus
It was, it was, it was interesting because, like the Americans have shown up for this tournament and the Canadians were nowhere to be found in the prelim rounds. But it seems like the Canadians just bought all the middle round games because they assumed they would be in them. It was like, I don't know, 75, 25 Canada, maybe more today. The atmosphere was, I mean, I mean, this was one of the coolest games I've ever been to. It was. I wasn't writing like the buzzer story. Russo and Pierre were. So I was able to sit there and just watch the game and like observe things and take notes. It was tense, it was uneasy. And you know, the whole time it felt like inevitable that Canada was going to win. They were the better team for those last 40 minutes. I just posted my column. Everyone go read it after you're done listening to us. It was like the US had no business winning that game. None. It was pretty much. And I asked Vincent Trocheck that I go, like, how do you explain this? He just goes, connor Hellebuck.
- [13:14]
Sean Gentili
That's it.
- [13:15]
Mark Lazarus
His answer. And you know that that's what happens sometimes is you just have great players step up and have great moments. But the, the energy was tense. It. It was, it was loud. The place was shaking. You know, this building, I don't really trust this building. I feel like it might collapse tomorrow. And I thought it might collapse today. During that third period, it was. Every time the puck was on Macklin Celebrini stick and he somehow missed the net, like the place was going to explode.
- [13:39]
Max Bultman
I Want to push back with no business winning this game. But I. You mentioned book. I gotta let Jesse pick a bone with you first. Then we're going to circle back to what I want to say.
- [13:48]
Jesse Granger
Oh, that's right. So, Mark, who voted on the mvp?
- [13:53]
Mark Lazarus
We had to vote. Everyone voted. Anyone who wanted to vote, we had to vote at the first intermission. And at that point, I don't even know who. I'm assuming it was Connor McDavid, right? Yes, everybody. He was. He was by far, the MVP of this tournament coming into this game. If they let us vote like. If they let us vote like, I mean, you could say your eyes. Slavkovsky was more valuable to his team than anybody else was. Like, there's other guys. You could say after this game. It's obviously Connor Hellebuck. This is the flaw in making us vote for this after the first period of the gold medal game.
- [14:23]
Sean Gentili
No, it definitely takes an hour and a half to count votes for sure. From however many people.
- [14:27]
Mark Lazarus
I shouldn't admit this because I don't think they publish these things. I didn't even have Connor Hellebuck as the goalie of the tournament. I had Leonardo Ginoni shutouts by the worst team at the same safe percentage as Heluk Myrtle Guy, to you, Conor Heluk was not really challenged for most of this tournament.
- [14:44]
Jesse Granger
He was very.
- [14:45]
Max Bultman
He had a.956 coming into the game still.
- [14:48]
Jesse Granger
Yeah, his safe percentage was.951 at the first game.
- [14:52]
Mark Lazarus
He was not challenged. Did not face chances like he faced today. That's fair.
- [14:57]
Jesse Granger
I will, I. I will say it's ridiculous that you're voting then. And even if you. Even if they are going to make you vote, then it should have. It should be the way they have us do the Con Smyth voting for the cup where you can put like condition this, if this, then that. Yes. Conditional voting. Because I think everybody would have said. I think everybody was said if USA wins, Hellebuck is the mvp. Right.
- [15:16]
Mark Lazarus
They basically just had a. A QR code that we could all sign. Like it was just like around the area. So anybody who had a credential basically could vote. It wasn't like they took like, like a blue ribbon panel here. It was anybody who wanted to vote that was a credential member.
- [15:30]
Sean Gentili
So this wasn't okay, so this wasn't Pierre counting slips of paper with people's written on them like the con voting is okay.
- [15:37]
Mark Lazarus
There was no electioneering happening this time around. This wasn't a. Yeah, all right.
- [15:42]
Jesse Granger
Well, still ridiculous.
- [15:43]
Max Bultman
This ties Right into what I wanted to say because you say they had no business winning this game. I get your point. Canada dominated the run of play and especially from, I thought the mid second period on, they were in total control of the puck and the USA was just fighting to get a couple chances. I will say, I think the game was always kind of going to look something like this. This was the roster construction for both teams. This was. This was what they were suited to do. Canada was suited to dominate the puck, to roll out the three leading MVP candidates in the NHL on a line and terrorize people. And the US Was built to weather it and try to be opportunistic. So I don't know that I'd say they had no business winning it. I'd say this played out kind of exactly as they seem to see it coming when they built this roster.
- [16:26]
Mark Lazarus
I think maybe, maybe to a degree you're right. But they, the Americans, for the last 35 minutes of this game, from basically the five on three that they did a great job killing off on, they looked like the Finns did in the. In the quarter. They were just desperately trying to get the puck into the neutral zone so they could catch their breath and get a change. They were flailing. They had no pushback. There was no counter attacks. There was no transition. There was nothing offensive at all about what the Americans doing. They were just trying to survive and Conor Hellebuyck was allowing them to. So I. They really did have. They were badly outplayed. I. I think Team USA is a better team, but those three guys drive the play so well that it was. It was lopsided, man. They couldn't get out of their own end.
- [17:09]
Sean Gentili
If you find a way to do what they did to McDavid, McKinnon and McCarr on that last shift, you deserve to win.
- [17:17]
Max Bultman
Absolutely.
- [17:18]
Sean Gentili
Before that, like I, Like I.
- [17:21]
Max Bultman
In the first two periods, they absolutely did. David had a look. Celebrini had a look. They gave up. Nothing else easy.
- [17:27]
Jesse Granger
Like.
- [17:27]
Max Bultman
Hellebuk had a relatively manageable first two periods up. Really up until the five on three, I'd say. So the first half of the game, he had a pretty manageable game. The five on three turned a ton of momentum. And then it was interesting. I talked to someone yesterday and we were talking about how does the USA try to approach that line, right? And I thought it would be the Eichel and the Kachuks. And it started out that way. And their suggestion was, what if they move Lin up to that line to skate with those Guys, because that's the mismatch they have against the Kachuks is that if you put McKinnon and celebrity and McDavid, like how. How can the Chucks realistically keep up? That played out, I thought, but it didn't even work. When they made that switch, they did put Larkin up to the Eichel line and they still could not contain that line there. There was so much energy, so much force of will from that line that it was, it was survive in the third period. But I thought the first, certainly the first 30 minutes, maybe the first 35 at even strength. I thought the USA played it.
- [18:18]
Jesse Granger
They.
- [18:19]
Max Bultman
They didn't give up anything easy in front of Halibook, sure.
- [18:21]
Mark Lazarus
But then they spent the third period just watching Macklin Celebrini magically miss the net somehow on chance after Nathan McKinnon misses a wide open net like.
- [18:29]
Max Bultman
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
- [18:31]
Sean Gentili
The. McKinnon missing the net. We need to talk about that specifically. Yeah, that maybe was the most egregious net miss that I've ever seen in my life. I am, I could not because the NBC broadcast didn't show a replay of it. So you knew what happened, obviously. But like in the run of play, we didn't, we didn't actually see it. I went back and looked at it. I am astounded that he, that he missed that. That is that maybe more than the misplays on, on the, on the game winning goal is like the Rubicon moment for this game. Like, I am still astounded that he did not bury that.
- [19:11]
Mark Lazarus
He's going to be seeing that net for the rest of his life. Literally the rest of his life.
- [19:18]
Max Bultman
Jesse, talk us through what a ridiculous save the paddle save was on devontave's that. I mean, you can make a very real case. It's the best save in American hockey history now.
- [19:28]
Jesse Granger
Yeah. I mean it. It's the save of the tournament, it's the save of the Olympics. And it's probably the best save that Connor Helbuk's ever made. This is a guy who has since he was like 8 years old, he told his dad, I'm going to be the big boring goalie. And he's absolutely done it to perfection his entire life. Like he is the goalie that does not make acrobatic, spectacular looking saves because he makes it look so easy because he's gigantic. He's six. Six. He has impeccable positioning and he reads the game better than anyone that's ever played the position in My opinion, then you have to make the type of save that you don't normally make. Like that is that. And that is the criticism of Conor Hellebuy his whole career is he doesn't do well in the playoffs when the plays break down, the off schedule plays, right? Like when the play is on schedule, you can't score on Conor Hellebuk because he knows what you're going to do before you know what you're going to do. But when pucks bounce around in front of the net and you've got to just make a play, that's where he hasn't like shined, right?
- [20:30]
Max Bultman
That's.
- [20:30]
Jesse Granger
That is what we've all been waiting for. And then in the biggest game he'll ever play in the biggest moment, he makes that save. Like it's, it's not just the save, it's the fact that this goalie has been. We've been saying this goalie can't make that save for the last whatever three years it seems like, and he makes it in that moment. It was so awesome.
- [20:48]
Sean Gentili
He snapped into Mark Andre Fleury scramble mode for a second. It was like, it was like the Braden Holpy paddle save or any of those.
- [20:55]
Mark Lazarus
It's a real bummer the jets are going to miss the playoffs this year because I'd like to see him in the playoffs now feeling invincible in like two months. It's really a bummer that we have to wait like a year and a half to really see. Was this a blip or is this the new Conor Hellebach as he reached God tier mode?
- [21:10]
Max Bultman
This might be a little too romantic of me, but miracle was on in my hotel room last night. As I was flipping around and just watching this game, it just reminded me that like USA gold medal lore is. Is Jim Craig coming up like this in a game and Connor Helbuk now joins that. I mean it's. I know everyone talks about, you can't just make everything about 1980 and I actually think that this is going to accomplish changing that because now there is a more recent gold medal, a more recent great success to talk about. But it's funny to me that you know the composition of the team, totally different. USA was at least close to on level talent wise with Canada. The top end guys are the top end guys. But in general this was not, you know, I don't know if it was you or Russo Laz that were like this is not going to be a miracle if it happens. And it's not a miracle, but it still does come down to when you have a goalie who plays at this level, Jesse, it completely. That's where you know the goal is on the team. Having the best goalie in the tournament is a legitimate reason to win the tournament.
- [22:07]
Jesse Granger
It is. And it's also. This isn't like they didn't. This isn't just luck. Oh, wow. They just happen. This isn't Halavi, an ECHL guy who just had the turn the game of his life. And what can you do? It's like sometimes that's just how it works out. No, this is 11 years ago, USA Hockey decided, we don't have any goalies in the NHL. We have to do this better. They called all the heads of state into a room. They figured out how to create a better development path for goalies. They started what they call the 50, 51 and 30, which their goal was to have 51% of the goalies in major professional North American leagues be American. Now, they're not quite to that goal. They still have four years to get there. They might not quite reach the 51 percentile, but they have created a factory of elite goalies that are coming out of the US NDTP program. It's not just Hellebuck. The Jeremy Swayman is one of the best goalies in the world. Jake Ottinger could have had that same game. Like they. They came into this tournament, they've been building for a decade to have the best goalies in the world. They came into the tournament with the best goalies in the world. And then their best one had the best game of his life in the big game. Like this is. They have been planning for this.
- [23:16]
Sean Gentili
And then you have Jack Hughes or either Hughes. Really. Those are players who can walk the goalie through the door. Those are the kind of guys that they were missing in 2010. Like, great as Ryan Miller was, there wasn't a Jack Hughes or certainly not a fleet of Hughes's and Kachuk and Eichels and Matthews that were capable of making of making it stand up. So it does feel like the fulfillment of something for sure.
- [23:42]
Max Bultman
Absolutely. All right, Laz needs a phone charger and a couple Peronis. We're going to let him go from Milan last. Awesome work.
- [23:48]
Sean Gentili
Me too.
- [23:49]
Max Bultman
Actually, you guys crushed it over there, so great job and we'll see you back here soon.
- [23:53]
Jesse Granger
All right.
- [23:54]
Mark Lazarus
Appreciate it, guys.
- [23:59]
Sean Gentili
Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right? And the best part, they accept Discover. Except Discover in a little place like this. I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah. Huh. Discover Is accepted where I like to shop.
- [24:12]
Max Bultman
Come on baby, get with the times.
- [24:15]
Sean Gentili
Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think. Discover is accepted at 99% of places
- [24:25]
Max Bultman
that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.
- [24:29]
Mark Lazarus
The longer you stay alive, the longer
- [24:30]
Max Bultman
you can enjoy Boost Mobile's unlimited plan
- [24:32]
Mark Lazarus
with a price that never goes up. So here are some tips.
- [24:34]
Sean Gentili
Do not parallel park on a cliff
- [24:35]
Max Bultman
if you want to enjoy an unlimited
- [24:37]
Jesse Granger
plan with a price that never goes up.
- [24:39]
Mark Lazarus
Do not mistake a wasp nest for
- [24:41]
Jesse Granger
a pinata if you want to enjoy
- [24:42]
Mark Lazarus
an unlimited plan with a price that never goes up.
- [24:45]
Sean Gentili
Do not microwave a hard boiled egg if you want to enjoy an unlimited
- [24:48]
Mark Lazarus
plan with the price that never goes up.
- [24:50]
Jesse Granger
Stay alive and enjoy Unlimited Wireless for
- [24:52]
Max Bultman
$25 a month forever.
- [24:53]
Mark Lazarus
With Boost Mobile, after 30 gigs, customers may experience lower speeds.
- [24:56]
Jesse Granger
Customers will pay 25amonth as long as they remain active on the Boost Mobile unlimited plan.
- [25:00]
Max Bultman
Your leadership team is demanding AI automation. Your employees are already using it, just
- [25:04]
Sean Gentili
not the tools you approved. Shadow AI is spreading across your organization, creating security vulnerabilities, compliance risks and fragmented solutions you can't control. But what if your teams could innovate
- [25:14]
Max Bultman
faster while staying completely secure? That's what ARIA delivers. A unified platform that combines AI, security, governance and orchestration. So you never have to choose between innovation and protection. Take control today and embrace Enterprise AI. Visit area.com to learn more. That's AI ria.com. What do you think this means for USA Hockey, Sean? Like, like just kind of sticking on that note of the evolution here. Like AD was the one that kind of inspired the explosion of USA Hockey. What will this one mean, you think? Big picture.
- [25:45]
Sean Gentili
It's a good question. I think we need to wait and see. You know what, you know what's funny? Did you guys see that old Custance tweet making the rounds today?
- [25:51]
Mark Lazarus
Yes.
- [25:51]
Jesse Granger
Yeah.
- [25:52]
Sean Gentili
Where? This is a zillion years ago.
- [25:54]
Max Bultman
He and I were 2011.
- [25:56]
Sean Gentili
We were working together somewhere else at the time. And I remember when he said that it was noting that registrations for 8 year old for like 8 year olds in 2011 were way up or whatever it was. You said like, congrats on like let's go 2026 Olympics. I'm like, here we are. Okay, Greg. Greg Custance used to write about hockey and he used to, he used to, used to pay attention.
- [26:20]
Max Bultman
He's pretty good at it.
- [26:21]
Sean Gentili
He was, he was a pretty astute observer of the game back in the day. Believe it or not, I am. I. It's only going to be. It's only going to be good things, right? Like, I feel like. I feel like it can only, it can only lead to positive stuff. But I'm also interested in seeing what the ceiling is for hockey in the United States because if you look at it, there's a gold medal that was deserved and earned and also all kinds of successes. Jesse, you mentioned the goaltending stuff, but also just throughout international tournaments at all levels. This has been a long time coming. I think this is the capstone to what we've seen development wise over the last 10 or 15 years. And I think it's fair to ask now what the ceiling is. I wonder if we're a little bit closer to it than we want to admit. I'm not willing to say that this is going to usher in some 24 year run of dominance by the men's national team, but I do think it's a nice indicator of where things are throughout the system.
- [27:24]
Jesse Granger
It's proof that they've invested so much time and so much money into that national development program and almost everyone on the ice today was, has come out of that program. And it just, to me, like you said, it's a, it's proof that all this time and effort and money that they've put into like, kind of redesigning the way we develop hockey players in America is working. Now you can also say, like Mark did, the Canada was still clearly the more talented team and you needed a miraculous game from your best goalie in order to do it. To me, that's saying, well, the work isn't done yet. Like you, like there's still room. Like they still have space to catch up to Canada. Maybe in their, like, in their eyes, it's like in four years we want to be clearly the better team. Like we want to. We want to be the more talented team on the ice where it's Canada saying we need a miraculous game from our goalie in order to beat America. Like, it. It isn't proof that America has climbed the mountaintop and they are clearly the best hockey country, but it shows the. The gap between America and Canada has, has closed a lot in.
- [28:27]
Sean Gentili
The gap, I think is most clear at the tippy top of the roster. Like, I know we just slagged McDavid and Makar and McKinnon for a while and it's deserved because those guys choked. Like, we can be real about this. But in celebrating is the next one, obviously there is. That's where there's ground to be made up. Is that where you talk about a true generational player? A McDavid caliber, a McKinnon caliber guy? With all due respect to Austin Matthews and Patrick Kane and whoever else, the program, in terms of skaters has not produced a guy like that yet. And maybe that's what, maybe that's, you know, where there's more meat on the bone and maybe that's where things can change, is that, you know, they can find and identify and develop a group of players where 10 years from now, we're talking about the top four players in the NHL being American, just like the top four players in the league right now are Canadian. Yeah. Yeah.
- [29:20]
Max Bultman
I was in New York earlier today. So I'm on a plane for the, you know, I was in the airport for the first two periods on. On a plane for the third period, and I walk onto the plane, co pilot's got the game going on his phone, streaming guy next to me has the game on. You know, it's all over screens throughout the plane. That was a really cool thing in the United States, and I wasn't surprised by it. And I think that is like the biggest indicator of all this. Jesse, you talked about the goaltending factor in this conversation too. And like, you know, Canada's going to think, okay, we need a, a hero performance from the goalie. I felt like coming into this game that if Canada lost, people were primed to blame Jordan Bennington. And I, I get that you can, you know, game winners kind of a five hole goal. And people really hate five hole goals. First goal, you know, boldy. I thought it was a really great goal. I didn't think this was like a horrible Bennington goal, but I wanted to get your take on Binnington because I, I really felt like he pretty much held up his end. It's just that, you know, he only saw, what was it, 22 shots and, and two of them go in. I, I don't think Canada could have asked for a lot more from Biddington, though.
- [30:25]
Jesse Granger
They were so good that it ended up the goalie ended up not being a factor for Canada. Like I will say, I don't think Jordan Bennington played a factor whether they won or lost in this tournament.
- [30:35]
Max Bultman
28. 28 shots. Actually, I said 22. 28 shots and.
- [30:39]
Jesse Granger
But I will also say, and I feel like a broken record when I watch goalies. I care way more about the process than I do about the results. And I know that flies in the face of pretty much everyone else watching the hockey game. But from a process standpoint, I still saw the same thing from Bennington today. He had a couple huge saves where he was almost in the face off circle making the save. And that's something he's been doing all tournament. He's challenging more aggressively. He also looked like he was swimming in there a couple times. And okay, Bennington was good enough to win this game. I'll start by saying that this is not me blaming Bennington and I'm not blaming him for the final goal. However, on that final goal, if we're going to nitpick and these are the best goalies in the world playing in the biggest hockey game in the last decade, so we're going to nitpick, right? Like, I'm sorry, but I have to pick apart little tiny things. And when you look at Bennington on that last play, one of my criticisms of him this season is it looks like he's guessing a little too much. And on that last play, if you watch right before the pass across to Hughes, he goes into the rvh. Okay, that was guessing and he guessed wrong. He's so athletic. He still gets way out there to challenge the shot. But he is behind the play at that point because he dropped down into rvh. Now he's getting out there and setting his feet a half millisecond later than he would have if he hadn't guessed. Then he reads the shot wrong. He was down in butterfly. That shots going straight into his pads or his stick. But he reads that the shot was high. He opened that five hole because he thought the shot, shot was going high. And again, that's just because when you're behind the play just by a fraction of a millisecond, it's harder to read it. You're not as settled, you're not as set in your feet. So to me, it's like, I'm no way am I going to put this on Bennington. But it's the tiny little details are what make the difference in this. And we saw some of the concerns that we had for Bennington coming into this in that final Olympic defining play.
- [32:30]
Sean Gentili
Yeah, early game narrative was the Americans passing up shots. We saw Matthews do it a couple times. We saw Jack Eichel do it. They're making the extra pass rather than, you know, taking shots maybe that they could have. It was funny watching people freak out about it in real time as if it was not a concerted effort. Like, I read that as a scouting report thing, not, you know, Auston Matthews is gripping his stick too Tight and can't make a decision that seemed, it seemed like the extra pass and passing up on. On shots, you know, to kind of get them moving across the crease and moving laterally was. Was the point. It seemed like they were doing it on purpose and it. And it, you know, quibble with that if you want. I certainly think in a lot of instances you would like to see Austin Matthews shoot. Shoot that one in particular from the doorstep in the first period. But I don't think it was an accident and I don't think it was. It was a coincidence. Yeah.
- [33:21]
Max Bultman
Speaking of narratives, I think a great point from one of our commenters Here, Christopher Boyd, USA Power play 100% through the tournament. And I'm not going to make this whole podcast like everyone owes Bill Guerin an apology podcast or whatever. Right. There's. There was legitimate criticism here, but in the end he picked a team of guys for roles. And the guys who he picked for the most controversial roles, the most controversial guys he picked delivered. I mean, that penalty kill was outstanding. Dylan Larkin did a lot of that five on three and he deserves a ton of credit. I thought he was one of Team USA's most important players for this whole tournament, but Trocheck, Miller, Nelson, they hold up their end completely.
- [33:59]
Sean Gentili
Western Pennsylvania greatness from Vince cho. Check. And J.T. miller. Yes, that's correct.
- [34:04]
Jesse Granger
Yeah, I mean the penalty kill, they, you could argue it won them the game. That five on three, like with that firepower on the other side, it felt like a certainty that they were going to get at least one goal, maybe two like this. This could be a two goal swing. And the fact that they got nothing and Hellebuck made a couple big saves, but none of them were like backdoor one timers. Like he had the one one timer from the slot, but it was from far enough out where he was able to react to it. And Butterfly, it's like they protected him about as well as you can protect him with three guys defending that power play unit. Super impressive. They deserve all the cred and like you said, give Bill Guerin some flowers for making that decision.
- [34:39]
Max Bultman
The 5 on 3, also the 111 at the end of that game, I mean that is just as important of a kill. I mean we saw Finland basically go by the wayside on a similar. Or maybe that was the checks. I think it was the checks on a similar situation. Like you give him a late power play, you're taking your fate into your own hands. And USA lived to tell the tale.
- [34:56]
Sean Gentili
That was the Slovaks Actually in the bronze medal game, it was like it was game over After a power play like that. Pretty much, yeah.
- [35:06]
Mark Lazarus
Yep.
- [35:07]
Jesse Granger
Yeah.
- [35:07]
Max Bultman
Christopher Boyd also tosses in the Con Smythe shift reference the Henrik zetterberg from the 0708. A little bit reminiscent of that. I don't know if it was quite at that level of individual effort, but I think it was certainly that level of stakes and significance.
- [35:20]
Sean Gentili
So Chris says, Chris says. I, I know the reference. No, I have no, no recollection. You're not familiar with that one.
- [35:27]
Max Bultman
I'll send you the video. Thy ticket lady Jennifer of Coolidge.
- [35:36]
Sean Gentili
Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my Discover card. They accept Discover at Renaissance fairs. Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times.
- [35:50]
Jesse Granger
With the times.
- [35:52]
Sean Gentili
You're playing the loot. Yeah. And it sounds pretty, pretty good, right? Discover is accepted at 99% of places
- [35:59]
Max Bultman
that take credit cards nationwide, based on
- [36:01]
Sean Gentili
the February 2025 Nielsen report. When life feels overstimulating, small comforts matter. Pura's well Being collection uses scent to bring calm, clarity and emotional balance into your space effortlessly. Explore your mood@pura.com moods
- [36:19]
Max Bultman
if you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you
- [36:22]
Jesse Granger
know having a trusted partner makes all the difference.
- [36:26]
Max Bultman
That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgranger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. Any other thoughts from this tournament? I mean, let's talk about the women here for a second too because we're talking about the US winning both of these gold medals. This Team USA on the women's side was unbelievable. That was what we were talking about earlier, Sean, where it is flipped. Canada was the one that needed to try to keep that a tight game because the US Was unsolvable in that tournament.
- [37:09]
Sean Gentili
They were unbelievable and I think that's an indicator. We just, we talked about maybe the next step for the US men is having the one, two or three best players in the world. It's funny that that is still the case for Canada. They have the best player in the world, Marie Philippe Lin. And the US has overcome that fact, the women's team to look like a total juggernaut for the next however many years. Because to me, the big thing about this, there are Two things about the result in the women's gold medal game. One of them is Hillary Knight. It's, It's a, you know, remarkable moment for a remarkable player and an icon of American hockey. You can check that box. The other thing is what it portends for the next 4, 812 years because the US women are in such a position, right. Like Caroline Harvey could be the best. Could be the best hockey player on earth in four years. Like, that's, that's very possible. Abby Murphy is an elite talent. On and on and on. All these, all these players who are 20, 21, 23 years old, up and down this lineup already. And it's not just, it's not just Harvey and Murphy either. It's. It's Layla Edwards. It's Joy Dunn who looks like she's going to be a staple of the national team for, however Heisey. Yeah. Can't forget her. On and on and on. The best players on, on the US team are all 24 or 25 years old. Certainly not the case with, with, with Canada. That's the reckoning for them is that life after Poulin, whether it happens now or in four years, is coming. And I don't think they have an answer for it. The flip side is the Americans across the board, U18, however you want to stack it, like they're set up for success in a very, very real way, whether they have the best player on earth or not. So it's not a necessity to port this back over to the men. It's not a necessity to have the American version of Connor McDavid. If they want to usher in some era of greatness here. It's not a must have because it seems like we're potentially watching the women do it, you know, without having their, their, their own McDavid analog either. Like the Connor McDavid of women's hockey still plays for Canada.
- [39:26]
Max Bultman
Yeah. And Canada's got one coming to like Chloe Primarano. You talked about Harvey potentially being the best player in the world primarily is going to give her a run for her money for best defenseman in the women's world. We'll see as well.
- [39:37]
Sean Gentili
She's, she's. She had a, she's having a little bit of a weird season at, at Minnesota. You know, she hasn't. And she didn't. Didn't make the, didn't make the roster somewhat. Somewhat contentiously so. Yeah, we'll see. Like, maybe Chloe Primarino ends up being Caroline Harvey, but Caroline Harvey is already Caroline Harvey. So there's, there's still some work left to be done there. I'm interested in seeing how that plays out.
- [40:00]
Jesse Granger
It kind of comes down to like, it felt like this was like the old guard of women's Canada hockey and they were kind of, they held on to that and they stuck with that roster. So then the question is, well, is the new wave just not good enough to have unseated them yet? And if that's the case, then this is the golden era for women's US Hockey and they're going to dominate. Or maybe it was a mistake by Canada to bring both the old guard. Right? It could be a little bit of both. That's the problem going to be the answer to the question is like, is that new wave good enough and they were wrong for not bringing them or were they right and the new wave just isn't going to be able to keep up with the US Got to be the concern.
- [40:36]
Max Bultman
You talking about old guard brought a thought that we're supposed to talk about back to my mind. Jesse and Sean, I'm going to send this one to you. Sidney Crosby does not play in this game. He does it, I think, in a way that is very team first. Right. He's like, if I'm not 100%, I don't want to take a spot. I don't want to be the reason. Right. I think that's kind of the, the thrust here. But what do you make? I mean, it's a hard way. And what could be his last Olympic opportunity to be watching from the sidelines?
- [41:04]
Sean Gentili
Yeah, I, I just fascinated to see what he says about the, about the decision making process. You know, I. And he's a general, he's a, he's a, he's a simple guy in some respects, where I think it probably wasn't that tough of a decision for him. If I had to guess, like, if he goes out there and Sundays, I'm at 40% or whatever, if this means that Sam Reinhart doesn't dress or like, like whatever that, whatever the choice, whatever the choice would have been. I, I can't imagine him struggling with it all that much. But it is, it's, it's impossible not to watch that game unfold the way it did. Especially, especially down the stretch when we're watching, you know, Nathan McKinnon, miss, miss open nets and whatever happened in OT and blah, blah, blah, like the Sydney cross. I'll tell you one thing, if Sydney Crosby is 100%, he's that game, that the shape of that game is completely different. He's not going to make those mistakes.
- [42:01]
Max Bultman
Yeah, it's.
- [42:02]
Jesse Granger
It's the only thing that wasn't perfect about this game, like the fact that the US And Canada, we've been talking about this for a decade and they met in the final and we had the game that we all wanted and it went to overtime, and we had like, the Hughes moment that we talked about. Everything about this was perfect, except for it would have been better if Sidney Crosby was on the ice playing with. With Canada. That was the only kind of imperfection in this amazing tournament of hockey.
- [42:26]
Mark Lazarus
Yeah.
- [42:27]
Sean Gentili
Because if Canadians want the out, they have it now. They can. They can cry. Cry in their beers and say, Sidney Crosby wasn't around for this game and things would have been different. And like, is it. Is that potentially true? Sure. But it's not the reality we live in.
- [42:40]
Max Bultman
Yeah, absolutely.
- [42:41]
Jesse Granger
All right.
- [42:42]
Max Bultman
Final thing I want to end on is who kind of changed our opinions of them through this term. I think. I think we're all unanimous. Jack Hughes upped his stock. Your S. Slavkovsky is going to be the obvious one here. I think even Macklin Celebrini, who's probably already on heart ballots coming into this tournament, just further solidified himself as very much in the best player in the world conversation. I think everyone's still chasing McDavid here, but, you know, he's in there. He's very much for real. It is not just about being the best player on his team and getting all the role. He was the best player on the best team in the world or one of the best players on the best team in the world.
- [43:16]
Sean Gentili
Absolutely. That boldy. I mean, that was going to be my name.
- [43:20]
Jesse Granger
Oldie was going to be the guy. I said, yep. We didn't talk enough about him. He scored that goal early and he, like, he. He proved he's in that group of player. Like, he's not the best player on the US but he's definitely in the conversation with Eichel, the Kachuks, Hughes, all those guys, like, Boldy is, to me, teared up into, like, he's in the top tier of forwards in the NHL.
- [43:43]
Sean Gentili
Too many people made it seem like this. Certainly this was not the case, but too many people made it seem like it was Boldy chosen over Jason Robertson or Cole Caufield or whatever. And that's just not. It's not the case. He's a better player than those guys. And I think. And I think he proved it, you know, night in and night out. And this goes back to what we saw from him at the four nations tournament as well. He was fantastic there. So I think like the process, you know, the kind of public glow up sort of started for him, you know, a year ago. But I also think he continued, you know, continued with that in Milan for sure.
- [44:12]
Max Bultman
He's more along the Mark Stone lines
- [44:14]
Sean Gentili
where he's kind of agree with that.
- [44:15]
Max Bultman
One of the best all around players in the world.
- [44:17]
Sean Gentili
And no one's ever going to have a problem with Matt Boldy being on it. Being on a best on best roster for the United States.
- [44:23]
Max Bultman
Absolutely. And I think he's going to be there for a couple more of these tournaments.
- [44:26]
Sean Gentili
And he scored the first goal today, by the way.
- [44:28]
Jesse Granger
Right.
- [44:29]
Sean Gentili
We did not, we did not specify that.
- [44:32]
Jesse Granger
The other guy I'll throw in there and he didn't play today. So we've just, we're talking about kind of US and Canada. But for me, UC Soros and this kind of transitions to we're going right back into the NHL and the deadlines here and like I don't know if the National Predators have any want to trade UC Soros. He's the best player on their team, but his numbers haven't been great behind a pretty bad Nashville team for a while. And to me, if I'm a GM that had even considered that and like I said, I don't know if there are calls but to me this tournament proved that if you play good defense in front of him like the Finns did for most of the tournament, UC Soros is still an elite goalie and he. It's nice to see like I still believed it. I think most people still believed he's still elite despite not having great numbers behind Nashville. To see it with your eyes though against good competition is was was nice to know that UC Sorrow still. I mean he's. He skates so well and he's still one of the best. And if Nashville were willing to trade him, he is by far the best goalie you can add.
- [45:25]
Sean Gentili
Do they have it, do they have a general manager right now? Nashville is it still just trots helping out with things. He should be.
- [45:30]
Max Bultman
I think it's you.
- [45:31]
Sean Gentili
It's me.
- [45:32]
Jesse Granger
I'll raise my hand. Yeah.
- [45:33]
Sean Gentili
If it's me. If it's me, I'm going to get on the phone like real quick here. They should, they should, they should traded him 15 minutes ago.
- [45:40]
Max Bultman
Here's a good one. One T hut. Marty Nachess performing. I think he's absolutely one who raised his stock in this tournament. He was better than Pasternock. At this tournament he was, that team
- [45:49]
Jesse Granger
was so top heavy and we were kind of counting on the top guys and we all expected it to be nature and hurdle like I. And like, but like, I mean, sorry and, but, but nature was the guy on that team totally proven. He's doing it without just a product
- [46:03]
Sean Gentili
of Colorado said it, doing it without McKinnon. I, I think that's huge for him.
- [46:07]
Max Bultman
Lucas Raymond was Sweden's best player. I don't think that one's totally surprising, but the level of offensive impact that he, I mean consecutive three point games going into their, obviously their elimination against the United States, but he was excellent. So there were a lot of big time performances in this one.
- [46:23]
Sean Gentili
One of the.
- [46:23]
Max Bultman
I mean it's just so good to have the NHL back at the Olympics. This was such a fun two weeks. I so thoroughly enjoyed having hockey on all day, almost every day. And it gets a fitting ending with that gold medal game. So fantastic tournament. Any final thoughts from either of you guys? Should we let these guys go?
- [46:42]
Jesse Granger
I can't believe we were robbed of that for 12 years.
- [46:44]
Sean Gentili
I know, I know. That's, that's, that's really it. I feel like over the course of this tournament I found myself at various points, you know, thinking of Patrick Kane or guys like, you know, even someone like. I know Chris Kreider got his, got his moment at the Four Nations Tournament, but some, someone like him who for like a very brief period of his career would have been a no doubter, you know, Olympic team guy and he just aged out of it. There's a whole generation of players on both sides of things that missed out, that missed out on having this opportunity for themselves and also that we missed out on watching them play in games of this, of, of this, of this caliber. So yeah, it is, it's. I don't, and I don't mean to end it on, on a down note, but that is true. It's a reminder of what we missed and a reminder of how important it is for the double IHF and the NHL and the IOC and all these stakeholders to get their act together and make sure that this doesn't go anywhere and that we get this for the foreseeable future. Because this rules.
- [47:50]
Jesse Granger
Right. Well, to end it on a positive note. I think that this was such a resounding success and the eyes of the world were on hockey so much that I don't again never put it past these decisions people to make bad decisions. But I don't see how this, after seeing how great this was I don't see how hockey can ever not allow the NHL at the Olympics.
- [48:08]
Sean Gentili
This moment should be enough. This tournament should be enough. We shouldn't have to turn it into like what deliverables does this add to the mix for the, for the NHL? How does this increase TV viewership? Like what does the attend the attention bump do for the league over the next month or two years or whatever? I don't care. I don't care about that. It's about the games that we just saw like the, the attention that they, that the, that hockey got because of this doesn't need to go any further. It doesn't need to turn in anything bigger. The fact that it happened at all is enough of a win to make it worth it.
- [48:44]
Max Bultman
Two years in a row now the NHL has absolutely owned the month of February. Let's not give that back. That's a very good thing for everyone that is going to do it for us. You can obviously check back in on Wednesday. Wednesday Sean will be back with other Sean to talk about probably something other than the Olympics. But I'm not gonna reserve it because I think I'd love to hear from Sean McIntu.
- [49:04]
Sean Gentili
I should have. I should. I. I should just called him and told him that he, that we weren't live and just seen what he said. Just let him, let him go unfiltered. Don't let him know he's on mic. Just see what, see what the raw uncut thoughts from McIntyre. We missed out.
- [49:18]
Max Bultman
We'll give him a few days to gather and I'll be very excited to hear from both him and Frankie. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Athletic Hockey show for Sean and Jesse. I'm Max Boltman. Talk to you soon.
- [49:31]
Sean Gentili
Boost Mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new phones.
- [49:35]
Mark Lazarus
Wait, we're going on tour?
- [49:36]
Sean Gentili
We're delivering and setting up customers phones. It's not a tour.
- [49:39]
Max Bultman
Not with that attitude.
- [49:40]
Sean Gentili
Introducing store to door switch and get a new device with expert setup and delivery.
- [49:44]
Max Bultman
Delivery available for select devices.
- [49:45]
Sean Gentili
Purchase@boostmobile.com Big news. Boost Mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new
- [49:50]
Jesse Granger
phones at home or work.
- [49:52]
Mark Lazarus
Wait, we're going on tour?
- [49:53]
Jesse Granger
Not a tour. We're delivering and setting up customers phones
- [49:55]
Sean Gentili
so it's easier to upgrade.
- [49:57]
Jesse Granger
Let's get in the tour bus and hit the road.
- [49:59]
Sean Gentili
No, not a tour bus.
- [50:00]
Jesse Granger
It's a regular car we use to deliver and set up customers phones at home or work.
- [50:03]
Max Bultman
Are you a groupie on this tour?
- [50:05]
Sean Gentili
We deliver and set up phones. It's not a tour.
- [50:07]
Mark Lazarus
Oh, you're definitely a groupie.
- [50:09]
Sean Gentili
Introducing store to door switch and get a new device with expert setup and
- [50:13]
Jesse Granger
delivery wherever you're at.
- [50:14]
Max Bultman
Delivery available for select devices purchased@boostmobile.com oh,
- [50:17]
Sean Gentili
could this vintage store be any cuter? Right. And the best part? They accept Discover. Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so. Jennifer oh, yeah, huh? Discover is accepted where I like to shop.
- [50:30]
Max Bultman
Come on, baby, get with the times. Right.
- [50:33]
Sean Gentili
So we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.
- [50:44]
Max Bultman
Based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.