The Hockey Show: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Comparisons

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
Episode: The Hockey Show: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Comparisons
Release Date: December 13, 2024

Hosts and Guests:

• Roy Bellamy – Host
• Austin James – Co-host
• David Dwork – Guest
• Rose Arias – Guest
• Ian Kennedy – Guest (Expert from The Hockey News)

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1. Introduction and Opening Banter (00:01 - 01:46)

The episode kicks off with light-hearted interactions among the hosts, including playful remarks about Rose Arias posting attractive photos on Instagram. Austin James humorously comments, “Rose just posted a picture of herself looking beautiful and you just gotta like, throw her under up to something” (01:26). This segment establishes a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, setting the tone for the discussions to follow.

2. Hot Takes on NHL Teams and Playoffs (02:02 - 06:05)

Roy Bellamy initiates the segment on hot takes, prompting Austin James to share his predictions:

• Colorado Avalanche's Playoff Prospects:
  Austin states, “Colorado Avalanche are now my pick to come out of the west after making the trade for Mackenzie Blackwood last week” (02:07). He praises Blackwood’s performance and anticipates the Avalanche's strong presence in the Stanley Cup Final, citing their improved defense and stacked roster with players like Rasmus Ristolainen and Cale Makar.

• Buffalo Sabres' GM Kevin Adams:
  Roy presents his hot take on the Buffalo Sabres' General Manager, suggesting potential termination due to a lackluster performance over five years, highlighted by the team not making the playoffs in 14 seasons (04:04). Austin concurs, emphasizing the Sabres' declining performance and mismanagement, particularly referencing the handling of star player Jack Eichel.

3. Wins and Fails of the Week (06:11 - 14:21)

Wins:

• Flyers’ Rookie Matt Moulson:
  Austin celebrates Mitch Goff’s playful antics during a Flyers game, where Goff was ejected for signing a fan’s water bottle with his stick. Roy adds, “He got tossed out the game” (06:11), appreciating the rookie’s positive engagement with fans.

• Teddy Bear Toss Brawl:
  Roy highlights an unusual yet entertaining event where a brawl erupted during a teddy bear toss, with a player reacting by shooting bears back into the stands. Austin remarks, “It's exactly what you're picturing in your head right now, I promise you” (08:46), encapsulating the chaotic yet quintessentially hockey moment.

• Nazan Kadri’s Spectacular Goal:
  David Dwork shares his admiration for Nazem Kadri’s impressive goal, describing it as potentially the best of the week (10:13). The goal showcased Kadri’s agility and skill, earning him accolades from the hosts.

Fails:

• Paul Bizonette’s Altercation:
  Austin and Roy discuss a failed attempt by Paul Bizonette to handle a confrontation, mocking the comparison to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Austin jokes, “Biz could probably flick his finger and knock me out cold” (13:22), emphasizing the futility of the altercation.

• Rose’s Non-Hockey Fail:
  Rose Arias shares a comedic fail involving a woman struggling to close a door, leading to laughter among the hosts. Although unrelated to hockey, Austin appreciates the humor, saying, “I'm okay with Rose putting some nonsensical video and us spending 30 seconds on it, because that made me laugh” (14:23).

4. Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Season 2 with Ian Kennedy (17:00 - 31:21)

Guest Introduction:
Roy Bellamy welcomes Ian Kennedy from The Hockey News, author of Ice in the Veins: Women's Relentless Pursuit of the Puck, to discuss the PWHL's second season.

Key Discussions:

• Branding and Attendance Improvements:
  Ian highlights the league’s significant strides in branding, transitioning from generic city names to distinct team identities. He notes a 20% increase in average attendance, with Montreal and Toronto hosting games in larger venues, selling out quickly. “[...] the home openers over the last week and you saw how many jerseys were actually in the stands already. That was really remarkable” (20:14).

• Broadcasting Challenges and Opportunities:
  The conversation shifts to broadcasting, where Ian points out the league’s early challenges with streaming platforms before securing deals with Amazon Prime, CBC, and TSN in Canada, and regional coverage in the U.S. He speculates on potential nationwide broadcasting partnerships, mentioning ESPN as a likely candidate. “I think ESPN plus, or ESPN in general, is probably the leading tender at the moment” (23:04).

• Expansion and Talent Pool:
  Addressing concerns about expanding the league, Ian reassures that an influx of talent from upcoming drafts will support new teams without diluting the quality of play. He emphasizes the rising wave of skilled players, both domestically and internationally, ready to join the PWHL. “There's a huge wave of talent coming [...] it's globally enough women's hockey talent to expand this league quickly and still keep that level of play high” (24:22).

• Marketing and Player Engagement:
  Ian contrasts the PWHL with the NHL, praising the women’s league for its players' authentic personalities and intelligent engagement with fans. He cites examples like Sarah Phillier’s exclusive merchandise deals and encourages players to promote themselves, enhancing the league’s marketability. “These players are really thoughtful, insightful... the marketability for that, to let fans see the players in this league as people, not just as hockey players” (27:08).

• Incoming Talent and League Competitiveness:
  Ian lauds the current and incoming rookie classes, underscoring their impact on the league’s competitiveness. He mentions standout players like Sarah Phillier and Abby Murphy, predicting a dynamic and unpredictable playoff landscape. “There's no gap now. Fourth line to first line is pretty level across the board” (28:23).

Closing Remarks:
Roy thanks Ian for his insights, summarizing the PWHL’s promising growth and future prospects.

5. Florida Panthers Update: Outdoor Game and Recent Performances (33:39 - 36:51)

Outdoor Game Announcement:
Roy Bellamy announces that the Florida Panthers are set to host an outdoor game at LoanDepot Park next season, generating excitement among the hosts. Austin shares his enthusiasm, stating, “I don't know if it's going to be outdoor as well. The roof going to be open. It's going to depend on how the weather is when we get there. But this is cool, man” (34:06).

Game Recap: Panthers vs. Seattle Kraken:
The hosts discuss the Panthers' recent game against the Seattle Kraken, highlighting standout performances and game dynamics:

• Key Players and Goals:
  Austin praises Alexander Barkov’s exceptional backhand goal, noting, “Barkov has a ridiculous... that game over” (35:35). Roy commends the Panthers' defense but critiques their rush defense, leading to a 4-0 loss in Vancouver.

• Player Performances:
  J.T. Miller’s return from injury is celebrated, with Austin noting his two assists and first-star performance (35:31).

• Future Outlook:
  Roy anticipates improvements in the Panthers' defensive strategies for upcoming games, expressing hope that the recent defensive lapses were isolated incidents (35:20).

Season Closing:
Roy and Austin wrap up the episode by previewing the Panthers' next game against the Flames and expressing optimism for the team's prospects in the new season.

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Notable Quotes:

• Austin James:
  “Colorado Avalanche are now my pick to come out of the west after making the trade for Mackenzie Blackwood last week” (02:07).
  “They are selling out every game. So that's really exciting” (20:43).

• Roy Bellamy:
  “It's hockey, baby” (08:46).
  “The league has a huge leg up on the NHL in that regard for sure” (27:08).

• Ian Kennedy:
  “This league has a huge leg up on the NHL in that regard for sure. And I think they're going to embrace that and really lean into it” (27:08).
  “There's no gap now. Fourth line to first line is pretty level across the board” (28:23).

---

Conclusion:

This episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz delves deep into current NHL dynamics, offering bold predictions and insightful analyses. The discussion extends to the burgeoning Professional Women’s Hockey League, highlighting its growth, challenges, and bright future with expert commentary from Ian Kennedy. Additionally, the hosts provide a thorough update on the Florida Panthers, celebrating recent successes and addressing areas for improvement. Packed with engaging banter, expert insights, and memorable moments, this episode serves as a comprehensive guide for hockey enthusiasts looking to stay informed on the latest in the sport.

Transcript

[Austin James]

You're listening to DraftKings Network.

[Roy Bellamy]

This episode is brought to you by Amazon Prime. There's nothing sweeter than baking cookies during the holidays. With Prime, I get all my ingredients delivered right to my door, fast and free. No last minute store trips needed. And of course, I blast my favorite holiday playlist on Amazon Music. It's the ultimate soundtrack for creating unforgettable memories from streaming to shopping.

[Ian Kennedy]

It's on Prime.

[Roy Bellamy]

Visit Amazon.comprime to get more out of whatever you're into.

[Austin James]

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[Roy Bellamy]

Hello. Welcome to the Hockey Show. My name is Roy Bellamy. David Dwork of the Hockey News is to my left. Rose Arias is in the other studio busy posting thirst traps on Instagram. What the hell was that?

[David Dwork]

That was not a thirst trap.

[Roy Bellamy]

That looked like a thirst trap to me.

[Austin James]

Rose just posted a picture of herself looking beautiful and you just gotta like, throw her under up to something.

[Roy Bellamy]

Hey, listen, man, she felt like she. She felt like she looked cute and she posted.

[Austin James]

Felt cute. Posted.

[David Dwork]

It was beautiful. Go, go. See.

[Austin James]

Natural, right?

[David Dwork]

Yeah, natural, natural. No makeup, not anything. You were just being a dad.

[Austin James]

That's a hot take.

[Roy Bellamy]

I am being a dad. Yeah.

[David Dwork]

Yeah, that's my hot take. You're being a dad.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, well, when you get people sliding into your dms. Oh, I know it's your fault. Okay, well, you deal with that. We'll deal with slap shots. Let's start with the hot, hot takes. Dave, go ahead.

[Austin James]

All right, hot takes for last week. Let's see. Where am I?

[Roy Bellamy]

You're in the hot takes.

[Austin James]

Hot takes.

[Roy Bellamy]

Slap shots.

[Austin James]

All right, so my hot take is Colorado Avalanche are now my pick to come out of the west after making the trade for Mackenzie Blackwood last week. This guy is as we see some. Some footage of him just making some ridiculous saves this year. This guy played out of his mind for San Jose this year. He's actually been kind of an under the radar elite goaltender since his time in New Jersey. He never Was really on a really good team. He goes to San Jose playing excellent on a team, a decent Sharks team that doesn't really defend that well. Now he goes to an Avalanche team. They can score, as we know. They can defend a lot better than a Sharks team defend. And they may be getting Gabe Landis talk back at some point. They've already got a pretty stacked roster with Ranson and Cale McCarr. I think the ABs are going to go to Stanley Cup Final now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay, well, so Edmonton's not going to repeat. Do you think Edmonton and Colorado will? Well, I don't think they're going to end up in the Commons final.

[Austin James]

Well, they could, right? Because they're in the different divisions, I think.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Austin James]

But either way I. No, I don't think right now until Edmund. It's like last year. They got to get their back end shored up because if they can't keep the puck out of the net no matter how many times Sidney Crosby and Leon Draisaitl. Who's scoring like a maniac this year?

[Roy Bellamy]

Crosby.

[Austin James]

Oh, Conor McDavid. Sorry.

[Roy Bellamy]

Doing that to me.

[Austin James]

It says that's what the NHL wants. I see Connor McDavid a lot less than I see Sidney Crosby on my tv.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's very unfortunate.

[David Dwork]

We love Sydney Crosby.

[Roy Bellamy]

Don't you ever say that ever again for me. Geez, Rose, keep. Keep posting the thirst traps.

[Austin James]

All right. Roy, do you have a hot take for us?

[Roy Bellamy]

I do now, for the past couple of episodes, I've been saying that a. A couple of coaches might get fired, and that hasn't happened yet. So I might be wrong about this as well, but I'm going to take it a step higher with a general manager that just might be fired as well. He might be short on time. And that is Kevin Adams in Buffalo. Yeah, yeah.

[Austin James]

Shut out. Get off the pot time.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. I mean, he's been there for five years. His best season was a couple years ago. They had 91 points. They were still fifth in the division. I mean that. That's how that's competitive. The Atlantic Division is. I mean that. That's pretty rough. They can't even get a wild card out out of that. Now he's been there for five years. He's been there since COVID June 2020. Buffalo hasn't made the playoffs in 14 seasons.

[Austin James]

No.

[Roy Bellamy]

In five. No seasons. He hasn't brought them there.

[Austin James]

And a lot of talent has left. Ryan left. I left.

[Roy Bellamy]

Brandon Mont left line is Omar left.

[Austin James]

And all four of them forgot about Omar. Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. All four of them ended up being champions. Now look at how the Eichel situation wound up. And out of Sabres completely botched that one. As far as his injury is concerned. Like, that's just like, why would you want to go there? It's not exactly. And he said so. Like it's not a destination. Like places that have palm trees. Now he was talking. That was a shot across the barrel for both Florida and Tampa. Like you're not a good team. You know a good team. You brought back Lindy Ruff. Like as much as I like the move. That hasn't worked out at all. They've regressed since that 91 point year and it's gotten worse this year.

[Austin James]

Yeah. And you thought they were figuring it out, but what if they lost like eight in a row right now or something?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. He's saying nothing is off the table. Like they. They're in cell mode. Just like the Rangers are in cell mode for nothing. Like, but they're in cell mode. But he's saying. And I. And this is a quote that he's not about to quote, unquote, panic. That's a panic move. Right?

[Austin James]

Love hearing that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Austin James]

Well, what are we rebuilding for the sixth straight year? Like, what do we. What are they doing in Buffalo?

[Roy Bellamy]

Nothing.

[Austin James]

They've got some really good young stars. T. Thompson is like amazing.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Austin James]

They've got some pieces there, but yeah, like you got to build around it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. He hasn't done a good job. So it's my opinion is just short time right now. Borrowed time, actually.

[Austin James]

Borrowed time.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Austin James]

It wouldn't be surprising.

[Roy Bellamy]

You know, five year plan is not working out in Buffalo. So that's not a good situation. The wins of the week, David wins of the week.

[Austin James]

All right. Hi, Rose. The wins of the week. My win of the week goes to Flyers rookie Matt V. Mitch cough and an unnamed Flyers fan. As we see the video here, Mitch Goff got thrown out. He got a game misconduct late in their game earlier this week against Utah. As he's walking out. Some fan. Some Philly, you know, Philly fans are awesome. Some fans, like, hey, I've got a spare water bottle for whatever reason. Why would somebody have a water bottle at the game? I don't know.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. How do you bring that in?

[Austin James]

Maybe it was water bottle giveaway night is the only thing I can think of. But he. He's out his water bottle and he's out of Sharpie. And Mitch Cough. This awesome rookie who's playing amazing this year. Credit to him. Credit to the Flyers torts is getting a lot out of him, but he signs the dude's water bottle, he's getting tossed out the game. I thought that was awesome. I think that's a win all around. I really like this rookie and I like what he's doing in Philly.

[Roy Bellamy]

Torts. At the presser, they brought it up to him. He had no idea.

[Austin James]

No, no. But he laughed about it. He liked it, too. So, you know, credit to torts. You never know what you're going to get from torts. I. I'm glad I haven't had to cover him on a beat, just as he's probably scared the bejesus out of me.

[Roy Bellamy]

But, yeah, I mean, we. We've seen his antics. We was Rangers head coach. I mean, you can ask Brooksy. Yeah. Not. Not a good situation between him and the New York Post, I'll tell you that. All right, so my win of the week. It's that time of year, around Christmas time, right? In the minors and major junior leagues. That's. The fans come in and they throw teddy bears onto the ice.

[Austin James]

I love the teddy bear toss.

[Roy Bellamy]

The teddy bear toss. It's that time of year is every Christmas. And in this situation, we're looking at the Barry Coats and the auto 67.

[Austin James]

That's not very teddy bearish.

[Roy Bellamy]

The 67s had scored and apparently there was actually. What happened?

[Austin James]

Did I just see the Grinch involved in this?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, what happened was that one of the. One of the Colts players blocked one of the 67 players from getting.

[Austin James]

Around.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, he blocked one of the players celebrating.

[Austin James]

Very Christmassy, guys.

[Roy Bellamy]

He blocked one of the 67 players from.

[Austin James]

Oh, my God.

[Roy Bellamy]

Celebrating the goal. And.

[Austin James]

And chaos ensues.

[Roy Bellamy]

So, yeah. So again for the audio audience, a goal was scored during the teddy bear toss situation. The fans were tossing teddy bears onto the ice. One of the players get blocked from celebrating, and that caused a brawl while teddy bears were being tossed onto the ice. A line brawl while teddy bears are being tossed onto the ice.

[Austin James]

And it is exactly what you're picturing in your head right now, I promise you.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes, as John Forsland says, that's hockey, baby.

[Austin James]

Oh, God.

[Roy Bellamy]

That, that, that.

[Austin James]

That's just one of those things that's just like disgusting and awful when you look at it on the surface. But when you add the context of hockey, it's just.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's hockey, baby.

[Austin James]

Home. You know, it's perfect. I know. The only thing missing was like. And probably best that we didn't see this, and maybe I shouldn't even say it, but you know, somebody like, taking a teddy bear and using it as a weapon and like, oh, that happened.

[Roy Bellamy]

Last week at one of the teddy bears.

[Austin James]

Of course it did.

[Roy Bellamy]

One of the players, one of the away players was not happy that his team allowed the goal and then the table.

[Austin James]

Oh, yeah, I saw that. He was, like, shooting them back into the stands. Right?

[Roy Bellamy]

Shot the teddy bears back into the stand.

[Austin James]

Cool.

[Roy Bellamy]

Now, keep in mind, these teddy bears are donated to children, you know, to charities and the hospitals. So this guy is tossing with his stick. He's shooting the bears back into the stands. He got. I think he got suspended again.

[Austin James]

Yeah, he did.

[Roy Bellamy]

He got suspended again, which is rightfully deserved considering the context. Like, what are you doing, man?

[Austin James]

Fight. Fight another man. Don't take your frustrations out on an beautiful little teddy bear. Yeah, it's gonna make some kid very happy.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, don't take your. Don't take Yang out on the kids.

[David Dwork]

I have a win of the week. Oh, and mine is a jump. So instead of cadre, he should be called.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, really?

[David Dwork]

Oh, yeah, look at it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay.

[David Dwork]

Two, three.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I just saw that last night. That is an amazing goal by Nazan Khadri.

[David Dwork]

There you go. That's my win.

[Austin James]

I love. You're going to love it because this kind of works with my. My next video of my. My. My fail of the week, guys.

[Roy Bellamy]

So to describe this for the audio audience, it was lightning at Flames. Nazan Kadri had taken the puck away from one of the Lightning players who was belly first on the ice, and he had to leap over him and then. No, I don't think it kind of.

[Austin James]

No, that was mine.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, it didn't look like Conor McDavid. That's his. That's his fellow the week, actually. That's David's fail of the week. But yeah, Nazi Kadri hopped over, was not balanced, by the way. No, he had to spin unbalanced, shot it on net and scored for the Flames. It was a great goal. It's going to be one of the goal. It probably was the goal of the week, actually.

[Austin James]

Yeah, it was good.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Austin James]

Good on Nazem Tadri.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, Phil's the week, David.

[Austin James]

All right, mine. We just saw it. If you want to roll it back. It was also against the Lightning on the road in Alberta. This time they just decided to not defend Connor McDavid. I mean, he came from his own blue line, took a beeline straight down the middle of the ice, cut through everybody. Vasilevsky is probably like, what the hell's going on? I see four of my guys and suddenly I'm facing a breakaway puck, blue line, McDavid gone. Bye, bye. Four guys surrounding him. Nobody touches him. Vasquez, he barely moves as the puck is fought. Just kind of flicked over his blocker. I don't know. This guy's like the best hockey player in a generation. Maybe we should keep an eye on him. Maybe we should defend him. I don't know. But not a good look for Tampa. They're. They're not having a very fun trip through Alberta, it doesn't look like.

[Roy Bellamy]

Now, keep in mind where McDavid received the puck, he received the puck at the face off that. It's nice. And he split three. Three light. Three players there. So. Yeah, not good defense at all.

[Austin James]

Defense optional.

[Roy Bellamy]

Defense optional. My fail of the week comes from one of the suspects in the Paul Bisonette jumping. Here he is talking about describing Paul Bisonette.

[Austin James]

Okay. I'm letting you know that whenever you seen this guy, if you seen this guy and me fighting in a parking lot, you'd say he's going to beat the out of him. He's got not a lick of foul on him. He shot a giant tattoo. He's built like Dwayne Mar Johnson. And my uncle's 50 year old.

[Roy Bellamy]

Is he white guy, black guy?

[Austin James]

Hispanic? Hispanic guy with beard. And he was pushing and shoving just as much as everybody else. Okay. But that's whenever I showed up.

[Roy Bellamy]

So that's an automatic L. The reason why that's an automatic L is you think that Paul Bizon is built like the Rock.

[Austin James]

Well, he's a Hispanic Rock, apparently.

[Ian Kennedy]

Really?

[Roy Bellamy]

He made that comparison?

[Austin James]

Well, he. First he said he was like Dwayne the Rock Johnson. Then he said he was like his Hispanic guy.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. I mean, that's kind of like saying Brett Goldstein looks Hispanic because he has appeared on Ted Lasso. Of course, he shaved it off for shrinking, but. Yeah, but no, man, first of all, that's racist. Second of all, that's stupid. I mean, that has.

[Austin James]

These guys aren't exactly, you know, cracking the atom.

[Roy Bellamy]

I mean, they were drunk at the time. Yeah.

[Austin James]

But it seems like that's their M.O. is they just travel around getting drunk, starting fights. And in this case, they just started the fight with the wrong guy because there was six of them. And the six of them couldn't take down Biz.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Austin James]

And he got. What was it? He took some. He. He gave some more. Is that what he said?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Of course, biz in his career is probably used to scrums.

[Austin James]

And I would Imagine, guys, and you spend a career getting punched and punching and, you know, he. He has some experience. And he's also, like, we've been around Biz.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's.

[Austin James]

You know, I wouldn't say he's Dwayne the Rock Johnson, and he's not going out for too fast, too furious, but I would.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's fit, but he's not that fit.

[Austin James]

No. Well, nobody's that fit.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's not fitted.

[Austin James]

I feel like this is going in a downward spot when I'm trying to say, like, Biz is, like, built. He's a tough dude. He's not the Rock, but. Nobody's the Rock but Biz. I wouldn't. Biz could probably flick his finger and knock me out cold. I would not want to mess with Biz. So these guys, I'm glad they got what was coming to them.

[Roy Bellamy]

Keep in mind, he's in that DraftKings commercial. He's in the shower. So if you want to look at how fit he is, then you can look at that commercial. Not throwing the Rock Johnson, but good for a hockey player.

[Austin James]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Rose has a fail.

[David Dwork]

Yeah. It's not a fail of the week.

[Austin James]

And it's not you getting pepper sprayed.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's not a fail of the week. Look.

[David Dwork]

No, it's not a fail of the week. It's just a fail. Go.

[Austin James]

What did I. What am I watching?

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay, so a woman right now is trying to close the door with foot Rose.

[Austin James]

Nothing to do with hockey abs. Absolutely not. It was just some lady who tried to close her door. Failed, like, three times. It's. It's hilarious. I love that one. The fake booty bump. And then she's basically.

[Roy Bellamy]

She left the window open, by the way. Yeah, that's the other thing.

[Austin James]

You know what? As much as this has nothing to do with hockey, I'm okay with Rose putting some nonsensical video and us spending 30 seconds on it, because that made me laugh.

[David Dwork]

You're very welcome.

[Austin James]

Yeah, that very Rose.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's very Rose. All right, so I'm on brand this week in hockey. What. What have you noticed?

[Austin James]

Let's see. I've noticed that the Panthers are out west.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Yes. They are late times.

[Austin James]

Yeah. I've noticed that. I don't enjoy west coast games as much as I used to.

[Roy Bellamy]

No.

[Austin James]

Because now I'm writing till 2 in the morning, and then, like, today I had to wake up early. But no, what am I noticing is, as I kind of glanced through the standings right now, I'm really enjoying watching the Washington Capitals And I'm afraid of what's going to happen when Alex Ovechkin comes back. Oh, because they're already playing so well. The moves they made in the off season were great. Obviously the move that they made at the draft, getting Logan Thompson, Jacob Chickrin has been great for them. It's just. It's fun. And I don't think we saw it coming.

[Roy Bellamy]

No, absolutely not.

[Austin James]

That's Thomas. What's. What makes it better. And I'm sure you're more than happy to see OV having a much better season than. Than your buddy Sydney over there in Pittsburgh because they. Those just always kind of tied in together. But it's interesting because right now the Capitals are leading the Metro.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes.

[Austin James]

They're ahead of the Rangers, who, you.

[Roy Bellamy]

Know, that is a different situation with the Rangers.

[Austin James]

I'm not selling off the Rangers just yet just because they've got some good players and they've got an amazing goalie, but they got to figure their shit out right now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Keep in mind, though, the Capitals, although this is a shorter time frame for Florida when it happened to them playing without the best player on their team.

[Austin James]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Due to injury, has still played extremely well. It's exactly the same thing Florida had to go through. And once OB returns, it's going to be.

[Austin James]

That's a really good point.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. It's going to be really, really interesting in the Metro. So there's that. So, hey, it's a fun time right now in hockey. So we're talking about the men, though we're going to switch to the women because we are going to talk to Ian Kennedy of the Hockey News.

[Austin James]

I'm excited for this. We've been meaning to get to the PW for a while.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes. Yes. And I'm glad that we're going to have him on. Ian Kennedy of the Hockey News is going to join us next to talk about the PWho and them in the second season right now. And we're going to take a look at how the season is going. We're going to talk about the difference. Differences between season one in season two. Ian Kennedy is coming up next.

[David Dwork]

I'm trying out for the PW Women's Hockey League.

[Austin James]

I'll be there for that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Learn how to hit.

[Austin James]

You have my support.

[Tony]

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[Roy Bellamy]

The Professional Women's Hockey League has started its season. This is the second year that they have been in existence and they have names now. They have uniforms. Can you believe that?

[Austin James]

Uniforms and everything. It's really great.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's great. Just like major league.

[Austin James]

They're cool looking though. I say they did a pretty good job.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I think so too. Ian Kennedy of the Hockey News joins us. He's the author of Ice in the Veins, Women's Relentless Pursuit of the Puck. He covers women's hockey and the PWHL in its second season has names, so it has branding. Has there been any positive increases as far as money is concerned into the league with this new branding?

[Ian Kennedy]

I mean, the fans are eating this stuff up right now. The merchandise. Even in season one when there wasn't any, the PWHL had a very difficult time keeping things on the shelves and they were out of stock almost immediately. But I think it was pretty impressive when we saw the home openers over the last week and you saw how many jerseys were actually in the stands already. That was really remarkable to see that kind of presence right off the bat. So it's a big thing for the league, definitely, to have those names and logos out there. People are attaching themselves to the identities already. We're getting lots of fun stuff coming up out of it. So it was definitely a big step forward for the league from their generic city names last year.

[Austin James]

So one thing I wanted to ask you about in terms of. I guess it kind of falls into that rank, the attendance numbers. I know they've gone up from year one to year two, I believe. I read that they're about averaging about a thousand fans per game more than they were at this time last year, which is pretty impressive considering that's about, what, 20%, 20% increase. I also know that there have been games where they've done like the larger venues and they've gotten some really big crowds. So how excited have they been by the attendance numbers and, and the way that they've been increasing year over year?

[Ian Kennedy]

Any type of. I mean, they, I think they were over. They were excited from year one. It was. They exceeded all expectations right there and then. But season two has really got off to an exciting start with the, the attendance levels. I mean, Montreal had to move into a bigger venue and they brought just over 10,000 people to their first game. Toronto had to move to a bigger venue that seats, you know, just over 8,000. And they're pretty much selling that out every game. So that's really exciting. But when you look at the neutral site games, whether it's at Scotiabank in Toronto or this season, they're going to go out to Vancouver and Edmonton, and they've already sold out both of those venues. Quebec City is over 17,000 for their game. Seattle looks pretty full. Denver looks pretty full. It's all really positive. The market's been there for professional women's sports for a decade right now or longer. But hockey's just catching up and we're seeing the people are ready, fans are ready for this. Not just in the six markets they're in, but obviously there's lots of talk of expansion coming as soon as next season. And the attendance numbers in some of those games this year are really going to be deciding factors for what markets get new teams.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, so we have added attendance. We're going to have added teams coming up soon. Aside from the branding portion of it, in a business sense, what has the league learned?

[Ian Kennedy]

I think they're learning every single game. There's a lot of items that they're still catching up on, from social media to the broadcasting being a huge aspect that they're still trying to figure out. We saw a really early season switch from some YouTube games to Twitch, which was not really well received by fans. But I mean, in Canada, they've got Amazon prime, cbc, TSN covering pretty much every game that there is. And in the United States, it's a little more regional nessen up in New England, and we've got some great coverage in New York with msg, but it's still. They're still looking for a national broadcasting partner in the United States. And I think that's going to be probably dependent on expansion again, because you can't have a national broadcaster that's, you know, not a national league. It's a regional league right now. And I think that they recognize the need to switch that as well as.

[Roy Bellamy]

Any of the national broadcasters. Do you have a lead in whom would take the product? Would it be espn? Would it be tnt? Or would it be someone like, you know, like a usa?

[Ian Kennedy]

Well, historically, ESPN plus was the broadcaster for a lot of women's leagues in the past, including the previous iteration of the the phf. So I could see ESPN being right in on that conversation. But one thing that we have seen a little bit of a trend is that the PWL is following the NHL's footsteps and a lot of the business decisions. And I think that we might see them targeting similar partnerships that the NHL have. And so, you know, anybody's guess right now, but I'd say that ESPN plus, or ESPN in general, is probably the leading tender at the moment.

[Austin James]

You mentioned expansion before. One thing that kind of crossed my mind as I researched a little bit thinking about the expansion idea is that a lot of the teams seem to be struggling to hang on to the reserve players, which I would think would make it difficult for expansion just because. Are there enough players to fill a couple more teams now? I know that might tie into the fact that the reserve players don't get the same benefits and pay that the rostered players get. But is that something that could impact expansion? Do you think the talent pool is.

[Ian Kennedy]

The number one thing the league's looking at that? They've mentioned this a number of times, that they feel like they got the on ice product right. And I believe that too. I think that a lot of people, men's hockey fans in particular, that watch this league are really excited and surprised by the level of play that's there. It is elite. The skill level is right off the charts, but there's a huge wave of talent coming. Maybe not in this 2025 draft, but the 2026 draft is just loaded. I mean, pretty much the best players from the United States national team right now, like Carolyn Harvey, that was, you know, USA Hockey player of the year last year. Layla Edwards, who was the World Championship mvp. There's a huge group that's going to be coming in over the next two years and that's probably what we're looking at in terms of expansion. I don't know if they'll do two teams this year because of that, the talent coming in. But there's definitely globally enough women's hockey talent to expand this league quickly and still keep that level of play high and some parity across the board.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, I've already said that the National Hockey League has done a bad job of promoting its players. I mean, Lord knows I'm tired of seeing Sidney Crosby on my television. Like, they've been doing that for 20 years. Like, how can the women's Hockey League, how can the PWHL learn from the missteps of the NHL?

[Ian Kennedy]

I would say that they should not follow the NHL in pretty much any way. That's my personal opinion. I think that, you know, avoiding watching what the NHL does and then doing the opposite might be better. But they have. The good thing about this league is they have an incredible amount of intelligent, big personality people. I mean, we're not talking about uneducated women here. This is a league of people with master's degrees, doctorate degrees. They are all university students that have come out of there. They're really well spoken, articulate people. They're fun. I mean, if you look at their social media platforms, they are actual people. It's not that kind of, you know, the NHL. I find that a lot of players get programmed to be these little robots and give you the same six word answer every single time, like pucks deep, you know, all that stuff, all the cliches are there. But when you talk to these players in this league, you're getting really thoughtful, insightful answers. And I think that the marketability for that, to let fans see the players in this league as people, not just as hockey players, which is what a lot of research shows us, that fans want to know those players better. So I think this league has a huge leg up on the NHL in that regard for sure. And I think they're going to embrace that and really lean into it.

[Roy Bellamy]

Should the players actually promote themselves? Like, players like Sarah Nurse have done an excellent job of promoting themselves.

[Ian Kennedy]

If you look on, you know, if you go on Instagram and you type in whoever, Emma Malte, Callie Flanagan, I mean, you're gonna. These might be players that some people don't know, but you're gonna see them doing fun things and you're gonna see them engaging with fans. They're in the Community all the time. Brands are really latching on. We saw Sarah Phillier just signed a exclusive deal with Upper Deck the other day to put out unique merchandise and specific cards for her. And we're seeing these partnerships coming more and more. The market again is there and the brands also see that the big personality of these players, the relatability of the players. There's a huge market that's being filled right now that was empty before. And it's a really exciting time, not just for the players, but for businesses and brands and hockey in general.

[Austin James]

You mentioned the incoming class of talent and how the influx could really help the league. But right now the rookie class has been doing really good as well. You mentioned Sarah Phillier and what she's been doing in New York. Dominique Petrie in Minnesota. Just wanted to get your thoughts on how great the incoming class has been this season.

[Ian Kennedy]

Spectacular. I mean, Philly has just blown the roof right off the league. She's pretty much doing it all right now. And I think that's just a testament to the fact about women's hockey is that there's as much talent, high end talent outside of this league still as there is inside the league. I mean, you look at the USA's national team and there's like 10 players that are still in the NCAA and every single one of them could step in and make an immediate impact like Abby Murphy, who if she declares this year will be undoubtedly the first overall pick. But the league is filled with great players that have just come in, whether it's veteran Europeans like Ron Just Alvalin or Daniela Pesheva along with those domestic players. Whether it's Hannah Bilka, Kayla Barnes, Danielle Sardackne who was the second overall pick just behind Philly, big body, really intelligent, scored the golden goal for Canada this year. I mean the league is continuing to get better and anyone that watched last year and it's just tuning in this year, it's really clear that there is no gap now. Fourth line to first line is pretty level across the board. There's good players up and down lineups and we're seeing really excellent professional hockey players that aren't able to stick on rosters right now in year two and that's just impressive.

[Roy Bellamy]

You mentioned last year and we know Minnesota won the championship. The way too early predictions here. What do you have?

[Ian Kennedy]

I look at someone like Toronto and I see the depth that they have up front. Once they start to click, I think they're going to be a really difficult team to deal with. They've Got basically two lines of senior national team players. Minnesota keeps finding a way to do it early on, but there's some dark horses. I mean, Ottawa last year was probably a team that had more bad luck than anybody could have at all predicted.

[Austin James]

No. And an overwork goalie.

[Ian Kennedy]

Absolutely 100%. I mean, you can't play one goaltender the entire season. I think that she got a game and a half off or a game in a period. That's it. And but it's anybody. And I think that's the really interesting part about this league is Minnesota last year came into the playoffs on a horrific slump, wins it all. This year it could be the same thing. The parody is right there. Night in, night out, where whoever was last place last year could consistently beat the first place team this year. So it's really exciting. It's like every fan base doesn't have to go through that. This is our year gig. It really could be any team's year. Probably right now for the next three or four years, we're going to see that parody.

[Roy Bellamy]

He wrote the book Ice in the Veins. Women's relentless pursuit of the puck. Of the puck. And he writes for the Hockey News. He covers women's hockey. He is Ian Kennedy. Ian, thank you very much for joining us.

[Ian Kennedy]

Thanks for having me, guys.

[Mike]

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[Roy Bellamy]

All right, it's time for our Panthers update, because that's the team we cover.

[Austin James]

Yes, it is.

[Roy Bellamy]

So if you got any complaints about that, you can kiss my ass. All right.

[Austin James]

So it'll pay us to cover another team. I guess I. I guess the relocation would be a little pricey.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Yeah. You can't afford me. The Florida Panthers apparently are slated to host an outdoor game at Lone Depot park next season.

[Austin James]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

And I'm kind of excited.

[Austin James]

We're going. We're going to go to an outdoor game.

[Roy Bellamy]

We're going to be going to an outdoor game.

[Austin James]

Yeah, man, that's. I mean, I don't know if it's going to be outdoor as well. The roof going to be open. It's going to depend on how the weather is when we get there. But this is cool, man. We've been talking about this for a while. I don't know if I ever actually believed that it was going to happen. So, like, I don't think I've actually kind of processed in my brain that, like, it's happening in south Florida. We're going to go. We're going to see the. Like it's the Panthers going to be the center of the NHL universe for a little while. Whether. We don't know yet whether it's going to be a winter classic game. We don't know if it's going to be. We know it's not going to be stadium series. That's what we've been told.

[Roy Bellamy]

I mean, that's later in the season.

[Austin James]

So I'm not sure, but it's happening. That's what's really cool about it. I'm curious who the Panthers are going to play. I've heard a couple of teams thrown out, but nothing for sure yet. I'm pumped, dude. This would be awesome.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that's going to be great. I thought it was going to be Tampa, but hey, listen, Gary Bettman, like we've had definite criticism, criticisms about your.

[Austin James]

Tenure, but yeah, our goal, our new goal, our old goal was the Stanley Cup. We got there. This one. We will have to skate on that ice.

[Roy Bellamy]

Holy shit. Okay. All right. I. Okay. We'll see. We'll see. We will see.

[Austin James]

We will see.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. So the Panthers faced the Seattle cracking earlier this week. They wanted to shoot out and before the game happened, Josh Mahura and Brandon Montour received their rings finally.

[Austin James]

Yes. Well deserved. Obviously we missed the her dog And Mount Montour was amazing. A fun game, maybe great for Joey Decord. Stood on his head for Seattle.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Austin James]

And then the Panthers put some fireworks up in the shootout.

[Roy Bellamy]

The Panthers only needed basically Alexander Barov, Sam Reinhard and to Barov turned to Cor.

[Austin James]

He gave him a brain pretzel on that one. Reinhardt's. He had no chance of stopping Reinhard after that happened to Barkov. You might as well just gone to the locker room.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, it's one of the best backhands in the league.

[Austin James]

Barkov has a ridiculous. I mean we've seen it for years how good he is on the shootout. But right here, when he made that little fake move and you freeze the goalie mid shootout, that's. That's that game over. As a goaltender, it's. It's the worst. And he had no chance here on the Reinhardt shot.

[Roy Bellamy]

And the Panthers defense has been very good. They were very good in this game. But last night in Vancouver, they lost four nothing.

[Austin James]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

And the defense kind of stifled them as far as shots are concerned. But the rush defense was not good. And that's how. That's basically how can the Canucks scored the goals.

[Austin James]

Yeah. Hopefully it's a one off as Palmer he said after the game. We'll find out in their next game in Calgary. But yeah, very unlike the Panthers to see him giving up that many rush opportunities.

[Roy Bellamy]

J.T. miller returned from injury after a month and got two assists and the first star. Good for him and the fans. Absolutely loved it. The Panthers will face the Flames tomorrow. Ryan Lomborg where he get his ring and we are done for this week. We'll see you next week for the end of the year. The last episode of the year. See you then. Okay, goodbye.

[Austin James]

Howdy folks.

[Unknown]

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