The Hockey Show: Finally Talking Heated Rivalry

Summary

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

The Hockey Show: Finally Talking Heated Rivalry

Date: January 23, 2026
Hosts: Roy Bellamy, David Drucker, Ethan, Rose
Guest: Adnan Virk (Prime Monday Night Hockey, NHL Network)

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Episode Overview

Broadcasting from Downtown Miami’s Elser Hotel, Roy, David, Ethan, and Rose deliver an entertaining and passionate dive into current hockey culture, the impact of pop-culture crossovers on the sport, and both NHL and Olympic storylines. The crew finally tackles the phenomenon of "Heated Rivalry," the acclaimed drama opening new doors for hockey, and they chat with Adnan Virk about the NHL season, Olympic expectations, and more. The tone is lively, sometimes irreverent, with an emphasis on honest hot takes and unfiltered anecdotes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. "Heated Rivalry": The Hockey Drama Breaking Barriers

[00:53 – 08:26]

• Series Premise & Impact:

  • Ethan describes "Heated Rivalry" as "basically a fan fiction of what if Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were gay," praising it as a compelling romance set in a hockey environment.
  • “It’s a gay hockey show. That is what it is...It’s certainly something I’ve never seen before.”
    — David Drucker [02:05]
  • Ethan emphasizes its cultural impact:
    “The best thing it's done is it's opened hockey to an entire new world, and it's brought a lot of new fans into watching the NHL. And I think that's the best thing: hockey is for everybody.” [04:44]
  • David highlights the show’s real-world positive influence, noting NHL players feeling empowered to come out after watching.

• Casting Discussion:

  • The group marvels at the Russian lead played by a Texan (Connor Story as Ilya Rosenov), emphasizing acting and language skills.
    • Rose: “The guy who is Russian is not Russian.” [02:54]

• Behind-the-Scenes Media Drama:

  • David brings up [05:08] controversies arising from other hockey podcasts (Empty Nutters), with private texts bashing the show's “inclusivity.”
  • Quote from David: “He’s saying that they are pandering the gay people.” [05:57]
  • Roy and Rose criticize the lack of authenticity, emphasizing the importance of sticking to one’s truth.

• On Hockey Culture & Homophobia:

  • Ethan calls out the damage done by disingenuous voices in hockey media and reiterates the sport’s struggle with homophobia.
  • “We’ve had enough problems with this subject that we don’t need people making us…look bad by being ungenuine and being fake.” [07:20]

2. Olympics & Hockey in Pop Culture

[08:26 – 13:17]

• “Miracle”: An All-Time Hockey Movie

  • David and Ethan reminisce about the “Miracle” film and its significance, with David calling it possibly “the best hockey movie of all time.” [09:23]
  • Ethan underlines his Olympics obsession and how the Olympics elevate all sporting narratives.

• Olympic Anticipation

  • Discussion on the upcoming Winter Olympics, excitement about NHL player participation, and the authenticity that movies like Miracle bring to fans and athletes alike.

3. Florida Panthers Weekly Recap & Analysis

[13:17 – 15:18]

• Panthers' results: Suffered a blowout by the Hurricanes (9-1), a win over the Capitals (5-2), a home loss to the Sharks (4-1), and a shootout victory over the Jets (2-1).
• Matthew Tkachuk’s return: The crew discusses his performance post-injury, resilience, key assists, and overall situation amid Panthers’ injury woes.

4. Segments: Puck Luck, Stat of the Week, Rose’s “Un Minuto”

[15:12 – 19:44]

• Puck Luck (Betting Parlay, DraftKings):

  • David’s parlay: Mitch Marner over 2.5 shots, Anthony Stolarz over 25.5 saves, Brandon Hagel over 2.5 shots; odds +551. [16:28]

• Stat of the Week:

  • Focus on Quinn Hughes’ exceptional assist stats with the Wild. [16:46]

• Rose’s One-Minute Recap:

  • Animated summary of the LA Kings getting “dogged” by the Ducks; concludes with poetic flair:
    “This week, the Dogs won the Oscars.” — Rose [19:22]

5. Wins & Fails of the Week

[19:44 – 25:57]

• Win:

  • The goalie fight between Alex Nedeljkovic and Sergei Bobrovsky.
  • Ethan: “He skated 200ft for this fight, dude. I’m telling you…” [20:13]
  • The crew breaks down the surreal nature of the usually reserved Bobrovsky dropping gloves. [21:34]

• Fails:

  • A KHL own-goal (“like angels in the outfield type stuff”) [22:41]
  • A dubious tripping penalty where the ref called a trip after a player just fell. [23:24]
  • Flyers’ empty-net blunder costing a win. [24:09]
  • Rose shares a nostalgic “fail” from childhood, dressing up as a penguin—sort of. [25:07]

• U.S. Under-18 Women’s Team Shoutout:

  • Celebrating their perfect gold, never trailing or tying—a program first. [25:36]

6. Interview: Adnan Virk

[29:06 – 46:34]

• Hockey Life & “Heated Rivalry”

  • Adnan shares anecdotes from the road and family, critiques Quinn Hughes’ play, and praises the cultural crossover of “Heated Rivalry.”
  • Adnan:
    “It's become a massive sensation...people who are not hockey fans are saying they're becoming hockey fans because of Heated Rivalry.” [31:38]
  • Chimes in on the “Texan playing a Russian”—skeptical about learning Russian in “8 days,” but everyone agrees the accent's surprisingly convincing. [33:16]

• Olympic Preview

  • Adnan’s Olympic picks: Hers for Canada, sees US as top rival, calls Czechia an intriguing dark horse. [36:16]
  • “USA's goaltending, by the way—not as strong as you might think on paper… I still love USA's back end. I love Canada's forwards.”
  • The crew jokes about the “Sopranos” playing for Team Italy. [38:35]

• NHL Season & Panthers Outlook

  • Adnan discusses Florida’s playoff push, the impact of returning stars Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand, and Bill Zito’s leadership. [39:46]

• NHL Mid-Season Award Predictions

  • Jack Adams: John Cooper (Lightning)
  • Norris: Cale Makar ("every time")
  • Calder: Demidov (with love for Ducks’ Beckett Senica)
  • Vezina: Ilya Sorokin
  • Hart: Still favors Connor McDavid, but names Celebrini as a dark-horse if the Sharks make playoffs

• Oscar Talk with Rose

  • Rose: “Is it the first time a Brazilian actor has been nominated?” [46:12]
  • Adnan: “I think he's got a chance ... But I do think it's going to be Timmy [Chalamet].” [46:34]

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Noteworthy Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You know what it is? This is basically a fan fiction of what if Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were gay?” — Ethan on "Heated Rivalry" [03:33]
• “It's certainly something I've never seen before. … I've already heard about hockey players who are coming out of the closet because of this show, and it's empowering them to be more comfortable.” — David Drucker [02:05]
• “Hockey is for everyone, despite the NHL’s best efforts.” — Roy Bellamy [35:41]
• “The best thing it's done is it's opened hockey to an entire new world ... Hockey is for everybody.” — Ethan [04:44]
• “If you watch it and you're saying you like it and then go say something else… then I'm not going to believe anything you're saying to me. Like, you have to be like, you guys, you got to stick to your truth.” — Rose [06:48]
• “He skated 200 ft for this fight, dude… I start screaming, Bob is fighting. Bob is fighting.” — Ethan [20:13]
• “I’ve had people approach me over the last week… talking about Heated Rivalry… We’ve never spoken about sports before.” — David Drucker [35:24]
• “It’s a bad look, though. … Guest bookers would want to avoid that show.” — Roy Bellamy on podcast hypocrisy [06:39]
• “USA's goaltending …not as strong as you might think on paper... I still love USA's back end. I love Canada's forwards.” — Adnan Virk [36:16]
• “Team Italy… This looks like the Sopranos men's league team. Like, this is spectacular. I'm definitely gonna be rooting for team Italy.” — David Drucker [38:27]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Heated Rivalry breakdown: [00:53 – 08:26]
• Olympics/Miracle movie: [08:26 – 13:17]
• Panthers talk: [13:17 – 15:18]
• Betting/Stat/Minute segments: [15:12 – 19:44]
• Wins/Fails: [19:44 – 25:57]
• Adnan Virk Interview: [29:06 – 46:34]
• NHL award picks: [43:17 – 45:43]
• Oscars talk: [46:12 – 47:20]

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Conclusion

This episode is equal parts irreverent hockey banter, insightful discussion of the intersection between pop culture and sport, and honest commentary on inclusivity in hockey. From "Heated Rivalry’s" cultural moment to the on-ice drama of the Panthers and the excitement of the Olympics, The Hockey Show delivers for both hardcore fans and newcomers discovering the sport through new, unexpected avenues.

Transcript

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[Roy Bellamy]

There's nothing better than a goalie fight.

[David Drucker]

Hell, yeah.

[Rose]

Yes. Go, Bobby.

[Roy Bellamy]

This is the Hockey Show. David Drucker. The Hockey News is over there. Rose and Ethan, they're not out of the studio.

[Ethan]

And Percy.

[David Drucker]

And Percy.

[Ethan]

Forget Percy. He's the most important guest on the show today.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay. This is the Hockey Show. You can check us out on YouTube. Our YouTube page is the Hockey Show DLS on TikTok, the Hockey Show 7 and on X Instagram and threads at Hockey Show DLS. We have been the only hockey podcast that hasn't talked about heated rivalry. This the.

[David Drucker]

You had to watch it first.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, we got to watch it first on. I mean.

[Ethan]

I mean, speak for yourselves.

[David Drucker]

Well, you've watched it. I'm halfway through the season. Roy is tbd.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. With Hudson Williams and Connoisseur being the Olympic torchbearers up in Milan, figured it would be a good time to finally actually talk about this show. I haven't watched it yet, as we said, but Ethan and David have. Ethan has seen the entire run of the first season. I don't know where you are in the season.

[David Drucker]

I'm on episode three. I'm halfway through.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, so you're halfway through. So why don't you guys.

[David Drucker]

It takes me forever to watch anything. Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

I think you're still working on Pluriverse over there.

[David Drucker]

I am. Dude, thanks for the reminder.

[Roy Bellamy]

You got it. All right, so convince. Well, not. I'm going to end up watching anyway, but why don't you tell me about the show? Convince me of watching it here?

[David Drucker]

I mean, it's for, you know, it's a gay hockey show. Like, that's. That is what it is. It's two hockey players, two of the best hockey players in the world that end up kind of falling in love. And it's the trials and tribulations or, you know, obstacles that they have to maneuver to trying to keep it a secret. And I don't want to give too much away, but it's. It's certainly something I've never seen before. Yeah, it's, you know, in terms of, like, breaking down barriers and giving you something that's maybe not going to make everybody comfortable, but certainly something that's prevalent in the world today. I've already heard about hockey players who are coming out of the closet because of this show, and it's empowering them to be more comfortable, and I think that's awesome. But, yeah, I mean, it's. It's different. It's really entertaining. The acting is spectacular, but it's certainly different.

[Roy Bellamy]

The world has changed in the last four. Four years, hasn't it?

[David Drucker]

No. I mean, I'm gonna give you a.

[Rose]

Reason, and I know we talked about it with Admin, but the guy who is Russian is not Russian.

[David Drucker]

He's Texan.

[Rose]

Texan.

[David Drucker]

He's a freaking Texan.

[Rose]

A great, great actor, and he's very handsome. So that's. That's the main reason to watch it. Very handsome.

[Ethan]

Yeah. So Connor Story is the guy who plays Ilya Rosenov, who is the lead Russian character. He's the superstar. It's Roy. You know what fan fiction is?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes. Apparently that has happened for the Kraken. There was a story that came out of Seattle a couple years ago about fan fiction that one of the players wives was not happy about.

[Ethan]

Yeah. So fan fiction is.

[David Drucker]

You.

[Ethan]

You know what it is? This is basically a fan fiction of what if Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were gay? Like, that's basically what the story is. It's a Canadian superstar and a Russian superstar picked at the same time, basically. Well, one was picked, you know, well, together. Basically came up together in the Superstar Forever. Right, Exactly. There's less of a struggle. Like, they both win early in their careers versus how Crosby won early and then Ovechkin won late. But it's basically like that. And it's a really interesting story. I mean, the show itself, like, it's more of a romance story where their jobs are hockey than it is a hockey story or a hockey show. But it's really good. I mean, it's a great romance story. The writing is great. The character development is really good. The storyline, I think, is really great. I have my problems with it in terms of the story itself. Like, it moves a little fast, and there are some things that I want them to build on a little more that I hope they do in coming seasons and stuff. But, yeah, I think. I mean, it's awesome.

[Roy Bellamy]

What do you think about the show, Percy?

[Ethan]

Percy loved it. She watched it with me. She thought it was great. Percy, come here.

[Rose]

And the fact that it's Sidney Crosby makes it even better. Okay.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, fine. All right, let's.

[Ethan]

I highly recommend it to everybody. And the best thing it's done is it's brought. It's opened hockey to an entire new world, and it's brought a lot of new fans into watching the NHL. And I think that's the best thing is hockey is for everybody. And. And I think the show has done a great job proving that.

[David Drucker]

One thing that we gotta touch on, though, on that topic of how this show is kind of opening the world up to other hockey players, which is what we're all about. Hockey's for everyone, right?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

But apparently there's a podcast out there that's gotten very popular talking about this show, and the news just came. What chaos? No, what chaos. We love. What chaos. That's not the one we love.

[Ethan]

What chaos.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, no, there's another podcast. No, no, this one is about the Empty Nutters podcast. This is what Chris Cody was talking to us about before the show. Oh. Apparently these guys have been, like, going a lot on their show about empty or about heated rivalry, which is awesome. Good for them. But I guess the outsports.com got a hold of some text messages from one of the hosts of the show, Dan Powers, really bashing the show behind the scenes in text messages, calling the show creators cowards.

[Roy Bellamy]

Cowards.

[David Drucker]

Yeah. Quote, this is the trash they make because it panders. It's provocative. It checks inclusivity boxes.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's saying that they are pandering the gay people.

[Dave]

Is that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Is that what he's saying?

[David Drucker]

I guess it's definitely speaking out of two sides of your mouth. And like, wow. I don't know. It's just we try to be genuine on the show. I feel like we don't say anything on these mics that we don't mean.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Like, I haven't watched the show yet.

[David Drucker]

Well, no, like, honesty is, you know, it's where you should start with everything.

[Adnan Burke]

Yeah.

[David Drucker]

But no, I just. When Chris brought that to my attention and I started reading about it, it's just like, do we have to try that hard to. To make. To get attention to. To get the viewers into. I don't know, like, just because it's a popular show like that. We haven't talked about it for a few weeks as we haven't watched it yet. We're late to board the train. That's the honest truth. But here we are talking about it, so this just kind of irked me. I don't know.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's a bad look, though. I mean, that's the type of thing that Guest bookers would look at and quite frankly would want to avoid that show.

[Adnan Burke]

Right?

[Rose]

Yeah. No, because I agree with you. Like, if you watch it and you're saying you like it and then go say something else is like, then I'm not going to believe anything you're saying to me. Like, you have to be like, you guys, you got to stick to your truth. So if you don't stick to your truth, who are you?

[David Drucker]

If you're afraid to speak your truth about something instead of lying, then just stay off the topic.

[Ethan]

And hockey has had enough problems with homophobia in, in the league.

[Roy Bellamy]

Oh, by the way, Gary Bettman. Gary?

[Ethan]

Yeah, Gary Bettman said he liked the show.

[David Drucker]

He said he changed it in one night. Yeah, he said.

[Ethan]

He said he liked the show and it was really good.

[Roy Bellamy]

Do you believe him, though? Do we believe him?

[Ethan]

I don't know how much I believe him. I think somebody probably told him what it was about and he was like, o, okay, this is great. But no, I just think that, you know, we've had enough problems with this subject that we don't need people making us, what chaos. Any of these hockey fans look bad by being like. By being ungenuine and, and being fake in a way. And so I just think if you're going to watch the show, watch it. If you don't like it, that's totally fine. There's nothing wrong with that. If you like it, that's great too. And if you want to really listen to it and some great content about it, go check out our boys at what chaos. Like, they are doing an amazing job with the show. They had Rachel Reed, the writer of the show, on. They had Brandon Tierney or the writer of the books on Brandon Tierney, the writer of the show. Like, love those guys, Love dj, Love Pete, support them, but support us, too.

[David Drucker]

And Sean, it's not for Sean. Always as a producer, you're not giving the producer.

[Ethan]

Sean. Sean is that show. I mean, he's the producer.

[David Drucker]

There it is.

[Rose]

So you're seeing your producer? No, but yeah, like, it's things that you have to be genuine about, and that's why I'm open about it. I have not watched it. I'm not. I'm not going to watch it. But the acting and I have watched some scenes is terrific.

[Roy Bellamy]

The Winter Olympics are coming up and next week, and it was a pleasure to talk to this man. Jack O' Callaghan was a defenseman on the 1980 gold medal team. We talked to him and that interview will come out next week. And Cannot wait for you guys to watch that, but this gives us a chance. Oh, by the way, he was on on behalf of Netflix for their new documentary, Miracle the boys of 80.

[David Drucker]

It's really good.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes.

[David Drucker]

If you have watched the 1980 stuff like I have, and you want to see some new content that you've never seen before, something really interesting, this documentary is for you.

[Roy Bellamy]

So this gives us a chance for this fool and this idiot over here to talk about their favorite hockey movie, Miracle Boys.

[David Drucker]

Go ahead.

[Ethan]

I'm an idiot for liking Miracle Roy. It's like one of the greatest sports movies of all time.

[Roy Bellamy]

You're an idiot for other things, but yes, go ahead.

[Ethan]

What should we talk about, Dave? I mean, we should just. Should we just recap the movie for those that haven't seen it? It is one of the great. In my opinion, we. One of the great sports movies ever.

[David Drucker]

That might be the last movie that I saw, like, at least five times in the theater. Just, you know, between the time frame and the way. But, like, I was playing juniors back then, so I was living that year. I was in New Jersey. My teammates and I, every day for like a week, we went and watched Miracle wherever theater was playing at after practice, we found it. We watched it. It was the coolest thing. Cause it was so realistic. And the way that they made it, they put microphones in the States so you can hear the sound of the States cutting into the ice, like. And, you know, if you watch the interview with OC Next week, you'll hear even more really cool details. But, oh, my God, like, that is it maybe arguably the best hockey movie of all time. It's my favorite sports movie bias, but.

[Ethan]

I admittedly have only, I think, watched two hockey movies. I saw the Mighty Ducks a long time ago when I was a kid, but I need to kind of rewatch them because I don't really remember. But I love him as a kid. Slap Shot and Miracle. Slap Shot is an amazing movie. Like, that movie is.

[David Drucker]

You probably like Young Blood.

[Ethan]

Young Blood. What was the one.

[Roy Bellamy]

There's a new movie, Young Blood.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, I saw. They're making a new Young Blood.

[Ethan]

What was the one in Alaska Mystery.

[David Drucker]

Alaska, which is also a great, great hockey movie.

[Ethan]

No, but I just.

[David Drucker]

I love.

[Ethan]

Like, I'm an Olympics freak. Like, I can't wait for the Olympics. Not just for hockey, but just for everything. I mean, I had the pleasure of working the Paris Olympics, and it was just like a dream of mine. Absolute lifetime. I won an Emmy because of it. Thanks for Rose. Shout Out. No it was. It was an amazing experience. And the Olympics are just, to me, like, the greatest sporting event in the world. So I can't wait for. First of all, it's gonna be amazing to have the NHL players back in the Olympics, but just to see kind of. Even though it's a movie, an inside look at what it's like to be an Olympian, what it takes to get there. It's such a great movie if you haven't seen it. I mean, I was telling somebody about it the other day that you have to go and see this. You have to watch this movie if you haven't watched it before. Like, it is just. It's so good. There's so many quotable lines. You know, when OC and McClanahan get it into it in the bar and scripts, you know, this panty over here takes the ring off my finger. And then, you know, when they're in the locker room and. And Brooks. Herb Brooks is yelling at him, and he's. You know who we playing?

[Roy Bellamy]

Rammer.

[David Drucker]

And he.

[Adnan Burke]

Sweden.

[Dave]

Sweden.

[Ethan]

You're goddamn right, Sweden. In the Olympics. Okay, you're acting like this is some throwaway game up in Rochester. It's the greatest movie. So anyway, you got me fired up, Roy. You want me to talk about miracle?

[David Drucker]

I will say, though, like, the Olympics are the best. And I mean, the Winter Olympics. I mean, at least for us. Maybe that's. There's nothing not entertaining. I'll sit there and I'll watch ski jumping.

[Ethan]

Dude, the last Olympics, I was falling asleep to cross country and biathlon, and I love that.

[David Drucker]

One of the most fun. It's. I don't. Maybe shouldn't be telling the story, but whatever. Here I go. I think it was in 2010. I was home alone, for whatever reason. I had some chocolate mushrooms, and I watched the Olympics for eight hours by myself, and I had so much fun.

[Ethan]

That's incredible.

[David Drucker]

Oh, my God. One of my favorites, you know, whatever. But, yeah, I remember watching, like, the ski jumping. I remember watching speed skating. I remember there was a hockey game. I think it was, like, Russia and. Oh, my God, what's the country with, like, the Red Cross logo on their flag?

[Ethan]

Switzerland.

[David Drucker]

Switzerland. I think that was the game. And. Oh, my God, like, just so a lot of fun. I'm not in.

[Ethan]

Can't wait.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Ethan]

Can't wait to see Team usa.

[David Drucker]

I don't know how to end that.

[Roy Bellamy]

So just moving on to the Panthers, then. The. The Panthers have played four games since last week. Friday, they got beat down by the Hurricanes 9 to 1. They beat the Capitals 5 to 2. The Sharks, they came in in the one home game that the Panthers had before they went back on the road. The Sharks beat the Panthers 4 1, and the Panthers last night beat the Jets 2 to 1 in a shootout. Magna Tkachuk, his second game. He got his debut on the season against the Sharks, and last night he ended up with his first point of the season on Sam Bennett's 1. The Panthers 1 goal on Sam Bennett's goal. So let's talk about his performance so far this season. Games, David.

[David Drucker]

I mean, it's been fine. One thing that's refreshed me is that I've seen him get knocked on his ass multiple times. He got like, nailed, I think, at the same time by Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry during last night's game. He got lit up by Vincent De Har against the Sharks and he just pops right back. Oh, here it is. This is the play here. If you're watching on YouTube, Tachuk basically gets bamboozled by Morrissey and Lowry at the same time. Boom. Boom. Yeah. Yeah. So. But he's popping right back up. He's doing his thing. He had the primary assist on Sam Bennett's goal in Winnipeg and he looks like Matthew Tkachuk. It's going to take him a little while before we probably start to see, like, the pristine elite type stuff because he hasn't played hockey in like, seven months. It's going to take a little. A little time to shake the rust off. But I've been pretty happy with what I've seen so far. Ethan.

[Ethan]

Yeah, there's been plenty of juice. I thought. I thought last night was a really solid performance from him. His line had some great shifts out there with Bennett and Verhege. He made a great play to set up Bennett for that.

[David Drucker]

Him and Bennett are just like this, you know.

[Ethan]

Yeah, exactly. But, you know, I was talking to my brother and my brother's like, well, he's basically had no impact. We scored, you know, two goals, you. In the two games since he's been back. But I mean, look what. First of all, Matthew Tkachuk was never going to solve every problem the Panthers have had. Right, Because Alexander Barkov still out. Dimitri Kulakov still out. Jonah Gadjevic. But then you add in that Martian and Jones hit the injured list. Right. You know, right before he comes back. Like, they're still missing so much guys. So, so much. And it's still so hard for this team to look like what they've been the last couple years. Because they just don't have enough right now. Like simply the numbers, you know, you look at their defense, they're missing half their defense right now from the Stanley cup championship team last year. So.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, but to that point, how good defensively did they look last night? And when that was maybe their best defensive full game of the season.

[Ethan]

And they had to win that game because you fall seven points behind, you lose to the team in a team in the jets that's been struggling. Like, that was a big win last night. They haven't won in Winnipeg since 2022. It's been. It's a weird place to go. Like, that was a big, big win for the Panthers last night.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, it's time for puck luck. It's brought to you by DraftKings. DraftKings. The Crown is yours, David. Let's finally win some money.

[David Drucker]

I really love how you just keep bringing attention.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm growing broke here. I'm losing money. So let's make money.

[David Drucker]

The hell, dude?

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm sorry.

[David Drucker]

All right, well, coming to you live from under the bus, this is this week's a version of puck luck. We're going to start with Mitch Marner's return to Toronto. Ethan has been building this up for me in my head, so I'm going with the Badowski thought and taking Mitch Marner over two and a half shots on goal. Because like the Marner bumper, Mitch Marner is going to be ripping pucks tonight. And also the Maple Leafs just happen to allow the most shots in the NHL. So we'll take Marner over two and a half shots in the same game. In the same breath that I mentioned, Toronto giving up the most shots on goal. Guess who's coming back tonight for the Maple Leafs? Anthony Stolars is making his return and I'm going to take his over saves and 25 and a half saves because I think he's going to play well and I think he's going to face a lot of shots. Third up on our parlay is Brandon Hagel of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Over two and a half shots. They are playing Chicago. Hagel has hit his shot total over in five straight and six of his last eight road games. And Chicago allows the seventh most shots in the league. The odds on this parlay are plus 551. So some pretty sweet sauce. Please go make Roy some money. I'm good, actually. I'll sacrifice my five bucks. Give Roy some money, please.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, it's time for the hockey stat of the week. The hockey stat of the week.

[Ethan]

Hey, guys, how's it going?

[Roy Bellamy]

Buy it, everybody.

[Ethan]

Quinn Hughes, good player. Minnesota Wild, good team. This stat comes from at Big Head Hockey on Twitter. The most career 3 assist games from a defenseman in Minnesota Wild franchise history. The leader is Ryan Suter with five. Jared Spurgeon has three. Quinn Hughes has four. Quinn Hughes has played 22 games with the Minnesota Wild. He already has four three assist games. Guys, they are buzzing. They won again last night in overtime. Kirill Kaprizov had the OT winner, two goals and an assist. I don't see Quinn Hughes going anywhere. I think he is going to stay right where he is in Minnesota because that team has been awesome since they got him. He has been a magical fit with Matt Boldy and Kirill Caprizov. I see them adding. I see them keeping Hughes long term and I see them being a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

[David Drucker]

He's over a point per game with.

[Ethan]

He has been incredible. Yeah. Amazing.

[Roy Bellamy]

It is time for Rosa in unminuto. Rosie, what do you got?

[David Drucker]

Yes.

[Rose]

Okay, kids.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right. That was Rosa in un minutes.

[Rose]

So.

[Roy Bellamy]

And now it is time for Rose. In a minute. Rosie, what you got?

[Rose]

Okay, let's do it now. Again, boys. Hey, kids. This is one minute of hockey with Rose. And this week we're heading to Los Angeles where the Kings live through their worst nightmare. The Dogs. Yes. Back to back against Anaheim. First, they lost three to one, shut out with Senec doing whatever he wanted and Mac and Fish slamming the door shut. The next day they said there's no.

[Adnan Burke]

Word this is happening again.

[Rose]

And it happened again. A 21 overtime loss once again to the Ducks. Thanks for nothing. Luckily, a little dignity showed up. A 43 win over the Rangers with Viola finally showing up on Fortnite stepping to save the day. So it's a week of one win, two losses, two punches from the annoying neighbors and one big question. Why is it always the dogs? Because in LA there are stars. But this week, the Dogs won the Oscars. This was one minute of hockey with Rose. Your weekly recap of puck passion and a little bit of chaos. And Ethan has a helmet for me for next week, right?

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, let's see what's what. The helmet is for next week.

[Ethan]

By the way, I watched those Ducks and Kings games. They were great. Beckett, Seneca is an amazing player.

[David Drucker]

Next week's team, let's see, Bruins or Lightning?

[Ethan]

The Philadelphia Flyers.

[Rose]

Okay.

[Roy Bellamy]

Wow.

[Ethan]

Surprise team this year, Rosie. They've been a lot of fun to watch.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, so Rose, we'll talk about the Philadelphia Flyers next week for her, for her minute in both Spanish and English. It is time for the wins and fails of the week. And I think on behalf of everybody, I can say that the win was the fight between Alex Nabdelic and Sergey Bobrovsky.

[Ethan]

This was the best thing that's ever.

[Adnan Burke]

Happened ever, ever, ever, ever, ever.

[David Drucker]

I love it.

[Ethan]

This is the best thing ever.

[David Drucker]

It's so uncharacteristic of Sergei Bobrovsky to not only get in a fight, but he was the antagonist.

[Ethan]

He skated 200ft for this fight, dude, I'm telling you. So we had our live stream that night for the national championship. And so I was here early watching the game, and I'm just kind of, like, looking around, talking to people. All of a sudden, I look down at my scream, and Bob is fighting. And I could not believe. And I start screaming, bob is fighting. Bob is fighting. And then there, the stream is already on. I run in here and I tell Chris Cody, like, look at the screen. Boski's fighting. Roy, you were in there, right? And I told you.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I was looking. I was wondering why Sergey Boski was on the other end of the ice. And I'm like, oh.

[Ethan]

And I think we broke into the stream, right? Like, Chris was like, bobrovsky is fighting right now. Oh, my God. Can we show the video again so we can break it down a little?

[David Drucker]

I think my favorite moment of the fight, and it'll show in this video, or no, it was from the beginning. My favorite moment from the fight is as Bob is skating toward Nadeltovich. Like, right as he crosses the blue line, there's an angle that shows Bob's face, and he looks at Nadeltovich and kind of nods as if to say, oh, yeah, this is happening, and then proceeds to rip the other goalie's helmet off. Like, Bob knew what he was doing.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. Sergey Bobrovsky is what, six one?

[David Drucker]

He's 190. He's a tall dude.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, he's my height and my build and soaking wet. I mean, he looks pretty tiny.

[David Drucker]

6 to 180.

[Roy Bellamy]

It was 6 to 180. So I am bigger than him. Okay.

[Ethan]

It might have been the most uncharacteristic act in the history of hockey. Like, at least in my history of watching hockey. Like, Bob is in the locker room. The quietest guy, doesn't say a peep. We know how he is with the media. We know he's a very serious guy. But to see him unleash like that, like, I Know, he's having a tough year. Hopefully it can be a spark for Bob because the Panthers could really, really.

[Roy Bellamy]

Use it right now. You know what that is? And you're going to have to bleep this. That is a wake the up moment for the floating pants.

[Ethan]

100%. I thought they were going to come back and win that game, and that could have been the turning point in the season. Unfortunately, they didn't, but they got the win last night, so we'll see if that.

[David Drucker]

Nobody's talking about the loss. All they're. All we're talking about is the fight.

[Roy Bellamy]

Nobody's talking about the fight because of the national championship, but. Yeah, that's neither here or not.

[David Drucker]

Well, if I asked you to name 25 goalies, any 25 goalies that you think would get into a fight, Bob would not be on that list. No.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, I'll probably AHL goalies before I went with Bob.

[David Drucker]

Yeah, no, exactly. You'd be naming retired guys. Grant Fiore.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yes. Yes. As small as Grant Fuhr is. Well, he's like five foot four.

[David Drucker]

Scrappy dude.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, but that man is scrappy. And you had to be for that, in that small. Yeah. And for that era as well. Fail.

[Dave]

Was it a week?

[Roy Bellamy]

Go ahead, Dave.

[David Drucker]

My fail of the week comes all the way from the khl. We're heading to Vladivostok, where Admiral captain Libor Suvak scored an own goal that it's really kind of hard to describe. He literally turns his wrist over and shoots the puck into his own net while facing the opposite direction. It's like something out of. It's like angels in the outfield type stuff. Like what. What happened? What took over his body that he did this? Because, like, I don't know what he was trying to do. I don't know. He. If he's trying to just kind of keep the puck after he made mental decision to pass it. I don't know. He's their captain, so I can't think that this was on purpose or anything.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's not a bank pass.

[David Drucker]

I don't know, man. But I, I. As many times as I've watched it, I don't know what the hell I'm seeing. That's just weird.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that's not good.

[David Drucker]

As a goalie, like, dude, get out of my five hole.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, all right. My F of the week is this tripping call on Lean Hudson. Near the end of the second period of the Wild Canadians game, Marcus Foligno fell five feet away from Lane Hudson. Okay. Now, in fact, I Mean, I guess. I guess tripping on anything at this point, right? So, I mean, but Foligno tripped on the blue line.

[David Drucker]

Can we get replaced?

[Ethan]

That's what tripped him.

[David Drucker]

Can we get replaced? Is that. That cannot be. There's four sets of eyes on the ice wearing stripes. Nobody realized that he just fell on his own damn skates.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, that's bad.

[David Drucker]

Like, they can talk to each other about high sticking. They can talk to each other about delay a game. Can we talk to each other about tripping over the blue line?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. That's the worst penalty of season.

[Adnan Burke]

Holy shit.

[Roy Bellamy]

Bar none.

[Dave]

Ethan.

[Ethan]

My fail of the week comes from Roy Rose's team for next week, the Philadelphia Flyers. Guys, take a look at this screenshot here. We can't show the video, but take a look at this screenshot. There's 128 remaining in the game. It's four three, flyers. The mammoth have an empty net. The skater. I don't know exactly which skater this is for the Flyers has the puck wide open. There's nobody in front of him. The net is gaping.

[David Drucker]

Is Garnet Hathaway.

[Ethan]

They won this game, right? Garnet Hathaway wins this game right here.

[David Drucker]

No, Garnet Hathaway's who lost the puck. He would have won the game.

[Ethan]

That's what I'm saying. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[David Drucker]

You shoot the puck into the empty.

[Ethan]

If you're looking here, this is what happened, right? The Flyers won this game. Wrong. Incorrect. Nick Schmaltz comes out, makes a great stick check, takes the puck away. Nick Schmaltz, by the way, leads the league in stick checks, takes the puck the other way. The Mammoth eventually go in, score, tie the game, send it to overtime, and then win in overtime. That might be the worst loss of the.

[Rose]

Wow. Now I have time. Wow. So my win of the week. It's my fail, is, like, kind of a win, but it's a fail because in this picture, I look. Maybe I'm 13 and I look like I'm drunk, but I am supposed to be dressed up as a penguin. And instead of dressing up as a penguin. Yeah. I just put a penguin.

[Ethan]

Your friend is dressed up as a penguin.

[Rose]

Everybody is but me. I didn't do anything. I just put a penguin on my pocket.

[David Drucker]

You look seriously stoned in that.

[Rose]

Yeah, and I look stoned.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's great.

[David Drucker]

High on penguins.

[Rose]

11 years old. So I know.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right.

[David Drucker]

That mezcal.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's ridiculous. All right, before we go to break, I want to mention something that has never happened before. The United States under 18 women's team completed the perfect gold. They won every game. They never trailed. They never tied at the 00. It's the first time in U.S. under 18 history that both from both the men and the women as ever happened. So congratulations.

[David Drucker]

Get these ladies to world juniors. Go beat Canada.

[Roy Bellamy]

So for those of you watching on DraftKings Network, check out the YouTube channel because we have Anan Verk from Prime Monday Night Hockey and NHL Network. He's going to talk about the angel with us. So that's coming up next.

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[Dave]

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[Roy Bellamy]

It's time for a monthly check in with Adnan Burke. You can Vinyl Master studio hosts on Prime Monday Night Hockey and on NHL Network for Prime Monday Night Hockey. Where were you on Monday and where are you going next week?

[Adnan Burke]

First off, great to see you Roy, David and Ethan, of course the last time we saw each other was actually in the flesh in Florida. David, what was the Wings place we hung out at? South Florida?

[Roy Bellamy]

Best Billy's Tavern.

[David Drucker]

Billy's Tavern.

[Ethan]

I mean lemon pepper.

[Adnan Burke]

Best Wings in South Florida.

[David Drucker]

I legit have leftover Billy's in my fridge right now actually.

[Adnan Burke]

Those Wings were awesome, man. I. I have mucked everybody now that I know Roy. I was just in Toronto back home. Got to see my parents. Hung out with them all day on Sunday. Then I watched Wild Leafs. The Wild were all over them. Quinn Hughes is such a marvel to watch. They win that game 6 to 3. Austin Matthews scores a garbage goal. So frustration there for Leafs. You know they had this great 10 game point streak. They've slowed down a little bit and still they're on the outside looking into a playoff spot much like your Panthers. You guys know it's hard because it's so congested right now. You get a couple wins together but you have to wait for the other teams to falter a little bit. I'm next headed to I know. I don't think you guys are facing this cold. 240 million Americans are about to face frigid cold. Probably nobody there in Miami.

[David Drucker]

So I'd like to get out 50s here.

[Adnan Burke]

I mean, yeah, really, because it is me. A little cold for you guys. We're going to be 6 to 12 inches of snow on Sunday. So rather than a late flight, I got to go early flight. Much to my chagrin, I got to fly to Denver, which is four and a half hours. C32D could be a tough one. And then we're off to Deadmonton. Off to Deadmont in Alberta to check out the Oilers taking on the Ducks. And we have the zoom issue again.

[David Drucker]

There's a direct flight to Edmonton. Admin?

[Adnan Burke]

I wish. Dave. Apparently there's a direct flight Newark, New Jersey to Calgary. So I don't know why they didn't book me on that. But they said Denver is not expecting snow. So I'm going to fly to Denver first, go see some Broncos fans for the AFC championship game and then hop on a plane to Edmonton. This is what's going to be Brad.

[David Drucker]

Williams and be pretty excited, I bet.

[Roy Bellamy]

Even with Jared Stidham, I guess that's better. Better than Winnipeg, I'll tell you that. It was not under 20.

[David Drucker]

It's going to be colder. The Panthers were in Winnipeg last night and it was like the high was in the upper teens, the low was in the lower teens. And insanity that we can't compute down here in Florida, but they're actually going to Minnesota today. It's going to be colder there, which is like, what's happening?

[Adnan Burke]

It's a great point, but people would always ask me, how cold was it growing up in Toronto and eastern Ontario? And I'm like, listen, there's colder places in America. To your point, Minnesota is colder. Like if you go to Billings, Montana, that's colder than many places in Canada. But to Roy's Point, Winnipeg and Edmonton, those are the toughest places to stomach. Whenever I'm going for hockey game, it's just. It's just cold the entire time. You're just frigid.

[Roy Bellamy]

We brought up heated rivalry earlier in the show. Have you watched it? Can you give us a review of the show?

[Adnan Burke]

I haven't seen it. I didn't know what it was until Jason Demers referenced it a couple of times. So what is this? And eventually I'm like, oh, it's this gay hockey show. I'm like, okay, to each their own. And then they're like, no, it's hugely popular. And I have a friend of mine because I'm represented by caa. And he said, at the Golden Globes, they've got all these massive stars. Like, no, I'm aware. Oscar nominations came out yesterday. And they said, you know, George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio, all these massive stars. He goes, everybody was excited to talk to who the two stars of heated rivalry. They're like, wait, we got to go talk to those gay hockey players. Those guys are unbelievable. So it's become. It's become a massive sensation. Because I would have thought, Roy, it's one of those things where, okay, maybe it's popular in hockey circles, but it's gone way beyond that. Like, now there's people who are not hockey fans who are saying they're becoming hockey fans because of heated rivalry. So I haven't seen the show. I should probably check it out at some point. I've got the basic tangential edge to it. Our producer, Tal, on our podcast and scripted, told me that it was a little more in your face than he was expecting. He's like, oh, I thought it'd be, like, kind of a supplement. It's like long sex scenes with these two guys. I'm like, okay, here we go. And there's not a lot of hockey, so I'm not exactly expecting slap shot. But it has certainly become a cultural talking point. It's not to the point where, like, I'm asking NHL players about it. Maybe I should go pull aside Leon Drysel. Hey, what do they get in rivalry so far? But it's definitely become a conversational talking point. No doubt about it.

[Rose]

You know what? I was just like, I haven't watched it, and I'm not gonna watch it, but there's an actor that he is supposed to be Russian, and he's not Russian.

[David Drucker]

I can't believe this guy's not Russian.

[Ethan]

He's from Texas.

[David Drucker]

Is that what this is what you told me in the kitchen?

[Ethan]

He's from Texas. He learned. He Learned Russian in 18. Eight weeks or something like that. It might even be eight days that he learned Russian before they started filming.

[Adnan Burke]

That's impossible. I talked to Rodrigo.

[Ethan]

No idea how he did it.

[Adnan Burke]

We talked to Rodrigo Obbles on our podcast, the Philadelphia Flyers. He's obviously a fourth line. We're gonna unfortunately now with a serious injury. But he's a really smart guy, speaks excellent English, and demur is, they were both impressed. You know, we grew up in Latvia. How can you speak such good English? He said, well, Lafia, they teach us English like, you know, grade three on. And he could Also speak Russian and diverse. Like, wait, you can speak Russian? And he's a guy goes. And Jason has played overseas because that is a very, very difficult language. So I'm going to go to call B.S. they learn Russia in eight days. That's an impossibility. That's one of the hard. They say if you can speak Spanish, right, you can speak Italian pretty quickly, French, etc. Russian is widely considered to be, along with Mandarin, one of the toughest languages in the world. So I'm going to go ahead and call B.S. he did not learn Russian in eight days.

[Ethan]

Yeah, I'll put my hand up on that one, coach. Ball. Ball out on me. It was about a month and a half, it says. So I could say, but that's still a crazy amount of time to learn Russian, to speak it in a show. To the point where some people have said, like, he did a really good job. I personally thought that the accent was like, one of the parts of the show that wasn't great. But, yeah, it's pretty impressive what he.

[Adnan Burke]

Was able to do.

[Rose]

You think the accent is bad?

[David Drucker]

I've been around, you're not Russian.

[Rose]

You're like, okay, this is Russian. And I was like, oh, I thought.

[David Drucker]

It was pretty good. I've been around a lot of Russians over the years. And I. I was. I. I've watched it. I'm not thinking, wow, that sounds kind of fake. When you told me that he was an American actor, that blew my mind. I. I think the acting in the show, forget about whatever you might think about what's happening in the show, the acting in this show has been spectacular.

[Rose]

I've seen scenes just for. For that. Because other things, I'm like, I cannot watch it. But that's why I watched. That's why I watched this actor and he started giving me this accent and I'm like, wow, he's so handsome. Like, hey, yeah, the Russian guy is so handsome. And then they're like, he's from Texas. I'm like, no, he's Russian.

[David Drucker]

The American actor playing the Russian hockey player with a Canadian name, by the way. Connor Story with an ie at the end.

[Ethan]

Yeah, I was just going to say that the show, like, Adnan mentioned that the show has had crossover. It's been more people that didn't know hockey that are becoming fans of hockey because of the show.

[David Drucker]

Yes.

[Ethan]

Rather than hockey fans becoming fans of the show. Like, it's opened hockey to a whole new world. And I think it's really awesome.

[David Drucker]

I've had people approach me over the last week or so that my other job, talking about heated rivalry, that we've never spoken about sports before. Like, these are news people, these are game show people. And they're like, oh, my God, have you seen this show? And is it really realistic? And are these the real teams? And it's like, okay, like, obviously it's working.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, as you guys know, hockey is for everyone. Despite the NHL's best efforts, Hudson Williams.

[Adnan Burke]

And despite Ivan Provorov's opinion.

[David Drucker]

Go ahead, bring back pride tape and then you can celebrate heated rivalry. Okay.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. And the stalls, Hudson Williams and Connor Story are the stars of the show and they have been named the official torchbearers of the Olympic torch relay. And this is a segue into the Olympics because I'm a professional broadcaster. What are your thoughts heading into the Olympic Games? Who do you have favorite to win and who do you think is a dark horse going into the Games?

[Adnan Burke]

Of course, I've got Canada winning it because I'm obviously a proud Canadian, but I do think us is right there. I think it's going to be a rematch of the four nations and both these teams going toe to toe. It's been such a fascinating conversation because one thing I've appreciated about Americans living in this country for 15 years, you guys are as patriotic and as jingoistic as it gets. You know, for years I would tell people there's a casual American hockey fans. I think TJ Oshi is the equivalent of Connor McDavid because what he did on a national stage. So I remember Mike Golicton. I don't watch hockey. The Olympics I'm in. So I can't wait for this bump of the USA hockey that we're going to see. And of course, the diehards like us are watching it all the time and how these guys are going to perform. A couple of fascinating subplots always in that is interesting to me. For Canada, you feel like that's not a strength. Bennington has not been very good this season. The Blues are a bad team, but he was fabulous in the four nations. Does he get game one start? If he falters easily, then do they go to the next goalie? Kind of the world juniors, right? Give everyone a start or right out of the gate. As Devin Dubin told me, he thinks he'll be Logan Thompson. He's like, it's his net to lose. He'll get the start unless he falters. That's interesting. USA goaltending, by the way. Not as strong as you might think on paper. You go, yeah, Halibu, Swayman, Ottinger. But these guys, I mean, if you look at the numbers I was looking since December 12, I mean, Hellibuk obviously has been hurt, hasn't been the same guy. So that's interesting. However, the thought there'll be huge advantage for USA may not necessarily be the case. I still love USA's back end. I love Canada's forwards. So you can make a case for each strength, each weakness. I will say, Roy, potential dark horse, at least at the World Juniors. Czechia has had Canada's number. They've beaten us three straight years at the World Juniors. Maybe check it could be strong. Ethan's raising his hand to make a strong.

[David Drucker]

I don't know.

[Ethan]

Yeah, I agree with you completely. And then I think they have some underrated NHL talent and they won the world championships two years ago, if I'm not mistaken. So that is absolutely a team I think can compete.

[Rose]

That was Ethan calling his dog.

[Ethan]

Oh, well, also Percy's down here and. But I was pointing to Adnan and saying that's a really, really good point.

[Adnan Burke]

I assume this one. Either he was like raising the roof like, yeah, preach, keep going. Or he was trying to signal somebody like a deck.

[Ethan]

I'm with you, Adnan. I think they're my dark horse as well. That was going to be my answer.

[David Drucker]

Guys, we are totally ignoring the host nation as the dark horse. Team Italy. I mean, wow. What are we doing here? I'm just looking at the roster and I'm afraid to start saying some of these names. I mean, Giovanni Morini, Alexander Piton, like.

[Ethan]

Are there any Saccorino, like doing like the, like the World Baseball Classic where a bunch of Jews play for.

[David Drucker]

These look like a lot of Italian names. Like this looks like the Sopranos men's league team. Like this. This is spectacular. I'm definitely gonna be rooting for team Italy.

[Adnan Burke]

I wish there's a Sopranos men's league team.

[Ethan]

Imagine Vito out there on defensive, coming up the wing. Oh my God, I'm watch right now. We can talk about that later.

[David Drucker]

Adnit.

[Adnan Burke]

That's a.

[David Drucker]

That's a fun idea though. We can make our Sopranos starting six. That's actually.

[Roy Bellamy]

Maybe we should gabble.

[Adnan Burke]

Betcha Christopher's a feisty forward.

[David Drucker]

Man, we're on to something here, Adnan. Because like, you're. You're the. You're the movie guy, you're the show guy. Maybe we could every visit we take a different show or movie and we create our starting six.

[Adnan Burke]

I love it. I'm putting Johnny Sacks in that.

[David Drucker]

Oh, that's a good one.

[Adnan Burke]

Immovable, Very stubborn.

[David Drucker]

All right, so I have no segue here because I'm not a professional. I just want to talk to you about the Panthers and Matthew Tkachuk. Because Matthew Tkachuk is back, Adnan, and the rest of the league is very scared. Based on the first two games the Panthers have played with Tachuk in the lineup against the Sharks and the jets. Last night, they're going after him. They're testing his injury. He's getting knocked around, and he's popping up. He's just fine. But now that Tachuk is back in the lineup, Brad Marchand should be back in the next several days at some point. The Panthers are getting healthy. Adnan, how scary is that for the rest of the Eastern Conference?

[Adnan Burke]

Yeah, I mean, this is now. It's go time, certainly for Fuller Panthers. And we had Bill Zito on our podcast. I've never met Bill before. And just as we're about to speak, he kind of stares intently at the camera, then goes, you look a lot like Chris Chelios. I get that everywhere. I said I was in Toronto and I said, several fans go, charlie, Chelly, how you doing? I got a picture. Shelly, no problem. Oh, yeah. Like, I just play along every time. Yep. Chelly, nice to see you.

[David Drucker]

Good to see him.

[Adnan Burke]

Okay.

[David Drucker]

He.

[Adnan Burke]

I'm 47. I think Shelly is like 62. At least three inches taller. Won a few Stanley Cups in North, but, yeah, I have no scars on my face, but I'm much, much more cleaner.

[David Drucker]

Sign some hockey cards.

[Adnan Burke]

Yeah, that's what I should do. Get to the next level. But I asked Zito about it. He said, listen, of course Kachuk is passive for our team, you know, I mean, he's so important. He does so many things both in the room and outside the room. And he said, Marchie is right there as well. He said, martian, you know, when I traded for him, of course I would have made a move for him. Like, the guy's just a great player. But I can't emphasize enough how important these guys are in the room, because I know it's a cliche. You guys think it's not that important, but it is. It's not just what you're doing on the ice is what the way these guys are leaders and they can ride the team around. And right now, we're on the outside looking in. And as I look, The Panthers, what, 55 points, three points out. But again, I look at number of teams you're going to Catch two or three teams, who's the team to falter? Right. Boston will slow down a little bit. They've won seven, the last eight. The Sabres have been on an unbelievable run. They're going to slow down a little bit. So you go, okay, Panthers at least a wild card. You look at the Atlantic right now, that's where it gets tricky. David, I go, okay, who are you going to dislodge? You're not catching Tampa Bay, maybe Detroit or Montreal. But like there does become a situation where after the break there's me, what, 25, 26 games left. Like that's it. It's like you're playing every other day and it's be a sprint to the finish. So is it scary for the rest of the league? Yeah. But the Panthers know they got to take care of business and go on a heater just to get in.

[David Drucker]

Yep.

[Ethan]

Adding in the big story tonight in the NHL is going to be Mitch Marner's return to Toronto. I think we all know what is going to happen, right? He's going to get the shit boot out of him. Do you expect it to be like LeBron returning to Cleveland levels or what are you expecting to see tonight in this?

[Adnan Burke]

Yeah, I think it's be pretty nasty. I don't know if it's quite LeBron to Cleveland, but this is a guy who, you know, was a GTA guy, grew up in the crater Toronto area. Dream was to play for the Leafs. Gets there, plays great, had great moments the regular season, of course, never capitalized in the playoffs and became the poster boy and the whipping boy for all their foibles and all their concerns. Now ultimately he's sixth all time in the Leafs in points, which is pretty impressive. Think of that franchise. We can make all the jokes we want. They haven't won since 67. But you know, from the likes of Daryl Sitler to Rick Vibe, there have been great players in that team. To be six ultimate points. Mitchie certainly got done the regular season. In the playoffs, he didn't. And then he took Vegas money. $96 million over eight years. You know, this wasn't a situation where Toronto said we can't forge you or don't want you. They wanted back. He just took the bigger offer. So I hope at least you know, when they show the video tribute, he'll get a nice ovation. I would expect that. Every single time he touches the puck though, it will be venomous. Vegas played the Leafs last week in Vegas and Vegas won that game. Marner had a couple of Assists. But I'm sure he's going to hear it early and often. And good for the Leafs. I mean, obviously their fan base is upset that he's left. They were a better team when he was there. The Leafs liked them.

[Roy Bellamy]

But it's their fault though also, they.

[Ethan]

Completely ran him out of town. Let's be very clear about this.

[Adnan Burke]

And it's so funny because like now you hear people say, well, maybe we should have made a better effort to keep murder. I'm like, you think? I'm like, you know, when a guy has chemistry with Austin Matthews and he's directly responsible for him scoring 260 goal seasons, he's an important player. And you know, maybe he's not gonna be a Selkie finalist this year, but he's been known for his defensive excellence, going both ways and obviously be a high score. He's not going to be the kind of score he was a year ago, by the way. He had 100 points. But still a really good player. Good fit in Vegas. He's got a better chance of winning the cup in Vegas this year than he did in Toronto ever. So it'll be a raucous return. We'll see how it goes.

[David Drucker]

That's an angry Maple Leafs fan, but he's also spitting facts. Okay, let's be clear.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, real quick before we get to Rose's big Oscar question that she has for Brad Nan. Let's talk mid season award predictions right now. So we got the Jack Adams. We're talking about Joel Quinnville potentially winning that thing. But yeah, the Ducks down.

[Adnan Burke]

Ducks are falling off. By the way. Ducks is all be watching Roy. I have not seen the Ducks much, at least in person. So Ducks always. I look forward to watching Monday on Prime and talking to Q. I would do. He would have been a good option. I think it's going to be John Cooper. John Cooper has never won the Jack Adams. He's clearly one of the best coaches in hockey. The Lightning are outstanding. To me, they're the best team in the Eastern Conference. I'm hanging with Mr. Cooper. That's my pick for the Jack Adams.

[David Drucker]

John Cooper is the Bill Zito of the Jack Adams Award. Bill Zito has yet still not won the GM of the of the year. He's the GM of the decade, but he's not the GM of the year. So yeah, sorry, I got sidetracked. Go on.

[Roy Bellamy]

Noise trophy. What do you got there?

[Adnan Burke]

Because it looks like until he retires, it's Cal McCarr every year.

[Ethan]

Roy.

[Adnan Burke]

I mean Quinn Hughes is awesome to watch. I like Zach Rensky a ton. Hudson, Kamal, McCarty. Hudson's great. It's Kelma Carr every time.

[Roy Bellamy]

Calder trophy. What do you got?

[Adnan Burke]

Calder's issue. I think I'll go Demidoff. I think he's leading right now in rookie points. But I gotta tell you, the guy I'm really looking forward to watching is Beckett Senica. That guy's unbelievable for the Ducks. He's a good player to watch. Ethan's backing me up.

[Ethan]

Love him. Love that Ducks.

[Roy Bellamy]

Team Vezina. It won't be Col Con Hillbuck this year. It won't be three in a row.

[David Drucker]

It's Team Canada.

[Adnan Burke]

I'm going to go Ilia Sorokin. It's a little more wide open right now. Yeah. Son's had a great year for the Islanders. Patrick Wall, obviously one of the greatest goalies of all time as his head coach. He started off slowly, but Sorokin's been on a run. And the Islanders are kind of a surprise team. They're second right now in the Metro. I'm going to go son right now because I think the Avalanche goalies kind of cancel the sums out. You could make a case for Vasilevsky. His numbers aren't spectacular. The Lightning are really good. I'll go Sorokin.

[Roy Bellamy]

And the hard trophy is usual guys with McKinnon, McDavid and Karov. But Macklin, Celebrini making a little bit of noise.

[Adnan Burke]

Yeah. Celebrini is responsible for 50% of his team's points, which is the highest percentage of any player with regards to their team's points. I'd love to tell you, if the Sharks make the playoffs, Celebrini will win the heart. But I think it's Connor McDavid's to lose. Him and McKinnon, by the way, both toe to toe. I think it'll be a great race. And Kuchrap, I'm glad you mentioned Roy the Rodney Dangerfield. No respect. The guy's unbelievable every year. And he'll be destined to be third, if not fourth, this season. So I'd love to say if Mack can get the Sharks in, he'll get it. But I think it's McDavid.

[Rose]

Okay, to close this off. First of all, I'm going to go root for Italy. Look at that. Man is in the roster. So that's why I'm gonna go Italy.

[David Drucker]

Team Italy. Let's go, Rose.

[Rose]

Oh, yeah. Team Italy for sure.

[David Drucker]

What's his name? It ends in a vowel.

[Rose]

Michael.

[David Drucker]

Yeah.

[Adnan Burke]

Ends in A vowel?

[Rose]

Something like that. Okay. It doesn't matter.

[Roy Bellamy]

I think it does, but.

[David Drucker]

Okay.

[Rose]

Okay. Mikel Fraglon, Something like that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Okay, go ahead.

[Rose]

So, Adnan, is it the first time an actor, a Brazilian actor, has been nominated?

[Adnan Burke]

Wagner Maurer for the Secret Agent. Yeah.

[David Drucker]

Oh, yeah.

[Rose]

And don't judge me. I love him. He's very handsome. Even when he plays Pablo Escobar. I actually have a picture there and people are like, how do you like him as Paul Escobar?

[David Drucker]

But he's great.

[Rose]

Do you think he can win it?

[Adnan Burke]

I think he's got a chance. I'll be honest. He won the Golden Globe, so that's always a good sign. Now they split the Globes, right? It's best comedy or musical actor and it's best actor, drama. So Timothy Chalamet, to me, is the favorite and I think he should. Yeah, I think tipitation. He's 30 years old, huge Knicks guy. Some people find him obnoxious and I've been in that camp. But I think he's a hell of an actor and he was really great as Bob Dylan a year ago. And Marty supreme is one of my favorite movies of the year. Josh Safti did an unbelievable job and so did Chalamet. So I think Chalamet will win. I think DiCaprio's got a good chance because people want to see him win a second Oscar. The guy would actually vote for Rose if I had to vote is Ethan Hawke. He's one of my favorite actors. It's his first best Actor nomination for Blue Moon. So Wagner's got a chance, especially with the foreign voters. But I do think it's going to be Timmy.

[David Drucker]

I really want to see Marty Supreme. I haven't seen that yet.

[Adnan Burke]

It's great. David, you'd love it. It's really exhilarating, highly entertaining. You'll love it.

[Roy Bellamy]

All right, Adnan Burke of Prime, Monday Night Hockey and NHL Network, thank you for joining us. Antnan. Thank you again to Adnan Burke for joining us today to talk about the league. Next week we are going to Tampa and we are going to cover the stadium series. That is going to be a lot of fun.

[David Drucker]

Should be.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah. So look out on our social media for that. That should be a lot of fun for us. So for Gino and Jason, for Ethan and Rose, that's David and Percy.

[David Drucker]

And Percy.

[Ethan]

She's under the desk sleeping.

[Roy Bellamy]

And the dog. My name is Roy Bellamy. We will see you next week from Tampa.