January 08, 2024

The JRNY of Chris Pronger: NHL Hall of Famer

1 hour 4 minutes

Welcome to another riveting episode of the Circuit of Success podcast! In this edition, host Brett Gilliland dives deep into the extraordinary journey of Chris Pronger, a true hockey legend and former NHL player. Join us as we explore Pronger’s career, from his high school hockey days to becoming a Hall of Fame inductee and a two-time gold medalist.

Discover the grit and physicality that defined Pronger’s time on the ice, including his victorious moments as a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues. Gain insights into the challenges of professional sports and the wisdom Pronger gleaned from early mentorship, highlighting the role of a business coach in shaping his path to greatness.

But that’s not all – Pronger’s story extends beyond the rink. Uncover the fascinating world of Journey J.R.N.Y., the whisky business co-founded by Chris and his brother. Delve into the intricacies of their venture, forged through years of research and development.

In this episode, Pronger shares invaluable advice on investing in oneself, the pursuit of excellence, and the significance of giving back to the community. Learn how his experiences as an athlete fueled his commitment to making a positive impact on the world, echoing the sentiment that the adrenaline rush on the ice is irreplaceable but focusing on the present is paramount.

Whether you’re a hockey enthusiast, a business-minded individual, or someone seeking inspiration, Chris Pronger’s insights are sure to resonate. Join us for a compelling discussion that intertwines NHL glory, the St. Louis Blues legacy, the essence of a hockey legend, and the exciting world of JRNY whisky. Don’t miss out on this episode packed with wisdom and the keys to success.

Subscribe now and be part of the Circuit of Success journey!

Chris Pronger – NHL HALL OF FAME

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I’m your host, Brett Gilliland.

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And today, I’ve got Chris Pronger. What’s up,

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my man? How are you?

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I am great. It’s good to have you.

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You. Been excited about this. It’s been a

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while. It’s been a while.

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We got our customers. We are branded for

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those watching at home. Thank you. Got the

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turkey Canadian whiskey right here. I go Brett.

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You go black? Yeah. You’re kind enough to

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come in here and give me a shirt.

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We got some, we got some whisky here.

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We may open one in a Gilliland,

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but yeah, man, you are the Hall fame

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hockey player, two time gold medalist,

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Stanley Cupchamp,

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Number forty four is retired at the enterprise

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center.

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You are a whisky owner. You are a

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husband. You are a father. And my last

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thing, I put your one hell of a

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golfer. Uh-huh. Wow. Not quite as good as

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you.

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But, man, that’s a hell of a career.

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That’s a hell of a career. Yeah. Practice

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on your slap shot. Not not your golf

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shot. Right? So, well, it’s been awesome getting

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to know you through old Billy. Billy Schmidt

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introduced to two of us. And so it’s

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been fun getting to know you, man. So

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I was excited to have you on the

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pod But if you can,

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people that don’t know you, I’m sure they

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listen to this probably does know you. But

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for those that don’t, man, there’s always a

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backstory. Something that’s helped make you the man

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you are today, and I always love to

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chat about that. So there, if you don’t

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mind. Yeah. No. I grew up in small

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town Canada,

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dried in Ontario,

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thriving metropolis of about seven thousand,

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strong right now.

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Nice.

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Northwest in Ontario is, so my hometown driving

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is eight hours straight north of Minneapolis.

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K. The coldest place in the continental US,

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not in Alaska

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is international falls, which is two and a

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half hours south of me. Wow. So it

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is cold.

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Not a lot going on in the winter

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other than hockey and

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snowmobiling,

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and ice fishing, and what you what you

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would expect. Yeah. But,

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Brett childhood growing up. Love living there. It

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was, it was a lot of fun. You

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know, see pre internet. So it was

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not a lot going on as far as,

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surfing the web and doing all that stuff

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and video games. It was pretty,

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you know, kinda asteroids and, the simple games

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that’s, that you can think of. But,

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now we played hockey pretty much every My

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brother, like, it’s pretty much what you do

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up there. Right? You’re not you’re not playing

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basketball or are you playing basketball baseball in

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the summers? Yeah. No. I was a multi

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sport athlete. Okay.

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I would play hockey in the

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fall, winter,

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early spring. And then would play baseball. Mhmm.

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And then I would golf all summer and

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kind of swim in the lake and be

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a kid. Nice. And then,

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I usually did not put skates on till

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the last two weeks of August when I

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would normally go to Thunder Bay and do

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a hockey school and stay with my grandparents

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and kinda have some time with

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them. My parents would get a break from

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us. Because you and your brother, right? Just

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me and my brother who’s two years older.

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Two for two for your parents and Angel

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hockey stars.

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And then,

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yeah, we just

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I mean, it was pretty simple living. It

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was nice. It’s awesome. Yeah. Not a whole

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lot to worry about. No cell phones. No

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nothing. And how much older is your brother

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than you? Two years. Okay. So two years

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older than you. So he’s beating the crap

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out of you guys or kids, running around

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a backyard. I believe I counted one summer.

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I had forty nine bleeding noses.

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So there was,

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there Thanks a lot. As as we used

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to hear a lot of, oh, the Pronger

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boys are going at it again. Yeah. But,

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no, it was,

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It was your dad, mom, the end of

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hockey? Is it sports? My dad played, you

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know, like college hockey a little bit. And,

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saw a picture of you guys where he’s

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not near as tall as you guys.

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My dad is 05:11. Okay. Chris brother was

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six six kinda like a picture I have

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of you and I. I look like I’m

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five foot four, you know, like, what’s going

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on here, man? This is terrible. So My

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grandpa was six three. So he’s the run

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to the litter. Yeah. You’re six six. Your

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brother’s six three. Six three. Okay. Big dudes.

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Imagine that on skates, even more intimidating.

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What, at what point do you should we

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open some of this stuff? Yeah. Let’s get

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I’ll let you, just grab it. Pick your

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poison. Alright. Let’s do this right here. Figure

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out which one you want. Get it right

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here. There we go. I can get it

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open here. Chris is some good stuff.

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We get a little pour here

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and then, I’ll ship it your way.

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Very good? Thank you, sir. Thank you.

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Cheers, mate. Cheers? Yeah. I’d like to

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smell it. A good stuff. That a good

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stuff. Anyway, back to the

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pre recorded, not pre recorded. The recorded session

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here we’re doing is At what point did

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you know you’re different, man? I mean, obviously,

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playing hockey, you’re a high level. There’s tons

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of good hockey players come from Canada.

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Was there that moment where you thought, man,

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I’m a little different than some of these

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guys?

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I was always,

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you know, growing up on, you know, kids

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my age. I usually played up a a

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a year or two years. Yeah.

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And and, you know, just played it out

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a higher level, if you will. And then

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you you really don’t know, come from a

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small town back then, you know, there’s, again,

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no internet, no real TV where you can,

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other than watch an NHL on hockey night

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in Canada on Saturday nights,

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you weren’t really immersed in it other than

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just who you’re playing against all the time.

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So I didn’t really

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have a good understanding or gauge

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to understand

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where I was at with respect to competition

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levels and and things of that nature. So,

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moved away from home when was fifteen, but

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prior to that, I had a choice to

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make at thirteen. Am I gonna play high

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school hockey,

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or am I gonna go play AAA hockey,

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which my brother played, and you’re driving

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10:12 hours in a bus, and it’s a

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gr you know, it’s a commitment and a

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grind.

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And I was, like, you know, I don’t

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wanna do that. I wanna play I wanna

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be with my friends, and I wanna play

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high school hockey.

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And, you know, there was a little politics

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involved that that I’ll get to later, but

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that was kinda really the first

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foray into the politics politics of sports and

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kinda what can happen

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they were upset that I didn’t go play

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on Chris AAA team. They being your parents?

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No. They being the coaching staff and the

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managers of that team. And their friends, my

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my brother played there, and they were friends

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of my parents, a lot of them. And,

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they we kinda merged two talents together, Kenora,

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and dried, and merged to create this triple

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a team because we were not each city

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was not or town was not AAA. Yeah.

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So we’d go and play in this AAA

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league. And I’m like, oh, I just wanna

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play with my buddies, but but again,

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fourteen,

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thirteen, fourteen,

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turning fifteen, the two years I played high

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school, I’m playing against twenty year olds. So

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I’m I’m playing nineteen, twenty year olds. So

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I’m playing against much older competition

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that have either gone on play junior, and

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I’ll come back. Gonna play high school hockey,

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finish your hockey careers, and go to school

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and do whatever. Right? So you’re you’re playing.

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It’s still against some pretty players. Yep. And

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on our team were players that had played

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in that league, and now they’re back playing

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high school hockey. So we had there was

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a lot of really hockey players that I’m

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playing against at the that age.

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So I’m, you know, I think in grade

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nine. I was six one, grade ten. I

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was six three. So I’m,

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Give me as big as those guys. I’m

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tall. I’m tall. I’m not big.

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Skin’ mouthy.

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But,

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you know, I think understanding

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I just wanted to have a good time.

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I wanted to enjoy my childhood. You know,

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it was a lot of pressure of, you

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know, you’re the best player. You’re Chris. You’re

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that. Yeah.

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And I thought we had a good enough

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team to go play in the Ontario’s where

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you’d go down to Toronto

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and play against the top high schools in

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the in the in the province and gets

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go to that way as opposed to playing

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out west

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were in Ontario, but they’re playing in the

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western. It just it was a, yeah, a

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s assorted deal. And so

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I played high school hockey for these two

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years. We go to the Ontario’s, both years.

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Brett

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seen by some scouts and and get asked

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to go play for this junior tee junior

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b team down in Stratford.

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And

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before I go and do that, I go

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to this summer camp, and they’re doing this

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under sixteen,

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camp to pick Chris, the all Ontario team,

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and I go to this camp, of which

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a lot were on this AAA team. Right.

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And, you know, it was a valuable learning

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for me on a couple fronts, number one,

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the politics.

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Number two,

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I wasn’t in the best shape. I didn’t

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train overly hard preparing

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for this,

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camp. So,

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you know, they said, oh, you know, we’re

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we’re cutting you. And I’m like,

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I’m I’m looking at my Gilliland I’m like,

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how am I getting cut? There’s no way.

00:08:41.000 –> 00:08:43.000

Yeah. But I get cut.

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And one of the scouts that watched me

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that pre that spring playing the All Ontario’s

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had two wild Chris. Now he’s got two

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wild cards for all of Ontario.

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And he’s like, how does this kid get

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cut? And he uses one of his two

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wild cards on me to go to the

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main camp. Wow.

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And I make the team.

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Again, not making the same mistake.

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I’m training now. I’m like, alright. I’m gonna

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train. I learned my lesson that it wasn’t

00:09:12.000 –> 00:09:12.000

prepared.

00:09:13.000 –> 00:09:15.000

Gonna happen again. I’m gonna train. I’m gonna

00:09:15.000 –> 00:09:17.000

prepare. And, you know, he’s that gentleman is

00:09:20.000 –> 00:09:23.000

still of my good friends. The wild card

00:09:23.000 –> 00:09:25.000

guy. The wild card guy, Sheldon Ferguson Ferguson,

00:09:25.000 –> 00:09:26.000

who then went on to scout

00:09:27.000 –> 00:09:29.000

for, central NHL central scouting, and then he

00:09:29.000 –> 00:09:31.000

worked for a number of different, NHL teams

00:09:31.000 –> 00:09:32.000

along the way.

00:09:33.000 –> 00:09:36.000

But still always talk about that circumstance and

00:09:36.000 –> 00:09:37.000

how

00:09:37.000 –> 00:09:39.000

He’s just happened to see if I don’t

00:09:39.000 –> 00:09:40.000

go to the Ontario championships, he doesn’t see

00:09:40.000 –> 00:09:42.000

me, and I don’t get this wallet, you

00:09:42.000 –> 00:09:43.000

know. It’s just who knows where he is.

00:09:43.000 –> 00:09:45.000

So many different. Yeah. I mean, it’s just

00:09:45.000 –> 00:09:47.000

if you don’t that opportunity or someone somebody

00:09:47.000 –> 00:09:48.000

doesn’t go out on a limb for you.

00:09:48.000 –> 00:09:50.000

Yep. You know, you you just never know

00:09:50.000 –> 00:09:51.000

where you’re gonna be. What were your parents

00:09:51.000 –> 00:09:54.000

like during that phase of life? Right? I’m

00:09:54.000 –> 00:09:55.000

picking high school over what they want me

00:09:55.000 –> 00:09:57.000

to do because, you know, in today’s world,

00:09:57.000 –> 00:09:58.000

and obviously you got kids. You know what

00:09:58.000 –> 00:10:00.000

it’s like. But the sports world is nuts.

00:10:00.000 –> 00:10:01.000

No.

00:10:01.000 –> 00:10:02.000

Bean

00:10:03.000 –> 00:10:05.000

Yeah. Miley. Yes. Yes. Miley.

00:10:06.000 –> 00:10:08.000

What were your parents like versus what we

00:10:08.000 –> 00:10:09.000

see parents today? Like, if you’re not on

00:10:09.000 –> 00:10:11.000

that all star if you’re not doing this,

00:10:11.000 –> 00:10:12.000

you’re not, you know, what were they like?

00:10:12.000 –> 00:10:14.000

Because they again, they went two for two

00:10:14.000 –> 00:10:16.000

with two NHL players. I mean, that’s that’s

00:10:16.000 –> 00:10:17.000

amazing. Yeah. I would say,

00:10:18.000 –> 00:10:20.000

you know, my dad was always quiet, always

00:10:20.000 –> 00:10:22.000

sat by himself up in the corner and

00:10:22.000 –> 00:10:23.000

just watched. Yeah.

00:10:24.000 –> 00:10:26.000

My mom was kinda with other parents, you

00:10:26.000 –> 00:10:28.000

know, hooting and hollering, but not, you know,

00:10:28.000 –> 00:10:30.000

getting involved in coaching and doing all that

00:10:30.000 –> 00:10:32.000

stuff. Getting advice and getting kicked. Yeah. Doing

00:10:32.000 –> 00:10:33.000

all that kind of stuff.

00:10:34.000 –> 00:10:36.000

You know, they weren’t car rides. What were

00:10:36.000 –> 00:10:36.000

those like?

00:10:37.000 –> 00:10:40.000

They were pretty quiet. I was pretty intense

00:10:40.000 –> 00:10:41.000

kid kinda preparing

00:10:42.000 –> 00:10:44.000

the way you saw me play is the

00:10:44.000 –> 00:10:45.000

way I played all the time. Okay. That’s

00:10:45.000 –> 00:10:47.000

the only way I know how to play.

00:10:47.000 –> 00:10:48.000

That’s the only way I know how to

00:10:48.000 –> 00:10:49.000

play. Okay. And so

00:10:50.000 –> 00:10:52.000

You know, I was kinda getting myself geeked

00:10:52.000 –> 00:10:53.000

up for the game. Yep. You know, you’re

00:10:53.000 –> 00:10:55.000

listening to music, you knew whenever,

00:10:56.000 –> 00:10:58.000

whatever music there was back then. Yeah. Not

00:10:58.000 –> 00:10:59.000

in AirPods.

00:10:59.000 –> 00:11:02.000

No. Yeah. No. Listen to Gilliland Oates and

00:11:02.000 –> 00:11:04.000

whatever else. My dad’s all fired up.

00:11:05.000 –> 00:11:08.000

Great tracks. Yeah. Exactly. Listen to Billy Joel

00:11:08.000 –> 00:11:09.000

a track or whatever.

00:11:11.000 –> 00:11:13.000

Not a whole, you know, we’re pretty quiet.

00:11:13.000 –> 00:11:15.000

Yeah. Just, you know, kinda go about business

00:11:15.000 –> 00:11:17.000

do your own thing. And and I love

00:11:17.000 –> 00:11:18.000

that though, man. You know, you you hear

00:11:18.000 –> 00:11:20.000

people talk about car rides, and that’s just

00:11:20.000 –> 00:11:22.000

one way, right, that people don’t wanna play

00:11:22.000 –> 00:11:24.000

sports. Sometimes the car rides home, mom, and

00:11:24.000 –> 00:11:25.000

dad, or, you know, why you miss that

00:11:25.000 –> 00:11:27.000

or do Chris? And Yeah. No. No. There

00:11:27.000 –> 00:11:29.000

was never, I don’t ever remember

00:11:30.000 –> 00:11:33.000

unless I did something not revolve

00:11:34.000 –> 00:11:36.000

around a play or whatever if I did

00:11:36.000 –> 00:11:38.000

something bad. Yeah. Right. You heard about it.

00:11:38.000 –> 00:11:39.000

May or may not have happened.

00:11:41.000 –> 00:11:43.000

No, I never got, well, why didn’t you

00:11:43.000 –> 00:11:44.000

make that pass? Or why didn’t you do

00:11:44.000 –> 00:11:46.000

this? Or why’d you make that player? No.

00:11:46.000 –> 00:11:47.000

I never

00:11:48.000 –> 00:11:49.000

it was, you know, it was just all

00:11:49.000 –> 00:11:51.000

about, as I tell people now. I’m like,

00:11:51.000 –> 00:11:53.000

make sure your kids are having fun. They

00:11:53.000 –> 00:11:55.000

get one chance to be a kid because

00:11:55.000 –> 00:11:57.000

guess what? You’re gonna grow up fast. Yep.

00:11:57.000 –> 00:11:58.000

And they’re out the door and

00:11:59.000 –> 00:12:01.000

you want them in those formative years of

00:12:01.000 –> 00:12:02.000

being a kid,

00:12:02.000 –> 00:12:05.000

being passionate about asport or multiple sports so

00:12:05.000 –> 00:12:08.000

that as they go off high school, college,

00:12:08.000 –> 00:12:09.000

etcetera,

00:12:10.000 –> 00:12:13.000

into normal normal life and are contributing citizens

00:12:13.000 –> 00:12:15.000

to the world, they still do stuff like

00:12:15.000 –> 00:12:17.000

that. They still wanna golf, they still wanna

00:12:17.000 –> 00:12:17.000

play hockey,

00:12:18.000 –> 00:12:21.000

basketball, volleyball, whatever it is, they wanna keep

00:12:22.000 –> 00:12:24.000

maybe not necessarily competing, but playing the sport

00:12:24.000 –> 00:12:26.000

that they love and are passionate about, or

00:12:26.000 –> 00:12:28.000

coaching it, paying it forward and doing these

00:12:28.000 –> 00:12:29.000

other things that you see a lot of,

00:12:30.000 –> 00:12:32.000

former players do. We’re gonna dive into your,

00:12:32.000 –> 00:12:34.000

obviously, your career here in a little bit,

00:12:34.000 –> 00:12:36.000

but but important for us as a firm,

00:12:36.000 –> 00:12:38.000

but also I think just any business person

00:12:38.000 –> 00:12:39.000

listening to this is whether it’s on the

00:12:39.000 –> 00:12:40.000

ice or in the boardroom,

00:12:41.000 –> 00:12:43.000

your values are important. Right? Your culture’s important

00:12:43.000 –> 00:12:45.000

to you. So was there a set of

00:12:45.000 –> 00:12:47.000

values or principles for you that maybe even

00:12:47.000 –> 00:12:48.000

your parents taught you or that you kinda

00:12:48.000 –> 00:12:50.000

formed early on in your career that said,

00:12:50.000 –> 00:12:53.000

this is what I stand for, and this

00:12:53.000 –> 00:12:54.000

is what I’m gonna do.

00:12:55.000 –> 00:12:56.000

You know, I think

00:12:57.000 –> 00:12:59.000

I was always one of the bigger kids,

00:12:59.000 –> 00:13:02.000

tall taller kids. You know, bigger, taller.

00:13:03.000 –> 00:13:04.000

But I always played a certain way. I

00:13:04.000 –> 00:13:06.000

always protected my teammates. I always

00:13:07.000 –> 00:13:08.000

let the other team know, oh, hey, you

00:13:08.000 –> 00:13:10.000

wanna take runs of this guy? Well, you

00:13:10.000 –> 00:13:12.000

better be careful because someone else can be

00:13:12.000 –> 00:13:13.000

taking runs of you.

00:13:14.000 –> 00:13:16.000

You know, and I think hard work and

00:13:16.000 –> 00:13:16.000

and

00:13:17.000 –> 00:13:20.000

adversity, you know, as my career went along,

00:13:20.000 –> 00:13:21.000

I you you

00:13:21.000 –> 00:13:22.000

sense

00:13:23.000 –> 00:13:25.000

and learn from the very adversities that you

00:13:25.000 –> 00:13:27.000

face, the decisions you gotta make.

00:13:28.000 –> 00:13:30.000

I’ve had plenty of decisions, whether it’s going

00:13:30.000 –> 00:13:31.000

to play junior, whether it’s going to play

00:13:31.000 –> 00:13:33.000

AAA or high school, whether it’s going to

00:13:33.000 –> 00:13:36.000

play major junior or college. I mean, just,

00:13:36.000 –> 00:13:37.000

you know,

00:13:37.000 –> 00:13:39.000

asking for trades, doing all these things. Like,

00:13:39.000 –> 00:13:41.000

you have you’re forced to really

00:13:42.000 –> 00:13:44.000

Stick to your guns. And, alright.

00:13:45.000 –> 00:13:47.000

You know, there’s some moments where I did

00:13:47.000 –> 00:13:47.000

not

00:13:48.000 –> 00:13:50.000

stick to my guns that I’m like, why

00:13:50.000 –> 00:13:51.000

did I not?

00:13:51.000 –> 00:13:53.000

Why did I cave and why, you know,

00:13:53.000 –> 00:13:55.000

it just if you have a core set

00:13:55.000 –> 00:13:56.000

of principles and you

00:13:57.000 –> 00:14:00.000

know who you are, and and you have

00:14:00.000 –> 00:14:01.000

a firm belief in that, you need to

00:14:01.000 –> 00:14:04.000

stick your guns. And there’s a couple times

00:14:04.000 –> 00:14:05.000

where I

00:14:05.000 –> 00:14:08.000

wouldn’t say I got bullied or talked into

00:14:08.000 –> 00:14:09.000

it. Just

00:14:09.000 –> 00:14:11.000

was told to you, you know, maybe you

00:14:11.000 –> 00:14:12.000

should go do this or that. And I’m

00:14:12.000 –> 00:14:14.000

like, well, I wish I’d have already did

00:14:14.000 –> 00:14:16.000

that. Yeah. Because it’s not. I

00:14:16.000 –> 00:14:18.000

I got asked to tell the owner one

00:14:18.000 –> 00:14:19.000

time in Saint Chris,

00:14:20.000 –> 00:14:21.000

sorry for making a play that I got

00:14:21.000 –> 00:14:22.000

suspended on.

00:14:23.000 –> 00:14:25.000

Like, why? Why? Why? Why do I need

00:14:25.000 –> 00:14:26.000

to apologize for that?

00:14:27.000 –> 00:14:29.000

That’s who I am. That’s how I play.

00:14:29.000 –> 00:14:31.000

Right. You love how I play. Yeah. So

00:14:31.000 –> 00:14:33.000

why am I still here? That’s why I’m

00:14:33.000 –> 00:14:34.000

here. You know, and I’m just like, well,

00:14:34.000 –> 00:14:36.000

why am I apologizing? I think that’s normal.

00:14:36.000 –> 00:14:38.000

Right? I mean, you think about even from

00:14:38.000 –> 00:14:39.000

a work standpoint? Oh, I kinda have good

00:14:39.000 –> 00:14:42.000

on that road. I kinda haphazardly just said,

00:14:42.000 –> 00:14:42.000

I’m sorry. But

00:14:43.000 –> 00:14:46.000

Yeah. I’m not I don’t mean it. You

00:14:46.000 –> 00:14:47.000

know, great. You told me to do it.

00:14:47.000 –> 00:14:48.000

Okay. I did it. But I don’t mean

00:14:48.000 –> 00:14:51.000

it. Yeah. Because I’m not sorry. Right. Right.

00:14:52.000 –> 00:14:53.000

I’m sorry I got caught.

00:14:54.000 –> 00:14:56.000

But when I read eight suspensions, is that

00:14:56.000 –> 00:14:58.000

what I heard? Eight. Yes. Hate suspensions.

00:14:59.000 –> 00:15:00.000

What was the best one?

00:15:02.000 –> 00:15:04.000

There were a few. There were a few

00:15:04.000 –> 00:15:06.000

good ones. You know what? I I learned

00:15:07.000 –> 00:15:10.000

early in my childhood to be unpredictable. Gilliland

00:15:11.000 –> 00:15:12.000

whether that’s you’re gonna take the puck, whether

00:15:12.000 –> 00:15:14.000

that’s you’re gonna hit them, whether that’s you’re

00:15:14.000 –> 00:15:15.000

gonna spear them, whether you’re gonna slash them,

00:15:15.000 –> 00:15:16.000

cross check them, whatever,

00:15:18.000 –> 00:15:19.000

in the grid the errors of the rule

00:15:19.000 –> 00:15:20.000

book.

00:15:20.000 –> 00:15:21.000

Mhmm.

00:15:21.000 –> 00:15:24.000

That keeping people unpredictable that just that indecisiveness

00:15:24.000 –> 00:15:24.000

in their head is gonna give you just

00:15:24.000 –> 00:15:24.000

enough time to

00:15:28.000 –> 00:15:30.000

make play, take the puck.

00:15:30.000 –> 00:15:32.000

They’re gonna be a little leery as to

00:15:32.000 –> 00:15:34.000

what you’re gonna do, and I could be

00:15:34.000 –> 00:15:35.000

honest with you sometimes. I didn’t know what

00:15:35.000 –> 00:15:38.000

I was gonna do. This is a re

00:15:38.000 –> 00:15:40.000

action. It’s a spur of the moment. You’re

00:15:40.000 –> 00:15:42.000

laying on. Yeah. Boom. But I think there’s

00:15:42.000 –> 00:15:44.000

people that, like, they like the hit. Right?

00:15:44.000 –> 00:15:45.000

I think of my oldest son, like, he

00:15:45.000 –> 00:15:47.000

likes the hit. Even he’s playing soccer. He’s

00:15:47.000 –> 00:15:49.000

not playing, but but, like, I was a

00:15:49.000 –> 00:15:50.000

guy. I didn’t like to hit. Like, I

00:15:50.000 –> 00:15:52.000

didn’t want that company. He’s probably why I

00:15:52.000 –> 00:15:53.000

played golf. Right? But

00:15:54.000 –> 00:15:55.000

do you think do you agree with that?

00:15:55.000 –> 00:15:56.000

I mean, people like to hit? Oh, absolutely.

00:15:57.000 –> 00:15:59.000

There’s, you know, when you see game start

00:15:59.000 –> 00:16:01.000

and you’re like, you either wanna get hit

00:16:01.000 –> 00:16:04.000

or get hit. Yeah. Just to absorb, get

00:16:04.000 –> 00:16:05.000

into the game, get the feel of it.

00:16:05.000 –> 00:16:08.000

Alright. We’re good now. Yeah. Just get that

00:16:08.000 –> 00:16:10.000

first one to get started. Alright. Now.

00:16:12.000 –> 00:16:14.000

Going. I was doing some butterflies, and get

00:16:14.000 –> 00:16:15.000

that

00:16:15.000 –> 00:16:17.000

I Brett some research last night. Watch some

00:16:17.000 –> 00:16:19.000

videos. I you said something on a podcast

00:16:19.000 –> 00:16:21.000

or some TV thing you’re on, and it

00:16:21.000 –> 00:16:23.000

said you you predicted be a hundred plus

00:16:23.000 –> 00:16:24.000

concussions? If you’re looking at what they consider

00:16:24.000 –> 00:16:25.000

a concussion now. Yeah. I

00:16:30.000 –> 00:16:30.000

would

00:16:31.000 –> 00:16:33.000

I would probably guess. You know?

00:16:34.000 –> 00:16:36.000

I can count ones where

00:16:36.000 –> 00:16:37.000

if you were looking at

00:16:39.000 –> 00:16:40.000

a baseline concussion of,

00:16:41.000 –> 00:16:43.000

you know, either it got knocked out or

00:16:43.000 –> 00:16:44.000

you’re seeing stars, you know, like a legit,

00:16:44.000 –> 00:16:45.000

you know, head trauma. You’re talking

00:16:50.000 –> 00:16:50.000

Twenty?

00:16:51.000 –> 00:16:52.000

Like that. And then,

00:16:53.000 –> 00:16:54.000

you know, seeing seeing stars, you bell rung

00:16:54.000 –> 00:16:54.000

and all the all those buzz words that

00:16:54.000 –> 00:16:54.000

you

00:16:58.000 –> 00:17:00.000

to hear. They’re like, don’t worry about it.

00:17:00.000 –> 00:17:02.000

Or I get a stinger. You know, your

00:17:02.000 –> 00:17:03.000

tip’s your head, but it’s your neck, but

00:17:03.000 –> 00:17:05.000

it’s your shoulder. You know, what is it?

00:17:06.000 –> 00:17:08.000

You know, there was so many different buzzwords

00:17:08.000 –> 00:17:10.000

to kinda take it away from

00:17:10.000 –> 00:17:12.000

your head. Yeah. That

00:17:13.000 –> 00:17:15.000

I, you know, over the span of playing

00:17:15.000 –> 00:17:16.000

hockey thirty

00:17:18.000 –> 00:17:20.000

Let’s see here. Thirty years or so? Eighteen

00:17:20.000 –> 00:17:23.000

in the NHL. Right. Thirty three. Yeah.

00:17:23.000 –> 00:17:25.000

Nineteen in the NHL. I mean,

00:17:25.000 –> 00:17:27.000

Yeah. I would, you know, you bang your

00:17:27.000 –> 00:17:28.000

head off the glass. You get hit. You

00:17:28.000 –> 00:17:30.000

know, there’s a couple times. You remember, we

00:17:30.000 –> 00:17:31.000

Brett banging my head off the glass on

00:17:31.000 –> 00:17:32.000

a hit.

00:17:32.000 –> 00:17:34.000

You know, you pass a puck and you’re

00:17:34.000 –> 00:17:36.000

trying to Brett yourself just, you know, you

00:17:36.000 –> 00:17:37.000

get hit by a big guy and you’re

00:17:38.000 –> 00:17:39.000

you’re hitting the guy and your head hits

00:17:39.000 –> 00:17:40.000

the glass.

00:17:42.000 –> 00:17:44.000

You’ve you’ve you don’t

00:17:44.000 –> 00:17:47.000

lose consciousness, but you’re you can feel it

00:17:47.000 –> 00:17:50.000

for a second or two. You’re like, okay.

00:17:50.000 –> 00:17:52.000

Talk about that moment we Brett hit in

00:17:52.000 –> 00:17:53.000

the chest. You know, the puck hits you,

00:17:53.000 –> 00:17:55.000

you go down. I watched that video last

00:17:55.000 –> 00:17:57.000

night. That was just scary as hell just

00:17:57.000 –> 00:17:58.000

watching the video, and I knew you survived

00:17:58.000 –> 00:17:59.000

it, but I’m like, in that moment, I

00:17:59.000 –> 00:18:01.000

came imagine. Yeah. I I

00:18:01.000 –> 00:18:04.000

when the whole Demar Hamlin thing happened, you

00:18:05.000 –> 00:18:07.000

you know, obviously got Yeah. That got just

00:18:07.000 –> 00:18:09.000

stood off and and, you know, being the

00:18:09.000 –> 00:18:11.000

first one that it actually happened to.

00:18:11.000 –> 00:18:14.000

I’m, you know, kinda relived it a little

00:18:14.000 –> 00:18:14.000

bit more and

00:18:15.000 –> 00:18:17.000

When it happens to you, that young in

00:18:17.000 –> 00:18:17.000

your career,

00:18:19.000 –> 00:18:21.000

you know, the the internet was still not

00:18:21.000 –> 00:18:23.000

really. The internet Yeah. Wasn’t it was ninety

00:18:23.000 –> 00:18:23.000

eight

00:18:24.000 –> 00:18:26.000

ish, I think. Yeah. Main ninety eight.

00:18:27.000 –> 00:18:28.000

There was not a lot of information out

00:18:28.000 –> 00:18:30.000

there. There was not,

00:18:30.000 –> 00:18:32.000

you know, dial up internet and all that

00:18:32.000 –> 00:18:34.000

kind of stuff. It’s just you’re not researching

00:18:34.000 –> 00:18:35.000

all that web I don’t even know if

00:18:35.000 –> 00:18:37.000

it was born yet. Well, he’s been dead

00:18:37.000 –> 00:18:39.000

if you went to WebMD. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

00:18:40.000 –> 00:18:42.000

Same symptom for everything. Yeah. But

00:18:44.000 –> 00:18:46.000

You know, I I started to really research

00:18:46.000 –> 00:18:47.000

and understand.

00:18:48.000 –> 00:18:48.000

I was actually

00:18:51.000 –> 00:18:54.000

closer to death than maybe a thought

00:18:54.000 –> 00:18:56.000

as I talked to the trainer and talked

00:18:56.000 –> 00:18:57.000

about what what I actually did have? Cause

00:18:57.000 –> 00:19:00.000

I never really I didn’t really wanna know.

00:19:00.000 –> 00:19:02.000

I’m just like, I just wanted to know

00:19:02.000 –> 00:19:04.000

from the doctor. Can it happen again? Right.

00:19:04.000 –> 00:19:07.000

Are there any short term, long term effects

00:19:07.000 –> 00:19:08.000

if I go back to play.

00:19:09.000 –> 00:19:10.000

And and once she cleared me of all

00:19:10.000 –> 00:19:12.000

that, and she’s like, no. This is just

00:19:12.000 –> 00:19:13.000

a random freak thing that

00:19:14.000 –> 00:19:16.000

follow those things line up again. It can

00:19:16.000 –> 00:19:17.000

happen, but the sequencing

00:19:18.000 –> 00:19:19.000

has to be perfect. Yeah.

00:19:19.000 –> 00:19:21.000

And the way it hits you has to

00:19:21.000 –> 00:19:23.000

be perfect and where it hits you.

00:19:24.000 –> 00:19:26.000

So I’m like, well, I just didn’t wanna

00:19:26.000 –> 00:19:27.000

know. So I start to ask the trainer.

00:19:27.000 –> 00:19:29.000

I’m like, so I get hit with a

00:19:29.000 –> 00:19:30.000

puck, a block shot. I gave it with

00:19:30.000 –> 00:19:32.000

a puck, and we’re killing a penalty.

00:19:33.000 –> 00:19:35.000

And I was, like, kinda stung in Rindy

00:19:35.000 –> 00:19:37.000

Troy, so I’m, like,

00:19:37.000 –> 00:19:39.000

In my hand, I’m like, cover the puck

00:19:39.000 –> 00:19:40.000

up, get a whistle, and then get to

00:19:40.000 –> 00:19:42.000

the bench. Don’t let these people see it

00:19:42.000 –> 00:19:44.000

down here. Yeah. Because they’re gonna be all

00:19:44.000 –> 00:19:45.000

over you. Alright.

00:19:46.000 –> 00:19:48.000

So in my hand, I do all that,

00:19:48.000 –> 00:19:51.000

but then I must have blacked out. Like,

00:19:51.000 –> 00:19:53.000

you kinda see I’m kind of Yeah. I’m

00:19:53.000 –> 00:19:55.000

gonna go down. Stumblebee tuna right after I

00:19:55.000 –> 00:19:57.000

get and take a stride, then boom, I’m

00:19:57.000 –> 00:19:59.000

down. Thank god. I had my hands in

00:19:59.000 –> 00:20:01.000

front of me. I would’ve broke my face.

00:20:01.000 –> 00:20:04.000

And I I wake up, and, you know,

00:20:04.000 –> 00:20:05.000

I’m in the middle of the ice. My

00:20:05.000 –> 00:20:06.000

stuff’s open

00:20:06.000 –> 00:20:08.000

all my stuffs off. And I look over

00:20:08.000 –> 00:20:10.000

to our bench. People are crying, and I’m

00:20:10.000 –> 00:20:12.000

just like, what’s going on here? So you

00:20:12.000 –> 00:20:13.000

had your wherewithal. I mean, you knew what

00:20:13.000 –> 00:20:15.000

was Once I woke up, I did. So

00:20:15.000 –> 00:20:18.000

then as this whole Lamar Hamlett thing happened,

00:20:18.000 –> 00:20:19.000

I started talking to the trainer. I’m like,

00:20:19.000 –> 00:20:21.000

so because I kept getting asked about it.

00:20:21.000 –> 00:20:23.000

And I was I don’t know. You know,

00:20:23.000 –> 00:20:25.000

it kinda just happened. To know, but I

00:20:25.000 –> 00:20:26.000

really didn’t.

00:20:26.000 –> 00:20:28.000

So I started asking. I’m like, so what

00:20:28.000 –> 00:20:30.000

exactly did happen?

00:20:30.000 –> 00:20:31.000

I was like, well, you know, we got

00:20:31.000 –> 00:20:32.000

out there.

00:20:32.000 –> 00:20:33.000

You weren’t breathing.

00:20:34.000 –> 00:20:37.000

You know, your lips were kinda panicked.

00:20:38.000 –> 00:20:39.000

No defibrillator.

00:20:40.000 –> 00:20:42.000

Back then, they had no defibrillators in the

00:20:42.000 –> 00:20:42.000

building.

00:20:43.000 –> 00:20:45.000

The ambulance was just a cart. It was

00:20:45.000 –> 00:20:47.000

basically just to to get you to the

00:20:47.000 –> 00:20:49.000

hospital. It wasn’t there was nothing in it.

00:20:49.000 –> 00:20:50.000

That could help you.

00:20:53.000 –> 00:20:55.000

And so here was starting to panic. My

00:20:55.000 –> 00:20:56.000

lips were starting to turn a little bit

00:20:56.000 –> 00:20:58.000

blue. He was like, yeah. We were just

00:20:58.000 –> 00:21:00.000

getting ready to give you mouth to mouth

00:21:00.000 –> 00:21:01.000

when you

00:21:01.000 –> 00:21:03.000

kinda came to and took a Brett. And

00:21:03.000 –> 00:21:04.000

they were like,

00:21:04.000 –> 00:21:05.000

Wow.

00:21:06.000 –> 00:21:07.000

Because they were they were just getting a

00:21:07.000 –> 00:21:09.000

little nervous. I think I had, like, fifteen,

00:21:09.000 –> 00:21:11.000

twenty seconds without breathing. And,

00:21:12.000 –> 00:21:14.000

you know, unlike ham on. I think it

00:21:14.000 –> 00:21:16.000

was, like, eight or nine minutes. Yeah. So

00:21:16.000 –> 00:21:18.000

they they were and and then since then,

00:21:18.000 –> 00:21:20.000

so then I went to hospital, did all

00:21:20.000 –> 00:21:22.000

that. And since then, right, right after that

00:21:22.000 –> 00:21:24.000

incident, they had fibrillators in the all the

00:21:25.000 –> 00:21:27.000

buildings. Mhmm. They’ve, you know, retrofitted or fixed

00:21:27.000 –> 00:21:29.000

the ambulance situation.

00:21:29.000 –> 00:21:31.000

And three years after that, Yuri Fisher with

00:21:31.000 –> 00:21:33.000

the Detroit Wed rings had a heart attack

00:21:33.000 –> 00:21:34.000

on the bench

00:21:34.000 –> 00:21:36.000

or right in front of the bench. And

00:21:36.000 –> 00:21:39.000

they also had the doctors way up in

00:21:39.000 –> 00:21:39.000

the top. Oh, yeah.

00:21:40.000 –> 00:21:42.000

And and after that incident, they had the

00:21:42.000 –> 00:21:43.000

doctors right behind the bench.

00:21:44.000 –> 00:21:46.000

And fortunate enough for Yuri Fisher, the doctor

00:21:46.000 –> 00:21:48.000

was right behind the bench, came off the

00:21:48.000 –> 00:21:50.000

bench, came out, start give him out the

00:21:50.000 –> 00:21:52.000

mouth, give him the

00:21:52.000 –> 00:21:54.000

defibrillator and save his life. Save his life.

00:21:54.000 –> 00:21:54.000

But, so I

00:21:57.000 –> 00:21:59.000

that that happens. I’m in the hospital. I’m

00:21:59.000 –> 00:22:01.000

I’m wearing a heart monitor for twenty four

00:22:01.000 –> 00:22:04.000

hours tracking it, doing all that. And, again,

00:22:04.000 –> 00:22:05.000

ask the doctor if, you know, is there

00:22:05.000 –> 00:22:06.000

any

00:22:06.000 –> 00:22:08.000

long term short term side effects if I

00:22:08.000 –> 00:22:08.000

play.

00:22:09.000 –> 00:22:10.000

And she’s like, no.

00:22:11.000 –> 00:22:12.000

So I I’ve thought about Demar Ham. So

00:22:12.000 –> 00:22:14.000

I wanted to rip the band aid off

00:22:14.000 –> 00:22:16.000

fast. Right. Basically. Brett right back. So how

00:22:16.000 –> 00:22:18.000

long did you set out? A a day?

00:22:18.000 –> 00:22:19.000

I just No. So even, like, the next

00:22:19.000 –> 00:22:20.000

day, you’re in the next day. So we

00:22:20.000 –> 00:22:22.000

played a I don’t know. Let’s just say

00:22:22.000 –> 00:22:24.000

that was a Tuesday? Yeah. Played on Thursday.

00:22:24.000 –> 00:22:26.000

Oh, wow. So I stayed in the hospital

00:22:26.000 –> 00:22:27.000

Tuesday night in Detroit,

00:22:27.000 –> 00:22:29.000

flew back on Wednesday,

00:22:30.000 –> 00:22:32.000

did all these tests, wore the heart monitor,

00:22:33.000 –> 00:22:34.000

did all that.

00:22:35.000 –> 00:22:36.000

Got up in the morning, went back to

00:22:36.000 –> 00:22:37.000

the doctor.

00:22:39.000 –> 00:22:41.000

Got checked out again. She looked at the

00:22:41.000 –> 00:22:41.000

monitor.

00:22:42.000 –> 00:22:43.000

The heart monitor that is,

00:22:44.000 –> 00:22:45.000

did a battery of tests against, sat down

00:22:45.000 –> 00:22:47.000

with her, talk to her.

00:22:47.000 –> 00:22:49.000

You know, still not knowing whether gonna play,

00:22:49.000 –> 00:22:51.000

but I prepared the night before like I

00:22:51.000 –> 00:22:53.000

was gonna play. Just you never know. Yeah.

00:22:53.000 –> 00:22:54.000

And then,

00:22:56.000 –> 00:22:58.000

And then went down to the rank at,

00:22:58.000 –> 00:22:59.000

like, 04:30.

00:22:59.000 –> 00:23:01.000

I think we had a seven, maybe a

00:23:01.000 –> 00:23:03.000

07:30 game. Went down to the rank at

00:23:03.000 –> 00:23:04.000

04:30, and just, like, I got cleared to

00:23:04.000 –> 00:23:06.000

play. So I’ll take up, see how I

00:23:06.000 –> 00:23:06.000

feel.

00:23:07.000 –> 00:23:09.000

And, well, you know, once once you put

00:23:09.000 –> 00:23:11.000

your equipment on It’s a good time. For

00:23:11.000 –> 00:23:11.000

me.

00:23:12.000 –> 00:23:14.000

I’m not taking that shit Yeah. It’s not

00:23:14.000 –> 00:23:15.000

it’s

00:23:15.000 –> 00:23:17.000

not happening. Right. I’m like, once it’s on

00:23:17.000 –> 00:23:18.000

You get to cut it off me again.

00:23:18.000 –> 00:23:20.000

Well, I’m not sitting now. If if I

00:23:20.000 –> 00:23:22.000

can if I can go out there and

00:23:22.000 –> 00:23:24.000

do warm up and do all the time.

00:23:24.000 –> 00:23:26.000

My might as well play. Right. And I

00:23:26.000 –> 00:23:29.000

hate sitting upstairs. It sucks. Yeah. So

00:23:30.000 –> 00:23:32.000

So, boy She just went back in and

00:23:32.000 –> 00:23:34.000

there was her nerves. Oh, yeah. There was

00:23:34.000 –> 00:23:35.000

nerves. You know, you again, to to the

00:23:35.000 –> 00:23:37.000

point, do you wanna get hit, or you

00:23:37.000 –> 00:23:38.000

wanna hit somebody, like, right

00:23:39.000 –> 00:23:41.000

And, you know, just, the water flies and

00:23:41.000 –> 00:23:43.000

the energy of coming out to the, out

00:23:43.000 –> 00:23:44.000

to the rain, you know, you take warm

00:23:44.000 –> 00:23:45.000

up and, you know, not everybody’s in the

00:23:45.000 –> 00:23:48.000

building. Yeah. Playoff game, playing Detroit, So it’s

00:23:48.000 –> 00:23:50.000

just crazy. Yeah. And,

00:23:51.000 –> 00:23:52.000

and then I come out for

00:23:54.000 –> 00:23:56.000

intros and come out, you know, to the

00:23:56.000 –> 00:23:59.000

building electric and going bananas, and then, you

00:23:59.000 –> 00:24:00.000

know, I come out. I was, like, one

00:24:00.000 –> 00:24:02.000

of one of the last couple guys I

00:24:02.000 –> 00:24:03.000

would always and

00:24:03.000 –> 00:24:05.000

fancy erupted and all that kind of stuff

00:24:05.000 –> 00:24:06.000

pretty cool. It brings it home. Oh, yeah.

00:24:06.000 –> 00:24:08.000

Alright. Let’s go. Well, you get and then

00:24:08.000 –> 00:24:10.000

you get the butterflies, like, alright. Let’s get

00:24:10.000 –> 00:24:12.000

the Band Aid ripped off and hit somebody

00:24:12.000 –> 00:24:15.000

somebody hit me, let’s get this out of

00:24:15.000 –> 00:24:17.000

the way so we can get past this.

00:24:17.000 –> 00:24:18.000

So in sports, I think for fans, I’m

00:24:18.000 –> 00:24:21.000

curious always to talk to players on it’s

00:24:21.000 –> 00:24:22.000

as big a deal for you guys. So

00:24:22.000 –> 00:24:24.000

there’s the rivalries. Right? There’s there’s games that

00:24:24.000 –> 00:24:27.000

mean more than than most. Obviously, playoffs always

00:24:27.000 –> 00:24:29.000

do. But did you treat those differently, or

00:24:29.000 –> 00:24:31.000

did did your mind go differently when you

00:24:31.000 –> 00:24:33.000

were playing a certain robbery for the different

00:24:33.000 –> 00:24:33.000

teams?

00:24:34.000 –> 00:24:35.000

Like, you know, cubs cards in baseball. Right?

00:24:35.000 –> 00:24:37.000

Like, there’s that thing. Did that matter to

00:24:37.000 –> 00:24:39.000

you? Oh, yeah. For sure. You the the

00:24:39.000 –> 00:24:42.000

team’s in your division. Yeah. And back then,

00:24:42.000 –> 00:24:43.000

you gotta remember, you pay you played those

00:24:43.000 –> 00:24:45.000

guys eight times. Mhmm. You know, the the

00:24:45.000 –> 00:24:47.000

schedule has since changed in you know, you

00:24:47.000 –> 00:24:48.000

don’t play

00:24:48.000 –> 00:24:51.000

against those teams as much. You know, you’re

00:24:51.000 –> 00:24:52.000

playing four home games, four road games, and

00:24:52.000 –> 00:24:54.000

then you’re playing the team typically in the

00:24:54.000 –> 00:24:55.000

playoffs and

00:24:55.000 –> 00:24:57.000

You know, you’re playing on sat possibly seven

00:24:57.000 –> 00:24:59.000

times and you’re playing it. You know, the

00:24:59.000 –> 00:25:01.000

next rival you’re playing seven times, it just

00:25:04.000 –> 00:25:04.000

you know, those

00:25:05.000 –> 00:25:07.000

the hatred between the teams

00:25:08.000 –> 00:25:08.000

intensifies

00:25:09.000 –> 00:25:10.000

with each playoff

00:25:13.000 –> 00:25:14.000

round that you play and we play Detroit

00:25:14.000 –> 00:25:16.000

four years in a row.

00:25:16.000 –> 00:25:17.000

This was

00:25:18.000 –> 00:25:18.000

ninety

00:25:20.000 –> 00:25:23.000

Ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven. This is,

00:25:23.000 –> 00:25:24.000

like, ninety eight. This is this is a

00:25:24.000 –> 00:25:26.000

fourth year in a rural plant. Yeah. You

00:25:26.000 –> 00:25:28.000

know, near the Okay. Here we go again.

00:25:28.000 –> 00:25:29.000

Here we go again.

00:25:29.000 –> 00:25:32.000

And so, you know, it’s just that rivalry,

00:25:32.000 –> 00:25:32.000

the

00:25:32.000 –> 00:25:35.000

the feuds between the play years and, you

00:25:35.000 –> 00:25:37.000

know, all the different things that happened over

00:25:37.000 –> 00:25:39.000

years. We hadn’t beaten them. They Brett us

00:25:39.000 –> 00:25:40.000

every year.

00:25:41.000 –> 00:25:42.000

You know, so it was

00:25:43.000 –> 00:25:45.000

It was getting intense. Yeah. When you get

00:25:45.000 –> 00:25:46.000

a lot of The hits, you get a

00:25:46.000 –> 00:25:46.000

little harder.

00:25:47.000 –> 00:25:49.000

You know, and you’re sick of losing, you

00:25:49.000 –> 00:25:51.000

know, getting pissed off. Yeah. Alright. Well, I’m

00:25:51.000 –> 00:25:52.000

gonna get my pound watch.

00:25:53.000 –> 00:25:55.000

Did you ever have one of those, guys

00:25:55.000 –> 00:25:56.000

that you couldn’t stand playing against? But then

00:25:56.000 –> 00:25:58.000

they became a teammate. Did that ever happen?

00:25:58.000 –> 00:26:00.000

You’re always gonna run down. I’m sure I

00:26:00.000 –> 00:26:01.000

was that guy for a lot of people

00:26:01.000 –> 00:26:03.000

You know, you you play against players, you

00:26:03.000 –> 00:26:06.000

know, you you recognize they’re good. Yep. And

00:26:06.000 –> 00:26:07.000

you’re like, okay. You’re not gonna be good

00:26:07.000 –> 00:26:09.000

against me. You’re just, you

00:26:10.000 –> 00:26:11.000

know, you just try to get in the

00:26:11.000 –> 00:26:13.000

kitchen and you try to,

00:26:13.000 –> 00:26:15.000

you know, it’s when you’re a defenseman, it’s

00:26:15.000 –> 00:26:17.000

different because if you’re a forward and you

00:26:17.000 –> 00:26:19.000

beat me once, you might score ones.

00:26:20.000 –> 00:26:21.000

There it is. You’ve done your job. Yeah.

00:26:21.000 –> 00:26:23.000

You did your one thing. Yeah. You know,

00:26:23.000 –> 00:26:25.000

so I’ve gotta be a hundred percent all

00:26:25.000 –> 00:26:26.000

the time. Yep.

00:26:26.000 –> 00:26:27.000

And so

00:26:28.000 –> 00:26:30.000

I would, you know, rivalry games, playoffs. He

00:26:30.000 –> 00:26:31.000

just

00:26:31.000 –> 00:26:34.000

I would treat rivalry games like playoffs, where

00:26:34.000 –> 00:26:35.000

you’re kinda ramping it up. You’re

00:26:36.000 –> 00:26:37.000

you know, a good chance you’re gonna meet

00:26:37.000 –> 00:26:39.000

them in the playoffs or anything. We’re gonna

00:26:39.000 –> 00:26:41.000

Well, you probably feel We’re gonna let you

00:26:41.000 –> 00:26:42.000

know what you’re in for. And the crowds

00:26:42.000 –> 00:26:45.000

jacked up. Everybody. Okay. It’s

00:26:45.000 –> 00:26:49.000

blackhawks, blues, you know. It’s just, you know,

00:26:49.000 –> 00:26:51.000

a little different. Yeah. A little different than,

00:26:51.000 –> 00:26:53.000

a normal game. And as you, you know,

00:26:53.000 –> 00:26:54.000

and then when you start, you know, and

00:26:54.000 –> 00:26:55.000

then it was the sharks, because we played

00:26:55.000 –> 00:26:56.000

them two or three years in a row

00:26:56.000 –> 00:26:58.000

in the playoffs. So just as you play

00:26:58.000 –> 00:27:01.000

somebody in the playoffs, those rivalries get heated.

00:27:01.000 –> 00:27:04.000

And Yeah. Talk about the, the Olympics versus

00:27:04.000 –> 00:27:07.000

the Stanley Chris. Stanley cup play or Stanley

00:27:07.000 –> 00:27:07.000

cup finals.

00:27:08.000 –> 00:27:10.000

What was the big difference there for you?

00:27:10.000 –> 00:27:10.000

Well,

00:27:12.000 –> 00:27:13.000

Both are awesome.

00:27:14.000 –> 00:27:14.000

Both,

00:27:15.000 –> 00:27:16.000

you know, to get to a Stanley Cup

00:27:16.000 –> 00:27:20.000

final takes a lot of grit and determination,

00:27:20.000 –> 00:27:20.000

luck.

00:27:22.000 –> 00:27:23.000

Chemistry,

00:27:23.000 –> 00:27:24.000

teamwork.

00:27:24.000 –> 00:27:26.000

You know, it’s nine to ten months of

00:27:27.000 –> 00:27:27.000

being in the same fight with the same

00:27:27.000 –> 00:27:28.000

guys over and over and over. The

00:27:30.000 –> 00:27:32.000

up the downs, university.

00:27:33.000 –> 00:27:34.000

You know, you get into an Olympic situation.

00:27:34.000 –> 00:27:35.000

It’s too many

00:27:38.000 –> 00:27:40.000

maybe two and a half weeks. Yeah. You’re

00:27:40.000 –> 00:27:41.000

throwing together.

00:27:41.000 –> 00:27:43.000

You know, and and for Canada, it’s a

00:27:43.000 –> 00:27:45.000

lot different than a lot of these other

00:27:45.000 –> 00:27:47.000

countries. We don’t have a national program

00:27:48.000 –> 00:27:50.000

where guys go back and skate the summers

00:27:50.000 –> 00:27:52.000

and go and, you know, play in the

00:27:52.000 –> 00:27:55.000

US development program Gilliland and have played together,

00:27:55.000 –> 00:27:57.000

we’re always playing against other in junior, you

00:27:57.000 –> 00:28:00.000

know, in different junior programs, you’re always playing

00:28:00.000 –> 00:28:02.000

against each other. You’re never playing together. And

00:28:02.000 –> 00:28:03.000

00:28:04.000 –> 00:28:04.000

those,

00:28:04.000 –> 00:28:05.000

those teams

00:28:06.000 –> 00:28:08.000

have a little bit better chemistry typically coming

00:28:08.000 –> 00:28:09.000

out of the gate because they’ve all played

00:28:09.000 –> 00:28:11.000

it with each other at some point. Yeah.

00:28:11.000 –> 00:28:13.000

And they’re familiar with the one. We hate

00:28:13.000 –> 00:28:14.000

each other.

00:28:14.000 –> 00:28:16.000

We all wanna beat each other up, but

00:28:16.000 –> 00:28:17.000

now for two and a half weeks. Yeah.

00:28:17.000 –> 00:28:18.000

So now for two and a half weeks,

00:28:18.000 –> 00:28:19.000

you gotta kind of

00:28:20.000 –> 00:28:22.000

let your buy guns be buy Gilliland,

00:28:22.000 –> 00:28:24.000

and come together as a group. And,

00:28:25.000 –> 00:28:27.000

you know, it’s and sometimes it works, and

00:28:27.000 –> 00:28:29.000

sometimes it doesn’t. Yeah. And sometimes just the

00:28:29.000 –> 00:28:31.000

industry is not there. Like,

00:28:32.000 –> 00:28:34.000

for us in in o six, in Italy,

00:28:35.000 –> 00:28:37.000

it just we just did not have good

00:28:37.000 –> 00:28:38.000

mastery. It was kind of the changing of

00:28:38.000 –> 00:28:40.000

the guard. We had ninety eight and o

00:28:40.000 –> 00:28:41.000

two were

00:28:41.000 –> 00:28:43.000

a lot of the same players. O two

00:28:43.000 –> 00:28:44.000

and ten. Right?

00:28:44.000 –> 00:28:46.000

And and then in o six, they choose,

00:28:46.000 –> 00:28:48.000

you know, some guys were retiring, and and

00:28:48.000 –> 00:28:50.000

we had a we had a different group

00:28:50.000 –> 00:28:52.000

of players. It just was a

00:28:53.000 –> 00:28:54.000

was

00:28:55.000 –> 00:28:57.000

I don’t know. I didn’t think they they

00:28:57.000 –> 00:28:59.000

either they didn’t coach or they didn’t

00:29:00.000 –> 00:29:00.000

pick the

00:29:01.000 –> 00:29:03.000

makeup of the team. It just didn’t. I

00:29:03.000 –> 00:29:05.000

didn’t feel like our chemistry was that good.

00:29:05.000 –> 00:29:07.000

But you played for four? Four. So at

00:29:07.000 –> 00:29:09.000

ninety eight was the first year we could

00:29:09.000 –> 00:29:09.000

play.

00:29:10.000 –> 00:29:10.000

In Nagano,

00:29:11.000 –> 00:29:13.000

and Gretzky was on the team,

00:29:13.000 –> 00:29:14.000

and

00:29:15.000 –> 00:29:17.000

I learned a lot from that year because

00:29:17.000 –> 00:29:19.000

we played not to lose. Okay. Like, we

00:29:19.000 –> 00:29:19.000

were

00:29:20.000 –> 00:29:22.000

just the way we played, it just wasn’t

00:29:22.000 –> 00:29:24.000

we weren’t lay leaving it all out there.

00:29:24.000 –> 00:29:26.000

We weren’t putting our foot on the gas.

00:29:26.000 –> 00:29:27.000

It was like, alright.

00:29:28.000 –> 00:29:30.000

What can we do? Okay. Let’s massage and

00:29:30.000 –> 00:29:31.000

let’s go win. Yep.

00:29:31.000 –> 00:29:33.000

And it it didn’t feel like we were

00:29:33.000 –> 00:29:35.000

getting better. We were just winning.

00:29:35.000 –> 00:29:37.000

We’re finding a way to win versus

00:29:37.000 –> 00:29:40.000

getting better. Yeah. Just on talent and, you

00:29:40.000 –> 00:29:43.000

know, our our skill. Yep. And not our

00:29:43.000 –> 00:29:45.000

teamwork and not things like that that get

00:29:45.000 –> 00:29:46.000

better as you get more comfortable with one

00:29:46.000 –> 00:29:47.000

one another.

00:29:48.000 –> 00:29:48.000

And,

00:29:48.000 –> 00:29:50.000

you know, we lost in a shoot out

00:29:50.000 –> 00:29:52.000

to the check team

00:29:52.000 –> 00:29:54.000

in the semi finals. And it was, like,

00:29:55.000 –> 00:29:56.000

you know, it was for us at that

00:29:56.000 –> 00:29:57.000

time. It was, like, gold or bust, gold

00:29:57.000 –> 00:29:58.000

or Brett. And

00:29:59.000 –> 00:30:00.000

we lost that game, and it was, like,

00:30:00.000 –> 00:30:01.000

it was over.

00:30:02.000 –> 00:30:04.000

And we still had a bronze medal game.

00:30:04.000 –> 00:30:06.000

We didn’t even show up. Like, it was

00:30:06.000 –> 00:30:08.000

just brutal. Right. No. We lost the Finland

00:30:08.000 –> 00:30:09.000

in that game, and it was like, you

00:30:09.000 –> 00:30:11.000

know, why do we care at this point?

00:30:11.000 –> 00:30:12.000

Well, you know, as you think back and

00:30:12.000 –> 00:30:14.000

you look at it, you’re like, I wish

00:30:14.000 –> 00:30:16.000

we would’ve would’ve been nice to say. I

00:30:16.000 –> 00:30:18.000

got two Gilliland a bronze. Yeah. You know,

00:30:18.000 –> 00:30:21.000

but was just the mentality in the mindset

00:30:21.000 –> 00:30:22.000

was gold medal.

00:30:22.000 –> 00:30:24.000

The only thing I wanna we gotta win

00:30:24.000 –> 00:30:25.000

is a goal, just the pressure of of

00:30:27.000 –> 00:30:30.000

air of the expectations, and then just of

00:30:30.000 –> 00:30:33.000

how we managed and handled things was not

00:30:33.000 –> 00:30:33.000

great.

00:30:33.000 –> 00:30:34.000

And then in o two, we got off

00:30:34.000 –> 00:30:34.000

to a crappy start. We got

00:30:38.000 –> 00:30:39.000

in our first game by Sweden. I think

00:30:39.000 –> 00:30:41.000

it was, like, six two or something. I

00:30:41.000 –> 00:30:42.000

mean, and they dominated us.

00:30:43.000 –> 00:30:44.000

But from that game,

00:30:46.000 –> 00:30:48.000

we got better and better We made a

00:30:48.000 –> 00:30:49.000

few adjustments,

00:30:49.000 –> 00:30:50.000

change the goalie,

00:30:51.000 –> 00:30:51.000

change,

00:30:53.000 –> 00:30:55.000

you know, move some d d around, change

00:30:55.000 –> 00:30:56.000

lines a little bit. You know, you just

00:30:57.000 –> 00:30:59.000

you’re looking for the right combinations, you’re looking

00:30:59.000 –> 00:31:00.000

for the right chemistry,

00:31:00.000 –> 00:31:03.000

and we got better. Each game, you could

00:31:03.000 –> 00:31:04.000

see us trending

00:31:04.000 –> 00:31:06.000

and getting better and better and better.

00:31:07.000 –> 00:31:09.000

And and from that, you could see, okay,

00:31:09.000 –> 00:31:11.000

this is how what we did wrong in

00:31:11.000 –> 00:31:13.000

ninety eight, we’re not doing that in

00:31:14.000 –> 00:31:16.000

We were winning, not great. We weren’t we

00:31:16.000 –> 00:31:18.000

weren’t playing great teams, you know, because you’re

00:31:18.000 –> 00:31:20.000

still, like, playing Germany and playing some of

00:31:20.000 –> 00:31:21.000

these teams at the time that weren’t very

00:31:21.000 –> 00:31:22.000

good.

00:31:22.000 –> 00:31:24.000

And you’re working your way up.

00:31:24.000 –> 00:31:26.000

And as that chemistry,

00:31:27.000 –> 00:31:29.000

we we got through, then we got through

00:31:29.000 –> 00:31:31.000

the semi Gilliland then we played the US

00:31:31.000 –> 00:31:32.000

in the finals, and we were running all

00:31:32.000 –> 00:31:35.000

cylinders and confident and Yep. They had no

00:31:35.000 –> 00:31:37.000

chance. No. I think we beat them five

00:31:37.000 –> 00:31:39.000

two. So when you think about that. So

00:31:39.000 –> 00:31:40.000

you talked about chemistry and culture and all

00:31:40.000 –> 00:31:41.000

that makes me think about. So when you

00:31:41.000 –> 00:31:43.000

play for the blues, and we’ll go the

00:31:43.000 –> 00:31:44.000

steamy cup in a minute. But we play

00:31:44.000 –> 00:31:46.000

you play for the blues, you had the

00:31:46.000 –> 00:31:48.000

big c, right? The captain on Jersey. What

00:31:48.000 –> 00:31:50.000

what did that mean to you? What did

00:31:50.000 –> 00:31:51.000

that mean for you in the locker room

00:31:51.000 –> 00:31:53.000

as a leader? Because again, I in this

00:31:53.000 –> 00:31:55.000

podcast, we got tons of business people to

00:31:55.000 –> 00:31:57.000

listen. Right? And so tying that, if can

00:31:57.000 –> 00:31:58.000

look at it from that lens and what

00:31:58.000 –> 00:32:00.000

that means to the man or woman running

00:32:00.000 –> 00:32:02.000

a company right now that the big c

00:32:02.000 –> 00:32:04.000

on their suit code or whatever. What’s mean

00:32:04.000 –> 00:32:05.000

to them?

00:32:05.000 –> 00:32:06.000

Yeah. It’s,

00:32:08.000 –> 00:32:10.000

you know, I think in in sports,

00:32:10.000 –> 00:32:13.000

it’s it’s a little bit different in than

00:32:13.000 –> 00:32:13.000

business.

00:32:14.000 –> 00:32:17.000

But it’s the same. Yeah. Right. And and,

00:32:17.000 –> 00:32:19.000

you know, everybody looks at the the captain

00:32:19.000 –> 00:32:20.000

and, like, alright, he’s the guy in the

00:32:20.000 –> 00:32:22.000

locker room the glue. He’s the guy holding

00:32:22.000 –> 00:32:23.000

everybody accountable.

00:32:24.000 –> 00:32:25.000

It’s a little bit more than that. You

00:32:25.000 –> 00:32:25.000

need a group. You

00:32:29.000 –> 00:32:30.000

need core group of leaders

00:32:31.000 –> 00:32:33.000

that can’t always be the captain Right. Getting

00:32:33.000 –> 00:32:34.000

in people’s faces,

00:32:35.000 –> 00:32:36.000

you know, holding people accountable,

00:32:37.000 –> 00:32:39.000

pulling people aside, just not on time in

00:32:39.000 –> 00:32:41.000

a day to be doing that. And so

00:32:41.000 –> 00:32:43.000

you need a core group of guys

00:32:44.000 –> 00:32:47.000

to really kind of buy into what the

00:32:47.000 –> 00:32:47.000

coach is selling.

00:32:48.000 –> 00:32:49.000

To get the group to buy into what

00:32:49.000 –> 00:32:50.000

they’re selling

00:32:50.000 –> 00:32:52.000

and get them play that way.

00:32:52.000 –> 00:32:53.000

And

00:32:54.000 –> 00:32:56.000

and buy and and and come together as

00:32:56.000 –> 00:32:58.000

a group. Because the one difference

00:32:58.000 –> 00:33:00.000

from business to sports is every year is

00:33:00.000 –> 00:33:01.000

different.

00:33:01.000 –> 00:33:04.000

Yeah. Right. You’re you’re aging, you’re sharing. You’re

00:33:04.000 –> 00:33:04.000

developing

00:33:06.000 –> 00:33:07.000

faster.

00:33:08.000 –> 00:33:08.000

You know, you’re either aging out or you’re

00:33:08.000 –> 00:33:09.000

coming up. You know, players

00:33:12.000 –> 00:33:14.000

have your earth players have down years. Yeah.

00:33:14.000 –> 00:33:15.000

I mean, there’s all you know, and it

00:33:15.000 –> 00:33:17.000

happens in business too, but more so in

00:33:17.000 –> 00:33:18.000

sports where

00:33:19.000 –> 00:33:21.000

in order to be successful, Gilliland

00:33:21.000 –> 00:33:23.000

win and win a championship,

00:33:23.000 –> 00:33:25.000

everything’s gotta go great. Yeah. You gotta have

00:33:25.000 –> 00:33:26.000

luck.

00:33:26.000 –> 00:33:28.000

You gotta be healthy. You gotta have guys

00:33:28.000 –> 00:33:30.000

having career years. You gotta, you know, in

00:33:30.000 –> 00:33:32.000

hockey, you could have a hot goalie. I

00:33:32.000 –> 00:33:34.000

mean, there’s you’re gonna have all those things,

00:33:34.000 –> 00:33:35.000

but if you don’t have a hot goalie,

00:33:35.000 –> 00:33:36.000

you’re done.

00:33:37.000 –> 00:33:39.000

For the blues. Right? Yeah. You’re not winning.

00:33:39.000 –> 00:33:41.000

So there’s so many different things that play

00:33:41.000 –> 00:33:44.000

into it. But but then, you know,

00:33:44.000 –> 00:33:46.000

more for me was, alright,

00:33:47.000 –> 00:33:48.000

I hold I hold myself

00:33:49.000 –> 00:33:50.000

to this standard.

00:33:51.000 –> 00:33:53.000

I’m not I’m not holding you to that

00:33:53.000 –> 00:33:56.000

standard. I’m holding myself to standard. But you

00:33:56.000 –> 00:33:57.000

Brett be at this standard. Mhmm.

00:33:58.000 –> 00:33:59.000

I don’t ask you to find anything I

00:33:59.000 –> 00:34:00.000

wouldn’t do.

00:34:01.000 –> 00:34:02.000

I’m the first one in the gym. I’m

00:34:02.000 –> 00:34:04.000

the one on the ice. I’m working on

00:34:04.000 –> 00:34:05.000

my craft. I’m

00:34:05.000 –> 00:34:07.000

in the training room, making sure I’m healthy

00:34:07.000 –> 00:34:09.000

so I can go play every single game

00:34:09.000 –> 00:34:09.000

I can.

00:34:10.000 –> 00:34:12.000

And I’m putting the time and effort in

00:34:12.000 –> 00:34:13.000

00:34:13.000 –> 00:34:15.000

to be the best I can be each

00:34:15.000 –> 00:34:15.000

and every day

00:34:16.000 –> 00:34:18.000

and prepare properly so that

00:34:19.000 –> 00:34:20.000

we can

00:34:21.000 –> 00:34:23.000

survive a nine month grind

00:34:23.000 –> 00:34:25.000

and a two month playoff grind to win

00:34:25.000 –> 00:34:26.000

a championship.

00:34:26.000 –> 00:34:29.000

Physical grind at that. Physical and mental. Yeah.

00:34:29.000 –> 00:34:30.000

Just the ups and downs,

00:34:31.000 –> 00:34:34.000

it’s it’s a roller coaster. And so to

00:34:36.000 –> 00:34:38.000

to be sharp and to understand, you know,

00:34:38.000 –> 00:34:41.000

as my career evolved, I got better and

00:34:41.000 –> 00:34:42.000

better at that and and understanding my

00:34:43.000 –> 00:34:46.000

body understanding what I needed to do, how

00:34:46.000 –> 00:34:48.000

I needed to train throughout the course of

00:34:48.000 –> 00:34:49.000

the season

00:34:49.000 –> 00:34:51.000

to make sure I wasn’t have as b

00:34:51.000 –> 00:34:52.000

having as big a drop off.

00:34:53.000 –> 00:34:54.000

Playing thirty minutes a night

00:34:55.000 –> 00:34:58.000

always against top line. Always match up against

00:34:58.000 –> 00:34:59.000

best player.

00:34:59.000 –> 00:35:01.000

You know, I gotta play physical against the

00:35:01.000 –> 00:35:03.000

big guy the other team, and I gotta,

00:35:03.000 –> 00:35:05.000

you know, there’s a I’m managing a bunch

00:35:05.000 –> 00:35:08.000

of different Gilliland

00:35:08.000 –> 00:35:08.000

trying

00:35:09.000 –> 00:35:11.000

map out, oh, and I also need to

00:35:11.000 –> 00:35:13.000

provide offense. I also need to, a lot

00:35:13.000 –> 00:35:15.000

of times, help run the power play. I,

00:35:15.000 –> 00:35:17.000

you know, you’re juggling a lot of hats.

00:35:17.000 –> 00:35:19.000

And you’re and then you’re looking at it

00:35:19.000 –> 00:35:20.000

going well,

00:35:21.000 –> 00:35:22.000

you know, as I look back at my

00:35:22.000 –> 00:35:23.000

career and I look at all the games

00:35:23.000 –> 00:35:25.000

played now, I’m like, well, people are like,

00:35:25.000 –> 00:35:27.000

oh, You only got six hundred points. And

00:35:27.000 –> 00:35:29.000

I’m like, well, five hundred ninety eight if

00:35:29.000 –> 00:35:32.000

somebody looks, it’s almost six hundred for those

00:35:32.000 –> 00:35:33.000

small checkers. Pardon me?

00:35:34.000 –> 00:35:36.000

Six hundred and ninety eight. Six ninety eight.

00:35:36.000 –> 00:35:37.000

Six seven hundred. Pardon me.

00:35:39.000 –> 00:35:39.000

But

00:35:40.000 –> 00:35:42.000

Could I have gotten more points? Sure.

00:35:42.000 –> 00:35:44.000

Right. But at what cost?

00:35:45.000 –> 00:35:47.000

Where you’re it would detract from somewhere else.

00:35:48.000 –> 00:35:50.000

I was more about winning.

00:35:51.000 –> 00:35:53.000

If you look back through history, whether it’s

00:35:53.000 –> 00:35:55.000

me looking at playing June when I play

00:35:55.000 –> 00:35:57.000

junior hockey and you work all the way

00:35:57.000 –> 00:35:59.000

to mine in my career, when you look

00:35:59.000 –> 00:36:01.000

at the players who are wanted the most,

00:36:02.000 –> 00:36:04.000

who typically get paid at some point,

00:36:04.000 –> 00:36:05.000

are winners?

00:36:06.000 –> 00:36:08.000

Who gets plucked from all the if you

00:36:08.000 –> 00:36:10.000

look at football, baseball, basketball,

00:36:10.000 –> 00:36:13.000

hockey? Who gets plucked from these championship teams?

00:36:14.000 –> 00:36:15.000

The meet guys.

00:36:15.000 –> 00:36:18.000

The the role players that because they’re successful.

00:36:18.000 –> 00:36:19.000

They know how to win.

00:36:19.000 –> 00:36:22.000

Are they overpaid to do what they’re supposed

00:36:22.000 –> 00:36:22.000

probably.

00:36:23.000 –> 00:36:26.000

But there’s teams that don’t have that

00:36:27.000 –> 00:36:29.000

intangible that they’re trying to pay for. So

00:36:31.000 –> 00:36:33.000

And then if you’re able to do that

00:36:33.000 –> 00:36:33.000

as a

00:36:34.000 –> 00:36:36.000

all star top, you know, if you’re top

00:36:36.000 –> 00:36:38.000

two or however your top six top four

00:36:38.000 –> 00:36:41.000

d whatever, you’re gonna get paid too. Yep.

00:36:41.000 –> 00:36:43.000

You might not get paid there,

00:36:43.000 –> 00:36:44.000

but you’re gonna get paid somewhere, you know,

00:36:44.000 –> 00:36:46.000

the next week, because you’re a winner. Yep.

00:36:46.000 –> 00:36:49.000

You’re champion. You know, so it’s Well, and

00:36:49.000 –> 00:36:51.000

that’s what’s it’s about trying to sell that.

00:36:51.000 –> 00:36:53.000

Right? It’s about trying to sell that. Yeah.

00:36:53.000 –> 00:36:54.000

It’s about listen.

00:36:55.000 –> 00:36:58.000

Short term pain for long term gain, you

00:36:58.000 –> 00:36:59.000

you may not be

00:37:00.000 –> 00:37:02.000

doing what you necessarily wanna do within our

00:37:02.000 –> 00:37:04.000

system, within, you know, when you pick up

00:37:04.000 –> 00:37:06.000

a guy from on trade or signing or

00:37:06.000 –> 00:37:06.000

whatever.

00:37:07.000 –> 00:37:08.000

This is our culture.

00:37:08.000 –> 00:37:10.000

You’re you’re selling a culture. This is it.

00:37:10.000 –> 00:37:12.000

This is how we operate. This is This

00:37:12.000 –> 00:37:15.000

is our locker room. Yep. Everybody in here,

00:37:15.000 –> 00:37:16.000

this is how we do it. How much

00:37:16.000 –> 00:37:18.000

of that is talked about in the locker

00:37:18.000 –> 00:37:19.000

room? Like, are you, like, if, you know,

00:37:19.000 –> 00:37:21.000

a, b, and c is the principles that

00:37:21.000 –> 00:37:22.000

you guys are fighting for this year. You

00:37:22.000 –> 00:37:24.000

know, is like It gets Is that

00:37:24.000 –> 00:37:26.000

I mean, it’s every every game, every day?

00:37:27.000 –> 00:37:29.000

You get you have when you have good

00:37:29.000 –> 00:37:30.000

coaches,

00:37:31.000 –> 00:37:34.000

they meet with the leadership to, like, every

00:37:34.000 –> 00:37:36.000

every and again, every year you’re tweaking it,

00:37:36.000 –> 00:37:39.000

every year you’re learning, you’re adapting. Yep. You’re

00:37:39.000 –> 00:37:41.000

looking at your Pronger. How does that how

00:37:41.000 –> 00:37:42.000

how can we

00:37:45.000 –> 00:37:47.000

change, modify, or adapt our message to the

00:37:47.000 –> 00:37:48.000

group. Yeah.

00:37:49.000 –> 00:37:49.000

And

00:37:50.000 –> 00:37:53.000

it’s the players. It’s the leadership group, as

00:37:53.000 –> 00:37:54.000

I mentioned, that are selling it. It’s not

00:37:54.000 –> 00:37:57.000

the coach. Yeah. Right. He they’re, like, you’re

00:37:57.000 –> 00:37:58.000

sick of here. He’s not in there. He’s

00:37:58.000 –> 00:37:58.000

in there,

00:37:59.000 –> 00:38:01.000

every single day. If he’s in there selling

00:38:01.000 –> 00:38:02.000

that every day, it’s prob.

00:38:03.000 –> 00:38:05.000

You’re tuned out right away. The moment he

00:38:05.000 –> 00:38:07.000

opens his mouth again to do something else,

00:38:07.000 –> 00:38:09.000

you you’ve lost the room. Everybody’s tuned out.

00:38:09.000 –> 00:38:12.000

So you gotta have a couple different guys

00:38:12.000 –> 00:38:14.000

in a couple different groups, like I’ll use

00:38:14.000 –> 00:38:15.000

Anaheim,

00:38:15.000 –> 00:38:16.000

the year we won the cup. You know,

00:38:16.000 –> 00:38:17.000

we had different sections

00:38:19.000 –> 00:38:20.000

of the room.

00:38:21.000 –> 00:38:23.000

You know, I sat over as you walked

00:38:23.000 –> 00:38:24.000

in our locker. I sat on the right

00:38:24.000 –> 00:38:25.000

side.

00:38:25.000 –> 00:38:27.000

I couldn’t really see the left side because

00:38:27.000 –> 00:38:30.000

it was tucked over here. So we had

00:38:30.000 –> 00:38:31.000

a guy over there.

00:38:31.000 –> 00:38:34.000

In that side, dealing with that group. And

00:38:34.000 –> 00:38:35.000

over here on this group to the right,

00:38:35.000 –> 00:38:36.000

we had a couple of young guys and

00:38:36.000 –> 00:38:37.000

a couple

00:38:38.000 –> 00:38:39.000

Dman, a couple of young guys were trying

00:38:39.000 –> 00:38:42.000

to move along, trying to teach how to

00:38:42.000 –> 00:38:43.000

be Chris, and they’re in my group over

00:38:43.000 –> 00:38:45.000

here. And then over here across away. You

00:38:45.000 –> 00:38:47.000

know, these are the quieter guys, but they

00:38:47.000 –> 00:38:49.000

know they know how to win. They’re they’re

00:38:49.000 –> 00:38:51.000

on point. They’re over there. You got another

00:38:51.000 –> 00:38:52.000

group over here that’s

00:38:53.000 –> 00:38:56.000

far end. So you kinda have these quadrants,

00:38:56.000 –> 00:38:58.000

you know, you hear about the quads and,

00:38:58.000 –> 00:38:59.000

you know, all these different things.

00:39:00.000 –> 00:39:00.000

00:39:01.000 –> 00:39:02.000

we spent most of our time because we’re

00:39:02.000 –> 00:39:04.000

all and they’re getting dressed talk. And we’re

00:39:04.000 –> 00:39:05.000

in our little bubble over there.

00:39:06.000 –> 00:39:07.000

You know, you’re you’re talking to the whole

00:39:07.000 –> 00:39:09.000

group in the locker room, but you’re you’re

00:39:09.000 –> 00:39:11.000

talking to that little main core right there.

00:39:12.000 –> 00:39:14.000

Right? Yeah. Because they’re right there. So, you

00:39:14.000 –> 00:39:15.000

know, you got these young guys and you’re

00:39:15.000 –> 00:39:17.000

talking to them about how to be pros,

00:39:17.000 –> 00:39:19.000

and you need to, you know, you the

00:39:19.000 –> 00:39:19.000

coach

00:39:20.000 –> 00:39:21.000

in Anaheim did a great job of trying

00:39:21.000 –> 00:39:23.000

to trying to them how to be pros

00:39:23.000 –> 00:39:25.000

from a coach’s perspective.

00:39:25.000 –> 00:39:27.000

And then it’s incumbent upon the leadership group

00:39:27.000 –> 00:39:28.000

and the players to

00:39:28.000 –> 00:39:30.000

drag along, like, you gotta get in the

00:39:30.000 –> 00:39:31.000

gym.

00:39:31.000 –> 00:39:33.000

Let’s go Brett in here. You gotta you

00:39:33.000 –> 00:39:34.000

gotta prepare. That’s what I was gonna ask.

00:39:34.000 –> 00:39:36.000

What defines If you go out and have

00:39:36.000 –> 00:39:38.000

a good time, You better show up to

00:39:38.000 –> 00:39:41.000

work the next day. Yeah. Like, you’re not

00:39:41.000 –> 00:39:43.000

going to the back of the line every

00:39:43.000 –> 00:39:43.000

time, and,

00:39:44.000 –> 00:39:46.000

you’re not doing drills because you’re hungover.

00:39:47.000 –> 00:39:49.000

If you’re doing that, then just don’t come

00:39:49.000 –> 00:39:50.000

out. Right.

00:39:50.000 –> 00:39:52.000

We’re we’re trying to get better. We’re working

00:39:52.000 –> 00:39:53.000

on stuff out here. Did you and did

00:39:53.000 –> 00:39:55.000

you notice I’m assuming this answer is yes,

00:39:55.000 –> 00:39:57.000

but did you notice a difference between as

00:39:57.000 –> 00:39:58.000

like you and the Gretzky. I mean, you

00:39:58.000 –> 00:40:00.000

came to Saint Louis. Right? You had McGinnis

00:40:00.000 –> 00:40:02.000

Hall Gretzky, you on the team. I mean,

00:40:02.000 –> 00:40:03.000

that’s a hell of a team. Right? So

00:40:03.000 –> 00:40:06.000

did you find those were different on everything

00:40:06.000 –> 00:40:06.000

from preparation,

00:40:07.000 –> 00:40:08.000

physically, emotionally,

00:40:09.000 –> 00:40:11.000

going out at night, not going out at

00:40:11.000 –> 00:40:12.000

night. Was that different than a lot of

00:40:12.000 –> 00:40:13.000

people?

00:40:13.000 –> 00:40:15.000

Well, I think Yeah. You learn. You know,

00:40:15.000 –> 00:40:17.000

like, I got here. I was twenty, turning

00:40:17.000 –> 00:40:20.000

twenty one. Al was, I think, thirty one.

00:40:20.000 –> 00:40:20.000

00:40:21.000 –> 00:40:24.000

I’m catching him. He’s got kids. He’s more

00:40:24.000 –> 00:40:24.000

sure he’s

00:40:25.000 –> 00:40:27.000

Yep. He’s in the prime of his career.

00:40:28.000 –> 00:40:29.000

So I’m coming in at the start of

00:40:29.000 –> 00:40:31.000

my career, and I’m, like, kinda just soaking

00:40:31.000 –> 00:40:33.000

it all in, like, watching how we prepare

00:40:33.000 –> 00:40:34.000

how he practices,

00:40:34.000 –> 00:40:36.000

how he handles the media,

00:40:36.000 –> 00:40:38.000

how, you know, what what is he doing

00:40:38.000 –> 00:40:39.000

in the off season?

00:40:39.000 –> 00:40:42.000

You know, and and as my career

00:40:43.000 –> 00:40:45.000

started to take shape,

00:40:45.000 –> 00:40:47.000

I then met with his trainer

00:40:47.000 –> 00:40:50.000

and, and started working with him. And

00:40:51.000 –> 00:40:53.000

I I met him at Al’s house. And

00:40:53.000 –> 00:40:54.000

I walked in the front door and I

00:40:54.000 –> 00:40:56.000

Charles was right over here to the left.

00:40:56.000 –> 00:40:58.000

I walked in. He’s like, hey, walk toward

00:40:58.000 –> 00:41:00.000

me. I took five steps.

00:41:01.000 –> 00:41:02.000

He’s like, alright, now turn around and go

00:41:02.000 –> 00:41:03.000

walk back. Okay?

00:41:04.000 –> 00:41:05.000

He’s like, you got a bad left knee?

00:41:05.000 –> 00:41:06.000

I go, yeah.

00:41:07.000 –> 00:41:09.000

He’s like, you got a sore rotator cuff

00:41:09.000 –> 00:41:11.000

on your right shoulder. Yeah. It’s like

00:41:13.000 –> 00:41:13.000

just

00:41:13.000 –> 00:41:16.000

by watching me walk five steps.

00:41:16.000 –> 00:41:18.000

You could tell just the way my body

00:41:19.000 –> 00:41:19.000

was moving

00:41:20.000 –> 00:41:22.000

and the weight distribution, I don’t know, weight

00:41:22.000 –> 00:41:22.000

distribution,

00:41:22.000 –> 00:41:23.000

and

00:41:23.000 –> 00:41:25.000

the hitch in my staff, whatever. I mean,

00:41:25.000 –> 00:41:27.000

you you’re not paying attention to that, I’m

00:41:27.000 –> 00:41:29.000

like Right. I’m twenty two years old.

00:41:30.000 –> 00:41:30.000

Whatever.

00:41:32.000 –> 00:41:34.000

What what are you talking about? Remaid, you

00:41:34.000 –> 00:41:37.000

know, how I hate, you know, nutrition wise,

00:41:39.000 –> 00:41:42.000

you know, and that kind of was the

00:41:42.000 –> 00:41:44.000

start of taking that next step. Alright. How

00:41:44.000 –> 00:41:46.000

good do you wanna be?

00:41:47.000 –> 00:41:48.000

How much you will in a sacrifice?

00:41:49.000 –> 00:41:50.000

You know, because at the end of the

00:41:50.000 –> 00:41:52.000

day, that’s what it is. It’s sacrificing

00:41:52.000 –> 00:41:54.000

something to be great at something.

00:41:54.000 –> 00:41:56.000

Because there are there’s a Gilliland a take

00:41:56.000 –> 00:41:58.000

for everything. I think too, for me, like,

00:41:58.000 –> 00:41:59.000

I had a business coach early on in

00:41:59.000 –> 00:42:01.000

my career, right, that I spent, you know,

00:42:01.000 –> 00:42:03.000

lots of money on, that maybe I didn’t

00:42:03.000 –> 00:42:05.000

wanna do or maybe couldn’t afford back then.

00:42:05.000 –> 00:42:06.000

But even that for you guys. Right? That

00:42:06.000 –> 00:42:09.000

guy probably wasn’t free. I’m assuming that’s off.

00:42:09.000 –> 00:42:11.000

No. Back then, he was expensive. Right. And

00:42:11.000 –> 00:42:13.000

I’m saying so, I mean, investing yourself. Right?

00:42:13.000 –> 00:42:16.000

Again, business leaders invest in a coach, invest

00:42:16.000 –> 00:42:18.000

in a mentor, invest in something, right, to

00:42:18.000 –> 00:42:19.000

give back. Do you agree with that? No.

00:42:19.000 –> 00:42:21.000

A hundred percent. No. You have to. You

00:42:21.000 –> 00:42:22.000

know, how how good do you wanna be?

00:42:22.000 –> 00:42:24.000

Yeah. We don’t we don’t know everything out

00:42:24.000 –> 00:42:25.000

of the gate. You can’t read a book.

00:42:25.000 –> 00:42:27.000

One size does not fit all. Yep. We

00:42:27.000 –> 00:42:29.000

all soak in information differently.

00:42:30.000 –> 00:42:31.000

And and we all have

00:42:32.000 –> 00:42:33.000

strengths and weaknesses.

00:42:34.000 –> 00:42:36.000

And you’re not gonna know them. You need

00:42:36.000 –> 00:42:38.000

somebody to help point them out and say,

00:42:38.000 –> 00:42:41.000

this is a blind spot. You’re not seeing.

00:42:41.000 –> 00:42:42.000

You need to work on Chris. And, oh,

00:42:42.000 –> 00:42:44.000

okay. You’re really good at this, but you

00:42:44.000 –> 00:42:46.000

only do this. Yeah. You need to do

00:42:46.000 –> 00:42:49.000

this too. Add this to your repertoire.

00:42:49.000 –> 00:42:51.000

Yeah. Now do Chris. And once you honed

00:42:51.000 –> 00:42:53.000

that, do this. And so

00:42:54.000 –> 00:42:56.000

I think you have to really

00:42:58.000 –> 00:42:59.000

kinda go in eyes wide open and and

00:42:59.000 –> 00:43:00.000

have an understanding how

00:43:04.000 –> 00:43:06.000

much you wanna get better. How much

00:43:07.000 –> 00:43:07.000

whether,

00:43:08.000 –> 00:43:10.000

you know, running a business, whether you’re playing

00:43:10.000 –> 00:43:12.000

a sport, whatever it is. It’s your commitment

00:43:12.000 –> 00:43:14.000

to excellence and your commitment to getting better.

00:43:14.000 –> 00:43:15.000

Yep.

00:43:15.000 –> 00:43:17.000

Showing up every day to improve.

00:43:18.000 –> 00:43:19.000

Well, I think that’s the key right there.

00:43:19.000 –> 00:43:20.000

Showing up on days even when you don’t

00:43:20.000 –> 00:43:22.000

want to or you’re a little maybe. Right?

00:43:22.000 –> 00:43:23.000

I mean, there’s a quote. I see Michael

00:43:23.000 –> 00:43:26.000

Phelps up there. Yeah. Five years straight,

00:43:27.000 –> 00:43:28.000

trained every

00:43:28.000 –> 00:43:32.000

single day. Yep. Every day. Every day. Every

00:43:32.000 –> 00:43:34.000

day. And by the way, if you’ve ever

00:43:34.000 –> 00:43:35.000

swam, like Chris guy swam,

00:43:37.000 –> 00:43:38.000

not easy. No.

00:43:39.000 –> 00:43:40.000

There’s lots of days. I’m sure he was

00:43:40.000 –> 00:43:43.000

like Man, my shoulders are sore. My backs

00:43:43.000 –> 00:43:43.000

are sore.

00:43:44.000 –> 00:43:46.000

Or just mentally didn’t wanna do it. It

00:43:46.000 –> 00:43:47.000

was cool. Alright.

00:43:48.000 –> 00:43:50.000

Like, yeah, living in Baltimore. You know, he

00:43:50.000 –> 00:43:50.000

had a,

00:43:51.000 –> 00:43:52.000

he had a post it, I read his

00:43:52.000 –> 00:43:54.000

book. I’m fascinated by what he did. And

00:43:54.000 –> 00:43:55.000

and he had a post it note though,

00:43:55.000 –> 00:43:56.000

and it had by the milliseconds.

00:43:57.000 –> 00:43:59.000

What he was gonna do each race. Yeah.

00:43:59.000 –> 00:44:00.000

And if you look, it’ll show, like, what

00:44:00.000 –> 00:44:01.000

he had written down and what he did

00:44:01.000 –> 00:44:02.000

the race.

00:44:03.000 –> 00:44:05.000

For five man, you’re talking milliseconds.

00:44:05.000 –> 00:44:09.000

Working. Yeah. Poning. Yeah. Working on that turn.

00:44:09.000 –> 00:44:13.000

Yeah. K. Turn. Can I save a millisecond?

00:44:13.000 –> 00:44:15.000

Yeah. Can I say, how can I transition

00:44:15.000 –> 00:44:17.000

fast? Like, just it’s Well, that guy, I

00:44:17.000 –> 00:44:19.000

remember who it was, but the guy that

00:44:19.000 –> 00:44:20.000

was dancing, doing stuff in front of him

00:44:20.000 –> 00:44:22.000

and Michael Phillips didn’t even budge, man. And

00:44:22.000 –> 00:44:23.000

then he went out there and, you know,

00:44:23.000 –> 00:44:24.000

kicked the guy’s ass or then the the

00:44:24.000 –> 00:44:26.000

swim, they showed the the camera under the

00:44:26.000 –> 00:44:28.000

water the guy was looking over at him.

00:44:28.000 –> 00:44:30.000

And he’s gonna That’s water, and he’s just

00:44:30.000 –> 00:44:30.000

00:44:31.000 –> 00:44:33.000

Yeah. Champions look at the wall. Right?

00:44:34.000 –> 00:44:35.000

Place guy looks champion. Don’t focus on the

00:44:35.000 –> 00:44:38.000

competition. Focus on you. That’s right. That’s right.

00:44:38.000 –> 00:44:39.000

So what was it like for you? Then

00:44:39.000 –> 00:44:40.000

as you, you know, you progress in your

00:44:40.000 –> 00:44:42.000

career, you obviously, you started to have a

00:44:42.000 –> 00:44:44.000

family. Right? So how old were kiddos, they

00:44:44.000 –> 00:44:46.000

were born, like, probably your oldest was born

00:44:46.000 –> 00:44:48.000

when you were in the two thousands. I

00:44:48.000 –> 00:44:49.000

was,

00:44:49.000 –> 00:44:50.000

twenty

00:44:52.000 –> 00:44:53.000

let’s see. Here.

00:44:54.000 –> 00:44:56.000

Jack’s o two. So I was twenty,

00:44:57.000 –> 00:44:59.000

eight. Yeah. So o two. So you still

00:44:59.000 –> 00:45:01.000

had a good, you know, 10:11 years left

00:45:01.000 –> 00:45:03.000

in your career. Did you balance the the

00:45:03.000 –> 00:45:06.000

family side and the and the sports side

00:45:06.000 –> 00:45:07.000

when you’re obviously on on the road and

00:45:07.000 –> 00:45:09.000

traveling? It’s hard, you know, it’s hard. You’re

00:45:09.000 –> 00:45:11.000

you gotta finite amount of time. You never

00:45:11.000 –> 00:45:13.000

know your career is gonna be over.

00:45:14.000 –> 00:45:17.000

And and you have to invest in your

00:45:17.000 –> 00:45:19.000

career. You gotta be all in on your

00:45:19.000 –> 00:45:21.000

craft and getting Brett. And

00:45:22.000 –> 00:45:24.000

as your body evolves, as you get more

00:45:24.000 –> 00:45:25.000

injuries, as you,

00:45:26.000 –> 00:45:28.000

you know, as the punishment and toll of

00:45:28.000 –> 00:45:30.000

playing a certain way, it takes its, form

00:45:30.000 –> 00:45:31.000

on you. Have to

00:45:32.000 –> 00:45:35.000

kinda re reshape and and remold yourself and

00:45:35.000 –> 00:45:36.000

into a way that works. Yep. You know,

00:45:36.000 –> 00:45:37.000

you’re changing things and altering how you train

00:45:40.000 –> 00:45:42.000

and what you eat and all those different

00:45:42.000 –> 00:45:42.000

things. And,

00:45:44.000 –> 00:45:45.000

you know, and and in the midst of

00:45:45.000 –> 00:45:45.000

that,

00:45:48.000 –> 00:45:50.000

I got traded out of here in o

00:45:50.000 –> 00:45:51.000

five.

00:45:51.000 –> 00:45:53.000

We have the lock out o four. I

00:45:53.000 –> 00:45:53.000

have

00:45:54.000 –> 00:45:56.000

major wrist surgery, major knee surgery in,

00:45:58.000 –> 00:45:59.000

o 02:03.

00:45:59.000 –> 00:46:01.000

So I missed that whole year. Then I

00:46:01.000 –> 00:46:03.000

came back and I played o 03:04.

00:46:05.000 –> 00:46:05.000

And then,

00:46:07.000 –> 00:46:09.000

We had the lockout in o five zero

00:46:09.000 –> 00:46:10.000

zero 04:05. And then I got traded and

00:46:10.000 –> 00:46:11.000

played

00:46:15.000 –> 00:46:18.000

Edmitin in o in o 05:06, then Anaheim,

00:46:18.000 –> 00:46:19.000

o 07:06

00:46:19.000 –> 00:46:20.000

zero seven.

00:46:20.000 –> 00:46:22.000

And then on So now, honey, let’s go.

00:46:22.000 –> 00:46:25.000

09:10. I’m in Filly. So you’re, you know,

00:46:25.000 –> 00:46:28.000

four four cities in five years.

00:46:28.000 –> 00:46:31.000

Oh, around the whole country? Yeah. Going to

00:46:31.000 –> 00:46:32.000

four different locations.

00:46:32.000 –> 00:46:34.000

Yeah. You know? So it’s Maybe we should

00:46:34.000 –> 00:46:36.000

have her on the podcast Yeah. To talk

00:46:36.000 –> 00:46:37.000

about how to deal with that. Why are

00:46:37.000 –> 00:46:40.000

we doing this? You know, so it was,

00:46:41.000 –> 00:46:43.000

I bounced around. You know, I never really

00:46:43.000 –> 00:46:44.000

added it up like that, but five years,

00:46:44.000 –> 00:46:46.000

I was in four different teams. Yeah. Bang.

00:46:46.000 –> 00:46:47.000

Bang. Bang. It’s

00:46:47.000 –> 00:46:50.000

crazy. So what what role do you think

00:46:50.000 –> 00:46:52.000

athletes play? I mean, because you’re you’re, you

00:46:52.000 –> 00:46:54.000

know, we I think we as humans, whether

00:46:54.000 –> 00:46:56.000

it’s right or wrong, probably wrong. We we

00:46:56.000 –> 00:46:58.000

put you guys on this pedestal. Like, you’re

00:46:58.000 –> 00:46:59.000

on the limelight. We see it. We play.

00:46:59.000 –> 00:47:01.000

We root for you. But what role do

00:47:01.000 –> 00:47:03.000

you do you think you guys play in

00:47:03.000 –> 00:47:05.000

the community? Because I know the work that

00:47:05.000 –> 00:47:06.000

you do as a community you know, your

00:47:06.000 –> 00:47:08.000

guys’ golf tournament, you and Dan Deardorf, played

00:47:08.000 –> 00:47:09.000

that this year. Amazing.

00:47:10.000 –> 00:47:12.000

Huge impact on our local charities. But as

00:47:12.000 –> 00:47:15.000

an athlete, and then for today’s athletes, role

00:47:15.000 –> 00:47:16.000

do they play

00:47:16.000 –> 00:47:17.000

in the communities that we all live in?

00:47:17.000 –> 00:47:19.000

Yeah. I’ll sum it up. You know, I’ve

00:47:19.000 –> 00:47:20.000

I’ve always

00:47:21.000 –> 00:47:23.000

been invested in the communities I played in,

00:47:23.000 –> 00:47:24.000

you

00:47:24.000 –> 00:47:26.000

know, I think it’s a a great way

00:47:26.000 –> 00:47:27.000

to get back. It’s a great way to

00:47:27.000 –> 00:47:29.000

be involved in the community and meet people

00:47:29.000 –> 00:47:32.000

and and meet those that are out supporting

00:47:32.000 –> 00:47:35.000

you. You support the the local community and

00:47:35.000 –> 00:47:36.000

the charities that are,

00:47:36.000 –> 00:47:38.000

nearest and dearest,

00:47:39.000 –> 00:47:42.000

you know, Brett Burke, my initial GM in

00:47:42.000 –> 00:47:43.000

Hartford,

00:47:43.000 –> 00:47:45.000

and then was my GM in Anaheim.

00:47:45.000 –> 00:47:47.000

I mean, he summed it up best. He’s

00:47:47.000 –> 00:47:48.000

like, the and and

00:47:49.000 –> 00:47:51.000

from a you talk about leadership and you

00:47:51.000 –> 00:47:51.000

talk about,

00:47:52.000 –> 00:47:53.000

you know,

00:47:53.000 –> 00:47:55.000

setting up that vertical owner

00:47:56.000 –> 00:47:57.000

manager

00:47:57.000 –> 00:47:59.000

coach player,

00:48:00.000 –> 00:48:01.000

you know, and he was like,

00:48:01.000 –> 00:48:03.000

this is this is what we do here.

00:48:03.000 –> 00:48:05.000

This is the culture we are setting. We’re

00:48:05.000 –> 00:48:07.000

saying we’re creating a winning tradition. Yep. And

00:48:07.000 –> 00:48:09.000

we’re also giving creating a tradition of we’re

00:48:09.000 –> 00:48:11.000

gonna be invested in the community. We’re gonna

00:48:11.000 –> 00:48:13.000

get back. We’re gonna do Chris, you know,

00:48:13.000 –> 00:48:15.000

we’re gonna do something every month for the,

00:48:15.000 –> 00:48:16.000

you know,

00:48:16.000 –> 00:48:19.000

Greater Orange County community. Yeah. We’re gonna be

00:48:19.000 –> 00:48:21.000

doing x y z. If you have a

00:48:21.000 –> 00:48:23.000

problem with your ice time, do not talk

00:48:23.000 –> 00:48:25.000

to me. Talk your coach.

00:48:25.000 –> 00:48:27.000

You wanna be traded. Come talk to me.

00:48:27.000 –> 00:48:29.000

You got a problem off the ice. Come

00:48:29.000 –> 00:48:31.000

talk to me. But you have anything to

00:48:31.000 –> 00:48:32.000

do with hockey?

00:48:32.000 –> 00:48:34.000

Your head coach is right over there. Go

00:48:34.000 –> 00:48:35.000

see don’t come to me.

00:48:35.000 –> 00:48:37.000

I’m not I’m not doing That’s not how

00:48:37.000 –> 00:48:38.000

it works. And there’s a chain of command,

00:48:38.000 –> 00:48:40.000

and there’s a there’s a

00:48:41.000 –> 00:48:43.000

x y z. This is everybody’s roles, responsibilities.

00:48:44.000 –> 00:48:46.000

I have mine. Coach has his, and you

00:48:46.000 –> 00:48:48.000

as a player have yours. So talk to

00:48:48.000 –> 00:48:50.000

us about the couple, some of the best

00:48:50.000 –> 00:48:52.000

moments that you think back in your career.

00:48:53.000 –> 00:48:54.000

Just the highlights. What are some of those

00:48:54.000 –> 00:48:56.000

best hockey moments for you that you think

00:48:56.000 –> 00:48:58.000

fans, listen, would love to hear? Yeah. You

00:48:58.000 –> 00:49:00.000

know, and I think one of the ones

00:49:00.000 –> 00:49:01.000

that I never really

00:49:03.000 –> 00:49:04.000

took a lot of joy in and a

00:49:04.000 –> 00:49:06.000

lot of pleasure in that I wish I

00:49:06.000 –> 00:49:07.000

wouldn’t have been so

00:49:08.000 –> 00:49:10.000

every year when you don’t win, you’re just

00:49:10.000 –> 00:49:12.000

pissed off. You’re just Like,

00:49:13.000 –> 00:49:16.000

it sucks to lose. I hated losing more

00:49:16.000 –> 00:49:17.000

than I like to win. Yeah. And it

00:49:17.000 –> 00:49:19.000

just drove me bananas.

00:49:20.000 –> 00:49:21.000

And I took a lot of that stuff

00:49:21.000 –> 00:49:23.000

early on in my career, probably the first

00:49:23.000 –> 00:49:24.000

ten years of my career till I had

00:49:24.000 –> 00:49:27.000

kids. I just took the everything from the

00:49:27.000 –> 00:49:28.000

rank home.

00:49:28.000 –> 00:49:30.000

And I couldn’t separate. I just I would

00:49:31.000 –> 00:49:33.000

I’d be thinking about a play I made

00:49:33.000 –> 00:49:34.000

four days ago,

00:49:34.000 –> 00:49:37.000

sleeping or whatever. Just pissed me off. And

00:49:37.000 –> 00:49:38.000

it took me a while to learn how

00:49:38.000 –> 00:49:40.000

to, like, just let go of the game

00:49:40.000 –> 00:49:41.000

and just

00:49:42.000 –> 00:49:43.000

you you gotta just turn the page and

00:49:43.000 –> 00:49:45.000

get going. And, when

00:49:46.000 –> 00:49:47.000

won the heart in Chris Trophy in two

00:49:47.000 –> 00:49:48.000

thousand.

00:49:48.000 –> 00:49:50.000

Yeah. That was a pretty big moment. Yeah.

00:49:50.000 –> 00:49:51.000

I really didn’t

00:49:52.000 –> 00:49:53.000

enjoy it the way I should have I

00:49:53.000 –> 00:49:55.000

was still thinking, you know, we had won

00:49:55.000 –> 00:49:57.000

the president trophy that year. We were thinking

00:49:57.000 –> 00:49:59.000

Stanley Cup, we had a team, and

00:50:00.000 –> 00:50:02.000

you’re losing the first round, and you’re like,

00:50:02.000 –> 00:50:02.000

what

00:50:03.000 –> 00:50:06.000

I was just so pissed off. Still,

00:50:06.000 –> 00:50:08.000

a month and a half later at the

00:50:08.000 –> 00:50:09.000

awards banquet, I just, you know, it was

00:50:09.000 –> 00:50:12.000

great. Thanks. It was Brett. But you’re just,

00:50:12.000 –> 00:50:13.000

like, Yeah.

00:50:14.000 –> 00:50:15.000

And and I didn’t really get the That’s

00:50:15.000 –> 00:50:17.000

what made you good though too. Right? Well,

00:50:17.000 –> 00:50:19.000

yeah. It’s what drives you, but, you know,

00:50:19.000 –> 00:50:21.000

there’s moments like that where,

00:50:21.000 –> 00:50:24.000

you know, you know, winning the Stanley Cup

00:50:24.000 –> 00:50:25.000

was graded on my on my family was

00:50:25.000 –> 00:50:27.000

there. It was awesome.

00:50:27.000 –> 00:50:30.000

My kids were old enough to remember it

00:50:30.000 –> 00:50:31.000

too. You know, there weren’t babies sitting at

00:50:31.000 –> 00:50:32.000

the top.

00:50:35.000 –> 00:50:36.000

You know, again, Olympic,

00:50:37.000 –> 00:50:39.000

you know, them being there at the Olympics

00:50:39.000 –> 00:50:40.000

in twenty ten.

00:50:40.000 –> 00:50:41.000

They were a little bit older, so they

00:50:41.000 –> 00:50:43.000

got to enjoy it.

00:50:44.000 –> 00:50:46.000

You know, o two. My wife was pregnant

00:50:46.000 –> 00:50:48.000

with Jack. So it was you know, just

00:50:48.000 –> 00:50:51.000

a lot of different storylines, but, you know,

00:50:51.000 –> 00:50:52.000

those two were that they could be at

00:50:52.000 –> 00:50:53.000

in in o o seven and and

00:50:55.000 –> 00:50:55.000

ten.

00:50:56.000 –> 00:50:58.000

We’re pretty special. I’m just

00:50:58.000 –> 00:51:00.000

soaking it up, knowing that,

00:51:01.000 –> 00:51:03.000

you know, I spent thirteen years to win

00:51:03.000 –> 00:51:05.000

a a championship in the NHL

00:51:05.000 –> 00:51:07.000

You know, and you you’re like, you just

00:51:07.000 –> 00:51:09.000

never know. Don’t make it there. No. You

00:51:09.000 –> 00:51:10.000

and and and they don’t

00:51:11.000 –> 00:51:14.000

you think it’s easy. It’s not easy. Like,

00:51:14.000 –> 00:51:16.000

you see, oh, this guy four cops or

00:51:16.000 –> 00:51:18.000

this guy one. I go. Yeah. They they’re

00:51:18.000 –> 00:51:20.000

on great teams, and they’ve got great players

00:51:20.000 –> 00:51:22.000

and on and on and on. They hit

00:51:22.000 –> 00:51:22.000

the,

00:51:23.000 –> 00:51:25.000

you know, everybody’s hit the right

00:51:25.000 –> 00:51:26.000

peaking at the right time.

00:51:27.000 –> 00:51:29.000

And then there’s other teams who are like,

00:51:29.000 –> 00:51:30.000

damn, we had good teams, and you didn’t

00:51:30.000 –> 00:51:31.000

even get a sniff

00:51:32.000 –> 00:51:33.000

Like, there were teams here in Saint Louis.

00:51:33.000 –> 00:51:34.000

We were like,

00:51:34.000 –> 00:51:37.000

we had good teams. Yeah. And the teams

00:51:37.000 –> 00:51:38.000

at one were like, damn, we could’ve beat

00:51:38.000 –> 00:51:41.000

them. You did and sometimes it’s the match

00:51:41.000 –> 00:51:42.000

ups, you know, where

00:51:45.000 –> 00:51:47.000

Dallas could beat Detroit

00:51:49.000 –> 00:51:51.000

Detroit could beat us, but we could be

00:51:51.000 –> 00:51:53.000

Dallas. Mhmm. And and just

00:51:53.000 –> 00:51:55.000

all the You catch them. You know, and

00:51:55.000 –> 00:51:57.000

and just who you mat who you playing

00:51:57.000 –> 00:51:59.000

and how you match up and it,

00:52:00.000 –> 00:52:02.000

any of the big hits that, you know,

00:52:02.000 –> 00:52:04.000

you go through your highlight reel of your

00:52:04.000 –> 00:52:06.000

career. Right? I know there’s lots. I know

00:52:06.000 –> 00:52:08.000

how you playing. There’s lots of those. I

00:52:08.000 –> 00:52:09.000

don’t know if there’s I’ve seen you swing

00:52:09.000 –> 00:52:10.000

a golf ball. I’m like, damn.

00:52:11.000 –> 00:52:12.000

There’s my back.

00:52:12.000 –> 00:52:14.000

I don’t know if there’s one per se,

00:52:14.000 –> 00:52:15.000

but,

00:52:16.000 –> 00:52:17.000

you know, there’s lots that

00:52:17.000 –> 00:52:18.000

you’re

00:52:18.000 –> 00:52:19.000

you’re

00:52:19.000 –> 00:52:19.000

lying

00:52:20.000 –> 00:52:22.000

in a up and you’re like I see

00:52:22.000 –> 00:52:24.000

it coming. Well, you can just and then

00:52:24.000 –> 00:52:26.000

when you hit them and you don’t feel

00:52:26.000 –> 00:52:28.000

it, like, that was so pure. It’s kinda

00:52:28.000 –> 00:52:29.000

like hitting a golf ball. You hit a

00:52:29.000 –> 00:52:30.000

golf ball it is. It was just pure.

00:52:30.000 –> 00:52:32.000

Like, oh, that was good. That was good.

00:52:32.000 –> 00:52:34.000

I want more of that. I didn’t think

00:52:34.000 –> 00:52:36.000

of it that way. That’s probably true. That’s

00:52:36.000 –> 00:52:38.000

probably true. Because because if you don’t hit

00:52:38.000 –> 00:52:39.000

it pure,

00:52:39.000 –> 00:52:41.000

And it hurts you, you’re like, oh, that

00:52:41.000 –> 00:52:43.000

hurts. I hit one thin on a nice

00:52:43.000 –> 00:52:44.000

cold day. Nice cold day. Yeah. No. No

00:52:44.000 –> 00:52:46.000

good. No good. That’s no good. Let’s turn

00:52:46.000 –> 00:52:48.000

to page from hockey to whiskey.

00:52:49.000 –> 00:52:51.000

Staring at Chris, whiskey here for those not

00:52:51.000 –> 00:52:54.000

watching their listening, the journey, j r n

00:52:54.000 –> 00:52:57.000

y. You can it’s it’s nominal.

00:52:57.000 –> 00:52:59.000

First time we hung out, we had some

00:52:59.000 –> 00:53:01.000

journey. You know, it was some good stuff.

00:53:01.000 –> 00:53:02.000

So talk about this, man. This is you

00:53:02.000 –> 00:53:05.000

and your brother. Yeah. And, talk about the

00:53:05.000 –> 00:53:06.000

journey. Yeah.

00:53:06.000 –> 00:53:08.000

I had been looking

00:53:08.000 –> 00:53:10.000

my brother and I’ve been talking for, like,

00:53:10.000 –> 00:53:11.000

four or five years, trying to figure out

00:53:12.000 –> 00:53:14.000

something we could do together.

00:53:15.000 –> 00:53:15.000

And,

00:53:16.000 –> 00:53:18.000

just nothing really resonated

00:53:19.000 –> 00:53:20.000

and,

00:53:20.000 –> 00:53:22.000

about two and a half years ago now.

00:53:23.000 –> 00:53:25.000

One of my brothers friends, and, hey, I

00:53:25.000 –> 00:53:26.000

wanna introduce you to this guy.

00:53:27.000 –> 00:53:29.000

He runs Snagger, false Kraft distillers. You know,

00:53:29.000 –> 00:53:31.000

they’re looking for a partner in a whisk

00:53:32.000 –> 00:53:35.000

longtime whiskey drinker, as my brother likes to

00:53:35.000 –> 00:53:36.000

say, we’ve put in a lot of research

00:53:36.000 –> 00:53:38.000

in the moment. A lot of R and

00:53:38.000 –> 00:53:40.000

D. Thirty plus years of R and D.

00:53:40.000 –> 00:53:42.000

Don’t do the math. Right.

00:53:44.000 –> 00:53:46.000

And so, you know, it was a long

00:53:46.000 –> 00:53:49.000

time crown drinker It’s Canadian whiskey. So,

00:53:51.000 –> 00:53:53.000

he brought this to us and we were

00:53:53.000 –> 00:53:55.000

thinking about it. We’re like, oh, how is

00:53:55.000 –> 00:53:56.000

this gonna work?

00:53:56.000 –> 00:53:58.000

You know, I had I know I knew

00:53:58.000 –> 00:53:59.000

a lot of people in the spirits business.

00:54:01.000 –> 00:54:03.000

Mhmm. Different way. Yeah. But, you know, not

00:54:03.000 –> 00:54:06.000

never made one and and kinda taken on

00:54:06.000 –> 00:54:09.000

a project of this magnitude. And, you know,

00:54:09.000 –> 00:54:10.000

as we kinda walked through it and looked

00:54:10.000 –> 00:54:13.000

at it from a business standpoint, and then,

00:54:13.000 –> 00:54:14.000

you know, you you wanna be able to

00:54:14.000 –> 00:54:16.000

enjoy and have some have fun with it

00:54:16.000 –> 00:54:16.000

and

00:54:17.000 –> 00:54:17.000

what’s

00:54:18.000 –> 00:54:20.000

not what’s not fun about whiskey. I don’t

00:54:20.000 –> 00:54:21.000

know. Canadian whiskey back.

00:54:22.000 –> 00:54:25.000

New school Canadian whiskey had that. So,

00:54:25.000 –> 00:54:27.000

you know, we said, oh, we’re like, okay.

00:54:27.000 –> 00:54:29.000

If we’re gonna do this and you know

00:54:29.000 –> 00:54:31.000

me well enough now. If I’m gonna do

00:54:31.000 –> 00:54:33.000

something, I’m all in. Yeah. And I’m like,

00:54:33.000 –> 00:54:34.000

alright, if we’re doing this,

00:54:35.000 –> 00:54:37.000

I want control of the

00:54:37.000 –> 00:54:38.000

the liquid,

00:54:38.000 –> 00:54:40.000

the the branding.

00:54:41.000 –> 00:54:42.000

So we own the IP for all this

00:54:42.000 –> 00:54:44.000

stuff, and and Nagaphos does a great job

00:54:44.000 –> 00:54:45.000

making it for us.

00:54:46.000 –> 00:54:48.000

Number was forty four as well? His number

00:54:48.000 –> 00:54:49.000

was fifty four. Oh, so you got the

00:54:49.000 –> 00:54:51.000

But forty four is the percent

00:54:52.000 –> 00:54:52.000

alcohol.

00:54:54.000 –> 00:54:55.000

A little homage to me, but

00:54:56.000 –> 00:54:57.000

it’s a it’s a Well, maybe if he

00:54:57.000 –> 00:54:59.000

gets It’s a little bit stronger whiskey than,

00:55:00.000 –> 00:55:02.000

Crown or any the other Canadian whiskey on

00:55:02.000 –> 00:55:03.000

the market. But,

00:55:05.000 –> 00:55:07.000

we had a base of what we, you

00:55:07.000 –> 00:55:07.000

know,

00:55:08.000 –> 00:55:10.000

what we liked. And then we’re like, alright.

00:55:10.000 –> 00:55:11.000

Is there anyway, we if

00:55:12.000 –> 00:55:13.000

for how we had a lot of things

00:55:13.000 –> 00:55:15.000

we didn’t like about it, we’re like, okay.

00:55:15.000 –> 00:55:18.000

Can we fix, we wanna fix the burn.

00:55:18.000 –> 00:55:21.000

We think more people will drink there’s no

00:55:21.000 –> 00:55:22.000

burn. Mhmm. We wanna, you know,

00:55:23.000 –> 00:55:25.000

add a little bit of spice, little sweetness,

00:55:25.000 –> 00:55:27.000

little, you know, little tweaks here and there.

00:55:28.000 –> 00:55:30.000

It’s in there’s no preservative no additives.

00:55:31.000 –> 00:55:32.000

It’s very pure.

00:55:33.000 –> 00:55:36.000

And so we did we did it over

00:55:36.000 –> 00:55:38.000

facetime. They send us a sample. Remember that

00:55:38.000 –> 00:55:40.000

I would get on FaceTime, we’d take it,

00:55:40.000 –> 00:55:41.000

you know, to drink what do you like?

00:55:41.000 –> 00:55:43.000

What do you not like? Take notes?

00:55:43.000 –> 00:55:44.000

Send send them back to notes and be

00:55:44.000 –> 00:55:47.000

like, alright. Can you change it? More of

00:55:47.000 –> 00:55:48.000

that. And not knowing the lingo of, you

00:55:48.000 –> 00:55:50.000

know, brewmaster lingo. We’re like,

00:55:51.000 –> 00:55:53.000

can you do this? And like, oh, well,

00:55:53.000 –> 00:55:55.000

that’s that. I’m like, okay, great. But Yeah.

00:55:55.000 –> 00:55:56.000

Just do that.

00:55:56.000 –> 00:55:58.000

Okay. How you do it? Just do it.

00:55:58.000 –> 00:56:00.000

However you do that. Do that. And, and

00:56:00.000 –> 00:56:02.000

so the second time around, like, okay, it’s

00:56:02.000 –> 00:56:04.000

a little bit better. But can you, you

00:56:04.000 –> 00:56:06.000

know, there’s still some burn. Can you get

00:56:06.000 –> 00:56:07.000

rid of that? Can you do this?

00:56:08.000 –> 00:56:10.000

And then on a third try,

00:56:11.000 –> 00:56:13.000

we both took a sip and were like

00:56:14.000 –> 00:56:17.000

That’s it. Boom. That’s it. That is exactly

00:56:17.000 –> 00:56:19.000

what we’re trying to do. Love it. And

00:56:19.000 –> 00:56:21.000

that is what you’re tasting right now.

00:56:22.000 –> 00:56:23.000

And so

00:56:24.000 –> 00:56:25.000

from that, any, you know,

00:56:26.000 –> 00:56:28.000

maybe a little naive to the politics

00:56:29.000 –> 00:56:30.000

and the legal and the

00:56:31.000 –> 00:56:33.000

government and all the hoops you gotta jump

00:56:33.000 –> 00:56:34.000

through. And,

00:56:35.000 –> 00:56:37.000

you know, we kinda worked through all that.

00:56:37.000 –> 00:56:38.000

And, it’s like,

00:56:39.000 –> 00:56:40.000

twenty two months, I think, to get to

00:56:40.000 –> 00:56:41.000

market.

00:56:42.000 –> 00:56:44.000

And now we’ve been, six months in the

00:56:44.000 –> 00:56:45.000

market. And,

00:56:46.000 –> 00:56:48.000

in Missouri, relaunched in Saint Louis and and

00:56:48.000 –> 00:56:49.000

Missouri, Southern, Illinois.

00:56:50.000 –> 00:56:51.000

And,

00:56:52.000 –> 00:56:54.000

and now we’re at some right over Yes.

00:56:54.000 –> 00:56:55.000

And then,

00:56:57.000 –> 00:56:58.000

now we’re in New York.

00:56:58.000 –> 00:56:59.000

Ontario

00:57:00.000 –> 00:57:02.000

will be in Alberta next month. We’ll be

00:57:02.000 –> 00:57:04.000

in Texas next month. Oh, man.

00:57:04.000 –> 00:57:07.000

And then, a little further down the line

00:57:07.000 –> 00:57:09.000

will be in Southern California. But those are

00:57:09.000 –> 00:57:10.000

the five core

00:57:10.000 –> 00:57:13.000

markets that we wanna Gilliland

00:57:13.000 –> 00:57:15.000

talk about the name. J r and y,

00:57:15.000 –> 00:57:17.000

the journey. On the back of the bottle,

00:57:17.000 –> 00:57:18.000

that is our tagline.

00:57:20.000 –> 00:57:23.000

And it says, celebrate the victories be proud

00:57:23.000 –> 00:57:23.000

of your scars.

00:57:24.000 –> 00:57:26.000

Enjoy the journey. I love that. And really,

00:57:26.000 –> 00:57:27.000

when you think about it,

00:57:28.000 –> 00:57:29.000

it really is all about the journey. It’s

00:57:29.000 –> 00:57:31.000

about the journey of life. It’s about the

00:57:31.000 –> 00:57:32.000

journey you’re on.

00:57:32.000 –> 00:57:34.000

You have a great day. You

00:57:34.000 –> 00:57:36.000

you sell a company.

00:57:36.000 –> 00:57:37.000

You win a championship.

00:57:37.000 –> 00:57:39.000

What’s thing you wanna do, you wanna have

00:57:39.000 –> 00:57:40.000

a glass of whiskey, you wanna tell your

00:57:40.000 –> 00:57:42.000

friend, you wanna tell your mom and dad,

00:57:42.000 –> 00:57:43.000

you wanna tell your spouse,

00:57:43.000 –> 00:57:45.000

you wanna you wanna hang with your buddies

00:57:45.000 –> 00:57:47.000

and just revel in the

00:57:47.000 –> 00:57:49.000

joy of winning. You have a bad day.

00:57:49.000 –> 00:57:50.000

Get kicked in the face. You

00:57:53.000 –> 00:57:54.000

lose.

00:57:55.000 –> 00:57:56.000

Wanna do. You wanna have a glass of

00:57:56.000 –> 00:57:58.000

whiskey, you wanna tell your buddies, you wanna

00:57:58.000 –> 00:57:59.000

tell your spouse, you wanna tell your mom

00:57:59.000 –> 00:58:01.000

and dad, you wanna tell somebody, and you

00:58:01.000 –> 00:58:01.000

wanna

00:58:04.000 –> 00:58:07.000

sit and talk about it and about the

00:58:07.000 –> 00:58:08.000

journey that you’ve been on. And so, as

00:58:08.000 –> 00:58:08.000

we started talking about my

00:58:11.000 –> 00:58:12.000

wrote a book called The Journeyman.

00:58:13.000 –> 00:58:15.000

He played in,

00:58:15.000 –> 00:58:17.000

sixteen teams in eleven years. He bounced around

00:58:17.000 –> 00:58:18.000

a lot. And so he coined himself the

00:58:21.000 –> 00:58:21.000

journeyman,

00:58:21.000 –> 00:58:23.000

and we shortened it to the journey because

00:58:23.000 –> 00:58:26.000

it’s just about the journey, and about, you

00:58:26.000 –> 00:58:27.000

know, our own unique journeys that we’re on

00:58:27.000 –> 00:58:29.000

and the stories you tell of the people

00:58:29.000 –> 00:58:30.000

you meet,

00:58:31.000 –> 00:58:33.000

And so that’s kinda where we got the

00:58:33.000 –> 00:58:34.000

name from

00:58:35.000 –> 00:58:38.000

and kinda and and and since we, you

00:58:38.000 –> 00:58:40.000

know, came up with this naming, I don’t

00:58:40.000 –> 00:58:41.000

know, it was, like, two years ago.

00:58:42.000 –> 00:58:44.000

Every time I talked to something, not necessarily

00:58:44.000 –> 00:58:46.000

about the whiskey, just in general, in a

00:58:46.000 –> 00:58:47.000

conversation,

00:58:48.000 –> 00:58:49.000

How many times I hear the word journey?

00:58:49.000 –> 00:58:50.000

Yeah.

00:58:50.000 –> 00:58:53.000

All the time. All the time. Always so

00:58:53.000 –> 00:58:54.000

you’re just always gonna be top of mind

00:58:54.000 –> 00:58:56.000

because it’s about the journey. Oh, the journey

00:58:56.000 –> 00:58:58.000

you’re on, and I’ll far as your journey.

00:58:59.000 –> 00:59:00.000

Duh, duh, duh, whatever. Well, it’s funny. I

00:59:00.000 –> 00:59:02.000

was on a business actually my business coach

00:59:02.000 –> 00:59:04.000

yesterday on a call. And, he talked about

00:59:04.000 –> 00:59:07.000

the journey. And he said sometimes people compare

00:59:07.000 –> 00:59:08.000

their journey to other journey. Like, I wanna

00:59:08.000 –> 00:59:11.000

be where that guy’s at. That gal’s at.

00:59:11.000 –> 00:59:13.000

All Chris stuff, but yet your journey is

00:59:13.000 –> 00:59:14.000

your journey. Correct.

00:59:14.000 –> 00:59:17.000

And live your journey to the best of

00:59:17.000 –> 00:59:19.000

its ability. Right? Dominate that journey. Yep. Don’t

00:59:19.000 –> 00:59:21.000

worry about what everybody else is doing. Yeah.

00:59:21.000 –> 00:59:23.000

So last couple of questions here.

00:59:24.000 –> 00:59:25.000

Future, Brett in your past. You see the

00:59:25.000 –> 00:59:27.000

sticker here. You saw the journal and the

00:59:27.000 –> 00:59:30.000

hat earlier. Is, our firm’s mission,

00:59:30.000 –> 00:59:32.000

is to help people achieve a future grade

00:59:32.000 –> 00:59:34.000

in their past. So when you hear that

00:59:34.000 –> 00:59:36.000

future grade in your past, what comes to

00:59:36.000 –> 00:59:37.000

mind for Chris Browner?

00:59:38.000 –> 00:59:39.000

I would say

00:59:39.000 –> 00:59:40.000

for me,

00:59:40.000 –> 00:59:43.000

paying it forward and raising kids to be

00:59:43.000 –> 00:59:44.000

successful

00:59:44.000 –> 00:59:45.000

and

00:59:47.000 –> 00:59:48.000

thriving in

00:59:49.000 –> 00:59:51.000

whatever they wanna do. And and

00:59:52.000 –> 00:59:55.000

providing them with the knowledge and support

00:59:56.000 –> 00:59:58.000

to live a better life than I had.

00:59:58.000 –> 00:59:59.000

And it’s not

01:00:00.000 –> 01:00:03.000

spoon feeding them. It’s teaching them what the

01:00:03.000 –> 01:00:05.000

real world is like.

01:00:05.000 –> 01:00:07.000

It’s showing them life’s not easy. It’s allowing

01:00:07.000 –> 01:00:09.000

them to fail. It’s allowing them to

01:00:10.000 –> 01:00:12.000

realize that they’re gonna need to sacrifice something

01:00:12.000 –> 01:00:13.000

to be good at something, etcetera.

01:00:15.000 –> 01:00:16.000

But

01:00:16.000 –> 01:00:17.000

you know, building

01:00:19.000 –> 01:00:20.000

your life improving

01:00:20.000 –> 01:00:22.000

much much like I did in my sports

01:00:22.000 –> 01:00:25.000

career, life after it’s getting better every single

01:00:25.000 –> 01:00:27.000

day, whatever that is

01:00:28.000 –> 01:00:29.000

building a company,

01:00:29.000 –> 01:00:30.000

creating a family,

01:00:31.000 –> 01:00:32.000

creating a legacy, whatever that is, whatever speaks

01:00:32.000 –> 01:00:33.000

to what someone is

01:00:36.000 –> 01:00:37.000

to do.

01:00:38.000 –> 01:00:39.000

Certainly,

01:00:40.000 –> 01:00:41.000

hits home to me. It it’s,

01:00:42.000 –> 01:00:44.000

you know, when you look at legacy or

01:00:46.000 –> 01:00:48.000

family name or things like that,

01:00:49.000 –> 01:00:50.000

you know,

01:00:50.000 –> 01:00:52.000

when somebody hears your name, what do they

01:00:52.000 –> 01:00:53.000

think of? You

01:00:53.000 –> 01:00:56.000

know, and that to me that that’s more

01:00:56.000 –> 01:00:57.000

important than,

01:00:58.000 –> 01:01:00.000

you know, I always get asked, oh, what

01:01:00.000 –> 01:01:02.000

do what do you what wanna be remembered

01:01:02.000 –> 01:01:04.000

for as a player? I’m like, that’s just

01:01:04.000 –> 01:01:05.000

a small part of my life.

01:01:06.000 –> 01:01:06.000

Like,

01:01:07.000 –> 01:01:09.000

I’m not worried about that.

01:01:09.000 –> 01:01:12.000

I left every ounce of my being on

01:01:12.000 –> 01:01:13.000

that ice, and I’m done. And now it’s

01:01:13.000 –> 01:01:13.000

about here and now, and and

01:01:17.000 –> 01:01:18.000

living for

01:01:20.000 –> 01:01:22.000

my life now, my kids, my family, etcetera,

01:01:22.000 –> 01:01:24.000

and and, you know, business

01:01:24.000 –> 01:01:26.000

and trying to figure out how bet how

01:01:26.000 –> 01:01:27.000

how to make

01:01:28.000 –> 01:01:29.000

a bigger mark on society

01:01:31.000 –> 01:01:33.000

outside of what I used to do. Yeah.

01:01:33.000 –> 01:01:34.000

You know, and I think a lot of

01:01:34.000 –> 01:01:35.000

athletes

01:01:35.000 –> 01:01:37.000

and even business people

01:01:37.000 –> 01:01:38.000

get caught up in

01:01:39.000 –> 01:01:41.000

they’re so and so, the CEO. They’re so

01:01:41.000 –> 01:01:43.000

and so, the hockey They’re so and so

01:01:43.000 –> 01:01:45.000

the football player. In all my career, I

01:01:45.000 –> 01:01:45.000

was like,

01:01:46.000 –> 01:01:46.000

Stop.

01:01:47.000 –> 01:01:48.000

That’s just a small part.

01:01:49.000 –> 01:01:51.000

So stop. I’m not just a hockey player.

01:01:51.000 –> 01:01:52.000

Yeah.

01:01:52.000 –> 01:01:53.000

Like, stop.

01:01:54.000 –> 01:01:56.000

I am x y z. I I have

01:01:56.000 –> 01:01:58.000

other aspirations that I wanna do. Yeah. And

01:01:58.000 –> 01:01:59.000

my focused on that right now. Yes. Because

01:01:59.000 –> 01:02:01.000

that’s what I do now,

01:02:01.000 –> 01:02:03.000

but I’m not gonna do it my whole

01:02:03.000 –> 01:02:03.000

life. Right.

01:02:04.000 –> 01:02:05.000

And so you you try to

01:02:07.000 –> 01:02:08.000

stomp out the stereotypes

01:02:08.000 –> 01:02:10.000

that people always wanna

01:02:10.000 –> 01:02:12.000

throw at throw at you. And, you know,

01:02:12.000 –> 01:02:14.000

if you walk around as Joe Blow, the

01:02:14.000 –> 01:02:14.000

CEO of AB or Joe Blow, the

01:02:16.000 –> 01:02:19.000

CEO, emerson. And and that’s your

01:02:20.000 –> 01:02:21.000

whole being.

01:02:21.000 –> 01:02:23.000

You’re in for a rough ride when you’re

01:02:23.000 –> 01:02:24.000

done, brother. Yeah.

01:02:24.000 –> 01:02:26.000

She’s exactly right. Was it hard I said

01:02:26.000 –> 01:02:28.000

last question. I lied. Was it hard for

01:02:28.000 –> 01:02:30.000

you to replace the adrenaline? Because I can’t

01:02:30.000 –> 01:02:32.000

imagine. It’s irreplace. I I shouldn’t it’s it’s

01:02:32.000 –> 01:02:34.000

a better way to say it. No. But

01:02:34.000 –> 01:02:36.000

but that’s that’s where most

01:02:37.000 –> 01:02:38.000

athletes struggle is they’d look for that high.

01:02:38.000 –> 01:02:38.000

Yeah. You know,

01:02:42.000 –> 01:02:43.000

I get hooked on booze or drugs or

01:02:43.000 –> 01:02:44.000

whatever.

01:02:44.000 –> 01:02:46.000

It’s You’re never gonna replace it. It’s you

01:02:46.000 –> 01:02:49.000

cannot. It’s you cannot replace it. It’s

01:02:50.000 –> 01:02:52.000

you know, there’s no rush unlike

01:02:53.000 –> 01:02:54.000

being an athlete and coming into a stadium

01:02:54.000 –> 01:02:54.000

or arena or what have you. Fans going

01:02:54.000 –> 01:02:55.000

ballistic

01:02:59.000 –> 01:03:02.000

a playoff game and twenty thousand, sixty thousand,

01:03:02.000 –> 01:03:04.000

eighty thousand people going crazy, screaming and yelling

01:03:04.000 –> 01:03:05.000

your name, whether they hate you or love

01:03:05.000 –> 01:03:06.000

you.

01:03:06.000 –> 01:03:08.000

You hear it all. Yeah. You hear it

01:03:08.000 –> 01:03:09.000

Gilliland

01:03:11.000 –> 01:03:13.000

you don’t ever it’s like that paint man

01:03:13.000 –> 01:03:15.000

in commercial. He’s like talking to the screaming

01:03:15.000 –> 01:03:17.000

at the accountant and doing that stuff,

01:03:17.000 –> 01:03:20.000

it it’s it’s just there’s nothing like it.

01:03:20.000 –> 01:03:22.000

Yeah. You’re never you’re never gonna find that

01:03:22.000 –> 01:03:23.000

again. You can try.

01:03:24.000 –> 01:03:26.000

And, you know, people by businesses and do

01:03:26.000 –> 01:03:28.000

all this different stuff. And it’s just, you

01:03:28.000 –> 01:03:30.000

know, that adrenaline part, that Brett.

01:03:31.000 –> 01:03:34.000

Can’t find it. No. Yeah. Chris Pronger. Thanks

01:03:34.000 –> 01:03:35.000

for being with us, man, the circle of

01:03:35.000 –> 01:03:37.000

success. I’m very humbled at a guy like

01:03:37.000 –> 01:03:39.000

you with your, your pedigree, your background, and

01:03:39.000 –> 01:03:41.000

the man you are. It’s, it’s amazing. You

01:03:41.000 –> 01:03:42.000

come over here and swim time with us

01:03:42.000 –> 01:03:44.000

and our listeners, and I’m very thankful for

01:03:44.000 –> 01:03:46.000

that, my man. Thank you. Good to have

01:03:46.000 –> 01:03:47.000

you on the journey.

01:03:51.000 –> 01:03:52.000

You.

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4.8

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January 08, 2024

The JRNY of Chris Pronger: NHL Hall of Famer

1 hour 4 minutes

Subscribe now and be part of the Circuit of Success journey!

Chris Pronger – NHL HALL OF FAME

00:00:14.000 –> 00:00:16.000

I’m your host, Brett Gilliland.

00:00:16.000 –> 00:00:19.000

And today, I’ve got Chris Pronger. What’s up,

00:00:19.000 –> 00:00:20.000

my man? How are you?

00:00:21.000 –> 00:00:23.000

I am great. It’s good to have you.

00:00:23.000 –> 00:00:25.000

You. Been excited about this. It’s been a

00:00:25.000 –> 00:00:26.000

while. It’s been a while.

00:00:26.000 –> 00:00:28.000

We got our customers. We are branded for

00:00:28.000 –> 00:00:31.000

those watching at home. Thank you. Got the

00:00:31.000 –> 00:00:33.000

turkey Canadian whiskey right here. I go Brett.

00:00:33.000 –> 00:00:35.000

You go black? Yeah. You’re kind enough to

00:00:35.000 –> 00:00:36.000

come in here and give me a shirt.

00:00:36.000 –> 00:00:39.000

We got some, we got some whisky here.

00:00:39.000 –> 00:00:41.000

We may open one in a Gilliland,

00:00:42.000 –> 00:00:44.000

but yeah, man, you are the Hall fame

00:00:44.000 –> 00:00:46.000

hockey player, two time gold medalist,

00:00:47.000 –> 00:00:48.000

Stanley Cupchamp,

00:00:49.000 –> 00:00:51.000

Number forty four is retired at the enterprise

00:00:51.000 –> 00:00:52.000

center.

00:00:52.000 –> 00:00:54.000

You are a whisky owner. You are a

00:00:54.000 –> 00:00:56.000

husband. You are a father. And my last

00:00:56.000 –> 00:00:58.000

thing, I put your one hell of a

00:00:58.000 –> 00:01:00.000

golfer. Uh-huh. Wow. Not quite as good as

00:01:00.000 –> 00:01:00.000

you.

00:01:02.000 –> 00:01:04.000

But, man, that’s a hell of a career.

00:01:04.000 –> 00:01:05.000

That’s a hell of a career. Yeah. Practice

00:01:05.000 –> 00:01:07.000

on your slap shot. Not not your golf

00:01:07.000 –> 00:01:10.000

shot. Right? So, well, it’s been awesome getting

00:01:10.000 –> 00:01:12.000

to know you through old Billy. Billy Schmidt

00:01:12.000 –> 00:01:14.000

introduced to two of us. And so it’s

00:01:14.000 –> 00:01:16.000

been fun getting to know you, man. So

00:01:16.000 –> 00:01:17.000

I was excited to have you on the

00:01:17.000 –> 00:01:18.000

pod But if you can,

00:01:18.000 –> 00:01:20.000

people that don’t know you, I’m sure they

00:01:20.000 –> 00:01:21.000

listen to this probably does know you. But

00:01:21.000 –> 00:01:22.000

for those that don’t, man, there’s always a

00:01:22.000 –> 00:01:24.000

backstory. Something that’s helped make you the man

00:01:24.000 –> 00:01:25.000

you are today, and I always love to

00:01:25.000 –> 00:01:27.000

chat about that. So there, if you don’t

00:01:27.000 –> 00:01:29.000

mind. Yeah. No. I grew up in small

00:01:29.000 –> 00:01:30.000

town Canada,

00:01:30.000 –> 00:01:31.000

dried in Ontario,

00:01:32.000 –> 00:01:34.000

thriving metropolis of about seven thousand,

00:01:35.000 –> 00:01:36.000

strong right now.

00:01:37.000 –> 00:01:37.000

Nice.

00:01:38.000 –> 00:01:41.000

Northwest in Ontario is, so my hometown driving

00:01:41.000 –> 00:01:43.000

is eight hours straight north of Minneapolis.

00:01:43.000 –> 00:01:47.000

K. The coldest place in the continental US,

00:01:47.000 –> 00:01:48.000

not in Alaska

00:01:49.000 –> 00:01:51.000

is international falls, which is two and a

00:01:51.000 –> 00:01:53.000

half hours south of me. Wow. So it

00:01:53.000 –> 00:01:54.000

is cold.

00:01:56.000 –> 00:01:57.000

Not a lot going on in the winter

00:01:57.000 –> 00:01:59.000

other than hockey and

00:01:59.000 –> 00:02:00.000

snowmobiling,

00:02:00.000 –> 00:02:02.000

and ice fishing, and what you what you

00:02:02.000 –> 00:02:04.000

would expect. Yeah. But,

00:02:05.000 –> 00:02:07.000

Brett childhood growing up. Love living there. It

00:02:07.000 –> 00:02:09.000

was, it was a lot of fun. You

00:02:09.000 –> 00:02:11.000

know, see pre internet. So it was

00:02:12.000 –> 00:02:14.000

not a lot going on as far as,

00:02:14.000 –> 00:02:16.000

surfing the web and doing all that stuff

00:02:16.000 –> 00:02:18.000

and video games. It was pretty,

00:02:19.000 –> 00:02:22.000

you know, kinda asteroids and, the simple games

00:02:22.000 –> 00:02:24.000

that’s, that you can think of. But,

00:02:25.000 –> 00:02:27.000

now we played hockey pretty much every My

00:02:27.000 –> 00:02:29.000

brother, like, it’s pretty much what you do

00:02:29.000 –> 00:02:31.000

up there. Right? You’re not you’re not playing

00:02:31.000 –> 00:02:33.000

basketball or are you playing basketball baseball in

00:02:33.000 –> 00:02:35.000

the summers? Yeah. No. I was a multi

00:02:35.000 –> 00:02:36.000

sport athlete. Okay.

00:02:36.000 –> 00:02:38.000

I would play hockey in the

00:02:39.000 –> 00:02:40.000

fall, winter,

00:02:40.000 –> 00:02:43.000

early spring. And then would play baseball. Mhmm.

00:02:43.000 –> 00:02:45.000

And then I would golf all summer and

00:02:45.000 –> 00:02:47.000

kind of swim in the lake and be

00:02:47.000 –> 00:02:49.000

a kid. Nice. And then,

00:02:50.000 –> 00:02:52.000

I usually did not put skates on till

00:02:52.000 –> 00:02:55.000

the last two weeks of August when I

00:02:55.000 –> 00:02:56.000

would normally go to Thunder Bay and do

00:02:56.000 –> 00:02:57.000

a hockey school and stay with my grandparents

00:02:57.000 –> 00:02:58.000

and kinda have some time with

00:03:00.000 –> 00:03:02.000

them. My parents would get a break from

00:03:02.000 –> 00:03:04.000

us. Because you and your brother, right? Just

00:03:04.000 –> 00:03:06.000

me and my brother who’s two years older.

00:03:06.000 –> 00:03:08.000

Two for two for your parents and Angel

00:03:08.000 –> 00:03:09.000

hockey stars.

00:03:09.000 –> 00:03:10.000

And then,

00:03:10.000 –> 00:03:11.000

yeah, we just

00:03:12.000 –> 00:03:13.000

I mean, it was pretty simple living. It

00:03:13.000 –> 00:03:15.000

was nice. It’s awesome. Yeah. Not a whole

00:03:15.000 –> 00:03:17.000

lot to worry about. No cell phones. No

00:03:17.000 –> 00:03:18.000

nothing. And how much older is your brother

00:03:18.000 –> 00:03:20.000

than you? Two years. Okay. So two years

00:03:20.000 –> 00:03:21.000

older than you. So he’s beating the crap

00:03:21.000 –> 00:03:23.000

out of you guys or kids, running around

00:03:23.000 –> 00:03:25.000

a backyard. I believe I counted one summer.

00:03:25.000 –> 00:03:26.000

I had forty nine bleeding noses.

00:03:27.000 –> 00:03:28.000

So there was,

00:03:29.000 –> 00:03:31.000

there Thanks a lot. As as we used

00:03:31.000 –> 00:03:32.000

to hear a lot of, oh, the Pronger

00:03:32.000 –> 00:03:34.000

boys are going at it again. Yeah. But,

00:03:34.000 –> 00:03:35.000

no, it was,

00:03:36.000 –> 00:03:37.000

It was your dad, mom, the end of

00:03:37.000 –> 00:03:40.000

hockey? Is it sports? My dad played, you

00:03:40.000 –> 00:03:42.000

know, like college hockey a little bit. And,

00:03:43.000 –> 00:03:44.000

saw a picture of you guys where he’s

00:03:44.000 –> 00:03:46.000

not near as tall as you guys.

00:03:46.000 –> 00:03:49.000

My dad is 05:11. Okay. Chris brother was

00:03:49.000 –> 00:03:51.000

six six kinda like a picture I have

00:03:51.000 –> 00:03:53.000

of you and I. I look like I’m

00:03:53.000 –> 00:03:55.000

five foot four, you know, like, what’s going

00:03:55.000 –> 00:03:57.000

on here, man? This is terrible. So My

00:03:57.000 –> 00:03:59.000

grandpa was six three. So he’s the run

00:03:59.000 –> 00:04:00.000

to the litter. Yeah. You’re six six. Your

00:04:00.000 –> 00:04:03.000

brother’s six three. Six three. Okay. Big dudes.

00:04:03.000 –> 00:04:05.000

Imagine that on skates, even more intimidating.

00:04:06.000 –> 00:04:07.000

What, at what point do you should we

00:04:07.000 –> 00:04:09.000

open some of this stuff? Yeah. Let’s get

00:04:09.000 –> 00:04:11.000

I’ll let you, just grab it. Pick your

00:04:11.000 –> 00:04:12.000

poison. Alright. Let’s do this right here. Figure

00:04:12.000 –> 00:04:13.000

out which one you want. Get it right

00:04:13.000 –> 00:04:14.000

here. There we go. I can get it

00:04:14.000 –> 00:04:17.000

open here. Chris is some good stuff.

00:04:17.000 –> 00:04:19.000

We get a little pour here

00:04:19.000 –> 00:04:21.000

and then, I’ll ship it your way.

00:04:23.000 –> 00:04:26.000

Very good? Thank you, sir. Thank you.

00:04:28.000 –> 00:04:29.000

Cheers, mate. Cheers? Yeah. I’d like to

00:04:33.000 –> 00:04:35.000

smell it. A good stuff. That a good

00:04:35.000 –> 00:04:37.000

stuff. Anyway, back to the

00:04:37.000 –> 00:04:40.000

pre recorded, not pre recorded. The recorded session

00:04:40.000 –> 00:04:41.000

here we’re doing is At what point did

00:04:41.000 –> 00:04:43.000

you know you’re different, man? I mean, obviously,

00:04:43.000 –> 00:04:45.000

playing hockey, you’re a high level. There’s tons

00:04:45.000 –> 00:04:46.000

of good hockey players come from Canada.

00:04:47.000 –> 00:04:48.000

Was there that moment where you thought, man,

00:04:48.000 –> 00:04:50.000

I’m a little different than some of these

00:04:50.000 –> 00:04:50.000

guys?

00:04:50.000 –> 00:04:51.000

I was always,

00:04:52.000 –> 00:04:54.000

you know, growing up on, you know, kids

00:04:54.000 –> 00:04:56.000

my age. I usually played up a a

00:04:56.000 –> 00:04:58.000

a year or two years. Yeah.

00:05:00.000 –> 00:05:01.000

And and, you know, just played it out

00:05:01.000 –> 00:05:04.000

a higher level, if you will. And then

00:05:04.000 –> 00:05:05.000

you you really don’t know, come from a

00:05:05.000 –> 00:05:08.000

small town back then, you know, there’s, again,

00:05:08.000 –> 00:05:10.000

no internet, no real TV where you can,

00:05:10.000 –> 00:05:13.000

other than watch an NHL on hockey night

00:05:13.000 –> 00:05:14.000

in Canada on Saturday nights,

00:05:14.000 –> 00:05:17.000

you weren’t really immersed in it other than

00:05:17.000 –> 00:05:18.000

just who you’re playing against all the time.

00:05:18.000 –> 00:05:20.000

So I didn’t really

00:05:20.000 –> 00:05:22.000

have a good understanding or gauge

00:05:23.000 –> 00:05:24.000

to understand

00:05:25.000 –> 00:05:27.000

where I was at with respect to competition

00:05:27.000 –> 00:05:29.000

levels and and things of that nature. So,

00:05:30.000 –> 00:05:32.000

moved away from home when was fifteen, but

00:05:32.000 –> 00:05:34.000

prior to that, I had a choice to

00:05:34.000 –> 00:05:36.000

make at thirteen. Am I gonna play high

00:05:36.000 –> 00:05:36.000

school hockey,

00:05:37.000 –> 00:05:38.000

or am I gonna go play AAA hockey,

00:05:38.000 –> 00:05:40.000

which my brother played, and you’re driving

00:05:41.000 –> 00:05:43.000

10:12 hours in a bus, and it’s a

00:05:43.000 –> 00:05:44.000

gr you know, it’s a commitment and a

00:05:44.000 –> 00:05:45.000

grind.

00:05:45.000 –> 00:05:47.000

And I was, like, you know, I don’t

00:05:47.000 –> 00:05:49.000

wanna do that. I wanna play I wanna

00:05:49.000 –> 00:05:51.000

be with my friends, and I wanna play

00:05:51.000 –> 00:05:52.000

high school hockey.

00:05:52.000 –> 00:05:54.000

And, you know, there was a little politics

00:05:54.000 –> 00:05:57.000

involved that that I’ll get to later, but

00:05:57.000 –> 00:05:59.000

that was kinda really the first

00:06:00.000 –> 00:06:03.000

foray into the politics politics of sports and

00:06:03.000 –> 00:06:05.000

kinda what can happen

00:06:06.000 –> 00:06:08.000

they were upset that I didn’t go play

00:06:08.000 –> 00:06:10.000

on Chris AAA team. They being your parents?

00:06:10.000 –> 00:06:12.000

No. They being the coaching staff and the

00:06:12.000 –> 00:06:15.000

managers of that team. And their friends, my

00:06:15.000 –> 00:06:16.000

my brother played there, and they were friends

00:06:16.000 –> 00:06:18.000

of my parents, a lot of them. And,

00:06:19.000 –> 00:06:22.000

they we kinda merged two talents together, Kenora,

00:06:22.000 –> 00:06:24.000

and dried, and merged to create this triple

00:06:24.000 –> 00:06:26.000

a team because we were not each city

00:06:26.000 –> 00:06:28.000

was not or town was not AAA. Yeah.

00:06:28.000 –> 00:06:30.000

So we’d go and play in this AAA

00:06:30.000 –> 00:06:32.000

league. And I’m like, oh, I just wanna

00:06:32.000 –> 00:06:34.000

play with my buddies, but but again,

00:06:35.000 –> 00:06:35.000

fourteen,

00:06:36.000 –> 00:06:37.000

thirteen, fourteen,

00:06:37.000 –> 00:06:39.000

turning fifteen, the two years I played high

00:06:39.000 –> 00:06:41.000

school, I’m playing against twenty year olds. So

00:06:41.000 –> 00:06:43.000

I’m I’m playing nineteen, twenty year olds. So

00:06:43.000 –> 00:06:46.000

I’m playing against much older competition

00:06:46.000 –> 00:06:48.000

that have either gone on play junior, and

00:06:48.000 –> 00:06:50.000

I’ll come back. Gonna play high school hockey,

00:06:50.000 –> 00:06:53.000

finish your hockey careers, and go to school

00:06:53.000 –> 00:06:54.000

and do whatever. Right? So you’re you’re playing.

00:06:54.000 –> 00:06:57.000

It’s still against some pretty players. Yep. And

00:06:57.000 –> 00:06:59.000

on our team were players that had played

00:06:59.000 –> 00:07:00.000

in that league, and now they’re back playing

00:07:00.000 –> 00:07:02.000

high school hockey. So we had there was

00:07:02.000 –> 00:07:04.000

a lot of really hockey players that I’m

00:07:04.000 –> 00:07:06.000

playing against at the that age.

00:07:07.000 –> 00:07:09.000

So I’m, you know, I think in grade

00:07:09.000 –> 00:07:11.000

nine. I was six one, grade ten. I

00:07:11.000 –> 00:07:12.000

was six three. So I’m,

00:07:13.000 –> 00:07:14.000

Give me as big as those guys. I’m

00:07:14.000 –> 00:07:16.000

tall. I’m tall. I’m not big.

00:07:17.000 –> 00:07:17.000

Skin’ mouthy.

00:07:19.000 –> 00:07:19.000

But,

00:07:20.000 –> 00:07:21.000

you know, I think understanding

00:07:23.000 –> 00:07:24.000

I just wanted to have a good time.

00:07:24.000 –> 00:07:26.000

I wanted to enjoy my childhood. You know,

00:07:26.000 –> 00:07:27.000

it was a lot of pressure of, you

00:07:27.000 –> 00:07:29.000

know, you’re the best player. You’re Chris. You’re

00:07:29.000 –> 00:07:30.000

that. Yeah.

00:07:31.000 –> 00:07:32.000

And I thought we had a good enough

00:07:32.000 –> 00:07:34.000

team to go play in the Ontario’s where

00:07:34.000 –> 00:07:35.000

you’d go down to Toronto

00:07:36.000 –> 00:07:38.000

and play against the top high schools in

00:07:38.000 –> 00:07:41.000

the in the in the province and gets

00:07:41.000 –> 00:07:42.000

go to that way as opposed to playing

00:07:42.000 –> 00:07:43.000

out west

00:07:43.000 –> 00:07:45.000

were in Ontario, but they’re playing in the

00:07:45.000 –> 00:07:47.000

western. It just it was a, yeah, a

00:07:47.000 –> 00:07:50.000

s assorted deal. And so

00:07:51.000 –> 00:07:52.000

I played high school hockey for these two

00:07:52.000 –> 00:07:53.000

years. We go to the Ontario’s, both years.

00:07:55.000 –> 00:07:56.000

Brett

00:07:56.000 –> 00:07:59.000

seen by some scouts and and get asked

00:07:59.000 –> 00:08:01.000

to go play for this junior tee junior

00:08:01.000 –> 00:08:02.000

b team down in Stratford.

00:08:03.000 –> 00:08:04.000

And

00:08:04.000 –> 00:08:06.000

before I go and do that, I go

00:08:06.000 –> 00:08:07.000

to this summer camp, and they’re doing this

00:08:07.000 –> 00:08:09.000

under sixteen,

00:08:10.000 –> 00:08:13.000

camp to pick Chris, the all Ontario team,

00:08:13.000 –> 00:08:15.000

and I go to this camp, of which

00:08:15.000 –> 00:08:17.000

a lot were on this AAA team. Right.

00:08:18.000 –> 00:08:20.000

And, you know, it was a valuable learning

00:08:20.000 –> 00:08:22.000

for me on a couple fronts, number one,

00:08:22.000 –> 00:08:22.000

the politics.

00:08:23.000 –> 00:08:24.000

Number two,

00:08:24.000 –> 00:08:26.000

I wasn’t in the best shape. I didn’t

00:08:26.000 –> 00:08:28.000

train overly hard preparing

00:08:29.000 –> 00:08:29.000

for this,

00:08:31.000 –> 00:08:32.000

camp. So,

00:08:32.000 –> 00:08:34.000

you know, they said, oh, you know, we’re

00:08:34.000 –> 00:08:36.000

we’re cutting you. And I’m like,

00:08:37.000 –> 00:08:39.000

I’m I’m looking at my Gilliland I’m like,

00:08:39.000 –> 00:08:41.000

how am I getting cut? There’s no way.

00:08:41.000 –> 00:08:43.000

Yeah. But I get cut.

00:08:43.000 –> 00:08:46.000

And one of the scouts that watched me

00:08:46.000 –> 00:08:49.000

that pre that spring playing the All Ontario’s

00:08:50.000 –> 00:08:52.000

had two wild Chris. Now he’s got two

00:08:52.000 –> 00:08:54.000

wild cards for all of Ontario.

00:08:56.000 –> 00:08:58.000

And he’s like, how does this kid get

00:08:58.000 –> 00:08:59.000

cut? And he uses one of his two

00:08:59.000 –> 00:09:01.000

wild cards on me to go to the

00:09:01.000 –> 00:09:02.000

main camp. Wow.

00:09:03.000 –> 00:09:04.000

And I make the team.

00:09:06.000 –> 00:09:08.000

Again, not making the same mistake.

00:09:08.000 –> 00:09:10.000

I’m training now. I’m like, alright. I’m gonna

00:09:10.000 –> 00:09:12.000

train. I learned my lesson that it wasn’t

00:09:12.000 –> 00:09:12.000

prepared.

00:09:13.000 –> 00:09:15.000

Gonna happen again. I’m gonna train. I’m gonna

00:09:15.000 –> 00:09:17.000

prepare. And, you know, he’s that gentleman is

00:09:20.000 –> 00:09:23.000

still of my good friends. The wild card

00:09:23.000 –> 00:09:25.000

guy. The wild card guy, Sheldon Ferguson Ferguson,

00:09:25.000 –> 00:09:26.000

who then went on to scout

00:09:27.000 –> 00:09:29.000

for, central NHL central scouting, and then he

00:09:29.000 –> 00:09:31.000

worked for a number of different, NHL teams

00:09:31.000 –> 00:09:32.000

along the way.

00:09:33.000 –> 00:09:36.000

But still always talk about that circumstance and

00:09:36.000 –> 00:09:37.000

how

00:09:37.000 –> 00:09:39.000

He’s just happened to see if I don’t

00:09:39.000 –> 00:09:40.000

go to the Ontario championships, he doesn’t see

00:09:40.000 –> 00:09:42.000

me, and I don’t get this wallet, you

00:09:42.000 –> 00:09:43.000

know. It’s just who knows where he is.

00:09:43.000 –> 00:09:45.000

So many different. Yeah. I mean, it’s just

00:09:45.000 –> 00:09:47.000

if you don’t that opportunity or someone somebody

00:09:47.000 –> 00:09:48.000

doesn’t go out on a limb for you.

00:09:48.000 –> 00:09:50.000

Yep. You know, you you just never know

00:09:50.000 –> 00:09:51.000

where you’re gonna be. What were your parents

00:09:51.000 –> 00:09:54.000

like during that phase of life? Right? I’m

00:09:54.000 –> 00:09:55.000

picking high school over what they want me

00:09:55.000 –> 00:09:57.000

to do because, you know, in today’s world,

00:09:57.000 –> 00:09:58.000

and obviously you got kids. You know what

00:09:58.000 –> 00:10:00.000

it’s like. But the sports world is nuts.

00:10:00.000 –> 00:10:01.000

No.

00:10:01.000 –> 00:10:02.000

Bean

00:10:03.000 –> 00:10:05.000

Yeah. Miley. Yes. Yes. Miley.

00:10:06.000 –> 00:10:08.000

What were your parents like versus what we

00:10:08.000 –> 00:10:09.000

see parents today? Like, if you’re not on

00:10:09.000 –> 00:10:11.000

that all star if you’re not doing this,

00:10:11.000 –> 00:10:12.000

you’re not, you know, what were they like?

00:10:12.000 –> 00:10:14.000

Because they again, they went two for two

00:10:14.000 –> 00:10:16.000

with two NHL players. I mean, that’s that’s

00:10:16.000 –> 00:10:17.000

amazing. Yeah. I would say,

00:10:18.000 –> 00:10:20.000

you know, my dad was always quiet, always

00:10:20.000 –> 00:10:22.000

sat by himself up in the corner and

00:10:22.000 –> 00:10:23.000

just watched. Yeah.

00:10:24.000 –> 00:10:26.000

My mom was kinda with other parents, you

00:10:26.000 –> 00:10:28.000

know, hooting and hollering, but not, you know,

00:10:28.000 –> 00:10:30.000

getting involved in coaching and doing all that

00:10:30.000 –> 00:10:32.000

stuff. Getting advice and getting kicked. Yeah. Doing

00:10:32.000 –> 00:10:33.000

all that kind of stuff.

00:10:34.000 –> 00:10:36.000

You know, they weren’t car rides. What were

00:10:36.000 –> 00:10:36.000

those like?

00:10:37.000 –> 00:10:40.000

They were pretty quiet. I was pretty intense

00:10:40.000 –> 00:10:41.000

kid kinda preparing

00:10:42.000 –> 00:10:44.000

the way you saw me play is the

00:10:44.000 –> 00:10:45.000

way I played all the time. Okay. That’s

00:10:45.000 –> 00:10:47.000

the only way I know how to play.

00:10:47.000 –> 00:10:48.000

That’s the only way I know how to

00:10:48.000 –> 00:10:49.000

play. Okay. And so

00:10:50.000 –> 00:10:52.000

You know, I was kinda getting myself geeked

00:10:52.000 –> 00:10:53.000

up for the game. Yep. You know, you’re

00:10:53.000 –> 00:10:55.000

listening to music, you knew whenever,

00:10:56.000 –> 00:10:58.000

whatever music there was back then. Yeah. Not

00:10:58.000 –> 00:10:59.000

in AirPods.

00:10:59.000 –> 00:11:02.000

No. Yeah. No. Listen to Gilliland Oates and

00:11:02.000 –> 00:11:04.000

whatever else. My dad’s all fired up.

00:11:05.000 –> 00:11:08.000

Great tracks. Yeah. Exactly. Listen to Billy Joel

00:11:08.000 –> 00:11:09.000

a track or whatever.

00:11:11.000 –> 00:11:13.000

Not a whole, you know, we’re pretty quiet.

00:11:13.000 –> 00:11:15.000

Yeah. Just, you know, kinda go about business

00:11:15.000 –> 00:11:17.000

do your own thing. And and I love

00:11:17.000 –> 00:11:18.000

that though, man. You know, you you hear

00:11:18.000 –> 00:11:20.000

people talk about car rides, and that’s just

00:11:20.000 –> 00:11:22.000

one way, right, that people don’t wanna play

00:11:22.000 –> 00:11:24.000

sports. Sometimes the car rides home, mom, and

00:11:24.000 –> 00:11:25.000

dad, or, you know, why you miss that

00:11:25.000 –> 00:11:27.000

or do Chris? And Yeah. No. No. There

00:11:27.000 –> 00:11:29.000

was never, I don’t ever remember

00:11:30.000 –> 00:11:33.000

unless I did something not revolve

00:11:34.000 –> 00:11:36.000

around a play or whatever if I did

00:11:36.000 –> 00:11:38.000

something bad. Yeah. Right. You heard about it.

00:11:38.000 –> 00:11:39.000

May or may not have happened.

00:11:41.000 –> 00:11:43.000

No, I never got, well, why didn’t you

00:11:43.000 –> 00:11:44.000

make that pass? Or why didn’t you do

00:11:44.000 –> 00:11:46.000

this? Or why’d you make that player? No.

00:11:46.000 –> 00:11:47.000

I never

00:11:48.000 –> 00:11:49.000

it was, you know, it was just all

00:11:49.000 –> 00:11:51.000

about, as I tell people now. I’m like,

00:11:51.000 –> 00:11:53.000

make sure your kids are having fun. They

00:11:53.000 –> 00:11:55.000

get one chance to be a kid because

00:11:55.000 –> 00:11:57.000

guess what? You’re gonna grow up fast. Yep.

00:11:57.000 –> 00:11:58.000

And they’re out the door and

00:11:59.000 –> 00:12:01.000

you want them in those formative years of

00:12:01.000 –> 00:12:02.000

being a kid,

00:12:02.000 –> 00:12:05.000

being passionate about asport or multiple sports so

00:12:05.000 –> 00:12:08.000

that as they go off high school, college,

00:12:08.000 –> 00:12:09.000

etcetera,

00:12:10.000 –> 00:12:13.000

into normal normal life and are contributing citizens

00:12:13.000 –> 00:12:15.000

to the world, they still do stuff like

00:12:15.000 –> 00:12:17.000

that. They still wanna golf, they still wanna

00:12:17.000 –> 00:12:17.000

play hockey,

00:12:18.000 –> 00:12:21.000

basketball, volleyball, whatever it is, they wanna keep

00:12:22.000 –> 00:12:24.000

maybe not necessarily competing, but playing the sport

00:12:24.000 –> 00:12:26.000

that they love and are passionate about, or

00:12:26.000 –> 00:12:28.000

coaching it, paying it forward and doing these

00:12:28.000 –> 00:12:29.000

other things that you see a lot of,

00:12:30.000 –> 00:12:32.000

former players do. We’re gonna dive into your,

00:12:32.000 –> 00:12:34.000

obviously, your career here in a little bit,

00:12:34.000 –> 00:12:36.000

but but important for us as a firm,

00:12:36.000 –> 00:12:38.000

but also I think just any business person

00:12:38.000 –> 00:12:39.000

listening to this is whether it’s on the

00:12:39.000 –> 00:12:40.000

ice or in the boardroom,

00:12:41.000 –> 00:12:43.000

your values are important. Right? Your culture’s important

00:12:43.000 –> 00:12:45.000

to you. So was there a set of

00:12:45.000 –> 00:12:47.000

values or principles for you that maybe even

00:12:47.000 –> 00:12:48.000

your parents taught you or that you kinda

00:12:48.000 –> 00:12:50.000

formed early on in your career that said,

00:12:50.000 –> 00:12:53.000

this is what I stand for, and this

00:12:53.000 –> 00:12:54.000

is what I’m gonna do.

00:12:55.000 –> 00:12:56.000

You know, I think

00:12:57.000 –> 00:12:59.000

I was always one of the bigger kids,

00:12:59.000 –> 00:13:02.000

tall taller kids. You know, bigger, taller.

00:13:03.000 –> 00:13:04.000

But I always played a certain way. I

00:13:04.000 –> 00:13:06.000

always protected my teammates. I always

00:13:07.000 –> 00:13:08.000

let the other team know, oh, hey, you

00:13:08.000 –> 00:13:10.000

wanna take runs of this guy? Well, you

00:13:10.000 –> 00:13:12.000

better be careful because someone else can be

00:13:12.000 –> 00:13:13.000

taking runs of you.

00:13:14.000 –> 00:13:16.000

You know, and I think hard work and

00:13:16.000 –> 00:13:16.000

and

00:13:17.000 –> 00:13:20.000

adversity, you know, as my career went along,

00:13:20.000 –> 00:13:21.000

I you you

00:13:21.000 –> 00:13:22.000

sense

00:13:23.000 –> 00:13:25.000

and learn from the very adversities that you

00:13:25.000 –> 00:13:27.000

face, the decisions you gotta make.

00:13:28.000 –> 00:13:30.000

I’ve had plenty of decisions, whether it’s going

00:13:30.000 –> 00:13:31.000

to play junior, whether it’s going to play

00:13:31.000 –> 00:13:33.000

AAA or high school, whether it’s going to

00:13:33.000 –> 00:13:36.000

play major junior or college. I mean, just,

00:13:36.000 –> 00:13:37.000

you know,

00:13:37.000 –> 00:13:39.000

asking for trades, doing all these things. Like,

00:13:39.000 –> 00:13:41.000

you have you’re forced to really

00:13:42.000 –> 00:13:44.000

Stick to your guns. And, alright.

00:13:45.000 –> 00:13:47.000

You know, there’s some moments where I did

00:13:47.000 –> 00:13:47.000

not

00:13:48.000 –> 00:13:50.000

stick to my guns that I’m like, why

00:13:50.000 –> 00:13:51.000

did I not?

00:13:51.000 –> 00:13:53.000

Why did I cave and why, you know,

00:13:53.000 –> 00:13:55.000

it just if you have a core set

00:13:55.000 –> 00:13:56.000

of principles and you

00:13:57.000 –> 00:14:00.000

know who you are, and and you have

00:14:00.000 –> 00:14:01.000

a firm belief in that, you need to

00:14:01.000 –> 00:14:04.000

stick your guns. And there’s a couple times

00:14:04.000 –> 00:14:05.000

where I

00:14:05.000 –> 00:14:08.000

wouldn’t say I got bullied or talked into

00:14:08.000 –> 00:14:09.000

it. Just

00:14:09.000 –> 00:14:11.000

was told to you, you know, maybe you

00:14:11.000 –> 00:14:12.000

should go do this or that. And I’m

00:14:12.000 –> 00:14:14.000

like, well, I wish I’d have already did

00:14:14.000 –> 00:14:16.000

that. Yeah. Because it’s not. I

00:14:16.000 –> 00:14:18.000

I got asked to tell the owner one

00:14:18.000 –> 00:14:19.000

time in Saint Chris,

00:14:20.000 –> 00:14:21.000

sorry for making a play that I got

00:14:21.000 –> 00:14:22.000

suspended on.

00:14:23.000 –> 00:14:25.000

Like, why? Why? Why? Why do I need

00:14:25.000 –> 00:14:26.000

to apologize for that?

00:14:27.000 –> 00:14:29.000

That’s who I am. That’s how I play.

00:14:29.000 –> 00:14:31.000

Right. You love how I play. Yeah. So

00:14:31.000 –> 00:14:33.000

why am I still here? That’s why I’m

00:14:33.000 –> 00:14:34.000

here. You know, and I’m just like, well,

00:14:34.000 –> 00:14:36.000

why am I apologizing? I think that’s normal.

00:14:36.000 –> 00:14:38.000

Right? I mean, you think about even from

00:14:38.000 –> 00:14:39.000

a work standpoint? Oh, I kinda have good

00:14:39.000 –> 00:14:42.000

on that road. I kinda haphazardly just said,

00:14:42.000 –> 00:14:42.000

I’m sorry. But

00:14:43.000 –> 00:14:46.000

Yeah. I’m not I don’t mean it. You

00:14:46.000 –> 00:14:47.000

know, great. You told me to do it.

00:14:47.000 –> 00:14:48.000

Okay. I did it. But I don’t mean

00:14:48.000 –> 00:14:51.000

it. Yeah. Because I’m not sorry. Right. Right.

00:14:52.000 –> 00:14:53.000

I’m sorry I got caught.

00:14:54.000 –> 00:14:56.000

But when I read eight suspensions, is that

00:14:56.000 –> 00:14:58.000

what I heard? Eight. Yes. Hate suspensions.

00:14:59.000 –> 00:15:00.000

What was the best one?

00:15:02.000 –> 00:15:04.000

There were a few. There were a few

00:15:04.000 –> 00:15:06.000

good ones. You know what? I I learned

00:15:07.000 –> 00:15:10.000

early in my childhood to be unpredictable. Gilliland

00:15:11.000 –> 00:15:12.000

whether that’s you’re gonna take the puck, whether

00:15:12.000 –> 00:15:14.000

that’s you’re gonna hit them, whether that’s you’re

00:15:14.000 –> 00:15:15.000

gonna spear them, whether you’re gonna slash them,

00:15:15.000 –> 00:15:16.000

cross check them, whatever,

00:15:18.000 –> 00:15:19.000

in the grid the errors of the rule

00:15:19.000 –> 00:15:20.000

book.

00:15:20.000 –> 00:15:21.000

Mhmm.

00:15:21.000 –> 00:15:24.000

That keeping people unpredictable that just that indecisiveness

00:15:24.000 –> 00:15:24.000

in their head is gonna give you just

00:15:24.000 –> 00:15:24.000

enough time to

00:15:28.000 –> 00:15:30.000

make play, take the puck.

00:15:30.000 –> 00:15:32.000

They’re gonna be a little leery as to

00:15:32.000 –> 00:15:34.000

what you’re gonna do, and I could be

00:15:34.000 –> 00:15:35.000

honest with you sometimes. I didn’t know what

00:15:35.000 –> 00:15:38.000

I was gonna do. This is a re

00:15:38.000 –> 00:15:40.000

action. It’s a spur of the moment. You’re

00:15:40.000 –> 00:15:42.000

laying on. Yeah. Boom. But I think there’s

00:15:42.000 –> 00:15:44.000

people that, like, they like the hit. Right?

00:15:44.000 –> 00:15:45.000

I think of my oldest son, like, he

00:15:45.000 –> 00:15:47.000

likes the hit. Even he’s playing soccer. He’s

00:15:47.000 –> 00:15:49.000

not playing, but but, like, I was a

00:15:49.000 –> 00:15:50.000

guy. I didn’t like to hit. Like, I

00:15:50.000 –> 00:15:52.000

didn’t want that company. He’s probably why I

00:15:52.000 –> 00:15:53.000

played golf. Right? But

00:15:54.000 –> 00:15:55.000

do you think do you agree with that?

00:15:55.000 –> 00:15:56.000

I mean, people like to hit? Oh, absolutely.

00:15:57.000 –> 00:15:59.000

There’s, you know, when you see game start

00:15:59.000 –> 00:16:01.000

and you’re like, you either wanna get hit

00:16:01.000 –> 00:16:04.000

or get hit. Yeah. Just to absorb, get

00:16:04.000 –> 00:16:05.000

into the game, get the feel of it.

00:16:05.000 –> 00:16:08.000

Alright. We’re good now. Yeah. Just get that

00:16:08.000 –> 00:16:10.000

first one to get started. Alright. Now.

00:16:12.000 –> 00:16:14.000

Going. I was doing some butterflies, and get

00:16:14.000 –> 00:16:15.000

that

00:16:15.000 –> 00:16:17.000

I Brett some research last night. Watch some

00:16:17.000 –> 00:16:19.000

videos. I you said something on a podcast

00:16:19.000 –> 00:16:21.000

or some TV thing you’re on, and it

00:16:21.000 –> 00:16:23.000

said you you predicted be a hundred plus

00:16:23.000 –> 00:16:24.000

concussions? If you’re looking at what they consider

00:16:24.000 –> 00:16:25.000

a concussion now. Yeah. I

00:16:30.000 –> 00:16:30.000

would

00:16:31.000 –> 00:16:33.000

I would probably guess. You know?

00:16:34.000 –> 00:16:36.000

I can count ones where

00:16:36.000 –> 00:16:37.000

if you were looking at

00:16:39.000 –> 00:16:40.000

a baseline concussion of,

00:16:41.000 –> 00:16:43.000

you know, either it got knocked out or

00:16:43.000 –> 00:16:44.000

you’re seeing stars, you know, like a legit,

00:16:44.000 –> 00:16:45.000

you know, head trauma. You’re talking

00:16:50.000 –> 00:16:50.000

Twenty?

00:16:51.000 –> 00:16:52.000

Like that. And then,

00:16:53.000 –> 00:16:54.000

you know, seeing seeing stars, you bell rung

00:16:54.000 –> 00:16:54.000

and all the all those buzz words that

00:16:54.000 –> 00:16:54.000

you

00:16:58.000 –> 00:17:00.000

to hear. They’re like, don’t worry about it.

00:17:00.000 –> 00:17:02.000

Or I get a stinger. You know, your

00:17:02.000 –> 00:17:03.000

tip’s your head, but it’s your neck, but

00:17:03.000 –> 00:17:05.000

it’s your shoulder. You know, what is it?

00:17:06.000 –> 00:17:08.000

You know, there was so many different buzzwords

00:17:08.000 –> 00:17:10.000

to kinda take it away from

00:17:10.000 –> 00:17:12.000

your head. Yeah. That

00:17:13.000 –> 00:17:15.000

I, you know, over the span of playing

00:17:15.000 –> 00:17:16.000

hockey thirty

00:17:18.000 –> 00:17:20.000

Let’s see here. Thirty years or so? Eighteen

00:17:20.000 –> 00:17:23.000

in the NHL. Right. Thirty three. Yeah.

00:17:23.000 –> 00:17:25.000

Nineteen in the NHL. I mean,

00:17:25.000 –> 00:17:27.000

Yeah. I would, you know, you bang your

00:17:27.000 –> 00:17:28.000

head off the glass. You get hit. You

00:17:28.000 –> 00:17:30.000

know, there’s a couple times. You remember, we

00:17:30.000 –> 00:17:31.000

Brett banging my head off the glass on

00:17:31.000 –> 00:17:32.000

a hit.

00:17:32.000 –> 00:17:34.000

You know, you pass a puck and you’re

00:17:34.000 –> 00:17:36.000

trying to Brett yourself just, you know, you

00:17:36.000 –> 00:17:37.000

get hit by a big guy and you’re

00:17:38.000 –> 00:17:39.000

you’re hitting the guy and your head hits

00:17:39.000 –> 00:17:40.000

the glass.

00:17:42.000 –> 00:17:44.000

You’ve you’ve you don’t

00:17:44.000 –> 00:17:47.000

lose consciousness, but you’re you can feel it

00:17:47.000 –> 00:17:50.000

for a second or two. You’re like, okay.

00:17:50.000 –> 00:17:52.000

Talk about that moment we Brett hit in

00:17:52.000 –> 00:17:53.000

the chest. You know, the puck hits you,

00:17:53.000 –> 00:17:55.000

you go down. I watched that video last

00:17:55.000 –> 00:17:57.000

night. That was just scary as hell just

00:17:57.000 –> 00:17:58.000

watching the video, and I knew you survived

00:17:58.000 –> 00:17:59.000

it, but I’m like, in that moment, I

00:17:59.000 –> 00:18:01.000

came imagine. Yeah. I I

00:18:01.000 –> 00:18:04.000

when the whole Demar Hamlin thing happened, you

00:18:05.000 –> 00:18:07.000

you know, obviously got Yeah. That got just

00:18:07.000 –> 00:18:09.000

stood off and and, you know, being the

00:18:09.000 –> 00:18:11.000

first one that it actually happened to.

00:18:11.000 –> 00:18:14.000

I’m, you know, kinda relived it a little

00:18:14.000 –> 00:18:14.000

bit more and

00:18:15.000 –> 00:18:17.000

When it happens to you, that young in

00:18:17.000 –> 00:18:17.000

your career,

00:18:19.000 –> 00:18:21.000

you know, the the internet was still not

00:18:21.000 –> 00:18:23.000

really. The internet Yeah. Wasn’t it was ninety

00:18:23.000 –> 00:18:23.000

eight

00:18:24.000 –> 00:18:26.000

ish, I think. Yeah. Main ninety eight.

00:18:27.000 –> 00:18:28.000

There was not a lot of information out

00:18:28.000 –> 00:18:30.000

there. There was not,

00:18:30.000 –> 00:18:32.000

you know, dial up internet and all that

00:18:32.000 –> 00:18:34.000

kind of stuff. It’s just you’re not researching

00:18:34.000 –> 00:18:35.000

all that web I don’t even know if

00:18:35.000 –> 00:18:37.000

it was born yet. Well, he’s been dead

00:18:37.000 –> 00:18:39.000

if you went to WebMD. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

00:18:40.000 –> 00:18:42.000

Same symptom for everything. Yeah. But

00:18:44.000 –> 00:18:46.000

You know, I I started to really research

00:18:46.000 –> 00:18:47.000

and understand.

00:18:48.000 –> 00:18:48.000

I was actually

00:18:51.000 –> 00:18:54.000

closer to death than maybe a thought

00:18:54.000 –> 00:18:56.000

as I talked to the trainer and talked

00:18:56.000 –> 00:18:57.000

about what what I actually did have? Cause

00:18:57.000 –> 00:19:00.000

I never really I didn’t really wanna know.

00:19:00.000 –> 00:19:02.000

I’m just like, I just wanted to know

00:19:02.000 –> 00:19:04.000

from the doctor. Can it happen again? Right.

00:19:04.000 –> 00:19:07.000

Are there any short term, long term effects

00:19:07.000 –> 00:19:08.000

if I go back to play.

00:19:09.000 –> 00:19:10.000

And and once she cleared me of all

00:19:10.000 –> 00:19:12.000

that, and she’s like, no. This is just

00:19:12.000 –> 00:19:13.000

a random freak thing that

00:19:14.000 –> 00:19:16.000

follow those things line up again. It can

00:19:16.000 –> 00:19:17.000

happen, but the sequencing

00:19:18.000 –> 00:19:19.000

has to be perfect. Yeah.

00:19:19.000 –> 00:19:21.000

And the way it hits you has to

00:19:21.000 –> 00:19:23.000

be perfect and where it hits you.

00:19:24.000 –> 00:19:26.000

So I’m like, well, I just didn’t wanna

00:19:26.000 –> 00:19:27.000

know. So I start to ask the trainer.

00:19:27.000 –> 00:19:29.000

I’m like, so I get hit with a

00:19:29.000 –> 00:19:30.000

puck, a block shot. I gave it with

00:19:30.000 –> 00:19:32.000

a puck, and we’re killing a penalty.

00:19:33.000 –> 00:19:35.000

And I was, like, kinda stung in Rindy

00:19:35.000 –> 00:19:37.000

Troy, so I’m, like,

00:19:37.000 –> 00:19:39.000

In my hand, I’m like, cover the puck

00:19:39.000 –> 00:19:40.000

up, get a whistle, and then get to

00:19:40.000 –> 00:19:42.000

the bench. Don’t let these people see it

00:19:42.000 –> 00:19:44.000

down here. Yeah. Because they’re gonna be all

00:19:44.000 –> 00:19:45.000

over you. Alright.

00:19:46.000 –> 00:19:48.000

So in my hand, I do all that,

00:19:48.000 –> 00:19:51.000

but then I must have blacked out. Like,

00:19:51.000 –> 00:19:53.000

you kinda see I’m kind of Yeah. I’m

00:19:53.000 –> 00:19:55.000

gonna go down. Stumblebee tuna right after I

00:19:55.000 –> 00:19:57.000

get and take a stride, then boom, I’m

00:19:57.000 –> 00:19:59.000

down. Thank god. I had my hands in

00:19:59.000 –> 00:20:01.000

front of me. I would’ve broke my face.

00:20:01.000 –> 00:20:04.000

And I I wake up, and, you know,

00:20:04.000 –> 00:20:05.000

I’m in the middle of the ice. My

00:20:05.000 –> 00:20:06.000

stuff’s open

00:20:06.000 –> 00:20:08.000

all my stuffs off. And I look over

00:20:08.000 –> 00:20:10.000

to our bench. People are crying, and I’m

00:20:10.000 –> 00:20:12.000

just like, what’s going on here? So you

00:20:12.000 –> 00:20:13.000

had your wherewithal. I mean, you knew what

00:20:13.000 –> 00:20:15.000

was Once I woke up, I did. So

00:20:15.000 –> 00:20:18.000

then as this whole Lamar Hamlett thing happened,

00:20:18.000 –> 00:20:19.000

I started talking to the trainer. I’m like,

00:20:19.000 –> 00:20:21.000

so because I kept getting asked about it.

00:20:21.000 –> 00:20:23.000

And I was I don’t know. You know,

00:20:23.000 –> 00:20:25.000

it kinda just happened. To know, but I

00:20:25.000 –> 00:20:26.000

really didn’t.

00:20:26.000 –> 00:20:28.000

So I started asking. I’m like, so what

00:20:28.000 –> 00:20:30.000

exactly did happen?

00:20:30.000 –> 00:20:31.000

I was like, well, you know, we got

00:20:31.000 –> 00:20:32.000

out there.

00:20:32.000 –> 00:20:33.000

You weren’t breathing.

00:20:34.000 –> 00:20:37.000

You know, your lips were kinda panicked.

00:20:38.000 –> 00:20:39.000

No defibrillator.

00:20:40.000 –> 00:20:42.000

Back then, they had no defibrillators in the

00:20:42.000 –> 00:20:42.000

building.

00:20:43.000 –> 00:20:45.000

The ambulance was just a cart. It was

00:20:45.000 –> 00:20:47.000

basically just to to get you to the

00:20:47.000 –> 00:20:49.000

hospital. It wasn’t there was nothing in it.

00:20:49.000 –> 00:20:50.000

That could help you.

00:20:53.000 –> 00:20:55.000

And so here was starting to panic. My

00:20:55.000 –> 00:20:56.000

lips were starting to turn a little bit

00:20:56.000 –> 00:20:58.000

blue. He was like, yeah. We were just

00:20:58.000 –> 00:21:00.000

getting ready to give you mouth to mouth

00:21:00.000 –> 00:21:01.000

when you

00:21:01.000 –> 00:21:03.000

kinda came to and took a Brett. And

00:21:03.000 –> 00:21:04.000

they were like,

00:21:04.000 –> 00:21:05.000

Wow.

00:21:06.000 –> 00:21:07.000

Because they were they were just getting a

00:21:07.000 –> 00:21:09.000

little nervous. I think I had, like, fifteen,

00:21:09.000 –> 00:21:11.000

twenty seconds without breathing. And,

00:21:12.000 –> 00:21:14.000

you know, unlike ham on. I think it

00:21:14.000 –> 00:21:16.000

was, like, eight or nine minutes. Yeah. So

00:21:16.000 –> 00:21:18.000

they they were and and then since then,

00:21:18.000 –> 00:21:20.000

so then I went to hospital, did all

00:21:20.000 –> 00:21:22.000

that. And since then, right, right after that

00:21:22.000 –> 00:21:24.000

incident, they had fibrillators in the all the

00:21:25.000 –> 00:21:27.000

buildings. Mhmm. They’ve, you know, retrofitted or fixed

00:21:27.000 –> 00:21:29.000

the ambulance situation.

00:21:29.000 –> 00:21:31.000

And three years after that, Yuri Fisher with

00:21:31.000 –> 00:21:33.000

the Detroit Wed rings had a heart attack

00:21:33.000 –> 00:21:34.000

on the bench

00:21:34.000 –> 00:21:36.000

or right in front of the bench. And

00:21:36.000 –> 00:21:39.000

they also had the doctors way up in

00:21:39.000 –> 00:21:39.000

the top. Oh, yeah.

00:21:40.000 –> 00:21:42.000

And and after that incident, they had the

00:21:42.000 –> 00:21:43.000

doctors right behind the bench.

00:21:44.000 –> 00:21:46.000

And fortunate enough for Yuri Fisher, the doctor

00:21:46.000 –> 00:21:48.000

was right behind the bench, came off the

00:21:48.000 –> 00:21:50.000

bench, came out, start give him out the

00:21:50.000 –> 00:21:52.000

mouth, give him the

00:21:52.000 –> 00:21:54.000

defibrillator and save his life. Save his life.

00:21:54.000 –> 00:21:54.000

But, so I

00:21:57.000 –> 00:21:59.000

that that happens. I’m in the hospital. I’m

00:21:59.000 –> 00:22:01.000

I’m wearing a heart monitor for twenty four

00:22:01.000 –> 00:22:04.000

hours tracking it, doing all that. And, again,

00:22:04.000 –> 00:22:05.000

ask the doctor if, you know, is there

00:22:05.000 –> 00:22:06.000

any

00:22:06.000 –> 00:22:08.000

long term short term side effects if I

00:22:08.000 –> 00:22:08.000

play.

00:22:09.000 –> 00:22:10.000

And she’s like, no.

00:22:11.000 –> 00:22:12.000

So I I’ve thought about Demar Ham. So

00:22:12.000 –> 00:22:14.000

I wanted to rip the band aid off

00:22:14.000 –> 00:22:16.000

fast. Right. Basically. Brett right back. So how

00:22:16.000 –> 00:22:18.000

long did you set out? A a day?

00:22:18.000 –> 00:22:19.000

I just No. So even, like, the next

00:22:19.000 –> 00:22:20.000

day, you’re in the next day. So we

00:22:20.000 –> 00:22:22.000

played a I don’t know. Let’s just say

00:22:22.000 –> 00:22:24.000

that was a Tuesday? Yeah. Played on Thursday.

00:22:24.000 –> 00:22:26.000

Oh, wow. So I stayed in the hospital

00:22:26.000 –> 00:22:27.000

Tuesday night in Detroit,

00:22:27.000 –> 00:22:29.000

flew back on Wednesday,

00:22:30.000 –> 00:22:32.000

did all these tests, wore the heart monitor,

00:22:33.000 –> 00:22:34.000

did all that.

00:22:35.000 –> 00:22:36.000

Got up in the morning, went back to

00:22:36.000 –> 00:22:37.000

the doctor.

00:22:39.000 –> 00:22:41.000

Got checked out again. She looked at the

00:22:41.000 –> 00:22:41.000

monitor.

00:22:42.000 –> 00:22:43.000

The heart monitor that is,

00:22:44.000 –> 00:22:45.000

did a battery of tests against, sat down

00:22:45.000 –> 00:22:47.000

with her, talk to her.

00:22:47.000 –> 00:22:49.000

You know, still not knowing whether gonna play,

00:22:49.000 –> 00:22:51.000

but I prepared the night before like I

00:22:51.000 –> 00:22:53.000

was gonna play. Just you never know. Yeah.

00:22:53.000 –> 00:22:54.000

And then,

00:22:56.000 –> 00:22:58.000

And then went down to the rank at,

00:22:58.000 –> 00:22:59.000

like, 04:30.

00:22:59.000 –> 00:23:01.000

I think we had a seven, maybe a

00:23:01.000 –> 00:23:03.000

07:30 game. Went down to the rank at

00:23:03.000 –> 00:23:04.000

04:30, and just, like, I got cleared to

00:23:04.000 –> 00:23:06.000

play. So I’ll take up, see how I

00:23:06.000 –> 00:23:06.000

feel.

00:23:07.000 –> 00:23:09.000

And, well, you know, once once you put

00:23:09.000 –> 00:23:11.000

your equipment on It’s a good time. For

00:23:11.000 –> 00:23:11.000

me.

00:23:12.000 –> 00:23:14.000

I’m not taking that shit Yeah. It’s not

00:23:14.000 –> 00:23:15.000

it’s

00:23:15.000 –> 00:23:17.000

not happening. Right. I’m like, once it’s on

00:23:17.000 –> 00:23:18.000

You get to cut it off me again.

00:23:18.000 –> 00:23:20.000

Well, I’m not sitting now. If if I

00:23:20.000 –> 00:23:22.000

can if I can go out there and

00:23:22.000 –> 00:23:24.000

do warm up and do all the time.

00:23:24.000 –> 00:23:26.000

My might as well play. Right. And I

00:23:26.000 –> 00:23:29.000

hate sitting upstairs. It sucks. Yeah. So

00:23:30.000 –> 00:23:32.000

So, boy She just went back in and

00:23:32.000 –> 00:23:34.000

there was her nerves. Oh, yeah. There was

00:23:34.000 –> 00:23:35.000

nerves. You know, you again, to to the

00:23:35.000 –> 00:23:37.000

point, do you wanna get hit, or you

00:23:37.000 –> 00:23:38.000

wanna hit somebody, like, right

00:23:39.000 –> 00:23:41.000

And, you know, just, the water flies and

00:23:41.000 –> 00:23:43.000

the energy of coming out to the, out

00:23:43.000 –> 00:23:44.000

to the rain, you know, you take warm

00:23:44.000 –> 00:23:45.000

up and, you know, not everybody’s in the

00:23:45.000 –> 00:23:48.000

building. Yeah. Playoff game, playing Detroit, So it’s

00:23:48.000 –> 00:23:50.000

just crazy. Yeah. And,

00:23:51.000 –> 00:23:52.000

and then I come out for

00:23:54.000 –> 00:23:56.000

intros and come out, you know, to the

00:23:56.000 –> 00:23:59.000

building electric and going bananas, and then, you

00:23:59.000 –> 00:24:00.000

know, I come out. I was, like, one

00:24:00.000 –> 00:24:02.000

of one of the last couple guys I

00:24:02.000 –> 00:24:03.000

would always and

00:24:03.000 –> 00:24:05.000

fancy erupted and all that kind of stuff

00:24:05.000 –> 00:24:06.000

pretty cool. It brings it home. Oh, yeah.

00:24:06.000 –> 00:24:08.000

Alright. Let’s go. Well, you get and then

00:24:08.000 –> 00:24:10.000

you get the butterflies, like, alright. Let’s get

00:24:10.000 –> 00:24:12.000

the Band Aid ripped off and hit somebody

00:24:12.000 –> 00:24:15.000

somebody hit me, let’s get this out of

00:24:15.000 –> 00:24:17.000

the way so we can get past this.

00:24:17.000 –> 00:24:18.000

So in sports, I think for fans, I’m

00:24:18.000 –> 00:24:21.000

curious always to talk to players on it’s

00:24:21.000 –> 00:24:22.000

as big a deal for you guys. So

00:24:22.000 –> 00:24:24.000

there’s the rivalries. Right? There’s there’s games that

00:24:24.000 –> 00:24:27.000

mean more than than most. Obviously, playoffs always

00:24:27.000 –> 00:24:29.000

do. But did you treat those differently, or

00:24:29.000 –> 00:24:31.000

did did your mind go differently when you

00:24:31.000 –> 00:24:33.000

were playing a certain robbery for the different

00:24:33.000 –> 00:24:33.000

teams?

00:24:34.000 –> 00:24:35.000

Like, you know, cubs cards in baseball. Right?

00:24:35.000 –> 00:24:37.000

Like, there’s that thing. Did that matter to

00:24:37.000 –> 00:24:39.000

you? Oh, yeah. For sure. You the the

00:24:39.000 –> 00:24:42.000

team’s in your division. Yeah. And back then,

00:24:42.000 –> 00:24:43.000

you gotta remember, you pay you played those

00:24:43.000 –> 00:24:45.000

guys eight times. Mhmm. You know, the the

00:24:45.000 –> 00:24:47.000

schedule has since changed in you know, you

00:24:47.000 –> 00:24:48.000

don’t play

00:24:48.000 –> 00:24:51.000

against those teams as much. You know, you’re

00:24:51.000 –> 00:24:52.000

playing four home games, four road games, and

00:24:52.000 –> 00:24:54.000

then you’re playing the team typically in the

00:24:54.000 –> 00:24:55.000

playoffs and

00:24:55.000 –> 00:24:57.000

You know, you’re playing on sat possibly seven

00:24:57.000 –> 00:24:59.000

times and you’re playing it. You know, the

00:24:59.000 –> 00:25:01.000

next rival you’re playing seven times, it just

00:25:04.000 –> 00:25:04.000

you know, those

00:25:05.000 –> 00:25:07.000

the hatred between the teams

00:25:08.000 –> 00:25:08.000

intensifies

00:25:09.000 –> 00:25:10.000

with each playoff

00:25:13.000 –> 00:25:14.000

round that you play and we play Detroit

00:25:14.000 –> 00:25:16.000

four years in a row.

00:25:16.000 –> 00:25:17.000

This was

00:25:18.000 –> 00:25:18.000

ninety

00:25:20.000 –> 00:25:23.000

Ninety five, ninety six, ninety seven. This is,

00:25:23.000 –> 00:25:24.000

like, ninety eight. This is this is a

00:25:24.000 –> 00:25:26.000

fourth year in a rural plant. Yeah. You

00:25:26.000 –> 00:25:28.000

know, near the Okay. Here we go again.

00:25:28.000 –> 00:25:29.000

Here we go again.

00:25:29.000 –> 00:25:32.000

And so, you know, it’s just that rivalry,

00:25:32.000 –> 00:25:32.000

the

00:25:32.000 –> 00:25:35.000

the feuds between the play years and, you

00:25:35.000 –> 00:25:37.000

know, all the different things that happened over

00:25:37.000 –> 00:25:39.000

years. We hadn’t beaten them. They Brett us

00:25:39.000 –> 00:25:40.000

every year.

00:25:41.000 –> 00:25:42.000

You know, so it was

00:25:43.000 –> 00:25:45.000

It was getting intense. Yeah. When you get

00:25:45.000 –> 00:25:46.000

a lot of The hits, you get a

00:25:46.000 –> 00:25:46.000

little harder.

00:25:47.000 –> 00:25:49.000

You know, and you’re sick of losing, you

00:25:49.000 –> 00:25:51.000

know, getting pissed off. Yeah. Alright. Well, I’m

00:25:51.000 –> 00:25:52.000

gonna get my pound watch.

00:25:53.000 –> 00:25:55.000

Did you ever have one of those, guys

00:25:55.000 –> 00:25:56.000

that you couldn’t stand playing against? But then

00:25:56.000 –> 00:25:58.000

they became a teammate. Did that ever happen?

00:25:58.000 –> 00:26:00.000

You’re always gonna run down. I’m sure I

00:26:00.000 –> 00:26:01.000

was that guy for a lot of people

00:26:01.000 –> 00:26:03.000

You know, you you play against players, you

00:26:03.000 –> 00:26:06.000

know, you you recognize they’re good. Yep. And

00:26:06.000 –> 00:26:07.000

you’re like, okay. You’re not gonna be good

00:26:07.000 –> 00:26:09.000

against me. You’re just, you

00:26:10.000 –> 00:26:11.000

know, you just try to get in the

00:26:11.000 –> 00:26:13.000

kitchen and you try to,

00:26:13.000 –> 00:26:15.000

you know, it’s when you’re a defenseman, it’s

00:26:15.000 –> 00:26:17.000

different because if you’re a forward and you

00:26:17.000 –> 00:26:19.000

beat me once, you might score ones.

00:26:20.000 –> 00:26:21.000

There it is. You’ve done your job. Yeah.

00:26:21.000 –> 00:26:23.000

You did your one thing. Yeah. You know,

00:26:23.000 –> 00:26:25.000

so I’ve gotta be a hundred percent all

00:26:25.000 –> 00:26:26.000

the time. Yep.

00:26:26.000 –> 00:26:27.000

And so

00:26:28.000 –> 00:26:30.000

I would, you know, rivalry games, playoffs. He

00:26:30.000 –> 00:26:31.000

just

00:26:31.000 –> 00:26:34.000

I would treat rivalry games like playoffs, where

00:26:34.000 –> 00:26:35.000

you’re kinda ramping it up. You’re

00:26:36.000 –> 00:26:37.000

you know, a good chance you’re gonna meet

00:26:37.000 –> 00:26:39.000

them in the playoffs or anything. We’re gonna

00:26:39.000 –> 00:26:41.000

Well, you probably feel We’re gonna let you

00:26:41.000 –> 00:26:42.000

know what you’re in for. And the crowds

00:26:42.000 –> 00:26:45.000

jacked up. Everybody. Okay. It’s

00:26:45.000 –> 00:26:49.000

blackhawks, blues, you know. It’s just, you know,

00:26:49.000 –> 00:26:51.000

a little different. Yeah. A little different than,

00:26:51.000 –> 00:26:53.000

a normal game. And as you, you know,

00:26:53.000 –> 00:26:54.000

and then when you start, you know, and

00:26:54.000 –> 00:26:55.000

then it was the sharks, because we played

00:26:55.000 –> 00:26:56.000

them two or three years in a row

00:26:56.000 –> 00:26:58.000

in the playoffs. So just as you play

00:26:58.000 –> 00:27:01.000

somebody in the playoffs, those rivalries get heated.

00:27:01.000 –> 00:27:04.000

And Yeah. Talk about the, the Olympics versus

00:27:04.000 –> 00:27:07.000

the Stanley Chris. Stanley cup play or Stanley

00:27:07.000 –> 00:27:07.000

cup finals.

00:27:08.000 –> 00:27:10.000

What was the big difference there for you?

00:27:10.000 –> 00:27:10.000

Well,

00:27:12.000 –> 00:27:13.000

Both are awesome.

00:27:14.000 –> 00:27:14.000

Both,

00:27:15.000 –> 00:27:16.000

you know, to get to a Stanley Cup

00:27:16.000 –> 00:27:20.000

final takes a lot of grit and determination,

00:27:20.000 –> 00:27:20.000

luck.

00:27:22.000 –> 00:27:23.000

Chemistry,

00:27:23.000 –> 00:27:24.000

teamwork.

00:27:24.000 –> 00:27:26.000

You know, it’s nine to ten months of

00:27:27.000 –> 00:27:27.000

being in the same fight with the same

00:27:27.000 –> 00:27:28.000

guys over and over and over. The

00:27:30.000 –> 00:27:32.000

up the downs, university.

00:27:33.000 –> 00:27:34.000

You know, you get into an Olympic situation.

00:27:34.000 –> 00:27:35.000

It’s too many

00:27:38.000 –> 00:27:40.000

maybe two and a half weeks. Yeah. You’re

00:27:40.000 –> 00:27:41.000

throwing together.

00:27:41.000 –> 00:27:43.000

You know, and and for Canada, it’s a

00:27:43.000 –> 00:27:45.000

lot different than a lot of these other

00:27:45.000 –> 00:27:47.000

countries. We don’t have a national program

00:27:48.000 –> 00:27:50.000

where guys go back and skate the summers

00:27:50.000 –> 00:27:52.000

and go and, you know, play in the

00:27:52.000 –> 00:27:55.000

US development program Gilliland and have played together,

00:27:55.000 –> 00:27:57.000

we’re always playing against other in junior, you

00:27:57.000 –> 00:28:00.000

know, in different junior programs, you’re always playing

00:28:00.000 –> 00:28:02.000

against each other. You’re never playing together. And

00:28:02.000 –> 00:28:03.000

00:28:04.000 –> 00:28:04.000

those,

00:28:04.000 –> 00:28:05.000

those teams

00:28:06.000 –> 00:28:08.000

have a little bit better chemistry typically coming

00:28:08.000 –> 00:28:09.000

out of the gate because they’ve all played

00:28:09.000 –> 00:28:11.000

it with each other at some point. Yeah.

00:28:11.000 –> 00:28:13.000

And they’re familiar with the one. We hate

00:28:13.000 –> 00:28:14.000

each other.

00:28:14.000 –> 00:28:16.000

We all wanna beat each other up, but

00:28:16.000 –> 00:28:17.000

now for two and a half weeks. Yeah.

00:28:17.000 –> 00:28:18.000

So now for two and a half weeks,

00:28:18.000 –> 00:28:19.000

you gotta kind of

00:28:20.000 –> 00:28:22.000

let your buy guns be buy Gilliland,

00:28:22.000 –> 00:28:24.000

and come together as a group. And,

00:28:25.000 –> 00:28:27.000

you know, it’s and sometimes it works, and

00:28:27.000 –> 00:28:29.000

sometimes it doesn’t. Yeah. And sometimes just the

00:28:29.000 –> 00:28:31.000

industry is not there. Like,

00:28:32.000 –> 00:28:34.000

for us in in o six, in Italy,

00:28:35.000 –> 00:28:37.000

it just we just did not have good

00:28:37.000 –> 00:28:38.000

mastery. It was kind of the changing of

00:28:38.000 –> 00:28:40.000

the guard. We had ninety eight and o

00:28:40.000 –> 00:28:41.000

two were

00:28:41.000 –> 00:28:43.000

a lot of the same players. O two

00:28:43.000 –> 00:28:44.000

and ten. Right?

00:28:44.000 –> 00:28:46.000

And and then in o six, they choose,

00:28:46.000 –> 00:28:48.000

you know, some guys were retiring, and and

00:28:48.000 –> 00:28:50.000

we had a we had a different group

00:28:50.000 –> 00:28:52.000

of players. It just was a

00:28:53.000 –> 00:28:54.000

was

00:28:55.000 –> 00:28:57.000

I don’t know. I didn’t think they they

00:28:57.000 –> 00:28:59.000

either they didn’t coach or they didn’t

00:29:00.000 –> 00:29:00.000

pick the

00:29:01.000 –> 00:29:03.000

makeup of the team. It just didn’t. I

00:29:03.000 –> 00:29:05.000

didn’t feel like our chemistry was that good.

00:29:05.000 –> 00:29:07.000

But you played for four? Four. So at

00:29:07.000 –> 00:29:09.000

ninety eight was the first year we could

00:29:09.000 –> 00:29:09.000

play.

00:29:10.000 –> 00:29:10.000

In Nagano,

00:29:11.000 –> 00:29:13.000

and Gretzky was on the team,

00:29:13.000 –> 00:29:14.000

and

00:29:15.000 –> 00:29:17.000

I learned a lot from that year because

00:29:17.000 –> 00:29:19.000

we played not to lose. Okay. Like, we

00:29:19.000 –> 00:29:19.000

were

00:29:20.000 –> 00:29:22.000

just the way we played, it just wasn’t

00:29:22.000 –> 00:29:24.000

we weren’t lay leaving it all out there.

00:29:24.000 –> 00:29:26.000

We weren’t putting our foot on the gas.

00:29:26.000 –> 00:29:27.000

It was like, alright.

00:29:28.000 –> 00:29:30.000

What can we do? Okay. Let’s massage and

00:29:30.000 –> 00:29:31.000

let’s go win. Yep.

00:29:31.000 –> 00:29:33.000

And it it didn’t feel like we were

00:29:33.000 –> 00:29:35.000

getting better. We were just winning.

00:29:35.000 –> 00:29:37.000

We’re finding a way to win versus

00:29:37.000 –> 00:29:40.000

getting better. Yeah. Just on talent and, you

00:29:40.000 –> 00:29:43.000

know, our our skill. Yep. And not our

00:29:43.000 –> 00:29:45.000

teamwork and not things like that that get

00:29:45.000 –> 00:29:46.000

better as you get more comfortable with one

00:29:46.000 –> 00:29:47.000

one another.

00:29:48.000 –> 00:29:48.000

And,

00:29:48.000 –> 00:29:50.000

you know, we lost in a shoot out

00:29:50.000 –> 00:29:52.000

to the check team

00:29:52.000 –> 00:29:54.000

in the semi finals. And it was, like,

00:29:55.000 –> 00:29:56.000

you know, it was for us at that

00:29:56.000 –> 00:29:57.000

time. It was, like, gold or bust, gold

00:29:57.000 –> 00:29:58.000

or Brett. And

00:29:59.000 –> 00:30:00.000

we lost that game, and it was, like,

00:30:00.000 –> 00:30:01.000

it was over.

00:30:02.000 –> 00:30:04.000

And we still had a bronze medal game.

00:30:04.000 –> 00:30:06.000

We didn’t even show up. Like, it was

00:30:06.000 –> 00:30:08.000

just brutal. Right. No. We lost the Finland

00:30:08.000 –> 00:30:09.000

in that game, and it was like, you

00:30:09.000 –> 00:30:11.000

know, why do we care at this point?

00:30:11.000 –> 00:30:12.000

Well, you know, as you think back and

00:30:12.000 –> 00:30:14.000

you look at it, you’re like, I wish

00:30:14.000 –> 00:30:16.000

we would’ve would’ve been nice to say. I

00:30:16.000 –> 00:30:18.000

got two Gilliland a bronze. Yeah. You know,

00:30:18.000 –> 00:30:21.000

but was just the mentality in the mindset

00:30:21.000 –> 00:30:22.000

was gold medal.

00:30:22.000 –> 00:30:24.000

The only thing I wanna we gotta win

00:30:24.000 –> 00:30:25.000

is a goal, just the pressure of of

00:30:27.000 –> 00:30:30.000

air of the expectations, and then just of

00:30:30.000 –> 00:30:33.000

how we managed and handled things was not

00:30:33.000 –> 00:30:33.000

great.

00:30:33.000 –> 00:30:34.000

And then in o two, we got off

00:30:34.000 –> 00:30:34.000

to a crappy start. We got

00:30:38.000 –> 00:30:39.000

in our first game by Sweden. I think

00:30:39.000 –> 00:30:41.000

it was, like, six two or something. I

00:30:41.000 –> 00:30:42.000

mean, and they dominated us.

00:30:43.000 –> 00:30:44.000

But from that game,

00:30:46.000 –> 00:30:48.000

we got better and better We made a

00:30:48.000 –> 00:30:49.000

few adjustments,

00:30:49.000 –> 00:30:50.000

change the goalie,

00:30:51.000 –> 00:30:51.000

change,

00:30:53.000 –> 00:30:55.000

you know, move some d d around, change

00:30:55.000 –> 00:30:56.000

lines a little bit. You know, you just

00:30:57.000 –> 00:30:59.000

you’re looking for the right combinations, you’re looking

00:30:59.000 –> 00:31:00.000

for the right chemistry,

00:31:00.000 –> 00:31:03.000

and we got better. Each game, you could

00:31:03.000 –> 00:31:04.000

see us trending

00:31:04.000 –> 00:31:06.000

and getting better and better and better.

00:31:07.000 –> 00:31:09.000

And and from that, you could see, okay,

00:31:09.000 –> 00:31:11.000

this is how what we did wrong in

00:31:11.000 –> 00:31:13.000

ninety eight, we’re not doing that in

00:31:14.000 –> 00:31:16.000

We were winning, not great. We weren’t we

00:31:16.000 –> 00:31:18.000

weren’t playing great teams, you know, because you’re

00:31:18.000 –> 00:31:20.000

still, like, playing Germany and playing some of

00:31:20.000 –> 00:31:21.000

these teams at the time that weren’t very

00:31:21.000 –> 00:31:22.000

good.

00:31:22.000 –> 00:31:24.000

And you’re working your way up.

00:31:24.000 –> 00:31:26.000

And as that chemistry,

00:31:27.000 –> 00:31:29.000

we we got through, then we got through

00:31:29.000 –> 00:31:31.000

the semi Gilliland then we played the US

00:31:31.000 –> 00:31:32.000

in the finals, and we were running all

00:31:32.000 –> 00:31:35.000

cylinders and confident and Yep. They had no

00:31:35.000 –> 00:31:37.000

chance. No. I think we beat them five

00:31:37.000 –> 00:31:39.000

two. So when you think about that. So

00:31:39.000 –> 00:31:40.000

you talked about chemistry and culture and all

00:31:40.000 –> 00:31:41.000

that makes me think about. So when you

00:31:41.000 –> 00:31:43.000

play for the blues, and we’ll go the

00:31:43.000 –> 00:31:44.000

steamy cup in a minute. But we play

00:31:44.000 –> 00:31:46.000

you play for the blues, you had the

00:31:46.000 –> 00:31:48.000

big c, right? The captain on Jersey. What

00:31:48.000 –> 00:31:50.000

what did that mean to you? What did

00:31:50.000 –> 00:31:51.000

that mean for you in the locker room

00:31:51.000 –> 00:31:53.000

as a leader? Because again, I in this

00:31:53.000 –> 00:31:55.000

podcast, we got tons of business people to

00:31:55.000 –> 00:31:57.000

listen. Right? And so tying that, if can

00:31:57.000 –> 00:31:58.000

look at it from that lens and what

00:31:58.000 –> 00:32:00.000

that means to the man or woman running

00:32:00.000 –> 00:32:02.000

a company right now that the big c

00:32:02.000 –> 00:32:04.000

on their suit code or whatever. What’s mean

00:32:04.000 –> 00:32:05.000

to them?

00:32:05.000 –> 00:32:06.000

Yeah. It’s,

00:32:08.000 –> 00:32:10.000

you know, I think in in sports,

00:32:10.000 –> 00:32:13.000

it’s it’s a little bit different in than

00:32:13.000 –> 00:32:13.000

business.

00:32:14.000 –> 00:32:17.000

But it’s the same. Yeah. Right. And and,

00:32:17.000 –> 00:32:19.000

you know, everybody looks at the the captain

00:32:19.000 –> 00:32:20.000

and, like, alright, he’s the guy in the

00:32:20.000 –> 00:32:22.000

locker room the glue. He’s the guy holding

00:32:22.000 –> 00:32:23.000

everybody accountable.

00:32:24.000 –> 00:32:25.000

It’s a little bit more than that. You

00:32:25.000 –> 00:32:25.000

need a group. You

00:32:29.000 –> 00:32:30.000

need core group of leaders

00:32:31.000 –> 00:32:33.000

that can’t always be the captain Right. Getting

00:32:33.000 –> 00:32:34.000

in people’s faces,

00:32:35.000 –> 00:32:36.000

you know, holding people accountable,

00:32:37.000 –> 00:32:39.000

pulling people aside, just not on time in

00:32:39.000 –> 00:32:41.000

a day to be doing that. And so

00:32:41.000 –> 00:32:43.000

you need a core group of guys

00:32:44.000 –> 00:32:47.000

to really kind of buy into what the

00:32:47.000 –> 00:32:47.000

coach is selling.

00:32:48.000 –> 00:32:49.000

To get the group to buy into what

00:32:49.000 –> 00:32:50.000

they’re selling

00:32:50.000 –> 00:32:52.000

and get them play that way.

00:32:52.000 –> 00:32:53.000

And

00:32:54.000 –> 00:32:56.000

and buy and and and come together as

00:32:56.000 –> 00:32:58.000

a group. Because the one difference

00:32:58.000 –> 00:33:00.000

from business to sports is every year is

00:33:00.000 –> 00:33:01.000

different.

00:33:01.000 –> 00:33:04.000

Yeah. Right. You’re you’re aging, you’re sharing. You’re

00:33:04.000 –> 00:33:04.000

developing

00:33:06.000 –> 00:33:07.000

faster.

00:33:08.000 –> 00:33:08.000

You know, you’re either aging out or you’re

00:33:08.000 –> 00:33:09.000

coming up. You know, players

00:33:12.000 –> 00:33:14.000

have your earth players have down years. Yeah.

00:33:14.000 –> 00:33:15.000

I mean, there’s all you know, and it

00:33:15.000 –> 00:33:17.000

happens in business too, but more so in

00:33:17.000 –> 00:33:18.000

sports where

00:33:19.000 –> 00:33:21.000

in order to be successful, Gilliland

00:33:21.000 –> 00:33:23.000

win and win a championship,

00:33:23.000 –> 00:33:25.000

everything’s gotta go great. Yeah. You gotta have

00:33:25.000 –> 00:33:26.000

luck.

00:33:26.000 –> 00:33:28.000

You gotta be healthy. You gotta have guys

00:33:28.000 –> 00:33:30.000

having career years. You gotta, you know, in

00:33:30.000 –> 00:33:32.000

hockey, you could have a hot goalie. I

00:33:32.000 –> 00:33:34.000

mean, there’s you’re gonna have all those things,

00:33:34.000 –> 00:33:35.000

but if you don’t have a hot goalie,

00:33:35.000 –> 00:33:36.000

you’re done.

00:33:37.000 –> 00:33:39.000

For the blues. Right? Yeah. You’re not winning.

00:33:39.000 –> 00:33:41.000

So there’s so many different things that play

00:33:41.000 –> 00:33:44.000

into it. But but then, you know,

00:33:44.000 –> 00:33:46.000

more for me was, alright,

00:33:47.000 –> 00:33:48.000

I hold I hold myself

00:33:49.000 –> 00:33:50.000

to this standard.

00:33:51.000 –> 00:33:53.000

I’m not I’m not holding you to that

00:33:53.000 –> 00:33:56.000

standard. I’m holding myself to standard. But you

00:33:56.000 –> 00:33:57.000

Brett be at this standard. Mhmm.

00:33:58.000 –> 00:33:59.000

I don’t ask you to find anything I

00:33:59.000 –> 00:34:00.000

wouldn’t do.

00:34:01.000 –> 00:34:02.000

I’m the first one in the gym. I’m

00:34:02.000 –> 00:34:04.000

the one on the ice. I’m working on

00:34:04.000 –> 00:34:05.000

my craft. I’m

00:34:05.000 –> 00:34:07.000

in the training room, making sure I’m healthy

00:34:07.000 –> 00:34:09.000

so I can go play every single game

00:34:09.000 –> 00:34:09.000

I can.

00:34:10.000 –> 00:34:12.000

And I’m putting the time and effort in

00:34:12.000 –> 00:34:13.000

00:34:13.000 –> 00:34:15.000

to be the best I can be each

00:34:15.000 –> 00:34:15.000

and every day

00:34:16.000 –> 00:34:18.000

and prepare properly so that

00:34:19.000 –> 00:34:20.000

we can

00:34:21.000 –> 00:34:23.000

survive a nine month grind

00:34:23.000 –> 00:34:25.000

and a two month playoff grind to win

00:34:25.000 –> 00:34:26.000

a championship.

00:34:26.000 –> 00:34:29.000

Physical grind at that. Physical and mental. Yeah.

00:34:29.000 –> 00:34:30.000

Just the ups and downs,

00:34:31.000 –> 00:34:34.000

it’s it’s a roller coaster. And so to

00:34:36.000 –> 00:34:38.000

to be sharp and to understand, you know,

00:34:38.000 –> 00:34:41.000

as my career evolved, I got better and

00:34:41.000 –> 00:34:42.000

better at that and and understanding my

00:34:43.000 –> 00:34:46.000

body understanding what I needed to do, how

00:34:46.000 –> 00:34:48.000

I needed to train throughout the course of

00:34:48.000 –> 00:34:49.000

the season

00:34:49.000 –> 00:34:51.000

to make sure I wasn’t have as b

00:34:51.000 –> 00:34:52.000

having as big a drop off.

00:34:53.000 –> 00:34:54.000

Playing thirty minutes a night

00:34:55.000 –> 00:34:58.000

always against top line. Always match up against

00:34:58.000 –> 00:34:59.000

best player.

00:34:59.000 –> 00:35:01.000

You know, I gotta play physical against the

00:35:01.000 –> 00:35:03.000

big guy the other team, and I gotta,

00:35:03.000 –> 00:35:05.000

you know, there’s a I’m managing a bunch

00:35:05.000 –> 00:35:08.000

of different Gilliland

00:35:08.000 –> 00:35:08.000

trying

00:35:09.000 –> 00:35:11.000

map out, oh, and I also need to

00:35:11.000 –> 00:35:13.000

provide offense. I also need to, a lot

00:35:13.000 –> 00:35:15.000

of times, help run the power play. I,

00:35:15.000 –> 00:35:17.000

you know, you’re juggling a lot of hats.

00:35:17.000 –> 00:35:19.000

And you’re and then you’re looking at it

00:35:19.000 –> 00:35:20.000

going well,

00:35:21.000 –> 00:35:22.000

you know, as I look back at my

00:35:22.000 –> 00:35:23.000

career and I look at all the games

00:35:23.000 –> 00:35:25.000

played now, I’m like, well, people are like,

00:35:25.000 –> 00:35:27.000

oh, You only got six hundred points. And

00:35:27.000 –> 00:35:29.000

I’m like, well, five hundred ninety eight if

00:35:29.000 –> 00:35:32.000

somebody looks, it’s almost six hundred for those

00:35:32.000 –> 00:35:33.000

small checkers. Pardon me?

00:35:34.000 –> 00:35:36.000

Six hundred and ninety eight. Six ninety eight.

00:35:36.000 –> 00:35:37.000

Six seven hundred. Pardon me.

00:35:39.000 –> 00:35:39.000

But

00:35:40.000 –> 00:35:42.000

Could I have gotten more points? Sure.

00:35:42.000 –> 00:35:44.000

Right. But at what cost?

00:35:45.000 –> 00:35:47.000

Where you’re it would detract from somewhere else.

00:35:48.000 –> 00:35:50.000

I was more about winning.

00:35:51.000 –> 00:35:53.000

If you look back through history, whether it’s

00:35:53.000 –> 00:35:55.000

me looking at playing June when I play

00:35:55.000 –> 00:35:57.000

junior hockey and you work all the way

00:35:57.000 –> 00:35:59.000

to mine in my career, when you look

00:35:59.000 –> 00:36:01.000

at the players who are wanted the most,

00:36:02.000 –> 00:36:04.000

who typically get paid at some point,

00:36:04.000 –> 00:36:05.000

are winners?

00:36:06.000 –> 00:36:08.000

Who gets plucked from all the if you

00:36:08.000 –> 00:36:10.000

look at football, baseball, basketball,

00:36:10.000 –> 00:36:13.000

hockey? Who gets plucked from these championship teams?

00:36:14.000 –> 00:36:15.000

The meet guys.

00:36:15.000 –> 00:36:18.000

The the role players that because they’re successful.

00:36:18.000 –> 00:36:19.000

They know how to win.

00:36:19.000 –> 00:36:22.000

Are they overpaid to do what they’re supposed

00:36:22.000 –> 00:36:22.000

probably.

00:36:23.000 –> 00:36:26.000

But there’s teams that don’t have that

00:36:27.000 –> 00:36:29.000

intangible that they’re trying to pay for. So

00:36:31.000 –> 00:36:33.000

And then if you’re able to do that

00:36:33.000 –> 00:36:33.000

as a

00:36:34.000 –> 00:36:36.000

all star top, you know, if you’re top

00:36:36.000 –> 00:36:38.000

two or however your top six top four

00:36:38.000 –> 00:36:41.000

d whatever, you’re gonna get paid too. Yep.

00:36:41.000 –> 00:36:43.000

You might not get paid there,

00:36:43.000 –> 00:36:44.000

but you’re gonna get paid somewhere, you know,

00:36:44.000 –> 00:36:46.000

the next week, because you’re a winner. Yep.

00:36:46.000 –> 00:36:49.000

You’re champion. You know, so it’s Well, and

00:36:49.000 –> 00:36:51.000

that’s what’s it’s about trying to sell that.

00:36:51.000 –> 00:36:53.000

Right? It’s about trying to sell that. Yeah.

00:36:53.000 –> 00:36:54.000

It’s about listen.

00:36:55.000 –> 00:36:58.000

Short term pain for long term gain, you

00:36:58.000 –> 00:36:59.000

you may not be

00:37:00.000 –> 00:37:02.000

doing what you necessarily wanna do within our

00:37:02.000 –> 00:37:04.000

system, within, you know, when you pick up

00:37:04.000 –> 00:37:06.000

a guy from on trade or signing or

00:37:06.000 –> 00:37:06.000

whatever.

00:37:07.000 –> 00:37:08.000

This is our culture.

00:37:08.000 –> 00:37:10.000

You’re you’re selling a culture. This is it.

00:37:10.000 –> 00:37:12.000

This is how we operate. This is This

00:37:12.000 –> 00:37:15.000

is our locker room. Yep. Everybody in here,

00:37:15.000 –> 00:37:16.000

this is how we do it. How much

00:37:16.000 –> 00:37:18.000

of that is talked about in the locker

00:37:18.000 –> 00:37:19.000

room? Like, are you, like, if, you know,

00:37:19.000 –> 00:37:21.000

a, b, and c is the principles that

00:37:21.000 –> 00:37:22.000

you guys are fighting for this year. You

00:37:22.000 –> 00:37:24.000

know, is like It gets Is that

00:37:24.000 –> 00:37:26.000

I mean, it’s every every game, every day?

00:37:27.000 –> 00:37:29.000

You get you have when you have good

00:37:29.000 –> 00:37:30.000

coaches,

00:37:31.000 –> 00:37:34.000

they meet with the leadership to, like, every

00:37:34.000 –> 00:37:36.000

every and again, every year you’re tweaking it,

00:37:36.000 –> 00:37:39.000

every year you’re learning, you’re adapting. Yep. You’re

00:37:39.000 –> 00:37:41.000

looking at your Pronger. How does that how

00:37:41.000 –> 00:37:42.000

how can we

00:37:45.000 –> 00:37:47.000

change, modify, or adapt our message to the

00:37:47.000 –> 00:37:48.000

group. Yeah.

00:37:49.000 –> 00:37:49.000

And

00:37:50.000 –> 00:37:53.000

it’s the players. It’s the leadership group, as

00:37:53.000 –> 00:37:54.000

I mentioned, that are selling it. It’s not

00:37:54.000 –> 00:37:57.000

the coach. Yeah. Right. He they’re, like, you’re

00:37:57.000 –> 00:37:58.000

sick of here. He’s not in there. He’s

00:37:58.000 –> 00:37:58.000

in there,

00:37:59.000 –> 00:38:01.000

every single day. If he’s in there selling

00:38:01.000 –> 00:38:02.000

that every day, it’s prob.

00:38:03.000 –> 00:38:05.000

You’re tuned out right away. The moment he

00:38:05.000 –> 00:38:07.000

opens his mouth again to do something else,

00:38:07.000 –> 00:38:09.000

you you’ve lost the room. Everybody’s tuned out.

00:38:09.000 –> 00:38:12.000

So you gotta have a couple different guys

00:38:12.000 –> 00:38:14.000

in a couple different groups, like I’ll use

00:38:14.000 –> 00:38:15.000

Anaheim,

00:38:15.000 –> 00:38:16.000

the year we won the cup. You know,

00:38:16.000 –> 00:38:17.000

we had different sections

00:38:19.000 –> 00:38:20.000

of the room.

00:38:21.000 –> 00:38:23.000

You know, I sat over as you walked

00:38:23.000 –> 00:38:24.000

in our locker. I sat on the right

00:38:24.000 –> 00:38:25.000

side.

00:38:25.000 –> 00:38:27.000

I couldn’t really see the left side because

00:38:27.000 –> 00:38:30.000

it was tucked over here. So we had

00:38:30.000 –> 00:38:31.000

a guy over there.

00:38:31.000 –> 00:38:34.000

In that side, dealing with that group. And

00:38:34.000 –> 00:38:35.000

over here on this group to the right,

00:38:35.000 –> 00:38:36.000

we had a couple of young guys and

00:38:36.000 –> 00:38:37.000

a couple

00:38:38.000 –> 00:38:39.000

Dman, a couple of young guys were trying

00:38:39.000 –> 00:38:42.000

to move along, trying to teach how to

00:38:42.000 –> 00:38:43.000

be Chris, and they’re in my group over

00:38:43.000 –> 00:38:45.000

here. And then over here across away. You

00:38:45.000 –> 00:38:47.000

know, these are the quieter guys, but they

00:38:47.000 –> 00:38:49.000

know they know how to win. They’re they’re

00:38:49.000 –> 00:38:51.000

on point. They’re over there. You got another

00:38:51.000 –> 00:38:52.000

group over here that’s

00:38:53.000 –> 00:38:56.000

far end. So you kinda have these quadrants,

00:38:56.000 –> 00:38:58.000

you know, you hear about the quads and,

00:38:58.000 –> 00:38:59.000

you know, all these different things.

00:39:00.000 –> 00:39:00.000

00:39:01.000 –> 00:39:02.000

we spent most of our time because we’re

00:39:02.000 –> 00:39:04.000

all and they’re getting dressed talk. And we’re

00:39:04.000 –> 00:39:05.000

in our little bubble over there.

00:39:06.000 –> 00:39:07.000

You know, you’re you’re talking to the whole

00:39:07.000 –> 00:39:09.000

group in the locker room, but you’re you’re

00:39:09.000 –> 00:39:11.000

talking to that little main core right there.

00:39:12.000 –> 00:39:14.000

Right? Yeah. Because they’re right there. So, you

00:39:14.000 –> 00:39:15.000

know, you got these young guys and you’re

00:39:15.000 –> 00:39:17.000

talking to them about how to be pros,

00:39:17.000 –> 00:39:19.000

and you need to, you know, you the

00:39:19.000 –> 00:39:19.000

coach

00:39:20.000 –> 00:39:21.000

in Anaheim did a great job of trying

00:39:21.000 –> 00:39:23.000

to trying to them how to be pros

00:39:23.000 –> 00:39:25.000

from a coach’s perspective.

00:39:25.000 –> 00:39:27.000

And then it’s incumbent upon the leadership group

00:39:27.000 –> 00:39:28.000

and the players to

00:39:28.000 –> 00:39:30.000

drag along, like, you gotta get in the

00:39:30.000 –> 00:39:31.000

gym.

00:39:31.000 –> 00:39:33.000

Let’s go Brett in here. You gotta you

00:39:33.000 –> 00:39:34.000

gotta prepare. That’s what I was gonna ask.

00:39:34.000 –> 00:39:36.000

What defines If you go out and have

00:39:36.000 –> 00:39:38.000

a good time, You better show up to

00:39:38.000 –> 00:39:41.000

work the next day. Yeah. Like, you’re not

00:39:41.000 –> 00:39:43.000

going to the back of the line every

00:39:43.000 –> 00:39:43.000

time, and,

00:39:44.000 –> 00:39:46.000

you’re not doing drills because you’re hungover.

00:39:47.000 –> 00:39:49.000

If you’re doing that, then just don’t come

00:39:49.000 –> 00:39:50.000

out. Right.

00:39:50.000 –> 00:39:52.000

We’re we’re trying to get better. We’re working

00:39:52.000 –> 00:39:53.000

on stuff out here. Did you and did

00:39:53.000 –> 00:39:55.000

you notice I’m assuming this answer is yes,

00:39:55.000 –> 00:39:57.000

but did you notice a difference between as

00:39:57.000 –> 00:39:58.000

like you and the Gretzky. I mean, you

00:39:58.000 –> 00:40:00.000

came to Saint Louis. Right? You had McGinnis

00:40:00.000 –> 00:40:02.000

Hall Gretzky, you on the team. I mean,

00:40:02.000 –> 00:40:03.000

that’s a hell of a team. Right? So

00:40:03.000 –> 00:40:06.000

did you find those were different on everything

00:40:06.000 –> 00:40:06.000

from preparation,

00:40:07.000 –> 00:40:08.000

physically, emotionally,

00:40:09.000 –> 00:40:11.000

going out at night, not going out at

00:40:11.000 –> 00:40:12.000

night. Was that different than a lot of

00:40:12.000 –> 00:40:13.000

people?

00:40:13.000 –> 00:40:15.000

Well, I think Yeah. You learn. You know,

00:40:15.000 –> 00:40:17.000

like, I got here. I was twenty, turning

00:40:17.000 –> 00:40:20.000

twenty one. Al was, I think, thirty one.

00:40:20.000 –> 00:40:20.000

00:40:21.000 –> 00:40:24.000

I’m catching him. He’s got kids. He’s more

00:40:24.000 –> 00:40:24.000

sure he’s

00:40:25.000 –> 00:40:27.000

Yep. He’s in the prime of his career.

00:40:28.000 –> 00:40:29.000

So I’m coming in at the start of

00:40:29.000 –> 00:40:31.000

my career, and I’m, like, kinda just soaking

00:40:31.000 –> 00:40:33.000

it all in, like, watching how we prepare

00:40:33.000 –> 00:40:34.000

how he practices,

00:40:34.000 –> 00:40:36.000

how he handles the media,

00:40:36.000 –> 00:40:38.000

how, you know, what what is he doing

00:40:38.000 –> 00:40:39.000

in the off season?

00:40:39.000 –> 00:40:42.000

You know, and and as my career

00:40:43.000 –> 00:40:45.000

started to take shape,

00:40:45.000 –> 00:40:47.000

I then met with his trainer

00:40:47.000 –> 00:40:50.000

and, and started working with him. And

00:40:51.000 –> 00:40:53.000

I I met him at Al’s house. And

00:40:53.000 –> 00:40:54.000

I walked in the front door and I

00:40:54.000 –> 00:40:56.000

Charles was right over here to the left.

00:40:56.000 –> 00:40:58.000

I walked in. He’s like, hey, walk toward

00:40:58.000 –> 00:41:00.000

me. I took five steps.

00:41:01.000 –> 00:41:02.000

He’s like, alright, now turn around and go

00:41:02.000 –> 00:41:03.000

walk back. Okay?

00:41:04.000 –> 00:41:05.000

He’s like, you got a bad left knee?

00:41:05.000 –> 00:41:06.000

I go, yeah.

00:41:07.000 –> 00:41:09.000

He’s like, you got a sore rotator cuff

00:41:09.000 –> 00:41:11.000

on your right shoulder. Yeah. It’s like

00:41:13.000 –> 00:41:13.000

just

00:41:13.000 –> 00:41:16.000

by watching me walk five steps.

00:41:16.000 –> 00:41:18.000

You could tell just the way my body

00:41:19.000 –> 00:41:19.000

was moving

00:41:20.000 –> 00:41:22.000

and the weight distribution, I don’t know, weight

00:41:22.000 –> 00:41:22.000

distribution,

00:41:22.000 –> 00:41:23.000

and

00:41:23.000 –> 00:41:25.000

the hitch in my staff, whatever. I mean,

00:41:25.000 –> 00:41:27.000

you you’re not paying attention to that, I’m

00:41:27.000 –> 00:41:29.000

like Right. I’m twenty two years old.

00:41:30.000 –> 00:41:30.000

Whatever.

00:41:32.000 –> 00:41:34.000

What what are you talking about? Remaid, you

00:41:34.000 –> 00:41:37.000

know, how I hate, you know, nutrition wise,

00:41:39.000 –> 00:41:42.000

you know, and that kind of was the

00:41:42.000 –> 00:41:44.000

start of taking that next step. Alright. How

00:41:44.000 –> 00:41:46.000

good do you wanna be?

00:41:47.000 –> 00:41:48.000

How much you will in a sacrifice?

00:41:49.000 –> 00:41:50.000

You know, because at the end of the

00:41:50.000 –> 00:41:52.000

day, that’s what it is. It’s sacrificing

00:41:52.000 –> 00:41:54.000

something to be great at something.

00:41:54.000 –> 00:41:56.000

Because there are there’s a Gilliland a take

00:41:56.000 –> 00:41:58.000

for everything. I think too, for me, like,

00:41:58.000 –> 00:41:59.000

I had a business coach early on in

00:41:59.000 –> 00:42:01.000

my career, right, that I spent, you know,

00:42:01.000 –> 00:42:03.000

lots of money on, that maybe I didn’t

00:42:03.000 –> 00:42:05.000

wanna do or maybe couldn’t afford back then.

00:42:05.000 –> 00:42:06.000

But even that for you guys. Right? That

00:42:06.000 –> 00:42:09.000

guy probably wasn’t free. I’m assuming that’s off.

00:42:09.000 –> 00:42:11.000

No. Back then, he was expensive. Right. And

00:42:11.000 –> 00:42:13.000

I’m saying so, I mean, investing yourself. Right?

00:42:13.000 –> 00:42:16.000

Again, business leaders invest in a coach, invest

00:42:16.000 –> 00:42:18.000

in a mentor, invest in something, right, to

00:42:18.000 –> 00:42:19.000

give back. Do you agree with that? No.

00:42:19.000 –> 00:42:21.000

A hundred percent. No. You have to. You

00:42:21.000 –> 00:42:22.000

know, how how good do you wanna be?

00:42:22.000 –> 00:42:24.000

Yeah. We don’t we don’t know everything out

00:42:24.000 –> 00:42:25.000

of the gate. You can’t read a book.

00:42:25.000 –> 00:42:27.000

One size does not fit all. Yep. We

00:42:27.000 –> 00:42:29.000

all soak in information differently.

00:42:30.000 –> 00:42:31.000

And and we all have

00:42:32.000 –> 00:42:33.000

strengths and weaknesses.

00:42:34.000 –> 00:42:36.000

And you’re not gonna know them. You need

00:42:36.000 –> 00:42:38.000

somebody to help point them out and say,

00:42:38.000 –> 00:42:41.000

this is a blind spot. You’re not seeing.

00:42:41.000 –> 00:42:42.000

You need to work on Chris. And, oh,

00:42:42.000 –> 00:42:44.000

okay. You’re really good at this, but you

00:42:44.000 –> 00:42:46.000

only do this. Yeah. You need to do

00:42:46.000 –> 00:42:49.000

this too. Add this to your repertoire.

00:42:49.000 –> 00:42:51.000

Yeah. Now do Chris. And once you honed

00:42:51.000 –> 00:42:53.000

that, do this. And so

00:42:54.000 –> 00:42:56.000

I think you have to really

00:42:58.000 –> 00:42:59.000

kinda go in eyes wide open and and

00:42:59.000 –> 00:43:00.000

have an understanding how

00:43:04.000 –> 00:43:06.000

much you wanna get better. How much

00:43:07.000 –> 00:43:07.000

whether,

00:43:08.000 –> 00:43:10.000

you know, running a business, whether you’re playing

00:43:10.000 –> 00:43:12.000

a sport, whatever it is. It’s your commitment

00:43:12.000 –> 00:43:14.000

to excellence and your commitment to getting better.

00:43:14.000 –> 00:43:15.000

Yep.

00:43:15.000 –> 00:43:17.000

Showing up every day to improve.

00:43:18.000 –> 00:43:19.000

Well, I think that’s the key right there.

00:43:19.000 –> 00:43:20.000

Showing up on days even when you don’t

00:43:20.000 –> 00:43:22.000

want to or you’re a little maybe. Right?

00:43:22.000 –> 00:43:23.000

I mean, there’s a quote. I see Michael

00:43:23.000 –> 00:43:26.000

Phelps up there. Yeah. Five years straight,

00:43:27.000 –> 00:43:28.000

trained every

00:43:28.000 –> 00:43:32.000

single day. Yep. Every day. Every day. Every

00:43:32.000 –> 00:43:34.000

day. And by the way, if you’ve ever

00:43:34.000 –> 00:43:35.000

swam, like Chris guy swam,

00:43:37.000 –> 00:43:38.000

not easy. No.

00:43:39.000 –> 00:43:40.000

There’s lots of days. I’m sure he was

00:43:40.000 –> 00:43:43.000

like Man, my shoulders are sore. My backs

00:43:43.000 –> 00:43:43.000

are sore.

00:43:44.000 –> 00:43:46.000

Or just mentally didn’t wanna do it. It

00:43:46.000 –> 00:43:47.000

was cool. Alright.

00:43:48.000 –> 00:43:50.000

Like, yeah, living in Baltimore. You know, he

00:43:50.000 –> 00:43:50.000

had a,

00:43:51.000 –> 00:43:52.000

he had a post it, I read his

00:43:52.000 –> 00:43:54.000

book. I’m fascinated by what he did. And

00:43:54.000 –> 00:43:55.000

and he had a post it note though,

00:43:55.000 –> 00:43:56.000

and it had by the milliseconds.

00:43:57.000 –> 00:43:59.000

What he was gonna do each race. Yeah.

00:43:59.000 –> 00:44:00.000

And if you look, it’ll show, like, what

00:44:00.000 –> 00:44:01.000

he had written down and what he did

00:44:01.000 –> 00:44:02.000

the race.

00:44:03.000 –> 00:44:05.000

For five man, you’re talking milliseconds.

00:44:05.000 –> 00:44:09.000

Working. Yeah. Poning. Yeah. Working on that turn.

00:44:09.000 –> 00:44:13.000

Yeah. K. Turn. Can I save a millisecond?

00:44:13.000 –> 00:44:15.000

Yeah. Can I say, how can I transition

00:44:15.000 –> 00:44:17.000

fast? Like, just it’s Well, that guy, I

00:44:17.000 –> 00:44:19.000

remember who it was, but the guy that

00:44:19.000 –> 00:44:20.000

was dancing, doing stuff in front of him

00:44:20.000 –> 00:44:22.000

and Michael Phillips didn’t even budge, man. And

00:44:22.000 –> 00:44:23.000

then he went out there and, you know,

00:44:23.000 –> 00:44:24.000

kicked the guy’s ass or then the the

00:44:24.000 –> 00:44:26.000

swim, they showed the the camera under the

00:44:26.000 –> 00:44:28.000

water the guy was looking over at him.

00:44:28.000 –> 00:44:30.000

And he’s gonna That’s water, and he’s just

00:44:30.000 –> 00:44:30.000

00:44:31.000 –> 00:44:33.000

Yeah. Champions look at the wall. Right?

00:44:34.000 –> 00:44:35.000

Place guy looks champion. Don’t focus on the

00:44:35.000 –> 00:44:38.000

competition. Focus on you. That’s right. That’s right.

00:44:38.000 –> 00:44:39.000

So what was it like for you? Then

00:44:39.000 –> 00:44:40.000

as you, you know, you progress in your

00:44:40.000 –> 00:44:42.000

career, you obviously, you started to have a

00:44:42.000 –> 00:44:44.000

family. Right? So how old were kiddos, they

00:44:44.000 –> 00:44:46.000

were born, like, probably your oldest was born

00:44:46.000 –> 00:44:48.000

when you were in the two thousands. I

00:44:48.000 –> 00:44:49.000

was,

00:44:49.000 –> 00:44:50.000

twenty

00:44:52.000 –> 00:44:53.000

let’s see. Here.

00:44:54.000 –> 00:44:56.000

Jack’s o two. So I was twenty,

00:44:57.000 –> 00:44:59.000

eight. Yeah. So o two. So you still

00:44:59.000 –> 00:45:01.000

had a good, you know, 10:11 years left

00:45:01.000 –> 00:45:03.000

in your career. Did you balance the the

00:45:03.000 –> 00:45:06.000

family side and the and the sports side

00:45:06.000 –> 00:45:07.000

when you’re obviously on on the road and

00:45:07.000 –> 00:45:09.000

traveling? It’s hard, you know, it’s hard. You’re

00:45:09.000 –> 00:45:11.000

you gotta finite amount of time. You never

00:45:11.000 –> 00:45:13.000

know your career is gonna be over.

00:45:14.000 –> 00:45:17.000

And and you have to invest in your

00:45:17.000 –> 00:45:19.000

career. You gotta be all in on your

00:45:19.000 –> 00:45:21.000

craft and getting Brett. And

00:45:22.000 –> 00:45:24.000

as your body evolves, as you get more

00:45:24.000 –> 00:45:25.000

injuries, as you,

00:45:26.000 –> 00:45:28.000

you know, as the punishment and toll of

00:45:28.000 –> 00:45:30.000

playing a certain way, it takes its, form

00:45:30.000 –> 00:45:31.000

on you. Have to

00:45:32.000 –> 00:45:35.000

kinda re reshape and and remold yourself and

00:45:35.000 –> 00:45:36.000

into a way that works. Yep. You know,

00:45:36.000 –> 00:45:37.000

you’re changing things and altering how you train

00:45:40.000 –> 00:45:42.000

and what you eat and all those different

00:45:42.000 –> 00:45:42.000

things. And,

00:45:44.000 –> 00:45:45.000

you know, and and in the midst of

00:45:45.000 –> 00:45:45.000

that,

00:45:48.000 –> 00:45:50.000

I got traded out of here in o

00:45:50.000 –> 00:45:51.000

five.

00:45:51.000 –> 00:45:53.000

We have the lock out o four. I

00:45:53.000 –> 00:45:53.000

have

00:45:54.000 –> 00:45:56.000

major wrist surgery, major knee surgery in,

00:45:58.000 –> 00:45:59.000

o 02:03.

00:45:59.000 –> 00:46:01.000

So I missed that whole year. Then I

00:46:01.000 –> 00:46:03.000

came back and I played o 03:04.

00:46:05.000 –> 00:46:05.000

And then,

00:46:07.000 –> 00:46:09.000

We had the lockout in o five zero

00:46:09.000 –> 00:46:10.000

zero 04:05. And then I got traded and

00:46:10.000 –> 00:46:11.000

played

00:46:15.000 –> 00:46:18.000

Edmitin in o in o 05:06, then Anaheim,

00:46:18.000 –> 00:46:19.000

o 07:06

00:46:19.000 –> 00:46:20.000

zero seven.

00:46:20.000 –> 00:46:22.000

And then on So now, honey, let’s go.

00:46:22.000 –> 00:46:25.000

09:10. I’m in Filly. So you’re, you know,

00:46:25.000 –> 00:46:28.000

four four cities in five years.

00:46:28.000 –> 00:46:31.000

Oh, around the whole country? Yeah. Going to

00:46:31.000 –> 00:46:32.000

four different locations.

00:46:32.000 –> 00:46:34.000

Yeah. You know? So it’s Maybe we should

00:46:34.000 –> 00:46:36.000

have her on the podcast Yeah. To talk

00:46:36.000 –> 00:46:37.000

about how to deal with that. Why are

00:46:37.000 –> 00:46:40.000

we doing this? You know, so it was,

00:46:41.000 –> 00:46:43.000

I bounced around. You know, I never really

00:46:43.000 –> 00:46:44.000

added it up like that, but five years,

00:46:44.000 –> 00:46:46.000

I was in four different teams. Yeah. Bang.

00:46:46.000 –> 00:46:47.000

Bang. Bang. It’s

00:46:47.000 –> 00:46:50.000

crazy. So what what role do you think

00:46:50.000 –> 00:46:52.000

athletes play? I mean, because you’re you’re, you

00:46:52.000 –> 00:46:54.000

know, we I think we as humans, whether

00:46:54.000 –> 00:46:56.000

it’s right or wrong, probably wrong. We we

00:46:56.000 –> 00:46:58.000

put you guys on this pedestal. Like, you’re

00:46:58.000 –> 00:46:59.000

on the limelight. We see it. We play.

00:46:59.000 –> 00:47:01.000

We root for you. But what role do

00:47:01.000 –> 00:47:03.000

you do you think you guys play in

00:47:03.000 –> 00:47:05.000

the community? Because I know the work that

00:47:05.000 –> 00:47:06.000

you do as a community you know, your

00:47:06.000 –> 00:47:08.000

guys’ golf tournament, you and Dan Deardorf, played

00:47:08.000 –> 00:47:09.000

that this year. Amazing.

00:47:10.000 –> 00:47:12.000

Huge impact on our local charities. But as

00:47:12.000 –> 00:47:15.000

an athlete, and then for today’s athletes, role

00:47:15.000 –> 00:47:16.000

do they play

00:47:16.000 –> 00:47:17.000

in the communities that we all live in?

00:47:17.000 –> 00:47:19.000

Yeah. I’ll sum it up. You know, I’ve

00:47:19.000 –> 00:47:20.000

I’ve always

00:47:21.000 –> 00:47:23.000

been invested in the communities I played in,

00:47:23.000 –> 00:47:24.000

you

00:47:24.000 –> 00:47:26.000

know, I think it’s a a great way

00:47:26.000 –> 00:47:27.000

to get back. It’s a great way to

00:47:27.000 –> 00:47:29.000

be involved in the community and meet people

00:47:29.000 –> 00:47:32.000

and and meet those that are out supporting

00:47:32.000 –> 00:47:35.000

you. You support the the local community and

00:47:35.000 –> 00:47:36.000

the charities that are,

00:47:36.000 –> 00:47:38.000

nearest and dearest,

00:47:39.000 –> 00:47:42.000

you know, Brett Burke, my initial GM in

00:47:42.000 –> 00:47:43.000

Hartford,

00:47:43.000 –> 00:47:45.000

and then was my GM in Anaheim.

00:47:45.000 –> 00:47:47.000

I mean, he summed it up best. He’s

00:47:47.000 –> 00:47:48.000

like, the and and

00:47:49.000 –> 00:47:51.000

from a you talk about leadership and you

00:47:51.000 –> 00:47:51.000

talk about,

00:47:52.000 –> 00:47:53.000

you know,

00:47:53.000 –> 00:47:55.000

setting up that vertical owner

00:47:56.000 –> 00:47:57.000

manager

00:47:57.000 –> 00:47:59.000

coach player,

00:48:00.000 –> 00:48:01.000

you know, and he was like,

00:48:01.000 –> 00:48:03.000

this is this is what we do here.

00:48:03.000 –> 00:48:05.000

This is the culture we are setting. We’re

00:48:05.000 –> 00:48:07.000

saying we’re creating a winning tradition. Yep. And

00:48:07.000 –> 00:48:09.000

we’re also giving creating a tradition of we’re

00:48:09.000 –> 00:48:11.000

gonna be invested in the community. We’re gonna

00:48:11.000 –> 00:48:13.000

get back. We’re gonna do Chris, you know,

00:48:13.000 –> 00:48:15.000

we’re gonna do something every month for the,

00:48:15.000 –> 00:48:16.000

you know,

00:48:16.000 –> 00:48:19.000

Greater Orange County community. Yeah. We’re gonna be

00:48:19.000 –> 00:48:21.000

doing x y z. If you have a

00:48:21.000 –> 00:48:23.000

problem with your ice time, do not talk

00:48:23.000 –> 00:48:25.000

to me. Talk your coach.

00:48:25.000 –> 00:48:27.000

You wanna be traded. Come talk to me.

00:48:27.000 –> 00:48:29.000

You got a problem off the ice. Come

00:48:29.000 –> 00:48:31.000

talk to me. But you have anything to

00:48:31.000 –> 00:48:32.000

do with hockey?

00:48:32.000 –> 00:48:34.000

Your head coach is right over there. Go

00:48:34.000 –> 00:48:35.000

see don’t come to me.

00:48:35.000 –> 00:48:37.000

I’m not I’m not doing That’s not how

00:48:37.000 –> 00:48:38.000

it works. And there’s a chain of command,

00:48:38.000 –> 00:48:40.000

and there’s a there’s a

00:48:41.000 –> 00:48:43.000

x y z. This is everybody’s roles, responsibilities.

00:48:44.000 –> 00:48:46.000

I have mine. Coach has his, and you

00:48:46.000 –> 00:48:48.000

as a player have yours. So talk to

00:48:48.000 –> 00:48:50.000

us about the couple, some of the best

00:48:50.000 –> 00:48:52.000

moments that you think back in your career.

00:48:53.000 –> 00:48:54.000

Just the highlights. What are some of those

00:48:54.000 –> 00:48:56.000

best hockey moments for you that you think

00:48:56.000 –> 00:48:58.000

fans, listen, would love to hear? Yeah. You

00:48:58.000 –> 00:49:00.000

know, and I think one of the ones

00:49:00.000 –> 00:49:01.000

that I never really

00:49:03.000 –> 00:49:04.000

took a lot of joy in and a

00:49:04.000 –> 00:49:06.000

lot of pleasure in that I wish I

00:49:06.000 –> 00:49:07.000

wouldn’t have been so

00:49:08.000 –> 00:49:10.000

every year when you don’t win, you’re just

00:49:10.000 –> 00:49:12.000

pissed off. You’re just Like,

00:49:13.000 –> 00:49:16.000

it sucks to lose. I hated losing more

00:49:16.000 –> 00:49:17.000

than I like to win. Yeah. And it

00:49:17.000 –> 00:49:19.000

just drove me bananas.

00:49:20.000 –> 00:49:21.000

And I took a lot of that stuff

00:49:21.000 –> 00:49:23.000

early on in my career, probably the first

00:49:23.000 –> 00:49:24.000

ten years of my career till I had

00:49:24.000 –> 00:49:27.000

kids. I just took the everything from the

00:49:27.000 –> 00:49:28.000

rank home.

00:49:28.000 –> 00:49:30.000

And I couldn’t separate. I just I would

00:49:31.000 –> 00:49:33.000

I’d be thinking about a play I made

00:49:33.000 –> 00:49:34.000

four days ago,

00:49:34.000 –> 00:49:37.000

sleeping or whatever. Just pissed me off. And

00:49:37.000 –> 00:49:38.000

it took me a while to learn how

00:49:38.000 –> 00:49:40.000

to, like, just let go of the game

00:49:40.000 –> 00:49:41.000

and just

00:49:42.000 –> 00:49:43.000

you you gotta just turn the page and

00:49:43.000 –> 00:49:45.000

get going. And, when

00:49:46.000 –> 00:49:47.000

won the heart in Chris Trophy in two

00:49:47.000 –> 00:49:48.000

thousand.

00:49:48.000 –> 00:49:50.000

Yeah. That was a pretty big moment. Yeah.

00:49:50.000 –> 00:49:51.000

I really didn’t

00:49:52.000 –> 00:49:53.000

enjoy it the way I should have I

00:49:53.000 –> 00:49:55.000

was still thinking, you know, we had won

00:49:55.000 –> 00:49:57.000

the president trophy that year. We were thinking

00:49:57.000 –> 00:49:59.000

Stanley Cup, we had a team, and

00:50:00.000 –> 00:50:02.000

you’re losing the first round, and you’re like,

00:50:02.000 –> 00:50:02.000

what

00:50:03.000 –> 00:50:06.000

I was just so pissed off. Still,

00:50:06.000 –> 00:50:08.000

a month and a half later at the

00:50:08.000 –> 00:50:09.000

awards banquet, I just, you know, it was

00:50:09.000 –> 00:50:12.000

great. Thanks. It was Brett. But you’re just,

00:50:12.000 –> 00:50:13.000

like, Yeah.

00:50:14.000 –> 00:50:15.000

And and I didn’t really get the That’s

00:50:15.000 –> 00:50:17.000

what made you good though too. Right? Well,

00:50:17.000 –> 00:50:19.000

yeah. It’s what drives you, but, you know,

00:50:19.000 –> 00:50:21.000

there’s moments like that where,

00:50:21.000 –> 00:50:24.000

you know, you know, winning the Stanley Cup

00:50:24.000 –> 00:50:25.000

was graded on my on my family was

00:50:25.000 –> 00:50:27.000

there. It was awesome.

00:50:27.000 –> 00:50:30.000

My kids were old enough to remember it

00:50:30.000 –> 00:50:31.000

too. You know, there weren’t babies sitting at

00:50:31.000 –> 00:50:32.000

the top.

00:50:35.000 –> 00:50:36.000

You know, again, Olympic,

00:50:37.000 –> 00:50:39.000

you know, them being there at the Olympics

00:50:39.000 –> 00:50:40.000

in twenty ten.

00:50:40.000 –> 00:50:41.000

They were a little bit older, so they

00:50:41.000 –> 00:50:43.000

got to enjoy it.

00:50:44.000 –> 00:50:46.000

You know, o two. My wife was pregnant

00:50:46.000 –> 00:50:48.000

with Jack. So it was you know, just

00:50:48.000 –> 00:50:51.000

a lot of different storylines, but, you know,

00:50:51.000 –> 00:50:52.000

those two were that they could be at

00:50:52.000 –> 00:50:53.000

in in o o seven and and

00:50:55.000 –> 00:50:55.000

ten.

00:50:56.000 –> 00:50:58.000

We’re pretty special. I’m just

00:50:58.000 –> 00:51:00.000

soaking it up, knowing that,

00:51:01.000 –> 00:51:03.000

you know, I spent thirteen years to win

00:51:03.000 –> 00:51:05.000

a a championship in the NHL

00:51:05.000 –> 00:51:07.000

You know, and you you’re like, you just

00:51:07.000 –> 00:51:09.000

never know. Don’t make it there. No. You

00:51:09.000 –> 00:51:10.000

and and and they don’t

00:51:11.000 –> 00:51:14.000

you think it’s easy. It’s not easy. Like,

00:51:14.000 –> 00:51:16.000

you see, oh, this guy four cops or

00:51:16.000 –> 00:51:18.000

this guy one. I go. Yeah. They they’re

00:51:18.000 –> 00:51:20.000

on great teams, and they’ve got great players

00:51:20.000 –> 00:51:22.000

and on and on and on. They hit

00:51:22.000 –> 00:51:22.000

the,

00:51:23.000 –> 00:51:25.000

you know, everybody’s hit the right

00:51:25.000 –> 00:51:26.000

peaking at the right time.

00:51:27.000 –> 00:51:29.000

And then there’s other teams who are like,

00:51:29.000 –> 00:51:30.000

damn, we had good teams, and you didn’t

00:51:30.000 –> 00:51:31.000

even get a sniff

00:51:32.000 –> 00:51:33.000

Like, there were teams here in Saint Louis.

00:51:33.000 –> 00:51:34.000

We were like,

00:51:34.000 –> 00:51:37.000

we had good teams. Yeah. And the teams

00:51:37.000 –> 00:51:38.000

at one were like, damn, we could’ve beat

00:51:38.000 –> 00:51:41.000

them. You did and sometimes it’s the match

00:51:41.000 –> 00:51:42.000

ups, you know, where

00:51:45.000 –> 00:51:47.000

Dallas could beat Detroit

00:51:49.000 –> 00:51:51.000

Detroit could beat us, but we could be

00:51:51.000 –> 00:51:53.000

Dallas. Mhmm. And and just

00:51:53.000 –> 00:51:55.000

all the You catch them. You know, and

00:51:55.000 –> 00:51:57.000

and just who you mat who you playing

00:51:57.000 –> 00:51:59.000

and how you match up and it,

00:52:00.000 –> 00:52:02.000

any of the big hits that, you know,

00:52:02.000 –> 00:52:04.000

you go through your highlight reel of your

00:52:04.000 –> 00:52:06.000

career. Right? I know there’s lots. I know

00:52:06.000 –> 00:52:08.000

how you playing. There’s lots of those. I

00:52:08.000 –> 00:52:09.000

don’t know if there’s I’ve seen you swing

00:52:09.000 –> 00:52:10.000

a golf ball. I’m like, damn.

00:52:11.000 –> 00:52:12.000

There’s my back.

00:52:12.000 –> 00:52:14.000

I don’t know if there’s one per se,

00:52:14.000 –> 00:52:15.000

but,

00:52:16.000 –> 00:52:17.000

you know, there’s lots that

00:52:17.000 –> 00:52:18.000

you’re

00:52:18.000 –> 00:52:19.000

you’re

00:52:19.000 –> 00:52:19.000

lying

00:52:20.000 –> 00:52:22.000

in a up and you’re like I see

00:52:22.000 –> 00:52:24.000

it coming. Well, you can just and then

00:52:24.000 –> 00:52:26.000

when you hit them and you don’t feel

00:52:26.000 –> 00:52:28.000

it, like, that was so pure. It’s kinda

00:52:28.000 –> 00:52:29.000

like hitting a golf ball. You hit a

00:52:29.000 –> 00:52:30.000

golf ball it is. It was just pure.

00:52:30.000 –> 00:52:32.000

Like, oh, that was good. That was good.

00:52:32.000 –> 00:52:34.000

I want more of that. I didn’t think

00:52:34.000 –> 00:52:36.000

of it that way. That’s probably true. That’s

00:52:36.000 –> 00:52:38.000

probably true. Because because if you don’t hit

00:52:38.000 –> 00:52:39.000

it pure,

00:52:39.000 –> 00:52:41.000

And it hurts you, you’re like, oh, that

00:52:41.000 –> 00:52:43.000

hurts. I hit one thin on a nice

00:52:43.000 –> 00:52:44.000

cold day. Nice cold day. Yeah. No. No

00:52:44.000 –> 00:52:46.000

good. No good. That’s no good. Let’s turn

00:52:46.000 –> 00:52:48.000

to page from hockey to whiskey.

00:52:49.000 –> 00:52:51.000

Staring at Chris, whiskey here for those not

00:52:51.000 –> 00:52:54.000

watching their listening, the journey, j r n

00:52:54.000 –> 00:52:57.000

y. You can it’s it’s nominal.

00:52:57.000 –> 00:52:59.000

First time we hung out, we had some

00:52:59.000 –> 00:53:01.000

journey. You know, it was some good stuff.

00:53:01.000 –> 00:53:02.000

So talk about this, man. This is you

00:53:02.000 –> 00:53:05.000

and your brother. Yeah. And, talk about the

00:53:05.000 –> 00:53:06.000

journey. Yeah.

00:53:06.000 –> 00:53:08.000

I had been looking

00:53:08.000 –> 00:53:10.000

my brother and I’ve been talking for, like,

00:53:10.000 –> 00:53:11.000

four or five years, trying to figure out

00:53:12.000 –> 00:53:14.000

something we could do together.

00:53:15.000 –> 00:53:15.000

And,

00:53:16.000 –> 00:53:18.000

just nothing really resonated

00:53:19.000 –> 00:53:20.000

and,

00:53:20.000 –> 00:53:22.000

about two and a half years ago now.

00:53:23.000 –> 00:53:25.000

One of my brothers friends, and, hey, I

00:53:25.000 –> 00:53:26.000

wanna introduce you to this guy.

00:53:27.000 –> 00:53:29.000

He runs Snagger, false Kraft distillers. You know,

00:53:29.000 –> 00:53:31.000

they’re looking for a partner in a whisk

00:53:32.000 –> 00:53:35.000

longtime whiskey drinker, as my brother likes to

00:53:35.000 –> 00:53:36.000

say, we’ve put in a lot of research

00:53:36.000 –> 00:53:38.000

in the moment. A lot of R and

00:53:38.000 –> 00:53:40.000

D. Thirty plus years of R and D.

00:53:40.000 –> 00:53:42.000

Don’t do the math. Right.

00:53:44.000 –> 00:53:46.000

And so, you know, it was a long

00:53:46.000 –> 00:53:49.000

time crown drinker It’s Canadian whiskey. So,

00:53:51.000 –> 00:53:53.000

he brought this to us and we were

00:53:53.000 –> 00:53:55.000

thinking about it. We’re like, oh, how is

00:53:55.000 –> 00:53:56.000

this gonna work?

00:53:56.000 –> 00:53:58.000

You know, I had I know I knew

00:53:58.000 –> 00:53:59.000

a lot of people in the spirits business.

00:54:01.000 –> 00:54:03.000

Mhmm. Different way. Yeah. But, you know, not

00:54:03.000 –> 00:54:06.000

never made one and and kinda taken on

00:54:06.000 –> 00:54:09.000

a project of this magnitude. And, you know,

00:54:09.000 –> 00:54:10.000

as we kinda walked through it and looked

00:54:10.000 –> 00:54:13.000

at it from a business standpoint, and then,

00:54:13.000 –> 00:54:14.000

you know, you you wanna be able to

00:54:14.000 –> 00:54:16.000

enjoy and have some have fun with it

00:54:16.000 –> 00:54:16.000

and

00:54:17.000 –> 00:54:17.000

what’s

00:54:18.000 –> 00:54:20.000

not what’s not fun about whiskey. I don’t

00:54:20.000 –> 00:54:21.000

know. Canadian whiskey back.

00:54:22.000 –> 00:54:25.000

New school Canadian whiskey had that. So,

00:54:25.000 –> 00:54:27.000

you know, we said, oh, we’re like, okay.

00:54:27.000 –> 00:54:29.000

If we’re gonna do this and you know

00:54:29.000 –> 00:54:31.000

me well enough now. If I’m gonna do

00:54:31.000 –> 00:54:33.000

something, I’m all in. Yeah. And I’m like,

00:54:33.000 –> 00:54:34.000

alright, if we’re doing this,

00:54:35.000 –> 00:54:37.000

I want control of the

00:54:37.000 –> 00:54:38.000

the liquid,

00:54:38.000 –> 00:54:40.000

the the branding.

00:54:41.000 –> 00:54:42.000

So we own the IP for all this

00:54:42.000 –> 00:54:44.000

stuff, and and Nagaphos does a great job

00:54:44.000 –> 00:54:45.000

making it for us.

00:54:46.000 –> 00:54:48.000

Number was forty four as well? His number

00:54:48.000 –> 00:54:49.000

was fifty four. Oh, so you got the

00:54:49.000 –> 00:54:51.000

But forty four is the percent

00:54:52.000 –> 00:54:52.000

alcohol.

00:54:54.000 –> 00:54:55.000

A little homage to me, but

00:54:56.000 –> 00:54:57.000

it’s a it’s a Well, maybe if he

00:54:57.000 –> 00:54:59.000

gets It’s a little bit stronger whiskey than,

00:55:00.000 –> 00:55:02.000

Crown or any the other Canadian whiskey on

00:55:02.000 –> 00:55:03.000

the market. But,

00:55:05.000 –> 00:55:07.000

we had a base of what we, you

00:55:07.000 –> 00:55:07.000

know,

00:55:08.000 –> 00:55:10.000

what we liked. And then we’re like, alright.

00:55:10.000 –> 00:55:11.000

Is there anyway, we if

00:55:12.000 –> 00:55:13.000

for how we had a lot of things

00:55:13.000 –> 00:55:15.000

we didn’t like about it, we’re like, okay.

00:55:15.000 –> 00:55:18.000

Can we fix, we wanna fix the burn.

00:55:18.000 –> 00:55:21.000

We think more people will drink there’s no

00:55:21.000 –> 00:55:22.000

burn. Mhmm. We wanna, you know,

00:55:23.000 –> 00:55:25.000

add a little bit of spice, little sweetness,

00:55:25.000 –> 00:55:27.000

little, you know, little tweaks here and there.

00:55:28.000 –> 00:55:30.000

It’s in there’s no preservative no additives.

00:55:31.000 –> 00:55:32.000

It’s very pure.

00:55:33.000 –> 00:55:36.000

And so we did we did it over

00:55:36.000 –> 00:55:38.000

facetime. They send us a sample. Remember that

00:55:38.000 –> 00:55:40.000

I would get on FaceTime, we’d take it,

00:55:40.000 –> 00:55:41.000

you know, to drink what do you like?

00:55:41.000 –> 00:55:43.000

What do you not like? Take notes?

00:55:43.000 –> 00:55:44.000

Send send them back to notes and be

00:55:44.000 –> 00:55:47.000

like, alright. Can you change it? More of

00:55:47.000 –> 00:55:48.000

that. And not knowing the lingo of, you

00:55:48.000 –> 00:55:50.000

know, brewmaster lingo. We’re like,

00:55:51.000 –> 00:55:53.000

can you do this? And like, oh, well,

00:55:53.000 –> 00:55:55.000

that’s that. I’m like, okay, great. But Yeah.

00:55:55.000 –> 00:55:56.000

Just do that.

00:55:56.000 –> 00:55:58.000

Okay. How you do it? Just do it.

00:55:58.000 –> 00:56:00.000

However you do that. Do that. And, and

00:56:00.000 –> 00:56:02.000

so the second time around, like, okay, it’s

00:56:02.000 –> 00:56:04.000

a little bit better. But can you, you

00:56:04.000 –> 00:56:06.000

know, there’s still some burn. Can you get

00:56:06.000 –> 00:56:07.000

rid of that? Can you do this?

00:56:08.000 –> 00:56:10.000

And then on a third try,

00:56:11.000 –> 00:56:13.000

we both took a sip and were like

00:56:14.000 –> 00:56:17.000

That’s it. Boom. That’s it. That is exactly

00:56:17.000 –> 00:56:19.000

what we’re trying to do. Love it. And

00:56:19.000 –> 00:56:21.000

that is what you’re tasting right now.

00:56:22.000 –> 00:56:23.000

And so

00:56:24.000 –> 00:56:25.000

from that, any, you know,

00:56:26.000 –> 00:56:28.000

maybe a little naive to the politics

00:56:29.000 –> 00:56:30.000

and the legal and the

00:56:31.000 –> 00:56:33.000

government and all the hoops you gotta jump

00:56:33.000 –> 00:56:34.000

through. And,

00:56:35.000 –> 00:56:37.000

you know, we kinda worked through all that.

00:56:37.000 –> 00:56:38.000

And, it’s like,

00:56:39.000 –> 00:56:40.000

twenty two months, I think, to get to

00:56:40.000 –> 00:56:41.000

market.

00:56:42.000 –> 00:56:44.000

And now we’ve been, six months in the

00:56:44.000 –> 00:56:45.000

market. And,

00:56:46.000 –> 00:56:48.000

in Missouri, relaunched in Saint Louis and and

00:56:48.000 –> 00:56:49.000

Missouri, Southern, Illinois.

00:56:50.000 –> 00:56:51.000

And,

00:56:52.000 –> 00:56:54.000

and now we’re at some right over Yes.

00:56:54.000 –> 00:56:55.000

And then,

00:56:57.000 –> 00:56:58.000

now we’re in New York.

00:56:58.000 –> 00:56:59.000

Ontario

00:57:00.000 –> 00:57:02.000

will be in Alberta next month. We’ll be

00:57:02.000 –> 00:57:04.000

in Texas next month. Oh, man.

00:57:04.000 –> 00:57:07.000

And then, a little further down the line

00:57:07.000 –> 00:57:09.000

will be in Southern California. But those are

00:57:09.000 –> 00:57:10.000

the five core

00:57:10.000 –> 00:57:13.000

markets that we wanna Gilliland

00:57:13.000 –> 00:57:15.000

talk about the name. J r and y,

00:57:15.000 –> 00:57:17.000

the journey. On the back of the bottle,

00:57:17.000 –> 00:57:18.000

that is our tagline.

00:57:20.000 –> 00:57:23.000

And it says, celebrate the victories be proud

00:57:23.000 –> 00:57:23.000

of your scars.

00:57:24.000 –> 00:57:26.000

Enjoy the journey. I love that. And really,

00:57:26.000 –> 00:57:27.000

when you think about it,

00:57:28.000 –> 00:57:29.000

it really is all about the journey. It’s

00:57:29.000 –> 00:57:31.000

about the journey of life. It’s about the

00:57:31.000 –> 00:57:32.000

journey you’re on.

00:57:32.000 –> 00:57:34.000

You have a great day. You

00:57:34.000 –> 00:57:36.000

you sell a company.

00:57:36.000 –> 00:57:37.000

You win a championship.

00:57:37.000 –> 00:57:39.000

What’s thing you wanna do, you wanna have

00:57:39.000 –> 00:57:40.000

a glass of whiskey, you wanna tell your

00:57:40.000 –> 00:57:42.000

friend, you wanna tell your mom and dad,

00:57:42.000 –> 00:57:43.000

you wanna tell your spouse,

00:57:43.000 –> 00:57:45.000

you wanna you wanna hang with your buddies

00:57:45.000 –> 00:57:47.000

and just revel in the

00:57:47.000 –> 00:57:49.000

joy of winning. You have a bad day.

00:57:49.000 –> 00:57:50.000

Get kicked in the face. You

00:57:53.000 –> 00:57:54.000

lose.

00:57:55.000 –> 00:57:56.000

Wanna do. You wanna have a glass of

00:57:56.000 –> 00:57:58.000

whiskey, you wanna tell your buddies, you wanna

00:57:58.000 –> 00:57:59.000

tell your spouse, you wanna tell your mom

00:57:59.000 –> 00:58:01.000

and dad, you wanna tell somebody, and you

00:58:01.000 –> 00:58:01.000

wanna

00:58:04.000 –> 00:58:07.000

sit and talk about it and about the

00:58:07.000 –> 00:58:08.000

journey that you’ve been on. And so, as

00:58:08.000 –> 00:58:08.000

we started talking about my

00:58:11.000 –> 00:58:12.000

wrote a book called The Journeyman.

00:58:13.000 –> 00:58:15.000

He played in,

00:58:15.000 –> 00:58:17.000

sixteen teams in eleven years. He bounced around

00:58:17.000 –> 00:58:18.000

a lot. And so he coined himself the

00:58:21.000 –> 00:58:21.000

journeyman,

00:58:21.000 –> 00:58:23.000

and we shortened it to the journey because

00:58:23.000 –> 00:58:26.000

it’s just about the journey, and about, you

00:58:26.000 –> 00:58:27.000

know, our own unique journeys that we’re on

00:58:27.000 –> 00:58:29.000

and the stories you tell of the people

00:58:29.000 –> 00:58:30.000

you meet,

00:58:31.000 –> 00:58:33.000

And so that’s kinda where we got the

00:58:33.000 –> 00:58:34.000

name from

00:58:35.000 –> 00:58:38.000

and kinda and and and since we, you

00:58:38.000 –> 00:58:40.000

know, came up with this naming, I don’t

00:58:40.000 –> 00:58:41.000

know, it was, like, two years ago.

00:58:42.000 –> 00:58:44.000

Every time I talked to something, not necessarily

00:58:44.000 –> 00:58:46.000

about the whiskey, just in general, in a

00:58:46.000 –> 00:58:47.000

conversation,

00:58:48.000 –> 00:58:49.000

How many times I hear the word journey?

00:58:49.000 –> 00:58:50.000

Yeah.

00:58:50.000 –> 00:58:53.000

All the time. All the time. Always so

00:58:53.000 –> 00:58:54.000

you’re just always gonna be top of mind

00:58:54.000 –> 00:58:56.000

because it’s about the journey. Oh, the journey

00:58:56.000 –> 00:58:58.000

you’re on, and I’ll far as your journey.

00:58:59.000 –> 00:59:00.000

Duh, duh, duh, whatever. Well, it’s funny. I

00:59:00.000 –> 00:59:02.000

was on a business actually my business coach

00:59:02.000 –> 00:59:04.000

yesterday on a call. And, he talked about

00:59:04.000 –> 00:59:07.000

the journey. And he said sometimes people compare

00:59:07.000 –> 00:59:08.000

their journey to other journey. Like, I wanna

00:59:08.000 –> 00:59:11.000

be where that guy’s at. That gal’s at.

00:59:11.000 –> 00:59:13.000

All Chris stuff, but yet your journey is

00:59:13.000 –> 00:59:14.000

your journey. Correct.

00:59:14.000 –> 00:59:17.000

And live your journey to the best of

00:59:17.000 –> 00:59:19.000

its ability. Right? Dominate that journey. Yep. Don’t

00:59:19.000 –> 00:59:21.000

worry about what everybody else is doing. Yeah.

00:59:21.000 –> 00:59:23.000

So last couple of questions here.

00:59:24.000 –> 00:59:25.000

Future, Brett in your past. You see the

00:59:25.000 –> 00:59:27.000

sticker here. You saw the journal and the

00:59:27.000 –> 00:59:30.000

hat earlier. Is, our firm’s mission,

00:59:30.000 –> 00:59:32.000

is to help people achieve a future grade

00:59:32.000 –> 00:59:34.000

in their past. So when you hear that

00:59:34.000 –> 00:59:36.000

future grade in your past, what comes to

00:59:36.000 –> 00:59:37.000

mind for Chris Browner?

00:59:38.000 –> 00:59:39.000

I would say

00:59:39.000 –> 00:59:40.000

for me,

00:59:40.000 –> 00:59:43.000

paying it forward and raising kids to be

00:59:43.000 –> 00:59:44.000

successful

00:59:44.000 –> 00:59:45.000

and

00:59:47.000 –> 00:59:48.000

thriving in

00:59:49.000 –> 00:59:51.000

whatever they wanna do. And and

00:59:52.000 –> 00:59:55.000

providing them with the knowledge and support

00:59:56.000 –> 00:59:58.000

to live a better life than I had.

00:59:58.000 –> 00:59:59.000

And it’s not

01:00:00.000 –> 01:00:03.000

spoon feeding them. It’s teaching them what the

01:00:03.000 –> 01:00:05.000

real world is like.

01:00:05.000 –> 01:00:07.000

It’s showing them life’s not easy. It’s allowing

01:00:07.000 –> 01:00:09.000

them to fail. It’s allowing them to

01:00:10.000 –> 01:00:12.000

realize that they’re gonna need to sacrifice something

01:00:12.000 –> 01:00:13.000

to be good at something, etcetera.

01:00:15.000 –> 01:00:16.000

But

01:00:16.000 –> 01:00:17.000

you know, building

01:00:19.000 –> 01:00:20.000

your life improving

01:00:20.000 –> 01:00:22.000

much much like I did in my sports

01:00:22.000 –> 01:00:25.000

career, life after it’s getting better every single

01:00:25.000 –> 01:00:27.000

day, whatever that is

01:00:28.000 –> 01:00:29.000

building a company,

01:00:29.000 –> 01:00:30.000

creating a family,

01:00:31.000 –> 01:00:32.000

creating a legacy, whatever that is, whatever speaks

01:00:32.000 –> 01:00:33.000

to what someone is

01:00:36.000 –> 01:00:37.000

to do.

01:00:38.000 –> 01:00:39.000

Certainly,

01:00:40.000 –> 01:00:41.000

hits home to me. It it’s,

01:00:42.000 –> 01:00:44.000

you know, when you look at legacy or

01:00:46.000 –> 01:00:48.000

family name or things like that,

01:00:49.000 –> 01:00:50.000

you know,

01:00:50.000 –> 01:00:52.000

when somebody hears your name, what do they

01:00:52.000 –> 01:00:53.000

think of? You

01:00:53.000 –> 01:00:56.000

know, and that to me that that’s more

01:00:56.000 –> 01:00:57.000

important than,

01:00:58.000 –> 01:01:00.000

you know, I always get asked, oh, what

01:01:00.000 –> 01:01:02.000

do what do you what wanna be remembered

01:01:02.000 –> 01:01:04.000

for as a player? I’m like, that’s just

01:01:04.000 –> 01:01:05.000

a small part of my life.

01:01:06.000 –> 01:01:06.000

Like,

01:01:07.000 –> 01:01:09.000

I’m not worried about that.

01:01:09.000 –> 01:01:12.000

I left every ounce of my being on

01:01:12.000 –> 01:01:13.000

that ice, and I’m done. And now it’s

01:01:13.000 –> 01:01:13.000

about here and now, and and

01:01:17.000 –> 01:01:18.000

living for

01:01:20.000 –> 01:01:22.000

my life now, my kids, my family, etcetera,

01:01:22.000 –> 01:01:24.000

and and, you know, business

01:01:24.000 –> 01:01:26.000

and trying to figure out how bet how

01:01:26.000 –> 01:01:27.000

how to make

01:01:28.000 –> 01:01:29.000

a bigger mark on society

01:01:31.000 –> 01:01:33.000

outside of what I used to do. Yeah.

01:01:33.000 –> 01:01:34.000

You know, and I think a lot of

01:01:34.000 –> 01:01:35.000

athletes

01:01:35.000 –> 01:01:37.000

and even business people

01:01:37.000 –> 01:01:38.000

get caught up in

01:01:39.000 –> 01:01:41.000

they’re so and so, the CEO. They’re so

01:01:41.000 –> 01:01:43.000

and so, the hockey They’re so and so

01:01:43.000 –> 01:01:45.000

the football player. In all my career, I

01:01:45.000 –> 01:01:45.000

was like,

01:01:46.000 –> 01:01:46.000

Stop.

01:01:47.000 –> 01:01:48.000

That’s just a small part.

01:01:49.000 –> 01:01:51.000

So stop. I’m not just a hockey player.

01:01:51.000 –> 01:01:52.000

Yeah.

01:01:52.000 –> 01:01:53.000

Like, stop.

01:01:54.000 –> 01:01:56.000

I am x y z. I I have

01:01:56.000 –> 01:01:58.000

other aspirations that I wanna do. Yeah. And

01:01:58.000 –> 01:01:59.000

my focused on that right now. Yes. Because

01:01:59.000 –> 01:02:01.000

that’s what I do now,

01:02:01.000 –> 01:02:03.000

but I’m not gonna do it my whole

01:02:03.000 –> 01:02:03.000

life. Right.

01:02:04.000 –> 01:02:05.000

And so you you try to

01:02:07.000 –> 01:02:08.000

stomp out the stereotypes

01:02:08.000 –> 01:02:10.000

that people always wanna

01:02:10.000 –> 01:02:12.000

throw at throw at you. And, you know,

01:02:12.000 –> 01:02:14.000

if you walk around as Joe Blow, the

01:02:14.000 –> 01:02:14.000

CEO of AB or Joe Blow, the

01:02:16.000 –> 01:02:19.000

CEO, emerson. And and that’s your

01:02:20.000 –> 01:02:21.000

whole being.

01:02:21.000 –> 01:02:23.000

You’re in for a rough ride when you’re

01:02:23.000 –> 01:02:24.000

done, brother. Yeah.

01:02:24.000 –> 01:02:26.000

She’s exactly right. Was it hard I said

01:02:26.000 –> 01:02:28.000

last question. I lied. Was it hard for

01:02:28.000 –> 01:02:30.000

you to replace the adrenaline? Because I can’t

01:02:30.000 –> 01:02:32.000

imagine. It’s irreplace. I I shouldn’t it’s it’s

01:02:32.000 –> 01:02:34.000

a better way to say it. No. But

01:02:34.000 –> 01:02:36.000

but that’s that’s where most

01:02:37.000 –> 01:02:38.000

athletes struggle is they’d look for that high.

01:02:38.000 –> 01:02:38.000

Yeah. You know,

01:02:42.000 –> 01:02:43.000

I get hooked on booze or drugs or

01:02:43.000 –> 01:02:44.000

whatever.

01:02:44.000 –> 01:02:46.000

It’s You’re never gonna replace it. It’s you

01:02:46.000 –> 01:02:49.000

cannot. It’s you cannot replace it. It’s

01:02:50.000 –> 01:02:52.000

you know, there’s no rush unlike

01:02:53.000 –> 01:02:54.000

being an athlete and coming into a stadium

01:02:54.000 –> 01:02:54.000

or arena or what have you. Fans going

01:02:54.000 –> 01:02:55.000

ballistic

01:02:59.000 –> 01:03:02.000

a playoff game and twenty thousand, sixty thousand,

01:03:02.000 –> 01:03:04.000

eighty thousand people going crazy, screaming and yelling

01:03:04.000 –> 01:03:05.000

your name, whether they hate you or love

01:03:05.000 –> 01:03:06.000

you.

01:03:06.000 –> 01:03:08.000

You hear it all. Yeah. You hear it

01:03:08.000 –> 01:03:09.000

Gilliland

01:03:11.000 –> 01:03:13.000

you don’t ever it’s like that paint man

01:03:13.000 –> 01:03:15.000

in commercial. He’s like talking to the screaming

01:03:15.000 –> 01:03:17.000

at the accountant and doing that stuff,

01:03:17.000 –> 01:03:20.000

it it’s it’s just there’s nothing like it.

01:03:20.000 –> 01:03:22.000

Yeah. You’re never you’re never gonna find that

01:03:22.000 –> 01:03:23.000

again. You can try.

01:03:24.000 –> 01:03:26.000

And, you know, people by businesses and do

01:03:26.000 –> 01:03:28.000

all this different stuff. And it’s just, you

01:03:28.000 –> 01:03:30.000

know, that adrenaline part, that Brett.

01:03:31.000 –> 01:03:34.000

Can’t find it. No. Yeah. Chris Pronger. Thanks

01:03:34.000 –> 01:03:35.000

for being with us, man, the circle of

01:03:35.000 –> 01:03:37.000

success. I’m very humbled at a guy like

01:03:37.000 –> 01:03:39.000

you with your, your pedigree, your background, and

01:03:39.000 –> 01:03:41.000

the man you are. It’s, it’s amazing. You

01:03:41.000 –> 01:03:42.000

come over here and swim time with us

01:03:42.000 –> 01:03:44.000

and our listeners, and I’m very thankful for

01:03:44.000 –> 01:03:46.000

that, my man. Thank you. Good to have

01:03:46.000 –> 01:03:47.000

you on the journey.

01:03:51.000 –> 01:03:52.000

You.

...more

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