WeLive.Hockey Podcast

If you are a Detroit Red Wings fan, then this edition of the We Live Hockey Podcast is a must listen. Heck, I'm not even a Red Wings fan and I enjoyed the heck out of this particular podcast.

In this very special and unique podcast, Lee and Travis interview Joshua Riehl and Jenny Feterovich, the producers of The Russian Five. Wings' fans, you know who these guys are as they all made a significant impact to your team.

For those that may be too young to remember who these guys were, they were Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, and Slava Kozlov. If you ask me, these five ov's were dominant for the Wings for several seasons.

In listening to the podcast, you will learn the following just like I did:

- Both Lee and Travis are Flyer fans. Unfortunately for them, the Russian Five and the rest of their Wings' teammates swept their club in the 1997 Cup Final in route to their first Cup in 42 years. Sorry guys!

- While Lee is a Flyer fan, he does tell us how he came to appreciate the Russian Five. Lee mentions that they did a lot for the game, especially in terms of how they showed the rest of the league that players from other countries could work together with the rest of their teammates to accomplish the ultimate goal.

For me at least, this is a very interesting point because it really set the tone for clubs bringing in more Russians and other Europeans to their respective hockey clubs and helping to make the sport more inclusive.

- As the podcast began, we learned that Jenny came from the Soviet Union and like the Russian Five, ended up coming over to North America for a better life.

- Speaking of having a better life, Jenny and Joshua spoke about how rigid the Russian Five's lives were over in Russia. Could you imagine life being so bad in your country that you feel the need to get out and do so under the radar? I can't!

- Joshua told us how his love for the Red Wings and the way their Russians played drew him to the game and make him turn away from baseball. You made the right choice, Joshua. Thank you, Russians!

- If you're a Wings' fan or even a die hard hockey fan, than you probably remember the horrific limo accident that Konstantinov, team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov, and driver Richard Gnida got into just a few nights after the team won the Cup. It made Joshua realize just how fragile life was and that despite everything that happened on that awful night, these guys persevered in the biggest way.

- As someone who is not a Red Wings fan, I did not know how much Wings' fans loved Konstantiov. Joshua mentioned that while fans loved their captain in Stevie Yzerman as well as the "perfect person" Nicklas Lidstrom, they really, really loved what Konstantinov brought to the table every night.

- It was interesting to hear how much Joshua and Jenny risked to do this. It cost a lot of money to make, it was hard to conduct the interviews because of heavy government interference in Moscow, but you'll have to listen to hear more about this (Hint: 23:43 into the podcast)

- In listening to this podcast, I really appreciated just how much effort and passion Joshua and Jennifer put in to get this documentary done. These two believed in the story and wanted to convey to everyone, not just hockey fans, how important the Russian Five were to both the hockey world and sports world in general.

Isn't great to talk with a hockey lifer? These are our kind of people as they love the game through and through like we do.

In this edition of the We Live Hockey podcast, Lee interviewed Jim Tamburino, or "Tambo" as Lee calls him, while they were together at the Hockey is Hockey event in Long Island.

Tamburino has been involved with hockey his whole life whether it's been on the ice or on wheels as he's been both a player and coach at many different levels of the game.

In this episode you'll hear about his life, the current state of roller and the week long event called "Hockey is Hockey" that Jim created that serves as a celebration of the game.

One man who helped get American hockey off the ground and made a significant impact with USA Hockey was Lou Vairo. A few weeks ago during a USA Hockey coaching dinner in Long Island, NY, which also included an event that celebrated Vairo's life in hockey, Lee and Travis sat down with Vairo, Dave Starman (USA Hockey Certified Coach and College Hockey analyst), and Mike Bonelli (USA Hockey volunteer) to talk about Vairo's career and his impact on USA Hockey.

In the last part of this three-episode podcast series with Lou, you should keep your ears open to learn the following:

- For a long time, the U.S. and Russians weren't exactly fans of each other. Lou tells us how he saw it differently, especially when it came to hockey. Lou saw them as a hockey powerhouse that were creative in every aspect of the game, thanks to head coach Anotoli Tarasov.

- Because of his admiration for the way the Russians played the game, He reached out to Tarasov about wanting to learn more about his team's style and how they went about playing the game.

- Lou tells us how him and Tarasov became great friends and how they met with each other a ton to and how Tarasov was such an inspiration to him.

- It was interesting to hear Lou talk about the conversations he had with Tarasov through an interpreter. He shares a funny story about seeing dolphins with Tarasov when they were at an aquarium.

- Lou tells us how Tarasov taught him about different drills to use and how in the end, it made him learn to appreciate creativity, which is where the game is today.

One man who helped get American hockey off the ground and made a significant impact with USA Hockey was Lou Vairo. A few weeks ago during a USA Hockey coaching dinner in Long Island, NY, which also included an event that celebrated Vairo's life in hockey, Lee and Travis sat down with Vairo, Dave Starman (USA Hockey Certified Coach and College Hockey analyst), and Mike Bonelli (USA Hockey volunteer) to talk about Vairo's career and his impact on USA Hockey.

In part one of this three-part podcast series with Lou, you should keep your ears open to learn the following:

- At the 2000 World Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Lou, who was the head coach of the team, tells us about a memorable experience in a game against Team Russia. From how the Russian team was stacked, to the crazy atmosphere, to the boisterous fans and how it made him coach differently.

- While with that team, Lou spoke about the impact he had on NHL defenseman Hal Gill, who was with the Boston Bruins at the time. He tells us how taught Gill to be creative and not be afraid to make plays. It ended up helping Gill play more freely and with more confidence in the NHL.

- We'll hear a great story on former NHL netminder Robert Esche. From wanting to go home on a somewhat made up story, to looking disheveled and then turning it around and shutting out the Russians. it's a story that tells us that all players want to do is be given a chance to strut their stuff.v

- Make sure to listen to Lou's thoughts on classy NHL/USA hockey veteran Brian Gionta was and how Lou knew he would be a good all around NHLer.

One man who helped get American hockey off the ground and made a significant impact with USA Hockey was Lou Vairo. A few weeks ago during a USA Hockey coaching dinner in Long Island, NY, which also included an event that celebrated Vairo's life in hockey, Lee and Travis sat down with Vairo, Dave Starman (USA Hockey Certified Coach and College Hockey analyst), and Mike Bonelli (USA Hockey volunteer) to talk about Vairo's career and his impact on USA Hockey.

In part two of this three-part podcast series with Lou, Starman, and Bonelli, you should keep your ears open to learn the following:

- Starman talks about his first time in talking to Lou, which was after the 2009 World Junior Championships, and said how Lou told him how great he was on the broadcasts, something Lou continues to do to this day.

- Lou and Dave tell us how the WJC's have helped hockey grow leaps and bounds in the U.S. thanks to the broadcasters and quality of hockey. Starman also tells us how amazing the country has done at the WJC's while Lou tells us how long it took to get this point.

- What I think you folks will find interesting is how Lou helped start up a hockey league in New York that featured a key mission statement that all hockey organizations should live by, which Bonelli chimes in and tells us how important it is to get sticks in kids hands in order learn about and play hockey.

- Starman tells us that when it comes to getting kids involved with hockey, you should not limit them to just one kind of hockey. It can be on the ice, in the street, on the floor, or on roller blades because when it comes down to it, it accomplishes the main goal of getting kids involved with hockey.

- Lastly, make sure you listen to Lou's story on the Esposito brothers, Tony and Phil. He tells us how easily that got into playing hockey.