The JRNY of Chris Pronger: NHL Hall of Famer

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 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 so 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 to 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 So 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 So 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 like 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.